test-drb November 1998

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

185 participants
940 discussions

by tom＠tgeller.com

I thought this would interest some folks here. It's about a project to archive old software. --Tom ---begin excerpt from TidBITS #453 <http://www.tidbits.com>--- **Electronic Phoenix Project Mailing List Formed** -- Several people have volunteered for the Electronic Phoenix Project (EPP), my proposed organization whose mission would be to adopt orphaned software. The idea received wide interest, even resulting in an article in the Dutch newspaper Het Parool. To facilitate further discussion, I've created an open mailing list. To subscribe, send email to <phoenix-talk-on(a)tidbits.com> and to sign off, send email to <phoenix-talk-off(a)tidbits.com>. The list is not moderated, so try to limit discussions to creating and operating the EPP. (Suggestions for programs to adopt aren't necessary - many have already been suggested in TidBITS Talk.) I look forward to seeing what emerges. [ACE] <http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=05141> <http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=424> ---end excerpt--- --- Tom Geller, San Francisco * http://www.tgeller.com

25 years, 9 months

CRT decay

by geoffrob＠stmarks.pp.catholic.edu.au

-----Original Message----- From: Tony Duell <ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Wednesday, 4 November 1998 14:50 Subject: Re: CRT decay >> On this subject, but perhaps not quite on topic, I have a VGA monitor >> which performs perfectly well if it is left on all of the time but if it >> is switched off for more than an hour or so then it takes time for the >> picture to reappear. Strangely it seems that the longer it is switched >> off the longer it takes to 'warm up', in the extreme case after bieng off >> for a week or so it can take half an hour or so for the pidcture to >> reappear and the brightnedd will fluctuate for some time after that. Has >> anyone got any idea what is happening? > > >At a guess the first anode voltage (second grid for those across the >Pond) is fluctuating. That'll affect the brightness but not much else. Have a look for a low value, high voltage electrolytic capacitor in the vicinity of the G2 supply. Possibly even on the neckboard of the tube. Change it. Sanyo TV's (others too, but Sanyos seem especially prone) exhibit this problem also. Cheers Geoff Roberts Computer Systems Manager Saint Marks College Port Pirie South Australia. My ICQ# is 1970476 Ph. 61-411-623-978 (Mobile) 61-8-8633-0619 (Home) 61-8-8633-8834 (Work-Direct) 61-8-8633-0104 (Fax)

25 years, 9 months

Spring Cleaning

by apulo＠joyce.eng.yale.edu

My $.02 When I mean reasonable, I mean at least if not more what I acquired the items for. I'm not going to throw money away for collectors sake. I'm willing to let alot of these things go for less than Ebay prices but I'm not going to give them away at a personal loss (and no, this does not mean that I want $1000 for the IMSAI). Alot of the stuff I will let go for between $20 and $250. Dont assume just because I dont want this stuff anymore that I'm going to gouge people, but I'm also not going to gouge myself. Tony

25 years, 9 months

PDP-11/44 boot prompt

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

Actually, I'm wondering how those things work. Do they read the POST code off the motherboard, or do they do their own diagnosis? I've looked at the ads in various magazines, but never thought it had much potential. > >It's called POST, the last time I bought a POST board it was 59$ and >that was 3 years ago. it displays a two digit code that points to the >failed subsystem. > >IBM systems also displayed a code to the CRT (if working) that also told >the problem. > >Generally I've troubleshot PCs with nothing more than a VOM. Frequently >less. > >Allison > > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

25 years, 9 months

Classic != IBM AT

by roblwill＠usaor.net

> > It is to me. I don't remember if the Newton or the Zoomer came out first, > but it was certainly one of the first pen-based PDA's. I still use my > Zoomer today because of the great battery life. And GEOS runs pretty well > on that slow 8088 -- try that with Windows CE! > Yeah. I can agree to that - I've had the batteries in mine for a year, not, and it's still going. Only problem is there's no backlight. > > The PC110? The HD was a standard PCMCIA Type-III drive. Try > comp.sys.{handheld,palmtop}. Or are you thinking of the Dauphin DTR-1 > (made by IBM) with the 1.8" KittyHawk drive? > That must be what I'm thinking of. I remember the name "IBM KittyHawk". I guess that was the name of the drive, not the computer. What was the entire size of the computer? From what I have been told, it was sotr of like a fat PDA. -Jason *********************************************** * Jason Willgruber * * (roblwill(a)usaor.net) * * * * http://members.tripod.com/general_1 * * ICQ#-1730318 * * /0\/0\ * * > Long Live the 5170! * * \___/ * ************************************************

25 years, 9 months

Almost on topic VMS 5.2 help please

by allisonp＠world.std.com

< >>> B/R5:1 < SYSBOOT> SET/STARTUP OPA0: < SYSBOOT> SET WRITESYSPARAMS 0 I've seen that but I've not used it. The procedure I use is basically out of the VMS docs. Allison

25 years, 9 months

PDP-11/44 boot prompt

by hhacker＠gte.net

One expects that the operating system executing on the 11/44 will be RSTS or RX/11 or some other operating system. Hence, the commands (and isn't this obvious) acceptable at the keyboard are relative to the operating system. So, which OS is it that is running on your machine? This information is important to me, since I 1) have an 11/44 being shipped to me in the next month, 2) have no idea of the OS's that such a computer can support (though my 11/34a and 11/45 have RSTS/E and BSD 2.9), and 3) expect, as you, to operate the thing upon arrival. BTW - mine was used for timesharing applications at a university, so I expect yours is a fairly large machine. Please, tell me more about your 11/44, such as features of the CPU, the memory size, and peripheral devices available, and the overall dimensions of the computer. Mine is said to be some 30 feet long, so if yours is similar, how do you find the space to put all the parts together. I plan to put mine in the living room of my home, and my wife, as you might imagine, has some reservations on the matter! William R. Buckley -----Original Message----- From: Mitch Wright <mew_jac(a)swbell.net> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Saturday, October 31, 1998 6:11 PM Subject: PDP-11/44 boot prompt >Ok, So ">>>BOOT DM" booted the 11/44 from the RK07. Thank you Toni. But >I'd like to know what the rest of the commands do? This is the dump from >HELP: > > (Console V3.40C) > >(Program) > >(Console) > Halted at 165714 > >>>>he > > Commands : > ADDRESS > BOOT > BREAK > CONTINUE > DEPOSIT > EXAMINE > FILL > HALT > HELP > INITIALIZE > MICROSTEP > NEXT > START > TEST > > Arguments : > 0-7 > - > * > + > @ > SWR > PC > PSW > KSP > SSP > USP > > Qualifiers : > REPEAT > /IR > /NODIAGNOSTIC > /SCOPE > /EXTENSIVE > /N: > /CB > /TB > > Addressing : > /P > /G > /M > /VI > /VD > /UI > /UD > /KI > /KD > /SI > /SD > >>>> > > > Thanks, Mitch Wright

25 years, 9 months

Apple I clone (was Re: Apple I Computer For Sale (fwd))

by paulk＠microsoft.com

The Apple 1 discussion reminds me of some (evil) thougts I had a while back. What do the people on this list think of building an Apple I as a "homebrew" project? Without much work, I was able to dig up a schematic and boot rom listing for an A1, and the parts are all (mostly) readily available. I know it wouldn't be a real Apple 1, and it wouldn't be worth $40,000 8-). But it'd be interesting, to me anyway, to live though hand-building a working computer from just a bundle of wires, as well as having a "manly" computer -- none of this sissy disk drive stuff. If nothing else, it seems like good soldering practice! If the purpose is education rather than collector's value, have I still sold my soul to the devil? What if I then tell people I have "an Apple 1 (-ish) computer", thereby letting me brag about building it myself, if not the actual authenticity? Thanks for any comments! Paul Kearns paulk(a)microsoft.com

25 years, 9 months

Looking for Sony V7021 IC data sheet and Amiga UNIX question

by mark_k＠iname.com

Hi, Does anyone have a data sheet for the Sony V7021 IC? This is a video decoder that can be used to convert composite video or S-video into RGB. I can't find mention of it on Sony's web site at all. I need the info because I want to convert an old Vidi-RGB unit from PAL to NTSC. The Vidi RGB is a video colour splitter, primarily intended for use with old Amiga or ST monochrome video digitisers to allow colour still pictures to be grabbed. It also provides a feature connector on which are the RGB signals >from the V7021 IC that it uses. I have a PAL model, but want to convert it for NTSC use. Changing the crystal will be necessary, but I guess other components may need to be altered too. Alternatively, does anyone have an NTSC Vidi-RGB that they want to sell? Next subject is Amiga UNIX (the commercial UNIX product sold by Commodore circa 1990-1991, not NetBSD etc.) A couple of years ago, I bought a copy of Amiga UNIX 2.03. This was developed before CD-ROMs were very popular, and so the main OS came on a 150MB QIC tape. A couple of weeks ago I finally got a suitable tape drive, and I've backed up all files from the tape onto an MO disk for safe-keeping; it amounted to about 70MB compressed. Out of the box, Amiga UNIX requires a Commodore hard disk controller. I have a GVP HD controller instead. I read ages ago that someone has created patches for the OS to run on GVP controllers. What I'd like to know is: - Are there any web pages about Amiga UNIX? - How many versions of this OS were there? Is mine the most recent? - Is it possible to get Amiga UNIX to install by making alternative install floppies which contain driver code for GVP controllers? If anyone has info about this, or just has a different version, please contact me. (Is there a mailing list for discussion of Amiga UNIX?) Regards, -- Mark Knibbs mark_k(a)iname.com

25 years, 9 months

CRT decay

by geoffrob＠stmarks.pp.catholic.edu.au

-----Original Message----- From: Allison J Parent <allisonp(a)world.std.com> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Tuesday, 3 November 1998 15:59 Subject: Re: CRT decay >< Don't CRT filaments degrade with use? I've seen this on other >< workstation monitors from Sun and HP, typically ones that were used as > >It the common characteristic of all valves (tubes) with heated cathodes >that over time emission will decay and gain(brightness) goes away with >it. > >< big-ticket item, the local TV repairman had cylindrical devices called >< "boosters" that could be inserted in the circuit between the plug on >< the back of the CRT and the set's CRT socket to extend the life of a > >It got back some emission for a while but the overvoltage generally >killed the tube. There is another method that is frequently employed on "tired' tubes. It involves putting and exceptionally high pulsed + potential on the 1st Grid of the tube, whilst simultaneously running the heater at about 30% overvoltage. This had the effect of blasting layers of tired cathodic material off the cathode, exposing less depleted stuff underneath it. Depending on the tube, this could restore performance for days or years. There doesn't seem to be any way to tell in advance. I have seen both extremes. There is a very old Philips K9 chassis TV dating from about 1976 that had this done some 3 or 4 years ago when it got too dark to watch, and cranking up the beam current caused flaring. The tube came right up to very bright and sharp, and is still working very well. A similar set required the procedure to be repeated at progressively more frequent intervals, til the owner (and tech) got sick of it and declared it dead. Not sure what the situation is in USA but here TV crts are generally not replaced because of the cost, it's usually better to get another TV. Cheers Geoff Roberts Computer Systems Manager Saint Marks College Port Pirie South Australia. My ICQ# is 1970476 Ph. 61-411-623-978 (Mobile) 61-8-8633-0619 (Home) 61-8-8633-8834 (Work-Direct) 61-8-8633-0104 (Fax)

25 years, 9 months

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test-drb November 1998