test-drb April 1998

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

122 participants
678 discussions

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

Today, I found two things in the trash. One is a VCR that eats tapes. Please e-mail me privately if you know what to do about that. The other is a TI99/4A with all of the packaging, but without the main manual, and any cartridges it might have come with. I will still go back tomorrow and check to make sure I didn't leave anything. Anyway, do I HAVE to have a cartridge to power it up? When I turn it on with the enormous TV switchbox, the TV shows nothing but snow. I flip all of the switches, but none fix the problem. Also, the little light on the TV switchbox doesn't turn on. Suggestions? Also, was there a word processor or something for it? Could someone send me a cartridge or two? ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

26 years, 3 months

Creative Retrocomputing Use for 386s and 486s

by kroma＠worldnet.att.net

>If you want it bad enough everything is possible. >I do belive it is our duty to perform these tasks. An x1541 cable allows you >to connect a commodore disk drive to a PC why not make it the other way >around and use the PC as a disk drive "server" for the C64, VIC20 and C128? >And that is only one thought. I believe that's already been done. -- Kirk

26 years, 3 months

what is a Vax Station 2000?

by allisonp＠world.std.com

Hi Soe, < I went to a thrift store today and found something called a VaxStation <2000. Does anyone know what it is? I *think* the model number on it is <1410F-A. It's a box about 12 x 12" and 10" thick and has a handle on th VS2000 aka baby vax. Nice machines using the first generation micorvax chip. They can be found with up to 14mb of ram but 6-12mb are typical and only 4meg needed to run VMS or Ultrix. They can take RX33(1.2mb) floppy and or any MFM drive like RD31(20mb st225), RD32(40mb st251), RD52(quantum D540 31mb), RD53 (micropolus1325 71mb) or RD54(maxtor 2990 159mb). There is a scsi bus but the rom boot only knows an oddball tk50 off that. The base machine did hires(1280x1024) video to a 19in mono monitor and there was color too. By shorting pins 8,9 of the db9 port you could connect a terminal instead. VMS is available via hobby license and is a very robust and sophisticated operating system and will fit on a single RD54 or can be made to fit in an RD53 without decwindows. There is a fair amount of free software for VMS as well. Also most have 10b2 eithernet unless someone robbed the lance card. I have three of them, I call them a half cubic foot vax. The taller ones have a base that addes expansion connectors for a like sized box that can hone another MFM disk, floppy or TK50 tape. Generally speaking I find them for free to maybe 15$ as they are on par with slower 386s meaning they run all the VAX software but it's only .9 vups. Despite that I've used one to serve several users and notes conferences (like a newsgroup). Their upside is that the power needs are only 160w at 110v and they are small. Allison

26 years, 3 months

Wirehead Update

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

And then CNN would show UN jeeps pulling dozens of PCs with shotgun holes from soggy trenches in rwanda... > > Or you could install linux on them and donate them to 3rd world > countries as mail/usenet uucp machines for individual > villages. This is a _useful_ and humane thing to do! > >--jmg > >> Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1998 16:00:30 -0400 (EDT) >> From: Captain Napalm <spc(a)armigeron.com> >> To: "Discussion re-collecting of classic computers" <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> >> Subject: Re: Wirehead Update >> >> It was thus said that the Great Zane H. Healy once stated: >> > >> > >The other thing I need to do is find uses for the pile of 386 and 486 >> > >boxes in my garage. It's 6 feet wide and 4 feet tall, neatly stacked. >> >> Well, you could install Linux/Beowulf on them and get supercomputer >> performance, then rent space on them. Beowulf is clustering software for >> Linux developed at NASA and freely available. It's been used in several >> other labs with great results (from what I hear). >> >> Check out http://cesdis.gsfc.nasa.gov/linux/beowulf/ for more information. >> >> > Of course the smartalick answer that came to mind was to turn them on end, >> > get some cement, and build a shed useing them instead of bricks :^) >> >> Of course there's always that. >> >> -spc (Or set up a massively parallel web server and rent space out on it) >> > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

26 years, 3 months

RK05 story -- was "Re: Wirehead Update"

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Apr 9, 13:59, Bill/Carolyn Pechter wrote: > I head crashed an RK05 at DEC Princeton running RT11 on the finance 11/70 > during a PM once. The head hit a 1/4 inch bulge in the disk platter Many years ago I worked in a high school that had some PDP-8s, one of which had a pair of RK05s and a collection of packs of dubious heritage. One of the parents was a DEC engineer, and volunteered to service the drives and check the packs. Two he condemned, on the grounds that using them might well damage the drive, but one in particular apparently passed his inspection, except that it rattled when it was picked up. Since this was the system pack, he was asked about this. He re-affirmed that it was OK, but agreed to open it up for a look. Out fell a Number 8 1" long woodscrew... but the pack was still worked fine. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Dept. of Computer Science University of York

26 years, 3 months

John Higginbotham? Anyone here know a John Higginbotham?

by photze＠batelco.com.bh

Hi. Does anyone know what happened to him? Did he unsubscribe? I've tried to contact him privately, but with no luck. I didn't get an error message, however. Thanks, Tim D. Hotze

26 years, 3 months

what is a Vax Station 2000?

by peacock＠simconv.com

A uVAX 2000 is a single board uVAX II with onboard peripherals. DEC sold them as workstations (VAXstation 2000) or as a small server (MicroVAX 2000). They are not CPU upgradable, but you can add expansion memory out to 16MB, an 8 port async serial board (thats the big DB connector that doesn't go anywhere) and a sync serial port. Standard was the MFM interface for a Micropolis 1325 (RD53) or Maxstor 2190 disk (RD54). The SCSI port was only supported for the TKZ50 tape drive, an old 95MB DLT type drive, although I think there was a 3rd party SCSI disk driver from Trimarchi (now out of business). The VAXstation had a graphics display for a non-standard monitor. Jack Peacock > -----Original Message----- > From: Joe [mailto:rigdonj@intellistar.net] > Sent: Thursday, April 09, 1998 9:41 AM > To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers > Subject: what is a Vax Station 2000? > > > I went to a trift store today and found something called a > VaxStation > 2000. Does anyone know what it is? I *think* the model > number on it is VS > 1410F-A. It's a box about 12 x 12" and 10" thick and has a > handle on the > front. It looks about like one of the small coolers that > holds a six pack > of your favorite refreshments. It has a bunch of connectors > on the back > includeing a BNC connector (LAN?) and SCSI connector and a > large DB style > connector with 4 rows of pin sockets. >

26 years, 3 months

what is a Vax Station 2000?

by rigdonj＠intellistar.net

I went to a trift store today and found something called a VaxStation 2000. Does anyone know what it is? I *think* the model number on it is VS 1410F-A. It's a box about 12 x 12" and 10" thick and has a handle on the front. It looks about like one of the small coolers that holds a six pack of your favorite refreshments. It has a bunch of connectors on the back includeing a BNC connector (LAN?) and SCSI connector and a large DB style connector with 4 rows of pin sockets.

26 years, 3 months

Sale postings to classiccmp (RE: my objection to recent postings)

by kaikal＠MICROSOFT.com

Since Bill is absent, I'll presume to speak for him and the rest of us founding members. You'll notice that the name of the list, same as its charter, is "Discussion re-collecting of classic computers", not "preservation" although that is something we are all concerned with. Webster's defines "collect" in this sense as "to collect objects", which implicitly requires their acquisition! Blatantly commercial advertisements are not allowed, but collector for-sale ads are explicitly part of this newsgroup and are welcomed. Not only that, but offering items on Ebay instead of on this list, opens them up to the speculative investor masses and creates much higher prices than trading among collectors would produce. Trust me, it's much better to have them advertised here than on Ebay. Kai > -----Original Message----- > From: Andrew Davie [SMTP:adavie@mad.scientist.com] > Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 1998 6:11 AM > To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers > Subject: my objection to recent postings > > I object to the use of the Classic Computer mailing list for advertising > for-sale items on an ongoing basis for profit. I consider the use of this > list in this way akin to dropping advertising leaflets in my mailbox, or > ringing me up and asking if I want to buy insurance. > Surely, the newsgroups and eBay, etc., are an appropriate place for > regular > sales? > A mailing list dealing with the preservation of classic computers is not. > Cheers > A

26 years, 3 months

ForSale items on Classiccmp

by kyrrin＠jps.net

Andrew Davie scribed... >I object to the use of the Classic Computer mailing list for advertising >for-sale items on an ongoing basis for profit. I consider the use of this >list in this way akin to dropping advertising leaflets in my mailbox, or >ringing me up and asking if I want to buy insurance. I'm going to assume that you're referring to Russ Blakeman's posts (please forgive me if this is inaccurate), and possibly to the postings of 'classic' systems in need of rescuing. My take on this is that I'm sorry you feel that way. For my part, I'm darn glad to have someone posting to the list who seems to have a steady stream of older gear available, and pretty decent prices to boot. There's still plenty of good information to be had in the list. The few 'For Sale' postings I've seen from Russ and others (Jim Willing for another example) have, if anything, increased the value of CLASSICCMP for me. Also, as I recall, CLASSICCMP's charter allows for the posting of such blurbs as long as what's being advertised is computer-related and of 'Classic' (greater than ten years old) vintage. As for systems needing rescue, darn few people who post that they're getting rid of systems to comp.sys.dec or comp.sys.dec.micro even know this list exists. I will always forward such notes, if I happen to see them, over to the list server. I know that doing so has resulted in at least a couple of rescues that might otherwise have ended up with the scrappers. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bruce Lane, Sysop, The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fidonet 1:343/272) (Hamateur: WD6EOS) (E-mail: kyrrin(a)jps.net) "Our science can only describe an object, event, or living thing in our own human terms. It cannot, in any way, define any of them..."

26 years, 3 months

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test-drb April 1998