test-drb May 1998

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

148 participants
673 discussions

by bill_r＠inetnebr.com

For you TI 99/4 collectors out there: >"Bill Frandsen" <bfrandse(a)rrnet.com> >I have the following package for auction on the eBay auction web site. It >ends in less than 24 hours. The current bid is $1.00, but it does have a >reserve price that has not been met. A picture is included at the following >link where you can also place your bid. > >http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=11843202 > >Set of 3 Different TI 99/4A Computers >One each of the major shell + keyboard revisions > >Includes 3 shell types: 1 Cream colored and 2 Black + Silver colored. >1 black + silver unit has a "Solid State Software" emblem under the cart >slot. >The other black + silver unit has different keyboard lettering and help >bezel. >Also includes 3 slightly different styles of working power supplies. >Will include 4 NON-WORKING RF Video Modulators (may be fixable?). >Also includes keyboard help reference strips and some blank strips. >All units have been cleaned and tested and work fine, however, >you will need a working RF Video Modulator or video cable to use them. > > >Thanks for your interest! > -Bill Richman bill_r(a)inetnebr.com http://incolor.inetnebr.com/bill_r (Home of the COSMAC Elf Simulator!)

26 years, 6 months

Suicidal HDD (OT mystery)

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

Well, I guess I got my answer, so, if I may inquire, why is it that older hard drives did not need a clean room? Were they sufficiently rought that you could just pull them apart? >> distance? Is there a way to block their effects, using metal, for > >Well, mu-metal would be a reasonable screen, but it's not cheap and can't >be bent to shape after annealing. A larger room might well be cheaper! > >> example? Can I fix the broken drives? > >If it's magnetic damage to the servo information, then it's almost >impossible to repair. You'd need a clean room and the rig used to write >the information at the factory. I don't think many hobbyists have that >sort of setup. > >The other suggestion was mechanical damage from vibration. This might be >more likely, actually. Repairing that (which would be similar to a minor >headcrash) is going to be impossible as well. > >In general even _I_ class modern hard drives as being impossible to >repair. I'll do electronic repairs on the older winchesters (but modern >drives are all custom chips, so that's impossible now), and I'll repair >demountables with no problems at all. But I don't have a clean room to >dismantle the HDA (yet!) > >-tony > > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

26 years, 6 months

Suicidal HDD (OT mystery)

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

This room is about the size of a porta-potty. What would be a safe distance? Is there a way to block their effects, using metal, for example? Can I fix the broken drives? >> The speakers MIGHT be the problem. There is a pair of them, each >> twice the size of an IMSAI, right beneath the macintosh > >I see... Now, while a lot of older drives locked the pack to the spindle >using a fairly powerful magnet (and 3.5" floppy drives still do), I'd >still not want to run a hard disk near speakers of that size. Can you >rearange the layout of the room a little? > >-tony > > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

26 years, 6 months

Lost Treasures (was: Cray-1)

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

Well, Lisas are essentially the same case... > > ><Actually, the VT100 does have a rather nice look to it. If you insist ><that only computers go on the above list, I'll list it as a VT103. > >If it has to be a computer bow about a VT180 (CP/M) or PDT-11/130? > >Allison > > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

26 years, 6 months

This sucks.

by DSEAGRAV＠toad.xkl.com

Well, the KS-10 deal went over like a lead baloon... It seems the HARDWARE to the system has already been packed off to Caterpillar Spares. But the SYSTEM (disk) is still there. THAT is what they were melting down. Not the whole rack, just the RP06 packs that had their data. When I was told the SYSTEM was intact and may be rescueable, we assumed the HARDWARE. When I asked about config, he assumed I meant "What's the monitor built for?" And they don't wanna give me those disks anyway. Basically, I went in and made a fool of myself... Oh well. Live and learn... -------

26 years, 6 months

Introduction

by Philip.Belben＠powertech.co.uk

Tony Duell wrote: >> Heck, I'd like to see a good computer taxonomy (you know, kingdom=digital, >> phylum=silicon, class=portable, order=laptop, family=grid, >> genus=1500-series, species=1535-EXP). > > On the grounds that all laptops are portables, I think I'd rather see > something like > > kingdom = {analogue, digital, quantum} > Phylum = {silicon, GaAs, Germanium (?), hollow-state, mechanical} > Class = {Mainframe, Mini, Workstation, Micro} > Order = {Rackmount, deskside, desktop, luggable, laptop, notebook, palmtop} > > (I know of at least one luggable mini, and I think a Sparcbook could > reasonably be called a laptop workstation) Ummm. Given the number of hybrids around (as we have seen from more recent posts), your system might be better. But AFAIK in the taxonomy used by biologists etc. the list of available classes is different for each phylum, the list of available orders different for each class, etc. But I have a computer that is hybrid analogue/digital (an EAI-1000, I think it's called, which is an analogue computer with a microprocessor doing an embedded control type job to run the system)... Philip. PS Luggable Mini = P850?

26 years, 6 months

Anyone know where to find a Setup disk for Epson Equity II+?

by lfb107＠psu.edu

At 07:15 AM 5/1/98 -0700, Daniel A. Seagraves wrote: >One of ours lost it's CMOS. >------- Here's a zip of one. At one time it was available off of the Epson web page but I'm not sure if it still is. Anyway, it works for both II+ and III model Epsons. Enjoy! Les

26 years, 6 months

Anyone know where to find a Setup disk for Epson Equity II+?

by DSEAGRAV＠toad.xkl.com

One of ours lost it's CMOS. -------

26 years, 6 months

XT Power Supply help... (More Info)

by photze＠batelco.com.bh

OK... by some act of God, when I try to plug in the HDD alone, it spins up, along with the PSU. Now, when I take EVERYTHING out, that includes drives, cards, etc. and just give the motherboard power, it doesn't spin up at all. Yes, the black pins are in the middle, I know I've got a good connection... could this be the "No power" line thingy? Should a real-XT case work with a clone-XT motherboard? Thanks, Tim D. Hotze -----Original Message----- From: Tony Duell <ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Friday, May 01, 1998 3:13 AM Subject: Re: XT Power Supply help... >> I've gone as far as epoxying a screw upside down onto the odd "security" screws >> way back when they started coming out and used a pliers/visegrips to turn the > >Or filing a nail to make a tool to fit some of the more obscure screws. > >If it has a head that stands proud of the surface, and if you don't care >about mangling the screw, then use a hacksaw to cut a slot in it. I got a >pile of AT bits at a radio rally, and that's what had been done to the >screws in the PSU. > >> > not to put a nail in the fuseholder, or put unsafe components in the >> > chopper circuit, or whatever. >> >> Uh, penny under the blown screw in fuse, cigarette pack foil around the blown AGC >> fuse. Let's do this right now. > >It's a well-known fact that to the UK public all fuses are 13A (the >standard/maximum one used in our mains plugs). I've seen said fuses in >all sorts of places that they don't belong. > >I've also seen the fuse wrapped in foil - where on earth does that >dangerous trick come from. I can't believe these lusers work it out for >themselves. > >-tony >

26 years, 6 months

Computer Taxonomy

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<However, some of the very simple controllers in, e.g., lawn sprinkler <timers, etc. could possibly be classified as just programmable logic <elements -not really "computers". I can imagine a simple Epson or whateve <clock chip and a small programmable array logic (PAL) chip of some low co <type being setup with very simple I/O to act as the "programmable" contro <in those types of equipment. Or, rather, an application specific <integrated circuit or ASIC could be specially designed and fabricated to <replace all of this if production quantities are in the many thousands. <Still, no microprocessor chip though. This is not true, many VCRs have version of the NEC ucom75 chips, cmos single chip microprocessor(512b-2kb rom, 128nybbles of ram(max) lots of IO for various purposes). The TI1000 series were used in games and Microwave ovens. Most of the things like lawn spriklers controllers are chips like 8048/9, PIC, or other cheap in volume mask rom single chips micros. The list can go on but true ASICs are expensive to develope and limited in scope. There are an abundance of small very low cost single chip micros that can do tasks like those described. FYI what does seperate most of these from the general taxonomic classes is that the "program" is inaccessable on most of these so altering it is unlikely to impossible. Allison

26 years, 6 months

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test-drb May 1998