This is not about computers, but it's vintage tech so it's almost on topic...
Just picked up a very cool miniature battery operated wire recorder and I
need to find out what sort of battery it originally used - or at least to
find out what voltage it takes so I can try it out. Also would like to find
out more about it - date, original cost, etc.
It's a Minifon Special, made by Protona (Hamburg, Ger.). The battery
compartment measures 1.25 x 3.5 inches, with a flat, brass spring contact
at either end.
It's a beautiful little machine, in mint condition, complete with fitted
pigskin case. Even the original spool of hair-thin wire is unbroken.
Outside dimensions are 4 x 6.5 x 1.25 inches and it's finished in a sort of
goldish-cream textured lacquer. There are two din sockets on the front, one
with three pins for the mike (included), and another, unmarked, with nine
pins.
Anybody know anything about this little gem? Surely someone on the list
goes back far enough to have seen one of these...
R.
--
Warbaby
The WebSite. The Domain. The Empire.
http://www.warbaby.com
The MonkeyPool
WebSite Content Development
http://www.monkeypool.com
Dreadlocks on white boys give me the willies.
OK, logically I can send the bootstrap for the RL02 drive over the serial
line since I'm running TELIX on a 486 for a console at the moment. The
problem is the /73 doesn't support RL02's, and I'm getting tired of typing
in all those numbers. Therefore the question is, how should I format the
file that I send to the PDP-11? I've tried formating it two different ways
and all I get is garbage sent to the PDP-11. I'm sending as straight ASCII.
Zane
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh(a)ix.netcom.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| For Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| see http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ |
| For the collecting of Classic Computers with info on them. |
| see http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/museum.html |
I was just given a unix publishing/graphics suite. Two questions -- (I realize this
may be a little off-topic, so you can reply via e-mail and I apologize) 1) it runs
on SCO Unix -- did I read somewhere this will also run on FreeBSD? My unix
box will be running FreeBSD, so I hope so. 2) It's on a datacartridge.... I have
an old IBM tape drive and an old Mountain Filesafe tape drive -- any idea if this
is the right hardware to read the tape? I figured I'd come to the masters with
these questions. Thanks.
Paul
Paul Braun
NerdWare -- The History of the PC and the Nerds who brought it to you.
nerdware(a)laidbak.com
www.laidbak.com/nerdware
You guys and gals that are interested had better jump on this one that I
pulled from the Obsolete Computer helpline:
>>Simon Shiff <kariba1(a)ptw.com>
>>Palmdale, CA USA - Wednesday, June 03, 1998 at 19:36:25
>>
>> Would like to know the value of an Altair 8800 in mint condition.
>> Serial No. 1004.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Russ Blakeman
RB Custom Services / Rt. 1 Box 62E / Harned, KY USA 40144
Phone: (502) 756-1749 Data/Fax:(502) 756-6991
Email: rhblake(a)bbtel.com or rhblake(a)bigfoot.com
Website: http://members.tripod.com/~RHBLAKE/
ICQ UIN #1714857
AOL Instant Messenger "RHBLAKEMAN"
* Parts/Service/Upgrades and more for MOST Computers*
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Heads up fellow DECers! Found this on Usenet. If any of you are in or
near Indy, this is a good chance to get a decent MV-II in your collection.
Please contact the fellow directly if you're interested.
Attachment follows.
-=-=- <snip> -=-=-
On Thu, 04 Jun 1998 11:36:35 GMT, in comp.sys.dec you wrote:
>>From: sterin(a)gte.net (Tom Sterin)
>>Newsgroups: comp.sys.dec,in.forsale,misc.forsale.computers.workstation
>>Subject: MicroVAX II - FREE
>>Date: Thu, 04 Jun 1998 11:36:35 GMT
>>Organization: gte.net
>>Lines: 19
>>Message-ID: <6l603v$btm$1(a)gte1.gte.net>
>>NNTP-Posting-Host: 1cust211.tnt14.chi5.da.uu.net
>>X-Auth: C518D3425A9884C254CD8491
>>X-Newsreader: Forte Free Agent 1.11/32.235
>>Path: blushng.jps.net!news.eli.net!news.burgoyne.com!news.eecs.umich.edu!nntprelay.mathworks.com!worldfeed.gte.net!news.gte.net!not-for-mail
>>Xref: blushng.jps.net comp.sys.dec:1003 in.forsale:193 misc.forsale.computers.workstation:1074
>>
>>Free to a good home:
>>
>> MicroVAX II in a "World Box" deskside enclosure
>> 16 MB RAM
>> 1G hard disk (+/-)
>> 8 serial ports
>> TK50 tape drive
>> 2 floppy
>> VT320 & keyboard
>> Letterwriter 100
>> spare parts and documentation
>>
>>Pick it up in Indianapolis or pay for shipping. Call or email for
>>more information.
>>
>>Tom Sterin
>>317-633-4757
>>sterin(a)gte.net
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bruce Lane, SysOp,
The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fido 1:343/272)
kyrrin {at} j<p>s d[o]t n=e=t
"...No matter how hard we may wish otherwise, our science can only describe
an object, event, or living creature, in our own human terms. It cannot possibly
define any of them!..."
To anyone intertested...Tripod has upped the space for personal and
small business free sites to 11mb now. Check http://www.tripod.com for
further info.--
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Russ Blakeman
RB Custom Services / Rt. 1 Box 62E / Harned, KY USA 40144
Phone: (502) 756-1749 Data/Fax:(502) 756-6991
Email: rhblake(a)bbtel.com or rhblake(a)bigfoot.com
Website: http://members.tripod.com/~RHBLAKE/
ICQ UIN #1714857
AOL Instant Messenger "RHBLAKEMAN"
* Parts/Service/Upgrades and more for MOST Computers*
--------------------------------------------------------------------
email: desieh(a)southcom.com.au
desieh(a)bigfoot.com
museum_curator(a)hotmail.com
Apple Lisa Web Page:
http://www.southcom.com.au/~desieh/index.htm
a computer is only worth what the next guy is prepared to pay for
it..............
-----Original Message-----
From: Uncle Roger <sinasohn(a)ricochet.net>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Friday, June 05, 1998 1:05
Subject: Re: Lisa (was: Apple ][ video + headers!)
>At 01:31 PM 6/3/98 PDT, you wrote:
>>do any of you have a Lisa, if so, I'll pay $100 or less.
>
>Yah right. Me too. Heck, I'll pay $100 or less for an IMSAI, an Altair, a
>Sol-20, and an Apple 1 too. Not that anyone will sell it to me. Of
>course, I'm not an anonymous nobody popping up from nowhere to quote lotsa
>headers from irrelevant messages...
>
>
>--------------------------------------------------------------------- O-
>
>Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad
>roger(a)sinasohn.com that none but madmen know."
>Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates
>San Francisco, California http://www.sinasohn.com/
>
<> Confusing, oblique, boring, overated and longwinded. Other than that
<> likely I'd be the first draft with a minimum age! ;)
<>
<> Allison
<
<Are they gonna' provide "three hot's and a cot"?
<
< Awwright! Prepare to fall out with manuals and lineprinter
< spacing charts!!!!!!!! 8^)
<
Likely the cot will be shredded printer output and the meals heated by a
1704.
Allison
I often work on systems with power on. With PCs it's no big
deal in terms of my safety. The SE, however, is an incredible
pain to repeatedly re/disassemble if my fix doesn't work, so I would
like to work on it cover off/plugged in. I'm only dealing with the
logic board anyway. That's why I originally asked...
By the way, how do people work on machines like the PS/2 Model 25,
in which one can only get to the MB when it's not plugged into the
PSU?
>> > But not everyone has an EHT meter. It's probably OK to use a 10M
resistor
>> > (prefereably a high-voltage one) and a well-insulated screwdriver
to
>> > discharge the CRT. Connect one end of the resistor (use clip leads,
etc)
>> > to the CRT earth and the other one to the screwdriver blade. Then
push
>> > the screwdriver under the edge of the anode cap and hold it in
contact
>> > with the metal contact for about 30s.
>>
>> Most resistors are rated for a 500V or 1kV rather than EHT, so there
is a
>
>That's why I said 'preferably a high-voltage one'. Farnell and Maplin
>both sell the Philips HV resistors good to about 10kV. A couple of
those
>in series.
>
>> small risk that they'll break down or flash over. Better to use two
or
>> more in series if you can.
>>
>
>I'd not trust my life to it, but most resistors break down and go to a
low
>resistance when they flash over, not open.
>
>> It's also worth pointing out that even 1mA at 15kV is a fair wattage
--
>> another reason to use more than one resistor. A large colour CRT
might
>
>Yes, but the energy stored in a CRT is not that great. Resistors burn
out
>because they overheat, and if there's not enough energy to heat them
up,
>then they'll not fail.
>
>> have a 25kV supply. Of course, as Tony points out, usually the CRT
will
>> discharge when switched off. But if it doesn't, that's just when you
don't
>> want to find out the limitations of ordinary resistors. (I once
proved
>> this theory on a Commodore PET).
>
>'Nice' monitors have EHT bleeders anyway, often as part of the EHT
>reguation circuit (the feedback loop consists of a potential divider
>across the EHT supply). So the EHT should discharge at switch-off. I
>check it anyway with the meter, of course.
>
>As this is classiccmp, I think I should mention that some vector
>displays, like the DEC VR12, VR14, VR17, etc have a mains-derived EHT.
>There's a sealed (oil-filled?) can containing a transformer and a
voltage
>doubler - a schematic is printed on the can. These things can supply
>considerable current for short periods - easily enough to kill you.
>They're nasty.
>
>>
>> Perhaps this is a good place to mention the "hand in pocket" rule:
if
>> you're working on a high-voltage system, and one hand is in your
pocket, it
>> can't be touching a good earth (unless you're even odder than I am
:-)) so
>> there's a reduced chance of current crossing your body. You used to
often
>> see TV engineers with one hand in a pocket and an EHT probe in the
other.
>
>Nowadays you see computer preservationists with one hand in their
pocket.
>I do it whenever I work on HV stuff with the power applied.
>
>The idea is to prevent the current taking a path through your heart.
Down
>one leg is possibly OK, arm-arm is not.
>
>I didn't mention it, because the original poster didn't say he was
>planning to do work with the power on. If you are, there's one other
rule
>that I'll state - Always have somebody nearby who knows how to turn off
>the power if anything goes wrong. Never work alone.
>
>As a practical point, it helps if that person is not either of your
>parents, wife/husband, or girl/boyfriend. The reason is that they tend
to
>cut the power on the slightest problem - like a minor flashover to a
>screwdriver, which is very annoying!
>
>> Pete Peter Turnbull
>
>-tony
>
>
______________________________________________________
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<Wait, are ST-506 drives the ones with a wide ribbon connector
<and a narrow one? If so, they are pretty common here. I have a bunch
Yes and so is EDSI!
<in my desk drawer. BTW, why is MFM so much more popular than RLL?
RLL tended to push the drive and if the bit jitter was high there would
be lots of bad blocks. Drives of that time using non servo positioners
were doing their best but they were on the way out for their own reasons
like being slow and tending toward higer error rates from wear. This
combined with arriving late on the scene, and EDSI gaining popularity
and other details sorta made it's life short. While RLL did die for
drives using seperate controllers it is nearly standard for IDE and SCSI
drives (we cant see it).
Disk and controller technology were playing catchup with each other
through the 80s.
Allison
