But where can you find a drive that can read a sheep?
At 08:33 PM 1/17/99 -0800, you wrote:
>On Sun, 17 Jan 1999, Jim Strickland wrote:
>
>> It bears mentioning that the dead sea scrolls were written on sheep hide.
>
>Doh!
>
>Sellam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Always being hassled by the man.
>
> Coming in 1999: Vintage Computer Festival 3.0
> See http://www.vintage.org/vcf for details!
> [Last web site update: 01/15/99]
>
>I'd like to configure a Heathkit H11 as a *small* PDP-11 with just CPU
>(M7270 LSI-11/02), terminal, and paper tape. I have no cards for it now,
>but I've got the M7270 on order.
It works just fine... I configured my H11 box with an 11/53+ (KDJ11-D)
processor.
>Which cards do I need for RAM, serial, and parallel I/O? I know nothing
>about DEC buses. Do I need a bus terminator or anything else? Also, I
>recall that something about the H11 wasn't DEC compatible, but I don't
>remember what it was....
I suggest you get an MXV11-B board. This has some memory, two serial
lines and the boot code all on board. Then you'll need some sort of
disk interface, like RQDX3 (and a couple of disks). You'll need to
find a leprechaun box (external desk-top mounting box for RD series
disks, the kind which go with the RQDX3).
Megan Gentry
Former RT-11 Developer
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| Megan Gentry, EMT/B, PP-ASEL | Internet (work): gentry!zk3.dec.com |
| Unix Support Engineering Group | (home): mbg!world.std.com |
| Compaq Computer Corporation | addresses need '@' in place of '!' |
| 110 Spitbrook Rd. ZK03-2/T43 | URL: http://world.std.com/~mbg/ |
| Nashua, NH 03062 | "pdp-11 programmer - some assembler |
| (603) 884 1055 | required." - mbg |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
Group,
I'm trying to resurrect a PRIME 2450. If anyone has spares or knows where to get them, I'd sure appreciate it.
Thanks,
Steve Robertson <steverob(a)hotoffice.com>
Presumably you can counter the effects of gravity by rotating the capsule
every 'n' units of time.
As for semiconductor degredation, that can be mititgated by lower
temperatures. Also when I worked at Intel we measured dopant migration
which was not measurable when power was not applied. There were concerns
that during operation the temperatures and electric fields generated would
cause things to migrate and the chip to eventually fail. Analysis of 5 year
old chips that had not been powered up showed no measurable change.
Given that I don't believe the semiconductors will have a problem. However
the EEPROMs and FLASHes can very well have a problem. The BIOS on most
mother boards is flashed in and it requires that the system boot to flash a
new bios in. Perhaps a tool to flash the bios in circuit would need to be
supplied as well.
I like the mylar paper tape idea. Although I cannot imagine how much tape I
would need to hold a 128K byte flash image. Wait a minute, let me get some
tape here .... 10 bytes/in so 13,107" or 1092' or roughly 11 100' rolls.
That is a lot of tape and that is only the BIOS!
I agree with Sam we may be relying on 22nd century technology to recover
the bits from the mag tape.
And while Tony's comments about restoring a PDP-8 or 11 are good ones, I
suspect that in the 22nd century they would be able to fabricate one fairly
easily. The goal is to create a snapshot of "current" computing as it is at
the turn of the century. And it may be an exercise in futility to expect it
to work, but my goal was to make a credible best effort to address those
things (like batteries) that would be known to make it _not_ work.
--Chuck
Group,
I picked up a ZORBA at the thrift shop a couple of weeks ago (25$). Looks like the Mother Board is fried.
I opened the case and it's immaculate inside. If anyone needs any of the guts, let me know.
Regards,
Steve Robertson - QA Team Leader <steverob(a)hotoffice.com>
-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Pechter [SMTP:pechter@monmouth.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 1999 7:46 PM
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
Subject: Re: Kaypros and Osbornes
>
> I think other people's reasoning is that a lot more people know about the
> O1 than the Kaypro, so that gets more interest/higher perceived value.
> Meanwhile, no one's ever heard of a Zorba, so I don't know why the two I've
> heard about sold for over $100.
>
Because the Zorba's are slick little CP/M machines?
--Bill
(a Zorba fan and owner)
---
Bill Gates is a Persian cat and a monocle away from being a
villain in a James Bond movie -- Dennis Miller
bpechter@shell.monmouth.com|pechter@pechter.nws.net|pechter@pechter.ddns.org
> [1] If you read to your kids every day, spend your non-working time
taking
> them to museums, plays, camping, etc., work with them on what they're
> interested in, even if it means giving up watching football, spending
time
> with your friends, and so on, then this doesn't apply to you.
No kids of my own yet. But my experience of kids these days is that "work
with them on what they're interested in" means that I'd have to _start_
watching football. And I find it hard to think of any activity more
boring.
But by and large I agree with you. Just don't forget what you keep telling
us - your girlfriend is not a typical teacher, she is an example to the
profession. Teaching usually pays peanuts, and the profession therefore
has more than its fair share of monkeys.
If we can get both good teachers _and_ good parents, even the less bright
kids will go far...
Philip.
At 10:24 PM 1/12/99 -0500, you wrote:
>What I meant was, in the early BASICs, you would have to type out the FOR
>loop with a variable, an increment, a conditional statement, and a goto.
Every BASIC I've ever used had a for-next construct as follows:
FOR variable = start TO end [BY inc]
commands
NEXT [variable]
No GOTO was ever needed. However, it is just a simplified version of a
combination IF and GOTO.
>easier to understand that the NEXT X must be going back to that FOR X= 1
>TO 10 I saw a while ago, as opposed to scrolling incessantly trying to
>find where each GOTO leads.
For-Next is pretty basic (pun intended). Do While/Do Until is not found in
earlier BASIC's; perhaps that's what you were thinking of? Nonetheless,
Using IF and GOTO to simulate a For-Next loop does not mean lots of
searching for GOTO destinations -- if you are a good programmer, it doesn't.
>I don't know exactly at what point the FOR...NEXT gets translated into its
>components, but the point is, since it doesn't have to be typed out, it's
>somewhat lower-level.
For-Next is interpreted when executed. It is at that point that the
relevant machine language instructions are generated and executed. Machine
language is low-level, C is slightly higher, BASIC is definitely
high-level, things like Powerhouse and other 4GL's are even higher levels
of extraction.
-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Davie <adavie(a)mad.scientist.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Wednesday, 20 January 1999 23:47
Subject: picked up PDP11/23
>Just thought I'd let the list know what I got today
>PDP 11/23 PLUS, with DECSTATION across the front.
>RT01 on top, an RT02 on the bottom.
>Serial number of the machine is 320 - pretty low :)
Nice catch......
>Now, to get the thing running... first I'll have to put a nail across the
>circuit in my fusebox, as I can only run the dishwasher and heater... or
the
>TV and the microwave and the fan... or... you get the idea. The PDP cord
is
>10A, so I'm told :)
You probably have a bit of leeway there, DEC boxes always seem to draw less
than they say on the psu labels. My 6000-320 is 3200w according to the
markings, but it only uses about 500.
Cheers
Geoff Roberts
Computer Room Internet Cafe
Port Pirie
South Australia.
netcafe(a)pirie.mtx.net.
You need to pick a folder on your macintosh and share it. Then on the GS,
you go into appleshare and it will give you a list of the available servers.
The GS can only be an appletalk client, not an appleshare server.
-----Original Message-----
From: Richard A. Cini, Jr. <rcini(a)msn.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Tuesday, January 19, 1999 7:29 PM
Subject: Setting-up AppleTalk?
>Hello, all:
>
> I'd like to try to get my Mac 512k, Apple //gs, and IW-II talking
>together. I have all of the LocalTalk (PhoneNet style) hardware connected
to
>the respective units. However, this is the first time that I'm attempting
>any form of networking on my Apples, so I really don't know where I'm
going.
>
> I know that you have to identify one of the serial ports as LocalTalk.
>I've done this in the //gs Control Panel, and I think that I've done this
on
>the Fat Mac, but what am I supposed to see? How do I know that it works?
>
> Thanks again.
>
>[ Rich Cini/WUGNET
>[ ClubWin!/CW7
>[ MCP Windows 95/Windows Networking
>[ Collector of "classic" computers
>[ http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/
>[ http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/pdp11/
><================ reply separator =================>
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