>One thing, the drive never really seems to *look* for the BOT marker. I
>mean, pressing load causes the drive to immediately rewind a good 8"-1' of
>tape and then stops there. Nothing else.
It's possible that the optical sensors in the tape path are out of
adjustment or simply just dusty. Most tape drives have at least
two sensors, one for the BOT and one for the EOT marker, and some have
a third sensor for "tape present in tape path". If these are giving
nonsensical combinations, (for example, both BOT and EOT at the same time)
the machine is likely to do weird things or fail its self-test.
In some cases, bright light (i.e. direct sunlight) shining into the
tape drive will temporarily screw up these sensors, leading to the classic
stories of "tape drive works in the morning but not in the afternoon"!
--
Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com
Trailing Edge Technology WWW: http://www.trailing-edge.com/
7328 Bradley Blvd Voice: 301-767-5917
Bethesda, MD, USA 20817 Fax: 301-767-5927
Please respond to Tim directly at <astrl3(a)uaa.alaska.edu> if you can help...
>Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 23:18:45 -0800
>From: Tim Long <astrl3(a)UAA.ALASKA.EDU>
>Subject: Acoustic modems?
>
>Hi! I am interested in purchasing an acoustic modem, but I have not been
>able to find one anywhere. First, are there any acoustic modems that are
>compatible with modern IBM-clone PCs? Where could I find one? I have
>checked most of the local used computer stores, but all I have gotten have
>been weird facial expressions from the proprietors, usually followed by,
>"No, we haven't had those in YEARS!" Any information you could give me
>would be greatly appreciated.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Tim Long
>astrl3(a)uaa.alaska.edu
>
>
>
>
--------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/
Is there something wrong with the list?
A) It's unusually quiet
B) I've recently seen people talking about messages I'm fairly certain I
never saw
C) I suspect one or two of my messages never went out
Just testing.....
Jay West
Hello,
The fellow who wrote me the following e-mail saw that I
was looking for Victor calculators on my web site and
wrote me to say he has a Victor PC available. If you have
any interest in this PC, please contact Scott directly
at the e-mail address in his message. In another message
he wrote that the computer does work, and that he would
hate to just throw it in the trash. Hopefully one of you
will find a home for this machine!
Regards,
Alex Knight
Calculator History & Technology Museum Web Page
http://aknight.home.mindspring.com/calc.htm
forwarded message:
From: "Humerickhouse, Scott A" <Scott_Humerickhouse(a)Conseco.com>
>Subject: Victor Computer
>
>Hello,
>I have a Victor 8086 PC that is in very good working condition (I have all
>of the original manuals too). Victor only made computers for a short period
>of time, so I am not sure how much this machine is worth, but it is of no
>use to me anymore. If you would be interested in this PC, please email me
>back.
>
>Thanks,
>Scott
Achtung! Ein heads-up:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: 14 Oct 1999 12:46:52 GMT
From: Christoph Gartmann <gartmann(a)immunbio.mpg.de>
To: Info-PDP11(a)transarc.com
Subject: PDP-11 to give away
Hello,
we have an old PDP-11 here in Freiburg, Germany that we will dump unless
someone is interested to pick it up. Its hard disk is dead that is why it
has to go.
Regards,
Christoph Gartmann
-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Max-Planck-Institut fuer Phone : +49-761-5108-464 Fax: -452 |
| Immunbiologie |
| Postfach 1169 Internet: gartmann(a)immunbio.mpg.de |
| D-79011 Freiburg, FRG |
+------------ http://www.immunbio.mpg.de/english/menue.html -----------+
----------
To unsubscribe (or subscribe) from (to) this list, send a message to
info-pdp11-request(a)village.org, with the first line of the message
body being "unsubscribe" or "subscribe", respectively (without the quotes).
-----Original Message-----
From: Tony Duell <ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Thursday, October 14, 1999 4:56 PM
Subject: Re: Desperate...Help...HP 9-track drive...
>> One of the things I like the least about my collection of Olde
>> Iron, is the amount of time I seem to have to spend
>> diagnosing/repairing vs. enjoying the system. I am a BSEE, and have
>> spent a good deal of my career fixing broken things, and I've paid
>> some dues as a programmer and systems analyst, too... but it's
>> seldom I turn on a system that it doesn't woof it's cookies and go
>> casters up on me.
That's the best part! I get bored quickly with old systems that run. Most of
the minis I get out of plants "operational" are far from operational. I
never board swap so that keeps things interesting. They usually take a few
days to a few weeks to fully restore. Most of them come with poor
software... I spend my days designing hardware/firmware and some software
for new projects so I don't find it too interesting writing Fortran programs
on a teletype.
The Honeywell 316 series *were* my favorite computers because they break
down so often. At one time I had three of them taking turns crapping out.
I think I might be able to enjoy writing some code on the PDP 8/s. For
anyone interested I am setting up a small communications server with a Nova,
the 8/s, and a PDP 11/05 so folks on the internet can telnet into them
(Nova - Basic, 8/s - whatever looks the coolest, PDP 11/05 - RT11 with
MBASIC, maybe a 11/34). Hopefully some folks will appricate logging into the
systems and playing with them.
john
>
>Err, isn't that part of the fun of running old computers. If you want a
>machine that powers up first time, you probably don't want to be running
>some strange 1970's box :-).
>
>Seriously, though, most of my machines are pretty relaible. Yes, I do get
>failures. And I know that sometimes when I turn them on, it's not going
>to work. That's why I have a pile of service manuals, schematics, tools,
>test gear, etc. But 95%+ of the time, things work.
>
>One thing is, I do do a bit of PM. Not in the field service sense of
>changing the filters once a month. But in the sense of checking PSU
>voltages, fan operation, cleaning connectors, etc from time to time. I
>generally completely strip any machine that I get and check for problems
>(power connections hanging on 1 or 2 strands are common, and cause all
>sorts of problems). Then every so often I stick a voltmeter on the PSU
>outputs, just to check.
>
>I don't get that many failures. Oh, the odd chip fails, the odd dry joint
>opens (more often in new stuff, actually). But not that often.
>
>-tony
>
Hi Folks,
You might remember me, I've been maintaining the PDP-11 freeware
archives at ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/academic/computer-science/history/pdp-11/
for the past decade, and I posted a few months ago saying that I was
beta-testing some CD copies of the archives.
Well, the beta-testing is done, I've run off the first batch
of "production" RT-11 CD-R's, and they're now available for sale. I'm hooked
up as a "zShop" through Amazon.com, and you can order the RT-11 CD through
this link:
http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/ts/exchange-glance/Y03Y5462567Y2843157/002…
For a link that's a little easier to remember, and which is hooked to
the above page, try this:
http://www.trailing-edge.com/www/freeware.html
I think the Amazon.com "zShop" concept is really pretty nifty, and if
you order through there with your credit card shipment is almost immediate.
If you prefer to order directly from me, that's also possible; email
me at "shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com" with your name and shipping address,
and I'll hold a copy until your payment ($15.00+$1.50 shipping for
US addresses, or $4.50 for airmail delivery to international addresses)
arrives. At this moment, the only way to pay with credit card is
through Amazon.com.
At the moment, there are 30 CD's ready to ship; if these quickly sell
out, I can run off additional copies as soon as this weekend.
--
Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com
7328 Bradley Blvd WWW: http://www.trailing-edge.com/
Bethesda MD USA 20817 Voice: 301-767-5917
Fax: 301-767-5927
On Oct 13, 11:21, Don Maslin wrote:
> On Wed, 13 Oct 1999, Pete Turnbull wrote:
> > Yes, some people did call this QD, but
> > it isn't a different density at all -- the misnomer comes from people
who
> > don't understand what the words mean. Your numbers for 180K, 360K,
etc,
>
> Pete, since the term QD or Quad Density dates back to at least the North
> Star Horizon, I would submit that it was not people who didn't
> understand but rather who chose to ignore the real meaning and to use
> the term as it was descriptive of the expanded disk capacity.
I remember the use, but it's still a misnomer, and I'm not altogether
convinced. Most non-N* people didn't call those disks QD, as far as I
remember.
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Dept. of Computer Science
University of York
