My MicroVax 1 microVMS 4.1 wont allow me past username password prompt.
My VMS system managers manaul talks about a way yo "Conversational Boot" a
Vax system to enter "SET UAFALTERNATE 1". It shows this beig done from a
SYSBOOT> prompt.
I dont know how to get a SYSBOOT Prompt or Conversational Boot on my
MicroVax I. VMS System managers Manual states that this info is in
"Hardware System installation & operators Guide for (my) specific system. I
don't have this guide.
Is there A FAQ somewhere on breaking in past your username/password prompt
>from microVax console?
Ethan Dicks gave me default SYSTEM MANAGER FIELD SERVICE and SYSTEST UETP
username password pairs, which don't help.
This should be the common case of system manager forgetting Password.
ANY HELP?
Is there a crypyic command structure to intercept sysboot process and make
it "conversational"?
Sincerely Larry Truthan
> the PDP-8/a, I can't generate discreet operations to run the CPU through its
> paces and I can't toggle in simple programs. I have the prints for the
> DKC8AA. Is it feasible to build my own front panel? I don't even have one
> to copy; I'd be guessing the whole way. If I could use the KK8A in the -8/e
> box, I would use _its_ front panel, but that doesn't seem to work either.
Fix the 8E box first. don't worry which board is not working but start
with that box and a minimal configuration.
Forget TTY, Forget OS8, Forget teh full spread of boards just the base CPU
and memory thats all. Make that work then add peices. when they are good
you can transfer them to the 8a. The 8E front pannel is fairly simple and
a logic probe will be adaquate to shoot it if the switches and lights
aren't enough.
Allison
I got this in myh mailbox. It's been a while but maybe someone can still
help this guy. It's a very simple question (except that I've never used any
model of DECWriter)2~.
Please reply to the original sender (he hasn't subscribed to the list yet).
-- Derek
Forwarded message:
> From: "Gary A. Anderson" <GAnderson(a)UMPhysicians.umn.edu>
> To: CLASSICCMP-owner(a)u.washington.edu
> Date: Mon, 8 Nov 1999 09:14:33 -0600
>
> Trying to find out how to save settings on the Digital Decwriter III. Can
> you help or do you know of any who can? Thanks
>
> Gary A. Anderson
> Information Systems
> U of MN. Physicians
> Voice 612 782-6432
> Pager 612 648-2406
> Fax 612 782-9558
-----Original Message-----
From: healyzh(a)aracnet.com <healyzh(a)aracnet.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Tuesday, November 23, 1999 6:53 PM
Subject: Re: Oscilloscopes
>Mike Cheponis wrote:
>> I must say, however, with my digital TDS 210 now, I rarely use the 465
>> unless I need more than 2 traces, and I don't need the digital capture
>> and measurement facilities of the '210 that makes working on the bench
>> -much- more productive.
>
>Well, you seem to like the TDS 210, so I'm curious, which would you
>recommend fixing up the 465B (as seems to be the general advice) or get a
>210? Is there any classic computer gear I'd need a better scope for?
>
Watch used 210s.. Tektronix recalled a huge lot of them (I think almost all
of them) last year as the connection to ground was breaking off inside the
scope (Yikes!). Also, the 210 has a shitty display like my THS720A... it is
LCD and rather fast changing waveforms can look like a band of black on the
screen (very annoying).. The price is right and the storage is nice but the
display is not anywhere near as nice as a CRT.
Best thing to do is go to your local Tek dealer and try out a TDS210 and a
CRT model (maybe even a 694C ;-) ).. See which one your comfortable with
and then buy used if you don't want to spend the bucks.
I don't recommend throwing away a few hundred dollars on an old piece of
junk... you just might get another PDP-8 to fix! ;-)
john
>> > On Tue, 23 Nov 1999 14:45:59 -0800 Al Kossow <aek(a)spies.com> writes:
>> > > Fry's isn't a good place to buy anything. They would be the LAST
>> > > place I'd buy any test gear from.
>
>OK, it's no where near the same class, but they are who I bought my Fluke
>from, they appear to have a good selection of what I hope is new test
>equipment. I do have one rule about buying stuff at Fry's, I don't buy
>anything there if I think I might want to take it back. So far I've not
had
>any real problems, however, the longer they've had their store up here in
>Oregon, the worse their prices seem to be. It's no longer worth it to make
>a trip down there based on prices. But for some things they seem to be the
>best place to go if you want a good selection, and test equipment looks to
>be one of those things.
>
> Zane
>
>
>
>
"Is Fry's a good place to get scopes?"
Fry's isn't a good place to buy anything. They would be the LAST
place I'd buy any test gear from.
I personally think you'll be better off with a late model used
TEK scope (my fav is the 2465A right now) than anything you'd
be able to buy new in your price range.
You should be able to find a 2465 in decent shape for $1000-$1500
Hi all,
I just scored a 6-foot metal, 2-door cabinet that is marked as fireproof.
I'd like to think it'd be a great place to store classic media, but it's
not entirely heat-proof. To test it, I placed a hot clothes iron on the
outer wall and measured the temperature/rate of climb on the inner wall,
as well as the ambient temperature inside the cabinet. It was enough that,
even with a comparatively small heat source (well, to a garage fire,
anyway), anything within a few inches of the inner wall would have most
definitely been damaged, and possibly items close to the center after a
half-hour of exposure to the heat source.
My question is this: is there something anyone could recommend that would
make a good lining for the inner walls of the cabinet to insulate it from
heat? Something that doesn't take up too much room (would kind of defeat
the purpose of having a cabinet to store things in) and would protect the
interior contents in case of a small fire. I don't think there's anything
between the inner and outer walls besides air, though I'm not certain.
Perhaps I could squirt some of that expanding foam in there or something?
Cheers,
Aaron
Having done this I'll weigh in in favor of the older Tek gear. When I had
$1000 in my pocket "destined" for an oscilloscope I surveyed the market and
nearly bough a Kiksui(sp?) scope. It was Korean made and had more bells and
whistles than the Teks in the same price range. I ended up buying a used
465B that still had a valid calibration stamp. After about a month the
horizontal amplifier went out on one of the channels which I had repaired
for about $150. Since then it has worked flawlessly. Later, after my means
had expanded somewhat I went back to the same dealer that was hot on the
Kik scopes and asked him where they had gone, he simply said "away." They
kept coming back (returns) and so he stopped selling them.
So consider taking the 465B to a repair shop and getting a quote. If it is
under $500 it would be a better investment than a "lesser" but newer scope.
--Chuck
--- Jeffrey l Kaneko <jeff.kaneko(a)juno.com> wrote:
> My sentiments exactly.
> I should *never* have sold my 465B. It was in pristine condition,
> and I sorely miss it today. I would seriously look for a *nice*
> 465. They're old, but there were alot of them made, and they're
> pretty reliable (well, I never had any trouble with mine, anyway).
That ain't old... I've got a Tek 317 that I bought at auction about six
or seven years ago... it has an A.E.C. inventory sticker from 1968. The
sign at the auction cashier's window said, "All equipment is guaranteed
to be non-radioactive". Some reassurance. :-)
It didn't come with probes, but a friend of mine at the local university
found me a package of vintage probes, unopened, in a drawer. Probably been
there since they were new.
-ethan
=====
Infinet has been sold. The domain is going away in February.
Please send all replies to
erd(a)iname.com
__________________________________________________
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Yahoo! Shopping.
OK... take two on this...
I've been working with a pile of hex and quad ONMIBUS cards and a PDP-8/e
and PDP-8/a chassis. At one point I had a working machine, but since last
weekend, something new has flaked out.
I have one KK8E board set that passes basic front panel ops, runs an
inchworm program but does not seem to be able to communicate out the
serial port (M8560). I have a KK8A/DKC8AA/KM8A set that appears to
boot floppies, but gives me funny results on the console. The KK8E
processor board set does not seem to want to work in the -8/a box. The
KK8A does not seem to work in the PDP-8/e box (the Load Address switch
increments the MA register; it doesn't load it).
The best I'm getting out of the -8/a right now is to waggle the floppies
a bit, sort of boot, and drop me at an OS/8 dot prompt. This is even true
of the ADVENTURE floppy that was booting last week. When I type commands
at the prompt, none run, but I get odd error messages. One pattern is that
if I type the command "ADVENT" at the prompt on the advent disk, I get back
"ADFEND" - the letters drop a bit. If I attempt to run a command "UUUU", I
get back "EEEE" as an error. Given that if the CPU or memory or RX8E were
bad the system wouldn't boot, it suggests to me that there is a problem
with the DKC8AA.
My biggest problem is that I have schematics, but without a front panel on
the PDP-8/a, I can't generate discreet operations to run the CPU through its
paces and I can't toggle in simple programs. I have the prints for the
DKC8AA. Is it feasible to build my own front panel? I don't even have one
to copy; I'd be guessing the whole way. If I could use the KK8A in the -8/e
box, I would use _its_ front panel, but that doesn't seem to work either.
Does anyone have any helpful advice to get me past this chicken and the egg
problem? I have prints; I have extender cards; I have a scope. I even have
a logic analyzer, but it's not presently at the same place as the -8's. What
I don't have is a combination of PDP-8 hardware that lends itself to
reasonable testing.
As for the PDP-8/e, does anyone have a simple TTY test routine? I could
write one, but I'd love to see one that has stood the test of time. As I
mentioned above, the inchworm runs fine. I'm presently using all quad cards
except for an MS8-C 32K MOS memory card; I have core, but I don't know where
the box of overhead connectors got left - I only know where three connectors
are and the CPU needs two. I do happen to have a couple of Heathkit backplane
connectors I can wire together, but I'm still short enough to do a proper job.
For now, the MOS memory seems to work fine; it's the M865 and M8650 that I'm
looking into.
Thanks in advance,
-ethan
=====
Infinet has been sold. The domain is going away in February.
Please send all replies to
erd(a)iname.com
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place.
Yahoo! Shopping.
<good at looking at the color burst of a video signal in any detail. Again,
<find most folks design/troubleshoot in a variety of areas and that's why w
<need scopes with all the toys. I don't see Tek making any more 20Mhz boxes
Two things. 465 is not a 20mhz scope though Tek made many slower ones.
A 20mhz scope is fast enough to look at the main clock of an 8/e/f/m.
I use it for faster stuff knowing it will smear a bit after all it is
20mhz at 3db...
I can be a snob and buy a heavy gun, had one. The problem is the FEW
times I need it I can borrow a nice 7400, or anything else that suits
me. The rest of the time it would sit if I had it. For the bulk of what
I do the B&K2120 is plenty good enough. If anything I'd consider a digital
o-scope not for fast events but the painfully slow where the storage mode
would be real nice. When you consider most of the systems I'm like to pull
the scope out for are PDP-8, or z80(4mhz) speeds a scope better than
40-50mhz is wasted anyway. The fast stuff I play with really wants the
16 or more traces of the logic analyser anyway.
I'd say this, buy what you can afford, newer is better. Best is if you
can try it before you buy it. Buying used, if it's too old, good or not
maintenance can be painful. I saw the writing on the wall with the 465,
great scope but age is a potential problem for maintenance. Something
newer will also stay calibrated longer too. Also for the electronically
inexperienced servicing something like that can be more than a beginers
project plus a distraction from the real task.
Oh, the money I didn't spend on a scope was spent on other toys like RF
sources and the like.
Allison
