test-drb November 1999

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

211 participants
749 discussions

by jfoust＠threedee.com

I've been unable to receive anything from the CCC listproc for about a month. When I send to the listproc, I don't even get a response. My mail unblocked for a few days at the beginning of this after we tweaked something at my ISP, but then it stopped again, and now I'm not sure what's the root of the problem. I tried to get a response fom Derek Peschel but he must be busy or missed my message. Does anyone know an admin at U-Wash who might be able to tell me why the listproc is rejecting mail addressed to me? An alternative mailing address for me is mr128(a)yahoo.com . - John

25 years, 1 month

DEC field service (was Re: HP's not cool? (was Re: pdp-11/60 Semi-Rescue))

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<> > ...And you folks make fun of old DEC Field Service guys 8-( <> <> No, the OLD field service guys were great. (At least, many of them <> were.) I had the honor of working with a number of the old guard Field engineers that knew the pointy end of a soldering iron from a scope probe. There were few left by the late 80s that could still setup flight times for the hammers on the big printers or setup a unibus crate. Then there were the new kids that we wouldn't let have more than basic screwdrivers. Allison

25 years, 1 month

HP's not cool? (was Re: pdp-11/60 Semi-Rescue)

by cem14＠cornell.edu

"Tony Duell" wrote: > Just a pity that modern HP stuff is nowhere near as good, and that their > support at the moment is a total joke. > > -tony Like others, I also disagree, at least in part. I think that it is pretty clear that "consumer electronics" HP products that are marketed for home use (Pavillions, IDE CDrom burners and the like) are awful in terms of quality. One of the most deplorable products that they have ever put out is the craddle for the HP 320LX and other such palmtops. Due to a design flaw, it can be easily bent along a certain axis, resulting in poor, intermittent connection and corresponding profanity by the user. Easily the worst mechanical design I have ever seen. But the enterprise-level stuff is still pretty robust (and, as always, $$pricey$$ ). In the computer and electronics labs here, where stuff undergoes inhumane abuse by students, it is still the HP equipment that lasts longest. Most, if not all, of the 715's and 720's that were bought ca. 1993 are still working. I don't remember any that was retired due to malfunction; rather, people upgraded. I have a stand-alone 735 that has been down two times since 1995, once because of a power failure that downed every machine in the building and another because of an OS upgrade. The newer workstations seem to be just as reliable by the account of my colleagues. Regarding your hp49, isn't this the first model churned out by the calculator division after its relocation to Australia? I agree that materials and durability have been downgraded; the 48SX is known for its easy-to-crack LCD, and I imagine that the 49 is worse. Like Joe, the last hp calculator that I really like is the hp71b. Which "advertised feature" did you not find in the 49? -- Carlos Murillo-Sanchez email: cem14(a)cornell.edu 428 Phillips Hall, Electrical Engineering Department Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853

25 years, 1 month

E.U.N.U.C.H.

by allisonp＠world.std.com

For laughs I've been running a 486dx/33 (intel) at 66mhz in a dell box. The only mod if the heat sink is a moose I had and its attached to the chip using a BEo filled thermal epoxy. Runs cool and it's solid. I've tried that in a socket5 Mb I have using a 486dx2/50 at 100mhz, seems fine after three months. The cooling is not big a problem. I consider both abuse, but hey I have a few. Besides I've done that before with 8085s and Z80s with no ill effects. Allison

25 years, 1 month

lasner@unc.edu ?

by IVIE＠cc.usu.edu

> This came up at dinner with Eric Smith on Friday. Is Charles Lasner > (lasner(a)unc.edu) still with us? I have a bad feeling about this.. > This email adr doesn't work any more, and the last posting from him > was in 1996. I've heard nothing from him since about that time. I've also asked this question several times over the last few years and never received a definitive response. Roger Ivie ivie(a)cc.usu.edu

25 years, 1 month

Racks ?

by truthanl＠oclc.org

24" wide cabinet are typically Telephone equipment racks. -----Original Message----- From: lwalker(a)interlog.com [mailto:lwalker@interlog.com] Sent: Sunday, November 21, 1999 10:40 AM To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers Subject: Racks ? I've been offered 2 castored racks by the owner of the place I am using temporarily for storage, which were abandoned by a previous occupant. They are about 5' high by 24'' wide with lockable front and rear doors. One of the rear doors had been forced open and I only got a quick glance inside. I made out a micropolis(IIRC) mfr. label on one module and a large "PDP 4800" stencil on another one which looked like a PSU. There were about 20 DB25 cables connected to one of the modules. I'm a complete novice when it comes to mini's, and due to storage space limitations plus that I would also have to remove them when I vacate my locker I've been reluctant to take them. Anyone have any idea on what they might be ? I realize this is not much info and will be looking at them again when I have a flashlight and a means of forcing open a front door panel. ciao larry

25 years, 1 month

lasner@unc.edu ?

by CLASSICCMP＠trailing-edge.com

>This came up at dinner with Eric Smith on Friday. Is Charles Lasner >(lasner(a)unc.edu) still with us? I have a bad feeling about this.. >This email adr doesn't work any more, and the last posting from him >was in 1996. You might try "lasner(a)metalab.unc.edu". From my account there: $ run [.fish]fish _Host: login.metalab.unc.edu _Port: Connected to host titan.metalab.unc.edu, port 22. Remote version: SSH-1.5-1.2.26 %FISH-I-INFO, Exchanging Keys %FISH-I-INFO, Cipher: blowfish Logging in as user shoppa Password: %FISH-I-INFO, Entering interactive mode Last login: Tue Nov 16 22:17:33 1999 from timaxp.trailing- No mail. Sun Microsystems Inc. SunOS 5.6 Generic August 1997 NOTICE - We are no longer sunsite.unc.edu; we are now MetaLab.unc.edu Be sure to make all new links, e-mail, etc refer to MetaLab.unc.edu [titan.oit.unc.edu]</export/sunsite/users/shoppa>% finger lasner Login name: lasner In real life: Charles Lasner Directory: /export/sunsite/users/lasner Shell: /bin/ksh Last login Mon Nov 22 01:48 on 2 from 216-59-45-177.us No unread mail No Plan. -- 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

25 years, 1 month

11/60 Rescued!

by mcquiggi＠sfu.ca

Hi Gang: It is with pleasure that I report that the pdp-11/60 in Vancouver has been rescued! Eric Smith flew up from San Jose today, and we rescued the beast, moving it to a temporary storage locker until Eric can re-attend and drive it back down south. It was a _very_ long day, especially for Eric, what with flying etc. We were fortunate that the person with the machine, Dallas Hinton, lives next to a lumberyard. He has good relations with the staff, and was able to borrow a forklift (and operator) from them. This made loading the behemoth (CPU unit about 600 lbs) quite easy. Also picked up were two RK06 drives, a Dilog front-loading high density tape drive, VT52, DECwriter II and III, boxes and boxes of docs, software, and disk packs. The only rental truck available on 1 day notice was a 5 ton monster from Ryder. The gear fit easily in the back. We roped it in as best as possible, but alas during the 7 mile drive between Dallas' and the storage locker place, the CPU unit broke its ropes, and despite being restrained by boxes of docs and the terminals, rolled around and dented the back of the tape drive unit. No real damage was done, and the load arrived intact. The next challenge was getting the CPU cabinet and other units down the ramp at the back of the truck - no liftgate available, and no forklift at the mom-n-pop self storage. So Eric and I gritted our teeth and with much physical effort managed to roll the units down the ramp _without_ having them either collapse the ramp or fall off to either side. The other stuff was moved much more easily, and all of it (save some docs which Eric wanted to get home for review) is now safely stored. The machine is in great shape, has all panels, doors. We didn't have a camera available, due to the short notice. I'll try to take some photos once Eric comes back to drive the machine down to San Jose. A liftgate equipped truck will be mandatory - we'd never be able to get the machine back up the ramp by pushing/pulling. Hmmm a block and tackle or winch might work too... Thanks to Dallas Hinton, and the folks on the list who wrote in support of saving this old machine. Great thanks to Eric for making the supreme short notice effort to come up and get the 11/60! The scrap dealer is still coming to Dallas' place on Monday, but now it'll only be for some broken old Wang terminals (not worth saving, you had to see them, trust me!). That's it from Vancouver, Kevin -- Kevin McQuiggin VE7ZD mcquiggi(a)sfu.ca

25 years, 1 month

Panasonic 8" Floppy Drive

by edick＠idcomm.com

I never gave this much thought because I have a compaticard, though I have never used it. I've taken it out of the box, though, hence the manual, floppy, and board are all in different (and unknown) places. There's no doubt that the 765, which is the controller on which essentially all PC FD controllers is definitely SD capable, since it's also used in one of my S-100 systems where it does SD every day. Surely there's some way to fool the FDC, perhaps by talking to it directly to accomplish a few simple operaitons, which will enable you to read/write SD 8" diskettes. I say this because the data rate for SD 8" is the same as for DD 5-1/4, so the clock must be there. The rest has got to be software once you've got the cable made. Dick -----Original Message----- From: Don Maslin <donm(a)cts.com> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Sunday, November 21, 1999 4:44 PM Subject: Re: Panasonic 8" Floppy Drive > > >On Sun, 21 Nov 1999, Olminkhof wrote: > >> I've found a box with 2 x 8" floppy drives. . . . external to some unknown >> computer. >> >> The box is a Panasonic JB3038P and inside are 2 X JA751 drives. >> The drive connectors and the cable coming out of the box are all 50 pin, >> exactly like an internal SCSI cable. Unfortunately it isn't recognised by a >> SCSI controller, at least not without fiddling with parity and stuff like >> that. >> >> Does anyone know what this might have been for? >> >> SCSI 8" floppy drives would have been great cos I don't think I'm ever going >> to find a compaticard ! >> >> Hans > >You may not even need a CompatiCard, depending upon the disks that you >intend to read. You 'wire weave' a cable between a 50-pin SA800 >connector and the usual 34-pin FDC connector using the information >below: > >******************************************************************** > > The following table is extracted from the CompatiCard manual: > > Card 34 37 50 8 Inch Drive >Signal Name Pin Pin Direction Pin Signal Name >======================================================================== >Programmable 2 3 ---> 2 Low Current >Index 8 6 <--- 20 Index >Drive Select 1/3 12 8 ---> 28 Drive Select 2 >Motor Enable 1/3 16 10 ---> 18 Head Load >Step Direction 18 11 ---> 34 Direction Select >Step Pulse 20 12 ---> 36 Step >Write Data 22 13 ---> 38 Write Data > >Write Enable 24 14 ---> 40 Write Gate >Track 0 26 15 <--- 42 Track 0 >Write Protect 28 16 <--- 44 Write Protect >Read Data 30 17 <--- 46 Read Data >Select Head 1 32 18 ---> 14 Side Select > >Connect odd number pins of 34 pin connector to odds of 50 pin connector >Connect pins 21/37 of the DB-37 to all the odd pins on 50 pin connector > >************************************************************************ > >If the disks you intend to read are double density a HD (1.2mb/1.44mb) >capable FDC should work fine. If they are SD, you may be in some >difficulty. However, there are 8-bit HD capable FDCs with onboard BIOS >that are capable of handling that also. > > - don > >

25 years, 1 month

lasner@unc.edu ?

by aek＠spies.com

This came up at dinner with Eric Smith on Friday. Is Charles Lasner (lasner(a)unc.edu) still with us? I have a bad feeling about this.. This email adr doesn't work any more, and the last posting from him was in 1996.

25 years, 1 month

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test-drb November 1999