test-drb December 1999

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

186 participants
742 discussions

by aek＠spies.com

"Note: photos of actual machines will be posted at this same URL " Do you have an inventory of the documentation/software that came with the machines?

24 years, 6 months

OT (by a year or so) Electronics/Keyboard Interface Question

by af-list＠wfi-inc.com

Hi, Can anyone explain to me what make a PC recognize whether there's a keyboard attached or not? Is it something as simple as current/voltage, or does the bios actually have to receive some kind of recognizable signal >from the keyboard? I have a vintage ThinkPad that doesn't like my external keyboard, yet it works fine with other external keyboards that I've tried. Mine works fine on another system... As always, any help would really be appreciated, Aaron

24 years, 6 months

Oldest machine I've ever seen for sale...

by f.bonomi＠agora.stm.it

It seems that nobody has noticed that on ebay is going for sale an IBM 604 calculator. This is the oldest electronic machine I've never seen for sale, and if it weren't for an ocean dividing me and it... The IBM 604 was launched in 1948, and kept in commerce up to about 1953. It's about 2000 pounds total, 1400 tubes, a programmable calculator reading programs out of an punch reader (offered in this sale). There is a specimen of this machine at this dutch computer museum, with a photo of the little thing: http://www.wins.uva.nl/faculteit/museum/604.html This is how IBM depicts the 604 in it's own history: http://www.ibm.com/IBM/history/timeline.nsf/products2 The specimen on ebay has the 521 card punch/reader. This is the description of the seller: >IBM 604 weights 1300 pounds. LxWxH 52 1/4" x 31" x 60". >IBM 521 weights 740 pounds. LxWxH 41" x 25 1/2" x 50". >They require 220 volts & draw 36 amps running & 30 amps >at idle. These 1950s era EAM machines have around 1,000 >glass tubes & will heat up a room quickly. Sold as is, >may not be complete, some manuals but no parts catalogs. >This pair probably has not been used in 20 years. I repair >IBM card punches but not these babies! The machine is in Santa Fe, Texas, and the current bid is $224, ridiculously low if you consider that a single IBM tube of that series has been sold for up to $170 on ebay, and there is one currently going for $50. There are 1400 of them in the machine, and if somebody here does not act I am afraid the machine will be bought and cannibalized to sell pieces! There is still 1 day, 5 hours to the sale close! This is the ebay URL: http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=219958046 Ciao Francesco Bonomi (from Italy) PS please let it be clear to anyone that I am not the seller; I just would like to be the buyer, but I can't becaus of obvious distance problems!

24 years, 6 months

DEC/Compaq Collection arrives!

by spicer＠computerhistory.org

Hi Everyone! Just an update on the great DEC/Compaq collection that arrived last week >from New Hamsphire. Over 90,000 lbs of historical DEC hardware arrived thanks to a generous grant to cover shipping from Compaq. Mike Zahares of TransTech, our North American Van Lines agent, did his usual brilliant job of making sure everything was handled with kid gloves over the 3,000 mile journey! Thanks to the many volunteers who helped in the receiving of these rare artifacts, they now have a permanent home (the artifacts, not the volunteers! Although some volunteers _do_ seem to live here!) :_) Special thanks, therefore, to: Lee Courtney, Bill Pitts, Bobbi and Steve Rabinowitz, Charlie Pefferkorn, Jake Feinler, Mark Schaeffer, Ron Mak, Rob Shaw, Ken Sumrall, Al Kossow, Grant Saviers, Joe Frederik, John C. Green, Sam Ismail, Mike Baxter, Eli Goldberg, Ed Thelen, John Francis, Wayne Chin, Bob Joslin, Thomas J. Ackermann, Mike Zahares, Len Shustek, Mason Brown, Bud Warashina, and LaFarr Stuart. Forgive me if I have forgotten anyone! And History Center staffers Karen Mathews, Wendy-Ann Francis, Jack Hotchkiss, and Chris Garcia all pitched in and made sure the project went off without a hitch. Without all the hundreds of hours of help from these volunteers, who believe so firmly in the preservation of computer history, we could not have done this! Pictures of the arrival are available at: http://www.computerhistory.org/events/latest/ Note: photos of actual machines will be posted at this same URL on or about January 13th so check back then--we are creating a new exhibit on the DEC contributions to computing that opens to the public on that day! Thanks everyone for your support! Hope to see you at the Center or on-line soon... Sincerely, Dag. -- Dag Spicer Curator & Manager of Historical Collections Editorial Board, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing The Computer Museum History Center Building T12-A NASA Ames Research Center Mountain View, CA 94035 Offices: Building T12-A Exhibit Area: Building 126 Tel: +1 650 604 2578 Fax: +1 650 604 2594 E-m: spicer(a)computerhistory.org WWW: http://www.computerhistory.org <spicer(a)tcm.org> PGP: 15E31235 (E6ECDF74 349D1667 260759AD 7D04C178) S/V T12 Read about the latest History Center developments in "CORE," our quarterly on-line newsletter: http://www.computerhistory.org/events/core/1.1/

24 years, 6 months

Some questions...

by xds_sigma7＠hotmail.com

OK, First, does anyone have docs/software for and FPS 5300 Array Processor? I know what it is and what it does, but I need more than that.. lol... Second, anyone have manuals and software for the Professional 325? I need them badly... Third, same for Honeywell DPS-6/54... Fourth, I need an Interdata 7/32C front panel. Fifith, an Interdata card reader. 6th, an Interdata line printer. 7th, some Data General binders circa Nova 1210, if such critters exist, to house my docs for said machine. 8th, advice on whether or not I should try to restore a VAX 8650, its currently upside down and cardless, but I have more than half of the cards and it doesn't look rusty or anything.. also 2 Unibus cabinets, 2 SBI cabinets, and the FEP.. Will J ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

24 years, 6 months

Please help me clean out!

by jeff.kaneko＠juno.com

On Sun, 19 Dec 1999 16:19:42 -0800 Bruce Lane <kyrrin(a)bluefeathertech.com> writes: > Three DSD-880's with multiple manuals and diagnostic disks. > Also included is a DEC-produced VHS training video on how to service the beasties, > and at least one each of UniBus and Q-bus controllers for them (I say at > least because I'm not sure how many of each I have). I will also include > rack slides for the lot. Do you think you could make a copy of the manual for the DSD-880 for me? I'll pick up postage, plus a little extra for your time . . . . You sure make me wish to hell I lived in the pacific northwest. I really would have *loved* to grab some of the stuff off of the 'LIST'. Thanks Jeff ___________________________________________________________________ Why pay more to get Web access? Try Juno for FREE -- then it's just $9.95/month if you act NOW! Get your free software today: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.

24 years, 6 months

Honeywell Bull:Laptop

by truthanl＠oclc.org

Can you format one 1.44MB down to 720K? Early Laptops had 720 K diskettes. Should be a format switch like / 720 or s:720 -----Original Message----- From: mark belles [mailto:mrbelles@pittstate.edu] Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 1999 11:15 AM To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers Subject: Honeywell Bull:Laptop Hey, Anybody familiar with the Zenith Data Systems line of Honeywell Bull laptop computers? I just recently got one from a friend, complete with an inkjet printer. I have pretty much all the specs/manuals that originally came with it. No software. I booted it up for the first time and got into the BIOS and fiddled with it enough for it to boot. It had DOS installed on it. Does anyone know if that is the original OS, if not what was it? Now here's the problem, when it boots now I can't get into BIOS or even into the system monitor program. I have tried boot disks, nothing. I can't get it to read the disk. hard disk or floppy. The boot disks I have tried have all been 1.44 mb, do you think that maybe a low density disk would make a difference, and if so does anyone know where I can get my hands on one? Anyone have any ideas? Sure could use some advice! Thanks, Mark Belles

24 years, 6 months

One TTY problem down, one to go

by ethan_dicks＠yahoo.com

--- Tony Duell <ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote: > > > > > The platten, at least on friction-feed models, is a plastic moulding and > it's very unlikely to bent (I have had one break off at the end :-(). My concern is that something heavy may have been left on this thing for multiple months/years and bent the plastic over time. I don't know this for certain, but when I got home, the cover was broken (crack in the clear acrylic panel at a corner, small bits broken off the opaque cover adjacent). I'll disengage the heavy spring from the front ratchet and see how freely this platten turns. For my tests last night, I was turning the platten manually with a light grip on the feed knob and, depending on the angular position of the platten, sometimes the platten would turn, other times, my hand would slip on the knob. With the plattens exchanged, the better unit turns easily and freely about the whole revolution and didn't miss a single line feed in several feet of tests. > Most likely there's uneven waer or stickyness on the ratchet teeth on the > platten. This is a common problem and causes the feed pawl to stick. It is not stickiness on the ratchet teeth. I remove the platten and cleaned each tooth with a cloth and blunt stick. It could be uneven wear. > > I did discover that you need to remove the print mechanism > > from the base to get access to a spring... > > Actually, you can take the linkage apart above the chassis and leave the > spring connected underneath. It's a bit of a fiddle to get it back, though. I saw that the linkage could be disassembled, but at least this way, I didn't have to readjust the tolerances. Fortunately, I think this is a one-time job. > Take off the ribbon. Optionally (but I always do it because it makes life > easier) take off the ribbon feed mechanism by loosening the 2 screws under > the front edge and lifting it up and out. Got that already. > Unhook the carriage return spring... Easy enough. > (This bit is not in the manuals AFAIK, but it's essential). Pull out the > rubber insert from the damper piston on the left side of the carriage. An important tip. Many thanks. -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: http://shopping.yahoo.com

24 years, 6 months

Honeywell Bull:Laptop

by mrbelles＠pittstate.edu

Hey, Anybody familiar with the Zenith Data Systems line of Honeywell Bull laptop computers? I just recently got one from a friend, complete with an inkjet printer. I have pretty much all the specs/manuals that originally came with it. No software. I booted it up for the first time and got into the BIOS and fiddled with it enough for it to boot. It had DOS installed on it. Does anyone know if that is the original OS, if not what was it? Now here's the problem, when it boots now I can't get into BIOS or even into the system monitor program. I have tried boot disks, nothing. I can't get it to read the disk. hard disk or floppy. The boot disks I have tried have all been 1.44 mb, do you think that maybe a low density disk would make a difference, and if so does anyone know where I can get my hands on one? Anyone have any ideas? Sure could use some advice! Thanks, Mark Belles

24 years, 6 months

Speaking of "big iron" emulators

by aek＠spies.com

I don't know of any simulators for the Univac 36 bit series. It would be an interesting project, though. I wonder how much documentationf or the original ERA machine still exists. Exec 8 or it's descendents may be tough to find, though.

24 years, 6 months

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test-drb December 1999