I have pulled quite a few of these out of machines. I believe they are SASI
and control two MFM hard drives and a floppy set. The largest hard drive I
have seen hooked up is the Quantum 540. Normally the floppies were DSDD 360s
but I believe it would work with single density and single sided.
I have no documentation.
Paxton
Alright,
1. Thanks for reading this junk posting, for that I apologize.
2. How do I unsubscribe from this list?
- which address?
3. command word? -> unsubscribe classiccmp
- ???
I have tried several times to unsubscribe. This list is simply swamping
my mail server. Can't handle all of the messages. It's been fun reading
all this stuff, you all certainly know a lot of S!@#. Just tell me how
to get off the mailing list. Flame all you want...I just want off this
list!
Addresses tried ->
listproc(a)listproc.listproc.net
classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu
Peace...
Going through a box of disk interface cards, I ran across a couple of these
DTC 520As. Cursory examination shows a 50-pin connector (J4) with two
termination resistors (220/330), two 20-pin connectors (J2, J3) which are
presumably analog data for two ST506 drives and two 34-pin connectors (J1
and J9). I would expect that J1 is the control cable that goes with J2 and
J3. I suspect that J9 is for floppies. The major chips are two 8255s, one
8085, one DTC-037, one NEC D765, one FDC-043, one DTC MSA 2827G, an AMD P8353,
and an AMD AM9517. There are several chips with the numbers covered by type-
written numbers, PALs and ROMs, no doubt.
There are 8 LEDs in a row by the power connector and an 8-position DIP switch.
Based on the names of most of the signals, I'd say the 50-pin host interface
connector is for an early version of SASI or SCSI but done tenuously enough
that there was margin for going with a standard when one evolved. The
manual in my possession is dated January 16. 1980. They didn't have a
standard then, and, in fact SCSI was still pretty much of an illusion at the
time. I'd guess it's a safe bet that this one will work with SASI hardware
or even with some SCSI hardware. I doubt that it will work with most
state-machine-driven interface devices, since some of the signals are not
present, and, frankly, this interface is far enough off the mark that it
probably needs a programmed I/O sequence to handle it.
Dick
-----Original Message-----
From: allisonp(a)world.std.com <allisonp(a)world.std.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Wednesday, December 15, 1999 7:01 AM
Subject: Re: DTC 520A - SASI or SCSI?
>
>Ok,
>
>Likely that is something else. I'd expect the 34pin to be floppy and
>maybe MFM hard disk.
>
>The 50pin could be... QIC02, QIC24 or maybe the old Hard disk interface
>used for the 8" hard disks (SMD?) like the SA4000.
>
>!983 SCSI ws likely SASI, but many tapes and disks used a 50pin parallel
>like interface back then too.
>
>Allison
>
>
>On Tue, 14 Dec 1999, Ethan Dicks wrote:
>
>>
>> Going through a box of disk interface cards, I ran across a couple of
these
>> DTC 520As. Cursory examination shows a 50-pin connector (J4) with two
>> termination resistors (220/330), two 20-pin connectors (J2, J3) which are
>> presumably analog data for two ST506 drives and two 34-pin connectors (J1
>> and J9). I would expect that J1 is the control cable that goes with J2
and
>> J3. I suspect that J9 is for floppies. The major chips are two 8255s,
one
>> 8085, one DTC-037, one NEC D765, one FDC-043, one DTC MSA 2827G, an AMD
P8353,
>> and an AMD AM9517. There are several chips with the numbers covered by
type-
>> written numbers, PALs and ROMs, no doubt.
>>
>> There are 8 LEDs in a row by the power connector and an 8-position DIP
switch.
>>
>> >From the date codes, it appears to have been made near the end of 1983.
>>
>> Can anyone shed any additional light on this device? Knowing what this
was
>> expecting to hook up to and how to set the DIP switches would be a great
help.
>>
>> 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
>>
>
The PDP-8/L restoration continues. I have two devices to attach to my -8/L
for testing - a VT220 (all have 20mA current-loop connectors) and an ASR-33.
One problem: the connector on the VT220 is female and the cable coming from
the ASR-33 is male. While this might not seem like a problem, it becomes one
when I have to use either device from the same W076 card. Many years ago, I
rigged up a working *male* cable from a W076 card for use with this VT220. It
still works. I have a quick-n-dirty Switch Register->TTY test program and
can emit all sorts of ASCII characters for testing. When I stick a different
W076 card in the -8/L, one with a female connector, within the limitations
of this particular ASR-33, all is well (the type cylinder doesn't always
retract all the way, nor does the hammer always return to the proper position,
but I currently suspect that the replacement rubber pad I have attached to the
lever arm/hammer does not have the correct resiliency).
So... my first goal is to come up with some cables that will solve my W076
problem. Is there a good 20mA primer out there? I have a basic understanding
that it's all based on 12VDC loops, send and receive take four wires, but
there are six coming out of the W076 card... the extra two are reader-run
relay signals, obviously not needed for a VT220, but very important for the
ASR-33.
A) Is there a color standard for the 20mA connector cabling? I have three
W076 cards with three different arrangements.
B) When I make a pin-one-to-pin-one male-to-male 20mA cable, it does *not*
work with the female-equipped W076 and the VT220. A few moments with a DVM
show that the arrangement of a W076 and my straight-through cable do not
match the pinout of my long-ago-homemade W076-to-male connector that does work
with the VT220. Is there a special wiring trick for male-to-male 20mA cables?
C) Somewhere, I have a small box of 20mA cables that have, IIRC, four
conductors. Presumably, these are for VT52s. I have no reason to expect
that they won't work with the VT220, once I find them. I take it, then, that
in the "old days", one never used an ASR-33 as a tape input device except on
the console interface? I'm thinking of some of the ancient distribution panels
for other DEC serial cards that had EIA (RS-232) _or_ current-loop connectors.
Am I missing something?
Right now, because my TTY print mechanism is acting up (must press down on the
type cylinder between chars, and the line-feed mechanism sticks 20% of the
time)
I have been testing by inserting one W076 in the backplane for paper tape
reads and the other W076 in the backplane for interactive testing. Obviously,
this can't go on forever. I suppose I could rig up a *really* bizarre cable
that sends the output to the VT220 and takes input from the TTY. Maybe I'll
just work that angle. It would save on paper. I don't have much cause to
punch stuff right now, and until I get the primary box working I won't even
attempt to attach my outboard 8Kw to this CPU (the eventual goal of all of this
is to set up for 8K-papertape-BASIC and play Star Trek. I have all the tapes
to do this, but I do have to replace the floating-point tape that tore the last
time I loaded it (a long, sliver of a tear, not a perpendicular, parting tear).
I still know next to nothing about the pr/s01 except that it is *not* 110
baud. Another one of my ancient projects is to replace the M452 variable
clock module with a home-made digital baudrate generator. I suppose I'd
have to wire a switch on the backplane as well to select the M706/M707 from
two stop bits to one when the baud rate was 150 or higher, but I have a
prototype module and I have the COM 8116 clock chip and I have the proper
crystal to drive it. What remains (besides sitting down and finally *making*
it) is to decide if I want to build in the ability to drive transmit and
receive at different rates as was common with VT52s. I could receive at 150
or 300 baud and transmit as fast as possible, perhaps 9600 (I'd have to look
into the M706/M707 designs to even hazard a guess, but even 150/2400 is an
improvement). The goal would be to be able to use the pr/s01 with a TTL -8.
-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
Hello -
I have 2 LaserPrinter Font Cards (p/n 1255806) you may have for shipping
if they'll work.
Typeface Pitch Point FGID
Orator Bold 6.5 18 435
Orator Bold 8.1 16 434
Orator 10 14 005
john
In-Reply-To: <19991214201001.B25956(a)mrbill.net>; from mrbill(a)mrbill.net on Tue, Dec 14, 1999 at 08:10:01PM -0600
On Tue, Dec 14, 1999 at 08:10:01PM -0600, Bill Bradford wrote:
> Anybody know anything about these? I just picked up six of them for
> $25 , with two fuser units and no toner carts, and a "4216 Personal
> Pageprinter Technical Reference". Five of the printers have a strange
> 15-pin D-sub connector that resembles an AUI or PC joystick port, with
> a set of DIP switches beside it. The sixth has normal serial/parallel
> interface connectors. None of these printers have ever been used; some
> are still in the original plastic "bag" wrappings. They date from around
> 1988.
>
> My question is - whats the strange 15-pin interface, and do I have any
> chance of hooking it to a PC or similar machine ? I got these so cheap
> because the guy who had them was going to toss them, and I hate to see
> stuff get tossed. Hopefully they'll turn into something useful.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Bill
>
> --
> Bill Bradford * mrbill(a)mrbill.net / http://www.mrbill.net
> mrbill(a)sunhelp.org / http://www.sunhelp.org
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> "Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to using
> Windows NT for mission-critical applications."
> -- What Yoda *meant* to say
--
***********************************************************************
* John Ott * Email: jott(a)saturn.ee.nd.edu *
* Dept. Electrical Engineering * *
* 275 Fitzpatrick Hall * *
* University of Notre Dame * Phone: (219) 631-7752 *
* Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA * *
***********************************************************************
Bill Gates dies and is at the pearly gates talking with Saint Peter.
Saint Peter says, "Bill, you've done some wonderful things in your life and
have earned the right to choose where you'll spend the rest of eternity.
You can choose between Heaven or Hell, but choose wisely." Bill looks over
Saint Peter's shoulder between the pearly gates and sees nothing but a lush
green meadow. Deciding to heed Saint Peter's words, Bill asks if he could
take a look at Hell. Saint Peter agrees and sends Bill to Hell. The Devil
greets Bill at the gates of Hell and he is immediately taken aback. Much to
his surprise, there's one heck of a party going on. People are dancing, the
alcohol is flowing, music is non-stop and everyone is having a blast. Bill
returns to Heaven to again discuss his decision with Saint Peter. He again
looks over Saint Peter's shoulder and sees only a lush green meadow. Bill
says to Saint Peter, "I've put a lot of thought into this decision and it
may sound foolish, but I'd like to spend the rest of eternity in Hell."
Saint Peter fulfills Bill's request and returns him to Hell. When Bill gets
back to Hell there's been a big change. People are writhing in agony,
flames are burning, moans of pain and despair are everywhere. Bill, being
quite shocked
at the sight asks the Devil, "What happened?? I was just down here a little
while ago and everyone was having a great time!" The Devil says, "Oh
that... That was just the demo!"
Ethan,
The 20 ma current loop is not always 12 Volt loops - its 20 ma Loops.
I have the IBM tech ref for the IBM PC Asynch Port which shows one Cuurent
Loop interface implemented on
25 pin D-shell pins 9,11, 18 & 25. (Only when an option jumper block selects
current loop.)
For Xmit they have 8250 (ttl) S-OUT buffered through an LS125. The LS125
output "fans out" feeding both the RS-232 driver as well as three 7406
inverters in parallel for "ample" 20ma drive. In series beyond the three ||
7406 inverters is a 100 ohm resistor routed to pin 11 labelled " - xmit CL
out". Pin 9 labelled "+ xmit CL ret" is pulled high to 5V through a 49.9
Ohm resistor.
For RX they show an opto coupler, a 20 ma diode anode tied to pin 18
labelled "+ RCV CL data. Its cathode is tied to pin 25, labelled "-RCV CL
ret". The switching transistor of the opto coupler drives the input (Low)on
an LS04 inverter which is routed through jumper selection to "serial in"
(SIN)on the 8250.
So you need to determine if your third CL pair drives, or reads, the
"reader" relays. Each pair is either a source or a sink for current.
Another good source for reference on computer controls interfacing is a
Burr- Brown publication called "The Handbook of Personal Computer
Instrumentation" I have a spare Fourth edition Published in 1989. Stop by
OCLC and pick it up.
Sincerely
Larry Truthan
-----Original Message-----
From: Ethan Dicks [mailto:ethan_dicks@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 1999 2:03 AM
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
Subject: 20mA cabling questions
The PDP-8/L restoration continues. I have two devices to attach to my -8/L
for testing - a VT220 (all have 20mA current-loop connectors) and an ASR-33.
One problem: the connector on the VT220 is female and the cable coming from
the ASR-33 is male. While this might not seem like a problem, it becomes
one
when I have to use either device from the same W076 card. Many years ago, I
rigged up a working *male* cable from a W076 card for use with this VT220.
It
still works. I have a quick-n-dirty Switch Register->TTY test program and
can emit all sorts of ASCII characters for testing. When I stick a
different
W076 card in the -8/L, one with a female connector, within the limitations
of this particular ASR-33, all is well (the type cylinder doesn't always
retract all the way, nor does the hammer always return to the proper
position,
but I currently suspect that the replacement rubber pad I have attached to
the
lever arm/hammer does not have the correct resiliency).
So... my first goal is to come up with some cables that will solve my W076
problem. Is there a good 20mA primer out there? I have a basic
understanding
that it's all based on 12VDC loops, send and receive take four wires, but
there are six coming out of the W076 card... the extra two are reader-run
relay signals, obviously not needed for a VT220, but very important for the
ASR-33.
A) Is there a color standard for the 20mA connector cabling? I have three
W076 cards with three different arrangements.
B) When I make a pin-one-to-pin-one male-to-male 20mA cable, it does *not*
work with the female-equipped W076 and the VT220. A few moments with a DVM
show that the arrangement of a W076 and my straight-through cable do not
match the pinout of my long-ago-homemade W076-to-male connector that does
work
with the VT220. Is there a special wiring trick for male-to-male 20mA
cables?
C) Somewhere, I have a small box of 20mA cables that have, IIRC, four
conductors. Presumably, these are for VT52s. I have no reason to expect
that they won't work with the VT220, once I find them. I take it, then,
that
in the "old days", one never used an ASR-33 as a tape input device except on
the console interface? I'm thinking of some of the ancient distribution
panels
for other DEC serial cards that had EIA (RS-232) _or_ current-loop
connectors.
Am I missing something?
Right now, because my TTY print mechanism is acting up (must press down on
the
type cylinder between chars, and the line-feed mechanism sticks 20% of the
time)
I have been testing by inserting one W076 in the backplane for paper tape
reads and the other W076 in the backplane for interactive testing.
Obviously,
this can't go on forever. I suppose I could rig up a *really* bizarre cable
that sends the output to the VT220 and takes input from the TTY. Maybe I'll
just work that angle. It would save on paper. I don't have much cause to
punch stuff right now, and until I get the primary box working I won't even
attempt to attach my outboard 8Kw to this CPU (the eventual goal of all of
this
is to set up for 8K-papertape-BASIC and play Star Trek. I have all the
tapes
to do this, but I do have to replace the floating-point tape that tore the
last
time I loaded it (a long, sliver of a tear, not a perpendicular, parting
tear).
I still know next to nothing about the pr/s01 except that it is *not* 110
baud. Another one of my ancient projects is to replace the M452 variable
clock module with a home-made digital baudrate generator. I suppose I'd
have to wire a switch on the backplane as well to select the M706/M707 from
two stop bits to one when the baud rate was 150 or higher, but I have a
prototype module and I have the COM 8116 clock chip and I have the proper
crystal to drive it. What remains (besides sitting down and finally
*making*
it) is to decide if I want to build in the ability to drive transmit and
receive at different rates as was common with VT52s. I could receive at 150
or 300 baud and transmit as fast as possible, perhaps 9600 (I'd have to look
into the M706/M707 designs to even hazard a guess, but even 150/2400 is an
improvement). The goal would be to be able to use the pr/s01 with a TTL -8.
-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
I'm probably overlooking something terribly obvious, but is there
some way to make a VAXstation II/GPX use the console SLU rather than
the VCB02 graphics system, short of pulling the VCB02 cards?
And if I do that, will VMS also use the SLU for the console?
I'd like to make an image backup of the RD54 in the machine, since
I need to wipe it to install NetBSD. Does anyone have any suggestions
about the best way to go about that? AFAIK the TK50 drive in the machine
probably works, and I do have some tapes. I could probably fumble my way
through making some sort of backup, but then I wouldn't know how to restore
it later.
Or, if anyone has a spare RD54, then I wouldn't *need* to wipe the
disk. :-)
Thanks!
Eric
>Does anyone know if the CONFIGURE command in the VAX prom suggests slot
>ordering in its output?
No, it doesn't. The order of CSR's doesn't have any bearing with what
cards go where in the backplane.
The order of cards in the backplane will depend on interrupt and DMA
priority. Generally, peripherals that *will* lose data if they can't get
serviced in time get put closest to the CPU. Examples here are serial
lines, etc. Next come peripherals that will have to do a retry if they
don't get serviced in time, but they will be able to do a retry. Tape
drives, for example, might come here. Finally come devices where there's
no real penalty for a retry, and maybe the peripheral doesn't care at all
if the CPU takes its own sweet time in dealing with it. Something like
a real-time clock would come in this category.
>I ask because I'm trying to configure my uVAX with an additional 4 serial
>lines using either a DHV11 (get an extra 4) or a DZV11. In the former case
>no matter how I type in the devices, it organizes the DHV11 as the last
>thing on the bus. When I type use the DZV11 it puts it at the head of the
>list (even ahead of the DELQA which seems unusual)
What you're seeing there are the CSR autoconfigure rules in action.
They're largely historical; the DZV11 is based on the DZ11, which is
an "old-time" async multiplexer, and comes early in the autoconfigure
rules. The DHV11 came many years later, and comes much later in the
autoconfigure rules.
If you're interested in knowing where the autoconfigure rules come from and
how they're applied, take a look at Alan Frisbie's DECUS presentation at
http://metalab.unc.edu/pub/academic/computer-science/history/pdp-11/hardwar…
--
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
