test-drb December 1999

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

186 participants
742 discussions

Commodore 3040 drive problem + A1000 keyboard.

by black＠gco.apana.org.au

Hoping someone can help, Recently I picked up a 3032 PET with a dual 3040 disk drive. When I first turned the drive on, the power led & both status lights on the drives flashed in a regular pattern - 8 times. I checked & re-seated all the chips, now the lights flas in a regular 5 times pattern. Obviously there is a problem, but I can't find diagnostics for this drive anywhere, anyone know what the problem might be & how to fix it ? Also, I need a replacement keyboard for an Amiga 1000, am willing to freight >from o/s for this (I'm in Australia). Thanks Lance

24 years, 12 months

Keyboard needed for Amstrad 1512 or Sinclair PC500

by Glenatacme＠aol.com

Anybody have a working one they'd like to part with? Glen 0/0

24 years, 12 months

Has anyone found the best way to preserve paper tape software?

by CLASSICCMP＠trailing-edge.com

>>> Should it be kept in vacuum sealed bags or out of the light? >> >>*I'd* prefer to see - first - the information preserved, by copying >>to new paper or mylar tape or some other long-lived medium. The >>information is what counts, not any particular piece of paper that >>it's recorded on. >Tim, you have experience with archiving software.. I have 3 high speed paper >tape readers, 10 RX02s, 8 dectape drives, and many other DEC TU/TE tape >drives and Disk drives. What software do you use?? It's sounds like I might >(and others) have to write some software(or use yours) to pool all the code >coming in through the above devices to a large NT server. There's no magic - you just have to have an extreme dedication to storing the original information - in its entirety - in an archivable form. This means, usually, reducing every piece of input medium into a "stream of bytes" file that will be portable through operating systems (such as Unix) which don't have an innate concept of "records". For 9-track and 7-track tapes, I prefer "TPC images", as made by many of the TPC archiving programs available for DEC OS's. A TPC image of a tape allows you to exactly reproduce the tape again later >from the image, including boot blocks and any variable-size data records in the file. See http://pdp-10.trailing-edge.com/ to see how I applied this to the PDP-10 software archives, and for pointers on the web to the many TPC tools available. After you make a TPC file, it's important to preserve the record lengths in the file before you transfer the file to a machine that doesn't know about records. For this, my preferred method is ZIP "-V" on VMS, where the "-V" qualifier makes sure that the file attributes and record lengths are all stored in the Zip file. Then you can move the file to Unix's and PC's which don't know anything about record lengths, because the Zip file *is* a stream of bytes. For block-oriented disk (and block-oriented tapes, like DECtape I and II) devices, the preferred archival method is a block-by-block image of everything on the original. This is easily done by, for example, COPY/DEV/FILE DEV: FILE.NAM under RT-11, or by doing a MOUNT/FOR of the disk device under VMS and then COPY DEV: FILE.NAM. Under recent versions of RSX-11M you can use the VCP (Virtual configuration program) and the VD: drivers to make block-by-block copies of disks into container files. Whenever possible, do COPY/VERIFY operations followed by a DIFF/BIN to make sure your copy is exactly the same as the original (and that it's readable, too!) >I'll be pulling out a bunch of 11/23 systems on my next trip with some >11/34,35s. An idea I have is to line 8 or more systems up, fill them with >every possible media drive, and 3 of the list members and myself could feed >software to the devices as fast as quickly as the data could be read in. All >information sent somehow to a central server with terminals to title the >data dumped. Looks like "Digital Direct" can handle the microfiche scanning. >I hope many of the systems could be networked together through DECNET. (My >DECNET background was really strong at one point in time but when I saw DEC >dumping I ran to NT like everyone else...) DECNET is fine, if the machine's you're putting together support it nicely. Don't discount the effort it takes to get a PDP-11 properly configured and the peripherals running - sometimes I'm sure you'll get lucky and it'll just work when you plug it in, but when stuff is coming in "unknown" or "not used for many years" condition, it can take time to get everything going happily. Finally, it's really quite easy to get a PDP-11 running RT-11 hooked up and running TCP/IP, so don't waste too much time dinking around with DECNET. >I really don't want this to turn out into a year long project.. Just for some perspective, I've been building the PDP-11 DECUS and freeware archives for over a decade now. It's not that reading any particular medium is slow (I can image several gigabytes of 9-tracks a day while doing other "real" work), but tracking down the material, getting it into my hands (even when I supply my Fedex account number to get it here at no cost to the donator) and indexing and organizing the results is *not* a quick process. If you've any doubts about the mechanical condition of any of your drives, by all means play it slow and don't risk one-of-a-kind media in a drive with questionable heads. And for paper tapes, if you're concerned about mechanical fragility of the tape, find yourself a gentle slow optical reader (like the DEC PR/S01) and don't risk the tape to some insanely high-speed reader (which *will* occasionally jam up and crinkle your tape, even if you keep it properly adjusted.) The name of the game is to preserve and archive for the next 100 years or so, not to rush to get something that isn't as good as the original! If you're going to be archiving DEC OS distributions, you might want to ask me to get you a list of what I've got archived here already. The archive here doesn't go back forever, but I have copies of most versions from the early-mid-80's onward. (i.e. RSTS/E V7 and on, RT-11 V4 and forward with some earlier V3 And V2 distributions, RSX-11M 3.0 forward, and RSX-11M+ V2.0 and forward, with many of the layered product kits thrown in for good measure.) -- 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

24 years, 12 months

Has anyone found the best way to preserve paper tape software?

by aek＠spies.com

"*I'd* prefer to see - first - the information preserved, by copying to new paper or mylar tape or some other long-lived medium." ..or at least to a CD-R

24 years, 12 months

Has anyone found the best way to preserve paper tape software?

by dylanb＠sympatico.ca

Should it be kept in vacuum sealed bags or out of the light? I don't want this stuff to start curling or become brittle. Has anyone looked at how old paper should be preserved? I do now have a few hundred pounds of the stuff to store and it would be ashamed for it to be destroyed. P.S. Jerome is going to help me archive RT11 for public access. Any takers on RSX or RSTS? john PDP-8 and other rare mini computers http://www.pdp8.com

24 years, 12 months

Has anyone found the best way to preserve paper tape software?

by CLASSICCMP＠trailing-edge.com

> Should it be kept in vacuum sealed bags or out of the light? *I'd* prefer to see - first - the information preserved, by copying to new paper or mylar tape or some other long-lived medium. The information is what counts, not any particular piece of paper that it's recorded on. -- 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

24 years, 12 months

Has anyone found the best way to preserve paper tape software?

by aek＠spies.com

"Has anyone >looked at how old paper should be preserved?" Although it is harder to store, you might want to think about storing it as rolls instead of fan-fold. Old paper tape has a nasty habit of breaking at the creases.

24 years, 12 months

Has anyone found the best way to preserve paper tape software?

by dylanb＠sympatico.ca

-----Original Message----- From: CLASSICCMP(a)trailing-edge.com <CLASSICCMP(a)trailing-edge.com> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Wednesday, December 29, 1999 7:51 PM Subject: RE: Has anyone found the best way to preserve paper tape software? >> Should it be kept in vacuum sealed bags or out of the light? > >*I'd* prefer to see - first - the information preserved, by copying >to new paper or mylar tape or some other long-lived medium. The >information is what counts, not any particular piece of paper that >it's recorded on. > Although I am very busy right now I am trying to coordinate the archival of all information/software I have for the PDP-8,PDP-11,LSI systems from DEC. The basic idea is: Expand PDP8.com to a few hundred gigabytes. Find the "module list file - 1959-1984" which I now know contains 55,000 items [I have the total report], index it, and put it online. Hire/buy a microfiche scanner and *attempt* to scan and index the 5000+ sheets of microfiche I have (prints, MDS, IP,tecos,reports, maintenance manuals, software, source code,wire lists, engineering drawings and bulletins, internal tech reports, etc..)... with the help from a few list members. Read in all the software into one standard image format and index on the site. The project will be financed by selling a small portion of the stuff I have received(am receiving)on eBay. If this is at all possible then I should have online everything for PDP-9,PDP-15,PDP-8(s),PDP-11s [so far]. I expect PDP-4 and PDP-10 next. Looks like the PDP-1 stuff will be sold to a private collector. Scanning in the actual prints would be impossible as I am already stacking them 6' high with many rows... and I only made a *small* dent in the documentation area. Tim, you have experience with archiving software.. I have 3 high speed paper tape readers, 10 RX02s, 8 dectape drives, and many other DEC TU/TE tape drives and Disk drives. What software do you use?? It's sounds like I might (and others) have to write some software(or use yours) to pool all the code coming in through the above devices to a large NT server. I'll be pulling out a bunch of 11/23 systems on my next trip with some 11/34,35s. An idea I have is to line 8 or more systems up, fill them with every possible media drive, and 3 of the list members and myself could feed software to the devices as fast as quickly as the data could be read in. All information sent somehow to a central server with terminals to title the data dumped. Looks like "Digital Direct" can handle the microfiche scanning. I hope many of the systems could be networked together through DECNET. (My DECNET background was really strong at one point in time but when I saw DEC dumping I ran to NT like everyone else...) I really don't want this to turn out into a year long project.. I have quite a few minis to restore. Suggestions? john >-- > 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 > >

24 years, 12 months

MMJ (was Re: RRD42 and TKZ50)

by ethan_dicks＠yahoo.com

--- Bruce Lane <kyrrin(a)bluefeathertech.com> wrote: > This type of plug is called an 'MMJ' (Modified Modular Jack). > > The nice thing about the crimping tool is that, although kind of pricey > (around $130 with a die set or two)... I have a non-modular crimper I bought for someone else that didn't pay me for it. It's new, in the package. It will crimp RJ-45 and MMJ. The brand and model number is Ideal 30-497. I would like to get $45 plus shipping for it. -ethan ===== Infinet has been sold. The domain is going away in February. Please send all replies to erd(a)iname.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. http://messenger.yahoo.com

24 years, 12 months

FORSALE: Reformatter Software

by wirehead＠retrocomputing.com

I have Version 1.0 of CP/M-86 <-> IBM2D Reformatter Conversion Software, which can be run on Altos 8600 with cpm86 or mpm86, compupro/godbout with cpm86, ibm's displaywriter with cpm86, NEC's advanced personal computer with cpm86, or tab products system 1600 with cpm86. Includes - Original Cover Letter dated February 24, 1983 - Original notice about not running it on TurboDos - Original Unfilled-out License Card - Reformatter Brochure - 8" Diskette with Software (seal broken) - User Manual all in the original white cardboard shipping material it came in 17 years ago. All materials are in excellent condition, though the software has not been tested, which is why I'm selling it as a collectible. I MAY put it on Ebay if it doesn't sell here, but I wanted first shot to go to known collectors. $17 OBO by 5pm Wednesday + $3 shipping & handling. Anthony Clifton

24 years, 12 months

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test-drb December 1999