test-drb February 1999

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

178 participants
709 discussions

by steverob＠hotoffice.com

On Tuesday, February 09, 1999 3:25 PM, Michael A. Rivas Sr [SMTP:mrivas@caribe.net] wrote: > my brother got a hold of a tandy 1000. when booted up it asks for a boot disk which he does not have. i have two questions > 1) what can i do about the boot disk? > 2) what does a tandy 1000 go for? > << File: ATT00001.html >> << File: ATT00002.gif >> Michael, 1.) I've had several different 1000s and each of them would boot from ROM if a disk wasn't available. Since the ROM included a FORMAT command, you could make your own bootable disk. Some of the models might have worked a little differently. Exactly which model do you have (1000TL / 1000HD / 1000RL ...)? 2.) There were about a trillion of these things made so, the value is pretty low. I have seen them for as little as $10 at the flea market without a monitor or hard drive. The monitor could cost another $10 to $15. The hard drive with OS might add another $10. So, the value of the complete working system would probably be in the $30 - $50 range... Regards, Steve Robertson - <steverob(a)hotoffice.com>

25 years, 10 months

C128 (was: some finds...)

by joe＠barrera.org

>> ... my lovely 128DCR ... > >128 DCR ? >Data Casette Recorder ? >Detatched Cigartop Remover ? >Did Commodore Retire ? My TVC-15? - Joe P.S. I swear, one day I'll post something useful to this list.

25 years, 10 months

OT: Nasty Hangnail; Cuban Cigarettes; Caberet Voltaire and KISS?

by joe＠barrera.org

Hi, I have a few OT questions. I hope no one minds. 1. I have a nasty hangnail that won't go away. Any suggestions how to get rid of it? 2. Everyone know about Cuban cigars... but are Cuban cigarettes better than American cigarettes? Are they also illegal? 3. I've heard rumors that Cabaret Voltaire and KISS are going on tour together soon! Is it true? How can I get tickets? - Joe P.S. Consider this an experiment in the refusal to use emoticons.

25 years, 10 months

HP plotters

by edick＠idcomm.com

These "names" aren't going to prove as helpful as the model numbers. I have a 7585B which is, I believe, the precursor of the Draftmaster series, the principal difference being the presence of a drive for the chart feed and some different body panels. It's not at all certain that the behavior you've described characterizes any malfunction at all. The fact that HP people suggest it's broken doesn't mean much either, by the way. HP has a habit of disposing of people once they've learned enough about anything to be really useful, and their salesmen never get to that point. I do have the manuals for the 758x series, by the way. Dick ---------- > From: Athanasios Kotsenos <a.kotsenos(a)rca.ac.uk> > To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> > Subject: HP plotters > Date: Tuesday, February 09, 1999 5:14 AM > > Hi all. > > Anybody interested in any of the following? > > HP DraftMaster I > HP DraftPro DXL > > Both are not really in working order. > I'm guessing the DraftMaster has a problematic chip as it shows all this > rubbish on the screen after you turn it on. > The DraftPro DXL seems to have a mechanical problem. When I first turned it > on, it worked OK and I managed to get the test print out. After that it > started behaving weirdly. It tries to move the 'head' unsuccessfully and > never gets it to where it should go. Very slowly. > Apparently HP people were in a couple of years ago (before I started to > work here) and they said that repairs would be way too costly and buying > something new would be a better option. Of course they would say that - it > is usually true anyway. > I am hoping that someone could revive these on their own. It's a shame to > see them go in the skip, but I do have to get rid of them soon as they take > up too much space. I'd take them home if I had enough space there. > They _are_ big, so I guess you would have to live near London. > > I also have some HP 98785A screens (also big), which don't have to go as > urgently as the plotters. I haven't tested them, though, but I will if > anyone wants one. > > Nasos. >

25 years, 10 months

Piece of classic FORTRAN code

by Jgzabol＠aol.com

Richard Erlacher wrote:: << Golly! That does bring back the memories . . . but wasn't the CDC6xxx family 64 bits? I cut my teeth on that one, back in the mid 1960's and it seems that it (the 6600) was a dual-processor version of the 64-bit 6400. The CDC 6400, 6600, 7600 all were 60 bit, definitely. The Cray-1 is the first 64-bit machine in the Seymour Cray line. Those were the days . . . FORTRAN-II, SCOPE OS, COMPASS assembler . . . batch processing . . . (that meant you wrote your code on a 24-line 80-column "coding sheet" and, when finished, gave them to a woman behind a door with a small window in it . . . and got your error listing a few days later) . . . I'd have given a week's pay for an hour in that room behind the door . . . mini-skirts . . . (you do remember keypunch operators and Hollerith cards, don't you?) Dick >> It does bring back memories ! John G. Zabolitzky

25 years, 10 months

Help with LS-DOS 6.3.1 was ( Need a copy of TRSDOS 6 OS)

by steverob＠hotoffice.com

> 1) Install xtrs (Tim's TRS-80 emulator for linux/X). It can read .dsk > files and write real disks. > > 2) Run my little program diskdmp that reads .dsk files and writes real > TRS-80 disks. It does nothing else, but it's small. I don't know where > you'd find it, but I've notionally GPL'ed it, so I can send the .tar.gz > file to anyone who wants it (and you're welcome to stick on an ftp site, > etc). However, as with all free software, it uses the author's OS of > choice, in my case linux. A long time ago, I wrote a small ASM program for formatting disks and creating bootable images under DOS but, I don't really want to do that right now. I do have a Linux box here so, options 1 & 2 sound the most appealing. I'll hang a 1.2MB floppy on it and grab Tim's app (since it's already in a FTP directory). It could be a week or two before I get around to it. I'll let you know if I have any more problems. Thanks Again, Steve Robertson - <steverob(a)hotoffice.com>

25 years, 10 months

no rom basic

by edick＠idcomm.com

An important thing to keep in mind, however, is that not all drives adhere to the latest, or even the more recent standard. Since this discussions centers around old hardware, I'd be REALLY careful with ide interfaced devices. Case in point: I once used a number of MAXTOR MXT540A drives, which were WONDERFUL . . . they were fast, (6300 rpm at a time when most were 3600 rpm) beyond belief at the time and very reliable. After a couple of years, Hitachi came out with a nice CDROM drive, the 7730 (?) of which I bought a number. Unfortunately, when I placed the HITACHI CDROM as a slave on the same cable with the MAXTOR HDD as master, the servo on the HDD was overwritten, which I only was able to verify after destroying (irreparably, because the hardware with which to rewrite the servo didn't exist at MAXTOR any more even though the drives were still within their two-year warranty) half a dozen such hard disks. The CDROM certainly claimed to adhere to existing convention, as did the HDD. MAXTOR was not able to explain the malfunction, nor were they able to replace the drives with anything comparable. --pity-- Dick ---------- > From: Eric Smith <eric(a)brouhaha.com> > To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> > Subject: Re: no rom basic > Date: Monday, February 08, 1999 10:58 PM > > jpero(a)cgocable.net wrote: > > You done exactly right on everything except LLF which is big NO > > No on modern drives, potientially losing it! > > I wish just for once that someone would actually cite a specific drive > model for which this is true. I've LLF'd many of them with no ill > effects. > > The ANSI X3.298-1997 standard, "Information Technology - AT Attachment-3 > Interface (ATA-3)" says that the FORMAT TRACK command is vendor-specific > and recommends against systems using it, but nowhere does it suggest > that an acceptable implementation would be to trash a drive. > > I have seen some drives that treat the command as a NOOP, simply > returning success impediately without actually doing anything, but I've > yet to see one which actually causes any harm to the drive. > > If anyone cares to present contrary evidence, please cite specifics. > I'm not interested in FOAF anecdotes.

25 years, 10 months

Mark-8 and Jon Titus

by steverob＠hotoffice.com

> > I'm interested in a project for a 1999 Mark-8. Anyone else want a replica? > Perhaps... What would the scope of such a project be? Steve Robertson - <steverob(a)hotoffice.com>

25 years, 10 months

Mini clearout

by kevan＠heydon.org

Hi, After having moved to our new house I am gradually filling the garage with stuff I have had in storage while the move happened. As part of this process I am finding things I didn't even know that I had and things that I don't have space for any more. Below is a list of things that I would like to pass on to other collectors. * Box of about 100 8" DEC floppy disks * A number of old DC300 and TK50 tapes. * Olivetti Logos 250 electromechanical calculator * A hand cranked mechanical Olivetti calculator * Communications Machinery Corp Multibus II Ethernet Node Processor ENP-70 * Prime EXL CPU board - I believe this goes with the above ethernet board. * Digital engineering Inc. VT640 Retro Graphics board. I am located in Cambridge UK. I don't really want anything for these items but offers of something to trade would be looked on favourably. -- Kevan Collector of old computers: http://www.heydon.org/kevan/collection/

25 years, 10 months

Unix for 8080/Z80? [Re: WooHoo!! PC/XT Unix anyone?]

by gareth.knight2＠which.net

Richard Erlacher wrote on 23 January 1999 23:08 >This notion of cooking up or breathing new life into an old 8-bit model to >run *NIX is probably a mite more than has been considered for one reason. >*NIX tends to want to use virtual memory, without which many systems would >quickly choke. The old CPM-capables don't support VM. A good reason for >this is probably the lack of performance. Many people have added VM support to applications running on non-MMU hardware with little loss of performance. The Amiga has a few of these, most notably Personal Paint by Cloanto. It can be done. -- Gareth Knight Amiga Interactive Guide | ICQ No. 24185856 http://welcome.to/aig | "Shine on your star"

25 years, 10 months

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test-drb February 1999