Mark Gregory wrote:
>Over the weekend I acquired some interesting PS/2 machines: a PS/2 P70 386
>portable, and a PS/2 Model 95 XP 486 server. This was my first experience
>with the PS/2 family, and I was pleasantly surprised. From what I remember
>when PS/2s were new, the media savaged them, mainly due to high price and
>the incompatibility with all existing ISA cards, RAM, etc.
>
>I was impressed with the build quality and design of the machines (the
>power supply in the M95 XP486 for example: undo one butterfly screw and the
>whole thing swivels out, allowing easy access to the drive bays) and with
>the ease of configuration of Microchannel cards - better Plug and Play than
>with many peripherals on Win 9x machines.
I quite like them too. My favourite machine (although I don't have much
software installed on it) is a model 76 with a DX2/66 chip, an original IBM
XGA monitor and OS/2 2.1 installed. This combination just seems to work
really well. Not classic yet though.
>
>Some questions:
>
>1) Why did Microchannel fail so completely? From a user point of view it
>seems quite nice.
>
I don't think it failed completely. It was widely used in corporate
situations. Not built for the shoestring home market. EISA competed with it
in it's day and avoided an IBM license fee, and later PCI improved on it.
>2) Can MFM or IDE drives be used with an ESDI controller, or do the drives
>have to be ESDI drives?
>
ESDI is ESDI, MFM is MFM and IDE is IDE. They don't mix.
>3) Anybody know if the 486DX33 on the processor board can be replaced with
>an Overdrive chip to make it at least a 486/66; or, does IBM still run
>their parts depot in Boulder for old machines?
>
That will work fine.
>3) I'm having some trouble with the P70. Originally, it wouldn't boot at
>all. I ran the diagnostics from the Reference Disk, and all tests were
>passed. I re-ran the Auto Configuration with no errors. I installed PC-DOS
>6.3, and formatted the built-in HD at the same time. Everything seems fine,
>but the system won't boot from the hard drive alone. If I boot with a
>floppy in the drive, I can access the HD and run programs off of it. But
>without a floppy, nothing works. Any ideas?
Other than basic stuff like not marking the partition active I don't know
about this one. Try checking for bad sectors. Also try fdisk /mbr.
<Yes, but apparently it's freely distributable. And in the absence of a
<license, I think that implies that derived works are freely distributable
<as well. My hypothetical reverse-engineerined "source code" would obviousl
<be a derived work.
I'd say if it was done non-profit and protpper credit given there would be
little room for squawks. I have no idea if that would fly legally, however
intent is sometimes important.
Allison
In a message dated 3/23/99 9:59:17 PM Central Standard Time,
bluoval(a)mindspring.com writes:
> > E-Bay banned fire arms for two reasons:
> Are these reasons official?
>
> > First, they couldn't do the background checks or check for stolen
weapons.
> A legally valid reason, but likely an excuse.
>
> The first is a given, but its not an excuse, its the law.
When did this become law? State laws vary, but Texas has no such
requirement concerning private sales.
So that this message will have some on-topic content:
I have some Cyrix 386 to 486 clock-doubled upgrade microprocessors.
Box says it upgrades the 386DX-16, 20 and 25 Mhz.
Part number is Cx485DRx2-25/50. Three of them in shrinkwrap, 1 opened,
I have no clue if it was ever used.
Best offer within the next few days.
Kelly
KFergason(a)aol.com
Megan wrote:
> What if we had a 'chain' of said museums, run by members of
> the classiccmp list, all over the country... would make it
> easier to have VCF-east,south, midwest, etc...
All over the country?
Is this the right time to try and resurrect VCF-UK?
Or even VCF-Europe?
Marvin replied:
> That is a really good idea! One of the perceptive comments made at last
> years VCF was that it was a "social gathering." It was and is wonderful to
> be able to meet and talk with others who enjoy collecting this stuff. A BIG
> advantage is that any future dealings with people we meet are based on
> something other than just email. This personal network of people we know
> makes for a higher confidence level with any transactions that might take
> place.
Hear, hear! Seriously, I think that some sort of permanently-installed VCF type
locations, where volunteers could come and work on exhibits, and where
(possibly) trade could be carried out, would be very useful. And as I said
before, I am prepared to sponsor the UK one to the tune of quite a bit of money,
_if_ enough people are committed that there is a chance of making it work.
(Once it's got going, I think it should be self supporting from members'
subscriptions and possibly trade commissions or visitors' donations, or even
commercial sponsorship :-( , but I'm not optimistic enought to think that it
would work that well from the start).
Philip.
PS A model for trade at a permanent VCF. I was introduced to it by my brother
when we were both visiting my parents...
Large building full of junk. Anyone can go in and browse, and ask prices, buy
things, etc.
The arrangement is: you have junk you want to sell. Take it in and say "I want
X pounds for this widget." The staff either say, "fine" and put it on the
shelves, or say "no thanks, we don't think that'll sell (or is legal, or
whatever).
When someone buys something, the owners of the "trading post" (as it is called)
take a commission (I think 25%) and hand the rest to the seller. If it doesn't
sell after a certain length of time, they ask the seller to reduce the price or
take it away or whatever.
P.
PPS before anyone flames me for suggesting commercial sponsorship, it would be
absolutely necessary to have strict rules like the committee vets all sponsors,
no conditions of "must have machine Z on display", etc.
< What all is the DEC LK201 used on. I know it works on the Rainbow, Decmat
<and now the Pro-350. Was this kind of a general purpose DEC keyboard ?
< There's a raft of them in the main branch of the local Goodwil, left behin
<when a bunch of Rainbows were either scooped up or junked.
Rainbow, DECMATEII/III, Vt2xx, Vaxstations, Pros and on and on. It was the
generic keyboard design. the LK3xx and LK4xx series are later, lowercost
and interchangeable.
<Has F1-12 on top and F13-15 between the main and num keypads next to
<term ans, copy, and a square image. It has an 8-trace connector kind of lik
<oversized RJ45. No external label but internally has a "Cherry", Waukegan,
<label, and B4VE-A302, 51941115 Rev. F. It was manufactored in 84. The
<main chip is mounted, 350M 9103, VANILLA, REV C . Anyone got a clue as to
<what this is or a need for it ?
Sounds like the LK250 used for VAXmate and PC use.
Allison
-----Original Message-----
From: Megan <mbg(a)world.std.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Wednesday, 24 March 1999 10:03
Subject: Re: Museums
>>I think our vision of such a place may be something like a Cybercafe with
>>a dedicated place for old computer equipment to be renovated and
>>experimented with. Obviously there would be a place for visiting
>>computers systems as well as space for "The Collection".
Ahem, yes. Mine too. I run an Internet Cafe.
We have a big workshop out the back, which is partly filled with Vaxen in
various stages of repair/decomposition.
As well, I use an 8530/CIBCA? and TU78/TA78 pair as a room divider in the
cafe, and a HSC50 and a half height cabinet, with 3 RA81's in it, as a
counter. Oh, yeah, there's a 6310 and SA600 (working system) in there too.
(Single phase conversion done)
There is a large warehouse (ex-bakery) next door, (was a s/h shop but they
went broke) that I am trying to rent at a reasonable rate. The landlord
currently wants unreasonable rates, by local standards. (it's a small place,
15000 or so) It's perfect, solid building, big doors, concrete floors, 3
phase power (they had electric kilns) and plenty of room for even very big
systems, which I hope to specialise in, several desktop machine "museums"
around, but very few with big iron it seems.
(I'm currently looking for PDP-8, PDP-11, Vax, Prime and IBM "big stuff" in
Oz, preferably South Australia)
A Cray would be nice too, but no idea where I'd find one....
Any other big systems that list members think might be worthy of inclusion?
>>I propose the Cybercafe part to raise enough revenue to pay for the space
>>but I down't really know if you could generate enough to keep out of the
>>red.
Not at the moment, but it looks like it might eventually, diversity is the
key, we also do repairs and sell s/h systems.
Tea, Coffee, Lollies, drinks and ice-creams do surprisingly well too. In a
museum they'd probably do better.
Surprisingly good market for $100-200 computers, of the 386/486 variety.
People on Unemployment, Supporting Parent and Invalid Pensions can't afford
to buy $1500 new computers, and typically just want to play a few games and
do a little word processing......
>if I were a little more financially
>set (like after winning a lottery),
Now that would help, I'd buy the whole damn place off this guy, $100k would
buy my shop, the attached house, and the bakery complex.....
Seriously, I think your concept is good, biggest headache is floor space, my
bet is that you need to set up in a smaller place, a country town, not too
far from a big city, but where the rents for warehouse space don't look like
the NASA budget. I suspect this is why most museums I've seen/heard of
concentrate on desktop stuff, they don't need a huge area to house it.
Cheers
Geoff Roberts
Computer Systems Manager
Saint Mark's College
Port Pirie, South Australia.
Email: geoffrob(a)stmarks.pp.catholic.edu.au
ICQ #: 1970476
Phone: 61-8-8633-8834
Mobile: 61-411-623-978
Fax: 61-8-8633-0104
I just sent a CS-80 reference manual to a list member.....
Jay West
-----Original Message-----
From: jeff.kaneko(a)juno.com <jeff.kaneko(a)juno.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Monday, March 22, 1999 11:08 PM
Subject: Re: HP disk drive command set
>Joe:
>
>Yes, I could use this; I won't be getting a CS-80 document any time soon.
>WOrk continues on the disassembly. I'll be getting a new interface pod
>for my logic analyzer in a couple of weeks, so I'll be able to take a
>look
>around 'inside'.
>
>Thanks.
>
>
>Jeff
>
>
>On Mon, 22 Mar 1999 20:50:09 Joe <rigdonj(a)intellistar.net> writes:
>>Jeff,
>>
>> I finally found my copy of the docs for the HP Amigo command set. Do
>>you
>>still need a copy?
>>
>>
>> Joe
>>
>
>___________________________________________________________________
>You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
>Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html
>or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
>
Hi,
I'm visting a client of mine, and when I walked into his office, I saw two
HP RuggedWriters opened up, with their parts strewn around. They're
trying to combin two broken ones to make one working one.
Their business relies on the HP RuggedWriter, which is now obsolete and
not supported by HP.
If anyone can point me to some used RuggedWriters, I'd appreciate it!
thanks,
--
Stan Sieler sieler(a)allegro.com
http://www.allegro.com/sieler.html
I'd need the part number to be sure... but... if that's what I think it is
you're a very lucky camper.
That sounds like the HP Network Analyzer. It is sold as a Laptop unit with
custom HP network monitoring software.
If that's what I think it is - it is a CURRENT product, and sells for
anywhere from $15,000.00 to $60,000.00 depending on the options it has.
Let me know the part number and I'll hunt it up for ya.
Jay
-----Original Message-----
From: Megan <mbg(a)world.std.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Tuesday, March 23, 1999 5:42 PM
Subject: Re: More details was: HP stuff
>With all this talk about HP stuff... I have the chance to get ahold
>of one of the HP Ethernet network trace units... it is something like
>an HP9273 (I'll have to check)...
>
>It has a 5" Green monitor, flip-down keyboard in the cover, AUI
>port. It can boot from 3.5" floppy or internal hard disk (which
>may be 20 or so MB...) I think it uses a 68020 processor (?).
>
>Can this boot something other than the HP network analysis
>software? Are there any development tools which someone
>can get ahold of which can be used to write software for
>it?
>
>I know I can use it on my home network... but it would be a neat
>hack to also be able to develop software for it (maybe see if a
>unix port is possible...)
>
>If anyone can identify it from my somewhat scattered description,
>great... if not, I'll get the info and ask again...
>
> Megan Gentry
> Former RT-11 Developer
>
>+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
>| Megan Gentry, EMT/B, PP-ASEL | Internet (work): gentry!zk3.dec.com |
>| Unix Support Engineering Group | (home): mbg!world.std.com |
>| Compaq Computer Corporation | addresses need '@' in place of '!' |
>| 110 Spitbrook Rd. ZK03-2/T43 | URL: http://world.std.com/~mbg/ |
>| Nashua, NH 03062 | "pdp-11 programmer - some assembler |
>| (603) 884 1055 | required." - mbg |
>+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
>
>
Here's some handy phone numbers...
HP Service Parts Identification: 916-783-0804
I don't know for sure if this number is for public dissemination, but I know
they don't ask for a reseller number or anything when you call. They can
identify part numbers for you, cross reference part numbers, etc. Generally
they can also translate mfg. part numbers to replacement (refurb, etc.) part
numbers too. You can get some info just via touch tones, but eventually you
can get a real human to look things up for you. This number even has
selections for the 1000 series, test and measurement, medical, etc...
HP Direct: 800-227-8164
This number is for ordering ANY hp parts. They ask for a reseller number,
but this is only to determine discount levels. They will sell to the general
public (those without a reseller number) but only at list price. So - this
number is definitely "open to the public" as long as you don't mind paying
list.
Generally when a product is discontinued HP clears the shelves and trashes
anything past the EOS (end of support) date. However, when you call HP
Direct if the product is not stocked and no longer made, I suggest you ask
them for the number for FRD. This is their division which handles
remanufactured gear (I don't have the number with me at the moment). They
might have that 1972 widget on a shelf... :)
There is also a strictly touch tone part ID phone number which I used to
have but lost. One of these days I'll ask another CE for it. You punch in
the part number and a recording tells you what the product is, what major
assembly it goes with, updated (replacement) part numbers, etc. Anyone have
this?
Finally, if anyone needs a really tough HP part number tracked down, just
let me know. I can get access indirectly to the HP internal parts database
(PAL) which has every part HP ever made in it. I even tested it out with a
dust cover plug from an HP41C calculator and it brought it right up. I don't
want to abuse this route with my contact - but if anyone needs that on rare
occasion feel free to contact me.
Cheers!
Jay West
