test-drb March 2000

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

150 participants
515 discussions

Reverse-engineering for the computer collector

by edick＠idcomm.com

Yes, I'd certainly be interested in seeing what you've done. I've put some effort into this sort of thing as well, though I've done it with the printer port on an ad-hoc basis alone. Dick -----Original Message----- From: CLASSICCMP(a)trailing-edge.com <CLASSICCMP(a)trailing-edge.com> To: CLASSICCMP(a)classiccmp.org <CLASSICCMP(a)classiccmp.org> Date: Thursday, March 02, 2000 2:31 PM Subject: Reverse-engineering for the computer collector >I've recently put some effort into reverse engineering several >PAL's and other (slightly) more complex programmable logic devices >that have had their security fuse blown. Would folks here be >interested in a general summary of the methods, pointers to >tools and hardware, etc? > >This *isn't* rocket science, and it isn't putting the device in the >output end of a particle accelerator either :-). What I've done >here so far involves simple scanning circuits constructed from >common-as-dirt parts, and software to process the results of the scans. > >-- > 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, 2 months

Announcing the San Gabriel Valley Classic Computer Enthusiasts Group!

by af-list＠wfi-inc.com

Hello listers, I am very proud to announce that I have fulfilled one of my goals for the new year, which was the creation of a local enthusiasts group dedicated to restoring and preserving classic technology. Presenting... The San Gabriel Valley Classic Computer Enthusiasts! Please visit us at: http://www.retrobytes.org Since this is mostly my effort at this time, much of the immediate content is directly copied from my personal site (pinout collection, hacks, repair tips, scans of documentation). But I, and our few charter members, are looking forward to being able to provide both a valuable online resource to the classic computer collecting community and a base of contact and fellowship for our local (southern california) collectors/enthusiasts. I just wanted to also say thank you to the members of this list for helping me develop a hobby that has been not only educational, but extremely rewarding and fun to boot. I owe much to you all and deeply appreciate the willingness to freely share knowledge and advice that defines this group. Cheers, Aaron

24 years, 2 months

INTERSIL ICL7601CPD info needed

by wrm＠ccii.co.za

>I just obtained a box of goodies, and these Intersil ICL7601CPD 14 pin >ceramic dips were in the lot. I can't seem to locate any information on >them. Can anyone give me a clue? ICL 7600/7601 Commutating Auto-Zero (CAZ) Operational Amplifier Now you know as much as I do :-) Apparently its two op-amps and a bunch of switches, and you switch between the two amps, the inactive one being auto-zeroed while the active one is working. Or something. Beats me :-) Wouter

24 years, 2 months

old threaded languages, was Re: Symbolics

by allisonp＠world.std.com

To drag this in a different direction since the LISP discussion brought a few memory frags to the surface... Forth, LISP, PostScript and a few others I'll leave others to name were all similar in that they were stack oriented languages. I never worked with them much save for Postscript (it's core is Forth to me). Now, I vaguely remember a series of articles in Kilobaud, Dr Dobbs or maybe Byte on constructing your own forth like language in the early 80s. Anyone remember these? Are there copies? Allison

24 years, 2 months

Early Mac Clones

by mgregory＠vantageresearch.com

One notable emulator/clone they missed was the Amax by ReadySoft for the Amiga. It was a slim grey box that contained sockets for the Mac 512K ROMs (not included) and connected to the Amiga's parallel port (IIRC). It also had a Mac floppy drive connector on the box, so you could attach Mac drives. The early versions were very finicky about the Mac drives that were used. Early 400K drives didn't work, and non-Apple 800K drives didn't work either. When running, it could use all of the Amiga drives and common peripherals (printers, modems, etc.) I believe it was fairly successful - it went through at least 4 hardware versions that I'm aware of, ending with the Amax IV. I was an early purchaser, and I always enjoyed showing off my Amiga with DeluxePaint II open in one window, WordPerfect for DOS in another window (I had an XT bridgeboard), and the Mac desktop in a third window. The best of all worlds, almost. Cheers, Mark. -----Original Message----- From: Zane H. Healy <healyzh(a)aracnet.com> To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org> Date: Thursday, March 02, 2000 12:45 PM Subject: Early Mac Clones >While trying to dig up some info on some Mac hardware, I ran across the >following web page of early mac clones (over 10 years old). Some >interesting stuff there. > >http://lowendmac.net/firstclones.shtml >Unitron Mac512, circa 1985 >McMobile, 1986-89 >Outbound Laptop, Portable, 1989-91 >Atari ST & Magic Sac >Colby WalkMac, circa 1989 >Dynamac, 1988-89 > > Zane >| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator | >| healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast | >| healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector | >+----------------------------------+----------------------------+ >| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, | >| and Zane's Computer Museum. | >| http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/ | >

24 years, 2 months

Am2901 sbc, WAS: A classic classiccmp day...

by allisonp＠world.std.com

> From: Tony Duell <ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk> <> >Any other AM29xx chips on it, like a 2909 or 2910 sequencer? Or is this <> >just a demo board for a 4-bit ALU chip? <> > <> >It sounds like a really interesting find, though. The 29xx series chips <> >were interesting devices that have been used in all sorts of machines. <> <> <> Yep, there is a 2909 on board too.... < <Ah, so there's a sequencer. And presumably, therefore, there's some kind <of control store (ROM or RAM) on the output of that. So it sounds like <it's a complete processor, albeit a small one. How small depends on the microcode. It could easily be PDP8 or Nova emulation with one 2901 though it would be slow. I've seen at one commercal design that use it as a fast version of TMS1000 4bitter. It's an interesting chip. I have a bunch of the raw 2901C and 2911 parts. One day when I have time I'd like to try an extended wordlength PDP-8 like machine using them. Say something obcenely long like 20 or 32bits. After all working with that chip 8bits or 80 is as easy from the microcode perspective. Besides it's the microcontroller that is the complex part. Allison

24 years, 2 months

old threaded languages, was Re: Symbolics

by allisonp＠world.std.com

>Anyone remember these? Are there copies? < <There was a Byte Press book "Threaded Interpreted Languages" <from back then. I have it on the shelf at the office, if you <want the ISBN number. Thats it. The ISBN number is likely useless by now. The articles were supposed to get you to a working language but I never saw them all. I've been thinking about languages and OSs and building one for myself figuring what I'd seen back then may help. I'm still leaning toward OS/8 RTS-8 as models. Target cpu is of course z80. Though DEC T-11 would make a good forth engine. Allison

24 years, 2 months

Still need IBM/Lexmark 4033-001 Token RIng docs

by rhblake＠bigfoot.com

Still in need of a copy of the docs for an IBM/Lexmark 4033-001 token ring printer server box. I have 5 units to add to a non-profit group's network son and without them I'll likely be stabbing in the dark. Each unit has it's own unique address on the label but I still need either text, xerox, pdf, or something to go on. Any help is appreciated. Russ Blakeman IT Techie Clarkson, KY

24 years, 2 months

Cipher F880 docs online! (most of them...)

by af-list＠wfi-inc.com

Hi, After having so many people interested in the Cypher F880 op/maintenance manual, I spent a couple of hours scanning it tonight (er...last night), and put it online: http://www.retrobytes.org/docs/cipher/ I indicated "most of them" in the subject because I haven't found a satisfactory way to scan the engineering diagrams, which include schematics and detailed breakdowns, yet. They are 11" x 17" and are very finely detailed. My Ricoh IS430 will only scan that large at a max 400dpi, which is still too coarse to show the details legibly (esp. the schematics) and I think my solution is going to be to scan them in 2 letter-size pieces at 600dpi. Also, in scanning the illustrated parts breakdown figures, many of which are also 11" x 17", I scanned them as 2 8.5" 11" pages and included them inline in the proper section. I have, however, also provided them seperately in their original 11" x 17" form as well, you can't miss 'em. I'll try to get the engineering figures up tomorrow; in the meantime, hope this stuff helps someone! Cheers, Aaron

24 years, 2 months

VMS backup question

by peter＠joules0.demon.co.uk

I have a MicroVAX 3100 on which I intend to install NetBSD and a 2000 with a trashed VMS installation. Is there a way I can create a backup of the VMS installation on the 3100 which I can restore to the 2000, bearing in mind that it probably has a much smaller hard disk? -- Regards Pete

24 years, 2 months

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test-drb March 2000