test-drb October 2001

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

259 participants
770 discussions

by Diff＠Mac.com

Hello, I have been offered a rather large collection of machines, including an IBM PC with the original monitor, and an IBM 4965 with an 8" floppy drive. The 4965 is mounted in a large white rack, with a power supply mounted at the bottom, and the cover has been removed from the power supply, Anyone know anything about these machines? It looks as though all the original disks and documentation is there, but I am wondering whether its worth my time to clean this up. Zach

24 years

Cold/Hot storage of computers -- OK?

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Oct 4, 17:22, John Foust wrote: > At 05:36 PM 10/4/01 +0000, Pete Turnbull wrote: > >The easiest way to deal with it is to ensure that the loft > >is ventilated, but a better way would be to use a dehumidifier. They're > >not too expensive to run (at least, not compared to heating or air > >conditioning) > > They're like little refrigerators, and most of them > aren't very smart about the set-point you've selected > in consideration of the actual temperature and humidity, > so they'll happily run when they can't do their job. > They work by condensation on the cooled coils. That's a good description, and it's true they're not very smart, but they do work. If the air gets too cold, just run a PDP-11 to warm it up :-) -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

24 years

TECO manuals

by mrbill＠mrbill.net

Anybody know of any online TECO manuals? I've got a set of DECsystem-10 TECO manuals that I'll scan if they dont already exist online.... Bill -- Bill Bradford mrbill(a)mrbill.net Austin, TX

24 years

need some advice on some VAX boards ...

by technos＠nerdland.org

On Friday, October 05, 2001 12:58 AM, Absurdly Obtuse [SMTP:vance@ikickass.org] wrote: > On Thu, 4 Oct 2001, Dave McGuire wrote: > > > The ST225 was indeed 65ms...scary slow. It made a great distinctive > > "peep-peep" sound, though...which I liked even more than the [still > > rather cool] "chirp-chirp" sound of the ST251 and ST251-1. :-) > > I *love* that sound. Another good one is the IBM WDA-105. That was a > nice-sounding drive. Another melodic one. Only 5 megs though. > > Peace... Sridhar I used to have a pair of full height Micropolis that sounded just wonderful.. Jet-engine noises on startup, and a thick twang-beeeeep sound when it seeked. Dun remember what model, and I'm too lazy to dig em out and see, but I'm sure they were 170M units. Jim

24 years, 1 month

IBM ROM BASIC or lack thereof

by acme_ent＠bellsouth.net

Tony Duell wrote: > However, I've seen too many computers with incorrect labelling. I've seen > PCs with a DE9 COM port with a mouse icon over it. OK, so the > pre-installed version of Windows presumably expected a serial mouse on > COM1: . That does not make that port a mouse port, though, at least not > to a hardware hacker like me. You are absolutely right that the port is not a "mouse" port, but if it has a picture of a mouse next to it then Suzy will know where to plug her mouse in. Glen 0/0

24 years, 1 month

Anyone looking for an MSM Terminal Server for their museum???

by montkw＠sbcglobal.net

This was just passed on to me: -----Original Message----- From: Francis Girard [mailto:fgirard@cisco.com] Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2001 11:23 AM To: canada(a)cisco.com; sales-eng(a)cisco.com Subject: Anyone looking for an MSM Terminal Server for their museum??? A customer just called me to inform me that they're about to throw away about 10 very special terminal servers. They bought these back in 1990, and have serial numbers 000001 through 0000010! Hydro-Quebec may have very well been the first customer to purchase our MSM Terminal Server. I have no idea what these look like, but their still functional. Is anyone interested in these??? Let me know ASAP as he's about to junk them. Note that, although he didn't suggest any form of compensation, I'm sure this customer would be very pleased of getting some sort of promo item (please, not a stress ball).... Let me know. Francis -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Francis Girard Ing?nieur de r?seau Les Syst?mes Cisco Canada Cie 1501, avenue McGill College, Bureau 600 Montr?al (Qu?bec) H3A 3M8 Tel : (514) 847-6853 Fax : (514) 847-6802 Pager : 1-800-68CISCO fgirard(a)cisco.com www.cisco.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

24 years, 1 month

houston (mostly DEC) garage sale/giveaway

by oliv555＠arrl.net

My acquisition rate has exceeded my storage capacity so am making the following available to list members pre-eBay. Bigger items to Houston area only, (no shipping at this time). All items in working condition unless otherwise noted. IBM RS/6000 7012-370;aix3.x, kb, mouse, no key, FREE no pwd,1gb hd, fdd, xtra boards, vid cable DEC PDP 11/73; ba23, m8190ab, m8637dh, rx33, rqdx3 $100 rlv21,dhq11, rd52(doa), rt11 v5.4d kit RA81 logic bd; cond ? FREE ACT-10340 qniverter $10 mvII cpu+mem; m7606af, m7608bp $5 mvII cpu+2mem; m7606et, m7609ah, m7609ap $10 dssi m7769;s-handle $10 MAC 6100/66; w/DOS board, kbrd, mouse FREE MAC 6100/66, not working FREE MAC IIci FREE DEC ba23 cabinet, unpopulated FREE DEC ba213 cab, unpopulated FREE DEC sz-12 storage expansion; rz55 FREE DEC Ext Strage box, rz56 FREE Vaxstation 4000/model 60;no hd $25 Vaxstation 3100/m76 SPX; vms6.x $25 Vaxstation 3100/m76 SPX $20 Microvax 3100/20e; vms $20 Infoserver 100; rz23(2)rrd.. $10 VT420 / LK401 $10 -nick o 281-553-6507

24 years, 1 month

HSD05 Results

by dittman＠dittman.net

I found one DSSI cable to connect one of my two HSD05 controllers to my VAX 4000/500 (I'm still looking for another). I've read that the HSD05 controller is not very fast, so I used the disk speed benchmark mybenchmark and tested an RZ28B vs. an RF72 and find the HSD05-connected RZ28B is slightly faster than the RF72. I'm going to test my RF73 tomorrow. I'm curious as to whether the smaller RF3x drives are faster than the RF7x drives. Does anyone have any benchmarks? -- Eric Dittman dittman(a)dittman.net Check out the DEC Enthusiasts Club at http://www.dittman.net/

24 years, 1 month

Osborne OCC1

by acme_ent＠bellsouth.net

Louis Schulman wrote: > #I have come across an Osborne model OCC1 Serial # 134033. This unit has the > #300 baud modem. It also has 5 1/4 disk with it. (SuperCalc, WordStar, > #Qbasic) The unit boots up and runs the software but after about 15 to 20 > #minutes it starts to overheat.(smoke) > #My question is - What is the selling price for a unit like this and where > #would be the best place to sell it? > > Well, I have a related question. I have an '86 Dodge that runs fine for 10 or 15 minutes, but then the > passenger compartment fills with smoke and flames shoot out of the grill. > > What is the blue book on an "86 Dodge with flames and smoke? (Louis, that's *funny*!) Uh, the blue book value is -$10,000 -- you'd have to pay me to take possession of it. I hate to tell this guy but I think the last thing most of us wants is another insane computer . . . Glen 0/0

24 years, 1 month

Restoring classic kits we built way-back-when

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

> them) or leaving them the way they are a) because if it works, don't > screw with it, and b) it's a snapshot of my own context in the greater > historical framework. Personally I think the real issue here is that if it works don't mess with it. So your soldering might be sloppy. Big deal. Yes, I'm a big fan of if it works don't mess with it. Zane

24 years, 1 month

LK401 mystery circuit

by optimus＠canit.se

After Tony's suggestion that I test our faulty LK201s with a VT terminal, it turned out that both worked fine with a VT420. So I thought I'd give our LK401s a try as well. And it actually turned out that one worked! The other still didn't. I opened them up and connected them to the VT, and after a while, I noticed that a small (14 pins DIL?) Motrola IC called LC74750P was much hotter on the faulty board. I established that the fault was on the PCB by connecting the working one to the keyboard matrix of the faulty one. The 74750P was only pleasantly warm in the functioning keyboard, whereas it got as hot as a Pentium processor after a while on the faulty PCB. So I thought I just had to nip down to the shop and get some standard TTL (it does begin with a 74...) chip and solder back (in a socket =). No such luck. The clerk couldn't find the chip in store, in any catalogue or any databook. He suggested that it might have been made as a batch only for DEC. Does anyone know what kind of chip this might be, and if it's available anywhere? As for the LK401, the PCB contains three ICs: 1 ? 74750P (???) 1 ? i8051 (microcontroller, does this have some on-board ROM which prevents drop-in replacement?) 1 ? AMTEL something or other. Could it be a ROM? -- En ligne avec Thor 2.6a. Die Malerei ist stumme Poesie, die Poesie blinde Malerei. --- Leonardo da Vinci

24 years, 1 month

need some advice on some VAX boards ...

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On October 3, Ethan Dicks wrote: > RD50 - ST506 > RD51 - ST412 > RD52 - Quantum 540? Yes, Q540. > RD53 - Micropolis 1335 > RD54 - Maxtor XT2190 > RD31 - ST225 > RD32 - ST241-1 Just a nit...the RD32 is an ST251...not a -1 model. The ST251 had an average access time of 40ms (if memory serves) and the ST251-1 was 28.5ms. An easy performance upgrade for RD32-based systems is to replace the DEC-badged Seagate ST251 with an ST251-1...the controller won't know the difference...but the user will! :-) -Dave -- Dave McGuire Laurel, MD

24 years, 1 month

Altair 8800a on EBAY

by gmphillips＠earthlink.net

http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1280822959 I have been considering buying one of these machines as an investment. While I am a computer programmer by trade, I have no clue how to operate or program one of these things which really does not matter since I would be buying it as an investment. Any comments concerning what would be considered a "fair price" on this machine would be appreciated. I seem to recall seeing one sell on EBAY a few months ago for around 1800.00 but I don't think it had a monitor and drives. My guess (given the current economic situation) is that 1800.00 - 2200.00 might be sufficient to win the bid on this box. Comments?

24 years, 1 month

Superfile for DOS?

by vcf＠vintage.org

Might anyone have a copy of Superfile for DOS they can shoot over to me? Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org

24 years, 1 month

IBM ROM BASIC or lack thereof

by acme_ent＠bellsouth.net

Jeffrey S. Sharp wrote: > You forget: when this was state of the art, the vast majority of users > were just like Tony. Well, the thing is, the message was on mobos long after it was state of the art, which was my original point -- why was the message still there, when the BASIC wasn't. Also, *no one* is/was "just like Tony" :>) (Tony -- this is a compliment ;>) Glen 0/0

24 years, 1 month

Cold/Hot storage of computers -- OK?

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Oct 4, 11:48, SUPRDAVE(a)aol.com wrote: > Most halfway modern things have environmental criteria for when it's running > and when it's off. For humidity, I've seen the storage range be from 5%-95% > noncondensing and temp range from 0F-110F when not running. I'm running out > of space as well finally, but will not store things in the roof. The key word in there is "noncondensing", which isn't likely to be the case part of the time, unless you do something about it. Corrosion could be a real problem. The easiest way to deal with it is to ensure that the loft is ventilated, but a better way would be to use a dehumidifier. They're not too expensive to run (at least, not compared to heating or air conditioning) and you could run a short drain hose out of the dehumidifier and out of the loft to dispose of the water. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Rich Beaudry" <r_beaudry(a)hotmail.com> > > Since I am rapidly exhausting all space in my basement workshop, I need to > > move some of my computers to the loft above our garage. The problem is, > the > > garage is completely UNinsulated, and has only a metal roof (i.e., thin, > and > > NO resistance to temperature -- hot or cold). -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

24 years, 1 month

back in the saddle again

by ghldbrd＠ccp.com

finally back online with a mailer here. Still getting used to Linux PC over my Amiga 3000. Just for some laughs out there, I want to pass this along . . . . I downloaded about 20k, yes 20,000 emails. Seems my former (and present) ISP maintaianed my email addy and there was an accumulation of emails from last February. took about 7 hrs to dowload, and another 6 to chip through them. Might this be a Guiness Book world's record?? gary Hildebrand

24 years, 1 month

need some advice on some VAX boards ...

by dittman＠dittman.net

> >I suppose you *COULD* write a driver that lets you use the board > >for non-booting devices if you had enough information available. > > That depends on exactly why the firmware > will not play with VAX. My *guess* (based > on exactly no information ...) is that it has > intimate knowledge of some internal > OpenVMS Alpha data structure (page > tables or such like). That's what I meant by enough information. You'd need the source for OpenVMS Alpha, OpenVMS VAX, and the driver as the bare minimum along with hardware specs. > So it is quite possible that you would need > to re-write the firmware to be able to do > *anything* with the board at all. Or you could possibly do the setup in the driver initialization. It would be much simpler to use a CIXCD to an HSJxx controller. When you factor in the development costs the CI solution would be much less expensive as well. We use CIXCD boards in our VAX 7730 systems (actually two for redundancy to dual Star Couplers). -- Eric Dittman dittman(a)dittman.net Check out the DEC Enthusiasts Club at http://www.dittman.net/

24 years, 1 month

classiccmp-digest V1 #737

by andyh＠netcomuk.co.uk

Tony stated: > FWIW, I have never treated _anything_ as a black box where I don't have > to care about what goes on inside. I find it's easier to do good work if > you do understand the internals of the tools and equipment that you are > using. And therefore I have little time for people who aren't prepared to > learn about the insides of their computer/car/whatever... >>>> start of OT rant Although I like to be able to know about the "inside" of things, I am not convinced that it is possible to have anything more than a simplistic view (or even that much) for some things. GSM phones are, at best, borderline. DAB ("Digital Radio") seems to have gone to the level where only a very small proportion of the population (possibly less than a few thousand people worldwide) can really and accurately claim to fully understand how it works*. It worries me somewhat that such a technology is being deployed (as also does the potential for control by government and big business that is lacking in AM and FM radio), but possibly such complexity is inevitable. * sure, I can waffle on about using a spread spectrum technique in Band III to transmit a multiplexed bit stream than demultiplexes to several compressed sequences of digital samples - I might even, with a little research, be more convincing about how this bit stream is handled - but as for really understanding the transmission mechanism, "pass"! <<<< end of OT rant Andy

24 years, 1 month

need some advice on some VAX boards ...

by Antonio.Carlini＠riverstonenet.com

> Eric Dittman wrote: > >I suppose you *COULD* write a driver that lets you use the board >for non-booting devices if you had enough information available. That depends on exactly why the firmware will not play with VAX. My *guess* (based on exactly no information ...) is that it has intimate knowledge of some internal OpenVMS Alpha data structure (page tables or such like). For example, the DMB32 did exactly this - it could run in at least 4 different modes: given physical address (PA), given PA of a VAX page table, given SVA of buffer and given SVA of process page table. I assume the firmware engineers had time to kill :-) So it is quite possible that you would need to re-write the firmware to be able to do *anything* with the board at all. Antonio

24 years, 1 month

need some advice on some VAX boards ...

by Antonio.Carlini＠riverstonenet.com

> > Does that apply to all revisions of the XMI SCSI? > > > > > > T2029-AB XMI-SCSI adapter > > > > > > The XMI-SCSI adapter is only supported on Alpha systems. > > That applies to all revisions. There are no VAX drivers for the > card in VMS. AFAIK, there is no VAX-compatible *firmware*, so you cannot even hope to write your own drivers ... Antonio

24 years, 1 month

need some advice on some VAX boards ...

by dittman＠dittman.net

> T2029-AB XMI-SCSI adapter The XMI-SCSI adapter is only supported on Alpha systems. -- Eric Dittman dittman(a)dittman.net Check out the DEC Enthusiasts Club at http://www.dittman.net/

24 years, 1 month

Scrapping Tektronix 4695 (was Re: Scrapping LA100 & Diablo printers)

by mythtech＠Mac.com

>Sometimes a network connection, even old slow LocalTalk is the most >convient thing to use. Up until the power supply blew on my Powerbook... I always carried this little pair of Farallon adaptors for localtalk. They were single RJ-11 connectors that plugged into the printer port (basically a standard teletalk connector, but the 2nd port was permanently terminated). They took almost no space (about an inch square for the pair), and almost no weight (maybe an ounce for the pair), and used my already carried modem's phone cord to connect between. I think hardly a meeting went by that I didn't use them to transfer files to someone else's computer. Localtalk was always pleanty fast for moving a few word files or a powerpoint presentation... and used WAY less battery power than the IR port (and was easier to use, as I had a Powerbook 1400 which used apple's crappy slow IR protocol, most other people had nicer, newer ones that used IRda, and although could "dumb down" to apple's, it just sucked). -chris <http://www.mythtech.net>

24 years, 1 month

need some advice on some VAX boards ...

by dittman＠dittman.net

> > > Does that apply to all revisions of the XMI SCSI? > > > > > > > > T2029-AB XMI-SCSI adapter > > > > > > > > The XMI-SCSI adapter is only supported on Alpha systems. > > > > That applies to all revisions. There are no VAX drivers for the > > card in VMS. > > > AFAIK, there is no VAX-compatible *firmware*, > so you cannot even hope to write your own > drivers ... Yes, I forgot to mention the lack of firmware as well. I suppose you *COULD* write a driver that lets you use the board for non-booting devices if you had enough information available. -- Eric Dittman dittman(a)dittman.net Check out the DEC Enthusiasts Club at http://www.dittman.net/

24 years, 1 month

Cold/Hot storage of computers -- OK?

by SUPRDAVE＠aol.com

Most halfway modern things have environmental criteria for when it's running and when it's off. For humidity, I've seen the storage range be from 5%-95% noncondensing and temp range from 0F-110F when not running. I'm running out of space as well finally, but will not store things in the roof. In a message dated 10/4/2001 10:18:11 AM Central Daylight Time, menadeau(a)mediaone.net writes: << Extreme cold will damage LCDs--I live in NH, and lost an IXO handheld terminal that way. At my previous home, my storage was similar to what you describe. Also, the heat of an attic will warp some plastics, and I suspect that it accelerates the yellowing process. I didn't have a problem with circuit boards, however. Hot and cold extremes will not be kind to software or to some types of paper. Temperatures aren't the only thing you have to worry about with the type of storage you describe. Vermin (insects, spiders, mice, bats) will also be a problem. I kept my stuff covered with old blankets and tarps to cut down on damage from dust and droppings. The coverings will also help with certain weather conditions common to New England. In springtime when the humidity is high and the temperature rises, moisture will form on metal and plastic surfaces. --Mike Michael Nadeau Editorial Services 603-893-2379 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rich Beaudry" <r_beaudry(a)hotmail.com> To: <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org> Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2001 10:06 AM Subject: Cold/Hot storage of computers -- OK? > Hello all, > > Since I am rapidly exhausting all space in my basement workshop, I need to > move some of my computers to the loft above our garage. The problem is, the > garage is completely UNinsulated, and has only a metal roof (i.e., thin, and > NO resistance to temperature -- hot or cold). > > My concern is that the cold of winter or the heat of summer might get to > them. I live in Massachusetts, so winter is not -40 degrees F, but we are > talking below freezing, and possibly below zero for short stretches. In the > summer, it must easily hit 100 degrees F in the loft, due to the hot metal > roof, and the trapped air (no windows!). > > I'm not so worried about the circuit boards, but I am worried about floppy > drives, hard drives, and CRTs. Does anyone know if such temperatures will > kill these things? Obviously I would let the computer acclimate for about > 24 hours after I move it back into my house, to avoid sudden temperature > swings, or condensation. I'm more worried about the storage affecting > them.... > > Thanks! > > Rich B. >>

24 years, 1 month

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test-drb October 2001