I'm in the process of converting most of my systems to FDDI, but
a QBUS FDDI adapter is holding me up. Does anyone have a DEFQA
they want to sell or trade?
--
Eric Dittman
dittman(a)dittman.net
Check out the DEC Enthusiasts Club at http://www.dittman.net/
This will be a lot to cram into one mail, but here we go...
First off, Hi everybody. I'm newly subscribed to this list.
Next, I was wondering whether anyone here can help my with my newly acquired
(IE rescued from the crusher) PDP-11/73.
Straight to the point, I can get it to boot up RSX-11M, which is installed
on the fixed drive, and do *stuff*. (please correct me if I'm wrong on any
of this, by the way)
I've figured out that the previous owner has disabled logins from the
console port, perhaps to defeat the "forgotten password" procedure that I
can't get to work ;) I can hit ^C and get an "MCR>" prompt, but nothing
else.
There is another port which has user [10,10] logged in automatically when
the machine finishes booting, so I've been able to experiment with it some.
I've managed to figure out that INS and REM are MCR commands to insert and
remove images from the system. RUN seems to automatically insert, execute,
and perhaps afterwards remove an image. HEL will log you in (but not
without a password!), and BYE will log you out.
What I'm missing here are basically any file-management commands! :) Does
anyone have a short reference? I could also use suggestions on a recovery
procedure to get access to the 0,0 account.
Here are my thoughts:
Put the drive in a MicroVAX-II (write-protected!), in place of the
MicroVAX's system disk. MOPboot the VAX from another, larger VAX, and
<edit?/move/do-something-to> either the UAF or the startup files to change
the 0,0 password, or change the boot procedure so that the "forgotten
password" process will work.
(Anyone know if this is possible, or whether there's an easier way?)
My understanding of this "forgotten password" process is that you hit ^C
early in the boot procedure to get the "MCR>" prompt, and run the command
REM ...AT. to de-install the command-file processor so that the system can't
fully bring itself up. This somehow should cause the system to give you
privileged CLI access.
This system is a MicroPDP-11/73, with an "MFM" type fixed drive of unknown
size, two 4-port serial boards, and an RX50 (I think that's the strange
2-in-1 floppy drive?). It tells me on bootup that it's got 512k of RAM
"mapped." I've been assuming that this is the full amount of built-in RAM.
Please correct me if I'm wrong there. I'll get the CPU revision/OS
version/etc if needed, but I don't have the system handy right now.
Once I get the machine up and running, I'll need to make a good backup of
the drive, in some kind of bootable form, since it's the only copy of RSX
I've got. I hear there's a stand-alone BRU. Is that the way to go? It's
likely I'll backup to floppy, and image the floppies to CD. I may also
remove a tk50 and controller from a MicroVAX II, so that I can backup to
tape, and dump the tape into a file using one of my VAXen.
Given all of the above, any suggestions?
If I've kept your attention this far, let me also ask another, more
open-ended question.
I'd like to get an older, unibus based PDP-11 eventually. Ideally, here is
what I'd like:
Core memory
Programming switches on the front-panel
Reel-to-reel tape
Small package (meaning half-size to 2/3 size a normal rack. I've seen
pictures of things like this.
Some kind of disk storage
Multi-port serial
Any advice on collecting parts, or finding old parts/systems? I've already
been given, and taken the ebay advice. No luck there yet.
Regards,
Chris
Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL
/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'
"Richard Erlacher" <edick(a)idcomm.com> wrote:
> Anothr thing I found among the Apple stuff in this last haul is a Z80 card with
> the required extra 16K DRAM on board that's apparently made by Franklin
> Computer. It's labelled ACE 80. That's the first one I've seen with the extra
> DRAM block on board.
IIRC it's a badge-engineered PCPI Applicard. Should have 8 64KB DRAMs
on the board. And yes, those are the Z80's RAM.
-Frank McConnell
>S-100 sound card. I believe Solid State Music started out as a company
>that made S-100 sound cards.
Indeed. It was not the first but certainly one of the better.
>And then wasn't there also a sound card for the PDP-11 circa the early
>1970s?
Gigilo, I have one. Also based on two AY-mumble sound chips with stereo
outputs.
Allison
Any one familiar with a wonderful series of loose leaf binders from
DataPro ... "Reports on Minicomputers" circa 1978-80 or so?
I just saw a set and would love to find a set for sale! More info than
I've ever dreamed of ... all in one place .. and covering just about
everything you ever wanted to know about many mini systems. ie: they had
a really full writeup on InterData systems w/info I had never been able
to find [maybe 30 pages of stuff .. all stamped "Not to be Reproduced"]
anyone know if they are still in bix and would object to reproduction?
Thanks, Craig Smith
> If you want to know why I did this, think about :
>
> 1) Who do you associate with apples (the fruit, not the computer)
Johhn Appleseed. Wait, he's an American, you most like wouldn't
be referring to him. Must be Adam. No wait... Ok, Leibnitz!
No wait, it's that guy that copied Leibniz, what's his name, they
even named a chair after him.... Newton?
> 2) When was he born
Before me...
> 3) Some of us celebrate his birthday rather than another event (possibly
> birthday-related) on the same date :-).
Must be Guy Fawkes' Day... no, that's in July, aint it?
Columbus Day?
All kidding aside, your galvanic battery is a great
experiment; I think we did potato batteries in either
Cub Scouts or school. I wish we'd had extremely low-
power devices to hook up to it; we just used a voltmeter
to demonstrate the output.
-dq
Dear sir,
I have a DEC PDP11/53 computer with Graftek Single Board Display Adapter
Board. I dont get any display out from the card. The self test on the
display board flashes LED 5 times indicating that possibly the DMA interface
is problem. How do I go ahead in troubleshooting the board.Pl. send me
enough information
Thanking You
Mrs.T.EZHILARASI
Sceintific Officer/Engineer
Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research
Department of Atomic Energy
Kalpakkam
India
phone : 91 4114 80306
fax: 91 4114 80081
Anyone out there have a HD50, 4 bay external SCSI enclosure they are
willing to part with (trade/money/etc.)? I've noticed that I've accumulated
a small pile of old IDC50 1gig SCSI drives and I have decided to actually
use them instead of allow them to keep my computer room door propped open.
I've verified that they work, etc, but my little case cannot fit more than
2 drives (yes, a sucky mid-tower) and logically, an external would suit my
needs. Finding them on ebay is like looking to pay porshe prices for a
yugo. I last saw one (actually a 2 bay HD50) go for about $130 US, USED
without power supply! Is there anyone out there willing to help spare my
sanity for my SCSI obscession? Maybe it will give me room to play with my
2X SCSI CD-ROM drive and 250Meg Tape Drive...
-John Boff.
----------------------------------------
Founder, Lead Writer, Tech Analyst
and Web Designer Boff-Net Technologies
http://boff-net.dhs.org/index.html
---------------------------------------
-----------Original Message----------
Date: 15 Nov 2001 8:57:4 +0100
From: "Iggy Drougge" <optimus(a)canit.se>
Subject: Cromemco + DIAB
There's been some talk about Cromemco recently, and in one single Usenet post,
I read something about a Cromemco UNIX box actually being a DIAB design.
Presumably, this would be a 680[23]0 design. Do you have any ideas?
-------------------------------------
Don't know if DIAB had anything to do with the design, but FWIW,
Cromemco's Unix systems were S-100 based, first using a 10 MHz 68010
(XPU card), and later a 16.7 MHz 68020 with a 12.5 or 25 MHz 68881 (XXU
card); don't know if anything came after that, maybe Cromemco in Europe
might have more info.
mike
On November 15, Ethan Dicks wrote:
> > I'm in the process of converting most of my systems to FDDI, but
> > a QBUS FDDI adapter is holding me up. Does anyone have a DEFQA
> > they want to sell or trade?
>
> I didn't know they ever made one. Is it _real_ FDDI or FDDI over UTP
> (CDDI, sometimes called)? I recently passed up a small box of EISA CDDI
> cards. Too much other schtuff in the car and it was a pay-per-trip to
> scavenge stuff. Got a dual P-150, though. Make a nice Linux box.
Yup, they made 'em. Scarce as hen's teeth. I finally got one
(purely by chance, actually!) after a *lot* of searching.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
St. Petersburg, FL
