test-drb December 2001

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

243 participants
1096 discussions

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> On December 3, Douglas Quebbeman wrote: > > Have 5.25 inch floppy drive cleaning kits > > become unobtainium, or only for the clueless: > > > > http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1305651479 > > > > This is up there with the $500 Kaypro... > > Value is in the eye of the beholder, man. Why is it automatically > "insane" when someone else views omething as being more valuable than > we do? Dave- My subject line included a question mark; I wasn't making a declaration, I was posing a query... Radio Shack sold these cleaning kits for years for, what, $5.95? Now, and I don't know, perhaps RS doesn't sell them anymore. I don't have a Jameco catalog handy to check, though I could look at a Global catalog... at any rate, I'm wondering whether this might have been a typo that the seller didn't catch... -dq

22 years, 10 months

DEC Infoserver 150

by Adrian.Graham＠corporatemicrosystems.com

Hardware wise the Infoserver 150 is a MicroVAX 3100 Model 10. Software wise I never got any real chance to hack mine and ATM it's in my storage room along with a VXT1200 X-terminal, which was the reason the 150 existed in the first place - one of the popular DEC bundles of the day was an infoserver and 5 VXTs. The software uses the Local Area Disk protocol (LAD/LAST) for disk services which requires a client to be running on a VAX somewhere (SYS$MANAGER:ESS$STARTUP.COM). VXTs could boot using IP/BOOTP/TFTP. There must be more than just ROM changes to the hardware though. I used to think that the whole reason the 150 came about in the first place was that Digital had a small mountain of 3100/10s lying around so they did their usual trick of using old hardware for new tricks (viz: RL02s as console media for bigger VAXen (6xxx?), PRO380s as consoles for 8xxx's etc). The 150 was superceded by the Infoserver 1000, which was smaller than the RRD42s that it controlled. > > Hi folks. I got a few questions. First, is there anything > that makes > > this box different from a plain-vanilla VAXserver 3100? > Second, does > > anyone have the software for this bad boy? Third, will the > software run > > on a regular VAXserver 3100? Fourth, what does the > software consist of? > > I can provide the software, but the InfoServer 150 is different from a > VAXserver 3100. I've tried to swap the ROMs, but that didn't > work. The > InfoServer 100 is the same as a VAXserver 3100 (but I can't remember > which model) with different ROMs. If you want to try, I can provide > Infoserver 100 ROM images. > -- > Eric Dittman > dittman(a)dittman.net > Check out the DEC Enthusiasts Club at http://www.dittman.net/ >

22 years, 10 months

Off-Topic: Re: Anyone have a MicroVax II in a BA123 available?

by r_beaudry＠hotmail.com

<RANT> Why is it that anytime anyone asks: "Does anyone in my small geographical area have a 'foo' they want to get rid of?" there is invariably a slew of "I have one, but don't want to get rid of it" or "I have one I want to get rid of, but not in your area, and not willing to ship" messages? If you're not in the area, or you don't want to get rid of it, why reply? I mean it's gotta be annoying to the original poster to hear of others in the area, with the "foo" he needs, but who don't want to get rid of it. It's not bad that they have the "foo", but it seems like the reply is rubbing his face in it.... </RANT> Rich B.

22 years, 10 months

More E-Bay Insanity?

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

Have 5.25 inch floppy drive cleaning kits become unobtainium, or only for the clueless: http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1305651479 This is up there with the $500 Kaypro... -dq

22 years, 10 months

More E-Bay Insanity?

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On December 3, Douglas Quebbeman wrote: > Have 5.25 inch floppy drive cleaning kits > become unobtainium, or only for the clueless: > > http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1305651479 > > This is up there with the $500 Kaypro... Value is in the eye of the beholder, man. Why is it automatically "insane" when someone else views omething as being more valuable than we do? The resale value of the stuff we hack on is going up, and we have to learn to deal with it. It has been for some time. People are buying it at these prices, and it's not just one or two people. Let them spend their money...if they're happy with their purchase, what's wrong with it? Further, one mustn't lose sight of the fact that different things are more readily available in different geographic areas than in others. Just because there are fifty AppleIIs at the corner yard sale in your neighborhood doesn't mean there are fifty of them at EVERY corner yard sale. As a case in point...I'm no newcomer to this field; I've been doing pdp8/pdp11/vax stuff for a solid fifteen years. My first real system was a pdp11/34 which I sold about ten years ago, and have regretted it every since. I've wanted another one for several years, and had been looking for one in earnest in the Washington DC area for a solid three years...never managed to get one, and believe me, I know where to look. I finally bought one locally for about $400, indirectly from a surplus dealer who was sharking on the "antique computer craze" trying to make a ton of money on it. I'm sure he got it for free, and he laughed all the way to the bank. However, I'm VERY happy to have it, and I love the machine. If I hadn't paid that $400, I wouldn't have one. They're simply unobtainium in the DC area. -Dave -- Dave McGuire St. Petersburg, FL

22 years, 10 months

TK50-GA external SCSI tape unit + Microvax 3100 Desktop

by Antonio.Carlini＠riverstonenet.com

> pete(a)dunnington.u-net.com wrote: > >> (Oh, what's the 50 pin HD-DB type connector? line-printer?) > >Good question :-) After my earlier miscounting I'd better check carefully :-0 but if this is labelled B1 (and there is another one labelled B2 on *some* MicroVAX 3100 Model 20s) and it is three rows of pins ... then it is a synchronous communications connector. The same connector was used on several other synch comms options (DEMSA, DECnis, DSV11, DSB32, DMB32 and DSF32). The interface presented (X.21, V.35, RS422, RS423) was determined by the stub cable you plugged in. Antonio

22 years, 10 months

3com 1625-0

by spedraja＠ono.com

Hello: >> My guess would be that the mini-scsi connectors aren't scsi but in fact >> some type of cascading connection. So that multiple hubs can act as a >> single hub. > >Correct, they link the hub to a managed hub. You need a hub with the >management module installed, though. > >I'm not sure if it'll do anything without the managed hub, but I guess I >could look in my docs to find out for sure. I'll agree it, sincerely. My doubts are, mainly: * Can I connect the hub directly to 220 volts AC ? It appears possible if I've read correctly the AC connector info. * How must I connect the RG58 cables ? Must I put a Ethetnet 'T' with a terminator in the computer BNC connector or not ? * Finally, the link connectors and you suggestion about the link to one managed hub. Thanks and Greetings Sergio

22 years, 10 months

Houston Classic Computers was {Off-Topic: Re: Anyone have a MicroVax II in a BA123 available?}

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On December 3, Matthew Sell wrote: > I don't know of a formal (or informal....) classic computer user group in > Houston, but I would love to participate in one. > > I know that there are several of us in Houston. I met with David and Mitch > recently; very nice people. David has a real neat collection of older > "personal" computers and some other Unix-class boxen as well. > > Obviously there are more of us, an informal gathering would be neat. I'm interested in a similar thing in the Tampa Bay area, if there's anyone around... -Dave -- Dave McGuire St. Petersburg, FL

22 years, 10 months

FLUKE?

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On December 3, Allison wrote: > It's not RAM per se. > > It's basically a disk like structure, the difference is rather than rotate > the media they move the magnetic domains around. I have a few > 128kbyte (1Mbit) bubbles I use still. Yup, it's sequentially accessed. At least one company still sells & supports it, though I don't know if they're actually producing it at this point.. It's a really neat technology. It moves the magnetic domains around "tracks" in (if memory serves) a crystalline garnet substrate. These domains can be set to "0" or "1" and are read by moving them past a detector. -Dave -- Dave McGuire St. Petersburg, FL

22 years, 10 months

On Sun Mice and Mouse pads

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On December 3, Fred deBros wrote: > Ok, just for the record: > > Printing the mouse.ps file on plain white paper doesn't work with any > type sun mouse > So I printed it on transparent paper, turned it over (so you don't > scrape off the print!) and put it on one of those dark shiny antistatic > bags , and on an aluminum foil: It works. But only with my type 4 mice. > > RIP all you optical mice, and thanks for the suggestions. Hm, we must've used different paper. Or perhaps laser printers with different toner. -Dave -- Dave McGuire St. Petersburg, FL

22 years, 10 months

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test-drb December 2001