test-drb April 2001

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

251 participants
669 discussions

by chronic＠nf.sympatico.ca

Hey, I recently picked up a VIC-20 with Tape Recorder, Joystick, 5 games, etc. on EBay for 11 bucks. It was my first purchase as a classic comp collector, and I had a few questions concerning it and was wondering if any of you guys could answer: 1. Are there any mods to improve that god-awful display??? 2. Are there any companies that still sell the memory upgrades for these things? 3. Did i get a good deal for 11 bucks? was it worth it?? And finally, are there any schematics/tutorials on the net for creating text terminals? I wanted one to interface with a 6502 board i'm working at, but I wanted to build it myself and running some prog like HyperTerminal or whatever just didn't seem as fun. -Lanny Cox

24 years, 1 month

FS: Mac LC II and LC 580 (ebay)

by rhblake＠bigfoot.com

I have two excess machines in good condition just posted on ebay, not sure how many Apple/mac enthusiasts are out there: Here are the links to them in the event you want to look without committing to email with me: Mac LCII (just the main unit/pizza box): http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1232152984 Really good condition but yet untested other than power-up. Mac 580 all-in-one, complete: http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1232132300 This one has some minor plastics damage to areas that are not noticeable but otherwise it's in excellent condition

24 years, 1 month

Commodore 8050M disk drive. What's it for?

by jeff.kaneko＠juno.com

On Tue, 24 Apr 2001 07:22:46 -0700 (PDT) Cameron Kaiser <spectre(a)stockholm.ptloma.edu> writes: > > I just picked up a Commodore 8050M dual 5 1/4" disk drive with a > >HP-IB interface in a surplus place. Can anyone tell me what system(s) > >it's made to work with? > > PETs, of course! And any Commodore with an IEEE-488 interface, even > the 64 if you happen to have an IEEE interface cartridge. Or even a VIC-20 for that matter (just happen to have a GPIB cart for mine :^). ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

24 years, 1 month

Commodore 8050M disk drive. What's it for?

by LFessen106＠aol.com

In a message dated 4/24/01 9:48:48 AM Eastern Daylight Time, rigdonj(a)intellistar.net writes: > I just picked up a Commodore 8050M dual 5 1/4" disk drive with a HP-IB > interface in a surplus place. Can anyone tell me what system(s) it's made > to work with? > > Joe > Should work with the old PET computers - it should have an IEEE interface. -Linc Fessenden A good magician never reveals his secret; the unbelievable trick becomes simple and obvious once it is explained. So too with LINUX! The nice thing about Windows is - It does not just crash, it displays a dialog box and lets you press 'OK' first.

24 years, 1 month

3Mb Ethernet

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Apr 23, 19:48, Tony Duell wrote: > > >AFAIK it is not backwards-compatible, at least in the sense that no > > >10Mbps ethernet controller supports the 3Mbps data rate (at least, I've > > >never seen one that does). > > > > Oh, I mean as in being able to plug a 3Mb device into a 10Mb network. > > ALmost certainly not. Remember there were no 'hubs' back then -- ethernet > was implemented using relatively dumb transceivers (certainly without any > form of data buffering or rate conversion) linked by coaxial cable. A > 3Mbps system is not going to be able to handle 10Mbps data on the cable. A hub is just a repeater, it doesn't do anything to the data stream, and it wouldn't make any difference. But repeaters were part of the 3Mb/s spec, and Xerox did have some. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager Dept. of Computer Science University of York

24 years, 1 month

New stuff

by broth＠heathers.stdio.com

Just came back with a van full of goodies. 11/750 with box's full of docs and prints. Early versions of VMS software and New docs in binders. DECwriter II DECstation 2100 Box's of brand new sealed magtapes Spare boards for 11/750's Software for the 11/780. Data General 9-track tape drive from a MV20000 series. RA-92 etc... I also found a VAX 6000 but I beleive the owner has unrealistic ideas of what he can get for it. Brian. -- Brian Roth - System Administrator www.webwirz.com - Old Computer Repository Preoccupation is my main occupation.....

24 years, 1 month

fairly OT, but y'all may be able to help me :)

by geoffr＠zipcon.net

I need to test a device that uses sensors that send back a signal using a 0-20MA current. anyone know of a source of a schematic to make something to generate such in 1 ma increnemts? or have any tips???

24 years, 1 month

Pro380 Mono Video Cable

by dittman＠dittman.net

I've borrowed a VR201 for a couple of days but the guy that loaned it to me did not have the cable. Is this a straight-through cable? -- Eric Dittman dittman(a)dittman.net

24 years, 1 month

Adaptec PDP-8e

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

Adaptec never made PDP-8s. I beleve other than DCC the PDP-8 was not ever built by anyother than DEC (or DEC Ireland). For the moment I'll leave out the Intersil/harris 6100 chips and related machines. Allison >> > Get your bids in early on this one. Its a rare Adaptec PDP-8e. Back in >> the 60's DEC licensed their PDP8 architecture to Adaptec to make exact >> replica's of their now infamous design. Sales were sluggish so they >> decided to make SCSI interfaces instead. >> > >> > Truly one of a kind.... >> > >> > http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1232453120 >> > >> > Brian. One of a crock!

24 years, 1 month

Free: PDP parts & VMS "Orange Wall" - Austin, TX

by mrbill＠mrbill.net

I've got a large set of DEC "Orange Wall" binders full of VMS 4.x/5.x documentation, free for pickup in Austin, Texas: http://www.pdp11.org/pics/orange-wall.jpg I'm running out of room and need these to go to a good home. I'll also "throw in" a RX01-compatible dual 8" floppy drive unit, if anybody locally can use it / needs it: http://www.pdp11.org/pics/eight-inch-floppys-front.jpg http://www.pdp11.org/pics/eight-inch-floppys-switches.jpg Bill -- Bill Bradford mrbill(a)mrbill.net Austin, TX

24 years, 1 month

RFI shielding Basement

by truthanl＠oclc.org

Clint, Since your basement is already below grade it is not likely you would have too much horizontally polarized RFI radiating from it. You might just consider putting in a decorative tin cieling like in old 1890's vintage saloons, The way the panels interlock might provide a good faraday shield for vertically polarized radiated rf from the basement. It could be electrically bonded and tied to waterpipes etc for a good ground. How about fine metal screen stapled to the botton of open rafter/floor joists. Perhaps you can find foil covered craft paper backed fiberglass insulation, staple it up then bond the seams with 3M foil tape? This would also dampen mechanical noise of a big iron system running. If not insulation, the heaviest wide roll of tin foil. Overlap the seams and staple up then cover with battens to accept acoustic tile cieling? Foil Backed foam panels etc. See what other truly conductive building materials you can find. They even make conductive paint these days. Your best value will be in conventional conductive building materials, not specialized RFI materials. Usually door panels on computer cabinetry are gasketed with spring finger stock to keep RFI leaks to a minimum, but usually there is close mesh and larger grates on the top of machines to allow cooling by convection. Sincerely Larry Truthan

24 years, 1 month

Adaptec PDP-8e

by brian.roth＠firstniagarabank.com

Thanks Tony. You guys were starting to worry me. Brian. I'm guessing that was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the guy who listed the computer mistakenly referring to it as an "Adaptec" -- Tony Brian Roth Network Services First Niagara Bank (716) 625-7500 X2186 Brian.Roth(a)FirstNiagaraBank.com

24 years, 1 month

Z/H 100 AND S 100 PARTS

by r_beaudry＠hotmail.com

Just spotted this message on comp.sys.zenith. Anybody else interested in a group purchase? Unfortunately, "no lists and no viewing" makes it difficult, but if we could convince him of the number of people interested, maybe he would change his mind?? --------- I just purchased 5 Condo Aircraft Hangers at our local Airport. One hanger has a collection of hundreds of H/Z 100 computers and related parts Also there are many IMSAI, ALTAIR and other Vintage computers plus cards and related parts. The amount is staggering. I need to get this stuff sold hopefully before the end of the year so I can get it rented for Aircraft purposes. I do not intend to use E-Bay at this time. I am also going to add myown extensive supply of H/Z 100 stuff and S100 items to this pile. No lists will be provided and no viewing. Send me an E-Mail or phone me. E-mail to larryc(a)gte.net phone 425 774 2981. ------------ Rich B.

24 years, 1 month

VIC-20

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On April 22, Lanny Cox wrote: > I recently picked up a VIC-20 with Tape Recorder, Joystick, 5 games, etc. > on EBay for 11 bucks. It was my first purchase as a classic comp collector, > and I had a few questions concerning it and was wondering if any of you guys > could answer: As I sit here repairing a core plane from my pdp8/e (circa 1969) I still can't consider a VIC "classic" no matter how many years go by. Time sure does fly! I remember back in my high school days...my best friend Rob had a VIC-20, later a C64, while I was the Atari 800 freak. We had LOTS of fun on those machines, and taught ourselves lots of great stuff. Those "early" home computers sure did offer a lot of bang for the buck! > And finally, are there any schematics/tutorials on the net for creating > text terminals? I wanted one to interface with a 6502 board i'm working at, > but I wanted to build it myself and running some prog like HyperTerminal or > whatever just didn't seem as fun. Hmm...perhaps Don Lancaster's "TV Typewriter Cookbook"? Definitely a nice historically-sound pursuit. Copies can be found on eBay from time to time. Fun! :-) -Dave McGuire

24 years, 1 month

VIC-20

by r_beaudry＠hotmail.com

> 2. Are there any companies that still sell the memory upgrades for these > things? I have an 8K cartridge, and I believe also a 16K cartridge gathering dust on my shelves. Email me your address, and I'll ship them off to you ... No guarantees that they work, but they're free :-) Also, try www.cmdweb.com. Prices are high, but they do have a lot of otherwise unavailable stuff for VICs, C-64s, and C-128s. > > 3. Did i get a good deal for 11 bucks? was it worth it?? > Just judging on price alone, I'd say yes, but as other have suggested, only you can decide that.... I have paid probably more than others would pay for a lot of things in my life, but at the time I considered them good deals...

24 years, 1 month

3Mb Ethernet

by optimus＠canit.se

As we all know, Ethernet was only running at 3 Mbit in the early days. When was the move to 10 Mbit done and is 10Mb Ethernet backwards compatible? Also, were there any Ethernet controllers back in the old days, or what kind of interfacing did old Ethernet capable equipment such as the SUN 1 or DECNA use? -- En ligne avec Thor 2.6a. Was ist ein Erwachsener? Ein Kind, das vom Alter aufgepumpt ist. --- Simone de Beauvoir

24 years, 1 month

IBM's PGA Adapter

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On April 22, jpero(a)sympatico.ca wrote: > > Hi. Can anybody provide me with some info on the IBM PGA/PGC adapters for > > the IBM PC/XT systems? > > > > I heard that it is one of the first video adapters with on-board transform > > capabilities, and that it is very ahead of its time. Can anyone please > > elaborate? > > Also, where can I get some pictures, and is it still available for > > purchase? > > Half-half acceleration due to built in CPU and can compute arcs, > lines etc for cad work I think. > > But I know PGA is grossly unusual design and unrealistic cost kept it > from very common plus it requires non-standard PGA monitor to go with > it. Cost was about 5,000 I think. > > BTW, it is 3 boards package and monitor. Saw both monitor and card > set but not in action. If memory serves, the PGA had an 8085 processor on it. Interesting use of an otherwise general-purpose microprocessor. <flame bait> Indeed, an XT-class system with a PGA had a better processor on its video board than it did on its motherboard. </flame bait> -Dave McGuire

24 years, 1 month

Using a 1.44MB 3.5inch floppy on an old controller

by mbbrutman＠chartermi.net

I have a few PCjrs running around, and I've often thought of either adding 3.5" drives to them, or replacing the standard 5.25" drive with 3.5" drives. The controller only supports double density data rates (250?), so I'm limited to 720KB 3.5" drives. These are getting hard to find. I connected a new 1.44MB drive to the controller, and behold, it worked! (With double density media of course.) The machine booted from the diskette (which was created from a 360kb image prepared on a Linux machine), and it also ran diagnostics. So now I'm confused - why did it work? Does the modern 1.44MB drive sense that the controller is only sending data at 250KHz rate? If so, how is it doing the sensing? (The reduced write-current pin (2) isn't being used - I verified that with a meter.) Thanks, Mike

24 years, 1 month

VAX 6000 3-phase conversion (was: Re: Three Phase)

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

From: Clint Wolff (VAX collector) <vaxman(a)qwest.net> >The cages I've seen are made from an expensive copper screen, >like window screen, but they are for doing FCC interference >measurements, not shielding. I can get 1/2 inch square fencing >from the look home improvement center, but it is galvanized and >quite a bit coarser... > >Comments? First a faraday cage to run a vax is foolish. The FCC notice refered to is basically a hint about whose reponseability it is to fix RFI problems should they occur. Often it's not a problem save for at point blank range. RE: galvanized screening vs fine copper screening. If you cant do it right dont bother. As the holes get larger and the resistivity increases the attenuation decreases. Also as the holes get bigger the frequency at which the screen becomes RF transparent also gets lower. So to get an effective faraday screen fine copper screening with well bonded (often soldered) joints and a door that has RF tight joints are used. Also any wires that enter or leave have to be bypassed to avoid it becomming a leakage path in either direction. I participated in building one and it's a lot of work and after testing to find RF leaks. At the other extreme a cage of .500 galvanized will have effect but the effect is far more limited. to prove it take a roll and make a mini cage large anough to hold a battery AM/FM radio and see what I can hear >from inside it. Then take a tube and coat it with aluminum foil and try it with the same radio. You will also find it very difficult to solder or otherwise effectively bond the joints of a galvanized wire cage. Last item: The average system (even a PDP-8) will be much better in the RFI derby if all the covers are on and the correct cables are used. The later smaller one box systems are fairly decent if the case is metal and all the screws/hardware are in place. The killer items for RFI are SCSI cables, external disks that used any unshielded cables (BC05s come to mind) or monitors that used shielded cables but are incorrectly terminated. RS232 wires that do not use an external shield can be a path to propagate noise out of and otherwise tolerable box as well. Worst offender awards: TRS80 with EI... ghastly both radiating and affected by nearby transmitters. (1w 144mhz ht at 4ft would crash the average TRS80). Some of the Apple][s Early S100s with non-stripline and unterminated busses (altair!!!!). SBCs, no case at all most often. Many of the early all plastic cased (no internal conductive spray coat) with no internal shielding systems. Many (most) CRTs that are not metal boxed internally are noisy. Allison

24 years, 1 month

What's a Mag Card II?

by mmcfadden＠cmh.edu

The microbiology lab where I worked kept a different card with each type of pathology report on them. The operator would enter the sample information into a "canned" document, and then could append any additional comments. These machines were real popular in the early 1970's for thesis typing and routine reports. You could put a chapter or a section on an individual card. Our secretary in graduate school had one and kept all the routine documents on individual cards. You wanted to requisition something she put in the requisition mag card, filled in the blanks and printed out the requisition. The unit had a IBM Selectric style printer as an output device. Mike mmcfadden(a)cmh.edu

24 years, 1 month

Amstrad PPC640

by daverogers90＠hotmail.com

Hi my name is Dave i live in NewZealand i have been givern a PPC640 wich goes but it wants a start up disc if u have one could you please send a copy of it to me on brav(a)zfree.co.nz i would love to crank it up.

24 years, 1 month

(3) Northstars + DiscJockey to rescue in Bothell, WA

by jfoust＠threedee.com

I'm trying to reduce the size and increase the sensibility of my collection, so I'll pass this one to the list... please contact him, not me. - John >From: "Wayne Gilmore" <wayneg(a)aa.net> >To: "John Foust" <jfoust(a)threedee.com> >Subject: Re: Old Computers >Date: Sat, 21 Apr 2001 13:11:57 -0700 >X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2615.200 > >Hi again John, >I am located in Bothell, Washington. A few miles north of Seattle. >Wayne > >----- Original Message ----- >From: John Foust <jfoust(a)threedee.com> >To: Wayne Gilmore <wayneg2(a)mindspring.com> >Sent: Saturday, April 21, 2001 12:35 PM >Subject: Re: Old Computers > > >> At 12:16 PM 4/21/01 -0700, you wrote: >> >Hi. I have 3 northstar computers that I bought new and used for >business and as a personal pc before pc's.... yuk.. Also have a Morrow >Discjokey system that worked with it. I'd like to donate all... Manuals and >anything else that I have had to someone that wants them. Help >> >Thanks >> >Wayne Gilmore >> >> Wonderful! Where are you located? >> >> - John >>

24 years, 1 month

(3) Northstars + DiscJockey to rescue in Bothell, WA

by jfoust＠threedee.com

24 years, 1 month

L@@K! RARE -- 2 EBAY SELLERS CONVICTED and 1 on the run....Another nice ebay ("epay") story...

by claudew＠videotron.ca

Sheeesh...not surprised....at all.... http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010417/wr/crime_ebay_dc_1.html I will continue to boycott this place as both a potential seller and buyer. Claude Canuk Computer Collector http://computer_collector.tripod.com

24 years, 1 month

VIC-20

by LFessen106＠aol.com

In a message dated 4/23/01 9:00:28 AM Eastern Daylight Time, r_beaudry(a)hotmail.com writes: > > I have an 8K cartridge, and I believe also a 16K cartridge gathering dust on > my shelves. Email me your address, and I'll ship them off to you ... No > guarantees that they work, but they're free :-) > I would love to have one of these myself.. Let me know if there are any "extras" floating around! -Linc Fessenden The nice thing about Windows is - It does not just crash, it displays a dialog box and lets you press 'OK' first.

24 years, 1 month

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test-drb April 2001