Well, I got irritated with the keyboard (ever try to use vi without
the Escape key) and jerked it apart. Very gently.
1) I'm certain that it's re-badged OEM, not IBM-built. All the screws,
internal and external, are Phillips.
2) It's not a double membrane, it's rubber cups over a PCB, with foil
inserts in the caps. The traces on the PCB were covered with
unidentified goop. *Only* under the Escape key. I dunno.
3) It works now.
4) Thanks, Tony. Even though this one bore no resemblance to your
instructions, sometimes *thinking* you have a clue is as good as
the real thing.
On to TCP/IP, NFS, and maybe a game or two of hangman.
Speaking of hangman, is it just me, or is the NetBSD port of hangman
purely evil? Come on, now. "Prolegomenous?" Seriously, I've played
hangman on a bunch of different Unices, and the recent NetBSD hangman is
by far the hardest I've ever seen.
Doc
At 04:28 PM 1/26/2002 -0600, Tothwolf wrote:
> I do have a problem
>with wannabe dealers messing up the local auctions by bidding things up
>higher then they are worth, and then trying unsuccessfully to sell them at
>extremely high prices on ebay.
You haven't been to enough auctions. You'll get over it. :-)
- John
Hi. I'm wondering if anyone has any documentation for the docking
station for a Toshiba T4800CT laptop. I'm embarassed to admit that I
can't even figure out how to access the drive bay on the station.
For those of you with extensive collections (or access to extensive
documentation libraries), the part number for the docking station is
PA2701U, and it's called a "Desk Station IV."
Thanks in advance.
PB Schechter
At 02:07 PM 1/26/2002 -0600, Tothwolf wrote:
>What I am saying, is that I often see idiot wannabe dealers overpay for
>*junk* at the local auctions, not even knowing what they are buying, all
>the while thinking they can make a fast buck off of "suckers" on ebay.
This behavior is self-limiting due to finite pocketbooks.
We can't make the poor go away, and we can't prevent
poor business sense.
>Again, what I am getting at is ebay itself has spawned a whole new
>generation of get-rich-quick idiots who buy up stuff at local auctions for
>inflated prices and try to sell it at an even higher price on ebay.
And that's all because you *can* make money buying low
and selling high, depending on exactly what it is that
you can become expert enough to acquire and sell.
There's been plenty of times when I've bought something
for $100 or less and sold it for $1000 or more.
I may be getting old, but that's exciting.
- John
In a message dated 25/01/02 18:11:34 Pacific Standard Time,
vaxzilla(a)jarai.org writes:
> > > Cmon, what could possibly be less valuable than an Apple ][+? A C64
> > > perhaps...
>
Apple ][ are not that common in the UK. To me an HP85 that chews tapes
would be less valuable than an Apple ][
Chris
Please see below.
> From: Don Maslin <donm(a)cts.com>
> Date: Thursday, January 24, 2002 2:55 PM
>
> On Thu, 24 Jan 2002, Glen Goodwin wrote:
>
> > Although I have (I believe) all of the manuals for the Zenith Z-100
(not
> > Z-100 pc), I cannot find any reference to the serial ports on this box.
> >
> > What are the addresses of the DTE and DCE ports? I'd like to write
some
> > assembly code to access these devices (under CP/M-86) but want to
control
> > them at the hardware level instead of making BDOS calls.
> The overlay for MEX (CP/M-80) says that the modem port - presumably
> DTE - is 0D8H. It does not mention the DCE port. Do both processors
> share the same seriak and parallel ports?
> - don
2nd question first -- yes, the same ports are used regardless of the MPU.
1st question -- found some info in the 2nd manual under "programming data"
(I was looking for *hardware" data!):
2661 Serial A (Printer Port) 0E8-0EB
2661 Serial B (Modem Port) 0EC-0EF
Now I need to know exactly what the control and data addresses for these
ports are. Maybe the first number is data and the second control, or the
other way around? I'm not familiar with the 2661 -- any pointers?
Hey -- I'll bet Tony knows!
Thanks again,
Glen
0/0
On Jan 24, 15:34, Jeffrey S. Sharp wrote:
> Lawrence LeMay said:
> > Cmon, what could possibly be less valuable than an Apple ][+? A C64
> > perhaps...
>
> Old printer ribbons.
No, you can re-ink printer ribbons :-)
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Network Manager
University of York
At 09:09 PM 1/25/2002 -0600, Tothwolf wrote:
>I was quite sick when I saw the seller trying to sell these off to
>uneducated buyers on ebay for $50 each. If someone had indeed bought one
>at that price, they would have been tempted to try to repair it when it
>did not work. People qualified to work on these units would tend to be
>educated buyers and not even consider paying $50 for a dead unit.
What are you suggesting? That a warning label might've
saved their lives, or just saved them from parting from their
cash? Or that the auctioneer's job is to accurately
represent the state of each gizmo, as opposed to saying "all
sales as-is and final", which is far easier and still manages
to attract plenty of buyers.
(This reminds me of the old marketing joke "If Company X
was in charge of Kentucky Fried Chicken, they'd call the
product "Hot Dead Chicken." Just to keep it on-topic,
I know this joke was repeated quite often in the Commodore
market over the years.)
The whole point of an auction is that it's a good way to
maximize profit while making a big pile of junk disappear.
Evaluating the goods (accurately or professionally) and
warning the buyers about nitpicks isn't profitable.
Maybe someone buys dead UPSes to recover the lead in the
batteries, who knows.
And auctions are great fun for game theorists and economists,
many of whom have made careers and won gold medals for determining
nifty phenomena such as the way that the winner tends to overpay.
- John
On January 26, SUPRDAVE(a)aol.com wrote:
> > Wouldn't it be easier to run diags?
>
> It might, but I don't have any. The big pile of RT disks that I got
> from BSD Bob were mistakenly left in a storage locker in Maryland, and
> I won't be able to get to them for at least another month. :-( >>
>
> I think I have a diagnostice floppy somewhere that I found in a stack of
> unrelated floppies. Talk about serendipity! I guess regular old diskcopy
> would work on them.
Doc put some images up on his FTP server for me. Thanks for the
thought, though. :-)
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
St. Petersburg, FL "Less talk. More synthohol." --Lt. Worf
I don't know if it is valuable and/or collectible, but for those interested in
old games consoles :
a complete looking 1975 Atari anti-aircraft game is available at a local
Salvation Army shop.
(Local is : Zurich, Switzerland .
jos Dreesen
>It was quite a shock a few years ago, when I started seeing Craftsman
>tools for sale at OSH (Orchard Supply Hardware)
OSH is a Sears company, so is I believe "Village Hardware", they are
their Home Depot competition stores.
-chris
<http://www.mythtech.net>
In a message dated 1/26/2002 3:39:59 AM Eastern Standard Time,
vance(a)ikickass.org writes:
<< > Well, I got irritated with the keyboard (ever try to use vi without
> the Escape key) and jerked it apart. Very gently.
>
> 1) I'm certain that it's re-badged OEM, not IBM-built. All the screws,
> internal and external, are Phillips.
IBM's keyboards were always built by Lexmark. Recently (a few years ago),
Lexmark spun off their keyboard operation, which was swalllowed up by
Unicomp. This keyboard was built before IBM spun off Lexmark, which means
it was built by IBM.
> 2) It's not a double membrane, it's rubber cups over a PCB, with foil
> inserts in the caps. The traces on the PCB were covered with
> unidentified goop. *Only* under the Escape key. I dunno.
The mechanism in IBM keyboards is called a "buckling spring mechanism".
>>
I've two RT keyboards. One is buckling spring and the other has quiet keys
and seems like a cheaper version.
--
Antique Computer Virtual Museum
www.nothingtodo.org
In a message dated 1/25/2002 11:30:34 PM Eastern Standard Time,
mcguire(a)neurotica.com writes:
<< On January 25, Doc wrote:
> > I think there might be a tape controller board of some sort (with no
> > drive) in mine. I will crack it open and find out. Do you know what
> > the FRU number would be on the 6157?
>
> Wouldn't it be easier to run diags?
It might, but I don't have any. The big pile of RT disks that I got
from BSD Bob were mistakenly left in a storage locker in Maryland, and
I won't be able to get to them for at least another month. :-( >>
I think I have a diagnostice floppy somewhere that I found in a stack of
unrelated floppies. Talk about serendipity! I guess regular old diskcopy
would work on them.
--
Antique Computer Virtual Museum
www.nothingtodo.org
I recently stumbled upon some schematics for a reverse engineered
BBC Master Video ULA. Dammed if I can find the URL.
Anybody seen these schematics ?
Chris
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ben Franchuk [mailto:bfranchuk@jetnet.ab.ca]
> Now where all the female programer types when you want them? :)
Very difficult to find.
Chris
Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL
/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'
Richard Cini wrote...
So, here's the stupid question...how do I solder
these things? Do I hold the iron parallel or perpendicular
to the package leads? The board is pre-tinned, but I
should I also tin the QFP leads?
Neither. The best way to home solder these things is to use
solder paste and a toaster oven, there's an article on
www.seattlerobotics.org on how to do this.
If you must use a soldering iron use a large bit (4.5 to 6 mm)
and run along the edge of the tinned section, not quite touching
the pins, and allow the solder to wick into the joints. Don't
worry about solder bridges, these can be removed later with
solder wick and a good flux.
If you make a complete mess of it remove the chip using a
hot air gun then clean the board with solder wick removing
any left over flux with solvent and try again.
Also use a soldering iron of at least 45W with a temperature
controlled bit.
The easiest way to practice is with the chips on scrap PC
motherboards ... see they do have a use 8^)=
Lee.
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On January 25, Doc wrote:
> > > Wouldn't it be easier to run diags?
> >
> > It might, but I don't have any. The big pile of RT disks that I got
> > from BSD Bob were mistakenly left in a storage locker in Maryland, and
> > I won't be able to get to them for at least another month. :-(
>
> ftp://ftp.dementia.org/pub/rt/diags.[1-3].gz
> ^^^^^ list-box...
> dd floppy images.
Ahhhhhh, most excellent. Thanks! :-)
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
St. Petersburg, FL "Less talk. More synthohol." --Lt. Worf
On January 25, Doc wrote:
> > I think there might be a tape controller board of some sort (with no
> > drive) in mine. I will crack it open and find out. Do you know what
> > the FRU number would be on the 6157?
>
> Wouldn't it be easier to run diags?
It might, but I don't have any. The big pile of RT disks that I got
>from BSD Bob were mistakenly left in a storage locker in Maryland, and
I won't be able to get to them for at least another month. :-(
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
St. Petersburg, FL "Less talk. More synthohol." --Lt. Worf
Hi everyone!
I've been doing a little bit more research on this strange Evans and
Sutherland computer that turned up at the University of Michigan
property disposition warehouse, and I thought I'd mention some of it
here in case anyone were interested.
I was doing a little more determined Web-surfing, and, as far as I
can tell, this machine was not an ES-3, but an ESV-3. With that
information in hand, I turned up some of the following information.
* These machines were based upon the MIPS R3000 microprocessor. They
seem to have been as powerful (at least processor wise) as an SGI
Personal IRIS 4D/35 or a lowball (R3000) SGI Indigo. I'm still quite
curious as to their graphics capabilities, though. How would these
have compared to the Elan graphics system that SGI would have been
selling around this time? How about GTX/GTXB/RealityEngine graphics
on the larger Power Series and Crimson machines? Any ideas?
* They seemed to commonly have between 32 and 64 megabytes of RAM,
and between 500 to 1000 megabytes of hard disk storage installed
(probably) as standard.
* They ran an operating system called ES/OS, which as far as I can
tell was some sort of UNIX derivative that also ran the X Window
System. It doesn't look like it got much farther than version 2.x.
* They seem to have been quite popular in the chemical modeling
field, and were also used in X-Ray Crystallography (sp?).
So, I'll see what I can do about going back there and picking it
up perhaps sometime next week. Unfortunately, the University wants
$100 for it, and as I said earlier, the system is lacking the
keyboard, mouse, and monitor (and I imagine that these do not show up
very often), so I'll still probably be deliberating this purchase a
little bit.
Interestingly enough, I found a mailing list message in Google's
cache (circa 1999) soliciting a source for replacement E&S ESV
systems from the University here as one had broken... I wonder if
this was it! :) If it is, it sure gives one a feel for the speed
of the property disposition pipeline!
Ah, yeah, I'll take a look at how much they want for that DG dual
floppy drive as well. I wouldn't imagine it's going anywhere
quickly. :)
Kind regards,
Sean
--
Sean Caron http://www.diablonet.net
scaron(a)engin.umich.edu root(a)diablonet.net
I haven't seen this sent to the list yet even though it's a bit old at
this stage. It's on-topic for certain, but if you have any issues
w.r.t. vintage and contemporary computer erotica, I suggest you skip
over this message and move on to the next.
http://www.livejournal.com/talkread.bml?itemid=19252878
In some recent discussions with Kibo, we'd agreed that any fetish which
can be conceived by human intelligence, most probably exists. The above
represents one I speculated would exist, but I think this qualifies as
the first example of it I've seen. I've read about the student "art
film" done with SAIL and an "attachment" to a robotic arm that system
controlled.
Also of note, I did e-mail her to ask what OS she was running on the
VAX. Apparently the system isn't hers (points deducted). She doesn't
know what OS it has on it (points deducted), and she believes it isn't
even an operational MicroVAX-II (even more points deducted). I mean,
sure, having the naked woman option with your VAX is great and all, but
if the VAX doesn't actually work then what's the point?
I believe she programs as well, so this is relevant to one of the other
threads here about female programmers... And I do mean it's RELEVANT
though certainly not representative-- at least not based on my
experiences.
-brian.
I saw your message about an boot disk dos for apple computer
i have a power computer that apple own my boss try to load another
os on to the computer and now it does not power up with a system on it
can you tell how to get a boot disk.
On January 25, SUPRDAVE(a)aol.com wrote:
> Mine runs AIX 2.2.1, but just in mono and I need a 6157 controller card so I
> can use my tape drive. I think my RT has a 286 development board in it and I
> have the software to run it still wrapped up. I might have to power it up and
> see what i've been missing.
I think there might be a tape controller board of some sort (with no
drive) in mine. I will crack it open and find out. Do you know what
the FRU number would be on the 6157?
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
St. Petersburg, FL "Less talk. More synthohol." --Lt. Worf
In a message dated 1/25/2002 6:28:18 PM Eastern Standard Time,
mcguire(a)neurotica.com writes:
<< On January 25, Doc Shipley wrote:
> There are numerous refernces to the use of IDE drives in the RT
> newsgroup. Although AIX actually will install in 70MB, it leaves little
> room to play in. Plus, that one E70 alone was warming my house and
> whining loudly enough to make my cats cry.
Oh wow...I didn't know you could do that. I have a 6150 here (from
BSD Bob) that I'd love to stick some more disk in. I will have to
investigate this further. :)
> I've been offered a copy of 4.4BSD/Romp for it, which I may try out.
> I'd like to try AOS, but I can't find the full distribution, just the
> tools, updates, and diagnostic utilities.
I'm running 4.4BSD on mine. It's a really neat machine. I just got
a megapel board for it (thanks Gordon!) and now I need to find a tube
and a mouse. >>
Mine runs AIX 2.2.1, but just in mono and I need a 6157 controller card so I
can use my tape drive. I think my RT has a 286 development board in it and I
have the software to run it still wrapped up. I might have to power it up and
see what i've been missing.
--
Antique Computer Virtual Museum
www.nothingtodo.org
On January 25, Doc Shipley wrote:
> There are numerous refernces to the use of IDE drives in the RT
> newsgroup. Although AIX actually will install in 70MB, it leaves little
> room to play in. Plus, that one E70 alone was warming my house and
> whining loudly enough to make my cats cry.
Oh wow...I didn't know you could do that. I have a 6150 here (from
BSD Bob) that I'd love to stick some more disk in. I will have to
investigate this further. :)
> I've been offered a copy of 4.4BSD/Romp for it, which I may try out.
> I'd like to try AOS, but I can't find the full distribution, just the
> tools, updates, and diagnostic utilities.
I'm running 4.4BSD on mine. It's a really neat machine. I just got
a megapel board for it (thanks Gordon!) and now I need to find a tube
and a mouse.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
St. Petersburg, FL "Less talk. More synthohol." --Lt. Worf
Hi Guys,
Can I throw in my 2 cents worth?
><snip>
>
>Hmmm. I guess then an xBox being sold at a price above the MSRP is not
>'too high' of a price.
Apparntly not. I've seen the same thing at flea-markets and other "live"
events. BUT one of the things that affect this is the fact that the MSRP
aren't the same eveywhere. I used to collect HP calculators but I almost
never bought any from E-bay. Why? Because calculators that sold new in
this country (USA) for say $250 sold for twice as much in Europe and other
places simply due to the import tariffs that their countries charge. As
result, I might be willing to pay say $150 for the same model used but
someone in Europe is happy to pay $300 or more. Well above the MSRP. In
short there are lots of factors that affect the price more than MSRP. It
all goes back to the law of supply and demand. Where HP 9825s are common
and cheap in this country, they're rare and expensive in Europe.
Or the example of dead UPS's being sold for $50 a
>pop.
Did you ever stop to consider that the buyer might know somehing that you
don't? Perhaps he is knowledgeable on that model and knows that 90% of the
"dead" ones can be fixed by changing an internal fuse even when the
manufacturer claims that "there are no user serviceable parts inside".
Or a CISC AS/400 being sold for $140k. Sorry, but a lot of the time
>things are available for much lower prices outside of eBay than they are
>on eBay.
I COMPLETELY agree! My personal opinion: E-bay is for people that are
too lazy to search out there own bargains. Example: I've found TWO
Altairs in the last three years. Both of them were FREE. OTOH I could have
bought one from E-bay and paid a rediculous price for it. Don't get me
wrong, there are some great bargains to be had on E-bay but I'm sick and
tired of people complaining about E-bay prices. It just like shopping at
Sears, if you think their price is too high THEN DON'T SHOP THERE.
Ignorant people go around buying and selling things for much
>more than they're worth on eBay.
Wrong! It takes at least two bidders to push the price up. Therefore at
least two people think that it's worth that much. I wouldn't pay $100,000+
for a Rolls-Royce but that down't mean they aren't "worth" it.
>
>I personally have no problem with bid sniping. I've done it myself a
>number of times. The problem lies in the fact that some people do not
>have enough FINANCIAL RESOURCES to be bidding 2x what something is worth
>on eBay.
That's fact of life, Get used to it! That's like complaining because you
can't afford a Rolls-Royce and someone else can.
As a college student that has just been laid off from my job at
>Purdue (!) I know what it's like. Sure, there are a lot of good deals to
>be had on eBay, but there are also plenty of bad deals.
But no one is forcing you to buy those bad deals. So take the good ones
and leave the rest. That's how you "win" on E-bay.
Joe
After 13 years off I'm finally going to get to play with a VAX again (the
last system I used was an 11/785!) - I've found a VAXstation 3100, and it
should be landing on my doorstep in the next week :) Happy happy happy!
Finding a VAX that's small enough for "Al's Toy Barn" hasn't been easy, they
don't seem to be that common here in the UK (UK classiccmpers correct me if
I'm wrong, and please point me in the right direction ;-)).
A couple of "newbie" VAXish questions:
The box I'm getting is just that - no monitor/keyboard/mouse etc - I've read
that you can use the printer port for the console so I'm planning using
that. I'm not bothered about using DECwindows, console is just fine thanks
;-) Since I don't have any "real" terminals I've got various options.. the
most likely is to use my ST's VT52 emulator (got to keep it "classic"!) -
anyone tried this? Other options are to use the TERMINAL package on one of
my BBC Masters, hook it up to the Linux box, or use the Windows terminal
emulator. I guess I need a null modem cable to hook the 3100 up to whatever
I'm using for the terminal, right?
There's no backup media for the OS - any ideas where I'd get VMS on
floppies? (It has a floppy drive, no CD). Or do I need to hook up a CD?
Also, does anyone know what version of VMS shipped with the 3100s?
Cheers
Al.
I have a friend in AZ who is a sometime writer and
would love to have an AlphaSmart:
http://www.streettech.com/archives_hardware/alphaSmartPro.html
Alas, her current finances aren't up to it, and it
occurred to me that, especially after the recent bunch
of free M100/102s, someone on this list might have a spare
one they'd like to contribute and make an old woman happy in
the meantime (good thing she doesn't read this list
or she'd kill me).
Anybody? And maybe a null modem cable to let her
transfer .do files to a PC?
mike
> From: Dave Mabry <dmabry(a)mich.com>
> I used to have the computer he was referring to in the original post, a
> Zenith MastersPort SX and it's AC adapter was an inline variety. Cords
> on both ends. I never would have guessed it being called a wart.
Having never seen the transformer/power supply/wart/whatever, I didn't know
it was of the inline variety.
Does anyone have the specs on this thing???
Glen
0/0
In a message dated 25/01/02 12:57:14 Pacific Standard Time
rigdonj(a)cfl.rr.com writes:
<snip>
> But no one is forcing you to buy those bad deals. So take the good ones
> and leave the rest. That's how you "win" on E-bay.
>
> Joe
I totally agree with Joe. There are some nice bargains to be had and some
truly
awful crap. So far I think I'm breaking even on the bargain and crap score.
As the
Ebay novelty wears off I've learnt to more choosy in what I buy.
Over time you learn who are the good guys, the re-sellers, collectors or
enthusiasts
making an honest living, and the bad guys who just jump on the band wagon and
push up the prices.
If you really want something there are lots of places to look besides Ebay.
Chris
In a message dated 25/01/02 14:31:21 Pacific Standard Time,
bfranchuk(a)jetnet.ab.ca writes:
> Well tell me, I would like to know what other on-line places are there
> to look for older equipment.
>
BTW, I'm located in the UK so Ebay.co.uk is very poor in terms of choice.
'Ebay dot com' on the other hand is a totally different ball game so for you
it is like one stop shopping. As an example - on one day there were thirty
(yes three zero) items listed under "Test Equipment" in the UK and 1500
on Ebay.com. Sometimes I go hunting for RF test gear and to be honest
you guys on the other side of the pond are spoilt.
The same applies to vintage computer equipment. All you get on UK Ebay
is Spectrums, C64's and Atari 1600's, mostly games I must add. There is
a good selection of Acorn hardware but that's about it. Early SBC stuff is
rare (KIM and AIM65 etc). DEC and HP hardly ever appear on ebay.co.uk
Many electronic test equipment dealers have surplus computer equipment
for sale, especially in the US and Canada. It all depends on what you are
looking for.
I've often found that dealers haven't got the time to keep their websites up
to
date and often don't list many items. If I'm looking for a particular piece of
hardware or perhaps a service manual I find that an email sometimes gets
a favorable response.
Google is another option, and I often spend hours following links to sites
that may have an item I'm looking for.
In fact I sometimes spend hours following link to loads of other interesting
sites just for the hell of it. It's like being let loose in a library for the
very
first time :-)
I hope that's put things into perspective Ben. BTW if I was happy paying
the postage and import duties then Ebay.com would be one stop shopping
for me.
Post Script: For books try Abebooks.com
Best Regards
Chris
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Doc Shipley [mailto:doc@mdrconsult.com]
> I was able to find archived images of AIX v2.2.1 (which,
> interestingly
> enough, I may be able to use *legally*. IBM permits their AIX
> instructors to run AIX on personal machines for private/non-commercial
> machines. I'm NOT gonna call Mr. Wolden and ask....) The archive
> includes VRM, BOS and Extended Utilities, all IBM's updates & patches,
> the NFS add-ons, man pages (IBM *still* provides the man pages as a
> separate product!), TCP/IP, and some GNU stuff. And the all-important
> Diags disk set.
Any idea what the version overlap (if any) is between RT and RS/6000? In other words, are there any versions that would boot on either machine? This is just curiosity for now.
> every IBM I've
> ever worked on required the ritual blood sacrifice before booting.
Most machines require that occasionally.
> You need a "dumb" ISA IDE/floppy controller. It must be set to
> secondary IDE and primary floppy. Any serial/parallel/game ports will
> probably have to be disabled. The RT will boot from a secondary IDE
Heh. :) Maybe for a project you could get the game ports working? ;)
> Still to do:
> Find vi. I haven't installed the Extended set yet. Please
> Gods don't
> make me use ed.
Until I read that, I was going to suggest that you could just use ed.
> Yee-Haw. I now have AIX v2.2.1, toys, tools & updates, on 5.25
> floppy!
Congratulations.
Chris
Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL
/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'
Many thanks for the helpful comments from Pete, Tony and Adrian.
Lucky for me I discovered that the terminal pins unscrew.
ALL of the keyswitch terminal pins have be cleaned with a
mild abrasive (Brasso) and then washed in IPA. I had to
remove all of the switches to clean the rust from the
frame, but what the hell, they're back to original condition.
BTW I don't have any WD40 and would never ever use it on any
electrical or mechanical parts - never ever !
Also, as the leaf springs in the key switches are gold plated
I've left them 'as is' and not used any propriety "switch cleaners".
They should work for another 15 years :-)
Also, fixed the intermittent dry joint in the PSU and added the
composite video colour mod. Found the last one on the
Acorn FTP site http://acorn.riscos.com/documents/appnotes/
This was one of my better buys from Ebay. My only complaint
is the tatty case - I will have to think about "re-boxing" it.
Perhaps in a 1U 19in case, it will make the connectors a little
more accessible and support the weight of the Cumana dual
disk drives !
Thanks for the help
Chris
Chris
On January 25, Ian Koller wrote:
> Sellam,
>
> Or is it Sam?
>
> http://www.classiccmp.org/mail-archive/classiccmp/1998-05/0760.html
>
> Do you for a minute think I give a shit about what you want
> or what you think? Wake up and smell the coffee pal. I actually
> consider it a serious possibility your vcf is a front for your
> business, and you are just running a scam. So piss the fuck off
> asshole.
I can FEEL the love around here.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
St. Petersburg, FL "Less talk. More synthohol." --Lt. Worf
Joe,
After reading your three messages, it seems you also
see the disparity.
There is one point that the author of that page about
sniping did not seem to consider. If auctions did automatically
extend, but in each extension period, the minimum increment
doubled, it could autoextend, yet still come to an end fairly
quickly.
Because of the sniping issue, I feel that eBay can't really
be held as a true measure of the value of things. Only in auctions
that had a chance to "settle" at the highest price someone was
willing to pay for something, would it be valid measurement tool,
of that aspect only of an overall market system, also keeping in
mind the terms, i.e. untested, "as-is", tested, guaranteed, etc.
The on-line auctions run by the GSA use a proxy bidding
system, and also have an autoextend feature. Bear in mind
that their prices are not a true measure of actual value
either, because some of what they sell is broken damaged stuff,
and you don't know what is what until you've bought it. They
also don't entertain complaints.
Joe wrote:
>
> Ian,
>
> I don't like sniping but I understand why it's done. Good info, I'm
> keeping a permanent copy of it.
>
> Joe
>
> At 01:28 PM 1/25/02 -0500, you wrote:
> >
> >
> >Hello Pat,
> >
> > If you read these links, it gives other "perspectives" on
> >the issue of sniping. I guess you don't like sniping, because
> >you would like to get the best price you could for your items.
> >This we do respect.
> >
> >
> >http://www.geocities.com/phillipcreed/myths.html
> >
> >http://www.geocities.com/phillipcreed/
> >
> >http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/supersniper/
> >
> >
> > But the ones who complain that they didn't win an item because
> >someone sniped them, we have no respect for what so ever. No one
> >ever lost an item because someone out bid them. They lost the item
> >because they didn't bid the high bid utilizing the "proxy" bidding
> >system. Period. These are people that want to blame others for their
> >own failures which they themselves brought about. They seem to act
> >like the world owes them something, when in reality, their failure
> >is brought on because they are too cheap and selfish. They want what
> >other people have, but are unwilling to give much of themselves to
> >get it.
> >
> > A note to all. You'll win whatever item you bid on, if you put
> >in the high bid while the auction is running, regardless of when
> >that bid is placed.
> >
> >
> > As for the ones that complain about prices of goods being
> >sold on eBay as being so high, these people have been deemed
> >unsuitable for employment in our organization for being too
> >ignorant of commerce and economics. It's indicative of serious
> >flaws in personality, attitude, and intelligence. Generally
> >things on eBay often sell for a third to an eighth ( and
> >sometimes even 1/25 ) of what they are actually worth, and
> >we have hard data to prove that fact. So any that end up out
> >of work, just know, we'll learn more about what you're really
> >like by reading the messages you've posted, than we'd ever learn
> >in an interview. And we do research prospective applicants
> >in this manner. Thanks Google.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Pat Barron wrote:
> >>
> >> On Fri, 25 Jan 2002, Ian Koller wrote:
> >> > I looked at it, then checked your "me" page, then gave up.
> >> >
> >> > If you want auctions that automatically extend, you have
> >> > that option as a seller on Yahoo.
> >>
> >> I'm sorry that put you off; I've been thinking about toning down or
> >> eliminating that section, but I haven't done anything about it yet because
> >> this is a really sore point with me - it's particularly aimed at people
> >> who run "outbid-bots", that track auctions and place bids in (literally)
> >> the final 15 or 30 seconds of the auction, to ensure that the previous
> >> high bidder has no chance to rebid.
> >>
> >> In a "real" auction, the auction generally continues until activity
> >> ceases; if that's doable on Yahoo! Auctions (like the old Onsale.com
> >> system, in which a bid in the last 5 minutes of an auction automatically
> >> extended it), then that might be a better option for me. Though I haven't
> >> listed anything there for a long time, because I've had the impression
> >> that very few people use Yahoo! Auctions (as opposed to eBay)....
> >>
> >> Thanks,
> >> --Pat.
> >
Meanwhile, back at the ranch....
The IBM RT I was given last weekend turned out to be configured with:
Enhanced Advanced 032 processor, which is hardwired with 16MB of
RAM. No Advanced Floating-Point Accelerator, drat it all.
Extended Monochrome Display adapter (1024x768) w/6155 mono display
Ungerman-Bass Baseband [ethernet] adapter
Streaming Tape Drive Adapter - RT interface for 6157 1/4 tape drive
No tape drive or cable
1 5.25" DSHD floppy drive
3 E70 70MB ESDI hard disks - 2 dead as dirt.
1 SIIG 8-bit Serial/Parallel adapter, c.1998, which prevents booting
Keyboard
I was able to find archived images of AIX v2.2.1 (which, interestingly
enough, I may be able to use *legally*. IBM permits their AIX
instructors to run AIX on personal machines for private/non-commercial
machines. I'm NOT gonna call Mr. Wolden and ask....) The archive
includes VRM, BOS and Extended Utilities, all IBM's updates & patches,
the NFS add-ons, man pages (IBM *still* provides the man pages as a
separate product!), TCP/IP, and some GNU stuff. And the all-important
Diags disk set.
NOTE: If you ever have to work on an IBM workstation, as soon as
you get the case open, get a paper clip, solder pick, fountain pen, or
other not-very-sharp object, and gouge a couple of knuckles with it.
Bleeding directly onto the machine is not necessary, but every IBM I've
ever worked on required the ritual blood sacrifice before booting.
The machine booted to the Diags just fine, after I pulled the serial
adapter. There I discovered that the keyboard has several dead keys
(well, two, but the Escape key counts triple), that the RT wants
<Ctrl>+<Alt>+<Pause> to reboot, and that the display must be powered up
before the computer. Everything but the 2 dead E70 drives and the
keyboard checked out.
There are numerous refernces to the use of IDE drives in the RT
newsgroup. Although AIX actually will install in 70MB, it leaves little
room to play in. Plus, that one E70 alone was warming my house and
whining loudly enough to make my cats cry.
Final verdict: they're right, but I saw some glitches I haven't seen
documented.
You need a "dumb" ISA IDE/floppy controller. It must be set to
secondary IDE and primary floppy. Any serial/parallel/game ports will
probably have to be disabled. The RT will boot from a secondary IDE
controller, if you satisfy the drive specs. On mine, even aftetr
removing the ESDI controller, setting the IDE card to primary causes the
machine to freeze on boot.
Drive specs: A Seagate Medalist IDE drive. Period. Some posts suggest
that small Quantum or Conner drives will work, but not boot. The WD,
Quantum, and Maxtor drives I tried weren't detected at all. The Conner
340MB was detected and passed, but I haven't tried booting it. The
Seagate ST3250A Medalist is booting quite nicely as hd(1,0). I did try
an ST32122A 2G, and it installed OK and booted fine once. After that,
it drops into maintenance mode on boot, with unrecoverable errors.
Mount claims that the filesystem devices don't exist. I'm not convinced
that wasn't due to operator error during install.
Still to do:
Find vi. I haven't installed the Extended set yet. Please Gods don't
make me use ed.
Set up TCP/IP networking. Just got the TCP/IP set installed last
night, and configuration is waiting on vi. I hope.
I've been offered a copy of 4.4BSD/Romp for it, which I may try out.
I'd like to try AOS, but I can't find the full distribution, just the
tools, updates, and diagnostic utilities.
Find a mouse.
Suck it up, gird my loins, and try repairing the keyboard. I may try
using stty to remap the dead keys till I have a backup kbd.
Yee-Haw. I now have AIX v2.2.1, toys, tools & updates, on 5.25
floppy!
Doc
Well, for those curious, and those whom I said I would inform, here
is a list of (100lbs!) Commodore 128 and Atari 800 goodies I got courtesy of
Michael Brodt... (This list is for my own inventory purpose, as much as your
entertainment.)
Commodore 128 ---
- 1571 floppy drive
- Wico Command Control bat handle joystick
- TV connector/adaptor.
Atari 800 ---
(there's " #043 " rubber-stamped on the model sticker, above the printed No.
472297 Any ideas? Also a sticker with a handwritten "AW458710 1/28")
- Atari810 floppy drive
- 4 joysticks (one missing the 'stick'. Hey, the Commodore joystick will
work on this, won't it?)You know, it would be real easy to turn the busted
one into a gamepad, wouldn't it?
- Microbits Peripheral Products Parallel Printer interface
And software/books/magazines are:
(game names are writen exactly as seen on the label. Maybe Michael or
someone can say what the misspellings are supposed to be...)
*** C=128 ***
(this list coming soon...)
*** Atari 800 ***
---originals s/w diskettes---
Shamus Case II No:4705
Canyon Climber
The Goonies (it has C=64 version on side 2!) with hints...
Drelbs No:101210
Alternate Reality: The Dungeon
Alternate Reality: The City
Atari 810 Master Diskette II
Atari 400/800 BASIC cartridge CXL 4002 (priced at $59.95!)
Karateka
The Incredible Laboratory
Realm Of Impossibility
Cyclod
---copies---
Starwars
Frogger
Pogoman
Caverns
Actionquest (?)
Pacman
Krazy
Defender
Galaxian
Raiders
Miscom (?)
Speedway
Poype (misspelling on label?)
Joust
Donkey Kong
Nautilis
Caverns 2
Montezuma
Snokie
Sargon
Congo
Spy Hunter
Tutunkahmun
Archon
Zepplin
Slime
Mario Brothers
Dig Dug
Cyclod
Spy Huntrcom (?)
Spy Sutle (?)
War Games
Decathlon
Starfighter
PitFall II
Legion
Koalapad
Jumpman
Centioede
Wiz Of War
Koalapad
MTV
Zaxxon
Zork I
(on Cyclod disk--
DigDug
Spyhuntrcom
Spshutle
War Games
Decathlon
StarFighter
PitFall II
Legion
AtariWriter
Krazy
Defender
Galaxian
Raiders
Miscom
Anticks
Centipede
--- books ---
The Video Master's Guide To Defender
-(arcade version)
Basic Fun With Graphics The Atari Way
AD&D Eye Of The Beholder Clue Book
Free Software For your Atari
Dr. C Wacko's Miracle Guide To Designing And Programming Your Own Atari
Computer Arcade Games
Atari Basic - A Self Teaching Guide
Atari Games And Recreations
Atari Basic Quick Reference Guide
Your First Atari Program
Atari Sound And Graphics - A Self Teaching Guide
Owner's Guide for the 800 and 810
Atari 810 Disk Drive - Introduction To he Disk Operating System
Computers For Kids - Atari Edition
AtariWriter manual
Star Raiders manual
Review - A Catalog Of Atari Learning Systems - Fall 83, Vol 1, Issue 1
Antic - The Atari Resource - Feb 1988 Vol 6, #10
Analog Computing - Sep 1987, #57
Atari Explorer - Feb 1985
Atari Connection - The Home Computer Magazine - Summer 1983
Atari Connection - Winter 1984
Atari Connection - Spring 1984
Atari Connection - Summer 1984
APX - Atari Program Exchange Product Catalog - Summer 1983
APX - Fall 1983
Home Applications And Games For The Atari Home Computers
Atari 400/800 Basic Reference Manual
Atari 400/800 Disk Operating System II Reference Manual
--- David A Woyciesjes
--- C & IS Support Specialist
--- Yale University Press
--- mailto:david.woyciesjes@yale.edu
--- (203) 432-0953
--- ICQ # - 905818
>My little U-matic portable (The front says JVC, the service manual says
>Hitachi...) has SO239 socket ('UHF') for the composite video input and
>output. It's a 625 line PAL machine, of course -- I have no idea what the
>NTSC version uses....
My UMatic experience is really limited to just Panasonic and Sony units
(dating from mid-late 70's thru my newest Sony is maybe 10 years old now).
But interestingly... I was wrong... I HAVE seen the "UHF" connector for
composite. I had completely forgotten about the old closed circuit video
system I pulled out when I started working at my current job.
They had 3 black and white security cameras that used that connector. I
know they were composite video, because I remember using an RCA adaptor,
and connecting one to a VCR's video line in shortly after pulling them
out of service.
So yeah... I have actually seen that setup, I had just forgotten about
it, as it might have been the only place I have seen that (but also, 90%
of my AV experience is from mid 80's to mid-late 90's, so most of what I
was exposed to is the "current standards" connectors). That's why I
disclaimed that I wasn't saying it didn't exist... just that I hadn't
seen it (I have also learned in A/V, if there is a connector out there,
odds are, someone, at sometime, used it in their setup)
-chris
<http://www.mythtech.net>
On Jan 25, 10:10, Adrian Graham wrote:
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk [mailto:ard@p850ug1.demon.co.uk]
> > Sent: 24 January 2002 23:33
> > To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
> > Subject: Re: BBC Master keyboard
> >
> > Normally such keyswitches come apart. I am not sure just what type is
> > used on the Beeb, but if they have round terminal pins then
>
> When I was key swapping to get a complete Master keyboard using a scrap
> machine I noticed the keyswitches were glued together and not clipped. I
> wanted to just swap over the plungers but had to swap over the whole
switch
> instead.
They're different keyswitches.
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Network Manager
University of York
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sellam Ismail [mailto:foo@siconic.com]
> Well, I also collect various printers, monitors, and terminals. I'm
> weird. But boring as they are, it's all part of the record, and needs
> preserving.
Monitors and terminals are a necessity. Printers aren't. That doesn't mean that I won't have printers, but they need to be more impressive. I have a Genicom, for instance, which I've kept due to its unique ability to survive the direct impact of a locomotive.
Chris
Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL
/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk [mailto:ard@p850ug1.demon.co.uk]
> > I have a 50-75 ohm converter, I believe. I'll need to dig it up.
> No, you don't need it (or want it). The monitor's input
> impedance will be
> 75 ohms as well (it's a standard for composite video). So all
> you need is
> a piece of 75 ohm cable, a 75 ohm BNC plug for the computer end and
> whatever plug fits your monitor's input...
Oops. :) I see now. Thanks.
Chris
Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL
/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'
More office cleaning. Most of the software disks are in unopened packages.
Free for postage from Chicago:
1 copy Borland Brief ("The Programmer's Editor"), MS-DOS, Disks & Docs, 3
pounds
1 copy Borland Brief ("The Programmer's Editor"), OS/2, Disks & Docs, 3
pounds
(The original packages had both MS-DOS and OS/2 disks.
I found 1 set of disks and 2 sets of docs, so I'm making
one OS/2 package and one MS-DOS package).
2 copies Borland Quatro Pro 1.0 SE, MS-DOS, Disks & Docs, 3 pounds @
1 copy WordPerfect 5.2 for Windows, Docs & disks, 8 pounds
1 copy Code Warrior Starter Kit 7, Mac w/68020 & System 7.1, 2 CD's, 1 pound
AT&T 6300 Plus (80286 CPU) Docs & Disks (13 pounds in all):
MS-DOS User's Guide (sorry, no disks)
Getting Started (w/Tutorial, Mouse & Customer Diagnostic disks)
Hardware Reference Manual (w/lots of motherboard logic diagrams)
Service Manual (w/System Diagnostics disk)
Please reply off-list to robert_feldman(a)jdedwards.com.
FIFO.
Does anyone have any idea what this card is for?
<http://www.classiccmp.org/hp/mds-80/analog-d.jpg> When I picked it up I
thought it was a Multibus card but a closer look reveals that it's (1) too
tall, (2) too narrow, (3) The large connector at the bottom has 100
contacts instead of 86, (4) the narrow connector has 40 pins instead of 60
and it sticks down too far.
Any ideas?
Joe
The rectangular boxes are relays, look like mercury wetted contact relays.
The Bus is some sort of lab instrumentation and control. I am not sure what
it is called. It is familiar with me too. I have seen quite a few similar
cards in the past.
Paxton
Astoria, OR
PS Nice to see you back. Nice MDS you got. What cards?
> I guess I only thought I'd get out of this hobby. Last week I got this
> <http://www.classiccmp.org/hp/mds-80/picture.jpg> in the mail. This is from
> a deal that I've had working for over a year. I've got it running and it
> works nice!
My condolences, and here I thought you were going to be an insperation to us
all and prove that it is possible to recover from the classic computer
addiction! :^( I guess it just goes to prove everyone here is doomed !
Welcome back :^)
Zane
Got this via email. Contact him at Excel1Star(a)cs.com if you can take
them off his hands:
>Hi, I have 2 BMC computers from the early 80's. They operate on CPM.
>They
>were neat in their day (still are). Two different models -- if-800
>based on 5
>inch floppy (has light pen, function keys, integrated printer) and the
>other
>one based on 8 inch floppy. I have FORTRAN compiler, SUPERCALC and
some >other
>software. I have boxes of CPM books. And some media too.
>Would like to find a good home for them. I would like to make a tax
>deductible contribution. Thanks Al
Mike
Tarnover - The Apple II Repository
http://tarnover.org
I have the "IBM 3101 Display Terminal Description" document. It's about 1/2"
thick and has the technical specs, functional description, setup and
configuration, interface wiring diagrams (not schematics), character maps,
etc...
Normally, I'd offer it for free but since I'm recently umemployed, the new
owner will have to buy me breakfast. $5.00 and it's yours!
If anyone wants it, contact me off list.
SteveRob
>From: Doc <doc(a)mdrconsult.com>
>Reply-To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
>To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
>Subject: Re: IBM 3101 Dip Switches Configuration
>Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2002 22:30:36 -0600 (CST)
>
>On Thu, 24 Jan 2002, Dave McGuire wrote:
>
> > On January 24, Doc wrote:
> > > If by "normal serial cable" you mean a standard port-to-modem cable,
> > > that is most likely your problem. You need to use a null-modem serial
> > > cable with a terminal.
> >
> > That depends *completely* on the terminal. Several even have both
> > DTE- and DCE-wired connectors.
>
> Oops. My mistake. I should have said "You need to use a null-modem
>serial cable with an unmodified IBM 3101 terminal"
>
> Doc
>
>
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