test-drb September 2002

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

217 participants
408 discussions

by dlormand＠aztec.asu.edu

I got hold of a Compaq LTE Lite/20, which is a '386 monochrome job. It was broke when I got it, and I can't seem to fix it (laptops were never designed to be repaired). If anyone wants it for spare parts or to have their own go at resurrecting it, it's yours for the shipping from Tucson. Cosmetically fine, but the power switch does nothing. Power is working, as the battery charge light comes one. I also have the power pack for it, which is fine. Also works with the other Lite series. I'd like to get $20 for it.

23 years, 1 month

Otrona Attache boards on eBay

by Robert_Feldman＠jdedwards.com

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2052204164. 5 motherboards, 3 16-bit addon boards, docs, and a _set of schematics_. Only problem is that many/most of the socketed chips have been pulled. I'm interested in the schematics for my 8:16, but have no need for all the boards. I thought John Wren had it yesterday with Buy It Now ($15.00), but it is relisted today.

23 years, 1 month

OT: Obsolecence (Was RE: OT: PC Motherboard with a vacuum tube)

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

I was in a BlockBuster here two nights ago and was surprised to find that at leat 80% of the VCR tapes have been replaced by DVDs. I guess DVDs don't wear out and they take up less space, That equals higher profit for BlockBuster. Joe At 07:21 AM 9/9/02 -0600, you wrote: >Our local Blockbuster Video here in Chicago is rapidly decreasing the number >of video cassettes it rents, in favor of DVD's. Soon there won't be any >available, except at the public library or specialty rental stores. I guess >they are trying to force users to switch to DVD. > >-----Original Message-----

23 years, 1 month

VT220

by jhfinepw4z＠compsys.to

I remember that there was a VT220 available here recently, is it still available? Mine is just too burned at this point. Please reply directly. Sincerely yours, Jerome Fine -- If you attempted to send a reply and the original e-mail address has been discontinued due a high volume of junk e-mail, then the semi-permanent e-mail address can be obtained by replacing the four characters preceding the 'at' with the four digits of the current year.

23 years, 1 month

Proper Observance of ESD Handling Proceedures

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

At 02:06 AM 9/9/02 -0400, Bennett Paul wrote: > > >Joe Rigdon, > > > I think there's more going on here than what this message describes. > >You bet. Here's just how small a world it really is ... > > Just so you know, it's Bennett Paul here in Va. Beach. Hi Paul. I knew that id sounded familar but I couldn't place it. why didn't you put your name on the message? Incidently, I did >go ahead and bid on your National Instruments GPIB-1014DP. I guess >when I talked to you on the phone, you thought I was trying to get over >on you or something? I'm sorry you thought that. If I hadn't bid, as I >felt should have been the case, Mitch would have gotten that part from >you for only $86.00 or $87.50 and you would have done worse than my >offer to you. As it turned out, against my better judgement, I bid anyway >and that's what got you the $111.48 for it. All in the same range of what I >pretty much knew it would sell for, and in the range of my offer to you, >because I track all this type of gear. You always could have come back >with a reasonable counter offer. And if you had been willing to cooperate, >I might have been able to get you two to three times as much for it; you >just would have to have been willing to be patient and cooperative. > >http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2039825292 > >http://cgi6.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=2039825292 > > After that one, we have decided that we will never again compete with >Mitch for any your parts. Joe, your overly suspicious nature just makes >you too difficult for us to deal with. So now, when you mention your parts >for sale to this list, we'll take a look, but we probably won't be buying. Juat so the rest of you know what's going on. Paul called me on the phone and wanted to buy a VME GP-IB that I had ALREADY posted on e-bay. He wanted me to cancel the auction and sell it dirctly to him. At that point, two other people had already bid on it so I declined. Not only is outside selling against my user's agreement with E-bay but more importantly it's not fair to the other bidders. Call that suspicious if you like but I'd do the same thing again. >I have >since now gotten a GPIB-1014 from another member of this list. Dropped >over $1,300 on that cc list member which will help him in his business >endeavors. > > Is there more to this than casual inspection shows? You bet. > >The seller of that DIO-24/PnP responded with a retaliatory comment, to a >neutral comment, because I posted that I consider it substandard to ship a >bare computer component in nothing but a material that risked damaging it. >We really expected that someone that would be in the instrument business >would know better than that. Most of the sellers that have made this >mistake, at >least have shown that they cared and that they would try to do better in >the future. That's true. >I know I should have given him a negative. If I knew ahead of time what his >attitude was going to be, I most definitely would have. Too picky? No. No, not "too picky" just a cop-out. If he deserved negative feedback you should have posted negative feedback and not worried about it. I just posted negative feedback on someone for the first time, after I couldn't contact him via e-mail or telephone for over a month. After I posted the feedback he contacted me and told me that his secretary was supposed to have handled the transaction while he was on vacation. It's regretable that she didn't and that he got negative feedback but that's what happens if you leave things up to someone else without checking up on them. The >parts >we buy must be of a quality to be acceptable to business buyers or you will >find we will stop buying from any seller that sells obviously physically >damaged >trash without truthfully describing it or mishandles our purchases. Then maybe you should point that out to the seller before he ships it. I know you shouldn't have to but personally I'd rather be safe than sorry. I frequently get requests for special shipping, packaging, etc and I usually comply with their requests. > >When I used to sell DEC Qbus components on eBay ( to Zane, Gordon, Clint, >Barry, William, Mark, Tim, and others ), I always tried to package their >purchases >properly. Even a M3104 that I sold to Doug Meade for only ONE DOLLAR, went into >an antistatic bag. So do mine. Even my books go out in anti-static bags! I bought a big pile of them and use them for EVERYTHING. > > My patience has worn thin with eBay sellers that charge enough for shipping >and handling to do the job properly, then don't. It's not about what they >charge. I have to agree there. Too many sellers are trying to make a living just on what they charge for "handling". (You'll notice that a lof of commercail companies are doing the exact same thing). If I'm interested in it, I E-mail the seller and ask about that on EVERY auction that has additional charges. And I usually deduct the "handling" cost from what I'm willing to pay for an item. If they charged a "packing" or "handling" fee and the item was damaged due to improper packing I would file a complaint with E-bay (and file negative feedback) if the seller didn't refund my money. >It's about ignorance and incompetence. It's about their risking damage to the >thousands of dollars worth of gear we have been buying. > > In the very recent past these items were shipped to us without being in >either >an antistatic bag OR antistatic bubble wrap ... > >National Instruments PC-DIO-24/PNP ISA Card - $24.99 > http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1750732393 > >national instruments IEEE 488 interface card - $21.50 > http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2048704854 > >Data Translation DT5712 Analog Input Board - $39.17 > http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2045869397 > >National Instruments PCI-MXI-2 - $125.00 > http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2049828950 > >Motorola MVME 300 VME Module - $39.95 > http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1756363070 > >GPIB PCI Card National Instruments NI-488.2 - $150.00 > http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1749304420 > > I must say, you seem having a lot more trouble with it than I do. I seldom have that problem and I've had leterally thousands of items sent to me. The items that I recieve damaged are usually do to gross mishandling by the shipping company and have nothing to do with how it was packing. >Hmmm ... > > And Louis Schulman thought GPIB interfaces were worth only about $5 > http://www.classiccmp.org/mail-archive/classiccmp/2001-09/0543.html Naw, they're worth at least $14. <http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2049995705> > > At least Allison knew. > http://www.classiccmp.org/mail-archive/classiccmp/2001-09/0552.html > > >Anyway, these items were misrepresented by their seller ... > >Ziatech ZT8907 STD32 Single Board Computer SB > http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2036630347 > >NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS TERMINAL SCREW BLOCK - $24.95 - item pictured > was acceptable, item received had the ends of the socket broken off >and the > latches missing > http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1760911557 That looks like a pretty simple and compact item. How did they manage to pack it so that it was damaged, put a stamp on it and send it bare? It looks like even a simple box would have protected it (not that that's what I'm recommending). Why didn't you post negative or even neutral feedback? > > > And these following items were received DAMAGED due to poor packaging >practices ... > >Dawn VME Supercard i860 vector processor - $76.00 - received DAMAGED > due to poor packaging methods - seller has refused/failed to respond to > 2 emails concerning this. > http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2040376918 Then why didn't you post negative or neutral feedback? I checked all the way back to June but didn't find it if you did. This and the one above are the only two that I checked and I didn't see any feedback on either one. Joe > >JORWAY 74A CAMAC TYPE SERIAL CRATE CONTROLLER - $59.95 - > received DAMAGED due to poor packaging methods - Frank will probably > make good on this, but it causes a senseless loss of time and money > http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1758624242 > > >Add it up. It starts to become a fairly significant amount. Tony, with his >physics >background, is the one most likely to recognize the significance of more of >these >types of parts than anyone else. > >There are a lot of you list members that sell on eBay. If you want us ( who are >more often than not, the high bidder that will pay you better for your >parts than >most anyone else out there ) to buy your parts, you must show proper care in >their handling and shipping. We will no longer give "Praise" to those that >don't. > >If any of you list members wish to reject our bids which are more often >than not >the high bid, and even when not, usually helps increase the amount you receive >for your parts, feel free to add us to your blocked bidder list. > > >If anyone cares to learn how to properly package items for shipment, review >these following links ... > >http://pages.ebay.com/services/buyandsell/shippingcenter2.html > >http://www.ups.com/using/services/packaging/guidline.html > >http://www.fedex.com/us/services/packaging/groundtips.html > > > >Best Regards, > >Bennett Paul > >dba ... Legacy Solutions International > >http://www.analog-and-digital-solutions.com/ > >

23 years, 1 month

(no subject)

by Dcsonntag＠aol.com

I have a bunch of old data tapes that my father (deceased) wrote on his TI 733 ASR terminal. Any idea how I might go about accessing data on the tapes or transferring to more modern media? Thanks, Dave Sonntag

23 years, 1 month

For Sale/Trade at the VCF - plus want list

by RonaJoyner＠hotmail.com

I am looking for either :- - working Sharp PC1500 Pocket Computer with or without printer or - working Sharp PC1500A Pocket Computer with or without printer I live in Australia

23 years, 1 month

PDP-8 "Introduction to Programming"

by a.krennmair＠aon.at

Hello, I'm a student interested in retrocomputing. That's why I started programming PDP-8 assembly a few days ago (Debian basically delivers all you need to do that, i.e. simh and palbart). One problem I have is the documentation. All that I found is either only a reference for the PDP-8 instructions or the documentation of PAL III assembler. The third thing I had as reference was the source code of OS/278. All in all, very incomplete. Now I learned about the "Introduction to Programming" by DEC, written for and about the PDP-8. Unfortunately I was unable to find a copy of it on the internet. Now I ask whether anybody of you has a copy of it (machine-readable preferred). In Austria, DEC hardware doesn't seem to have been very popular at that time, so documentation isn't easily available, either (it's even quite hard to get VAXen, fortunately I did). Thanks in advance, Andreas Krennmair -- "I treat [women] like compilers. They take simple statements and make them into big productions." -- Pitr

23 years, 1 month

OT: dumpster dive and water/mold cleanup

by tothwolf＠concentric.net

I guess I should give a little background for the folks who haven't heard >from me privately lately. Just a few weeks ago or so (has it been that long already?), I ended up rescuing nearly an entire ham shack/photo/woodworking shop from a 40cu yard dumpster. A friend of mine who lived around the corner died a few years ago, and even after picking up tons of stuff from his family, and after numerous attempts to arrange pickup of the remaining stuff, I found out some of his family dumped the entire shop into a huge dumpster (or skip for you folks on the other side of the pond). Thankfully, I found out about it *before* the dumpster was to be picked up. I spent a total of around 22+ hours (with permission from the folks who filled the dumpster) over the course of two nights with the help of a work light pulling out everything I could salvage. There were a few things missing (someone else got there first), and 1000s (I'd guess that number anyway) of magazines and some books were ruined due to rain before I found out about the dumpster. Magazines dating from the 1940s to the 1970s were mostly ruined beyond salvage. These included titles such as Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Mechanix, and Popular Electronics. It also included 3-4 different photo oriented publications with dates from early 1970s to the 1980s. Ironically, they also accidentally trashed 1000s and 1000s of photos, slides, negatives (both plastic and glass plate), and home movies. I've been returning those items as I sort them from the rest, since they did not mean to trash them. I still need advice on unsticking/cleaning the home movie films, since none were in water tight containers. Most are small reels in 3"x3"x3/4" cardboard boxes. I did explain to the family how to separate/clean prints, and I think about 99% of those were successfully salvaged. I am currently trying to figure out how to clean/salvage books that were exposed to the water, and since the texts are irreplaceable, I'm hesitant in what I try. Many books have a very fine powder-like mold on their covers, while the pages are ok. Some books have small amounts of mold growing on the edges of the pages. I also rescued a huge vinyl 33 1/3 record collection that needs to be cleaned up somehow. They were added to the dumpster (by mistake I was told) after the initial dive, and were subsequently exposed to yet more rain (Houston really sucks sometimes). I'm very worried about cleaning any mold from the album covers, but I imagine most of the vinyl is currently ok. Some of the records may have been broken when they were dumped into the dumpster, but I expect to find most intact. I imagine these may be the most time sensitive of all the rescued materials. I am also trying to figure out how to clean minor mold from and separate QSL cards that are stuck together. The cards date from the 1950s, but thankfully most were not exposed to water. I also have 100s of HARC publications that need to be salvaged. Some are in very good condition, while some have a significant mold growth on them. I should also add that I am keeping all the items stacked (and piled) in my (unfinished) computer building (nowhere else to put them at present), and have been keeping the lights on 24/7 to help inhibit the growth of mold. Also, if there is anyone located in Houston that feels like lending a hand in sorting/cleaning up stuff, please contact me. It is abit overwhelming for me to try to deal with ~50-60 years worth of items. -Toth

23 years, 1 month

PDP-8 "Introduction to Programming"

by aek＠spies.com

I've had a copy sitting next to the scanner for a while now. I'll see about getting it pdf'ed and up at www.spies.com/aek/pdf/dec/pdp8

23 years, 1 month

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test-drb September 2002