test-drb October 2003

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

252 participants
500 discussions

by classiccmp＠crash.com

emanuel stiebler wrote: . > Check the note again. AFAIRC, this (ka630, ka650, ...) had just a > "mailbox" register to communicate, and only one cpu had access to the > qbus. The other ones had the qbus interface shut down. So, if you didn't > have you special backplane with 4 qbuses, it was pretty limited ... While the note doesn't describe how, it does indicate you have to reconfigure the auxiliary processors. Things like disabling the TOY clock, the bus arbiter logic, setting the address of the Interprocessor Communications Register (ICR, the "mailbox" you referred to). You can however do this in regular backplanes. Okay okay, you may want to make sure you use a BA11-S since it's Q22 and all Q/CD slots. The common BA23/123 backplanes would be pretty short on Q/CD slots for more than two processors unless you don't need memory for them... And then the bus termination would get pretty funky, too. Eric Smith wrote: . > The resulting system does not have shared memory (except for any > Qbus memory), so it isn't generally suitable for operating systems > that support SMP. That's one reason why DEC never officially > supported such configurations. This is one reason I thought of V, a message passing OS (unless my memory is faulty). My papers are all in a box somewhere, but it dated >from the early to mid 80's at Stanford, and I'm pretty sure it ran on MicroVAXen. While there are plenty of applications where UMA is handy, necessary, or essential, there are cases where it isn't. I'm sure somebody used the feature, or it never would have been put in silicon. When I thought about the 3520/3540 I wondered if they used these features with redesigned CPU boards to provide a different memory interconnect but take advantage of the ICR etc. --S.

20 years, 9 months

anyone notice this gorgeous piece?

by classiccmp＠crash.com

John Allain wrote: . > I take care of the all-go/no-show problem of nonremovables > by having one drive partially dismantled, for show and it's > twin all set up for running. To me the inside of a Fujitsu > M2351A Eagle is as impressive machinery as a Harley engine. Now that would be impressive! Showing the engineering, machining, and general complexity of gear like this would I think be literally awesome. You might not get the kiddies to conceded that it could be cool to play games that aren't photorealistically rendered (let alone ASCII), but I think they'd be dumbstruck by seeing how enormously complicated real world objects can be. The real-world analogy would be the moving partial cutaways of motors seen at autoshows. I'm sure it's come up before, but I don't remember seeing anything like this at the Boston Computer Museum many, many years ago. Are there some exhibits like this in the CHM's new digs? --S.

20 years, 9 months

anyone notice this gorgeous piece?

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Oct 8, 12:10, Tom Uban wrote: > I also have a Fujitsu M2284K drive which has the tinted > plastic HDA cover, so that you can see the guts of the > 14" drive assembly. > > http://www.ubanproductions.com/m2284k.html Yes, they're nice. I've got one too. I've also got a full-height 5_1/4" winchester with a clear perspex top. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

20 years, 9 months

DEC 11/23 FP option (FPF11/M8188) information request

by pat＠purdueriots.com

I've managed to pick up an FPF11/M8188 (PDP-11/23 Floating Point option) for my PDP-11/23, and I'm wondering if anyone here knows how to set up/ configure this thing. It's a standard-looking dual-height QBUS module, with a 2x20 pin header at the top of the card (with the QBUS fingers pointing downward. I've got a non-+ 11/23 CPU board that I'd like to get it to work with, currently stuck in a BA23 cabinet. Thanks for any help! -- Pat PLUG Vice President -- http://plug.purdue.org Slackware Linux -- http://slackware.com Purdue University Research Computing -- http://www.itap.purdue.edu/rcs

20 years, 9 months

Acorn Econet

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Oct 7, 19:08, Tony Duell wrote: > > > > On Oct 5, 18:20, Tony Duell wrote: > > Ideally, twisted quad stranded with an overall screen and stranded > > drain wire, but Cat 3 or better is fine so long as you have the fifth > > RIght. And presumably you can 'get way' with more on shorter networks. Indeed. I once ran a whole classroom (about 16 Beebs, I think) using cables made up of a short length, about 6", of thin screened 4-core with a DIN inline socket on one end, the other end going to a DIN plug to which I also soldered a longer (3'-6') length of the same wire, ending in another DIN plug. A daisy-chain of those worked fine at full speed. Later Econet starter kits used Y-adaptors (3 DIN sockets in a Y shape) and low-cost DIN cables (as often used for low-end MIDI systems, cassette recorders, etc). > > Level 2 Filserver -- runs on a Beeb with a 6502 Second Processor, uses > > > Level 3 Fileserver -- runs on a Beeb with Beeb with a 6502 Second > > Processor, ADFS, and a 10MB or 30MB winchester. The winchester is > > I do have a 6502 second processor, so these are possible... > > Does it _have_ to be the 10 or 30 Mbyte unit? What about a 20Mbyte ST225, > for example. The Acorn hardware certainly supports that. No, I don't remember ever trying to install one on a 20MB or any size other than 10MB or 30MB, but I don't see any reason to suppose it might not work. You just partition the disk in the propotions you want for ADFS and Econet FS, and then install the fileserver software. > > partitioned, and the Econet Fileserver partition has a unique > > filestructure. Needs a dongle, which is also a TOD clock. Most > > dongles are now dead (and weren't Y2K compliant) but there's a patch > > What fails in them, or isn't it known? *I* don't know, but I'm sure someone does. You might find something >from Google. I *think* there may be a battery of some sort, but that's not the whole problem. > > The A/B/B+ interfaces are a bag of components. > > Ohterwise known as 'there are spare spaces on the PCB for the Econet > components, get soldering' :-) There are a couple of tracks to cut/jumper on some PCBs, but basically, yes. > > The System one is a Eurocard, the Atom one is a plug-on > > One of my Atoms has the genuine Atom interface, another has a System > Econet card hooked up to the expansion bus (which is basically compatible > with the System bus). Very nice :-) > The B+ (in the ACW) has PCB positions for the collision-detect comparator > chip, etc, but they're not fitted.... It's worth doing. > I think the Acorn clock and terminator share the same PCB, just with > different components fitted. The old ones do, yes. One of mine has both sets of components, you'll not be surprised to hear. > Incidentally, if you use Acorn hardware throughout, do you need 3 > 'veroboxes' -- a clock and 2 terminators? See above :-) In theory, yes, but on a very short net, you might not even need the second terminator. > If you use SJ, I assume you use the clock and 2 terminator plugs. Yes, though it doesn't matter which clock you mate with which terminators. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

20 years, 9 months

DEC 11/23 FP option (FPF11/M8188) information request

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Oct 8, 9:52, Patrick Finnegan wrote: > I've managed to pick up an FPF11/M8188 (PDP-11/23 Floating Point option) > for my PDP-11/23, and I'm wondering if anyone here knows how to set up/ > configure this thing. It's a standard-looking dual-height QBUS module, > with a 2x20 pin header at the top of the card (with the QBUS fingers > pointing downward. I've got a non-+ 11/23 CPU board that I'd like to get > it to work with, currently stuck in a BA23 cabinet. You mean a dual-height KDF11-A ? I'm not sure if it'll work with that; it's designed to work with a quad-height KDF11-B or an 11/24. The same FPF11 works in 11/23 Qbus and 11/24 Unibus systems, and MINC systems. You ought to have a 40-way ribbon cable with a 40-way (2x20) female header on one end and a 40-pin DIL header (to fit into a normal 40-pin DIL IC socket) on the other. If it didn't come with that, you only have half the system and you should claim a 50% rebate from whoever sold it to you. Failing that, it's in a dangerously incomplete state, and you should probably send it to me for safe disposal... QBus fitting: The 40-pin DIL header goes into slot 2 on the KDF11-B -- that's the 40-pin socket next to the CPU chip, nearest the centre of the board -- with the red stripe (which marks pin 1) on the side of the cable furthest from the edge connector fingers, and the cable exiting from the plug/socket towards the centre of the PCB. Fold the cable back over the DIL plug and the CPU chip, then fold at right angles so the cable comes off towards the back of the KDF11-B board with the red stripe on the left (as you look into the backplane from the back of the machine with Slot 1 at the top). The 40-pin female header fits onto J1 of the FPF11 with the red stripe on the left, and the FPF11 fits into Slot 2 of the backplane. Ditto for a MINC. Unibus fitting: The 40-pin DIL header goes into slot 7 (may also be marked E4) on the KDF11-B -- that's the 40-pin socket nearest the Row A side of the board -- with the red stripe (which marks pin 1) on the side of the cable nearest the Row F fingers, and the cable exiting from the plug/socket towards the edge connector fingers. Fold the cable back over itself and pass it over the back of the CPU card. Then give it a half-twist so the red stripe is now nearest Row A, fit it to J1 on the FPF11 and fit the FPF11 in Rows A...D of the first slot *after* the memory cards. The order of cards on the bus should be: ------------- 11/24 CPU ----------- ------ Unibus Map (or memory) ----- --------------- memory ------------ --------------- memory ------------ --------------- memory ------------ --------------- memory ------------ ---------- FPF11 ------ (empty) terminator or jumper Jumpers: There are 12 jumpers labelled W1...W12. W6 and W9 are always fitted. W1,W2 are near the edge fingers for Row A. W3 is near the fingers for Row B. W4,W5 are near the fingers for Row C. W6 is near the back of the board between Rows C and D. W7,W8,W11,W12 are near the fingers for Row D. W9,W10 are near the back of the board opposite Row D. Jumper: W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8 W9 W10 W11 W12 Unibus: R R I R R I I I I R I I QBus: I I R I I I R R I I R R (I = inserted R = removed) -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

20 years, 9 months

Mac IIci Cache Card

by toresbe＠ifi.uio.no

Yup, I've got one right in front of me. (well, actually slightly to the left, because my keyboard is right in front of me, and between the monitor and the keyboard I have a bunch of harddrives and a Mach 64 display card taken from an OEM Compaq) If you want it I'll be happy to give it up. The IIci chassis now rests in pieces, and the mainboard is wall decoration. (I have a mosaic of broken or useless mobos up over the wall at my summerhouse) Drop me a line if another one says bye-bye. Peace, -Tore

20 years, 9 months

Heathkit ET-3400 Manul

by dittman＠dittman.net

I have an ET-3400A and would like to find a manual, preferably and electronic copy that I could ftp or have mailed to me. Does anyone have an electronic copy? If not, does anyone have a paper copy? -- Eric Dittman dittman(a)dittman.net

20 years, 9 months

386 Mother Board

by rcabunac＠wi.rr.com

Chris, Do you still have this motherboard? AMD 386 SX-40, AMI Bios, "Cyclone" chipset?, 6- 16 bit ISA slots, 4- 30 pin SIMM slots. This board is smaller than normal boards. It measures 8.5 x 6.75 inches. Let me know. Also check the side of of of the ISA slots to see if it has a sticker with this number. PTA-3B067196 Thanks, Randy

20 years, 9 months

DEC Pro 380 Info Request

by chd_1＠nktelco.net

I now have a DEC Professional 380 that was originally a VAX Console. Inspecting it, I find a floppy interface, a Winchester interface, and an RTI interface (used for the VAX I think). The disk is an RD52 with a big piece of red tape that says TOP SECRET. I have lots of questions.... After looking for pinouts, I have attached a NEC Multisync 3D monitor and an LK201 keyboard to the VIDEO 1 port. During the self test I get an error saying a key is stuck on the keyboard. This may indeed be true, I have not tested the keyboard before. It also says hit <RESUME> to continue. The keyboard has no <RESUME> key. I suspect there were various markings for the keycaps. Any suggestion on which key might be <RESUME>? What are the monochrome monitor specifications (horizontal frequency, vertical frequency, etc)? It looks like the NEC 3D can barely get the correct sync. This monitor is a bit old and when it warms up it loses sync. Not sure if this is a problem with the monitor, or I am just stretching its specs too much. A NEC XV17 I tried would not even begin to sync. I read that the printer port is also a console for the Pro. After finding the pinouts, I connected a terminal to the port and a break dropped me into ODT. Is there microPDP-11/83 style firmware in there somewhere that I can use on the PR 1 port or do I have to use the keyboard and video? Using ODT, I can see that there are 512kB of memory. The RTI seems interesting, but I have not seen any pinouts for the 62 pin connector. From what I can find there are two serial ports, a 24 line bi-directional I/O port and an IEEE-488 port. Pretty cool, but useless without a pinout... -chuck

20 years, 9 months

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test-drb October 2003