test-drb February 2003

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

337 participants
780 discussions

Info wanted: IBM vacuum tube digital computer demonstrator

by mranalog＠attbi.com

Joe wrote: > > Can anyone tell me more about this thing or even (HOPEFULLY) have a > > manual for it? Joe, 1948 IBM 604 Computer Engineers Field Unit Price $6000 http://www.newbegin.com/itemmis_28.html --Doug ========================================= Doug Coward @ home in Poulsbo, WA Analog Computer Online Museum and History Center http://dcoward.best.vwh.net/analog =========================================

21 years, 8 months

G.W.Bush a liar?

by homeranonymous＠netscape.net

Well said. Ditto all the following: > I'm not aware of ANY lies by the current > administration, no less "lies and more damnedable > lies" > > Also, you can't hold this administration responsible > for the misdeeds of past administrations. > > In fact, I'd call the previous administration one of > the most dishonest and criminal administrations this > country has ever had. > > Luckily our system of government is such that people > like this cannot remain in power for too long. > > As for the rest of what you say, I don't have any data > for or against it. > > America is a representative republic. Not quite a > democracy. And yes, the government does things that > the people don't necessarily like or agree to. > > Given that, I still believe we have the free-est and > best form of government on the planet. > > It is not corruption or mistake free. Nor is it free > of the normal human expressions of greed, ego, hatred, > and agression. > > It's still head and shoulders above all other > government systems on the planet. > > Considering the broad areas in which the U.S. is > invlolved in, the huge amount of AID it gives to the > rest of the world, you have to see that basically we > are a good country. > > I would like it to be perfect, but that's not possible > in human affairs. It could certainly be better. And > what I like about Bush and his administration is that > he got right to the task of setting right all the > wrongs of previous administrations he could find and > fix. > > I know he will be relected in 2004 with a landslide. > It's a shame he can't run for a third term. Cheney > will probably not be able (or willing) to run for > President in 2008. > > Before the election, and before I saw Bush in action. > I was sure he'd be a one term President and that > Hillary Clinton or maybe Al Gore would run in 2004 and > take back the Presidency for the Democrats. > > Now, I'm sure that won't happen. > > It's amazing that you can call a liar, a man whose > reputation is largely made by his truthfulness and > trustworthyness. As Governor of Texas he kept most all > of his promises. And left the state in a much better > condition than it was when he took office. > > You may not like his policies, or his decisions. But, > that doesn't make him a liar. > > Regards, > Al

21 years, 8 months

Not at all Re: TRS-80 Floppy Drive

by fmc＠reanimators.org

Al Hartman <alhartman(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > Micros back then were more like cars. You could > customize them heavily. Only now with all these > case-mods and cooling options are we getting back into > what used to be fun about being a Computer Hobbyist. When next I find myself looking at the bizarre heat sink and fan contraptions in modern desktop PCs, I think I will try to think about fenders with fins. The alternative is to think about the J. C. Whitney catalog, and I don't think that's quite appropriate. -Frank McConnell

21 years, 8 months

Off-topic (John Allain: do not read) Re: cctalk digest, Vol 1 #472 - 25 msgs

by allain＠panix.com

> But that comment was directed at you, so referring > to you as "he" wouldn't work. That comment was: > He actually had the audacity to quote the ten > commandments to someone whose religious > beliefs and oaths contradict many of them, and > try to say that it should be the basis for international > law. He causes me much nausea. I never sent you this. Don't lie about me on the list. Actually, the topmost statement here doesn't even make grammatical sense to me. Is everyone here just sick or something? John A.

21 years, 8 months

TRS-80 Floppy Drive

by alhartman＠yahoo.com

> From: "Fred Cisin (XenoSoft)" <cisin(a)xenosoft.com> > Reply-To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org > > On Sat, 22 Feb 2003, Al Hartman wrote: > > I always preferred Tandon TM-100 drives. They > > needed a lot less service and maintenance than > > the SA400's did. > > And I always liked having the extra 5 tracks. > > I agree > I really like those drives. The pins that hinge the > doors don't hold up well to the abuse of a college > lab (unless you catch the culprits and break their > fingers), but without that abuse, they hold up very > well. Oh Man! I forgot ALL about that... I found it wasn't the pins themselves, it was the plastic hinges in the doors. A friend used to keep the broken ones after we'd replace them (I worked for a company that serviced these drives.. Cleaned, re-aligned, repaired. refurbished them...), and refurbish them for his personal drives with metal hinges. > > Boy, those were the days... > > They sure were. (except for some of the politics > :-) I must have somewhere all sorts of patched OS'es for my old Model I. DoubleDOS, TrsDOS, NewDOS 2.1, NewDOS/80, LDOS, VTOS, DosPLUS, the list goes on and on... I used NewDOS/80 for most things, followed by Multi-DOS. I have here a Percom flippy drive. It was a Wangtek mechanism (I think) that had write protect, and sector hole sensors on both sides of the drive, so you could write to both sides of a disk without punching holes. I got rather good at that, and used to sell home-made kits for people to punch their own disks. As well as installing Electric Pencil Lowercase Mods into Model I Keyboards. Micros back then were more like cars. You could customize them heavily. Only now with all these case-mods and cooling options are we getting back into what used to be fun about being a Computer Hobbyist. All things come around in a circle I guess... My Model I was stolen from my apt twice, and I recovered it twice because it was instantly recognizable as mine. A local Model I guru knew my machine and when it came in to him for service by the kid who bought it out of the trunk of a car, he called me and the police. The kid complained he was out his $100.00 and wanted it back from me. But, I felt... You buy stolen equipment, you take your chances... I didn't press charges when I got the machine back though. The first time it was stolen, the guy realized that nobody would buy it from him, it was so custom.. So he tried to ransom it back to me. I said sure... His ransom payment was me, and 5 friends with baseball bats. The police were stunned that I recovered the system twice. Those REALLY were the days... *sigh!* Regards, Al P.S.: though not booted in several years, my Model I (which just turned 24 yo) is sitting a foot away from me on a desk. I should hook it all up and give it a boot for old times sake.

21 years, 8 months

M9312 Bootstrap Questions

by fm.arnold＠gmx.net

cctech-request(a)classiccmp.org schrieb am 23.02.2003: ----------<snip>----------- From: Jeffrey Sharp <jss(a)subatomix.com> Subject: M9312 Bootstrap Questions > >First, I'm confused about what version of the module I have. My 11/34 user's >manual (EK-11034-UG-001 '77) talks about a -YA, -YB, and -YF version of the >board. > I also always wondered about this, and never found any clues. But don't bother, its not very important. Those variation-codes just describe the situation of the module at the time the first customer took them from the box, soon as you change a prom or switch, its something else... So just run the 9312 diagnostic from XXDP, it will print a nice summary for you how the unit is momentarely configured and what its capabilities are. It will also certify correct operation of your M9312 on top of that. I hope you can boot anything else, do you have a DL11-W? You could use this with a PeeCee emulated TU58 for diagnostics ect. If you need the Boot-prom for TU58 write me off-list. >My M9312 has no -Yx designator and has only one bootstrap ROM installed >(756A9 for RK03/05/05J or TU55/56). The M9312 manual seems to make the most >sense in this case, so I've been believing its side of the story. However, >the DIP switch settings on my M9312 have me puzzled. Here they are: > > 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 > ON ON ON OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF ON ON > >This doesn't correspond to anything in either manual! According to the >manual I'm trusting, this says to start executing at 765406 (in the console >emulator ROM). It needs to be 765020 (with diags) or 765144 (without diags). > >Supposedly, the machine was functional when it was decommed, so my first >instinct is to assume I am (or the docs are) wrong somewhere. However, its >previous owner (another collector) was not able **IIRC** to get a register >printout at power-up. So maybe the DIP switch is pointing to someplace that >isn't a valid entry point. I don't have access to the complete M9312 print >set, which would list the ROM contents. > >Should I reset the DIP switch to say 765020? > That depends on the physical socket-location where the 756A9 is plugged into. Alternatively, you could use 773000 that will give you console-odt from where you can interactively select the boot you desire. Hope you get it to work, Frank Arnold

21 years, 8 months

cctalk digest, Vol 1 #473 - 49 msgs

by alhartman＠yahoo.com

Sellam, You have it reversed again... The only reason Cuba has economic sanctions is because Castro refuses to step down, and allow the Democratic Government that his people want. Also, that Cuba supports and funds a lot of South American Terrorism. Just like Iraq, it is totally in Castro's power to make life better for his people. Just step down and let them vote for a new leader. Again, you blame police for the crime, rather than the criminals. > Actually, the only reason Cuba is worse off with > Castro is because the US continues to economically > sanction Cuba because our government doesn't agree > with Castro's politics. > > I'm not saying everything the US does is stupid, but > a lot of the things that the US does is stupid. I would agree with that, but this isn't one of them. Personally, I would like to see the sanctions lifted as they don't seem to make a difference to Castro. He is determined to stay in power anyway. The only good thing is he will probably be too sick to lead, or dead within 10 years, and probably at that point the sanctions will be lifted. A lot of mistakes were made in the U.S.'s policies towards Cuba. And its' handling of the situation. No doubt about that. But hindsight is ALWAYS 20/20. Al

21 years, 8 months

cctalk digest, Vol 1 #472 - 25 msgs

by alhartman＠yahoo.com

> And you are also one of the people who think America > is the one who should make the rules for everyone. > *sigh* *shakes head* > > This country does many things of which I am ashamed. > Anyone whose told me otherwise have never come up > with any proof. > > Peace... Sridhar Based on the off-list conversation we had, it's much more likely you decided not to listen to the proof... I've never said the the U.S.A. should make the rules. But, how can you quibble with the concept that it's wrong for a county to attack it's neighbors, or to build up offensive weapons? Or, to defy the United Nations when they order you to disarm? The only way the U.S. figures into all of this, is that it has the backbone that the U.N. does not have. The backbone to back up it's own resolutions. It's the same in international affairs, personal affairs and in raising children... When you make a threat, or set a condition upon behavior, you have to follow through with the penalty when the wrong behavior happens. Otherwise, you teach that person (and others) that rules, threats and responsibility are meaningless... Nobody wants war, but in case such as this... This war will prevent the deaths of millions. Not only by Iraq and Hussein, but by others in the future who will take this example to embolden themselves to do evil without fear of retribution. The penalty for breaking laws and rules must be swift and predictable. That's the only way for there to be a deterrent. Saddam Hussein can avoid the war in a minute. He simply can abide by the U.N. agreements, disarm himself of the illegal weapons and technology, and dedicate himself to making a good life for his countrie's citizens. He would have the added benefit of having the embargo for sale of his oil lifted upon full compliance and good behavior. It's much more in his interest to do that, than the course that he has chosen. How can anyone disagree that what he is doing is sheer madness? The guy can't live without fear of assasination... His life must be desperate and awful. And all by his own choice... Putting attention on the U.S. or President Bush is wrong. That's focusing on the wrong end of the situation. Why aren't there protests calling for all police forces to be disbanded? Using the same arguments that people are using against this war, if the police didn't carry guns or shoot criminals committing acts of crime, why... There'd be a lot less death in the world. Just let the criminals alone.... In fact, how wonderful would it be for all the prisons to be empty, and the courts to have nothing to do... It's all the fault of those crazy police who capture criminals for the fun of it. Because they LOVE to shoot and hurt people... Al

21 years, 8 months

cctalk digest, Vol 1 #476 - 57 msgs

by alhartman＠yahoo.com

> What he doesn't realize is he is now a permanent > resident of my ignore list. Cool!!! > He actually had the audacity to quote the ten > commandments to someone whose religious beliefs and > oaths contradict many of them, If your religious beliefs contradict: - Don't Steal - Don't Murder - Don't take your neighbors wife or property away - Honor your parents - Take a day off to rest Then, I'm glad I'm not a member of that religion... > and try to say that it should be the basis for > international law. He causes me much > nausea. I didn't say it SHOULD be. I said IT IS... Ask anyone who has studied law. Most of today's laws are based on the 10 Commandments, The Golden Rule and the Laws of Hammurabi. The basic concepts carry, even if the details are different. If you bothered to actually read my message, rather than be "offended" by it. You'd have understood that. I don't claim to be the creator of that concept. I read it somewhere, and found that I agreed with it. The 10 Commandments are acutally pretty religion neutral as most religions have similar "laws" and that particular set is share between Judaism, Christianity and several other derivative religious faiths. But, please be offended by the thought that good ideas are universal. Or that just because one faith brought up an idea that it belongs ONLY to that faith and not to other faiths, or even in the secular world. So silly. Good ideas, are good ideas. No matter who created them. > Peace... Sridhar Al

21 years, 8 months

Preserving exposed platters from corrosion and fingerprints

by julesrichardsonuk＠yahoo.co.uk

> The platters are very sensitive to fingerprints and other environmental > contact. What is a good, quick, and cheap way to treat the platters > before completing the clock that will seal and protect the platters > without yellowing or cracking? have you tried using clear laquer on them? They used that on the alloy wheels on my car and it's only now starting to give up after 30 years - and that's with outdoor weathering. I suspect that sort of lifetime will outlast any clock mechanism based on plastic gearing anyway... cheers Jules Everything you'll ever need on one web page >from News and Sport to Email and Music Charts http://uk.my.yahoo.com

21 years, 8 months

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test-drb February 2003