>> I read somewhere that it could be converted to a 11/53 with a minimal
>> effort. How much trouble?
>Rip out the CXA's (16-port serial boards), add a disk and/or tape
>controller, and perhaps some memory. Off you go. The heart of
>the DECserver 550 was/is indeed a barebones /53 CPU. Which comes
>with 512KB RAM on the CPU card, and its console serial port.
I don't believe you are "ready to go" after this mod. I seem
to remember that the ROMs on the DS500 use special boot code
and that they need to be replaced to be a normal 11/53. I
saw some posts on one of the newsgroups from someone who had
done it.
Megan Gentry
Former RT-11 Developer
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| Megan Gentry, EMT/B, PP-ASEL | email: mbg at world.std.com |
| | |
| "this space | (s/ at /@/) |
| unavoidably left blank" | URL: http://world.std.com/~mbg/ |
| | "pdp-11 programmer - some assembler |
| (DEC '77-'98) | required." - mbg KB1FCA |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
I came across reference to a file, LAMP.ZIP, you posted briefly for the
Classic Computer list back in '99. Would it be possible for me to get this
file? I'm fascinated by the idea of making counters, logic gates, and
memory elements using neon lamps, but repeated google searches reveal very,
very little hard information (other than there were such circuits).
Also, I've read a few pages on early calculators (such as the Anita) using
something similar to neon lamps for logic gates and ring counters, though
the pictures lead me to believe they are actually 4-lead gas triodes or
thyratrons of some kind. Do you know what these beaties actually were?
Finally, I've repeatedly run across mention that neon device switching is
slow, but how slow are they?
You assistance is appreciated!
-RLN
I recently picked up a TRS-80 model 4, that seems to have problems with
its floppy drives.
The machine is a base Model 4 with 64KB of ram (I think - haven't yet
taken the EMF shield off the mainboard), and no peripherals attached.
When I powered it up the first time, with or without a disk in the
(bottom) drive, it displayed "Cass?" on the screen, and then I could press
enter to that and the "Memory size?" prompt, and get a basic prompt.
I tried swapping the floppy drives, and that time I got a "Diskette?"
prompt if there was no disk in the drive, and pressing any keys didn't
cause anything to happen. If I put a disk in the drive, the machine never
displays anything, and then after 10-20 seconds, the drive light goes out.
I tried connecting only one drive at a time, with the same results. If I
connected a 1.2MB floppy that I had laying around (a Teac FD-55GFR-149-U),
it did the same thing as if the drives were swapped. Yes, I realize that
the drive probaly wasn't going to work, I just wanted to see if it did
anything.
Also, the disk I used was supposed to be a TRS-DOS (bootable) disk, but
it's possible that they've gone bad after so many years. Are the disks on
the Model 4 recorded so that I can read them on a PC (IE 48/96tpi MFM,
compatible with the NEC D765)? I'd like to know if I can make backup
images and/or see if the disks work on another machine.
Thanks.
Pat
--
Purdue Universtiy ITAP/RCS
Information Technology at Purdue
Research Computing and Storage
http://www-rcd.cc.purdue.edu
> --- "Zane H. Healy" <healyzh(a)aracnet.com> wrote:
> > > All I wanted was a way with nothing but Windows to read a VMS
> > > distro disc. I am now firmly convinced that no such thing is
> > > possible without buying *some* piece of software.
> >
> > Did you check http://www.softresint.com/charon-vax/Tools_and_tips.htm
> > like I'd suggested?
>
> I passed the information along to him. He told me that he found a
> reference to a likely utility (makeimage?) but could not find it
> to download. Could that be the magic util?
That bit of info, coupled with Google, turned up the needed info. What you
need is the following Zip file mkimage_vax.zip Unfortuantly it's been
removed from the website. I'll try and find it tonite, hopefully I've still
got a copy.
In the mean time, you might want to check:
http://unxutils.sourceforge.net/ it has a copy of dd.exe that doesn't appear
to need cgywin installed.
Zane
I recently received email from FThomas470(a)aol.com informing me about
the availability of some Monrobot XI computers. I would love to acquire
one of these as the Monrobot XI was the first computer I ever
programmed (in junior high school). Unfortunately, I am not sure I am
going to be able to afford to ship one from Virginia to NH. In any
case, I certainly can't take all 5-6 of them. If you are interested,
please contact the email address above. I don't have any more
information than what I'm posting here. If anyone decides to rent a
truck to move them from Virginia toward New England I'd be interested
contributing to the cost of the rental in exchange for hauling one for
myself.
Here is the text of the messages I've received about these machines:
Litton Industries's Monrobot XI
We are in Charlottesville, Virginia and we have 5 or 6 of them in
storage. Until 7 or 8 years ago two of them were still being used and
worked just fine. In their time, they were really great machines and I
enjoyed programming and working with them.
We also have 2 Friden Computypers which are earlier than the Monrobots.
They had no electronics at all, but used rwo Friden late model
mechanical calculators with solenoids on all the keys and electrical
contacts on all the dials. They used a pile of stepping switches and a
big plug-board for programming. It was a far-out design but worked very
well.
We will be moving shortly and are pressed for space. Please let me have
your thoughts and/or suggestions. If you are interested, any reasonable
offer would be considered.
The Monrobot consists of the main computer unit which contains the
electronics and magnetic drum, a little control unit with switches and
control buttons and a place for the I/O typewriter. It's about the size
of an office desk and weighs about 400 lbs. A side section connects to
it and has a paper tape punch and a reader.
> [Description of rescue squad removed]
>I will nominate Sellam as high priest, Megan as high priestess, and tony
>as hardware witchdoctor. .
I love it.. :-)
If you could have seen my condo about 2 years ago, you would have seen
exactly what you described... machines, documentation and disks
everywhere, with only narrow paths down either side of my living room
so that I could get to the machines, couch and tv (though one could not
watch the tv from the couch, as there was a row of dec tall cabs in
the way).
Megan Gentry
Former RT-11 Developer
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| Megan Gentry, EMT/B, PP-ASEL | email: mbg at world.std.com |
| | |
| "this space | (s/ at /@/) |
| unavoidably left blank" | URL: http://world.std.com/~mbg/ |
| | "pdp-11 programmer - some assembler |
| (DEC '77-'98) | required." - mbg KB1FCA |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
Gosh, I had /no/ idea that Fortran was a "column-sensitive" programming
language; I thought that COBOL was the only one...
What other languages are column sensitive? I'd guess at APL, but I'm sure
there are others.
--
Cheers, Ade.
Be where it's at, B-Racing!
http://b-racing.com
> From: Robert Borsuk <rborsuk(a)colourfull.com>
>
> Woohoo,
> Timex guys on the list. I can ask a Timex
> (sort of) question now.
> I have an A&J MicroDrive (Stringy Floppy - The next
> big thing to rule the world) that I don't have any
> information on. I would love to use it with my
> T1000. It was almost complete in the box.
> Interface, drive, cable, even some new stringy
> floppies still sealed. Does anyone have a
> manual for this thing? I've poked around online but
> haven't seen too much.
Nope. We used to sell those at Zebra Systems.
Check the interface adapter. It should indicate on it
whether it's a TS-1000 or TS-2068 adapter.
I can't remember the commands anymore.
If I find anything, I'll let you know..
Regards,
Al
Wandering through the local surplus I found a decserver 550 in a full height
rack.
It had the following boards in it.
4 X CXA16-M M3118
1 X DESQA-SA M3127
1 X KDJ11-SD M7554
Bulkheads, power supply, and cables
I read somewhere that it could be converted to a 11/53 with a minimal
effort. How much trouble?
Mike
m m c f a d d e n @ c m h . e d u
WHAT,
Sellam hasn't won it yet? (grin)
i'm sure he he would love to get the univac - but like
the rest of us - that price is not only steep but way
overkill.
Bill
Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 13:33:57 -0800 (PST)
From: Vintage Computer Festival <vcf(a)siconic.com>
To: <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org>
Subject: Re: Univac on eBay
Reply-To: cctech(a)classiccmp.org
On Wed, 26 Feb 2003, Jeffrey Sharp wrote:
> On Wednesday, February 26, 2003, Stuart Johnson
wrote:
> > I can't imagine what the reserve is!.
>
> At this point, I don't care. I just want to be
present when whoever
wins the
> auction picks up the machine. This is one of the
coolest machines I
might
> ever see in my lifetime. Right here in my little
town. Here's
hopin'...
Have you contacted the seller yet to schedule a time
to go check it
out,
take pictures, notes, etc.?
--
Sellam Ismail
Vintage Computer
Festival
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