>From: "Jim Donoghue" <jim(a)smithy.com>
>
>I have several 5 1/4" *hard-sectored* floppy disks. These are in some
>proprietary format, they are read by a controller that consists of a Z80
>CPU, an EPROM, and some TTL chips. All this thing does is read the
>entire contents of the disk, outputting the data in parallel format over
>a ribbon cable. This is used to load CPU microcode into static RAMS.
>I want to be able to read the data from the disks, as I no longer have
>the controller/drive (or the mainframe it came from.)
>Any ideas?
>--
>Jim Donoghue
>Smithy Co.
>(734) 913-6700
>
Hi
Get something like an EZKIT-lite from Analog Devices.
These are proto typing boards for their DSP chips. These
processors are fast enough to bit bang the data from
floppies. You use one of the digital input lines.
Once you determine the encoding method, you can look
for the directory area or what ever.
Dwight
I have several 5 1/4" *hard-sectored* floppy disks. These are in some
proprietary format, they are read by a controller that consists of a Z80
CPU, an EPROM, and some TTL chips. All this thing does is read the
entire contents of the disk, outputting the data in parallel format over
a ribbon cable. This is used to load CPU microcode into static RAMS.
I want to be able to read the data from the disks, as I no longer have
the controller/drive (or the mainframe it came from.)
Any ideas?
--
Jim Donoghue
Smithy Co.
(734) 913-6700
> On Tuesday, March 25, 2003, Jay West wrote:
> > FYI - I'm likely going to be bidding on the DEC "3 high" rack on Ebay that
> > includes an RA81. The RA81 is missing the HDA, and I have no need for it,
> > I just want the rack as it's the right height to mate to my 11/44X. If
> > anyone wants the RA81-HDA, let me know before it gets skipped.
>
> :-) Of my 12 RA81s, 10 or so have Post-it notes saying "Bad HDA". I'm
> starting to see a pattern here...
If you look at the seller on eBay's auctions, you'll notice that he's pulled
all the 'high demand' parts from everything that he's selling. In fact I
don't think he's selling anything that's actually usable, unless like Jay
you need a specific part of what he's selling.
Zane
Hi Glen and Joe,
Thanks for your replies. I've had a closer look at the controller /
computer / terminal connections. It seems to work something like this
The 2648A terminal has a 13260A card that is connected via a short hooded
edge connector and cable to a longer hooded edge connector on the rear of
the 'controller' box. The controller box is then connected via another
cable (that I have) to a 12531 card the HP 1000 computer.
The long hooded connector on the controller has the same number of contacts
as the 12531 card in the computer - so I would assume that it is just
replicating the contacts in the computer.
The controller box has a number of short-cut keys for various functions that
the system can perform so I would guess that the controller can inject
characters into the connection between the terminal and the computer.
My memory is that all the funcions have two character shortcuts that can be
typed in at the terminal and I notice a couple of cards with diode matricies
in the controller. There is a diode array for each key consisting of up to
16 diodes - 2 lots of eight bit ascii - maybe.
Anyhow, Glen it looks as though your cable detective work is correct. The
cable is a 13232B p/n 02640-60058 for connecting the 2648A to a 12531
interface.
Joe can you please have a fish around and see if you have the right cable +
we can work something out.
If not then I'll have to take the build-it-yourself approach.
Many thanks to you both.
Peter Brown
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I have acquired an HP-86B. Will this work with any older composite
monochrome monitor with an RCA video in jack or only the HP monitors which
seem to be hard to find?
Thank you
Ethan Dicks wrote:
.
> I brought home an 11/34, several RL02s and the two H960 DEC
> racks (72" tall) in the back of my 1976 VW Microbus.
Darn. I was getting set to respond to this thread with the tale of
borrowing a friend's camper version Microbus to haul home my "new"
VAX-11/730 in late 1990. But that was just a single low-boy cabinet,
and now I feel like a whiner... ;^)
--Steve.
OK, it's a few decades late, but I've got a few dozen Motorola
chips from the early 70's that must be interesting to somebody:
MC679P
MC675P
MC669P
MC688P
etc., all 14-pin DIP packages. I think these were Motorola's DTL
line, but maybe they were really RTL - my brain cannot recall. Anyway,
they're free (I'll even pay shipping) to whoever wants them, first come,
first served.
Tim.
Hre's one for the old-iron and who-was-first buffs.
Take a look at
http://www.tsd.de/lehmann/framed4a.htm
The displayed machine is an East German development from
the early 60's. The unit went into 'mass' production in
1963. It is sait that this might be the first desktop
PC ever. The whole unit is self contained with CPU, two
paper tape drived (one is also, IIRC, a puncher), and a
front panel. THe comuter was ment to be as a 'workstation'
on an engeneers desk.
Now, does anyone of you know about a similar machine
(especialy about the desktop part) produced in series
before 1963?
Gruss
H.
--
VCF Europa 4.0 am 03./04. Mai 2003 in Muenchen
http://www.vcfe.org/
What kind of connector is on the system controller end? A card edge
connector on an I/O board or something else?
I have 264x terminal manuals at home that should have the pinout for the
card edge connector on the terminal end and I can look that up later if no
one else beats me to it.
I think the card edge connector on the terminal end is not difficult to
obtain but the 48? conductor card edge connector on HP 1000 I/O cards is
difficult to obtain if that's what you have on the system controller end.
>After pulling the parts of the system out of the store and trying to put it
>all together I find that I am minus the cable that connects the display
>terminal (an HP 2648A) to the system controller. The connector at the
>system controller end is marked 'teletype'.
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