Hmm... Having seen this on eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2731022229&category=12…
the nameplate from an ICL 2950, weighing over 2Kg alone, and had my
curiosity nudged, I was wondering if anybody knew of any pictures of the
beast itself? A quick google found me a bit of info, but no pics yet.
Hmm.. I've got a nameplate stuck to a 5.25" disc box in the cupboard from a
Ferranti "EWTS" system (Early Warning [Tracking|Training] System, I forget
which, and google doesn't help at all) ... Picked it up while I was an
apprentice there - now that was fun, wandering round the factory, about
1982/3 - I seem to recall computer generated ships and stuff on one
system. Amazing graphics for the time.
It's a shame how little of the old stuff still exists.. I also used to
"play" on a Data General Nova, must have been about 1980, at the college my
Dad taught at; I sometimes wonder whatever happened to that..
Rob.
>ie I found a couple of new in the bag Sony model
>OA-D34V-22 floppy drives. Anybody know what these go in, I am thinking just
>the 128k, but one of the web hits says Lisa 2.
If you are interested in unloading one of those Sony drives, I'd be happy
to take one. I have an original external 400K drive for the Mac, and its
drive it dead. IIRC, it is the same drive as used in the 128, so if you
wanted to unload a spare, I'd love to get my external drive working again.
-chris
<http://www.mythtech.net>
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I got rid of mine at a garage sale in about 10 years ago. (Before I started
restoring my junk.)
I had a Trendata1000, which was similar to the IBM 2741. It had a real IBM
Selectric Terminal with Trendata's custom electronics. Many members of The
Northwest Computer Society (Seattle) bought refurbished Trendata1000s from a
local Computer Land store for about $900.
Here is a photo of my Selectric Terminal and my SWTPC system in 1978.
http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/MySystem/MySystemPhoto.htm
I still have the IBM reference manual for the 2741 Communitations Terminal.
It is 20 pages on how to write a driver for the 2741. I also have the
documentation on how to connect it to a SWTPC 6800 with no special hardware.
I normally used it for a printer but it also worked as a terminal.
Here is a description of my computer that I wrote in 1978.
http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/MySystem/MySystem.htm
Michael Holley
www.swtpc.com/mholley
We have 8 warehouses stuffed with mainframes and minis. Around 120 of
them in total. This belongs to the Norwegian Museum of Science and
Technology, and with so many machines, there's BOUND to be a -10 there
too :). On average, the museum recieves a query for pickup once a week.
They also ran a mainframe on public display 15-20 years ago, but this was
a Norwegian machine (NORD-1 i think, brilliant machine) and the people who
knew about it didn't have the time it took to keep the mainframe going.
This machine has been upgraded to run PDP-9 software, and has a switch on
the front panel named "USE" with the options 7 and 9.
It also had a homemade Automatic Priority Interrupt, nicknamed "Poor man's
API".
It has an oscilloscope display, two TU55 tape drives hooked up to a 550
tape controller, and the EAE (Extended Arithmetic Element).
Picture at http://tore.nortia.no .
Yes, we have a full set of schematics, except for one board (and with
godly precision, this is the one we need), the Teletype Interface Card,
seated inside the teletype. It is numbered 1818(twomoredigits).
If I restore this -7, the Museum might let me inside one of their
warehouses, and maybe restore a timesharing system, like, for instance,
a -10. But, I'm going to keep focused on this task (for now ;) My dream
has always been logging on a timesharing system with a VT terminal.
IF the warehouse has a 15 in it, i'll ask them very nicely for a TC15. Who
knows. We do have tons of -15 documentation (ask me not why) at the
University, and even some -15 OS DECtapes.
Thanks a bunch!!
-Tore
On Fri, 23 May 2003, Robert Garner wrote:
> Tore,
>
> Congratulations on your commendable project!
> I've sent your msg to some old DEC'ies would might be able to help.
>
> I have a Type 550 DECtape controller and documentation,
> which was used in the PDP-1, 4, and 7.
>
> Also have many system module boards, in case you need spares.
> (I still need to inventory them.)
>
> Do you have schematics for the 7?
> (The Computer History Museum here may have a set.)
>
> - Robert
>
> p.s. I have a PDP-15/10E. Looking for a TC15 (DECtape controller).
>
> p.p.s. I heard there was a PDP-10 (KA-10) somewhere in Norway too.
> Do you know anything about this?
>
>
______________________
|Tore Sinding Bekkedal|
|toresbe(a)ifi.uio.no |
|+47 91 85 95 08 \_________________________
|"Sure, so life's a bitch. But she's *my* bitch.|
------------------------------------------------/
Hello,
Are your VAX still available to a good home? I have a need for an 11/750
and tape units. Thanks in advance for your reply.
Sincerely,
A.G. Manzo
Hi,
I saw a forum on line and your email was there. I was wondering if you could solve my problem.
When I turn on system, the screen says turn off game before inserting cartridge. It does have the coleco logo so I know it has power and rf is working. I did what it said and I also hit the reset button but I get the same screen. I also cleaned the contacts on the cartridges. Do you have any idea what is wrong?
Thank you for your time,
Snickers48180(a)yahoo.com
The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo.
>From: "ben franchuk" <bfranchuk(a)jetnet.ab.ca>
>
>David Comley wrote:
>
>> Since you mention it, I had been thinking about
>> designing and building a processor from scratch from
>> TTL devices. I am slowly accumulating TTL chips as I
>> come across them at hamfests and things. Perhaps it's
>> time to put pencil to paper.
>>
>> Of course I could take the NASA Apollo Guidance
>> Computer approach and build everything welded-cordwood
>> style out of NOR gates.
>
>Nope that used lots of REAL ( expensive ) TTL.
>The neat part of that was the CORE memory used.
>
>Any how a real TTL computer is about 4+ large
>logic cards. Control card, alu card, memory card
>and serial I/O card. The mother board is bus
>and front pannel logic.
>I am doing a 20 bit CPU with about 125 chips total
>in the computer and front panel. About 50?
>more chips for memory and serial i/o.
>
>http://www.jetnet.ab.ca/users/bfranchuk/ldp/ldp1.html
>Ben.
>
Hi
All make the assumption that you must make 8 bit/16bit
or, in your case, 20 bit. One can make a 1 bit alu that
can have data width controlled by instruction. It may
not be fast at math but much processor time is consumed
just looking at true/false. If your model doesn't require
passing data through the alu for mem/mem and mem/io moves,
a single bitter makes sense.
( My Nicolet is a 20 bit machine. )
Dwight
In response to the question of which came first, Non-Linear Systems or,
Kaypro Corporation. I worked in the purchasing department of both companies during
the 1980s. Kaypro Corporation was a division of the parent company Non-Linear
Systems which was established in the 1950s by Andrew Kay, who was the
innovator of the digital volt meter. In the early 1980s, Non-Linear Systems began
building the Kaypro portable computer after Kay's Son-in-law, Jonathan Badder, a
local architect in partnership with Kay's Daughter Janice Kay, expressed a
desire to have a portable computer to take out to job sites.
When the Kaypro portable computer became an overnight success and far
eclipsed the volt meter business, Kay established the computer division known as
Kaypro Corporation. Both products were manufactured simultaneously at the Solana
Beach, California location at 533 Stevens Avenue, near the Lomas Santa Fe exit
of Interstate 5.
When I joined the Company in early 1983 we went from about 50 employees to
over 500 within a year. Andrew Kay was a very interesting and forward thinking
employer, hence the name of his original company Non-Linear Systems, since he
prided himself on non-linear thinking. He was a very health conscious
individual, and had a juice and salad bar installed, which all employees could dine at
for only a dollar. He tried to treat everyone as extended family, and believed
that a work environment that incorporated nature in it's design would produce
better work. Therefore, every office had windows in front and back, with a
row of trees and grass between each building. It required some considerable
walking to negotiate around the plant, but he believed that walking promoted good
health. He also was very interested in personal intellect, and in the early
stages of Kaypro, everybody had to take a sort of IQ test that he designed and
administered. He also made versions of the Kaypro that were marketed as the
"Tutor Computer" that were a learning aide for children.
It was a fun place to work in the early days, with a very young average
employee age. We were encouraged to work hard, and to play hard. Lots of parties,
barbecues, intramural sports teams, and the like. It was fun to go to work
everyday. During the push to increase shipments before the Company's initial
public stock offering, we received some very generous bonuses, including a
Christmas bonus equal to a month's salary, which we received around December 15th.
In the latter 1980s the company was plagued by poor quality, serious
inventory management problems, a revolving door on upper management that included a
long parade of self-impressed no-nothings that couldn't break free of their
linear thinking, and a serious lack of continued product innovation. After the big
boys like IBM jumped on the bandwagon of the PC and laptop market, Kaypro
just couldn't compete. All these factors and a few more, including the employment
of Kay family members in key positions that did not have the capabilities of
founder Andrew Kay, eventually led to the demise of Kaypro. I think that the
business section writer for the San Diego Union Tribune said it best when he
penned the phrase "Too many Kays and not enough Pros."
Garr Farrell
