test-drb July 2003

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

279 participants
450 discussions

by dwightk.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "Peter Turnbull" <pete(a)dunnington.u-net.com> > >A long-time acquaintance of mine (Graham Toal, whom some of you may >know) has access to a collection of PDP-8 paper tape which wants >reading. Unfortunately some of it is in the care of the Royal Musuem >in Edinburgh, who won't let it out of their sight. > >Does anyone -- preferably in the UK -- have a paper tape reader that >could be hooked up to a modern machine (eg a laptop) to read the tapes >in the museum, and which they'd be willing to lend? > >To see what Graham and friends are doing, take a look at >http://history.dcs.ed.ac.uk/ It's worth a look even if you're not >interested in Edinburgh. > >I know Graham reads the list, so replies here or to me are fine. > >-- >Pete Peter Turnbull > Network Manager > University of York > Hi I don't live close enough but it isn't too hard to connect, even a parallel paper tape reader. I have one that does folded paper tape that I connected to my lap top's parallel printer port. Dwight

21 years, 4 months

DSM (digital standard MUMPS)

by dwightk.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "John Willis" <jwillis(a)coherent-logic.com> > >Is it still possible to find DSM? Looking to learn the MUMPS language, >preferably on one of my >VMS machines. > Hi Also check those at: comp.lang.mumps. So someone i that group may have something for it. Dwight

21 years, 4 months

Help identifying Mostek machine

by dwightk.elvey＠amd.com

Hi It is always a fun project to write your own BIOS and get CPM running on these kinds of machines. I have brought up CPM on a couple of machines and find it isn't too hard. In some cases, I'll put a Forth interpreter on ROM for that machine. That way I can explore the I/O's for the machine and debug any assembly code before I expect it to work with things like booting a CPM disk. Dwight >From: Joe <rigdonj(a)cfl.rr.com> > > These sound like standard Mostek STD-BUS cards. The cards were available >separately so it may or may not be a Mostek computer. As luck would have it >(your's not mine!) I found some Mostek manuals for some of the cards today >along with some DRI CPM manuals. I haven't gone trough them yet but I'll >post a list after I do. BTW Steve Robertson is the expert on STD-BUS >stuff. He found one of the system developers that used to work for Pro-Log >and got a TRUCK load of that stuff. > > BTW II United Technologies bought out Mostek so Ian's computer could be >considered a Mostek machine. > > Joe > >At 07:52 AM 6/27/03 -0400, you wrote: >>That sounds like an interesting machine. I have a United Technologies >>Mostek Matrix 800, but it has a 1.2meg 5 1/2 drive and an MFM hard >>drive. My machine runs CP/M and has a Z-80. I have the system disks, >>albeit on 5 1/4, and I can make copies for you if you need them, but >>you'll have to find a way to either convert them to 8" or to hook a 5 >>1/4 drive to the computer, but even then I don't know if the disks >>would be compatible. >> >>Ian Primus >>ian_primus(a)yahoo.com >> >> >>On Thursday, June 26, 2003, at 10:58 PM, Erik S. Klein wrote: >> >>> Hello all, >>> >>> >>> >>> I've come into possession of a Mostek computer (I'm pretty sure it's a >>> computer anyway) with a pair of 8" half height floppy drives (Shugart >>> 860s) and three cards. >>> >>> >>> >>> The cards are roughly 6x4 inches with a 56 finger edge connector on one >>> of the long ends and various connectors on the opposite end (I'm not >>> familiar with these). They are labeled MDX-FLP2 (plugged into the >>> drives - obviously a floppy controller), MDX-SIO (almost certainly a >>> serial IO card) and MDX-CPU3. The last card is the processor card. >>> The >>> main chip appears to be a MOSTEK Z-80 clone which is labeled MK3801N-4, >>> Z80-STI AND ENG. PROTO. There are 8 4564s for 64K RAM on the card >>> along >>> with what are either connectors for serial and/or parallel ports. >>> >>> >>> >>> The whole box is about the size of a typical rack-mount machine with a >>> plastic case around it. Most parts are tagged as Mostek and most date >>> codes are from the middle of 1982. >>> >>> >>> >>> Of course it came without software or documentation. >>> >>> >>> >>> Is anyone familiar with this machine? Does anyone have a boot disk, >>> other software or documentation for it? >>> >>> >>> >>> Thanks! >>> >>> >>> >>> Erik Klein >>> >>> www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum >>> >>> The Vintage Computer Forum

21 years, 4 months

Nortel Meridian 1 MAX Enterprise ACD Unit Chassis FREE for pickup in San Mateo

by mail.list＠analog-and-digital-solutions.com

FREE for pick up in San Mateo, CA Pretty serious VMEbus Telecom Chassis Nortel Meridian 1 MAX Enterprise ACD Unit Chassis ... Never Used We purchased this for the two boards, which have already arrived, and didn't need the chassis. http://www.analog-and-digital-solutions.com/temp-graphics/Nortel_Meridian_1… http://www.analog-and-digital-solutions.com/temp-graphics/Nortel_Meridian_1… http://www.analog-and-digital-solutions.com/temp-graphics/Nortel_Meridian_1… located at ... 2041 Pioneer Ct. Suite 204 San Mateo, CA 94403 Here are some phone numbers to call to schedule pickup 650 548- 5202 - Steve Wood (First Choice) 650 548-5224 - Ann McKercher 650-548-5240 - Bill Welling hours of operation are 9:00am to 4:00pm PST M-F Enjoy.

21 years, 4 months

Fwd: [oclug] computer gear garage sale

by kenziem＠sympatico.ca

Someone local is cleaning out their garage. He's selling off a rather large collection of computer software and hardware. The sale started Saturday 28th, and is continuing through to late Tuesday for the long weekend. Contact and location details are available at each of the following URLs: http://www.bjgiles.ca/software_list.htm http://www.bjgiles.ca/hardware_list.htm I can act as a go between if needed.

21 years, 4 months

new finds :-)

by yakowenk＠cs.unc.edu

On Fri, 27 Jun 2003 17:53:29, Joe <rigdonj(a)cfl.rr.com> wrote: > Visted one of my favorite scrounging places today and found a Otrona > Attache and a Soroc Terminal (1802 CPU :-) :-) Also got two shugart 851 8" > floppy drives, an IC Master (1988) a stack of DRI CPM manuals, a DEC PDP-8 > handbook and a notebook full of Mostek computer board manuals. Oh and an > AIM-65 User's Guide. Are you sure about the Soroc having an 1802? Which model of Soroc? I thought Sorocs used z80s. The one sitting next to me here (an IQ-135) definitely has a z80. It does have a 1602 UART though... Speaking of which, how many Sorocs are still out there? Were they as common in the rest of the world as they seemed in my corner of it? I hardly ever hear of them anymore, even on e-bay. Bill.

21 years, 4 months

Fwd: old hardware help requested

by jfoust＠threedee.com

I don't quite understand what copyright (as opposed to patent law) has to do with his case, but I thought I'd forward this inquiry... - John >From: "Advanced Approach" <info(a)advanced-app.com.hk> >To: <jfoust(a)threedee.com> >Subject: old hardware help requested >Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2003 10:51:42 +0800 > >Dear Mr. Foust: > >I am an American living (temporarily) in Hong Kong, I am in a jam here, and >you might be able to help. I would appreciate a couple of minutes of your >time ? just enough time to read this. You may be able to tell me what I >need to know immediately. > >I am a defendant in a lawsuit here. In the lawsuit against us, the >Plaintiffs claim that in the early 1990?s they were the first in the world >to recess a rocker switch. (Actually, they do not use those exact words; >rather, they claim they own the copyright on a recessed rocker switch. For >them to own the copyright, they would have to be the first people in the >world to put out a product with a recessed switch.) > >Of course, their claim is ridiculous, but in court, we have to PROVE it is >ridiculous -- otherwise, the court will probably accept their claim. To >disprove their claim, we simply need to find a product with a recessed >rocker switch that was on the market before 1990. (And of course, we need >to prove that it was on the market before 1990.) > >Friends have told me that recessed rocker switches were common on early >computers, printers, and mainframe terminals. > >Copyright here is all about outlook. Here are two examples of recessed >rockers switches with the outlook that we need: > >The first example: >http://www.auctionshoppingbot.com/misc/Recessed_Rocker_Switch.html > >The above is from a Canon copy machine. > >This example shows well all five key elements that we need: >1) The rocker switch is mounted on a flat surface, >2) The rocker switch is recessed beneath the surface, >3) There is flat surface all around the recess, >4) There is nothing else in the recess with the switch, and >5) The area of the recess is bigger than the area of the switch but not >excessively so. > >This would be prefect, except the copy machine is only a couple of years >old ? too new to prove that recessed rocker switches were on the market >before 1990. (I have contacted Canon, but as a company, it seems they are >only interested in selling new machines.) > >The molded on/off symbols and the indicator light are not important. We are >looking for an example product with or without the molded on/off symbols and >the indicator light ? either is fine. For the switch rocker itself, color >does not matter ? even clear plastic with illumination inside is OK. > >The second example: >http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=115 >http://www.old-computers.com/museum/photos.asp?t=1&c=115&st=1 > >DEC 300 series computer from 1979. (On the second link, click on the "close >up".) This is good, and we might use this. It would be perfect, except the >Digital logo is right next to the switch (so this example does not meet key >element #3). So for our purpose, this is only half good. > >If you know of any product from 1990 or before that had a recessed rocker >switch that meets all five key elements, please let me know. As you and >others you know are knowledgeable about old hardware, any information you >could provide would be greatly appreciated. > >I hope to hear from you. > >Thanks, > >Rick Graves >Personal Rick_Graves(a)CompuServe.com > >Advanced Approach Ltd. >1907 Westley Square, 48 Hoi Yuen Road >Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong >Tel: +852 2372-0197 Fax: +852 2342-7197 >e-mail: info(a)advanced-app.com.hk

21 years, 4 months

Info needed on Sun SCSI/Ethernet sbus card plus sun sparc2 FS

by jmd5＠earthlink.net

i recently came across 2 X1054A SCSI/Ethenet Sbus cards. I am having trouble finding info about the Ethernet connector. This is not a standard port configuration. Its quite small (measuring 1/2 wide by 1/4 inch tall) and its *D* in shape. Female. are there adapters? adapter cables? I have 2 of these and only need one at present. If anyone is interested in the other card its free. Just pay shipping. If I cannot use this, then both are free for shipping. i also have a sun sparcstation 2 with 425M hd (w/sled), some memory sticks (one stick is bad for sure) with a dual sbus video card (cg6?), floppy drive. the NVRAM is bad. i think i have a sun keyboard too. ss2 for $5 and keyboard is $10. plus shipping. this is *as is* no guarantees. located in glendale california jeff duncan

21 years, 4 months

I got a HP9000 - now what?

by kd7bcy＠teleport.com

I picked up this huge HP box with half the case(plastics anyway) missing... I picked it up because it had a DomainRing card and other Apollo-like ports. I finally figured out it's an HP9000, but I'm not sure which one yet. The board is labeled A1421-66538. It has a 25MHz 68040 CPU. The HP-IL keyboard port is a neat touch. Does this thing use a normal VGA monitor? Looks like this one has a tape drive(DC600 tapes like my Apollos?), and two hard drives - one is a freaking big 5.25" FH like my Apollos, the other is HP SureStorageDisk 1000S+ 3.5" drive. I see 4 ISA slots, one has a DomainRing card. Will the other Apollo cards work there too? Any pointers to good HP9000 info(I'm still recovering from hauling this huge box in to do much searching right now - this thing is bigger and heavier than the Apollos! LOL, I though nothing could get bigger...) I think my iMac is intimidated by this huge box towering over it on the desk now... -- /------------------------------------\ | http://jrollins.tripod.com/ | | KD7BCY kd7bcy(a)teleport.com | \------------------------------------/

21 years, 4 months

IBM 5285

by aeg＠paradise.net.nz

Hi All Another recent addition to my growing collection is, as the title suggests, an IBM 5285. It has a 12" display and dual 8" floppy drives. The separate keyboard is connected at the front of the machine by a large 25 pin connector. Originally passed to me as "working" the machine fired up to display what looked like a single ASCII code at the top centre of the screen and a column of blocks on the far right. The keyboard is laid out very much like a terminal keyboard and testing the keys the keyboard buffer quickly becomes full. This results in what looks like a series of memory addresses along the bottom of the screen. All the while the two 8" drives are merrily spinning away. I have one disk with the machine which when inserted in either drive fails to read or alter the state of the display. My initial thoughts were faulty connections. I took the covers off to reveal about a kilo of dust liberally spread around the inside. I cleaned each component carefully and replaced the boards. Now I don't get anything on the display and the drives still whirr around oblivious of disk or no disk... So... my questions are: 1. Has anyone come across this model before and is it a dumb terminal? 2. What checks would you suggest to solve the disk access problems? 3. Can anyone point me towards a repository of information about it? Thanks in advance Alan

21 years, 4 months

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test-drb July 2003