test-drb May 2004

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

244 participants
500 discussions

by beclassic＠att.net

I am just about ready to rid myself of the DEC equipment I have. I'm starting with the classic computer mailing list, but I may part the stuff out on e-bay. I want to preserve the equipment and related manuals, but I'm also not ready to just make a gift. The equipment was purchased in 1979 with updates in maybe 1981. It was used in my business and has only been moved once (Fall, 2001). It is now in my garage which is obviously not air conditioned. Most of the manuals and printed materials are in a storage room a few miles away in "conditioned" air. The computer was used primarily as a BASIC processor, but we also had compiled Dibol applications we developed (actually DBL). I have the mid-height (42") newer-looking cabinet containing the processor and dual RL01's. The dual RX01 unit is stand-alone, desk-top unit with matching exterior. The original basic unit was an 11T03 with an 11/03 processor. After a few years I swapped the processor to an 11/23 (dual size M8186): KDF11-AC with KTF11-AA makes the cpu a KDF11-AA. Also added KEF11-AA FPU to help my number crunching. Current memory is 256K (MSV11-LK). The monitor is a VT100 with an extra board for advanced video, plus a tilt-swivel stand (DEC version). I also have an LA120BA terminal unit with keyboard that I used as the wide-carriage printer. I generally used TSX and at one time had a time-sharing client using a proprietary program through a 1000 baud modem. I believe the latest RT11 I used was v.3B, but v.4 may also be there. I have the usual stuff that went with operating the machine: - printed docs ( box of paper ) for diagnostics, plus microfiche version - original diagnostics on RL01 - original manuals for each item (I think) - some hardware diagrams/schematics, along with installation booklets - 8-10 of the small paperback books of equipment from DEC - 4-5 large blue notebooks from DEC regarding operating system, etc. - maybe 9 RL01 disk packs in total - a few used RX01s - software - RT11, BASIC, Fortran?, TSX?, DBL? - some confusion in this since the distributions came from a third-party developer via RL01, not from DEC on distribution-type media. The CPU and memory seem fine. The bottom RL01 powers up but shows a fault light; the other works fine. Both RX01 drives work. The VT100 works fine. Haven't tried the LA120 lately. I recently hooked a PC as the console and used Kermit to transfer all the data on the RL01s. I have slowly been trying to separate my data from DEC data on the RL01s and do a wipe routine after, thus protecting client data. Maybe I'll only release half of the RL01s. I've infrequently reviewed the digest versions of this mailing list, but this is my first attempt to participate. I am switching from digest so that I can try to be responsive on-line (generally between 7:00 pm and 11:00 pm EST). Are other times more appropriate? I can also answer emails, generally within a half day. I can maybe get some pictures on-line, but most of the participants in this list know what they're dealing with. I'm in central South Carolina. bill bailey

20 years, 2 months

Mac Plus with (minor) issues

by mtapley＠swri.edu

Update: At 14:14 -0500 4/29/04, Mark Tapley wrote: >1) Screen display is too far to the left. At 23:59 +0100, 4/29/04 ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell) replied: > On the back of the yoke are 2 metal plates. >Rotating them, either together or in oposite directios, will move the >picture (strictly the raster, but anyway..) around on the screen. Got the machine far enough apart to spot those and play with them yesterday. Sure enough, that fixed the screen-shift (and it's almost a certainty that I disturbed them when I took out the Elf Armor). FWIW, the plates are perpendicular to the path of the electrons in the CRT and more or less centered on that path near the back end of the CRT. They are circular (umm, annular? I can't see anything but a mm or two at the rim of the circle), and have little tabs at 2 locations 180 degrees apart. There are 2 plates, stacked together. They are "finger tight". I fooled with them while watching the image, but I used an insulated tool, so I didn't fool with them much. A slight twist (maybe 15 degrees) on one of them moved the image right where I wanted it. Thanks, Tony! Still in the to-do list: ordering a new rectifier (thanks, Chris!) against the day my CR5 dies (but it seems OK right now, picture is fine and steady) and borrowing an o-scope to see how much ripple is on the 5V line. And probably saving up for an ESR meter to test the caps around the connector that goes to the digital board, and probably getting a new capacitor or two. And retouching J4. After the picture adjust, coincidentally, machine ran fine for several hours yesterday (all the time I could spend on it). Love that BrainStorm! -- - Mark 210-522-6025, page 888-733-0967

20 years, 2 months

7 track tape terminal

by aw288＠osfn.org

I have an extra Mohawk Data Services 7 track (!) tape terminal available. Basically, it is a tape drive with a keyboard - oh the weird stuff they used to do back then! Anyway, this is a late 60s (probably) all transistor and core box, about five feet tall and 300 pounds. It takes standard tapes. I don't think the thing is completely working right now, as I can't get it to do much, and a light blinks as in "something wrong!". I have no docs on the thing. I should also say that the keyboard on this thing moved the bar as far as how bad human engineering can get. Anyway, I want to make it go away, so if anyone has stuff to trade (no micros, please - (cruddy) big stuff or docs are good) or has a little cash (were not talking much here folks - scrap value is probably only $100), we can deal. I can deliver to VCFeast or anywhere near NY/NJ/CT/RI. I could ship it as well, as I do have a sort of crate thing. Let me know! Please, I need the room! William Donzelli aw288(a)osfn.org

20 years, 2 months

Heathkit 3400 Microcomputer Trainer

by marvin＠rain.org

There is a Heathkit 3400 Microcomputer including manual up on Ebay with a starting bid of $30.00. It appears to be in the wrong catagory, so it might be missed by some: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1504&item=3814941860…

20 years, 2 months

Apple II - LPS II Gibson Light Pen

by adamg＠pobox.com

I have a "Gibson Light Pen by Koala", with software and docs. Does anyone know if this is truly the "sucessor" to the LPS II or just a repackaged version? -- Adam

20 years, 2 months

Hyperions

by brianmahoney＠look.ca

Over the years, I have been pretty successful in acquiring Hyperions. Actually the bulk of my collection is Hyperions. A recent letter to the group made me pause and think about the future of my Hyperions. I won't sell them but I would love to have them with someone who can sort out the hardware and the manuals and make the information available to those who are interested. At this point I have too much on my plate to do this myself. Trades will be considered but not outright sales. I've contacted a couple of the Canadian museums with an offer of this equipment but haven't been honored with a reply. Soooo, Canada is good but if they have to go to the states, so be it. No shipping though, only pick-up in Scarborough. Points for anyone who is interested in these units : 1. Are they of interest to someone who could pick them up in Toronto (Scarborough actually, 20 minutes from the CN tower.)? I won't ship them. 2. My original Hyperion, which I purchased and am keeping, does not boot so the others may be in the same condition and I already know that at least one of the storage towers has had some trace problems, if that's what you call them. There are about 6 complete units, one for parts and two storage towers that are about two by three feet and very heavy (maybe 50 pounds or more.) 3. I'd like to keep one set of manuals but there are doubles and triples of just about everything plus boxes of software and records from their original site which was a Canadian tech college. 4. There would have to be some agreement that this stuff wouldn't be sold as I was given all of it under the condition that I wouldn't sell it. If you have a museum and are interested in this stuff, that would be absolutely prime. 5. All of the material has to be kept together. I'm not going to piece it out. It has value both monetary and historically and I would love if it could be in a bricks and mortar museum somewhere. That's about it. Volume is probably a stretch mini-van full or a bit more. If nothing happens with this, I will obviously keep it all and hope my kids will be interested in it in about ten years. If you have some ideas, let me know at : antique101(a)hotmail.com I may add to this if I've forgotten anything important. bm

20 years, 2 months

Restoring a VAXstation 3500

by trash3＠splab.cas.neu.edu

The RD53s are toast, but is the controller O.K.? I'll lend you an RD54 with some version of VMS on it if you want to try to boot that way. Either way, I have a MVII with some RD54s on it (maxtor 2190s I believe) and maybe a loaner rqdx3. and we can talk about the back door also. BTW, I am coming up on my vacation, so I'll get back to you about the other qbus stuff I have, if you still want an LSI-11 flavor machine... Joe Heck And no, I haven't forgotten Curt, Steve and the many others who have asked about the "stuff" I am getting rid of. During the month of June when I am off from work, I'll get back to all the emails I saved about my equipment.

20 years, 2 months

cd longevity

by aek＠spies.com

> The only real chance is to make sure that the data has redundant storage. Paper burns well. Why is it that many of the classic systems we like have no docs. These docs were on paper. One type of storage is no solution at all. === This is EXACTLY why I created bitsavers.org >> I << don't want to have the only surviving copy of a paper document or program. The problem is, there are no 'real' mirrors (I can see in the logs that dozens of people are mirroring it for themselves..)

20 years, 2 months

PDP-11 RESCUE needed in northern California (Castro Valley)

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On May 9, 0:26, Guy Sotomayor wrote: > On Sat, 2004-05-01 at 12:38, Fred Cisin wrote: > > > How well does DEC stuff handle weather? > > Poorly. > > Paul, Fred and myself collected all of this last weekend. Our > "adventure" is now up on my web site at: > http://www.shiresoft.com/pdp-11/rescue/index.html Ow! -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

20 years, 2 months

Heathkit H8 emulators

by jack.rubin＠ameritech.net

Things are jumping over at www.sebhc.org , with more than 70 members committed to the preservation of Heathkit 8-bit computers - come take a look. Several of us have tried unsuccessfully to get in touch with either Dave Shaw or Dave Wallace, both of whom created websites featuring H8 emulation, one Mac-based, the other Windows-based. While email addresses are available, no-one has had a recent response from either Dave. Can anyone on classiccmp provide some help - 1) working email addresses for Dave Shaw or Dave Wallace, or possibly for reviewers of their emulators, including Larry Bledsoe, Steve Novosad, Charles Horn, Neal Granroth, Stanley Webb, or Bob Myers; 2) did anyone download the emulator source or support files from Dave Shaw's defunct website? Any help appreciated! Jack

20 years, 2 months

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test-drb May 2004