On May 7, 13:17, John Lawson wrote:
> On Fri, 7 May 2004, Jay West wrote:
>
> > This has been discussed on this list a few times before... but I
just came
> > across a rather detailed article about the topic of longevity of
CD, DVD,
> > and CDRW media.
> Actually, if ya wanna go techno-retro - we found (MGM Studios /
Library
> of Congress / Filmbond Archival Institute) that the most long-lived
medium
> for this kind of work is optically encoded data on well-processed
Mylar
> linear film of some kind. With proper encoding techniques, one can
get
> bit densities of more than a megabyte per inch - of standard 35MM
> sprocketed stock - of course an order of magnitude more using 70MM -
and
> even more if wider stock is used.
So our discussion a few weeks ago about film resolution was relevant
after all ;-)
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Network Manager
University of York
store as much as possible on
multiple hard drives, in multiple systems, utilizing good backup
strategies.
==
How much of your PERQ software is stored this way?
So far, I've not been able to find anyone who has a copy of
POS or any other PERQ operating system that I can get to try
to revive my machine, even though there are several people
who 'have it somewhere'
A while ago I retrieved a Franklin Ace 2200 from a neighbour who was
throwing it out. Well most of one, anyway. I have the CPU and the
joystick. No keyboard, no screen. The computer is clean and while I
obviously can't really tell, it appears to boot. I believe it has 128K
RAM (8 4164 chips on a riser card and 8 3764s on motherboard). No
expansion cards. There was a floppy in each drive; when you power it up
it beeps and disks spin and click away for a while like it's loading its
DOS.
I know next to nothing about this system, and don't want to get into
diagnosing anything... Until finding this one I knew them only from
cheesy Byte ads when I was 10. I grabbed this one for good obsolete
computer karma, so someday when my Atari 800XL craps out I hope there'll
be someone who snagged one from a neighbour for a dollar back when
neighbours still had those things, and I'll pay him well.
Five bucks plus shipping (your choice). It's built like a tank, so the
shipping is not going to be free. If you live around Boston MA you can
come get it. Respond by direct e-mail: I don't normally read this
mailing list, it was suggested to me by another old computer enthusiast.
Enjoy and good day, Peter.
On May 7, 5:58, Dave Dunfield wrote:
> Popped the top off, and immediately discovered that the platters did
> not want to turn.
[...]
> I don't recall why, but "just for kicks", I took a fine cloth,
> polished the spot on the platter [...]
> Blew out the drive with a bit of air, and put the top back on, and
> installed it in a machine to "see what would happen".
>
> Not suprisingly the drive spun up right away. So, I low-level
formatted the drive
> and ran a test --- then I got a suprise --- NO ERRORS!
I can't remember if I told this story before... I had a machine that
ran for a couple of years; never powered off because it was a pain to
get the drive to spin again. Well, the inevitable happened, and I had
a power cut last August, which outlasted the UPS. This time the usual
tricks didn't work, and I ended up taking the drive into the workshop.
Even giving it a higher voltage on the 12V supply wouldn't make it
start, so with nothing more to lose, off came the top.
I discovered I could release the brake by hand, but even so I had to
apply 14V (instead of 12V :-)) from a big bench PSU directly to the
innards, and flick the disk with my finger to get it to start.
However, once started, it would run on 12V, though it wouldn't restart
normally if I let it stop. I had to think about how to keep that drive
spinning while I took it back to the machine. Don't try this at home
;-)
It went something like this: connect a PSU from a PC to the smallest
available UPS, and stack the PSU and and the topless drive on the UPS .
Start the drive as described above, then whip off the bench power
leads and connect the PC PSU before it has a chance to spin down
completely. I seem to remember using a paper clip to disable the brake
while doing that. Unplug the UPS from the mains and carry the whole
lot up to the office, with the drive still spinning. Connect to the
computer, cross fingers, and power up the computer. To my surprise and
releif, I was able to read almost all of the drive. I only lost a
couple of files. Needless to say I replaced the drive after that :-)
I've taken the tops off small drives a few times. I don't recommend
this, because I may just have been lucky, but as a last resort it's
allowed me to rescue the data from a few stuck or damaged drives.
Except for the most recent one (I took the wrong screw out and
finished the drive off).
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Network Manager
University of York
> Millenium! If is a yellowish box about 15" w x 8" x 8" and the top opens
>up. I have a couple of them, one for 6800 and one for z-80 or 8080 IIRC. I
>also have a manual for them. It's a 8 1/2" x 11" three binder about 3 or 4"
>thick.
I'd like to add it to the scans if you get a chance to scan the manual.
I've just put up a user's manual for the Futuredata.
And, I'm working through the 64000 manuals I have access to.
This has been discussed on this list a few times before... but I just came
across a rather detailed article about the topic of longevity of CD, DVD,
and CDRW media.
I'm thinking the best long term storage solution is... paper printouts. How
retro :)
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/ptech/05/06/disc.rot.ap/index.html
Jay
---
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On Tuesday 20 April 2004 10:45, Jay West wrote:
> Ok folks, the discussion of non-computer hobbies has been fun and
> enjoyable, helping to know the folks here and get a better picture.
> But lets get back to on-topic stuff!
And to kick it off, I'm announcing yet another "feature" I'm working on
adding to my website. Right now, it's a set of pictures of some DEC
peripherals, I hope to expand it to include some specs on the devices
as well, and possibly include things like CPUs or boards. Also, it'd
be nice to get some non-B&W pictures, but this is what I've got to
start with. I'm trying to fix the fustration that I've had using
google to figure out what an RM03, for example, looks like.
The URL:
http://computer-refuge.org/dec-pics/
Pat
--
Purdue University ITAP/RCS --- http://www.itap.purdue.edu/rcs/
The Computer Refuge --- http://computer-refuge.org
Anyone have the datasheet for this chip?
I've got one chip + 1 ROM that isn't either of the usual speech
ROMs. This was supposed to have been pulled from a telephone
answering machine.
Lee.
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I've got 16 Hitachi HN27C1025HG-85 EPROMs on a board I just salvaged from
a photocopier. I figure these would be useful to someone. Any interest?
Make an offer...
--
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
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