In 1977 I started out with an 11/35 with 4 RK05 drives. System was on
one pack, programs on another pack, data was stored on 2 packs.
Software was hard coded to look for 2 Megs of data files at a time.
When we got the RP04 we made it look like 20 RK05's to the application
software.
In about 1980 our R&D lab had upgraded from a PDP11/35 to a PDP11/70
system with one RP04. We were in a computer room in the middle of a
warehouse, when we asked for more AC they said we could have an
additional air conditioner.
About a week later a sawsall blade came through the wall of the computer
room as they cut a hole for a new window air conditioner. The output
side was in the general warehouse space!
We were a little mad because nobody warned us about the dust flying into
the computer room. We shutdown until the AC was installed. It did cool
the room down a lot.
Only having one RP04 was a problem. Whenever a backup was scheduled I
took the system pack and the backup pack in the back of my Toyota to
another computer room a mile away so that I could do a standalone
backup.
Nothing like walking across the parking lot with the system disk in one
hand and the backup copy in the other. I was careful not to drop either
pack.
Later we thought about getting a VAX 11/730 but decide the 11/70 was
fast enough.
Mike
Message: 12
Date: Fri, 7 May 2004 04:42:39 +0100 (BST)
From: ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell)
Subject: Re: Pro-Log M422 4040/4004 System Analyzer
To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org
Message-ID: <m1BLwG3-000JAXC@p850ug1>
Content-Type: text/plain
> I have been wanting to play with it, but it seems that anything that
> could be done with an 8085 could be done with a PIC and in one package...
You want to make a Radio Shack Model 100 in a single package using a PIC?
Rather you than me!
-tony
It probably wouldn't be that difficult, with the overblown versions of the PIC that are availble today - 64KRAM/ROM access aren't difficult, it seems.
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My ability to search the web is hampered by poor sat comms right now, so I'd
like to ask if anyone knows where to purchase an ICL7660 negative voltage
supply chip? My Basicon MC-1N is apparently missing it, but RS-232 comms
being as loose as they are, I can still talk to it even though there's no
negative comms voltage.
Thanks for any pointers,
-ethan
--
Ethan Dicks, A-130-S Current South Pole Weather at 04-May-2004 23:10 Z
South Pole Station
PSC 468 Box 400 Temp -81.4 F (-63.0 C) Windchill -160.3 F (-106.9 C)
APO AP 96598 Wind 19.3 kts Grid 013 Barometer 674.8 mb (10824. ft)
Ethan.Dicks(a)amanda.spole.gov http://penguincentral.com/penguincentral.html
I acquired a dead VT52 DecScope today and I am going to attempt
to revive it. I have a copy of the VT52 maintenance manual. I
am also getting a second one that "lights up" in about a week.
I am hoping to be able to create at least one functional VT52.
Does anyone here have any experience repairing a dead VT52
DecScope? When I apply power, I hear a mild hum coming from
the transformer area, but there is nothing on the screen..
no cursor, no raster. I just turned it on this evening and
have not followed through the debugging information in the
manual. One thing I did notice is that the manual talks
about a fuse on the back. There is no fuse on mine, but I
do see what appears to be a circuit breaker button on the
right side near the on/off switch.
Any ideas from experienced folk would be welcome!
Thanks,
Ashley
>never mind - stiction it is... I got the bottom board off the drive and
>managed to free up the spindle by hand, it now seems to spin up properly
>by itself...
I have a little story about Stiction ... this is not "cyber legend", this
actually happened, and I was the one who did it!
Way back, sometime in the mid to late 80's, when this stuff was not cheap or
easy to come by, somebody gave me a dead Lapine "Titan" hard drive - I think
it was a 20meg drive. The drive just wouldn't spin up at all.
I tried the "shake and bake" technique, rotating it back and forth about the
spindle axis during power up etc. - no dice, the drive just would NOT spin
up.
So, "this is trash --- lets look inside".
Popped the top off, and immediately discovered that the platters did not want
to turn. On closer inspection, I discovered that the head did not want to budge
>from the platter surface, and came to the conclusion that the head was stuck
to the platter.
Memory is a bit dim on exactly what I did, however during my fooling around the
head eventually came lose, and I could spin the platter - there was a discolored
spot which had been under the head - it was slightly rough due to a bit of
surface corrosion or deposits.
I don't recall why, but "just for kicks", I took a fine cloth, polished the spot
on the platter (IIRC it was still discolored, but I removed the surface deposits).
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!
This was interesting "I wonder how long it will last", so I left it running surface
scans overnight --- in the morning --- NO ERRORS!
So I used it for "non critical" data - months went by and I never got a disk error.
Eventually I gave the machine to a company I worked for who used it as a lab/test
machine, and when I left the place a few years later, it was still going and to my
knowlege had never gotten an error.
"Clean room ... we don't need no steeenking clean room".
Regards,
--
dave04a (at) Dave Dunfield
dunfield (dot) Firmware development services & tools: www.dunfield.com
com Vintage computing equipment collector.
http://www.parse.com/~ddunfield/museum/index.html
