test-drb September 2004

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

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DiversiDial software

by pbmain＠wideopenwest.com

Looking for a copy of the Apple II Diversi-Dial software. Any leads are appreciated. thanks! Pete

20 years, 3 months

NY Times article on retro-stuff

by vcf＠siconic.com

I found this paragraph to be hilarious in its irony: The pair's first conversion, at their Web site (facadecomputer.com), is of a computer built into the mahogany casing of a 1937 Emerson 215 tube radio that they rescued from Mr. Fader's attic. Other possibilities for casings include old briefcases, typewriters and televisions. "The idiom 'one man's trash is another man's treasure' really applies here," Mr. Fader said. "There's a lot of stuff that people really don't realize the value of." Hundreds of radio collectors just had an aneurysm. -- Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org [ Old computing resources for business || Buy/Sell/Trade Vintage Computers ] [ and academia at www.VintageTech.com || at http://marketplace.vintage.org ]

20 years, 3 months

Tek 8560

by tomj＠wps.com

So, I gather it's some PDP 11/23 like thing. Are these worthwhile to gather up? Are these useless without X, where X is a member of a list of unobtainable accessories? Or is it useful by itself (with more generic periphs).

20 years, 3 months

Completely and totally off-topic and without any meritwhatsoever

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "William Donzelli" <aw288(a)osfn.org> > >> I suspect the hazmat team over reacted just a little. > >This is often the case - the hazmat guys I have talked to have been pretty >reasonable, but due to public pressure, they often have to put on a show. > >> Mercury in elemental form is not all that dangerous ( or >> most of us old timers would be dead or vegetables by now ). >> It is most dangerous as salts or as long term exposure >> to vapor. > >Finally someone speaks the truth! Elemental mercury mostly passes thru the >body in one big blob, and very little is absorbed. I think it is rarely >used as an antibiotic, as well. > >The compounds are the nasty things, as they due damage pretty >quickly. Also, mercury vapor is also very dangerous *even in short >periods of exposure*! The poor guys in South America that purify gold thru >amalgamation (and the subsequent vaporizing to get the mercury back) tend >to have very short lives if they are not careful. Hi People that made hats used to use mercury ( I don't know what for ) but that is where the term "Mad as a Hatter" came from. The vapor was known to cause mental problems as well as other physical problems. Maybe it is already too late for Sellam. Remember his Altar comment. A sure sign he is missing some marbles. I used to handle the stuff a lot when I was a kid and it hasn't hardly effected me ( has it? ). Dwight > >William Donzelli >aw288(a)osfn.org > > >

20 years, 3 months

please resend any private email

by jwest＠huey.classiccmp.org

The joys of XP on the laptop - I have a royally trashed system. It downloaded all my email moments before puking. So.... if anyone sent me any email (or posts to the list) yesterday, they are stuck in my laptop and not readable. I know Mr. Rubin is trying to reach me as well as a few other folks. For the time being you can email jwest(a)ezwind.net and I should get it there. Thanks Jay PS - yesterday night and all day today actually.

20 years, 3 months

Commodore PET disk drive power-up error codes

by dave04a＠dunfield.com

>> Does anyone have information on error-codes that are flashed by PET disk drives >> after power-up diagnostics fail. >> >> I have a drive set which after powerup, enters into a state where it flashes the >> POWER LED alternating with both drive LEDs (together) - It repeats this flash >> cycle exactly 6 times, then pauses, then another 6 ... forever. >> >> I assume it's a diagnostic failure - Can anyone tell me what it means? > >UEs, it's a diagnostic code. From the 8050/8250 service manual (component >references will be different in other drives, I guess ) > ># flashses > >1 Zero Page 6532 UC1,UE1 >2 ROM $E000-$FFFF 2364 UL1 >3 ROM $C000-$DFFF 2364 UH1 >4 Not Used >5 Zero Page 6530 UK3 >6 RAM $1000-$13FF 2114 UC4,UC5 >7 RAM $2000-$23FF 2114 UD4,UD5 >8 RAM $3000-$33FF 2114 UE4,UE5 >9 RAM $4000-$43FF 2114 UF4,UF5 >10 Cotnroller ROM 6530 UK3 or 6502 UH3 Thanks Tony!, thats exactly what I need. [If it is a 2114, it will be the second one I've found dead in PET hardware over the past month - other was was video RAM in a 4032] Regards, Dave -- 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

20 years, 3 months

Teletype war II

by Pres＠macro-inc.com

Ouch! Another ASR33 on eBay. 30minutes to go and it's already over $700. One of the $700 losers from the other day is involved is waiting to snipe it too. This one has a platen roller handle, stand and even manuals, but looks to be missing the Teletype Logo front piece where the switch is. The last one went for $740. I'd like to watch, it's likely to be bloody. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=5121272153&ssPageNa… Would like to have one to hear MIKBUG play again, but not that badly. Anyone have a nice ASR33 they might be willing to swap for VT131, LA100, PDP11 or MVII? Or, maybe the microfiche complete source listings for RSTS V6c? No, not all of them either. :-) Let me know off list. Unless you're thinking of putting it on eBay that is. :-) Ed K

20 years, 3 months

More OT: Shipping Mercury

by zmerch＠30below.com

Well, with everyone here having Mercury on the Brain syndrome lately (thanks again Sellam! ;-) ) I have a question about shipping it, possibly overseas: I have 3 old (but not *quite* antique) heavy-duty thermometers that use mercury as it's internal sensing liquid. (I have *no* idea if there's a technical term for that...) I've gotten on a "empty the house so I can actually walk through it without stubbing my toes on crap" kick, so I've been epaying just about everything in sight[1], and I was thinking of epaying these, too. I have 2 questions: 1) I normally offer shipping to the US, Canada & Western Europe - anyone know what kind of restrictions there are on shipping mercury, even if it is very well enclosed (I'm talking about the thermometer, but I was planning on taking extra precautions packing them as well)? 2) Do thermometers suffer badly in a decompressed atmosphere? Can I ship these airmail, or do they have to be ground/boat shipped? Thanks one and all! Roger "Merch" Merchberger -- Roger "Merch" Merchberger | JC: "Like those people in Celeronville!" sysadmin, Iceberg Computers | Me: "Don't you mean Silicon Valley???" zmerch(a)30below.com | JC: "Yea, that's the place!" | JC == Jeremy Christian

20 years, 3 months

Anyone know how to set Aux port speed on Datamedia DT/80

by dave04a＠dunfield.com

>>Just acquired a Datamedia DT/80 (nostalgic value - spent many 100s of >>hours in front of one of these during earlier parts of my career). > >What? You worked only a few weeks? :-) Um ... I must have a different definition of the work "many" ... :-)) >If it's a good DEC emulation, this might help. > > From the VT102 manual (which had VT100 Advanced Video and printer port >built in): > >"In Setup B, the arrow keys and SHIFT select either the modem [normal >computer port] or the printer [aux] interface features. When you hold down >SHIFT, <LEFT ARROW> selects modem features, <RIGHT ARROW> selects printer >features." > >So, in Setup B, <SHIFT><RIGHT ARROW> should select the printer features. > ><CTRL><KEYPAD ENTER> toggles AutoPrint (line at at time). ><SHIFT><KEYPAD ENTER> does a print screen. > ><KEYPAD ENTER> is supposedly the "Print" key. Thanks Ed, That wasn't quite it, but it was enough of a hint to get me there - all I had to do was hit SHIFT-6 - this toggles the Aux port instead of the TX port (I could have sworn I tried that ... but it worked this time). Also find and fixed a cold solder joint on a connector that was causing the terminal to be intermittant (It was partially disassembled when I got it - sombody must have been searching for it before). Regards, Dave -- 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

20 years, 3 months

"Vintage" tech article

by allain＠panix.com

>> http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/09/technology/circuits/09retr.html > No. > http://www.bugmenot.com/ For what it's worth, I've been subscribed to the NYT for over three years, perhaps over 5. Not once have they asked me to renew the subscription, like a free magazine might do, for example. John A.

20 years, 3 months

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test-drb September 2004