> Speaking of the CDC and its PPU's...
>
> Does anyone have software to use on the 6600 emulator?
> Has anyone put one of these machines onto VLSI?
You might be interested in the goings-on at:
http://www.60bits.net/
De
I wasn't aware of this. Are you interested in the 11/23 box if they are
a suitable revision?
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org
[mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Paul Koning
Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2005 10:47 AM
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
Subject: Re: PDP 11/23 PLUS system for sale
>>>>> "Julian" == Julian Wolfe <(FireflyST)" <fireflyst at earthlink.net>>
writes:
Julian> Two DEQNA Ethernet controllers
What ECO level? DEC went all the way to L on the DEQNA before finally
giving up on it. The late ones work fairly well; early ones are quite
evil. (DELQA is always preferable, though...)
paul
>From: "Vintage Computer Festival" <vcf at siconic.com>
>
---snip---
>The power connector (barrel type) had a bit of oxidation on the contacts
>which I tried to clean and scrape away. I got a fair amount off of it. I
>never thought to check the voltage coming out on the other end of
>connector, but I'll do that tonight.
>
---snip---
Hi
Try putting a little silicon grease on the connectors
and plug/unplug it several times. ( note: not heat sink grease ).
Dwight
Al> I suspect that the driving force for tools (esp in TOPS-10)
Al> inside DEC came about because much of the software development
Al> inside of DEC for other CPU families until they converted to
Al> VAXen was done using cross-development tools on their internal
Al> timesharing systems (MACY11, etc.) ...
Don't know about the others, though I have my guesses about RSX -- but
in the case of RSTS at least, software development was "native"
not later than 1975 or so (RSTS/E V5B).
==
The time frame I was really thinking about was '65 -> early 70's
And RT11 development probably
was hosted on RSTS at some point. (So was OS-8 support, on an 11/60,
since it could run PDP-8 code very fast thanks to the WCS option.)
==
I'm sure Megan knows all the gory details of that.
This is also the first I had heard that Richie's PDP8 microcode was
actually used for product development.
>Hi Dave
Hi Dwight,
> I have used the serial port to transfer information
>but once I have the basic core working, I just transfer
>files. If it is a binary file, I've used Intel Hex
>format and DDT to save to a binary.
I agree that it is not difficult to transfer individual files
to and from CP/M if you are familier with the tools ... in
this particular case, I need to archive and transfer 50+
complete disks ... This is from a rather obscure system
that was used in a Canadian university, and a museum in
Toronto wants exact copies of the disks. This program provides
that, and will be MUCH less work for them to recreate the
disks (one command/disk instead of multiple commands to
transfer dozens of individual files per disk).
> It would be interesting to compile a web page with all
>the different tricks used to handle the various image
>and file transfer problems of these older systems. Things
>like how to connect a 8 inch disk or a little source
>code that shows how to do console to disk transfers using
>the CP/M bios. One could include things like my H8/H89
>image transfer program and my Olivetti M20 disk image
>building code. I have code from another fellow to move
>Polymorphic disk images from a Poly 881x to a PC with
>xmodem( windows supports ).
I've got a "Disk/Software images" section on my site where
I have begun to put all of my tools for backing up and restoring
diskettes. This includes 4-5 tools that I have created for
various systems, as well as a number of other tools that I
have used. I also have quite a few simulators available which
sometimes can really help with building that first system disk.
I think it is an excellent idea to collect all of these
tools together into a single resource. If you have material
to contribute, please forward it to me. Or if you (or anyone
else) would like to put together a site more specifically
oriented to transfer/archive techniques, please feel free to
use the material from my site.
Regards,
Dave
--
dave04a (at) Dave Dunfield
dunfield (dot) Firmware development services & tools: www.dunfield.com
com Collector of vintage computing equipment:
http://www.parse.com/~ddunfield/museum/index.html
Sellam,
do you happen to know how many manuals DEC Ultrix 32 is?
I might be interested if it is not too many as shipping costs
would otherwise be killing me.
And is he willing to put the effort in shipping outside the US?
- Henk, PA8PDP.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org
> [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org]On Behalf Of Vintage Computer
> Festival
> Sent: woensdag 15 juni 2005 11:25
> To: Classic Computers Mailing List
> Subject: DEC Ultrix 32 ver 3.2 manuals available
>
>
>
> I know a guy who might have a set of DEC Ultrix 32 ver 3.2 manuals
> available. He's retrieving them from a client of his in Long
> Island, New York. If anyone is interested, let me know and I'll
> put you in touch with him. They won't be free, but then I don't
> think they will be pricey either.
>
> --
>
> 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 ]
>
>
I know a guy who might have a set of DEC Ultrix 32 ver 3.2 manuals
available. He's retrieving them from a client of his in Long Island, New
York. If anyone is interested, let me know and I'll put you in touch with
him. They won't be free, but then I don't think they will be pricey
either.
--
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 ]
A few days I was picking up an IMSAI with Nico de Jong who was in
Norway, to send it with him to Fred van Kempen.
So, we drive to Minnesund, and stop by to withdraw money in Eidsvoll.
While driving the ATM, I spot a bin behind a building while driving. He
parks halfway and we go each way. While he's busy not finding the ATM, I
check out the bin and to my utter utter shock, instead of the x86 junk
which constitutes the absolute majority I find a ND-110/CX Compact!!
It's...
...it's upside down.
OK, just tip it over. Of course, it's on the bottom, so I remove ~8
screens, and pull the bin apart. Roll the Nord into the car with
nontrivial effort, and bring some of the terminals. (OK, all but one ;)
Get it home, get weird looks and remarks, some of them deserved, get the
machine in. Shaking, I plug in the power cord. And attempt to power up.
After gaining a basic understanding of the workings of the controls, I
twist the key. Workage! No smoke or anything. hook up the console.
17.42.24 16 MAY 1999
SINTRAN III - VSX/500 K
ENTER
It actually boots! Given the treatment it was given to get it home, not
to mention the treatment that made it end up upside down in a dumpster,
the (reportedly extremely fragile) SCSI disks surviving is no less than
a miracle.
OK, so ISTR the user being SYSTEM.
PASSWORD:
Crap. Even though I'm on the console... no go.
OK, call a friend who used to work at Norsk Data and now has a
significant stock of spares (I might get to hit him up for an ethernet
card! And maybe even a ND-5850 CPU!!). He comes around later that day
with some special floppies only ND employees had, and reveals the
password: "MARS". I can only speculate that this was a part of a monthly
password change routine ("Mars" is Norwegian for March) :)
The CPU has been changed with a Nord-120/CX (without telling ND, their
docs still say it's an 110). I believe the CX means Commercial
eXtensions, an extra set of instructions like the PDP-11's CIS.
And I'm in! And about 10 minutes later, the terminal dies!!! ARGH!!
I'm starting a separate thread about that.
Also, I got an Apollo 400. I don't know much about these. Might put it
up for trade.
OK, so the porn is at http://heim.ifi.uio.no/~toresbe/nd (That page is
under active construction!).
Also images of Fred van Kempen's IMSAI with me posing with the trophy at
http://heim.ifi.uio.no/~toresbe/imsai :)
It seems to me that they could have made
the -10 line real mainframes (no, IBM and the BUNCH did not consider the
-10 line real) with just a little effort and not much money.
--
DEC through the 'golden age' didn't go after that market. They tried to
target scientific rather than corporate computing.
If you look at the sales numbers of their 36-bit systems, they were tiny
compared to Univac, Burroughs, and IBM.
The engineering and field support costs required to compete with the big
iron companies to the level that big-iron buyers demand would have consumed
all of DEC's resources at that time (through the mid-70s).
One of the things that isn't talked about much is how the PDP-6 just about
killed DEC because of all of the resources it consumed to get it out the door.
They did eventually abandon their 'fan base' to go after the corporate
market, and that was the beginning of DEC's downfall.
