test-drb June 2005

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

221 participants
681 discussions

by frustum＠pacbell.net

After two years of on and off doinking, I've finally released version 2.0 of my Wang 2200 emulator. There are a ton of changes, but the most significant ones are emulation of the 2200VP CPU (2nd generation CPU with microcode in RAM), emulation for printers, option for using the original character set, 2.5x faster CPU emulation, an OSX native version, and myriad bug fixes/improvements. Binaries and source are available from the emulation page. The 2200 web site: http://www.thebattles.net/wang/wang.html The emulation subpage: http://www.thebattles.net/wang/emu.html The release notes: http://www.thebattles.net/wang/emu/relnotes.txt

20 years

Procedure For Connecting To The 'net Circa 1978

by elf＠ucsd.edu

Bill Sudbrink wrote: ... <snip> ... > 8) Once the @ character is echoed, press enter. > You should get an error message (I no longer > remember the text). Now type "@O 77<return>". > This instructs the TIP to connect you to the > MIT-DM (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, > Dynamic Modeling) computer. Nitpick: IIRC, I believe MIT-DM was "@O 70". I also connected to 3 other MIT machines back in the day: MIT-ML was #198 MIT-AI was #134 MIT-MC was #236 I connected up through the RAND-TIP, which was limited to 300 baud. There was also the USC-TIP, which supported 1200 baud, but my bank account couldn't support a 1200 baud modem at the time. All 4 of these machines were running ITS on PDP-10s or an SDS/XDS Sigma 7 I believe. "Tourists" (guests) were given free accounts. > 11) I no longer remember how to start up Zork or > some of the other programs... anyone feel free to > provide details I'm missing. I think it was as simple as running the command :ZORK ...but it has been so long since I've muddled around with ITS, DDT, etc. Speaking of muddle, I still have my MDL programming manuals around here (of which ZORK was composed in, originally.) Eric F.

20 years

MITS8800 CPU Board/multibus

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: MITS8800 CPU Board > From: Tom Jennings <tomj at wps.com> > Date: Tue, 14 Jun 2005 13:43:28 -0700 (PDT) > To: > Cc: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >On Tue, 14 Jun 2005, Allison wrote: > >>> Again, thanks for your help. This is my first foray into S100 stuff, >>> and makes a nice change from Multibus. > >I'd swap S100 for Multibuss any day! CP/M-80 on Multibuss is easy >and reliable! > >I wish I had kept my old multibuss box. I always imagine getting >another one, just some 6-slot job with Intel cards and some DSDD >floppy controller. Nice and boring! :-) I have two hurikon multibus Z80 system on a card and two 4slot backplanes plus an assortment of random boards including a BP2190 (48k ram local dma plus floppy controller). That satisfies my multibus cravings. The PS to run it all is linear and huge. I may replace it with a AT PC supply. Allison

20 years

PDP-8s and -10s

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: PDP-8s and -10s > From: William Donzelli <aw288 at osfn.org> > Date: Tue, 14 Jun 2005 20:41:02 -0400 (EDT) > To: cctalk at classiccmp.org > >Speaking of PDP-8s, and now PDP-10s - a thought that passed my mind: > >Is there a good reason why DEC did not use the PDP-8 architecture in the >PDP-10, for proper channel controllers? Cheap, versatile, sixbit, and when >the KA10 came out, already designed. I would have thought it to be an >obvious "drop-in" solution. > >Any thoughts? > >William Donzelli >aw288 at osfn.org The BOCES/LYRICS machine was a 10/8 combo with the 8I handling the terminal concentrator for the 10. Allison

20 years

Found a PDP-8 today!

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

I went with a buddy of mine to pick up some DEC equipment today. I got to talking to the equipment owner and asked if he had a PDP-8. He did! But it's already on E-bay :-( I took a look at it anyway and it's NICE! If anyone is interested in buying a PDP-8, be sure and check it out. Unlike most "systems" this one is a complete and working system and not just a collection of cards, boxs and bits and pieces. This one has a PT reader, PT punch, CPU, THREE RK-05 drives and an interface (it was once a controller for a GenRad test system.) It's in a rack and everything is mounted the way it should be and everything is cabled up and ready to operate. Since it was a test system controller, it probably has a butt-load of IO cards too. Everything works and it boots and runs OS-8. The three drives are all aligned and you can swap the disks into any drive and read them. The system is clean and in VERY nice condition. It's wrapped in shrink wrap so the picture on E-bay doesn't do it justice. <http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1247&item=5207512513 &rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW>. Me? I got a CAR FULL of DEC software and documentation! Joe

20 years

More Pictures. Re: Found a PDP-8 today!

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

I just finished uploading pictures of SOME of the stuff that Astro-II picked up. Here they are <http://www.classiccmp.org/hp/astro-ii/>. Joe A surplus dealer in Melbourne Fla has bought most of the stuff that Tom had. I've been helping move DEC stuff for the last TWO days! It looks like it will take at least two MORE days to get the rest of it. And that's with THREE large trucks and a trailor and a gang of men. Today I took some pictures of just some of the stuff. This stuff is all at a surplus company now and will be sold (cheap) or it will be scrapped. If you look through the pictures you'll spot some real treasures. If any of you are intersted in DEC stuff you NEED to come down to Melbourne and dig through the piles and rescue the good stuff. Here is a link to the stores website, it has a map shgowing the location. <http://www.astrotoo.com/Contact_Information.html>. Ask for Roger (he's the owner) and tell him that Joe sent ya. There are a LOT of working hard drives for DECs, COUNTLESS DEC chassis and boards, Lear Sigler terminals, TEC 400 Series terminals, PILES of DEC terminals and PILES more. Today I found a Cromemco system, a COMPLETE DEC 11/44 with dual FDs and a hard drive and MORE docs and software. Oh and some good HP stuff. Joe At 11:13 PM 6/13/05 -0400, you wrote: > I went with a buddy of mine to pick up some DEC equipment today. I got >to talking to the equipment owner and asked if he had a PDP-8. He did! But >it's already on E-bay :-( I took a look at it anyway and it's NICE! If >anyone is interested in buying a PDP-8, be sure and check it out. Unlike >most "systems" this one is a complete and working system and not just a >collection of cards, boxs and bits and pieces. This one has a PT reader, PT >punch, CPU, THREE RK-05 drives and an interface (it was once a controller >for a GenRad test system.) It's in a rack and everything is mounted the way >it should be and everything is cabled up and ready to operate. Since it was >a test system controller, it probably has a butt-load of IO cards too. >Everything works and it boots and runs OS-8. The three drives are all >aligned and you can swap the disks into any drive and read them. The >system is clean and in VERY nice condition. It's wrapped in shrink wrap so >the picture on E-bay doesn't do it justice. > ><http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1247&item=5207512513 >&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW>. > > Me? I got a CAR FULL of DEC software and documentation! > > Joe > >

20 years

What is a DEC VT-61/T ?

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

I found several of these. They have a CRT on the left side and a fixed keyboard. They're wrapped up so I didn't get a better look. Joe

20 years

Proper name for Tandy Color Computer?

by dave04a＠dunfield.com

At 19:03 06/06/2005 -0700, you wrote: >John wrote: >> All of the Coco 1s (including some white ones) were marketed as TRS-80. > >Are you sure there were any while Coco 1s? I thought the color change >arrived with the Coco 2. Yes. I recently acquired one. It is called "Radio Shack TRS-80 64k Color Computer" It is the same size and shape as the silver CoCo1, and shipped in the same box, however it is white in color and has the larger/square/flat keys the same as the easly (TRS-80) CoCo2's. I'll get a picture up on my site for my next update. Btw, I found a page which has a good list of a number of different variations of the CoCo2. He also mentions the white CoCo1. http://users.digitalindigo.net/~techno/coco.html Regards, -- 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

20 years

Procedure For Connecting To The 'net Circa 1978

by wh.sudbrink＠verizon.net

That last exchange of messages has me reminiscing so (with a little tongue in cheek)... Procedure For Connecting To The 'net Circa 1978 (That's the ARPANET for all you young whipper-snappers. What we called the internet before they let all of the riff-raff in.) Initial notes: Do not begin this procedure before 11PM. This avoids conflicts over telephone usage with your parents. Net resources are generally not available to "tourists" before this time anyway. Resource availability is generally best on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights and holidays. Keep an ear open for police sirens. Rumor has it that the FCC will come and arrest you (and/or your parents) if it detects illegal equipment attached to the telephone system. Another reason to operate late at night, they probably aren't watching. 1) Move your computer from your bedroom to the kitchen table (that's where the phone is!). Don't connect power to the modem yet, it produces a carrier whenever it is powered and you need to be able to hear the far end of the telephone connection when you first dial. Also, you want it to be cool when you initiate the connection. 2) Take the handset off of the hook and replace it with the piece of broomstick that you fashioned for that purpose. 3) Get a big towel from the linen closet. Fold it into quarters and put the handset on it. Attach the speaker and microphone to the handset with wide rubber bands. Fold the towel over the handset. This will prevent various ambient sounds (like the sound of typing) from introducing noise on the line. 4) Being sure that the cassette/modem switch (a DPDT switch that connects the transmit and receive pins of the USART to either the cassette interface or the modem) is in the cassette position, load the terminal program. Run the program. You are greeted with a blank screen (this is normal but you can't be 100% sure that it loaded correctly until you have connected). Switch the cassette/modem switch to modem. You may see a few garbage characters on the screen (that's a good sign). 5) Get an ice cube from the freezer, put it in a sandwich bag and put it on the towel next to the modem. 6) Remove the broom stick from the telephone hook and dial the NBS (National Bureau of Standards) TIP (Terminal Interface Processor). Listen for the call to be answered and for the carrier on the far end. Sometimes the TIP is down and won't answer, sometimes it is down and will answer but won't give a carrier. If it's down, wait an hour and try again. 7) If you get a carrier, apply power to the modem. Start pressing the @ (at) key once a second until it is echoed on your screen. Listen for the chirp when you press the key. If you don't hear it, the terminal program isn't running correctly, hang up, unpower the modem, reset the computer and go back to step 4. 8) Once the @ character is echoed, press enter. You should get an error message (I no longer remember the text). Now type "@O 77<return>". This instructs the TIP to connect you to the MIT-DM (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dynamic Modeling) computer. 9) Start pressing the return key once a second until you get a logon prompt (I no longer remember the prompt text). The user name and password are GUEST. 10) Once logged on, wait for a minute or two, pressing enter every ten seconds or so. This gives the operator a chance to notice you and kick you off if the system is busy. If he's in a chatty mood, you'll get a message like "The system's busy, get lost!". If not, your connection will just die. If the system is busy, try again in an hour or so. 11) I no longer remember how to start up Zork or some of the other programs... anyone feel free to provide details I'm missing. Keep an ear on the connection. If the carrier starts to change pitch, wipe any condensation off the ice cube bag on the towel and then apply to the smaller chip on the right on the modem board.

20 years

Replacing drives on classic systems was Wild-hair floppy drive question

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "Randy McLaughlin" <cctalk at randy482.com> > >When replacing drives in classic systems there are some things to keep in >mind: > >Newer drives are mainly compatible but not 100%. > Hi Termination is another thing that many miss. Too much is often just as bad as too little. Many newer drives are not clear how to disable the termination or enable it. Dwight

20 years

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test-drb June 2005