test-drb February 2006

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

224 participants
452 discussions

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

Thought I'd throw out to the list what was in my northstar haul, in case there's something someone is desperate for a copy of.. Unopened box of DC300XL cartridges (5) (these must have gone with some other system) Opened box of DC300XL cartridges, 3 in original wrap (these must have gone with some other system) Box of 14 (blank?) floppy disks, 10 sector (hard) (hopefully not really blank) Box of floppies (originals) for Wordstar Professional release 5. Appears to be two copies (both originals) all soft sector Binder, northstar infomanager - manual but no diskettes :\ Binder, northstar infomanager II - manual but no diskettes :\ Manual - north star application software ASP utilites package Users manual Manual - north star infomanager data management system Manual - XL-Z80 software development system for the northstar micro disk system Manual - The north star disk operating system v2 rel 3 Release notes - release 4 system software changes north star computers 1978 Release notes - release 3 north star version 6 basic Manual - North star basic version 6 Manual - north star system software manual addendum rev. 2.1 Manual - north star infomanager tutorial Manual - north star horizon computer system (double density) Manual - north star z80a processo board, zpb-a manual Schematic - cromemco 16k memory board Manual - zilog Z80-cpu Z80A-cpu technical manual Manual - north star system software manual Manual - north star 16k ram board Release notes - XL-8080/XL-Z80 rel 5 software change description Manual - cromemco 16k memory board technical manual Manual - north star horizon computer system Manual - north star z80a processor board zpb-a Manual - Cromemco Z80 monitor instruction manual Manual - Hazeltine 1420 reference manual Product Data Sheet - Western Union model 32 telex KSR and ASR sets (NICE!) Manual - Cromemco ZPU assembly Schematic - Cromemco ZPU Manual - Cromemco TU-ART digital interface Scan/photocopies - Various Cromemco boards... trying to lift artwork maybe? Manual - Cromemco 16kz ram instruction manual Manual - Cromemco 16kz ram card technical manual (two copies) One QUME QVT102 terminal Two Hazeltine 1420 terminals Three northstar horizon computers (two with wood trim, one with metal trim) An external dual floppy drive for one of the three horizons So, in all this mess, it sounds like there is no OS disks. Hopefully, there are some Northstar fans around than can help :) Regards, Jay West

20 years, 1 month

"Archives II" computer?

by legalize＠xmission.com

E-bay item #8757314169 Anyone know what this is? There isn't much information posted there. I'm guessing its one of the Z80 CP/M herd of computers that were around before the IBM PC became the defacto "standard". I asked the guy some questions about it, but he hasn't reponded. Auction ends in 5.5 hrs with 0 bids so far... -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline"-- code samples, sample chapter, FAQ: <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/> Pilgrimage: Utah's annual demoparty <http://pilgrimage.scene.org>

20 years, 1 month

more machines for good homes

by phufnagel＠snet.net

I have some machines to give to good homes... a pair of Mac IIsi's (one has NetBSD loaded on it, probably 1.3.2, if my memory serves me, the other I had as a "spare" in case the 1st died). The one has a working NIC in it, I think I have one for the other box as well. an HP425t and an HP400, just the machine, plus I think I have a 425t downstairs with a monitor on it (probably not worth shipping the monitor, but anyone in the CT area could pick up or I could meet if it was like RI/MA/NY/upper-NJ area). I also have a few Mac SE/30's, one has NetBSD on it (again, I think 1.3.x), the other might too, with NIC cards in them (I think I have 3 of them, one might not have a NIC). Any interest, email me. - Pete

20 years, 1 month

PLATO system / CDC mainframe / PLATO terminals

by legalize＠xmission.com

OK, now I know there are some mainframe freaks out there on this list :-), but I would be absolutely flabbergasted if someone had a working CDC mainframe running PLATO! However, I figure there is still a small chance that someone has a PLATO terminal? These were Z80-based, IIRC, had plasma screen displays at first, and later had raster displays. They were *heavy* and if I recall correctly they had a card cage on top of which sat the monitor. They also had a funky PLATO specific keyboard. Any other PLATO users out there? I was on udel's system in the 1978-1986 time frame, off and on, although PLATO wasn't the primary focus of my activities. I did a little Tutor programming, but somehow the language never quite gelled with me. -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline"-- code samples, sample chapter, FAQ: <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/> Pilgrimage: Utah's annual demoparty <http://pilgrimage.scene.org>

20 years, 1 month

DEC field service spares kits

by Useddec＠aol.com

I have a large number of field service spares kits for a variety of DEC items including but not limited to tapes, disks, printers, terminals, CPU's (including, q-bus, unibus, pdp8, and VAX's) and much more. If you have any questions or interest, please contact me directly. Thanks, Paul

20 years, 1 month

CP/M driver questions

by jhoger＠pobox.com

I am attempting to build some code using BDS C for use on with our Model 100/102/200 memory upgrade ( http://bitchin100.com/remem_project.htm ). BDS C was the one (free) C compiler that I could find that had basic support for C syntax (it has pointers to structs, for example). Anyway, I have a few CP/M based laptops, an NEC 8500, 8401a, and an Amstrad NC200 (which can run "ZCN"). I'd like to use the NEC 8500 to compile some short C programs to 8080 assem and then use them on the Model 100. Here's the thing: the 8500 defaults to a mode where ROM takes 32K of the address space. It has several nice apps there but no programming language. I believe the machine has 64K of RAM, but the software won't let me switch to 64K all-ram mode unless I have an external drive attached (either a floppy disk drive controller or a ramdisk cartridge). I don't have either. In any event it's not real useful in all-ram mode without some kind of external storage containing applications and utilities. So here's my question: Can drivers for CP/M machines be loaded at run-time? My idea is that I could make a simple driver that communicates to some serial-based disk drive controller, or hopefully someone has already done something similar. How do I structure such a driver, and would it have to be part of CP/M or can I patch it in at run-time? -- John.

20 years, 1 month

Convergent Technologies CTOS/ Burroughs BTOS systems on eBay

by wmaddox＠pacbell.net

CTOS was a distributed microkernel OS considered to be quite ahead of its time. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8757530160&rd=1&sspagena… eBay: Collection of Burroughs B20/BTOS systems, B25, B28, B38 (item 8757530160 end time Feb-02-06 22:57:02 PST)

20 years, 1 month

Tek 4014 spares kit

by Useddec＠aol.com

I have a field service spares kit for a tek 4014. Please contact me if you have any interest. Thanks, Paul

20 years, 1 month

Common items you passed up that turned rare when you wanted them

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

>From: ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk > >> >The method generally used on TV tubes of the period (and I don't see why >> >monitor tubes would be any different) was something like : >> > >> >1) Over-run the heater. Typically a 6.3V heater would be run at 8V or 10V >> > >> >2) Apply a fairly high (200V-ish) +ve voltage the control grid (wrt the >> >cathode), all other electrodes floating (no EHT applied either). >> >> Hi >> I've had better luck with 0 volts. If the tube has not been used >> for a long time, it will be a little gassy. This tends to boil > >Interesting... I've never seen this suggested anywhere, but most of the >designs for boosters assume you'll be trying to improve a CRT that's been >in use quite recently (e.g. a TV you've been watching), so presumably the >gas problem is no so serious. > >> off the cathode along with the other stuff. When you have the voltage, >> the electrons will hit the gass atoms and ionize them. These are >> then slammed back into the cathode. One article I read stated >> that the first stage should be done with 0 volts and then switch >> to a + volts on the grid(s)+anode for the last part. >> I've not tried this myself but the method makes sense. In the >> first part, the getter has time to catch the outgassing. The >> last part helps to freshen the surface. >> I know that there are many articles that state to put the voltage >> on from the beginning. I've also read in a only a couple of >> articles that the outgassing from the initial stages can poison >> the cathode enough to make the process useless. I recover >> many old vacuum tubes for my old battery radios. I've had >> good enough experience with the 0 volts and enough bad >> experience with the voltage on the grid/plate that I use >> the 0 volt. > >Those valves are likely to be directly heated, right? I wonder if that >would make a difference. Hi Tony Yes, most of the tubes I look at are directly heated. This might be different on how they act. There were several diffent materials use for directly heated filaments and some don't ever recover. I still try anyway. What have I got to lose. Dwight AFAIK all TV and monitor CRTs are indirectly >heated (well, I think there was a Japanese colour CRT that was directly >heated, but I doubt you'll find one of those. Yes it did have 6 heater pins). > >-tony

20 years, 1 month

(Slightly OT) Rare item I passed up: mCGA

by billdeg＠degnanco.com

When I worked at DuPont they disposed of an IBM "mCGA" monitor and display card among some other parts that I could take from work if I wanted them. The card came out of an IBM XT and the monitor looked pretty much like a regular IBM CGA monitor except that it had more of a green tint to the screen when powered off. In use it looked pretty much like a regular CGA monitor but that might be because I was only interested in verifying that I could view the RAM loading sequence upon boot up. I remember that a regular CGA was not compatible with the card, and that's the reason I originally set these two aside. We needed a "regular XT setup" more than we needed a funky monitor. I assumed it was for CAD work. Haven't seen once since. Anyone have info on this IBM CGA-like "mCGA" I can't remember what the m stood for. Bill D

20 years, 1 month

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test-drb February 2006