I have this LOOONG PCI graphics card circa 1996 (phew...just made it
to be on-topic :-))
with DEC part number PCXAG-AV. It has a acceleragraphics sticker on
its main GPU.
Google says this was an option for the DEC Personal Workstations
series... this means only on Windows NT (the 64bit version)!! *sigh*
However, being an optimistic person, I'm gonna ask:
Are there any other OSes out that can use this card (the ex-DECcie who
gave me this told me that this was an incredibly expensive card when
bought new)? Can it use in a Intel box or do I have to stick to an
Alpha box?
A search for manual turns up zilch..
I'd be happy to run in on any other OS than WNT; i.e. VMS, Tru64, DU,
OSF, *BSD, even Linux.
Just happen to have a copy of "The Selectric Interface" in front of
me; $5 &S in case anyone wants it. Note that it's _not_ about converting
a normal Selectric to an I/O device, but about interfacing a 2740, 2980 &
Dura models, which are already I/O devices (albeit with 24, 48, or 115V
actuators) to an ASCII parallel port.
Kilobaud had a pair of articles (Dec/79 & Jan/80), but that too was about
converting an I/O unit (specifically, from a BCD (6 bit) code machine to
Correspondence code). There were some other codes in use as well in
other models; I had a couple and never could find a correct ball for them.
And yes, there were certainly many Rube Goldberg approaches to interfacing
a Selectric; I even recall seeing one of the solenoids-over-the-keyboard ones
in action way back when...
That was probably my post you referred to earlier about the Redactron mag
card system; unfortunately the typewriter is long gone, and the mag card drives
are spoken for. Redactron used a Selectric mechanism with a TTL level
interface already built in, useful in case someone ever runs across one.
While we're on the topic, a while back I sent a Selectric service manual to
someone who sometimes lurks on this list and he'd promised to make it available
on the Web (hint, hint... ;-)
mike
-----------Original message:
Message: 30
Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2006 16:14:50 -0800
From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com>
Subject: RE: Where have all the Selectrics gone?
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
Message-ID: <200603211614500612.2FE3FE84 at 10.0.0.252>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"
Kilobaud is a great guess!
I opened up the June 1983 Issue of Microcomputing and, on, page 138,
there's an ad for a book called "The Selectric Interface":. Quoting:
--------------------------------------------
Daisy wheel quality without daisy wheel expense.
You need the quality print that a daisy wheel printer provides but the
thought of buying one makes your wallet wilt. The Selectric(tm) Interface,
a step-by-step guide to interfacing an IBM Selectric I/O writer to your
microcomputer.will give you that quality for a fraction of the price.
George Young, co-author of Microcomputing magazine's "Kilobaud Klassroom"
series, offers a low-cost alternative to buying a daisy-wheel printer.
<snip>
ISBN 0-88006-051-4 $12.97 from Wayne Green, Inc.
-------------------------------------------
So we know that I/O Selectrics were still plentiful enough in 1983 to
warrant publishing a book on interfacing them.
Cheers,
Chuck
Wang Laboratories had their own modifications that they did to standard
Selectric Type I electric typewriters that allowed them to be automated.
The automation was very complete, including the ability to set/clear
tabs, and turn the unit on and off.
The modifications involved making the cabinet "deeper", allowing room in
the bottom of the machine for the solenoids and switches that provided
the ability to actuate and report status. A "spacer" wraparound filled
the gap between the upper cabinet and the base.
The Model 601/701 was a standalone "deep" Selectric that would interface
to Wang 600 or 700-series calculators. These were output-only devices.
The Model 602/702 had further modifications which involved modifying the
space mechanism so that spaces were "microspaces", and a stepper motor
was connected to the platen to allow forward and reverse indexing in
small steps, along with the same modifications made to the 601/701,
which allowed the device to be used as a plotter, that could also do
full formatted annotation and text output. Again, these were
output-only devices.
There was also the Model 611/711 I/O writer. This was a further
modified Selectric Type I that had all of the modifications of the
601/701 Output Writers, but also allowed keypresses on the keyboard to
be encoded into signals which could be communicated to the connected
calculator, allowing fully interactive I/O for the calculator.
Lastly, there was a "portable" version of the 601/701 and 602/702 Output
Writers that provided a padded, shipping-proof carrying case that
allowed the devices to be shipped around easily and safely.
Some information on these can be found at the following links:
http://pail.bensene.com/a-wang701.htmlhttp://pail.bensene.com/a-wang711.htmlhttp://pail.bensene.com/m-wang711.htmlhttp://pail.bensene.com/a-wang702.html
I have an operational Wang 701 Output Writer, and a Wang 711 I/O Writer.
Keeping these machines operational is a bit of a challenge, as they are
quite temperamental keeping the linkages all in adjustment. My guess is
that Wang service technicians spent a lot of time adjusting these
instruments. They operate at a quoted maximum rate of 15 characters per
second, but more practically, it's somewhere around 13 CPS driven by a
Wang 720C calculator.
I found a local guy who knows Selectrics inside and out, and had him do
a complete service on the Selectric that makes up the 701 Output Writer,
and he said that in "those days", he serviced a lot of the Wang-modified
devices. He also said that Anderson-Jacobsen also had a similar
(perhaps OEM'd from Wang) modified Selectric that could be used as a
computer console or terminal.
Rick Bensene
The Old Calculator Web Museum
http://oldcalculatormuseum.com
Beavercreek, Oregon
Hey Guys,
This afternoon I'm cleaning up a Sony GDM-1602 monitor. I have the case
disassembled, and have washed all but the largest pieces. The base is a
very nice rotating and tilting design. The rotation taken place because
the plastic tilting assembly rides on a flat sheet metal base. The
contact area is a circular plastic ridge that was lubed with an
clear-ish amber grease.
What kind of grease should I use to re-lube this? I want to provide
adequate lubrication between the plastic and steel, but I don't want
something that will hurt the plastic. I was thinking about using
dielectric grease, since it shouldn't harm plastic, won't melt out, and
isn't too messy. However, it's designed as a moisture barrier, not
really as a lubricant, I believe. Thoughts anyone?
Thanks,
Chad Fernandez
Michigan, USA
I have a couple of Mitsubishi P60W Video printers (anybody want one?)
and they have a remote jack (as well as a print button of course), so
that'd be one way of printing from the Endoscope itself. Can't see much
use for an embedded print signal though; seems to me that could cause
all kinds of problems.
mike
--------------Original message:
From: jim stephens <jwstephens at msm.umr.edu>
Subject: Re: OT: video signal question
>Bert Thomas wrote:
>>Hi,
>>
>> Can anyone tell me how the trigger signal is
>>embedded in the video signal?
>>
>>
>The Sony units I have seen, are have the Sony Mavica name, and have
>a remote control bus that is used to trigger the prints. I would look for
>a control line to the printer, from the video source, unless they had
>a very specialized printer of some sort. There is the problem of having
>the print signal embedded in your video format, if you had several printers
>attached, having them all print.
My Trendata 1000 Selectric terminal went in a garage sale years ago. Here is
a picture of me at the terminal.
http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/MySystem/MySystemPhoto.htm
A local computer store near Seattle sold these for about $900 in 1978.
Several people in the Northwest Computer Society got them. We had low cost
access to time-sharing on a PDP-11/70 at night that supported the terminal.
I still have the documents and software if you want to hook one up to a
SWTPC 6800 computer.
Here is a photo from the IBM 2741 Communication Terminal manual.
http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/MySystem/IBM_2741.jpg
Michael Holley
www.swtpc.com/mholley
Kilobaud is probably a good guess.
I do remember that the kit I saw had a table in PROM that looked up
a "tilt" and "rotation" for the Selectric Ball.
It was clunky, but a bit more elegant than "104 solenoids".
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org
[mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org]On Behalf Of Fred Cisin
Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2006 4:43 PM
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: RE: Where have all the Selectrics gone?
On Tue, 21 Mar 2006, Kapteyn, Rob wrote:
> It would be cool ...
> ... but can't recall what publication it was in ...
> Byte, Dr. Dobbs, Computer Notes ???
> I suspect that someone else on this list might have seen it...
I think that it may have been Kilobaud.
There was an outfit in Walnut Creek that sold a conversion kit that
mounted under the Selectric. Fairly complex, and required tinkering to
keep it running.
There were also a number of units that consisted of boxes full of
solenoids that sat on top of the keyboard, such as KGS80 and Rochester
Dynatyper.
At the West Coast Computer Faire, around about the 5th or 6th one, there
was an outfit demo'ing a unit with lots of pulleys and fishing line, that
was printing on a MANUAL typewriter.
It would be cool ...
... but can't recall what publication it was in ...
Byte, Dr. Dobbs, Computer Notes ???
I suspect that someone else on this list might have seen it...
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org
[mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org]On Behalf Of Richard
Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2006 1:53 PM
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Re: Where have all the Selectrics gone?
In article <B40C900E19E7B04E832685A1E13E10EF1378A0F6 at MSXMAIL.cboent.cboe.com>,
"Kapteyn, Rob" <kapteynr at cboe.com> writes:
> There was also an article in a hobbyist magazine explaining how to do
> a homebrew conversion of a Selectric typewriter to make a computer printer.
Given that I now see Selectrics in thrift stores fairly often, that
would be a cool article to see. Do you have a copy still?
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline"-- code samples, sample chapter, FAQ:
<http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/>
Pilgrimage: Utah's annual demoparty
<http://pilgrimage.scene.org>
On recordable CDs, the data is on the label side and scratches can remove
the data. On DVDs, the data is inside the media, between two layers of
plastic. Scratches cannot permanently destroy the data proper as they can
with CDs. The risk is that DVDs can delaminate, which will destroy them.
Also, air getting in between the two plastic layers laminated together (with
the data between them) can destroy the data by oxidizing the dye layer.
This form of failure occurs from the outside in. A logical suggestion that
is often made is to not use the last 10% to 20% of the media to increase
it's resistance to this form of deterioration. Also, it is critical to
avoid any storage or handling that flexes the media even slightly.
I don't buy the "spiral track" argument that was made against optical media.
These are "random access" media, not sequential access. If you don't
believe it, put a full data CD or DVD into your drive and read any file from
the CD. You can hear the "seeking", and the time required to get to a file
is clearly nothing like the time that would be required to read from the
start of the disc to the selected file. The condition of the middle of the
disc has no bearing on the readability of data at the end of the disc
unless, on a particular disc, a directory or some other critical data
structure just happens to fall in a defective area.
I think that most of the problems that we see are really with bad burners,
and this can mean marginally bad burners (no indication of a problem, but
the laser is weak and the media is not heated to the proper temperature, and
may subsequently "fade" as a consequence). My own experience (I repair
computers and see more drives than most people) have convinced me to stay
with Samsung for CDs and Pioneer for DVDs (although Pioneer had one bad
model, the "09's").
Other than that, I'm convinced that well burned optical media is the best
storage media we have ever had, but I think that the media is the very least
of the issues. Burning, storage and handling, I think, are every bit as
important as the media itself.
Two very important rules: NEVER use "RW" media of any kind, and never use
"packet writing" to burn your media (e.g. stick with ISO-compatible
formats).
Is there any interest in old literature? I went into a file cabinet last
night looking for something else and ran across a bit. If it is of interest,
I'll do some digging and see what all else I have that may be of interest,
but here's one example:
In a folder labeled "Digital Equipment Corporation" :-)
A brochure labeled "PDP-11 Microcomputer Members of the PDP-11 Family"
A smallish brochure "Introducing Fierce Competition for 8-Bit SBC's" with the
inside saying"Digital's new 16-bit FALCON" and an actual-size picture of the
card.
A spec sheet "Falcon SBC=11/21 Single Board Computer"
MRV11 Option Bulletin: "EPROM/PROM/ROM Module"
PB11 Option Bulletin: "Universal PROM Programmer"
Brochure: "Microcomputer Products Selection Guide" including a very nice table
"Backplane Selector"
Brochure: "Announcing a new dimension in microcomputers: LSI-11/2"
Anybody want this stuff? Shall I keep digging?
--
Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and
ablest -- form of life in this section of space, a critter that can
be killed but can't be tamed. --Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters"
-
Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James
M Dakin
