test-drb May 2007

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

235 participants
483 discussions

by cheri-post＠web.de

Hi all, my first VAX ever - died, unfortunately. During the last months, I experienced that the CPU just got stuck at some time, but I could not reproduce this error. Sometimes, it froze during or directly after the initialisation procedure, or later on after half an hour or an hour of work with VMS. A friend of mine thought of instable voltages caused by the power supply, so I swapped it with another one in order to check, if the supply was to blame. But it wasn't the case. I took out all the boards and left the CPU and some memory only, but it didn't get any better. After getting stuck, the CPU could only be reset switching the supply off and on again. And now, since last week, the CPU doesn't come up at all anymore. After switching on the power supply, the seven segment display shows an "F", nothing is printed on the terminal, and the halt-button has no function anymore (which was always the case when it got stuck). So I guess that my VAX died... Needless to say that these boards can't be repaired. As far as I know, no schematics were ever published and these big chips on the board are horrible to unsolder and solder, even if spare ones could be obtained (supposed that one knows, where the "problem is"). Did anybody on this list make similar experiences regarding VAXen dying that way (at least, I'm pretty sure that she's dead) ? Is there anything else I could check in order to save my VAX ? Thanks for any help. Regards, Pierre __________________________________________________________________________ Erweitern Sie FreeMail zu einem noch leistungsst?rkeren E-Mail-Postfach! Mehr Infos unter http://produkte.web.de/club/?mc=021131

17 years, 7 months

Fairchild MB8116E == 4116 ?

by tandj812＠verizon.net

I have a bunch (more than 80) of Both MB8116E and ITT 4116 My email address is tandj812 at verizon.net

17 years, 7 months

My VAX 4000-200 died....

by cheri-post＠web.de

Hello Tim, > What you write is "not inconsistent" with failing to get DCOK from the > power supplies. DCOK is a signal indicating that the power supplies > are all up and operating. The CPU refuses to even begin its self test > until DCOK is asserted. Thanks alot for pointing out several things I forgot to mention. My VAX is housed in a BA430 enclosure. So there is only one power supply which provides the power to the system. Normally, when the green "DC OK" LED turns on, the DC voltages should be available and lie within the necessary voltage range for the CPU to work correctly. Now I don't know how reliable the control circuit is, regarding the detection of voltages lying outside of the specified range. Could it be possible that the DCOK LED lits while a voltage is not within the required tolerance ? > > BA213's (a popular cabinet for your CPU) have two supplies and the light > has to be on on both of them. Otherwise you see exactly the symptom > you have (CPU stuck at "F"). > > It's not impossible for a CPU board to fail and get stuck at "F", but > in my experience, 99 times out of 100 it's because there's no DCOK on the > backplane. And 9 times out of 10 it's because the power supply is > failing. They often go flaky and are hard to start, or go flaky and > fail after getting warm, etc. > Ok, in my case, having a BA430 chassis, both tested power supplies would have the same failure then. I tested both, and only one fits in the chassis at a time. On both supplies, the DCOK-LED turns on after powering up the VAX. But just to be sure, I should measure the voltages of the supply at the backplane. > It's also true that the power supplies need a certain minimum load... > you may have had some boards in your backplane that had nothing except > for resistors on them to provide the minimum load. Putting those > back in won't hurt. Of course, spare KDA50 sets are just fine for > sucking up DC power too! > A total of seven boards were plugged in, so I guess that the minimum load should be given. Thanks alot for your precious hints, Tim ! Regards, Pierre _______________________________________________________________ SMS schreiben mit WEB.DE FreeMail - einfach, schnell und kostenguenstig. Jetzt gleich testen! http://f.web.de/?mc=021192

17 years, 7 months

3.5" Altair CP/M

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: 3.5" Altair CP/M > From: David Griffith <dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu> > Date: Tue, 15 May 2007 15:33:55 -0700 (PDT) > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >On Tue, 15 May 2007, Grant Stockly wrote: > >> I have a tarbell floppy controller card that has been rewired to access >> 3.5" disks using a standard PC 3.5" disk drive. >[snip] >> What could be missing? If the bitrate is fixed, then is CP/M not writing >> standard sectors? Rawread says "Address not found" and diskinfo says the >> drive is not ready. > >I take it you don't have access to a Unix machine? The dd command might >be able to fish out something more from that disk. Specifically, the >utility cpmtools is useful for writing to a variety of disk formats and is >easy to customize for new formats. > >From all I've read the controller is a a SD unit and may be running at either the 8" SD rate or possibly the 5.25" SD rate makig the disk at most 360k. That 360k format is NOT PC compatable. The OS used on the PC is not a factor as whatever you do required direct controll of the FDC even then some PCs will NOT do the slower SD data rate. Allison

17 years, 7 months

3.5" Altair CP/M

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: 3.5" Altair CP/M > From: Grant Stockly <grant at stockly.com> > Date: Tue, 15 May 2007 17:09:37 -0800 > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >At 04:45 PM 5/15/2007, you wrote: >>On 5/15/07, Grant Stockly <grant at stockly.com> wrote: >>>I have a tarbell floppy controller card that has been rewired to access >>>3.5" disks using a standard PC 3.5" disk drive. I have 3 disks that the >>>Altair can boot off of and read, but my windows computer can't do anything >>>with them. I've tried rawread.exe and diskinfo.exe and they both choke on >>>the disk. I assumed that if a disk could be written with the standard 3.5" >>>disk drive on the tarbell card then it should also be read on the same >>>drive connected to a modern IBM compatible. >> >>Are you using a 1771 based SD Tarbell card, or a 1791/1793 based DD >>Tarbell card? That might make a difference. > >Its an MDL-1011D with an FD1771-B01. > >What's the deal with this chip? Is it formatting the the disk as 360k? the 1771 is single density only and yes. Also if the format program used didn't fully format the disk with all the marks (often done with 1771s) then it will be harder to read with a PC. Allison

17 years, 7 months

The Last of The Line

by RodSmallwood＠mail.ediconsulting.co.uk

Thanks Pete Heres my list of KJD11 variations: Module Type Speed RAM ROM LTC SLU ------ ---- ----- --- --- --- --- M8192 KDJ11-AA 15 0 0 No 0 KDJ11-AB 18 0 0 No 0 M8190 KDJ11-BB 15 0 Y Yes 2 KDJ11-BF 18 0 Y Yes 2 M7554 KDJ11-D 15 1.5 Y Yes 2 M8981 KDJ11-EA 15 2 Y Yes 1 KDJ11-EB 18 4 Y Yes 8 KDJ11-SD Anybody want to amend and add the module for the memory? Rod -----Original Message----- From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Pete Turnbull Sent: 14 May 2007 21:21 To: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts Subject: Re: The Last of The Line On 14/05/2007 09:01, Rod Smallwood wrote: > All of your points are well made. One is very important the KDJ11-EB > has its memory on the CPU board. Are you saying some models of the > KDJ11 do not have their memory on the CPU board? Is it a case of > unpopulated sockets and add memory or is it no sockets and no memory? KDJ11-E (M8981) is a quad-height board used in 11/93 and 11/94, running at 18MHz, with up to 4MB of RAM on board. It also has a floating point processor, boot ROMs, line time clock, and 8(?) serial ports. KDJ11-D (M7554) is a quad-height board used in 11/53, usually running at 15MHz, with either 512KB or 1.5MB of RAM, boot ROMs, LTC, and 2 SLUs. It's one of the slowest KDJ11s; the 11/53 was meant as a low-cost system. The same board, but with different ROMs and different handles (KDJ11-S), was used in some tabletop systems. KDJ11-B (M8190) is a quad-height board with no RAM (and no sockets for it), but with boot ROMs, LTC, and 2 SLUs. It was available as 15MHz for the 11/73, and 18MHz for the 11/83 and 11/84. 18MHz versions normally included the FPJ11 floating point processor chip; 15MHz usually merely had the socket; some early 15MHz versions won't accept an FPJ11 chip. These boards will work with PMI memory as well as with ordinary QBus memory. KDJ11-A (M8192) is a dual-height board clocked at 15MHz, with no RAM, boot ROMs, LTC, SLUs, or other embellishments. In other words, it's just a CPU. Used in a few 11/73S systems, as an OEM board, and for 11/23 upgrades. Early revisions won't accept an FPJ11 chip. See Micronotes 25, 30, and 39. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

17 years, 7 months

Computer stuff 1970's ish at Lucas Birmingham Gt King St ?

by RodSmallwood＠mail.ediconsulting.co.uk

Very Interesting!!! 1. The console terminal is a Creed Model 75 Teleprinter ie Baudot Telex code not ASCII This may be a Bletchley Park legacy. The later electronic BP systems were designed to break teleprinter codes and hence the high speed tape readers and terminals were for telex code. You can just see the M75 reader/punch above the operators hand. 2. To the left of the operator are two high speed paper tape readers. 3. You can see the holes in the top of the desk where the tape went after the reader 4. The tape rewinder is on the corner of the other desk. 5. The two boxes on the right are the storage cases for the high speed readers or could be tape punches. 6. The row of horizontal drawers on the right of the desk are for rewound paper tapes. 7. The row of cabinets under the window is the electronics. 8. You needed a whole cabinet to hold 16K of core + PSU 9. The desk to the left appears to have some punched cards on it. But they look a bit big. 10. The drawers in the desk to the left look like card storage. 11. The desk to the left could be a punched card station but I have never seen one so am unsure. Rod Smallwood -----Original Message----- From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Dave Caroline Sent: 15 May 2007 21:02 To: cctalk at classiccmp.org Subject: Computer stuff 1970's ish at Lucas Birmingham Gt King St ? Here's a few obscure pics from the 1970's I believe take the picture link Pertec tape drive and a box with System 90 on it? and what else http://www.archivist.info/collection/searchv8.php?srcdata=title&srcprog= searchv8.php&searchv4page=1&errlev=0&searchstr=lucas+computer+lab Any information gratefully received as a treat here is an Elliott 803 at Lucas http://www.archivist.info/collection/searchv8.php?srcdata=title&srcprog= searchv8.php&searchv4page=1&errlev=0&searchstr=lucas+elliott Dave Caroline

17 years, 7 months

The Last of The Line

by RodSmallwood＠mail.ediconsulting.co.uk

Well I think I understand the list. But for clarity's sake here's the problem again. 1. I have a number of PDP-11/94's 2. The first three slots are Quad Qbus 3. The missing KDJ11-EB would have been in slot one 4. Slot two has a M9714 ALT PWR FOR KDJ11-E in it. 5 Slot three is empty. 6. Slot four is a Unibus slot and has a M8191 KTJ11-B Unibus controller in it 7 Slot five has a M7547 TUK50-BB Tape controller in it. 8. Slot's Six,seven and eight are empty 9. Slot nine has a M9302 (UNIBUS TERMINATOR) at one end and a M9713 (MIN. LOAD MODULE) at the other. "Your mission Mr Phelps (Should you accept it) is to replace the missing KDJ11-EB with the lowest cost plug in alternative that will run" The winner gets (for the cost of the shipping) a 11/94 system unit box as described above. Rod Smallwood PS Speed is not an issue here. -----Original Message----- From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Glen Slick Sent: 15 May 2007 19:24 To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts Subject: Re: The Last of The Line On 5/15/07, Pete Turnbull <pete at dunnington.plus.com> wrote: > > > Anybody want to amend and add the module for the memory? > > http://www.dunnington.u-net.com/public/PDP-11/QBus_memory > > It also doesn't have columns to specify whether the boards work in > Qbus/Qbus backplanes or Q/CD backplanes without releasing magic smoke, > whether they have provision to use battery power, whether they have > options to disable the parity CSR, or support block-mode transfers. > I'd expect users to get the nitty-gritty from the relevant user guides > or handbooks. > > As always, additions and corrections are welcome. > http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/qbus/EK-MSV1J-UG_001_May85.pdf MSV11-JB M8637-B 1 MB ECC PDP-11/84 ONLY MSV11-JC M8637-C 2 MB ECC PDP-11/84 ONLY MSV11-JD M8637-D 1 MB ECC PDP-11/84 or PDP-11/83 MSV11-JE M8637-E 2 MB ECC PDP-11/84 or PDP-11/83 NOTE: Modules designated MSV11-JB and MSV11-JC may be used in the PDP-11/84 (UNIBUS) system only. Modules designated MSV11-JD and MSV11-JE may be used in both the PDP-11/84 and PDP-11/83 (Q-bus) systems. NOTE: MSV11-JB and MSV11-JC cannot perform Q-bus protocol. NOTE: Insertion of the MSV11-J in a Q-Q backplane my damage other components or the memory itself. The PMI bussing of the MSV11-J's CD connectors is not compatible with the +12V bussing on the Q-Q backplane.

17 years, 7 months

Anyone recognize this terminal?

by legalize＠xmission.com

This little photo is all I have to go on; someone else is looking to ID this puppy and I said I would ask around. <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/tmp/hlac.jpg> -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/download/index.html> Legalize Adulthood! <http://blogs.xmission.com/legalize/>

17 years, 7 months

Vintage Test Set, a Hardware Hackers Delight on eBay

by whdawson＠nidhog.net

(LURK OFF) Item 290114723691, Safetran Dual Tone Multi-Frequency Test Set A41080. I thought about buying another of these just for its potential, but am passing on bidding on this one and letting the list be aware of what I found this in this little 14x10x6 inch fiberglass case. I bought one of these, 290112949036, from the same seller. It arrived UPS 3-day today, was very well packed, and looks to have never been used. I'm quite pleased with its quality and potential. Oh, and it works great. The manual that came with mine is everything a manual should be, Operation, Circuit Description (4 1/2 pages alone), Block Diagram (detailed), Troubleshooting, Wiring Diagram, Schematics, Component Layout Diagrams and Parts Lists. If someone on this list wins the auction, ending May-16-07 13:29:44 PDT, I'll photocopy the manual for them if it's not available anywhere else (I haven't looked). The manual is dated April 82, although my test set was made in August 85. Portable uProcessor controlled tone DTMF decoder/encoder 2 & 4 wire. Audible monitor Intercom mode, includes adjustable amp, speaker & electret mike. 12 digit LED readout (2 x HP HDSP3733) Reset Button All I.C.s in sockets Contents: Separate Keyboard/Display and Processor/Power Supply boards connected by a ribbon cable, and an Intercom board with Volume control and transmit level controls. Processor board: MC6809 @ 1Mhz, 2x 2716, 2Kx8 CMOS RAM (MSM5128), MC6821 PIA, MT8865 DTMF Band Splitter, 2-of-8 Tone Encoder MC14410P, Keyboard Encoder MM74C923, Hex Bounce Controller MC14490VL, Watchdog, all the necessary glue, and power supply rectification & regulation Display/Keypad board: LED displays, Hex Keypad, 4 other momentary buttons, 3 other LEDs, 2x Hex Display Driver Controller MM74C917, Keyboard Encoder MM74C92312, and 12 digit LED readout (2 x HP HDSP3733). Great hacking potential, now to figure out what to hack it into. Guess a nice 6809 Monitor in EPROM would be a good start... I have no relation to the seller in this auction other than as a very satisfied buyer. Regards, Bill Dawson (/LURK OFF) -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

17 years, 7 months

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test-drb May 2007