test-drb July 2007

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

189 participants
323 discussions

by roger.holmes＠microspot.co.uk

On 3 Jul, 2007, at 23:35, cctalk-request at classiccmp.org wrote: > > From: Pete Turnbull <pete at dunnington.plus.com> > >> Seems reasonable. I remember one day the 1900 at QMC went down and we >> users were getting annoyed at the delay and we asked what was up, and >> were told the air conditioning system had failed and under the raised >> floor they had found nearly a foot of water. This was on the fifth >> floor! Thinking about it now it's not feasible. The false floor had >> ramps up from the normal floor at the computer room entrance, so the >> water would have flowed out under the ramp and down the stair well >> and >> lift shaft. Still, the story kept us quiet for a while. > > Our false floor is actually at normal floor level, so the subfloor > is of > course about a foot lower, and I have actually seen it flood. One > time > the aircon went wrong; it's a type that dries the air and then > re-humidifies it by passing it over a tray of warm water. The valve > controlling the level failed and so did the drain. Nice. Fortunately > we noticed before it rose high enough to hit the electrics. Well the QMC maths building was new enough to have been designed to have the computer, so yes maybe it was true. > We had a different incident on Saturday after we had shut down all the > power in the main machine room for safety testing. About lunchtime, > when the engineers had restored some of the power, we realised > there was > a smell of burning -- not really what you want in your central machine > room. After a few panicky minutes, we realised it was the aircon. > Normally it works hard to cool the room, but it's designed to > maintain a > certain temperature. With all the servers switched off, it was trying > for the first time in years to heat the place up, and of course the > heating coils were full of dust. I get the same thing every Autumn, both in my car and with the Dimplex night storage radiators. With the latter, they also give off fumes from the epoxy resin which are quite nasty. For the first few years, for the first day or two there is a layer of air up to 3 feet >from the ground when I get up in the morning which I would not want to breath. The cat comes upstairs but the dog suffers it when I forget to expect it. Almost back to topic, air conditioning systems are supposed to filter out dust, so if there was dust in the heating coils, does this means it was not working properly? Roger Holmes.

17 years, 5 months

Nice - SCSI to IDE converter (eBay Australia)

by classiccmp＠memory-alpha.org.uk

Hi, > That looks specific to a CD-ROM.... Actually, that what I was thinking. One of my Yamaha CD writers (I think the CRW-2200E) comes in EIDE and SCSI flavours, the SCSI one being merely the EIDE drive with and adapter according to the docs I have. I'm wondering if this is the adapter I need for mine, though I think the 2200E adapter adapts to 68-pin SCSI (this looks like 50)? TTFN - Pete.

17 years, 5 months

Sirius connectors

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

For the benefit of the chap with Sirius hard disk problems, and indeed for anyone else who's got a Sirius, here are some connector pinouts on the mainboard Hope that's of some use (and I've not mistyped anything...) -tony ------------------------------------------------------------------- PSU input (J10 1 +12V (for video monitor) 2 +5V 3 +5V 4 Gnd 5 Gnd 6 keyway 7 +12V 8 -12V Monitor J13, DE9) 1 Video Output 6 Chassis ground 2 Ground 7 VSync 3 +12V supply 8 Ground 4 Ground 9 HSync 5 Brightness Control out Expansion Slot (J1 ... J4) AD0 --25 26-- AD1 AD2 --24 27-- AD3 AD4 ==23 28-- AD5 AD6 --22 29-- AD7 BusRdy --21 30-- IODis/ Phi2 --20 31-- Gnd MotIOEn --19 32-- -12V HLDA --18 33-- LatchDin Hold/ --17 34-- +12V IRQ3/ --16 35-- Gnd NMI/ --15 36-- +5V Wr/ --14 37-- +5V Rst --13 38-- CPUClk/ DT/R/ --12 39-- Gnd Rd/ --11 40-- MCLkA IO/M/ --10 41-- Ready ALE --9 42-- IRQ5 DEN/ --8 43-- IRQ4 SS0/ --7 44-- Gnd A8 --6 45-- A9 A10 --5 46-- A11 A12 --4 47-- A13 A14 --3 48-- A15 A16 --2 49-- A17 A18 --1 50-- A19 Floppy Disk controller (J7) D0 --1 2-- Gnd D1 --3 4-- Gnd D2 --5 6-- Gnd D3 --7 8-- Gnd D4 --9 10-- Gnd D5 --11 12-- Gnd D6 --13 14-- Gnd D7 --15 16-- Gnd CS1/ --17 18-- Gnd CS0/ --19 20-- Gnd IRQ3/ --21 22-- Gnd IRQ0 --23 24-- Gnd DskCLk --25 26-- Gnd CPUCLk /--27 28-- Gnd 29 30-- Gnd 31 32-- Gnd Wr/ --33 34-- Gnd CS2/ --35 36-- Gnd Phi2 --37 38-- Gnd Test/ --39 40-- Gnd A0 --41 42-- Gnd A1 --43 44-- Gnd A2 --45 46-- Gnd A3 --47 48-- Gnd Rst/ --49 50-- Gnd Note : CS0/ - Spindle Motor Control VIA CS1/ - Status VIA CS2/ - Data VIA User port (J5) -12V --1 2-- -12V 3 4 +12V --5 6-- +12V +5V --7 8-- +5V 9 10-- Light Pen Gnd --11 12-- CA1 Gnd --13 14-- CA2 Gnd --15 16-- PA0 Gnd --17 18-- PA1 Gnd --19 20-- PA2 Gmd --21 22-- PA3 Gnd --23 24-- PA4 Gnd --25 26-- PA5 Gnd --27 28-- PA6 Gnd --29 30-- PA7 Gnd --31 32-- PB0 Gnd --33 34-- PB1 Gnd --35 36-- PB2 Gnd --37 38-- PB3 Gnd --39 40-- PB4 Gnd --41 42-- PB5 Gnd --43 44-- PB6 Gnd --45 46-- PB7 Gnd --47 48-- CB1 Gnd --49 50-- CB2 Note : PB7 is also used as the clock for the sound system, otherwise this is an uncommitted 6522 VIA Audio In (J17) 1 +12V 2 Gnd 3 Gnd 4 N/C 5 Audio Input 6 +6V (Audio reference) Printer Port (Centronics _and_ GPIB, 36 pin Microribbon J14) DAV --1 19-- Gnd D0 --2 20-- Gnd D1 --3 21-- Gnd D2 --4 22-- Gnd D3 --5 23-- Gnd D4 --6 24-- Gnd D5 --7 25-- Gnd D6 --8 26-- Gnd D7 --9 27-- Gnd NRFD --10 28-- Gnd SRQ --11 29-- Gnd 12 30 NDAC --13 31 E27 --14 32-- NDAC EOI --15 33-- Gnd Gnd --16 34-- REN Chassis --17 35-- ATN 18 36-- IFC Keyboard 1 +5V 2 Gnd 3 Gnd 4 Keybd Ready 5 Keybd CLock 6 Keybd Data 7 +5V 8 Chassis RS232 Ports (DB25, J8 and J9) 1 Chassis 2 TxD 3 RxD 4 RTS 5 CTS 6 DSR 7 Gnd 8 DCD 15 Tx Clk In 17 Rx Clk In 20 DTR 22 RI 24 Clcok Out

17 years, 5 months

Boat-load Free in Chicago

by tosteve＠yahoo.com

Hope this hasn't been posted yet. Do not respond to me - see email at bottom: 3 Apple II computers. 2 disk drives 2 green screen monitors w/RCA connectors Epson desktop computer Otrona portable computer Osborne Executive portable Radio Shack TRS-80 desktop Radio Shack TRS-80 portable 500 pieces 64k memory chips (20 tubes of 25 each) 1 box 8 inch disks w/software 5 Boxes original vintage software (apple, cpm and others) 3 Boxes of cables, boards and chassis 7 Boxes manuals and vintage magazines Misc. printer stands, ribbons, covers, computer stands 22 Boxes of 5 ? diskettes (approximately 1000) many with software 7 Boxes of 3 ? disks (approximately 1000) many with software Pay shipping or arrange for pick up near O?Hare airport ? Chicago About 120 cubic feet in all WILL NOT BREAK UP, WINNER TAKES ALL. Respond to 847-299-3264 ASAP Stan Sharman stan_sharman at hotmail.com Des Plaines, Illinois --------------------------------- Don't pick lemons. See all the new 2007 cars at Yahoo! Autos.

17 years, 5 months

Tandon TM 502

by javickers＠yahoo.co.uk

Tony Duell wrote: > > It spins up, by the sounds of it, but is not talking to the computer. > > There's no head noises of any description. > > Is it old enough to be a stepper motor positioned? Some of those do not > restroe to cylinder 0 at power-on, so the heads won't move unless told to do > so by the controller board. It's possible there's a problem with the > controller, therefore. I'm guessing it is: There's an external motor in one corner of the unit; I can't read most of the label, but the "0.9 deg./st" that I can see would suggest it's a stepper. > > > > Where would I start in trying to diagnose & fix this drive? I have an elderly > > oscilloscope, but little else in the way of diagnostic tools (no logic > > analyser, for example). Or am I better off considering it scrap & trying to > > find a working replacement? Personally, I'd prefer to resurrect this one if I > > can. > I assume this is a normal ST506 interface. I'd start by looking at the > signals there -- is the machine trying to select thr drive, does it send > STEP pulses, and so on. At lest then you'll know which drvice (controller > or deive) has the problem OK, that will give me something to work on, once I've figured out how to re-assemble the thing whilst leaving the control board accessible.... I couldn't tell you if this was a normal ST506 i/f. The control board on the drive has "TM600 uP 187345" printed on it; the Sirius' controller board has only "XEBEC SYSTEMS INC." and "Assy 104526 rev-07" as identifying marks. Does any of that help at all? I've not looked for any schematics yet, I guess that's the next thing to do. Cheers, Ade. ___________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Mail is the world's favourite email. Don't settle for less, sign up for your free account today http://uk.rd.yahoo.com/evt=44106/*http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/mail/winter07.ht…

17 years, 5 months

Nice - SCSI to IDE converter (eBay Australia)

by chrism3667＠yahoo.com

http://cgi.ebay.com/SCSI-to-IDE-converter_W0QQitemZ170126238112QQihZ007QQca… are these hard to come by (or make even!). Seems like a darned handy thing to have around. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better Globetrotter. Get better travel answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out. http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/?link=list&sid=396545469

17 years, 5 months

Classiccmpers in WI?

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

Hi, all, I'm back in Madison, WI, for the summer, starting another South Pole tour by coming into the office, ordering a bit of this and that, and doing a bit of training. I have wheels, and potentially some free time here and there. If there's anyone in the area, especially anyone into DEC hardware, Commodore hardware (PET and/or Amigas), or 1970s micros (1802, 6502...), perhaps we can connect. Either way, I'm still in striking distance for VCFmw and should see a number of you there. -ethan

17 years, 5 months

[Somewhat OT] Extra-terrestrials and 1980's printers

by pdp11＠saccade.com

Here's an odd one for you: Coast To Coast AM (UFOs, Ghosts, ETs etc.) has been running a story about strange spacecraft buzzing around (where else?) California. Recently somebody claimed to have spent the 1980's working at a secret lab in Palo Alto trying to "commercialize" the extra-terrestrial technology: http://isaaccaret.fortunecity.com/ Now, veracity-wise, these photos and "documents" have problems: - Nobody is coming forward and identifying themselves. - In the top-left and top-right photos, if the camera exposed the sky for a neutral blue, the underside of the craft would be very under-exposed (almost black) like the middle photo and the underside of the leaves and power pole. - If the lab was as secure as the author claims it is, "TOP SECRET" or somesuch classification would be clearly stamped on every(!) page. - The final problem is with the look of the documents. While there are some nice touches (three-hole punch marks on the cover...remember those ubiquitous binders?) the documents have nice fonts and formatting, and look laser-printed. Now, in 1986, the number of systems available capable of producing such documents "in house" was fairly limited. You did have the LaserWriter, but it had just come out and the document doesn't look like it's using one of the original LW fonts. The other options were Scribe, TeX, Xerox, maybe InterLeaf...and not much else. Integrating a digital photo into a document was a royal pain back then, and scanners were still exotic equipment. I'm curious - does anybody recognize which system produced the documents? I'd be impressed if hoaxers went to the trouble of tracking down vintage equipment to produce them. Overall the story the web page tells is pretty entertaining. One wonders if this is a viral marketing campaign for a sci-fi movie next year. Cheers, jp

17 years, 5 months

govliquidation policy?

by technobug＠comcast.net

On Tue, 3 Jul 2007 20:16:20 -0500, "Jay West" <jwest at classiccmp.org> wrote: > One small item I want is in a lot with 700 pounds of stuff I > definitely > don't want (pipe fittings, valves, etc.). If I bid on the lot and > win, I'm > guessing I need to take it all though and pay to have the metal junk > shipped. Anyone delt with this before? Does govliquidation allow > you to say > "please throw the rest away" or do I need to approach the shipper? If > someone has done this before, I guess the shipper would charge a > disposal > fee to cart off the unwanted stuff? Suggestions? The local scrapper I deal with does a fair amount of business picking up the remainders of local auctions for folks that only want an item or two. You might check to see if there are any liquidators in the area and see if they will take what you don't want - this will save you the cost of hauling it to some scrap yard. > Thanks! > > Jay West > CRC

17 years, 5 months

More stuff

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

Found some more stuff that I'm unlikely to use (1) the free stuff: Anyone need a LaserJet Series II for parts? It's having fuser problems, but if anyone needs other parts it's here. I also have some (EP-S?) cartridges for LJII and similar modules. (2) the probably not-so-free stuff: One Multibus SkyFFP-M-03 FPA card. As it is currently it has the IRIS extender on the back (IRIS Multibus cards are almost twice as deep as the "standard" multibus so they have a aluminum plate to extend the eject levers). Preference given to IRIS 1000/2000 owners, but I think it's the same part used in Sun-2 Multibus machines. Weitek WTL1516AJC based. Renton, WA again

17 years, 5 months

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test-drb July 2007