The GMD Reduction Machine used an HP 264x series terminal with modified
firmware as an I/O device. Listings can be found at:
http://bitsavers.org/pdf/gmd/reductionMachine/terminal
Of particular interest is 2.file.pdf which appears to be firmware for
controlling the tape drives.
I am trying to get a Vax-11/750 running. I have a box of TU58 tapes that are marked 'diagnostic tapes'.
The tapes appear to be used by Dec field technicians, since the tapes are marked 'Property of DEC'.
The label on the first tape is as follows:
BE-S0290-DE
TU58 #1 11750 MICRO DPM
PROPERTY OF DEC
(C) 1981,83
What do I need to do to execute these diagnostics? Specific commands would be very helpful :-)
I have not come across any references to these tapes in the limited documentation I have found.
Do I need to boot from the console tape and then boot from the diagnostic tape?
As you can probably tell, I am somewhat lost at the moment. I want to ensure the basic machine is
running properly before I hook up a disk drive.
I have a RDM card that is not currently installed. Is it better to use the diagnostic tapes, or, use the RDM
card to detect hardware issues?
PS. I am also fixing the gooey roller on the TU58 drive, what type of Tygon tubing do I need? ;-)
Thanks!
--barrym
[NOTE: My apologies for raising issue of magnetic media all over again, but I can never seem to get the search function to work on the archives, so the best I can do is depend on Google to have some of the old threads in it's DB. (Jay, this is not a criticism, I'm sure I'm doing something wrong, but in my two years on this list, I've never gotten anything out of the ht://Dig searcher, even with a simple word like 'diskette'.)]
I've started to image the hundreds of RX0n diskettes I have acquired from various sources for cataloging and preservation. I'm using my real, live PDP-11/23PLUS with a dual-drive RX02 unit, and I've run into something I've never seen before. Recent discussion has gone over the reliability of magentic media pretty well of late, but frankly, I was very, very surprised to see several of these 8" floppies shedding the oxide layer and leaving a transparent ring (okay, I flipped the diskette over hoping spinning it the other way briefly would help) in the substrate I can see through! I was holding the diskette to the light to get a better look and discovered the oxide completely scrubbed off.
Track 0 was clearly (pun intended) a goner, so I tried my fingernail (lightly) and could just flake the oxide off of the substrate. The brand is one I've never heard of, ANSCO, and gladly there are only a handful of this brand in my pile. I've heard about this problem, here and elsewhere, but I was not prepared to experience it myself!
Anyway, the heads in the drives are now in serious need of cleaning, and I'll probably just dip a little isopropyl on a swap and see if I can get them clean. But I've now found a new problem. It looks like the little presser pad on my Drive 1 is missing on the top arm. That may explain why that particular drive is sometimes less reliable at reading and writing.
Q: What's a good replacement material for the presser pad? Can I simply use a little bit of dime-store felt, or is there something more exotic that I should use?
Also, since acquiring this system, and others, all with RX02 dual-drive units, I've notices some drives read more realiably than others, that is until I write to the diskette, then the landscape changes again, with respect to which drive will read that diskette reliably again.
Q: Is there a source for 8" alignment diskettes? I recall one or two of the regulars on the list mentioning having them. Is there a way to make a duplicate? Or at least to format a diskette on a drive that's been through the alignment gig? It'd be nice to get my hands on one or the other. I'm happy to spring for postage and refreshment.
Thanks.
- Jared
So I'm watching old Stargate SG-1 episodes getting ready for the
upcoming movies, and in a scene from Season 2 episode 20 titled "Show
and Tell" I find:
http://rikers.org/tmp/sg1hp.jpg
Guess it's apparent why dialing the gate takes so long. They have not
upgraded the computers since the 70s. Looks like an HP-2112 or 2113 to
me. The hard drive below it is newer than my HP-7901 drives. I'm
guessing HP-7905 or HP-7906.
Anyone see any other vintage computers on the set?
--
Tim Riker - http://Rikers.org/ - TimR at Debian.org
Embedded Linux Technologist - http://eLinux.org/
BZFlag maintainer - http://BZFlag.org/ - for fun!
> From: sellam at vintagetech.com> > The manual has a very good troubleshooting section. When I have some time > I'll try to find out what the problem is. In the meantime, I sure wish I > could get this Apple ][ Copman EPROM Writer card I've got working.> Hi Sellam
The card can't be too complicated. Why not do a little
reverse engineering on it.
Dwight
_________________________________________________________________
See what you?re getting into?before you go there
http://newlivehotmail.com/?ocid=TXT_TAGHM_migration_HM_viral_preview_0507
Curious, I tried the other one I had and it didn't work with the 2716
module either. But when I tried it with the 2708 Gang module that it came
wih it worked fine. Suspecting a bad module, I tried the 2708 Gang module
in the first one but it didn't work with that either.
So not only the 1st M900 I have is bad but so is the 2716 module that came
with it. Doubly weird.
The manual has a very good troubleshooting section. When I have some time
I'll try to find out what the problem is. In the meantime, I sure wish I
could get this Apple ][ Copman EPROM Writer card I've got working.
--
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org
[ Old computing resources for business || Buy/Sell/Trade Vintage Computers ]
[ and academia at www.VintageTech.com || at http://marketplace.vintage.org ]
Does anyone have the documentation for the Copam EPROM Writer for the
Apple ][? It's got a ZIF socket on it and the software in ROM, but I am
having trouble reading any EPROMs so I want to make sure I'm inserting
them properly (the board and socket have no markings).
Thanks!
--
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org
[ Old computing resources for business || Buy/Sell/Trade Vintage Computers ]
[ and academia at www.VintageTech.com || at http://marketplace.vintage.org ]
Not to cause a run on Pro-Log PROM programmers, but the M900 at least has
an INS4004D microprocessor (National Semiconductor 4004 second source) at
its heart.
I only found out because I'm trying to figure out why this M900 isn't
working and opened it. I re-seated all the chips, hoping for a quick fix,
but no go.
Are there any known, simple to fix faults on these? It powers up, power
supply is good, no output on the LEDs other than transient voltage spikes
on startup causing individual elements to momentarily light. Otherwise,
no activity.
--
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org
[ Old computing resources for business || Buy/Sell/Trade Vintage Computers ]
[ and academia at www.VintageTech.com || at http://marketplace.vintage.org ]
I've started a project to use the Catweasel for making images of NorthStar
hard sector disks. I have some working code. It is not ready for public
release.
Please contact me offline if interested in being a developer. The code is
not available publicly at this time.
Thanks
Andrew Lynch
Somehow I missed the original, but this are my 2 cents;
> Message: 6
> Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 23:52:47 +0100 (BST)
> From: ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell)
> Subject: Re: Building my own classic style computer update
> To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
> Message-ID: <m1IOi1N-000J3FC at p850ug1>
> Content-Type: text/plain
>
>
>> I have been scrounging for parts for my computer, and I believe I have hit
>> the jackpot. A friend of mine set me up with some older Seiko control system
>> boards, various revisions, from the late 80s. On them are many ICs,
>> including RAMs, Z80 CPUs, and PIOs, as well as some AMD Arithmetic
>> processors, a Z80 SIO/2, and other various components. I want to try to make
>> my computer from these components. Can anyone point me in a good direction
>> for the datasheets, preferably online, for these mostly obsolete ICs? Some
>> of them I don't even know what they are, and some I cannot find online,
>> presumably because they are obsolete. Here's a partial list of them:
>> NEC D780C
>>
>
> AFAIK it's an exact equivaletn of a Z80 CPU. I've never found a circuit
> that works with one and not the other.
>
Nec states it is pin and software compatible in their 'Microcomputers
1983/1984' data book.
>
>> NEC D770008AC-6
>>
>
> No idea
>
Not in my databooks.
>
>> NEC D4364C-15L
>>
>
> I guess that's a 64K*1 DRAM, similar to a 4164
>
Static NMOS RAM 8k x 8
>
>> NEC D8251AC
>>
>
> Equivalent to the Intel 8251, National Semiconductor INS8251, etc. It's a
> USART
>
>
>> NEC D449C
>>
>
> No idea
>
Static NMOS RAM 2k x 8
>
>> AMD AM9511A-1DC
>>
>
> AMD floating point chip
>
http://electrickery.xs4all.nl/comp/dai/doc/AM9511.pdf. If you decide not
to use this part or has some spare, I am very interested. I still have a
DAI computer with a socket waiting for such a chip
(http://www.xs4all.nl/~fjkraan/comp/dai/index.html).
>
>> Sharp LH0081A
>>
A Z80 PIO clone
>> Sharp LH0082
>>
>
> No idea
>
A Z80 CTC clone
Fred Jan
