test-drb February 2008

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

236 participants
373 discussions

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

Does anybody haev a CDC/MPI full height 5.25" floppy drive? No, I am not looking to buy one, I need some information on how it goes together. I have one in an HP9826, it's fucntionally the same as a TM100-2A, but intenrally quite different. The area I am baving prolems understanding is the head positioner. The head carriage runs conventionally on a pair of metal rails fixed ot the base casting. At the rear right of the drive is a stepper motor with the spindle axis vertical. On that spindle is the metal drum of a taut band mechanism, there's alos the conventional taut band. That fits over a pin on the drum. The ends of the band have holes that fit over pins on the head carriage, the rear p[in being fixed to the carriage, the front one is spring-loaded to tension the band. So far, so good. Mouleded into the head carriage are 2 arms that extend to the right of the drive, past the taut band assemly. They seem to carry some kind of damper. And that's the real prolkem In my drive, the damer had oozed grease all over the chassis. I've stripped it all down and cleaned it up. What I can't work out is how it should go back together. The 'damper' consists of a weight made af a soft metal, probably lead. And a metal shaft, about 1mm diameter, that runs through a hole in the middle of this weight, the ends of which locate in the arms I mentioned. And that's all I have. There's no obvious place to put grease inside the weight (I've looked down the hole as best I an). If you put grease on the shaft, it's just going to ooze out again. Also, what keeps the weight in the right position on the shaft? It's considerale shorter than the space between the arms. Surely it shouldn't just flop backwards and forwards? Another odditiy. When I removed the tauth band, I notixed what appeared to be a plastic clip on one of the pins. More careful inspection showed it was an O-ring that had split. OK, I can get replacements. But why put an O-ring there in the first place? It's not going to keep the band on the pin, or anything like that. My thought is that this has been dismantled before, that the O-ring actually came from the shaft that carries the weight, and that there may be parts missing (Springs, washers, etc). Does anyone ahve such a drive and could at least tell me what the damper appears to consist of (No, I am not asking you to take it to bits, just indicate if there's anything on that shaft other than the weight, if there are any ruber seals. etc? -tony

16 years, 2 months

CDC (MPI) floppy drive

by g-wright＠att.net

Hi Tony Since my 7771 1501 dive had problems and I did not find any Info. I did find a NIB dive. It has the same weight that seems to be there to stablize the movement of the head. The weight on the new drive (but old stock) has no grease on the frame of the drive but was stuck on the shaft. It does have the thick grease or ?? on the ends of the weight where the shaft enters and exits. After warming it a little it started to slide on the shaft. I can slide it the whole distance. I looked at the old drive and it does the same. It looks like it dampens some of the quick motions of the head carriage?? But the grease keeps it from moving very much. I would guess it has real thick grease in it ??? So it can only slide a little on the shaft. It may have some kind of "o" ring to help seal one end, but I did not take it apart. If needed, I could take apart the dead one. - Jerry Jerry Wright JLC inc g-wright at att.net -------------- Original message ---------------------- From: ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell) > > Does anybody haev a CDC/MPI full height 5.25" floppy drive? No, I am not > looking to buy one, I need some information on how it goes together. > > I have one in an HP9826, it's fucntionally the same as a TM100-2A, but > intenrally quite different. The area I am baving prolems understanding is > the head positioner. > > The head carriage runs conventionally on a pair of metal rails fixed ot > the base casting. At the rear right of the drive is a stepper motor with > the spindle axis vertical. On that spindle is the metal drum of a taut > band mechanism, there's alos the conventional taut band. That fits over a > pin on the drum. The ends of the band have holes that fit over pins on > the head carriage, the rear p[in being fixed to the carriage, the front > one is spring-loaded to tension the band. > > So far, so good. > > Mouleded into the head carriage are 2 arms that extend to the right of > the drive, past the taut band assemly. They seem to carry some kind of > damper. And that's the real prolkem > > In my drive, the damer had oozed grease all over the chassis. I've > stripped it all down and cleaned it up. What I can't work out is how it > should go back together. > > The 'damper' consists of a weight made af a soft metal, probably lead. > And a metal shaft, about 1mm diameter, that runs through a hole in the > middle of this weight, the ends of which locate in the arms I mentioned. > And that's all I have. There's no obvious place to put grease inside the > weight (I've looked down the hole as best I an). If you put grease on the > shaft, it's just going to ooze out again. > > Also, what keeps the weight in the right position on the shaft? It's > considerale shorter than the space between the arms. Surely it shouldn't > just flop backwards and forwards? > > Another odditiy. When I removed the tauth band, I notixed what appeared > to be a plastic clip on one of the pins. More careful inspection showed > it was an O-ring that had split. OK, I can get replacements. But why put > an O-ring there in the first place? It's not going to keep the band on > the pin, or anything like that. > > My thought is that this has been dismantled before, that the O-ring > actually came from the shaft that carries the weight, and that there may > be parts missing (Springs, washers, etc). > > Does anyone ahve such a drive and could at least tell me what the damper > appears to consist of (No, I am not asking you to take it to bits, just > indicate if there's anything on that shaft other than the weight, if > there are any ruber seals. etc? > > -tony >

16 years, 2 months

Speaking of PPT (was: Re: Friden Flexowriter)

by dm561＠torfree.net

What are generic PPT readers & perforators worth these days? I've got a few here that I'd like to convert into $$s some day... mike

16 years, 2 months

Offered: Ancient Macs & Monitors landfill bound, London SW1

by lproven＠gmail.com

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: martin_asa_1960 <martin_asa_1960 at yahoo.co.uk> Date: 24 Feb 2008 16:18 Subject: [FreeCycleLondon] Offered: Ancient MACs & Monitors landfill bound SW1 To: freecyclelondon at yahoogroups.com Offered: Ancient MACs & Monitors landfill bound SW11 I'm offering these as far and wide because I'm not sure many people will be interested as the MACs are that old. On Offer: x1 Power Macintosh 5500/225 Http adrress to image: http://img.wiki.excite.co.jp/upload/apple/4b/4bf6409b62f70f0e112b03757 90a1bc3_600x528.jpg x1 Power Macintosh 700/225 x1 Power Macintosh 7200/90 x1 Power Macintosh 5500/225 x1 Macintosh Performa 5500 x1 Apple MultiScan Display (Monitor) 15"(I think) x2 old MAC keyboards x1Pack of 10 MAC formatted diskettes(floppies?) x1 Packard Bell Logitech 15" monitor. Good looking beast but heavy! Model No: 5480E. Made '98 x1 Samsung Samtron 15" monitor. Model name: 55E Also an assortment of cables that came withthe MACs All have been in a dusty cupboard for years. I was told they all worked...? I've used the last two monitors recently so I can verify they work. As for the rest I assume it's only good for enthusiasts or tinkerers or students who are desperate for machines/parts to set up a network. This stuff is bulky and heavy; if you don't have a car or van it's not worth your while getting in touch- I don't deliver. -- Liam Proven ? Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/liamproven Email: lproven at cix.co.uk ? GMail/GoogleTalk/Orkut: lproven at gmail.com Tel: +44 20-8685-0498 ? Cell: +44 7939-087884 ? Fax: + 44 870-9151419 AOL/AIM/iChat: liamproven at aol.com ? MSN/Messenger: lproven at hotmail.com Yahoo: liamproven at yahoo.co.uk ? Skype: liamproven ? ICQ: 73187508

16 years, 2 months

Free: VMS orange wall, TCPware manuals; FA: VAXstation 4000/60 32MB

by tgarcia＠hivemind.org

Hi all, Available for pick-up now from Worthing, West Sussex, England are twelve overfilled 34x24x25cm boxes of orange wall - VAX/VMS v3 and v4 era manuals. Or I can ship anywhere at your expense after 10 March. Detail below (era-vol-title). Condition is reasonable - some cover pages are less than pristine, while other manuals are still in their shrink wrap. Also for auction, shipping worldwide: one VAXstation 4000/60 32MB+RZ25 http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQsassZtagq2 The equipment has been used for the VMS hobbyist programme, and now awaits your hobbyist licenses :-). More stuff probably available next month (a VT240+VR201 and a DECmate III?), but for now you are welcome to walk off with / pay shipping for: - TCPware 5.4 printed docset: netcu command ref, management guide, user's guide, programmer's guide, install/config guide; - a VT520 with apparently stuck-full brightness; - an HP A2094A CRT that has nothing to do with DEC but has been sitting taunting me. (1) 4-8-system messages and recovery procedures VAX-11 Fortran u/g, ref manual, installation guide 4-2A-command language, system messages 4-7-MACRO and instruction set (2) 3-8-Compatibility mode RSX-11M 3-3B-Text processing: TPU/EVE 4-8-as in (1) 3-3B-Text processing: VAX TPU ref. (3) MicroVMS 4.4 programming support manual 4-replacement binder-intro to sys routines, utility routines 4-" "-RMS manual, ana/rms, FDL 4-Guide to writing device driver for VAX/VMS (4) 3-4A-utils ref, magnetic tape u/g, SORT/MERGE u/g 4-8-as in (1) (again!) 4-4C-utilities PHONE-VERIFY (5) MicroVMS user manual part 2 MicroVMS programming support manual (again) + progarmmer pocket reference sealed-User's primer, FORTRAN primer, release notes promotional (SPD?) booklets: BASIC, BLISS, CLE, FORTRAN, MMS, RPG II, ADA, COBOL, performance + coverage analyser, APL, DEC/test manager 4-4A-ACL editor through LATCP (6) 4-Guide to networking on VAX/VMS DEQNA ethernet user's guide 4-2-Command language: DCL dictionary MicroVMS 4.4 programmer's manual 4-Guide to programming on VAX/VMS (FORTRAN edition) (7) TK50 user's reference card Booklets: Installing VAX/VMS on 8600 from HSC-based tape, " from magnetic tape Installing VAX/VMS on 11-780 from HSC-based tape, " from magnetic tape Installing VAX/VMS on UDA-based 11/730 from magnetic tape Running the UETP after installation 4-Guide to VAX/VMS file applications 4-Introduction to VAX/VMS DECNET-RSX guide to network management utilities (1985) Programming in VAX C 2.0 (8) 3-5B-System services/IO: IO user's guide volumes 1,2 3-1-General info, SPD etc. VAX-11 FORTRAN 3.0 reference manual, user's guide, installation guide (9) 4-1-Introduction, glossary etc. 4-2-Command language: DCL dictionary 4-1B-Release notes: vv4.2, 4.1, 4.0 (10) 3-7-VAX-11 Record Management Services DEC CBI course administrator's guide (1982) 4-8-as in 1 (yet again!) (11) 4-Guide to VAX/VMS disk and magnetic tape operations 4-Guide to using DCL + command procedures on VAX/VMS MicroVMS 4 programming support manual (again) (12) 4-Guide to VAXclusters MicroVMS 4.4 user's manual part 1 3-4B-prog. development tools 4-1A-general info etc. Please feel free to mail me if you have any questions. -- Tom Garcia | tgarcia at hivemind.org

16 years, 2 months

Fw: [personal] Offered: Ancient Macs & Monitors landfill bound, London SW1

by mike＠brickfieldspark.org

>From a local Freecycle group here in the UK, I could collect and store / ship if anybody is interested in the list of bits (others in the UK, or US if really interested !) Contact me or Liam or Martin direct. Mike mike at brickfieldspark.org ----- Original Message ----- From: "Liam Proven" <lproven at gmail.com> To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 11:05 AM Subject: [personal] Offered: Ancient Macs & Monitors landfill bound, London SW1 > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: martin_asa_1960 <martin_asa_1960 at yahoo.co.uk> > Date: 24 Feb 2008 16:18 > Subject: [FreeCycleLondon] Offered: Ancient MACs & Monitors landfill bound > SW1 > To: freecyclelondon at yahoogroups.com > > > Offered: Ancient MACs & Monitors landfill bound SW11 > > I'm offering these as far and wide because I'm not sure many people > will be interested as the MACs are that old. > > On Offer: > > x1 Power Macintosh 5500/225 > Http adrress to image: > http://img.wiki.excite.co.jp/upload/apple/4b/4bf6409b62f70f0e112b03757 > 90a1bc3_600x528.jpg > > x1 Power Macintosh 700/225 > > x1 Power Macintosh 7200/90 > > x1 Power Macintosh 5500/225 > > x1 Macintosh Performa 5500 > > x1 Apple MultiScan Display (Monitor) 15"(I think) > > x2 old MAC keyboards > > x1Pack of 10 MAC formatted diskettes(floppies?) > > x1 Packard Bell Logitech 15" monitor. Good looking beast but heavy! > Model No: 5480E. Made '98 > > x1 Samsung Samtron 15" monitor. Model name: 55E > > Also an assortment of cables that came withthe MACs > > All have been in a dusty cupboard for years. I was told they all > worked...? I've used the last two monitors recently so I can verify > they work. As for the rest I assume it's only good for enthusiasts or > tinkerers or students who are desperate for machines/parts to set up > a network. This stuff is bulky and heavy; if you don't have a car or > van it's not worth your while getting in touch- I don't deliver. > > -- > Liam Proven ? Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/liamproven > Email: lproven at cix.co.uk ? GMail/GoogleTalk/Orkut: lproven at gmail.com > Tel: +44 20-8685-0498 ? Cell: +44 7939-087884 ? Fax: + 44 870-9151419 > AOL/AIM/iChat: liamproven at aol.com ? MSN/Messenger: lproven at hotmail.com > Yahoo: liamproven at yahoo.co.uk ? Skype: liamproven ? ICQ: 73187508 > > >

16 years, 2 months

Friden Flexowriter

by dm561＠torfree.net

-----------Original Message: Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:16:04 -0700 From: Tim Riker <Tim at Rikers.org> Subject: Re: Friden Flexowriter There seem to be more decwriters around and they can often be had for cheaper. No paper tape punch/reader there though. On another topic, I have a "Motorized Tape Punch - Model 2" made by "Commercial Controls Corporation - Rochester 2, New York" which I believe became Friden. I have no docs on it whatsoever. The real thing I need to know is how to interface to it. It seems to be in adequate physical shape, except for the chad tube. It was made of plastic and has long since been broken off. http://rikers.org/gallery/hardware-tapepunch I'm very interested to hear of any known documentation for this beast. There's a picture there with the case off, perhaps the Flexowriter punch is similar inside? -------------- Can't help you on the interface; almost looks homebrew, considering it's built on perfboard. Has some previous owner perhaps already built an interface? Shouldn't be too hard to figure out though; looks like 8 lines to select the byte, and there should be another to "clock" it in, i.e., engage the clutch that drives the perforator. Looks like it could use a little cleaning & some lube. I have a unit that uses the same perforator mechanism; the motor runs constantly and there's a solenoid that trips a clutch to drive the punch shaft one revolution. There should be some cam switches inside that cast housing for timing, and 9 interposer solenoids inside the perforator that free or lock the perforator pins, and the selected ones are then driven through the tape. (These solenoids actually look like little relays without contacts). I doubt that you'd need any parts (these were pretty heavy duty units) but if you do, I've scrapped a few of these and still have some of the mechanical parts (no chad tubes though, alas). mike

16 years, 2 months

Fwd: [roys-tech-chat] Really Old Computer Stuff

by rtellason＠verizon.net

Can any of you guys verify one way or the other what that device with the tubes is that Dave is referring to in my group here? Feel free to stop on by if you like. :-) ---------- Forwarded Message ---------- Subject: [roys-tech-chat] Really Old Computer Stuff Date: Wednesday 27 February 2008 13:50 From: "D" <wa4qal at yahoo.com> To: roys-tech-chat at yahoogroups.com I just added some photos in the Photos section of some really old computer hardware. These are photos I've taken from my personal collection. One is what I've been told is the peripheral I/O register for an IBM 704 computer (Note the vacuum tubes!). Another is a core storage (memory) plane from an IBM System/360, most likely either a model 60 or 65. This particular core plane was defective, and has been cut out, so it's missing the connection fingers on the sides of the plane. The remaining two are a really old computing device. ;-) Dave Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/roys-tech-chat/ ------------------------------------------------------- -- 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

16 years, 2 months

Friden Flexowriter

by slawmaster＠gmail.com

A quick question--can you hook a Friden Flexowriter to a modern computer? I'm not afraid to put together some sort of interface/converter, but I haven't really found any information about that kind of thing... if anyone here has experience with one of these, your input would be greatly appreciated. John -- Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn

16 years, 2 months

Article about Seattle schools still running a VAX

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

Finally saw it in the paper. I notice they talk about how the VAX is "so old that the University of Washington has an early model (of the VAX) on display as a museum piece". Hmm - they probably have an early IBM 5150 and Mac 128K on display as well. What does that mean for the desktops that the school district has?

16 years, 2 months

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test-drb February 2008