test-drb March 2008

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

209 participants
369 discussions

by quapla＠xs4all.nl

Hello, Can abyone help me with the partnumber or partnumbers of a TC11 controller (which is for the TU-56 tapedrives). Thanks, Ed

16 years, 9 months

Computer in 1900

by bnansel＠bigpond.net.au

Thu Feb 14 Gavin Melville wrote: > ... > As the OP who started this discussion I appreciate all the comments. > The original spec was not to invent new components, but to use things > you could actually get in 1900. Just because I know how to make > an IC > now doesn't mean I could have made one in 1900. While I could have > obtained Silicon, it's unlikely it would have been usable purity, and > the imaging, etching and depositation would be simply impossible. > > The "was it available" we have looked hardest at is the transistor, > and > could have we made a point contact transistor then, even a FET (made > before the transistor but didn't recognise it). While we might be > able > to do this, we're trying to limit our search to things we could get, > rather than make, or materials we could get rather than make ie iron > cores, as opposed to point contact transistors. ( We are, however > keeping an eye on the 256 2n2222 project). > ... As an option for I/O, you might consider a Nipkow (pronounced 'Nip- kov') disk as a mechanical video display unit. Nipkow disks were well known in 1900, and several television designs had been proposed by then (and some of them even had much, much more than a snowball's chance of working). Another thing you might consider is to use a nickel coating on the disk; with suitable read & write heads you could build a sort of bit- mapped video memory. Poulsen had demonstrated magnetic recording in 1898, and it was used in some early Marconi equipment as a detector. A sensitive mirror galvanometer connected to the read head would modulate your light source behind the scanning disk. You need to write the appropriate bit images to the tracks, but assuming the disk spins at about 1500 RPM, you only need modulate at audio frequencies to produce usable video; you could use a carbon amplifier (as used by the phone company at that time) to drive each write head. Another thing magnetic recording might do for you is as a source of higher frequencies: prerecord at slow disk RPM, read at much higher RPM. -Bobby

16 years, 9 months

mystery chip 608C62

by lynchaj＠yahoo.com

Hi, I found a mystery chip in a pile of stuff. Apparently, it was an AWARD BIOS in a former life. I can read it in my EPROM programmer and it is read compatible with a 27C512 (64Kx8 EPROM). The contents are consistent with an AWARD BIOS for a PC of some sort. However, the chip itself is rather unusual. There is no EPROM quartz window, the manufacturer symbol is a triangle, and the number is unlike anything I have seen before. Worse yet, I get no helpful hints on GOOGLE when I try. The chip number is 608C62. I am guessing it is either a One Time PROM or a mask ROM. Has anyone heard of this or know what family it is from? I am hoping it was a FLASH ROM or EEPROM but I can't seem to find anything on this chip. Any hints or help much appreciated! Andrew Lynch

16 years, 9 months

FTGH: Stuff!

by josefcub＠gmail.com

All, Long story short, I have a bunch of stuff that I can't currently properly take care of. I'd like it to go to homes that can use it, or at least protect it better. I live in semi-rural Texas (Bastrop, TX about 50mi east of Austin). Things listed here are technically "classic", even if there's only one minicomputer involved. I also have myriad miscellaneous PC junk that can happily go too. I'd love to have traded this stuff for repairing/refurbing my workshop, but that's not likely going to happen. This stuff is pickup only, due to size, weight, and time constraints on my part. Take one thing, or take it all. Just take it and preserve it, please. (I will part out the DG though, if you take the innards and I keep the non-OEM racks) So here's the list for all y'all: * Twin rack HEAVY Data General MV-7800/U minicomputer, with: Overall Condition: Slight external rust, racks in good shape, boards clean and intact. Last powered up in 1993. Been in uncontrolled storage since. Card List in Nova 4 CPU enclosure: 16 15 40 ISC 14 27 BMX-1 DISK 13 22 WP TAPE 12 11 10 50 SLIM-16 (16-terminal communications card) 09 65 SLIM-16 08 17 DMA-LPT 07 06 05 04 03 02 ( DAUGHTER BOARD 8MB ) 01 MV-7800 CPU 2MB Tape Drive: Cipher Data Systems MOD NO: 0910640-98-0750U PART NO: 154000-132 OPTION: B DENSITY: 1600/800 bpi HDDs (x2): Century Data Systems Model: M315-1 Serial: 12718 / 11096 Part #: 26723-248 REV: AW * Apple Macintosh SEs (x2) 2.5MB and 4/20MB models, keyboards and mice if I can find 'em. * Apple II Plus: 48k+Language card, works. * Apple IIe: works * Apple IIc Plus: Works * Apple Monitor IIc: Works * Apple IIgs (x5 or so): Various memory configurations, all worked when put up. 2 Woz, one Rom 00. * A small army of Apple II 8-bit expansion cards, Disk II drives, and other parts. * TI-99/4A: A dozen carts, speech module, CPU in original box. Works. * Apple Monitor IIgs x2: Worked last I used them. * DEC DECStation 5000/120 with 5000/260 front cover. Works. 32MB/1GB. * TRS-80 Model 16 with twin 8" drives, keyboard, printer. Untested. * More as I find it. With this stuff gone to better homes, I can spend the money and time making a real workshop out of the mess, so I can collect, repair, and use the stuff I love once again. Josef PS: You'll have to seriously barter for my spare Newtons, Model 100s, Epson PX-8s, and VAXstation 3100 M38. Those are at least kept in the house. ;-) -- "I laugh because I dare not cry. This is a crazy world and the only way to enjoy it is to treat it as a joke." -- Hilda "Sharpie" Burroughs, "The Number of the Beast" by Robert A. Heinlein

16 years, 9 months

Fwd: [Electronics_101] Parts

by rtellason＠verizon.net

This guy has a bunch of 74xx parts, including some numbers that I just sent the last of what I had to a listmember here. :-) Some other bits too, some of you guys might find useful. ---------- Forwarded Message ---------- Subject: [Electronics_101] Parts Date: Sunday 23 March 2008 04:48 From: "Ben" <izzo47 at yahoo.com> To: Electronics_101 at yahoogroups.com Where is a good place to post for parts that I am getting rid of?? I made a website => http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeszd6i/bensplace/ Thanks, Ben http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Electronics_101/ ------------------------------------------------------- -- 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, 9 months

About Atari UNIX

by plamen＠r00tcrew.eu.com

Hello, I'm writing you because I saw a message in classiccmp.org about Atari UNIX. >> "For those who own Atari TT030 workstations, I have finally gotten a >> hard >> disk with Atari's version of Unix System V on it running along with a >> diskette with setboot.prg utility that sets the nvram in the TT030's to >> recognize and boot from the Unix Hard Disk. >> >> If anyone is interested, I can make ghost images of the 300MB SCSI >> hard disk >> for you. One word of caution, according the Atari engineer who >> wrote Atari >> Unix, it does not work on all TT030's. Some of the units had bugs and >> issues, most came back into Atari's service center where the -33 68030's >> were replaced with slower 16mhz CPU's, so while I will guarantee that >> the >> image works, I cannot guarantee if your TT will have a problem or >> not. So >> far I've tried it out with 3 TT's and they all work. Also Atari >> Unix will >> recognize Riebl VME ethernet cards and set them as /dev/en0 so you >> can hook >> the TT up to the internet directly. I personally am going to see if >> I can >> get Apache to work on the TT as it would be great to run a website for >> Atari's on an actual Atari computer. >> >> If you want a copy, I need a 300mb SCSI HD to Ghost the image to and >> you pay >> shipping to and from me. >> >> >> Curt The sender email was no longer available so I'm writing in the mail-list - hope it is ok. I didn't know the Atari UNIX release recognize any ethernet device, but since Riebl will work I'm going to buy a TT and the network adapter. Can someone who got the image upload it and give me a information about restoring it on a hard drive( is it obligatory at any cost to be a 300MB hdd )? Regards, Plamen

16 years, 9 months

PDP-8/e

by RodSmallwood＠mail.ediconsulting.co.uk

Hi Thanks for the information. However driving the scope is not the problem. I started out as a development engineer on VDU's in the early 1970's. Hence setting up the scope is not an isssue. This paticular problem is only related to the DEP and EXAM funtions. The 8e has a cycle split into parts. DEP or EXAM occur in one cycle. There's a Flipflop (RUN) on the 8330 board that is set in a time period at the beginning of the cycle by the debounced DEP key. The memory address would have been set up manually or auto incremented by a previous DEP. The switch register contents are then transferred to the data bus and the memory signalled to write into the preset address. A signal called stop the clears the RUN flipflop at the end of the cycle. So within one cycle the contents of the switch register (data) should be witten into memory when the DEP key is raised. Only it isn't Rod Smallwood -----Original Message----- From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Dan Roganti Sent: 23 March 2008 18:55 To: On-Topic Posts Only Subject: Re: PDP-8/e Rod, I use both Tek scopes here, a 465 and a TDS410A. Most Tek scopes have the facility to perform a single sweep trigger to detect pulses such as that. However old your Tek scope is, there's supposed to be a button to select between 'Auto' and 'Single Swp' triggering. Also, there is a trigger source selector, this can be set for Chan.1, since your most likely to have one scope probe hooked up already. Then in the same area of the trigger panel there is an arming indicator light. This will let you know the scope is ready to detect a pulse after you set the trigger level--adjusting this to the middle should be good enough. You can also set the Horz sweep to somewhere between 100nsec and 500nsec to get a visual with the brightness turned up alittle more since it will be quick. If the pulse is detected the arming indicator will clear and the trigger indicator will blink just once. You'll have to arm the trigger again by selecting the "single sweep' button to check each signal. hope that helps, =Dan [ Pittsburgh --- http://www2.applegate.org/~ragooman/ ] Rod Smallwood wrote: > Hi > I recently aquired a complete PDP-8/e. As it had not run for a > while I took the usual precautions of reforming the electrolytics in > the PSU as well as dismantling the whole system and cleaning everything. > I was rewarded with a working system. I started to run some simple > toggle in programs and got to the stage of driving a VT 320 with a > display of whole the character set at 110baud. > > I was about to toggle in the next test which would have been a > keyboard echo routine when I discovered I could no longer load > anything into memory. > Load address works but setting the data to load into memory in the > switch register and raising DEP no longer writes the data to memory. > . > RUN works so it looks like the timing plus the RUN/STOP flipflop are > running ok. > However one shot operations like DEP and EXAM are difficult to > diagnose as is hard to see a one off 500nS pulse. > I don't think its the memory itself ( 4 x 4K of core) as I have tried > each 4K bank on its own with the same result. > I do have the CPU manual and a decent Tektronix scope. > Has anybody any suggestions? > > Rod Smallwood > > > > > >

16 years, 9 months

Anyone interested in Modcomp II gear?

by wmaddox＠pacbell.net

Last summer, I collected a large amount of surplus Modcomp II gear as part of a truckload computer rescue. I am looking to find homes for some of the excess. I've placed one complete system, but it looks like I have at least one more CPU. The Modcomp II is an early 70's vintage TTL machine with an instruction set that somewhat reminiscent of the IBM 360. It has a large register file, and both register-register and register-memory instructions. The CPU is packaged in a full-sized 19-inch cabinet, rather than a smaller enclosed chassis. These machines were built for real-time control in critical applications, and were a favorite of NASA. They were very solidly built. Programming and maintenance manuals, with schematics, are available. I would be interested in finding out how much interest there is in this gear. It is located in San Jose, California. --Bill

16 years, 9 months

Loading an OS onto a real PDP-11 - not an emulator

by hoelscher-kirchbrak＠freenet.de

> My final problem (Dont hold me to that though) is that I while I have a > number of disk packs, I don't believe that I have anything to boot!! > The packs are not really usefully labeled. > Having trawled the list, I can find many many messages about archiving > data off RL disk packs, and onto archival systems (such as emulators, > etc) - bit I cant find anything about how to take a disk image, and put > it onto an real RL01 attached to real PDP11 where there is no other > media... I suspect that I have to load in a serial receiver program, > and dump an image - but the details are so far, sparse.... Hi Doug, I usually transfer software to my RL packs this way: 1. I prepare a disk image with simh on my PC 2. I transfer the image file with ftp onto my PDP-11/83 (RD54 system disk) running ULTRIX-11 V3.1 (with TCP/IP!) 3. The said PDP-11/83 has got an RL controller & drive and I use both to put the image onto a RL disk pack with the help of 'dd'. This method has proven its reliability several times with different PDP-11 OSses as well as with XXDP. Unfortunately you might be missing a PDP-11 capable of running ULTRIX-11 ... Regards Ulli P.S. A MicroVAX (e.g. MV II) with an RL Controller should do as well. Copying disk images to real disks with VMS is no problem at all. I've done it very often with RD3x and RD5x disks.

16 years, 9 months

Loading an OS onto a real PDP-11 - not an emulator

by doug＠stillhq.com

Hi List, Following the wonderful advice so for, My shiny PDP 11/04 has now been upgraded to a 11/34, and I have a temporary terminator pack for my RL01 disk drive. I suspect that I have a system that is capable of booting. - Wo Hoo. (read - the disks spin, and the fault light stays off.....) My final problem (Dont hold me to that though) is that I while I have a number of disk packs, I don't believe that I have anything to boot!! The packs are not really usefully labeled. Having trawled the list, I can find many many messages about archiving data off RL disk packs, and onto archival systems (such as emulators, etc) - bit I cant find anything about how to take a disk image, and put it onto an real RL01 attached to real PDP11 where there is no other media... I suspect that I have to load in a serial receiver program, and dump an image - but the details are so far, sparse.... If somebody could provide some pointers - that would be awesome..... In an ideal world, I would be able to get RSTS onto this system (I have dual RL01's - so that may not work) - Alternately, just being able to boot RT11 to load a Forth interpreter would also work. [Yes, this is where I admit to being a Forth person - I hope people will still want to talk to me having admitted that] Thanks Doug

16 years, 9 months

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test-drb March 2008