test-drb March 2008

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

209 participants
369 discussions

Manual/Docs/Help for Micro-Term Ergo 201?

by derschjo＠msu.edu

I have a Micro-Term Ergo 201 that I'd like to use with my PDP-11. Just one problem -- I can't figure out how to get this thing to save the settings in the Set-Up menus, so I have to adjust the baud rate, etc. every time I power it on. There doesn't seem to be any obvious way to do it -- is this just supposed to happen automatically when I exit? Thanks, Josh

16 years, 9 months

Motors for 14-in hard drives

by roger.holmes＠microspot.co.uk

From: Robert Nansel <bnansel at bigpond.net.au> > > What size motor was typically used in a 14-in fixed drive, and what > sort of mechanical interface did a disk pack have with the spindle or > hub? I haven't been able to find any really clear pictures or > diagrams of the mechanics of such units. I don't know, but I do know that they run up to more than their rated speed and then slow down so that they come online faster. There is a problem if you load a disc, realise its the wrong one, run the drive down, change the disc and power it up again. I did that once on an 80MB five high pack drive and burnt the motor out. It was on a GEC 4080 and I think the drive was a re-badged CDC one.

16 years, 9 months

PDP-8 games with VC8/VR14 display?

by hachti＠hachti.de

Hey folks, I am curious about the existence of PDP-8 games making use of a CRT display. Would be fun to have more than Spacewar... And: I found a SPCWR3.PA somewhere on the web. It has built in support for the LAB-8/e programmable real time clock. But... The clock doesn't generate interrupts, display is painted only on a key stroke. Anyone a clue? Best wishes, Philipp :-)

16 years, 9 months

Motors for 14-in hard drives

by cclist＠sydex.com

> Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 17:55:13 +1030 > From: Robert Nansel > What size motor was typically used in a 14-in fixed drive, and what sort > of mechanical interface did a disk pack have with the spindle or hub? I > haven't been able to find any really clear pictures or diagrams of the > mechanics of such units. Wait a sec--a "fixed disk" is just that--that medium is *not* removable. So, something like a Shugart SA-4000 is a fixed 14" disk drive. A drive using disk packs is a "removeable media" drive. Two birds of very different colors. Have a look at http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/cdc/discs/40823100D_853_Maint_Feb69.pdf for a manual on CDC's answer to the IBM 2311. There's a good description of the threaded-spindle pack mounting there, as well as the head-load mechanism. For a fixed 14" drive, have a look at: http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/shugart/39005-1_SA4000_OEM_Apr79.pdf Both use fractional-horsepower induction motors; the CDC drive uses a 3-phase motor that's probably somewhere around 1/3 hp (the specs don't say, but the start/run current ratings give a clue). The Shugart fixed drive uses a single-phase motor that's around 1/8 hp. Assuming that the motor can overcome the frictional losses and interia of the media assembly, the actual motor rating probably isn't terribly critical. Both use belt-drive. Cheers, Chuck

16 years, 9 months

PDP 11/93 + RSX 11M

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

> I?m in trouble with the system as the boot stops at : * RSX-11M - Plus V4.3 BL66 2044.KW System "Pt/Ps" * > RED DU:=SY: > when loading from RD53 (RZ 28M-E) > and stops at: * RSX-11M/RSX-11M Plus Standalone Copy System V03 > when loading from RX33 (Brusys floppy) > Do you have an idea why the boot does not go on? Most common cause for those symptoms is that the LTC (Line Time Clock aka "60 Hz" although probably "50 Hz" for you) clock is disabled. On a 11/93 in a BA23 or BA123, it might be disabled because of the little front panel DIP switches, or because the cable going to the front panel selectors switches fell off, or in the setup firmware on the processor board. I think the 11/93 can be configured to provide its own fake LTC interrupts from on-CPU-board crystal too (been a long time!) Tim.

16 years, 9 months

Unknown Omnibus printer interface: Help needed

by hachti＠hachti.de

Hi folks, I have two Omnibus printer interfaces, not from DEC. They could be something german... They are labeled "CSI printer interface" and have 20 pin Berg connector. It seems to be a 7 bit interface. Does anybody know anything or has any ideas? Docs? Perhaps the card is a clone of a DEC standard card. So it would be interesting to get information about the term "CSI printer".... Thanks a lot, Philipp P.S.: I could also need a DEC parallel printer card (Centronics or Data Products compatible) as well...

16 years, 9 months

A little OT: Acculogic SIDE-1/16

by kelly＠catcorner.org

Does anyone have any experience with this? It is an 8 bit ISA interface card for 16-bit IDE drives. I have one running on my 1000tx. It is configured at address c8000 and irq2 (the tx can use either 2 or 5 depending on a switch). Using this, nothing quite runs. I think it is due to the strange video of the 1000tx (it is the Tandy "CGA", and gets its memory from the top of system RAM). With this card installed, and using a CP 3104 hard drive and Tandy's Dos for this computer, I have 2 32 Meg partitions. However, just about every piece of software causes the machine to lock up. If I install a WDXT-GEN board everything runs fine. However, I don't have any working st-506 interface drives. Any tips or suggestions? Kelly No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.21.7/1332 - Release Date: 3/17/2008 10:48 AM

16 years, 9 months

Decmate

by djg＠pdp8.net

>I picked up a vt78, precursor to the Decmate, 10 years ago for the same >amount! >It is configured for WPS but apparently you can tweak it to run the OS. >Anybody know how? > On mine I can put in an OS78 disk to boot its version of OS/8 or WPS to boot WPS, no changes needed. Their were various rom packs that go on the back. I don't know if some would make it only run WPS. >Is there software available for it? I thought I saw a reference to Basic >being available for the vt78. > The standard OS78 has basic on it. See the os78 images on this page. http://www.pdp8online.com/images/images/os8.shtml Do you have anything that can write standard single density 8" disks?

16 years, 9 months

Pantone or RAL reference for the blue color of the IMSAI 8080 cover

by sellam＠vintagetech.com

Bill Sudbrink wrote: > Sellam Ismail wrote: > > > Wasn't the IMSAI case (and many others of the same era) powder-coated? > Didn't you have one fully restored (including repainted) as a prize at > an early VCF? Yes, at VCF 2.0 we gave away a prettied-up IMSAI 8080. My friend (who owns http://www.trimapintl.com) powder-coated the enclosure for me. -- 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 ]

16 years, 9 months

Decmate

by shumaker＠att.net

A question for the list at large: I've an opportunity to acquire a Decmate - apparently a Decmate I - with terminal, keyboard ("missing a couple keys") and "drives". Unit "boots, but not sure what else it does" according to the owner. Photo shows a VT100 w/kybr on top of a large housing that apparently houses the drives. Owner agreed to $50.. Online info seems to indicate it's an early Dec PDP8 based word processor but little else seems available to a cursory search (haven't hit bitsavers yet) Worth saving? collectible? I've not delved into DEC before - is this a place to start? s shumaker

16 years, 9 months

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test-drb March 2008