test-drb July 2008

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

182 participants
225 discussions

by tommytune123＠gmail.com

Hi, I'm running Ultrix V2 on Simh quite happily today and have a couple of goals I don't know how to accomplish. I'm hoping someone here can help. First, the tape I installed from created two very small virtual disks and filesystems on rl00 and rl01. I would like to be able to create a third virtual disk with more space so I could actually get some work done. Does anyone know how to create and mount a new filesystem on a new virtual image under simh/ultrix? Second, I would maybe like to upgrade to Ultrix 3.1, maybe on a vax if it is supported. Is there a howto for doing so under simh, including where to find a good boot tape? Third, I would like to find and install the online manuals, which were missing from my distribution. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find them. Are they available online, or does someone have a set they can tar up and share? I'm pretty UNIX savvy, but I really started getting deeply interested and involved in the SYSVR2 days. My experience with DEC hardware and software >from an administrator's position is nonexistent, but I really want to learn. Someday I would actually like to have a microvax running UNIX here to play with. But that's another story. Thanks in advance for any wisdom you can impart. Tom

16 years, 5 months

adm3a and Linux

by slawmaster＠gmail.com

I pulled out my ADM-3A today in an effort to stave off studying and homework and such; hooked it up to my Debian box, only to find that there isn't really very good support for it under Debian. I use this line in my inittab: T0:23:respawn:/sbin/getty -h -L ttyS0 9600 adm3a and while I can log in, vim for example looks TERRIBLE, ls tries to do color and fails miserably, etc. When I log on to one of the Solaris machines on campus via SSH, they handle things gracefully. ls works right, vi is excellent. Is the difference in our terminfo files, or what? I'm not really sure how these things work so I'm hoping somebody can help me figure out what's up here, because I'd like my Debian computer to play nicely with the terminal. Thanks John -- Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn

16 years, 5 months

what happens when a Tandem NonStop stops

by spectre＠floodgap.com

http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Designed-For-Reliability.aspx Those of you who find the Tandem NonStops fascinating will enjoy this story of when this particular Tandem NonStop does in fact stop (due, of course, to human failings). Highlights: in-memory patching and repair guy hits the wrong switch. -- ------------------------------------ personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckaiser at floodgap.com -- TRUE HEADLINE: Police To Begin Campaign To Run Down Jaywalkers -------------

16 years, 5 months

more adm3 stuff

by slawmaster＠gmail.com

The ADM-3A seems to be working ok now, but I really notice the high-pitched whine of the CRT. It's waaaay up at the upper limit of hearing and not very loud but it IS extremely piercing. To the point where I think it is causing headaches. Do you guys know any good fixes for that kind of thing, or am I cursed to hearing that terrible head-numbing whine forever? John -- Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn

16 years, 5 months

Experience with ECB bus?

by lynchaj＠yahoo.com

> -----Original Message----- > From: Andrew Lynch [mailto:lynchaj at yahoo.com] > Sent: Sunday, July 20, 2008 5:17 PM > To: 'cctalk at classiccmp.org' > Subject: Experience with ECB bus? > > Hi > > I am designing an ECB bus backplane for my N8VEM SBC project and am > looking for some peer review prior to going to manufacturing of these > PCBs. The N8VEM SBC seems to be working out alright. About a half dozen > people have successfully built the SBC so now it is time to start thinking > about peripheral expansion. > > Although the N8VEM SBC uses the ECB bus for expansion, I have not ever > used ECB bus machines as they are common in Europe but extremely rare in > the US. I have made an ECB bus backplane prototype using prototype boards > and it works well enough so I think the basic concept is sound. > > However, I would like to make this ECB backplane as common and general as > possible so other hobbyists can use it not just N8VEM SBC builders. I > would really like to avoid any inadvertent N8VEM unique extensions. > > If you have experience with ECB bus based machines, I would like to hear > your comments and suggestions. > > So far, the ECB bus backplane has six DIN 41612 connectors. All 96 pins > are routed. Pins for IEI/IEO have jumper pads per connector to allow > usage of Zilog peripheral interrupt priority scheme. The backplane has > its own Vcc and Gnd, including a power switch and LED power indicator. > > The PCB is 2 layer to keep costs low. Each side has a ground fill zone > for a low impedance ground. I will be using the double thick PCB material > (3.2 mm) for rigidity and the double weight copper trace for low > impedance. > > Vcc and ground traces are triple wide (51 mils) minimum and also routed on > both the component and copper sides of the board. The rest of the traces > are the usual 17 mils wide. > > After I order some of these backplanes, I will make them available in a > similar fashion as the N8VEM SBC. The PCBs will be available for $20 each > plus shipping. The builder will have to source the rest of the parts. > > If you are interested in helping or have questions, please review the PCB > backplane design at: > > http://groups.google.com/group/n8vem/files?&sort=rdate > > There are two recently uploaded PDF files containing the schematic and the > PCB layout. > > Thanks in advance for any *constructive* feedback. Have a nice day! > > Andrew Lynch [AJL>] Hi All, Well, it seems like no one has experience with the ECB bus which rather surprises me as I am sure there are many people on this list from Europe and/or the UK. If there is anyone with PCB design experience who could review my design, I would appreciate it. The PCB will run at around 4 MHz and some may take it as high as 10 MHz. The N8VEM SBC runs at 4 MHz so that is my desired operating speed but I cannot rule out people modifying their SBCs to run faster. Specifically, I am concerned about using the extensive ground fill zones and also the ground and VCC traces are on both the copper and component sides of the PCB. Even though the PCB is small, am I causing potential ground loops with excessive traces? I am trying very hard to make low impedance paths to ground and also allow sufficient low impedance current carrying capacity for VCC. I suspect the fully loaded ECB bus would draw maybe an amp or two on the VCC rail. The worst case for the N8VEM SBC is about 500 mA or so and much less if CMOS components are used. If anyone could help, I would much appreciate it. The ECB is a rather uncommon bus in the US but was used extensively in home brew computer projects in Europe. The ECB bus is a natural extension of the Z80 and is very nice to work with not to mention extremely affordable compared to S-100 or STD since you can make your own inexpensive peripherals with a cheap prototype board ($5) and a DIN 41612 connector ($3). My N8VEM SBC project uses the ECB bus and will plug into the ECB backplane when it is available. I will be selling the ECB backplane connector PCBs to anyone interested in the same manner as the SBC PCBs are available. You can see additional details at the N8VEM website: http://groups.google.com/group/n8vem Thanks and have a nice day! Andrew Lynch

16 years, 5 months

cctalk Digest, Vol 59, Issue 18

by mtapley＠swri.edu

At 12:00 -0500 7/19/08, C. Sullivan wrote: >...I'm going to out on a limb here and assume that you are trying to use >a variable power supply wall-wart with one of those little slider >switches on it to do different voltages (is that the Radio Shack # >270-1551?). >... I have one like that. It works in many cases, but I'm not much of a fan. See below. >...Worse, most cheap supplies of this >type will sag as the load exceeds the rated maximum: so while it might >indeed be 9VDC at 100mA, at 175mA of load it can drop to 7.5V or lower. Worse yet... mine does the inverse. Plugging it in unloaded, with the switch set to 3V, still lets the voltage rise to around 10V (as indicated by my analog multimeter, so it's not *totally* unloaded). That scares me. I'm sure any reasonable load would drag it down near 3V, but ... is there any silicon in my load that wants to not see 12V, even powered off? >A proper lab supply will allow you to >give anything you find the RIGHT power, cleanly, and with overcurrent >protection that could save the device from frying. Seconded, even though I have not done so myself (yet). While on the topic, has anyone any experience with the Velleman integrated DMM/Power supply/soldering iron? http://www.vellemanusa.com/us/enu/product/view/?id=522812 Price isn't that great and all of the parts look sort of beginner-level, but the compact size is appealing. >...Velleman makes a 1A kit power supply >that is more than adequate for a lot of this kind of stuff AND has the >bonus of being real easy and fun to build. It is $12.95 from Ramsey >Electronics (www.ramsey.com). maybe http://www.ramseyelectronics.com ? The given URL advertises winches. -- - Mark 210-379-4635 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Large Asteroids headed toward planets inhabited by beings that don't have technology adequate to stop them: Think of it as Evolution in Fast-Forward.

16 years, 5 months

ADM 3 OR 3A NOT SURE AVAILIABLE

by us21090＠yahoo.com

Where are you located? Scott ----- Original Message ---- > From: "RLAAG at pacbell.net" <RLAAG at pacbell.net> > To: cctech at classiccmp.org > Sent: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 3:11:10 PM > Subject: ADM 3 OR 3A NOT SURE AVAILIABLE > > I HAVE AN ADM 3 OR 3A, NOT SURE WHICH, I THINK THAT I DON'T NEED... WHEN I USED > IT YEARS AGO IT HAD SOME HORIZONTAL PULLING BUT MORE OR LESS WORKED THEN... NOW > I DON'T KNOW BUT DIDN'T WANT TO TEST IT OUT... THE SCREEN HAS SOME STRANGE > SPOTS APPEARING BUT THEY MIGHT BE JUST ON THE SURFACE OR MIGHT BE INSIDE LIKE > THE OTHER POSTS ON HERE ABOUT THAT... I DON'T KNOW, BUT MIGHT BE GOOD FOR PARTS > ANYWAY... CAN LET THIS GO FOR SHIPPING AND A LITTLE POCKET CHANGE...

16 years, 5 months

What is a safe way to clean corrosion?

by oldcpu2＠rogerwilco.org

> Dunno about a T1, but Home Despot usually has a mini-driver set > that's 8 bits - 4 double-ended inserts with 3 stored in the plastic > handle. They go from T4-T10 + T15, they're about 8 bucks, they look > cheesy as hell, and they're GOOD bits. I have a Philips/blade set and a > Torx set. IIRC they're made by Husky. Doc is correct, it is a Husky brand tool, model #HD-74502T. I got mine from Lowe's for $9 about a year ago. The bits are definitely hardened, I can't begin to see any rounding on mine though they've been used a lot in the last year. The cap on the end of the handle spins like a jeweler's screwdriver, and for me at least, it works very well in one hand. - Jared

16 years, 5 months

cctech Digest, Vol 59, Issue 19

by malcolm＠avitech.com.au

Thanks Jerome, I mailed you off-list, not sure if my response reached you though? I haven't had any luck finding one locally in Australia, so I am very interested in getting hold of the one you have. I will be in the U.S. for the next few weeks (Seattle), so postage/packing charges shouldn't be quite so much of a problem. Regards, Malcolm. Jerome H. Fine wrote: >> Malcolm Macleod wrote: > >> Just wondering if anyone has a VT100 keyboard they can spare for a >> reasonable price? I recently received a VT100 terminal (minus >> keyboard) and >> am keen to bring this back to life. >> >> > Jerome Fine replies: > > I have a VT100 keyboard that I can sell you at a low price. > > It looks like you are in Australia. I am in Canada, so the shipping > and handling will likely be high. > > Can you found one locally? > > Sincerely yours, > > Jerome Fine > > >

16 years, 5 months

Small Torx (Was: What is a safe way to clean corrosion?

by tonym＠compusource.net

>-----Original Message----- >From: Fred Cisin cisin at xenosoft.com >Sent 7/22/2008 3:21:28 PM >To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts cctalk at classiccmp.org >Subject: Re: Small Torx (Was: What is a safe way to clean corrosion? > >On Tue, 22 Jul 2008, madodel wrote: > No where local, though Sears had a T6. I had to order online. I found a > vendor on Amazon.com (Micro-Tools) that sold them as separate items. Most > places only had sets and those rarely had lower than a T6 or T10. > I bought a set at Sears that went down to like a T3 or so - $9.99 or $14.99 for the set of 5. Tony

16 years, 5 months

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test-drb July 2008