test-drb November 2009

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

175 participants
194 discussions

Summagraphics Bit Pad One GPIB protocol documentation?

by derschjo＠mail.msu.edu

I'm working on supporting GPIB tablet support for PERQemu (right now it only supports the 3-button Kriz tablet). Anyone have documentation for the protocol used by the GPIB variant of the Summagraphics Bit Pad One? I've found documentation covering the Bit Pad Two (http://www.calcomp.com/files/Bit%20Pad%202%20Tech%20Ref.pdf) , which appears to be RS-232 only. I'm sure the protocols are similar, anyone know for sure? Thanks, Josh

14 years, 5 months

VT78/MR78/OS78 (was Re: Vintage Computer Forum)

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

On 11/25/09, allison <ajp166 at verizon.net> wrote: >> >> I should probably make a post there about my new-to-me VT78. It >> checks out so far, but I don't have a copy of OS/78 to do anything >> "fun" on it yet. I was hoping someone here would respond to my query >> about what's out there for the MR78 >> > The MR78 was only used for the booter. Right. It's just a bunch of ROMs and clock chips pretending to be a PR8E-like papertape reader. > I believe there were at least two booters, RX01, RX02. I've found reference for those as well as a mention of a diagnostic ROM set. I would like to be able to put together a box with 4x or 8x the normal ROM, use modern ROMs and burn all known booters rather than hack on my one-and-only MR78. Fortunately, it hangs off of a DB25, so it should be trivial to redesign and build in the same space. > OS/78 you need to find it on the net, then copy to RX01 > formatted 8" floppy. I've seen OS/278 from the DECUS collection. I must not be looking into the right places for OS/78. Writing the RX01 floppy is no big deal - with what I have sitting around the house, the shortest path is probably to throw an RXV11 or RXV12 into a Qbus box and use vtserver to move the disk image. The second shortest path would be to get around to assembling a 34-to-50-pin cable and using an old PC to write the image. Fortunately, I have multiple 8" drives and several boxes of still-in-the-shrinkwrap 8" disks, most (but not all) already formatted in IBM 3740 format. -ethan

14 years, 5 months

VT78/MR78/OS78 (was Re: Vintage Computer Forum)

by djg＠pdp8online.com

> Never played with COS. I have one COS DECtape for the -8/e + TD8E. I > think I booted it 25 years ago and didn't know how to make it do > anything and put it back on the shelf. > Manuals are here. Probably still not that exciting. http://www.pdp8online.com/pdp8cgi/query_docs/query.pl?Search=cos >> The closest source I know of is OS78 V4 which was for the DECmate I >> http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/academic/computer-science/history/pdp-8/os8/ > >I could use that for my DECmate I anyway. > I made a disk using that source and some others. They are in RX02 mode. http://www.pdp8online.com/images/images/os8/DECmate_I.shtml I haven't seen any original DECmate I disk images around.

14 years, 5 months

VT78/MR78/OS78 (was Re: Vintage Computer Forum)

by djg＠pdp8online.com

>After years of looking, thanks to a tip from this list, > Did it wander further? My postings were to pdp8lovers and alt.sys.pdp8 >Are there any ROM dumps of the MR-78 anywhere? > Not that I know of. I have a MR78-BD on mine. The print set doesn't list what that version does. I probably can dump it if its different from yours. >I've seen OS/278 from the DECUS collection. I must not be looking >into the right places for OS/78. > OS78 images of the disks that came with my VT78 are here http://www.pdp8online.com/images/images/os8.shtml The R command not working is probably the set OS8/VT78 stuff they added. Also WPS78 here http://www.pdp8online.com/ftp/images/wps/ And COS for the VT78 http://www.pdp8online.com/ftp/images/cos/ The closest source I know of is OS78 V4 which was for the DECmate I http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/academic/computer-science/history/pdp-8/os8/ Enjoy your new toy.

14 years, 5 months

Fwd: [Croydon-Freecycle] Offer: OLD Apple Mac, CR0

by lproven＠gmail.com

Machine is in Croydon, Surrey, England, FWIW. - LP ----------------------------------------------------------------- From: queenofcroydon <queenofcroydon at yahoo.co.uk> Date: Fri, Nov 27, 2009 at 1:19 PM Subject: [Croydon-Freecycle] Offer: OLD Apple Mac, CR0 To: Croydon-Freecycle at yahoogroups.com Hi All, I have a Macintosh Performa 600 Series with CD-ROM Complete with Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse and external zip drive. I found a picture on "PC-Museum" http://pc-museum.com/gallery/rcm-035.jpg I know that this machine is from the technical perspective kind of if medieval. But maybe there is a MAC-fan out there somewhere, who likes this one. It is fully functional, comes with most of the manuals. Please let me know if you would like to have it - will just go as a bundle! Maike ------------------------------------ -- 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/Yahoo/Skype: liamproven ? LiveJournal/Twitter: lproven MSN: lproven at hotmail.com ? ICQ: 73187508

14 years, 5 months

Emulex Q bus SCSI board

by mark.kahrs＠gmail.com

Does anyone have any info on this board? It's an S-box board with number QS1010402. Uses Emulex custom LSI all over the place.

14 years, 5 months

DEC VT100 character generator

by pete＠dunnington.plus.com

Several months ago, someone was looking for an image of the 23-018E2 character generator ROM for a VT100. A generous reader has given me an image, which I've uploaded to my website at http://www.dunnington.u-net.com/public/DECROMs/ Better late than never, I hope! -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

14 years, 5 months

Ten Year Rule

by brianlanning＠gmail.com

On Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 8:15 AM, Zane H. Healy <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote: > IBM had one or two *INTERESTING* PC desktop designs I've seen that would be > nearing 10 years old. A few others have as well, but I'm honestly not sure > anything that was built to run MS Windows will really ever be on-topic, that > would include modern Macs. > So it sounds to me like the rule is, "anything that doesn't run windows, either because of insufficient power or design." lol Although some of the 486 or greater single board computer/passive backplane thingies could easily run windows. So maybe we need an exemption for anything that has a design that isn't a classic PC. And if we exclude modern macs, does that exclusion include the Cube and Mac Mini? I want both of those machines eventually. What about that goofy mac that looks like a half-dome with an LCD monitor sticking out? That's certainly interesting. Was that one intel or did it slip out before the conversion? And which version of windows was it that ran on the dec alpha? brian

14 years, 5 months

Cleaning packs

by thomas.gardner＠sbcglobal.net

> Message: 26 > Date: Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:18:13 +0000 (GMT) > From: ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell) > Subject: Re: Cleaning packs > To: cctalk at classiccmp.org > Message-ID: <m1NDPFl-000J3yC at p850ug1> > Content-Type: text/plain > > > > > > > On Nov 24, 2009, at 1:08 PM, geoffrey oltmans wrote: > > > > > Dumb question (perhaps), but do the relative positions of the disk > > > platters in the pack matter on these systems? I suppose it might for > > > interleaving purposes for data already recorded. > > > > I would suspect yes but never having cleaned multi-platter packs, I'd > > only do that on packs that I don't care about the data (ie I'm going > > to format the pack as soon as it's "clean"). If I care about the data > > that *might* be on them I probably wouldn't disassemble (ie de-stack) > > the pack. > > I would be very careful about dismantling the pack for another reason. > Often there is no automatic centring of the platters. If you seprate > them, you will have to centre them up. On the (crashed) 5-platter pack I > dismantled about 25 years ago (for interest), there were holes throuch > the top and bottom hparts of the hub through which you put long rods to > keep the platters and spacers _approximately_ cententerd. But then, I > think, you have to put the hu on the drive spindle (or a similar spindle > in a test rig) nd use a dial gauge to position the platters so there's > no run-out when you rotate the stack by hand. Given that moving one > platter is likely to slightly move all the others, this is a long and > tedious job. > > -tony I would not clean any pack that had a lubricated disk surface. The good news is I am pretty sure that lubrication was introduced with the IBM 3340 (Winchester) so the 2315, 2316, 3336, 3336-11, SMD and their DEC equivalents (RP0x, etc) were not lubricated. I don't know anything about the later uniquely DEC packs but I expect they used high load heads and were not lubricated. As I recall we cleaned non-lubricated disk packs with a tongue depressor, a non shedding wipe (Kim Wipe) and isopropyl alcohol (medical grade). You want to make sure there is no residue! If you don't care about the data you can disassemble and reassemble disk packs that do not use a track following servo systems, that is 2316 and 2x2316 types. You do not have to center them up! If you are real careful you can disassemble and reassemble a servo type disk pack so long as you are very, very careful not to move (or replace) the disk containing the servo pattern! This applies to the 3330 and SMD type of disk packs. A while ago, I was surprised to find out that several "recovery" houses were doing this routinely and claiming to recover data on the original disks still in the pack!. If you do move the servo disk, as witnessed by repeatable runout in the servo system, I am told that some skilled folks can actually center them up by careful instrumentation, measurement and gentle tapping of the servo disk in a not fully tightened assembly. Tom

14 years, 5 months

Neat find: Maxx Steele Robot

by newsound＠tds.net

would you be willing to sell your Maxx Steele Robot?

14 years, 5 months

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test-drb November 2009