test-drb December 2009

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

184 participants
226 discussions

by fjkraan＠xs4all.nl

Hi, Since some time the only mirror of my site is gone, so all scanned material and some additional info are only present (as a set) via my local site. This site resides on cheap consumer grade quality hardware, so is not very reliable. So if anyone want to mirror it, I would be grateful. The site contains information on a limited set of computers, like DAI, Epson, some obscure DEC, etc. The url is http://electrickery.xs4all.nl/comp/. A list of the scanned documentation is at http://electrickery.xs4all.nl/comp/virtlibrary.html. Please contact me before starting copying; - the site is at the wrong side of an ADSL line, and contains mirrors of other sites (in http://electrickery.xs4all.nl/comp/mirrors). Also it _contains_copyrighted_material_ (but of vintage or cctech interest). Fred Jan

14 years, 5 months

Different take on 10 Yr. 'RULE'

by dm561＠torfree.net

Date: Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:49:20 -0500 From: Murray McCullough <c.murray.mccullough at gmail.com> Subject: Different take on 10 Yr. 'RULE' A different interpretation on the 10 Yr. 'Rule'. Many experts, CPU mag being one, say that we shouldn't store info on CDs, DVDs, etc. as they may be unreadable in less than 10 yrs. Wouldn't it be sad if we lost valuable information on the classic computing era? I guess old-fashioned paper is the best way after all! Let's hope these technologies last longer than my Zip-drive and disks that can't be read because the drive died and I can't get it fixed or at the very least at a decent price. So Sad! Murray-- --------------Reply: Only sad if you want it to be... No problem finding a working ZIP drive for free or next to nothing these days; all kinds of them on eBay at .99 with no bids, or just ask on the various forums and I'm sure someone'll be happy to get rid of one. Never had any problems with my drives or disks, FWIW. m

14 years, 5 months

Ancient 3com switch

by mark.kahrs＠gmail.com

I don't know if the 10 year rule applies here, but I have a old 3com switch (3c3500) that I'd like to use. Problem is that the previous administrator was competent and changed all the passwords. So, how should I reset this unit? Mind you, there is a socketed flash SIMM ... Any ideas? There's also a bad SRAM chip, but that's another kettle of fish.

14 years, 5 months

Leaky caps [Was: Re: vintage components]

by trag＠io.com

> > Date: Wed, 2 Dec 2009 13:23:18 -0600 > From: Brian Lanning <brianlanning at gmail.com> > Batteries I can handle. But leaky surface mount caps scare me to death. > I can solder, but not on the new surface-mount stuff. My eyes aren't what > they used to be. Maybe I should practice some and invest in a reflow > setup. But I don't have enough time either. The surface mount electrolytics aren't bad at all. You should be able to manage with reading glasses. To remove the old ones, just get two soldering pencils. Heat controlled is nice, but you can use a pair of Radio Shack 15watt grounded pencils (>$10 ea. last time I checked). Apply one pencil to each side of the capacitor until it lifts easily off of the board. Do not pry. Remove the old solder with a bit of desoldering braid. Clean the pads with your favorite solvent(s). Lightly tin one pad. Position the new capacitor on the pads and hold in place by pressing down with a flat blade screwdriver or similar (pencil eraser at end of pencil might work well). Heat the tinned side until the capacitor sinks flat on the pad. Remove heat, then remove screwdriver. Solder the other terminal normally. In the old Macintosh world we've been replacing the SM electrolytics with SM tantalums in hopes that they will last longer. Anyway, this may not be best practice, but it gets the job done for about $20 in equipment (two soldering pencils) and less than $10 in supplies (solder, flux, braid). Jeff Walther

14 years, 5 months

vintage components

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

This discussion about old LEDs makes me wonder...Is anyone aware of a mailing list for discussion of vintage electronic components? It's not terribly off-topic here of course, but many people here may not care. And on that note...does anyone know if any manufacturer made 74LS244 (actually any logic family, doesn't have to be LS) in a gold- capped ceramic through-hole DIP package? And if so, would anyone happen to have any? -Dave -- Dave McGuire Port Charlotte, FL

14 years, 5 months

Wanted - copy of HP E2450-17504 Symbol Utility (for HP 16500B)

by classiccmp＠philpem.me.uk

Hi, As some of you may be aware, I managed to hose the OS on my 16500B while trying to upgrade to the latest software. I've now got the analyser booting again, and it seems to be working more or less OK. Unfortunately (for me) it seems my backup (done with Filezilla, i.e. FTP) is totally duff -- apparently I had FZ set to "transfer files with no extension as ASCII", which has naturally hosed just about all the System, Driver and Extension files. Which means I've lost the E2450 Symbol Utility software. Bit of a pain when you want to use the analyser to debug microprocessor code. Seeing as there are a few folk here with 16500B analysers, I was wondering if I could ask a small favour... I need a copy of the Symbol Utility install floppy, HP part number E2450-17504, aka "Symbol Utility for HP16500B/C/CS". It should be either a normal 1.44MB DOS format floppy, or a HP LIF floppy (more likely DOS than LIF). If there's anyone on here with a copy of this disk (possibly stashed away in the manuals folder for their 16500B analyser), could I possibly ask for an image of it? Almost anything is fine; I'd prefer something reasonably standard though -- WinImage .IMA, ImageDisk, or even a raw "dd if=/dev/fd0 of=imagefile" (rawrite) dump. For what it's worth, I had V3.02 installed, but I suspect I might need something a little more recent now the analyser is running the V3.14 operating system. Thanks, -- Phil. classiccmp at philpem.me.uk http://www.philpem.me.uk/

14 years, 5 months

Wanted - copy of HP E2450-17504 Symbol Utility (for HP 16500B)

by philpem＠philpem.me.uk

Hi, As a few of you may be aware, I managed to hose the OS on my 16500B while trying to upgrade to the latest software. I've now got the analyser booting again, and it's picking up the I/O cards correctly. Unfortunately (for me) it seems my backup (done with Filezilla, i.e. FTP) is totally duff -- apparently I had FZ set to "transfer files with no extension as ASCII", which has hosed all the System, Driver and Extension files. Which means I've lost the E2450 Symbol Utility software. Seeing as there are a few folk here with 16500B analysers, I was wondering if I could ask a small favour... I need a copy of the Symbol Utility install floppy, HP part number E2450-17504, aka "Symbol Utility for HP16500B/C/CS". It should be either a normal 1.44MB DOS format floppy, or a HP LIF floppy (more likely DOS than LIF). If there's anyone on here with a copy of this disk (possibly stashed away in the manuals folder for their 16500B analyser), could I possibly ask for an image of it? Almost anything is fine; I'd prefer something reasonably standard though -- WinImage .IMA, ImageDisk, or even a raw "dd if=/dev/fd0 of=imagefile" (rawrite) dump. For what it's worth, I had V3.02 installed, but any version is fine by me. Thanks, -- Phil. philpem at philpem.me.uk http://www.philpem.me.uk/

14 years, 5 months

Wanted - HP16530A docs, HP-HIL keyboard/mouse/PS2 adapter

by classiccmp＠philpem.me.uk

Hi guys, I've just got my hands on a HP 16500B logic analyser mainframe, complete with a few acquisition cards (16530A 2-channel 400Msps oscilloscope and 16550A 100MHz State/500MHz Timing logic analyser). Now I'd rather like a keyboard and mouse for it... I'm aware that the HP-HIL keyboard and mouse used on the 16500B were HP-proprietary, and that they were also used on a couple of HP workstations. My question is, does anyone here have a HP-HIL keyboard, mouse, or (preferably) a mouse and keyboard pair for sale? (I'd also settle for a PS/2-to-HP-HIL adapter, if such a beast exists) I've had a quick look on Greed-bay, and it seems the only listings for HP-HIL kit are from test-and-measurement dealers whose prices are a bit... well... "out there". I could also do with the manuals for the 16530A oscilloscope card; at the least I need the Front Panel Operations Reference, but the Service Manual would be good too. I can't say I'm too fussed about the Programmer's Manual (it's on Agilent's website as a PDF), but it would be nice to have a complete set. I'll take PDF, (good quality) photocopy, or dead-tree, whatever's easiest. Thanks, -- Phil. classiccmp at philpem.me.uk http://www.philpem.me.uk/

14 years, 5 months

Computer auction in Vancouver BC

by ball.of.john＠gmail.com

If you live in Vancouver you MUST check this out: http://freegeekvancouver.org/en/computer_museum_auction Almost 120 machines are for sale, including: * Boxed IBM 5150 Personal Computer - The original PC from 1982, from which all modern PCs are still derived. Comes in box with accessories and manuals. * NeXT cube and NeXT Stations - The computers on which the World Wide Web was created. * Boxed Amiga 1000 - The first of a revolutionary line of computers. Comes in box with accessories and hardware upgrades. * Atari 1040STE - One of Atari's best and well know in the world of music. * Apple Macintosh 128k - The original Mac from 1984. * In addition to systems, there are other goodies like Model M keyboards for sale I have seen the stuff with my own eyes and this is not something to miss. There are some real gems going up for grabs. Sadly, no PDP stuff. :( John

14 years, 5 months

Computer auction in Vancouver BC

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

John wrote: > Sadly, no PDP stuff. :( The SERF sales at UBC were really a goldmine of good minicomputer stuff in my past. And they had a lot of lab equipment too. I'm 3000 miles away now, and see that SERF still exists, but their online presence shows none of their inventory :-(. Tim.

14 years, 5 months

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test-drb December 2009