test-drb May 2009

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

204 participants
322 discussions

Xerox 820 system disks in Teledisk format?

by dm561＠torfree.net

---------------Original Message: Date: Sun, 10 May 2009 12:18:22 -0400 From: Patrick Finnegan <pat at computer-refuge.org> Subject: Re: Xerox 820 system disks in Teledisk format? On Sunday 10 May 2009, js at cimmeri.com wrote: > Likewise, I'm starting to get tired of the sense of entitlement and > whining behaviors you've had on display lately over when people here > don't provide you with what you need, or fast enough. I'm not sure how you whine over an email, but I thought that the point of mailing lists was to talk to other people, and in part to get help on things that you don't understand or don't know. > If I posted a question here every time I hit the most minor of snags, > I would EXPECT some people to get annoyed with me. I'm pretty sure that not eveyone here has the same knowledge or skill set, so what's minor to you is probably not to other people that have no knowledge of it. In any case, I've learned that IT people can't communicate well, and can be a pain in the ass to deal with because we generally have bad interpersonal skills. You can do a lot of hard work and try to please people here, but you still get yelled at for doing a "disservice" or "not a good enough job". Even if you work out your differences, it wears down on you over time. It's dumb arguments like this one that drive people like me away from this community. Pat -- Purdue University Research Computing --- http://www.rcac.purdue.edu/ The Computer Refuge --- http://computer-refuge.org ************************ Reply: What dumb argument? Yes, one of the points of a list like this is to ask for and give help, but even in this day and age concepts like "please" and "thank you" and showing appreciation instead of complaining and taking others and their contributions for granted still have some value. The OP asked for information and help about 22disk and IMD and despite the denigrating tone of his questions the authors of both of these programs took the time to answer his questions at length and in detail, enabling him to resolve his issues, and apparently someone on this list also took the time to send him the TD disks that he asked for. What are his final words on the issue? Appreciation for those people and this list which gave him access to them? No, now that he got what he needed from the list he tells us, "I'm getting real, real tired of the tone on this list and will probably take a break from any posting here. Now I'm beginning to understand why folks like Sellam left." Not surprising; as I recall some people were also annoyed by Sellam's rude and insulting attitude and language and not entirely sorry to see *him* leave. If Chuck and Dave and the person who sent the disks had the same attitude and had left the list (and, considering the crap that Dave has had to put up with in the past I wouldn't blame him at all) then OP would still be staring at his 820 paperweight. When someone suggests to OP that his negative tone and attitude might annoy some people who might then be less eager to help him next time, then that might be seen as an opportunity to improve those "bad interpersonal skills" that you mention, instead of evoking a defensive response... m

15 years, 1 month

GSA: CM5 from NASA

by legalize＠xmission.com

It says "residual rack", not really sure what that means, but how often does anything Connection Machine come up? Lot 91QSCI09092716 <http://gsaauctions.gov> -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/download/index.html> Legalize Adulthood! <http://blogs.xmission.com/legalize/>

15 years, 1 month

list server

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

btw - just a few days ago I noticed there was a speed/duplex type mismatch on the classiccmp server. It had no transmit or receive errors, but was sporadically send/receiving very slow. That has been corrected and it flies now :) Jay

15 years, 1 month

SGI Iris Crimson "grey door panel" skins?

by derschjo＠mail.msu.edu

Anyone out there with spare Crimson skins? I have a Crimson in my office I'm bringing back to life and it's complete, but missing the grey door that covers the drive bays. Obviously not vital, but it'd be nice to have. Anyone have spares of these lying around? Thanks! Josh

15 years, 1 month

pdp 11/23 to PC conversion wanted, then hardware is available

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

Got the following email, if interested in the conversion work please contact me off-list. He who does the conversion can collect and do whatever they wish with the hardware: ------------------------------ Hi I have a working DEC 11/23. it is actually a Marquette 8000 Holter system http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=458 The monitor is fading and the computer is a relic and takes up a lot of space However, it s a very good Holter system since there are c programs on it that are very good for research. I would like to transfer the entire system to a PC. and would gladly give you guys the hardware, but I would need to first transfer the functionality to a new PC. I read in url above that the terminal may be special and there may be special board in the computer I am a developer but I am not a hardware tech. Any suggestions?

15 years, 1 month

8 bit SBC with floppy controller for disk archiving [was Xerox 820 system disks in Teledisk format]

by lynchaj＠yahoo.com

On 10 May 2009 at 23:21, Andrew Lynch wrote: > Hi! I sent this message earlier but it seems to have gotten drowned > in all the unpleasantness. Hopefully we can move on to something more > constructive. If anyone would like to discuss disk archiving legacy > formats with an existing low cost home brew Z80 CP/M SBC and Disk IO > board I think the N8VEM project would make a great starting point. > > It does everything described by Jules and is common enough now to have > a decent support base. There are at least one hundred N8VEM SBC > owners so that might be helpful in using it to archive disks. It uses > a standard Intel 8272/NEC 765A FDC with some extensions for use with > formats other than the usual 5.25"/3.5" DSDD/DSHD. Especially when > paired with an IDE CF adapter I think it would be a very useful tool. By "extensions" what do you mean, Andrew? Will it archive Victor 9000 diskettes? --Chuck -----REPLY----- Hi Chuck! Thanks! By extensions, I mean the Disk IO has a regular Shugart mini-disk interface with all the usual signals and options. It also has the "feature" interface which imports/exports the rest of the NEC765/i8272 signals necessary for 8" and other drive support. An 8" drive cable with what signals are needed for that drive could be fabricated using the Shugart mini-disk interface plus whatever signals/options are needed from the feature connector. The 8" drive cable would be custom to Disk IO and that drive but there are multiple 8" drive interfaces so that seemed to me to be the most flexible way to provide support in a limited PCB space format. Please check out the Disk IO schematic on the N8VEM wiki for illustration of what I mean. http://n8vem-sbc.pbworks.com/browse/#view=ViewFolder&param=Disk%2520IO The Disk IO also brings to the feature connector intermediate signals for external processing like RAWREAD, /INDEX, the decoded FM/MFM stream from the FDC9229, etc. It also has VCC and GND for easy extension into "smart cables" to allow external processing of the intermediate signals. A uC or PC interface could tap off the RAWREAD and /INDEX signals and decode the disk directly or use the FDC9229 data separator to decode FM/MFM data. I think hard sector disks could be supported using this technique and even more exotic formats such as M2FM, etc. I don't know if the N8VEM SBC + Disk IO board could decode a Victor 9000 disk as I don't know anything about the format. However, with the Shugart mini-disk interface and the feature connector by themselves it may be possible. It's very likely (IMO) by using the intermediate signals fed to an external uC or PC for high speed sampling/decoding using the Z80/i8272 as a mode controller. I am not suggesting the plain 4MHz or 8MHz Z80 has enough bandwidth to decode raw read disk flux transitions like a Catweasel does. What I am suggesting is if someone were interested in pursuing such a serial port based floppy disk archiving project is to use the N8VEM SBC and Disk IO as a starting point since much of the work has already been done. Starting over from scratch would add a lot of unnecessary work and probably some marginal benefit when done, if it lasts that long. Using the N8VEM SBC and Disk IO board the project could launch in days or weeks rather than months with a "clean sheet" design. If the really exotic stuff were desired which required a uC or PC interface that could still leverage the existing N8VEM design as infrastructure and focus on just the disk sampler/decoder using signals and power supplied from the Disk IO board. I hope this helps! Thanks and have a nice day! Andrew Lynch

15 years, 1 month

FREE: original IBM 5151 monochrome monitor (works)

by tosteve＠yahoo.com

Pick-up or pay shipping. Aliso Viejo, CA 92656

15 years, 1 month

govliq: Gould Concept/32 model 32/67 & Kennedy 9-track tape (Jacksonville, FL)

by legalize＠xmission.com

<http://www.govliquidation.com/auction/view?id=2332173&convertTo=USD> GOULD CHASSIS CONCEPT/ 32 SERIAL #285015, . MUTILATION NOT REQUIRED. <http://www.govliquidation.com/auction/view?id=2332177&convertTo=USD> GOULD KENNEDY TAPE DRIVE MODEL #9220, SERIAL #VGM-02039, . MUTILATION NOT REQUIRED. Looks fairly intact from the pictures. Auction ends 5/11, tommorrow. -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/download/index.html> Legalize Adulthood! <http://blogs.xmission.com/legalize/>

15 years, 1 month

Scored an SGI 4D/480 VGX

by legalize＠xmission.com

<http://www.govliquidation.com/auction/view?id=2332176> I was surprised noone else bid on it. The skins look in good condition. This is the biggest model of the 4D series ever made. Yummy :-) -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/download/index.html> Legalize Adulthood! <http://blogs.xmission.com/legalize/>

15 years, 1 month

Update of Apollo Computer Wikipedia page

by aek＠bitsavers.org

I added a model and system software release table to the page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Computer If someone happens to have the release dates of the computers, that would make a nice addition. Also, there are still some software releases that I haven't found dates for.

15 years, 1 month

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test-drb May 2009