test-drb September 2009

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

163 participants
196 discussions

by roger.holmes＠microspot.co.uk

My ICT 1301 (built 1962) has a sort of sand finish, a bit like very fine wood chip wallpaper. On the underside of one of the top covers they missed some of the top coat and I can see the texture was in a primer, which barely covers the metal. In the next couple of years I am going to have to respray some areas where the covers have been scratched, another where I've spot welded some changes and one where the roof leaked and the covers have rusted through. Good job I'm also a classic car restorer, but I've never come across sand texture paint on a car, not even on my Land Rover recovery truck. If anyone happens to know anything about sand finish, I'd love to know.

15 years, 1 month

What a way to go...

by tpeters＠mixcom.com

See http://news.slashdot.org/story/09/09/29/193234/A-Geek-Funeral for links to some nice pictures. Slashdot sez: "We've recently talked about a geek wedding, and now reader Sam_In_The_Hills writes in with news of his brother's geek funeral. " "I've not seen this topic covered here before even though it's one that will concern us all at some time: what to do with our corporeal remains after we've left for that great data bank in the sky. For my recently departed brother (long illness, don't smoke!), I thought this nice SPARCstation would be a cool place to spend eternity. Yes, he's really in there (after cremation). I kept the floppy drive cover but for space reasons removed the floppy drive, hard drive, and most of the power supply. I left behind the motherboard and power switch and plugs to keep all openings covered. The case worked quite well at his memorial party. His friends and family were able to leave their final good-byes on post-notes. Anyone who wanted to keep their words private could just slip their note into the case through the floppy slot. All notes will be sealed in plastic and placed within the case. There has been one complication. His daughters like the look of it so much they aren't now sure if they want to bury him. One more thing: the words on the plaque really do capture one of the last things he ever said. Of course as kids we watched the show in its first run." ----- 350. [Computing] "Formal specifications yield correct programs." No. Formal specifications yield PhD theses. They may also occasionally yield programs as by-products, but no useful ones. --Ronald F. Guilmette --... ...-- -.. . -. ----. --.- --.- -... tpeters at nospam.mixcom.com (remove "nospam") N9QQB (amateur radio) "HEY YOU" (loud shouting) WEB: http://www.mixweb.com/tpeters 43? 7' 17.2" N by 88? 6' 28.9" W, Elevation 815', Grid Square EN53wc WAN/LAN/Telcom Analyst, Tech Writer, MCP, CCNA, Registered Linux User 385531

15 years, 1 month

Manx is dead?

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

JBG writes: > [OCR'ing and indexing] > Indexing the bitsavers.org material would be a nice first step. Kinda magically, bitsavers documents are turning up in Google searches Quite regularly. I know, it's not really magic, what Google is doing Is OCR'ing (where not already done, I think that at least some of the Bitsavers PDF's already are OCR'ed by Al or others) and putting it in their gigantic Index. But the end result is magic. Google is astonishing. I've had files that I thought I lost years ago, But I start typing some search terms into Google and Shazam!, there's That document I wrote back in 1992 but haven't seen since, living on Somebody's mirror of my website from before I deleted it. That's astonishing. I'm not saying we should count on Google to do all our work, but wow. Tim.

15 years, 1 month

Drivers for SparcStation SS240 (Voyager)?

by IanK＠vulcan.com

As part of my personal collection, I've recently brought a SparcStation Voyager back from the dead (wellllll, it was coughin' up blood last night....). After replacing the display (bad backlight) and the NVRAM (bad battery), I learned the machine bore Debian Linux (and I didn't have the passwords). I dug out a Solaris 2.6 CD and ran the automated install, and everything works! - except that it won't run the windowing system. Early in the boot process it complains about not finding the driver for the framebuffer. I verified that the framebuffer is seen on the Sbus (as a bwthree); that devalias showed a device called 'screen' looking to that framebuffer in the right place; that the framebuffer's slot was early in the Sbus probe; and since there wasn't a driver in /devices for bwthree, just on a chance I copied bwtwo to a file called bwthree. I am coming to the conclusion I have one of two problems: either I really need a particular driver for this framebuffer, or there's something I'm seriously misunderstanding in the process. In the former case, I hope there is someone out there who could share a file; in the latter, I hope he/she will share enlightenment. :-) Thanks -- Ian

15 years, 1 month

Disc drives and datasheets wanted (Sony MPF520 series, Teac, etc)

by classiccmp＠philpem.me.uk

Hi guys, As I said earlier in the week, the disc analyser hardware is now working "mostly" -- as in, it'll talk to the PC, select a drive, spin the motor and display a ton of nifty blinking lights as the disc rotates (track0, write protect, index pulse, etc). I've been using a Sony MPF520 drive for testing -- basically your standard 3.5" half-height drive, jumperable for DS0 or DS1 and some form of override for the automatic density selection. I know where the DS0 jumper is, and I've got a rough idea what the different density-select options do. What I'd like is an OEM manual or datasheet for it -- hopefully including specs for the I/O drive capabilities, termination requirements and so on. Does anyone have one kicking around (or even better, a scanned copy)? Lastly, I've managed to track down a fair selection of 3.5" drives (I've got the MPF520, an MPF920 or two, and a few Samsung SFD321 series drives), but a Teac FD-235 series drive would be nice to play with. Alas, I haven't been able to find a source for these -- does anyone have a working spare surplus-to-requirements? I'd prefer one of the earlier versions with the massive jumper block; IIRC the newer ones have been declawed somewhat. I'm also after: * Some form of 8-inch drive and a couple of discs. Possibly Shugart SA400 or SA800 series or something similar? It doesn't have to look pretty, it just has to work. Matching cabling would be nice too (whatever-the-drive-has to Shugart-style 34-pin 0.1" IDC header ideally) * a 40-track 5.25" drive. Single or double sided is fine, something like the 40-track drives that were commonly used on BBC Micros. I seem to recall the Cumana drives being pretty popular. Not as fussed about this as I am the 8-inch drive (I can read 40tk discs with the 80tk drive I have already, just that if I write any 40tk images, they're not going to be readable on a 40tk drive). I've had a quick look on "that auction site", but it seems at least some of the sellers are on some form of illegal substance -- the prices are nuts. ?150 for a bog-standard 80-track 1.2MB 5.25" PC drive (i.e. exactly like the YE-Data drive I already have). Or ?59 for an MPF520 3.5" 80tk DSHD exactly like the one that's currently sitting on my desk. "Used and refurbished" even (but still the yellow front suggests it's probably not in great condition)... Thanks, -- Phil. classiccmp at philpem.me.uk http://www.philpem.me.uk/

15 years, 1 month

IBM System/3 available in EU.

by h.j.stegeman＠hccnet.nl

Hi, An IBM System/3 model 15B with 3340 diskdrive and 5203 printer is available in the Netherlands. The system is 220/380V & 50Hz and complete with technical manuals. Anyone who is seriously interested in this system please contact me offline (asap). ibmsystem3_at_hccnet_dot_nl Regards Henk.

15 years, 1 month

Tektronix X term xp400 series, any interest, Free + shipping

by g-wright＠att.net

model is xp 421 ch Has memory install. Small pizza box size (14"x14") not very heavy Uses PS2 keyboard and mouse (not included) Has15 pin VGA connector not sure if its standard pins outs location Kent Wa. USA - Jerry Jerry Wright g-wright at att.net

15 years, 1 month

Robert C. Peckham Inventory List...

by lbickley＠bickleywest.com

As was previously reported long-time RT-11 and PDP-11 fan, Robert C. Peckham passed away recently. He left a significant inventory of PDP-11 and related stuff in Glendale, California. I just got off the phone with Alan Frisbie, who is helping the widow sort out Robert's collection. Alan contacted a number of folks regarding the collection, but so far no one has responded to the need to purchase and/or pick up this stuff. Everything has to be moved out of Robert's office by Thursday, October 1. Alan said that he will be renting a storage unit temporarily in an attempt to save the historically valuable items - unless someone picks it up before then. It appears that much will be going into the dumpster. Please contact Alan ASAP if you are available to help. His address and phone numbers follow the inventory "The family is left with a mountain of medical and other bills, they would appreciate reasonable offers for this equipment. They would like to have everything go to good homes, where it will be used and appreciated, rather than to a dealer who will break it up and sell it." Regards, Lyle ---------- Inventory as of 27-Sep-2009 ---------- Two complete Q-Bus PDP-11 systems belonging to the late Bob Peckham, plus lots of miscellaneous PDP-11 related parts and supplies. Note: The system disks were removed and destroyed by order of his family and attorney to protect confidential client data. System #1 Rack 1 DEC H967 (42" high) rack with H874-A power controller Empty generic 5-1/4" Chassis DEC 11/23-BC (BA11-S) Chassis containing: M8192-YB PDP-11/73 CPU M7551-AB MSV11 1MB memory M8043 DMV11 DDCMP (DECnet) communications card M8047 MXV11 multi-function card M7516-YM DELQA Ethernet card M9047 Dual-height bus grant card M8029 RXV21 controller for RX02 floppy disks Quad-height bus grant card M9404-YA Q-Bus expansion card DEC 11/23 (BA11-S) Expansion Chassis containing: M9405-YA Q-Bus expansion card M3104 DHV11 4-line serial multiplexer Dual-height bus grant card Dilog (model?) tape drive controller (for below drive) Quad-height bus grant card Andromeda ESDC disk controller for ESDI & floppy drives Andromeda SCDC disk controller for SCSI & floppy drives Quad-height bus grant card Codar Technology model 102 Q-Timer & boot card DEC 11/23-BC (BA11-S) Expansion Chassis containing: Load Board (power resistors) M3104 DHV11 4-line serial multiplexer Fujitsu Power supply (not hooked up) +5 @ 11A +24 @ 5A -12 @ 5A 5-1/4" generic chassis containing: 5-1/4" floppy disk drive (not hooked up) Rack 2 DEC H967 (42" high) rack with Pulizzi power controller RX02 dual 8" floppy disk subsystem Cipher M891340-96-1050U 1600/3200 bpi tape drive System #2 DEC "11V23" rack (31" high) w/power controller containing: DEC "DPM23 (BA11-SA) Chassis containing: M8637-EF 2MB memory M8190-AE PDP-11/83 CPU board M9047 Dual-width grant card M8043 DLV11-J 4-port serial card M9047 Dual-width grant card M7516-YM DELQA Ethernet card M9047 Dual-width grant card Andromeda SCDC disk controller for SCSI & floppy drives DEC BA11-N Chassis containing: M8192 PDP-11/73 CPU M7551-AC MSV11-QA memory (three blank slots) Andromeda ESDC disk controller for ESDI & floppy drives (three blank slots) Additional PDP-11 related equipment, documentation, and supplies: Many DEC rack filler panels, both BA11-S style (metal w/rounded top & bottom) and 10" black plastic DEC BA42A SZ12X-MA SCSI/floppy expansion box VT320 w/LK207-EE with KED/EDT keycaps VT320 w/LK201 with KED/EDT keycaps Two DEC LA120 DECwriter-III printing terminals Three Diablo 630 Daisywheel printers (one New-In-Box) Two Clary DT1500 Uninterruptable power systems (UPS) Topaz Line-2 power conditioner Two MultiTech Multi-modem MT1432-BA (300 - 14,400 bps) MultiTech Multi-modem MT2834-BA RT-11 v5.2/5.4 documentation set RT-11 v5.6 documentation set DEC M8029 RXV21 controller for RX02 floppy disks Andromeda ESDC disk controller for ESDI & floppy drives Two DEC M8637-E 2MB memory boards Two DEC H9270 Backplanes Dual RX02 drives in chassis (NIB -- New In Box!) Three spare RX02 drives (in original boxes) Two VT1XX-CE DECword conversion kits for VT100 Three VT1XX-FB Anti-Glare kits for VT100 Fujitsu M2263E full-height 5-1/4" hard disk drive DEC RT-11 Distribution kits (v4.0 - v5.6) DECUS RT-11 SIG tapes (9-track) Many boxes of DEC-related hardware and supplies: "Floppy media -- RX02, RX33, RX50" "DEC Special parts & cables" "DEC Flat cables" "XXDP Listings from fiche" "DEC Cables & cords" "DEC MMJ Cables & fittings" much more, too much to list DEC Option Module list in 3" binder Three 6' Wright Line cabinets with roll-up doors: #1 Three tape hangers, two fixed shelves #2 4 fixed shelves, 1 roll-out shelf, 1 drawer #3 6 fixed shelves, 1 roll-out shelf Three New-In-Box (on pallets) Stantron 19" racks, on wheels. 21" panel height, 32" overall height, dark wood-grain laminate tops. Many 19" rack panels (plain & ventilated), shelves, rack slides, etc. Most brand new. Plus lots more PDP-11 Q-Bus chassis, backplanes, power supplies, and miscellaneous stuff in a large room we have not yet explored. There are more boxes and two more Wright Line cabinets filled with DEC stuff at Bob's house which we have not yet explored. We also expect to find more disk drives and ???? when we open his storage unit. Feel free to contact me by e-mail, or telephone me at the below numbers. Sincerely, Alan E. Frisbie -- Flying Disk Systems, Inc. 323-256-2575 (office) -- 4759 Round Top Drive 213-718-1635 (cellular) -- Los Angeles, CA 90065 -- Lyle Bickley Bickley Consulting West Inc. http://bickleywest.com "Black holes are where God is dividing by zero"

15 years, 1 month

free for the cost of shipping, from Austin, Texas

by amercade＠nexe.com

Hi Jim, I suppose 2 years are a lot of time :-) but I've bought a TRS-80 Model IV and it arrived to Spain with the CRT broken. I'm googling for some information about to buy a replacement one and I found your message: Item #1 ------------ For the past eight years I've been keeping a box that supposedly has a B&W CRT in it; it was given to me by a retiring engineer and TRS-80 enthusiast. I finally opened the box and confirmed there is a CRT of some kind it it, although whether or not it is for a trs-80 I haven't checked. I have no need for it; anybody willing to pay shipping on it can have it. It is in great shape and in fact, might be unused. It looks to be about 12" diagonal. There are a lot of different markings on the tube, and I'm not sure which is the most important; in fact, the layout of the markings is such that I can't always tell what goes with what, but I'll try my best: RCA Electron Tube 12VCLP4 Model No. 6 EIA 274 KTR131B Elsewhere it says EIA 1240. That's my CRT!!!! You don't already have it, have you? Do you know where to get a (cheap) one? Thank you very much,,,, Albert.

15 years, 1 month

Fairlight CMI

by silvercreekvalley＠yahoo.com

I saw a few systems on ebay. A common issue seems to be bubbling in the monitor and faulty light pens/CPU cards. Also 'several thousand dollars' does seem a bit on the high side for a basic 8 bit rack in questionable state, although the keyboards are nice :) There are also the Fairlight QDC or MXP racks, which seem a later system (some kind of digital recording/ mixing desk). Those are not too interesting to me, 8 bit digital playback is so much more fun. Ian.

15 years, 1 month

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test-drb September 2009