test-drb August 2010

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

161 participants
220 discussions

by thomas.gardner＠sbcglobal.net

The earliest use of the term "minicomputer" is about 1968 (Google news, other sources). FWIW, I also think relatively small physical size was a necessary condition for a computer to be characterized as a minicomputer at least thru the mid 70s. IMHO the IBM 1130 introduced in 1965 is an early if not the first minicomputer. To quote the 1965 IBM announcement: "The desk-sized 1130 is designed for individual use by engineers, scientists and mathematicians. But with its range of peripheral units, the 1130 also will be used in such fields as publishing, construction, finance, manufacturing and distribution." Tom > Message: 3 > Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 11:24:50 -0700 > From: Rich Alderson <RichA at vulcan.com> > Subject: PDP-1 as minicomputer [was RE: OT - sort of] > To: "'General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts'" > <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > Message-ID: > <CC28F43ED4708D489ABCF68D06D7F556040A5CC9EA at 505DENALI.corp.vnw.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > From: Tony Duell > Sent: Friday, August 13, 2010 11:19 AM > > >> Yep, that makes a lot more sense. In 1960 I suppose about the only > >> thing to play a computer game on would have been either a mini or a > >> mainframe - actually I think it would have had to be a mainframe. <snip> > Arguing that anything before the PDP-8 was a "minicomputer" is > revisionism. > IMAO. > > > Rich Alderson <snip>

13 years, 10 months

KA640 + mem available

by quapla＠xs4all.nl

For the cost of postage, a KA640-CL 'Mayfair II' processor board (M7624) & 2 M7609 memoryboards. It's a pull from a working machine. Items are in The Netherlands. Contact me off list if interested. -- Dit is een HTML vrije email / This is an HTML free email.

13 years, 10 months

EPROM programming (27c160's)

by mtapley＠swri.edu

Tony, At 19:37 -0500 8/13/10, Alexandre wrote: > I think I still have an image of the old site on my desktop, mail me if >you want that Alexandre's link, http://web.archive.org/web/20080621113020/http://www.willem.org/ points to a page which my machine loads only glacially, apparently because the server isn't responding fast. Meantime, my Googling for "willem programmer" produced this page: http://www.sivava.com/ which describes a commercially available EPROM programmer. Packages start at US$39. Many adaptors are available, prices $3 - $70. Driver software appears to be Windows only (9x - XP). The programmer looks like a single free-standing circuit board, ~9 IC's plus a lot of sockets including a DIP ZIF socket. USB power, "DB25" data cable (!). Ah, reading further, there's an AC/DC power adaptor as well, so I guess you don't need a PC with both USB and Serial. I think the two pages are talking about the same thing, or at least different versions of the same thing. I'm not sure about that. Hope this helps! -- - 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.

13 years, 10 months

Onyx2 cube

by dm561＠torfree.net

Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 11:52:47 -0600 From: Richard <legalize at xmission.com> Subject: Re: Onyx2 cube In article <BLU139-W25029DA6E84E88C266FB0AC99C0 at phx.gbl>, Dan Gahlinger <dgahling at hotmail.com> writes: > I have one sitting here for $75 plus shipping if anyone wants it. > or pickup if you liike > > in toronto Yeah. Shipping from Toronto is a lot more expensive than driving up to the University and loading it in the back of my car :-). ---------------- Well, for you maybe; unfortunately I'm not interested ;-) mike (in Toronto)

13 years, 10 months

Some DG 1200 progress

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

I found some appropriate C&K switches (7101 and 7205) in a bin at the local surplus electronics scrap place, $1 each - so I have a usable front panel. This is good because I really didn't want to cannibalize another perfectly good front panel. I also got a jarring reminder when installing them that my soldering skills have degraded over time. Thank god for solder-wyck :) I cleaned up the backplane and all edge connectors with progold, tested out the power supplies, and the machine sprang to life. It would appear that all the bulbs except the LSbit in the address row work, which is good as the bulbs seem pretty unobtanium. I'll keep digging to find a source of spares for the 2176D. The bulbs have no markings on them, but they are fed via an 11v supply. It looks like they are tied to ground via a 1K resistor which I'm guessing is a warming circuit. I do find it rather odd that they are soldered in place instead of socketed, and since the bulbs have no metal at all - just two very thin leads coming right out of the glass - they seem pretty fragile. I can deposit and examine correctly to all 4 cpu registers, but memory is a different story. There are a few spots in memory that I tested (at 100o for the one 8K stack and at 20000o for the other 8K stack) where I can deposit and read back as expected. However, there are a fair number of spots where if I deposit a value, the machine goes into run mode when I hit the deposit switch. Doesn't that sound more like a cpu card issue than memory or front panel? Next task is to try and decipher the documentation for the backplane and the J & P connectors, so I can tell from the schematics where things are supposed to be and where they go. The fun begins! Best, J

13 years, 10 months

Biomation K100D Logic Analyzers (Was: Logic analyzer pods)

by technobug＠comcast.net

I have a Biomation K100D along with its parts buddy available for pickup at 85704 (or 85003 in the near future). The unit worked the last time I used it and has a TTL probe set (K100/32). The parts buddy has a sick power supply. Shipping is sort of out of the question... On ASun, 15 Aug 2010 02:08:47 -0700, jim s <jws at jwsss.com> wrote: > I know this may be a long stretch, but one almost never sees logic > analyzer pods on ebay, usually someone with the box who is way too proud > of it. > > Here is an auction for some K100D pods, and if you look at the other > auctions there are others, I think. > > Thought I'd pass it along for those interested, since older logic > analyzers are pretty useful for the people on the list. [...] The probe sets for this model are easy to build. I put together a set when I picked up my first box and used it with PICK micros when I was inflicted with that madness. Subsequently I was given the set that accompanies the above unit(s). CRC

13 years, 10 months

Datex floppy drive emulator - flash based replacement for magnetic

by bienvenue＠datex.fr

Dear Marcus, You talk about our product ..thank you ! But it will be better to contact us , and i can explain to you why our products are expensives .. Do you know really the price ? Do you remember also what was the price of the product we are replacing when they had been sold ? As examples :(and i can give to you a lot..) -The RD54 from DEC was a Maxtor XT2190 with DEC format. DEC price list , as formatted unit , was 9200 USD , 20 years ago !!! -The Shugart SA850 , 8 inches floppy drive ,price list through their resellers..2800 USD...30 years ago !! A lot of industries and "others" are still using them for differents reasons and they need to be replace as simple they want without changing any software , nothing !! just to unplug the drive ..and plug emulator , and then start again !!.. We also offer to copy "bit per bit" their data and format , because often they are no more able to do the format.. You can conatct me at glb at datex.fr Best regards. Guy LE BOUGEANT. President.

13 years, 10 months

Defcon 18

by ggs＠shiresoft.com

While not normally of interest, I wanted to let folks know that a friend of mine (and fellow classiccmp'er) was at DefCon again this year. He's been going and taking various classic computers to show off (and get hacked). I received a call from him a week or so before DefCon asking if there was something "interesting" he could take as he didn't want to take the same stuff as last year. I offered up my large PDP-11/40 (3 racks worth...he added a tape drive). It was a hit. He had booted BSD 2.9 and gave out a guest password. He parted with "If you want 'root' you'll have to do that yourself". It was after all a hackers convention. 5 minutes later someone came up with a note with the password on it (they used his ancient Sparc to do a dictionary attack). Pictures of the machines are on Wired site here: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/08/gallery-defcon-18/13/ DefCon's gallery is here: https://pics.defcon.org//showphoto.php?photo=743&title=retro-computing-1&ca… TTFN - Guy

13 years, 10 months

Tons of tapes and diskpacks for TI-990 computer

by tosteve＠yahoo.com

Allan Frogger in Central California writes: "" I have DS5 diskpacks (5 MB) and DS80 diskpacks (80MB) (heavy copper, 12"? platters, in polycarbonate shells) for a TI 990 computer, as well as extra terminals with screen and keyboards. I also have reel tapes for TI and many 8" floppies, many in original boxes - they are all functional as I used them on my TI990 system before I moved. "" See pictures here: http://popbottlecaps.com/temp/ti-990.html Contact Allen at <allanfrogger at yahoo.com> if interested

13 years, 10 months

NOS 33 ASR on eBay goes for $2358

by jfoust＠threedee.com

Forwarded from the Greenkeys list: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190427439755 - John

13 years, 10 months

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test-drb August 2010