test-drb October 2011

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

199 participants
234 discussions

Has anyone ever heard of theProtec Microsystems PRO-83?

by rdcoll＠hotmail.com

Hello everyone, I just joined this mailing list today on the advice of more than one vintage computing contact. I was wondering if anyone could tell me anything about the Protec Microsystems PRO-83 Z80 Single-Board Computer. I have conducted an exhaustive search of the Internet and found only two sites (one from a surplus store and a picture of it from a museum). I would appreciate any information available, especially information regarding the power supply and peripheral devices. Thank you very much. Rob _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx

12 years, 6 months

HP 3000 micro gx booting MPE/V, Help >>>>

by g-wright＠att.net

Any Hp Mpe folks left out there I have non working 3000/37s with possibly good drives and a 3000 micro GX that works but has a bad drive. I have tried to boot the micro GX from the 3000-37 drives and get this far. ---------------------------------------- Cold Boot > HP 32033G.B2.02 Performing a Coldstart Following Volumes not found MH7957U1 List Volume tables ? ---------------------------- Seems to freeze after that. It does this on 2 different drives. Is this even possible to do ??? Does anyone have a OS tape for one of these ??? and which manuals cover the boot menu and/or startup. I would like to get both going but the 3000-37's have dead mother boards. Stan Sieler, are you still around. Seems like every search I do comes up with your name and advice. Thanks, Jerry Jerry Wright g-wright at att.net

12 years, 7 months

HPIB cables

by donm＠cts.com

I have a couple of HPIB cables available at $15 the pair, shipped. They are: 1 HP10833A ~42" 1 HP92220R ~12" The 92220R has a right-angle connector at one end and the usual straight connector at the other. (I wonder if the 'R' indicates a right hand connector?) First come, first served. - don

12 years, 7 months

Century Data T2000 exerciser

by nasim786＠earthlink.net

Hi, This is a belated response to a post you made here: http://www.classiccmp.org/pipermail/cctech/2003-February/010641.html I happened upon it while doing a 'for fun' search on the net for anything doing with good ol' Century Data, my employer when I was young. Couldn't resist responding to the post, even if it was half a year late! The exerciser that you have is/was for the Trident series of hard disk drives (predecessor to the Marksman). I was the main (in fact, pretty much the ONLY) technician at Century Data/Calcomp, for these exercisers back from the late 1970's to the mid 1980's, when they were phased out. I retired in 1985. Have fun! (BTW, where'd you find one of these dinosaurs??) Take care, Nasim

12 years, 7 months

Tiny BASIC Extended available

by eds_2＠yahoo.com

Every so often, a discussion of Tiny BASIC appears around here. I was curious about one of the very first versions of Tiny BASIC, the 8080 implementation done by Whipple and Arnold, as documented in the Vol. 1 No. 1 (Jan 1976) issue of Dr. Dobb's Journal (of Tiny BASIC Calisthenics and Orthodontia) This issue contains an octal listing of a Tiny BASIC interpreter for the 8080, and I couldn't find this version available for download anywhere. So... I typed it in, and it works! I documented my work, which is available at http://oss.readytalk.com/tb/tinybasic.tar.gz (Note - this location is temporary - I need a home for this if anyone is interested) Included are the text file for the octal listing, a binary which can be loaded into memory, an attempt to extract the IL from the binary, and some instructions on bringing up Tiny BASIC. I was able to run some simple programs with a Z80 simulator that I've been running, and it appears to work correctly. I found the PDF of the listing in the ACM digital library: http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/987491.987494 Typing in octal listings is error-prone enough, and typing them in from bad PDF scans of bad photocopies is even trickier. I have corrected many errors, but I'm sure there are more. If any kind soul would be willing to proofread / correct the listing, it would be **GREATLY** appreciated. I hope this is of interest to people. I'm very interested in other versions of Tiny BASIC out there, if someone has ever typed this listing before, etc. I'm familiar with Tom Pittman's work, but other resources would be greatly appreciated. -Eric ____________________________________________________________________________________ Don't pick lemons. See all the new 2007 cars at Yahoo! Autos. http://autos.yahoo.com/new_cars.html

12 years, 7 months

Chips that changed the world

by rcini＠optonline.net

All: For those interested, IEEE has an article about the 25 chips that changed the world. The NE555 is #1 and the 6502 is #2. http://spectrum.ieee.org/may09/8747 Rich -- Rich Cini Collector of Classic Computers Build Master and lead engineer, Altair32 Emulator http://www.altair32.com http://www.classiccmp.org/cini

12 years, 9 months

Want a 9-track repair business?

by jfoust＠threedee.com

I had three 9-tracks I'd picked up a few years ago. None worked out of the box; they collected dust. Last weekend I knew I'd pass by http://www.comco-inc.com/ in Bettendorf, Iowa, one of the few 9-track sales and service places I'd found. I didn't have much advance warning, so I just brought the drives with me and left them at his door step because the shop was closed. I left an M4 9914, an Overland Data 5622, and an HP 88780. Diagnosis is $495, deductable from repairs if I proceed. Ouch! He says he still sells "a few" 9-tracks a year. His offer to me was a reconditioned HP 88780 for $1795 including manual, cleaning pads and a scratch tape. He said "BIG IDEA... Here's a wonderful chance to corner the 9-track business: I'll sell you 1000 lbs of parts for $1,000 (FOB Bettendorf). I'll even throw in graphics, manuals, etc. At the very least, you will be able to build several drives. I am not kidding." The building he's in has a commercial real-estate "for sale" sign out front. Maybe he was a renter and he needs to move. - John

12 years, 11 months

Stuff for sale/free (Seattle area)

by derschjo＠mail.msu.edu

I'm in the process of moving a bunch of my computer collection into storage as part of an effort to de-clutter my far-too-cluttered house. In so doing I've decided to thin the collection a bit. This stuff is in the Seattle area, and I really really really prefer local pickup, especially for the heavy items. Items are free unless otherwise noted. More details available upon request. Thanks! Josh Computers: SGI Indy R5000 - $20 - No hard drive or RAM, but was working the last time I powered it up (which was several years ago.) I can probably scrounge up some 72-pin SIMMs for it if needed. SGI Indigo2 - $100 - R10K, Max Impact with 4MB TRAMs, 4gb drive and (iirc) 768MB RAM. Very nice system but I don't use it much anymore (and I have a better equipped Octane for those days I do want to play with a nice SGI :)). Sun Ultra 10 - $20 - 512MB RAM, 60GB drive, "Penguin" PC coprocessor. Acorn A5000 - Complete, but faceplate got damaged in shipping so it's kind of ugly. Has 240V power supply, I had tested this at one point with a 120V supply and it seemed to be working. NVRAM battery has been removed (after causing mild corrosion on the PCB, but nothing irreversable). No keyboard/mouse. 2x IBM PC Convertibles - Complete, working. Printer & RS232 expansion modules, and a pair of carrying cases. Now you can outclass those Macbook-using snobs at Starbucks. (Or perhaps not.) 3x Macintosh Portables. $30 for the lot. None in working condition, none with hard drives. Other than that, they're complete. Impress your friends with a laptop that weighs more than a small car. IBM RS/6000 (Type 7043-140) - 233Mhz 604e, unknown amount of RAM (I can power it up and find out if you're interested.) Includes gigantic POWER GXT800P video card. Was working last time I powered it up. 2x "ePod" tablet computers (w/box) - (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EPod) Windows CE 3.0-based tablet device, color 640x480 screen, PCMCIA. A tablet years ahead of its time, or a useless doorstop? You be the judge. Non-Computers: Shibaden FP-107-1B TV Camera - The Seattle Science Center was tossing this out a few years back, and I couldn't let it get scrapped. It's a heavy old video camera from the late 60s. Complete with lenses but I've nothing to hook it up to so who knows if it works. Has some nifty tubes in it, though!

12 years, 11 months

"first" computer on the internet

by dgahling＠hotmail.com

I thought I had posted this, perhaps not. Anyhow, I have what's purported to be the "First" computer on the internet, the one that joined the pieces together and I guess you could say "made" the internet, or conversely, the "last" node, as it were (depending how you count). It's also the system where E-Mail was first created. It's a Sun SLC workstation, owned by Einar Steffard. I have the original box (very slightly torn), and the workstation itself is in very good shape except one cosmetic crack, which I believe can be fixed very easily. I tried the smithsonian, and other computer museums, but basically was told they already had too many of this model, never mind the significance of this particular unit. it still runs, last I checked, and has all the original data still intact on it, such as it is. now, I find myself with a severe lack of space, and need to part with it. I would like a little bit of money for it, it wasn't a donation to me, and shipping maybe expensive. or I would be willing to trade it for a vaxstation 4000, or perhaps a 3100 or two. (I have a need for 2 working vaxen you see) so anyhow, that's how it is, this piece of history sitting in the corner of my office, collecting dust, and not doing much else. I'd like to see it get to a good home, and never scrapped, I think it's too important for that. so anyhow, anyone who wants this piece of history, drop me a note. and yes, I have pics (including the shipping labels from Einar to me) for what it's worth... Dan. _________________________________________________________________ If you like crossword puzzles, then you'll love Flexicon, a game which combines four overlapping crossword puzzles into one! http://g.msn.ca/ca55/208

13 years

SCSI hard drives of large form factors

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

>Here's something I was thinking about the other day. I *know* for a fact that SCSI interface hard drives existed with 8" platters. I've never seen one, however. Does anyone know of any specific model numbers, or have any product information or pictures of such devices? I just looked in my collection of 8" drives. I have two 8" Imprimis/CDC 97201-12G PA8P1A ST81236N Sabre drives with the original style SCSI connectors on the back. There are manuals for the drive on Bitsavers at: http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/cdc/discs/sabre/83325700N_PA8xx_736-1230mb_Par…, and http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/cdc/discs/sabre/83325720F_PA8xx_736-1230mb_Mai…. The manuals say that the drives are 1.2G, 512 byte/sector drives with an HP SCSI differential interface. I can post pictures if you are interested. -- Michael Thompson

13 years

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test-drb October 2011