test-drb October 2012

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

196 participants
268 discussions

PERQ monitor problem (was HP 9845 power supply diagnostics)

by colineby＠isallthat.com

Tony, Sorry, didn't get to the PERQ monitor this weekend. Francis was looking at the 2645 (with me sorta offering moral support). Hopefully get back to the 2645 next week. PERQ's in the queue. --Colin ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk wrote: >> >> My recollection is it was both rolling and skewed. I need to get it in > >Right... Sounds liek capacitor trouble at a first guess.. > >> the queue for our CRT doctor to look at. He's got a never ending stream >> of Cubs to deal with supporting our BBC classroom systems. I have to > >Ah, the Microvitec Cub. I remeber those... They are one of the few >'consumer' monitors of the period to use an EHT multiplier module (a >tripler IIRC), most small colour monitors went over to the diode split >line output transformer. The tripler design is probalby easier to fix -- >the transofmer is less stressed ('only' 8kV o nthe end of the HV winding) >and tends to last better. The tripler is a potted module, but it's >possible to make an equivalnet or to find soembody who still has a >'universal tripler' on the shelf.... > >> nudge the PERQs monitor in among them, as well as an HP 2645 scan card >> that's puzzling me. I may have mentioned (?) I took the expedient >> measure of swapping the base from one monitor for the other to address >> the cable sheathing issue we had. This leave us the backup monitor on > >You mentioend the cable problem. It's is. alas, common on PERQ 1 machines. > >I guess you've not managed to track down the fault in the monitor, then. >The PRERQ 1 monitor is not too unconventional from what I remember, and >it not a bad one to learn on. You should dive in with a 'socpe.... > >> the injured list waiting for the doc. > >I wonder if it would be worth gettign the repairer to appear on this >list, that way we can cut out the middle man and reducew the chance of >errors... > >-tony >

12 years, 1 month

videotex and other pre-internet OSPs

by tom_a_sparks＠yahoo.com.au

I am wondering if there is software that can allow me run/experience these old pre-internet Online services both from a user and a sysops view as I did not know about them until later? --- tom_a_sparks "It's a nerdy thing I like to do" Please use ISO approved file formats excluding Office Open XML - http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html Ubuntu wiki page https://wiki.ubuntu.com/tomsparks 3 x (x)Ubuntu 10.04, Amiga A1200 WB 3.1, UAE AF 2006 Premium Edition, AF 2012 Plus Edition, Sam440 AOS 4.1.2, Roland DXY-1300 pen plotter, Cutok DC330 cutter/pen plotter Wanted: RiscOS system, GEOS system (C64/C128), Atari ST, Apple Macintosh (6502/68k/PPC only)

12 years, 1 month

DomainOS and Domain Keyboard for one HP9000/400

by spedraja＠ono.com

Just today installed in my computer room my HP9000/400. It's an Apollo compatible machine, as far as I can see (Domain keyboard support in back, etc). It comes with NetBSD installed (1.9.2 version, very limited), and it works, but I should like to get a copy of DomainOS (and the keyboard, I suppose) and UP-UX (...9.xx version perhaps ?). Oh, and one transceiver from AUI to RJ45 would be fine too... I gor one but for I can't locate it. If someone can offer this bunch of items I should like to talk privately about a trade. Thanks ! Sergio

12 years, 1 month

Computermuseum der Fakultät Informatik at the Universität Stuttgart

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

Klemens Krause and Christian Corti, the caretakers of the Computer Museum at the University of Stuttgart, opened their museum on a Sunday so I could have a short visit. Well, the short visit was so fascinating that it lasted for over six hours. I really appreciated them giving up a large part of their weekend for my visit. I primarily wanted to see their collection of DEC PDP-8 systems because of my current restoration projects. They have a very nice looking and functional Classic PDP-8 system with a Tennecomp tape drive that is very similar to an 8-track cartridge. Their LAB 8/E has lots of peripherals, including a Votrax voice synthesizer and X-Y scope display. We also got to see their IBM 1130 and the Librascope LGP-30 running. That was the first time I have seen a vacuum tube computer running. It was quickly apparent from the demonstrations that just about everything in the room was interconnected so almost all of the peripherals could be connected to a system with the flip of a switch. They have extensive demonstrations that they run to demonstrate the capabilities of both the systems and the peripherals. If you are in Germany you really need to make an effort to visit the Computermuseum der Fakult?t Informatik. Klemens and Christian are very capable and very enthusiastic about their preservation, restoration, and demonstration work. http://computermuseum.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de -- Michael Thompson

12 years, 1 month

Digital / DEC RGB cable

by hollobon＠gmail.com

Hi, I have a Digital RGB cable here if anyone wants it for the cost of postage. It's got a D-sub shaped connector on one end with three circular connectors inside marked A1, A2 and A3, and 3 RGB BNC plugs on the other end. Says BC29H-2E REV-BOI 47746 on the d-sub shaped plug. I'm in the UK. Cheers, Pete.

12 years, 1 month

Blue screen of Basic

by jonas＠otter.se

On Fri, 26 Oct 2012 19:23:06 -0700, "Zane H. Healy" <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote: >> > actually I think that's a book that's already on my wish list... I >>> >> desperately need a shutter speed tester for some of my older gear. >> > >> >Make one! Although there is a trap for the unwary that most comemrical >> >testers get erogn too. > I plan to. Several years ago I built a simple shutter speed tester with two phototransistors on a piece of perfboard. It is meant for 35mm cameras and has the phototransistors spaced 18mm apart, 9mm from the edges of the frame, so that they are equally spaced from the centre of the frame, half the frame width apart. The transistors have 10k collector resistors and are fed from a 4.5V battery supply. The collectors go to the tip and ring of a 3.5mm stereo plug, which plugs into the line (or microphone) input of my laptop. I strap the perfboard behind the shutter of my camera with rubber bands and point the camera at a lamp. I then use Audacity to record the output of the tester when I fire the shutter. If you display the recorded waveform from a focal plane shutter, the two channels will show when the shutter curtains pass each phototransistor and you can then easily work out the shutter speed. IIRC it will also show if a curtain is slow near one end of its travel. Obviously, it also works for blade shutters, both traces will then show the same. Also obviously, the transistors are fitted behind holes in the perfboard so as not to foul the shutter curtains :) You can find several versions of this design on the net by Googling. It works quite well. You will probably find that speeds down to about 1/250 are correct, and 1/1000 will be quite badly off and cannot be made correct. /Jonas

12 years, 1 month

amusing google image search results

by dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu

I noticed that doing a google image search on the string {kaypro 2/84} yields an interesting array of pictures that have nothing to do with Kaypro. For instance, there are oodles of classic synthesizer pics. -- David Griffith dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text. Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing? A: Top-posting. Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

12 years, 1 month

cctalk Digest, Vol 110, Issue 64

by elson＠pico-systems.com

> Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2012 13:32:09 -0600 > From: Kevin Reynolds <tpresence at hotmail.com> > To: <cctech at classiccmp.org> > Subject: RE: Microvax II won't boot, hardware error? > Message-ID: <BLU157-W48E7D604E2D698A86B3819A27F0 at phx.gbl> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > > > > > I do have multiple memory modules, there are two in the chassis. I have spare modules, but they aren't the same, so I am not sure they will work in the system. > > > I did pull and replace the CPU, Memory and VCB02 modules, but the result is the same. The system did work fine recently, so I assume that the CSR/Vectors are ok on the cards. I don't have the manuals for everything, but maybe bitsavers does. > > > I don't have any spare grant continuity cards...will this cause me trouble if I just pull a ramcard out and have nothing in its slot? I seem to remember that you couldn't have an open slot between cards, unless you had a grant card in there... > > > Is there a standard VMS memory test I can run in conversational mode? > It actually runs a simple memory test during the power-up diagnostics, I think maybe it was 7...8 that is the memory diags. They are the ones that takes the longest to run, the others complete mostly in less than a second. You have to know the layout of your backplane to know where grant contnuity cards are required. Old uVax II backplanes have the memory bus on the CD rows for 2 or 4 slots, and need no grant continuity there, but the AB rows are Q-bus, and would need either double-wide Q-bus boards there or grant continuity. Later backplanes didn't have the Q-bus start until after the first couple slots. So, you really need to know what the backplane layout is. Jon

12 years, 1 month

New PDF magazine for Sinclair ZX-81 fans

by lproven＠gmail.com

http://zx81.republika.pl/monochrome_issue_3_magazine_zx81.pdf It is in the ZX font in block caps, which I found that I got used to remarkably quickly... MONOCHROME MADE WITH PC AND ZX-81 32KB (ZXPAND) FOR LOGO AND TESTING SOFT ZX-81 / TIMEX 1000 / TIMEX 1500 MAGAZINE ISSUE 3, ADDRESS:YERZMYEY at INTERIA.PL, 09.2012 (AUTUMN) MAKING A MAGAZINE CAN BE EASY HI GUYZ. YUPP, YOU WILL SUFFER MY ENGLISH LANGUAGE AGAIN. I MUST ADMIT I NOTICED LATELY THAT PREPARING MAGAZINE ABOUT SOME OLD-SCHOOL PLATFORM CAN BE EASY. :) IT CAN BE - AS LONG AS ENTIRE SCENE/COMMUNITY MAKES NEW STUFF FOR THE GIVEN PLATFORM - THEN PEO- PLE HAVE MATERIAL TO WRITE ABOUT. ;) AND THAT CASE WAS THIS TIME. THERE ARE MANY NEW THINGS FOR ZX81 LAST TIMES (AGAIN!) AND ALL OF THIS THANKS TO YOU ALL! AND IT IS NOT ONLY FOR DEVELOPED CON- FIGURATIONS, BUT ALSO FOR UNEXPANDED ZX81 MACHINES. AS USUAL I WOULD LIKE TO THANK EVERYBODY WHO SENT ARTICLES FOR THIS ISSUE OF OUR ZX81/T1000/T1500 MAG, AS WELL AS EVERYBODY WHO MAKES NEW SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE FOR THE MACHINE. ;) HMM, MAYBE I SHOULD CHANGE THE SUBTITLE, BECAUSE THOSE THREE MODELS ARE ACTUALLY NOT ENOUGH. ;) PEOPLE FROM BRAZIL ARE ACTIVE TOO AND THEY MADE A VERY INTERESTING ZONX-COMPATIBLE AY-INTERFACE FOR THEIR MICRODIGITAL TK85 CLONE OF ZX81. ;) YOU CAN READ ABOUT IT -- Liam Proven ? Profile: http://lproven.livejournal.com/profile Email: lproven at cix.co.uk ? GMail/G+/Twitter/Flickr/Facebook: lproven MSN: lproven at hotmail.com ? Skype/AIM/Yahoo/LinkedIn: liamproven Tel: +44 20-8685-0498 ? Cell: +44 7939-087884

12 years, 1 month

amusing google image search results

by barythrin＠gmail.com

Yeah. It was a cool idea at first but I've mostly stopped trying to use images as a relevant computer search. I'm not sure why it always seems to pull up random peoples pictures or some underdressed women instead of the computer. Unrelated but also interesting (if it works) was the search the web for a matching photo. Sorta neat sometimes with auctions or forum/craigslist posts prior to a sale. ------Original Message------ From: David Griffith Sender: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org To: cctalk at classiccmp.org ReplyTo: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts Subject: amusing google image search results Sent: Oct 26, 2012 1:11 PM I noticed that doing a google image search on the string {kaypro 2/84} yields an interesting array of pictures that have nothing to do with Kaypro. For instance, there are oodles of classic synthesizer pics. -- David Griffith dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text. Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing? A: Top-posting. Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

12 years, 1 month

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test-drb October 2012