test-drb September 2013

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

168 participants
203 discussions

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

I have a BC18Z I have for connecting the VAXstation to the monitor, keyboard and mouse. With this cable, a red hue across the whole screen flashes on and off about once a second, the other colours are fine and the screen is legible. There is also a thin dark line that scrolls up the screen continuously. This happens on two different monitors. I don't think it is the VAXstation itself either, because swapping with another cable the problem goes away. I tested continuity of the red wire and it seems fine. Are there any components in the keyboard and mouse connector block that could cause this? Regards Rob

10 years, 10 months

Electronika 85

by ittybittybytes＠gmail.com

I will be putting my Electronika 85, a Russian clone of the DEC Pro 350 up for sale on eBay tomorrow ( Friday the 13th) at noon. It doesn't power up, but other than that it's in good condition. I have found the schematics and some technical documentation (in Cyrillic, of course) that will be available to the buyer. When I first got this computer around 9-10 years ago, I checked the power supply and I think is the culprit, as there was no juice at the leads at all. It has a very tiny fuse and it;s impossible to tell if it may be at fault. The last one on Ebay was up for sale at around 3000-3500 and was a working one complete with monitor and keyboard. This one is waaaaay more reasonable, even if it is not working. I'll post the auction reference number in the am when I finish up the auction listing in the morning. Cheers tomP

10 years, 10 months

Trying to contact Hans-Ulrich Hölscher aka vaxorcist

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

Over recent months I have been trying to get in touch with Ulli. Has anyone heard from him recently? Regards Rob

10 years, 10 months

Esprit 350C manual?

by brain＠jbrain.com

One of these nifty Esprit 350C terminals Cindy was noting a week or so ago has arrived, but I can't find a manual online anywhere. I have figured out how to get to the config screen, but can't figure out how to get the terminal to try to connect to an ip address. Anyone have a manual or know how to do that? Jim -- Jim Brain brain at jbrain.com www.jbrain.com

10 years, 10 months

Xebec Hard Sector Floppy System and Tennecomp Tape Drive

by kylevowen＠gmail.com

I recently acquired three of these Xebec XFD-108 dual-drive units along with three PDP-8/Ms and a PDP-8/E. It looks like I've got one 8/M and drive fully booting. However, I also seem to have a lot of bad media. Here's an album of the haul: http://imgur.com/a/fDVDH I'm trying to find some more info on the Xebec drive units. They use Memorex drives, which date to 1974 or so. These use 32 hard sector floppies, with the sector holes on the outside. I'm currently writing some software to back up these floppies and will try to integrate it with David Gesswein's dumprest utility so I can eventually get a handler working in simh. For now, though, I'm trying to just back up the floppies as to protect against further data deterioration. The floppies are actually configured for 10 sectors, oddly enough. This gives 640 256-word blocks per disk. Has anyone used these early Xebec drives? In my little bit of documentation, I seem to be missing the chapter on the device handler for OS/8. I have a few booting floppies right now, so I should be able to get the handler from one of those, but just in case... It would also be nice to have the FORMAT program for this system, which is yet again something else missing from my docs. Also, I haven't yet played with it, but I also have a Tennecomp tape drive that uses radio-station-style 4-track "carts" to store data on serially. I unfortunately do not have the controller card for it, hence my inability to do much with it. I do have some tapes for it, however. Thanks, Kyle

10 years, 10 months

Flashwriter II card in IMSAI 8080

by philip＠neoncluster.com

Has anyone had any experience using 'Vector Graphic Extended Monitor 4.x' in systems other then a Vector Graphic machine? I have a Flashwriter II card that I want to install into an IMSAI, and I was wondering if VG's Extended Monitor would be a good choice. The main reason to use the the Vector Graphic Extended Monitor would be because it come with the drivers for the Flashwriter II card. Thanks Philip philip at neoncluster.com Retro computing at: www.neoncluster.com

10 years, 10 months

Repairing Mac128K board - memory problems

by barythrin＠gmail.com

You could stack the memory chips you're curious about without needing to desolder. May save you some time poking around.

10 years, 10 months

HP 9830 parts help and Infotek identification

by derschjo＠gmail.com

So I took a chance on an eBay auction for a really beat up HP 9830A desktop (and spent more than I probably should have, alas),and it arrived on my doorstep this evening. This machine has taken a beating and has clearly been salvaged from; I'm missing the main CPU and RAM boards, andseveral keyswitches are broken off (and long gone.) So first: - It's a long shot but does anyone out there have any spares for this machine? (CPU and RAM, but also plastic parts like the plastic keyboard plate which have been utterly destroyed would be nice...) - The keys look kind of similar to the ones on my 9825 -- anyone know if they use the same keyswitches before I dig mine outof storage and take the time to open it up to see? (Just looking for possible option for sourcing keys, finding a parts-only 9825 keyboard is likely to be much easier than finding a spare 9830...). Second: It looks like this thing has beenupgraded with an Infotek Systems RX-30, and an MP-30 + FP-30 boardset (so perhaps I'm not missing the CPU after all?)But I'm unsure that it's complete -- in particular it looks like I'm missing the larger of the two boards here: http://www.hpmuseum.net/images/Infotek_FP30-48.jpg, while I have both of the MP-30 boards. I'm guessing the missing board is pure unobtanium at this point... however, as is clear in the photo it's labeled as "BASIC ROM II" and only contains what look like a few mask ROMs. My understanding from reading the docs I've found is that the FP-30 is a replacement processor (and those two boards in the picture don't look like much of a processor to me) and the MP-30 is an optional I/O processor that goes with it -- the "Mass Memory Interface Processor" (pics here - http://www.hpmuseum.net/images/Infotek_MP30-45.jpg). Can anyone confirm what boards are supposed to be present for a complete CPU set? The presence of four 2901's plus a bunch of EPROMs on the MP-30 boardset make me wonder if there's more to the MP-30 than just I/O... Thanks as always, Josh

10 years, 10 months

Wierd AUI Connector on VAXstation 2000

by cctech＠beyondthepale.ie

> >> >> I just collected a VAXstation 2000 that has an AUI connector on the back. >> The trouble is that the connector is a bit strange. It has screw holes like >> you might get for screwing in a serial cable or a video cable, rather than >> the locking slider that grips some studs on the cable you are connecting (or >> a transceiver in my case). >> >> >> >> Is it possible to get an AUI cable or a transceiver that will fit this >> connector or must I physically modify something I already have? > >Some machines did indeed have screwposts, not the sliding clip. PERQs >did, for example. > >If the connector is a DA15, it is very likely that it is the standard >wiring (again PERQs were), the difference is the locking system only. > >There seem to be 2 solutions : > >1) Replace the screwposts with the locking clip and screws. I _think_ >those locking kits are still available, although mot easy to find or >cheap. Look inside the machine before you start dismandling anything to >see if the posts go into tapped bushes in the socket or if there are >loose nuts ot worry about. > It might be possible to scrounge locking clips off old dead ethernet cards >from the junk box. With any luck, the thread of the screws might be the same as the thread of the screwposts. > >2) Make up a cable. Maingt the AUI drop cable is not easy as the raw >cable is 4 twisted pairs, the power pair being thicker wire than the >other 3. When I was looking for some about 20 years ago I couldn't find >anyone who would sell me less than a 100m reel (not cheap!). I finally >found a freindly networking person who gave me an 'offcut'. > There is at least one more option - get a readymade cable designed for use in these cases. I came across a hoard of these by DEC once but sadly, not knowing what they were for, I only saved one sample. It is a BNE4E-02 - I suspect the 02 is the length as it is 2m long. The connector at the machine end is right angled. I also use it with my Alphaserver 2100 which has the same issue. Maybe someone else was sensible enough to save more of these cables? Regards, Peter Coghlan.

10 years, 10 months

S-100 6502 CPU V2 PCBs working fine

by monahan＠vitasoft.org

Just wants to let everybody know I assembled the "production version" of our Master/Slave S-100 6502 CPU board. Delighted to say it went together fine with no hardware problems. I have written it up here:- http://www.s100computers.com/My%20System%20Pages/6502%20Board/6502%20CPU%20B oard.htm with some step by step instructions (bottom of the page). Now could somebody write software for it! John John Monahan Ph.D e-mail: <mailto:monahan at vitasoft.org> monahan at vitasoft.org Text: <mailto:monahan at txt.att.net> monahan at txt.att.net From: n8vem-s100 at googlegroups.com [mailto:n8vem-s100 at googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Andrew Lynch Sent: Friday, September 06, 2013 1:50 PM To: n8vem-s100 at googlegroups.com Cc: cctalk at classiccmp.org Subject: [N8VEM-S100:1880] S-100 6502 CPU V2 PCBs have arrived! Hi The S-100 6502 CPU V2 PCBs have arrived! http://www.s100computers.com/My%20System%20Pages/6502%20Board/6502%20CPU%20B oard.htm http://n8vem-sbc.pbworks.com/w/browse/#view=ViewFolder <http://n8vem-sbc.pbworks.com/w/browse/#view=ViewFolder&param=S-100%206502%2 0CPU%20board%20V1> &param=S-100%206502%20CPU%20board%20V1 All the pre-ordered boards have been sent to their builders. There are still a few boards left in case there are any late comers or those builders who did not want to pre-order. The PCBs will be $20 each as per the usual arrangement. Shipping in the US is $3 for a single PCB and $2 for each additional PCB. Shipping internationally is $10 for a single PCB and $3 for each additional PCB. This is for the bare basics USPS first class postage with no tracking or insurance. The builder assumes all risk of delivery as per usual arrangement. Please send a PayPal to LYNCHAJ at YAHOO.COM and I will send your board(s) right away! Please contact me if you have any questions. Thanks and have a nice day! Andrew Lynch -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "N8VEM-S100" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to n8vem-s100+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.

10 years, 10 months

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test-drb September 2013