test-drb May 2014

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

171 participants
188 discussions

by slandon110＠gmail.com

Just trying to get my old server a home Mac Mini Early 2010, Core 2 Duo 2.0ghz 4GB RAM 120GB HDD $275 Shipped Thanks Steve

9 years, 11 months

MS-DOS 2.00 for GRiD Compass archived

by derschjo＠gmail.com

Hey all -- Finally snagged a copy of the elusive MS-DOS 2.0 for the GRiD Compass with an 1101 I got last week. Imaged it using ImageDisk; you can grab it at: http://yahozna.dyndns.org/computers/GRiD/ I've verified that the image boots properly on my 1129. I also got a complete copy of Lotus 1-2-3 for the Compass but the disks have lots of errors and I'm having trouble getting good reads on them, I'm going to try a few different drives and see if that helps... And if anyone has a copy of GRiDBASIC for the Compass, drop me a line. I got the manuals for it with the system, but no software... - Josh

9 years, 11 months

Finally replaced the leaky caps on my Mac Classic II

by terry＠webweavers.co.nz

Not that elegant perhaps, but does the job... http://www.classic-computers.org.nz/blog/2014-05-24-Classic%20II%20capacito… Terry (Tez)

9 years, 11 months

LSI-11 CAMAC module on ebay

by tiggerlasv＠aim.com

On Sat May 24 19:36:25 CDT 2014, St?phane Tsacas wrote: > For the PDP-11 collector ? > http://www.ebay.ca/itm/CAMAC-Plug-In-Kinetic-Systems-3823-LSI-11-Microproce… > -- > Stephane These are CAMAC modules that have a dual-wide qbus connector on-board. An actual DEC board plugs into the slot. There is a black metal cover that holds the board in place. The 3823 housings carry the 11/23 CPU, while the 3824's carry the support modules (serial lines, memory, etc.) The problem is -- with the metal cover in place, you can't tell what you're getting. The DEC module could be missing. It could be an 11/23 without an MMU. Or, you might end up with just the shell, and no DEC board at all. For the 3824 modules, with the cover in place you can't see what kind of module is installed. So, you could spend $50, and get a crummy M8044, or you might end up with an M7195 at a bargain price. Unfortunately, many sellers only show the front and back, so it's best to ask them questions before buying. T

9 years, 11 months

LSI-11 CAMAC module on ebay

by stephane.tsacas＠gmail.com

For the PDP-11 collector ? http://www.ebay.ca/itm/CAMAC-Plug-In-Kinetic-Systems-3823-LSI-11-Microproce… -- Stephane

9 years, 11 months

[Simh] write errors attempting to install 4.3BSD on vax; simh from git

by brad＠heeltoe.com

On 5/22/14, 8:15 PM, Mark Pizzolato - Info Comm wrote: > On Thursday, May 22, 2014 at 1:21 PM, Brad Parker wrote: >> ... >> It looks like the driver is trying to write past the end of the disk; >> but the rq code in simh is not seeing that. >> It does not seem to be throwing any errors. > A driver which trys to write beyond the end of the disk will cause the simulation to return an error to the driver, but won't blow up in the simulator. Real software could have done the same thing and the hardware would merely have returned an error just like the simulated device does. Right. the mscp emulation code is not returning an error, near as I can tell. That was the first thing I looked for (i.e. is the request lbn > maxlbn) > Debugging within the simh device simulation generally requires significant detailed knowledge of how the guts of thing are working. That said, you can always learn. yes. I've done a lot of work with simh internals in the past. I've used it for co-simulation with RTL on about 4 projects. I've just never used the debug feature. I'll try the set dev debug; I guess I was hoping to learn exactly which bits to set to monitor the disk i/o. I tried creating different size disk images with "dd", even ones which were too big. It didn't help or change anything. I tried using an ra82, but the 4.3 release I have won't accept that, only an ra81. Near as I can tell the UWisc 4.3BSD has a hard coded partition table and the kernel driver is seeing something that is causing it to return an error. I know something about MSCP and I know how the kernel driver works, so worst case I'll create a new kernel with some printf's in it and figure it out. I guess I was hoping I could crib off someone else's work :-) Your comment about vmb.exe is interesting. I'm not having any problem bootstrapping, so I'm going to guess that's not the issue. My current guess is that the ra driver (MSCP) is getting confused based on something which pdp11_rq.c is telling it. -brad > see "HELP dev SET" (i.e. HELP RQ SET) > > If you think the newfs command is trying to write beyond the end of the disk, you could avoid that by using a bigger disk than what you mention in the 'newfs' command (i.e. make rq0 a RA82... > >> I also tried a stock 4.3BSD distribution and I see exactly the same >> behavior. >> >> My memory is dim on where the partition info is, but I think in this >> case it's hard coded in the unix kernel. >> >> I might go back and try some very old simh vax releases, since it seems >> like this use to work. If anyone has any ideas or insight, I'm all ears. > As it turns out, there were issues with some newer BSD variants on older VAX models. No one had actually done an install on one of these older machines once they started working with MicroVAX systems (MicroVAX II and MicroVAX III (CVAX)). We discovered a bug in the newer versions of boot block code when booting an older VAX. I have a version of VMB.exe which can work with either the old paradigm or the broken one and let these older systems boot these various versions. You haven't gotten that far, so even if the problem I'm talking about actually affects the 4.3 system you're working with you wouldn't have noticed yet. > > - Mark >

9 years, 11 months

IBM 5170 substitute hard disk??

by cclist＠sydex.com

On 05/19/2014 01:34 PM, Enrico Lazzerini wrote: > Hi, I have an old IBM 5170 with motherboard Type 1 without any old hard > drive. > > I could can also reprogram the EPROM system to enter different geometries of > disks, but was wondering, how could I possibly replace the disc with a > cf-IDE40 adapter like this: > http://www.idotpc.com/TheStore/pc/catalog//products/accessories/cfide401big. > jpg > <http://www.idotpc.com/TheStore/pc/catalog/products/accessories/cfide401big. > jpg> Thanks for any suggestions. You're going to need an ISA IDE adapter with its own BIOS to use with an IDE drive or an IDE-to-CF card adapter (Promise made some of those). You might also be able to use a BIOS-less IDE adapter if you use a DDO (dynamic driver overlay). Here's another option: http://www.lo-tech.co.uk/wiki/XT-CF-lite Note that you'll still need a floppy controller. Hope this helps, Chuck

9 years, 11 months

simh PDP-11 with xterm Tektronix 4014 emulation

by kylevowen＠gmail.com

I was given some DEC BASIC source code that was once used on a PDP-11/40 at Auburn University. It was coupled with either a 4010 or 4014 and played a graphical game of golf. That is, it would draw the shape of the green. I've set up simh booting RSTS/E from here ( http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~mader/delta/downloadrsts.html) and am currently running xterm in Tektronix emulation mode. However, all I see when executing the program is garbage, as if the terminal emulator is never escaping to graphics mode. I've tested it separately with the escape character and the garbage seen by means of "cat"-ing a hex-edited file to the screen, with the first character being ctrl-GS. Here are some pictures of the progress: http://imgur.com/a/thaHr I understand there are apparently some limitations to xterm's Tektronix emulation. I read somewhere that the point-plot mode was not implemented, if I recall. Are there other limitations that I should be aware of? If anyone has a 401X and can try this program out on "the real deal," I can supply you with the source code. Bonus points for having four RK05s and an 11/40 to tie it to! Here was the original system: http://i.imgur.com/51SO3vC.jpg (the 11/40) and http://i.imgur.com/VuUPM26.jpg (Tek terminals on left) Thanks, Kyle

9 years, 11 months

Software replacement for an ASR33 and PDP8

by marco＠familie-rauhut.eu

Hello together, the restoration of my PDP-8 and TU56 going forward. Many PDP 8 machine tests are OK. The TU56 come slowly back to life. My current problem is, that i do not own a ASR33. Or is it no Problem? I testet the M8655 with the echo and printer test like in the smal computers handbook described. All is working fine. I see readable characters in cutecom on my linux desktop. With the cutecom i also send the binloader and the testprograms to the PDP8. There i have no problems too. But... some maindec testsoftware is doing printouts on the Teletype witch i canot read on cutecom. Exactly the same happens, if i bootstrap software witch come on tape with the tapedrive. Exampe hexdump of the output from software on tape (generated with cutecom): 00000000: 00 ff bf b0 b0 ae b0 b0 20 c0 20 b1 b1 ae b3 b0 00000010: 20 8d 8a aa aa c7 8d 8a 8d 8a 8d 8a 8d 8a c4 c5 00000020: c3 d4 c1 d0 c5 a0 d3 d9 d3 d4 c5 cd a0 c4 d4 a3 00000030: b4 8d 8a 8d 8a c2 c9 ce c1 d2 d9 a0 cd cf ce c9 Is there an existing software witch can act like a ASR33 for typing and printing , or i got to write my own ? Many thanks to all who help me again and again..... Marco Rauhut * Deutsch - erkannt * Englisch * Deutsch * Englisch * Deutsch <javascript:void(0);>

9 years, 11 months

Purpose of a museum (was Re: Buying something from a museum)

by isking＠uw.edu

On Sat, May 17, 2014 at 8:42 AM, <cctalk-request at classiccmp.org> wrote: > > Message: 6 > Date: Fri, 16 May 2014 21:06:32 +0100 (BST) > From: ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell) > To: cctalk at classiccmp.org > Subject: Re: Buying something from a museum (was Re: Whats in a > straight 8 > Message-ID: <m1WlOOs-000J4ZC at p850ug1> > Content-Type: text/plain > > [Telecopier RX400] > > > > > > 1) My machine origianlly had the fan/filter unit on the battom, but > this > > > was remvoed by a previous owner. I am therefore missing the base plate. > > > Could tooul let me look at the udnersid of the machine, or tell me if > > > this plate is metal or plastic (or soemthing else) and if metal, is it > > > magnetic > > I am pretty sure if the machine was in MOSI and in accessible storage > > that would be possible. > > Many items are in in-accessible storage....which is a different kettle > > of fish... > > [snip] > Incidnetlaly, the last tiem I went ot the London science museum I left in > tears. Not jsut becuase there is so little there. Or that the > descriptions are dumbed down, and in many cases give the wrong sort of > information (I do not mean the information is factually wrong, it is not. > But for example a Model 7 Avometer [1] is described as being mase of > Bakelite. This is true, but IMHO, the important thing about that > instrument is what it measues and how.Now what the case is made of. No my > real moand is that it is not a science meusum. There is far too much > about the human aspect of a artefact, and that is not science. One reason > I studeid science is that it is, in general, independant of people > (mathemantics is aguably independant of the universe, but I wasnt' clever > enough for that). When I think back to wha the museum was like 30-40 > eyars ago, I weep. > > > I disagree strongly with your statement, "There is far too much about the human aspect of a [sic] artefact, and that is not science." Technology is a human behavior, and preserving the artifact (US spelling) but not its cultural context is telling only a small part of the story. That is my concern with much that is written as "computer history": it is purely about the construction and functioning of an artifact but fails to convey that contextual component. Such "internalist" histories are not without value, but we do a disservice to the future if we stop there. Equally incomplete are "externalist" histories that speak of nothing but social response to technology without the context of providing the reader with an understanding of the technology itself: this is seen often in hand-wringing essays that demonize "the computer" as a source of all social ills. A contextual account that relates both the nature of the technology and the social context in which it is shaped, as well as how its creation shapes the society in which it is created, is a basis for a meaningful and useful discourse. It is interesting to me that the majority of historical writing about the computer is internalist (several historiographers have so noted and I concur) and yet the "big story" of the computer is how it has changed human society swiftly and dramatically. In contrast, the book "Technology's Storytellers" analyses the first twenty years of the journal Technology & Culture and finds that in a broad discussion of technology the majority of work is contextual. Why do computer historians seem to describe but not interpret? Finally, a museum of technology may be a very different beast than a classic, archival museum that puts things in cases and writes little signs about them. Indeed, a museum of functional computers is a collection of artifacts that speak in their own voices. Of the museums I have visited, I feel TNMOC and the original IBM museum in Sindelfingen have done the best job of recognizing and highlighting this. (I have not seen the IBM museum since it moved, so I cannot comment on its current state.) IMHO. -- Ian S. King, MSIS, MSCS Ph.D. Candidate The Information School University of Washington Madness takes its toll - please have exact change.

9 years, 11 months

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test-drb May 2014