I'm trying to find some information on the Kontron PSI 9068 which I believe
was manufactured in 1983-ish.
Does anyone have pictures, docs, etc? Didn't see any in the usual places...
Earl
On Wed, Jul 16, 2014 at 4:12 PM, David Riley <fraveydank at gmail.com> wrote:
> - VAXBI (super-proprietary with little known documentation)
I think Al just posted something a couple days ago, and I may have
some design docs in the basement from when Software Results got a
VAXBI license (we made a prototype run of boards - they worked but the
market had moved on so we never sold out of that first run). I did
the firmware for that product and its driver for VMS from the ground
up. It was super-proprietary (and rigidly licensed). You essentially
had to work from DEC's PCB template files (they supported multiple
design packages IIRC) and add your circuit to the "BI Corner" which
they maintained with an iron fist. There's a double-row of VIAs, and
you just ran your signals to the right place and the bus area was
taken care of for you. There are no "unauthorized" peripherals for
the BI that I'm aware of. You *had* to buy BIICs (BI Interface Chips)
>from DEC. We got one or two when we got our license, then for the
prototype run, I was able to pick up used 2MB boards from the reseller
market for about $50 and pull the BIICs (they were socketed) instead
of buying new $350 chips. Between that and "refurbed" (used) RAM and
CPUs, I got the manufacturing price down $500 per board from the
initial numbers.
I have a couple VAXBI COMBOARDs in my 8300 in the basement (along with
a few of those 2MB (T1008) boards). Generically, they are built
around a 68010 CPU with a 16-bit-32-bit discrete bus adapter
(reading/writing 1/4 of the '010 address space triggers a bus read or
write including upper/lower word latching) with 2MB of local RAM, a
Z8530 serial rigged for sync operation (pins 15 and 17 for external
data clock) and 64KB of local ROM. The driver works with the firmware
to upload a payload application into RAM, but if one could fit all the
code into the ROMs, that functionality could be deprecated.
> - SBI (is that even separate from VAXBI?)
SBI is 11/78x and entirely separate.
-ethan
Hi,
I've lost my storage for the remainder of my vintage computer collection
and so I'm going to have to clear out much of what remains.
I've listed some of the more interesting items on ebay (
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/siliconjunkie/m.html?item=121385278641&hash=item1…
to see the list), including an 11/44, an 11/34 and a VT05
I also have some stuff going free to a good home including:
QBUS backplanes
Lots of DEC cables and manuals
Some Vax chassis
DEC Rainbows
RZ (and possibly RF) DEC Winchesters
Lots of misc detritus
Alas the clock is ticking though and anything left by end of the month will
most likely get skipped for lack of anywhere else to send it.
All the best,
Toby
Hi all,
I've implemented a DG NOVA in Verilog, at the current state it
implements all basic instructions, the only
thing the main CPU is lacking is interrupt support which I will add when
I have the time.
The main problem with the whole thing is the sheer lack of any OSes
aside from RDOS.
It would be nice if anyone had some smaller/more basic OSes or
bootstrappable standalone diagnostic software for me to test things with.
(RDOS when manually loaded into memory executes until it tries to load
something from disc, which I haven't yet implemented)
The Verilog is synthezisable, aside from the IO debugger, Disassembler
and device 077 which is currently hacked together.
You can find some documentation and download here;
http://janadelsbach.com/nova.html
- Jan
Has anyone dumped the firmware from these machines?
I'm working through uploading a set of 486/586 documentation
and I am about to dump the firmware from the 486 I have and
thought it would be nice to have the 586 as well.
I know Dave Dunfield had a bunch of 586s at one point, and imaged
their floppies, but I didn't see the firmware anywhere.
I've noticed a lot of commonalities, such as the volume header block
structure, between SysV Unix for the AT&T Unix PC 7300 and the Unisys
U6000 series of servers.
Was the Unix port for both (one 68010, the other x86) done by the same
outfit (Convergent?)?
Anyone know for sure?
--Chuck
I have a PS/2 keyboard for IBM PeeCees that bears the Digital Equipment
Corporation logo.
It's an PC 104, US QWERTY layout keyboard with "Windows" keys and a Menu
key.
I can mail pictures on request (two JPEGs, 3.9MiB each).
Does this count as genuine DEC equipment?
(PS. I haven't posted in this mailing list in a half-decade. Please don't
kill me.)
--
Kirn Gill II
Mobile: +1 417-763-8638
VoIP: +1 813-704-0420
BBM: 7B963E04
Email: segin2005 at gmail.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kirn-gill/32/49a/9a6
Tried posting this on the Yahoo group https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/ctos/ , but nothing was posted.
There are some new CTOS manuals on bitsavers, including some early 90's documents
Also, we received one manual for CTIX, the driver writer manual. Would be nice to find more Mighty/MegaFrame docs.
> On Fri, 11 Jul 2014, Paul Berger wrote:
>
>> On 2014-07-11 6:07 AM, Derrick Meury wrote:
>>> i do know the model m also had a phone cable type connector. i
>>> happen to like anything made exclusively by ibm and not by any other
>>> company.
>>>
>> The model M keyboard was used on some terminal products as well on
>> that comes to mind is the 3151 ASCII terminal
>> and the keyboard connector on it was either RJ11 or RJ45.
>>
>> You will find that later model M keyboards where made by Lexmark
>> which was the spin off from IBM of the Lexington Ky plant. It is
>> perhaps fitting they made keyboards, when IBM was in the electric
>> typewriter business the Lexington plant built all the typewriters for
>> the US market, and the well loved IBM selectric keyboard became the
>> model for IBM keyboards including the keyboards used on PC up until
>> the model M.
>>
> That plant is still in operation, making the successor to the Model M.
> http://www.pckeyboard.com/
>
> g.
>
Thanks for posting that I had no idea that the model M was still in
production, after the PS/2 it seemed that IBM switched to keyboards of a
poorer design, and I had thought that the production of these keyboards
just went away. I see they are still even making APL keytops.
Actually as someone who has one, I'd say they're "reasonable facilimies"
Not real Model M's. Aren't quite made of the same materials, nor the same
feedback.
They're probably my #2 choice after a REAL Model M. Unicomp bought the
molds, etc.
>from Lexmark after they had bought them from IBM. Still made at the same
factory as
Lexmark.... I wish they'd make them "exactly" the same as IBM/Lexmark...
For all of the
machines in my rack via a KVM, I use one (since I sometimes "do" need some
of the extra
PC/Mac keys that weren't on the Model M...)
I will also point out a cctalk member (Maxx) does an EXCELLENT job
refurbishing
Model M's (and sells them as well). He's done 3 of mine recently, all A++
when
they came back (and I even "pimp'ed" one out with a RED backing plate... and
then went to Unicomp (the pckeyboard.com site) for red lettered key caps,
and
added swapped out the LEDs for red versions as well).
http://phosphorglow.net/
On the front page, you can see some of the colored plates... another way to
keep
them from rusting... Unicomp has some other colors as well (which you
could use
with Maxx's colored plates). A fun way to "refresh" the cosmetics of the
Model M.
There are also a few sites (Maxx's included) that have the Model M
connector cables
that go directly to USB (in both black and tan). I've gotten them from the
maker on ebay
as well. They actually are a significant improvement over adapters.
Earl (a VERY happy Model M user since at least '88)
I always wondered about this because I could swear that I saw at least one
XT Model M in the day...
Does anyone know if you can identify a switchable Model M from the keyboard
cable being terminated into a modular type jack on the keyboard side? Or
was going from the modular jack to a hard-wired PS/2 cord just a cost
reduction at some point in time after the keyboard was introduced?
Best,
Sean
I have a model M with the XT style connector. However, it's for either an
AT or
XT/286 (I have the later). The cable is all that is different (same
modular jack on the
keyboard side) I haven't tried it on a PC, but from what I know it
shouldn't work.
Earl
