test-drb April 2015

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

182 participants
220 discussions

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

I have a VAX 4000-300 that I want to pass on as I don't have room for it. It is in a BA440 enclosure (marked VAX 4000-400). The CPU board had a couple of problems, the levers that are used to push it into the slot have been broken, however it will push into the slot OK and work. The onboard Ethernet (SGEC) is also not working, but I have included a DESQA so you can network it. It has 64MB of memory (2x 32MB). It also has a CXY08 board. It does not have any disks because I want to keep the few DSSI disks I have, however I will include two DSSI covers. You can still boot it as a satellite of course. In fact I was toying with the idea of putting a Raspberry Pi inside the enclosure with a crossover LAN cable and running if off SIMH on that. It is free, however I would appreciate a small donation, as it has cost me money to collect it to save it from being dumped. It is in the UK, in South Manchester. Although I am currently working a lot in Coventry so could bring it to that area. I will also be at DEC Legacy in Windermere 11-12 April, although I would prefer to leave room in my car for the machines I want to exhibit, if possible. Regards Rob

9 years, 8 months

More random identifying

by kylevowen＠gmail.com

More computer-esque things looking to be identified. Some of it military, some of it not. What might the paper tape reader have come out of? The big circuit boards say "Harris" on them. http://imgur.com/a/S7dyo Thanks, Kyle

9 years, 8 months

OT: For the disbelevers ;) Yoda wasn't wrong !

by hp-fix＠xs4all.nl

http://home.web.cern.ch/about/updates/2015/04/cern-researchers-confirm-exist ence-force Enjoy, -Rik

9 years, 8 months

RL02K Pack Reliability/Characteristics

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Lyle Bickley > I have had packs on rare occasions which when I first obtained them had > a few records which were unreadable - and a clean reformat made them > 100% error free. Err, I thought RL02 packs came pre-formatted (at least, the low-level stuff like sector headers, etc), and could not be field re-formatted? Or are you simply talking of a high-level re-format (i.e. the file system), which might write all data blocks to zero or something, thereby getting rid of the un-readable contents of such blocks? > From: Mike Ross > It's high time someone collated all the 'new hardware' projects out > there ... should be a one-stop shop where info on all this stuff is > held. The obvious place to put it is on our Wiki, of course... (Hint, hint... :-) Noel

9 years, 8 months

RL02K Pack Reliability/Characteristics

by christopher.parish＠parishcomputers.com

I've gotten my RL-02 -> USB Mass Storage controller mostly working with a few residual gremlins. Specifically, I've noticed from my testing that I have good packs, ones that read out almost the same every time, and bad packs, ones where half the bits seem to be in different states every time I read them. I've left write support untested until I can solve this problem. Right now, my working theory is that different controllers had slightly different timing characteristics, and I may need to adjust more of my DPLL parameters dynamically to deal with that (something I'd rather avoid). Of course, most of these packs haven't been put into a drive since the mid-80s, and there could be some bit rot going on. As many of you have much more experience dealing with these drives than I do, my questions are: - What type of long term reliability have people noticed from their RL02K packs? - Is garbage data sometimes normal for certain packs until they are rewritten with ?fresh? data? - Has anyone noticed pack compatibility problems between various computers/RL-02 controllers? Thanks, Christopher

9 years, 8 months

HP-85A tape drive conversion

by Wayne.Smith＠warnerbros.com

> Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2015 06:20:04 -0500 > From: "Jay West" <jwest at classiccmp.org> > > So. two questions: What SHOULD the outer diameter of a good capstan roller > be on that drive, and does anyone have other suggestions for how to make the > capstan roller "taller"? I would try gluing an extender piece on the end of the existing capstan roller, perhaps using wood which is easy to shape. Once you wrap it with a piece or two of heat shrink tubing, I would think that it would all stay in place.

9 years, 8 months

HP-85A tape drive conversion

by marc.verdiell＠gmail.com

> So the roller on my -85A tape drive is marginally ok [.]. While the >second option would work, according to the video it "just barely makes the >capstan roller contact the bottom portion of the tape capstan wheel". That >concerns me, as if it's "barely making contact" I'm concerned that over time >this would wear the capstan roller motor shaft and perhaps wear down the >wheel, not to mention potential vibration. It doesn't wear the shaft, does not cause vibrations. But it eventually wears out the edge of the rubber replacement you put over the capstan (shrink tube or surgical tubing in my case). Eventually it fails and you have to put a new one. Annoying. > So. two questions: What SHOULD the outer diameter of a good capstan roller > be on that drive Dunno. If you have a semi good capstan, can you measure it? Apparently it's not critical, since I got the tapes working OK with a thin shrink tube coating as well as a thick surgical tube coating. >does anyone have other suggestions for how to make the capstan roller "taller"? I can think of at least two solutions. Solution one is to glue a metal or plastic "puck" of the same diameter as the bare roller on top of it before recoating it. It's simpler than machining the cap I show in my video, but you still need to have someone machine a simple disk part on a lathe. That should be pretty cheap. Solution two requires someone good at making rubber. It would be to cast a rubber cap of the right diameter and thickness, and with a pocket on the bottom so you can slip it or glue it over the existing bare capstan. So you would not need to machine anything, just slip it over the bare capstan. If anyone knows about an outfit that can do this, or can explain to me how to cast rubber, let me know. Marc

9 years, 8 months

Just a reminder

by cclist＠sydex.com

This talk of tape gear reminds me that some may not have seen the availability in Wichita of some tape gear and the like I posted back in July. Such as StorageTek 9-track, Tandberg QIC, Exabyte 8mm, Xerox-branded 9 track, at least one working 3480, Avix UNIBUS tape controller boards, etc. A couple of PDP 11/34s; you get the idea. Contact Shaun Halstead Microfilm Services, Inc. Wichita, Ks (316) 269-2203

9 years, 8 months

Just over two weeks 'til VCF East X

by evan＠snarc.net

A friendly reminder for those who didn't get the memo about their TPS reports VCF East X: it's happening soon! The show is April 17-19 at the InfoAge Science Center in Wall, New Jersey. That's around 60 minutes south of Manhattan and 90 minutes northeast of Philadelphia. - Friday's schedule has 16 technical classes and a PDP-8 50th anniversary ceremony. - Saturday/Sunday's agenda has morning keynotes, two exhibit halls open the rest of the day, the PDP-8 Pavilion, consignment, vendors, museum tours, etc. Tickets are available online and at the door. http://vintage.org/2015/east/ http://facebook.com/vcfeast http://twitter.com/vcfeast Hope to see you there! - Evan K.

9 years, 8 months

F, L, and M Vax boards

by useddec＠gmail.com

We just sorted and shelved the following boards, most of which I will never use. If you are interested in any or all, feel free to make an offer off list. There are a few non DEC ones I have to figure out yet, otherwise this should be most of them. If you need L boards not listed here, let me know. I have a friend who has some. Quantities available on most. Thanks, Paul F1002 F1003 F1004 F1005 F1006 F1007 F1008 F1009 F1010 F1013 F1021 L0007 L0008 L0104 L0107 L0108 L0109 L0115 L0217 L0225 M7463 M8238 M8286 M8287 M8288 M8289 M8373 X 14 M8574? I need to recheck part number on the last 2. M8576?

9 years, 8 months

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test-drb April 2015