test-drb May 2015

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

199 participants
259 discussions

by drlegendre＠gmail.com

(Still in SBC mode..) I'm feeling a need for one of the Heathkit ETA-3400 memory & I/O expansion units for my ET-3400.. or at least a set of documentation such as could be used to build one of my own. Anybody have an ETA-3400 they'd be willing to part with..? A set of docs in PDF? As it sits, all I've got here is a copy of the ET-3400 'Modification Manual' which details the changes which must be made to the ET so it will connect to the ETA module. Thanks for any assistance..

10 years, 11 months

DEC Manufacturing Locations

by j＠ckrubin.us

Sorry for the munged URL and thanks to Vince for providing the full address. If you missed it first time, here it is again: http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/showthread.php?47402-Place-of-manuf… I take the list in digest form to minimize the potential for ADD distractions; it also means that there is a lot of latency in my response time. Jack

10 years, 11 months

DEC manufacturing locations

by j＠ckrubin.us

Thanks to everyone who responded to my original query. This link is to the location list in DEC's 1993 internal directory - obviously more than just manufacturing - https://www.dropbox.com/s/szitkbpfwk...ctory.pdf?dl=0 . They had a _lot_ of locations! Jack

10 years, 11 months

GE TermiNet Models 310-340: scanned manuals

by p.gebhardt＠ymail.com

Hello everybody, related to the recent posts on the GE TermiNet 300, I uploaded my scanned TermiNet documents to the bitsavers ftp-server maintained by Al. Hoewever, while going through the docs, I realized that these are for the later line printer models 310, 320, 330, 340, and not for model 300, apologies for potentially created hopes and confusions. But in any way, adding these to the documents list cannot harm :) Kind regards, Pierre ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pierre's collection of classic computers moved to: http://www.digitalheritage.de

10 years, 11 months

TD Systems TDL-11 QBUS (SCSI?) card

by lists＠loomcom.com

Hi folks, I was recently given a load of QBUS stuff, and among the cards is a TD Systems TDL-11. I can't find a scrap of information about it anywhere. I have reason to believe it's a SCSI controller that emulates RL01 drives, based on its similarity to the TDL-12, which is documented online here: https://sites.google.com/site/glensvintagecomputerinfo/td-systems/tdl-12 Since I can't find a manual for it, I have absolutely no idea how to set its jumpers or activate its diagnostic monitor (if there even is one). Just to see if it would work, I tried following the instructions to get into the TDL-12's monitor, but they don't work on the TDL-11. Has anyone seen this card in the wild, or can anyone point me at a manual for it? A poor photo of my card is here, for reference (200K): http://www.loomcom.com/junk/tdl11.jpg Best Wishes, -Seth

10 years, 11 months

TD Systems TDL-11 QBUS (SCSI?) card

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Seth Morabito > 1. Halt the CPU and enter ODT I'm too lazy to check to confirm this, but I strongly suspect DMA requests don't get serviced while the machine is halted. If so, you could use the following code fragment to avoid that: 0400 12737 MOV #400, @#174400 400 174400 777 BR . Start at 0400, let it run for a couple of seconds, then halt the machine and look at 01000 and up. Noel

10 years, 11 months

8257 use in Intel MDS IOC

by spacewar＠gmail.com

I'm reverse-engineering the firmware of the IOC board of an Intel MDS Series II (with the iMDX 511 IOC firmware enhancement kit, so it's the same as early MDS Series III firmware, but possibly not 100% identical to firmware of the later MDS Series III using the IOC-III). The IOC uses an 8257 DMA controller, which was the predecessor of the 8237 as used in PCs. While it is mostly pin-compatible, the 8257 register map is a subset of nor compatible with the 8237. Not a problem since the 8257 datasheet is readily available. Except... The 8257 mode register (output) and status register (input) are register number 0x8 of 16. The data sheet says that A3 should be 1 and A2..A0 should be zero to access those registers, as expected, and does not document what (if anything) registers 0x9 through 0xf do. It's possible that they simply mirror register 0x8. In the MDS, the 8257 is I/O ports 0xf0 through 0xff, so mode and status should be at 0xf8, and indeed sometimes the firmware references those. However, the firmware also inputs from 0xfd, and writes to registers 0xfb, 0xfc, and 0xff. The values read and written don't seem to me to completely make sense if I make the assumption that they are mirrors of 0xf8, and I can't imagine why the firmware author would have used 0xf8 in some places and other port addresses in other places if in fact they are functionally the same. Intel published the source code of the ROMs for the MDS main processor (8080 or 8085), but I've never seen source code for the IOC firmware. Update as I was writing this up: I just spotted a comment in the MESS driver by fulivi stating that port 0xfd reads as 0xff and is used to detect whether the chip is an 8237 or 8257. If so, perhaps the 8257 either ignores input requests >from 0xf9 through 0xff, leaving the bus tri-state, or possibly it actually drives 0xff, and perhaps it ignores writes to 0xf9 through 0xff. I'll have to go back through the disassembly and study what that would do; it didn't seem like just the writes to 0xf8 made sense, but the other writes may have confused me. Has anyone actually seen a Series II or Series III with an 8237 on the IOC board? Perhaps the IOC-III uses the 8237? Eric

10 years, 11 months

Looking for SYSGEN and FORMAT for Versafloppy 1 controller

by philip＠neoncluster.com

Hi, I have a single CP/M 1.4 boot floppy that came with my IMSAI 8080 system. It?s been a bit of an effort, but the system is now fully functional from a hardware point of view. I?m now looking for SYSGEN and FORMAT programs (or any programs at all) for the Versafloppy 1 controller card. I?m hoping these will allow me to get a backup of the floppy before it dies. It?s already marginal, and boots only once in every 3 attempts, so whatever I do, I?m going to have to be very careful. For more info, you can see my post of VCF about it here: http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/showthread.php?47424-Is-FORMAT-COM-… Cheers & thanks. Phil

10 years, 11 months

QBUS Memory card config info

by lists＠loomcom.com

In my recent Qbus haul, I found two non-DEC memory cards: 1. NSC NS23D 2. Dataram 40903 Rev G Both are fully populatd with 2MB (1MW) of 256Kb x 1 chips, and both are configured for address 0. I'd love to use both together in one of my systems, but I can't find a scrap of documentation anywhere, so I have no idea how to configure the base address of either card. Disappointing! Does anyone have docs for either of these beasts? Best Wishes, -Seth

10 years, 11 months

PDP-8 documents on eBay

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

So here's something interesting (but not in my line): PDP8/E Interface Manual - 1970 http://www.ebay.com/itm/271858083977 The same seller has some other PDP-8 documentation (set of prints of some sort, etc, etc). Noel

10 years, 11 months

Texas Instruments CC-40 won't boot

by fozztexx＠fozztexx.com

Picked up a TI CC-40 and it?s much smaller than I expected. I thought it was going to be the same size as a TRS-80 Model 100. I mostly got it because I wanted to try out the BASIC on it so I could update the list of computers with BASIC in ROM that I started on Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:FozzTexx/List_of_Computers_With_BASIC_in_… As soon as I got it I popped in some batteries and turned it on, and I was able to enter a one line BASIC program and run it. Then I pushed the OFF key and since then it won?t boot up at all, it just gives me half a screen of black squares. Thinking maybe I had put partially dead batteries in it, I replaced them with fresh ones and same thing. I also pulled the batteries and tried powering it up from the DC input jack, still no go. When it?s stuck like this the OFF key doesn?t do anything and neither does the little reset button next to the spacebar. I?ve looked around for a service manual and haven?t turned up anything. Did my RAM chips go bad? Did the ROM go bad? Here?s a pic of the CC-40 and an M100 next to it for scale: http://imgur.com/a/Irsev -- Follow me on twitter: @FozzTexx Check out my blog: http://insentricity.com

10 years, 11 months

Computers_With_BASIC_in_ROM

by bob099＠centurytel.net

The TI-74 BasiCalc, successor to the CC-40 -- But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel I Timothy 5:8

10 years, 11 months

Burroughs B1900 for sale in North Carolina

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

So I'm not sure what we've got, here. The machine seems to have only one memory board in it, so, just for grins, I decided to look at the online docs on the 1900, and see if it needed memory boards in pairs. The doc described the model 1905 and the model 1955 - both of which have a "diagnostic/maintainence control panel", with lights and switches, which this machine doesn't have. Although that may not mean that much - people started getting rid of them because they cost too much, so maybe this is a later model, without them. They also have a cutout in the top panel for a large keyboard (see pictures online of these model) which again this machine doesn't have (the cutout, that is)... It does seem to have one less CPU card than one of the models (forget which one) in the online manuals (CPU cards only go from A-H on this unit, not A-J), and no, there isn't a missing CPU card, i) the slots are numbered, and ii) there's no empty slot. I looked all over it for a model/serial number placard, which would give the model, but NSFL, couldn't find one. :-( It does have a large red placard panel on the front which says 1900, so I'm pretty sure it's _some_ flavour of Burroughs 1900, but... Anyone have any idea what this thing might be, exactly? Noel

10 years, 11 months

Multibus extender

by silvercreekvalley＠yahoo.com

Hi Does anyone have or no where to get a cheapish multibus extender card? I've seen a few new extenders for sale but they are quite pricey. Cheers

10 years, 11 months

those moments when out urban exploring and i wana scream

by tdk.knight＠gmail.com

out exploring the rements of a paper mill 20 yrs in the making... mess i stumbled upone this sad iritating site one crushed smashed up pdp8i in the yard of burnt trashed industrial junk wasteland https://www.flickr.com/photos/1ajs/sets/72157651577592077/

10 years, 11 months

Where's a good place to list stuff?

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Todd Goodman > There aren't many deals to be found on eBay anymore (IMNSHO anyway) for > vintage computer gear. Test equipment is a different story. Well, it still does happen occasionally. Someone (no idea who) recently got a really nice BA11-S for only $80 (admittedly, in part because I was confused about the closing time, and missed that auction :-). Although I guess "occasionally" is pretty much the same as "not many", so I guess you're right. If people are willing to buy lots (i.e. N things in a group), you can also get good deals. E.g. I know of recent lot that included 4 11/73 CPU cards; it turned out that although only one worked straight off, the J11 chips on the other three were all good - and the whole lot (including a bunch of other boards, all working) was only like $250. Noel

10 years, 11 months

Visual Basic Question

by dj.taylor4＠verizon.net

I have a software driver for an old scientific instrument that is described in a brief manual this way: "The acquisition driver is a tool that allows developers to write their own Windows based programs that can acquire data from any Michelson series spectrometer. The programs can be developed with any programming environment that supports calling standard Windows 16bit DLLs. Examples of such environments are Visual Basic and Visual C++ from Microsoft ( up to version 1.5 ), Delphi and C++ >from Borland, Labview from National instruments. This document assumes that the reader is familiar with all the concepts surrounding DLLs and Windows programming. It is a reference guide that explains the parameters of the functions that make up the Bomem acquisition driver and how they are used to acquire data." I recently purchased Visual Basic 4.0 Standard Edition, but the first pages of the reference indicate that it is a 32 bit only version. Which version of Visual Basic will allow me to call this driver?

10 years, 11 months

Multibus extenders?

by silvercreekvalley＠yahoo.com

Hi I?m trying to find a multibus extender card. I?ve seen a few for sale new, but they are a bit too pricey for me. Anyone know a good source or have an old extender for sale? Thanks.

10 years, 11 months

Burroughs B1900 for sale in North Carolina

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> On 4/14/15 2:07 AM, Nigel Williams wrote: >> I hope someone is able to rescue this system For those who were interested in this thing's fate, I just picked it up, and it's sitting safely in my garage, waiting for the new owner to arrange shipping. It's in really good shape inside (unlike my rodent 11/34's :-), and the cards look like they are all there. (If anyone's particularly interested in this machine, email me - _not the list_! - and I'll send you a copy of my detailed report to the new owner on its condition.) > From: Al Kossow > There are a couple of obvious things missing, like the cold-start > cassette Actually, there _is_ one of those there, still in the casette drive. Not sure how good a shape it's in after this long (or the casette drive, for that matter), but... > and any disk drives. Oddly enough, the seller did have two Burroughs packs (4 platter, I think). Not sure if they are from this machine, or what's on them - or how one would ever find a drive to read them on! > dumps of the tapes would be a good thing Alas, the tapes appear to be un-connected to the machine. Noel

10 years, 11 months

IBM 5120-troubles removing card cage

by supervinx＠libero.it

Hi! I feel a bit stupid, since I tore apart a lot of machines so I should be able to remove the card cage... but... I removed back covers and the two screws which hold the cage in place. I pulled gently the card, and I encountered a fair amount of resistance. Looking into the chassis (there's a hole under the cathodic tube) I noticed that the yellow flat cable (coming from the power section) blocked the cage on the left. Freed the cage I couldn't extract it completely, since the cage fan cable and a semitransparent flat cable (both disappearing internally, can't say where by now) are very short. I was barely able to remove the cage metal top cover. The semitransparent flat cable starts from the I/O Cable Driver card in the "A" position... Am I missing something? The manual has images of the card cage fully extracted still connected to the cables, but I wasn't able to do this. Thanks! -- Vincenzo (aka Supervinx) --==ooOoo==-- My computer collection: http://www.supervinx.com/OnlineMuseum --==ooOoo==-- You can reach me at: www.supervinx.com www.facebook.com/supervinx http://www.youtube.com/user/supervinx http://www.myspace.com/supervinx

10 years, 11 months

Burroughs B1900 for sale in North Carolina

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Nigel Williams > Do any of the tape labels suggest original distribution media? if so > would you be willing to share some of the descriptions please. None of the tapes have descriptive labels; all have only large labels with 4-digit numbers. In other words, they look like somsone's data tapes. One has a label from the Durham Insurance Company; a letter (which I found in the base of one of the cardboard boxes which held the tapes) is from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, and says that they received a "gift of a large number of used magnetic tapes" from that company, which they are handing out for free. Like I said, the tapes are useless. Noel

10 years, 11 months

FREE FOR SHIPPING or LOCAL PICK UP: P133 DOS Gaming Machine

by slandon110＠gmail.com

Just clearing out stuff this spring. P133 Machine 16MB RAM 2GB HD 5.25 inch FDD- 360KB 3.5in FDD 1.44mb Has Windows 95 installed on it and a Voodoo 2 Card in it. Used to be my DOS Gaming machine, but ive since replaced it with another machine. Was given to me, So its Free for the cost of shipping to anyone who wants it, Or wants to come pick it up in Farwell Michigan Steve

10 years, 11 months

M9301-YB Bootstrap/Terminator ROM dumps / listings?

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Jorg Hoppe >> Much of the M9312 ... was quite different [from the M9301] > ... here is the commented source code of all M9312 bootloaders. > ... > Very likely the actual PDP-11 code is identical to M9301 Err.... :-) Noel

10 years, 11 months

M9301-YB Bootstrap/Terminator ROM dumps / listings?

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Jorg Hoppe >> Here's what I have so far: >> http://ana-3.lcs.mit.edu/~jnc/tech/pdp11/M9301-YA.mac > Thanks for that effort! Eh, de nada. Interesting and educational. > The M9312 code should be similar, at least it may expose some ideas Some parts of it (e.g. the CPU diagnostic) are mostly identical (and the comments there, particularly on the single-op register instructions, are useful to total understanding of that code in the M9301); but alas, I had already done that part of the M9301 (at least, at a surface level)! Much of the M9312 (including the functionality of most of what I had yet to read in the M9301) was quite different. I did manage to get the 'print number' code out of it, but that was pretty much it. So I've done a lot of the remaining M9301-YA code (new version uploaded to location above); not the per-device code, I'll probably blow that off, but other than that, only a few tiny sections remain to be understood. Can someone with a M9301-YA please verify for me that location 165450 contains 0770? I think that perhaps that is wrong, because the code makes no sense if that's correct - maybe a bit has been dropped, or something? And if anyone has a good M9301-YB, I would appreciate a dump. (I do have one, but don't - yet - have a running UNIBUS -11 to plug it into.) > From: Don North > I've had two DL11-W in my 11/34A BA11-K box for years and have never > had an LTC issue. I suppose if you had a a larger number (say four or > more) you might possibly see an LTC issue Hey, all I know is what's in the manual (which Josh posted). :-) I'd forgotten there was a jumper you could pull - I tend not to like to do things like that as it makes the cards non-pull-and-plug interchangeable. Hence my suggestion to 'just use an M7800'. Noel

10 years, 11 months

Old terminal avaialble in Houston

by nospam212-cctalk＠yahoo.com

I have an old terminal available in Houston. It is a red terminal with Bendix and Logicport 2 printed on the front next to the side of the screen and an acoustic coupler on the top. It comes in a big red carrying case. Need to move this out if anyone is interested contact me off list otherwise I guess I'll have to take it to the recycle center. Would rather see it go to someone who could use or enjoy it. David Williams www.trailingedge.com

10 years, 11 months

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test-drb May 2015