ok lets start a list of them by s/n and for those that have surviving
sales docs let us place sales dates with them to give an snapshot
sales volume and time.
I am going to try to get ours out of the tombs to spiff up and will
pull the s/n at that time
Ed Sharpe archivist for SMECC _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org)
In a message dated 6/9/2015 12:05:11 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
michael.99.thompson at gmail.com writes:
I made a list from scanning classiccmp and Usenet groups.
Sent from my iPhone
> On Jun 9, 2015, at 2:56 PM, Lyle Bickley <lbickley at bickleywest.com>
wrote:
>
> On Tue, 9 Jun 2015 14:27:57 -0400
> Michael Thompson <michael.99.thompson at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>>
>>> Date: Mon, 08 Jun 2015 12:26:07 -0700
>>> From: couryhouse <couryhouse at aol.com>
>>> Subject: Re: Front Panel Update
>>>
>>> 8s is rare?? ? We have one. ?Is there a an registry? ?
>>> Ed# ?smecc.org
>>>
>>> Ben.
>> I know of 17 PDP-8/S systems, including four at the RICM.
>> The RICM has an OMD8S data-break and memory expansion chassis for an
>> 8/S.
>
> Is there a registry somewhere for PDP-8/S systems? Where is the list
> available and maintained?
>
> Cheers,
> Lyle
>
> --
> 73 AF6WS
> Bickley Consulting West Inc.
> http://bickleywest.com
>
> "Black holes are where God is dividing by zero"
foam blocks ... hated the things we just tucked one end of the tape
under the tape ring and snapped it shut
seems things stayed in place nicely and no foam outgassing under the
seal of the tape ring.
Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org)
In a message dated 6/9/2015 2:38:08 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
nf6x at nf6x.net writes:
> On Jun 9, 2015, at 14:32 , Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com> wrote:
>
> I'm getting a little tired of replacing old dried-out foam blocks to
hold down the ends of 1/2" tapes. Worse, some of the ones I've fished out
have utterly crumbled over the years, leaving bits of themselves inside the
reel.
I am curious: NOS tapes that I bought in the last year or so came with the
foam blocks, but I don't recall ever encountering either a foam block or
the magic plastic tape "back in the day" on tapes from the rack that I
handled as a backup operator. I presume that if they came with blocks, they were
discarded when the tapes were unpacked. Is it really necessary to secure
the tape end in normal use, or is it just needed during shipping to keep the
tape from getting loose on the reel during transport?
--
Mark J. Blair, NF6X <nf6x at nf6x.net>
http://www.nf6x.net/
They breathe better ?if you do not have thenm sealed..ed www.smecc.org
Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone
-------- Original message --------
From: Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com>
Date: 06/09/2015 9:46 PM (GMT-07:00)
To: General at classiccmp.org, "Discussion at classiccmp.org:On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Subject: Re: Blue tape retainers
On 06/09/2015 08:21 PM, ben wrote:
> Also would not a fall like that damage the tape reel?
When baking tapes with the Wright Line seals, I've learned to remove the
seals.? If you leave them on, the tapes at 58C, will often just fall
right out the seal--the coefficient of expansion is much larger for the
seals than for the tape reels.? After the seal has had a chance to cool
off, it fits fine.
This is particularly a problem with the smaller size reels.
--Chuck
wonders how long it takes the seal to decay? when in the biz had tapes
on the rack for 13 years and no falling . Ed# _www.smecc.org_
(http://www.smecc.org)
In a message dated 6/9/2015 7:42:06 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca writes:
On 6/9/2015 8:15 PM, Brent Hilpert wrote:
> On 2015-Jun-09, at 3:01 PM, jwsmobile wrote:
>
>> I find that the Writghtline seals work the best if the tapes were
>> not and are not hung with them. Eventually the white material will
>> fail, or the black lock will break, but they are by far the longest
>> lasting other than just a clear box container.
>
> Every couple of years for awhile now I'll be surprised in hearing a
> snap, clunk and strange scuffling sound in the house.
>
> It's one of those tape collar-seals breaking spontaneously, at which
> point the hung reel falls to the floor and takes off across the room,
> generally unwinding the tape as it goes.
>
>
After a few years, they start looking for food. :)
>
> Date: Mon, 08 Jun 2015 12:26:07 -0700
> From: couryhouse <couryhouse at aol.com>
> Subject: Re: Front Panel Update
>
> 8s is rare?? ? We have one. ?Is there a an registry? ? Ed# ?smecc.org
>
> Ben.
>
>
I know of 17 PDP-8/S systems, including four at the RICM.
The RICM has an OMD8S data-break and memory expansion chassis for an 8/S.
--
Michael Thompson
Unisys absorbed Varian mini computers ie the V 77
nice chart in this pdf of the family tree
http://rmarsh.cs.und.edu/CLASS/CS451/HANDOUTS/os-unisys.pdf
by the way the purchase agreement was dated 1977 between Uni and Var
we have lots of manuals in the catacombs.... unisys/varian/burroughs
Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org)
In a message dated 6/9/2015 3:45:11 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
paulkoning at comcast.net writes:
> On Jun 9, 2015, at 5:58 PM, tony duell <ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>
>> WTF? Varian was a competitor of DEC. They made minis themselves. Sounds
>> extremely strange that one would take a DEC mini, and put a Varian badge
>> on it. Did someone try to make a joke?
>
> I will always think of Varian as a maker of (very high quality) vacuum
equipment.
>
> I am sure this was not a joke. It wasn't just the name, the switch
handles were all green, the silkscreening
> was different, etc. It was a normal PDP8/e inside, though. It was part
of a piece of lab equipment (I forget
> what) and I had to do a minor repair on the PDP8/e side (this was over
20 years ago...). I was pleased to
> see that apart from a custom interface board, the rest of it was
standard DEC boards, so the printsets I
> had applied.
Interesting. Varian is a microwave equipment company; I have one of their
TWTs sitting on my H960 at home. Vacuum equipment, I could believe that.
But yes, Varian made a 16 bit minicomputer; I had a handbook for it at one
time (now lost, I suspect). And if memory serves, the reason is that
there was one in the Computer Science department at the University of Illinois
where I studied. I remember nothing about the architecture, other than the
fact it supported user microprogramming.
Possibly the OEM PDP8 predates that device. Or possibly it wasn?t enough
of a competitor for DEC to stop doing OEM business with Varian.
paul
I have had them come in them for video tape too and they were
seem to be white vinyl in this case
Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org)
In a message dated 6/9/2015 5:04:47 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca writes:
On 6/9/2015 5:38 PM, Pete Turnbull wrote:
> On 09/06/2015 22:32, Chuck Guzis wrote:
>> One thing that I recall is that many tape manufacturers used a blue,
>> sort of "sticky silicon" tape to hold ends in place. This stuff never
>> seems to degrade.
>
> Since I used to buy them, I can say with some authority that (1) they're
> vinyl tape, as others have surmised, and yes it's the same stuff that
> adhesive-free window "stickers" are made from, and (2) they came in lots
> of colours - I have almost every one except purple, and, oddly enough,
> blue. So the item on Amazon might be a very good option.
>
Have you checked the places that sell professional audio reel 2 reel tape?
I'm getting a little tired of replacing old dried-out foam blocks to
hold down the ends of 1/2" tapes. Worse, some of the ones I've fished
out have utterly crumbled over the years, leaving bits of themselves
inside the reel.
One thing that I recall is that many tape manufacturers used a blue,
sort of "sticky silicon" tape to hold ends in place. This stuff never
seems to degrade.
Does anyone know what the stuff is and where one might get a roll of it?
--Chuck
