test-drb January 2016

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

172 participants
198 discussions

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

I am not a vax person, I'm posting this for someone else. Could anyone offer advice for me to relay back to this person (other than reseating boards, cleaning connectors, or other non-vax-specific stuff)? -------------- I was hoping you could help me answer a question. I have a Vaxstation 3100 that, when I power it up, fails the test with the following LED readout: 1000 1010 which indicates the failure is in the memory management test. Any suggestions on further troubleshooting I can do to figure out how to get this machine booting? My plan is to run OpenBSD on it and see if I can revive some of the ports for this platform. I'm doing something similar on my Alphastation 500/400. -------------- Best, J

8 years, 11 months

VAXology

by geneb＠deltasoft.com

VAXCINATION A "preventive training" provided to potential users of the VAX system to prevent software foul-ups other than deliberate. VAX-RAY A high-energy screening to determine whether a user is qualified to have a VAX I/O station on his floor. VAXWAGEN What everyone jumps on after the VAX is approved VAXING AND VAXING is the successful use of the VAX during WAILING the full moon. Wailing is the less successful alternative during the other lunar phases. VAXMAS The day the VAX come in. VAXCILLATE To oscillate between possible ways to administer VAX training. VAXCIMILE A German copy of the VAX. VAXECUTION The denial to a user of future access to the VAX. NO VAX TO A put-down administered to those withour a dial-up GRIND line, and hence no acces to the VAX, as in "Infidel! Let that terminal alone! You have no VAX to grind!" VAX AND THE SINGLE GIRL A relationship with much potential. VAXI! VAXI! A cry heard and unheeded by cruising VAX personnel as they go around the corridors, hailed by frantic users-to-be who desire a high-tech ride on the VAX. AVAX A low-flying VAX with radar. VAXTENUATING The generic excuse used to explain delays in the CIRCUMSTANCES delivery of the VAX. VAXCENTUATE To underline the importance of the VAX. VAXTERMINATION The perennial zapping of mysterious files from the VAX. VAXCINE An abbreviation for "I have seen the VAX!" VEDI, VENI, That victory cry - "I saw, I conquered. The VAX VAXI came!" VAXERCISE An early morning workout on the VAX. VAXUUM A computer room without a VAX. Abhorred by nature. VAXIMUM Keeping silent to the max about the startup of the VAX. VAX POPULI The users. VAX BUILDUP The result of not using the file delete command often enough. VAXACHUSETTS DEC country. INCOME VAX What one shouts when the VAX is delivered. VAX-FREE BOND A special relationship with a non-VAX computer on Wall Street. THE BLUE VAX World War I medal honoring high-powered computing. Also (modern): A VAX made by Smurfs. VAXIMA The height of ecstasy reached while computing on VAX. Also (archaic): Mother of VAX. VAXIS What the world of computers rotates on. GRODY TO THE VAX Like, y'know, the VAX in the valley fer shure! VAX-CARS What G.M. doesn't make. VAXICDENT The spilling of coffee on a VAX terminal. VAXONERATED The honor of DEC. VAXLE That to which the wheels of the VAX are attached. VAXIDERMIST One who lives by the dictum "You can take the VAX and stuff it!" THE VAX OF Everything you ever wanted to know about the birds LIFE and the bees (and the bugs in the VAX). VAX Long-haired northern cousins of the buffalo, used as beasts of burden in Tibet. TO VAX ELOQUENT The act of preparing a glossary for the VAX. g.

8 years, 11 months

MICRO LSI-11 BA23 available

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

Someone would like to move out a Micro LSI-11 in a BA23 pedestal cabinet. Location is Northwest Ohio. Email me off-list if interested. J

8 years, 11 months

Preferred way of substituting TFT for CRT Monitor?

by Martin.Hepperle＠dlr.de

> What is the exact model number of the video card? > > I am assuming it's an HP98204 of some flavour. The HP98204A uses (US, RS170) TV rates and > can be connected to any composite monitor that expects that. A lot of TVs (rather than monitors) > in Europe can accept that and have composite inputs still, perhaps on a SCART socket. > > However the more normal video card in the 9000/217 (aka HP9817) is the HP98204B. This does > have a composite output but at rather odd rates. There was a specal 'HP' (actually a Samsung > chassis, and it shows!) monitor for this. I thinkl finding somethng that will lock to the video output > of that card is going to be 'interesting' > > Do you have the original HP monitor? If so, what model is it? > > -tony Hi Tony, indeed this machine has a 98204B video board (intended to work with a 35721 monitor, which I don't have). I have not yet found the specs for its composite signal. I find many $20 converters/scalers for composite to VGA on amazon or ebay but I am not sure whether such a thing would work for me. Obviously they seem to work for many computer games (SNES, Nintendo) and for some hobby computers like C64, Amiga etc. (e.g. "RCA Composite AV S-Video to VGA Converter Box"). Next I see $50 devices like "Mini Composite RCA CVBS AV To HDMI Converter (Input: AV; Output: HDMI)" which may also be an option, but only seem to scale to a fixed HDMI resolution, which may be unsuitable for the HP-resolution of 512x400 (or 512x390?). Finally I see $200 converters/scalers which are a bit expensive just for trying to see whether they work (e.g. "Atlona AT-AVS100 Composite/S-Video to Component/VGA Scaler"). I have also contacted Jon from the HP-Museum to see what their solution is. Regards, Martin

8 years, 11 months

DEC Rainbow PC100-A

by shadoooo＠gmail.com

> So if all LEDs remain on, that most likely means the CPU is not able to execute instructions at all. > It might mean a busted CPU, busted ROM or CPU bus, or missing power or clock. Yes, that's exactly my feeling... so a schematic would be very good to try to diagnose an evident problem as missing signals, etc, knowing what they should be from the circuit diagram. I will try to check something easy at first, knowing the pinout of the microprocessors... but after that I suspect it will be harder. Andrea

8 years, 11 months

cctalk Digest, Vol 19, Issue 18

by shadoooo＠gmail.com

8 years, 11 months

Non-baking cure for sticky shed? (being serious for a moment)

by dave.g4ugm＠gmail.com

I know that tapes have different coatings, so some are ferrous and other chrome based, but what about the backing and "glue" that holds the two together? Dave G4UGM > -----Original Message----- > From: cctalk [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Chuck > Guzis > Sent: 17 January 2016 23:41 > To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts > <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > Subject: Re: Non-baking cure for sticky shed? > > On 01/17/2016 02:00 PM, ben wrote: > > > > > Why not just grab a few 8 tracks from the truck out back. > > > > > ...Or fill those old QIC cartridges with some old acetate-base 1/4" > open-reel audio tape? After all, it's all the same... > > --Chuck

8 years, 11 months

DEC Rainbow PC100-A

by shadoooo＠gmail.com

Hello, I recently took a DEC Rainbow PC100-A. It has been a huge house for a lot of spiders, who deposited eggs and dead insects all around. After full disassembling, cleaning and reassembling, I'm ready to try it! PSU seems to work well, power goes on with almost precise voltages, then all the test leds on the back will lit on... then nothing happens! No video, no sign of life. Clearly there's a problem at the very beginning of the boot phase, that could be caused by a lot of reasons. In the next days I will try to analyze possible causes of the problem with oscilloscope, in the meantime I'm searching a schematic, as board is very complex to follow trace-by-trace. On bitsavers I found a schematic of PC100B, but the main board is not the same as PC100A. Anybody has a schematic for PC100A? I suspect that ROMs could be damaged, anybody has a correct dump to verify the content of the EPROMS? Thanks Andrea

8 years, 11 months

My TU58 again

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

I think I have had a most instructive day. I did what I should have done a lot earlier and connected a (cheap, built from a Velleman kit) DSO to the output of the read amplifier in my TU58. That's pin 6 of the CA3130 at location E28 if you are trying to follow along in the printset, The printset indicates a wobbly waveform there marked 5Vpp. My little DSO can display the peak-peak measurement of a waveform. I started by cleaning the heads and demagnetising them (with one of those mains-powered electrmomagnet things). Of course I unplugged the drive from the controller before doing that in case the induced voltage was enough to damage things. Remember I have removed the 8155 from the controller board and fitted a socket, I have used jumper wires there to start and stop the tape, change direction, etc without the 8085 part getting in the way. I have what appears to be a new TU58 cartridge. With that in the drive I get a steady (and clean-looking) waveform of about 3.6Vpp. Low, compared to the value in the prints, but I suspect high enough to work. Then I tried my console tape. It goes all over the place. Sometimes 4V. Sometimes under 1V. And it is anything but a clean signal. There were times when it was just a little ripple. As I understand it there are no gaps in the formatting of a TU58. Certainly not ones that last for several seconds at normal tape speed. Worse than that, when I put the new cartrige back in the ampltude was significantly lower, around 2.7V. It came back when I cleaned the head again. My conclusion at this point is that my console tape is suffering from major dropouts and is shedding oxide. So now I need to get a good tape (maybe the new one I have), fix the standalone TU58 and dump the console tape image onto it. Or does anyone have any other ideas or comments? -tony

8 years, 11 months

TU58 problems

by bob＠jfcl.com

What's the SD card based TU58 emulator that a couple of people mentioned? Is that just a Raspberry PI with linux and the existing TU58 emulator software, or is there something more purpose built? Bob

8 years, 11 months

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test-drb January 2016