test-drb April 2016

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

203 participants
299 discussions

ISO: VAX 11/750 RDM (L0006) and/or ECKAL diagnostic listing

by derschjo＠gmail.com

Hey all -- Finally got the power supplies in my 11/750 humming again (after numerous failures) and generally things are looking good -- it passes microverify (I get the '%%' output at power-up) and most diagnostics (that I can run without an RDM) are passing. The ECKAL (Cache/TB) Diagnostic is failing, however; it runs for about a second and then spits out: 00003488 06 I have a spare L0003 board and it exhibits exactly the same behavior (also swapped in a spare L0002, no change). Socketed chips have been removed, cleaned and replaced to no effect. I'd like to track down an RDM (L0006) module (even if just to borrow one) to run the more advanced diagnostics. Failing that, a listing of the ECKAL diagnostic would be very helpful in figuring out what it's reporting... Thanks as always, Josh

8 years, 3 months

Fan bearing lubricant was Re: WD-40 (again)

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: drlegendre > If they use sleeve bearings, take a close look at the material.. does > it have the sintered look of oil-impregnated bronze (Oilite)? It looks like copper, actually; it's quite reddish. (The central pin seems to be steel of some sort.) But I'm not familiar with Oilite, so I can't say for sure. > Are there channels in the bearing to allow the distribution or > retention of grease? There's a section of reduced diameter in the center of the pin; the ends are full diameter, with no grooves of any kind. The sleeve is a plain cylinder. > Those fans tend to run at pretty low RPM Not these. They are doing very high RPM indeed. Noel

8 years, 3 months

Fan bearing lubricant was Re: WD-40 (again)

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

{Multiple replies packaged together to minimize list traffic...} > From: Jon Elson > If you open one of these up, make sure to oil the cotton packing to > supply oil gradually to the bearing. I don't see any sign of a cotton packing around it (but maybe it's just sealed away where I can't see it). There is a gasket/washer of some sort of packing material / felting at one end, but I suspect that's for dust interception, not as an oil resevoir, as in the fan's normal operating orientation, it's on the bottom. Speaking of orientation, though: these fans, like most PDP-11 fans, send air downwards. I was thinking of flipping them, to send the heat upwards (its 'natural' direction), but after pondering a bit, I'm not sure this is a good idea: the air-flow on the intake side is diffuse, whereas on the output, it's a concentrated, directed blast - better for cooling boards, etc. > From: Chuck Guzis > I did some research among the antique fan collectors on the web. Thanks very much for taking the time to do that; my only concern is to wonder if their experience is applicable, since these things are turning an order of magnitude faster than old household fans. > Here's what's been recommended, in no particular order: > .. > 3-in-1 Electric Motor Oil (SAE 20) That's what I've been working with so far, but I was wondering if it would last without going gummy. If they're happy with it for the long term, that sounds like it would be good for this too. > From: Corey Cohen > I like to use a product called SuperLube that I get at the gun store. > It's synthetic and I find it doesn't like to pickup dust Thanks for the tip; I'll see if I can find any here. Oddly enough, I had found something called Hoppe's Lubricating Oil on my shelf - it's for firearms and fishing reels, and explicitly claims that it "will not gum [or] harden", which also sounds like it might similar to the above, and just what's called for. I had seen reference online to people using synthetic automatic transmission fluid, but the stuff I looked at claimed to "stop leaks", which makes it sounds like it contains some agent which hardens (or at least coagulates) when exposed to air (although I would assume there was some exposure to air in the transmission?), which is definitely not what is wanted! Noel

8 years, 3 months

Weird c. 1982 Onyx systems 68010-based UNIX minicomputer

by ian.finder＠gmail.com

Folks, Just thought I'd post this here for fun. I had heard of Onyx systems, a Z8000 UNIX system vendor. Recently I was contacted by someone in the Seattle area who claimed to have an unused Onyx systems 68010 system, perhaps a prototype. There is nothing about this I was able to find online. It came with distribution media on QIC tape- some generic looking (from the docs it came with) flavor of UNIX, which I am going to get help imaging. There is nothing on the hard drive (installed via ESDI to SCSI bridge)- it was never used or installed. I don't really need anything- the machine was new in box and works correctly. It has media- but I'd love more context if people know it. Sure, it's a very boring generic M68K box, but I can barely find any record of it existing. I know Onyx was originally bought by Corvus, who had their own 68K box- perhaps why this was killed. Cheers, - Ian (apologies for the Instagram image host, I don't want to dig it out right now but I will send proper pictures to anyone interested) https://www.instagram.com/p/6EcFCwNSz4/?taken-by=tr1nitr0n https://www.instagram.com/p/6GK8brNS_V/?taken-by=tr1nitr0n https://www.instagram.com/p/6GLEvutS_e/?taken-by=tr1nitr0n -- Ian Finder (206) 395-MIPS ian.finder at gmail.com

8 years, 3 months

Atari 800 finally tested, using home theater projector

by spacewar＠gmail.com

Perhaps five years ago, a friend gave me some Atari 8-bit gear, including an 800, 800XL, 1020 plotter, 1027 letter-quality printer (which is undoubtedly no good now), and a 1050 floppy drive, but no software. The stuff has been in storage in my mother's basement until recently. I just kludged up a composite video cable for it, and tested it on a home theater projector. Without software, I can only test it with the built-in "Memo Pad", but it seems to work: https://www.flickr.com/photos/22368471 at N04/25892477424/ Now I'll look for BASIC and Star Raiders cartridges. It should be fun playing Star Raiders on the big screen. That was the first game I ever played on an Atari 800, back in 1979.

8 years, 3 months

Vintage Computer Festivals???

by couryhouse＠aol.com

Yep that's him. Attended one of his show in maybe 1980? Had a van load of power supplies for 8 inch sugart.. drives. ?They were new and surplused by intel..in phxWe sold everyone! ?It was a great show.?Wonder what h e is up to now????? Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone -------- Original message -------- From: Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> Date: 4/18/2016 7:52 PM (GMT-08:00) To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: Re: Vintage Computer Festivals??? On Mon, 18 Apr 2016, couryhouse wrote: > Are we talking ?John Craig who used to have the 59 el camino?...ed# No idea what he was driving. It was 35 years ago, so a 59 El Camino was certainly possible. I think that he was also one of the publishers of Infoworld, if that helps you track him down.?? But there were also a lot of other John Craigs.

8 years, 3 months

Vintage Computer Festivals???

by couryhouse＠aol.com

Are we talking ?John Craig who used to have the 59 el camino?...ed# Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone -------- Original message -------- From: Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> Date: 4/18/2016 4:36 PM (GMT-08:00) To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: Re: Vintage Computer Festivals??? > Maybe one day we'll have a flea/swap event. Perhaps even include that as a > separate day before/after the main show. It has been a long time.??? It has been far too long since VCF (west) John Craig experienced a process that a friend called "the inevitable decline of flea-markets".? They start out as a peer event, where the attendees and sellers are the same people.? Before long, realities of setup call for sellers being allowed in before buyers.?? That gives the sellers a headstart on buying the best deals.?? "We might as well just do musical chairs - when the music stop, you take home whatever is on the table that you ended up with" Soon, it attracted vendors who are NOT buyers.? In the case of computer swaps, those were the vendors of Taiwan clone systems and parts.? It was such a good deal for them that more and more of them signed up.? Soon, there started to be a shortage of spaces (a delightful prospect for show management!).? So, the management created a multi-level pricing for space. Competing companies offered more and more shows until there was one almost every weekend. Eventually, the show was ALL new item vendors, with hobbyists few and far between.? Soon the hobbyist buyers stopped coming.? There was a period of time where the show could still appeal to the general public ("great place to buy your new computer!"), but after a while, the swaps ceased to exist.

8 years, 3 months

Vintage Computer Festivals???

by couryhouse＠aol.com

May want to jury it....you could get loaded up with piles of crap....... Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone -------- Original message -------- From: Evan Koblentz <cctalk at snarc.net> Date: 4/18/2016 2:54 PM (GMT-08:00) To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: Re: Vintage Computer Festivals??? > Q:? policy/attitude/preference:? At some swaps in the distant past, > there were limits (dozen items?) posed on amount any one person could > put in consignment.? Are you wanting to INCREASE the consignment volume? > I would love to just handoff a small station wagon full of stuff to THEM. The details aren't determined. When we figure it out (available consignment space for VCF West) then we'll announce it.

8 years, 3 months

Vintage Computer Festivals???

by tdk.knight＠gmail.com

All depends For instance Lego On Apr 18, 2016 7:33 PM, "Ali" <cctalk at ibm51xx.net> wrote: > For VCF-West, I have a ridiculous amount of crap to dispose of. Far > too much to burden a consignment group. Most of it would be very > cheap, other than the need to make the expenses (direct and incidental) > of the event. As a first time attendee I am of course first and foremost excited to see some of the older systems I have never seen outside of YouTube/pictures. However, I also wouldn't mind picking up items that I am looking for. Heck, I am going to be there with a car what better opportunity to transport stuff and make sure it gets back in one piece. After the last set of fiascos with all the major shippers (nobody is immune these days) and the rising cost of shipping (even though gas has been crashing fast) buying items outside of chips is becoming cost prohibitive! If VCF feels it would be best to separate the two areas fine - but please make sure to have the two areas for those of us who are hobbyist/enthusiasts! -Ali

8 years, 3 months

Vintage Computer Festivals???

by cctalk＠snarc.net

> In general, to have VCF shows relegate those folks to the vendor > hall just removes good potential exhibits from the show. "Relegate" isn't a fair word, Jim. The sales area is * right next to * the exhibits area. All I'm saying is we do not want to confuse the audience. They need to understand that here are entertaining demos and over there are things to buy. When I was young my father always took me to antique car shows. It's the perfect analogy for our hobby. Over here you have rows and rows of beautiful old cars shining in the sun (of course at VCF the equipment is running, not just sitting there!), and over on the other side you've got people selling stuff. These shows appeal to a much wider audience than just the people who actually buy antique cars. > In the end, given VCF East's stance, I think if I attend in 2017, I'll > just make up an exhibit of my wares, be in the exhibit hall, and just > tell people to meet me at lunch or after the show to buy the stuff. That's fine.

8 years, 3 months

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test-drb April 2016