test-drb June 2016

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

196 participants
290 discussions

by wdonzelli＠gmail.com

So today I picked up something I had never seen before - an IBM 3511. This is a large tower expansion chassis for the PS/2 line. It looks very straightforward - but can any of you PS/2 fans comment on this? Was it an unsuccessful product? Low demand item? -- Will

8 years, 1 month

VAX-11/780 Board Set on eBait

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Devin Davison > well there goes my plan of trying to keep it under the radar. Sorry, I didn't mean to upset your plan (and you); I just didn't know if anyone was watching for VAX-11/780 parts, they come by so rarely. We have discussed this topic before, but let me recapitulate one point about pricing and valuations: if we want to stop this stuff being scrapped, we need to make sure the prices realized are well above scrap. This will have several consequences: i) If people only get low (scrap-region) prices, why go to all the bother/hassle of listing things on auction sites; just proceeed directly to 'Go'. ii) Hopefully, if values are non-trivial, the word will get around, and people who have this stuff will go to the effort to list it, instead of leaving it to moulder, etc. Yes, I understand that will make this a more expensive hobby, but TANSTAAFL. YMMV. Noel

8 years, 1 month

Trying to repair a Smith-Corona letter quality "printer"

by fozztexx＠fozztexx.com

I picked up a Smith-Corona Memory Correct 400 Messenger typewriter at Goodwill last week. It has the daisy wheel but no ribbon. I debated getting it since I already have enough retro stuff around the house, but every single time I?m at a Goodwill I look at all the typewriters to see if they have some kind of serial or parallel port. This one has a DE9 connector on the back which can be connected to a computer using an external box called a Messenger Module, which I also have. I plugged it in at the store and the typewriter didn't power up. They gave me 10 bucks off so I couldn?t resist and bought it. I?m hoping it?s an easy fix, but I can?t figure out how to get the thing apart at all! The four screws in the bottom just hold the plastic case to the metal frame, and removing them didn?t allow the case to come apart. I can?t figure out how to get the two plastic halves separated. There's no screws in the top and no other screws in the bottom. The plastic halves aren't welded together around the outside, I can wedge a screwdriver between them all the way around. There seems to be something holding the halves together near the four corners. Does anyone have any idea of how to get this thing open (without breaking the plastic)? I?ve searched all over the internet but I can?t find any scanned service manuals. The typewriter is from 1984 and was sold for $600 new so it doesn't seem to me like it would be a "disposable" item so there has to be a way to open it and service it. From what I can tell the 200/300/400 all use the same case, and the Memory Correct II/III use a very similar case, so info for any of those may help. I posted an album here: http://imgur.com/a/SxfTE and a YouTube video here: http://youtu.be/ryDl0Qvl7Gk Any assistance in opening the case without breaking it will be greatly appreciated! :-) -- Follow me on twitter: @FozzTexx Check out my blog: http://insentricity.com

8 years, 1 month

UNIBUS M9312 ROMS

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Jay West > some (me) are sticklers for original code. Is there possibly a listing of the code in a fiche, somewhere? Noel

8 years, 1 month

Updates to the Alpha Micro Phun Machine

by spectre＠floodgap.com

For those of you not on vcfed, yes, this is a real, live Alpha Micro Eagle 300 with AlphaTCP serving you information on the unusual Alpha Micro 68K systems and their peculiar DEC-like operating system, AMOS. New in this iteration is a lot of link cleanup, some custodial edits and a number of new downloads, including a tool for browsing ISO 9660 CDs and even a Rogue/Nethack port! http://ampm.floodgap.com/ (And if you don't believe it's an Alpha Micro:) http://ampm.floodgap.com/cgi-bin/systat -- ------------------------------------ personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckaiser at floodgap.com -- Bowl angry. ----------------------------------------------------------------

8 years, 1 month

IO Selectric

by dave.g4ugm＠gmail.com

Folks I have today collect a recent E-Bay purchase. It appears to be an IO Selectric that has been left in a garage for a long period of time and is very gummed up. It will turn over with the manual handle, and it appears to try and type, but the carriage does not advance. All the tapes and chords appear to be in place. I have put some pictures here:- https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=277A0739F125010E!119461 <https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=277A0739F125010E!119461&authkey=!AGfg RGXKAjqDm7E&ithint=folder%2cJPG> &authkey=!AGfgRGXKAjqDm7E&ithint=folder%2cJPG sorry for the long link. Does anyone have any suggestions as to which manuals are appropriate, and which documentation was followed to allow it to be used as a printer? Dave Wade G4UGM

8 years, 1 month

PS/2 luggables I noticed for sale in Denver

by swiftgriggs＠gmail.com

I saw some retro gear on CL today. 20Mhz 386 PS/2 lookin' thing http://denver.craigslist.org/sys/5589047344.html which is this: http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/30497/IBM-Model-8573-121/ And this one: http://denver.craigslist.org/sys/5589142407.html which is this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_PC_Convertible I'm not an IBM nut (sorry, I worked there too long). However, they are cool machines. Someone might be interested. -Swift

8 years, 1 month

Anyone with a Data General Eclipse S/230 out there?

by derschjo＠gmail.com

I just acquired a DG Eclipse S/230 in semi-decent condition. It's mostly complete with some fun peripherals in a gigantic rack. It'll be fun to get it going, but it's going to be a challenge -- the machine has been scavenged from here and there, I'm missing basic TTY I/O and controllers for the 8" floppy drive (and probably other things, too). Going over the boards, there's an IC on the "CPU 1" board that was somehow forcibly ripped from the PCB -- it looks like someone started clipping it off, then said "screw it" and yanked the thing off with pliers, leaving much of the leads leading up to the IC die. The PCB is undamaged, but I don't know what the IC is supposed to be. I suspect, based on what's surrounding it, that it's an SN74172J. The IC is located at position X3 (approximately, it covers more real estate than that). Anyone have a CPU 1 board from an S/230 they can check for me? There isn't much in the way of schematics for this that I can find... Thanks! Josh

8 years, 1 month

Restoring an RXV21 and/or an RX02

by rodsmallwood52＠btinternet.com

In my quest for a working RX02 I'm trying to find out the best way of checking out an RXV21 and get it talking to the RX02. I have most of the standard diagnostics including XXDP. The setup is an 11/83 with an RX50 and RD53. (I can boot from either) In the box is MSV11-J PMI KDF11-B RXV21 RQDX3 They are in the order as above. The two dual height modules are in the right hand side of the back plane when viewed from the front. I am unsure as if there is a utility for RXV21 among all the diags I have or should I go in with ODT on a halted system and look at registers. With the setup above I need to get the RXV21 going in order to check out the RX02. The precise syntax of any commands is important because presuming I may have prior knowledge is not a good idea. I may have known this stuff in the past but I cant remember if I did or not!! Rod

8 years, 1 month

Heathkit ETA-3400 vs. ETW-3400 confusion?

by tsw-cc＠johana.com

In following this thread, and taking in my "vast" Heathkit knowledge, I can only assume that the addition of a 'W' in the model number is to indicate a WIRED (at the factory) Heathkit. This may mean that the ETW-3400(a) is a wired version of the ET-3400(a). The difference that shows between the 'a' and non 'a' version is the space for four ram chips in the upper left visible corner of the PC board. The non-a version can have up to 4 ram chips (for a total of 512 bytes), but the a version has two 1024x4 chips, but only 512 bytes are available. Hope this answers some questions. (I have an ET3400-a version).

8 years, 1 month

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test-drb June 2016