test-drb January 2018

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

177 participants
213 discussions

by derschjo＠gmail.com

Hi all -- I'm in the middle of repairing a console for a Symbolics 3640. This uses the earlier Phillips-based monitor and it employs a TIPL757A transistor in the deflection circuit. The one in mine is toast and I haven't been able to find a suitable replacement. The datasheet (or at least a page of it) is here: http://pdf1.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/view/108034/TI/TIPL757.html The base current rating seems to be important in this application; I tried replacing it with a BUX48 (which meets the other specs but only has a 4A continuous base current rating) and it blew in a few minutes. I haven't found a source of 757As, and I haven't found another TO-3 transistor that matches its specifications. If anyone's sitting on a pile of these, knows a good source for them, or knows of a transistor to substitute, please let me know. Thanks! Josh

8 years, 1 month

What's this machine?

by anders.k.nelson＠gmail.com

Bouncing from the vintage microcontrollers Facebook page: https://m.facebook.com/groups/1233645553343772?view=permalink&id=1867447333… Can anyone help identify this machine?: https://twitter.com/StarringTheComp/status/955244079163564032 =] -- Anders Nelson +1 (517) 775-6129 www.erogear.com

8 years, 1 month

GT-40 etc.

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Al Kossow > vt11 is integrated into the 11/05 backplane on the gt40 Right (although I had forgotten that); I listed the 11/05 separately since I do have data on how much they've been going for - in an attempt to roughly value the lot. The GT40, however, no idea. (I recall one was for sale on eBay for many thousands, but I don't know if that was ever sold, and how much for.) Noel

8 years, 1 month

Adaptec 1522A SCSI Support (was re: New TestFDC Results Registry)

by silent700＠gmail.com

On Thu, Jan 18, 2018 at 6:58 PM, Adrian Graham via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote: > I could, but I guess by the time I?ve sourced a replacement I might as well have bought an AHA-1522A instead, I have a couple of scouts out looking for them as we speak :) The 1522A is a full pass for TESTFDC. Has anyone using one of these cards made use of the SCSI function? It has a Centronics 50 connector, which isn't terribly useful unless you've got the right cable, but if you're building an all-in-one imaging machine, it might be handy to have SCSI capability as well. It seems the driver hasn't been in Linux for quite a few versions. Not sure about the BSDs.

8 years, 1 month

Even old accounting software needs love and rescuing from oblivion

by terry＠webweavers.co.nz

Hi folks, On the weekend I rescued some old software. It gave me an excuse to get my first micro out of its box and stretch its legs. Accounting packages hardly set the world alight but being a Dick Smith release for the System 80, it does have its place in Australasian computer history. Anyway, if anyone is interested, here is the URL. http://www.classic-computers.org.nz/blog/2018-01-12-rescuing-more-dick-smit… Terry (Tez)

8 years, 1 month

A walk through of my legendary warehouse sale in the 1990s.

by innfoclassics＠gmail.com

This is a digitized HI8 tape of a walk through of an early Warehouse Sale I ran from 1995 to 1998. There is a small sections of collectable computers in the middle of the tape with a few others scattered through the sale. Fond memories and hard to believe it was 22 years ago. https://youtu.be/8Pme8mZU-Xc -- Paxton Hoag Astoria, OR USA <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_cam…> Virus-free. www.avg.com <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_cam…> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

8 years, 1 month

OT - Has anyone seen / have a copy of computer lore story about a DC consolidation?

by cctalk＠gtaylor.tnetconsulting.net

Sorry for the off topic post. I'm hoping that someone here might have seen a (what I consider to be) a computer lore type story about a contractor that was brought in part way through a project to consolidate three DCs into one. - In the end he managed to do it early and under budget. The kicker is that they quite literally physically moved and re-connected everything the way that it was. Meaning that there were still WAN circuits (local only of course) between equipment that was previously in different DCs. I would like to find a copy of this story and save it in my archive. But I've not been able to do so. Thus I'm asking a wider audience to see if anyone might be able to give me a pointer. -- Grant. . . . unix || die

8 years, 1 month

Power plugs and cables for the IBM 3420

by curiousmarc3＠gmail.com

Can any of you identify which power plugs models these are. They are on my IBM 3420 tapes and connect to the IBM 3803 controller, 3 phase: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ftfpg0owdvb173u/IMG_5066.JPG?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/uyzpwcp6sjkvrpf/IMG_5067.JPG?dl=0 These are for the large vacuum column tapes seen in this video here: https://youtu.be/yaPVkw8dnaI And if anyone knows where to get these power cables... Marc

8 years, 1 month

Early 12-inch WORM disk drives and media

by t.gardner＠computer.org

I'm pulling together a timeline of optical computer data storage and having fun with the early ones. A copy of Rothchild's Optical Memory Report, From the early 80's would be appreciated - hardcopies are at the CHM so maybe I'll have to drive over there I'm told by a reliable source and am trying to confirm that Philips and Toshiba were first circa 1980 so can anyone identify and provide any details about any 12-inch WORM disk drives and media that were shipped by either around 1980. FWIW the earliest WORM I can identify is the OSI Laserdrive 1200 which shipped in 1983. OSI was a joint venture of Philips and CDC and in turn a successor to their earlier joint ventures, Optical Media Laboratory in Holland and Optical Peripherals Laboratory in Colorado. So the Laserdrive might be a rebadged or enhanced version of the earlier Philips product. I have no clue as to any early Toshiba WORM FWIW, in 1981 Matsushita demonstrated of a 200 mm diameter WORM disk with a capacity of 15,000 still pictures but this wasn't a data disk. Not clear when and if it shipped as a product. [source: http://www.wtec.org/loyola/opto/ad_matsu.htm ] There is also an indication that Thompson CF also had an optical data storage system circa 1981 but I can find nothing about it. Any recollections and all literature would be appreciated. Tom

8 years, 1 month

GT-40 etc.

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Kyle Owen > A tenth the price of the Twiggy Lisa makes that auction look almost > affordable! Final price was $5600. Yeah, whoever bought that got, IMO, a pretty good deal (as I predicted). It's a fair amount of money, but they got a _ton_ of stuff (probably literally :-). I mean, look what's included (with rough guesses as the value): $600 H960 rack $600 H960 rack $400 RK05 drive $600? RK03 drive $700? RK11-C controller $2000 PDP-8/F $2000 PDP-11/05 $?? GT40 display hardware $400 BA11-F with ?? inside %? Teletype ------ $7300 Some of the things are so rare (e.g. the RK03 and RK11-C) I don't have any comparables (RK11-D's go for $500 or so, FWTW); and on the GT40 I have no idea whatsoever. (This one doesn't have the usual GT40 display, but a rack-mounted VRxx?) Still, it's pretty clear that whoever bought this got a deal. And I haven't even included the packs ($30 each, another $900 or so), all the Grass analog gear, etc, etc. Noel

8 years, 1 month

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test-drb January 2018