I have posted previously about a DEC Pro 350 I am trying to get working
again. At the moment it seems to be constantly resetting the CPU.
I have traced one possible path for the cause of this back to a NEC chip for
which I cannot find a datasheet. It is a 40-pin DIP it is marked "NEC Japan
8239K6 D7201C". All I have been able to find is more modern USB host
controllers.
Can anyone tell me what it is? It is marked E32 (on the left about half way
up) in this picture:
https://rjarratt.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/system-board-labelled.jpg
Thanks
Rob
>
> Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2018 14:29:18 -0700
> From: Eric Korpela <korpela at ssl.berkeley.edu>
> Subject: Re: i860: Re: modern stuff
>
> A Google search on Skybolt i860 produces interesting results.
> >Additional realtime signal processing
> > capability is provided by four Skybolt i860-based VMEbus single-board
> > computers with 240 MFLOPS peak combined capacity.
> > --------------
> > Remember when 240 MFLOPS was a lot?
>
That's the board that I have.
Quad i860 on a 9Ux400 VME board.
Its in a Sun 4/280 development system.
--
Michael Thompson
Soon to be picked up and brought home. Lots of documentation with it as
well. Christmas came early, eager to get it home and set up.
https://postimg.cc/gallery/wb1z90m2/
--Devin D.
I got into the Data General scene in the late 1990's, when I received
an Eclipse as a gift from a client who no longer needed it.
In my search for docs, software, and other information I met some
interesting people. One was in the Navy in the 1980's in data
processing. He recounted to me:
I was visiting a hangar where machines were being warehoused and tested
prior to acceptance. I saw a lot of odd tests conducted, shocks, water,
fire, smoke, the works, or so I thought.
Once when there I saw a Hawk (That was a Data General milspec 'Eagle' -
Eclipse 32 bit machine) suspended by chains from the overhead of the
hangar. I was mesmerized as two weights were released from two chains
on opposite sides of the machine as it was running. The two weights
slammed into the sides of the machine at approximately the same time
and the results were pretty spectacular. It sounded like someone blew
up the Liberty bell, or crashed a VW into a lightpole. The machine
continued to function!
Most of the things that went on around there were classified to some
degree or other and one got used to not asking questions, but as I
looked over in bewilderment to my buddy in the group of tester, he said
to me darkly "Depth Charges".
Jeff
Hi Bill,
thanks again for your considerations!
--- Bill Degnan <billdegnan at gmail.com> wrote:
> BTW - there is no evidence that the 1601 was not produced
> at all, is there???
No, there is no evidence. But they founded ROLM in 1969 and they
had no experience on designing a MIL-SPEC computer (until than
only highly specialized MIL-SPEC computers had been designed taking
years each) and only limited experience on computers at all. So
I can hardly imagine, that they founded ROLM, agreed with DG on the
architecture, developed the design, implemented the shock and heat
management, tested against the MIL-SPECs set up production within
only 2 years. Here is a nice video of a discussion with the founders
recorded by the CHM:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyTuxVQgw6c
> The brochure came from a local office near where I used to live in
> New Jersey USA.?? It could be that very few were made
Yes, maybe some where made for trade shows and to try out how to
build a MIL-SPEC computer. But regarding commercial sales I am still
sceptic (no proof as you say)...
Thanks,
Erik.
Hi Bill!
--- Bill Degnan <billdegnan at gmail.com> wrote:
> I may have more 1601 stuff, if I find I will scan and post
Many thanks for your efforts - these documents look very interesting.
Given the fact, that Rolm was founded in 1969, I really guess that by
the time the brochure was printed, no running hardware existed at all.
Maybe they had first PCBs and an idea how to implement the Nova
architecture using the MIL SPEC chips available. So the 1601 probably
only exists on paper!
> .?? I know there is the upcoming Nova event so I
As Will mentioned, this was 10 days ago. It was really a cool
event with lot of interesting people and their reminiscences and
memories from the good old days where very exciting! I had some
slides on the impact of the Nova architecture on military com-
puting, but the 1601 of course was missing in my time-line...
Have a good time and best wishes,
Erik.
BTW - there is no evidence that the 1601 was not produced at all, is
there? The brochure came from a local office near where I used to live in
New Jersey USA. It could be that very few were made, what I need to do is
cross reference with other sources I may have.
b
On Mon, Nov 5, 2018 at 12:16 PM erik--- via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
wrote:
>
> Hi Bill!
>
> --- Bill Degnan <billdegnan at gmail.com> wrote:
> > I may have more 1601 stuff, if I find I will scan and post
>
> Many thanks for your efforts - these documents look very interesting.
> Given the fact, that Rolm was founded in 1969, I really guess that by
> the time the brochure was printed, no running hardware existed at all.
> Maybe they had first PCBs and an idea how to implement the Nova
> architecture using the MIL SPEC chips available. So the 1601 probably
> only exists on paper!
>
> > . I know there is the upcoming Nova event so I
>
> As Will mentioned, this was 10 days ago. It was really a cool
> event with lot of interesting people and their reminiscences and
> memories from the good old days where very exciting! I had some
> slides on the impact of the Nova architecture on military com-
> puting, but the 1601 of course was missing in my time-line...
>
> Have a good time and best wishes,
>
> Erik.
>
>
>
> From: Steven Malikoff
>> The bulbs had "flying leads" coming out of the glass, no bases ... The
>> bulbs just hovered over the PCB
> It makes me wonder if the 11/15 is much the same.
I just had a look at my -11/20 (the two are basically the same machine; the
/15 was intended for the OEM market, the /20 the end-user), and it has an
intermediate between this, and the final incandescent bulb form (as on the
-11/45), where there were bulbs with plastic bases plugged into sockets.
The -11/20 has the same bulbs, but apparently soldered directly into the
panel; I looked at the prints (it's in the 'KY11-A Programmer's Console'
stuff - I see Manx says the prints aren't online, I'll have to scan my set),
and there are bulbs in the parts list, but no sockets.
> From: Ethan Dicks
> I think some later DEC light blockers were MDF or perhaps something a
> bit denser .. Definitely a fibrous wood product.
Per the prints, the later ones were Benelex, an early form of MDF (although
some -11's later used thick sheet aluminium).
Noel
Hi folks,
This week I managed to get my paws on a machine that I only ever saw in ?coming up!? type magazine articles in the mid-80s. It?s made by a UK manufacturer of Viewdata set top boxes and home micro modems called Tandata who were a split from Tangerine, the company that gave us the Microtan 65 and eventually the Oric 1 and Oric Atmos.
Documentation on the Tandata PA is zero, if you search for it you get my Binary Dinosaurs page and nothing else so tonight I set about trying to work out the power inputs from its 4 pin socket. Going clockwise pin 1 is definitely GND/0V and pin 2 is not connected. Pin 3 goes to the input of a 79L05 -5V regulator which via a capacitor seems to be used as the GND pins for 3 CMOS 74 series chips. Pin 4 goes to a 7805 5V regulator.
I?ve never seen a -5V reg be used in a GND circuit so before I continue searching am I barking up the wrong tree? The trace literally goes from socket to 79L05 pin 2, output goes to a capacitor then to the GND pins on a CD74HC74E, CD74HC86E and CD74HC4066E. There?s a VARTA battery nearby too.
Board pic is here: http://binarydinosaurs.co.uk/tandatapa-13.jpg <http://binarydinosaurs.co.uk/tandatapa-13.jpg>
Any insight much appreciated!
--
adrian/witchy
Owner of Binary Dinosaurs, the UK's biggest home computer collection?
t: @binarydinosaurs f: facebook.com/binarydinosaurs
w: www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk