test-drb September 2020

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

118 participants
99 discussions

by dave.dunfield＠gmail.com

>Very interesting. By the way I've been reading your comments about your >incident in 2019. I am impressed. All the best for you and your near people. >Kind Regards >Sergio Thanks! It's been an "interesting" year! Btw, for anyone who was interested enough to download my DVM demo... I've made a lot of updates, additions, improvements, and fixed a few bugs. Might be worth grabbing it again. Dave ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Personal site: http://dunfield.maknonsolutions.com Check out "DVM" - run custom apps. anywhere!

3 years, 7 months

9 track tapes and block sizes

by shadoooo＠gmail.com

dear all, thanks for the useful informations! So now a question comes to mind... what is the best utility for Linux to be used to read and archive tapes? Thanks Andrea

3 years, 7 months

Computer History

by c.murray.mccullough＠gmail.com

I've recently reread *Fire In The Valley, Ed. 1,2 &3.* They are the seminal, authoritative & comprehensive sources for the history of the microcomputer. We in the classic computer community need to know the history of our hobby to keep it vital and relevant to today's society. More than ever we need to know how microcomputers came about that may be helpful in understanding the role microcomputers play in our lives now. Happy computing all. Murray ? <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>

3 years, 7 months

Notes on HP3000 WCS Microcode, Series 37 on ebay in Germany

by rdbrown0au＠gmail.com

HP 3000 Series 37 on ebay in Germany (7954A, 9144AR, 30457A, 700/92 (German keyboard)) https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HP-3000-Series-37-Computer-System-RETRO-SELTEN-… Thanks to David Collins at the HP Computer Museum, I now have 11 different versions of the HP 3000 Series 64 [,68,70] microcode SYSWCS64.PUB.SYS and 3 different versions respectively of each of SYSWCS37 and WCSLE1 and WCSLE2. I've put notes up at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:RDBrown/HP3000-WCS-Microcode It's possible that one of the SYSWCS64 files may match the assembly listing on bitsavers, but that listing could allow guessing the architecture, assuming horizontal microcode and matching against the HP 3000 stack machine instruction set it implements. Only the Series 37 rates a mention in the HP Journal, though the common data between the SYSWCS37, WCSLE1 and WCSLE2 suggests they may share a common microcode. Guessing the architecture would be more of a puzzle, unless more documentation is found. J. David Bryan's SIMH work gives a running MPE V for anyone to try. I don't know what other minis of the era also have microcode available as files - I read that the Vax 780 had 1k of microcode patch/extension area for fixes or customer use.

3 years, 7 months

Tektronix 4953 Graphics Tablet

by cctalk＠v6y.net

Hello everyone! I present to you a rare bird; the Tek 4953 graphics tablet, with (I think!?) everything. https://www.ebay.com/itm/203108439922 I am look forward to posting a series of _nice_ Tek terminals and complete DG rack systems. Please contact me directly if you have any questions. -Justin Keogh (520) 265-0034

3 years, 7 months

Care and feeding of some Lisp machines (TI Explorer and Xerox Star)

by lars＠nocrew.org

Josh Dersch wrote: > Not a ton to see, lisp-wise, it's just a port of Franz Lisp to > Uniflex. I can try to benchmark fibonacci later this week if you want. Thanks! I wasn't expecting a benchmark, just a little defun. For the record, I have a Maclisp over here that will do (fib 40) in less than 9 seconds.

3 years, 7 months

APL\3000 microcode. Was: Re: Notes on HP3000 WCS Microcode, Series 37 on ebay in Germany

by sieler＠allegro.com

Warner asks: "Why was microcode support required to make APL work? What did it enable that couldn't be done in other ways?" [On an HP 3000 Series III, for example] Back in the mid-1970s, on the HP 3000 Series III, the team implementing APL\3000 apparently decided they would need to implement some form of virtual memory (beyond the multiple 64KB spaces the HP 3000 Classic architecture provided). They chose to add 11 new instructions: LDV, STV, MWFV, MWTV, MBFV, MBTV, LDVB, STVB, MVW, and EGOTO (unnamed by HP), LDWX (unnamed by HP) The first 9 are "virtual memory" related instructions. The last two are not. These instructions were added shortly after the original Series III instruction set had previously been expanded by the addition of the new extended COBOL instructions. (So, the Series III had two sets of firmware expansions.) Subsequent HP 3000 models had the COBOL instructions from day 1. I presume that the APL instructions weren't ready when the Series 30/33 design was locked down. I *think* they might have been available later as an add-on. I know that a few years later, the instructions were ported to the Series 40/44 microcode by Leon Leong, but they were never released for it (APL\3000 was in limbo, about to be cancelled at the time.) But, to answer your question, yes...there are other ways. Gavin Scott managed to patch the unimplemented instruction handler in MPE V/R (the release the SIMH HP3000 simulator is running), and got APL\3000 running. In the meantime, I'm slowing trying to add the instructions to the SIMH code. The nice thing about Gavin's approach is that if I get an instruction implemented, his code *for that instruction* simply never gets called ... so we can coexist peacefully. In theory, implementing the APL instructions in SIMH will lead to better performance (because calling one won't cause a missing instruction interrupt, followed by hundreds or thousands of simulated HP 3000 instructions to emulate the instruction). I believe Gavin is preparing a talk about APL\3000 for an APL Users Group. Another alternative would have been for the APL\3000 people to implement references to their virtual memory via "cover functions". However, I suspect that the grasp of SPL programming, the lack of "macros" with parameters in SPL, and concerns about the performance penalty of a procedure call per memory access all would have conspired to argue against this approach. (Having been reading thousands of lines of SPL written in the 1970s, I conclude that perhaps a handful of people at HP understood how to write readable, maintainable SPL code ... and that's probably the same percentage as SPL programmers outside HP :) Stan

3 years, 7 months

B.E.I uSounder S-100 board...

by wh.sudbrink＠verizon.net

I just picked up one of these on a lark. It has an SN76477 sound effects chip on it. Not much other info besides the copyright, 1978. Anyone have schematics or a user manual? Thanks, Bill S. -- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

3 years, 7 months

Fwd: [GreenKeys] Teletype Model 28 Free, La Crosse, WI area

by jfoust＠threedee.com

> >Subject: [GreenKeys] Model 28 Free >From: GARY WEBB via GreenKeys <greenkeys at mailman.qth.net> > >Model 28 with modem installed. Tape reader/reperf. Variable speed. Manuals. Last used 20+ years ago. If no one wants it, soon will be in the local land fill. Located in Onalaska, WI Phone 608-769-5633 NI9V

3 years, 7 months

ISO Advantech Labtool-148C prgrammer wall wart specs

by aek＠bitsavers.org

I just bought one of these thinking it ran off 110, but it uses a 3 pin wall wart. Does anyone have one of these and could tell me the voltages it supplies.

3 years, 7 months

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test-drb September 2020