test-drb April 2021

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

104 participants
75 discussions

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Fritz Mueller > could I ask that you take some closeups around the Mate-n-Locks along > the top? I'd be very interested to see the board traces and the details > of the red bus wiring there. I had a look at my /45 (a later KB11-D - although I think the backplanes for the -A and -D are identical), and it seems to have heavy red wires attached to the upper row of Mate-n-Lok's that look just like those on Josh's. I'd really want to take pictures of mine (I don't want to take the backplane out - too much work - but I can get decent images with it in, I think) so I can compare them directly, though, not depend on visual memory. Noel PS: I wonder how many people here have -11/45's? ISTR one other, but they aren't common.

3 years

DEC PDP-11/45 backplane +5 ECO

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> I had a look at my /45 ... and it seems to ... look just like those on > Josh's. I'd really want to take pictures of mine .. so I can compare > them directly, though, not depend on visual memory. Yeah, mine (a late /55, actually) has the _exact_ same wires at Josh's. So that's probably the final ECO level. Image here: http://ana-3.lcs.mit.edu/~jnc/tech/pdp11/jpg/1145CPUBackPlane.jpg if you're interested. (Not a great image, but OK; I can try for a better one if there's a need.) > From: Henk Gooijen > Most of the CPU boards in the 11/55 are the same as the ones in the > 11/45 The -11/45, /50 and /55 are all the same CPU (KB11-A or -D), so the same backplane/everything, but differ only if they were sold pre-configured with the MS11 Fastbus memory. And of course some /45's (especially those sold before the introduction of the /50 and /55 as sales options - I have a /45 price list from Sep, 1972 which lists the /45 and /50 but not the /55; and one from Jan, '73 which only lists the /45 :-) were upgraded (possibly after sale, after the /50 and /55 appeared) with MS11 - or possibly some /50's and /55's had the MS11 removed at some point. So the number doesn't mean anything; one has to look at the boards. Noel

3 years

Exidy S-100 Expansion cards questions

by nospam212-cctalk＠yahoo.com

Moving forward on setting up my collection and I was taking a look at an Exidy Sorcerer S-100 Expansion box I had received long ago. I wondered if anyone could help with info on the cards I found inside. The first is clearly a memory card but not familiar with the company. The second is a disk controller and the third is a parallel/rs232 interface. I haven't found any doc on any of them yet. If you have doc or info on the cards or anything else about the expansion box please let me know. Haven't tested or done any more with it yet other than open it up and look around inside. Had this for ages but only now had room to take it out of the box. 1) 64K Static Memory card copyright 1981 Memory Merchant 2) Double Disk controller by Jade Computer (Doesn't seem to match the image on the doc I found on Bitsavers for their Double D controller but suspect it is one) 3) Interfacer II Triple Parallel / RS232 Serial I/O from CompuPro - Godbout Links to pics below. http://www.trailingedge.com/images/ExidyS100-1.jpg http://www.trailingedge.com/images/ExidyS100-2.jpg http://www.trailingedge.com/images/ExidyS100-3.jpg http://www.trailingedge.com/images/ExidyS100-4.jpg http://www.trailingedge.com/images/ExidyS100-5.jpg http://www.trailingedge.com/images/ExidyS100-6.jpg http://www.trailingedge.com/images/ExidyS100-7.jpg http://www.trailingedge.com/images/ExidyS100-8.jpg http://www.trailingedge.com/images/ExidyS100-9.jpg Thanks. David Williams www.trailingedge.com

3 years

hp 9145 capstan replacement

by plamenspam＠afterpeople.com

Hello, Did anyone change the hp 9145 streamer capstan ? What parts do you use? Best regards, Plamen

3 years

DEC H742a Power Supplies, for Parts (Seattle)

by derschjo＠gmail.com

Hey all -- I've started stripping down the "fire-sale" PDP-11/45 I picked up in November, in preparation for sanding and repainting the rack and processor chassis. There were two H742a supplies in the rack that I believe are too far gone to be reasonably restored (in particular the heat definitely did a number on at least one of the transformers) and I have a pair of H7420a's ready to take their place. I hate to see things go to waste, though, and even though it's probably pointless -- before I send these off to the scrapyard, I wanted to check to see if anyone here needed any parts. Shipping the whole unit(s) would be pretty expensive, local pickup is an option if you want the whole thing(s). The transformers are a bit toasty but the power supply boards look like they might be usable after a good cleaning and testing. Fans are dead (either melted away entirely or rusted out). I suppose there's not really much else that'd be useful to anyone but I have a compulsion to make sure... Here's a couple of pictures: https://1drv.ms/u/s!Aqb36sqnCIfMpL89R2GtJFrrRqZ1vQ?e=Re3KZr And for fun, here's a bunch of pictures of the unit just prior to the teardown: https://1drv.ms/u/s!Aqb36sqnCIfMpL8-mTCp-NndzDTpbw?e=8aWCl4 (I do think there's a good chance this will run again, the major casualties were the front panel, power supplies, and wiring harness. I have replacements for the first two, and the third is just a matter of taking the time to build a new one. The boards cleaned up nicely and there's no real damage to the processor backplane, amazingly.) - Josh

3 years

Interesting Exidy peripheral

by nospam212-cctalk＠yahoo.com

Earlier I'd found a box with a speaker, what looked like a volume control and maybe a headphone jack with a ribbon cable going to a DB-25 connector. Thought it might be for playing sounds from the system. Appears to be partly right. While digging through various Exidy doc on Bitsavers I came across a manual for a Cognivox Speech Recongnition and Voice Response Peripheral by a company called Voicetek. The images in the manual match the box itself. What I thought was a headphone jack is for a mic and it appears to plug into the parallel port in the expansion unit. I haven't found any of the software that the manual says ships with it though I'm still finding parts of this system packed away in various boxes so might find it yet. I know it is probably a huge long shot but if anyone else has software or anything else about this peripheral, please drop me a line. David Williams www.trailingedge.com

3 years

Need a BASIC expert

by cc＠informatik.uni-stuttgart.de

Hi, I'm trying to find out if the BASIC dialect that was available for the MINCAL computers (aboutn 1971) was something derived from another "system" or whether it was an own dialect. Some characteristic instructions that I can't find somewhere else are: - Formatted output with PRINT FOR(<FORTRAN like description>) Example: PRINT FOR(F5.0)500.1 - Computed GOTO with GOTO <expression> OF n1,n2,... Example: GOTO A+B+1 OF 100,20,50 - Presence of "DEF FN", lack of RESTORE for DATA/READ constructs. This BASIC must have been around 1970-1972. Christian

3 years

hp 9145 capstan replacement

by cclist＠sydex.com

On 4/23/21 10:33 AM, Rik Bos wrote: > That would not work the capstans of the 9144/45 have much larger > diameter. Those drives use DC600HC tapes not a QIC tape. How do you figure that? I've got a DC600HC cart here and it's the same dimensions as a standard DC600A cartridge--it is Iotamat preformatted, without the usual optical sense stuff. It was used on a number of QIC (yes, it's quarter-inch) drives, such as the Kennedy 9455 and the ADIC 32-track drives. As far as the capstan being too large, I suspect you may underestimate the "stretchiness" of silicone hose. Somewhere, I posted a photo if an Archive 2060S drive with a red hose replacement capstan. The hose comes in larger sizes, regardless. I still need to refurb the capstan on my 3M DCD-01 drive, but it's been too long since I've run into any 2-track DC300 tapes, so it's not a priority. In any case, the suggestion is offered for whatever value one can gain >from it. --Chuck

3 years

ISO intel iPDS-100 w/8085 pod (UK)

by binarydinosaurs＠gmail.com

Hi folks, I just got pipped on an auction for one of these last night, clearly someone needed it more than me and I hope it was for a real usage reason and not just to add to their collection of MDS-related machines. I?ve been looking for an 8085 ICE for ages now to help troubleshoot my STC Executel phone systems so this seemed like an ideal opportunity to get my hands on one but hey, that?s how auctions work. This one also has an external 37 pin floppy interface so I was hoping I could hook up an 8? drive to be able to read the Executel source floppy disks I have. Does anyone have one in the UK they don?t need/taking up too much space etc? This weekend I?ll be investigating getting a Greaseweazle running with an 8? drive now that I have all the components to power my Shugart 860. (I now await comments along the lines of ?what do you need an ICE for when you have a DMM, scope and LA - easy answer: the whole environment was designed on an MDS80 so it would be fun) Cheers, -- Adrian Graham Owner of Binary Dinosaurs, the UK's biggest private home computer collection? t: @binarydinosaurs f: facebook.com/binarydinosaurs w: www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk

3 years

FTAG: AlphaServer DS15, Sun T5140, Sun Blade 10, HP Proliant DL380 G7, VT220 [London, UK]

by ullbeking＠andrewnesbit.org

Hello all again, With a heavy heart I need to find a new home for the following beautiful hardware: - AlphaServer DS15 server - Sun SPARC Enterprise T5140 1U rack server - Sun Blade 10 mini tower - HP Proliant DL380 G7 2U rack server - DEC VT220 with screen, keyboard, and various adapter cables Please note that the Sun T5140 and HP DL380 are deep (700mm for purposes of installation in a rack). I'm starting a new job next week and intend to focus on that and my family. I've stopped working on various projects and I am vacating my studio workshop, so I have a lot of things to give away or sell. The above items are all FREE FOR COLLECTION ONLY (a car will be fine to transport the above items). I am located in London, UK. Post code is N15 4QL (Seven Sisters and Tottenham Hale) in Haringey, London. Kind regards, Andrew

3 years

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test-drb April 2021