test-drb February 2022

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

99 participants
82 discussions

by fedorkow＠mit.edu

hi Steve, ? There's lots of raw material out there.? Al Kossow read hundreds of tapes a couple years ago, and posted the images at http://www.bitsavers.org/bits/MIT/whirlwind/X4222.2008_Whirlwind_ptp/ ? Whirlwind and modern readers disagree on what order the bits come in, but other than that, the files are perfectly usable.? We have some of the programs running in simulation, as you've seen. ? The Whirlwind tapes in the archive are all seven-level tapes punched on 7/8" paper. ? Let me know if there's something I can help with /guy Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2022 12:24:18 +1000 From:steven at malikoff.com To: "ben"<bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca>, "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"<cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: Re: Seeking paper tape punch Message-ID: <78ae9afacbca8b3ca7e7a41c677659d0.squirrel at webmail04.register.com> Content-Type: text/plain;charset=utf-8 Ben said > This requires a REAL MACHINE SHOP ... none this 3d printer stuff. I > would recommend a building a 35mm film punch and reader, as film stock > is still easy to find compared to paper tape. Zuse used them for his > computers in Germany on the 40's. Quality Mechanical stuff is lost high > tech. Consumer-grade CNC stencil cutters are fine at cutting plastic sheet and should be ok with film stock. My ptap2dxf (latest version 1.3) will produce output to cut tapes for 8-level ASCII, 5-level Baudot, 2-level Morse (Wheatstone and Cable Code), 7-level Whirlwind, Teletype Chadless and some customising options too. Still some other formats to do such as Colossus etc. Thanks for the notion of making Zuse tape, will look into it. Steve.

2 years, 10 months

11/83 operating system load update -2

by rodsmallwood52＠btinternet.com

Hi ?? Well I have had a huge response to my request. I am unsure as to if I have defined the problem properly. So a few bullet points. 1. The objective is to copy RX50 disk images (*.dsk format) to genuine DEC RX50 disks. 2. The PC I want to use is a DEC Celeibris FX ie the PC and its W95 software is as supplied by DEC. 3. It has an RX33 5.25 inch floppy drive. 4. The RX33 _*is*_ capable of? reading and writing RX50 disks. 5.? putR was supposed to be able to do this. It does not. 6.? All that is lacking is the right utility. 7. Doing this does not need any disks other than RX50's. 8. Linux in any of its myriad of forms is not the answer. 9. simH is good at what it does but of no use here 10.? Its just a W95 utility program to copy an RX50 disk image to an RX50 disk on an RX33 drive on a DEC PC. 11. So whats it called? Does it work? given the above situation? Rod

2 years, 10 months

11/83 OS load - problem solved.

by rodsmallwood52＠btinternet.com

Hi ???? Well I now have a full set of DEC orignal MicroRSX RX50 distribution disks. An old friend who I worked with at DEC had kept his install go bag and there they where. Not only that they are good and do boot. Its not over, RT-11 would be a better fit so I'm looking at that. Rod

2 years, 10 months

DEC VT52 CRT anode connection

by fritzm＠fritzm.org

Hi folks, I?ve begun some work on a VT52, and need to get the power supply board out onto my bench for some work. For those who have been in here before: is there a way to detach the HV anode lead at the board side (does the white ?cap? come off the lead connector?) Or is the only option to unclip at the CRT itself? They don?t make it easy to get to the anode cap in this terminal ? one has to pull the whole tube, with the power supply board in tow. After doing this for an inspection, I find the anode cap looking little brittle and covered with some red, oily ?goop?? I?d rather just leave that alone and detach from the board side if it works that way? cheers, ?FritzM.

2 years, 10 months

Speaking of tubes in computers.... 1st Honeywell 1000 computer used some surprise tubes!

by couryhouse＠aol.com

Speaking of? tubes in computers.... 1st Honeywell 1000 computer used some surprise tubes!? ??Imagine our surprise back then as? we unpacked our? first? group of? contributed Honeywell 1000 logic and saw....? LOCTAL TUBES!?Although SMECC does not? have? a complete Honeywell system of? this model? (CPU and? PS would? weigh in at 25,000 pounds? we have been told)? We DO possess? a wonderful collection? of documentation, parts? and? misc.? material related? to it, perhaps one of the best. Who else has some? We? used? to? think our 2 inch QUAD? videotape was a monster reel of? tape...BUT? WAIT!The First Honeywell Computer used 3 Inch Wide Tape! It was like mounting a Volkswagen Tire Wheel onto your computer tape drive! Channels or tracks on the tape... 31 Channels ?ALWAYS LOOKING? FOR MORE RELATED TO THIS COMPUTER!? See more info on this computer at: http://www.smecc.org/honeywell_datamatic_1000.htm drop me a note at? couryhouse at aol.com?

2 years, 10 months

cctalk Digest, Vol 89, Issue 21

by athornton＠gmail.com

The 11/83 question sounds like a job for SCSI2SD to me. Install a system with simh. dd the resulting disk image to your sd card. Hook the SCSI2SD up to your 11/83 and boot from the card. Copy the contents of that drive to your real SCSI drive. Done. SCSI2SD cards are not expensive and are a tremendous value for money.

2 years, 10 months

'dd' for Windoze (Was: cctalk Digest, Vol 89, Issue 21)

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Rod Smallwood > dd is a linux command. UNIX, actually. (V5, I think: https://minnie.tuhs.org/cgi-bin/utree.pl?file=V5/usr/source/s1/dd.c There no 'man'page for it in V4. Anyway...) > I only have windows PC's. There are Windoze versions. I've used this one: http://www.chrysocome.net/dd with success (under XP; probably works under others, too). Noel

2 years, 10 months

PMI memory on an -11/93 (Was: Installing an operating system on an 11/83)

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Christian Gauger-Cosgrove > From the KDJ11-E module user's guide ... the solder-side of the CD > fingers is left unpopulated, but for the +5 and ground pins. > The only PMI compatible option then would be the KTJ11-B UNIBUS adapter. I forget how the -11/84-94 backplane is wired (it's wierd - the QBUS CD slots are bussed together in a group, they're not in pairs like an ordinary Q/CD backplane - but I forget the fine details), but how does the PMI get from the CPU to the KTJ11, then? I know on the same backplane, it supports PMI memory cards with the KDJ11-B. And speaking of the KDJ11-B, I just looked at one, and _it_ doesn't have any lands on the C/D connectors, side 2, either! Probably because the PMI only uses side 1 lands: https://gunkies.org/wiki/Private_Memory_Interconnect#Pinout Given that the KDJ11-E can do master-slave cycles through the KTJ11-B (to read UNIBUS device registers), it has to be able to do master-slave cycles on the PMI. What I don't know is whether, on a 2MB KDJ11-E, it will try and send memory reads for locations > 2MB out the PMI, or whether all reads below the UNIBUS address space (in 22-bit address terms) are sent to the local memory _only_. Someone with a 2MB KDJ11-E should try it... Noel

2 years, 10 months

Seeking paper tape punch

by jfoust＠threedee.com

At 08:24 PM 2/21/2022, Steve Malikoff via cctalk wrote: >Consumer-grade CNC stencil cutters are fine at cutting plastic sheet and should be ok with film stock. >My ptap2dxf (latest version 1.3) will produce output to cut tapes for ... Meaning the Cricut kind of device? Clever! So it works for short sections? Has anyone ever made a Cricut style cutter that has a continuous feed of tape? Why did you pick AutoCAD DXF as compared to Adobe Illustrator? At 07:02 PM 2/21/2022, Paul Koning via cctalk wrote: >I understand there is a group called "Green keys" -- ham radio operators who use old "teletype" machines -- which in that community means wny sort of keyboard telex-type machine, not necessarily made by Teletype Co. though US ones often are. 5 bit machines are common in that crowd, some 8 bit machines also appear. I haven't participated, but I would think that you might find pointers to options there. GreenKeys mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/greenkeys Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:GreenKeys at mailman.qth.net They can be very helpful. They tend to focus on other non-33 teletypes. The list can be a good place to find out about people selling or giving away equipment, though. The collectors of the heavy, older, machined teletypes tend to shake their heads at the high prices and popularity of the light-duty cheaper punched-metal 33s. You might find someone giving away a bulky heavy ASR 28 that handles 5-level tape... https://www.telegramcableco.com/teletype-model-28-asr.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teletype_Model_28 Less common to find them giving away a 33 because the computer nuts will pay $xxx to $x,xxx for them. - John

2 years, 10 months

PMI memory on an -11/93 (Was: Installing an operating system on an 11/83)

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Bill Gunshannon > Just wish I could get some PMI memory for that 93. ?? The KDJ11-E in the -11/93 comes with a minimum of 2MB on the CPU card. That's enough for almost 16 maximum-sized processes (assuming they aren't sharing program texts - almost double that, if they are). Does one really need more than that for vintage retro use? Besides, the on-board memory operates at full speed (same as cache memory on the KDJ11-B); even if you added PMI memory, the KDJ11-E has no cache, so it would be a _lot_ slower than the on-board memory. Noel PS: Can people _please_ trim messages they are replying to, so we don't all have to scroll down past a bunch of irrelevant drek? Thank you.

2 years, 10 months

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test-drb February 2022