My Cromemco System 3 won't power up. Help!
Normally I would just pull it open and check the power supply voltages,
but this is a problem because A) the case is incredibly difficult to get
into, and B) I don't have the schematics.
I'd like folks' assessment of probable problem causes before I tear into
it (heck, it takes two people just to move the sucker!)
Symptoms:
The rear power switch glows when I turn it on. So far, so good. All
fuses are OK. When I turn the front key (or hit the rear switch with
the front key already ON) all I get is a faint internal click, and the
power supply fan moves VERY slightly (maybe 1/8").
Somebody told me this is an AC fan, is this true? If so, either the fan
is dead or the problem isn't the power supply.
If the problem is the power supply, what's the likely culprit for this
symptom? I peered into the back of the case with a flashlight (this is
a BIG case) and the cap didn't appear to be leaking.
Thoughts?
thanks
Kai
Im interested in the PCjr carts. I have the basic one, but I can post a
list of what I have.
----------
> From: Uncle Roger <sinasohn(a)crl.com>
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
> Subject: PCjr Cartridges?
> Date: Thursday, June 26, 1997 8:27 PM
>
> Saw today a few cartridges which I'm guessing are PCjr carts. They said
> (among other things) "Cartridge BASIC". Anyone interested in them? They
> were (I think) a buck.
>
> They also had some misc Apple II cards (about $5 each, I think), some
Atari
> 800 ROM's (or RAM? I didn't look that closely). Lemme know if there's
any
> interest.
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------- O-
>
> Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad
> sinasohn(a)crl.com that none but madmen know."
> Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates
> San Francisco, California http://www.crl.com/~sinasohn/
if anyone does actually collect old printers i've one available for the
asking. its an hp2671a, a big and ugly thermal printer made in feb of 1993.
prints the self test, but i cannot establish communication with mac, a //e or
an xt through it's serial port no matter what the dip switches are set to. im
in raleigh, nc and the printer weighs about 20lbs, so it's probably not worth
shipping. if anyone wants it, give me a shout before i round file it.
david.
Saw today a few cartridges which I'm guessing are PCjr carts. They said
(among other things) "Cartridge BASIC". Anyone interested in them? They
were (I think) a buck.
They also had some misc Apple II cards (about $5 each, I think), some Atari
800 ROM's (or RAM? I didn't look that closely). Lemme know if there's any
interest.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- O-
Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad
sinasohn(a)crl.com that none but madmen know."
Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates
San Francisco, California http://www.crl.com/~sinasohn/
> Anybody know what type of drive I can connect to the popular North Star
> MDS-AD3 S-100 disk controller board?
Sugart sa400l or similar. The MDS-AD3 was a dual density controller that
aslo did two sided. Any of the 360 PC half height drives will work as will
many of the older full height.
Your limited to 5.25 as the media must be for ten sector hard sectoring.
I have one here but it was given to me dead. I still run a MDS-A2 single
density controller.
FYI the are hard sector 10 sectors per track 256 or 512 bytes a sector.
> dual density (FM vs. MFM) is determined by the controller, and soft vs.
FM single density, MFM double density.
> What bothers me is single vs. double sided and all of those jumpers on 5
> 1/4" drives. Will dual sided drives work on single sided controllers,
Yes.
> with only one side operating? Do those jumpers need to be set
> differently for different controllers, and how would I find
> documentation for the various brands (I'm sure I wouldn't!)
Yes. The controller you identified is two sided capable and double density
capable but the OS can be configured for various combinations.
Allison
> BTW, Allison, the Lisa wasn't actually a PROTOTYPE for the Mac. Rather i
> was the sister machine to the Mac. The Lisa and Mac projects stemmed fro
> the same research, with the Mac project splitting off from the Lisa
It was my understanding at the time if you wanted to develop apps for the
mac you needed a design kit and a lisa. Something to the effect that the
lisa has the resources that were a bit short in the mac.
Allison
This is a message by John Harris I pulled off of the Atari 8bit
newsgroup. John Harris, if you've ever read _Hackers_ by Steven Levy,
wrote pretty awesome games for ther Atari 800. He later when on to start
his own company which used Atari 8-bit computers as displays in airports
and in the hotel industry for the guests services menu on the TV (read
about it in a soft-book called _Halcyon Days_). Anyway, the system he
describes here sounds pretty neat.
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: jharris(a)poboxes.com (John Harris)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.8bit
Subject: 65816 computer
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 1997 18:01:39 GMT
Some of you may remember an anouncement I tried to make a few years back,
but later had to keep quiet. It concerned a new atari-compatible computer
made with a 65816 processor and some other cool stuff. It was being
manufactured for a dedicated application that I actually never found out
what it really was. I found out about it at a time when I was selling
character generator software on the Atari8, and having immense difficulty
obtaining Atari hardware. It was a great connection to make, and we are
still selling these new systems with my CG software installed.
The big project never materialized, since the company making the systems
and Atari could never reach an agreement for large supply of Atari custom
chips. It seemed like a no-brainer--Atari had chips, these guys had money,
it should have been a simple exchange. It's no wonder Atari doesn't have
any feet left. They keep shooting themselves there.
Anyway, the bottom line is that Atari negotiations were the reason behind
my silence at the time, and now that the project is completely dead I can
make public the details of the machine for all those that are curious.
It is based on a 5.37MHz 65816 processor, although it still runs 1.79MHz
when accessing the base 64K of address space for compatibilty with the
custom chips. It is in a nice case with internal 3.5 high density floppy
and hard drive, parallel and serial, expansion slots, fully static memory
(turn the power off and on, and everything is still there!), mouse support,
and separate IBM-style keyboard. It has its own Sparta-like DOS, and with
65816 optimizations the memlo gets down to $FA3. I've found the
compatibility to be extremely good, with two main problems. Some european
programs, especially demos, use the undocumented 6502 extra instructions,
and these don't work on the 65816 CPU. The other issue, is that there is
no cartridge slot. Technically, it is feasible to add a slot using a plug
in board, and run a connector out the back. It would probably depend on
the number of interested parties for whether it was financially affordable
to get the thing made. One nice thing about the slots though, they are
physically the same as IBM 16-bit ISA cards. (but not electronically
compatible of course). You can get experimenter boards for IBMs that just
run power and have all other connections open. The do-it-yourself'er can
do pretty much anything from here.
Because of being a very low-production item, it is really expensive by
8-bit standards. Retail is $1800 with all options and the CG software.
Obviously, it's only being sold to commercial applications like hotels and
cable TV at that price. It is possible to make some deals if anyone is
interested, especially for systems without the CG software. Obviously, I
need to be fair to the people who are still buying the system for
commercial use. I don't have any prices for you, but if anyone is
interested at all, please let me know and I'll see what we can work out.
If you're just curious for info, let me know that too.
John Harris Japanese translation of Microsoft slogan:
jharris(a)poboxes.com "If you don't know where you want to go,
we'll make sure you get taken."
Hi all,
Anybody know what type of drive I can connect to the popular North Star
MDS-AD3 S-100 disk controller board?
I'm confused with all of this old floppy terminology. I know single vs.
dual density (FM vs. MFM) is determined by the controller, and soft vs.
hard sectoring is determined by the controller, so neither of these
should matter as far as the drive is concerned.
What bothers me is single vs. double sided and all of those jumpers on 5
1/4" drives. Will dual sided drives work on single sided controllers,
with only one side operating? Do those jumpers need to be set
differently for different controllers, and how would I find
documentation for the various brands (I'm sure I wouldn't!)
Any advice appreciated,
thanks
Kai
>I see a LOT of traffic about restoring and collecting old computers,
>and the typical member here is one who has a large collection of
>different machines, but except for a rare question about boot disks,
>there isn't much said about using these machines. When I turn on my
>99/4A or Geneve, it isn't primarily to bask in a nostalgic glow, but
>to write something or balance my budget or do some programming.
>Certainly the nostalgic glow is there, and it adds a dimension to
>the computing experience that peecee devotees cannot understand. But
>it IS my primary workhorse, not just a desk queen.
That's part of what I love about my Apple IIGS. I'm the original
owner. I know what this machine has done for me and continues to do
for me. I love its simplicity. In the rare event of a crash, I pretty
much know what the problem is, because I know the machine much better
than anything Wintel came up with or any of the Macincrash line.
>Don't get me wrong; I love to hear about these old machines, so keep
>those messages coming. But I would like to hear from others out there
>who use their obsolete machines (I prefer "non-mainstream machines")
>for practical, everyday, household computing uses.
Well, I'm a college student, so I use my IIGS for writing papers
(though I transfer them to a Mac to print because my Imagewriter II
isn't in good shape - I'll get around to fixing it one of these days).
Mainly, I use it to connect to the campus computer system. I've also
used it to run a BBS, play games, program - more than most people do
with their PeeCees.
>In fact, I'm wondering how widespread my idea is (shared by a
>few, apparently) that the smaller, simpler machines really are well
>suited for home use, and you don't need a high-end peecee for nearly
>everything you want to do.
You bet it is! This machine does everything I want or need it to do
(or at least is capable of it, if I'm too cheap to buy things like a
laser printer).
--
Andy Brobston brobstona(a)wartburg.edu ***NEW URL BELOW***
http://www.wartburg.edu/people/docs/personalPages/BrobstonA/home.html
My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Wartburg College
as a whole.
Dan:
Although I have never seen one up-close, a company that I formerly worked for
had a System 36. I think that it is one of IBM's older mainframes/minis that
was the predecessor to the AS/400 (our S36 software ran unmodified on the
AS/400).
It's based on a TwinAx-based network and has terminals connected to it with
snappy names such as the "3270" and the "5250". Line printers are also Twin-Ax
based.
I hope that this is the same one that I was thinking about (otherwise, ignore
the above <g>).
------------------------
Rich Cini/WUGNET
- ClubWin Charter Member (6)
- MCPS Windows 95/Networking
