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OT: Slow booting, was re: Booting an IBM MP 3000 S/390 System

by seefriek＠gmail.com

Supermicros (and to a similar degree Tyan) are mostly in the "server class" of motherboards. That apparently means they put a *lot* of self-test code in there somewhere. I've had literally thousands of Supermicro machines of a dozen different types at various times, and they all took an inordinate amount of time to decide to think about booting no matter what (all auto-detect turned off, quickboot on, inboard SCSI disabled). I got used to it, because quality-wise it was worth the wait.

10 years, 10 months

PDP-12 at the RICM (Michael Thompson)

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

Yesterday we started disassembling the CRT from the VR12. We picked out the silicone that attached the metal bezel to the front of the CRT. The exposed PVA was about 1/8" thick so we picked at the edges to remove as much as possible. We found that the shield was actually loose and were able to remove it without the usual heating or using nasty chemicals. Today we are forming a sheet of 0.093" LEXAN to replace the PVA. It should be a much better implosion shield than the original PVA. Picture here: http://www.ricomputermuseum.org/_/rsrc/1439041136242/Home/equipment/dec-pdp… <http://www.linkedin.com/redir/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ericomputermus…> We tested the high-voltage power supply and it works well. Maybe we can start reassembling and debugging the VR14 this afternoon. -- Michael Thompson

10 years, 10 months

IBM panel... warning

by tmfdmike＠gmail.com

Some of you may remember an IBM System/370 Model 155 panel on eBay a couple of months ago. Something recently prompted me to look that auction up again, and after reading this I decided to warn the list in case it shows up again. The buyer left the following feedback: SCAM! didnt sell 4 enough $, wanted $3000 more outside of eBay after I paid him! IBM System 370 Mainframe front panel (#181771383679)US $727.00 Be warned. Mike http://www.corestore.org 'No greater love hath a man than he lay down his life for his brother. Not for millions, not for glory, not for fame. For one person, in the dark, where no one will ever know or see.'

10 years, 10 months

Classic programming

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Eric Christopherson > I should check TECO out some day. Only if you want to damage your brain. Have you ever _actually looked_ at any TECO code? If not, try this: http://scienceblogs.com/goodmath/2006/09/22/worlds-greatest-pathological-l-… (It is not without reason that it is described as 'looking like line noise'.) Noel

10 years, 10 months

Unidentified chip -- Spoiler for HP 1260-0339

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

> As a total aside, on some HP boards there is a 16 pin DIL package with the part number 1260-0339. > Any ideas what that chip is? What chip? Amazingly there is nothing inside that 16pin DIL package. No silicon chip, no thick-film resistor network, nothing. It is just a package with the pins. The purpose of it? It's a connector (!) to fit one of those IC test clips on to monitor various signals. -tony

10 years, 10 months

NOS!!! Compugraphic, (2) Computer Automation Naked Mini, (2)Motorola M-4408

by useddec＠gmail.com

All unused! Please contact me off list if interested. Located in zip 61853

10 years, 10 months

OT: SNA was RE: Booting an IBM MP 3000 S/390 System

by dave.g4ugm＠gmail.com

> -----Original Message----- > From: cctalk [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of JP Hindin > Sent: 06 August 2015 19:07 > To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts > <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > Subject: RE: Booting an IBM MP 3000 S/390 System > > > > On Thu, 6 Aug 2015, Dave G4UGM wrote: > >> Booting an old CDC 6000-series machine meant mounting a "deadstart" > >> tape, pushing the button just below the screens on the DD60, entering > >> or editing the equipment status table, then going out for a smoke > >> (not me) or a cup of coffee, while the system copied the deadstart tape > to disk. > >> The next prompt was to enter the date and time. > >> > >> People are too impatient today. > >> > >> --Chuck > > > > Actually I remember booting an IBM4381 from cold after we shut it down > over Christmas. Just pressing the Power button powered it up eventually, > but I am pretty sure it took nearly an hour to get to the IPL prompt. So it did > disk drives, then tape drives, then other bits and bobs. But when it spun up > the disks it brought them up one at a time so the startup surges didn't trip > the main breaker. The same with the tape drives. Then it loaded the > microcode into all the controllers. Then it booted the OS. As we were running > VM this last bit took a few seconds (I think). I do know if VM crashed you > screen logo frequently re-appeared before you had time to think. > > Spinning off on this tangent, when I was learning how to fire up my Sun E10k > I didn't realise it took so ruddy long for the SSP and the E10k to speak to each > other. > So I was constantly asking the SSP for the E10k's power status (to see if they > were communicating) and being told the SSP "wasn't the master". > > I'd powered things up repeatedly and made all sorts of changes to the SSP > config and just couldn't figure out what wasn't working. So one day I'm > messing with it again and I'd walked over to the other side of the shop for a > manual and gotten distracted and maybe ten minuted passed and all of a > sudden all of the blowers dropped RPM and evened out. The SSP and E10k > had finally finished their secret masonic handshake and the SSP did the > equivalent of "Hey, dude, it's not 7000 degrees in here, you can chillax now". > > "People are too impatient today" -- Chuck G > > True enough. I just didn't know enough to know I should be patient. Excuse me if this isn't Exactly right, but I seem to recall some on in IBM saying that Thomas Watson Jr got a phone call one day. It went... TWJ: Thomas Watson here CLR: Is that Thomas Watson Jnr. TWJ: Yes CLR: and you are the head of IBM TWJ: Yes CLR and you first name is Thomas TWJ: yes CLR: and you are the head of IBM TWJ: yes CLE: and you are in your office TWJ: yes, but what do you want CLR: Just thought I would show what it is like trying set up and SNA session. Bye... > > - JP

10 years, 10 months

Fwd: ROLM CBX 8000 System Service Manual Vol. 2 Scans Released!

by scaron＠umich.edu

Cross-post from the Collectors Network list that may be of interest to folks here. If anyone out there happens to have an old copy of Vol. 1 of the CBX 8000 System Service Manual, or might know an old ROLMan (or ROLwoMan) who might have same, I surely would appreciate the opportunity to digitize it! These are eventually going to be submitted to the Telephone Collectors International Library but it's certainly okay to take a copy for Bitsavers as well, if so desired. Best, Sean ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Sean Caron <scaron at umich.edu> Date: Thu, Aug 6, 2015 at 6:17 PM Subject: ROLM CBX 8000 System Service Manual Vol. 2 Scans Released! To: Voice Over IP Tandem for Analog Switches <voip at ckts.info>, Sean Caron < scaron at umich.edu> Hi all, I finally got around to digitizing the copy of the second volume of the ROLM CBX 8000 System Service Manual that I had received courtesy of Dennis Hock. I've got the scans sitting on my personal site for now until I figure out the process for getting them submitted to the TCI Library. Everyone is welcome to peruse: http://wildflower.diablonet.net/~scaron/pdf/ROLM/ Please note that Comcast has been kind of dodgy at my place recently, so the quality of the connection may fade in and out a little bit. As this document is very large (perhaps around 1,000 pages) the scans were done mostly by machine. I dumped a chapter at a time into a Konica Bizhub 300 series MFP and scanned in double-sided mode at 300 DPI. I've cursorily reviewed them and it looks like the Bizhub did a pretty nice job of scanning ... there's a little bit of white space due to not all pages being double sided, and due to the fold-outs, but all the information is there! Thanks so much, Dennis, for loaning the manual to me and I'm sorry it took me so long to get to it. I'll try to have the original back in the mail heading your way within the week. Let's hope this will stir someone to dig up an old Vol. 1 on which I can do the same :O Cheers! Sean

10 years, 10 months

OT RE: Saved DEC kit

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

Tony wrote (re: 25kg)... ---- Its about half the weight of many minicomputer bits (I think an RK05 drive is about 50kg for example). ---- I cry DEC-bias, using an RK05 as your UOM ;) For HP, a bare 7906 drive is 75kg (165#), and with controller, power supply, and desk side rack that only holds the one drive - 154kg (340#). A 7970 is 59kg (130#). A bare 2113 cpu is 30kg (65#). Funny how I have those weights right at the top of my head ;) So I'd say that 25kg is more like 1/3 of many minicomputer bits *grin* J

10 years, 10 months

Unidentified chip

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

So, I took Tony's advice (about parts) to heart, and have been stocking up on all sorts of things. (Ironically, I now have a _far_ better supply of parts that I had access to, back in the day, at LCS at MIT! But that's a rant for another day.) As part of that, I've bought up a number of IC collections, to build up a stock of 74xxx parts in various families (S, LS, etc). Along with them, I have acquired a lot of stuff I don't need (e.g. CMOS parts), and at some point I'll offer them here, for trade, for people who do have a use for them. (The PDP-11 systems I'm interested in basically don't use them.) As I've finished sorting and filing all that stuff, I'm left with a few things I can't ID. The most prolific one (I think I have about 6 tubes full :-) is something I'd appreciate a hand with: it might be some super-rare chip that people would love to find, or something. It's a 16-pin DIP, with the following on it (in three separate lines): "1028126", "D39315-A", and "CS9336P". The first number looks like the numbers I've seen on a couple of other un-identified chips, made by TRW. (I hope they aren't something classified I'm not even supposed to have! :-) Anyone have any idea what these things are? Thanks! Noel

10 years, 10 months

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