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101090 discussions

Restoration technique [Was: Re: Bay Area: IBM 4341 and HP3000]

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Robert Jarratt > It wouldn't be hard to create a wiki where this kind of information is > collected > ... > Isn't there someone on the list who has been offering lots of server > capacity? It could be hosted there. Umm, that might have been me - I have offered to host things on a number of occasions, and do in fact host the older ClassicComputers archives (the newer ones are^H^H^Hwere at www.classiccmp.org). I'm not sure I can help in this case, though. I do have access to a lot of space (so hosting the archives is not a big deal), _but_ i) I'm a guest on this machine, and hosting active content like a wiki would be something I'd have to get OK'd, and ii) technically, hosting a wiki is a whole different ball of wax from hosting static content (which I can just put in place, and forget), and I'm not sure I have the time/energy. If someone did, that would be great, because I think a wiki about restoring old computers would be a really powerful resource. Not for detailed technical content (as someone already pointed out, we have the manuals), but for: - Articles laying out how to start, where to get stuff, what you need to know (with lists of recommended books/etc in fields such as digital logic, etc, etc) - Articles on what tools/etc it's useful to to have, and recommendations for manufacturers, models etc (e.g. an oscilloscope is pretty much a must), and where to find them cheap - Lists of which systems are good targets (because they're easy to find, have good documentation available, parts availability is good, etc, etc) - Articles on specific topics which aren't covered in literature (e.g. the whole discussion about capacitor reforming; the heat soak for old tapes/floppies, etc) - Etc, etc, etc. All stuff that's not really written down anywhere, but which a beginning collector (especially one who didn't work on these things 'back in the day') would find invaluable. Noel

11 years, 6 months

Announcing TCP/IP for RSX-11M-PLUS

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Johnny Billquist > And tcp/ip already exists. At least on TOPS-20. There are at least two TCP/IP's for PDP-10's - the other, written by Ken Harrenstien, is the one for ITS. I'm not sure how closely related the TWENEX one is the TENEX one done at BBN - I vaguely seem to recall that DEC re-wrote it extensively, but I don't know much about that code. > From: Pontus Pihlgren > Do you mean to say that bytes are 8-bit wide on PDP-11? Why would > PDP-10 be so much harder?3 TCP/IP header fields are all multiples of 8 bits. So anytime you want to read/write one on a PDP-10, you have to start LDB'ing and DPB'ing through byte pointers/descriptors all over the place. Which I'm sure is no biggie for most experienced PDP-10 coders, but it would drive me bonkers. Noel

11 years, 6 months

Compaq Portable knob

by dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu

Does anyone here have a contrast knob from a Compaq Portable or good-looking substitute? -- David Griffith dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text. Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing? A: Top-posting. Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

11 years, 6 months

Bay Area: IBM 4341 and HP3000

by marc.verdiell＠gmail.com

I talked to the owner maybe 6 months ago. It was a bizarre and difficult interaction. He refused to let me see the units, and insisted I give him an offer first. He would not even give me the list of the items he had. We went into a circular discussion: that I couldn't give him an offer if I didn't know nor see what the items were, to which he replied that if I were a serious buyer I would make him an offer beforehand, therefore I was not serious and he would not show me the items nor give me the list. So that was not very helpful. Then later on he sent me 3 or 4 close up pictures of only the name badges of some of the machines (one badge from HP, maybe two of IBM). I got the distinct impression that either something was fishy or that the guy had unreasonable expectations. Or maybe both. I just gave up. Looks like you are faring much better than me, so that's positive. I am interested in the IBM system, the tapes and tape controller units mainly, if you don't want them. Marc On 1/9/15 6:38 PM, Lyle Bickley wrote: > When Bob and I initially talked to the owner, he told us that what he > had was a major find for a collector. He spoke in glowing terms as to > the condition of the 4341 and the HP mini (de-installed from a running > environment and then stored for many years). So as you would expect, > Bob and I were very anxious to see both systems. What we found was a > serious disappointment. As Bob said, the 4341 and the HP mini were > crammed into a storage unit with lots of other junk. It was impossible > to see/determine what system components were actually there. There was > no way to know how complete or what features either system had. > Repeating what Bob said, everything was water damaged, rusty and in > poor condition - and I do mean everything. We told him that his asking > price was too high - and that the condition of the systems was so bad > we wouldn't even make him an offer. Lyle Well that's a disappointment. I'm still going to take a look at it tomorrow...but I'm going to be prepared to walk away from it. TTFN - Guy

11 years, 7 months

San Diego: 1991 era AS400

by mstaunton＠roadrunner.com

hello all i just joined and am based in Carlsbad CA. I have several servers from the 1991 (yes they include fully functional CRTs and keyboard/mouse). After several conversions with JJ owner and curator for the San Diego Museum in Australia he suggested i contact this forum. Is anybody interested in these? I can also be reached at 760703096

11 years, 7 months

Framing Core Memory

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

I have been given a tiny piece of core memory, about 1cmx1cm. It has obviously been cut from a larger piece and is almost certainly unusable. I would therefore like to frame it for display and to show to young people. Is there a recommended good way to mount the core for framing with the smallest amount of possible damage? Thanks Rob

11 years, 7 months

IBM System/36

by tots＠matinino.com

Hello everyone (new to this list), I have in a place I need to clear an IBM System/36 class mini-computer collecting dust. Before it ends up in scrap, I would like to make sure is not of any value for collector/hobbyist or a computer museum for parts or as a whole. Any lead will help. Thanks. IBM's System/36 page: https://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/rochester/rochester_4018.html Hector

11 years, 7 months

Looking for a free host for tabajara labs

by alexandre.tabajara＠gmail.com

Good things, bad things. I got in love with Hostinger, and uploaded my site (www.tabalabs.com.br) there. But seems that in the time I needed them most (my site was advertised into a famous brazilian site) they fell down...I have a (fairly) limitted number of pageviews in the free plan. Anyone that could (free!) host a retrocomputing site? Less than a GB. Thanks! --- Enviado do meu Apple IIGS (pq eu sou chique) Meu site: http://www.tabalabs.com.br Meu blog: http://tabajara-labs.blogspot.com

11 years, 7 months

Excess Solutions BBQ Saturday

by aek＠bitsavers.org

For people in the SF Bay area Excess Solutions moved to 1555 7th, across from Spartan Stadium and I went down to see the new place. Mike told me he's having a grand opening BBQ tomorrow.

11 years, 7 months

Weekly Classic Computer Trivia Question (20150112)

by dpi＠dustyoldcomputers.com

This weeks question comes from Warren Stearns. It is a little obscure and specific to the PDP-8 family of computers. What is the source of the greatest latency in the interrupt system on a PDP-8. I have three answers, two of the answers depends on the options fitted to an 8. Why would this have been an important question? Interrupt latency would be extremely important in the field of data collection which was one of the principal early uses of these machines. My particular 8 was used for exactly this purpose in the Summer when it was hauled to a radar site and collected weather research data for the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences. I believe it was used for this from 1969 through 1972. I have several hundred DECTapes with some of this data. The surprising thing is we don't see any problems reading DECTapes that haven't been out of their box since the early 70's. Doug Ingraham PDP-8 S/N 1175

11 years, 7 months

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