test-drb

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

101090 discussions

by pcoghlan+cctech＠vms.eurokom.ie

> >But practically, what this means is: No Money. Ergo, I can't afford to >buy any new bits. The reason I got this machine was its extreme >cheapness! (Under a pound - for Colonial types, that's about a buck >sixty.) > With any luck it may be possible to scrounge an RZ26 for a similar price to the machine. > >Well, what size of disk would I want? I may have some 500MB units >knocking around, possibly bigger. The problem now is finding ones >/small/ enough, not big enough! > I've managed to crowbar a bootable subset of VMS 5.5-2 into 70MB. It was so long ago I don't remember if this included any Decwindows functionality. More recent versions with more fluff will probably need more. 500MB would certainly be worth a try though. Alternatively, use a disk larger than 1GB and hope for the best. You won't have lost anything if it doesn't work. When doing the install, just install the critical items first, with the hope of having everything that is accessed by the firmware ROMs for boot appear below the 1GB mark. Opt not to have a dumpfile. The biggest problem will probably making sure to get the index file (which is used to locate all the other files on the disk) below the 1GB mark. As far as I recall, VMS places the index file in the middle of the disk by default but this can be overridden when the disk is initialised. The only question is whether this option is available when doing an install from scratch. > >Is there any incantation I can type at the firmware monitor to tell me >if it "sees" a device as a CD-ROM? Or is being seen as a CD no >guarantee? > SHOW DEVICE at the >>> should list the devices on the SCSI bus. I don't think it will tell you if the sector size is correct though. The only way to be sure is to try it. As far as I know, CDs containing a bootable and usable version of VAX/VMS were not produced although they were for Alpha/VMS. A VAX would normally boot the standalone backup program from a CD to do a VMS installation rather than booting directly into VMS from the CD. > >I don't wish to question authority, as it were, but the internal >cables are 104 pin (If I'm counting them correctly) and the external >SCSI port on the back is 72-pin mini-D. That *looks* like wide SCSI to >me! If it's not, then what kind of cabling is it? The ordinary >narrow-SCSI stuff I knew from back in the '80s and '90s was 50-way >ribbon cables with 50-pin IDC connectors internally and either 50-pin >Centronics or D25 connectors externally. > The external SCSI connectors on a 3100 are rather strange. They are a narrow SCSI bus presented on a male 68pin connector. It is definately not wide SCSI even though it looks like it. To use it, the first thing you will need is a cable with a female 68pin connector on one end and a 50 pin centronics type connector (or something else reasonable) on the other. Are there connectors for internal SCSI disks? They should be normal 50pin IDC types. > >Yes, but how do I *tell*, that's the question! > I just picked up an IBM labelled CD drive off the floor. It has a jumper at the back labelled "SECTOR SIZE". It's a fair bet that the two sizes available are 512 and 2048. If you find a drive with a sector size jumper, it will probably do. > >When you say "a small-ish drive", what counts as "small" for VMS? Or >rather, what sort of drive should I be looking for to /not/ have to >muck around when installing it? > 1GB is more than adequate to install VAX/VMS. I remember 3100's used to often come with an RZ23 which I think was 109MB. This was generally regarded as too small to install a useful system on. I would have a go on anything bigger than 200MB. Not having to muck about probably involves spending a little to get an appropriate disk. On the other hand, having to muck about a bit may will give you the experience you are looking for. I'd suggest giving it a go with whatever you have. > >My hope is to get the machine booting into DECwindows. I don't plan to >use it as a server, more as sort of glorified X-terminal if anything. > Recent versions of Decwindows are disk and memory hogs, especially on VAX. It is likely that it will be very slow. It may be wiser to concentrate on terminal based access initially at least. Regards, Peter Coghlan.

16 years, 1 month

VAX stuff

by jack.rubin＠ameritech.net

This stuff is too new and too big for me - located in Illinois (as per bid site). Note that Craters & Frieghters service is available. Jack ----- Forwarded Message ----- To: "Jack Rubin" <jrubin at spertus.edu> Sent: Monday, March 15, 2010 3:09:20 PM Subject: RE: old DEC gear Hi We have a couple of items forsale on ibid. A Vax 6620 and a TU81 tapedrive current price $1.00 each Here is the link http://ibid.illinois.gov is is under the electronics section.

16 years, 1 month

VAX stuff

by jrubin＠spertus.edu

16 years, 1 month

Booting a VAXstation

by pcoghlan+cctech＠vms.eurokom.ie

> >> As far as I know you can't boot a traditional VAX from a disk of >> <1GB... but could I put the core of VMS on a small slow narrow SCSI >> disk, like an >> 80MB or something, and put most of it on the only Wide SCSI disk I >> have, a 10GB...? > > You can use a sub-1GB disk to boot from, yes. Booting is, as I >understand it, the only restriction. > Booting is not the only restriction. As far as I know, the same low level drivers in the ROM that are used for booting are also used for writing crashdumps. The problem is that short (6byte?) SCSI commands are used and the addresses wrap back to zero when trying to address parts of the disk beyond the 1.0something GB point. This means that if a dumpfile is located further out than that point on a large disk that VMS has otherwise successfully been installed on, it is possible to end up getting the lower part of the disk overwritten by a crashdump if the system should crash. It is possible to install a minimal VMS configuration on a small disk and access data on a disk larger than 1GB. However, it is difficult to use the larger disk to expand the VMS system as DEC software often wants to be installed on the system disk, ie the one that booted the system. The difficulties can sometimes be overcome but it may take an experienced VMS hacker to do this. I think the best idea is to get something like an RZ26 disk which is around 1GB and use that. It is also possible to boot the 3100 remotely >from another VMS system but this is probably not an option here. Regards, Peter Coghlan.

16 years, 1 month

eBay Oz : Collection of DEC Unibus modules including custom wire-wrap

by nigel.d.williams＠gmail.com

All sorts of interesting items: TU-60, CM-11, M792 etc http://shop.ebay.com.au/pdp11.caps11/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1 not connected with seller, however I did purchase fanfold paper-tape from this eBayer.

16 years, 1 month

More HP microcode & loader rom detective work

by jdbryan＠acm.org

Jay, On Tue Jul 27 2004 at 09:34, Jay West wrote: > I'm finally digging into my 21MX E-series machines in earnest. In > trying to inventory and document what all I may have, I've found a few > things that stump me and my "docs on hand". Perhaps folks here can shed > some light on these. > > [...] > > Microcode roms I can't identify: > > 93585-80006 > 93585-80007 > 93585-80008 OK, I'm a little late in responding (about six years late :-), but these are the E-Series double-integer firmware instructions (.DAD, .DSB, etc.). They are a product from the HP "specials" group, so they weren't on the regular price list. The relevant HP manual is 93585-90007 at Bitsavers. > 18A0580X012 > 18A0580X022 > 18A0580X032 These are another HP "specials" group product: "93578W Special Pascal Library Subroutines" for the E/F-Series. These are microcoded replacements for the bit-field extract, deposit and indexing run-time function calls emitted by the HP Pascal compiler for access to packed arrays and records. I gather these were used to reduce execution time in Pascal programs. I've not found a manual for these. -- Dave

16 years, 1 month

Computer on eBay probably analogue

by roger.holmes＠microspot.co.uk

There's a strange computer in Kansas USA on eBay, wrong side of the pond for me anyway. It appears to be for calculating milling machine feed rates. The seller seems to think its a CNC control box but I'm fairly sure it isn't. I found it interesting anyway, the item number is 320502473280. No connection to the seller.

16 years, 1 month

RGB-VGA Converter -- buy or build?

by silvercreekvalley＠yahoo.com

Ive used lots of RGB/VGA converters over the years for various bits of equipment, mainly older 8 bit micros. There never seems to be a one solution to fit every case, and I've found that different converters work best with different systems. Sometimes I've found using two converters works best, eg going from RGB + composite sync to composite video, and then from composite video to VGA. Just my 2c

16 years, 1 month

books offered

by rtellason＠verizon.net

Got a few here that might be of interest to folks on the list: -- Fundamentals of COBOL Programming (1968, 1973) -- Programs for Electronic Circuit Design (1986), Radio Shack -- How to Build A Working Digital Computer (1969) Hayden -- Writing BASIC Adventure Programs for the TRS-80 (1982) Tab These (along with a couple hundred others) I have listed on Amazon, but feel free to contact me off-list and let me know if you'd like any of them. I'd like to cover shipping costs, and "a little extra" and get them into the hands of somebody that wants them. Oh, and I still have that IBM binder mentioned in an earlier post -- got three replies, wrote three responses to 'em, and so far nobody has gotten back to me yet to answer "What do you care to offer for it", I'm not just gonna eat the postage, etc. :-) -- Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and ablest -- form of life in this section of space, a critter that can be killed but can't be tamed. --Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters" - Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James M Dakin

16 years, 1 month

Selling my SBC6120 (PDP8)

by julian＠twinax.org

Just thought I'd let people interested know I'm selling my SBC6120 board, it's a first run, but still quyite useful, when you look at the new ones that run $600 for a kit. It includes the CPU. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300406995665

16 years, 1 month

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