Yesterday, here in New Jersey, a Burroughs B-205 tube computer was
destroyed when the barn containing it burned down. It belonged to
85-year-old Claude Kagan who is a legend out here. Among other things,
he formed the student computer club called the "RESISTORS" in the 1960s,
and he wrote the SAM-76 programming language.
The good news is that Claude was not harmed, and his main house is okay.
But it's a good reminder, if anybody needs one, to save vintage
computers while we can -- and to ensure the integrity of our storage areas.
On Fri, December 4, 2009 5:52 pm, Pontus wrote:
>> Then, assuming the cable really is correct (have you tried swapping Tx
>> and Rx?), is plugged in to the correct
> This was the somewhat obvious error I missed when checking the cable. I
> discovered it by trying another cable which isn't keyed. So I
> accidentally put it in upside down, which incidentally flips Tx and Rx.
> Thanks for putting up with me :)
>
> So now I get this:
>
> 28
> START?
>
> Which confuses me, I have a 32kB (or is it kW ?) worth of memory
> installed (M8044-DD) configured to start at address 0. Shouldn't it say
> 32 instead of 28? How does the memory detection work anyway?
4K for the I/O page..
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
Despite their crappy products, IOmega did leave behind one good legacy. Cheap 5/12v DC regulated wall warts. Perfect for the VFD clocks that I'm working on. 5v for the logic and 12v for the display. And thanks to the throwaway nature of their products these can be found pretty cheap at local flea markets.
Regards, Jim
Hey all --
Picked up an HP Integral PC. Probably paid too much for it but
something about a luggable HP machine with a plasma display running
HP-UX from ROM seemed irresistible. But I digress.
Has anyone archived the manuals for this thing? I've been unable to
find anything in my searches on the internet. Found some software
archives (and after lubricating the floppy mechanism I've been able to
make use of it...) but not much documentation. Docs for the HP BASIC
for this machine would be nice, too.
I've only played with it for a little while, but it seems like a really
neat machine. (Though it seems like this thing is just begging for some
sort of mass-storage other than the internal floppy and RAM. Anyone
have an HPIB hard disk for sale? :)
Thanks,
Josh
Hi,
Since some time the only mirror of my site is gone, so all scanned
material and some additional info are only present (as a set) via my
local site. This site resides on cheap consumer grade quality hardware,
so is not very reliable. So if anyone want to mirror it, I would be
grateful.
The site contains information on a limited set of computers, like DAI,
Epson, some obscure DEC, etc.
The url is http://electrickery.xs4all.nl/comp/. A list of the scanned
documentation is at http://electrickery.xs4all.nl/comp/virtlibrary.html.
Please contact me before starting copying; - the site is at the wrong
side of an ADSL line, and contains mirrors of other sites (in
http://electrickery.xs4all.nl/comp/mirrors). Also it
_contains_copyrighted_material_ (but of vintage or cctech interest).
Fred Jan
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:49:20 -0500
From: Murray McCullough <c.murray.mccullough at gmail.com>
Subject: Different take on 10 Yr. 'RULE'
A different interpretation on the 10 Yr. 'Rule'. Many experts, CPU mag
being one, say that we shouldn't store info on CDs, DVDs, etc. as they
may be unreadable in less than 10 yrs. Wouldn't it be sad if we lost
valuable information on the classic computing era? I guess
old-fashioned paper is the best way after all! Let's hope these
technologies last longer than my Zip-drive and disks that can't be
read because the drive died and I can't get it fixed or at the very
least at a decent price. So Sad!
Murray--
--------------Reply:
Only sad if you want it to be...
No problem finding a working ZIP drive for free or next to nothing
these days; all kinds of them on eBay at .99 with no bids, or just
ask on the various forums and I'm sure someone'll be happy to get
rid of one.
Never had any problems with my drives or disks, FWIW.
m
I don't know if the 10 year rule applies here, but I have a old 3com
switch (3c3500) that I'd like to use. Problem is that the previous
administrator was competent and changed all the passwords. So, how
should I reset this unit? Mind you, there is a socketed flash SIMM
... Any ideas? There's also a bad SRAM chip, but that's another
kettle of fish.
>
> Date: Wed, 2 Dec 2009 13:23:18 -0600
> From: Brian Lanning <brianlanning at gmail.com>
> Batteries I can handle. But leaky surface mount caps scare me to death.
> I can solder, but not on the new surface-mount stuff. My eyes aren't what
> they used to be. Maybe I should practice some and invest in a reflow
> setup. But I don't have enough time either.
The surface mount electrolytics aren't bad at all. You should be able to
manage with reading glasses.
To remove the old ones, just get two soldering pencils. Heat controlled
is nice, but you can use a pair of Radio Shack 15watt grounded pencils
(>$10 ea. last time I checked). Apply one pencil to each side of the
capacitor until it lifts easily off of the board. Do not pry.
Remove the old solder with a bit of desoldering braid. Clean the pads
with your favorite solvent(s). Lightly tin one pad. Position the new
capacitor on the pads and hold in place by pressing down with a flat blade
screwdriver or similar (pencil eraser at end of pencil might work well).
Heat the tinned side until the capacitor sinks flat on the pad. Remove
heat, then remove screwdriver. Solder the other terminal normally.
In the old Macintosh world we've been replacing the SM electrolytics with
SM tantalums in hopes that they will last longer.
Anyway, this may not be best practice, but it gets the job done for about
$20 in equipment (two soldering pencils) and less than $10 in supplies
(solder, flux, braid).
Jeff Walther