Yesterday I rescued a Sun 3/260 that had been sitting in an open barn
for years. It had been "running when parked" a dozen years ago.? It
seems to have been covered by a tarp, but otherwise unprotected. All
things considered, it doesn't look that bad but it is pretty rough.
Any pointers on things that I should and shouldn't do as I start trying
to bring it back to life?
alan
I'm working on implementing an MSCP controller on top of Joerg Hoppe's
Unibone and I'm making pretty good progress -- RT-11 works and I'm working
on getting 2.11bsd to boot from it in an 11/84 (it works well enough to
load "boot" which then loads the kernel, then things fall over).
However, given the complexity of the protocol I'd like to be able to test
it against something official rather than going from OS to OS and hammering
out issues as I find them. DEC's UDA50 diagnostics assume an actual UDA50
(and expect specific behaviors like onboard diagnostics, etc.) and I don't
really want to emulate a UDA50 -- I just want to implement a generic MSCP
controller properly.
I'm assuming the answer is "no" but did DEC ever provide actual MSCP
conformance tests (for PDP-11 or VAX) to allow third parties to test their
implementations?
Thanks as always,
Josh
Hello all,
I have been wanting to acquire a plane of magnetic core memory as a
piece of computing history. My partner actually thinks they look very
beautiful and says we should frame it, if we ever find a plane.
At the time I was thinking about memory from the S/360. But in
retrospect, this is not necessary. It would, however, be nice to know
what computer a prospective purchase likely came from. It adds to the
meaning.
One of my online friends just pointed this to me, which I am considering
purchasing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/264262833353
There is no indication of what sort of computer it came from. However I
have been told to check the bus connector.
Does anybody here have any ideas? For example, what is it? Or, if you
don't know, could you point me in the right direction so I can do the
research myself? Thanks!!
Kind regards,
Andrew
--
OpenPGP key: EB28 0338 28B7 19DA DAB0 B193 D21D 996E 883B E5B9
The PDP-10 Control Console sold for $3,650.00. Amazing!
Now consider a DSKY. Currently at $27,500.00. Auction estimate: $60,000+
Great provenance! ?The DSKY that saved Apollo 14.?
https://www.rrauction.com/bidtracker_detail.cfm?IN=5222
?Apollo 14 LM Simulator Computer Display and Keyboard (DSKY) from MIT
Instrumentation Laboratory?
Historically significant Apollo Guidance Computer Display and Keyboard
(DSKY) unit from the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory, used by Don Eyles and
Sam Drake to verify the software patch needed to avoid an abort during the
Apollo 14 lunar landing sequence. The data entry and display device measures
8? x 8? x 6.5?, and has 19 keys and an electroluminescent digital
display. The back of the unit retains its metal NASA parts tag which reads,
?Apollo G & N System, AGC DSKY Assy, Part No. 2003985-041, Serial No. RAY
26, NAS 9-497, Designed by M.I.T. Instrumentation Lab, Mfg. by Raytheon Co.,
" with yellow inspection stamps above. In fine condition.
Accompanied by a detailed letter of provenance from the present owner, who
was employed at the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory to design, build, and
maintain the CM and LM cockpit simulators. He retained the DSKY in 1978 when
the LM cockpit simulator was dismantled and discarded.
The DSKY was the astronaut's interface to the Apollo Guidance Computer
developed by MIT, and was critical to every aspect of the mission. Each
program had a two-digit code and commands were entered as two-digit numbers
in a verb-noun sequence. The device permitted the astronauts to collect and
provide flight information necessary for the precise landings on the moon.
It was the DSKY that provided the astronauts with critical burn times for
engine firings, course corrections, trajectories, and other key calculations
vital in getting a crew to and from the moon. The DSKY also reported the
program alarm moments before the LM touched down on the lunar surface to
land.
During Apollo 14, a loose ball of solder floating inside the abort switch of
the LM Antares caused an intermittent short circuit, threatening to
accidentally activate the switch and rocket the module back into orbit
during its landing sequence. In order to prevent that scenario, MIT computer
programmer Don Eyles, a developer of the AGC's source code, was asked to
hack his own software to find a workaround. This represented the most
dramatic moment for MIT's programmers throughout the entire Apollo program,
as they had just three to four hours to work out a fix, test it, and relay
it to the astronauts in time for Powered Descent Initiation (PDI). Eyles
accomplished his task in just two hours, developing a 26-command sequence to
be entered into the DSKY that reprogrammed the AGC to ignore the abort
button. The codes were relayed to Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell with ten
minutes to spare, and the LM Antares successfully touched down on the lunar
surface at 09:18:11 UTC on February 5, 1971. As the MIT DSKY used to verify
the code that saved the Apollo 14 mission, this is an exceptionally
important piece of space history.
-----
> From: Jon Elson
> As soon as somebody figured out that you could combine the sense and
> inhibit wires, everybody immediately went to 3-wire planes.
I"m suprised the idea wasn't patented. Or maybe it was, and they made the
license widely available at modest terms?
Noel
Well, I was finally able to get a PMI memory board to expand my
11/93 to the full 4 Meg. (Thanks Paul!)
I thought it would be as simple as configuring what bank I wanted
it to fill and inserting it (in front of the CPU). Sadly, that
didn't work. First problem is the only document i could find is
not for the actual version of the board I have. It has the same
switch sets so I tried it anyway. Set it to be in the upper 2Meg
and gave it the next CSR after the on board memory. No luck.
11/93 still reports 1024KWords and the Map command shows neither
the additional memory or the second memory CSR.
Anybody have any experience with this? Is there a switch I have to
change on the CPU module to make it recognize the additional external
memory? IS there something about PMI that I am missing?
Any advice gratefully appreciated.
bill
Happy Spring, fellers!
Here is the latest batch of goodies for your perusing pleasure:
Amiga 3000-25/50
Commodore 1902A Monitor
Daystar Digital Turbo 601 Accelerator
Radius Precision Color Pro 24XK Accelerated 24-bit Graphics I/F
Atari Mega ST4
Atari Mega ST Keyboard (American)
HP Plotter Pens 0.3mm - 5 pen BLACK Pack (Paper)
HP Plotter Pens 0.3mm - 5 pen BLUE Pack (Paper)
HP Plotter Pens 0.3mm - 5 pen PURPLE Pack (Paper)
HP Plotter Pens 0.3mm - 5 pen ORANGE Pack (Paper)
HP Plotter Pens 0.3mm - 5 pen RED Pack (Paper)
HP Plotter Pens 0.3mm - Multi-Color Custom Pack (Paper)
HP Plotter Pens 0.6mm - 5 pen GREEN Pack (Transparency)
HP Plotter Pens 0.6mm - 5 pen BLUE Pack (Transparency)
HP Plotter Pens 0.6mm - 5 pen RED Pack (Transparency)
HP Plotter Pens 0.6mm - 5 pen PURPLE Pack (Transparency)
HP Plotter Pens 0.6mm - 5 pen Multi-Color Pack (Transparency)
HP Plotter Pens 0.7mm - 5 pen BLACK Pack (Paper)
HP Plotter Pens 0.7mm - 5 pen GREEN Pack (Paper)
HP Plotter Pens 0.7mm - 5 pen BLUE Pack (Paper)
HP Plotter Pens 0.7mm - 5 pen PURPLE Pack (Paper)
HP Plotter Pens 0.7mm - 5 pen RED Pack (Paper)
IBM PCjr with IBM PCjr Carrying Case
IBM Terminal Controller Port Box
IBM PS/1 Consultant
Atari 520ST
Atari Portfolio Technical Reference Guide
HP 9815
Hayes Smartmodem 1200
Hayes Smartmodem 2400
Hayes Smartmodem OPTIMA 2400
Iomega PC800B SCSI Controller
Star Micronics NX-1000 Multi-font Printer
Disk interface bus monitor
Electrohome TTL Color Interface
Navarone Commodore 64 carthridge port expander
Practical Peripherals Pocket FAX/Modem
Apple StyleWriter II
Sun Microsystems SPARCstation 1
Sun Microsystems SPARCstation Prototype
Links to information on these items and more can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1I53wxarLHlNmlPVf_HJ5oMKuab4zrApI_hi…
Photos on the latest posted items will be available later this evening.
You may always inquire if you require more information on a particular item.
Per standard procedure, please contact me directly via e-mail to make an
offer on a particular item.
Thanks!
Sellam
Does anyone know what the current status of this might be? I am
fairly certain Mentec didn't get this and I am not sure anyone
did. Did it merely die when everyone thought Mumps was on the
down hill slide? Was it ever really a DEC product or was it
something DEC picked up along the way after Mass General let it
out of its cage?
bill
> From: Allison
> Experience is that an 11/23 or 23+ will run V6 as mine does.
What changes did you make to get it to run? (I assume the stock binary
wouldn't run.)
Noel
> From: W2HX
> i have a few CPUs available to me, a 11/23+, an 11/73 and I also have
> available to me an 11/83
> I would like to try to run as many different OS's as may interest me,
> including some unixes as possible (bsd...etc).
Early Unixes in general will run on those machines - but not straight off the
tape (since they didn't exist then, and have quirks which aren't supported).
I've brought up V6 on a /23 (which must have the KTF11-A MMU chip); here:
http://gunkies.org/wiki/Running_UNIX_V6_on_an_-11/23
are instructions on exactly what (minor) changes need to be made for it to
run.
The /73 and /83 should be subsets of that, although you'll want to start with
m45.s, because those machines support the split-I-D MMU of the -11/45. (A /23
Unix binary would boot/run on them, if you don't feel like doing a special one
for them.) I haven't yet tried V6 on them; if you want me to, and do a
writeup, let me know. The /73 and /83 have LTC registers, so on those you
won't need the LTC hack.
Also, you may know this already, but if not, note that the /83 is a PMI:
http://gunkies.org/wiki/Private_Memory_Interconnect
machine, and _MUST_ be plugged into a Q/CD backplane _only_; plugging into
a standard Q/Q backplane will _damage_ it.
> would I see any improvement in performance with the FPU compared to
> without it? Or does the application running need to be something like
> fortran to see any perceivable difference?
As someone noted, the /73 and /83 implement thefloating point instructions in
microcode, so the code can't tell if the optional FPJ11 FP hardware
accelerator is plugged in or not. In general, only on applications (the
language is not relevant) which are heavy users of FP would you see any
difference.
On the /23, with no KEF11-A FPU chip plugged in, there are no floating point
instructions at all, so any application which tries to use them will blow out
(although under V6 there's an emulator); see here:
http://gunkies.org/wiki/Setting_up_UNIX_-_Sixth_Edition
and search for 'floating point' to see discussion of it).
> From: Ethan Dicks
> v5, v6, and v7 UNIX shouldn't require any sort of math hardware.
Don't know v5/v7 in detail, but AFAIK that's accurate. V6 can _support_
FP hardware on machines which have it, and is otherwised prepared to
emulate those instructions (see above).
> From: Paul Koning
> I think that was typically called "EAE" (extended arithmetic element),
> a Unibus peripheral that implemented integer mul/div ... It only
> applies to 11/20 and 11/05 since all the other machines have the
> relevant instructions built into the CPU.
Also the -11/04 and -11/03 were both missing the EIS; the former could use
the EAE, for the latter the optional KEV11-A or KEV11-B microcode chips both
provide it.
> From: Josh Dersch
> The EAE was also an option on the 11/40.
Technically, on any UNIBUS machine; on the /40, the EIS (added instructions,
not the device model of the EAE) was available via an optional board in
the CPU.
Noel
