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101090 discussions

Who recognizes this (UK) architecture (from 1970-1985)?

by erik＠baigar.de

Hi There, I am working on restoration, documentation of a some vintage navigation systems from the late 1970ties, which have been designed in the UK. They contain an archaic bit-serial computer and I'd be interested if someone on this list recognizes the architecture and/or can confirm my assumptions: The bitserial computer consists of around 300 TTL chips (54xx); it has 8 bits instructions and operates on 16 bit memory. The 3 LOWER bits of the opcode define the instruction and the HIGHER bits the location (0-31, i.e. address) - most other architectures I know have the instruction coded in the MSBs! Here is a list of the basic instructions: 1 : Load Ac from memory 2 : Store Ac to memory 3 : Add to Ac 4 : Sub from Ac 5 : IO-Instructions (32 Channels, there are some special channels as 0 loads AC with "0" whereas channel 31 loads -1 into Ac). 6 : Shift instructions - depending on the address field, Ac is shifted arithmetically (preserving MSB, the sign) or cyclic. 7 : Bit test instructions - 0-15 test bits of the Ac register, 16-31 test external digital inputs and are used for communication with the hardware. And finally, put last for didactic reasons: 0 : Here we have a bunch of special instructions depending on the address field, like selection of memory page, conditional jump, loading of data from ROM into the Accumulator (Ac), multiply, divide, conditional JUMP,... What makes the architecture very unique to me is, that it has 32 bit capability, i.e. there is a "double length" flag and if this is set, most commands operate on 32 bit (1-6, MUL, DIV). Additionally there is a "logic flag" which causes e.g. the instuctions ADD and SUB to switch to change their operation from ADD/SUB to logic AND/NXOR. Apart from this, ROM and RAM are separated (the CPU cann not exe- cute code in RAM) and the RAM is segmented in 4 pages of 31 words. The machine does not have got a stack, there is no subroutine call and only just one flag used for conditional JUMPs. Via the test in- structions (e.g. test Accu bit 3, test Ac<0) this flag is modified and a following "Jump if Flag Set" acutally causes the conditional JUMP. As the navigation system is made by Ferranti I, already had a look at the varouos computers made by them (Mark1, Pegasus, Atlas, and Argus). I think given the timeline, and the word widths the Argus 600 or 700 architectures may be closely related, but the 600's command set is quite different... http://www.wylie.org.uk/technology/computer/Argus/PeteFarr.htm Can anyone out there confirm this? Is a instruction set listing of the Argus 700 available somewhere? A video on the system can be found fon YouTube although this is not focused on the digital computer it may be of interest as it gives a overview on the application, the projected map cockpit display (one of the devices controlled by the system) and it shows my homebrew logger developed durig analysis of the box: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EQqfxiGgd8 Interesting in this system is also the delicate mechanics and the mix of digital computing, analog computing (platform stabilization, compensation of cross talk errors and anisoelasticity, platform erection, first integration from acceleration to speed) and mechanical computing (the ingetration of turn rate happens me- chanically within the gyrsocopes).For this reasons, these systems are the most extraordinary masterpiece of engineering I know... Best regards, Erik, Germany, Munich...

10 years, 1 month

VCF Midwest is Live!

by silent700＠gmail.com

Hello vintage computing fans - we are finally ready to officially re-announce the 11th annual Vintage Computer Festival Midwest! Here are the essentials: What: A weekend of friends, fellowship and frivolity centered around the hobby of vintage computing. Buy, browse, show or sell or any combination thereof. When: September 10-11, 2016 Where: The Holiday Inn of Elk Grove Village, Illinois, minutes from O'Hare International Airport (with a free shuttle) How Much: Zero, 0, null, %0, nil, @0, aught, ought, naught, 0x00, nada, zip, or goose-egg. It's free, too. (BIG ASTERISK BELOW) Last year's move to our new, larger event hall was a resounding and popular success. This year, processes have been streamlined, layouts optimized, synergies leveraged and core competencies enhanced so that 2016 will see us there again with a little bit more space (all that we can get this time) and the same great food, hours and convenience that worked so well last time. Some OK T-Shirts, too, if I finish them on time. Reservations for tables and potential speaking slots will be taken via web form here: http://vcfmw.org/signup.html. We'll contact you soon to follow-up on space requirements or presentations. There is no need to register to attend the show. Table spots may fill up quickly - late registrants may end up with sub-optimal locations. Special convention rate hotel reservations for the Holiday Inn are now open. Follow the link on our site to the reservation page with pre-filled code. If you are making your reservation with your own discount code or without one, please still mention our show (code "VCF") as that is one way we track attendance figures (and more reservations = friendlier hotel.) Please visit our website and FAQ at http://vcfmw.org for all the latest relevant information and don't hesitate to contact me with questions not covered there. (BIG ASTERISK) VCFMW is a community-supported event and does not charge admission - therefore we depend on your donations to cover the costs of the facility rental and other necessaries. Please visit our web page to find two methods of donation (PayPal and GoFundMe) and give what you can. If you'd like to donate directly at the show or by some other method, please let me know privately. Thank you to all that helped make our show great last year and we hope to see you again in September! -j

10 years, 1 month

VCFed auction updates

by Wayne.Smith＠warnerbros.com

Date: Mon, 13 Jun 2016 15:20:11 -0400 From: "Bill Sudbrink" <wh.sudbrink at verizon.net> To: "'General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts'" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: > I think that VCFed (was MARCH) had that one > signed at the same workshop that mine was > signed at. A couple of others were signed > at the same time. Picture of Herb getting > his signed (right after mine) here: > > http://www.retrotechnology.com/restore/sol_1.html Woz was at VCF 8.0 (2005) and I quickly bought a Macintosh Portable for $50 from one of the vendors just so I could have him sign something - got a picture of him doing so as well: http://tinyurl.com/jkxcv89

10 years, 1 month

Possible to Re-flash a Yamaha SCSI CDROM to fake an Apple CDROM ?

by swiftgriggs＠gmail.com

On older Apple 68k machines, having an Apple-branded CDROM means you can be assured it'll boot (though it's rumored that many generic SCSI CDROMs work for booting) and also that it'll "just work" on most of the OSs. I'm guessing it's a simple check to see if the vendor in the firmware is "APPLE". Has anyone ever managed to hack the firmware of something like a Yamaha, Pioneer, or Plextor drive so that it lies and says it's "APPLE" thus being fully enabled by the OS & hardware ? Does anyone know anything about flashing CDROM firmware and the dynamics of such things? I wonder if it'd just be a matter of a simple hexedit/byte-patch on the firmware image then load it up... Is this a bogus idea? The reason for this is that if it's possible, I could buy a Pioneer slot loading SCSI CDROM drive, stuff it into my Quadra 660AV, and then hack it to "just work" instead of needing drivers et al. The slot cover isn't big enough for a normal tray-drive CDROM to work. Thus I can only use a CD300i caddy-based drive (or theoretically - a slot drive). My 300i is a bit of PoS and even after I cleaned it, the thing still has a lot of read problems. -Swift

10 years, 1 month

Cross post - Help repairing badly dented / warped sheet metal casing (Seattle)

by ian.finder＠gmail.com

I recently received something very special to me, a Symbolics XL1200 LISP machine, with framethrower and the works. Despite being shipped in the original SMBX designed carton, UPS dealt a great deal of damage to the system. It looks like it was hit by a truck. This, predictably, makes me very sad. Is there anyone, preferably local, with the skill and tools to make this thing look a little better who can lend a hand? How do I get started undoing the dents and extremely bent base? thanks, - Ian -- Ian Finder (206) 395-MIPS ian.finder at gmail.com

10 years, 1 month

DL11 M7800

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: William Degnan >> For 777560/60 (standard for the console), you want A7/A3 and V4/V5 >> 'in'. > I intend to use a serial terminal to access the console via M912 > CONSOLE ROM. Got it; that would mean you're wanting the standard console. > I believe you're saying to connect A7/A3 and V4/V5 Right, insert jumpers A7 and A3, and also V5 and V4. > I still don't understand the pattern. They specify the device address and vector in binary. A7 is the 7th bit of the address, i.e. the 0200 bit. And since the DL11 is 'address jumper in for 0', that bit in the device's address is going to be _0_ when the jumper is in. That would turn 777770 (remember, the device is a block of 8 bytes, from xxxxx0 to xxxxx7, so you can't set the low 3 bits in the base address, they must be 0) into 777570. Similarly, A3 is 010, and turns 777770 to 777760. Put them together, you get 777560. V5 = 040, V4 = 020, so they become a vector of 060. > What would A4, A5, A6 and V7, V6, V3 represent A4 = 020, A5 = 040, A6 = 0100. V7 = 0200, V6 = 100, V3 = 010. > Is there a table with the jumpers and values somewhere? No, but I'll whip one up and stick it on the Computer History wiki. > Specifically something that lists all jumper combos and their > corresponding addresses? Well, _all_ the combinations would be 2^8 combinations (there are 8 address jumpers), which is pretty sizeable, and I don't feel like listing them all, but I can list a couple of the most common ones (e.g. console, second line, etc). Noel

10 years, 1 month

SunOS 4

by bryan＠bceassociates.com

Hi, I have really fond memories of this operating system (from before the SVR4 Solaris days). It was the first UNIX I used (and I'm still a big BSD fan). (Not sure what the protocol is here for asking something like this so if I run afoul of a copyright policy or something, just tell me to stop asking and I will.) Is there any way someone can get their hands on an install disc for this? I have some old SPARC hardware that it would be fun to run on if I could find the installer. Thanks, Bryan

10 years, 1 month

[OT] Beta Max and other OLD still and motion cameras

by sales＠elecplus.com

10 years, 1 month

DL11 M7800

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: William Degnan > OMG Yeah, but look at it this way: their being inverted can be a memory jogger - 'Oh, the DL11, that effed-up interface where the jumper sense is inverted between address and vector!' Then you only have to look up one of the two.. :-) > Yes, so I can use a terminal with the machine, I need a working > terminal. "Terminal" != "console". (Or, rather, the latter is a unitary subset of the former.) The 'system console' is, by definition, on all PDP-11's, a DL11-type serial interface at 777560. However, it may have many 'terminals'! :-) >> For 777560/60 (standard for the console), you want A7/A3 and V4/V5 'in'. > I think you mean 60/64, right? Sort of (unless you mean 'instead of 777560/60, you meant 60/64, right?'). 777560 is the base address, 60 is the base vector. The receiver registers are 777560-2, and the transmitter are 777564-6, but on the DL11, one can only set the base of the entire group of 4 registers, one can't move the transmit and receive around independently. Similarly for the vector, one can only set the base; the receive (B) and transmit (B+4) are paired in the hardware. Hence, "777560/60". Noel

10 years, 1 month

PDP-11/23 system available

by wdonzelli＠gmail.com

I have a PDP-11/23 with two RL02 drives, in a third party rack, that I need to rehome. The PDP does not have any cards installed! Nothing has been tested. Available! Cheap! Always open to trades. The rack is a shorty, and I could deliver it within reason. I still have those MINC-11 cards, too. -- Will, in IBM land NY

10 years, 1 month

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