My worst run-in with a soldering iron was when I was doing some
work at my father's emergency-lighting plant *man* years ago.
They used real industrial strength soldering irons (the metal
body was about 1" diameter and the tip was a 4-sided point which
was easily about 1/4" diameter).
Well, I had placed the iron in its holder, and was reaching for
something else when I caught the cord and the iron started to
fall... my instinctual reaction was to reach out and grab for
it, which I did... grabbing it firmly with my hand... quickly
turning most of my palm and the anterior surface of all my
fingers and thumb into seared tissue...
I never did that again...
Megan Gentry
Former RT-11 Developer
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| Megan Gentry, EMT/B, PP-ASEL | Internet (work): gentry!zk3.dec.com |
| Unix Support Engineering Group | (home): mbg!world.std.com |
| Compaq Computer Corporation | addresses need '@' in place of '!' |
| 110 Spitbrook Rd. ZK03-2/T43 | URL: http://world.std.com/~mbg/ |
| Nashua, NH 03062 | "pdp-11 programmer - some assembler |
| (603) 884 1055 | required." - mbg |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
>Worst burn I ever got from a soldering iron was when somebody tripped
>over the mains lead. The iron was dragged through my hand and I was left
>gripping the metal shaft. OUCH!.
I have also had a fair # of burns in similiar manners but the one thing I
would suggest for children is to wear glasses. When I was 9 or10 I was
desoldering something when some solder splattered into the tissue in the
corner of my eye. 1/4 inch over and it could have been serious. I almost
always now make sure I am wearing glasses.
Dan
Was just going thru a stack of boards from a recent acqusition, and
discovered a NorthStar FPB-A S-100 Floating Point board.
Looks like a good addition for my Horizon system, and it even came with the
paper tape of NorthStar BASIC with FPB support. What it did not show up
with was a manual, and it is only partially assembled.
Anyone have a spare they could part with, or can carve a copy? I'd like to
try and get this thing running. Also, if anyone has a copy of the disk
based BASIC with FPB support, I'd like to nab a copy of that as well.
Thanks;
-jim
---
jimw(a)agora.rdrop.com
The Computer Garage - http://www.rdrop.com/~jimw
Computer Garage Fax - (503) 646-0174
------------------ Cut from Web Page -------------------------------
MOTHERBOARDS for COMMODORE VIC-20, the ever-poplar 5K memory color
computer which still has a dedicated following. All components intact.
"Some worked, some didn?t" when we powered-up a sampling and so we are
selling them "AS-IS." Good source of spare parts or, if your a gambler,
the basis for cheap computer; 3 lbs. sh. Two versions to choose:
#VIC-01981, eleven 2114 RAM; 9 VAC req. $7.50
#VIC-01983 with two M58725 2Kx8 RAM or equal; requires 9 VAC and 5 VDC,
$6.50
COMMODORE C-16 KEYBAORD, originally p/o the C-16 computer---a short-lived
transition computer between the VIC and C64. By switching a few wires, it
will work with VIC on most keys. Change info included. 5x15x1.5; 3 lbs.
sh. #KB-C16 $3.00 (If purchased w/ VIC board $1.50)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh - you want to know WHICH Web Page 8-)
Beleive it or not - Fair Radio - out of Lima Ohio
http://www2.wcoil.com/~fairadio/module.html
BC
A web search turned up a reference on the Cheapass Games web site
(apparently really good games, if you like that sort of thing) to a lego
adding machine. I thought it might be the same as the one I had found
previously (that has since disappeared) but even though it isn't, it is
very interesting. Enjoy!
>No, I don't think Rick's adding machine was ever up on a web site.
>
>I was co-designer of the model, and I can give you a description of how
>it works.
>
>The "Fish/Ernest" ;) adding machine was essentially a stack of binary
>half-adders, powered by marbles. We got as far as designing the guts of
>the thing, but never made the outsides (marble tracks are sort of
>academic) so much of the device was hypothetical. But the guts worked.
>
>The half-adder itself starts with a hole through which a marble is
>dropped. This marble will toggle the half-adder with one of two possible
>results:
>
>1: If the half-adder is "on" (a flag attached to the gear mechanism is
>up, representing a digit of 1) then the digit will turn off and the
>marble will proceed to the next lower half-adder as a carryover bit.
>
>2: If the half-adder is "off" (the flag is down, representing a digit of
>0) then the flag will be raised, and the marble will go into a waste
>chute.
>
>A stack of these half-adders can be read from bottom to top, with the top
>flag representing the 1's place, the second the 2's place, the third the
>4's place, and so on. Each layer is about 7 bricks high, or roughly 3 1/2
>inches.
>
>The whole thing is gravity-powered, and you "charge" it by dumping a
>handful of marbles into a holding pen at the top. You can input marbles
>one at a time at the top, but we also designed a set of fingers that
>would push marbles from lower holding racks into the appropriate digits
>in the machine; for example, to add nine, one could push in the "1" and
>"8" fingers simultaneously, and everything will fall out successfully.
>This was probably the neatest thing about the machine.
>
>The waste chutes were designed to conserve energy by funneling waste
>marbles into the holding racks for the next level.
>
>Of course, the machine had only the binary output, and could only add.
>But it was still pretty neat.
>
>Anyway, that was longer than I thought. Hope it's as interesting for you
>as it was for us.
>
>Best wishes,
>
>
>-James Ernest
>-Cheapass Games
>
>>Hi! I was wondering if you could do me a favor and as Rick Fish if he is
>>the guy who used to have a web page about his Lego Adding Machine at
>>http://legowww.homepages.com/projects/adding/project2.html?
>>
>>I am a collector of older computers, and there has been some discussion of
>>late on a classic computer mailing list about early mechanical computers
>>(such as the Digi-Comp 1). As part of this discussion, someone brought up
>>a Tinkertoy Tic-Tac-Toe machine, and I recalled seeing a lego adding
machine.
>>
>>Unfortunately, the link I had is no longer valid, but a web search found
>>the cheapass games staff picnic page where Rick Fish is listed as having
>>created a Lego adding machine. Even if he is not the person who had the
>>above-mentioned page, I (and others) would love to hear about his
calculator.
>>
>>In any case, thanks in advance!
>>
>>
>>--------------------------------------------------------------------- O-
>>
>>Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad
>>roger(a)sinasohn.com that none but madmen know."
>>Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates
>>San Francisco, California http://www.sinasohn.com/
>>
>
>
--------------------------------------------------------------------- O-
Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad
roger(a)sinasohn.com that none but madmen know."
Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates
San Francisco, California http://www.sinasohn.com/
Doug,
I got all the H8 stuff you'll ever need... will copies suffice. I'll check
and see what dups I have.... What are you looking for?
I'd like at least a copy of the Poly 88 stuff.
No papertape stuff (you lucky bastage)
Thanks
- Mike: dogas(a)leading.net
From: Doug Yowza <yowza(a)ooga.com>
>I have available the following original Poly 88 docs for trade:
> Volume I: Assembly, Test, and Theory of Hardware (1976, 52pp)
> Addendum to Volume I: Serial Option (1976, 14pp)
> Cassette Interface Minicard (1977, 44pp)
> Memory Addressing, Vectored Interrupt, and Serial I/O (32pp)
> Volume II: Operation and Software (1976, 100+pp)
>
>I need Heathkit H8 docs, but I'd also consider other pre-1977 micro docs
>in trade. I'm also looking for H8 software on papertape (copies are
>fine).
>
>-- Doug
>
>
>
Hi all,
i got here a micropolis 1355 drive with my pdp, but the disc only spins up,
and after few seconds down again. It happens again and again forever. like
a jojo :-((
the power supply is ok.
any ideas ?
thanks,
emanuel
