test-drb

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

101090 discussions

Homebrew projects wanted for exhibit at VCF 3.0

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

How about building an 'information appliance' toaster, like Microsoft wants you to? For purely parody purposes, of course. Maybe I'll do something like that. Maybe it will have a network card, and I'll demonstrate toaster operation with CGI scripting. And put up a toastercam. I'm not kidding, this seems interesting... > >I don't count 'Insert VGA card tab 'A' into slot 'B'' as being 'building >a computer'. When I talk about building a machine I mean from chips and >wire and hand-etched (or wire-wrapped) boards. > >> If its a computer or controller (or something, haven't gotten around to >> laying out the ground rules yet) and you built it from the chip, >> transistor or sand level, its admissable. > >I personally think that you should remember that when homebrewing was a >lot more common (or was at least a larger part of home computing), a lot >of the projects were expansion cards for the Apple ][ etc. And that there >certainly should be a category for homebrewed cards in commerical >machines. > >> > Does it have to be a complete machine, or will an add-on/interface for a >> > commercial computer count? >> >> Probably, but it would have to do something really cool! Like allow you >> to choose the speed on your blender from a radio-button on your computer >> or something. > >You mean a calculator with a colour video display and a robot arm doesn't >count? No I didn't homebrew the calculator, but everything else is >mine.... Details available from HPCC if you're mad enough to want to >build one... > >Seriously, I wasn't thinking of having the expansion cards in the same >group as totally homebrewed machines (including the CPU). But as a lot of >'classic' homebrewing was interfacing, then it should be included somehow. > >Perhaps have several categories. The ones off the top of my head are : > >Homebrew CPU - Anything where the CPU is not a standard commercial >chip/machine. Homebuilt CPUs from relays, transistors, TTL, FPGAs, etc > >Homebrew microcomputer - Using a standard CPU chip (any), make a computer >not using standard PCBs. A general purpose machine which can run user >programs, I think, though. > >Controller - a homebrew embedded control system using just about anything... > >Interface - a homebrew expansion card/interface module for a (classic?) >computer. > >Homebrew == built from chips/transistors/relays/valves. Not plugged >together from standard boards... > >-tony > > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

27 years, 11 months

Any *really* homebrewing going on?

by CLASSICCMP＠timaxp.trailing-edge.com

>Homebrewing is still going on. Its just not as prevalent any more because >each year the art dies a little more. I think the tales of homebrewing's demise are being a bit exaggerated. Certainly, the character of homebrewing has changed greatly over the past 20 years. It is true that some of today's tools of the trade - for example, a good PAL/GAL programmer - are more expensive than many of tools of 1975. But in real dollars, today's $800 device programmer is much cheaper than, say, an 8080A CPU, which had a street price of US$250 or so in 1975. And many folks are doing very interesting things with programmable devices. You can get into PIC programming for well under $100, and there's lots of really interesting things you can do with that. -- Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com Trailing Edge Technology Voice: 301-767-5917 7328 Bradley Blvd Fax: 301-767-5927 Bethesda, MD, USA 20817

27 years, 11 months

Any *really* homebrewing going on?

by allisonp＠world.std.com

< Take a PIC17C42. This chip executes a respectable number of < instructions/sec out of external memory. Link it up to some EPROMs - 16 < bits wide for the PIC instruction and enough extra bits to control the < data path + rest of the homebrew processor. The PIC is not going to I did that in 1980 using a 8048, slower but the same idea. Allison

27 years, 11 months

Any *really* homebrewing going on?

by CLASSICCMP＠timaxp.trailing-edge.com

>Does anyone have really good references on learning basic computer >design and implementation? To put things in perspective, right now >I'm at a "Getting Started in Electronics" and "Introduction to Digital >Electronics" Radio Shack level -- please hold back your laughter :) The classic reference would be Don Lancaster's _TTL Cookbook_, which is still being published in pretty much its original early-1970's version. For a slightly broader view of electronics - and a very solid introduction to both digital and analog techniques - you'll also want Horowitz and Hill's _The Art of Electronics_. Mr. Transistor Man, here you come! -- Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com Trailing Edge Technology Voice: 301-767-5917 7328 Bradley Blvd Fax: 301-767-5927 Bethesda, MD, USA 20817

27 years, 11 months

Any *really* homebrewing going on?

by CLASSICCMP＠timaxp.trailing-edge.com

>hard to come by these days, but how about modern equivalents? I think >that's the lowest level I'll personally go, although it would be really >fun to build a 4-bit computer out of transistors, anything more complex >is probably really difficult. Why not go for a bit-serial (aka 1-bit) CPU? It's an extremely classic design, and is certainly the way to go to minimize total transistor count. >I've got some plans of designing a computer this year. I'll probably >get my feet wet with a simple 4-bit design, but I'd like to do a 12-bit >computer (since my "inspiration" is a PDP-8). The PDP-8/S is a -8 done in a bit-serial implementation. 78 microseconds for some instructions! If you don't mind making about a 15-year advance in the electronics you'll be using, you might also seriously consider making a CPU via the state machine route, using an EPROM and some counters. All math and logic operations can very easily be done via table look-up in the EPROM. This is a rather common assignment in lower-level computer engineering courses, as it's something that can be easily wire-wrapped in an afternoon or two, and it is extremely easy to try new microcode revisions. -- Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com Trailing Edge Technology Voice: 301-767-5917 7328 Bradley Blvd Fax: 301-767-5927 Bethesda, MD, USA 20817

27 years, 11 months

FW: pdp11/44 free to good home in TX

by kyrrin＠my-dejanews.com

My God... as little as six months ago, 11/44's seemed rare. Now it seems like they're coming out of the woodwork! Another free system over in Texas. Contact the fellow directly if interested... -=-=- <snip> -=-=- On 2 Oct 1998 02:01:12 GMT, in alt.sys.pdp11 you wrote: >>From: "Eric" <evb(a)citx.com> >>Newsgroups: alt.sys.pdp11 >>Subject: pdp11/44 free to good home in TX >>Date: 2 Oct 1998 02:01:12 GMT >>Organization: http://www.supernews.com, The World's Usenet: Discussions Start Here >>Lines: 13 >>Message-ID: <01bdeda9$0467a840$22a442c6(a)moonpie.citx.com> >>NNTP-Posting-Host: 198.66.164.34 >>X-Trace: 907293672 0R4SAZH0CA422C642C usenet54.supernews.com >>X-Complaints-To: newsabuse(a)supernews.com >>X-Newsreader: Microsoft Internet News 4.70.1155 >>Path: blushng.jps.net!news.eli.net!spamkiller1.cwix.com!newsfeed.cwix.com!199.60.229.5!newsfeed.direct.ca!Supernews73!supernews.com!Supernews69!not-for-mail >> >>11/44 CPU >>TS11 tape drive >>(2) RK07 disk units >>many rk07 packs >>decwriterII >>vt100 terminal >>manuals, service history >>unit operational at de-installation >>deinstalled from a school >> >>30 days and it's going to the metal scrapyard, would rather see her have a >>good home. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bruce Lane, Owner and head honcho, Blue Feather Technologies -- kyrrin (at) jps [dot] net Web: http://table.jps.net/~kyrrin "...No matter how we may wish otherwise, our science can only describe an object, event, or living thing in our own human terms. It cannot possibly define any of them..."

27 years, 11 months

Any *really* homebrewing going on?

by allisonp＠world.std.com

< and peripherals together to make a (shudder) PC. I'm talking about < *REAL* iron (or aluminum.) Starting from basic relay, transistor, or I Lessee, I do much of my own bent metal, cases cost! I've been building hardware for far to many years to count. < (SSI or MSI only!) and rolling a machine the "hard way." Recreations o Even the 8008 was considerd LSI! < old machines (i.e. building your own PDP-1) would make a very < interesting discussions. Difficult as well as where down one get core these days? I'd love to build a PDP-8 from the ground up using current (nonFPGA) tech. For the moment I've building up a z80/s100 crate and doing a z280s/CPM project for my self. Allison

27 years, 11 months

pdp11/44 free to good home in TX

by dburrows＠netpath.net

I was sort of interested but the shipping cost Vs what I have on hand was a debate. I see by a recent posting he has had several offers. If he had some unusual peripherals I would not have hesitated. Thanks Dan -----Original Message----- From: Bruce Lane <kyrrin(a)my-dejanews.com> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Saturday, October 03, 1998 1:08 AM Subject: FW: pdp11/44 free to good home in TX My God... as little as six months ago, 11/44's seemed rare. Now it seems like they're coming out of the woodwork! Another free system over in Texas. Contact the fellow directly if interested... -=-=- <snip> -=-=- On 2 Oct 1998 02:01:12 GMT, in alt.sys.pdp11 you wrote: >>From: "Eric" <evb(a)citx.com> >>Newsgroups: alt.sys.pdp11 >>Subject: pdp11/44 free to good home in TX >>Date: 2 Oct 1998 02:01:12 GMT >>Organization: http://www.supernews.com, The World's Usenet: Discussions Start Here >>Lines: 13 >>Message-ID: <01bdeda9$0467a840$22a442c6(a)moonpie.citx.com> >>NNTP-Posting-Host: 198.66.164.34 >>X-Trace: 907293672 0R4SAZH0CA422C642C usenet54.supernews.com >>X-Complaints-To: newsabuse(a)supernews.com >>X-Newsreader: Microsoft Internet News 4.70.1155 >>Path: blushng.jps.net!news.eli.net!spamkiller1.cwix.com!newsfeed.cwix.com!199.60.2 29.5!newsfeed.direct.ca!Supernews73!supernews.com!Supernews69!not-for-mail >> >>11/44 CPU >>TS11 tape drive >>(2) RK07 disk units >>many rk07 packs >>decwriterII >>vt100 terminal >>manuals, service history >>unit operational at de-installation >>deinstalled from a school >> >>30 days and it's going to the metal scrapyard, would rather see her have a >>good home. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bruce Lane, Owner and head honcho, Blue Feather Technologies -- kyrrin (at) jps [dot] net Web: http://table.jps.net/~kyrrin "...No matter how we may wish otherwise, our science can only describe an object, event, or living thing in our own human terms. It cannot possibly define any of them..."

27 years, 11 months

BA123 Power Supplies

by dburrows＠netpath.net

I have some complete BA123 supplies here. I also have 4 BA123 chassis that are on my trailer that is heading for the scrap dealer. The ones on the trailer have been outside for a while but you can have anything you want >from them. I also have numerous BA23 chassis inside - just let me know what fried. Dan Burrows dburrows(a)netpath.net -----Original Message----- From: Zane H. Healy <healyzh(a)ix.netcom.com> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Saturday, October 03, 1998 3:04 PM Subject: BA123 Power Supplies If it isn't one problem it's another. Last night I left the PDP-11/23+ (still haven't gotten it to work with a /73 CPU board) running for about 4 hours to see how it handled being left on. The only thing running was "show mem" on the console since I was working on some other stuff. Much to my terror/irritation, about 10pm I noticed a buzzing or sparking sound. I quickly moved it away from the sofa, and started investigating. It sounds as if something in the area where you've got the breaker and the powercord plugs in is 'arcing and sparking'. I've got to take off in a little while, but I plan on looking into this later this afternoon or tonite. Unfortunatly I don't have any docs on the BA123 (just the BA23), so will be having a fun time figuring out how to get it apart. Does this problem sound familiar to anyone, and does anyone have any suggestions? Zane | Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator | | healyzh(a)ix.netcom.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast | | healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector | +----------------------------------+----------------------------+ | Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, | | and Zane's Computer Museum. | | http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ |

27 years, 11 months

New to the list

by Aaron_J_Hayden＠student.ferris.edu

Howdy all, My name is Aaron Hayden and I have recently joined the list. Currently in my collection I have a C64, a PC Jr., a Hero robot and my trusty 486-66. I enjoy using the older systems and in some cases I think they're a bit more user friendly (at least for me). I was looking for some info on my PC Jr. and found the list. I'm sure I'll gain some knowledge and hopefully give some too. Which brings me to my first question... I was just recently given the PC Jr. however it seems it doesn't work. I have only plugged it in a couple times but haven't looked at it much more than that. I also do not have any documentation on it so I'm flying blind. When I turn it on the screen turns all grey. Anybody have this problem before? It has been sitting for a while but worked fine until it was boxed up. It came w/ two power supplies so maybe their both bad? Any ideas? thanks in advance. Aaron

27 years, 11 months

Jump to page:

2026

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

test-drb