At 02:49 PM 9/19/98 -0700, Sam wrote:
>On Sat, 19 Sep 1998, Tony Duell wrote:
>
>Today I plugged in the front panel and a Cromemco ZPU. It worked! The
>address LEDs 15, 14 and 13 are sequencing in a binary pattern. I don't
>know what this means, but at least it shows life. I got the same results
>with another ZPU. I can single-step it and see different stuff happening,
>but I have no idea what its doing. I buried my friggin IMSAI manual in a
>box a few weeks back.
No memory installed? It is executing a RST 7 (0FFH) which pushes the
current address onto the stack and jumps to 038H (070 octal), and finding
yet another 0FFH there, repeats the exercise forever... You are seeing the
stack pointer reflected in the lights when running...
It's a good sign.
-jim
---
jimw(a)agora.rdrop.com
The Computer Garage - http://www.rdrop.com/~jimw
Computer Garage Fax - (503) 646-0174
In PC's, I always use 1.44 meg disks in 720k drives. I just tape over the
second hole, and format them in one of my 720k machines. I have one of
these "doctored" disks that is 5 years old, and still holding its original
data strong and true. It has even been around magnetic fields (slit off
monitor onto back, right above coil), and hasn't lost a byte.
--
-Jason
(roblwill(a)usaor.net)
ICQ#-1730318
----------
> From: Chuck McManis <cmcmanis(a)freegate.com>
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
> Subject: Re: High density disks on double density drives
> Date: Saturday, September 19, 1998 2:41 PM
>
> It is neither the drive nor the controller per-se, it is the read/write
> heads and the media that are incompatible. HD disk media requires a
higher
> magnetic field to magnetize reliably and the DD drives don't provide it.
>
> --Chuck
>
> At 01:36 PM 9/19/98 -0500, you wrote:
> >I've heard that you shouldn't use high density disks in double
> >density drives, that the data wouldn't be reliable.
Last weekend I got a Monochrome NeXTstation Turbo slab, and with a little
difficulty was able to clear out the root password using the procedures
that are fairly easy to find on DejaNews. However, NetInfo was giving me a
fit, and kept setting the root password back to something else. Never did
solve that, because I found a cleaner solution.
I found a message using DejaNews in which someone recommends prior to
selling a networked NeXT system that you copy
/usr/templates/client/etc/hostconfig and netinfo/* to
/private/etc and then reboot.
The system is then in a "out of the box" standalone configuration. When
you reboot you're then in the "me" account.
Another useful piece of info that I found is that most of the "Lighthouse
Design" apps are now available with a free 2 user license at
http://www.peak.org/next/apps/LighthouseDesign/ These apps seem to all be
quad-fat binaries, and include a Word Processor, 2 different Spreadsheets,
a Database, Bitmap and Vector based graphics programs, and some other
stuff. You can use them to turn your old NeXT system into a truely useful
system.
Not sure what you'd have to do for a local printer, I'm printing over the
network to the Postscript HP 5MP on my Linux box.
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/ |
I had a similar problem when I got my 5170 board. I replaced the RAM
chips, and it worked fine after I ran SETUP.
Try replacing the RAM chips. It sounds like that that is your problem,
too.
--
-Jason
(roblwill(a)usaor.net)
ICQ#-1730318
----------
> From: oajones <oajones(a)bright.net>
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
> Subject: Help: IBM 5170
> Date: Saturday, September 19, 1998 6:59 PM
>
> Recently I bought 2 IBM 5170's (PC/AT) for 6 bucks. I bought these
> machines to add to my collection. Both of them say this when I boot up:
> "162 - System Options Not Set - (Run SETUP)"
> Both of them have a 512k System board. One only shows 256K of memory
> during memory test and the other one shows 512K but has a parity error.
> Is there any dip switches on the motherboard, and is SETUP a software
> program?
>
> Thanks...
> --Alan
> --
> Computing since: 1982, VIC-20, CoCo, PC, CP/M
> Amateur Radio since: 1971, WN8JEF, KA6EXR, N8BGR, AA4ZI
> BASIC, dBASE, Assembly, C++
> <A
> HREF="http://www.bright.net/~oajones">http://www.bright.net/~oajones</A>
>You might get an old EPROM programmer at a Radio rally/hamfest. But
>they're often not that cheap. How about buildign one for your next
>project - to program standard EPROMs (2764s - 27512s, say) is not that
>hard. Basically you have to set up the address and data, take one of the
>pins (Vpp) up to 12.5V (or 21V, or even 25V on older devices) and then
>apply a 50ms program pulse to another pin. And repeat for all the
>locations you want to program.
I have a BAL-500 EMROM Programmer for the Apple II I've been meaning to
experiment with. No documentation or software, of course. Is any
"special" software required to operate an EPROM programmer, or can it be
programmed using the Apple II's BASIC or Assembly (not that I know
assembly)?
>When i built my first embedded control system I had to build an EPROM
>programmer first....
Tom Owad
--
Sysop of Caesarville Online
Client software at: <http://home.earthlink.net/~tomowad/>
Recently I bought 2 IBM 5170's (PC/AT) for 6 bucks. I bought these
machines to add to my collection. Both of them say this when I boot up:
"162 - System Options Not Set - (Run SETUP)"
Both of them have a 512k System board. One only shows 256K of memory
during memory test and the other one shows 512K but has a parity error.
Is there any dip switches on the motherboard, and is SETUP a software
program?
Thanks...
--Alan
--
Computing since: 1982, VIC-20, CoCo, PC, CP/M
Amateur Radio since: 1971, WN8JEF, KA6EXR, N8BGR, AA4ZI
BASIC, dBASE, Assembly, C++
<A
HREF="http://www.bright.net/~oajones">http://www.bright.net/~oajones</A>
Interesting that BG actually realizes that the filesystem where he
never had to save anything was cool. And why, may I ask, did he
never try this on a PC? With today's fast hard drives, this could
probably be done.
>> That is what has been reported. There used to be a link to an
>> interview with Gates on the subject, but a fresh look through my
>> various Model 100 bookmarks fails to turn it up, though I read it
>> not much over a year ago.
>
>http://innovate.si.edu/history/gates/gates35.htm
>
>-- Doug
>
>
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
At 06:01 PM 9/19/98 -0500, you wrote:
>Lucky me. I went home with a box of old DEC paperbacks today. A nice
>assortment of PDP-8, PDP-11 and VAX titles. I don't do DEC (I remember
>cherishing the honor of powering-down our development VAXen for the last
>time), but the books are small, so I plan to get them all signed by Gordon
>Bell at VCF next weekend and stash them away for 100 years or so.
>
>Except for one. This one is not only rare, but seems to be full of useful
>info: VAX-11/750 Level II Student Workbork (For Internal Use Only). This
>looks like it would be great for somebody who wants a pretty deep
>understanding of the VAX architecture, including microcode, the WCS,
>unibus, the works. I'm not good at estimating page count, but it's
>double-sided 8.5x11x2". If some DEC-head could use this, let me know.
>Offer me a trade of, say, your spare Intel MCS-4 manual and it's yours :-)
Hmmm... Think I'd like to have that one! Wonder if I've got that Intel
manual buried somewhere...
-jim
---
jimw(a)agora.rdrop.com
The Computer Garage - http://www.rdrop.com/~jimw
Computer Garage Fax - (503) 646-0174
Hi Doug:
Another thought might be to post a list of the titles, and lend for
scanning purposes a copy of any titles not already available on the net.
They could then be posted for others reference.
There are several titles already on http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/pdp8, I'm
currently scanning DEC's "Introduction to Programming, Volume 1" from 1972.
The other scans are courtesy of the efforts of David Gesswein.
Congratulations on your haul!
Kevin
At 06:01 PM 98/09/19 -0500, you wrote:
>Lucky me. I went home with a box of old DEC paperbacks today. A nice
>assortment of PDP-8, PDP-11 and VAX titles. I don't do DEC (I remember
>cherishing the honor of powering-down our development VAXen for the last
>time), but the books are small, so I plan to get them all signed by Gordon
>Bell at VCF next weekend and stash them away for 100 years or so.
>
>Except for one. This one is not only rare, but seems to be full of useful
>info: VAX-11/750 Level II Student Workbork (For Internal Use Only). This
>looks like it would be great for somebody who wants a pretty deep
>understanding of the VAX architecture, including microcode, the WCS,
>unibus, the works. I'm not good at estimating page count, but it's
>double-sided 8.5x11x2". If some DEC-head could use this, let me know.
>Offer me a trade of, say, your spare Intel MCS-4 manual and it's yours :-)
>
>-- Doug
>
>
>
---
Kevin McQuiggin VE7ZD
mcquiggi(a)sfu.ca
So, why are they so expensive then?
>
>> I'm only 15... I had a few plans for a few things, but the only
problem is
>> that I need to find an EPROM programmer and some old chips. Any idea
where
>> to get one - cheap??
>
>You might get an old EPROM programmer at a Radio rally/hamfest. But
>they're often not that cheap. How about buildign one for your next
>project - to program standard EPROMs (2764s - 27512s, say) is not that
>hard. Basically you have to set up the address and data, take one of
the
>pins (Vpp) up to 12.5V (or 21V, or even 25V on older devices) and then
>apply a 50ms program pulse to another pin. And repeat for all the
>locations you want to program.
>
>When i built my first embedded control system I had to build an EPROM
>programmer first....
>
>-tony
>
>
______________________________________________________
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