test-drb

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101090 discussions

by yakowenk＠cs.unc.edu

Sometimes advertising annoys me too. But when I think about it, maybe I'd rather have those ads than not. Someday maybe I'll get something I want from one of them if prices stay within reach. More recently, I've created a related dillemna of my own. I've been talking with a recycler, trying to convince him to offer whole boards or computers for sale, rather than just a few chips that he pulls from them. In doing so, I pointed out that an Altair sold for so much money recently. Of course, I also pointed out that that particular sale may have been a fluke, and he shouldn't necessarily expect that. The dillemna is this: these are exactly the kind of guys that will annoy me most. They have no inherent interest in preserving old machinery, and would have no remorse in melting down an Altair for twenty-three cents worth of metal. They will more than happy to behave as kidnappers, demanding ransom with rare artifacts at stake, happily driving prices up as high as they can. Of course, the obvious reply is about free-market economics, prices adjusting to meet demand, and all that. What I'm thinking is, maybe we should be glad that there is not yet a well-entrenched market for this old stuff, with guide-books establishing fair pricing and such. When that happens, scarcity will force all the old machines into the hands of rich know-nothing collectors, and out of the reach of the hackers who would cherish them for what they are. But how do we discourage that from happening, while at the same time trying to divert machinery from the acid-bath? The only argument that recyclers seem likely to listen to is about making money. But each time that argument gets used, it nudges us toward the day when all of our old computers lie decaying in display cabinets of the affluent, rather than living and working happily in our own basements. Ideas? Bill.

28 years, 4 months

Creative Retrocomputing Use for 386s and 486s

by fauradon＠pclink.com

If you want it bad enough everything is possible. I do belive it is our duty to perform these tasks. An x1541 cable allows you to connect a commodore disk drive to a PC why not make it the other way around and use the PC as a disk drive "server" for the C64, VIC20 and C128? And that is only one thought. On a wall at Disney world or is that Epcot center (in the ) there is an inscription that says "If you can dream it, you can build it". The PC bus is so simple that even custom interface for the really wacky stuff can be built for a few $. I think Jameco still sells prototype boards for the ISA bus. Francois PS: I know this comes up regularly but... I'm changing ISPs What is the best way to deal with the address change? ------------------------------------------------------------- Visit the Sanctuary at: http://home.att.net/~francois.auradon -----Original Message----- From: Wirehead Prime <wirehead(a)retrocomputing.com> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Thursday, April 09, 1998 6:45 PM Subject: Creative Retrocomputing Use for 386s and 486s > >WIREHEAD'S CRAZY THOUGHT FOR THE DAY > >Using old 386 and 486 computers and their parallel ports to replace >missing peripherals from true retrocomputing systems. Hmmm... > >I wonder if a 386, for example, with a properly programmed parallel port >could emulate...say...a disk drive with a particular interface that you >can't find anymore. > >Interesting thought? > >Anthony Clifton - Wirehead >

28 years, 4 months

BYTE Magazine Master Index?

by engine＠chac.org

At 01:51 4/12/98 -0500, Doug of Yowza wrote: >This was the only hit I got when looking for information about a portable >called the "Agilis System". Does anybody know if this system was actually >produced -- I can't find anything about it beyond the BYTE article (Aug >1989). If we're talking about the thing that was a bunch of wedge-shaped pieces that latched together, there were prototypes -- and I saw one -- but there were no production computers AFAIK. __________________________________________ Kip Crosby engine(a)chac.org http://www.chac.org/index.html Computer History Association of California

28 years, 4 months

You've got to be pulling my chain... (Ethernet)

by allisonp＠world.std.com

< I seem to remember early Ethernet interface VAX quad cards < being around 1.5Mbps... not sure if it was think ether, vampire < tap stuff... This would have been before ethernet was turned < into a 'standard.' One guy I know has one of these hanging < from his wall along with some physical core for a PDP 11/44. I < was too young to have used to implemented this stuff, so I < can't claim to have actually _used_ such hardware. 802.. eithernet was always 10mbit/s. The 1.5mhz stuff was arcnet. They are similar in that they are both bus topology using CSMA/CD arbitration. Eithernet was a colaboration of Digital Eguipment corp, Intel and Xerox and was in the '70s called DIX eithernet. Allison

28 years, 4 months

conman

by e.tedeschi＠ndirect.co.uk

This is NOT a private matter. I think it is my duty to warn others that there is a conman around. Regards enrico Russ Blakeman wrote: > Even though you live in the UK you're obviously not British, otherwise one small crack > at the buy would have been enough and you would have learned by your mistake. Isn't > this babbling enough already? Even if you got screwed, be a man and fac the fact that > from now on you need to be more careful. Drop the nasties and get onto enjoying your > computers. > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > Russ Blakeman > RB Custom Services / Rt. 1 Box 62E / Harned, KY USA 40144 > Phone: (502) 756-1749 Data/Fax:(502) 756-6991 > Email: rhblake(a)bbtel.com or rhblake(a)bigfoot.com > Website: http://members.tripod.com/~RHBLAKE/ > ICQ # 1714857 > * Parts/Service/Upgrades and more for MOST Computers* > -------------------------------------------------------------------- -- ======================================================== Enrico Tedeschi, 54 Easthill Drive, Brighton BN41 2FD, UK Tel/fax(+01273) 701650 (24 hours) and 0498 692465 (mobile) please visit my website at: <http://www.brighton-uk.com> ========================================================

28 years, 4 months

DECMate

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

Could someone tell me the URL of the PDP 8/DECmate archive? I keep losing it ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

28 years, 4 months

NOS Bare Boards: What to do?

by yakowenk＠cs.unc.edu

One other thing, before soldering stuff onto that board, make a copy of it. (Do photocopiers make decent prints of bare boards?) Once a board has chips soldered onto it, it can be a pain to figure out which things connect to what. Having a bare-board print could help a lot in reverse-engineering the schematic (although I suspect there are still MP-A schematics to be had out there). And who knows, you might someday want to clone that board. Cheers, Bill. ] From: "Jeff Kaneko" <Jeff.Kaneko(a)ifrsys.com> ] ] Guys: ] ] Afer looking at a number of responses, Uncle Roger's position ] seems the most logical to me (besides, one other person suggested ] this also). I think I'll buy that parts to build this, and just keep ] it until needed. ] ] Building it won't be a priority, though. The MP-A wasn't exactly the ] best SS-50 CPU available. I have a NOS Thomas Instruments Super CPU, ] that I've wanted to build for years. Compared with other S-50 boards ] of that era, it had alot of cool features. I am working on getting a ] couple of scarce parts for its companion video board. ] ] Jeff

28 years, 4 months

i387's

by afritz＠iname.com

I realize that this may not quite reach the 10year mark, but not many people deal with even this old of hardware. (Is there a group out there for "obsolete" yet non-yet-classic hardware?) I need to find somewhere to get many i387 chips. (I currently need about 15 to 20 of them.) Anyone know the best place to start looking? Adam ---------- Adam Fritzler afritz(a)iname.com http://www.afritz.base.org ----------

28 years, 4 months

You've got to be pulling my chain... (Ethernet)

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Apr 11, 23:08, Tony Duell wrote: > > Some versions and OS vaiations allowed a 2KW IO space. I've run RT-11 > > that way. > > Yep, you're right. The standard on Unibus machines was for a 4kW I/O > space. I've seen PDP11/45's and PDP11/34's that were modified for 2kW I/O > space, and, indeed, undone the mods. Some Q-bus machines had 2kW I/O > space as standard, I think. The 11/03 is the most notable one with a 2KW I/O space, but that's a mod, not the standard. Quit commonly done, though, because it was only 16-bit address. > Didn't the 11/24 have an optional unibus map card (the KT24?) I've never > seen one - my 11/24 is a pretty minimal configuration. Yes, I've got one, and it is indeed 22-bit. The problem is, I only have the board set, not the backplane, front panel, etc. I have a spare backplane, and I once inrtended to rewire it and build a panel, but never found enough info (the second slot is wired to the first in a non-standard way, to accomodate the Unibus map connections). -- Pete Peter Turnbull Dept. of Computer Science University of York

28 years, 4 months

TRS-80 configs/formally flamefest

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<Well, as it happens I don't know whether Radio Shack ever took to <manufacturing all Model 1 TRS-80s with numeric keypads after some <date, or whether the numeric keypad was included with the Level II <BASIC upgrade (don't think so, at least not always), or whether it was <available without a Level II BASIC upgrade. So I'd have been <surprised by that keypad too, but for all I know it could have come <from the factory like that or been upgraded by its original owner, who <wanted to do lots of numeric data entry on a Level I BASIC system. Trs-80s early were level-1 basic and 4k ram. Later the ram, LII basic, and even the numeric keypad were offered as options or as factory models (often upgraded in the store!). Later ones had the keypad as standard and 16k as well becuase the 4k rams were actually getting scarce and the demand was for 16k. At any given point in the model one life where are variations in configurations such as three different circuit cards, at least three different keyboards and 5 different rom combinations! Also LII basic was not required to use either the keypad nor the 16k ram. For example L1 basic was either a two rom(or eprom) set or a single rom(eprom). The LII basic was initally a three roms set (eprom) on a seperate pigtail card but later ones used a two rom set that plugged into the base board with out the pigtail set. Also both basics were released using different vendors roms(erproms) that in some cases required a different dip header config or wire jumpers to use them. Even I who worked for tandy on the program was surpriced when I got a LII machine with a single peice extended keyboard (keyboard and numeric in one unit) that was apparently of late manufacture. It was however legit factory. Actually a rather pleasent surprize! Allison

28 years, 4 months

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