Sam, that was very uncalled for. Any problems that you have could have
been solved in a gentlemanly manner, ceretainly witout resulting to this
level of language!
----------
From: Roger Merchberger <zmerch(a)northernway.net>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: Classic Computer Rescue Squad
Date: Friday, November 07, 1997 6:48 PM
;-) Due to massive amounts of caffeine & sleep deprivation, Sam Ismail
said:
>Now, when the f**k did I say that?
[snip]
>Otherwise, pull your head from out of your a**, Tim.
[snip]
Geez, Sam! Take a [Choose One] (Valium / Prozac), wouldya??? Tho Tim may
have talked out of turn (I'm not judging either way), does it really
warrant talk of this nature? And if it does, could you keep the _extreme_
profanity to private e-mail?
I'm no saint myself, but others may become highly offended with this type
of abusive crap...
Just MHO,
Roger "Merch" Merchberger
--
Roger Merchberger | Why does Hershey's put nutritional
Programmer, NorthernWay | information on their candy bar wrappers
zmerch(a)northernway.net | when there's no nutritional value within?
On Thu, 6 Nov 1997, Tim Shoppa wrote:
> Of course, because DG Novae haven't been featured in the _LA Times_
> or the _Chicago Tribune_, nobody wants them. The instant they are
> featured, all sorts of lusers will start crawling out and insisting
> they *need* a Nova, price is no object, just like happened with my
> Altair's, IMSAI's, and Apple I's.
Oh, and Tim will be very sad on that day indeed, and in his generous
nature will open up the warehouse to all those who've spotted his
old post on this mailing list, and will not raise the price from
"take them away" to $10,000 each. :-)
- John
I had an Heathkit H-11a computer drop into my lap (somewhat literally)
last night, and it got me to thinking...
It's probably time to try to get one of these things running in its
original configuration (vs. the Dec cards in the Heath chassis config.),
so it looks like I need to track down some copies of the original Heath
(mutated Dec) software for the thing... (i.e. HT-11, etc...)
I've got most of the paper tapes for the H-11 so I think I'm ok there,
and I've got a H-27 disk sub-system for the thing, so now I seek the
software on disk.
Anyone out there have spares or a functional unit that can replicate???
And... Does anyone remember the specific differences between the H-11 and
H11a? (if any aside from the obvious addition of a third switch on the
front panel?)
(still seeking that elusive H-10 tho...)
Thanks!
-jim
---
jimw(a)agora.rdrop.com
The Computer Garage - http://www.rdrop.com/~jimw
Computer Garage Fax - (503) 646-0174
At 15:02 11/7/97 +0300, you wrote:
>Yeah, I'm mostly interested in collecting micros, but I forget how big
>minis are....
They vary. There are rack-mount minis, like an HP 2115 or some of the
smaller DG's, that you can pick up singlehanded, although you won't love
yourself for it. On the other end, our SDS 930 -- 14 racks, 5.5 tons
probably counting spares and docs -- is just the size that some people,
including me, call it a small mainframe, and some call it a mini. A PDP-1,
to take another example, is absolutely a mini, but if you add a Fastrand
(drum) and a goodly squad of tape drives, you have a fairly imposing computer.
__________________________________________
Kip Crosby engine(a)chac.org
http://www.chac.org/index.html
Computer History Association of California
<I'd like a Nova, but I've so far not been courageous enough to think
<seriously about moving one from Vancouver to Montreal. :)
I'm embarressed to say that I live about 8 miles from DG and have had
little contact with any of their machines. You don't see them here around
fleas much either.
Allison
I think I have one, but without the disks. Is this OK?
-----Original Message-----
From: classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
To: Manney <Manney>
Date: Wednesday, November 05, 1997 7:22 AM
Subject: PC/AT reference
> Not yet a classic, but does anyone have a {spare} copy of the
"Technical
>Reference Personal Computer AT"? This is the tech ref guide for the
original
>IBM PC/AT, published by IBM (I'm guessing in a gray fabric binder).
>
> TIA!
>
>Rich Cini/WUGNET
><rcini(a)msn.com>
> Charter ClubWin! Member
> MCP Windows 95/Windows Networking
>
>
>
>
>
>
<Yes, I suppose, but it also shows that the computers were not the real
<cutting edge,
The programming however was! The MMC had the disk completely wiped and
even the timing tracks were gone.
<like crypto and countermeasures gear. If it were the
<absolute best, cutting edge technology, it would have been shredded
<(literally - I have seen the end results).
That's the point. The crypto and contermeasures stuff it was not the
parts but the general designs that had to be hid. After all we didn't
want it known how to encode or decode a cypher or jam a particular radar
as everyone could do it. Often it was not so much the hardware but the
underlying concepts. With computers the real advances were being made in
the commercial and university spaces as that's the users that pushed for
it or were experimenting with different approaches. If anything the
military was the winner as they got to use it after the fact incorperating
it into their systems.
Generally the loss is that we didn't get to see how Purple or Enigma
worked. But I do have a great article from the late 50s about how
The radar display system was linked to the Sage system.
Allison
Yeah, I'm mostly interested in collecting micros, but I forget how big
minis are. But if anyone has anything, that would be great. And how much
does a Nova weigh? A DG? The whole package?
TIA,
Tim D. Hotze
----------
From: Doug Spence <ds_spenc(a)alcor.concordia.ca>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: Classic Computer Rescue Squad
Date: Friday, November 07, 1997 1:26 PM
On Thu, 6 Nov 1997, Tim Shoppa wrote:
> Not a problem. I can get you a Nova 4 CPU+chassis, a DG terminal, a
> 6045 14" disk drive, controller, and pack, and a 9-track tape drive,
> all hooked together and running DG RDOS.
How much space would a system like this take, and what kind of power is
required to feed it? :)
> Of course, because DG Novae haven't been featured in the _LA Times_
> or the _Chicago Tribune_, nobody wants them. The instant they are
> featured, all sorts of lusers will start crawling out and insisting
> they *need* a Nova, price is no object, just like happened with my
> Altair's, IMSAI's, and Apple I's.
I'd like a Nova, but I've so far not been courageous enough to think
seriously about moving one from Vancouver to Montreal. :)
I know nothing about minis. My entire collection consists of
(generally very common) micros, and I'd almost be afraid to let a mini in
the house in case something goes wrong. (My conscience does not handle
damaging classic computer equipment well.)
> Tim. (shoppa(a)triumf.ca)
Doug Spence
ds_spenc(a)alcor.concordia.ca
<The Minuteman missle computers were not the cutting edge and not very
<secret. After all, they did end up on the surplus market without requiring
<demil
In 1971 is was nothing new but it's design was in the early 60s where is
was state of the art. The fact that it declassified and sold as junk
ten years later shows how fast things moved in that ten year span. As we
moved forward in ten year spans we see different amount of technolical
hops. Comparing the MMC to the PDP-8I shows that. The -8 was easily 1/4
the size and power and easily 10x faster.
As to the use of computes for nav, that's likely the oldest use. The use
I refer to was the targeting and tracking computer which relied on the
navigation.
Allison
<>Maybe that's why I have an intel Intellec MDS 8080 development system
What's significant is it was one of several used by the terminals and
printers engineering at DEC to develope the VT100!
<little minis inside. You know what else is just as nice the same way? Th
<Tektronix boxes built around the LSI-11....
I've seen a few of them but the LSI-11 itself wasn't built poorly either.
I have a few Q-bus PDP-11s.
That was the point of the multibus design used in the MDS. They defined
and created a distinct bus that was robust. The MDS box was the start
of that that line (multibus cards) as well.
<It's like having a '56 or '57 Mercedes. The whole world knows how sexy an
<pricey a 300SL is, be it the Gullwing or the roadster; but it takes a
It may be but when it's a particular one with a known history then there
is more to it.
Allison
