- test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org - classiccmp.org

by captainkirk359＠gmail.com

Does any one know if there's a copy of the PDP-11/70 Processor Handbook somewhere out there on the intertubes? Manx says no, similarly looking on BitSavers finds nothing. Cheers, Christian -- Christian M. Gauger-Cosgrove STCKON08DS0 Contact information available upon request.

12 years, 1 month

10
14
0 0

SGI CD Part Numbers

by legalize＠xmission.com

I've been maintaining a page on nekochan's wiki containing all known CD part numbers and whether or not I have an archive of the CD. If you have SGI CDs laying around that aren't on this list, or aren't archived, please email me. <http://www.nekochan.net/wiki/User:Legalize/CD_Part_Numbers> -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" free book <http://tinyurl.com/d3d-pipeline> The Computer Graphics Museum <http://ComputerGraphicsMuseum.org> The Terminals Wiki <http://terminals.classiccmp.org> Legalize Adulthood! (my blog) <http://LegalizeAdulthood.wordpress.com>

12 years, 1 month

1
1
0 0

wanted: Mostek Z80 Micro-Reference Manual, Zilog Z80 DMA Technical Manual

by spacewar＠gmail.com

Does anyone have an extra copy of the Mostek Z80 Microcomputer System Micro-Reference Manual (a small 30ish page reference booklet, Mostek publication number MK78516) that they'd be willing to part with? I'd like to have an original, but a good scan would be the next best thing. There doesn't appear to be a decent scan of it online. There's a common scan of it that missing pages, poor registration, etc. Also looking for the Zilog Z80 DMA Technical Manual (not the data sheet). The more recent (late 80s through present) Zilog documentation is absolutely riddled with errors. It looks like it went through several generations of conversions between typesetting systems, getting worse at each step. I'm willing to pay modest prices and postage for those, and for other 70s and early 80s Z80 family documentation from either Mostek or Zilog, in order to produce good quality scans.

12 years, 1 month

4
7
0 0

VCFMW Roomates

by slandon110＠gmail.com

Sabrina and I were only able to get 2 queen bed room for VCF/ECCC. So if anyone wants to share let us know. We got the room

12 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Non-interrupt use of uPD765/8272

by spacewar＠gmail.com

I still haven't figured out how to get interrupts from the uPD765 FDC in the Quay. I think they're probably routed via a Z80-PIO input, but no luck so far. While the DMA support in the uPD765 is by design optional, they clearly *really* intended that interrupts be used. The Quay boot ROM just uses a very long fixed delay after the recal before doing a read. That's obviously not great if you want good performance. I tried several unsuccessful approaches to waiting for a recal or seek to complete before finally noticing that the FDC will reject the "sense interrupt status" command as illegal if there isn't a pending interrupt. Now my code issues that command repeatedly until it does not report an illegal command. Has anyone found an easier way to use the uPD765 without interrupts?

12 years, 1 month

3
7
0 0

6809 vs. 6809E

by mike＠fenz.net

I'd noticed that one, it looked promising. No mention of support for the E signals, but it seems likely that they'd available somehow. Given your signature, it's interesting that the main target is my Bally 'Doctor Who' pinball machine! On 3/07/2014 7:28 a.m., The Doctor wrote: > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA512 > > On 07/01/2014 09:34 PM, Mike van Bokhoven wrote: > >> Now there's a suggestion that has my attention. I have thought >> about this before, but I have no FPGA experience at all, and >> wouldn't know how to start. If it's just a matter of taking a a >> core model, > > For what it's worth, there's one out there right now: > > http://opencores.org/project,6809_6309_compatible_core > > I don't know if it's sufficiently developed to be of use to you (I > haven't tried to synthesize it), but it's a place to start. > > - -- > The Doctor [412/724/301/703] [ZS] > > PGP: 0x807B17C1 / 7960 1CDC 85C9 0B63 8D9F DD89 3BD8 FF2B 807B 17C1 > WWW: https://drwho.virtadpt.net/ > > "Why couldn't you put the bunny back in the box?"

12 years, 1 month

5
4
0 0

Motorola/AMI 6834 EPROM datashseet

by spacewar＠gmail.com

Does anyone have a datasheet for the Motorola or AMI 6834 EPROM? Thanks! Eric

12 years, 1 month

2
2
0 0

Looking for: Intertec Superbrain power supply schematic

by derschjo＠gmail.com

Anyone happen to have the schematic for the original SuperBrain's power supply / I/O board? I thought I'd found it on Bitsavers (see here: http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/intertec/schematic.pdf, pages 11 and 12) but now that I've sat down to do some debugging the two don't appear to match (the schematic is dated 1981, so it's likely describing a later revision than the one in my machine...) Mine's labeled: Intertec Data Systems (c) 1979 Power I/O Board 1424002-04 Rev. 04 Currently the +12V rail is only reading a couple of volts under load and a schematic'd help trace down the fault. (I will get better at debugging power supplies, I will...) Thanks, - Josh

12 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Sun-1 Update

by silent700＠gmail.com

I am still gathering info on the Sun-1 (or -2 in a -1 box) I posted about recently. I expect I'll be doing so for some time but I have gathered some interesting clues as well as historical bits that I will assemble at some point. For now, I have a board inventory and photographs for the Multibus voyeurs out there: http://silent700.blogspot.com/2014/07/sun-1-board-inventory.html - jht

12 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Noob analog question (no doubt simple)

by brain＠jbrain.com

Trying to help out some folks on the cbm hackers list read the 6500/1 ROM in the 1520 plotter. It turns out, based on the data sheet, there is a way to put the CPU in a "test" mode and send opcode data to the CPU, and we are going to try to to use that to read the contents of the ROM. The test mode is engaged by placing 10V on the RESET pin. And, you know, before tonight, I thought I was at least average on transistor theory and application, but I'm stumped, and I'm hoping someone can help. To support 3 voltages on RESET (0,5,10), I placed a 2n3904 with the collector on the RESET pin, and emitter on ground. base is biased via 10K resistor to an IO pin on an AVR uC I am using the drive the CPU. That works fine. TO support putting 10V on the RESET, I built a PNP/NPN pair. PNP has E on 10V, C on RESET, and B is biased via 10K to C on NPN. B on NPN is biased via 100K to another IO pin, and E is at GND. The thought was that driving the IO pin high, the NPN will pull the PNP base to ground, thus turning on the PNP, and placing 10V on RESET. And, it works, but it "fades". Over 2ms, RESET slow falls from 10V to ~6V. If I turn the transistor off and then back on, the cycle repeats. So, I obviously am doing it wrong, but I can't seem to determine where my theory fails me, and I thought someone on here could help (or suggest another simple way to support 3 voltages on the RESET pin under SW control. Jim -- Jim Brain brain at jbrain.com www.jbrain.com

12 years, 1 month

5
8
0 0

DEC 8881 OC Bus Driver Chips

by rick＠rickmurphy.net

At 01:28 PM 7/6/2014, Mattis Lind wrote: >When repairing a TU60 drive that had faulty DEC8881 I replaced them with >DM7439. They were $2.76 each when buying 25 pieces. The original faulty >chips were marked 7439 on the backside. By way of confirmation, I have a bunch of (I think Signetics) 8881 chips marked 7439 on the bottom as well. -Rick

12 years, 1 month

6
6
0 0

KA630 emulator: another milestone!

by mouse＠Rodents-Montreal.ORG

Back on June 9th, I wrote that my KA630 emulator was to the point of passing POST. I've been working on the DEQNA emulation, and it's now to the point where it MOP-loads and runs the NetBSD bootloader. Now I need to juggle things around to get it running on the same cable as my house netboot server; once that's done I'll see how much of NetBSD it runs! [DP-Frank] 35> run -deqna 0tap/dev/tap0 -ram 15 XQA0: MAC 02:00:58:51:41:30, connected to tap0 (0 041f0000) 20040000: 11 4e brb 20040050 vax> g [c [c [c [c \[4i KA630-A.V1.3 Performing normal system tests. 7..6..5..4..3.. Tests completed. >>> b xqa0 2..1..0.. >> NetBSD/vax boot [Jul 3 2014 18:00:10] << >> Press any key to abort autoboot 0 > boot netbsd Trying BOOTP (Admittedly, the comamnd-line syntax could use improving. :-) /~\ The ASCII Mouse \ / Ribbon Campaign X Against HTML mouse at rodents-montreal.org / \ Email! 7D C8 61 52 5D E7 2D 39 4E F1 31 3E E8 B3 27 4B

12 years, 1 month

2
1
0 0

Dynabyte Memory board in Northstar Horizon debugging

by ian＠platinum.net

Hello All, I recently acquired a Northstar Horizon machine that didn't have any memory boards. I also received a Dynabyte 800589-G 64k dynamic RAM board. Unfortunately, there is no documentation on this board (other than a single set of jumper settings for use in a Dynabyte 5505 computer - http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/dynabyte/404512A_5505_Comp… ) So far, I have the Northstar rebuilt (power supply tested, capacitors reconditioned, IC legs cleaned, etc). I added the components to install a boot PROM on the Z80 CPU card, and I can successfully boot up to a monitor ROM. From here, I can examine and deposit memory and ports. From this, I can determine that I appear to have a problem with the Dynabyte card, assuming I've reverse engineered the jumpers. The jumpers allow me to enable/disable 4 banks of 16k at 0000,4000,8000,C000. I can either have the bands be there on reset, or switch them on/off by setting/resetting bits in a bank select port that can be defined. I can successfully switch on/off banks from the monitor (visible with the LEDs on the board, as well as seeing 00 or a random value instead of FF in the memory location). However, when I try to write any value, I always write FF. Refresh appears to be working, because any FF I deposit will stay there for hours. This is really tough because I don't have a schematic for the memory board. Are there any S100 experts that could point me in a direction to start looking? Port I/O is working (to the serial port as well as to the bank select port). Memory read appears to work, because I get values that are consistent (the RAM will sometimes boot up with random values, and the random value will stay that way in that memory location until I attempt to write anything to it, then it goes FF). It appears to be a write issue. I've enabled a wait state on the CPU in case it was a timing issue, but no difference. I'd appreciate any suggestions on where I should put my logic probe :) Image of the memory board here if interested: http://www.broadbandpig.com/?attachment_id=51 Ian

12 years, 1 month

2
3
0 0

Sun Type 4 keyboard

by sales＠elecplus.com

Who was it that wanted the Sun Type 4 keyboard? I have one here, complete with cable, but no way to test it. Looks to be in good condition. First $25 including shipping slowboat to lower 48 states takes it home.. Cindy Croxton Electronics Plus 1613 Water Street Kerrville, TX 78028 830-792-3400 phone 830-792-3404 fax sales at elecplus.com AOL IM elcpls

12 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

VAXstation 4000/60

by cruff＠ruffspot.net

On Jul 6, 2014, at 11:00 AM, John Ames wrote: >> I figured out the problem with test /util command. The problem with the SHOW >> KBD still exists. > I could be wrong, but I thought that command only deals with > directly-attached DEC keyboards when using the keyboard/mouse/video as > the terminal? I don't think it does anything with a serial-port > console. I'll try and remember to check on mine this week. I tested today, and with the serial console, SHOW KBD does display the error message. When configured to use the graphic console and DEC keyboard, the ROM prompts for the keyboard language (3 for English) and displays that in response to SHOW KBD.

12 years, 1 month

2
1
0 0

DEC 8881 OC Bus Driver Chips

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

I hate to open this discussion again, but Jack Rubin and I are both repairing DEC Omnibus boards and need some DEC 8881 driver chips. Since my PDP-8/e only has a 20 slot backplane and only has a few boards installed I will try a lower drive SN7401 in place of the DEC 8881. -- Michael Thompson

12 years, 1 month

3
2
0 0

Dynabyte Memory board in Northstar Horizon debugging

by ian＠platinum.net

Hello All, I recently acquired a Northstar Horizon machine that didn't have any memory boards. I also received a Dynabyte 800589-G 64k dynamic RAM board. Unfortunately, there is no documentation on this board (other than a single set of jumper settings for use in a Dynabyte 5505 computer - http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/dynabyte/404512A_5505_Comp… ) So far, I have the Northstar rebuilt (power supply tested, capacitors reconditioned, IC legs cleaned, etc). I added the components to install a boot PROM on the Z80 CPU card, and I can successfully boot up to a monitor ROM. From here, I can examine and deposit memory and ports. From this, I can determine that I appear to have a problem with the Dynabyte card, assuming I've reverse engineered the jumpers. The jumpers allow me to enable/disable 4 banks of 16k at 0000,4000,8000,C000. I can either have the bands be there on reset, or switch them on/off by setting/resetting bits in a bank select port that can be defined. I can successfully switch on/off banks from the monitor (visible with the LEDs on the board, as well as seeing 00 or a random value instead of FF in the memory location). However, when I try to write any value, I always write FF. Refresh appears to be working, because any FF I deposit will stay there for hours. This is really tough because I don't have a schematic for the memory board. Are there any S100 experts that could point me in a direction to start looking? Port I/O is working (to the serial port as well as to the bank select port). Memory read appears to work, because I get values that are consistent (the RAM will sometimes boot up with random values, and the random value will stay that way in that memory location until I attempt to write anything to it, then it goes FF). It appears to be a write issue. I've enabled a wait state on the CPU in case it was a timing issue, but no difference. I'd appreciate any suggestions on where I should put my logic probe :) Image of the memory board here if interested: http://www.broadbandpig.com/?attachment_id=51 Ian

12 years, 1 month

2
1
0 0

Reading 3B1/PC7300 floppies?

by cclist＠sydex.com

Howdy, A couple of DS2D 5.25 floppies landed on my desk from an AT&T Unix PC/3B1. As I understand it, these are essentially UFS beasts. (I have both 8 and 10 sector ones; neither appear to be bootable). Are there any utilities out there available to digest these things? If not, I suppose I can write one. TIA, Chuck

12 years, 1 month

5
5
0 0

VAXstation 4000/60

by commodorejohn＠gmail.com

> I figured out the problem with test /util command. The problem with the SHOW > KBD still exists. I could be wrong, but I thought that command only deals with directly-attached DEC keyboards when using the keyboard/mouse/video as the terminal? I don't think it does anything with a serial-port console. I'll try and remember to check on mine this week.

12 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

VAXstation 4000/60

by cctech＠beyondthepale.ie

> >i have here a VAXstation 4000/60 with a VT100 Terminal attatched the >serial console. >In >>> console mode are some commands not availible and i can not figure >out why. > >I want top set kbd to 1 . >>>set kbd answer is ?23 ILL CMD. Also by >typing set kbd 1. >The test / util commands do not work also... > >I tried to set a password. Type set pse 1. Login. But there is even the >same isue. > >Any Ideas what is happen? > Make sure the VT100 is set to 9600 baud, no parity. I tried with my VAX 4000/100A (KA52-A) and I get similar errors if I connect to it using a terminal emulator set to odd parity. Regards, Peter Coghlan.

12 years, 1 month

2
1
0 0

PDF of a OSI 527 RAM expansion board manual?

by terry＠webweavers.co.nz

The title says it all. I'm looking to repair/configure a OIS 527 24k RAM board for my Challenger 4P. Anyone have or know of the existence of a manual for this board? Thanks Terry (Tez)

12 years, 1 month

2
5
0 0

VAXstation 4000/60

by marco＠familie-rauhut.eu

Hi i have here a VAXstation 4000/60 with a VT100 Terminal attatched the serial console. In >>> console mode are some commands not availible and i can not figure out why. I want top set kbd to 1 . >>>set kbd answer is ?23 ILL CMD. Also by typing set kbd 1. The test / util commands do not work also... I tried to set a password. Type set pse 1. Login. But there is even the same isue. Any Ideas what is happen? Marco

12 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Counterfeit ICs, was Re: 6809 vs. 6809E

by mike＠fenz.net

In most cases, I find the remarked ICs are actually OK. They're obviously fakes still (commonly the origin printed on the top is different to the origin in the casting on the bottom), but functionally they're fine. This puzzled me initially, but I asked one of the sellers about this, and he said that it was done because the process of removing the ICs from the boards often marks or damages the printing. So the standard process involves remarking, straightening the legs to factory original angles, and re-tinning. It results in used ICs that look new. Sometimes they're sold as 'remanufactured' (which is sort of accurate), other times they're sold as new, which is obviously untrue. I'm not that bothered so long as they work, though I probably should complain about it. On 3/07/2014 9:03 a.m., Tony Duell wrote: > This is becoming real problem. The remarked devices, of course, have no relation to what they claim to be, they can't possibly work. Heck, I once enqired about a replacement for an HP custom IC and was asked 'what package, and how many pins'. Given this device had only ever existed in one pacakge, with one particualr pin count, it wa obvious I was goign to get a fake. I do wonder why they botyher. They can't make that much money selling to hobyists, surely no commercial company wants such fakes. > >> I spent a while looking >> over the datasheets of the 68B09 as compared to the 68B09E. It's obvious >> that there's some difference in the way the timing works, but I haven't >> been able to come to any firm conclusions what the exact difference is, >> and what purpose it serves. The best I can do is that it's related to >> synchronization with some external devices. > > he difference is where hte clock circuitry is. > > The 6809 (normal and E_) need a pair of clocks in hase quadrature. The E > clock (Enable) and the Q clock (Quadrature). FWIW, the 'clock rate' of > the 6809 is specified as the frequency of these clocks > > The 6809 (on E) has an internal clock generator. It can be driven by a > crystal of 4 tiems the CPU clock rate (soe a 68B09 can use an 8 MHz > crystal). The E and Q pins o nthe chip are outputs > > The 6809E (E=External) has no internal clock generator. The E and Q pins > are inputs, to be driven by an extgernal circuit that produces the > approrpatie signals in phase quadrature. > > IIRC, i f you use the 6883 SAM (DRAM controller) you prettty much hace to > use the 6809E. The SAM generates E and Q, and expsects to eb able to > synchroinse the CPU to them. > >> So - can anyone explain >> the difference, in terms that aren't too hard to understand? And - is >> there any hope of modifying a machine that would normally require a >> 68B09E to be able to use a 68B09? > > That depends on the circuitry around the CPU. However, if it sues the > 6809E CPU, it's a fair bet it is goign to do oomething odd with E or Q > (perhaps stretchign one of them when acessing slower memory or > something). In which case, tryign to use the plain 6809 is goignt to be a > lot of owrk. The 6809E was origianlyl chosen for a reason, after all (and > I doubt it was cost, the cost of the external clock curcuit would > outweight any difference in price of the 2 chips when new), so the reason > is more likey that said clock circuit does soemthing extra that can't > easily be done wit hthe plain 6809. > > -tony

12 years, 1 month

2
1
0 0

6809 vs. 6809E

by mike＠fenz.net

Yes, I'm certain it'd be possible. All the digital components are very standard, apart from the later WPC system, which includes an undocumented ASIC. I think producing a working CPU would be a good first step though. Then, if I'm keen, I could try integrating all the I/O etc and see what happens. On 2/07/2014 5:04 p.m., ben wrote: > On 7/1/2014 10:39 PM, Mike van Bokhoven wrote: > >> I don't think the requirement is there yet. 68B09Es are still >> available; they're getting a bit more expensive, but you can still pick >> them up for under $10 without too much trouble. They don't fail that >> often either, failures usually seem to be in the RAM, 6821s, sockets >> etc. When you say 'use a small FPGA development board', do you mean to >> emulate the entire controller board, or just the CPU? Just curious what >> you had in mind. > > I have seen the 6809 color computer emulated as well as the SWTP 6800 > on a FPGA. The only thing lacking is GOOD I/O for the devices as > most FPGA's have just a SD card interface for I/O. > Ben.

12 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

HP3000 Available

by leec2124＠gmail.com

Hi all, FYI I am starting to trim down my collection and have listed my running HP3000 Micro3000XE system on EBay, auction number: 221481360061 Classic 3000 with lots of spares and software included. Email with questions or for a detailed spreadsheet of items. Thanks! -- Lee Courtney

12 years, 1 month

2
2
0 0

cleanout in Uruguay

by sales＠elecplus.com

. The man's name is Jonathan Gill, email <mailto:jmhgill at hotmail.com> jmhgill at hotmail.com. . I will be out of pocket for the next couple of weeks, please contact him directly if you are interested in any of his stuff before it becomes landfill. Cindy Croxton Electronics Plus 1613 Water Street Kerrville, TX 78028 830-792-3400 phone 830-792-3404 fax sales at elecplus.com AOL IM elcpls

12 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

OLD computer stuff in Uruguay, he will ship to end users

by sales＠elecplus.com

Hi Cindy, I'm having a big clearout of my shed here. There is all kinds of stuff from cp/m, xt, 286, 386sx, 386, 486sx,486, 586amd, k62,P1, pII,P3,P4,Athalon y Sempron. There are mothers, micros, ram, fdd, hdd, cd power supplies, cabinets -you name it I probably have it. So if you have a wish list of any old stuff let me know before it becomes landfill ! Please email me if you want his email address, he will ship. Will sell tested and untested. Also has 360KB and 1.2MB floppies, not yet tested, lots of them. Cindy Croxton Electronics Plus 1613 Water Street Kerrville, TX 78028 830-792-3400 phone 830-792-3404 fax sales at elecplus.com AOL IM elcpls

12 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Multi-Precision Unsigned Integer Multiply and Diivide

by jhfinedp3k＠compsys.to

Just to make sure for anyone who is reading, this code will be for a PDP-11 which supports 16-Bit values. About 10 years ago, I produced some rather complicated subroutines for multi-precision Unsigned Integer Multiply and used inverse Multiply to effectively produce Divide. Since they were mostly for a minimum of 128-Bit and larger arithmetic, I felt that they were reasonable as a first effort. More recently, I find that I now need a small and reasonably efficient routine (both in code size and efficiency - assume the extra multi-integer instructions MUL and DIV are present) to Encode 32-Bit (perhaps up to 48-Bit, but certainly no larger than 64-Bit) Unsigned Integers - which requires effective division by TEN. I already have very simple alternatives which can perform Unsigned Division of 32-Bit Unsigned Integers (and by extension 48-Bit Unsigned Integers); they either require lengthy one bit at a time manipulation for all 32 bits or a table for subtracting all of the 9 powers of TEN vs all of the 32 Bit Unsigned Integer. Since I already MUST have a subroutine to Encode a 16-Bit Unsigned Integer, that is the acceptable starting point at the present time. The alternative I am using right now is to (R0,R1 holds the 32-Bit Value): Cmp #4999.,R0 ;5000.*65536.=327680000. Bhis 110$ ;Branch if DIV will not overflow 10$: ; Subtract 100,000,000 up to 42 times ;..... 110$: Div #10000.,R0 ;Get two values to Encode ;..... As long as the 32-Bit value is less than 327,680,000 (which means that R0 is less than 5000 - if you divide 327,680,000 by 65536, you get the high order portion of the 32-Bit value - otherwise the quotient overflows), the Div #10000.,R0 can be used. That results in three cases for any Unsigned 32-Bit Integer: (a) Less than 65,536 which is just the remainder, R1 to Encode (b) Less than 327,680,000 which uses the DIV to produce both the quotient, R0, and the remainder, R1 to Encode (c) Less than 4,294,967,296 (which is one more than the maximum for an Unsigned 32-Bit Integer) for which I subtract 100,000,000 up to 42 times (rare and quite acceptable), Encode that value, then finish by taking care of the remainder of up to 99,999,999 using (b) above. Note that the number of subtractions can be greatly reduced (to 12 times or less) if the first subtractions are for 1,000,000,000 Is there some (relatively simple and code size efficient) algorithm that can use the SIGNED PDP-11 DIV instruction for values that are equal or greater than 327,680,000 so that ONLY 16-Bit values need to be Encoded? OR, if the 32-Bit value is first shifted, is there some value that I can use to MUL or DIV with to obtain the first value under (c), i.e. the upper two digits for the HUNDREDS of MILLIONS and BILLIONS without having to subtract up to 42 times (or even 12 times)? For example, if just the upper portion of the 32-Bit value, in R0, is divided by 1525, the result will usually be the required upper two digits, but as each multiple of 100,000,000 is closely approached, the result will (rarely) be one too high. Dividing by 1526 produces a result which will (rarely) be one too low. Perhaps there is an algorithm that will always be correct and the multiple subtract is not needed? Maybe someone has found a correction factor which uses the remainder of the DIV by 1526 plus the lower portion of the original 32-Bit value, in R1, to correct the result when that result is one too low. Just thought I would ask to see if anyone else already found a much better algorithm. Jerome Fine

12 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

DEC VTs , VRs, and LAs

by useddec＠gmail.com

My crew is supposed to start on my last storage unit, 25 ft, next week or so and be done before school starts. There are about 30 or more VTs, VRs, and LAxxs close to the door, I would really like to sell most of them. Most worked about a year ago, except for the VT340s and VT340+s. There are several almost complete LA210s, and should be complete LA12s, 50s, 75s, 100s, 120s, LS120s and maybe others. There are no VT05, 50, 52, 55, 61, 72,or 100s at this time. Everything is newer except a few WT and / or WD78. most can be shipped, but cost a bit, especially vrc21s. I have a lot of LA120 and other parts. I also have new tubes for the VT330s and 330+s , all three colors, which may fit in other terminals. Please contact me off list. Shipping from IL, 62853. Pickup is great. Thanks, Paul

12 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

HP-1000 Minicomputer System (w/DEC RL02) Guidance

by christopher.parish＠parishcomputers.com

I wasn't expecting such an enthusiastic response, thanks everyone! Right now, I'm focused on getting the RL02s back in proper working order. Both drives have worn spindle ground brushes (the little graphite conical things under the spindle) and I'm looking around for replacements. Graphite is neat in that it's a conductive, self-lubricating material. There are a few places that will manufacture custom graphite parts that I'm looking into, but it will likely need to be a bulk order to make it economically effective (and it may still be obscene). An alternative material is brass. That part is affordable in small quantities ($30ish for 1). It's still significantly softer than steel, but friction and galling could be a problem. > You may want to consider using clang instead of gcc for your compiler. Thanks for the info. After looking at the software architectures more closely, I really do like how de-coupled and abstracted everything is in LLVM/Clang. When it gets to that point, that's what I'll use. > Have you seen Reinhards work? Not quite what you are doing but > maybe it can be of help. > http://www.pdp11gy.com/indexE.html#file:///E:/homepage/indexE.html That was one of the first things I saw in Google when I originally researched the disk interface. There's plenty of good information there about the packs and the drive communication. Between that and the bitsavers technical manual, I think I have everything I need. I foresee some irony involving an emulated RL02 connected to an emulated RL02 controller... > But to be honest, I don't see the logic in using an RL02 on an HP-1000 system in the first place. It all comes down to price and technical challenge. Original accessories are hard to find, and the ones I have seen are very expensive. By comparison RL02s are everywhere and packs cost almost 10 times less, but that's not the *real* reason. By day, I am a freshly minted computer scientist, but I find far more enjoyment developing system level stuff. I love vintage computing, and what better way to spend my off-hours than using super-modern technology to add new features to these landmarks of computing? In order to develop an interface between the HP and the RL02, I've had to learn all sorts of things about Verilog, timing closure, proper design constraints, etc. For me, it's the best of both worlds. I get to play with computers that are older than I am (don't judge me ;) ) and learn marketable skills that should help me down the road. Christopher

12 years, 1 month

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6809 vs. 6809E

by mike＠fenz.net

A question for someone with specialist knowledge in 6809s. I work on pinball machines a lot, and the 68B09E is a commonly used CPU. Unfortunately, it's getting harder to find 68B09Es (though by no means impossible quite yet). It seems that most of them on eBay are counterfeits; the last lot I bought were all fake, marked Japan on the front, but China on the back. They looked very convincing, with the markings etched very nicely, rather than printed. Unfortunately, they didn't work. Overall, it looks like getting 68B09Es is becoming harder, and I'm wondering if there's some alternative. I spent a while looking over the datasheets of the 68B09 as compared to the 68B09E. It's obvious that there's some difference in the way the timing works, but I haven't been able to come to any firm conclusions what the exact difference is, and what purpose it serves. The best I can do is that it's related to synchronization with some external devices. So - can anyone explain the difference, in terms that aren't too hard to understand? And - is there any hope of modifying a machine that would normally require a 68B09E to be able to use a 68B09?

12 years, 1 month

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6809 vs. 6809E

by mike＠fenz.net

Now there's a suggestion that has my attention. I have thought about this before, but I have no FPGA experience at all, and wouldn't know how to start. If it's just a matter of taking a a core model, setting it up for the target device (assign pins etc.), and writing it, I'm sure I could cope with that. But I suspect I'm simplifying things greatly there. It'd also depend on whether a 6809 model would make it obvious how to get at the LIC and TSC signals. Maybe there's someone on this list who I can pester with questions? On 2/07/2014 3:19 p.m., David Riley wrote: > My advice, faced with a dwindling supply of pulls (you > used to be able to buy 'em by the bushel from Jameco) > is to consider making a drop-in replacement using > one of the many VHDL/Verilog models now available and > a cheap, tiny FPGA like the MAX II (which Altera likes to > call a CPLD, even though it really isn't) mounted on a > DIP carrier board. > > I wonder if there's a market in that for the arcade community... > > - Dave

12 years, 1 month

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DECwriter III LA120 ribbons?

by bob＠jfcl.com

Does anybody have a source or replacement for LA120 DECwriter III ribbons? I've actually got about 8 "new old stock" ones, still shrink wrapped, but all that I've tried are pretty much dried out despite the shrink wrap. They barely make a mark on the paper, even with the little print impression lever cranked all the way up. Thanks, Bob

12 years, 1 month

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VCF East 10 aka "VCFeX"

by evan＠snarc.net

Mark your calendars: VCF East 10.0, aka "VCFeX", will be April 17-19 next year.

12 years, 1 month

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6809 vs. 6809E

by mike＠fenz.net

I don't think the requirement is there yet. 68B09Es are still available; they're getting a bit more expensive, but you can still pick them up for under $10 without too much trouble. They don't fail that often either, failures usually seem to be in the RAM, 6821s, sockets etc. When you say 'use a small FPGA development board', do you mean to emulate the entire controller board, or just the CPU? Just curious what you had in mind. On 2/07/2014 3:41 p.m., ben wrote: > I thought the arcade market would use a small FPGA development board. > Note small is relative here.

12 years, 1 month

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6809 vs. 6809E

by mike＠fenz.net

Yep, I'm hoping that I might get away with a few adjustments on the clock side of things. It all depends on those signals that aren't brought out on the 6809. Will find out, hopefully tonight. On 2/07/2014 3:04 p.m., Brian L. Stuart wrote: > Without seeing the full design, I can't really say. However, I > encountered the whole issue when doing a 6809 SBC and did > end up converting what I had originally designed for 6809Es to > 6809. I did the second rev of the board with jumpers so you could > use either one. If none of the rest of the machine uses any of > the processor signals that are unique to the E part, then making > the changes to use a 6809 aren't too major. How feasable it is > in practice really depends on the rest of the design. > > BLS

12 years, 1 month

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6809 vs. 6809E

by mike＠fenz.net

A nice simple explanation - thanks! So 34 and 35 are effectively output on the 6809, and input on the 6809E. No problem there, but it looks like LIC and TSC (38 and 39) not being available on the 6809 would be an issue. I might take a look over a few designs (Williams WPC, Data East audio processor, Williams audio processor) and see if they make use of those. I expect they do... On 2/07/2014 2:56 p.m., Eric Smith wrote: > The 68x09 (no E suffix) has an internal crystal oscillator circuit (pins 38 and 39) and generates the required quadrature clock (E and Q, pins 34 and 35). The 68x09E requires an external quadrature clock input (E and Q, pins 34 and 35), and uses pins 38 and 39 for other functions (LIC and TSC, respectively).

12 years, 1 month

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9-Track Tape Questions

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

> From: healyzh at aracnet.com > To: cctalk at classiccmp.org > Cc: > Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 11:39:35 -0700 > Subject: 9-Track Tape Questions > Asking for a friend... > > Is it possible to still get new BOT markers? If so, does anyone know a > source? Can markers from Audio tapes be used? > > Also, does anyone have a list of common error codes from 9-Track tape drives? > > Zane I bought a roll of audio ones here: http://usrecordingmedia.com/netmerefoset.html They work find on the 7-track TU20 at the RICM. -- Michael Thompson

12 years, 1 month

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Classic Computer Gaming Communities

by jam＠synthetica.org

Hi Everyone, I know this is slightly off topic, but I'm wondering if anyone knows of, or is a member of, any mailing lists that are related to computer games, preferably older, but with the same quality as this list. Thanks for your time and happy hacking. - Josh

12 years, 1 month

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Fwd: [comp.sys.cdc] Re: Chippewa Labs Rollcall, June-December 1964

by legalize＠xmission.com

This message has been forwarded from Usenet. To reply to the original author, use the email address from the forwarded message. Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 14:01:00 -0700 (PDT) Groups: comp.sys.cdc From: mmccrossen at arletak8.net Subject: Re: Chippewa Labs Rollcall, June-December 1964 Re: <3cc1ca19_2 at news.iglou.com> Id: <f5640b38-afa0-42a6-a760-e121353fbd61 at googlegroups.com> ======== My dad, Garner McCrossen was the main FORTRAN programmer from what I've been to ld (other than Seymour). I had lunch with Les Davis, Edna Bunn, and Verene Cray last year (2013) and Les is a gold mine of early Cray history. Please do not use the email address above. pdxmelinda @ comcast.net is best.

12 years, 1 month

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Texas Instruments TI-99/4a

by bobvines00＠gmail.com

> Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 11:41:45 +1200 > From: Terry Stewart <terry at webweavers.co.nz> > > Hi Mark, > >>You said that the computer was promoted by the "late" Bill Cosby. >>That must be news to him, as he is very much alive. ( > > Yea. LOL. I actually meant "late-70's comedy icon" but it can be > interpreted as "the late 1970s icon...". You can't see the hyphen in > audio. Someone pointed this out when the video first went up. If you run > that part of the video now, you'll see I've got an annotation in the top > right hand pointing out what I meant! I almost made the same mistake in understanding you, but since I knew he was still alive, I thought for a second and realized that you were using the (hidden) hyphen. > >>There was absolutely no way to actually get into the innards of the >>machine as the BASIC had no peek or poke commands. > > Indeed. This is what confused me about the sprites. I confused "no user > generated sprites" (under standard BASIC) with no sprites at all. I > corrected this mistake via annotation in the video too. However I > understand Peeks and Pokes were available via the Extended BASIC cartridge. > > I didn't now about the heating problem. Interesting. > > Terry (Tez) Bill was pretty popular in the mid-to-late '60s too. I remember listening to a friend's parent's Bill Cosby LP with the "chocolate cake for breakfast" routine on it back then. It's still funny today, like pretty much all of his stuff which didn't require crudity or profanity to attract audiences. I'm not against crudity/profanity in general, but some so-called "entertainers" go a bit too far I think, trying to out-cuss each other. To get back on topic, I've got two (or one and a half TI-99/4As, depending on how you count the parts machine). Now I'll have to dig them out and try to program/play with them using the TV set I saved for the C-64 I've got. I've got one other (physically) smaller machine, maybe a Sinclair or similar that requires a TV set as a display. Everything else either required a "real" terminal (PDP-8 "Family", PDP-11 [Q-Bus machines], VAX-4000/200 [I think]) or came with a "CRT/monitor" of one type or another (B/W, Apple III display, CGA, VGA, etc.). <I'll duck now in case I've mistakenly misused any religious terminology in the sentence above.> Bob

12 years, 1 month

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9-Track Tape Questions

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

Asking for a friend... Is it possible to still get new BOT markers? If so, does anyone know a source? Can markers from Audio tapes be used? Also, does anyone have a list of common error codes from 9-Track tape drives? Zane

12 years, 1 month

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Texas Instruments TI-99/4a

by terry＠webweavers.co.nz

My take on the Texas Instrument TI-99/4a. Remembered most as being on the wrong side of a discounting war with Commodore but a classic computer of the early '80s nonetheless. http://youtu.be/p6VjsVwRXYk Terry (Tez)

12 years, 1 month

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Looking for a few HP 7470 plotter pens

by classiccmp＠philpem.me.uk

Hi guys, Does anyone know of a (preferably UK/EU) source of HP type plotter pens, suitable for the 7470A pen plotter? It seems most of my coloured pens have dried out while the plotter was in storage, leaving me with a single pack of Roland XD-4SPA 0.2mm black pens and a couple of of unbranded, considerably thicker black pens. Failing that, it looks like I might be looking for a Linux-based alternative to John Miles' "7470.EXE" plotter emulator... Thanks, -- Phil. classiccmp at philpem.me.uk http://www.philpem.me.uk/

12 years, 1 month

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Heath 85-2031, 2) 85-2000-2 Parallel I/O

by useddec＠gmail.com

I'm trying to find the top of me desk and found these. I'm sure I pulled them for someone, but can't remember who. Any interest? Please contact me off list. Shipping from 61853, IL Thanks, Paul

12 years, 1 month

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TextEditors.org

by lproven＠gmail.com

Enjoyable Wiki with not only details of lots of editors classic and modern, but some history and stories which I found really interesting. http://texteditors.org/ -- Liam Proven * Profile: http://lproven.livejournal.com/profile Email: lproven at cix.co.uk * GMail/G+/Twitter/Flickr/Facebook: lproven MSN: lproven at hotmail.com * Skype/AIM/Yahoo/LinkedIn: liamproven Cell: +44 7939-087884

12 years, 1 month

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1980s IBM PC Printer Stand Smoked Plexiglass by BettysBuys on Etsy

by mcarpenter4＠triad.rr.com

Hi, Curt, I noticed that you were looking for this a few years ago. I have one for sale on Etsy. https://www.etsy.com/listing/194699669/1980s-ibm-pc-printer-stand-smoked?re… Maribeth

12 years, 1 month

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Classic 16-Bit Stack Architecture HP3000

by leec2124＠gmail.com

Any collectors with Classic HP3000s on the list? Please drop me a note off-line - lee_courtney at acm.org Thanks! -- Lee Courtney

12 years, 1 month

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MINCE editor (Emacs clone) for CP/M

by spacewar＠gmail.com

Is there any way at this late date to acquire a copy of Mark of the Unicorn's MINCE editor for CP/M? While it originally was supplied with partial source, it's rumored that full source might have been available later. Back in the day I used Wordstar in non-document mode, but in 1984 my fingers were retrained for Emacs and now I have almost as much trouble with Wordstar as with vi. (You can't spell "evil" without "vi".)

12 years, 1 month

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Wanted: SPARCstation 5, 10, or 20

by krfkeith＠gmail.com

I'm looking to buy a SPARCstation 5, 10, or 20. I'd also be interested in one of those Sun PS/2 adapters, if anyone has any. I'm located in St. George, UT (about 2 hrs Northeast of Las Vegas) so if you're close by, I'd be doubly interested! Let me know. -- Thanks, Kevin

12 years, 1 month

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Maplin Electronics sold for £85m to Rutland Partners • The Channel

by woyciesjes＠sbcglobal.net

The further fall of Maplin? IIRC, it was once a good place for electronics parts... http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2014/06/27/maplin_rutland/?_ga=1.120694600… -- --- Dave Woyciesjes --- CompTIA A+ Certified IT Tech - http://certification.comptia.org/ --- HDI Certified Support Center Analyst - http://www.ThinkHDI.com/ Registered Linux user number 464583 Can be found on IRC - #bikeshed on irc.dal.net "Computers have lots of memory but no imagination." "The problem with troubleshooting is that trouble shoots back." - from some guy on the internet.

12 years, 1 month

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HP-1000 Minicomputer System (w/DEC RL02) Guidance

by christopher.parish＠parishcomputers.com

Hello everybody, I've always wanted to own a minicomputer, at least, ever since I learned what a minicomputer was in my computer architecture class. Something about the user interface was wonderfully refreshing, of course all we had was SIMH, which is awesome in its own right, but wasn't the same. Anyway, last month I was finally able to pick up a minicomputer (I could afford) off eBay, the HP 1000E/2113E. It wasn't in the best shape, but I've been able to fix the fans, bring the power supply back into spec, and design replacements for the irreplaceable front panel buttons (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:330821). As much fun as I'm having assembling and toggling in trivial programs, I'm looking to get a complete system up and running, something I can run a more-or-less useful operating system on. This brings me to my current problem: It looks like the original system peripherals are very few and far between, and when they do show up for sale, they are astronomically priced. My plan is to put together a system with whatever inexpensive contemporaneous parts I can find, regardless of how sacrilegious it is. I got a hold of two mostly working DEC RL02 disk drives, along with a SCSI 9-track tape drive, and my (pipe) dream is to interface this all to the HP using an FPGA and HP True In/Out card (i.e. HP Bizarro-Bus to TTL converter). As for software, I'm looking towards writing a backend for GCC (understatement x1000) and running FreeRTOS (because I'm familiar with it, I don't need runtime application loading, and I'm going to need to write drivers anyway). Believe it or not, the RL02 interface is probably the easiest part of this project. I've already started working on a design in Verilog that should be able to provide the necessary functionality over a wishbone interface, and I've gotten the drive to spin up and do some simple tasks with just the FPGA controller connected. (Before anyone asks, yes, I suppose one could make the RL02 a really stationary USB thumbdrive.) At this point my question is, has anybody tried something like this before and succeeded (or not)? Are there any helpful lessons to be imparted about the HP 1000 or RL02s or working on this type of project in general? I think I have everything segmented off into a monstrous series of small tasks, but I would love to hear from anyone who has already learned from the mistakes I'm about to repeat. Thanks, Christopher Parish

12 years, 1 month

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check these cards

by christian_liendo＠yahoo.com

10 Most Valuable Rookie Cards from the 1980s 10 Most Valuable Rookie Cards from the 1980s List, analysis, buying guide and images of the 10 most valuable baseball rookie cards from the 1980s. Players include Rickey Henderson and Cal Ripken Jr. View on www.cardboardconn... Preview by Yahoo

12 years, 1 month

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2400 & 3600 ft tapes avail

by billdeg＠buzz1.com

I have many used but clean 1000 ( ~17mb?) & 2400 (40Mb) ft data tapes avail for late 70's early 80's DEC drives. Some DEC branded, some Control Data. I guess you'd use with a TU80 and probably more than just DEC. Pics posted if there is interest. Reasonable offer + ship from Landenberg, PA. Pickup welcome. Contact me via vintagecomputer.net/contact.cfm 1. which type 2. how many 3. your address 4. questions $15 for one, $30 for 3, $60 for 8, $100 for 15; make offer along those lines. Bill

12 years, 1 month

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1000 and 2400 ft tapes and PDP 11/44 avail.

by billdeg＠buzz1.com

CORRECTION to earlier post tapes PLUS pdp 11/44 for sale. http://vintagecomputer.net/digital/PDP11-44/ I have many used but clean 1000 ( ~17mb?) & 2400 (40Mb) ft data tapes avail for late 70's early 80's DEC drives. Some DEC branded, some Control Data. I guess you'd use with a TU80 and probably more than just DEC. Pics posted if there is interest. Reasonable offer + ship from Landenberg, PA. Pickup welcome. Contact me via vintagecomputer.net/contact.cfm 1. which type 2. how many 3. your address 4. questions $15 for one, $30 for 3, $60 for 8, $100 for 15; make offer along those lines. PDP 11/44 - $350 if you pick up. $450 +ship if you need mailed. Bill **************************************

12 years, 1 month

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Prime/PRIMOS MAGSAVE tape format info?

by cclist＠sydex.com

I've got a few MAGSAV-format 9-track tapes here and need to retrieve files from them. Since I'm after ASCII data, I assume that I can simply check each file for strings of high-order bit-set ASCII and use that to extract (I am aware that PRIME used space/blank compression) the data. Still, the metadata that goes along with each file would be valuable. Does anyone here have layout or other information of MAGSAV tapes? The customer would be unwilling to spring $3K for the Unix MAGRST utility, so that's out even if it's still available. Thanks in advance, Chuck

12 years, 1 month

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Contacting Vince Briel

by dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu

I've been trying to contact Vince Briel of brielcomputers.com for a few weeks and haven't been able to get a response. I put down money for a micro-altair kit and ramdisk back in September 2013. I got an acknowledgement shortly after that, but then nothing. He hasn't responded to any of my emails or PMs. Does anyone know a reliable means of contacting him? -- David Griffith dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text. Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing? A: Top-posting. Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

12 years, 1 month

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Replacing head on a Rk05j

by cramcram＠gmail.com

I recently acquired 3 RK05j's that seem to have spent time in a barn as well as having been used by a heavy smoker. I thoroughly cleaned and de-gray-foamed them as well as putting in new absolute filters. The first one came up after cleaning with no issues. Works great. Number two spins up but the initial seek emits a sickening "klang" as the voice coil drives hard to the limit (yes, the graticule lamp is working). Any ideas? The third drive initially had really ugly heads that never cleaned up to my liking. I loaded a disk anyway and for about 5 seconds after the initial head load all was okay. Then I heard the sound of the top head scouring the disk. So I'm thinking of buying replacement heads off of eBay. Apparently these are the heads but not the steel tongues that they mount on. So I have some questions for anyone on the list who may have changed their heads. 1. How hard is it to mount the head in the tongue? Looks like just 2 screws. 2. How hard is it to remove/replace the tongue assembly? Looks like it mounts with a couple of allen screws. 3. How hard is it to align the heads? I don't have a CE pack so I'll just have to use a pack that works okay on the other drive. 4. Any sage advice or whatever? Thanks for any and all help. Marc

12 years, 1 month

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Scicards and Valid graphics terminals (was: VAX-11/7xx Electronic CAD Software?)

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

> From: Richard <legalize at xmission.com> > Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 12:45:32 -0600 > Subject: Scicards and Valid graphics terminals (was: VAX-11/7xx Electronic CAD Software?) > "auringer tds.net" <auringer at tds.net> writes: > >> For schematic capture, we had a trio of Valid Scaldstation minis that >> served several green screen graphics terminals each. Each terminal was a >> ~19" tube attached to a dedicated table with a built in digitizer. [..] The RICM has a Valid SCALD ("Structured Computer-Aided Logic Design") system. http://www.ricomputermuseum.org/Home/equipment/valid-scaldsystem I don't think that we have ever powered it on. -- Michael Thompson

12 years, 1 month

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HP 9100A Key Removal

by kylevowen＠gmail.com

I'm working on a 9100A, and there are two keys that refuse to move whatsoever: enter and plus. Upon removal of the keyboard assembly and opening it up, I believe I see spots of corrosion on those key stalks. Any ideas on how to correct the issue? Thanks, Kyle

12 years, 1 month

2
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Picked up a TRS-80 model II w/printer & external drives

by fozztexx＠fozztexx.com

The other night I picked up a TRS-80 model II from a seller on Craigslist. The computer had apparently belonged to an account and it came with lots of binders of TRS-80 accounting software manuals and boxes of disks filled with old client information. It came with some no-name 3rd party external dual 8" drive and a gigantic Centronics 703(?) printer. I tested out the computer when I got home and it looks like it probably works fine, I was able to power it up without any smoke coming out and get it to boot into one of the CP/M disks I found in the box. The keyboard is another matter, but I've already been pointed to a few sites that discuss how to deal with the foam pads inside the capacitive keyboard. I didn't get a cable for either the printer or the external disks, although I'm not really worried about hooking up to the parallel port since I doubt I'm really going to want to print from the TRS-80 anyway. I did open up the external drive case and it has two genuine Shugart drives in it, and I've already ordered some 50 pin IDC connectors so I can make up a cable to connect it to the TRS-80. I'm having a heck of a time hunting down a manual for the printer though. I *think* it's a Centronics 703, but the 703 was blacked out on the nameplate on the back, and there's no identification on the front. I definitely need to get a new ribbon for it, but it looks like instead of replacing the ribbon as a cartridge, you pull the whole ribbon out of the screwed in case and then have to pack a new one in. The pinch rollers for feeding the ribbon are pretty old and now flat on one side, but after a touch of oil they do *seem* to be turning and feeding the ribbon. I've posted an album up on Google+ of the computer, you can see it here: https://plus.google.com/112185595588625076298/posts/KT4mtRJtCAs

12 years, 1 month

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PDP 8/L on Ebay UK

by dave＠willomail.co.uk

Hi Folks! Just spotted this. Sadly, out of my price range but somebody might be interested. Pretty uncommon in the UK. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261511931391 Cheers, Dave

12 years, 1 month

5
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rubber/plastic interaction

by jules.richardson99＠gmail.com

Along with the Tandy 1000 that I brought home the other day, I also got the monitor plinth (just not the original monitor itself). Mounted on the underside of the plinth are rubber feet, and these appear to have "eaten" into the top of the 1000's plastic case. Has anyone seen this kind of interaction before? In the hundreds of vintage systems I've seen, I've come across many cases of rubber parts deteriorating (and sometimes turning to goo), but not of it damaging other materials (and in this instance the rubber feet themselves seem to be in good condition still) I'm not sure how widespread this is, and/or if it's going to be more of a problem as things age. On the other hand, I'm inclined to think that this is an isolated incident, and maybe related to aggressive cleaning materials used on the machine's case (which then softened the plastic) - there are more imprints on the case shell than there are feet on the plinth, so it happened at least twice with the plinth moved in the meantime. Thoughts? Jules

12 years, 1 month

3
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Unknown console/computer

by wulfcub＠gmail.com

While digging through a local estate sale yesterday, I found an unknown (to me), unmarked system. From what I know of the late owner, the system may be related to the aircraft industry, as many of his tools and bits and bobs were from Boeing surplus. As for the unit itself, it is a yellow desk, with a tinted glass slide-down screen, a complex keyboard. It had two Canon 5.25" floppy drives mounted behind the screen, next to a USi Pi3 amber monitor. The bottom section of the desk had a card cage, with cards, but I was unable to open it for inspection. The only IO I found was a 36 pin Centronics connection on the lower back of the desk. The console itself has a red Fault indicator, as well as 3 columns of indicator lamps, with a corresponding button and markings 1-8. There are also light up push-buttons for power, load, reset, and compute. The keyboard has switches for parity select (odd/even), Logic (+/-), Caps (vs mixed upper/lower), Aux on/off, repeat fast/slow, some sort of counter, plus a pair of mode A/B select wheels. Pics can be seen at http://microfilmks.com/~tesla/Oddball/ Thanks! --Shaun

12 years, 1 month

6
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VAX-11/7xx Electronic CAD Software?

by nf6x＠nf6x.net

I'm curious about what sort of software might have been used during the 1980s on VAX-11/7xx series machines to support design and/or production of electronic hardware. If there are any dusty old archived copies of such software that I might be able to experiment with on my VAX-11/730 (after I get it running, that is), that would be pretty exciting. -- Mark J. Blair, NF6X <nf6x at nf6x.net> http://www.nf6x.net/

12 years, 1 month

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NorthStar Horizon restoration question

by jonas＠otter.se

On Mon, 23 Jun 2014 14:52:25 -0700:00, Ian McLaughlin <ian at platinum.net> wrote: > Hello all and thank you for adding me to the list. > > I am in the process of restoring a NorthStar Horizon machine. The boards in this machine > have a significant amount of flux residue on them - it certainly appears that this > particular machine was constructed from a kit. My question is about this flux - should I > be removing it as part of my cleanup, or should I leave it in place? I know that this > isn't a super-collectible machine or anything, but I've never come across this issue in > any other machine in my collection, and I was wondering what the general consensus was. > I'm perfectly aware of the corrosive nature of the flux and how to remove it, however this > flux has been there for 35+ years. > > Thanks in advance for your thoughts. > > Ian It is probably resin (or rosin) core solder, which is most likely not corrosive. You will know by the smell if you put a hot iron to a solder joint. Resin is a medium brown which darkens when heated. If you want to remove it, resin dissolves in ethanol. If it has been there for 35 years with no ill effects, you may as well leave it. Jonas

12 years, 1 month

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NorthStar Horizon restoration question

by ian＠platinum.net

Hello all and thank you for adding me to the list. I am in the process of restoring a NorthStar Horizon machine. The boards in this machine have a significant amount of flux residue on them - it certainly appears that this particular machine was constructed from a kit. My question is about this flux - should I be removing it as part of my cleanup, or should I leave it in place? I know that this isn't a super-collectible machine or anything, but I've never come across this issue in any other machine in my collection, and I was wondering what the general consensus was. I'm perfectly aware of the corrosive nature of the flux and how to remove it, however this flux has been there for 35+ years. Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Ian

12 years, 1 month

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How much does a TU55 DECtape drive typically cost?

by nf6x＠nf6x.net

My saved searches coughed up a TU55 single-drive DECtape transport on the eBay this morning. Then I looked at the listing and had a stunning case of sticker shock, as it's listed for $6,900 buy it now. ! I know (?) that TU55/TU56 drives aren't too common these days, but is that price in line with what they go for? P.S.: No, I'm not even considering buying it. I'm just morbidly curious. -- Mark J. Blair, NF6X <nf6x at nf6x.net> http://www.nf6x.net/

12 years, 1 month

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Picked up a TRS-80 model II w/printer & external drives

by billdeg＠buzz1.com

[TRS-80 M2 and printer] >> I didn't get a cable for either the printer or the external disks, <snip> > I'm having a heck of a time hunting down a manual for the printer > though. I *think* it's a Centronics 703, but the 703 was blacked out > on the nameplate on the back, and there's no identification on the > front. I Whenever I read a thread that starts with something like "...picked up a TRS 80 Model II..." my first instinct is RUN! Before it's too late! I am very happy with a single drive system for most things BTW. But I also have a troublesome external drive to use when I need more aggravation in my life, or a feeling shame and doubt about my abilities to support vintage hardware. But seriously, I have posted a bunch of new TRS 80 Model II images on my site, that have been vetted by the TRS Yahoo group. You might find useful. http://vintagecomputer.net/disk_images/TRS80_8in/ Bill

12 years, 1 month

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Available: MicroVAX 4000/200 and AlphaStation DS20e

by seth＠loomcom.com

Hi folks, Over the next few weeks, I'm going to be trying to liquidate some "dead weight" -- meaning, things that I don't have time to poke at and have fallen down the list of projects I want to work on. So, probably nothing terribly exciting, but if anyone is interested in any of it, I'd like to give them the chance to take it off my hands. I have two 1. A KA660 MicroVAX 4000/200 in a BA123 pedestal chassis. It has memory errors, so it can't boot past the system console, but it might be a fun project for someone who's into VAXen. It comes with four 16MB MS650 memory modules, a couple of RF35 (I think) DSSI disks, and a TK-70 drive. That's it. 2. Compaq AlphaServer DS20e. No skins, just the bare rack-mount chassis. I think it's got about a gig of RAM and about 18GB of disk. It's fast, you know you want it. You can run OpenVMS on it and impress your friends. Location: Fremont, California, USA. You come pick up, sorry, I can't ship anywhere. Price: No reasonable offer will be refused! Drop me a line off-list if you're interested in either (or both!) of these. -Seth

12 years, 1 month

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Hitachi MB6890 disks - How to copy?

by alexandre.tabajara＠gmail.com

Dear friends, A friend of mine got an Hitachi MB6890 computer with a pair of drives. Does anyone has a clue of how to copy its disks? Where to find disk images? Thanks Alexandre

12 years, 1 month

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Digiac 5504 Disk Drive Exerciser Documentation Wanted

by nf6x＠nf6x.net

I just got a Digiac model 5504 disk drive exerciser through eBay. It didn't include any documentation. The basic features seem pretty straightforward, but I'm hoping to find documentation to figure out the less-obvious stuff, like those "fault enable" switches under a locking cover. It'll probably make an appearance on my web page eventually. For now, curious folks can see pictures of it on the eBay listing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/230590661812 I plugged it into a 5.25" floppy drive and was able to start and stop the motor and move the heads around. I'll probably try to get some alignment floppies one of these days. -- Mark J. Blair, NF6X <nf6x at nf6x.net> http://www.nf6x.net/

12 years, 1 month

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PDP11 Disk Image Creation

by aswood＠t-online.de

Hello all, I have a 11/73. The disk is a Maxtor 2190. How to create an Image of the contents of this disk? -- Andreas

12 years, 1 month

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RT-11 with dual MSCP controllers

by roe＠liveblockauctions.com

Does anyone have RT-11 actually running with two MSCP disk controllers? My 11/83 has a CMD CQD220A/TM at 172150, and an RQDX3 at 160334. The rqdx3 has an rx33 floppy drive, and is set for starting LUN 4. No matter what I do, RT-11 simply won't see the floppy. I've run sysgen, specified the addresses of both controllers, nothing works. So, if anyone actually has a running system with dual controllers, I would love to see the SET DEVICE stuff that makes it work. Thanks for any advice.

12 years, 1 month

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No monitor and keyboard :-)

by brain＠jbrain.com

But, it runs :-) http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kaypro-1-Computer-/171361194396?ssPageName=ADME:B:S… I wonder if someone should message them and let them know... Jim -- Jim Brain brain at jbrain.com www.jbrain.com

12 years, 1 month

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HP Computer Museum - soliciting

by jondjohnston＠hotmail.com

Guys, Many of you know about us - www.hpmuseum.net, and that we are located in the convenient-for-everyone city of Melbourne. We are planning another consolidated sea shipment from the US later this year. So, if you need to do any HP closet-clearing, or know anyone who does, please put them on to us. Our ship-to address is in Southern California (city of Orange). We pay for shipping. We are not just looking for hardware, software and manuals. We are also interested in newsletters, user magazines, promotional material and videos, etc. Thanks for reading and keep up the great work! Cheers, Jon

12 years, 1 month

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DEC PDP11/44

by useddec＠gmail.com

I have a quantity of 11/44 boards and backplanes and can sell either complete sets or individual parts. Shipping from 61853. Please contact me off list if you are interested. Thanks, Paul

12 years, 1 month

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RUNOFF to troff translation?

by legalize＠xmission.com

A TECO distribution has the manual in RUNOFF format. I'd like to run that through a decent text formatter to get a PDF. Does anyone know of a RUNOFF manual that will tell me the meaning of the directives so I can translate this file into troff and then process it into PDF? -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" free book <http://tinyurl.com/d3d-pipeline> The Computer Graphics Museum <http://ComputerGraphicsMuseum.org> The Terminals Wiki <http://terminals.classiccmp.org> Legalize Adulthood! (my blog) <http://LegalizeAdulthood.wordpress.com>

12 years, 1 month

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Available: MicroVAX 4000/200 and AlphaServer DS20e

by lists＠loomcom.com

Hi folks, Over the next few weeks, I'm going to be trying to liquidate some "dead weight" -- meaning, things that I don't have time to poke at and have fallen down the list of projects I want to work on. So, probably nothing terribly exciting, but if anyone is interested in any of it, I'd like to give them the chance to take it off my hands. I have two items to get started with. 1. A KA660 MicroVAX 4000/200 in a BA123 pedestal chassis. It has memory errors, so it can't boot past the system console, but it might be a fun project for someone who's into VAXen. It comes with four 16MB MS650 memory modules, a couple of RF35 (I think) DSSI disks, and a TK-70 drive. That's it. 2. Compaq AlphaServer DS20e. No skins, just the bare rack-mount chassis. I think it's got about a gig of RAM and about 18GB of disk. It's fast, you know you want it. You can run OpenVMS on it and impress your friends. Location: Fremont, California, USA, conveniently located near Decoto Road and I-880. You come pick up, sorry, I can't ship anywhere. Price: No reasonable offer will be refused! Drop me a line off-list if you're interested in either (or both!) of these. -Seth

12 years, 1 month

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The Runaway Nail

by lproven＠gmail.com

The BT-100 from the Communist-era Czech Republic. I'd not heard of this before. Nicknamed the "runaway nail", it's a dot printer. Not a dot-matrix: it only has one pin. :?) Google translation (if the link works): https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=cs&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UT… Source page: http://falconsoft.czechian.net/bt100/ Plain text follows below the .sig for the WWW-impaired... -- Liam Proven ? Profile: http://lproven.livejournal.com/profile Email: lproven at cix.co.uk ? GMail/G+/Twitter/Flickr/Facebook: lproven MSN: lproven at hotmail.com ? Skype/AIM/Yahoo/LinkedIn: liamproven Cell: +44 7939-087884 ________________________________ ________________________________ Do you remember an old printer jednojehli?kovou BT-100, some know it under the name "runaway nail". The manufacturer of this printer was easy to Tesla. On his plastic box boasted logo Matrix Printer. The printer can print on paper size A4, printing principle is the simplest you can be, despite the carbon. Control and monitoring of moving needles and paper is very slow, everything is controlled by computer. The quality of the printing also has its problems, but prints. We realize that nowadays the printer is BT-100 for its long time to print virtually unusable, even though we have it decided to join the C64 and develop programs for printing. This project is BT-100 is opened, and this site will publish various information programs for printing, and everything what this veteran piece of hardware is concerned. ________________________________ Update: 13 June 2008 Hardcopy BT-100 v2.1 New, but still binary version of the BT-100 Hardcopy for printing bitmaps to the printer jednojehli?kov? BT-100 contains two new features. Needle printers neproklepne hard paper in order to print it is necessary to swap the carbon paper with paper that is loaded in the printer. It is still necessary to horizontally flip the bitmap, otherwise the resulting print was mirrored. Function for flipping bitmaps Y-axis is implemented in this version. Another very practical novelty is the analysis of the bitmap. This is performed on the principle of virtual printing. First, list information about the structure of the bitmap. It is the number of printed pixels, the area percentage and the number of blank lines. It is also listed how many apartments will be sent to the printer and how many will be synchronized truck. Finally, the analysis is the calculation and listing the estimated time of printing. This is dependent on the structure of the bitmap, and of course on the selected print quality. Complete instructions are included in the zip package or here . Selected print quality concept Estimated time of printing is 5 minutes 29 seconds Actual print time is 5 minutes 35 secondsSelected print quality concept Estimated time of printing is 11 minutes 29 seconds Actual print time is 11 minutes 39 seconds Between estimated and actual time to see a slight difference. Practice has shown that, even in the repeated printing of the same bitmap is some time difference. This implies that the estimated time to print accurate to the second, of course, impossible. In practical tests, it was confirmed that our estimated printing time is given with an accuracy somewhere around 2%. Release Date: June 12, 2008 The program is stored on the disk image for D64 emulator Commodore 64 Download (49kB) ________________________________ Update: October 29, 2006 Electronic scheme printers BT-100 Printer BT-100 is already old-fashioned machine that easily succumb to a disease that, and especially in this autumn :-) Do Within "runaway nails" can look after od?rouben? plastic cover which is convoluted world of electronic components. For better orientation in the repair will certainly come in handy chart that today we publish. For the provision of this scheme are grateful Schotkovi, be sure to visit his website www.schotek.cz To enlarge, click on the thumbnail. scanned image size is 1644x2201 pixels (286kB) ________________________________ Update: April 30, 2005 Diagnosis BT-100 v1.0 The tool is designed to verify basic state function printers BT-100. Self-diagnosis is mainly focused on the test of optical sensors and servos. This way you can test the functionality of the basic elements of the printer. Termination whole diagnosis consists in printing a test page. You can then check the resulting print quality and especially the synchronization accuracy. Instructions for use of the program is here . Release Date: 28 April 2005 The program is stored on the disk image for D64 emulator Commodore 64 Download (24kB) ________________________________ Update: 28 July 2004 Hardcopy BT-100 v2.0 The new version of BT-100 Hardcopy looks at first glance like the previous one, but something is different. The adjustment was made in the main core of the program, the handler routine for printing. The front features of this new driver is speeding up printing. Speeding is that the truck cutting head goes only to the last point, which is printed on the current line. Taking in the old version carriage drove up to the end of each line. For comparison, the new version over the previous two demonstrations, we use the new driver properties in practice. Selected print quality normal time of printing in v1.0 is 17 minutes 24 seconds time press in v2.0 is 14 minutes 49 secondsSelected print quality concept in v1.0 Print time is 13 minutes 56 seconds time press in v2.0 is 4 minutes 4 seconds The sample text is seeing rapid shortening of the time of printing in the new version of the driver program Hardcopy BT-100. Complete instructions are included in the zip package or here . Release Date: 28 July 2004 The program is stored on the disk image for D64 emulator Commodore 64 Download (42kB) ________________________________ Update: April 23, 2004 Printer Connection BT-100 C64 Printer BT-100 to C64 cable connects via User Port. The BT-100 are two connectors marked DIN7 IN (input signal to the BT-100) and OUT (output signal to C64). The printer is powered by an external source of DC voltage 22V. INOUT 1 Motor Vehicle right PB0 1 Sensor trolley stop PB4 4 Motor Vehicle on the left PB1 6 The sensor synchronization print PB5 5 Up write head PB2 7 The sensor coordinates of points PB6 6 Engine displacement paper PB3 3 The sensor offset paper PB7 2 Ground GND 2 Ground GND ________________________________ Update: 23 April 2004 Hardcopy BT-100 v1.0 As the name suggests, this is a program that copies the video screen directly to the printer. Strictly speaking, the HIRES graphic prints, graphic screen where data is stored at $ 2000 - $ 3F3F (decimal 8192-16191). This portion of graphics memory is used as a graphic editor Art Studio. The program is implemented and functions such as preparation of the printer (ie, offset paper), the possibility of inversion graphics, a choice between quality printing concept or normal. Indeed even the BT-100 can print different quality. Instructions for use of the program is here . As stated before printing can be done with different quality printing, concept or normal. The quality concept is best used for printing text (in this choice does not affect the quality of the final print), or simple images (printing is performed quickly at the expense of quality). To achieve better print quality images with a high density of points you need to select the print quality is normal. It takes a little more than a concept, but the print result is even better. The following example can be compared. DraftNormal Printing takes a very long time, and listen to the antics of one needle is cruel repair. Resolution HIRES graphics is 320x200 pixels, it means that one has to cope with needle to 64000 points. The maximum printing time (if in each line of at least 1 point) is indicated in the table. Concept: 16 minutes 47 seconds Normal: 20 minutes 56 seconds Another front driver properties for printing the truck unnecessarily nep?ej??d? blank lines automatically leads to a shift of paper processing the next line. This implies that the printing time is proportionally reduces the number of blank lines. For demonstration we present two examples of printed quality concept. Number of blank lines is 40 out time is 12 minutes 22 secondsNumber of blank lines is 186 out time is 1 minute 18 seconds After getting familiar with the characteristics of the program get to the download section and subsequent practical use. The D64 disk image is stored outside the Hardcopy and diagrams and descriptions printer connection, Noter with instructions for use, and several bitmap for test printing. Release Date: 18 April 2004 The program is stored on the disk image for D64 emulator Commodore 64 Download (42kB) Copyright ? 2003-2010 Falcon soft

12 years, 1 month

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image of CP/M disk for Intel MDS wanted

by spacewar＠gmail.com

Originally Digital Research supplied CP/M in a form suitable for an Intel MDS, and it was up to OEMs to hack it to work on anything else. Since I've got an MDS, I'd like to get an image of a CP/M distribution disk for the MDS. I thought I'd seen such a disk image online a few years back, but I can't seem to locate it now, so perhaps I'm mistaken. I'm interested in any versions; the more the better. Thanks! Eric

12 years, 1 month

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Taxan 720-U CRT (and Tandy 1000)

by jules.richardson99＠gmail.com

My contact at the dump had set aside a Tandy 1000 for me (and thankfully the keyboard and a joystick hadn't vanished, like they have with other vintage systems I've hauled away from there). We did a quick search around for the Tandy monitor with no luck, but I did locate a Taxan 720-U display in the monitor pile - the connector is a DE9 which is why it caught my eye. Does anyone have any information on this display? What with the DE9 I was hoping it was EGA or CGA (and compatible with the Tandy), but the few google results I'm seeing suggest it's a multisync capable of 800x600 resolution, which makes it sound more like VGA (and I have a very dim memory of some early VGA hardware being crammed into a DE9 connector, rather than the typical DE15) cheers Jules

12 years, 1 month

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FS: Boxed Commodore 128 with 1902A, REU Printer All of it

by slandon110＠gmail.com

Ive decided to part with my boxed C128 Setup. It sits and never gets used. Its in great shape Im asking $300 plus shipping for it, Or Local Pickup, Will be heading to the Flint area tomarrow. Could bring it along

12 years, 2 months

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My experiences with a HxC floppy drive emulator on an Amiga 500

by terry＠webweavers.co.nz

My Amiga 500 floppy disk drive was on the way out. It involved laying down some cash, but this worked for me. http://www.classic-computers.org.nz/blog/2014-06-20-amiga500-hxc.htm Terry (Tez)

12 years, 2 months

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Electric And AC Sizing For New Building Housing PDP-8s and PDP-11s

by tsg＠bonedaddy.net

Hi, I've just built a new building that will be part machine shop and part vintage computer display area (and workshop for repair, etc.) I'm trying to size power requirements and AC requirements. I know that without specifics as to exactly what I'll be running (and all the options) then it's really hard to come up with anything. At the same time I need to decide and get the building wired up and the cooling set up. I have a number of different racks of PDP-8 and PDP-11 equipment along with other more personal sized computers. Obviously not all will be powered up at once, but I'd like to spec out requirements so that I can at least run a few at a time. Likewise with the AC. I'd like enough AC to be able to run for as long as I want without overheating the equipment or myself (and I overheat easily.) I know some people have been setting up shops recently and I guess I'm wondering what they've been doing for both electrical and AC. Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks, Todd

12 years, 2 months

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DEC8271 shift register

by marco＠familie-rauhut.eu

Hi all, i have here a PDP8/E with a defective M8300 Mayjor Register board. The problem is a DEC8271 shift register that is used for bit 0 - 3 in program counter register. Do anyone know a modern equivalent for the DEC8271? Greeting to all readers Marco * Englisch - erkannt * Englisch * Deutsch * Englisch * Deutsch <javascript:void(0);>

12 years, 2 months

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DEC8271 shift register

by steve＠tronola.com

>> i have here a PDP8/E with a defective M8300 Mayjor Register board. The >> problem is a DEC8271 shift register that is used for bit 0 - 3 in program >> counter register. >> Do anyone know a modern equivalent for the DEC8271? >> > >It's a Signetics 8271. The full Signetics part number is N8271B for >plastic package or N8271E for ceramic, or "S" prefix rather than "N" for >-55C to +125C temperature range. > >There is no "modern equivalent". --- Quest shows them in stock for $4 each: http://www.questcomp.com/QuestDetails.aspx?pn=N8271N&pnid=137216&stock=YesO… Steve Lafferty

12 years, 2 months

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Electric And AC Sizing For New Building Housing PDP-8s, and PDP-11s

by elson＠pico-systems.com

On 06/19/2014 02:47 AM, cctalk-request at classiccmp.org wrote: > Hi Sean, > > No three-phase available nearby so if I ever do need it I'll be using a rotary > converter or VFD or something. > > Luckily I don't need it at the moment. > > It will likely have it's own transformer and drop. > > I'm sure it will be at least 200A service. There are only a VERY few devices that can be connected to a PDP-11 that need 3-phase power. One I know of is the RP07, but that is really a VAX peripheral. Since it is Massbus, it COULD be connected to an 11/70, though. Possibly also the RP06 might also be 3-phase. In general, though, these machines are QUITE low power compared to higher-end machines like PDP-10's and early VAXes. I can't imagine any PDP-8 system that needs much power. Unless it was loaded with a BUNCH of RK05 drives, I can't imagine it wouldn't run off a single 120V 15A outlet. The PDP-11/45 draws enough power it would need separate outlets for the CPU and the drives. Jon

12 years, 2 months

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urgent: anyone between OKC and Dallas?

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

I have an old friend who has developed serious issues who will be driving from North Dallas to Oklahoma City tomorrow. He will have a piece of equipment that I want, about the size of a microwave oven, with him. Is there anyone here along that route who would be able to meet up with him and take it off of his hands? He will dumpster it at the end of his trip if it's not picked up. I will make arrangements to get it >from whoever gets it afterwards. (I have zero knowledge of the geography down there, no idea of what route he will be taking, etc) Any assistance is greatly appreciated. NOTE: I no longer read this list; please reply privately if you can assist. Thanks, -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ/3 New Kensington, PA

12 years, 2 months

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TD Systems Inc Viking QTO / QDO conversion. QBUS.

by mattislind＠gmail.com

I have a TD Systems Viking QTO MSCP emulating SCSI tape QBUS controller and I found a manual for that one one the net: http://manx.classiccmp.org/collections/antonio/chrisq/TD_Systems_Inc_-_900-… But I rather have a disk controller rather than a tape controller. Or a combined tape and disk. An old post from '99 ( https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.sys.pdp11/2XddHq03SQI) indicate that the web address is www.tdsys.com. Accessing this webpage just informs me that the company doesn't exist any more. But someone is paying the domain fee. I tried to email but hasn't got neither a bounce nor a reply yet. I would guess that it is all up to the EPROM and the PAL chip to decide how this card is working. QDO, QTO, QDT, QDD or QDA. The PAL is a simple 16L8 so it is most certainly only used for address decoding and should be pretty simply to change. The EPROM contents is a problem though. I dumped it and did some initial checking with a Z80 disassembler and simple operations like "strings". There are a lot of strings in there. Some of them seems to relate to tape drives, like "EXABYTE", "WANGTEK" and "space forward". But also others that seems to be disk oriented like "Booting from DU0", "Disk common command set" and "Fomat unit". A couple of years ago a someone sold such a controller on Ebay but also included an EPROM and a PAL to convert it. I contacted this seller but never go a reply. Does anyone have this controller? Know anything about it? Has anyone converted it from tape to disk?

12 years, 2 months

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DEC8271 shift register

by mattislind＠gmail.com

> On Thu, Jun 19, 2014 at 2:18 AM, Marco Rauhut <marco at familie-rauhut.eu> > wrote: > > > i have here a PDP8/E with a defective M8300 Mayjor Register board. The > > problem is a DEC8271 shift register that is used for bit 0 - 3 in program > > counter register. > > Do anyone know a modern equivalent for the DEC8271? > > > > It's a Signetics 8271. The full Signetics part number is N8271B for > plastic package or N8271E for ceramic, or "S" prefix rather than "N" for > -55C to +125C temperature range. > > There is no "modern equivalent". The 74LS395A has similar functionality > except that it has a single clock input and a load/shift control, whereas > the 8271 has separate load and shift clocks. And the pinout is completely > different. > > If you can't get an 8271, you could program a PAL to do the same thing, > though it's possible that the much higher speed of the PAL could cause > problems. > > I wouldn't advise trying to substitute the Intel 8271. I just recently repaired a DEC TU60 tape drive. It contained N8271 chips in the CRC logic. One of them was bad. I replaced it with a 74179 which I bought on EBAY. As far as I understand they are identical. http://www.datormuseum.se/computers/digital-equipment-corporation/pdp-11-04

12 years, 2 months

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The Mac inspired loyalty - was Re: Least PC-Compatible MS-DOS machines?

by seefriek＠gmail.com

> > AU/X for PowerPC would have given them a contender > AU/X was a pretty awful Unix cobbled together to meet a narrow market need unrelated to the markets Copeland was intended to address. It's singular grace was it let Apple say with a straight face "yes, you can run Unix on our hardware" (and to a lesser extent, say "and see, it looks pretty like a Mac"). It wasn't a contender in the Unix market, much less the "platform to take Apple to the next level" market. KJ

12 years, 2 months

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VAX 3100/38 memory error

by mark.kahrs＠gmail.com

So, the memory fails when booting up and the result of a test 50 is as follows: ?? MEM 0010.0200 01000000 According to the M38 manual, there SHOULD (not yelling, really) be a second address of the failure after the memory size on the second line. As you can see, there isn't. What's up with that? Where do I begin? I think the biggest hint is the 0200, but alas and alack, that isn't in the manual (at least the one that I have). My offhand guess is that this is a problem w/ the on board memory on the processor card --- but then you'd still expect an address. Comments?

12 years, 2 months

6
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Handspring Visor with a ton of accessories $150 plus shipping

by shawn＠thekompany.com

Hi, I've got a very nice, and working, Handspring Visor with various cases, the docking station, the 'eye' module camera and the Targus folding keyboard as well as all the accompanying software. Shipping in the US is $15, for international I'd have to check based on country. Let me know if you are interested, I can take Paypal or an echeck. I can send pictures if interested. Thanks, Shawn

12 years, 2 months

1
0
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Unknown console/computer

by billdeg＠buzz1.com

> While digging through a local estate sale yesterday, I found an unknown (to me), unmarked system. From what I know of the late owner, the system may be related to the aircraft industry, as many of his tools and bits and bobs were from Boeing surplus. > As for the unit itself, it is a yellow desk, with a tinted glass slide-down screen, a complex keyboard. It had two Canon 5.25" floppy drives mounted behind the screen, next to a USi Pi3 amber monitor. <snip> Others may have said something similar, but here is my 2 cents....The USi Pi3 monitor was sold as a package by Protecto along with the liquidated Commdore B-128 computers in the mid 80's. They bought the remaining stock. Assuming the monitor came with the terminal, one could deduce that this smart terminal is also from the mid 80's as well. Bill

12 years, 2 months

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Thinkpad 750C

by chuck.mcmanis＠gmail.com

I've got my original IBM Thinkpad 750C (486SL version as I recall) with a docking station (it has slots in it) which I cannot justify keeping around any more. I need the space. Anyone here interested in it? I believe I have the original install disks as well but finding those might be more of an issue. It has Windows 3.1 on it and one corner of glorious 640 x 480 color display is not working (like maybe 15 - 30 pixels out of the corner with issues. --Chuck

12 years, 2 months

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So I Got This Old Sun

by silent700＠gmail.com

Hoping to bring some knowledge out of the woodwork here...I have acquired what is, in any case, quite a relic, but I suspect there is much more to learn about it: http://silent700.blogspot.com/2014/06/leads-always-follow-them.html In short, I stumbled upon a Sun-1. It's the rackmount version, the 1/150, but it has a strange model name on the ID plate which appears to be "RM-CC" or "RM-0C." It has a very early serial number but I can't determine if that was its first number or the result of an upgrade or refurb. It appears to contain a Sun-2 CPU board so, according to what I've read, should be ID'd as a 1/150U. I've read nothing about re-assigning a serial, however. I was told that Sun-1 serial numbers began at 013, due to there being 12 employees at the time. Again, I have no idea if this machine's serial number is original or not. It was sold to the University of Chicago, who I believe were among the first purchasers of Sun products. They are said to still have S/N 13 (in theory the "first" Sun made) in their posession but I have no first-hand knowledge. I am supposed to be put in touch with the original curator of this machine, from which I hope to learn a lot more about its history. For now, enjoy the pics and please share whatever info you may have... - jht

12 years, 2 months

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Lilith CRT flyback failure

by jdr_use＠bluewin.ch

During preparation of the machine for VCFE i had a failure in the CRT's high voltage part. Yep, flyback burnt.. The high voltage winding was potted as a separate unit, enabled my to rewind the flyback's primary (was burnt). Then after replacing 2 transistors, 2 resistors and 1 diode I got a brief few seconds of live out of the display again. The hisses accompanying this would indicate the maybe the flyback HV isolation is not good anymore, however i did not see sparks flying... Current working assumption is that the secondary potted winding is also compromised. I will also replace the HV voltage diode, is the HV capacitor something that fails regularly ? It is a 17 inch white monochrome Ball HD17-type monitor. What are my options : repair again, looking for a generic flyback ( is there such a thing ?) , or dumping it into lake Zurich, which is my current mood.... I am not averse to putting some modern solution in place ( to generate the HV that is ) Jos

12 years, 2 months

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DEC H7140 issues

by b4＠gewt.net

All, I have an (untested) H7140 here with the bias/interface module from my dead one...took me a bit to get it in...apparently the aligning rails got knocked loose. Now, it comes up ad the DC OK light blinks (there is no load, I haven't done voltage checks and I'm not ready for a load yet). However...the fans don't spin and I measure 0VAC there. Last night the wires had gotten caught on something, cut a bit and ended up shorted together...I hadn't noticed as the tag covered up the damage...but I fixed that today. I wouldn't imagine there was protection missing there...I never heard arcing, anything frying, and I didn't see current draw shoot up. Any ideas? I don't want to put ANY load on this until I have the fans working...not even a dummy load. -- Cory Smelosky http://gewt.net Personal stuff http://gimme-sympathy.org Projects

12 years, 2 months

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ThinkPad 860

by BHuntsman＠mail2.cu-portland.edu

Anyone on this list ever seen a ThinkPad 860, have one, or know where I could buy/trade for one? Swap for a P/390? :) Thanks in advance! -Ben

12 years, 2 months

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