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

by sales＠elecplus.com

8086, 80286, 80386, 80486 laptops and some desktops available from Spain. 80286 and 80386 computers available from Ghana. Email me is you want the seller's contact info. I am not affiliated with them in any way. Cindy Croxton _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2013.0.3343 / Virus Database: 3162/6340 - Release Date: 05/20/13

13 years, 3 months

2
2
0 0

Tek 4052 / Dc300 tapes issues

by shadoooo＠gmail.com

Hello. About the DC300 cassette repair: I have a lot of these cassettes, original from DEC with standalone backups of software for VAX 730 inside. Unfortunately all of them suffer of the "sticky" problem, the tension band attached to the tape, and then broke itself. A replacement of the bands is surely needed, the plastibands maybe could be a good source. The problem of the stickness remains however: how could I detach the tension tape from the magnetic tape without peel off the magnetic substrate? Maybe opening the cassette, adding some lubricant without solvent (silicon oil for example) and leaving it for some days could help? Andrea

13 years, 3 months

2
1
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Downsizing - Many Systems Available

by bpicchi＠gmail.com

Hi Dave, I saw your message about downsizing your collection. I have a small museum of computers here in Southern California. You can view my website at TanruNomad.com I'm interested in purchasing 3 of your computers: Apple II IBM 5100 ProcessorTech SOL Would $400 for all 3 be acceptable? -- *Brian Picchi*

13 years, 3 months

1
1
0 0

Signal generator available

by sales＠elecplus.com

Not affiliated with this guy at all, just thought someone might be interested. We have a Rhode & Schwarz---- SMHU SIGNAL GENERATOR Has some problem----- Marked Rejected-(w/note too expensive to repair) Lights-up and then shuts off...... Looking for an interested participant..... Do you have any interest? Dollar Bills (1) 214-264-9000 Cindy Croxton _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2013.0.3336 / Virus Database: 3162/6338 - Release Date: 05/19/13

13 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

Need Timing Generator Coil for a DEC paper tape punch

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

The Timing Generator Coil on the paper tape punch on the PDP-9 at the RICM is open circuit. The current plan is to try to source some really fine magnet wire and rewind the coil. It would save us a lot of time and effort if someone would be willing to donate a replacement coil. Is a PDF version of the maintenance manual for this Royal McBee punch available? -- Michael Thompson

13 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

OS/2 CDs - free...

by jrr＠flippers.com

I have a collection of OS/2 CDs that a past developer for OS/2 gave me years ago and they've been sitting on a shelf at my shop here in Vancouver, BC (Canada). I just noticed some discussion on OS2 and thought someone local to me may be interested in the pile and I'd rather they went to a good home than be recycled...just pay shipping. Includes: OS/2 Source kit (1994) OS/2 1000+ Applications Guide (1993) The Developer Connection for OS/2 - 1, 2, 3 (1994) OS/2 Warp Ver 3 (1995) VisualAge C++ for OS/2 Ver. 3.0 (1995) OS/2 Hobbes CDROM (1993) C Set ++ for OS/2 (booklet only - CD lost, see next item) IBM C Set ++ for OS/2, Ver 3.0 Beta 2 Ver 04/95 (This product has been renamed "IBM VisualAge C ++ for OS/2, V3.0" OS/2 Warp Connect Ver 3 (1995) Others: Digital Tools For SUN (1992) SCO OpenServer 200-920-100 (1995) There may be a few more, but that's the easily listed ones. John :-#)# -- John's Jukes Ltd. 2343 Main St., Vancouver, BC, Canada V5T 3C9 Call (604)872-5757 or Fax 872-2010 (Pinballs, Jukes, VideoGames) www.flippers.com "Old pinballers never die, they just flip out"

13 years, 3 months

18
34
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Tek 4052 / Dc300 tapes issues

by jdr_use＠bluewin.ch

So I picked up a pair of Tek 4052, plenty of doc and spares, and some library tapes. Sadly tapes were stored in less that ideal conditions. So I have mouldy tapes, and lots of broken DC300 drive belts. I am ready to ignore the mould, but what about the drivebelts ? Any alternatives to pinching them from still functional cartridges ? Jos

13 years, 3 months

7
12
0 0

Omnibus - ATA Adapter Re: Omnibus to USB

by chd＠chdickman.com

On Fri, May 17, 2013 at 8:38 PM, Rob Doyle <radioengr at gmail.com> wrote: > On 5/17/2013 12:01 PM, Cory Smelosky wrote: > > IDE on a PDP-8 would be...interesting to say the least. >> > > I played with an adapter about 10 years ago. I think it was a PLD with some buffers. I wasted the upper 4 bits in every word and took advantage of the fact that the command registers are only in the lower 8 bits. PIO mode transfers only, so it was really simple. It was impossible to get a handler for OS/8 small enough to fit in two pages. I cheated and put stubs in the lower fields and the handler itself in the high field. > The Spare Time Gizmos SBC6120 board has an IDE disk drive. They've also > hacked a device driver for OS/8 that supports it. > > And most of the device driver is in console memory space. -chuck

13 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

Running DDR really slow, for a microcontroller

by rdawson16＠hotmail.com

Has anybody used a DDR3 part in DLL Disable mode? I'm looking at a Micron MT41J512M4, and the datasheet says that in this mode, the max. clock period is 7800ns. (thats 128,205 Hz) So it looks like you can interface these with microcontroller just fine. Anybody tried this? Randy

13 years, 3 months

2
1
0 0

Available S-100 PCBs

by LYNCHAJ＠YAHOO.COM

Hi, an update on available S-100 board PCBs Good news!? There are several new and reordered S-100 PCBs available! The S-100 68K CPU boards are almost gone and there is still 1 available. There are 23 of the S-100 IDE V2 reorder PCBs and 3 of the new S-100 bus terminator/prototyping board PCBs. There are 3 of the S-100 LAVA PCBs available. http://s100computers.com/My%20System%20Pages/68000%20Board/68K%20CPU%20Board .htm http://s100computers.com/My%20System%20Pages/IDE%20Board/My%20IDE%20Card.htm http://n8vem-sbc.pbworks.com/w/browse/#view=ViewFolder&param=S-100%20bus%20t erminator http://s100computers.com/My%20System%20Pages/Lava-10%20Board/LAVA-10%20Board .htm The S-100 PCBs cost the same as before ($20 each).? However due to unforeseen extreme price increases in shipping by USPS I am forced to change shipping costs. Shipping in the US will be $3 for a single PCB and $2 for each additional PCB.? Shipping internationally will be $10 for a single PCB and $3 for each additional PCB.? This is for the bare basics USPS first class postage with no tracking or insurance.? The builder assumes all risk of delivery as per usual arrangement. I apologize for the large price increase on shipping but this is out of my hands.? The USPS is in dire financial trouble and is raising prices on shipping.? It affects us all and is most unfortunate.? These boards are provided "at cost" so there is no margin to absorb any shipping price increases.? I have to pass them along. If you would like one or more S-100 PCBs please send a PayPal to LYNCHAJ at YAHOO.COM Thanks and have a nice day! Andrew Lynch PS, if you would like to help out this all-volunteer project please get one or more of the S-100 LAVA PCBs. These PCBs are the oldest ones and them sitting around on a shelf does no one any good. I?d like these to go to a hobbyist who would get some enjoyment from these fun to build and use boards. Thanks in advance. I truly appreciate everyone's support in moving these remaining boards. You make this hobbyist home brew project possible.

13 years, 3 months

2
1
0 0

ADF/high speed scanner - Toronto area?

by toby＠telegraphics.com.au

I posted this to a local list (Unix Unanimous) but got little response, so am reposting here. --------------------- Anyone have a scanner (some kind of ADF) that I could borrow or use on site or even buy (especially Epson, which I've seen superb results from)? I have a lot of ring binder type pages that I'd like to scan. 300/400 dpi should be adequate. This is just a non-commercial personal retrocomputing project. Toronto area (~ Davenport). Thanks in advance, --Toby

13 years, 3 months

2
1
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AT&T 3B1 / 7300 UNIX PC parts needed

by classiccmp＠philpem.me.uk

Hi guys, A few of you might be aware of my UNIX PC emulator, FreeBee (also known as 3b1emu) and the issues regarding it not being able to boot UNIX properly... and my complaints about the quality of the PAL equations in the technical reference. Well, an anonymous donor very kindly freight-forwarded a UNIX PC to me. Sadly the original sender didn't pack it very well... The machine was sent unwrapped with only a few foam peanuts in the box. It arrived with a "resealed by USPS" sticker, a "resealed by Parcelforce" sticker and the keyboard hanging out of one edge of the box. Here's what's missing or wrecked -- does anyone have any of the following 3B1 or 7300 parts spare? Keyboard - * Top cover, several broken screw posts in the top cover. These look difficult to re-glue... * F8, HELP UP/DN, NEXT/3, ROLL DOWN/0 and RIGHT CURSOR/. keycaps. Monitor - * Monitor stand (tilt/swivel section) smashed to pieces. Probably need a new lower monitor case from a scrap 3B1 to fix this :( I'd also rather like to find out what sort of connector was used for the power connector at the PSU side - the cable and connector are badly burned (apparently a common problem). On a lighter note, the machine is fairly well specified - with a P5.1 motherboard, two 67MB hard drives (both Miniscribe 3085 units) and some unusual I/O cards. One is probably a modem (three RJ11 sockets), another has a 37-way female D-sub and the third I can't remember off hand. I still need to formulate a plan to power it up - I'd rather not use an ATX PSU, and the original switcher is 115V only. The 20A current requirement on 5V means none of my bench PSUs are suitable... It also wants +12V (which I expected - the HDDs and line drivers need that) and -12V (probably for RS232 and the modem)... Much thinking needed, I dare say... Thanks, -- Phil. classiccmp at philpem.me.uk http://www.philpem.me.uk/

13 years, 3 months

5
9
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IBM 5161 Cable Pinout Needed

by arrowrunner＠gmail.com

Does anyone know if the 5161 uses a special pinout or if it's simply a straight-through cable (i.e. pin 1 to pin 1)? I've been searching but haven't found any answers. -- Sent from My Hippopotamus

13 years, 3 months

3
6
0 0

who is keeping the cross reference?

by sales＠elecplus.com

I have binders full of pages that give complete info on everything from identifying floppy drives, cross reference of old memory, pin outs for single board 486 computers, etc. Am willing to scan into PDF or OCR, if someone will keep track of all this stuff? Cindy Croxton Electronics Plus 1613 Water Street Kerrville, TX 78028 (830)792-3400 phone (830)792-3404 fax AOL IM elcpls _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2013.0.3336 / Virus Database: 3162/6328 - Release Date: 05/16/13

13 years, 3 months

2
1
0 0

Dr. Alan Wilcox and 68000 S-100 board

by brian＠marstella.net

Hi, everyone. I've been following the S-100 community for quite a while now, especially the newer boards created by Andrew, John, and others. Last year, I was lucky enough to meet with Dr. Wilcox and receive numerous bits of computing history, especially the notes and the 68000 S-100 board that he designed. He was gracious enough to permit me to scan and post the notes, which I've been planning to do and still will accomplish at some point. I have posted photos of the front and back of his 68000 board (wire-wrapped, no less) on my web site http://marstella.net/?p=245. I also have his only copy of the 68000 book he wrote containing all of his errata. I'm planning to get that information compiled first as that book still appears to be very popular on eBay, when a copy shows up. I'll post more as I gather and organize information and will try to post summaries of each journal as there are many of them. There are also numerous schematics and code listings spread across dozens of manila folders. Regards, Brian.

13 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

pn for 3471 and 3472 and other oldies by IBM

by sales＠elecplus.com

I have a list from the 1990s that gives the IBM PN for lots of replacement parts for OLD IBM machines that a company near me used to have on maintenance. If anyone is interested in this 15 or so pages, I can scan them into PDF. For instance, 1495730 is a clamp that goes into a 5210 1495733 is a print wheel hub for a 5219 1619618 is a 1.44 floppy for 8525, sub = 33G4343 Cindy Croxton Electronics Plus 1613 Water Street Kerrville, TX 78028 (830)792-3400 phone (830)792-3404 fax AOL IM elcpls _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2013.0.3336 / Virus Database: 3162/6324 - Release Date: 05/14/13

13 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

Anyone want some free EISA cards?

by lproven＠gmail.com

During the ongoing clearout, I've found some full-length EISA controller cards. By the look of it, there are some SCSI 2 host adaptors - they have high-density 50-pin connectors on their backplates - and what might be ESDI controllers. I don't own any EISA machines any more and am not expecting to, so if nobody wants these, I will send them to recycling. Free for the cost of postage. Surface post to the USA/Canada/south America would not be /too/ prohibitive. They're currently in London. I've never had any interest in anything on the Vintage Computer boards & I don't think these are worth eBaying, but if anyone wants to disseminate this offer, please feel free - including my email and other contact details in the .sig. -- 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 Tel: +44 20-8685-0498 ? Cell: +44 7939-087884

13 years, 3 months

6
11
0 0

I'm working on a Storage Display and need parts.

by bearnold＠outlook.com

I'm working on creating a static display of storage types/media for use in schools and such. Anybody spare some dead pieces? I'm not sure I want to make it a detailed survey, probably more of an overview. Although I could have the first panel being general and add-on panels with more detail. I'm interested in Core memory 1/4 tape cart 21" fixed disk platter & head (NCR 656/CDC Hawk if I can ask (kick myself for trashing my stack of them)) Various memory chips Bernoulli carts Syquest carts WORM disc cart What ever you think is interesting. Thanks, Brad Arnold President & Cofounder, Atlanta Historical Computing Society http://www.ATLHCS.org

13 years, 3 months

21
56
0 0

KDJ11-B rev 8 boot roms

by aek＠bitsavers.org

put these up under http://bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/pdp11/1173/firmware/KDJ11-B_Rev_8/ Pete Turnbull had revs 6 and 7

13 years, 3 months

28
68
0 0

New Kaypro Success and then Woe

by brain＠jbrain.com

I scored a reasonably good condition KII on eBay last week, which booted but looked like it just needed some CRT adjustment (screen was garbled, but in a small line at center, which suggest a simple pot tweak). Sure enough, got it home, plugged it in, popped the lid, adjusted the pot, and intro text. Used teledisk to make a boot disk, and the machine booted! Since I had it open and I was trying to check on the drives in the 4, I disconnected the internal drives in the II and connected a K4 drive. On power on, the drive did not even spin up, and so I pulled another Kaypro to test. Does the Tandon use different voltages? Now, tonight, I boot the unit, and the drives spin up but the activity LEDs won't light up on init, and it obviously won't boot. A spare tandon SSDD behaves the same. It appears the drive logic on the main PCB is not operational now, though I can't imagine plugging a DSDD from a K4 would mess things up that much. Any ideas on where to start looking? Jim -- Jim Brain brain at jbrain.com www.jbrain.com

13 years, 3 months

2
1
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[ebay ad] two Tube/Valve analogue computers Donner 3000

by Arno_1983＠gmx.de

Hello, please excuse this little plug for gear on ebay from a friend of mine. He just told me he put what pretty much amounts to two Systron Donner analogue computers from 1954 on ebay and asked me to spread the word where I think it might be heard; I'm not involved with the transaction in any other way. http://www.ebay.de/itm/251273118755 Computer Module, Initial Condition Modul and a custom Function Generator module are present twice, Cyclic Reset Generator just once. Several patch panels and potentiometer modules, documentation and schematics included, but no cables. Will _NOT_ work "out of the box", restoration required. Freight shipping from or pickup in Northern Germany. He states the gear was shown in the German computer documentation "WDR Computernacht" as opener on the 8th episode "Artificial Intelligence". Thanks for putting up with the occasional ad. So long, Arno

13 years, 3 months

6
5
0 0

Osborne Vixen video codes

by mloewen＠cpumagic.scol.pa.us

Does anyone have a list of control codes for the Osborne Vixen (OCC4)? Cursor addressing, video attributes, graphics mode, etc. Thanks. Mike Loewen mloewen at cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://sturgeon.css.psu.edu/~mloewen/Oldtech/

13 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

first unix experiences / was Re: [cctalk] Re: An IRIX time capsule...

by seefriek＠gmail.com

AT&T SVR2.something on a 3B20 for about 3 days before conning my way into a SunOS 3.5 account on a Sun 3/160. From: Rich Alderson <RichA at vulcan.com> > > And I've tried so hard! Pyramid 90x, UChicago, 1982. > We had one of these at GaTech. Which one of the equally broken "universes" did you work in? On May 10, 2013, at 7:29 PM, "Zane H. Healy" <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote: > > As mine was a special secure version of A/UX 2.0 on a Mac IIfx that > was cleared for Top Secret work, I'd just as soon forget it. > At the beginning of my career, I worked for the company that almost certainly wrote that. You're welcome! P.S. - We also wrote the infamous C2-Subsystem for SCO Unix. Still get hate for that. On 05/10/2013 08:04 PM, Zane H. Healy wrote: > > I thought MGR (who remembers that) would be the way > to go > Oh yes. Definitely remember MGR. Learned a lot from studying the code. Tangentially...AT&T Layers. From: "Rick Bensene" <rickb at bensene.com> > > It ran a derivative port of 4.2BSD called UTek...I learned a lot > about Unix internals, as I managed to get my hands on > source, and could build my own kernels, drivers, and utilities. > I would really like to see the source to UTek of that vintage, having spent time with (much) later versions. Neat system. From: BE Arnold <bearnold at outlook.com> > > First one I got any real training on was NCR's flavor of AT&T 5.4. > Oddly, I spent a lot of time with, of all things, Dell's version of SVR4 running on their hardware in the 386/486 days. They put a lot of effort into making it slick to install and use. Much nicer than you would imagine.

13 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

OS/2 on hardware other than '286 or '386 processors

by rob＠bitscience.ca

It didn't happen, at least not at IBM or Microsoft during the Joint Development Agreement era. It would have been physically impossible. After IBM had OS/2 to itself, all sorts of strange things went on. So, I can't completely discount a port after that point. I would be extraordinarily surprised if IBM had targeted DEC hardware, though. But up until "the divorce", I can unequivocally state that no such thing happened. - Rob Ferguson (Microsoft 1986-1996 and other times)

13 years, 3 months

13
25
0 0

Anyone have a IBM Model 25-286 Riser card?

by raifield＠gmail.com

I had the bright idea of swapping out a Model 25 board (8086) with a Model 30-286 board, thinking that the boards were exactly the same. They are, actually, but the Model 30 board comes with a three-slot ISA riser, which does not fit in the Model 25 case. Apparently I need the Model 25-286 two-slot riser. I don't want to try plugging the original 8-bit Model 25 riser in, I fear it will somehow fry the board. Does anyone have a riser card they're willing to part with, or know the IBM part number I need to be looking for?

13 years, 3 months

5
9
0 0

Taligent

by nigel.d.williams＠gmail.com

On Tue, May 14, 2013 at 6:59 AM, Guy Sotomayor <ggs at shiresoft.com> wrote: > Taligent was to be part of the application framework. The microkernel used by Pink and > the object model were "toys". Much of the consternation over Taligent at IBM was fighting > over trying to get fundamental issues addressed (which I won't go into here...it would take > many hours to compose a sane account). Did some of the Taligent codebase end up in SUN's Java implementation, perhaps the libraries? I encourage you to add to the story of Taligent. I remember at the time Taligent gained a lot of press attention, particularly when Apple was struggling with what to do with their operating system and Pink was seen as the answer.

13 years, 3 months

6
6
0 0

first unix experiences

by barythrin＠gmail.com

My first glimpse of a unix shell was a bit obscure and late in the game (it was obsolete at the time) but I'm curious if someone here can confirm/guess what it was. It was large desktop machine and I can't quite remember if it was side by side (think full height) 8" floppy drives. It was at a computer repair store as something to play/learn on. Unfortunately this was probably mid 90s so no help as to the actual year the machine was in production. I had always wanted to buy it off the store but they disappeared before I had any paying job or opportunity. I'm guessing it was a Vax but since I haven't really seen may first hand other than my 3000 did they come as 8" floppy desktops?

13 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

first unix experiences / was Re: [cctalk] Re: An IRIX time capsule...

by kevin_anderson_dbq＠yahoo.com

SunOS on 3/50s, 3/60s, with a server and thick Ethernet cabling. This was around 1986 to 1988, while I was in graduate school. After that, 1994 to 1999, it was administering a whole office full of Sun networked workstations (10, 20, UltraSparc). My first non-Sun Unix experience was testing BSD on a small PC. As one you has never really had DEC PDP-11 or Vax experience to any extent, I look at those computers and think more about wanting to put Ultrix or some other Unix/BSD/Linux system on them and don't think nostalgic about DEC operating systems. My first big computer experience (not counting some timeshare Basic programming on MECC/MERITS systems in Minnesota) from 1977 to 1981 in college was with Harris computers running Vulcan or VOS. That is my frame of reference for major computer, followed by SunOS/Solaris. Today my operating system of choice is Linux (e.g., Xubuntu). Having said that, I do have a healthy respect and admiration to those of you here who know PDP-11 and Vax systems, plus before that PDP-8 and things like OS/8. Let alone the various obscure systems. I just can't relate at the same time. Kevin Anderson a lurking subscriber from Iowa

13 years, 3 months

8
9
0 0

HP 1820-1584 IC replacement?

by hp-fix＠xs4all.nl

Bob, Those hp parts, the expansion bus uses them also. If you don't use a rom module you can use on of them, they're located near the rom connector. Rik -----Oorspronkelijk bericht----- Van: "Bob Rosenbloom" <bobalan at sbcglobal.net> Verzonden: ?11-?5-?2013 07:40 Aan: "On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Onderwerp: HP 1820-1584 IC replacement? I have an HP 9872 plotter that just died. According to the internal self test (very nice!) one of the bib (MOS to TTL) drivers has failed. A scope shows one data line not moving also. The HP part number is 1820-1584. I can't find a cross reference on the web for it. Does anyone know if there's an equivalent chip? It's a 20 pin dip. +7 volts on pin 20, gnd on 10 MOS side is pins 1-8, TTL side is 12-19 A signal called TTL on pin 9 and another control signal, BD on pin 11 I would love to get this running again. Thanks, Bob

13 years, 3 months

4
3
0 0

An IRIX time capsule...

by jon＠jonworld.com

Hi! This probably doesn't count as true vintage, since it's circa 1992 and is a 32-bit workstation. But it's an awesome score for something local to Indianapolis and as complete as it is, so I must brag. I just scored an SGI Indigo Iris, complete, with keyboard, mouse, 19" beige SGI monitor, two internal hard drives, floppy drive, DDS tape drive, and external CD-ROM, plus boxes full of software and books. It's a 33Mhz 16M system with an R3000 w/ math coprocessor. The stuff that came with it is even more interesting. The books include the full SGI document set; Iris software guide, Iris owners guide, programming guide, network programming guide, compiler guide, ANSI C transition guide, C language guide, C++ programming guide, (again, all SGI-branded.) There are also AT&T C++ Library guides, still in the shrink-wrap. There is also some vintage O'Rielly books like learning vi, the X11 programming manual. There are also two OSF/1 Motif programming manuals (Programmers guide, style guide.) Also included are guides for SoftPC AT, allowing up to a 286 to be run under Irix. I believe this is installed on the system but I have yet to test/verify. There are even more books, which are water damaged :( CDs include IRIX 4.0.5, IRIX 4.0.5 maintenance, Soft PC/AT 1.1, Hot Mix 1-6, and a few other odds and ends. Is any of this stuff BitSavers or the document archive website(s) would be interested in?

13 years, 3 months

38
80
0 0

MXV11 Documentation

by cruff＠ruffspot.net

On May 11, 2013, at 11:19:11 +0200 Sander Reiche wrote: > These seem to be engineer drawings : > http://www.mainecoon.com/classiccmp/MXV11-A/ Warning: don't try to use the Mac OS X Preview app to open these files. While they will display ok the first time, but Preview will resave them as files 100x the size of the originals, but all of the pages will now be solid black rectangles.

13 years, 3 months

2
1
0 0

The things you find on ebay...

by barythrin＠gmail.com

Was it related to some marketing slogan/advertisement at the time?

13 years, 3 months

2
1
0 0

XTIDE controller now available

by charger_pete＠yahoo.com

Hello! Do you still have any XT-IDE controllers for sale? Thank you!

13 years, 3 months

2
1
0 0

An IRIX time capsule...

by elson＠pico-systems.com

A while ago, somebody put an SGI IRIS 2020 out on the loading dock of the computer science building at work, where they often put things they think somebody might want to tinker with. I dragged it over to my building and plugged it in, and the console monitor came up. That machine had almost a Unix shell as the console monitor, you could read files off the disk and such. Well, I took it home and after consulting with some people online who know the model, it was determined that the geometry engine was bad. I found a guy in Germany who had all the boards and shipped them to me for a couple hundred Dollars. I plugged the GE board in, and it booted IRIX. I got the guy who wrote the SGI flight sim demo to send me the source code, compiled it, and it worked. (He has asked me not to name him, as that program is under SGI copyright.) It had a quirk due to using the GE's matrix transforms to do ALL 3D arithmetic, including the "flight dynamics". It would get "stuck" at the 4 main compass points. I never figured out how to recode that to use standard C arithmetic. It was a cool toy, but then 3DFX and similar PC graphics boards came out and Flight Gear was created. The replacement GE board eventually also failed, and although I had plenty of chips to swap to repair it, I didn't have the diags to find out which one was bad. I eventually sold all the boards to a broker to use for repairs. Apparently the Air Force still uses them, I'm guessing maybe for flight simulators. Jon

13 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

first unix experiences / was Re: [cctalk] Re: An IRIX time capsule...

by mtapley＠swri.edu

>>>> You never forget your first UNIX. I think it was actually NeXTStep 1.0. A smidgen of TOPS-10 early, some punch-cards on a Cyber ???, a lot of RSX-11M, smidigin of CP/M, lots of TRS-DOS and then Mac OS, some HP-DOS, a smidgin of MVS/VM, possibly just a login onto a Sun workstation, but I really settled in and worked Unix (to run Mathematica, mostly) on the NeXT or on my serial connection to it via my DEC Rainbow. I'm discounting my "use" of the mail server functionality, since about all I ever saw was the mail client, but SunOS/mail may predate the NeXTStep. -- - Mark 210-379-4635 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Large Asteroids headed toward planets inhabited by beings that don't have technology adequate to stop them: Think of it as Evolution in Fast-Forward.

13 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

Manual for CMD CQD-240/TM

by lbickley＠bickleywest.com

I've searched in all the usual spots and haven't been able to find a CMD CQD-240/243 manual. It is a Qbus controller with both single-ended and differential SCSI capability. It looks similar to the CMD CQD-220 (manual on bitsavers) and the CMD CQD-720 (manual on bitsavers) - but has a different switch configuration with more options. Regards, Lyle -- Bickley Consulting West Inc. http://bickleywest.com "Black holes are where God is dividing by zero"

13 years, 3 months

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Anyone have a IBM Model 25-286 Riser card?

by raifield＠gmail.com

The 8086 versions of the Model 25 and Model 30 have 8-bit ISA risers, the 25 with a two-slot riser and the 30 with a three-slot riser. The 80286 versions of each have 16-bit ISA risers, again the Model 25 with two slots and the Model 30 with three. I tried plugging the 8-bit riser into the Model 30 286 board, but the system refused to power up. In addition, the Model 30 riser is incorrectly spaced to fit in the Model 25 all-in-one case. Even if I cut the top slot off, the remaining two don't line up at all. It looks like I need the genuine part, which no one seems to have anywhere. Date: Sun, 12 May 2013 17:44:34 +0100 > From: Liam Proven <lproven at gmail.com> > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" > <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > Subject: Re: Anyone have a IBM Model 25-286 Riser card? > Message-ID: > < > CAMTenCHuWaAxtnBSujB7v1e6aGUhWBSco-quVRoXBCPLD+8eQA at mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252 > > On 10 May 2013 22:37, Terry Stewart <terry at webweavers.co.nz> wrote: > >>Besides, the 16-bit PS/2s are 16-bit MCA, not 16-bit ISA. > > > >>Peace... Sridhar > > > > Not all of them. My IBM PS/2 30-286 is is ISA-based. > > That's sort of what we're debating here. Are the ISA-based PS/2s 8-bit > or 16-bit? IOW short or longer, 2-part ISA slots? > > You could resolve the question - which does yours have? > > -- > 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 > Tel: +44 20-8685-0498 ? Cell: +44 7939-087884 >

13 years, 3 months

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Printer Format Tape Punch

by n8uhn＠yahoo.com

I have a unisys 9246 line printer that uses a format punched paper tape and don't have the tape. the printer will work with out it. the manual did mention a punch and gave a few generic punch model numbers so one could purchase one.. Bill Folks, Spotted this on E-Bay UK. Now I am sure I must have worked with printers that used a format tape, but I don't remember a punch... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190837106811 Dave G4UGM

13 years, 3 months

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The things you find on ebay...

by b4＠gewt.net

I was searching through ebay for some PDP-8/e stuff to show to someone and I stumbled across this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/DL-Lesney-Matchbox-Series-Daimler-Bus-Digital-PDP-8… I have no idea what I have just discovered...

13 years, 3 months

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first unix experiences / was Re: [cctalk] Re: An IRIX time capsule...

by dm561＠torfree.net

>From Cromemco Cromix on a Z-2 in 1981, through UNIX V.2 on a CS-420 in the early 90's.

13 years, 3 months

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follow up???? - offer - OS/2 for the PDP-11

by other＠oryx.cc

Hello All, I a new subscriber from just a few days ago, and I have spent more hours than I care to admit to going through all of the emails in the online archives. In past lives, I spent a lot of time with OS/2, and even though I don't spend as much time as I used to with it, OS/2 comments still catch my attention. Anyway, to get to the point, I caught this thread (bottom) from 2008 which generated a bunch of comments. The thread was briefly revived in early 2009. If there was ever a final fall out from the thread, I somehow missed it. Was there a version of OS/2 for CPU's other than X86 or PPC? What was ultimately found to be on the tape? Thank you, Jerry ------------------------------------------------------------------ Yes, you read that correctly. I have in my possession a TK-50 tape for the PDP-11 system which contains none other than OS/2 operating system. Many people have claimed this never existed. But I have the tape! I had done a directory dump of it and can supply it. One other person who's checked the directory listing has said it is authentic. I'm not sure what to do with it, and I believe IBM made OS/2 open source, so technically it should be "free" of it's chains maybe someone can turn it into something useful, or just run it and have the most unique PDP on the planet, I don't know... whatever :) anyhow, it's a really weird bit of computing history, and I'd hate for it to be lost. it should be in a museum :)

13 years, 3 months

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Control Data 9747

by abacos_98＠yahoo.com

Has anyone ever heard of this drive model? It looks just like the 9746 in the CDC brochure. Maybe a custom interface? I cannot find any specs or info for it. http://www.stargeezer.net/SAM_2775.JPG http://www.stargeezer.net/SAM_2776.JPG http://www.stargeezer.net/SAM_2777.JPG http://www.stargeezer.net/SAM_2778.JPG http://www.stargeezer.net/SAM_2780.JPG http://www.stargeezer.net/SAM_2781.JPG http://www.stargeezer.net/SAM_2782.JPG It was still in its shipping box and by the looks of it, I don't believe it was ever used. Brian.

13 years, 3 months

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KA630 SLU details?

by mouse＠Rodents-Montreal.ORG

It's a bit of a long shot, I know, but is there anyone here who knows details of the KA630 (MicroVAX-II CPU) console serial line hardware? My emulator is failing selftest 2 and it appears to be because it's expecting the console serial line to act in some way mine does't. But it's not clear from the code what it's expecting, just that it's obviously different from what I've implemented. In particular, what I see in my instruction trace is: - set stuff up, including putting SLU in loopback - drop IPL - take transmitter-ready interrupt - tell it to transmit a NUL - REI - enter wait loop (with countdown timeout) - take transmitter-ready interrupt, long before countdown expires - do nothing that touches the SLU - REI - take transmitter-ready interrupt again immediately - fail the test But I thought real hardware acted this way: don't clear an interrupt condition and it fires immediately upon REI. So there's clearly something I don't understand going on, hence my question.... /~\ 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

13 years, 3 months

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My TRS-80 Model 4 on YouTube

by terry＠webweavers.co.nz

My TRS-80 Model 4 stars in its own YouTube video. An all-in-one classic computer. One of my favourite models. http://youtu.be/TjkjIN1pe_A Terry (Tez)

13 years, 3 months

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Printer Format Tape Punch

by dave.g4ugm＠gmail.com

Folks, Spotted this on E-Bay UK. Now I am sure I must have worked with printers that used a format tape, but I don't remember a punch... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190837106811 Dave G4UGM

13 years, 3 months

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first unix experiences / was Re: [cctalk] Re: An IRIX time capsule...

by nigel.d.williams＠gmail.com

https://www.msu.edu/~mrr/mycomp/terak/termubel.htm Lycklama's MINI-UNIX on an PDP-11/03, early 1980s for my first experience. MINI-UNIX was a cutdown UNIX V6 kernel that operated on a PDP-11 without MMU support, by swapping each process in and out of what little memory remained (12KW for the kernel and 16KW for user space). What made it somewhat usable for us was the very fast optically-positioned Pertec fixed/cartridge disk system (emulated an RK05) we had on the system at the time. It was essentially a single user environment, but the C compiler worked. I think we briefly tried two terminals (ADM3a) just to see if it would work. That experience lead us to later get an LSI-11/23 CPU board and additional memory and start running UNIX V7, and for a brief time we had 12 terminals connected with students able to do a mix of Pascal and simple FORTRAN programs (no one wanted to use C at that stage).

13 years, 3 months

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Downsizing - many systems available

by dave13＠dunfield.com

For various reasons I am looking to downsize my classic computer collection over the next few years. The collection can be seen at: www.classiccmp.org/dunfield [Keep trying if it says "service unavailable" - the classiccmp server seems to be having problems lately] Most of the system depicted are available. A few I will keep, a few are already placed, and a few are "on loan" and will be returned to their owners, but most of the systems shown are available (as well as a few which have not been processed yet). If you are interested in one or more systems from my site, please contact me off-list and let me know specifically what you are interested in. All of the equipment is located near Ottawa, Ontario Canada. If anyone is interested in the entire collection, let me know and perhaps we can work something out. If there is serious interest in the whole collection, I can make a detailed inventory of exactly what would be available. Dave -- dave13 (at) Dave Dunfield dunfield System/Firmware development services: www.dunfield.com (dot) com Classic computers: http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield

13 years, 3 months

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Wanted: VR201 and LK201 for DEC Rainbow 100

by lists＠loomcom.com

Hi folks, At a local swap meet this morning, I stumble across a pair of DEC Rainbows. I got both of them for $45! Hey, no comments from the peanut gallery, _I_ think these are collectible anyway :) And they're getting really hard to find, so I'm happy. Unfortunately, as is all too often the case these days neither one had a keyboard or monitor with it. So I'm looking for at least one VR201 monitor and an LK201 keyboard. If you've got any spares floating around please drop me a line. I think they're starting to be unobtanium, which is really too bad. I'm located in the San Francisco Bay Area, by the way. Regards, -Seth

13 years, 3 months

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IBM I/O Selectric project

by lawrence＠ljw.me.uk

I've been working on an IBM Selectric typewriter which I bought earlier in the year. It is the I/O Selectric type 735 which differs from a normal Selectric in having the solenoids and switches on it to allow it to be used as a printer and keyboard. When I got it the motor wouldn't run, and the mechanism was jammed. The motor problem was its thermal trip, which is meant to be the resettable type, so I replaced that. I gave the whole thing a clean with degreaser, which freed up the mechanicals, then oiled and greased it. It then worked happily as a typewriter. I have made a small interface, based on an Arduino Mega 2560, which provides a serial port. Currently this only supports printing, but will be extended to include the keyboard. It uses almost all the digital I/O on the Mega (15 solenoids, 27 contacts.) There are still some adjustments to be done, and I am awaiting a set of Bristol Wrenches (Keys) so I can safely do these. I have tried using Torx and Allen keys, and while they can be made to 'fit', it doesn't seem like a good idea. There are some pictures and videos of the typewriter here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ljw/sets/72157632841492802/ You can get the Arduino interface code here: https://github.com/ibm2030/IOSelectric I haven't yet documented the hardware I used for the solenoid drivers, but if anyone is interested I can put some notes together (basically: Arduino output to 2N7000 FET buffer to ITS4140N +48V high-side driver on the output side, and a simple 250R pullup to +5V on the input side.) Manuals here: http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/ibm/typewriter/selectric/ (or other Bitsavers mirrors) Info on the Mega2560 here: http://arduino.cc/en/Main/arduinoBoardMega2560 -- Lawrence Wilkinsonlawrence at ljw.me.uk The IBM 360/30 pagehttp://www.ljw.me.uk/ibm360

13 years, 3 months

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Source for replacement parts?

by earl＠baugh.org

I'm looking for a part for a Mac Studio display (and yes, I know this doesn't qualify as "classic" but I'm trying to find a good overall solution for this type of repair). The part that failed is a simple piece of metal in a hinge which seems fairly well designed for replacement. However, I've been unable to find any sources for the particular part, Apple, etc. don't seem to have anything available. I do see some sites that have the entire hinge assembly available in the $18-$20 range, but I've been able to pick up entire monitors of this type for $25, so this really doesn't seem to make sense to pay this much for just the hinge when I could get a full set of spares (or even yet ANOTHER working monitor with the same issue). I'm wondering how people solve "spare/parts" issues like this. I've posted something to http://www.shapeways.com/ to see if someone would model the existing part, which I could then get them to fabricate. Not sure if that's going to be cost effective either (unless I order some quantity and sell extras with a mark up...) Earl p.s. A big thanks for the advise on the lubrication for the floppy drives. I ordered some of the Drislide which works excellently. A simple cleaning job with straight isopropyl alcohol, a couple drops, and all three floppy drives are now working as good as new...

13 years, 3 months

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Old computer equipment information and value

by davestokie＠gmail.com

Hi, I have been advised to post here for some information about some old computer equipment I have. What I seek is advise on the value or how to find the value and sell the following items: 2x 3M data cartrage desktop storage file 3X (1 opened, 2 sealed) 3M data cartrages DC6151 1X Diaspron Total Shield, 12" 1x Selmar Multi-way distribution block (extension lead with a standard plug and 6 'kettle' sockets) 2X leads with 'kettle' plug and socket 2x leads with 'kettle' plug and 2 in plug 30x leads with kettle plug - nothing on other end I realise the leads have very little value, but I am unsure about the rest. Thanks for your time Dave.

13 years, 3 months

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SGI Season, obviously...

by Arno_1983＠gmx.de

Well, it must be the season driving all those nice colourful critters out of their holes... I also was called to an SGI rescue this weekend and came home with an Octane2 (with PCI cardcage housing a 100baseFX adaptor), an R4600 Indy and a teal Indigo2. I wasn't sure whether to accept that last one as I already have two of those - but only until I realized it was that system that contained the host card for the Galileo desktop video connection box that was part of the haul! Furthermore I picked up three different monitors (two in the old granite finish/"3D Cube" logo style, one of these is the variant with the remote control, and one in anthrazite black with the new "sgi" wordmark logo), a few mice and keyboards (including a pre-PS/2 one that will only need an adaptor cable to work with my Personal Iris), and an O2cam for one of my "bare metal" O2s (- their skins were smashed beyond any remedy when they hit the dumpster). So long, Arno

13 years, 3 months

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Classic Dr. Dobbs Journal

by earl＠retrobits.com

Does anyone know of a (legal, of course) source of Dr. Dobbs Journal from the 70s and 80s? I don't need the whole darned thing. Just a dozen or so issues would do. I'm starting a new podcast on programming of classic computers (covering both vintage tools and modern cross-dev technology), and would love to peruse some of the wonderful Dr. Dobbs articles from back when. The podcast, by the way, is called "Next Without For" ( www.nextwithoutfor.org) and the first episode, on dBase III Plus, should go live on the 20th. Thanks! - Earl

13 years, 3 months

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First Unix (was Re: An IRIX time capsule...)

by wlewisiii＠gmail.com

On Sat, May 11, 2013 at 3:51 AM, <cctalk-request at classiccmp.org> wrote: > From: "Cory Smelosky" <b4 at gewt.net> > This is gonna show how young I am...but my first experience with Linux was > Ubuntu on an Athlon Thunderbird. (pre-6.06). I've gained quite a bit of > knowledge since then. > > Can't recall my first UNIX experience proper...but it was likely FreeBSD. > > That's an upgrade from the Windows ME it originally had. ;) I had seen UNIX systems - Sun 3/60's in a lab & a VAX running Ultrix had my first public account. My first experiance at running UNIX was running Minix 1.x on a PC-XT. 640 kb ram, 10 mb full height MFM boat anchor & no memory protection. Smashing process together generally made the file system eat itself which did teach me all I ever wanted to know about said file system ;) Next was a 3B1/UNIX PC at the tech school. We had a dozen terminals hanging off of it and it was a hell of a lot more pleasant than using Cobol or RPG on the AS/400. Still it was a much "heavier" UNIX even by then than Minix which made me appreciate the older stuff. Of course that was around the time of 386BSD 0.1 & not too long later came that Linux kernel... I like the BSD's better to this day. My first client was runing Xenix 3.2.1. Then I moved to a state government position and got to use DG/UX & Solaris with X-terms. Till we were forced to go to Windows... :( This old Dell C640 from 2002 still runs Xubuntu 13.04 a whole lot better than anything from Redmond, despite any of its bloat. William -- Live like you will never die, love like you've never been hurt, dance like no-one is watching. Alex White

13 years, 3 months

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MXV11 Documentation

by blstuart＠bellsouth.net

Does anyone know if there any engineering drawings on the DEC MXV11-A online? So far my google-fu has been unsuccessful in locating any. I've got three and two have faults. On one the receiver side of SLU 1 just quit on me, and on the other, the memory seems to have a stuck bit. So far, the only documentation I've been able to find in my disorganized mess is the '82 edition of the microcomputers and memories handbook. Thanks, BLS

13 years, 3 months

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cctalk Digest, Vol 117, Issue 18

by bobvines00＠gmail.com

> Subject: MXV11 Documentation > > Does anyone know if there any engineering drawings on the DEC MXV11-A > online? So far my google-fu has been unsuccessful in locating any. > I've got three and two have faults. On one the receiver side of SLU 1 > just quit on me, and on the other, the memory seems to have a stuck > bit. So far, the only documentation I've been able to find in my > disorganized mess is the '82 edition of the microcomputers and > memories handbook. > > Thanks, > BLS Try http://manx.classiccmp.org/details/1,6203. It links to the "MXV11-A Field Maintenance Print Set," MP-00730 Rev. A, 1981-08-10. Bob

13 years, 3 months

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DATAMATION Bound Mags from JAN 1980- Aug 88 Hardbound Buckram... For Trade or?

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

DATAMATION Bound Mags from JAN 1980- Aug 88 Hardbound Buckram... good stuff! Some gray covers come blue covers. Clean tight bindings a joy to hold and read. Any kid of computer or peripheral made it into these. Great ref. Great Articles. Great pictures. For trade or? for something of extreme use to the Museum for the library or display area. respond off list please Ed Sharpe archivist for SMECC _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org/)

13 years, 3 months

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H8

by geneb＠deltasoft.com

On Fri, 10 May 2013, Bill Sudbrink wrote: > Murray McCullough wrote: >> Help! Does anyone know or have the whereabouts for an H8 manual, in >> print and/or electronic form? My Heathkit is ailing and I would like >> to get it back up and running, if possible...Thanks > > http://sebhc.lesbird.com/ They have an EXCELLENT mailing list. g. -- Proud owner of F-15C 80-0007 http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind. http://www.diy-cockpits.org/coll - Go Collimated or Go Home. Some people collect things for a hobby. Geeks collect hobbies. ScarletDME - The red hot Data Management Environment A Multi-Value database for the masses, not the classes. http://www.scarletdme.org - Get it _today_!

13 years, 3 months

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H8

by c.murray.mccullough＠gmail.com

Help! Does anyone know or have the whereabouts for an H8 manual, in print and/or electronic form? My Heathkit is ailing and I would like to get it back up and running, if possible...Thanks

13 years, 3 months

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Citizen W1D floppy for Multia

by mark.kahrs＠gmail.com

My Multia's floppy is very dead. It's a Citizen W1D. Anyone have one (or know where to get one without paying silly money)?

13 years, 3 months

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Help me identify these old boards?

by elson＠pico-systems.com

> Message: 1 > Date: Wed, 8 May 2013 19:09:51 -0700 > From: Brent Hilpert <hilpert at cs.ubc.ca> > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" > <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > Subject: Re: Help me identify these old boards?(1960s?) Also have DEC > boards for sale. > Message-ID: <6E331F75-C625-4B51-98CD-7A370442C2ED at cs.ubc.ca> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed > Note the CSC logo in the circle. I have some of these, too. I think they are >from RCA or GE computers from the very early 60's. Jon

13 years, 3 months

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Help me identify these old boards?(1960s?) Also have DEC boards for sale.

by arrowrunner＠gmail.com

Today I picked up about 180 or so of these boards. I believe they might be >from the 60s or thereabouts. I couldn't find a datestamp on them but they don't use ICs. Instead it looks like they use the old gold-wired transistors. Not all of the boards are pictured but there were many duplicates so I probably got at least one of each kind. https://plus.google.com/photos/107294052056201862492/albums/587573571036743… In the same lot I picked up some DEC boards. These I would be looking to sell. They were tossed around and not handled properly so some may need repair or would just be for parts. https://plus.google.com/photos/107294052056201862492/albums/587565638136591… -- Sent from My Hippopotamus

13 years, 3 months

6
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Commodore CDTV (was Re: recyclers who will save things for me)

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

On Thu, May 9, 2013 at 10:30 AM, <jthecman at netscape.net> wrote: > On Wed, May 8, 2013 4:21 pm, Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks at gmail.com> wrote: >> ... a specific Amiga I'm casually looking for is the CDTV... essentially an >> Amiga 500 with CD-ROM that looks like a VCR or stereo receiver. > > I have two if the CDTV units along with a mouse, external 3.5 drive, > controllers, and some game CD's. Still looking for one of the black monitors > sold with it. I never got any of the accessories. What I did with mine was use it as an audio CD player, a CD+G player, and the first place I did any CD-ROM fiddling. The way I used it without all the accessories was to boot it off of a regular white external Amiga floppy drive with a Workbench disk that had PARnet and the "netkeys-handler". I connected it to my regular A1000, and PARnet/netkeys handled the transition and input event traffic when I moved the mouse pointer off the right of the A1000 screen to jump to the CDTV Workbench screen. I could then use my A1000's mouse and keyboard as if it were directly attached to the CDTV. It was a little laggy but quite usable. I only had it for a few weeks before it was burgled (along with a 35mm camera). It was probably the shiniest thing in the living room. -ethan

13 years, 3 months

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recyclers who will save things for me

by sales＠elecplus.com

I have 4 recyclers now in TX who will save old things for me. They won't save everything, so I have to email them lists. I can put as much as I want on the lists, since their software will flag anything that comes in that matches my want to buy list. Please note that since these will be coming from R2 certified recycle centers, all parts must stay in the US. They will not be tested for the most part, but will be power on tested for whole units. They do not test individual floppies, etc. So my request is, please send me lists of what you want, and what you are willing to pay, including shipping, and I will see if I can save some oldies but goldies from the crushers. If you want software, please specify the format (CD, size of diskette, etc.) and if it is version specific. Cindy Croxton _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2013.0.3272 / Virus Database: 3162/6308 - Release Date: 05/08/13

13 years, 3 months

10
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Mac G3 requests

by alexandre.tabajara＠gmail.com

Is it old enough to be considered classic? :o) Maybe someone has these parts floating around... :o) - Any G3/G4 upgrade beyond 300 MHz - Radeon 7000 PCI for MAC or PC (I can reflash it to MAC firmware) - Wings or preferably Bordeaux video I/O card - Zip Drive faceplate, with metal support I do love my G3, I'd like to top it with better hardware :) Mine is the 300MHz basic, with no video input personality card, and 300MHz processor module. I was able to upgrade it to 768MB of ram, and I have a 36GB SCSI hard drive. Thanks Alexandre --- Enviado do meu Motorola PT550 Meu site: http://www.tabalabs.com.br

13 years, 3 months

1
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Hardware vs Simh

by wlewisiii＠gmail.com

I've been learning about the PDP-11 lately thanks to the wonder that is Simh, running various software on it and generally having fun. I don't have any purpose other than that at this time. I've been running everything I can get my hands on though I find, given my background, tastes and biases, that it's usually either Unix Version 7 or, especially, 2.11BSD that I'm firing up and exploring rather than, say the more DEC traditional RSTS/E. That said, I've been wondering what would be different (aside from noise & heat ;) about running 2.11BSD on hardware rather than in Simh on my increasingly decrepit Dell C640 running Xubuntu. Logically I should spend the money on a new intel based laptop but what's the fun in that? But then that turns on the question - is there even a cheap PDP-11 that can run 2.11BSD? I don't need a speed demon but how small is too small vs big enough? Let me see if I understand correctly what I would need: A BA23 or BA123 chassis. Would others work as well? A CPU with separate I/D space. 11/23, 11/53, 11/73, 11/83 or 11/93 would work with the Q-bus chassis above. 1mb to 4mb memory, 1mb is absolute minimum for 2.11 BSD & 4mb is highly desirable. Disk controller - though more expensive, sanity really says I should find a SCSI controller like RQZX1, Emulex UC-7 or CMD CQD-220. I have old SCSI disks; ESDI & the like? Not so much ... A RQDX3 & RX50 or TQK70 & TK70 would probably be in the 'nice to have' category as well. DELQA ethernet controller Would this work? What are the going rates for hobbyists (rather than resellers to those with production equipment)? Are there any, hmm, less expensive bits here or there? This is mostly a thought experiment as I don't really have the disposable cash right now for the various parts right now. OTOH, I find the process of learning more about the hardware, what would be required and how it functions, to give me a better understanding of what I'm doing with the emulator. Thanks to all here (the 11/23 thread has been of great value to me) and to bitsavers ;) and all the other fun resources out there. William -- Live like you will never die, love like you've never been hurt, dance like no-one is watching. Alex White

13 years, 3 months

30
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IBM 2.88 mb microcode floppies

by jws＠jwsss.com

anyone have a way to image these? on a separate note, can anyone recommend how to get the images back out to media? I have some pretty rare token ring / 3290 microcode disks that probably should be archived somewhere. I tried to prepare to get a 3174-91R to talk to Hercules, and along the way, got IBM to send 3290 microcode for the unit. Another fellow on the Hercules list is working on bringing up a 3290, and I'd certainly like to help, but am not particularly anxious to send him my media. Obviously if I get images, he will have to obtain media >from somewhere, maybe buy some of the scrap ones off ebay and overwrite them, but maybe someone has some stashed. Thanks Jim

13 years, 3 months

3
4
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stepper motor on S100 buss terminator

by dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu

Can anyone understand why someone would attached a stepper motor to an S100 buss terminator board? See http://www.ebay.com/itm/230976941854 for headscratching goodness. -- 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?

13 years, 3 months

4
5
0 0

Micropolis 1325 and DEC RZ28-VA

by sales＠elecplus.com

If you are looking for these, Bonnie Bosworth is selling them. No idea on pricing, and not affiliated with seller. bosworthbon at aol.com I will say to put everything in writing, and get the 90 day warranty in writing, before you send $, as I have heard some rumors. Cindy Croxton _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2013.0.3272 / Virus Database: 3162/6308 - Release Date: 05/08/13

13 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

3174 drives and original IBM diskette

by sales＠elecplus.com

I have qty 2 1.2 drives and one 2.4 drive, pulled from old 3174 controller. These are still in their housing. No controller to test, but they should work fine. Also included is the original IBM 5.25" floppy 1.2MB 3174 LVL A5.6, hand written on it is Primary 3174/A4166. Any takers? _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2013.0.3272 / Virus Database: 3162/6308 - Release Date: 05/08/13

13 years, 3 months

1
1
0 0

Apple M0116 keyboard in Germany?

by sales＠elecplus.com

Does anyone in Germany have an Apple M0116 keyboard they want to sell? I have a customer that wanted to buy one for $20, but the shipping to Germany was prohibitive! Thank you! Cindy Croxton _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2013.0.3272 / Virus Database: 3162/6308 - Release Date: 05/08/13

13 years, 3 months

2
1
0 0

HD Emulator for TRS-80s...

by geneb＠deltasoft.com

This is really slick! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAUjSJfKi-4 g. -- Proud owner of F-15C 80-0007 http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind. http://www.diy-cockpits.org/coll - Go Collimated or Go Home. Some people collect things for a hobby. Geeks collect hobbies. ScarletDME - The red hot Data Management Environment A Multi-Value database for the masses, not the classes. http://www.scarletdme.org - Get it _today_!

13 years, 3 months

1
0
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FW:

by evan＠snarc.net

http://chopper.sakura.ne.jp/7ur7ta.php

13 years, 3 months

3
2
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VAX 6000s and HSC controllers available in Winnipeg

by Arno_1983＠gmx.de

Hello folks, the following cropped up on Bill Bradford's "rescue at sunhelp.org" mailing list. As I didn't see it here yet as well, I hope it is okay to cross post. The equipment probably deserves to be saved, my closest contact is in Guelph ON (which is > 2000 km away, I tend to forget that each and every distance is so huge over there...), and not at all equipped for dealing with that kind of machinery. Not connected in any way other than as a sentient being which takes pity when old iron is to be scrapped :) Arno Cory <cbajus at mts.net> wrote: > Any hardcore DEC collectors out there? > > $work is finally getting rid of a few rows of classic DEC gear from our > datacentre, which includes 3 VAX 6000s (310, 420, and 610) and a number of HSC > controllers (40, 50, and two 95s). I'm absolutely _not_ offering to ship any > of these items, but they're available for pickup in Winnipeg (Canada) if > anyone is interested. > > Thanks, > Cory.

13 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

Is anyone archiving TI-99/4A floppies?

by silent700＠gmail.com

On Mon, May 6, 2013 at 2:13 PM, Zane H. Healy <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote: > The subject says it all, is anyone working on archiving TI-99/4A software? Coincidentally, I ran across some TI software on 5.25" while sorting the garage last weekend and wondered the same thing. I doubt I have anything that planet-99 does not but one never knows (they were Scott Adams games, iirc.) I'm more interested in the process - can TI99 disks be read without a TI? Say with imgdisk or another PC-based program or, failing that, a Kryoflux? If it does require an actual TI, how would it handle disk imaging? There are no native serial ports, although you can get an RS-232 card for the expansion box. do have a pile of TI99/4A systems and a PEB or two with floppy drives but they are not easily accessible. -j

13 years, 3 months

11
18
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S100 stuff

by redodd＠comcast.net

I was looking at a Hannspree TV that this person has on ebay and found a whole lot of S100 stuff. Ralph

13 years, 3 months

2
1
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S100 stuff

by redodd＠comcast.net

I guess I should have added this. andamanauctions on ebay Ralph

13 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

Downsizing - many systems available

by dave13＠dunfield.com

>> The classiccmp server is broken. > >Or something is doing horrible things to throttle bandwidth at his new provider. >I've seen stalls for a minute on ftp wgets (which is how I sync bitsavers), >lots of random 503's on web accesses, and random POP login failures. When I access either my site or the mailing list, through the web I get: ------ Service Temporarily Unavailable The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to maintenance downtime or capacity problems. Please try again later. Apache/2.2.23 (FreeBSD) PHP/5.3.18 with Suhosin-Patch mod_ssl/2.2.23 OpenSSL/0.9.8x DAV/2 Server at www.classiccmp.org Port 80 ------ This appears to be a 503 originating at this server. When I access my site, I see individual 503 errors on many (sometimes most) of the photo link accesses. I would guess that the wgets fails becase it get s a 503 error, probably not knowing what it means, only that the accessed failed - and retries until it gets through which is what is taking a minite - (I've sat hear reclicking links for nearly a minite trying to open a message in the archive). To me it looks like a server problem. Dave -- dave13 (at) Dave Dunfield dunfield System/Firmware development services: www.dunfield.com (dot) com Classic computers: http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield

13 years, 3 months

3
3
0 0

Replacing the tube in a TRS-80 Model 4

by terry＠webweavers.co.nz

Fun times with a TRS-80 Model 4 (such a nice looking machine!). http://www.classic-computers.org.nz/blog/2013-04-06-replacing-model4-screen… Terry (Tez)

13 years, 3 months

4
6
0 0

DG Compiler issue - Stand-alone lib, SOS.LB

by erik＠baigar.de

Dear DG-Addicts, I am running RDOS (within simh) and I can readily compile and run Algol programs in this environment. Now want to compile Algol programs to be loaded stand-alone onto a 8k store machine via paper tape. To do this, a library called SOS.LB is needed (at least the linker complains, that it is missing) and so the question is whether some one out there has already compiled stand alone programs using RDOS and probably has the SOS.LB for Algol, and eventually further files required, available? I already tried to get in touch with people involved in these web sites http://www.chookfest.net/nova3/paper-tapes.html http://www.ludd.luth.se/~ragge/nova/swdocs.html but so far I have not got hands on the Algol stand alone stuff. BTW: I do NOT want to use the stand-alone tool chain, but generate the programs using the RDOS (because this is more convenient). Any hints are welcome, best regards, Erik.

13 years, 3 months

2
2
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PC Portable Available

by tom94022＠comcast.net

A friend, Gerald Heitel [gheitel at gmail.com], not a member of this group has an IBM PC Portable in "mint condition" with original manuals and several software programs, floppy discs, etc. He offered it to the Computer History Museum, but they said that they already had one in their collection. He is seeking to contribute to a computer museum or sell to a private collector at a nominal price. Contact Gerry directly if interested or can help find a home. Tom

13 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

RSTS/E and simh

by john＠yoyodyne-propulsion.net

Hi Guys, I used to mess about with RSTS/E when I was a kid, and even managed to get into trouble with ASU and the folks that worked at the remote sites... banned, basically. (I went on to work there years later after the PDP11s had been scrapped...) Anyhow, I've been running one I built from tape with simh for ages... it's accessible on line via my bbs (telnet bbs.cortex-media.info) I've got an old, incomplete version of dungeon on there. I've found a more complete version in Fortran. What is the best way to get the files onto the emulated disk so I can build it? Would it be better to install decnet or use kermit or what? thanks, John -- Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems: "The Future Begins Tomorrow" Visit us at: http://www.yoyodyne-propulsion.net -------- "Gregor Samsa awoke one morning to discover that he had been transformed into a giant cockroach." Nah, it's too good. --Max Bialystock

13 years, 3 months

6
7
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Apple I with high auction estimate on the block

by jws＠jwsss.com

here we go again. I'm waiting for the breathless stories to start. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/03/mac_original_sale_wozniak/ http://auction-team.de/new_highlights/2012_11/oa/001.html

13 years, 3 months

4
3
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uVAX 3900 out to lunch after inactivity

by cctech＠beyondthepale.ie

> > Do either of: > > > > $ REPLY /ENABLE > > $ SHOW ERROR > > > > show up any problems? You might need: > > > > $ SET TERMINAL /BROADCAST > > > > and/or > > > > $ SET BROADCAST=ALL > > > > with REPLY /ENABLE if you are doing this on the console and something has > > disabled broadcasts on the console. > > Any of these would probably be great, but I should probably be a little > more clear; it's not really responding at all to input after I respond > to a prompt. After the carriage return, it just sits there and doesn't > even echo anything, though as I mentioned, anything running elsewhere > (like MONITOR) still seems to keep going. > It's me who should have been clearer. Do the REPLY /ENABLE and friends before the problem shows up in the hope of seeing a message giving details about the problem when it does show up. You might see something like "Mount verification is in progress." for example. Do the SHOW ERROR anytime and if anything (other than a tape drive, terminal or any sort of virtual device) shows a non-zero error count, investigate the reason for it. Particularly watch for MEMORY or CPU errors. If your disk device starts clocking errors just before the system stalls, that would tend to point the finger in its direction. $ SHOW SYSTEM is the one command I know of that will usually execute when almost all others fail due to resource starvation. Using it to look at what states processes are in will give clues about what resources they might be waiting for. > > $ SHOW MEMORY /POOL /FULL > > > > will give a vast number of figures. If "Free space" is low and "Current size" > > is much bigger than "Initial size" and approaching "Maximum size", you may be > > running into problems with non-paged pool. > > The free space numbers seem fine and always have, but I haven't run > it while doing something like an install. I'll have to try that. > The pool space numbers don't seem terribly large, but I'm not quite > sure what nominal ones are. The numbers will vary depending on your hardware and configuration. What matters is that that "Free space" is not approaching zero when "Current size" is already as big as "Maximum size" which means there is no scope for further automatic expansion of the pool size. If you have plenty of free space, you are ok. If you don't have any free space but "Current size" is less than "Maximum size", you are still ok. Another approach to this sort of thing is to crash the system when it becomes unresponsive and analyse the resultant crash dump afterwards. Probably better to try the AUTOGEN first though. Regards, Peter Coghlan.

13 years, 3 months

3
4
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Apple I with high auction estimate on the block

by barythrin＠gmail.com

Interesting. Pics look a lot like the last one. Have to be at a computer (not phone) to compare the two auctions.

13 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

ABQ area: Mainframe Manuals

by silent700＠gmail.com

It doesn't say if they're free, for sale cheap or what but there is a goodly stack of IBM documentation available in the Albuquerque area: http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/bks/3766923247.html (not mine, not in the area) -j

13 years, 3 months

3
3
0 0

Is anyone archiving TI-99/4A floppies?

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

13 years, 3 months

3
2
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Available S-100 PCBs

by cube1＠charter.net

hi. I was on the list, for two boards, but am on vacation. Will contact you in a 11 days Andrew Lynch <LYNCHAJ at YAHOO.COM> wrote: >Hi! > >Here is an update on available S-100 board PCBs! I've sent out many of the >PCBs and they are almost gone. > >There are 21 of the S-100 IDE V2 reorder PCBs and 2 of the new S-100 bus >terminator/prototyping board PCBs. > >There are 2 of the S-100 LAVA PCBs available. > >http://s100computers.com/My%20System%20Pages/IDE%20Board/My%20IDE%20Card.htm > >http://n8vem-sbc.pbworks.com/w/browse/#view=ViewFolder&param=S-100%20bus%20t >erminator > >http://s100computers.com/My%20System%20Pages/Lava-10%20Board/LAVA-10%20Board >.htm > >The S-100 PCBs cost the same as before ($20 each).? However due to >unforeseen extreme price increases in shipping by USPS I am forced to change >shipping costs. > >Shipping in the US will be $3 for a single PCB and $2 for each additional >PCB.? Shipping internationally will be $10 for a single PCB and $3 for each >additional PCB.? This is for the bare basics USPS first class postage with >no tracking or insurance.? The builder assumes all risk of delivery as per >usual arrangement. > >I apologize for the large price increase on shipping but this is out of my >hands.? The USPS is in dire financial trouble and is raising prices on >shipping.? It affects us all and is most unfortunate.? These boards are >provided "at cost" so there is no margin to absorb any shipping price >increases.? I have to pass them along. > >If you would like one or more S-100 PCBs please send a PayPal to >LYNCHAJ at YAHOO.COM > >Thanks and have a nice day! > >Andrew Lynch > >

13 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

Does Anyone Know of a Running DG MV/2500?

by steve＠stephenmerrony.co.uk

Having got the PSU repaired in my recently acquired MV/2500 I now find (as expected) that the disks are u/s and I need the microcode etc. Does anyone know of a functioning example? Steve -- /Stephen Merrony Email: steve at stephenmerrony.co.uk http://stephen.homedns.org/dg//

13 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

uVAX 3900 out to lunch after inactivity

by cctech＠beyondthepale.ie

> > > VMS has a process called ERRFMT which logs errors in a binary file called > > sys$errorlog:errlog.sys - the way to get a detailed human readable report of > > the contents of that file used to be ANALYZE /ERROR but I don't think that > > works any more. Maybe someone else can chime in and suggest what the current > > way is. > > Nope, that DEFINITELY still works. Many, many screens full of error > log printing. :-) I'll pore over those, then. > Good stuff. It must be only Alpha (and maybe Itanium?) it's messed up on then. You can rename sys$errorlog:errlog.sys to .old for example if you want to get rid of the accumulated errors and start afresh. ERRMFT will create a new errlog.sys the next time it has something to log. Alternatively, $ ANALYZE /ERROR /SINCE=time will only report on errors after the specified time (or date), or just plain: $ ANALYZE /ERROR /SINCE will report on errors logged today. > > > Keep an eye out also for operator messages relating to the PU and DU devices > > after doing a REPLY /ENABLE, SET TERMINAL, SET BROADCAST etc. > > Should those not be enabled on the main console at boot? That's > what I'm conversing with. Just for fun, I'll make double sure. > In principle, yes. However, exactly what happens varies depending on the VMS version and the type of hardware it is running on (workstation type machine versus server type machine) so it's best to confirm that something has not disabled operator messages when booting completed. Regards, Peter Coghlan.

13 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

DECWriter II Available - Portland, Ore

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

I have a DECWriter II that needs a new home. It's located near Portland, local pickup only. I have no idea if it works or not, as I've never tried to power it on in the 15 or so years I've owned it. The plans I had for it have evaporated, and it takes up room I need. Zane -- | Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Administrator | | healyzh at aracnet.com | OpenVMS Enthusiast | | | Photographer | +----------------------------------+----------------------------+ | My flickr Photostream | | http://www.flickr.com/photos/33848088 at N03/ | | My Photography Website | | http://www.zanesphotography.com |

13 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

uVAX 3900 out to lunch after inactivity

by cctech＠beyondthepale.ie

> > > I suspect the manual is saying that a typical workload on a more capable VAX > > than an MVII would need 24 MB for good performance. I think you should be able > > to get by with rather less memory than that, particularly if you don't have a > > graphics card. > > That was essentially my assumption as well, but I'm just not 100% > sure if the pool adjustments I made to install it threw things > out of whack for my system. This is a slight bit beefier than an > MVII, but not by a lot. At some point in the near future, I'm > acquiring a VAX4000, which has a bit more to it; this one is > probably mostly going to be a curiosity or at most a file/DNS > server. > Apologies - I don't know where I picked up MVII from - I must have been reading something else and confused myself. I should have paid more attention to the subject line. > > > It should not be necessary to reinstall to see the effect of not running > > TCP/IP services. Just comment out the command to start it > > (probably in sys$manager:systartup_vms.com) and reboot. > > That part was simple, but I have no clue as of yet how to back out > the adjustments I made to the pool to run TCP/IP because I don't > fully understand AUTOGEN yet. I'll get there eventually, but I > need a stable system first and I can afford to throw the baby out > with the bathwater at the moment. :-) It's all in the Essentials > manual, but that's 500 pages, so it'll be a while before I'm done > reading it. > The purpose of AUTOGEN is to get your system parameters set to appropriate values for your workload and to make them consistent with each other and with the resources available on your system. Once you get your system stable, you don't need AUTOGEN any more :-) It's not necessary to back out previous changes - just tell AUTOGEN what parameters you need updated for software you have installed (by adding records to sys$system:modparam.dat as recommended in the appropriate installation manual) and then letting AUTOGEN sort it all out. If you have never run AUTOGEN, you might get a few surprises the first time you do but in the long run, I think it is better to make a habit of running it after any changes to the system. That way you have a better idea what to expect each time and there is less lightlyhood of big dramatic changes which might result when you have made many changes and put off doing an AUTOGEN for some time. Maybe it might be worth while trying it out in simh to get a feel for it? It's certainly possible to modify system parameters manually but I think it's better to build up experience by watching what AUTOGEN does before going down that road. Regards, Peter Coghlan.

13 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

uVAX 3900 out to lunch after inactivity

by cctech＠beyondthepale.ie

> Ah, OK. So I get some PUA0: errors ticking up every so often, most > of which are right after the system has had some "hiccup" of non- > interactivity for several minutes. Some initial research indicates > that the PU device is the UDA controller, which is what I believe > the CQD-220 masquerades as (more or less). Right now, after three > hours of sitting basically idle, it's logged 26 errors. > > So I'll have to check that out. It could be something as simple as > balky SCSI termination, since I do have 4 devices in the chain and > the terminator is a Jaz drive using internal termination. I'll > play with it some. Hopefully it's not the hard drive going bad, > since my supply of SCSI drives is essentially dry. It's a bit > worrisome that it's the PU device going bad rather than the DU > device, but I'm not 100% sure how VMS logs the errors, so it could > be what I suspect. > VMS has a process called ERRFMT which logs errors in a binary file called sys$errorlog:errlog.sys - the way to get a detailed human readable report of the contents of that file used to be ANALYZE /ERROR but I don't think that works any more. Maybe someone else can chime in and suggest what the current way is. Keep an eye out also for operator messages relating to the PU and DU devices after doing a REPLY /ENABLE, SET TERMINAL, SET BROADCAST etc. Regards, Peter Coghlan.

13 years, 3 months

2
1
0 0

uVAX 3900 out to lunch after inactivity

by cctech＠beyondthepale.ie

> > With VAX/VMS, having lots of physical memory is neither necessary nor > > sufficient. More important is how the virtual memory system is configured. > > Perhaps you are low on pagefile space or non-paged pool or something like > > that? > > I was musing on this while reviewing the install manual and it does > mention that at least 24 MB physical memory is necessary for TCP/IP > 5.1. I don't know how hard and fast that is, but it's possible that > the changes I made to the pool allocation per the manual have > destabilized the system. Since I don't have much running on there, > I've reinstalled from scratch to see if I have the same problem with > no TCP/IP installed/running. > I would worry more about DECWindows needing large amounts of memory rather than TCP/IP but having said that, I've always used Multinet rather than TCP/IP services so I don't know a lot about it. I suspect the manual is saying that a typical workload on a more capable VAX than an MVII would need 24 MB for good performance. I think you should be able to get by with rather less memory than that, particularly if you don't have a graphics card. It should not be necessary to reinstall to see the effect of not running TCP/IP services. Just comment out the command to start it (probably in sys$manager:systartup_vms.com) and reboot. Regards, Peter Coghlan.

13 years, 3 months

2
1
0 0

I have these ideas about how to document file formats

by tlindner＠macmess.org

For about seven years I have been writing code to document file formats. The first time I wrote something about it is here: http://tlindner.macmess.org/?p=56 <-- warning, a little rambling. Then a few years later I wrote a program called Blocks, here are some screen casts I made about it: http://tlindner.macmess.org/?page_id=311 Then a few years later I wrote Streams <https://github.com/tlindner/Stream/wiki>. I've been poking at it for a while. I've made two screen casts to show it off as well: http://www.macmess.org/downloads/StreamEditing.m4v <-- made about a year ago. http://www.macmess.org/downloads/Stream_Screen_Cast.mp4 <-- very recent. It's way past time to get some feed back. So for others who are interested in this sort of thing, what do you think? -- tim lindner

13 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

Older IBM RS/6000 RAM available

by mbbrutman-cctalk＠brutman.com

I thought I was going to acquire an RS/6000 so I started buying spare parts. Plans changed ... Let me know if you need P/N 68X6356 (FRU 70F9976) which are 8MB SIMMs or P/N 32G8212 which are 16MB SIMMs. These came in a 'Bag O' Memory' so they are untested, but they were properly stored. They are not free - shipping cost and beer money will do fine though. Mike

13 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

cctalk Digest, Vol 117, Issue 8

by elson＠pico-systems.com

Date: Sat, 4 May 2013 22:04:38 -0400 From: David Riley <fraveydank at gmail.com> To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: uVAX 3900 out to lunch after inactivity Message-ID: <0315AF5D-BB77-464C-9BD6-FE312DDCE21A at gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii The long saga of making my recent KA655 acquisition work continues! It's been mostly smooth sailing since I got a decent Plextor drive, but there's one persistent problem. Under VMS 7.3, after a longish period of inactivity (I've seen it after a few hours, but I've not been able to narrow it down beyond that), it seems to just kind of go out to lunch. VMS is still *running*... if I have a Telnet session running MONITOR, the clock will still update and the activity meters still move (a little; they show very little activity, but that's expected since there's not a lot going on on the machine yet). But if I terminate MONITOR (it responds interactively to ctrl-C, etc) and try to run anything else (say, HELP), it stops responding. Other terminals are totally unresponsive. If I try to open a Telnet session, TCP connects but no other traffic happens. This also happens if I turn TCP/IP off. I'm running with 16 MB RAM, which should be enough for a machine that's not really running much yet, and if I were having memory issues I would expect things like existing MONITOR sessions to have serious problems. If anyone has any idea what might be going on here, I'm all ears. I have seen this behavior a number of times when the disk has gone offline for some reason. I'm not sure there is a simple way to tell when the drive can no longer be accessed. Obviously, there will be no error logging of the condition, except that VMS may write some buffered error messages on the next boot that may offer a clue. Jon

13 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

uVAX 3900 out to lunch after inactivity

by cctech＠beyondthepale.ie

> > The long saga of making my recent KA655 acquisition work > continues! It's been mostly smooth sailing since I got > a decent Plextor drive, but there's one persistent problem. > Under VMS 7.3, after a longish period of inactivity (I've > seen it after a few hours, but I've not been able to > narrow it down beyond that), it seems to just kind of go > out to lunch. VMS is still *running*... if I have a > Telnet session running MONITOR, the clock will still update > and the activity meters still move (a little; they show > very little activity, but that's expected since there's not > a lot going on on the machine yet). But if I terminate > MONITOR (it responds interactively to ctrl-C, etc) and try > to run anything else (say, HELP), it stops responding. > Other terminals are totally unresponsive. If I try to > open a Telnet session, TCP connects but no other traffic > happens. > > This also happens if I turn TCP/IP off. I'm running with > 16 MB RAM, which should be enough for a machine that's not > really running much yet, and if I were having memory issues > I would expect things like existing MONITOR sessions to > have serious problems. > > The only other correlation I can think of is that this > seems to happen most when I've just installed a layered > product, so it could have something to do with the CD > still being mounted. On the other hand, I tend to leave > the machine alone and unattended for long periods of time > for product installs, so correlation is necessarily not > very trustworthy here. > > I can still issue a break from the terminal and boot again > from the console firmware, so that still seems fine. > > If anyone has any idea what might be going on here, I'm > all ears. > Do either of: $ REPLY /ENABLE $ SHOW ERROR show up any problems? You might need: $ SET TERMINAL /BROADCAST and/or $ SET BROADCAST=ALL with REPLY /ENABLE if you are doing this on the console and something has disabled broadcasts on the console. In older versions of VMS, $ ANALYZE /ERROR used to be very useful for spotting behind-the-scenes hardware problems and worked straight out of the box but it was replaced in later versions (on Alpha at least - I'm not sure about VAX) by $ DIAGNOSE /TRANSLATE which required extra software to be installed and possibly licensed first. I lost track of what happened after that but I think that was replaced again by something else equally difficult to make use of :-( Your disk could be going to sleep but it seems unlikely that it would recover by just halting and rebooting the system. With VAX/VMS, having lots of physical memory is neither necessary nor sufficient. More important is how the virtual memory system is configured. Perhaps you are low on pagefile space or non-paged pool or something like that? Use $ SHOW MEMORY /FILES to check how much free pagefile space you have. $ SHOW MEMORY /POOL /FULL will give a vast number of figures. If "Free space" is low and "Current size" is much bigger than "Initial size" and approaching "Maximum size", you may be running into problems with non-paged pool. If there are no hardware problems, an AUTOGEN might well help. For best results, it should be done after whatever activity that might have used up resources but it's obviously no good if the machine stops responding in the middle of the AUTOGEN procedure. Tell AUTOGEN to save feedback and use it when calculating new system parameters. It will complain that the machine wasn't up for 24 hours but tell it to do it anyway. $ @SYS$UPDATE:AUTOGEN HELP for further details. Regards, Peter Coghlan.

13 years, 3 months

2
2
0 0

uVAX 3900 out to lunch after inactivity

by PETER＠beyondthepale.ie

> > Do either of: > > > > $ REPLY /ENABLE > > $ SHOW ERROR > > > > show up any problems? You might need: > > > > $ SET TERMINAL /BROADCAST > > > > and/or > > > > $ SET BROADCAST=ALL > > > > with REPLY /ENABLE if you are doing this on the console and something has > > disabled broadcasts on the console. > > Any of these would probably be great, but I should probably be a little > more clear; it's not really responding at all to input after I respond > to a prompt. After the carriage return, it just sits there and doesn't > even echo anything, though as I mentioned, anything running elsewhere > (like MONITOR) still seems to keep going. > It's me who should have been clearer. Do the REPLY /ENABLE and friends before the problem shows up in the hope of seeing a message giving details about the problem when it does show up. You might see something like "Mount verification is in progress." for example. Do the SHOW ERROR anytime and if anything (other than a tape drive, terminal or any sort of virtual device) shows a non-zero error count, investigate the reason for it. Particularly watch for MEMORY or CPU errors. If your disk device starts clocking errors just before the system stalls, that would tend to point the finger in its direction. $ SHOW SYSTEM is the one command I know of that will usually execute when almost all others fail for reasons of resource starvation. Using it to look at what states processes are in will give clues about what resources they might be waiting for. > > $ SHOW MEMORY /POOL /FULL > > > > will give a vast number of figures. If "Free space" is low and "Current size" > > is much bigger than "Initial size" and approaching "Maximum size", you may be > > running into problems with non-paged pool. > > The free space numbers seem fine and always have, but I haven't run > it while doing something like an install. I'll have to try that. > The pool space numbers don't seem terribly large, but I'm not quite > sure what nominal ones are. The numbers will vary depending on your hardware and configuration. What matters is that that "Free space" is not approaching zero when "Current size" is already as big as "Maximum size" which means there is no scope for further automatic expansion of the pool size. If you have plenty of free space, you are ok. If you don't have any free space but "Current size" is less than "Maximum size", you are still ok. Another approach to this sort of thing is to crash the system when it becomes unresponsive and analyse the resultant crash dump afterwards. Probably easier to try the AUTOGEN first though. Regards, Peter Coghlan.

13 years, 3 months

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Available S-100 PCBs

by LYNCHAJ＠YAHOO.COM

Hi! Here is an update on available S-100 board PCBs! I've sent out many of the PCBs and they are almost gone. There are 21 of the S-100 IDE V2 reorder PCBs and 2 of the new S-100 bus terminator/prototyping board PCBs. There are 2 of the S-100 LAVA PCBs available. http://s100computers.com/My%20System%20Pages/IDE%20Board/My%20IDE%20Card.htm http://n8vem-sbc.pbworks.com/w/browse/#view=ViewFolder&param=S-100%20bus%20t erminator http://s100computers.com/My%20System%20Pages/Lava-10%20Board/LAVA-10%20Board .htm The S-100 PCBs cost the same as before ($20 each).? However due to unforeseen extreme price increases in shipping by USPS I am forced to change shipping costs. Shipping in the US will be $3 for a single PCB and $2 for each additional PCB.? Shipping internationally will be $10 for a single PCB and $3 for each additional PCB.? This is for the bare basics USPS first class postage with no tracking or insurance.? The builder assumes all risk of delivery as per usual arrangement. I apologize for the large price increase on shipping but this is out of my hands.? The USPS is in dire financial trouble and is raising prices on shipping.? It affects us all and is most unfortunate.? These boards are provided "at cost" so there is no margin to absorb any shipping price increases.? I have to pass them along. If you would like one or more S-100 PCBs please send a PayPal to LYNCHAJ at YAHOO.COM Thanks and have a nice day! Andrew Lynch

13 years, 3 months

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