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

Gates and Allen reshoot historic 1981 Microsoft photo • The Register

by woyciesjes＠sbcglobal.net

Interesting photo redone, er reshot... http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/04/04/gates_allen_reshoot_photo/ -- --- Dave Woyciesjes --- ICQ# 905818 --- AIM - woyciesjes --- CompTIA A+ Certified IT Tech - http://certification.comptia.org/ --- HDI Certified Support Center Analyst - http://www.ThinkHDI.com/ Registered Linux user number 464583 "Computers have lots of memory but no imagination." "The problem with troubleshooting is that trouble shoots back." - from some guy on the internet.

13 years, 4 months

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Grid Compass I or II CCOS ROMs?

by dave13＠dunfield.com

>I know I've asked about this in the past, butI figured I'd try again: >Anyone have any idea where to track down ROMs for the Grid Compass I or >II (1101 / 1129)? I accidentally formatted my 1129's internal bubble >memory tonight (while intending to format an external floppy) and now of >course it won't boot. (Doesn't seem to want to try booting from the >floppy drive either, unless there's a magical keysequence...) According to the manual: "To load the operating system from Floppy Disk or Portable Floppy, turn on the computer while holding down the F (for Floppy Disk) key. If both a floppy disk and a portable floppy are attached to your computer and you want to start up from the portable floppy, open the door to the floppy disk drive before turning on the computer." You can also use 'H' to force a boot from a hard drive, otherwise it boots from configured primary storage which is usually Bubble. Dave -- dave13 (at) Dave Dunfield dunfield System/Firmware development services: www.dunfield.com (dot) com Classic computers: http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield

13 years, 4 months

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vintage items available

by sales＠elecplus.com

I am NOT associated with the seller or the products; please contact him directly if you are interested. WTS the following items from our inventory: 1 New F209-8925-jrb Vintage Burroughs Computer Co. T1500 Check Encoder Encoding Machine 1 New J205-9505-CR Vintage Heath Computer Component 8 Bit VGA Board 150-307-1 1 New Jrb-C410-124 Vintage Pacific Recorders PR&E TI-2 Tape Interface _____ Mike Zabezhinsky Oceantech 1313 Winter St NE (612) 331-4456 email: mike at oceantechonline.com _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2013.0.3272 / Virus Database: 3162/6232 - Release Date: 04/08/13

13 years, 4 months

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Festo FPC-202 PLC

by sales＠elecplus.com

What makes 1 machine worth $1000 much more than the other, if they are both identical? http://www.ebay.com/itm/FESTO-ELECTRONICS-FPC-202-TN-008381-TYP-E-FPC-202-PN -31342-/160938881753?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0 <http://www.ebay.com/itm/FESTO-ELECTRONICS-FPC-202-TN-008381-TYP-E-FPC-202-P N-31342-/160938881753?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2578b472d9> &hash=item2578b472d9 http://www.barcodemuseum.com/Festo/FPC202.html There are several on eBay for $100 or less. _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2013.0.3272 / Virus Database: 3162/6231 - Release Date: 04/07/13

13 years, 4 months

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Grid Compass I or II CCOS ROMs?

by derschjo＠gmail.com

I know I've asked about this in the past, butI figured I'd try again: Anyone have any idea where to track down ROMs for the Grid Compass I or II (1101 / 1129)? I accidentally formatted my 1129's internal bubble memory tonight (while intending to format an external floppy) and now of course it won't boot. (Doesn't seem to want to try booting from the floppy drive either, unless there's a magical keysequence...) I'm looking for either CCOS or GRiD's version of MS-DOS, which I believe were both available as ROMs for this machine. I'm hoping that this machine will boot from internal ROM, and not just bubble memory (otherwise I've basically destroyed any chance of running this machine again...) I've had very little luck tracking down either software or documentation for this thing (found a few disk images on Dave Dunfield's site). TheRuGRiD Yahoo group specializes mostly in later GRiD machines and has basically no Compass information. Knowing if it's even possible to get this to boot from a floppy would be useful as well... Thanks as always, Josh

13 years, 4 months

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VAX 11/780

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

I put information on converting an RP06 to 220VAC single-phase here: https://sites.google.com/site/mthompsonorg/Home/pdp-10/rm03-and-rp06-inform… From: John Wilson <wilson at dbit.com> > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" < > cctalk at classiccmp.org> > Subject: Re: VAX 11/780 > On Fri, Apr 05, 2013 at 08:18:20PM -0500, Jon Elson wrote: > > >The RM07 also was 3-phase, I think all the smaller VAX 780 > >disks were single-phase. > > RM02/03/05/80 are definitely single-phase. RP07 is 3-phase as you say, > as is RP06 and I assume therefore RP05. Dunno about RP04. > > >The RM07 was a total monstrosity > >from Burroughs, I hope you don't have one of those. We went through > >a lot of pain as one of the early adopters of that, but in the > >end it was a high performance drive and fairly reliable. > > I've heard you have to pop the RP07's top whenever it's running or it > overheats... otherwise good though, and huge for the time. > > John Wilson > D Bit > -- Michael Thompson

13 years, 4 months

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Subject: Re: Mulling a museum

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

Will Donzelli is on target with this on Collections Policy... and I will add a few more things to consider also. 1. If you are not a business person find some to collaborate with. Always good to have grant writer as a fried too! Unless you have a funding organization or group you are going to have to support it. I have seem to may people open things with about a business plan or ability to fund it and think that money will just appear. Remember most people on the street probably could care less about what you are displaying and certainly will not throw any money your way. Develop strategic alliances with educational facilities and Hi Tech Businesses in your area. ========================== 2. Hey! You are going to get duplicate material... you can wither take up valuable display space to stash dupes and pay or off site storage... but..... the BEST! is finding a beta site to stash it but... it is on display there.. If it is a cool item like an extra Altair or PDP-8 have a loan agreement.... especially when dealing with schools ... If you give something to a college and the whims of floor space utilization rear their head... the can just send it to state surplus or in some cases I have heard of... throw it away! So to reiterate, Find cool other places to place things on display which can also act as a funnel to lead people to visit you mother load ... and maintain control of material in off site displays ================= 3. From the standpoint of disaster having your collection in diverse physical locations is a consideration. If you have a chance to pick a spot in the nation somewhere ... do a study of the area.. Take time analyze the possibly of earthquakes, flood, fire, theft, tornados, hurricanes etc... get maps study the geography... Think of things like.... if I build a museum in a nice mountain forested area and there is a raging forest fire... what happens? Think of things like ... is this area in a flood plain and the 100 year flood... will it get me? many times these 100 year floods happen sooner than 100 years! Think of things like.... Will the earthquakes throw the artifacts off the shelves? ====================================== I could go on forever... but there are a couple things to consider. Ed Sharpe Archivist for SMECC Message: 10 Date: Sun, 7 Apr 2013 17:14:00 -0400 From: William Donzelli <wdonzelli at gmail.com> To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: Re: Mulling a museum Message-ID: <CANij+deAMEjFcgZ+ky-bphcA+5RErFpUKeeC1s4o=CKNnTedCA at mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > I'm highjacking this thread. I'm debating starting a museum locally, as we don't have anything like this in the Indianapolis area. > > For those who have started such endeavors, what are your stories in getting the ball rolling? Plan. Plan. Plan some more. Plan for the distant future. Part of this planning involves a Collections Policy. This is a document that defines the collection - what is to be included, and what is to be turned away. It has been said by many folks over the years that artifacts (hardware) are the easiest things to find, and in time, will completely take over any and all space a museum has. A nice, focused Collection Policy THAT IS ADHERED TO will keep things under control, and keep quality high. Yes, quality is better than quantity. I have been part of a decent number of independent little museums over the years (computer and otherwise, but all being tech related), and nearly all of them have let their collections bloat out of control, due to the lack of a Collections Policy. Trust me - you do not want to get in this situation. Think of all the good stuff later on that has to be passed up because there is no room. Think of the infighting and politics when you need to get rid of things. Think of moving the collection with all the excess when you lose your space. Think of what visitors are looking at. -- Will

13 years, 4 months

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Tech is the biggest problem facing archiving ? The Register

by dm561＠torfree.net

----- Original Message ----- Date: Sun, 07 Apr 2013 02:01:36 -0400 From: Dave McGuire <mcguire at neurotica.com> > I WILL try to stop "feeding the troll". Try a little harder! You're the one participant common to almost every one of these ridiculous and absolutely pointless kids-in-a-sandbox pissing contests... Seriously, have you thought about how much time you spend feeding the trolls and how much better you could spend that time (not to mention the time the rest of us waste wading through this dreck)? m

13 years, 4 months

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RL drive select plugs. What is magic about 3?

by ian_primus＠yahoo.com

I've been doing a bit with an 11/23+ setup and a few RL drives, and I've run into something odd. I currently have select plugs 0, 1 and 3. If I plug in two drives, 0 and 1, I can boot from either one, and once in RT11, I can access the other one. Easy. If I connect two drives, 0 and 3, however - I can only use drive 0. All accesses to drive 3 result in an error. Can't boot from it, can't access it from RT11. Thinking that maybe the plugs had to be in order, I connected only one drive, drive 1, and was able to boot it and use it just fine. Then, swapping the 3 plug into that single drive, can't boot from it. And I've shuffled this plug around into a couple of drives, and none of them work with it. There's no damage to the plug itself, and all the drives work otherwise. Unfortunately, I don't have enough cables to connect more than two drives at once. I also don't have a drive 2 plug to try. And yes, I have a terminator. Any ideas? -Ian

13 years, 4 months

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Xerox 820-II FDC (was Re: Chip 733w01522 on xerox 820-II FDC

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

> U1 (74S288) and U2 (74S174) together constitute a "finite state machine" (so > they told to me cause I'm not so expert) whose purpose is to provide a read A finite state machine (sometiems shortend to a 'state machine') is a way of designing and building sequential logic circuits -- that is circuits where the outputs(s) depend not only on the inputs now, but also on previous sets of inputs. The basic idea is tha tthe circuit stores internally a 'state', normally as an n-bit binary number in n D-tyoe flip-flopes (that's the 74LS174 in your circuit, a hex D-type flip-flop). All flip-flops are clocked at the same time to change to a new state, Andthen there is a block of combinatorial logic (a cricuit where the outputs depend only o nthe inouts now, not what they were) which has as inputs the external inptus ot the state machine and the outputs of the D type flip-flops and which produces the inputs to the D-type flip-flops to give the new state. Sievn a ROM is a gnneral combinatorial circuit, you can make a stte machine from a ROM and a set of D-type flip-flops, aas here. > Who wrote that article decided to build itself a FDC controller card for his > xerox 820-II extracting a block of its schematic from a Kaypro-II's > schematic really making very few changes and using a FDC WD1793 + WD9216 for > external separator data. > Due to its small number of components, and having already a WD1797 I'd just > need of a WD9216 (i hope to find it on the Internet yet) and wiring it would > be maybe more simple. The 9216 was a very common data separator about 25 eyars ago. It was used on a lot of PC/XT cloen FDC cards (not on the original IBM one though) and in other machines too. I am pretty sure it was made by several manufacturers. > Last suggestion (always from the so expert Chuck that I thanks so much) > would be to use a WD2797 instead of WD1797, but I'm not a designer and while > i can understand something of all those things it's very hard for me to > change schematics or adjust components. The 2979 is essential a 1797 with an intenral data separator. It works well, but IIRC there are 3 analogue adjustments associated with it (a couple of puse widths and the free-running frequency of a VCO). It's not hard to set these up, but you do need a 'socpe or logic anlyser to do it. The 9216 data separator IIRC needs no external adjustments. -tony

13 years, 4 months

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pdp-11/23 config (was: Re: Qbus identification)

by Arno_1983＠gmx.de

allison <ajp166 at verizon.net> wrote: > Look uo the backplan to find out its configuration. >From my initial posting: > > It is the BA11 variety and contains a H9273 backplane, which as far as I could find out is QQ-CD Am I missing something here? > Also read the fine manual for the quad width 11/23 you will find there > are jumpers/switches for use in AB/CD backplanes. Most quad width cards also conform to that. Also from my initial posting: > > The M8189 is a quad-width board, but with the CD part configured > > for a serpentine backplane (the manual mentions two jumpers to be removed when using in another > > environment to avoid shorting signals together) Am I missing something here? > CD lines are needed for RL11 controller (two board RL01/02 controller). Ah, thanks. Alas I've already been promised the single board variety of that option. > And if all else fails you can replace the backplane with one that is > AB/AB as I've done that many times. Thereby sacrificing the option of integrating any CD-dependent boards I might happen across in the future. Best idea I could think of until now would be a mixed (Q/CD - Q/Q) layout backplane, but I do not know whether these even exist in the required 9-slot form factor. Anyway, I think I'll treat the backplane as a given constant right now (except from probably expanding it to Q-22, see below) and look for the "right" boards to populate it. David Riley <fraveydank at gmail.com> wrote: > The H9273 is perfectly compatible with an 11/23 CPU; there > is a jumper you can set for 18-bit use. Obviously, though, > turning it into a 22-bit backplane is preferable. > Fortunately, that's pretty easy. Meh...I've been hearing that I might run into problems with some other processors (LSI-11(/2), very early KDF11-A versions), should I ever need to use the backplane as a test platform for one of those in the future. Is that problem the one simply worked around with some insulating tape over the BDAL18:21 connector pads? > > The M8189 is a quad-width board, but with the CD part configured > > for a serpentine backplane (the manual mentions two jumpers to be removed when using in another > > environment to avoid shorting signals together), so again no "meaningful" use of the CD lanes. > Correct. The Qbus PDP-11s only used the CD lane for PMI > (or custom logic, if you had that). Sounds interesting, could you elaborate? > I'd get the M8189 if you > can, because it saves you the hassle of finding boot ROM > and serial cards for the console. Good, as it seems someone found one of these for me. > > What are these intended for anyway (I was thinking of some sort of PMI predecessor, probably > > wrong by now), and what boards do I need to take advantage of them in this machine? > > For an 11/23, those lanes will just go unused. It's not > so bad, really; you have to try pretty hard to fill up 9 > slots. I'd thought so; perhaps I'll happen across some esoteric cards that use them, or I'll hack something custom in there. > If it's in > a box labelled 11/23, though, check to make sure someone > hasn't already performed the modification. OK, thanks! Arno

13 years, 4 months

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Apple Quicktake camera Windows software?

by wheagy＠gmail.com

I picked up a Quicktake 100 camera this weekend for cheap and am trying to get it working under Windows so I can easily get pictures to my Website, but I am unable to locate the Windows software. Anyone have a link? An hour on Google has yielded little except the driverguide website which was very frustrating. Tks...Win

13 years, 4 months

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Looking for Apple Lisa 2/5 parts

by santo.nucifora＠gmail.com

I'm trying to restore an Apple Lisa 2/5 that has been hit with battery corrosion. I'm looking for the following parts, if anyone has any they'd like to sell: - Lisa 2/5 I/O board - Lisa motherboard - Lisa CPU board While I'm at it: - Lisa keyboard - Lisa 1 mouse (the kind with the long button and not the Mac 128 mice). I am primarily looking for working/tested items but I may be interested in something that was not as damaged as mine that is restorable. Please contact me off-list with these or any other parts you may have. I am in Canada and would need to have them shipped there. I'll cross-post this to the LisaList too. Thank you.

13 years, 4 months

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9-track alignment (skew) tapes for R/W-head adjustment

by elson＠pico-systems.com

Date: Sun, 7 Apr 2013 00:10:24 +0100 From: Colin Eby <colineby at isallthat.com> To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: Re: 9-track alignment (skew) tapes for R/W-head adjustment Message-ID: <975726A4-6B0E-4EE6-BB5E-B518CAA638B6 at isallthat.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252 If you don't have a alignment tape, you might try simply creating a /dev/zero tape from a known good drive. No, this won't work. It will only have transitions in the parity channel, all other channels (0-7) will have no transitions at all except at the end of the block (CRC and LRCC). Writing all 1's will have transitions on all data channels AND the parity channel (to get odd parity on each byte). Drives made for alignment with a scope have a resistor summing network that sums the bit detector on each channel. With bad alignment you see a wave with lots of stairsteps up and down the side. With correct alignment, it becomes almost a perfect square wave, with at most one narrow step on the sides. Jon Jon

13 years, 4 months

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VAX 11/780

by elson＠pico-systems.com

Date: Fri, 5 Apr 2013 21:58:25 -0400 From: Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks at gmail.com> I don't remember the RM07. I remember the RM05 (CDC 9766) and the RP07, which I _thought_ was a 100% DEC design (that resembled a white washing machine with no access panels), but I could be wrong about that. My memory may be slipping. We had a 500 MB drive that fits the description, MASSBus only, and just a couple buttons on the front. You had to open the back to flip the circuit breaker off to reset the drive - which I had to do a LOT until they fixed some of the firmware bugs. I THOUGHT the model was RM07, but maybe it was an RP07. I thought RP was for removable disk packs, and the RM was for fixed HDAs. The drive we had was definitely made by Burroughs, it had Burroughs labels on the boards ons other parts inside. I gather it never was very popular due to price, and so I can't find much online. But, I did find one pic with a readable RP07 label and it looks like I remember. We never had to leave covers open on ours, and had no overheating problems, although the HDA did run hot enough to almost burn your hand! We did have under floor cold air supply in our machine room. Jon

13 years, 4 months

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9-track alignment (skew) tapes for R/W-head adjustment

by elson＠pico-systems.com

Date: Sat, 6 Apr 2013 14:00:06 +0100 (BST) From: P Gebhardt <p.gebhardt at ymail.com> To: cctech <cctech at classiccmp.org> Subject: 9-track alignment (skew) tapes for R/W-head adjustment Message-ID: <1365253206.48217.YahooMailNeo at web133105.mail.ir2.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Hi everybody, I had a look through my tapes and found one from Control Data being labeled "Total Service Tape". Does anybody know, if this tape also serves as an alignment tape? I couldn't find any information about that on the Net so far. I used to make my own skew tapes by just writing a program to write out huge blocks (8K or more) of all 1's. That worked fine for using a scope to check the skew. Not sure if a drive diagnostic would accept such a pattern as a skew tape, though. Jon

13 years, 4 months

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pdp-11/23 config (was: Re: Qbus identification)

by Arno_1983＠gmx.de

allison <ajp166 at verizon.net> wrote: > The H9275 can be fitted, the standard connecting cables may or may not > match up but can be had made easily. > > I've even put the backplane from the BA32 in a BA11. The form caxtor is > very standardized though the interconnect for power varies with molex or > terminal barrier strips being used. Ah, good data point to have if I ever get into the situation for a similar operation. > Yes, some of the backplanes and the cpu board have jumpesr that need to > be correct and matching. Alas I don't have any DEC Processor and Peripherals Handbook covering QBUS in dead tree format, just UNIBUS stuff which is of about zilch use to me in this case, but I got myself the BA11-N (which includes details on the backplane) and KDF11-BA manuals from bitsavers. Yes, I also already perused them to a certain extent, and yes, I was aware of the jumper issue (which is why I even _mentioned_ it. Duh.) > I have full sets spanning the years and it fills about 5 ft (1.5M) of > linear shelf space. I consider > them as more important than the hardware. While much of it is on the > net I find it harder to > scan for a specific item like the default jumpers for DLV11J. The books > have a bit of wear > from actual use. Not having worked for DEC and being a bit younger than most of the hardware in question, I'm not that lucky. I could get myself some doubles that were culled from a university collection ('76 peripherals manual, 11/45 and 11/60 processor manuals...) which unfortunately do not cover the era and range of hardware I'm dealing with here. > [boot rom / mass storage issues] I'm not yet holding the CPU card in question in my hands so I don't know the exact variety. I have RL01 (three) and RL02 drives (one) which I would like to use with this system, as they seem appropriate for the era. > The only common card set that depends on CD is RL11 The two board > RL01/02 controller > and it's only 18bit capable, if you working with 22bit system (fully > populated with ram) > then you need the RLV21 which is a single quad board and works in all > backplanes... > > oh and also RL02 drives, a 40" rack minimum, plus a good back! ...not to mention at least one good _pack_, which is (for the RL01) what I'm missing. > In the end the whole Q22 this is only an issue when you exceed 256Kbytes > of memory > as the Q22 allowed the MMU to reach 4MB of ram. I will also be provided with a 512kW MOS memory board, so I will need 22-bit addressing to take full advantage of that, and therefore the (22-bit clean) RLV_12_ single-board controller. So no CD lanes needed here. > PPS oh, I have at least two that have all slots filled! Its way to easy > to plug in IO. > For example RLV21 quad width, RQDX3 dual, TKQ50 (dual) TK50, > RXV21 (dual) RX02 drive controller, DZV11 serial IO(quad), > LPV11 parallel printer (dual), DEQNA (dual), > full 4mb memory (3 quad boards). don't forget the CPU, > 11/23B+ also a quad board. > Thats 16 slots filled plus two grant cards total 18 making a full box. > The grant cards allow for optimal board placement and are required to > keep the DMA and interrupt vector chain complete. Was it indeed usual to build such large configurations based on an 11/23 back then? TQK50, DEQNA and RQDX3 at least sound sound a bit anachronistic to me, there surely must have been newer and more powerful processors out at the time those became available? I think I'll have a rather minimal system (KDF11-B, 512kW RAM, quad SLU, RLV12 + one or drives) for now, not making my first foray into pdp technology more complicated than necessary. Arno

13 years, 4 months

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9-track alignment (skew) tapes for R/W-head adjustment

by p.gebhardt＠ymail.com

Hi everybody, I had a look through my tapes and found one from Control Data being labeled "Total Service Tape". Does anybody know, if this tape also serves as an alignment tape? I couldn't find any information about that on the Net so far. I've been trying to resurrect one of my Fujitsu M2442AC tape drives. Even with heads cleaned,it fails the diagnostics when it comes to writing and reading a tape. It turned out that the drive head being held by a plastic plate was loose due to the plastic plate being broken. I tried to glue the plastic together, mounted the head back into its position, but the drive diagnostics still fails (error: F300 ). Azimuth-adjusting the head after remouting obviously needs an alignment tape. Having quite a collection of reel tape drives, I thought it would in any way make sense to have such a tape for head adjustment procedures, but they some to have become pretty rare these days (at least for 9-track 1/2" drives). Substituting these special tapes by any other tricks or ways seems not to come close to the alignment precision obtained wich alignment tapes. Thanks for any help in advance ! Pierre ? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pierre's collection of classic computers : http://classic-computing.dyndns.org/

13 years, 4 months

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pdp-11/23 config (was: Re: Qbus identification)

by Arno_1983＠gmx.de

David Riley <fraveydank at gmail.com> wrote: > Well, you *could* work around it that way. I guess Kapton would > probably be a good bet. You're very unlikely to be using early LSI-11 > boards unless you're a true masochist (...) Uhm, people have already been calling me that (in a classiccmp context!), so... > Be aware that if you're using the system as 18-bit, you'll > need to make sure that your peripheral cards are jumpered to 18-bit if > necessary (boards that use DMA often need to know). > The 22-bit conversion is also easy to undo, assuming you're handy with > a soldering iron (...) For me, undoing that would be about as easy as looking up > which pins to cover and then covering them with tape (...) Hmm, I'm just "planning for eventualities"; Basically I want to build a system that runs in a 22-bit configuration, but I'm trying to make sure I can still stick in 18-bit CPUs (or other cards) for a quick test after I do the conversion. >> (or custom logic, if you had that). > Sounds interesting, could you elaborate? > > (...) There were probably quite a few other board sets that used > the CD lines for inter-board communication (...) > (very nice description of CD interconnect principles) Definitly an option I would want to keep. Too bad there aren't any 9-slot mixed layout backplanes, but as DEC compatible backplane connectors seem to surface sometimes, so I see at least the possibility of constructing one, should the need materialize. > I wouldn't swear to the fact that there weren't 11/23s sold as 18-bit > systems; my fuzzy memory says that 11/23 might have been 18-bit while > 11/23+ would have been 22-bit. Other people doubtless know better > than me; my other recollection is that the "plus" distinction has to > do with the KDF11-B board (which has the boot ROM and SLUs). Christian Gauger-Cosgrove <captainkirk359 at gmail.com> wrote: > I don't know anything about how DEC sold their machines, but I do believe > they did sell the 11/23 as an 18-bit system (even though the KDF11A is very > much capable of 22-bit) (...) Hmm, let's see... >From http://www.people.vcu.edu/~agnew/MVAX/9412_DECUSERVE_JNL.HTML (supposedly extracted from Micronote #5 dated 23-Apr-84): > RESTRICTED COMPATIBILITY OPTIONS: > > PROCESSORS: > > KDF11-A M8186 LSI-11/23 CPU > Prior to etch rev. C, 18-bit addressing only, > and use of BC1, BD1, BE1, BF1 for purposes > other than BDAL18-21. ...so the systems using these earlier revisions, while being 11/23s by definition, would have to be based on 18-bit backplanes due to the nonstandard signals. This is also consistent with Christian's statement: > as I remember there is a "PDP-11/23" version of > the BA11-N box (with H9273-A, the BA11-N always has the H9273-A) I think I actually might be having the remains of such an early system, as it says "11/23" on the outside but holds an (18-bit) H9273 backplane inside. Alas I haven't readily found a DEC source on what actually is the PLUS in an 11/23+. Thank you so far, Arno

13 years, 4 months

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Chip 733w01522 on xerox 820-II FDC controller. what is it?

by dave.g4ugm＠gmail.com

------ Original Message ------ From: "Enrico Lazzerini" <enrico.lazzerini at email.it> To: cctech at classiccmp.org Sent: 04/04/2013 18:15:52 Subject: Chip 733w01522 on xerox 820-II FDC controller. what is it? >Is there anybody who knows what is this old chip? And where to try to >find >it? I believe that its a 74S288 which is 256 bit PROM (32x8) bit prom. So even if you find one you need to know its contents. Look for an application note for the 1297. > >If it help what I know is that it used to do somenting like shift data >register or Serial Shift Registers. > Often used for state decoding. From searching the web I can see that there is an FE2100 which is designed to replace the discrete logic on a FDC board and it mentions the 74S288.. >It has a TTL level signal on its pins, it has 14 pins. You can see it >named >U1 in the centre of this schematic: ><https://www.dropbox.com/s/zqhgar4g7ib5j4z/Xerox820_FDC_Schematic.pdf> >https://www.dropbox.com/s/zqhgar4g7ib5j4z/Xerox820_FDC_Schematic.pdf > > > >Some pins are labelled on a schematics with: > >1=D1, 2=D2, 3=D3, 4=D4, > >10=A1, 11=A2, 12=A3, 13=A4, 14=A4, > >15=ChipEnable (left to GND), > >7=GND, > >14=+5Vcc > > these match the chip outline in my Texas TTL manual (there are 4 more data outs which are unused in this application) > >Thanks > >Enrico > Sorry not 100% of needed info Dave G4UGM

13 years, 4 months

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VAX 11/780

by elson＠pico-systems.com

Jon Elson wrote: > Date: Thu, 04 Apr 2013 22:29:04 -0400 > From: Toby Thain <toby at telegraphics.com.au> > To: cctalk at classiccmp.org > Subject: Re: VAX 11/780 > Message-ID: <515E36F0.5040101 at telegraphics.com.au> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > > On 04/04/13 9:32 PM, Jon Elson wrote: > >> > From: Brian Roth <abacos_98 at yahoo.com> >> > To: "cctech at classiccmp.org" <cctech at classiccmp.org> >> > Subject: VAX 11/780 >> > Message-ID: >> > <1365090232.96105.YahooMailNeo at web141403.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> >> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii >> > >> > >> > I just recently acquired a very nearly complete VAX 11/780. I will >> > be spending the next few months in a partial tear down and cleaning >> > and with luck, hopefully little money to get it operational again. I >> > ... >> >> > >> > Good luck restoring this machine! >> > > > > Seconded. I hope you will blog/document the whole process. I own an > 11/750 but haven't started restoring it. > > --Toby > > One huge advantage to the 780 is there are almost no custom parts in > it, other than > the LSI-11 which is still pretty much available, if needed. The whole > 780 CPU > was built out of 74Sxx chips, and could probably be maintained for another > 50 years if one wanted to. The only custom sort of parts would be in the > power supplies, which would be easy to swap out with generic DC supplies > if you couldn't repair them. > > Jon

13 years, 4 months

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Need PDP-9 Paper Tapes

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

The RICM has the processor of their PDP-9 working fairly well. We have most of the diags for the processor on paper tape. We will make working copies of the tapes and also make images to send to Bitsavers. We have the diag documentation for the TC59/TU20, but we do not have the paper tapes. It would be possible to enter the source from the listing and assemble it using Simh, but that would be a bit of work. I know that it is probably wishful thinking, but does anyone have paper tapes of the TC59/TU20 diags? Paper tapes of the TC02/TU55 diags would be nice to have too. We would eventually like to get an OS running on the system. It looks like the ADSS Input/Output Monitor will run on our configuration, and maybe even the Keyboard Monitor. Does anyone have paper tapes for ADSS or any other monitor that would run on this system? Details of the paper tapes and manuals that we have are at the bottom of this page: http://www.ricomputermuseum.org/Home/equipment/dec-pdp-9 -- Michael Thompson

13 years, 4 months

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Xerox 820-II FDC (was Re: Chip 733w01522 on xerox 820-II FDC controller. what is)

by enrico.lazzerini＠email.it

Trying to rebuild the FDC card by my xerox 820-II motherboard, I have discovered the presence of an IC named 733w01522 (U1) on the photo of the original PCB which code I cannot read on the schematic not very readable reported at the end of xerox820-II service manual. Sorry, I mistakenly indicated a 14-pin TTL chips even though it was 16 pin. Thanks for contribution of Chuck Guzis from the VCF he told me that the 733w01522 is a PROM and it is equivalent at 74S288 but also to others IC as reported here http://www.hobbyroms.com/proms.html. U1 (74S288) and U2 (74S174) together constitute a "finite state machine" (so they told to me cause I'm not so expert) whose purpose is to provide a read clock and a read data to the chip WD1797 from raw data received from the drive. Then I need to discover the code that the chip could have (without having the original chip programmed with me!). Upon the recommendation of Chuck Guzis I found the code listing on page 12 of the manual of the FDC1797's application notes. At this point, trusting to this code I'd need to buy a programmed 74S288 (or equivalent). After all this I was finally trying to figure out if it sould be better to use of a schematic published on an old issue of Microcornucopia: https://www.dropbox.com/s/4f8kblogrlzdr9m/FDC_from_Micro_Cornucopia_#22_Feb8 5.pdf. Who wrote that article decided to build itself a FDC controller card for his xerox 820-II extracting a block of its schematic from a Kaypro-II's schematic really making very few changes and using a FDC WD1793 + WD9216 for external separator data. Due to its small number of components, and having already a WD1797 I'd just need of a WD9216 (i hope to find it on the Internet yet) and wiring it would be maybe more simple. Last suggestion (always from the so expert Chuck that I thanks so much) would be to use a WD2797 instead of WD1797, but I'm not a designer and while i can understand something of all those things it's very hard for me to change schematics or adjust components. I hope to be able to buy a ready Xerox 820-II FDC board even I know that it's not very easy to find. Thanks anyway for all the support that was given to me. Regards Enrico - Pisa (ITALY)

13 years, 4 months

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My IBM 5160 on YouTube

by terry＠webweavers.co.nz

My IBM XT captured on YouTube (with a bit of Checkit, PC Tools and Zork 2 thrown in). http://youtu.be/luUPvzx-XWU

13 years, 4 months

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pdp-11/23 config (was: Re: Qbus identification)

by Arno_1983＠gmx.de

Hah, a thread just in time for me! Hello fellow collectors. I got the card-less carcass of a pdp-11/23 (says so on the front and back type labels) some weeks ago. This is going to be my first pdp ever so please be a bit patient with me :) It is the BA11 variety and contains a H9273 backplane, which as far as I could find out is QQ-CD (consistent with your statement below). However the backplane has a sticker on it which is stamped "11/03" (?!) So what kind of CPU (or more generally, kinds of boards) am I looking for to populate this puppy? I've already done some reading on DEC stuff from bitsavers and gleaned that in order to make it an 11/23, it would have to hold either an M8186 (KDF11-A) or an M8189 (KDF11-B) processor. As the M8186 only comes in a dual slot form factor, it clearly can't make use of the CD interconnect on the backplane. The M8189 is a quad-width board, but with the CD part configured for a serpentine backplane (the manual mentions two jumpers to be removed when using in another environment to avoid shorting signals together), so again no "meaningful" use of the CD lanes. What are these intended for anyway (I was thinking of some sort of PMI predecessor, probably wrong by now), and what boards do I need to take advantage of them in this machine? Also, are there any ressources online about the Q-22 upgrade? I might need do do that because I already was promised a 512kw MOS memory board by another German collector. TIA, yours sincerely Arno Pete Turnbull <pete at dunnington.plus.com> wrote: Indeed, or as Jerome suggested, looking at the configuration of the cards may give you a clue. So would the type of box: if it's a 3U-high (5.25") grey-fronted-metal-panel rack-mount box with three toggle switches, it's a BA11-N or BA11-S, which have straight backplanes (and are all QQ-CD), if it's a small tabletop box or a 2U (3.5") it's a BA11-V (tabletop) or BA11-M (2U) which have serpentine backplanes, and if it's a floor-standing microPDP-11 (or microVAX) box or a chassis with four or six pushbuttons on the front, it's a BA23 box which is QQ-CD in the top slots and serpentine below. Or count the card slots. All 9-slot backplanes are straight. 8-slot and 13-slot are mixed (for microPDP-11 and microVAX). Anything else is serpentine. BA11-M and BA11-V boxes are relatively uncommon. If it's a BA11-N, although the backplane is 18-bit, it's very easy to upgrade to 22-bit. >> -- which I understand can be serpentine, All Q-Q backplanes are serpentine, and all straight backplanes are QQ-CD. The only odd one is the hex-high DDV11-B, which is a serpentine backplane in the ABCD positions and not bussed at all (except for power in the standard contact positions) in EF - it's meant for custom wiring. Of course we're assuming it's a DEC box with a DEC backplane. A Plessey backplane, for example, might be different, but you'd probably know if it was non-DEC, because it's pretty rare to find DEC's dark green connectors on anything non-DEC. Plessey and GEC ones, again for example, are white. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

13 years, 4 months

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Commodore PET 6540 ROMs?

by derschjo＠gmail.com

This is a stretch, but I figured I'd ask: anyone have any spare 6540-series PET ROMs lying around? After diagnosing a number of other failures, Ialmost have my (very beat up) chicklet-keyboard PET working, but it looks like the -026 ROM (at F800-FFFF) has gone south -- it has a few corrupted bits here and there. It looks like adapters to fit standard 2716s are available to build, but before I invest time and/or money in one of those I thought I'd ask around. Thanks as always, Josh

13 years, 4 months

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Apple //e Platinum wanted

by evan＠snarc.net

Does anyone have a good-condition, second-generation (working + non-yellowed) //e Platinum they'd consider selling to me? There are a few Platinums on eBay but I am leery of going that route. (Platinum is the model with the numeric keypad. There were two versions: the first gen in standard Apple II beige, and the second gen in a gray color -- that's the one I want.)

13 years, 4 months

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VAX 11/780

by elson＠pico-systems.com

Date: Fri, 05 Apr 2013 16:06:58 -0400 From: Dave McGuire <mcguire at neurotica.com> To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: Re: VAX 11/780 Message-ID: <515F2EE2.6020902 at neurotica.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 On 04/05/2013 03:37 PM, Brian Roth wrote: > > > > Agreed. The one place I am going to start is with the power supplies. I plan on running this on > > single phase at least initially. I don't see anything in there that needs 3 phase. > The blowers? Nope, the entire machine is built from single-phase components. The power supplies even have wall plugs on them, and are powered through what are essentially the female end of extension cords. (I think they run off 208 V, but maybe they were running L-N off of 120 V.) The blowers were 208/230 V single-phase motors, you could hear the centrifugal switches drop back in when you shut the machine off. The power distribution wiring would have to be hacked for single-phase operation, hopefully the power supplies can be run off 240 V without harm. The TU77 may be a problem, I vaguely recall that may have a 3-phase motor for the vacuum blower/air bearing pump. Today, I'd get a VFD and run the motor (ONLY) off synthetic 3-phase. The RM07 also was 3-phase, I think all the smaller VAX 780 disks were single-phase. The RM07 was a total monstrosity >from Burroughs, I hope you don't have one of those. We went through a lot of pain as one of the early adopters of that, but in the end it was a high performance drive and fairly reliable. Jon

13 years, 4 months

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VAX 11/780

by elson＠pico-systems.com

Date: Fri, 5 Apr 2013 14:28:36 -0700 (PDT) From: Brian Roth <abacos_98 at yahoo.com> I did a quick look at the Eng drawings and while the power controller is 3 phase it looks like the fans are single phase. Not sure whats going on inside the power controller yet. I'll be tearing into this in a couple of weeks so if anyone has experience with the conversion, speak out. I know its been done. The power controller is REALLY simple, very much like the PDP-11 EPO controllers, just bigger. So, there is a voltage sent out on a 3-wire cable, and if you break two of the wires at the end of the chain, all units power off. The other wire powers up all units on the string. Just a little unregulated power supply and some relays. I think there's an airflow sensor in the blower plenums that breaks the EPO chain if a blower stops. Jon

13 years, 4 months

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Did Dave Dunfield's cp/m archive on classiccmp.org go boom ?

by dave13＠dunfield.com

> >>> None of my links are working anymore. Just gives a 503 error. I > >>> need me some disk images. > >> Apparently no one has heard from Dave in a while. > > > > Oh man. Here we go again >MUCH more important, >Is Dave OK? Dave is alive and (mostly) well. Sorry Guys, I just don't have much time to participate in the list these days. I do browse through the threads every month or two using the web archive. I've not taken my site down - it is hosted on Classiccmp which does seem to be having a few problems as of late - today I am getting notices that "the site is unavailable due to maintenance or capacity" - I'm guessing the latter, because hit reload a couple of times and it will come up (I had the same issue reading the list). Regards, Dave -- dave12 (at) Dave Dunfield dunfield Firmware development services & tools: www.dunfield.com (dot) com Classic computers: http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/

13 years, 4 months

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Amazing uptime...

by geneb＠deltasoft.com

6030 days ain't too shabby. :) http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=1199529 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, 4 months

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Amiga 4000/040 has been claimed

by sales＠elecplus.com

The Amiga 4000 has been claimed. Many thanks to all those who inquired! Cindy Croxton _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2013.0.3272 / Virus Database: 3162/6226 - Release Date: 04/05/13

13 years, 4 months

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World?s top supercomputer from ?09 is now obsolete, will be dismantled

by dm561＠torfree.net

----- Original Message ----- > Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2013 09:41:14 -0700 (PDT) > From: Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> ... >> On Tue, Apr 02, 2013 at 02:31:39PM -0700, Fred Cisin wrote: >> > I'm having a little difficulty visualizing "The World's Top >> > Supercomputer" >> > as being a single chip CPU on a motherboard. >> > When did "supercomputers" become single board devices? >> > "Put the CPU on a daughterboard"? > > On Wed, 3 Apr 2013, Pontus Pihlgren wrote: >> Do you really think I'm that stupid? > > Of course not. I acknowledge and respect your expertise. > And, I certainly had no intention of offending you. ----- Reply:----- Yeah, come on, Fred; just because he doesn't seem to understand the concept of a *plural* morpheme and why using the singular to refer to hundreds of an item might cause confusion (especially in this context) doesn't mean he's stupid ;-) I thought that perhaps Swedish does not have such a concept but then I saw that he does speak of power supplieS and fanS; he even talks about making the CPU's pin compatible, although instead of multiple pins of multiple CPUs that seems to suggest making the (single) pin of a single CPU compatible with something... Fun with words, and of course as usual surprising and a little disappointing to see how ready and eager some people are instead to see insults or personal attacks in simple misunderstandings...

13 years, 4 months

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Chip 733w01522 on xerox 820-II FDC controller. what is it?

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

> > Is there anybody who knows what is this old chip? And where to try to find > it? I've seen 733Wxxx house codes on Xerox chips before, but hav never seen the equivalents list. > > If it help what I know is that it used to do somenting like shift data > register or Serial Shift Registers. > > It has a TTL level signal on its pins, it has 14 pins. You can see it named > U1 in the centre of this schematic: > <https://www.dropbox.com/s/zqhgar4g7ib5j4z/Xerox820_FDC_Schematic.pdf> > https://www.dropbox.com/s/zqhgar4g7ib5j4z/Xerox820_FDC_Schematic.pdf > > > > Some pins are labelled on a schematics with: > > 1=D1, 2=D2, 3=D3, 4=D4, > > 10=A1, 11=A2, 12=A3, 13=A4, 14=A4, > > 15=ChipEnable (left to GND), > > 7=GND, > > 14=+5Vcc Wait a second. You said jsut now it has 14 pins, and you give a signal for pin 15. Does it have a top cap or something :-) More seriousyl, if it's actually a 16 pin IC, I would guess it's a programmed 74x188 (open collector) or more likely 74x288 (3-state output) PROM. That's a 32*8 bit device that goes udner a variety of other numbers too, like 18S030. Fiffernt manufacturers had differnt programming algorithms, but the all work the same way in-circuit (in read mode). The pinout is : 1 : D0 2 : D1 3 : D2 4 : D3 5 : D4 6 : D5 7 : D6 8 : Gnd 9 : D7 10 : A0 11 : A1 12 : A2 13 : A3 14 : A4 15 : CE/ 16 : Vcc This could match your device, A4 is tied high (so only useing the second half of the ROM) and only the first 4 data lines are used. Of course the problem for you, I guess, is that a blank chip of the right type is of little use to you. You need to konw the contents (looks to be 16 4-bit words in your case). You could copy it from a working device fro the same type of machine, but other than that uou have some designing to do... -tony

13 years, 4 months

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English spelling

by saquinn624＠aol.com

************************************** On Thu, 4 Apr 2013, Pontus Pihlgren wrote: > A little stupid.. I know about the rules for appending an S in the right place, I just > can't seem to master them. > > I thought that perhaps Swedish does not have such a concept but then > > I saw that he does speak of power supplieS and fanS; he even talks > > about making the CPU's pin compatible, although instead of multiple > > pins of multiple CPUs that seems to suggest making the (single) pin > > of a single CPU compatible with something... English has inconsistent rules, and freely breaks them. It seems to have more IRREGULAR conjugations, declensions, and plurals. Can anyone explain why the 'I' is after the 'E' in "WEIRD"? "I disconnected the speaker on all of the computers in the lab." does not imply that they share a speaker. Should I have said that I disconnected the "speakerS"? or maybe "the speaker on EACH computer"? And, in this particular example, "pin compatible" (or "pin-compatible") is a commonly used adjective that is not plural, no matter how many pins the device has. The object noun in the speaker sentence is the speaker, therefore if you disconnected more than one it would be "speakers" regardless of how many computers they were connected to. Same goes for the pin-compatible CPUs - the noun is the CPU, therefore pin remains singular (even though you're talking about multiple pins on multiple CPUs). Same logic that gives us "attorneys-general" and "gins and tonic" and a whole lot of confusion. As for weird, I just tell the students it's a weird word. Was it Bernard Shaw that threw away the rules he considered pointless and archaic? I know about cummings and capitalization, but that does little to make his poems easier to read or more comprehensible.

13 years, 4 months

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RCA COSMAC Microkit

by billdeg＠degnanco.com

Here is an article about the Microkit that came out later in 1975: > > > Does anyone have a COSMAC Microkit user manual? I have downloaded the docs > > for the COSMAC chip from Bitsavers, but there is no reference to the > > earlier Microkit in this doc. > I believe its on the net but not there. There is a yahoo COSMAC users > group. They do not have the Microkit User Manual, but there not even be one. Found this reference to the Microkit, but it's nearly a year newer than my system chip dates, meaning they were still selling Microkits though 1975: http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/microcomputerAssociates/Microcomputer _Digest_v02n04_Oct75.pdf Bill

13 years, 4 months

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DEC M7522 (RUX50) Unibus Quad-slot RX50 Controller

by pbirkel＠gmail.com

I've been trying to track down online documentation (manual, engineering drawings) for this Quad Unibus card, a controller for the RX50. No luck at all. Nada :-<. Just some references in RSX/RSTS/Ultrix marketing documents. Does anyone have, or know where such documentation can be found? Also, does anyone have (or knows someone who has) a spare/loose M7522 that they'd be willing to part with? Thanks! -----

13 years, 4 months

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RCA COSMAC Microkit

by billdeg＠degnanco.com

http://www.vintagecomputer.net/RCA/COSMAC/ Photos of RCA COSMAC Microkit with 1801 card. Note the chip date of the TC 1085 on the processor card, which is the earlier version of the CDP 1801 (Microtutor), has a silk screen date of late 1974. Compare: http://www.vintagecomputer.net/RCA/COSMAC/RCA_GPA-3901822_front.jpg (Microkit) http://www.decodesystems.com/cosmac/mt5.jpg (Microtutor) Does anyone have a COSMAC Microkit user manual? I have downloaded the docs for the COSMAC chip from Bitsavers, but there is no reference to the earlier Microkit in this doc. The only printed reference to the Microkit I have is http://www.vintagecomputer.net/cisc367/EDN_Microcomputer_Systems_Directory.p df EDN Microprocessor Design Series Volume II 1975 This appears to be a supplement publication to the EDN Journal (?) I can use the Microtutor manual at least to get started. Bill

13 years, 4 months

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VAX 11/780

by elson＠pico-systems.com

From: Brian Roth <abacos_98 at yahoo.com> To: "cctech at classiccmp.org" <cctech at classiccmp.org> Subject: VAX 11/780 Message-ID: <1365090232.96105.YahooMailNeo at web141403.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii I just recently acquired a very nearly complete VAX 11/780. I will be spending the next few months in a partial tear down and cleaning and with luck, hopefully little money to get it operational again. I am looking for whatever spare parts I can find for the VAX and its TU78 tape drive. I have plenty of spare drives and such. One thing I am in need of is a console boot floppy and whatever diags I can find on floppy for it. Also, I do have a hobbyist license but I would like to get an early version of VMS to run on it if I can find a tape. Holy moly! Amazing! Well, I used to know the 780 pretty well, but didn't save anything >from the two I was manager of. The biggest problem I might imagine is getting the LSI 11 to boot off the floppy drive. I suspect original floppies may have deteriorated to the point they won't read. Higher-level diags can be booted from tape, but there were some low-level diags like control store diags that could only be run from the LSI 11. I believe the machine could actually CREATE a new diag floppy >from the diag tape, though, so if you can find good blank floppies you could recreate the diags. Hmm, refresh my memory, the TU77 was the 800/1600 BPI drive and the TU78 was the 1600/6250 drive? I'm pretty familiar with both. We had an early TU77, and went through about 13 mod kits on it to get it to stop melting tapes on the heads. It really flew through tape, though. Good luck restoring this machine! Jon

13 years, 4 months

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Manuals needed...

by lbickley＠bickleywest.com

I'm looking for operating manuals and user guides for the following software products: ManagePro 2.0 (Avantos Performance Systems, circa 1993) Siebel 3.0 Siebel 98 Originals are best, but copies are O.K. Marketing, sales literature or brochures for the above products might be of interest. A bounty is available! Cheers, Lyle -- Bickley Consulting West Inc. http://bickleywest.com "Black holes are where God is dividing by zero"

13 years, 4 months

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Miniterm 1205S

by mloewen＠cpumagic.scol.pa.us

Does anyone have a service manual or schematics for the Computer Devices Miniterm 1205S? Thanks. Mike Loewen mloewen at cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://sturgeon.css.psu.edu/~mloewen/Oldtech/

13 years, 4 months

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VAX4000-100A with P-cache problems

by shadoooo＠gmail.com

Hello. I have a VAX4000-100A system, that's fully working, except for a strange error on boot that notify about errors in the P-cache. VMS starts up, but again it notify that P-cache will be disabled due to high error-rate. Probably the CPU has been damaged somehow, or it's malfunctioning (if I'm not wrong the P-cache is integrated inside the CPU). Anybody ever had a similar problem? Could it be possible to find a replacement CPU somewhere, not at terrible cost? Thanks Andrea

13 years, 4 months

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Needed: older connector power cord

by legalize＠xmission.com

OK, I've got an HP X-Y display with the older power cord connector, where the three pins are round instead of two being blades and the only the ground pin being round. The entire plug socket is also rounded instead of angled. I've tried to find a relevant picture on the interwebs, but you try googling "power coord connector" sometime and see if you can find the older oddball you're looking for... Hopefully my description alone is enough to aid someone in identifying the exact standard/specification for this kind of connector. I'm looking for cords that fit the connector. I will try to remember to take a picture with my phone on Wednesday when I am down at the museum, if we can't figure it out by then. -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" free book <http://tinyurl.com/d3d-pipeline> The Computer Graphics Museum <http://computergraphicsmuseum.org> The Terminals Wiki <http://terminals.classiccmp.org> Legalize Adulthood! (my blog) <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>

13 years, 4 months

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Needed: older connector power cord

by legalize＠xmission.com

Earlier I wrote: > OK, I've got an HP X-Y display with the older power cord connector, > where the three pins are round instead of two being blades and the > only the ground pin being round. The entire plug socket is also > rounded instead of angled. Found a guy who has them for considerably cheaper than ebay and he still has stock for anyone else who needs some: <http://www.apexjr.com/wire.html> -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" free book <http://tinyurl.com/d3d-pipeline> The Computer Graphics Museum <http://computergraphicsmuseum.org> The Terminals Wiki <http://terminals.classiccmp.org> Legalize Adulthood! (my blog) <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>

13 years, 4 months

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Qbus identification

by roe＠liveblockauctions.com

I'm looking at upgrading a pdp11/73 in a pdp11/23plus box to an 11/83. Is there a simple multimeter test I can do on a qbus slot to determine if it is Q/Q -- which i understand can be serpentine, or Q/CD, which are PMI capable for the 11/83 CPU. Thanks.

13 years, 4 months

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What's this 88000 based qbus cpu about ?

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

> Anyone know what these are from http://www.ebay.com/itm/150407824254 ? > > It looks like a Motorola 88000 based cpu board. I was able to find > some mentions of a few 88000 floating point boards for use in MicroVAX > II but, can't find anything about Avalon A7Q. If these were > replacement cpu what did they run ? Avalon sold math and especially FFT/image/convolution/deconvultuionco-processors in the late 80's and 90's. Used in (among other things I'm sure) medical imaging back-projectors. "Back-projector" seems to mean something different today in google searches... back in the 80's and 90's we called the processing system that takes raw data from CAT scanners and turns it into a image, "convolvers" and "back projectors". For a while in the early 90's, the same generation Avalon co-processor was available in Unibus, Q-bus, and Turbochannel all at the same time. I remember I could get a Alpha processor on a Unibus card at one point! For a while (again mid-90's?), I think one company that sold Avalon boards used the name "teraflop.com". e.g. http://web.archive.org/web/19970116193017/http://teraflop.com/acs/acs.html Avalon corporate history also at archive.org: http://web.archive.org/web/19970116193719/http://teraflop.com/acs/html/hist… This (from the mid-90's) discusses some of the history of Avalon from a typical number-cruncher's perspective: http://www.taborcommunications.com/archives/1530.html Tim.

13 years, 4 months

3
3
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update to Amiga 4000/040, for all those who have asked

by sales＠elecplus.com

The Amiga 4000 powers on with no errors. The original battery is on the motherboard, but there is no visible damage. The motherboard is exceptionally clean. There is an EB920 network card (1 BNC) and a modem installed in the ISA slots, as well as 2 sticks of memory. The hard drive is a Seagate ST3144A that does not make excessive noise. I found a Commodore 1084S monitor with the appropriate cable, plugged everything in, and it works! The screen scrolls badly, so that needs to be adjusted, but it is evident that there is a GUI installed. I do not find an Amiga keyboard or a Commodore mouse at this time, but I do have 9-pin serial mice and standard PS2 keyboards. Asking $400 for the computer, monitor, 9-pin mouse and generic kbd, includes UPS ground shipping to commercial address. Add $20 for residential address. Please note the rubber feet on the computer have melted into a gooey mess, so I will remove them. The case top has several scratches/rubs, and the front plate has a minor chip on the bottom. The monitor is in good shape, although not the same shade as the computer. There is no CDROM in the computer, just the floppy and hard drive. 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: 2013.0.3267 / Virus Database: 3162/6223 - Release Date: 04/03/13

13 years, 4 months

1
0
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Chip 733w01522 on xerox 820-II FDC controller. what is it?

by enrico.lazzerini＠email.it

Is there anybody who knows what is this old chip? And where to try to find it? If it help what I know is that it used to do somenting like shift data register or Serial Shift Registers. It has a TTL level signal on its pins, it has 14 pins. You can see it named U1 in the centre of this schematic: <https://www.dropbox.com/s/zqhgar4g7ib5j4z/Xerox820_FDC_Schematic.pdf> https://www.dropbox.com/s/zqhgar4g7ib5j4z/Xerox820_FDC_Schematic.pdf Some pins are labelled on a schematics with: 1=D1, 2=D2, 3=D3, 4=D4, 10=A1, 11=A2, 12=A3, 13=A4, 14=A4, 15=ChipEnable (left to GND), 7=GND, 14=+5Vcc Thanks Enrico

13 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

VAX 11/780

by abacos_98＠yahoo.com

I just recently acquired a very nearly complete VAX 11/780. I will be spending the next few months in a partial tear down and cleaning and with luck, hopefully little money to get it operational again. I am looking for whatever spare parts I can find for the VAX and its TU78 tape drive. I have plenty of spare drives and such. One thing I am in need of is a console boot floppy and whatever diags I can find on floppy for it. Also, I do have a hobbyist license but I would like to get an early version of VMS to run on it if I can find a tape. I would be glad to pay shipping and/or trade for items. Thanks, Brian.

13 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

LA120 space bar

by roe＠liveblockauctions.com

I've acquired an LA120 Decwriter 3, it's missing the space bar. Does anyone have an idea where I could find one? I'd be willing to pay a reasonable price, and will of course cover shipping. Thanks. -- <http://www.liveblockauctions.com> Roe Peterson / Director of Research & Development O. 306.523.4005 / C. 306.501.6802 *Help Desk: 1.877.694.6100 / 306.694.6100* <http://www.liveblockauctions.com/index.php?p=FAQs>

13 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Toshiba T1910 manuals

by charlesmorris800＠centurytel.net

Does anyone have a need for the manuals for a Toshiba T1910 Satellite Notebook Computer 486-33? "Getting Started", "Reference Manual", "Reconfiguration Guide", "Companion Guide", and an "Intel387SX Math Coprocessor User's Cuide and Utilities Software". Will sell really cheap (basically just cover postage cost) or they're going in the trash. thanks Charles

13 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

twenex.org login HELP

by stefan.skoglund＠agj.net

Silly me but: i have done multiple tries to login to twenex.org I have done MKACCT at the homepage and the answer email with my user id and password has arrived but: i'm unsuccessful at login time so HELP ! (user id ssd name Stefan Skoglund password ....)

13 years, 4 months

2
1
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oldies from the warehouse piles....

by sales＠elecplus.com

I just dug a few oldies from the stacks, will test if anyone is interested in them: Digital Starion 942 Amiga 2500 Amiga 4000/040 Packard Bell Legend 245 Compaq Presario 9642 (tower) Compaq Presario 7212 (desktop) Compaq Presario 7180 (desktop) The last three were part of a distributed computing experiment we did several years ago, so I know they will work. _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2013.0.3267 / Virus Database: 3162/6223 - Release Date: 04/03/13

13 years, 4 months

1
0
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SMD cables: anyone with surplus A and B?

by pyrrhonean＠gmail.com

I have acquired several SMD disk drives (Emulex SD590 - 859MB), and have tracked down an Emulex QD controller but so far no cables. I understand the cables are relatively simple but it would be useful to have an example cable before I try to make my own, or I could save some time if someone has a box of surplus SMD cables they no longer need. thanks.

13 years, 4 months

1
0
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World’s top supercomputer from ‘09 is now obsolete, will be dismantled

by stephane.tsacas＠gmail.com

Fyi. http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/03/worlds-fastest-superc… -- Stephane FreeDonne <http://www.freedonne.org> Join FreeDonne - Rejoignez FreeDonne.

13 years, 4 months

19
36
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Wanted: Xebec S1410 and Astec AC9251 powerunit

by roelof_klaas＠gmx.com

Hello Everyone, I'm currently restoring a Dutch Holborn 6100 computer. It is an 1982 CP/M machine. Originally it had a hard drive. But the RMS-518 drive, the Xebec S1410 and the Astec AC9251 power supply are gone. Can anyone help me getting the original Xebec controller and power supply? I'd put some pictures on this Dutch forum. http://philipsradios.nl/forum/index.php?id=14288 And can anyone tell me the specifications of the RMS-518 disk? I've found the 503, 506, 512 and 514 but not the RMS 518... Thanks in advance! Regards, Roland

13 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

My Spectravideo SV-318 on YouTube

by terry＠webweavers.co.nz

An attention-getting red joystick and superior BASIC makes for an interesting home computer. My Spectravideo SV-318. http://youtu.be/LwvYpojtr0I Terry (Tez)

13 years, 4 months

5
12
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An Acorn 4000 checks in

by terry＠webweavers.co.nz

The latest addition to the collection http://www.classic-computers.org.nz/collection/acorn-4000.htm Terry (Tez)

13 years, 4 months

7
11
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SDSL modem, free for the taking

by fraveydank＠gmail.com

This isn't *exactly* vintage, but I suppose it dates back about... 10-15 years? Anyway, I have a SpeedStream 5250 SDSL modem that was pretty much never used because my parents' house was too far away from the CO to successfully sync. Does anyone want it? If it's not claimed in a week, I'm tempted to recycle it, but those are always words we seem to regret in another 10-15 years. SDSL is/was an interesting technology, but I don't imagine it's making a resurgence any time soon. I'll make the offer on vintage-computer.org as well, which may be a better venue given the amount of folks there who actually seem to want PC-era garbage (not to ding the forum, because it's great, but it's genuinely amazing what some people there will actually take). Free for postage from Philadelphia, PA 19146 (USA). - Dave

13 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

CP/M 2.34?

by dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu

I haven't heard of CP/M version 2.34, but here I'm looking at a pair of 8-inch diskettes, an original and a copy, that supposedly contain it. -- 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, 4 months

2
1
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omnibus expansion

by hachti＠hachti.de

Hello, pdp8 enthusiasts! What do I need for an Omnibus expansion box? I already have an 8/a style box running as extension with one of my 8/e computers. But that's small and I want a larger box. Problem: I've never seen that box. Can I convert a pdp8/e chassis by removing front panel and the key switch? How did the original front of the expansion look like? Comments welcome. Regards Philipp -- Dipl.-Inf. (FH) Philipp Hachtmann Buchdruck, Bleisatz, Spezialit?ten Alemannstr. 21, D-30165 Hannover Tel. 0511/3522222, Mobil 0171/2632239 Fax. 0511/3500439 hachti at hachti.de www.tiegeldruck.de UStdID DE 202668329

13 years, 4 months

1
0
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Scientific American archives

by rdawson16＠hotmail.com

Not totally out of line with Al and Bitsavers, but the total set (every issue) was up for for a few months as a lead-in to subscribe before Nature Magazine acquired it. Lots of great computing articles, not to mention the advertizements. Did it land somewhere? Randy

13 years, 4 months

2
1
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Harry Starck Pyle, March 11, 2013 at the age of 63

by glen.slick＠gmail.com

Contributed to the Intel 8008 design, among many other things http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sanantonio/obituary-print.aspx?pid=1637961… http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/accession/102702017 http://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/Oral_History/10270…

13 years, 4 months

1
0
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Flexowriter rescue

by jfoust＠threedee.com

I received a tip about a Flexowriter Selectadata system available for rescue in southeast Wisconsin. The unit is a Flexowriter model 2201 with the model 2314 Selectadata and the metal table. From what I've googled, these are 12 cps, 7-bit devices. I'll receive pictures later today. It sounds like it's intact, with full docs, under dust covers, perhaps much like this one: http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/friden/Friden_Selectadata_Brochure.p… I plan to give the owner an honest estimation of its rarity and value, and let them decide if they'd like me to have it. I'm somewhat tempted to keep it, but the angel on the other shoulder tells me to stop collecting more stuff. Anyone care to give some advice? - John

13 years, 4 months

8
15
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Computer Shopper scans?

by marco.camacho＠nologin.mx

Bello, Did the proyect of scanning computer shopper issues took place? Thanks for the advice. Marco -----

13 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

XT-IDE V2 PCBs available

by LYNCHAJ＠YAHOO.COM

Hi! More XT-IDE V2 PCBs have arrived. They will cost the same as before ($12 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 XT-IDE V2 PCBs please send a PayPal to LYNCHAJ at YAHOO.COM http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/showwiki.php?title=XTIDE+Rev2 There are about 28 XT-IDE V2 PCBs left. At least 10 are committed at the moment. Thanks and have a nice day! Andrew Lynch

13 years, 4 months

1
0
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OT: GPIB list for Prologix adapters

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

Hi folks. This is very much off-topic, but I know several people here use this sort of stuff either at home or at work. I've picked up one of the Prologix GPIB-ETHERNET bridge boxes, and I've been writing an instrument control library in the R language to control GPIB-interfaced instruments via the Prologix unit. I've been writing instrument drivers like a madman; these are the ones I have working so far: Standalone: HP 3325A synthesized function generator HP 3458A 8.5-digit multimeter HP 54111D digitizing oscilloscope HP 70900A spectrum analyzer HP 8505A RF network analyzer VXI: HP E1406A and E1301A VXI command modules E1411B VXI digital multimeter E1416A VXI RF power meter E1445A VXI arbitrary waveform/function generator Racal 3271 VXI RF signal generator This is amazingly powerful stuff when combined with the mathematical, statistical, and graphical plotting capabilities of R. I've started a mailing list for discussions amongst people using the Prologix units (not restricted to my work with R), and our efforts to get them running with different instruments. If you're interested in that stuff and want to be put on that list, drop me a note privately and I'll add you. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA

13 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Flexowriter rescue

by elson＠pico-systems.com

> From: Sander Reiche <sander.reiche at gmail.com> > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" > <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > Subject: Re: Flexowriter rescue > Message-ID: > <CACStewZsRU4zTEiyNjQqQKQ_J1j2j9gxfZKpiQv-qCqOKOJzJQ at mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > Bee-autiful!! > > > On Fri, Mar 29, 2013 at 4:02 PM, John Foust <jfoust at threedee.com> wrote: > > >> At 10:48 AM 3/28/2013, myself wrote: >> >> >>> I received a tip about a Flexowriter Selectadata system available >>> for rescue in southeast Wisconsin. >>> >> Well, so much for model numbers over the phone! I received two >> pictures of the units: >> >> http://threedee.com/jcm/friden/ >> >> Considerably newer than that Bitsavers flyer; more Mad Men than >> The Man In the Grey Flannel Suit. She says she has docs and a roll >> of pink paper tape. >> >> Yes, that appears to be the same as the one I had almost 40 years ago. Jon

13 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

FS or Trade: Viper board Basic Language Processor

by hp-fix＠xs4all.nl

I've a HP 82321C Viper board (ISA) with manuals and software which I want to part from. This one I had for spare but I only need one for spare.. It will ship worldwide and weight will be about 2 kg. Item is located in NL. -Rik

13 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Anybody ever heard of this application/company?

by a50mhzham＠gmail.com

At 04:01 PM 3/29/2013, you wrote: >It depends what you're trying to monitor or >graph. We use nagios for system checks and to >page out if services are beyond a threshold or >if a service fails but that's mostly system and simple app checks. People talk about a program called "What's Up" or "What's Up Gold" but it seemed a little basic way back when I looked at it. We use Nagios extensively, but we've gone a little beyond basic checks. We wrote some plug-ins and adapted others. One of the simpler ones is to do an http GET of a page and verify that 1. the page can be retrieved and 2. it contains the words "<processname> is alive." We also issue SIP commands and make sure our Asterisk servers are alive, and send TNS PINGs, which indicate that an Oracle database server at least has basic connectivity to the Oracle process. I found the configuration process a bit cumbersome, so I store the hosts file in a CSV, edit it with Excel and a simple macro, and run a script to install it. The script even restarts the Nagios process for me, after checking my new hosts and services files for proper syntax. -t >Reply-To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" > <cctalk at classiccmp.org> >Subject: RE: Anybody ever heard of this application/company? > >What open source tools that run on php and mysql would do the same things? > > >I haven't but what were you wanting to accomplish? These are often >companies using opensource tools and reworking the front end to make it look >like their own ware. > > >Subject: Anybody ever heard of this application/company? > >http://newrelic.com/ > >Cindy Croxton > > >----- >No virus found in this message. >Checked by AVG - www.avg.com >Version: 2013.0.3267 / Virus Database: 3161/6210 - Release Date: 03/28/13 690 . [Faith] I can believe anything provided it is incredible. --Oscar Wilde a50mhzham at gmail.com ? N9QQB (amateur radio) "HEY YOU" (loud shouting) ? Second Tops (Set Dancing) ? FIND ME ON FACEBOOK 43? 7' 17.2" N by 88? 6' 28.9" W ? Elevation 815' ? Grid Square EN53wc LAN/Telecom Analyst ? Open-source Dude ? Musician ? Registered Linux User 385531

13 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Anybody ever heard of this application/company?

by sales＠elecplus.com

http://newrelic.com/ Cindy Croxton _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2013.0.3267 / Virus Database: 3161/6210 - Release Date: 03/28/13

13 years, 4 months

5
6
0 0

xerox 820-II floppy disk controller card

by enrico.lazzerini＠email.it

Ciao at all, is there anybody who wish to sell to me or indicate where to find the floppy disk controller card i need to make my mainboard xerox 820-II working again? This the card i'm looking for: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ze8ne5nnz8s37lw/Xerox%20820-II%20Floppy%20Disk%20C ontroller.jpg Thanks Enrico

13 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

DG MV/2500 Help

by steve＠stephenmerrony.co.uk

Well I got the PSU repaired in the MV/2500 I'm trying to resurrect; now I'm on to disk problems. On start-up I get Model # 8932; System Processing Unit (SPU) AB, FAILED; ERROR 6:252:74 I know that Break (CMD-ESC) will take me into some sort of primitive boot environment but I have no documentation (or knowledge) of available commands etc. Next steps: * Try to get the MV/2500 system media on 130MB CTD format * Try to get low-level documentation on the MV/2500 * Find out how to attach a PHU to the MV/2500 (no, it's not obvious!) * Find out for certain if I can put non-DG SCSI disks in the MV/2500. The two disks in there appear to have DG-originated BIOSes... Can anyone help or answer any of the above? Thanks in advance, Steve -- /Stephen Merrony /http://stephen.homedns.org/dg/mymv2500.html

13 years, 4 months

2
2
0 0

Flexowriter rescue

by elson＠pico-systems.com

> - > > Message: 6 > Date: Thu, 28 Mar 2013 10:48:53 -0500 > From: John Foust <jfoust at threedee.com> > > > I received a tip about a Flexowriter Selectadata system available > for rescue in southeast Wisconsin. > > The unit is a Flexowriter model 2201 with the model 2314 Selectadata > and the metal table. From what I've googled, these are 12 cps, 7-bit > devices. I'll receive pictures later today. It sounds like it's intact, > with full docs, under dust covers, perhaps much like this one: > > I had a flexowriter that was at least a full generation newer than that one, at least judging by the general styling. It needed a procedure about every week or two to free up a bunch of oval-shaped wheels that touched a spinning drum that looked like a typewriter platen roll. When the oval wheel dug into the spinning roller it flipped the roller over, driving the type bars up to the paper. I think the roller got a glaze and the wheels wouldn't catch or something. otherwise it worked fairly reliably, and had paper tape reader and punch. Jon

13 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

OT: 1000 year DVD storage

by tom_a_sparks＠yahoo.com.au

----- Original Message ----- > The M-Disc claims 1,000 year permanency. > > http://www.mdisc.com/ > > Anyone have experience with these? > > --Chuck > > (wondering if we'll be able to find a 1,000 year old DVD player) forget it there is no way you'll be able to play anything digital in a 1,000 years because of Digital obsolescence[1] and add copyrights the best example is the BBC Domesday Project[2] [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_obsolescence [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Domesday_Project tom

13 years, 4 months

9
21
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Whats happened to the Vintage Computer Forum?

by barythrin＠gmail.com

Sure there isn't a typo in the url? http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/ works fine for me. ------Original Message------ From: Steve Hunt Sender: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org To: General Discussion: On-Topic Posts Only ReplyTo: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts Subject: Whats happened to the Vintage Computer Forum? Sent: Mar 27, 2013 3:55 PM What's happened to the VCF? I'm just getting a place holder page that sells web sites.

13 years, 4 months

5
4
0 0

Debugging under RSTS/E

by jhfinedp3k＠compsys.to

I attempted to run an RT-11 program under V10.1 of RSTS/E. Is there any way of invoking ODT or a DEBUG package under RSTS/E which is similar the SDX.SYS in RT-11 or "/DEBUG" in TSX-Plus? I can LINK ODT into the RT-11 program and use ODT that way. But I though that RSTS/E might support something a bit more user friendly than ODT at this point? Jerome Fine

13 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Whats happened to the Vintage Computer Forum?

by stephen.hunt＠iname.com

What's happened to the VCF? I'm just getting a place holder page that sells web sites.

13 years, 4 months

2
1
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classic-computers.org.nz down at the moment

by terry＠webweavers.co.nz

Hi, I know people occasionally access my domain at classic-computers.org.nz for articles and resources. Just a note to say it's down due to the 9GB monthy bandwidth allowance being exceeded. The hosting service seems unresponsive at the moment (in other words, I requested a bandwidth increase two days ago but nothing's happened). Hopefully it will be back up soon, but just letting folk know it could be as late as the 1st April, when the allocation is reset (but hopefully not that long..mind you with Easter coming up...!) Terry (Tez)

13 years, 4 months

1
1
0 0

Bristol Bloodhound parts anyone ?

by jdr_use＠bluewin.ch

In a vain attempt to find bits of a Ferranti Argus I uploaded myself with some parts of the iconic cold-war-era Bristol Bloodhound missile. Which I don't really want.... What would be appropriate venues / mailing lists to get rid of those parts ? ( items : radar receiver dish with positioner, accelerometer, gyro, altimeter, bulkhead, but very litte electronics ) Location : Switzerland The chap that sold me the parts uses the Bloodhound's ramjet engine as a coathanger..... Are there any surviving Argus 100 or 200 systems ? Jos

13 years, 5 months

4
3
0 0

My Commodore 64 on YouTube

by terry＠webweavers.co.nz

I got around to it eventually. My Commodore 64 on Youtube! http://youtu.be/LfpYaz8FtEY Terry (Tez)

13 years, 5 months

1
0
0 0

Wanted: VT101 compatible keyboard.

by tomjoyce＠lavabit.com

Hello all! I have recently added a DEC VT101 to my collection. Only problem is, it came with no keyboard. The way I understand it, any VT10x keyboard will work with it. So, does anyone have an extra that they would be willing to part with? Thanks a lot! -- Tom.

13 years, 5 months

3
2
0 0

Science! (With VAXen)

by lproven＠gmail.com

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/25/geeks_guide_jodrell_bank/ ... with mention of some retrocomputing elements, too... -- 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 7939-087884http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/25/geeks_guide_jodrell_bank/

13 years, 5 months

2
1
0 0

Fwd: Failure Notice

by woyciesjes＠sbcglobal.net

Mouse --- Is all okay with your servers? -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Failure Notice Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2013 22:00:25 -0000 From: MAILER-DAEMON at yahoo.com To: woyciesjes at sbcglobal.net Sorry, we were unable to deliver your message to the following address. <mouse at rodents-montreal.org>: Mail server for "rodents-montreal.org" unreachable for too long --- Below this line is a copy of the message. Received: from [66.94.237.195] by nm20.access.bullet.mail.mud.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 21 Mar 2013 21:58:23 -0000 Received: from [68.142.198.207] by tm6.access.bullet.mail.mud.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 21 Mar 2013 21:58:23 -0000 Received: from [127.0.0.1] by smtp111.sbc.mail.mud.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 21 Mar 2013 21:58:23 -0000 DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=sbcglobal.net; s=s1024; t=1363903103; bh=0Jsqb4xukiAvB6ZgvReWY1rhyHbsBaeuEZBC9tsQpP4=; h=X-Yahoo-Newman-Id:X-Yahoo-Newman-Property:X-YMail-OSG:X-Yahoo-SMTP:X-Rocket-Received:Message-ID:Date:From:User-Agent:MIME-Version:To:Subject:References:In-Reply-To:Content-Type:Content-Transfer-Encoding; b=NgGLDupFXpIBY50EvcRYAV7NPtRAeA5NtJLgZHv+5FkgRJLGk9S/UwHtXS0jqMXY+NEuC8nibCDirbtAVPpGbFikgTpiBzzNuUnXI3++A+QCzaqJwhGGCVZx6yaXzk+rSqEQuliCGaSybthKa+GlvdwcAy/1SczPm/CvlIUQOJg= X-Yahoo-Newman-Id: 467025.55886.bm at smtp111.sbc.mail.mud.yahoo.com X-Yahoo-Newman-Property: ymail-3 X-YMail-OSG: joYMzwUVM1m1e7AXJJRIE4ZEmUlBGBS_0IW3wJOgrSS1PC4 QEOgOvwgzDZIkfTXPLnbkvY3BG5VaOA8thWslul6X7f1Eis4rLb2pRBkybmg O0cSbWBzgD9eWvWz2ySPXZMXledO2B6rawlg7LGPm268r_lSjJ25CTN2Nt45 xVBpBbxnr_.nP.G25mkI99.nUVABzbiiR2zxagPfJUHFPsp5g5JfVGc1oeN1 _FkbnTL3m1FsagNMq2c86ARuFdNIeSrOAI._RwmssLc7c5VxdbuIPzzf1lIH nKaEMdUgG.UClAxIc3xkU0t6OcZT5jDV2xQoKzLd2FdLpYlOqjQ3Uf8bLFo6 zdjReIrad12enCvPEQCIOh7R2T23GtIepFk1IxNiglwXYzeTudawnDa1VIvx hlXglrHOjMGI3QhmjbGW2e5HIUCekeUQbRl3cYY6lyvImV6CXmj.4oWcyzjL YWJyJ5VSyVUurxwmzM3Wa_gNRiyhYHmaYheVCThj4c0e8g2OWlh3relXnxU7 JNa7kioxwbO7p5eV5AI2oSzG9q4VX5o8DGwqZPLV5wbwoqJCcGEgMfXlZ0Xm NFOYte.Wf_.Ffk9nqtXXbk2H3OXBMJ.7FW9O31Ac- X-Yahoo-SMTP: 1vdsNA6swBDwgbjTvnGKq3DnmhPsZKBlBgRRz0jp5jZHz6WjPA-- X-Rocket-Received: from [192.168.1.70] (woyciesjes at 75.37.158.43 with plain) by smtp111.sbc.mail.mud.yahoo.com with SMTP; 21 Mar 2013 14:58:23 -0700 PDT Message-ID: <514B8281.1020802 at sbcglobal.net> Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2013 17:58:25 -0400 From: Dave Woyciesjes <woyciesjes at sbcglobal.net> User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:17.0) Gecko/20130107 Thunderbird/17.0.2 MIME-Version: 1.0 To: Mouse <mouse at Rodents-Montreal.ORG> Subject: Re: I'm baack... References: <514B4AF6.1070207 at sbcglobal.net> <201303212143.RAA02946 at Sparkle.Rodents-Montreal.ORG> In-Reply-To: <201303212143.RAA02946 at Sparkle.Rodents-Montreal.ORG> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit On 3/21/2013 5:43 PM, Mouse wrote: >> Well, it's been about a 3 year hiatus from the list for me... >> How many of the old farts & curmudgeons are still around? ;) > Not sure I count, though I have been feeling increasingly curmudgeonly > in recent years. But I'm still here. Good to see. Yeah, I think I recall you being a touch curmudgeonly occasionally. ;) >> One burning question, has the list's definition of a classic computer >> been updated from the 10 year rule? > I don't recall seeing the question discussed either way recently. > That's a surprise. -- --- Dave Woyciesjes --- ICQ# 905818 --- AIM - woyciesjes --- CompTIA A+ Certified IT Tech - http://certification.comptia.org/ --- HDI Certified Support Center Analyst - http://www.ThinkHDI.com/ Registered Linux user number 464583 "...Talking to you is like clapping with one hand." Anthrax, "Caught in a mosh" -- --- Dave Woyciesjes --- ICQ# 905818 --- AIM - woyciesjes --- CompTIA A+ Certified IT Tech - http://certification.comptia.org/ --- HDI Certified Support Center Analyst - http://www.ThinkHDI.com/ Registered Linux user number 464583 "Computers have lots of memory but no imagination." "The problem with troubleshooting is that trouble shoots back." - from some guy on the internet.

13 years, 5 months

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Mid-Atlantic Retro Open House Weekend - Swap and Workshop 5/18-19/13

by billdeg＠degnanco.com

As you know VCF E was cancelled this year, but now that power will be available we're going to hold an "open house" May 18th and 19th. WHERE: InfoAge Science Center (infoage.org) in Wall Township New Jersey 9032-A (same as last VCF Exhibit room) WHEN: May 18th 9AM through May 19th until ?? WHAT: A combo-swap meet and workshop (a.k.a. vintage computing hackfest) Half the room will be tables for working on computers. Half the room will be for consignment. We'll charge $5 if someone is merely attending, or $10 if they're bringing something to sell or repair. We'll also take 10% of sales as a consignment fee. (This income is for the club's general budget, not for food.) We will NOT do is let strangers drop off computers for us to repair. This isn't free service weekend. We will expect the MARCH veterans to serve at least some of their time during the weekend as mentors. So basically it's just like our standard work weekends, except it'll be open for outsiders to join in, and we'll formalize the "stuff available" tables so the club makes some money. OMARC's hamfest is May 18, down the street at the TIROS dish campus, from 7-11am. Our event will start at 9am. Both events will refer people to other. As at our past work weekends, this also isn't a party. we'll make some plans for light meals, but food/drink is strongly discouraged in repair/sales tables. Also discouraged are people who attend just to hang out. We might have some sort of evening "thing" TBD (We have a lot of good ideas, we'll announce soon) Just for extra caution, all attendees in the work area will sign a liability waiver. I know you're all smart and careful, but who knows with the general public... Some people may choose to bring their own items to repair. Others may opt to work on MARCH systems (you must have permission). Still others may want to be open for helping everyone else, or some combination of the above. Let me or Evan Koblentz know if you have questions - I can be reached via http://www.vintagecomputer.net/contact.cfm Bill

13 years, 5 months

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Oy vey! Gross mischaracterizations of our hobby.

by evan＠snarc.net

It pains me to criticize "the media" because I'm in it. But ... recently I was grossly misquoted by the financial site Bankrate.com, re: any value in vintage computing. http://www.bankrate.com/lite/smart-spending/collecting-items-as-an-investme… I don't even recall anyone from that site ever contacting me! I think the write just copied information that I told another financial site, Minyanville.com, two years ago: http://www.minyanville.com/special-features/articles/old-computer-apple-com… Bankrate's story says that a desktop PC from 1998 could be a valuable collectible, with the implication that I'm the source of such nonsense. It also says that sky-high early Apple prices are "the excitement" that "led to" formation of groups like MARCH. (As many (most?) of you know, MARCH formed back in 2005, solely to allow collectors in our region to meet, tinker on vintage computers, and have fun.) We retrocomputing folks will never have the numbers of the Beanie Baby people, but, help a brother out: go to the Bankrate story, scroll down to find my comment, and vote it "up" by clicking the caret symbol underneath and to the left of the comment. More bad news: the story was picked up by Fox Business, where presumably many more people will see it than on Bankrate, but where there's no comment system. Soooo, a bunch of people will see the Fox version and get the idea that Pentium Windows 98 computers are ** L@@K R at RE !! and worth BIG BUCKS over on eBay. Oh, joy. http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2013/02/27/five-collectibles-to… Please know that it's not my fault. ;) - Evan

13 years, 5 months

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For free/for sale: 5150/5160 PSU, Apple IIe card

by fraveydank＠gmail.com

Of course, I forgot to mention: shipping from Philadelphia, PA, USA (19146). The Apple IIe card may already be claimed. - Dave

13 years, 5 months

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IBM I/O Selectric project

by steve＠tronola.com

Hi Lawrence, Thank you for the interesting pics and videos of the Selectric terminal. Not long ago I tossed an IBM model 50 electronic typewriter, which I had had since 1988. Have felt bad about that ever since. Now I feel worse! :) It wasn't working though, and I didn't know how difficult it would be to convert it into a terminal. By the way, the uneven spacing you were seeing is something that it would do, when the proportional spacing (PS) selector was set wrong. (Unlike many Selectrics, the model 50 did support PS.) Also enjoyed your pages on the IBM 360 model 30. Having just finished reading the excellent book, "IBM's 360 and Early 370 Systems," by Pugh, et al, the additional coverage of the "baby" model really hit the spot. Your VHDL implementation of that machine is truly stunning! All the best, Steve L.

13 years, 5 months

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For free/for sale: 5150/5160 PSU, Apple IIe card

by fraveydank＠gmail.com

I have two things that may be of interest to list denizens: IBM 5150/5160 power supply (part no. IBM-1501461). Appears to work if given a load, but I don't have a 5150 or an XT to test it with. Dirty, but it worked fine when I pulled it from an XT in about 1996. Free for the price of shipping. Apple IIe LC-PDS card, with breakout cable. I don't seem to be able to find the time to play with this, so I'll sell it for a pittance. Name your price and we'll see if my version of "pittance" lines up with yours. I have several functioning LCIIs as well, one of which I'll throw in free for shipping. Also, those of you who requested 5.25" 1.2M drives from me but haven't given me your address: they are still sitting more or less ready to ship in the basement. I'd like to free up some space for other things. - Dave (off-list replies, please, unless you have reason to spam the list)

13 years, 5 months

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VAXStation 3100 M76 Bootroms Disk Size?

by cctech＠beyondthepale.ie

> > OpenBSD is currently installing (flawlessly so far) but I think I'll know > in approx an half hour if I can boot the installed OS. > OpenBSD has sized the a partition with 900Mbytes so all the needed files > for booting should be below 1 GB. > The other thing you have to worry about is dumping. VMS uses the console ROM routines to write system dumps and these can end up in the wrong place on disks larger than 1GB on VS3100s. I don't know what unix does but if it has a dumpfile, it would be good to keep it below the 1 GB line also. Regards, Peter Coghlan.

13 years, 5 months

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VAXStation 3100 M76 Bootroms Disk Size?

by holm＠freibergnet.de

Hi all, I've got some ugly dirty VAXstation lately, an 3100/M76 and two 3100/M38 (if I remember correctly). I've cleaned the M76 and got it to work. Inside is an 200MB RZ24 Disk ans since I want to boot some Unix this is pretty small. I have a bunch of IBM DCAS3330 4Gig disks that where a good fit I think, but there is a problem with the System disk size on the VS3100.. The limit is coming from using six byte SCSI commands instead of the then byte versions in the boot software. I googled a litte and found this: >:Yes. It's a limitation imposed by the boot ROMs. Just ran into it >:(again!) a few weeks back and DEC reminded me yet again. Some confusion >:exists because -- I think -- some models of the 3100 were >:field-upgradable to have a new ROM set capable of supported >1 GB boot >disk. > > No member of the *VAXstation* 3100 series support system disks larger > than 1.073 gigabytes, and there are no ROM upgrades available. > > There are some members of the *MicroVAX* 3100 series that support or > can have console ROMs upgraded to support system disks larger than > 1.073 gigabytes. I do have KA43 V1.2 Bootroms in the M76, so the question is: Are there newer ROM versions than 1.2 und is there support for larger System disks? Burning Roms is no problem. Does someone have a newer firmware version? I know that I can use the 200MB Disk to boot and use the larger for data, but at least I do have a mechanical problem here, I had to make some plastic Bumpers to mount the additional disk in the VS3100 on the lathe. I would better use the RZ24 in one of my PDP 11's... Kind Regards, Holm -- Technik Service u. Handel Tiffe, www.tsht.de, Holm Tiffe, Freiberger Stra?e 42, 09600 Obersch?na, USt-Id: DE253710583 www.tsht.de, info at tsht.de, Fax +49 3731 74200, Mobil: 0172 8790 741

13 years, 5 months

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OT: 1000 year DVD storage

by barythrin＠gmail.com

I think the filesystem format is just called iso 9660. I believe the writer reads the info on the inner plastic and gets the media type since not only does it know the difference in size but it also reads the media speed rating to know not to burn at a higher than x speed (unless the user overrides that setting). ------Original Message------ From: Fred Cisin Sender: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts ReplyTo: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts Subject: Re: OT: 1000 year DVD storage Sent: Mar 23, 2013 2:44 PM On Sat, 23 Mar 2013, Jerome H. Fine wrote: > Since a DVD drive can read both a CD and a DVD (as well > as, for many drives, but not all) burn both a CD and a DVD, > the media can't be that different. However, since my DVD > drive is able to distinguish between a DVD blank and a CD > blank, I assume that the media must be somewhat different. Is there some info pre-recorded?

13 years, 5 months

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Get a board Xerox 820-II working fine

by enrico.lazzerini＠email.it

Hello everyone, I got a board Xerox 820-II without any other components and without disk controller. After changing the video sync and created a composite video on video i have the correct prompt. I made a keyboard interface to convert a PS2 keyboard in parallel with the same schematic that works well with my Ferguson Bigboard I and the other card Xerox 820-I. I saw that on the xerox 820-II board there are almost 2 ICs with the name Signetics 3341PC (U102 and U101) that are between the U65 (system and Keyboard PIO) and the 72LS74 (U96 and U97) that come to connect to the keyboard input (see sheet 7 of thsi schematic http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/xerox/820-II/Xerox820-II_Schematics.p df). I come to requests: 1) The keyboard does not write. I read on a post that I can not find anymore that without the inclusion of the disk controller card into its slot the keyboard would not write. Perhaps because there is not anymore the continuity of the chain interrupt (see at the bottom of sheet 8 close to U65 into this schematic http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/xerox/820-II/Xerox820-II_Schematics.p df )? 2) If i not find the disk controller card I was thinking about to self-build it on a bareboard hoping that the diagram at the bottom of the last pages at http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/xerox/820/Xerox820_ServiceMan.pdf is accurate. Where can I find a card edge connector male 72-pin 2.54mm pitch? 3) You also have some suggestions for me? Thanks so much Enrico - Pisa - (Italy)

13 years, 5 months

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Univac 3 video on youube

by jws＠jwsss.com

I mentioned having a Univac 3 available for sale and have some interest. When I watched a video linked to by a person on the IBM-MAIN mailing list some time ago, there was a few Univac links, so I looked to see what was there for Univac 3 this turned up which is supposed to be the US Army system http://youtu.be/ICGPML5lzoY There are tape drives in the short bit of video which are not Uni-servo's and are probably not connected to the Univac near the end, but you can see the system's drives in one bit of the video. NOte that it had no disk storage it was all tape with the OS at the BOT of every volume, or bits of the application. Anyone recognize the logo on the tape drives (probably not Univac) at the 23 sec point? it is a big red circle with two side bars. Rings a bell to me but I haven't figured it out yet. There was also a CHM show about timesharing with Univac that came up, but I don't think the tape drives are the same Uniservo's that the U3 used, so is probably later. Also the theme is timesharing which of course the U3 was definitely not ever going to do. thanks Jim

13 years, 5 months

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OT: 1000 year DVD storage

by tom_a_sparks＠yahoo.com.au

> On Mar 22, 2013, at 10:49 AM, Mouse <mouse at rodents-montreal.org> wrote: > > Often enough, especially with governments, the person put in > charge of data preservation is not someone who has the foggiest > idea of how to actually go about it.? They then have to rely on > other people to do it, which is great if you know the right > people and disastrous if you only THINK you know the right > people. these so called consultants have never * used linux/unix or a 1980's or earlier computer system * moved data between these system with sneakernet/null-modem[1] setup > - Dave [1] trying asking at your local computer shop about a Null-modem cable tom sparks

13 years, 5 months

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DEC Q-Bus DLV11 M7940 SLU Documentation

by pbirkel＠gmail.com

Resend without attachments (too big; sorry 'bout that :-<). Anyone interested in the missing attachments please contact me off-list. On Sat, Mar 23, 2013 at 3:17 AM, Paul Birkel <pbirkel at gmail.com> wrote: > No PDP-11-eating, please! The BC05C cable, and also the 7008360 cable, > seems to be the key; these are shared across a number of DEC > modules/variants. > > Finding documentation is quite a Where's-Waldo exercise, but a lot of it > is "out there" it seems :->. In my case the attached two items were > extracted from larger, varied, documents. Perhaps they'll be useful for > the next challenged person :->. > > On Mon, Mar 18, 2013 at 5:08 PM, Tony Duell <ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk>wrote: > >> > >> > --f46d0444e88960605904d821f7a5 >> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" >> > >> > Can some kind soul point me to the technical documentation for the Q-Bus >> > DLV11 M7940 Serial Line Unit? It has a 2x20 pin-out connector of >> unknown. >> > I gather that it's a pretty common card, so I'd expect the >> documentation to >> > still be "out there" ... like the truth :->. >> > >> > Not the DLV11-J, which is the 4-line card. >> > >> > The only good news is that the MC1488 and MC1489 are nearby, which will >> > help a little. But documentation is *much* better! Probably any of its >> > variants will do just fine (e.g., M7940-YA "M7940 W EXTRA WIRES TO BRING >> > OUT CLOCK & 110/300 SPEED CHG"). >> >> It should be much the same as the pinout for the DL11 (Unibus) seiral >> interface or even the DL8 (Omnibus). It's a very ocommon DEC serial port >> pinout. If there's no documetnaiuton on _any_ of thsoe out there, I will >> eat a PDP11 or something. >> >> One trap for the unwary. These cards, or at least some of them, have >> both RS232 and current loop interfaces on them. The outputs of the 2 >> possible receive buffers (1489 for the RS232, a nopo-isolator bnsed >> circuit for current loop) appear on pins of this conenctor, as does the >> inptu to the UART chip. You have pumper the appropriate pair of pins on >> the connecotr of your cable. if you don't, you'll never receive anything. >> >> -tony >> > >

13 years, 5 months

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XY8E plotter control docs?

by hachti＠hachti.de

Hi, does anyone have XY8E plotter control schematics at hand? I just plugged one into my currently active pdp8/e and it doesn't work :-( And then I realized that I don't have schematics. At least not on my PC. And the links on pdp8.net seem to be dead to me. If anyone does have the schematics on his/her PC, please drop me a line. But don't invest time to scan it. I'm quite sure that I have an original *somewhere* in piles of paper... Thank you Philipp -- Dipl.-Inf. (FH) Philipp Hachtmann Buchdruck, Bleisatz, Spezialit?ten Alemannstr. 21, D-30165 Hannover Tel. 0511/3522222, Mobil 0171/2632239 Fax. 0511/3500439 hachti at hachti.de www.tiegeldruck.de UStdID DE 202668329

13 years, 5 months

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RK05 drive foam deterioration and replacement

by steve＠tronola.com

>The foam flaked off and seems to be deteriorating. --- Hi Carl, Just to add to Philipp's excellent advice: I replaced the foam in my RK05 with 1-inch high density foam from a JoAnn store: http://www.joann.com/airtex-foam-chairpads-1-high-density/prd23481/?green=C… Their warning not to cut with hot wire is not to be ignored! I found that cutting with an electric knife worked well. Used contact cement to glue it to the blower flange. Works great. There is about 3/4" clearance between card cage and blower, so it compresses appropriately. By the way, removal of the blower is a pill. The fasteners are buried deep and require a hex key driver that is much longer than ordinary ones. Found an inexpensive set at Home Depot, which did the job. One fastener is particularly hard to get to. I decided to replace the hex fasteners with ordinary screws and emphatically did not install the fourth one. Three work fine. Note that the Velcro strap which is used to tighten the absolute filter is laid under the blower mounting, to secure it. I used adhesive to keep it in place when the blower is removed. I notice that a lot of these drives seem to be missing the prefilter, as mine was. I used a common window screen kit to make the replacement filter. Used window screen on the outside but 100um nylon filter fabric from eBay, also tucked into the spline on the inside. Makes a decent facsimile of the original prefilter. You can buy new-old-stock replacement absolute filters here: http://www.varx.com/ I paid $60, plus shipping. A tip about getting the old filter out: I found it difficult to pull the filter off of the flange leading to the blower. Thinking that I must not be doing something right, I ended up pulling the blower off again to see what was happening. Finally decided that the old filter just had to be yanked off. Perhaps the plastic has stiffened with age. It finally came off. One thing that distracted me was the fact that, in spite of the flange blocking removal, the absolute filter fits the blower duct very loosely. Hence, a Velcro strap is provided to tighten the filter against the duct. Some might think all this attention to filtering is overkill but after seeing the illustration on p. 1-17 of the 1976 RK05 maintenance manual of the 100um head flying height versus various contaminants, I have been very careful about dust. It's a relief that Philipp has had not-so-bad experiences with head crashes but I would like to minimize the risks. Steve L. http://www.tronola.com/

13 years, 5 months

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TRS-80 Model III sighting

by barythrin＠gmail.com

Awesome MARCH :-) you preemptively answered my question if anyone here had helped with the computers. Have to check it out just for that.

13 years, 5 months

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TRS-80 Model III sighting

by oltmansg＠gmail.com

Don't know if any of you guys watch "The Americans" on FX. For those not in the know, this show follows two KGB operatives living as Americans in the US during the height of the Cold War in the early 80's. In the episode from this week, there was a scene in an FBI building and in the background there was a TRS-80 Model III sitting next to a bank of tape drives.

13 years, 5 months

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