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

by philpem＠philpem.me.uk

Hi guys, I'm going to stick my neck out a bit, and assume you all saw the screenshots I posted this week. If you didn't, well... you missed a treat :) I've just committed the current "development alpha" of the DiscFerret software to the DiscFerret Mercurial repository. You can access the files at the following address: http://hg.discferret.com/software/merlin/ Hit the "zip," "gz" or "bz2" link on the top toolbar and you can download a ZIP, tar-gzip or tar-bzip2 file containing all the current source files. At the moment, I've only tested Merlin on Linux (specifically, Ubuntu 10.10 "Maverick Meerkat"), although *in theory* it should also build on the various BSDs and Mac OS X, as long as you have a working copy of the GCC C++ compiler, and the wxWidgets libraries for your system (note that 'wx-config' must be on the PATH). At the moment, it'll only read "Catweasel IMG" files. These are basically dumps of the Catweasel data buffer, sampled at 28MHz, in the following format: File := 1 or more "Track" blocks Track := uchar cylinder // physical cylinder (track) uchar head // physical head (side) uint32le payload_length uchar[] payload // length specified by payload_length uchar = unsigned char, an 8 bit unsigned value uint32le = unsigned integer, 32 bit, little endian. Data is exactly as extracted from the Catweasel memory; 28MHz clock rate, index in the MSbit, bits 6..0 contain the timing value. Please feel free to post your comments on-list, or email me in private if you prefer. Thanks, -- Phil. philpem at philpem.me.uk http://www.philpem.me.uk/

15 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

New DiscFerret tool released: Merlin

by philpem＠philpem.me.uk

Hi guys, I'm going to stick my neck out a bit, and assume you all saw the screenshots I posted this week. If you didn't, well... you missed a treat :) I've just committed the current "development alpha" of the DiscFerret software to the DiscFerret Mercurial repository. You can access the files at the following address: http://hg.discferret.com/software/merlin/ Hit the "zip," "gz" or "bz2" link on the top toolbar and you can download a ZIP, tar-gzip or tar-bzip2 file containing all the current source files. At the moment, I've only tested Merlin on Linux (specifically, Ubuntu 10.10 "Maverick Meerkat"), although *in theory* it should also build on the various BSDs and Mac OS X, as long as you have a working copy of the GCC C++ compiler, and the wxWidgets libraries for your system (note that 'wx-config' must be on the PATH). At the moment, it'll only read "Catweasel IMG" files. These are basically dumps of the Catweasel data buffer, sampled at 28MHz, in the following format: File := 1 or more "Track" blocks Track := uchar cylinder // physical cylinder (track) uchar head // physical head (side) uint32le payload_length uchar[] payload // length specified by payload_length uchar = unsigned char, an 8 bit unsigned value uint32le = unsigned integer, 32 bit, little endian. Data is exactly as extracted from the Catweasel memory; 28MHz clock rate, index in the MSbit, bits 6..0 contain the timing value. Please feel free to post your comments on-list, or email me in private if you prefer. Thanks, -- Phil. philpem at philpem.me.uk http://www.philpem.me.uk/

15 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

Since there is no irc talk...

by vintagecoder＠aol.com

Thus spake dave.thearchivist at gmail.com on Sun May 1 19:19:04 > we are on #classiccmp om freenode....been there for years > > Dave Caroline (archivist) Thanks Dave. Probably good to send that out once in awhile for us newbies so we don't irritate Ian :D

15 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

Interesting device on eBay

by cclist＠sydex.com

For the wannabe spooks, a raster analysis kit: 120718150318 --Chuck

15 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

command line "museum"

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

(this time with a subject line!) Vince writes: > I did figure out a way that they might be getting their passwd files. > It looks sort of like they are scraping postings from the usenet > archives, and putting together login names with systems from > back in the day. Good catch, especially uucp lists and maps seem very relevant here. All paths go through mimsy :-) later mimsy.umd.edu so... a late 80's UUCP map obviously figured heavily in the simulated networking. By necessity: any retelling of 80's era networking will have so much source information available from UUCP mapping projects and Usenet and mailing lists, than any other more closed sections of the network. (BITNET and later NSFNet are also up there in terms of preserved message/map volume but by no means as huge). It's a little biased but by no means wrong (especially considering my link to the network was largely uucp back then too... I can easily dig up usenet groups from the 80's that I overlapped with, but the bitnet-based listserv's that were popular back then are far harder for me to find references to.) I suspect Henry Spencer's preservation of usenet archive tapes at utzoo will figure heavily in any retellings in the future. History is written by the victors, it seems so! If victors == usenet nerds :-) If I poke at the right places at classiccmp.org I can find archives from dewey but I don't think I can find the washington.edu/Bill Whitson era. Tim.

15 years, 3 months

2
1
0 0

No subject

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

> I did figure out a way that they might be getting their passwd files. > It looks sort of like they are scraping postings from the usenet > archives, and putting together login names with systems from > back in the day. Good catch, especially uucp lists and maps seem very relevant here. All paths go through mimsy :-) later mimsy.umd.edu so... a late 80's UUCP map obviously figured heavily in the simulated networking. By necessity: any retelling of 80's era networking will have so much source information available from UUCP mapping projects and Usenet and mailing lists, than any other more closed sections of the network. (BITNET and later NSFNet are also up there in terms of preserved message/map volume but by no means as huge). It's a little biased but by no means wrong (especially considering my link to the network was largely uucp back then too... I can easily dig up usenet groups from the 80's that I overlapped with, but the bitnet-based listserv's that were popular back then are far harder for me to find references to.) I suspect Henry Spencer's preservation of usenet archive tapes at utzoo will figure heavily in any retellings in the future. History is written by the victors, it seems so! If victors == usenet nerds :-) Tim.

15 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

command line "museum"

by geneb＠deltasoft.com

Check it out: http://telehack.com @ basic Darthmouth DTSS TeleBASIC (c) 1964,1966,1969,1970,1971,1979 > Blows my mind. :) g. -- Proud owner of F-15C 80-0007 http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind. http://www.simpits.org/geneb - The Me-109F/X Project ScarletDME - The red hot Data Management Environment A Multi-Value database for the masses, not the classes. http://www.scarletdme.org - Get it _today_! Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.

15 years, 3 months

15
21
0 0

FFS: 13 3m cat5 cables

by dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu

I have 13 3-meter cat5 cables by Belkin in blister packs that are just taking up room. I have plenty of cat5 already. Please take them off my hands. Free for shipping! I'm in California. -- 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?

15 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

Have: Control Data 8528 digital communications terminal reference manual

by alexeyt＠freeshell.org

I've found a control Data 8528 Digital Communications Terminal Reference Manual at a book sale for $1 :-) It's letter size, soft cover, about 100 pages, contains a number of schematics and is copyrighted in 1964. The 8528 appears to be a 12-bit modem that can be used over coax, microwave or leased telephone links at up to 10^5 words/sec. It comes with a telephone handset in case you want to talk to the person on the other end :-) It can be yours for the cost of media mail shipping from 27606. I see that CHM has one (but no scans posted), but I don't see a copy on bitsavers, so Al gets dibs if he wants it. I can also scan it free for anyone who's interested. Alexey

15 years, 3 months

7
9
0 0

Tektronix photos updated

by vintagecoder＠aol.com

Richard <legalize at xmission.com> wrote: >> I wonder if the MCAUTO label on your keyboard means McDonnell Douglas >> Automation. > Yes, I believe it is. We discussed this on the length some time ago when > I first got this terminal and that was aour conclusion from that > discussion. I haven't done any independent research on it yet, but it > seems reasonable to me. Sorry about that. I was either not a list member yet or I missed the discussion. >> I personally would love to have a 4051, does anybody remember those? > I have one 4051 that needs some keycaps and some electrical repair before > its functional. Also, I would like to create some sort of replacement > for the cartridge tape drive for loading software from disk image files. > That's a hardware project that's on my list. Yes, the cartridge tapes were really nice on those units. Somewhere I've got a few tapes with some old code on them. Good luck with all that! Really nice unit that 4051.

15 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

Free (Seattle) - M4 Data 9-track drive

by derschjo＠mail.msu.edu

I've got what I'm fairly sure is some model of M4-Data 9-track drive in a "desktop" enclosure, relabeled as an "Interface Data, Inc." drive. It's similar, but not identical, to the 9914 for which there is documentation on Bitsavers. It appears to do 1600 and 3200 BPI (not sure what encodings.) It has a Differential SCSI interface option, along with a Pertec interface. It's labeled on the back as "Model No. 9946." I have some pictures I took when I first got it (it hasn't changed much since then) at: http://yahozna.dyndns.org/scratch/9-track/ The tape transport seems to be working fine (it loads and unloads, moves to BOT and rewinds just as I'd expect. The auto-loading procedure on these drives always seems magical to me...) but there's something wrong with the digital side of things. I've made a few attempts over the past couple of years to use the Pertec interface (with the Diff SCSI interface removed) but all reads result in parity errors. It may just be a configuration issue -- there are tons of configurable settings via the front panel -- but I lack the documentation to know what they are (they are not the same as the 9914's as far as I can tell) or to do any other testing. Picked this up almost three years ago (time flies!) and it's just been taking up space. Time to get it out of here. Anyone want it? It's free! Pickup only in the Seattle area. And if anyone in the Seattle area has a Pertec-interface 9-track drive they want to part with, let me know :). - Josh

15 years, 3 months

2
1
0 0

H7140 PDP11 PSU

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

> I have extracted the leftmost board, which is a 5413605, according to > printset that is a "bias and interface" board. Looking at where it is > mounted in the PSU, it *appears* to be connected to the fan spade > connectors, so would be involved in powering the fans (the motherboard > printset would seem to confirm that). There is a 74LS00 chip on it to which > I will attach wires to Vcc and Ground so I can test if for power. I followed > the Vcc track on the back of the board and it does not appear to go to the > boards "backplane" connectors. I tried to read the printset to see which > pin(s) on the connector the power comes in on but I don't understand the > conventions about which pin is pin 1 on the connectors, so I can't at the > moment add wires for that. I will go ahead and add wires to the 74LS00 in > the meantime. See my other messages :-) The 5V line you are interested in comes from a 7805 regulator (TO220 package, looks like a power transistor) on that PCB. I suspect it does power the 74LS00 you mention too... The ground for this supply is the same as the machine's logic ground (this will not be the case if we have to sort out the control circuitry of that little SMPSU). Yes, the fan full-H driver circuit is on this PCB, so it's not suprising it's connected to the fan terminals. -tony -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web.com - Microsoft? Exchange solutions from a leading provider - http://link.mail2web.com/Business/Exchange

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

H7140 PDP11 PSU

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

> I will add some diagnostic wires to the board as you suggest, I don't > remember a lot about TTL chips, is there a convention about which are the > power pins? Conventionally the corner pins (on a 14 pin device, for example, pin 14 is +5V, pin 7 is ground). But there are exceptions. A TTL databook, or a way of reading the data sheets on-line is almost essential :-) The power distribution arrangements are shown on page 11 of that pdf manual I mentioned : http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/pdp11/1124/MP01018_1124schem_Aug80.pdf Look at the '11/24 Power Distribution BD' part of the schematic. There's a +5V line coming from the PSU and ending up on pins 1 and 4 of the backplane sockets and a separate +5VB going to pin 12 of those sockets. Of course you need to fix the PSU before you can start sorting that out. -tony -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web LIVE ? Free email based on Microsoft? Exchange technology - http://link.mail2web.com/LIVE

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

H7140 PDP11 PSU

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

I took the plunge and put in the CPU modules (M7133 and M7134) into the PDP11/24. The machine powered up and the DC ON light came on, suggesting voltages were in tolerance. So I connected a terminal and got an ODT prompt. I then tried to run a basic diagnostic (using the ODT command 165000G). It came back to the prompt and I was just entering another command when I heard a vague click and the machine powered off. I cannot power it on now. Previously after connecting it to the mains I would hear a slight click, but I don't even hear that now and turning the key will not even start the fans running. However power is getting to the big capacitors because I can see that with my multimeter, so it is not the external fuse or the circuit breaker I think. Presumably some internal fuse has gone, I will leave it to discharge and take a look tomorrow to see if I can find an internal fuse. Any other ideas as to what this might mean? It was going so well.. Regards Rob

15 years, 4 months

2
3
0 0

Eprom programming current...

by geoffr＠zipcon.net

Hey! Would 150ma be enough current on various voltages for programming eproms? I just got a bunch of 14 pin DIP VRMs that are rated for 150ma output without using a bypass transistor.....

15 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

Dummy loads (was: Re: new here)

by mtapley＠swri.edu

At 12:00 -0500 4/26/11, ard wrote: >One of the easiest things to sue for this are low voltage filament >lamps 12V car bulbs (say a 12V 5W taillight bulb) is fine for a 12V >supply. And probalby fine for a 15V supply too (yes, the bulb will have a >short life at the higher voltage, but not so short as to worry you). For >the 5V line, a 6V bulb is the best thing to use, many older cars had 6V >electrics nad you may well be able to get a 6V 30W bulb (which will draw >around 5A) from a vintage car parts company. I bought a couple of >headlight bulbs (each with a apr of 30W or so filaments and a couple of >stop/taillight bulbs (5W and 21W filamnets). That gives me a good >selection of laod currents (and yes, I once parallel to two filaments of >a headleam bubl to give a load drawing somewhat more than 10A to test a >large SMPSU). FWIW, bicycles use a wide variety of bulbs, in a wide variety of voltage ratings. Here's one page http://www.reflectalite.com/halogenpage.html listing a bunch of them, in voltages from 2.2 V to 6 V and wattages >from 1.25 W to 20 W. (Not a recommendation, they were just what came up first when I googled "bike headlight bulbs". I'd actually recommend your local brick-and-mortar bike shop, who could probably use the business...) I don't expect these are very cost-effective, but they should be more available (for the time being, anyway, until LED's take over there too) than antique-auto bulbs. But you may want/need to run several in parallel to add up the required power. -- - Mark 210-379-4635 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Large Asteroids headed toward planets inhabited by beings that don't have technology adequate to stop them: Think of it as Evolution in Fast-Forward.

15 years, 4 months

9
21
0 0

cctalk Digest, Vol 92, Issue 67

by mtapley＠swri.edu

At 18:09 -0500 4/27/11, ard wrote: >[1] I am not one of those. I have no qualifications in electronics or >computing. I think it would be fair to insert the word "formal". >You mean you don;'t have a bench supply??? Well, I have some orphaned in-line or wall-wart supplies intended for computers, radios, etc. that I could chop the connectors off of. But I figured the jump cables could put out more current. >H2 normally comes off at the -ve electorde too... Yes, and I do know which jump cable is negative. So I guess I shouldn't claim I was "lucky". But I was pretty prepared to be wrong, on the whole. Chemistry puzzles me. >It's not uncommon to get Cl2 at the positive electrode. Another reason to >do it in a well-ventilated area. True! I forgot about that. The chemistry book we were looking at said at a more concentrated solution of salt was more likely to produce Cl2. That was a pretty simple mnemonic for me to remember, so I didn't use much salt. -- - Mark 210-379-4635 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Large Asteroids headed toward planets inhabited by beings that don't have technology adequate to stop them: Think of it as Evolution in Fast-Forward.

15 years, 4 months

8
15
0 0

Dummy loads (was: Re: new here)

by mtapley＠swri.edu

At 18:59 -0500 4/26/11, ard wrote: >If you are really crazy, use containers of salt water with suitable >electrodes in them :-). Just don't knock them over and spill the liquid >into the machine under test. ...and do work in a ventilated area. The bubbles evolving off the salt water will be, er, flammable, yes? Did this with the kids, 12V supply = jump cables from my car, foil "electrodes" in salt water, inverted test tube on a long holder, and a candle to verify the type of gas (used the holder to move the tube over the candle). Lucked out and collected the Hydrogen on the first try (well, it wasn't really luck. The electrode with twice as many bubbles had to be the H2.) They were suitably impressed. I was impressed how fast the aluminum foil went away (into solution). -- - Mark 210-379-4635 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Large Asteroids headed toward planets inhabited by beings that don't have technology adequate to stop them: Think of it as Evolution in Fast-Forward.

15 years, 4 months

7
9
0 0

cctalk Digest, Vol 92, Issue 67

by technobug＠comcast.net

On Fri, 29 Apr 2011 14:21:46 -0700 (PDT), ene Buckle <geneb at deltasoft.com> wrote: > On Fri, 29 Apr 2011, Tony Duell wrote: > >>> >>> On 4/28/2011 3:24 PM, Tony Duell wrote: >>> >>>> I will crtainly agree that it is possible to be self-taught, and that >>>> said 'traching' can go to a very high level. Just becase you haven't got >>>> a bit of paper saying you know<foo> does not beam that you know nothign >>>> about<foo> or, indeed, that yuou know less about<foo> than people with >>>> said bit of paper. >>> >>> Tony, >>> >>> I can usually decode your many misspellings and lysdexic-isms, but what >>> is "traching" ? Is this supposed to be "teaching?" Or perhaps some >>> British slang I'm not picking up on? >> >> No, it's 'teaching'. Hit the wrong key ('R' is adjacent to 'E'...) >> > > You might want to try using one finger from each hand at a time instead of > two. :) *gd&r* C'mon guys, ease up. Half duplex is a bitch :) ->CRC

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

10base2 to 100baseT conversion

by chd＠chdickman.com

I need an ethernet converter between 10base2 and 100baseT. I am using a DECserver90TL as a console server. The DECserver is 10base2 ethernet, so it has a BNC connector and I use coax to connect to an ethernet hub. I was using a hub that had both 10baseT and 10base2 to connect it to my 100baseT network, but the hub has suddenly become unidirectional. A lightening strike killed a few things in my house and now I see this hub might be another. eBay only finds me two items like this. One seems over priced and the other says it is for parts only. Do I have any other options? -chuck

15 years, 4 months

8
9
0 0

RT-11 / RX-01 issues ... "almost" boots ...

by mcsele＠niagaracollege.ca

In the ongoing saga of my attempt to get RT-11 to run on my 11/34 .... (I'll spare the bandwidth by not attaching the entire chain of experiments run ...) Checked my copy of RT-11 and indeed it was SYSGEN'd. In my latest attempt, I did a SYSGEN as well, this time choosing to build a very, very basic version of RT-11SJ on RX-01. No FPU support, no timers, nothing fancy. Added device support for TT, DX, and DU devices only (the 11/34 has no installed DU device at all, I wanted to add it for future consideration). As expected, it went off for over a half-hour rebuilding RT-11. Produced the expected files and I proceeded to make the disk bootable. It boots on the LSI-11 system (an 11/73A) just fine. Put that same RX-01 disk on my 11/34 via an M7846 controller and when I tried to boot it I get the exact same result as before: it starts to boot, steps four tracks or so, then halts at "005134" on the display. If I inspect that address, it contains "140000". Sigghhhhh. Any thoughts as to what it could be? Disk controller card (M7846)? Summary: Since I've first written in with the problem I think we've eliminated as possible issues: * Memory since I had previously tried three memory cards all with the same result * Basic CPU hardware (slot C and D jumpering, Unibus termination) * RT-11 version 5 (which appears to run on other Unibus PDP 11/34s) Corrected a few small bugs along the way (like the complete lack of a terminator at one end of the Unibus). The CPU runs small programs, entered via the front panel, just fine (e.g. a ten line program to echo terminal characters). Just asking for ideas on where to go next! Anything else I should be checking? Thanks .... Mark Professor Mark Csele, P.Eng. Niagara College, Canada 300 Woodlawn Rd., L-23 Welland, ON, L3C 7L3 (905) 735-2211 x.7629 E-Mail: mcsele at niagarac.on.ca URL: http://technology.niagarac.on.ca/people/mcsele Author of "Fundamentals of Light Sources and Lasers", Wiley, 2004

15 years, 4 months

4
3
0 0

Dummy loads (was: Re: new here)

by mtapley＠swri.edu

At 12:00 -0500 4/28/11, cctalk-request at classiccmp.org wrote: >I've found it interesting that folks don't balk at having a roof >flashed with lead or a stained-glass window that uses lead canes in >their church, but get nervous if they come within an arm's length of >the stuff. <Sheepishly raises hand> Yup! That's me! My father-in-law is a physician and also a Civil War buff. For years he carried around a lead bullet he found on a battlefield, as a good-luck charm. He showed me one time, and I asked him what he did about the toxicity, pointing out the dark stains on his fingers >from handling it. His eyes widened a little, and now it sits on his dresser. >Absent strong acids, metallic lead is comparatively safe. Yeah. But "Chemistry puzzles me" and I'm not too confident I won't inadvertently electrolyze some of the lead into solution. Nor that the kids won't do so when they try something clever out. Heavy-metal poisoning (not just lead, either) is one of those slow-acting, subtle things where you can get into a lot of trouble before you realize it. I know it's around a lot (like, the car battery I hooked up as my power supply), but ... still, I feel like minimizing exposure where I can, particularly since I don't much know what I'm doing, either chemically or biologically. Yes, I solder outside, for improved ventilation, when I solder. I'll wear the "paranoia" badge but I may not change my behavior. -- - Mark 210-379-4635 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Large Asteroids headed toward planets inhabited by beings that don't have technology adequate to stop them: Think of it as Evolution in Fast-Forward.

15 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

Dummy loads (was: Re: new here)

by mtapley＠swri.edu

At 12:00 -0500 4/27/11, Chuck wrote: >In the same vein, have you ever fooled with liquid rectifiers? The >anode is aluminum; the cathode is usually lead in a soluton of sodium >bicarbonate. Have not tried it. Not crazy about fooling around with lead in general, but I might do it some time, depending on how interested in chemistry they get. Thanks for the suggestion! -- - Mark 210-379-4635 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Large Asteroids headed toward planets inhabited by beings that don't have technology adequate to stop them: Think of it as Evolution in Fast-Forward.

15 years, 4 months

4
4
0 0

RT-11 / RX-01 issues ... "almost" boots ..

by mcsele＠niagaracollege.ca

Have never looked into XXDP. What I have right now: a LSI-11 system booting RT-11 (v5.04) with Kermit on the attached MSCP disk and an RX-01 controller (which works fine - I can boot the disk on the LSI system after building it). On the 11/34 target system all I have is the RX-01 controller so I have to build the disk(s) on the LSI system, then move the cable to the 11/34 to try and boot it. Can you point me to the run-down on building an XXDP disk? Thanks >> As expected, it went off for over a half-hour rebuilding RT-11. >> Produced the expected files and I proceeded to make the disk >> bootable. It boots on the LSI-11 system (an 11/73A) just fine. Put >> that same RX-01 disk on my 11/34 via an M7846 controller and when I >> tried to boot it I get the exact same result as before: it starts to >> boot, steps four tracks or so, then halts at "005134" on the display. >> If I inspect that address, it contains "140000". ... >> Just asking for ideas on where to go next! Anything else I should be >> checking? > If I were you, my next step would be to run a full battery of tests, >focusing on the CPU, via XXDP. Do you have the ability to make a >bootable XXDP disk? > -Dave Professor Mark Csele, P.Eng. Niagara College, Canada 300 Woodlawn Rd., L-23 Welland, ON, L3C 7L3 (905) 735-2211 x.7629 E-Mail: mcsele at niagarac.on.ca URL: http://technology.niagarac.on.ca/people/mcsele Author of "Fundamentals of Light Sources and Lasers", Wiley, 2004

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Tektronix photos updated

by vintagecoder＠aol.com

> With the addition of two more Tektronix 4015-1 terminals, I've rearranged > my Tektronix storage tube terminals in the warehouse and uploaded some > updated pictures of "Tektronix storage tube row". (The 4015-1 is > essentially a 4014 with APL and printer interface options.) Neither of > the 4015's are reported to be in working condition from the seller, but > at least all the keycaps with APL glyphs are present. The 4010 and 4014 > are relatively simple terminals, so I should be able to restore them to > working order. They have no microprocessor, firmware code or custom > ASICs, so repairing them should be a matter of replacing capacitors or > replacing TTL or analog parts. Richard, I finally got around to looking at your pics. What a great find! I wonder if the MCAUTO label on your keyboard means McDonnell Douglas Automation. I had a friend who worked there in the 1970s and they called the DP (IT) shop McAuto. It was a huge place in Long Beach CA that handled all the data processing for the aircraft company. Lots of interesting stories. Congrats on your terminals! I personally would love to have a 4051, does anybody remember those? Hi-res green phosphor screens were made for graphics programming and came with their own dialect of BASIC. They were one piece units on heavy stands and had tape drives built into the console. Those were the days! Now to find some old pallets, a few hundred bucks, a forklift, and a place to store one.....

15 years, 4 months

3
3
0 0

Tektronix photos updated

by vintagecoder＠aol.com

> Yeah, I've got one. Mine has no stand - unlike the 4010, the electronics > for the 4051 are in the unit itself, not in the stand. It's really not a > big device at all - very deep, but not so big that it won't fit on a > desk. Of course, the 4051 I have (as with most, I would assume), has a > faulty tape drive because the rubber driver wheel is shot. The built in > BASIC is pretty cool, and the graphic routines are fun to play with, but > without the ability to save programs, it's kind of annoying. That's interesting. It's been about 30 years but I distinctly remember the 4051s I used sitting on really heavy duty stands, either bolted together or I thought, made that way. I remember moving one across the room (with help), it weighed a ton. Must have been the steel stand. I hope you can sort the tape drive issues and get tapes as I remember the units were very reliable and quite fast. I believe it had a feature to find the file you wanted quickly and index the tape. Do you have the old golf game? It was always a favorite. -- Yes, I was there, if a little late... The good old days really were!

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

10base2 to 100baseT conversion

by jfoust＠threedee.com

At 02:33 AM 4/29/2011, Shoppa, Tim wrote: >I have only made small efforts searching out new-manufacture hubs with BNC's but as far as I can tell, they simply aren't being made anymore. Everything new is a switch today. Keeping a few hubs for protocol sniffing etc. is still handy. Although I still keep a little 5-port 10/100 true hub in my larger to-go bag just in case, all business-class switches these days are "managed" and would allow you to reprogram a particular port to mirror all traffic for sniffing purposes. There are many managed 24-port switches in the sub-$200 range. Netgear makes a managed 8-port 10/100/1000 switch that CDW sells for $105. - John

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Looking for PDP-8/S Owners

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

> On Wed, Apr 27, 2011 at 07:54:20PM -0400, Michael Thompson wrote: >> I am interested in corresponding with PDP-8/S owners. There doesn't >> seem to be very many of these slowpokes in existance. > > About one thousand made according to: > > http://www.faqs.org/faqs/dec-faq/pdp8/section-6.html > > The only one I know of is in museum storage at Tekniska in stockholm. > > Regards, > Pontus So far: Rhode Island Computer Museum S/N 517, running, PT08B, PC01, PC02, PC03 https://sites.google.com/site/ricmwarehouse/Home/equipment/pdp-8s Goodwill Computer Museum Nicely restored and running on display http://www.austincomputerworks.org/museum/index.html http://www.flickr.com/photos/mightyohm/5334436698/ Ethan Dicks Needs restoration Tekniska museet in stockholm Desktop version http://www.tekniskamuseet.se/download/18.689e694f125720d4ec480001504/Datore… Computermuseum der Fakult?t Informatik Running, designing a Teletype interface http://pdp-8.de/ Living Computer Museum Two, unrestored http://www.pdpplanet.com Computer History Museum One, static display http://www.computerhistory.org -- Michael Thompson

15 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

10base2 to 100baseT conversion

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

What you want to do, is get a few "hubs" (90's era networking equipment) that have a mix of AUI, BNC, and 10BaseT connectors, and then cable the hub up to your more modern 100BaseT and faster switches. A hub with 4 to 8 10BaseT + a BNC was a common configuration on consumer-grade stuff in the 90's, and it was on the more industrial rack-mount networking solutions too (and there you'll often get an AUI as well). I have only made small efforts searching out new-manufacture hubs with BNC's but as far as I can tell, they simply aren't being made anymore. Everything new is a switch today. Keeping a few hubs for protocol sniffing etc. is still handy. BlackBox etc. still sell new "Media Converters" with a 10Base2 on one end and a 10BaseT on the other end but the prices are heinous (e.g. $225: http://www.blackbox.com/Store/Detail.aspx/FlexPoint-10BASE-T-to-BNC-Media-C… ). I give them credit for still selling a networking technology that isn't the latest and greatest. Tim.

15 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

Vintage Computer Festival East update

by evan＠snarc.net

T-minus TWO WEEKS until the VCF East 7.0 .... we're up to 23 exhibitors which makes this the biggest east-coast edition ever. I've heard about people planning to attend from Denmark and Australia .... so I don't wanna hear that someone can't go because they live three states away and it's too darn far. :-) Show page is http://www.vintage.org/2011/east Facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/vcfeast7 Be there or miss the awesomeness.

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Experience, Qualification, etc. (was: Re: Dummy loads)

by mtapley＠swri.edu

At 15:10 -0500 4/28/11, ard wrote: >What is an 'informal qualification'? Good question. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/qualification says: qual?i?fi?ca?tion ... -noun 1. a quality, accomplishment, etc., that fits a person for some function, office, or the like. ... (other definitions deleted, likely including ones Tony was thinking of). Rebuilding computers, tracing and publishing schematics, etc. etc. seems to me to fit you to comment and advise others doing same. I own at least one functional computer that would not be so without your advice. I'll admit there's not a degree, certification, legal requirement, etc. involved, thus my suggestion that we apply the "informal" specifier, but it looks to me like the description fits. -- - Mark 210-379-4635 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Large Asteroids headed toward planets inhabited by beings that don't have technology adequate to stop them: Think of it as Evolution in Fast-Forward.

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

IBM 9000 / 9221 Mini Main Frame on eBay

by ceby2＠csc.com

Dave, It's a 9221, currently unracked... but damned if I can remember the exact model. I will have to crawl back to the furthest reaches of the spare bedroom/boxroom to find out one of these days. It was either the entry level or one level up from the bottom. 120 or 130 I think. Thanks, Colin Eby

15 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

DLV11-J RS-232 Cable

by mcsele＠niagaracollege.ca

The DLV11-J has a ten-pin connector. To use with RS-232, simply use pin 2 as ground, pin 3 as TxD, and pin 8 as RxD. It is also necessary to jumper pin 7 to pin 9. The reason for the jumper: the receive input of the DLV11 is differential: it could work with RS-422 as well as RS-232. RS-422 uses two wires for Tx and two for Rx and these are differential ... it is the polarity of the lines relative to each other that sets the bit (whether it is a one or a zero). These "twisted pair" signals are very immune to noise and are used industrially for long runs. I was always taught that anything over 20 feet should _not_ be RS-232 but a differential standard instead. Anyway, grounding the "minus" differential receive input makes the "plus" differential receive input single-ended so that it is now referenced to ground: a voltage on that pin "positive" with respect to ground is a zero while a voltage which is "negative" is a one. This is the EIA standard used for RS-232 ... it is bipolar (i.e. the voltage can swing negative or positive with respect to ground). So, for a small system where the terminal is close, RS-232 works fine and a simple cable will suffice. Where a system is large and terminals are placed a fair distance from the machine, RS-422 should be used. Professor Mark Csele, P.Eng. Niagara College, Canada 300 Woodlawn Rd., L-23 Welland, ON, L3C 7L3 (905) 735-2211 x.7629 E-Mail: mcsele at niagarac.on.ca URL: http://technology.niagarac.on.ca/people/mcsele Author of "Fundamentals of Light Sources and Lasers", Wiley, 2004

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Data Scrubbing in archives and paranoia

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

Cut and pasted from Wikipedia, not that it has any Deep history of the subject, but to start the conversation: * Data scrubbing?is an error correction technique which * uses a background task that periodically inspects memory * for errors, and then corrects the error using?ECC memory * or another copy of the data. It reduces the likelihood that * single correctable errors will accumulate; thus, reducing * the risk of uncorrectable errors. Some on-topic hardware relation: I first found out about data scrubbing back when it was a way to deal with flaky DRAM (what Wikipedia calls "Memory Scrubbing".) Mid-70's stuff. Later found out that the Xerox Alto had done it in that era too. Not sure where it first originated, I would be surprised if this hadn't been done back to the first storage media. In the context of large data/disk archives it is reassuring to have this done not just at the media layer, but above the transport (e.g. SATA or SCSI or USB bus) layer. e.g. I store my files as bzip2 format, and every so often not just make sure the drive thinks it can read the sectors, but that also it passes a bunzip2 -v checksum validation. This habit probably dates from flaky SCSI bus/network protocols in the past that had this odd way of dropping or mangling random bytes or sectors without any error indication. When I'm truly paranoid not only do I count on bzip2 checksums but also resort to storing MD5's or SHA-1's of the uncompressed contents. Every so often I get ultra-paranoid and worry that the file System is not mangling files but simply losing them. It's been A long time since I've witnessed this, but storing the MD5's/SHA1's In a text listing gives me some reassurance. Of course the Filesystem might not just lose the file but also hide that it lost The file by removing the file from the listing so I also print out The listing and attach it to the drive/tape/CD etc... this is getting To 2001/HAL eras of paranoia to talk about this using a Computer (never mind locking ourselves into a space pod to discuss Verbally and then finding out the computer can read lips!) It is very reassuring to me to do these validations not Just automatically but manually too. And I even purposefully Mangle some backup files to make sure my tools would kick Out a failure. Probably just paranoia on my part. Wondering if others might even be more extreme :-). Tim.

15 years, 4 months

11
28
0 0

Old Ics...

by geoffr＠zipcon.net

Just got a bunch of IC?s from ?buy it all and I?ll throw in some connectors and other stuff? lot :) have a lot of 82-84 date code chips, and some that I personally think are kind of cool, like Signetics chips in Signetics labeled anti-static sleeves :) Although I have no idea what I?m going to do with well over a hundred 74ls164?s Got a bunch of 74S logic and some oddball chips like Mostek DTMF encoder chips, some DIP-14 or 16 Voltage regulators... A definite odd lot. Some of these are being a pain to ID from part #?s, namely the TRW SIP resistor networks, and some from a couple other manufacturers that don?t seem to exist anymore nor have I had any luck finding datasheets for... Multimeter time to ID which type of resistor array they are I guess.... Also some programmed (I presume) 68HC705 microcontrollers and some 40 pin chips from Ztec I think it was, they are upstairs and I?m downstairs.

15 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

FIGnition - a retro 8-bit computer

by julianskidmore＠yahoo.com

Hi folks, Some of you might find FIGnition interesting, it's a retro 8-bit style computer which can be built easily. It's recently been featured on the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13201254 It's also available from: https://sites.google.com/site/libby8dev/fignition -cheers from julz

15 years, 4 months

3
2
0 0

DLV11-J RS-232 Cable

by captainkirk359＠gmail.com

Hello all, I'm looking for a bit of help in wiring up a cable for my DLV11-J. I can understand the wiring for the BC21B-05 cable transmit, reciever and ground lines, however I'm rather confused by the rest of the wiring on the cable. If possible would someone be able to explain the wiring for the cable? I've attached the relevant pages from the 1983 QBUS Interfaces manual. Thanks in advance for any help. Cheers, C. M. Gauger-Cosgrove

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

salt water dimmer

by shumaker＠att.net

here are some images: see page 3: http://lordarbus.com/THEA148/6_Dimming_Color_Theory.pdf http://webferret.search.com/click?wf6,saltwater+dimmer,,www.theatrestrust.o… steve

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Our very own John is famous

by rogpugh＠mac.com

A link to the BBC website.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13201254 roger

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Older PDP-8 repair (was Re: new here)

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

> From:?Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks at gmail.com> > Did you have to do any work on that -8/S? ?I have one that needs a lot > of replacement bulbs and some sleuthing in the "lock" circuit (the > switch is fine, but the machine behaves as if it's always in "lock" > mode). We (RICM) were very lucky with this donated machine, and everything works. The main power supply lasted about one hour after reforming the caps. We actually had a brand-new 40 year old spare power supply for a replacement. We had to clean the switches, but they generally work OK. All of the bulbs worked, but one is bright. I have been told that we will break bulbs trying to replace the bright one so we will leave it alone. The system ran for about another 5 hours before the power supply for the PT08, PC01, PC02, and PC03 suffered the same fate and shorted the cap in the ferroresonant circuit. New caps from eBay fixed it. I am interested in corresponding with PDP-8/S owners. There doesn't seem to be very many of these slowpokes in existance. -- Michael Thompson

15 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

Salt Water Dummy loads

by n8uhn＠yahoo.com

Salt Water load devices were not used just for dummy loads. in the very days of live theatere (think Vaudville) the first electric light dimmers were square wooden boxes filled a water based brine with the electrodes fitted to a wood handle. the handle was moved up or down in the brine to dim or brighted the stage light! i yahoo search the info once and found it interesting and dangerous. i think the were also called "brine tank dimmers" Bill At 18:59 -0500 4/26/11, ard wrote: >If you are really crazy, use containers of salt water with suitable >electrodes in them :-). Just don't knock them over and spill the liquid >into the machine under test. ...and do work in a ventilated area. The bubbles evolving off the salt water will be, er, flammable, yes? Did this with the kids, 12V supply = jump cables from my car, foil "electrodes" in salt water, inverted test tube on a long holder, and a candle to verify the type of gas (used the holder to move the tube over the candle). Lucked out and collected the Hydrogen on the first try (well, it wasn't really luck. The electrode with twice as many bubbles had to be the H2.) They were suitably impressed. I was impressed how fast the aluminum foil went away (into solution). -- - Mark 210-379-4635 -------------------------------------------------------------------

15 years, 4 months

4
3
0 0

uPD7220 GDC prototype PCBs

by lynchaj＠yahoo.com

Hi! I am giving away the remaining uPD7220 GDC prototype boards. If there is anyone interested in working on a 7220 GDC project please let me know. These boards are designed for ECB although will interface to any Z80 quite easily. Other systems would take some work but still possible. Also, there is a page on the N8VEM wiki for the uPD7220 V2 prototype board with schematics, PCB layout, test software, etc. There will be a new board coming out soon but these prototype boards work fine with some very minor tweaks. For more details see here http://groups.google.com/group/n8vem/t/2b566d452dd7b460 Thanks and have a nice day! Andrew Lynch PS, pair this board up with an SBC-188 or your homebrew 8088 board and we could have a completely free/open FreeDOS/OpenGEM solution!

15 years, 4 months

3
2
0 0

Nuclear Data ND 812 photos

by legalize＠xmission.com

I've uploaded photos of a Nuclear Data ND 812 system that I obtained recently. Its a little dirty, but its a rare system. It is the companion lab equipment that goes with the Nuclear Data ND 6600 terminal that I obtained earlier. I haven't reverse engineered all the subsystems yet, so some of my current understanding is guesswork. However, the system appears to consist of: - ND 812 CPU rack chassis - (2) peripheral control rack chassis - 1 dual 8" floppy drive rack chassis with drives and controller - 1 dual 8" floppy drive rack chassis containing only a power supply - (2) ND 600 data entry terminals with 4 NIM slots each Pictures: <https://picasaweb.google.com/legalize.slc/NuclearDataND812#> Bitsavers docs on the ND 812: <http://bitsavers.org/pdf/nd/> NIM standard: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Instrumentation_Module> -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com/the-direct3d-graphics-pipeline/> Legalize Adulthood! <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>

15 years, 4 months

3
3
0 0

DEC PDP-11 weight

by wdonzelli＠gmail.com

What are the dimensions and weights of a PDP-11/60 in the late model cabinet - the one that was used on the DECsystem branded PDP-11/70s? Google image search for "DECsystem 570". No drives installed. -- Will

15 years, 4 months

5
5
0 0

Epson SMD-400 drive

by jonas＠otter.se

On Mon, 25 Apr 2011 20:50:53 +0100 (BST), ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell)wrote: > > I think you're rpobsbly right, the ST has a pretty standaed disk interface. > Connecting a new drive involved no more than jumpering for drive select 0, the disk change jumper was already installed. After plugging in it Just Worked. > It's always possibl the alignment of that old drive was a bit off, and > most of the disks youy have were recorded on a misaligned drive. In wichh > case I guess you should try to get the drive going again anf fiddle with > the alignment until it can read the disks. And then copy them to new > disks recorded on a known-well-aligned drive. > I'll get round to seeing about getting it working fairly soon. When it seems to be doing its thing I shall have to see about aligning it. > Ouch!. That's horrible. The service manuals I have for 3.5" drives (rather > better 3.5" drives than this one) say that the slide rails are matched ot > the head assembly, and you can't replace either separately. The > tolerances are just too tight. I can't believe holes in sheeet metal are > anything like accurate enough > Nothing in this drive appears to be matched in any way. OTOH the slide rail is eccentric at the ends and has a slot for a screwdriver, so it is obviously meant to be adjusted. It is supported on tabs bent up from the metal chassis, and the head slide is made from the same sheet metal. There are two wide tabs bent out underneath, with holes punched so that the metal forms a sort of bush for the slide rail. It looks very cheap I must say. How would you suggest I lubricate the slide rail? Light oil or some kind of light grease? /Jonas

15 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

Data Scrubbing in archives and paranoia

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

>>>> I moved everything to ZFS several years ago after looking at the >>> design. >>>> >>> >>> Unfortunately, Oracle controls it now, and there aren't a whole lot of >>> good >>> inexpensive choices for that class of scalable storage. >> >> It looks like there are several ports to non-Solaris platforms, at various stages of maturity. - Ian >besides http://zfsonlinux.org/ ? Having read up on ZFS I am very impressed with the level of paranoia. Especially its distrust of what has become "industry standard" solutions to data storage reliability. E.g.: * ZFS can not fully protect the user's data when * using a hardware RAID controller, as it is not able * to perform the automatic self-healing unless it * controls the redundancy of the disks and data. * ZFS prefers direct, exclusive access to the disks, * with nothing in between that interferes. That's the level of paranoia that I want! I was always convinced the RAID controllers are only specified to screw me over. I make the folks with tinfoil hats look like wannabes.

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Prototype board...

by geneb＠deltasoft.com

I'm trying to find a 2 sided prototype board that's got a male card edge on it with .156 finger pitch. Ideally a 2*12 (24 fingers) board would be nice, but I can cut down anything larger. Google hasn't been much help. :( tnx. g. -- Proud owner of F-15C 80-0007 http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind. http://www.simpits.org/geneb - The Me-109F/X Project ScarletDME - The red hot Data Management Environment A Multi-Value database for the masses, not the classes. http://www.scarletdme.org - Get it _today_! Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Data Scrubbing in archives and paranoia

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

Al writes: > Archiving on rotating rust has become a multi-billion dollar industry in the 21st century. In fact I distrust filesystems, OS's, data busses, etc., more than I distrust the rotating rust. And the more expensive or complicated the filesystems, OS's, and data busses become, the less I feel I should trust them. Many years ago I had a hard drive whose write gate failed "safe". You mean I just verified the cache instead of the media? I don't think I am putting excessive faith in bunzip2 -v, md5, and sha1, but you could try to convince me otherwise. Silent corruption of data is my worst fear of all. It's even worse than when Mr. Bemis's glasses break at the end of that Twilight Zone episode - it's more like he opened all the books and found them blank. Finding out the data wasn't there where I expected it, is far more disappointing than knowing it's there but I can't see it. Tim.

15 years, 4 months

6
5
0 0

Lisa Office System install blues..

by snhirsch＠gmail.com

I'm having no luck at all installing LOS. I've tried Lisa Office 3.0 and 2.0, but they both claim they cannot write to the disk - I tried two 5M and one 10M ProFile. To my knowledge, none of these have bad sectors. There's no sign that it's even _trying_ to access the disk. The activity light on the ProFile flickers during _detection_ and I can hear it seek. But, when I push the button to initialize it comes back immediately claiming it cannot write. I see no sign any access has occured at this point. If I try to repair the disk, it tells me to contact a service specialist and mentions error 200/662. There's no error 200 listed in the Lisa repair manual, but 662 is ProFile parity error. It's hard to believe that, since the drive passes format and certify on an Apple /// and MacWorksXL on the Lisa has no problem with it. I even tried removing the serialization on Office System disk 1. No joy. Something tells me I'm overlooking the obvious, but darned if I know what I'm doing wrong. Steve --

15 years, 4 months

2
4
0 0

Dummy loads (was: Re: new here)

by jonas＠otter.se

> Or vary the spacing between the electrodes or the depth that they're > immesed in the brine. > > Seriosuly, such things have been used, and while they're better on AC > than DC (due to electrolytic effects), they can be used as PSU dummy > loads. But solid resistors (be they commercial wirewound ones, > lengths of > resistance wirte taken from old electric heaters, or filament bulbs) > are > a lot easier to handle. > > -tony This sounds a bit risky to me. Passing a current through brine would generate hydrogen and oxygen gas AFAIK, as well as possibly chlorine gas. It sounds like an explosion waiting to happen, unless you have adequate ventilation. Not the sort of thing I would want on a workbench. /Jonas

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Dummy loads (was: Re: new here)

by jonas＠otter.se

> > > > The reason is quite simple--tungsten-filament lamps (not that I > > > > expect anyone to have any carbon-filament ones) have a very > steep > > > > resistance-temperature curve (higher "hot" resistance). > > > > HP remembered this. > Indeed they did. In the Mdoel 200 Audio Oscillator for one thing ;-) > > I am sure it's mentioned in one of Fred Terman's books too, not > suprisingly... > > -tony IIRC using a light bulb is a/the classic way of stabilising the amplitude of an audio oscillator. I have seen it in several designs. /Jonas

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Can someone identify this IC "header"?

by brain＠jbrain.com

http://postimage.org/image/5eptoxvo/ It appears to be header pins attached to some thin plastic "carrier". I would like to source more of them. Jim -- Jim Brain brain at jbrain.com www.jbrain.com

15 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

IBM 9000 / 9221 Mini Main Frame on eBay

by ceby2＠csc.com

All, I also have a 90s air cooled mainframe. Sadly I have all the hardware but no Bus and Tag cabling to go with it. I'd like to fire it up, but without the ability to cable it that's a remote pipe dream. I warn anyone taking one of these on to make sure they save the cabling from the copper scrappers as well. ESCON is still easy enough to get. Bus and tag has so far eluded me so I believe it must be getting thin on the ground. If anyone does know of a UK/Western Europe source, please let me know about it! Thanks, Colin Eby

15 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

Dummy loads (was: Re: new here)

by tiggerlasv＠aim.com

On Tue Apr 26 14:17:26 CDT 2011, Tony Duell wrote: > If you are really crazy, use containers of salt water with suitable > electrodes in them :-). Just don't knock them over and spill the liquid > into the machine under test. Hmm. A home brew dummy load with variable resistance. (Add salt to taste.) Martha Stewart meets Forrest Mims. ;-) T

15 years, 4 months

3
2
0 0

This is a Xerox Star, right?

by billdeg＠degnanco.com

> > On Mon, 25 Apr 2011 13:17:52 -0400, B. Degnan wrote > > I am looking for confirmation that this is a Xerox 8010 / Xerox Star: > > > > http://vintagecomputer.net/xerox/8010/ > > Ah, given those floppies and lack of display, yours may have been a print > server; see e.g. http://www.digibarn.com/friends/curbow/star/5/index.html > > -- Hopefully I will find the monitor and mouse. Here is a pic that matches my system http://toastytech.com/guis/starsidebyside.jpg

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

RT-11 / RX-01 issues ... "almost" boots ...

by mcsele＠niagaracollege.ca

Dang! Missed the obvious! Indeed, looks like the monitor was SYSGENed since there is an ANSwer file on the disk labelled SJFB.ANS I don't have the system running at the moment but will boot it again this weekend at latest and check the config but I'm sure that's it. I suspect the RT-11 copy either has FPU support enabled (which my 11/34 lacks) or one of the many timers (I have one on the DL-11W but that is it). The LSI system is an 11/73A so it is "loaded". I suppose it is time to SYSGEN a new copy - The SYSGEN.COM and a load of assorted files are already on an MFM drive (as a bootable MSCP device) . I have the SYSGEN manual from bitsavers so I guess it's time to play "seventy questions". Anything about the 11/34 I need to be aware-of in terms of options? I want SJ, but probably don't need SJ timer support. I'm running it from a dual RX-01 drive so I'll have to keep things to a minimum on this particular system. If I get ambitious later I can try a new "Qniverter" I picked-up to allow the 11/34 to use the LSI-11 disk controllers. Thanks! Mark > Why don't you just create a new "virgin" RT11 boot disk on your LSI? > E.g.: > .INIT DX0: > .COPY DL0:SWAP.SYS DX0: > .COPY DL0:RT11SJ.SYS DX0: > .COPY DL0:DX.SYS DX0: > .COPY DL0:DL.SYS DX0: > .COPY/BOOT:DX DL0:RT11SJ.SYS DX0: > > and then try booting the disk on the other system. > Or did I miss the posting where you've already mentioned that procedure? > What happens if you try another monitor, e.g. RT11FB or RT11BL? It may be > possible that your version of RT11SJ has been SYSGENed for some options in > your LSI machine. Type SHOW CONF on your LSI and what for the version > string like "RT-11FB (S) V05.03"; the (S) indicates a SYSGENed monitor. Professor Mark Csele, P.Eng. Niagara College, Canada 300 Woodlawn Rd., L-23 Welland, ON, L3C 7L3 (905) 735-2211 x.7629 E-Mail: mcsele at niagarac.on.ca URL: http://technology.niagarac.on.ca/people/mcsele Author of "Fundamentals of Light Sources and Lasers", Wiley, 2004

15 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

IBM 3287

by cc＠informatik.uni-stuttgart.de

Hi, does anyone have the manuals (or even scans of them) for the IBM 3287 printer? I'm looking for information regarding setup, configuration and error codes. Christian

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Ryan Suenaga

by evan＠snarc.net

This news has been all over the Apple II boards and blogosphere today, so I figured someone should post it here on cctalk. Ryan Suenaga, a very active and veteran member of the Apple II community, died yesterday in a hiking accident. He was only in his mid-40s.

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Omron Programmable Controller

by naumanshah＠gmail.com

Dear Mr. Allain I read your post on the cctech mailing list at http://www.classiccmp.org/pipermail/cctech/2003-June/016522.html I was wondering if you still have the Omron Scy-P5r PLC with you? If yes, I would like to purchase it from you. -- Regards Syed Nauman Shah

15 years, 4 months

4
3
0 0

Epson SMD-400 drive

by jonas＠otter.se

>> Any alignment must be totally lost by now. But if I do get it >> working I >> can format a disk on it and see if that works. Reading and writing >> files >> might be more of a problem, I can't remember if there is any way to >> create directories and files in the bare OS, or if one needs >> programs >> from another disk, in which case I would be out of luck if it is so >> badly misaligned that it can't read other disks. > > Could you connect it up as a second drive? I seem to rememebr there's > a > socket for that on the ST (a strange 14 pin DIN socket?). Or test it > on > some other machine that uses a standard-ish floppy drive? I could connect it as a second drive in a PC. I think it is actually a bog-standard drive. Connecting a new drive to the ST was dead easy, however most of the old diskettes that came with the machine seem to be bad. Now I shall have to try to get the old drive working again. I thought the head assembly on the old drive might have had bushes for the guide rod. Not so, they were just holes punched through the sheet metal... /Jonas

15 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

Avail IBM Series 1

by billdeg＠degnanco.com

I am accepting reasonable offers for the following entire IBM Series 1 system: http://vintagecomputer.net/ibm/Series1/ If no one is interested I will donate it to MARCH's museum instead. Contact me directly by email When cabled together this system would I believe function as a document storage system and communications for a medical facility. Anyone who knows a thing or two about the Series 1 is welcome to have access, it's set up and power is available until at least July. After that I have to move it. I wish I had more time for it myself. So far I have un-parked the 4962 hard drive, wired the component cables, and tried to access the control panel. I have a limited knowledge of IBM minicomputers, just enough to know that these kinds of minicomputers don't just power up and say READY when you attach a monitor to them. In short the operational condition is unknown. The individual components power up. Anyway, here is a list of the components. qty) Description 2) 6' IBM 4997 Rack Units with shelves to house the processor and peripherals. 1) IBM 4956 Processor 1) Cambex Corp Model 80810 2-tape drive storage device (no tapes) 1) IBM 4962 8" disk drive / Hard Drive (w/ 3 boxes of maint. software) 1) IBM 4967 Hard drive (69kg) 1) IBM 4963 Hard drive (55kg) 1) IBM 4963A Hard drive (55kg) 1) IBM 4978 display station and keyboard (display is bad?) 12) Series I system software/hardware manuals "standard 3-ring binder sized" 20) Series I system software/hardware manuals (tall, blue, with IBM written on them) There is documentation for all components, plus service logs, software documentation, installation instructions, etc. Pretty complete. Misc. papers and other documentation and receipts. 3 boxes of IBM software on 8" disks, including diagnostics for hardware. 1 box of cables and jacks for additional display stations/terminals 1 box of printer ribbons (no printer) probably some product literature and period IBM sales circulars, etc. I believe I also have the modem for this system. The items are in Wilmington, Delaware minutes from rt 95, about an hour north of Baltimore, 25 minutes south of Phila Airport. Please contact me directly, reasonable offers accepted. I will avoid selling individual components. Pick up preferred, items are near loading area. Bill

15 years, 4 months

2
2
0 0

Replacing capacitors (was RE: new here)

by IanK＠vulcan.com

Yes, one can get lucky that way - and I have machines in my personal collection where I have not replaced the filter caps (yet). Component tolerances can allow continued functioning even with significantly degraded components. But if I turn one of those machines on and it doesn't start up, that's my problem. If I turn the key on one of our machines at work, in front of a crowd of people, and it doesn't start up, that's a different story. Industry studies (work by Cornell Dublier) show that aluminum electrolytic capacitors have a limited life span. (The most common failure mode is not drying out, it is elevated ESR.) Then there have been the various scandals about substandard components. I think it bears consideration that electrolytic capacitors are not one of the most reliable components in our information systems. --- Ian ________________________________________ From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Tony Duell [ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk] Sent: Sunday, April 24, 2011 11:10 AM To: cctalk at classiccmp.org Subject: Re: new here > cautious sort, disconnect the filter caps and perform a leak-down test, rep= > lacing parts that fail. If you're really cautious, just replace them - tha= > t's what we do with power caps if they're over twenty years old. There's a= > date code on the part. =20 If I did that, I'd have replaced every capactior in every machine I own, including the machine I am currently typing this on. I haven't. In fact many of my machines, including ones that are 40 years old, are still runnign with all their original capacitors. Yes, capacitors fo fail. I've replaced a number over the years. And they can fial from just old age if the electrolyte dries up. But in m experience it's not the problem that some people claim it is. -tony

15 years, 4 months

3
3
0 0

This is a Xerox Star, right?

by billdeg＠degnanco.com

I am looking for confirmation that this is a Xerox 8010 / Xerox Star: http://vintagecomputer.net/xerox/8010/ It's missing the front cover and one of the side panels. I don't have the monitor or mouse, just what's pictured. Anyone have one of these? Thanks Bill Degnan

15 years, 4 months

2
2
0 0

Wanted: WD1002-HDD docs or Teac SD-520U help

by mbbrutman-cctalk＠brutman.com

I recently received a PCjr add-on which is so unusual, it felt like Christmas. But as always, it needs a little TLC. This is an expansion chassis made by an outfit called "Legacy Technology" in Nebraska in the mid to late 80s. The interesting part of the chassis is a hard drive controller card and hard drive. PCjrs only had hard drives if you bought a 3rd party controller, and they were all pretty hackish. The drive is a 20MB Teac SD-520U and it is very flakey - I am getting data corruption almost all of the time. The corruption seems random; this drive might just be tired. I've low level formatted the drive twice. The controller BIOS supports INT 13, Function 7 (Low Level Format). It's not helping. Since the drive is probably not usable, I'm trying to figure out how to substitute in another drive. Examination of the BIOS extension shows that the controller supports 3 types of 20MB drives and 1 type of 10MB drive. I have 10MB drives that I can use, but not another 20MB drive. This is an XT class controller so I'm expecting to find some jumpers to set the drive type, but they are eluding me. The controller is actually a two part affair - A small amount of logic with the system BIOS extension on it, and then a WD1002-HDD board. The WD1002-HDD board mounts to the underside of the hard drive and then connects to the hard drive using the familiar 34+20 wire ribbon cables. It looks like it is capable of controlling three separate drives; it only has one 34 pin connector, but it has three 20 pin headers, one of which is in use. Does anybody have docs for the WD1002-HDD? If so, where do I find the drive type jumpers on the board? If I can't figure the controllers out I'm going to be looking for a similar drive. I suspect the trusty ST-225 works - the geometry is the same. Regards, Mike

15 years, 4 months

13
28
0 0

Good-condition IMSAI for sale

by evan＠snarc.net

We in MARCH are selling the following IMSAI 8080: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270739896050 Proceeds for this system are NOT going to our club, but rather to the widow of a local computer reseller who died in an industrial accident recently. Our club was asked to fix up the computer and sell it on her behalf. - Evan Koblentz and Bill Degnan

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

CMS disk drive?

by wdonzelli＠gmail.com

I have encountered an old 14" disk drive - it looks like it is probably a clone of an IBM 2314. It does not look like a 2314 at all (it is plain blue box with, that sort of looks like a 2311, but with more heads), and no tag at all. The drive interface uses that goofy connector that the late 60s IBM drives standardized on, for talking to the control units. The boards all have "CMS" stamped on them. Any ideas? Was CMS, whoever they were, one of the early clone companies? -- Will

15 years, 4 months

4
9
0 0

Selectric speed and durability (was Re: Retro Atari 400 looking Keyboard)

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

On Thu, Apr 21, 2011 at 2:47 PM, Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> wrote: > On Thu, 21 Apr 2011, Brian Lanning wrote: >> My mom was a secretary. ?She had an IBM selectric. ?World's loudest >> typewriter. ?She could type 90wpm on that thing. ?Oh man, what a >> sound. It sat on a foam mat to try to absorb some of the vibration. ?I >> used that for my papers until I got an original IBM 5150 and my school >> got a much of Apple 2Es. > > Rated top speed for the mechanism was 14.8 characters per second (about > 150 WPM). ?But a 150 WPM typist (yes, I've met some!) would have bursts > substantially higher, and selectrics would come apart. I do not know precisely how fast my mother could type, but her Selectric sounded like a machine gun when she got going. She never had one "fly apart", but she did wear out more than one unit from 8-10-hour-days of multi-page-carbon-set production work (final copies of court transcripts). She was paid by the page, so long stretches of error-free typing was the only way to make a decent wage. At one point in the early 1980s, her machine broke and she took it to a new repair shop in town. The tech was puzzled at the wear he observed during the triage until he watched her type to test out the freshly-repaired unit. As she banged away at a high rate of speed for a full page, the tech nodded and said to her, "you and I are going to become good friends". He was right. (Our 32K PET shared the home office with the Selectric. One afternoon when I was noodling around on the PET and she was deep in production mode, during a pause in the clatter, I remarked that someday soon, she'd be doing all of that "on one of these" (meaning a computer, not specifically a PET). She laughed. Less than five years later, she switched to 512K Macs and an Apple LaserWriter I). > At work, somebody succeeded in running one at 300 baud. ?Briefly. > That was discontinued when the "golfball" went flying into a sheetrock wall. Wow. Who knew full-face-shields were needed in an office environment. -ethan

15 years, 4 months

15
51
0 0

I wanted 100 pieces of Windows NT4 with license

by curador＠museudocomputador.com.br

Please send a email -- * * * * <http://www.floy.com.br/painel/painel.php> *in English: http://museudocomputador.com.br/homeingles2.php V?DEOS SOBRE O MUSEU, RECICLAGEM E COTAS. * *SEJA UM PARCEIRO DO MUSEU, COMPRE UMA COTA DE R$ 250,00 E LEVE O MUSEU PARA SUA ESCOLA 2X AO ANO. LIGUE J? 11 4666-1338 OU 4666 7545 COM JOS? CARLOS VALLE* *V?DEOS SOBRE O MUSEU E PARCERIA ASSISTAM:* Olhar Digital http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIVcCDl4LnI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yLggafyqkk O Museu em Recife fev 2011: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tpEA3xlXyc O Museu no Jornal Nacional, notem que o Museu teve o maior tempo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJEIuMcYtzA TV Gazeta http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaxqyqgJakA NO site do Museu: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKgUCeoXZ8c *MUSEU VIRTUAL EM 3D:* *http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ4uyVBW-tw* o Curador filmou a m?quina do Babbage ao vivo em 2007, na visita ao maior Museu do Mundo de Computadores, o Museu do Computador tem parceria com eles, e este v?deo mostra uma pe?a rara ao vivo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsI0rtM2ZYw Degiratti Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rl7GEcY8DRc&feature=related IN English: http://www.museumprofessionals.org/forum/tell-us-about-your-museum/7015-mus…

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Lisa sighting at Notacon

by keithvz＠verizon.net

So I attended Notacon, and some people may be interested to know that there was a Lisa there brought by the CMU Computer Club. They hacked together a demo on it, which was pretty decent given the clock speed, etc. They claim "first lisa demo ever." --- you know how that goes around here! :) The demo concluded with the apple logo in COLOR, which they did by translating the brightness-level information into color on the FPGA board. They used an fpga development board to bring digital video signals in off the chips, and frame buffer it and output to an HDMI output port. They didn't actually scan convert it, but left it at its native resolution, which was something weird. Like 700 x 300 or something? (quick google says 720 x 364) When pushing them for more answers on details of their hacked together video solution, and ideas for scan converting --- they clammed up, and said that since they will be offering a commercial product at some point in the future, they couldn't talk about it. Weren't going to document it publicly, post it online, etc. I suppose it's not too surprising that college kids don't understand the difference between raw ideas & prototyping vs executing and marketing an actual product. I just found it disappointing that it happened at a place where the fundamental point of getting together is to share information. I guess they consider sharing a one-way street. Keith

15 years, 4 months

9
21
0 0

Wanted: WD1002-HDD docs or Teac SD-520U help

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

Eric writes: >Fred Cisin wrote: >> "trusty ST-225"?? > Well, as compared to some brands, yes. JTS comes to mind, though it > wasn't contemporary with the ST-225. Most of my suffering with MFM drives happened at the upper end of the cost/complexity spectrum. Looking back 20 years I in fact have good respect for the simpler of the MFM drives and the ST-225 is an example. Maybe my expectations were just lower for a drive that didn't cost $4000 (list price of a XT-2190). But it's also quite true that ST-225's didn't crap out at the rate as the much more expensive MFM drives and for that I have to really give them some credit. Tim.

15 years, 4 months

3
2
0 0

OT: vacuum tube question

by evan＠snarc.net

Can someone here please explain to me, in ** simple English **, the difference (in usage, not in how they work) between a "control grid tube" and a "barrier grid tube" ... ? I tried Googling but that led to me being more confused, not less. :)

15 years, 4 months

7
10
0 0

S-100 Serial IO boards available

by lynchaj＠yahoo.com

Hi! There are bunch of S-100 Serial IO boards left so if anyone would like one or more please let me know. John has a nice description of the board here: http://s100computers.com/My%20System%20Pages/Serial%20IO%20Board/Serial%20IO %20Board.htm These are respin PCBs which resolve all the minor issues from the original release and the board is 100% without any modifications. These are generic IEEE-696/S-100 serial IO boards with dual serial ports, optional USB, and optional voice synthesizer support. There are also some parallel pins available. They are available for $20 each plus $3 shipping in the US and $6 elsewhere. If you have questions you can contact me or ask on the mailing list http://groups.google.com/group/n8vem-s100 Thanks and have a nice day! Andrew Lynch PS, although these are home brew PCBs you can use them in either building your own S-100 from scratch, restoring/repairing a vintage system, just adding them to an already working system for more IO.

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

IMSAI 8080 for sale, for a good cause

by billdeg＠degnanco.com

MARCH is selling the following IMSAI 8080 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270739896050 Proceeds for this sale will go to the widow of a veteran Trenton Computer Festival exhibitor whose husband died in an accident. She donated her husband's collection to the Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists, and asked that we sell one nice system from that lot to help her financially. Bill

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

OT: vacuum tube question

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

>> Armstrong was the more impressive in actually putting the tube to >> work. > > DeForest is painted rather blatantly as nothing less than a slimeball > by the T.H. Lee chapter cited by the previous web site: > > http://www-smirc.stanford.edu/papers/chapter1.pdf > > In legal proceedings attempting to claim credit for the superhet, > DeForest made a perfect idiot of himself. He didn't have a clue. It's tough for a techie to go into court and come out looking smart. You can be the world's best expert on some important area of technology and come out completely skewered every which way >from Sunday if you try to look like a smarty-pants. Just being the expert who was in the thick of things puts you at a real disadvantage in almost every legal situation, no matter how humble you try to be. And even if your side wins it doesn't mean you're gonna be a happy guy. Look what happened to Armstrong. All these legal tribulations from the early 1900's seem just as relevant (as business and/or moral lessons) today in the 21st century. Tim.

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Someone have some Windows NT4 with license?? I need around 100 pieces

by curador＠museudocomputador.com.br

Jose carlos Valle -- * * * * <http://www.floy.com.br/painel/painel.php> *in English: http://museudocomputador.com.br/homeingles2.php V?DEOS SOBRE O MUSEU, RECICLAGEM E COTAS. * *SEJA UM PARCEIRO DO MUSEU, COMPRE UMA COTA DE R$ 250,00 E LEVE O MUSEU PARA SUA ESCOLA 2X AO ANO. LIGUE J? 11 4666-1338 OU 4666 7545 COM JOS? CARLOS VALLE* *V?DEOS SOBRE O MUSEU E PARCERIA ASSISTAM:* Olhar Digital http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIVcCDl4LnI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yLggafyqkk O Museu em Recife fev 2011: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tpEA3xlXyc O Museu no Jornal Nacional, notem que o Museu teve o maior tempo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJEIuMcYtzA TV Gazeta http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaxqyqgJakA NO site do Museu: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKgUCeoXZ8c *MUSEU VIRTUAL EM 3D:* *http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ4uyVBW-tw* o Curador filmou a m?quina do Babbage ao vivo em 2007, na visita ao maior Museu do Mundo de Computadores, o Museu do Computador tem parceria com eles, e este v?deo mostra uma pe?a rara ao vivo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsI0rtM2ZYw Degiratti Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rl7GEcY8DRc&feature=related IN English: http://www.museumprofessionals.org/forum/tell-us-about-your-museum/7015-mus…

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

PC Keyboard to serial adapter...

by lbickley＠bickleywest.com

One item I've needed on several occasions was an ASCII keyboard (TTL or RS-323 levels) for a vintage system. While I do have a few Keytronic serial keyboards with TTL output - they are old and can be "flaky". I found a pair of products that convert a standard PS/2 keyboard to RS-232 ASCII output (and can be modified for TTL). In addition, the vendor was very cooperative about modifying his product to meet the needs of those of us in the vintage computer community. To be specific, the standard products support baud rates from 2400bps to 115Kbs. I contacted the owner of the company ("John Ursoleo" <jursoleo at att.net>) saying that for the vintage systems I was working with, I needed lower baud rates. John asked me to send my units back - and reprogrammed them to support the following baud rates: 110, 300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600 and 19,200. He sent them back to me, and I tested them again with the low speed option and they worked great. The "low baud rate" version of these products can be ordered with the /LB option. Here's where to get the products, manuals, etc.: PS2ADPT http://www.versalent.biz/seradpt.htm PS2PRO http://www.versalent.biz/ps2pro.htm Note: The standard output of this product is RS-232 voltage levels - but it is easy to modify them for TTL levels. Doing so voids the warranty - so you are on your own with this mod. I have NO financial interest in this recommendation - it's just a good product I've found useful... Cheers, Lyle -- Lyle Bickley, AF6WS Bickley Consulting West Inc. http://bickleywest.com "Black holes are where God is dividing by zero"

15 years, 4 months

6
8
0 0

Serial Port Web Server

by technobug＠comcast.net

A friend desires to leave the hot desert this summer and move to the cool mountain and yet maintain contact with his PDP11 with which he still runs his business. He has a rotten phone connection, but good internet. He runs a highly modified version of RTST 5x and cannot reasonably move his stable 30 y/o applications to later/other OS's. I would appreciate knowing what the listers use to accomplish same. -> CRC

15 years, 4 months

10
14
0 0

Fwd: [GreenKeys] Free RTTY machines in central Iowa

by jfoust＠threedee.com

>From: Gary Buda <gbuda at cyberwright.net> >To: greenkeys at mailman.qth.net >Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 12:37:21 -0500 >Subject: [GreenKeys] Free RTTY machines in central Iowa > >Des Moines had a swap fest today. One of the sellers had a sign for a FREE >model 33 and a FREE model 18. What they really have, I believe is a FREE >model 33 and a FREE model 15. They're relocating to Florida and don't want to >haul this stuff with them nor do they want to throw it in the garbage. They >didn't bring the units to the swap fest, so I have not seen them. And, I >don't have an interest in them either. They just sold their computer and >therefore no longer have email. But, you can contact them here: >Rich Acopy >515-243-9567 > >Good luck! >Gary WA0NDN >NNNN > >______________________________________________________________ >GreenKeys mailing list >Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/greenkeys >Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm >Post: mailto:GreenKeys at mailman.qth.net > >This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net >Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Anyone Have VWS V4.0, 4.1 & 4.2?

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

I am looking for copies of these versions of the VAX Workstation Software. Does anyone have copies available? Thanks Rob

15 years, 4 months

2
3
0 0

Radio Shack Science Fair manuals

by websurfer80234＠gmail.com

I know this is from an old post but I am looking for a 130 in one manual 28-259 and was wondering if you ever got this one? If you did can you e-mail me a copy? Thank You Don

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Reproducing Printed Circuit Board Artwork

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

http://www.mhtest.com/ has done it before, maybe you won't even have to send them your boards :) For many purposes I think I'd be happy with a good 600 DPI color scan of both sides (including silkscreen). I don't think that modern PCB processes will by default produce a board that "looks like" an Altair era board (I remember the silkscreen actually covering tinned solder pads.)

15 years, 4 months

8
12
0 0

Internships (was Re: Selectric speed and durability (was Re: Retro Atari 400 looking Keyboard))

by charlesmorris800＠centurytel.net

On Fri, 22 Apr 2011 22:52:22 -0500, you wrote: >And they don't think there's something wrong (and unprofessional) >about this practice? It looks (to the layperson) that it's so deeply >ingrained in the culture that it has become acceptable and expected. Do >the people involved just view it as an acceptable risk, or do they think >there just isn't any risk? > > -Dave There are probably a few other MD's (and DO's) on this list, including me ;) I went through it in my late 20's and now, 20 years later, would not have the stamina to do it at all, let alone safely. From personal experience I'm inclined to believe the practice of 36 hour shifts is no more or less than institutionalized hazing, as has already been addressed by other posters. Any complaints were always met with derision of the "you think YOU have it tough, when *I* was an intern I had to walk uphill both ways barefoot in the snow 36 hours a day", etc. Especially among surgeons, who usually won the macho-asshole award hands down. -Charles

15 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

Serial Port Web Server

by tiggerlasv＠aim.com

--- snip --- >> >>Has anyone used any of the serial port ethernet servers (aka port >>directors) and how well did they work? > Now that we have more details I'd say that the best solution is > either this, or else a dedicated low-end x86 PC running OpenBSD. In > either case the 'fun' part could very well be wiring the two > together. Honestly I'd recommend a PC with OpenBSD over a Serial > Port ethernet server. --- snip --- A VPN router and a 4 or 8-port terminal server should be adequate. Xyplex terminal servers, while a PITA to configure, seem pretty darned stable. An MX1600-04 is a 1U rack size, and can support 16 concurrent sessions. It's best to use them with a multiplexor that supports modem control though, so that if your Telnet session drops, your interactive session becomes detached. Otherwise, the next person connecting will pick up your session. I've successfully interfaced Xyplex series routers with Emulex CS02's, and DHV11's. It's been some time since I've messed with them, though, so I can't readily spout the exact terminal server settings & cable pin-outs, so I'd have to dig them out of my storage unit for examination. Lantronix terminal servers will also work; they're alot smaller, but not my favorite. (I couldn't get rid of the pesky "Welcome to the Lantronix Terminal Server" message.) T

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Serial Port Web Server

by tingox＠gmail.com

On Sat, Apr 23, 2011 at 3:24 AM, Zane H. Healy <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote: > Now that we have more details I'd say that the best solution is either this, > or else a dedicated low-end x86 PC running OpenBSD. ?In either case the > 'fun' part could very well be wiring the two together. ?Honestly I'd > recommend a PC with OpenBSD over a Serial Port ethernet server. Yeah, and running conserver: http://www.conserver.com/ or something like it. Depending on how many serial ports you have, you can have a real multi-user setup with this. HTH -- Regards, Torfinn Ingolfsen

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Serial Port Web Server

by technobug＠comcast.net

On hu, 21 Apr 2011 21:33:22 -0700: "Zane H. Healy" <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote: > At 9:13 PM -0700 4/21/11, CRC wrote: >> A friend desires to leave the hot desert this summer and move to the >> cool mountain and yet maintain contact with his PDP11 with which he >> still runs his business. He has a rotten phone connection, but good >> internet. He runs a highly modified version of RTST 5x and cannot >> reasonably move his stable 30 y/o applications to later/other OS's. >> I would appreciate knowing what the listers use to accomplish same. >> >> -> CRC > > I would recommend running the E11 PDP-11 emulator on a laptop. > Though based on what you describe, I think SIMH could work just as > well. Honestly I'd recommend moving it over to an emulator anyway if > he's running his business off of it. It's one thing for those of us > here to run PDP-11 hardware of that vintage as a hobby, it's another > thing to depend on it for your livelihood. What type of drives is he > using? > > The following webpage desperately needs updated, but should point you > in the right direction. > http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/pdp11emu.html E11 has been seriously looked at in the past, but the required additions and money constraints nixed going in that direction. Whenever time permits he has been looking at alternates to the current hardware. However, this system which has a rack of Fuji Eagles and a number of tape decks, has been running without much repair maintenance for the last several decades. We recently had to work on one of the Fujis and now are in the process of shot-gunning all the caps. We were totally amazed when one of the drives became flakey and found that nearly all the caps were bad - luckily Earl W. Muntz didn't work for Fuji... However, the current problem is not transporting the applications, but contacting the current system. Remember that RSTS is multiuser and he has no intention of also transporting his drones that also access the computer to the cool mountains with him :) There are also a number of customers that dial in to get access to data. Has anyone used any of the serial port ethernet servers (aka port directors) and how well did they work? -> CRC

15 years, 4 months

3
2
0 0

new subscriptions?

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

Hey folks. Who is handling new subscriptions here nowadays? An acquaintance from another list is interested in joining but has been having trouble. -Dave -- Dave McGuire Port Charlotte, FL

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

OT: Re: internships

by mtapley＠swri.edu

At 12:00 -0500 4/22/11, Chuck wrote: >Would you fly as a passenger on a jet whose pilots pulled 30 hour >shifts routinely? I wouldn't--hell, I wouldn't ride on a bus whose >driver was pulling a 3-day no-sleep shift. ... Chuck, you are right on the money. Cameron, you know I like you, but the way interns are abused is pure simple insanity. Heck, pick almost any "operator error" disaster you care to name - Chernobyl, Exxon Valdez, whatever - and odds are >> 80% that you will find someone either operating outside normal work hours or who had been recently doing so. On the last full mission I participated in, we made 4 critical errors during integration and test, any one of which could have damaged the spacecraft or terminated the mission - and *every one* of which was made outside normal working hours. Your own post that started this thread contained the phrase "Hope my overnight admission orders didn't kill anyone." Would you say that about any other part of your work? Would you want your loved ones admitted or treated by someone under those conditions? I admit there are conditions where doctors have to work long hours; I watched M*A*S*H just like everyone else. But *training* doctors to do that at the expense of patients' safety during normal times is dangerously bad policy, particularly considering the tiny percentage of doctors who will ever consent to work that way anytime during their professional lives. It's also educationally counterproductive, as anyone who has ever crammed overnight knows. Why and how the medical community, who has the best knowledge available of what physiological effects result from long-term sleep deprivation, ever allowed this practice, to say nothing of institutionalizing it, is beyond mystery and into mysterious evil as far as I'm concerned. I don't guess hospitals should be shut down but I think it would be a really good idea to take a few administrators and schedulers each month, ceremonially break legs or induce other disorders, and then admit them on the 36th hour of a new intern's first overnight shift. -- - Mark 210-379-4635 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Large Asteroids headed toward planets inhabited by beings that don't have technology adequate to stop them: Think of it as Evolution in Fast-Forward.

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Serial Port Web Server

by tiggerlasv＠aim.com

>> A friend desires to leave the hot desert this summer and move to the >> cool mountain and yet maintain contact with his PDP11 with which he >> still runs his business. He has a rotten phone connection, but good >> internet. He runs a highly modified version of RTST 5x and cannot >> reasonably move his stable 30 y/o applications to later/other OS's. I >> would appreciate knowing what the listers use to accomplish same. > A relatively lightweight PC at his business, with internet access and a > serial port, running linux and kermit, should get him access. For > certain values of soldering in the missing serial port, even one of the > linux-based linksys routers could probably be made to work. > SSH from the mountain to the PC/linksys, kermit to PDP. I use a hardware TELNET <> LAT gateway, so I don't have to deal with power hungry multiplexors, serial cables, and baud rate limitations. Of course, since he's probably running V5A, he couldn't get that fancy. However, a plain ol' terminal server would be much easier to implement. Set the router to direct TELNET traffic to the terminal server, and voila ! T

15 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

Vintage Computer Festival East Teletype Workshop Update

by billdeg＠degnanco.com

The workshop will have persons of all skill levels, including individuals with 40+ years experience in attendance. The "Teletype 101" is expanding into a workshop for all experience levels. Whatever your skill level there should be someone who can help you. I will be bringing an SWTPc 6800 or a PDP 11 as a demo unit, depends on space, etc. If you buy a teletype, you can work on it/get help on the spot - a good deal! Here is the official email about the teletypes. Please read this over carefully. PLEASE SEND INQUIRIES TO ME DIRECTLY (if the below does not answer your questions). Bill Degnan billdeg-at-aol.com A Vice Pres. M.A.R.C.H. -------------------------------------------------------------- THERE IS NO SHIPPING - PICKUP ONLY 1. If you have not done so already pick a teletype from the photos here <http://www.midatlanticretro.org/teletypes/>http://www.midatlanticretro.org/teletypes/ 2. The prices are labeled on the photos: Selling prices: $100 TTY (best cond. has stand, chad paper catch, sheet holder, rare ) $75 TTY (complete/good cond no stand) $75 TTY (fair condition but has stand) $50 TTY (poor cond. / incomplete / parts) 3. There are two ways to get your choice of teletype a. Register for the workshop/Pick up at VCF <http://www.vintage.org/2011/east/workshop.php?action=select&id=149>http://www.vintage.org/2011/east/workshop.php?action=select&id=149 In addition to the workshop itself, your $40 also gets you: - Entry into the drawing to win a free "serviceable" teletype. - $40 applied to the purchase of a teletype, "dibs" in the order of registration (first to register = first to pick from what's available, second, etc.). - If you do not show up for the workshop you lose your place in line but the $40 can be applied to a purchase from what's available. - The $40 deposit is non-refundable. NOTE: You have to make the remaining balance due payment in order to take possession of your teletype. b. Purchase outright/Pick up any time - If you don't want to wait until the workshop, you can buy a teletype outright by paying full price in advance of the VCF. First come first served. - I will mark the photos with the names of the purchaser after payment has been received. - Visit the link below and click on the "donate" button to enter the Mid-Atlantic Retro web site PayPal account to make payment. <http://marchclub.org/>http://marchclub.org/ 4. How to take posession of your TTY: The teletypes are located in the Mid Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists' Computer Museum which is located in the InfoAge Science Center of Wall, NJ. For directions see <http://infoage.org/html/visit.html#directions>http://infoage.org/html/visit.html#directions Payment (see 3 above) Pickup Before VCF Weekend InfoAge Sundays when MARCH has someone there at the museum pick teletype assuming they have paid the full price (paypal). Pickup on VCF Weekend: Persons can pay $40 in advance to reserve a TTY, and it's their choice whether they attend the workshop. The $40 goes towards the purchase price of a TTY. One must pay the balance due to take possession of their TTY. Pickup After VCF Weekend Persons can visit InfoAge Sundays when MARCH has someone there at the museum to buy and take home a teletype assuming they have paid the full price (paypal). There is no shipping available. -end-

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

F&*#ing chicklet keyboards (was Re: Retro Atari 400 looking Keyboard)

by dm561＠torfree.net

----- Original Message ----- Message: 13 Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2011 15:49:52 -0400 From: Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks at gmail.com> Subject: Re: F&*#ing chicklet keyboards (was Re: Retro Atari 400 looking Keyboard) To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <BANLkTi=-0VR2fJMZKd-xyO66CLDr2ScRCw at mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Some folks didn't even wait. Some paid over $100 for an external "full-sized" keyboard. I bought a blue-bezel chiclet PET with the internal cable from Skyles Electric Works for the external keyboard (probably long since separated). <snip> Now (largely because issues of practicality are irrelevant), the price of a 1977/1978 chiclet-keyboard PET is several times that of a 1978 Graphic or Business-keyboard PET. -ethan ----- Reply ----- There was an upgrade kit available from Commodore, consisting of a replacement upper case half with the new Graphic keyboard, a new black decal and matching black monitor bezel, and an optional new external cassette deck to replace the internal missing-the-corner unit. I upgraded mine and also replaced the white screen with a green tube; glad now I kept the original parts for the day I sell it... m

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Free Stuff in Albany/Richmond, CA, Wednesday Only

by trag＠io.com

I saw this posting over on the Apple 2 Marketplace. <http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys.apple2.marketplace/browse_thread/th…> It looks like Albany Microcomputer Services is cleaning out their shop. Jeff Walther

15 years, 4 months

15
22
0 0

Unisys "Micro A"

by dfaultersack＠cox.net

This is from an old thread. >From one of the Micro-A engineers. Write back if you want to know more about this system. Cheers.

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Reproducing Printed Circuit Board Artwork

by mardy＠voysys.com

A few years ago I came to poses an original unassembled Altair 8800 kit. I have since decided to donate it to the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. But before I send it off, I would like to capture the printed circuit board artwork and make available to others wishing to reproduce bare boards. Can anyone recommend a service bureau, preferably somewhere on the east coast (US), that can do the work? -Mardy

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

CMS disk drive

by thomas.gardner＠sbcglobal.net

The IBM channel cables were separately a Bus Cable and a Tag Cable and I believe the high data rate version had two of one of them, probably the Bus Cable. They used an IBM proprietary hermaphroditic pin and shell which initially we had to buy from IBM at extraordinary prices but after a while someone, I forgot whom, came out with a plug compatible pin that avoided IBMs patents. The Signal Cable in the OEM HDD interface from RP01 -> SMD interface had three tags (set head, set cylinder and control) and a bus of varying width starting with 8 bits and growing about 1 bit/generation. The DC cable in the same interface had separate read and write cables and a few signals. The names go back to the 2311 era or perhaps the 1311 era when I seem to recall at least the DC Cable carried some DC into the drive. They had a 4th tag, set difference which the OEMs didn't use. Tom > Message: 20 > Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:44:17 -0700 > From: Al Kossow <aek at bitsavers.org> > Subject: Re: CMS disk drive? > To: cctalk at classiccmp.org > Message-ID: <4DB09721.8030200 at bitsavers.org> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > > On 4/21/11 1:20 PM, William Donzelli wrote: > > These connectors are smaller than b&t, and are a weird mix of pins, > blades, > > and coax. > > > > OK, the connectors I was thinking of were like page 1-2 of > TM114-1072-J-1M_Model_114_Tech_Oct73 > > The 114 calls the two cables DC (radial) and SIGNAL (BUSED). SIGNAL has > bus and tag lines and > the DC cable has the coax. They are similar to the Memorex cables with AMP > connectiors Tom > mentioned. > > Weren't the cables from the CPU to Controllers "Channel" cables?

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

HP6940B Free!

by wdonzelli＠gmail.com

Free for a little gas money - a new? in box with manual 6940B general purpose IO box, can be used with quite a few HP systems with the right interface card, which we do not have. Located in Boulder, CO, and can deliver to SLC, Seattle, or the Bay Area. It is not too huge, about ten inches of rack space. Let me know now! -- Will

15 years, 4 months

3
2
0 0

CMS disk drive?

by thomas.gardner＠sbcglobal.net

Can up describe it in more detail or better yet post some photos? For example does it have 20 heads? Is the funny connector the AMP M series, are there 3 (control in, out and data in/out)? Does the spindle look like the nose cone of a rocket with a hole in the center? Etc. CMS might be Caelus Memory Systems but I don't think they ever did a 2314 class machine I seem to recall a Computer Memory Systems but I think they were much later Could be some variant on CalComp or Century Data Systems Tom > Message: 5 > Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2011 12:55:56 -0400 > From: William Donzelli <wdonzelli at gmail.com> > Subject: CMS disk drive? > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" > <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > Message-ID: <BANLkTimw66t7NP9+HVxPEyGQ21NmK2ZQMQ at mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > I have encountered an old 14" disk drive - it looks like it is > probably a clone of an IBM 2314. It does not look like a 2314 at all > (it is plain blue box with, that sort of looks like a 2311, but with > more heads), and no tag at all. The drive interface uses that goofy > connector that the late 60s IBM drives standardized on, for talking to > the control units. The boards all have "CMS" stamped on them. Any > ideas? Was CMS, whoever they were, one of the early clone companies? > > -- > Will

15 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

RT-11 / RX-01 issues ... "almost" boots ...

by mcsele＠niagaracollege.ca

The original RAM configuration is outlined below. It was used this way, and booted just fine from RK-05's in days gone by. An M7847 with 16KW A Motorola board with 6 rows of 9 4116 chips (for a total of 48KW) A Mostek board with eight rows of 9 4116 chips (for a total of 64KW) The Motorola board was originally set to the lowest 48K, the M7847 after that, and the Mostek for the highest 64KW addresses ... I reconfigured when I checked these out (I lack the actual docs on the Motorola and Mostek boards but there are only eight DIP switches so it was easy enough to guess and just verify the range via the front panel ... bus error when a non-existent address is deposited). I think I goofed on the original size of the Mostek board ... it sports two banks of 4 rows by 9 of 4116 chips (64KBytes each bank). As for the RX11 interface (M7846), I could not find config info except for a photo of a board on the web (checked bitsavers but can't find that board). My jumpers are as follows: V2 V4 V5 V7 N1 A7 A8. All other jumpers are snipped off. Power Supply: after the long-term storage in the garage that was the first thing I checked. Once had a 5V supply put out 7V so I'm paranoid about that now! The 5V and +/- 15V supplies are all good. Cheers .... Mark Professor Mark Csele, P.Eng. Niagara College, Canada 300 Woodlawn Rd., L-23 Welland, ON, L3C 7L3 (905) 735-2211 x.7629 E-Mail: mcsele at niagarac.on.ca URL: http://technology.niagarac.on.ca/people/mcsele Author of "Fundamentals of Light Sources and Lasers", Wiley, 2004 >>> Tony Duell <ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk> 04/19/11 5:47 PM >>> > > Well, a few more bizarre things to report: > > I tried to disable interrupt sources as suggested. The only one, = > apparently, was the DL11-W SLU/LTC card which was set for both functions. = > The card was reconfigured to be "SLU Only". No change in behaviour. The = > DL11-W console is set for address 177560, vector 60. The console will geneate 2 iterrupt vectors (60 and 64 I think) for transmit and receive. They cannont be set separately, so if the DL11-W is working properly, that's OK. The RX11 will also generate interrupts. What's it set to? > > Next, there are three memory cards: one M7847-DJ (16K*18 MOS, MS11-JP), = > one "Motorola memory systems" card with 48K words, and one "MOSTEK memory = > systems" card with 96K words. Both the two later cards use 4116 DRAM = > chips. Hang on a second. You've got 16Kw + 48Kw + 96kw there. That's 160Kw total. The PDP11/34 (it is an 11/34 IRIC) has 18 bit addressing and can access a total of 128kw. 4Kw are used for the I/O space, so you have have a maximum of 124kw of memory (practically, most memory boards wil lautomatically disable themselves in the I/O space, so you could fit a pair of 64Kw boards, say,m without problems). But with your configuration you must have some locations addressing 2 boards, which is not a good thing. > > Tried to use the M7847-DJ card alone (after all, RT-11SJ should run on = > 16KW of memory). Reconfigured the card address to start at 0 and verified = > that it occupies addresses 000000 to 077777 via the front panel. When the = > machine it turned on, the display reads "054207" (this was not expected). = > Tried booting using the bootstrap on the M9301-YB card: the heads don't = > engage at all and the program halts rapidly displaying "173764" ... = > BIZARRE since that is a non-existent address. Is it? Remeebr the address show is the 16 bit program counter address. If the MMU is disabled (which it will be on power-up, and nothing is going to enable it), addresses starting 16 or 17 are mapped to the I/O space at 76 or 77. So that address is 773764. Which I think is in the bootstrap ROM. > > Next, tried the Motorola memory card which was already configured to start = > at 0. When the CPU is powered-on, displays "000002" on the display. = > Tried to boot the disk, heads engage, a few steps of the disk heads, and = > halts again at "005134". > > Finally, tried the MOSTEK memory card. Reconfigured to start at 0, and = > verified that addresses 000000 through 377777 are occupied by RAM. Powers = > up with a display of 000002 and halts at 005134 when a boot is attempted. > > The system is now stripped during testing, consisting of the following: > Slot 1/2 =3D CPU, Slot 3=3DM7859 Panel interface and M9301-YB bootstrap/ter= > minator, Slot 4=3Dmemory, slot 5&6&7 empty (with a grant continuity card = > in D), slot 8=3DM7856 SLU/LTC, slot 9=3DM9302 at the unibus end and M7846 = > RX-01 interface. That sounds OK. > As I was typing this, had a thought about slots: I recall reading = > something about not putting memory into slot 9. So, I moved the RX-01 = Yes, The reason is that memroy boards are MUD (Modified Unibus Device) boards and take their signals from connectors A,B (this matters on machines like the 11/44 which have a 22 bit address bus, and where the addres lines on A,B are not the same as those on E). Device controllers (SPCs -- Small Peripheral Controller) take their signals from C-F. On slot 9, the A/B conenctors are the Unibus output to the next backplane (or for a terminaotr) and are not qurie the same signals as the ones on an MUD slot. In fact I think on some machines you can short out a power rail by putting an MUD card in the Unibus Out slot or a termintor in an MUD slot. > controller to slot 6 (and moved the grant card in slot 9D). Now, when = > powered-up with the Motorola or Mostek memory cards, displays "000000" but = > otherwise no changes in booting behaviour. When the MS11-JP RAM was = > installed instead, displays "177777" once, "163776" the next time (when = > powered up), and still absolutely nothing when boot is attempted (i.e. no = > heads engaging at all). > > Is there something about RT-11 5.04 that I am not aware-of? An it was = > suggested that there is a difference between the Unibus and Q-Bus boot ... = > any thoughts on that one? =20 I've never heard of that being a problem... > > I can't see memory being the issue anyway: sure, 16KW might be an issue = > (and that card might even be 'flaky'), but the other two cards are large = > enough. Silly question... Whenever I hear of a PDP11 wit flaky memeory I think of the time I was led a merry dance by my 11/45. It turns out the problem ther was power supply related (one ofthe 5V lines was sitting at 4.4V). Have tyoy checked all the power supply voltages with the machine in operation? -tony

15 years, 4 months

4
4
0 0

Status of Lisa bringup

by snhirsch＠gmail.com

First a question for other Lisa owners: Could an error 10707 result from attempting to startup Lisa Office from a ProFile that was configured while attached to a different machine? I believe there's some sort of node-locking that occurs during installation, but I'm not sure what the symptoms of a mismatch might be. Otherwise, here's the status of my restoration: - Intermittant recognition of keyboard originally blamed on bad 1/4" jack was finally traced down to missing screws on the bottom of the case. With these missing, the front bezel springs out far enough to prevent the keyboard plug from making reliable contact. Never noticed they were gone until I turned it upside down. - Dead keys addressed by cannabilizing a Sun 4 keyboard ($18 eBay purchase). All foam disks replaced, all keys now working. Cleaned up nicely to boot! - Spent some quality time cleaning out the 9-pin mouse connector with Caig cleaner and bent spring contacts in very slightly with jeweler's screwdriver. Now making reliable connection, saving a big hassle trying to get it off the board without damaging anything. - Snarfed diskette drive from the second Lisa, cleaned up mechanism, degreased with PCB flux remover (alcohol, I believe) and performed final lub with a tiny amount of spray silicone. It now passes LisaTest 100% and can boot into MacWorks / Finder 5.0 from one of the ProFiles. The other ProFile has Lisa Office installed, but as noted above it throws an error 10707 after chugging away for a bit. When I use LisaTest to examine the ProFile the ready LED extinguishes, followed by zero apparent activity before the test fails. Steve --

15 years, 4 months

8
17
0 0

How to thin a collection...

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

I'm wondering how many here have put any real effort or thought into thinning out thier collection, and the question of spares. Last night I started. So far I've been trying to identify dead equipment, and have gotten as far as testing some terminals, and a couple compact Mac's (I've identified a dead Mac Colour Classic). One of the questions that comes to mind is this. How many spares is too many? Also is anyone in the Portland, Oregon area interested in junk I'll be dumping? Local pickup only. I don't know if someone might be interested in things like the dead Mac Colour Classic for parts. I do have a list of a few items I'll be keeping an eye out for that have been promised to a couple list members. Zane

15 years, 4 months

13
20
0 0

Where does one find small 4:3 LCD screens with composite or S-video input? (Ethan Dicks)

by redodd＠comcast.net

Hello Ethan, Search ebay for Hannspree LCD. They made a bunch of fancy tvs with different shapes like baseballs, Cinderella's carriage, Winnie the Pooh etc. Look for a 9.6 inch one. These are the specs for all of them. These are NTSC. 9.6 LCD Monitor 800 x 600 Resolution Brightness: 350 cd/m? Contrast Ratio: 450:1 Digital Comb Filter 2 Watt + 2 Watt Audio System Connections: 1 S-Video Inputs- 2 Composite Video Inputs- Headphone Jack- 2 Audio Inputs (for Composite/S-Video)- 4-in-1 Connection I took apart a baseball shaped one for a project and the screen has nice brackets around the edges and the video is pretty good. I shopped for a long time until I found one that went for about $30. The prices are usually a litte too high but you may get lucky. They also made some 15 inch models but they didn't have s-video. You can find manuals and info here: http://www.hannspree.com/global/category.aspx?c=288 Ralph

15 years, 4 months

3
2
0 0

2026

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

test-drb