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

by fryers＠gmail.com

All, I have an Amstrad PPC640D with original box that I would like to pass on to someone. These are reasonably common and not that rare. It makes a great low power terminal (LCD screen) and real serial port, but that is about all I can say in it's favor. It will need to be collected in the next two weeks. If I don't hear anything this it will be going off to the small electricals bin at the local recycling centre this weekend. Thanks. Simon -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Well, an engineer is not concerned with the truth; that is left to philosophers and theologians: the prime concern of an engineer is the utility of the final product." Lectures on the Electrical Properties of Materials, L.Solymar, D.Walsh

15 years, 11 months

2
1
0 0

Cleaning floppy drives

by Hollandia＠ccountry.net

As far as I know, all of the vendors of the "cleaning diskettes" that were available have stopped making them. Does anyone know of a source? Failing that, what is the correct way of cleaning a floppy drive? Thanks, Kurt

15 years, 11 months

5
5
0 0

FS: Hawley Mark II X063X Rare Vinage Computer Mouse

by nick.allen＠comcast.net

Not sure if anyone is interested, but I am clearing out items I am not using (I have a family of 5 in a 2 bedroom condo, with limited storage space, and a gracious wife with limited patience with my collection). I have listed this Hawley Mark II X063X Rare Vinage Computer Mouse <http://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/e12000.m43.l1123/7?euid=430eac132fc24b63aa8f3…> for sale on ebay: http://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/e12000.m43.l1123/7?euid=430eac132fc24b63aa8f3…

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

DiscFerret update: PCB done!

by classiccmp＠philpem.me.uk

Hi guys, I've just (within the last few minutes) finished the "first cut" board layout for the DiscFerret. It's a 160x100mm Eurocard, with all the "inputs" (power and USB) on the back panel, and all the disc-drive interfacing stuff (power and I/O) on the front. Truth be told, it's not much different to the prototype schematic I posted to the list earlier this year... The 40-pin disc I/O connector carries a standard 17-line ("34-pin") Shugart disc interface with all lines wired, four high-speed 5V TTL "user I/O" lines, +5V (low current) and ground. The state of the DENSITY pin (pin 2) can be driven as an open-collector output, or used as an input (depending on the type of drive you're using). There's an external "power output" connector for the disc drive. This is a dual-row 4-pin AMP Micro Mate-n-Lok (P/N 3-794618-4, mating connector 794617-4 with 794610-1 contacts) which carries +12V, +5V and two grounds. Current-handling capacity is about 1.5A per channel, so plenty for most PC-style drives. There are no cop-outs here -- you can pull 1.5A from the 12V bus, and 1.5A from the 5V bus *at the same time* without any adverse effects. I wanted to use the standard Molex floppy drive power socket, but Molex only seem to make one PCB-mount variant, which is the "input" socket (which has a recessed body, but contains male pins -- go figure)... There are also three status LEDs -- Power, FPGA Status and PIC Status. The first is always on when the +3.3V regulator is running, the latter two are controlled by their respective devices. A plastic light-pipe redirects the light from these LEDs to the front panel. Simples! For the curious... Schematic: http://www.discferret.com/temp/discferret_sch.pdf PCB layout: Checkplot: http://www.discferret.com/temp/discferret_main_chk.pdf Top copper: http://www.discferret.com/temp/discferret_main_top.pdf Bot copper: http://www.discferret.com/temp/discferret_main_bot.pdf Top overlay: http://www.discferret.com/temp/discferret_main_tov.pdf EAGLE project files: http://www.discferret.com/temp/eagle/ (you'll need all the files in this directory) Next step is to do a full design review (i.e. print the board and schematic out REALLY BIG and go over them with a loupe), create a Quartus constraints file and test-synthesize the FPGA microcode. But first... it's 3AM and I'm tired. Sleep time! zzzzzz.... -- Phil. classiccmp at philpem.me.uk http://www.philpem.me.uk/

15 years, 11 months

8
20
0 0

How to repair Tektronix 4696 inkjet and what to use for the cleaner fluid cartridge?

by rmay635703a＠yahoo.com

The maintenance fluid is sucked in each time you turn the printer on and expelled at some point.? Basically the print heads sit in a bath of it while not doing anything or while at the carriage return position,? the printer draws the maintenance fluid from the cartridge (which is a plastic bag) and expells it into the same container but on the outside of the plastic bag, one instruction warned not to turn the printer on and off too much and I found out the hard way why as a bunch of colorfull maintenance fluid spilled all over the table. My main interest was figuring out how to dissassemble the machine, at one point there was a maintenance manual for the 4695, sadly the archive that had it didn't seem to want to put it up for download. Cheers Ryan

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

Help Identifying this Engineering/Mainframe panel

by nick.allen＠comcast.net

Here are some close up photos, thanks everyone for your help =) http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=213052&id=530841851&l=714eeedccd

15 years, 11 months

11
19
0 0

Boeing tearing down plant in Seattle, piles of old computers...

by wh.sudbrink＠verizon.net

Article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100914/ap_on_hi_te/us_boeing_plant2_1 Quote: "The huge production bays now store tools, vehicles and surplus office equipment, plus scattered piles of old computers and other castoffs." I wonder if there is anything really interesting in there. Bill Sudbrink

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

TI-74 BasiCalc question

by bob099＠centurytel.net

I picked up 3 of these that were being thrown out at work. Found a lot of information on the net, but don't see anything creative being done with the DockBus(HexBus) on them. Anyone have a pointer to something interesting?

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

HP 9845 replacement ROM boards

by hp-fix＠xs4all.nl

The rom's on my HP 9845B are getting unstable when the machine is heating up, they're giving errors. Ansgar Kueckes from <http://www.hp9845.net> www.hp9845.net has a very nice solution, the design for a replacement board using flash memory. It includes the pcb desing, I asked him permission to use his design and produce a certain amount of PCB's and to sell them for cost price to other collectors. He agreed, the more I order the cheaper the price will be, so who wants a PCB for his HP 9845 ? More info on the project at : http://www.hp9845.net/9845/projects/romboard/ If you're interested let me know off-list -Rik

15 years, 11 months

3
6
0 0

OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA

by tosteve＠yahoo.com

Slightly off-topic, but still interests many of you. Dozens of vintage (mediocre condition) electronic and HAM radio equipment for sale in Costa Mesa, CA. Storage unit needs to be cleaned out! None of it is mine, I'm just assisting. There is a Kaypro II, Kaypro 4, a floppy drive assembly or two. No S-100 systems. The owner is very unlikely to ship anything, but I can if required. See pics at this link: http://popbottlecaps.com/temp/electronics.html I took the Altos 586, with 2 feet of manuals, and some software.

15 years, 11 months

12
17
0 0

Are there any Tektronix graphics terminals demos out there?

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

Hi, All, I'm dusting off a Tektronix 4105 color graphics terminal (for VCFmw) and while I have the docs and such, I lack the time to write any code >from scratch to scribble on the tube. Does anyone know of any demos out there (for any platform, really - I can emulate anything that's likely to come up if I don't have an original system)? I see some mention out there about software for TOPS-20, and I'm sure there was stuff for VMS, and there may be some stuff out there for UNIX (the terminal was made in 1983). I'd also be happy with older Tektronix demos. The terminal is pretty versatile about what it emulates. I know I could find plot libraries and such and write something from scratch, but I have so much else going on that I just won't have time to be writing code as I collect, test (and probably repair) gear to go this weekend. Ideally, there's either some canned files that can be emitted to the terminal, or some FORTRAN or C code that can be compiled and pointed at a terminal. Thanks for any tips. -ethan

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

imaging multi-session CDs

by spectre＠floodgap.com

What are people using to make images of multi-session CDs? I have a lot of old Mac games I'm trying to image and store that have both audio and data sessions (in fact, this was pretty common). I can certainly rip them separately, but it would be nice to be able to hold them in a single archive, preferably something Toast or Disk Utility can burn. Any suggestions? -- ------------------------------------ personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckaiser at floodgap.com -- Everyone is entitled to my opinion. -- James Carpenter ---------------------

15 years, 11 months

3
3
0 0

How to repair Tektronix 4696 inkjet and what to use for

by Arno_1983＠gmx.de

Philip Pemberton <classiccmp at philpem.me.uk> wrote: > During a demonstration at a trade show, a high-ranking Tek > executive picks up a solid ink block...... > > And eats it. > > The whole damn thing. It's certainly widely known, but with some differences. From the description I read of the incident when I googled stuff about my then-new printer, the person just took a bite off the ink block. The Wikipedia entry on "Solid Ink" also uses the wording "...ate part of a stick...", which IMHO is a bit more credible than the other version. So long, Arno -- GMX DSL SOMMER-SPECIAL: Surf & Phone Flat 16.000 f?r nur 19,99 Euro/mtl.!* http://portal.gmx.net/de/go/dsl

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

Mispronouncing acronyms

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

My favorite was an undergraduate computing help desk that Always managed to insist that the "vi" editor was pronounced "six". More than once I saw PDP-11 become PDP-II become PDP-2. And from the 70's onward I often felt a twinge of pity whenever I saw References to the ASC2 character set. Tim.

15 years, 11 months

37
89
0 0

Nice FreeCycle find!

by snhirsch＠gmail.com

I picked up a UMAX Astra 2400S scanner with sheetfeeder for free. While the unit itself is not classic by any means, it is extremely well supported by Linux and I'm now able to do batch scanning of classic computer documentation :-). Would appreciate suggestions on application software and techniques, since I know that some folks on the list have considerable experience in this field. Also wondering if there is a "wish list" being kept for items that folks need. Steve --

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

Commodore PETs, SGI Personal IRIS & More @ RE-PC in Tukwila

by derschjo＠mail.msu.edu

Just a heads up -- dropped by RE-PC in Tukwila today to recycle a few things (nothing classic, I assure you!) and they had a lot of cool old stuff for the first time in awhile; not the best prices but I thought I'd let you guys know, just in case. - They have several PETs -- 2 or 3 8032s and a couple of 2001s (none with chicklet keyboards, alas). Prices were between $100 and $200. They all appeared to be described as "not working" but were in good cosmetic condition. - There's an SGI Personal IRIS 4D/25. Looks to be complete, with tape drive & hard drive. $90, unfortunately... - An Intertec Intertube II terminal, marked as "not working", $35 - A Data I/O 120A gang EEPROM programmer. Kinda neat, a bit big for my tastes, though. $50. - A Franklin ACE 1000, good condition, $16. Probably a few other things that have slipped my mind, but those are the major ones... - Josh

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

Why CD carriers? was: Wanted: DEC RRD50 CD-ROM Manuals

by chd＠chdickman.com

What was the reason for the carriers used on first generation CD-ROM drives? My first CD-ROM drive cost about $800, but it included an encyclopedia. :-) It used the "standard carrier". I have a Pinnacle RCD-1000 disk burner that also uses the same carrier. I remember that it was attached to an IBM PC-AT or something close and that we basically turned out the lights in the room so as not to disturb it during a burn. The audio drives used the drawer. I know the error correction is better on the audio disk than the data disks, but I haven't found the data disks to be that unreliable. Anyway, why the carriers? -chuck

15 years, 11 months

4
4
0 0

OT: Akai VT-100 video tapes

by hp-fix＠xs4all.nl

A small OT question is there someone on the list who can digitize Akai VT-100 video tapes. I'm asking this in behalf of the owner of the tapes and a non-working VT-100 system. I suppose the tapes are PAL because the owner of them lives in the Netherlands. The digitizer can have the system if he likes. -Rik

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

Availeble Barcrest CPU and ROM boards

by hp-fix＠xs4all.nl

I suppose this is on topic, I got a few (5) Barcrest CPU boards and ROM modules. If someone needs them contact me off-list. Items are located in the Netherlands. -Rik

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

Availeble Barcrest CPU and ROM boards

by rikbos＠xs4all.nl

I suppose this is on topic, I got a few (5) Barcrest CPU boards and ROM modules. If someone needs them contact me off-list. Items are located in the Netherlands. -Rik

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

OT: Akai VT-100 video tapes

by rikbos＠xs4all.nl

A small OT question is there someone on the list who can digitize Akai VT-100 video tapes. I'm asking this in behalf of the owner of the tapes and a non-working VT-100 system. I suppose the tapes are PAL because the owner of them lives in the Netherlands. The digitizer can have the system if he likes. -Rik

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

Help Identifying this Engineering/Mainframe panel

by nick.allen＠comcast.net

Ok I am stumped, I just acquired what I believe to be a Engineering/Mainframe Control Panel, but I can't find a model number, manufacture or any documentation on it. Anyone recognize this panel, or what it might have be used on? http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs303.ash2/58384_429250116851_5…

15 years, 11 months

9
13
0 0

How to repair Tektronix 4696 inkjet and what to use for

by Arno_1983＠gmx.de

jim s <jws at jwsss.com> wrote: > On 9/8/2010 9:18 PM, Teo Zenios wrote: > > Is that what they look like (used but cheap) > > http://www.kpsurplus.com/tektronix-4696-maint-cartridge-016-0838- 00.html > > . > > Is that realy an inkjet and not some solid ink printer? > > > <snip> > Ted, > From what I could read on the somewhat blurry photo, the instructions > have many cautions about fluid on the cartridge shown. I don't know > what a Maintenance cartridge is either. It may be that the thing is > inserted and consumed cleaning the system, but the instructions sound > like it is a supply cartridge of some sort. Perhaps the cycle of the > printer draws on this in addition to ink supply cartridges. > > At any rate, it certainly is dealing with fluid, not solid. > Jim >From some discussion fragments I found on fixyourownprinter, the 4696 is a "real" (liquid) ink printer, since people talk about using conventional inkjet refill ink in the ink wells and flushing/cleaning out the ink lines. The link to the picture above didn't work for me, but I found the article in KP Surplus' eBay shop. Putting the maintenance cartridge P/N into a search machine took me to http://hazard.com/msds/f2/blx/blxkp.html, which has the MSDS for the fluid and also states the composition: DIETHYLENE GLYCOL MONOETHYL ETHER, Fraction by Wt: 20%; TETRASODIUM ETHYLENE DIAMINE TETRAACETATE, Fraction by Wt: 0.3%; WATER, Fraction by Wt: 79.7% The term "Maintenance cartridge" was known to me from the manuals of the later Tek/Xerox "Phaser" series solid ink printers, since I have a Phaser 340 standing in the basement since last year. I think the name refers to the fact that it has to be changed as a part of regular maintenance; it has however to be installed all the time for the printer to operate. In these printers, the maintenance cartridge applies a clear oily fluid from a plastic bag to the surface of a heated metal drum by means of a felt pad. This serves as a sort of anti-stick coating for the ink (think "fuser oil") because the image is first printed to the surface of the drum to be transferred onto the paper or film later. There is some sort of MSDS buried in the appendix of the Phaser 340 User's Manual which indicates that the fluid in the maintenance cartridge is silicone oil (Polydimethylsiloxane, CAS Number: 63148-62-9). Mostly harmless: "Hazards: ... Ingestion: Swallowing large amounts could cause discomfort. ... No first aid should be needed." The usage counter on the maintenance cartridge is realised by a spindle driven from the printer mechanism by gears and a moving block which hits a mechanical switch when the cartridge is supposed to be depleted. ISTR there is some sort of anti-windback device but nothing that looks impossible to overcome. The bag even has a thermo-sealed filling line attached to it which could be used to replenish it. So long, Arno -- Achtung Sicherheitswarnung: GMX warnt vor Phishing-Attacken! http://portal.gmx.net/de/go/sicherheitspaket

15 years, 11 months

6
6
0 0

How to repair Tektronix 4696 inkjet and what to use for the cleaner fluid cartridge?

by rmay635703a＠yahoo.com

I own an old Casi Computer Portraits System with an old dried up Tektronix 4696 inkjet printer (the one with the actual wells)? Anyway I receieved it sort of working but it only would print Black and blue the other colors were plugged, I made the mistake of turning on and off too many times and wasted all teh fluid in the one remaining maintenance fluid cartridge.? Anyone have any ideas how to coax this beast to life?? I can pretty much use any ink.? Also I need to know the Dipp settings on the unit because i have a feeling it isn't configured for my box. ? The maintenance fluid has me stumped, distilled water maybe? ? Thank You Ryan May

15 years, 11 months

5
8
0 0

Olivetti JP101 ink cartridges?

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

Since we are discussing obscure printer consumables... I have just bought an Olvetti JP101 on E-bay. This is the 'sparkjet' printer that was sold in the mid-1980s. It was commonly used over here with the BBC micro, and I beelive an Acorn-badged version existed. Mine has the Olivetti nameplate. One problem (and I knew this before bidding, I am not complaining) is that the ink cartridges for it are unobtainable. The machine came with a nearly-new one in it, and 2 brand new spares ,so I can at least try it out. But when i've used those up, nothing... The ink cartridge is a glass tube tapered to form a jet at the front end. It contains a solid ink with a compression spring [1] behind it which also acts as an eleectrical conenction to the rear metal end cap. Thetube is fitted in a little plastic holder. It clips into the printer carriage, an high voltage is applied between the ink (via the end cap and spring) and a metal paper guide. The resulting spark transfers some ink to the paper (note that the sparrk does not attempt to pass through the paper, and the paper is not special in any way. It's a pity the cartridges are unobtainalbe, since apart from the HV transformer module (which also contains at least one rectifier diode and maybe a limiting resisotr), the mains transformer (which is not likely to fail) and a programmed 2764 EPROM, all the other electornic compoents are standard (Z80 CPU, Z80 CTC, TTL chips, etc) and easy to get. The mechanism is pretty well made too, and looks easy to keep going. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to make ink cartridges for this machine? -tony

15 years, 11 months

3
4
0 0

ST-412 interface MFM drives over on Erik's VCF

by cclist＠sydex.com

I know that some folks are on the prowl for the Maxtor XT-2190 and XT- 1140 big MFM drives. There's a fellow from New Jersey who's selling a couple on Erik's VCF: http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/showthread.php?21977 --Chuck

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

Free: HP 264X terminal boards...

by derschjo＠mail.msu.edu

Hi all -- Doing some cleaning, I came across a box containing a number of old HP boards. I've had these a long time -- I think someone gave them to me when I was still in high school. Based on a cursory search of the 'net, these look like they possibly belong to an HP terminal, of the 264X family. (see pics: here http://www.hpmuseum.net/exhibit.php?hwimg=240) I don't own an HP 264X terminal, so I obviously have no need of these -- maybe you do? They're in decent, but not great shape. Obviously I've no idea if they work. If anyone wants them, you can have 'em for the cost of shipping. Drop me a line. The boards I have are labeled in the upper-left corner thusly: 02640-60192 CONTROL MEMORY (these have what appear to be ROM chips) 02640-69192 CONTROL MEMORY 02640-60209 PROCESSOR - contains an AMD fabbed 8080 processor w/hp PN 1820-1701... 02640-69124 DMA 02640-69112 DSPLY CNTL 02640-60125 GRAPHICS M-CONTROLLER 02640-69126 GRAPHICS DISPLAY PCA 02640-60171 UNIVERSAL MEMORY PCA - Josh

15 years, 11 months

1
1
0 0

Fwd: Re: multics (possibly) front panel or 6180

by jws＠jwsss.com

Tom has seen a large share of Multics front panels, and here is his reply. Nick, I can put you in touch, or you can contact the webmaster at multicians.org (that is him) for further investigation. Thanks for putting up the photos full resolution. Jim -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: multics (possibly) front panel or 6180 Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2010 08:05:58 -0400 From: Tom Van Vleck <> To: Jim Stephens It is clearly a maintenance panel from a 6000 series. Since it says "APU" on the top and "PTW" and "SDW" it looks like a Multics machine. I agree we should find out more. regards, tom On Sep 10, 2010, at 4:40 AM, jim s wrote: > Is this possibly a 6000 series "front" panel? It certainly looks like that. > > Hopefully it is viewable from the links w/o facebook if you don't have it. > > http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=213052&id=530841851&l=714eeedccd > > Also this photo > http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs303.ash2/58384_429250116851_5… > > > it looks like one of the panels in this photo on the multicians site. > > http://www.multicians.org/multics-stories.html > > If so, sort of makes me sad. > > This is from a classic computing collectors site. > > It really looks promising. The fellow with the item is in Illinois. > Jim

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

Happy 26th for the Mac 512k

by christian_liendo＠yahoo.com

Well,, The Amiga was released on July 24.. I kinda missed that.. In fact I was in Louisiana working on the Oil Spill with the Coast Guard so I couldn't get the blog running at that time. --- On Fri, 9/10/10, Dan Roganti <ragooman at gmail.com> wrote: > interesting, nice touch > > gggrrr, I don't see the Amiga anniv on there :) > > =Dan >

15 years, 11 months

2
1
0 0

Toshiba 3100/20

by dm561＠torfree.net

> Date: Wed, 8 Sep 2010 11:19:47 -0500 (CDT) > From: Richard Schauer <rws at ripco.com> > Subject: Re: Toshiba 3100/20 > > On Tue, 31 Aug 2010, Martin.Stransky at emerson.com wrote: >> I need to read data from my friend's old Toshiba PC with HDD 26 pin >> connector. I would need to know what are the signals, or what is the >> adapter. > > Even though I know that this guy probably isn't a classiccmp member, just > replying to some message he found from who knows when, I'll echo his > question. I have one of these too, and they seem to have trouble with the > power supplies in them (not the external brick, the internal one). It's > at least partly related to the fishy SMT capacitor problem; I've replaced > all of them in mine. > > I have some data stored on the hard drive that I'd like to get; of course > it's a neat computer too, that I'd like to have running (there's a reason > the data is on the drive!) The connector isn't 26 pins as he says, > though, it's 44 pins. There's a common fine-pitch connector used on > laptop IDE drives that's 44 pins- this isn't it. It's just like the 2x20 > .100 spacing 40-pin IDE connector, but 2x22. The drive is a JVC with a > model number I don't have in front of me, that doesn't seem to be used > much of anywhere else. Googling it comes up with a couple of people > wanting to sell me one, but nothing else. > > Any ideas? It'd be nice if the connector was just IDE with power tacked > on one end. > > Thanks, > Richard Schauer > KF9VP -------------------- Sorry, can't help but that's interesting... I'd always thought that the 3100/20 used that 26-pin interface, but maybe there's more than one version; I've got a 3100/40 which uses a normal IDE interface. On the other hand, I have a 3200 which does use the 26-pin version while someone on another forum says that his has a normal ST-506 ST-125. And now you come along with a 44-pin connector... Is there a separate power connector? I had heard that the 3100/20 had a non-standard implementation of the ST-506 (MFM) interface; perhaps that's the 44-pin version, and the 26-pin version is an early IDE interface. They are neat computers, but assuming it's still working I'd get that data off ASAP, using the serial port or diskettes... Anybody else out there that can shed some light? mike

15 years, 11 months

5
4
0 0

Yet another IEEE archive article request

by evan＠snarc.net

Research request: can someone with IEEE Xplore access please send me this article: http://tinyurl.com/254do4q Thanks. - Evan* *

15 years, 11 months

2
2
0 0

HP-85 keycaps

by derschjo＠mail.msu.edu

Hi all -- I've acquired an HP 85B computer in good working condition except for two missing keycaps. Anyone happen to have spares? I need a "k8/k4" key and a "comma" (numeric keypad) key. Thanks! Josh

15 years, 11 months

3
3
0 0

Microwriter MW4 help

by john_a_s2004＠hotmail.com

>> I recently obtained a Microwriter with an LCD display. >> >> Else it may be faulty >> I found Tony's post from 2009 asking for a 'good' EPROM image maybe >> mine is failing in a similar way. Tony wrote: > FWIW, I am still stuck... I am pretty sure the Firmware EPROM in mine is > corrupted, some 'chords' do not produce the characters I would expect My one can generate all the letters, numbers and punctuation marks so fingers crossed the EPROM is OK. > IIRC, the EPROM is a 25C64 (which is slightly different to the more common > 27C64). If you have a programmer capable of reading out that device, it > would be interesting to compare the ROM in mine with it. OK, I'll try and read the EPROM. This might take me some time, but I am keen to do it as there is very little technical stuff about the MW4 on line. I might try and disassemble the code too (but I don't think IDA has a 1802 option!) Regards, John

15 years, 11 months

4
3
0 0

Subject: Looking for GRiDlite, GRiDlite Plus or GRiDlite 1040 ($$$)

by roosmcd＠dds.nl

> Date: Wed, 8 Sep 2010 14:24:49 -0700 (PDT) > From: Sellam Ismail <sellam at vintagetech.com> > Subject: Looking for GRiDlite, GRiDlite Plus or GRiDlite 1040 ($$$) > Hello All! > > Hope everyone is well. > > I need a GRiDlite, GRiDlite Plus or GRiDlite 1040 for a short term > project. I'm willing to buy or rent it. > > Has to be soon, or the opportunity shall pass. > > Inquire if you can assist. > > Thanks! > > I can offer a Philips PC200 (which would be a rebadged GRiD XT) with a broken power supply (but it also has a DC input). Or maybe somebody else would be interested? Any offers welcome,otherwise I'm afraid it is going to be thrashed sometime soon. It's the machine in the 21st image in: http://www.computermuseumgroningen.nl/philips/philips.html (not my machine btw) with regards, Michiel (located in the Netherlands)

15 years, 11 months

2
1
0 0

Encoding cassette data...

by geneb＠deltasoft.com

This is a fantastic read: http://dabeaz.blogspot.com/2010/08/using-python-to-encode-cassette.html The guy wrote a Python script to encode KCS audio in order to load software into his Super Board II via his Mac. 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_!

15 years, 11 months

3
4
0 0

8088 CPU tester module

by binarydinosaurs＠gmail.com

Folks, In digging out some old Apple stuff last night I came across a module for a CPU testing machine I had years ago. It was a black IBM compatible PC called either an AMS3000, MSA3000 or MST3000 (I can't help but think of MST3K on that one though :)) with an EISA interface that allowed a connection to one of many CPU module testers, at the time I had an 8008, 68000, z80 etc - host adapters that you connected over an in-place CPU module. This module is for an 8088, is in its box and is heavy. Does anyone remember it or even want it before I recycle? Cheers -- adrian/witchy Owner of Binary Dinosaurs, the UK's biggest home?computer collection? www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

DEC/Compaq XP1000 can't see keyboard - ideas?

by classiccmp＠crash.com

I've recently received a Digital/Compaq XP1000 - 667MHz 21264 Alpha CPU, a mid-tower system nigh-identical to the Professional Workstation series (PWS 433/500/600). It came with 1G RAM and a PowerStorm 4D/20 PCI video card. I can access the SRM console through one of the serial ports, SRM version is V5.9-1. Unfortunately the machine refuses to recognize any keyboard I've tried. I've used the DEC LK411 off a working VT510, a spare LK411, an SGI PS/2 keyboard, and an IBM PS/2 Trackpoint keyboard. In all cases I get a message during POST that reads "No keyboard plugged in" before the "E8 ... E4" countdown. I've double-checked that I didn't have the mouse/keyboard ports backwards at various points. :) Just now I powered it up with the Trackpoint and I see all three status LEDs on the keyboard flash, then nothing. I get the "no keyboard" message and SRM prompt on the serial port. No output from the PowerStorm, and if I hit the CapsLock on the keyboard the LED does not light. A SHOW DEV on the console gives an appropriate-looking entry for a "vga0" device. A SHOW CONFIG gives a lot more output, including a "PowerStorm" device in slot 9 of hose 1, bus 2. However I have never gotten any output on the video card. I have not yet tried it in a PC. Any suggestions for what to try next? I'd like to have the option of running DECwindows... Thanks, /--/Steve.

15 years, 11 months

3
3
0 0

How to repair Tektronix 4696 inkjet and what to use for the cleaner fluid cartridge?

by rmay635703a＠yahoo.com

Nope I don't have any of the fluid left, but it appears I "may" be able to order a cartridge online though its $51 refurbished and I have the feeling although listed likely would be canceled should I try and order one. ? Also $51 seems quite high, I think new they were in the $10-$20 area. ? Ah well? I will have to figure out how to dissassemble the thing to clean the heads and wells, I was told window cleaner does wonders. ? Cheers Ryan

15 years, 11 months

3
2
0 0

Looking for GRiDlite, GRiDlite Plus or GRiDlite 1040 ($$$)

by sellam＠vintagetech.com

Hello All! Hope everyone is well. I need a GRiDlite, GRiDlite Plus or GRiDlite 1040 for a short term project. I'm willing to buy or rent it. Has to be soon, or the opportunity shall pass. Inquire if you can assist. Thanks! -- Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org [ Old computing resources for business || Buy/Sell/Trade Vintage Computers ] [ and academia at www.VintageTech.com || at http://marketplace.vintage.org ]

15 years, 11 months

2
1
0 0

Wanted any Wax thermal Supplies for Casi Futura 100 portrait booth

by rmay635703a＠yahoo.com

Not sure if this is OT or not but my folks still use a 23 year old Color Computer Portrait system at fairs and we need ink and wax thermal Paper for our Shinko CHC 545 or Shinko CHC 445?we also have an old Panasonic Omniflex EPL-RAT unit and a Tektronix 4696 which I consider RIP.? If anyone here knows of anyone with old supplies laying around or where I might ask it would be appreciated.? I need both photo paper and T-shirt paper. (tektronix wax thermal supplies also seem to work, if they are for the ROLL wax thermal not stick)? Oddly enough our system was supported by Casi then QLT up until April 2000 (a long time I know) they released an HP 2000c printer driver for the unit and gave up.? Sadly the driver is crap, slow, inaccurate color,?unreliable and very low resolution compared to the Shinko 545 driver.? I often wondered if anyone could reprogram the 2000c driver with the Shinko dot pattern for better accuracy and speed?? The system is a Motorolla 68010 with 2mb system memory and 1mb video memory and Uses Innovion IDOS as the OS.? I can read and image the 720k floppies but don't have proper resources to know how to edit them effectively.? I had a little programming in high school and college but I would need a systematic method to approach this unit, I would love to be able to program it myself but never got to the point I could. ? Also the system saves photos to a floppy disk in 16bit targa format (not a dos disk though)? I can using a imaging program take the photo off, but sadly the pallette is completely wrong, I can tell who the people are but they are in psuido colors.? I often thought that might be a way for my folks to continue using their simple system then simply print the photo on a normal PC. ? http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=130698 ? Anyone want a free unit to play with to write a driver? I am located in central Wisconsin. Thanx Ryan May

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

source for large capacity electrolytics

by bear＠typewritten.org

Folks; The 5V rail in my Sun 2/120's PSU recently failed suddenly while the system was running. No pop, but the rail measures out around 2.5VDC. I believe I have tracked the fault down to one of a pair of 26000uF electrolytics which are in parallel across the 5V output studs. These are screw-lead, rated for 7.5V (12V surge), 85 deg. C, -10 +75% tol. They are 1.375" dia, and 2.125" tall. Mechanically, there is no room for anything even slighlty larger. Mouser stocks a part which is physically too tall---at 3.125", too tall by an inch. This is a 10V (12V surge) part. They also stock a 50V part from a different manufacturer which is even taller (>4"). There are 10V (12V surge) parts that fit, but have too low a capacitance (18000uF). There are 7.5V (9V surge) parts which will fit, but have too high a capacitance (49000uF), and I'm not totally sure how to be certain that a 9V surge rating is adequate in this application. Digi-key stocks nothing even close. Any suggestions? ok bear

15 years, 11 months

5
5
0 0

For sale: Some DEC stuff

by hachti＠hachti.de

Hi folks, anybody interested in buying the following? - Omnibus core memories (tested good) - M8350 TTY interfaces (tested good) - RK05 disks for pdp11 (12 sectors) (used, new, tested, untested) - RK05/RK05J/RK05F disk drive (untested, tested good, broken) - RK05x spares - TU56 DECTape (tested working, untested, broken) - TU56H single DECTape - PC05 paper tape reader/punch - Some other Omnibus cards PDP8/M ******* A PDP8/M computer. Very nice (near perfect!) condition front panel. Chassis condition lower medium condition. Backplane and PSU (220V) ok. No top cover. System configuration to be discussed. First guess would be 12K core, TTY, CPU - all tested stuff. PDP8/L ****** PDP8/L minicomputer, untested, keys bleached out by sun. Untested (really untested, currently don't have the time to repair the machine) but complete with the 4K core stack. 110V Keys kan be used from a pdp8/e - they're the same. But not from pdp8/m. Those have the wrong colour. The PC05 is a strange machine: The reader portion of it was used on a pdp8/e (PC8E interface). Normally you use PC04 for pdp8 computers. The reader part seems to be compatible. The punch part is untested. Mechanics look fine. I guess that there are also missing boards on the punch side. Nice condition though. No cover, 110V. Location: Northern Germany (Hannover, Kiel). Open for reasonable offers. Can send packages up to 30kg. TU56 can be shipped in two packages. pdp8/m fits a package. 8/L cannot be shipped internationally. Kind regards, Philipp -- http://www.hachti.de

15 years, 11 months

2
1
0 0

VCFeast

by wdonzelli＠gmail.com

I have not heard anything about VCF East 2010. Will it happen? The year is starting to run down. -- Will

15 years, 11 months

6
11
0 0

Toshiba 3100/20

by Martin.Stransky＠emerson.com

Hi, Are you still there in 2010? :-) I need to read data from my friend's old Toshiba PC with HDD 26 pin connector. I would need to know what are the signals, or what is the adapter. Could you provide some schematics? thanx martin stransky | UPS engineer | Nove Mesto nad Vahom Emerson Network Power | Piestanska 1202/44 | 91528 NOve mesto nad Vahom T +421 32 7700 423 www.EmersonNetworkPower.com <http://www.emersonnetworkpower.com/>

15 years, 11 months

2
1
0 0

RCA CDP 18S604B

by marvin＠west.net

I just found a couple of standard bus cards marked "CDP 18S 604B" and no real idea what they are. A Google search gave 3 results, all in German >from their edition of Computer Weekly dated 1981. One looks to be in the original packaging, and the other looks used with an expansion PROM board. Unfortunately, no docs although I'll be trying to see if the person who had them has any docs left. Anyone have any idea what these things are?

15 years, 11 months

3
2
0 0

RRD40 was :Re: Why CD carriers? was: Wanted: DEC RRD50 CD-ROM Manuals

by chd＠chdickman.com

On Tue, Sep 7, 2010 at 9:10 PM, Eric Smith <eric at brouhaha.com> wrote: > ... the caddy would keep the CD from being scratched in handling. > > Eric > > Which seems reasonable and obvious... The RRD40 that I have was given to me so that I could learn the way of the VAX and VMS. I have since found other CD drives that understand the special way of reading the short CD sectors. Today I am reminded of it, I am bound by honor to pass this drive on to another VAX/VMS kinder. I will send this drive to someone that wants to learn VAX/VMS and needs it to boot the OS. -chuck

15 years, 11 months

2
1
0 0

Byte, August 1981 issue...

by mdavidson1963＠gmail.com

I'm so excited... I won a copy of the August 1981 issue of Byte (the infamous Smalltalk issue) on Ebay for $4. It arrived while I was away this weekend, so that was an awesome way to end my Labor Day weekend. Mark

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

Wanted: DEC RRD50 CD-ROM Manuals

by thomas.gardner＠sbcglobal.net

Anyone have a copy of or know the location of the DEC RRD50 maintenance manual, specification, etc.? I'm interested in the interface for historical curiosity only. I'm pretty sure the DEC drive was an OEM Philips CM100. Tom

15 years, 11 months

10
16
0 0

Wanted: DEC RRD50 CD-ROM Manuals

by thomas.gardner＠sbcglobal.net

On 7 Sep 2010 16:59:16 +0100 Adrian Graham wrote: > On 7 September 2010 02:31, Steven Hirsch <snhirsch at gmail.com> wrote: > > On Mon, 6 Sep 2010, Tom Gardner wrote: > > > >> Anyone have a copy of or know the location of the DEC RRD50 maintenance > >> manual, specification, etc.? ?I'm interested in the interface for > >> historical > >> curiosity only. <snip> > Yep. I'm not in the workshop so can't easily check, but I know we have > one on the 'someone might need one one day' floor, and I'm fairly sure > I've got the manual at home. It's SCSI-1 AFAIK. > -- > adrian/witchy > Owner of Binary Dinosaurs, the UK's biggest home? computer collection? > www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk <http://www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk/> AFAIK the Philips CM100 inside the RRD50 used a proprietary interface, possibly a variant on ESDI - that's one of the things I'm trying to figure out. It maybe that DEC put a SCSI-1 bridge controller inside the RRD50 box so it presented that interface to the world. If possible a scan of the manual would be greatly appreciated. U can contact me off line to figure out how to do it. Tom t<dot>gardner<at>computer<dot>org

15 years, 11 months

2
1
0 0

Free: Old manuals- Altos, CP/M, PDP-11, Northstar

by tosteve＠yahoo.com

More than 50 pounds total - take one, some, or all. http://www.popbottlecaps.com/temp/books.html Located in southern California- 92656.

15 years, 11 months

2
2
0 0

8008 disassembly for 1972-73 SacState DOS/PROMs?

by bdamer＠digitalspace.com

Hi CC Techers, Dwight Elvey visited here the other day and dumped the contents of the eight 1702 PROMs that are the heart of the Digibarn's 8008 system built by Bill Pentz and team at Sacramento State in 1972-73. It might have drivers and code for their "DOS" which supported a serial interface, hard disk, Tektronix 4023 and interpreter for mainframe 370 IBM BAL. It might be junk or nothing. If there was something there it would be the "earliest" such code for a microcomputer and very valuable historically. The SacState 8008 story can be seen at: http://www.digibarn.com/stories/bill-pentz-story/index.html and we would love to add the disassembled code to this ongoing project. If you are interested in trying to disassemble this and interpret what this code represents please email me directly at: bdamer at digitalspace.com and I will send you the binaries. Bruce cc Dwight

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

PDP-11/44 mystery card

by bqt＠softjar.se

Pontus Pihlgren <pontus at Update.UU.SE> wrote: > Hi > > I've acquired two PDP-11/44 and have just now gone throught the list of > cards in the cpu-boxes and the spares. Here is a list: > > http://www.update.uu.se/~pontus/slask/11-44-kort.txt Nice! You'll be able to put together atleast one really nice 11/44 from that. I notice one FP11 in the list. > Also I wonder what the > "M7251 KG11-A U Network interface XOR and CRC block check option" Just what it says, Network interface XOR and CRC block check option. :-) Ok. The long answer then... You know about CRC-16 I assume? This is hardware to generate that. You shove data to the card, one word at a time, and you can read out the CRC value. This card is, however, not very popular or useful, since software CRC routines are actually faster on the PDP-11. DECnet can use this card if you have it, but it's recommended that it not be used for this fact. (The card is actually more generic, and can be used to generate any kind of CRC checksum, not just CRC-16.) > "M3110 DRCSA U Protocol assist #1 w/special character check and CRC (DEC/DLC/DRCSA)" > "M3111 DRCSA U Protocol assist #2 w/special character check and CRC (DEC/DLC/DRCSA)" No clear idea about those two... Johnny -- Johnny Billquist || "I'm on a bus || on a psychedelic trip email: bqt at softjar.se || Reading murder books pdp is alive! || tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol

15 years, 11 months

6
7
0 0

Microwriter MW4 help

by john_a_s2004＠hotmail.com

Hi, I recently obtained a Microwriter with an LCD display. It turns on and displays MW4/10, with an 'f' in the right of the display. I can enter letters, but after about 8 it locks up and I need to power cycle (using the white button), which resets the unit as above. I think 'f' is a mode, I think it was 'I' originally (but I can't find a way to change it!). I hope it stuck in some mode or waiting for serial input, can anyone help with command sequences please? Else it may be faulty, I found Tony's post from 2009 asking for a 'good' EPROM image, maybe mine is failing in a similar way. Regards, John

15 years, 11 months

2
1
0 0

NEC D75008 MCU

by hilpert＠cs.ubc.ca

I just ran across an NEC D75008 microcontroller in a small photo copier ca. 1990. According to a search it is a 4-bit microcontroller. Idle curiousity, but does anybody know if this has any inheritance from or relation to better-known microcontrollers such as the TMS1000, that is, is it NEC's version of something better known?, or is it NEC's own architecture?

15 years, 11 months

4
6
0 0

Minolta MS3000 Microfilm Scanner

by wulfcub＠gmail.com

On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 10:09 PM, Zane H. Healy <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote: > Does anyone happen to know where to get parts for one of these? At a > minimum I need lenses to get it working. > > Zane > Talk to Ken Hansen with Imaging Systems - 608-276-5559 or Dick Svehla at All Micrographics & Scanning - 352-684-1159. Both are pretty resourceful and tend to have a lot of assorted microfilm gear and parts on hand. If neither of them can help you out, let me know, and I'll dig a little deeper into my contacts list to see who else I can find. --Shaun -- "If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you." -- Winnie The Pooh http://www.lungs4amber.org

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

walking through an IBM shop in 1990

by dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu

On Youtube I found a video of some guy walking through an IBM mainframe installation showing the viewer a bunch of stuff. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdNxaRa4roo Does anyone here know of similar videos for, say, a DEC installation? -- 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, 11 months

2
1
0 0

[for sale] IBM 5100 + IBM 5120

by nick.allen＠comcast.net

Hi, Is the IBM 5100 and 5120 still for sale, if so I am very interested, please let me know either way, thnx! Nick

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

Apple Lisa 1 for sale

by sellam＠vintagetech.com

I have an Apple Lisa 1 for sale. Yes, it has the Twiggy drives. It includes the Twiggy systems OS disks (2), original Lisa 1 manual, keyboard, original Lisa (rectangular button) mouse. It works. Excellent condition. Normally I would not so brazenly hawk something but I need to raise funds for an imminent move of the VCF archives. I'm entertaining any and all offers. At a minimum, there should be three zeroes before the decimal point. Please contact me directly if you're interested. Photos and more detail will be forwarded upon request. Will ship galaxy-wide. Thanks! -- Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org [ Old computing resources for business || Buy/Sell/Trade Vintage Computers ] [ and academia at www.VintageTech.com || at http://marketplace.vintage.org ]

15 years, 11 months

8
7
0 0

road trip, east coast

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

Hey folks. I realize this is short notice, but on Tuesday the 7th I'll be hitting the road from Port Charlotte, FL (Gulf coast south of Tampa) and driving a mostly-empty 16' box truck up to the Washington DC area. I am willing to transport stuff along that route, within a reasonable distance of the 95 corridor, for reasonable compensation. In the middle of the following week, likely around the 14th, I'll be driving back down the same route. I will have less space available then, but I should have some free room. Contact me directly via email if interested. -Dave -- Dave McGuire Port Charlotte, FL

15 years, 11 months

2
1
0 0

Exploring the world of minis and mainframes...

by madcrow.maxwell＠gmail.com

I'm thinking of doing a little write-up/summary on the emulation/exploration of classic mainframe and minicomputer platforms and I was wondering what all is available to folks both in terms of host platforms (emulators and affordable real iron) and software. I know that DEC stuff (especially PDP-8, PDP-10, PDP-11 and VAX stuff) is widely available, as is a lot of early IBM stuff (360 and early 370 era) and even there's even a little bit available for things like the Interdata minis, the HP 2100 and (if you know the right people) the CDC 6x00/Cyber x70 systems. In addition, I've heard that a whole bunch of Data General software has been authorized for release to hobbyists, but work on that project is rather slow. Apart from what I've mentioned, is there anything else that's either available or "in the pipeline" or have I got it all? Mike

15 years, 11 months

9
14
0 0

RS232-gpib interface available

by jdr_use＠bluewin.ch

And another item to go: an RS232 to/from GPIB interface Small metal box, 220V supply, contains a minimal 8085 system with the expected gpib interface IC's Etched on the PCB is "Hopp systems", no further info available. I have already decided not to bother with GPIB anymore, so off it goes. Do not know how or if it works. Those who want tp pay something for this get preference, but other may apply also ! ( + shipping from Switezerland of course..) Jos

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

HP92160 fanfold thermal paper available

by jdr_use＠bluewin.ch

Once more cleaning up, I came across 1300 sheets of fanfold thermal paper, which I will never use, since I do not have the thermal printer it is intended for.Am I right in believing that this paper is getting rare ? For the (rounded up,,,) cost of shipping from Switzerland it is yours. Jos Dreesen

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

MINC-11 (was Re: Collection reduction, part II the sequel)

by fjkraan＠xs4all.nl

> Has anyone ever seen the MINC BASIC system? It wsa essentally an > interpreted BASIC with routines to do thigns like generate and display > (on a VT105) a historgram of pulse heights, things like that. I don't > have it myself, I think I have some of the manuals for it. > I got it with my mini-MINC, essentially a PDT-150. But it came without the VT-105, so no graphics. Later I got a VT-125, which should emulate a VT-105, but apparantly not seamless. The images of the disks are here: http://electrickery.xs4all.nl/comp/miniminc/floppyImages/info.html. I also have the manual set, but scanned the mini-MINC specific parts only so far (http://electrickery.xs4all.nl/comp/miniminc/doc/). > -tony > Fred Jan

15 years, 11 months

6
13
0 0

Free: Old manuals- Altos, CP/M, PDP-11, Northstar

by tosteve＠yahoo.com

More than 50 pounds total - take one, some, or all. http://www.popbottlecaps.com/temp/books.html Located in southern California- 92656.

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

PDP 11/34 on Craigslist

by stephane.tsacas＠gmail.com

PDP-11/34 - $100 (Kitsap) ------------------------------ Date: 2010-09-04, 10:42AM PDT Reply to: sale-szusu-1936500683 at craigslist.org<sale-szusu-1936500683 at craigslist.org?subject=PDP-11%2F34%20%20-%20%24100%20(Kitsap)&body=%0A%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fseattle.craigslist.org%2Fkit%2Fsys%2F1936500683.html%0A> [Errors when replying to ads?<http://www.craigslist.org/about/help/replying_to_posts> ] ------------------------------ This is a piece of history. Extrended memory, Floating Point card, Vt50 terminal, (2) RLO2's, (1) RLO1, (2) 500 Mb Eagles, including platters, manuals. If you know what this is, then you remember washing machine sized computing in the labs. Load with UCC APT NC programming software. Call for details. Merle, at 360-[see ad]. It was running when I last used it in 1991. This is not a laptop or a desktop! LOL. - Location: Kitsap - it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests PostingID: 1936500683 http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/sys/1936500683.html <http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/sys/1936500683.html> -- Stephane http://updatedoften.blogspot.com

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

Exploring the world of minis and mainframes...

by madcrow.maxwell＠gmail.com

Thanks for all the hints and tips so far. It seems like there's at least a bit more stuff than I had heard of before. Mike

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

OT : hpcc mini-conference next saturday

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

Next Saturday (11th September 2010) there is an HPCC mini-conference in London. This is not a classic computing event really (which is why it's OT), but it is somewhat traditional for one of the talks to cover a classic HP computer or calculator, and anyway, there will be older machines to look at... Non-members of HPCC are welcome to attend, but please let a member of the committee (e.g. me) know if you are likely to come. More details are on the hpcc web site, http://www.hpcc.org/ -tony

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

Ebay store stuff.

by jws＠jwsss.com

I was looking for other things in the IBM area, and stumbled across a store with a lot of cheap (by classic computing standards) stuff. this Adaptec SCSI to Qic-36 is $24 + 10 shipping, as an example 330221339704 If you have a lot of time, there a lot of parts such as some PS2 controller, and so forth if you look thru the entire store. I made it 4 pages (800 items) before I got tired tonight, but will look at more. The PS2 to QIC was $5 bucks for instance. If anyone has dealt with the vendor, post here if you like good or bad. I'm local to the place and may track them down and see if they will let the public noodle thru their pile. Jim

15 years, 11 months

3
2
0 0

Polymorphics 8813 on VCGM

by marvin＠west.net

I just listed a Polymorphics 8813 on VCGM for a 2 day auction. I'll relist once if it doesn't sell, but RL will be getting in the way of dealing with it after that. http://marketplace.vintage-computer.com/auction_details.php?name=Polymorphi…

15 years, 11 months

2
1
0 0

I know this isn't particularly old yet...

by rescue＠hawkmountain.net

I'm looking for guide rails for the 5.25" drive bays for Chenbro cases (many use the same rails, mine is an SR20969 case.... I rescued this system from being recycled (2 dual core Opterons), however it is missing the front plastics and the guide rails.... You can find a p/n and buy the front plastic... but I can't find a part number for these rails (seems a shame to scrap a decent chassis over lack of device guide rails). Sorry this isn't a classic box... but I'm not having any luck finding these and was hoping maybe someone out there has something in there local scrap pile.... -- Curt

15 years, 11 months

2
1
0 0

VCF Midwest - follow us online

by silent700＠gmail.com

I hear all kids these days are using the Twitters, so I went and set up an account for VCF Midwest. Those not able to make it can enjoy some "live tweeting" of the, er, "action" and attendees can get last-minute updates on setup times and other logistical issues. So if you're a Twitterererer, point your device our way: http://twitter.com/vcfmidwest Folks of the more old-school persuasion can also join us on IRC at #vcfmw on the freenode servers. Hope to see everyone there! -- jht vcfmw.org chiclassiccomp.org

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

S-100 Serial I/O options

by derschjo＠mail.msu.edu

Hi all -- I am one step closer to having a "useful" IMSAI 8080; thanks to a kind listmember I now have more spare 2147s than I know what to do with, and have used them to repopulate my 32K static RAM board. That brings me up to 48K of working RAM, which seems like more than enough to play with. Now I'd like to get the IMSAI talking to the world. Or at least a terminal. (Gotta start somewhere.) Were there ever any standards for serial I/O in the IMSAI/Altair/S-100 world (ports, interrupt settings, etc)? I have an IMSAI MIO board that I'd like to use. It has more configuration options than one can shake a stick at, and the (185 page) manual makes mention of several port address configurations, referring to them as "IMSAI SIO," "Processor Tech 3P+S," "Altair SIO." Did one of these emerge as a de facto standard at any point? My _eventual_ goal is to run CP/M at which point (hopefully) I assemble a CBIOS for whatever serial configuration I end up with and it's all taken care of; for now I'd be happy to get some paper-tape software to run. (Altair BASIC might be nice.) So I'm trying to work out a serial configuration that will work with a fair amount of archived software -- what would you recommend? Is the MIO board a decent serial board, or should I find something else? Thanks as always, Josh

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

Lobo Drives Manual on Craigslist

by marvin＠west.net

I'd pick it up except I've got a number of copies, so hopefully someone on the list needs the manual. http://ventura.craigslist.org/for/1917697039.html

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

Looking for TI SN75413 pin layout

by fjkraan＠xs4all.nl

Does anyone have some info in the Texas Instruments SN75413 ? I am trying to restore the front panel controls of an early Tandy Radio Shack hard disk (8 MByte!), but cannot find this chip info. The reverse engineered diagram is at http://www.xs4all.nl/~fjkraan/comp/trs80m2/driverboard.png, but as I do not have the pin functions, I cannot connect the lamp and switch part (this bit is missing) to the board. There is some info on Radio Shack hard disks online, but not for this old model. For some more context of the board see http://www.xs4all.nl/~fjkraan/comp/trs80m2/8megDisk.html. Fred Jan

15 years, 11 months

5
6
0 0

documentation needed - AMD LabPro/Digelec PLD programmer

by jack.rubin＠ameritech.net

A recent hamfest yielded a beautiful AMD LabPro Digelec PLD programmer, along with PALASM software and several pounds of programmable devices. The only thing lacking are docs for operating the programmer. It's reasonably self explanatory in local mode but I'd like to figure out how to connect with a PC to allow file transfers to and from the device. Anybody have the docs or experience with this device? Thanks, Jack

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

MINC-11 (was Re: Collection reduction, part II the sequel)

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

On 9/2/10, Dave McGuire <mcguire at neurotica.com> wrote: > A MINC is a lot more than just a PDP-11! While that's certainly true, has anyone on the list ever done anything with the Lab I/O stuff on a MINC? I got one years ago with all the docs and software (everything, really, except for the cart, which the lab kept for something else). Mine only has one or two modules - a clock board and one of the input boards (I'd have to check the exact types), but since I didn't have much, I've only ever booted RT-11 and noodled around on the VT105. ISTR the CPU bay is stuffed with a KDF-11, 256K of memory, an RXV21, a DLV11J, and an IBV11. Over the years, I've been given plenty of Qbus parts, but I've never run across any loose MINC modules. I'm curious if anyone else ever got a MINC loaded enough to do something fun with it. -ethan

15 years, 11 months

8
11
0 0

Looking for assistance PDP 11/05 Console I/O

by billdeg＠degnanco.com

We have been working to establish some sort of I/O, preferably RS232 with a PDP 11/05 After spending many hours on the problem we came up empty. The computer itself appears to be OK, the continuity cards are in the right places, the core RAM works, simple test programs function properly. For example entering code from 177700: 000240 000777 the computer will set the lowest address bit to 0-1-0-1 continuously. The current configuration is M9970 M7260 M7261 M920/H214 G110 G231 Grant UNIBUS bridge M7856 Grant Grant We don't have a device for 20ma current loop-ing so we're trying to use the M7856 for RS232 communications. We're not sure what ports to use with the M7856 while a M9970 is also installed, does a conflict exist? We have found the following resources and worked through what info was provided there http://www.shiresoft.com/pdp-11/11-10/index.html http://www.pdp-11.nl/per...terface/dl11w-info.html http://www.bitsavers.org...-DL11W-OP-001_May77.pdf If anyone on this list can assist with diagnostic steps it would be greatly appreciated. For example an octal listing for a character echo program. Please contact me directly. We're not sure what port to use for RS232, the default teletype port seems to be 60. I think we're close, and it's also possible that there is a problem with the card. The switch settings appear to be OK. Thanks Bill Degnan

15 years, 11 months

4
3
0 0

Please help me identify this case

by brianlanning＠gmail.com

I've been looking for this case for years. And I stumbled upon it on ebay. Here's the listing. The price is also has some comedy value. http://cgi.ebay.com/AMAZING-VINTAGE-ONE-OWNER-ATARI-LOT-PRISTINE-MINT-/3602… I'm interested in the full heigh 5.25" case to the right in the photos with what looks like a floppy drive and a half height hard drive. Is there a name or model number for this case? And would anyone be willing to part with one? thanks. brian

15 years, 11 months

5
6
0 0

Collection reduction, part II the sequel

by binarydinosaurs＠gmail.com

Morning folks, Slightly less panic now, I almost accidentally fell over a house just half a mile away with enough storage and land for everything I already have that's less money than I'm currently paying - result! I'm still going to try and shift the vast majority of the DEC stuff though, particularly since the terms of the let on the new place are only for 2 years then I have to move again. I now have a chance to find related software etc for those of you who've asked for machines and bits and attempt to ebay the rest. I'm guessing there's no interest at all in my Grey Wall given the online availability of docs and CDs etc, I've dragged it all between houses for 10 years now, maybe it's time to hit the recycler and give some of those trees back :) I've also found 3 more DEC monitors - VRT21 (heavy trinitron model) plus a 17" and 21" workstation monitor, can't remember its designator but it has all the BNC connectors (r/g/b/h/v) and VGA inputs. I also doubt I'll ever do anything with most of the big TRS80 stuff on my Tandy page (http://www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk/Museum/Tandy/) like the model 2/3/4 and all-in-one model 1 (2nd one on the list - came with a LOT of books and docs). Any interest? I take it nobody wants the MINC-11? I'm not surprised to be honest though, it IS big. Cheers, -- adrian/witchy Owner of Binary Dinosaurs, the UK's biggest home computer collection? www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk

15 years, 11 months

8
9
0 0

WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller

by classiccmp＠philpem.me.uk

Hi guys, I'm toying with the idea of doing an MFM/RLL hard drive bolt-on for the DiscFerret (seeing as the DF hardware is basically done now -- I'm just doing a final design check before I send the PCBs off for manufacturing). Problem is, I don't have a drive to play with. Does anyone have any or all of the following kicking around? - MFM or RLL hard drives. I could do with one or two of these; anything's good, as long as it has an ST506-style interface (that is, straight MFM/RLL with no funny business) and is believed to work. I'm ideally aiming for something "of reputable manufacture" -- so not a Kalok Octagon! - Cable kit for the above. So that's the Data and Control cables -- edge connector to IDC plug. - MFM/RLL controller to match the drive. Anything goes here -- e.g. Western Digital WD100x series, DTC, Omti... as long as I can make it work with the drive for long enough to format the drive and 'dd' some data onto it. I'll even consider SCSI-to-MFM bridges if they can be relatively easily tied to a modern PCI, PCIe or USB SCSI card (say, an AHA2940). I'm happy to pay reasonable market value for the above, but that doesn't extend to paying ?390 for drive-on-its-own (read: drive that's had the PCB removed and is basically useless) on "that online auction site"... Thanks, -- Phil. classiccmp at philpem.me.uk http://www.philpem.me.uk/

15 years, 11 months

6
8
0 0

seeking twiggy floppy image for wikipedia

by dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu

Could someone here make a high-resolution scan of a Twiggy floppy that I can put on Wikipedia? -- 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, 11 months

2
2
0 0

2-inch floppy usage

by dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu

I distinctly remember a dedicated word processing machine that used 2-inch or 2.5-inch floppies. Does anyone remember what it/they were? -- 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, 11 months

2
3
0 0

Minolta MS3000 Microfilm Scanner

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

15 years, 11 months

1
0
0 0

MINC-11 (was Re: Collection reduction, part II the sequel)

by glen.slick＠gmail.com

On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 12:58 PM, John A. Dundas III <dundas at caltech.edu> wrote: > > A MINC-23 can be upgraded to a -73 (which ours has), and I would find that > VERY interesting. > Is the standard backplane 18-bit or 22-bit? Do you need to mod the backplane to upgrade to an -73? I have a MINC-23 currently sitting idle in my garage. If I ever decide to part with it shipping it (Seattle area) would be a challenge. -Glen

15 years, 11 months

3
2
0 0

Lots of TTL chips

by gerhard.kreuzer＠liftoff.at

Hi, Very interested, we should make a direct contact ... With best regards Gerhard -----Urspr?ngliche Nachricht----- Von: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] Im Auftrag von cctalk-request at classiccmp.org Gesendet: Donnerstag, 02. September 2010 05:03 An: cctalk at classiccmp.org Betreff: cctalk Digest, Vol 85, Issue 3 Send cctalk mailing list submissions to cctalk at classiccmp.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://www.classiccmp.org/mailman/listinfo/cctalk or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to cctalk-request at classiccmp.org You can reach the person managing the list at cctalk-owner at classiccmp.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of cctalk digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Re: Getting started with programmable logic, was Re: Cray 1 replica (Chuck Guzis) 2. Re: Getting started with programmable logic, was Re: Cray 1 replica (Keith M) 3. Re: WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller (Tony Duell) 4. Re: First digital camera (Fred Cisin) 5. Re: First digital camera (Jerry Wright) 6. RE: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA (Fred Cisin) 7. Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA (geoffrey oltmans) 8. Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA (Ben) 9. Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA (Ben) 10. Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA (Sridhar Ayengar) 11. DRTS-11 (E. Groenenberg) 12. RE: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA (Chuck Guzis) 13. Re: DRTS-11 (Chuck Guzis) 14. RE: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA (Rich Alderson) 15. RE: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA (Fred Cisin) 16. Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA (William Donzelli) 17. Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA (Fred Cisin) 18. Re: WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller (Philip Pemberton) 19. Re: WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller (Dennis Boone) 20. Lots of TTL chips (David Betz) 21. Re: WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller (Philip Pemberton) 22. Re: Lots of TTL chips (Sridhar Ayengar) 23. Re: Lots of TTL chips (Ethan Dicks) 24. Re: WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller (Chuck Guzis) 25. Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA (jim s) 26. Re: WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller (jim s) 27. Re: Getting started with programmable logic, was Re: Cray 1 replica (Eric Smith) 28. Re: Getting started with programmable logic, was Re: Cray 1 replica (Eric Smith) 29. Re: Getting started with programmable logic, was Re: Cray 1 replica (Eric Smith) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:08:57 -0700 From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com> Subject: Re: Getting started with programmable logic, was Re: Cray 1 replica To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <4C7E2639.24859.57E3A2 at cclist.sydex.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII In the eval kits, the Spartan 6 kits seem to offer a significantly higher bang-for-the-buck than the Spartan 3 ones. What am I missing? --Chuck ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:12:54 -0400 From: Keith M <keithvz at verizon.net> Subject: Re: Getting started with programmable logic, was Re: Cray 1 replica To: cctalk at classiccmp.org Message-ID: <4C7E8996.2060506 at verizon.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed On 9/1/2010 12:04 PM, Richard wrote: > In article<4C7DEE9F.5020807 at brouhaha.com>, > Eric Smith<eric at brouhaha.com> writes: > >> Richard wrote about the Xilinx Spartan-3E: >> > I believe the 3E is for embedded designs, i.e. automotive >> applications, etc. >> >> No, they do have special parts rated for an automotive temperature >> range, but that's not what the 3E is. All Spartan FPGAs are >> general-purpose FPGAs. I have no idea what would be special in an FPGA >> for an embedded design; nearly all FPGA designs are embedded, so I think >> there would be no real market for an FPGA that was NOT suitable for >> embedded designs. > > Well, when I try to find out information on Spartan 3 FPGA's on > Xilinx's web site, all the web sections have "Automotive" plastered > all over them. > > Perhaps they are just trying to market to that segment. Maybe. Did you see my other post? There are multiple versions of the Spartan-3E. PDF page 2 here http://www.xilinx.com/support/documentation/data_sheets/ds635.pdf outlines the differences between the commercial XC version and the automotive XA version. The XA automotive version is designed to be low-cost but has wide-range temperature support and has reliability qualifications. Otherwise it offers a LIMITED feature set, limited speed grades --- in comparison to the full commercial-grade Spartan-3E (that I own) There are no (AFAICT) specific automotive "features" that make it an extra special fit. Keith ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:48:19 +0100 (BST) From: ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell) Subject: Re: WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller To: cctalk at classiccmp.org Message-ID: <m1OqQGF-000J3uC at p850ug1> Content-Type: text/plain > > Hi guys, > > I'm toying with the idea of doing an MFM/RLL hard drive bolt-on for the=20 > DiscFerret (seeing as the DF hardware is basically done now -- I'm just=20 > doing a final design check before I send the PCBs off for manufacturing). > > Problem is, I don't have a drive to play with. > > Does anyone have any or all of the following kicking around? > > - MFM or RLL hard drives. I could do with one or two of these;=20 > anything's good, as long as it has an ST506-style interface (that is,=20 > straight MFM/RLL with no funny business) and is believed to work. I'm=20 > ideally aiming for something "of reputable manufacture" -- so not a=20 > Kalok Octagon! Alas not. Well, actually, I have a number od such drives, but I have even more classic computers that use them. So nothing 'spare' > > - Cable kit for the above. So that's the Data and Control cables --=20 > edge connector to IDC plug. Err, the connectors are still avaialble (easily...) So is IDC ribbon cable. And I assume you own a metalwork vice, since it's so useful for other things. Which means you could make the cables in less time that it's taken me to type this. > - MFM/RLL controller to match the drive. Anything goes here -- e.g.=20 > Western Digital WD100x series, DTC, Omti... as long as I can make it=20 What do you want as the host computer interface? I am pretty sure I can find the odd ISA bus one, but what would you use that with? -tony ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 10:34:50 -0700 (PDT) From: Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> Subject: Re: First digital camera To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <20100901101623.T21871 at shell.lmi.net> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII As always on this list, ANY use of the word "first" is subject to challenge. On Wed, 1 Sep 2010, Pontus Pihlgren wrote: > Hi > Somewhat offtopic (and old), but interesting. Does the d|i|g|i|t|a|l > cassette mean that it is a DECcassette they are using? > http://pluggedin.kodak.com/post/?id=687843 It may very well have been the first digital camera from Kodak, or the first to meet certain completely arbitrary further restrictions (of weight, size, power source, image quality, etc.). But it (1975) was most certainly NOT the first digital camera. In 1970, I saw a Rube-Goldberg homemade system that used an almost unmodified Sony video-camera feeding its signal to a digitizer in the case of a gutted CV series recorder. Is that invalidated because it was two pieces connected with a cable? When I saw it, the tinkerers were putting together an interface to a crude fax machine. (Fax machines have been around a LONG time.) It is also amusing to note that in spite of this very nice "proof of concept", a decade later Kodak was betting the company on chemical capture with digital storage ("photo-CD" and later "picture-CD") Now, Kodak is phasing out a lot of their chemical products :-( -- Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin at xenosoft.com ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 10:38:33 -0700 (PDT) From: Jerry Wright <g-wright at att.net> Subject: Re: First digital camera To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <811884.32138.qm at web83805.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Don't know about the Cassette, but they used a Motorola Exorciser to render the image. (6800)? Picture is missing the computer? interface and most likely floppy disk system. - Jerry --- On Wed, 9/1/10, Pontus Pihlgren <pontus at Update.UU.SE> wrote: From: Pontus Pihlgren <pontus at Update.UU.SE> Subject: First digital camera To: cctalk at classiccmp.org Date: Wednesday, September 1, 2010, 12:06 AM Hi Somewhat offtopic (and old), but interesting. Does the d|i|g|i|t|a|l cassette mean that it is a DECcassette they are using? http://pluggedin.kodak.com/post/?id=687843 Cheers, Pontus. ------------------------------ Message: 6 Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 11:14:25 -0700 (PDT) From: Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> Subject: RE: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <20100901111320.J21871 at shell.lmi.net> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII > I'd love to have that dual 8 inch drive. > See should know that that McIntosh amp is > quite valuable. "Wow! An amplifier named after the computer!" "I wonder why Apple let them do that" ------------------------------ Message: 7 Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 11:20:08 -0700 (PDT) From: geoffrey oltmans <oltmansg at bellsouth.net> Subject: Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <250203.77282.qm at web83915.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii I wonder why Apple Records let an Apple Computer company alone for so long. ;) ________________________________ From: Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Sent: Wed, September 1, 2010 1:14:25 PM Subject: RE: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA > I'd love to have that dual 8 inch drive. > See should know that that McIntosh amp is > quite valuable. "Wow! An amplifier named after the computer!" "I wonder why Apple let them do that" ------------------------------ Message: 8 Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:26:48 -0600 From: Ben <bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca> Subject: Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <4C7E9AE8.6010801 at jetnet.ab.ca> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Fred Cisin wrote: >> I'd love to have that dual 8 inch drive. >> See should know that that McIntosh amp is >> quite valuable. > > "Wow! An amplifier named after the computer!" > "I wonder why Apple let them do that" I dare you to hook that to a IPOD output and headphones. :-) Ben. ------------------------------ Message: 9 Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:29:49 -0600 From: Ben <bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca> Subject: Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <4C7E9B9D.9060705 at jetnet.ab.ca> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed geoffrey oltmans wrote: > I wonder why Apple Records let an Apple Computer company alone for so long. ;) Apple computer has better lawyers? I thought that records and a file would both count as music MEDIA. ------------------------------ Message: 10 Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:34:35 -0400 From: Sridhar Ayengar <ploopster at gmail.com> Subject: Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <4C7E9CBB.6070607 at gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Ben wrote: > geoffrey oltmans wrote: >> I wonder why Apple Records let an Apple Computer company alone for so >> long. ;) > Apple computer has better lawyers? I thought that records and a file > would both count as music MEDIA. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Corps_v_Apple_Computer Peace... Sridhar ------------------------------ Message: 11 Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 21:13:13 +0200 From: "E. Groenenberg" <quapla at xs4all.nl> Subject: DRTS-11 To: cctalk at classiccmp.org Message-ID: <9e1a269a118c7f0bd11afe800ede49d5.squirrel at webmail.xs4all.nl> Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1 I have found a manual which is called the 'DRTS-11 Reference Manual' (Distributed Real Time System) and it talks about a pieces of software which is placed on top of RT-11. According to the description it optimized for I/O and uses 2 systems. One being the 'I/O processor', the other being the DRTS-11 system. The introduction reads : This document describes version V04.00 of the DRTS-11 multiprocessor operating system, and the Qnector processor link.' Apparently this software was made by 'Westfries Systems BV' and/or 'Viking Computer Corp.' Interesting bit is that this system does need one to logon to it and one can switch accounts. BTW, the manual is both the 'User guide', 'Admin guide', and 'Installation Guide'. Does this ring a bell to anyone? Ed -- Dit is een HTML vrije email / This is an HTML free email. ------------------------------ Message: 12 Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:33:10 -0700 From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com> Subject: RE: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <4C7E4806.7539.DBEE1F at cclist.sydex.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII On 1 Sep 2010 at 11:14, Fred Cisin wrote: > "Wow! An amplifier named after the computer!" > "I wonder why Apple let them do that" Macintosh .NE. McIntosh Reminds me of then-new Victor demanding that a electronics retailer who'd called his business "Victor Electronics" for 20 years (IIRC) change his business name or face the wrath of their mighty lawyers. That really put me off of that company. On the other hand, I've never used hand lotion to thicken gravy (Wondra). Maybe someday--when I'm very old and terribly confused and can't be trusted with sharp implements. --Chuck ------------------------------ Message: 13 Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:35:17 -0700 From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com> Subject: Re: DRTS-11 To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <4C7E4885.29423.DDDDAB at cclist.sydex.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII On 1 Sep 2010 at 21:13, E. Groenenberg wrote: > > I have found a manual which is called the 'DRTS-11 Reference Manual' > (Distributed Real Time System) ... > Does this ring a bell to anyone? Never heard of it, but I can well imagine that the name was just too good to resist pronouciation. ("Dirts-11" or better yet, "Dirtsy") --Chuck ------------------------------ Message: 14 Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 12:41:04 -0700 From: Rich Alderson <RichA at vulcan.com> Subject: RE: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <CC28F43ED4708D489ABCF68D06D7F556040A5CCA41 at 505DENALI.corp.vnw.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" From: Chuck Guzis Sent: Wednesday, September 01, 2010 12:33 PM > On 1 Sep 2010 at 11:14, Fred Cisin wrote: >> "Wow! An amplifier named after the computer!" >> "I wonder why Apple let them do that" > Macintosh .NE. McIntosh In fact, Apple *did* pay a small fee to McIntosh just to head off exactly this kind of thing all the way back in 1984. The payment was reported in _BYTE_, or another similar venue. The computer company vis-a-vis the music company has been touched on else- where in this thread. Thanks, Rich Rich Alderson Vintage Computing Sr. Server Engineer Vulcan, Inc. 505 5th Avenue S, Suite 900 Seattle, WA 98104 mailto:RichA at vulcan.com mailto:RichA at LivingComputerMuseum.org http://www.PDPplanet.org/ http://www.LivingComputerMuseum.org/ ------------------------------ Message: 15 Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 12:55:38 -0700 (PDT) From: Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> Subject: RE: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <20100901125331.O25169 at shell.lmi.net> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII > > "Wow! An amplifier named after the computer!" > > "I wonder why Apple let them do that" On Wed, 1 Sep 2010, Chuck Guzis wrote: > Macintosh .NE. McIntosh They ARE close enopugh for trademark squabbles. It is "common knowledge" that Apple Computer paid McIntosh Audio a royalty for using the name. ------------------------------ Message: 16 Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 16:25:47 -0400 From: William Donzelli <wdonzelli at gmail.com> Subject: Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <AANLkTi=-1OYH__uPx0W4Tr7XZkVM9+8gF13tgq3Ds4eM at mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > They ARE close enopugh for trademark squabbles. > It is "common knowledge" that Apple Computer paid McIntosh Audio a royalty > for using the name. A purchase of legal protection, or a PR stunt? I bet a bit of both. -- Will ------------------------------ Message: 17 Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 13:47:05 -0700 (PDT) From: Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> Subject: Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <20100901134219.U31991 at shell.lmi.net> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII > > They ARE close enopugh for trademark squabbles. > > It is "common knowledge" that Apple Computer paid McIntosh Audio a royalty > > for using the name. On Wed, 1 Sep 2010, William Donzelli wrote: > A purchase of legal protection, or a PR stunt? I bet a bit of both. At the time, the news reports referred to it as having been initiated by McIntosh Labs. Does anybody know the details on the Apple Music deal? At the time, it was touted as a mutual non-competition agreement. That would seem to preclude "iTunes". Or were there other relevant clauses? Or did it have an expiration date? -- Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin at xenosoft.com ------------------------------ Message: 18 Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:50:58 +0100 From: Philip Pemberton <classiccmp at philpem.me.uk> Subject: Re: WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <4C7EBCB2.6060504 at philpem.me.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed On 31/08/10 13:48, Tony Duell wrote: > Alas not. Well, actually, I have a number od such drives, but I have even > more classic computers that use them. So nothing 'spare' Yeah, I've heard of a lot of folk in the same situation. I'm actually getting slightly tempted to hunt down a 1st-gen Acorn Archimedes with Acorn-installed ST506 hard drive. That would give me a drive and a known-good controller. > Err, the connectors are still avaialble (easily...) So is IDC ribbon > cable. And I assume you own a metalwork vice, since it's so useful for > other things. Which means you could make the cables in less time that > it's taken me to type this. Yes I could make a cable, but it's easier to use a ready-made one (if you can find one) than it is to make one up specially :) >> - MFM/RLL controller to match the drive. Anything goes here -- e.g.=20 >> Western Digital WD100x series, DTC, Omti... as long as I can make it=20 > > What do you want as the host computer interface? I am pretty sure I can > find the odd ISA bus one, but what would you use that with? ISA would be fine. Basically I need something I can hook up to a PC (either my clunky old 386-with-ISA-IDE-controller or something more recent) that will allow me to format the drive, and write something to it. Bulk-erase by holding WR_GATE active and WR_DATA low and track-stepping, then format using the controller. Read the data back with the Ferret and see what's there (probably an MFM bitstream based on the Seagate format recommendations). SCSI would be fine too, but then I'd have to buy a SCSI card... :) And it'd have to be capable of talking to a (relatively) modern SCSI card (PCI interface; Adaptec AHA2940 or something like that). At the moment, it's a "this would be really cool to have" type feature addition -- it doesn't seem that much harder to do MFM HDD dumping, and would make the DiscFerret the only imager capable of doing this at transition level. SMD might also be an option... later. -- Phil. classiccmp at philpem.me.uk http://www.philpem.me.uk/ ------------------------------ Message: 19 Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:03:49 -0400 From: Dennis Boone <drb at msu.edu> Subject: Re: WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <20100901210349.37AC2A580D2 at yagi.h-net.msu.edu> > ISA would be fine. Basically I need something I can hook up to a PC > (either my clunky old 386-with-ISA-IDE-controller or something more > recent) that will allow me to format the drive, and write something to > it. Bulk-erase by holding WR_GATE active and WR_DATA low and > track-stepping, then format using the controller. Read the data back > with the Ferret and see what's there (probably an MFM bitstream based on > the Seagate format recommendations). My understanding is that there's enough variation in the low level formatting between controllers that MFM drives aren't very portable. That could be interpreted as timing differences between models, or as timing variations in different instances of the same model, or even actual structure differences. I don't know which was meant by whatever source told me this long ago. Even assuming it is true, it doesn't necessarily kill your concept, though it might make implementation a hell of a lot more exciting. De ------------------------------ Message: 20 Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 17:13:46 -0400 From: David Betz <dbetz at xlisper.com> Subject: Lots of TTL chips To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <BDE2D6FB-2A41-447C-9B36-94931D64B95D at xlisper.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Does anyone want a whole slew of 74xxx TTL chips? Most are new although I suspect I bought them from some surplus place back in the '70s so I can't guarantee that they all work. I'm trying to clean out a parts cabinet and I don't want to throw these away if someone can use them. I also have a bunch of 27xxx EPROMs. I think they are mostly 2708s but there are certainly some 2716s and 2732s. I think there are even a few 27160s. I don't have fancy conductive foam to ship these in so you'll get a box full of stuff with possibly some bent pins. Anyone interested? ------------------------------ Message: 21 Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 22:21:52 +0100 From: Philip Pemberton <classiccmp at philpem.me.uk> Subject: Re: WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <4C7EC3F0.5050905 at philpem.me.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed On 01/09/10 22:03, Dennis Boone wrote: > My understanding is that there's enough variation in the low level > formatting between controllers that MFM drives aren't very portable. > That could be interpreted as timing differences between models, or as > timing variations in different instances of the same model, or even > actual structure differences. I don't know which was meant by whatever > source told me this long ago. There are format differences. Different CRC implementations, different encoding rules (gap lengths and so on), slightly different ways of encoding the data (LSB-first, MSB-first, bit-sequential, staggered), interleaving, ...... The fun part is figuring out what those differences are, then 'teaching' the software how to identify them, and make sense of what's there. Same as I did with MagScan (which is still tied up in Licensing Hell and very close to being rewritten from scratch). > Even assuming it is true, it doesn't necessarily kill your concept, > though it might make implementation a hell of a lot more exciting. My life would be FAR more boring without all these fun and interesting puzzles :) I'm not above "blackbox" reverse engineering if it proves necessary. Change one byte, see what happens, that sort of thing. -- Phil. classiccmp at philpem.me.uk http://www.philpem.me.uk/ ------------------------------ Message: 22 Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:29:24 -0400 From: Sridhar Ayengar <ploopster at gmail.com> Subject: Re: Lots of TTL chips To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <4C7EC5B4.5080102 at gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed David Betz wrote: > Does anyone want a whole slew of 74xxx TTL chips? Most are new > although I suspect I bought them from some surplus place back in the > '70s so I can't guarantee that they all work. I'm trying to clean out > a parts cabinet and I don't want to throw these away if someone can > use them. I also have a bunch of 27xxx EPROMs. I think they are > mostly 2708s but there are certainly some 2716s and 2732s. I think > there are even a few 27160s. I don't have fancy conductive foam to > ship these in so you'll get a box full of stuff with possibly some > bent pins. Anyone interested? Yes. Location? Peace... Sridhar ------------------------------ Message: 23 Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 17:59:45 -0400 From: Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks at gmail.com> Subject: Re: Lots of TTL chips To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <AANLkTi=n5924C1K10OZFTVPdonUAOn0Wu+CyumNDToSs at mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 On 9/1/10, David Betz <dbetz at xlisper.com> wrote: > Does anyone want a whole slew of 74xxx TTL chips? Yes, especially if you mean TTL vs TTL-LS. I have a use for many TTL parts for PDP-8 repair (7474, 7410, 7420, 7430, 7440 and several others). -ethan ------------------------------ Message: 24 Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:11:42 -0700 From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com> Subject: Re: WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <4C7E6D2E.19247.16D104C at cclist.sydex.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII On 1 Sep 2010 at 22:21, Philip Pemberton wrote: > I'm not above "blackbox" reverse engineering if it proves necessary. > Change one byte, see what happens, that sort of thing. ...and then after you've cracked the MFM/RLL/ARLL hard drives, you can tackle the various flavors of ESDI... Fun! --Chuck ------------------------------ Message: 25 Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:46:48 -0700 From: jim s <jws at jwsss.com> Subject: Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <4C7E9F98.3080303 at jwsss.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > geoffrey oltmans wrote: >> I wonder why Apple Records let an Apple Computer company alone for so >> long. ;) > Apple computer has better lawyers? I thought that records and a file > would both count as music MEDIA. > > They didn't, but the legal issues have been settled. Jim ------------------------------ Message: 26 Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:49:13 -0700 From: jim s <jws at jwsss.com> Subject: Re: WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <4C7EA029.9050404 at jwsss.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed >> Hi guys, >> >> I'm toying with the idea of doing an MFM/RLL hard drive bolt-on for the=20 >> DiscFerret (seeing as the DF hardware is basically done now -- I'm just=20 >> doing a final design check before I send the PCBs off for manufacturing). >> >> Problem is, I don't have a drive to play with. >> >> Does anyone have any or all of the following kicking around? >> >> - MFM or RLL hard drives. I could do with one or two of these;=20 >> anything's good, as long as it has an ST506-style interface (that is,=20 >> straight MFM/RLL with no funny business) and is believed to work. I'm=20 >> ideally aiming for something "of reputable manufacture" -- so not a=20 >> Kalok Octagon! > Alas not. Well, actually, I have a number od such drives, but I have even > more classic computers that use them. So nothing 'spare' > >> - Cable kit for the above. So that's the Data and Control cables --=20 >> edge connector to IDC plug. > Err, the connectors are still avaialble (easily...) So is IDC ribbon > cable. And I assume you own a metalwork vice, since it's so useful for > other things. Which means you could make the cables in less time that > it's taken me to type this. > > >> - MFM/RLL controller to match the drive. Anything goes here -- e.g.=20 >> Western Digital WD100x series, DTC, Omti... as long as I can make it=20 > What do you want as the host computer interface? I am pretty sure I can > find the odd ISA bus one, but what would you use that with? > > -tony > > I have an ST 225 / 238 that I have no particular use for. I'm in Los Angeles. It was a trophy at the local Goodwill Computer works, and I relieved them of it. I don't know where it came from, nor do I have a matching system to run it on at the moment. However it is not going to have priceless data from some system I know of on it, so no data or other attachment to it. Might be nice to drain it, but one has to do what one has to do to develope the first of anything, so wiping it out isn't a real big problem. jim ------------------------------ Message: 27 Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:46:25 -0600 From: Eric Smith <eric at brouhaha.com> Subject: Re: Getting started with programmable logic, was Re: Cray 1 replica To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <4C7F1001.3040100 at brouhaha.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Richard wrote: > Well, when I try to find out information on Spartan 3 FPGA's on > Xilinx's web site, all the web sections have "Automotive" plastered > all over them. > > Perhaps they are just trying to market to that segment. > The Spartan-3 (no alpha suffix) is now an "older" family (as compared to the -3E, -3A, and -6), so yes, they might only be "pushing" the automotive spec parts, but they are still in full production in the standard commercial and industrial grades. Basically to get information for older devices out of the Xilinx web site requires clicking on "all devices" or some such thing. In fact, even the older Spartan-XL and Spartan-2 families are in full production, though they are not recommended for new designs, and you have to use older ("archived") versions of the ISE software to develop for them. (For Spartan-XL, there is no version of ISE that included HDL synthesis, so I definitely recommend against trying to use those for hobbyist development with Verilog or VHDL.) Beyond that, even some of the XC3000 and XC4000 parts are still in production. AFAIK, the only FPGA families that Xilinx have completely discontinued are the original XC2000 series (introduced in 1985), XC5200 series, and XC6200 series. Generally speaking, it only makes sense to use the most recent two generations of FPGAs for new designs, as the newer parts are always more cost-effective than the older ones, thanks largely to Moore's Law. Usually the only reason not to use the very latest (currently Spartan-6) is that the availability is not as good as the previous generation (Spartan-3E, -3A). Eric ------------------------------ Message: 28 Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:53:26 -0600 From: Eric Smith <eric at brouhaha.com> Subject: Re: Getting started with programmable logic, was Re: Cray 1 replica To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <4C7F11A6.5070209 at brouhaha.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed geoffrey oltmans wrote: > Don't some FPGAs have dedicated peripherals on them for specific applications > besides the field programmable parts of the silicon? I can't tell you much about Altera, but some of the dedicated hardware in Xilinx FPGAs have included: * block RAMs, 18 or 36 Kbit, in almost all parts * multipliers or multiply/accumulate blocks in many parts * very high speed (>1Gbps) serial transceivers in some parts * a small amount of logic for traditional PCI, in the Spartan-2 * hardware PCIe endpoint logic in the Spartan-6 and Virtex-6 * hardware DDR SDRAM controller in the Spartan-6 and Virtex-6 * PowerPC processor core in some Virtex-4 and Virtex-5 parts * 10/100/1000 Ethernet MAC in some Virtex-5 and Virtex-6 parts For details, such as which parts have how many of what hardware blocks, you'll have to check the datasheets. Generally they only put in hardware blocks for things that can't be implemented reasonably efficiently in the fabric. I consider the 10/100/1000 Ethernet MAC to be an exception to that rule of thumb. Certainly if you want the kinds of traditional peripherals found in early microcomputers (GPIO, timers, UARTs, video display controllers), those will have to be in the fabric. Eric ------------------------------ Message: 29 Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:03:12 -0700 From: Eric Smith <eric at brouhaha.com> Subject: Re: Getting started with programmable logic, was Re: Cray 1 replica To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <4C7F13F0.8050004 at brouhaha.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Chuck Guzis wrote: > In the eval kits, the Spartan 6 kits seem to offer a significantly > higher bang-for-the-buck than the Spartan 3 ones. Certainly the Spartan-6 chips are far more cost effective than Spartan-3. For eval boards, I'm not convinced that this is the case yet. There aren't nearly as many inexpensive development boards for the -6 yet. I haven't yet seen any inexpensive Spartan-6 boards that seem comparable to the Digilent Spartan-3E or Spartan-3A boards, in terms of FPGA capacity, on-board peripheral interfaces/connectors, and availability of GPIO pins on connectors. Eric End of cctalk Digest, Vol 85, Issue 3 *************************************

15 years, 11 months

3
2
0 0

Documentation listed on VCGM

by marvin＠west.net

I just put some documentation up on the Vintage Computer & Gaming Marketplace site: http://marketplace.vintage-computer.com/ These are some of the docs a friend of mine had. Listed right now are the docs for the Western Peripherals TC-120 Nova Tape Controller, Ziatech ZT-7488, and ADDS CONSUL 520/580 Desktop Terminals. Other docs I'll be listing shortly include the ADM-1 Reference Manual (appears to be a copy) and operator's handbook, ADM-2 Maintenance Manual (appears to be a copy) and operator's handbook, and The Operations Manual for the AQ8080Z Microprocessor Analyzer (for use with the Pro-Log 7803.) Later today, I expect to get the HP 9825As checked out and listed (so far, they are in reasonable condition and don't work as I would expect.) Marvin

15 years, 12 months

1
0
0 0

Collection reduction, part II the sequel

by binarydinosaurs＠gmail.com

On 2 September 2010 15:13, Zane H. Healy <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote: > At 11:00 AM +0100 9/2/10, Adrian Graham wrote: >> >> I'm guessing there's no interest at all in my Grey Wall given the >> online availability of docs and CDs etc, I've dragged it all between >> houses for 10 years now, maybe it's time to hit the recycler and give >> some of those trees back :) > > You're on the wrong side of the Pond, plus we should have more than a > complete Grey Wall for the library, and we just got an Orange one. Fortunately it's looking like the wall will be saved from the pulpers thanks to Dave Caroline, my little fiches too. There's a few orange manuals too but I'm keeping my RT11 stuff. > Now this makes me wish you were local, not that I'm sure where I'd put one. > ?I haven't had time to verify since moving, but I've a feeling my last one > is dead, or nearly so (ISTR it having started having issues). Bah, I'd not fancy shipping it over the water :/ > This surprises me. ?Sure a MINC isn't the fastest box, but it is definitely > interesting. ?I had one for about two hours, sadly I traded it to Jim > Willing for an external RX02 drive unit. Double bonus with this MINC - it has the external RX02! -- adrian/witchy Owner of Binary Dinosaurs, the UK's biggest home? computer collection? www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk

15 years, 12 months

1
0
0 0

Cray 1 replica

by ggs＠shiresoft.com

Hi, I just came across this and it's pretty cool. Some has built a somewhat functional 1/10 scale Cray-1 using a Xylinx dev board. Here's the link: http://chrisfenton.com/homebrew-cray-1a/ TTFN - Guy

15 years, 12 months

18
36
0 0

Lots of TTL chips

by dbetz＠xlisper.com

Does anyone want a whole slew of 74xxx TTL chips? Most are new although I suspect I bought them from some surplus place back in the '70s so I can't guarantee that they all work. I'm trying to clean out a parts cabinet and I don't want to throw these away if someone can use them. I also have a bunch of 27xxx EPROMs. I think they are mostly 2708s but there are certainly some 2716s and 2732s. I think there are even a few 27160s. I don't have fancy conductive foam to ship these in so you'll get a box full of stuff with possibly some bent pins. Anyone interested?

15 years, 12 months

3
3
0 0

DRTS-11

by quapla＠xs4all.nl

I have found a manual which is called the 'DRTS-11 Reference Manual' (Distributed Real Time System) and it talks about a pieces of software which is placed on top of RT-11. According to the description it optimized for I/O and uses 2 systems. One being the 'I/O processor', the other being the DRTS-11 system. The introduction reads : This document describes version V04.00 of the DRTS-11 multiprocessor operating system, and the Qnector processor link.' Apparently this software was made by 'Westfries Systems BV' and/or 'Viking Computer Corp.' Interesting bit is that this system does need one to logon to it and one can switch accounts. BTW, the manual is both the 'User guide', 'Admin guide', and 'Installation Guide'. Does this ring a bell to anyone? Ed -- Dit is een HTML vrije email / This is an HTML free email.

15 years, 12 months

2
1
0 0

First digital camera

by pontus＠Update.UU.SE

Hi Somewhat offtopic (and old), but interesting. Does the d|i|g|i|t|a|l cassette mean that it is a DECcassette they are using? http://pluggedin.kodak.com/post/?id=687843 Cheers, Pontus.

15 years, 12 months

3
2
0 0

using localtalk bridge

by jlobocki＠gmail.com

has anybody tried localtalk bridge ( http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=60290 ) in their mac setups? I was thinking of taking one of my old LC slabs and throwing a $10-$20 ethernet card in, throwing a phonenet dongle on the modem port, either loading the hard drive with a low os with all but the needed extensions and files removed, or the same on a floppy, and just using it like a router, with its only purpose being passing data between the apple ethernet segments and the apple phonenet segments(which at this time is only my SE as every other mac has ethernet).

15 years, 12 months

4
6
0 0

Making flyback transformers?

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

As some of us know all too well, flyback transofrmers fail, and are often next-to-impossible to get. So I have been wondering if it's possible to make a replacement... There would appear to be 2 parts to this. 1) Desigining the replacement. I think we can assume a schematic of hte horizontal output stage it's going to be used in. But how do you calcualtor the number of turns on each winding? Since the origianl is likely ot be potted in epoxy (for HV insulation reasons), counting the turns there is impossible. Are there any good references (books, web pages, etc) on the desing of such transoformes and/or the design of horizotnal output stages? I would have thought something must exist, but I've never seen it. 2) Making the replacement. It owuld ahve to be vacuum pmpregnated, I think. But I believe some model engineers who make internal combustion engines make the own ignition coils (and vacuum-impregnate them?). Again, any good references on doing this? -tony

15 years, 12 months

4
6
0 0

Video TECO

by n.theodore.matavka.files＠gmail.com

Hello, World! I took a cursory look through the archives at classiccmp, and I was disappointed to discover that the response to my having found the Video TECO tarball was lukewarm to negative. I understand that I may have committed a few mistakes along the way, but this was compounded by the fact that several other messages that I had written clarifying my reasons were not additionally sent to classiccmp. First of all, I had asked for and received permission from Paul Cantrell, my flying instructor, to have the source code. I had looked for it on sourceforge in vain, as the downloads section was completely empty. This was when I asked Paul to send me the source, which he did. In addition to this, I found a patch for Video TECO on another Web site, with a dead link---I also requested and received the patch. Only lately did I discover that the Video TECO tarball was available on CVS. Second, I understand the issue with licencing, and I take this moment to apologise. My actions were wrong, and I made the stupid error of not looking to see in the file whether there was a licence or not. My reasoning for publishing it under Sleepycat was the additional clause that if the software is bundled, the software it is bundled with should also be open source. I see now that I was mistaken, and I apologise for all the inconvenience it may cause. Third, I apologise for perhaps being unclear in my first post. For instance, Mr Alderson mistakenly believed or believes that I had implied that the original Video TECO (for DEC PDP's) had been lost. No, it hasn't, and yes, I've heard of it. alt.lang.teco? Seriously? There hasn't been a new post there in months! What there is is generic Viagra and "V1c0d1n" spam! Yes, maybe some of the other newsgroups I should perhaps have asked, but I thought I could have been excused from that as I did have the source code straight from the horse's mouth so to speak. Mr Stephens: there's a patch available that should fix your problems; it's on my Sourceforge site. Also: yes, I've made a few mistakes, but if someone would please help me on this project, it would be greatly appreciated. I am writing documentation for it (using Cantrell's very rough html file and some DEC manuals as a base), several pages per day, but I can't do the whole thing by myself. I mean, I can finish the docs by myself in a week or two if I work hard, but the rest of it might be a more dicey proposition. Cordially, Ted Matavka.

15 years, 12 months

3
2
0 0

Wanted: HP 7970E

by mloewen＠cpumagic.scol.pa.us

I'm still looking for an HP 7970E 9-track tape drive and a 13183A interface card. If you know of one available (preferably in working order), please let me know, off-list. Mike Loewen mloewen at cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://sturgeon.css.psu.edu/~mloewen/Oldtech/

15 years, 12 months

2
1
0 0

Should you correct production mistakes?

by lbickley＠bickleywest.com

I posted this last Wednesday - but for some reason, it didn't make the "cctech" list. I'm posting it again FYI... Cheers, Lyle ---------- Forwarded Message ---------- Subject: Re: Should you correct production mistakes? Date: Wednesday 25 August 2010, 17:20:22 From: Lyle Bickley <lbickley at bickleywest.com> To: "General Discussion: On-Topic Posts Only" <cctech at classiccmp.org> On Wednesday 25 August 2010, Eric Smith wrote: > I wrote: > > Had we found any problem analogous to that in the PDP-1 restoration, > > where the machine operated correctly despite a manufacturing defect, I'm > > sure we would have had a debate on whether to fix it. I think my own > > opinion in that case would be that we should leave it alone, but tag the > > module (paper tag attached with a short loop of string) and document the > > issue in the system logbook. > > > Fred Cisin wrote: > > In the example that I mentioned of an IBM MDA board, it worked for about > > 10 years, and then became intermittent. Even that, I would NOT consider > > to be "operates correctly", as the particular defect IS a defect, and may > > eventually bring the system down. > > I think the way that I would state it is that just because the system is > working correctly (at the moment) doesn't mean that it isn't broken. > > Part of the reason I don't think we'd fix such a problem in the PDP-1 is > that the PDP-1 isn't doing anything criticial. We can afford to have > downtime if a latent problem eventual causes a failure. If we've > properly documented that latent problem, we can check for it when the > system does fail, and fix it if necessary at that time. To be specific, during the original restoration, we checked every solder joint in the PDP-1. We found four bad connections. We then reviewed the implications of the bad connections in terms of function and reliability. The Team decided to only repair two of the connections because they could affect normal operation and demoing of the system. We left the other connections "loose". As Eric already stated, we documented everything and labeled all changes (fixes) we made. BTW: We have never experienced a problem with the "unfixed" solder joints ;-) Cheers, Lyle -- Lyle Bickley, AF6WS Bickley Consulting West Inc. http://bickleywest.com "Black holes are where God is dividing by zero"

15 years, 12 months

2
1
0 0

New acquisition...

by mdavidson1963＠gmail.com

All the boxes finally arrived (and I still have to go through everything), but I am the proud owner of an Epson QX-10... with original manuals, newsletters from a users group and a nice collection of software... CP/M, Valdocs 2, Valdocs 3, dBase II, PeachText, Uniform and a bunch of other diskettes (easily 7 or 8 of the 10-disk holders). I'll post pictures and more info as I go through the boxes, but this is quite exciting! Mark

15 years, 12 months

5
12
0 0

EPROM programming (27c160's)

by ian_primus＠yahoo.com

Well, I am stumped here. I have been fighting with this for a while and I can't figure it out... I use an old Needham's PB-10 EPROM programmer. Best device programmer ever, as far as I'm concerned. It's fast, reliable, and the software is so nice and easy to use. Only problem - it's old, and doesn't support 16 bit devices. I really need to be able to program 27c160 and 27c322 devices. So, I built an adapter. I bought a 16bit adapter intended for those cheap and nasty Willem programmers. I made some minor modifications to use it with my Needhams, and added toggle switches for the upper address lines. Now, I can program larger devices in chunks. This worked perfectly for the couple of chips I had at the time - two 27c160's and two 27c800's. So, I bought more chips. 27c160's and 27c322's. The 27c322's work flawlessly. I can program them in four passes, the programmer thinks it's programming a 27c080. But 27c160s... I am having horrible luck with them. A couple out of the batch programmed. The rest did not. I was able to fill them with zeroes, but couldn't program data - it kept erroring out at various stages. Tried erasing/reburning, same thing. Finally got fed up and bought another batch from a different seller, assuming I just had some bad ones. Nope. SAME problem. I noticed a pattern: On chips with a date code before about 2000, the die is larger, and none of these want to program. On chips with a date code after 2000, the die is smaller, and some of them program perfectly, others get most of the way through before erroring out. In all cases, I'm working with ST brand chips - I haven't found any other manufacturer available. So, carefully reading the datasheet, I notice that the 27c160 wants a program pulse of 50us. The chip that the programmer thinks it's programming, a 27c040, uses a programming pulse of 100ns. The programming waveforms between a 27c160 and a 27c040 look the same to me, besides that. But it would seem that my problems lie with the waveform being incorrect, and newer chips being less picky about it than the older chips of the same part number. Now, I'm stumped. I *really* want to make this programmer program these chips. It does everything else properly, including program 27c322's with this adapter. Now, I know the adapter is wired correctly, because I have programmed newer rev 27c160's properly, and they have worked perfectly in their intended purpose. The adapter is wired up such that in 27c322 mode, the programmer is used as if it were a 27c080, and in 27c160 mode the programmer is used as if it were a 27c040. I did it this way due to the pinouts of the devices and the required programming algorithms. Basically, I am wondering if any of our resident gurus have seen behavior like this with EPROMs, and if there may be anything I can do to shorten pulses, buffer, or something to get this to program... or, if anyone just *happens* to have the source code to the EMP software laying around somewhere... Yeah, I know, long shot. Failing that, does anyone have a suggestion of an EPROM programmer that I can buy that will program 27c160's. Preferably something that can be operated from DOS over a parallel or serial port, or better yet, an ISA card. -Ian

15 years, 12 months

17
64
0 0

Article on first edition UNIX in IEEE Annals of the History of Computing

by joachim.thiemann＠gmail.com

For those that have access to IEEE Xplore (or a decently stocked library), the latest issue of the IEEE Annals of the History of Computing has an interesting article on restoring the first edition of UNIX (from paper copies, Al Kossow is mentioned) by Warren Toomey. The abstract: "Until recently, the earliest versions of the Unix operating system were believed to have been lost completely. In 2008, however, a restoration team from the Unix Heritage Society completed an effort to resurrect and restore the first edition Unix to a running and usable state from a newly discovered listing of the system?s assembly source code." Interesting read! Fun statement I noticed, with respect to the "factory faults" thread that is ongoing: "Should bugs or faults found in the leg- acy software be fixed, or should the envi- ronment be modified to work around the problem?" (p. 78) Joe. -- Joachim Thiemann :: http://www.tsp.ece.mcgill.ca/~jthiem

15 years, 12 months

2
1
0 0

dg 1200 queries

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

After some very minor cleanup and front panel fixing, the DG1230 seems to spring to life. I can deposit and examine different values from all four cpu registers, as well as small random ranges of memory. I've been skimming some of the DG docs I have, but I am coming up short on knowledge on a few points and was wondering if someone could shed light on any of these items or better yet, direct me to the appropriate manual that I can't seem to find. 1) In DEC & HP documentation, I can find a fair number of "front panel dittys" to perform basic tests in the absence of I/O devices. I can find no such short programs for the DG1200. Before I attach an I/O device (CRT, Cassette, or paper tape) I'd sure like to feel more confident that the cpu is on fairly solid ground. Unless someone knows of some docs on short front panel test programs, I'll just write a few short "copy range of memory from A to B, etc." programs myself and hand assemble them. 2) At the bottom of the backlane are several small pin connectors - P5, P6, P7, P8, and P9. Going from memory, but they are something like 2 rows of about 10 pins per row for each P connector. I can't seem to find where these are documented. Can someone point me to the right manual? They don't even show up on the backplane diagrams I have. 3) On most of my DG12xx cpu's, the backplanes don't have extra wiring, other than what is obviously going to a device. But on this one, Pin 10 of backplane connectors 2 through 12 is daisychained. I believe the signal is "VINH". I can't seem to find documentation on this. I'm guessing it has to do with allowing (or disallowing) memory cards in slots other than slot 2, but I'd like some better understanding as to when and when not this jumper set should be present. 4) Again, on most of my DG12xx boxes, the backplane has nothing other than I/O connections. But on this one, pin 96 (intp in) slot five is wrapped to pin 95 slot 16 (intp out). Likewise pin 94 (dhcp in) is wrapped to pin 93 slot 16 (dhcp out). I do have some idea what this is for, but I'd like a better understanding as to when and when not this jumper should be present. This has got to be documented/explained somewhere, but I sure can't find a discussion of it. Thoughts? I'm guessing this jumper is only required to get DHCP to the upper I/O card section on the "jumbo" version? Thanks in advance for any thoughts! Jay

15 years, 12 months

2
1
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