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

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

I am going to be moving on to testing some H745 regulators. If I understand the schematic correctly the +15V input is the reference voltage used to regulate the -15V output, is that correct? If so, then presumably it doesn't need a whole lot of current, is that right? Thanks Rob

4 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Retro Chip Tester Pro, US shopping basket?

by wh.sudbrink＠verizon.net

In response to my wife's "Buy yourself a Christmas present" direction, I've ordered a Retro Chip Tested Pro board. When you purchase the board, you get a BOM and links to stored shopping baskets for some European vendors. Has anyone built this in the US and stored their basket with a US vendor? Rev 1.2k by the way, but any basket would be helpful as the BOM differences between the versions are listed. Thanks, Bill S. -- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

4 years, 1 month

5
9
0 0

Question about SIMH Sigma-7/9 emulation

by dfnr2＠yahoo.com

Hi all, I see that SIMH incorporates the 32-bit Xerox Sigma architectures.? The Sigma 8/9/5x0 architectures are commented out but compile fine? Does anyone know if those later architectures have known issues? Has anyone succeeded in running CP-V on those emulations?? It would be amazing to run CP-V and tha various languages on a Sigma 9 emulations, not to mention the 350-point and 550-point adventures.? However, I haven't found any type of software on line.? Does anyone know of a stash somewhere? I remember that the Living Computer Museum, when it was open, briefly had a Sigma 9 up and running with CP-V, but was restricting public accounts due to some issue with the account generation mechanism.? I wonder if someone associated with the Museum might potentially have access to some CP-V tapes or images, even if the museum is closed. Thanks in advance, Dave

4 years, 1 month

4
3
0 0

NEXT/LISP Mirror has viruses

by billdegnan＠gmail.com

http://mirror.informatimago.com/ This site has or had viruses at some point, the tigger files.html files are still present. be cautious, and let the person who runs it know if they're known. BIll

4 years, 1 month

5
8
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mirror of ftp://unix.hensa.ac.uk

by spectre＠floodgap.com

Looking for some tools (guide_reader, others) that were apparently only on unix.hensa.ac.uk's FTP. This hostname still exists, but directs to University of Kent's mirror service, and there is no trace of the old archive. Anybody happen to have saved any pieces of it? -- ------------------------------------ personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckaiser at floodgap.com -- In memory of Peter Graves --------------------------------------------------

4 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

IBM Model C typewriter

by van.snyder＠sbcglobal.net

I have an old IBM Model C typewriter. I can't bear to throw it away, even though it doesn't work well. The carriage doesn't advance, and the A key doesn't work. Do you know how to tune it up? If you want it, it's yours for the price of shipping. I'll probably take it to UPS and ask them to pack it. It will fit in a 24" x 18" x 12" box. Gross shipped weight about 40 lbs. Local pickup free. La Crescenta, CA

4 years, 1 month

5
7
0 0

PDP-11/34 FP11-A on eBait

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

Speaking of FP11-A's: https://www.ebay.com/itm/275096265379 I wouldn't mind having one, but not for that much! I wonder how much it will go for? Noel

4 years, 1 month

2
1
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H7821 power supply in MicroVAX 3100, SCSI disk enclosures and others

by cctalk＠beyondthepale.ie

The recent discussion on BSC protocol prompted me to dig out my Microvax 3100 with DSH32 synchronous serial interface. It had been idle in storage for several years and it wouldn't power up, only giving a brief flash on the diagnostic LEDs and a quick twitch of the fans. There was a slight smell, like the stale air that comes out of a deflating tyre. I took out the H7821 power supply and found that five identical brown 1800uF 25V electrolytic capacitors on the output side had leaked. The SCSI disk enclosure where the machine's system disk lives required several power cycles to get it to run at all and it died as soon as the disk tried to spin up. It turned out to also contain a H7821 power supply which had a similar issue with the same five brown capacitors, although not as extensive as in the main unit. I found a second disk enclosure which had seen little use and grabbed the power supply out of that to put in the MicroVAX. It worked well enough to test with but there was a ring of goo around the bottom of one of the brown capacitors which was worst affected in the other units. Time to order a batch of replacement capacitors and figure out what else has been damaged. While it is not the worst I have seen, access to these power supplies for repairs is quite difficult and it is really difficult to debug them safely while they are running with the cover off :-( If anyone has anything with H7821 power supplies in them, I suggest checking on these capacitors. If anything with these power supplies is in storage, I suggest ensuring it is stored the normal way up as this should limit the ability of the goo to escape and spread around the power supply. And there I was thought I was being safe enough by removing the nicad battery packs some years ago... Regards, Peter Coghlan.

4 years, 1 month

15
22
0 0

The Portable C Compiler (pcc)

by ccth6600＠gmail.com

The original "Portable C Compiler" by S. C. Johnson (also known as "pcc") had functional support for the Data General Nova. Could somebody please point me to this original implementation? There is a modern C99 version of this compiler maintained by Anders Magnusson at: http://pcc.ludd.ltu.se/ Unfortunately in this version the Nova architecture is no longer supported and won't build correctly although associated files are still in the source hierarchy. I am looking for the original implementation - not any recent work. Thanks Tom

4 years, 1 month

2
4
0 0

8" Floppy Drives needed

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> On Wed, Jan 12, 2022 at 12:16 PM Mike Katz wrote: > I am looking to make a RX01 (and hopefully RX02) disk formatter Something that can format floppies for the RX01 can effectively format RX02 floppies, too. An RX02 drive can convert RX01-formatted floppies to RX02-formatted floppies. Given how arcane the RX02 format is (sector _headers_ are written in single density; sector _data_ is written in double) I'd be pretty surprised if anything except an RX02 can do it. Noel

4 years, 1 month

3
3
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PDF of FP11-A FMPS available

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

Just ran across this: http://wwcm.synology.me/pdf/MP00189%20FP11-A%20Field%20Maintenance%20Print%… which isn't available online in this form. (This appears to be a different scan >from the one on the Maine Coon site, split up into several TIFF's, as it has the cover which that one doesn't show.) As always, history shows that the best way not to lose things is to have multiple independent copies! So download often! Noel

4 years, 1 month

1
0
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OT: looking for help remembering name/info about security bug

by sieler＠allegro.com

I've received a couple of suggestions, thanks, but none seem right. BTW, I'm sorry (Liam) that I didn't make it clearer that it was absolutely a software bug, which excludes Spectre, Rowhammer, Meltdown. Aside: the Meltdown and/or Spectre patch to macOS hurt performance ... the elapsed time to compile 500 programs increased by about 12%. (At the time of the patch, I tested (properly) before and after the patch ... then forgot to publish, and since misplaced my notes.) Although I mentioned 'code', I should have been more specific: C (or, possibly, C++), but definitely no other language. I don't recall it being a buffer overflow. I *think* it was some kind of authentication failure (e.g., incorrectly reporting "ok"), but I'm not sure. I do know I wrote a several page article about it, and how certain coding practices led to it, but I can't *find* the article now :( (not published) My guess of 4-6 years ago is possibly narrower than it should be, but I'm not sure. My hope is that by being reminded of the vulnerability name, I can search my computer, and backups, for text files containing that name :) (Or the name of function associated with the problem.) thanks, Stan

4 years, 1 month

2
1
0 0

OT: looking for help remembering name/info about security bug

by sieler＠allegro.com

Hi, I'm trying to remember the name (and some information about) a past security bug, for an article. Somewhere between 4 and 6 years ago (I think), there was a fairly major security bug reported (probably in Linux, or in SSH code, but something widely used). IIRC, the bug was a single line that called a function (possibly along the lines of CredentialsCheck), and may have involved a bit-wise or (or and) instead of a logical one. It may have been that either the routine wasn't getting called when it should, or that the programmer misinterpreted what the return value meant. Ring any bells? thanks! Stan

4 years, 1 month

8
9
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Plessy core memory

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> an adapter cable to go from a 9-pin male (shell; female pins) to a > 15-pin female (shell; male pins) Sigh, shouldn't try to type when I'm this tired. Female 9-pin (to plug into the BA11-D) to male 15-pin (for the DD11-C/D to plug into). Noel

4 years, 1 month

5
5
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Plessy core memory

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Chris Zach > I'm guessing that the DD11-F is significantly different from the DD11-B? I assume theat "DD11-F" is a typo; there is, AFAIK, no DD11-F, and a Web search revealeddidn't turn anything up. (There are DD11-CF and -CK backplanes, as well as -DF and -DK, but the -CF and -CK differ only in power harness length.) > the 11/24 used +12 on the +15 lines. No idea what was wrong with DEC The: https://gunkies.org/wiki/MS11-M_MOS_memory I'm guessing it used the parts that the IC vendors could provide. > Don't know what would happen if you plugged a RL11 or other hex height > card into one of those slots, probably blow everything up. Not sure. Per: https://gunkies.org/wiki/Modified_UNIBUS_Device#Pinout https://gunkies.org/wiki/Extended_UNIBUS#Pinout These are _some_ of the MUD/EUB pin clashes: Pin EUB MUD AN1 - A21 - Parity P1 AP1 - A20 - Parity P0 BE1 - A19 - Internal SSYN BE2 - A18 - Parity Detect I don't think those would harm anything. Not sure about power pins - and have no incentive to research it, as I have no need/interest in trying it. > I know I ran it with two of these Plessy cards and a RX01 controller but > now that I look at it that would be impossible as both were hex cards Maybe Plessey designed them to go in a DD11-B? I know I've seen other third-party cards that would go in oddball slots. > and both could never fit in a 4 slot backplane with enough space for a > quad spc Why not? The two hexes in slots 2&3, the quad in 1 or 4. > a DA11-F Unibus window Wow; never heard of those. I'll have to do a CHWiki page for them. Luckily, the maint manual is online. There's also a DA11-B. > what would happen if I enabled the KT24 Unibus memory map..... All that does is allow DMA devices on the -11/24's UNIBUS access to the entire main memory: https://gunkies.org/wiki/PDP-11/24#System_bus_structure So if you hooked up an -11/10 to an -11/24 with a DA11-F, then with the UNIBUS Map on, the -11/10's CPU and/or DMA devices would have access to the entire EUB memory via the 24's UNIBUS Map, is all. > This is so much fun! That _is_ why we collect old computers! ;-) Noel

4 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Plessy core memory

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Chris Zach > the DD11-B is a MUD backplane No, it's SPC; other sources, e.g. http://www.chdickman.com/pdp11/Notes/DD11.shtml agree. So if you have a DD11-B, you must have a BA11-D, with the 9-pin power plugs. The best thing to do is get a DD11-C or -D, and build an adapter cable to go >from a 9-pin male (shell; female pins) to a 15-pin female (shell; male pins), so you don't have to mess with the harness. Part numbers here: https://gunkies.org/wiki/DEC_power_distribution_connectors Then you can plug in any memory you've got the right voltages for; the MS11-E takes + and -15V (in addition to +5V, of course). Noel

4 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Plessy core memory

by cz＠alembic.crystel.com

I'm working on my pdp11/10 getting it back together. One problem I think I have is that the secondary memory (a Plessy 700101-100) may be shorting the -15 line for some reason. Working on it, but does anyone have a manual or anything like that for this kind of memory board? Alternately, what kind of Unibus 16k memory board exists to get a 11/10 >from 16kw to 32kw of memory? Apparently I can't use a MM11-B as it requires +20 and -5, both of which are not provided by the power supply or sourced on a DD11-B backplane module. The 11/10 has +15, -15, and +5. On a related note, where did +20 come from for Unibus and which systems even supported it? Was it an 11/45,11/70 thing? Thoughts? C (Yes, I could build a regulator to take the 30 volts between +15 and -15 and create an independent 20 volts. Maybe. Likewise I could generate -5 >from the -15 and a 7815 regulator. Maybe.)

4 years, 1 month

3
5
0 0

Plessy core memory

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Chris Zach > the secondary memory (a Plessy 700101-100) may be shorting the -15 line > for some reason. Working on it, but does anyone have a manual or > anything like that for this kind of memory board? I've got a Plessey core memory manual somewhere, but I can't find it, so I don't know if it's the one you are looking for. I got it from Paul Birkel; it was a duplicate, and he scanned his and sent the scan off, but I don't think it made it online. > Alternately, what kind of Unibus 16k memory board exists to get a 11/10 > from 16kw to 32kw of memory? It all depends on what kind of -11/10 you have. If yours is in a 5-1/4" box, you can't plug a DEC memory card into the SPC slots that some of the CPU-holding backplane versions have because DEC memories (other than the ones like the MM11-L and -U, which are multi-board core systems that require custom backplanes) all require MUD slots, not SPC. All of the CPU backplanes on that machine are for a _specific_ kind of core memory (MM11-L or MM11-U), see here: https://gunkies.org/wiki/PDP-11/05 There are I think some third-party memories which can be used (Dataram, maybe?) but I don't have time to go into them. If you have a 10-1/2" box, you can mount a MUD backplane - but you might still have an issue because the older BA11-D boxes use the old 9-pin power connectors, and the MUD backplanes (DD11-C, -D, etc) all use the newer 15-pin ones. (Again, there are some oddball ones, and again, I don't have time to go into them.) If you're lucky enough to have one of the ones that will take a MUD backplane, an MS11-E/F/H/J: https://gunkies.org/wiki/MS11_32KB_MOS_memory would be an option. > On a related note, where did +20 come from for Unibus and which systems > even supported it? Was it an 11/45,11/70 thing? The later /05's, /40's and /45's were the first ones to provide +20V, for the then-new MM11-U. On machines which took H744 'brick's, the _later_ harnesses could take a H754 +20V, -5V regulator 'brick'. Alternatively, _some_ BA11-L's (used for the /04 and /34) had the right version of H777: https://gunkies.org/wiki/H777_Power_Supply to provide +20V. Noel

4 years, 1 month

2
2
0 0

The Portable C Compiler (pcc)

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Tom Hunter > The original "Portable C Compiler" by S. C. Johnson (also known as > "pcc") had functional support for the Data General Nova. Could somebody > please point me to this original implementation? > ... > I am looking for the original implementation - not any recent work. Of PCC, or the Nova version? The _oriinal_ PCC, released to the world in V7, is there: https://minnie.tuhs.org/cgi-bin/utree.pl?file=V7/usr/src/cmd/mip https://minnie.tuhs.org/cgi-bin/utree.pl?file=V7/usr/src/cmd/pcc https://minnie.tuhs.org/cgi-bin/utree.pl?file=V7/usr/doc/porttour That one is dated 1979. I have a slightly later version, from 1982 or so, which is the 68K one done at MIT. Not sure if either of those is any use to you, though. Noel

4 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Mate-n-lok connector for H744 Regulator

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

To make testing of the H744 a bit easier I would like to try to make up some connectors for the mate-n-lok connector to make it easier to connect power and load. I know the H744 uses a mate-n-lok connector, but there seem to be a lot of different types and I don't seem to be able to find a type that would work. Does anyone know what the correct one is? Thanks Rob

4 years, 1 month

4
3
0 0

Mate-n-lok connector for H744 Regulator

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Rob Jarratt > Does anyone know what the correct one is? This: http://gunkies.org/wiki/DEC_standard_modular_regulators has all the details. (If anyone knows of any PDP-11 hardware or UNIX information which is not on the CHWiki - I'm not interested in DEC PDP-11 software, but if someone would like to take that on, that would be great - please let me know.) Noel

4 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Memory Tech you don't see very often

by pbirkel＠gmail.com

Selectron Vacuum Tube: https://www.ebay.com/itm/174977901251 Really nice photo-shoot! I wonder what the back-story to this particular tube might be. I don't think that $16.18 shipping would be, um, adequate protection by any measure. Cheap, but not so sure about "cost-effective" . -----

4 years, 1 month

8
10
0 0

What happened to Bill Whitson?

by s101885＠outlook.com

Bill Whitson, the original ClassicCmp ListOp, has a surprisingly little amount of information available about him online. Does anyone know what happened to him after the late 90s? (If anyone has any contact information, that would be nice!) Ryan Ottignon

4 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Source for replacement caps in H744 regulators

by billdegnan＠gmail.com

It would be a lot easier to replace the large circular regulator if you're taking the shotgun approach, and much more likely that the regulator is a source of faults. and it's cheaper. For the h744, 45, 54. BUT measuring things is the best way if you can do it. Pull the values from the backplane, there are test points that you can measure from. Bill On Thu, Jan 6, 2022 at 2:30 PM Wayne S via cctech <cctech at classiccmp.org> wrote: > So you want to replace capacitors just because they ?whine? ? > I?ll say that because you are learning, that is not good troubleshooting > practice. > Make a checklist of troubleshooting power supplies. > There are a lot of good youtube videos and other internet information on > how power supplies work, how to check them and repair them. There is danger > when working with power supplies. > When working on electrical equipment do you know about the ?working with > one hand in your pocket rule?? Doing this stuff, videos and reading, is not > overly time consuming and may save your life! > > > > Sent from my iPhone > > > On Jan 6, 2022, at 07:50, Jon Elson via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > wrote: > > > > ?On 1/6/22 2:52 AM, Rob Jarratt via cctalk wrote: > >> I think I may need to replace the two output capacitors in some of my > H744 > >> regulators. These are screw terminal 6,000uF 10V parts. I have looked on > >> Mouser, Farnell and Digikey and there don't seem to be any available, > and > >> any that are listed are really rather costly. > >> > >> > >> Does anyone know where I might find some, preferably from a reputable > >> supplier. Note that I am in the UK. > >> > >> > > > > Mouser is a good place to find big caps (or at least used to be). You > might have to get "snap in" caps and solder wires to them, that style seems > to be more available. > > > > Jon > > >

4 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Memory Tech you don't see very often

by cclist＠sydex.com

On 1/6/22 10:17, William Donzelli wrote: > If you include prototypes, then you need to include ALL the prototypes > - even things made in single quantities that never worked. > > That is a HUGE amount of stuff that makes EBAM look gigantic. To be fair, EBAM received a not-insignificant amount of press coverage. What doomed it was the falling cost and increasing density of semiconductor memory. Good idea, wrong time. It was pitched in a few forward-looking responses to government RFPs. But then, so was a lot of other stuff. --Chuck

4 years, 1 month

2
1
0 0

VAX 780 on eBay

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

This: https://www.ebay.com/itm/275084268137 The starting price is expensive, but probably not utterly unreasonable, given that: - the 780 was the first VAX, and thus historically important - 780's are incredibly rare; this is the first one I recall seeing for sale in the classic computer era (versus several -11/70's, /40s, etc) - this one appears to be reasonably complete; no idea if all the key CPU boards are included, but it's things like the backplane, etc (all of which seem to be there) which would be completely impossible to find now - if any boards _are_ missing, there's at least the _hope_ that they can be located (780 boards seem to come by every so often on eBait), since people seem to keep boards, not realizing that without the other bits they are useless Anyway I fully expect it to go (because of those, especially i and ii) for a _lot_ more than the opening price. I've sent the seller info on the complete 780 board set, and a suggestion that it's in their own best interest (maximize bidding) to check to see if it's complete. Noel

4 years, 1 month

33
97
0 0

DEC HDD heads?

by anders.k.nelson＠gmail.com

Dunno if this is useful for anyone but the price seems right: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Qty-8-Cdc-Dec-Disk-Head-Heads-75010109-75010101-/2…

4 years, 1 month

2
1
0 0

3-phase power

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Scott Quinn > I have seen some roads where the utility has 2 of the phases plus > neutral going down them, not true 2-phase power, but 2 phases 120/240 > degrees apart with the third phase just not present. My street has that. The subdivision as a whole has all 3 phases (down the main road through it), but individual streets off of it have only 1 or 2. (The whole subdivision is on poles, so it's easy to see.) On the ones with 2, some houses are connected to one, some to the other. > I guess they figure twice the loads for only one more wire. No, because most homes are only connected to one phase. I think the main reason to do it is that it allows the total load (of the entire subdivision) to be somewhat balanced across all 3 phases. > Can't remember what it was called but I do remember seeing in some book > somewhere about a "phantom 3rd leg" or something My house has something like that; the previous owner wanted '3-phase service' for machine tools (I think - could have been a compressor, or something) in his basement workshop, so they sold him a pseudo-3-phase service. I forget the exact details of how it works, but the 3rd phase is at 170V to neutral, or something like that. (So I can't power any 110V outlets off the third phase.) I think the way it works is that the two 'main' phases are 220V to each other, 110V to neutral (I think from the usual center-tapped transformer off one of the three main feed phases, i.e. 180 degrees to each other). The third 'pase' is generated by a second, smaller transformer connected to the other feed phase in some arcane way I forget the details of. So it's 120 degrees away from the other two. Noel

4 years, 1 month

8
7
0 0

cctalk Digest, Vol 88, Issue 2

by compoobah＠gmail.com

On Sun, 2022-01-02 at 12:00 -0600, Grant wrote: > Where are you getting two /different/ phases?? --? Remember, the > different legs on residential 120/240 wiring are really the same > single > phase. > > How do you get *two* /different/ phases without access to a *third* > phase?? There are only a few places in the U.S.A. (and I'm not aware > of > anywhere else in the world) that actually have 2? power (where the ? > are > 90? out of phase with each other). I have seen some roads where the utility has 2 of the phases plus neutral going down them, not true 2-phase power, but 2 phases 120/240 degrees apart with the third phase just not present. Every time I've seen that it seems like fools economy, but I guess they figure twice the loads for only one more wire. Can't remember what it was called but I do remember seeing in some book somewhere about a "phantom 3rd leg" or something where they used 2 wires with 120/240 degree phase separation into the transformer and then the third phase "corner" was just floating and current would "return" across the other two. As it was brought up in the context of "make sure some yahoo didn't try this on your install and if they did be very careful" and was delta-only I imagine it was not that common.

4 years, 1 month

6
18
0 0

3-phase power

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Jon Elson > It should be 208V Oh, right you are. It's been a long time, and I had a distinct memory that it was less than that, but I looked, and I think that's it. The term for my flavour of 3-phase is apparently "open wye/open delta"; each leg is 240V to the others, but only two are 110V to neutral - the "hi leg" (normally colour-coded orange; normal 3-phase uses black/red/blue) is 208V. The page Jonathan Chapman sent had a good diagram of how it is wired: https://www.engineeringradio.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/3-phase-ope… When they were doing some work on the pole decades back, I asked the foreman how it worked, and he drew a diagram to show me; I had forgotten it, but seeing that, that is it. The A and C are produced off one feed phase, but the B comes from the second feed phase. Noel

4 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

11/785 on ebay (2018) - was Re: VAX 780 on eBay

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

> > > Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2022 11:39:01 -0500 > From: Chris Zach <cz at alembic.crystel.com> > > The thing that always made me wonder is where are all the 8600's. The > 8600 was apparently the best selling large Vax, outselling the 780 and > 750, so what happened to all of them? They weren't any bigger than a 780... > > C > There is an 8650 at the RICM. https://www.ricomputermuseum.org/collections-gallery/equipment/dec-vax-8650 -- Michael Thompson

4 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

RSTS V10.1 patch

by paulkoning＠comcast.net

I just added a patch to https://github.com/pkoning2/decstuff, in patches/shut.cmd, which cures a problem in RSTS V10.1 that seems to come and go with no clear pattern. The failure is a crash, sometimes a halt, during system shutdown. The cause was a write to the wrong location when removing the DCL runtime system, because of a register not being set before that action. The patch can be installed with ONLPAT; it takes effect immediately (because it patches a non-resident overlay). paul

4 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

StorageTek 9-trk Tape Drive 2925 Restauration

by info＠schroeder-edv.de

Hello, Has anybody a? STC 2925 9-trk Tape Drive. I need a BIN- or HEX-File from an EPROM on the CP--Card. It's the PROM #1 with the number 403936303. Best regards Lothar

4 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Applesauce FDC

by nospam212-cctalk＠yahoo.com

I've recently picked up a new Applesauce floppy disk controller and have been playing with attaching various different drive types and imaging different Apple II, Atari, TI and other floppy disks with it. So far I've mostly imaged unprotected disks and run them in various emulators just fine. I've since added a sync sensor to one of my older Disk II drives and started to make some flux images of protected disks. These too seem to run fine in the emulators I've tried. The documentation on the device is limited at the moment, particularly the software, and while it is slowly being updated I was wondering if anyone else here had any experience with the setup. Any hints, suggestions, best practices, "do this to get the best copy", etc, to pass along would be appreciated. For example I read you can try to recover borderline disks by having it do multiple passes of the bad sectors. I see how this is done on the Fast Image option and has helped a couple of times but don't see any way to do something similar via the Flux Image option. Does it not work/matter with those? Also I see sometimes it reports a file as bad if I do one image type but if I do the other it comes back as okay. So I tend to play with both when I can. There is a lot of options and functions in the Flux Image option that I just really don't know how it works or what to do with it so far that any info would be great. I know it can image non-Apple II disks as well and I've done a few. It works great on Apple II protected disks but wonder how to deal with protected disks from other systems? Or is that more an issue of other emulators and such not having something like the .woz format being used with the Apple II? I bought this for my Apple II collection and it was a nice surprise to learn it could work with other systems too, just looking for more info about them as well. So far I really love the device and it has been worth the long wait for new units to come back into production again. Especially as it is a new design that allows for attaching PC floppy drives now as well. I've noticed the doc on the site being updated, just hope that they can find time to update more, particularly in regards to the client software. Best, David Williams www.trailingedge.com (http://www.trailingedge.com)

4 years, 1 month

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The Prolok Saga (Was: Applesauce FDC

by marvin＠west.net

Another thing Prolok did was produce a small 3 disk set of sample disks with the Prolok protection. Somewhere around here I still have a set of those disks. As I recall, a program was included on each disk to copy the program to be copy protected to the special disk.

4 years, 1 month

2
1
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PDP-11/44 gas struts

by Flash688＠flying-disk.com

Earlier, I wrote: > 30-pound struts are not strong enough. They improved things a bit, > but it still takes a lot of effort to raise the box. I have ordered a > pair of 50-pound struts and will post an update when they arrive (next > week). The pair of 50-pound struts arrived today, and in my opinion they are just barely adequate. If I was trying for perfection, I would use the 60-pound ones, but they currently have a 6 to 7 week lead time. I can easily live with these. In summary, what I have learned about replacement gas struts for the DEC PDP-11/44 in a 40" high cabinet: 1. The specifications are: 15.24" extended, 9.77" compressed, stroke length 5.47", threaded ball studs, extension force 50 or 60 (preferred) pounds. 2. A good replacement is the McMaster-Carr 4138T55 gas strut in either the 50 or 60 pound force version. The price as of January 2022 is $20.29 each. <https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/127/1377> 3. The threaded ball ends on the 4138T55 are 5/16"-18 threads, while the original DEC ones are 5/16"-24. They are easy to swap without unscrewing them from the cabinet, and this is the method that DEC recommends and describes on pages 5-5 to 5-7 of the PDP-11/44 System User's Guide, EK-11044-UG. You simply unsnap a retaining clip (no tool needed), pop the strut off the ball end (a screwdriver might help), and reverse the process with the new strut. A piece of 4"x4" lumber does a good job of holding the box up while doing this (stick it under the rear of the cabinet when it is in the raised position). EK-11044-UG is available at: <www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/pdp11/1144/1144_UsersGuide.pdf>. (In my earlier posting I gave the wrong DEC P/N for the manual.) 4. The 4138T55 struts that McMaster-Carr sells are manufactured by Suspa Parts <https://www.suspaparts.com/>. The 30-pounds struts are their part number C16-24186, and the 50-pound struts are C16-24188. I suspect that the P/N for the 60-pound struts would be C16-24189, but cannot confirm that. Their price is $32.00 each, so it is less expensive to buy them from McMaster. 5. Suspa's design guide recommends mounting the struts with the rod end down, the opposite of how DEC mounted them. I have verified that they can easily be mounted with the rod down as long as you connect the upper (body) end first. That is the way I have them now in my system. I hope that this helps someone who might need to replace the gas struts on their PDP-11/44 system or something similar. It has been an interesting learning experience. Alan Frisbie

4 years, 1 month

1
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11/785 on ebay (2018) - was Re: VAX 780 on eBay

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Grant Taylor > From that last picture, it looks like one of the plugs is five pronged, > and looks very similar to the 120/208V 30A 3? plug in one of the > pictures about the current 780 auction. Not too surprising; the /780 and /785 are basically the same machine. (In fact, one could convert a /780 to a /785 by pulling out the /780 CPU cards and replacing them with a set of /785 cards; basically the same cards, with the 74S chips replaced with 74AS.) Noel

4 years, 1 month

5
4
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Apple I auction

by shumaker＠att.net

Another Apple I on the auction block: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/114629733_the-chaffey-college-apple-1-… Steve

4 years, 1 month

6
6
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DEC RF30 Integrated Storage Element Service Guide

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

I am looking for the service guide for the RF30 DSSI disk. It is not on Manx and not on BitSavers. Does anyone know of a copy? The part number is apparently EK-RF30D-SV. Thanks Rob

4 years, 1 month

3
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What is a BC01-R

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Chris Zach >> Anyone know what an M857 is? I guess it might be a DF11 async answer >> mode? > No, it's a single width full height M series board from the early > 1970's. Argh, digit swappping on my part. The _M587_ is in the DN87 FMPS: http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/pdp10/periph/MP00068_DN87_Universal_Comm_S… (pg. 98); it's a dual-width card, an "Async answer modem" (the DF11-BB). The BC01-R cable is in there (pg. 89), but I don't see the M857. (Web searches don't turn it up either.) Noel

4 years, 1 month

1
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What is a BC01-R

by cz＠alembic.crystel.com

Quick question: I'm going through my old cables looking for the paddle interface for the Current loop for my pdp8/L. I thought I saved one from my old pdp8/I, maybe not. Regardless, I found a M857 board with a RS232 cable on it and BC01R-25 on it. Was that for a pdp11/05 by chance? Oddly enough I also found the interface adapter that goes into my VT52 to support 20ma current loop devices. I currently use the VT52 as an RS232 console for my pdp11, but still, Wow.

4 years, 1 month

4
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VAX 780 on eBay

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Jonathan Chapman > Last one that went auction-style on eBay went for $1,178.00 When was that? Do you have any details of the machine's config? That's a pretty good deal for a 780 (IMO). Noel

4 years, 1 month

7
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What is a BC01-R

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Chris Zach > a M857 board with a RS232 cable on it and BC01R-25 on it. Anyone know what an M857 is? I guess it might be a DF11 async answer mode? I found this: https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102731577 but I think the number there is wrong; I'm not sure exactly which KL10 board is an 'MBOX Control 3' - it might be the M9537. > From:Ethan Dicks > Sounds like it was a generic cable that probably worked with several > devices. Yeah, the BC01-R was used with an M957/M970 header card (not sure what the difference between them is) in the DF11: https://gunkies.org/wiki/DF11_Communications_Line_Adapter Not sure where else. Noel

4 years, 1 month

2
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VAX 780 on eBay

by guykd＠optusnet.com.au

At 07:50 PM 1/01/2022 +0000, you wrote: >> >True. But if you're trying to get > $5000 for something, it doesn't seem unreasonable to suggest that investing a bit in getting an extension cord run to the location of the machine would be a good idea. The absence of that effort makes me wonder if the owner knows what the outcome of such a test would be and doesn't want to have to report it. >> > >But what would that accomplish? I think testing something like this requires a lot more effort than plugging it in and hitting the circuit breaker. To test this to see if some ODT comes up probably requires quite a lot of effort (locate a terminal/pc, wire it up, figure out where to plug it into the 780, etc. If this guy is a bulk dealer I would be surprised if he has the knowledge to do anything more than a power test which, again, would not be very useful and could even be detrimental. Exactly. The machine has a 3-phase 208/240V plug, they don't have such an outlet. Their efforts stop right there. But you're all focussed on that, and missing another important detail. The machine has a liquid cooling system. Some of the hoses look like they are Tygon, in the age-decayed brittle stage. Touch them and they crumble away. Running the machine without cooling would utterly wreck it. Even if they solved the mains power problem, they would be very unwise to actually power it up. The 'installation and configuration' manual for this machine would be huge. They don't have it. Plus, it's a mainframe. Not even any blinkenlights. Without setting it up as a complete system with everything interconnected properly, how would you even know it was running correctly? Plus you can safely assume at least some of the system unit interconnect cables are missing. Potentially weeks, even months of restoration work for a buyer, before even daring to apply power. Then if there's anything wrong in the electronics, good luck diagnosing and getting spare parts. Considering the uncertainties plus high transport, restoration, operating and manhour costs, who'd buy it? A museum perhaps? Or someone wanting a 'static display object' never intending to run it. Guy

4 years, 1 month

4
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PDP-11/44 gas struts

by Flash688＠flying-disk.com

Chris Zach <cz at alembic.crystel.com> wrote: > Jesus. How much does the 11/44 chassis weigh? > > On 12/30/2021 3:39 PM, Alan Frisbie via cctalk wrote: > >> 2. 30-pound struts are not strong enough.? They improved things a bit, >> but it still takes a lot of effort to raise the box.? I have ordered a >> pair of 50-pound struts and will post an update when they arrive (next >> week). The box itself weighs about 75 pounds, plus the weight of the cards. Remember, however, that the struts are not doing a simple lift of the box. The box is acting as a lever. The box is 24" long, and the struts are only about 5" from the pivot. Also, the struts are not doing a straight lift from directly below their attachment to the box, but at a point about 11" forward from where they are attached to the box. All of this greatly magnifies the force required to tilt the box up. Anyone care to do the math on this? Alan Frisbie

4 years, 2 months

1
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Testing a H744 Regulator on The Bench

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

Hello All, Following a discussion on resurrecting a PDP 11/45 I have started looking at the regulator bricks in the PSU. I have started with a H744. I reformed the three big capacitors, although they seemed to be fine as they charged up >from my DC bench PSU and then had zero leakage so I didn't reform them for very long. I then moved on to powering the whole unit from my DC bench PSU and it seemed to run fine. I am using a panel mount 1R resistor, so drawing 5A of the rated 25A. It drew just under 2A from the PSU which was set at 20V. I didn't run it for very long as I wasn't sure how hot to allow the load to get. Is there any sense in measuring ripple when powering this from DC? There does seem to be some ripple: https://rjarratt.files.wordpress.com/2021/12/h744-ripple.png hard to say if that is OK? Also, the indicator light does not work (as expected). I have seen the suggestion to replace it with a CM7381. It looks like these can be sourced <https://www.mouser.co.uk/ProductDetail/?qs=N8%2Bk0S5zvCZ7dMEMH2XU9Q%3D%3D> with relative ease, but I wondered if there might be a better LED-based longer term solution? I was also advised that OL-6003BP is good for the 15V regulators, but these seem to be hard to find, any suggestions there? Thanks Rob

4 years, 2 months

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PDP-11/44 gas struts

by Flash688＠flying-disk.com

Mark J. Blair <nf6x at nf6x.net> wrote: > When I need gas struts and cannot identify a source for exact original > replacements, I usually look at McMaster-Carr first: > https://www.mcmaster.com/gas-struts/ Thanks for the McMaster-Carr suggestion, I should have thought of that. I removed the gas struts from my PDP-11/44 and found the following markings: Gas Spring Corp. Colmar, PA 1216166-0-0 22/81/3 (the "1" might be an "I") I measured them, and found a compressed length of about 9.8" and an extended length of 15.25". The threaded studs are 5/16"-24. I can't find the company, and Google turns up nothing with either of the number strings. Nor do the numbers seem to indicate what the specifications might be. Perhaps someone with better Google skills than I have might find something. It is, however, an almost perfect match for McMaster-Carr P/N 4138T55. The big unknown is the extension force. After cleaning and oiling them, one of the bad ones measures about 12 pounds, and the other is about 23 pounds. The 4138T55 is available in 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, and 120 pounds. I made a wild random guess and ordered two of the 30 pound struts, which should be delivered Wednesday (12/29/2021). The 40 pound ones have a seven week lead time, and a pair of 50 pound ones seem way too high. When they arrive, I'll let you know how well they work. Worst case, I will have wasted $20.29 each, plus shipping, and have to wait seven weeks for the 40 pound units, or go whole hog and try the 50 pound ones. Thanks for the help and suggestions. Alan Frisbie

4 years, 2 months

2
2
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New mailadress

by pontus＠Update.UU.SE

Hi I've been using this adress for many years: "pontus at update.uu.se". But the club is now at risk of loosing the domain name. I'm therefore moving over to "pontus at dfupdate.se" Sorry if this is of topic but I have made many acquaintances on this list that might not find out otherwise. Regards, Pontus.

4 years, 2 months

2
1
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New mailadress

by pontus＠Update.UU.SE

Hi I've been using this adress for many years: "pontus at update.uu.se". But the club is now at risk of loosing the domain name. I'm therefore moving over to "pontus at dfupdate.se" Sorry if this is of topic but I have made many acquaintances on this list that might not find out otherwise. Regards, Pontus.

4 years, 2 months

3
2
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86-DOS and Seattle Computer Products

by s101885＠outlook.com

Hi ccTalk! My name is Ryan and I may have been in contact with a few of you already (Rich, most notably) about this topic. I am on a pretty wide search of any versions of 86-DOS, or any information regarding it. As of now, I have 7 copies of 86-DOS. They cover a disappointing range of versions ? from 1.00 to 1.14. There are a lot of duplicates. Versions prior to 1.00 were sold ? for example, I know of 2 collectors with versions in the 0.3x range, but both are unable to image it due to technical limitations. I?ve already contacted quite a few people. Most interestingly are 5 former Seattle Computer Products employees, as well as 2 family members of SCP owner Rod Brock. Tim Paterson, the creator of 86-DOS, didn?t have a copy, nor its source code. Pat Opalka, who contributed a bug fix, is in possession of a few copies, though none are prior to 1.00 (he may or may not be able to image them ? if he does, I?ll send another message here). 3 other employees didn?t have any documents from the time, nor any copies of the software. The 2 family members of Rod Brock don?t have any copies, but have relevant documents and recordings that they are in the process of sending over. So, if you have any copies of 86-DOS, even if you don?t want to share or its version is 1.00 or above, please send an e-mail back. I can send over imaging instructions. It was sold with the following computers: - Seattle Computer Products 8086 System - Seattle Computer Products Gazelle - Lomas Data Products LDP88 - Lomas Data Products LDP1 - Lomas Data Products LDP2 There are 8? copies for Tarbell and Cromemco floppy disk controllers, as well as 5.25? copies for NorthStar disk controllers. I will also take other relevant things such as people to contact, manuals, recollections of versions you may have had, etc. Thank you all for your time! - Ryan Ottignon

4 years, 2 months

2
1
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tamayatech let down

by jacob.ritorto＠gmail.com

I think I should pass on my experience as a warning to others. I googled around for a particular PDP-11 board I needed and tamayatech.com was a hit, with "buy now" option and condition: refurbished. Seemed convincing and the price was in the sane ballpark. So I bought it, paid through their ecommerce routine, etc. Sent a mail thanking them and asking if it would be despatched soon as I had work time off in the coming week.. No reply. Waited a week and telephoned their phone number from the purchase confirmation email. No answer. Left message. Several (well over ten) repeated email and phone contact attempts through the last months (this began early November) to no avail. There has been absolutely no response. So my conclusion: it looks as though they took my credit card and never shipped it, then just ignored me. I hope the fellow's okay but feel quite thoroughly ripped off. So 'buyer' beware. Interestingly their SEO is rather well maintained and punching DEC part numbers into Google, etc. often results in a hit to their site. So they're at least keeping that part of the business updated. Anybody else with similar experience? Any way to rectify the situation? thx jake

4 years, 2 months

13
15
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Chuck Shimada passed away

by sieler＠allegro.com

Long-time HP3000 programmer/user/evangelist, and friend, Chuck Shimada passed away yesterday, 12/26. Many list members will have seen Chuck at Interex and SCRUG conventions, running the tech side, or as part of the convention staff. He was a major force in the creation of the early "swap tapes" for contributed software. The science fiction fans on the list may have also seen him running tech at many science fiction conventions. >From a facebook post by Michael Donohue: I am very saddened to report that Chuck Shimada passed away this morning, Dec 26, 2021. He had been doing okay but was not feeling great Dec 24/25. I spoke to him Dec 24 and we had a nice conversation. He had some episode in his sleep, the nurse found him this morning alive but unresponsive with weak pulse and he passed away a few hours later. So he likely did pass without conscious discomfort. //

4 years, 2 months

1
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"Voltmitten": an amateur overdesigns a DC voltage monitor

by stepleton＠gmail.com

Hi cctalk, Ever since CuriousMarc put out his YouTube horror film last April about a killer HP 9825T power supply <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-eN93L6yX8&list=PL-_93BVApb58Hy846J52DT8Fe…>, I've been worrying about how my own comparably-aged systems might avoid a similar fate, at least until I have the wherewithal to do a Jerry Walker <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGkakWu37P6CuzIZbTlCmvg>-esque high-quality PSU refurbishment. In the end, borrowing a tactic from Commodore fans, I made a circuit that sits between a DC power supply and a load and cuts off the power if it senses an overvoltage or an undervoltage condition. I'm happy to share it with you now, with the usual anxiety amateurs feel when an audience includes some professionals. I hope at least some elements of the design can be useful! Here it is: https://github.com/stepleton/voltmitten/ (There are two reasons for the name "Voltmitten". One is that the gizmo is shaped a bit like a hand. The other is to remind you that it wasn't really designed by the most serious practitioner.) You can see my cute mock video advert for Voltmitten here: https://youtu.be/hSaAHBhTh_A I hope it's an adequate homage to Marc's inspiring videos. Most of the effort here went into a brief gag view of a carefully rotoscoped <https://twitter.com/tstepleton/status/1475093211983097860> Bob Stern aka "Mr. Fancy Pants", which may not have been the best use of time but is at least a result I can feel proud of :-) With best wishes for a bright 2022, --Tom

4 years, 2 months

1
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Stage 2 Macroprocessor

by peveep＠gmail.com

Guys, Has anyone out there in the big wide world there got a version of the Stage 2 Macroprocessor than is ready to run on a Windows PC? I don't mean the build-it-yourself version. Refer to https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234809181_The_mobile_programming_s… . Many thanks, peter vp

4 years, 2 months

2
1
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PDP-11/44 gas struts

by Flash688＠flying-disk.com

I have a PDP-11/44 system in the DEC 41" high cabinet. It is designed to be tilted up for service, aided and supported by two gas struts, one on each side. Unfortunately, after all these years, the struts have failed and do not provide any assistance. That box is heavy! Does anyone know where I can get replacement gas struts? Thanks, Alan Frisbie

4 years, 2 months

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HP / Agilent 3065 In-Circuit Test System -

by jesse＠cypress-tech.com

Does anyone on this list know of a company or individual that does work (maintenance or anything) on these older 3065 test systems. The internal brain and drives are all HP 1000 stuff. A900 control unit and HP-IB drives. I have a user that needs help installing a drive and software on one. If anyone knows of anyone that can assist, let me know and I'll forward the info Thanks Jesse / Cypress Technology Inc

4 years, 2 months

1
0
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DEC RF30 Integrated Storage Element Service Guide

by Flash688＠flying-disk.com

Rob Jarratt <robert.jarratt at ntlworld.com> wrote: > I am looking for the service guide for the RF30 DSSI disk. It is not on Manx > and not on BitSavers. Does anyone know of a copy? The part number is > apparently EK-RF30D-SV. If anyone finds one, I would greatly appreciate a copy also. Thanks, Alan Frisbie

4 years, 2 months

1
0
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WTB IBM Keyboard

by trash80＠internode.on.net

Hi folks - I'm looking for a keyboard for my IBM 3197 Model D Twinax terminal. (My location - Victoria Australia) Thank you!! Kevin Parker

4 years, 2 months

2
1
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Samsung Ubigate iBG-1000 router

by spectre＠floodgap.com

Well, DSL Extreme is getting out of the T1 business, leaving me high and dry (they've really gone to hell since GTT bought them out) since they don't offer a static IP option on any of their lines anymore. I'll be working around that problem for the next couple months while we move ... Anyway, I have a spare Ubigate iBG-1000 T1 router here set up by the tech, but no password to access it. It appears to be an embedded PowerPC system, around 603 level. I have some possible reset instructions and can access its serial console, but was wondering if anyone out there has the administration manual for it. It might be fun to repurpose it. -- ------------------------------------ personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckaiser at floodgap.com -- PowerPC inside! ------------------------------------------------------------

4 years, 2 months

1
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TU56 DECtape takeup reel needed

by Flash688＠flying-disk.com

I just unpacked the rack with my TU56 DECtape drive and discovered that the movers managed to break the takeup reels. This, despite many layers of foam padding, stretch film, and warning signs. On the other hand, this was the only item that suffered any damage at all. Not too bad for three moving van loads! Can anyone help me with an empty DECtape reel or two? Thanks, Alan Frisbie

4 years, 2 months

8
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Happy DEC-20 Day!

by cc＠alderson.users.panix.com

...and a joyful Winter Solstice Festivalof your choosing to you all! Rich

4 years, 2 months

1
0
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VAX/VMS 4.0 source listings scans

by compoobah＠gmail.com

On Wed, 2021-12-15 at 12:00 -0600, cctalk-request at classiccmp.org wrote: > Not sure who needs to know. > Perhaps they are useful for emulation crash analysis, or for > educational > purposes. > You also see the highly optimizing BLISS32 compiler at work. First thing that popped into my mind was "fix the huge DCL security hole finally for VAX." I don't think it has been done yet. Be a lot of reading after OCR though, too bad it wasn't text files. Also I have no clue how to program BLISS32 or even MACRO-32, so mostly a pipe dream.

4 years, 2 months

1
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SMC FD37C65B and revision C Errata sheets?

by holm＠freibergnet.de

Hi all, the german Engeneer Tillman Reh has build an Zilog Z280 SBC card with Eurocard Bus connector: http://oldcomputers.dyndns.org/public/pub/rechner/zilog/z280/index.html The Software is open and Tillman allows the PCB to be reproduced from his original Gerber files on request. Unfortunately some parts for those cards are almost unobtanium in the meantime, the Zigzag DRAMs, the COM8117 Uart, the LT1134 Driver chip and also the SMC FD37C65CLJP FDC are difficult to source. I have two such cards and I got all the necessary parts, but I have friends that are also interested in such a card to run CP/M 3 or UZI280 on that Z280 (The Z800!) 16 Bit CPU. There are many other FDCs that should be compatible, the WD37C65 for example. This was used in many PC related Floppy controllers..but they are in fact not compatible. The use of the SMC37C65CLJ P seems to be necesary for this board, for reasons that are unclear. While copying data to the disc there happens a timeout on the earlier FDC varaints, I have read somewhere that reading the status register gives unexpected results, they have tried to fix this already in the 90ies by inserting some delays, w/o success. Has someone here Errata Sheets for those SMC FD37C65B (not working) and FDC37C65C (working) variants of that FDC Chip, so that one can see what they may have changed between the releases? Here are some part of the BIOS: ; I/O-Page mu~ bereits auf BOARDP gesetzt sein. Ver{ndert ABHL. FdcCom:: if loader ld hl,CList else ld hl,(CmdAdr) ; Zeiger auf Befehlsliste endif FdcCo1::in a,(FdcSta) ; (Einsprung mit Zeiger in HL) rla jr nc,FdcCo1 ; warten bis FDC-RQM (Request for Master) rla jr c,FdcErr ; bei falscher Datenrichtung: DIO-Error nop nop nop ld a,(hl) out (FdcDat),a ; Befehls/Datenbyte an FDC ausgeben inc hl ; Zeiger auf naechstes Byte djnz FdcCo1 ; alle Befehlsbytes ausgeben ret ; DIO-Error (Datenrichtungsfehler im FDC) : Stoppen des Systems ;*** evtl. Fehler korrigieren und weiterarbeiten? ; (Ist Fehler ueberhaupt korrigierbar?) FdcErr: ld hl,DioMsg call PMsg ; "DIO-Error" ausgeben di halt ; sicherheitshalber nicht weiter arbeiten It seems that the FDC Status register requests a data transfer in the wrong direction on the B-Release Chips... It is this "DIO-Error" that happens after a few write operations, but formating the disk is possible. Kind Regards, Holm -- Technik Service u. Handel Tiffe, www.tsht.de, Holm Tiffe, Goethestrasse 15, 09569 Oederan, USt-Id: DE253710583 info at tsht.de Fax +49 37292 709779 Tel +49 37292 709778 Mobil: 0172 8790 741

4 years, 2 months

1
0
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OT: Traveling to Zurich in February

by billdegnan＠gmail.com

I will be in Switzerland/Germany near Davos Feb 5-15 and I was curious what kinds of museums and sights were worth planning to see during this time of the year in that area? Is there an orchestra concert show season there? Any recommendations for resources for travelers that are not overly commercial, in English, would be appreciated. On the inside of an old painting of my great great great grandfather from around 1830 was a piece of paper with a note written by his granddaughter many years later about someone called "Count von Burlowe" (spelling?) about a partnership to found or make commercial a health resort called "Bad Krautzma", but I believe she was way off spelling-wise. It's written in 19th century US cursive, hard to read. So I am interested in learning a bit about my heritage too. Thanks BIll Degnan Landenberg, PA USA

4 years, 2 months

8
11
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HP 1000 A900 ("Magic") Questions

by jmdzied＠verizon.net

Are you still in need of any HP1000 RTE equipment? I have a lot of boards, chassis?, tape drives, etc. If not and if you know of someone who would be interested in this equipment please let me know?Kind Regards?Joe Sent from my iPhone

4 years, 2 months

3
2
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FS: HP 3000s (928LX) for sale in Texas

by sieler＠allegro.com

Since they're vintage... A friend is selling two HP 3000/928LX computers. I don't know what he wants for them. For people interested in the HP 3000, this would be a nice buy. Size-wise, they're between a PC and a 2-drawer file cabinet in size. They'll be network capable (may require a transceiver, but likely comes with, and they're generally about $10 otherwise). The following describes one, but there are two... ---- 1. HPe3000 928LX. 2. 128mb main memory. 3. (2) 4gb internal disk drives. 4. DDS-2 internal tape drive.(two in one system and one in the other) 5. MPE/iX 7.5 Operating System with 8 user license. 6. System Consoles with keyboards. 7. SE SCSI Interface Card 8. External Disk drive mini cabinet with SCSI drives Bonus: Backup and systems DDS tapes, Manuals, extra 4gb SCSI disks, and Misc. Documentation Lots of software. Both systems were operating when shut down recently. Buy as is with no guarantee.. Make an offer. Buyer to arrange packing and shipping. Location: At my home office in Carrollton, TX Contact Paul Edwards, pedwards at gte.net

4 years, 2 months

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Two power supplies

by van.snyder＠sbcglobal.net

I have two power supplies that I no longer need. 1. Power One model SPM5A2M6G1K: 115 VAC 30 A or 230 VAC 15 A 50-60 Hz input, outputs 48 V 5 A, 5 V 10 A, 2 x 12 V 10 A, 5 V 150 A. ? ? 13" x 5" x 8 ", 17 lb 2. Lambda LM 124 FM lab supply: 115 VAC 50-60 Hz input, outputs 0-40 V, 0-1.5 A ? ? 17" x 4" x 5", 13 lb Yours if you send me a PDF of a shipping label. I can send photos (but they're too big to fit in classiccmp.org mailings). Local pickup OK. Van Snyder La Crescenta, CA

4 years, 2 months

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OT, assembly houses in the US

by emu＠e-bbes.com

Hi all, where do you guys go for assembly of your boards, when you replace old stuff? Not too many places like THT anymore, and getting ridiculously expensive lately. Any recommendations?

4 years, 2 months

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VAX/VMS 4.0 source listings scans

by ioerg.hoppe＠gmail.com

Full micro fiche scans of VAX/VMS 4.0/4.1 source listings are now published at http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/vax/microfiche/vms-source-listings/AH-BT13… The update to V4.1 is at http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/vax/microfiche/vms-source-listings/AH-BT13… Not sure who needs to know. Perhaps they are useful for emulation crash analysis, or for educational purposes. You also see the highly optimizing BLISS32 compiler at work. regards, Joerg

4 years, 2 months

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Wanted: IBM PC compatible 8 or 16 bit Arcnet cards

by new_castle_j＠yahoo.com

I'll be following your progress with interest, I just installed Coax into the walls of my computer playhouse so I can ARCNet with my S-100 system. I have an ARCNet packet sniffer that can be loaned out if you would find it helpful. - Jonathan On Sunday, December 12, 2021, 11:00:03 AM MST, <cctalk-request at classiccmp.org> wrote: 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. Cheap PDP-8 boards on eBait (Noel Chiappa) ? 2. ISO: DEC PDP-8 Data Multiplexer (DM01, etc.) (Josh Dersch) ? 3. Re: Cheap PDP-8 boards on eBait (Ethan Dicks) ? 4. Wanted: IBM PC compatible 8 or 16 bit Arcnet cards ? ? ? (Michael Brutman) ? 5. Re: Wanted: IBM PC compatible 8 or 16 bit Arcnet cards (ED SHARPE) ? 6. Re: Wanted: IBM PC compatible 8 or 16 bit Arcnet cards ? ? ? (devin davison) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2021 13:21:25 -0500 (EST) From: jnc at mercury.lcs.mit.edu (Noel Chiappa) To: cctalk at classiccmp.org Cc: jnc at mercury.lcs.mit.edu Subject: Cheap PDP-8 boards on eBait Message-ID: <20211211182125.6B73B18C077 at mercury.lcs.mit.edu> This guy: ? https://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_ssn=jariadkin-0&_sop=10 has a couple of PDP-8 boards for sale that at the moment are going _really_ cheap. ? ? Noel ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2021 10:30:43 -0800 From: Josh Dersch <derschjo at gmail.com> To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" ??? <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: ISO: DEC PDP-8 Data Multiplexer (DM01, etc.) Message-ID: ??? <CADBZjLaOMYSonVTW+3_=_VFyMHsGwvPuJ_dbUW7rZ3XULBiEMQ at mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Hey all -- Got the TC01 working the other night, after a couple weeks of debugging (*).? I'd like to be able to have both it and the RF08 that I'm working on connected to the 8/I and running at the same time, so I'm looking for a DM01 Data Multiplexer.? If anyone has any leads, do let me know. Thanks as always, - Josh (*) Total TC01 fault count (so far): - Bad transistor in TU55 motor brake control (W040) - Bad jumper solder joints in TU55 (W990) - Timing of UTS and U+M one-shots (R303) way out of adjustment (U+M one-shot was at 2 seconds or so...) - Bad tape data relay (G851) - Bad IOT decoder transistor (W103) - Missing Diode (W113) and weak diode in Write enable selection logic - Timing of write clock way, way out of adjustment (90Khz vs. 125Khz expected.) - 24 dead maintenance panel bulbs - 2 dead TU55 bulbs (yet to be replaced) ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2021 16:31:45 -0500 From: Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks at gmail.com> To: Noel Chiappa <jnc at mercury.lcs.mit.edu>,? "General Discussion: ??? On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: Re: Cheap PDP-8 boards on eBait Message-ID: ??? <CAALmimkQcWu67RQZknQuy11akoCPOihoDtAeOOPuQX9vzHjitw at mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" On Sat, Dec 11, 2021 at 1:21 PM Noel Chiappa via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote: > This guy: > >? https://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_ssn=jariadkin-0&_sop=10 > > has a couple of PDP-8 boards for sale that at the moment are going _really_ cheap. Tap handles and DEC boards?? Odd mix. I took a risk and bid.? I have an -8/e and -8/m to fix. Thanks! -ethan ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2021 20:00:57 -0800 From: Michael Brutman <mbbrutman at brutman.com> To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" ??? <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: Wanted: IBM PC compatible 8 or 16 bit Arcnet cards Message-ID: ??? <CA+bZ4SBQWkvsqM79EUc8QNmEZFKjgEyvp5x69_y5=vs8rAt5Fg at mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" I'm using debug logs to try to debug flow control issues when using mTCP and a packet driver that presents itself as Ethernet but actually uses ARCNET.? I've gotten to the point where I just want to have an Arcnet in the house.? Especially since I might just modify mTCP to work with Arcnet packet drivers and cards directly. Before I get too serious with eBay, does anybody want to rehome some Arcnet hardware? -Mike ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Sun, 12 Dec 2021 04:19:06 +0000 (UTC) From: ED SHARPE <couryhouse at aol.com> To: cctalk at classiccmp.org, cctalk at classiccmp.org Subject: Re: Wanted: IBM PC compatible 8 or 16 bit Arcnet cards Message-ID: <1961633108.407863.1639282746182 at mail.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 I remember? you? could? get? arcnet? ?for? HP? 150? also? ?Ed#? In a message dated 12/11/2021 9:01:15 PM US Mountain Standard Time, cctalk at classiccmp.org writes:? I'm using debug logs to try to debug flow control issues when using mTCPand a packet driver that presents itself as Ethernet but actually usesARCNET.? I've gotten to the point where I just want to have an Arcnet inthe house.? Especially since I might just modify mTCP to work with Arcnetpacket drivers and cards directly.?Before I get too serious with eBay, does anybody want to rehome some Arcnethardware???-Mike ------------------------------ Message: 6 Date: Sun, 12 Dec 2021 05:05:28 -0500 From: devin davison <lyokoboy0 at gmail.com> To: Michael Brutman <mbbrutman at brutman.com>,? "General Discussion: ??? On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: Re: Wanted: IBM PC compatible 8 or 16 bit Arcnet cards Message-ID: ??? <CAOpB=UMtSmRP8udanC31qUArs8V=djHg5bF9yWF-ZuvAW=yC1Q at mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Greetings, I had quite a few arcnet cards laying around a while back, I had picked up a ton of them from the back storage of a datacenter that was clearing out surplus equipment. I am uncertain of how many I still have in storage. How many do you need? If you are able to wait a couple days, I can check how many I have remaining in storage, and I can ship them to you once found. --Devin D. On Sat, Dec 11, 2021 at 11:01 PM Michael Brutman via cctalk < cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote: > I'm using debug logs to try to debug flow control issues when using mTCP > and a packet driver that presents itself as Ethernet but actually uses > ARCNET.? I've gotten to the point where I just want to have an Arcnet in > the house.? Especially since I might just modify mTCP to work with Arcnet > packet drivers and cards directly. > > Before I get too serious with eBay, does anybody want to rehome some Arcnet > hardware? > > > -Mike > End of cctalk Digest, Vol 87, Issue 12 **************************************

4 years, 2 months

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Comparing IBM PC and IBM Displaywriter

by mooreericnyc＠gmail.com

https://youtu.be/zqsd2HU0ZuY Just uploaded this video, thought some of you guys might enjoy :) -Eric

4 years, 2 months

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Content of www.blacksheepnetworks.com

by rumi_ml＠rtfm.hu

Hello, This site used to have a lot of very useful and rare information on Tru64 troubleshooting and Google still has the links to the articles but the content itself is inaccessible: http://www.blacksheepnetworks.com/security/resources/tru64/ Has anyone by any chance archived the content of this site while it was still alive? archive.org did not, unfortunately. Thank you! Kind regards, Sab

4 years, 2 months

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Cheap PDP-8 boards on eBait

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

This guy: https://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_ssn=jariadkin-0&_sop=10 has a couple of PDP-8 boards for sale that at the moment are going _really_ cheap. Noel

4 years, 2 months

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What is this massive binder of computer minutes1955 to 1964. I did cel phone or of text below we have

by couryhouse＠aol.com

May be some errors In ocr..The Second Meeting of the Committee to Study Developments in Electronic Computing Machines and Their Application, September 22, 1955 The second meeting of the Committee was held on Sept ember 22, 1955, at 2 P.M. in the Board room at the Dominion Bureau of Statistics.Messrs. J.T. Marshall (Chairman);B.G. Ballard; H. Freedman; C.J. Gardner; R.W. James ; N. Keyfitz; J.A. Kidd; E.0. Landry; C. Scott; and R. Ziola (Secretary ) Present were: The Chairman pointed out that minutesof the first meeting of this Committee had been distribut ed to all membersand called for comments and correctionsS. were adopted 8s presented The minut es The Chairman referred to the Treasury Board letter T.B.486770 which gave approval to the setting up of this Committee and expressed appreciation to Messrs. E.0. Landry and D.. atters for their assistance in connection with the Committee's submission e rea.suryboard. During the sumer months officials representing three manufacturers of electronic eqipment met with members of the Commit tee to discuss some aspects of the equipment afactured. These included: 2. orfieials from Burroughs who explained the operating princ iples of the B.101 at a meeting held at the Dominion Bureau of Statistics on June 22, 1955. 2. Officials of .C.A. who explained the operating principles of BIZMAC at a eeting beld at the Jackson Building on July 7, 1955. S.0fficials from IEM ho presented a short movie on "Direct line to decisions ", dealing with the type 650 and 700 series of machinesat a meeting held at the C.h.?. Hess on August 12, 1955. n referring to letters received since the first meeting,the Chairman pointed u that since they dealt with same of the topics includedon the agenda it might be CaairabLeto considerthen when the se topics were under discus sion.? Sent from the all new AOL app for Android

4 years, 2 months

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Wanted: IBM PC compatible 8 or 16 bit Arcnet cards

by mbbrutman＠brutman.com

I'm using debug logs to try to debug flow control issues when using mTCP and a packet driver that presents itself as Ethernet but actually uses ARCNET. I've gotten to the point where I just want to have an Arcnet in the house. Especially since I might just modify mTCP to work with Arcnet packet drivers and cards directly. Before I get too serious with eBay, does anybody want to rehome some Arcnet hardware? -Mike

4 years, 2 months

5
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ISO: DEC PDP-8 Data Multiplexer (DM01, etc.)

by derschjo＠gmail.com

Hey all -- Got the TC01 working the other night, after a couple weeks of debugging (*). I'd like to be able to have both it and the RF08 that I'm working on connected to the 8/I and running at the same time, so I'm looking for a DM01 Data Multiplexer. If anyone has any leads, do let me know. Thanks as always, - Josh (*) Total TC01 fault count (so far): - Bad transistor in TU55 motor brake control (W040) - Bad jumper solder joints in TU55 (W990) - Timing of UTS and U+M one-shots (R303) way out of adjustment (U+M one-shot was at 2 seconds or so...) - Bad tape data relay (G851) - Bad IOT decoder transistor (W103) - Missing Diode (W113) and weak diode in Write enable selection logic - Timing of write clock way, way out of adjustment (90Khz vs. 125Khz expected.) - 24 dead maintenance panel bulbs - 2 dead TU55 bulbs (yet to be replaced)

4 years, 2 months

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NI PCI-GPIB+ Analyzer boards on ebay

by guykd＠optusnet.com.au

About the software: I bought a couple of that seller's cards; one each of 284088568161 & 284088570014. Asked him about the software. Here's his reply. ======== Regarding your question about the Analyzer software, if I recall correctly it comes bundled in the "NI-488.2" software package. I believe the version in my screenshot in the eBay listing was v17.6 for Win7 SP1 x86, but it should still be fully supported in the newest v21.0 package for x86 or x64 systems. https://www.ni.com/en-us/support/downloads/drivers/download.ni-488-2.html LabVIEW version compatibility matrix: https://www.ni.com/en-us/support/documentation/compatibility/17/ni-488-2-an… ======== All new to me. Now to hunt manuals for the cards. Guy At 12:33 PM 9/12/2021 -0800, you wrote: >On Wed, Dec 8, 2021 at 10:50 PM Rodney Brown via cctalk ><cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote: >> >> NI National Instruments PCI-GPIB+ Analyzer PCI IEEE488.2 Interface Card >> >> While a photo shows the Windows NI Analyzer software in use, the item >> doesn't mention it. >> >> If NI will provide the analyzer software, these could be used to capture >> HP-IB traffic to characterize the attached devices, timings etc. >> > >Has anyone recently installed and used the NI GPIB Analyzer software? >Is that something that must be obtained and installed separately, or >is it included as an optional component of the standard NI-488.2 >download and installation? > >I suppose I could try downloading and installing the 1.19 GB current >21.0.0 version of the NI-488.2 software to take a look. The current >21.0.0 version of NI-VISA is another 1.11 GB download. >

4 years, 2 months

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RC11 controller (Was: Reproduction DEC 144-lamp indicator panels)

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Steven Malikoff > Was there ever an indicator panel for the RC11? .. I have a set of RC11 > modules .. No backplane though. I've not found any docs for these, I suppose > they're probably on bitsavers and have overlooked them. Looking at the manual and engineering drawings (at BitSavers, as you guessed), no lights. I've added links to those to the CHWiki RC11 page: https://gunkies.org/wiki/RC11_disk_controller The engineering drawings have the wirelist for the backplane, so it would be possible to wire a new one. (I'm in the process of doing that for my KE11-A.) Not sure it would be much use without an RS64 drive, though. Noel

4 years, 2 months

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Reproduction DEC 144-lamp indicator panels

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Tony Duell > I have _two_. But alas nothing to connect them to. Well, there are still a good flock of machines with IBM channels around, but _you_ don't have one (I can't blame you :-). I wonder if any of the people with IBM channel machines have any need to connect to an -11? Speaking of extant dinosaurs, I wonder if any RF11's still exist? Noel

4 years, 2 months

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Siemens T100 Terminal with Paper Tape - Available

by mmcgraw74＠gmail.com

I have this terminal in my garage - sitting on its custom stand. I purchased it years ago, but don't have a use for it. Here is my photo of it: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SV4-Xx7XLHIoA898ZPRC74wZv2e8YsVK/view?usp=… I'm near Houston Texas. It is too big and heavy to ship. Monty McGraw

4 years, 2 months

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Overland T490 cartridge tape drive and autoloader

by cctalk＠beyondthepale.ie

Many years ago, a friend gave me an Overland T490 tape drive which has some kind of autoloader attached which takes ten tapes. I was told it came out of a Tandem system. The tapes are square cartridges similar but different to a DEC TK50. I can't find very much information about the drive on the web but there are some hints that it might be compatible with an IBM 3480. It powers up nicely and the fan works and after a short pause, a green LED illuminates. There are only two buttons on the front, "unload" and "format". There are two DD50 connectors on the back. One had a terminator plugged into it labelled "SCSI differential". The other had a ridiculously long cable with DD50 plugs on it connected, lending further credence that this is a differential (pre-LVD I expect) SCSI device. I would like to get this drive working with my Alpha or VAX VMS systems but I have never had any luck getting them to talk to it. Recently, I tried a using a DD50-HD68 cable I found somewhere to connect it to a differential SCSI card in my Alphaserver 800 but I could not get VMS to see the drive. Not knowing what SCSI id the drive is likely to be using makes it hard to know where to start looking for it. There are no switches on the outside of the drive which could be used to set the SCSI id so I opened it up to see if I could find any hints inside. I didn't see anything that looked like it could be used to set the SCSI id inside either. What I did find is that the interface board had a connector labelled "SCSI differential" which had two short lengths of ribbon cables plugged into it leading to the two DD50 connectors on the rear panel and another connector labelled "SCSI single ended" with nothing attached. There were also two ten way jumper packs which were labelled "DI" and "SE" on each side. So, not having any luck with differential so far, I tried moving the two jumper packs from "DI" to "SE" and moving the ribbon cable to the "SCSI single ended" socket. I used a short, known good DD50-DD50 SCSI cable to connect the drive to my VAX 4000-100A and replaced the differential terminator with a known good single-ended terminator. VMS didn't see the drive. VMS has a utility called scsi_info which can be used to send a SCSI inquiry command and read mode pages etc. Trying it against each unused SCSI id results in "device timeout" every time. The system disk is on the same SCSI bus before the tape drive and a SCSI scanner can be connected after it on the bus. Both devices work fine so the SCSI bus cabling and termination is in good shape on both sides of the tape drive. I've tried moving the system disk SCSI id from 0 to 1, changing the initiator SCSI id from 6 to 7 and replacing the scanner with a terminator in case there is any sort of SCSI id conflict but scsi_info still doesn't show up anything that could be the tape drive. Does anyone have any information about this drive, particularly whether it should behave like a standard SCSI tape drive and what SCSI id and/or lun it is expected to use or if there is some trick required to get it to start talking? Maybe it doesn't like SCSI inquiry commands? Extra bonus points awarded for details on how to control the autoloader. Maybe I did some damage to it when I was trying to get it to work when I first got it? Regards, Peter Coghlan.

4 years, 2 months

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Reproduction DEC 144-lamp indicator panels

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Jay Jaeger > Also, if someone (else, presumably) does up a replica of the indicator > panel board (perhaps with the option to use LEDs, with some resistor > packs that could be bypassed for lamps Two points. First,there's the question 'are you trying to produce something that just _looks_ alike, or do you want something that's electrically compatible (i.e. can be swapped in in place of an original'? If the latter, it might be going to take a little work; it might not be just 'wire up some LEDs and go'. If you look at the indicator panel prints (pg. 190 of the RF11 prints), the incoming lines are tied to the base of a transistor; its emitter is tied to ground, and the light bulb is wired between the collector and +6.5V. This means, I think (I'm basicaly a software guy :-), that one turns the bulb on by putting a voltage on the input, which turns the transistor on, and current flows through the bulb to ground. (If I have that wrong, will someone please orrect me?) Given that the way TTL works is that 'logic' outputs actually sink currect when their output is '0' (i.e. current goes _in_ the 'output' pin), it might take a little work to make the right thing happen. Although maybe not; looking at the RK11-C prints, it seem to drive the indicator panel straight >from the output of normal gates. I _think_ what happens is that when a gate's output is '1', the output's voltage floats high, and that's enough to turn on the transistor (above) driving the bulb. (Ditto the request for correction!) But the real issue with 'electrically compatible indicator panels' is the wiring. In the originals, the flat cables that drive them are soldered directly to the indicator panel board, and also to the paddle boards. So the _only_ standard interface location is the paddle boards. I suppose one could put Berg headers on both the indicator panel board and the paddle boards, and use a standard IDC cable betweenthe two... Mention of the paddle board interface brings me to the second point: even if one did produce electrically-compatible indicator panels - where are you going to use them in a PDP-11 system? Not in the CPUs - those all had their own front panels. The only PDP-11 devices which used indicator panels which I know of were: - the DX11 (I don't think anyone's got one of those) - the RF11 (ditto - although Guy was discussing emulating one at one point) - the RP11 (but the indicator panel is built into the controller rack there, so if one has an RP11, one already has the indicator panel) - the RK11-C (and several people who have those already have indicator panels) I agree, the indicator panels look cool - but where are you going to use one in a historical PDP-11 system? Sure, one could use either a electrically-compatible or non-electrically-compatible indicator panel anywhere you want, plugging into some non-historical hardware, but.. (The non-electrically-compatible indicator panel Dave did for the QSIC is initially being used in something which emulates an RK11 and/or RP11, so there's some rationale for it.) Noel

4 years, 2 months

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NI PCI-GPIB+ Analyzer boards on ebay

by rdbrown0au＠gmail.com

https://www.ebay.com.au/sch/m.html?_ssn=techparts2020&_nkw=%22PCI-GPIB%2B%22 NI National Instruments PCI-GPIB+ Analyzer PCI IEEE488.2 Interface Card (~USD140) Ebay item # 284088568161 Copyright 1998???? 183619B-01 284088565868 Copyright 2001???? 183619C-01 284088570014 Copyright 2005 ASSY192125D-01 While a photo shows the Windows NI Analyzer software in use, the item doesn't mention it. If NI will provide the analyzer software, these could be used to capture HP-IB traffic to characterize the attached devices, timings etc. The HPDrive project mentions the analyzer cards as being supported https://www.hp9845.net/9845/projects/hpdrive/#hpdrive

4 years, 2 months

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PDP-11/70 Boards

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From the blog of someone who got a KB11-A working It's Fritz Mueller's blog; at about the top of this page: https://fritzm.github.io/category/pdp-116.html he's just turned the machine on for the first time, and you can follow as he chases, finds and fixes CPU problems. The KB11-C/D of the -11/70 is _very_ similar to the KB11-A he was dealing with (they are _basically_ the same CPU, with a cache, and other stuff added on the other side from the CPU, on the KB11-C/D), so there are probably some good lessons to be learned. > dunno if Guy Steele Ooops; sorry, Guy - the brain is starting to drop bits. > if the particular machine the system is being built for has an FP11). > Perhaps the later BSD versions look for the FP11 on startup, and adjust > their behaviour appropriately, but I'm not familiar with them. The way user code deals with the existence/non-existence of the FP11 is pretty simple. In C (other languages probably do something similar, but I only know about C),one gives the '-f' flag to 'cc', and when 'cc' invokes the linker, on machines which don't have floating point support, it uses fcrt0: https://minnie.tuhs.org/cgi-bin/utree.pl?file=V6/usr/source/s4/fcrt0.s as the machine language startup (the thing that calls main()) instead of crt0. The difference is that fcrt0 sets the UNIX 'illegal instruction' signal, in that process, to go to a handler which emulates the FP11 instructions. In V6, as distributed, the binary of all applications which use floating point are linked this way, so they will all run OK 'as is' on a machine with no floating point (including those which don't suppport any kind of FP11, such as the -11/40). When run on a machine with an FP11, there are no illegal instruction traps, and that emulator code is just never used. I'm not sure what the deal with BSD is, for machines without an FP11; fcrt0.s is still included in BSD2.9, so maybe it's still using this approach. I have this vague recollection that at some point, floating point instruction emulation was added to the kernel, removing all the signal overhead, but that might be a bogus recollection. Noel

4 years, 2 months

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DEC AF01, open for offers

by cz＠alembic.crystel.com

Would anyone like to make an offer on this AF01? It's a multi-channel A/D converter for old pdp8 and pdp12's. I really don't think I need it, I just pulled it out of my closet, and I don't want to put it back in. Copy me off list. Complete, multiple MUX channels (16 A121's) the A704 and the op amp (A200)

4 years, 2 months

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TU58 / DECtape II: Capstan goo

by jbglaw＠lug-owl.de

Hi! Some time ago, I got my hands on a DECtape II, though no tapes. That'll change after a long time and in a few days, even multiple tapes will come in. With that drive, I started some first tests. It's PSU seems to be all fine, providing stable 5 and 12 V. It's board's wire wrapping is in factory settings, so baud rate etc. is all known. However, when I checked the two drives capstans, they're old. One has a crack, and as things go, they feel partially either hard or gooey. Are there recommendations to exchange these for new ones? I also noticed that one of the two motors rotates quite freely (both unconnected from the board, so I'm sure they're not magnetically braked) while the other ... can be turned without any unreasonable torque, but it won't continue to spin at all. Also, when the tapes arrive, are there recommendations in case their drive belts are gone? And a final question: There are three firmware versions archived for the TU58 control board. It's a known version: jbglaw at charon:~/customers/Glaw/VAX/DECtape II$ md5sum *.bin | sort 0e5f30a960e72c9d64174a4da8f48f50 23-294E2-00.bin 5e059396f779aef9cd80bc75a36c90b2 23-089E2-00.bin 5e059396f779aef9cd80bc75a36c90b2 jbglaw-DECtapeII-ROM.bin a407fbb5aaa4823a92dd2bc374d1d3ae 23-389E2-00.bin I guess I got the oldest version? Were there board changes, or could I put in a compatible 2Kx8 ROM with any of these versions? I guess any firmware will probably work "good enough", but if I'd avoid known problems (are the differences known?), I'd rather avoid them. But after all, I'm quite happy that all the bits'n'pieces will come together in a few days. Yay! MfG, JBG --

4 years, 2 months

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RK11-C indicator panel inlays?

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Rod Smallwood > Let me see what artwork I have I'm curious as to what you'd be able to find. Like I said, I'm pretty sure DEC never did an RK11-C inlay; the engineering drawings for the 19" indicator panel (included in the RF11 engineering drawings: http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/unibus/RF11_EngrDrws_Oct70.pdf on pp. 187-188) list many inlays, but not an RK11 one. Also, I've looked through the RK11-C manual: http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/unibus/RK11-C_manual1971.pdf but it contains no mention of an indicator panel, which it surely would if there was one. > From: Henk Gooijen > I have *two* DX11 front panels with the 144 lamps & 4 'paddle' > connections boards. ... Given you have 144 lamps panel with the RK11-C > front, what would you do to light up the lamps? Uhhh... plug the paddle boards on the end of the flat cables from the indicator panel into the pre-wired slots in the RK11-C backplane (see the RK11-C engineering drawings: http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/unibus/RK11-C_schemFeb1971.pdf pg. 36)? :-) Hence my comment that to make use of the _inlay_ I proposed to produce, one had to have an RK11-C _and_ a spare DEC indicator panel... Noel

4 years, 2 months

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370 control panel

by shumaker＠att.net

up for auction (and NOT on EPAY!): what appears to be an intact? System 370 control panel in PA https://hibid.com/lot/107052050/ibm-370-145-mainframe-computer/?q=&status=o… steve

4 years, 2 months

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Fwd: Siemens T100 Terminal with Paper Tape - Available

by mmcgraw74＠gmail.com

Eric, I would qualify that statement and say - I'm the Tek computer Monty :) I have a Tektronix 4052 and 4054A, plus two Tektronix 4041 (68000 based GPIB controller) computers :) Both the 4052 and 4054A also have Tektronix 401x terminal emulation at up to 9600 baud, so I don't have a use for the Siemens terminal. Monty On Wed, Dec 8, 2021 at 12:58 PM Eric Moore <mooreericnyc at gmail.com> wrote: > Holy shit Monty, you are the tek terminal Monty. > > I just posted on facebook in the tek 4051 basic group, do you know anyone > with a tek 41XX or 42XX terminal? > > -Eric > > > On Wed, Dec 8, 2021, 12:51 PM Monty McGraw via cctalk < > cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote: > >> I have this terminal in my garage - sitting on its custom stand. >> >> I purchased it years ago, but don't have a use for it. >> >> Here is my photo of it: >> >> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SV4-Xx7XLHIoA898ZPRC74wZv2e8YsVK/view?usp=… >> >> I'm near Houston Texas. >> >> It is too big and heavy to ship. >> >> Monty McGraw >> >

4 years, 2 months

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Need picture of power supply mounted in 11/40 cabinet

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Marc Howard > I've got an 11/40 I'm going to start working on. Problem is that there > are two power supplies (H742 and H7420) that came with it but neither > was mounted in the rack. -11/40's in general only have one of those large H742x suppplies in a rack. The documentation and prints all show only a single one - in fact, the 11/40 power harness (which is specific to the KD11-A backplane, at the CPU end) can only attach to one. The KB11 machines (-11/45 and /70) use two, but their harness has provision for two. I don't know of a DEC document that lists the difference between the H742 and H7420, but my CHWiki page for them: https://gunkies.org/wiki/H742_Power_Supply gives what I think is a pretty good list; any errors or missing details would be appreciated. > Also how is the power cabling routed (I think I'm missing this part)? That's going to be a hassle, replacing the main harness! Especially since production of the 8-pin MATE-N-LOK connector shells used to interface to the H744/etc 'bricks' - part numbers here: https://gunkies.org/wiki/DEC_standard_modular_regulators are out of production, although some vendors have residual stocks. Hoard them while they last! The "PDP-11/40, -11/35 (21 inch chassis) system manual" (EK-11040-TM-002): http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/pdp11/1140/1140_SystemManual.pdf has pretty good coverage of the harness; the back end of Chapter 6 covers it in detail. That's a lot easier to understand than the FMPS: http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/pdp11/1140/PDP-1140_System_Engr_Drawings_R… so read that before you tackle the prints. Note that there are two different kinds of harness, depending on whether the machine has MM11-L (-15V) or MM11-U (+20V) core memory. Unless you're planning on using one of those, you can probably ignore that, though. Any questions, ask here right off; we have a lot of expertise! :-) ('My' first -11 - as in, one I was in charge of - was a -11/40. Fond mempries!) Noel

4 years, 2 months

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Need picture of power supply mounted in 11/40 cabinet

by pbirkel＠gmail.com

Marc: Do you have the 11/40-specific wiring harness? Assuming that you do it's a bit tricky -- not so much mounting a given supply (aside from the fact that they are heavy and awkward to work with even when minimally populated), but because there is a very tight tolerance between them to thread the wiring harness. I've determined the hard way that you really need to install the lower one first, then the harness, then the upper one. At least for me it wasn't practical/possible to install the harness after-the-fact. There's also a bit of work involved in threading both of the AC power cables plus the pair of power-control cables (assuming that you're using a DEC power controller) via the right-side vertical rack channel -- which also interact with the power harness placement. Once everything is cabled-in-place the result is maximally compact, but getting there is not simple. Yes, the power cable wiring isn't well-described anywhere IMO. You have to stare at the puzzle-pieces for a while and "dry fit". Harness shape/stiffness helps eyeball how to fit the pieces together, but the importance of the rack vertical side-channel in making everything fit is not, IMO, made at all clear anywhere in the various documentation -- although it can be inferred from careful examination of a few graphics in various documents. The 11/40, the 11/45-50-55, and the 11/70 share the same design in this respect so documentation for one will serve you well in any of these cases. If you can tackle the task *before* installing the BA11 chassis you'll find it easier. If you're not using a standard DEC rack or don't have an equivalent vertical side-channel to work with then IMO you'll need to get very creative ... and the 11/40-specifics wiring harness may not work at all and you'll need to build your own. Fortunately I didn't need to explore that path ... Good luck! -----Original Message----- From: cctech <cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org> On Behalf Of Marc Howard via cctech Sent: Saturday, December 4, 2021 10:28 PM To: General Discussion: On-Topic Posts Only <cctech at classiccmp.org> Subject: Need picture of power supply mounted in 11/40 cabinet Hi, I've got an 11/40 I'm going to start working on. Problem is that there are two power supplies (H742 and H7420) that came with it but neither was mounted in the rack. Could someone post/send/etc. photos of how the power supply mounts in the rack? Also how is the power cabling routed (I think I'm missing this part)? Thanks, Marc Howard

4 years, 2 months

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Need picture of power supply mounted in 11/40 cabinet

by w9gb＠icloud.com

Power Supplies, due to their Weight, are placed at the bottom of Racks (prevent tip overs / weight distribution). https://avitech.com.au/?page_id=366 The PDP-11/70 Maintenance and Installation Manual (EK-11070-MM-002) explains that the basic PDP-11/70 system components are located in a double cabinet as shown in Figure 1-1 of that manual. https://i0.wp.com/avitech.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/major-assemblie… greg > Date: Sat, 4 Dec 2021 19:28:01 -0800 > From: Marc Howard <cramcram at gmail.com> > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic Posts Only" <cctech at classiccmp.org> > Subject: Need picture of power supply mounted in 11/40 cabinet

4 years, 2 months

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RK11-C indicator panel inlays?

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

Let me get this out before the list gets shut down _again_... There is discussion of doing a run of indicator panel inlays: http://ana-3.lcs.mit.edu/~jnc/tech/DECIndicatorPanels.html for the RK11-C (which is wired for an indicator panel, although as far as I know, DEC never did the inlay). If you're interested... you will need a standard DEC indicator panel light panel (with flat cables with plug-in-cards on the ends). (I don't have any insight on how to get one of those. It shouldn't be _too_ hard to make replicas, but I'll leave that topic for the moment.) All I am proposing to do is create the silk-screened inlay that turns a DEC indicator panel into an RK11-C indicator panel (starting with a functional indicator penel without the inlay). All DEC indicator panels use the same actual light panel and flat cables/plug-in-cards (which have one conductor per light in the light panel); which light comes on is set by the way the backplane slots the cables/plug-in-cards plug into are wired. So from the prints, which give the wiring to the indicator panel slots, I managed to work out what an RK11-C panel would look like, roughly (captions are made up, but the light locations are accurate): http://ana-3.lcs.mit.edu/~jnc/tech/pdp11/RK11-C_inlay.txt Starting with that, Dave Bridgham managed to whip up a rough approcimation of what the inlay would look like: http://pdp10.froghouse.org/qsic/inlay-rk11-c.pdf We had put a certain amount of work into identifying a font which looks like the one DEC used, back when; I worked with a member the UK to produce a bunch of blank inlays (right size/shape, with the black paint on the back with the holes for the lights). Dave then found someone who could print the white lettering on the front, and this is what the result looked like, on an 'RK11-F' (the QSIC with RK emulation microcode) panel: http://ana-3.lcs.mit.edu/~jnc/tech/QSIC/jpg/RK11F-F.jpg You can compare with an original DEC inlay (TC08, IIRC) here: http://ana-3.lcs.mit.edu/~jnc/tech/QSIC/jpg/DasBlinken2F.jpg That's on the same light panel, just the inlay is changed. (The lights in the lower one are from the light panel Dave produced for use with the QSIC; it's totally incompatible, electrically, with the DEC originals; 4 wires, IIRC, run the whole thing (data, clock, latch and a ground), as opposed to the 'wire per light' of the DEC originals. Looks _just_ like the originals (which Tech Sq used to have a lot of, BITD), though. Anyway, if anyone is interested, the next step would be to find out who all wants an RK11-C inlay, and work out _exactly_ what would be printed on it. Noel

4 years, 2 months

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Source for DEC TC01 (and similar) bulbs?

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

> > > From: Josh Dersch <derschjo at gmail.com> > Subject: Source for DEC TC01 (and similar) bulbs? > > The Search Scope loop diagnostic shows block numbers going by in both > directions so a lot of the drive and controller are working, but there's > some glitchiness in bits 2, 5, 8, and 11 of the data so I need to trace > that down; I hope it's not the tape head. > > - Josh > So what do bits 2, 5, 8, & 11 have in common? All bits come from the same track on the tape head, and share some of the path to the Data Buffer. If you wrote this tape on this system, I would try reading a tape that was written on another machine to make sure that the problem didn't originate with writing. Check for a bad connection where the tape head cable connects to the G851 module in the TU55, where the G851 plugs into the TU55 backplane, and where the data cable plugs into the TU55 backplane, and possibly the K2 relay on the G851. In the TC01 you could swap the G888 module in slot C22, the S205 module in slot D05, the S205 module in slot E06, the S603 module in slot C02, or the R123 module in slot E08, with another one to see if the glitch moves to another bit. -- Michael Thompson

4 years, 2 months

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FTGH: PDP-11 Software Source Book, 3rd Ed

by toby＠telegraphics.com.au

Hi, 2 volumes, Applications and System. See: https://imgur.com/a/ISXGK5N FTGH for postage from Toronto, Canada --Toby

4 years, 2 months

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Hand tool to remove a difficult (stuck) circuit board

by wh.sudbrink＠verizon.net

I remember seeing this somewhere. I have done a fair amount of googling with no luck. I'm looking for a hand tool with a plyer like grip at the top of a shaft. At the bottom of the shaft there is a "foot" that, when you squeeze the grip, scissors open. The idea being that you slide the foot down between a daughter card and the motherboard it is stuck in and when you squeeze the grip, it lifts the card out of the slot. Anybody know what this tool is called and/or where to get one? Thanks, Bill S. -- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

4 years, 2 months

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External SCSI Drives on DEC2000 AXP

by cruff＠ruffspot.net

Have you verified that the SCSI bus is terminated properly? A missing or improperly configured terminator can sometimes cause those sort of symptoms.

4 years, 2 months

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Reproduction DEC 144-lamp indicator panels (was Re: RK11-C indicator panel inlays?)

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

On Mon, Dec 6, 2021 at 9:42 AM David Bridgham via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote: > The inlays are mostly not done with any tools I have. I do the graphics > with Inkscape. Rod made up the blanks with silk screening. Then I have > the white printing done at a printshop I found who has a large, flatbed > printer that can print white ink. I do have some ideas about how I > might try to make up blanks with a laser etcher I have access to but at > the moment we have an ample supply. Cool. > Also, I've experimented with making my own bezels out of PVC board from > Home Depot using a CNC router. In the pictures below, the yellowed > bezels are old DEC bezels while the white ones are ones I made. I > figured that if we ever get the QSIC shipping and people want indicator > panels (I hope they'll want indicator panels), I'd rather not depend on > them ripping apart old DEC bezels to make this work. Yes. I'd rather not demolish my only indicator panel. I was planning on demolishing a blank (I have a few short blanks, but most people do not) > Anyway, I'd be most happy to have another person with more tools to help > build bits and pieces of this stuff. I've noticed that as I gained > access to different tools, I came up with different ideas about how to > make things. I didn't think the laser etcher was all that useful until > I started using it. I have a small 40W laser etcher that I essentially haven't used since I have had access to large-format 80-120W laser cutters. As for tools, I can rent a 4'x8' Shopbot router at our local Makerspace that can turn out the light blocking bar or, from your file, the frame. We also have a local company (IC3D) that makes cubic-meter 3D Printers and makes their own filament from pellets, keeping costs down. The founders are friends of mine and I've helped repair sensors on their manufacturing line. If I had an STL, I could get a bid on what it would take to 3D print one. It wouldn't be as smooth as a machined PVC foam milled one, but it would be strong. With a little post processing, a 3D Printed frame may give an adequate look. Just a possibility. I haven't worked with PVC foam much but I understand the principle. > Now I want to use it for everything. Turns out it > can't quite handle 3/8" Delrin; it just melts it and makes a mess. That sounds like a power problem. Normally, Delrin lasers quite nicely, at least at 80W. Thick stuff is hard in any printer because of lenses, beam diffusion, etc. We sometimes have problems with 1/2" material of any kind in ours. I've done some stuff in 2 passes, one high, one low (refocusing/repositioning Z axis between job runs). We also have multiple lenses for different focal points. One is only good for etching/surface work, and one is good for cutting 3/8" and thicker materials. We usually use the middle one since 99% of what goes into our laser is 3-6mm stock. > Speaking of help, if anyone wants to review the QSIC design, I'd welcome > that. This is by far the most complex circuit board I've ever designed. I could take a look at it, I have some background in making Qbus and Unibus interfaces, but how useful I'd be depends on what kind of feedback you are looking for. > Back to indicator panels, here's a picture showing a bit of the > evolution of my indicator panels... > > http://pdp10.froghouse.org/qsic/indicator-panel-stack.jpg > > ... The only real thing I'd like to > change is the gloss. Somehow, DEC's inlay is as flat as flat can be. I did notice that. I have no idea what to recommend. AFAIK, DEC just used an acrylic with a specific surface texture. The only stuff I can get is like what you have - smooth as window glass. Cheers, -ethan

4 years, 2 months

1
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Women of computing

by compoobah＠gmail.com

On Sun, 2021-12-05 at 12:00 -0600, Brie wrote: > > He may as well have just come out and said, ?It triggers me and I > don?t like having to acknowledge that women exist in the field of > computer history.? > > ? Brie Sorry to go off topic, but I have friends and family who are veterans or otherwise have had horrible experiences. They get triggered. What this sentence is describing is someone getting mildly annoyed.

4 years, 2 months

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Unrecognized DEC Power Supply in PDP-11/44 Configuration

by pbirkel＠gmail.com

Does anyone recognize the (presumably) DEC power supply on the front half of the rack-bottom in the 11/44 listing at: https://www.ebay.com/itm/363640137050 Blurry photo, but it looks like there are a 4x3, a 3x3, and a 3x5 Molex connector, and two brown mini-modules protruding from the right side. If so, then what purpose did it likely serve? It appears that the 6U immediately below the 11/44 was likely occupied by an RX02 given the presence of an M8256 in the 11/44 backplane (and skinny mounting rails, although I thought those were usually at the bottom of the RX02), and that included its own power supply (which wasn't very beefy either, nor did it need to be). What went into the 6U immediately above the power supply is unclear; there is a HEX Wespercorp TC130 Tape Controller as well as three unknown QUAD modules in the 11/44 backplane. Perhaps there was a horizontal autoload tape drive mounted there that required a separate power supply? Curious! paul

4 years, 2 months

4
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