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

SMT techniques (was Re: group buy for homebrew CPUs?)

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

On 8/12/06, woodelf <bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca> wrote: > Still I would like to see in surface mount --- > tiny Flip/Clips and see how small you can build > a PDP-{Favorate number}. I _have_ thought about that for replacement -8/L and -8/i boards - design a simple board with, say, 4 to 6 16-pin SO pads and decoupling caps and a dual row of jumper pads to cross-connect the edge fingers to the various chip pads to be able to replicate, say, an M111 vs an M117. The "problem" is that I doubt you could get real TTL (not LS-TTL) parts in SO. I haven't experimented with replacing TTL with LS parts in any of my -8s, so I don't know if there would be any issues or not. So far, I've always had enough of the right things on hand when I go to replace a chip on an M-series module. I would think that the dimensions could be on the order of 2 x the size of just the area of the fingers. The advantage, of course, is that it would be easy to make a large number of these on one PCB panel, reducing per-unit costs. Using one (or maybe two at most) base designs would also help quantity issues. You could sit down one day and make a stack of a dozen M111s, then make two dozen M113s the next day with the same PCB; just add the right SO-parts and configure the jumpers in the right order, and there you are. -ethan

20 years

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Asynch designs (OT)

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

> Yeah, they've been around for years. It's illegal to have anything capable of >receiving TV broadcasts in the UK without having a licence (about 160GBP/year, >approx $140US). Doesn't matter if the equipment isn't switched on - if it's >capable of receiving a signal then a licence is needed. They're becoming worse then! It used to be black&white was exempted from the tax. What happened to the pound? used to be substantially more valuable than the dollar.

20 years

8
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NeXT users: Trillium speech products?

by THX1138＠dakotacom.net

Hi, Has anyone played with/auditioned Trillium's speech product(s)? They had an articulatory synthesizer that ran on cubes (?). I would be very interested in hearing about the quality of the speech produced, as well as any comments on where the product fell short. Thanks! --don

20 years

1
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KVMs

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

And lo, Don spake thusly > Hmmm... my U10 has VGVA and a 13W3. I assume one >overrides the other? They are two seperate framebuffers, and can be used for dual-heading. The 13w3 is either a Creator/ffb or an Elite3d, and will be much more satisfactory than the PGX (ATi) onboard.

20 years

3
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NCD NC2085AA monitor

by THX1138＠dakotacom.net

Hi, I have several of these monitors on my NCD-19c's. I'm *sure* they are a rebadged somethingorother (since the 2085 number is the same as an old RasterOps monitor I have long since discarded). *But*, like many rebadged products, it appears to be slightly different than it's sibling products. I've not been able to find any literature that would help me sort out some of the operating characteristics. Notably, how to "adjust" the screen saver function. (perhaps it is NOT adjustable on this monitor?) Pointers or first-hand experience would be welcome :> Thanks! --don

20 years

1
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cctalk Digest, Vol 36, Issue 40

by ken＠seefried.com

From: "Jay West" <jwest at classiccmp.org> >If we were gonna do a homebrew CPU, I'd sure like to see it done with >something akin to AMD 2901's. Why not build a retro cpu out of a retro >technology? Do 49c402s (4 x 2901 in PGA) or 59032s (16 x 2901 in PGA) count? Ken

20 years

1
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async designs

by ken＠seefried.com

From: Jeff Walther <trag at io.com> > Do > espionage types really try to sense what a processor is doing > remotely, based on the EM emissions from the chip? Yes. For example: https://www.iaik.tugraz.at/research/sca-lab/publications/pdf/Mangard2003Expl oitingRadiatedEmissions.pdf Abstract The conducted and radiated emissions of integrated circuits can not only cause interferences between electronic devices, but they also pose a security problem. The emissions of an IC executing a cryptographic algorithm contain information about the secret key used in the IC. This article gives a short introduction on how the key-dependent emissions of a cryptographic IC can be exploited. Based on two case studies, we show that the secret key used in an IC can be revealed based on measuring radiated emissions in the near and in the far field. Additionally, we discuss how the measurement setups used for the case studies can be improved to execute more advanced attacks.

20 years

1
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Questions on convergence...

by Watzman＠neo.rr.com

Convergence is the adjustment by which a monitor or TV properly overlaps the 3 separate red, blue and green images to produce a proper color image. It applies to all CRT based TV sets and monitors except those using a single image forming module for all 3 colors (e.g. DLP and most (but not all) LCD projectors, and LCD and plasma screens). Normally there are two steps, the first is "static convergence" in which the 3 images (red, blue and green) are adjusted to overlap at the exact center of the screen. The second is dynamic convergence in which the rest of the screen is "converged". Note that "perfect" convergence is generally not possible, but modern devices get very close. Also note that on some newer CRTs, some or all of the convergence adjustments are fixed at the factory and cannot be adjusted. Static convergence is usually adjusted using magnets on the CRT neck (again, common practice today is that these are set at the factory and then epoxy glued). Dynamic convergence is complex, if it's adjustable at all there can be as many as 30-40 controls effecting different colors in different parts of the screen. You also need a test pattern generator to make this adjustment (although on a computer (vs. a TV), you might be able to do it with a black screen and the letter "H" in various places). I can't give you any help for your specific device, you need to locate a service manual or you probably won't be able to do much with it.

20 years

1
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late 50's early 60's ibm doc

by h.j.stegeman＠hccnet.nl

Hi Jim, > Greetings. >I purchased a couple weeks ago a metal box full of >unit record docs, forms and cards ($20). Including >Ramac 305 guide and manuals for various collating, >punching, as well as some training manuals. I'd be >happy to have it go to a good home. I've got a >spreadsheet with more details I can send on request. >The box full is very heavy so I would a pickup in the >San Francisco Bay area. >. >Thanks, Jim Bitsavers.org would very good home for these IBM manuals. Regards Henk IBM collector

20 years

4
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async designs

by technobug＠comcast.net

On Fri, 11 Aug 2006 12:58:56 -0700, Brent Hilpert <hilpert at cs.ubc.ca> wrote: >> Chuck Guzis wrote: >>> At one time async logic was a hot topic. >> >> The IAS machine (von Neumann/late 1940s) is listed in various >> places (under >> 'clock rate') as being 'async'. (And - annoyingly - those listings >> then don't >> provide an effective instruction rate for the sake of comparison). >> >> I've been curious as to more precisely how the timing was >> accomplished in that >> (those) machines. Offhand, I suspect you still end up with delay >> elements in >> the design at various points to ensure some group (worst case) of >> signals/paths >> are all ready/stable at some point and you end with a more-or-less >> 'effective >> clock rate' anyways and don't gain much. >> >> Such all started with ENIAC didn't it?, which - based on what I've >> been able >> to find/read - could be described as an async design. >> Was async still being discussed in the 60's? > Serious theoretical work was done for relay logic prior to ENIAC and it definitely isn't dead right now. There is a substantial amount of work being done in the area with the UK being a hotspot of activity. Early this year ARM and a Philips subsidiary released an ARM core that was entirely async. For those interested, this is an excellent resource: <http://www.cs.manchester.ac.uk/apt/async/> CRC

20 years

1
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async designs

by trag＠io.com

>Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 12:58:56 -0700 >From: Brent Hilpert <hilpert at cs.ubc.ca> >Chuck Guzis wrote: >> At one time async logic was a hot topic. > >The IAS machine (von Neumann/late 1940s) is listed in various places (under >'clock rate') as being 'async'. (And - annoyingly - those listings then don't >provide an effective instruction rate for the sake of comparison). > >I've been curious as to more precisely how the timing was accomplished in that >(those) machines. Offhand, I suspect you still end up with delay elements in >the design at various points to ensure some group (worst case) of >signals/paths >are all ready/stable at some point and you end with a more-or-less 'effective >clock rate' anyways and don't gain much. > >Such all started with ENIAC didn't it?, which - based on what I've been able >to find/read - could be described as an async design. >Was async still being discussed in the 60's? I worked on some "non-clocked" logic designs for a little company called Theseus. As far as I know they're still in business. It's been a while, so my memory is hazy and it was definitely unconventional design. The basic scheme (IIRC) was to use two wires per bit of information. Three of the four possible states were used. '0' and '1' were two of the states and 'ready' was the third state, except I don't think they called it 'ready' but that'll do for this discussion. When you reached a set of registers (flops) in the logic (say a grouping of 8 bits for a bus) you'd have 'acknowledge' logic which would would signal back upstream that it was ready for the next computation. It depended on all eight registers reaching a data state (0 or 1) before it signaled ready back upstream. Then and this is where I get hazy, all the registers would get reset to the ready state before the next set of data is processed. I think. It really has been a while. So, in practice, you have 2 to 4 times as much logic because you have two wires per bit plus acknowledge logic flowing back upstream. On the other hand, if nothing is being processed, then your circuitry is idle and not switching. This can save a bundle of power depending on the application. Additionally, the logic pipeline can operate as fast as it possibly can, without being held back by a clock. So in some cases one gains speed. And you don't have to worry about routing finicky clocks all over the chip. Still, you have the overhead of those acknowledge signals. Plus, being an unconventional logic, there are not sophisticated tools and libraries available, so it takes longer to design for and requires more design discipline from the designer. If you applied the same amount of effort and discipline to conventional design, you might end up with something just as good or better, but the non-clocked logic paradigm forces the extra effort. Supposedly, non-clocked logic can also offer greater security because there's no clock signal for remote sensors to key on when trying to sense what the CPU is doing. This seemed a little odd to me. Do espionage types really try to sense what a processor is doing remotely, based on the EM emissions from the chip? Jeff Walther

20 years

5
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Some more PCWorld "best of" chatter

by cclist＠sydex.com

http://tinyurl.com/kqzt6 Offered only in the spirit that it's OT for vintage computers, not for the content. Cheers, Chuck

20 years

1
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semiconductor mfr. logos page

by rtellason＠verizon.net

A while back I'd sort of thrown something together with a bunch of logos on a web pages, and since Jay expressed some interest in that some time back I uploaded it, but since I wasn't happy about a number of aspects of it back then I didn't link to it and didn't publicize it. Then in the past few days I got a request from one other correspondent who was looking for similar info, and pointed him at the page, which he was nicely impressed with, and at the same time dug around in my pile of downloads for some more of them I'd snagged since then. I then put this all together, and have uploaded the result, which can be seen here: http://www.classiccmp.org/rtellason/logos/semiconductorlogos.html and which is now also linked through my parts pages at: http://www.classiccmp.org/rtellason/parts-index.html Perhaps some of you will find this information useful. -- Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and ablest -- form of life in this section of space, a critter that can be killed but can't be tamed. --Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters" - Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James M Dakin

20 years

2
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Need quantity of old school PC monochrome adaptors ($$$)

by dastar＠vintagetech.com

I'm in need of 10 monochrome adaptor cards for the PC. I'll pay $10 each in any quantity plus shipping. Please send your offerings directly to me. I do not read the list. I need these ASAP. Thanks! -- Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org

20 years

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Group buy for homebrew CPUs

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

Jeff quipped >Does that mean that you *have* figured out a way to solder BGA into >place at home? It means that I haven't been able to pull any chips to practice with yet.

20 years

1
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Need quantity of old school PC monochrome adaptors ($$$)

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

Mike sayith: >Is it not rude to presume that we all subscribe to this list so that we >can read and try the fill the urgent requests of others who post to the >list but won't bother reading it? In general, probably, but I'd be inclined to give Sellam a special dispensation - he was an active listmember for quite some time and hopefully will be again when his (daughter|son, can't remember) grows up a bit. Phenomenal resource, like Tony.

20 years

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Tape Drive & Tape Archival questions...

by aliensrcooluk＠yahoo.co.uk

--- Don <THX1138 at dakotacom.net> wrote: > Tony Duell wrote: >> snip << > > > > I've had blets turn to a sticky rubber blob (lik e > the rollers in the > > other thread), then you can't match it up. > > I've only seen problems with "rubber feet" -- > especially on > Sun gear -- disintegrating. And, they end up > messier than > a wad of chewing gum that has been sitting in the > summer > Sun for a day... :-( > > Don I have had similar problems with the "feet" on some of my oldish consoles (I would say old but I feared people would think of the Atari's and such from the early 80's). One "foot" on the bottom of my SNES turned half to mush whilst the other three "feet" are perfectly fine! Not sure what caused it to happen... but as long as the SNES works I'm more than happy ;) Regards, Andrew B aliensrcooluk at yahoo.co.uk

20 years

1
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Group buy for homebrew CPUs

by trag＠io.com

>Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 18:39:52 -0500 >From: Scott Quinn <compoobah at valleyimplants.com> >The really annoying thing about BGA is that I haven't figured a way to >desolder and reuse chips. Very vexing. Does that mean that you *have* figured out a way to solder BGA into place at home? Jeff Walther

20 years

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SMT hobby projects (was Re: group buy for homebrew CPUs?)

by trag＠io.com

>Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2006 16:08:16 +1200 >From: "Ethan Dicks" <ethan.dicks at gmail.com> >Subject: SMT hobby projects (was Re: group buy for homebrew CPUs?) >On 8/12/06, der Mouse <mouse at rodents.montreal.qc.ca> wrote: >> > That said, the notion that surface mount is somehow "harder to >> > solder" is nothing but a load of crap. It is DIFFERENT...not harder. >> >> I've never tried surface-mount chips. But I've tried soldering things >> of similar size, and for me, yes, it *is* harder. > >While parts can slip or be pulled by solder wicking things around, a >few simple tricks (soldering corners of QFPs first, using scotch tape >to hold down a 1206 SMT resistor while soldering one end...) make >things a bit easier. >I put together an IOB6120 (QFP FPGA, 0.5mm-pitch TSOP FLASH...) with a >Weller iron and no special tools... just solder wick for clean-up, and >a flux pen to help everything flow nice and cleanly. I've also done a >few CF connectors for a couple of Spare Time Gizmos projects (Elf2000 >disk board, MP3 player...) To be fair, I wasn't doing it with over-40 >eyes, but I expect that someday, I'll have to start using my bench >lens/light for everyday stuff. I agree with Ethan. Surface mount is different but not necessarily harder. I find desoldering through-hole to be many times harder than desoldering surface mount. I *hate* desoldering through-hole components, if I need to do it non-destructively. If I can destroy the component in the process it's not as bad, just tedious--very very tedious. I've desoldered and resoldered up to 208 pin QFPs so far. I've only done a couple of those. Mostly I did 160 pin QFPs. But I have not had a failure yet. That is, the chips always remained functional. There were one or two times where I had to touch up the soldering job to get the board fucntional--I sometimes remove too much solder during clean up. The trick to surface mount soldering is being aware of how surface tension can work for you and using it. It's a different set of habits and way of thinking from through-hole. I did my 208 pin QFP desolder/resolder with some Chip Quik alloy, a Milwaukee brand heat gun, modeling clay (to keep surrounding components from blowing away) a 40 watt and a 15 watt soldering pencil from Radio Shack and a little bottle of soldering flux with a brush. Oh, I guess there was a roll of solder and some spray can flux cleaner, as well as swabs and alcohol involved. But nothing expensive or exotic. Up to about 40 or 50 pins, I don't need the heat gun. The soldering pencils are sufficient. For surface mount resistors, I usually tin one pad. Then heat that pad with a pencil in one hand and place the resistor with tweezers in the other hand. Hold in place with the tweezers and remove the pencil so that the solder cools to hold the resistor in place. For magnification I use a 10X magnifying cup and hold the big end in my eye socket by squishing it into the skin around the eye, sort of like a monacle. The last time I checked these were available in the jewelry section of Ebay for under $5. Jeff Walther

20 years

1
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LCD question

by trag＠io.com

>Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 15:41:31 -0400 >From: "Evan Koblentz" <evan at snarc.net> > Ah ... that's a relief, LOL I thought you were saying you'd never heard of >WD! > Well, there's a company called Western Design. They design ICs as far as I can tell. I don't know if there's any relationship to Western Digital, but they seem to go by WD also. Jeff Walther

20 years

1
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LCD question

by Watzman＠neo.rr.com

LCD panels have two connections: A data cable (20 to 60 pins), and the backlight. The data cables are totally non-standard and unique, unless you got a panel that takes VGA or video inputs (this is extremely rare and not the norm). Almost every single panel is different from almost every other panel, and the connectors are impossible to get in small quantities. The backlight is just the two ends of a cold-cathode Fluorescent lamp tube 6 to 16 inches long, depending on the size of the LCD panel. It goes to a high voltage inverter mounted in the lid of the laptop with the LCD panel which produces 400 to 2,000 volts to start and run the lamp. [some larger LCD panels have multiple lamps]. The chances of being able to successfully use an LCD panel from a laptop for any other purpose are near zero.

20 years

3
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SMT hobby projects (was Re: group buy for homebrew CPUs?)

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

On 8/12/06, der Mouse <mouse at rodents.montreal.qc.ca> wrote: > > That said, the notion that surface mount is somehow "harder to > > solder" is nothing but a load of crap. It is DIFFERENT...not harder. > > I've never tried surface-mount chips. But I've tried soldering things > of similar size, and for me, yes, it *is* harder. While parts can slip or be pulled by solder wicking things around, a few simple tricks (soldering corners of QFPs first, using scotch tape to hold down a 1206 SMT resistor while soldering one end...) make things a bit easier. > Admittedly, that could be a lack of tools. Given a stereo loupe, > pantographic waldos, and a really fine-point soldering iron, it quite > possibly wouldn't be all that tough. But those ain't cheap, and I > think needing significantly more expensive equipment counts as > "harder". I put together an IOB6120 (QFP FPGA, 0.5mm-pitch TSOP FLASH...) with a Weller iron and no special tools... just solder wick for clean-up, and a flux pen to help everything flow nice and cleanly. I've also done a few CF connectors for a couple of Spare Time Gizmos projects (Elf2000 disk board, MP3 player...) To be fair, I wasn't doing it with over-40 eyes, but I expect that someday, I'll have to start using my bench lens/light for everyday stuff. Just this week, I did a hybrid through-hole/SMT project with an Atmel 90S2313 on a Dick Smith protoboard (Datak 12-611B for the curious) - the CPU and other chips were through-hole, but I used some SMT caps to pack enough goodies on a 24-pin-long protoboard. It was the first time I used SMT parts on a protoboard, but it was so effective that it won't be the last. I guess I just got lucky enough to get into SMT projects in the early 1990s and didn't really worry about it. I can recommend that if you are going to be doing a lot of them that the proper tools really make things easier. I did a stint with a Dremmel-sized hot-air soldering gun and an RF soldering iron and a foot-activated solder paste pump, and I have to say that it was _nice_, but I don't own those tools myself (wish I did). Even so, you can still do a lot with SOTs and 1206 resistors and a 1/32" soldering iron tip and tools that you _ought_ to own for through-hole projects. -ethan

20 years

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Group buy for homebrew CPUs

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

e.stibler pontificated: >Yup, get ready to solder .2 mm balls on 800 balls BGA. >Get your toaster-oven ready ;-) The really annoying thing about BGA is that I haven't figured a way to desolder and reuse chips. Very vexing.

20 years

5
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group buy for homebrew CPUs?

by jim.p.davis＠gmail.com

Dave McGuire wrote: Chuck Guzis wrote: I suspect that the legacy DIP stuff will get harder to buy new through "normal" channels, given RoHS. In the long run, I suppose we'd all better get used to working with surface mount. :( Nah, not anytime soon...unless I'm hallucinating, plenty of DIPs are available as RoHS compliant parts now. There's nothing "legacy" about DIPs just yet. That said, the notion that surface mount is somehow "harder to solder" is nothing but a load of crap. It is DIFFERENT...not harder. In fact, I find all but the very smallest SMT parts EASIER to work with than through-hole components. I suspect that someone, way back when, was afraid of it and said "it's to haaaard" and people have been propagating that rumor ever since. -Dave Dave, Close up SMD work when your pushing 40 or 50 is tricky. I can easely handle the finest pitch when I'm looking through a binoc microscope. It's quite amusing to see a 30 gauge blue wire and solder the size of a truck while trying to mod a board. Without optical assistance, I might as well be trying to neuter a fly with a butcher knife. Jim Davis.

20 years

2
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TCPware install problem

by jonas.otter＠gmail.com

Dennis Boone <drb at msu.edu> wrote: > LOGINOUT exists: LOGINOUT is the program that logs users and batch jobs in or out of VMS. If that didn't exist, I doubt very much that VMS would start up at all. Look for a command file in TCPware that starts it all up. There will be a reference there to some device that is causing your problem: wrong disk, hardware/network device not functioning, etc. There should be a log file from the startup job. What does it say? It should point you to the source of the problem. Jonas -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.10.9/417 - Release Date: 2006-08-11

20 years

1
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Group buy for homebrew CPU

by technobug＠comcast.net

On Fri, 11 Aug 2006 12:01:13 -0700, "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com> wrote: > On 8/11/2006 at 11:08 AM Don wrote: > >> Didn't SDS make something like that? > > As in Scientific Data Systens, then XDS, (Xerox), then oblivion? I > wasn't > aware that they did. At one time async logic was a hot topic. IIRC the PDP 9 (and possibly the 5 and 7) were async machines. That was my first "personal" computer (nobody else wanted to touch it...) and I spent many hour programming and keeping the beast running. When the thing failed it was a real pain to troubleshoot. You would find a signal on the backplane that was out of spec, but when you put the card on the extension board to troubleshoot the damn thing would start working. That and the unique control "memory" that would stop working when things got damp... CRC

20 years

1
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Group buy of homebrew CPUs

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

Roy replied: > Probably possible if you don't care at all about the board... > >Just take it outside, and hit the back side of the board with a torch. :-) Tried the 400F oven trick. Works wonders with through-hole and many SMDs, but BGAs either loose all the balls or the solder balls melt into a sheet. Not fun. Small resistors and capacitors are hard to do this way too, they don't have enough mass to dislodge with the shake.

20 years

1
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ID These boards.

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

Both that and the fourth reference seem to be talking about X.25, whatever that is. (I probably knew what that was at some point but the brain ain't what it used to be. :-) X.25 - packet switched network standard. Most times you'd come across AX.25 - packet radio.

20 years

1
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ID these boards

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

not the boards, but >While I'm at it, I also have a keyboard here marked "Wyse Technology 1983" >with a really odd 10-pin plug on the end of the cable. Nice individual >keyswitches if anybody wants that for salvage, or can use the cable. Can't get you the Wyse part number, but Altos (AFAIR) OEMed these terminals as the "Altos III" terminal. Have one in the garage, gives good service. ANSI and TVI-910, with a block-mode option. Haven't had to open it yet for any reason (already had a battery go out on a late '80s WY-150, so the Altos seems to be pretty bulletproof). Unusual key layout, though. (not DEC VT, not PC101).

20 years

2
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LCD question

by rtellason＠verizon.net

Some time back, I pulled apart a fairly trashed XT-class computer and one of the things I got out of it was an LCD, most of it appearing to be fairly standard stuff and I don't think that I'm going to have a lot of trouble with that but then there's that other connector... Two pins, and both wires are the same color. It's been suggested to me that perhaps this is for an EL backlight. Any of you folks know of how I might go about testing that, so I can get some idea of what's actually in there? Anybody by any chance know of this display? Oh, and if it helps any the brand name on the box was "Western Digital", which is the only time I've ever seen that brand name on a computer. -- Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and ablest -- form of life in this section of space, a critter that can be killed but can't be tamed. --Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters" - Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James M Dakin

20 years

3
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Inside my A600

by aliensrcooluk＠yahoo.co.uk

Hi, Well folks, I haven't made any progress since I last mentioned about my baby. I haven't got a Voltimeter yet, but I am considering getting one. However, I need to wait until after payday (15t h). In the meantime, I opened up my A600 and had a look inside. I decided to do a rough diagram of the chip layout and happened to notice what appears to be a component missing. I'm not entirely sure whether it was designed that way, or whether someone removed it. Incomplete Summary of my internals (I ran out of time-I needed to sleep!): (sticker) SCI BURN-IN (sticker) A600 PCBA *1.1* (sticker) A600 PCBA 4001192315986004003091 (writing on PCB) FAB 315985-01, A/W 315988-01 (writing on PCB) JUNE BUG - A300 Rev 1.1 C= GRR/BF/EG/PRY/FISH HCM/TC/CJW/LW/OF/LOLLI CPU (at U1): MC68000FN8 2C91E QQTN9151 Chip at U2: C= CSG 318069-10 8375 0692 20Vbb Chip at U4: CSG 391081-01 8373R4PL Chip at U5: C= CSG 391155-02 45 - GAYLE (C) M CBM 1991 0792 50020A Chip at U6: Commodore Amiga 391304-01 030 (C)1991 V2-05 37-300 9205XD042 Missing item from XU1 - there is an outline (in white) clearly visible, with small circular metal marks above and below where the component should be. The outline looks a bit like this: ______________________ |_ | _) | |______________________| Anyone have any idea whether this should be missing or not? Is it possible to get my hands on the plans (schematics?) for the PCB? Regards, Andrew B aliensrcooluk at yahoo.co.uk

20 years

1
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Group buy for homebrew CPU

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

Wodelf explicitly implied >PS... Upgrade now to 12/24 bits forget your old 8080 and get with the latest >in 70's technology. Why mess with the low-end mini stuff? Build something with style, power, and 36-bits. Or, be unconventional and do 37 or some other prime number.

20 years

7
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0 0

Group buy for homebrew CPU

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: Group buy for homebrew CPU > From: Scott Quinn <compoobah at valleyimplants.com> > Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 12:03:50 -0500 > To: <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > > >Wodelf explicitly implied > >>PS... Upgrade now to 12/24 bits forget your old 8080 and get with the latest >>in 70's technology. > >Why mess with the low-end mini stuff? Build something with style, power, and 36-bits. > >Or, be unconventional and do 37 or some other prime number. > > Gee I've been sitting on 16 2901s... that should be enough bits for somthing. Allison

20 years

3
2
0 0

Slick Bits in Computers (WAS VAXen Rule!)

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

> I assume you also think the Keytronics capacitive keyboard is a daft >design. I don't think many will agree with you. The TI Professional almost-IBM-PC (in some ways better) used a Hall-effect keyboard. Probably more expensive than the capacitive/inductive keyboards, but most likely the ultimate in reliability. Better layout than the original PC keyboard, too. There have to be some more designs that were so elegant or well-done that you stepped back to admire them. What were they?

20 years

3
2
0 0

Thinking Machines DataVault Video

by Steve＠OceanRobots.net

Hi, Researching the early history of RAID. Thinking Machines announced a product called Datavault circa 1987; it was shipped shortly after. A training video was made showing operation of the Datavault. If anyone has it, I'd like to buy. Please contact me off-list. Thanks, Steve Boston

20 years

2
2
0 0

LCD question

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: LCD question > From: "Roy J. Tellason" <rtellason at verizon.net> > Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 15:19:08 -0400 > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >On Friday 11 August 2006 02:35 pm, Evan Koblentz wrote: >> Western Digital is a major manufacturer of hard drives. > >I knew that, I have several of them on hand here. And that's the *only* >computer I've ever seen that had that name on it. And it was >semi-proprietary in terms of the way it was built, no way was I gonna bother >with messing with it... > >> -----Original Message----- >> From: Roy J. Tellason [mailto:rtellason at verizon.net] >> Sent: Friday, August 11, 2006 1:53 PM >> To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts >> Subject: LCD question >> >> Some time back, I pulled apart a fairly trashed XT-class computer and one >> of the things I got out of it was an LCD, most of it appearing to be >> fairly standard stuff and I don't think that I'm going to have a lot of >> trouble with that but then there's that other connector... >> >> Two pins, and both wires are the same color. >> >> It's been suggested to me that perhaps this is for an EL backlight. Any of >> you folks know of how I might go about testing that, so I can get some >> idea of what's actually in there? >> >> Anybody by any chance know of this display? >> >> Oh, and if it helps any the brand name on the box was "Western Digital", >> which is the only time I've ever seen that brand name on a computer. Lest we forget the WD Pascal Micro? The one with the WD16 chipset programmed as a P-engine. Allison >> >> -- >> Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and ablest >> -- form of life in this section of space, a critter that can be killed but >> can't be tamed. --Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters" >> - >> Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. >> --James M Dakin > >-- >Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and >ablest -- form of life in this section of space, a critter that can >be killed but can't be tamed. --Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters" >- >Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James >M Dakin

20 years

2
1
0 0

TCPware install problem

by drb＠msu.edu

Dear all, Trying to install TCPware on VMS 7.3. When I ask it to start the services, it gives me: Starting TCPware(R) for OpenVMS Version 5.7-2 ... %RUN-S-PROC_ID, identification of created process is 0000021D %%%%%%%%%%% OPCOM 11-AUG-2006 16:24:41.25 %%%%%%%%%%% Message from user AUDIT$SERVER on SULLY Security alarm (SECURITY) and security audit (SECURITY) on SULLY, system id: 35869 Auditable event: Detached process login failure Event time: 11-AUG-2006 16:24:41.25 PID: 0000021E Process name: TCPware_DNS Username: SYSTEM Process owner: [1,3] Image name: $1$DIA6:[SYS0.SYSCOMMON.][SYSEXE]LOGINOUT.EXE Status: %RMS-E-DNR, device not ready, not mounted, or unavailable %RUN-S-PROC_ID, identification of created process is 0000021E %STARTNET-F-ERROR, error during execution (Starting TCPware_DNS (detached job)) -STARTNET-I-SHUTNET, shutting down TCPware ... Shutting down TCPware(R) for OpenVMS ... %TCPWARE_NETCU-E-IVPORT, invalid port number or service name %TCPWARE_NETCU-E-IVPORT, invalid port number or service name . . . LOGINOUT exists: $ dir $1$DIA6:[SYS0.SYSCOMMON.][SYSEXE]LOGINOUT.EXE Directory $1$DIA6:[SYS0.SYSCOMMON.][SYSEXE] LOGINOUT.EXE;1 2-APR-2001 15:59:20.10 (RWED,RWED,RWED,RE) Total of 1 file. I can't find the thing I missed in the installation procedure, though presumably I did miss something. Help? De

20 years

1
0
0 0

FW: ID these boards?

by kelly＠catcorner.org

> Both are marked "Frontier TEchnologies Corp. AdCom 2-M Controller", one is > also marked "Version 3" (this one also has a holder for a coin cell on it) > and the other one "Version 5". There's also a Z80-SIO and an 8253 on each > board, and the Version 3 one has an 8255 as well. Some info at: http://www.frontiertech.com/aboutus/aboutus.asp

20 years

1
0
0 0

So who ended up with the PERQ?

by aek＠bitsavers.org

It was at $1000 as of yesterday afternoon, and haven't heard a peep since.

20 years

1
0
0 0

Fwd: H316

by kenziem＠sympatico.ca

I thought I'd share this link, ---------- Forwarded Message ---------- A year or so ago, I swapped e-mails with a fellow in Germany who has a Honeywell H316 minicomputer. I had mentioned on alt.folklore.computers (AFC) that I had used these machines and he contacted me. A couple of days ago on AFC he pointed out that there is an H316 on eBay, http://cgi.ebay.de/Vintage-Honeywell-316-computer-like-Kitchen-Computer_W0Q… temZ290016057113QQihZ019QQcategoryZ4193QQssPageNameZWD2VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem (hope that URL works - I cut and pasted; or you could just search for H316 Honeywell). Anyway, I had a look and it is indeed the ones I used while I was at a research lab in Halifax. Two things told me it was the same machine: first was the accessory drawer (rack mount equipment) with some large connectors and analogue to digital input connections (listed as A/D converter on eBay page). Second was a wooden box (Hardware lot #4) with a complete set of spare CPU boards. I can't believe anyone else would make an ugly wooden box like that. We has massive spares because the system went to sea and if it went down you had to fix it. The system is in a small town near Halifax. No way I have the room to store the H316 nor could I justify paying to have it shipped to Ottawa. I did save copies of the pictures, something I never had. Anyway, seeing that sure brought back some memories. Sigh!

20 years

4
3
0 0

Newton

by THX1138＠dakotacom.net

Pulled a Newton (110?) out of the trash today (complete with power, faxmodem, carrying case, etc.) Appears to work. Can these be repurposed? Or, is it just an oversized, underpowered "notepad"?

20 years

13
28
0 0

Mac 840AV networking

by Arno_1983＠gmx.de

Don <THX1138 at dakotacom.net> wrote: > Pete Turnbull wrote: >> On Aug 7 2006, 17:10, Don wrote: >> >>> The Asante box has an RJ45 on the rear. The cable that >>> mates to the network connector on the 840AV has that >>> funky mini-centronics on one end and an RJ45 *plug* >>> on the other. >> >> I have a few of those. No, sorry, the RJ45 isn't a 10baseT connection. >> It's more like an AUI connection, but with a different connector. > > So, it was just an unfortunate choice of connector > (for the end that receives the cable from the AAUI) > on Asante's part. > > Sheesh! Even more unfortunate since Sun once used that same type of connector (I can't say whether it was the same size, never compared them) on one of their SBus networking cards. It came with two adaptor cables, one with a 15pin Sub-D connector (AUI) and one with a RJ45 plug and a gender changer (two RJ45 jacks back-to-back), so it obviously could have had both signal sets on the mini jack, or selected between them by sensing a jumper in the plug. Mix the two concepts up and I don't wanna know where it ends... -- Arno Kletzander Stud. Hilfskraft Informatik Sammlung Erlangen www.iser.uni-erlangen.de Der GMX SmartSurfer hilft bis zu 70% Ihrer Onlinekosten zu sparen! Ideal f?r Modem und ISDN: http://www.gmx.net/de/go/smartsurfer

20 years

1
0
0 0

Newton

by technobug＠comcast.net

> And, figure out how to back it all up to a PC/Mac. > All the backup software is at < http://www.info.apple.com/support/ oldersoftwarelist.html> for both PC and Mac. Works quite well. CRC

20 years

2
1
0 0

Looking for se-scsi for my hp-3000

by sieler＠allegro.com

Re: > I'm looking for inexpensive se scsi devices that I can attach to my > hp-3000/922 system. In particular, I am looking for > disc and dds drives. eBay. BUT ... be careful ... depending upon the release of MPE/iX you have, you may get problems if you attach too large a disk (capacity-wise) to your 3000. Easiest recommendation: logon, and do: print iodfault.pub.sys scroll down to the disk drive section ... what's the largest drive they mention? Don't exceed that size. A handy rule-of-thumb: most Seagate SCSI drives with model numbers ending in "N" will (a) work and (b) are likely to be listed in the IODFAULT file. Stan -- Stan Sieler sieler at allegro.com www.allegro.com/sieler/wanted/index.html

20 years

1
0
0 0

Newton

by charlesmorris＠hughes.net

----Original Message---- It's double speak! Reused, recycled, reapplied oreve plain english as in: "We found a different application other than designed for.". Right up there with destinated, argh! Allison --------------------------- Irregardless. :) "The sign said, 'Void where prohibited', so I peed on a police car" -Charles

20 years

1
0
0 0

Tape Drive & Tape Archival questions...

by derschjo＠msu.edu

I've recently inherited a ComputerVision CADDStation (basically a rebadged Sun3 machine) and a pile of tapes of software for it from Scott Quinn. Before I work on getting the machine up and running again, I have two tasks I'd like to take care of, in no particular order: 1. Repairing the CADDStation's tape drive. 2. Archiving the tapes in a useful format. For taking care of #1, as far as I can tell the drive works except for a rubber wheel that's turned to this lovely gooey tar. I don't necessarily _need_ to fix the drive, since I have a compatible replacement, but I'd like to keep the system as original as possible so if it's possible to fix without too much work I'd like to do that. The tape drive in question is an Archive 5945S-1. Anyone have any idea how feasible it is to find a replacement wheel for this drive? Any good places to look that you'd recommend? Regarding #2, I don't have an incredible amount of experience dealing with tape, so I'm looking for suggestions for how best to archive these tapes without losing any important information. I have a Linux machine to which I can connect my spare tape drive in order to do the archiving, it's just a matter of determining what's necessary on the software end to make an accurate copy. The tapes all appear to be QIC-24, and probably contain data in whatever format SunOS uses (since the CADDStation basically runs a rebranded version of SunOS.) Thanks for any suggestions! Josh

20 years

8
15
0 0

Mac 840AV networking

by technobug＠comcast.net

On d, 9 Aug 2006 23:33:14 +0100 (BST), ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell) wrote: >> On Tue, 8 Aug 2006 22:59:12 +0100 (BST), ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk >> (Tony Duell) wrote: >> >>> AFAIK the signals on the 'mini centronics' connector on the Mac are >>> much >>> the same as the 'real' AUI interface, with the exception that >>> there's a >>> 5V power line, not 12V. In which case you can't link it directly to >>> a 10 >>> base T hub. you need a trasnceriver. >> >> All my Apple branded AAUI with an RJ45 do 10BASET just fine. The >> power supply does not set the interface parameters, but the coupling >> transformer. I've 100BASET designs running off 3.3 VDC. > > > Are you telling me that you've linked the 'mini centronics' > connector of > a Mac to an 10baseT hub with nothing more than a cable (that is, > without > an external transceiver module). Becasue I don't believe this will > work. > > Of course it's possible to make a 10baseT transceiver that runs on 5V, > and Apple did so. And then made a 10base2 one. That is not the > problem, > unless you want to use a 'normal' trnasceiver, not an Apple AAUI one. > > -tony Mea culpa - I misread and misspoke... What I understood was that because of the 5VDC power you couldn't link it to a repeater... What I should have said "Apple branded *MAUs* work just fine. However, the port obviously has the signals required to drive an MAU, but they don't meet the specifications of IEEE 802.3 (IIRC section 7). Besides the power supply, the signals will not drive the requisite 50 feet that an IEEE 802.3 AUI is required. Apple and 3rd party all have short (< 30 cm) cables. Perhaps that is why it is termed AAUI. CRC

20 years

3
2
0 0

Mac 840AV networking

by technobug＠comcast.net

On Tue, 8 Aug 2006 22:59:12 +0100 (BST), ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell) wrote: > AFAIK the signals on the 'mini centronics' connector on the Mac are > much > the same as the 'real' AUI interface, with the exception that > there's a > 5V power line, not 12V. In which case you can't link it directly to > a 10 > base T hub. you need a trasnceriver. All my Apple branded AAUI with an RJ45 do 10BASET just fine. The power supply does not set the interface parameters, but the coupling transformer. I've 100BASET designs running off 3.3 VDC. CRC

20 years

2
1
0 0

Newton

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: Newton > From: Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> > Date: Wed, 09 Aug 2006 15:09:13 -0700 (PDT) > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >> > Apologies for this, but what sort of politically correct homogenised >> > saccharined Americanised word is 'repurposed'? It's double speak! Reused, recycled, reapplied oreve plain english as in: "We found a different application other than designed for.". Right up there with destinated, argh! Allison

20 years

1
0
0 0

Mac keyboards (and how processors work)

by roger.holmes＠microspot.co.uk

On 9 Aug, 2006, at 11:27, cctech-request at classiccmp.org wrote: >>> When you make a *quality* keyboard, the keycaps are shot >>> *twice* during the molding process -- once for the legend >>> and once for the key itself. So, the legend's color is >>> "in the plastic" instead of screened *on* the plastic. >>> >>> Obviously, costs a fair bit more to do things this way. >> >> But who makes them? >> and with no windows ++ keys. > > Dunno -- I was just talking from past manufacturing experience. > The only keyboards that I have which suffer from this > "screened on legends" are laptops. And, I have decided that > laptops are intended to be replaced as often as the OS > is upgraded :-( > >>> Just like equipment cases that re *painted* vs. those >>> where the color is molded into the plastic. >> >> What plastic? Big heavy painted racks on this list. :) > > <grin> Many have molded plastic "decorations" attached. My 1962 machine does not have a keyboard or a screen or even a printing terminal. It has a control panel five feet wide and three feet high. It is made of blockboard faced with laminated plastic :-) On the 'how processors work' topic, my machine's documentation describes not just the logic signals but within each gate, how the transistors, diodes, capacitors, resistors, inductors, transformers and delay lines work together to achieve the gate's function. If I need to, I can put a scope probe on any part of the circuit within the logic element. My latest machine is a laptop, a MacBook Pro, which has a keyboard which seems to have two shot moulded keys, the key legends are transparent plastic which is illuminated in low light levels so the legends can be read even when working in pitch black where there is no light pollution.

20 years

1
0
0 0

Modern Modeming (was Re: Geek-only net)

by jbmcb1＠gmail.com

So, has anyone tried using a modem over VoIP? We just signed up through our cable company, and have unlimited long distance dialing, so I could theoretically dial up anywhere in the CONUS for free. I'm concerned that the VoIP box uses some sort of adaptive noise-sensing compression what would kill a modem connection. Has anyone given it a try?

20 years

5
4
0 0

End of PeeCees?

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: End of PeeCees? > From: "Zane H. Healy" <healyzh at aracnet.com> > Date: Mon, 07 Aug 2006 16:58:01 -0700 (PDT) > To: cctalk at classiccmp.org > >> On today's BBC "Analysis", there's a little segment on the issue of >> personal computers being obsolete because of the rise of The Internet. >> Supposedly, we're going to be using our televisions or mobile phones in >> place of them. The whole segment hinges on the statement of MS that the >> desktop PC is dead and that the future is The Internet and we'd all better >> get used to it. > >This whole "the Internet is the Platform" is rather amusing when you think >about it. It's basically Mainframe thinking. It's also about taking >control of peoples data away from them, and transferring ownership of that >data to the corporations. > >Granted you have plenty of people that use computers to play games, surf, >do email, and *maybe* a little light word processing or spreadsheet usage. >They could care less about thier data or thier privicy. > >OTOH, you have those of us that are writing software, articles, and books, >or creating music and video. You also have people with either very slow, or >no internet access. Plus there are the people that just value their >privacy. > >While the first group might sucker into this "Internet is the Platform", how >many of the second group will? > >For certain types of users, it might make sense, but one size does not fit >all. Take for example the computers available right now that are targeted >at home use. You have handhelds, mini-laptops, laptops, giant-laptops, >desktops, mini-systems, and power-user setups, video game consoles and >set-top boxes. Each of these is a computer, each has its own "niche". >While some can be replaced by others, others can't. For example very few >laptops come even close to being able to take the place of a "power-user >setup", yet a mini-system, video game console, and set-top box are largely >the same system and could largely be replaced by the "Internet is the >Platform" idea. > >Am I making sense, or just rambling, who knows. All I know is that I'm not >the least bit interested in the "Internet is the Platform", and I'm beating >that there are a lot of other people that feel that way. At the same time I >fear the corporations and governments might just force this down our >throats. > > Zane Didn't the promoter named Barnum that suggested that betting on peoples stupidity was a a safe bet. For a lot of "stuff" to me the net is a platfom and free storage. For other things it's a minefield of security issues. I still remember when Geocities got picked up and every ones "content" was deemed the new owners property. Besides even with DSL I don't care If I had 200gb out there free and secure as it's too SLOW compared to the local disks on my p166. Allison

20 years

6
10
0 0

ComputerVision CADDStation tapes now available (sorta)

by aek＠bitsavers.org

Interesting note, a lot of these tapes have hundreds of 0-length files on them; these seem to be placed between files with actual data in them. I have no idea if this was a standard practice (maybe ComputerVision hadn't heard of "tar" :)). -- What you are seeing are file marks, which will return a zero length file if you just 'dd' them. I haven't looked at CV tapes in a LONG time, but from memory they are modified SunOS 3 - 4 distributions. What you should find is a table of contents at the front, some stand-alone utils, a dump file of the system, and lots of tarballs for the optional parts of the system.

20 years

4
4
0 0

TMS3409

by wdonzelli＠gmail.com

I have eight little DIPs, all in a row, and am wondering what used these originally. They are Texas Instruments TMS3409 (AKA Intersil IM7780) static shift registers. Anyone know? Perhaps an old terminal once used these? Anyone need them? -- Will

20 years

1
0
0 0

Newton

by joachim.thiemann＠gmail.com

> > From: der Mouse <mouse at Rodents.Montreal.QC.CA> > Subject: Re: Newton > > Apologies for this, but what sort of politically correct homogenised > > saccharined Americanised word is 'repurposed'? > > I don't see it as any of those. What would you suggest instead? (In > case the meaning really isn't clear to you, to repurpose something is > to use it for a different purpose - different from *what* is generally > indicated by context (most commonly, different from what it is > currently being used for, or from what it was designed for).) > > If you know of a better word for the meaning, I'd love to hear. > > Ah! my favorite german word! "Zweckentfremdung"! Joe.

20 years

1
0
0 0

ComputerVision CADDStation tapes now available (sorta)

by derschjo＠msu.edu

Thanks to suggestions from this list I've gotten most of the CADDStation tapes archived into a hopefully more permanent medium. In the event that there's someone out there who needs it, I've made the archived data available on my website at: http://yahozna.dhs.org/computers/software/CADDStation Hopefully, whoever holds the rights to this software (if anyone) won't care too much that some 20-year-old software's available for free on the internet :). These are archived into separate files, one per tape file. I used a variation of Scott Quinn's sh script to do the archiving. (The other suggested utilities, copytape and tapeutils would only copy a single file and then quit, thinking that EOT had been reached.) Use "dd" to put the files back onto the tape of your choice, in order. I have only verified that a couple of these tapes actually work on the physical machine (I've done my best to verify the copied bits), so there are no guarantees that everything works. But the 4.2bsd tape boots when I copy it back to a fresh tape, so I'm hoping that all the rest bits made it over OK... I'm in the process of attempting to install the rest. Interesting note, a lot of these tapes have hundreds of 0-length files on them; these seem to be placed between files with actual data in them. I have no idea if this was a standard practice (maybe ComputerVision hadn't heard of "tar" :)). Of the 50 or so tapes I've got, a dozen or so had read errors which halted the copying; some of these are on the site and are marked as "incomplete". I'm going to need to write or find a utility that'll skip bad spots on the tape (dd dies on my machine even if I specify "conv=noerror") to archive what's left of these bad tapes. Additionally, I'm missing a few tapes here and there, if anyone has copies of the following (or copies of tapes marked incomplete in the archive), I'd be interested in obtaining a copy: - CADDS Object Tape, v. 6.0MA, tape 1 of 2 - Platform Applications v. 4.03 and 5.00, tape 1 of 2 Thanks again, Josh

20 years

1
0
0 0

End of PeeCees?

by cclist＠sydex.com

On today's BBC "Analysis", there's a little segment on the issue of personal computers being obsolete because of the rise of The Internet. Supposedly, we're going to be using our televisions or mobile phones in place of them. The whole segment hinges on the statement of MS that the desktop PC is dead and that the future is The Internet and we'd all better get used to it. Now, I don't think I"m a Luddite, but there's precious little to see on television that I care to waste my time on (the dogs seem to appreciate the noise, so I leave it on for them when I'm going to be out of the house for an extended period). And I can't for the life of me read the screen on my mobile and have to operate it in "blind" mode. Old eyes, but then, there are a LOT of us. There's nothing worse than someone shoving their camera phone in front one's face saying "look at this" and seeing nothing but a tiny multicolored blur. So, for someone who doesn't watch television and can't see the screen on a mobile, is there any better platform than a desktop PC? I don't know if this is off-topic because MS's announcement is supposedly of Momentous Import and reflects a change in the way we do things. Cheers, Chuck

20 years

14
23
0 0

Available: Procom CDT14-T8X-ETP

by miller.blair＠gmail.com

> If need be, I also might be willing to drop it off... I guess you're not headed this way any time soon, eh? :-) Nay. Sorry man -- just a tad too far out-of-the-way. :)

20 years

1
0
0 0

Mac 840AV networking

by THX1138＠dakotacom.net

OK, the 840AV has one of those mini-centronics-style connectors on the rear for the network transceiver. I have some "Asante FriendlyNet Thin Adapter"s that will mate with this and work -- for a 10Base2 network! The Asante box has an RJ45 on the rear. The cable that mates to the network connector on the 840AV has that funky mini-centronics on one end and an RJ45 *plug* on the other. This choice of connectors -- and the "Thin Adapter" moniker -- suggests that I could plug the RJ45 *plug* end of this cable into a hub directly? Is this true? Or, just wishful thinking (and an unfortunate choice in connectors on Asantes part)?

20 years

4
8
0 0

Mac 840AV networking

by pete＠dunnington.plus.com

On Aug 7 2006, 17:10, Don wrote: > The Asante box has an RJ45 on the rear. The cable that > mates to the network connector on the 840AV has that > funky mini-centronics on one end and an RJ45 *plug* > on the other. > > This choice of connectors -- and the "Thin Adapter" > moniker -- suggests that I could plug the RJ45 *plug* > end of this cable into a hub directly? I have a few of those. No, sorry, the RJ45 isn't a 10baseT connection. It's more like an AUI connection, but with a different connector. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

20 years

2
1
0 0

VAXen RULE! (Was: Microkernels)

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

> The best processor is going to be different based on the person >you are talking to. Everyone has their own idea as to what >features are important, and fond old memories of working on >an ancient (wasn't then) OS tend to sway their decision. That was implied, but I'll reiterate: What platform (includes implementation) do you think was really neat and why. P.S. The VAX had problems quote was mostly to illustrate that all computers can be dissed. Somebody asked why: mostly implementation. The original VAX was very instruction-heavy, but DEC did it right and started offloading to "heavy microcode" (read emulator). However, some VAXen designed in 1992 were still using Q-bus for main expansion. 'Nuff said. Implementation. There are other little bits like this.

20 years

2
1
0 0

Troubleshooting SPARCstation LX

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

>Yes...but there's an easier way. > >Leave input-device set to keyboard and output-device set to screen, and >simply unplug the keyboard. When it can't find the keyboard, it >switches over to ttya for input and output on its own. The point I was pontificating and pondering as a possibility presumes, perhaps, prior persons preselecting port 1 or 2 for the console, and since the OBP was directing output there, you wouldn't get output on the screen, which was the initial problem in the post,

20 years

2
1
0 0

How CPU's work (was Re: Hi, I'm new...)

by c.murray.mccullough＠gmail.com

Patrick Finnegan writing on Chuck Guzis' commentary: { I like that analogy... and in order to add on the rooms, they had to get rid "of some of the more "interesting" parts of the original, like the "POP CS" instruction.} {Some are a horrible nightmare: the intel chip for example, and to a far far lesser degree, MIPS.} I quite agree that the 'shack' expanded into the current 8086 conglomeration but we must consider its success. It's practically the 'only' thing left for the masses to experiment with. Those of us still in pre-PC era(well, trying to stay there - getting harder and harder these days!), and I do enjoy fiddling-around with my Coleco ADAM and coding the Z-80, can only wonder and ponder, what-if... Keep on computing! Murray :)

20 years

10
40
0 0

End of PeeCees? (HIJACKED TO "QIC-150 tape questions")

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

> Didn't you get the memo? > >"The Network is the Computer" AHA! Back on topic. They sold you both, and it worked, and it was pretty open-standard. Another Sun-(kina-sorta-related) question - have a Sun labeled Archive 150MB QIC, and I was trying to read some of the CV tapes that Josh had, but I was having big problems with errors and the tape going slack. I've been trying to figure out what's up, as his QIC24 60-meg is reading them just fine. Any ideas? (the roller is in good health)

20 years

1
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IDE doesn't suck

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

>MacOS's poorly named OS9, which I tend to refer to MacOS9 so there's less >confusion. Just be Olde Schoole and say "Mac System 9" Less to trip the toungue with. Same with VMS.

20 years

1
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Anyone want an MDX-SIO2 STD-Z80 bus UART technical manual ?

by Jason.Armistead＠otis.com

Hi During a clean-up, I came across one copy of a Mizar Digital Systems / Hamilton Standard Digital Systems (aka Mostek) MDX-SIO2 board for the STD-Z80 bus. If anyone wants it, sing out or I'll be throwing it out. Cheers Jason

20 years

1
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Scouting Mission

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

>The terminal style IRIS must have been more or less same height and >same depth, but it isn't as wide as I think it has less space for >boards. I have never seen the rack, but I have also seen it mentioned >in the Old IRIS FAQ. No, about the same depth but it didn't have the drive bays in the top so it was noticeably shorter. It could go on the desk (terminal system, not rack).

20 years

1
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IRISes (WAS Re: Scouting mission)

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

> I've already aquired a couple of Personal IRISes, an Indy and an Indigo2, so >I'm all set on the playing-around-with-IRIX front :) Aahh yes - but IRIS x000 don't run IRIX, they run GL2-W with the MEX windowing system. Verry different, verry interestink... Might I suggest 4D1-3.3.2 (IRIX 3.3.2) on a PI - 4D1-3.x had a NeWS based windowing-system, among the few NeWS systems released standard (I'm not even sure which SunOS Sun's NeWS came with - SunOS 3 was SunView, SunOS 4 was OpenWindows (NeWS+X11, but not strictly NeWS). IRIX 5.3 should go on one machine (5.3+XFS should you be lucky enough to find it). This will allow you to run COFF binaries. The other one (R4k) should run an IRIX 6.x release. The 3000 with GL2-W3.6 would fit in quite nicely...

20 years

1
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Help in SoCal with an Apple I or IBM PC?

by classiccmp＠vintage-computer.com

>From my inbox: --- I'm writing from Weekend America, a nationally syndicated public radio program based in Los Angeles. http://weekendamerica.org We're looking into a story about the 25th anniversary of the IBM PC as well as the 30th anniversary of the Apple I. We'd like to get in contact with someone in the Southern California area who actually owns a 1981 IBM PC or a 1976 Apple I. We'd appreciate any help you can offer. Thank you. Connie Wong Production Intern Weekend America (213) 621-3547 cwongNOSPAM at NOSPAMmarketplace.org --- If anyone does end up helping Connie out please let me know how it went! :) Erik Klein www.vintage-computer.com www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum The Vintage Computer Forums

20 years

2
1
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Macs and PCs vs workstations

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

I'll give you Suns, I wasn't thinking clearly. They started going downhill about 1998. HP-9000s are very good, also, but some of the bus architectures are starting to show their age. real IBM stuff is always nice, their big iron concepts seem to percolate down to the midrange RS6ks, and it shows. I managed to crash my Indigo2 once - don't try doing a bunch of things on the machine while patching the software. Nuff said. O2s low end. Should have been dropped in '99. Can't tell you how Octane would work with many disks on both controllers, since the onboard SCSI and network interface (as well as other OBIO) share the same PCI bus behind the XIO Bridge. On the Macs: PIDE is horrible for doing more than one thing at once. Period. NCQ SATA is much better, but still not up to the same level as SCSI or derivitives (FC et al). Reliability suffers, too. G5 is a good design, the 970FX is a good processor and the system layout is close to crossbar. I wish I had one. Unfortunately, that line is being discontinued and I don't think Intel has crossbar in anything lower than Xeon.] Not sure where the hang is in Mac SysX. It's somewhere in the Apple proprietary layers (Finder, Quartz...) Happens to me fairly often. I am well aware that Itanium II is pretty good. I believe I recall, though, that the sequence was Itanium1 (Intel's design) -> Last ship for VAX was 2000, last VAX-VMS was 7.3-1. Itanium II (HP bails them out). What will happen next? HP is getting out of processor design . .

20 years

10
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PERQ POSSIBLY AVAILABLE

by michaelgreen42＠comcast.net

I found a guy local that has a PERQ system for sale. Not much interest in it for me but thought one of you guys might be into it. He wants $200.

20 years

9
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Gooey tape rollers - how widespread is this problem ?

by Jason.Armistead＠otis.com

Hi I've got a bunch of old equipment that I'm trying to cull the backup tapes for, namely a MicroVAX 2000 with a TK50 tape drive, and a few QIC drives off various PC, Sun and HP systems. The boxes and boxes of tapes need to be culled, and transferring stuff to CD-R / DVD-R, or simply ditching tapes which are redundant is what I'm looking at doing. I've noticed a few recent postings about tape rollers turning to mush if they haven't been used for a while. How widespread is this problem ? Does it affect all brands of tape drives, or are certain tape technologies worse off. I can never recall having any problems with our TK50 drive from the VAX - it was always reliable, but it's been stored for a few years now. As for the QIC drives, they were "inherited" and I've never really used them, so their history is unknown. How old do the tape drives have to be before this problem appears ? It is related purely to age, or does usage play a factor ? TIA Jason

20 years

2
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token ring fiber transciever

by alexeyt＠freeshell.org

I've got an ODS 836 DB-9 to fiber token ring transciever. I don't know if it works since I've only got one, no power supply for it, and no fiber. It takes a 12V DC power supply, 2 female pin sockets side by side in an ~5mm round male insulator all inside a ~8mm round recess, apparently held in by friction alone (I have never seen this kind of connector elsewhere). It's in a 5" x 2" x .75" possibly watertight machined steel housing (there's a rubber gasket between the 2 halves). If anyone wants it, it's free to a good home. I'm in College Park, MD 20740. Alexey

20 years

1
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Numonics graphics tablet protocol?

by julesrichardsonuk＠yahoo.co.uk

Longest of long shots... :-) I don't suppose anyone has any documentation on the 'packed binary' format that Numonics used to use for their graphics tablets, do they? (Specifically a model 2206 A3 serial tablet, current somewhere around 1990 I suspect) I managed to guess DIP switch settings and serial line settings to a point that I can get useful ASCII data out of the tablet (coordinates and button info) - but if I could interpret the packed binary stream hopefully it'd make the tablet seem a lot more responsive... cheers Jules -- A. Because it destroys the natural flow of conversation. Q. What's wrong with top posting ?

20 years

4
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Available: Procom CDT14-T8X-ETP

by miller.blair＠gmail.com

All, Figured I'd repost this with a bit more information, in case someone missed it, or one of the new members is interested. I've got a Procom CDT14-T8X-ETP networked CD-ROM tower, in pristine working condition, that I've no use for. It has 14 8x SCSI CD-ROM drives that are interfaced through a single twisted pair network card. It measures roughly 15" wide X 20" deep X 17" high and weighs roughly 40-50 pounds. Finally, according to the manual, it'll run under Windows NT or Netware (thus far, I've found no way of getting it running under Linux, or I'd think about using it to host music CD's via a Slim Devices Squeezebox or something similar). Not exactly *classic*, but old enough that it's -- as far as I can tell -- not worth selling on eBay. I thought the case, which is up on casters, would be cool for a project of some sort, but I honestly can't think of anything to do with it. If anyone's interested, they're welcome to it. First come, first serve -- just email me (miller.blair at gmail.com) saying that you want it and when you'll be able to pick it up (I live in Vermontville, MI). Comes with the CD-ROM tower itself, all 14 8X SCSI CD-ROM drives, manual, software, and even the key for the doors. You'll just need to supply two standard power cords. The case has no dents, dings, scratches -- just a couple of very minor scuff marks. If need be, I also might be willing to drop it off... Thanks, Blair

20 years

2
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Scouting mission

by jbmcb1＠gmail.com

So I went back to the University of Michigan property disposition after a two year hiatus, and they actually have a few interesting things... A BIG SGI IRIS, I think it was a 3000, but it looked even larger than pictures I've seen of those. A giant Compaq ProLiant, I'd say P3 vintage, with a dozen PCI slots, sitting on top of a huge disk array. The whole thing was about five feet tall. A bunch of Dell and Compaq disk arrays, housing mostly Seagate U160 drives, so maybe 18GB X 8? A Digital StorageWorks tape backup autoloader cabinet. A bunch of IBM tape and CD-ROM drives, of RISCSystem/6000 vintage. A few Sun Ultra 1's and Ultra 60's. A lonely and beaten-up IBM 3151 terminal, probably from a library. The prices were somewhat reasonable for most of this stuff, which was surprising given their method of checking eBay for appropriate pricing. Boxes of early PCI cards, including some nice Yamaha and Ensoniq audio cards, and various off-brand SCSI cards. They had a big shipment of interesting Pro A/V equipment, I picked up a Panasonic world-standard VCR (PAL/Secam/etc...) and a nice Tascam tape deck. They had some Sony Umatic tape stuff as well. Someone was walking out with a pallet of cool stuff, I recognized a few Rane parametric EQ's and a Tascam pro DAT deck. Very tempting were two big, lab-grade ionizing lasers, complete with power supplies/cooling units. Always wanted one of those... Good hunting!

20 years

2
2
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Gooey tape rollers - how widespread is this problem ?

by aek＠bitsavers.org

> How widespread is this problem ? > How old do the tape drives have to be before this problem appears ? The drive rollers on QIC drives are the most troublesome. Most of the DC300 drives I have are bad. All of the Apple Tape Backup 40's I've ever run into are bad. Most HP DC100 drives are bad. Same for all of the pre-QIC DC300 drives used in Tektronix 405x's, DEI drives in Onyx systems, TI drives, etc. etc. Pretty much all of the drives from before 1985 are bad. No one was thinking about trying to use these things 20+ years after they were shipped. 1/4" cartridge drives are common enough that there are still maybe one in ten that have good rollers. Wangtek is more difficult to repair than Archive, since Archive kept the same roller design for 10+ years, so you can still find later drives that can be cannibalized to fix old ones. It should be possible to use rubber tubing of the right diameter and gasket cement to fix the HP drives. Brad Parker gave me a 1 foot piece of rubber tubing that is the right diameter for TU58 rollers. TK50s have problems with the tapes going sticky. Because of the way the carts are built, I've not found a way to safely dehydrate the tape binder. I have hundreds of DC300 carts that I'm trying to go through that all exhibit some degree of stickiness. Because of how thin this tape is, I'm a bit nervous to use the same dehydration oven I've built for processing 1/2" tape http://www.bitsavers.org/tools/oven

20 years

3
2
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VAXen RULE! (WAS Microkernels)

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: VAXen RULE! (WAS Microkernels) > From: Kevin Handy <kth at srv.net> > Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2006 09:21:31 -0600 > To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >Allison wrote: > >>>Subject: Re: VAXen RULE! (WAS Microkernels) >>> From: Sridhar Ayengar <ploopster at gmail.com> >>> Date: Mon, 07 Aug 2006 12:40:34 -0400 >>> To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> >>> >>>Scott Quinn wrote: >>> >>> >>>>On the positive side, what is the most perfect computer architecture + implementation people have come across here? >>>>Tell us why, especially if it's something like PERQ or Acorn RISC/pc that is not common outside of a limited geographic area. >>>> >>>> >>>I really dig z/Arch. Extreme CISCy goodness. MMMmmmMMMmmmMMM. >>> >>>Extreme pleasure in writing assembler. >>> >>>Peace... Sridhar >>> >>> >> >>Vax is good but PDP-11 is it's foundation and of the 16bitters it's a very >>nice cpu. >> >>Allison >> >> >The best processor is going to be different based on the person >you are talking to. Everyone has their own idea as to what >features are important, and fond old memories of working on >an ancient (wasn't then) OS tend to sway their decision. If you >go back to one of those old systems, you often think to yourself >"did I really put up with all this crap?" Yes! Often looking back it was the tools rather than the CPU that were "crap". >If you just want to play around with a lot of different CPU >architectures to see what they were like, the 'simh' series of >emulators might be a place to start. Most of them are sturdy >enough to run a real OS, and they have the ability to work >at the instruction level. Includes a simple assembler/ >disassembler for each CPU. > >Lets you play with a lot of hardware before deciding you want >to spend actual money on them. Having the opportunity to play with everything DEC from PDP-8 through Alpha and having working PDP-8F, PDP11 (11/03, 11/23, 1173) and MicroVAXen of all sorts a sim is unsatisfying. Going from PDP-8 and PDP-10 to the 8008 was real culture shock (what instruction set?). Having done the whole 8080, 8085, z80, 808x thing makes me appreciate the word orthogonal. The comprehensive list of micros worked with even includes those never discussed here (those nasty little 4bitters). and yes I do like the VAX. From the CISIC view I really like the PDP-11 as it's simple but all there. From a minimalist view the PDP-8 is about as reduced as one can get though the 1802 is pretty inspired in that area.. I still smile when someone says My cpu is better than yours. After all it just might be for something. ;) Allison

20 years

1
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How CPU's work (was Re: Hi, I'm new...)

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: How CPU's work (was Re: Hi, I'm new...) > From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com> > Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2006 09:25:19 -0700 > To: cctalk at classiccmp.org > >On 8/8/2006 at 11:11 AM Dave McGuire wrote: > >> I like the index registers; I use them with some frequency. The >>alternate register set, though...ugh. It'd be much more useful if the >>designers had provided a way to determine which set is currently in use! Index regs are nice, alternate registers...more pain than gain. > >I've wondered about something for years, however. Did anyone ever make use >of the fact that an INI or OTI instruction placed the contents of both the >B and C registers on the Z80 address bus? It would seem to be a simple way >of expanding the I/O space to 64K ports. Yes, but why I'll never know. Even that case they actually never used more 100 or so port addresses. I did use it myself to put z80 on XT ISA (no 8088 at all) but that was to fool the 10bit device IO addresses. It was for hardware savings rather than more addresses. Generally the problem is to write a zero to every possible port of a z80 (outir) will take over .3sec at 4mhz. Every time I hear "I want to have all 64k ports" I ask what in the world requires 512kbits of slow IO! Allison

20 years

1
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Cleaning microfiche?

by aek＠bitsavers.org

> The History Resource Center has a stack of fiche with oil all over it Be EXTREMELY careful when cleaning them. Oil will soften the emulsion, and fiche are VERY easily scratched.

20 years

1
0
0 0

SPARCstation LX troubleshooting

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

> I have 2 that I picked up the other day. They "appear" to power up (e.g. >lights, drive seeking, etc). I tried 2 different monitors, but I don't get >any video. I believe that Suns can be set to ignore the graphics console and immediately go to TTY. Definitely plug in a term and see what happens. There are PROM commands to change back to graphics. >I'd recommend looking into running either OpenBSD or maybe NetBSD on them. >I know OpenBSD has a small enough memory footprint to fit on one nicely >(won't guarentee it's supported hardware though as I don't have any LX's). >Even Solaris 2.6 will be painful on one. Be Classic- SunOS 4.1.4! NetBSD is a second-place contender, but good if you need all the new stuff, it doesn't have all the Sunny goodness, though.

20 years

4
4
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for trade: IBM 5028 Teletype

by hardware＠ees1s0.engr.ccny.cuny.edu

For trade: IBM 5028 Operator Station from System/7 http://ees2cy.engr.ccny.cuny.edu/wwwa/web/hardware/ibm5028a.jpg http://ees2cy.engr.ccny.cuny.edu/wwwa/web/hardware/ibm5028b.jpg As you can see the machine is not pretty. Fortunately the cracked part of the case is not lost. (It fell in.) I bought a ribbon, powered it up and typed on it a little bit and at least that part of it works. I would like to trade this for something pre-1980 made by Tektronix. -kurt

20 years

1
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Not classic, but free: HP-UX (and the B2000)

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

> Is that a new feature? Do you get the Customer ID and Licence Code for >free now? (These are necessary to unlock e.g. the compilers on the >Applications CD) As I said in the first post, I am unsure as to the legality. There does not seem to be any license manager style enforcement in place. I was able to install compilers and SoftBench from the "HP-UX 11i Version 1 Application Software for HP Visualize workstations and HP 9000 Enterprise Servers June 2006 - Software on this disk is unsecured" disk and run SoftBench and a lazy poke at aCC to see if it griped. It didn't. Take that for what it's worth. The CD's were free, after all, and you can always use GCC. At this point, I'm busy wth school and building S/W on my SGIs, so I'm not going to mess with it any more just now.

20 years

2
1
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Mac keyboards

by trag＠io.com

>Date: Mon, 07 Aug 2006 21:30:08 -0700 >From: Don <THX1138 at dakotacom.net> >I have an "Apple Adjustable Keyboard" -- a wacky keyboard >that splits in the center ("ergonomic"?) and has an >auxillary "function/numeric" keyboard that sits alongside >it (sheesh! What a wacky arrangement -- how to use up the >most desktop space with the least added functionality! :< ) > >Needless to say, I am not happy with it. What should I >be looking for as an alternative? If you're using it with your Q840AV, then you need an ADB keyboard. Many folks believe that the best were the Apple Extended Keyboard II. These are generally easy to find at thrift shops/Goodwill and such for $10 - $15. They originally retailed for well over $100. I imagine that there are (or were) thousands or tens of thousands of them sitting at recyclers waiting to be crushed--and they're just full of keyswitches. If you're really lucky, you might find a NeXT Model N8001 keyboard. Some NeXT machines used an ADB keyboard. The N8001 has a compact size (no F keys) and the Command key is a long bar below the spacebar, which I find very convenient--though it sort of ruins me for other keyboards. And a completely superficial feature that pleases me disproportionately, it's a nice pure black, except for the green 'Power' button. Unfortunately, it's a membrane keyboard, so you may not like the feel. For a nice clackety clack feel, stick with the Extended Keyboard II. BTW, if you need a bunch of Mac specific help you may wish to check out the Vintage Macs email group sponsored by Lowendmac.com. I'd point you at the comp.sys.mac.* hierarchy, but the newsgroups just aren't what they used to be, sigh. I really like newsreader clients *a lot* better than email clients or web based fora. Sigh again. Trolls recently drove the signal portion of the S/N ratio off of the rec.aquaria hierarchy and onto Google groups and reading fora on a web browser is painful. It only shows me 30 thread titles at a time. I have to load a new page rather than simply scrolling to see the rest of the thread titles. Everything opens in the same window, instead of a separate window for each message that I open. Newswatcher (or maybe TIN) was the peak of forum/newsgroup browsing ease. Jeff Walther

20 years

1
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Mac 840AV networking

by trag＠io.com

>Date: Mon, 7 Aug 2006 22:41:04 -0400 >From: "Jason McBrien" <jbmcb1 at gmail.com> >On 8/7/06, Don <THX1138 at dakotacom.net> wrote: >> >> OK, the 840AV has one of those mini-centronics-style >> connectors on the rear for the network transceiver. >> >> I have some "Asante FriendlyNet Thin Adapter"s that will >> mate with this and work -- for a 10Base2 network! >> >> The Asante box has an RJ45 on the rear. The cable that >> mates to the network connector on the 840AV has that >> funky mini-centronics on one end and an RJ45 *plug* >> on the other. >> >> This choice of connectors -- and the "Thin Adapter" >> moniker -- suggests that I could plug the RJ45 *plug* >> end of this cable into a hub directly? >> >> Is this true? Or, just wishful thinking (and an unfortunate >> choice in connectors on Asantes part)? >Nope, I'm 99% sure the RJ45 cable is not a regular CAT4/CAT5 style ethernet >connector, since I have some of the same Asante adapter dongles with RJ45 >jacks on the end of them (IE the AUI->RJ45 connector fits into a box, that >has another RJ45 jack on it that's the ethernet interface.) You must have an older Asante transceiver. The more recent ones have the cable integrated into the transceiver box, so that there is no seperate dongle. For those having trouble following, Apple used an odd connector (the mini-centronics referred to above) for their AUI port and called it an AAUI port. It makes a certain amount of sense as the AAUI is a more compact connector which works nicely for laptops and saves space on the computer backplane. Also, Apple is (was) already using DB15 for their video port. Various companies made transceivers for the AAUI port, including Asante. Asante's older transceivers have an AAUI to RJ45 plug dongle. The RJ45 end of the dongle plugs into the transceiver box which may be for thicknet, thinnet or UTP (they also made some combo boxes with UTP and thinnet in the same box). Anyway, you'll (Don will) want to find an actual UTP transceiver. They're cheap, but not as thick on the ground as they once were. Apple gave up on the AAUI with the first PCI Macs (well, they started including UTP built-in next to the AAUI, but who used the AAUI after that?) so the only folks still using the AAUI transceivers are running NuBus machines, and there aren't that many of us left. If you have a local Goodwill Computer Works store, you may find an assortment of AAUI transceivers in a bin for $3 - $5 unless they've lost their minds for Ebay pricing. <digression> I saw several HP 600N ethernet cards (successor to the MIO cards for LaserJet printers) at the San Antonio Computer Works store priced over $50. They say they're pricing them using Ebay pricing. However, when I bought one on Ebay, I found that they generally ended for about $20 (which was still more than I was willing to pay). There were some sellers using fixed price sales at ~$50, but there's no saying anyone ever bought from them. For some of their pricing, Goodwill has recently lost their institutional mind. </digression> Jeff Walther

20 years

1
0
0 0

VAXen RULE! (WAS Microkernels)

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: VAXen RULE! (WAS Microkernels) > From: Sridhar Ayengar <ploopster at gmail.com> > Date: Mon, 07 Aug 2006 12:40:34 -0400 > To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >Scott Quinn wrote: >> On the positive side, what is the most perfect computer architecture + implementation people have come across here? >> Tell us why, especially if it's something like PERQ or Acorn RISC/pc that is not common outside of a limited geographic area. > >I really dig z/Arch. Extreme CISCy goodness. MMMmmmMMMmmmMMM. > >Extreme pleasure in writing assembler. > >Peace... Sridhar Vax is good but PDP-11 is it's foundation and of the 16bitters it's a very nice cpu. Allison

20 years

2
1
0 0

Scouting Mission

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

> A BIG SGI IRIS, I think it was a 3000, but it looked even larger than >pictures I've seen of those. Quick check on those: was it beige? The IRIS x000 series were the only beige computers SGI produced. If it was brown it's a 4D. They made them in 3 sizes, I've seen 2 (terminal and deskside) The terminal could sit on your desk. 9 Multibus slots, no disks The deskside is the most common- 20 Multibus slots, 2 5.25" FH HDD positions and 1 5.25" FH removable-media position, along with much dead space. Stands about 3' high. There are rumors of a rackmount designed to use SMD drives, for those who needed big, fast storage. There are a number of people on the list with these, if you're interested grab it.

20 years

3
2
0 0

Mac keyboards

by SUPRDAVE＠aol.com

In a message dated 8/8/2006 12:30:29 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, THX1138 at dakotacom.net writes: I have an "Apple Adjustable Keyboard" -- a wacky keyboard that splits in the center ("ergonomic"?) and has an auxillary "function/numeric" keyboard that sits alongside it (sheesh! What a wacky arrangement -- how to use up the most desktop space with the least added functionality! :< ) Needless to say, I am not happy with it. What should I be looking for as an alternative? --------- Some people actually like that keyboard. I have one myself with the keypad I got for free. There's a bunch of different types of keyboards you can use. I prefer the mac keyboards with the ADP ports on the side of the keyboard. I have some that you can plug the mouse in from underneath the keyboard, but the connection seems to work loose eventually.

20 years

1
0
0 0

tricep? what's tricep?

by robert.stek＠gmail.com

IIRC, Morrow Designs biggest, baddest S-100 machine (used a switching PS!) could run CP/M but with a special boot ROM (on the backplane with serial I/O I believe) also ran UNIX System V substituting a 68000 CPU board for the usual Z80. That was the Tricep I believe, which came out around 1984. Bob Stek Saver of Lost Sols

20 years

1
0
0 0

How CPU's work (was Re: Hi, I'm new...)

by technobug＠comcast.net

On Mon, 07 Aug 2006 09:16:34 -0700, "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com> wrote: > > I used to have a CPU S100 board that I built for the National > PACE. That > CPU was a catastrophe. So slow and with very little NS support. > Given > its very early introduction, it could have been a comer had NS > taken any > interest in it. But at the time, NS was pushing the SC/MP and > signing > second-sourcing deals. > IIRC what made the NS PACE such a screaming shame was that it was a clone of the Data General Nova 1200. The thought of being able to gen up code on my lab system and stuff it into this little chip just made me drool up until I discovered that, fearing the wrath of DG, they split the program counter. That made it a 256 word paged machine rendering all the code generation facilities useless. It was a while before DG came out with a chip set that was priced out of sight (another company which wouldn't share...). CRC

20 years

4
5
0 0

Maybe OT? SFTP Backup software

by kyrrin＠bluefeathertech.com

Perhaps a little off-topic, but... I need to locate a (hopefully inexpensive) backup software package, for use on Windows 2000, that will allow me to back up files over SFTP (FTP over secure shell) to a remote server. Said package needs to do so completely without user intervention (in other words, I don't want to make things any more complicated for my dad's system than I have to). I've found a few, but they all seem to bear at least a three-digit price tag. Thanks in advance. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bruce Lane, Owner & Head Hardware Heavy, Blue Feather Technologies -- http://www.bluefeathertech.com kyrrin (at) bluefeathertech do/t c=o=m "If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped with surreal ports?"

20 years

2
1
0 0

Microkernels (WAS Re: New to the list)

by aek＠bitsavers.org

> Current Macs share much more with PeeCees > than SGI IRISes and Sun SPARCs, so there is most likely a non-insignificant amount of suboptimal hardware that eats processor cycles Please give concrete examples of this "suboptimal hardware" you speculate about, and give examples of how this is done better on SGI or Sun DESKTOP CLASS Hardware.

20 years

4
5
0 0

My Newest (oldest) Data General Computer

by rborsuk＠colourfull.com

Hi, Just added a new (old) Data General Computer to my collection. Thought I would share it with those who are interested. http://homepage.mac.com/irisworld/PhotoAlbum4.html Yep, a Nova 2. I acquired this computer with 2 diablo drives, power / controller unit, and cables. Rob ps. Even received 2 cartridges for the drives.

20 years

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Need help with LAT > SSH tunnel

by fireflyst＠earthlink.net

Does anyone know if there is an easy way to forward a LAT connection to either SSH or Telnet on a VMS 8.2 machine? I have a PDP-11 running RSTS/E that has no form of TCP/IP available, only LAT and DECnet, and I want to make it available via SSH connection through the VMS system. Any help would be appreciated. Julian

20 years

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"misload" error on JB

by THX1138＠dakotacom.net

When trying to eject a cartridge from one of my JB's, I get a "MISLOAD" error reported on the front panel. Media is accessible, otherwise, just won't eject. I've never seen this before. And the choice of message seems misleading (I could understand a "misload" on a *load* but not an "eject"!) I've just started to take the skin off the JB so I can get access to the drive. Is this just a nuisance error (perhaps caused by manhandling the JB while media was loaded) or a harbinger of Bad Things to come? :<

20 years

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COM90C65?

by rtellason＠verizon.net

I've acquired a couple of tubes of these chips, NOS as far as I know, and can't seem to find any data on them at any of the usual places, though the COM90C66 datasheet mentions it briefly. I did find one email where a guy was looking for some but the post was several years old and the email address didn't work any more. Anybody have a datasheet for these? Know what they're good for? Need some? -- Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and ablest -- form of life in this section of space, a critter that can be killed but can't be tamed. --Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters" - Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James M Dakin

20 years

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tricep? what's tricep?

by dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu

I found some 5.25" floppies labeled "TRICEP UTILITIES" and "tricep standalone with UNIX". Anyone know what that might have been? -- David Griffith dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text. Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing? A: Top-posting. Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

20 years

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Sparcstation LX troubleshooting

by kelly＠catcorner.org

I have 2 that I picked up the other day. They "appear" to power up (e.g. lights, drive seeking, etc). I tried 2 different monitors, but I don't get any video. Any troublshooting tips, or should I connect to the serial A port and see if there is any outut there? Any other things that could cause no apparent video on these units? thanks, Kelly

20 years

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RA81 boards available

by pdp11owner＠gmail.com

Hi, I am cleaning out some items from my 'treasures' (as my wife calls them!). I have 3 boards available, without cables, which were originally from an RA81 circa 1987. I have no way of testing them and I am offering them as-is where-is, etc. I want the boards to go to someone who needs the boards to get an RA81 back to a running state, or, to an established member of the list who can be entrusted with the boards for restoring an RA81 (Sellem?) The boards are located in a little town very near Calgary Alberta Canada. I can arrange for shipping if required. Shipping costs will be required in advance. Board 1: HDA PCB4 5015287B 5415288 Board 2: 5015246-00-C1-P2 5415247 Board 3: 5415251 5015250-00-C1-P2 RA81 SERVO CONTROL KA865446004 1/0 A 24MAR87 70-19045-01 8654460004 Board 2 has all socketed chips removed. Boards 1 & 3 look to be complete. If someone has a copy of OpenVMS for an Alpha 300XL, I would be interested. I am in the process of applying for a DECUS membership and then a license PAK. I do not have any media. :-( --barry

20 years

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Macs and PCs vs workstations

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

On 8/7/06, Zane H. Healy <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote: > My point was that VAX/VMS became OpenVMS which runs on both VAX and > Alpha with v6.0, IIRC. The newest version to run on the VAX is 7.3. > I've no idea if they're ever going to do one of the 8.x versions for > the VAX. The roadmap on the HP website might give a clue. Ah... I missed the semantic distinction. I'm with you now. -ethan

20 years

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