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

Affects of moisture (or lack thereof) on components (was: Powering up sleeping uVAX II)

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

> Does anything bad happen to electronics that are stored in very dry > conditions for long periods of time? Cities like this would be anything > in Utah, Arizona, Nevada and Idaho (Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Phoenix, > Boise, Reno, etc.). In places that are hot and have lots of pollution/ozone (e.g. Los Angeles) foams and rubber and plastics can become brittle and crumble/fall apart much more readily than other places. Sunlight combined with heat and ozone is particularly brutal. Of the places you name, Phoenix is the one I know of that has some pollution/ozone issues but in my limitied time there (springtime, with temps in the 90's) the pollution didn't seem so awful. Tim.

20 years, 7 months

1
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Atari 800 Schematics

by wbblair3＠yahoo.com

> Anyone has the schematic diagrams of the Atari 800 ? Not the 800xl ! > > Alberto The Atari 400/800 Technical Reference Notes (which include schematics) are on-line here: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/kryten_droid/Atari/800XL/Atari_technical_refer… Bill __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

20 years, 7 months

2
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best yardsale in a decade

by dogas＠bellsouth.net

yep, the ad in the paper said 'free osciliscope and electronics parts' Tony would have had a boner at this one. I picked up a nice Tek 422 scope with 3 probes, and then filled the car with boxes of TTL, and every other type discrete electronics, a few power supplies and a few other goodies packed within. There was a boxed Imsai PIO-4 and a few other s100 cards (8k static and a few wirewrapped z80 processors). There were a few incredible chips in pile that the foam really screwed up... check out: http://bellsouthpwp.net/d/o/dogas/chips1.jpg There was a ceramic C8080A with the pins completly eaten away , a Ceramic MOS 6532 that faired only a little better, a ceramic/traced AMI 6810, and a early plastic 6502 and 6530 among the more conventional stuff. Any recommendations on neutralizing/cleaning the gunk of the ceramics? Oh yeah, then there was the boxed SD Z-80 Starter Kit SBC with manual and cassette. A sweet little sbc with 2 s-100 slots (installable) but I had to buy that one for $8 It has been a long dry season and all I can say is its about damn time. ;) - Mike: dogas at bellsouth.net

20 years, 7 months

1
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Intel 80286 "DCU" Multibus system

by ken＠seefried.com

> From: Jules Richardson <julesrichardsonuk at yahoo.co.uk> > > The CPU board has an extra 1MB memory board fitted, > This would likely be an iLBX bus memory card. > > a daughterboard which goes > to the possible-console connector, and a battery-backed clock card (luckily > there's minimum damage from battery corrosion) > These would likely be iSBX bus cards. Definately looks like some variation on a 310 to me.

20 years, 7 months

1
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speaking of Intel computers - ARPA DOT?

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

I was out scrounging yesterday and found an odd looking computer (I THINK it was a computer) with a name plate that said ARPA DOT. Any idea what this is? It was heavy aluminium case about two foot high and about 8 inches wide and about 2 foot deep. The top edges were cut at 45d angle about 1" high and the bottom flared out about 1 1/2" on each side and the case was painted a dark grey. On the bottom front was a brass name plate that was screwed to the case. The name plate said ISSI Intel ARPA DOT and was arranged like this: ARPA ISSI Intel DOT The case had two large vertical card solts that opened in the front. The one on the left had a 3 1/2" hard drive in it. The one on the right was emply but looked like it held the CPU, memory etc. There didn't appear to be any electonics in the case except for the power supply. The "drive board" had a small HD SCSI connector on the front but there were no other connectors on the outside the case except for one for an AC power cord. It was definitely unique looking but since the main board was missing and I had a full load I passed it up. I TRY to keep my digital camera with me for opportunities like this but I was driving a different car and didn't have it. Joe

20 years, 7 months

2
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best yardsale in a decade

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

You lucky dog! Dammed shame about those ICs! Are you coming down for the hamfest? Joe At 12:33 PM 2/6/06 -0500, you wrote: >yep, the ad in the paper said 'free osciliscope and electronics parts' Tony would have had a boner at this one. > >I picked up a nice Tek 422 scope with 3 probes, and then filled the car with boxes of TTL, and every other type discrete electronics, a few power supplies and a few other goodies packed within. There was a boxed Imsai PIO-4 and a few other s100 cards (8k static and a few wirewrapped z80 processors). There were a few incredible chips in pile that the foam really screwed up... check out: > > http://bellsouthpwp.net/d/o/dogas/chips1.jpg > >There was a ceramic C8080A with the pins completly eaten away , a Ceramic MOS 6532 that faired only a little better, a ceramic/traced AMI 6810, and a early plastic 6502 and 6530 among the more conventional stuff. Any recommendations on neutralizing/cleaning the gunk of the ceramics? > >Oh yeah, then there was the boxed SD Z-80 Starter Kit SBC with manual and cassette. A sweet little sbc with 2 s-100 slots (installable) but I had to buy that one for $8 > >It has been a long dry season and all I can say is its about damn time. > >;) >- Mike: dogas at bellsouth.net > >

20 years, 7 months

1
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HP 6020i SureStore drive

by charlesmorris＠direcway.com

My ten year old HP 6020i CD-Writer drive isn't working properly any more (frequently gives "Power Calibration Errors" while trying to write a CD-R). I've never worked inside these drives and for only 2X write speed don't want to learn. I just got a 52X drive for $23.99 and the difference is dramatic (2 minutes to burn a CD vs. 38 minutes!) Anyway, if anyone wants it, with the manuals and installation CD, they can have it for the cost of postage, otherwise it's going in the trash... thanks Charles

20 years, 7 months

2
1
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IPC manuals?

by aek＠bitsavers.org

> Does anyone if the HP IPC manuals are scanned and posted online We exchanged some mail about it, but I needed to clear the backlog of 98x6 stuff first. I have the service manual scanned, but it isn't on line yet.

20 years, 7 months

2
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M7821 module schematic

by aek＠bitsavers.org

Did some digging.. You can find it on pages 76 and 77 of the RP11C controller schematics RP11-C_schemMay73.pdf I'll extract the pages and add it to the M-series module schematics on bitsavers.

20 years, 7 months

2
1
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Old Computer Collecting vs Electronics Building

by dm561＠torfree.net

Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2006 01:56:23 -0500 (EST) From: der Mouse <mouse at Rodents.Montreal.QC.CA> Subject: Re: Old Computer Collecting vs Electronics Building >> There really should be a requirement for >> licensing of computer owners/users - if you can't prove you can >> secure a machine properly, you don't get to own one... >It's only when they connect to the net - or want to take them on the >public roads - that there's any reason for the State to get involved. You're soooo right!!! We have waaaayyy too much freedom and not nearly enough State control!!! Programmers should of course also be licensed and only State-approved languages and programs should be permitted. You should also not be allowed to access the 'Net with anything other than an Intel-inside PC-compatible meeting State-approved specs and running State-approved security software (with built-in provisions for bypassing and access by any State agency that wants it, of course). I'm sure this would stop every hacker & virus-writer cold, just like our billion-dollar-plus (original cost estimate: 2 million) gun registry has eradicated all gun-related crime in Canada (especially here in Toronto). Oh, wait - no, it's actually more or less tripled since they brought that in; hmmm... Love the caps on the State, BTW; puts it right up there with the Big Guy/Gal where it belongs... Sheesh... and I made a New Year's resolution to never again get sucked into and contribute to one of these moronic elitist threads... Sorry. mike

20 years, 7 months

4
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MS11-LD (M7891-DA)

by waisun.chia＠gmail.com

Quick one: Can I plug a M7891-DA into a 11/44? This is supposed to be 128kW MOS RAM for the 11/24 and 11/34A... BTW, what kinds of memory options/expansions does a 11/44 have?

20 years, 7 months

2
4
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OT - Need fuse and jumpers from APC battery pack

by nerdware＠ctgonline.org

Those of you in data centers that may have a dead APC lying around... Someone donated a Smart-UPS 1000 to our theatre. Dead batteries, but otherwise it's good. I ordered a set of replacement cells from a 3rd-party vendor, but when I went to pull the dead cells, one of the wire jumpers that connects between the cell terminal and the blue 60A fuse was all corroded from leaked battery goo. And I accidentally cracked the fuse while trying to extricate everything. I know I can get the fuse at the parts store, but I don't think I'm going to have much luck finding someone at APC to send me one jumper... Anybody have a dead UPS that you're about to scrap that has the fuse assembly you'd be willing to pull and part with? You can email me offlist. Thanks. -- Paul Braun Valparaiso, IN "There's a fine line between stupid, and clever." - David St. Hubbins "Enjoy every sandwich." - Warren Zevon "The Fountain of Youth is a state of mind." - The Ides of March

20 years, 7 months

30
63
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Glockenspiel C++ or CFRONT sources

by ifinlay＠tycoint.com

Dear Ram, I saw your post: http://classiccmp.org/pipermail/cctech/2005-July/047615.html I also need a Cfront Translator from C++ to C (preferably for MS-DOS or Windows). Company previously used a, now deceased Apollo workstation with Domain 2.1.0. But its not working any more, so have managed to move all but the C++ to C translation onto the Microsoft development platform. If you get any feedback I would appreciate it. Sincerely Ian Finlay Wormald Technology

20 years, 7 months

1
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BBC monitor up for grabs

by peter.hicks＠poggs.co.uk

All, I have a BBC monitor up for grabs - I know nothing about it, but do have the following two pictures: * http://www.welikegoats.com/ebay/bbc1.jpg * http://www.welikegoats.com/ebay/bbc2.jpg It comes with a free DB9 to mini-DIN lead too. Offers in the region of ?0.00p, but you'll have to collect from Leatherhead (UK). If you're interested, drop me a mail off-list (otherwise it's going to go in a folder I don't read often!). Poggs -- Peter Hicks | e: my.name at poggs.co.uk | g: 0xE7C839F4 | w: www.poggs.com A: Because it destroys the flow of the conversation Q: Why is top-posting bad?

20 years, 7 months

1
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Fs/Ft. HP-HIL/ SUN converters

by roosmcd＠dds.nl

Hello, I've got three original (no idea if anyone else beside HP made these) HP-HIL keyboard adapter modules, without any cables however. IIRC these will allow you to connect a standard PS/2 keyboard and mouse to any workstation with HP-HIL keyboard connector (although it's been some time since I had a workstation with HP-HIL). Another thing I have is a couple of Siplex FT SMS U10 and SMS U8, made by Infratec (googling for infratec+siplex should give you the page). These would be to connect a machine with a SUN keyboard or console connector to a KVM switch, but unfortunately they have the wrong firmware in them. IIRC there was an ATMega uC inside them. These do come with a cable set. As for trades, a better videocard for an PWS500a would be nice, otherwise laserdiscs, CD-i or a MCA soundcard/networkcard for my P70. Also looking to get rid of a few P2000 machines an a Domesday system. greetings, Michiel

20 years, 7 months

1
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Mitron STD1600 9-track - manuals and cables and software found

by recycler＠swbell.net

Hi, Whomever got the as-new Mitron STD1600 9-track from me, I found the books and cables. software is on the PC. Please contact me by phone to receive the items. Patrick Jankowiak 214-763-4764

20 years, 7 months

2
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OT but very funny

by news＠computercollector.com

Everyone here should read today's Dilbert. http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/archive/dilbert-20060205.html ----------------------------------------- Evan Koblentz's personal homepage: http://www.snarc.net Computer Collector Newsletter: >> http://news.computercollector.com Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists & Museum: >> http://www.marchclub.org >> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/midatlanticretro/

20 years, 7 months

2
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Update on VCF East 3.0

by news＠computercollector.com

Here's an update... - We have nine exhibitors already signed up. Visit the VCF web site at http://www.vintage.org/2006/east/exhibit.php to sign up now. We're close to finalizing the prices; it will probably be $25 to exhibit (as a non-profit group we REALLY need the funds.) - We arranged for discounted rooms (Fri., May 12 - Sun., May 14) at the nearby Holiday Inn (where these is good food and broadband) -- call (732) 544-9300 and tell them it's for the Vintage Computer Festival. - In addition to the antique computers, there will be a special area with small exhibits from the other groups headquarted at our venue (the InfoAge Learning Center) which includes historic collections of military vehicles, diving gear, radio, and more. - Although this VCF is only one day (Sat., May 13), there will still be a post-VCF event for exhibitors and VIPs that evening. - We haven't yet started signing up speakers, but that will begin soon. Meanwhile we are trying to get some celebrity speakers (relatively speaking!) with an emphasis on computing history local to the east coast. Let your imagination run wild. :) ----------------------------------------- Evan Koblentz's personal homepage: http://www.snarc.net Computer Collector Newsletter: >> http://news.computercollector.com Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists & Museum: >> http://www.marchclub.org >> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/midatlanticretro/

20 years, 7 months

1
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SE/30 runs OS X

by spectre＠floodgap.com

... sort of. http://www.kaede.sakura.ne.jp/~kidou/mac/macmini01.html -- --------------------------------- personal: http://www.armory.com/~spectre/ --- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckaiser at floodgap.com -- Specialization is for insects. -- Robert Heinlein --------------------------

20 years, 7 months

2
2
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Favorite DOS batch language

by cclist＠sydex.com

Does anyone have any favorites when it comes to extending MS-DOS's batch language? Ideally, I'd like a facility to do simple arithmetic and looping and be able to parse filenames into their components a la 'C' "splitpath". Long file name support would be a bonus. Anyone have any candidates? Cheers, Chuck

20 years, 7 months

7
10
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HP2648A tape drive capstans

by aek＠bitsavers.org

> Anyone tried readtapes.com with one? John is only set up to read 7 and 9 track 1/2" tapes.

20 years, 7 months

1
0
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Free DEC BA123 chassis in Michigan

by fernande＠internet1.net

Hi all, I have a BA123 that I don't need. It's disassembled and didn't look the greatest before being taken apart. The outside panels are a bit warped and dirty/scratched. It looks to be structurally sound, However. I do have the power supply, although, I haven't tried testing it. Pick up only in Battle Creek. Chad Fernandez Michigan, USA

20 years, 7 months

1
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Job openings in wireless/signal/embedded area?

by vax9000＠gmail.com

Folks, I am looking for a job. If you know job openings I would appreciate it if you could let me know. I hold a master's degree in wireless communications and you know I am also skilled in embedded/DSP area. Take a look of www.mscpscsi.com if you are suspecious of that :) vax, 9000

20 years, 7 months

2
2
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Qume DataTrack 8 info needed

by cclist＠sydex.com

Does anyone out there have at least a schematic of a Qume DT-8 drive? My favorite just packed up--no read, no write, but positions and loads the heads just fine. Bitsavers appears to have the 242 and 842 QT drives online, but not the DT-8. Cheers, Chuck

20 years, 7 months

1
1
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Emulex UC13 PDF?

by lbickley＠bickleywest.com

Anyone have a PDF of an Emulex UC13 Manual? If so, please email me a copy. If it's too big for your email system, let me know and I can pick it up from your ftp site or I'll point you to an upload ftp site. Cheers, Lyle -- Lyle Bickley Bickley Consulting West Inc. Mountain View, CA http://bickleywest.com "Black holes are where God is dividing by zero"

20 years, 7 months

1
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Superset graphics supercomputer

by rdawson16＠hotmail.com

I used to play around with one of these. I am eager to find out any more information (or even find one for my collection!) We sold them and I became friends with the designer Ian Hirscholn. He later wrote an article in Dr. Dobbs about a version of his OS running on a pc, it was called PORT Randy _________________________________________________________________ Is your PC infected? Get a FREE online computer virus scan from McAfee? Security. http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963

20 years, 7 months

1
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HP2648A tape drive capstans

by bobalan＠sbcglobal.net

I fixed mine my cleaning off the goo and sliding a thick piece of surgical tubing over the pinch roller. I had to strech the tubing quite a bit, but it works just fine. I have heard other people use o-rings but I don't know they keep them on. Bob Message: 20 Date: Fri, 03 Feb 2006 13:05:02 -0700 From: Richard <legalize at xmission.com> Subject: HP2648A tape drive capstans To: cctalk at classiccmp.org Message-ID: <E1F57B0-0007Ox-00 at xmission.xmission.com> Hey, so I'm glad that I read a web page (can't remember the URL, sorry... linked from the Nike Missile site, I think) about refurbishing deteriorated parts in old machines. I bought a 2648A main unit (would love a keyboard for it, if anyone has an extra) and opened it up last night. The tape drive capstans have turned to a puddle of goo! So I figure that if I ever want the tape drive to be in working order, that I need to: i) remove the goo ii) recreate/replace the capstan Does anyone have a unit with an intact capstan that could give me physical dimensions? I doubt anyone has a repair kit that would include the capstan, but that would certainly be welcome! Aside from the capstans and a little dust inside the case, the internals look fine. The case has a small crack in one corner, but otherwise appears in typical condition for its age. This thing is basically a microcomputer... when I used them back in 1979, I had no idea that there was this much electronics inside the thing! I do have the user manual from bitsavers, but it doesn't go into repair stuff, just installation (which is how I figured out how to open the case) of options. As always... thanks! -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline"-- code samples, sample chapter, FAQ: <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/> Pilgrimage: Utah's annual demoparty <http://pilgrimage.scene.org>

20 years, 7 months

3
2
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DEC Stuff available in MA ... Part #1

by tfuller＠kalittaair.com

Richard, I realize I'm probably a little later but non the less, I'm interested in those Vt 320 Terminals that you mentioned. If by chance they are still available pls drop me a line or call. Thanks. Telia "T" Fuller Flight Sim Kalitta Air 734 544-7010 x7180

20 years, 7 months

2
1
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Price = Call

by legalize＠xmission.com

Grrr..... I know that prices can change and can be negotiated, but it irks me when people put "Price = Call" all over their web site for *every* single item on it. Why bother to do that? Either publish a price or don't, but don't try to pretend you're publishing a price when you have no intention of doing so. -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline"-- code samples, sample chapter, FAQ: <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/> Pilgrimage: Utah's annual demoparty <http://pilgrimage.scene.org>

20 years, 7 months

3
2
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Help needed in Albany, NY.

by pat＠computer-refuge.org

Hey, I know some of you are in upstate New York... i've got something (IBM gear) that I want to get, which demands pickup-only in Albany. Is anyone willing to help with arranging freight shipping for that? The stuff needs to probably be palletized, banded, and shrink wrapped- should be 2 pallets of stuff (3 units)- and possibly dropped off at a freight depot. Contact me off-list if you're willing to help. Thanks, Pat -- Purdue University ITAP/RCAC --- http://www.rcac.purdue.edu/ The Computer Refuge --- http://computer-refuge.org

20 years, 7 months

1
0
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emulator

by wernerbusch＠t-online.de

Dear Sirs, we need Your help for analyzing a the software of a control unit. We are a German Company and the unit is not longer supported by developer. ( company is down). Target is to analyze some parts of the software and make some little changes. ( change 2 parameters dirct in software). The cpu on control unit is a NEC V25 / V25+ (80186 derivate, 84-pin PLCC ), software is on eeprom 512 KByte. We want to trace the running program, analyze some parts, see registers etc. Is this possible with one of your systems ? Please tell us what we need to reach our target and what are the price for the system we need. Kind Regards Busch-Automation Werner Busch

20 years, 7 months

1
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Favorite DOS batch language

by dm561＠torfree.net

Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2006 16:58:31 -0800 (PST) From: "Peter C. Wallace" <pcw at mesanet.com> Subject: Re: Favorite DOS batch language >On Fri, 3 Feb 2006, Chuck Guzis wrote: >> Does anyone have any favorites when it comes to extending MS-DOS's batch >> language? >4DOS >Does you file name parsing plus stuff like: >copy frap*.foo brap*.goo >Peter Wallace Hmmm, I can do that with MS-DOS; what am I missing? mike

20 years, 7 months

1
0
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what bus is this for?

by dm561＠torfree.net

Date: Fri, 03 Feb 2006 15:52:22 -0800 From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com> Subject: Re: what bus is this for? On 2/3/2006 at 3:30 PM Dwight Elvey wrote: >>Hi >> I think ( but I'm not sure ) that this spacing was >>used for the bus connectors on the KIM-1 and the SYM-1/2. >>Dwight >Could be. I've got an Optimal Technology EP-2A EPROM programmer board that >I believe was intended for use with the KIM-1. It does use that 44-pin >connector. <snip> Also used on the AIM65 (and, IIRC, the VIC20) BTW, Issue 7 of the AIM Interactive mag (available on Rich's site) had the schematic & software (in Forth) for a very simple 2716/2532(2732) EPROM programmer; 2 TTL & CMOS chips and two relays (!). mike

20 years, 7 months

1
0
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Mike Quinn Electronics: Liquidation sale

by kyrrin＠bluefeathertech.com

Fellow CCTECH'ers, especially those in the Bay Area, I just got an E-mail from a fellow scrounger. It seems that, though Mike Quinn Electronics is indeed closing their doors for good, they will be having a big liquidation sale this coming week. Hours for the event will be Tuesday (the 7th) through Friday (the 10th) from 10:00 to 16:00. Regrettably, I have neither the available time nor the budget to make the trip down. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who visits during the final week to hear how it went. Please give Jay my regards if you see him. Keep the peace(es). -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 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, 7 months

2
1
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free stuff

by phufnagel＠snet.net

Found another box of TK50 tapes, so figured I'd ask again if anyone is interested, contact me. Also have a couple of external SCSI tk50 drives I could part with, and a VaxStation2000, with a 19" vax monitor (monitor is probably prohibitively expensive to ship, but anyone near CT who wants both, and keyboard/mouse, etc, I'd give preference to parting with both together). Also tons of 90M DAT tapes, if anyone is interested. Also for anyone near CT, I have a compaq 1600, dual 600mhz cpu's, all 5 drive trays (one 4gig drive dead, but I think I have one to replace it with), and I'll toss in a 3200-raid controller. Free to anyone who wants to pick it up, or meet someplace. I'd consider shipping it if someone wants to cover the shipping costs. And a pair of Mac IIsi's, and three MacSE/30's, all with NIC's (at least one of the SE/30's has NetBSD on it). Free, just looking to clean house (keeping my quadra 650). And anyone who might be looking for TEK service manuals, the old job was tossing several xerox-paper boxes of them out, I'll try to make a list, but if you're looking feel free to ask. Also have some plugins for the 7000 series O-scopes, probably take a few bucks for those, but I can certainly come up with a list. -- Pete

20 years, 7 months

1
0
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Computer Mythbusters

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

Misunderstanding between "unsupported = not guaranteed to work by the manufacturer" (KZQSA disk drives on VMS, HP-UX 11i on G70) and "unsupported = will not work or is not likely to work" (KZQSA on NetBSD, NetBSD on G70) My read of an earlier thread was that KZQSA was not likely to support multiple devices or fixed disks under VMS, rather than merely "HP will not guarantee OpenVMS to support all disks on KZQSA". It would be nice if a definite distinction was made between these two connotations of "unsupported", but I suppose it would be a lot of bother for anyone trying to do that, especially the companies.

20 years, 7 months

1
0
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Favorite DOS batch language

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

fpc ( Forth ) Dwight >From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com> > >Does anyone have any favorites when it comes to extending MS-DOS's batch >language? Ideally, I'd like a facility to do simple arithmetic and looping >and be able to parse filenames into their components a la 'C' "splitpath". >Long file name support would be a bonus. > >Anyone have any candidates? > >Cheers, >Chuck > >

20 years, 7 months

1
0
0 0

what bus is this for?

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

Hi I think ( but I'm not sure ) that this spacing was used for the bus connectors on the KIM-1 and the SYM-1/2. Dwight >From: "Richard" <legalize at xmission.com> > >ebay item #8760295547, prototyping board > >Card edge connector with 44 contacts, 22 per side, 0.156" spacing > >Is this STD bus? I'm not planning on buying it, I was just >curious :) > >-- >"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline"-- code samples, sample chapter, FAQ: > <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/> > Pilgrimage: Utah's annual demoparty > <http://pilgrimage.scene.org>

20 years, 7 months

2
1
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Computer Mythbusters

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

I just busted a recent myth. . . connected my KZQSA up to a RRD42 and a IBM 0661 Winchester - worked just fine booting, mounting, etc under VMS 7.2. Slow, but functional. KZQSA supports more than one device and works with HDDs

20 years, 7 months

2
1
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RK611 schematics

by henk.gooijen＠oce.com

The subject line does not cover this reply, but I think it is good to keep the reply in this thread. I ran the 5 diagnostics (ZR6A - ZR6E) for the RK611 controller, and let each diagnostic run for 2 passes. They all reported no errors. So, time to connect the RK07 drive. Then I ran ZR6H, the first diagnostic for controller -and- a drive. After some 12 minutes I got a print out of the controller registers, (as I had before ...), but this time I looked a bit better at the data and went through the meaning of all bits. In RKCS1 bit 15 CERR was set, this is the Combined Error flag, and you must look at the other bits to find the reason. Then I found that the BSE, Bad Sector Error bit was set ...! I wondered "is the pack I'm using good?", and mounted an other pack. To cut a long story short: I am now booting the 11/34 from DM0: !!! Again, I learned a lot about the hardware, but more important: - do not assume the worst, the problem is often simple. - if the system gives you data, have a *very* good look at it. thanks, - Henk. This message and attachment(s) are intended solely for the use of the addressee and may contain information that is privileged, confidential or otherwise exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient or agent thereof responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately by telephone and with a "reply" message. Thank you for your cooperation.

20 years, 7 months

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Best computer history museums in the US?

by us21090＠yahoo.com

Hi Bill, Two suggestions: Check out Evan Koblentz's list of museums: http://www.snarc.net/c-places.php Also, There's a pretty cool Historical Electronics Museum near Baltimore-Washington International Airport that has a broad range of gear and exhibits: www.hem-usa.org . You can see on their site, that many of the exhibits are Defense-related. They have different areas: Fundamentals Gallery Communications Gallery Early Radar Gallery Cold War Radar Gallery Modern Radar Gallery Countermeasures Gallery Under Seas Gallery Electro-optical Gallery Space Sensor Gallery My kids love it. We also use their facility for our yearly Robot Fest. Nice folks to work with. Scott -------------------- I've heard that the Computer History Museum in Mountain View CA is a good one. Any comments? If one had to choose only one (pre-PC) computer history museum to visit in the US, would that be the one to choose? Please provide leads to any other good computer museums in the US that have good hardware collections. I'm interested in pre-PC computer history only. The history of IC technology development also interests me and I'd enjoy hearing about any US museums/exhibits which focus on that topic. Thanks, Bill --------------------------------- Relax. Yahoo! Mail virus scanning helps detect nasty viruses!

20 years, 7 months

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Old Computer Collecting vs Electronics Building

by marvin＠rain.org

One thing I've been concerned about for a while is what seems to be the lack of electronics building skills. *My* feeling is the desire to work on this stuff is going away and I'm not sure why. I DO NOT BUY the argument that components are so small now that nobody can build or hack equipment anymore as I view that more of an excuse for not building. It also seems that most (not all) of the people I know that collect computers now (and used them in the 70's and early 80's) are fairly competent at working on electronics. Are kits at all desireable to build by newer entries into electronics and computers? Or existing builders? Comments?

20 years, 7 months

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Ithaca Audio IA-1050 EPROM card manual needed

by rcini＠optonline.net

All: I just found on of these boards in a box stuff but I don't have the manual for it. Does anyone have a PDF they can point me to? Searching the usual manual archives produced nothing. Of course, I'm most interested in the configuration pages from the manual. Thanks. Rich Rich Cini Collector of classic computers Build Master for the Altair32 Emulation Project Web site: <http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/> http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/ /************************************************************/

20 years, 7 months

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TWO! HP IPCs on e-bay!

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

Item number: 8760228477 Item number: 8760034787

20 years, 7 months

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Realistic terminal emulator

by jfoust＠threedee.com

http://ldopa.net/2006/01/14/glterminal/ For Mac OS X, it uses OpenGL to imitate the distortion of the glass tube, simulates low baud rates, variations in brightness, flicker, in green or amber. - John

20 years, 7 months

3
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PS/2 keyboards on Apple Macs

by spc＠conman.org

The Great Zane H. Healy was quoted as saying: > > One of these days I need to pick one of those up to experiment with. Though > how on earth do you get the extra Apple keys on an IBM keyboard? and The Great Steven N. Hirsch once said: > > I never had much luck using a PS2 keyboard + USB converter on my G4 tower. > Any particular brands which seem to work better than others? Any which > map to the Apple / Command keys? I use a PS/2 keyboard on my Mac mini (and my girlfriend uses a PS/2 keybaord on *her* Mac mini---we're both snobs about our keyboards). We both have a PS/2 to USB converter, and I installed DoubleCommand [1], which lets you remap the keyboard (I converted the Alt key to the Macintosh Command key). I figure this is on topic as it allows one to use on-topic hardware (PS/2 keyboards) with new equipment. -spc (Haven't had any problems with the keyboard at all ... ) [1] http://doublecommand.sourceforge.net/

20 years, 7 months

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Intellec 4 front panel

by wbblair3＠yahoo.com

If anyone has a good photo or diagram of an Intellec 4 front panel where one can read all of the labels for the switches and LEDs, I'd really appreciate receiving it. I can't find anything adequate via a Google search as the few photos I can find are all far too small. Thanks, Bill __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

20 years, 7 months

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More Tek and some Data Products field service spares kits

by Useddec＠aol.com

In addition to the 4014 kit, I have found Tek 4611, 4631, and GMA125, and Data Products B300/600, LB615, the DEC LP27. If you have any interest, please contact me directly. Thanks, Paul

20 years, 7 months

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Looking for DEC ISE drive sleds

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

I'm trying to get my VAX 4200 running, but the ISEs seem to be hard to come by (even tried the TK70 sled, it's wired for SCSI. grrr.) My goal is (at this point) wire up a HSD05-AA to a DSSI sled and bring out the resultant SCSI bus to drives for a nice single-chassis solution, but I need a sled for mechanical attachment and to bring the signals from the backplane non-destructively. Does anyone here have DSSI wired ISEs for the BA400 series VAXen that they would be interested in selling? with or without drives (I'd use a RF if it came available). Thanks for the help on the VAXstation drive sled- I do have the metal drive plate, but whoever stripped the drives took the drive "mushrooms" with them (and trashed the SCSI cable as well, but it's passable).

20 years, 7 months

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Old Computer Collecting vs Electronics Building

by chrism3667＠yahoo.com

BAKELITE ROOLZ!!! --- cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org <aw288 at osfn.org> wrote: > > I knew a guy who used to collect and refurbish old radios, but he didn't > > bother with anything that had plastic cases. > > Probably because the plastic used on old radios is amongst the worst ever > made. No fault of theirs, of course - plastic back then and plastic now > are very different animals. > > William Donzelli > aw288 at osfn.org > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

20 years, 7 months

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Road Trips

by brian＠quarterbyte.com

> How many of you have done a road trip to get equipment? 3100 miles, one way. Flew out, drove rented truck back. This was for a IBM mainframe system. Brian

20 years, 7 months

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Harris View-writer terminal seen

by innfoclassics＠gmail.com

Saw a new Harris View-writer terminal FS at the Longview WA Goodwill. Three pieces, the base, keyboard and monitor. The keyboard seems never used. Early 1990s I think. The monitor is small, looks like it has a 20 line by 80 character screen. I think it is a serial terminal but would have to check again. If there is any interest contact me off list. I am going back through Longview next Monday or Tuesday. Haven't seen many terminals in recent years. -- Paxton Hoag Astoria, OR USA

20 years, 7 months

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what bus is this for?

by legalize＠xmission.com

ebay item #8760295547, prototyping board Card edge connector with 44 contacts, 22 per side, 0.156" spacing Is this STD bus? I'm not planning on buying it, I was just curious :) -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline"-- code samples, sample chapter, FAQ: <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/> Pilgrimage: Utah's annual demoparty <http://pilgrimage.scene.org>

20 years, 7 months

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Old Computer Collecting vs Electronics Building

by marvin＠rain.org

This is good news, and I would very much like to be wrong on this! But I see it at hamfests, swapfests, etc. where people who are selling components, kits, etc. designed for the homebrew projects. The TRW swapmeet in El Segundo, CA has gone from a great source of "good stuff" to more cheap tools, computers and parts, and a lot of other things unrelated to electronics. BTW, buys there by myself and others include a lot of classic computer stuff including S-100 cards, DEC stuff, Imsai, Alpha Micro, Atari 400/800 computers, Cosmic Elf, Popular Electronics including the Jan/Feb 1975 Altair issues, and the list goes on. Now, it is rare to find anything classic computer related or the parts to build stuff with. What are the right places to look (excluding online Internet sites)? > I disagree with this quite a bit. There are plenty of projects out > there people are doing. I see lots of stuff on hackaday.com, > avrfreaks.com, people in the Microchip forums, homebrew CPUs, etc. > There's no loss of desire at all. Sure, maybe it's not all built of > TTL, but so what? TTL is slowly going away (IMHO), in favor of micros, > FPGAs, and PLDs. To say the interest in building skills is waning just > says to me you're not looking in the right places. > > --jc > > On Thursday 02 February 2006 04:12 pm, Marvin Johnston wrote: > > >One thing I've been concerned about for a while is what seems to be > the lack of electronics building skills. *My* feeling is the desire to > work on this stuff is going away and I'm not sure why. I DO NOT BUY the > argument that components are so small now that nobody can build or hack > equipment anymore as I view that more of an excuse for not building.

20 years, 7 months

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Apple USB keyboards (was Keyboard Converters (was Re: IBM RS/6000))

by aek＠bitsavers.org

I never had much luck using a PS2 keyboard + USB converter on my G4 tower. Any particular brands which seem to work better than others? Any which map to the Apple / Command keys? -- Every keyboard and mouse Apple shipped since Steve came back are crap, esp the puck 'cripple-mice'. My wrists hurt so bad after using one when we first released them that I refused to use them, or any of their descendants. The travel is too short, and the key shafts bind at normal typing speed. Find a macally ikey and a logitech m-bj69 roller mouse. The macally has they key layout of the adb extended kb and has the same key pressure and travel. I've been picking them up fairly cheap in surplus places and on eBay as people dump their iMacs and early G4s. If you're using OSX, the roller mouse does what it's supposed to. What pisses me off is we had a prototype ADB roller mouse that did all the stuff you can do now with the Logitech 15 years ago, including programmable detents on the roller (it actually had a little motor inside..) but couldn't convince people it was useful.

20 years, 7 months

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IBM RS/6000

by r_a_feldman＠hotmail.com

The best mouse/trackball I had was an Atari video arcade trackball that I got from Happ Controls and wired to the guts of a cheap PC serial mouse (optical sensors on the track ball, electronics from the mouse). This trackball measures about 6" x 6" x 2.5" and I had it in a foamcore box. Used 1" diameter arcade buttons to replace the mouse buttons. I made it as a prototype for a dozen or so that I wired up for use in exhibits at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago with the computer games I wrote. I used the track ball for more than 10 years before I even needed to clean it. Message: 19 Date: Thu, 02 Feb 2006 13:31:24 -0600 From: Doc Shipley <doc at mdrconsult.com> Subject: Re: IBM RS/6000 To: General at mdrconsult.com, "Discussion at mdrconsult.com":On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <43E25E0C.70805 at mdrconsult.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Teo Zenios wrote: > >I have one of those Logitech marbles, they work well enough. In general I >like using Microsoft optical on anything they will pug into. The other day >I >replaced my older belkin KVM with a newer version that does serial to PS2 >mouse conversion so that my MS optical USB with PS2 adapter is connected to >the KVM and my old 486/133 DOS/Windows 3.1 machine (using the old MS mouse >driver disk) connected to the KVM with a serial cable works with it. There >is just nothing smoother then an optical mouse in my opinion, and no balls >that need cleaned (or mousepads full of cheet-os to dust off). Mmmm, Cheet-Os! You're right about the optical smoothness, which is why I like the Marble. It does need cleaning every couple of months, but it's worth it to avoid the wrist movement of a normal mouse. ObCC: And it works perfectly with RS/6000s, SGIs, NeXTstations, SPARC (with adapter), AXP, Mac, and even PeeCees! Doc

20 years, 7 months

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Old Computer Collecting vs Electronics Building

by lee＠geekdot.com

> Actually, I saw an article (I have to find out where it was) where I > guy used an old toaster oven as a basis for soldering all sorts of > surface mount components at once...ie just like the "real" assembly > houses do it. http://www.seattlerobotics.org/encoder/200006/oven_art.htm Lee.

20 years, 7 months

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Old Computer Collecting vs Electronics Building

by marvin＠rain.org

A friend of mine got an article published in the September 2005 issue of QST Magazine describing how to build an 80M DF receiver and asked if I would be interested in supplying kits. The supplier of the circuit boards told me he had maybe a half dozen or so calls for the circuit board. I sold about 40 kits of which about half were ordered assembled and tested. FWIW, about half of those that ordered the unit were using it for interference tracking with the remainder using it for direction finding. Another friend of mine designed a single board computer and put it up on his website; I don't know if anyone has ordered a board or built it. I am planning on being at the Dayton Hamvention this year to sell DF equipment, and it will be *very* interesting to see what kind of a response I get. Of course, I also plan on checking out the 2000+ vendors for any classic computer stuff too :). > I was talking to a buddy of mine about this at lunch. He's an old ham and > used to build a lot of stuff. We were noting how people don't buy their > kids things like Tinker Toys or Erector sets or anything that encourages > them to build things. I don't know all the reasons why but I've been > noticing for years that FEW people build or repair things. I've tried to > Joe

20 years, 7 months

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old drives and interfaces

by rtellason＠blazenet.net

Since the subject has come up, maybe somebody can shed some light on this... I have a box around here, containing what I *think* is a WD-1000 controller card, which interfaced to my Osborne Executive through the printer/IEEE port. When I first got this box, the drive in it (a "Tulin", which I've never heard of before or since) had such bad bearings that you really didn't want to run it at all. So I stuck an ST225 in there. So far so good, I got it working by hacking away at some copy of the boot disk, which was enough to let me make the HD be drive C:, and I had it partitioned up into four chunks, giving me C:, D:, E:, and F:. A problem surfaced in trying to use that last one, though -- I can't seem to get any reasonable access to the last bit of the drive, about the last 3M or so. Am wondering if maybe write precomp (which the '225 needed IIRC) might have something to do with this? -- 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, 7 months

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Speaking of mice & keyboards

by doc＠mdrconsult.com

Is there an adapter to use PS/2 or AT/serial input devices with an ADB Mac? If I could plug it into my KVM, my A/UX box would get a lot more use. Doc

20 years, 7 months

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what bus is this for?

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

From: Richard <legalize at xmission.com> > > ebay item #8760295547, prototyping board > > Card edge connector with 44 contacts, 22 per side, 0.156" spacing > > Is this STD bus? I'm not planning on buying it, I was just > curious :) This 44-pin protoboard system was popularized by Vector and you could buy "backplanes" (either bare or bussed) as well as several different types of proto boards up through the 90's. They were on the shelves at Radio Shack for a couple decades. I think the boards are still available but the backplanes are not ready-made anymore. These were largely used for special-purpose one-off hardware designs, although certainly some did use them in bussed systems. 44 pins is a little sparse for a bus for an 8-bit-data-16-but-address system (although doable). Even the 100-pin S-100 bus didn't have enough grounds! Tim.

20 years, 7 months

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what bus is this for?

by ken＠seefried.com

From: Richard <legalize at xmission.com> > > ebay item #8760295547, prototyping board > > Card edge connector with 44 contacts, 22 per side, 0.156" spacing > > Is this STD bus? I'm not planning on buying it, I was just > curious :) > STD-Bus has 56-pins on .125" centers. Ken

20 years, 7 months

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northstart stuff

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

Thought I'd throw out to the list what was in my northstar haul, in case there's something someone is desperate for a copy of.. Unopened box of DC300XL cartridges (5) (these must have gone with some other system) Opened box of DC300XL cartridges, 3 in original wrap (these must have gone with some other system) Box of 14 (blank?) floppy disks, 10 sector (hard) (hopefully not really blank) Box of floppies (originals) for Wordstar Professional release 5. Appears to be two copies (both originals) all soft sector Binder, northstar infomanager - manual but no diskettes :\ Binder, northstar infomanager II - manual but no diskettes :\ Manual - north star application software ASP utilites package Users manual Manual - north star infomanager data management system Manual - XL-Z80 software development system for the northstar micro disk system Manual - The north star disk operating system v2 rel 3 Release notes - release 4 system software changes north star computers 1978 Release notes - release 3 north star version 6 basic Manual - North star basic version 6 Manual - north star system software manual addendum rev. 2.1 Manual - north star infomanager tutorial Manual - north star horizon computer system (double density) Manual - north star z80a processo board, zpb-a manual Schematic - cromemco 16k memory board Manual - zilog Z80-cpu Z80A-cpu technical manual Manual - north star system software manual Manual - north star 16k ram board Release notes - XL-8080/XL-Z80 rel 5 software change description Manual - cromemco 16k memory board technical manual Manual - north star horizon computer system Manual - north star z80a processor board zpb-a Manual - Cromemco Z80 monitor instruction manual Manual - Hazeltine 1420 reference manual Product Data Sheet - Western Union model 32 telex KSR and ASR sets (NICE!) Manual - Cromemco ZPU assembly Schematic - Cromemco ZPU Manual - Cromemco TU-ART digital interface Scan/photocopies - Various Cromemco boards... trying to lift artwork maybe? Manual - Cromemco 16kz ram instruction manual Manual - Cromemco 16kz ram card technical manual (two copies) One QUME QVT102 terminal Two Hazeltine 1420 terminals Three northstar horizon computers (two with wood trim, one with metal trim) An external dual floppy drive for one of the three horizons So, in all this mess, it sounds like there is no OS disks. Hopefully, there are some Northstar fans around than can help :) Regards, Jay West

20 years, 7 months

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"Archives II" computer?

by legalize＠xmission.com

E-bay item #8757314169 Anyone know what this is? There isn't much information posted there. I'm guessing its one of the Z80 CP/M herd of computers that were around before the IBM PC became the defacto "standard". I asked the guy some questions about it, but he hasn't reponded. Auction ends in 5.5 hrs with 0 bids so far... -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline"-- code samples, sample chapter, FAQ: <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/> Pilgrimage: Utah's annual demoparty <http://pilgrimage.scene.org>

20 years, 7 months

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more machines for good homes

by phufnagel＠snet.net

I have some machines to give to good homes... a pair of Mac IIsi's (one has NetBSD loaded on it, probably 1.3.2, if my memory serves me, the other I had as a "spare" in case the 1st died). The one has a working NIC in it, I think I have one for the other box as well. an HP425t and an HP400, just the machine, plus I think I have a 425t downstairs with a monitor on it (probably not worth shipping the monitor, but anyone in the CT area could pick up or I could meet if it was like RI/MA/NY/upper-NJ area). I also have a few Mac SE/30's, one has NetBSD on it (again, I think 1.3.x), the other might too, with NIC cards in them (I think I have 3 of them, one might not have a NIC). Any interest, email me. - Pete

20 years, 7 months

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PLATO system / CDC mainframe / PLATO terminals

by legalize＠xmission.com

OK, now I know there are some mainframe freaks out there on this list :-), but I would be absolutely flabbergasted if someone had a working CDC mainframe running PLATO! However, I figure there is still a small chance that someone has a PLATO terminal? These were Z80-based, IIRC, had plasma screen displays at first, and later had raster displays. They were *heavy* and if I recall correctly they had a card cage on top of which sat the monitor. They also had a funky PLATO specific keyboard. Any other PLATO users out there? I was on udel's system in the 1978-1986 time frame, off and on, although PLATO wasn't the primary focus of my activities. I did a little Tutor programming, but somehow the language never quite gelled with me. -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline"-- code samples, sample chapter, FAQ: <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/> Pilgrimage: Utah's annual demoparty <http://pilgrimage.scene.org>

20 years, 7 months

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DEC field service spares kits

by Useddec＠aol.com

I have a large number of field service spares kits for a variety of DEC items including but not limited to tapes, disks, printers, terminals, CPU's (including, q-bus, unibus, pdp8, and VAX's) and much more. If you have any questions or interest, please contact me directly. Thanks, Paul

20 years, 7 months

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CP/M driver questions

by jhoger＠pobox.com

I am attempting to build some code using BDS C for use on with our Model 100/102/200 memory upgrade ( http://bitchin100.com/remem_project.htm ). BDS C was the one (free) C compiler that I could find that had basic support for C syntax (it has pointers to structs, for example). Anyway, I have a few CP/M based laptops, an NEC 8500, 8401a, and an Amstrad NC200 (which can run "ZCN"). I'd like to use the NEC 8500 to compile some short C programs to 8080 assem and then use them on the Model 100. Here's the thing: the 8500 defaults to a mode where ROM takes 32K of the address space. It has several nice apps there but no programming language. I believe the machine has 64K of RAM, but the software won't let me switch to 64K all-ram mode unless I have an external drive attached (either a floppy disk drive controller or a ramdisk cartridge). I don't have either. In any event it's not real useful in all-ram mode without some kind of external storage containing applications and utilities. So here's my question: Can drivers for CP/M machines be loaded at run-time? My idea is that I could make a simple driver that communicates to some serial-based disk drive controller, or hopefully someone has already done something similar. How do I structure such a driver, and would it have to be part of CP/M or can I patch it in at run-time? -- John.

20 years, 7 months

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Convergent Technologies CTOS/ Burroughs BTOS systems on eBay

by wmaddox＠pacbell.net

CTOS was a distributed microkernel OS considered to be quite ahead of its time. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8757530160&rd=1&sspagena… eBay: Collection of Burroughs B20/BTOS systems, B25, B28, B38 (item 8757530160 end time Feb-02-06 22:57:02 PST)

20 years, 7 months

1
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Tek 4014 spares kit

by Useddec＠aol.com

I have a field service spares kit for a tek 4014. Please contact me if you have any interest. Thanks, Paul

20 years, 7 months

1
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Common items you passed up that turned rare when you wanted them

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

>From: ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk > >> >The method generally used on TV tubes of the period (and I don't see why >> >monitor tubes would be any different) was something like : >> > >> >1) Over-run the heater. Typically a 6.3V heater would be run at 8V or 10V >> > >> >2) Apply a fairly high (200V-ish) +ve voltage the control grid (wrt the >> >cathode), all other electrodes floating (no EHT applied either). >> >> Hi >> I've had better luck with 0 volts. If the tube has not been used >> for a long time, it will be a little gassy. This tends to boil > >Interesting... I've never seen this suggested anywhere, but most of the >designs for boosters assume you'll be trying to improve a CRT that's been >in use quite recently (e.g. a TV you've been watching), so presumably the >gas problem is no so serious. > >> off the cathode along with the other stuff. When you have the voltage, >> the electrons will hit the gass atoms and ionize them. These are >> then slammed back into the cathode. One article I read stated >> that the first stage should be done with 0 volts and then switch >> to a + volts on the grid(s)+anode for the last part. >> I've not tried this myself but the method makes sense. In the >> first part, the getter has time to catch the outgassing. The >> last part helps to freshen the surface. >> I know that there are many articles that state to put the voltage >> on from the beginning. I've also read in a only a couple of >> articles that the outgassing from the initial stages can poison >> the cathode enough to make the process useless. I recover >> many old vacuum tubes for my old battery radios. I've had >> good enough experience with the 0 volts and enough bad >> experience with the voltage on the grid/plate that I use >> the 0 volt. > >Those valves are likely to be directly heated, right? I wonder if that >would make a difference. Hi Tony Yes, most of the tubes I look at are directly heated. This might be different on how they act. There were several diffent materials use for directly heated filaments and some don't ever recover. I still try anyway. What have I got to lose. Dwight AFAIK all TV and monitor CRTs are indirectly >heated (well, I think there was a Japanese colour CRT that was directly >heated, but I doubt you'll find one of those. Yes it did have 6 heater pins). > >-tony

20 years, 7 months

1
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(Slightly OT) Rare item I passed up: mCGA

by billdeg＠degnanco.com

When I worked at DuPont they disposed of an IBM "mCGA" monitor and display card among some other parts that I could take from work if I wanted them. The card came out of an IBM XT and the monitor looked pretty much like a regular IBM CGA monitor except that it had more of a green tint to the screen when powered off. In use it looked pretty much like a regular CGA monitor but that might be because I was only interested in verifying that I could view the RAM loading sequence upon boot up. I remember that a regular CGA was not compatible with the card, and that's the reason I originally set these two aside. We needed a "regular XT setup" more than we needed a funky monitor. I assumed it was for CAD work. Haven't seen once since. Anyone have info on this IBM CGA-like "mCGA" I can't remember what the m stood for. Bill D

20 years, 7 months

4
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Machine tool 24 pin sockets, 0.4" wide available

by jcwren＠jcwren.com

MPJA is having a good deal on 24 pin 0.4" wide machine tool pin sockets. These are good for certain vintage memories. http://www.mpja.com/allpictspl.asp?d=5&r=Y134908&p=16224+ic

20 years, 7 months

4
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Common items you passed up that turned rare when you wanted them

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

>From: ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk > >> >> Hi >> No, even the tube may be revived some. You can >> often run the heater at a higher voltage for some >> time and check the emission periodically. Usually, >> you can safely run the filament at 1.5 to 2 times >> the rated voltage for 5 or 6 hours. It is usually > >The method generally used on TV tubes of the period (and I don't see why >monitor tubes would be any different) was something like : > >1) Over-run the heater. Typically a 6.3V heater would be run at 8V or 10V > >2) Apply a fairly high (200V-ish) +ve voltage the control grid (wrt the >cathode), all other electrodes floating (no EHT applied either). Hi I've had better luck with 0 volts. If the tube has not been used for a long time, it will be a little gassy. This tends to boil off the cathode along with the other stuff. When you have the voltage, the electrons will hit the gass atoms and ionize them. These are then slammed back into the cathode. One article I read stated that the first stage should be done with 0 volts and then switch to a + volts on the grid(s)+anode for the last part. I've not tried this myself but the method makes sense. In the first part, the getter has time to catch the outgassing. The last part helps to freshen the surface. I know that there are many articles that state to put the voltage on from the beginning. I've also read in a only a couple of articles that the outgassing from the initial stages can poison the cathode enough to make the process useless. I recover many old vacuum tubes for my old battery radios. I've had good enough experience with the 0 volts and enough bad experience with the voltage on the grid/plate that I use the 0 volt. Dwight > >This, combined with the overheated cathode, stripped the top layer of >emissive stuff off the cathode, hopefully exposing a fresh surface. It >worked will on some CRTs, on others, it totally removed the emissive >material and you ended up with a totally useless CRT. But you've nothing >to lose by trying it on an otherwise useless tube > >There was also a simple way to do an emission test. Again the only >electrodes you used were the heater, cathode, and control grid. I think >you ran the heater at the normal voltage and used the cathode/grid as a >diode and measured the current flow with a fairly low (if any) +ve >voltage on the grid. The higher the current, the better the cathode was >emitting. > >Many designs for such devices have been published in the magazines. The >lethal ones get the 300V or so by rectifying the mains (or in your case >using a voltage doubler on the mains). More friendly ones used an >isolating transformer or a oscillator/step up transformer from a battery. > >-tony >

20 years, 7 months

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Common items you passed up that turned rare when you wanted them

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

Hi No, even the tube may be revived some. You can often run the heater at a higher voltage for some time and check the emission periodically. Usually, you can safely run the filament at 1.5 to 2 times the rated voltage for 5 or 6 hours. It is usually done with no cathode current while at the higher voltage and then return to normal levels to check for the current. It would help to have a tube tester but I suspect that just measuring the voltage drop across a resistor in the cathode circuit someplace would tell if there was any improvement. You graph the increase in current. At some time, you don't get any improvement so you stop there. No sense wasting the filament. You could control the voltage with a variac and a transformer. Do make sure that the tube is the cause. Raised voltage on the filament can shorten the life of the filament and at times cause cathode to filament shorts. If the image is well focused and not over sized, the main rail voltages are OK. Dwight >From: "Richard" <legalize at xmission.com> > > >In article <200601311927.LAA29559 at ca2h0430.amd.com>, > "Dwight Elvey" <dwight.elvey at amd.com> writes: > >> >[...] I do have one monitor. I haven't tried >> >to power it up, but written on the case is the word "DIM", presumably >> >identifying a failure in the monitor somewhere. I've never repaired >> >monitors, so I'm not sure what a dim image is suppose to indicate. >> >Failing HV drive circuitry? >> >> Hi >> HV would cause blooming of the image. Dim image is weak cathode >> in the tube or problems in the circuits controlling the cathode >> to gate voltage levels. >> Dwight > >So... if its the tube, there's nothing to do but replace the tube? >Egads... I wonder how hard it would be to find a compatible >replacement. >-- >"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline"-- code samples, sample chapter, FAQ: > <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/> > Pilgrimage: Utah's annual demoparty > <http://pilgrimage.scene.org>

20 years, 7 months

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Me vs NiCad battery damage on PC boards

by marvin＠rain.org

A normal PC board DOES NOT have a nickel plate under the tin/lead. I suspect you are thinking about PC boards that have been gold plated, and yes, those do have a nickel underplate. > > From: "Dwight Elvey" <dwight.elvey at amd.com> > > Normally the PC board will have a thin layer of > nickel over the copper before the solder. This also > produces a blue-ish green oxide.

20 years, 7 months

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Me vs NiCad battery damage on PC boards

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

A lot of nice radio/test/computer equipment from the late 70's through the 80's and even the early 90's had the "feature" of battery-backed-up configuration settings. Often this was done thorugh NiCads soldered to the PC board (often in those little plastic modules). Over the years, the NiCads have usually leaked out their gunk (if not liquid, then fumes?) which has gone on to attack the PC boards and components/sockets around it. All the originally shiny metal now has a layer of white or white/green deposits over it. My primitive chemical understanding is that something-hydroxide (calcium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide?) from the battery gets out (if not as a liquid, then as a vapor) which is a base. This corrodes the metal surfaces around the battery. In my most recent escapade, I took such a board and put it in some dilute acetic acid (think "vinegar" except I was using some photo chemicals and I probably had the concentration stronger than the grocery store vinegar). The deposits turn even greener (in some cases bluer but maybe that was the indicator in the stop bath). Using a plastic brush I scrub away these deposits, but this does not result in a shiny clean PC board. Again, my primitive chemical understanding: the acid combines with the base whatevery-hydroxide and what we're left with salts. Rinsing in water and repeating does help get off more of the gunk but it's never all gone. In any event, I've at least slowed (maybe stopped) damage to the PC board, and after drying off I find it still works - in some cases works better because we don't have all the gunk anymore. When I see the gunk I see it mostly as an insulator that will stop conductivity, but of course it also bridges together traces and probably gives very real leakage in some cases too. Incidentally in many cases the board doesn't work right until it is really really dry, so I think that in some cases just the leakage due to the rinse water is enough to inhibit normal operation. But now, say I want to remove a somewhat corroded IC socket off the board because I suspect it's causing problems. I put my soldering iron on the pad and try to heat up and melt the solder. I heat, and heat, and heat, but nothing's melting! Check that the soldering iron is working and that the tip isn't covered with crud... well, maybe there was some crud but after wiping it off the soldering iron is working fine. So I go in with a wire brush and an X-acto knife and try getting past whatever chemical is still covering the pads and traces, and find it's really tough stuff. The wire brush works but it also erodes the traces. The X-acto knife works somewhat on pads with solder on 'em. After repeated attacks, though, the solder still doesn't really want to melt. I try putting on some new solder thinking that the rosin and new new metal will help, but all it does is ball up and roll off. So what I'm left with is a PC board that is somewhat/mostly working but in cosmetically poor shape, and feeling that I should do more. What's semi-ironic about all this is that the board usually doesn't have any more than $10 worth of parts on it but an instrument that cost $10K twenty years ago (and is maybe worth $1K today on the used market) is dependent on this still crud-covered PC board that I can't even fix the sockets on. Buying a replacement PC board is usually out of the question because they haven't made this doohickey in 20 years, and all the boards out there all have NiCad leakage damage on them. One solution would be to lay out a clone PC board that never had the NiCad damage done to it and stuff it with new parts. Realistically in some cases this would take less time to do than I've already spent cleaning/rinsing/drying/attempting to solder on the existing board. But is there some magic chemical or mechanical means that will render the existing cruddy PC board solderable so I can replace these flaky sockets? Tim.

20 years, 7 months

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Motorola "DEVL"?

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

Anybody know exactly what "DEVL" means on this 68332 CPU? <http://www.classiccmp.org/hp/Tektronix/Motorola%2068332.jpg>.

20 years, 7 months

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Me vs NiCad battery damage on PC boards

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

Hi As a note, Muriatic acid is hydrochloric acid. Dwight >From: "Marvin Johnston" <marvin at rain.org> > > >When cleaning PC Boards that have had battery leakage, I always use >Muriatic Acid (about 33% Hydrochloric Acid) also known as pool acid for >adjusting pool pH. When I still owned the Printed Circuit shop, I would >use something called Solder Brite to remove the oxidation on the boards >after etching and prior to reflow. If you have a PC shop close by, you >might stop by and see if they would give you a couple of ounces to try. >IIRC, Solder Brite was basically Muriatic acid with some additives. > >BTW, when I am cleaning up the crud on PC boards, I only use a couple of >*drops* of Muriatic acid and I would guess that Solder Brite could be >used the same way. Once it stops foaming, I am done :). > >> From: "Tim Shoppa" <tshoppa at wmata.com> > >> But is there some magic chemical or mechanical means that will render >> the existing cruddy PC board solderable so I can replace these flaky >> sockets? >> >> Tim.

20 years, 7 months

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Me vs NiCad battery damage on PC boards

by marvin＠rain.org

When cleaning PC Boards that have had battery leakage, I always use Muriatic Acid (about 33% Hydrochloric Acid) also known as pool acid for adjusting pool pH. When I still owned the Printed Circuit shop, I would use something called Solder Brite to remove the oxidation on the boards after etching and prior to reflow. If you have a PC shop close by, you might stop by and see if they would give you a couple of ounces to try. IIRC, Solder Brite was basically Muriatic acid with some additives. BTW, when I am cleaning up the crud on PC boards, I only use a couple of *drops* of Muriatic acid and I would guess that Solder Brite could be used the same way. Once it stops foaming, I am done :). > From: "Tim Shoppa" <tshoppa at wmata.com> > But is there some magic chemical or mechanical means that will render > the existing cruddy PC board solderable so I can replace these flaky > sockets? > > Tim.

20 years, 7 months

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Me vs NiCad battery damage on PC boards

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

Hi Normally the PC board will have a thin layer of nickel over the copper before the solder. This also produces a blue-ish green oxide. The dark brown to black is the copper oxides and salts. It can be removed with acid and/or mechanical rubbing. If using any acid that does not evaporate, it needs to be neutralized. If you can't find something to use, two part radiator cleaner should do the job. They normally use oxalic acid so handle as a toxic substance and use gloves and face shield. I've not tried this but it should work. You may need to heat the bath. One thing to consider. If it is a location the will see high temperatures ( on the order of 100C ) during operation, a copper to solder joint will fail with high resistance. This is one of the reasons they put on the nickel layer(see note). For most locations, the temperature thing is not an issue but near regulators and other power devices, you'll need to restore the nickel layer. Note: The nickel layer also simplifies the PC processing. Dwight >From: "Joe R." <rigdonj at cfl.rr.com> > > >>On 2/1/2006 at 9:34 AM Tim Shoppa wrote: >> >>>But is there some magic chemical or mechanical means that will render >>>the existing cruddy PC board solderable so I can replace these flaky >>>sockets? > > I've seen the stuff you're talking about. Even after you clean off the >blue-green corrision the copper is black and solder won't stick to it. I >expect the black is due to copper oxide. You need to remove it by treating >it with some kind of acid that will form a water soluable salt with copper. >I expect dilute sulfuric acid may be the best. That's what they use to >clean copper circuit boards prior to assembly as well as copper items >prior to electroplating, etc. I'm sure you're aware of the dangers of >sulfuric acid and how much damage it can do to the board and components so >be careful! > > Joe

20 years, 7 months

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Machine tool 24 pin sockets, 0.4" wide available

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

Hi Still, at .10 a bandsaw makes a universal socket for projects. Dwight >From: "J.C. Wren" <jcwren at jcwren.com> > >No, definitely .4". 2 pins will fit equally spaced between the two >rows, and if you mentally swing 4 pins 90 degrees, you can visualize the >width. > > --jc > >Ethan Dicks wrote: >> On 2/1/06, J.C. Wren <jcwren at jcwren.com> wrote: >> >>> You're doing unnatural things to those pins to get them to fit in a .4" >>> socket. At least, all my 22V10s are 0.3" wide... >>> >>> --jc

20 years, 7 months

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RL01 imaging

by aek＠bitsavers.org

I have no idea if RT-11 has a native utility that permits making a disc image. -- copy/device with one other option I don't remember off the top of my head ----- > I notice there aren't any RL01 disk images up there. -- PDP-11 software is still being sold (in theory..)

20 years, 7 months

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RX02 emulator?

by doc＠mdrconsult.com

Has anybody built and used Peter McCollum's Qbus RXV11 emulator? http://www.geocities.com/saipan59/dec/rxv11_emu.html I saw that somebody on CC is running the Unibus version, and it got me curious. Doc

20 years, 7 months

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RX02 emulator

by henk.gooijen＠oce.com

Hi Doc, I catched this topic in my spam filter, don't know how it got there ... I have built the prototype for Pete and tested it in my 11/34A. In 3 words: it works great! You install the board in an empty UNIBUS slot, position C-D. Further, you need a M105 in position E, and a M7821 in position F, IIRC, but Pete's website explains it all. See http://www.pdp-11.nl/rx11emul.jpg for the RX11 emulator in action, or search the Classiccmp archive, two weeks ago or so ... BTW, if your system has the (real) RX11 (for RX01) or RX211 (for RX02) installed, you must either remove that module, or configure it at on other CSR. Also, Pete's RX11 board does *not* short-circuit NPR (CA1-CB1), so check the backplane, or (what I did) solder a short on Pete's board. Remember the NPG of the RX211! I asked Pete if he is willing to develop a PCB for the RXV11 (qbus) too, and he said that as he has the board"fingers", that would be do-able. So, if enough people ask for the RXV11 ... I'd like one! - Henk, PA8PDP. This message and attachment(s) are intended solely for the use of the addressee and may contain information that is privileged, confidential or otherwise exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient or agent thereof responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately by telephone and with a "reply" message. Thank you for your cooperation.

20 years, 7 months

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OT: seeking: MPG3102AT (in UK)

by classiccmp.org＠irrelevant.fsnet.co.uk

Hi all. Sorry it's only 5 years old, but I'm trying to find an Fujitsu 10Gb IDE hard drive, model MPG3102AT, in order to rescue data off the one I have here. I gather that these have a fairly common fault that something in the board goes, causing it to disappear as far as the PC is concerned. We had a power cut this morning, and when it came back on, the drive wasn't found... I've already tried swapping it with the apparently identical board off a MPG3204AT however that's a 20Gb drive, and it just clunks a lot when on this mechanism; presumably there is a setting somewhere that means it's looking for more heads or something. Sadly, I'm not up to component level or firmware debugging on these things. Unfortunately, speed is of the essence here.. so if there's anybody in the UK with one of these, surface condition immaterial, that would be willing to let it go, please get in contact. Naturally I'll cover any costs, collect, replace with something similar or bigger, etc. Once i've got my data, you can even have it back.. Cheers, Rob.

20 years, 7 months

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SIMMs and other memory dongles (was: Common items you passed up

by trag＠io.com

>Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 21:17:49 +0000 (GMT) >From: ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell) >> >> It is. I own some three or four cards which have four 30-pin SIMM >> >> sockets and are designed to plug into a 72-pin socket. >> > As I look at these, I notice that they're all adapters as opposed to >> > something that gangs up multiple SIMMs to create a higher capacity >> > "SIMM". Anyone seen anything like that? >> >> Um, that's exactly what mine do, unless I'm misunderstanding you. For >> example, you can plug four 1M 30-pin SIMMs into one and you get a 4M >> 72-pin "SIMM". > >A 1M 30 pin ZIMM has 1048576 locations each of 9 bits. > >A 4M 72 pin SIMM has 1048576 locations each of 36 bits. It's electrically >much the same a 4 20 pin SIMMs. I suspect the adapter is just connectors >wired together in the right way. > >I think what the first poster wants is a thing that takes 4 30-pin 1M >SIMMs and looks like a 4M 30 pin SIMM to the rest of the system. That is, >it appears to have 4194304 locations, each of 9 bits. It's not hard to >design something like that I think, but it would inovlve a few chips It would be the same logic one finds on "composite" SIMMs. These are SIMMs of larger capacity built out of many chips of smaller capacity. Typically, there are 32 or 36 (non-parity vs. parity) identical memory chips on a composite SIMM, plus one or more chips to handle the logic to which Tony refers. I've seen the logic handled in one or two 16V8 PALs in a 20 pin PLCC package. The composite 30-pin SIMMs I've seen have a total capacity of 16MB (16M X 8 or 9) built out of thirty-two or thirty-six 4M X 1 chips. I have also seen composite 72-pin SIMMs with a capacity of 64MB (16M X 36, parity) built out of thirty-six 4M X 4 chips. However, the 72-pin composite SIMM had no additional logic. I haven't looked at the spec, but I assume that 72 pin SIMMs support splitting the CAS lines from the host somehow into multiple banks on a single SIMM? Or maybe there were some surface mount transistors playing with the address lines which I overlooked. I've seen adapters under the commercial name SIMM'verter that do the 4 30-pin into 1 72 pin conversion. But I've never seen one that does 4 30-pin into 1 30-pin. However, I have seen 2 72-pin into 1 72-pin adapters, so there might be a 4:1 30 pin adapter. Still, a set of four 16MB 30 pin SIMMs on Ebay typically goes for $25 plus shipping. So why not just buy the 16MB 30 pin SIMMs and avoid the possible reliability issues of converters? A converter (and/or composite SIMM) may overload the current capacity of the address or control line drivers of the host machine. I have been working on (very slowly) a design for some 16MB 30-pin SIMMs that use just two 16M X 4 chips. It is going slowly because I'm laying out an 8.5" X 11" panel for economic reasons, and my IIfx SIMM design is on the same panel, and my software doesn't copy and paste traces, so I'm having to layout duplicates on the panel by hand. Jeff Walther

20 years, 7 months

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Just won HP 4952A / HP 18179A protocol analyzer/serial adapter

by rcini＠optonline.net

All: I just won this protocol analyzer (with the 002 option which is the extended memory option) on eBay. Does anyone have a PDF of the manual and disk images (or pointers thereto)? Thanks!! Rich Rich Cini Collector of classic computers Build Master for the Altair32 Emulation Project Web site: <http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/> http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/ /************************************************************/

20 years, 7 months

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FA: NEC PC-8300, Tek curve tracer adapters, Multibus extender card

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

Cleaning out some of the misc stuff. See <http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZrigdonjQQhtZ-1> Joe

20 years, 7 months

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WANTED: 8088 Assembler

by tosteve＠yahoo.com

Hello, Where can I get an Assembler for an old 8088 system? Please email it to me if you have one. Thanks! Steve. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

20 years, 7 months

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Salt Lake City hospitality

by legalize＠xmission.com

Speaking of road trips and the Red Iguana, if any of you cctalk'ers are making your way through or to SLC, be sure to email me a 'heads up' and I'll treat you to a pint of beer and give you a look at my collection if you're interested. -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline"-- code samples, sample chapter, FAQ: <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/> Pilgrimage: Utah's annual demoparty <http://pilgrimage.scene.org>

20 years, 7 months

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IBM Quick Reference Guide - 1992

by tosteve＠yahoo.com

I found this interesting - The IBM Personal System/2 Quick Reference Guide from 1992. It contains List as well as Educational (NEP) prices for hundreds of systems and components. Maxed-out PS/2 model 75 - only $11,295! (486, 33MHz, 8MB, 400MB) 38 JPEG images - very large in size - sorry, no PDF! http://members.cox.net/oldcomputerads/QRG/QRG.html Steve. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

20 years, 7 months

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floppy tape drives available

by CCTalk＠catcorner.org

I have a box full. Don't know which work, or which don't. Some Colorado, Exabyte, Connor, HP, others. 6 in all. Free, just cover shipping from 07461 (Wantage, NJ) if anyone has a need for them. Kelly

20 years, 7 months

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ISA bus throughput

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

>From: mbbrutman-cctalk at brutman.com >I revived an old 6Mhz PC AT today by removing the original Western Digital based >hard disk controller and replacing it with a newer, generic IDE controller. >The large boat-anchor class 5.25" full height hard disk had died, and without a >suitable replacement a small IDE drive was chosen. The rest of the machine is >original, including the EGA card with the extra memory daughterboard and the >full slot monochrome card. > >While discussing this beast, the topic of putting a CD-ROM on it came up. (I >would never do such a thing except for giggles.) The topic of the CD-ROM led >to a throughput question - could this old monster even do it? As in, is the >ISA bus up to reading from the CD-ROM at a reasonable speed? > >Well, let's go throught some quick math. 6 million clock cycles per second is a >lot, but when you consider that each transation on the bus takes 4 to 5 cycles, >and instructions take 4 to 5 cycles (average) on a 80285, the throughput might >not be so hot. > >Forget the CD-ROM and let's just pretend it's an I/O device on the bus, like a >fast hard disk. Given a PC AT running at 6Mhz, what can reasonably be expected >for bus throughput? (Obviously this depends on the loop and the instructions >used.) I would have guess 500K or so per second, but now I'm second guessing >myself and I'll actually have to write a small benchmark to try it. > >When writing to a hard disk, would this machine have used a tight processor >loop, or would it have used DMA? Under what circumstances would it use DMA to >transfer data to a hard disk? Hi Hard disk controller have at lest one sector RAM buffer and most newer ones have at least a track worth of RAM. The controller doesn't write the sector until the buffer has the new data. Reads are buffered the same so that bus speeds are not issues, like for floppies. Dwight > >And one last question .. Unlike the PC and XT, the AT BIOS handles hard drives. > It didn't blink when I removed the crusty WD based controller and replaced it >with a no-name WinBond based controller. Does the new IDE controller really >look that much like the old controller that the BIOS can't tell? > > > >-Mike

20 years, 7 months

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You Won eBay Item: DEC RL1 Diagnostics on RL-01 disk cartridge (8755900616)

by legalize＠xmission.com

Woo hoo :-). How would I go about creating a disk image of this for bitsavers? I notice there aren't any RL01 disk images up there. What nifty things can I tell about my RL01 drives with this pack? -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline"-- code samples, sample chapter, FAQ: <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/> Pilgrimage: Utah's annual demoparty <http://pilgrimage.scene.org>

20 years, 7 months

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VAXstation drive sled description

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

I have a VS3100/76 that did not come with any drive sleds. I would like to fabricate a replacement, but I haven't been able to locate any in-depth descriptions or pictures of the sled. Does anyone have a description or picture? I'm not sure if it is screw-on bosses like Sun Aurora chasses use for the CD/Floppy or if it is a solid sled with the bosses included.

20 years, 7 months

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have an extra M105 + M7821 unibus card?

by Useddec＠aol.com

Hi Brad, They were very common in older unibus controllers. I may have some around here. I do have rx01 and 02 interfaces if you need them. Thanks, Paul

20 years, 7 months

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ESV peripheral data concentrators available

by legalize＠xmission.com

On the odd chance that anyone else out there has an Evans & Sutherland ESV workstation and would like an RDC peripheral concentrator (multiplexes keyboard, mouse, dials box and button box into a single RS-422 line), let me know. I have two, but they are missing the 68000 DIP control processor. Otherwise they are in mint condition. It should be easy to find 68000 chips to plug into these puppies. This means you can have your noisy ESV in another room while you sit in comfort in a quiet work area :-). -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline"-- code samples, sample chapter, FAQ: <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/> Pilgrimage: Utah's annual demoparty <http://pilgrimage.scene.org>

20 years, 7 months

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Our 100th issue!

by news＠computercollector.com

Amazingly, next Monday (Feb. 6) will our 100th issue of Computer Collector Newsletter. Let me tell you, that milestone blows away my feeble mind! But it is true. So, if you haven't signed up before, then please do so now. The 100th issue will be much longer than usual. Also, we're up to 920 subscribers worldwide. Obviously our next milestone will be 1,000. Please spread the word! (Feedback / suggestions / critiques / donations are always welcome.) http://news.computercollector.com Thanks, - Evan ----------------------------------------- Evan Koblentz's personal homepage: http://www.snarc.net Computer Collector Newsletter: >> http://news.computercollector.com Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists & Museum: >> http://www.marchclub.org >> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/midatlanticretro/

20 years, 7 months

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Common items you passed up that turned rare when you wanted them

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "Richard" <legalize at xmission.com> > > >In article <43DFACB5.4000904 at bluewin.ch>, > Jos Dreesen / Marian Capel <jos.mar at bluewin.ch> writes: > >> > Ooh! A Lilith. I lucked out and have 4 main units, but I need docs, >> > and information on hooking up keyboards, mice and monitors. I think >> > the monitors are special for the Lilith. What did you get besides the >> > main unit? >> >> >> Richard, >> >> yours are Eves, the followup on the Lilith. > >Yes, I should have been more specific, my mistake :-). At least a >couple of them are Eves, I am not 100% certain that all of them are >Eves because I didn't do a board inventory on all the units. I have >about 10-15 spare boards besides the 4 main units that I have, so if >someone needs one for a board swap (shhhhhh don't tell Tony Duell :-) >drop me an email. > >> Keyboard, mice and monitors are indeed special to the Lilith. >> >> The keyboard has a serial, straight ASCII output and goes to the >> monitor. In the monitor is a serial to parallel convertor and the >> keyboard data then goes in parallel to the main unit ! > >Holy shit, that's crazy! I thought it was a straight serial ASCII >into the box. Well that puts the bamboozle on my idea of just hooking >up a keyboard to it straight! I do have one monitor. I haven't tried >to power it up, but written on the case is the word "DIM", presumably >identifying a failure in the monitor somewhere. I've never repaired >monitors, so I'm not sure what a dim image is suppose to indicate. >Failing HV drive circuitry? Hi HV would cause blooming of the image. Dim image is weak cathode in the tube or problems in the circuits controlling the cathode to gate voltage levels. Dwight > >> The mouse is a 3 key straight quadrature output thingie. > >Do you have any ideas on what kind of commercially available mice >would be compatible? > >> The (external) floppy is very particular: it has an Apple II floppy >> controller card, a small 6502 motherboard in which the apple floppy unit >> plugs and a serial connection . > >Umm... mine don't have floppy drives :-). It looks like they have >been fitted with SCSI interfaces, SCSI hard drives and Bernoulli Box >removable cartridge drives. > >> The backplane has a 200 contact connector, the force required to insert >> PCB is incredible. > >Yeah, I notice that when looking in the unit I have that is missing >its power supply. > >> My Lilih is once again playing up, I will have to bite the bullet and >> draw the schematics. Cheap IC sockets might play a role, but >> substituting a few hundred of them is also a PITA. > >Woo hoo! Docs would be great as these machines came to me with no >information, but plenty of hardware. I also have several complete >sets of video, etc., cabling, so if someone needs cables give me a >hollar. >-- >"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline"-- code samples, sample chapter, FAQ: > <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/> > Pilgrimage: Utah's annual demoparty > <http://pilgrimage.scene.org>

20 years, 7 months

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