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

QBUS MSCP SCSI project: can somebody help me about this bug?

by vax9000＠gmail.com

It is the "machine check 10" bug. I composed a page at http://wiggum.4amlunch.net/~vax9000/mchkbug.html Thank you. vax, 9000

20 years, 10 months

2
1
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Aladdin4D is trying to be opensource

by RMeenaks＠olf.com

They are still trying to sell it though, but through a community effort. Got $1,300 so far, but want $37,000 more http://www.openaladdin4d.com/ Ram

20 years, 10 months

2
1
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IBM 5285

by f5inl＠wanadoo.fr

Dear Alan, As this topic is quite old, I 'm not sure you will really see my answer. Anyway, if you're still interested in this machine, I can give you help, as I'm the owner of a complete IBM 5280 system (ie IBM 5288 + two IBM 5285 + printer IBM 5222)with full disk systems and maintenance documentation. Let me first inform you that neither 5285 (nor 5281) are albe to work alone. When you start them up, they try to deal with the master controller unit (MCU) IBM 5288, on which is implemented the system. If it can't dialog with the 5288, you'll get only three lines of characters on the screen, which are a kind of autotest. As far as the floppy drives are concerned, it's quite the same. Indeed, these floppy are not part of the 5285 machine, but are extensions of the MCU 5288 on your local working station. So, when you insert a disk inside, it's absolutely normal that you don't have any answer on your display, as once again the 5285 is trying to send the data read on the floppy diskette to the 5288 system. Owning a 5285 / 5281 alone has no really interest, as it's neither a dumb terminal and won't be useful. But it's a beautiful old machine. All this system called 5280 is dated from 1981. Mine has been working beetween 1982 - 1987 night and day. Now I only make it work when a friend of mine want's to see it working, as it's really worth seeing. Unfortunately, I've broken a keyboard and noy I've only one working station instead of two, and my printer has no more ink ribbon :-( Best regards. Fred (from southern France )

20 years, 10 months

1
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DEC DSSI thingy

by tpeters＠mixcom.com

Hey, what's this thing? Some alpha board? It has Digital logo all over, pen scribbles on the outside of the box saying "Single DSSI controller for 4000's" and the barcodes read "54-22444-01" "B01" and "KA344DFR04" Inside is static bag containing 4 inch by 3.75 inch pc board. The big chip (surface mount) with a zillion pins has a 1"x1" two-fin heat sink. There's another two small chips and what looks like mebbe a 16.000000 mhz clock/osc. Three address jumpers marked "4" "2" "1" Connector on top looks like 96 to 100 pins, shaped like a scsi SCA but longer. Connector on card edge is 50 pin blue with locking ears. Silk screen reads "DSSI Daughter card" Back 'o screws and bracket in the box too. Anybody want it? Any reasonable offer accepted, meaning offer me more than I paid for it (not much) plus shipping and it's yours. [Commentary] War talk by men who have been in a war is always interesting, whereas moon talk by a poet who has not been in the moon is likely to be dull. --Twain --... ...-- -.. . -. ----. --.- --.- -... tpeters at nospam.mixcom.com (remove "nospam") N9QQB (amateur radio) "HEY YOU" (loud shouting) WEB ADDRESS http//www.mixweb.com/tpeters 43? 7' 17.2" N by 88? 6' 28.9" W, Elevation 815', Grid Square EN53wc WAN/LAN/Telcom Analyst, Tech Writer, MCP, CCNA, Registered Linux User 385531

20 years, 10 months

2
1
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ASR32 ??

by terry＠terryking.us

At 06:29 AM 10/29/2005 -0500, you wrote: >Is anyone interested in a Teletype ASR32 with paper and paper tape? Really a 32 not 33?? 32 is 5-bit Baudot, as I recall. Regards, Terry King ...On The Mediterranean in Carthage, Tunisia terry at terryking.us

20 years, 10 months

1
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Does anyone have a Radio Shack Electronics Learning Lab?

by terry＠terryking.us

John, Forrest Mims wrote that manual, as I recall. He hangs out sometimes at sci.electronics.design and in any case that would be a good place to ask... If you are still striking out when I get back next week, I'll look at copying mine.... Regards, Terry King ...On The Mediterranean in Carthage, Tunisia terry at terryking.us

20 years, 10 months

1
0
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Piracy and the FPGA discussion

by vp＠cs.drexel.edu

"'Computer Collector Newsletter'" <news at computercollector.com> wrote: > I decided to automatically router all mail from MS (ironic initials!) > [...] Here are four examples from his web site at http://ivan.harhan.org/ > [...] So Michael Sokolov (MS) is living is California? I somehow pictured him in an abandoned ICBM silo near Moscow, surrounded by Soviet era VAX clones :-) **vp

20 years, 10 months

10
14
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Chicago-area DECies?

by uban＠ubanproductions.com

I'm in the Chicago area. --tom At 04:42 PM 10/27/2005 -0500, Wolfe, Julian wrote: >Hey, I was just wondering if any of my fellow DECies on this list live >in the Chicago area, I know there were quite a few DEC shops around here >back in the day. >---------- >To unsubscribe (or subscribe) from (to) this list, send a message to >info-pdp11-request at village.org, with the first line of the message >body being "unsubscribe" or "subscribe", respectively (without the quotes).

20 years, 10 months

2
5
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Japanese computers

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: Japanese computers > From: Jules Richardson <julesrichardsonuk at yahoo.co.uk> > Date: Sat, 29 Oct 2005 14:11:24 +0100 > To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >William Donzelli wrote: >>>I'll see if I can find them when I get back to the UK and scan any >>>interesting bits in. >> >> >> I am specifically looking for info on the parametron computers of the late >> 1950s, and the Hitachi AS/6 (may be called a HITAC in a Japanese >> context) of the late 1970s. > >I'm almost certain there was some mention of Parametron, amongst others. >Probably way too early for HITAC. I seem to recall an article about a >project to build a one mega-word memory unit too, which I suppose was a >rather impressive size for then (particularly if you wanted to make it >reliable!). Our machines of that era are all around the 4KW mark... 4KW was common but even the TX2 was far larger than that and that was pretty early transistor machine. By mid 60s machine of size were in the 16-64KW range. Keep in mind even the designers of the time understood that large reasonably fast randomly accessable memory was a factor in computational speed and overall perfomance. Of course there was a divergence that appeared during the mid 60s with Cray, LINC and PDP-8 to mention a number of small word (16bits and under) machines appearing with smaller memories and simplified archetectures appealing to the controls and emerging "MiniComputer" market. As to large memories by 1962 it was well understood the real problem was heat, power and consistancy of the magnetics and they were well on the way to a good handle on those. The main enemy was cost. Core was expensive per bit. Allison

20 years, 10 months

2
1
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Zenith Z171

by benoit.bourgier＠gmail.com

Hello, I saw that you got a zenith Z170, well, i've got a Zenith Z171, and i want to sell it, do you know what is the price for this kind of device? Well, if you can tell me a price, that will be greatfull... Thanks in advance. Bye Ben

20 years, 10 months

1
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OT (sort of) - PowerPoint help for my VCF exhibit

by news＠computercollector.com

Is anyone here really good with PowerPoint 2003? I could use some help (phone) tomorrow (Saturday) around the early afternoon EST. Email me OFF-LIST PLEASE if you can assist. 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://groups.yahoo.com/group/midatlanticretro/

20 years, 10 months

1
1
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East coast movie - wants to rent old computers

by tosteve＠yahoo.com

Help Jennifer (in NYC) if you can! > Jennifer Greenberg - email: > yougotjen(-at-)yahoo(-dot-)com > > I am working on a movie for which I will need > computers from the mid 1970's, and > mid to late 1980's. I am wondering if you know of > any sources on the east coast who might be > interested in renting such things. > > Warm Regards, > > Jennifer > __________________________________ Yahoo! FareChase: Search multiple travel sites in one click. http://farechase.yahoo.com

20 years, 10 months

5
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IBM 5155 Power supply schematics or info

by dwight＠ca2h0430.amd.com

>From: "Alberto Rubinelli - A2 Sistemi" <alberto at a2sistemi.it> > >I'm thinking about some protection circuit, because the switching try to >startup, for a time less then half second, and then stop. Now I can try to >check il any protection become active during startup. >The SG3524 il correctly powered and try to fire up the switching >transistors, via the pulse transformer, but only for a short time. > Hi Alberto One thing that I've seen on some switchers is something that watches to see if the transformer/coil core saturates. It is a simple coil that picks up the stray magnetic fields when the coil is overloaded( that often causes the blowout current in the switching transistor ). One has this detection circuit clamp the gate voltage to the switching transistor when it see excess leakage flux. It works better than a simple current detect because it self compensates for the cores temperature. If there is a current overload, it will keep the circuit >from powering up. One could put a LED on it to visually detect the condition. Dwight

20 years, 10 months

1
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VMS Drive Cleanup Assist

by classiccmp＠vintage-computer.com

Hey all, I've got a DEC Alpha system that I can grab from work but not until I clean off the hard drives. It's a really nice system (server tower plus expansion, tons of docs and disks, etc.) that I'd like to make available at the VCF. The question is: how do I clean the drives completely without any real chance of data being recovered? The only other option would be to leave the drives behind so they can be crushed. I don't really know VMS and I'm not sure what versions are available, etc. Any help would be appreciated. -- Erik Klein www.vintage-computer.com www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum The Vintage Computer Forum

20 years, 10 months

10
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Hobby-related blogs, anyone?

by news＠computercollector.com

Does anyone here publish (or can recommend) well-written blogs focusing on vintage computing? I'm aware of bytecellar.com and retrothing.com but would like to list some more on the newsletter homepage. - Evan ----------------------------------------- Evan Koblentz's personal homepage: http://www.snarc.net Computer Collector Newsletter: http://news.computercollector.com Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists & Museum: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/midatlanticretro/

20 years, 10 months

2
1
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FPGA VAX update

by msokolov＠ivan.Harhan.ORG

Cameron Kaiser <spectre at floodgap.com> wrote: > Yeah, but if it wanted libX for the installer and you don't have it, even > if you could bypass it, the odds are pretty freaking good that the main > program would require libX also. There is more than one "main program". There are command line tools that do the real work and a GUI front end for them. I only care about the former, I'm fine with never being able to run the latter - I don't need no fucking sissy GUI shit. MS

20 years, 10 months

11
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It figures! (broken 9-track)

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

> > Well, it figures. I was bragging on the list about how great my 9 track > worked with the DQ132, and the power supply blows. I turn it on now, and no > lights, nothing. > > Anyone have a clue what might have gone? I was away when it happened. The > PDP11 was off, and I had left the 9 track on, plugged into the power > control. > > The unit is an Overland OD3201. There is no external fuse. NEver having seen this unit, I can't offer specific help, but I would at least start by opening it up. Look for _intenral_ fuses, check them, but don't necesarily replace them if they're blown. You do want to see how violently they belew -- if the glass is shattered or blackened by a film of metak, then the the thing really took some current! It would also be useful to know if this is a switching supply (look for electrolytics rated at 200V or more), or a linear (is there a large laminated-core transformer?). And what the main components, espeically ICs, are. -tony

20 years, 10 months

2
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PC Ephemera

by swtpc6800＠comcast.net

Adrian Graham wrote >> I'd have thought this was worth saving if it's related to the 5150 XT, or >> at >> least it is to me. I'm trying and failing miserably to find an XT with a >> 64K >> motherboard, purely because I guess people upgraded them as soon as they >> could afford to. I had a original IBM PC with the 64k motherboard and small power supply. A friend bought an XT as soon as they came out and it had the 256k motherboard. I don't think they ever made a 64k XT. Later I had my BIOS upgraded to install a 20 MB hard drive. (And a power supply upgrade.) I had to take my computer to an authorized IBM dealer to get the BIOS swapped. They would not just send you a ROM. Even with an AST 6 Pack I did not have 640kB or RAM because of the 64k motherboard. (But I did have a cassette interface.) Michael Holley

20 years, 10 months

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Chicago-area DECies?

by ISC277＠CLCILLINOIS.EDU

Hey, I was just wondering if any of my fellow DECies on this list live in the Chicago area, I know there were quite a few DEC shops around here back in the day.

20 years, 10 months

2
1
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It figures! (broken 9-track)

by ISC277＠CLCILLINOIS.EDU

Well, it figures. I was bragging on the list about how great my 9 track worked with the DQ132, and the power supply blows. I turn it on now, and no lights, nothing. Anyone have a clue what might have gone? I was away when it happened. The PDP11 was off, and I had left the 9 track on, plugged into the power control. The unit is an Overland OD3201. There is no external fuse. TIA Julian

20 years, 10 months

1
0
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Recall: It figures! (broken 9-track)

by ISC277＠CLCILLINOIS.EDU

Wolfe, Julian would like to recall the message, "It figures! (broken 9-track)".

20 years, 10 months

1
0
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It figures! (broken 9-track)

by ISC277＠CLCILLINOIS.EDU

Well, it figures. I ws bragging on the list about how great my 9 track worked with the DQ132, and the power supply blows. I turn it on now, and no lights, nothing. Anyone have a clue what might have gone? I was away when it happened. The PDP11 was off, and I had left the 9 track on, plugged into the power control. The unit is an Overland OD3201. There is no external fuse. TIA Julian

20 years, 10 months

1
0
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chipset pinout wanted for 82C206.

by jpero＠sympatico.ca

Googled and can't find a datasheet. Seems the payware website had cleaned out the websites where you can access datasheets before. What I needed: typical schematic or description of CMOS battery back up 3.6V rechargeable with 4069 IC and 82C206 (SiS, UMC, OPTi and C & T uses this 82C206) specifically chipset's pin number for battery back up to retain data and run clock. I'm trying to troubleshoot typical motherboard that is not holding CMOS data even I do have 3.6V battery power (already checked). Cheers, Wizard

20 years, 10 months

3
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Comment on 'boardswapping' as part of the computer CULTURE.

by marvin＠rain.org

Board swaping and component replacement both have their place and that place depends on your particular philosophy and goals. For myself, I look at component replacement as a way actually learning how things work instead of shotgunning a problem until it appears to have been solved. Actually understanding how something works leads to progress while I *firmly* believe that the board swapping only mentality leads on a spiral path downwards. Board swapping is the obvious answer to the time problem of reducing downtime ... most of the time :). A good analagy that most of us have run into is the "my son/daughter/friend/??? is an expert with computers and can fix anything." Most of these people are called experts *only* because of they know a bit more than the person making the comment. Knowing how to reformat and reinstall an OS has its place, but without knowing what is going on, it is really easy to reinstall the same problems that generated the "Oh, you need to reformat the HD ..." And Tony's comment about "that's the way things are done ..." is a great statement that I fully believe in and support!!! A sad (to me anyway) commentary on people in the US are the number of people who prefer to buy an assembled and tested unit instead of building it themselves when given an option. On Fri, 21 Oct 2005, Tony Duell wrote: > > Boardswapping has a place and is a legitimate part of the history of > > computers going way, way back. It is how things were and are done, and > > I have never found 'that's the way things are done' to be a sufficient > reason for carrying on doing them that way. If you can prove that your repair business model would be more successful than the one that has evolved over time in the electronics industry then you should write a book and become a consultant and make millions. Why waste your breath with a bunch of geeks like us? -- Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival

20 years, 10 months

3
3
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FPGA VAX update

by msokolov＠ivan.Harhan.ORG

Cameron Kaiser <spectre at floodgap.com> wrote: > That you, basically, stole the software? I didn't steal it, I forcibly liberated it for the People. And there was much rejoycing. MS

20 years, 10 months

6
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Pre-VCF meetup, anyone?

by news＠computercollector.com

I'll be in town Wedneday to work on my exhibit, that way I don't have to transport the whole thing from New Jersey. Anyone want to hang out Wednesday night for dinner / drinks? (I have plans already for Thursday). Friday, of course, is VCF set-up day at the museum. Staying at the Quality Inn Mountain View, best way to reach me will be cell phone (646.546.9999) or periodic email. Wish I could get my IBM Simon working alongside my Treo. ;) ----------------------------------------- Evan Koblentz's personal homepage: http://www.snarc.net Computer Collector Newsletter: http://news.computercollector.com Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists & Museum: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/midatlanticretro/

20 years, 10 months

1
0
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Flip Chips was Re: US Sources for old ICs

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

Paul wrote: > "Flip Chip" as a DEC trademark simply designates the PC board with > stuff on them that implements some function and can be plugged into a > backplane. That's what it ended up meaning, and most of the modules indeed were made up of discrete wire-lead components and DIP's on a plug-in card. But DEC's original intention was a much closer bonding of a hybrid module to a PCB sans wires. See my thread in a.f.c. on this topic in 1998 :-). Tim.

20 years, 10 months

2
1
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Z80 Telescope Controller (was Homebrew newsgroups / forums?)

by dwight＠ca2h0430.amd.com

>From: gtulloch at shaw.ca > >Well, ok, in that case ... > >I'm building a Z80 based microcontroller as a telescope controller, to >run a few stepper motors, calculate and correct for periodic errors as >well as XYZ errors in the mount. The driver circuit is done >(http://www.bbastrodesigns.com/cot/steppercircuit.html), and >currently runs off a DOS app which uses the parallel port to pulse >the motor windings. However, I prefer not to use a dedicated >DOS PC so I'd like to put a Z80 in front of the driver with an RC >circuit connected to the NMI so I know how long the duration between >interrupts is and can thus calc the steps required to track. For historic >reasons the code will be written in FORTH - a PC connected via serial >will do all the heavy lifting as far as telling the Z80 where to point >and how. Comments on the veracity of this architecture welcome! > >I have a few questions I'm hoping someone can answer for me, starting >with the following: I have a Z80A and a 4 mhz TTL clock >oscillator - I'm wondering if it would be ok to connect the clock >directly to the CPU or is it wise to connect it via a parallel or >serial resonant oscillator circuit like those described here: > >http://www.z80.info/uexosc.htm > >Why be so elaborate? The data sheets for the oscillator doesn't say >"Make sure you connect via a parallel or serial resonent oscillator >circuit!" > >Thanks for any light you can shed on this, Google hasn't been helpful. >I have references that do it both ways without explanation so I'm >confused! Hi I think you are confusing a crystal oscillator with a crystal. The circuits shown are for the crystal alone and you provide the oscillator. If you are using a crystal, one needs to match the type of crystal, parallel/series, to get it to work at the stated frequency. This has to do with the phase shift that the crystal provides for the oscillator. In one case, the phase is 0 degrees while the other, it is 180 degrees. Even so, using ttl parts for oscillators can have issues. If the crystal is over driven, it will age quickly and drift in frequence or even fail to oscillate. Also issues like startup time need to be addressed in some applications. You'd want the oscillator running well before releasing reset on a CPU. Dwight > >Regards, > Gord > >cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org wrote on 26/10/2005 09:25:58 PM: > >> Gord wrote... >> > I'm building a Z80 based computer as a stepper motor controller, and >it >> > would be nice if there was a homebrew newsgroup to ask questions on >since >> > I don't think this is the group to do so - any recommendations? >> >> Um... I would certainly think developing a new system around a classic >> processor (Z-80) is certainly ok on this group :) >> >> Jay >> >

20 years, 10 months

1
0
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FPGA VAX update

by msokolov＠ivan.Harhan.ORG

Scott Stevens <chenmel at earthlink.net> wrote: > How well do they encrypt the ZIPs? There are some pretty powerful > ZIPcracking tools out there. Well, it's no longer a concern for me. I don't give a damn about Xilinx any more. I've just got the CD with Altera's Quartus for Linux and it's all normal tarballs, which I have unpacked just fine manually without using any installer. Then after giving it a bootleg license file I've got the command line tools working. So, reiterating for those who haven't caught the gist - I now have working command line tools under Linux (no Winblows, no GUI, no X display needed) for compiling Altera FPGAs. I start with Verilog sources and get an SOF (SRAM object file) for the FPGA, all command line controlled by a Makefile, just like compiling C code with cc under UNIX. Isn't this something to celebrate? MS

20 years, 10 months

3
2
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Tandy Xenix Boot Disk

by kelly＠catcorner.org

> From: Chuck Guzis > Sent: 10/27/2005 2:40 AM > Subject: Re: PC Ephemera > > Way OT: Does anyone have a Xenix boot disk for a TRS-80 Model 16? > Does it require a hard disk or can you run with the two floppies? > > Cheers, > Chuck Do you want a copy of one of the original disks? I have version 3.1, but that requires a PAL update to the 68000 board. I MAY have version 1.1 or 1.3 around somewhere. Do you want 5.25" or 8" media? As long as you have the 68000 board and memory intstalled, you can boot with a floppy and a file system diskette, but you don't have many of the tools. What are you trying to do? I loved the diskutil, but that doesn't actually require loading Xenix. If you have a later generation hard drive controller in your machine, you can probably use just about any RLL/MFM interface drive to get going. If you don't then If you have the middle generataion (without the red bus lines), you'll need the external primary drive case with a working 12 meg or larger MFM drive installed. Kelly

20 years, 10 months

1
0
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US Sources for old ICs

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

Brent wrote: > Across the history of ICs, DIP packaging begins to look like a > 25-to-30-year sidebar. I like the way "flip chip" (not just the term, but the concept) is coming back into vogue, forty years after DEC registered it as a trademark. Tim.

20 years, 10 months

3
2
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US Sources for old ICs

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

William Donzelli wrote: > Ever notice that in the 60s and 70s, they did not use flatpacks all that > properly? For some reason, the philosophy was to have the leads quite > long. No real reason for that, is there? The "official" way of mounting flatpacks also required you to mill a chunk of the board away so the IC sits in the PCB, and then you have to weld (not solder) the leads to the PCB. Maybe in the 60's it made sense but with multilayer boards today getting rid of all those signal traces (as well as the ground and power planes!) just won't fly. It's possible that the long leads had somethng to do with welding them. I got the impression that flatpacks weren't about increasing density but were an over-reaction to problems with hermetic seals and bent leads. Tim.

20 years, 10 months

1
0
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Z80 Telescope Controller (was Homebrew newsgroups / forums?)

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Z80 Telescope Controller (was Homebrew newsgroups / forums?) > From: gtulloch at shaw.ca > Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2005 23:36:51 -0500 > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >Well, ok, in that case ... > >I'm building a Z80 based microcontroller as a telescope controller, to >run a few stepper motors, calculate and correct for periodic errors as >well as XYZ errors in the mount. The driver circuit is done >(http://www.bbastrodesigns.com/cot/steppercircuit.html), and >currently runs off a DOS app which uses the parallel port to pulse >the motor windings. However, I prefer not to use a dedicated >DOS PC so I'd like to put a Z80 in front of the driver with an RC >circuit connected to the NMI so I know how long the duration between >interrupts is and can thus calc the steps required to track. For historic >reasons the code will be written in FORTH - a PC connected via serial >will do all the heavy lifting as far as telling the Z80 where to point >and how. Comments on the veracity of this architecture welcome! RC circuits drift with temerature and voltage, not an accurate source of time or position information. A better whay uses a timer chip like the Z80 CTC or 8253. Though a PIC or other micro(8048, 8051) usually has a timer counter on board. Generally speaking using a micro as a morot controller is commmonplace. The real trick is being able to start at a calibrated point and return back to it (resetability) as well as move to any point with accuracy. So beside the mechanical problem of movement there are the issues of knowing where you are or at least where the start point is. >I have a few questions I'm hoping someone can answer for me, starting >with the following: I have a Z80A and a 4 mhz TTL clock >oscillator - I'm wondering if it would be ok to connect the clock >directly to the CPU or is it wise to connect it via a parallel or >serial resonant oscillator circuit like those described here: Yes, you can if CMOS, if not then add a 330 ohm pullup resistor. The Z80 requires a clock that swings closer to ground and Vcc than all the other pins. >http://www.z80.info/uexosc.htm > >Why be so elaborate? The data sheets for the oscillator doesn't say >"Make sure you connect via a parallel or serial resonent oscillator >circuit!" Because most digital hackers would not know what it is maybe? A parallel or series resonant osc refers to the whay the crystal is connected in and used. The inportant thing is to meet the rise and fall times as well as the logic high and low voltages that the Z80 requires. and that wasn't addressed well there. >Thanks for any light you can shed on this, Google hasn't been helpful. >I have references that do it both ways without explanation so I'm >confused! If google isn't helpful then you asked the wrong question. There is literally mountains of z80 information out there. Allison

20 years, 10 months

1
0
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Homebrew newsgroups / forums?

by gtulloch＠shaw.ca

Hi all: I'm building a Z80 based computer as a stepper motor controller, and it would be nice if there was a homebrew newsgroup to ask questions on since I don't think this is the group to do so - any recommendations? Yes, I know I'm 30 years behind the curve, and yes, I know a microcontroller would save me some time, but where's the fun in that? Regards, Gord

20 years, 10 months

7
8
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[Fwd: PDP-11 Collection for Sale]

by bottlcaps＠gmail.com

Forwarded from vmsnet.pdp-11 with permission by poster -------- Original Message -------- Subject: PDP-11 Collection for Sale Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 09:02:57 -0400 From: Will Kranz <will_kranz at softhome.net> Organization: Info-PDP11<==>vmsnet.pdp-11 Gateway Newsgroups: vmsnet.pdp-11 Gentlemen: My dad passed away over the weekend. He has be acquiring 11/23 systems and componets for something like 25 years. Its time to clean out the basement. I don't want to give things away, but do want some of this to go to good homes where I know it will get the love and care that it deserves. I thought I'd give you guys the opportunity before posting anything on Ebay. I'm starting a web page where I will attempt to maintain a list of equipment: http://www.fpns.net/willy/pdp11/forsale.htm The stuff is located in Darien, CT just off I-95. You'd have come pickup or arrange shipping as I do not have the energy for it. Please make me an offer I can't refuse. Use the email address above, or the contact information on the web page. Be well, Will -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.1.361 / Virus Database: 267.12.5/147 - Release Date: 10/24/2005 ---------- To unsubscribe (or subscribe) from (to) this list, send a message to info-pdp11-request at village.org, with the first line of the message body being "unsubscribe" or "subscribe", respectively (without the quotes).

20 years, 10 months

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FPGA VAX update

by msokolov＠ivan.Harhan.ORG

Cameron Kaiser <spectre at floodgap.com> wrote: > What, because they used a *graphical* installer? No, because they encrypted the ZIPs to make it impossible to bypass said installer. MS

20 years, 10 months

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Apple II on Lost?

by spectre＠floodgap.com

I don't remember if this was already reported, but the underground hatch on tonight's repeat of Lost is apparently controlled by an Apple II (with an "execute" key). -- ---------------------------------- personal: http://www.armory.com/~spectre/ -- Cameron Kaiser, Floodgap Systems Ltd * So. Calif., USA * ckaiser at floodgap.com -- You are not ready! ---------------------------------------------------------

20 years, 10 months

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PC Ephemera

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: RE: PC Ephemera > From: Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> > Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2005 19:12:18 -0700 (PDT) > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >On Wed, 26 Oct 2005, Chuck Guzis wrote: >> Not AFAIK. It was very difficult to buy the "bare" PC retail, what with >> demand being as strong as it was. Most units were sold with at least one >> 160K floppy. > >prob'ly mostly because they were charging about $500 for a Tandon TM100-1! >(and a few hundred $ for each row of 16K RAMs) > >In fall 1981, I was able to buy a bare 5150, plus FDC and CGA. >I had plenty of RAM and floppies in stock for TRS-80s. > >I wasn't able to get another bare one until summer 1982. > >By 1983, the college where I teach was buying that configuration a dozen >at a time. > >> I can recall trying the interface out and saying "yes, it works", but the >> most useful aspect of it was the motor control relay. > >Yep! >I used it just long enough to confirm that it would not be a good way to >distribute software. Harrumph! I'd given up in "audio cassette interface" back in 1976 as mostly useless. I was rolling on the floor laughing when I got to see the "PC" and it has the bit bash trash cassette interface. That was a definate "you gotta be kidding right?" moment. Why laugh? My desktop had a multibus 8086 system running at 8mhz with a full megabyte (no rom holes) and four 8" DSDD (NEC!) drives in the spring of 1982. Allison

20 years, 10 months

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BA11-Sx support brackets needed

by fireflyst＠earthlink.net

Hey everyone, I'm in need of one or more sets of support brackets for a BA11-S box cover...you know, the two black ears that go off the rear of the cover and mount to the back of the chassis. Let me know if you have 'em to part with... Julian

20 years, 10 months

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PC Ephemera

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: RE: PC Ephemera > From: "Richard A. Cini" <rcini at optonline.net> > Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2005 21:50:49 -0400 > To: "'General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts'" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >I actually have one of these. My wife's uncle worked at IBM and bought the >PC and the expansion unit "way back when". It was a PC case with a backplane >and the interface card, connected by a 3' shielded cable which IMHO was way >too stiff for normal use. This unit has a 20mb hard drive in it and the last >time I used it (3-4 years ago) it worked fine. > >If $2850 was the original price, that's a rip off. It's an empty PC case, a >backplane, power supply and an ISA card. $400 in parts at the most. Well in 1983 a SA400L was still a 199$ item, The "kit" from intel (8284A, 8088, 8255, 8253 and 8259) was 12$/Q10,000. DRAMS 64K were still up the price curve 8$/10,000. Large Eproms 8Kx8 2764 or the big 27128 were not cheap either. The raw 765A was around 5$/Q1000. The board was covered with TTL and a few PALs. Monitors were over 100$ for monochrome and color was around 400$. Yes, they were stinking expensive. Then again at the same time even a NS* machine loaded (48k two drives, no hard disk) was around 1600$. Allison

20 years, 10 months

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VMS drive cleanup assist

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

I'd look at Darik's Boot and Nuke (dban.sourceforge.net) Based on Linux which, while not classic, has good support for Alpha AXP, and DBAN has credibility. build one for AXP and use it. Sadly, being Linux based it won't run on many classic systems (e.g. VAXen, PDPs, . . .) but it's possible that someone could do an xBSD port.

20 years, 10 months

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US Sources for old ICs

by cclist＠sydex.com

The chat about the FDC reminded me of a data acquisition project I've had partly completed for a couple of years. Where is a good source for purchasing small-quantity ICs in the US? In particular, I'm looking for a few 64Kx9 async FIFOs (e.g. IDT7208 or CY7C466) in DIP packages (I can find the Cypress part at DigiKey, but only in QFP). Suggestions would be welcome. Cheers, Chuck

20 years, 10 months

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RL01 drive select plug and power supply questions

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: RL01 drive select plug and power supply questions > From: Johnny Billquist <bqt at Update.UU.SE> > Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 13:16:33 +0200 (CEST) > To: cctalk at classiccmp.org > >On Thu, 20 Oct 2005, Allison <ajp166 at bellatlantic.net> wrote: > >> >Subject: Re: RL01 drive select plug and power supply questions >> > From: David Betz <dbetz at xlisper.mv.com> >> > Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 18:26:02 -0400 >> > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> >> > >> >Thanks for your reply. I guess I'm okay with power even if I leave in >> >the DHV11 as it seems my BA11-N has been upgraded to a H7861 power >> >> Unless you need the IO I'd pull it anyway. The system will run cooler >> and I doubt you have need for the lines. DHV11 is a MUX and you need >> the chassis kit to break out all the serial lines. Most OSs for PDP11 >> don't use it (system build time option) and the DLV11J is easier to use >> and program. The DHV11 cannot be used for a console either. > >I think I'll slightly disagree with you here. >While all you say is essentially true, the DLV11 is a tremendour burden on >the system compared to the DHV11. So if you actually want to run serial >connections to a machine, keep the DHV11, and don't use the console more >than absolutely neccesary. > >Big difference between DMA and interrupts you know... Yes I do. However for a single user system the load is not an issue. If your running a timeshare system such as RSTS or RSX with more than one user then DHV11 sense as well. For most of my 11s four lines is the limit for what I can seem to keep busy. Figure a user terminal, LA100 Printer and serial line for modem or data line to another system. At the extreme I've run two terminals for OSs that support that but, I can only type on on at any instant. ;) Allison

20 years, 10 months

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US Sources for old ICs

by Richard.Cini＠wachovia.com

I use BG Micro a lot for some older semis, including plain "S" TTL ones and various SRAMs. -----Original Message----- From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Paul Koning Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2005 11:31 AM To: cctalk at classiccmp.org Subject: Re: US Sources for old ICs >>>>> "Chuck" == Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com> writes: Chuck> The chat about the FDC reminded me of a data acquisition Chuck> project I've had partly completed for a couple of years. Chuck> Where is a good source for purchasing small-quantity ICs in Chuck> the US? In particular, I'm looking for a few 64Kx9 async Chuck> FIFOs (e.g. IDT7208 or CY7C466) in DIP packages (I can find Chuck> the Cypress part at DigiKey, but only in QFP). Jameco tends to have the older stuff in the older packages. They still sell 4116s, for example, and 7400 series (plain 7400, not the 74ABCDEF00 newfangled variants). paul

20 years, 10 months

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US Sources for old ICs

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: US Sources for old ICs > From: Paul Koning <pkoning at equallogic.com> > Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2005 11:43:57 -0400 > To: cctalk at classiccmp.org > >>>>>> "Joe" == Joe R <rigdonj at cfl.rr.com> writes: > > Joe> The small surface mount only packages are a BIG problem for > Joe> individuals that want to build a single circuit. A friend of > Joe> mine designs and builds a lot of circuits commercailly and he's > Joe> always raising hell with the IC manufacturers and trying to get > Joe> them to produce chips in DIP packages. I keep telling him that > Joe> it's hopeless. > >There's at least one company that builds SMT to DIP adapters, so you >can plug SMT packaged chips into DIP prototyping systems and the like. > >Of course manufacturers don't want to use DIPs. They are electrically >inferior. For that matter, they are also obsolete -- if they made DIP >packaged chips they would certainly be very low volume products. > >I understand the preference for DIPs in amateur work, though SMT isn't >really all that hard. But I can't imagine any reason for wanting DIPs >in new commercial designs. They are bigger, slower, not RoHS >compliant, ... > I prefer the larger SMT parts but I don't get worked up if what I get is what I can get. At upper HF and VHF/UHF SMT is the way to go even if your doing deadbug (ugly over groundplane). Allison

20 years, 10 months

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US Sources for old ICs

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: US Sources for old ICs > From: Paul Koning <pkoning at equallogic.com> > Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2005 11:31:08 -0400 > To: cctalk at classiccmp.org > >>>>>> "Chuck" == Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com> writes: > > Chuck> The chat about the FDC reminded me of a data acquisition > Chuck> project I've had partly completed for a couple of years. > > Chuck> Where is a good source for purchasing small-quantity ICs in > Chuck> the US? In particular, I'm looking for a few 64Kx9 async > Chuck> FIFOs (e.g. IDT7208 or CY7C466) in DIP packages (I can find > Chuck> the Cypress part at DigiKey, but only in QFP). > >Jameco tends to have the older stuff in the older packages. They >still sell 4116s, for example, and 7400 series (plain 7400, not the >74ABCDEF00 newfangled variants). > > paul JDRmicrdevices get the catalog. Oddball stuff like the CY466 won't be there but TTL and CMOS generic logic is. For the oddballs maybe >from Digikey or Mouser. Allison

20 years, 10 months

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VI-90 and VG920 terminals?

by wulfcub＠gmail.com

I recently stumbled across an odd set of emulations available in the controller for a printer I have. This system was introduced in the early 80's, and was only recently EOL'd by xerox (the 4090LPS). The default terminal emulation is ADM3, which works well with the Link MC5 terminals. ADM11 is also available, along with VI-90 and VG920, which I've never heard of. To make life a little bit easier while playing with this beast, I would like to tie it to a pc (linux or windows). Changing the system directly is not really an option, as the whole thing is a very bizarre setup, based loosely on DEC architecture. The question is, does anyone know anything about the VI-90 or VG920 terminal emulations? And, does anyone know of a way to directly emulate an ADM3 or ADM11 terminal under linux or windows? (via serial, of course) The system has many options available, including: a scsi tape drive option (I have the equipment, but it's another xerox oddity to run), a shared-disk interface option, ethernet (early implementation for thicknet), a 9-track tape drive (I have, and use, this one), an "online" (bus & tag channel-attach) interface, which I also have. It's an odd, and interesting, system. >From what I've been told, the entire thing was written in RAD50. It can carry, total, about 512M of mem, spread across the various subsystems (Main, Font, Graphics), all on individual chips, nothing socketed, lots of blinkenlights. Anyone wanting more info (or even an entire controller!) just ask! --Shaun -- "If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you." -- Winnie The Pooh http://www.lungs4amber.org

20 years, 10 months

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FPGA VAX update

by msokolov＠ivan.Harhan.ORG

Eric J Korpela wrote: > Xilinx used to have software that would run under Solaris... woodelf <bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca> wrote: : They could indeed. All I know is the free?/low cost software is : windows based : and the hi-priced software is windows/other. I suspect they think if : you are not : using a Pee Sea you have $$$ to shell out for software. Xilinx' free download is available for Winblows and for Linux. I have downloaded the Linux version, but ran into a brick wall installing it. The downloadable package is actually a .sh file that constitutes a /bin/sh script with binary data following it (I know, a totally crazy arrangement, but I didn't look more closely into how it actually works due to lack of interest in this manure). When you run it, it unpacks into a bunch of other files. Those consist of an installer executable and a bunch of files for it to unpack. When I saw that the latter were ZIPs, I thought I would just extract them manually, but not so fast - they are encrypted!!! The fuckers are forcing the use of their assinine installer, which is of course not runnable. Attempting to run it produces a complaint about missing libXm.so.3, i.e., it's some fucking GUI thing. I didn't even bother finding, downloading and compiling whatever package would provide that libXm.so.3, since the next thing it would complain about of course would be that I have no X display. And if I turned inside out to give it the goddamn X display it wants (that would require making a trip to my old facility, which would in turn require borrowing a friend for the duration of the entire procedure since I don't feel safe going there alone [it's a terrible neighbourhood], and none of my friends have that kind of spare time), I'm sure there would be something else that would make it unhappy and it still won't run far enough to unpack the fucking encrypted archive. In short, Xilinx has done more than enough to deserve the death penalty under Galactic law. They are badly in need of a date with Madame La Guillotine. Fortunately, I may have found an alternative solution using Altera. Not that Altera is any better, but the company for which I'm currently doing a consulting project involving FPGAs uses Altera, and I've got Quartus (Altera's SW) for Linux through them. I haven't seen it yet actually, I've just got an E-mail from the boss saying that the CD is on my desk for me to play with tomorrow. So I'll look at it tomorrow. I'm hoping that I can install it on my Linux box at the company and then copy the installed files to my own one (i.e., pirate it). : Back to FPGA software for the VAX, I don't see the hardware a problem : but the software could be still be one. The small PDP'S has hoards of : paper tape : software, the big ones all need a OS. The OS is not a problem - I am the maintainer of the one true OS for the VAX (which is of course 4.3BSD-Quasijarus). MS

20 years, 10 months

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Looking for an 8 bit FDC...

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: Looking for an 8 bit FDC... > From: Dave Dunfield <dave04a at dunfield.com> > Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 23:28:30 -0400 > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >Have you tried just using the diskette controller in a PC? - I've >found that almost all of my P1ish machines can read/write FM, and >I've used ImageDisk to backup and restore almost all of the soft- >sector formats that I have here (although some are better than others. >I've found that Intel mainboards work very well, although the ones >I have only support one drive select). Again an older 486 and an AT (older) FDC is a hard solution to beat for the majority. Amazing how an relatively easy 80% solution covers 97% of the need. A PC controller isn't a complete solution but for a huge amount of day to day effort it's a usable solution. Those disks that cant be read with that solution are already known. Those bad actors are either hard sectord where each is likely a special case or sufficiently odd enough to warrent keeping a sample system fully operational. The alternate is some system that has a bus so you can insert controllers to fit the oddball situations and just plug them in. I use S100 for that, right now the only formats that crate can't handle is the GCR formats (no systems here use it) and hard sector other than NS* though I do have an Altair hard sector system. The only problem that isn't solved however is they guy on the other side of the planet with the only other oddball system like it and needs a boot disk. I've have had this problem since I put a NS* conttroller in my first S100 system in '77. That problem is what I want is on brand Q media and format and I have brand N that doesn't do that. Allison

20 years, 10 months

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Looking for an 8 bit FDC...

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: Looking for an 8 bit FDC... > From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com> > Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 11:22:55 -0700 > To: cctalk at classiccmp.org > >On 10/25/2005 at 1:59 PM Allison wrote: > >>The 765A was least integrated but with the right external support more >>flexible than the 37C65 and later. > >You still have to put up with the "blindness' during the IAM interval and >the lack of support for MFM 128-byte sectors--and the lack of support for >non-standard address marks (not at all uncommon in old formats). At least >with the WD chips, you can read the raw track data. Ah huh, what? Who does 128byte MF sectors??? If you really have to it's possible to tell a 765 that it's a short sector in mfm. As to non standard address marks that was a tandyism and 765 "read deleted" works. >>>The data seperator was a fairly simple circuit and could be done with >>a counter or for improved results with a latch and prom. > >Or just find a nice little 8-pin WD 9216 data separator. If you wanted >more than that, a PLL might be the ticket. If you can find one 9216 is good or the 9229. IF not the latch/prom is a synthetic PLL (which is the logic in the 9216 etal) and very good with less headaches than a real PLL. In general a 765A on a late XT or early AT class FDC is the trick more possibilities than not. Those that it can't be require extraordinary effort. There are few reasons that seem to abound for do alls. Those be "archives" and I want to run a zzxxyy sim on a PC. Those that most often archive have a host that can read it. The other case is obvious. However, the case I run into the most is I wish to run ABC on Northstar* under CP/M and need to get it on to the AmproLB. For that the Ampro connected to the serial port of the NS* and MDM740 neatly sidesteps the "format problem" and once on the AmproLB I can run DOS and write it to a 720K 3.5" floppy under (DOS/WIN/NT/Linux) and run it under MyZ80 or whatever. Allison

20 years, 10 months

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Looking for an 8 bit FDC...

by henk.gooijen＠oce.com

Hi Jules, I replied yesterday evening, but somehow my e-mail did not show up (at least here). So, I resend it. Sorry if it hits the list a second time. I have a design that worked - 20 years ago, with a 1793. It has a PLL-based data separator, using a 72LS629 and 2 4-bit counters, IIRC. I need to look it up. It was interfaced to 6809 bus signals, so changing it for 6502 is straight forward. I recently bought a few 1793 chips from BGMICRO, and then decided to make my design a lot simpler by using a 2793 as that FDC has a data separator integrated. With the correct clock crystal selection you can use the hardware for 3", 3.5", 5.25" _and_ 8" drives (under software control)! I am working on a 2793 which is piggy-back connected to the "Blinkenlight" Core Board which is based on the 6809E and has more than enough RAM and EPROM on board. But that's just a matter of how you write the software how to read the floppy. For instance, sector-wise or track-wise as the 1793 and 2793 have read-track commands. I would not use DRAM chips, but takje a single static 32kx8. Saves work on soldering and room on the board. I started a webpage on this new project, see www.pdp-11.nl/ in the "my projects" folder. Vince still has Core Board kits (all parts included for $70), so the job is limited to the FDC part (and the software ...) But the Core Board is a 6809E instead of the 6502, I regard that's a plus !!! Handling double density will become tricky with the 6502, and even with the 6809, because of timing requirements (polling for DRQ is asserted). Single density can be handled by polling, but double density requires the use of IRQ or FIRQ or the use the SYNC instruction (need connect DRQ* to IRQ or FIRQ). I am waiting on the arrival of my 2nd BGMICRO order that has the 2793 ... gd luck, - 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, 10 months

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FPGA VAX update

by msokolov＠ivan.Harhan.ORG

9000 VAX <vax9000 at gmail.com> wrote: > Altera supplies free "web" edition of its quartus II software too. I > am using that and I think it is as good as the linux one. But it's for Winblows only, isn't it? Dunno about you, but I'm not bringing a Winblows machine into the house, that's absolutely out of the question! Even Linux is right on the limit of what I can tolerate. MS

20 years, 10 months

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FPGA VAX update

by msokolov＠ivan.Harhan.ORG

woodelf <bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca> wrote: > From what I remember of Altera software , it brands itself to the > HD id or the network ID. I don't see how they can successfully do this under Linux, or any kind of UNIX. I guess they could try, but this "protection" would be laughable - a baby can get around this kind of "copyprotection". It ain't DOS or Winblows, it's Linux! I can intercept all system calls it makes, I can hack the kernel, I can do whatever I want to make it believe it's running on the machine it's "licensed" to. > Also I think you also may be stuck > with the GUI they use too. No, all the work is done by command line tools which the GUI calls, and the command line tools are documented. I'll use them as a backend for Icarus Verilog. MS

20 years, 10 months

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Looking for an 8 bit FDC...

by dave04a＠dunfield.com

>OK, I'm wanting to build a board with an 8 bit CPU (probably Z80, >possibly 6502) and a floppy controller IC on board with the intention of >hanging it off my PC (via serial or parallel, undecided yet) and >allowing me to read and write *most* formats from various 1980's 8 bit >micros... Funny, when I asked a few months ago if anyone was interested in collaborating on doing exactly this, I was practically run off the list with comments about how impractical it was, nobody would build it, and wouldn't a catweasel be ever so much better... So I let the idea drop (still might build one privately however). >Intel's 8271 looks like a possibility at the moment, but I thought I'd >poll the list for alternative ideas too. FM support is of course >critical - MFM is less of an issue as the host PC can handle that. > >I've never built any kind of computer from scratch, so it'll be a useful >experience. I figure on putting just enough code in ROM to support >downloading of actual firmware to the device over whatever the link is >to the PC, as that should save a lot of headache! > >Hopefully RAM requirements will be low enough that I can go the SRAM >route and avoid messing around with DRAM refresh (although IIRC the Z80 >has much of the necessary stuff built in...) I think the 8271 is pretty limiting ... I'd vote for a 1793 (or 2793 which has a bulld in data-separator) - it is used in a lot of classic systems, can handle a wide variety of formats, and can do raw track reads. A single 32k SRAM should be plenty to buffer a few tracks, which is really all you need. Have you tried just using the diskette controller in a PC? - I've found that almost all of my P1ish machines can read/write FM, and I've used ImageDisk to backup and restore almost all of the soft- sector formats that I have here (although some are better than others. I've found that Intel mainboards work very well, although the ones I have only support one drive select). Regards, Dave -- dave04a (at) Dave Dunfield dunfield (dot) Firmware development services & tools: www.dunfield.com com Collector of vintage computing equipment: http://www.parse.com/~ddunfield/museum/index.html

20 years, 10 months

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What is DECdatasystem?

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: RE: What is DECdatasystem? > From: "Julian Wolfe" <fireflyst at earthlink.net> > Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 22:02:48 -0500 > To: "'General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts'" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >So were these prebuilt systems versus built-to-configure systems? Mostly, more like limited menu systems. Aka if you need to do this than buy that. >In that case, that would make sense, just like the edusystem -8s. Very similar. Both were packaged with some options. Allison > >-----Original Message----- >From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] >On Behalf Of Allison >Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2005 9:28 PM >To: cctalk at classiccmp.org >Subject: Re: What is DECdatasystem? > >> >>Subject: What is DECdatasystem? >> From: "Wolfe, Julian " <ISC277 at CLCILLINOIS.EDU> >> Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 21:16:07 -0500 >> To: "'General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts'" ><cctalk at classiccmp.org> >> >>Okay, looking over the web, I've seen several PDP11 machines marked >>"DECdatasystem"... They don't seem to have anything in common...it's like a >>random marking DEC decided to put on machines. Anyone know what it means? > >The common thread of 'datasystem is they are bundled systems sold as >application solutions rather than "computers". > >It's part of DEC's history that Digital didn't sell computers, they sold >programmed data processors. that and quirky marketing. > >Allison >Ex Digit. > >

20 years, 10 months

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What is DECdatasystem?

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: What is DECdatasystem? > From: "Wolfe, Julian " <ISC277 at CLCILLINOIS.EDU> > Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 21:16:07 -0500 > To: "'General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts'" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >Okay, looking over the web, I've seen several PDP11 machines marked >"DECdatasystem"... They don't seem to have anything in common...it's like a >random marking DEC decided to put on machines. Anyone know what it means? The common thread of 'datasystem is they are bundled systems sold as application solutions rather than "computers". It's part of DEC's history that Digital didn't sell computers, they sold programmed data processors. that and quirky marketing. Allison Ex Digit.

20 years, 10 months

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What is DECdatasystem?

by ISC277＠CLCILLINOIS.EDU

Okay, looking over the web, I've seen several PDP11 machines marked "DECdatasystem"... They don't seem to have anything in common...it's like a random marking DEC decided to put on machines. Anyone know what it means?

20 years, 10 months

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Any own an 11/725...?

by technobug＠comcast.net

On Mon, 24 Oct 2005 05:00:57 +0100 (BST), ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell) wrote: > >>> The 11/730, of course, is mostly PALs (as I said) with some RAM as a >>> control store, 8 off 2901s as the ALU, and an 8085 (I think) to >>> load the >>> control store, etc. One day I am going to look into modifying the >>> microcode of that machine... >>> >> >> To what end? Increased performance? >> > > NO, just for fun... I doubt very much I could improve on the > performance > for running the VAX instruction set. I have not looked at the prints > carefully enough to determine how much of the instruction set is > hard-wired (if any), I wonder if it would be possible to run a > different > instruction set entirely. > > -tony > > Actually, with access to the micro instructions you can often substantially improve the run-time of a given program. The Modcomp II had the microbus accessible for use along with a number of unused instructions. The communications instructions and floating point were implemented using this bus. I implemented an instruction store attached to this bus and which allowed me to create and store new instructions. A friend working on a CS Phd in pattern matching ginned up a program that would find common instruction sequences in a program, deconstruct the microcode, perform optimization on the sequence and then create a new instruction which was substituted for the original sequence. We often got increases of performance of 20% over the original code. IIRC the Burroughs computers would load a different instruction set depending on what language was being used. Tony could create a VAX with Forth as the instruction set ;-) CRC

20 years, 10 months

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What is DECdatasystem?

by ISC277＠CLCILLINOIS.EDU

Okay, looking over the web, I've seen several PDP11 machines marked "DECdatasystem"... They don't seem to have anything in common...it's like a random marking DEC decided to put on machines. Anyone know what it means?

20 years, 10 months

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RX01 felt pad (Tim)

by tradde＠excite.com

--- On Tue 10/25, Tony Duell < ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk > wrote: From: Tony Duell [mailto: ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk] To: cctalk at classiccmp.org Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2005 01:11:34 +0100 (BST) Subject: Re: RX01 felt pad (Tim) > > Much easier on an RX01. I don't have to remove the drive. Remove > 3 screws from top board, and flip back. Remove 8 screws on lower > board and remove a few cables (remembering where they go) and lift > lower board and tilt towards back of unit. There thru two pretty > good sized access holes are the heads and all. I simply put a small The RX02 is like that too -- in fact the drives, chassis, PSU, front panel, etc are generally the same between the 01 and 02 (there is some issue of a resistor on the head connector, but...) But since the drive is so easy to remove (take off the fan plenum at the back, unplug the wiring, undo 6 screws, and it comes out downwards), I'd take it out. Access to the assembly is then a lot easier. -tony I'll remember this info for the next time I have to get to the heads or similar. Thanks. _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web!

20 years, 10 months

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Looking for an 8 bit FDC...

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: Looking for an 8 bit FDC... > From: Jules Richardson <julesrichardsonuk at yahoo.co.uk> > Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 19:14:52 +0100 > To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >Chuck Guzis wrote: >>>Intel's 8271 looks like a possibility at the moment, but I thought I'd >>>poll the list for alternative ideas too. FM support is of course >>>critical - MFM is less of an issue as the host PC can handle that. >> >> >> The 8271 is a pile of worms. Don't even bother with it. > >:-) > >> In a DIP package, if you want to restrict yourself to 5.25/3.5" MFM and FM >> (but not HD) formats, the WD 1770/1772 is a nice compact (28 pin) little > >I've certainly got 1770 chips lying around unused in the parts box... I >think you've just put that at the top of the list :) > >> Why a floppy to support your device, though? There are many high-speed >> interfaces available to choose from nowadays. Why not feed your device via >> USB? > >Rationale: > >I'm interested in doing this in order to archive old floppies to modern >media, and out of the 5 or so PCs I can lay my hands on at home, none >are happy with FM data :-( > >Catweasel's ruled out on grounds of cost, lack of schematics, and the >fact that it's an internal board anyway. > >I need an external box of tricks so that I can easily use it to do >archival work both at home and at the museum (and potentially other >locations too). I know the museum PCs have serial and parallel ports, >but not all of them will have USB; plus I'm hoping to spend zero cash on >this and just use parts lying around at home - I'll have various serial >& parallel I/O chips but certainly no USB stuff! > > > >As an additional thought whilst writing this (admittedly not thought >through yet!) serial might be nicer than parallel so that at some future >date I can dump all of the necessary firmware onto the disk interface >box's ROM and in theory just talk to it using a comms package from the >PC host. > >Lots more work in terms of understanding the various download protocols >to do it that way, and it means that the disk interface box needs to >understand the resultant disk image format on the PC which I'm not sure >I like... but it does mean that all the host PC needs is a serial port >and some comms software (which is covered by pretty much any modern-ish >PC OS on the planet) rather than any special application to drive the box. > >If serial's the standard interface though it'd be zero hardware changes >to support this in the future - it just means being stuck with a slower >serial protocol for disk image transfer, when parallel would be faster. >And yeah, I think we've been over this on this list before... :-) > >cheers > >Jules If you have an older box with ISA bus there is a direct solution.. Put a 1793/2793/1770 on a ISA protoboard and run it direct from the PC. Then all you need to write is software to make it go. There's absolutly no reason why you cannot do that. Allison

20 years, 10 months

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RX01 felt pad (Tim)

by tradde＠excite.com

--- On Tue 10/25, David Gesswein < djg at drs-c4i.com > wrote: From: David Gesswein [mailto: djg at drs-c4i.com] To: cctalk at classiccmp.org Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 18:22:26 -0400 Subject: Re: RX01 felt pad (Tim) I just took apart my RX02 to clean them since they were getting flakey. On a previous drive I just went to a craft store and bought the closest material I could find, cut it to a small dot to fit in the cup. Put a drop of glue in the cup and push the material in. To get the drive out for access. 1) Remove from outer shell if you have the desktop unit. The top cover comes off with obvious screws then ones along the side free the internal unit. 2) Disconnect the cables to the controller board and motor power connector on the back of the drive hidden by the air baffle. 3) Remove drive from rest of assembly. 2 screws through the air baffle at the back and 4 from the top down. If you tilt the upper board up on the hinge they are accesible through holes in the lower PCB. That should free the drive. You can then lift up the little presure arm to easly get at the pad. I don't have any real RX01's so they might be slightly different for disassembly. Much easier on an RX01. I don't have to remove the drive. Remove 3 screws from top board, and flip back. Remove 8 screws on lower board and remove a few cables (remembering where they go) and lift lower board and tilt towards back of unit. There thru two pretty good sized access holes are the heads and all. I simply put a small drop of contact cement on the holder and a very small amount on the pad. Let both dry for about 10 minutes. THen put the pad onto the bottom of the holder. Voila. It should work. Hardest part was keeping the little pad on my finger to stick it to the holder. It kept falling off. It's setting up now. I will test it later. Thanks all. Tim R _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web!

20 years, 10 months

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Looking for an 8 bit FDC...

by julesrichardsonuk＠yahoo.co.uk

OK, I'm wanting to build a board with an 8 bit CPU (probably Z80, possibly 6502) and a floppy controller IC on board with the intention of hanging it off my PC (via serial or parallel, undecided yet) and allowing me to read and write *most* formats from various 1980's 8 bit micros... Intel's 8271 looks like a possibility at the moment, but I thought I'd poll the list for alternative ideas too. FM support is of course critical - MFM is less of an issue as the host PC can handle that. I've never built any kind of computer from scratch, so it'll be a useful experience. I figure on putting just enough code in ROM to support downloading of actual firmware to the device over whatever the link is to the PC, as that should save a lot of headache! Hopefully RAM requirements will be low enough that I can go the SRAM route and avoid messing around with DRAM refresh (although IIRC the Z80 has much of the necessary stuff built in...) cheers Jules

20 years, 10 months

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RX01 felt pad (Tim)

by djg＠drs-c4i.com

I just took apart my RX02 to clean them since they were getting flakey. On a previous drive I just went to a craft store and bought the closest material I could find, cut it to a small dot to fit in the cup. Put a drop of glue in the cup and push the material in. To get the drive out for access. 1) Remove from outer shell if you have the desktop unit. The top cover comes off with obvious screws then ones along the side free the internal unit. 2) Disconnect the cables to the controller board and motor power connector on the back of the drive hidden by the air baffle. 3) Remove drive from rest of assembly. 2 screws through the air baffle at the back and 4 from the top down. If you tilt the upper board up on the hinge they are accesible through holes in the lower PCB. That should free the drive. You can then lift up the little presure arm to easly get at the pad. I don't have any real RX01's so they might be slightly different for disassembly.

20 years, 10 months

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FPGA VAX update

by technobug＠comcast.net

On Tue, 25 Oct 2005 20:35:37 +0100 (BST), > ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell) wrote: > > Incidentally, the PALs in the 11/730 are 'protected by solder'. > That is, > the security fuses are intact. If you are prepared to desolder them > from > the PCBs, you can read them out. > > -tony At one time I had a set of prints for the 11/730 and IIRC the PAL codes were included on the schematics. CRC

20 years, 10 months

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Looking for an 8 bit FDC...

by dwight＠ca2h0430.amd.com

>From: "Allison" <ajp166 at bellatlantic.net> > >The 279X is a more integrated 1793 so thats a good choice too. Hi From scratch, I'd pefer the 2793. There is another option, get a FDC card from an old XT level PC. I did this for may NC4000 machine. It is not anything like a x86 machine. Of course, I could only do 360K disk without modifications to the clock speeds. I don't recall which chip it used but it seem like I remember it being one of the 179X parts. I did all the interface as direct CPU controlled without DMA but then, the NC4000 is one fast processor. Dwight

20 years, 10 months

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Does anyone have a Radio Shack Electronics Learning Lab?

by John.Miramonti＠attglobal.net

Hi, I was your email regarding the Radio Shack Electronic LearningLab. I picked one up for my daughter, but it came without the manuals. I'm trying to get a copy. You mentioned "...The PDF file on the RS web site doesn't list things in enough detail.". I've been trying to download the PDF manual, but the upgraded web site apparently doesn't have it. Could you email me a copy? Or could I arrange to get a copy of your manuals? I could trade you a detailed list of components, with part numbers, catalog numbers, etc. Thanks, John Miramonti John.Miramonti at attglobal.net

20 years, 10 months

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SET CLASSICCMP MAIL DIGEST

by recycler＠swbell.net

SET CLASSICCMP MAIL DIGEST -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ .

20 years, 10 months

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http://cgi.ebay.com/RCA-TC-1206-Video-Monitor-5-25_W0QQitemZ7555

by jpero＠sympatico.ca

RCA TC 1206 Video Monitor 5.25" still $ 10 bid. Sorry I had didn't had a chance to post this in advance! Cheers, Wizard

20 years, 10 months

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Looking for an 8 bit FDC...

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Looking for an 8 bit FDC... > From: Jules Richardson <julesrichardsonuk at yahoo.co.uk> > Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 17:28:35 +0100 > To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > > >OK, I'm wanting to build a board with an 8 bit CPU (probably Z80, >possibly 6502) and a floppy controller IC on board with the intention of >hanging it off my PC (via serial or parallel, undecided yet) and >allowing me to read and write *most* formats from various 1980's 8 bit >micros... > >Intel's 8271 looks like a possibility at the moment, but I thought I'd >poll the list for alternative ideas too. FM support is of course >critical - MFM is less of an issue as the host PC can handle that. ick poo.. The 8271 was not widely used especially on 8bitters. If your serious then 1793 that was common as house flies and does most all soft formats. Actually with the exception of the GCR and hardsector formats that one chip is a good start. GCR (apple) is all software and a trivial amount of hardware (no special chip). Other hard formats have the problem of being unique to themselves (NS* hard is not like Heath hard) though it's possible to create copies of each of those as well. >I've never built any kind of computer from scratch, so it'll be a useful >experience. I figure on putting just enough code in ROM to support >downloading of actual firmware to the device over whatever the link is >to the PC, as that should save a lot of headache! > >Hopefully RAM requirements will be low enough that I can go the SRAM >route and avoid messing around with DRAM refresh (although IIRC the Z80 >has much of the necessary stuff built in...) Seriously 32kbyte static ram chips are easy to get (JDR and other have them) and EEprom (small is 2k and 8k are easy to find). Another way to do this is a small S100 bus with 16k of ram, a rom card Z80 cpu card and a serial board with one each of: NS* MDSA-4(a common hard sector that one does SD and DD) Tarbel 1771 based card (SD and really off 1771 specific formats) CCS 1793 based soft sector card. (most all softsector formats) Compupro 765 based card (why not!) In 7 commonly found S100 cards you cover 90+% of all floppies. The rest is software. If you stick to static parts and 6502 or Z80 the whole thing should be simple. Parallel port (bidirectional) will be faster but serial is easier though slower. Allison

20 years, 10 months

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FPGA VAX update

by bqt＠Update.UU.SE

On Tue, 25 Oct 2005, Ken Seefried <ken at seefried.com> wrote: > From: Johnny Billquist <bqt at Update.UU.SE> > > I think I have the documentation for the microcode for > > the different engines, and I also have the binary microcode > > files... > > Do you have the microcode files for the 11/730? Might still have the TU58 tapes around, yes. No TU58 drive to read them, though. > The Am2901 VHDL (and other formats) is freely availible and well > understood and fits several to an FPGA (even small ones covered by free > tools). The rest of the logic on an 11/730 CPU isn't that terrible > complicated. Given access to the microcode, I'd imagine it would be a > reasonable project to whip up an ersatz 11/730, validate that it works > correctly, then proceed to optimize and otherwise improve the design > (add in pipelining, test, add in FPU, test, add in cache, test, migrate > to faster FPGA family, test). Iterative, rather than shooting the moon > first run. Maybe. I think that there is probably a lot more logic outside the 2901 than inside... We're still talking several boards of logic here... I doubt all of that is microcode memory, 2901s and 74xx series stuff. :-) > You could even short-cut some of the FPGA work. I don't recall what > the microsequencer looks like on the 11/730, but if it's the usual > Am29{09,10,11}, there is at least one shop that still (as of at least > last year) makes an 8 x Am2901 + sequencer single chip ASIC that runs at > something like 20MHz. Or you can find NOS for the IDT 49c402 that is 4 > x Am2901s. > > This way of thinking won't result in the fastest VAX possible, but I > venture it has a better chance of resulting in an actual working VAX. It might be a possiblity. Not that I'll do it. But if someone really wanted this to happen, it's one possibility. Might be easier to talk with someone who still have an 11/730 running, to read his tapes though. > > Anyone want to take a crack at this? :-) > > Not me...:-) :-) Johnny Johnny Billquist || "I'm on a bus || on a psychedelic trip email: bqt at update.uu.se || Reading murder books pdp is alive! || tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol

20 years, 10 months

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Looking for an 8 bit FDC...

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: Looking for an 8 bit FDC... > From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com> > Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 11:27:23 -0700 > To: cctalk at classiccmp.org > >On 10/25/2005 at 2:09 PM Allison wrote: > >>The 6116 is a great part and 4 of them are enough for a track level buffer >>and another 2 would provide adaquate code space. > >Dig into a junker external modem--the later V.32 ones have some very nice >SRAM chips in 64kx8 and 32Kx8 configurations. One chip and you're done >with RAM needs. > >Cheers, >Chuck Or a 386 or 486 mainboard. I have all my tiny(dip but .3 wide) cmos 8kx8, 32kx8 and larger that are real nice for this kind of stuff. Usually there will be a 27256 or 27C256 on those for 32k of easily programmed Eprom. Allison

20 years, 10 months

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Looking for an 8 bit FDC...

by henk.gooijen＠oce.com

Hi Jules, I have a design that worked - 20 years ago, with a 1793. It has a PLL-based data separator, using a 72LS629 and 2 4-bit counters, IIRC. I need to look it up. It was interfaced to 6809 bus signals, so changing it for 6502 is straight forward. I recently bought a few 1793 chips from BGMICRO, and then decided to make my design a lot simpler by using a 2793 as that FDC has a data separator integrated. With the correct clock cyrstal selection you can use the hardware for 3", 3.5", 5.25" _and_ 8" drives (under software control)! I am working on a 2793 which is piggy-back connected to the "Blinkenlight" Core Board which is based on the 6809E and has more than enough RAM and EPROM on board. But that's just a metter of how you write the software How to read the floppy. For instance, sector-wise or track-wise ! I started a webpage on this new project, see www.pdp-11.nl/ in the "my projects" folder. Vince still has Core Board kits (all parts included for $70), so the job is limited to the FDC part. (and the software ...) But it is a 6809E instead of the 6502, but that's a plus !!! Handling double density will become tricky with the 6502, and even with the 6809, because timing (read/write when DRQ is asserted) must be done by interrupt (FIRQ) or use the SYNC instruction. I am waiting on the arrival of my 2nd BGMICRO order that has the 2793 ... gd luck, - Henk, PA8PDP ________________________________ Van: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org namens Jules Richardson Verzonden: di 25-10-2005 20:14 Aan: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts Onderwerp: Re: Looking for an 8 bit FDC... Chuck Guzis wrote: >>Intel's 8271 looks like a possibility at the moment, but I thought I'd >>poll the list for alternative ideas too. FM support is of course >>critical - MFM is less of an issue as the host PC can handle that. > > > The 8271 is a pile of worms. Don't even bother with it. :-) > In a DIP package, if you want to restrict yourself to 5.25/3.5" MFM and FM > (but not HD) formats, the WD 1770/1772 is a nice compact (28 pin) little I've certainly got 1770 chips lying around unused in the parts box... I think you've just put that at the top of the list :) > Why a floppy to support your device, though? There are many high-speed > interfaces available to choose from nowadays. Why not feed your device via > USB? Rationale: I'm interested in doing this in order to archive old floppies to modern media, and out of the 5 or so PCs I can lay my hands on at home, none are happy with FM data :-( Catweasel's ruled out on grounds of cost, lack of schematics, and the fact that it's an internal board anyway. I need an external box of tricks so that I can easily use it to do archival work both at home and at the museum (and potentially other locations too). I know the museum PCs have serial and parallel ports, but not all of them will have USB; plus I'm hoping to spend zero cash on this and just use parts lying around at home - I'll have various serial & parallel I/O chips but certainly no USB stuff! As an additional thought whilst writing this (admittedly not thought through yet!) serial might be nicer than parallel so that at some future date I can dump all of the necessary firmware onto the disk interface box's ROM and in theory just talk to it using a comms package from the PC host. Lots more work in terms of understanding the various download protocols to do it that way, and it means that the disk interface box needs to understand the resultant disk image format on the PC which I'm not sure I like... but it does mean that all the host PC needs is a serial port and some comms software (which is covered by pretty much any modern-ish PC OS on the planet) rather than any special application to drive the box. If serial's the standard interface though it'd be zero hardware changes to support this in the future - it just means being stuck with a slower serial protocol for disk image transfer, when parallel would be faster. And yeah, I think we've been over this on this list before... :-) cheers Jules 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, 10 months

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ID: Memorex 3266?

by cheri-post＠web.de

> > picture: http://toresbe.at.ifi.uio.no/3266.jpeg > > This is a Fujitsu drive (not a 2444 but similar product line as > the 2444, maybe a 2436?) that Memorex relabeled. > > Most of the ones I dealt with were Pertec Formatted > (two 50-pin cables) and did 1600 and 6250. Some had > cache cards, some had outboard third-party Pertec Formatted > to SCSI converters. > > 2444's were especially popular with Sun VME systems. > > Tim. > These ARE relabeled Fujitsu drives, I'd suppose 2436 as well, Tim. I recognize the drives and their frontpanel as they were the same on the Unisys System 80, I tried to safe last year. The only difference: They were red, not blue. concerning the right number and the interface types: Can be looked up in 3 days. If the documents and schematics are needed, I wanted to scan them anyway. But it may take several months, as I'm in France and not in Germany currently. Regards, Pierre ______________________________________________________________ Verschicken Sie romantische, coole und witzige Bilder per SMS! Jetzt bei WEB.DE FreeMail: http://f.web.de/?mc=021193

20 years, 10 months

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FPGA VAX update

by ken＠seefried.com

From: Johnny Billquist <bqt at Update.UU.SE> > I think I have the documentation for the microcode for > the different engines, and I also have the binary microcode > files... Do you have the microcode files for the 11/730? The Am2901 VHDL (and other formats) is freely availible and well understood and fits several to an FPGA (even small ones covered by free tools). The rest of the logic on an 11/730 CPU isn't that terrible complicated. Given access to the microcode, I'd imagine it would be a reasonable project to whip up an ersatz 11/730, validate that it works correctly, then proceed to optimize and otherwise improve the design (add in pipelining, test, add in FPU, test, add in cache, test, migrate to faster FPGA family, test). Iterative, rather than shooting the moon first run. You could even short-cut some of the FPGA work. I don't recall what the microsequencer looks like on the 11/730, but if it's the usual Am29{09,10,11}, there is at least one shop that still (as of at least last year) makes an 8 x Am2901 + sequencer single chip ASIC that runs at something like 20MHz. Or you can find NOS for the IDT 49c402 that is 4 x Am2901s. This way of thinking won't result in the fastest VAX possible, but I venture it has a better chance of resulting in an actual working VAX. > Anyone want to take a crack at this? :-) Not me...:-) Ken

20 years, 10 months

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ID: Memorex 3266?

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

Chuck asked: >> picture: http://toresbe.at.ifi.uio.no/3266.jpeg > What's that big orange unit off to the right? It's upside-down, judging by the couple of characters visible :-). Tim.

20 years, 10 months

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Looking for an 8 bit FDC...

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: Looking for an 8 bit FDC... > From: Jules Richardson <julesrichardsonuk at yahoo.co.uk> > Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 18:43:13 +0100 > To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >Allison wrote: >>>Subject: Looking for an 8 bit FDC... >>> From: Jules Richardson <julesrichardsonuk at yahoo.co.uk> >>> Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 17:28:35 +0100 >>> To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> >>> >>> >>>OK, I'm wanting to build a board with an 8 bit CPU (probably Z80, >>>possibly 6502) and a floppy controller IC on board with the intention of >>>hanging it off my PC (via serial or parallel, undecided yet) and >>>allowing me to read and write *most* formats from various 1980's 8 bit >>>micros... >>> >>>Intel's 8271 looks like a possibility at the moment, but I thought I'd >>>poll the list for alternative ideas too. FM support is of course >>>critical - MFM is less of an issue as the host PC can handle that. >> >> >> ick poo.. The 8271 was not widely used especially on 8bitters. If your >> serious then 1793 that was common as house flies and does most all soft >> formats. > >Ahh, not had experience of that one before (I don't think anyway). 177x >was pretty common in machines over here, and the 8271 gets used in a lot >of Acorn hardware which is why I'm used to it... the Acorn is one of the few that used it. The 8271 was rare here compared to 1771 and 1793. >> Seriously 32kbyte static ram chips are easy to get (JDR and other have them) >> and EEprom (small is 2k and 8k are easy to find). > >Well part of the plan is to raid the junk pile and at least put some of >it to use, which would likely mean a 2732 EPROM for on-board ROM and >6116 SRAM chips for memory - latter subject to power requirements and >board space though. I know I've got quite a few of them kicking around, >but they're physically large chips and not *that* big a capacity (8kbit >or 16kbit I think, going from my hazy memory...) The 6116 is a great part and 4 of them are enough for a track level buffer and another 2 would provide adaquate code space. >Of course I've got a boatload of various DRAM chips though, so if the >Z80 does provide pretty much all the refresh needed then maybe that's a >better bet. GO TO Gaby's site and look for Tim Olmstead DRAM article. It covers DRAM interface in the context of Z80 systems and is very complete. >> Another way to do this is a small S100 bus with 16k of ram, a rom card >> Z80 cpu card and a serial board with one each of: >> >> NS* MDSA-4(a common hard sector that one does SD and DD) >> Tarbel 1771 based card (SD and really off 1771 specific formats) >> CCS 1793 based soft sector card. (most all softsector formats) >> Compupro 765 based card (why not!) >> > >Ahh, thanks for that list. We've got a truckload of S100 hardware at the >museum, so there's definitely a possibility there - I'm just not sure >without checking what FDC cards we have. I don't know what spare ROM >boards we'll have either (my programmer won't do three-rail devices, so >I'd need a board that'd take slightly newer EPROMs...) Or enough eprom to boot over wire. Everytime I need a system to do xxzzy I find enough peices in the S100 spares bin to build it with minimal fuss. Simple enough, anything with WD1771 will do SD, 1791/93 does SD and DD and there were some cards with 765 (Compupro) that do SD/DD. The real key is documentation, however for the popular cards its wasy to docs on line. >> If you stick to static parts and 6502 or Z80 the whole thing should be >> simple. Parallel port (bidirectional) will be faster but serial is easier >> though slower. > >Agreed :) I can't see parallel being complex though; I guess there's >just handshaking protocol to design on top of hooking the chip itself up >(unless I got for individual ICs to do the parallel interface), but it >doesn't need to be anything complicated. It's really traffic management, who talks first and when. ;) >I've got a few weeks until I'm back in the UK, so it gives me something >to ponder over in the meantime though :) Good luck, Allison

20 years, 10 months

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Looking for an 8 bit FDC...

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: Looking for an 8 bit FDC... > From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com> > Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 10:46:34 -0700 > To: cctalk at classiccmp.org > >On 10/25/2005 at 5:28 PM Jules Richardson wrote: > >>Intel's 8271 looks like a possibility at the moment, but I thought I'd >>poll the list for alternative ideas too. FM support is of course >>critical - MFM is less of an issue as the host PC can handle that. > >The 8271 is a pile of worms. Don't even bother with it. The 8271 was SD only as well. >In a DIP package, if you want to restrict yourself to 5.25/3.5" MFM and FM >(but not HD) formats, the WD 1770/1772 is a nice compact (28 pin) little >chip that includes motor control lines as well a decent data separator for >FM and MFM. The Atari ST used it. If you want something a bit more >elaborate, the WD 279x series will handle most of what you need to handle, >but in a 40 pin package. All are easy to program and have Z-80 friendly >signals. The 279X is a more integrated 1793 so thats a good choice too. Watch out for the 1770/72 as not all flavors of them will work at 8" data rates. >The NEC 765-based chips (National 8473/8477, WD 37C65, Intel 82077, etc. >(the list is very long)) are built for the PC market and, when viewed from >the aspect of reading the largest number of formats, are quite quirky. >Some will read FM, but not write FM; some will drop the first sector if the >IAM missing (many WD-based vintage computers didn't bother with it), few >support 128-byte MFM sectors, etc. etc. Some of the older chips require >that you supply your own data separator. Given the choice, I'd stay away >from them. The 765A was least integrated but with the right external support more flexible than the 37C65 and later. The data seperator was a fairly simple circuit and could be done with a counter or for improved results with a latch and prom. Allison

20 years, 10 months

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ID: Memorex 3266?

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

> picture: http://toresbe.at.ifi.uio.no/3266.jpeg This is a Fujitsu drive (not a 2444 but similar product line as the 2444, maybe a 2436?) that Memorex relabeled. Most of the ones I dealt with were Pertec Formatted (two 50-pin cables) and did 1600 and 6250. Some had cache cards, some had outboard third-party Pertec Formatted to SCSI converters. 2444's were especially popular with Sun VME systems. Tim.

20 years, 10 months

2
2
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ID: Memorex 3266?

by toresbe＠ifi.uio.no

Hey, I've come across a Memorex 3266 half-inch tape drive (well, actually several, but only one seems near to operable condition). picture: http://toresbe.at.ifi.uio.no/3266.jpeg Anyone recognize it and know what densities and interface(s) it used? Guesses are also appreciated ;) It's an autoloader, right? I've been googling, and also bitsavers has nothing on it. Grateful for any hints. -toresbe

20 years, 10 months

3
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Innovion PC info needed? Converting simms to dipps or Where do I find 1mx4 dipps?

by rmay635703＠aol.com

I have several old Innovion CASI Branded PCs computer photography PCs from the 80s (pictures here http://www.colortron.tk) I would like to expand the memory on several units to the full 4mb on the board, but I am finding it impossible to get 1mx4 20pin Dipp RAM chips. It would be nice if there were such a thing as a simm to dipp converter :) or sources of said chips. My other problem is with an old tektronix colorquick 4696 that works with my old photo systems. I need the dipp switch settings for it so I can get it to do a head clean (yes it has one) The printer is one of the old INK WELL type of printers and the heads clog easily, I ended up spraying the heads with distilled water and it worked for all of one copy. If you have a manual or dipp settings for this oldie it would be appreciated. Any ideas? Also on a side note I am looking for information, photos, really anything relating to the very old 1976 CASI / Innovion Apollo VPX Computer photo system. I have been trying to get one for years but everyone either tossed or sold their systems decades ago, the unit could take pictures and print them in B/W all with a whopping intel 8 bit processor. They were printed in 8pt text 14"x16". So your picture was ASCII ART!!!

20 years, 10 months

2
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help requested in Arkansas rescue

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: help requested in Arkansas rescue > From: "Teo Zenios" <teoz at neo.rr.com> > Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 12:21:16 -0400 > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > > >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Allison" <ajp166 at bellatlantic.net> >To: <cctalk at classiccmp.org> >Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2005 10:10 AM >Subject: Re: help requested in Arkansas rescue > > >> One good reason is that someday resources will appear to fully utilize it. >> That can also be read as keeping it from the scrap heap until such time. >> >> The other which is ugly is people storing and loosing to financial >> disaster or other physical disaster(weather, flood or fire) large amounts >> of hardware that end up as scrap. >> >> I've had to pass on gathering some hardware for lack of long term >supportable >> space and in other cases where I've collected more than I could sold off >excess >> so it would not be lost to the trash. I've also had hardware that I did >trash >> as likley of little to no value historically or as $$$ (mostly PCs of the >late >> XT clone and AT clones and the 386s). To me long term supportable space >for >> systems and board is stuff that can be accessed fairly easily and allows >actual >> test, repair and use. >> >> >> >> Allison > >Do you mean you save items at your own expense because someday some museum >might want it, or you intend to hit the lottery and move the machine to a >facility setup for it and other gems? None of the above though those are possible. It's more like I have a collection of systems and boards that are actively if only intermittently used. The key is functional and usable. the latter requires some space and local storage. >Personally anything with real historical value should be in a museum where >others can see it and learn about it. Most items that end up in a personal >collection that are not mainstream collectable just end up getting trashed >when that person dies or if lucky some other collector gets to hide it in >their warehouse away from view until they too die (or lose funding for the >storage). My evenual demise is provided for. As to historical, I have stuff I've used some since day one (Altair 8800 sn200 that no ware hear original) and some I've built. Most of the real history is lost just looking at it. It's what I did, why and how the equipment and I were invoved with various things. Same for the library of documentation tt's there to allow me to research, repair and occasionally relax with. >I have about all the machines I can setup and run without tripping over them >or using living space for their storage, although I need to rethink my >magazine and software storage methods. I'm at saturation. Occasionally I reorganize or mod a closet and get some space. >I guess the reason I replied to begin with is that while a Cray system does >sound cool in the geek sense (I picture circuit boards immersed in >fleuro-inert when I hear the name) I just don't see the average collector >having the time and resources to get it running and actually do something >with it. Once the cool factor wears out what are you getting out of having >the thing in storage? Thats a personal question I suspect. But with some machines its preserving the last known or one of the very few. PDP12s were never common and few are operable that do exist. Whos got a complete IBM360?? The Cray was only a few in existance and fewer remain. If your lucky enough to snag one and store it.. there's something special about the last one. Allison

20 years, 10 months

1
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Releasing OS/2

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: Releasing OS/2 > From: woodelf <bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca> > Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2005 15:21:24 -0600 > To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >Allison wrote: > >>My original intent was limited to OSs that were operable on PCs. If >>there is OS/9 for PC then by all means but I'd suspect comparison would >>be to unix/linux rather than Dos/win. >> >> >> >Circuit Cellar had a Z8000 and on card for the PC once. Does anybody >remember >just what it ran? Other than 386's was there any other add on cards for >the PC? Cards to add other CPUs to PC are many. At any time there were: 8751 (multiples for Mandelbrot calulations) Z80 Other X86 Z8000 68000 16032 T-11 (PDP-11) All come to mind. Many had no OS as they relied on the host processor for support. Allison

20 years, 10 months

5
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help requested in Arkansas rescue

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: help requested in Arkansas rescue > From: "Teo Zenios" <teoz at neo.rr.com> > Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 09:43:50 -0400 > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > > >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Gordon JC Pearce" <gordonjcp at gjcp.net> >To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" ><cctalk at classiccmp.org> >Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2005 8:26 AM >Subject: Re: help requested in Arkansas rescue > > > >> Does the storage locker cost less than the equivalent amount of aggro >> from dragging a Cray home? How many peace offerings has it saved you? >> >> Gordon > >What would be the point of having the machine in a storage locker unpowered >and far enough away that you will rarely go there to look at it rust? One good reason is that someday resources will appear to fully utilize it. That can also be read as keeping it from the scrap heap until such time. The other which is ugly is people storing and loosing to financial disaster or other physical disaster(weather, flood or fire) large amounts of hardware that end up as scrap. I've had to pass on gathering some hardware for lack of long term supportable space and in other cases where I've collected more than I could sold off excess so it would not be lost to the trash. I've also had hardware that I did trash as likley of little to no value historically or as $$$ (mostly PCs of the late XT clone and AT clones and the 386s). To me long term supportable space for systems and board is stuff that can be accessed fairly easily and allows actual test, repair and use. Allison

20 years, 10 months

3
2
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Fan for DEC H7861 power supply?

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: Fan for DEC H7861 power supply? > From: David Betz <dbetz at xlisper.mv.com> > Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 10:57:54 -0400 > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >Okay, I'm stupid! I forgot to write down which direction the fan was >moving air when I removed the defective fan. It looks like the H7861 >has two fans one of which sucks air in and the other blows it out. Is >that correct? Or do they both suck air in? The one I'm replacing is >the one that is mounted at an angle. The one I haven't touched is >setup to suck air into the box. How should I mount the diagonal fan? >To suck air in or out? Same direction. Allison > >Thanks, >David > >On Oct 23, 2005, at 3:36 PM, Allison wrote: > >>> >>> Subject: Re: Fan for DEC H7861 power supply? >>> From: David Betz <dbetz at xlisper.mv.com> >>> Date: Sun, 23 Oct 2005 14:55:07 -0400 >>> To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" >>> <cctalk at classiccmp.org> >>> >>> I found a replacement fan for the H7861. It is the same size and same >>> wattage but it has only three blades instead of the five that the >>> original had. Is this likely to produce enough air flow to prevent >>> the system from frying itself? Or should I keep looking for a five >>> blade fan? >>> >>> >> >> I'd use it for testing and try to find the right one. >> >> >> Allison >>

20 years, 10 months

2
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help requested in Arkansas rescue

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

I had a rescue set up in northwest arkansas. Then the owner got in a car accident and was out of action for months. Now the family is working with me to finish off picking up the collection. But now that I'm talking to the family, they are telling me a far different story about the size of the collection. I was planning on going down this weekend to pick it up in a 14seat van (sans seats). However, I've just been informed that the computers and docs and such is approximately 7 foot tall by 10 foot by 12 foot. This is unlikely to fit, and I'm not sure I can do two trips (due to wifes surgery coming up, very soon I won't be able to go out for a few days for a few months). Of course, the family wants the stuff gone "now". Anyone able to help with pickup, storage, etc.? If so, please email me off-list. The collection is a very complete collection of most known home computers back to pre-dos IBM machines with all software & docs. Do I really even want this... *sigh* Kind regards, Jay West

20 years, 10 months

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11/782 (was: Any own an 11/725...?)

by bqt＠Update.UU.SE

On Sun, 23 Oct 2005, Sridhar Ayengar <ploopster at gmail.com> wrote: > Johnny Billquist wrote: > > But the hardware I still keep around is much more interesting... :-) > > Sometime in the future, I wouldn't mind trying to put an 11/782 > together. Anyone know where I might be able to find some information > about the interconnect hardware? There basically isn't any (hardware, that is). The 11/782 was not an SMP design. It was two CPUs with shared memory, where one CPU acted as a slave to the other. All I/O was on the primary CPU as well. The second CPU was just a computing resource. I haven't (yet) found any references to any interconnect hardware apart >from the dual-ported memory boxes. Maybe someone else knows some more details? Appearantly, it wasn't much faster than a normal 11/780 either, so some of the machines appearantly got split up into two separate 11/780s instead. Johnny Johnny Billquist || "I'm on a bus || on a psychedelic trip email: bqt at update.uu.se || Reading murder books pdp is alive! || tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol

20 years, 10 months

6
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Fan for DEC H7861 power supply?

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: Fan for DEC H7861 power supply? > From: David Betz <dbetz at xlisper.mv.com> > Date: Sun, 23 Oct 2005 14:55:07 -0400 > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >I found a replacement fan for the H7861. It is the same size and same >wattage but it has only three blades instead of the five that the >original had. Is this likely to produce enough air flow to prevent >the system from frying itself? Or should I keep looking for a five >blade fan? > I'd use it for testing and try to find the right one. Allison

20 years, 10 months

4
3
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FPGA VAX update

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: FPGA VAX update > From: Johnny Billquist <bqt at Update.UU.SE> > Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 15:38:27 +0200 (CEST) > To: cctalk at classiccmp.org > >On Tue, 25 Oct 2005, Ken Seefried <ken at seefried.com> wrote: > >> From: Johnny Billquist <bqt at Update.UU.SE> >> > I think I have the documentation for the microcode for >> > the different engines, and I also have the binary microcode >> > files... >> >> Do you have the microcode files for the 11/730? > >Might still have the TU58 tapes around, yes. No TU58 drive to read them, >though. I must be thee rare one that maintaines TU58s for use. > >> The Am2901 VHDL (and other formats) is freely availible and well >> understood and fits several to an FPGA (even small ones covered by free >> tools). The rest of the logic on an 11/730 CPU isn't that terrible >> complicated. Given access to the microcode, I'd imagine it would be a >> reasonable project to whip up an ersatz 11/730, validate that it works >> correctly, then proceed to optimize and otherwise improve the design >> (add in pipelining, test, add in FPU, test, add in cache, test, migrate >> to faster FPGA family, test). Iterative, rather than shooting the moon >> first run. > >Maybe. I think that there is probably a lot more logic outside the 2901 >than inside... We're still talking several boards of logic here... I doubt >all of that is microcode memory, 2901s and 74xx series stuff. :-) Bet on it as the 2901 only provides 16 registers and I think VAX had more. It's also a slow device. >> You could even short-cut some of the FPGA work. I don't recall what >> the microsequencer looks like on the 11/730, but if it's the usual >> Am29{09,10,11}, there is at least one shop that still (as of at least >> last year) makes an 8 x Am2901 + sequencer single chip ASIC that runs at >> something like 20MHz. Or you can find NOS for the IDT 49c402 that is 4 >> x Am2901s. >> >> This way of thinking won't result in the fastest VAX possible, but I >> venture it has a better chance of resulting in an actual working VAX. > >It might be a possiblity. Not that I'll do it. But if someone really >wanted this to happen, it's one possibility. Might be easier to talk with >someone who still have an 11/730 running, to read his tapes though. Not I. I must ahve at least 16 2901C and 2911 and they are not that pretty without a lot of glue. More correctly, for some archetectures it's ugly and for some a very easy set of peices to use. The biggest problem is multiplexed external busses and that does impact design and speed. Allison

20 years, 10 months

1
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FPGA VAX update

by msokolov＠ivan.Harhan.ORG

Brad Parker <brad at heeltoe.com> wrote: > it's good to fight the good fight, but in the end you'll need to fit > your design into either X or A's part (I'd pick X) and you'll need to > use their tools to do it, which mean you'll use widows if it's something > of a small/reasonable design or unix if it's bigger. No, fortunately I won't have to use Losedows. In the absolute worst case, i.e., if I can't find a free open source solution, and I can't convince anyone to let me have a pirate copy of their Xilinx Foundation CD, I would just have to fork over some $$$ for a legal copy of the full version and order one for, say, Solaris instead of Losedows and get a used SS5 just to run it. Still better than descending to Losedows. Or if I go the Altera route, I may be able to get a version of A's fucking Quartus for Linux/x86 through the company I currently consult for, and then pirate it. (I don't see how one can effectively enforce copyprotection under Linux.) > I like the idea of holding out for something that will work in the PD > but I'm not sure you can do that today. What we need to find out is whether that reverse-engineered project to generate Altera SOFs by open source means that my coworker told me about really exists or if he was hallucinating. This question was the main point of my original post and it still stands. > At some point you need to find > out if your design will "fit" into a particular part and you need to use > the right tool to find out. If the project I referred to in the previous paragraph exists, it would be the right tool. > We're talking "pre-synopsis" right now, but at some point you'll have to > graduate to "real tools". The REAL tools are the free-as-in-speech open source ones. > As you know, the size of your design dictates what tools you'll need to use. I don't see what does size have to do with it. If a tool can compile a traffic controller, it can compile a full CISC CPU. > I'm going to guess that an entire vax dictates a certain footprint. Aside from the issue of tools, the FPGA that seems to have the closest size and feature set to the needs of my current VAX project is the Cyclone II family from A. MS

20 years, 10 months

10
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FlashManager 2000

by kyrrin＠bluefeathertech.com

Hi, group, I've been making some progress on getting this mysterious Intel PCMCIA FLASH card I've got to where I can read it. I've discovered, so far, that Intel sold their FLASH card business to another company some years ago (Centennial Technologies). Shortly after that, Centennial went up in a metaphorical ball of flames, and a company called Smart Modular Technology, based in Fremont, CA, bought them up. Up until a few years ago, SMT made available a free utility called 'Flash Manager 2000.' Said utility could read both Intel linear FLASH cards and Centennial's. I've been in contact with SMT, and they tell me that Flash Manager is "discontinued and no longer available," a position that strikes me as odd at best for what was a free utility. So... My search comes right back here. Does anyone happen to have a copy of Flash Manager? Still seeking... Thanks much. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 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, 10 months

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Does anyone have a Radio Shack Electronics Learning Lab?

by john.miramonti＠hypertherm.com

Hi, I was your email regarding the Radio Shack Electronic LearningLab. I picked one up for my daughter, but it came without the manuals. I'm trying to get a copy. You mentioned "...The PDF file on the RS web site doesn't list things in enough detail...". I've been trying to download the PDF manual, but the upgraded web site apparently doesn't have it. Could you email me a copy? Or could I arrange to get a copy of your manuals? I could trade you a detailed list of components, with part numbers, catalog numbers, etc. Thanks, John Miramonti John.Miramonti at attglobal.net

20 years, 10 months

1
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Homebrew newsgroups / forums?

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Homebrew newsgroups / forums? > From: gtulloch at shaw.ca > Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2005 22:45:40 -0500 > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >Hi all: > >I'm building a Z80 based computer as a stepper motor controller, and it >would be nice if there was a homebrew newsgroup to ask questions on since >I don't think this is the group to do so - any recommendations? > >Yes, I know I'm 30 years behind the curve, and yes, I know a >microcontroller would save me some time, but where's the fun in that? > >Regards, > Gord Well the Z80 is still current. Still being made and used. However, to use it for stepper control is a lot of CPU for trivial task. With that aside, thre are plenty here that know the Z80 well. Allison

20 years, 10 months

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CCAG show postponed until Dec. 4

by news＠computercollector.com

Classic Computing & Gaming show was supposed to be this weekend but is postponed: http://www.ccagshow.com/ Is anyone planning to go? I could use a correspondent for the newsletter! Please contact me OFF-LIST if you're interested in writing about this event. ----------------------------------------- Evan Koblentz's personal homepage: http://www.snarc.net Computer Collector Newsletter: http://news.computercollector.com Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists & Museum: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/midatlanticretro/

20 years, 10 months

1
0
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FlashManager 2000

by r_a_feldman＠hotmail.com

Bruce, Take a look at http://www.teampctechnology.com/product_detail.php?id=298 and http://www.smartm.com/product/m_tech.cfm#1 for information that might be useful (though you might already know about the second company). There is a program called CardWizard 2000 (retail price $70) that might work for you, at http://www.systemsoft.com/l-2/l-3/products-cardwizard2000.htm Bob Message: 11 Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2005 06:51:33 -0700 From: "Bruce Lane" <kyrrin at bluefeathertech.com> Subject: FlashManager 2000 To: cctech at classiccmp.org Message-ID: <200510240651330626.11E2D64F at 192.168.42.129> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" Hi, group, I've been making some progress on getting this mysterious Intel PCMCIA FLASH card I've got to where I can read it. I've discovered, so far, that Intel sold their FLASH card business to another company some years ago (Centennial Technologies). Shortly after that, Centennial went up in a metaphorical ball of flames, and a company called Smart Modular Technology, based in Fremont, CA, bought them up. Up until a few years ago, SMT made available a free utility called 'Flash Manager 2000.' Said utility could read both Intel linear FLASH cards and Centennial's. <snip>

20 years, 10 months

1
0
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Retrochallenge, 2005

by fireflyst＠earthlink.net

Do you add non-microprocessor systems to this list, such as MSI/SSI machines like the PDP 11/34? -----Original Message----- From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Ronald Wayne Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2005 1:49 PM To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts Subject: Re: Retrochallenge, 2005 > Hmmm ... are you the same Ronald Wayne who was the third founder of > Apple and sold out for $800? No. That is an alias I used while signing up for gmail. I realised that it was a very silly alias when I signed up for this list. My name is Byron Desnoyers. Anyhow, I'll add processors when people suggest that they want to use it. The general rule of thumb is that some version the processor must have been introduced prior to March 1993. Processors like the 8085, 6809, and Z80 are dead simple to add (I just have to confirm what they are). I'm sure that some of you guys can throw much more difficult decisions my way too. On 6/14/05, Computer Collector Newsletter <news at computercollector.com> wrote: > Hmmm ... are you the same Ronald Wayne who was the third founder of > Apple and sold out for $800? > > -----Original Message----- > From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org > [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] > On Behalf Of Ronald Wayne > Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2005 2:30 PM > To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts > Subject: Re: Retrochallenge, 2005 > > Bah, don't let that serve as an excuse. All three of those processors > have been added to the list. > > On 6/14/05, John Hogerhuis <jhoger at gmail.com> wrote: > > Worse than that... the Z80, 8085, and 6809 (the first two of which I > > actually use on a daily basis) are not in the list of qualifying > > processors. > > > > -- John. > > > > > >

20 years, 10 months

2
1
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Front panels

by tpeters＠mixcom.com

I have some front panels laying about: http://www.mixweb.com/tpeters/pix/DEC/index.html There is a wicked pretense that one has been informed. But no such thing has truly occurred! A mere slogan, an empty litany. No arguments are heard, no evidence is weighed. It isn't news at all, only a source of amusement for idlers. --W. Gibson --... ...-- -.. . -. ----. --.- --.- -... tpeters at nospam.mixcom.com (remove "nospam") N9QQB (amateur radio) "HEY YOU" (loud shouting) WEB ADDRESS http//www.mixweb.com/tpeters 43? 7' 17.2" N by 88? 6' 28.9" W, Elevation 815', Grid Square EN53wc WAN/LAN/Telcom Analyst, Tech Writer, MCP, CCNA, Registered Linux User 385531

20 years, 10 months

1
0
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PDP-8 Discovery and Restoration

by phirkel＠sympatico.ca

Hi Folks. Being a student of Engineering at Carleton University, every day I walked by an old PDP-8 that was on display in the halls. However, over the years it got bashed up and abused, since there was nothing protecting it. Recently, I spoke to the chair of the department, and he (excitedly) agreed to provide me with space and the machine to restore, in hopes that the faculty could display it in its original glory (and even better if it is functional!). I started the restoration this past Thursday. It shall be one hell of a job to say the least. The machine was on display for close to 20 years, I figure, and as such took quite a beating. One of the parts in the worst condition is the bank of switches on the front. These were trashed by students walking by and playing around with them over the year. So, the statistics for switches: 7 Brown Switches irreparable 4 White Switches irreparable 6 Brown Switches reparable 5 White Switches reparable 2 White Switches are perfectly intact 1 Brown Switch is perfectly intact Also, unfortunately, certain flipchips (according to my schematics, anyways) are missing. The ADC option was installed, I know for sure, while the memory parity and power control stuff was not. At any rate, the first 11 flipchips from rows A and B on the processor side of things are missing in action. The following flipchips are missing: W501 R302 * 2 S603 R002 * 5 S111 * 9 R111 S603 * 2 S602 * 2 R405 * 2 S202 S203 * 2 S107 * 3 S151 R203 G209 * 3 R202 * 3 R503 The power supply unit for this machine has already blown in my face once, any advice on how to test/ensure that the PSU is functional? I'm keeping a log of my progress at http://www.cowpig.ca and would appreciate any feedback people offer and any suggestions people have over the course of the project. I'd really like to try to get this machine working. If anybody has any of the parts needed, and is willing to part with them, I would greatly appreciate it! Regards, Phil.

20 years, 10 months

2
1
0 0

RX01 felt pad

by tradde＠excite.com

Anyone know how to replace the little felt pad on an RX01 floppy. It is the pad that is opposite the head to hold the floppy against the head. One of mine has come off, and without a dentist mirror thingy I can't see what holds it in place. Are these available still? _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web!

20 years, 10 months

2
1
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Ringout on Overland Data TX-8/TX-16 cable?

by allanh-cctalk＠kallisti.com

Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com> wrote: > Does anyone have the wiring details for the Pertec-to-Overland Data > TX-8 or TX-16 cable used on OD's non-SCSI 9-track equipment? It's > got a D-sub 62-pin male connector on one end and two 50 conductor female > edge connectors on the other labeled P1 and P2. I rung one out, here is my documentation: The cable does not appear to contain twisted pairs, so which wire is used for which signal below is probably completely arbitrary. The wire assignment shown is from an Overland Data factory wired cable. The cable shield is connected to the D connector shell; the other end of the shield does not appear to contact anything. /* Sorted by Overland side */ 1 orange/red J1-a 2 brown/grey J1-Z 3 brown/violet J1-Y 4 yellow/red J1-X 5 violet/brown J1-W 6 grey/brown J1-V 7 black/white J1-U 8 green/black J1-T 9 black/green J1-S 10 green/red J1-R 11 black/orange J1-P 12 black/blue J1-N 13 violet/red J2-N 14 green/white J1-L 15 white/black J1-K 16 brown/yellow J2-K 17 red/green J1-F 18 blue/black J1-E 19 green/brown J1-D 20 orange/black J1-C 21 red/black J1-B 22 black/brown J2-Y 23 red/brown J2-X 24 white/grey J2-W 25 white/yellow J2-V 26 orange/white J2-U 27 white/red J2-T 28 orange/brown J2-S 29 grey/black J2-R 30 red/white J2-P 31 yellow/black J2-M 32 grey/red J2-L 33 black/yellow J2-J 34 white/blue J2-H 35 brown/black J2-F 36 orange/yellow J2-E 37 white/violet J2-D 38 white/brown J2-C 39 brown/red J2-B 40 violet/white J2-A 41 brown/orange J1-A 42 yellow/orange J2-2 43 red/orange J2-a 44 black/grey J2-Z 45 red/blue J2-b 46 red/grey J1-b 47 red/yellow J2-c 48 brown/white J1-c 49 green/orange J1-M 50 violet/black J2-1 51 blue/brown J2-24 52 orange/green J2-20 53 grey/white J2-16 54 yellow/white J2-13 55 white/orange J2-9 56 black/red J2-5 57 red/violet J1-24 58 yellow/brown J1-20 59 blue/white J1-16 60 black/violet J1-10 61 white/green J1-6 62 brown/green J1-2 nc nc J1-1 nc nc J1-11 nc nc J1-12 nc nc J1-13 nc nc J1-14 nc nc J1-15 nc nc J1-17 nc nc J1-18 nc nc J1-19 nc nc J1-21 nc nc J1-22 nc nc J1-23 nc nc J1-25 nc nc J1-3 nc nc J1-4 nc nc J1-5 nc nc J1-7 nc nc J1-8 nc nc J1-9 nc nc J1-H nc nc J1-J nc nc J2-10 nc nc J2-11 nc nc J2-12 nc nc J2-14 nc nc J2-15 nc nc J2-17 nc nc J2-18 nc nc J2-19 nc nc J2-21 nc nc J2-22 nc nc J2-23 nc nc J2-25 nc nc J2-3 nc nc J2-4 nc nc J2-6 nc nc J2-7 nc nc J2-8 /* sorted by Pertec side */ nc nc J1-1 62 brown/green J1-2 nc nc J1-3 nc nc J1-4 nc nc J1-5 61 white/green J1-6 nc nc J1-7 nc nc J1-8 nc nc J1-9 60 black/violet J1-10 nc nc J1-11 nc nc J1-12 nc nc J1-13 nc nc J1-14 nc nc J1-15 59 blue/white J1-16 nc nc J1-17 nc nc J1-18 nc nc J1-19 58 yellow/brown J1-20 nc nc J1-21 nc nc J1-22 nc nc J1-23 57 red/violet J1-24 nc nc J1-25 41 brown/orange J1-A 21 red/black J1-B 20 orange/black J1-C 19 green/brown J1-D 18 blue/black J1-E 17 red/green J1-F nc nc J1-H nc nc J1-J 15 white/black J1-K 14 green/white J1-L 49 green/orange J1-M 12 black/blue J1-N 11 black/orange J1-P 10 green/red J1-R 9 black/green J1-S 8 green/black J1-T 7 black/white J1-U 6 grey/brown J1-V 5 violet/brown J1-W 4 yellow/red J1-X 3 brown/violet J1-Y 2 brown/grey J1-Z 1 orange/red J1-a 46 red/grey J1-b 48 brown/white J1-c 50 violet/black J2-1 42 yellow/orange J2-2 nc nc J2-3 nc nc J2-4 56 black/red J2-5 nc nc J2-6 nc nc J2-7 nc nc J2-8 55 white/orange J2-9 nc nc J2-10 nc nc J2-11 nc nc J2-12 54 yellow/white J2-13 nc nc J2-14 nc nc J2-15 53 grey/white J2-16 nc nc J2-17 nc nc J2-18 nc nc J2-19 52 orange/green J2-20 nc nc J2-21 nc nc J2-22 nc nc J2-23 51 blue/brown J2-24 nc nc J2-25 40 violet/white J2-A 39 brown/red J2-B 38 white/brown J2-C 37 white/violet J2-D 36 orange/yellow J2-E 35 brown/black J2-F 34 white/blue J2-H 33 black/yellow J2-J 16 brown/yellow J2-K 32 grey/red J2-L 31 yellow/black J2-M 13 violet/red J2-N 30 red/white J2-P 29 grey/black J2-R 28 orange/brown J2-S 27 white/red J2-T 26 orange/white J2-U 25 white/yellow J2-V 24 white/grey J2-W 23 red/brown J2-X 22 black/brown J2-Y 44 black/grey J2-Z 43 red/orange J2-a 45 red/blue J2-b 47 red/yellow J2-c allan -- Allan N. Hessenflow allanh at kallisti.com

20 years, 10 months

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