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

by leeedavison＠yahoo.co.uk

> Does anyone have any info on this unit? Going from memory this is one of the add ons for the Anritsu spectrum analyser range. The slots were for 'personality' modules that added functions to the basic analyser and the disk drive was for data logging. I used Anritsu analysers quite a bit. They were, at only twice the cost of the Landrover Discovery I used to carry them around in, a lot cheaper than the HP equivalents. Can't remember if the slots were PCMCIA or not. Lee. . Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

21 years, 4 months

1
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Today's TRS-80 haul

by KParker＠workcover.com

I'm glad you saved them. I can't imagine there are too many around. I have a Model 12 that has been "officially" upgraded to a Model 16B. Its an interesting mix - Model 12 look, Model 16B workings. Last I checked it wouldn't boot so that's a job for a rainy day on the bench. ++++++++++ Kevin Parker Web Services Consultant WorkCover Corporation p: 08 8233 2548 m: 0418 806 166 e: kparker at workcover.com w: www.workcover.com ++++++++++ -----Original Message----- From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Kelly Leavitt Sent: Monday, 11 April 2005 5:05 AM To: 'cctalk at classiccmp.org' Subject: Today's TRS-80 haul Through the grapevine I heard about some computers that needed saving. Anyway, I made the 1.5 hour drive to Montvale, NJ and this is what I got for my effort: 3 TRS-80 model 12 computers, complete with keyboards. 2 Boxes of manuals 1 Box of miscellaneous 8" diskettes. I know there isn't a lot of interest in the model 12, but it is one of the very first computers I ever worked on. I'm glad that I was able to find 3 of them in great shape. If anyone knows of any of the "big iron" TRS-80/Tandy computers that need rescuing, let me know. I've hauled them back to New Jersey from as far away as Arkansas. Kelly ************************************************************************ This e-mail is intended for the use of the addressee only. It may contain information that is protected by legislated confidentiality and/or is legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient you are prohibited from disseminating, distributing or copying this e-mail. Any opinion expressed in this e-mail may not necessarily be that of the WorkCover Corporation of South Australia. Although precautions have been taken, the sender cannot warrant that this e-mail or any files transmitted with it are free of viruses or any other defect. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail and destroy the original e-mail and any copies. ************************************************************************

21 years, 4 months

3
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FW: IBM Series 1

by CCTalk＠catcorner.org

> I have the chance to rescue and IBM Series/1 minicomputer. Any good > references out there for these? Anyone on the east coast interested in > rescuing one? It includes an 8" and a 14" winchester drive in racks. > > Kelly

21 years, 4 months

1
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Vintage Computer Festival Midwest 1.0

by pat＠computer-refuge.org

Announcing: ***************************************************** * * * VCF / Midwest 1.0 "Lite" * * * * Sat-Sun, May 28-29 * * Purdue University: West Lafayette, Indiana 47907 * * * ***************************************************** Purdue's IEEE Computer Society will be sponsoring the first Midwest-area Vintage Computer Festival on May 28-29. We are currently looking for people who want to exhibit, and potential speakers for the event. If you want to do either, or know someone who might, please have them get in contact with us at vcfmw at computer-refuge.org. Also, if you are planning on attending, please send mail, so we can get a rough attendance count. More information on the event and the West Lafayette area are posted up at: http://computer-refuge.org/vcfmw/ Back now to your regularly scheduled programming. Pat -- Purdue University Research Computing --- http://www.rcac.purdue.edu/ The Computer Refuge --- http://computer-refuge.org

21 years, 4 months

3
3
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rsts pip tape

by brad＠heeltoe.com

Hi, I made an image of an old tape I have (I think it has a copy of the whitesmith's C compiler on it). I'm not sure how it was made, however. I think it is just done with PIP. It has a lot of tape marks separated by a variable number of records. The first record of each tape 'file' is 14 bytes. All records after that are 512 bytes. The 512 byte records are clearly the file contents. After the file contents there is a tape mark. I'm guessing the 14 bytes is radix-50 file name + info. What's the best way to make sense of this from unix? (short of running RSTS on an emulator). Is there a unix/dos program which which can interpret the data? Will PUTR be able to read and show a directory if I turn the simh format file into a byte stream? (wish putr could read simh style tape images) thanks! -brad

21 years, 4 months

10
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anritsu m8104a data storage unit info?

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

Does anyone have any info on this unit? It's about 4" high, about 12" wide and about 15" deep and has a HP-IB port on the rear and what looks like two PCMCIA slots and a 3 1/2" disk drive on the front. Joe

21 years, 4 months

1
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Today's TRS-80 haul

by kelly＠catcorner.org

Through the grapevine I heard about some computers that needed saving. Anyway, I made the 1.5 hour drive to Montvale, NJ and this is what I got for my effort: 3 TRS-80 model 12 computers, complete with keyboards. 2 Boxes of manuals 1 Box of miscellaneous 8" diskettes. I know there isn't a lot of interest in the model 12, but it is one of the very first computers I ever worked on. I'm glad that I was able to find 3 of them in great shape. If anyone knows of any of the "big iron" TRS-80/Tandy computers that need rescuing, let me know. I've hauled them back to New Jersey from as far away as Arkansas. Kelly

21 years, 4 months

5
4
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OT but cool: ABOVO Personal Communicaion Device

by doc＠mdrconsult.com

I just snagged an ABOVO PCD-P with remote display unit, mostly because it was cheap and it has a keyboard. :) It didn't come with a charger or documentation, and Google is not very forthcoming with information. It seems to be a text-messaging unit, with an ADB computer interface and infrared output to the remote LCD device. http://www.dcdinc.com/abovo.html It's definitely not 10 years old, but IMNSHO it's odd enough for a dispensation. :) Any info, resources, docs, or software would be much appreciated. I have email in to DCD's support, but I'm not counting on much of a response. Doc

21 years, 4 months

3
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FPU emulation in IRIX?

by Saquinn624＠aol.com

While looking around, I found a SGI brochure on FutureTech that indicated that the FPA was an option on the Personal Iris [4D/20 - ???] Does anyone have an idea of which versions of IRIX emulated FPU instructions? (5.3 doesn't seem to) - Scott Quinn

21 years, 4 months

1
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Cipher M990 service manual

by aek＠spies.com

The service manual is now online at http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/cipher

21 years, 4 months

3
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battery desoldering advice

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

I need to replace the battery in an item I have. It's the quartersized/style one. The way it is attached to the board, is via a clip arrangement that you'd swear makes the battery removable. However, it is in fact soldered or spot welded into the clip somehow. As a result, I'd rather not just cut the clip arms to replace the battery as I'd have trouble getting the new one in. The only possibility I see is unsoldering the clip from the battery, but it strikes me as a rather bad idea to put a soldering iron to a battery. Suggestions? Jay West

21 years, 4 months

10
10
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Definition of a Computer

by brian.russell＠iclway.co.uk

> Megan wrote: > > Years ago, someone (I don't remember who) gave the definition of a > > computer as a "device which inputs some stuff, does some stuff to > > it, and outputs some other stuff". > > Eric Smith wrote: > Which is presumably not actually very useful as a definition of a computer, > since a cow would qualify. I was always under the belief that a 'computer' was originally a man (yes, almost always a man) who performed computations using slide-rule, log tables, pencil and paper. When I look up my Chambers Dictionary this evening, I get the definitions: "Compute: to calculate, especially with a computer; to estimate. Computer: a calculator; a person who computes; a machine or apparatus, mechanical, electric or electronic, for carrying out (especially complex) calculations, dealing with numerical data or with stored items of other information, also used for ..." Which seems to me to be only one step removed from the apocryphal definition in the mythical dictionary of computer terms: "Recursion: see recursion." Whatever definition you prefer, "always remember that the computer is out to get you; the proof of this can be seen every time it does exactly what you told it to do!" Regards, Brian M. Russell.

21 years, 4 months

2
1
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SGI Indy keyboard

by Saquinn624＠aol.com

I'm not sure what Greg means about missing features- I have both SGI and PC PS/2 keyboards, and I can't see much of a difference (the older SGI keyboards are quite nice keyboards, though). In fact, a number of Indy-era keyboards (newer granite) were made under contract by NMB, and, since they are "NetWare approved" I don't think they made many changes from their PC keyboards. -Scott Quinn Attribution Error: Lyle replied about the 4D parts, Patrick was the one who answered the RS/6000 question.

21 years, 4 months

4
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IBM Thinkpad 730T pen wanted

by aw288＠osfn.org

I obtained an IBM FS tool today at a hamfest - I do not know what it was for. It contains an IBM 730T Thinkpad and a little printer. The Thinkpad is a pen based machine, but GUESS WHAT IS MISSING. So, if anyone has an IBM pen, I would like to talk to you. William Donzelli aw288 at osfn.org

21 years, 4 months

2
1
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rx01 w/o controller board

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

>Subject: Re: rx01 w/o controller board > From: Patrick Finnegan <pat at computer-refuge.org> >On Wednesday 06 April 2005 03:50, Gooijen H wrote: >> Hi Brad, >> >> the connection from the controller board (UNIBUS or QBUS) is a >> straight cable AFAIK. The RX01 and RX02 exist as a table top box and >> uses a DB25 connector to the controller. > >Not all RX01's have a DB25 to connect to the controller, on the ones I >recovered with an 11/23 system (rackmount drives), there's just a >ribbon cable connecting the two berg connectors on the controller and >drive together. The ones with DB25 were used with Decmate-1 all others only had a ribbon cable exiting the box at a bracket to support the cable. the DECmate-1 version FYI still has the same baords and cable hookup internally so it is usable with any system (after setting internal dipswitch). Allison

21 years, 4 months

10
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Switch Handle Pictures

by v.slyngstad＠verizon.net

I put up some pictures of the switch handles I have cast so far. (It will be clear why I think they're not ready for prime time.) http://so-much-stuff.com/pdp8/sw-handles.html Vince

21 years, 4 months

8
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Toshiba PA8312U (2 MB memory card) question

by ss＠allegro.com

I just picked up a couple of Toshiba PA8312U 2 MB memory cards, and was wondering if they're useful in anything other than an early Toshiba laptop? At first I hoped they were some kind of Fujitsu-like pre-PCMCIA card ... but they've got only one row of about 44 sockets, unlike a PCMCIA card with 2 rows of fewer sockets (holes) per row. Also, if anyone wants one (or more), I may be able to get more of them. thanks, Stan

21 years, 4 months

1
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SunOS, LaserWriters, Resolution Enhancement

by Saquinn624＠aol.com

For a while, I saw www.sun3arc.org had downloads of SunOS for Sun3 machines. They don't seem to be up now, but still have a DNS so I'm not sure what's up there. At introduction, LaserWriters had the interesting distinction of being more powerful than the Mac that drove them. I dimly remember this explanation of Resolution Enhancement (don't know if it's marketer-speak or not): The printer only prints 300 (600, whatever) DPI, but along the edges of curves those dots can be made smaller even though there aren't any more of them. The result is smoother looking curves

21 years, 4 months

1
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cctalk Digest, Vol 20, Issue 30

by Saquinn624＠aol.com

21 years, 4 months

1
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Must-have PDP-11 accessory on eBay -- VINTAGE BUS GRANTOSAURUS REX

by James＠jdfogg.com

> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1247&it em=5181545036&rd=1 Odd - even the board artwork reads Bus Grantosaurus Rex. It looks like someone made some custom PC Bus Grant boards and needed a laugh. Making such a board at home would be a simple project.

21 years, 4 months

10
15
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Free Sun3 workstations

by lproven＠gmail.com

A person in Fulham, London, UK, is trying to give away 3 Sun3 workstations & not having much interest. Anyone fancy one? Mail them directly. I've talked to them & they asked me to plug the machines if I could. I'd love one myself but I have no space for them. :?( From: Kake L Pugh <kake at earth.li> Date: Apr 4, 2005 11:58 AM Subject: [FreeCycleLondon] OFFERED: Sun 3 computers, SW6 To: freecyclelondon at yahoogroups.com Note: these are old computers, and they are large. You will need a car. Collect before Sunday 17th April, please. Take one, two, or all three! We're in SW6, just off Fulham Palace Road. Two of the machines are diskless, but it's straightforward to boot them over the network, and I'd be happy to lend a hand to get them to do so. The enormous monitors mean they make excellent X terminals with nice big text. You can boot them straight into X, or you can run an OS on them in diskless mode. I've run SunOS 4 and NetBSD on them; I believe it's now possible to run linux as well. snack has a disk with SunOS installed, so doesn't need to boot over the network. It has a hybrid X server which supports the NeWS windowing system. stinky: Sun 3/50, 4MB RAM, 16MHz 68020 CPU with floating-point coprocessor pizzabox case 10base2 ethernet Huge 1152x900 monochrome monitor snipe: Sun 3/140, 16MHz 68020 with floating-point coprocessor. 3-VME-slot case: can either sit flat with a monitor on top, or stand freely. Huge 1152x900 monochrome monitor AUI network (but I can throw in an AUI->10base2 transceiver free) This machine has no fan! It's very quiet as a result. snack: Sun 3/60, 20MHz 68020 with floating-point coprocessor. pizzabox case colour framebuffer and colour monitor 10base2 ethernet ~100MB disk drive with SunOS and OpenWindows installed See http://www.sunstuff.org/hardware/systems/sun3/ for more details. -- Liam Proven Home: http://welcome.to/liamsweb * Blog: http://lproven.livejournal.com AOL, Yahoo UK: liamproven * ICQ: 73187508 * MSN: lproven at hotmail.com

21 years, 4 months

5
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TM11 BP available

by quapla＠xs4all.nl

Anybody interested in a TM11 backplane? Comes with the cable board (M983). Free for the cost of shipping (from Holland) Ed

21 years, 4 months

1
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NVRAM battery replacement

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Apr 8 2005, 22:57, Saquinn624 at aol.com wrote: > I pulled the coin-cell holder off of an old PC clone PC board and then > epoxied it to the top of the NVRAM- works well and will make future changes easy. > > Ethan- the DS1287 is the one used in SGIs (I2, Indy), isn't it? No, Indys have a Dallas DS1386-8K-150, but I imagine it can be dealt with in a similar way, though I think you can still get them from Maxim. SGI serial numbers are their MAC addresses, so you don't even need to make them up, just read them off the machine's label; also you can program the MAC address into a *blank* Dallas chip from the boot ROM prompt (at least on an Indy), so you don't need any fancy process. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

21 years, 4 months

1
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old camera-accessory doc found

by mouse＠Rodents.Montreal.QC.CA

I happened across a little four-page user's guide for the "POLAROID PRINT COPIER Model 240". Based on the style of the thing, I feel quite sure it's on-topic. :) I have no particular reason to keep it; I know some people here are interested in old user's guides and the like, so I thought I'd see if anyone's interested in this one, even though it's not directly computer-related. It's quite short. I've scanned it (300dpi 24bpp); the scans are, for the moment, available on ftp.rodents.montreal.qc.ca in /mouse/misc/polaroid-copier-user-guide under the names page1.ppm through page8.ppm. For those who just want a quick look that doesn't need full information preserval, I've also scaled the scans down and converted them to jpegs, in page1.jpg through page8.jpg. For people who really want the rawest available scanner output, see the pages-?-?.ppm files. The colours look..weird; this appears to be an artifact of the scanner - something about exactly how the slight crinkles in the paper surface change the surface's slope, is my guess. The actual document is printed in black and red on white paper, with halftone grayscales printed in black. If anyone's interested in getting the original paper version, just let me know. As I say, I have no use for it myself. /~\ The ASCII der Mouse \ / Ribbon Campaign X Against HTML mouse at rodents.montreal.qc.ca / \ Email! 7D C8 61 52 5D E7 2D 39 4E F1 31 3E E8 B3 27 4B

21 years, 4 months

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More Classic Press

by jrkeys＠concentric.net

The May 2005 issue of mobile Technology To Go had a small write-up with pic's on the Cristie's Cyber auction and a section called "retro tech" talking about the Kaypro 2000.

21 years, 4 months

1
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D.G. Nova update -- crapacitors strike again

by tomj＠wps.com

Well I identified the failure, fixed it, and the disk pack is formatting right now. Whew! Another crapacitor -- looks like a tantalum, but it's only .01uF, a dipped-looking bright blue axial part, about the size of a 1/8W resistor. I think these were discussed recently; not necessarily tants, but some short-lived process. Anyways, the problem cap was on the read/write amp board. The bad cap was on the -15V line. The shorted cap took out the 1-ohm, 1/4W series resistor on the logic board (very obvious once I looked at it; all the smoke what went out of it, and all the color-code bands went brown). There's only one chip (LM311) using -15, took that out, nope. Started following copper, removing caps, finally saw one blue cap that was... brown in the middle! Yup, shorted. I replaced the bad one, and all the lifted caps, with ceramic disks since I had 'em partly out anyways. Had to take the head assembly dust cover off, to get the head connectors plugged on, which mean clean-room again. Unnerving. Still running diags, but no errors so far. Man, there's hundreds of those little blue bastards in this machine. I hope future shorts are so benign. Gulp.

21 years, 4 months

6
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Must-have PDP-11 accessory on eBay -- VINTAGE BUS GRANTOSAURUS REX

by wmaddox＠pacbell.net

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1247&item=5181545036… --Bill

21 years, 4 months

4
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Switch Handle Pictures

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "vrs" <vrs at msn.com> > >From: "Dwight K. Elvey" <dwight.elvey at amd.com> >> This is great. What are you using to make the molds? > >Well, I went into the local TAP Plastics, described what I wanted to do to >the nice saleslady, and ended up with these products: > >**Mold Making** >TAP Silicone RTV System, Side A and Side B. Side B comes in a couple of >color coded versions. I chose "TAP Silicone RTV Catalyst GREEN", which has >a 1 hour working time, and a 24 hour cure. This stuff is easy to work with, >and hardens to a rubbery consistency, very much what you want for >mold-making. It is white until you mix in the catalyst, which dyes it >green. > >**Casting** >Quick Cast TAP Casting Resin, Side A and Side B. This stuff hardens into a >stiff plastic, perfect for switch handles :-). Side A and Side B are clear, >but the result will be white after it cures. This color change makes it >more difficult to predict the effect of the colorants. This stuff has a >very short working time -- a few minutes. It is recommended to remove the >parts from the mold in an hour (don't know why; some kind of chemical >reaction with the mold is predicted, but I've never seen it). > >**Colorant** >TAP Premium Pigment, in yellow, brown, red, and blue. These are added in >small quantities to Side B of the resin, before side A is added. Only a >very small amount of the pigment will actually stir into side B (most of the >pigment just lays there, no matter how much you stir.) > >Hope that helps :-). More later... > > Vince Hi Vince Someone told me that it was a good idea to use PAM ( cooking spray ) as a mold release. This may help with issues of leaving it in the mold too long. Dwight

21 years, 4 months

3
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AT&T 3B2s available in OK

by classiccmp＠vintage-computer.com

I got the following via email over the weekend: "I have three 3b2 machines grathering dust. This includes many loose-leaf binders of 3b stuff, and SCSI drives,also, many Tapes; some with Informix SE & SQL sofeware. I am not able to ship this equipment(you got'ta pick it up), but it's free. I am a retired electronics tech, who spends much time doing PC recording of VINYL's" Everything is in Oklahoma City, OK. Contact Raymond at raymondNOSPAM at NOSPAMnaturesong.com for more details, removing the obvious. Best of luck! -- Erik Klein www.vintage-computer.com www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum The Vintage Computer Forum

21 years, 4 months

4
4
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Oscilloscope question

by dvcorbin＠optonline.net

> Are there any good web sites that > would give some basic info on "scopes for dummies" > or "scopes for beginners"? > 1) Turn on 'scope 2) Dwiddle random knobs till you see squiglly lines 3) Nod knowingly... ...has always worked for me. Seriously, at the low frequencies that the classics use it is ALMOST this simple. When you get above 50MHZ things start to get more interesting.

21 years, 4 months

3
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NVRAM contents, Save some Suns, and a question

by Arno_1983＠gmx.de

Ethan Dicks ethan.dicks at gmail.com wrote: > IPXs, IPCs, SPARC1s, etc., all suffer from one weakness... dead or > dying NVRAM batteries. There are answers in the Sun NVRAM FAQ, but > one does have to be aware of the issue before the machine comes up > inert (FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF MAC address) one day. Not quite. In some guide, I remember there was a "quick-and-dirty" way of assembling some bogus NVRAM info for Suns. Basically you only have to get the machine class designation right (there is a table for this) and you must set the manufacturer part of the MAC ID to 8:0:20, or you'll get complaints about a broken main board. The rest is totally free, so one usually winds up with host parts and serial no.s that read de:ad or c0:ff:ee or anything like that... On the other hand, Sun still maintains a complete database of the NVRAM infos programmed into any machine that was delivered. If you want to get it historically correct, you want to put those values back; in order to get them, you have to read the four (later: six) character NVRAM ID off the white or yellow bar-code sticker on the NVRAM. Then, the guys at sunopsis (The Sun Museum) can help you. My contact person there is ruediger (dot) frenk (at) sun (dot) com, he'll sure help you too. That is, if you don't flood him all at once now. While we're at it: Erlangen University in southern Germany is about to scrap part of its SUN inventory. There are (several of most types): SPARCstation 1, 1+, 2, 5, 10, 20, SPARCclassic, Ultra 1. The SPARCstation 1 come with mgone monochrome ECL frame buffers, matching monitors are available. 10's and 20's have varying processors. RAM, hard disks and drive sleds may be missing. Keyboards, Monitors, Mice are there, also additional RAM (mostly smaller modules than those currently installed, and a bunch of older Sbus framebuffers. Heck, even some FDDI Boards! I'd like to see as much as possible saved; they're free for the taking, but I'd rather not have to deal with shipping the stuff. Smaller items perhaps, but not whole machines or monitors. Counter-donations accepted - anybody have a SPARCstation 5/10/20 parallel port adapter spare? And a question to the gurus around: When going over the SPARCclassic systems, I noticed there are obviously two variants. It's the pictograms on the back side of the housing, next to the 26-pin Micro-D connector - one kind only has the networking symbol < . . . > there, the other has that *and* a speaker symbol (as on the SPARCstation 10, where you need the splitter cable and the audio box to bring out the signals). Both kinds have Line In and Out as two jack sockets, and the Sun documentation says that only the AUI part of the connector is used in the SPARCclassic: http://sunsolve.sun.com/handbook_pub/Systems/SUNERGY/TrCOMM_SS_LX_10_AUI_Aud io_Port.html Anybody know if the Audio symbol was only put there erroneously, or can you really connect and use a audio box on these systems? Thanks in advance: Arno Kletzander Stud. Hilfskraft Informatik Sammlung Erlangen --- www.iser.uni-erlangen.de

21 years, 4 months

4
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Trenton Computer Festival -- April 16-17

by news＠computercollector.com

It's time for the annual TCF event. This year, for the first time in a long time, TCF is back at Trenton State College. It's been so long that they actually renamed the college -- now it's called "The College of New Jersey". Alas, it's the same school. Meanwhile, for those who missed the earlier posting here, there's a new user group -- MARCH -- that's Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists. We have members from upstate New York to central Pennsylvania to Maryland, and everywhere in between. We're new, and TCF will be our first club event. About 10 of us will each bring a few ** working ** vintage computers to the exhibit, which will be located in a special room off of the main show floor. TCF's web site is http://www.tcf-nj.org and MARCH is online at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/midatlanticretro/ -- Evan K. ----------------------------------------- Evan Koblentz's personal homepage: www.snarc.net *** Tell your friends about the (free!) Computer Collector Newsletter - 700 readers and no spam / Publishes every Monday / Write for us! - Mainframes to videogames, hardware and software, we cover it all - W: http://news.computercollector.com E: news at computercollector.com

21 years, 4 months

1
0
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NVRAM battery replacement

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

>Subject: NVRAM battery replacement > From: Saquinn624 at aol.com > >Ethan- the DS1287 is the one used in SGIs (I2, Indy), isn't it? how did you >go about fixing it? [e.g. where in it is the batt. &cet.](all of my SGIs are >currently working, but the clock is ticking . . .) I've repaird DS1287s used for PCs. The cast resin case of the chip is actually over a regular plastic dip package. The battery is easy to locate with a small magnet. Once located you scrape or sand the resin in that area to expose it then pry it out. The battery used is a small diameter 3V lithium cell and has a fairly hard steel case so it's easy to sand or scrape down to it but, not through it. The two leads are there and careful soldering will attach new leads to an external 3V coin cell holder. I've done this on maybe 10 of them. We had a rash of 486/133 PCs at work that were about CA 1998 and the batteries were failing (in 2002-3). Allison

21 years, 4 months

1
0
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NVRAM battery replacement

by Saquinn624＠aol.com

I pulled the coin-cell holder off of an old PC clone PC board and then epoxied it to the top of the NVRAM- works well and will make future changes easy. Ethan- the DS1287 is the one used in SGIs (I2, Indy), isn't it? how did you go about fixing it? [e.g. where in it is the batt. &cet.](all of my SGIs are currently working, but the clock is ticking . . .) - Scott Quinn

21 years, 4 months

2
1
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Parting out Laserjet 3s (UK) - anyone need parts?

by listmailgoeshere＠gmail.com

Hi cctech'ers, As the subject says, I've got 2 Laserjet 3s with no toner cartridges and "unknown spec" fusers that I'm parting out. They are otherwise complete, so if you need any parts for one, mail me off-list within 14 days else what remains of them will have gone to the dump. No charge, but you pay shipping or collect. They're located in Yorkshire, UK. Ed.

21 years, 4 months

1
0
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Reviving Suns when NVRAM dies (was UNIX on old-ish machines)

by Saquinn624＠aol.com

Regarding resetting the NVRAM bits, especially the MAC number: If it has a disk, dmesg is your friend (on SunOS anyway, too lazy to fire up the Solaris box). The MAC address is saved in the syslog each boot. I seem to recall that the Sun NVRAM FAQ doesn't point this out, but it saved me from having to "invent" a MAC on my IPX -Scott Quinn

21 years, 4 months

1
0
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New book

by stanb＠dial.pipex.com

Hi, I've just received my copy of a new BBC/Granta book "Electronic Brains, Stories from the dawn of the Computer Age", author Mike Hally. ISBN 1 86207 663 4 I've not read it yet, but from a quick flip through it looks like an interesting, non-technical, account of the early years of computers in the USA, UK, Russia and Australia. Just thought you might be interested... Interest in classic/old computers seems to be entering the mainstream these days. -- Cheers, Stan Barr stanb at dial.pipex.com The future was never like this!

21 years, 4 months

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LaserWriter Plus

by Watzman＠neo.rr.com

You can buy an HP 4M Plus for under $50. This is a high-end printer, even by today's standards. It's 12 pages per minute, PCL5, Postscript, serial, parallel and it has an MIO slot into which you can plug in a built-in Ethernet print server. It's an old printer (they will be more than a decade old, probably), but everything is still available, it's based on the "EX" engine, which is excellent (the same engine is used in the LaserJet 5, by the way).

21 years, 4 months

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Unix on old-ish machines - advice sought

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

On Apr 8, 2005 1:37 AM, Zane H. Healy <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote: > Shoot, systems a lot better than those are free or almost free. I > got my Sun Ultra 60/2300 basically for free from a friend. Wow! I wish I had friends like that. I'd be happy for an Ultra5 for free or nearly free. -ethan

21 years, 4 months

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Oscilloscope question

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

>Subject: Re: Oscilloscope question > From: David Holland <dholland at woh.rr.com> >I don't claim to be a EE, but FWIW... I am but, that means little. I actually troubleshoot stuff, in the practical world doing is the important part. Experience doing is extremely useful. >I believe that's correct. My (old) B&K was targeted for TV repairmain, >so its rating is a mere 10Mhz. (Analog TV is spec'd at a 4Mhz >bandwidth) My everyday bench scope is a B&K 20mhz dual trace as it's fairly small and warms up fast. I have no hesitation to use it for logic in the 20+ mhz range, however I understand how it behaves and what I'm seeing as a result. If I realy need to see more I have "big guns" for for the task but rarely use them. I do more with a VOM and cheap logic probe before I resort to scopes and logic analysers. Allison

21 years, 4 months

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Switch Handle Pictures

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "vrs" <vrs at msn.com> > >> Wow! Those look DAMNED good to me!! :-) >> Congrats on the effort... > >Thanks! I still want to work a little on the air bubbles, and of course try >to get closer to the DEC colors. > >> Once you get the process down, please document the materials and the >> techniques so that it may be replicated easily. > >Will do, though there is a fair bit of mold tweaking, color mixing, etc. >that I'm not sure how to make a recipe for. > >> Once we get the plastic stuff down, they'll be no reason for any >> classiccmp to remain unrestored... > >I can think of a few more parts made of unobtainium (but I'm working on it) >:-). > > Vince > > Hi Vince Can you get your hands on a vacuum pump. If you pour the stuff in a vacuum and then release it to air, you shouldn't have any bubbles. What material are you using for the plastic. Some of these things can handle a vacuum while others can't. Even using a hand pump made from a bicycle pump can do wonders at removing bubbles. How about a list of the materials you use for molds, colors and plastic? Dwight

21 years, 4 months

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Switch Handle Pictures

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "Vince Slyngstad" <v.slyngstad at verizon.net> > >I put up some pictures of the switch handles I have cast so far. (It will >be clear why I think they're not ready for prime time.) > >http://so-much-stuff.com/pdp8/sw-handles.html > > Vince > > Hi This is great. What are you using to make the molds? Dwight

21 years, 4 months

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Oscilloscope question

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "Eric Smith" <eric at brouhaha.com> > >Ashley wrote: >> What kind of scope would I need and how much does one cost? > >Assuming that you want something good but cheap, your best bet is >probably to try to find an old Tek 465. It's a good, solid two-channel >100 MHz scope. ISTR that they show up on eBay frequently, but as >with anything on eBay, there's no telling what condition it would >really be in. > ---snip--- Hi The only issue I've seen with the 465's is that if the sweep frequency switch is broken ( a common failure on these ), this switch is unobtainium. It is good to have more than two chanels of input. It is also useful to have the delayed sweep. Other than that, I like others would recommend a 100MHz as a minimum. Stay away from the 20-30 MHz scopes that are often used for TV repair. You need to get scope probes. These should be 10X probes for doing digital work. Even though Leader doesn't have a good reputation, I've been using one of their high end scopes that has 4 channels, 150 MHz bandwidth and A/B delayed sweep. It has been a good scope. I still like the Tectronix better but when I bought mine ( for $75 ) the Tec's were out of my price range. One thing that I've always wanted to build but have just never had the time is a trigger qualifier. What this is is a large input and gate. It might also have some sequencing as well. Now days, this could be done with some of the FPGA that you reload on each powerup. The idea is that many things that you want to see in a computer need to be qualified by a number of signal and may even require some sequencing to make sure your looking at the right thing. Most logic analysers do this but they rarely have good sequencing control. This is their main weakness. With a reprogrammable FPGA, one can write the formulas and the state sequencing to most any level of complexity. Of course, one can actually buy a logic analyser but like I said, they usually have poor sequencial controls and the display is a little too far removed from the real signals for me. I like to see the real levels that only a scope can provide. Dwight

21 years, 4 months

2
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Intellec MDS questions

by rsnats＠bellsouth.net

I recently purchased an MDS 800 without a disk drive. It does have a controller and cable to the backplane for a disk drive. Do you have a schematic for the PCB and a wiring diagram of the PCB to backplane cable. I have some old SA801 drives and a power supply that I could use. Bob rsnats at bellsouth.net

21 years, 4 months

3
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Maplin Z80A Development kit.

by jim＠g1jbg.co.uk

Hi, I built one of the Maplin (a UK kits and components firm) Z80A development kits back in the early 90's, along with the add-on HEX keypad and 7 segment displays, and used it for a while. I've just re-discovered it, and would like to get it going again, but I need a copy of the monitor ROM, if anyone has it. I would also like the serial interface and PC assembler software that was supplied as a third kit (with a different/replacement) monitor ROM, if anyone has one to spare. I do still have copies of the original circuits and articles for all three kits (Z80 board, Keypad/display board, and serial board), and will post them on my site if anyone is interested. Thanks Jim. Please see our website the " Vintage Communication Pages" at WWW.G1JBG.CO.UK

21 years, 4 months

2
1
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Signetics 8266

by hilpert＠cs.ubc.ca

Would someone happen to have a 1970s-era Signetics TTL handbook in which they could look up some details about the N8266? I know that it is a quad 2-input multiplexor/selector and I know what the pinout is. The questions are: - what is the specific logic functioning of the 2 control inputs? - is there any inversion in the data path(s)? >From the cross-references I have the 8266 doesn't seem to have made the transition to a 7400 series standard, probably because it's functioning is a little weird. They are used in a Wang 520 calculator with the control lines operated in two different manners. While the intent of the circuitry would seem apparent, the two uses of the control lines are somewhat idiosyncratic to each other. (FWIW: the 520 is circa 1972, TTL logic, micro-program architecture, core rope micro-program store.)

21 years, 4 months

4
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3B Journal

by dhbarr＠gmail.com

Hey list, I've recently obtained some AT&T 3B2's, and am diving right in. They supposedly have been recently working, so I thought it would be an interesting foray into getting them setup, running, learning about old UNIX, etc. Anyhoo, to my dismay most of the ftp sites that had working 3B2 programs are down, moved, or otherwise gone. One of these was a repository of Owens-Laing publications' "3b Journal" having to do with 3B1's and 2's. Does anyone have (a) copy(ies) of this or any similar material? Thanks, -dhbarr.

21 years, 4 months

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Need Apple World by Paul Lutus ($$$)

by vcf＠siconic.com

I'm looking for a program for a client that I thought I had but after looking I'm now not so sure. It's called Apple World by Paul Lutus circa 1980. It was a CAD-type program that had 3D line drawing. Does anyone have it? An original would be preferable, but even a copy at this point would be useful. This is a bounty so it's worth some bucks. Please contact me off-line. Thanks! -- Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org [ Old computing resources for business || Buy/Sell/Trade Vintage Computers ] [ and academia at www.VintageTech.com || at http://marketplace.vintage.org ]

21 years, 4 months

1
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WD1935-PL

by marvin＠rain.org

Anyone know what the Western Digital WD1935-PL is? I couldn't find a description with Google nor does it show up in my June 1984 WD Storage Management Products Handbook. It is in an unknown piece of gear that could be an older ham radio TNC made by Applied Ditital Technology.

21 years, 4 months

3
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battery desoldering advice

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "Jay West" <jwest at classiccmp.org> > >I need to replace the battery in an item I have. It's the quartersized/style >one. The way it is attached to the board, is via a clip arrangement that >you'd swear makes the battery removable. However, it is in fact soldered or >spot welded into the clip somehow. As a result, I'd rather not just cut the >clip arms to replace the battery as I'd have trouble getting the new one in. > >The only possibility I see is unsoldering the clip from the battery, but it >strikes me as a rather bad idea to put a soldering iron to a battery. >Suggestions? > >Jay West Hi Jay If the clip is attached to the cell, it is most likely spot welded. It is difficult to actually solder directly to a cell without damaging the seal on the cell. I usually causes excess pressure in the cell bursting the seal. If you can't find a cell with solder tabs, take it to one of those battery stores that are around. We have a chain out here called Batteries Plus. You may have to talk nice to the fellow their to get them to do the job for you but they have the spot welder to do the job. Dwight

21 years, 4 months

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New owner of a Sun 3/80

by jdaviscl2＠soupwizard.com

Hi, I just picked up a Sun 3/80 chassis from the local university surplus. It looked lonely sitting there. It's dusty inside but appears to work (checked console via serial port). Has a floppy, 8MB memory, no hard drive, and a dead NVRAM. I'll consult the various faq's on the web about the NVRAM, and maybe drill some mounting holes for a hard drive (didn't come with a hd carrier, and I can't find any). I'll run it headless with netbsd, since I don't have room for another monitor. I don't know much about the Sun 3 series though - most of what I see from a google search is about the 3/50 and 3/60's. Is the 3/80 an ignored bastard child from sun? A 68030 in a pizzabox, not a classic Sun 3, but not a Sparc either? Are the hd carriers hard to come by? Thanks, Jeff

21 years, 4 months

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Switch Handle Pictures

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "Jay West" <jwest at classiccmp.org> ---snip--- > >Ok, total neophyte input here on my part. But most of the techniques I've >seen involve doing the casting inside a small dixie cup. If the problem is >air bubbles, what about using a common (at least back in the 70's) device >that many people still have in their kitchens... a "seal-a-meal". Mine has a >vacuum attachment, to suck the air out of the container. So what about >putting the cast inside a mason jar, to which you've hooked up the Hi Just be careful using glass containers with a vacuum. Usually these jars have some nice gooey stuff inside them when they fail from a vacuum. Without that stuff inside, the glass can go flying everywhere. Use safety glasses. Even metal containers can be dangerous when they collapse. Still, glass works well because you can watch for the stuff outgassing and making too much foam. It is much easier to regulate how fast the vacuum it done. Dwight >seal-a-meal (or maybe the backend of an aquarium pump) to suck out all the >air and let the cast set in a vacuum? > >Maybe a nutball idea, as I haven't a clue about this stuff. Just a thought. > >Jay > > >

21 years, 4 months

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Funny ebay auction

by williams.dan＠gmail.com

It made me laugh and it's on topic. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=96944&item=5181057…

21 years, 4 months

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Switch Handle Pictures

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "vrs" <vrs at msn.com> ---snip--- > >I'll have a look, thanks! One of my goals is to stick with technology we >can (theoretically at least) do at home with a minimal investment. If I >spend a ton of time buying or building equipment, I start to feel like I >need a business plan :-/. > > Vince > > Hi Vince Like I said, the pump can be made from an old bicycle hand pump. If you need a chamber, watch garage sales for an old preasure cooker. Most of these are strong enough to hold a vacuum. They should be big enough to hold a small mold. Dwight

21 years, 4 months

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Oscilloscope question

by png＠ideaphile.com

Just a quick comment on this one-- You want an scope with several times as much "bandwidth" as the frequency of the fastest digital signal you will examine-- 4X minimum. The analog frequency content of a digital signal is much faster than its clock rate. Without a substantial margin, the signal will be badly distorted. Analog scopes are cheap and widely available, but they have limited value for troubleshooting digital electronics. They can only show you repetitive signals, or the envelope of a randomly changing signal. They can't show you something that happens only once, or very rarely, but that's the nature of most digital problems. Expensive analog "storage" scopes can hold a signal on the screen, but only if you can figure out how to capture it in the first place. You might as well spend the money on a digital scope. If you're getting a digital scope, you need a "sampling rate" that is also much faster than the frequency of your fastest signal. The Nyquist theory says you need 2X the sampling rate to reconstruct a signal, but that theory applies ONLY to reconstructing a known waveform given a large number of samples. Again, in practice, you want a sampling rate at least 4X your digital clock rate, and preferably more like 10X. This ratio determines how accurately you can measure the position of your signal edges. You will find old digital scopes that quote two sampling rates. The higher figure will be a "repetitive sampling rate" specification that applies ONLY to reconstructing periodic signals such as radio carrier waves or computer clock signals. For non-periodic sources such as logic signals, only the lower "raw" or "real-time" or "one-shot" or "instantaneous" sampling rate matters. Today, even for under $1,000, you can get a digital scope with a true sampling rate much faster than you'll probably ever need. These are usually priced according to analog bandwidth. For troubleshooting old computers, even 100MHz is probably more than sufficient. A good probe reduces the load on the signal being observed, as David Holland said. An o-scope input has a 50-ohm impedance; that kind of load will stop many circuits from working. So-called "active" probes present an almost undetectable load, but you will rarely need anything that sophisticated. If you're going to use a scope for ANYTHING, get this book: Troubleshooting Analog Circuits, Bob Pease, ISBN 0750694998 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0750694998/ Or buy an autographed copy from the author by emailing rap at galaxy.nsc.com. Though written about analog circuits, all of these electrical principles and troubleshooting techniques apply to digital circuits. Let's face it, the circuits themselves are analog anyway. . png

21 years, 4 months

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Switch Handle Pictures

by James＠jdfogg.com

> Ok, total neophyte input here on my part. But most of the > techniques I've seen involve doing the casting inside a small > dixie cup. If the problem is air bubbles, what about using a > common (at least back in the 70's) device that many people > still have in their kitchens... a "seal-a-meal". Mine has a I think the usual approach is a vibrating table shake the bubbles to the surface.

21 years, 4 months

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Oscilloscope question

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

>Subject: Re: Oscilloscope question > From: "John Allain" <allain at panix.com> >Subquestion Number one for me would be the reasoning why >those probes are so important. How bad are readings taken >with just direct wired connections? The probe is the "interface" between teh scope and the circuit. The wrong type of connection will either pick up undesired signals, load the signal resistively or capacitively. The latter is signigicant as digital signals are time based and the capacitive load of raw coax cable and alter that timing or worse introduce ringing into the circuit. >Should a scope rating 2X the computer clock speed keep the >readings useful? Scopes are like telescopes, even the cheapest can see Mars, slightly better can see the bands on Mars. Relating the bandwidth to CPU clock is mostly meaningless. The parameters your are mesuring is timing of the waveform and possibly the waveshape. If the bandwidth (and corosponding rise time of the scope amplifiers) is not adaquate you will distort the waveshape and if the timebase(X or horizontal scan time) is either porrly calibrates or cannout go fast enough it may be impossible to determine if a event occurs 450nanoseconds (10^-9) later. Risetime is a measure of how fast the amplifer in a scope can go from 10% to 90%. Usually you want that to be faster than the waveshape you wish to view by more an two and as much as 10 times. Note most TTL have rise times well under 20ns and even some of the older logic families can be very fast rise and fall times. So this is why a 50mhz (465b) scope of better is used. The key here is risetime is the measure used to understand the faithfulness of the reproduction for a given wave shape. An example may be a very fast rise time square wave can end up looking more like a saws teeth when reproduced using a scope with inadaquate risetime in the most extreme case. For the math types 1/risetime+falltime give an approximate repetition rate or frequency 1/40ns=25,000,000 Reptitions/Second. So 2x that is only 50mhz! Also bandwidth and rise time are only related as a scope can have good rise time but limited bandwidth or the reverse. >I suspect the approact to an oscilloscope for the typical person >on this list wouldn't be the same as for a "rank dummy". Yes. In both cases there is a requirement to understand electronic basics and what waveforms result from basic circuits. Complex circuits are just many simple ones combined in many ways. Allison

21 years, 4 months

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Tapes (9track & DC600A) new - anyone interested? UK

by listmailgoeshere＠gmail.com

Hi list, A contact has the following up for grabs: Euromagnetics "Calculus Mk III" 9track tapes, 6250BPI, 7 off Unknown brand (but ex-UK MOD so will be *extremely* high quality) DC600A tapes, 60MB, 10 off All are brand new and still sealed in their packaging. If you would like to buy any, email an offer (he doesn't know what they're worth, neither do I ;) to chrissi(at)ntlworld(dot)com. The tapes are located in Cleethorpes, UK, but he will ship anywhere. Regards, Ed.

21 years, 4 months

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Oscilloscope question

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

>Subject: Re: Oscilloscope question > The whole thing of O'scopes is manifold. Having a scope adaquate for tha task. Generally an operational Tektronix 465B, 475 or the newer equiventls are an excellent bet. However.. The other is having the right probes, knowing where and how to hook up. With all that accomplished you fire it all up and are faced with a display that doesnt match what you wish(hope) to see. So you twiddle the knobs and its still different. The problem is now interpreting the display and taking the required action IE: adjust scope or adjust equipment at hand or maybe even fix broken equipment. The latter part is far harder as most people have no point of referece to what it all means. That the part of learning to use a O'scope many of the books and site may not even touch. Sometimes if your tweeking a disk the manuals will provide a procedure down to the nth detail and if followed and the drive is otherwise working it's easier. The usual problems is "I made xxx adjustment and I'm to the end and it's still a bit off. What do I do?". There knowledge and experience really helps. If your tweeking a RK05, one suggestion. Find a mentor (EXfield service guy maybe) that has done it before. Even if it's dim memory it maybe very helpful. Allison

21 years, 4 months

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PDP 11/45 Display register.

by jim＠g1jbg.co.uk

Hi, A quick question raised by my ongoing work.... Is it possible to write directly to the "display register" - the one accessed by one position of the data switch. I think it should be at memory location 777570, but I can't get data into it, either using deposit from the console, or moving data under program control. Have I got a fault, or am I doing something wrong? Thanks Jim. Please see our website the " Vintage Communication Pages" at WWW.G1JBG.CO.UK

21 years, 4 months

4
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Unix on old-ish machines - advice sought

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

On Apr 8, 2005 1:39 AM, Zane H. Healy <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote: > No kidding! I've got a 3rd party framebuffer for my PDP-11/73, but > have never gotten it working, in part because I'm not sure what it > would take to hook up a monitor or even what type monitor would be > needed. In my case I've got drivers for RSX-11M, but they existed > for RT-11, and maybe other OS's. Interesting... I have a Qbus framebuffer, too. I got it from my old boss from a project where we built a QA training station for an ultrasonic inspector. My (MACRO-11) code would slice a portion of a large (multi-megabyte) data file and display just the desired component (out of a tray of dozens) on the screen at 1000-pixels-per-inch resolution on a 512x512 screen. It happened that we were manupulating grey scale data, but the framebuffer would do color. The card has three odd LIMO-like connectors for RGB-sync-on-green and that's it. I have one cable (for the green channel, naturally). I have *no* idea if there are drivers for anything aside from RT-11, since that's what I was given for the project. I still have a few listings, and I _may_ have an RL01 and/or RL02 pack with source code. I'd be interestded to see pictures of your framebuffer. Mine is accessible, but not here, so if desired, I could do the same. -ethan

21 years, 4 months

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PDP-11 Framebuffers (Re: Unix on old-ish machines)

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

On Apr 8, 2005 3:12 AM, Zane H. Healy <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote: > Is what you have the DEC board? I should have been more specific... this is _not_ a DEC board. >I do know where the manuals are and it appears that it is called > a "Supervisor Single Board > Display (SBD)", and the board is based on the 68k. I think mine has a 6845. I'm sure doesn't have its own CPU. -ethan

21 years, 4 months

1
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Unix on old-ish machines - advice sought

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Apr 7 2005, 8:59, Stan Barr wrote: > My 11/73 has quite a small hard disk and small memory, and I'd like > to keep it running RT-11 as it has some sort of colour frame-buffer > card and the software for that is RT-11 (though I've not figured it > out yet - must take the covers off and see exactly *what* the card > is!) Sounds interesting! > SGI is one one my list, a few people have suggested Sun and HP as well. > I simply want a machine to demonstrate traditional unix It would give you a very nice unix. > > BTW, I also saved a hub and a terminal server for > > you... > Still having difficulties with transport, may be going to Bradford soon > and York is not much further - we'll see... OK. I really can give you an Indy, if that's an incentive, and we're just off the A64, not right in York. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

21 years, 4 months

3
3
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Obscure DOS question

by vcf＠siconic.com

MS-DOS 3.3 has a limit of 512 entries in the root directory. I have a need to put more than this. Was there ever a way to put more than 512 files in the root directory? Some sort of patch or utility? Did previous or subsequent versions of MS-DOS allow more entries in the root? Another question: When using the SUBST command in MS-DOS, you cannot aparently substitute the C: drive. I seem to recall that MS-DOS 6.0 allowed this, although I might be confusing that with the ability of LANtastic to redirect the C: drive to a network drive. At any rate, what I'm trying to do is overcome the limit of 512 file entries in an MS-DOS 3.3 root directory. Does anyone know how to accomplish this? Thanks! -- Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org [ Old computing resources for business || Buy/Sell/Trade Vintage Computers ] [ and academia at www.VintageTech.com || at http://marketplace.vintage.org ]

21 years, 4 months

22
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PDP-8 QBOL or DIBOL

by djg＠drs-c4i.com

Some DIBOL information is in the COS-310 manuals http://www.pdp8.net/pdp8cgi/query_docs/query.pl?Search=cos&stype=Partial+Wo… The COS images under ftp://ftp.pdp8.net/images/ may have some DIBOL/QBOL software. Also probably the ETOS image has some. I probably have more around. If you find you need more email me in two weeks and I may have time to look more. David Gesswein http://www.pdp8.net/ -- Run an old computer with blinkenlights.

21 years, 4 months

1
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Server space, SGI O2 drive sled, DEC 3000-300x (Pelican+)

by mokuba＠gmail.com

First off, if anyone ever needs some server space to just dump stuff, I've got about a gig of space I can dish out for files and stuff, and ~15 gigs of b/w a month for usage, over charges are negligable anyway, so feel happy to have fun with whatever you upload (email me for info) Also, I've got an O2 with all sorts of goodies (loaded with ram, analog a/v board, etc) but no drive sled! I check ebay often but (unless I'm doing something stupid) I don't see any. Finally, does anyone have OS (Tru64 or else) that will run on a 3000-300x? It's got 256 megs ram, and two internal 4.3's that I'm not sure will actually work, but I've no way to test, anyone who knows anything about this info I'd love to hear from you. Thanks! -- Gary G. Sparkes Jr. KB3HAG - FM19t

21 years, 4 months

11
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LaserWriter Plus

by msokolov＠ivan.Harhan.ORG

Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> wrote: > Which sub-model of 4 DOES take the Postscript SIMM? 4Si. I have one, it's one of my favourite printers. 3Si and 4Si are both Canon NX engine, very few differences, but the formatter board is HP, not Canon, and the 4Si one is quite different from the 3Si one. The 3Si one takes discrete ROMs for PostScript and the 4Si one takes a ROM SIMM (I have one in mine of course, since I don't believe in PCL - PostScript forever!). I think this PS ROM SIMM is specific to 4Si and other models using PS ROM SIMMs have different ROMs. MS

21 years, 4 months

1
0
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Apple LaserWriters and HP LaserJets

by alhartman＠yahoo.com

I remember becoming LaserJet certified in 1989, and after taking the class, 2 other students and I had to break down a LaserJet I and put it back together. The instructor said not to worry, this one was broken and if we just got it back together with all the parts in the right place it would be ok... I was working with one of the Help Desk Girls (non tech), and the guy who managed the parts room (also non-tech). They did all the work as I directed them. We broke it down, put it back together and just for kicks and giggles, started it up... Wouldn't you know it worked perfectly... Needless to say, the three of us were LaserJet authorized a few minutes later... I remember a set of articles in Computer Shopper from a guy (whose name I can't remember) that had a whole website (and in those days, having your own website was no small trick..) about modding LaserJet and LaserJet 500's to take an Apple LaserWriter logic board to convert it into a Laserwriter. I wanted to do one of those SO bad. I ended up with a LaserMaster Printer that was a LaserJet IIP engine with an external controller that went in a PC and did all the PostScript processing in your PC. They called it a 'WinPrinter'. Before that, I used my Atari ST with the MagicSac Mac Emulator (not Mac Plus, Mac 128/512k) using MacOS 6, a program called EpStart (to be able to use an Epson Printer in place of an Imagewriter), and my still working today IBM PC Graphics Printer (an MX-80, IBM branded) to print. My first ever printer was an old Okidata Microline-80, 7 pin DotMatrix that used typewriter ribbons and roll feed paper on my TRS-80 Model I. Those were the days... Regards, Al __________________________________ Yahoo! Messenger Show us what our next emoticon should look like. Join the fun. http://www.advision.webevents.yahoo.com/emoticontest

21 years, 4 months

2
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Ebay: Atlas Computer Original Test Equipment Document s1963

by marvin＠rain.org

Good grief, heck of a classification for these things to be posted in! >From The Register: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14019&item=6167846… Starts at 100 pounds and reserve not met!

21 years, 4 months

2
1
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Totally OT, but frustrated.....

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Mar 24 2005, 23:48, David V. Corbin wrote: > But some of the things that strike me are..... > It STILL takes the same amount of time [ for lots of things ] I've just come back from a network conference (http://www.ja.net/conferences/networkshop/index.html) where we had a wonderful talk from Vint Cerf (see http://www.mci.com/cerfsup particularly the presentation about the Internet and IT which has some of the same slides he used yesterday). He made the point that in several decades we've seen hardware get bigger and faster by several orders of magnitude, but software hasn't done anything of the sort. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

21 years, 4 months

30
50
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[OT]Tasted freecycling group. Wanted:offered ratio too high

by vax9000＠gmail.com

I registed to a local freecycling group. I receive several tens of emails each day. 80 percent are wanting and 20 percent are offering. I would expect the reversed ratio. vax, 9000

21 years, 4 months

7
9
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RS/6000 fixed-disk mounts

by Saquinn624＠aol.com

Glad to hear about the card. Thank you, Lyle, for answering what must have seemed an idiotic question. It looks like my machine will stay with a loose disk, as the previous owners stripped (what would be) the card guides as well as the mounting card from it (possibly so that the terrorists would be denied internal hard drives?) The 370 was intact, though. - Scott Quinn

21 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Intellec MDS questions

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "Dave Mabry" <dmabry at mich.com> > >Joe R. wrote: > >> >> One of the problems is that the "extra" drives I have use completely >>different boards from those used in the MDSs, even tough they're both >>Shugart 801 drives. They even have a lot of differently marked jumpers so >>comparing the two drives is very confusing. >> >> Joe >> >> >> >> >Joe, > >Are you saying that you have trouble getting some 801's to work in the >MDS? These are drives that you know are otherwise good? Any chance of >some photos of the board of those drives? I _think_ I have gotten >800/801's with three different boards to work. Maybe we can compare >notes on that. Seems to me that all the different boards have similarly >marked jumpers, though. So maybe your drives are different than mine. > >Dave > Hi There were two or three significant rev changes to the SA800/801's. I think only one of these was used with the MDS800's. It seems like I recall there being a letter after the number on the drives that distinguished them from the normal drives. I recall a "R" but I think I may be confusing that letter with hard drives. It might have been something else. Dwight

21 years, 4 months

1
0
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PC Floppy Cable, was Re: MFM/RLL data recovery

by marvin＠rain.org

Are you sure that Drive A on a PC won't work on a straight cable? Something in the back of my mind says that I used to change the drive select jumper *AND* make sure a terminator was installed for the floppy to work fine on a straight cable as Drive A. I do know that not having a terminator installed (on the last drive of the string) can make for some really strange and intermittent behavior on both HDs and Floppy Drives. > > On the hard drive cable the twist merely changed the drive select signals, > on the floppy drive cable both the drive select and motor on gets twisted. > The floppy drive cable must be twisted to have drive A work properly the > hard drive can work with or without a twist. > > > Randy > www.s100-manuals.com

21 years, 4 months

4
3
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Intellec MDS questions

by dwight.elvey＠AMD.com

>From: "Joe R." <rigdonj at cfl.rr.com> > > I have the schematic of the cable and adapter board somewhere but I won't >have time to look for them anytime soon. The adapter board has some tricky >wiring on it and IIRC the cable IS NOT straight through. I've had a hell >of a time getting non-Intel disk drives to work in the MDSs. I have quite a >few of the same model drives (with different revision boards) and I haven't >gotten ANY of them to work in a MDS. Yes, I've set all the jumpers. I've >spent at least three days trying various drives but never could get one to >work. My suggestion is to search out an Intel drive in the surplus places. >Intel sold a LOT of these systems and there used to be a lot of them in the >surplus equipment places. > > Joe > Hi Joe When I worked at Intel, ( I recall ) I was told that the M2FM drives had a few capacitors changed in the input amp section to increase the high frequency response. You might compare the components from an Intel drive with the same model drive ( mostly SA800's I thought ). It might be resistors but it seems like I recall being told it was capacitors. You could then post this for people that were bringing up their MDS800's but didn't know where to find drives. If I get a chance this weekend, I'll look at the drives I have to see what changes there might be. Dwight

21 years, 4 months

3
2
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DEC identification wanted

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Apr 7 2005, 13:31, Ashley Carder wrote: > I actually could use a "3" button if someone has one. I have > two RL02s and an RL01 on my system. I plan to add a > second RL01 so I can copy images directly from one RL01 > to another, but I need a "3" button. I forgot to mention: my problem was exactly the same: two RL02s and two RL01s, but the pairs were in two adjacent systems. For a while, instead of a terminator on each pair, I had them connected with a spare cable (just make sure only one system tries to access the drives at a time!). -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

21 years, 4 months

1
0
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DEC identification wanted

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Apr 7 2005, 13:31, Ashley Carder wrote: > I actually could use a "3" button if someone has one. I have > two RL02s and an RL01 on my system. I plan to add a > second RL01 so I can copy images directly from one RL01 > to another, but I need a "3" button. I now have genuine DEC buttons, but before I got the "2" and "3" I worked out how the numbers are encoded on the fingers, and made my own out of Perspex. Each button was made in five parts: four sides, and a front piece. I cut the pieces from sheet, glued them together with perspex cement, filed the fingers to the correct length, and cemented a piece of acetate sheet to the front for the number. The digit was laserprinted in reverse onto the acetate, so once cemented, it was protected by the acetate itself. Took an evening to make four of them. Kludge alert: Before I made the perspex buttons, I used matchsticks inserted into the finger slots, but I had to re-adjust them periodically because the vibration made them shift. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

21 years, 4 months

1
0
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Must-have PDP-11 accessory on eBay -- VINTAGE BUS GRANTOSAURUS REX

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Apr 7 2005, 6:20, William Maddox wrote: > http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1247&item=5181545036… Liz just came in to see what I was laughing at, and said "No! You can't have it!". -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

21 years, 4 months

1
0
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Must-have PDP-11 accessory on eBay -- VINTAGE BUSGRANTOSAURUSREX

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "Joe R." <rigdonj at cfl.rr.com> > >At 08:19 AM 4/7/05 -0700, you wrote: >>> > http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1247&it >>> em=5181545036&rd=1 >>> >>> >>> Odd - even the board artwork reads Bus Grantosaurus Rex. It looks like >>> someone made some custom PC Bus Grant boards and needed a laugh. Making >>> such a board at home would be a simple project. >> >>Except perhaps for the gold plating. >> >> Vince >> > > That's easy enough. Everybody has a gold tab plated in their garage >don't they? :-) > > Joe > > Hi One could get one of those gold finger plating repair kits. They are slow but it can be done. Dwight

21 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Cipher M990 service manual

by Tim＠rikers.org

I used to have a copy of the Cipher M990 service manual, and I can't seem to find it now. Does anyone have a scanned copy? I'd love a pertec to scsi interface card like the Cipher CSC100 too if anyone has one they don't need. ;-) -- Tim Riker - http://rikers.org/ - TimR at Debian.org Linux Technologist - Tim at TI.com - http://www.TI.com/ BZFlag maintainer - http://BZFlag.org/ - for fun!

21 years, 4 months

2
2
0 0

OT: G4 Titanium battery question...

by woyciesjes＠sbcglobal.net

*** Please reply to me off-list*** Apologies for the OT message, but I'm looking for recommended software >from people I trust. I'm looking for battery management tools for my Titanium Powerbook. (400 MHz, 512MB RAM, 20GB HDD). I've found these via the magic of Google, but they are all monitor-only applications... iBatt 1.2.1 http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/22968 Gets mixed reviews... X-Charge http://www.pol-online.net/index.php?page=freeware XBattery http://www.kezer.net/xbattery.html Or are these not smart batteries that can be managed? -- --- Dave Woyciesjes --- ICQ# 905818

21 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Digital Equipment stuff available

by Fred.van.Kempen＠microwalt.nl

test > -----Original Message----- > From: Will Roberts [mailto:oldbear at arctos.com] > Sent: Sunday, April 04, 2004 1:51 AM > To: Classic Computer tech list > Subject: Digital Equipment stuff available > > > > It's finally come to that time when I have to reduce the amount > of stuff I have been hoarding. (My wife wants to move to a smaller > house.) > > I have a number of items of DEC hardware and software from around > 1980. I haven't done a complete inventory, but among the items > are: > > 2 Rainbow 100 personal computers both with hard disk > (5mB? 10mB?), extended memory and accessory "I-drive" > for reading IBM pc-format double sided diskettes. > > 1 Decmate II word-processor using PDP-8 architecture > in a form factor similar to the Rainbow. > > 1 Decmate word-processor. This is a the VT-100 type > terminal containing a PDP-8 processor, mounted on > a pedestal base which contains dual 8-inch floppy > drives and power supply. (The VT-100 type keyboard > has some missing key caps.) > > 3 VR-201 monitors (At least one is amber, the others > are green and possibly white phosphor CRTs.) > > 2 VR-241 RGB color monitors incl. BNC cables. > > 1 VT-240 serial terminal > > 3 LK-201 keyboards. Two of these have the "gold key" > word processing key caps. > > 1 Floor stand for Rainbow. Holds system unit in a > vertical position. Designed by DEC for proper > airflow. > > 1 LQP-02 wide letter-quality impact printer. > > 1 Diablo 620 daisy-wheel impact printer with selectable > serial or parallel interface. > > 2 LA-50 dot matrix printers. > > 2 DECpc 420sx personal computers. > > Interconnecting cables for the monitors and printers, etc. > > Many various "DEC certified" software packages. > > 3rd party software for things like graphic design, > calendaring, telecom, etc. > > DEC handbooks, support documents, catalogs of DEC and > 3rd party software, users group newsletters, early > FIDO bbs software and manuals, transcripts of online > discussions about DEC pc hardware, and more. > > Several boxes of 8-inch diskettes for use in the > RX01 drives of the Decmate I. Color plastic storage > boxes for these diskettes. Also, DEC-formatted > 5.25-inch diskettes for Rainbow and DECmate II. > > Printer ribbons, extra daisy-wheels in many fonts, > some internal components such as OEM disk mounting > hardware and cables for the Rainbows, etc. > > > I am located in an inner suburb of Boston and would like to send all > this stuff to be adopted by a good home. > > If interested, please email me at oldbear at arctos.com > > Regards, > Will > > >

21 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

New owner of a Sun 3/80

by jdaviscctalk＠soupwizard.com

Hi, I just picked up a Sun 3/80 chassis from the local university surplus. It looked lonely sitting there. It's dusty inside but appears to work (checked console via serial port). Has a floppy, 8MB memory, no hard drive, and a dead NVRAM. I'll consult the various faq's on the web about the NVRAM, and maybe drill some mounting holes for a hard drive (didn't come with a hd carrier, and I can't find any). I'll run it headless with netbsd, since I don't have room for another monitor. I don't know much about the Sun 3 series though - most of what I see from a google search is about the 3/50 and 3/60's. Is the 3/80 an ignored bastard child from sun? A 68030 in a pizzabox, not a classic Sun 3, but not a Sparc either? Are the hd carriers hard to come by? Thanks, Jeff

21 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

DEC identification wanted

by birs23＠zeelandnet.nl

Hi, I've got a "what is this" question for you guys again :-) I think this is easy for someone who knows it : http://www.mansier.net/decthingie.jpg Thanks! Stefan. ------------------------------------------------------- http://www.oldcomputercollection.com

21 years, 4 months

7
8
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And $500 gets you...

by pat＠computer-refuge.org

A set of manuals? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5181524752 No, guess again. There's a reserve on those. Another example of where the Christie's auction helped to make people think that things are worth *way* more than they really are. Sigh. I usually wouldn't post something like this to the list, but I just can't believe that someone would try to sell *manuals* that look like they're not even in great shape for that sort of price.. And my favorite quote from his auction: "most of these system were destroyed due to the nature/technology of the system and fear of them getting into the wrong hands" DONT LET THE TERRISTS GET THER HANDS ON TEH BIG COMPOOTERS!!! I'd love to see these people do a little bit of research on stuff they're listing on ebay, instead of just pulling info out of their ass, or what they heard on some cable news network. At the very least, they could say "I don't know anything about this" instead of making stuff up.... Ok, I'm done ranting for tonight. :) Pat -- Purdue University ITAP/RCS --- http://www.itap.purdue.edu/rcs/ The Computer Refuge --- http://computer-refuge.org

21 years, 4 months

11
18
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Definition of a Computer

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "Eric Smith" <eric at brouhaha.com> > >Megan wrote: >> Years ago, someone (I don't remember who) gave the definition of a >> computer as a "device which inputs some stuff, does some stuff to >> it, and outputs some other stuff". > >Which is presumably not actually very useful as a definition of a computer, >since a cow would qualify. > >Eric > > And who is to say a cow is not a computer. What do you think they are doing while quietly chewing their cud under some tree. Dwight

21 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

LaserWriter Plus

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

>From: ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk > >> >> Looking around the local salvation army, I spotted a LaserWriter plus. >> I've searched the archives and discovered it's a PostScript enabled laser >> printer with RS-442 interface. It seems. No disucssion of the "plus" >> specifically. If it helps, there was a DB-25, a DE-9 and small (4? 6?) >> dip switch on the back (that I remember, I don't remember any mini-DIN). >> >> I'd be interested in having a "real" postscript printer. But I'd like to >> test it before buying. >> >> - Is there a way to print a test page w/o pluging into a computer? > >IIRC it's based on the Canon CX engine. In which case there should be an >engine test button above the connector panel. Pressing that will get it >to print a page of vertical lines. That proves the mechanism is working, >and the 'DC controller board', but doesn't tekk you anything about the >state of the formatter board. ---snip--- Hi At least on the 3Si, one holds one of the main buttons on the front panel ( I think the line switch ) and it prints the test page. Most 3Si's come with postscript built in and many also have a duplexer. The only bad point is that most office machines only came with the ethernet thin connector. To get serial or parallel it takes another board. I've seen these occationally on ebay for about $20 or so. The 4Si has all three connections in one card and 600 dpi ( not that I've ever seen any difference). The 3Si is a heave unit that will out last the lighter machines. Dwight

21 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Atari Portfolio User Warning - the bugs we lived with then.

by guerney＠bigpond.com

I was lucky enough today to score an as-new Atari Portfolio. In the box was the following "OWNER'S MANUAL ADDENDUM": (All caps as per original) USER WARNING: 1. DO NOT END A DOCUMENT IN THE TEXT EDITOR WITH A Space FOLLOWED BY A Return. If you do end a text file with a Space Return, a serious system error will occur when you load the file. This error will require you to remove the batteries from your computer, causing loss of all data from drive C: 2. NON-WEEKEND REPEATING ALARMS DO NOT WORK. DO NOT USE THEM. USE OF NON-WEEKEND REPEATING ALARMS MAY REQUIRE A COLD BOOT AS ABOVE. Imagine a product being released today with such brazen, data-destroying bugs! Then, it was par for the course. Just remember to end your files with _two_ returns and all's OK! Forget about repeating alarms during the week. It's only software so work around it. Beta testers? Not in Atari with the Tramiels in 1989! Cheers Phil

21 years, 4 months

7
7
0 0

Must-have PDP-11 accessory on eBay -- VINTAGE BUSGRANTOSAURUSREX

by James＠jdfogg.com

> > > http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1247&it > > em=5181545036&rd=1 > > > > > > Odd - even the board artwork reads Bus Grantosaurus Rex. It > looks like > > someone made some custom PC Bus Grant boards and needed a laugh. > > Making such a board at home would be a simple project. > > Except perhaps for the gold plating. > > Vince A friend on another list mentioned he had seen such boards before. Would someone have manufactured these to address the bleeding knuckle problem - perhaps before DEC made the full-height boards?

21 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

LaserWriter Plus

by james＠attfield.co.uk

IIRC the LW+ would by default always print a test page. If you wanted to suppress this you could remove the tray at power on as has already been suggested, a more elegant solution was to send a small piece of postscript code which would change the internal settings so that it would not print at power on. I used to achieve this by putting the code together in an editor then copying it to the serial port. If it has been turned off no doubt it could be turned on. If I can find the code I will post it.

21 years, 4 months

2
2
0 0

SGI parts and RS/6000 disk mounting (still)

by Saquinn624＠aol.com

Does anyone know of somewhere to get old SGI parts? I'm still looking for something with a R3010 on it for my 4D/25 (IP10/12 board or similar . . .). Most places (Reputable) seem to not have anything older than I2/Indy (and seem a bit pricy- but I guess that comes from having to keep an inventory etc.) (2) I'm still trying to figure out mounting the HDD in my 3CT. I looked at the IBM manuals, and they all seemed to reference the SCSI extender card (as used on my 370), but that won't fit in the 3CT. It's one of the ones with the two externally accessible 5.25" bays and the floppy mounted on top. It looks like some sort of drive rails, but I don't see the screw hole for securing the drive. I've got the drive loose in the cage, and it might have to stay that way, but it would be nice to know how it was really mounted.

21 years, 4 months

3
2
0 0

LaserWriter Plus

by cb＠mythtech.net

>No one remember which dip controled this? <http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=3704> That tells you how to turn on and off the Test Page. It isn't done via dip switches as I thought I recalled it being. It is done programatically (as someone else reported). Chances are really good it wasn't turned off, and simply powering on the printer will cause you to get a test page. >Actually, anyone know if the manual is online somewhere? <http://manuals.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Manuals/printers/Laserwri terLaserwriterPlus.PDF> When you can find it, Apple's web site actually has a decent amount of info on most all their products dating back to the Apple IIe. The problem can be finding it, they don't tend to make it easy, and I swear every time someone figures out the logic, they rearrange the site to better hide the old info. -chris <http://www.mythtech.net>

21 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Must-have PDP-11 accessory on eBay -- VINTAGE BUS GRANTOSAURUS REX

by wacarder＠usit.net

> > > Bill Maddox said: > > > > > > http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1247&item=5181545036… > > > > > > --Bill > > > > I want it!!! > > > > Ashley > > Maybe this is somebody's humorous answer to preventing their knuckles from > getting > torn up by trying to reach between the big boards to get to those little G727 > cards. > > I'm bidding. > > - Ashley I bid, but I probably should have waited till the last minute. If I had waited, those folks who are secretly stalking me on ebay would perhaps not have known about the existence of the rare and elusive Grantosaurus Rex. That is, if they had not read Bill's original post with his paleontological discovery. Ashley

21 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Must-have PDP-11 accessory on eBay -- VINTAGE BUS GRANTOSAURUS REX

by wacarder＠usit.net

> > Bill Maddox said: > > > http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1247&item=5181545036… > > > > --Bill > > I want it!!! > > Ashley Maybe this is somebody's humorous answer to preventing their knuckles from getting torn up by trying to reach between the big boards to get to those little G727 cards. I'm bidding. - Ashley

21 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Must-have PDP-11 accessory on eBay -- VINTAGE BUS GRANTOSAURUS REX

by dvcorbin＠optonline.net

> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1247&item=5181545036… > Well there goes my chance of picking it up at a reasonable price.... ;(

21 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Intellec MDS questions

by rsnats＠bellsouth.net

Joe, I saw where you might have a MDS floppy disk system. Is it for sell? Bob rsnats at bellsouth.net

21 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

Definition of a Computer

by dvcorbin＠optonline.net

> Megan wrote: > > Years ago, someone (I don't remember who) gave the definition of a > > computer as a "device which inputs some stuff, does some stuff to > > it, and outputs some other stuff". > > Eric Replies... > Which is presumably not actually very useful as a definition of a > computer,since a cow would qualify. > Of course, that makes it a cowputer....

21 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Unix on old-ish machines - advice sought

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Apr 6 2005, 9:39, Stan Barr wrote: > I'd like to get a straight (ie no X) Unix running on some sort of > older, but not necessarily ancient, hardware. My Micro-11/73 is > not really suitable, and PDP-11s that are seem to be a bit thin > on the ground over here in the UK. I've seen a few Vaxen and > MicroVaxen on the market lately so my thoughts are turning in > that direction. I know a few people here run such machines and I'm > seeking advice on the best machine to look for and, at the risk of > starting a religious war, the best unix to run on it... :-) A micro-11/73 would run 2.11 BSD quite well. I have one like that (actually it's an 11/83 but not very different). An 11/23 would run 7th Edition, but it would be slow, and have no TCP/IP networking. A microVAX would do BSD quite well. Or if you want something classic but not *too* old, my favourite would be something like an SGI Indigo. An R3000 with Irix 5.3 would be quite nice (I have three of them). If you'd asked 6 months ago you could have had one of my spares, and a monitor. Maybe you'd like an SGI Indy, with Irix 5.3? I certainly have a spare Indy. BTW, I also saved a hub and a terminal server for you... -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

21 years, 4 months

3
2
0 0

D.G. Nova update... disk drive again

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "Tom Jennings" <tomj at wps.com> > >Well all seemed fine, I was working on Kermit, making good >progress, then I/O PARITY ERROR AT xxxx -- disk read error. Diags >etc, another shows up. Then another, but a previous goes away... > >Clearly there is a soft(ish) read error. Probably all those cheap >ceramic disks on the read/write/amp board. So I will order nice, >new, correct monolithic caps, and replace all the replacements. >It's almost certainly in the analog read/write section, and not >hard logic, said hypothesis boosted by the fact of my fiddling in >that arena. > >I ran memory diags and all that stuff, but I am assuming it's the >electronics I fiddled. I'll go do the job Right. > Hi I know that you'd like to blame the capacitors but if these were all bypass capacitors, it is unlikely that they are the source of your problem. I have found that when bringing up older electronics of this complexity, that has not been operational for some time, that active parts tend to fail over the next 2 or 3 months of operation. I expect that the culprit is moisture. When the unit is always powered, the heat of each part keeps moisture from accumulating within the plastic IC packages. When turned off for some time, moisture builds up inside the parts. When power is applied, this causes some electrolysis inside that destroys the part. I've thought that it might be better to bake the boards in a dry N2 environment at about 120F for a few weeks before powering on units that have been sitting for a long time. Not having any way to confirm if this would work, I've not been able to verify it. This would be bad for electrolytic capacitors but these are often more easily located and replaced. Good luck, we are all hoping things will be easy to find for you. Dwight

21 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

DEC H734A?

by pat＠computer-refuge.org

In a haul of DEC (and other) stuff last week, I got a DEC H734A power supply, not attached to anything. Can anyone tell me what this goes to? Google doesn't have very many hits, and it's on the the qbus/unibus field guide. Pat -- Purdue University ITAP/RCAC --- http://www.rcac.purdue.edu/ The Computer Refuge --- http://computer-refuge.org

21 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

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