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

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

Surplus to requirements: SynOptics Lattishub 2813. This is a managed 10baseT hub, with 16 x 10baseT ports, modem port (for remote management), RS232 port (local management), and an AUI port. Cosmetically good, in perfect working order, and I even have the manual, but I've replaced it with some fancy black ATM/100baseTX kit. Free to collect from York, or pay carriage (not too expensive; it weighs about 3.5kg). -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

23 years, 8 months

1
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20mA cable details

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Dec 16, 21:52, pete wrote: > and the female "pins", does on the cable from to the PDP-8/E's Berg ^^^^ "goes" ^^ no, "from" was sufficient See, I'm getting so excited about finally connecting all this together, I can't even manage basic spelling and grammar ;-) -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

23 years, 8 months

1
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Vintage Intel Markings

by dwightk.elvey＠amd.com

>From: Joe <rigdonj(a)cfl.rr.com> > >At 08:26 PM 12/14/02 -0800, you wrote: >>I was trying to get some information on this old B1702A chip. I know >>it is a 256x8 chip but someone told me that "B" marked chips are >>normally gray with tin leads. > > I was wondering about the "B" markings. I was sorting a bunch of surplus chips a few days ago including a big pile of 2716s and I found one marked "B 2716". (The complete markings are "i B2716 023D3-V (c) INTEL '77") It has a large square window of frosted material and the window is rasied above the IC surface. All the D 2716s have smaller round clear windows that are flush with the IC surface. The B part and most of the D parts all have tinned leads and gray bodies. > >> >>This one is white ceramic with gold leads. I tried finding something >>on this but have not found this particular marking and colors. >>Anyone know the skinny? >> >>http://www.msdsite.com/temp/1702a2.jpg > > >>http://www.msdsite.com/temp/1702a.jpg > > I looked at this picture and saw the "1602" die marking. The Intel 1602 was a PROM and not an EPROM and other than being non-eraseable was completely compatible with the 1702. I suppose they used the same die but in different packaging. I'm guessing that your 1702 is an early one. I just sold a 1602 to a collector, I think it was the only one that I had ever seen. > Hi I have either a 1702 or may it is a 1701, non-A, someplace. There were not many of these made. Most all of the early 1702's were put into the gold lead with the clear quartz windows, glued on. It wasn't until later that they started to use the frosted glass and then later still when they used the monolithic ceramic/quarts that had the clear( but distorted ) window. Dwight

23 years, 8 months

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More Great Finds this week

by jrkeys＠concentric.net

Got the following: 1. Another joystick for the Micro Genius IQ150 Perfect console. ($3) 2. Radio Shack TRS-80 Pocket Computer Cat no. 26-3501, not tested yet. ($2) 3. OT: iMac no KB or mouse with it but it's a 400 MHZ/521k LC/128MBRam/13gig HD/DVD/2 Firewire/ pretty clear blue see-thru color. ($15) model M5521 4. Sega Genesis 32X game unit. ($5) 5. About 8 different mice and 12 mousepads for the collection. (Free to 99 cents)

23 years, 8 months

23
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cctalk digest, Vol 1 #317 - 38 msgs

by mtapley＠swri.edu

J.C.Wren wrote: > ...< a lot of soldering wisdom, then>... > Probably nobody has really read this far, and I can't think of anything >else at the moment, and my fingers are tired. Twice. Then saved it for good measure. Thanks! I'll start saving for a Metcal. - Mark

23 years, 8 months

1
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RL drives

by bqt＠update.uu.se

On Sun, 15 Dec 2002 ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell) wrote: > > On Thu, 12 Dec 2002 ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell) wrote: > > > > > > > > Huh? No. Actually, the data track itself is used as the servo signal. The > > > > head centers in on the track by centering on where the amplitude is > > > > strongest. > > > > > > Do you have any evidence for that? > > > > Yup. I quote: > > "1.3.3.2 Sector Format - As shown in Figure 1-3, each sector contains: > > OK, let me quote the RL01/RL02 Disk Drive Technical Manual. [...] Seems like you had the better manual at hand. I'll check it out tomorrow, when I'll pass by where I have that manual. > > * Servo information for head positioning > > Sure, I'll agree the servo bursts are in the sector header. They are just > not radially aligned with the data track. I guess you're working from a > manual that oversimplifies things. RL01/RL02 Disk Subsystem User's Guide. > > Eh. This is on most controller not something you check or take care about > > in software, but hardware. When you specify to the controller (for > > instance en RK11) that you want track 10, it both figures out how many > > tracks the heads need to move, and in which direction. It then checks that > > you really are at the right track, otherwise you get an error back. > > I am _darn_ sure the seek function on an RK11 doesn't check sector > headers (I would have to actually dig out the prints to be sure). I know > I've used it to move heads around on the alignment pack, which doesn't > have convnetionally recorded headers. Quite apart from the fact that an > RK05/RK11 can seek on a blank disk so as to be able to format it (a blank > RK05 pack really is blank). We must have been talking past each other here. I didn't mean that the controller/drive made a check on the disk that it was on the right track. The drive *knows* it's on the right track, without checking. Like you said, the RK05 can seek on a blank disk, and format it. > > The RL11 have no such sophistication. You request a head move, and the > > drive hopefully does it, and then you can carry on with the next > > That's what most controllers do. The difference is that on the RK11, you > specify the cylinder you want to move to, and the drive (hopefully) goes > there. You then have to check headers. On the RL11, you have to work out > how many cylinders to move and in which direction (That bit of the > calculation is done automatically by the RK system). No, on an RK11 (well, admittedly I've mostly played with the RK8E) you really don't ever check the header yourself. In fact, you can actually start the disk transfer even if you're not on the right track. The drive will do an implicit seek as a part of the transfer for you. Also, track switching can occur in the middle of the transfer, without you seeing or caring about it. Not on the RL. You cannot even switch heads in the middle of a transfer. > > information is constantly checked by the controller, it should be > > Eh, if you're making your own controller, you don't need to check the > headers... True. But noone said we were going to build our own controller until now. :-) > > Basically, if you don't have the servo information correct on the platter, > > the drive will signal errors to the controller, and the controller which > > just miserably fail unless header infomration keep coming in when the > > drive is running. > > Ifyou don't have the correct servo information, the drive won't keep the > heads loaded (well, it certainly won't keep them on-track). At this > point, no controller could do anything useful with the drive. Unless you have a drive without servo information, such as the RK05. Johnny Johnny Billquist || "I'm on a bus || on a psychedelic trip email: bqt(a)update.uu.se || Reading murder books pdp is alive! || tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol

23 years, 8 months

2
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All Equipment Claimed

by kyrrin＠bluefeathertech.com

Thanks for putting up with my earlier ad. All the VAXen equipment I posted about has been claimed. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bruce Lane, Owner & Head Hardware Heavy, Blue Feather Technologies -- http://www.bluefeathertech.com ARS KC7GR (Formerly WD6EOS) since 12-77 -- kyrrin(a)bluefeathertech.com "I'll get a life when someone demonstrates that it would be superior to what I have now..." (Taki Kogoma, aka Gym Z. Quirk)

23 years, 8 months

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DEC

by Antonio.Carlini＠riverstonenet.com

>It's always 'Deck' round here, at least amongst hackers. DEC employees >pronounced it 'Digital' and tended to get annoyed when I refered to the >company as 'Deck'. You obviously met the wrong employees :-)

23 years, 8 months

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Looking for pointers to specs...

by Antonio.Carlini＠riverstonenet.com

>Unfortunately I don't know (remember) which version was used >to create the disk image... it was done about 8-10 years ago. If you have access to OpenVMS, you can run BACKUP/ANA to produce a whole bunch of extra information about what is in there. Antonio

23 years, 8 months

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Multiple VAXen available

by kyrrin＠bluefeathertech.com

LOCAL PICKUP ONLY -- SHIPPING NOT AVAILABLE DUE TO SIZE/WEIGHT ---- Fellow Classiccomp'ers and VAXen-lovers, I need to make room. I've got three MicroVAXen in great shape that I want to get out of here. One is a MicroVAX 3 in the BA123 (end table) cabinet with 32MB RAM. I've SCSI-fied it with a Sigma RQD11S card. Said card will handle both disk and tape drives. In fact, this particular machine already has NetBSD (don't remember which version) loaded. Second machine: VAX 4000-200 in the skinny tower cabinet. This one also works well, though I don't remember how much memory it has. It had a CMD CQD220 SCSI card in it which has been transferred (by me) to Machine #3, which is... A VAX 4000-400 in the 'wide' tower cabinet. Also works well, and I think it's got either 48 or 64 megs RAM. ALSO INCLUDED: MicroVAX hardware service manuals, whatever spare DEC'ish boards I have left, etc. Here's the deal; I'm located in Kent, WA (southeast of Seattle by about 35 minutes). I don't have the facilities to palletize this stuff or get it shipped, so we're doing LOCAL PICKUP ONLY. Because of the SCSI cards, and the fact that there's lots of extras. I'm going to ask a price of $150.00 or best offer for the whole works. YOU PICK UP -- SHIPPING NOT AVAILABLE. You can contact me via E-mail at the human-readable address in my signature block. If your reply bounces, use my backup address of kc7gr (a/t) qsl dot net. Thanks much. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bruce Lane, Owner & Head Hardware Heavy, Blue Feather Technologies -- http://www.bluefeathertech.com ARS KC7GR (Formerly WD6EOS) since 12-77 -- kyrrin(a)bluefeathertech.com "I'll get a life when someone demonstrates that it would be superior to what I have now..." (Taki Kogoma, aka Gym Z. Quirk)

23 years, 8 months

1
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Looking for N* parts

by xds_sigma7＠hotmail.com

I have N* software on floppies plus a bunch of hard-sectored 5.25" floppies... Interested? Will J _________________________________________________________________ The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

23 years, 8 months

1
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anus horribilis

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Dec 14, 21:40, Merle K. Peirce wrote: > > I have arrived. I was just spammed by Ron Popeil. :-) But did you buy <whatever it was>? -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

23 years, 8 months

2
1
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Looking for pointers to specs...

by Fred.van.Kempen＠microwalt.nl

Megan, I'll take it off-list.. --f > -----Original Message----- > From: Megan [mailto:mbg@TheWorld.com] > Sent: Sunday, December 15, 2002 3:00 PM > To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org > Subject: RE: Looking for pointers to specs... > > > >Which version of VMSbackup are you using to read the tape? > > Unfortunately I don't know (remember) which version was used > to create the disk image... it was done about 8-10 years ago. > > Megan Gentry > Former RT-11 Developer > > +--------------------------------+---------------------------- > ---------+ > | Megan Gentry, EMT/B, PP-ASEL | email: mbg at > world.std.com | > | | > | > | "this space | (s/ at /@/) > | > | unavoidably left blank" | URL: > http://world.std.com/~mbg/ | > | | "pdp-11 programmer - some > assembler | > | (DEC '77-'98) | required." - mbg > KB1FCA | > +--------------------------------+---------------------------- > ---------+ >

23 years, 8 months

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Looking for pointers to specs...

by mbg＠TheWorld.com

>Which version of VMSbackup are you using to read the tape? Unfortunately I don't know (remember) which version was used to create the disk image... it was done about 8-10 years ago. Megan Gentry Former RT-11 Developer +--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+ | Megan Gentry, EMT/B, PP-ASEL | email: mbg at world.std.com | | | | | "this space | (s/ at /@/) | | unavoidably left blank" | URL: http://world.std.com/~mbg/ | | | "pdp-11 programmer - some assembler | | (DEC '77-'98) | required." - mbg KB1FCA | +--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+

23 years, 8 months

1
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Anyone want a UPS?

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Dec 15, 13:48, Fred N. van Kempen wrote: > Oh- and the real fun thing is: both one of the current UPS'es, and the new > ones, have ethernet SNMP monitoring.. I can actually ping my UPS: > which is truly fun :) Yes, it is. Our "big" UPS (30kVA, 3-phase, for 30 minutes) has that via an external box, and our "little" UPSs have it built in (USHA cards). And I get to play^Wlook after them (well, it's a network device, right?) There's a standard MIB for UPSs with all sorts of useful things in it. Anyone who has a serial-only UPS should be able to rig something up with the NUT (Network UPS Tools) software: http://www.exploits.org/nut/ or by using something like a Sinetica NetCom box: http://www.sinetica.co.uk/ Every home should have one ;-) My main server at home is now on an APC UPS. It didn't used to be, because it had quite a long uptime when I got that particular UPS, and I didn't want to spoil that. I was waiting to see it roll past the magic 10000 hours (about 416 days; and no, it's not a PC) to switch it over -- and the day before that, we had a power cut :-( -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

23 years, 8 months

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Looking for pointers to specs...

by mbg＠TheWorld.com

Can anyone point me to a description of the file format for a VMS backup file? I need to be able to read one on a unix (linux) system, but 'vmsbackup' doesn't recognize the contents of one of the vbn's and ends up core-dumping... (alternatively, is there a version of vmsbackup or something which can read full vms backups) Megan Gentry Former RT-11 Developer +--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+ | Megan Gentry, EMT/B, PP-ASEL | email: mbg at world.std.com | | | | | "this space | (s/ at /@/) | | unavoidably left blank" | URL: http://world.std.com/~mbg/ | | | "pdp-11 programmer - some assembler | | (DEC '77-'98) | required." - mbg KB1FCA | +--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+

23 years, 8 months

2
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Anyone want a UPS?

by Fred.van.Kempen＠microwalt.nl

> Any reasonable UPS will be heavy, because big batteries are heavy :-) Yes. Although my machine room currently runs on two 2400VA boxes, (note: we use 220VAC here, not 110..), they will soon be replaced by two new systems that do 3000VA each, with a 500VAC feed. The fun part is, that they have modular run time by adding battery boxes ("stack em up!"), AND (what I just learned half an hour ago! %-] they have a provision for connecting an external generator. Which I have. :) (OKOK... legally I am not allowed to run that thing for extended periods of time, but I _do_ have permission to have it fired up for emergency purposes, soo... hey! ;-) I guess I'll spend the week between xmas and new year's rewiring, and doing power measurements on the circuits.... Oh- and the real fun thing is: both one of the current UPS'es, and the new ones, have ethernet SNMP monitoring.. I can actually ping my UPS: H:\>ping ups Pinging ups0.microwalt.nl [10.0.95.7] with 32 bytes of data: Reply from 10.0.95.7: bytes=32 time=10ms TTL=255 Reply from 10.0.95.7: bytes=32 time=10ms TTL=255 Reply from 10.0.95.7: bytes=32 time=10ms TTL=255 Reply from 10.0.95.7: bytes=32 time=10ms TTL=255 Ping statistics for 10.0.95.7: Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss), Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds: Minimum = 10ms, Maximum = 10ms, Average = 10ms H:\> which is truly fun :) --fred

23 years, 8 months

1
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Digital music (was: Interesting Tim O'Reilly article)

by Fred.van.Kempen＠microwalt.nl

Hi, Regarding the being able to work around expensive studios to produce music: yes. I know a (computer-audio-) guy who spent EUR 50K on a bunch of digital "studio" audio equipment (mixing, levellers, edit workbench, etc) and computers for work and storage (I did that part for them), and he then teamed up with an "analog" audio guy who set up the "analog" part of their setup (mikes, recording room, whatnot.) They now make a good living doing recordings and mastering sessions for artists in Holland and Belgium- both starting ones __and__ some known ones. They recently asked me to again help them with setting up a digital music distribution and delivery system, as their "customers" (artists) asked them to also act as their "record company" using New Media. When they have done the legal legwork, I'll be building an online record store for them, with an almost direct link to the studio. So... yes. It can be done, and it can work well. The traditional companies in that field are scared shitless, because THEY HAVE NO CLUE as to what's hitting them. Youth today _really_ doesn't care [anymore] about 101% [sic] pure audio quality, they are _fine_ with 192Kbps MP3/Pro files which then can then stuff onto a CD. I am, too, often. The proposed "album" price in the "shop" above was EUR 8 to EUR 10 (about same for US$), and their short investigation has shown that customers were OK with that, including the fact that they had to download the stuff. [Optionally, the "shop" will have a CD-R/DVD-R burning service, by the way, for, I believe, EUR 2.5 plus shipping] The latest rumor is, that a wellknown Dutch concert managing agency has contacted them whether or not they would be able and willing to handle _all_ their live recordings of gigs, including.. yes, the "shop". Traditionally, "live albums" are sucked dry by studios and recording companies- the artists get very little out of them. This "New Shop" (hey, that sounds familiar.. hmm...) doesn't have to, so artists AND fans benefit. Again, dunno where this is going, as it's not there yet. I am a consultant, so, advise on the technical issues. But, while busy doing that, I did notice that the "other" guys were scared shitless _all_ the time, and didn't know what to say _most_ of the time I was there... The same most probably goes for the video/movie industry... dunno about that world, but there, the "distribution channel" is even more powerful.... Cheers, Fred

23 years, 8 months

1
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Anyone want a UPS?

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Dec 14, 10:50, Sellam Ismail wrote: > On Sat, 14 Dec 2002 pete(a)dunnington.u-net.com wrote: > > > I've decided that the "big" UPS which has been sitting in my workshop, > > unused, for almost a year, really is surplus to requirements, so it's free > > to anyone *who can collect it* and feels like replacing the batteries. > I also have a huge UPS. It's a Sola 5KVa unit. It has sat dormant in my > data closet for years now. I never got around to buying new batteries for > it (too expensive and I don't know if the Sola unit itself has problems as > it was arcing at one point). > > Is it worth rehabilitating or should I finally just junk it? The bitch is > heavy (over 100lbs). Any reasonable UPS will be heavy, because big batteries are heavy :-) Whether it's worth doing anything with it depends on whether you need a high-current or long-duration UPS. That one would allow you to boil the kettle for a cup of tea (or run the coffeemaker) during those power outages when there's nothing else you can do :-) It's not that hard to come by second-hand UPSs, the usual fault being that the batteries have gone bad (sulphated), and that's usually because people don't cycle them properly. There's some evidence to suggest that -- providing they've not gone too far -- high current high-frequency pulses can rejuvenate lead-acid batteries, and there are some circuits around designed to provide the remedy. I built one, and it seems to work, so long as the cells have *some* life left. Measure the voltage on each cell. If it's below 1V, or the cell looks at all swollen or distorted, it's past redemption. http://www.shaka.com/~kalepa/desulf.htm -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

23 years, 8 months

1
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Vintage Intel Markings

by Innfogra＠aol.com

In a message dated 12/14/02 8:29:58 PM Pacific Standard Time, ipscone(a)msdsite.com writes: > http://www.msdsite.com/temp/1702a.jpg Well, the die on this one is clearly? marked "intel" with the early dropped "e". Is there anything stamped on the bottom of the chip, a date code or ? I really don't know the variations but I would not be surprised to see a white and gold version in any of intel's early chips. I am no help there. Paxton Astoria, OR Who is digging out his microscope to look at his 1702s.

23 years, 8 months

2
1
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Looking for pointers to specs...

by Fred.van.Kempen＠microwalt.nl

Which version of VMSbackup are you using to read the tape? I seem to have several.. V3.0, 3.1, 3.1.1, 4.1, 4.1.1 and 4.2 ... --f > -----Original Message----- > From: Megan [mailto:mbg@TheWorld.com] > Sent: Sunday, December 15, 2002 6:58 AM > To: cctech(a)classiccmp.org > Subject: Looking for pointers to specs... > > > > Can anyone point me to a description of the file format for a > VMS backup file? I need to be able to read one on a unix (linux) > system, but 'vmsbackup' doesn't recognize the contents of one of > the vbn's and ends up core-dumping... > > (alternatively, is there a version of vmsbackup or something which > can read full vms backups) > > Megan Gentry > Former RT-11 Developer > > +--------------------------------+---------------------------- > ---------+ > | Megan Gentry, EMT/B, PP-ASEL | email: mbg at > world.std.com | > | | > | > | "this space | (s/ at /@/) > | > | unavoidably left blank" | URL: > http://world.std.com/~mbg/ | > | | "pdp-11 programmer - some > assembler | > | (DEC '77-'98) | required." - mbg > KB1FCA | > +--------------------------------+---------------------------- > ---------+ >

23 years, 8 months

1
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OT: Re: Re: Interesting Tim O'Reilly article.

by cb＠mythtech.net

>What I'm referring to is the recording industry claiming their sales have >dropped. First of all, I want to see hard data to prove this. Second, I >want this dat to be from an independent auditor. Lastly, I want an >independent analyst to confirm whether this is because of rampant CD >copying on college campuses or if it is as a result of the economy. I can't link to the report, because I don't recall where I saw it (actually, I think I saw it in a local newspaper)... but there was one I read recently that did site hard numbers to show that sales of CDs from record stores have dropped over the last year (based on sales $$, they didn't quote counts, so it could be from lowered prices, but since I haven't noticed CD prices going lower, I doubt that). The numbers were of course given by the RIAA, with no source quoted (so the assumption is it is from their own internal book keeping). However, the article also nicely pointed out, that the figures the RIAA were quoting were specifically for sales from record stores (ie: Tower, Sam Goody, places like that). When asked about sales from ONLINE stores (like Amazon.com), the RIAA said they didn't have those figures available. Nor did they have available the sales from recording industry web sites that offer MP3 purchases or similar. Since they were claiming sales of CDs were down only something like 8 or 9 million... I think it is pretty darn reasonable to say that those missing dollars from store fronts could easily be accounted for from online sales (and far more $$ I am sure). This is the stuff you have to be VERY VERY careful to read between the lines when looking at anyone's "facts and figures". You can distort this kind of data into telling you anything you want it to say (I work in Market Research... we are experts at distorting reality with numbers!) -chris <http://www.mythtech.net>

23 years, 8 months

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Interesting Tim O'Reilly article.

by cb＠mythtech.net

>You think the *public* has control over that? Yeah, yeah, people vote with >their wallets, but before they do that the candidate CDs have to be made >available for puchase. The record companies control that, and they also >control the amount of promotion that a particular candidate gets. >Promotional agencies like MTV play right into the herd mentality of pop >music buyers, convincing a few that the herd is buying album X. Those few >buy album X, and then the rest of the herd follows suit. Essentially people >are *told* what to buy. As much as it was a farce comedy, the movie Josie and the Pussycats shows almost exactly what the RIAA/MPAA would love nothing more than to have (and discount the subliminals, they are just about there already). >Do you think that P2P is going to damage this control system? Potentially. Right now, the public has no choice... if a studio doesn't want to promote an artist (can we still call them that?), the public has no access to their music. P2P removes the studio from the flow control. It is now possible for a small garage band to record their own music... AND get wide spread distribution via P2P sharing. Essentially, the need for the recording studio at all is starting to disappear. THAT is what scares the hell out of them, and THAT is the heart of all their complaints and cries for new laws. They are doing nothing more than trying to secure the need for their own existance (with the wonderful side effect of being able to have total control over what we see and hear at all times) -chris <http://www.mythtech.net>

23 years, 8 months

2
1
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Anyone want a UPS?

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

This is a bit off-topic, because it's only a few years old. I've decided that the "big" UPS which has been sitting in my workshop, unused, for almost a year, really is surplus to requirements, so it's free to anyone *who can collect it* and feels like replacing the batteries. It's a Powerware Prestige 6000, with two battery boxes, software, manual, and various cables. Input is rated 200/208/220/230/240V AC at 19A (power factor 0.9) single phase, output is 200/208/220/230/240V AC at 19A (max 3000W). The battery boxes are each rated 120V DC 50A and 5AH capacity. Size is about 40cm deep x 25cm wide x 28 cm high for the control box and the battery boxes are half the height, so 40 x 25 x 14 each. They all stack nicely together (in any sensible order). I have used it, but the batteries (10 x 2V gel cells in each box) do need replaced -- most will not hold any significant charge/voltage. It needs to be gone by Christmas, too, or it's going in the skip. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

23 years, 8 months

2
1
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DEC [deck ;-] BA-350 (& HSZ10) docs?

by Fred.van.Kempen＠microwalt.nl

All, Does anyone have docs and/or info on these? I have a few of these puppies, and want to know how I can put 'em to use :) Thx, Fred

23 years, 8 months

1
0
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New finds this week / Cheap to a good home

by pat＠purdueriots.com

I managed to get a few fun things to play with this week - courtesy of Purdue University Salvage/Surplus ** Finds ** Lear-Sigler AMD-3A+ **actually working** (compared to my ADM-5) $free 4 x Pioneer CD CDV LD Player CLD-2400 (LaserDisk player) $free OT: 2 x SYMBIOS RAID arrays - 10 drives/controller, 2 controllers/array with the 4GB narrow scsi drives in it, total of 144GB of RAID-5 pulled from an NCR Teradata (worldmark 5100M) system 2 x NCR Worldmark 5100M nodes with 4GB Ram, 32xPentium Pro 200MHz processors each. Now, it's time to help with its Linux port - doesn't quite boot yet. Features a pair of 32bit Microchannel busses per node. Technically, I guess, it's still Purdue's, but I get basically exclusive access to it (and free power/network). I'm thinking about going back to grab a pair of marked 'BAD' ADM-5's from there that might be useful for parts to repair my ADM-5. ** Cheap to a good home ** Assuming all the Laserdisk players all work - they just have a few cosmetic scratches - I'm willing to part with two of them. First two replies get them for $10 + shipping. If they don't all work (as far as I can tell without owning a laserdisk - they should also play CDs) then I'll be offering less of them I guess... Pat Lafayette, IN, USA -- Purdue Universtiy ITAP/RCS Information Technology at Purdue Research Computing and Storage http://www-rcd.cc.purdue.edu

23 years, 8 months

4
6
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BBC Acorn

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Dec 14, 0:37, Tony Duell wrote: > > upset if people wrote "Disk" instead of "Disc"). As far as Acorn were > > concerned, BASIC (even BBC BASIC) is "just another language". > > IIRC, BASIC is a somewhat odd language that doesn't implement one of the > 'standard' entry points. But it is a language ROM. Indeed, it has zeros in the service entry point which wouldn't be legal for an ordinary language ROM, except that it is treated as a special case by certain Acorn firmware, and that missing service entry is used in the first stage of recognising which ROM is BASIC. It's unique in that regard. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

23 years, 8 months

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BBC Acorn

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Dec 13, 21:11, Tony Duell wrote: > This reminds me of something that suprises me. Namely that the Model A > missed out some fairly simple/cheap chips like the buffers for the 1MHz > bus and/or Tube, the RS423 buffers (the rest of the serial I/O system was > fitted on the A becuase it was needed for the cassette I/O), etc. I would > have thought that the cost of fitting sockets and having 2 different > boards in production would have exceeded the cost of these chips... The idea was to keep the cost as low as possible while making it simple to upgrade. At that time the sockets would have been much cheaper than the chips. I don't know how the decision was made, nor by whom (though Acorn was a fairly small comapany at that time), and it may have involved the BBC. > > I doubt if it's that simple. UK models don't use mylar ribbons, they use a > > single 17-way notched IDT cable with a 0.1" pitch, and with a single-row > > Unless thr speech upgrade is fitted. True, in which case there's an additional 10-way 0.1" pitch IDT cable on the left of the keyboard. > Very early Beebs had linear PSUs with 3 7805 regulators in them. One fed > each of the +5V outputs. You (Joe) do not have one of these, though. :-) Horrible things. Acorn had an exchange scheme, and they destroyed the black ones they got back. There were actually three black models, two matt black, one gloss, IIRC. One (I forget which) was unofficially known as the "adaptor and exploder" becasue it had a habit of doing the latter. > IIRC, the ground pins are linked on the mainboard, the +5V pins are not, > so you have to have all 3 sets connected for it to work. Later boards did have the +5V joined up, just not with very fat tracks in places. So on all but the earliest ones, it sometimes "mostly" works if one set isn't connected (or is dirty). -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

23 years, 8 months

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New finds this week / Cheap to a good home

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

> --- Patrick Finnegan <pat(a)purdueriots.com> wrote: > > > What brand and model? My Pioneer plays cd's, but it has a cd drawer > > > within the laserdisc drawer. > > > > It's a CLD-V2400. It claims to play LD's CD's and CDV's (CD with Video). > > Ooh! If I didn't already have an LD-V8000 (for playing Dragon's Lair > and my LD collection), I'd love to have one - I have a Moody Blues > CD-Video - 4 CDDA audio tracks and one Pioneer-Laser-Disc-style video > track that only plays in certain players... like the ones you have. > > -ethan Oh, come on Ethan, you should know the primary rule of having a Laserdisc collection, you can never have enough players. We've got three players at home that we use and two more (three if you count the broken one) in storage. Still, I'm trying to slowly convert the most important LD's in our collection to DVD-R as I'm worried about bit-rot and the players slowly dying. Sadly there is stuff on LD that will probably never make it to DVD (I'd love Anamorphic Widescreen copies of some of our LD's). Zane

23 years, 8 months

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BBC Acorn

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Dec 13, 11:20, Joe wrote: > At 10:06 AM 12/13/02 GMT, Pete wrote: > > > >How many (EP)ROMs are in it? Do they have any numbers on them? > > There are five sockets in a row (IC71 - IC75) but IC 75 is empty. IC 71 is an EPROM but the label in missing. IC 72 is a Hitachci PROM marked HN613128PD11 View2-1 Japan (c)ACORNSOFT, IC 73 is an EPROM and is marked DNFS 201666, IC 74 is an EPROM and is marked US BASIC 201667. Behind that row is IC 52, it's marked VI (I THINK, it's stylized and hard to read), then 403 V 2006 VC 2023 201647 (c)ACORN COMPUTER KOREA-AE. I think that's all of the custom ICs. Interesting. The IC numbering scheme is different. I know Acorn slightly modified the video circuit for the US, so I suppose they renumbered IC positions at the same time. The first one (missing a label) should be the MOS. It makes sense that it would be an EPROM, because Acorn regularly used EPROMs rather than mask ROMs for "low" volume runs, which I'd expect the US MOS to be. I discovered that pages 478-479 of the Advanced User Guide list the differences between US and UK MOS versions. Basically, the US screen resolutions are the same width but less high (corresponding to 1280 x 800 points instead of 1280 x 1024 -- points are not pixels though, the correspondence depends on the screen mode, which determines the resolution used). This is because the frame rate is 60Hz instead of 50Hz, and also means that the screen memory usage is correspondingly lower in some modes. The next four ROMs are "sideways ROMs" which share the same address space, being switched in and out by the MOS. They will be prioritised from left to right, right being highest priority. When the machine starts up, it checks each socket looking for language, filing system, and service ROMs. Simplifying a little, it gives each a chance to initialise, and then allows the highest priority filing system and highest priority language to start fully. VIEW is a word processor, which in Acorn terms is a "language" ROM. The version you have is the standard version 2. DNFS is a combinatin of Disc Filing System (for 8271 floppy controller), Network Filing System (for Econet[1]), and Tube utilites (for a Second Processor). Part number 201666 is the standard DNFS, same as the UK. The sign-on message should be "Acorn DFS" (unless you have the Econet network interface fitted and either have changed a link to make NFS take priority or have removed the 8271). [1] I read somewhere that US machines were fitted with Econet as standard. If yours has the interface, there will be a 68B54 ADLC chip in the North West quadrant of the board, a 180-degree 5-pin DIN socket on the back, and few or no empty positions for components around the ADLC position. And if you hold down the "N" key while starting it up, it should say "Econet Station 001 No Clock" instead of "Acorn DFS". The station number would be different if someone has changed the links in the block of 8 near the Econet socket. Incidentally, holding down various keys can force filing system selection regardless of ROM priority and link settings, providing the relevant hardware and firmware is present. "D" for DFS, "N" for NFS (Econet), <space> or <DELETE> for tape, "R" for RFS, "A" for ADFS ("F" for fast-start ADFS), etc. "US BASIC" is fairly self-explanatory. Like Tony, I'd be very surprised if it were supposed to say "BASIC OS" because BASIC is not an OS and Acorn were quite particular about terminology in many ways (they even used to get upset if people wrote "Disk" instead of "Disc"). As far as Acorn were concerned, BASIC (even BBC BASIC) is "just another language". The two other similar ICs are the serial processor (near the back) and video processor (near the ROMs). The stylised VI is the VTi logo. > >> Actually I didn't get a cursor. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to > >have one or not. > > > >Yes, you should. > > Hmm. Sounds like it's not finishing the boot sequence. I think it's getting something wrong, given all those "OS" appended to startup messages. I'd suggest *carefully* lifting all the socketed ICs and re-seating them. I'd also suggest you temporarily remove the VIEW ROM and see if there's any difference. Once you have a working PSU, of course. BTW, if you're repairing that PSU, it's a switchmode. Beware of high voltages on the capacitors (including their cases) and on the heatsink for the power transistor. However, the standard Beeb supply (an Astec unit) is safe to run with no load (unlike some SMPSUs), and it will shut down safely (making a characteristic tick-tick-tick noise) if the +5V output is shorted, and will immediately start up again if the short is removed. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

23 years, 8 months

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Pulling -12VDC from thin air (was Re: MicroVAX II)

by dwightk.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "Ethan Dicks" <erd_6502(a)yahoo.com> > > >--- Jochen Kunz <jkunz(a)unixag-kl.fh-kl.de> wrote: >> I second that. I know a collector who knows nothing about hardware and >> how it works.... When I told him that I builded a simple voltage >> inverter (charge pump) to make the RS232 work on the Sun 4/600 MP he >> looked like it was black magic to convert +12V to -12V. (The Sun 4/600 >> MP boards needs -12V for the RS232, even -5V are not enough. As I >> mounted this board in a Sun 3/60 case that doesn't provide -12V, I could >> not use a serial console.) > >Interesting to learn about the 4/600 board and the 3/60 case. Long ago, >I wondered if the two could work together (I _have_ the 3/60 and I almost >had the 4/600 board). > >If you'd have known to ask, I could have provided you with a +5VDC to >-12VDC converter module. It's about 20mm x 30mm x 3mm. We had to put >them on the Qbus COMBOARD because the original design assumed you could >pull -12VDC off some Qbus pin somewhere, and I suspect that it is not >the case for all Qbus enclosures (don't know where it is available and >where it isn't). I have several new on the anti-static mat they shipped >in. > >-ethan > Hi There is another chip in the MAX232 series someplace that creates +/- 12 V from 5V for serial uses other that what a 232 chip is normally used for. It just needs some capacitors for the charge pumps. Dwight

23 years, 8 months

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OT: Re: Interesting Tim O'Reilly article.

by Robert_Feldman＠jdedwards.com

When I had just a record player (sometime back BCE), I had just one turntable, and one copy of each record. If I wanted to listen to the music on a record while at work, I could make a cassette tape copy. I wouldn't go out and buy a second copy of the LP. (The only time I have done that was when I found a cutout copy of an out-of-print LP that I liked a lot, and wanted to have a backup copy.) Now we have 4 CD players at home and I have one in my computer at work. If I want to listen to one of my CDs at work, I will make a CD copy of the original CD that I own. I have also made CD copies to have one upstairs and one downstairs. I would not go out and buy a second copy of any of the CDs if I was unable to make copies -- I would just ferry originals between home and work. With multiple copies, is my wife listening to the same one at home as I am listing to at work? Probably not. Do I have copies of CDs where I do not own the original? Yes, one CD where I have the LP and one where I don't (and both are of 30-year old music). Would I buy as many CDs if I couldn't make copies of them? No. Sometimes I wonder which planet the RIAA is on. (My $0.02) Bob -----Original Message----- From: pete(a)dunnington.u-net.com [mailto:pete@dunnington.u-net.com] Sent: Friday, December 13, 2002 2:29 PM To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org Subject: Re: OT: Re: Interesting Tim O'Reilly article. On Dec 13, 11:12, David Woyciesjes wrote: > Sellam Ismail wrote: > I'm like Sellam here. I have bought quite a few CDs, based on hearing a > song or two from the album via Napster. > Granted, I'm one of those people who look for that album in the used > rack first, before resorting to a buying new copy. It is a form of > recycling; but I wonder what exactly do the record labels think of me > for that? > I also believe that new audio CDs are still overpriced. Doesn't stop me > from buying one, though, if I can't find a used copy. If *you* think they're overpriced... I just bought two today, for presents. UKP13.99 each, which is just over $22 according to the Universal Currency Converter. Yet when I look at my colleagues at work listening to CDs, I see they spend part of the time listening to MP3s, and about half (I guess) to CDs. Of the CDs, nearly all are original shop-bought, not CD-R copies. They have the technology, so that's not why they don't copy stuff. There's a difference in quality, and in reliability/robustness, and you don't get the sleeve notes and graphics with a copy. The students I see seem to do the same. I don't believe the hype or the wailing and moaning >from the music companies. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

23 years, 8 months

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OT: Re: Interesting Tim O'Reilly article.

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Dec 13, 11:12, David Woyciesjes wrote: > Sellam Ismail wrote: > I'm like Sellam here. I have bought quite a few CDs, based on hearing a > song or two from the album via Napster. > Granted, I'm one of those people who look for that album in the used > rack first, before resorting to a buying new copy. It is a form of > recycling; but I wonder what exactly do the record labels think of me > for that? > I also believe that new audio CDs are still overpriced. Doesn't stop me > from buying one, though, if I can't find a used copy. If *you* think they're overpriced... I just bought two today, for presents. UKP13.99 each, which is just over $22 according to the Universal Currency Converter. Yet when I look at my colleagues at work listening to CDs, I see they spend part of the time listening to MP3s, and about half (I guess) to CDs. Of the CDs, nearly all are original shop-bought, not CD-R copies. They have the technology, so that's not why they don't copy stuff. There's a difference in quality, and in reliability/robustness, and you don't get the sleeve notes and graphics with a copy. The students I see seem to do the same. I don't believe the hype or the wailing and moaning >from the music companies. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

23 years, 8 months

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Televideo 901 was Re: New finds this week / Cheap to a good home

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

At 11:16 AM 12/13/02 -0500, Pat wrote: >I managed to get a few fun things to play with this week - courtesy of >Purdue University Salvage/Surplus > >** Finds ** > >Lear-Sigler AMD-3A+ **actually working** (compared to my ADM-5) $free Speaking of LS terminals. I spotted a Televideo 901 last week. It looked like a Lear Sigler ADM (something). Does anyone know if it was built by LS? Joe

23 years, 8 months

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The Ne[w|utered] HP / Agilent

by glenslick＠hotmail.com

Their current 16700 series LA mainframes (I have one) still run HPUX 10.20 on a PA-RISC CPU with all of the network capabilities of HPUX. I think some things are disabled by default, but you can boot single user mode and reconfigure things if you really want to. I agree that I wouldn't want Windows 9x running on an instrument like this, but Windows 2000 might not be too bad, as Tek runs on some of their current LA mainframes. >From: "Eric Smith" <eric(a)brouhaha.com> >Reply-To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org >To: <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> >Subject: Re: The Ne[w|utered] HP (was: RE: The effects of employment) >Date: Thu, 12 Dec 2002 18:31:25 -0800 (PST) > >My biggest gripe with Agilent is that their recent instruments such >as the Infinium series oscilliscopes run Windows. I don't use the >things myself, but I've heard horror stories from friends using them. >It's a shame that they didn't use Linux, or xBSD. Some of their >earlier instruments such as logic analyzers actually acted as NFS >and X clients, but the networking capabilities of Windows are a huge >step backwards. _________________________________________________________________ Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963

23 years, 8 months

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Interesting Tim O\'Reilly article.

by classiccmp＠crash.com

[ Trying to put some classiccmp spin on the discussion... ] > Imagine General Motors, Ford, Toyota or any other car maker > wanting a cut of the money if you sell your old car to some- > body else instead of just dropping it into the next landfill. This reminds me of my biggest complaint about several commercial Unix offerings in the early 90's - user licensing. "Excuse me, I can only have X users on my Vax/Alpha?" Alright, maybe some other non-Unix OSes as well ;^) The analogy was always to Ford/GM saying, "Yes, you bought our biggest van with the third row seat, but you may only use the the front two bucket seats until you pay us Y dollars per year." Definitely led me to move to systems that didn't have such silly encumbrances. --Steve.

23 years, 8 months

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Fwd: Hermes 51

by jss＠subatomix.com

Please direct replies to Lynda, not me. ---------- Begin forwarded message ---------- From: Lynda Pieper <lcpieper(a)hotmail.com> To: cctalk-admin(a)classiccmp.org Date: Sunday, December 8, 2002, 4:19:41 PM Subject: Hermes 51 I came across your website looking for "Hermes 51", which is a 1984 dedicated word processor. Since your site is now under construction, I wanted to know if you know of anyone who would be interested in buying the Hermes 51. I have not used it since I got my 286 computer in 1987. Everything for the Hermes is intact, including diskettes. If you know of anyone or any place interested in this word processing, please let me know. The Hermes was an electronic typewriter with internal memory and an LED to show about 20 characters at a time as you typed, plus an external video unit (with about a 12" screen) which used the small diskettes for storage. I have ribbons, daisy-wheel fonts, diskettes, etc. It should still work... I used it for only three years on a part-time basis. Please e-mail me with a "yea" or a "nay". Thanks. L. Pieper lcpieper(a)hotmail.com ---------- End forwarded message ---------- -- Jeffrey Sharp

23 years, 8 months

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Interesting Tim O'Reilly article.

by Robert_Feldman＠jdedwards.com

And, though the US carries a pretty big stick, the rest of the world doesn't necessarily follow the US direction on the DCMA and the new Mickey Mouse copyright laws. Bob -----Original Message----- From: John Allain [mailto:allain@panix.com] Sent: Friday, December 13, 2002 11:37 AM To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org Subject: Re: Re: Interesting Tim O'Reilly article. > Reverse engineering itself is not a crime. Agree, but... The whole notion of what crimes are with a Software entity is too nebulous. That's why the the Son-of-a-Lawyer has made so much money testing the boundaries of Pseudo law, and winning. This is a new industry and things haven't totally jelled yet. John A.

23 years, 8 months

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Interesting Tim O'Reilly article.

by Fred.van.Kempen＠microwalt.nl

> On Fri, 13 Dec 2002, Brian Chase wrote: > > > on his actions. Now, the MPAA folks say that reverse > engineering their > > lousy CSS encryption is a crime. I think that's absurd, > and I'm really > > surprised that /anyone/ on /this/ list would agree with the > idea that > > reverse engineering something is, in itself, a criminal act. > > I have to second that. Me too. Reverse engineering itsef is not a crime.. what you )can( do with the )results( _could_ be a crime. --fred

23 years, 8 months

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GenRad tester

by Qstieee＠aol.com

I believe someone asked about this in the last few weeks, but I didn't save the message. E-mail trestivo(a)concentric.net, he services them. See www.tarinc.com

23 years, 8 months

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WinPort LaserJet Accelerator Card

by dwoyciesjes＠comcast.net

I picked up one of these yesterday for $25. And it still has the original retail sticker, of $99.99 on it. :) Turns out, it is unused even! the two cards and 5 1/4 floppy envelopes are still sealed... Anyway, to my point. I plan on using it in the docking station of my Thinkpad 760EL (running Win98), plugged into a DecLaser 2100 plus. IIRC, the DecLaser 2100 is just a HP LaserJet II with different plastic body panels, right? I has a 16 bit ISA card to go in the PC, and an adapter card that goes in the Optional I/O slot of the printer. It also keeps the normal parallel printer cable in place, for regular operational mode. Now, the manual only mentions Win3.1; not even NT 3.5. Has anyone tried this under Win98? How about NT4? And how about sharing it over the network? Hopefully I'll get the time to set it up and try it today. First, I have to dig out that little Digital 486 I have sitting around to transfer the drivers to 3 1/2 floppy! Seeing the 5 1/4 floppy was a bit of a surprise... Thinking out loud... I wonder if I'll end up having to turn that desktop 486 into a Win3.11 print server? :) Hmmm, would Solaris or NetBSD know what to do with it? -- ---Dave Woyciesjes ---ICQ# 905818

23 years, 8 months

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Value of VAX ?

by Fred.van.Kempen＠microwalt.nl

Hey All, Just a slightly offtopic one here. What should I be paying for a used VAX 4000, 128MB, with an extra 128MB as spare? Machine looks good, and comes with two BA440's (one with the machine, and the second one for extended storage.) Pse reply *off-list* - enough offtopic clutter as-is already :) Thanks, Fred

23 years, 8 months

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Freeware for VAX!

by hansp＠aconit.org

I found this on a recent CUO/DECUS mailing: Freeware for Vax Computer Communications Limited (CCL) the UK developer of Electronic Document Distribution software for HP Open VMS, has announced the availability of a Freeware version of its software. The Freeware version is available to companies that are still using OPENVMS on the VAX hardware platform. The software allows data to be sent via Fax, Telex, E-mail (with Lotus Notes and Microsoft Exchange interfaces) EDI and Text messaging to Mobile Phones. Further information about their solution can be obtained from CCL's web site: www.ccl.co.uk

23 years, 8 months

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Acquired a PDP11/44, but missing M7095

by dwightk.elvey＠amd.com

>From: ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk > >> Jesus H Kraist!!!!! Zane, you need to stick with shit you know about, >> and leave the electrical advice to folks who understand the difference >> between voltage and current. >> >> >> DO NOT plug your 120v PDP11 into a 220V Dryer Outlet!!!!! >> >> DO NOT plug your 120v PDP11 into a 220V Dryer Outlet!!!!! > >I will agree with that, _but_ > >(1), IIRC the 11/44 has a handy switch on/in the PSU to select between >115V and 230V input. It would be easy to flip that. > >(2) I was under the impression that US dryers, while using 230V for the >heating elements, used 115V for the timer. And that US domestic mains was >a centre-tapped (The tap being called 'neutral') 230V supply. > >In which case, if there's a neutral feed to the dryer socket which can >carry the same current (20A) as the 2 live feeds (one from each side of >the mains), then you could run the 11/44 between one live feed and >neutral. This probably breaks code in a dozen places, but.... > Hi My drier has a three pin plug, Two hots and one ground, No Neutral! I would assume that if anyhting ran on 115, it would be through a transformer but I think the time is 230V as well. Dwight

23 years, 8 months

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More dumb VAX 11/750 questions

by alanp＠snowmoose.com

Hi guys, Finding this list has encouraged me to try and get some stuff together on my VAX. Sorry for the extra traffic. Q1. Right now I have a UNIBUS expansion cabinet attached to the primary 11/750 cabinet. I would like to replace it with my TU80 (with a RA82 in the lower drive bay). Can I just move the UNIBUS cards that I want to keep to the primary UNIBUS and pull the DW750 from the CPU back plane and be good? The James Lothian FAQ mentions something about reconfiguring some jumpers if you install a DW750, so I would probably need to change them back if I remove it, right? Q2. Right now I have a DEUNA, UDA50/UDA52 and DHU11 in the primary UNIBUS with those bus continuity cards installed in the open bus slots. On the secondary UNIBUS, I have the TU80 controller, another DHU11 and a DMF32. Can I just pull the bus continuity cards from the primary UNIBUS and install the TU80 controller and DMF32 in those slots? Q3. Right now the memory slots have M8750s CJs in both end slots and 6 six National Semiconductor 753 1M boards in between. Does it have to be this way? I have two spare M8750s. Are there any advantages between the DEC memory boards and the NS boards? Q4. I have a floating point option board (L0001) that is supposedly intermittently bad. Anyone know what kinds of things fail on these boards? Q5. Should I use or not use some kind of contact cleaner on the board fingers and the sockets they go in? Thanks, alan

23 years, 8 months

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BBC Acorn

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Dec 13, 0:57, Tony Duell wrote: > One you missed (I am not sure if you count it as 3rd party...) is the > IEEE-FS. It was used with the IEEE-488 interface (which, IIRC, was > technically a 3rd party product sold by Acorn [1]) and allowed you to > open 'files' to devices on the IEEE-488 bus, etc. Yes, it was sold by Acorn, and it was in the official price list. It was unusual in that it was sold both by Acorn and by the original devloper, Intelligent Interfaces. The manual says it was developed jointly, so I imagine that's why. The oldest price list I can lay my hands on quickly is January 1988, and it lists it at UKP325.00. > [1] Or at least that's what I was told when I asked a friend of mine who > worked at Acorn about getting a schematic for this interface. I then > found the schematics had been published in Wireless World... :-) -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

23 years, 8 months

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MicroVAX II

by Antonio.Carlini＠riverstonenet.com

>only the power harness. And assuming one couldn't find a replacement power harness for the bad >one, what would it take to modify/repair the bad one to make it safe to use? Is it just the matter >of replacing some of the existing wire with something of a heavier gauge? I believe the problem is that the wires are of differing lengths and hence resistance. Plus they were (or may have been) specced a tad to near the limit. The end result was that the longest wire (greatest resistance) heated up the most and eventually went phut, leaving the other five (or so) to go pop shortly thereafter. So heavier gauge and same length would seem to be required. OTOH if the problem was that bad (none of mine in the lab ever exhibited any pyrotechnic tendencies) would it not have corrected itself by now :-) Antonio

23 years, 8 months

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SCSI CDROM 'juke box' setup

by donm＠cts.com

A while back, I acquired a 7-disk NEC MultiSpin 2Xc drive which uses a SCSI interface. With no particular difficulty, I installed the WD SCSI card and the drive, the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT patches and quickly had access to the drive. Well, I had access to the first disk in the drive. The existence of the remaining six were not acknowledged! The WD diagnostic program sees all seven, so I tend to doubt that it is a SCSI problem, but nothing that I have done relative to MSCDEX has had any useful effects either. For perspective, this testing is being done on a Pentium II 133MHz equipped motherboard with 16Mb memory running PCDOS 6.3. I have yet to try it with W98. Can anyone offer any hints, kinks, experience, or clues of any variety as to how to access the remaining 86% of this 'juke box'? Thanks! - don

23 years, 8 months

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The Ne[w|utered] HP (was: RE: The effects of employment)

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

At 03:35 PM 12/12/02 +0100, Fred wrote: >Hi all, > >What stuns me about this what seems to be a national effort to wipe >out existing knowledge and experience in the various U.S. companies >trying to clean up their EOY numbers, is that they truly dont KNOW >what they're doing. I knew that when they appointed a woman CEO that knew NOTHING about computers or test equipment, the two items that HP was built on and reached major success with. It was again confirmed when they threw away the HP name (and outstanding reputation) and renamed it Agilent. Joe

23 years, 8 months

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BBC Acorn

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Dec 12, 7:40, Joe wrote: > It does appear to be a B. It has two rows of (mumble)16 memory chips so it has 32k of RAM. It probably is a B if that's the case (and the part number certainly is a "B" part number) but just having the RAM doesn't make it so. The chips are 4116s, BTW. As Tony said, there are lots of differences between an A and a B, but all the upgrades are/were available and there is no difference between an upgraded A and a B (except perhaps the date codes on some chips, how many are socketed, and maybe a little flux residue on the board). I thought I had a document listing the exact differences between UK and US versions, but I can't find it :-( However, the differences are small: different MOS (mainly video timings to be programmed into the CRTC), different colour crystal, different BASIC ROM (American spellings added, version number changed from II to III). IIRC the US version also had Econet and speech synthesis fitted (otions on the UK version). It didn't sell very well, and eventually a lot were re-imported to the UK becasue there was a boom in demand around 1986-87, which rather surprised Acornm, as they'd had two successor models since the original Model B in 1981! > What is "DFS OS"? Something is wriong if it says "DFS OS", I think. See below. DFS = Disc Filing System ("disc" has a "c" in English :-)). A single-density dis[ck] filing system, with a fairly simple flat directory structure. It can handle two 5.25" floppies, which may be any mixture of double- or single-sided, 40- or 80-track, so long as they have a standard SA400-type interface. Capacities are 200K for 40-track discs, 400K for 80-track. The two sides are treated as separate disks (so Drive 0 and Drive 2 are opposite sides of the same physical unit, and 1 and for the other unit). > I was surprised to find that it uses an intel 8271 for floppy drive controller. It's based on an earlier Acorn design. It's possible to replace the 8271 and some parts with others, plus a daughterboard carrying a 1770. You need the "1770 DFS" to drive it, still single density (in fact, compatible in almost every way) but you can then also add the ADFS (Advanced Disc Filing System) ROM to get double-density and a fully hierarchical directory structure. Capacities range from 160K (40-track, SS) to 640K (DS 80-track), called "S" (small), "M" (medium), "L" (large). As you may have guessed by now, if you didn't already know, many parts of the MOS are modular, and it's possible to add many other ROMs with languages, service utilities, and filing systems. FS's I can think of off the top of my head include TAPE (cassette filing system, built-in), RFS (ROM Filing System, also built in), DFS (you've met), ADFS (see above), TFS (Telesoftware, with a teletext adaptor), NFS (Econet networking), DNFS (combined DFS, NFS, and 2nd Processor handler), VFS (Video Filing System, of Domesday fame), "Advanced" versions of some of these, and various third-party equivalents. > It powered up up but isn't recognizing any keys except the BREAK key. I ran it for over an hour then one of the rectangular tantalum filter caps in the PSU blew. Fixing the PSU shouldn't be a problem. Does anyone know what they use for a keyboard interface (if it even uses one)? or if there's any schematics posted anywhere for it? You want to look at a couple of sites in particular, starting with The BBC Lives! at http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/bbc/ and The BBC Documentation Project at http://www.bbcdocs.com/ There you'll find many things, including the Service Manuals (look under "Essentials"), which include the schematics. Also 8BS Software at http://8bs.com , where you'll find a nicely annotated set of pictures of the BBC B motherboard (http://8bs.com/inbbc.htm). Chris Richardson at 8BS lives not far from me, and he's scanned a lot of my manuals and contributed them to The BBC Documentation Project. When you power up a working Beeb, it should make a double "beep" and then display something like BBC Microcomputer 32K Acorn DFS BASIC > If you get nothing, check power. If you get a continuous tone and not much more, or just get a flashing cursor at top left, check the keyboard cable, IC3, and other keyboard-related stuff. The way the keyboard works is quite neat. Like almost everything on a Beeb, it's interrupt-driven (unlike Apples and PETs, which are much slower -- even allowing for clock speed differences -- becasue they use polling loops). I wrote the following to explain it on a BBC mailing list recently, when someone had a faulty one. This particular fault was heat-related, hence the notes at the end; note that the most common fault is a broken or mis-fitted 17-way ribbon cable between keyboard and motherboard or a cracked track near a key: A 74LS161 (or 74163, they're interchangable for this purpose) 4-bit pre-loadable counter is clocked at 1MHz, and its outputs drive a 7445 (or 74145, again they're interchangable for this purpose) one-of-ten decoder. For each state "0" to "9" generated by the counter, one of the open-collector outputs of the 7445 is pulled low, and the corresponding keyboard column goes low. If a key in that column is pressed at the time, one of the row inputs of a 74LS30 is also pulled low, which signals to the system VIA on its CA2 handshake pin, and generates an interrupt. When the MOS services the interrupt, it uses PA0-PA3 to drive the 74LS161 like a latch, and tests each column in turn. For each column, it also selects each row in turn. Each row is connected to one input of a 72LS251 multiplexer, and by using PA4-PA6 to address the MUX, the MUX output, which is conected to PA7, can be sampled. When the MUX output is low, you've found the row and column of the key that was pressed to generate the interrupt. The most likely fault is a cracked track near the counter or MUX; I've seen similar situations where a crack right beside an IC becomes heat sensitive (when it warms up, the metal expands and -- counterintuitively -- widens the crack. Second most likely is the chip itself. If all the keys in one column are faulty, suspect the decoder (7445). If all the keys in several columns are bad, suspect the counter (74LS161). If some keys in a column are good but some are bad, but all the keys in a row are bad, suspect the MUX (74LS251). If it's just a mixture, suspect the VIA (which is usually socketed, so easy to swap with the user VIA). -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

23 years, 8 months

3
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Tonight: Hackers TV show

by classiccmp＠crash.com

[ Spoiler alert - contains details of the program. I caught the [ rebroadcast at 1AM. > > [ Sellam indicates for some program, he supplied old PCs ] > > Even more reasons for any kind US resident person to make an > mpeg of it [...] Or maybe not. I don't think I missed the beginning, and there was nothing about Woz, Cap'n Crunch, etc. It started off with a camera following some PHB through security checkpoints. It was mostly hype, glorifying the "white hats" like Internet Security Systems (www.iss.net) and making their NOC look like the next best thing to 007 and Q. Their handling of the "black hats" wasn't as shrill or alarmist as I'd have expected after the first bit covering ISS' NOC and "AlertCon." The production value was high - they used lots of flashy visual gimickry to let you know how cool this topic and the production team is/was. Didn't do squat for content, but someone had fun inverting color maps, solarizing and posterizing images, making lots of jump cuts, etc. But don't worry, they harped on the potential for an "electronic Pearl Harbor" quite a bit. They had a very touching bit about how the top-level hackers cherish their anonymity because, when they achieve underworld fame, they would be harassed by the hordes of wannabees and ankle-biters... I felt so sorry for them. :^/ I really disliked how they lumped Eric Raymond, John Perry Barlow, and the EFF in as somehow defending these "black hats" and their desire to commit real, traditional crime. They did let ESR get in a couple words expressing the difference between cracker and hacker, but I wouldn't expect my mother to have understood it and they quickly moved on. And then they made his guest accomodations, described as they walked into his office, sound like a stop on some sort of hacker underground railroad... The worst part? They had a guy from the MPAA on describing piracy, and the response from the other side was clearly aimed at the strategy of using DRM to gain control of the desktop by Hollywood. But they didn't explain that they were presenting responses to two different issues, so it looked like the EFF was somehow trying to support people ripping off movies before they're released to the theater. Not good. There's a nutshell review. My opinions, YMMV. --Steve.

23 years, 8 months

2
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The Ne[w|utered] HP (was: RE: The effects of employment)

by Fred.van.Kempen＠microwalt.nl

> The problem there being, if they loose customers, it's going > to either be to > IBM or Linux (or maybe Sun, but that strikes me as a big > maybe, and I for > one prefer Solaris). Killing the Alpha is the one that ticks > me off, but > I'm not to sure if it's Compaq or HP that should get the blame there. Hmmm.... you know, I think I'll hold on to my Linux-based stock and other "assets" in that area... :) Or, maybe, buy Tru64 from HP. [no discussion, please.. YES, i CAN...] --fred

23 years, 8 months

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The Ne[w|utered] HP (was: RE: The effects of employment)

by Fred.van.Kempen＠microwalt.nl

Dan wrote: > Well...definitly better then the Itanium boxes. But it's pretty much a big PC, > with the build quality that would imply. kind of disappointing, compared to > their older workstations... Yes. > I'm really just disappointed overall with their decision to kill Alpha and > PA-RISC. Itanium really isn't that good, at least not yet, and they're going > to lose a LOT of customers by doing it. **THAT** was my point, yes. Enterprise customers kinda laugh at the idea of their stuff being of the "Intel Inside" kind, and will be almost impossible to be changed into that. They'll go Sun, or IBM, but will do pretty much anything to NOT be sucked into this "New Big PC crap", as one of them called it. In the old days, we had Sun, DEC, Compaq, HP and IBM for the larger systems. DEC got sucked into Compaq, which also had Tandem. That seemed like not such a bad plan, and it could have worked (my personal opinion.) Now, we loose both DEC/Compaq (so, Tru64/Alpha and VMS/Alpha) and HP (HPUX/HPPA), only to get... _MORE_ Intel crap into this world. Don't get me wrong- I like my PC's. And yes, some of them run Win2000, some do UNIX, whatever. But that's *PC* stuff, for PC tasks. My customers will probably invite me in to come and tell them which vendor of "real" Big Things (tm) they can switch to now, without the chance of having to do that again in two years from now. So... Sun (sigh) or IBM (eek) ? HP loses.. bigtime. And as a shareholder.. indeed, i voted 'no' :) #define NHP /*brainless*/ #define HP NHP --fred

23 years, 8 months

2
1
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Tubes in computers - numbers, please

by aw288＠osfn.org

There is a large quantity of tubes for sale near me, and while it is silly to think I can buy and store them all, I might be interested in buying quantities of *computer-rated* tubes - things like 5749s, 5814As, 6414s, and so forth. Some day, maybe a 709 will come my way with 1000 empty sockets... Anyway, if any of you folks have information or samples of old tube based computing junk (modules, for example, or old unit-record stuff) - could I bother you to tell me what types of tubes were originally installed? I am looking for specific numbers, not just "dual triodes". It would be nice to know which machines used which tubes - for example: Machine Tube(s) Used ----------------------------------- IBM 604 1684, 2032 Thanks a bunch! William Donzelli aw288(a)osfn.org

23 years, 8 months

5
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Unibus SCSI question

by Antonio.Carlini＠riverstonenet.com

Zane H. Healy wrote: >Unfortunatly the manuals on my FTP site look to be for the UC07/08, not the UC17. A UC17 manual is available here: http://www.spies.com/~aek/pdf/emulex/ Antonio

23 years, 8 months

1
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BBC Acorn

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Dec 12, 19:39, pete@mindy wrote: > The chips are 4116s No, they're not, Pete, that's a typo. They're 4816s. > The way the keyboard works is quite neat. Maybe I should have been more explicit abut this: the 17-way cable carries +5V, 0V, /RESET, system 1MHz clock, three LED drive signals, and the VIA signals relating to the keyboard. It's "the keyboard interface", if you like. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

23 years, 8 months

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Tonight: "Hackers" TV show...

by dwoyciesjes＠comcast.net

Some material for your VCR... Tonight, Dec. 11th, at 10 PM Eastern time, the TLC cable channel is doing a show titled "Hackers". Supposedly a look at black- and white-hat hackers, and cyber crime. Hopefgully it'll be interesting... -- ---Dave Woyciesjes ---ICQ# 905818

23 years, 8 months

7
7
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free Wang 6540-1 and Fortune 32:16 systems in the Chicago area

by uban＠ubanproductions.com

A friend of mine is cleaning house and has the following two systems available for free pickup in the Chicago area: CPU: Wang model 6540-1 with Wang hard drive model number 6580, Magenetic Peripherials Inc, Control Data corp., Model number 9448 Cartridge Drive, Part No. 77717013 http://64.32.210.122/picts/Computer/Wang/index.html (condition unknown) Fortune 32:16 http://64.32.210.122/picts/Computer/Fortune/index.html Condition: the hard drive does not spin up. Last time I tried to power it up, it displayed: 1 2 3 and then hangs (probably because of the hard drive.) I think it used to count to 10 as it boots. If you are interested in one or both of these, please send email to: Bill (jackbot AT yahoo DOT com) be sure to replace the AT and DOT accordingly. --tom

23 years, 8 months

1
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Tonight: "Hackers" TV show...

by GOOI＠oce.nl

Sellam Ismail wrote: > > On Wed, 11 Dec 2002, David Woyciesjes wrote: > > > Some material for your VCR... > > Tonight, Dec. 11th, at 10 PM Eastern time, the TLC cable > > channel is doing a show titled "Hackers". Supposedly a > > look at black- and white-hat hackers, and cyber crime. > > Hopefgully it'll be interesting... > > Isn't the full title, "Hackers: Computer Outlaws"? If so, > all the old computers in there were provided by me, and the > guy playing Woz with the Blue Box is Alex of the ACCRC. > If you look closely, and you know what I look like, you'll > see a shot or two of me "hacking" in the dark ;) Even more reasons for any kind US resident person to make an mpeg of it and make it availbale for all of us poor souls who do not live in the US. We already miss on all the PDP-11 goodies that are for pick up on the other side of the ocean. - Henk.

23 years, 8 months

1
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The effects of employment

by mbg＠TheWorld.com

Which is interesting because from what I've heard recently, december/january is when to by trying since managers are more likely to get a chance to read resumes... Good luck on your search... Megan

23 years, 8 months

10
9
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Catweasel Floppy Read/Write Tools, version 3.0

by tim＠tim-mann.org

Version 3.0 of my Catweasel Floppy Read/Write Tools is now available at http://www.tim-mann.org/trs80resources.html. This release adds support for the new Catweasel MK3 PCI card. The older Catweasel MK1 ISA is still supported as well. Standard blurb on the tools: The Catweasel Floppy Read/Write Tools are software for the Catweasel universal floppy disk controller. The tools run on both Linux and Windows 95 or MS-DOS. Source code is included under the GPL. cw2dmk will read several kinds of floppy disk, some of which ordinary PC controllers have trouble with, and save them in the DMK disk image format. (DMK is a format used by the Unix TRS-80 emulator xtrs and by David Keil's TRS-80 emulator for MS-DOS.) cw2dmk does not just read TRS-80 disks; it can handle (at least) any disk written using a Western Digital 177x/179x floppy disk controller, a PC-style NEC765-compatible controller, or a Digital Equipment Corporation RX02 controller. dmk2cw will write any DMK image back to a real floppy disk, and handles the same kinds of disks as cw2dmk. The package also includes the programs dmk2jv3 and jv2dmk, which convert between the DMK image format and the JV1 and JV3 image formats. These programs work without a Catweasel and can be useful for moving images between different TRS-80 emulators. -- Tim Mann tim(a)tim-mann.org http://www.tim-mann.org/

23 years, 8 months

7
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Need information on TRSDOS 1.3 internals

by foo＠siconic.com

Does anyone have any documentation on the data structures of TRSDOS 1.3? Specifically, I'd like to know the catalog structure, as well as the scheme for storing files across multiple sectors. I'm trying to pull some old word processor and perhaps spreadsheet files off some TRSDOS disks using a PC. I already found a utility called READDISK that reads TRS-80 disks on a PC and it worked great. Now I need to extract the files from the image. Is this data published in any of the TRS-80 DOS manuals? Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org * Old computing resources for business and academia at www.VintageTech.com *

23 years, 8 months

6
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Tubes in computers - numbers, please

by mranalog＠attbi.com

William Donzelli wrote: > Anyway, if any of you folks have information or samples of old tube based > computing junk (modules, for example, or old unit-record stuff) - could I > bother you to tell me what types of tubes were originally installed? I am > looking for specific numbers, not just "dual triodes". I have a few IBM plug-in (?logic?gate?) modules. Module Tubes AM-5 one tube - 5965(maybe "A") IBM Part# 317261 CF-503 one tube - 5965 PW-505 one tube - 7044 IBM P# 124720 CF-5 one tube - 5965(maybe "A") IBM Part# 317261 TH511 two tubes, both 5696 top one IBM Part# 288626 bottom one IBM Part# 288625 Computer model number unknown And they all look similar to this: http://dcoward.best.vwh.net/tubes2.JPG --Doug ========================================= Doug Coward @ home in Poulsbo, WA Analog Computer Online Museum and History Center http://dcoward.best.vwh.net/analog =========================================

23 years, 8 months

1
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Acquired a PDP11/44, but missing M7095

by glenslick＠hotmail.com

A google search for M7095 turned up www.jtcomputer.com so I already sent an email earlier tonight inquiring about a M7095. Are they a decent place to do business with? I just tried an old barrel key from a Kryptonite lock and it does work (a little rough to insert & remove) so that takes care of that problem. I didn't get any disk subsystems. The rules of the surplus department where I aquired the CPU dictate that disk drives be destroyed before systems are made available to the public. The I/O cards that were installed were an M7521 DELUA ethernet, CMD CDU-720/TM SCSI, M7819 DZ11-A octal serial, Digital Pathways TCU-150 clock module?, M7258 LP11, Datasystems DLP-11. The CPU came in a rack that is about three times the height of the the PDP11/44 and about 1.25x as wide. It's a Digital rack, but I didn't see a model number on the rack. The rack itself really heavy. They used a forklift to load it into my van and I was able to get it out of the van myself with the careful application of gravity, but there was no way I would have been able to get it into the house. I did download the User's Guide / System Technical Manuals which came in handy when I got stuck trying to figure out how to release the rack slide lock mechanism. Now I've got the CPU out of the rack and in the house were I can work on it. The rack did have bulkhead connectors and cables for the M7521 DELUA ethernet (AUI) and the console (DB25). The rack had a couple of other connectors I didn't recognize, I think they must have been cabled up to the M7819 DZ11-A and M7258 LP11. There is no breakout pod for the M7819 DZ11-A. The DLP-11 had a very long LPT ribbon cable attached. It might have originally been attached to a huge Genicom? printer that was also available at the surplus place, but I passed on that at the time. I inspected the insides before thinking about trying to power up the CPU and when I realized the M7095 was missing (I wonder why it was removed?) I didn't go any further. Also, while the power supply is configured for 120VAC it has the high current (20A) plug with one of the lugs rotated 90 degress and I don't think I have any compatible outlets in my house so that is yet another challege to solve. If I do get the CPU running, then I'll have to figure out what software I should try to run on it. I don't really know much about PDP11 software yet. -Glen >From: John Lawson <jpl15(a)panix.com> >Reply-To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org >To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org >Subject: Re: Acquired a PDP11/44, but missing M7095 >Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2002 01:58:00 -0500 (EST) > > > >On Tue, 10 Dec 2002, Glen S wrote: > > > I recently acquired a surplus PDP11/44 (my first real PDP11) and it >appears > > that it is in reasonably good condition, but after opening it up to >check > > out what modules were installed I realized that it is missing the M7095 > > control logic module, one of the 5 core modules that make up CPU. >Anyone > > know where I can find one of these at a reasonable price, or have a good > > spare that they care part with? > > Congratulations! Join the Club.... ;} > > A lot of DEC Stuff is listed here ( they also sell on eBay ). > > www.jtcomputer.com shows a M7095 - $25.00 > > > > > > Also, the keyswitch for the front panel is missing. Anyone know where I >can > > find one of those, or is there an easy way to bypass the switch? > > > > Any barrel key will work... one of mine has flutes, but the other ( a >red plastic one marked 'anti static' has no flutes at all. > > > > On the plus side a CMD CDU-720/TM SCSI controller was installed so if I >get > > the CPU running I hope it won't be too hard to connect it to a SCSI hard > > drive and tape drive. > > > > Depends on the OS you use, and how you generate the new system. > > Did you get any other peripherals, especially the disk subsystems that >were once attached? Is the console serial cable present? ( a longish >cable terminating in a DB25). Any other I/O cards? Have you powered the >machine on yet? Be careful of the power supply - they're REALLY deadly >with the covers off. ALso be sure the fan deck is running. > > Oh yeah - did you get any Doc with the system... or can you get a copy >of the PDP-11/44 System Technical Manual and the System User's Guide... >these will be most helpful getting the beast to wake up. > > Keep us informed of your progress... there are several /44s up and >running among us. > > Cheers > >John _________________________________________________________________ MSN 8 helps eliminate e-mail viruses. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus

23 years, 8 months

6
7
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Fw: DEC 7000 (AXP) stuff available in Austin, TX

by rschaefe＠gcfn.org

As seen on the NetBSD port-vax list... Bob ----- Original Message ----- From: "Olof Johansson" <offe> To: <port-vax> Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2002 1:10 PM Subject: DEC 7000 (AXP) stuff available in Austin, TX > This is somewhat offtopic given the processor architecture, but given that > everything else on these systems seems to be common with VAX: > > I just came back from looking at some of the stuff a local liquidator is > trying to get rid off. It's 3 or 4 DEC7000's (all of them alphas, as far > as I can tell. At least one of them 2-CPU). Each machine has one or two XMI > boxes as well. There's also a crapload of disk arrays, with 1/2/4GB disks. > > Most of this seem to have been clustered (using OpenVMS). I also spotted > a couple of TZ87/86 units. > > I'm not enough of a texan to own a huge truck, and given the sheer size of > all this equipment, there's no way I can even resque some of it for anyone. > But I figured if there's someone else in the area that's interested they > might want to know about it. > > The liquidator can be reached at 'derrick' [less the quotes] > @sanmarcos.net or 512-665-6655. > I have no idea what kind of money he might be looking to get for it.

23 years, 8 months

1
0
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The effects of employment

by mbg＠TheWorld.com

>> > * I will no longer gripe about lack of funds in nearly every post. >:-) >> >> Yes, now you will move to the group that gripes about lack of spare >> time. :-) > >Allow me to welcome you to that group :^) While I, unfortunately, will soon join the group of those with worries about money and future because after 25 years with DEC/Compaq/HP, the company has decided to continue without me... I will sonn be a statistic in the on-going merger work of HP and Compaq... Megan Gentry Former RT-11 Developer +--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+ | Megan Gentry, EMT/B, PP-ASEL | email: gentry at zk3.dec.com (work) | | Unix Support Engineering Group | mbg at world.std.com (home) | | Hewlett Packard | (s/ at /@/) | | 110 Spitbrook Rd. ZK03-2/T43 | URL: http://world.std.com/~mbg/ | | Nashua, NH 03062 | "pdp-11 programmer - some assembler | | (603) 884 1055 (DEC '77-'98) | required." - mbg KB1FCA | +--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+ Soon to be ex-HP.

23 years, 8 months

4
3
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PDP11/44 system mains current

by jpl15＠panix.com

As a working example: I have an 11/44, FPP, 2MW, 2 DZ11, RLV11, Dilog ESDI card. 1 RL02 2 5 1/4" ESDI drives in a PDP11/23 chassis of all things. All this is in an H960 with the usuall DEC power control box... all of it plugs into an outlet in my dini^H^H^H^H machine room, which is on a 15 A breaker... I have yet to amprobe it, but if it's more than 8A at 120 I'd be quite surprised. Now, when I get the Kennedy 9100 and another RL02 hooked up, and an LA36.... sigh. it never ends. Cheers and ZZZZaaaappp! John

23 years, 8 months

1
0
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BBC Acorn

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

Today I went and picked up another part of my lot of computers that I bought last week. One of the things that I brought home today was a BBC Acorn computer. I'd heard of these but never seen one before. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this one was apparently built for use in the US and that it operates from 110 VAC 50 or 60 Hz and has a US style power plug. Does anyone know how many of these were imported into the US? I'm assuming that since it's set up for US power system that it will also operate on standard US TV and monitor frequencies. Does anyone know for sure. BTW the model number on this one is UNB 09. All the Acorn websites that I've found only list models A, B and B+ so I'm not sure what this is equivelent to. Joe

23 years, 8 months

2
1
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Acquired a PDP11/44, but missing M7095

by glenslick＠hotmail.com

I recently acquired a surplus PDP11/44 (my first real PDP11) and it appears that it is in reasonably good condition, but after opening it up to check out what modules were installed I realized that it is missing the M7095 control logic module, one of the 5 core modules that make up CPU. Anyone know where I can find one of these at a reasonable price, or have a good spare that they care part with? Also, the keyswitch for the front panel is missing. Anyone know where I can find one of those, or is there an easy way to bypass the switch? On the plus side a CMD CDU-720/TM SCSI controller was installed so if I get the CPU running I hope it won't be too hard to connect it to a SCSI hard drive and tape drive. _________________________________________________________________ Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963

23 years, 8 months

4
3
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RL02 Disk Cartridge Problems

by cmcnabb＠4mcnabb.net

I just received an RL02K-DC disk cartridge that I won on Ebay. It looks the same as all my other cartridges, and the shock indicator is still white. When I put the cartridge in either of my drives, it spins up for a while then the fault light comes on. This does not happen with any of the other RL02 cartridges I have. I can see no difference between this cartridge and any of the others, and it seems to take no less force to turn by hand. I'm wondering what I could be missing. Any help would be greatly appreciated. -- Christopher L McNabb Operating Systems Analyst Email: cmcnabb(a)4mcnabb.net Virginia Tech ICBM: 37.1356N 80.4272N GMRS: WPSR255 ARS: N2UX Grid Sq: EM97SD

23 years, 8 months

16
31
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RL02 Disk Cartridge Problems - why that particular pack is junk

by bqt＠update.uu.se

Jumping in a bit late... On Tue, 10 Dec 2002 ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell) wrote: [description of RL02 physical format deleted...] > > There is also a "guard track" on each side of the data track,whose > > purpose is to cause the head to go back to the center of the data track > > should it drift. > > Is there? I was under the impression there were guard bands on the very > inside and very outside of the disk (used when the heads are loading, > etc). Bot not between each pair of data tracks. I think you are correct, and that the original poster misunderstood the manual. (Actually, I'm pretty sure you are correct :-) > There are, however, offset (from the track centre line -- in fact I think > they're halfway between 2 adjacent tracks) signals in the header area. > > > Something like : > > ===== ==== > ---DATA---- -----Next data----- > ==== ==== > -- Data----- ----Yet more data-- > ===== ==== > > Where the ==== are the servo signals. Huh? No. Actually, the data track itself is used as the servo signal. The head centers in on the track by centering on where the amplitude is strongest. > > When a drive is told to seek to a particular sector, it reads the > > factory written sector header to determine if it is the correct sector. > > If the drive can not find this info quickly enough, it will fault. > > Sorry, but no. The drive doesn't check the headers at all. I've been > through the schematics and there's nothing that will look at digital > data on the disk. It will fault if it can't find the servo signals, though. Actually, the *drive* just moves a number of tracks back and forth. (And seek is just to a relative track). When you progam a driver to seek to a track, you check the current track, calculate the track delta, and request that of the drive. When the drive report ready you once again check the track to see which one you actually are on. Hopefully it is the right, but if not, do another seek. However, when you *read* a sector, the *controller* checks that you read the right sector by checking every sector header that the head passes over, and when the right one comes, the data is transferred (the same applies for write). If the right sector don't show up, it will fail, but I don't think it will fault. > > It seems to me that to correctly format one of these disks after a bulk > > erasure, you would have to be able to do the following: > > 1. Correctly position the head - probably the easiest part > > I would think that generating the right pattern of bits for the header > was the easy part. That's just (relatively slow) digital electronics. Correctly position the heads when you don't have a servo track, and the heads are actuated by voice coils, means you cannot position the heads at all. So that is a big hurdle. Find another type of drive for formatting, that is item #1. > > 2. Write the correct sector header, including addressing Which no RL01/RL02 controller can do. There is no function to write sector headers. So, in addition to finding another drive to be able to position the heads, you need another controller, to be able to write the data. > > 3. Write the guard tracks ( I bet this is the most difficult) > > If you mean the 'servo bursts', well, you need to be able to accurately > position the heads on half tack spacing. Actually writing the signals is > easy. Yes, once the above conditions have been fulfilled, actually writing is the easy part. > > 5. Create the "Bad Block" file at the end of the disk. > > > > So, looking at the above, I can see where it would very difficult to > > format one of these guys using a stock RL01/RL02 drive, even modified. > > IMHO the really hard part is going to be positioning the head accurately > at half track spacings... You don't have any half-track spacings. However, you also need to write the guard bands, which are outside the normal data area. But if you happen to have a drive you can move the heads about with absolute precision (well, pretty good precision anyway), and being able to write headers, I doubt writing the guard bands would be that hard. You just have to know how the guard bands look physically. The drive recognoze them, and immediately move back to the data area if they show up. Johnny Johnny Billquist || "I'm on a bus || on a psychedelic trip email: bqt(a)update.uu.se || Reading murder books pdp is alive! || tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol

23 years, 8 months

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KIMplement for the C64

by spectre＠stockholm.ptloma.edu

I've threatened to do it and so I did. This is The Incredible KIMplement, a partial emulation of the KIM-1, entirely in software, for the stock Commodore 64. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/kim-1/ This isn't a joke. It has a full software 6502 core, which works by distilling opcodes down into "safe" equivalents and running those natively to reduce the work it has to do. All memory access is trapped and abstracted. The 6502-on-6502 core is machine-independent and hopefully I can use it to do tricks like virtual memory, protected memory and interruptable/restartable instructions. The emulator includes LED emulation, 6502 emulation (NMOS documented instructions only), SST emulation, keypad emulation, and even supports an emulated TTY. No interval timers yet, but I'm working on it (the ROMs have been trapped so they don't need them). Revision E ROMs are built-in. Hope no one still asserts the rights ... Thanks to Jim Butterfield and Peter Jennings, I've also included Lunar Lander, Addition, Key Train, Sort (all from First Book of KIM) and the original Microchess as a separate download. Beware of Microchess; on the emulator running on a stock C64 in Normal mode, it will take about 30 minutes to compute a move! :-) In the future, I want to use that software core to make a proper OS for the C64 (or Commodore One). The 6502 has gone too long without a proper MMU. Let me know what you guys think, -- ----------------------------- personal page: http://www.armory.com/~spectre/ -- Cameron Kaiser, Point Loma Nazarene University * ckaiser(a)stockholm.ptloma.edu -- Remember, kids: for great justice take off every zig! ----------------------

23 years, 8 months

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Acquired a PDP11/44, but missing M7095

by glenslick＠hotmail.com

The CPU has the 14 slot main backplane and a 9 slot expansion backplane, connected together with the M9202 jumper card pair. When I first opened the top the M9202 jumper card was plugged into slots 12 and 14 of the main backplane. I assume it is really supposed to plug into slot 14 of the main backplane and slot 1 of the expansion backplane to bridge the two so I moved it there. The M9302 terminator was in slot 9 of the expansion backplane. I believe all row D connectors except the empty 10,11,12 memory slots either had a card installed or had a stubby little card grant card installed. I didn't pull any of them to see what they were (G727, G7270, G7273?) > BTW - how many slots / backplanes are curently installed? How many free >slots? How many BUs Grant cards are in open slots? It is also possible >that you will need access to the underside of the machine at some time (to >attach/remove NPR jumpers) so don't mount it where that would be >difficult, until you have the System stable and configured the way you >want it. > I did pull the power cord panel off of the back of the power supply and it looks pretty easy to swap the existing power cable with one with a more common plug so that's what I'll do after I manage to track down a replacement M7095 and get to the point of trying to power up the CPU. > Not too bad - get a 15A plug from any of the Home DIY places or a big >hardware store. Take off the (should be attached with various screws and >clamps) existing 20A plug and attach the 15A one. Remember that the the >Black (hot) wire goes to the Brass terminal, the White (neut) wire goes to >the Silver terminal, and the Green (gnd) wire goes to the green (or black) >Ground terminal. > > Your CPU, configured as it is now, will draw maybe 6 or 7 amps from the >wall at 120V, so you're good to go. _________________________________________________________________ MSN 8 helps eliminate e-mail viruses. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus

23 years, 8 months

1
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One more screwup with the Ace...

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Dec 10, 22:36, Philip Pemberton wrote: > pete(a)dunnington.u-net.com wrote: > > On things like that, I often don't even try to rescue any suspect ICs > > or even passives, just cut them off close to the PCB with a very fine > > pair of sidecutters, and then desolder the stub of pin. > That's what I've been doing. I've been desoldering using "Soder-Wick" - I > got a small reel of it for 90p. You'd be much better off using a nice BIG solder sucker. Wick is really good for removing excess solder, say from a "generously" reworked SMT device, but not ideal for common-or-garden ICs. > In order to > limit damage to the ICs due to heat, I gave them a quick blast of freeze > spray and then soldered them. I hate to say it, but that's not a good idea. IC's don't mind heat if it's evenly applied (think infra-red reflow oven) but thermal shock can break seals etc. > > How adept are you > > with a soldering iron? > Six years of experience, three with a Maplin elcheapo, three with my Antex > XS25 (25 watt). Well, at least it's not one of those nasty Antex 15W irons, but I prefer a 50W temperature-controlled iron. The risk with a small iron is that the tip cools down as you put it on the work, and the lower-wattage irons can't heat it up very quickly again. Result is that the joint isn't really hot enough. > > Did you get the 2114s and Z80 I sent you? They should have arrived > > this morning. > Yup, they arrived this morning. Fitted them and the random, static garbage > has been replaced with scrolling garbage. Grr... Well, it's *some* improvement :-) > As for your offer to have a look at it, I might just take you up on it. I've > got a schematic for it (drawn by Bodo Wenzel) for a clone of the Ace, some > bits are different, 90% of it is the same though. OK. I'll mail you my address and phone number off-list, and maybe we can get together. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

23 years, 8 months

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HN462532G - same as TMS2532?

by philpem＠dsl.pipex.com

Hi, I've just bid on some Hitachi HN462532G EPROMs on Ebay - item numbers 1943283712 1943523215 and 1943750626 (I've bid on the first two - feel free to outbid me, just leave me with at least one pack of three). Can someone please confirm that these are pin-compatible with the TI TMS2532? I found a pinout on R. Steve Walz's webpage (www.armory.com/~rstevew), but I'd like confirmation from someone who's attempted to use the Hitachi chips as replacements for the TIs. Thanks. -- Phil. philpem(a)dsl.pipex.com http://www.philpem.dsl.pipex.com/

23 years, 8 months

1
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The effects of employment

by jss＠subatomix.com

Well, I can officially stop complaining. I've just scored a software engineering position with a local natural gas production company. This will have three effects with respect to the ClassicCmp list: * I will no longer gripe about lack of funds in nearly every post. :-) * My collection will experience growth and an increase in quality, which hopefully will enable me to do things like software and documentation archiving, hardware testing and restoration, and of course, playing with shiny new toys. * You should see me start to offer free stuff to list members soon. Yes, today is a good day. -- Jeffrey Sharp

23 years, 8 months

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One more screwup with the Ace...

by dwightk.elvey＠amd.com

Wow! I think we've all had a wack at poor Phil. Hi Phil I think the most important thing is to save the board over saving parts. If you think you've lifted a trace that is a thru hole( and these are two sided boards ), take a piece of wire wrap wire through the hole and solder it to the topside of the board and it goes through the hole. Don't solder it in the hole. Make sure that the component lead will fit through. When you put the part in, fold the piece of wire down so even if you heat it enough to melt the solder on the top, it won't rotate. If the top trace is clearly visible with the lead in there, you can solder the lead from the top. Use an Ohm meter to verify that you've made connections to all the right places. Dwight

23 years, 8 months

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One more screwup with the Ace...

by philpem＠dsl.pipex.com

Hi all, Well, it looks like I've finally destroyed the Ace. I've just spent the past hour trying to desolder the dead RAMs and buffers from the Ace's main PCB. Unfortunately it looks like the board was designed to self-destruct when anyone tried to repair it. The pads appear to have been designed to peel off on the application of heat, they're less than 5 mils around the hole (what do you think that means?) and they don't even seem to be through-hole plated. The tin plating was applied straight on top of oxidised copper - I've had to retin some pads and tracks courtesy of that major screwup. In my opinion, the Jupiter Ace is one of the most appallingly-made machines I've ever tried to repair. Heck, the Commodore 64 was bad, but at least the pads were easy enough to desolder. It looks to me like Jupiter Cantab's PCB designer was either *VERY* inexperienced or just wanted to make sure that no-one could fix an Ace if it failed. It's also beginning to look like the ROMs are stuffed, but that shouldn't be too hard to sort out -- I've just bid on some 2532 EPROMs on eBay from someone in Austria. Does anyone know how I could rescue this machine? It looks like the RAMs are definetly fried, along with some of the logic as well. Font RAM and Video RAM are still not being loaded on startup so the output of the video generator is still 100% noise, however it *is* changing when the machine is powered off and then back on again. I'm shotgunning all the RAMs (there's only six of them) and the bus muxes. Has anyone here either repaired one of these machines or got a spare Ace to sell me? I've got a proper PSU now, with only one connector (the jack plug the Ace uses), so I can say with near absolute certainty that the same mistake will not occur again. Later. -- Phil. philpem(a)dsl.pipex.com http://www.philpem.dsl.pipex.com/

23 years, 8 months

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One more screwup with the Ace...

by doug_jackson＠citadel.com.au

I totally agree. Remember the concept of the $99 computer. You dont sell a computer for $99 if it costs you $150. I suspect that commercially, the cost breakdown probably went something like this: $99.00 Final RRP (Margin + Freight + Wholesale price) $30.00 Sales Margin (30%) $ 5.00 Distribution freight $65.00 Wholesale price $65.00 Wholesale price (Margin + freight + Sinclair sell price) $ 9.75 Wholesale Margin (15%) $ 2.00 Wholesale freight $53.25 Sinclair Sell Price $53.25 Sinclair Sell price (Manufacture cost + R&D Recovery + Sinclair Margin) $10.65 Sinclair Margin (20%) $10.65 R&D Recovery (20%) $31.95 Manufacture cost $31.95 Manufacture Cost (System + Plugpack + Lead + Manual Printing) $16.00 Component Parts $ 1.35 Membrane Keyboard $ 3.00 Modulator $ 1.60 Case $ 3.00 Plug Pack $ 1.00 Video Cables $ 1.00 PCB $ 2.00 Assembly Charges $ 2.00 Manual Printing $ 1.00 Packaging (foam etc) These figures have been fudged to fit, but you can see that at $99 there is basically *no* rooe to provide any type of quality. Just my thoughts, don't flame me too hard! Doug Jackson Director, Managed Security Services Citadel Securix +61 (0)2 6290 9011 (Ph) +61 (0)2 6262 6152 (Fax) +61 (0)414 986 878 (Mobile) Web: <www.citadel.com.au> Offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Hong Kong, Boston > -----Original Message----- > From: J.C.Wren [mailto:jcwren@jcwren.com] > Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2002 7:19 AM > To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org > Subject: RE: One more screwup with the Ace... > > > Phil, > > Most likely the board was designed for low cost. If there is no > soldermask, larger annular rings increase the chance of solder bridges > during manufacturing. But more likely, smaller annular rings > were used to > reduce the amount of solder needed, thus lowering the cost. > I don't believe > they Ace nor the ZX81 nor any of that genre of computers was > designed to be > repaired. They were designed to be produced as cheaply as possible. > > --John > > -----Original Message----- > From: cctalk-admin(a)classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-admin@classiccmp.org]On Behalf Of Philip Pemberton Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2002 15:04 To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org Subject: One more screwup with the Ace... Hi all, Well, it looks like I've finally destroyed the Ace. I've just spent the past hour trying to desolder the dead RAMs and buffers from the Ace's main PCB. Unfortunately it looks like the board was designed to self-destruct when anyone tried to repair it. The pads appear to have been designed to peel off on the application of heat, they're less than 5 mils around the hole (what do you think that means?) and they don't even seem to be through-hole plated. The tin plating was applied straight on top of oxidised copper - I've had to retin some pads and tracks courtesy of that major screwup. In my opinion, the Jupiter Ace is one of the most appallingly-made machines I've ever tried to repair. Heck, the Commodore 64 was bad, but at least the pads were easy enough to desolder. It looks to me like Jupiter Cantab's PCB designer was either *VERY* inexperienced or just wanted to make sure that no-one could fix an Ace if it failed. It's also beginning to look like the ROMs are stuffed, but that shouldn't be too hard to sort out -- I've just bid on some 2532 EPROMs on eBay from someone in Austria. Does anyone know how I could rescue this machine? It looks like the RAMs are definetly fried, along with some of the logic as well. Font RAM and Video RAM are still not being loaded on startup so the output of the video generator is still 100% noise, however it *is* changing when the machine is powered off and then back on again. I'm shotgunning all the RAMs (there's only six of them) and the bus muxes. Has anyone here either repaired one of these machines or got a spare Ace to sell me? I've got a proper PSU now, with only one connector (the jack plug the Ace uses), so I can say with near absolute certainty that the same mistake will not occur again. Later. -- Phil. philpem(a)dsl.pipex.com http://www.philpem.dsl.pipex.com/ CAUTION - The information in this message may be of a privileged or confidential nature intended only for the use of the addressee or someone authorised to receive the addressee's e-mail. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error please notify postmaster(a)citadel.com.au. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of Citadel Securix. Feel free to visit the Citadel Securix website! Click below. http://www.citadel.com.au

23 years, 8 months

1
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One more screwup with the Ace...

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Dec 10, 23:14, Philip Pemberton wrote: > Dwight K. Elvey wrote: > > If you use a solder sucker, don't use a small one. > > Use one with as big a bore and stroke as you can find. > Hmm... I've got an Antex (www.antex.com) "PRO-DESOLD" black desolder pump in > my toolbox. I take it that would be better than a roll of Soder-Wick (sic)? Depends how big it is; the bigger the better (within reason). Practise on a board you can afford to live without, and see. The syringe-style sucker I keep in my kit in the car, and the one I keep most handy on the bench, are about 1" diameter and about 9" long. I have a much smaller one somewhere, but it's so long since I last used it, I couldn't tell you where. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

23 years, 8 months

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One more screwup with the Ace...

by dwightk.elvey＠amd.com

Hi Phil If you know a part is bad and you want to remove it >from the bard with the least damage, clip the leads close to the part and then remove the leads, individually, with a pair of tweezers/iron. Always use a temperature controlled iron set to the point that a clean tip will melt the solder of the joint in about 10 to 15 seconds. Even really cheap PC board can be reworked if one uses some care in methods. I don't recommend using solder wick. Many do well with it but it tends to get stuck to traces if not overly heated and will lift traces. If you use a solder sucker, don't use a small one. Use one with as big a bore and stroke as you can find. Dwight >From: "Philip Pemberton" <philpem(a)dsl.pipex.com> >Hi all, > Well, it looks like I've finally destroyed the Ace. I've just spent the >past hour trying to desolder the dead RAMs and buffers from the Ace's main >PCB. Unfortunately it looks like the board was designed to self-destruct >when anyone tried to repair it. > The pads appear to have been designed to peel off on the application of >heat, they're less than 5 mils around the hole (what do you think that >means?) and they don't even seem to be through-hole plated. The tin plating >was applied straight on top of oxidised copper - I've had to retin some pads >and tracks courtesy of that major screwup. > In my opinion, the Jupiter Ace is one of the most appallingly-made >machines I've ever tried to repair. Heck, the Commodore 64 was bad, but at >least the pads were easy enough to desolder. It looks to me like Jupiter >Cantab's PCB designer was either *VERY* inexperienced or just wanted to make >sure that no-one could fix an Ace if it failed. It's also beginning to look >like the ROMs are stuffed, but that shouldn't be too hard to sort out -- >I've just bid on some 2532 EPROMs on eBay from someone in Austria. > Does anyone know how I could rescue this machine? It looks like the RAMs >are definetly fried, along with some of the logic as well. Font RAM and >Video RAM are still not being loaded on startup so the output of the video >generator is still 100% noise, however it *is* changing when the machine is >powered off and then back on again. I'm shotgunning all the RAMs (there's >only six of them) and the bus muxes. > Has anyone here either repaired one of these machines or got a spare Ace >to sell me? I've got a proper PSU now, with only one connector (the jack >plug the Ace uses), so I can say with near absolute certainty that the same >mistake will not occur again. > >Later. >-- >Phil. >philpem(a)dsl.pipex.com >http://www.philpem.dsl.pipex.com/ > >

23 years, 8 months

4
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help: HP r/332 controller

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

I just found one of these in a load of scrap. It appears to be similar to the HP 9000 200 and 300 series computers and uses the same DIO cards but also has a built in CRT and floppy and hard disk drives. It's designed to be rack mounted and it's supposed to have a fold down keybaord but the keyboard is missing on this one. Fortunately the unit uses a HP-HIL keyboard socket so I can plus in a regular HP_HIL keyboard. Has anyone here used one of these? Are they supposed to show a list of installed memory and interfaces when they power up like the 9000 200s do? I'm not getting any display on the CRT but I can see the sweep and retraace lines on the CRT when I turn the brightness all the way up so the CRT is working. The hard drive light illuminates for several seconds then the floppy drive accesses for a split second so the system seems to be working but still don't get any display on the screen. Joe

23 years, 8 months

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One more screwup with the Ace...

by dwightk.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "Philip Pemberton" <philpem(a)dsl.pipex.com> > >pete(a)dunnington.u-net.com wrote: >> On things like that, I often don't even try to rescue any suspect ICs >> or even passives, just cut them off close to the PCB with a very fine >> pair of sidecutters, and then desolder the stub of pin. >That's what I've been doing. I've been desoldering using "Soder-Wick" - I >got a small reel of it for 90p. > >> First thing is to make sure anything you remove is replaced with a >> good quality socket >I didn't have any decent sockets - I had to cut two Maplin "economy DIL >sockets" down to size, fitted two RAMs, then ran out of sockets. In order to >limit damage to the ICs due to heat, I gave them a quick blast of freeze >spray and then soldered them. Hi REAL BAD IDEA! This is just about the worst thing you can do. Most silicon IC's can take a lot of heat applied slowly. Thermal shock making a large range of temperature change is real rough on them and more likely to fracture the IC or cause the lead seals to fail. > >> and if necessary that you can repair any damaged >> tracks with stripped wirewrap wire or similar. >None of the tracks are stuffed, the pads seem to have come up because the >solder wick stuck to them and pulled them up, even though the wick was still >heated. This is why I never recommend using solder wick unless you are vary experienced at desoldering. You need to know the right size and the right touch of applying the heat with this material. I do 95% of my desoldering with a sucker and only the last special cases with wick. I have three different sizes of wick to select for each job. I use different heat ranges as well. > >> How adept are you >> with a soldering iron? >Six years of experience, three with a Maplin elcheapo, three with my Antex >XS25 (25 watt). Rework is not the same as soldering. Rework is a special talent. When you can remove a 25 pin D PC type D connector >from a 4 layer board with half of the pins connect to large internal traces, without damaging to board, you can consider yourself a reworker. You absolutely shouldn't be using an non-temperature controlled iron for rework. Dwight > >> Did you get the 2114s and Z80 I sent you? They should have arrived >> this morning. >Yup, they arrived this morning. Fitted them and the random, static garbage >has been replaced with scrolling garbage. Grr... >I replaced four out of the five 74LS367s too - no dice. The bloody thing is >still being stubborn. > >As for your offer to have a look at it, I might just take you up on it. I've >got a schematic for it (drawn by Bodo Wenzel) for a clone of the Ace, some >bits are different, 90% of it is the same though. > >Thanks. >-- >Phil. >philpem(a)dsl.pipex.com >http://www.philpem.dsl.pipex.com/ > >

23 years, 8 months

1
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SCSI 9-Track tape under VMS..?

by Antonio.Carlini＠riverstonenet.com

>With terminators on 1) the 2nd ports of the HP88780B and on the 2nd port of the KZSA I got nuthin' This, I guess, is how it is supposed to be connected. >However, when I pull the terminators from everything, I get: > >>> show scsi >SCSI Adaptor 0 (761300, SCSI ID 7) I assume you don't have the tape set up as ID 7? Things would get pretty upset if you did that! Do you have any other known good SCSI device that you can drop onto the KZQSA (on its own) to see verify that the KZQSA itself is good? A CD-ROM drive would be ideal but even a disk would do. Antonio

23 years, 8 months

3
2
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Looking for N* parts

by RCini＠congressfinancial.com

On Mon, 9 Dec 2002, Don Maslin wrote: >>Rich, I can likely accomodate you on the SD disk. Are you looking >>for CP/M or N*DOS? - don Don: I'd like to get both since none of the disks I have work. For more specifics, contact me off list. Thanks. Rich

23 years, 8 months

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VAX wanted in Bristol, UK

by Gary.Messick＠itt.com

> -----Original Message----- > From: Carlos Murillo [mailto:carlos_murillo@epm.net.co] > Sent: Monday, December 09, 2002 11:49 PM > To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org > Subject: Re: VAX wanted in Bristol, UK > > > At 01:30 PM 12/9/02 -0800, you wrote: > >On Erebus, they use pressurized drive canisters for external > SCSI drives. > >At Pole, they don't do anything special. Drives die all the > time. To > >add insult to injury, massively dry air holds a lot less > heat than the > >air you and I are breathing right now - computers and hard > disks frequently > >die from overheating at the South Pole - the air is thinner and drier > >and can't conduct as much heat away from CPUs and drives. > > Quite frankly, to have a system die of heat exhaustion _there_ seems > ludicrous. As long as the assembly can withstand a steep temperature > gradient, there's lots of cooling available, with temperature low > enough to compensate for the decrease in specific heat many times, > right? > > carlos. > > > -------------------------------------------------------------- > Carlos E. Murillo-Sanchez carlos_murillo(a)nospammers.ieee.org > Actually, having flown a high altitude ballon experiment over Antarctica, it's the combination or less air to conduct heat away from the source (A VERY big problem at 100K ft.), combined with the intesity of the radiation >from the sun (being filtered by less atmosphere as Ethan states) and the reflection from the ice. Our expeiment actually used nitrogen pressurized chambers with a optical WORM drive. It turned out we could pressurize the chanbers to about 1.75 atmospheres, then the optical drives would crap out. We suspected the pressure somehow deformed the lenses in the laser system. (aside) The optical drives were manufactured by a company called Cherokee systems in CO. They purportedly militarized the drives for aircraft, and could withstand low pressure. When the drives first arrived, after unpacking, we opened one of the drive doors, and a 2 inch moth flew out. After having some porblems, we call support, and mentioned the bug to them, and they responded, "Yeah, we're having a very bad year with the mothes this year!" I should have know then how buggy the drives system was going to be! ************************************ If this email is not intended for you, or you are not responsible for the delivery of this message to the addressee, please note that this message may contain ITT Privileged/Proprietary Information. In such a case, you may not copy or deliver this message to anyone. You should destroy this message and kindly notify the sender by reply email. Information contained in this message that does not relate to the business of ITT is neither endorsed by nor attributable to ITT. ************************************

23 years, 8 months

1
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new acquisition: an 11/73 running RSX-11 v4.6 and a question on cihper tapes & CDC SMD disks/controllers

by xds_sigma7＠hotmail.com

Actually, the 7-whatever number sounds like a CDC part number... if they are FSDs, there will be, somewhere on the label, a model number of PAxxx, if either of you find one of these legends, let me know because I have most of the FSD manuals... Blah on ditching SMD for SCSI, if anything I want MORE SMD disks, though for my Perkin-Elmers, not my DECs... Will J _________________________________________________________________ Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail

23 years, 8 months

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UYK-40 vs UYQ-70 Shipboard computers

by jpl15＠panix.com

In doing a bit of inquiry as to the desireability of the various surplus UYK40 and 44 computers, I found that the K-40s are all being replaced as fast as possible by the current UYQ-70 system, made by Lockheed Martin in Minnesota. You can check out this system at: www.q70.com quite a fascinating look at what the next generation's collectible surplus looks like today. Cheers John

23 years, 8 months

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386 Motherboards available

by cb＠mythtech.net

I have a few 386 motherboards here that I want to get rid of. They are free for the taking, or I will ship them to anywhere if you cover the costs. All are as is, but should have been working when removed from service. I have the following: - AMD 386 SX-40, AMI Bios, "Cyclone" chipset?, 6- 16 bit ISA slots, 4- 30 pin SIMM slots. This board is smaller than normal boards. It measures 8.5 x 6.75 inches. - AMD 386 SX/SXL-25, AMI bios, VLSI chipset?, 7- 16 bit ISA slots, 8- 30 pin SIMM slots. Underside has a part number MB-1316/20/25VST. - Intel 386 SX-20, AMI Bios. "Chips" chipset?, 6- 16 bit & 2- 8 bit ISA slots, 8- 30 pin SIMM slots. This board is larger than normal, 13 x 8.75 inches. This is from a WYSE PC, and has some custome WYSE chips in it. Also looks like the AMI bios may be a custom WYSE job (at least it carries a WYSE part number). I don't know for sure if this one can be brought back up to working. It might have needed some ISA cards with it (which I don't know where they are, but I know I had some WYSE ISA cards for things like the drive controllers). 2- AMD 386 SX/SXL-25, AMI Bios, Opti chipset?, 6- 16 bit & 2- 8 bit ISA slots, 4- 30 pin SIMM slots. If anyone wants any of these, or parts from them, let me know. There are no math co-processors on them (but all 5 do have sockets for them). The WYSE board has what may be socketed cache chips (OKI, M514256A-80R, and OKI M51C256-80). -chris <http://www.mythtech.net>

23 years, 8 months

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Looking for N* parts

by RCini＠congressfinancial.com

Hello, all: I'm working with Scott LaBombard to get my N* system (which is mostly made up of Vector parts) working. This has been an on-and-off project of mine for years, but I enlisted Scott's help since I can't seem to make it work. After slogging through all the parts, re-configuring everything, and doing some testing, we've found that I need either a N* single-density boot disk or an MDS-AD/AD2/AD3 double-density controller. It seems that when I got this machine a few years ago, the person must have had multiple N* systems and sent me only double-density disks (common) for a single-density (more rare) equipped system. Can someone help me out with this? Does anyone have a spare N* DD controller? Thanks in advance. We're pretty close on this one. Rich

23 years, 8 months

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AN/ UYK-20X(V) (fwd)

by aw288＠osfn.org

!!!!!! No thanks. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sun, 08 Dec 2002 09:04:52 -0800 From: shirin <shirin(a)shaw.ca> To: William Donzelli <aw288(a)osfn.org> Subject: RE: AN/ UYK-20X(V) Original purchased Price: $90,554 USD I am selling these for $24,000 each Following is the list of accessories: It. 1. AN-UYK-20X(V)[PARA] Production Type 1600[PARA]Data Processing Set 1 2. SE610-AV-MMO-010 GFM Operating and Maintenance With Part List 1 3. SE610-AV-MMO-020 GFM Reference Data 1 4. SE610-AV-MMO-020 GFM Equipment Diagrams Part 1&2 1 5. SE610-AV-MMO-050 GFM Diagnostic Programs 1 6. SE610-AV-MMO-060 GFM Diagnostic Program [PARA]Listing Basic test 1 7. SE610-AV-MMO-070 GFM Diagnostic Program [PARA]Listing Basic test Special IO 1 8. SE610-AV-MMO-080 GFM Confidence Tests 1 9. PX1302-0-6 Hardware Users Guide 8K 1 10. 7101943-02 STD Parallel Conn, Input 2U45 8 11. 7101943-03 STD Parallel Conn, Output 2U45 8 12. 7101943-05 Conn Serial 188C 6 13. 7128073-01 Maintenance Kit, Elect Equip 1 14. 7150314-01 Power Connector 60HZ 1 15. 7163304-00 Air Plenum ASSY 1 16. 7101943-06 Conn Serial RS-232C 2 60 Hz supply Weight: 334 lb They are complete and fully operational brand-new with military standards in original packing. Open to offers. I am located in Canada and the computers are in stock Dubai, UAE -----Original Message----- From: William Donzelli [mailto:aw288@osfn.org] Sent: Saturday, December 07, 2002 4:14 PM To: shirin Subject: Re: AN/ UYK-20X(V) > I have 9 brand new AN/ UYK-20X(V) in stock. Any one interested? > Original package plus all accessories. Yes. How much, and where are you located? William Donzelli aw288(a)osfn.org

23 years, 8 months

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new acquisition: an 11/73 running RSX-11 v4.6 and a question on cihper tapes & CDC SMD disks/controllers

by spector＠zeitgeist.com

I just got a new acquisition -- a PDP11/73 (born an 11/23 plus but upgraded) -- up and running. Its running RSX-11 v4.6 and I found a useful tidbit which may come in handy to others since I had no info on accounts on this machine and have limited experience with RSX-11 (I was a RSTS, UNIX and VMS guy wrt machines of this era): As it booted, several well-timed ^C's as tasks were being installed got me to an MCR> prompt where I could run $ACNT and make myself an account so I could log in. Re: making accounts, it was a trip to see the "depth" of account info and security on the machine. :-) Its an interesting little machine: M8192 PDP-11/73 processor M8043 DJV11-J 4-port async M3104 8-port async Emulex HD controller (not SMD) -- model not (yet) known Emulatex tape controller (ibid) for Cipher 3200/1600 bpi 9track tape drive 512KW memory (no name or number on board -- only a sticker that says "made in hong kong") M7504 DEQNA Cipher model M890340-96-1050U tape drive KPV-1180 Parallel Line Printer Controller Printronix P6000 ~400lpm line printer (biiig data center cabinet .. dot matrix, circa-1985) It has some flavor of winchester that looks to the OS like an RA81 (but is a 5/25" HDA -- I haven't disassembled every part of the rack yet). Also in its low-boy case are two CDC SMD "Fixed Storage Disks" disks (27"+ deep, > 50 lbs, SMD interface) for which I have an empty slot but no controller for. The model # on the disks is: 72859381. Does anyone have any ideas on these disks and what kind of controller would bring these CDC disks back to life..? (anyone got controllers to trade? I have all sorts of goodies...) Als, any online pointers to maint manuals for the tape drive..? regards, David ------------------------------------------------------------------------ - David HM Spector spector(a)zeitgeist.com software architecture - network/security consultation technical due diligence - technology planning/analysis Office:(631)261-5013 Cell: (631)431-5756

23 years, 8 months

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AN/ UYK-20X(V) a different aspect:

by xds_sigma7＠hotmail.com

As for who would still be needing -20's, my money is on NATO (and non-NATO) countries who have purchased older warships from us. Just because the US government doesn't need them does not mean that no other goverments need them. Will J _________________________________________________________________ STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

23 years, 8 months

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The ACE is recovering :-)

by Lee.Davison＠merlincommunications.com

Phil, > I'm not even sure they are 2532s (they might be 2732s). > They're TI branded and carry the part numbers "ACE-A" > and "ACE-B". I don't have an EPROM programmer either... I have copies of the ROMs for the ACE. Lee. ________________________________________________________________________ This e-mail has been scanned for all viruses by Star Internet. The service is powered by MessageLabs. For more information on a proactive anti-virus service working around the clock, around the globe, visit: http://www.star.net.uk ________________________________________________________________________

23 years, 8 months

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OpenVMS VAX hobbysit CD

by Qstieee＠aol.com

To quote from http://www.montagar.com/hobbyist/mount.html "OpenVMS Hobbyist CD Media The OpenVMS Hobbyist Kit V2.0 is currently available. You must be a member of a participating DECUS/Encompass Chapter before you can order an OpenVMS Hobbyist Kit. You can order the kits on-line via our web site, or via mail order. At this time, OpenVMS VAX media kits are sold out. If you are still interested in getting OpenVMS for your VAX, you may try borrowing a CD from a friend, co-worker, local Encompass LUG, Ebay, or other places. Please note that any OpenVMS distribution is legal to use with the Hobbyist Program (as long as it's not stolen!)." Does anyone have one or know an FTP site? If one can get real DEC VMS CD's will the hobbyist license PAKs work or do you need the hobbyist CD?

23 years, 8 months

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TD8E IOT's

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Dec 8, 22:06, Christopher McNabb wrote: > Does anyone have a list of the IOT instructions (and what they do) for > the TD8E simple dectape controller? 67x1 SDSS Simple DECtape skip on Single Line flag skip if Single Line flag is set 67x2 SDST Simple DECtape Skip on Time Error flag skip if Time Error flag is set 67x3 SDSQ Simple DECtape Skip on Quad Line flag skip if Quad Line flag is set 67x4 SDLC Simple DECtape Load Command Register load Command Register from AC clear Time Error start UTS delay if UNIT, DIRN, or STOP/GO flip-flops are changed 67x5 SDLD Simple DECtape Load Data Register load Data Register from AC -- do not clear AC clear Single Line and Quad Line flags 67x6 SDRC Simple DECtape Read Command Register load contents of Command Register, Mark Track Register, and Status bits into AC clear Single Line and Quad Line flags 67x7 SDRD Simple DECtape Read Data Register load contents of Data Register into AC clear Single Line and Quad Line flags Unit numbers: Unit 0,1 use opcodes 677x Unit 2,3 use opcodes 676x Unit 4,5 use opcodes 675x Unit 6,7 use opcodes 674x This is on page 8-4 of the PDP-8 Maintenance Manual, Vol.3, which you can get from David Gesswein's excellent website. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

23 years, 8 months

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More clearing out and sorting-REVISED

by fernande＠internet1.net

All items $1.00 plus shipping unless otherwise specified. -PW2 Unisys Multiple Port Board, has two 16C452 serial ports and 1 parallel port, with driver disk, cable, and manual -Gateway ISA video card with docs and drivers (5.25" HD), ATI Ultra/A, ATI 38800-1 -486 AT motherboard model 486-PVT, I think it is a FIC, 7 slots, 2 with VLB extensions, socket 3 -generic PC plastic adjustable sidestand -decently built 5.25" bay to 3.5" floppy converter from old Gateway 386..... much better than the little flimsy things at the computer shows. -Teac 32x cd-rom model CD-532-E (IDE, barely used) $15 -"The Longest Day" on RCA Selectavision Video Disk (CED) (2 disk set) -"Tora Tora Tora" on RCA Selectavision Video Disk (CED) (2 disk set) -Paradise/WD 16 bit or 8 bit ISA 256K VGA card -Alaska by James A. Michener, hard cover, a bit musty smelling, but not too bad. -IBM XT motherboard, supposed to be last bios revison, and was purchased by me as such. $10 -AC 120mm 10 blade fan (loud and vibrates a bit too much for solid mounting I think, real nice fan though) -2 fan trays for the R400X DEC expansion chassis with fans $10 for both -SCO Open Desktop 2.0.0 on Qic tape with license certificate $5 For pick up only: -large AT server case built by Tandy, for Grid, for the Government. This case will hold a fullsize AT MB without it being underneath any drive bays or the power supply. Power supply has temp sensor and will adjust fan speed. Many drive bays. Very Nice case, I just don't need it anymore. Originally housed a EISA bussed 486. $10 Please reply off list Chad Fernandez Michigan, USA

23 years, 8 months

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The Blue Wall! or Intel strikes again!

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

Take a look at this <http://home.cfl.rr.com/rigdon14/mds800-3/blue-w~1.jpg> I went scrounging Thrusday and went to my favorite scrap yard. I knew I was in trouble as soon as I drove into the place! Everywhere I looked I saw blue. Intel blue! I don't even know how many I bought. I've made two trips bringing it back so far I estimate that over 60% is is still there! The stuff in the picture is PART of what I've brought home so far. The LH stack has a MDS-230 and MDS-225, In front of that is an iUUP EPROM programmer and two MDS keybaords. The next stack has an OLD Intel terminal and a MDS-225. The third stack has a MDS-230, a Mostek dual 8" floppy drive box and an Intel DDR external 8" floppy drive box. On the right is a homebrewed S-100. In front is a SWEAT MDS-800. As you might have guessed from the picture, this stuff is sitting outside. The OL says that I HAVE to clean the house out before Christmas. I have another DDR drive chassis and a big stack of loose Multibus cards inside the house. I found the Multibus cards in a basket of cards that were going to be ground up for the gold scrap. I still at least two more MDS-2??s, a MDS-800, another Intel terminal, several external drive chassis AND (drum roll, please) a dish washer sized Intel external hard drive to pick up. For you heathins, there was also a huge pile of other classic computers. I bought a BBC Acorn, a home brewed S-100 crate, two Morrow external 8" floppy drives, a so far unidentified STD-Bus computer, five new Shugart SA-1004 8" hard drives, AT LEAST 20 Shugart 8" floppy drives, a Wicat computer, four different and FUNKY programmers panels, a rack mount dual 8" floppy drive box made by Mostek, a old but clean Centronics printer, a loaded Cromemco Z-2D, an Osborne OCC-1, a nice 80 TPI 5 1/4" floppy drive in an external case and a mass of other stuff that I can't even remember! I left behind a huge pile of Xerox 820s including external floppy and hard drives, an unidentified Xerox computer that's wider than the 820, a Multibus computer chassis made by Advanced MicroComputers (I think they're a subsidary of AMD) I later found the cards for the AMC computer in the pile of Multibus cards that I dug out of the gold scrap bin so I may go back and get it. Also left behind a GenRad 2300 Advanced Developement System with it's external dual 8" floppy drives and an external expansion chanssis. I wasn't sure what it was but later fround that it's a CPM system. Looks interesting but probably hopeless trying to find docs and SW. To top it all off as I was leaving Friday (trip 2) I went over to see the guy that they have stripping everything. I looked at what he was doing and he was busily gutting a drum memory!!! I looked around and found another that he had already torn one apart and I found there was one more to go. I wasn't intersted in it at the time but now I'm wondering if I should have gotten it. He said it weighed over 140 pounds! It looked like a 1/2 scale v-8 engine! That's all for now, back to cleaning, sorting and packing! Joe

23 years, 8 months

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A Good Day at The Flea market and some Thrifts

by jrkeys＠concentric.net

Today I got the following: commodore model 886D calculator. Atlantic Data Products MicroDrive II for the Apple II series computer in the box complete. Japanese game cartridge for the Super Famicon, cartridge is by SAMMY and is model SHVC-006 looks like baseball from the picture (can't read the language). Philips VELO 1 with 8MB ram and several cables plus two ac adapters with it. Also got several different mousepads for the collection and some XBOX, GameCube games.

23 years, 8 months

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IBM printers

by jingber＠ix.netcom.com

Can anyone provide me with links to information on IBM printers manufactured between 1981 and 1986? I'm especially interested in pictures of the printers themselves. Thanks, Jeff

23 years, 8 months

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