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

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

actually when it all shows up as cc talk as the sender it is of value as we can clear the group of mail faster after I have picked out the topics relative to what we are working on. Ed# In a message dated 3/1/2017 2:47:11 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, cctalk at classiccmp.org writes: On 28 February 2017 at 21:23, Rich Alderson via cctalk < cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote: > OK, it's official. I rarely criticize mail interfaces, because they're > usually > mostly innocuous. However, today's change makes life a lot more difficult. > > In the past, it was simple to direct a reply to an individual instead of > to the > list because the originator's address was right there in the From: > header. As > of today, the list address is substituted for that, so that it is > impossible to > respond privately... Users. -- Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems: "The Future Begins Tomorrow" Visit us at: http://www.yoyodyne-propulsion.net -------- "When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him." -- Jonathan Swift

9 years

1
0
0 0

cctalk Digest, Vol 33, Issue 1

by fred＠MISER.MISERNET.NET

On Wed, 1 Mar 2017 cctalk-request at classiccmp.org wrote: > Message: 17 > Date: Tue, 28 Feb 2017 20:10:33 +0100 > From: Lars Brinkhoff <lars at nocrew.org> > To: Mattias Engdeg?rd <mattiase at acm.org> > Subject: Re: DEC VT100/220 line wrapping semantics sought > Mattias Engdeg?rd wrote: > > Data for VT100, VT220 and VT510 have been collected, as well as > > several emulators > > (https://github.com/mattiase/wraptest/blob/master/results.txt). If > > anyone has access to other working terminals, VT3xx/VT4xx in > > particular, I'd be most grateful if you would take a few minutes to > > run the test program. > > I have a VT420 set up for my kid to play with. I'll borrow it and > submit a pull request with the results. > I have a VT525 in my home office that I use to read the mail (including this and other mailing lists) when I don't want to fire up a workstation. (It's quick, simple, and I get check/send a message without much fuss). Would results from that terminal help? Fred

9 years

2
1
0 0

Ersatz-11 V7.3

by wilson＠dbit.com

Ersatz-11 V7.3 is finished. CDs have been mailed to users with current update subscriptions, and the free Demo version may be downloaded from www.dbit.com/demo.html as usual. E11 V7.3 has the following new features: - My favorite one: a BREAKPOINT command which accepts arbitrary boolean test expressions, compiles them into native x86 code (to reduce the speed penalty), and incorporates them (until disabled with BREAK/CLEAR) into the main fetch/decode loop). Examples: break pc >= 2000 and pc < 3000 and @(r4+4) = 42776 (range of code with specified value in block pointed to by R4) break ci(pc)&177400 = 104000 (about to fetch an EMT instruction) break phys(14634520) <> 3044 (location at physical address gets changed from expected value) Errors at run-time are silent. If a specified test causes a bus timeout, odd address trap, or division by 0, the test fails. Well OK division by *constant* 0 gives an error but I just mean nothing damaging happens if the registers aren't pointing where you thought, etc. - A few rare antique emulated devices: DC11 SLU. Basically similar to the DL11 (ignoring the extra CSR bits and programming it like a DL11A works), but it also has a settable baud rate and modem control which is different from how it was done on DL11s. - Also the DM11 single-speed serial mux (not that E11 minds running each line at a different speed, but the original did). It uses DMA for transmission but also for reception into an in-core FIFO which the documentation adorably calls the "tumble table". And yes this is the origin of the DM11BB modem-control option more commonly used on the DH11. There's a new command to tell DM11BBs which to attach to (the default is still the DH11 with the same controller letter). - Finally, the justifiably forgotten TR79F 1600 BPI tape controller for TR79 drives (really HP7970Es), which includes the parity track in core with each byte of tape data taking up a word, so it's a pain to program. But it had 1600 BPI pretty early. The only driver I can find for the TR79F is in the "TRDP" version of XXDP, which is on Bitsavers as a scan of a microfiche of the listing. It can be used to load the ZTRAB0 diagnostic (the only other program I know of for the TR79F), but of course the test immediately trashes your boot tape. I felt dumb. - Driver for raw ATA/SATA/ATAPI disks (DOS and stand-alone versions). - Driver for National Instruments PCI-DIO-96 digital I/O card (DOS and stand-alone versions). It's a bad fit to emulating the DRV11/DR11C (ASSIGN OA: DIO96: does work but you'd have to wire up an adapter with buffering since the drivers are rated at only 2.5 mA) but it's probably the most common digital I/O board around. Even though it's PCI (not PCIe), it's still made new (at great expense), but cheap used examples are everywhere. - Ability to use a digital I/O card to drive real display and switch registers. Wiring up a blinky-lights board for your $25 eBay PCI-DIO-96 is a lot easier than making one for current PC busses, even if the 100-pin D-shell plug is a pain (but AMP makes an IDC connector that brings it out to two 50-pin Bergs).. - SET HISTOGRAM command enables/disables histogram of PDP-11 opcode usage (which again is temporarily compiled into the main loop when enabled). HISTOGRAM command displays the results or saves them to a file. - EXAMINE/DEPOSIT /BYTE /WORD /LONG /QUAD switches support various data types besides just words. Finally. - MOUNT <tape> FILE.TAP /LENGTH:n or /SIZELIMIT:nMB enables emulation of EOT early warning flag (giving the approximate maximum length of the tape in feet or megabytes). Not generally needed (who minds an unlimited tape?), but some diags want to fill a tape with test data all the way to EOT. - ASSIGN <TTY or digital I/O device> NULL: /LOOPBACK switch. Does what you think. - Experimental POWERFAIL command simulates power failures on command, or SET POWERFAIL command schedules one at shutdown (with a core dump to a file). Thank you Oleg Safiullin for the idea! Might need some changes -- I've never dealt with power failures on a real PDP-11. - Dramatically improved timer precision in DOS and stand-alone versions. SET THROTTLE in particular is silky smooth, but this improvement affects many many things. - All commands that take a time duration as a parameter will now accept a decimal point and/or unit suffix. The default units are the same as in previous versions. So instead of SET THROTTLE DELAY=1 (microseconds), you can use SET THROTTLE DELAY=1.2 or SET THROTTLE DELAY=1200NS (values will be rounded if needed). I hadn't realized so many places use time values -- I might have missed something. There are also many bug fixes and minor changes, but most importantly: - WMSG.LOG file that grows and grows (in Windows versions). Sorry about that! That was supposed to be disabled in the released version. Well it is now. John Wilson D Bit

9 years

1
0
0 0

Paper tape carriers and paper tape

by jwsmail＠jwsss.com

I don't know if anyone here has the interest or capability to do it, but creating a replica of the blue tape trays with the clear overlay that one could sell for a few bucks with some random fanfold copies of DEC or other diagnostics would be nice. Perhaps if there were a ready source of replicas with a perpetual listing or 10 to overwhelm the auctions with 100 and 300 dollar auctions for the genuine originals the originals would be listed and sold for a reasonable amount. I'm sure there there are things going to people with no idea what they have which would have been nice to image and save. I would think someone with vacuum molding and some skill with plastics could do the trays. not sure about the source of tapes to sell with them, maybe that does justify some extra expense. People with working readers and libraries of tapes might like them as well. thanks Jim

9 years

15
29
0 0

DEC VT100/220 line wrapping semantics sought

by mattiase＠acm.org

Would someone with a real DEC VT terminal be so kind and help settle, once and for all, the question about how they behave with respect to line-wrapping, exactly? It is something that isn't covered by any standard, nor by any of DEC's manuals, and there is a scarcity of information online that is not vague repetition of folklore. There are emulators, of course, but these do not agree with one another to the point that they can be trusted, and are probably just copying each other in any case. It seems that some ground truth would be welcome, for the benefit of both application and emulator writers. First, the problem: A VT100, when in "auto-wrap" mode, will wrap text from one line to the next in a peculiar way, sometimes called "soft-wrap" or "the VT100 glitch". When the terminal receives a printable character with the cursor in the last column, the character is put at that location but the cursor remains in place. Instead, the terminal enters a pending wrap state, which causes the cursor to wrap before next printable character is displayed. This behaviour is widely known. What isn't widely known are the finer points: * What control codes will cancel the wrap state? * What cursor position is reported in the wrap state? * Do any operations behave differently in the wrap state? * Is the wrap state saved/restored by the save/restore cursor codes? and so on. Every emulator programmer seems to have a different answer to these questions. If you have a VT100, VT220 or later model (compatibles like Wyse are also of interest) and have a spare moment, I'd be most grateful if you would download and run https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mattiase/wraptest/master/wraptest.c in that terminal, and send me the resulting output. (Redirect stdout to save the report.) The test program is not comprehensive but would give us a good idea of the rules. Current results, right now only from various emulators, are found in https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mattiase/wraptest/master/results.txt

9 years

6
12
0 0

I hate the new mail system

by RichA＠livingcomputers.org

OK, it's official. I rarely criticize mail interfaces, because they're usually mostly innocuous. However, today's change makes life a lot more difficult. In the past, it was simple to direct a reply to an individual instead of to the list because the originator's address was right there in the From: header. As of today, the list address is substituted for that, so that it is impossible to respond privately unless you happen to have a bunch of old messages archived and the person to whom you want to respond is someone who has written previously. Is this a conscious choice, or a configurable with a different default setting in a new mail system than was previously in place? However it came to be, it greatly diminishes communications quality (IMAO). Rich Alderson Vintage Computing Sr. Systems Engineer Living Computers: Museum + Labs 2245 1st Avenue S Seattle, WA 98134 mailto:RichA at LivingComputers.org http://www.LivingComputers.org/

9 years

13
15
0 0

Sparcbook 3TX Hard Drive?

by ben＠bensinclair.com

This is probably a long shot, but does anyone have a Sparcbook 3TX hard drive? I know they're difficult to find. I have a 3TX in great condition, but no drive. (hopefully this isn't a repost, I tried this when the list was having issues and don't think it went through) -- Ben Sinclair ben at bensinclair.com

9 years

3
4
0 0

Cassette Interface Assistance

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Tony Duell > I fail to see how anyone can be a good digital designer and not > understand analogue electronics. It's easy! As long as your devices are being run in a domain where their behaviour is purely, well, digital, one can get away with it! :-) I'm a perfect case in point! I seem to have some bizarre brain dysfunction where I have a very hard time understanding even the simplest analog circuits. You, or someone like Brent Hilpert (whose explanation of core memory drivers I still remember :-) can explain something with sufficient clarity for me to 'get' it, but I can almost never work it out on my own. However, I've designed a number of digital devices, at least one of which became a product! Noel

9 years

2
1
0 0

I hate the new mail system

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Rich Alderson > it is impossible to respond privately unless you happen to have a bunch > of old messages archived and the person to whom you want to respond is > someone who has written previously. If you go into the list archive: http://www.classiccmp.org/pipermail/cctalk/ the email address of the sender, for any given message, is still listed (in slightly mogrified form). Noel

9 years

2
1
0 0

list issue

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

So sorry for the temporary email outage on the list. We're moving datacenters and one of my folks moved several front end mail processors - not realizing that the classiccmp server which stayed behind was still using them. Through the magic of a vpn tunnel between front end mx hosts and the backend mailstores (classiccmp included), it seems to be back up. I'll talk to the guy tomorrow to discuss the actual movement of that vm. Yes, IP's will be changing for the list and all websites hosted therein. But DNS is "a thing", so should be mostly transparent. Depending on timing, I may go ahead and do some upgrades and recombine the lists - or may do that after the move. I'll try to do a better job of coordinating this.. Best, J

9 years

2
1
0 0

Displaywriters in Chicago

by aek＠bitsavers.org

Is there anyone out there that can save these? http://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?56313-IBM-Displaywriter-printer-(… I'm primarily interested in archiving the software.

9 years

3
2
0 0

Wildly hopeful eBay seller

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

Now, this person: http://www.ebay.com/itm/182469963119 really is ... incredibly over-optimistic. Noel

9 years

6
5
0 0

after a long search, I found the Dr. Dobbs bound volumes

by rdawson16＠hotmail.com

Located here: http://6502.org/documents/publications/dr_dobbs_journal/ Apologies to the list if this is common knowledge. Randy 6502.org: Documents Archive<http://6502.org/documents/publications/dr_dobbs_journal/> 6502.org A collection of useful documents pertaining to the 6502 microprocessor.

9 years

6
5
0 0

adb use on xenix 3.0?

by ray＠arachelian.com

I'm trying to help out Jason Perkins who wants to demo Multiplan on Xenix 3.0 for the Apple Lisa at the upcoming VCF. While the bits for it are on bitsavers, it requires a serial number and so far he's had zero no luck finding one. So I'm trying to use adb to step through the code and find where it checks for the serial number, etc. So I run adb ./brand and then set a breakpoint using :b on "." which is the start address for the binary, and then I do :r /usr/lib/mp/mp and it does stop before the 1st instruction is executed (or maybe right after), however, when I try :s to step to the next instruction it runs the rest of the program in its whole. I know there's also :e which should step but skip over any function calls. I've also tried :ss, and got the same results (whole program runs without stopping). ? and enter does disassemble the non-running binary. $r and $m show registers and the map. I'm actually not sure if I'm setting the breakpoint correctly as $b shows it, but there's also a "command" field next to the address, so if I do :bfoo, it shows address 0 and foo for the command. So what should "command" be? and how do I single step through the running code? Some more details of what I got so far for those with historical interest: The basic installation is untarring the multiplan disk, which writes to /usr/lib/mp and /once. In /once there's a script init.mp that runs brand -s {serial} /usr/lib/mp/inter, but if you enter the wrong serial number it removes all the files. brand seems to look for a string starting with SCOSN - there's 4 copies of the "SCOSN" string inside brand, not sure why. The /usr/lib/mp/inter binary has only one like this: SCOSNMFO9999990000. I suspect that brand replaces the stuff after SCOSN with whatever the properly encoded serial number is. There's some sort of simple ROT13-like encoding of the string stored in inter. Out of the box running "/usr/lib/mp/inter /usr/lib/mp/mp" produces output with a product number and a serial # of NUL-000000 - the "MFO" is decoded to NUL (basically substitutes A for Z, B for Y, 0 for 9, 1 for 8, etc.) and ofc it says invalid serial # and quits. The serial number is checked by both brand and inter, but maybe not the code in mp.cod (I touched a file called /usr/lib/mp/foo.cod and then it said /usr/lib/mp/foo.dat missing, so I touched that one too, and when I ran it, it said invalid serial number. Running inter by itself just prints a banner without saying invalid serial number.) I'm guessing the serial number is 3 letters a dash and 6 digits, but there's maybe 4 more digits that have to be entered, or those 4 extra digits are generated by brand, not sure. However, so far brand hasn't accepted any serial number tried. I suspect inter to be a Microsoft virtual machine that wants to load mp.cod and mp.dat which are the real code for multiplan. I read somewhere that early on MSFT was using VMs to do help them from having to port the same code to lots of targets. This way they could port the interpreter for the vm and run anywhere, though inter has string saying multiplan so perhaps there's some customizations to each copy of inter based on what it's supposed to run? brand seems to take two more options -m and -n (and -q which I suspect is "quiet" as the init.mp script uses it). Both -m and -n cause a core dump but first print "identifier string found at D in" This is an interesting bit of history that I'd like to reverse engineer if possible. brand hasn't been stripped so it's likely a bit easier to disassemble. inter however is stripped, so would be much harder to reverse engineer. But it would be very useful to be able to step through one instruction at a time to find where it's doing a checksum or whatever and try to figure out what the serial number looks like. Jason is trying to brute force it assuming it's SCO-###### by running brand in a loop, but so far no luck either. Thanks.

9 years

1
0
0 0

Ohio Scientific 560Z Board: IT LIVES!

by systems.glitch＠gmail.com

IT LIVES! I spent most of today hacking on the 560Z board. I got the 12-bit porthole going first, took a bit as the manual doesn't tell you that you need IC CC installed if you want to be able to write to the 4K exposed in the porthole. After that, I plugged in a Z80 and tried to get it running the test code in the manual. Turns out I had a dud Z80 :) With a good one installed the test code ran no-problem, as did a little hand written code to push data to the lamp register on the new memory board. I plugged in an IM-6100 and pretty much determined that at least the first one I tried is dead. I'll recheck the soldering on it later -- it's stuffed into a machine pin socket and soldered in, since half of the legs were rotted off by that corrosive black foam everyone loves so much. Anyway, the second IM-6100 works! And the 560Z board works! And the 12-bit RAM board works! I made a (low-res, poorly focused) video with our old digital point-n-shoot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYbGXHJST8U The IM-6100 is running a little loop that increments the accumulator and stores it to the lamp register. Storing of course clears the accumulator, but I have the lamp register mapped over RAM, so I just read the value back out of it. My first foray into PDP-8 code, it's certainly different, but it's still just machine code. Very happy that this seems to be coming fully together! Now if only I could find more IM-6100s...I'll test the remaining 3 tomorrow. Thanks, Jonathan

9 years

1
0
0 0

LGP-30 Video Update

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

GREAT TO SEE PROGRESS! Keep up the good work Cory! yes, heads have to be close to work.. at least that is the way it was with the VRC drums for storage on the GEPAC process control systyems Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org) In a message dated 2/25/2017 7:24:30 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, coryheisterkamp at gmail.com writes: Some promising news on getting the LGP-30 up and running. With all systems stable, I tightened the head spacing on the three timing track heads (using brass 0.001" feeler gauges though I may have to go closer). This has resolved 'hanging' when hitting Start; it actually appears to execute for a cycle before toggling back to Stop for each press of the Start key. Of course without being able to see what's happening, it's likely just 'executing' garbage, but it's a solid first step. In Manual mode, keystrokes from the Flexowriter now trigger a Stop/Compute toggle for each key entered and status neons on the flip-flop cards are registering unique bit patterns as each comes in. I put the scope on the (rebuilt) clock generator card and we have good 'T' and 'T-bar' signals propagating, but still haven't licked the 'digital display' issue. After further probing, the display began to stabilize and the single line expanded into the proper 3 for Counter, Instruction and Accumulator, and eventually a bit pattern emerged for the Instruction. No signs of data yet for Counter nor Accumulator, and there is an extremely pronounced 'throbbing' and visible refreshing. Here's a video: https://youtu.be/Nhya46V-l70 System timing looks spot on (top trace), but I also see some 'throbbing' when putting my scope on any of the three timing heads which seems a little strange to me (example on lower trace). Here's a quick vid: https://youtu.be/JjRKDWVUyjA One thought is that the timing and short register heads are still too far off the drum surface for a solid signal, purely conjecture at this stage. -C

9 years

1
0
0 0

HP 2647F cable

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

I have a 2647 or a 2628.. ( has cassettes in it) I thought there was basic for it... neat.. how do we generate the tape to load it? Bet the rollers in the drive are toast? details? thanks ed# In a message dated 2/25/2017 4:46:10 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, mloewen at cpumagic.scol.pa.us writes: On Sat, 25 Feb 2017, Dave wrote: > Also, the online documentation indicates that there is supposed to be a > "BASIC/Autoplot/47" disk, but I only see an "Autoplot/47" disk among the > included floppies. Is this likely to contain the BASIC as well, or am I > missing a disk? I'd be interested in any software anyone may have for > this machine. The HP Museum site has a ZIP file available for download that has 3 disk images: http://www.hpmuseum.net/display_item.php?sw=306 Mike Loewen mloewen at cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

9 years

2
1
0 0

LGP-30 Video Update

by coryheisterkamp＠gmail.com

Some promising news on getting the LGP-30 up and running. With all systems stable, I tightened the head spacing on the three timing track heads (using brass 0.001" feeler gauges though I may have to go closer). This has resolved 'hanging' when hitting Start; it actually appears to execute for a cycle before toggling back to Stop for each press of the Start key. Of course without being able to see what's happening, it's likely just 'executing' garbage, but it's a solid first step. In Manual mode, keystrokes from the Flexowriter now trigger a Stop/Compute toggle for each key entered and status neons on the flip-flop cards are registering unique bit patterns as each comes in. I put the scope on the (rebuilt) clock generator card and we have good 'T' and 'T-bar' signals propagating, but still haven't licked the 'digital display' issue. After further probing, the display began to stabilize and the single line expanded into the proper 3 for Counter, Instruction and Accumulator, and eventually a bit pattern emerged for the Instruction. No signs of data yet for Counter nor Accumulator, and there is an extremely pronounced 'throbbing' and visible refreshing. Here's a video: https://youtu.be/Nhya46V-l70 System timing looks spot on (top trace), but I also see some 'throbbing' when putting my scope on any of the three timing heads which seems a little strange to me (example on lower trace). Here's a quick vid: https://youtu.be/JjRKDWVUyjA One thought is that the timing and short register heads are still too far off the drum surface for a solid signal, purely conjecture at this stage. -C

9 years

2
1
0 0

VIC 20 in film

by spacewar＠gmail.com

Anyone else notice it in _John Wick Chapter Two_? I don't recall having ever seen a VIC 20 in a mainstream film before.

9 years

4
3
0 0

VIA SMECC __ PART 1 RTTY Journal A Gift to all of us From Bill Henry

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

LINKS FOR DOWNLOADING THE RTTY JOURNAL AND FOLLOW ON PUBLICATIONS FEEL FREE TO DISTRIBUTE THIS RTTY JOURNAL ZIP FILES FROM THIS SECTION ONLY Thanks to Bill Henry of HAL for putting these into the public domain for all to enjoy. These are ZIP files which will break down to individual issues. They are presented in groups like this to enable easier and quicker downloading. Dates are in filename! These files below represent all of the RTTY Journal that were collected into a set CD-ROMs by Bill Henry K9GWT the owner and most recent publisher and Wayne Matlock, K7WM (SK). These journals represent 50 years or RTTY history in the Amateur Radio Field and along with the ARTS journals (an east coast publication) at SMECC represent a truly fantastic study of Amateur RTTY. The RTTY Journal was first published by the Southern California Radio Teletype Society as the RTTY Bulletin in January 1953. Over the years, the name has changed to RTTY Journal, RTTY Digital Journal and The New RTTY Journal. Past editors included Dusty Dunn (W8CQ), Don and Dee Krumpton, Dale Sinner W6IWO, Jim Mortensen N2HOS (SK) and Bill Henry. Thanks to Chen K7AY and Jay WS7I for distributing these. You will want to pull all of these down and expand them on your hard drive - then, you have the entire publication run as it evolved!. Enjoy! I am spending hours reading these! Ed Sharpe archivist for SMECC FEEL FREE TO DISTRIBUTE THIS RTTY JOURNAL ZIP FILES FROM THIS SECTION ONLY _www.smecc.org/media/rttyjournalzip/1953-1962.zip_ (http://www.smecc.org/media/rttyjournalzip/1953-1962.zip) -FEEL FREE TO DISTRIBUTE THIS RTTY JOURNAL ZIP FILE _www.smecc.org/media/rttyjournalzip/1963-1972.zip_ (http://www.smecc.org/media/rttyjournalzip/1963-1972.zip) -FEEL FREE TO DISTRIBUTE THIS RTTY JOURNAL ZIP FILE _www.smecc.org/media/rttyjournalzip/1973-1977.zip_ (http://www.smecc.org/media/rttyjournalzip/1973-1977.zip) -FEEL FREE TO DISTRIBUTE THIS RTTY JOURNAL ZIP FILE _www.smecc.org/media/rttyjournalzip/1978-1982.zip_ (http://www.smecc.org/media/rttyjournalzip/1978-1982.zip) -FEEL FREE TO DISTRIBUTE THIS RTTY JOURNAL ZIP FILE _www.smecc.org/media/rttyjournalzip/1983-1987.zip_ (http://www.smecc.org/media/rttyjournalzip/1983-1987.zip) -FEEL FREE TO DISTRIBUTE THIS RTTY JOURNAL ZIP FILE _www.smecc.org/media/rttyjournalzip/1988-1991.zip_ (http://www.smecc.org/media/rttyjournalzip/1988-1991.zip) -FEEL FREE TO DISTRIBUTE THIS RTTY JOURNAL ZIP FILE _www.smecc.org/media/rttyjournalzip/1992-1994.zip_ (http://www.smecc.org/media/rttyjournalzip/1992-1994.zip) -FEEL FREE TO DISTRIBUTE THIS RTTY JOURNAL ZIP FILE _www.smecc.org/media/rttyjournalzip/1998-2003.zip_ (http://www.smecc.org/media/rttyjournalzip/1998-2003.zip) -FEEL FREE TO DISTRIBUTE THIS RTTY JOURNAL ZIP FILE

9 years

1
0
0 0

SW tapes found today

by pete＠petelancashire.com

https://goo.gl/photos/edJN2M7AMsFFRL928 Tek 4050 some duplicates Apollo Model unknown Motorola MVME332XT Unused w/Tektronix Label Don't know the condition of the elastomer band. -pete

9 years

1
0
0 0

HP 2647F cable

by dfnr2＠yahoo.com

> I wonder if this kryoflux supports this format. . . ?I got a kryoflux from another hobbyist but never tried it out. Obviously, Teledisk supports it, if it's in the HPmuseum archive. ? I suppose Imagedisk does as well. Dave

9 years

1
0
0 0

story of Mel

by mark＠matlockfamily.com

> Without pulling the board out to double check how it is labeled it > must actually be a QG-640, not a QC-640. I was going from memory. > > This manual matches the board I have. > > http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/matrox/265-MU-00_QG-640_User_Manual_Mar91.pdf Glen, The documentation link is exactly what I needed. Thanks!! It describes my QC-640 board exactly. It would be nice to have some drivers for it, but the documentation provides info on the pin outs for the connectors which I definitely needed. Thanks again, Mark

9 years

1
0
0 0

HP 2647F cable

by dfnr2＠yahoo.com

Hi! I just picked up an HP 2467F on Ebay (best offer accepted), and received it yesterday. ?It seems to be in great condition, with all the original materials in the original packing. ?Unfortunately, the disk and cable were not included. ?I did manage to find the disk drive in a separate auction by the same seller, but have not yet received it. Would anyone here be interested in the original box and packing materials? ?Perhaps someone with a 264x series terminal who values having a box? ?It's all in great condition, and came packed in a slightly bigger box, so I could ship it out undamaged, if there are any takers. This is a neat little 8085 computer disguised as a terminal. ?It was introduced in 1978, according to the hpmuseum, but this one has a warranty card suggesting a 1982 manufacture date. ?This appears to have been sold in Germany by a German distributor. I'm looking for a cable. ?The manuals seem to have the information required to make one, but would rather locate an original if possile. ?If anyone has a spare, I'd be interested. Also, the online documentation indicates that there is supposed to be a "BASIC/Autoplot/47" disk, but I only see an "Autoplot/47" disk among the included floppies. ?Is this likely to contain the BASIC as well, or am I missing a disk? ?I'd be interested in any software anyone may have for this machine. Thanks! Dave

9 years

2
1
0 0

story of Mel

by mark＠matlockfamily.com

> From: Glen Slick <glen.slick at gmail.com> > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" > <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > Subject: Re: story of Mel > > On Feb 23, 2017 12:23 AM, "Pontus Pihlgren" <pontus at update.uu.se> wrote: > > > (I'm just hoping I'l get lucky and find one.. I have an 11/73 with > graphics, it would be nice to add sound to it) > > > What do you have for graphics? I have a DEC VSV11 board set and a Matrox > QC-640 board. Glen, (or any one else) Would you happen to have any documentation for that Matrox QC-640 board? I have one also that came with some BA23 I purchased, but I have nothing on it. Thanks, Mark

9 years

2
1
0 0

Q Bus Music Board

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Jim Stephens > That A6006 produces a hit in this document > ... > AAV11-C ANALOG OUTPUT BOARD > ... > 4 DACs, and a DC-DC converter. Sounds like it might be a standard analog output board, for lab settings. I'll bet the music thing is some marketing ploy, like the card game in 'The Story of Mel'. (What, you haven't read 'The Story of Mel'?!? :-) Noel

9 years

16
27
0 0

Looking for a toggle switch

by chd＠chdickman.com

I need to replace the toggle switch on the M848 power fail and restart board for a pdp8/e. It is a singer controls corp T8001 as best I can read on it. A month or so ago I search and found an exact replacement, but Google is now failing me and I can't find it back. Anybody know who bought Singers switch product line?

9 years

1
0
0 0

story of Mel

by commodorejohn＠gmail.com

> From: Bill Gunshannon <bill.gunshannon at hotmail.com> > I always thought music in the old days was more about MIDI and letting > something designed for it do the work ala Usenix Nashville 1991. The MIDI control standard wasn't even finalized until 1983, and it took a couple years to really proliferate after that. Most computers at the time required a dedicated MIDI adapter because of its unusual baud rate (31.25Kbaud, not one supported by most standard UART setups) - the Mac, Amiga, and Atari ST could all handle MIDI with nothing more than a breakout box (or, in the ST's case, its onboard ports,) but those didn't roll out until 1984-1985. Prior to that, most "computer music" was either using a few proprietary computer-to-synthesizer interfaces such as Roland's DCB or the DK Synergy's dedicated Kaypro software, or using onboard DACs or simple PSG-style tone generators as being discussed here.

9 years

1
0
0 0

Sun E10000 Historical Enquiry

by shatle＠nfldinet.com

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: Sun E10000 Historical Enquiry From: Jonathan KatzThere was a guy who I used to talk to who was on one of the Sun lists and was based in the top-tier hardware development/software development out of San Diego, and then later he moved east, but I forgot who that was. == I know who it is - we're still in contact once in a while. I plan to ping him and see if he's interested in participating. I also have another friend who drove a number of E10Ks for a large company here in the Twin Cities. Steve

9 years

4
3
0 0

WTB: IM-6100s / OSI 560Z Project

by systems.glitch＠gmail.com

All, Dave from osiweb.org and I have been working on reproducing some Ohio Scientific boards, including the OSI 560Z "processor lab." The 560Z is probably most well-known for allowing the user to run PDP-8/E code on an OSI using an Intersil IM-6100 PDP-8 compatible CPU. I'm getting parts kits together for these boards, but I've been unable to find IM-6100s through any of the usual supply channels. I have a handful from my personal stash, I'll probably be selling all but one. Does anyone have some they want to sell? I'll be reselling them to other hobbyists at whatever price I can get them for. Thanks, Jonathan

9 years

1
0
0 0

Hello! Finally on cctalk!

by systems.glitch＠gmail.com

Hello all! I've tried to sign up for cctalk several times over the years, and never had a successful registration. Seems this time worked. I'm Jonathan, glitch on some other lists and forums, I'm the one responsible for glitchwrks.com. I hack on old computers, pre-PC stuff, mostly S-100, PDP-11 (largely QBus), and Ohio Scientific. I do industrial systems engineering/repair, legacy systems support, and server-side programming for $day_job. Also starting to get into *selling* some of my hobby designs as kits. Thanks, Jonathan

9 years

3
2
0 0

IBM Series/1 listed on UK Ebay

by harry.barman＠gmail.com

Just saw this when browsing on ebay... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/IBM-SERIES-1-1976-WHOLE-MACHINE-VERY-RARE-/272564…

9 years

6
7
0 0

IBM Series/1 listed on UK Ebay

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Jim Stephens > Compare to $5000 asking for the full running PDP 11/34 which was listed > (and I think is still wanting for a bid) recently. No, it sold on re-list, for the US$5K asking. Noel

9 years

1
0
0 0

Q Bus Music Board

by pontus＠Update.UU.SE

Hi This has been discussed on this mailinglist before (back in -95 and -03). But with very little information came out of that. I'm curious about the "Q Bus Music Board" that DEC made. What system was it used in, what software was available that took advantage of it, how would you program it? All I know is from the cctalk threads and a few pictures from an ebay auction, with missleading description, that I missed out on. The number on the green handle is "93 08036" and on the PCB there is the number "EY-0105E-MS-0101" and it looks like it has two AY-3-8192 synthesiser chips. So, does anyone know anything more? And if anyone has one they could part with, I'd be interested. Kind Regards, Pontus.

9 years

4
5
0 0

Reading PALs

by brain＠jbrain.com

Seems like someone on list was willing and able to read PAL16L8s and give a try to some PAL16R4s... Is that person still on list and still interested? If so, please contact me off-list. I am trying to restore some C64 carts, and the PAL on my working unit is protected, so I cannot replicate. Jim -- Jim Brain brain at jbrain.com www.jbrain.com

9 years

7
13
0 0

FW: Y Combinator is restoring one of Alan Kay's Xerox Alto machines

by curiousmarc3＠gmail.com

Video of session 6 is up: https://youtu.be/b7yVhMT7tr4 Found our first bad IC. Probably not our last one. On 9/3/16 11:08 PM, curiousmarc3 at gmail.com wrote: Episode 5, still does not boot, but we are starting to follow long why: https://youtu.be/Wr7vDZpniNIr Marc On Jul 31, 2016, at 6:12 PM, CuriousMarc <mailto:curiousmarc3 at gmail.com> <curiousmarc3 at gmail.com> wrote: Next Episode: https://youtu.be/EDw8U1a6s78 http://www.righto.com/2016/07/restoring-y-combinators-xerox-alto-day_31.html Marc From: Curious Marc [mailto:curiousmarc3 at gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2016 2:01 AM To: Curious Marc; cctalk at classiccmp.org Subject: Re: Y Combinator is restoring one of Alan Kay's Xerox Alto machines Ken's in-depth blog post to go with the previous video http://www.righto.com/2016/07/restoring-y-combinators-xerox-alto-day_11.html On Jul 5, 2016, at 2:46 PM, Curious Marc <mailto:curiousmarc3 at gmail.com> <curiousmarc3 at gmail.com> wrote: Video from yesterday?s work on the Diablo cartridge disc: https://youtu.be/PR5LkQugBE0 Should be up in a few minutes. We were tickled pink to have official representation from PARC (former Xerox Parc) at the session. Marc Ken?s new post on the monitor repair to go with my previous video. http://www.righto.com/2016/07/restoring-y-combinators-xerox-alto-day.html Al Kossow got us a new CRT tube, so we are probably going to try that this week-end. Marc Latest entry from Ken Shirriff, trying out BCPL (ancestor of C). On the emulator, not yet on the real machine: http://www.righto.com/2016/06/hello-world-in-bcpl-language-on-xerox.html Marc There are only two entries right now: http://www.righto.com/2016/06/y-combinators-xerox-alto-restoring.html http://www.righto.com/2016/06/restoring-y-combinators-xerox-alto-day.html Marc

9 years

8
16
0 0

New batch of pdp8 OMNIBUS to USB interface! Please Read and react!

by hachti＠hachti.de

Hi folks, it has taken a while but I'm now actively planning to shift out another batch of OmniUSB boards. The last batch is sold out for a long time and I've been asked for more from time to time. As some of you might remember, it's a cool device to connect your pdp8/f/a/m/e to the modern world using lightning fast USB. The originial board has it's website here: http://pdp8.hachti.de/projects/omni_usb/ The new board will do the same, perhaps even more. - the USB connector will be replaced by a mini (NOT micro!!) USB connector. - The connector position and cable routing will be improved. - The board will be shorter. But it will come by default with a laser cut acrylic extension that makes it full size again. There will be at least those options to buy: - Kit (board + all parts) - Kit+ (board + all parts, SMT already assembled) Possible: - complete version - Everything soldered and tested. - discount for omitting acrylic extender I cannot guarantee that I can deliver fully assembled boards (regulations) and would be able to do that only if there's a reasonable number of interested buyers. If have set up a doodle poll to get a realistic picture of the interest in the board/kit/device: http://doodle.com/poll/d7y524mvyfezqp9w PLEASE take the minute and fill in your name (ideally that I can recognise you) and check the options which most precisely match your demands. PLEASE be as honest as possible as I will base my decisions IF and for which PRICE I can run the show. Thank you!!! Kind regards Philipp :-)

9 years

22
55
0 0

DISSPLA fortran source anyone?

by rdawson16＠hotmail.com

The scientific graphics software package, written By Ian Hirscholn. Later sold to Coumputer Automation. He ported it to the PC later, with his company ISSCO. They also made a neat bitslice machine to run it, the Portable Graphics Mainframe, I had one for a bit, I was their rep. Anybody have anything on this beast, it was amazing. Randy

9 years

1
0
0 0

DATARAM DR-118 docs?

by w2hx＠w2hx.com

Hi folks, Looking for documentation on the DATARAM DR-118 16Kx12 core memory for PDP-8/e. I have the documentation on the DR-118A which is for the PDP-8/a. It is probably similar, but would love to find the right version. Anyone have such thing? Thanks Eugene

9 years

2
3
0 0

Sun E10000 Historical Enquiry

by jplist2008＠kiwigeek.com

Greetings to all; All this talk of favourite machines and getting into the hobby has gotten me amped up to work on my E10k. The E10k was always the "coolest" machine for me - largely due to the timing of my entry into the industry. I recently read Tracy Kidder's Soul of a New Machine and was pondering the history of the E10k and its start in Cray Research Inc and its subsequent sale to Sun. The asset transfer that must've taken place and then how Sun turned it around to make it a Sun product and made its impact on the market has to be a fascinating story too. I would love to talk to anyone who was involved in the development, transfer, initial rollout and support of the E10k - from both CRI's and Sun's perspective. Heck, I'd be fascinated to talk to anyone who purchased the machines during their lifespan (1997-2001) and could tell me what you used them for. If you only know of someone that was involved that you might think would be interested in talking to me, please pass my eMail address on. Maybe if I get a big response I could put something together, if there was suitable interest of course. But at this point, I'm mostly just fascinated for myself. Thanks to all! - JP

9 years

2
1
0 0

Free to a good home: Honeywell/Bull DPS-6 workstation / server (Seattle, WA)

by kevinowens1＠gmail.com

do you still have this ? thanks Kevin

9 years

1
0
0 0

3D scans and sounds

by lars＠nocrew.org

Hello, I'm grateful that there are plenty of pictures of classic computer. However, I want more. 3D scans and sound recordings. Has anyone attempted to do that?

9 years

1
0
0 0

LGP-Resto Update

by coryheisterkamp＠gmail.com

For those curious about the status of the LGP-30 restoration, I?ve got a blog up with the latest. http://radar58.com/LGP30/ The power supplies are stable, the blower unit was overhauled and new bearings installed, all the modules have been recapped. I had a noisy bearing in the memory drum, thankfully it was one that could be accessed through the pulley end and I was able to inject fresh grease. There were burnt contacts in one of the open frame relays in the sequencer unit leading to intermittents. I found a NOS 3-pole version with fresh contacts and transferred those over yesterday and we now have correct startup. The ?digital display? chassis has been worked over with fresh resistors and this has made the controls much more responsive. The Flexowriter is behaving and the 6 associated FF's in the machine respond to keystrokes. All-told, I?m at the point of troubleshooting the scope display- I have a sad, unintelligible, wavy line, but I believe retrace is derived from the system clock track on the drum, so that?s my next investigation. Both vertical and horizontal boards have been rebuilt and tubes substituted with no change. -C

9 years

1
0
0 0

New batch of pdp8 OMNIBUS to USB interface! Please Read and react!

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Jon Elson Dave Bridgham and I have been using KiCAD for our stuff, and we're pretty happy with it. Here are a few bits: this is just data, I'm not trying to convince anyone to use it - the points about 'complex tools one is already very used to' are very good ones. > I'm most concerned about the reliability of the design rules check > ... > If these checks miss errors, I REALLY don't want to use the package. I'm not quite sure what's covered here, but I have used the checker on my admittedly-tiny projects, and been happy with it. > and layout vs. schematic. Again, Dave has used it to lay out at least one moderately-sized card, and seems to have been happy with the results. > (KiCad seems to still require picking operations from a menu, Protel > has user-configurable keyboard shortcuts that are a big help. Maybe > KiCad has that and I just need to learn them.) KiCAD does have keyboard shortcuts. I don't know if they are configurable. > From: Guy Sotomayor Jr > In terms of community supplied libraries, Eagle has those too and I've > found that by and large they are junk (it's easier/quicker for me to > create a part on my own > ... While I haven't seen a lot of KiCAD contributed libraries (that's > part of the problem) KiCAD came with a fairly large set of user-contributed libraries. For various reasons (including working with archaic parts), I've wound up adding quite a few, but i've usally found it pretty easy to modify an exising part from the libraries, to get what I need. YMMV. Noel

9 years

7
6
0 0

ISO IBM 3278 keyboards

by ggs＠shiresoft.com

Hi, I recently acquired a couple of IBM 3278 terminals (finally!). They are complete and working when shipped. I haven?t powered them up yet?I need to check them out but other than some slight screen burn they?re complete and very clean. However, they came with data entry keyboards. I?d really like to find one or more typewriter keyboards for 3278?s. If anyone knows where some might be pried loose, I?d appreciate it. I?m willing to trade or pay $$?s. Thanks. TTFN - Guy

9 years

1
0
0 0

Error in PDP-12 Prints, and maybe all PDP-12s.

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

While debugging the PDP-12 at the RICM we found a mistake on sheet TC12-0-LTR in the PDP-12 schematics. The pins on the data cable between the TU56 and the TC12 labeled BT2 and FT2 should be BL2 and FL2. DEC wired the TC12 backplane per the incorrect schematic and grounded pin F06T2 instead of F06L2. The W032 on the end of the data cable has nothing connected to pin T, so this leaves the TC12 end of the Triax cable shield for data track 3 ungrounded. Data track 3 is the one on which we are having a noise problem, so this is a promising discovery. The 1969 and 1972 PDP-12 Engineering Drawings both have the same revision sheet TC12-0-LTR and the same error. Maybe all PDP-12s have this wiring error? -- Michael Thompson

9 years

1
0
0 0

PDF PDF Which is right and which is ... Was Re: PDP-11/24 CPU later version

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

well I save the tiff because that's what archivists do generally I end up using the jpeg to make picture from. or post to net! In a message dated 2/19/2017 4:25:48 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, toby at telegraphics.com.au writes: On 2017-02-19 3:50 PM, COURYHOUSE at aol.com wrote: > When we scan stuff at SMECC > it is saved in the following 3 formats for each item scanned. > > PDF with ocr background > TIFF > JPEG > and if containing a lot of text a TXT file as well. > > Kind of a shotgun approach... but should stand test of time? Only if you're publishing it somewhere and many people are mirroring it. --Toby > > Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org) > > > > In a message dated 2/19/2017 1:44:52 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, > jnc at mercury.lcs.mit.edu writes: > >> From: Toby Thain > >> Often the source material is a multipage TIFF from the scanner or other >> processing step. > > Multiple single-page TIFFs, in my case. > >> So relevant tools are things like tiff2pdf (tiffutils) > > But also JPEG's, for pages where the B+W scanning I use (with fax > compression > to keep the file size down) results in pages that aren't readable - this > happens on faded pages. Does tiff2pdf handle a bunch of single-page > TIFF's, with a JPEG or two throw in? > > Noel > >

9 years

1
0
0 0

Wanted: Amiga 1000 hard drive

by tosteve＠yahoo.com

Anyone have an Amiga 1000 hard drive that they want to sell?

9 years

2
1
0 0

PDF PDF Which is right and which is ... Was Re: PDP-11/24 CPU later version

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

When we scan stuff at SMECC it is saved in the following 3 formats for each item scanned. PDF with ocr background TIFF JPEG and if containing a lot of text a TXT file as well. Kind of a shotgun approach... but should stand test of time? Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org) In a message dated 2/19/2017 1:44:52 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, jnc at mercury.lcs.mit.edu writes: > From: Toby Thain > Often the source material is a multipage TIFF from the scanner or other > processing step. Multiple single-page TIFFs, in my case. > So relevant tools are things like tiff2pdf (tiffutils) But also JPEG's, for pages where the B+W scanning I use (with fax compression to keep the file size down) results in pages that aren't readable - this happens on faded pages. Does tiff2pdf handle a bunch of single-page TIFF's, with a JPEG or two throw in? Noel

9 years

2
1
0 0

PDF PDF Which is right and which is ... Was Re: PDP-11/24 CPU later version

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Toby Thain > Often the source material is a multipage TIFF from the scanner or other > processing step. Multiple single-page TIFFs, in my case. > So relevant tools are things like tiff2pdf (tiffutils) But also JPEG's, for pages where the B+W scanning I use (with fax compression to keep the file size down) results in pages that aren't readable - this happens on faded pages. Does tiff2pdf handle a bunch of single-page TIFF's, with a JPEG or two throw in? Noel

9 years

2
1
0 0

Gimix 8K PROM board

by vintagecomputer＠bettercomputing.net

Hey guys, I have a second SWTPC 6800 system I got recently and have it all running. It came with a Gimix 8K PROM board and, thankfully, the manual. It has two EPROMs installed: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4pq0-BHd2x6R29LVy03d3c4dTA/view?usp=sharin g I'm assuming this board is used for things like storing BASIC in ROM, etc. Based on the manual with DIP switch 7 set it is set to use C000 - if I wanted to try and init whatever is on those chips, would it be as simple as J C000 at the SWTBUG prompt? Many thanks, Brad

9 years

1
0
0 0

PDF PDF Which is right and which is ... Was Re: PDP-11/24 CPU later version

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

In a message dated 2/19/2017 8:06:50 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, mouse at Rodents-Montreal.ORG writes: > - PDF/A is [...] > Those are all good archival properties! However, it's also R/O. Maybe if you stick to Adobe's tools. As demonstrated by this thread, it's entirely possible to modify such files, even if the currently-easy ways to do that involve a trip through a completely different representation. I find it astonishing that anyone would seriously call any documented file format read-only. (If PDF/A isn't documented, then IMO it's not suitable for archival under any circumstances. But this thread makes it sound as though it's documented.) /~\ The ASCII Mouse \ / Ribbon Campaign X Against HTML mouse at rodents-montreal.org / \ Email! 7D C8 61 52 5D E7 2D 39 4E F1 31 3E E8 B3 27 4B ====================== OK .. (correct me if I am gong in the wrong direction) so the important thing is that there is... - data in a format that is readable by others and a description of formats so if needed a reader can be constructed at a later date if needed. -non-commercial tools to access it or have the ability to modify the data in the future for all of time. -a reader/writer can be redone to work under a new operating system since source code is freely available for it? .... yea... makes sense... I do know what I do in any given week here is not necessary for the present but for years and sometimes lifetimes far removed from the present moment. #Ed _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org)

9 years

1
0
0 0

PDF PDF Which is right and which is ... Was Re: PDP-11/24 CPU later version

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

Adobe claims " PDF/A ? the ISO standard for long-term archiving" -I am confused about all the versions etc.. -which are good which are bad? -are there good programs for opening hesitant to open pdf file? - what is a good freeware PDF generator? / modifier? - are older versions of the reader better than the newer ones? -my HP scanner software makes PDF files eiher as graphics or as graphics with OCR -is my HP scanner making "good" pdf files that can be read into the future? Sorry if I seem confused on this... but I am! thanks for any help Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org) In a message dated 2/18/2017 11:24:14 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, bobalan at sbcglobal.net writes: On 2/18/2017 10:04 AM, Paul Birkel wrote: >> -----Original Message----- >> From: cctalk [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Al Kossow >> Sent: Saturday, February 18, 2017 12:50 PM >> To: cctalk at classiccmp.org >> Subject: Re: PDP-11/24 CPU later version >> >> PDF-A >> >> which is the reason it's not on bitsavers > Thank you Al. It's not just me then who has heartburn with that format ... > > ---- > > I removed the /A format and put the copy up here: http://dvq.com/docs/EK-11024-TM-003.pdf Bob -- Vintage computers and electronics www.dvq.com www.tekmuseum.com www.decmuseum.org

9 years

6
6
0 0

OT: Immediate job opening in Atlanta

by sales＠elecplus.com

If you are near Atlanta, there is an immediate opening for someone who knows terminals and keyboards. Must be able to drive fork lift, climb ladders, carry 50 pounds, etc. Email me if interested. This is a long term, full time, good paying job. Cindy Croxton

9 years

1
0
0 0

Atlanta job opening

by orders＠elecplus.com

If you are near Atlanta, there is an immediate opening for someone who knows terminals and keyboards. Must be able to drive fork lift, climb ladders, carry 50 pounds, etc. Email me if interested. Cindy Croxton

9 years

1
0
0 0

PDP-11/24 CPU later version

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

So I was recently provided (thanks!) with a copy of the later rev of the PDP-11/24 Tech Manual (EK-11024-TM-003), which I have had scanned for a while now (waiting for a quite period on the list ;-), and is now available for upload here: http://ana-3.lcs.mit.edu/~jnc/tech/pdp11/EK-11024-TM-003.pdf (Bitsavers et al, please pick this up and distribute.) So it has an Appendix D, which described the -YA later rev of the CPU card (in which a bunch of gates were replaced with a couple of custom gate arrays. Does anyone have one of these? I'd love to get a photo of one, if so. Thanks! Noel

9 years

6
9
0 0

Harris VOS question

by cclist＠sydex.com

I'm looking at what I suspect is a labeled Harris VOS (Vulcan) tape. Is it the case that the Harris minis are incapable of writing tape records that aren't a multiple of 3 bytes in length? The reason I ask is that the VOL HDR, etc. records all seem to be 81 bytes in length. All other records on the tape are also a multiple of 3 bytes long. Anyone remember anything like this? The Bitsavers documents are of no help as far as I can determine. --Chuck

9 years

2
2
0 0

PDP-11/24 CPU later version

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Al Kossow > PDF-A Sorry, what's the issue with PDF/A? Since it's supposedly the 'archival' version, that's what I asked for; I wanted to maximize the lifetime of these things. What version of PDF should I be asking for? (I'm not doing the PDF'ing. The person who is is using Acrobat.) > which is the reason it's not on bitsavers Are any other of the things I've scanned that aren't up for the same reason? List here (first two sections): http://ana-3.lcs.mit.edu/~jnc/tech/pdp11/PDP-11_Stuff.html Please let me know, and I'll get them re-PDF'd into an acceptable form. Noel

9 years

1
0
0 0

Box of old books

by db＠db.net

Wow from 2013 > I've put together a small box of old TTL books, computer references > of all sorts that I simply do not want anymore. If someone really > wants to collect old databooks instead of me sending this stuff out > to pulp let me know. It would be easiest if someone local to me here > in Ottawa could deal with it. I had a nibble from a local but somehow we never got the move arranged and it has grown to two smallish boxes now. I'll throw in DEC books and maybe a few other goodies. Toronto/Montreal is a possibility too if you can arrange a pickup. Diane -- - db at FreeBSD.org db at db.net http://www.db.net/~db

9 years

1
0
0 0

How I came to vintage computers

by hachti＠hachti.de

Hey folks, after my OmniUSB-thread has gone down the teleprinter way... I'll start a new thread. Did you now how I came to vintage computers? How I became some kind of computer engineer? Probably not. It's so easy. Listen. Long story ahead. In 1999 I started to study computer science. Java and algorithms and all that clean stuff. One day in autumn 2000 I had that idea: I need a Fernschreiber (=teleprinter)! I had nothing to do with that stuff. And I did no know how it worked. I even did not remember having seen one. It was just that word in my head. So I bought my first Siemens T100 (still here in the house, two floors below me). It was a machine with strange connectors which made awful noise when connected to power. So I went to the library and found a good book from 1934. That told me how the teleprinter works. I then somehow soldered a simple interface to connect that beast to the parallel (!!!) port of my Linux server (the first hachti.de server was a mainboard and a harddisk in the corner of my student home where we had 10mbit LAN acess and fixed IP. I even did a DNS reverse mapping philipp.vorstrasse.uni-bremen.de for my IP). At that time all about programming I knew was Turbo Pascal, some Z80 machine language (not assembly language, I programmed that beast in hex) and a bit Java. I didn't even know much about Linux. The server back then had been setup by someone else who was in need of a server. So he used it as well. I used the parallel port because I had an idea how to control the pins. I knew that there was something ugly called serial port but I had not yet made the connection that this was EXACTLY what I would have needed. To program that thing I needed some software. So I went to the bookstore at noon. Will never forget that. Bought the O'Reilly Linux Kernel drivers book (the one with the horse) and started to write my first C program ever. It was a kernel module. The Kernel must have been Linux 2.2. It was frustrating. But after a decent 30 hour nonstop session and hundreds of reboots (haha, of my web and mail server which was also running X from time to time) I really had some bitbang code which made the teleprinter say what I wanted it to say. I soon realised that with a multitasking OS like Linux I had the choice of outputting correct data using busy wait in Kernel or outputting a mess when the system gets under load. So I learned THAT lesson. I decided that I needed something else. Because I had heard of other people working with something called PIC Microcontroller, I bought one and a programmer. And a breadboard. That evil 16f84 was sitting there on my desk, naked, and did - nothing. Getting the PIC up and running was pure horror. The hardest architecture I've ever mastered. Since then I know: PIC is a load of complete shit! In the end I failed to create a RS232 (had learned that in the meantime) to teleprinter converter but had the idea to hook up two teleprinters using modems. TelexPhone was born. The project (telexphone.net) was eventually kind of stolen a few years later and continued to something still in existence called i-telex over internet. That was never what I wanted because the V21 modems (hard to find!!) are bit transparent. That means that the teleprinters on both sides of the wire run as synchronous as with a real wire between them. Very cool. The TelexPhone used a 16f876 with a approx 2k cooperative multitasking system written entirely in assembly. It was somehow modular. I managed to hook in modules with private main loop and init parts by writing an impressive linker script which automated that. Hey, I was 21 and did all that on my own! Please do NOT laugh! In the meantime someone somewhere invented something called eBay. And because It's always good to have several different devices of the same type and even better to have several examples of each those different devices, I had an eBay search for "Lochstreifen" which means punched paper tape. Paper tape for teleprinter, of course. One day I found an offer "Honeywell H316 minicomputer" which sounded interesting. With paper tape. And no pictures. In Switzerland. A quick search (probably already google? I used altavista.digital.com before) told me that this could be an interesting toy. So I bought it for the incredible amount of SFr 450. Borrowed a car and went there. What I found was some messy stuff somewhere on an uninsulated attic in Switzerland. Very dirty. I nearly turned down the deal because it all looked so crappy. The seller admitted that he had kept the stuff in that open attic since beginning of the 1980s. I took it home. Had to drive TWICE from Bremen to Switzerland to get it all. And it was a lucky buy. After fiddling and cleaning around some weeks (never seen a minicomputer before!) and reading the manuals, I found out that the PSU had a slight problem which lead to unjustified shutdown. After I had solved that by pulling out one of the security circuit card from the PSU, it powered up the computer. And it magically worked instantly exactly as the manual told me. That was in 2004. The H316 has never since then failed a single time. Only issue are some contact issues with some memory cabling which may happen after moving the machine. Since then I have never had to switch a chip or a lamp or whatever. No single failure. Not one failed CPU or memory test (except when I stress the cable's card edge connector). It's so amazing that it became boring. Programming in FORTRAN IV? Read the manual, punch tape, use the compiler, linking loader and libraries as described in the manual - works. No secret shit. And The machine came with all that software as nice source code listing and binary paper tapes. While still wandering around on my Olympus of quality, I got a call by a teleprinter friend who asked me if I would take a pdp8 computer. I thought that bit of that infamous DEC mess could be a good counter example for my H316's unlimited quality and went to pick up the pdp8. The day ended with my yellow car completely stuffed with rusty pdp8/l, and lots of other stuff. It were three machines. The tape drives and racks were fubar and went to scrap. http://pdp8.hachti.de/gallery/haul/dscn0750_full.jpg http://pdp8.hachti.de/gallery/haul/dscn0751_full.jpg http://pdp8.hachti.de/gallery/haul/dscn2109_full.jpg That was the beginning of the end. It just happened. Later 8/e, lab8/e etc. And I had to admit that playing with Omnibus pdp8 is absolutely amazing! It's a great toy! I think the pdp8/e (not straight-8, 8/i, /s or whatever) is one of the greatest toys ever made. There are many games, it breaks regularly while still giving you a chance to be satisfied after fixing it. And it's so versatile! And digging through those blurry schematics is a game in its own right! For the Honeywell everything comes in high quality print, completely correct, no derivations and workarounds. With DEC it can be an adventure to get an overview over a hardware, its features, ECOs and FCOs and what else could happen. Someday I also made a pdp8 in an FPGA. That was during the time I wanted to be a chip designer. But the only place where I could to ASIC design (I did my diploma thesis about a video generator FPGA design) was closed down instead of hiring me. Thank you, Silicon Image! Currently I'm working for a Bosch/Denso joint venture doing Linux security for car multimedia systems. In my free time I have just started to construct a M?rklin model railroad digital decoder which I will try to sell commercially (the competition use closed source PIC stuff. I use GPLv3 AVR code). And I run a letterpress print shop with the biggest machine being over 5 metric tons. In the printshop there's also an 8/e. And I have inherited a forklift. Don't know why I wrote this... Just wanted to write it. The teleprinter discussion... It was the teleprinter discussion.... I never learned to get that paper... I just had the right toys. That's it for now :-)

9 years

5
4
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PDP 11/70 by PiDP8/i maker

by jwsmail＠jwsss.com

Sorry I don't recall his name, but wondering what the progress is on the 11/70 version of this. Raspberry pi, functional front panel with blink'n lights which functions like the 11/70. My back archives are in a bit of a scramble, so can't search it either, again apologies. thanks Jim

9 years

3
3
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VCF West is August 5-6

by cctalk＠snarc.net

What's that, you say? You want to start planning for Vintage Computer Festival West XII? Well mark your calendar!!! The show will be held August 5-6 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. Web page is here: http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-west-xi/ ________________________________ Evan Koblentz, director Vintage Computer Federation a 501(c)3 educational non-profit evan at vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 www.vcfed.org facebook.com/vcfederation twitter.com/vcfederation

9 years

1
0
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38-52mm Adapter for B&L Stereozoom -- Cheap

by cclist＠sydex.com

My B&L Stereozoom microscope didn't have any protection for the objective lens assembly. It uses a rather oddball 38 mm threaded mount. I thought that those with the same scope might be interested in the adapter being sold as eBay 401250097157. It fits the 38mm thread on the B&L perfoectly and adapts it to a standard 52mm filter thread. Cheap--less that $3 shipped. Just got it today and it fits like a glove. FWIW --Chuck

9 years

1
0
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confirm e3191f334ef584df40dccf9737f54f4dcd016a5d

by bill.gunshannon＠hotmail.com

________________________________________ From: cctalk [cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] on behalf of cctalk-request at classiccmp.org [cctalk-request at classiccmp.org] Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2017 9:31 AM To: bill.gunshannon at hotmail.com Subject: confirm e3191f334ef584df40dccf9737f54f4dcd016a5d ______________________________________________ There was some talk a short time ago about accounts being shutdown because of excessive bounces. Well, a couple days ago I got one of these messages. I have not stopped receiving messages from the list. I think there is a problem with the mailing list software. :-) bill

9 years

2
2
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DEC Documentation

by bill.gunshannon＠hotmail.com

Lower that postage estimate. It fits in a padded envelope. bill

9 years

1
0
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Old DEC Documentation

by bill.gunshannon＠hotmail.com

Anybody interested in a copy of: Communications Options Minireference Manual (EK-CMINI-RM-001) USPS Flat Rate would be under $15.00 Throw in a couple more fo the trouble of taking to the PO and it's yours. bill

9 years

1
0
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New batch of pdp8 OMNIBUS to USB interface! Please Read and react!

by w2hx＠w2hx.com

Don't laugh http://w2hx.com/x/New%20Shack/0224151752b.jpg ________________________________ From: ben <bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca> Sent: Feb 14, 2017 1:54 PM To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts Subject: Re: New batch of pdp8 OMNIBUS to USB interface! Please Read and react! On 2/14/2017 6:27 AM, Alfred M. Szmidt wrote: > FWIW, Mini-B connectors are on their way out, nor USB OTG compliant. > Though agreed that they are flimsy... Why not just a type A or > something? Easy, big, and robust. > Why not mini and regular? Ben. PS: Add a 45.5 baud serail port. Control everything with a 5 level TTY. :)

9 years

9
14
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Amateur Radio use of Teleprinters (was Re: New batch of pdp8 OMNIBUS to USB interface! Please Read and react!)

by spacewar＠gmail.com

On Wed, Feb 15, 2017 at 11:29 PM, Tony Duell <ard.p850ug1 at gmail.com> wrote: > I think at one time radio amateurs (at least over here) had to use 5 bit > ITA2 > machines for RTTY. Same here. > It may even be to this day that RTTY implies that, and > that ASCII is classed as 'data'. The FCC order authorizing Amateur Radio use of ASCII went into effect in March of 1980, but at the moment I can't track down a copy of the actual order. The current FCC regs (?97.309) are more recent, and lump RTTY and "data emission" together, allowing ITA2, AMTOR, or ASCII, or, with additional limitations, "an unspecified digital code". I suppose I could use EBCDIC, FIELDATA, or the IBM Stretch character code, as long as I didn't use it for the purpose of obscuring the meaning of the communications, or to communicate with a station in a country with which the US doesn't have an agreement allowing those codes to be used. But the 5 level machines that were used over > here tend to be Creeds (Creed 7s, 75s and 444s mostly). > I'm told that Teletype models 15, 19, and 28 were very common here. I've mostly seen models 15 and 28. I've only once seen a mdoel 32 (ITA2 five-level version of model 33). I've seen some Kleinschmidt teleprinters, but I've never seen a Creed.

9 years

2
2
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Fwd: Fwd: ibm 29 (keypunch?)

by toby＠telegraphics.com.au

Hi, Phil emailed me out of the blue -- I'm not interested but anyone on the list want his 029 keypunch in Ohio? --Toby -------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: Fwd: ibm 29 Date: Fri, 10 Feb 2017 16:25:44 -0500 From: Phil Masturzo <pmasturzo at neo.rr.com> To: toby at telegraphics.com.au My name is PHiL and I live in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. I got your email >from a computer museum who thought you may be interested in purchasing my IBM 29 computer. If so, email me back or call me on my cell phone at xxx-xxx-xxxx, if I can answer any questions you may have. Thanks, Phil

9 years

5
4
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New batch of pdp8 OMNIBUS to USB interface! Please Read and react!

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

They are really neat looking! Phillipp! http://www.radista.info/tt_units/teleprinter_T-68d.jpg Yes I like the colors! what is the weight! Anyone heading to western US with large suitcase soon? (grin!) Another one our favorite sortta cute teletypes we like here at the SMECC museum is the model 31. we are looking to get all possible variants of this machine. We have some interesting stuff at this link here http://web.archive.org/web/20170103075925/http://www.smecc.org/teletype_mode l_31.htm And... we are interested in more of them, any photos of them or scans of them in various uses to continue to build this section out. Please drop us a line offlist at couryhouse at aol.com Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org) In a message dated 2/15/2017 11:22:51 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, hachti at hachti.de writes: Hi, On 02/15/2017 03:16 PM, COURYHOUSE at aol.com wrote: > there are one of the Siemens teletypes that print tape and has a dial > on the front from Germany I have seen very compact nice unit used for > telex I would love to have. It's the t68d. Exists in very different versions. With paper tape, without, with dial, black, brown, etc. I have a few of those. I even have one sitting in Morocco. I brought it there by car...

9 years

1
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New batch of pdp8 OMNIBUS to USB interface! Please Read and react!

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

Always good to review what the terms of each is. Newcomers may not understand completely. Same with photo usage and video and music usage - there are various terms of usage for these media types. Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org) In a message dated 2/15/2017 9:13:36 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, hachti at hachti.de writes: One should also be aware of the difference between public domain, open source, free software and the different license models and have an understanding of the applicable rights and obligations. Kind regards Philipp

9 years

1
0
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New batch of pdp8 OMNIBUS to USB interface! Please Read and react!

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

there are one of the Siemens teletypes that print tape and has a dial on the front from Germany I have seen very compact nice unit used for telex I would love to have. shipping on teletypes from overseas is expensive though. If one was local ad inn really nice shape we would be a candidate fro it for the telecom display at SMECC. Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org) In a message dated 2/15/2017 7:12:47 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, hachti at hachti.de writes: >> I could swap something for a nice creed machine. > > I suspect they're more common in the UK than elsewhere. They were used > by the Post Office > for the Telex service, for example. I know. Here everything is full with Siemens and Lorenz. Je aussi voudrais avoir une machine de Sagem...! > are wondering). Obviously these machines are normally 'collection > only' the sellers will not ship That's the main problem :-( But teletypes are easier to find here than in US :-P :-P :-P

9 years

3
2
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FS: PDP-8 Music System paper tape set

by sellam.ismail＠gmail.com

I have a set of paper tapes for the PDP-8 comprising a Music System. There are 8 tapes in a DEC paper tape carrier, all in splendid condition. A couple photos: http://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q427/Sellam_Abraham/20170124_144624_HDR_… http://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q427/Sellam_Abraham/20170124_144616_HDR_… I'm asking $200 or best offer. Thanks! Sellam

9 years

1
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Yale renames Calhoun College for Grace Hopper

by seefriek＠gmail.com

From: william degnan <billdegnan at gmail.com> > that's fine, but the reasoning was totally political and narrow minded. I'd be fascinated at a justification for this opinion that squared with "John C. Calhoun?s legacy as a white supremacist and a national leader who passionately promoted slavery as a ?positive good?".

9 years

9
10
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Ted Kaczynski was RIGHT!

by blstuart＠bellsouth.net

On Wed, 2/15/17, jim stephens <jwsmail at jwsss.com> wrote: > I saw her speak twice... I got to hear her speak once when I was a freshman in college before I really knew much about who she was. Yet there were still several things she said that have stuck with me ever since.? Years later I was talking with a retired Navy admiral that I worked with and if I remember correctly how he put it, Hopper was the only person Nimitz was ever scared of. >? But she had only brought a couple of "nanoseconds" and so I > missed a chance to snag one. Alas, I never got one of her nanoseconds either.? But I still love telling my students the story about them. > Very nice lady. >From everything I've heard she was indeed, in addition to being a force of nature. Always wished I had gotten a chance to meet her. BLS

9 years

1
0
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How I came to vintage computers

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

Indeed! It is fun to learn what got people interested in the history... and their replies are in some cases interesting history itself! Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org) In a message dated 2/15/2017 10:03:05 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, nf6x at nf6x.net writes: Thanks for sharing. That was a delightful origin story. -- Mark J. Blair, NF6X <nf6x at nf6x.net> http://www.nf6x.net/

9 years

1
0
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Ted Kaczynski was RIGHT!

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Toby Thain > Even if your argument weren't absurd and offensive Absurd and offensive is in the eye of the beholder. Can we please drop this topic? Thanks. Noel

9 years

1
0
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New batch of pdp8 OMNIBUS to USB interface! Please Read and react!

by w2hx＠w2hx.com

Personally, i don't care about lead free solder. I am quite happy with lead. Is there a rohs requirement for small production, non profit, prototyping project? ________________________________ From: Philipp Hachtmann <hachti at hachti.de> Sent: Feb 14, 2017 11:54 AM To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts Subject: Re: New batch of pdp8 OMNIBUS to USB interface! Please Read and react! Hi, > I'm interested. How much did a board from the previous batch cost? Was different. I first made a poll and sold a batch of boards in my online shop for a certain price. It was somewhere about 105 EUR without VAT. After I received the payment, I made the boards and delivered them (I announced exactly that procedere!!). Later, as a few boards were left, I increased the price up to nearly EUR 200. I did it like with kickstarter - the people who trusted and funded got it cheaper. The whole thing barely covered the costs btw. > And > will that be any indication of what the new boards price? No, not really. But I already have some rough idea. The board will most probably be full size again. Reducing the size does seems not to offer enough benefit with respect to the hassle of adding enlargement afterwards. After my poll it looks as if there will be the following options: - Kit with full size board and SMT already soldered RoHS compliant. This will most probably go for short under EUR 100 (without VAT where it applies). I have to check with the assembly house. This time I try not to sit there and solder lead free SMD by hand for days. I like soldering SMT but that lead-free stuff and masses of boards can get quite annoying. The last boards were all hand soldered by me. One problem could be the gold fingers: My usual board house finally realized that their calculation tool was plain wrong when it charged me extra EUR 1,50 per board for the hard gold fingers. The board will be like the old ones but: * some unused (upper bit) IC positions removed * The diode stuff moved away from the edge (that was so stupid, sorry!) * The USB connector will be moved away from the edge, I will think about some holes to fix the cable using a strap. The USB will become mini USB. - Wonderful handle/set of handles to attach to the board. Probably made of milled wood, still thinking about it. This will be extremely expensive, I have no idea yet. Perhaps EUR 30 per "one piece" or set. And if someone really insists, I will manually complete and test a board. That would add another EUR 65 to the game. And perhaps an USB cable. If I continue to sell boards in that way, it will take not even 5 more years until it has paid for my Eagle 6 and 7 licenses.. Please continue to add to the doodle "calendar", if you are interested. Kind regards, Philipp

9 years

6
12
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New batch of pdp8 OMNIBUS to USB interface! Please Read and react!

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

I have not heard of 40 mil loop here on ttys... generally 20 mil or 60 mil. - At least what I have encountered. Is the 40 mil. standard in Europe? Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org) In a message dated 2/14/2017 2:24:15 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, hachti at hachti.de writes: On 14.02.2017 22:18, geneb wrote: > On Tue, 14 Feb 2017, ben wrote: > >> On 2/14/2017 6:27 AM, Alfred M. Szmidt wrote: >>> FWIW, Mini-B connectors are on their way out, nor USB OTG compliant. >>> Though agreed that they are flimsy... Why not just a type A or >>> something? Easy, big, and robust. >>> >> Why not mini and regular? >> Ben. >> PS: Add a 45.5 baud serail port. Control everything with a 5 level >> TTY. :) > > Dirty casual. 20mA current loop or nothing. The 45 baud machines do NOT run on 20mA. They usually run on 40mA :-) 20mA is the domain of model 28, 32, 33 etc.

9 years

2
1
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Mystery QED board

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Josh Dersch > Sorry, typo. Ah, no wonder I couldn't find it... :-) The memory card (?) - the hex board leaning up against the wall in the middle - does look a lot like the MS95 memory card from the manual (three horizontal DuPont headers at the top, two vertical ones at the bottom, etc) but it also has differences - it doesn't have the two large square chips, etc. (And there's an MS95 in the board list, IIRC.) None of the other boards seem to correspond to anything in the QED 95 manual, though. So, rather a mystery. Quickware Engineering does still have a Web page (http://quickware.com/) which says that "Our core business is providing custom PDP-11 processor emulator upgrades", but it contains little content. Noel

9 years

1
0
0 0

Mystery QED board

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

Does anyone know what the QED board (4th image) in this eBay lot: http://www.ebay.com/itm/322414100718 is? The large chip looks like a J11 chip. However, the only QED PDP-11 board I found mention of online is a high-performance hex board UNIBUS processor, the QED 95. Noel

9 years

3
2
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need (physical) key for Sun SPARCserver 1000e

by barythrin＠gmail.com

Perhaps a silly question but have you poked around local social media for a local unix group? Or a local craigslist ad for someone to borrow a key? I wouldn't think they'd be thst uncommon although admittedly I also stopped/paused a project for similar lack of results a while back (much different system though).

9 years

2
1
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Information Request: unidentified HP 9825T instructions

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Tony Duell > Having other hardware decode instructions that appear as NOPs to the > main processor is not uncommon in HP machines. Ah, so you actually had some prior knowledge that helped in working out that puzzle, that that's what's happening here! :-) Noel

9 years

2
1
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Mystery QED board

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Josh Dersch > I think it is a QED 90 -- there are docs on Bitsavers ??? The only file in: http://bitsavers.org/pdf/quickwareEngineering/ is for the QED-95? Noel

9 years

2
1
0 0

need (physical) key for Sun SPARCserver 1000e

by other＠oryx.us

Its literally Christmas for me today. I came into physical position of a well optioned-out SPARCserver 1000e, accompanied by several SPARC Storage Arrays. I'm doing a physical review of the 1000e, i.e. re-seating boards, physical clean up, etc. And reviewing all the appropriate hardware documentation, still available, directly from Oracle. Anyway, on the front of the case is a (4) position power switch (i.e. standby, on, DIAG, lock), that is unfortunately not set to the on position. Hoping that someone out there either has a key that they will part with, or, knows of another (presumably Sun) key that will work in the 1000e key switch. Thanks for looking, Jerry @ 75077

9 years

10
19
0 0

trying to resurrect a DG Nova 3

by suea.pac＠gmail.com

Hi CC folks: Been trying for several years now to find the vital parts I need to get a Nova 3/12 from my old Univ. up & running. What I do have now is the chassis with PS, front panel, CPU and FPU boards, some of the documentation, and, hopefully pending, a disc drive (not sure if it has controller). Most of all, of course, we badly need Mag or MOS memory, plus I/O boards/peripherals. Have posted on "vintage computers" several times and also contacted a DG specialist but so far no success with parts. ANY help in getting this thing going before, at pushing 70, I get too old to ever see it run even a simple routine or ancient game, (or care !) would be very deeply appreciated!! Please eMail: firesweep "at" verizon "dot" net if you can help or have leads! regards, Roger A. in NY

9 years

1
0
0 0

Current Loops and TTYs (was Re: New batch of pdp8 OMNIBUS to USB interface! Please Read and react!)

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

On Tue, Feb 14, 2017 at 4:22 PM, Philipp Hachtmann <hachti at hachti.de> wrote: >>> PS: Add a 45.5 baud serail port. Control everything with a 5 level >>> TTY. :) >> >> Dirty casual. 20mA current loop or nothing. > > The 45 baud machines do NOT run on 20mA. They usually run on 40mA :-) The M19 is 60mA at 100VDC... takes a bit to pull that relay. > 20mA is the domain of model 28, 32, 33 etc. Yep. That's all I have in my own pile... (33 and 35). -ethan

9 years

1
0
0 0

New batch of pdp8 OMNIBUS to USB interface! Please Read and react!

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Tony Duell > Personally I _do_ care about lead free solder. I won't have it. The > fact that part of this board comes pre-assembled with that horrible > muck means I won't even consider buying one. Gee, Tony, why don't you tell us what you _really_ think! :-) Noel

9 years

1
0
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Yale renames Calhoun College for Grace Hopper

by cclist＠sydex.com

Grace Hopper (if you've ever followed CODASYL or the COBOL language was a very sharp lady who's long had my admiration. Kudos to Yale! http://news.yale.edu/2017/02/11/yale-change-calhoun-college-s-name-honor-gr… --Chuck

9 years

5
5
0 0

Changing wire-wrap configurations on DEC circuit boards

by earl＠retrobits.com

Hi there, I've got a couple of DEC QBUS boards (including a quad SLU) for which configuration is set by wire-wrap jumpers. I don't have a wire-wrap tool, and have found that trying this by hand without one is not workable. Has anyone come up with a clever way to permit reconfiguration of these boards without semi-permanent changes? Or, alternatively, what wire-wrap tool would you recommend? Thanks! - Earl

9 years

14
15
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New batch of pdp8 OMNIBUS to USB interface! Please Read and react!

by w2hx＠w2hx.com

That is a very nice and robust part you linked to. Looks perfect ________________________________ From: Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks at gmail.com> Sent: Feb 14, 2017 10:03 AM To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts Subject: Re: New batch of pdp8 OMNIBUS to USB interface! Please Read and react! On Tue, Feb 14, 2017 at 8:27 AM, Alfred M. Szmidt <ams at gnu.org> wrote: > FWIW, Mini-B connectors are on their way out, nor USB OTG compliant. > Though agreed that they are flimsy... Why not just a type A or > something? Easy, big, and robust. This is a peripheral. USB OTG doesn't apply, and USB-A would be "inappropriate". Pretend this is an inkjet printer. What plug would you expect to find on that? I don't _mind_ Mini (I have a number of devices and cables that are mini) and it _is_ more robust than Micro (I have seen plenty of phones and tablets with broken micro plugs). I have a suggestion... put 4 vias on 0.1" spacing next to the micro connector so we could, for example, add a chassis-friendly exit cable of our own purchase/manufacture if we choose, to have a nice fat USB-B on the outside of the case. https://newnex.com/images/UHR1-B-0005Blarge.jpg -ethan

9 years

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Changing wire-wrap configurations on DEC circuit boards

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Tony Duell > I find wire wrap wire to be the best thing (soldered in place) to > repair or modify PCBs. That's what DEC used for ECO's. Noel

9 years

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AT&T 3B2 UNIX System V User Reference Manual for sale

by jbader＠neteffects.com

AT&T 3B2 Computer UNIX System V User Reference Manual Original red hardcover, 3-ring binder, 9"x9"x2" Published July 1985 Excellent condition, never used Best offer plus $10 for shipping.

9 years

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Information Request: unidentified HP 9825T instructions

by cruff＠ruffspot.net

Tony Duell wrote: > My first thought, and it's probably wrong, is that these instrucitons > (which differ by one bit, so might be > setting/reseting something) are NOPs to the CPU, but are interpretted > by the memory mapping hardware in those > 9825s that have more than 64K or RAM and ROM total. This seems likely. According to your schematics, gate U47 detects the pattern 0701xx. This signal feeds into the U43c flipflop, which appears to latch the state of the low 4 bits of the MAD bus into register U42, which sets the state of the /ForceRAM (bit 3), /ForceROM (bit 2), /DiagRd (bit 1) and ALLROM (bit 0) signals. Thus, these two instructions appear to toggle the state of the /ForceROM signal. If I?ve wrapped my brain around the details it appears that 070113 deasserts the /ForceROM signal, and 070117 asserts it?

9 years

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Information Request: unidentified HP 9825T instructions

by pete＠petelancashire.com

I agree quite a unique bit of code On Feb 13, 2017 4:07 PM, "Noel Chiappa" <jnc at mercury.lcs.mit.edu> wrote: > From: Tony Duell > My first thought, and it's probably wrong Apparently not... :-) > these instrucitons (which differ by one bit, so might be > setting/reseting something) are NOPs to the CPU, but are interpretted > by the memory mapping hardware Ooh, very clever/cool. Noel

9 years

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PDP 11 Line Time Clock (LW11L) M787 and EIS board, (KE11E) M7238

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Josh Dersch > (while installing the MMU and Stack Limit Register in my own 11/40) BTW, I think I found out why the MMU requires the SLR. The SLR is not operative in User mode. I haven't checked out the circuitry to see exactly what the interaction is, but it has to be something associated with that. > you *will* need an LTC to run V6 UNIX Actually, it will work with a KW11-P, too; those are actually more commmon than the KW11-L's, I've found. But as Guy pointed out, the DL11-W will do too - and those are _very_ common (since they were used in the 11/34's, etc). Noel

9 years

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Information Request: unidentified HP 9825T instructions

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Tony Duell > My first thought, and it's probably wrong Apparently not... :-) > these instrucitons (which differ by one bit, so might be > setting/reseting something) are NOPs to the CPU, but are interpretted > by the memory mapping hardware Ooh, very clever/cool. Noel

9 years

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DATAC 1000

by billdegnan＠gmail.com

Looking for a DATAC 1000 if anyone has one for sale or trade (or a site with pictures). This is a Philadelphia USA origin 6502 trainer. I am interested in it for the local history. Thanks Bill

9 years

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PDP 11 Line Time Clock (LW11L) M787 and EIS board, (KE11E) M7238

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: William Degnan > PDP 11 KE11E M7238 EIS board (for PDP 11/40) which causes the CPU to > crash when installed; front panel not responsive > ... > I installed a removable jumper so I can flip jumper configs back and > forth between EIS installed/not installed. Without the EIS the system > works fine To understand this symptom, one needs to understand how the EIS interacts with the main CPU. Both include microcode, and what is supposed to happen is that when an EIS instruction happens, control is passed to the microcode on the EIS board (the actual microcode words being fed back to the main CPU through those three over-the-back jumper cables). The microcode on the EIS board can then control the data paths, etc in the main CPU, to feed the EIS data, and take back the results of the computation performed on the EIS card. I'm trying to understand what W1 does, but I'm not there yet. It's shown on the KD11-A print K3-8 (pg. 48), in the lower left corner, but its effects are somewhat obscure. To start with, the array of odd chips E6-E7 (74H60's) and E17 (74H53) are expandable AND-OR gates. I'd never seen these before, but the lines running to and from pins 11 and 12 on the 'H53 join the other three gates below it into it - i.e. that whole array of AND gates all feed into one NOR gate (output on pin 8 of the 'H53). So far, so good, but from there I'm still lost. When W1 is inserted (no EIS) it grounds the signal ECIN00, which comes in from off-board (as shown by the "A05S2", which is the pin it arrives on). The output of that giant NOR gate is CIN00, which is immediately sent off-board (pin 'A05P1'). I have yet to try and chase these signals down, and work out what they do; the KD11-A Tech Manual is fairly cryptic on the subject. Note also that, IIRC, the front console operates under control of microcode. So I'm _guessing_ that what is happening is that somehow the EIS is, when enabled, messing up the operation of the microcode in the main CPU, causing it to freeze. > Thought - I don't have a LW11L, M787 installed. ... Do you think that > maybe the EIS board requires this for some reason No. I've looked at the KW11-L prints in the past, and it's just a very simple UNIBUS device. I don't see any way it not being there could cause the symptoms under discussion. > I could swap out the current 11/40 backplane with a backplane that has > the jumpers for the M787 already removed I think it's only one jumper - for BG6, no? > I neglected to mention I had no M787 To run Unix V6 you'll need either a KW11-L or KW11-P (see previous discussion about how Unix needs a clock - both at a low level, because it will panic() if it doesn't find one, and at a high level, because even if we patch the panic, stuff won't 'work right' without one). Noel

9 years

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PDP 11 Line Time Clock (LW11L) M787 and EIS board, (KE11E) M7238

by billdegnan＠gmail.com

Question - I am working on a PDP 11 KE11E M7238 EIS board (for PDP 11/40) which causes the CPU to crash when installed; front panel not responsive, can't boot XXDP. I installed a removable jumper so I can flip jumper configs back and forth between EIS installed/not installed. Without the EIS the system works fine, can boot OS's that do not require it like RT11. As discussed before the EIS is required if I want to boot up UNIX 6 on the 11/40, which is a goal of mine. Thought - I don't have a LW11L, M787 installed. This is a the Line TIme Clock option card. Do you think that maybe the EIS board requires this for some reason, even though there are no references to this as a requirement in any docs I can find? Maybe the docs writers assume it's installed? I only wonder because any time I have seen the M7238 installed in an 11/40 I have also seen a M787. I could swap out the current 11/40 backplane with a backplane that has the jumpers for the M787 already removed, but I only want to do this if it's necessary. When we were talking before I neglected to mention I had no M787, you may have assumed I did. Bill

9 years

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