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

by cctalk＠snarc.net

Several people asked me about archive pages for past Vintage Computer Festival events. Much of the information was lost during a rebuild of the former Festival owner's web site, however, much of the same information was also available at Archive.org. Tonight we posted about 50% of the basic date from past Festivals -- when, where, who -- at http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/archives-show-summaries/. (It would be a HUGE amount of work to post the exact web sites from past Festivals, and there's not much point to saving the logistical information about what time of day people will speak, etc., so what we are posting seems like a good balance.) We hope to get the remaining 50% onto the page soon. PS. You'll notice that the page is being populated from the bottom-up. No particular reason why. ________________________________ 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, 4 months

1
0
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7RS110 User's manual and tecnical specifications

by mark.kahrs＠gmail.com

I recently acquired a small box with 14 NIB MIPS 7RS110s. But is the User's manual anywhere to be found? Grazie Mille.

9 years, 4 months

1
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Choosing a shipping carrier -

by j＠ckrubin.us

Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you - http://abcnews.go.com/US/passenger-train-crashes-fedex-truck-shocking-video…

9 years, 4 months

1
0
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PDP-11: BC11-A cable dress between cabinets

by fritzm＠fritzm.org

Hey folks, I've gotten to the part of a PDP-11/45 restore I?ve been working on where I need to run a Unibus cable between the CPU box in one rack and an RK11-C controller at the top of the next rack over. I'm a bit puzzled about how best to run the bus cable to keep it out of harm's way, e.g. getting it accidentally pinched or crimped while sliding the CPU cabinet in and out for service. I can see there's a nice cable exit at the back of the sliding CPU cabinet, but from there...?? Anybody have a picture or remember how this was usually done around the slide rails etc. to avoid trouble? The RK05 manuals do have recommended dress for drive cables between drives and the controller, but I haven't seen any recommendations for the cabling Unibus between cabinets anywhere yet. cheers, --FritzM.

9 years, 4 months

2
1
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Very Early (Stugart) Apple II Drive!

by r3trohub＠gmail.com

If you're part of the AppleFritters forum you may have seen that I put it up for sale, but if you're not and you're interested, please drive me an email! I'm planning to put it up on eBay later tonight if nobody here is interested :) SN 1718 http://imgur.com/a/Bt2UV -Andy

9 years, 4 months

1
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tu58fs - PDP-11 file sharing with TU58 tape emulator

by j_hoppe＠t-online.de

Guys, I'm working on a special TU58 emulator called "tu58fs". It saves the "tape content" not only in a binary image file, but also as a file set in a shared directory on the host. The content of the "tape" (as seen by the PDP) changes automatically as files are moved in and out of the shared dir. This works in both direction: creating/changing/deleting a file on the "tape" modifies the files in the directory. Today tu58fs passed the tests for standard XXDP tapes, good time to tell the world about it. If you like to have a look (and play beta tester): Docs on http://retrocmp.com/tools/tu58fs C sources and makefile on https://github.com/j-hoppe/tu58fs tu58fs is intended to be a general tool for easy file sharing between a PDP and the modern world. For this as much DEC filesystems as possible should be implemented. We need more than XXDP, but I wasn't able to find documents about the structure of DOS-11, RT-11 or FILES-11/ODS-1. Any links? Joerg

9 years, 4 months

6
8
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Compaq foam rot keyboard SOLVED

by rdawson16＠hotmail.com

I posted yesterday about my attempt to weld a IBM PC keyboard to my Compaq model 1 - the 'luggable'. Well, it did not work, even though I saw clock and data on both Compaq and IBM keyboards that looked the same. I did not dig into the decoding, but somehow they are different. OK so I already cut into the PC keyboard, a BTC 5100. I let my son play with it and a screwdriver, and as he gets it apart, I see capacitive foam pads inside. Well guess what, they are the same size and fit for the Compaq Keytronics keyboard! I popped out all the pads and transplanted them, you push them in and snap the plastic disk in the guides with an exacto, and they work perfectly. I think a lot of these early keyboards before the switch to elastomeric rubber have these foam pads, and they are a standard size. If you are stuck with a Tandy, Lisa, Sun with keyboard foam rot, take a look in you junk bin for a IBM PC compatible keyboard, it worked for me. Randy

9 years, 4 months

3
2
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ISO Altos 586 firmware

by aek＠bitsavers.org

I've been working on documenting the hardware in the early Altos x86 machines and it would be nice to find a copy of the eproms from a 586. I tried asking Dave Dunfield about this, but never got a reply. Has anyone heard anything from him lately? I know Eric Smith was trying to contact him a few months ago about extending the known disk types in Imagedisk (specifically adding M2FM as one of the formats) but I don't think he ever heard anything back.

9 years, 4 months

1
0
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Transformer part ID please

by witchy＠binarydinosaurs.co.uk

Hi folks, Does anyone know what this is? It's obviously a transformer coil(s) but image search and googling those markings produces nothing: http://www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk/la4543.jpg It's taking and giving +5V but I'm sure it should also be producing another voltage... Cheers! -- Adrian/Witchy Binary Dinosaurs creator/curator Www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk - the UK's biggest private home computer collection?

9 years, 4 months

5
17
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Books available

by nospam212-cctalk＠yahoo.com

Clearing out a bunch of stuff I have decided I no longer need around. There may not be any interest here but thought I'd check first. I have several books available for the cost of shipping if anyone is interested, otherwise they'll go to my local book reseller this coming weekend.? All are in pretty much like new condition. Inside Visual C++ Version 4 - David KruglinskiVisual C++ 4 Unleashed - Viktor TothEssential Visual C++ 4 - Mickey WilliamsWeb Client Programming with Perl - Clinton WongGIMP for Linux Bible - Stephanie Bryant & Tillman HodgsonMangaging the WIndows NT Registry - Paul RobichauxDeveloping CGI Applications with Perl - John Deep & Peter HolfelderSendmail 2nd Edition - Bryan CostalesCore PHP Programming - Leon Atkinson Also have a Partition Magic 7.0 User guide and Adobe Photoshop 5.5 for Photographers in this stack if anyone is interested. David Williamshttp://www.trailingedge.com/

9 years, 4 months

1
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Attempt at Compaq keybord swap with a PC keyboard (failed)

by rdawson16＠hotmail.com

I have luggable with the famous Keytronics foam kepad rot. I am searching for the foam (have not found it yet), and on a lark, I tried using a PC keyboard. In the PC keyboard, I soldered in a 7805 to take the Compaq 12V to 5V for the PC keyboard. Traced the clock and data lines, hooked it all up and it does not work. The Keytronics (compaq) keyboard either has a different protocol or signals inverted, I have not got that far with the scope yet to see the difference. Has anybody found a source for the Keytronics mylar foam pads? Randy

9 years, 4 months

5
6
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Altair

by sellam.ismail＠gmail.com

Hi Brad. I saw your message on the ClassicCmp mailing list about desiring an Altair. Are you still interested in one? Sellam

9 years, 4 months

3
2
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heavy stuff -- was: Anyone want an RK11-C manual?

by henk.gooijen＠hotmail.com

Van: Tony Duell<mailto:ard.p850ug1 at gmail.com> Verzonden: vrijdag 16 december 2016 17:54 Aan: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts<mailto:cctalk at classiccmp.org> Onderwerp: Re: Anyone want an RK11-C manual? On Fri, Dec 16, 2016 at 4:31 PM, Henk Gooijen <henk.gooijen at hotmail.com> wrote: > > But I am not giving up hope ? I recently acquired something I did not think > to be possible to happen ? I ?picked up? an H960 rack with RP11 controller > and *three* RP03 disk drives aand 6 packs. The rack is already moved, the > drives are a separate story. Each drive weighs 415 lbs. ?So what? you might > ask. Well, they are in a cellar and three flights of stairs (10 steps, 6 steps, > and 4 steps) is too much for 3 strong guys to push one drive up the stairs. > We are now looking into another option to get the drives (and a DEC > _line_printer, also very very heavy!) up to the first floor ? Can these units be dismantled without totally losing alignment,etc. At least remove PSUs, spindle motors, etc. I once moved an RA60 (much lighter, but still too heavy for one person to carry easily) downstairs by taking it almost completely apart. Incidentally, it is surprising how much the PCBs in a full cardcage weight, it is often worth pulling them all out. I suspect an RP03 dismantled like that would still be too heavy for one person to move, but with 3 people it might be possible. I hope your upstairs floor is strong enough for them... You do not want them coming back downstairs at 9.81m/s^2 -tony Grin ? I don?t plan to check whether Mother Earth?s acceleration is still working fine. Indeed, the RA60 is heavy. Just like RA81?s, the RA60 is not good for your back, but the RA60 is worse than the RA81. The RA60 is also ?longer? compared to the RA81, and that does not help either when you hav to move an RA60 around. I really do not want to mess with the mechanical construction of the entire RP03 drive. They are too rare. I want to move them ?as is?. The only thing that can be done easily is removing the side panels. However, the ceiling in the cellar has an opening although that is currently welded by a closing lid. The system was installed in the 80ties, and it is not remembered how the system got into the cellar back then. The system has operated in that cellar for almost 20 years (PDP-11/40, RP11, Kennedy 9100 ? 3 H960 rack system). I used wooden planks (shelves) laid on the stairs, and then pushed the racks up. It was heavy, even for 3 strong guys --- OK, 2.5 ? I removed the Kennedy tape drive to make the rack less heavy. The rack with the RP11 controller was also heavy, but I really did not want to pull or dismantle anything of it. We got it out of the cellar. The 11/40 (the 21? version in BA11-F, IIRC) rack had, to my surprise an extra BA11-F with its H742 PSU ? One H742 PSU is already heavy, so two of these beast made the rack way too heavy. I ended up with disconnecting the power harness and move the 11/40 separately. That made it possible to move the rack upstairs (with sweat and some swearing ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H calling in the help of some gods ? We did try moving one RP03 by pushing it upstairs using the ?planks? trick. Three guys asking ?are we pushing?? Yes, but the drive did not move at all. The RP03 is by far the most heavy item I encountered in 20 years! We are now looking into the option to hoist the drives via the hatch in the Ceiling. Needless to say we take all possible precautions ? for people and for RP03?s. To be continued, * Henk, PA8PDP

9 years, 4 months

3
3
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A new life for my LA180.

by billdegnan＠gmail.com

My rt11 sends printer output to a lpt.txt. I have not done much more regarding printing than that. I have an LA180 with serial for my actual pdp8e. B Bill Degnan twitter: billdeg vintagecomputer.net

9 years, 4 months

1
0
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quick omnibus question

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Eugene (W2HX) > Before deleting this, someone ... should double check to make sure I am > right that the file is incorrect. ... But it seems to be backward to me. Well, it is, and it isn't. The board is drawn with the 'bottom' (in DEC nomenclature, for when the board is inserted in a backplane where the slots run vertically) at the top of the drawing, and vice versa. But, other than that, it appears to be correct - based on the keyed slots. (So, the first land, at the bottom of the drawing, which is the 'top' of a DEC board, normally, is AA. And the last - top of the drawing, 'bottom' of the card when it's in vertical slot - is DV. Etc, etc.) Noel

9 years, 4 months

1
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quick omnibus question

by w2hx＠w2hx.com

Hi friends. I am 100% new to my pdp8e and I am troubleshooting a problem. The problem is that whenever address bit 7 I asserted, I also see MD bit 4 asserted. I am hoping there is a simple short somehow between these lines somewhere. I should mention that my setup has known working boards with the exception of M8310 does not work (all of my boards were tested in another machine one by one). So I am hoping the problem noted above might be occurring on the M8310 board itself. I found a document that describes the signals on the bus located here: http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/dec/pdp8/pdp8e/Omnibus_leg… I noticed that B1J (MA7) is directly adjacent to B1K (MD4). Could this be related? So I decided to pull my 8310 and check the resistance between these signals on the edge of the board. However, I cannot seem to square the signals named in the PDF and what I see on the card edge connector on the board. I am wondering if I am not understanding the PDF correctly. I have the board sitting on my table with the components facing up and the omnibus card edge is at the bottom of the card. Going from left to right, do I have connectors ABCD or is it something else? Maybe DCBA? Other than the reference PDF, is there another PDF that has a more detailed description of the bus and the signals? Thanks Eugene

9 years, 4 months

7
8
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DS12887 pcb substitute with battery

by cctalk＠ibm51xx.net

Al, I thought the problem with switching these chips was that part of the ROM code was embedded in them? I.e. it isn't just an issue of battery? Am I wrong? If I am then why not use one of the replacement chips that are available?? Thanks. -Ali -------- Original message -------- From: Al Kossow <aek at bitsavers.org> Date: 1/21/17 12:12 PM (GMT-08:00) To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: DS12887 pcb substitute with battery someone just pointed this out on vcfed https://oshpark.com/shared_projects/qyNfzAMf

9 years, 4 months

4
3
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DS12887 pcb substitute with battery

by Richard.Sheppard＠telus.com

I was hoping someone would make a M48Txx version for the old Suns etc. Richard Sheppard

9 years, 4 months

1
0
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MSCP Qbus port layer doc sought

by mouse＠Rodents-Montreal.ORG

I'm starting to pick up my KA630 emulator again. In particular, I want to give it MSCP disk. I have various MSCP documentation files, but they talk about MSCP proper. None of them describe the Q-bus - nor even Unibus - port drivers in enough detail for me to write an emulator; most of them barely mention either Q-bus or Unibus. I find I wrote a bunch of code, and I'm fairly sure it was based on a doc file, but I cannot now find that doc file. And I find the code disagrees with NetBSD's MSCP support. I tried to use the NetBSD driver as documentation but end up with the response ring doing unexpected things. So, I'm looking for the Qbus port specification. One of the text files I found on bitsavers (a DEC-internal TMSCP document) says "See UNIBUS/QBUS Storage Systems Port Specification for additional detail". I also found a message to a simh mailing list, quoting an RQDX3 document which, in its "Applicable Documents" list, has o UQSSP (Unibus/Qbus Storage Systems Port Specification) Those sound like what I want. Anyone happen to know where I might be able to find such a thing? /~\ 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

9 years, 4 months

1
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A new life for my LA180.

by ed＠groenenberg.net

Not so much newsworthy, but 2 weeks ago I stumbled by accident on the serial option for the LA180 (Decprinter I). My offer was accepted and I got the card 2 days ago. I installed it this afternoon and after configuring it and checking the jumpers on the main board, it now works as a serial printer. Tomorrow I'm going to connect it with simh and see if printing jobs will get processed as well. Ed -- Ik email, dus ik besta. BTC : 1Lk6141nvDKPxtCa5erfFyovsoJN2LKqNJ

9 years, 4 months

3
3
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quick omnibus question

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Eugene (W2HX) > I noticed that B1J (MA7) is directly adjacent to B1K (MD4). Could this > be related? "Rule #1: There are no concidences." :-) > I have the board sitting on my table with the components facing up and > the omnibus card edge is at the bottom of the card. Going from left to > right, do I have connectors ABCD or is it something else? Maybe DCBA? I don't know Omnibus, but I expect it follows the DEC connector conventions: http://gunkies.org/wiki/DEC_card_form_factor and in that configuration, Pfrom left to right, the groups should be D to A. Generally one goes from right to left, so A to D in that direction; the pins go from A to V in that direction. Noel

9 years, 4 months

1
0
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FTGH: iMac G3

by fritzm＠fritzm.org

Hey folks, Helping my ex clean out her basement, she had a 1999 tray-loading "lime" iMac G3 that she no longer wanted. The machine is complete w/ original keyboard, mouse, and power cord. Boots and runs MacOS 9.2. CRT is arcing occasionally (probably dust around the flyback?) I'm not a Mac collector, but I scooped it in case anybody here might be interested? Free for pickup in Oakland or Menlo Park CA, or for cost of shipping anywhere else. Drop me a line if interested -- otherwise it'll be off to the local ecycler in a week or two! cheers, --FritzM.

9 years, 4 months

1
0
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8085 IO ports

by witchy＠binarydinosaurs.co.uk

Hi folks, STC Executel fun continues and I'm at the point where I'm fairly sure code is running but it's stuck in a tight loop waiting for something to happen. The 8085A reference tells me a non-memory I/O is signalled by IO/M going high while it puts the port number on the address bus (0xE3 to 0xE8 in this case), 8 bits on the data bus and sets S0/S1 to be WRITE. If that's the case then this machine in its current state doesn't do any non-memory I/O - IO/M is the only signal that stays low. It's not a failed CPU since I have 3 different ones and they all do this. I've pondered if one of the 3 chips the IO/M signal goes to is pulling it down; presumably I can test this by lifting the IO/M pin out of its socket then briefly touching a 1Kohm resistor connected to +5V to the 3 inputs and watch what the outputs do while the machine is running? With my little logic analyser on the address bus it's continually active so it's not a stuck bit either, at least not at the CPU. I can watch the repetitive patterns while the code runs through 3 delay loops then the patterns alter while it's off doing....something. All the 4116 RAM chips seem to be OK too. I'm also guessing things would be a lot easier if I had a memory map... Cheers! -- Adrian/Witchy Binary Dinosaurs creator/curator Www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk - the UK's biggest private home computer collection?

9 years, 4 months

8
30
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Does anyone have docs for a Ventel brand MD212-plus modem?

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

Hi, All, A friend of mine just returned a modem he got from me decades ago, a Ventel MD212-plus. It's an early-1980s non-AT-command-set autodialling modem. The settings are adjusted via a pair of 10-pin DIP switches accessible from the back. I've checked the web and bitsavers. So far, all I've found is some old Usenet articles and a couple of pictures, but no manual or jumper guide. One "feature" is that it lacks a modular jack to plug into the phone system. Fortunately, my friend kept the proprietary DA15 cable. I've never seen that choice of connectors on any other modem. Does anyone have any Ventel docs? Thanks, -ethan

9 years, 4 months

1
2
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DS12887 pcb substitute with battery

by aek＠bitsavers.org

someone just pointed this out on vcfed https://oshpark.com/shared_projects/qyNfzAMf

9 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

Imlac PDS-1D

by sellam.ismail＠gmail.com

Hi Josh. I hope you've been well. I noticed you posted recently about have an Imlac PDS-1D. I'm curious how you came across it as there aren't many out there as you observe. I notice you're still trying to get the DPS-6 online. I'm surprised Al Kossow hasn't been able to help with the operating system software at least. Sellam

9 years, 4 months

1
0
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IBM Maintenance Manuals (3203, 3704, 3803, 4341)

by thrashbarg＠kaput.homeunix.org

Hi List, I've had eleven IBM binders with maintenance information in them here for years. They're not doing anything useful so I'm inquiring here if anyone wants them. These are the labels on the spines: 3203-5 MLM , 4 TO 17 , VOLUME 02 3203-5 MLM , 18 TO 28 , VOLUME 03 3704 MLM , VOL 888 [note 1] 3704 ALD , AS CA SB , VOL 4 3704 ALD , YZ , VOL 1 3704 ALD , CC , VOL 2 3704 ALD , MX , VOL 6 3704 ALD , LB , VOL 8 3803 MLM IPC INST GUIDE [note 2] 3803 MLM TAPE SPECS [note 2] 4341 MI P.S. WIRING DIAGRAMS (YE) VOL 41 1: ALD scribbled out and MLM written under it in marker. VOL 888 in pen. 2: Written in pen Obviously not a complete set and I can't guarantee the labels match the contents, but I hope it'll help someone. I'm located in Adelaide, Australia. Feel free to contact me off-list. I can provide photos. Cheers, Alexis.

9 years, 4 months

1
0
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ISO: Honeywell DPS-6 things

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

> > From: jim stephens <jwsmail at jwsss.com> > Subject: Re: ISO: Honeywell DPS-6 things (Josh Dersch) > > On 1/19/2017 5:26 PM, Michael Thompson wrote: > > The RICM has a DPS-6, and another with an Ultimate label on it that may > > have a Pick processor. > I can help with this. Where is there information about this system? > thanks > Jim > There is some information here: http://www.ricomputermuseum.org/Home/equipment/honeywellultimate-level-6 -- Michael Thompson

9 years, 4 months

1
0
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Sparc software on Optical media. (ebay alert)

by jwsmail＠jwsss.com

I post this not so much as an ebay to buy, though if anyplace could be found with the means to use this it is on this list. someone had an optical MO drive at some point and wrote their backup and a Solaris (probably 2.5 or later) software onto two disks. now it's a big oops if you don't have the drives. I figure someone here to pop up and point one out on ebay, or have one. Optical-Disk-128-MB-Fujifilm-230-MB-Maxell-Sparc-Software http://www.ebay.com/itm/172492434487 Just late night chuckle. Oh, he has a cheapo SS20 (compared to others), $49 bucks, but 42 shipping (if it goes that cheap). Sun-SparcStation-20-/ http://www.ebay.com/itm/172490706990 I'll be digging out an Blade 100 and 150 soon. thanks jim

9 years, 4 months

2
1
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TS05AA drives?

by cclist＠sydex.com

I've been offered a DEC TS05AA drive at a pretty good price. Before I agree to the deal, I have a few questions that the DEC people can answer. 1. I understand that this drive is a rebadged Kennedy 9610. Corect? 2. The interface is supposed to be SCSI, but what kind of SCSI? 3. Do all 9610s have 800 NRZI support 4. What's your opinion of these drives in general? Thanks, Chuck

9 years, 4 months

9
20
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Bus and Tag Telex drive listed (Ebay alert)

by jwsmail＠jwsss.com

The same vendor which listed the CDC Keystone drives also has listed a pair of Telex drives with Bus & Tag. I don't recall who has the incoming 4341, but this would be a great and for the mainframe, compact half inch tape subsystem. I would check, but I believe this would have all you need for hooking it up from what the listing says for two drives. Located in Sacramento, Ca, would need freighting & shipping, as auction is marked local pickup only. Hope someone saves them. Probably way more compact and less fuss the 3420's. I doubt anyone will find many 3411's which would be the next most desirable, since it also has a builtin controller if you get the 370 version. With the 3411, you have to watch out for IBM 36 or some such which looked the same, but only had a single Bus cable to the host. But I digress. the 18" x 18" x 18" block of steel you don't have to deal with in the 3803 and probably 900# of just the controller makes a lot of difference. Thanks Jim Telex-8020-Model-266-Controller-with-Tape-Drive-One-additional-Tape-Drive http://www.ebay.com/itm/272516253336

9 years, 4 months

1
0
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How do you clean your vintage computers?

by barythrin＠gmail.com

Am I misremembering or wasn't denatured alchohol the recommended type when cleaning rubber type computer parts (i.e. rollers in laser printers). I thought isopropyl dried them out. ?I don't know the affects on either other than that though.

9 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Compatibility of 1101A and 1101A1

by vintagecomputer＠bettercomputing.net

Ok. ?I'm assuming they can work together then? ?I have scoured the net and found a couple of pics of mark-8 boards with a mix of 1101a and 1101a1.. or maybe thats why they werent working? :) Sent from my Samsung device -------- Original message -------- From: dstalk at execulink.com Date: 2017-01-20 2:54 PM (GMT-08:00) To: cctalk at classiccmp.org Subject: Re: Compatibility of 1101A and 1101A1 On Fri Jan 20 15:19:24 2017 vintagecomputer at bettercomputing.net (Brad H) wrote: > > I have some C1101A RAMs I was planning to use in my Mark-8 project.? I'm > having trouble finding more, as previously mentioned because the price has > shot up so much.? I'm wondering, I'm finding lots of P1101A1 RAMs with the > correct date codes.. are those compatible with C1101A/P1101A?? I don't > understand what the 1 at the end signifies. > According to my TI manual the 1101A is 1500 ns while the A1 is 1000 ns.

9 years, 4 months

2
3
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Compatibility of 1101A and 1101A1

by vintagecomputer＠bettercomputing.net

I have some C1101A RAMs I was planning to use in my Mark-8 project. I'm having trouble finding more, as previously mentioned because the price has shot up so much. I'm wondering, I'm finding lots of P1101A1 RAMs with the correct date codes.. are those compatible with C1101A/P1101A? I don't understand what the 1 at the end signifies.

9 years, 4 months

4
3
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PDP-6s at MIT

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Lars Brinkhoff >> They expressed some interest in the old MIT-AI KA-10 that you have in >> storage. Can they have it? > So maybe they got it after all! So perhaps my memory is not so bad after all! :-) Or maybe I was just remembering the discussion of them possibly getting it? The real thing to do is check directly with those guys, rather than examining tea entrails. Howwever, if my memory is accurate, there perhaps might be, in those pictures: http://www.stupi.se/Bilder/pdp-10/ some evidence that they did get it: in the row above the bottom, the picture on the left seems to me like it might be a picture of the HIC-memory for AI. But now that I look close, maybe it's just a CADR? The picture to the right of that one shows what looks like a CADR (they had those giant swing-out monolithic bays on the front which are the CPU - the AI Lab build a cool robot to check the wirewrap when they went into production on the CADRs), and so that may be the front of the same rack as that one before (which would therefore be of the back of that CADR). Noel

9 years, 4 months

2
1
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How do you clean your vintage computers?

by r3trohub＠gmail.com

Hey all, So one of my recent acquisitions is looking quite grubby, outside it just looks like surface dirt on the plastic, inside seems dusty/basement dirty. My question comes in two parts: 1. What do you use to clean the exterior plastic and/or metal if applicable? I'm always worried about staining the plastic using strong solvent... could you also include what type of cloth/sponge/anything you use :) 2. You guessed it! What about internally? I've heard isopropyl is really good, but how do you apply it? What do you use to apply it in order to make the board shine as if it was just bought!? :D or if you use anything other than isopropyl... I also have a bonus question, how do you ground yourself to ensure you don't blow a component? Is an ESD wrist strap good enough? I absolutely love this group, really enjoyed your previous answers regarding rarest/unusual machines!! -Andy

9 years, 4 months

11
10
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ISO: Honeywell DPS-6 things

by shadoooo＠gmail.com

Hello, I'm remembering of an old post on vcfed, somebody found in the dump a lot of tapes and floppies related to DPS6. IIRC Al Kossow contacted the man to have the dump of the disks... Maybe he has something? Andrea

9 years, 4 months

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Vector Graphics PROM/RAM Board?

by wheagy＠gmail.com

This was helpful, thanks. Unfortunately, I did not find anything specifically related to the specific PROM/RAM board that I have. There was a pretty good manual related to the VG PROM III. I'm sure there is some overlap with my board. The documentation I have for my board is very sparse. I'm not sure if this is all that is available, but it discusses jumpers on the board but doesn't give details on how they are configured, or a description of setup and operation of the board. I tried what I could decipher from my docs, but I haven't seen any signs of life. It's also possible that the board is not working, but I'd like to be sure I'm actually using it correctly. Any other pointers appreciated. Thanks...Win > Does anyone have experience with the Vector Graphics PROM/RAM > card...like this one. > http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/s100c/vector/promram.jpg > (This is not my card...mine is not jumpered in upper right.) > I have some documentation with mine and two PROMs loaded in A0 and A1 > (VIMON loaded on them), but am having some trouble getting any > response from it. Most likely a config issue or a conflict with other > RAM. Win, There are two resources that might be useful to you: 1. The VECTOR-GRAPHIC mailing list, inhabited by a couple of former Vector employees, among others - http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=vector-graphic 2. The Vector Graphic file archive - http://vector-archive.org/index.php De

9 years, 4 months

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PAL video in the states

by AppleCorey＠optonline.net

So I have a friend who is originally from the U.K. He has his old BBC micro from when he was a kid and wants to be able to use it here in the states. His parents threw out his old TV in the U.K. Is there a way to use a BBC Micro PAL version with a modern US LCD TV? Do some brands of modern TVs support both NTSC and PAL? Let's assume he may need to grab video before the modulator. Thanks, Corey corey cohen u??o? ???o?

9 years, 4 months

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ISO: Honeywell DPS-6 things (Josh Dersch)

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

> > From: Josh Dersch <derschjo at gmail.com> > > So I have this DPS-6 taking up space in my basement right now and I thought > I'd put out a call again to see if anyone has anything at all related to > it. I'd like to get the system running but I'm missing: > > - Mass storage controllers (of any type -- floppy, tape, hard drive) > - GCOS 6 operating system media (in any format, any version, etc.) > > If anyone has any hardware lying around, or GCOS 6 media (or knows anyone > who might), drop me a line. > > Alternately, if there's anyone out there who has a need for a DPS-6 parts > machine, let me know... > > Thanks as always! > - Josh > The RICM has a DPS-6, and another with an Ultimate label on it that may have a Pick processor. -- Michael Thompson

9 years, 4 months

2
1
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What's the rarest or most unusual computer-related item, do you own?

by gkaufman＠the-planet.org

Re: What's the rarest or most unusual computer-related item do you own? Probably the rarest computer-related item I have is a 7AD7 flip/flop module from the Whirlwind I Computer. I'm also rather fond of my Intel Intellec4 System. I also have an Intel Intellec 4/40. - Gary

9 years, 4 months

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ISO: Honeywell DPS-6 things

by derschjo＠gmail.com

So I have this DPS-6 taking up space in my basement right now and I thought I'd put out a call again to see if anyone has anything at all related to it. I'd like to get the system running but I'm missing: - Mass storage controllers (of any type -- floppy, tape, hard drive) - GCOS 6 operating system media (in any format, any version, etc.) If anyone has any hardware lying around, or GCOS 6 media (or knows anyone who might), drop me a line. Alternately, if there's anyone out there who has a need for a DPS-6 parts machine, let me know... Thanks as always! - Josh

9 years, 4 months

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How do you clean your vintage computers?

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Ethan O'Toole > very dry clean air? 'Very dry' is _exactly not_ what you want! Air with decent humidity is less likely to build up static voltage. Dave B. had issues with static destroying components in his workshop in winter-time, when with heating, humidity is low. Noel

9 years, 4 months

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How do you clean your vintage computers?

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

hi speed airflow from leaf blower could set static charge and could knock out cmos? Just a wild though... Ed# In a message dated 1/19/2017 10:29:33 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, billdegnan at gmail.com writes: On Thu, Jan 19, 2017 at 12:18 PM, Andy Cloud <r3trohub at gmail.com> wrote: > Hey all, > > So one of my recent acquisitions is looking quite grubby, outside it just > looks like surface dirt on the plastic, inside seems dusty/basement dirty. > > My question comes in two parts: > > 1. What do you use to clean the exterior plastic and/or metal if > applicable? I'm always worried about staining the plastic using strong > solvent... could you also include what type of cloth/sponge/anything you > use :) > > 2. You guessed it! What about internally? I've heard isopropyl is really > good, but how do you apply it? What do you use to apply it in order to make > the board shine as if it was just bought!? :D or if you use anything other > than isopropyl... > > I also have a bonus question, how do you ground yourself to ensure you > don't blow a component? Is an ESD wrist strap good enough? > > I absolutely love this group, really enjoyed your previous answers > regarding rarest/unusual machines!! > > -Andy > You really need a decision tree but there is my process 1. vacuum or blow out debris, outside. I have used a leaf blower before for really nasty machines, or very delicate vacuuming, all depends. Goal - remove all loose dust, particles, anything that would gunk up a cleaning process 2. Soap and water, inside and out. There is nothing wrong with using soap and water on a computer board, hand dish soap. Just dry well. Use a blow dryer or fan, depends on how delicate 3. Windex or glass cleaner for glass surfaces only. 4. Magic Eraser works great for plastic covers after you've washed with soap. Or use that whitening compound everyone uses for yellowed cases. Forget the name. 5. De-oxit for connectors and pins and such 6. Isopropyl alcohol for finishing touches, with a q-tip cotton swab. Use common sense. Teletypes for example would not be the same cleaning process as a surface mount laptop board. b Bill

9 years, 4 months

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Amazon Smile + VCF

by cctalk＠snarc.net

Vintage Computer Federation registered for Amazon Smile, which is a non-profit fundraising program. That means you can shop at https://smile.amazon.com/ch/47-4133714, get all the same things at all the same prices, and a tiny portion of it gets donated to VCF. Please consider helping VCF by using Amazon Smile whenever you can. Thanks, Evan

9 years, 4 months

1
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What's the rarest or most unusual computer-related item do you own? [Tek 4132]

by rickb＠bensene.com

> From: "Rick Bensene" <rickb at bensene.com> >> - A Tektronix 4132 Unix workstation using a National 32016 CPU and a >> 4.2bsd port called UTek >> Jon wrote: >Gee, how does it perform? I built a clone of a Logical Microcomputer Co. 32016 Multibus system and got it working. >But, it was glacially slow! I did have some memory that was likely a little slower than the stock memory, but it wasn't insanely slow. But, firing up certain things >like editors was just maddening. And, I'm not talking about Emacs, just vi. I eventually got a MicroVAX-II to replace it, and, yes, that DID have a cache to speed >up the memory, but it was quite a difference. Well...considering the era, it wasn't too bad. By today's standards, yeah, it's pretty darned slow. Vi starts up pretty quick, even with a couple of terminals running on it. It runs rogue pretty nicely, quick enough for multiple people to play it at once. The machine has 7MB of RAM, which really helps. Without additional RAM, there's only 1MB on the main board, and running it with just 1MB makes it incredibly slow. There isn't any external cache. It's fun to fire it up and just relive the days when I was on cloud nine to have my own personal Unix workstation that I built myself from parts. -Rick

9 years, 4 months

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What's the rarest or most unusual computer-related item do you own?

by seefriek＠gmail.com

From: "Rick Bensene" <rickb at bensene.com> > > - A Tektronix 4132 Unix workstation using a National 32016 CPU and a > 4.2bsd port called UTek Those seem quite rare now, especially if it works. You should preserve an image of UTek if possible. Any chance you have the install media? KJ

9 years, 5 months

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First ITS on Arpanet

by lars＠nocrew.org

And the award goes too.... DM! RFC 164 from 19 May 1971 says DM was to have NCP by end of week. RFC 211 certainly lists DMCG among other hosts. RFC 148 seems to imply NFP was working to some extent even earlier. RFC 342 from 15 May 1972 adds AI as a Network User. In RFC 344 is had become a server. RFC 366 from 28 June 1972 says "During this period the MIT Math Lab PDP-10 (Network address 198) became a server."

9 years, 5 months

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WTB - SPARCserver 1000

by other＠oryx.us

Looking for a SPARCserver 1000 or 1000e. Working or not. Top pic here: <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/SS1000-ssa.jpg> I'm located north of Dallas - 75077 Local preferred if possible. TIA, Jerry

9 years, 5 months

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Tested Wyse and IBM terminals and keyboards available

by sales＠elecplus.com

If you are looking for tested working legacy IBM terminals with tested complete M122 keyboards, please contact <mailto:bfloyd at southtexasproducts.com> bfloyd at southtexasproducts.com. He will sell the tested monitors with kbds for $85 plus shipping. Monitors might have slight screen burn, but nothing really bad. He will also do international shipping. He has 3151, 3196, 3197, and similar ones. Email for complete list and pricing. Some older terminals available, but maybe not the matching keyboards. No beam spring terminals or keyboards, no SSK, no unsavers, etc. Just M122 with terminals. Edit: Some Wyse terminals with kbds also available. Cindy Croxton

9 years, 5 months

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What's the rarest or most unusual computer-related item do you own?

by Flash688＠flying-disk.com

I just joined this list, so I'm not sure which of the items I own would be considered by this group to be rare or unusual, but here goes... Imlac PDS-1D graphics terminal, with the large screen and detached keyboard. Also a second one with the small screen and attached keyboard, but the chassis and cards are suitable only for parts. DEC TU56 dual-DECtape drive (goes with my PDP-11/34) DEC VS60/GT48 graphics display (goes with my PDP-11/34) DEC RKV11D Q-Bus controller for RK05 disks (on my LSI-11/73 system) Originally, it only supported 16-bit addressing, but I added the chip and wires to make it support 18-bit addressing. I have never even heard of another of these controllers, so I assume it is rare. Things that I assume are non-rare include an IBM 82 card sorter, Cardamation keypunch, assorted paper tape gear, and a True Data card reader (on my LSI-11/73 system). All of this was operating here at one time or another, but the clutter has become so bad that it is difficult to get them connected (or even get at them) these days. I recently retired, so my #1 job now is getting rid of all the stuff I accumulated over my almost 50 years in the computer industry. I have three rental storage units full of stuff and the cost is killing me! Is it OK to post ads on this list? Alan Frisbie

9 years, 5 months

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Looking for a Archive Model 2150S (150 MB SCSI tape).

by pete＠petelancashire.com

I'm being help by a fellow member getting a Motorola VME setup put together. I've just started and I'll need a QIC tape drive. The make and model that has been recommended is a Archive Model 2150S Anyone have one they don't need ? Also might be looking for some VME boards, and eventually a smaller cage/chassis. Regards, -pete

9 years, 5 months

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Netronics VID-64 terminal board

by vintagecomputer＠bettercomputing.net

I was wondering if anyone out there had documentation for this. ?I got one with a homebrew computer I'm trying to revive. ?Netronics documentation seems to be extremely scarce, which is odd given how popular it is. Brad

9 years, 5 months

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New: IBM 5285

by silent700＠gmail.com

My latest acquisition, an IBM 5285 kinda-computer/kinda-terminal: https://goo.gl/photos/pTVhWc7mYukBeQjAA Basically, a System/[34|36] era terminal with a local CPU and a couple 8" floppies crammed in. I received no disks or docs with it, but there are manuals, product releases and other docs for the 5280 line on Bitsavers. What are my chances of finding a bootable disk(s) for this machine? Or failing that, images that could, through whatever wizardry, be written out? The product release doc mentions a number of disk formats used by the line. My drives are the "2D" model, which appear to be the higher density/capacity disks. Beyond that, I don't know what format it would have used. >From the handful of hits I found in Google's trade-magazine scans, I get the idea this line didn't do well. -j

9 years, 5 months

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What is the most prized possession in your collection?

by alexandre.tabajara＠gmail.com

We've talked about the most expensive, the most rare, the less usual... Now lets talk about what you love most <3 For me is the Apple IIe signed by Woz :D What is your most prized and loved possession? :)

9 years, 5 months

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8
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WTB: DEC M8310

by w2hx＠w2hx.com

I am looking to buy a (preferably working) DEC PDP-8/e M8310 board. I have one that isn't working correctly. Mine is repairable, but it will be an easier repair with a working one on hand to compare results and pinpoint the problem. What have you got? Please contact me directly to discuss. Thanks Eugene

9 years, 5 months

1
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Vector Graphics PROM/RAM Board?

by wheagy＠gmail.com

Does anyone have experience with the Vector Graphics PROM/RAM card...like this one. http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/s100c/vector/promram.jpg (This is not my card...mine is not jumpered in upper right.) I have some documentation with mine and two PROMs loaded in A0 and A1 (VIMON loaded on them), but am having some trouble getting any response from it. Most likely a config issue or a conflict with other RAM. Feel free to ping me at wheagy at gmail.com Thanks...Win

9 years, 5 months

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1
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What's the rarest or most unusual computer-related item

by tsw-cc＠johana.com

Most unusual: I've got a complete card deck of Witran for the IBM 1620. Witran is an interpretive Fortran compiler (not even Fortran II) that was load & go. It was written in 1964. Somewhere I have a listing as well. Yes, it goes back a ways.

9 years, 5 months

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any thoughts where this might be?

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Adrian Graham > the island airbase is Johnston Atoll I was thinking that didn't look like Diego Garcia (which is an atoll), but rather Johnston Island. (Well, I guess technically its name is Johnston Atoll, but since it doesn't have the 'circular' above-water of the 'classic' atoll, I think of it as an island.) Cool story of surviving a Cat III typhoon on it here: http://www.travelbughawaii.com/Ioke.htm I wonder if the other pictures in the eBay item are of facilities on the island? I wonder who bought them - some interesting computer pictures in there. Noel

9 years, 5 months

1
0
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MU5 Software

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

With all this talk on the list recently about rare machines, here is a really long shot. I am interested in MU5, a research computer built at the University of Manchester in the 70s, which I know for a fact no longer exists. However, I would like to find any software, in any form, for it. Does anyone here have anything, or know who to ask? I have already been in contact with some of the people most closely associated with MU5 and drawn a blank so far. I am also aware of some documents in the National Archive of the History of Computing which may help and I will be going to consult those soon. Regards Rob

9 years, 5 months

1
0
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any thoughts where this might be?

by aek＠bitsavers.org

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/rgkAAOSw-0xYfg9p/s-l1600.jpg from www.ebay.com/itm/351959392585

9 years, 5 months

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6
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What's the rarest or most unusual computer-related item

by mark＠markesystems.com

From: "Jay West" <jwest at classiccmp.org> > -------------------- > Was it possible to configure an Access system with a mix of a 21MX and > 2100? > (I'm not challenging the assertion; it just never occurred to me...) > -------------------- > According to the documentation - specifically "no". Both processors must > be > the same type. > However, after digging in to it year ago, I see no reason that it > shouldn't > work and others on the list said they were fairly certain that it did > work. Thanks for the info! From: Glen Slick <glen.slick at gmail.com> > The L-Series 2103L and the A-Series A400, A600, A600+, A700, A900, > A990 were all called HP 1000 systems. They maintained software > compatibility with previous generation HP 1000 computers, although the > I/O interfaces used by the L-Series and A-Series were incompatible > with the previous generation HP 1000 computers. > I have a couple of A900 boxes that I need to get RTE-A running on them > someday. I used the A-Series quite a bit in the mid-80's. By that time, the operating system of choice had moved on from RTE-6 to RTE-A, which I quite liked in general. For control applications, it had several nice features for priority control, inter-process communication, etc. It also handled a fully hierarchical file system, which was still not a given at that time. However, I wasn't too pleased with the "full screen editor"; it worked by sending a couple of screen-fulls of text to the terminal (must be an HP26xx), then reading it back off the screen after you'd done any editing locally. It worked better than one might think, but one of the first things I did was write a character-at-a-time editor that used the WordStar / Turbo Pascal key mappings (in Fortran-77, BTW). With the A600, and at the end the A400, you could get a whole multi-user computer system, including a smallish disk drive (I think up to 60 MB) all in one 6U rack mount chassis, which I thought was pretty neat at the time. I had one, including two terminals, 7912 disk/tape drive, printer, and all the documentation and system generation media (720k floppy disks!) - I got it all for free when a customer upgraded to PCs, but gave it all away to Goodwill when I got married. On Mon, Jan 16, 2017 at 07:39:00PM -0500, Michael Thompson wrote: > I have two Sun 386i systems. It has an Intel 386 processor and runs SunOS. > Not exactly a big seller for Sun. I met some of the designers at the > Vintage > Computer Festival East 2.0 in Burlington, MA. I had one of those also, courtesy of a friend with a two-digit employee number at Sun. I really enjoyed it, being able to run multiple copies of DOS on a Unix machine in a windowed environment (this was well (this was at least 5 years before Windows 3.0 came out). Apparently the sales force actively *didn't* sell the unit, presumably because the price - and therefore commission - was too low. Gave that one away, too... ~~ Mark Moulding

9 years, 5 months

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What's the rarest or most unusual computer-related item

by mark＠markesystems.com

From: Al Kossow <aek at bitsavers.org> > On 1/15/17 10:02 AM, Jay West wrote: >> I'd have to say my HP-2000 systems that are running are the rarest that >> I'm aware of. >> So I fairly strongly suspect that my running HP-2000's are the only ones >> left, anywhere. > > probably true. > http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102682887 > is probably an Access system, I never looked to see if it has the > interprocessor comm link Was it possible to configure an Access system with a mix of a 21MX and 2100? (I'm not challenging the assertion; it just never occurred to me...) Actually, the thing I'm calling a 21MX is listed in the components list as a "1000". Perhaps this implies that it (or they) was running one of the RTE operating systems. ~~ Mark Moulding

9 years, 5 months

5
5
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Soldapullt original vs III

by AppleCorey＠optonline.net

So I think I need to upgrade to a real Soldapullt instead of the RadioShack special. Is the slimline III model as good as the original bulky one? I don't mind the xtra pressure to push down the plunger on the original, I'm concerned with the effectiveness and ability to get in tight places my Hakko FR gun can't fit easily or when it's not worth changing tips for a single different component. Thanks, Cheers, Corey corey cohen u??o? ???o?

9 years, 5 months

8
10
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What's the rarest or most unusual computer-related item do you own?

by r3trohub＠gmail.com

Hi Everyone! I thought this would be an interesting question to ask around - What's the rarest or most unusual computer-related item do you own? For me, personally, I have a Altair 8800! Looking forward to hearing your answers >_Andy

9 years, 5 months

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Close encounters of the CADR kind

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Lars Brinkhoff > http://i0.wp.com/futurewavewebdevelopment.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/10… That might actually be the CONS Machine (effectively a prototype CADR); Greenblatt looks awfully young in that picture! Also, I don't recall him being super-involved in the CADR work. (You might ask him which it is!) The CONS CPU backplane is apparently now at the CHM: http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102647223 My memory of the CONS machine is that, like the Chess Machine, it was a special purpose CPU hung off the AI PDP-10. (Or maybe the Chess Machine was attached to MC? I forget.) However, while that may have been its state early on, in reviewing some CONS documents I discovered that it was eventually given a keyboard and display, although it did remain hooked up to the PDP-10. The CONS machine is described in 3 AI Lab publications: Working Paper #79, Working Paper #80 ("CONS", by Tom Knight), and Memo #444 ("LISP Machine Progress Report"), The first is available here: http://www.textfiles.com/bitsavers/pdf/mit/cadr/Greenblatt-The_LISP_Machine… but it's just an architecture document. Memo #444 has an extensive "Current Status - August 1977" section, which gives more info about the CONS machine as built. Noel

9 years, 5 months

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3
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What's the rarest or most unusual computer-related item do you own?

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

I have two Sun 386i systems. It has an Intel 386 processor and runs SunOS. Not exactly a big seller for Sun. I met some of the designers at the Vintage Computer Festival East 2.0 in Burlington, MA. -- Michael Thompson

9 years, 5 months

2
1
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What's the rarest or most unusual computer-related item do you own? [Tek 4132]

by seefriek＠gmail.com

From: allison <ajp166 at verizon.net> > >The 32016 was not clocked very fast nor did it have any pipelines to >speak of. True. And lots of interesting bugs; some show-stoppers in early steppings. >If the 32016 had a second generation, some tweaks and faster process it >might have had hope but like 68k and Z8000 it was good idea but late. It had 2 additional generations of general purpose procs (32332 & 32532) and a number of embedded iterations (ns32gc, ns32fx). But, yeah, too late relative to to i8086. KJ

9 years, 5 months

2
1
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Macintosh Plus: 31 years old this coming Monday

by cmhanson＠eschatologist.net

I met up with some friends at a coffee shop to get some data off a hard drive that was given to one of them with an old Mac Plus. During the course of this, we looked some things up, and learned that the Mac Plus was released on January 16, 1986: Thirty one years ago, as of this coming Monday. Maybe I?ll take some time out on Monday to finally fit mine with the replacement analog board that I?ve acquired, so I can enjoy that beautiful bluish-white phosphor glow once again. -- Chris

9 years, 5 months

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What's the rarest or most unusual computer-related item do you own? [Tek 4132]

by seefriek＠gmail.com

From: Al Kossow <aek at bitsavers.org> > > That reminds me I need to dig out the Genix sources I have. > I'd really like to see that, if it ever came to light. KJ

9 years, 5 months

1
0
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door hinges needed for hp racks

by cctalk＠snarc.net

Vintage Computer Federation just got this: http://vcfed.org/evan/hpmini.jpg We have the left/right cabinet doors, but the cabinets are missing all of the hinges where the door pins sit. Does anybody have spares?

9 years, 5 months

1
0
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Origins of the term 'WYSIWYG?

by ard.p850ug1＠gmail.com

Does anyone have any thoughts as to when that term, or a near equivalent was first used? The reason I ask is that I have been looking in some old photographic books and have turned up a 1954 advert for the Wrayflex (an obscure British single lens reflex camera). The text ends with : ;...through the lens focusing at any distance. No adjustment for paralax. No coupled rangefinder. Just the simple axiom ... "What you see, you get" ' I wonder what predates that usage (if anything) -tony

9 years, 5 months

8
13
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Need serial cabe for pdp 11/34 M7856

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Devin > i need a cable that is wired for serial. You mean EIA, right? (They're both serial... :-) > If no one has the cable, i could make one myself The EIA serial cables that plug into the Berg connectors are pretty much unobtainium. I have a couple that came with an 11/04 I bought, but I've never seen one for sale, individually. So yes, you are going to have to make one. Fortunately, that's not too hard! > i just need the 40 pin connector that goes on the cable. These connector (the individual wire kind, not the flat cable kind) can be found on eBay under the search term "dupont connector housing". Here's a listing for the 2x20 kind you need for a DEC serial cable: http://www.ebay.com/itm/172446135576 The same search terms should provide the pins, too. The quality will be pretty crappy, but I find working with regular electronics suppliers' sites to be too painful (for me, at least). Noel

9 years, 5 months

4
3
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What's the rarest or most unusual computer-related item do you own?

by geremin＠iprimus.com.au

Greetings from Australia, 'Down Under' and the Australian Computer Museum Society Inc. Congratulations to Jay on his working HP-2000s. I bought my HP-2000f from Liverpool Hospital (NSW) in the early 1980s for either $5,000 or $10,000. A lot of money in those days - I had a crazy idea of setting up some sort of bureau. I got it home (in a terrace in Chippendale) in two trips. Plus heaps of doco. I re-assembled it, put in a switch for selectable baud rate on the console port. Later the power supply for the disk failed and has not been repaired. It now sits in the HP Museum in Melbourne, VIC. See www.HPmuseum.net home page. The HP Museum is a vast store of HP information and artefacts. Sadly, the curator/originator Jon Johnston died last year on Mt Everest. His memorial service will be held next month, contact me for details. Regards, John GEREMIN, info at acms.org.au >---------------------------------------------------------------------- > >Message: 1 >Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2017 12:02:26 -0600 >From: "Jay West" <jwest at classiccmp.org> >To: "'General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts'" > <cctalk at classiccmp.org> >Subject: RE: What's the rarest or most unusual computer-related item > do you own? [Tek 4132] >Message-ID: <000201d26f59$87e1cb60$97a56220$(a)classiccmp.org> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > >I'd have to say my HP-2000 systems that are running are the rarest that >I'm aware of. I know of a few folks who have various bits and pieces >towards assembling one, but not complete. I know two collectors who (each) >have most if not all of the parts, but the systems are far from >operational and likely never will be. > >So I fairly strongly suspect that my running HP-2000's are the only ones >left, anywhere. I have one HP-2000/Access system using dual 2100A/S cpus >with HP paper tape readers and punches, another HP-2000/Access system >using dual 21MX/E's, and an HP-2000/E using one 21MX. Each of those have >their own 7900, 7906 disc drives and 7970 (not the 2000/E) tape units. > >I think the most I ever paid for a system at once was $1500 for a >"system", and about $2000 for a pallet of two incomplete systems. But in >order to get the 3 HP-2000 systems mentioned above and running, I'm sure >it's edged uncomfortably into the 5 digit range. > >All the other systems in my collection, while perhaps highly sought >after... there are tens if not hundreds of identical systems in other >collectors hands. > >J --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

9 years, 5 months

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Origins of the term 'WYSIWYG?

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Al Kossow > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WYSIWYG > As it relates to computing, there are multiple claims to first use of > the phrase: > In mid-1975, John W. Seybold .. and researchers at PARC, incorporated > Gypsy software into Bravo to create Bravo 3, which allowed text to be > printed as displayed. Charles Simonyi and the other engineers > appropriated Flip Wilson's popular phrase around that time. I looked in the Bravo section of the Alto User's Manual (September 1979), and in the "Look hardcopy" section (pg. 38), which describes how Bravo can put the text on the screen almost exactly as how it will appear when printed ("by positioning each character on the screen within one-half [pixel] of its position in the final hardcopy"), but I see no reference to WYSIWYG there. So it must have gotten that tag later. Probably the best way to track the etymology on this is to look in NewNews archives. > The phrase was coined in 1982 by Larry Sinclair, an engineer at > ... ("Triple I") to express the idea that what the user sees on the > screen is what the user gets on the printer This exact idea existed in Bravo some years before (see above), and was well known. > From: Tony Duell > a very similar phrase ('What you see, you get') was used by a camera > manufactuer some 15 years earlier (at least) Yes, but I'll bet Flip Wilson never read any of their ads! :-) (And I think one can be pretty safe in saying that it was his use of the phrase that made it popular - at least, in the US. Not sure if the FWS was picked up on any British channels.) Noel

9 years, 5 months

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Close encounters of the CADR kind

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Lars Brinkhoff >> like the Chess Machine, it was a special purpose CPU hung off the AI >> PDP-10. (Or maybe the Chess Machine was attached to MC? I forget.) It's also possible that it was connected to AI at one point, and MC later on. I have this bit set about being told that when it was competing in some chess tournament, they disabled logins (and I have this bit set that it was on MC, since it was the fastest machine) so that they'd get the best performance. But it's all foggy at this point. I'm pretty sure that CHEOPS and CONS were in the same room (not in the raised floor area of the 9th floor) at one point, but again, don't rely too heavily on that memory. And I think the first CADR was in there too, while they were debugging it - I remember one evening watching over Dave Moon's shoulder in the room next door, while they tried to get the first CADR running. > Would that Chess Machine be the one called CHEOPS? Yes, that's it. > I'll take this opportutity to ask what CAIOS was? It seems intimately > related to Chaosnet. Maybe an earlier name for Chaos Yeah, that rings a bell, vaguely. Where did you find a referece too it? I just did a Google search, no luck. Noel

9 years, 5 months

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A compilation of PalmOS versions

by lproven＠gmail.com

This might be a bit new for some folk hereabouts, but I found it interesting. http://www.osnews.com/story/29602/The_elusive_Palm_OS_5_5_Garnet_emulator_f… Trying to collect and run every major version of PalmOS on modern PCs. There's a lot of interesting historic detail, and for once, _do_ read the comments! -- Liam Proven ? Profile: https://about.me/liamproven Email: lproven at cix.co.uk ? Google Mail/Talk/Plus: lproven at gmail.com Twitter/Facebook/Flickr: lproven ? Skype/LinkedIn/AIM/Yahoo: liamproven UK: +44 7939-087884 ? ?R/WhatsApp/Telegram/Signal: +420 702 829 053

9 years, 5 months

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ISO Altos 686/886 documentation

by aek＠bitsavers.org

Worked on cleaning up and documenting the 686 and 886 I had over the weekend. Pics and firmware up now on bitsavers, but I don't have any documentation. I'm especially interested in the 8274 diagnostic serial port, which isn't installed on either of my boards. I'll have a hard disk image of Concurrent CP/M 4.1 for it up under bits/Altos/686 later today, just installing it now. Also, the Xenix image from a 886 will boot on a 686. Turns out the disk in the 686 had a bad head, which is a drag because the image I made of it is missing heads 4 and 5. I'm also still trying to figure out if there is any way to do an inital format since at least the CP/M tools expect a config block on disk before you can partition it, which optionally will format the disk (chicken and egg).

9 years, 5 months

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Close encounters of the CADR kind

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Al Kossow > I assume that CONS ww panel we had on display in Boston was there > because it was wired by a robot they built. I don't know for sure about the CONS, but I'm pretty sure no CADR's were wired at the AI Lab; ISTR that some outside fabricator did them. (Probably a place with tape-controlled wire-wrap machines.) The robot that the AI Lab _did_ build, that was used in the production of CADR's, was a wire-wrap testing machine, used to verify the huge CPU panels immediately upon arrival. It was this large frame (made out of Dexion, IIRC) in which the CPU panel was laid horizontally. It had two 'test heads' (not sure of their exact name) which were moveable (details below), each of which had a little arm with a little round solid test probe sticking down. The test head would roll up to where the pin it wanted to continuity check was, and lower the little arm (it moved about 1/2", or so, IIRC). If the probe wasn't centered exactly on the pin, the test probe would slide off the pin, and go further down, and the machine could sense that. So it would raise the probe, and hunt around a bit in a trial-and-error process until it landed on the pin. Then the other test head did the same thing, and then it could do the test (dunno if it checked for shorts, as well as pin-pin continuity per the wire list); repeat ad nauseam. The two test heads were supported on beams (supported at both ends, IIRC) which could run back and forth on tracks, with the heads moving up and down the beams, all driven by a pair of plastic chains (which looked like miniature rope ladders), one each for X and Y axis motion. Those were driven off a couple of stepper motors attached to the frame, IIRC. I don't recall how it was done so that the two heads and their support beams didn't interfere with each other - possibly there was one on each end, and each had half of the panel to itself? (I think probably that, now that I think about it.) It was the most amazing Rube Goldberg device, and a blast to watch running, but it did the job. Noel

9 years, 5 months

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Close encounters of the CADR kind

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Alfred M. Szmidt > How do you figure that? Umm, because I saw them every day, for several years? :-) (They were scattered all over the 9th floor at Tech Sq.) Admittedly, it's hard to tell a picture (from the front, where one can only see a giant wire-wrapped assembly) of the CONS machine from a picture of a CADR, but that one also has the CADR header-plate. Also, from a previous message: > these pictures are of a CONS, or a very early CADR prototype There were no CADR prototypes, other than the CONS. The first CADR built was, I am fairly certain, put into service as a general user machine; it likely had fixes applied during the bring-up process that were built in from the start on later machines, so they were all identical (i.e. no special software for that one machine), but there was no 'prototype CADR' left lying around gathering dust, unused. Noel

9 years, 5 months

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Caldisk 8" drive (also ebay warning)

by jwsmail＠jwsss.com

I'm not sure I've heard of Caldisk, though it was in Anaheim apparently. Maybe a Calcomp brand or spinoff? Here is an ad also for the Matchdisk operation who pasted their info all over the drive. https://books.google.com/books?id=iD4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT33&lpg=PT33&dq=caldisk+… 8" double sided drive, 479 bucks in the 1981 Infoworld ad. CalDisk-142M-17652-111-Pragmatix-I-8-Inch-Internal-Floppy-Disk-Drive-VINTAGE/ http://www.ebay.com/itm/192031318942 Also I'm wondering if the "Matchmakers match of the month" system which they can't tell you about is in fact NoName systems generic CPM system. I never heard of this operation in all the things going on in that time frame (Matchmaker) but they seemed to be marketing to people who were less skilled at fitting things like third party floppy drives to systems, yet this offering is clearly for someone with advanced skills at doing so. thanks Jim

9 years, 5 months

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Close encounters of the CADR kind

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Alfred M. Szmidt > The closest to a picture of a CADR that I have seen The picture posted earlier of the machine in the MIT Archives: http://questier.com/Photos/200907_USA/20090731-150406_USA_Massachusetts_MIT… is _definitely_ a CADR. Noel

9 years, 5 months

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SunoS 4.1.4 and Open Windows 3 on an IPX?

by mattislind＠gmail.com

I have installed SunoS 4.1.4 on a an IPX and then tried to start Open Windows 3 from the command line. I get a garbled screen that looks like this: http://i.imgur.com/jWcbqYO.jpg?1 It looks like there is a mismatch between what resolution Open WIndows is using and how the frame buffer is configured. My screen reports that the framebuffer is outputting 1280x1024 at 76Hz. How can this be adjusted? I have read this manual: http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/sun/openWindows/Open_Windo… and various FAQs trying to modify EEPROM settings etc but it won't work. I understand that the 13W3 cable includes a number of sense lines so that the framebuffer can adjust to the monitor used. I haven't checked how 13W3 to VGA cable is configured but I assume it tells the FB to use 1280x1024 at 76Hz since it is what the screen reports. On the other hand, when SunOS boots it finds the cgsix0 and reports that the resolution is 1000x1022!? Any idea on how to set different resolutions in Open Windows? What I am not understanding here? The word resolution is not even mentioned in the Installation manual for Open Windows above... /Mattis

9 years, 5 months

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Close encounters of the CADR kind

by ams＠gnu.org

Does anyone have close up pictures of the MIT CADR? Boards, the maintaince indicator display, anything interesting and close up. LM-2 and and Lambda would also be of curiosity.

9 years, 5 months

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Microscope for Soldering and Inspection Work

by kspt.tor＠gmail.com

On 16 January 2017 at 00:51, Jon Elson <elson at pico-systems.com> wrote: > Also, flux smoke gets all over the lenses. That is one downside on my > Olympus, the bottom is not sealed. I made up some card stock and glued it > in place to try to prevent the smoke getting inside. But, it still gets on > the lenses requiring periodic cleaning. I use a fan and a flexible tube (for easy positioning) to suck the smoke away. It removes most of the smoke (from my nose as well).

9 years, 5 months

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Microscope for Soldering and Inspection Work

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

OK! here goes...well the B and L stereo zoom has a screw in place over the optics underneath... it is for attaching close up lenses or reduction in power lenses etc. you can also screw in a clear cover. the cover will also screw in our the aux lens if my brain remembers right. Many other stereo microscopes also have this provision to add a clear filter or aux booster or de-creaser in power lens. always best to keep active optics covered with some protection to save from solder splash, sharp things sticking up from scratching etc etc... Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org) In a message dated 1/14/2017 10:52:08 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, cclist at sydex.com writes: On 01/14/2017 09:36 AM, COURYHOUSE at aol.com wrote: > Be sure your stereo-zoom has a cover thing screwed into the > front of it. always good to protect the active optics. > > We have a rework station with a sliding X Y table on it.... and a > scope mounted on it... but... my hands are not steady as when > young..( need to find technology to assist with that!) Ditto on the second paragraph. But I'm not sure what you mean by a "cover thing". Care to elaborate? Thanks, Chuck

9 years, 5 months

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dual-wide dec extender cards

by aek＠bitsavers.org

fyi more common, but it has the correct depth connector on it thought I'd post since the description isn't at all obvious what it is http://www.ebay.com/itm/361530436227 http://www.ebay.com/itm/361530436651

9 years, 5 months

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DEC G500 Module

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

We are still fiddling with the TU56 drive on the PDP-12 at the RICM. We followed the head skew procedure, but it calls for a G500 module to amplify the signals from the tape head. We cobbled together a pair if G888 modules as the amplifier, and it worked OK. The G500 schematics are in the skew procedure so we could make one, but we don't know anything about the physical layout. Has anyone ever seen a DEC G500 module? -- Michael Thompson

9 years, 5 months

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Need serial cabe for pdp 11/34 M7856

by lyokoboy0＠gmail.com

The cable that came with my 11/34 is for current loop, i need a cable that is wired for serial. If no one has the cable, i could make one myself, i just need the 40 pin connector that goes on the cable. I have been unable to find the connector. Oddly ebay appears to have the side of the connector that goes on the M7856 board itself, but i need the other end, that goes on the wire. Any help is much appreciated. Lots of setbacks with this thing. I just want to see it running already. --Devin

9 years, 5 months

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What's the rarest or most unusual computer-related item do you own?

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Eric Smith > I have a computer of the type that Gates and Allen used for that early > development. :-) > I don't have it running, though. Really? Which model processor; KA, KI, KL? Noel PS: Apparently Gates and Allen at one point rented time on a commercial service in Boston to do development; anyone know who that was, and what machine/OS is was?

9 years, 5 months

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Kenbaks in Nova Scotia

by vintagecomputer＠bettercomputing.net

-------- Original message -------- From: jos <jos.dreesen at greenmail.ch> Date: 2017-01-15 12:33 AM (GMT-08:00) To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: Re: Kenbaks in Nova Scotia >?? And how a tiny museum in a tiny province could afford them.? Kind of a head scratcher! They were not always 30K+... I visited the museum &? talked to the (very friendly ) owner. ? While this museum in itself may not warrant a trip to Nova Scotia, the area is >well worth a visit. >Jos Cool. ?Unfortunately I'm way over on the other side of the country so it's unlikely I'll get there. ?I just wonder why the previous owner, who seems concerned with getting the Kenbak's story out to the world, elected to send so many to one rather isolated place. ?Interesting.

9 years, 5 months

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EWD37

by pbirkel＠gmail.com

Priceless product review! (The infamous CADET, aka IBM 1620.) ROFL :->. http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/transcriptions/EWD00xx/EWD37.html\ <http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/transcriptions/EWD00xx/EWD37.html/> -----

9 years, 5 months

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DG Nova extender board on eBay

by aek＠bitsavers.org

fyi www.ebay.com/itm/252724692683

9 years, 5 months

3
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What's the rarest or most unusual computer-related item do you own?

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

I have a Sun VME to Pixar interface board somewhere in my collection. -- Michael Thompson

9 years, 5 months

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PAL video in the states

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: William Degnan > some are made to handle both pal and ntsc automatically. ... not sure > if they still do all that for LCD tv's but why not? Well, one thing most LCD's don't handle is interlaced video, so that could be an issue. Noel

9 years, 5 months

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Kenbaks in Nova Scotia

by vintagecomputer＠bettercomputing.net

Never know what you'll find googling around. ?I'm kind of curious about this. ?There is a 'museum' (barely.. they have less stuff than I do) in Nova Scotia that has 7 Kenbak-1s. ?I read how they got them.. from a gentleman in South Carolina. ?In his own write up, he said he would only sell them for a 'substantial price'. ?Since I know one sold not too long ago for $30k+.. I'm wondering what the museum paid and why he sold 7 them. ?And how a tiny museum in a tiny province could afford them. ?Kind of a head scratcher! I think this link will give you the story.. the gentleman that sold them asked to have it posted. ?I'm sure this must have been covered at some point in the past.. it's an interesting read though for those lioe me that have never seen it before. ?I didn't expect one Kenbak to be in Canada let alone 7. http://www.computermuseum.20m.com/cgi-bin/framed/3129/KENBAK-1BACKGROUND.htm

9 years, 5 months

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Microscope for Soldering and Inspection Work

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

check look at this listing they mention 38 mm? _http://www.ebay.com/itm/BAUSCH-amp-LOMB-STEREO-ZOOM-MICROSCOPE-38mm-RING-LI GHT-ADAPTER-with-Protect-Glass-/181679683562?nma=true&si=xIQtOD6q2mVWI24DK0x J%252B9hZoak%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557_ (http://www.ebay.com/itm/BAUSCH-amp-LOMB-STEREO-ZOOM-MICROSCOPE-38mm-RING-LI… ith-Protect-Glass-/181679683562?nma=true&si=xIQtOD6q2mVWI24DK0xJ%2B9hZoak%3D &orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557) In a message dated 1/14/2017 12:54:49 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, cclist at sydex.com writes: On 01/14/2017 11:12 AM, COURYHOUSE at aol.com wrote: > Many other stereo microscopes also have this provision to add a > clear filter or aux booster or de-creaser in power lens. always > best to keep active optics covered with some protection to save > from solder splash, sharp things sticking up from scratching etc > etc... Oh, okay, looking at my unit, I see what you mean. Does this threaded fitting have any compatibility with a standard camera lens filter thread? (i.e. Can I buy a standard lens filter and expect it to fit?) --Chuck

9 years, 5 months

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What is the most amount of money you've spent on a computer or computer-related item?

by r3trohub＠gmail.com

Hi Everyone! I know this is a bit of a personal question, so please feel free to ignore this email! If you're willing to answer it would also be interesting to know what drove you to spend as much as you did on that particular computer? For me, the most I've spent on a single computer is $2,000 for a Rev 0 Apple II around 3 years ago, I spent that much because I had wanted an original Apple II for so long (not plus or E) and this one was so clean and perfect! I cannot think of a time when I will sell it! Can't wait to hear your answers :) :) _>Andy

9 years, 5 months

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KA-10 desirability [was RE: What's the rarest or most unusual computer-related item do you own?]

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Rich Alderson >>> If he had a KA, I would have tracked him down and beaten him to a pulp >>> to lay hands on it > A KA-10 based PDP-10 is the Holy Grail So, how many KA10's _are_ there still in existence? Does anyone know? And I think all the PDP-6's are gone, right? Noel

9 years, 5 months

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Microscope for Soldering and Inspection Work

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

might be but I do not remember the size! http://www.science-info.net/docs/b-l/BL_Stereozoom.pdf the large articulating arm is the monster we have... it is cool but a desk hop hog see in manual was looking for filter dia specs and do not see... in the manual In a message dated 1/14/2017 12:54:49 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, cclist at sydex.com writes: On 01/14/2017 11:12 AM, COURYHOUSE at aol.com wrote: > Many other stereo microscopes also have this provision to add a > clear filter or aux booster or de-creaser in power lens. always > best to keep active optics covered with some protection to save > from solder splash, sharp things sticking up from scratching etc > etc... Oh, okay, looking at my unit, I see what you mean. Does this threaded fitting have any compatibility with a standard camera lens filter thread? (i.e. Can I buy a standard lens filter and expect it to fit?) --Chuck

9 years, 5 months

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