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

EOM Clearance (aka free stuff in Indiana)

by Mzthompson＠aol.com

EOM Clearance (aka free stuff in Indiana) Having cleared most of the machines out of my 10x20 rental storage, I have decided to clear it all out and vacate it by the end of the month. Following is a list of what's available, some of it in storage, some here at home. All this is available for free to those that come pick it up. I'm located a few miles south of Terre Haute, Indiana. FREE, FOR PICKUP ONLY: ------------------------------------------------------------ DEC: VAXstation 2000's - There are six of these, one is a recent one and untested. The other five have been test fired using a VR260 and all found to work and complete the self-test OK. None of these machines have a disk drive. Have an LK201 keyboard, hockey puck mouse and the BC18P combination video/kb/mouse cable for most of these machines. MicroVAX 2000 - There is one of these, completely diassembled and in a box. Also have a spare MS400 2mb board and this is unused still in original box. This goes in the 2000. Also have two TK50Z-FA tape boxes. VT220 - Have 4, none have been tested. Includes LK201 kb. VT320 - Have 1, has not been tested. Includes LK201 kb. DS200 Terminal Server - 3 ea DELNI - around 6 ea On the DS200's & DELNI's, don't forget to ask about MMJ and AUI cables, I am sure I can include a cable or two. ------------------------------------------------------------ VME: Motorola Model VME/10 System Contains: 1 ea MVME400 board 1 ea MVME201 boards Micropolis 1304 43mb hard drive, untested Also have a monitor, but no video cable. Believe the keyboard is around here somewhere. Also have a machine around here that is a plain white case with a VME motherboard and several cards. Beyond that I have forgotten and it is too dang hot right now to go pop the hood on it. If you are interested, I will see what I can do to get more info when it cools in the evening. Jupiter Technologies - There used to be a company in Massachusetts that made was commonly referred to a UGC (Universal Gateway Controller). It amounts to a box that can interface to various network protocols and convert them to other protocols using 'softblocks'. I have a few complete units and more spare boards than I can count. I rescued them due to the VME boards only to realize that each processor card contained a Jupiter proprietary 160 pin chip. I doubt what they would be as much use to the hobbyist aside from pulling the CPUs, SIMMs, and Eproms. I list them here in the event you come after some other VME stuff. These might then be of interest. ------------------------------------------------------------ IBM: Model 5182 Personal Computer Color Printer Parallel Interface, dot matrix 132 column This works, but needs a new ribbon ------------------------------------------------------------ Hewlett Packard: Model 2631G 132 column dot matrix printer This has a 24 pin connector, IIRC GPIB interface. Condition unknown. ------------------------------------------------------------ Intel: Have a couple IBM PC/XT's with 5 1/4 full height floppies and 10 mb HDs. No IBM kb's, video cards, or monitors though. Have been tested and do work. Have an IBM AT, IIRC this has been tested and works. Beyond that there is the usual Intel flotsam. Various boxes, 286, 386, and the like. ------------------------------------------------------------ Misc flotsam: Who knows what is here. There are some hard drives, tape drives, keyboards, mice, and the like. There is too much to list separately. If you come and pick up some of the stuff above, we will make a tour of the basement and see what turns up. ---------------------------------------- I feel like I have forgotten some stuff. So we'll start with this and go from here. Mike Thompson

25 years, 1 month

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New Toy - Poly 88

by dlw＠trailingedge.com

Received a new system today, a partially built Poly-88. Came with the mainboard and case, an assembled 8080A CPU board and an unassembled video interface and all the parts to finish it all up. Came with cassette BASIC, Monitor and Assembler and doc too. Great shape! It will be interesting because it will be the first time I've actually assembled a system from the ground up. Need to find some other boards, memory and such still. Now to clear space to work on it. ----- "What is, is what?" "When the mind is free of any thought or judgement, then and only then can we know things as they are." David Williams - Computer Packrat dlw(a)trailingedge.com http://www.trailingedge.com

25 years, 1 month

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Available: 4 ISA or MCA swappable DCA ethernet cards

by rhblake＠bigfoot.com

I have dug out 4 identical NICs - made by DCA and they are flipover style, having an 8 bit ISA connector on one side and microchannel on the other. They only have the ISA backplate and they aren't tested. No docs or software but anyone familiar with them will probably want them. They should be in working order as they came from machines that came right off the network to the pallet lot sale except that the hard drives were wiped (hence no drivers). They are 10baseT and 10base2 having an RJ45 and BNC on the end. I want $5 for ALL FOUR plus whatever applicable shipping would be. I would prefer to keep this to the US and Canada but anyone over the big pond is welcome to inquire and we'll see what shipping might be and if it's worth it. Of course all monies would have to be paid in US funds.

25 years, 1 month

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Winchester Technology (was Re: MicroVAX equipment

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On July 19, William Donzelli wrote: > > There are two reasons...First, it was developed in Winchester, > > England, and stored 30MB on each of two platter surfaces. Second, the > > model number, 3030, made people think of the Winchester model 3030 > > rifle. > > The model is 3340, not 3030. 3340s (and 3344s) are odd things - the > platters are lubricated with silicone based oil, and the removable disk > packs (3348s) _include_ the heads. When the disk pack is mounted (which > can be done by hand, for maintenance), a rather complicated series of > events connects the heads' wires, the air supply is sealed, and the whole > head assembly is aligned so it floats on a cushion of air. I've seen references to "3030" in many books over the years...I'm nowhere near old enough to have been there though. -Dave McGuire

25 years, 1 month

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Unisys Personal Workstation 2 Stuf & DSDD 5.25" floppies

by terryc＠woa.com.au

Hi folks I have two sets of manuals and one set of software (1 x 5.25" & 1 x 3.5" floppies) for Unisys Personal Workstation2. circa 1990. It is available for postage/shipping to whomever wants it. Weight is 2.6Kg, say 3Kg packed for shipping, from Campbelltow, NSW, Australia, 2560. Dumpster Date is Wed 1st August if no interest shown. Also available are; 20 boxes of 10 Double sided, double density 48tpi 5.25" floppies. DOS brand(?) 18 of these are un opened, 2 opened and 3 other packs. Cost is shipping, say 300grams/box packed for shipping. Dumpster date is Wed 1st August. -- Terry Collins {:-)}}} Ph(02) 4627 2186 Fax(02) 4628 7861 email: terryc(a)woa.com.au www: http://www.woa.com.au WOA Computer Services <lan/wan, linux/unix, novell> "People without trees are like fish without clean water"

25 years, 1 month

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Kodak Gold CD-R's going bye-bye?

by CLASSICCMP＠trailing-edge.com

> What makes these Kodak CD-Rs so much better than other CD-R media? Five things: 1. Made by a known manufacturer using a well-tested process. 2. Manufacturer has archival information available. 3. Uses phthalocyanine dye, rather than the much less stable cyanine. 4. Gold reflective layer. Some here have had very bad experiences with aluminum and/or silver reflective area in videodiscs and CD's. 5. Nicely protected top surface. The Kodak "Silver Plus" Ultras have all the above except for #4, so they're not so bad. And even on point #4, I do think Eastman Kodak does have at least a little experience with silver compounds after, what, 100+ years in the photographic industry? And there are other makers of Gold media - Mitsui is a very big name, though availability is less than ideal, and Ricoh seems to be in the business as well. All that said, it is frustrating to see what is widely regarded as one of the most archival media available - made by a huge company with a long history in materials science and information storage - bite the dust in mass availability because it costs a few more cents than the el-cheapo stuff. Tim.

25 years, 1 month

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HP98035 Clock

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

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25 years, 1 month

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Test

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

Just testing, hoping that CodeRed didn't silence everyone... -dq

25 years, 1 month

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available....

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

Framingham MA, pick up also possible in the Hudson NH area as I work there. Allison -----Original Message----- From: Ernest <ernestls(a)home.com> To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org> Date: Monday, July 23, 2001 12:29 AM Subject: RE: available.... >...er, where are you at? > >> -----Original Message----- >> From: owner-classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org >> [mailto:owner-classiccmp@classiccmp.org]On Behalf Of ajp166 >> Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2001 12:23 PM >> To: Classic Computers >> Subject: available.... >> >> >> I've decided to thin the herd some so the following is available >> for best offer or trade. >> >> * Visual 1050 system (x2) complete, hard disks, floppies, docs >> and tech manuals. Must pick up as it's two systems and >> fairly large/heavy with docs and all. Both work one prettier than >> the other, many spares. >> >> * S100 backplane for rackmount use. No PS. Nice decent bus. >> Pickup only, heavy and fairly large. >> >> As to trade material: Single board computers, ham gear, >> non computer test gear are of interest. >> >> Allison >>

25 years, 1 month

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H. H. Tiger

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

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25 years, 1 month

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Latest Haul: TRS-80/Apple/Commodore

by r_beaudry＠hotmail.com

Hello all, On Saturday, I took a pleasant road trip to Coventry, RI (about 1.25 hours South of me) to a school that was closing down to get some old computers. I knew they had some interesting stuff, but had no idea what awaited.... None of this is rare (as far as I know) or anything, but it was a nice find for me... Also, some more stuff is there, but I will not make it down for another trip before they close on 07/31. I will post more information in a separate message. The haul was: - 1 Apple IIc+ with external 5.25" floppy drive - 1 Apple IIc composite monitor (the small green one on a stand) - 1 Laser 128EX, with monitor, and external 5.25" and 3.5" drives - 1 Apple color composite monitor - Many disks of Apple II software, including DOS 3.3 and ProDOS disks, and the "Introducing the IIc" series of disks - Apple Assembly Language book by Don Lancaster (forgot the name) - Apple IIe SAMS Photofacts - Applesoft manuals - 2 TRS-80 Model 4P (in nice shape, and working condition!) - 7 TRS-80s, mixture of Model III and 4, some with no floppies, some with 1 5.25" and some with 2 5.25". Varying amounts of RAM. All appear to be in working condition, though not great cosmetically - 2 TRS-80 Network 3 Controllers (NO clue what these are... Anybody?) - One device (I forget the name), with a "TRS-80" in the name, that has 16 connectors on the back, 16 LEDs on the front, and a rotary dial on the front to select one of the 16 inputs. NO clue what it does... I'll get the details and post later. - MANY TRS-80 disks, including some original boot disks, SCRIPSIT originals, and others. - Some Nice condition TRS-80 manuals - 13 Commodore 64 "breadbox" computers, many with power supplies and TV switches - 2 MSD "Super Disk" units (one w/ broken latch on one of the drives) - 2 VIC-20s in original boxes (one with a brown computer cover in the box) - Many original C64 and VIC-20 Educational Software disks - C64 and VIC-20 manuals, Programmer's reference guides, books, etc. Some of this stuff will not be staying with me. I rescued it to keep it >from the dumpster. I also told the principal that I would try to sell it, and any monies would go to the school (my incentive for doing it is the stuff I keep, plus I actually think this is fun!). I will post a separate list of available stuff, and anything that doesn't sell will go to eBay.... But I'll give you all first cut at it... The format will be sealed bids, accepted for some number of days, with the stuff going to high bidder. Rich B.

25 years, 1 month

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PDP8a popped up for auction

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On July 23, Lawrence LeMay wrote: > > As annoying as "*RARE*" has become on eBay, I've seen exactly ONE of > > those front panels...and I've been actively hacking pdp8s for nearly > > twenty years. YMMV. > > Whereas I've only seen 2 8a's in my life, and both had those panels, plus > they are available if you're willing to buy em from resellers... They both did? Wow. I've only seen a couple of 8/a's, and they've all had the BA11SA-style "three switches" panel. An interesting thing...That front panel is very similar to that of the pdp11/34 KY11-LB panel. The KY11-LB is controlled by an i8008 processor. I wonder if the 8/a programmer's panel uses an i8008 as well. Also, the pdp11/60 has a similar front panel. Anyone know? I had a pdp11/60 once, but never dug into the panel. Which brings up a neat memory...a friend and I sold that pdp11/60 and a bunch of VT220s to Pennington Prep School in Pennington, NJ many years ago as a timesharing system for their CompSci classes. It ran RSTS/E v9.4 on a pair of RL02s. That was a nice system...I liked it a lot. Yeah, good point about the 8/a's being available from resellers...I wouldn't want to see those prices, though. -Dave McGuire

25 years, 1 month

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PDP8a popped up for auction

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On July 23, Bill Pechter wrote: > The 8a at least had separate instruction data and bus address leds. Yeah. > As far as the 11/60 at Pennington... must've been after I left DEC's > Field Service in Princeton... or I would've probably gotten sent there. > I used to go to Mobil in Pennington a lot. Oh DEC would never have been called on this system...My friend and I picked up the pdp11/60 when it was decommissioned from Beaver College; got it for a song...and very *unofficially* (hey, I was 16) sold it to Pennington and did the installation over a weekend. We got the deal because my friend had been a student there. -Dave McGuire

25 years, 1 month

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Stuff Available in Rhode Island

by r_beaudry＠hotmail.com

Hello all, There is a school that I recently visited in Coventry, RI that has some computer stuff available. I took quite a bit when I went on Saturday, but more is left, and it wouldn't fit in my truck. I won't have a chance to get to the school before they close on 07/31, and I told them I'd get the word out. If any of you are coming down to VCF East, it would be an ideal time to go. The only catch is it's about an hour from Marlboro by car. The school is St. Xavier's Academy, and the contacts are Maureen O'Gorman (mailto:maureen@maureen.com) and Kathy Siok (ride7158(a)ride.ri.net). Phone number is (401) 826-2130. They are looking for donations, so the stuff is not free, but the donation does not have to be huge $$$. What's left (as of Saturday -- act fast, some of this may be going to the dump soon): - Several TRS-80 printers, ribbons, cables - Zenith luggable, looke like maybe a Z-150?? - Two Macintosh computers -- unsure of the model, I think LC?? Low Profile, one has an external hard drive - A sweet Apple IIe setup, 2 drives, monitor, nice IIe, maybe a CP/M card, as I saw some CP/M disks lying around - About 10-15 old TV sets (13") that were used as monitors for their Commodore computers - Lots of Mac software - A couple of PC monitors (15" i believe) - Some Commodore and TRS-80 Software (mostly educational) There may be more -- that was all I can recall was left. Also, contact Maureen or Kathy for more specific details. My memory stinks, so I'm sure I left out some stuff... Rich B.

25 years, 1 month

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VCFE etiquette

by rcini＠optonline.net

Hi: I have a small "shopping list" and not having been to one of the VCFs before, I wondered it it was worthy posting it here in case someone is willing to trade for cash. Any thoughts? Rich Rich Cini Collector of classic computers Build Master for the Altair32 Emulation Project Web site: http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/ /************************************************************/

25 years, 1 month

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Apple ][ boards -- what have I found?

by dsegel＠pacbell.net

Taking a cue from Joe, I looked through a few back issues of Byte. No ads for the ROMWriter directly, but there is a picture of one in a box on the page 19 ad of the June 1982 issue. On the box it says: Programs 2716 EPROMS Frees RAM Memory Space $175 Daniel Segel At 10:41 AM 07/23/2001 -0400, you wrote: >At 11:53 PM 7/22/01 +0100, Tony wrote: > >>Mountain Computers ROMwriter. Clearly an EPROM programmer, with a 24 pin >>ZIF socket. I found 2 of these boards. > Tony, > > Like you, I've never been seriously intersted in Apples but I remember seeing these. I'm not sure exactly what they were intended for but I'll look through my old magazines and see if I can fidn any ads. FWIW I passed up one of these that was NIB at a hamfest about 2 years ago. > > Joe -- "Being humble is why I'm a great person." Daniel A. Segel dsegel(a)pacbell.net

25 years, 1 month

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BOOT ORDER ON AN APPLE//GS

by fernande＠internet1.net

Hello People, I have a Rom3 //gs. I also have a 5.25" and a 3.5" floppy drives made by Applied Engineering that I would like to use with it. If I plug only the 3.5" drive into the gs it boots fine, but takes awhile. If I plug the 5.25" drive into the 3.5" drive to dasiy chain them, the computer boots from the 5.25" floppy and the 3.5" drive isn't seen at all. Am I doing something wrong? Did I fry something when I plugged the 3.5" drive into my //e to see if it worked? Does the gs have dip swithes ot jumpers I need to change? I think this is odd behavior. Chad Fernandez Michigan, USA

25 years, 1 month

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PDP8a popped up for auction

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On July 23, Ethan Dicks wrote: > --- Jeff Hellige <jhellige(a)earthlink.net> wrote: > > For those of you interested, a PDP8a has appeared for sale on eBay. > > > > http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1257927980 > > I notice the seller didn't forget the obligitory "*RARE*" As annoying as "*RARE*" has become on eBay, I've seen exactly ONE of those front panels...and I've been actively hacking pdp8s for nearly twenty years. YMMV. -Dave McGuire

25 years, 1 month

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PDP8a popped up for auction

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On July 23, Bill Bradford wrote: > > For those of you interested, a PDP8a has appeared for sale on eBay. > > http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1257927980 > > Jeff > > Interesting. I didnt know they made -8s with the "minimalist" console.. The 8/a was the last of the pdp8 family. There were several versions of it. It's an interesting design. -Dave McGuire

25 years, 1 month

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Kodak Gold CD-R's going bye-bye?

by CLASSICCMP＠trailing-edge.com

> Have you checked americal.com, their web pages still have these listed > so I assum ethey are available. use the product finder, type in "kodak > digital audio gold' and you will find 2 items, a 30 pack for $49.99 and > a 200 pack for $299.99 But those are CD-R's intended for Digital Audio, not Data. I know they can be used for data, but I'd obviously prefer to have the data CD-R's available too. A couple of places still list Kodak Gold Ultima CD-R (data, not audio) as being discontinued but still in stock, including www.cdroutlet.com. It's a shame that such a fine storage media gets displaced by all the el-cheapo-will-probably-deteriorate-in-a-decade-or-so cheap stuff that's everywhere. It's as if folks don't believe that 650 MBytes of data is worth a couple bucks anymore, just because they can store it on 15 cent media for a couple years. They've fallen victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is "Never get involved in a land war in Asia", but only slightly less famous is this: "Never confuse the cost of the media with the value of the data". Tim.

25 years, 1 month

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Broken C128

by optimus＠canit.se

One find this week, a C128. These new rules about the electronics manufacturers taking the responsiblity for discarded hardware doesn't seem as bad as it might, since the recycling station now has a dedicated skip for computers, home electronics and CRTs. However, the C128 only starts up with a black screen. The common VIC border is visible, but the screen is entirely black/grey instead of brown, and no text or prompts. What could be up here? Broken kernal (is it spelt with an A on Commodores?), broken BASIC, broken VIC? BTW, there's been a demo party in the building where I live this weekend. Lots of Polish hackers sleeping in the corridors and the garden, lots of C64s, and the things they did with them! Absolutely amazing! Voxel landscapes, fire effects, resolutions which I never thought possible of a VIC... Definitely worth visiting if one comes to your town. This was just a small party, though, mainly C64, instead of the "3000 PC users play Quake 3 Arena" parties common today. They also ran some Game Boy demos, but that's not on topic. =) -- En ligne avec Thor 2.6a. Haben Sie schon mal einen Wegweiser gesehen, der selbst den Weg geht, den er weist? --- Ludwig XV (K?nig von Frankreich, 1710-1774)

25 years, 1 month

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DSL Woes (was RE: Plato terminal

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> ISDN > My nightmares have almost subsided from these installations. If you hear > the work ISDN start drinking immediately. The installation crews want to > leave all of the problems to the service crews. Configuring ISDN modems is > a nightmare, SPID=profanity. ISDN == I'm Still Drinking, Ned...

25 years, 1 month

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available....

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

I've decided to thin the herd some so the following is available for best offer or trade. * Visual 1050 system (x2) complete, hard disks, floppies, docs and tech manuals. Must pick up as it's two systems and fairly large/heavy with docs and all. Both work one prettier than the other, many spares. * S100 backplane for rackmount use. No PS. Nice decent bus. Pickup only, heavy and fairly large. As to trade material: Single board computers, ham gear, non computer test gear are of interest. Allison

25 years, 1 month

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PDP-8 Papertape software on eBay

by ken＠seefried.com

I saw this, and figured it was probably useful to someone here... http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1257123318 You are bidding on 2 trays of paper tape softare for a Digital PDP-8E. Included in the 2 trays are: Self Starting Binary Loader, Binary Punch Teletype, Absolute Loader, Binary Loader, Symbolic Editor, PAL III, ODT (low and hi), DDT, Octal Dump, Basic-8, FOCAL, Four User Overlay for FOCAL, Unitlites Overlay for FOCAL, FOCAL 8 and init, DKSE Clocks Diag, DECtape Formatter, DECtape Copy, DECTape Diagnostic, TD8E DECtape Subroutine, Randon Tests, Basic JMP tests, Instruction Test 1, TTY and KL8 tests, Adder tests, DECtape diagnostic, Memory tests, Extended arith tests, 4K Mem test, Ext mem test and more. High bidder pays shipping by preferred method. Payment by International Money Order only.

25 years, 1 month

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Sad experience

by jfoust＠threedee.com

At 08:13 AM 7/21/01 -0700, Fred Cisin (XenoSoft) wrote: >On Sat, 21 Jul 2001, John Foust wrote: >> A number of scenarios went through my mind... hiding the disks, >> claiming they were manuals (although I suspect they can't sell >> the manuals, either) etc., but I just chalked it up to > >NOT "MANUALS"!!! >"BOOKS"! >In many such situations, "Manuals" can not be sold. But "Books" can. Or maybe I could have waved my hand and said "These aren't the droids you're looking for." These folk may be working in the cloaca of the massive State bureaucracy, but they're not stupid. This stuff looked like software - hard case, binder in case, "IBM" on the side, etc. - John

25 years, 1 month

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Strange PSU mains connector

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On July 22, Matt London wrote: > > - - > > o- - > > - - > > A B > > > > Did DEC have a reason for doing this, other than to be able to extort > > money from people who need replacement power cords, or to sell them > > new systems when they make replacement power corde obsolete? > > It's a standard power connector, it's just rated at 15A and not 10A IIRC, > they're most commonly used here for kettles, hence the name "kettle plug" They're are three power connectors in the "standard" family as defined by IEC...a low-, medium-, and high-current version. The low-current version is the one we're all used to, 10A. The one on some MicroVAX chassis is the 15A version. The third is a larger one (20A, I think but I'm not sure) that has three flat pins in a triangular arrangement but in two parallel planes, with a plain rectangular body. Tey're found on some larger Cisco routers (7513 for one) and on SGI Challenge-L systems for example. -Dave McGuire

25 years, 1 month

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New toy: VAX with DECVoice

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On July 22, R. D. Davis wrote: > Anyway, it's now counting down to 3, so, something's working! :-) > ...will know more when I can get a terminal attached. Do all > VAX-4000/200 machines make a loud fan noise when first powered on, and > then get much quieter? Are variable-speed fans being used, and is > that noise a test of high-speed operation? They are variable-speed fans. I'm not sure why they do that on powerup in these machines, but I have seen situations in which variable-speed fans were in use and, due to the control circuitry, they didn't have enough power applied to them when the system was powered up to overcome static friction and get the rotor going. I'm guessing that DEC knew about this and designed the control circuitry to give them a little "kick" at powerup to make sure they're all running, then spin them down to the speed required by the temperature of the machine. -Dave McGuire

25 years, 1 month

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Kodak Gold CD-R's going bye-bye?

by CLASSICCMP＠trailing-edge.com

While we largely talk about saving *old* programs and data here, there is an aspect we cannot ignore: making sure any transcriptions are good into the future. All of us who have tried to read some tapes that are just a few years old which gum up in the drive know that it is truly a false economy to buy anything except the best. (And I still swear by 3M Blackwatch, and *at* Memorex MRX IV.) Now that I'm beginning to recover enough from all the events of the past year to get minimal free time devoted to archiving, I find that my favorite CD-R media - Kodak Gold Ultima - is evidently being phased out. Kodak no longer lists gold/gold data media on their web page of "active media", and many of the online distributors have exhausted their warehouse stock. I've only got a few hundred left here. Now those of us who have been involved in darkroom activities for a while know that Kodak products/processes *do* come and go. Sometimes the reasons are environmental, sometimes the reasons are marketing related. In any event, this is one product I had grown to trust and now I'll miss it. (I still miss many of their fiber based papers and ortho films, and some of those disappeared a few decades ago! At least all that Selenium Toner I've absorbed over the years will preserve me for the next couple centuries...) It appears the demise of Kodak Gold Ultima is mostly marketing - they have a web page discussing its current "non-holding-inventory" status: http://www.kodak.com/cluster/global/en/service/faqs/faq1008.shtml I reproduce the FAQ at the bottom. (Note that while they claim *their* cost has risen over the past two years, looking at the invoices *I've* been paying the price has actually dropped from $1.75 in bulk two years ago to just under a dollar each in the last batch I bought.) It looks like while they aren't *officially* discontinuing it, they are rasing the minimum order requirement to 100000 pieces, and it seems that all the distributors I deal with are no longer stocking it. Kodak's suggested replacement media - Kodak Ultima aka "Silver Plus" - is readily available, and looking at the techincal data on it it may be just about as good as the Gold Ultima. As far as I can tell, it's the same Phthalocyanine dye in both the Gold and "Silver Plus". The "Infoguard" topcoating seems to be just as good (if not better, judging by my scratch tests!) on the "Silver Plus". (Note that I put "Silver Plus" in quotes. While the official Kodak marketing material never uses this phrase, all of my Kodak invoices show this as the product's name. Note that the current Kodak pricing on "Silver Plus" is very good - straight from Kodak it's less than $0.30 each in bulk.) The other gold/gold name brand media that I'm aware of is Mitsui. These have never been as regularly distributed here in the states as well as Kodak, but it is possible to get them (even though a quick sample of online retailers show that of those who carry Mitsui CD-R's, only about 20% stock gold/gold.) I don't have as much experience with Mitsui Gold's, but they do have a good reputation in at least the bootlegging community. (Good to know that all those bootlegged Dead concerts will outlive the official record company CD's, huh?) I *did* pick up a pack of 80-minute IBM-labeled gold-colored CD's at the local Staples store and was quite surprised to find that the ATIP info claims the dye is Phthalocyanine and the media actually made by Ricoh. Of course, this doesn't mean that any other pack of IBM-labeled disks will be made by the same company or have the same specifications, and AFAIK Ricoh doesn't offer much in the way of archival properties data the way Mitsui and Kodak do. Tim. Kodak's FAQ 1008 follows: 1.Why has Kodak ceased holding inventory of KODAK CD-R Gold Ultima media? The demand for KODAK CD-R Gold Ultima media has fallen over the last two years. Due to these lower sales volumes, it is now far more expensive to make. However, the main reason for this change is that KODAK CD-R Ultima media - our unique and patented CD-R that contains a special combination of silver and real gold in its reflective layer - is now performing at levels that are essentially equal to KODAK CD-R Gold Ultima media. For standard applications, no other brand beats KODAK CD-R Ultima media for stability. 2.But what if I still want KODAK CD-R Gold Ultima media? There remain some commercial applications for which KODAK CD-R Gold Ultima media is perfectly suited. To support these applications, Kodak will continue to make, on a custom-order basis, KODAK CD-R Gold Ultima media. There are special order conditions that apply - contact your Kodak sales representative, distributor or reseller for full details. If your media needs support the 100,000-piece minimum order requirement, you can still custom order NSP, thermal white, inkjet white or inkjet clear KODAK CD-R Gold Ultima media. Custom orders of these products will be packaged in the commercial bulk configuration which consists of 4X100 stacks of discs with a blank substrate at each end for protection, no spindle, shrinkwrapped. All custom order product is barcoded. 3.Is Kodak eventually going to discontinue Kodak Gold Ultima CD-R Media? Kodak currently has no plans to discontinue this product line. 4.How much information can each disc hold? KODAK CD-R Gold Ultima discs have 650 MB / 74 minute capacity. 5.Why wouldn't I switch to another media brand now that Kodak doesn't stock Gold Ultima CD-R media? Kodak still offers the highest performing media on the market in the form of KODAK Ultima CD-R Media. This media is the only disc on the market containing added gold for maximum stability while also offering maximum compatibility and longevity. Through meticulous testing Kodak continues to find that competitors' CD-R discs, which have a reflective layer of pure silver only, degrade quickly over time, resulting in the loss of important information. 6.What recording speeds can I use for CD-R Gold Ultima media? You can record at speeds of 1X to 12X to create discs that comply with the following standards: CD DA, CD ROM, CD-ROM XA, and CD-I. 7.What is the expected data life on KODAK CD-R Gold Ultima media? KODAK CD-R Gold Ultima media has a projected lifetime of 200 years or more. For more information , see http://www.cd-info.com/CDIC/Technology/CD-R/Media/Kodak/html 8.Does KODAK CD-R Gold Ultima media have the INFOGUARD Protection System? Yes, KODAK CD-R Gold Ultima media has INFOGUARD Protection. The INFOGUARD Protection System is proprietary and includes one of the most stable dye layers available today, along with super-tough overcoat to help protect the surface of the discs from scratches and fingerprints. In addition, the gold reflective layer provides an archival lifetime. 9.Does KODAK CD-R Gold Ultima media work in all CD writers and CD readers? Yes. With this product, Kodak continues to provide media that work great in all leading writers and readers. 10.What is the warranty on KODAK CD-R Gold Ultima media? All of our Gold Ultima products that have the INFOGUARD Protection Systemand, therefore, carry a lifetime warranty. If any disc is found to be defective in manufacture or packaging, it will be replaced.

25 years, 1 month

2
1
0 0

DEC KA640 connectors question

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

OK, I've been looking into the B400X chassis, it looks to me like it is straight Q-Bus, however, the DSSI disks look to be a problem. It looks like a male HD50 connector is what connects to them. However, the KA640 CPU has 50-pin connector next to the one for the RAM, I'm guessing this is the DSSI connector. Is this correct? If so, then I'm needing to go from 50-pin ribbon to HD50, I don't suppose I'd be able to use a SCSI cable I've got that would do the trick. I've no idea what the DSSI pinout is, or how much I'd risk blowing something up. Maybe I should just turn the chassis into a PDP-11 w/SCSI disks :^) Zane -- | Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Administrator | | healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | OpenVMS Enthusiast | | | Classic Computer Collector | +----------------------------------+----------------------------+ | Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, | | and Zane's Computer Museum. | | http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/ |

25 years, 1 month

2
1
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TERRAHAWKS SERIES 2 VIDEOS FOR SALE !!!

by crewey＠thewho2000.freeserve.co.uk

3 VHS PAL videos containing the completley unavailable series 2 of the Terrahawks, these were never released on video like much of series 1. Recorded from UK T.V in the eighties, TEN COPIES OF THE 3 VIDEO SET AVAILABLE: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1448285396

25 years, 1 month

4
6
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Thicknet Transceiver

by rnlion＠its.caltech.edu

Hi, I have a thicknet transceiver here, an Allied CentreCOM 440, that has 4 AUI ports and an attachment to the backbone with a vampire tap. I was wondering if I can use this thing without connecting to a coax back bone at all, and still be able to network between the four computers attached? If I did so, would I need to terminate the would-be coax connection somehow? I have a bunch of computers sitting around here, mostly older SparcStations, that only have AUI connections, and it would be cheaper if I didn't have to convert each one to 10baseT. I was thinking that I might be able to use this box to connect 2 or 3 of those, and then have a Linux box connected to one port bridging it to the rest of the network. Thanks for any relevant (or hell, even irrelevant but interesting) information. Rob Lion -----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK----- Version: 3.12 GAT/E d- s:- a--- C++(++++) ULS+ P+ L+ E- W++ N+(++) o K w+++ O- M- V- PS+(+++) PE--(+) Y+ PGP t- 5- X+ R- tv b++ DI++ D++ G++ e h+ r- y ------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------

25 years, 1 month

3
2
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ATTN: Michael L. Drew

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

25 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Game Boy Processor (Was: Re: Broken C128)

by tlindner＠ix.netcom.com

>>They also ran some Game Boy demos, but that's not on topic. =) > > Why, I've had a Game Boy for over 10 years, and IIRC, it's a 6502 based system. > No, it is a Z80 with some modifications. I don't know any of the details. -- tim lindner tlindner(a)ix.netcom.com "Life. Don't talk to me about life." - Marvin, the android

25 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

DECtapes available

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On July 21, Bill Bradford wrote: > I've got the following 7" mag tapes (DECtape-I?) > available. All are original DEC, with orange center labels. They aren't DECtapes...they're standard 600' 9-track magtapes. Just a nit. -Dave McGuire

25 years, 1 month

4
3
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Who wants a Tektronix 8002A uProcessor Lab?

by jweder＠telusplanet.com

Hi all... Buried away in my company's cold storage I some time ago found a Tektronix 8002A uProcessor Lab. I made one inquiry about this earlier, and got a reply telling me it was an interesting find. Sorry but I don't recall the fellow who sent that email. The 8002A was apparently used to develop software and operating systems for 8080 and 6800 based devices. Our company used it to develop the software for RTU's (Remote Terminal Units), which are commonly used in the oil & gas business at remote sites to control and monitor equipment on the site (such as pumps, valves, pressure transmitters). I've gone back out and made a partial list of everything that's included, which follows. I've also asked the boss what he thinks, and he just wants it GONE - that means FREE! So, have a look below and if this intrigues you let me know. The main problem will be shipping, as the total package probably weighs 200 pounds. The equipment is located in central Alberta (yes that IS Canada), so you might want to think twice about the shipping costs. Hardware: Tektronix 8002A uProcessor Lab - 2 PROM burner sockets on front panel 2 Tektronix Flexible Disc Units - 2 8" floppy drives each 2 Emulator Processors with probes (external black boxes on ribbon cables, & DIP plug) Manuals: 8080A Emulator Processor 8080A Assembler & Editor User's Manual 6800 Emulator Processor 6800 Assembler & Editor User's Manual 3 TekDOS System Reference Booklets Command Reference Cards for various processors Software: NUMEROUS 8" floppies which seem to include... TekDOS Fortran Pascal RTU Development Disks (many) Depending on interest I may run this notice another time or two, to make sure nobody who might be interested misses it.... Joel A. Weder jweder(a)telusplanet.net 403-556-4020

25 years, 1 month

21
79
0 0

AppleII GS software

by witchy＠vorbis.demon.co.uk

Hi folks, welcome to digest 666 if you're on digest mode :o) Has anyone got a spare copy of either ProDOS or GS/OS on 5 1/4" floppies I can swap/buy/whatever? I've discovered I can use the Disk ][ controller in slot 7 of the GS so my boxed one is about to be disked and fired up. Failing that has anyone got a spare 3 1/2" drive? My external Mac 400 or 800K drives don't work. cheers! adrian/witchy www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk - the Online Computer Museum 0:OK, 0:1

25 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

DecMate III

by rcini＠optonline.net

I know that they're fairly common, but does anyone need one of these? I'll be at VCFE on Saturday and I'll bring it with me if anyone is interested. Rich Rich Cini Collector of classic computers Build Master for the Altair32 Emulation Project Web site: http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/ /************************************************************/

25 years, 1 month

5
4
0 0

DECtapes available

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On July 21, Bill Bradford wrote: > > > I've got the following 7" mag tapes (DECtape-I?) > > > available. All are original DEC, with orange center labels. > > They aren't DECtapes...they're standard 600' 9-track magtapes. Just > > a nit. > > My mistake, I've never used/dealt with these before. I'm just trying > to find them a home. 8-) I'm sorry Bill; I didn't mean to sound like I was jumping on you about it. I guess I was distracted when I sent my reply. -Dave McGuire

25 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Test

by jhfine＠idirect.com

Hi, Testing!

25 years, 1 month

3
5
0 0

DECtapes available

by mrbill＠mrbill.net

I've got the following 7" mag tapes (DECtape-I?) available. All are original DEC, with orange center labels. BB-N630A-BE PRO TK V1.0 VMS 16MT9 1982 BY-0061E-C0-0001 PROGRAMMING RSX-11M IN FORTRAN 1983 EY-0060E-CD-0001 (?) PROGRAMMING RSX-11M IN MACRO 1983 I've also got a complete set of FORTRAN-11 manuals to go with the tapes.. If anybody can use these, please let me know. Would like to swap for LSI-11 stuff, but if nothing else will see that these can go somewhere they can be used. I have no hardware to read the tapes. Bill -- Bill Bradford mrbill(a)mrbill.net Austin, TX

25 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Proper front panels for LSI-11 PDPs?

by mrbill＠mrbill.net

Anybody ever thought of building up a LSI-11-based PDP system, but with a proper "blinky" front panel? Would such a thing even be feasible, even with modern LEDs? Bill -- Bill Bradford mrbill(a)mrbill.net Austin, TX

25 years, 1 month

2
1
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Anybody want/need MAINDEC diagnostic listings?

by mrbill＠mrbill.net

I've got a few (about 10-15 pounds worth) of MAINDEC diagnostic source code listings, for various hardware bits and systems. Anybody want/need these? I certainly dont, and would like to see them go to a good home. I've also got some small magtapes, but will report on those once i'm able to read the labels.. bill -- Bill Bradford mrbill(a)mrbill.net Austin, TX

25 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

thunderstorm damages!

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

I'm back, if anyone noticed. DSL and Phone modem cooked on June 30th put me off the air save my 2400 baud pocket modem. FYI: there were 1810 messages all but 9 were from Classiccmp... thats a bit much, no? Allison

25 years, 1 month

3
2
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Sad experience

by jfoust＠threedee.com

Today at the UW-Madison surplus sale, a favorite haunt, I found a box containing eight or nine software boxes. Sure enough, it looked like a complete set of all the software from IBM that shipped with the original IBM PC circa 1982: DOS 1.1, 2.0 and the full UCSD p-System, including FORTRAN, the assembler and Pascal. Everything pristine. All disks in place. The shrinkwrap was still around a few of the boxes. No price on the box, so I search for the Pricing Guy. "Sorry, we can't sell software." I knew about this policy - the University destroys all the software it can no longer use. I'm sad that I found the item on the sale floor but can't buy it. He refers me to Boss #1. He says "we can't sell that, how did that get out here? Go talk to Boss #2." Boss #2 says "Three dollars." Back to Pricing Guy. I say, "Boss #2 said three bucks." Boss #1 is still within earshot, he says "Boss #2 can't do that." (So why did you send me to him?) Boss #1 takes the box and heads for the back room, where the disks will be "recycled" and the manuals shredded. - John www.threedee.com/jcm

25 years, 1 month

8
12
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thunderstorm damages!

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> I'm back, if anyone noticed. Actually, yes, I'd been wondering why we hadn't heard much from you or from Megan lately... > DSL and Phone modem cooked on June 30th put me off the air save > my 2400 baud pocket modem. > > FYI: there were 1810 messages all but 9 were from Classiccmp... > thats a bit much, no? And most of those OT, no doubt... -dq

25 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Bad BA123 Power Supply - Fix or Scrap?

by jhfine＠idirect.com

Does anyone want to fix a power supply from a BA123? The box seems OK, but there was probably a short at some point. Local pick up only - in Toronto. If no one replies, out on Wednesday for sure into the garbage!!

25 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

New Finds

by jrkeys＠concentric.net

Picked up a Laser PC3 portable computer that works great and has a nice carrying case but no doc's at Goodwill At an auction I got a Vibrac model 350 Flexible Disc Tester and a MTI Accumcasure System 1000. At another Goodwill I got 3 clear IBM Data Processing Magnetic Tape holders (99 cents each). They also had new 8" 3M diskettes in the box for $2.99 each. The rest of the stuff is not yet 10 years old. On the subject of shopping at places of higher ed. I have stopped going to the U of M here because they got to were if you got a item out of the trash they would keep it and give it to 'a person' that would sell it on eBay (the school got none of the funds).

25 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

RSX11M+ v3.0 Distribution

by wrking＠dadaboom.com

Following up on my previous posting, I've been made aware that all of the DECUS RSX Sig tapes are already available on-line. Cool. I thought I was going to have my 15 minutes of fame. I'm going to pursue the possibility that it's legal to post the RSX11M+ v 3.0 distribution on-line. I think I'd like to have a signed agreement with Mentec that this will be okay. I don't want someone to introduce me to the DMCA the hard way :-). Hopefully Mentec will answer my email. I can handle the legal side of this (it's a good thing my father is a retired attorney), but could someone give me some hints as to the technical side of posting the tapes? There are two tapes, one is the distribution, and the other is standalone BRU. Well, I also have DECnet, DECmail and update E tapes as well... I'll keep you posted. Thanks, Bill

25 years, 1 month

3
3
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OT: Great idea going wanting

by cmcmanis＠mcmanis.com

Well, I was planning on having a big party on Sept 1st but now it looks like I'm booked, however, if there are any other numerologists out there, note that this date is an auspicious date for having an EMERGENCY party The date is 9-1-1 and it falls on a SATURDAY Is that cool or what? --Chuck (normally I have my emergency party on the 11th) Please disregard this message if you don't get it. Thanks.

25 years, 1 month

2
1
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OT: Great idea going wanting

by lance＠costanzo.net

At 11:57 PM 7/20/01 -0700, you wrote: >Well, I was planning on having a big party on Sept 1st but now it looks >like I'm booked, however, if there are any other numerologists out there, >note that this date is an auspicious date for having an EMERGENCY party > The date is 9-1-1 > and it falls on a SATURDAY >Is that cool or what? And don't forget that there's several more opportunities this year for BINARY day parties: 10/1/1, 11/11/1, etc

25 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

thunderstorm damages!

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

From: Pete Turnbull <pete(a)dunnington.u-net.com> >I wondered where you'd gone. Yep, 2400 is far too slow for that much mail. >> FYI: there were 1810 messages all but 9 were from Classiccmp... >> thats a bit much, no? > >Yes, but you arguably didn't miss too much :-) >From the 2% audit of what went in the trash can I'd agree. Allison

25 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

MicroVAX equipment

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

Tony wrote: > More seriously, that's why I've not made a cleanbox yet. The drives I > want to be able to work on, and the ones I am likely to have some chance > of fixing are things like the 14" SA4000 units. Which need a _large_ > cleanbox. And, like everyone here, I have little enough space... I think you've a second problem besides the size issue, being able to handle something that big in a cleanbox seems rather impractical. It might work for 5.25" or 8" HD's, but I don't see it working for a 14" HD. How on earth could you get the leverage or whatever to crack it open! Zane

25 years, 1 month

3
2
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Sad experience

by Mzthompson＠aol.com

If it is any comfort John, yours is not an isolated experience. With regards to my recent rescue of all the NeXT stuff. It was rescued >from an "institution of higher learning". It was removed from service around 5 years ago. They decided at the time to have a 'yard sale' and include these machines. That never happened, and after 5 years they decided to rid themselves of it. If that were an isolated case I wouldn't mind. After all I got to rescue the stuff. The gotcha is that they just decommissioned all their DEC hardware. You can darn well bet by now all docs, tapes, etc. have been pitched. On my last visit I asked if any of the DEC was available. The response was that they had just decided to put it all the DEC in a yard sale. Oh Joy! So those DECstations, VAXstations, Infoserver(s), Alphas, and who knows what else are going to sit in a warehouse somewhere until who knows when. And I know from the NeXT experience that they will be picked over, and in some cases there won't be enough of a given machine left to even sell to the recyclers. Given the four "institutions of higher learning" in this town, I have worked for one full time, taught at another part time, and dealt with the other two with regards to equipment rescues. I have come to the conclusion the higher learning does not create greater smarts, and in most cases lessens the amount of common sense. I suspect that a boot full of common sense would not help, even with instructions on how to use written on the bottom. That's my opinion, and I'm stickin' to it. Mike

25 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Another Amiga question

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

> I don't have a network card, but if all goes well a GVP > Spectrum graphics card is going into it. BTW, 3.9 includes a bunch > of AVI's and a few MP3's on the CD to test the various media players > with, as well as an audio track. I'm not planning on upgrading any > of the other custom chips unless I find I have to, such as the Buster. There are MP3 players for 68k Amiga's?!?! That's either rather gutsy, or pathetic, I'm not sure which. What do they do, decode them to another format and then play them? > Mine's going underneathe my NEC monitor and sharing it with > the G3. This little Multisync C400 has certainly seen it's share of > various computers since I bought it in '96! The monitors I've got would probably crush a A3000! I might be able to put it in the wooden rack next to the desk, but the PDP-8/m sits where it would need to go, and I'm going to need to find more room in the rack for a PDP-8/e and Papertape reader/punch. OTOH, I might be able to stuff it under the A2002 Monitor I've got hooked up to a dead VCR (I use the combo for a TV in the computer room. > I'm going to use mine as a backup system as well as one to > handle those times when I just feel the urge ot use an Amiga. The > fact that it doesn't depend on anything MS is nice too. You could > also use it as a Linux box too. It'd be cool to fix the kernel panic > on mine when booting into Linux, but that's a low priority. I think > I saw some of the distro files still on the hard disk when I was > moving stuff around on the Amiga partition. Don't need a backup system, and I've no desire to run Linux on anything but a fast x86 box. So I'm still trying to come up with a use for it. That was one of the reasons I bought it a Catweasel, however, the board didn't function as advertised thanks to the lack of software for it. Of course the Catweasel board is also why it's sitting in a monster ALR Server Tower at the moment! Zane

25 years, 1 month

6
15
0 0

MicroVAX equipment

by healyzh＠shell1.aracnet.com

> > > MicroVAX 3600 > > uVAX 1000 > > RA81 (2) > > RA90 > > >From personal experience I would say $50 is too little > and $250 is too much, tho I've never heard of a > uVAX 1000. Next commentator? > > John A. > > I'd say $100 max. In some ways he should be paying you to remove the RA81's! As for the uVAX 1000, a couple thoughts come to mind... One is an Infoserver 1000 (which definitly exists) the other, scratching around in the back of my mind, is some model of VAXft (which probably doesn't exist). One thing to remember is that there are a couple oddball models you don't ever hear about, however, I've never heard of a uVAX 1000. Zane

25 years, 1 month

7
13
0 0

thunderstorm damages!

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Jul 20, 19:24, ajp166 wrote: > I'm back, if anyone noticed. > > DSL and Phone modem cooked on June 30th put me off the air save > my 2400 baud pocket modem. I wondered where you'd gone. > FYI: there were 1810 messages all but 9 were from Classiccmp... > thats a bit much, no? Yes, but you arguably didn't miss too much :-) -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

25 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Alpha CPUs & motherboards

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On July 20, Tony Duell wrote: > > Well, for some folks, maybe. If someone sticks me in a project with a > > crappy OS, I will find the source and fix it (unless it's Windoze, of > > course, but I don't consider that an OS!)...whereas if someone sticks > > me with a crappy processor, well, there's little one can do. > > Err, find the schematics and fix it. Oh, you meant a microprocessor.... :-) ;) *poke* -Dave McGuire

25 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

OT: DSL Woes

by mjsnodgr＠rockwellcollins.com

Chuck McManis <cmcmanis(a)mcmanis.com>@classiccmp.org on 07/19/2001 03:21:47 PM Please respond to classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org Sent by: owner-classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org cc: Subject: Re: OT: DSL Woes (was RE: Plato terminal At 01:31 PM 7/19/01 -0500, you wrote: >I'm troubled by the desire of companies to provide mission critical services >over consumer quality telecommunication and computer equipment. And you wonder why they went out of business? DSL can be much more reliable than Cable Modems but it does have to be installed properly, and you need to have the correct filter at the junction box to prevent interference with line noise. --Chuck -------------------------------------------------------- Very true. Qwest (Formerly U.S.Worst,er West) in Cedar Rapids Iowa has fairly decent DSL. They don't futz around with your computer like the @Home cable modem folks do. I've had 256k DSL for about 9 months now and had about 37 minutes of down time. (~20 min, and then ~17 min a couple months later) Of course I live in a bedroom community about 5 blocks from the TelCo switch. <grin> My only gripe is that the Cisco 675 DSL router/modem they sold me MUST be in routing mode, not bridging mode, and it does not have the capability to do port forwarding. <sigh> So you can't run a server to save your soul. - M.S.

25 years, 1 month

7
8
0 0

Alpha CPUs & motherboards

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On July 20, Eric Dittman wrote: > > That would be downright silly, because they haven't EOLed the > > line...they've announced that the WILL EOL it, in what should be a > > couple of years. > > There is a lot of panic about the future EOL of the Alpha, with > a lot of people equating that to the end of OpenVMS, which is > wrong. This is just another architecture transition. I would Yup. > have preferred that the Alpha go on, but the real point is the > OS, not the CPU. Well, for some folks, maybe. If someone sticks me in a project with a crappy OS, I will find the source and fix it (unless it's Windoze, of course, but I don't consider that an OS!)...whereas if someone sticks me with a crappy processor, well, there's little one can do. > I can see people trying to stock up spares ahead of the EOL, > though. It would be better to grab them while they are > plentiful and cheap than to wait until the EOL when people > will want to stockpile some of the items that will be harder > to get later. Good point. But the EOL is *years* away. Isn't this a little premature, even for the "careful folk"? -Dave McGuire

25 years, 1 month

2
1
0 0

DEC LP25 (help?)

by classiccmp＠knm.yi.org

Hi, I'm new to the list, so just a quick bit about me - I'm in my 3rd year of a 4 year MEng Software Engineering degree at UMIST, UK, and I'm quite happily collecting machines (much to the annoyance of my parents :&) Anyway - the point of the mail is... I've been given an LP25, and it's not a happy beastie :&( When you turn it on, it's status display says "P" (power fault), and lo and behold, it's right. There's a definate lack of any regulated voltages on the motherboard, the only voltage there is the 38V RAW voltage, which is within limits. So I've decided that the power board is at fault. The Maintainance Manual says "Check fuses..." which I've done - all fine. So I figure there's a fault on the power board. Problem is, I don't have any schematics for the power board, so I can't really test it, without a lot of trial and error. I'd be very grateful if someone could point me at somewhere I might find something useful, or even lend me the details, if you've got them :&) (oh, and if anyone in the UK has a spare VMS 5.x docset up for grabs... or perhaps a DECwriter :&) -- Matt --- E-mail: matt(a)pkl.net, matt(a)knm.yi.org, matt(a)printf.net matt(a)m-techdiagnostics.ltd.uk, matthew.london(a)stud.umist.ac.uk mattl(a)vcd.student.utwente.nl, mlondon(a)mail.talk-101.com Web Page: http://knm.yi.org/ http://pkl.net/~matt/ PGP Key fingerprint = 00BF 19FE D5F5 8EAD 2FD5 D102 260E 8BA7 EEE4 8D7F PGP Key http://knm.yi.org/matt-pgp.html

25 years, 1 month

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Another Amiga question

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

> At 07:22 PM 7/19/01 -0700, Zane H. Healy wrote: > >Though as I was cursing this morning, even with MacOS 9.1 a Mac can't format > >a floppy and do something else. I love my G4/450, but that's just plain > >pathetic. > > And I thought that having dual processors on my G4 would have > some effect allowing doing more than one thing at once, but > it doesn't. I bought it (that is, Apple sold it) months before > OS X was shipped. OS X will use the dual processors. A few > odd PhotoShop plugins use it. The distributed.net client uses it. > Other than that, I wasted a few hundred bucks. > > - John Yes, BUT this has been a known problem dating back to the Quad-Processor 3rd Party Mac's that were made around '95. How good of a job is OS X doing at dual processors? One would hope pretty good, but I honestly don't know. I bought OS X the day it came out (and have every beta ever released going back to the OPENSTEP 4.2 "Prelude to Rhapsody" release), but I've barely used it, it just isn't ready for my everyday use. By this Fall/Winter it's starting to sound like it will be. I've got to admit I'm looking forward to the release of Microsoft Office for it, with that, Eudora, Netscrape, and eXodus I should be able to switch. Though in the long run I'll also need to upgrade Photoshop and some other apps. Who knows, I'm happy with 9.1, and might just stay there for another year or two, if not longer. After all it does everything I need, and something tells me it's going to be a minimum of another year before I feel the need to upgrade to a newer system. I made about 2.8 years with my 8500/180, and it looks like I'll do even better with the G4/450 as they're just finally starting to come out with systems that should be significantly faster than my system (something to realize is my system is from the very first batch of G4/450's sold). However, unlike the 8500/180, it doesn't look like I'll be skipping a processor family (though who knows I might). Zane

25 years, 1 month

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Anyone need some LN-03 toner refills?

by jimw＠agora.rdrop.com

...for cost of shipping? Also usable in most Ricoh engine based laser printers. Have five complete, and a sixth partial. -jim jimw(a)agora.rdrop.com The Computer Garage - http://www.rdrop.com/~jimw Computer Garage Fax - (503) 646-0174

25 years, 1 month

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Alpha CPUs & motherboards

by workstations＠poczta.onet.pl

Hello everyone! I'm looking for sources of inexpensive Digital Alpha CPUs and motherboards for a hobby project I'm putting together with my friends. I tried eBay, but there is not much Alpha gear to be found there. I'd be very grateful for any pointers. PS. I love this list. Jacek -- Czatuj, wyslij sms-y, sprawdz poczte Zainstaluj OnetKomunikatora [ http://ok.onet.pl/ ]

25 years, 1 month

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Need helpers for VCF East

by vcf＠siconic.com

Does anyone know where I might find three teenagers in the Marlborough, Massachusetts area wanting to make some money by working various roles at the VCF? If so, please reply to <sellam(a)vintage.org> ASAP. I will discuss the details with you and you can pass them along to any potential slave^H^H^H^H^H Event Services Engineer ;) Thanks! Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org

25 years, 1 month

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OT: Coke/Pepsi (was: Apple II for intro to microprocessors

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Jul 18, 11:21, Fred Cisin (XenoSoft) wrote: > Shortly after that, the U.S.A. and USSR (CCCP) normalized diplomatic > relations enough to import vodka and export Pepsi to Russia. Definitely OT: one of my prized T-shirts is a Russian Pepsi one :-) -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

25 years, 1 month

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Winchester Technology (was Re: MicroVAX equipment

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On July 20, Bill Bradford wrote: > On Thu, Jul 19, 2001 at 09:41:59PM -0400, Dave McGuire wrote: > > I've seen references to "3030" in many books over the years...I'm > > nowhere near old enough to have been there though. > > -Dave McGuire > > Same here, in the "IBM's Early Computers" and "IBM's 360 and Early 370 Systems" > books, which are as close to canon as I can find on the subject... Speaking of which...anyone know where I might get my grubby paws on one of those Micro/370 boards? -Dave McGuire

25 years, 1 month

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Alpha CPUs & motherboards

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On July 20, Eric Dittman wrote: > > > have preferred that the Alpha go on, but the real point is the > > > OS, not the CPU. > > > > Well, for some folks, maybe. If someone sticks me in a project with a > > crappy OS, I will find the source and fix it (unless it's Windoze, of > > course, but I don't consider that an OS!)...whereas if someone sticks > > me with a crappy processor, well, there's little one can do. > > I meant the point is the OS (OpenVMS) and not the CPU (VAX, Alpha, IPF), > not the OS vs. the CPU in general. Ahh, ok... > > Good point. But the EOL is *years* away. Isn't this a little > > premature, even for the "careful folk"? > > Not really. For some of the odd-ball stuff, the sooner the better > (just ask anyone that has to keep a VAX going that uses the Pro3x0- > based console). Eeeek! Yes, you have a point! 8-) -Dave McGuire

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Alpha CPUs & motherboards

by dittman＠dittman.net

> > > That would be downright silly, because they haven't EOLed the > > > line...they've announced that the WILL EOL it, in what should be a > > > couple of years. > > > > There is a lot of panic about the future EOL of the Alpha, with > > a lot of people equating that to the end of OpenVMS, which is > > wrong. This is just another architecture transition. I would > > Yup. > > > have preferred that the Alpha go on, but the real point is the > > OS, not the CPU. > > Well, for some folks, maybe. If someone sticks me in a project with a > crappy OS, I will find the source and fix it (unless it's Windoze, of > course, but I don't consider that an OS!)...whereas if someone sticks > me with a crappy processor, well, there's little one can do. I meant the point is the OS (OpenVMS) and not the CPU (VAX, Alpha, IPF), not the OS vs. the CPU in general. > > I can see people trying to stock up spares ahead of the EOL, > > though. It would be better to grab them while they are > > plentiful and cheap than to wait until the EOL when people > > will want to stockpile some of the items that will be harder > > to get later. > > Good point. But the EOL is *years* away. Isn't this a little > premature, even for the "careful folk"? Not really. For some of the odd-ball stuff, the sooner the better (just ask anyone that has to keep a VAX going that uses the Pro3x0- based console). -- Eric Dittman dittman(a)dittman.net

25 years, 1 month

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(OT) Sgi Indy

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Jul 18, 21:56, Jarkko Teppo wrote: > Quoting Pete Turnbull <pete(a)dunnington.u-net.com>: > > > On the subject of NeXTs, how do you get a NeXT to use standard files > > (/etc/hosts, et al) instead of the netinfo stuff? > What you may want to read is chapter 10 (Incorporating a NeXT Computer > into a Mixed Network) from NeXT Network and System Administration. Available > on paper back and probably on your system disk as well. I'll have a look for that. Any idea where I'd find it? I don't have any paper manuals, but I do have several CDs. > Man-pages on niload and nidump might help too. Honestly, I never remember > how to do it so I just improvise and create a local NI hierarchy and > use DNS for name resolution. I read them, and realised they didn't tell me enough, mainly because I don't understand the rest of it. > The chapter did mention NIS (yp) so that *might* be an option. No, NIS is *never* an option ;-) -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

25 years, 1 month

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Alpha CPUs & motherboards

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On July 19, Zane H. Healy wrote: > I've not been looking at the DEC gear recently, but last I did look the number > of Alpha boardc and CPUs seemed to have gone down drastically. I think > the supply is drying up. Seriously, unless you need 64-bit, or are like me > and running OpenVMS, the question becomes, why? What you're going to be > able to find and afford isn't going to be that fast compared to a > Pentium III or IV Motherboard and processor which is likely to cost less. I dunno, man. *I* sure won't run Intel-architecture machines. I'd be seriously surprised if Alphas were drying up. There were a LOT of them made. Machines of which there were far fewer, and that are far older, can still be found readily. Having no better explanation, I respectfully submit that this "shortage" of Alpha hardware is due to random market fluctuations. -Dave McGuire

25 years, 1 month

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Alpha CPUs & motherboards

by dittman＠dittman.net

> On July 20, Bill Gunshannon wrote: > > > Having no better explanation, I respectfully submit that this > > > "shortage" of Alpha hardware is due to random market fluctuations. > > > > I wonder how much of it is due to businesses sucking up spares to keep > > their real work going for the long term now that Compaq has EOLed the > > line (prematurely, many would say!!) > > That would be downright silly, because they haven't EOLed the > line...they've announced that the WILL EOL it, in what should be a > couple of years. There is a lot of panic about the future EOL of the Alpha, with a lot of people equating that to the end of OpenVMS, which is wrong. This is just another architecture transition. I would have preferred that the Alpha go on, but the real point is the OS, not the CPU. I can see people trying to stock up spares ahead of the EOL, though. It would be better to grab them while they are plentiful and cheap than to wait until the EOL when people will want to stockpile some of the items that will be harder to get later. -- Eric Dittman dittman(a)dittman.net

25 years, 1 month

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Alpha CPUs & motherboards

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On July 20, Bill Gunshannon wrote: > > Having no better explanation, I respectfully submit that this > > "shortage" of Alpha hardware is due to random market fluctuations. > > I wonder how much of it is due to businesses sucking up spares to keep > their real work going for the long term now that Compaq has EOLed the > line (prematurely, many would say!!) That would be downright silly, because they haven't EOLed the line...they've announced that the WILL EOL it, in what should be a couple of years. -Dave McGuire

25 years, 1 month

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Intro to Microprocessors

by jweder＠telusplanet.com

Hey Eric... Yes, it'd be great to put together a learning system that way, IF the person had the skill and determination to pull it off. This very scenario is why I suggested (back on Sunday I think) that a good way to go would be to pick up a 68HC11 Evaluation Board (EVBU or EVM). My EVBU (which is currently built into a little robot) already HAS: - serial port - monitor & assembler/disassembler program (Buffalo) - 1k EEPROM - wire wrap area - real-time clock - assembler & download software - five ports: A - pulse counters or general I/O B - parallel output or address selection if using ext. RAM/ROM C - parallel I/O or address/data port if using ext. RAM/ROM D - two comm ports or general I/O E - eight analog inputs or general inputs Joel A. Weder jweder(a)telusplanet.net 403-556-4020

25 years, 1 month

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insignificant finds

by jarkko.teppo＠er-grp.com

Well, I didn't find a Symbolics LispM nor did I find a -64 Mustang but I did find Programming the PET/CBM by West and Pet/CBM Personal Computer Guide by Adam Osborne and Carrol S. Donahue. I also found a Simon's Basic module + Docs. Programming the PET/CBM was an especially nice find, since the only version I had previously was an old photocopy and the book is in mint condition. Now I can probably get enough motivation to actually fix my 3040 (or was it 4040). Still looking for that Mustang. -- jht

25 years, 1 month

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New find: DECUS RSX SIG Tapes

by wrking＠dadaboom.com

I recently acquired a load of 9 track tapes from eBay. What a deal, I only paid 1 cent for a trunk load of tapes. In there, I found an original DEC RSX11M+ (3.0) distribution, several DECUS RSX SIG tapes from the fall of 1981 to the spring of 1987 and a bunch of other miscellaneous tapes! I put a list of most of the tapes up on my www site: http://www.dadaboom.com/pdp11/software/tapes.html . If copies are not available elsewhere, I was planning on duping the RSX SIG tapes and putting them up on my www site. I won't be putting the RSX distribution online due to the copyright infringement problems :-( Now the questions 1.) Would having the tapes on-line be useful? 2.) If so, what's the best way to dup them and make them available for download? I have a PDP-11 running RT-11 (v5.03) and a uVAX-III running VMS v5.5. I can hook my 9 track tape drive (TS05) up to either of them. I'd bet VMS would be the better bet, but I'm not sure about the best way to dup them so that they would be useful for the rest of the world. Help would be appreciated. Thanks, Bill

25 years, 1 month

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Alpha CPUs & motherboards

by dittman＠dittman.net

> I might be interested in a PC164 and CPU, if you have a spare... I don't have any spare CPUs, but you can generally find those on eBay. -- Eric Dittman dittman(a)dittman.net

25 years, 1 month

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Alpha CPUs & motherboards

by dittman＠dittman.net

> > I've got a few spare Alpha motherboards sitting around. > > I've got PC164, EB164, and PC64 motherboards. If anyone > > needs any as a spare, let me know. > > What are the differences? I have a "noname" board, AT form-factor. I think > it's the AXPPci133 or something similar. I got it running *BSD off of the > SCSI port a long time ago and haven't done much with it in the past year. The PC164 supports the 21164A, the EB164 supports the 21164, and the PC64 supports the 21064A. > Thought about trying to follow those instructions for loading OpenVMS. It's > really low on the priority scale. I installed OpenVMS on my Multia and added it to my cluster, but one of the patches broke something and the Multia quit being able to boot into the cluster. I later upgraded to V7.2-1 and the Multia patch doesn't work with that version. -- Eric Dittman dittman(a)dittman.net

25 years, 1 month

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Cray on ebay

by jos.mar＠bluewin.ch

It's OT , since less then 10 years old, but a "real Cray" has crept up on the german ebay site. Currently less than 200 USD.... Jos

25 years, 1 month

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Winchester Technology (was Re: MicroVAX equipment

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Jul 19, 21:06, Bob Shannon wrote: > Don Maslin wrote: > > Rather minor correction - the Winchester rifle used 3030 caliber > > ammunition, but there were a number of models, the most famous being > > either the '94 or '96 (I'm having brain fade!). > Isn't that .308 for the 30-30. Maybe your thinking of the 303, which used > .311? Yes, the name 30-30 comes from the 30-calibre bullet (which is actually .308") and the original load was 30 grains of powder. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

25 years, 1 month

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MicroVAX equipment

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On July 19, Iggy Drougge wrote: > >No, they're large, heavy and winchesters (HDA which can only be repaired > >in a clean room). > > AFAIK winchester is just old nomenclature for fixed disks. What do you mean by > winchesters? The term "winchester" (taken from the IBM 3030 disk drive) implies a sealed HDA which cannot (or should not) be opened in an "ordinary" environment. -Dave McGuire

25 years, 1 month

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RSX11M+ v3.0 Distribution

by eric-no-spam-for-me＠brouhaha.com

"William King" <wrking(a)dadaboom.com> writes: > I'm going to pursue the possibility that it's legal to post the RSX11M+ v > 3.0 distribution on-line. I think I'd like to have a signed agreement with > Mentec that this will be okay. When you ask them, make sure that you tell them that it's for use with Supnik's SIMH, for which it is *already* licensed. Otherwise they'll almost certainly say "no". For that matter, I personally wouldn't have asked, since it's clear that Supnik did already arrange a license (for SIMH only). At this point, if they say "no", it will really muddy the issue. In general, when you ask a company for permission to do anything, the answer will be "no", just because that's the safe and easy answer, and doesn't involve any research or lawyers. So when one already has permission to do something, asking for permission again can only cause grief. Note: I'm speaking entirely of the general case; none of this is intended in any way to be critical of Mentec.

25 years, 1 month

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Alpha CPUs & motherboards

by mbg＠world.std.com

I might be interested in a PC164 and CPU, if you have a spare... Megan

25 years, 1 month

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Alpha CPUs & motherboards

by dittman＠dittman.net

I've got a few spare Alpha motherboards sitting around. I've got PC164, EB164, and PC64 motherboards. If anyone needs any as a spare, let me know. -- Eric Dittman dittman(a)dittman.net

25 years, 1 month

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scrap yard inventory

by brian＠quarterbyte.com

Is there any progress on the stuff-for-sale website, Sellam? I was just thinking: how about setting up a similar page for where-stuff-can-be found? For example, I ran across an RH780 massbus controller today in a salvage shop today -- new in its shipping box, the whole set of cards in a backplane. I don't want it, and I don't think many of the subscribers of this list would want to get a few dozen emails of this sort every day, but it would be nice to be able to record the information. I picture a website where you could enter items found in shops as well as personal inventories of things we'd part with if asked. Location, item, price if known, date spotted, etc; and a way of checking it off: "gone", "I bought it", "it blew up", etc. A sort of very narrow inventory system for the world's scrap shops and basements. Would this be useful, or would it just make it too easy for dealers to vacuum up all the good stuff? Impossible to keep up- to-date, or worth the occasional stale entry? What do y'all think? Brian

25 years, 1 month

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Winchester Technology (was Re: MicroVAX equipment

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On July 19, Chuck McManis wrote: > > > AFAIK winchester is just old nomenclature for fixed disks. What do you > > mean by > > > winchesters? > > > > The term "winchester" (taken from the IBM 3030 disk drive) implies a > >sealed HDA which cannot (or should not) be opened in an "ordinary" > >environment. > > Does anyone know the actual reason that IBM picked the term "winchester" ? There are two reasons...First, it was developed in Winchester, England, and stored 30MB on each of two platter surfaces. Second, the model number, 3030, made people think of the Winchester model 3030 rifle. -Dave McGuire

25 years, 1 month

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Eproms Available (was RE: IMSAI EPROMS)

by Mzthompson＠aol.com

I fell behind in my reading and was catching up today when I came across Joel A. Weder's <jweder(a)telusplanet.net> posting from 8 Jun 2001 and the responses on Eproms. One of my recent hauls included a box of Eproms. There was around 100 tubes of 2708/2716/2732. A rough count shows around 1000 2708's, and 125 or so each of the 2716's & 2732's. Since I will never need that many, I would like to make them available to the list. For now and to be fair to all list members, I was thinking of dividing them up into 45 (2708 35 ea, 2716 5 ea, 2732 5 ea) to a small box. I'll ask $5 per box to cover shipping and handling. If you really want more than one box, we'll wait and see after those wanting just one box have had their chance and then figure out shipping for 'bulk' orders. Mike Thompson

25 years, 1 month

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Winchester Technology (was Re: MicroVAX equipment

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On July 19, Don Maslin wrote: > > > > > AFAIK winchester is just old nomenclature for fixed disks. What do you > > > > mean by > > > > > winchesters? > > > > > > > > The term "winchester" (taken from the IBM 3030 disk drive) implies a > > > >sealed HDA which cannot (or should not) be opened in an "ordinary" > > > >environment. > > > > > > Does anyone know the actual reason that IBM picked the term "winchester" ? > > > > There are two reasons...First, it was developed in Winchester, > > England, and stored 30MB on each of two platter surfaces. Second, the > > model number, 3030, made people think of the Winchester model 3030 > > rifle. > > Rather minor correction - the Winchester rifle used 3030 caliber > ammunition, but there were a number of models, the most famous being > either the '94 or '96 (I'm having brain fade!). Ahh, I understand. Thanks for the correction...my knowledge of gun technology is very limited. -Dave McGuire

25 years, 1 month

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Test:

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Jul 19, 14:25, John Allain wrote: > Test =99% ? > > Hoping this turns off most if not all of the text encoding > that MS so thoughtfully provided for me <g>. Not quite, it still is using a non-standard character set: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="x-user-defined" Can anyone tell John how to set the character set to ISO-8859-1 (or ASCII) in Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2615.200? -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

25 years, 1 month

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schematic for Philips BM7502/00G monitor

by stefan＠softhome.net

Hi, Can anybody help me with schematics for a Philips BM7502/00G monitor ? A good scan is also fine of course and preferred even. Thanks! Stefan.

25 years, 1 month

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OT: DSL Woes

by cmcmanis＠mcmanis.com

>My only gripe is that the Cisco 675 DSL router/modem they sold me MUST be >in routing mode, not bridging mode, and it does not have the capability to >do port forwarding. <sigh> So you can't run a server to save your soul. So what's the deal with that? The Cisco wants to route to some IP address, fair enough just make the target of that IP address another router that happens to be running NAT, a Firewall, etc. A VAX works great for this, or an old PC, or a junked laptop, etc. You don't need port forwarding to run a server, you only need either a static IP address or a rendezvous protocol for finding your server. --Chuck

25 years, 1 month

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Light Pens ...

by mbbrutman＠chartermi.net

Fred, Where was I during VCF? Probably tiling my bathroom. I'm relatively new to the list, so I haven't done any VCFs yet. The one in two weeks is too far away - I'm in Minnesota. Tony always elaborates. :-) That's a good thing. Tony: I hadn't realized that on a PC w/ CGA that the light pen was getting help from the CRT controller. That explains how a relatively simple device can report positioning information - it doesn't, the video card is doing it. So here's a trick question .. what happens when a person holds a lightpen to a dark section of the screen. Is the lightpen completely blind unless come pixel is lit up? Thanks, Mike

25 years, 1 month

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Light Pens

by mbbrutman＠chartermi.net

Wow, I feel like I've contributed something here. I started a long running thread that didn't involve the 4th of July or gun control! Ok, forget the dry humor. Thank you all, now I know more about light pens than I would have imagined possible. The $65536 question now is, how do I get a hold of one? I'd like to try it on my 6845 video controller based machine (PCjr CGA). I'm willing to learn to solder if necessary. :-)

25 years, 1 month

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Apple II for intro to microprocessors

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Jul 18, 22:51, Richard Erlacher wrote: > Say ... Which Apple OS is the ][e supposed to run? I have checked out that IIe > and it appears to work OK, but I've not yet found a bootable diskette. Does it > run the same DOS as the ][+? Yes. The ones I've seen were supplied with Apple DOS 3.3, but they will of course run ProDOS if you have the disks. > Apparently the ][e uses a serial printer. Perhaps I should have looked around > for that. It uses a wierd PS/2-like connector to communicate with the thing. Out of the box, an Apple //e didn't have a printer port fitted. That would be an add-on. Most common option in my experience is a parallel card, usually fitted to slot #1, but there's no reason you could use a serial card (typically in slot #2) instead. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

25 years, 1 month

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repairing a DEC VT420

by Mzthompson＠aol.com

Gunther Schadow wrote: > I bought a VT420 from a neighborhood garage sale ($5) that > turned out not to work. <snip> > Opened the box and powered on, the kathode in the tube didn't > seem to glow. More inspection turned out that what seems like > a ceramic capacitor was exploded or fried, all black and > crummy, impossible for me to identify its specs. Can someone > help me out with a schematics or databook or something? > the blown-up capacitor is C621. I popped the hood of a VT420 and the only markings I found on C621 was "1J250". My years of electronics leave me with out an opinion as to what the actual value is. As you know, that capacitor is located inside the confines of a heatsink. That is the heatsink on the horizontal output transistor. Without a schematic, I would guess that capacitor is associated with the horizontal output transistor or possibly is in the flyback transformer circuit. Experience has taught me that is best to check the windings on the flyback, albiet hard to do without a schematic. More times than I care to remember, I have found a bad flyback. At that point it goes out the back door, I just don't mess with them anymore like I used to. Granted there are companies out there that sell replacement flybacks, but the prices almost lead to the decision to pitch the one unit and use the money instead to buy several others and hope for better luck. Mike

25 years, 1 month

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New find: DECUS RSX SIG Tapes

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

> My understanding of the Mentec hobby license only covered use fo rthe > emmulators, not real hardware. > > Am I mistaken? > > Gary No, you are not mistaken. It is only good for emulators from DEC, which covers simh up to about version 2.3d, it is unknown if the latest version is still covered. Of course the only thing I'm using the latest version for is the PDP-10 emulation so I can run TOPS-10 :^) Zane

25 years, 1 month

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OT: DSL Woes (was RE: Plato terminal

by mmcfadden＠cmh.edu

I have been involved in the installation of 5 ISDN, 7 cable modem and 2 DSL installations. One of the DSL installations never went live. The other works, sort of, now being replaced by Cable Modem. DSL SWBell was unable to handle having a router and then wanted us to remove the sniffer we were using to troubleshoot the line. I was lucky the police didn't arrive when the DSL and the alarm system phone line couldn't coexist. I also didn't enjoy crawling under beds and furniture to place filters on all of the phone jacks. Unable to authenticate unless connected, unable to connect unless authenticated. Cable Modem I have lost service twice due to creatures eating my coax cable. It's now routed through a pipe and they instead chewed my phone line last night. I think they are squirrels, "rats with tails". ISDN My nightmares have almost subsided from these installations. If you hear the work ISDN start drinking immediately. The installation crews want to leave all of the problems to the service crews. Configuring ISDN modems is a nightmare, SPID=profanity. All of the companies have no clue about support. First level wants you to reinstall your operating system. Second level reads script and will call you back. System status knowledge is always a joke. I've called in after a 1/2 hour server outage and been told the system was never down. My first troubleshooting technique is to call several of my neighbors who have cable modem and ask if their systems are up. My last cable eaten by squirrel adventure, the TV still worked by the modem wouldn't connect. Download speed only varies a little, slower about 6-7 PM. I'm troubled by the desire of companies to provide mission critical services over consumer quality telecommunication and computer equipment. Mike mmcfadden(a)cmh.edu

25 years, 1 month

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Xerox 860 IPS needs a good home

by Pat.Thielen＠aexp.com

Hi there, I was given this e-mail address from a person who wanted to buy my 860 IPS, but couldn't afford the high cost of shipping it out East. So, he suggested I send a note to this mail list to see if anyone there may want it. The stats for it are: Xerox 860 IPS (circe 1980 or so) Printer Full page monitor with a portrait orientation (so you see the full page) 2 8 inch disc drives COM card (I'm really not sure what this is for) Operating system disc Word processing disk Utilities disc As far as I know, the system still works, although I haven't powered it on in quite awhile. Its been residing in my garage for the last year or so, so you may want to make sure all the cards are seated nicely before turning it on. Otherwise, it works just fine -- I used to use it for work processing until I got a PC. Anyway, it'd be an "as-is" agreement. Of course the price is right -- free! For any further info on this beast, feel free to e-mail me at my home address (this is my work account): loki(a)visi.com Also, keep in mind that I live in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and its *very* expensive to ship any great distance. If anyone is interested in aquiring this system they'll really want to come and pick it up. Thanks! Pat Thielen 651-501-8067 loki(a)visi.com www.axolotyl-studios.com

25 years, 1 month

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New find: DECUS RSX SIG Tapes

by Gary.Messick＠itt.com

My understanding of the Mentec hobby license only covered use fo rthe emmulators, not real hardware. Am I mistaken? Gary > -----Original Message----- > From: Jerome Fine [mailto:jhfine@idirect.com] > Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2001 12:59 PM > To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org > Subject: Re: New find: DECUS RSX SIG Tapes > > > >William King wrote: > > > I recently acquired a load of 9 track tapes from eBay. What > a deal, I only > > paid 1 cent for a trunk load of tapes. In there, I found an > original DEC > > RSX11M+ (3.0) distribution! I won't be putting the RSX > > distribution online due to the copyright infringement problems :-( > > Jerome Fine replies: > > Since I the only operating system I use from the PDP-11 is RT-11, > I have no interest at all in RSX-11. But I have seen a > number of others > who are very interesting in running RSX-11 as a hobby user. > > Based on what Zane Healy just provided about the Mentec hobby > license AND the fact that V5.03 of RT-11 is available from two > sites to be downloaded. I just provided those URLs in my last post - > if anyone missed them, here they are again: > ftp://gatekeeper.dec.com/pub/digital/sim/software/ > for the file > ftp://gatekeeper.dec.com/pub/digital/sim/software/rtv53swre.tar.Z > And the other is: > ftp://minnie.cs.adfa.edu.au/pub/PDP-11/Sims/Supnik_2.3/software/ > for the file > ftp://minnie.cs.adfa.edu.au/pub/PDP-11/Sims/Supnik_2.3/software/rtv53swre.ta r.gz > > It seems to me (as a non-lawyer) that a similar download for RSX11M+ V3.00 > should be totally accepted by Mentec in the same manner. > > >Now the questions > > 1.) Would having the RSX11M+ V3.00 tape on-line be useful? > > YES! > > > 2.) If so, what's the best way to dup them and make them available for > > download? > > I don't know if Megan Gentry can arrange to add RSX-11, but probably > "minnie" would be glad to accept the file. That way everything would be > managed in the same manner. > > Sincerely yours, > > Jerome Fine

25 years, 1 month

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Test:

by allain＠panix.com

Test =99% ? Hoping this turns off most if not all of the text encoding that MS so thoughtfully provided for me <g>. John A. ----- Original Message ----- From: John Allain <allain(a)panix.com> To: John Allain <allain(a)panix.com> Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2001 2:19 PM >> Test // Test \\

25 years, 1 month

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Intro to Microprocessors

by dittman＠dittman.net

My take on learning microprocessors: 1) Pick a reasonable processor. An 8085, Z80, 6502, or 680x is reasonable. A Pentium III is not. 2) Read the data sheets. Get an idea of what the timing requirements are, how you interface to the timing, address, data, and I/O. Don't rely on other people's schematics unless you absolutely have no idea what you should do. Make sure after using other people's schematics that you do under- stand what they did and why. 3) Build a simple circuit on a large wire-wrap board. Include the processor, minimal ROM, minimal RAM, and a simple I/O port with eight LEDs attached. Write a small program to write different values to the LEDs. Verify they are correct. Use a wire-wrap board with enough room to add lots of stuff later. You'll be glad of the room later. 4) Add a serial I/O port. Write a small program to read data from a terminal (or equivalent) and echo the data back. 5) Start extending the program to write your own machine language monitor. You've got the I/O routines. Add the functions one or two at a time, testing along the way. You'll want to add memory read, memory write, memory fill, register read, register write, port read, port write, program start, breakpoints, but not a disassembler or assembler. Learn the machine code first. Later you can add the assembler/disassembler. 6) Add some kind of program storage, either out through the serial port, through an additional serial port (adding another shouldn't be difficult), or some other way. Be creative. 7) Go off on your own. Experiment. Add some A/D converters. Add some D/A converters. Whatever you find interesting. But the most important point to remember is to understand the whats and whys of everything you do. Step (5) is probably the one you'd be most tempted to cheat on, but it really isn't that difficult to roll your own. If you'd like, after you've got the basic functions going, you can either add features from some other monitor program, or use a completely different monitor program modified to work with your system, but definitely write the basics yourself so you know what's going on. Any comments? -- Eric Dittman dittman(a)dittman.net

25 years, 1 month

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