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

by rigdonj＠intellistar.net

Hi, I thought I sent this to the full list but Zane told me that I only sent it to the auction notification list. So here it is again. A friend of mine found a DG Nova III in a local scrap yard. He says that it looks complete and in good shape and that it doesn't look like it's been rained on yet. He says that it's in two ~ 5' tall cabinets and has a reel to reel tape drive and four terminals. Anyone want to rescue this? I DO NOT have room/time/money to rescue and/or to ship it. If you want it, come and get it. It's located in Sanford, Florida. Joe

25 years, 8 months

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Are tatty boxes worth keeping?

by cdrmool＠interlog.com

I'm glad for this thread. It kept me from tossing the Commodore 16 box away. Too late though for the beautiful NeXT boxes that went to recycling. I didn't have room. I should have known better. That sound you hear is Larry Walker and Brian Mahoney loading their rifles. colan ____________________________________________________________________ Vintage Computer Collectors List and Info: http://members.xoom.com/T3C Mail us at: T3C(a)xoommail.com -----Original Message----- From: John R. Keys Jr. <jrkeys(a)concentric.net> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Sunday, August 08, 1999 11:40 AM Subject: RE: Are tatty boxes worth keeping? >I keep all boxes that I get until a better one comes along. John > >> -----Original Message----- >> From: CLASSICCMP-owner(a)u.washington.edu >> [mailto:CLASSICCMP-owner@u.washington.edu]On Behalf Of Tony Duell >> Sent: Saturday, August 07, 1999 5:48 PM >> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers >> Subject: Are tatty boxes worth keeping? >> >> >> A couple of months back I bought a second-hand Commodore 1570 disk drive. >> It came in the original box, which is, alas, in very poor condition. The >> polystyrene is cracked and has chunks missing. The cardboard sleeve is >> torn/ragged. >> >> Is there any point in keeping it? I don't normally care about the packing >> boxes for computers, but I know some people do. Also, I believe the 1570 >> is not the most common CBM drive, so presumably the boxes for them aren't >> that common either. >> >> -tony >> >> > >

25 years, 8 months

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IBM/XT Y2K Compliancy

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<problems (since I've yet to find an RTC chip that does the Wrong Thing <when the year counter gets to 99). I have five 486 boards that hae older RTC that roll over from 1999 to 1980! they do however set manually to 2000! A board I made using an RTC off a 386 bord has both 1999 to 1980 miss roll (it's stuck. have to fid a different one) and bad leap year. Allison

25 years, 8 months

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IBM/XT Y2K Compliancy

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<> I have five 486 boards that hae older RTC that roll over from 1999 to 198 <> they do however set manually to 2000! < <Is this the clock chip (I would be _very_ supprised if it were the <case), or how the BIOS/OS reads the chip. In these cases (early 486s) the bios is reading a chip with a known bug. <Now, some PC BIOSes/OSes will take an invalid (too early) year as being <1980. So the clock rolls over from 1999 to 1900, and the _software_ <changes that to 1980 (as otherwise it's too early a date). That's why you <can manually set them to 2000. A few chips were designed that way, as their date of origin was later than 1980. <The chip itself is working correctly (as designed). The software is <misusing it ;-). The one on my s100 board is definatly broke... I wrote the bios! Allison

25 years, 8 months

2
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HP TSB internals

by fmc＠reanimators.org

Sellam Ismail <dastar(a)ncal.verio.com> wrote: > On Sat, 7 Aug 1999, Jay West wrote: > > This manual is called 2000E IMS (Internals Maintenance Specification). It > > was written by HP, and I'm pretty certain it was used to train new > > programmers who were to work on the TSB code itself. It's just way too > > You said it was "handwritten", so I concluded it was someone's > scribblings. Why would HP release a document in someone's handwriting? OK, Jay said he thought this was a training manual. That could mean "lab workbook" which didn't get the same amount of polishing as a user manual. Such things tended to get passed around after one guy got sent to the course, too. For example, somewhere around here I have a photocopy of an IMAGE internals lab workbook. The original was obviously produced with the assistance of a typewriter and a flowcharting template, and it looks like someone pencilled some notes on it (maybe while attending the source). Given that I got that copy around 1982 or so, I'd guess that it was originally produced in the late 1970s and before the wide deployment within HP of computerized tools for doing this sort of work (TDP, HPDRAW, graphics terminals, plotters, laser printers, most of which didn't really play together on HP3000s 'til about 1980-1983 or so). 2000E manuals and lab workbooks probably would be from the same or an earlier date. -Frank McConnell

25 years, 8 months

2
1
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Epson HX-20 FA

by rigdonj＠intellistar.net

Epson HX-20 for aucton. See "http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=141802117". No, it's not mine. Joe

25 years, 9 months

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Latest Haul & A DAMNIT (Was: Re: VaxStation 2000 and TK-50Zs)

by Mzthompson＠aol.com

A former co-worker now works for a institution of higher learning. We trade hardware from time to time, and he knows of my affinity for DEC hardware. He told me of two stashes of old DEC stuff at work, and that he had made arrangements for me to haul it off. For various reasons, we had decided to wait until this summer. The DAMNIT ---------- I get a call from him recently. It seems that unbeknownst to him, his boss (another former co-worker), and his boss's boss; some other idiot had decided to clean out the one stash. Since these three are key players in the institution's computer center, it seemed unlikely that this could have happened. But as I said this is an institution of higher learning, and having work for another such institution in this town, I can say with some certainty that it does not indicate 'higher smarts' or one damned bit of common sense. This stash included at least 10 VAXstation 2000's & more than one DECstation 3100. What intrigued me more was the boxes and boxes of unopened DEC spares. We will never know what went into that dumpster. My friend said one dumpster had been hauled off before he knew it. He 'dove' the second dumspter and found that most of the CRT's had been rendered useless, and was unable to recover anything useful. I relate this to you so that all the DEC fans can observe a moment of silence for what has happened with regards to this equipment. PAUSE The Latest Haul --------------- My friend, not wanting this to happen to the second stash, loaded it into the back of his truck at once. He then called me and we made arrangements to meet in a couple of hours. As luck would have it, there came up a storm before we could meet and the VR260 monitors in the back of his truck got a little wet. That does not bother me too much. I had given him an IBM RT with 19" color monitor months ago. It had been in my garage when the tree fell on it during a storm and the monitor got soaked. Six months later, he fired it up and it worked fine. This latest haul is 5 VAXstation 2000's, 5 VR260 monitors and all the cables, mice, etc. Of the 5 VAXstation 2000's, three were apparently running diskless, and the other two have been relieved of their disk drives. Previous Haul ------------- Some time back I hauled home a couple of other VAXstation 2000's & two TK50Z-FA's. One VS2000 is gone and the other has been disassembled to pull the RD54 for a fellow list member. I still have the TK50Z-FA's. To summarize, I have: 3 - VAXstation 2000's - are diskless 2 - VAXstation 2000's - relieved of disks 1 - VAXstation 2000's - basket case, (disassembled and in a basket) 5 - VR260 monochrome monitors 1 - MS400CA (unused) - 2 mb memory option for VS2000 With all the other DEC hardware, I doubt I will ever get to messin' with these. If you have any interest in any of this, let me know. Mike Thompson

25 years, 9 months

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DUMB VMS!

by yakowenk＠cs.unc.edu

In reply to some gripe about VMS, Allison replied: ] Dumb huh, it's at least secure! ] Ok go to the netbsd site and nose around, the proceedure for breaking into ] VMS is there... Is it just me, or do those two sentences not belong so close together? :-) Bill.

25 years, 9 months

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...and the hits just keep on coming!

by jimw＠agora.rdrop.com

Man, it is turning out to be a real FINE week, if I just don't bankrupt myself in the process! Today I found up an AVA Model 409 Floppy Disk Drive Tester unit (computerized, with auto-test options for 8 inch and 5.25 inch drives, and integral printer). Most cool! These were multi-K$ back when we had one in one of the service centers I worked in. It comes up ok, passes its self-tests and reports its firmware version (2.1) on the printer, but as is common there were no docs with it. I recall using one of these way back when, so I've got most of it down pretty well for now but... (see this coming?) Anyone got a spare (or copyable) manual for this critter? -jim --- jimw(a)computergarage.org The Computer Garage - http://www.computergarage.org Computer Garage Fax - (503) 646-0174

25 years, 9 months

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HP TSB internals

by jlwest＠tseinc.com

It is both hand written and printed. A large chunk of it is printed, but obviously not for public publication (ie. internal use only). Many of the printed sections are supplemented with hand written and diagrammed stuff. However, most (but not all) of the hand written stuff is incredibly neat (a ruler was used to draw the figures, etc.). Most of the hand written stuff looked like it was being prepped for overheads. So - than answer is both! Jay West -----Original Message----- From: Derek Peschel <dpeschel(a)u.washington.edu> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Saturday, August 07, 1999 2:29 PM Subject: Re: HP TSB internals >> No Sellam, no one took the time to reverse engineer TSB.... >> >> This manual is called 2000E IMS (Internals Maintenance Specification). It >> was written by HP, and I'm pretty certain it was used to train new >> programmers who were to work on the TSB code itself. It's just way too >> detailed (and most of it printed too nicely) to be someone just doing some >> reverse engineering. >> >> I'll probably get to scanning a few parts of it in next week. > >But you said it was _hand written_? That sounds rather counter-productive. > >...not that I'm complaining about the fact that you have it, of course. I'd >be fascinated to see it. Someone else said correctly that this kind of docu- >mentation was rare. It seems to me that's especially true about HP, which >is a shame since their stuff's so well-designed. I could be wrong about >that impression though. > >Are you coming to the VCF? Or if not, I wonder if there will be any 2100 >hardware there? > >-- Derek >

25 years, 9 months

2
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Unibus specs

by danburrows＠mindspring.com

I posted recently copies of the DEC Unibus specs complete with timing and other goodies on Zane's site. Thanks Zane for the space.:) They are mostly GIF images and the ones that had fine printing on the charts there are 2 copies. Same file # just a suffix letter difference. The url is ftp://zane.brouhaha.com/pub/dan/DEC/Unibus_spec Dan

25 years, 9 months

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Information Please -- HP 13037D Storage Control Unit

by rigdonj＠intellistar.net

Hi, I went scrounging again today and came home with a HP 13037D Storage Control Unit Option 100. It's dated 1984 but the only reference that I could find to it is in the 1977 HP catalog. It lists the 13037A and says that it's a micro-processor based controller that offers a high level interface that simplifies the design of the CPU I/O card. And that multiple drives and CPUs may be connected to the SCU. Big whoppee! What does that mean? Can anyone tell me more about it? I assume that it's for the old HP MAC (Multiple Access Controller) interface. It has an HP-IB port and several cables that have card edge connectors. I doubt that I need it so if anyone has a need for it contact me directly. Joe

25 years, 9 months

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Information Please -- HP 13037D Storage Control Unit

by jlwest＠tseinc.com

You wrote... > I went scrounging again today and came home with a HP 13037D Storage >Control Unit Option 100 Off the top of my head without checking the manuals for accuracy..... The 13037 was HP's bid to get away from having a different controller in the backplane for each different drive. Previous disc interfaces were particular to fixed head, moving head, drum, etc. In addition, the interfaces in the card cage always took more than one slot as I recall. There is a 13037A, B, and C that I know about, I have nothing that refers to the D model. With the 13037, one interface card goes in the card cage. Cables go from this to a rack mount box (about 5 inches tall, about 28 inches deep). Inside this rackmount box was a separate microprocessor board and additional disc interfaces. The drives in turn were connected to the rackmount box. The particular features of the 13037 stuff was that more than one system could be connected to the rackmount microprocessor, but mainly different types of discs could be connected. The 13037B could do 7905, 7906, and 7920 drives. The 13037C added the capability to do both MAC and HP-IB drives. I have it on good word that the A and B models were junk (comparatively), and that the C model was the "one to get". I might have a spare manual on the 13037, I'll have to check. I do have a 13037C under refurb at the moment. Regards, jay West

25 years, 9 months

1
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ADM and Imsai

by oconnellb＠home.com

Hi I'm trying to interface an ADM-3A with an IMSAI 8080 using an IMSAI SIO card (revision 3). Has anyone had experience with this combination? I'm trying to ascertain baud rate, parity as well as the relevant settings on the SIO's two sets of DIP switches. Thanks! Brian

25 years, 9 months

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List spam again

by kyrrin＠bluefeathertech.com

Regarding that spam from the fellow selling computer parts... First, let me say that I've been actively fighting spam since I first got a dial-up 'net account in 1994. I've seen a lot of spams, and I've gotten to where I can usually tell when someone may have made an honest error in judgment, as far as advertising their new business, vs. actually doing intentional spam. The spam from Mr. Holtzclaw had the feel of an honest error to it. Here are the actions I've taken. 1). I have traced back the spam to its source, and notified the ISP involved (jaxn.com was indeed the source). Their AUP specifically prohibits spamming, so I would not be surprised if Mr. Holtzclaw starts looking for a new provider very soon. 2). I have sent a note to Mr. Holtzclaw, something I almost never do, explaining -- POLITELY -- about spam, about what he did, and where to find web resources that explain what spam is and why it is a Bad Thing. I'll keep the group updated with any responses I receive. Oh, and I also sent a message to our (perhaps justifiably) overzealous member who wanted to fire off a DoS attack on the responsible mail server. I have asked him not to do so, as fighting abuse with more abuse never gets anything done. Onward we go...! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bruce Lane, Owner and head honcho, Blue Feather Technologies http://www.bluefeathertech.com // E-mail: kyrrin(a)bluefeathertech.com Amateur Radio: WD6EOS since Dec. '77 "Our science can only describe an object, event, or living thing in our own human terms. It cannot, in any way, define any of them..."

25 years, 9 months

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Definition confirmation (please read)...

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<Nor me. I've been called a 'hardware hacker' on many occasions, and I <have no worries about accepting that title (even though I consider I'm a <_minor_ hardware hacker). The rest of you can decide if the title is <appropriate. I've been called a Hardware, software, RF, microwave and audio hacker in the most genuine 1974 terms. Tot hat all I say is, it what I do. The evolved one does not fit me nor are them many others from the slang english. Another that has been applied was my, avocation is my vocation. Allison

25 years, 9 months

4
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HP TSB internals

by jlwest＠tseinc.com

No Sellam, no one took the time to reverse engineer TSB.... This manual is called 2000E IMS (Internals Maintenance Specification). It was written by HP, and I'm pretty certain it was used to train new programmers who were to work on the TSB code itself. It's just way too detailed (and most of it printed too nicely) to be someone just doing some reverse engineering. I'll probably get to scanning a few parts of it in next week. Cheers! Jay West

25 years, 9 months

3
2
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Z-80 hack

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<Since this is something that's only got to work once, I thought I'd put th <SRAM on a small scrap of perf, along with a PAL to fiddle with the timing. <The reason for not fiddling with the nWAIT line is that it doesn't time <right with the instruction fetches, such that the peripherals will see the <RETI opcode. If this gets too involved, I'll simply have to suffer throug <doing it from the parallel port on the PC, but I already have some code <written many years ago (in BASIC) which does the job nicely, and I'll <probably never use it again. Seems like the hard way to get there. <alignment until these repairs are effected. The code was written for an <S-100 box I used back in the '80's which ran a 12MHz (hand-picked) CPU Why 12mhz? Reading the bits directly? <I found that the wait line doesn't work for this sort of thing. It's got t <do with the way the peripherals work. Switching the clock rate does work, <though. It's a way to do it. just dont get clock spikes. <>I hacked one to 8mhz and then put it back, it was never as solid in <>operation. <> <Their RAM timing was stupid. It was very reasonable as a 4mhz board. Pushing to 8mhz was too much and also the rest of the signals smeared out. Mine BTW was a AMPROLB with the SCSI option. <What's a TCJ? The Computer Journal. They are too short on cah to publish but they do offer back issues. <I never saw much advantage in using Z-80 with mode-2 interrupts anyway. I <guess it's just a matter of style. I like simple interrupts, and if it get <too complicated, use another system to handle the I/O that makes it <complicated. It's much easier to use three computers than to figure out ho <to use one with three interrupts. I guess I'm lazy . . . For many things mode 2 is much to much work. For others it's the only way to fly. Then again so few CPM machines even used interrupts at all (remember waiting for the disk to stop before typing?). I modded my AmproLB for minimum power consumption instead by replacing all I could with CMOS. The board itself is now under 3.5W power consumption most of it in the SCSI loads and Floppy. Allison

25 years, 9 months

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Z-80 hack

by edick＠idcomm.com

please see comments embedded below regards, Dick -----Original Message----- From: Allison J Parent <allisonp(a)world.std.com> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Saturday, August 07, 1999 7:54 AM Subject: Re: Z-80 hack ><I've got a little job to do which would be easy with an AMPRO Little-Board ><like the REV-0 boards I have got, except that it's too slow. I was thinkin ><that the easiest way to do this thing is to take a Z-80H from the selected ><12MHz capable ones I have, team it up with a 64Kx8 SRAM, and a set of the > >The number of mods to get a LB to run at 12mhz would be better invested in >building a new board from scratch. > Since this is something that's only got to work once, I thought I'd put the SRAM on a small scrap of perf, along with a PAL to fiddle with the timing. The reason for not fiddling with the nWAIT line is that it doesn't time right with the instruction fetches, such that the peripherals will see the RETI opcode. If this gets too involved, I'll simply have to suffer through doing it from the parallel port on the PC, but I already have some code written many years ago (in BASIC) which does the job nicely, and I'll probably never use it again. I'm working on restoring a dozen or so 8" floppy drives which malfinction in one sense or another, to the extent that I can't verify/adjust their alignment until these repairs are effected. The code was written for an S-100 box I used back in the '80's which ran a 12MHz (hand-picked) CPU together with some fast SRAMS. I don't want to fire up the S-100 stuff right now, and the AMPRO provides sufficient packaging to allow me to install a mezzanine board on the processor socket. My HDC adapter sits there anyway, and the code is on that drive. It steps through the process of troubleshooting the logic on Shugart 800/801 boards, Siemens 100-8's, and a few others I don't have to deal with today. The timing probably isn't even that critical, but I prefer to handle the job this way since I've given away the hardware I previously used. The thing I have to build is just a port in and a port out, to monitor and control the signals to/from the drive without having to read and write. This also allows monitoring of the signals at various test points in the circuit without having to use the 'scope, which only does half the job. > ><'A' type peripherals, provided I switch the clock to 4MHz each time I see a ><IORQ* or an (M1* & I/O*) or a RETI on the data bus during M1*, resetting th ><higher speed on the next M1*. > >there is a wait line for this kind of stuff. I'd upgrade to faster >peripherals 6 or 8 mhz ones are still available. > I found that the wait line doesn't work for this sort of thing. It's got to do with the way the peripherals work. Switching the clock rate does work, though. > >The FDC, SIO, CTC, RAM(and timing chain) all have Tacc that are way to slow >for even 6mhz. > >I hacked one to 8mhz and then put it back, it was never as solid in >operation. > Their RAM timing was stupid. > ><Have you ever tried something like that? What am I overlooking here? > >Basic design. Many of the utilities are timing sensitive. Catch TCJ and >order some back issues for the 8mhz mod. The back issues are still >available. > What's a TCJ? > >Also get issue 79, the P112 board may really be what you want. > ><I used to do things like that with the 65xx and 68xx parts all the time, bu ><never with a Z-80 because of the peripherals and the mode-2 interrupt, which ><the AMPRO board probably doesn't even use. > >The ampro does use mode 2, otherwise there is little point to using z80 >peripherals. > I never saw much advantage in using Z-80 with mode-2 interrupts anyway. I guess it's just a matter of style. I like simple interrupts, and if it gets too complicated, use another system to handle the I/O that makes it complicated. It's much easier to use three computers than to figure out how to use one with three interrupts. I guess I'm lazy . . . > >allison > >

25 years, 9 months

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Z-80 hack

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<I've got a little job to do which would be easy with an AMPRO Little-Board <like the REV-0 boards I have got, except that it's too slow. I was thinkin <that the easiest way to do this thing is to take a Z-80H from the selected <12MHz capable ones I have, team it up with a 64Kx8 SRAM, and a set of the The number of mods to get a LB to run at 12mhz would be better invested in building a new board from scratch. <'A' type peripherals, provided I switch the clock to 4MHz each time I see a <IORQ* or an (M1* & I/O*) or a RETI on the data bus during M1*, resetting th <higher speed on the next M1*. there is a wait line for this kind of stuff. I'd upgrade to faster peripherals 6 or 8 mhz ones are still available. The FDC, SIO, CTC, RAM(and timing chain) all have Tacc that are way to slow for even 6mhz. I hacked one to 8mhz and then put it back, it was never as solid in operation. <Have you ever tried something like that? What am I overlooking here? Basic design. Many of the utilities are timing sensitive. Catch TCJ and order some back issues for the 8mhz mod. The back issues are still available. Also get issue 79, the P112 board may really be what you want. <I used to do things like that with the 65xx and 68xx parts all the time, bu <never with a Z-80 because of the peripherals and the mode-2 interrupt, whic <the AMPRO board probably doesn't even use. The ampro does use mode 2, otherwise there is little point to using z80 peripherals. allison

25 years, 9 months

1
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IBM PS/2 P70-386 SIMM needed...+ a couple other things...

by roblwill＠usaor.net

Basically what I meant is banks of two. There's two SIMMS in a bank, with 2 banks, totaling 4 SIMMS. If you install three 2 MB SIMMS, instead of getting a 6 MB memory reading, you'll get a 4 MB reading and a memory error. ///--->>> -Jason Willgruber (roblwill(a)usaor.net) ICQ#: 1730318 <http://members.tripod.com/general_1> -----Original Message----- From: Olminkhof <jolminkh(a)nsw.bigpond.net.au> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Friday, August 06, 1999 2:11 AM Subject: Re: IBM PS/2 P70-386 SIMM needed...+ a couple other things... > > >Jason Wrote: >>I need a 2MB SIMM for an IBM PS/2 P70-386. I know they go in in sets of >>two's, but for some reason, I have a spare SIMM that I found. Does anyone > > >I've never heard of this "sets of 2" stuff on these. >They use the same simms as the desktop model 70 . . ie with presence >detect circuitry. > >Hans > >

25 years, 9 months

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FS: Box of manuals, etc.

by 7mtns＠netscape.net

Have a box of assorted manuals for sale: (binder)Sequoia PICK/UNIX Admininstrator manual, covers TOPIX, PICK, system maintenance; Systematics General Corp., Natl. Sci. Labs Div., Reference Manual: Model T-5101 Interactive Display Terminal (has some schematics also); Centronics Model 306 Printer Tech Manual; Centronics Series 300 Printer Operator Manual; Centronics RS-232 Tech Manual; and finally, three binders of Honeywell mainframe info relating to GCOS 8 (list of system commands for console operator, printer manuals, etc. Selling whole shebang as one lot. Price: Seven dollars, plus shipping from Laurel, Maryland. USA only please. Dan S. ____________________________________________________________________ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com.

25 years, 9 months

1
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New arrival... (s)? (pt. II)

by jimw＠agora.rdrop.com

...a few days ago I scribbled... > ...And hopefully (if Murphy does not interfere) by the end of the weekend yet another > item will be struck from the list! Stay Tuned!! Well, it happened! Ducking 'Murphy' vibes all the way, (deal was a bit shaky right up until the end) but another one falls from the list! An early Altair 680 with full front panel joined the collection tonight. No docs or software (see a request coming on?), but it is pretty good shape and appears to be reasonably coherent. I'll be able to tell a bit more once I find some basic specs on it and can figure out how the serial port is configured. It has been a good week! (quality over quantity) Pictures on the web site! -jim --- jimw(a)computergarage.org The Computer Garage - http://www.computergarage.org Computer Garage Fax - (503) 646-0174

25 years, 9 months

1
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VaxStation 2000 and TK-50Zs

by vaxman＠uswest.net

Hi Don and other ListErs, I have been working on a similiar problem... I have the original DEC distributions for a few things (including Ultrix 3.1, looking for UWS 3.0), and I want to make archival copies of them... I discovered the TK-50Z (both FA and GA) will work with FreeBSD and an old Adaptec SCSI controller. This allows me to read (and copy) the TK50 onto my PCs hard disk, but I haven't quite got the format right to write a new tape (still playing with file marks)... NOTE: I tried a 2940 and a 1535 and neither of them worked. I was successful with a AHA-1542B scsi adapter. I also have a SCSI adapter for my uVAX II, and have copied tapes >from TK50 to 4mm DAT, but it seems quite a waste to put 95MB on a 4GB tape. Finally, if none of these options appeal to you (and you don't have other success), I have a uVAX II with a TK70, TK50, SCSI adapter for the 4mm DAT, and a 9-track tape drive, and can copy them for you (contact me off list for this). Laters, clint PS My 11/750 is up and running!!! The dead power supply turned out to be two pins shorted on the backplane... Sometimes my debugging skills leave something to be desired... PPS What is a Fujitsu Eagle worth used? I am going to upgrade the 11/750 to a SCSI controller and 3.5" drive as soon as I get two nickles to rub together :) > >I have been tinkering around with my VaxStation 2000 and a couple of >TK-50Zs that I have. One is an FA and the other a GA so I am able to set >them at differing SCSI node values. > >My thought was that I could use both on the VaxStation and use them to >duplicate some tapes that are save_set(s). Apparently it cannot be done >on the VS. Either unit is recognized when connected alone, but when both >are connected the FA is always recognized as MUA0 and the GA is ignored. >Does anyone have an explanation for this, or am I just doing it wrong? > >Assuming failure on the two tape approach, how might I make the duplicate >tape(s) without wiping out the contents of my hard disk? It is at the >moment fairly lightly loaded and may hold the save_set. The HD is an RD54 >by the way and I am running VMS 5.5. > >Thanks! > - don

25 years, 9 months

3
2
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PC Software History Sites

by kstumpf＠unusual.on.ca

In case you didn't read this column in the SJ Mercury... the columnist lists many sites dedicated to the history of early software developers and their products - Visicalc for instance. http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/columns/gillmor/docs/dg080399.htm Yours in good faith. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------- Kevin Stumpf * Unusual systems * www.unusual.on.ca +1.519.744.2900 * EST/EDT GMT - 5 Collector - Commercial Mainframes & Minicomputers from the 50s, 60s, & 70s and control panels and consoles. Author & Publisher - A Guide to Collecting Computers & Computer Collectibles * ISBN 0-9684244-0-6 .

25 years, 9 months

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INMOS part numbers for special purpose trams

by rmeenaks＠olf.com

Hi, I am looking for all the various INMOS tram part numbers and their purpose. I am not interested in the compute trams, just the special purpose ones. Here is what I have so far: IMSB420 - VecTRAM (transputer + zoran array processor) IMSB421 - GPIB Tram IMSB422 - SCSI Tram IMSB431 - Ethernet Tram What are the others (ROM, DACs, Graphics, etc)? Thanks Ram -- ,,,, /'^'\ ( o o ) -oOOO--(_)--OOOo------------------------------------- | Ram Meenakshisundaram | Senior Software Engineer | OpenLink Financial Inc | .oooO Phone: (516) 227-6600 x267 | ( ) Oooo. Email: rmeenaks(a)olf.com ---\ (----( )-------------------------------------- \_) ) / (_/

25 years, 9 months

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Borland releases old Turbo products at no charge...

by jfoust＠threedee.com

Dan Gillmor points to the aforementioned Borland site, the antique C site, and histories of VisiCalc, ThinkTank, Ready and MORE. <http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/dg080399.htm> - John

25 years, 9 months

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Searchable archive of classiccmp is available.

by svs＠ropnet.ru

G'day, <URL:http://mail-index.nice.ru/classiccmp/wgindex.html> Built with Glimpse and WebGlimpse: <URL:http://glimpse.cs.arizona.edu/>. There may remain some rough edges (i.e. bugs :-) -- report them, please. I'm aiming to make INFO-VAX archive search engine available on the same site (well, it's already there, but only half of year 1988 data is indexed). -- Sergey Svishchev -- svs{at}ropnet{dot}ru

25 years, 9 months

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HP Timeshare BASIC OS - cool find!

by jlwest＠tseinc.com

I got a bit of spare time to go through some of the documentation I received with my recent HP 2100 systems. I have found an incredible item in there! The notebook is about 3 inches thick. It is a training manual along with hundreds of pages of handwritten notes on the Internals of HP Timeshare BASIC. Not only does it describe all the byte by byte formats of OS tapes, SLEEP and HIB tapes, OS and user disc layouts on a sector by sector basis, but it also has diagrams of every data structure in RAM and on disc related to the internal operation of the OS. In addition, it even has over a hundred pages of detailed flowcharts on how every system module operates. These are not general flowcharts, but flowcharts written from a datastructure standpoint. These flowcharts give blow by blow descriptions of exactly what fields in every data structure are modified when that module runs and why. Not just the system modules, but every BASIC statement, user command, operator command, etc all the way down to the scheduler, mux driver, etc. With this information, one could very easily (albeit time consuming) write TSB from scratch. I'll have to scan all this and put it online for interested parties! Jay West

25 years, 9 months

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Syquest Sydos Puma 88

by musicman38＠mindspring.com

Still trying to find a DOS driver to use my newly acquired Sydos Puma 88 Drive I found this information of Syquest's web site but was not able to find the drivers they mentioned. Does anyone have one of these units or know where I can find the drivers and manuals ? Thanks.. Phil http://www.syquest.com/support/tb8010.html TB8010 - SyDOS PUMA Subsystems The SyDOS PUMA 44 and 88 MB units were produced for the PC marketplace by the SyDOS division of SyQuest. SyDOS was a division of SyQuest located in Florida. Its function was to provide products for the DOS marketplace. Some of its parallel port products used the SyQuest SQ555 and SQ5110 SCSI drives in a subsystem with a parallel to SCSI adapter card, power supply, etc. This hardware interface card with the SyQuest drivers installed the SQ drives into the DOS 3.0 through 6.22 operating systems. The manufacturer of the hardware PP to SCSI interface is no longer in business. With the release of Win'95 requiring some additional hardware interface support, the PUMA units can not be updated to be Win'95 compliant. This additional hardware requirement makes the update to Win'95 real mode drivers unavailable. On some systems the PAR driver can install the PUMA unit in the DOS Compatibility mode. This greatly depends on the hardware in your PC system. The PUMA unit was developed before the release of Win'95 and the ECP/EPP hardware. Some older 486 class PCs should be able to install the PUMA units in the DOS Compatibility mode. The newer the PC, the less likely the installation will be successful. SyQuest drivers, utilities, and readme files are in our download section or ftp.syquest.com. The PUMA1.ZIP and PUMA2.ZIP files are the two files containing the driver and utilities for these units. You must use PKUNZIP to extract the driver and utilities.

25 years, 9 months

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oops!

by jlwest＠tseinc.com

Sorry - the last traffic was meant to be off-list. My Apologies! Jay West

25 years, 9 months

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HP Timeshare BASIC OS - cool find!

by jlwest＠tseinc.com

Jim; did you get my previous message about how we should settle up on the shipping on the 2nd platter? I think there was also another question in that particular email to you, but I don't recall at the moment. Just to want you to think I'm a deadbeat! Jay West -----Original Message----- From: James Willing <jimw(a)agora.rdrop.com> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Friday, August 06, 1999 5:40 PM Subject: Re: HP Timeshare BASIC OS - cool find! >On Fri, 6 Aug 1999, Jay West wrote: > >> I got a bit of spare time to go through some of the documentation I received >> with my recent HP 2100 systems. I have found an incredible item in there! >> >> The notebook is about 3 inches thick. It is a training manual along with >> hundreds of pages of handwritten notes on the Internals of HP Timeshare >> BASIC.... >> >> ...With this information, one could very easily write >> TSB from scratch. I'll have to scan all this and put it online for >> interested parties! > >That's massively cool! Far too much information like this has been >lost to obscurity. Looking forward to seeing it! > >-jim >--- >jimw(a)computergarage.org >The Computer Garage - http://www.computergarage.org >Computer Garage Fax - (503) 646-0174 > >>>> Coming soon to www.computergarage.org - the CBBS/NW on-line archives > >>>> Coming to VCF III (2-3 October 1999) - CBBS/NW live! > >

25 years, 9 months

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IBM/XT Y2K Compliancy

by peter.pachla＠vectrex.freeserve.co.uk

Hi Roger, >Are the IBM/XT, IBM/AT and PS/2 computers hardware Y2K >compliant? According to a recent thread in the PS/2 newsgroup, all PS/2s should be broadly Y2K compliant, though some machines may need their times resetting on 1/1/2000 depending on the OS they're running. PC/XT class machines generally have no clock hardware in them as standard. DOS/whatever simply use a regular interrupt to update a software clock, so you need to know if the OS you're using is compliant. All AT class machines have a clock chip inside, a 14818 (or something similar, I forget), or an emulation of one. The chip only stores the last two digits on the year, so it will correctly roll over to "00" for "2000". However, what your operating system will make of that is another matter.... In each case, it all boils down to your OS. The easiest way to find out if it's compatible is to set your clock to a few minutes before midnight, December 31st and wait and see what happens when the time rolls over past midnight. TTFN - Pete. -- Hardware & Software Engineer. Sound Engineer. Collector of Arcade Machines, Games Consoles & Obsolete Computers (esp DEC) peter.pachla(a)virgin.net | peter.pachla(a)vectrex.freeserve.co.uk | peter.pachla(a)wintermute.free-online.co.uk | www.wintermute.free-online.co.uk --

25 years, 9 months

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Novel/Eagle NE1000 & NE2000 ethernet cards (& others)

by jeff.kaneko＠juno.com

3Com's 3C300 was their 1st PeeCee NIC, it was a big card, contrast to their later 503's and 509's which had a much higher level of integration. I'm told 3Com's very first product was a MultiBUS NIC (of which I have two). Can't seem to find the docs for it, though. OKay, for 100 bonus (bogus?) points: What were the three Com's of 3Com? Jeff On Fri, 06 Aug 1999 11:27:07 -0700 Chuck McManis <cmcmanis(a)mcmanis.com> writes: > >Oldest PC ethernet cards? > >------------------------- > >Drifting slightly back on topic, which companies made the earliest > ethernet > >cards for PCs? How much did they originally cost? > > I've seen Ungerman-Bass AUI ethernet cards that were approximately > $900 > new. There was also a company that got bought be 3COM that had an > early > NIC. Perhaps one of the cooler ones would be a 3 mbit card used at > PARC to > talk to their network. > > --Chuck > ___________________________________________________________________ Get the Internet just the way you want it. Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month! Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.

25 years, 9 months

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Wanted transputer pictures for the following systems

by rmeenaks＠olf.com

Hi, I am looking for pictures of the following transputer systems: Cogent Research XTM Atari Transputer Workstation Commodore's Transputer Workstation (does it exist?) Meiko Computing Surface and any other transputer systems. Thanks Ram -- ,,,, /'^'\ ( o o ) -oOOO--(_)--OOOo------------------------------------- | Ram Meenakshisundaram | Senior Software Engineer | OpenLink Financial Inc | .oooO Phone: (516) 227-6600 x267 | ( ) Oooo. Email: rmeenaks(a)olf.com ---\ (----( )-------------------------------------- \_) ) / (_/

25 years, 9 months

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Novel/Eagle NE1000 & NE2000 ethernet cards (& others)

by mark_k＠iname.com

Hi, Recently I picked up a load of Ethernet cards (some nicer PCI bus mastering ones -- excellent for Linux etc. -- are for sale, btw). NE1000 & NE2000 --------------- Amongst these are what I believe to be Novell/Eagle Technology NE1000 and NE2000 cards. Now, I have found jumper info for these two, and got them to work on a simple two-computer peer-to-peer Windows 95 network. The NE2000 works fine. The NE1000 seems to also, except when trying to copy a 40MB file to the computer which contains the NE1000, it hangs part-way through (this happens every time). Either this is a fault, or simply a deficiency -- perhaps the other computer is sending data too fast for the NE1000 to keep up, and it gets confused? Anyway, I'd like to get the official/original drivers, documentation and diagnostic programs for these cards. I looked at http://www.novell.com/, but there seemed to be nothing there. Eagle Technology don't seem to exist any more, or don't have a web site. There appeared to be some NE1000/2000 stuff at ftp.microdyne.com, but it turns out that this is for the NE2000+, whatever that is. Does anyone know if there is some other Novell web or FTP site that has info on their ethernet cards? Here's some info about my two cards. NE1000: 8-bit ISA card. Novell warranty label has date code 2789. Text silk-screened on PCB reads BD.# 738-160-001 REV. C ASSY.# 810-160-001 REV. C NE2000: Warranty label on rear has data code 5092, says manufactured by Eagle Technology. Text silk-screened on PCB reads BD.# 738-149-002 REV. C ASSY.# 810-149-002 REV. C IBM Ethernet card FRU 48G7170 ----------------------------- I also got a couple of these. They seem quite nice, having BNC, RJ45 and AUI connectors plus two indicator LEDs. A label on the PCB reads FRU 48G7170. Both cards have boot ROMs fitted, on which a label reads 60G3312. If anyone need to make a boot ROM for this type of card, I have dumped the data from them. This card is configured using a DOS setup program. The only jumper on the card is labelled J5. Does anyone know what the purpose of the J5 jumper is? Oldest PC ethernet cards? ------------------------- Drifting slightly back on topic, which companies made the earliest ethernet cards for PCs? How much did they originally cost? -- Mark

25 years, 9 months

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Question on booting PDP-11/44

by CLASSICCMP＠trailing-edge.com

>> >Am I correct in assuming that when a PDP-11/44 finds that it has more than >> >one controller in it that it can boot off of, that it drops you into the >> >monitor, so you can select the device you wish to boot from? > >> I think that you're asking "Does the 11/44 have a sniffer boot?" The >> answer to that is no. The boot device (or "boot to console") is >> selected by DIP switches near the actual physical boot ROM's >> on the M7098. See >> >> http://metalab.unc.edu/pub/academic/computer-science/history/pdp-11/hardwar… >> >> specifically, the file "1144.boot.roms", for very detailed information >> on identifying the boot ROM's present and how to set the DIP switches >> to select the appropriate one. >Good job of interpreting a question when I wasn't even to sure what I was >asking. You ought to see what some of my customers come to me asking :-). > The worst part is I knew about those switches, but had forgotten >about them. Somewhere I've got written down which boot ROMs it has >installed, I know for a fact it's able to boot DL:, it has the ROMs >for DU:, and I believe it also supports TU58 and RX02, but might be wrong on >one of the last to. The URL I mention above lists all the DEC part numbers for the boot ROM's, so if you can read them off you'll figure out which ROM's you have. >So the next question would be do I have to go in and change the switch >settings on the board in order to boot something other than DL:? To *auto* boot something other than DL:, yes, you'll have to change the switch settings. From the console (">>>") prompt, you can boot any device that you have boot ROM's for (or key in the bootstrap for any device.) >Wait a minute, I see a problem here. Since the boot device is based on >switch settings, even with controllers for other devices that it can boot, >it shouldn't be dropping me to ODT should it? With just the RL controller >in the system it boots off one of the packs without skipping a beat. What did you change in the system that caused it to go from "auto boot to DL:" to its current behavior? A break in backplane continuity can make it look like the RL11 isn't present in the system, and that'll drop you out to the console prompt. -- Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com Trailing Edge Technology WWW: http://www.trailing-edge.com/ 7328 Bradley Blvd Voice: 301-767-5917 Bethesda, MD, USA 20817 Fax: 301-767-5927

25 years, 9 months

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A pointer to classiccmp from an .epa.gov site

by svs＠ropnet.ru

G'day, While searching for existing searchable archives of classiccmp, I found <URL:http://epainotes1.rtpnc.epa.gov:7777/r10/owcm.nsf/recycle/pcrecycle>: [...] Computers and electronic equipment that still work, but are obsolete, may be suitable for reuse. Check with local schools, training institutions, or non-profit organizations to find out if they accept donations of this type of equipment, or use the list of recycling options to obtain the names of organizations that will repair, consolidate, or reassemble the equipment before donating or selling it. There are a growing number of hobbyists interested in very old computers. Any machine that is "so obsolete that it can't be reused" may actually be of great interest, and potentially worth much more than its value in scrap metal. Older is better here. There is a "classic computer" mailing list at classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu , and more info can be found at any of these web pages: http://www.yowza.com/classiccmp/faq.txt http://www.cs.unc.edu/~yakowenk/classiccmp/ [...] -- Sergey Svishchev -- svs{at}ropnet{dot}ru

25 years, 9 months

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Looking for an RK05j User

by mcquiggi＠sfu.ca

Hi Group: Having gotten the 11/45 in my basement operational :-) , I'm on to the next step, the attached RK05. As I start towards the next milestone I am wondering if there is anyone on the list that has a working RK11/RK05 combination going. I will likely have questions! Kevin -- Kevin McQuiggin VE7ZD mcquiggi(a)sfu.ca

25 years, 9 months

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Question on booting PDP-11/44

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

Am I correct in assuming that when a PDP-11/44 finds that it has more than one controller in it that it can boot off of, that it drops you into the monitor, so you can select the device you wish to boot from? Zane | Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator | | healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast | | healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector | +----------------------------------+----------------------------+ | Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, | | and Zane's Computer Museum. | | http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/ |

25 years, 9 months

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New arrival... (s)?

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<> Something about the unit suggests that the previous owner ran CP/M on it <> but as to just what that clue is I will leave without explaination. (tha <> way you have to look at the pictures) <G> Whyy not all the needed items are there... at least 20k of ram, IO, a disk system and the 8080 or z80 cpu. Common crate to run cpm on as it was solidly built. <> Hmmm... I wonder if there is a copy of IMSDOS buried around here <> somewhere??? <BG> Good luck! Allison

25 years, 9 months

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Question on booting PDP-11/44

by CLASSICCMP＠trailing-edge.com

>Am I correct in assuming that when a PDP-11/44 finds that it has more than >one controller in it that it can boot off of, that it drops you into the >monitor, so you can select the device you wish to boot from? I think that you're asking "Does the 11/44 have a sniffer boot?" The answer to that is no. The boot device (or "boot to console") is selected by DIP switches near the actual physical boot ROM's on the M7098. See http://metalab.unc.edu/pub/academic/computer-science/history/pdp-11/hardwar… specifically, the file "1144.boot.roms", for very detailed information on identifying the boot ROM's present and how to set the DIP switches to select the appropriate one. -- Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com Trailing Edge Technology WWW: http://www.trailing-edge.com/ 7328 Bradley Blvd Voice: 301-767-5917 Bethesda, MD, USA 20817 Fax: 301-767-5927

25 years, 9 months

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Searchable archive of classiccmp is available.

by steverob＠hotoffice.com

> > This is really great Sergey! I tried a few quick searches and was very > pleased. Very nice... Why do all of the posting show "Jun 26, 1999" for the date? Steve Robertson - <steverob(a)hotoffice.com>

25 years, 9 months

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Looking for an RK05j User

by Jgzabol＠aol.com

In einer eMail vom 8/6/99 3:31:33AM, schreiben Sie: << Having gotten the 11/45 in my basement operational :-) , I'm on to the next step, the attached RK05. As I start towards the next milestone I am wondering if there is anyone on the list that has a working RK11/RK05 combination going. I will likely have questions! >> I do have a 11/34a with RK05Js operational, and I am in the process of attaching a Plessey drive to it, hopefully RK05 compatible. Maybe we run into similar problems soon ! So far, apart from a defective blower motor which needs replacement, I did not encounter any problems with the drives or the packs or the controller. John G. Zabolitzky

25 years, 9 months

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DUMB VMS!

by CLASSICCMP＠trailing-edge.com

>] Dumb huh, it's at least secure! >] Ok go to the netbsd site and nose around, the proceedure for breaking into >] VMS is there... >Is it just me, or do those two sentences not belong so close together? :-) The procedures involve having physical access to the machine's hardware. Despite what the laptop makers try to tell folks, if you've got physical access to the hardware, you can do anything you please with the data present! -- Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com Trailing Edge Technology WWW: http://www.trailing-edge.com/ 7328 Bradley Blvd Voice: 301-767-5917 Bethesda, MD, USA 20817 Fax: 301-767-5927

25 years, 9 months

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IBM PS/2 P70-386 SIMM needed...+ a couple other things...

by jolminkh＠nsw.bigpond.net.au

Jason Wrote: >I need a 2MB SIMM for an IBM PS/2 P70-386. I know they go in in sets of >two's, but for some reason, I have a spare SIMM that I found. Does anyone I've never heard of this "sets of 2" stuff on these. They use the same simms as the desktop model 70 . . ie with presence detect circuitry. Hans

25 years, 9 months

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Morrow Pivot AC adapter- what Voltage??

by cdrmool＠interlog.com

Thanks Sellam, that would be great. It was an exciting find and I'm looking forward to getting on line with this. Hopefully I can change my Karma around modems in portables. Other than my Kaypro's, I've yet to get a modem in a portable or luggable to work. colan colan ____________________________________________________________________ Vintage Computer Collectors List and Info: http://members.xoom.com/T3C Mail us at: T3C(a)xoommail.com -----Original Message----- From: Sellam Ismail <dastar(a)ncal.verio.com> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Thursday, August 05, 1999 11:38 PM Subject: Re: Morrow Pivot AC adapter- what Voltage?? >On Thu, 5 Aug 1999, Colan Mitchell wrote: > >> I found a Morrow Pivot at a thrift shop and it gives conflicting information >> as to the voltage needed to run it. One spot says 12 and the other says 15. >> What is the Volt/amp needed? > >I believe its 15V but 12V should work fine too. I don't know the amperage >or the polarity however. I have a supply that I use on my Pivot that's >not original and has no labelling, but if I can dig it out I'll test it >and let you know what the pertinents are. > >Sellam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- >Don't rub the lamp if you don't want the genie to come out. > > Coming this October 2-3: Vintage Computer Festival 3.0! > See http://www.vintage.org/vcf for details! > [Last web site update: 05/25/99] > >

25 years, 9 months

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186 (was: CompuGraphics Question)

by peter.pachla＠vectrex.freeserve.co.uk

Hi Tony, >Thought so. I can't remmeber what my Nimbus has in it, and it's >not easy enough to get to it to find out. I _think_ it's a 186, though. Yes, they're right buggers to take apart. We had a few 286, 386SX and 386DX machines too....though I think there was only 1 machine on the site which was a DX. ISTR there was a set of patches included with DOS which you had to run on the '186 machine to switch it to operate in IBM compatible mode. >And what's wrong with Beebs or Apples? For a lot of applications >they're more useful than most PCs. Nothing....they're great machines. Just that with the way PCs have come into fashion in colleges' I was surprised to see them still in use. They were replaced just before I left there....luckily for my collection. ;-) TTFN - Pete. -- Hardware & Software Engineer. Sound Engineer. Collector of Arcade Machines, Games Consoles & Obsolete Computers (esp DEC) peter.pachla(a)virgin.net | peter.pachla(a)vectrex.freeserve.co.uk | peter.pachla(a)wintermute.free-online.co.uk | www.wintermute.free-online.co.uk --

25 years, 9 months

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[Free Computer Swapmeet - Saturday, Aug. 7 - Portland]

by jimw＠agora.rdrop.com

For anyone in the Portland, Oregon area this Saturday... ============================================================= >>Insert drumroll.wav here< >Announcing... > >The Last Tailgate Swapmeet of the Millennium!!!* > >Saturday, August 7, 1999 >The North parking lot of Oregon Electronics.

25 years, 9 months

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Morrow Pivot AC adapter- what Voltage??

by cdrmool＠interlog.com

I found a Morrow Pivot at a thrift shop and it gives conflicting information as to the voltage needed to run it. One spot says 12 and the other says 15. What is the Volt/amp needed? Any other info on it would be appreciated. TIA colan

25 years, 9 months

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Old bits (still) free for the taking (UK)....

by peter.pachla＠vectrex.freeserve.co.uk

I still have a few bits and pieces here which I want rid of ASAP....and they're getting perilously close to going in the next skip I come across.... List follows: Wang keyboard. Olivetti wide carriage daisywheel printer (from S100 based WP system) Star NB-15 wide carriage 24-pin printer Princeton Graphics EGA monitor (x2) Nixdorf VDU Televideo 950 VDU (x2) Zenith Z89 VDU The latter items would really only be good for spares, e.g. the Star Printer needs a new printhead, the Z89 is missing the video board, the TV-950s won't communicate with their keyboards, but it's all available for the cost of coming to get it. I'd rather not dump this stuff in a skip but that's where it's all headed and soon if someone doesn't take it away. I'm located in Birmingham, email me directly if interested. TTFN - Pete. -- Hardware & Software Engineer. Sound Engineer. Collector of Arcade Machines, Games Consoles & Obsolete Computers (esp DEC) peter.pachla(a)virgin.net | peter.pachla(a)vectrex.freeserve.co.uk | peter.pachla(a)wintermute.free-online.co.uk | www.wintermute.free-online.co.uk --

25 years, 9 months

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subscibe

by macierno＠cvm.msstate.edu

------- ICQ 40439199 http://www2.msstate.edu/~mja2

25 years, 9 months

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Tempest Macintosh pictures

by dastar＠ncal.verio.com

Here are some photos I took of my tempest Macintosh. There's nothing particularly extraordinary about this machine unless you look at the details. I didn't get any photos of the inside because this thing is a total bitch to take apart. It took me about half an hour just to get the back cover off when I first cracked it open. It's not because of the hex screws or anything like that. This thing has a metal housing built into the case, with a bunch of finely machined screws holding everything together. To take the back cover off requires undoing more than just the standard hex screws. The nubs on the I/O connectors also have to be removed. Anyway... Back side of the unit. Note the toggle switch which replaces the old on/off switch. The knob below it is a fuse holder. Note the power cord is now permanently attached to the unit. The back I/O connector panel has been cutout and then re-attached with new cutouts to reduce the holes where emissions could escape. This panel is laced with a metal mesh. A CRT brightness control has been added to the left of the battery holder (the battery cover is missing). The small cover screwed into the case on the left side is where the slot for the security device used to be. http://www.siconic.com/crap/tempmac1.jpg Front of the machine. Nothing unusual except for the square slot cutout where the keyboard RJ14 connector used to be. A close-up view is coming up to show how the keyboard attaches. http://www.siconic.com/crap/tempmac2.jpg Side view. Guess what? That slot is another Sony 3.5" floppy that has been installed internally. The slot has been manually cutout. http://www.siconic.com/crap/tempmac3.jpg The backside label enlarged so you can read it. The manufacturer (or rather re-manufacturer) is Systematics General Corporation of Sterling, Virginia (a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlantic Research Corporation). I mentioned this on the list when I first got this unit sometime in 1997 I believe (or early in 1998). I paid $10 for it. http://www.siconic.com/crap/tempmac4.jpg A close-up of the keyboard connector. It attaches to the unit via the modular plug. Then the panel screws on to the front of the machine. The duct tape looking piece of material is a metallic mesh that prevents leakage of emissions. Note the brass gasket attaching the shielded cable to the keyboard housing. The metal box on the back covers the old keyboard connector. http://www.siconic.com/crap/tempmac5.jpg Sellam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Don't rub the lamp if you don't want the genie to come out. Coming this October 2-3: Vintage Computer Festival 3.0! See http://www.vintage.org/vcf for details! [Last web site update: 05/25/99]

25 years, 9 months

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Wang VS7110 System FREE

by jpl15＠netcom.com

An update on the Wang system I rescued from Certain Death.. I found a good portion of the manuals today while on an un-related mission to the warehouse. I was walking past 2-story-high pallet racks full of boxes of paper files, and a Wang binder caught my eye.. sure enough, what appears to be the operations documentation, including much custom work by the sysop(s) was in an open box. I now have it with the machine itself. Anyone on (or off) the List who is interested in acquiring this taken-out-of-service 7110 system... contact me via e-mail. It seriously wants a loving home and some 220-1 ph to eat. FREE FREE FREE Cheers John

25 years, 9 months

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New arrival... (s)?

by jimw＠agora.rdrop.com

Well, it just goes to prove once again that not all of the rocks have been turned over. Based on a recent tip from another collector, I've managed to knock one more item off of the Computer Garage 'Most Wanted' list with the arrival of an IMSAI dual floppy disk sub-system. No software or docs with it, but that just adds to the adventure! B^} Something about the unit suggests that the previous owner ran CP/M on it, but as to just what that clue is I will leave without explaination. (that way you have to look at the pictures) <G> The images are immediately post-unpacking, so the unit has not been cleaned, checked out, or powered up... but its here!!! Hmmm... I wonder if there is a copy of IMSDOS buried around here somewhere??? <BG> And hopefully (if Murphy does not interfere) by the end of the weekend yet another item will be struck from the list! Stay Tuned!! -jim --- jimw(a)computergarage.org The Computer Garage - http://www.computergarage.org Computer Garage Fax - (503) 646-0174

25 years, 9 months

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Wanna trade?

by dogas＠leading.net

I'm about to have an abundance of H89 systems (among others) and wonder if others are interested some light hearted swapping. ;) - Mike: dogas(a)leading.net

25 years, 9 months

1
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3Com 3Stations

by peter.pachla＠vectrex.freeserve.co.uk

Hi Jeff, >You want some advice, eh? Okay. These beasties support >CGA or EGA (you set this up from the setup screen... Thanks, at least I know now not to fry an MDA monitor checking this out.... ;-) >....and AFAIK, I'm pretty sure they support 1mb simms. (the >later models had VGA, and supported more memory). That would make sense, wasn't the '286 limited to a total of 4Mb physical RAM (unless you added EMS)? >....worked fin for most MS-DOS appz. Yep, the fact that they're '286 based isn't a problem to me. I just want to use them under DOS for running stuff like TurboBASIC etc. >How do you make it boot? Ha. You have to have either: 3Com >3+Start server software, or 3+Open Start (for OS/2 LanMan).... Hmm, I was contemplating setting up OS/2 Warp on one of my machines....don't have LanManager though. :-( >I think I still have all of this stuff somewhere, ifn you >want it.... I'll contact you off the list about this. >....The only problem is, you'll need to dedicate a PeeCee >just to run the boot services (and whatever other network >services you want).... Well, I was thinking about having a play with networking....one of the reasons I dug the 3Com units out. :-) TTFN - Pete. -- Hardware & Software Engineer. Sound Engineer. Collector of Arcade Machines, Games Consoles & Obsolete Computers (esp DEC) peter.pachla(a)virgin.net | peter.pachla(a)vectrex.freeserve.co.uk | peter.pachla(a)wintermute.free-online.co.uk | www.wintermute.free-online.co.uk --

25 years, 9 months

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IBM/XT Y2K Compliancy

by SUPRDAVE＠aol.com

every IBM machine with a bios date of 1996 or later will automagically roll over to the next century. Previous machines will simply have to have the date command invoked to set the century. I set the date on my PCjr and it accepted 01-01-2000 no problem. supr 'building my bomb shelter for y2k' dave In a message dated 8/5/99 3:56:39 PM Eastern Daylight Time, mikeford(a)netwiz.net writes: << >>Are the IBM/XT, IBM/AT and PS/2 computers hardware Y2K compliant? I'm not Every brand of computer has a Y2K section on their website, best to refer to that for specific information. The only systems I am familiar with are several of the old 486 compaq's I have include a SIIG extended bios card that is supposed to make them Y2K compliant, and the IBM PS/2 model 95 have a bios patch for some units. >>

25 years, 9 months

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FS: lotus Approach 2.0 Database for Windows

by rhblake＠bigfoot.com

Have a sealed copy of Lotus Appraoch 2.0 Database for Windows....and no use for it. It says it has both 5.25" (1.2mb) and 3.5" (1.44mb) disks. It states 286 or higher, Win 3.0 or higher, hard disk, EGA or better video, mouse, 2 mb RAM minimum.. It says it's compatible with files from dBase III & IV, Paradox, FoxPro, Oracle SQL 6.0 and SQL Server databases in native format.. It also states that's it's network compatible with Noverll Netware and Netware Lite, MS Lan Manager, Banyan VINES and LANtastic networks. Allows grpaihics imports in BMP, TIFF, PCX, WMF and EPS. $5.00 plus whatever the postage would be and it's yours. Drop me a direct note if interested.

25 years, 9 months

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IBM/XT Y2K Compliancy

by elvey＠hal.com

Hi A while back, I had to come up with a clock system that would work with a simple clock chip that only went up to months but not years. The machine did have some other non-volitile memory so here is how I delt with it. I had what I called a half year counter. If when the machine turned on, the clock chip thought it was in early half of the year and the RAM said it was in the last half, I'd update the year and reset the bit. The only requirement here was that the machine had to be turned on at least once every 6 months or soemone had to reset the time. Why they couldn't have done something as simple as this for the century, I don't know. Dwight

25 years, 9 months

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Difinition confirmation (please read)...

by hhacker＠home.com

The term CRACKER is as old a the railroads, if not much older than that: it was used in the 1800's (and to some degree, this usage remains today) to refer to those persons with a nack for entering a safe without permission! Forget your history, and you are doomed to relive it! William R. Buckley -----Original Message----- From: Chuck McManis <cmcmanis(a)mcmanis.com> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Wednesday, August 04, 1999 4:24 PM Subject: Re: Difinition confirmation (please read)... >The term 'cracker' was created to denote people who used their computer >skills to "crack" passwords, "crack" copy protection schemes on software, >and then used that ill gotten information for fame and sometimes profit. >--Chuck >

25 years, 9 months

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IBM/XT Y2K Compliancy

by zmerch＠30below.com

I have a (yea, nice, broad, vague) question... Are the IBM/XT, IBM/AT and PS/2 computers hardware Y2K compliant? I'm not really into the old Clone machines, and don't really know... (and personally I couldn't care -- but we had a customer ask about them and I could really use an answer...) Anyway, there are many folks on this list more intelligent than me, and figured this is the quickest way I could get an intelligent answer to my foolish question. ;-) If no-one else is interested in this discussion, I'd be happy to take it to email only. Thanks for any help y'all can provide, Roger "Merch" Merchberger -- Roger "Merch" Merchberger --- sysadmin, Iceberg Computers Recycling is good, right??? Ok, so I'll recycle an old .sig. If at first you don't succeed, nuclear warhead disarmament should *not* be your first career choice.

25 years, 9 months

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Definition confirmation (please read)...

by allisonp＠world.std.com

The current useage of hacker now is not the same as say 1984 and very different fro the 1975 thinking. It's evolutionary term. It's gone from a term that more about exprimentation and intutive design to a very negative pastime. Allison

25 years, 9 months

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186 (was: CompuGraphics Question)

by peter.pachla＠vectrex.freeserve.co.uk

Hi Tony, >....Research Machines (a UK computer company who sold >machines for schools mostly) made a 80186 version of the >Nimbus. They certainly did, we still had a bunch of them at East B'Ham College when I worked there in '97. Mind you we also had a bunch of Beebs and some Apple ][s...!! TTFN - Pete. -- Hardware & Software Engineer. Sound Engineer. Collector of Arcade Machines, Games Consoles & Obsolete Computers (esp DEC) peter.pachla(a)virgin.net | peter.pachla(a)vectrex.freeserve.co.uk | peter.pachla(a)wintermute.free-online.co.uk | www.wintermute.free-online.co.uk --

25 years, 9 months

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AT/370 and XT/370

by CordaAJ＠NSWC.NAVY.MIL

I just called timeline... The information they supplied me is as follows... This is a 2 card cable-connected set; One card is labeled IBM XT 1602509, The other is labeled IBM AT 6236115. No software was available for the cardset. They also suggested that I call back later (when someone with a technical background would be available...) If I find out more, I'll drop the list a note... If anyone on the list happens to have the 370 emulator cardset, it would be nice if they could check out the part numbers. BTW, they also indicated that they had quite a few of these available. -al -acorda(a)geocities.com > -----Original Message----- > From: Hans Franke [mailto:Hans.Franke@mch20.sbs.de] > Sent: Thursday, August 05, 1999 10:14 AM > To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers > Subject: Re: AT/370 and XT/370 > > > > Just browsing through my browser bookmarks, as you do, I came across > > this: > > > "IBM 370 option XT and AT emulation boards $25.00 " > > > at > > > <http://www.digisys.net/timeline/blowout.html> > > > Are these the real thing? > > If anybody can veryfy this, I want one! > > Gruss > h. > > -- > Stimm gegen SPAM: http://www.politik-digital.de/spam/de/ > Vote against SPAM: http://www.politik-digital.de/spam/en/ > Votez contre le SPAM: http://www.politik-digital.de/spam/fr/ > Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut > HRK >

25 years, 9 months

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Definition confirmation (please read)...

by roblwill＠usaor.net

O.K. I think that sorta clears things up a bit. I guess my little 'direct modem' could be considered a hardware hack. Although, don't hacks usually work?? :) ///--->>> -Jason Willgruber (roblwill(a)usaor.net) ICQ#: 1730318 <http://members.tripod.com/general_1>

25 years, 9 months

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186 (was: CompuGraphics Question)

by edick＠idcomm.com

You wouldn't want to guess what I found in the basement behind the washing machine, yesterday, would you? I think a few of the screws are missing, along with the power supply (which was a BOSCHERT switcher) which is what I was scanvenging when I last looked at the thing. If you want it, I can arrange to send it to you. (the 3COM server with the '186 running it, I mean.) regards, Dick -----Original Message----- From: Jeffrey L Kaneko <jeff.kaneko(a)juno.com> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Wednesday, August 04, 1999 10:53 PM Subject: Re: 186 (was: CompuGraphics Question) >On Wed, 4 Aug 1999 17:49:28 +1 "Hans Franke" <Hans.Franke(a)mch20.sbs.de> >writes: >> 186 ? Interesting ... it seams that there are way more 186 beaste >> than I have asumed... This could be a collecting theme on their own. > >You bet! There are at least two more '186 machines nobody mentioned. >ANyone remember the MAD 186? It was kinda like a mindset, but the >innards were different. TELEX also marketed a rebadged version of the >MAD computer-- the TELEX 1186. I used to have one of these (I think >I still have the PSU/FDD unit around here someplace). > >Two more rarely seen machines are the 3Com 3Server, and 3Server3's. >They both used 80186 CPU's (some guy at 3Com explained that they >used it because the chips built-in dual DMAC's gave good disk I/O >performance). > >Anyways, these beasts used a highly customized version of MS-dos, >which ran 3Com's LAN software. They were strictly servers-- these >things had no on-board video; you had to use a terminal to see what was >going on, if it refused to boot (which was often). It was a seriously >cool >box in 1986. I still have the software for it around here someplace . . >. > >I'm sorry I scrapped mine in 1993. > >Jeff > >> >> Gruss >> H. >> >> -- >> Stimm gegen SPAM: http://www.politik-digital.de/spam/de/ >> Vote against SPAM: http://www.politik-digital.de/spam/en/ >> Votez contre le SPAM: http://www.politik-digital.de/spam/fr/ >> Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut >> HRK > >___________________________________________________________________ >Get the Internet just the way you want it. >Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month! >Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.

25 years, 9 months

1
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186 &188 computers

by Innfogra＠aol.com

In a message dated 8/4/99 9:25:26 AM Pacific Daylight Time, dastar(a)ncal.verio.com writes: > > Other 80186 computers include: > Tandy 2000 I believe. Many, many of intel's early Multibus I cards used the 186 & 188 chips, either as a processor or peripheral support. Paxton

25 years, 9 months

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Difinition confirmation (please read)...

by roblwill＠usaor.net

I need the following word defined/confirmed.... Hacker According to my dictionary, 'hack' means "to chop with exceptional force", "a violent cough", or "a horse let out out for common hire"... Same dictionary... 'hacker' "one who hacks" (no - really?....), or 'a person who is inexperienced or unskilled at a particular activity' example is "A Polo hacker". I wonder which antique store I bought that dictionary from... :) Here's my definition: "One who adapts an existing piece of computer (or other type) of hardware to suit one's needs or to improve it without instruction from the original manufacturer." I also thought that the people who screwed with viruses and software and such were "crackers" (which my dictionary describes as a 'dry, thin bread substance"). Am I right? or am I just blowing smoke? ThAnX, ///--->>> -Jason Willgruber (roblwill(a)usaor.net) ICQ#: 1730318 <http://members.tripod.com/general_1> PS>> The reason I wanted to know was because I was going to make a web page on a couple of old serial cards that I'm making into direct-connect modems to use on a few computer that don't have HD's, and I'm just not sure what it would be classified as!

25 years, 9 months

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Pinouts needed

by roblwill＠usaor.net

Hi! Does anyone have the pinouts of both a a 25-pin and a 9-pin serial connection? I need to know which pins on the 9-pin correspond to the pins of the 25 pin. ThAnX, ///--->>> -Jason Willgruber (roblwill(a)usaor.net) ICQ#: 1730318 <http://members.tripod.com/general_1>

25 years, 9 months

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186 (was: CompuGraphics Question)

by jeff.kaneko＠juno.com

On Wed, 4 Aug 1999 17:49:28 +1 "Hans Franke" <Hans.Franke(a)mch20.sbs.de> writes: > 186 ? Interesting ... it seams that there are way more 186 beaste > than I have asumed... This could be a collecting theme on their own. You bet! There are at least two more '186 machines nobody mentioned. ANyone remember the MAD 186? It was kinda like a mindset, but the innards were different. TELEX also marketed a rebadged version of the MAD computer-- the TELEX 1186. I used to have one of these (I think I still have the PSU/FDD unit around here someplace). Two more rarely seen machines are the 3Com 3Server, and 3Server3's. They both used 80186 CPU's (some guy at 3Com explained that they used it because the chips built-in dual DMAC's gave good disk I/O performance). Anyways, these beasts used a highly customized version of MS-dos, which ran 3Com's LAN software. They were strictly servers-- these things had no on-board video; you had to use a terminal to see what was going on, if it refused to boot (which was often). It was a seriously cool box in 1986. I still have the software for it around here someplace . . . I'm sorry I scrapped mine in 1993. Jeff > > Gruss > H. > > -- > Stimm gegen SPAM: http://www.politik-digital.de/spam/de/ > Vote against SPAM: http://www.politik-digital.de/spam/en/ > Votez contre le SPAM: http://www.politik-digital.de/spam/fr/ > Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut > HRK ___________________________________________________________________ Get the Internet just the way you want it. Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month! Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.

25 years, 9 months

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(no subject)

by JLO170＠aol.com

I have a Texas Instruments T1-99/4A computer and related books for it and I also have a Sinclair 1000 with related books. Can you tell me if they are of value and/or use to anyone out there ? Thank you for any help. Joe Oleksy JLO170(a)AOL.com

25 years, 9 months

4
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RT-11 DU: Handler Question

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

OK, as long as I don't run into any unforseen trouble that keeps me from having time, I plan on installing RT-11 on a large disk in the next few days. However, I won't be using the nice WQESD ESDI controller that I've got that makes partitioning disks easy. So I want to make sure I understand how partitioning works under RT-11. If I'm reading the manuals correctly I would first boot off of my RL02 pack and do the following .INIT/BADBLOCKS DU0: then .SQUEEZE/OUTPUT=DU0: DL1: .COPY/BOOT DL1:RT11FB.SYS DU0: and then boot the system from DU0: So far that's pretty straight forward, and except for using SQUEEZE to copy the distribution, pretty much the way I got it from RX50 to RL02. Now then since I'll want to use more than just the first 30Mb of the Hard Drive, I'll need to set up partitions. Do I do this prior to initializing DU0: or after booting from a freshly installed DU0:? I realize the command to do the partitioning is: .SET DU0 UNIT=0,PORT=0,PART=0 .SET DU1 UNIT=0,PORT=0,PART=1 .SET DU2 UNIT=0,PORT=0,PART=2 .SET DU3 UNIT=0,PORT=0,PART=3 Also I assume that a partition has to be 65,535 blocks, but does the last one have to be that, or will it simply be however much space is left? Zane | Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator | | healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast | | healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector | +----------------------------------+----------------------------+ | Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, | | and Zane's Computer Museum. | | http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/ |

25 years, 9 months

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MacCharlie

by SUPRDAVE＠aol.com

In a message dated 8/4/99 2:27:58 PM Eastern Daylight Time, g(a)kurico.com writes: << Anyone happen to have the software for this guy? Of course Dayna was of no use (esp now that they've been sucked up by Inhel). Also pinouts for the connecting serial cable would be nice, though I believe it just uses a standard (for the early Macs) serial cable. TIA >> there used to be a website for old mac drivers which is where i found the setup disk for the computereyes video capture card in my mac II. i coulda swore it was macdrivers.com, but coming up 404 on that one. you might want to try here -> http://www.zws.com/classicmacs/index.html

25 years, 9 months

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Difinition confirmation (please read)...

by cmcmanis＠mcmanis.com

The term 'cracker' was created to denote people who used their computer skills to "crack" passwords, "crack" copy protection schemes on software, and then used that ill gotten information for fame and sometimes profit. --Chuck

25 years, 9 months

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Bernoulli stuff

by yakowenk＠cs.unc.edu

X-No-Archive: yes Hey all, I just scored a handful of Bernoulli Box stuff: four cartridges and some manuals and floppy disks. If you are interested, the details are listed on my "for trade" web page, at this URL: http://www.cs.unc.edu/~yakowenk/classiccmp/fortrade.html Cheers, Bill.

25 years, 9 months

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Austin Goodwill has some good stuff!

by dastar＠ncal.verio.com

Someone in Austin might want to get down to the Goodwill Computer Works quick. Look at the stuff in this picture: http://www.austingoodwill.org/dg/compwork/nostalgi.htm This page also has pricings for vintage computers they have for sale. The Computer Works is apparently where most of the old computers that get donated to Goodwill in Austin end up. The prices are a tad inflated (in some cases unreasonable) but I'm sure you can talk them down. Let us know if you make out. Sellam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Don't rub the lamp if you don't want the genie to come out. Coming this October 2-3: Vintage Computer Festival 3.0! See http://www.vintage.org/vcf for details! [Last web site update: 05/25/99]

25 years, 9 months

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186 (was: CompuGraphics Question)

by CLASSICCMP＠trailing-edge.com

> 186 ? Interesting ... it seams that there are way more 186 beaste > than I have asumed... This could be a collecting theme on their own. Every DEC TQK50/TUK50 (Q/U-bus TK50 tape drive interface) has an 80186 on it. I've also seen them as drive controllers on several different brands of SCSI drives. They seem to be rather common in the device/embedded market. -- Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com Trailing Edge Technology WWW: http://www.trailing-edge.com/ 7328 Bradley Blvd Voice: 301-767-5917 Bethesda, MD, USA 20817 Fax: 301-767-5927

25 years, 9 months

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RX02 Repair

by steve.lubbers＠barco.com

Tony, Thanks for the suggestions, I'll see what I can see tonight. I have a copy of the RX02 Field Maintenance Print sets, so I can follow what you are describing. I don't think I have a spare 2102, but could get one easy enough. I didn't think of the load/dump sector buffer approach. That sounds like I good idea! Any programming help you have would be great! I was trying to figure out how to get a logic analyzer, but your idea will use the drive to diagnose itself. I posted a follow-up on the mailing list. Essentially, as you said, the disk does spin. I even checked the rotational speed. Plus/minus my scope's accuracy, it is spinng OK. I've cleaned the heads, but didn't go any further with mechanical adjustments. I was assuming that a drive sitting in a box didn't fall out of adjustment too far, and given that it reads a good portion of the data correctly, I thought I would probably make things worse. >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk [mailto:ard@p850ug1.demon.co.uk] >>> Sent: Tuesday, August 03, 1999 1:43 PM >>> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers >>> Subject: Re: RX02 Repair >>> >>> >>> > >>> > I've been trying to bring my old RX02 drive back to life, >>> with little >>> > success. >>> > >>> > I just received a good bootable floppy, and get the same >>> results as with all >>> > my old disks, so now I'm looking for hardware problems. >>> > >>> > On a PDP-11/03, With RXV21 controller, and an RX02 drive, >>> the RX02 >>> > initializes, attempts to read the boot block, and crashes >>> to ODT at 000600. >>> >>> I am going to assume that this is a double-density disk >>> (and thus has 256 >>> byte sectors) and that the DIP switch inside hasn't been >>> moved since it >>> last worked on an RXV21 (I can't find the info quickly, or >>> I'd tell you >>> how to set it). >>> >>> > >>> > >>> > > In examining what my system reads as it attempts to >>> boot, it looks like I >>> > > read every other 128 byte chunk correctly. I haven't >>> figured out a >>> > pattern >>> > > to the corrupt sections. >>> > >>> > >>> > Does anyone have any RX02 diagnostics, or hardware >>> trouble shooting tips? >>> >>> >>> Argh!. Fixing an RX02 is a lot worse than fixing an RX01 (I've done >>> both). The RX01 has an internal diagnostic connector that >>> you plug an >>> KM11 into. You can then single-step the microcode, >>> halt-on-error, etc. >>> >>> Anyway, back to the RX02. The controller is the upper board >>> in the drive >>> unit. Undo the screws and hinge it up. On it there's a microcoded >>> processor based on 3 2909 sequencers and 2 2901 ALUs, 1K of >>> ROM and a lot >>> of TTL glue. There's also a 2K bit sector buffer based on 2 >>> off 2102 RAMs. >>> I can talk you through it if you can get the printset. >>> >>> >From the fault, I suspect that most of it is working >>> correctly (most of >>> the logic is the same for all bits in the sector), and that >>> the most >>> likely problem area is the sector buffer and/or its address counter. >>> >>> There are some things you can try. Firstly (if you have the >>> programming >>> info - if not I'll find it), you can try transfering 256 >>> bytes from the >>> PDP11 to the sector buffer and then transfering it back >>> again (without >>> going via the disk). This will test most of the controller >>> logic and the >>> sector buffer RAM. My guess is that this will fail. >>> >>> Now look at the siganls to E56 (a 2102 RAM that's the high >>> half of the >>> sector buffer). Does it ever get enabled (pin 13 goes low)? >>> Check back to >>> E29f (74LS04) if not. If that inverter is OK, then suspect >>> the address >>> counter (E63, E57, E51). >>> >>> Also suspect E56 itself (this is the most likely problem, >>> actually). If >>> you have a spare 2102-1, it may be worth replacing it. >>> >>> >>> > >>> > >>> > Steve >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> >>> -tony >>>

25 years, 9 months

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CompuGraphics Question

by ravenw＠hargray.com

I recently picked up a very large desktop-like computer labeled CompuGraphics MCS-100. I would like to know if anyone knows anything about this machine. I hope to turn this into a pet project, but I need some general info. Any help would be greatly apprieciated. Thanks. Darrell Watson

25 years, 9 months

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186 (was: CompuGraphics Question)

by edick＠idcomm.com

The only 'xt-type machine I have kept since the "old days" when such things were common, is a "Challenger" motherboard (made ??? but sold through an outfit in Boston) which was a 10MHz '186 as the processor in the 'XT architecture. It had some 16-bit slots, though I never checked them out for functionality, since there were few devices suitable for that. Since the integrated peripherals could be relocated to an "out of the way" location that was almost the first thing that happened in the ROM code. I've held onto one just in case I ever needed to develop something for a '186 again. That and the '188 and the NEC V-40 and V-50 were my favorites of the time. I liked those built-in memory selects that allowed you to build a system with almost no glue logic. Dick -----Original Message----- From: Hans Franke <Hans.Franke(a)mch20.sbs.de> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Wednesday, August 04, 1999 10:00 AM Subject: 186 (was: CompuGraphics Question) > >> The machines I worked on were dual-floppy based, 1 Meg RAM, 80186 for the >> processor, and run a specialized program for typesetting. AFAIK, they >> cannot run anything else... but it might be a fun project to see if you >> could get them to do other things. Hope you're good with x86 assembly (and >> maybe disassembly) as I do believe a part of the OS they used was on ROM. >> How much was ROM and what was booted from Floppy, I couldn't tell you... > >186 ? Interesting ... it seams that there are way more 186 beaste >than I have asumed... This could be a collecting theme on their own. > >Gruss >H. > >-- >Stimm gegen SPAM: http://www.politik-digital.de/spam/de/ >Vote against SPAM: http://www.politik-digital.de/spam/en/ >Votez contre le SPAM: http://www.politik-digital.de/spam/fr/ >Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut >HRK

25 years, 9 months

2
1
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MacCharlie

by g＠kurico.com

Longshot here but ... Anyone happen to have the software for this guy? Of course Dayna was of no use (esp now that they've been sucked up by Inhel). Also pinouts for the connecting serial cable would be nice, though I believe it just uses a standard (for the early Macs) serial cable. TIA George

25 years, 9 months

1
0
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suggestions on backplane cleaning? (or, HP2100 continued)

by jlwest＠tseinc.com

One major problem with my 2100A has been solved (sort of). I had a card that wouldn't work properly in a particular slot, finally got the bright idea to move it to a different slot (I'm using polled mode, not interrupt, so this is possible). The card works great. Problem solved? No..... In the troubleshooting process I noticed a few slots that no cards would quite work right in. I checked the back of the backplane (it is a hand-wired backplane), no loose wires, etc. After very close inspection of the backplane slots, I determined the problem is the contacts are dirty/corroded/whatever. I tried the best I could to clean the contacts inside the slot, but this is virtually impossible. I also cleaned the card edge with an eraser just to be sure. Bingo - card now works fine but only in the cleaned slot (or one that worked previously). So, given that it's a delicate hand-wired backplane, does anyone have any magic tricks for how to clean the gold contacts inside of the backplane edge card connectors? I'm afraid to experiment and looking for wisdom... :) Thanks! Jay West

25 years, 9 months

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186 (was: CompuGraphics Question)

by edick＠idcomm.com

I've been persuaded (by a couple of the guys who worked on the Boca-Raton development of the PC) that Intel provided them with a prototype board used in the development of the '188 and that it became the hardware model for the PC motherboard. It's hard to dispute, considering that the timers, DMAC's, etc would have been prototyped using "real" hardware. That would also explain some of the stupidity surrounding interrupts on the PC. Not even IBM would have done something so silly as to use positive-going interrupts, except perhaps out of fear that fixing it would break something. They were on a tight schedule, you know. Dick -----Original Message----- From: allisonp(a)world.std.com <allisonp(a)world.std.com> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Wednesday, August 04, 1999 10:55 AM Subject: RE: 186 (was: CompuGraphics Question) > >> > 186 ? Interesting ... it seams that there are way more 186 beaste >> > than I have asumed... This could be a collecting theme on their own. >> >> Every DEC TQK50/TUK50 (Q/U-bus TK50 tape drive interface) has an 80186 on it. >> I've also seen them as drive controllers on several different brands >> of SCSI drives. They seem to be rather common in the device/embedded >> market. > >Since it was aimed specifically at the embedded controller market, that's >no surprize. It didn't do well as an 8088/8086 upgrade as the peripherals >on chip were not PC compatable though they are better than the PC >implmentations. > >Allison >

25 years, 9 months

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186 (was: CompuGraphics Question)

by edick＠idcomm.com

The '18x series was the first, and possibly last, evidence I ever saw that Intel could build something fairly sensible. I think the '18x series was designed for military applications, originally. The disk-drive applications I've seen normally use the '188, since they offer byte-wide interfaces up to the EIDE types. It's entirely conceivable that the '186 was used as well. I saw one on a WD ESDI controller for the PC. Dick -----Original Message----- From: CLASSICCMP(a)trailing-edge.com <CLASSICCMP(a)trailing-edge.com> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Wednesday, August 04, 1999 10:33 AM Subject: RE: 186 (was: CompuGraphics Question) >> 186 ? Interesting ... it seams that there are way more 186 beaste >> than I have asumed... This could be a collecting theme on their own. > >Every DEC TQK50/TUK50 (Q/U-bus TK50 tape drive interface) has an 80186 on it. >I've also seen them as drive controllers on several different brands >of SCSI drives. They seem to be rather common in the device/embedded >market. > >-- > Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com > Trailing Edge Technology WWW: http://www.trailing-edge.com/ > 7328 Bradley Blvd Voice: 301-767-5917 > Bethesda, MD, USA 20817 Fax: 301-767-5927

25 years, 9 months

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186 (was: CompuGraphics Question)

by edick＠idcomm.com

My very first 'x86 machine was based on a board called a "Slicer" which later was offered as a two-board system. It had a 6 MHz '186 and enough of those weird stackable memory sockets which allowed you to put two 16-pin RAM packages in what was essentially a single 18-pin site, to accomodate 128K-bytes of the 64K DRAMS. It provided a little serial I/O and little else other than the FDC. The add-on card, which was offered later, had a SCSI port and some parallel I/O (?) It's been a long time, but I think it added another 128K bytes of RAM. Dick -----Original Message----- From: John Honniball <John.Honniball(a)uwe.ac.uk> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Wednesday, August 04, 1999 10:08 AM Subject: Re: 186 (was: CompuGraphics Question) > >On Wed, 4 Aug 1999 17:49:28 +1 Hans Franke ><Hans.Franke(a)mch20.sbs.de> wrote: >> > The machines I worked on were dual-floppy based, 1 Meg RAM, 80186 for the >> > processor, >... >> 186 ? Interesting ... it seams that there are way more 186 beaste >> than I have asumed... This could be a collecting theme on their own. > >The first laptop PC that I ever used was a dual-floppy >system called the Tava Flyer. It had an 80186 CPU, but I >can't remember how fast. > >-- >John Honniball >Email: John.Honniball(a)uwe.ac.uk >University of the West of England >

25 years, 9 months

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AT/370 and XT/370

by Philip.Belben＠powertech.co.uk

> We have a 3270 machine somewhere, but I haven't gotten around to see if > it's complete. IBM also issued a software package to turn their PC's > into 370 terminals. > > On Wed, 4 Aug 1999, Mike Ford wrote: > >> The PS/2 newsgroup has been talking about the AT and XT models that >> included a pair of cards that allowed fairly complete, if a bit slow, 370 >> mainframe emulation. Anybody every run across any of these? I don't think the 3270PC was what Mike meant. There was a PC with a couple of boards in it that became a self contained machine running the 370 instruction set. It was intended as a 3270 variant, though - developers would download their code to the PC, debug it on the local processor, and upload the next version, freeing the big machine (of which many companies had only one, after all) for users who wouldn't grab oodles of processor time with an incorrectly terminated loop or whatever. I, like Hans, have never come across one of these, although I heard of them back at IBM in '85 or '86. But I recall a rumour from another source that the 370 emulation was based on the 68000 circuitry but with custom microcode. These machines would run VM but not MVS, I think. Philip. ********************************************************************** This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for the presence of computer viruses. Power Technology Centre, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, Nottingham, NG11 0EE, UK Tel: +44 (0)115 936 2000 http://www.powertech.co.uk **********************************************************************

25 years, 9 months

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IBM TPC 4 pictures

by dastar＠ncal.verio.com

I've posted pictures of the IBM TPC 4 for those who are interested: Shows a close-up of the extended connectors in back http://www.siconic.com/crap/TPC4-1.jpg Shows the front of the unit http://www.siconic.com/crap/TPC4-2.jpg Shows a close-up of the front http://www.siconic.com/crap/TPC4-3.jpg Shows a close-up of the back connectors http://www.siconic.com/crap/TPC4-4.jpg Shows the unit from the top with the cover removed http://www.siconic.com/crap/TPC4-5.jpg Sellam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Don't rub the lamp if you don't want the genie to come out. Coming this October 2-3: Vintage Computer Festival 3.0! See http://www.vintage.org/vcf for details! [Last web site update: 05/25/99]

25 years, 9 months

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AT/370 and XT/370

by peter.pachla＠vectrex.freeserve.co.uk

Hi, >The PS/2 newsgroup has been talking about the AT and XT >models that included a pair of cards that allowed fairly complete, >if a bit slow, 370 mainframe emulation. Anybody every run >across any of these? Yes, I can't get at it right now but I picked up an XT/370 a few years ago at a radio rally. Unfortunately the machine had been fairly comprehensively rebuilt with a '286 motherboard and some sort of half height hard drive (despite having a full height "IBM" hard drive front plate on the front). I managed to get the original motherboard (broken expansion connector) and tape streamer out of the guy, but the monitor, keyboard, cards, etc were already gone.... :-( TTFN - Pete. -- Hardware & Software Engineer. Sound Engineer. Collector of Arcade Machines, Games Consoles & Obsolete Computers (esp DEC) peter.pachla(a)virgin.net | peter.pachla(a)vectrex.freeserve.co.uk | peter.pachla(a)wintermute.free-online.co.uk | www.wintermute.free-online.co.uk --

25 years, 9 months

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RX02 Repair {Follow Up}

by steve.lubbers＠barco.com

Thanks All for the suggestions I've received so far. To answer a few of the additional questions that cropped up: I've had the drive for about 11 years. About 5 years ago it worked correctly, so I'm assuming that internal switch settings are correct (though I don't have a reference to verify them), and the controller/drive match. I have a huge collection of disks, some marked RX01, some RX02, none will boot. I am currently working with an RX02 disk that was used to boot another PDP-11, then sent to me. I checked that both drive belts are in place, and used a scope on the photo transistor that detects the hole. The drive RPM was correct. tony- This would help >>>There are some things you can try. Firstly (if you have the programming >>>info - if not I'll find it), you can try transfering 256 bytes from the >>>PDP11 to the sector buffer and then transfering it back again (without >>>going via the disk). This will test most of the controller logic and the >>>sector buffer RAM. My guess is that this will fail. >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: steve.lubbers(a)barco.com [mailto:steve.lubbers@barco.com] >>> Sent: Tuesday, August 03, 1999 8:51 AM >>> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers >>> Subject: RX02 Repair >>> >>> >>> I've been trying to bring my old RX02 drive back to life, >>> with little >>> success. >>> >>> I just received a good bootable floppy, and get the same >>> results as with all >>> my old disks, so now I'm looking for hardware problems. >>> >>> On a PDP-11/03, With RXV21 controller, and an RX02 drive, the RX02 >>> initializes, attempts to read the boot block, and crashes >>> to ODT at 000600. >>> >>> >>> > In examining what my system reads as it attempts to boot, >>> it looks like I >>> > read every other 128 byte chunk correctly. I haven't >>> figured out a >>> pattern >>> > to the corrupt sections. >>> >>> >>> Does anyone have any RX02 diagnostics, or hardware trouble >>> shooting tips? >>> >>> >>> Steve >>> >>>

25 years, 9 months

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Orange County Computer Works

by dastar＠ncal.verio.com

Here's the Computer Works for the Orange County area. Mike? You reading this? http://santana.ocgoodwill.org/computer_works/index.html Sellam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Don't rub the lamp if you don't want the genie to come out. Coming this October 2-3: Vintage Computer Festival 3.0! See http://www.vintage.org/vcf for details! [Last web site update: 05/25/99]

25 years, 9 months

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Cool IBM PC find

by dastar＠ncal.verio.com

Ok, here's something very cool as far as IBM PC artifacts go. Its an "IBM TPC 4 System Unit" (the model is 4459). Its a tempested PC! Its basically an unfinished PC case inside a bigger case that provides the shielding. The connectors in the back all extend out to the outer shell, which has a metal screen around the connector openings. The power supply power plug connector is a threaded round connector. The power switch is relocated as a radial knob on the front of the chassis. Its got a 5.25" floppy drive and a hard drive (can't wait to see what's on it) enclosed in an inner cage to sheild them. The motherboard is a 256-512K version. The cards inside are pretty standard (I/O, hard drive/floppy interface, expanded memory). Very neat. Anyone ever heard of this? Sellam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Don't rub the lamp if you don't want the genie to come out. Coming this October 2-3: Vintage Computer Festival 3.0! See http://www.vintage.org/vcf for details! [Last web site update: 05/25/99]

25 years, 9 months

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Cool IBM PC find

by peter.pachla＠vectrex.freeserve.co.uk

Hi, >If it has a hard drive, it was probably not used as a Tempest machine. >The TPC I have contains only two floppy drives, and my understanding >is that a tempest machine must have media that can be removed >and cannot have fixed media. I found a bunch of XTs in Tempest casings at a scrapyard in Oxfordshire about 6 years ago. All of these machines had a single 360K floppy, a pair of Bernoulli removable drives and (I think) a tape drive. No fixed media in sight! Didn't find anything other than the machines themselves though, IE no keyboards, monitors. TTFN - Pete. -- Hardware & Software Engineer. Sound Engineer. Collector of Arcade Machines, Games Consoles & Obsolete Computers (esp DEC) peter.pachla(a)virgin.net | peter.pachla(a)vectrex.freeserve.co.uk | peter.pachla(a)wintermute.free-online.co.uk | www.wintermute.free-online.co.uk --

25 years, 9 months

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OT: Routing

by a2k＠one.net

Thanks all. Problem solved. No idea what was wrong or why it didn't work. In the process of one of the reboots, it decided to talk again. Thanks to everyone that helped. Kevin ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "It's you isn't it? THE BASTARD OPERATOR FROM HELL!" "In the flesh, on the phone and in your account..." -- BOFH #3

25 years, 9 months

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Cool IBM PC find

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<At the risk of sounding fundamentally stupid, what's a tempest machine? < <Kevin Any computer that has been hardend to not radiate _any_ EMF. The assumption is that any signal radiated can be analysed and reconstituted to recover the information. So shielding, LOTS of shielding is used. I've seen PDP-11, VAXen, PCs all done up this way. Allison

25 years, 9 months

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oops

by fauradon＠mn.mediaone.net

I think I forgot to attach the photo. Here it is. Definately not a masterpiece. Sue

25 years, 9 months

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(no subject)

by edick＠idcomm.com

Yes, I can tell you how they're related . . . it's a temporal relation, though, not a contextual one. ('nuff said?) I hit the send button at the wrong time, having inserted a piece of text in the wrong place. (I think !??). I thought better of remarking that though a number of folks, myself included, didn't particuarly like the TI 99/4, that didn't make it worthless as somebody had implied. Unfortunately, I must have overflowed the stack (mine, not the computer's) and put that other paragraph in the wrong place. Dick -----Original Message----- From: Tony Duell <ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Tuesday, August 03, 1999 5:04 PM Subject: Re: (no subject) >> >> Since I have their latest CD, I have all the data sheets. What I'm after is >> the information about the logic cell resources, clock drivers, routing >> resources, etc, generic to each family and not specific to a given device. >> The individual sheets seldom have that data. > >The message you're replying to seems to be talking about the TI99/4A home >computer. The above paragraph seems to be talking about some kind of FPGA >or PLD devices. Perhapes somebody can enlighten me as to how they're >related.. > >-tony >

25 years, 9 months

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paper tape winding - suggestions???!?!

by jlwest＠tseinc.com

Most of the paper tape software that I have is on rolls, not fanfold. So - unlike my nice PDP-8 PC04 that folds paper tape that was just read all nicely on one side..... after reading a tape roll on my HP I have a very large and fragile mess of a tape pile on the floor. I'm sure that many of the inventive folks on the list have come up with interesting ways to re-roll paper tape after it's read (short of the "by hand" route that takes forever). I don't have an electric or manual tape winder, but figured people around here had found some other thing that would do it well. I *THOUGHT* I had found a great solution - one of those old fashioned hand crank drills. I wrap the paper tape tightly aroung the tip (without a bit in it), set it point down on a cushioned chair, turn the crank and viola - my tape rolls up quickly. However, last night as I saw my cherished diagnostic configurator tape slide right into the gears of the drill, I figured I had better ask for other solutions <grin>. Is there something common around a typical house that folks have found works well for winding paper tape rolls? Thanks! Jay West

25 years, 9 months

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WAY Off Topic : routing

by jlwest＠tseinc.com

You wrote... >I believe that ppp0 is the default gateway on my p166. ppp0? I'm a freebsd person myself, not linux, but isn't ppp0 the SLIP/PPP interface over a serial connection? I thought we were talking ethernet here... >Trying 192.168.1.2... >telnet: Unable to connect to remote host: No route to host Aha... How can you have an IP address/subnetmask on the interface without getting a network (192.168.1.0) route via your ethernet interface? Since there's no route to the host, just show us the output of a "netstat -rn" (that's a - r n not a -m) on each machine and that will show the problem for sure. Also, in your configuration I would suggest not running any routing daemon (routed, gated, etc.) - they'll just get in the way. Jay West

25 years, 9 months

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RX02 Repair

by CLASSICCMP＠trailing-edge.com

>correct voltages. The drives may have mechanical ill. The most common "mechanical ill" these days is the drive belts falling off. Funny, how it's hard to read a disk that isn't turning :-). Tim.

25 years, 9 months

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