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

by kurtkilg＠geocities.com

On Thu, 10 Dec 1998 Hans.Franke(a)mch20.sbs.de wrote: > Don't forget: the V(I)C-20 was a bit faster and a way better > design then the C64. > I learned many things about the C64 recently. First, that it was a underpowered, low quality computer that was more expensive than an Apple ][ and had less features. I disagree because I have never liked the Apple ][ more than the C64. Second, I learn that the VIC-20, a predecessor to the C-64, was better than it. How is this? Last I heard, it is the VIC that was underpowered because it only had 8k ram or something like. Please explain; how was it better? > -- > Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut > HRK > ---------------------------------------------------- Max Eskin | kurtkilgor(a)bigfoot.com | AOL: kurtkilgor

27 years, 4 months

8
14
0 0

Rescue - WANG systems available in St. Louis (fwd)

by ware＠interaccess.com

J. Buck Caldwell has 7 WANG desktop computer systems available in St. Louis. If anyone is interested, please contact him directly. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 09 Dec 1998 16:49:41 -0600 From: "J. Buck Caldwell" <buck_c(a)Polygon.com> To: ware(a)interaccess.com Subject: Computer Rescue List I'm getting rid of my WANG computers (for lack of OS) and was wondering if you want them. Free if you pick up, St. Louis area, I've got 7 Wang desktop systems - don't know much about them, looks like they can boot >from a floppy, serial, or network - but it's not ethernet (or arcnet, or anything NORMAL). Let me know if you're interested. -- J. Buck Caldwell Engineer - Technical Support - Webmaster Polygon, Inc. email:buck_c@polygon.com phone: (314) 432-4142 PO Box 8470 http://www.polygon.com/ fax: (314) 997-9696 St. Louis, MO 63132 ftp://ftp.polygon.com/ bbs: (314) 997-9682

27 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Does DECNET = DECNET?

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

How OS specific is DECNET? If I've got a Linux Box speaking DECNET (Yes, they do that now), can that same box do a 'set host' to a system running DECNET on RSX-11M? I've used a Linux box to speak to a VAX before and it worked quite well. Basically I'm more interested in transfering files to the PDP-11 rather than logging into it over the net. Oh, and I'm assuming I should get this working, is it possible to write a tape on RSX-11M that RT-11 can understand. I would assume so, but... Life would be so much easier if I'd ever gotten a floppy drive working on my main PDP-11/73. 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.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ |

27 years, 4 months

2
2
0 0

Mainframes at Junk Yard

by tomowad＠earthlink.net

I was at Coleman's Surplus in Millersburg, PA, today. The place turned out to be little more than a junk yard, but I did stumble across some interesting mainframes. They units were literally dumped in a pile, all twisted and broken, most unidentifiable (to me, anyway). Two of the mainframes, though, looked like they'd be possilbe to salvage, if somebody was _really_ interested in them. They're listed below, along with some questions. The Gould/Concept: All one piece, but with two doors (like a refrigerator). The top reads "Gould 32/27", the bottom "Concept /32". I've no idea what this is. Anybody? Interestingly, the top was full of DEC cards (looked like the one's for my VAX), most of which have their connectors broken off. The Sperry Univac: This one's bigger that a refrigerator, with a reel unit (which is nearly as big) attached to it. There wasn't any model number on the front panel that I could see. This is a Unix system, I'm guessing? The Kodak Automated Disk Library: I was running out of time, so I didn't look very closely at this, though it appears interesting. Mounted in the rack that ended up on the very top of the pile, it's not very big, and doesn't really look all that beat up. It appeared to be some sort of tape reader. Has anybody heard of this? Not salvageable: Several Vax 11/780's - appeared to be stripped of cards, but power supplies easy to get at. 2 Wang Units - didn't look too interesting to me, and they were hard to get at. "Harris" front panel - so I'm assuming the rest of it is there somewhere nearby. Digitech Encoder - this thing was really neat looking - pity its smashed. It remined me of the Commodore SX64 in appearance. It has a small monitor on the right hand side, a 5.25" floppy on the lower left, and a bunch of lights in the upper left. Can anybody tell me what it is? Several Deckwriter III's - easily accessable, but in very poor condition. Tom Owad -- Sysop of Caesarville Online Client software at: <http://home.earthlink.net/~tomowad/>

27 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

epson hx-20 problems

by SUPRDAVE＠aol.com

i finally did initialise the machine and now i get two choices, monitor and basic. machine seems to be working now. i was able to get the tape drive working by keying in LOAD but thats all. any web resources for this machine as far as how to use it? In a message dated 12/12/98 6:04:42 PM EST, ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk writes: << Did you try pressing Control-@ ? That is a hard reset, which is what you need to do at that point. It clears the memory. I am a little worried that choice '2' isn't BASIC. It should be. Maybe initialising the machine would help. >>

27 years, 4 months

3
2
0 0

HX20 (was: Re: Just bought this . . .)

by sinasohn＠ricochet.net

At 08:55 AM 12/11/98 -0000, you wrote: >Roger wrote, regarding the printer in the HX-20 and AIM-65: >> As to five heads versus one, you can print five characters at once. Faster >> printing. > >Disregarding the time spent moving the paper, it is slower (5/8 the speed), >since you are only printing five dots at a time rather than eight. But >speed wasn't the point. I always thought that the more common printheads were 9x1 -- that is, a single column of 9 dots. This moved across the paper printing 8 or so times for each character. To have 5 sets spaced out would divide your horizontal print time by 5. For the HX-20, because it had only one row of dots, you then have to multiply the time by 9 to get the 5 full characters. So the HX-20 probably took 9/5 as long or was about twice as slow. It would have been considerably slower if there were only 1 pin instead of 5 across. >The real win was just that the mechanism was cheaper than the more common >eight-vertical-dot mechanisms. For the HX-20, that may have been very true, since it may have been prior to Epson getting into buying/building mass quantities of printheads. --------------------------------------------------------------------- O- Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad roger(a)sinasohn.com that none but madmen know." Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates San Francisco, California http://www.sinasohn.com/

27 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Mosaic/Netscape

by lfb107＠psu.edu

At 06:55 PM 12/12/98 -0700, Jim Strickland wrote: >netscape has older versions, but they're hard to find on their download site. > >Mosaic 3.x is available at >http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/WinMosaic/Install.htm > >Previous versions are probably on their ftp site. >> >> Does anyone here know where I can get Windows and Linux versions of >> Netscape 3.x or less, or Mosaic? I need these for computers that are >> growing classic... >> -------------------------------------- >> Max Eskin kurtkilgor(a)bigfoot.com I actually have Mosaic 0.9 laying around somewhere. Is that old enough for ya? Les

27 years, 4 months

3
2
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Today's rescues

by jpl15＠netcom.com

Along with a *pile* of DEC stuff (in someone else's behalf, more later when some details have been worked out..) I adopted a Mac SE30 with a LaserWriter II... which was being used up to yesterday.. and a Zenith Data Systems SupersPort 286 Laptop. (This unit assumes you have a *generous* lap.) The Zenith is in 8 out of 10 shape, cosmetically almost perfect, with battery pack and ac adapter. The battery pack works, unfortunately the CMOS battery has failed it's trust and therefore no HD access. The unit boots from a floppy, however the neatest feature of this machine is the ROM Monitor that it boots into if nothing else works. Now to get out the hacksaw and electric chisel and see if I can't dig down to that naughty little CMOS batt. There also might be available a number of new-looking GridCase portables, but I don't have them yet.... Cheers and Best of the Season John

27 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Z-80 Emulator

by jfoust＠threedee.com

At 09:00 AM 12/11/98 -0800, Sam Ismail wrote: > >C'mon, Hans! Get with it. This is just a cheezy way to dupe people into >thinking this thing is worth more than it really is. So entering a description like "It's not an Altair, but..." would be more accurate and wouldn't attract eyeballs or search queries? :-) - John

27 years, 4 months

3
2
0 0

Mosaic/Netscape

by kurtkilg＠geocities.com

On Sat, 12 Dec 1998 lfb107(a)psu.edu wrote: > I actually have Mosaic 0.9 laying around somewhere. Is that old > enough for ya? Yes, quite > > Les > ---------------------------------------------------- Max Eskin | kurtkilgor(a)bigfoot.com | AOL: kurtkilgor

27 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Looking for TRS-80 Model III Parts/Advice (fwd)

by roblwill＠usaor.net

>Yes I am sure my M3 keyboard is like that. So is my Model 4 keyboard. >They're both made by Alps. > >_BUT_ when I ordered a new keyswitch for my Model 3 some 10 years or so >ago, Tandy National Parts needed to know that I wanted an Alps keyswitch. >They implied that there were others. I'd forgotten about that until you >reminded me. > > Mine's an Alps, too, unless it's just an older model. -- -Jason Willgruber (roblwill(a)usaor.net) ICQ#: 1730318 <http://members.tripod.com/general_1>

27 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Warped or bent floppies

by CLASSICCMP＠trailing-edge.com

>So, what do I do? Is it conceivable to open and remove the inner >media from the warped sleeves? Absolutely. With 5.25" floppies, it's not even necessary to put them back into a sleeve before reading. With 8" floppies, which can be substantially more floppy and harder to seat in the drive without a sleeve, just put them in a nice known-clean sleeve. 8" DS drives will also likely get confused if you stick a naked floppy in them, so best to find a nice clean sleeve. > Any ideas or practical >experience with this would be greatly appreciated. Certainly, a common cause for "floppy won't rotate" is "the Pepsi sydrome". A good rinse of the media in warm water will help remove whatever soda/orange juice/kool-aid is causing the problem. -- 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

27 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

DecSystem 5400 with RA90s and TK70 Available

by cube＠msn.fullfeed.com

While I was at the regular weekly UW (Wisconsin) Friday surplus sale yesterday picking up an Intergraph Clipper system for my collection ( working 8-) ), I noticed a DecSystem 5400 with 2 RA90 disk drives and a TK70 tape drive is available out there for $20, including a short rack. The system looks very very clean, physically. I have no room for it. It is not a MicroVAX, but is instead a RISC system, presumably using a MIPS RISC processor. The folks over there told me they are having a big sale December 29th, so if you want it, you should probably grab it no later than that. They are open every Friday AM from 8AM to 2PM, IIRC. They also have an old ACC System 370 channel interface Ethernet controller, for you mainframe collectors. 8-) Jay --- Jay R. Jaeger The Computer Collection Jay.Jaeger(a)msn.fullfeed.com visit http://www.msn.fullfeed.com/~cube

27 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

Looking for TRS-80 Model III Parts/Advice (fwd)

by roblwill＠usaor.net

> >If you want to try to repair a keyswitch, then try the following. > >You can unclip the 2 parts of the housing at the sides. The top part >lifts off, releasing (in order) the plunger, a spring and a little rubber >dome. The contact is the black (graphite-loaded) rubber pad inside the >dome and the 2 metal contacts in the bottom part of the switch. Clean the >metal contacts with a cotton bud and isopropyl alcohol (propan-2-ol). You >can try rubbing the rubber pad on very fine (1000 grit or finer) >wet-n-dry paper. > >Put the switch together. Measure the resistance between the pins when >it's pressed down. You should use 2 pins diagonally oposite each other >for this test. A good switch is about 50-100 Ohms. A useable one is ><300Ohms. More than that, and it probably won't work. If you have all the >switches out, put the worse ones on the numeric pad as above. > >If you still have a defective switch, then try rubbing a soft pencil (I >use a 6B) on the rubber pad inside. That got my worst swtich useable >again. There is a special kit for this from Chemtronics which recoats the >rubber contacts, but it's not cheap ($30). It could be worth using if you >can't get the switch working any other way. > Sure that's a model III keyboard? The keyboard on my Mod. III has actual metal contacts in the switch that are pushed together by a tab when the key is pressed. >Putting it all back together is the reverse of dismantling it. Take great >care when putting the Model 3 case back together - it's possible to break >the CRT neck on the logic cage. And while it's possible to replace the >CRT, new ones are not that easy to get. > The CRT was blown out in mine when I got it. Replaced it with one from an old RCA 12" B/W TV. Works fine. Where I live, the local thrift store usually have at least 2 or 3 B/W TV's at a time. I picked up the one I used for $2.50. -- -Jason Willgruber (roblwill(a)usaor.net) ICQ#: 1730318 <http://members.tripod.com/general_1>

27 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

Digital Group photo from VCF?

by Mzthompson＠aol.com

Uncle Roger <sinasohn(a)ricochet.net> wrote: >A bit of trivia... I was in Denver on holiday a while back, and went to >the Colorado History Museum (Denver has great museums!) There, amidst a >lot of other Colorado stuff, was a Digital Group computer. Very Cool, but >I'm sure there are still drool stains in the carpet around it. 8^) Another bit..... It wasn't until after my business trip to Sydney, Australia that I find out they have a computer museum. I found out >from the guy who is involved with a like museum in Perth. What do you suppose they use for a drool control system? Mike

27 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Looking for TRS-80 Model III Parts/Advice (fwd)

by scott＠saskatoon.com

Can anyone help this guy out? Please respond directly to him. ttfn srw ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 23:12:09 -0500 From: LABOMBARD(a)PSFC.MIT.EDU To: SCOTT(a)SASKATOON.COM Cc: LABOMBARD(a)PSFC.MIT.EDU Subject: Looking for TRS-80 Model III Parts/Advice Dear Scott, I found your web site and thought you might have some advice on how I could keep an antique computer operational. Believe it or not, my Dad has a TRS80 Model III that he still uses! I programmed it back in the 80s to compute and plot out (using a home-made "polar" plotter) mechanical cam profiles for old automatic screw machines. Now my Dad is retired but he still dabbles as a consultant in setting up old screw machinery and running the TRS80 Model III to generate cam profiles. The software package on the TRS80 is extremely large and customized (with basic and Z80 instructions "poking "and "peeking" here there and everywhere) so we never felt it was worth the effort of converting it to a newer machine. Also, the "polar plotter" works fine and to generate the equivalent output on a modern printer would be easy for the hardware but a nightmare for converting the software. Rather, I have just kept the hardware operational to run the dedicated programs. This strategy has worked well for a very long time. But now there is a serious problem - the keyboard is getting worn out to the point where some of the keys refuse to work! So this brings me to ask you a question: Do you know where I could find another TRS80 Model III as a parts computer or a keyboard PC board for the same? I might be able to unsolder and fix/replace the keys themselves on the PC board but then again this action may lead to irreversible damage. I would appreciate any comments on this. Thanks, Brian ___________________________________________ Brian LaBombard LABOMBARD(a)PSFC.MIT.EDU MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center 175 Albany St Cambridge, MA 02139 (617) 253-6942 TEL (617) 253-0627 FAX

27 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

epson hx-20 problems

by SUPRDAVE＠aol.com

my little hx20 is doing strange things, perhaps someone can help. when i power up i get two beeps, then the lcd shows: ctrl/@ initialize 1 monitor 2 pcn 3 ok and choices 4-6 show nonsense characters. choosing any choice drops me to a register dump and the word TRAP! hitting the menu key gives me the initial bootup choices listed above. i noticed there was two access doors underneath which i opened all push down all all the socketed chips but no improvement. i hit the reset b utton and that does nothing. at least the printer paper feed works! any ideas? should i disconnect the expansion unit? david

27 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

"Single instance" machines

by cfandt＠netsync.net

Doug Yowza <yowza(a)yowza.com> wrote: > I've always wanted to know which machines have only a single instance > represented on this list. Anybody have an HP250-30, IBM 9370, Tektronix 31 (kinda like the 9825)? Also, I haven't heard of anyone in our own group on the list mentioning they have a DG Nova 1200. These are four are in my collection. Regards, Chris -- -- Christian Fandt, Electronic/Electrical Historian Jamestown, NY USA cfandt(a)netsync.net Member of Antique Wireless Association URL: http://www.ggw.org/freenet/a/awa/

27 years, 4 months

12
25
0 0

HP 264x terminals (wasRe: HP Cards - ID?)

by A_Finney＠wfi-inc.com

>Ha! I recognize those. They're spare boards out of HP's 264x terminals. Speaking of these terminals, I have a 2649a that is just old enough to buy a Penthouse, sans keyboard/documentation. The cards are really pretty, as Hans said, and unfortunately full of gold (which means they're probably usually melted rather than just junked). I'd like to be able to use this with my HP 3000/37 system, but need a little help locating a keyboard and setting it up. I'll try on the HP300-L mailing list too, but any info/pointers, as always, would be much appreciated. Aaron

27 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

tektronics 503 scope

by allisonp＠world.std.com

< ok, so its not a classic computer but there was a discussion a while bac < about ocilloscopes and i happened upon a model 503 at a thift store for < is it worth getting? presumably it works but i have no idea how one woul < it, much less use it. Old... maybe a bit high priced. If it gets a trace then it's likely ok. You can test the V-amp if there is trace by touching the input and seeing if you can get a rough(from noise) sine wave. Allison

27 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Laser 128

by SUPRDAVE＠aol.com

the keyboard on the laser is terrible! not much better than an atari 400. i've got two, one with a bad keybounce problem. anyone know of a way to fix it? In a message dated 12/12/98 0:32:41 AM EST, rexstout(a)uswest.net writes: << Try an Apple IIc power supply if you can find one, the L128 is a clone of that. I had one a while back, got it at a hamfest with two power supplies(Apple & VTech) and a bunch of other Apple II stuff. The Apple PS didn't work with it, I'm not sure if it's just incompatible or maybe the PS is bad, but they looked the same. The Laser 128 isn't a bad computer, but that keyboard is enough to drive me insane... >>

27 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

Problems with a PDP-11/04

by dburrows＠netpath.net

I was thinking about is but it seems like he has the docs there and I have no docs on the 11/04 here. Viasystems has some docs but I have not gotten copies yet. I will drop him a note about the items I am sure about however to get him on the right track. Dan > Could someone a little smarter on 11/04's than I am please give this >fellow a hand? > > Thanks in advance. > >-=-=- <snip> -=-=- > >On Fri, 11 Dec 1998 07:22:51 GMT, in alt.sys.pdp11 you wrote: > >>>From: hamster(a)telnet.hu

27 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

HP-HIL keybaord and mouse

by rigdonj＠intellistar.net

Can the person from this list that asked me for a HP-HIL mouse and keyboard contact me again? I found the items but I can't find your name or message. Joe

27 years, 4 months

2
3
0 0

Info needed: Old video card

by kyrrin＠bluefeathertech.com

A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 738 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.classiccmp.org/pipermail/cctalk/attachments/19981212/61df15be/at…

27 years, 4 months

2
1
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HP Cards - ID?

by jolminkh＠nsw.bigpond.net.au

I have found a bunch of very pretty HP cards that I would like to ID. They are about 12 inches long and 4 inches high with edge connectors just off the middle with 22 connectors per side. Most have these on top and bottom. All have 02640 in the numbers somewhere. Examples of the full numbering are: HP 42L 02640-60256 A-212-42 8080 Processor 665494. 42-2230 4242-3896 97 of 175 (Has no 8080, only an 8048) HP 42F 02640-60065 E-1914-42 665983 Memory 4K. 42-2230 4241-7975 119 of 250 (Has 8 X National Semiconductor MM5280J memory chips) When I say pretty, I mean lots of gold circuits very aesthetically laid out. Hans Olminkhof

27 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

Dr. Dobbs..

by cmcmanis＠freegate.com

Dale Luck has PCC newspaper vol1 number 1. It was a hoot to read through! --Chuck

27 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

Laser 128

by pctech＠davidbowie.com

Thanks for the info i will try that. -----Original Message----- From: John Rollins <rexstout(a)uswest.net> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Friday, December 11, 1998 9:31 PM Subject: Re: Laser 128 >>I am in need of a power cord for a Laser 128 >>from 1985.If anyone can help please let me know. > >Try an Apple IIc power supply if you can find one, the L128 is a clone of >that. I had one a while back, got it at a hamfest with two power >supplies(Apple & VTech) and a bunch of other Apple II stuff. The Apple PS >didn't work with it, I'm not sure if it's just incompatible or maybe the PS >is bad, but they looked the same. The Laser 128 isn't a bad computer, but >that keyboard is enough to drive me insane... > >-------------------------------------------------------------- >| http://members.tripod.com/~jrollins/index.html - Computers | >| http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Lair/1681/ - Star Trek | >| orham(a)qth.net list admin KD7BCY | >| ham-mac(a)qth.net Portland, OR | >-------------------------------------------------------------- > >

27 years, 4 months

1
0
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Laser 128

by pctech＠davidbowie.com

I am in need of a power cord for a Laser 128 from 1985.If anyone can help please let me know.

27 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

Help! PS 2 model P70

by rigdonj＠intellistar.net

I have a P70 that won't boot. It displays error numbers 167 and 163. Does anyone know anything about these? Joe

27 years, 4 months

3
4
0 0

Just bought this . . .

by cfandt＠netsync.net

I just checked out the newly-remodeled Salvation Army Thrift Store and found a nice piece: a new-in-the-box Hewlett-Packard Thinkjet model 2225B equiped with HP-IL interface. All accessories are there, plastic wrap still over the machine, battery pack there too. $15 sounded fair enough I think. I should go back more often. They usually had ancient PeeCee junk in real tough shape for way too much $$$ whenever I was there before. But now with the remodel, a new manager and finding this gem maybe I'll keep checking more often. Besides, they're only about 150 meters from our house:) This is great as I already have a couple of HP 75's to use it with. Or it could be used on a PC as I've got an HP-IL-to-HPIB converter and a PC IEEE488 card. Anybody have experience with using normal xerographic copy paper instead of the HP-specified Thinkjet paper? If so, how are the results? They also had an Epson CX-20 handset coupler for $5 new in the box (plastic wrap still on the device). Anybody want it for the cost plus shipping? Let me know ASAP! Regards, Chris Christian Fandt, Electronic/Electrical Historian Jamestown, NY USA cfandt(a)netsync.net Member of Antique Wireless Association URL: http://www.ggw.org/freenet/a/awa/

27 years, 4 months

10
18
0 0

Mac IIci cache cards

by erd＠infinet.com

> > have a pile of mac IIci cache cards, if interested email. have no use > for them. > > -Eric I might be interested. How much for one? How much for three? Thanks, -ethan

27 years, 4 months

1
0
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A few notes

by jrkeys＠concentric.net

Just a couple of things, first I got a great book for collectors by Stan Veit called Stan Veit's History of The Personal Computer full of stories and lots of pictures. I got it off eBay for $3 and it's brand new, the guy had 1000 of them and only asked for $3 his email is ralph(a)abooks.com I highly recommend this book for your collections'. Second I got over 160 new items in the last few weeks for my collection and one of the more interesting items was a Sony SMC-70 that is silver in color and has a black metal monitor stand mounted to it that is adjustable, has ver 10 ports on it for hooking all sorts of items like light pen and key pads. It has a RS232 Interface unit mounted on the rear of it. This unit and a CPT6100 complete with all manuals and software and a printer were given to me for free. People have started telling others about me collecting and get 1 or 2 calls every two weeks for these to pickup for free and very little cost. I know I said 2 comments but it's been awhile since I have shared my finds with everyone so here is one more, a Tektronix unit taken from a rack system with a type RM564 Storage Oscilloscope a type 2B67 Time Base and type 2A60 Amplifier all in one unit for $5. Once I finish my web page you will be able to see a complete list of my collection. Keep Computing John

27 years, 4 months

1
0
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Help needed with a PDP-11

by geoffrob＠stmarks.pp.catholic.edu.au

I found this plea in comp.sys.dec, he seems to have had no response, so I thought I'd throw it in for the experts here. If anyone can help him, please contact this guy direct. Quote: I acquired a PDP11/04 last week. It's my first UNIBUS -11, so I don't really know how to get it working again... The machine is in a BA-11KA drawer (rev m, eco 0015; the whole machine was labeled "LANDIS & GYR VISIONIX 4000). It has two DD-11DK system units (only the first is used), with the following cards in it: M7263, 2 x M7856, 32K core, M9312, M7262, M9302, G727A. I know what these cards are, my problem is that I don't know this backplane enough, and I don't know what to expect from the system. After I got the machine, I cleaned it, examined the cards for anything strange - haven't found anything. Then I put back the cards, in the order they were originally (there were stickers on the side of the chassis showing the modules' places). One of the DL11W's is configured as the console (at the proper address; also at 110 baud, 5 data bits, odd parity, 2 stop bits, active current lopp Rx, passive Tx), it has a BC05C-25 cable leading out of the chassis. I checked with a multimeter (I haven't got a scope, and even if I'd have, I'm not familiar with it), there's _something_ on the DB25F connector. Right now I have two choices: to get the DL11W working with an EIA-interfaced CRT terminal) to see if the CPU is working, or check this some different way (without a scope that is; am I beeing impatient?:) The machine has the simple "frontpanel": OFF/ON/STDBY, RUN/HALT, BOOT/INIT switches, RUN and DCOK LED. So my questions: 1. what are the settings for a EIA console on a DL11W? I've tried to set 9600, 8N1 according the manuals, but I don't know what to do next, about the current loop interface, about the cable (nullmodem? straight? with modem control?), as I still have nothing on the VT (and I know that this could be my fault...) 2. How do I know if the CPU is really running? (the DCOK LED is on, and if I switch "RUN", the RUN LED lights up, but does this really reflects the state of the CPU and the bus? There's the RL controller on the bus, when the drives are connected to it, and are switched on, the RL01's "FAULT" light turn off (I was told the drives need timing signals from the controller; they get it as I interpret this behaviour), but that's about everything I know from the cards in the chassis. Is there a safe method to see if the bus is okay, like pulling out cards and/or moving them around? I don't want to mess something up with all these modified/SPC slots... Thanks for your time! / ___ _ _ ___ ____ ___ ___ /__//__///_///__ / /_ / ) Varga Akos Endre hamster(a)telnet.hu / // // /___/ / /__ / ( www.telnet.hu/hamster/english.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Museum" http://www.internetto.hu/muzeum/e_kiallitas.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------- End Quote. Geoff Roberts Computer Systems Manager Saint Marks College Port Pirie South Australia. My ICQ# is 1970476 Ph. 61-411-623-978 (Mobile) 61-8-8633-0619 (Home) 61-8-8633-8834 (Work-Direct) 61-8-8633-0104 (Fax)

27 years, 4 months

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FW: Problems with a PDP-11/04

by kyrrin＠my-dejanews.com

Could someone a little smarter on 11/04's than I am please give this fellow a hand? Thanks in advance. -=-=- <snip> -=-=- On Fri, 11 Dec 1998 07:22:51 GMT, in alt.sys.pdp11 you wrote: >>From: hamster(a)telnet.hu >>Newsgroups: alt.sys.pdp11 >>Subject: Problems with a PDP-11/04 >>Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 07:22:51 GMT >>Organization: Deja News - The Leader in Internet Discussion >>Lines: 54 >>Message-ID: <74qh8b$vl3$1(a)nnrp1.dejanews.com> >>NNTP-Posting-Host: 194.149.0.154 >>X-Article-Creation-Date: Fri Dec 11 07:22:51 1998 GMT >>X-Http-User-Agent: Mozilla/3.04Gold (X11; I; Linux 2.0.34 i586) >>X-Http-Proxy: 1.0 proxy.datanet.hu:3128 (Squid/1.1.22), 1.0 x14.dejanews.com:80 (Squid/1.1.22) for client 195.56.133.225, 194.149.0.154 >>Path: blushng.jps.net!news.pbi.net!151.142.220.3!WCG!feed1.news.rcn.net!rcn!news.maxwell.syr.edu!nntp2.dejanews.com!nnrp1.dejanews.com!not-for-mail >> >>I post this message for the second time, as I haven't seen the first try >>in any of the groups I posted it to... :-( >> >>I acquired a PDP11/04 last week. It's my first UNIBUS -11, so I don't >>really know how to get it working again... >>The machine is in a BA-11KA drawer (rev m, eco 0015; the whole machine >>was labeled "LANDIS & GYR VISIONIX 4000). It has two DD-11DK system >>units (only the first is used), with the following cards in it: >>M7263, 2 x M7856, 32K core, M9312, M7262, M9302, G727A. I know what these >>cards are, my problem is that I don't know this backplane enough, and I >>don't know what to expect from the system. After I >>got the machine, I cleaned it, examined the cards for anything strange - >>haven't found anything. Then I put back the cards, in the order they were >>originally (there were stickers on the side of the chassis showing the >>modules' places). One of the DL11W's is configured as the console (at the >>proper address; also at 110 baud, 5 data bits, odd parity, 2 stop bits, >>active current lopp Rx, passive Tx), it has a BC05C-25 cable leading >>out of the chassis. I checked with a multimeter (I haven't got a scope, >>and even if I'd have, I'm not familiar with it), there's _something_ >>on the DB25F connector. Right now I have two choices: to get the DL11W >>working with an EIA-interfaced CRT terminal) to see if the CPU is working, >>or check this some different way (without a scope that is; am I beeing >>impatient?:) The machine has the simple "frontpanel": OFF/ON/STDBY, >>RUN/HALT, BOOT/INIT switches, RUN and DCOK LED. >>So my questions: >> >>1. what are the settings for a EIA console on a DL11W? I've tried to set >>9600, 8N1 according the manuals, but I don't know what to do next, about >>the current loop interface, about the cable (nullmodem? straight? with >>modem control?), as I still have nothing on the VT (and I know that this >>could be my fault...) >> >>2. How do I know if the CPU is really running? (the DCOK LED is on, and if >>I switch "RUN", the RUN LED lights up, but does this really reflects the >>state of the CPU and the bus? There's the RL controller on the bus, when >>the drives are connected to it, and are switched on, the RL01's "FAULT" >>light turn off (I was told the drives need timing signals from the >>controller; they get it as I interpret this behaviour), but that's about >>everything I know from the cards in the chassis. Is there a safe method to >>see if the bus is okay, like pulling out cards and/or moving them around? >>I don't want to mess something up with all these modified/SPC slots... >> >>Thanks for your time! >> >> / ___ _ _ ___ ____ ___ ___ >> /__//__///_///__ / /_ / ) Varga Akos Endre hamster(a)telnet.hu >>/ // // /___/ / /__ / ( www.telnet.hu/hamster/english.html >>----------------------------------------------------------------------- >> "Museum" http://www.internetto.hu/muzeum/e_kiallitas.html >>----------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> >>-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==---------- >>http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bruce Lane, Owner and head honcho, Blue Feather Technologies -- kyrrin (at) bluefeathertech [dot] com Web: http://www.bluefeathertech.com "...No matter how we may wish otherwise, our science can only describe an object, event, or living thing in our own human terms. It cannot possibly define any of them..."

27 years, 4 months

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Dr. Dobbs..

by ddameron＠earthlink.net

At 10:22 PM 12/9/98 -0800, Sam wrote: >Never heard of either "Computer Hobbyist" or "Amateur Computer Society" >but I'd love to trade copies of those for copies of what I have. > >Sellam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com >------------------------------------------------------------------------------ >Always being hassled by the man. > > Coming in 1999: Vintage Computer Festival 3.0 > See http://www.vintage.org/vcf for details! > [Last web site update: 12/07/98] > The "Amateur Computer Society" was started in 1966 and ran to the early/mid 1970's? It was done in Conn. by a Stephen Gray. Here is a summary of the 10 "Computer Hobbyist" issues. It was started in Nov. 1974 by Hal Chamberlin and others in Cary, NC. Issue 1, Nov 1974: A graphics display for the 8008. (Vector graphics, overview) A modified version was printed later in BYTE by Steve Ciarcia, still using a 8008 system as a refresh controller for his main system, Digital Group? Issue 2, Dec. 1974 Graphics display, part 2: hardware. The 8080 is here. (The issue was written on an 8008 system with a floppy disk) Issue 3, Jan 1975 Graphics display, part 3: deflection hardware, CRT's. Displays include musical notes, schematics, a chess board + sw routine. No. 4, Feb 1975 Subscriber's survey (hardware) Human interface for graphics display. 8008 vs 8080 vs IMP-16. No. 5, March/April 1975 Audio cassette data recording, part 1, description, schematic. Computer snowflake display (Uses 32 bit shift register random number gen). No. 6, May, 1975 Audio cassette standard, part 2, parts, pc board. Add a data stack to your 8008 (Also in BYTE Mag.) No. 7 Audio cassette software, CRC routines , etc. Computer ping-pong. No. 8 Interfacing the Altair 8800 bus. No. 9, Feb. 1976 Simple floppy disk interface, formats, description. IMP-16 microcomputer system. Interfacing the Altair, part 2. No. 10, August, 1976 Floppy disk interface, part 2. Pictures from first Trenton Computerfest (Part 3 of the floppy interface = software was going to be next...) -Dave

27 years, 4 months

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Oral History Questions

by allisonp＠world.std.com

< I can't imagine any sensible reason for making them default to edge-sens < the 8259 is very flexible and can be configured either way. I can only < surmise that they had no clue and decided by flipping coins or throwing < darts. Sounds about right. Sharing can be done but the drivers have to have a local pull down and be logically open collector(or emitter). Of course you can reprogram the 8259a too. Allison

27 years, 4 months

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Oral History Questions

by dcoward＠pressstart.com

Uncle Roger <sinasohn(a)ricochet.net> said: >I have a chance to speak with the designers of some of the machines in my >collection. But other than the basic "when was it intro'd, what are the >specs, what did it cost" stuff, what should I ask? My two favorite questions would be: Do you know who currently owns the rights to the software and documentation for XYZ computer? And to the owner of those rights: Have you ever considered releasing the rights to the public domain? ========================================= Doug Coward Press Start Inc. Sunnyvale,CA =========================================

27 years, 4 months

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Looking for group archive

by DaveyGF＠aol.com

Kevin's archive is nice, but it is very difficult to search for what you want (by keyword for instance) on a web based threaded archive as he has set it up. I just grabbed the archived files from classiccmp's file area. try sending a message to: listproc(a)u.washington.edu the body should read: info classiccmp

27 years, 4 months

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Digital Group photo from VCF

by mark_metzler＠xoommail.com

Eric Smith: >The machine I purchased should be here next week. I've >started a web page >at > >http://www.brouhaha.com/~eric/retrocomputing/the_digital_gr >oup/ Great! I have a photo of some Digital group memory boards on my webpage.(Its a lousy photo, that I'm about to take again.) I'll add a link to your page :) --- Mark Metzler VON NEUMANN MACHINES Online Computer History Bookstore/Museum http://home.pacbell.net/mmetzler/vnm.html ______________________________________________________ Get your free web-based email at http://www.xoom.com Special clipart offer: http://orders.xoom.com/email

27 years, 4 months

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Top 10 Holy Grails of Classic Microcomputer Collecting

by fmc＠reanimators.org

Doug Yowza <yowza(a)yowza.com> wrote: > I've always wanted to know which machines have only a single instance > represented on this list. Hmm, any other HP9000 series 500 owners out there? (I have a 520, but would like to hear from anyone who has any FOCUS-architecture 9000s.) -Frank McConnell

27 years, 4 months

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Just bought this . . .

by fmc＠reanimators.org

Christian Fandt <cfandt(a)netsync.net> wrote: > Anybody have experience with using normal xerographic copy paper instead of > the HP-specified Thinkjet paper? If so, how are the results? It depends on the cartridge, or more precisely the ink in the cartridge. When the Thinkjet first came out, there was only one type of cartridge and you were encouraged to use the special Thinkjet paper -- plain paper would work but didn't absorb the ink as well, and so the printing would be sort of smeared but legible. Later, HP came up with plain-paper cartridges and sold both flavors. I don't know whether they still sell the cartridges for Thinkjet paper, but I guess that if you can get the paper you can probably get the cartridges too. They are the same cartridges as for the QuietJet printers (same idea but wider carriage) so I'd expect you can still get them in office-supply stores. -Frank McConnell

27 years, 4 months

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Latest Project: homebrew paper tape reader

by dcoward＠pressstart.com

Richard A. Cini, Jr. said: > I saw a project in one of my old Bytes for a hand-pulled paper tape >reader. Very simple - 9 photodiodes, a light, a latch, a pulse-stretcher, >and some guide posts. > Well, here's the parts I have lying around: a BasicStamp-II, two R/C >servos modified for constant running, a few switches, and photodiodes. > If I get this thing working over the Christmas holiday, I'll post a >construction article. > Any recommendations for rubber pinch rollers? I'm thinking rubber >stoppers from a plumbing supply shop. These are pre-drilled and come with a >washer, bolt, and wing nut. FWIW, I have a "store bought" manual tape reader about the size of a small candy bar. The circuit board inside has the row of detectors (9 in all), and two hex TTL bus driver ICs, and that's it. On the outside, a piece of black tape with 9 holes punched in it, covers the detectors. Over this is a strip of clear plastic supported by four very short nylon stand-offs. I insert the paper tape under the plastic and between the stand-offs. That's all thats needed to keep the paper tape alined and flat against the detectors. Room light is used to detect the holes. The output is 9 bit parallel, which I connect to a VIC-20 user port with the spocket hole output going to the interrupt line for that port. Unfortunately writing the software to read tapes is one of those projects that I have no gotten back to. As far as lighting goes, the Heath H-10 uses a neat trick. In it they use a automobile tail light bulb which has a filament about an inch long. They position the bulb so that the filament is directly over, alined with, and parallel to the row of detectors. This gives uniform illumenation to all the detectors. ========================================= Doug Coward Press Start Inc. Sunnyvale,CA =========================================

27 years, 4 months

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Looking for analog owners

by dogas＠leading.net

>manufacturers, programming tips, histories, books, >pictures of machines, etc. I know you're out there! No analog computers, but one cool book 'Basics of Analog Computers,Information, Experiments, and Applications' 1963, Bureau of Naval Personnel, Navpers 92699A - Mike: dogas(a)leading.net

27 years, 4 months

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Looking for analog owners

by dcoward＠pressstart.com

I would like to make a list of fellow analog computer owners that are interested in sharing information about manufacturers, programming tips, histories, books, pictures of machines, etc. I know you're out there! E-Mail me. ========================================= Doug Coward Press Start Inc. Sunnyvale,CA =========================================

27 years, 4 months

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Rescue a pair of RK05-j's in Portland, OR

by nabil＠teleport.com

I have a pair of RK05-j's that would love to be rescued. They are in Portland, Oregon, and are each in a DEC rack by themselves. The racks need to go with them. If you can't pick them up, the only way to have them shipped would be to have someone pick them up, as I can't transport them anyplace. Free, but act quickly, as they are in my way and probably won't be around much past this week. Reply directly via email, I don't read two out of the three places this is posted to. -- Aaron Nabil nabil(a)teleport.com

27 years, 4 months

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FSOT: Microchannel PC cards

by rigdonj＠intellistar.net

More house cleaning! Found these two cards; IBM Auto 16/4 Token Ring Adapter/A (FRU 94X1756) and a 300/1200/2400 Baud MODEM (FRU 53F7748). Both are original IBM cards. I'll take $20 + shipping for the pair or trade for goodies for my Altair, Tek 4051 or HP stuff. Joe

27 years, 4 months

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Looking for group archive

by fauradon＠pclink.com

Thank you Francois >Kevan Heydon has an archive site: >http://www.heydon.org/kevan/mlists/classiccmp/ > >Regards, Chris

27 years, 4 months

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Indexing Byte and using BibTex

by rcini＠msn.com

Does anyone have any experience using BiBTex on the PeeCee? I downloaded the Byte indices from 1975 to 1990, but I was not able to D/L any of the non-Unix tools from the site I was on. Any recommendations as to tools are welcome. Thanks. [ Rich Cini/WUGNET [ ClubWin!/CW7 [ MCP Windows 95/Windows Networking [ Collector of "classic" computers [ http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/ [ http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/pdp11/ <================ reply separator =================>

27 years, 4 months

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HX20 (was: Re: Just bought this . . .)

by kurtkilg＠geocities.com

> > The HX20 printer is quite interesting. It's got 4 print solenoids/pins on > > a little 'shuttle', spaced 5 characters apart in the same horizontal > > line. A motor/scroll cam assembly wobbles this backwards and forwards > > across the paper and moves the paper up one dot line for ever complete > > movement of the shuttle. The HX20 electronics sends appropriately timed > > pulses to the solenoids to put dots on the paper. It is an impact > > printer, of course. May I ask, why do this when it's probably easier to use 9 vertically aligned pins like the rest of the civilized dot matrix world? (Except for engineering chauvinism, that is) ---------------------------------------------------- Max Eskin | kurtkilgor(a)bigfoot.com | AOL: kurtkilgor

27 years, 4 months

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Saving vs. Shipping (was: Re: "Single instance" machines, Tek 8000

by dogas＠leading.net

>or across the states... that's my dilemma... :-( ok, so I'm considering a rescue... ;) Can someone tell me about these machines (and how big they are, etc....) Initial internet query's yield nothing Thanks - Mike: dogas(a)leading.net

27 years, 4 months

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HX20 (was: Re: Just bought this . . .)

by kurtkilg＠geocities.com

On Thu, 10 Dec 1998 ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk wrote: > That's all I have on this PC - text only. And there are plenty of > programs I run - bash, perl, gcc, tex/latex, all the gnu utilities, tin, > elm, lynx, etc, etc, etc.... > > Doesn't seem to limit me too much... > > -tony > What if someone says, "I posted this neat pic of a weird mini on the 'net. No one can tell me what it is. I think this may be one-of-a-kind. Here's the URL...." and you're just burning with curiousity. What do you do? ---------------------------------------------------- Max Eskin | kurtkilgor(a)bigfoot.com | AOL: kurtkilgor

27 years, 4 months

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what is this: shorting plug?

by rigdonj＠intellistar.net

Stil cleaning. Found a molded plug with no cable so I guess it's a shorting plug. It's bigger than a DB connector but the same style. It has 51 pins in three rows. The name R Squared is molded into it. Anyone know what it's for? Anyone need it? Joe

27 years, 4 months

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Looking for group archive

by fauradon＠pclink.com

Hi all, I'm looking for the archive. I know someone has it somewhere but I just rebuilt my system and lost the whole deal (Who needs to backup?) Thanks Francois

27 years, 4 months

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Oh ! You Beautiful Doll !

by Watzman＠ibm.net

OK, talking about Actimates Barney opens the door to this one, which is otherwise more than a bit off topic: Does anyone know how flexible the vocabulary is for Talk With Me Barbie ? [Now I'm never going to be able to show my face in this group again]. I could do some amusing and humorous [NOT Perverted !!!] things with it at work if I could create my own phrases for the doll to say [ok, so I could do some perverted things also, but that's NOT what I had in mind !]. Apparently the toy was not successful and they are being liquidated for as little as $10-$15. Barry Watzman ---------- From: Hans Franke [SMTP:Hans.Franke@mch20.sbs.de] Sent: Thursday, December 10, 1998 5:05 PM To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers Subject: Re: OT: Re: The Purple One (was Modem tones over television or radio) Date sent: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 12:54:05 -0800 Send reply to: classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu From: Chuck McManis <cmcmanis(a)freegate.com> To: "Discussion re-collecting of classic computers" <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Subject: OT: Re: The Purple One (was Modem tones over television or radio) > Lots of people in the states sell them, its called the "Actimates" Barney. > As I understood it the toy "saw" signals in the form of IR coded pulses in > the video and responded appropriately. There are a couple of groups on the > net who have hacked the toy to give the dinosaur an extended, if somewhat > less refined, vocabulary. Any URL ? I did a quick search, but only comercial sites (like MS: http://microsoft.com./products/hardware/actimates/barney/default.htm ) showed up - and I got a strange feeling reading about what this toy is intended to do: <quote> See what your child can learn with Actimates Barney! Cooperation Good Citizenship Following Directions ... </quote> Brrrrrrr.... Brave new world. Hans -- Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut HRK

27 years, 4 months

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Digital Group photo from VCF?

by eric＠brouhaha.com

In the Reader to Reader column of issue 81 of The Computer Journal http://www2.psyber.com/~tcj/rtr81.html Rex Widmer mentions finding a photo of a The Digital Group computer in a photo on the VCF web pages. I can't seem to find it; does anyone have a URL for it, or a copy of the image? And does anyone have a current email address for Rex? Rex mentioned that Hugh McDonald published a newsletter with tips on Digital Group systems; does anone have copies, or know how to get in touch with Hugh? The machine I purchased should be here next week. I've started a web page at http://www.brouhaha.com/~eric/retrocomputing/the_digital_group/ Since I'm not getting any manuals, schematics, or software with the machine, any contributions for the web site will be welcomed. Cheers, Eric

27 years, 4 months

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SOL

by Watzman＠ibm.net

If we are talking about a processor technology SOL-20, I am interested. Where is it, what condition is it in, and what are the terms of the offer ? Barry Watzman Watzman(a)ibm.net ---------- From: Bob Stek [SMTP:bobstek@ix.netcom.com] Sent: Friday, December 11, 1998 6:19 AM To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers Subject: SOL Paxton - Thanks for thinking of me. I have my hands full right now, but I'm sure that someone else on the list would like a SOL. (And whoever that someone is, contact me if you need docs or software.) And in the unlikely event that no one comes forward shouting, "Me! Me! Me!" then I will save it.) BTW, I had been meaning to get back to you about that 8" HH DSDD drive, but "stuff" happened... Still have one? Bob Stek bobstek(a)ix.netcom.com Saver of Lost SOLs

27 years, 4 months

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Linux Q's

by rhblake＠bigfoot.com

Just to refresh my memory on Linux since I'm just now getting into looking at it, just exactly what machines work well with it, and with what versions/vareities for each? I have tons of machines from IBM 5170 AT's, PS/2's of all sorts, other 286 and 386 machines, etc and I'm looking at possibly selling off the useful ones that will use Linux as cheap as I can to get some room to walk around here. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

27 years, 4 months

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"Single instance" machines

by jeff.kaneko＠juno.com

Okay, tough guy! Anybody else here have a Fluke 1720a? It is a TMS-9900 based instrument controller that Fluke marketed until the early 90's. Jeff On Wed, 09 Dec 1998 13:08:44 -0500 Christian Fandt <cfandt(a)netsync.net> writes: >Doug Yowza <yowza(a)yowza.com> wrote: >> I've always wanted to know which machines have only a single >instance >> represented on this list. > >Anybody have an HP250-30, IBM 9370, Tektronix 31 (kinda like the >9825)? > >Also, I haven't heard of anyone in our own group on the list >mentioning >they have a DG Nova 1200. > >These are four are in my collection. > >Regards, Chris >-- -- >Christian Fandt, Electronic/Electrical Historian >Jamestown, NY USA cfandt(a)netsync.net >Member of Antique Wireless Association > URL: http://www.ggw.org/freenet/a/awa/ > ___________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]

27 years, 4 months

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E.I. Homebuilt Computer (was Re: "Single instance" machines)

by ddameron＠earthlink.net

Hi Doug and all, At 02:10 PM 12/10/98 -0600, you wrote: >On Thu, 10 Dec 1998, dave dameron wrote: > >> I would be interested in the article. I built the later one (E.I., about >> 1966) with 60 neon lamps as 6 decade shift register/counters and a rotary >> telephone dial. This one used 3 12AU7/ECC82 as 6 buffer amps. The diodes in >> it I used were from scrapped IBM assemblies. I still have some 6V lamps in >> orange plastic holders from the same scrapyard, used on some IBM panels. > >Very cool, Dave! I didn't know about that one. Any chance you can >pin-point the issue it appeared in? > I don't know the exact issue. I have it in a magazine- a collection of E.I. Articles: "Electronics Illustrated Practical Electronics", by Fawcett, No. 641, copyright 1966. It is a red magazine with a 72 mc radio controlled system on the cover + "Electronic Computer" + "Low power Transmitter". >I have the 1960 article, but I haven't built the 1960 machine (yet). >The nice case alone looks like it would be a coupla hundred bucks to >replicate today, but I suppose you could just make a bare-board version. > -Dave

27 years, 4 months

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HX20 (was: Re: Just bought this . . .)

by cswiger＠wilma.widomaker.com

>> accident). He used the HX-20 to print small notes on the paper-tape >> printer (it sounds like a single-line dot-matrix printhead impact >> printer) and also > >The HX20 printer is quite interesting. It's got 4 print solenoids/pins on >a little 'shuttle', spaced 5 characters apart in the same horizontal Sounds famalier - similar to an NCR pos receipt "ANSWER" printer - Alpha Numeric Single Wire Electronic Recorder of mid 80's vintage. Chuck cswiger(a)widomaker.com

27 years, 4 months

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SOL

by bobstek＠ix.netcom.com

Paxton - Thanks for thinking of me. I have my hands full right now, but I'm sure that someone else on the list would like a SOL. (And whoever that someone is, contact me if you need docs or software.) And in the unlikely event that no one comes forward shouting, "Me! Me! Me!" then I will save it.) BTW, I had been meaning to get back to you about that 8" HH DSDD drive, but "stuff" happened... Still have one? Bob Stek bobstek(a)ix.netcom.com Saver of Lost SOLs

27 years, 4 months

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Tandy 1000 TL/2 For Sale

by rhblake＠bigfoot.com

Immaculate condition 286 machine! 768k ram, 40 mb IDE hard drive, 3.5" and 5.25" floppies, monitor port, 101 key keyboard port, 2 joystick ports, 9 pin serial port microphone and earhone jacks, volume control, reset, more. Has 4 open 8 bit ISA slots, nice looking case. Has MSDOS 3.3 and Deskmate built in on ROMs leaving the hard drive free for your programs. Main unit ONLY - no keyboard or monitor selling for $30 plus shipping Main unit with CM-5 color monitor (like new) selling for $50 plus shipping. Buyer can use a standard 101 key enhanced keyboard with the standard 5 pin DIN, available everywhere. Documents laying out the specifications and enhancements are available in the manuals section at http://support.tandy.com/ and there are also downlaodable setup programs available for it as well. NOTE: US 48 states only, no out of country shipments. Contact me direct at RHBLAKE(a)BIGFOOT.COM if interested. SHipping will be the actual USPS rate plus applicable insurance from zip 40144 in central KY to your zip. Prepayment by cashier's check or money order, COD's may be possible. Russ Blakeman Harned, KY

27 years, 4 months

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HX20 (was: Re: Just bought this . . .)

by sinasohn＠ricochet.net

At 08:36 PM 12/10/98 -0500, you wrote: >>a little 'shuttle', spaced 5 characters apart in the same horizontal >>line. A motor/scroll cam assembly wobbles this backwards and forwards >>across the paper and moves the paper up one dot line for ever complete > >May I ask, why do this when it's probably easier to use 9 vertically >aligned pins like the rest of the civilized dot matrix world? (Except for Compare: o o o o o to o o o o o o o o o Any difference jump out at you? Yep, the latter uses a lot more vertical space. In a laptop, that translates into thickness. If you want a skinny laptop, all your parts have to be thin. As to five heads versus one, you can print five characters at once. Faster printing. --------------------------------------------------------------------- O- Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad roger(a)sinasohn.com that none but madmen know." Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates San Francisco, California http://www.sinasohn.com/

27 years, 4 months

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HX20 (was: Re: Just bought this . . .)

by sinasohn＠ricochet.net

At 07:25 PM 12/10/98 -0500, you wrote: >I just saw an HX-20 today! I was at a customer's house... he cannot talk If you've never seen an HX-20 before, go to <http://www.sinasohn.com/clascomp/> (or /clascomp/index2.htm for the new and improved CGI version!) and check it out. No pics of the HC-20 yet, but I'm working on it. --------------------------------------------------------------------- O- Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad roger(a)sinasohn.com that none but madmen know." Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates San Francisco, California http://www.sinasohn.com/

27 years, 4 months

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HX20 (was: Re: Just bought this . . .)

by sinasohn＠ricochet.net

At 02:36 AM 12/11/98 +0000, you wrote: > This was a battery-powered printer? In that case, I sit slackjawed in >fascination at the ingenuity of this engineering. I want one! There are, of course, lots of battery-powered printers. I used a Canon BJ-20e (or BJ-10e?) for years to print invoices at client sites. Had a switch to turn on/off battery charging when using AC so as not to build a memory in the battery. Radio Shack had one that was about the size of half a ream of paper, or one of those clipboards with storage underneat. Slip some paper inside, hook up a cable, print, and out comes a printed page. Mannesman-Tally had one that ran on batteries, did 300dpi, 6ppm, LJ II compatible printing for under $1K, at a time when LaserJets were about that price. I believe HP's portable deskjet ran on batts too. Then, of course, there were plenty of portables with built-in printers, especially those from Panasonic, Canon, and Sharp. And a lot of the "pocket computers" (Casio, Sharp, TRS-80, Panasonic) had portable printers they could attach to. --------------------------------------------------------------------- O- Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad roger(a)sinasohn.com that none but madmen know." Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates San Francisco, California http://www.sinasohn.com/

27 years, 4 months

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Digital Group photo from VCF?

by sinasohn＠ricochet.net

At 11:22 PM 12/10/98 -0000, you wrote: >Since I'm not getting any manuals, schematics, or software with the machine, >any contributions for the web site will be welcomed. A bit of trivia... I was in Denver on holiday a while back, and went to the Colorado History Museum (Denver has great museums!) There, amidst a lot of other Colorado stuff, was a Digital Group computer. Very Cool, but I'm sure there are still drool stains in the carpet around it. 8^) --------------------------------------------------------------------- O- Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad roger(a)sinasohn.com that none but madmen know." Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates San Francisco, California http://www.sinasohn.com/

27 years, 4 months

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Oral History Questions

by sinasohn＠ricochet.net

I have a chance to speak with the designers of some of the machines in my collection. But other than the basic "when was it intro'd, what are the specs, what did it cost" stuff, what should I ask? What sorts of stories, info, etc. should I be trying to preserve? Thanks... --------------------------------------------------------------------- O- Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad roger(a)sinasohn.com that none but madmen know." Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates San Francisco, California http://www.sinasohn.com/

27 years, 4 months

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Saving vs. Shipping (was: Re: "Single instance" machines, Tek 8000

by Innfogra＠aol.com

The Tek 8000s are about 20"X12"X24". They weigh a good 75 or 80 pounds, 90 to 100 pounds shipping weight. My Zip code is 97214. Check UPS' Web Page Calculator for shipping costs. This is an approximate weight. The machines are in my whse and I haven't been down there yet today. Paxton

27 years, 4 months

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"Single instance" machines

by mbg＠world.std.com

>MiniMinc was the PDT11/150 with the EIS/FIS Microm... >I had one for a while purchased under the DEC employee purchase plan. Thanks, I didn't know that is what constituted a MiniMINC. Since I upgraded all the PDT-150s I have at home to EIS/FIS, then I guess they all qualify as MiniMINCs now, eh? Megan Gentry Former RT-11 Developer +--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+ | Megan Gentry, EMT/B, PP-ASEL | Internet (work): gentry!zk3.dec.com | | Unix Support Engineering Group | (home): mbg!world.std.com | | Compaq Computer Corporation | addresses need '@' in place of '!' | | 110 Spitbrook Rd. ZK03-2/T43 | URL: http://world.std.com/~mbg/ | | Nashua, NH 03062 | "pdp-11 programmer - some assembler | | (603) 884 1055 | required." - mbg | +--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+

27 years, 4 months

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what is this: shorting plug?

by rigdonj＠intellistar.net

At 08:41 PM 12/10/98 -0500, you wrote: >On Thu, 10 Dec 1998, Joe wrote: > >> Stil cleaning. Found a molded plug with no cable so I guess it's a >> shorting plug. It's bigger than a DB connector but the same style. It has >> 51 pins in three rows. The name R Squared is molded into it. Anyone know >> what it's for? Anyone need it? > >Sounds like an old-style Sun or DEC SCSI terminator. If you count again, >you should see it has 50 pins. > You're right it has 50 pins. My eyes aren't what they used to be :-/ Joe

27 years, 4 months

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Speech synthesiser chip (was Re: HX20)

by scott＠isd.canberra.edu.au

At 01:08 11/12/98 +0000, ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell) wrote: >> Curiously enough, the text-to-speech capabilities of this machine sound >> awfully close to the speech-sound pack I have for my CoCo's... methinks >> it's based on the same chipset, as they're roughly the same era. > >Could well be. There were a pair of chips from GI - one was the SPO256 >which was a speech synthesiser chip, and the other was the CTS256 which >was a PIC7000 (TMS7000-a-like), I think, programmed with the >text-to-speech algorithm. The Speech-sound pack for the Coco used a >microcontroller (I forget which) with much the same algorithm, but also >with commands to control an AY3-891x sound chip. These chips (the SPO256-AL2 and the CTS256A-AL2) seem really hard to find these days, but I've found a supplier of them if anyone is interested. A U.S. company called SMC Electronics, based in Brockton, MA, has the SPO256-AL2 for $US5.00 and the CTS256A-AL2 for $US7.50 (both include specification and application sheets). SMC Electronics web page is http://personal.tmlp.com/SMCONE/ The chips are listed on http://personal.tmlp.com/SMCONE/IC.HTM Regards, | Scott McLauchlan |E-Mail: scott(a)cts.canberra.edu.au | | Network Services Team |Phone : +61 2 6201 5544 (Ext.5544)| | Client Services Division |Post : University of Canberra, | | University of Canberra, AUSTRALIA | ACT, 2601, AUSTRALIA. |

27 years, 4 months

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FSOT: Sony MO drive

by rigdonj＠intellistar.net

I have a complete 5 1/4" Sony MO drive with 7 disks, cables, Bustek bus-mastering 16 bit SCSI controller, Softeware and SW manual that need a home. If anyone wants it E-mail me directly. I'll sell it outright or trade for somehting that I can use. Joe

27 years, 4 months

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"Single instance" machines

by cube＠msn.fullfeed.com

Boy, does that bring back memories. When I was in middle school, a fellow >from 3M (I think his name was Doug Kinney) visited our school with a couple of computers. One was quite large - in a rack, and used decimal arithmatic. The other was a binary computer, and was much smaller. It was named "Little Binary Joe". He left behind a schematic for some JK flip flops built out of Motorola 2N554 power transistors, and it used #49 light bulbs (not the more common #47 bulbs). A friend of mine convinced me that we should try and build it. We scrounged for parts, wrote letters, etc. Got a free dial from the telephone company, free resistors from Hamilton Hall in Milwaukee, but Motorola would not come thru with the transistors. We eventually had to save up and order them. We got about 4 flip flops built. That got me started in electronics, from which I jumped into Computer Science. Jay At 02:55 AM 12/10/98 -0600, you wrote: >On Wed, 9 Dec 1998, Aaron Christopher Finney wrote: > >> And the 1/3 part is in the form of the "electronic" computer I'm building >> from the January 1960 issue of Electronics Illustrated...(flip-flops, >> light-bulbs, and a rotary phone dial - woo-hoo!) I'm about 1/3 >> completed... > >One of my favorite early personal computers! I regret that the designer >didn't give it a name, though. Specs: > >Name: "Electronic Computer" >Intro: Jan 1960 >Price: approx $35 >Technology: discrete transistors >Memory: 6 bits >Input: rotary telephone dial >Clock speed: as fast as you can dial >Output: 12 incandescent lights >Programming language: patch cords > >The author describes how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide on this >box, but it's really more of a calculator than a computer since it doesn't >have control logic or a clock. > >I hope to do a web page some day that describes this machine and several >other home computers from the 1950's and 1960's. > >-- Doug >

27 years, 4 months

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"Single instance" machines, Tek 8000

by Innfogra＠aol.com

In a message dated 12/9/98 3:24:05 PM Pacific Standard Time, ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk writes: > > OK, anyone else here got a Tektronix 8000 microprocessor development system > (either the 11/03 floppy-based one or the 11/23 hard-disk based one)? > I have one of each that are soon to be scrap unless someone is interested. Then yours will be the only one left. I can pack for shipping but they are very heavy. Paxton Portland, OR USA

27 years, 4 months

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what is this: shorting plug?

by CLASSICCMP＠trailing-edge.com

>Stil cleaning. Found a molded plug with no cable so I guess it's a >shorting plug. It's bigger than a DB connector but the same style. It has >51 pins in three rows. The name R Squared is molded into it. Anyone know >what it's for? Anyone need it? You sure it has 51 pins? I'll bet you that it has 50, and that it's actually a SCSI terminator. 50-pin D-subs were common for SCSI connections on Sun equipment until quite recently. Tim.

27 years, 4 months

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NorthStar drives in cabinet

by Innfogra＠aol.com

Bob; I found another lost SOL in the warehouse the other day. It is still in a box on the bottom of the pallet. It may be a while before I can actually get at it. If interested in it please contact me at whoagiii(a)aol.com Paxton

27 years, 4 months

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"Single instance" machines

by sinasohn＠ricochet.net

> I've always wanted to know which machines have only a single instance > represented on this list. Okay, here's a couple of recent acquisitions that might be unique on this list: Sharp PC-5000 V-Marc 88a Datavue 25 Datavue Spark Hopefully, I am not alone with these... The last two were actually made by Quadram. And of course, I just passed on to other collectors, not one, but two Symbolics 3600's, and a Sanyo MBC-8000. And just to make sure we all get our daily dose of off-topic-ness, I have an *autographed* CD of Vivaldi's complete Lute concertos! (No, not Vivaldi's autograph, Jacob Lindberg, the lutenist.)

27 years, 4 months

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IBM 5360 in North Carolina

by dastar＠ncal.verio.com

I know where there's an IBM 5360 with all the manuals and system disks which is probably free for the asking in Grifton, NC (about 85 miles east of Raleigh). If anyone out this way wants it, e-mail me. I'll give you all the details. Its in an abandoned manufacturing plant now owned by a bank from bankruptcy. Still in fine shape as far as I can tell. You'll probably need a big truck with a lift or 10 guys to haul it. Sellam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Always being hassled by the man. Coming in 1999: Vintage Computer Festival 3.0 See http://www.vintage.org/vcf for details! [Last web site update: 12/07/98]

27 years, 4 months

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DC 300XL Tapes

by Innfogra＠aol.com

I have a case, maybe more, of new DC300XLs for sale. $3 singles, 2 for $5, $10 for a box of 5, plus shipping. I also have used DC600s for $1 each The Tektronix 31 takes a custom small tape. I may have a few around. I used too but I haven't seen any lately. I will continue to look. Please reply to me directly at whoagiii(a)aol.com

27 years, 4 months

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Just bought this . . .

by Innfogra＠aol.com

In a message dated 12/10/98 2:42:58 PM Pacific Standard Time, donm(a)cts.com writes: > > > > Anybody have experience with using normal xerographic copy paper instead > of > > the HP-specified Thinkjet paper? If so, how are the results? > Regular paper works fine except the letters are a little fuzzy. The ink bleeds a little. Try some of the new inkjet papers. They have a harder surface. Paxton

27 years, 4 months

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E.I. Homebuilt Computer (was Re: "Single instance" machines)

by ddameron＠earthlink.net

Hi Aaron and all, At 01:57 AM 12/10/98 -0800, you wrote: >> > And the 1/3 part is in the form of the "electronic" computer I'm building >> > from the January 1960 issue of Electronics Illustrated...(flip-flops, >> > light-bulbs, and a rotary phone dial - woo-hoo!) I'm about 1/3 >> > completed... >> >> One of my favorite early personal computers! I regret that the designer >> didn't give it a name, though. Specs: >> >> Name: "Electronic Computer" >> Intro: Jan 1960 >Did you actually build one of these? I was thinking of taking the author's >suggestion and upgrading the memory to 10 bits... > >Do you have the magazine? If you don't, and get around to putting up a web >page, I'll gladly scan the article to put on it. Actually, if anyone else >is interested, I could scan it and make it available for anyone who want's >to hack around on it. Pretty cool, actually. > I would be interested in the article. I built the later one (E.I., about 1966) with 60 neon lamps as 6 decade shift register/counters and a rotary telephone dial. This one used 3 12AU7/ECC82 as 6 buffer amps. The diodes in it I used were from scrapped IBM assemblies. I still have some 6V lamps in orange plastic holders from the same scrapyard, used on some IBM panels. -Dave

27 years, 4 months

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Modem tones over television or radio

by CLASSICCMP＠trailing-edge.com

>>It's a requirement of the new EBS replacement! >Cynical as I am, the fact that the government is allowed to >do something doesn't tell me it's legal for citizens. :-) Well, broadcasters do, for many purposes, have the status of super-citizens. In today's FCC, all you need to do is have enough cash in hand and you can get the government to sell you whatever chunk of radio/microwave spectrum you decide are necessary. It doesn't matter that the new services stomp all over bands that were previously reserved for medical equipment or radio astronomy - after all, what does it matter whether >I seem to remember something about tone encoding/decoding >being illegal within citizen's band radio, for example. In shared bandwidth applications, modes that can obliterate existing services usually are tightly regulated. There's also the matter of "encrypted transmissions", too. For example, the ARRL had a special waiver written into FCC Part 97 that allows them to send 5-character Morse Code groups solely for the purpose of practice. And when I got started in RTTY, only Baudot transmissions were allowed on the ham bands - ASCII wasn't an approved encoding until a few years later. >The new system is called EAS (Emergency Alerting System), >replacing the old EBS. Thank you! I knew the EBS replacement wasn't called EBS anymore, but I couldn't quite remember what it was called. -- 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

27 years, 4 months

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single instance machines

by fauradon＠pclink.com

You've got a brain-fart with an expansion module? >At 07:19 PM 12/9/98, Joe wrote: >>At 02:27 PM 12/9/98 -0700, you wrote: >>> >>>> On Wed, 9 Dec 1998, Joe wrote: >>> >>>> > Hmmm. I have two AT&T 3B1 model 310s. Does that count as one or two? >>> ^^^ >>> >>>Whazzat? >> >> That's a brain-fart. It should have said 3B2. > >Well, in that case, i've got one too. (with the expansion module) > >Les > >

27 years, 4 months

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single instance machines

by lfb107＠psu.edu

At 07:19 PM 12/9/98, Joe wrote: >At 02:27 PM 12/9/98 -0700, you wrote: >> >>> On Wed, 9 Dec 1998, Joe wrote: >> >>> > Hmmm. I have two AT&T 3B1 model 310s. Does that count as one or two? >> ^^^ >> >>Whazzat? > > That's a brain-fart. It should have said 3B2. Well, in that case, i've got one too. (with the expansion module) Les

27 years, 4 months

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OT HP Vectra Networking

by kurtkilg＠geocities.com

On Mon, 7 Dec 1998 A_Finney(a)wfi-inc.com wrote: > What??? I think I missed something here [bangs thick head on desk]. Did > you just say that Linux is 30 years old or do I have barbecue sauce in my > ears? Is this some kind of metaphorical comparison of Linux to something > else? Did you mean just mean Unix in general? I mean UNIX in general. I consider Linux and UNIX to be similar enough to say that what I am running right now is as directly descended from something that ran 30 years ago on that PDP in Bell Labs (IIRC) as any other version of UNIX. ---------------------------------------------------- Max Eskin | kurtkilgor(a)bigfoot.com | AOL: kurtkilgor

27 years, 4 months

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Latest Project: homebrew paper tape reader

by geoffrob＠stmarks.pp.catholic.edu.au

-----Original Message----- From: Richard A. Cini, Jr. <rcini(a)msn.com> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Thursday, 10 December 1998 13:38 Subject: Latest Project: homebrew paper tape reader >Well, another project to further divide my free time... > > I saw a project in one of my old Bytes for a hand-pulled paper tape >reader. Very simple - 9 photodiodes, a light, a latch, a pulse-stretcher, >and some guide posts. Hmmm, any chance you could post/email the circuit and article? Might be able to help. > Well, here's the parts I have lying around: a BasicStamp-II, two R/C >servos modified for constant running, a few switches, and photodiodes. > > If I get this thing working over the Christmas holiday, I'll post a >construction article. > > Any recommendations for rubber pinch rollers? I'm thinking rubber >stoppers from a plumbing supply shop. These are pre-drilled and come with a >washer, bolt, and wing nut. How about some VHS VCR Pinch Rollers. They'd be around the right size. In fact, might not some of the tape path components be used to make it a motorised version? A repairer probably has a swag of used ones that have gone a bit concave or slick to be any good in a VCR, but probably just fine for what you want. You might also ask around the ham radio community, lots of Siemens teleprinters have tape facilities. Baudot of course, but some of the transport might be useful. You might even get lucky and find something that handles ascii tape. Some later machines, like the SAGEM certainly had it as an option. RTTY has pretty much gone computer these days, so you might find there are lots laying about gathering dust. Cheers Geoff Roberts Computer Systems Manager Saint Marks College Port Pirie South Australia. My ICQ# is 1970476 Ph. 61-411-623-978 (Mobile) 61-8-8633-0619 (Home) 61-8-8633-8834 (Work-Direct) 61-8-8633-0104 (Fax)

27 years, 4 months

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Latest Project: homebrew paper tape reader

by rcini＠msn.com

Well, another project to further divide my free time... I saw a project in one of my old Bytes for a hand-pulled paper tape reader. Very simple - 9 photodiodes, a light, a latch, a pulse-stretcher, and some guide posts. Well, here's the parts I have lying around: a BasicStamp-II, two R/C servos modified for constant running, a few switches, and photodiodes. If I get this thing working over the Christmas holiday, I'll post a construction article. Any recommendations for rubber pinch rollers? I'm thinking rubber stoppers from a plumbing supply shop. These are pre-drilled and come with a washer, bolt, and wing nut. [ Rich Cini/WUGNET [ ClubWin!/CW7 [ MCP Windows 95/Windows Networking [ Collector of "classic" computers [ http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/ [ http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/pdp11/ <================ reply separator =================>

27 years, 4 months

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networking newbie

by JRichardson＠softwright.co.uk

>> Now let me get this straight. You say Linux worked -- that implies >> that it was in place at one point, then NT was put in there and that >> NT didn't work. Ah, but there's the problem. NT - about a day to get set up and working (or not at all in this case!). Needs lots of hardware. Costs lots. Linux - about an hour to set up, runs on old Pentium 60's (yes, I know it runs fast even on 486 machines, but in this case a P60 was all that was around and free). Doesn't cost anything. Management - "oh, that's quite impressive. But we don't know anything about Unix, but do know NT, so we have to stick with that". Not that I'm rather stressed out at the way the computing industry blindly follows the big players round (sarcasm mode is on here, folks!) - but I run up against this brick wall time after time. People high up in a company see something as a risk unless they have to invest lots of time and money in puchasing it and supporting it - they just don't seem to feel safe if the product in question is low-cost (or free!) and runs itself without any trouble, even if such "features" are rammed down their throats. It's a very scary industry. >> you then wrote a _Java_ program to do >> what should be handled by something two or three layers down? yup, took about 30 minutes too. I got fed up with NT wanting to reboot every ten minutes, the PC taking five minutes to boot, the 32x-speed-all-the-bells-and-whistles CDROM drive taking a minute to spin up to speed before I could access it to install software... I'm sure most of you have been there! cheers Jules >

27 years, 4 months

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Modem tones over television or radio

by CLASSICCMP＠trailing-edge.com

>Somewhat apropos the recent thread about sending mains power >through modems, can anyone tell me if it's legal or illegal >here in the States to send data in the audio of television or >radio? Yes - and it's commonly done. The new Emergency Broadcast System replacement transmits 1200 bps (I believe Bell 212A modulation) bursts over TV and radio audio. And many different digital services are encoded in the video blanking interval of TV signals - closed captioning, timestamps, and program information, among others. > Certainly there would be bandwidth and therefore speed >limitations, but does the FCC allow this? It's a requirement of the new EBS replacement! -- 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

27 years, 4 months

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Modem tones over television or radio

by grant＠anachronism.sol.co.uk

There was a program once, here in the UK which sent data via a flashing dot in the bottom of the screen. You attached a little photo-sensor on the bottom of the screen while the show was being broadcast (similar I guess to those casio watches). I'm not sure what the data rate was though, as I never made one of the gizmo's for decoding it. On a similar note, does anyone own one of those toys for the Captain Power TV series. Apparently it picked up the "interference" pattern on the bad guy's chest, and allowed you to shoot it. It also, if memory serves, picked up the enemy's laser, and would tell you if you had been shot. Anyone know of any other good interactive TV attempts? Grant. ---------- > From: Hans Franke <Hans.Franke(a)mch20.sbs.de> > To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> > Subject: Re: Modem tones over television or radio > Date: 10 December 1998 15:36 > > AFAIR the BBC did also transmit software thru teletext > pages (in GB). > > Gruss > hans > > -- > Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut > HRK

27 years, 4 months

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"Single instance" machines

by jeff.kaneko＠juno.com

On Wed, 9 Dec 1998 22:33:52 -0600 (CST) "Richard W. Schauer" <rws(a)eagle.ais.net> writes: >- Wang OIS-60X word processing server and terminals. Z80. >- CPT 8525 word processor. 8080. >- NCR UNIX Tower. Don't know yet. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I have the 68010 version of this, *and* I have the OS install tape! You are one of two people I know who has NCR hardware! >- All sorts of Intel and Teradyne Multibus cards (8080, 8088, 8086, >80188,80186, 80286), and a Microlink STD-145 card (8085, STD bus). My NCR uses MultiBUS. I also have one of 3Com's 1st products: A multibus ethernet adaptor! Now all I need is a TCP/IP stack, heh heh! >The biggest problem with oddball junk is doing something useful with >it. In the NCR case, this is definitely a problem . . . >Most of the above are of somewhat limited utility to me because >they're so obscure and hard to find stuff for (like the little cassettes or >cartridges for the Monroe). > ___________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]

27 years, 4 months

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"Single instance" machines

by bill＠chipware.com

George Rachor wrote: > Finally another Ohio Scientific owner.... > > I have a few OSI C2's and one C4... All are diskless. What varieties of C2? I have a C2OEM a C2NET and a C2NETB, according to the ID plates. Whether they are still what OSI had in mind for those configs I don't know. The C2NET was just case, backplane and power supply when I got it, I've been adding boards as I acquire them. I guess technically it's really a C3 now, as it has a 555 CPU in it. I don't have a C4 in my collection. I passed on one about five years ago. It was in pretty good shape, with most of the docs and software, but the guy wanted $150 for it. I haven't seen one since and I'm starting to kick myself for not taking it. > > My dream find would be an OSI C8 or a C4 Mini-floppy drive. A C8? Doesn't ring a bell. What CPU? Was it OSI 48 pin bus? I'll have to dig through my old Bytes. At least I can just scan the back covers! > > I wouldn't mind eventually getting some of my software moved from tape to > CD. > > George Rachor

27 years, 4 months

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Up for grabs: Unusual video cable

by rigdonj＠intellistar.net

Still finding more junk ^H^H^H^H er, ah, treasures. Found this video cable but I have no idea what it's for. It looks like a 13W3 cable for a Sun computer but only has the three co-axial connectors in the plug and no pins. The plug is the same size as a DB-15. The other end of the cable has the usual three BNC connectors for a RGB monitor. Send beer money plus postage and this wonderfull treasure will be your's. Joe

27 years, 4 months

6
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It's DEC-10 today!

by DSEAGRAV＠toad.xkl.com

Happy DEC 10, folks! -------

27 years, 4 months

1
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"Single instance" machines

by jeff.kaneko＠juno.com

That's the story I heard. The original name Commodore chose for the VIC was 'Vixen'. In German, that's a naughty word, too. Jeff On Thu, 10 Dec 1998 06:45:48 -0800 (PST) Cameron Kaiser <ckaiser(a)oa.ptloma.edu> writes: >::Trivia question: Why are VIC-20's called VC-20 in Germany? > >The running apocryphal story is because VIC, pronounced "fick" in >German, >comes out as a naughty word. (Take a guess.) There is some doubt >about >the veracity of this, of course. > >-- >-------------------------- personal page: >http://calvin.ptloma.edu/~spectre/ -- >Cameron Kaiser Information Technology Services Database >Programmer >Point Loma Nazarene University Fax: +1 619 >849 2581 >ckaiser(a)ptloma.edu Phone: +1 619 >849 2539 >-- He who Laughs, Lasts. >------------------------------------------------------ > ___________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]

27 years, 4 months

1
0
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Need an IBM 9309-2 Rack Enclosure

by cfandt＠netsync.net

At 18:05 12/09/98 -0500, you wrote: >> Some of you know I rescued an IBM 9370 system from my now-ex employer in >> mid-'97. > >RCS/RI has so many, WERE GIVING THEM AWAY! 9309's or 9370's? I'll take a 9309-2! Already got the 9370 :) But how do I get a 9309-2 (or a couple of -1's)? Anybody heading out this way from RI with a truck??:) (I'm kinda serious with that question...) > >If you treat us kindly, you might find an RS/6000 930 (ex NSFnet router) >in it. Is this a RISC machine? (I'm not up on the RS/6k's) But I need the rack space inside though . . . > >I also have complete docs for the 9309s, in all their flavors. I've got some 9309 docs: GA24-4103-03 (Gen'l Info + Site Prep), S124-0155-02 (Parts Cat.) and SY24-4075-04 (Service guide). Could use: GA24-4039-0x (Setup + Operation Guide) and SA24-4077-0x (Guide to Analyzing Problems) and GA24-4101-0x (Installing the 9309 Stabilizer). The x's stand for the revisions which should be around early 1988 which is just after the vintage of the machine. I've got a bunch of other docs that are for the 9370 itself and 9332-400/600 and 9347 units. A few are missing I think. Regards, Chris -- -- Christian Fandt, Electronic/Electrical Historian Jamestown, NY USA cfandt(a)netsync.net Member of Antique Wireless Association URL: http://www.ggw.org/freenet/a/awa/

27 years, 4 months

1
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NCR tower Re: "Single instance" machines

by JRichardson＠softwright.co.uk

>>>>- NCR UNIX Tower. Don't know yet. >>> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >>>I have the 68010 version of this, *and* I have the OS install tape! >>>You are one of two people I know who has NCR hardware! >> >> >>Jeff, >> >> There's several of them at the computer scrapper's place here. Can you >>send a list of model numbers that you're interested in and I'll check on >>these. I did open one and look at it. It was a BIG tower case that slid >>out on rails. It had an Intel CPU, a 486-33 I think. There are several more >>there that are in tall slim tower cases but I didn't look at them. I don't think they ever developed the Tower series, or related OS to run with Intel CPUs. Unisys also released machines using the same hardware, but with different model numbers. I have a Tower 750 (I can't remember the NCR 'official' model numbel for this), with a couple of 380MB Maxtor SCSI disks in it, 150MB SCSI tape drive, 16 terminal ports ( I don't have any breakout boxes unfortunately), 10Mbps ethernet, 39MB memory (that's 32MB of user-accessible memory, 7MB of ECC / parity code - those memory boards should keep running forever :) I've got X-Windows (release 4 I think it was) for the machine - they appear to be pretty quick boxes from what I remember (due to no free space I haven't used the thing in the last two years - it failed to power up last time I tried, so I need to do some work on it sometime) Get hold of ethernet cards if you can, apparently they aren't that common. Also SCSI controllers - I get the impression that MFM boards were used most of the time rather than SCSI, it being a more expensive technology back then. I'm missing the one most valuable resource for my Tower - the OS tapes! Any questions, just ask - I may be able to help, and should have a few bits of info lying around for these beasts... cheers Jules

27 years, 4 months

1
0
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Free Software (Was Re: (Linux != UNIX) (Was Re: OT HP Networking))

by kurtkilg＠geocities.com

That's fine, except that's not what the GNU license allows him to do. > "I have nothing against people who sell >software, and they should have nothing against me for forbidding >them from using my software in the software they sell." > >--Chuck >

27 years, 4 months

3
3
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NorthStar drives in cabinet

by bobstek＠ix.netcom.com

Jeff - If no one else is interested, I am. I have several of the N* drives with their blue metal covers but not one with a wood cabinet. I have some S-100 boards, CP/M books, or a T/S 1000 if you are interested. Bob Stek bobstek(a)ix.netcom.com Saver of Lost SOLs

27 years, 4 months

1
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New links added to the VCF Links page

by dastar＠ncal.verio.com

I added a buttload of links to the VCF Links page (mostly to the Computer History Resources on the Web section). http://www.vintage.org/vcf/vcflinks.htm Take a gander! Submit a link! Sellam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Always being hassled by the man. Coming in 1999: Vintage Computer Festival 3.0 See http://www.vintage.org/vcf for details! [Last web site update: 12/09/98]

27 years, 4 months

1
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