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

by ggs＠shiresoft.com

Hi, I know it?s been a while (a long while) since I last posted about ordering new UA11 boards. I just placed an order for 25 boards. To get the best price I did a ?4 week turn? which means that I should be receiving the boards by the end of January. I?m only doing bare boards this time, so what you?ll get is a board and a set of printed documentation (which is also available at: http://www.shiresoft.com/downloads/docs/ua11/UA11%20Manual.pdf). I just looked at the documentation and the address and phone numbers are old (so don?t try and use them!). I?ll try and get the documentation updated with current information before I ship any boards. The cost will be less than what?s posted on the website, I won?t have exact numbers until I receive the boards however I expect to charge ~$100/ea + shipping. I?ll let everyone know when the boards arrive, but feel free to email me (off list please!) if you?d like to reserve one (or more!). Do not send any payment until I have boards in hand! Have a Merry Christmas (or whatever your preferred holiday this time of year is)! TTFN - Guy

10 years, 5 months

1
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XY11 Manual, Anyone?

by mattislind＠gmail.com

I have in mind to connect a machine to an IBM 1627 (CALCOMP 565) plotter and then the XY11 which just arrive would fit nicely, I think. But I cannot seem to find any manual for the XY11. Anyone know of a manual? The board is rather simple so it should be possible to work out the details on how to interface it by hand but it would be nice to have the proper manual. Then for software I found a diagnostic, XXYAD0 that supposedly should draw a square and a rectangle. Anyone know of other drawing software that uses the XY11 /Mattis

10 years, 5 months

4
5
0 0

dumping Western Digital Microms (PDP-11, WD16, Pascal Microengine)

by spacewar＠gmail.com

The DEC LSI-11, Western Digital WD16 (as used in the Alpha Micro AM100), and Western Digital Pascal Microengine use variations of the same chipset, called CP1600 for the LSI-11 and WD16, and WD9000 for the Pacal Microengine. The chipset consists of a control chip, a data path chip, and two to four microcode ROMs, of 512 words of 22 bits each, known as "Microms". I built an apparatus on a breadboard to dump the contents of Microms, using a PIC and a quad gate driver to produce the four-phase 12V clock, three 74HCT163 four-bit counters and two 74HCT245 buffers to drive the address onto the microinstruction bus, and a 74HCT4050 and 74HCT04 to level shift the MOS phase 2 clock back to 5V and invert it, to enable the 74HCT245 buffers. Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/22368471 at N04/albums/72157662054690240 The apparatus cycles through the entire 2 kibiword address space continuously. An HP 16701A logic analyzer with 16557D state/timing card is attached to capture the addresses and data. Because the microinstruction bus is active low, the addresses are driven in reverse sequence, and the microinstructions captured on the logic analyzer are inverted. So far I have dumped the following LSI-11 Microms: 3010D, DEC P/N 23-001B5 (also designated CP1631-10) - addr 0x000-0x1ff 3007D, DEC P/N 23-002B5 (also designated CP1631-07) - addr 0x200-0x3ff So far I have dumped the following Pascal Microengine Microms: WD2171-10 - addr 0x000-0x1ff WD2171-12 - addr 0x200-0x3ff WD2171-13 - addr 0x400-0x5ff WD2171-14 - addr 0x000-0x1ff WD2171-15 - addr 0x200-0x3ff WD2171-17 - addr 0x400-0x5ff WD2171-18 - addr 0x400-0x5ff There exists at least one other Pascal Microengine Microm which I don't have, the WD2171-16. I expect that it probably occupies addr 0x400-0x5ff. I have not yet dumped the WD16 Microms as I do not have an AM100 CPU board at hand. My next challenge is exporting the data from the 16701A to anything else. The 16701A used to work fine on my Ethernet, but for mysterious reasons it now claims that the network can't be accessed, despite that plugging a laptop into the same Ethernet cable works fine. I'll need to write a small Python script to post-process the output, for use with my disassembler (also in Python). Note that dumping the Microm contents is only part of the problem; the control chip also contains PLAs that can force microcode jumps under various conditions despite there being no corresponding jump instruction in the Microms. This is used for macroinstruction decode, and possibly for other purposes.

10 years, 5 months

2
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dumping Western Digital Microms (PDP-11, WD16, Pascal Microengine)

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Eric Smith > The control chip and data chip are not Microms, and MUST be plugged > into the correct socket. Yeah, as you saw, I eventually figured that out. In part, along with the bad diagram, I was thrown by a combo of the fact that i) the DEC part numbers for the control chip started with 23- (which seems to be a ROM part indicator), unlike the data chip, which as a 21-1; and second, the control chip is 23-002C4/23-003C4, which was so close to uROM numbers like 23-002B5 and 23-003B3, it sounded like they were all uROM parts. > There are a number of variants. Thanks for all the additional data. I'll add it all to the LSI-11 page on the he Computer History Wiki (seems as good a place as any to accumulate it). Noel

10 years, 5 months

2
1
0 0

Has Anyone Written PDP-8 .XOR. Code Using the MQ Register (Without the EAE)?

by bobvines00＠gmail.com

Has anyone written PDP-8 code for .XOR. that uses the MQ Register (when the EAE isn't available)? If so, can you share the source code and/or the algorithm? Thanks, Bob

10 years, 5 months

6
13
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XY11 Manual, Anyone?

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

resending with corrections! it appears the pen kit for our plotter got LIFTED (aka stolen, ripped off... etc... bummer..) before we had it glassed in living the glassed in display a areas if anyone has a calcomp box with the solenoid and pens that is extra to their needs please let us know In a message dated 12/22/2015 9:31:22 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, COURYHOUSE at aol.com writes: I had the large ibm calcomp plotter if big wide one we have the same ... it is in the hp display case at smecc museum there was a fortran graphics text book we had adn I had gotten with a HP 3000 and it had a interface board ( parallel interface?? too many years) I made it plot squares etc .. as I remember the hp intrinsics may have had some support for this.. once I did that i put it aside and went back to playing with the HP multi-pen HP plotters we sold back them at Computer Exchange Inc. In a message dated 12/22/2015 3:22:01 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, steven at malikoff.com writes: ---------------------------- Original Message ---------------------------- Subject: XY11 Manual, Anyone? From: "Mattis Lind" <mattislind at gmail.com> Date: Wed, December 23, 2015 2:53 am To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > I have in mind to connect a machine to an IBM 1627 (CALCOMP 565) plotter > and then the XY11 which just arrive would fit nicely, I think. > > But I cannot seem to find any manual for the XY11. Anyone know of a manual? > > The board is rather simple so it should be possible to work out the details > on how to interface it by hand but it would be nice to have the proper > manual. > > Then for software I found a diagnostic, XXYAD0 that supposedly should draw > a square and a rectangle. > > Anyone know of other drawing software that uses the XY11 > > /Mattis The book 'The Minicomputer in the Laboratory' by James W Cooper covers using an X-Y plotter with an 11/05, and has assembly listings and a whole bunch of related stuff about scientific plotting. Also a lot of info on using the LPS-11 too. There are plenty of copies out there and quite cheap too. It's an excellent book and could be of use to you. Steve.

10 years, 5 months

4
3
0 0

ST-251 MLC-1

by lehmann＠ans-netz.de

Hi, I knew ST-251-0, ST-251-1 drives for ST506. Some time ago I've got a ST-251 labled "MLC-1". Does someone knows what the MLC stands for? What is different to the other ST-251 variants? It looks like a regular ST506 drive. Oliver

10 years, 5 months

1
0
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Anyone collect Fortune 32/16 systems?

by jwsmail＠jwsss.com

There is one quite inexpensive on Ebay right now. Looks to be a match for the system unit at the CHM as well. Maybe they need a spare. I don't know if they want parts machines or not, but for the price it is almost tempting to pick it up. http://www.ebay.com/itm/321399704868 Hope Christmas brings everyone a lot of new toys. (as in old ones). Thanks jim

10 years, 5 months

5
6
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Odd disk image format... .552?

by wrm＠dW.co.za

> >Recently found some long-lost images of 5 1/4" floppies that were sent >to me... 10-15 years ago. Here's one of them: > >http://www.corestore.org/RP06.552 Looks like a straight image for a 1.44 what we call "stiffy". The 522 is the version of RP06. Google leads me to http://www.corestore.org/rp12.htm so you already know what it's for :-) W

10 years, 5 months

3
2
0 0

XY11 Manual, Anyone?

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

yes I can... it got LIFTED! Ripped Off! Stolen! Bummer eh? In a message dated 12/23/2015 9:43:59 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, cisin at xenosoft.com writes: On Wed, 23 Dec 2015, COURYHOUSE at aol.com wrote: > it appears the pen kit for our plotter got listed before we had > it glassed in living the glassed in display a areas Could you rephrase that?

10 years, 5 months

1
0
0 0

XY11 Manual, Anyone?

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

it appears the pen kit for our plotter got listed before we had it glassed in living the glassed in display a areas if anyone has a calcomp box with the solenoid and pens that is extra to their needs please let us know many thanks Ed Sharpe archivist for smecc _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org) In a message dated 12/23/2015 6:28:28 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, dave.g4ugm at gmail.com writes: Surely there is a copy of CalComp Host Computer Basic Software (HCBS) around somewhere that talks to the XY11. After all the Calcomp is pretty thick. All it can do is move 1 step at once, well it can do diagonals as well, but pretty thick... Dave G4UGM > -----Original Message----- > From: cctalk [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Stefan > Skoglund (lokal anv?ndare) > Sent: 23 December 2015 11:07 > To: cctalk at classiccmp.org > Subject: Re: XY11 Manual, Anyone? > > > > > Then for software I found a diagnostic, XXYAD0 that supposedly > > > should draw a square and a rectangle. > > > > > > Anyone know of other drawing software that uses the XY11 > > > > > > /Mattis > > > > The book 'The Minicomputer in the Laboratory' by James W Cooper covers > > using an X-Y plotter with an 11/05, and has assembly listings and a > > whole bunch of related stuff about scientific plotting. Also a lot of > > info on using the LPS- > > 11 too. > > There are plenty of copies out there and quite cheap too. It's an > > excellent book and could be of use to you. > > > > Steve. > > > > Boken finns i Ume? universitets boksamling (?ven p? > fysikinstitutionen.) > Det verkar inte finnas n?got exemplar i Uppsala d?remot. :-) Kastad ?

10 years, 5 months

2
1
0 0

An IBM I/O Selectric interface using TTL and a 2708 EPROM

by steven＠malikoff.com

Back in the late 70s early 80s one of Dad's work colleagues came up with this circuit for interfacing an IBM I/O Selectric to a microcomputer. We had one, which we planned to use with our Fairchild/Mostek F8 development board, but it never got done - my brother and I wanted a computer with a screen, not a printer! So we spent our pocket money (and Dad's too) on an S-100 kit system, but that's another story. Recently I found the only remains of our I/O writer, the platen. Sadly I think it must have been junked, the platen being kept to roll out photographic prints in Dad's darkroom. I just finished scanning, cleaning up the degradation and turning the circuit into a PDF. These days an Arduino or RasPi would be a simpler and more flexible way to go, but I hope you find it interesting looking at how it was done with TTL and discrete components. The circuit was designed by (I believe) Neil Taylor, possibly with the help of Derek Williamson, both brilliant IBM Australia CE's. I know my dad always spoke very highly of them. It's an 8-page PDF at http://web.aanet.com.au/~malikoff/misc/IBM_IO_Selectric_interface.pdf Regards, Steve Malikoff.

10 years, 5 months

2
1
0 0

XY11 Manual, Anyone?

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

I had the large ibm calcomp plotter if big wide one we have the same ... it is in the hp display case at smecc museum there was a fortran graphics text book we had adn I had gotten with a HP 3000 and it had a interface board ( parallel interface?? too many years) I made it plot squares etc .. as I remember the hp intrinsics may have had some support for this.. once I did that i put it aside and went back to playing with the HP multi-pen HP plotters we sold back them at Computer Exchange Inc. In a message dated 12/22/2015 3:22:01 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, steven at malikoff.com writes: ---------------------------- Original Message ---------------------------- Subject: XY11 Manual, Anyone? From: "Mattis Lind" <mattislind at gmail.com> Date: Wed, December 23, 2015 2:53 am To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > I have in mind to connect a machine to an IBM 1627 (CALCOMP 565) plotter > and then the XY11 which just arrive would fit nicely, I think. > > But I cannot seem to find any manual for the XY11. Anyone know of a manual? > > The board is rather simple so it should be possible to work out the details > on how to interface it by hand but it would be nice to have the proper > manual. > > Then for software I found a diagnostic, XXYAD0 that supposedly should draw > a square and a rectangle. > > Anyone know of other drawing software that uses the XY11 > > /Mattis The book 'The Minicomputer in the Laboratory' by James W Cooper covers using an X-Y plotter with an 11/05, and has assembly listings and a whole bunch of related stuff about scientific plotting. Also a lot of info on using the LPS-11 too. There are plenty of copies out there and quite cheap too. It's an excellent book and could be of use to you. Steve.

10 years, 5 months

1
0
0 0

Fw: Odd disk image format... .552?

by nico＠farumdata.dk

On Tue, Dec 22, 2015 at 10:17 PM, Nico de Jong <nico at farumdata.dk> wrote: > ---- Original Message ----- > From: "Mike Ross" <tmfdmike at gmail.com> > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" >> <cctalk at classiccmp.org> >> Sent: Tuesday, December 22, 2015 9:41 AM >> Subject: Odd disk image format... .552? >> >> >>> Recently found some long-lost images of 5 1/4" floppies that were sent >>> to me... 10-15 years ago. Here's one of them: >>> >>> http://www.corestore.org/RP06.552 >>> >> Seems to be a MSDOS 5.0 boot disk, with just one important program, >> RP06.EXE, on it, and then some support programs. >> As far as I can see, it is a physical backup. Could the 552 just be a serial >> number `? > >That's kinda what I expected actually... so you reckon they're just in >normal raw image format for e.g. Rawrite? > Suppose so. They took a complete disc, sector by sector, and wrote it as a file. /Nico

10 years, 5 months

3
3
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Now this person is optimistic

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

Check out: http://www.ebay.com/itm/DEC-PDP8-I-MINICOMPUTER-PDP8-PDP-8-PDP-8/2014877000… I know it has a bunch of DECTape drives, but... Noel

10 years, 5 months

4
3
0 0

Apple II keyboard WTB

by mail.nickallen＠gmail.com

Hey everyone, just got my Apple1 powered up!!! The PIA is hot to the touch, I heard they run hot, how hot is too hot?? Looking for an Apple II keyboard to convert for use on my Apple1. Anyone have one for sale or trade? Thanks! -Nick

10 years, 5 months

1
0
0 0

Odd disk image format... .552?

by tmfdmike＠gmail.com

Recently found some long-lost images of 5 1/4" floppies that were sent to me... 10-15 years ago. Here's one of them: http://www.corestore.org/RP06.552 I've never seen that .552 file extension before. Any clue? It's possible that refers to a version number rather than some obscure disk image format... (They are allegedly Setasi Shelby RP12 boot disks btw :-) ) Mike http://www.corestore.org 'No greater love hath a man than he lay down his life for his brother. Not for millions, not for glory, not for fame. For one person, in the dark, where no one will ever know or see.'

10 years, 5 months

2
2
0 0

Anyone fancy a laugh?

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Adrian Graham > Overblown salesmanship aside, technically I suppose they're right. Well, I don't think so. According to Wikipedia (I know, I know), the Lisa was released on January 19, 1983, but the Xerox Star (AKA Dandelion): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_Star was introduced in 1981, almost two years before. The Star was supposed to be a commercial product version of the Alto, and although it had many issues, it did have an advanced version of the graphic-based user interface that is now universal - icons, etc, etc. And it had a mouse. Noel

10 years, 5 months

2
1
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Anyone fancy a laugh?

by binarydinosaurs＠gmail.com

Having typed that subject line I'm changing my attitude slightly: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ONE-OF-FEW-REMAINING-1ST-AVAILABLE-MICE-IN-THE-WO… Overblown salesmanship aside, technically I suppose they're right. Even given Doug Engelbart's introduction in 1964 the mouse wasn't a massive commercial success by 1983 was it. Still a lot of cash though, and when I bought my Lisa in 2005 it came with that rodent so I'll put it alongside my little collection of VSXXX workstation mice as WOW*R at RE*L@@K* items :) -- adrian/witchy Owner of Binary Dinosaurs, the UK's biggest home computer collection? www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk

10 years, 5 months

7
6
0 0

dumping Western Digital Microms (PDP-11, WD16, Pascal Microengine)

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Eric Smith > So far I have dumped the following LSI-11 Microms: > > 3010D, DEC P/N 23-001B5 (also designated CP1631-10) - addr 0x000-0x1ff > 3007D, DEC P/N 23-002B5 (also designated CP1631-07) - addr 0x200-0x3ff Excellent work! I was going to point out that there is another uROM (KEV11) for the LSI-11, for the EIS/FIS, and also that there is some variation in the numbers of the uROM chips, but along the way, I ran into a puzzle. DEC documentation differs on the location of the two uROM's in the LSI-11/2 (KD11-HA, M7270): the 'Microcomputer Products Handbook' gives the order (from the handle end) as KEV11, uROM 1, uROM 0, Control, Data Path; the print set for the KD11-HA gives KEV11, Control, uROM 1, uROM 0, Data Path! >From which I conclude that either: i) one of the documents, perhaps the Handbook, is wrong, or ii) the 'Control' chip must also be a uROM, and that there is some variation in how the 3 chips can be plugged in? Here is more data from a couple of boards I have access to (from the handle end): - 2007C 23-002C4, 3010A 23-001B5, 3007D 23-002B5 - 2007C 23-002C4, 3010D 23-001B5, 3007D 23-007B5 - 2007C 23-003C4, 3010D 23-008B5, 3007D 23-007B5 Anyone know what's up here? Getting back to the KEV11, the one I have seen is a 3015 23-003B5. > the control chip also contains PLAs that can force microcode jumps under > various conditions despite there being no corresponding jump instruction in > the Microms. Hmm. Any idea/way to read them out? Noel

10 years, 5 months

2
1
0 0

scan of IEEE-696 standard

by spereira1952＠comcast.net

Here is another scan from a different location: http://www.imsai.net/download/IEEE_696_1983.pdf I hope this may help. smp ----- Original Message -----

10 years, 5 months

1
0
0 0

dumping Western Digital Microms (PDP-11, WD16, Pascal Microengine)

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> DEC documentation differs on the location of the two uROM's in the > LSI-11/2 (KD11-HA, M7270): the 'Microcomputer Products Handbook' gives > the order (from the handle end) as KEV11, uROM 1, uROM 0, Control, Data > Path ... > From which I conclude that either: i) one of the documents, perhaps the > Handbook, is wrong, or ii) the 'Control' chip must also be a uROM, and > that there is some variation in how the 3 chips can be plugged in? > Anyone know what's up here? To answer my own post, I looked at the prints (should have done this before I posted, sigh), and there is no way it can be ii). The Control chip has a bunch of discrete signals on pins where the uROM's have micro-instruction bus pins. So there's no way you can swap them around. So the 'Microcomputer Products Handbook' diagram (pg. C-18) has to be wrong. Noel

10 years, 5 months

1
0
0 0

DEC corporate cab side panel.

by mattislind＠gmail.com

I have one side panel for a DEC corporate cabinet. It should fit VAX-11/780 or similar cabinets. It is in good shape. Anyone need one? It is in Stockholm, Sweden. Also has some other parts for the cabinet, like wheels and other steel parts. /Mattis

10 years, 5 months

1
0
0 0

KiCad Footprint ??

by gerardcjat＠free.fr

Speaking of KiCad .... Yesterday, I tried for the first time KiCad, and my first board design with it. The very first part I was looking for .... I was not able to locate it. Is it because I am a newbe or because this part does not exist yet, beeing "too old" ?? I was looking for : Card edge connector ( fingers print ) , any contact count, BUT pitch = 3.96 mm Any help ?? Thanks !! --- L'absence de virus dans ce courrier ?lectronique a ?t? v?rifi?e par le logiciel antivirus Avast. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

10 years, 5 months

4
3
0 0

NCR 376 card punch

by ed＠groenenberg.net

So I saw this NCR376 card punch on the German Ebay and placed a bid, getting it for Eur 1.50 (approx $1.75). Last Saturday I picked it up near Frankfurt and brought it back home and came with a small user manual (in German), 2 sheets of diagrams (need to find a magnifier to read it properly) and about 500 unused cards. There are a few small issues, the rubber rollers of the feeder are melted, but apparently can be replaced using some heat shrink tube, the rubber layer seems to be very thin. Another issue are the transport rollers which moves the card from right to left where the hopper is. Those are also melted but again seem to be repairable. Last issue is that when I press some keys on the keyboard, the card does not advance, only some clicking noises from the backplane is heard. The backplane consists of s series of relays on a few cards, and a number of capacitors on a few other cards. (Yes, this card punch is driven by a series of relays). This unit is OEM-ed from JUKI (Juki-1300), a Japanese company who made it. Although the machine is small (about 100 x 100 x 45 cm) is weights 100Kg. Anybody know a source for other manuals of this machine? Googling for it did not return much for it. Ed -- Ik email, dus ik besta. BTC : 1J5fajt8ptyZ2V1YURj3YJZhe5j3fJVSHN LTC : LP2WuEmYPbpWUBqMFGJfdm7pdHEW7fKvDz

10 years, 5 months

1
0
0 0

Wood (was Re: IBM Mainframe terminal stuff)

by spacewar＠gmail.com

On Fri, Dec 18, 2015 at 8:27 PM, Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> wrote: > Was it the Processor Technology Sol that had oak strips on the sides? Walnut.

10 years, 6 months

5
4
0 0

scan of IEEE-696 standard

by kspt.tor＠gmail.com

On 20 December 2015 at 07:25, Eric Smith <spacewar at gmail.com> wrote: >> Is this it? (1983) >> http://www.pestingers.net/PDFs/Other_computers/IEEE%20696%20S-100%20Bus%20S… > > That's the one that's been screwed up by OCR. What about this one? Except for the front page and possibly the very beginning, it seems to be the same document, but different. If it's any better I'm not sure about, some pictures didn't do too well in the scan, apparently. http://www.imsai.net/download/IEEE_696_1983.pdf

10 years, 6 months

4
8
0 0

What did computers without screens do?

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Mike > The one question I do have for the older gentlemen on here is what in > the world did the computers without a screen to look at do? There are a number of different generations, and the way they were used generally depended on what the computer in question had for I/O capabilities. In the very earliest machines, the computations tended to be mathematical modeling; things that needed a lot of computing, but had very modest I/O requirements. The classic example was the hydrogen bomb calculations performed on ENIAC (which was originally built to do ballistics computations), but other similar ones included structural modeling, etc. That class of application continued (and does so, to this day), but over time, more and more things got done using computers, as their capabilities (online storage, I/O, etc) grew. In general, the new applications were added to the existing ones, but did not supplant the earlier ones. Starting with a computer in England called LEO: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LEO_(computer) they were also applied to business applications (inventory, payroll, billing, etc), which typically did more modest computations, but more I/O, which required better I/O capability (cards, tapes, printers, etc). With the advent of timesharing in the early 1960's, it became common to add individual character-output terminals (initially printing, moving mostly to video terminals circa the mid-70's), and with the ability of users to interact with applications running on a computer, applications broadened even further; online text preparation was one common one. The final phase came with the introduction of bit-mapped video terminals, which allowed the interactive users to use graphics, and images; the very earliest such systems were on time-sharing mainframes, but with the growth of personal computers, that technology migrated there (note that the very earlist PC's had only character-output terminals, mimicing their main-frame big brothers of the time). Noel

10 years, 6 months

15
21
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scan of IEEE-696 standard

by radiotest＠juno.com

At 03:04 PM 12/20/2015, Eric Smith wrote: >The problem has been solved. Is the solution available online? Dale H. Cook, Roanoke/Lynchburg, VA Osborne 1 / Kaypro 4-84 / Kaypro 1 / Amstrad PPC-640 http://plymouthcolony.net/starcity/radios/index.html

10 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

scan of IEEE-696 standard

by spacewar＠gmail.com

Does anyone have a scan of the IEEE-696 (S-100) standard that has NOT been run through OCR to screw up the typography (and even some of the illustrations)? I'm *not* looking for the draft, only the final standard.

10 years, 6 months

2
3
0 0

Gotek floppy emulator w/ HxC firmware

by snhirsch＠gmail.com

Is anyone using this combination? I'm having problems getting it to work reliably on a soft-sector controller in my Heath H89 and their forum is essentially dead. --

10 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

WD9000 Pascal Microengine floppy adapter (was Re: WD9000 Pascal microengine schematics available)

by spacewar＠gmail.com

The WD9000 Pascal Microengine main box does not include floppy drives. It can support up to four floppy drives, which can be either 8-inch (500 kbps transfer rate), or 5.25-inch (250 kbps transfer rate), as selected by a DIP switch setting on the WD900 board. Unfortunately the DIP switch directly controls the clock rate into the 1793 FDC chip, so it is not possible to mix 250 kbps and 500 kbps drives. However, it should be possible to mix 8-inch drives with high-density 5.25 inch or 3.5 inch drives that use the 500 Kbps transfer rate. The floppy connector on the back of the WD9000 box (and the WD900 board) uses a DC37S connector, and the pinout seems to be unique to the Pascal Microengine. My Microengines did not come with the floppy drives or cabling. I've designed a simple adapter PCB, and just got the first boards back from PCBWay today. I haven't yet finished assembling one because I screwed up ordering on some of the components and connectors. Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/22368471 at N04/albums/72157660580290148 The WD900 board uses an FD1791 double-density floppy controller. It appears that the main board may have been originally intended for the FD1771 single-density controller, as the board revs I've seen don't have a suitable double-density data separator built in. On one of my units, the FD1791 is on a daughterboard with a typical analog data separator design using the WD1691 floppy support logic and a 74LS629 VCO. My other board has the FD1791 on the main board, but has some significant rework to install an SMC FDC9216B digital data separator chip in place of one of the TTL chips originally used by the main board design. I've seen other WD900 boards with the FDC9216B modification, so I think this was rework done at manufacturing time, rather than a field change. One aspect of the floppy controller design seems a bit unusual. The WD controllers have a HLD output used to tell the floppy drive to load the head, and an HLT input (Head Load Timing) to indicate that the head is loaded. After the controller asserts HLD, it waits for HLT to go true before proceeding with read, write, or format operations. A typical 8-inch drive takes 35 ms to load the head, and maybe a few more for head settling. A common way to wire the controller is to use an external one-shot triggered by HLD, with its output wired to HLT, and adjusted for a time delay a little longer than the drive requires for loading the head. 8-inch drives typically can either be jumpered to use a dedicated head load control line on the interface to control the head load solenoid, or to automatically load and unload the head as the drive select signal is asserted and deasserted. Normal 8-inch drives have the head load solenoid to do what was previously described, and run the spindle motor either all the time, or whenever a disk is inserted and the door closed. 5.25-inch drives, and some later 8-inch drives such as the Tandon TM848, do away with the head load solenoid and instead are intended to operate with the spindle motor active only when the drive is selected, or when a motor control signal is active. As such, they don't require any head load time, but instead require a motor startup time that is even longer; the slowest drives require about a second for spinup. With a WD controller, this is also sometimes accomodated by using the one-shot between HLD and HLT. Some WD-based controller designs, such as those in the TRS-80 Model I, III, and 4, are only intended for 5.25-inch drives (or the 8-inch drives that use motor control and no head load solenoid), and tie the READY signal from the drive to the HLT input of the FDC. The WD900 board tries to acommodate these variations by bringing the HLT signal to its DC37S connector, for the system integrator to wire up as desired. The only complete Pascal Microengine system I've seen up close in recent history had a hand-wired drive cable to 8-inch drives, with the HLT signal simply tied to a +5V pin on the same connector. The net effect of that is that the FD1791 asserts HLD, delays 15ms if the h bit of the command is 1, and does not delay any further. Unless the drive can actually load its head that quickly, this doesn't seem ideal, but I suppose it works because the FDC won't be able to read a valid sector address field until the head is loaded. For a write operation, I'd worry that the head might not have fully settled by the time the actual write begins, possibly leading to unreliable writes. To support proper head load or motor spinup timing, I put an optional PIC microcontroller and DIP switch on the adapter, to act as a digital delay between HLD and HLT, with sixteen switch-selectable delays. The drive select lines are wired to PIC inputs, so if desired, firmware could actually use different delays for different drive selects, if you mix drives with different head load timing requirements. I haven't yet written any PIC code for it. The board should basically work as described above with HLT jumpered to +5V, without the PIC and related components installed. The adapter has both a 50-pin connector for 8-inch drives, and a 34-pin connector for 5.25-inch or 3.5-inch drives. It is intended for one connector or the other to be used, but not both. Even if you use a combination of drives that all use the 500 kbps transfer rate, having them cabled separately to the two connectors could result in termination problems. Naturally, only hours after ordering the PCBs I thought of improvements that I'd like to make to the design, but I don't anticipate that there will be a second run of boards. I don't presently have any bootable disk for the Pascal Microengine, so I'm not yet able to test the adapter. However, if anyone else needs such a thing, I have a small number of bare boards that can be made available inexpensively. (I don't have time to assemble boards other than for myself.) If there's any interest, I'll publish the Eagle design files, gerber and excellon files, a PDF of the schematic, and source and object code for the PIC firmware. The firmware will be GPLv3 licensed, and the other design files with be under a Creative Commons license, probably CC BY-SA 4.0.

10 years, 6 months

3
4
0 0

Wanted: NEC PC-8001A Mini-Disk Module PC-8031A

by todd.george＠gmail.com

Hi there everyone. I'm hunting for an NEC PC-8031A mini-disk module for the NEC PC-8001A computer. I have the computer itself and PC-8012A expansion chassis already. Additionally looking for anything else relating to this computer that you might have kicking around and be willing to part with. Including but not limited to the "Wedge", expansion unit cabling, expansion cards, etc. Note: I have seen the one floating periodically on eBay and am keeping a close eye on eBay in general for this unit so am looking for leads outside of that. If anyone has stuff for this computer, please contact me off-list. I'm near Philadelphia and willing to drive to avoid you having to pack/ship. Not against shipping stuff either. Thanks!! -Todd

10 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

IBM Mainframe terminal stuff

by seefriek＠gmail.com

From: Mike Ross <tmfdmike at gmail.com> > I have a 3172 controller; physically rough and needs restoration but *should* work if > I can fake the remote connection and modem - bisync etc. B From: Paul Berger <phb.hfx at gmail.com> > you need a modem eliminator mostly to provide the clocks for the sync data line, > other than that is is similar to a null modem. Not sure if this would work here, but the Cisco IOS "IBM Feature Set" has support for all sorts of weird bisync use cases. I've used it to fake termination of an ALC (Airline Line Control) bisync connection where a modem connection was expected. You can then convert, tunnel or bridge to any number of other strange things. There even exists an IBM channel attach card for the Cisco 7k routers that turns it into the equivalent of a 3172 and/or 3745. KJ

10 years, 6 months

2
2
0 0

Design tools Was: Mystery IC: Allen Bradley 314B102

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Brent Hilpert > I need to move to something newer but I haven't evaluated current > schematic-drawing programs Dave Bridgham got me started with KiCAD, and that seems like a pretty good system to me. It has separate sub-systems for schematic capture; circuitry checking; netlist generation; PCB layout; etc, etc. I've only worked with the first three, but it seemed pretty good for them. > I'm a little concerned they won't provide the degree of control or > finesse I like Well, you'll have to try it and see, but it's pretty customizable: they provide libraries of common components, but it has a nice component editor for drawing up new ones (or customizing the ones it comes with). Component location and line routing (in the schematic capture) are manual, but it's grid-based, so things line up. Noel

10 years, 6 months

5
4
0 0

Help locating a 1975/76 Datanetics Rev B or Rev D keyboard

by applecorey＠optonline.net

I?m looking for an original Datanetics keyboard circa 1975/76 like the one Mike Willegal makes a reproduction for, not the more common Apple ][ datanetics keyboard. I have built one of his reproductions, but I?m looking for an original. http://www.willegal.net/appleii/apple1-datanetics.htm <http://www.willegal.net/appleii/apple1-datanetics.htm> Anyone have one they are willing to part with? Thanks, Corey986

10 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

IBM Mainframe terminal stuff

by ggs＠shiresoft.com

I?ve been tinkering around with my IBM Mainframe terminals and I?m pretty close to having everything the way that I want it. I currently have an IBM 3174-61R Establishment controller connecting to my ?mainframes? via TCP/IP. This allows me to not only connect to my Multiprise 3000 S/390 but also some PCs running Hercules to allow me to run older versions of the mainframe OS?s. I currently have 3 IBM 3179 terminals hooked up. I?ve upgraded the 3174 to be able to boot from a hard disk (it was a supported option). I actually purchased the upgrade from a reputable vendor but after many attempts we could not actually get it to do anything useful. I learned about DavidG?s MFM emulator and that?s now installed in the 3174 which happily boots from it. I still have to figure out a permanent mount for it since the standard 3174 HDD mounts don?t work for the MFM emulator board. One of the last things that I wanted to figure out was how to support multiple sessions. I had configured the 3174 to support multiple sessions on each terminal but following the documentation, I could never figure out how to actually switch between the sessions. Well today I managed to do that. Success! I finally figured out the key sequence for switching sessions. It doesn?t match the IBM documentation. It?s not clear to me if that?s because I haven?t configured something properly on the 3174 or if there?s some other reason behind it. Since I also have the AEA feature that allows me to connect ASCII terminals to the 3174, my next project will be to hook up a couple of the terminals that?re deemed ?compatible? (VT100, ADM5 are on the list) and see how that works. But that also involves navigating the 3174 configuration process which is opaque to say the least (there are configuration screens but you need a manual because the fields only have numbers (e.g. 721) to identify them and no other indication as to how they need to be filled in). Oh, the other bizarre thing about the 3174 that?s been configured with TCP/IP is that I can also connect to ?unix? servers with the 3174?s (and the ASCII terminals too). It?ll be interesting to see how that works on a CUT mode terminal. ;-) TTFN - Guy

10 years, 6 months

6
13
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IBM PS/2 Model 70 HARD DRIVE NEEDED

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

ok we have this In the PS/2 days there where suitcase size machines with plasma displays but they only had a single diskette drive that folded out of the front, we also have the dual disc laptop 1st thing IBM made with lcd then we also have a one that is like a suitcase compaq portable that made compaq famous ok thinks for it all being non scsi! Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org) In a message dated 12/18/2015 1:15:22 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, ggs at shiresoft.com writes: > On Dec 18, 2015, at 12:03 PM, Paul Berger <phb.hfx at gmail.com> wrote: > >> > The screen on the convertable is not plasma, it is a LCD screen and there where two versions one reflective and the other backlit. In the PS/2 days there where suitcase size machines with plasma displays but they only had a single diskette drive that folded out of the front, one model is the 8573-P70. There where 386 and 486 versions of these machines with microchannel card slots and a SCSI disk. > Again, no. They did not ship with a SCSI disk. They used the same disks as were in the model 50 & 70 (which were *not* SCSI). A number of us at IBM (who worked on the SCSI cards spock & tribble) did fit the card (usually spock because it had 512KB of cache) and an IBM 320MB SCSI drive in the P70. It was *not* a standard (ie orderable) configuration but at the time created a wicked machine! TTFN - Guy

10 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

WTB: Fluke 9005/9010 pods or whole fluke 9005/9010 with pods

by rescue＠hawkmountain.net

Looking for some Fluke Micro System Troubleshooter stuff: Looking for the following key caps: AUTO, BUS, RAM SHORT, and C Bonus key caps (not needed, but better ones would be nice): RAM LONG, I/O, 1, 2 Also looking for PODS for: 6502 Z80 6809 8080 If you have any of these available, please let me know what you have and a price. Thanks, -- Curt

10 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Decisions you regret (classiccmp related)

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Doug Ingraham > I regret that when I obtained my Straight 8 system in the early 80's I > chose not to take the ASR-35. > ... > A glass terminal is not the same experience as a teletype. Thank goodness for that! I had the 'joy' of using exclusively Teletypes for the first two years I worked with computers, and I didn't (and still don't) miss them one bit! Which is not to say I look down on those who collect/restore them, I understand they are an important part of the history, and I salute those who are into them. I'm just saying that, as a user, I was glad to move on! Noel

10 years, 6 months

3
2
0 0

Mystery IC: Allen Bradley 314B102

by tmfdmike＠gmail.com

Folks, I'm still probing the alleged "parallel ASCII" interface that was supposedly fitted to my 'Western I/O' converted IBM 2970 Selectric. Here's where we're at: http://corestore.org/2970pins.jpg I've traced the pins from the DB25 connector back to the board; the ribbon cable in the above pic is straight-through to the DB25. It doesn't resemble any interface with which I'm familiar, and I can't see how it can possibly be parallel. Only the following pins (these are the DB25 pin numbers remember) connect to any pins or devices on the interface board: 9, 10, 11, 13, 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24. All other pins are either unconnected, or ground. Of the above 10 pins, 11, 13, 22 & 23 are high at power-up (printer NOT connected to any interface). The only pin with known function is 19, which is 'paper out'; if I toggle the paper out switch I can see it going high and low. There is no frigging way that can be a conventional 8-bit parallel interface, obviously, with only 10 pins in use, and 4 or 5 of them (depending on paper out) high on power-up - obviously signaling something. Whatever it is, most of the pins are driven by an IC - an Allen Bradley 314B102. Google has nothing, except a few for sale. No datasheet anywhere I can find. Can anyone give me a clue as to the purpose and pinouts of an Allen Bradley 314B102??!! Here's the component side of the driver board, the interface and 314B102 bottom right: http://corestore.org/2970driver.jpg Help? Please? Anyone out there with old reference material? Anyone make a stab at what the hell this interface might be??? Maybe, maybe, it's some kind of custom 'internal' interface and was intended to be used with a (missing) external converter box/cable that made a standard parallel interface of it?? Mike http://www.corestore.org 'No greater love hath a man than he lay down his life for his brother. Not for millions, not for glory, not for fame. For one person, in the dark, where no one will ever know or see.'

10 years, 6 months

12
31
0 0

What did computers without screens do?

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Chuck Guzis > It's also occurred to me that without screens, we might be better off > today ... The average web-surfing experience blasts the user with tons > of filigree and useless data, but very little useful information. ... > Web sites that have multi-megabyte splash screens that serve no purpose > other than tell you that you've arrived. Agree completely. The amount of useless 'eye candy' on the average Web page is, well, appalling. But then again, the low S/N on developing technologies, as worthless content expands faster than high quality - well, that's nothing new, look at TV. > (oh boy, am I going to get flack on this one) Not so much! Most seem to agree, actually! :-) > Data is cheap and Parkinson's law applies. "90% of _everything_ is crap!" Noel

10 years, 6 months

4
3
0 0

IBM PS/2 Model 70 HARD DRIVE NEEDED

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

OK Yea they were odd inside we have tower here.. think it is a 70 and a 17" or 19 inch MONSTER ibm monitor ( alas B/W). Years and Years ago someone dumped a bunch at a thrift shop.. lots of them! neat here I wish I had kept more of them... I kept the tower and let the desk tops go you see seldom any of these around here. We also kept a LAPTOP IBM with dual floppies and a odd plasma screen all in one IBM computer... and we have an IBM that is like the Compaq Portable and of course a first PC ( where do I get Charlie Chapman look-a-like to have next to it!?) Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org) In a message dated 12/18/2015 12:08:25 A.M. US Mountain Standard Tim, ggs at shiresoft.com writes: No they weren't SCSI. Those were only through either a "spock" or "tribble" MCA card. Those were the code names. I have *no* idea what the "real" IBM designation was. ;-) The desktop PS/2 machines (50, 50Z, 70, etc) were all designed with robotic assembly in mind (that's why there are no screws or cables in those machines). To accomplish that the HDD was a non-standard connector. TTFN - Guy On 12/17/15 10:30 PM, COURYHOUSE at aol.com wrote: > did all mod 70s have SCSI drives? > > Ed# > > > In a message dated 12/17/2015 10:54:50 P.M. US Mountain Standard Tim, > mokuba at gmail.com writes: > > I never saw this post, but did end up with a 30MB. I will take another if > available though. > > On Sat, Mar 21, 2015 at 1:27 PM, Daniel Snyder <ddsnyder at zoominternet.net> > wrote: > >> Still looking? >> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gary Sparkes" <mokuba at gmail.com> >> To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" < >> cctalk at classiccmp.org>; <unallocated-space at googlegroups.com>; " >> Blabber at hacdc.org" <blabber at hacdc.org>; "HacDC Members Discussion List" < >> members at hacdc.org> >> Sent: Monday, February 16, 2015 9:31 PM >> Subject: IBM PS/2 Model 70 HARD DRIVE NEEDED >> >> >> >> Got a hard down situation and need to re-install/recreate the BBS system > I >>> had running. >>> >>> HDD makes swishy noises when shaken, haven't tried stirring yet. >>> >>> I /guess/ a bootable MCA SCSI card would work too... ;) >>> >>> I had the 160MB drive, but anything above 30 would work - i guess i'll >>> just >>> have to use a SCSI Drive for the file storage area once i get an MCA > SCSI >>> card .... >>> >>> -- >>> Gary G. Sparkes Jr. >>> KB3HAG >>> >> > > -- > Gary G. Sparkes Jr. > KB3HAG >

10 years, 6 months

4
4
0 0

Classic CMP list fall over again?

by woyciesjes＠sbcglobal.net

Did the email server fall over again? -- --- Dave Woyciesjes --- ICQ# 905818 --- CompTIA A+ Certified IT Tech -http://certification.comptia.org/ --- HDI Certified Support Center Analyst -http://www.ThinkHDI.com/ Registered Linux user number 464583 "Computers have lots of memory but no imagination." "The problem with troubleshooting is that trouble shoots back." - from some guy on the internet.

10 years, 6 months

2
3
0 0

Decisions you regret (classiccmp related)

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

Noel wrote.... ----------------- Every time I think about it I kick myself... Sigh! Although I suspect a lot of people here have stories like that... ----------------- Yeah Noel, we all do. I had a couple different really great machines offered to me long before I got into collecting. A DG nova 3 and an IBM System/3 come to mind, I'm sure there were others. I declined and they were scrapped. But here's one with a good ending.... Many years ago (I was around 19 years old) I acquired two Microdata Reality M1600 core machines (including full schematics and source code, completely unheard of for those machines). These two particular systems were very unique (basically one of a kind) even within the microdata world. After a time my parents ordered them out of the house and a "friend" agreed to store them. A few weeks after moving them to his house, he informed me that he gave them away and wouldn't tell me to who/where. Decades later I got into collecting, found the classiccmp list, met Jim Stephens here, and we've talked on the phone and met due to our shared history/interest in Pick-based machines. During one conversation it was discovered that - not directly, but through several chains of trades/sales/pickups - Jim Stephens had those exact two systems that I used to own. Given the unique nature of the two machines, there's no doubt they are the exact same ones. But we've also discussed the details of who we each knew, and pretty much ironed out who all's hands they passed through between him and I over the years. So... while I am sad I "let those machines go"... it's great to know that they eventually wound up in a great home of a fellow collector that I know - instead of the shredder! Best, J

10 years, 6 months

11
13
0 0

Mystery IC: Allen Bradley 314B102

by gerardcjat＠free.fr

@ Brent Hilpert May I ask what software you use for creating your schematics ?? I like the way gates are drawn. Thanks ! --- L'absence de virus dans ce courrier ?lectronique a ?t? v?rifi?e par le logiciel antivirus Avast. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

10 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Re-inking printer ribbons

by jules.richardson99＠gmail.com

Has anyone had any luck re-inking printer ribbons? I spent a few minutes looking at this Vic 1525 printer that I got the other day - turned out that the carriage was just gummed up and there was a blown fuse in the PSU section (probably related to the former problem). Of course the ribbon is completely dried out. I'd originally intended for the printer to be a static "Hey, that looks neat" item, but looking at it briefly, it's a good example of how to make a printer as cheaply as possible, so I'm wondering if there's a way of breathing life back into the ribbon so that it can print again in all it's noisy, glacially-slow glory :-) I don't care if it's not as black as an original ribbon would have been - it just might be nice if it was able to print something legible. cheers Jules

10 years, 6 months

7
8
0 0

Decisions you regret

by mark＠markesystems.com

From: "js at cimmeri.com" <js at cimmeri.com> Subject: Re: Decisions you regret > mark at markesystems.com wrote: >> >> Yep. Among the things that I have >> given away (to Goodwill, or possibly >> Salvation Army) - all in running >> condition: > .... > > I'm going to go shoot myself now. > ~~ > > I'm curious, why were these given to > a Goodwill / Salvation Army of all > places? These places don't have the > first clue of what to do with items like > these.. and they tend to be overwhelmed > with stuff anyway. Not everything goes > out for sale. My reasons at the time: - All equipment was pretty much at its minimum value-wise - It could still be priced relatively highly for tax deduction reasons - I was very space constrained, and not using it at the time - I'd just gotten married (see "Spousal unit", in a later post) None of them good enough in hindsight for the value that equipment would have now, either to me or others. Damn - too bad I pawned that old Colt Paterson - I bet it would be worth something by now... ~~ Mark Moulding

10 years, 6 months

4
3
0 0

TOP POSTING (was: RE: Best 200 buck I have ever spent!!! Deal of a lifetime!!!

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

Please make an effort not to top-post :| J

10 years, 6 months

52
136
0 0

IBM PS/2 Model 70 HARD DRIVE NEEDED

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

did all mod 70s have SCSI drives? Ed# In a message dated 12/17/2015 10:54:50 P.M. US Mountain Standard Tim, mokuba at gmail.com writes: I never saw this post, but did end up with a 30MB. I will take another if available though. On Sat, Mar 21, 2015 at 1:27 PM, Daniel Snyder <ddsnyder at zoominternet.net> wrote: > Still looking? > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gary Sparkes" <mokuba at gmail.com> > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" < > cctalk at classiccmp.org>; <unallocated-space at googlegroups.com>; " > Blabber at hacdc.org" <blabber at hacdc.org>; "HacDC Members Discussion List" < > members at hacdc.org> > Sent: Monday, February 16, 2015 9:31 PM > Subject: IBM PS/2 Model 70 HARD DRIVE NEEDED > > > > Got a hard down situation and need to re-install/recreate the BBS system I >> had running. >> >> HDD makes swishy noises when shaken, haven't tried stirring yet. >> >> I /guess/ a bootable MCA SCSI card would work too... ;) >> >> I had the 160MB drive, but anything above 30 would work - i guess i'll >> just >> have to use a SCSI Drive for the file storage area once i get an MCA SCSI >> card .... >> >> -- >> Gary G. Sparkes Jr. >> KB3HAG >> > > -- Gary G. Sparkes Jr. KB3HAG

10 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

IBM PS/2 Model 70 HARD DRIVE NEEDED

by mokuba＠gmail.com

Got a hard down situation and need to re-install/recreate the BBS system I had running. HDD makes swishy noises when shaken, haven't tried stirring yet. I /guess/ a bootable MCA SCSI card would work too... ;) I had the 160MB drive, but anything above 30 would work - i guess i'll just have to use a SCSI Drive for the file storage area once i get an MCA SCSI card .... -- Gary G. Sparkes Jr. KB3HAG

10 years, 6 months

2
2
0 0

WTB: PDP-11/03 front bezel

by pontus＠Update.UU.SE

Hi It's a longshot. But recently I aquired two BA11-N. One is just the cage and power supply. Looks just like this: http://www.ricomputermuseum.org/_/rsrc/1300059803599/Home/equipment/dec-pdp… The other came with mounting box but no front panel. I would like to make it complete with the white front bezel seen here: http://hampage.hu/pdp11/kepek/11-03.jpg Does anyone have one for sale? The greyish plastic arround the front panel would be a bonus since mine got a small crack in it. Regards, Pontus.

10 years, 6 months

7
9
0 0

Another apple II+ repair

by terry＠webweavers.co.nz

For anyone interested, here's another repair writeup. I didn't keep as good a notes as I should have on this one and the memory (my memory!) is of little help. If I'm going write these things up I really should do it straight afterwards! Anyway, the board lives now. It's something I could never have diagnosed just from chip swapping. http://www.classic-computers.org.nz/blog/2015-12-05-repairing-an-appleII+-b… I did learn that it's possible for the machine to boot to BASIC even with faulty RAM in the first row, something that I didn't think was possible. Depends on the nature of the fault I guess. Terry (Tez)

10 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

The Structure of SYSTEM/360 (Blaauw & Brooks, et al.)

by pbirkel＠gmail.com

This was the five-part seminal description of the S/360, published in the IBM Systems Journal, Volume 3, Number 2. I've very much like to read all five parts. Does anyone have a copy that might be shared? Thank you, paul

10 years, 6 months

2
2
0 0

Decisions you regret Was: Mystery IC: Allen Bradley

by mark＠markesystems.com

From: jnc at mercury.lcs.mit.edu (Noel Chiappa) Subject: Re: Decisions you regret Was: Mystery IC: Allen Bradley > > From: Brent Hilpert > > > I threw out a print-only selectric a few years ago ... Regret it now, > > just because it would have been fun to figure it out. C'est la vie. > > I can top that. <...> > Every time I think about it I kick myself... Sigh! > > Although I suspect a lot of people here have stories like that... Yep. Among the things that I have given away (to Goodwill, or possibly Salvation Army) - all in running condition: - A complete HP-1000 system: A600 processor with internal hard drive, serial card + 8-port serial mux, all floppies, all documentation, a 2631G printer, 7912 13 MB disk drive, and two 2624B terminals - My CP/M "network", with Cromemco Z2-H with two 5 MB hard drives and two 8" floppies, 8-port serial card, connected to three H-19 terminals (the BIOS allowed you to become the console by typing ^C anywhere), HP2648 graphics terminal with tape cartridges, HP 2762 terminal (a re-badged GE Terminet-300), and an H-89 with three external floppies - Ancient SCM TypeTronic system, with the main typewriter console, two 30 CPS optical paper-tape readers, two really nice (re-branded CDC) 30 CPS punches, 2816 main control unit, and 7816 arithmetic unit (with internal fixed-head disk - 9 words plus a buffer, 30 digits/sec transfer rate!) - Abandoned to rust away in a garage: a Teletype KSR-33 with punch and reader, of course, and a built-in modem with acoustic coupler, in perfect condition - Turned down - a complete HP-3000 system, with two Eagle 76936 512 MB drives, 32 serial ports, 2617A 600 LPM printer, and a few 2640 and 2622 terminals Did I mention that *everything* was in perfect working condition? I'm going to go shoot myself now. ~~ Mark Moulding

10 years, 6 months

6
5
0 0

Decisions you regret Was: Mystery IC: Allen Bradley 314B102

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Brent Hilpert > I threw out a print-only selectric a few years ago ... Regret it now, > just because it would have been fun to figure it out. C'est la vie. I can top that. MIT offered me (as a gift) the PDP-11/45 that I used to run; it included a pair of CalComp 50MB drives, a pair of RK05s, an ABLE ENABLE, 3 H960's, lots of other goodies. I blew it off, I was too busy dealing with other things at the time (I was on the IESG at that point) to deal with arranging to get it shipped down to me. They gave it to someone else, and near as I can work out, eventually it got scrapped. Every time I think about it I kick myself... Sigh! Although I suspect a lot of people here have stories like that... Noel

10 years, 6 months

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Diablo 3000 schematics wanted

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

I suspect the answer is no, but before I spend a few afternoons tracing out the diagrams, does anyone have a schematic or (real) service manual for the Diablo/Xerox 3000 computer, in particular the MRPRO CPU board. This is a 1980s all-in-one business desktop computer with 2 internal 8" drives. Based on an 8085 CPU. I have one that was mangled in the house-move (the movers decided to cut the keyboard cable for me). I have now repaired that (and the signals do make sense) but I have other faults (these were probably there before the move, I had not run it for many years). Power lines are fine, CPU chip is getting a clock, but the ready pin is held low. So not a lot happening.... The CPU board is not complicated, really (about 50 ICs, all of them standard) so it is going to be possible for me to trace the schematic if that's what is needed... -tony

10 years, 6 months

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Precision Instruments PI1200 7 track tape drive, interest anyone?

by mattislind＠gmail.com

We have this Precision Instruments PI1200 7 track tape drive. It can do 200 bpi, 556 bpi and 800 bpi. It should be an incremental type tape drive. Once upon a time (read seventies) it was used for experiments storing PCM audio on tape. But has since then not been used. The manual is somewhere nearby, but I didn't find it immediately. http://i.imgur.com/kYVLN9O.jpg http://i.imgur.com/LsWcLL0.jpg http://i.imgur.com/1LJLKAZ.jpg I guess that someone that need to recover old 7 track tapes might think it can be useful. It is located in Sweden. /Mattis

10 years, 6 months

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DEC CPUs, Memory for sale

by useddec＠gmail.com

I have the following for sale from zip 61853. The "L" boards are up to 2 for $10 shipping within USA, 3 for $10 shipping for the "M" boards. For larger quantity, overseas shipments, or other question, please contact me off list. Quantities are limited, and I may have some third party memory i'll look for this weekend. L4000-AA ,KA670 I think, $100 L4001-Bx MS670 32MB $125 L4001-Cx MS670 64MB $200 L4004-Cx MS690 64MB $125 L4004-Dx MS670 128MB $225 M7606 KA630 $75 M7620 KA650 $100 M8637 MSV11 starting at $75 I still have a few RX8-E boards left... Thanks, Paul

10 years, 6 months

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Anyone want a copy of DIGITAL ServerWORKS Manager ?

by glen.slick＠gmail.com

Before I chuck these in the recycle bin, does anyone want a copies of DIGITAL ServerWORKS Manager? I have two boxes, QB-4QYAA-SA 3.2 sealed in shrink wrap, and QB-4QYAA-SA 3.3 open box that is slightly crushed. The boxes (at least the still sealed one) look like this eBay item (not mine) listing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/321413114710 The DIGITAL ServerWORKS? Manager Installation and User Guide in the QB-4QYAA-SA 3.3 open box is the ER-4QXAA-UA. G01 version of the ER-4QXAA-UA. H01 manual here: http://manx.classiccmp.org/collections/mds-199909/cd2/network/4qxaauah.pdf It doesn't look like there is a market for these worth the bother of listing them on eBay. Free for the cost of covering postage from Seattle, WA if anyone wants them. -Glen

10 years, 6 months

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IBM CMS dumpfile idiocy

by cclist＠sydex.com

Just finished reading a 9 track tape made with IBM CMS in its dumpfile format. Why on earth--or might I say, what idiot--designed this format? First the file data in a series of records, *then* the file name and other metadata. Anyone know of a DOS/Windows/Unix utility to unravel one of these things? I don't feel too much like coding for a single tape. --Chuck

10 years, 6 months

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M7859 KY11-LB PROM contents?

by mattislind＠gmail.com

Has anyone dumped the contents of the bipolar PROMs of the M7859, KY11-LB, programmer's console form the 11/34 and 11/04? Dump for both the program PROMS (512x4 4 pieces) and the decoding PROM (32x8 one piece) are sought after. It has a 8008 chip onboard but my logic analyzer trace is not matching very well with the listing in the manual. Maybe the revisions have changed from the manual. And I cannot find the PROM contents in the engineering drawing. /Mattis

10 years, 6 months

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IBM Selectric-based Terminals

by pbirkel＠gmail.com

> - intention was to rip all this out and convert it to a full I/O serial terminal, using an Arduino-based setup > that Lawrence Wilkinson has already built and tested: > https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljw/sets/72157632841492802/with/9201494189/ Looks very nice! Is there documentation for it somewhere? I also have a Selectric (unfortunately it's located distant from me at the moment so I can't provide particulars) that I worked on interfacing to a micro in the mid-70's. I was using a MC6800 in my recollection, but I don't believe that I ever achieved operational status. Presumably I was working from an article in one of the hobbyist magazines of the era. I would have guessed Byte, but that doesn't seem to be the case based on recent search. Any hints from folks on what magazine/article that might have been? The Selectric wasn't one of the curvy(ier) office models; I recall it being a rather boxy affair with plenty of right-angles on the housing and a medium shade of blue -- presumably "IBM Blue". Rather utilitarian in design. Even *more* utilitarian than this one: http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/selectric/100112-Selectric-in-situ.jpg It included a full keyboard. I'm not sure anymore whether it operated in local-mode or was set up as two separate devices and therefore needed to be connected up to a remote controller to get local copy. It might have been a rehoused Selectric mechanism in a third-party enclosure and the IBM-like color a red herring. My recollection is that it was longer front-to-back; presumably the rearward extension housed the additional electronics. I have absolutely no idea how I acquired it. No luck finding a matching photo online as yet. I believe that the Selectric came configured for remote operation, but presumably using an EBCDIC-based data stream. I vaguely recall a DB-50 connector, but it's been an awfully long time ... Does this description sound familiar to anyone? ----- paul

10 years, 6 months

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Interest level for new PDP-11 indicator panels

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> I'm trying to get a sense of how much demand there would be for the > indicator panel option (for parts ordering; I have a chance to buy some > discontinued stuff, and I want to know how much to stock up on). If you > would be interested in one or more indicator panels, could you let me > know? (Please don't reply to the list, just to me personally.) I should have mentioned that we'll likely do a UNIBUS version of the card (ENABLE+, and it should be easy to guess why that name :-) as soon as we're done with the QBUS one; the same indicator panels would be supported by both (so they count to the parts pool). So if you have a UNIBUS machine, and would be interested in adding an ENABLE+ _with indicator panels_, I would be interested to hear about those too. Thanks! Noel

10 years, 6 months

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Advice and Suggestions for a Debug Feature

by jhfinedp3k＠compsys.to

Sorry for that BAD stuff in the Subject line - my e-mail provider stuffs that in much of the time and I forget to remove it when I reply. If anyone needs a clean copy, I can send it again! Jerome Fine

10 years, 6 months

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[SPAM key] - Re: Advice and Suggestions for a Debug Feature

by jhfinedp3k＠compsys.to

>Tapley, Mark wrote: >>On Dec 16, 2015, at 9:22 AM, Jerome H. Fine <jhfinedp3k at compsys.to> wrote: > >>Note that for many CPUs, adding values (a push) results in the >>stack pointer becoming numerically smaller (unsigned of course). >>Internally, the code would handle the actual arithmetic. >> >(Warning: assembly language noob talking, please disregard if I see to be making no sense.) > >1) Does the debugger enhancement trigger a stop on overall size of stack pointer or on cumulative changes? Or could it be selectable (maybe via a negative argument?) > >Here?s what I?m thinking: suppose a routine is expected to remove things from the stack sequentially, then branch at some point to a subroutine. I want the debugger to halt execution when it branches. So I want the stop to occur when the stack pointer first increases, even if it has already decreased several times and its new value (on branching) is lower than where it was when the debug command was issued. > >2) Some machines (6809, which is the only one I?m familiar with) have a rapid-response branching mechanism for real-time control applications (on the 6809 it?s a Fast Interrupt input). Fewer registers are pushed onto the stack so the service routine can execute sooner. Is there a way to handle this situation? Say I expect two levels of subroutine calls, each stacking a full set of registers, but instead I get for the second subroutine a Fast Interrupt and don?t stack enough registers to trigger the debug counter to halt execution. > > Hope this is useful. > > - Mark > Yes, it is useful since it helps to be aware of what other systems do. So thank you. For those of you who might not have known, this is the Y01.16 Symbolic Debugger from RT-11 and in particular the SDHX.SYS variant. From the point of view of interrupts, when stopped at a breakpoint, the complete system is FROZEN - including RT-11 itself which is the operating system that is being used on the PDP-11. As for the user's stack, that is not even a factor since the Symbolic Debugger has its own stack and executes in Kernel mode. In fact, one of the other enhancements was to ass code to monitor the size of the stack for the Symbolic Debugger - which also allowed that stack to decrease. That was especially helpful since the stack must be in Low Memory in order to handle interrupts and subroutine calls. And as for the user's program stack, there is no effect at all. What the Symbolic Debugger does is save all of the user's registers, including the stack pointer of course. The enhanced code would then compare the original value of the Stack Pointer (actually as noted after the current instruction had been executed) with any subsequent value to determine if the conditions had been met to stop the execution of additional instructions, assuming that the value of the Stack Pointer was included (via value2 and / or value3) in the command to execute more instructions. Jerome Fine

10 years, 6 months

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Advice and Suggestions for a Debug Feature

by jhfinedp3k＠compsys.to

I have been investigating the possibility of adding an enhanced feature to a debug program. There does not seem to be anything specific about the concept, so it should be applicable to every current CPU in addition to most old CPUs. The current syntax for many debuggers uses the letter "S" along with an optional value to specify a Single Step (or ONE instruction to be executed when the value is omitted) or a number of Single Steps (a number of instructions) equal to the optional value. Of the two different debuggers for the CPU, operating system and code which I use most of the time, both debuggers display the same information for each of the Single Steps, specifically the actual instruction that will executed and the values of the registers immediately before the instruction is executed. So if a total of 5 instructions are executed, the display is updated 5 times. For the debugger that I wish to enhance, the actual syntax is: value1,value2,value3;S and at present, value2 and value3 are ignored. My question concerns using value2 and value3 to specify the limits by which the stack pointer may change, specifically by adding data (also called a push) and subtracting data (also called a pop) to the stack in whatever manner the program uses to alter the value of the stack pointer register, respectively. Note that for many CPUs, adding values (a push) results in the stack pointer becoming numerically smaller (unsigned of course). Internally, the code would handle the actual arithmetic. For example, if the user specifies: 45,4,2;S then: (a) Up to 45 instructions are executed (b) If the stack has 4 or more pushes, instructions stop (c) If the stack has 2 or more pops, instructions stop Additional information: (a) Scroll / NoScroll is enabled, so the user can pause / resume at any time (b) Any single character by the user stops instructions (c) All pushes and pops are noted AFTER the current instruction is executed - which allows subroutine calls to be automatically handled as per the examples Defaults: (a) If no values are supplied (ONLY ";S"), then "1;S" is assumed and ONE instruction is executed (b) The debugger supports <ESC> in place of ";S" which supports Single Stepping with a single key (c) If any value is omitted, that limitation does not apply More Examples: ,,1;S instructions are executed until the code returns from the subroutine - IF the current instruction calls a subroutine ,,1;S instructions are executed until the code returns to the previous subroutine - IF the current instruction does NOT call a subroutine ,,1;S instructions are executed until the code restores the stack pointer - IF the current instruction does a push or creates space on the stack ,1,2;S instructions are executed until the code calls a second subroutine OR the code returns to the previous subroutine - IF the current code calls a subroutine 55,1,1;S 55 instructions are executed OR until the code calls a second subroutine OR the code returns to the current subroutine - IF the current instruction calls a subroutine 55,1,1;S 55 instructions are executed OR until the code calls a subroutine OR the code returns the the previous subroutine - IF the current instruction does NOT call a subroutine Many more examples could be considered, but that seems to be about the concept that I have. Please advise and comment. Please make any suggestions that would be any improvement and, most important, point out any problems that I have not considered. Jerome Fine

10 years, 6 months

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Interest level for new PDP-11 indicator panels

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

So I've mention that Dave Bridgham and I are working on a new QBUS board (the 'QSIC', for lack of a more imaginative name) that will emulate a variety of older DEC disk controllers/drives using a micro-controller/FPGA and SD cards. (We currently have one prototype [for Dave] mostly constructed, and another [for me] half-way done.) Since Dave and I are both blinkenlitz addicts, we're doing an indicator panel option, emulating exactly the look of the old DEC indictor panels (4x36 lights, with 'inlays' to customize a panel to particular controller, mounted in a 5-1/4 panel for a 19" rack). (These panels are specific to the QSIC, and don't work with the original controllers.) A QSIC will be able to drive up to 4 (or so) indicator panels - I plan to have 3 on my machine: RK11, RP11, and a fixed-head disk. So I'm trying to get a sense of how much demand there would be for the indicator panel option (for parts ordering; I have a chance to buy some discontinued stuff, and I want to know how much to stock up on). If you would be interested in one or more indicator panels, could you let me know? (Please don't reply to the list, just to me personally.) Thanks. Noel

10 years, 6 months

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Accessible Computing (Was "Re: Display-less computing")

by captainkirk359＠gmail.com

On 13 December 2015 at 13:46, Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com> wrote: > At CDC Sunnyvale ops back in the 1970s, we had a blind programmer working. > His job output came as punched cards and he had no problem reading them by > feel. I remember him and his beautiful guide dog. > Hmm, that kinda makes sense. It would be kinda/sorta like braille. (I guess that would also work for punched tape as well.) I couldn't tell you how good it would be though, I might be vision impaired, but not enough that I've learnt braille. I wonder if any minis or mainframes (or micros) could actually produce output as braille... > In the same sort of spirit, I recall that one of the secretaries used a > monitor-cum-camera affair to enlarge her work documents so that she could > read them. > CCTV readers. They're still a thing. The tests and exams centre at my university has a bunch of them (one each per exam room, and a bunch of old analogue ones still sitting about). I find the older analogue ones are better than the newer digital ones. If only because the text zoom is more "fluid" (my preferred size of "embiggened" (what, it's a perfectly cromulent word) text is right between two of the settings on the machines we have which is mildly annoying); they also have less artefacts when using non-standard video modes (reverse video, or high contrast modes). > It's sad that early corporate efforts to accommodate all people, no matter > the impairment, aren't better documented. > I'd buy a book on that in a heartbeat; necause that is very much of interest to myself. I know DEC had their DECtalk speech synthesizers (isn't the eminent Dr. Hawking's voice an old DECtalk?) and they could be connected to serial lines. Regards, Christian -- Christian M. Gauger-Cosgrove STCKON08DS0 Contact information available upon request.

10 years, 6 months

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Rectangular holes punched from cards [was RE: Display-less computing]

by RichA＠LivingComputerMuseum.org

From: Fred Cisin Sent: Tuesday, December 15, 2015 9:12 AM > My father claimed that the use of round holes on divergent cards was due > to an attempt by IBM to patent the shape of the hole in the cards. http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/ibm100/us/en/icons/punchcard/ Prior to 1928, the holes in IBM's cards were round, too. The use of round holes by Univac was an avoidance of paying royalties to IBM, which held a patent on 80-column rectangularly punched cards. Rich Rich Alderson Vintage Computing Sr. Systems Engineer Living Computer Museum 2245 1st Avenue S Seattle, WA 98134 mailto:RichA at LivingComputerMuseum.org http://www.LivingComputerMuseum.org/

10 years, 6 months

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Mystery IC: Allen Bradley 314B102

by gerardcjat＠free.fr

HI, I would take the bet that this IC is simply a R network, 1 KOhm, 1 resistor "across" ie from pin 1 to opposite pin, from pin 2 to opposite pin, etc .... What about simple and quick Ohmmeter check ?? --- L'absence de virus dans ce courrier ?lectronique a ?t? v?rifi?e par le logiciel antivirus Avast. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

10 years, 6 months

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Making a serial board for Briel Altair Micro

by dave＠661.org

After fiddling around with my Briel Altair Micro, I've come to desire more than just the console serial port. To that end, I read up on the 16550A UART, line drivers, line receivers, and schematics for other implementations of serial ports. I came up with this: http://661.org/tmp/altairmicro-serial.pdf How close am I to this design making sense and working? -- David Griffith dave at 661.org A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text. Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing? A: Top-posting. Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

10 years, 6 months

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PDP 11/05 S vs 11/05 NC

by billdegnan＠gmail.com

Just to change the subject.. There were "S" and an "NC" version of 11/05 high profile system. Why? I am curious if any DEC historians here know the reason for two versions of the same DEC PDP 11/05 *high profile* computer (not talking about the low profile). There are separate manuals for each type. The S seems to be more OEM-ish because it comes in an BA11-K chassis. I am guessing you'd see an 11/05 S as part of a larger system (PDP 10), whereas the NC model would be for a stand alone system. ??? This S's BA11-K chassis was used by other hardware by simply changing the backplane. The "NC" model chassis seems to be specifically for the 11/05 I don't think it appears anywhere else. If anyone is interested to see the different models I have a thread on my site for each type: 11/05 S http://vintagecomputer.net/browse_thread.cfm?id=622 11/05 NC http://vintagecomputer.net/browse_thread.cfm?id=249 ... and then there are the 11/10's.... -- Bill

10 years, 6 months

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What did computers without screens do?

by kspt.tor＠gmail.com

On 15 December 2015 at 01:31, Mike <tulsamike3434 at gmail.com> wrote: > > On 12/14/2015 08:21 PM, Chuck Guzis wrote: >> Personally, I think the world is GUI-addicted. >> >> --Chuck >> > Chuck If I may ask... > > > What would you do with a home no screen computer? I mean what could be > done with one that would benefit your work / hobby. I mean NO DISREPECT > by asking this question. I'll jump in here - take the current microcontroller hobby segment. You have PIC, or AVR, or Propeller based setups which is used for all kind of things like programmed robots, model cars, drones and RC planes, home control, model trains, temperature- and humidity controlled garden greenhouses, chicken shed day/night door control, and numerous other uses. These things are computers, a Propeller, for example, is an 8-core 32-bit small computer all in one chip. Usually these things have no screen and no keyboard connected. So you program them by various other means, e.g. through a serial interface. For the programming part of it (or the preparation of what you load via the serial interface, or jtag or e.g. a flash or eeprom chip) you'll need something else, today that's usually a PC, but that's conceptually the same thing as in times past where you used a terminal or some device with a keyboard to prepare punched cards or paper tape.

10 years, 6 months

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PDP 11/05 S vs 11/05 NC

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: William Degnan > *why* did they make these two versions of the high-profile 11/05? > What was one used for vs. the other? *Why did DEC do this*? Check the dates on the machines. I'm pretty sure the -NC is the earlier version, with the bespoke H750 power supply (mounted alongside the boards, not at the end of the box as with the BA11-K, the basis for the -S). My guess as to why they upgraded from the -NC to the -S is that the latter used the H765 (plus 'bricks') power supply system, in common with the BA11-K and also the later PDP-11's (40's, 45's, etc). That probably provided a raft of advantages, including i) greater flexibility in the current and voltages being supplied, and ii) commonality with DEC's other machines (i.e. lower unit cost -> great per machine profit margin). The BA11-K based -S also (by being a couple of inches longer, and mounting the power supply off the back) had a couple of inches more width for boards, enough to hold an extra quad system unit. And the H765 may have been technically superior to the H750, too. Noel

10 years, 6 months

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Identifying Data General (or DG-related) console/terminal/whatsit?

by grif615＠mindspring.com

"Data General Alumni" ?lots of knowledge there. -------- Original message -------- From: Bruce Ray <Bruce at Wild-Hare.com> Date: 12/13/2015 7:09 PM (GMT-08:00) To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: Re: Identifying Data General (or DG-related) console/terminal/whatsit? Not identifiable as DG product - 3rd-party custom (graphics?) console for client?? (I can't read logo on bottom of console.) NOAA/NWS AFOS system had similar-looking system with interesting trackball/keyboard combination.? Then there was GE Medical... Bruce Wild Hare Computer Systems, Inc. bkr at WildHareComputers.com On 12/13/2015 5:22 PM, Josh Dersch wrote: > Hi all -- > > A friend of mine is investigating picking up some DG hardware, and this > item: > > http://yahozna.dyndns.org/scratch/dg/dg%20console.jpg > > Is included along with the rest of it.? I *know* I've seen something > like this somewhere but I can't find anything now that I need it :). Can > anyone identify this? > > Thanks, > - Josh

10 years, 6 months

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CBM 1541 drive faults

by jules.richardson99＠gmail.com

I have four 1541's now, two of which seem to init OK, and two of which sit there with the drive spindle constantly spinning and the access LEDs lit, the latter behavior which I believe indicates a multitude of possible microcontroller-related faults... I've done the obvious, reseating socketed ICs, checking the +12V and +5 rails, and checking the on-board CPU reset line. Does anyone have any tips for what's best to try next? I read somewhere that ROM faults aren't unheard of, ditto with 6522 VIA failures. Also the 74ls14 at UA1 (particularly if someone's unplugged the drive from the host with power on), but I think that affects CPU reset, which appears to be working in my units. (is the firmware interchangeable between different board revisions? i.e. can I swap in firmware from one of the drives that appear to init OK to rule that out as a fault, or do I have to worry about matching PCB revisions?) Also, has there been a worse external drive in the history of floppy storage? Slow, complicated, expensive and unreliable seems to have most bases covered ;-) cheers Jules

10 years, 6 months

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What did computers without screens do?

by blstuart＠bellsouth.net

On Mon, 12/14/15, Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks at gmail.com> wrote: > On Mon, Dec 14, 2015 at 2:05 PM, Mike <tulsamike3434 at gmail.com> wrote: >> On Dec 14, 2015, at 12:34 PM, Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com> wrote: >>> >>> The subject brought up the thought of how many display-less >>> computers we encounter every day without giving it a >>> thought.? I think that probably 100 would be a safe bet. >> >> .... if you think about it almost everything we touch has some kind of a >> computer cycle! ! ! GREAT POINT!!! > > Even lighting... I've pulled (and reused!) 8-pin PIC microcontrollers > out of discarded emergency lighting.? ... Along those lines, as I was preparing for a class I taught this quarter called Computing in the Small, I came across some interesting stats. Microchip crossed the 12 billion PICs shipped a few years ago and were running at nearly a billion a year then. ARM holdings quotes over 50 billion ARMs shipped. They estimate that about 60% of the Earth's population has daily contact with a device containing an ARM. That's not too far behind the 64% who have running water. And not all that long ago the 8051 was the most fabbed ISA in the world. The bottom line is that computers involving humans interacting through keyboards, mice, and screens are really just a niche in the computing world. Embedded systems are the predominant class of computing systems. Or to twist a line from Shakespeare, There's more in the universe of computing than is dreamt of in the PC philosophy. BLS

10 years, 6 months

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Webster WQSMD/04 Qbus SMD Controller

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

I picked up some Qbus cards yesterday. They seem to be board set for a MicroVAX II. However, one of the cards was, to me at least, a bit unusual. It was made by a company called Webster, and it appears to be a controller for SMD disks. I was not familiar with SMD disks and had to look them up. I suspect this might be a little out of the ordinary, and, possibly, an odd combination for a small Qbus system to access such a physically large type of disk. Were MicroVAX IIs used much with such disks? Is this a bit of an unusual find? Regards Rob

10 years, 6 months

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New Heathkit videos...

by geneb＠deltasoft.com

Part 2: Backplane Circuit Board: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdeHfcasBbM Part 3: RAM Board: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwbO4bBnpEg g.

10 years, 6 months

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Emergency Moderation Mode

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

Sorry, that last post ('Re: bye for now') was not intended to get through. The list was put into emergency moderation mode the past couple days so I have had to approve each post and apparently slipped on that one. Hopefully, people noticed the quick return to on-topicness the past day or two. Several last thoughts on the topic... Being the list owner, last I checked - I'm allowed to state my preference on things. I have a strong preference against top posting. I have never banned anyone for it. I see no problem with me stating that preference once in a (great) while, especially when new members first join the list. I also find it rather odd that people post ad-nauseum about how much they hate the off-topicness (or the specific off-topic post in question), when in fact the quickest/easiest way for a list member to end an off-topic thread (other than contacting me) is to simply not respond to the post. Venting your angst is a sure way to continue the flame-fest. In any case, I'll continue to moderate 100% of the inbound posts, until such time as I see things staying level-headed for a while. J

10 years, 6 months

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IDE knowledge anyone?

by marc.verdiell＠gmail.com

Danke sehr, Oliver! Is your implementation available online? Marc >>Marc Verdiell wrote: >> Do you mind providing links to any good implementations of IDE on >> ATMega you know of? >> Marc >Of course mine ;) >And http://www.opend.co.za/hardware/avride/avride.htm but I never verified

10 years, 6 months

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Bye for now... was: <insert a huge lot of bloat and offtopic here>

by simski＠dds.nl

Hi all. Another great day started with me deciding that thorwing away 70% of a list every day is not worthwhile any more. This list is acting like Whatsapp and Facebook more and more. It seems that a lot of people are unable to keep on topic. Its a shame. It would be so handy if people could refrain from "biting the troll". I am truly not interested in top, bottom posting, and other non classic computer blabla. Bye -- Met vriendelijke Groet, Simon Claessen drukknop.nl

10 years, 6 months

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Commodore 64?

by tulsamike3434＠gmail.com

If I would have known!!! WOW I would have just read more posts before I posted my first post look at this mess... There is no reason for people to be rude or disrespectful to new people like myself. I have never joined a place like this I know now that it has been said 1000000000000 times to scroll down and put my text there all I wanted to do was talk about my new Commodore 64's. Can we do that? I make a post about creepy pastas and all I got was made fun of? Do yall not want new people to join? I think I can learn a lot from here that's all I want to do! There are many Computer geniuses on here that I can learn a lot from that's what I'm interested in and I like Creepypasta's and I collect Honda ATC 3wheelers. But can we get back on track with the Commodore 64? Sent from my iPhone

10 years, 6 months

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Identifying Data General (or DG-related) console/terminal/whatsit?

by derschjo＠gmail.com

Hi all -- A friend of mine is investigating picking up some DG hardware, and this item: http://yahozna.dyndns.org/scratch/dg/dg%20console.jpg Is included along with the rest of it. I *know* I've seen something like this somewhere but I can't find anything now that I need it :). Can anyone identify this? Thanks, - Josh

10 years, 6 months

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Accessible Computing (Was "Re: Display-less computing")

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

we have a portable braille terminal in the museum's accessibility collection . we also have a vast ( and always looking for more) of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing teletype machines and couplers. Ed@ _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org)

10 years, 6 months

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Display-less computing

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

Does an example of the IBM/ TV/SET terminal exist out there? Manual? Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org)

10 years, 6 months

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IBM 2260 acoustic delay line

by echristopherson＠gmail.com

On Sat, Dec 12, 2015, Jon Elson wrote (in the big top posting thread): > On 12/12/2015 07:22 AM, Mike wrote: > >The one question I do have for the older gentlemen on here is what in the > >world did the computers without a screen to look at do? Now I know about > >the tape, cassette tape's and even the paper with the hole punches in them > >but what kind of applications were they use for? Mathematics or? ? ? [snip] > Later they got some > IBM 2260's, which were Zenith 9" TV sets and a keyboard connected to an > interface box in the machine room. Very primitive, but very interactive, > great for quick program editing and submission. I'm reading about those terminals and find it just fascinating how they used acoustic delay line memory to remember the pixels. But I have lots of questions: 1. Did the cables connecting the 2260s to the display controller actually contain the delay lines themselves, over the whole length; or were the delay lines just inside the controller and then some electronic signal was sent out to the terminals? 2. I would think that the wave travelling along the delay line would weaken over time. How was it refreshed? 3. What kind of speed could be acheived, and did this depend on the number of connected terminals? -- Eric Christopherson

10 years, 6 months

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Non-standard parallel port on Selectric I/O?

by tmfdmike＠gmail.com

I have what was once an IBM 2970 Reservation Terminal. Some time in the late 1970s. an outfit called 'Western I/O' got hold of a bunch of these, including mine, ripped out all the IBM electronic guts (but left their electromechanical bits - solenoids and contacts) and installed their own boards, and sold them to the home-brew computer folks of that day - presumably hung off contemporary Altair and Imsai machines etc. They made two versions. One was a fancy full-blown terminal with a 6800 microprocessor, adjustable baud rates, standard RS232 port etc. I'd really like to get hold of one of these if anyone has one gathering dust btw... The other one was a very dumb print-only versions. According to contemporary ads, it has: "? Printer-only model availability w/parallel ASCII interface." "The Printer Terminal IBM Selectrics are known for their well-defined, high-quality printed characters and easy-to- change elements. An ideal choice for text processing, highly-legible source listings and personal or business correspondence. And it's easy to connect to home or business computer. Just plug in 115 Vac, hook up the ASCII printer port and let 'ergo." That is ALL the documentation I have on this thing! The 'parallel ASCII interface' is implemented as a DB25 female on the rear of the Selectric. It *looks* exactly like a parallel port on a PC. So I hoped it would use standard parallel port pinouts and a straight-through ribbon cable would do it. No such luck. I don't have a parallel port analyzer, but I have lots of serial port analyzers, including ones with an LED per line, all 25 lines. So that is an improvised window into what's happening. For starters. when I operate the 'paper out' switch, I can see a line going high/low corresponding to switch position - but it's pin 19 on the DB25 connector, which should be ground on a standard parallel port! 'Paper out' should be on pin 12. So it's clearly not standard... Now I can start tracing pins on the interface back to lines on the PCBs, and try to figure what they do. At least I can relatively quickly eliminate those that aren't used, or are ground plane. But, question: back in the day, was there *another* 'standard' for parallel port pinouts? Used on S100 bus PIO etc. cards, the kind of thing this product was intended to be used with? I've found Googling on such data to be remarkably unproductive... any help out there? Mike

10 years, 6 months

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Display-less computing

by wdonzelli＠gmail.com

> Sometime later, maybe around 1971 they got some IBM 2741 terminals which > were Selectric typewriters connected to an interface. Later they got some > IBM 2260's, which were Zenith 9" TV sets and a keyboard connected to an > interface box in the machine room. Very primitive, but very interactive, > great for quick program editing and submission. Were 2260s really Zenith products inside? I certainly could believe it, judging from the tube lineup. Someday I would like to see one up close and personal. The 1800 actually did have a video option, and yes, you had to provide your own cheap black and white TV. -- Will

10 years, 6 months

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