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

by tmfdmike＠gmail.com

Anyone got a user manual for the above? Online or willing to place it online? I have a couple of those, working, and struggling to figure out how to change the setup. I've got as far holding the setup key, then ctrl-8 to get it to print the current settings, but can't figure out how to change baud rates and ports etc. Thanks 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

1
0
0 0

Happy Thanksgiving

by rodsmallwood52＠btinternet.com

Hi Guys Happy Thanksgiving to all my US friends on the list. A nicer more helpful bunch of people I have yet to meet. It looks like I'm coming over next fall to go the 2016 Chicago vintage show. I'll be bringing my traveling panel exhibit with me. Rod (Panelman) Smallwood

10 years, 6 months

6
7
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8" hard disk storage for unibus 11?

by tmfdmike＠gmail.com

Many moons ago I had a small fleet of pdp-11/04s, pulled out of a research synchrotron. (well, not *literally* out of the synchrotron, they probably wouldn't work if they had been...) They all had disk subsystems made by a company called Baydel; a 19" rack module, half-height like an 11/04, containing an 8" hard disk and power supply, hooked up to a quad-size Unibus card. Emulated a bunch of RK05s. Can't recall the nature of the interface between the card and the drive. Over the years I appear to have carelessly and unintentionally traded or given away ALL the bloody things! Anyone else have one, had one, or know someone who might? I've Googled and there's a deafening silence, apart from me asking the same question on Usenet ten years ago! 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

2
2
0 0

Large batch of DEC flip chips

by j_hoppe＠t-online.de

Here's the opportunity to buy&save batches of DEC flip chip modules. It must be several thousands, I estimate the total weight of the boxes to over 100kg. Most are "red" logic series, but other colors are there too. Apparently they are plugged from different machine types, maybe even PDP-10s or -12s. Of course I'm greedy! But while we have a PDP-12 and some DECtapes here, this amount is mostly useless and will occupy much precious space until the end of my days. So question: Is there any reasonable demand for flip chips in the community? And more difficult: any hint about the price I can offer? Thanks for your opinion, Joerg

10 years, 6 months

5
6
0 0

Blimey!

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

?567 for a Research Machines 380Z. Suppose I will have to give up hope ever getting one of those . L http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Research-Machine-380Z-RM-380Z-Tested-Working-/2317 54184801? Regards Rob

10 years, 6 months

4
3
0 0

Flash (or ide) storage for HP-2000?

by gerardcjat＠free.fr

Hello, Interesting, but could you provide a complete link. >From the short link you gave, I found nothing related ??? --- 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

2
1
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flash (or ide) storage for unibus 11?

by dab＠froghouse.org

> For a classic/straightforward programming interface, the Massbus disks (RP04 and successors) are a good choice. That will take you just over 500 MB, if you emulate the layout of the RP07. Current thinking (at least my current thinking) is RK11 first then probably RP11, both optionally extended to support Q22 addresses. Also something we're calling the RQ11 which will be our "native" interface with variable sized disks with a 32-bit linear block address giving 2TB disks for those who are willing and able to write their own device drivers. Finally, most likely the RH11 for some Massbus disks with 22-bit addressing. After that, I'm thinking to call it good and move on to other projects though I'm certainly willing to talk to anyone who has a particular disk controller they want to implement.

10 years, 6 months

12
19
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[cc-talk] HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE! Have a great day and fun and food! >From the SMECC Folk! _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org)

10 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Wanted EXTEL Printers and con systems manusl etc anything related.

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

Wanted EXTEL Printers and con systems manual etc anything related. drop me a message off list with EXTEL in the subj line. Many Thanks Ed#

10 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

flash (or ide) storage for unibus 11?

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Toby Thain > it would be easy to interface to a board exposing such USB features > *from a separate Linux system* - because of that driver. Ah, OK - I'm so used to people putting Linux on the embedded processor in their rice cooker that, not clearly understanding what was being talked about, I assumed it was wanted to run Linux on the uC. Still, I guess I don't really see the value in making the QSIC, or some things plugged into it, 'available' from some other machine. AFAIAC, it's only a peripheral to the PDP-11. > I did end up studying MSCP ... in some detail though. Ah, we'll put you in charge of implementing the MSCP controller emulations, then! :-) (Those are something I oersonally have no interest in, but I can see a viable case for doing them.) Noel

10 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Replacing MicroVAX II PSU With a Modern PSU

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Robert Jarratt > When the power is OK the output of the inverters is low, so the > transistors are off, presumably allowing the signals to float high. > When the power is not OK, the inverters are high, turning on the > transistors and shorting the signal to ground. That is correct. One thing to watch for: in a machine which does not have bus pullups on the backplane (some do, but many, especially early DEC ones, do not), if you run it without a CPU card plugged in (e.g. to test the power supply), BPOK/BDCOK will be at 0V even if the power is OK because there's no pullup to pull it high (unless driven low). This may also affect some of the lights, e.g. the 'Power OK' light in some DEC boxes - it won't come on, even though power is in fact fine, and working. Noel

10 years, 6 months

1
0
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Replacing MicroVAX II PSU With a Modern PSU

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

While I look into what is wrong with my H7864, I'd like to use a modern PSU to power my machine (actually an rtVAX 1000). I think I would need to deal with the following problems: 1. Finding the right connectors (ideally, I am sure I could rig up something more temporary). 2. A way to power the fans, which I believe are 15V, perhaps they would run on 12V as I wouldn't run the machine for long periods anyway, or I could just use PC fans. 3. Emulate the DC OK and P OK signals, I suspect these would be simple +5V signals which could perhaps just come from the +5V of the PSU anyway (unless there is a problem with that). 4. The most difficult bit, I suspect, would be the PSU LTC signal , which I believe is some kind of clock. I don't know what the spec of the signal is, but I will get a scope on a working one to see (NB don't want to risk a working PSU on this machine in case it was a problem with the machine itself that caused the first PSU to fail, I don't mind sacrificing a modern PSU if need be). Has anyone done this before? Regards Rob

10 years, 6 months

4
10
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1980s/1990s 68k C cross (and not so cross) compilers

by classiccmp＠philpem.me.uk

Hi there, I'm working on reverse engineering a radio navigation receiver (surprisingly not GPS, something else... Datatrak if anyone's heard of it) for the purpose of either repurposing the hardware or building up some kind of demo rig. A lot of my effort at the moment seems to be identifying C Library functions and naming them. Ideally, I'd like to identify the compiler and CLib and feed that into the disassembler to eliminate that work. Does anyone know which 68000 compilers were available in 1993, and which could produce ROM code? Or a few? I've looked at Aztec C68K but ruled it out on the basis that the _strlen library function doesn't match up -- this is the one from the ROM: _strlen: movea.l 4(sp), a0 move.l a0, d0 _strlen_l001: tst.b (a0+) bne.s _strlen_l001 sub.l a0, d0 not.l d0 rts Aztec is identical up to the bne, then: sub.l d0, a0 move.l a0, d0 sub,l #1, d0 rts Which is one instruction longer... so it's not Aztec. Other parts of the system apparently used VME-bus modules... so this wasn't a small operation. Anyway, whatever compiler this is, it pulls in Motorola's Fast Floating Point library. Thanks, -- Phil. classiccmp at philpem.me.uk http://www.philpem.me.uk/

10 years, 6 months

11
17
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WTB Miniscribe 3425 (working or parts donor)

by nf6x＠nf6x.net

I have an aftermarket hard drive system for the TRS-80 Color Computer. It includes a Miniscribe 3425 5.25" hard drive and a Xebec S1410 SASI disk controller. This Miniscribe hard drive has a stepper motor positioner, and Miniscribe actually sprang for an optical track 0 sensor... unlike the 3.5" Miniscribe 20M drive in my first Amiga hard drive system, which simply slammed the stepper against a hard stop to find track 0. I'd like to image this drive with the MFM Reader/Emulator card if I can get it to work. Actually getting the whole system working with one of my CoCos would be even cooler, of course. I have no idea what might be on the hard drive; it was an eBay purchase, back when eBay and I were still on speaking terms. The hard drive is blinking an error code on its LED, reporting that it cannot cover the track 0 sensor. Measuring the sensor pins with a DMM while the drive is powered makes me believe that the optical sensor itself is working correctly. Its output disappears into a Miniscribe-marked, presumably custom IC, so I don't have high hopes of debugging this further within the bounds of my gumption. Interestingly, the interruptor on the external stepper shaft appears to cover the sensor on the final step against a hard stop, so it's not clear why this drive even needs the sensor. Does anybody have a donor Miniscribe 3425 available for sale or trade? The heads can be rattling around in drifts of aluminum filings for all I care, as long as the logic board is somewhat likely to be functioning. Or maybe has one sitting around that they might like to loan to me to image for them, and they don't mind if I risk board swaps after making a valiant effort to get the data off their drive for them first? So far, I've only used my new MFM Reader/Emulator to image and emulate a Tandon TM503 in a Tandy Fifteen Meg Disk System, and it worked wonderfully in that role. -- Mark J. Blair, NF6X <nf6x at nf6x.net> http://www.nf6x.net/

10 years, 6 months

4
10
0 0

Front panels

by rodsmallwood52＠btinternet.com

Hi Guys Ok our front panels are going into production. Meeting went well. We finally worked out how they did the matte layer on the front It appears to be a transparent or translucent white. Its ink base with no colour The effect is like a steamed up window or shower glass panel. It looks a matt grey colour that transmits light but obscures objects behind it. as the panel behind it is black except where the holes are you see a matt black and diffused white light from the lamps are. Neat trick! Rod(Panelman)Smallwood

10 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

flash (or ide) storage for unibus 11?

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Phil Budne >>> allow the board to be connected to a modern computer as a peripheral? >> Not sure I see the purpose? > Simulated serial port to MCU "console" and/or simulated q/unibus SLU(s) Yes, but... what's the point of being able to gain access to SLU's on the QBUS >from a modern machine? Just plug serial ports into the modern machine. Etc, etc. If you meant 'a simulated console for the -11 that some other machine can get to', just run a serial cable from that machine to the real -11 console line. (BTW, which expansion of the "MCU" acronym did you have in mind?) > Simulated ethernet to MCU internal network and/or simulated > q/unibus NIC Not sure I entirely follow this? We had talked about eventually writing code to support a common USB Ethernet interface, and have the QSIC emulate the Interlan NI2010 etc cards, which were very nice to program (unlike all the DEC native Ethernet interfaces). > Block device access to "unmounted" flash partitions Like I said, plug the storage unit (we don't have any that are physically built into the QSIC) directly into the other machine. The QSIC is not intended to provide an SD port for some other kind of machine that doesn't have a native SD port; you can justq buy an SD carrier that is a USB device. Sorry, I'm just not into the whole 'desert topping / floor wax' concept (and a tip of the hatly hat to Marshall Rose for the phrase). 'Can do something' != 'good idea to do something'!! > I suppose "host" ports can used to support physical USB dongles of > various sorts (serial, ethernet), but I guess my orientation is "why > connect extra hardware that can be simulated?" Simulated, how? It's not clear that it's easier to do the simulation (via some complex lash-up) than have the QSIC provide something that looks, programming-wise, just like the DEC originals. Although there are no plans to to serial lines. In general, my philosophy is not to provide things which are still _readily_ available for real - and serial lines fall into that cateory. > ability to halt/reset the q/unibus (PDP-11) processor > (making the MCU into a "front end") If the LSI-11 console is i) plugged into something else, and has 'halt on break' enabled, you pretty much already have that. > If it's possible to make a board that's operable without an MCU Huh? The QSIC is planned to be a standalone QBUS card - i.e. take a running QBUS system with CPU, memory, etc, and plug in a QSIC for 'disk' storage. Or by 'MCU' were you referring to the -11 CPU? Bridgham has at times wanted to do that, but I'm not enthusiastic - see desert-topping/floor-wax point, plus my point about 'only doing things that aren't easily available' - and QBUS PDP-11 CPUs are readily available. > design the board so that it accepts a processor in "gumstix" or SODIMM > form factor, and expose connections for USB/ethernet. More desert-topping/floor-wax. > Linux has "gadget" support for simulating various flavors of USB > devices on a 'device' port. I have zero, none, nada interest in doing a board that can run Linux. > From: David Bridgham > It could then halt the processor and examine memory Not sure about that. I don't know if the CPU processes DMA requests when it's stopped. You can't use go ahead and use the bus without asking because the processor is in tight loop issuing DATI's to the console CSR. Noel

10 years, 6 months

2
1
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Big heap of DEC Flip-Chips modules

by j_hoppe＠t-online.de

Hi, a year ago or so an inventory of several thousand DEC flip-chip modules appeared in the neighbourhood. "Yesss, my precioussss, it came too me !!!" But I couldn't acquire them. At least I help selling them now. The inventory is here: retrocmp.com/flipshipshop It was a 2-months-project: most fun was sorting and counting the modules, then taking the pictures. A webshop solution seemed the best for online presentation. (Very interesting, I never did that before) Functionality of the shop software is good. On the other hand this project appears a bit too commercial now. You even should be able to buy online over Paypal, but I'd prefer personal contact. Joerg

10 years, 6 months

3
3
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[cctalk] - Flash (or ide) storage for HP-2000?

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

Jay an idea who's time has come? Has anyone looked into this~? Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org)

10 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

flash (or ide) storage for unibus 11?

by shadoooo＠gmail.com

Hello, I have some unibus machines that always need some way to interface to modern disks. I always dream to make an universal board that could act as disk and/or tape interface to a modern medium (scsi or cf/sd card), but also ram, network, I/O, whatever... It would be very nice to design a system based on fpga + cpu (arm), so you can load linux on it and avoid the hassle of handling file systems for the sd card, management and configuration, etc. The low level part, the access to the bus, address decoding, and all the parts that need real time reactions could be handled by the fpga. The good part is that I could really help to design a system like this. The bad is that it is expensive, specially because you have to use bga components that need to be mounted by smd assembling machines. But: there's always the possibility to choose a commercial development board, and mount it as SOM over a larger board that would include only psu and bus level translators. This way could be cheaper and can be mounted by skilled hands... If there's a number of people that would invest some money on it, to repay tooling and minimum lot costs for the pcb and components, we could definitely work together to make it. Anybody interested? Andrea

10 years, 6 months

4
3
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flash (or ide) storage for unibus 11?

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Phil Budne > Any plans to allow USB "target" (as opposed to "host" -- I dunno if > those are the correct terms) 'host' and 'device' are the two modes for USB, IIRC. > to allow the board to be connected to a modern computer as a > peripheral? Not sure I see the purpose? Any of the storage devices (SD card, or thumb drive) can of course be pulled out and plugged into another machine. > From: Andrea > there's always the possibility to choose a commercial development > board, and mount it as SOM over a larger board that would include only > psu and bus level translators. This way could be cheaper That's basically what we're doing for the prototypes, except that our prototype motherboard is wire-wrapped. The mobo (currently) has only i) bus transceivers, ii) level converters from +5V logic to +3.3V (nobody supports +5V in any modern FPGA part, and QBUS transceivers are pretty much only available in +5V - although we'd be happy to be informed otherwise), and iii) a pair of 64-pin DuPont connectors to a FPGA/uC board from ZTEX. (We may add more, e.g. when we get to debugging the indicator panels, we'll probably put the drivers on the prototype motherboard. Etc, etc. That's part of the reason for going with wire-wrap, it's easy to add stuff like that.) It is, alas, not that cheap overall. We think the production models, with all the circuity on a single custom PCB, will be somewhat cheaper. In addition, you can't really stack the ZTEX boards on another board, and meet the QBUS inter-board spacing. Noel

10 years, 6 months

3
2
0 0

IBM 4341 and 3880 floppy disks

by nf6x＠nf6x.net

I recently acquired a small pile of 8" floppy disks which appear to be for IBM 4341 and 3880 hardware: https://twitter.com/nf6x/status/669240958492372992 They're on my "to be imaged" pile. I don't have any hardware to go with them, and would be happy to trade them away after imaging them. They apparently came from a military surplus commo shelter whose innards were being scrapped out. I don't think that the hardware is still in the shelter owner's hands, and I wouldn't have wanted to acquire it anyway, but I thought it would be fun to try to preserve the contents of the disks he had in there. Based on the label picture linked to above, do any of you IBM fans know whether the contents of these are likely to be interesting to anybody? -- Mark J. Blair, NF6X <nf6x at nf6x.net> http://www.nf6x.net/

10 years, 6 months

2
3
0 0

IBM System/32 available

by tmfdmike＠gmail.com

Folks, I've been offered an IBM System/32. Location is close to LA. Condition appears pretty decent. If I can't take the offer up, would anyone else be interested? Thanks 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

14
37
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flash (or ide) storage for unibus 11?

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

{Catching up, after being on the road all day yesterday... Replies to quite a few people in this, sorry you'll have to read through it to find yours, didn't want to inundate the list with 17 replies.} > From: Jacob Ritort > Are you on keeping bits and/or status for these projects on github or > anywhere else that might encourage participation and contribution? We're going to make it public, but at the moment, it's a bit early for that; for one thing, we are working with hand-wire-wrapped prototypes, front-ending a ZTEX FPGA/uC (micro-controller) board, not a PCB card. And the 'software' (which includes FPGA code, we don't have any code for the uC yet) is in a very primitive state. We'll probably get a couple of controllers done (RK11, RP11, probably RL11, qetc) and then turn it loose for people to add others. > I'd be glad to pitch in if I can. We we get to the stage of turning it into a production PCB, we are definitely going to really encourage help for that step - doing PCB layout, etc, is sort of terra incognita for us both. > Actually, I (and I bet others) would love to see an up to date wiki > entry or somesuch listing folks' retro projects like these Well, we'd need the wiki first! But I hope to have some news on that front soon - I've located an existing one, and am discussing with the person who runs it, using it for material from CCTalk. > From: Henk Gooijen > Tell us more ... and keep us posted Noel. Not much more to say, at the moment. The plan is that it will be a dual QBUS card, with slots for two SD cards, and also one (or more) USB 2.0 connectors; although it will be possible to plug in memory sticks (to the USB), the SD cards will probably offer higher performance. Oh, and one will be able to configure virtual disks on on-board RAM; the contents won't survive a power cycle, but they will be very high performance, useful for swapping disks. We will definitely keep CCTalk posted when there is any news. > We *love* blinkenlights !! Why do you think they are in our plan? :-) We love them too! :-) > if you have a blank front panel this "fills nicely" Well, like the originals, they will be half-panels (i.e. 5-1/4 inches). They will not be electrically compatible with the original DEC indicator panels (we plan on driving them like Guy, with just a clock and data on a couple of wires, not one wire per light - in fact, I'd like to use a common connector and electrical spec with Guy's, so they are compatible); making them electrically compatible would be a _lot_ of work, and I don't see that it would be worth it. However, they will be mechanically compatible with the DEC originals; our plan is that if someone has an original indicator panel PCB (I know at least one person here does), they could mount it with one of our new production bezel/inserts (with the light captions on it), and the whole thing will work. I.e. in the original DEC design, we're just replacing the PCB. > Heck, why not address (all 22) and data too? Although 'classic' RP11/etc panels will probably be available (for purists), we intend to also do 'updated' panels which will drop a lot of lights that make no sense when you don't have a real disk (e.g. the shift registers) and replace them with useful lights that the originals don't have (e.g. full memory address, on the RP11). > From: Paul Koning > For a classic/straightforward programming interface, the Massbus disks > (RP04 and successors) are a good choice. That will take you just over > 500 MB, if you emulate the layout of the RP07. We'll probably do those too, but before that, we're thinking of doing an RP11+, i.e. an RP11 with the cyclinder address extended to 16 bits; i.e without changing the register format _other than using unused bits_ in the cyclinder address register. (Very easy for us to do, of course.) For those with the ability to tweak drivers, that will produce disks with 2^28 blocks, or 2^36 bytes, or 64GB. That's most of a large SD card... :-) > Sure, you can throw in a microcontroller, but interfacing that is > likely to take far more gates than doing the mapping in the device > directly. Alas, we pretty much have to have a uC; it's pretty much mandator to support USB. And once you have one, there's a lot of stuff that's easier to do in a uC, e.g. reading the configuration of the virtual controllers, and configuring the FPGA to match, etc, etc. > From: Rich Alderson > Why bother with the RP11? Because, for FPGA implementation, it's basically an RK11 with a few tweaks --> very easy to do! And with the RP11+ variant, it will support up to 65GB disks.. :-) > From: Mike Ross > Because, blinkenlights! :-) That too! Although there's nothing to stop us doing light panels for controllers that never had them, e.g. RL11's! > From: Johnny Billquist > 22-bit addressing is not possible on the Unibus. True, but my concept is that the eventual UNIBUS version will include ENABLE functionality (i.e. mapping boxes to 4MB memory, one for the CPU, and an 11/70-compatible UNIBUS map for DMA devices), and it could therefore _also_ 'emulate' a MASSBUS RP11, i.e. an RP11 with an additional 'extended memory address' like the identical registers on e.g. the MASSBUS RP04. (And yes, I know no such device ever existed, so unmodified DEC OS's won't support it, but...). > Your native interface have the additional problem that in addition to > requiring people to write their own device driver for any OS usage, it > will be rather difficult to get booting from it, since that require > special support. Right, but since adding another controller on the QSIC will be a trivial configuration option, we assume no machines will have _only_ an RQ11 (our aname for the 'native' interface), but rather an RK11 and RQ11, RL11 and RQ11 etc. Boot off the first, only use the second once the OS is running. > RK11 and RP11, while fairly simple, are also very small devices. Well, there's always the RP11+! :-) And the 'RPV21' (again, I know this never existed) will, like the RLV21, have native 22-bit addressing. > Massbus is a bit more useful, as it at least gives some larger devices, > but you need to implement each device. It's all 'software' (in the FPGA and the uC); so if we (in the community sense) upgrade the 'software' to support more controllers/disks, all boards could be upgraded to support them. Let's get the RK11 and RP11 working to start with, and then we'll figure out where to go from there. > However, if you want to write a device driver for a device you want to > boot from, you need to modify SAV as well, which is *not* documented, > and very non-trivial. Not recommended for the faint of heart. Which is why it's probably easier to just _also_ configure a standard RK11/RP11 whatever, and boot off that. (It's all 'software'! With the right FPGA load, you could have 127 RK11 controllers! :-) Noel

10 years, 6 months

3
2
0 0

Fw: new message

by katelists＠trouts.org

Hey! New message, please read <http://in2itshop.com/speaking.php?6lpk9> katelists at trouts.org

10 years, 6 months

20
28
0 0

Emulation

by wulfman＠wulfman.com

I know most of you have or are searching for the real thing. But for those of you that still don't have what your looking for, the arcade emulator MAME has now included most old computers in their emulation program. I have seen everything from apple computers to vax systems, while searching for game roms. Most are still non functioning as of this version but they are working on making them work. one that does work is a pdp1. http://mamedev.org/ emulator http://www.mameui.info/ windows gui front end http://retroroms.net most current list of roms in the download section, free reg required I have been collecting roms for years for repair of my huge collection of game board but this is the first time i have seen the retro computers in the rom sets. maybe if they are in need of a rom dump for some obscure computer one of you have you can contribute to the scene by dumping and sending the rom they are looking for. As always happy retro computing. -- The contents of this e-mail and any attachments are intended solely for the use of the named addressee(s) and may contain confidential and/or privileged information. Any unauthorized use, copying, disclosure, or distribution of the contents of this e-mail is strictly prohibited by the sender and may be unlawful. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately and delete this e-mail.

10 years, 6 months

4
3
0 0

Query for dec teleprinter roms

by cctalk＠beyondthepale.ie

> > Just a hit . . scanning/printing without having to go to kinkos etc.... > to any of you needing something that will > > print--- nice photos > print 11 x 17 > scan a tad larger than 11 x 17 > fax > reasonable price > free OCR software > built in duplex printing > has a bin sheet feeder too for doc size > > get a hp officejet 7612 > > I got mine on sale for $160 > > not a speed demon but a helpful device > it is handy. there are times we need to print something larger than > legal size for museum displays etc or scan large magazine cover, > schematics etc... it has worked well. > > we use this for pretty much in house use. > > patrons needing lots of something scanned we have still have to > contract with one of our offsite vendors. > (shoemakers children analogy etc.) > > Ed Sharpe archivist for SMECC > Are you formatting your outgoing emails like this in retaliation for not getting [cctech]/[cctalk] in the subject line in order to be able to sort your incoming AOL mail? Regards, Peter Coghlan.

10 years, 6 months

6
6
0 0

flash (or ide) storage for unibus 11?

by dab＠froghouse.org

> Otherwise it's the RM05 at 256 Meg, if I remember right. But all those > disks are also expected to expose the actual geometry of the disk. While > fairly straight forward, it do expose you to a rather low level > interface, where you need to do a lot of calculations all the time. All those old disk controllers expose the disk geometry. I've looked at it for the specific case of the RK11 and it doesn't look too bad. If it does turn into a problem, then we'll have a microcontroller on the board too and I'll punt the calculations to it rather than doing them in the FPGA. And my third option is to just do the trivial mapping of the sector/surface/cylinder numbers to LBA and waste space on the flash device. It's not we're so short of storage space in emulating any number of RK, RP, or RM class disk packs.

10 years, 6 months

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mixed media on Massbus [was RE: flash (or ide) storage for unibus 11?]

by RichA＠LivingComputerMuseum.org

From: Paul Koning Sent: Monday, November 23, 2015 11:26 AM >> On Nov 23, 2015, at 1:00 PM, Johnny Billquist <bqt at Update.UU.SE>> wrote: >> As far as I can tell, disks fall into two groups, as far as massbus control >> is concerned. The RM02, RM03, RM05, RM80 and RP07 is one group. The RP04, >> RP05, RP06 is another. A few register addresses between the groups are the >> same, but the actual register at that address is different. But if I >> remember right, it's registers that have to do with error recovery, so >> potentially not something people would care about in emulation anyway. But >> it still means there are different drivers in the OS for them. [snip] >> And of course, you also have the TM02/TM03 and TM78, which have yet again >> different registers on the massbus. > Yes. And mixing disk and tape on a massbus is something that I don't think > was done on PDP-11s. It certainly could have been done, and it was on VMS > and/or TOPS if I remember right. Two things. 1) There is not such things as "TOPS". The 2 operating systems for the PDP-10 provided by DEC are Tops-10 and TOPS-20. The only thing they have in common is the first 4 letters (modulo case) of the names. They share exactly no code in the monitor ("kernel"), and do not even have the same origins. Tops-10 started as the monitor on the PDP-6, in 1964, and was in continuous development until 1988 (and in maintenance until 1993+), while TOPS-20 began life as the TENEX operating system from BBN c. 1969, licensed for the new KL-10 processor while that was under development. TOPS-20 v1 appeared in 1975. BBN developed a run time package for TENEX called PA1050 which handled a subset of the Tops-10 system calls by merging into user-mode programs and intercepting them; DEC carried on the same mechanism to allow Tops-10 compilers and other utilities to run on the new OS while native versions were developed. 2) Having stated all that, Tops-10 does not allow mixing tapes and disks on a channel, but it does allow mixing disk drive types. TOPS-20 has always allowed mixing tapes and disks on a channel. 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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flash (or ide) storage for unibus 11?

by dab＠froghouse.org

> This is great news, Noel. Are you on keeping bits and/or status for these > projects on github or anywhere else that might encourage participation and > contribution? I'd be glad to pitch in if I can. Actually, I (and I bet > others) would love to see an up to date wiki entry or somesuch listing > folks' retro projects like these and would be happy to create it if you'd > provide a couple of pointers. I have the little code I've written so far in a private git server but not on github. Eventually the plan is to do something like that but we're pretty early in the process. Certainly nothing is running yet. Even though I've set up a git server, I still have to learn how to actually use git. However, once we get a prototype doing something interesting, we were talking about looking around for people interested in helping out. We'll do a couple disk controllers but if someone wants to add others, great. Especially if someone wants to add MSCP. We're happy to skip that one ourselves. But the real thing we'll want help with is circuit board design and manufacturing. We can do easy things but I'd really like to use BGA parts for the FPGA and memory chips so if someone has a handle on that, we'd like to talk. A I said, our plan was to get a prototype working before going in search of this kind of assistance. We're using an FPGA module from ZTEX right now to sidestep the issue. Is there a wiki out there that holds this kind of information? It seems like a great idea and I'll put some information together on our project if there is. Or maybe, now that news is spreading that we're doing this, it's time to write up a web page describing what we're up to. -Dave

10 years, 6 months

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Toshiba MKM0142E 8" floppy manual / jumper info sought

by jdr_use＠bluewin.ch

Trying to build up an IMD floppy disk imaging workstation, i.e. a PC with 3.5, 5 and 8 floppy drives. The 8 inch drive I have is a Toshiba MKM0142E , dual side, a very late model. ( Datecodes on the ICs range from 1984 to 1991 ) Anyone has a manual for that beast, or maybe just jumpering info ? thanks Jos

10 years, 6 months

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Front Panels - Production

by rodsmallwood52＠btinternet.com

Hi Guys I'm due at the screen printers on Wednesday. I've now incorporated what I have gleaned from the loan panel into the drawing set. For 8/e panels we now have the following layers to be printed. _On the front: _ First will be a translucent matte base coat to give a satin finish. It looks black because of the black layer on the back of the panel. Then either the Terracotta or the Amber and finally white. At this point the panel is neither a Type A or Type B . White only detail in the selector switch area and the dividers between lamp groups can then be added to give the panel its identity. There are two small screen separations to allow this to be done. _On the back:_ The 8/e back side (/f and /m differ I'll explain that later) has a heavy black layer with clear round areas for the lamps / LEDS to shine through. In just the lamp area there's another translucent matte layer. This and the one on the front act to diffuse the light coming from the lamps/LEDS. Thats seven layers in total and they have to be dried after each layer goes on. Each one needs a silk screen and when being printed registration is critical. Its a skilled job and not one I would care to have to do. More news when I have it. Rod (Panelman) Smallwood

10 years, 6 months

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flash (or ide) storage for unibus 11?

by dab＠froghouse.org

> As Tom Lehrer not-so-delicately put it "more, more, more! I'm still not > satisfied ..." :->. We'll do our best. How about we add indicator panels? > My thanks to you and Bridgham (who has a second name, perhaps)! My second name is David but it comes first. I'm just funny that way.

10 years, 6 months

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flash (or ide) storage for unibus 11?

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Jay West > I'm looking for a modern storage ... device for an 11 Aren't we all! :-) > I think I have seen a few hobbyist projects that were flash based, I > thought I saw one that was an IDE interface.... I think that was probably Brad Parker's prototype? > Anyone know of a good project to add some modern storage Available today, no. But there are a number of projects which will probably be cranking out UNIBUS DEC controller emulators with modern storage backends. I gather Guy's MEM11 project will probably eventually spin off a version with a larger disk, and Bridgham and I are planning on doing a UNIBUS version of our card once the QBUS version is done. (Actually, ours is planned to include an ENABLE too, with 4MB of memory, for those of us with 34's, 40's, 45's, etc.) Any more? Noel

10 years, 6 months

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flash (or ide) storage for unibus 11?

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

I'm looking for a modern storage (ie. anywhere from 100mb to "huge") device for an 11/44. I think I have seen a few hobbyist projects that were flash based, I thought I saw one that was an IDE interface.... Long story short I've satisfied the purist in me by putting an RL02 on the machine, but that's just not enough storage for that particular system. Anyone know of a good project to add some modern storage to get me over the available storage on the RL02? J

10 years, 6 months

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A Selectric printer...

by tmfdmike＠gmail.com

I have an I/O Selectric device which is badged as, and was originally, an IBM 2970 Reservation Terminal. For better or worse, it was one of those bought up in the late 1970s by a company called 'Western I/O", based out of Scottsdale Arizona. They converted them for home use. One version used a Motorola 6800 to make a nifty-sounding terminal with selectable baud rates etc. I appear to have the 'other' version; a cheap and nasty printer-only conversion with some form of parallel port. Anybody else got one? Docs about them? Parts? Schematics? I'd like to get hold of one of the 'proper' terminal conversion versions... Must be some squirreled away in garages! Alternatively, any doc on the original 2970? There's an incredible dearth of information about what we're once very common devices...

10 years, 6 months

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Any AS/400 hackers? Linux question

by tmfdmike＠gmail.com

Might not really be old enough for this audience but it's an obscure enough question! I have an AS/400 9406-S20 - mid 1990s vintage. These things could have what IBM called an 'Integrated Netfinity Server' - basically an Intel PC on a board, using space on AS/400 disk etc. Two such boards work in this machine: the 2852 (Pentium Pro) and 2865 (Pentium II). Both ran NT, and that's well-documented in a Redbook. Both could also allegedly run OS/2 and Netware. it wasn't officially supported I know, but did anyone ever succeed in shoehorning Linux onto either of these boards? If so, how? Official support only came with the next iteration of hardware (which my system can't use), and relied on the 'PC on a board' having USB ports, and involved the use of a USB floppy drive (!) to complete the Linux install process! (I'm at V5R2 btw, and have had NT running on this board) 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

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A Selectric printer...

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

list of groups please!?! neat! Ed# In a message dated 11/22/2015 9:05:14 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, dave.g4ugm at gmail.com writes: There are a couple of Yahoo groups for Selectric Typewriters and some have the docs for the IO selectrics. On Nov 22, 2015 6:51 PM, "Mike Ross" <tmfdmike at gmail.com> wrote: > I have an I/O Selectric device which is badged as, and was originally, an > IBM 2970 Reservation Terminal. > > For better or worse, it was one of those bought up in the late 1970s by a > company called 'Western I/O", based out of Scottsdale Arizona. They > converted them for home use. One version used a Motorola 6800 to make a > nifty-sounding terminal with selectable baud rates etc. I appear to have > the 'other' version; a cheap and nasty printer-only conversion with some > form of parallel port. > > Anybody else got one? Docs about them? Parts? Schematics? I'd like to get > hold of one of the 'proper' terminal conversion versions... Must be some > squirreled away in garages! > > Alternatively, any doc on the original 2970? There's an incredible dearth > of information about what we're once very common devices... >

10 years, 6 months

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ICL Quattro

by supervinx＠libero.it

Hi! I found an ICL Quattro desktop computer. It looks in good shape, I had to repair only the PSU. Powering it up, I see disk activity, but I haven't his (proprietary?) monitor. On the back, I see a bunch of serial ports (DCE? DTE?) and a DB15 connector, I guess for monitor/kbd attachment. I tried to connect a terminal to the serial ports, with null modem and straight settings, but I had no answers. Do someone have some infos about the proprietary monitor/kbd port? Can it be run without the original monitor/kbd system? Or should I think about it as a... doorstopper? :D Thanks! -- Vincenzo (aka Supervinx) --==ooOoo==-- My computer collection: http://www.supervinx.com/OnlineMuseum --==ooOoo==-- You can reach me at: www.supervinx.com www.facebook.com/supervinx http://www.youtube.com/user/supervinx http://www.myspace.com/supervinx

10 years, 6 months

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Looking for an IBM manual PDF

by captainkirk359＠gmail.com

Hello all, I'm looking for a PDF copy of IBM manual GC26-3792-8. The System Generation manual for MVS 3.8; the only PDF I found of GC26-3792 is of the -1 version, which is not particularly helpful. I found a DjVu of the manual (via this site: <http://tk3.comlu.com/mvs380/Vintage_Manuals.html>) namely here: <www.classiccmp.org/softlib/manuals/GC26-3792-8/GC26-3792-8.djvu> Unfortunately, downloading the DjVu file does nothing (SumatraPDF on Windows can't render any of the pages, and Evince on Debian 8.2.0 just ignores the file); the Java applet to view it works... except it doesn't play nice with my accessibility needs. So, anyone have a PDF of that manual? Cheers, Christian

10 years, 6 months

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Gene Amdahl, Pioneer of Mainframe Computing, Dies at 92

by c.murray.mccullough＠gmail.com

Stephan, referring to the article in The New York Times, mentions Amdal, Cray and Wozniak: Pioneers in computing whether large, super-large or small(micro). Who knows of, in the microcomputing world, Amdahl and Cray? One wonders! Happy computing, Murray :)

10 years, 6 months

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Deciphering PDP-11/05 ZQKC (Instruction Exerciser) MAINDEC failures...

by derschjo＠gmail.com

Hi all - As noted in a mail last week, I now have my PDP-11/05 running with working core (8KW). I had some time last night to try loading in some "real" software, and I started with the PDP-11 paper-tape BASIC, which I've successfully loaded into memory (in theory). At this point, it became clear that there's still an issue or two to iron out in the CPU; BASIC behaves extremely erratically, spewing random error messages, listing garbage, and corrupting itself and crashing pretty quickly. I'd run the memory exerciser MAINDECs previously (and I ran them again for good measure) and there are no obvious issues with the memory. The system exerciser diagnostic (ZQKB) passes, but the "11 family instruction exerciser" (ZQKC) fails after a minute or so at PC=016014. I have the listing for the diagnostic (though I'm not precisely sure whether it's exactly the same revision) from here: http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/dec/pdp11/xxdp/diag_listings/MAINDEC… The doc is pretty grainy but the code at 016012 doesn't actually seem to match what I've got in memory (I disabled relocation in the test just to be sure things didn't get moved around) and there's no failure check at that particular point in memory either. I've tried the paper-tape images from Bitsavers as well as the ones on the XXDP RL02 images floating around out there and they all yield the same results; I suppose it's possible the CPU is failing in such a way as to make the test reporting incorrect but it seems more likely that (a) I have an outdated listing or (b) I'm misinterpreting the results somehow. Anyone have any experience with this particular diagnostic? Thanks, Josh

10 years, 6 months

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MCBA COBOL/DIBOL App Docs

by silent700＠gmail.com

Oh dear, look at all this COBOL (and DIBOL, too.) This is pretty dry stuff, folks. But there isn't much out there from this vendor, so here it is: http://chiclassiccomp.org/docs/index.php?dir=%2Fcomputing/MCBA Free to add to your collection, as always. I have some 9-track tapes that may or may not contain some MCBA software, as well, which I'll get to someday. -j

10 years, 6 months

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HP 7914

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

I have a board from a HP 7914 disc drive (07914-60001). No clue how I obtained it, as I've never owned a 7914 (but did have a hard luck case 7912, which is long gone). In any case... free for shipping if anyone wants it. J

10 years, 6 months

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Front Panel Orders - Special Update

by rodsmallwood52＠btinternet.com

Hi Guys Well the original panel arrived yesterday and revealed one or two interesting features. It was from an 8/m but as the underlying programmers console (apart from the change from bulb to LED) is the same for all of versions I am making. Its a good example What it reveals was that they silk screened the panel first then routed or milled out the openings using the markings as a guide. This is the source of much complained of chipping and peeling. This means that they did not have to be too fussy with the placement of the silk screening in relation to the edges of the blank. Any small offset would be hidden by the bezel anyway. in addition there is plenty of tolerance on the key lock - there's provision to adjust its position on the mounting. The hole for the select switch is drilled over size (0.38" for a 0.25" shaft) so more room to move things about In the spirit of "measure twice and cut once" would all those with orders please do the following. Take off the selector switch knob. Remove the bezel and take the old front panel out. Measure from the bottom edge of the panel to the bottom of the row of switch openings. Then from the left hand side to the first switch opening. Finally from the right hand side to the last switch opening. Please send the three measurements with the type of system its off plus any part numbers on the back of the panel to me. Regards Rod

10 years, 7 months

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Could someone make this topic go away?

by rickb＠bensene.com

I'm sick of this junk. Let's get back to writing about real computers rather than arguing over how the lists should work. Sheesh. -Rick

10 years, 7 months

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MicroVAX 3100, DECservers, etc. available for a couple days

by jim＠deitygraveyard.com

Just saw this on the rescue list. I *believe* the location would be North Carolina, US. E-mail them, not me. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Lenore Ramm via TriLUG <trilug at trilug.org> Date: Thu, Nov 19, 2015 at 8:20 PM Subject: [TriLUG] Vintage Hardware (Everything Must Go NOW!) To: Triangle Linux Users Group General Discussion <trilug at trilug.org> A friend and former TriLUG member is looking for a new home for the MicroVAX 3100 and associated hardware. It lacks drives. It needs to be given away to whomever is willing to take it. The lot includes the drive-less VAX, one DECserver 300, two DECserver 200/MC, a tape drive, and a few other related bits, as pictured in the links below. If you are interested, you must meet to pick it up or provide funds for shipping, before it gets recycled in the next few days. If you are interested, email me (lenore.ramm at gmail.com))(*NOW, before it's too late*) and I will provide contact information. There are pics! http://trilug.org/~eronel/decpics It may or may not have a pleasing amber display. Lenore

10 years, 7 months

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Query for dec teleprinter roms

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

Just a hit . . scanning/printing without having to go to kinkos etc.... to any of you needing something that will print--- nice photos print 11 x 17 scan a tad larger than 11 x 17 fax reasonable price free OCR software built in duplex printing has a bin sheet feeder too for doc size get a hp officejet 7612 I got mine on sale for $160 not a speed demon but a helpful device it is handy. there are times we need to print something larger than legal size for museum displays etc or scan large magazine cover, schematics etc... it has worked well. we use this for pretty much in house use. patrons needing lots of something scanned we have still have to contract with one of our offsite vendors. (shoemakers children analogy etc.) Ed Sharpe archivist for SMECC In a message dated 11/20/2015 12:22:50 P.M. US Mountain Standard Tim, billdegnan at gmail.com writes: > As usual, while looking for something else I finally happened to find the > LA100 > docs and ROMs and I've sent the ROM images to Jonathan separately; the > print set > is 11" x 17" and I'll contact Noel off-list regarding scanning. >

10 years, 7 months

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Gene Amdahl, Pioneer of Mainframe Computing, Dies at 92

by stephane.tsacas＠gmail.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/13/technology/gene-amdahl-pioneer-of-mainfra… -- Stephane

10 years, 7 months

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Query for dec teleprinter roms

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Mike Stein > I don't think I can scan the print set; IIRC the pages were longer > than 14". How much longer? My A3 scanner will take up to 17". I'd be happy to scan them for you (and return them afterwards) if you send them to me. (BTW, this offer is open to everyone/anyone - although if I get 23 sets of prints, please don't expect instant service! Please contact me first.) Noel

10 years, 7 months

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Could someone make the list do the [cctalk] thing in the subject line?

by ethan＠757.org

Hello, By any chance could someone configure the mailing list to add [cctalk] or [cc] or [cct] into the beginning of the subject line? Not looking to filter, just not looking to delete messages. -- Ethan O'Toole

10 years, 7 months

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VAX 4000-200 Maintenance

by billdegnan＠gmail.com

Performed maintenance of my VAX 4000-200. Removed NiCad battery Replaced hard drive Made new image of system drive The how-to is all over the web, but I summarized a lot of the basic support tasks associated with a networked VAX 4000 here for anyone interested in a simple "for dummies" page http://vintagecomputer.net/browse_thread.cfm?id=608 The system is hosted here: vax4000.vintagecomputer.net -- Bill

10 years, 7 months

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DEC 4260 transistors (MOS clock driver on LSI-11 CPU)

by spacewar＠gmail.com

Does anyone happen to know what the industry-standard equivalent for a DEC 4260 PNP transistors in the MOS clock driver circuitry on LSI-11 CPU is? Is it a 2N4260? Thanks! Eric

10 years, 7 months

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VAX 4000-200 Maintenance

by mhs.stein＠gmail.com

----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Jarratt" <robert.jarratt at ntlworld.com> Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2015 4:27 PM ... My to-do list has me doing the rounds of all my machines to check them all for the batteries. I'd like to replace rather than remove though, but that could get expensive at about ?10-12 pounds per machine for the cordless phone battery packs sold by Maplin. Maybe there is a better alternative, I should go and take a look. Regards Rob ----- Reply ----- Wow! I buy mine for $2 to $4 at the local 'Dollar' store... Or you could order from the usual place; e.g.: http://www.aliexpress.com/store/group/Battery/1191734_259040387.html m

10 years, 7 months

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Todays Topic from Panelman

by rodsmallwood52＠btinternet.com

Hi Guys I think we are all only too well aware of the difficulty of getting parts for our old systems. This the more so for items that can been seen. Having got at least a half reasonable replacement front panel process my thoughts turned to toggle switches. In the case of PDP-11 this is already being addressed by another list member. So to PDP-8's. There's two parts to a PDP-8 toggle. The slide switch and the lever. The leaver is injection molded in a two part mold. The join line can clearly be seen. Clearly a mold is required to produce one or more at a time. These used to be very expensive but with modern CNC machines it might be worth finding out. In addition we now have 3D printing available To aid this have I have produced a drawing of the switch lever with views from three angles. From here it should be possible to: 1. Convert to 3D for 3D printing tests 2. Produce a drawing of the two part mold tool. Extruded PVC I'm familiar with having worked in the cable industry as a student. ABS which is what I think the leaver may be made of may be different (hot to cold shrinkage for example) Comments from list members with experience in the above areas would be of interest to us all. Now to the slide switches themselves. They are mounted by the screw hole lugs having been slid into a groove in two aluminum bars which in turn are attached to the PCB by pillars and screws. There are six connection pins on the bottom of each switch that go into holes in the PCB. (not all used) Switch replacement would be easy and a complete switch and lever sub module not too difficult. I hear a voice >from the distant past saying 'Micro switches' Thats all for to-day Rod

10 years, 7 months

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Front Panels

by rodsmallwood52＠btinternet.com

Hi Guys Well the panel is here and I'm analyzing it to see what it tells us. So far it looks like I need to add a band of gray matte base to the front and a band of similar over the light ports on on the back. Looks like I have a new product. It's called an "Invisipanel" Its a clear plexiglas blank I use for checking alignments. Because its so clear I cant find it!!!! Rod

10 years, 7 months

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Testing bus transceivers

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Guy Sotomayor > A number of data books have circuits that were used to measure the > parameters .. so you might want to look at some of them Thanks for the tip! Alas, I don't know of any data books with circuits like that - any pointers? (And it's only the leakage current I need to check; the other 3 key DC parameters I have already managed to check.) > From: Mark J. Blair > Do you have any sort of precision, regulated, adjustable lab bench > power supply that you could use to vary input voltage? Well, I have some Lambdas, but I'm not sure they are 'precision' (any more - the pots are kind of dirty/flaky, so they jump when you turn them). > If not, using a potentiometer as you mentioned would also work. Yeah, that's what I did - running a 500 ohm pot from ground to +5V provided a nice input, and I was able to verify the 'maximum 0 input voltage' and the 'mininum 1 input voltage' quite easily. I also realized that in a system with 'normal' single QBUS box with termination, one has a 330 ohm pull-up in the CPU's termination, and 180 ohm pull-up in the BDV11 terminator, which adds up to 42 mA into the transceiver when pulling to low voltage; if one adds another 180 ohm pull-up, that adds another 28 mA, getting me to the required 70 mA for the 'maximum 0 output voltage' check. Since the QBUS specs allow another termination, if you have a second box, that's probably why they spec it at 70 mA, actually. > Also, how many of these did you buy? Umm, like 400? :-) (Dave Bridgham and I are winding up to produce a QBUS card which uses SD memory cards along with an FPGA and micro-controller to emulate a range of DEC disk systems - RK11, RP11, etc - and we wanted to assure a goodly supply of our selected transceiver chip before we spin out a PC board.) > If it's something like a dozen, manual testing will be practical. If > it's something like a hundred, then automating the testing might be a > good idea, and a fun project all by itself if that sort of thing > interests you. Well, not really, to be honest (I'm not an analog person), plus to which I have a zillion other projects (e.g. a bunch of UNIBUS machines to refurbish, plus other non-computer things) which are backlogged, the last thing I need is another one! ;-) Also, you might be able to automate the _testing_, but one still has to plug the chips in and out, which is a certain amount of work, so it's not like automated testing would allow me to trivially check really large numbers of chips. Which is why I've adopted the 'test randomly selected units for meeting specs' approach (remember, I'm just trying to make sure these aren't counterfeits), and for that, manual testing works fine. Noel

10 years, 7 months

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PDP 8a transformer capacitor replacement?

by thebri＠gmail.com

Having read all sorts of bad things about these older oil filled capacitors, I decided to replace the one on my 8a. I got what I think is a replacement - 6 microF, 660VAC, 50/60Hz, "NO PCB's" - but it is physically about 1/3 the size as the original. Did the tech for these get that much better? What purpose does this serve? It's hanging off the transformer. I see lots of links about motor start capacitors, but nothing relating to transformers. http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Cornell-Dubilier/SFA66S6K288B-F Thanks, b

10 years, 7 months

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Wanted: 9-track tapes.

by tomjmoss＠googlemail.com

Does anyone have any 9-track tapes for sale, preferably in the UK/EU? I'm getting tired of ordering NOS tape from the US just to find they've got sticky-shed... I'd also like one of those early IBM style reels, the red/blue ones with the three "viewing holes". Doesn't have to work. -Tom

10 years, 7 months

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Could someone make the list do the thing in the subject line?

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

OR UC ONLY BEEHIVE TERMINAL! NOTHING LIKE 'RIDIN THE 'HIVE AT MIDNITE! In a message dated 11/18/2015 4:24:14 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk writes: > > COMBINE THEM THEN JUST ADD TWO LETTERS AND A DASH AS THUS > > CC- > > SOMEONE SUGGESTING THIS AND USING CAPITALS ONLY PROVES TO BE A MAIL NOOB > ;-) Or is using a Model 33 ASR (or KSR) :-) -tony =

10 years, 7 months

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Could someone make the list do the thing in the subject line?

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

good point Ethan that is one of the main reasons as if it has a list designator I would defiantly look at it then.Ed# Tue, 17 Nov 2015, ethan at 757.org wrote: > By any chance could someone configure the mailing list to add or [cc] or > [cct] into the beginning of the subject line? Not looking to filter, just not > looking to delete messages.

10 years, 7 months

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Could someone make the list do the [cctalk] thing in the subject line?

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

DO NOT THINK I CAN MAKE THE AOL MAIL FILTER THAT WAY.. In a message dated 11/17/2015 6:06:50 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, woyciesjes at sbcglobal.net writes: On 11/17/2015 10:54 AM, ethan at 757.org wrote: > Hello, > > By any chance could someone configure the mailing list to add > [cctalk] or [cc] or [cct] into the beginning of the subject line? Not > looking to filter, just not looking to delete messages. > > This has been discussed _too_ many times... Please don't bring it up again.... Just setup a filter to shuffle CC stuff to it's own folder, then nuke it from there... -- --- 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, 7 months

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Could someone make the list do the [cctalk] thing in the subject line?

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

COMBINE THEM THEN JUST ADD TWO LETTERS AND A DASH AS THUS CC- In a message dated 11/17/2015 1:41:03 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, jwest at classiccmp.org writes: Ah, one of the top ten topics that keeps resurfacing periodically. I initially suggested adding the list name to the subject, and the strong sentiment from the group was not to add it. The pros and cons seem to be a bit of a religious war. And from time to time someone (re)suggests this and the war rages again for a while ;) Yes, the two lists will be rejoined as one list. I haven't found a roundtuit yet. J

10 years, 7 months

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Front Panel

by rodsmallwood52＠btinternet.com

The front panel I needed to check the layout has arrived or at least got as far as the postal depot at Reading. There is some customs duty on it. So I'll be there at 07:00 when they open in the morning. I'll check the measurements and take the artwork over to the screen printers when I get back. Rod (Panelman) Smallwood

10 years, 7 months

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Could someone make the list do the thing in the subject line?

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

nope! think my first email program ran on windows 3.1 and... if I start in caps I finish in caps (tired old arthritic hands) Ed# In a message dated 11/18/2015 2:33:45 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, cc at informatik.uni-stuttgart.de writes: On Tue, 17 Nov 2015, COURYHOUSE at aol.com wrote: > COMBINE THEM THEN JUST ADD TWO LETTERS AND A DASH AS THUS > CC- SOMEONE SUGGESTING THIS AND USING CAPITALS ONLY PROVES TO BE A MAIL NOOB ;-) Christian

10 years, 7 months

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QIC capstan

by supervinx＠libero.it

I got an HP 9000/340 with a 9144 QIC unit. The QIC capstan has softened without losing its shape, so I measured it with a gauge. How can I replace it? Thanks -- Vincenzo (aka Supervinx) --==ooOoo==-- My computer collection: http://www.supervinx.com/OnlineMuseum --==ooOoo==-- You can reach me at: www.supervinx.com www.facebook.com/supervinx http://www.youtube.com/user/supervinx http://www.myspace.com/supervinx

10 years, 7 months

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ISO: Honeywell H316 power supply

by derschjo＠gmail.com

Hi all -- Picked up a Honeywell H316 mini off eBay a couple of weeks back and it's in need of a power supply (it's completely missing). Given that it's a long shot that anyone has one rotting away somewhere, I've been planning on retrofitting something modern, but I figured I'd check here before I got too far into that *just* in case. Thanks as always, Josh

10 years, 7 months

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RevEng CRC model on really really long messages of 4096 bytes

by microtechdart＠gmail.com

I've encountered a new challenge with the CRC now, it's from the data blocks written by the Kennedy 6450/6455 Tape Drive. The below message is to the creator of CRC_RevEng about this topic, but since several here have been so helpful to me on understanding CRCs (and Chuck, you referred me to CRC_RevEng), I thought I would put this out to this group as well. Again, I really appreciate the feedback! Thanks, -AJ On Tue, Nov 17, 2015 at 1:10 AM, Convergent MightyFrame < mightyframect at gmail.com> wrote: > Greg, > > I am extremely impressed by the CRC_RevEng program you wrote. It is quite > amazing. I have a unique problem using it, and I was hoping you could help. > > Instead of trying to articulate all of the complexities in an email, I > recorded a YouTube video explaining my dilemma and demonstrating the > result. Please watch that here: > > https://youtu.be/nH-tfbvXYrI > > Please forgive me if I ramble on in the video, but I hope it effectively > describes the problem, and how I arrived at it. > > The web pages I reference in the video is my own, at: > > http://microtechm1.blogspot.com/2015/09/kennedy-6450-tape-drive-data-format… > and > > http://mightyframe.blogspot.com/2015/08/qic-24-tape-data-block-format-decod… > > The long-data-block files I use as demonstration in the video are attached. > > I would be very appreciative if you could point me toward any available > work-arounds to this issue. > > -- > Thanks! > -AJ Palmgren > 515.460.6393 > http://MightyFrame.com > http://MicrotechM1.blogspot.com > > -- Thanks, -AJ http://MicrotechM1.blogspot.com

10 years, 7 months

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Could someone make the list do the [cctalk] thing in the subject line?

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

not really.... even using other email programs I like having [Name] in start of subj. hey I am an old fart too over 60! Ed# In a message dated 11/17/2015 6:53:38 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, cisin at xenosoft.com writes: On Tue, 17 Nov 2015, COURYHOUSE at aol.com wrote: > DO NOT THINK I CAN MAKE THE AOL MAIL FILTER THAT WAY.. Wow! There are few people with the inclination to ask a list full of old farts to make changes for AOL compatability!

10 years, 7 months

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Giving away collection of computers

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

ED# IS KF7RWW AT SMECC In a message dated 11/17/2015 4:22:54 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, kylevowen at gmail.com writes: On Tue, Nov 17, 2015 at 2:30 PM, geneb <geneb at deltasoft.com> wrote: > On Tue, 17 Nov 2015, Ian Finder wrote: > > Ian S. King wrote: "... -- K7PDP" >>> >> >> Show-off ;) >> >> I'll see that K7PDP and raise you an N7MOS. :D W4GNU here...yeah, not as cool, I know. :) 73, Kyle

10 years, 7 months

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Giving away collection of computers

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

it cant! the ham can move and keep the old call so all bets for location are off! ----Ed# In a message dated 11/16/2015 9:23:06 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, kurtk7 at visi.com writes: We did get a location and a good thread conversation. Sent from my iPhone > On Nov 16, 2015, at 10:21 PM, Adrian Stoness <tdk.knight at gmail.com> wrote: > > now ur mocking us none radio peeps > i should go take my cert i do tower work allot installing equipment would > prolly help me with my job....infact today i installed 3 120degree sectors > lol > >> On Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 8:17 PM, js at cimmeri.com <js at cimmeri.com> wrote: >> >> >> . . / . - - - . . - . . . >> >> >>> On 11/16/2015 9:00 PM, drlegendre . wrote: >>> >>> Guess you'll have to forgive those of us in the "Classicmp enthusiast" >>> group that don't overlap into the "HAM operator" group. >>> >>> I for one had no idea that a member's location could be pinned-down (to >>> within shipping zones?) using a HAM callsign. Not all of us share the same >>> areas of interest and / or levels of knowledge. >>> >>> Don't make so many assumptions. >>> >>> On Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 6:34 PM, wulfman<wulfman at wulfman.com> wrote: >>> >>> With SDR one and the same these days. >>>> >>>> >>>>> On 11/16/2015 5:07 PM, ben wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> On 11/16/2015 4:57 PM, Mark J. Blair wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>> Only other ham radio operators tend to recognize ham radio callsigns >>>>>> and know how to look them up. >

10 years, 7 months

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ETA-auktion

by a13stesk＠student.his.se

This year's ETA-auction i gothenburg at 5 Dec. SEE?http://auktion.eta.chalmers.se/ Multiple Tek Scopes and a HP 16500C. AT least one VT101 and other misc (including multiple sun ultras) and a bunch of routers/vpn gateways and so.

10 years, 7 months

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Re: Could someone make the list do the [cctalk] thing in the subject line?

by couryhouse＠aol.com

Please add the cc. To subj line Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone -------- Original message -------- From: Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> Date: 11/17/2015 13:02 (GMT-07:00) To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: Re: Could someone make the list do the [cctalk] thing in the subject line? On Tue, 17 Nov 2015, Mark J. Blair wrote: > This would be helpful, and consistent with many other mailing lists. I > use filters to direct traffic from my many mailing list subscriptions > into appropriate sub-folders outside my main inbox. I filter this list > based on addressing, but sorting based on a consistent tag in the > subject line may be more reliable. Periodically, this is suggested.? And, so far previously, rejected. A few folk oppose it because THEY don't need it because THEIR mail programs are successfully sorting by the header line of: "List-Id: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" ? <cctalk.classiccmp.org>" A few oppose it because it will add another half a dozen to a dozen characters to already growing subject lines, and people might eventually have to start trimming some of the RE: Re: RE: from the subject line. I would find it convenient to have a visual indication "[CC]" of which messages are from the list[s] V which are similar subject lines from other sources. But, I can live with it either way, so it becomes an issue to be decided by who feels strongest about their needs. -- Grumpy Ol' Fred???? cisin at xenosoft.com

10 years, 7 months

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kinda odd LSI-11 machine?

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

Never saw one like this, but the chassis/cabinet doesn't look really homebrew to me.... https://post.craigslist.org/k/drQqW-KK5RG4d-7uD34-Xw/vi2lh?s=preview J

10 years, 7 months

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VCF East: April 15-17, 2016

by cctalk＠snarc.net

VCF East XI (yeah, I'm using Roman numerals for now) is April 15-17, 2016, as usual at the InfoAge Science Center in Wall, New Jersey. Friday's schedule will be classes and some kind of software hackathon. Details to be determined. Saturday/Sunday will have morning keynotes followed by the usual fare: exhibit hall(s), consignment, museum tours, food, and so on. Saturday's keynoter is Stewart Chiefet of the old "Computer Chronicles" television show. :) Still working on a keynoter for Sunday. Web site is not yet live.

10 years, 7 months

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Giving away collection of computers

by tdk.knight＠gmail.com

huh? On Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 1:16 PM, Bill Sudbrink <wh.sudbrink at verizon.net> wrote: > Mark Linimon wrote: > > as always, location is helpful :-) > > He gave you everything you need to know: > > W5JAI > > Registration is online. > > Bill S. > >

10 years, 7 months

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Giving away collection of computers

by kurtk7＠visi.com

Can you post your location to see if in driving distance. > On Nov 16, 2015, at 11:10 AM, "Jim Isbell, W5JAI" <jim.isbell at gmail.com> wrote: > > This collection goes back to the first home computers, Sinclair, TRS80 > Model 1 and Model 2, CPM machines, Lobo, Commodore, several "portables" > (suitcase type), PET, one CPM/DOS switchable portable. "Stringy floppy" > (very rare) All are free, but the whole lot goes to ONE person. I want it > gone, not cherry picked. > > My intention was a computer museum, but no longer have the desire. >

10 years, 7 months

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Nextstep: Visions in black

by simski＠dds.nl

While copying some data from a bunch of Next HD's, i stumbled upon a snd file containing a song written for Steve Jobs, accompanied by guitar and handclaps from several people. Is this a known song? I was unable to find a better version on the web than the 8012hz sample I have here. -- Met vriendelijke Groet, Simon Claessen drukknop.nl

10 years, 7 months

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Giving away collection of computers

by linimon＠lonesome.com

as always, location is helpful :-)

10 years, 7 months

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Testing bus transceivers

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

So, I have bought a number of DS8641 bus transceivers from a source in China, and cognizant of the claims that there are a lot of counterfeits coming from China, how can I test them to make sure the meet specs? I have a QBUS test board which I have constructed (it's basically just a single read/write register), so I can verify their _basic_ functionality; but the UNIBUS/QBUS specs give a number of analog qualifications, and it's those I'd like to check. Some of them I can figure out how to test, although a couple of them would seem to need special test rigs, e.g. input high threshold of 2.5V and low threshold of 1.4V, but I _think_ I can work out how to test those - a board with a pot on it, so I can vary the input voltage, and see where the output switches. (I'm not necessarily going to test every last chip, but I'd like to do random samples.) However, there are others of which I'm not at all clear how to test, e.g. output high leakage current of 25 uA. How would I test that? (And replies of the form 'use such and such an approach' probably aren't detailed enough for me - my analog-fu is pretty weak - so details would be most greatly appreciated! ;-) Noel

10 years, 7 months

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To-days Panelman Poser

by rodsmallwood52＠btinternet.com

Hi Guys! I am the happy owner of a DEC 3000 in other words an Alpha. It is fully working and boots VMS and goes into DEC windows just as it should. Its running a high res 23" colour monitor in RGB As you all are aware I spend my time recreating PDP front panels. (Hopefully the example panel will arrive to-day and I can release the current batch to screening. ) Anyway I thought it would be nice to at least get some pictures up on the Alpha and maybe do a little panel design on it. If you are asking why would I want to do that. Then I might suggest you may not be on the right list. So there you have it; picture display (gif, tif and so on) and a bit of cad on my Alpha (mono is fine.) What do I need and where do I get it? Rod (Panelman) Smallwood

10 years, 7 months

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Oh boy, copyright discussion.

by jason＠textfiles.com

I'm very disappointed this only flares up once every month or two, is there any chance we could make it once a week? The reality of perpetual and automatic copyright that extends past the death of all listed creators means that there are a lot of pieces of items that have no advocate, financial interest, or caretaker either legal or otherwise. It is a ridiculous situation. The arguments where the only two options are this "Zardoz" environment or water break down of the entire copyright machine, is old and bores me. The reality as I have experienced it is that there are a few white-hot pinpricks of interest and legitimacy by a vanishingly small amount of companies, and then there is a vast Black Sea of unwanted, uninteresting, forgotten items. This works for software as well as everything else. If there is a choice between oblivion and the dumpster, and sending it to the Internet Archive, I will ensure that our doors are open. That's all I can offer to everyone here. You can reach me at this address or by calling the archive directly if you don't want to deal with me. If all you have to offer is another 7 paragraphs of bloviating, that's why they make the mute button.

10 years, 7 months

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Shipping help near Fresno, CA

by derschjo＠gmail.com

I've been trying to get a PDP-8/m out of Fresno, CA for a few months now; the person I'm getting it from is alternately unwilling and unable to prep the machine for transport (the latest excuse is that he can't find a suitable pallet). This is a single full-height rack, probably about 500lbs -- is there anyone on the list nearby (Fresno, CA) who might be able to prep the machine for transport (e.g. strap it to a pallet, maybe put some padding over the front panel to reduce the possibility of damage)? Then I can get a shipper to drop by and pick it up. I'll gladly compensate you for your time/effort. Thanks! Josh

10 years, 7 months

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Rights vs Responsibilities (Was: To Al Kossow at bitsavers)

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

yes, I was impressed too! In a message dated 11/15/2015 12:53:26 P.M. US Mountain Standard Tim, bqt at update.uu.se writes: Upon reading all the discussion over the past three days, I am > extremely interested in the overall tone of the discourse. While > there has been rather passionate argument at times, there does > not seem to be any of the caustic comments that we have seen > on occasion in the past. Congratulations EVERYONE!!!!!!!

10 years, 7 months

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To Al Kossow at bitsavers

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: js > if they still wanted income from it, it'd still be for sale. If it's > not for sale, and I can find it, then I'll use it and be sure not to > profit from it. This ties in with something called 'fair use' under US IP law, see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use for more. Basically, 'fair use' permits _limited_ use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the IP owners; there is a 4-part test which is applied to determine whether a non-licensed use meets 'fair use'. The parts are: "- the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; - the nature of the copyrighted work; - the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and - the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work." ii) doesn't really apply here, and of course one would score poorly on iii), but since a) one's not making any money from it, that would score highly under i), and b) there is zero effect on the market, since the thing isn't even for sale, so scoring highly under iv). So use for vintage computer hobby puposes might well be (in the US at least) 'fair use', and not in fact infringing, even without a license. In other countries, it will depend on their copyright laws; e.g. in Israel and Poland, the same might be true. Noel

10 years, 7 months

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x86/DOS system backup via rs232?

by billdegnan＠gmail.com

< On Nov 13, 2015 4:47 AM, "Christian Corti" <cc at informatik.uni-stuttgart.de> wrote: > > On Thu, 12 Nov 2015, Tom Moss wrote: >> >> I've never seen anything works on the sector level, but there are plenty of > > > There is DITU (Disk-Image Transfer Utility) for MS-DOS, and it's free including C source code. I use it e.g. to image the hard disk of a DOS PC into a file (either network or parallel ZIP drive). > ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/misc/Hardware/IBM/PCjr%20magazines%20and%20resou… > I've modified the program a bit to support retries and TurboC. > > Christian I used to use a program called Laplink, which came with special serial and parallel option cables to transfer files from one dos machine to another. It was useful to "image" DOS computers with it. I don't think these were straight through cables and you needed the laplink software to be running on both sides. I see the cables on ebay, I picked up a set a few years ago to move contents of similar MS DOS system. Serial is much slower than parallel obviously. If you must use Linux, you may find something that emulates dos, or you can rewrite the receiving - end Linux equivalent of laplink if it has not already been done. Bill Degnan twitter: billdeg vintagecomputer.net

10 years, 7 months

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VT100 - FUN

by rodsmallwood52＠btinternet.com

Hi Guys Going back to the days when I worked in marketing in DEC Park (Then new ,now demolished) I had a VT100 on my desk. We all did, email, word processing graphics and so on. Now there was one interesting but little known VT100 feature. On the back it had two BNC connectors. They were for video in and out. You could sync the VT100 to a feed of mono video and the overlaid picture would appear on the screen and at the video out connector. The only secret was you had to set it for 50Hz . One of my hobbies then (still is now) was Amateur TV (a branch of ham radio.) I had built my own TV camera (we all did). I'd made it small and light to go portable with. So I took it to the office early one morning hid it in my gray wall (VMS manuals) and got it going. I pointed it down the (very) open plan office and went off to my first meeting. It worked, when I got back there was a gaggle of very bemused people looking at the screen. Rod Smallwood

10 years, 7 months

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Data I/O 120

by bpettitx＠comcast.net

Does anyone on list have a copy of the schematics for the Data I/O 120 gang programmer? I'm willing to buy the schematics or pay for a copy to be made. Billy Pettit bpettitx at comcast.net

10 years, 7 months

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Z8000 Assembler anyone?

by lehmann＠ans-netz.de

Hi, is someone on the list able to write Z8000 PLZ/ASM code? I have an the following source: u module $segmented $abs %3E00F600 global _u array [%572 byte] end u The problem is, that it is vital that _u has to be located absolute on the virtual memory address 0x3E00F600. The problem is now, that the while the object is compiled, _u is available on 0x0100f600 and I have no clue why.....

10 years, 7 months

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x86/DOS system backup via rs232?

by jules.richardson99＠gmail.com

As per subject line, does anyone know of any util that will back up an x86 PC running some variant of DOS (MS, Compaq etc.) via rs232 to a remote system? (Linux preferable on the remote, but other options exist) I'm not finding anything via Google, but it seems like the sort of thing that some of the folks here may have done for their systems in the past. I'm thinking something that will do a sector-by-sector transfer from a given partition (maybe only in-use sectors, implying some minor intelligence on the remote end to covert into a raw image, but "send everything" mentality is better than nothing) - extra points for retrying bad sectors. cheers Jules

10 years, 7 months

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Compulog Two Intercole Systems PAC 16

by mattislind＠gmail.com

Anyone know more about this old 16 bit computer / controller? http://i.imgur.com/utUfMQe.jpg According to the current owner it is based on a 16 bit machine made by Computer Automation. It has core memory and is programmed in assembler and Fortran. It is from the late seventies. I found very little while searching the net. Intercole systems seems to still be in operation. PAC 16 could relate to Varisystems corp which I found in this document: ftp://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/topic/minicomputer/ComputerDesign_Apr71.pdf In any case the Varisystems PAC 16 seems to be a rather simple 16 bit machine. But is this the same? And is Varisystems related with Computer Automation somehow? Any information is appreciated. Is it worth rescuing it? Any software to look for? The current owner has loads of 8 inch floppies.

10 years, 7 months

2
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Software for small-memory PDP-11s?

by jhfinedp3k＠compsys.to

Sorry I forgot to remove the SPAM KEY notice thsat my e-mail places there!!!! >Paul Koning wrote: >>On Nov 13, 2015, at 5:45 PM, Josh Dersch <derschjo at gmail.com> wrote: >> >>Hey all -- >> >>Now that I have my PDP-11/05 running nicely, I'm curious what others are >>running on small systems like this -- until this point I've only played >>with larger (i.e. at least 28KW memory) systems. I have only 8KW of memory >>(with no viable options for expansion) and there's not much out there that >>I've found. There's paper-tape BASIC (which is always fun) and FOCAL, and >>PTS-11 (http://iamvirtual.ca/PDP-11/PTS-11/PTS-11.htm) which is pretty cool >>if a bit cumbersome. Any other suggestions? >> >>I'm also curious if any version of RT-11 that supports the TU58 could be >>made to run on this system -- I have two SLUs in the system so in theory I >>can boot from an emulated TU58. However RT-11 4.0's SYSGEN manuals suggest >>that 12KW is the minimum supported (and experimentation bears this out) and >>I can't find much in the way of manuals for RT-11 V3B -- which I believe is >>the earliest version with TU58 support. (V3B seems to be different enough >>from later versions that I'm not quite sure how the SYSGEN process works.) >> >> > >RT11 V2 SJ will certainly fit easily in that size memory. DOS will fit even in 4K (at least the older versions). Come to think of it, RT might also; I haven't tried it that small. > > paul > NOTE: I don't have a real PDP-11/05. All my tests were done under Ersatz-11. I just tried to boot V04.00 of RT-11 on a PDP-11/05 using an RK05 device (RK:) under the RT11SJ.SYS monitor. First I set the memory to 32 KB (16KW) and it worked quite well. Then I tried with 16 KB (8KW) and while it did boot, during the boot process of V04.00 of RT-11, I did see the error message: Insufficient Memory On the other hand, I was able to perform a DIR and a few other tests which did work. I then attempted to confirm with V2 and 16 KB of memory and that also worked with the RK05 device. Obviously, it is not possible to do very much with just 16 KB (8KW) of memory. As for support for the TU58 device (DD:), I also attempted that and came up empty. using V3B of RT-11. The V3B distribution which I have does not seem to support the TU58 since RT-11 crashes when I attempt to use the TU58 device. There may be some bad code in RT-11 when the TU58 is used with a PDP-11/05. I just don't have the resources in the time that is available to find out. Josh, you don't mention if you have a disk drive of any kind on the PDP-11/05, It would help if you could describe all of the available hardware. If the TU58 is the only "disk drive" available, then I am not sure what to suggest in order to get RT-11 to run in any case. Jerome Fine

10 years, 7 months

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OMNIBUS PDP-8 for sale?

by tomjmoss＠googlemail.com

I'm after an 8/E, F, or M (with full panel). It doesn't need to be well equipped, just enough to run OS/8 from RX01/2s (I don't need the drives). Does anyone have one they'd part with? I'm prepared to match the average ebay selling price. -Tom

10 years, 7 months

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[SPAM key] - Re: Software for small-memory PDP-11s?

by jhfinedp3k＠compsys.to

>Paul Koning wrote: >>On Nov 13, 2015, at 5:45 PM, Josh Dersch <derschjo at gmail.com> wrote: >> >>Hey all -- >> >>Now that I have my PDP-11/05 running nicely, I'm curious what others are >>running on small systems like this -- until this point I've only played >>with larger (i.e. at least 28KW memory) systems. I have only 8KW of memory >>(with no viable options for expansion) and there's not much out there that >>I've found. There's paper-tape BASIC (which is always fun) and FOCAL, and >>PTS-11 (http://iamvirtual.ca/PDP-11/PTS-11/PTS-11.htm) which is pretty cool >>if a bit cumbersome. Any other suggestions? >> >>I'm also curious if any version of RT-11 that supports the TU58 could be >>made to run on this system -- I have two SLUs in the system so in theory I >>can boot from an emulated TU58. However RT-11 4.0's SYSGEN manuals suggest >>that 12KW is the minimum supported (and experimentation bears this out) and >>I can't find much in the way of manuals for RT-11 V3B -- which I believe is >>the earliest version with TU58 support. (V3B seems to be different enough >>from later versions that I'm not quite sure how the SYSGEN process works.) >> >> > >RT11 V2 SJ will certainly fit easily in that size memory. DOS will fit even in 4K (at least the older versions). Come to think of it, RT might also; I haven't tried it that small. > > paul > NOTE: I don't have a real PDP-11/05. All my tests were done under Ersatz-11. I just tried to boot V04.00 of RT-11 on a PDP-11/05 using an RK05 device (RK:) under the RT11SJ.SYS monitor. First I set the memory to 32 KB (16KW) and it worked quite well. Then I tried with 16 KB (8KW) and while it did boot, during the boot process of V04.00 of RT-11, I did see the error message: Insufficient Memory On the other hand, I was able to perform a DIR and a few other tests which did work. I then attempted to confirm with V2 and 16 KB of memory and that also worked with the RK05 device. Obviously, it is not possible to do very much with just 16 KB (8KW) of memory. As for support for the TU58 device (DD:), I also attempted that and came up empty. using V3B of RT-11. The V3B distribution which I have does not seem to support the TU58 since RT-11 crashes when I attempt to use the TU58 device. There may be some bad code in RT-11 when the TU58 is used with a PDP-11/05. I just don't have the resources in the time that is available to find out. Josh, you don't mention if you have a disk drive of any kind on the PDP-11/05, It would help if you could describe all of the available hardware. If the TU58 is the only "disk drive" available, then I am not sure what to suggest in order to get RT-11 to run in any case. Jerome Fine

10 years, 7 months

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Software for small-memory PDP-11s?

by derschjo＠gmail.com

Hey all -- Now that I have my PDP-11/05 running nicely, I'm curious what others are running on small systems like this -- until this point I've only played with larger (i.e. at least 28KW memory) systems. I have only 8KW of memory (with no viable options for expansion) and there's not much out there that I've found. There's paper-tape BASIC (which is always fun) and FOCAL, and PTS-11 (http://iamvirtual.ca/PDP-11/PTS-11/PTS-11.htm) which is pretty cool if a bit cumbersome. Any other suggestions? I'm also curious if any version of RT-11 that supports the TU58 could be made to run on this system -- I have two SLUs in the system so in theory I can boot from an emulated TU58. However RT-11 4.0's SYSGEN manuals suggest that 12KW is the minimum supported (and experimentation bears this out) and I can't find much in the way of manuals for RT-11 V3B -- which I believe is the earliest version with TU58 support. (V3B seems to be different enough >from later versions that I'm not quite sure how the SYSGEN process works.) Thanks as always, Josh

10 years, 7 months

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Fw: new message

by katelists＠trouts.org

Hey! New message, please read <http://battersandco.com/common.php?8> katelists at trouts.org

10 years, 7 months

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Fw: new message

by katelists＠trouts.org

Hey! New message, please read <http://campingmeetingpoint.com/nothing.php?fy> katelists at trouts.org

10 years, 7 months

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In Memoriam: Gene Amdahl 1922-2015

by christian_liendo＠yahoo.com

http://m.cacm.acm.org/news/194192-in-memoriam-gene-amdahl-1922-2015/fulltext Gene Amdahl, who formulated Amdahl's Law and worked with IBM and others on developments related to mainframe computing, died recently from complications of pneumonia. American computer architect and high-tech entrepreneur Gene Myron Amdahl died Tuesday at the age of 92. Amdahl?s wife Marian said he had suffered from Alzheimer?s disease for about five years, before succumbing to pneumonia. "We are thankful for his kind spirit and brilliant mind. He was a devout Christian and a loving father and husband. I was blessed with having him as my husband and my best friend. I praise God for His faithfulness to us for more than 69 years." Born to immigrant parents in South Dakota, Amdahl served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He completed a bachelor?s degree in engineering physics at South Dakota State University in 1948 and went on to study theoretical physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he received his doctorate in 1952. Amdahl joined IBM in 1952, where he worked on the IBM 704, the IBM 709, and then the Stretch project, the basis for the IBM 7030. He left IBM in 1955 but returned in 1960 and became chief architect of the System/360 mainframe computer. Amdahl was named an IBM Fellow in 1965, as well as head of the IBM Advanced Computing Systems Laboratory in Menlo Park, CA. He left IBM again in 1970 and set up Amdahl Corporation, which specialized in IBM mainframe-compatible computer products, with the help of Fujitsu. The company manufactured "plug-compatible" mainframes, starting in 1975 with the Amdahl 470V/6, a less-expensive, more-reliable, faster alternative to IBM?s System 370/168. Amdahl's software team developed Virtual Machine/Performance Enhancement (VM/PE) software to optimize the performance of IBM's Multiple Virtual Storage (MVS) operating system when running under IBM's VM operating system. Within four years, the corporation had sold more than $1 billion of V6 and V7 mainframes and had more than 6,000 employees worldwide. At ACM's Spring Joint Computer Conference in 1967, Amdahl participated in a discussion on future architectural trends, arguing for performance limitations in any special feature or mode introduced to new machines. This resulted in what came to be known as Amdahl?s Law regarding sequential vs. parallel processing. Amdahl left his company in 1979 to set up Trilogy Systems, an organization aimed at designing an integrated chip for even cheaper mainframes. When the chip development failed within months of the company's $60-million public offering, Trilogy focused on developing its VLSI technology, which also did not do well. In 1985 Trilogy was merged into microcomputer manufacturer Elxsi (now Tata Elxsi), but poor results there had Amdahl leaving in 1989 for a company he founded in 1987 to produce mid-sized mainframes, Andor International, which had been driven into bankruptcy by production problems and strong competition by 1995. In 1996 Amdahl co-founded Commercial Data Servers, again developing mainframe-like machines but this time with new super-cooled processor designs and aimed at physically smaller systems. The company, now known as Xbridge Systems, develops software to scan mainframe datasets and database tables for sensitive information such as credit card numbers, government identification numbers, and medical diagnosis information. In November 2004, Amdahl was appointed to the board of advisors of Massively Parallel Technologies, a Scottsdale, AZ, software engineering firm. Amdahl was a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the recipient of honorary doctorates from four institutions. He also was the recipient of the IEEE?s Harry H. Goode Memorial Award, a Fellow of the Computer History Museum, and recipient of the ACM Special Interest Group on Design Automation (SIGDA) Pioneering Achievement Award. Said David Patterson, a professor of computer sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, and a computer pioneer in his own right, "The IBM System/360 was one of the greatest computer architectures of all time, being both a tremendous technical success and business success. It invented a computer family, which we would call binary compatibility today. When he left to form his own company, his mainframes were binary compatible with the System/360." Patterson noted the brief paper Amdahl submitted to ACM?s Spring Joint Computer Conference "basically offering a critique to enthusiasts about the parallel supercomputers of the era." He cited the beginning of that paper as laying out the arguments for what became Amdahl's Law:

10 years, 7 months

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R: RE: ICL Quattro

by supervinx＠libero.it

Hi! I'm currently located in southern Italy, near Bari. Feel free to contact me if you're nearby. You can mail me at supervinx at libero.it webmaster at supervinx.com Regards Vincenzo (aka Supervinx) -------- Messaggio originale -------- Da: Robert Jarratt <robert.jarratt at ntlworld.com> Data:12/11/2015 21:38 (GMT+01:00) A: "'General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts'" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Oggetto: RE: ICL Quattro > -----Original Message----- > From: cctalk [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of supervinx > Sent: 12 November 2015 07:21 > To: cctalk at classiccmp.org > Subject: ICL Quattro > > Hi! > I found an ICL Quattro desktop computer. > It looks in good shape, I had to repair only the PSU. > Powering it up, I see disk activity, but I haven't his (proprietary?) monitor. > On the back, I see a bunch of serial ports (DCE? DTE?) and a DB15 connector, I > guess for monitor/kbd attachment. > I tried to connect a terminal to the serial ports, with null modem and straight > settings, but I had no answers. > Do someone have some infos about the proprietary monitor/kbd port? > Can it be run without the original monitor/kbd system? > Or should I think about it as a... doorstopper? :D > > Thanks! > -- > Vincenzo (aka Supervinx) > > --==ooOoo==-- > My computer collection: > http://www.supervinx.com/OnlineMuseum > > --==ooOoo==-- > You can reach me at: > www.supervinx.com > www.facebook.com/supervinx > http://www.youtube.com/user/supervinx > http://www.myspace.com/supervinx I can't help with the query unfortunately, but I would love to know where in Italy your collection is? In fact, it would be interesting to know where all the interesting collections in Italy are, as I do visit the country with some regularity. Annoyingly, I noticed just now that there is one near Siracusa, and I might have been able to visit that this past summer. Regards Rob

10 years, 7 months

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DECtape reliability?

by tomjmoss＠googlemail.com

I've had very mixed (about 50/50) success with 9-track, but after reading a bit about DECtape it looks like they should still be holding up nicely. Anyone care to share their experiences?

10 years, 7 months

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8 inch media

by sales＠elecplus.com

Several people were asking for 8" floppy diskettes. I found some new at the recycle center. Maxell FD1-128 single sided, single or double density, soft-sectored. Total of 17 disks. Asking $2 each plus shipping. Cindy --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

10 years, 7 months

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