< I imagine I was just lucky and the DEC disks came in to the
<shop separately, but a nagging idea of the Rainbows ability to boot
<msdos came to mind. I also finally found a DEC k-b for a long-dormant
<Rainbow which has a 5meg Seagate. When I get the 15-pin video cable
<I'll be able to check further.
Rainbows did run MSdos versions 1.1 and 2.11.. I may even have a copy of
2.11(rx50).
Allison
At 07:46 AM 3/9/98, you wrote:
>>I'll give you $40 for one to kill two birds with one stone: I'll get an
>>HX-20, and we'll establish the going market price for them.
I hate to say it, but there is a market for them, (one of which is right
here) and $40 for a machine as described (assuming it works) is rather on
the cheap side. Probably closer to $75, maybe even $100+ if you put it up
for auction on eBay.
Something tells me I should really be tracking what I pay for my
machines... I guess I'll start doing that.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- O-
Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad
roger(a)sinasohn.com that none but madmen know."
Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates
San Francisco, California http://www.sinasohn.com/
Found in comp.os.vms:
>Hello all,
>We have several (currently 6, more to come) VaxServer 3100's that
>we have retired from service. They had been doing Macintosh file =
>serving,
>for the last 5 years and have been replaced with NT boxes.
>Our current options are either 1) find them a good home, 2) send them
>to State Surplus Equipment, or 3) throw them out.
>I can offer them FREE to anyone who wants them, PROVIDED you
>arrange to either pick them up or have them shipped to you at no
>cost to us.
>Also available are a couple of Storage Expansion units for these boxes,
>a few VT320's, and 3 TLZ04 tape drives.
>The 3100's are rather minimally configured, nothing beyond the base
>memory (8MB? maybe 16MB?) and a relatively small hard drive
>(250MB?). I'm not primarily a Vax person, so I'm not sure what other
>information anyone might need, but feel free to ask.
>These machines do work. They came out of service between September
>and now, and were under DEC service agreements until June 30th, 1997.
>We intended to donate them to a sister college, who later decided they
>didn't want them, and we tried a used equipment dealer who didn't want
>them either.
>If anyone's interested, please reply to me by email. If we don't get =
>rid
>of them by the end of next week, the whole lot goes to State Surplus.
>Tony Harris
>Network Administrator
>Community College of Vermont
>harrist(a)mail.ccv.vsc.edu
I'm looking for a manual (hardware / service / etc.) for an
HP "9869A Calculator Card Reader". Just for clarification,
this is a 50 pound table-top beast from the mid-70s that
seems to be a full 80/40 column hollerith. Has 117v primary
and a 34pin "ribbon" ("centronics-style") connector for I/O.
I can probably make it "go" without docs, but it will be
easier to repair and adjust if I have the specifics.
Of course, the usual offer of payment for copies or (preferably)
originals is in effect.
Thanks for any info,
Gary
<2)Let's take the GRiD server as an example (I have never seen a GRiD
< machine, BTW). How does it differ from any desktop system?
Too broad a question. What is a desktop system? I can come up with
several that might surprize you.
<3)Have there been any machines that made extensive use of a truly
< unusual architecture? What I am looking for is twofold: I am
< interested if anything ever used a neural network-like arrangement,
< and I am interested in something that had a processor that
< interacted w/the user and a separate one to do the processing
< (ie a real-time system capable of doing all that a normal one can)
IS there one or three questions in there?
yes there have been some very unusual machines like transputers,
connection machines, vector processors, Turing machines.
the latter half of your question is too broad. My z80 s-s100 crate would
qualify as the OS was distributed over several z80s but only on had the
user interface. The Vax-11/780 had a qbuss PDP-11 as a diagnostic fromt
pannel. An xterm on an eithernet to a server could even qualify.
Allison
At 03:55 PM 3/9/98 -0500, you wrote:
>> [Not too heavy?]
>>
>> No, it's just actually not as heavy as it looks. Most of the insides are
>> air.
>
>Well, that is true. Most big IBMs are that way. IBM still managed to use
>some very heavy parts - heavy gauge steel chassis, big stiff transformers,
>and disk drives with really big motors.
>
>Still, once a computer tips the scale over 300 or so pounds, I consider it
>heavy.
>
>William Donzelli
>william(a)ans.net
>
>
Heavy? Not if you add the optional System/34 Transport Attachment (shoulder
harness/hernia belt), IBM PN 74G5666.
Sorry, couldn't resist.
David
dwollmann(a)ibmhelp.com
At 08:54 AM 3/9/98 -0500, Ward Donald Griffiths III wrote:
>> Well my 3B2 and 6300 cases match exactly. (Brown bottom, white tops, black
>> inserts, etc.)
>
>Check for the suffix WGS after 6300. The 6300 WGS (_much_ more PC
>compatible than the original) had that color scheme, the original had
>a mostly black front. Does it have the DB-25 video connector? I'll
>accept an interim color change that I might have missed -- I only
>dealt with AT&T equipment when the WGS systems were just appearing
>and the original 6300 and 6300+ had been discontinued -- but the
>store kept so much old stuff in inventory that I shouldn't have
>missed anything like that.
I don't recall if there was a "WGS" or not (in storage now) but it does have
the 25 pin video connector. The color scheme is brownish-black base with
the top being approx 1 1/2" white bordered and about half of the middle
section being black, the other half, or course, depending on the color of
the drives in the system. Sorry the above is so confusing.
Les
>--
>Ward Griffiths
>Dylan: How many years must some people exist,
> before they're allowed to be free?
>WDG3rd: If they "must" exist until they're "allowed",
> they'll never be free.
>
>
I have, at some what short notice, been told I am going to Taiwan
tomorrow (for two weeks). :-(
I shall be able to redirect my e-mail, but past experience of such
things shows that I usually get my list subscription forcibly set to
"postpone" after about a week under such conditions.
However, (and this is the real point of the message), I shall probably
have some space for souvenirs on the return journey. Does anyone on the
list know of _any_ Taiwannese computer equipment which could be
considered a classic? (Preferably not a PC clone!)
Philip.
It looks like I am now the proud owner of a LINC-8 carcass - stripped of
everything but the front panel, backplane, scope, supplies, and core
stack. The LINC-8s are interesting machines in that they are a PDP-8s
(staight-8s) with strapped on LINC processors. They were made for a few
years in the 1960s until the PDP-12 came about.
I am looking for ANY of the small DEC Flip-Chips in the R, S, B, G, A, or
W category (I do not yet have numbers). These are much smaller than the
more common modules found in later PDP-8s and -11s, but still have the
familiar plastic handles found on the M series boards. These have no ICs
on them, but may have weird looking hybrid grey SIP packages (at least I
have seen some on R107 modules).
Any leads would be appreciated. Thank you.
William Donzelli
william(a)ans.net
"Bob Wood" <altair8800(a)hotmail.com> wrote:
>I am in the market for a Sol 20 and and/or an Imsai 8080.
A few weeks ago, a couple Altair systems on ebay.com went for
more than $1500 each. However, an IMSAI was recently sold for
$126 on comp.os.cpm. Prices are all over the map, from $0 to
$1500 it seems.
Aren't you the guy who's always posting messages to newsgroups,
saying you're looking for these machines? Are you a collector
or an arbitrageur? Judging by author profiles at www.dejanews.com,
it looks like you deal in all sorts of collectables. Can you
tell us more about your business?
- John
Jefferson Computer Museum <http://www.threedee.com/jcm>
At 06:23 PM 3/3/98 PST, Max Eskin wrote:
>>I'll differ on this point. one of the primary things that killed the
>'6300
>>was that it was NOT totally IBM compatable. The video subsystem (noted
>>below) is a prime example.
>Is it possible to somehow slap a CGA or any standard monitor into
>one of those?
Yup, just set switches 5 and 6 to on dipswitch 1 to disable the video
controller.
>Was the thing designed for UNIX or was it just a plain "enhanced" PC
>clone?
I think it was just meant to be an enhanced PC clone. I have to admit tho,
the 6300 case design is still one of my favorites (looks real purdy sittin' next
to a 3B2) and not a bad overall machine for it's age.
Les
PS If anyone else needs any dipswitch settings, etc. I have the tech manuals.
>Hmm? It must be the contrast between the white 3B2 cases and the black
>fronts of the 6300s, because I've always thought the 6300 was as ugly
>as party politics. The 7300 (and 3B1), now that's another story.
Well my 3B2 and 6300 cases match exactly. (Brown bottom, white tops, black
inserts, etc.)
les
At 11:58 PM 3/8/98 -0600, you wrote:
>On Sun, 8 Mar 1998, Joe wrote:
>
>> >Any additional info (and offers to give me one) appreciated.
>>
>> Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha! Fat chance!
>
>FWIW, I got email earlier today from somebody who threw his IPC away when
>nobody took him up on his offer of taking it away for free....
That's very strange since I frequently see ads from people wanting to
buy them. There was an ad in one of the HP news-groups just a few days ago.
Joe
I'm surprised the IBM drive caused such comment.
All I was re-iterating was what the guy said "an original IBM 10Meg drive" -
and as I saw IBM embossed on the front black plastic cover part, I figured
thats what it was. It's just a 5" or so hard drive, and nothing special.
Unless I'm mistaken, which is possible, as I don't know my stuff!
Add to the list from the other night a mint Z80 Big Board II
Cheers
A
-----Original Message-----
From: Tim Shoppa <shoppa(a)alph02.triumf.ca>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Monday, March 09, 1998 3:46 PM
Subject: Re: Motherload
>> >> > original IBM 10Meg hard drive
>> >>
>> >> Did IBM make this? I thought it was Seagate...
Hi. I just read about a Tandy 2500 XL with a 286 10MHz, 2MB RAM, MS-DOS and
DeskMate GUI built into ROM.
So, if anyone has one of these that they'd be willing to part with....
Thanks,
Tim D. Hotze
I picked up two cards rather than having them trashed.
They're approximately square in size about mmmh....20cm to a side.
I counted about 73 or 74 pins on the connector on one side of each card, the
other side a solid block connect. The 1st card is labeled "Q050 DUAL TVT"
and has a MCM2708(?) eprom and a 10 pin output port, whilst the 2nd is
labeled "Q025 16K RAM". Were these worth rescuing?
I can do images if really necessary.
Cheers
A
The 2650 card is called a SBC-2650, and the manual does not mention the
vendor, but does mention Microbyte as the supplier of the software (eg: ACOS
operating system).
>> - S100 speech card
>By who? Votrax, by any chance?
Nup, board is labeled "Electric Mouth - 1 NETRONICS R&D Ltd. (c)1981"
>> 4 x 1702A EPROMS that I was after! (whoo hooo)
>Well, if you run out of these, they're readily available here in
>North America, at $1.95 each, from Jameco
Its not so much the value of them, but that I wanted some and *there they
were*
Cheers
A
>> > S100 system with prototype of Signetics 2650 processor board
>> > - this board later went into commercial production
>>
>> Who sold it, out of curiosity?
>>
>> I remember a _Radio-Electronics_ (or was it _Popular Electronics_?)
article
>> from '76 or '77 that had construction plans for a 2650-based machine.
>> I don't remember it being S-100 based, though.
I will put the whole story up on my website as soon as I can. The design
was published either in Electronics Australia or ETI, and basically the gent
was ripped off. However, he told me they sold perhaps 100 of these boards.
I have lots of software for it, both on floppy and casette!! and this
includes... wait for it.... an 8080A emulator. Bizarre.
Cheers
A
The beast runs OK, just a couple of LEDs out on the front panel, it seems.
A brief brief play showed stepping through worked OK - will play with it
more, later.
At least the PSU is OK - next to check the EPROMs.
Cheers
A
The hitherto unseen Matell Aquarius II machine is pictured on the top menu
option on
http://www.comcen.com.au/~adavie/weird/
Enjoy!
A
PS: I have TWO Aquarius II machines.
Dear Friends: I have a TRS-80 Model II, expansion bay with one extra drive,
and a daisy wheel printer. I don't exactly use this equipment much and
would like to ger rid of it. Any suggestions?
Thanks.
Terry Moore
toonsband(a)msn.com
I just found two Epson HX-20 computers with expansion units, plug-in
printers and plug-in micro-cassette drives. I've seen lots of these
computers but not the other items. Can anyone tell me about them? What's
a setup like this worth? Everthing is in PERFECT condtion, but no books,
tapes or anything else included.
Joe
<I've been revising my web site a bit recently. One of the things I've
<added is the entire 1978 Tandy Computers catalog which features such
<things as the IMSAI 8080, Sol-20, Vector 1, etc. I don't know about
<you, but aside from this one catalog, I had no idea that Tandy ever
<sold anything like this. At any rate, the whole thing has been
They didn't! I was working from them from 75 through 79 and help start
the computer repair centers in ALlentown PA and then in Bethpage NY
and while they did sell a few non tandy machines IMSAI, SOL, Vector
were never seen in any of those places save for when I'd bring my altair
or NS* to test out something.
Now it's possible that one of the independently owned dealer stores held
and advertized other machines. Even the Radio Shack computer centers
didn't start opening until the beginning of 78. The trs-80 was mid '77
and Tandy did nothing in computers before that.
Allison
Doug,
At 01:09 AM 3/8/98 -0600, you wrote:
>I've had an HP IPC near the bottom of my wish list for a while, and I
>might be able to get one. The owner wasn't impressed with my first offer,
>but there may still be hope.
>
>Does anybody else have one of these?
Yeap, I have two of them. I love them.
> I've never actually seen one, but
Then go look at "http://www.intellistar.net/~rigdonj/hp9807.htm".
>the thought of an early portable Unix box appeals to me. I seem to
>remember they ran an early (1.0?) version of HP/UX on a 68K (?) from ROM
>(?).
Only a ****VERY*** minimal system was run out of the built-in ROM.
Usually HP-UX was run from an external hard drive or the built-in floppy
drive. There was a plug-in ROM available that contained a complete HP-UX
system. It was called the "Software Engineering ROM". It was optional and
VERY rare. Disk based BASIC was available for the IPC and was also
available in a plug-in ROM.
>
>Any additional info (and offers to give me one) appreciated.
Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha! Fat chance!
Joe
>
>BTW, I also saw a Mentor Graphics box today. It said something like
>series 400, model 425. I vaguely remember that Mentor sold rebadged
>Apollos with their CAD software. I was never crazy about Apollo Domain OS
>from a programmer's perspective, but I do remember it being fairly
>innovative/interesting at the time, so I'm thinking about getting the box.
>Attempts to talk me out of it are warmly welcomed.
>
>Thanks,
>Doug
>
>
Have three older terminals, condition unknown but in good physical
shape. They go to the big mainframe in the sky if I don't get an
interested party by March 15th....
Digital VT100, no keyboard
Digital VT220, no keyboard
Visual 102 with keyboard
I'm going to ask $5 for each plus shipping to more or less cover the
time involved in packing and running these to the shipper, but otherwise
they're here and awaiting some interested foster home to contact me
about them. Neither weighs a lot but due to the glass crt they aren't
featherwight either.
COntact me directly. I'm in the process of finishing my new shop and
these are NOT going into it and taking up much needed space.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Russ Blakeman
RB Custom Services / Rt. 1 Box 62E / Harned, KY USA 40144
Phone: (502) 756-1749 / Data/Fax:(502) 756-6991
Email: rhblake(a)bbtel.com or rhblake(a)bigfoot.com
Website: http://members.tripod.com/~RHBLAKE/
* Parts/Service/Upgrades and more for MOST Computers*
--------------------------------------------------------------------
>> > original IBM 10Meg hard drive
>>
>> Did IBM make this? I thought it was Seagate...
>
>Well, there certainly were Seagate/shugart (I can't remember if it was
>after the name change...) drives with 'IBM' moulded into the front panel.
>I have a few lying about...
Yeah, but it could also be a Winchester drive, (external?) I think that it
was the first hard drive to use technology still used today.
>>
>> Tim. (shoppa(a)triumf.ca)
>>
>
>-tony
>
I think you guys were right after all. It's a futile endeavour.
I just trashed the AT case and the entire PS/2 system except the
drives, cards, and ribbon cables. I couldn't stand it anymore. I will
pick up another case, there's plenty left that are not necessarily
PS/2. The thing did have an expansion card that had 2 MB RAM on it,
I will ship it to anyone who wants it.
>
>The power good line is a signal from the PSU to the motherboard that
>indicates that all the PSU lines are at the right voltages. If you
can't
>find a suitable signal on the PS/2 supply, then try connecting it to a
>+5V line (red wire, normally). That should get the machine running.
>
>
>-tony
>
>
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
I've been revising my web site a bit recently. One of the things I've
added is the entire 1978 Tandy Computers catalog which features such
things as the IMSAI 8080, Sol-20, Vector 1, etc. I don't know about
you, but aside from this one catalog, I had no idea that Tandy ever
sold anything like this. At any rate, the whole thing has been
scanned and put on my web site. I tried to keep the page images small
so they don't take forever to load, but it means that you can only
read the tag lines and prices. Still, the pictures and prices are fun
to look at. Take a look and let me know what you think. If there is
sufficient interest, I might go back and scan the pages at a higher
resolution and link the bigger images to the current ones. Also, let
me know if you see any glaring errors on my site; I'm still tracking
down some minor formatting problems, but most of it should be fine.
Just pick the "classic computers" link on the first page and go from
there to see the catalog. Hope you enjoy looking through it as much
as I did!
-Bill Richman
bill_r(a)inetnebr.com
http://incolor.inetnebr.com/bill_r
(Home of the COSMAC Elf Simulator!)
OK, despite your warnings, I pulled my AT motherboard out of its case
and put it into the PS/2 tower case. It fits reasonably well
physically, but I AM having a bit of trouble with the power supply
conversion. I have pretty much figured out how to wire the psu
to the motherboard, but the problem is the power good line. What
is it, and what would I need to hook it up to for the PSU and MB to
think that the power is good? (this is line 1 of P8 on most AT
motherboards)
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
Today I found the motherload
S100 system with prototype of Signetics 2650 processor board
- this board later went into commercial production
- homebrew video display for the s100 system
- twin floppy drives, video card, memory cards, etc.
- prototype of production 16K RAM card
- additional memory cards
- full documentation of all work
- S100 speech card
- about 8 S100 disk controllers (various versions of prototypes, I
guess)
Heaps of 2650 software, including FORTH, ACOS (casette operating system) and
about 30 other tapes chokka, too much to list. - I know it has 8080A
disassembler, PIPBUG monitors, etc etc.
- i have source code and listings for all these languages and OS
Mattel Aquarius, with ALL software (apparently) for this machine
- SCHEMATICS and technical documentation for the aquarius!!
- cassette drive
- printer (x 2) using colour pens, i think
- various RAM and ROM cartridges
Mattel Aquarius II in original box
lead on an Aquarius disk drive - will chase tomorrow.
prototype Aquarius cartridges, including 16K RAM, and a teletext dongle
(complete)
C64 grey model
- Prototype (functional) C64 modem
- programmer's reference guide (I was looking for one of these)
4 x 1702A EPROMS that I was after! (whoo hooo)
original IBM 10Meg hard drive
interesting thermal(?) printers - silver paper with Aluminium that was
sparked off
- have 34? and 80 column versions (80 col new in box)
lots more things that I haven't unpacked yet.
A good day.
Cheers
A
I have a like new, great condition DEC PC 100+ (Rainbow?) with Seagate
St412 10mb hard disk and dual floppy. One problem...NO monitor, NO
keyboard. I'm sure these can be located though. The power supply case
indicates a manufacture date of December 14, 1983. The unit looks as
though it just came out of the box, other than the little DEC plate in
the upper left corner of the front missing. The other one that says
"100+" is intact though. I have no idea why this is missing.
Make me an offer. Cash or trade or a combination. I'm always looking for
PC components such as internal/external cdroms, sound cards, SIMMs (30
or 72 pin, parity if possible). Best offer gets this one.
Email me directly.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Russ Blakeman
RB Custom Services / Rt. 1 Box 62E / Harned, KY USA 40144
Phone: (502) 756-1749 / Data/Fax:(502) 756-6991
Email: rhblake(a)bbtel.com or rhblake(a)bigfoot.com
Website: http://members.tripod.com/~RHBLAKE/
* Parts/Service/Upgrades and more for MOST Computers*
--------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Joe <rigdonj(a)intellistar.net>
Subject: RE: Vacation Finds...
>I just bought CMB 8032 complete with a 4040 drive and CMB (rebadged Diablo
>630) printer and a Novation CAT accoustic MODEM.
Modems for the PET are probably the hardest thing to find (I am still
looking) as they had IEEE-488 interfaces.
> I got all the original
>disks and manuals and everything else with it including the warranty
>papers. I got Commodore BASIC, SuperSpell, Word Pro 5 Plus
Wordpro was IT for PET word processors those of you familiar with
Easyscript for the 64 or Plus Script for the Plus/4 would recognize the
simliarity.
> something called Jinsam and a bunch of other stuff that I haven't figured out
> yet. Believe it or not, I bought this from a NASA auction last week.
> Joe
Jinsam is a database management program, and I remember the ads
extolling it's use by NASA, so I don't doubt it. I read about another
NASA application for PETs in an early Micro magazine (sometime in 1980)
something to do with launch countdown of un-manned missiles. As I have
said before, it my not have been a graphics superstar but it had the
interfacing (IEEE-488 and parallel user port) for just about anything
scientific.
Larry Anderson
--
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Visit our web page at: http://www.goldrush.com/~foxnhare/
Call our Commodore 64 BBS (Silicon Realms 300-2400 baud) at: (209)
754-1363
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
From: Ethan Dicks <erd(a)infinet.com>
Subject: Re: Vacation Finds...
>>
>> Have been on vacation since Friday and still have a couple days to
>> go... From the thrift store outlook in the area things are improving
>> again (I guess people are starting their pre-spring cleaning)
>>
>> What I passed up on...
>> PET 8032, 4040 dual drive.
>Agggggh! I'd *love* to replace my long-lost 8032. [snip!]
>Anyway, rambling aside, where are you on vacation and is the PET still there?
>-ethan
That was in Modesto, CA, (My vacation this time is closer to home). I
think the proboability of those units being there are good (since most
of the local 'thrifters' snag the IBM, Mac, and Amiga machines that show
up). I would have gotten them myself but those PETs take up alot of
shelf-space (which is limited for me cause I have several PETs already),
and I was pretending to be strong (of course if it were an original PET,
an 8x50 dual drive or a B-128 it would have been bought. :) That chain
of thrift stores (they call themselves Thrift Center Thrift Stores) are
interesting, on Wednesdays and Saturdays they have 1/2 price days and
with their sometimes low prices you can pick up some really inexpensive
hardware, they also strangely have been a good source for Atari 800s.
Yesterday on our travels, we took off to Sacramento (California's
state capitol) and discovered in our wanderings SEVERAL THRIFT STORES
(Many within a square mile on just one street.) But given the time we
didn't stop, *sigh*, but we now know where to look next time. We did
stop at a warehouse sized used book store (on Power Inn Road) most of
the stuff is discontinued school texts, some assorted stuff... Not much
computer book pickings there unless you have an IBM, Apple II, or a Mac
(finding quality older computer books almost the most challenging task
only after finding software.)
Been wandering the valley for most of this last week and plan to rest
out at least today and possibly tomorrow before work on Monday.
Larry Anderson
--
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Visit our web page at: http://www.goldrush.com/~foxnhare/
Call our Commodore 64 BBS (Silicon Realms 300-2400 baud) at: (209)
754-1363
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
To Greg Troutman:
I received the Laser 50 in the mail today... just as promised!! Thanks a
ton, and I hope you received my end the bargain as well?
To the list, I posted this here just as an example that there are
successful trades that take place because of the correspondance on the
list. Greg got in touch with me because I posted information about some
Apple cards that I had. We talked a bit, and decided this would be a
fair trade, neither of us had worries that the other wouldn't come
through on their side of the deal. It turns out we both sent our
hardware out the next morning, and 2 days later I received mine! Boy
Greg, I hope you got your ok... let me know.
Anyway, that's all. Just some publicity that trades can go right, after
having some bad experiences in the past, this re-opened my eyes to the
possibility of doing more often.
Thanks,
CORD COSLOR
--
___________________________________________________
| Cord G. Coslor : archive(a)navix.net |\
| Deanna S. Wynn : deannasue(a)navix.net | |
|---------------------------------------------------| |
| http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Vista/4395 | |
|---------------------------------------------------| |
| PO Box 308 - Peru, NE - 68421 - (402) 872- 3272 | |
|___________________________________________________| |
\____________________________________________________\|
>Propose a slightly labor intensive but very practiceable method.
>
>Once the machine is operational step through the eporms using the front
>pannel and write down the data on a sheet of paper...it's only 1024 bytes.
>it can be then typed into another machine and stored, disassembled or
>whatever. Hand disassembly of 1024 bytes it's not that bad, I've done
>it in the past.
Just received by email from the original owner...
"When I got the DL8a there were only the 4 EPROMs. Not sure what's in them
though, I found the what I assume was the code in the EPROMs when stepping
through memory, but I couldn't be bothered trying to disassemble it. "
I guess this implies that it was probably working, and that it would be safe
to power-up and step through the memory myself. Any agreement here, or is
this a bad idea?
Cheers
A
Well the bottom line is... I'm not an electronics guy.
The option I will be following is getting the 1702A EPROMS copied and
a) backed up to several media formats
b) duplicated to new 1702As.
>I supose the solution is for him to build a 1702 reader (which is a lot
>simpler than the programmer!) and to read the EPROMs himself.
>The ultimate solution would be for somebody to program a 'spare' 1702
>with a known byte sequence, and use that to test the homebrew reader. A
>lot of work, though.
No, this isn't a solution. I'm a software guy - I'll re-engineer the 8080A
code if and when necessary, but there's no way I'm going to build hardware
for this thing. I just want to copy some EPROMS... not delve into clever
engineering to make them redundant! By the way, I have found several 8080A
disasemblers for MSDOS. THere are quite a few websites around carrying such
goodies.
> Or the one that's
>X-rayed with a sufficient dose to damage the chips, or the one that's
>lost, or whatever.
Is the X-Raying a valid problem? Will X-Rays further damage already fragile
EPROMS? As I said, I may have found myself four 1702A EPROMS, the only
problem here is getting the code from A to B. Maybe the ideal solution
would be for me to borrow a 1702 reader and do the job over here. That way,
the irreplacible EPROMs don't travel at all.
Cheers
A
OK, I've kind of settled on an approact to restoring the DL8A. I figure I'm
completely unqualified to do any of this and so will rely upon advice and
help from those of you who are.
I think the first and most important step is to back-up the extant 1702 boot
program. I've been thinking about this one (re: bit rot); would it be
possible to get a disassembly of the code to see if it looks OK? It can't
be too big - only 4 eproms total. Does bit rot proceed on a bit-by-bit
basis, or are whole segments knocked out at a go (ie: bytes/multiples)? I
presume that it will be possible to restore the boot program if there is
some significant part of the eproms intact - opcodes anyway...
The disassembly should give some clues as to operation of the machine, too.
So, firstly I ask if anyone with a 1702 programmer who would be prepared to
handle copying these 4 eproms for me to wave their hands in the air. I'll
also need 4 of the 1702 eproms, so would appreciate anyone with those to
also wave their hands. And finally, I'm looking for a PC based 8080A
disassembler. My plan is to pull the chips and airmail them to a kind
volunteer. Actually - although I don't have a lot to spend - I will be most
happy to pay for the preservation (restoration?) of these data. I think its
important.
I do believe this machine is possibly unique; certainly rare - and worth
restoring properly. I would note that the cosmetics are near flawless;
this bodes well for the electronics inside, no?
Cheers
A
Just a clip from the lineprinter:
Ready
sy
RSTS V8.0-07 GALAXIA status at 04-Mar-98 03:06 PM Up: 5:07
Job Who Where What Size State Run-Time Pri/RB RTS
1 [SELF] Det ERRCPY 5/32K SR 1:47.7 0/6 BAS2F
2 [SELF] KB0 SYSTAT 13/32K RN Lck 1.3 -8/6 BAS2F
Busy Devices: None
[clip...]
I've deleted most of the old accounts - The disk was at 8% free when I got it,
now it's at 88% free... The accounts remaining look like they have system
stuff in them, or are refrenced in the start-up files. I'm backing them up
to DECtapes, then deleting them to see what happens. If it runs a month without
the files on the tape, I wipe the tape. (Write nulls over it)
I'm moving the 44 to school, there I'm going to attach it to the nameserver
(Linux) and kludge up something interesting so that people can telnet to the
RSTS without having to have accounts on the Linux box. Right now I'm working
out a plan with the 23+. The move is scheduled for Monday. Fun! I get to lug
the RA81 up a flight of stairs! :)
Oh, and does removing the account (With REACT) kill the directory by NULLing
over it, or do I have to go do something else to make sure they're gone?
I did see a few accounting-type things in the [5x,*] area, so I killed them all
sight-unseen. The system runs OK now... Kermit is still here, I assume I can
keep that... OPSER and the batch stuff are missing, and the OS source has been
removed, but if Kermit works I may be able to go find some nice person
with 8.0-07 and get the files needed. I renamed the machine GALAXIA, and
made a copy of the old Monitor .SIL so I can kill those too.
Basically now, without some real digging, you can't tell where the machine came
from.
-------
Several weeks ago I posted a question about whether a standard
PC DD/DD drive could read/write ATARI floppy disks. I got one
responce which was in the negative... however, at the time the
comp.sys.atari.8bit faq wasn't available from my news server (both
comp.sys.atari.8bit and news.answers). Well, it is now and I have a
correct answer. Check:
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/atari-8-bit/faq/
Subject: 11.2) Can I read/write 8-bit Atari disks on an IBM-PC?
There are several programs that allow an MS-DOS system to work with an
Atari-format diskette. The following require a DOS and disk drive on
the Atari end capable of the SS/DD 180K format:
[... details snipped for brevity]
Guess it's time to get DosEMU working again. ;-)
--jmg
It appears that what is happening is that the mail sever with the fulll
mailbox is looking at the From: header of the message and thus sending the
'bounce' notification the the individual posters. This is, of course,
better than bouncing the mail to the list as a whole but not as good as
bouncing it to the list administrator who can then drop the offending
account.
Regards
Pete
Well, I scored an Apple IIc with an external Floppy drive,
Imagewriter printerer, and small composite green (maybe 9"?) monitor.
$20 bucks. I also got some disks with it, but no games - mostly old
nibble magazine disks. This thing has a serial port on it, anyone
know what the pinout is and if these ports are compatible with
Macintosh adapters? If not, what's the pinout and can I buy the DIN
plug from Mouser? And hell, while I'm at it, where can I find a
terminal program with x/y/zmodem capabilities? Is there anything like
XIO2PC on the Atari for the Apple? Anyone know of a web page which
documents DOS commands? Gee, I'm just full of questions.
I'm still looking for a cheap source for DD/DD 5 1/4"
floppies. The office supply store down the street wants $10 for a ten
pack and I have to special order them, while $10 will get me a huge
box of HD 3 1/2....grrrrr
Thanks!
--jmg
<>I supose the solution is for him to build a 1702 reader (which is a lot
<>simpler than the programmer!) and to read the EPROMs himself.
Propose a slightly labor intensive but very practiceable method.
Once the machine is operational step through the eporms using the front
pannel and write down the data on a sheet of paper...it's only 1024 bytes.
it can be then typed into another machine and stored, disassembled or
whatever. Hand disassembly of 1024 bytes it's not that bad, I've done
it in the past.
Allison
I've searched the world web over ,but never did I find......
There seems to be a lot of info on Mods. 1,3,100,Coco etc. but nada
on this beast. Any sites I might have missed ? Merch , Cord ?
What I have is a TRS Model II with 1 internal 8' fdd and 1 external
fdd , 3 humungous 5Meg hdd ( about the size of a large XT) , K-B ,
TRS model 7 modem , and a box of 8" disks with CP/M 2.2 , TRSOS,
Scripsit and a bunch of other prgms.
When I boot up with or without an OS disk I get a "boot error ht'
msg. The dd spins up and sounds like its loading. Could it have been
set up to boot off one of the hard drives ? I'm really a novice with
TRS-80s but have Coco 1 and 2 in my collection and a Scriptsit cart.
Is there something I'm not doing ?
ciao larry
lwalkerN0spaM(a)interlog.com
At 03:15 PM 3/6/98 -0500, you wrote:
>For quite a few years, one bit of folklore that has popped up on a regular
>basis is that of old IBM dinosaurs running our air traffic control system.
>Well, I was just wasting some (work)time now looking at some recent
>threads on <bit.listserv.ibm-main>, and it is fairly clear that the 9020s
>are now all gone after probably too many years of service.
>
>The interesting thing is that the machines that replaced them, 3083s, are
>also now considered classics.
That's what you would referr to as using proven technology!
This reminds me of a story about the HP calculators. When the HP 35
calculator came out some of the US Army artillery men at Ft. Sill saw how
fast they were and their accuracy so they put in a requision to buy a bunch
of them. The Department of Defense liked the idea but they had to have a
feasibilty study to justify the purchase, so they spent $150,000 for a
study that took two years and end the end the study did show the costs of
the purchase to be justified. Next, the army went to HP to buy some HP 35s
but they found out that the 35 had been discontinued and had been replaced
by the HP 45. They tried the HP 45 and found that it was even better, so
they requested that the HP 45 be purchased instead. Again the DOD liked
the idea so they commissioned another $150,000 study to justify the
purchase of HP 45s. After a year and a half, this study also found the
purchase to be justified. The army then went back to HP to purchase their
HP 45s and .... You guessed it, the 45 had been discontinued and had been
replaced by the HP 55. So the army requested that HP 55s be purchased. The
DOD commissioned a third study (only $100,000 this time, the beltway
bandits had this down pat!) to justify this purchase. This time the study
only took a year. Again the army personnel rushed to HP to buy HP
calculators, only to find out that the HP 55 had been discontinued! The
artillerymen gave up and went back to their charts and tables!
Joe
>
>William Donzelli
>william(a)ans.net
>
>
mold? if its everywhere inside, good luck! if its just the foam, rip it out.
use that armor all all-purpose cleaner. wont take the colour out and cleans
good.
the pinout is proprietary. this is a ps/2 remember? the form factor is not AT
compatible, so forget it.
model 60 is 10mhz 286 with 1 meg. there are chips to upgrade to 386 from 286,
but only access up to 16meg anyway. 24bit mem addressing. the hard drive is
esdi type which connects like an mfm drive. can't do ide drives either. i dont
know of a mca ide card. maybe aftermarket though. i have os2 1.3 never used,
but i'm keeping that for archives.
david
In a message dated 98-03-06 20:28:14 EST, you write:
<< I got a PS/2 Model 60 and OS/2 2.0 (1992, but still classic)
PS/2:
a)How do I get rid of the mold inside?
b)What is the PSU pinout if I want to put in a regular motherboard?
c)Is there a way to upgrade the mb to 386 with <$10 and a 386 mb
OS/2:
a)I installed it on a 386 w/4 MB RAM (min. requirement). It CRAWLS.
Should I replace the MFM HDD w/ IDE?
b)Does anyone have os/2 1.x that they could send me? >>
In a message dated 98-03-06 16:18:31 EST, you write:
<< Well, this is the chepaest I've found them:
>
> http://oracle.uvision.com/prdct/923/78.html
> $3.14 / box of 10 (plus shipping I presume) >>
i have ~100 i'd like to get rid of. most are dd, a few are hd. they've all
been used before, but i reformatted them on a pc so they all work. they all
have their jackets too. they're not worth much in money terms, but anything
similarly worthless for trade would be welcome.
david
I got a PS/2 Model 60 and OS/2 2.0 (1992, but still classic)
PS/2:
a)How do I get rid of the mold inside?
b)What is the PSU pinout if I want to put in a regular motherboard?
c)Is there a way to upgrade the mb to 386 with <$10 and a 386 mb
OS/2:
a)I installed it on a 386 w/4 MB RAM (min. requirement). It CRAWLS.
Should I replace the MFM HDD w/ IDE?
b)Does anyone have os/2 1.x that they could send me?
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
Although recent world-wide test results have proven otherwise, the
US board of education seems to think that calculators improve
students' minds (I feel that the insane amount of money that schools
put into technology these days is better spent on books and teachers).
Therefore, in our school most seniors and juniors either own or rent
a TI-8x. The TI-83 is the one that the school actually promotes, but
TI-85s are often stole...ahem....seen as well. My friend is probably
one of the few there to have a TI-92. I'll bet it could run System 1.0
with a few modifications ;)
>I wonder what the odds of finding a ti-85 are and cost? They are
hackable
>from what I gather.
>
>Allison
PS That OS I mentioned earlier is essentially Win3.1 for TI. It is a
concurrent windowing interface. Right now, he's trying to figure out the
concurrent part...
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
<Assuming that this is electrically the same as the S100 version, then...
<
<The 8097 is the data buffer betwen the RAM and the S100 DI lines. It's
<used on reading only. I don't see how it would affect writing to the RAM
If the input is internally shorted to either rail. I've seen this mode
of failure on old chips.
<There are some 74LS08 AND gates that are used as buffers between the S100
<DO lines and the RAM inputs. It's possible that one of these has become
<faulty, I think.
Entirely possible.
<There is a 74LS175 latch (well, actually a pair of them) between the RAM
<outputs and the character generator. Now one bit of that chip could well
<be faulty (IC6 on the S100 card, I think).
Yes, also possible.
<Not so. One of the most common failure modes of old IC's is that the
<bondout wire between a pin and the silicon die breaks or comes adrift. If
<the A2 line (pin 12) of the character generator had failed in this way -
<or if the input buffer in the ROM had failed - we'd see exactly this
<pattern.
Also true but less likely.
Allison
Every time I've tried to post to this list, I've been getting it bounced
back with a 'Full Mailbag' error. I hope this one gets through...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bruce Lane, Sysop, The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fidonet 1:343/272)
(Hamateur: WD6EOS) (E-mail: kyrrin(a)jps.net)
"Our science can only describe an object, event, or living thing in our own
human terms. It cannot, in any way, define any of them..."
I have the same problem, but my mail still gets to the list. Most annoying,
though.
A
-----Original Message-----
From: Bruce Lane <kyrrin(a)jps.net>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Saturday, March 07, 1998 7:16 AM
Subject: Is this getting out?
> Every time I've tried to post to this list, I've been getting it bounced
>back with a 'Full Mailbag' error. I hope this one gets through...
>
>
>-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
>Bruce Lane, Sysop, The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fidonet 1:343/272)
>(Hamateur: WD6EOS) (E-mail: kyrrin(a)jps.net)
>"Our science can only describe an object, event, or living thing in our own
>human terms. It cannot, in any way, define any of them..."
>
In a message dated 3/6/98 1:00:49 AM Central Standard Time, dastar(a)wco.com
writes:
<< I believe there was an upgrade kit that came out a short while after the
//gs was introduced that allowed one to upgrade their //e to a //gs.
>>
Also, the original beta GS's were in //e cases. I've always wondered
what happened to the 2 our company had. I don't believe Apple wanted them
back.
Kelly
>Yes, you can diassemble the code, no problem. One thing to watch for is
>to make sure that you know how the address and data lines on the board
>are linked up. You see, all 8 data lines on an EPROM are equivalent. It
>may be conventional to assign a particular pin as D0, etc, but there's
>no reason that you have to. But obviously if you want to make sense of
>the code, you have to know how the bits in the word are connected to the
>8080.
Ummmmm.... I was stunned tonight to look under the motherboard of this
machine and find that it is totally wire-wrapped. Amazingly neat, but
wire-wrapped and socketed - every single chip. Finding paths in this thing
is going to be very very time consuming! This computer must have been
extremely expensive in its day - the amount of work involved is incredible -
not having made anything like it, I'm only guessing... but I'd guess many
tens of man-hours.
Coincidentally, I was on the hunt for another machine (Mattel Aquarius) and
the owner and I got into a discussion about S100 machines - he has a garage
of them, apparently (he used to design them) - and I told him about the
EPROMs (1702As) and how I was going to back mine up - and he said "I have
four of those things!!!" Yes, before you ask, I am going after those S100
machines :)
Cheers
A
< Seems like old hardware is more available than old software
<and documentation. I suppose copyrights still exist on this stuff,
<but it seems like the web is the perfect place for old tech reference
<manuals and schematics. Wasn't Allison involved with the TRS-80
<development? Know anyone at RS who might be able to sign off on
<putting this stuff into the public domain so our types can publish
<this documentation?
I have not been at shack for nearly 20 years. As far as I know the docs
for the TRS80 are still available from TANDY National Parts. Contact the
local shack and see. If that's true any effort to make them PD is
dubious.
Allison
It's getting out to ME. When you got the "full mailbag" error messages,
did they show up as "return e-mail" messages? That probably means that
one of the list-members who should have RECEIVED your message, had a "full
mailbag" and couldn't take another message. Everyone OTHER than that guy,
though, from whom you DIDN'T get an error message, probably DID get your
message.
Chris Chiesa "the new guy"
A few weeks back someone asked about Apple IIGS that looked like a IIe,
well a got one today at an auction for free. The guy that won the bid on
box of electronics gave it to me but he gave the color monitor to someone
else :-( It looks just like a IIe or II case except for the IIGS logo on
the lid next to the apple name. On the bottom it says Apple IIGS Upgrade
Model No. A2S6001 with a serial number following that. No date is on the
bottom but the mother board says Apple IIGS on it also and has 7 slots on
the rear another to the side with a memory expander in it right now. It
has the standard 15pin monitor hook-up like the Mac and round phono jack.
The rear looks like a Mac LC or IIci. No date mb either that I can find.
Have not fired it up yet. Also got a Tandy 1000RL for twenty with kb and
mouse. Got a number of manuals, tech ref's and other written goodies also
>from .05 to 3.00 each. Got a apple ext. 3.5 FDHD drive for free at the
scrap yard but have tested it yet. A IBM 8535-312 missing the memory for
$15 will fire it this weekend. Picked up a NeXt N4000B 17" monitor for 16
and a new NeXt software rel 08.30 chip with a date 1988 and serial number
of 000A81. Well that's it for I got more stuff this week than I can list
here for now. Keep Computing John
For quite a few years, one bit of folklore that has popped up on a regular
basis is that of old IBM dinosaurs running our air traffic control system.
Well, I was just wasting some (work)time now looking at some recent
threads on <bit.listserv.ibm-main>, and it is fairly clear that the 9020s
are now all gone after probably too many years of service.
The interesting thing is that the machines that replaced them, 3083s, are
also now considered classics.
William Donzelli
william(a)ans.net
I have a PCJr with a box (dimensions are same depth and height as
system unit but is about 2 1/2" wide) that is mounted on the right
hand side of the system unit and contains a parallel port. Is this
what you are describing?
Marty
On 1998-03-01 classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu said to lisard(a)zetnet.co.uk
:On Sun, 1 Mar 1998, Captain Napalm wrote:
:> Writable control stores: Don't count these out just yet. The new
:>HP machines based upon the HP-PA stuff does have a writable
:>control store. My friend has one of these boxes at home and he's
:>been planning on playing around with this.
:I've heard that even Pentiums will let you patch their microcode,
yes? details...? *perk up noticeably*
:but the idea as a general theme seems to be dead. I don't know the
:reason for this except for speed and cost issues.
we suspect it has something to do with microcode in general going out of
fashion. these days even cisc machines are built with risc cores
surrounded by hardware-based translators. some of the pentium clones
even let you program them in their native languages.
also, it's a bit difficult to write to a control store that's hardwired
in silicon inside a plastic case... :< probably a better bet these days
is to write a little inner interpreter for a risc, and it probably
amounts to much the same thing.
:True, some people are condemned to repeat history, but I'm willing
:to bet that hardware byte-code engines will be pulled back into the
:tar pit before they leave the cave at Sun (and other places). I
:listed to a talk given by a Sun engineer on why they should build
:these things, and the reasons he gave (such as byte-code is more
:compact than other code) are really hard to buy. Defintely a
:solution looking for a problem.
there's only one reason why sun could want to do this - cheap java-only
set-top boxes. it's a great way of locking out the competition (and
given their current legal activities, you'd think they'd learn...) but
whether it would make for the most efficient java platform is another
matter.
of course, there's also the proof-of-concept motive. "see? java *is*
efficient, we've even built a chip with it..."
:True again. p-Code made more sense then (when there was more than
:one dominant architecture) than Java does now, but if Sun ever buys
:into the idea of Java compiled to native code, there still may be
:more hope for Java than there was for UCSD Pascal.
well, if they do buy into that idea, let's hope it's at download time
rather than with these damned silly just-in-time thingies (which only
win if you execute a method more than once, and how do you know that
until it's too late...?) elate (was taos) shows the way to go if you
want platform independence these days, in our opinion.
-- Communa (together) we remember... we'll see you falling
you know soft spoken changes nothing to sing within her...
Net-Tamer V 1.08X - Test Drive
On 6 Mar 98 at 10:44, J. Maynard Gelinas wrote:
> Well, I scored an Apple IIc with an external Floppy drive,
> Imagewriter printerer, and small composite green (maybe 9"?) monitor.
> $20 bucks.
The little white one from Apple that matches the IIc? If so, did you
get the stand?
> I also got some disks with it, but no games - mostly old
> nibble magazine disks. This thing has a serial port on it, anyone
> know what the pinout is and if these ports are compatible with
> Macintosh adapters?
For pinout information plus info on terminal emulators and DOS and
ProDOS, try (one of) the Apple II FAQs at
http://www.visi.com/~nathan/
The Nibble magazine disks were a good find too.
Phil
**************************************************************
Phil Beesley -- Computer Officer -- Distributed Systems Suppport
University of Leicester
Tel (0)116 252-2231
E-Mail pb14(a)le.ac.uk
Does anyone know if there is a tip for Linux? (The comm program?)
It had an option to go to another port if the one needed was busy.
Minicom can't do that.
I would like that ability, 'cause when I connect the 44 here, I'd like
to have people telnet to a port and get passed straight into the DH plug,
via pip, without having to have an account on the PC
-------
I am in the market for a Sol 20 and and/or an
Imsai 8080.
I would like to know what the "going" price is
so that I will know how much to pay for them if they
become available to me. Any opinions would be welcome.
Thanks,
Bob
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
Hello. Several days ago, under the demography thread I briefly mentioned
the "VSchool" concept. So, for those interested, here's what I want to do.
Background info:
The VSchool idea came from two needs: my need to create a virtual community,
and, more importantly, the need for children (ages pretty much 6th
grade-12th grade) to be able to learn at their own rate. At the subjects
that they're interested in, or feel weak in. So, I then think of a place
where all this could take place, actively, and freely. Now, Bahrain is far
to remote to even begin to demonstrate something. Also, it's got limited
resources and views. The Internet. It's used by far more than the
population of any city, and equal to that of many countries.
How I plan to pull it off:
This is the area that I don't have to spend 50 lines telling you what CGI is
and does. So, I'll use CGI (anyone got info on this?) to put up forms, (I
can't program it... sorry...), and then we can make a chat room of some
sort, possibly a Javascript password form. (Ok, so I'll need lots of help)
So far, the best deal that I've seen in web hosting is digitalchainsaw (at
http://www.digitalchainsaw.net) Anyway, we'll have two functions: Students
will "enroll" (for free), and then they'll choose their area of expertise.
There, they will be considered a teacher. In other areas, they'll be
considered students. Teachers will work together to develop a curriculum.
Then, they'll work together to teach others.
I want to have a copmputer history as well as a computer interest group.
I'm asking for your help. You would be considered a partner, if you wanted.
Thanks,
Tim D. Hotze
>>I'd rather not do this, not because I don't want to help you, but because
>>I'd be a little worried about sending 4 irreplaceable eraseable chips
>>through the post. I would hope somebody Stateside could help you.
>
> Trouble is, he's in Australia not in the US. The ROMs are going to have
>to be shipped unless someone in Au has a 1702 reader.
Yes. I am fairly comfortable with sending these overseas for preservation.
I expect to back the code up in several places; on the web, distributed to
whomever of you indicates interest, and also on duplicate EPROMS, on my
computer, tattooed in hex on my shoulder... that should just about do it.
:)
What sort of reliability does well made, but 23 year old, wire wrap
circuitry have? Is wire-wrap susceptible to "slip"?
Cheers
A
>>I expect to back the code up in several places; on the web, distributed
to
>>whomever of you indicates interest, and also on duplicate EPROMS, on my
>>computer, tattooed in hex on my shoulder... that should just about do it.
>>:)
>
> I think it would look better on your forehead. Be easier to read too.
:-)
*makes mental note* Don't do it whilst looking in a mirror!
> Is wire-wrap susceptible to "slip"?
> No, it's more like it welds itself on. Especially if it's good
>wirewrapping.
Oh, the quality looks superb. This is one well-made machine.
Cheers
A
Joachim Thiemann wrote:
> While we're at it (the buisness of veering grossly off-charter), who
> else here collects electronic music equipment of about the same vintage
> as the computers discussed here? I have a Korg Poly-800, Yamaha DX-7II,
> 2 FB-01's, CS-01, a Sequential SixTrack, 360 Systems MidiBass, and a
> homebrew MIDI interface to hook some of this to my Amiga. I have
Yes, but not very enthusiastically. I've never really got into
electronic music, preferring to do my composing (and most of my playing)
at the piano.
But, (getting a little closer to the topic) I do have a rather fun
device - a Bontempi organ with a number of built in rhythms implemented
in 74-series discrete gate TTL.
> BTW Any of you UK guys have collections of the old E&MM magazine? I'm
> missing 1 or 2 issues in the 84 (83?) season...
Sorry, not something I ever read.
> > > > sing and play Piano and Bassoon; I have recently taken up
> > photography.
> >
> > Eh, who'd have figured.. another bassoon player. Who is it? I missed
> > some
> > important attributions.
'Twas I, Philip Belben. For what it's worth. I don't think that
bassoonists are rare enough that two or three on this list is
statistically significant. Still, nice to hear from another one.
(On the other hand, there is probably a strong correlation between
bassoonists and eccentrics, and a stronger one between this list and
eccentrics.)
Philip.
I had a working CMB 8032, and one day a couple years ago, saw an ad in
the paper "Wanted: CBM 8032". A couple in their 70's placed it. The
wife is a writer, and not a computer user, and only knew how to use her
CBM 8032 which was 15 years old and failing. I brought my 8032 (which I
had set up in my office, after it fell from a high shelf and put a dent
in the hood of my car) to them, swapped it out, swapped roms (mine had
some sort of add-on board) and tore-down, cleaned, and re-assemble the
keyboard for them. and off they went. I think they did have all the
manuals and stuff for the computer, disk drives, and printers.
alas, I don't have any PET computers anymore.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ethan Dicks [SMTP:erd@infinet.com]
> Sent: Thursday, March 05, 1998 3:28 PM
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
> Subject: Re: Vacation Finds...
>
> >
> > Have been on vacation since Friday and still have a couple days to
> > go... From the thrift store outlook in the area things are
> improving
> > again (I guess people are starting their pre-spring cleaning)
> >
> > What I passed up on...
> > PET 8032, 4040 dual drive.
>
> Agggggh! I'd *love* to replace my long-lost 8032. It was one of the
> item
> burgled from my house a while back, along with an Amiga 500 and a rare
> A500
> to 8-bit ISA adapter from Canada called "The Wedge". I _really_ wish
> I
> had that... it was built for a WX-1 MFM controller (or a DTC 5160 RLL
> controller), but would work perfectly for an 8-bit Ethernet card.
>
> Anyway, rambling aside, where are you on vacation and is the PET still
> there?
>
> -ethan
>
> ObBIO: 31, Male, collect 1802/6502/68000/PDP-8/PDP-11/VAX/SPARC.
> Started
> with the PET and Elf in 1977. Have spare Apple ][, C-64, Amiga and
> SunSPARC
> parts/systems for trade. My rarest find is probably my tiny
> collection of
> 4004 CPUs and support chips.
>
Hello all... me again.
I apologize for writing twice in one day, but I've requested "Digest mode"
and am finding several topics I can respond to. I should've waited before
sending the previous message, but will now be aware of this and will cover
ALL current topics of my interest in this ONE note, to save you all the
pain of seeing SEVERAL messages from me. (If you'd RATHER have several
separate messages, someone just say so...)
1) Joe <rigdonj(a)intellistar.net> quotes a message quoted by someone else,
in which the original author says that "... it's the HP25 that I still
prefer..." Original author, whoever you are, I wanted to let you know
that I have a set of original manuals and -- if I can still FIND it --
the AC adapter, left over when my own HP25 was stolen from me one day
in high school -- circa 1978... If you're interested in these items,
e-mail me.
2) At a Hamfest last spring I acquired a TI calculator -- I forget the model
number right off; I wasn't expecting to talk about this today, but it's
the programmable one that reads-and-writes those magnetic cards -- along
with programming manual(s) and the external PRINTER, not to mention a
fistful of the magcards. The only trouble is, instructions stored in
program memory randomly get altered, i.e. the memory is no longer reli-
able (hmm, just like ME!). Is it "just old," and there nothing that can
be done? Or can it be repaired? Much obliged, for any info anyone can
provide.
3) At that same Hamfest last spring, some guy found out I was "into" calcu-
lators, HP in particular (notwithstanding that TI-whatever I'd just bought),
and talked my ear off about some "latest and greatest" HP calculator that
"did it all," allowing you to mix "ordinary" calculator statements, BASIC,
and C syntax "all on one program line," among many other things. I have
forgotten the model number, so if anyone recognizes this description and
can TELL me the model number, and of course where to find out more about
the thing, I'd really appreciate it.
4) My HP-33C battery doesn't hold a charge anymore; please advise. Joe Rig-
don...?
5) Re: that uVAX stuff I mentioned in my PREVIOUS message: I'd be MOST inter-
ested in anyone who could trade "my" stuff in London, for "his" set of the
"same" stuff in the US! I can provide a more detailed itemization of what
I have.
Chris Chiesa
Hi. I'm new. But enough chatter. I see Bruce Lane <kyrrin(a)jps.net> is
interested in uVAX II GPX video boards... That brings to mind the set
of VCB02 boards-cables-and-keyboards which I've got "stranded" in London
after a failed attempt to get them to Rochester, NY, from mid-Scotland
"on the cheap." I'd love to hear from anybody who a) can get them from
London to Rochester (or even just to the USA) cheap or free, or b) is IN
or NEAR London and has an interest in them and something to trade which
is already IN the USA... I know this is a long shot, but hey, I had to
make a grand, if weird, entrance...
Chris Chiesa
cchi(a)lle.rochester.edu
In a message dated 98-03-06 02:26:00 EST, you write:
<< In a message dated 3/6/98 1:00:49 AM Central Standard Time, dastar(a)wco.com
writes:
<< I believe there was an upgrade kit that came out a short while after the
//gs was introduced that allowed one to upgrade their //e to a //gs.
>> >>
yes, and the upgrade cost $500. i have a magazine article about it.
david
>> Well I don't know of a dos based 8080 disassembler but... There are
>> several dos based programs that can emulate a 8080/z80 and run a any of
>> the existing 8080 disassemblers.
I have found several 8080A disassemblers. They are relatively easy to find
using search engines such as AltaVista - but I will be happy to forward URLs
to anyone who has trouble. THere are several sites with loads of
disassemblers and assemblers for all platforms.
Cheers
A
In addition to the previous Apple/mac items message, I also have the
following fine machine for sale or trade:
--MAC 512k system which includes cpu/monitor unit with original 400k
internal floppy, enhanced keyboard, mouse, printer, manuals, software
and applicable cables. The unit was owned by a friend of mine since new
and only needs a repair or replace of the floppy drive as it's getting
old and sometimes doesn't read the disk, does other times. Great
condition otherwise.
Entire set $75.00 plus shipping or will consider trades (as mentioned in
previous) or other PC compatible parts. I'll also include text on
upgrading RAM to 1mb using common DRAMs piggybacked.
Contact me if interested by direct reply...
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Russ Blakeman
RB Custom Services / Rt. 1 Box 62E / Harned, KY USA 40144
Phone: (502) 756-1749 / Data/Fax:(502) 756-6991
Email: rhblake(a)bbtel.com or rhblake(a)bigfoot.com
Website: http://members.tripod.com/~RHBLAKE/
* Parts/Service/Upgrades and more for MOST Computers*
--------------------------------------------------------------------
To update everyone, the Vector 3 has a new home and is on it's way
there. I have the following Apple components for sale but will trade as
well. You have to pay shipping though either way.
* Apple ImageWriter II color dot matrix printer with good color ribbon
and mini-din to 25 pin sub-d male adapter cable. The printer itself has
a female mini-din connector. $40.00 plus shipping
* Apple 5.25" external floppy drive set. Two drives that chain together,
marked Drive 1 and Drive 2. Excellent condition. $25.00 plus shipping
* SIMMS - 30 pin 1 mb non parity for Apple and Macs that utilize 30 pin
SIMMs, not SIPPs or DRAMs. I have 8 of these. Seimens type with 5 large
chips and two small chips. $8.00 for the set or even swap for 8 PC
compatible 1mb 30 pin type.
Items I might trade for:
-CDROM drives, internal or external. IDE, SCSI or proprietary.
Proprietary drives MUST include applicable adapter card. All should have
any available manuals and software if possible.
-Sound cards. MCA, ISA, VLB, etc. 8 bit or 16. Again, it would be best
to have any available software or manuals if possible.
-SIMM memory - 30 or 72 pin parity or non-parity, but MUST be useful in
PC's and compatibles. I have no use for the Apple/mac types (hence the
sale of the above).
-486 motherboards, with processor.
EMAIL directly to me for more info...
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Russ Blakeman
RB Custom Services / Rt. 1 Box 62E / Harned, KY USA 40144
Phone: (502) 756-1749 / Data/Fax:(502) 756-6991
Email: rhblake(a)bbtel.com or rhblake(a)bigfoot.com
Website: http://members.tripod.com/~RHBLAKE/
* Parts/Service/Upgrades and more for MOST Computers*
--------------------------------------------------------------------
OK, I'm back from JPS Internet. Neat service!
Now... based on the latest digest I got, it appears that someone (I'm not
clear just who it is) has some MicroVAX II GPX video boards, cable, and
mouse available for trade. Please get in touch with me if these are still
available. The cable alone is worth the effort for me to obtain.
Thanks!
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bruce Lane, Sysop, The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fidonet 1:343/272)
(Hamateur: WD6EOS) (E-mail: kyrrin(a)jps.net)
"Our science can only describe an object, event, or living thing in our own
human terms. It cannot, in any way, define any of them..."
Sam Ismail said:
>It seems that a lot of you blokes down under have Sorcerers. Were they
>marketed a lot more "down there" than they were in the US? They are not
>very common over here.
I remember the first time I saw a Sorcerer. It was August or September
1979. I was just out of the Navy, working at TODD shipyards in Seattle.
I was downtown and there in the front window of a computer store was
a Sorcerer run a hi-res demo of liquid flowing out of a bottle. Very
impressive, I wanted one. But I couldn't afford the $700-$800 I seem to
remember it costing (Divorce).
Well, today I have three. Two of them have their own cardboard
briefcases. But I sure would like to find a copy of that demo.
=========================================
Doug Coward dcoward(a)pressstart.com
Senior Software Engineer
Press Start Inc.
Sunnyvale,CA
Curator
Museum of Personal Computing Machinery
http://www.best.com/~dcoward/museum
=========================================
I need some information on some old micros I have in my collection. They
are all Australian models apart from the TI, although some of them made it
overseas.
Pencil II
---------
The sticker on the base says this machine was made by Soundic Electronics,
although I believe it may have been distributed by Hanimex. I need
information on the power supply. I have been told it's 9.9V DC 1A and
17.7V DC 500mA, but I need the pinouts for the 3-pin DIN socket the supply
is meant to connect to.
Microbee
--------
I believe the DIN socket at the rear right-hand corner is a combined power
supply, cassette in/out and composite video out socket. Can anyone tell me
the pinouts?
System 80
---------
Originally this had an RF modulator, but the one I have has been very
heavily hacked. Can someone give me the pinouts for the video DIN socket?
TI 99/4
-------
Note that this is the 99/4, *not* the 99/4a. Can someone tell me the power
supply requirements and pinouts? It is *not* the same as the 99/4a. I
*think* it may need +5, -5 and +12, but I'm not sure.
Thanks in advance,
| Scott McLauchlan |"Sometimes the need to mess with their heads |
| Client Services Division | outweighs the millstone of humiliation." |
| University of Canberra |___________Fox_Mulder_"The_X-Files:_Squeeze"_|
| scott(a)cts.canberra.edu.au | http://www.canberra.edu.au/~scott/home.html |
<also wave their hands. And finally, I'm looking for a PC based 8080A
<disassembler. My plan is to pull the chips and airmail them to a kind
<volunteer. Actually - although I don't have a lot to spend - I will be m
<happy to pay for the preservation (restoration?) of these data. I think
<important.
Well I don't know of a dos based 8080 disassembler but... There are
several dos based programs that can emulate a 8080/z80 and run a any of
the existing 8080 disassemblers. I prefer MYZ80 and resource. 1k of
8080 code is not bad. What's tough is not knowing what a given port may
do. Though guessing is possible.
<restoring properly. I would note that the cosmetics are near flawless;
<this bodes well for the electronics inside, no?
Generally yes.
Allison
>Silly question of mine: what is the machine supposed to boot
>from?
Oh, my terminology is wrong, I guess. I've not used a front-panel machine.
I guess you'd call these roms the machine's OS? Of sorts. Well... what ARE
they, then?
>In the first stages of bit rot, single bits go "flaky" and will not
>read reliably. So the first thing to do is read the 1702A's multiple
>times and see if any are going bad in this way. Of course, be sure
>to save the results of each read pass...
Thanks for that suggestion. Wilco.
Cheers
A
>Are there any markings on the stickers covering the 1702A windows?
Only numbers identifying their position.
>What do you know of the history of the machine? Was it used for data
>acquisition? Was it used for industrial control? Who was the previous
>owner? What might they have used it for?
This from the gent I bought it from.. this is ALL i know.
"Hmmm.... The DL8a came in a job lot at an auction... It came with a CRDS
PDP11/23 clone, A gutted Universe, a 19" monitor, several hundred kilos of
RT-11
and Unix manuals, several hundred 8" disks, and some other bits and
pieces.."
>The EPROM's might hold bootstrap code, they might hold software that
>drive some sort of device that you don't have, they might contain
>a monitor, it's hard to tell.
A disassembly will make that easy(ish) to determine, surely!
>Have you checked out the power supply yet? This is definitely the
>first priority.
No, I've not checked it - having no equipment. I don't intend to supply
power to it at all until I get those EPROMS copied. So I'm thinking it's
actually a lower priority. I'll check the power while the eproms are away
being saved.
A
yes, i've seen one of those funky pcjr models too. i wish i had bought it just
for the curiosity factor. i dont remember what brand the expansion unit was
though. my particular pcjr has another drive in an external case with its own
power supply and a cable going to the unit like an apple ][
In a message dated 98-03-05 18:37:23 EST, you write:
<< I was in a thrift store during lunch and saw a PCjr which had a
second box attached to the top which contained a second floppy drive.
This almost doubled the height of the system and there was a larger
side car type box on the side as well. Any ideas as to what this may
have been? Was it just for adding a second floppy maybe? I'm
thinking about going back by and picking it up. They also had a
VIC-20 with the VIC version of the floppy drive which I think I grab
as I don't have one of those.
>>
Last I heard, Evergreen was still selling 386-486 upgrade chips, which are
really quick. US$20 each, IIRC
manney(a)lrbcg.com
"Chicken Little was right!"
Have been on vacation since Friday and still have a couple days to
go... From the thrift store outlook in the area things are improving
again (I guess people are starting their pre-spring cleaning)
Stuff I got:
- Timex/Sinclair 16k RAM unit with a few cassette programs for it.
- Given to me, a COMPLETE IBM PC (read model 5150, the first IBM PC I
think... (he had run this one until very recently when he got a new
multi-media system...) The computer has dual floppy drives, a cassette
port and everything! Computer, Monitor, Printer, (all IBM) IBM DOS and
other disks and all manuals! (Wordstar, Microplan, BASIC, etc. etc.)
Haven't powered this one up but the previous owner says drive A has
problems, but once running he could work off of B. (if anyone is
interested in it an willing to pick it up, I will pass it along,
otherwise it will go with me to VFC 2.0 (Hey, Sam, wanna raffle off a
COMPLETE GENUINE IBM PC?)
What I passed up on...
Mac Plus
Some Atari Stuff (800, 520ST, ST floppy drive)
Commodore 64 stuff (never a shortage there...)
PET 8032, 4040 dual drive.
I'm just waiting for the weather to improve one weekend, then the Flea
Market I like will be going again...
Larry Anderson
--
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Visit our web page at: http://www.goldrush.com/~foxnhare/
Call our Commodore 64 BBS (Silicon Realms 300-2400 baud) at: (209)
754-1363
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
<> > Hey, does anyone have a list of classic systems that people have conn
<> > to the internet? I know I've heard you guys several times talking abo
<> > doing it. Well?
<
<RCS/RI has a VAX-11/750 on the net from time to time.
I'm trying to figure out how to do that with a MV-II or vs2000.
Allison
< Thanks Jim. Have you replaced the video ram in the Sol-20 before?
< Also, do you know if parts are still available or will I have to
< cannibalize from a similar vintage pieces part?
<
< Marty
If it's a bad video ram swap it with the one next to it, if the pattern
changes the ram is fried (I have tons of them). If the pattern doesn't
change is likely a bad 74ls157 or 8097(74ls367). the test for a bad
'157 or 8097 is to swap it with another on the board and see if the
symptom changes.
The fact that you've seen different patterns says the video rom is ok.
Try popping out and reinstalling all the socketed parts and boards. You
may have a crusty connection.
Allison
Thanks to all for the hints, help and tips on the problem of getting
this Sol-20 running. I fired this up last night but the screen didn't
appear as I remember it last time> I must be losing my memory.
All testing was done with the Sol-20 barebone, no S-100 add-on cards
installed.
The screen appears as such:
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
>$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
The prompt > is at the beginning of the second line, and this pattern
is repeated in all 16 rows, save the second where the prompt appears.
The upper case light and local light are on, the shift lock light is
off. The keyboard doesn't respond except for the - key which is to the
left of * on the numeric keypad section on the right.
Next, I disconnected the keyboard cable (after powering down for a
minute or so) and get the exact same result as above, less the upper
case and local lights on of course.
Finally (after powering off) I removed the SOLOS prom board and of
course don't get the prompt > but get a new video display repeated
from top to bottom of an equal sign '=' followed by a lightning bolt,
this pattern repeats = then lightning bolt (I cannot reproduce the
symbol) endlessly from top to bottom.
I also tried a different RG62 video cable in all tests and get the
same results.
Thanks again for your help-
Marty Mintzell
email:marty@itgonline.com
>> Eproms or PROMS? They're marked C1702A
>
>The first commercial EPROM's. 256 * 8. Very likely suffering
>from some form of bit rot... If
>they don't have opaque stickers over the quartz windows. put stickers on
*right
>now*!
OK, they already had stickers on them. I guess I should get these copied.
>Looking at the picture, there are 8 EPROM sockets with only 4 of them
>filled. Right? And what's the part number on the 40-pin DIP near
>where the power harness is attached? It looks a bit incongruous compared
>to the other ceramic packages on the board. Are those 10-turn
>trimpots to the left of that 40-pin DIP?
Yes, 8 sockets... 4 filled.
The 40 pin DIP at the front is AY-5-1013 / 7502
What's a trimpot?!! I can guess.
They're marked Helitrim Cw12 and have a tiny screw at the top.
>Where do the three ribbon cables from the CPU board going to? I assume at
>least one goes to the front panel - I'd guess the middle one.
The cables go to, from left to right...
1) a male 25 pin connector on the back of the chassis
2) to a board mounted behind the control panel - full of interesting small
white chips labeled Beckman
3) This is a bit tricky; a bit of this one goes to the control panel, and
another bit of it to a connector on the back (25 pin) with a sticker "TTY"
beneath it.
4) a female 25 pin connector just above the male one
Datanumerics DL8A can be seen at
http://www.comcen.com.au/~adavie/weird/datanumerics.html
Cheers
A
Thanks Jim. Have you replaced the video ram in the Sol-20 before?
Also, do you know if parts are still available or will I have to
cannibalize from a similar vintage pieces part?
Marty
______________________________ Reply Separator
_________________________________
Subject: Re: Sol-20 revisited
Author: classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu at internet
Date: 3/5/98 11:41 AM
On Thu, 5 Mar 1998, Marty wrote:
> Thanks to all for the hints, help and tips on the problem of getting
> this Sol-20 running. I fired this up last night but the screen didn't
> appear as I remember it last time> I must be losing my memory.
> All testing was done with the Sol-20 barebone, no S-100 add-on cards
> installed.
>
> The screen appears as such:
>
> $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
> >$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
> $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
> $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
> $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
> $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
> $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
The '$'s indicate a single bit error in the video RAM. Bit 3 is stuck.
(wedged, dead, etc...)
-jim
---
jimw(a)agora.rdrop.com
The Computer Garage - http://www.rdrop.com/~jimw
Computer Garage Fax - (503) 646-0174
------ Message Header Follows ------
Received: from lists.u.washington.edu by smtp.itgonline.com
(PostalUnion/SMTP(tm) v2.1.9i(b5) for Windows NT(tm))
id AA-1998Mar05.114131.1767.30343; Thu, 05 Mar 1998 11:41:32 -0500
Received: from host (server(a)lists.u.washington.edu [140.142.56.13])
by lists.u.washington.edu (8.8.4+UW97.07/8.8.4+UW97.05) with SMTP
id IAA22176; Thu, 5 Mar 1998 08:17:28 -0800
Received: from mxu2.u.washington.edu (mxu2.u.washington.edu [140.142.32.9])
by lists.u.washington.edu (8.8.4+UW97.07/8.8.4+UW97.05) with ESMTP
id IAA38986 for <classiccmp(a)lists.u.washington.edu>; Thu, 5 Mar 1998
08:17:20 -0800
Received: from agora.rdrop.com (0(a)agora.rdrop.com [199.2.210.241])
by mxu2.u.washington.edu (8.8.4+UW97.07/8.8.4+UW97.09) with ESMTP
id IAA29419 for <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>; Thu, 5 Mar 1998 08:17:20
-0800
Received: from agora.rdrop.com (1566(a)agora.rdrop.com [199.2.210.241])
by agora.rdrop.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id IAA01383
for <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>; Thu, 5 Mar 1998 08:17:19 -0800 (PST)
Message-Id: <Pine.BSF.3.95.980305081417.730B-100000(a)agora.rdrop.com>
Date: Thu, 5 Mar 1998 08:17:19 -0800 (PST)
Reply-To: classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu
Sender: CLASSICCMP-owner(a)u.washington.edu
Precedence: bulk
From: James Willing <jimw(a)agora.rdrop.com>
To: "Discussion re-collecting of classic computers"
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: Sol-20 revisited
In-Reply-To: <1998Mar05.091805.1767.86032(a)smtp.itgonline.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
X-To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.1 beta -- ListProcessor(tm) by CREN
William,
I'd be interested in the Sphere, SWTPC gear, etc you don't want.
Thanks-
Marty Mintzell
email: marty(a)itgonline.com
______________________________ Reply Separator
_________________________________
Subject: Re: Demography
Author: classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu at internet
Date: 3/5/98 12:38 PM
Well, lets see. I am 28 or so, living now in Carmel, NY (about fifty miles
north of NYC), and like old things in general. Mostly. I am employed by
one of the ISPs (originally the first ISP - the NSF) as an engineer. As
you can probably tell by now, I tend to pick up the scraps of the network.
I originally collected old radios. I had a small collection of consumer
sets, some working, but dropped the hobby when two others came into my
life - computers and old industrial/military electronics. The latter is
simply from my consumer radio collecting days. The computers, however,
probably started with the Apple II, like so many other kids in grade
school.
The first computer I ran into is my old DEC PDP-8/S, purchased "thru" a
hamfest back in 1986. I was eyeing someone's PDP-11 boards (I was already
a hamfest regular), and a man approached me with an offer I could not
refuse - for $5, I could have a real, six-foot tall computer. I still have
the machine.
After that, I started getting others - mostly PeeCee and small mini
machines. Sometimes they were pulled from dumpsters, other times they were
purchased for a song. Right now, the collection consists of a PDP-8/S,
PDP-8/E, PDP-11/23, PDP-11/34, Interdata 14, IBM S/1, IBM 5100, Sun 3/50,
3/60, 3/280 and 4/280, SPARCstation 370, SGI Iris 2500T, IBM
RS/6000/T3B, and HP 2100A. Some machines work, some need work. There are
parts of many others, but I am not counting those.
I also have a bunch of ancient Sphere/SWTPC/Exorsisor stuff that I need to
get rid of (I have no interest in it). Most of it will migrate to RCS/RI
(so Allison can play with it).
In addition to old computers, I collect old Naval radios and radar sets
from the 1930s and 40s, as well as vaccuum tubes. At this point, I do not
know which collection takes up more mass, as some of the shipboard radio
transmitters are six foot monsters as well. Look at some of the old
serials from the 1950s - they tend to show up as props in monster labs.
And I do not play bassoon. I also voluteer time as part of the restoration
crew on Battleship Massachusetts - a place with _real_ computers. Sorry
guys, but engineering and craftsmanshipwise (is that a word?), the
mechanical fire control computers are far more impressive than any of the
digital stuff.
William Donzelli
william(a)ans.net
------ Message Header Follows ------
Received: from lists.u.washington.edu by smtp.itgonline.com
(PostalUnion/SMTP(tm) v2.1.9i(b5) for Windows NT(tm))
id AA-1998Mar05.123803.1767.30360; Thu, 05 Mar 1998 12:38:04 -0500
Received: from host (server(a)lists.u.washington.edu [140.142.56.13])
by lists.u.washington.edu (8.8.4+UW97.07/8.8.4+UW97.05) with SMTP
id JAA35718; Thu, 5 Mar 1998 09:27:16 -0800
Received: from mxu4.u.washington.edu (mxu4.u.washington.edu [140.142.33.8])
by lists.u.washington.edu (8.8.4+UW97.07/8.8.4+UW97.05) with ESMTP
id JAA39600 for <classiccmp(a)lists.u.washington.edu>; Thu, 5 Mar 1998
09:25:40 -0800
Received: from il1.nyp.ans.net (il1.nyp.ans.net [147.225.190.5])
by mxu4.u.washington.edu (8.8.4+UW97.07/8.8.4+UW97.09) with SMTP
id JAA12370 for <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>; Thu, 5 Mar 1998 09:25:25
-0800
Received: by il1.nyp.ans.net id AA03664
(InterLock SMTP Gateway 3.0 for classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu);
Thu, 5 Mar 1998 12:25:24 -0500
Received: by il1.nyp.ans.net (Internal Mail Agent-1);
Thu, 5 Mar 1998 12:25:24 -0500
Message-Id: <Pine.GSO.3.96.980305115925.468J-100000(a)titan.purch.ans.net>
Date: Thu, 5 Mar 1998 12:25:24 -0500 (EST)
Reply-To: classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu
Sender: CLASSICCMP-owner(a)u.washington.edu
Precedence: bulk
From: William Donzelli <william(a)ans.net>
To: "Discussion re-collecting of classic computers"
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: Demography
In-Reply-To: <34FED726.836C598(a)hf.intel.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
X-To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.1 beta -- ListProcessor(tm) by CREN
Last I heard, Evergreen was still selling 386-486 upgrade chips, which
are
really quick. US$20 each, IIRC
manney(a)lrbcg.com
"Chicken Little was right!"
> > Does anyone have any upgrade board for PCs? I said 486, but I mean
> > any such thing. This is part of a desire to find a way to salvage some
> > systems. Does anyone have any MCA upgrade boards? There are some PS/2
> > 286 towers, which I would take if I could upgrade them to something
> > 32-bit
>
> For various reasons, mostly related to the '100% documented PC', I have a
> little kludge-board in an original AT motherboard in this PC. It's called
> (IIRC) a 'Make-It 486', and contains a TI 486-a-like, the floating point
> copro, and a couple of PLD chips.
>
> I've also got a similar 386 board that I found at a radio rally. It's
> labelled 'Hyper386-SX 50/60/AT'. It contains an Intel 80386SX-16 + 3
> PAL-like things. From the name, I'd assume it would work in a PS/2 model
> 50 or model 60.
>
> I've no idea where you'd find one, but they certainly exist.
>
> -tony
> > > sing and play Piano and Bassoon; I have recently taken up photography.
>
> Eh, who'd have figured.. another bassoon player. Who is it? I missed some
> important attributions.
>
and another bassoon player, long ago.
I'm 43, started playing with computers before high school. That was less
common then, though maybe not for the folks on this list. My dad had a
"portable" Teletype model 33 (I have it now) with an acoustic coupler
modem. He had accounts on GE timesharing (BASIC) and the nearby
University of Wisconsin Burroughs B5500 (I used WIPL, a little like
FOCAL.)
I got a BS in EE and MS in Computer Science at UW, where I ran PDP-11's
etc. in the CS lab. Have mostly worked at Intel in Portland since then.
No time for more bio now, but there is some more info on how I started
collecting on my web site.
>I have a Sun 2/120 (actually a Computervision manufactured clone) that I
>don't have room for. Condition is unknown, but it does have keyboard,
>mouse, monitor and a few spare multibus boards
Do you still have it?
Is it free :-)
If yes to the above would collection be possible at the weekend if I could
arrange it?
Regards
Pete
While we're at it (the buisness of veering grossly off-charter), who
else here collects electronic music equipment of about the same vintage
as the computers discussed here? I have a Korg Poly-800, Yamaha DX-7II,
2 FB-01's, CS-01, a Sequential SixTrack, 360 Systems MidiBass, and a
homebrew MIDI interface to hook some of this to my Amiga. I have
grandiose plans (ok, ok, not _so_ grandiose, but everything is relative
these days...) to rip the 6581 out of my C64 (or better yet, find an old
otherwise nonfunctional C64 and rip the 6581 out of there) and hook it
up to a 68HC11 SBC I designed a few years back (the company I used to
work for is still using and occasionally producing these) and
controlling it (the 6581, that is) via MIDI as a cheap-o (and physically
small) analog synth. (Cause let's face it, that's what the 6581 is...)
BTW Any of you UK guys have collections of the old E&MM magazine? I'm
missing 1 or 2 issues in the 84 (83?) season...
--------------------------------------------
Joachim Thiemann
DSP Coder, Castleton Network Systems
I doubt therefore I might be.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: R. Stricklin (kjaeros) [SMTP:red@bears.org]
> Sent: March 4, 1998 20:09 PM
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
> Subject: Re: Demography
>
>
> > > sing and play Piano and Bassoon; I have recently taken up
> photography.
>
> Eh, who'd have figured.. another bassoon player. Who is it? I missed
> some
> important attributions.
>
> ok
> r.
I think I have that card set (but not the roms - but I do have a spare
ka630 board) with full instructions. I can dig up specifics over the
weekend, when I'm back in Montreal. My uVaxII does have the ability to
act as an X client - I tried it, I have the 3 Tk50 Ultrix distribution
set (but who wants that if you can have NetBSD?) I think it can drive
the GPX cards too, but have never seen it do so myself - I don't have a
monitor to hook up to it.
If anyone wants the cards (the GPX and the spare ka630), they're up for
grabs - either for sale or trade since I'm not doing much with the VAX
(I like my Sparc better)
--------------------------------------------
Joachim Thiemann
DSP Coder, Castleton Network Systems
I doubt therefore I might be.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: allisonp(a)world.std.com [SMTP:allisonp@world.std.com]
> Sent: March 4, 1998 22:06 PM
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
> Subject: Re: DEC GPX II Q-Bus boards
>
> <I have a three board set of Q-bus cards plus the boot ROM for a uVAX
> II,
> <dated from 1987, which supposedly turns a VAX server into a
> workstation f
> <DECWindows. I think it was called the GPX II kit? Anyway, the
> boards wo
> <and I have the keyboard, dove bar mouse and cable, but no monitor. I
> <believe this board set could drive several types of workstation
> monitors
> <and was programmed for monitor type thru some of the wires in the
> kbd/mou
>
> I have no clue on the rom as the microvax-II already could run
> decwindows.
> DECwindows is a device and services under VMS. I would not mess with
> that
> rom unless you fully identfy it and its use.
>
> The monitors conformed to the boards not the other way round the cable
> carried keyboard data mouse and RGB video for the monitor.
>
> monitors were vr260, 290, 320.
>
> <too? Any specs on it? Will it work in a VAX 3600?
>
> Yes.
>
> <Also, what versions of VMS support the GPX board? Is it still
> current (V
> <I have a VMS 5.5 set of tapes that came with the uVAX, from the old
> days
> <when the VMS license stayed with the CPU and DEC didn't hit you up
> for
> <license transfers.
>
> Most all from v4.2 and later. V5.5 would work well. FYI there is a
> free
> license available for hobby use to US decus members.
>
>
> Allison
Greets:
Yep, this last weekend I picked up another truckload of goodies. Mainly
Apple stuff but there is some TI, Mac, IBM, etc., stuff in there. The
list follows here. Please let me know if you want any of this! Amazing
how, until two weeks ago, I had very little Apple stuff, and now I have
more than I can handle!!
Also, for all of you who responded the last time I made a similar post,
thanks for doing so! Your help on identifying many of the items was
great. And for all of you who have requested stuff, I apologize in
getting back to you in such a deliquent manner.... the e-mails are on
file, I've just been so busy lately! I will get back to you and get this
stuff out to you, that's a promise!!
Please take a look at the URL in my signature at the very bottom...
there's the complete inventory of what I have on-line, and also pages
for what I am looking for. Other pages I have there are some interesting
links, an Adventure International page (the classic game company-- Scott
Adams), my autographed memorabilia page, classic computer photo gallery,
downloads, and this 'what's new' list, and some other stuff you may like
to browse.
Anyway, here is the recent list of what I just got. Let me know if you
can take some off of my hands or have some info. on it, ok?
Thanks for your time,
CORD
-------------------------THE
LIST-----------------------------------------------------
Computers/CPU's
-----------------------
* Texas Instruments TI-99/4a computer - with the silver case. Are these
more rare than the tan cases? Model # PHC004a Ser # 8184424.
*Apple //e computer. This has 2 drives attached internally as well. This
computer also has keys with white lettering on them. I have others that
are black lettered (???). Model # A252064. The twod rives are Disk ][.
Drive Model # are A2M0003. Seriel # on the drives are: 416072 & 788419.
Computer ser. # is 020130. Oh, computer also has a printer cable coming
out the back.
* Apple //e computer. This one has a volumn adjuster and a large
ear-phone jack added into the case. Also this model has a the light to
the left of the open-Apple button. Black lettering on the keyboard. Has
been stripped of all the cards out the back, although looking in, it has
some stuff in there yet. Model # A2S2064
* Apple //e computer. Has been stripped of just about everything
internally. Need to open it up to see what exactly is there still!
Monitors
------------
* Apple monitor: Model #A2M2010 - green phosphor with internal tilting
screen.
* Macintosh 12" Monochrome Display. Family #: M1050. Has a note that
says, "blury screen." Haven't tested.
* Apple Monitor ///. Model #: A3M0039 - made in June 1983.
*
Disk Drives/Other Storage
---------------------------------
* Apple 3.5" disk drive... is this for Mac only or //e, etc also? Model
#m0130.
* 2 Apple Disk // drives... More info found above in the CPU section --
attached to a machine.
* IBM 4869 5.25" disk drive. I have 3 of these. They have big, heavy
duty cables attached which go to the machine. Does anyone have more
information on these?
Printers
----------
*Printer Pro Parallel Printer Interface for the Apple //+, //e, and //GS
computers. With original box and instructions, cable and all original
packaging.
* Two Apple printers that weigh a ton!! Tan cases, 80 column printers
(?) Model #: A9M0303.
* Apple // Imagewriter // printer.
* Apple wide-carriage printer (160 column?) Model # A9M0305 - no power
cable.
Books/Manuals
---------------------
* Ernie's Quiz by Apple & Children's Television Workshop. Manual
* Level II BASIC Reference manual for the TRS-80 - 2nd Edition.
* Apple HyperCard User's Guide.
* Apple // 80-Column Text Card Manual.
* Apple // AppleMouse User's Manual
* Ashton-Tate Developer Registry, 2nd Edition. Ashton-Tate made Dbase
/// Plus. 540 pages. 1988
* Tank Tactics Teacher's Guide for Program Nos. 1-7 -- for Apple and
TRS-80, TRS-80 CoCo. With plastic
* PCA/XT 88 Personal Computer User's Guide. 143 pages. No clue who
published this, but a ton of good info.
* Wing Commander ??: Vengeance of the Kilrathi manual. By Reveal
Computer Products. 23 pages.
* Learning BASIC Programming in 14 days on Your Commodore 64 by Gil M.
Schecter (SAMS). 192 pages.
* Radio Shack JP1000 Ink Jet Printer Manual User's Guide #26-2960. 200
pages (?)
* Radio Shack JP1000 Ink Jet Printer Guide to Printing in Colour.
#26-2963. 40 pages(?).
* Radio Shack JP1000 Ink Jet Printer - Printer Driver User's Guide. 20
pages(?)
* Write Now v. 2.2 for the Macintosh manual. 235 pages.
* HyperTalk Beginner's Guide: An Introducting to Scripting. For Mac. 150
Pages.
* Macintosh manual. (2 copies... one has water-damage). 160 pages.
* Atari Games & Rectreations. Programming book for the Atari 400 and
800. reston Publishing Company.338 pages
* The Epson Connection: Macintosh by Rick Dayton. 260 pages. Use of
Epson printers with the Mac.
* Apple // Monitor // User's Manual.12 pages. (2 copies)
* Tandy Personal DeskMate 2 manual... for the 1000 series. 463 pages.
* Apple // Apple 5.25 Drive Owner's Guide. 18 pages... for
//,//+,//e,//c,//GS computers.
* Apple // Extended 80-Column Text Card Supplement - for //e only. 60
pages.
* Apple // 80-Column Text Card Manual for //e only. 75 pages. (2 copies)
* About You Enhanced Apple //e: User's Guide. 14 pages.
* BITFax manual: A Communications Program for Send Fax Modems. By Bit
Software, Inc of Multipas, CA. 91 pgs.
* Apple direct magazine. Vol. 3 No. 2 Nov. 1990. 32 pages.
* Apple schematics sheet by Data Technology. The card this is for can be
found at the bottom of the misc section
* Apple // Technical Notes - May 1988 written by Scott Knaster of Apple
Computer. 200+ pages, Stapes and 3-ring punched.
Miscellaneous
-------------------
*Archer joystick for a PC. It has a fairly 'tall' stick on it, with two
buttons on the front. Also has trim settings, auto fire option, A/b
selectors for both directions, and four suction cups on the bottom. Has
both 15 and 9 pin plugs.
*Joystick.... I'd like some information on this one. It is a tan box
about 5 inches by 3 inches. The joystick itself is just 2 inches or so
tall. Has trim settings also. Two buttons, which look like classic
self-destruct buttons or something. Is was made by TG Products of Plano,
TX. To connect it to a computer, it has a long blue ribbon cable (inch
wide?) with 15 pins on the end. The pins are just out there all by
themselves! Is this for an Apple computer?
*MCP AP-16 Memory Module: I would like some info on this. This is some
type of expansion card, etc. It is about 8 inches long and 3 inches
wide. It contains 18 chips, 10 of which say AM9016EPC & 8248FMP. The
other chips are labeled SP225, SP229, P218, SP245-b, SP220, and SP238.
The card also has a red switch on it. Really no other information...
oh, it also has 4 led lights. Please let me know something about this!
*Expansion card of some sort for the Apple //e. This is about 3"x2" as
is (c) 1988 by Applied Engineering. It says ][e 64k on the side by the
'plug-in', and on the other side is says KEYBOARD. Please let me know
how this thing is used!
* 1.5 foot cable. Adapter of some sort. Looks like a PC joystick
adapter. 15 pin male to 9 pin female.
* Joystick -- called Laser Joystick. It is small has has 2 buttons on
the side. I know of the Laser computer series, etc. (I have a Laser 300,
some kids computers, and want a Laser 50!) by V-tech... didn't realise
they made joysticks. Has a 9 pin connector on it. Does anyone know what
computer this was for, or when it was made?
* Some type of expansion card... presumably for the Apple. Has 19
various chips on it. Made by Data Technology Corp. Would love some more
tips on what this might be.
Software
-----------
*Apple Presents the //e: An Introduction - and a backup copy which has
been copied.
*Apple DOS 3.3 DemoDisk
* Courseware Sampler by Random House: Tutorial Comprehension. Side A & B
- Apple
* Courseware Sampler by Random House: Tutorial Comprehension. Side C & D
- Apple
* Apple //e and //c Diagnostic Disk
* Using Context Clues, Program #1. for the Apple //. By Imperial
International Learning Corp.
* Sequencing Events, Program #4 for the Apple //. By Imperial
International Learning Corp.
* The O'Brien Vocabulary Placement Test by Activity Records for the
Apple // - 48k.
* Blank double sided disk
* Knowledge Master disks. Used in schools for a national competition.
Geez, I used to use these in school! For the Apple and I got 6 copies.
* Mastertype's Writer for the Apple //e and //c. By Scarborough Systems,
Inc.
* Teacher's Software Library by the Duncan Institute of New Port
Richey, FL. (Apple?)
* Scholastic PFS: Write for the Apple //c & //e. By Software Publishing
Corp.
* Math Shop for Apple //+, //e, //c. By Scholastic.
* Telewrite-80 vers. 1.0 Rev. B -- not original (copy).... for what
computer I don't know?
* IBM Assistant Home Solutions by IBM.
* Visicalc in original box by VisiCorp Personal Software. Has both
original disks and two backups. Original Manual, notebook for all, etc.
* * 3.5" disks for the Mac. Hyperdrive boot disk, HyperStudio, Stupid
Mac Tricks by Bob LeVitus, 3 disk by EduComp.
--
___________________________________________________
| Cord G. Coslor : archive(a)navix.net |\
| Deanna S. Wynn : deannasue(a)navix.net | |
|---------------------------------------------------| |
| http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Vista/4395 | |
|---------------------------------------------------| |
| PO Box 308 - Peru, NE - 68421 - (402) 872- 3272 | |
|___________________________________________________| |
\____________________________________________________\|
>Microbee
>--------
>I believe the DIN socket at the rear right-hand corner is a combined power
>supply, cassette in/out and composite video out socket. Can anyone tell me
>the pinouts?
I have one of these, but I'm afraid I can't help - the version you speak
of should be the Microbee 64 with the Computer-in-a-book combined
disk/drive power supply etc. I only have details for the 16k version.
Nevertheless I'll try digging them up and see if they help, but hopefully
someone else will be able to tell you more. The manuals I have lack
details.
>System 80
>---------
>Originally this had an RF modulator, but the one I have has been very
>heavily hacked. Can someone give me the pinouts for the video DIN socket?
I can do this. :) Going on the diagram I have here, we have:
3 ---- ---- 1
/ \
/ | \
/ | \
5 | 4
2
where 1 is +5v, 4 is video output, and 5 is ground.
I have most (if not all) of the manuals for the System 80, including some
doubles here.
Adam.