Very simply, I have a two year old wintel desktop, which does indeed have ISA
slots, and runs Win95. I tried to install an ARCNet card, and I couldn't
correctly configure all of the stuff (IRQ, RAM, DMA, etc.), though I had the
dip switch information. What I have is a half-length CMD card. Since I
couldn't configure it, I gave up. But, if anyone has any hints....
In a message dated 97-12-08 23:35:01 EST, you write:
<< Captain Napalm wrote:
>
> It was thus said that the Great Zeus334 once stated:
> >
> > I don't have access to network cards (except maybe ARCNet, which I
couldn't
> > run on my P*****), and I was wondering if there is a way to have a
transparent
> > null modem-based network. IE, could I connect two computers with a null
modem,
> > and then change to the other computer's drive by typing x: (or mount
> > /dev/hdxxx, or whatever).
> >
> Why can't you run ARCNet cards? Linux has drivers for them (although
that
> is assuming the ARCNet card is for a ISA bus).
>
> It is possible to use a serial connection by running PPP as a transport,
> which supports IP (and thus you can use NFS to mount drives).
>
> -spc (I suppose since ARCNet is over 10 years, and TCP/IP is over 10
> years this counts 8-)
The first coax network I ever installed was Tandy ARCnet, Model IIs as
server and workstations. Unfortunately, those never had any way to hook
up to network operating systems that the PC stuff dealt with, and there
were never drivers for those boards for Tandy Xenix, though a shitload of
R&D money got spent in Fort Worth trying to make it so.
Since most non-laptop "P******" machines still have ISA slots, there's
no reason an ARCnet card wouldn't work. It's faster than serial PPP and
more machines can connect conveniently.
--
Ward Griffiths >>
At 09:26 PM 12/8/97 -0500, you wrote:
>Or... dare I say it... linux on a TRS-80 Model 100/102/200??? :)
Rick <something-or-other-my-mind-is-gone> of Club 100 mentioned once that
there is a company that uses m100's with a version of Unix running on them.
Unfortunately (and yes, I asked) he said they won't release it to the
public. But, at least that means it's doable!
P.S., the m100 is 8085-based, so 6502-linux wouldn't help much.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.crl.com/~sinasohn/
>elisa? that program that asks you the same open ended question? i may have
a
>similar program if there really is an interest.
Yep, that one. It is a BIG interest. It's probably classic content as the
older versions go back to Turing's Law. I've found a Java applet that
simulates the Turing machine.
Thanks,
Tim D. Hotze
At 02:31 PM 12/8/97 -0800, you wrote:
>Looking ahead in my e-mail queue I see there is a flurry of responses to
>this question, and I can guess what everyone else' response is as well.
>
>But I have two syllables for you: Linux.
With only 640k? I think I've settled on the xt/286 version of minix. I don't
want a big investment, and I'm no hard core linux user myself. I know my way
around, but I like experimenting with new things on these old things
(computers, that is.)
- John Higginbotham
- limbo.netpath.net
Greetings.
Seems like everybody reports in when they get a big haul. Well, I don't
have the money or the room for my own personal big haul, so I'll report on
what is available for sale here at the University of Michigan Property
Disposal. All sales are final. You have the opportunity to test machines
in the warehouse, but they don't have 220v available.
This list probably isn't complete, and it's sometimes hard to find
information (manuals, model numbers, telling the difference between a HP
scientific instrument and a HP minicomputer, etc.). So here goes:
Apollo
Domain Series 10000 (@ of these at $250 each)
CPT 8510 (Terminal with 8" floppy, no other information)
Digital
MicroVAX 3900 w/RA82 \
TU81 Plus and RA82 >- Apparently all from one pull
Constant Voltage Conditioner /
Disembodied RA81
VAXstation II/GPX (2 of these)
PDP-11 FORTRAN manual
Some VAXstation 3100 stuff
GE
I have no idea. It's about 3-3 1/2 feet tall, 1 1/2 feet wide.
Has two 8" drives on the front. Priced at $150.
HP
7914 (looked like a computer... maybe...)
IBM
Model 5551 (Says "Hard Disk Model" on the front. Also has a floppy
disk slot.)
Prime Computer Inc.
Model # 2250P ($100)
SGI
Power Series Iris 4D/210GTX ($1500 w/monitor)
Power Series Iris 4D/GTX ($1500: no monitor)
IRIS 3130
Stardent ($100. No other information)
Sun
3/50 (1 regular and 1 with a scooped out case top for a matching
monitor)
-Neil
---------------------------------------------------+-------------------
"There is more to life than increasing its speed." | Neil McNeight
-Mahatma Gandhi | mcneight(a)umich.edu
---------------------------------------------------+-------------------
If you're interested in any of this stuff, please reply directly to
the ORIGINAL author, NOT me! I don't have any of this, but am only
forwarding the message in the hopes that this stuff can find good homes.
Attachment follows.
-=-=- <snip> -=-=-
Path:
Supernews70!Supernews60!supernews.com!news.maxwell.syr.edu!Cabal.CESspool!bofh.vszbr.cz!newscore.univie.ac.at!newsfeed.skynet.be!poster.skynet.be!not-for-mail
From: "ghandy" <ghandy007(a)hotmail.com>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.dec
Subject: Microvax 3100 VALUE ?
Date: 8 Dec 1997 23:39:26 GMT
Organization: Mc Andy
Lines: 13
Message-ID: <01bd0432$554b0e20$5c0b0dc3@superbabe>
NNTP-Posting-Host: brus2-28.brussel.skynet.be
X-Trace: news1.skynet.be 881624366 29578 (None) 195.13.11.92
X-Complaints-To: usenet(a)news1.skynet.be
X-Newsreader: Microsoft Internet News 4.70.1161
Xref: Supernews70 comp.sys.dec:58062
What is the current value of this stuff? I'd like to sell it, but have no
clue of a normal price...
1 x DIGITAL Microvax 3100 (without harddisk)
1 x DIGITAL Dec Server 200/MC (with kables)
4 x DIGITAL keyboard and terminal screen (VT 320)
2 x LINK 125 terminal screen and keyboard
1 x NEC Pinwriter P7
2 x DIGITAL LA75 Companion Printer
2 x MOTOROLA Codex 6015 modem for leased lines (speed: 9600)
These appliances are in excellent state. 20kg of books, manuals, etc.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bruce Lane, SysOp,
The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fido 1:343/272)
kyrrin2 {at} wiz<ards> d[o]t n=e=t
"...No matter how hard we may wish otherwise, our science can only describe
an object, event, or living creature, in our own human terms. It cannot possibly
define any of them!..."
I know this may be a little off topic, but... (How many times have we read
this?!?)
I am suprised at the number of wisened elders in my presence, People that
actually used the machines I dreamed about using in my teenaged years. I was
glad to find out all of these old systems that I wanted so bad back then
actually sport price tags today that I can afford. I have recently sold off
the large majority of my collection of late 80's computers (my wife calls it
the pile, collectively), but have learned that the real joy in using these
systems is the memories it gives me, something about each individual system
that stands out to me. I also find that using computers from another era
tends to bring me back down to earth. Most people today think these machines
are a bunch of hulking dinosnores that can't be useful except as boat
anchors in todays PC world. I know otherwise. Up until recently I had been
using a Model 100 for taking notes and doing addresses, etc. Just as good at
text entry as any P****** system is today. My boss still scoffs at me for
toting around my venerable GRiDCASE 3 (running windows 1.x) that has seen
regular use since I got it, or running Windows 3 on the old Zenith
Supersport, the topic of a quite active thread for the past day or so in
this very list. Hey, I'm not rich. If I was, I'd buy the fastest
notebook/desktop system around. But alas, I am not. The boss stops scoffing
when I tell him how much I paid for my computers and show him what they can
still run. :)
Well, that's it for the monologue. I'm sitting here listening to an
instrumental christmas cd, waiting for IE 4.01 to download, and
contemplating what will be considered old news 10 years from now.
BTW, I didn't mean anything with the "wisened elder" comment. I consider
myself an oldtimer at the young age of 27, with all these little high school
know-it-alls that memorize man pages and can recite every IP address and who
it belongs to on their ISP. I can remember the days before GUI. I was there.
Couldn't afford more than a C-64 or CoCo back then, but I remember them as
some of the best days in computer history.
A parting question: I'm not exactly sure if the HP 7450a 2-pen plotter falls
within the 10-year limit but... Does anyone know where I can get new pens
for this unit?
- John Higginbotham
- limbo.netpath.net
<Maybe with a Disk/Video interface. There's got to be a swap device
<_somewhere_. (Well, there _was_ that wedge thingie that would add up
<to 512k RAM that a firm in Glendale CA was advertising, but they never
Ram disks are fairly easy to do and banked ram as well. The PX-8 did it
to 120k. I'd heard there was a 512k wedge design out there too. I'd love
to see how that was done.
Allison
I want to thank everyone for their comments on my collection. There are
still quite a few machines that I don't have, but at least now I think I
have a pretty complete wanted list! 8^)
The suggestions from the list:
Convergent Workslate
Gavilan
HP 110 (Portable)
HP Portable Plus
HP Integral PC
Osborne 3
Osborne 4 (Vixen)
Apple //c
Apple Newton 100
Kaypro 2
Kaypro 2000
Radio Shack PC-1
Tandy/AST/Casio Zoomer
Visual Commuter
Apricot portable
Commodore SX-64
TRS-80 Model 4P
Tandy 600
And some more of my own:
Dynalogic Hyperion
Sinclair QL
Atari STacy
Atari ST Book
Atari STPad
TRS-80 Model 102
TRS-80 Model 200
Kaypro (All Models)
Amstrad Notepad (NC-100)
Otrona Attache
STM Systems Baby! 1
Teleram T-3000
Teleram Model 4000
Teleram Model 5000
Olivetti M10
--------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.crl.com/~sinasohn/
At 06:21 PM 12/8/97 -0800, you wrote:
>I'd not heard of Elks, as I no longer stay on the "Bleeding Edge" of Linux.
>I'm in the process of checking it out at this moment. It looks
>interesting. Now if that 6502 support they mention as a posibility down
>the road would include the ability to run on a Apple II, or C-64, now that
>would be cool!
Or... dare I say it... linux on a TRS-80 Model 100/102/200??? :)
- John Higginbotham
- limbo.netpath.net
<I don't have access to network cards (except maybe ARCNet, which I couldn'
<run on my P*****), and I was wondering if there is a way to have a transpar
<null modem-based network. IE, could I connect two computers with a null mod
<and then change to the other computer's drive by typing x: (or mount
</dev/hdxxx, or whatever).
for dos PCs we have, laplink, norton commander, carboncopy, cosession and
that is only a few.
For linux you can have slip, ppp and a few other methods.
Allison
This will mainly be used as a dial-up machine to my service provider for
checking mail, etc. I know I can do it much easier in DOS (with this
machine), but I'm looking for a challenge. :)
At 10:15 PM 12/7/97 -0800, you wrote:
>pretty good, don't know if such a thing still exists. One thing you don't
>want to do with a 386SX/16 is any programming, it takes forever to compile!
>Although small scripts are doable.
>
>On an not so interesting note, the 40Mb HD now functions as a CP/M disk for
>my Pentium, and the Laptop is now a general purpose terminal. The 486,
>well it's the Server that ties my various platforms together, running Linux
>of course.
- John Higginbotham
- limbo.netpath.net
In a message dated 97-12-08 10:27:04 EST, you write:
<< > > How important is it to obtain computers in their "original" state? Is
it
> > worth it to save a computer that is known to have been hacked together?
>>
I myself prefer both configurations. i have a stock platinum //e which i plan
to keep that way, but then again, I have a ][+ with something called a videx
enhancer ][ which was a new keyboard encoder card which let me have type ahead
and macros and lowercase. even better than a //e keyboard! also, an old IBMer
gave me a majorly hacked timex sinclair (or one of the similar models) that
was built into a wooden case, complete with power supply, monitor and even a
full sized keyboard hacked in, mounted on a piece of scrap plexiglass! to me,
that gives character, and helps to preserve the technology of the time.
david
i was playing around with my new tandy 102 and there is a door on the bottom
which has some ROMs underneath. two are labled sony, and the other one has
some pull tabs on it, and it's labeled SUPER ROM <C> 1986. its not original
equipment, is it? it looks like it can be removed fairly easily, so i was
wondering if it had preloaded apps, like my grid laptop does. also, does
anyone have a source of basic programs for this machine? the keyboard is
rather good for typing, but i'd like to run some things on it.
david
At 02:54 PM 12/8/97 -0800, you wrote:
>Sorry, I wasn't paying attention to the RAM you had. But somebody just
>mentioned the ELKS version of Linux. Don't know what that is but it'd
>probably be owrth looking into.
I was looking at the too, but I have one install of minix already under my
belt. I think I'll give it a try first. I'm pretty sure it'll run okay,
since the version I'm shooting for is optimized for xt/286 machines. (It'll
run under 512k, but likes 640k)
- John Higginbotham
- limbo.netpath.net
Anyone know of a minimum unix or unix-like OS that will run on the following
config:
Zenith Supersport SX
386sx-16
640k
110mb HD
VGA mono
I know about minix, but am looking for something a little more robust, since
I have heard TCP/IP and other such apps don't run well or not at all under
minix. If someone can tell me otherwise, I'll use it.
- John Higginbotham
- limbo.netpath.net
I understand that you may have a heathkit analog computer for sale. I am
trying to obtain copies of the manuals (assembly & experiments). I would
be be interested in purchasing the unit if it still is available. Please
reply with price, condition, manuals. Thanks // mt (mtaylor(a)hach.com)
<And even more true in the S-100 world. Anybody who bought a system made
<solely of parts from IMSAI or MITS and didn't use third-party memory or dis
<controllers/systems was a total fool and completely ignorant of
<the blossoming S-100 industry.
Big time! The early versions *under sn ~2000 or so* had at lest a couple of
pages of mods from MITS alone.
Of the mods that were common for the 8800:
*heavier PS
*better backplane, theirs was the worst.
*CPU clock mod to use the 8224 instead of ttl and oneshots.
*MANY mods to 88mcd or 88s4k memory to make them work with
some disk controllers.
IMSAIs being about 6months later had fewer basic problems and a lesser
need for mods just to work.
Most S100 systems prior to ~1980 needed mods to allow for variations
between bus interpretations. The altair being first needed the most mods
for the newest boards.
Allison
Greetings.
I have recently developed an interest in collecting classic computers and
after (mostly) lurking on this list, I have a question that you all might
be able to answer.
How important is it to obtain computers in their "original" state? Is it
worth it to save a computer that is known to have been hacked together?
For example: I have an original Mac 128k. However, I believe that the
motherboard has been upgraded to the 512k "Fat" Mac. I purchased it at the
University of Michigan's Property Disposal warehouse, which means I was
lucky to find a matching keyboard and mouse and I have no hope of finding
the original manuals or shipping boxes for it.
Should I even bother to restore this machine to it's original state by
purchasing an original (but not _the_ original) motherboard, assuming I
can even find one, or should I just use the machine as is and forget about
any attempts at historical accuracy? At what point do I wind up with
Washington's Hatchet, or does it even matter?
Thanks for any input.
-Neil
---------------------------------------------------+-------------------
"There is more to life than increasing its speed." | Neil McNeight
-Mahatma Gandhi | mcneight(a)umich.edu
---------------------------------------------------+-------------------
<> 99 times out of a 100, I'd prefer to have the "hacked" computer rather
<> than the "original". At least in the minicomputer world, just about ever
<> modificiation is there for a very important purpose - it either fixes
<> a bug in the hardware or adds an actual enhancement. If the modificatio
More true in the micro would where standards were evolving faster that the
the hardware could be made.
<> was absolutely useful at the time it was made - and is something that
<> every sane original owner did - then it's part of the culture of the
<> machine!
The last line is where history resides. Hacks were part of the culture
and remain a legacy.
Allison
For me; at least; the interest is not for profit. It is for my own personal
enjoyment; and for history. If every Apple ][ is thrown away; once
very-common items become very rare.
-----Original Message-----
From: Olminkhof <jolminkh(a)c2.telstra-mm.net.au>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Monday, December 08, 1997 1:13 PM
Subject: Re: Importance of "original" parts
>>How important is it to obtain computers in their "original" state? Is it
>>worth it to save a computer that is known to have been hacked together?
>>
>
>I think it's worth saving anything that might eventually fill in part of a
>jigsaw.
>
>>For example: I have an original Mac 128k. However, I believe that the
>>motherboard has been upgraded to the 512k "Fat" Mac. I purchased it at the
>>University of Michigan's Property Disposal warehouse, which means I was
>>lucky to find a matching keyboard and mouse and I have no hope of finding
>>the original manuals or shipping boxes for it.
>.
>.
>>Should I even bother to restore this machine to it's original state by
>>purchasing an original (but not _the_ original) motherboard, assuming I
>>can even find one, or should I just use the machine as is and forget about
>>any attempts at historical accuracy? At what point do I wind up with
>>Washington's Hatchet, or does it even matter?
>
>Mostly, you will be very lucky to pick up the bits you want. I think
>eventually a swap culture will arrive but you need to have something to
swap
>with. We are in a rescue-from-the-garbage phase at the moment, so I believe
>in hoarding everything I find ..... that I can find space for that is!
>
>Hans
>
>How important is it to obtain computers in their "original" state? Is it
>worth it to save a computer that is known to have been hacked together?
>
I think it's worth saving anything that might eventually fill in part of a
jigsaw.
>For example: I have an original Mac 128k. However, I believe that the
>motherboard has been upgraded to the 512k "Fat" Mac. I purchased it at the
>University of Michigan's Property Disposal warehouse, which means I was
>lucky to find a matching keyboard and mouse and I have no hope of finding
>the original manuals or shipping boxes for it.
.
.
>Should I even bother to restore this machine to it's original state by
>purchasing an original (but not _the_ original) motherboard, assuming I
>can even find one, or should I just use the machine as is and forget about
>any attempts at historical accuracy? At what point do I wind up with
>Washington's Hatchet, or does it even matter?
Mostly, you will be very lucky to pick up the bits you want. I think
eventually a swap culture will arrive but you need to have something to swap
with. We are in a rescue-from-the-garbage phase at the moment, so I believe
in hoarding everything I find ..... that I can find space for that is!
Hans
At 11:51 PM 12/7/97 +0000, you wrote:
>Please dig up more memory at least 4-8mb and plug in and you will be
>happy, the hd is tad tight but doable, but you could swap the hd out
>for bigger ones. I think this one uses standard IDE 3.5" or 2.5" hd.
Sure does. I just pulled the 40mb out and put this 104mb HD in (not 110mb
like I said earlier). No problems whatsoever. The SS sx doesn't have a user
defined drive type, so the largest drive in BIOS is 220mb, but the 104mb was
the only thing laying around. he SS sx will support up to 8mb, but the
memory upgrades cost $58 each from what I could find on the internet. If my
budget allowed, I'd get it, but would like to find something cheaper.
- John Higginbotham
- limbo.netpath.net
At 12:14 AM 12/6/97 -0500, you wrote:
>The military once procured a bunch of XT-like machines that were portable
>and keyboardless. Everything was done thru a touchscreen, including a
>virtual keyboard. About five years ago, there were a bunch floating around
>the hamfests in the Chicago area.
The GridPad 1910 that I have has a 'virtual' keyboard. Nice machine; I just
wish I could find some GPS/Mapping software that would run on it so I could
mount it in my Land Rover... (Or a 486/pentium version?)
>> How about a portable UNIX workstation with a ~21" gas plasma display? I've
>> actually seen such a beast.
>
>Yes, portable Unix machines do exist! The SPARCstation Voyager is somewhat
>like what you describe. It is a luggable monster, and was replaced by the
>SPARCbooks some time ago.
The problem with the Sun notebooks (which I'd *love* to have if anyone wants
to get rid of one) is that they're darned expensive and I'm poor. 8^) I
suspect a unix workstation with a 21" gas plasma display ain't gonna be
cheap either!
--------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.crl.com/~sinasohn/
At 12:14 AM 12/6/97 -0500, William Donzelli wrote:
>Yes, portable Unix machines do exist! The SPARCstation Voyager is somewhat
>like what you describe. It is a luggable monster, and was replaced by the
>SPARCbooks some time ago.
There was a neat Sony? MIPS based Unix portable that I played with about 7
years ago. Large B&W LCD display, 500Mb disk in a box not much bigger than
a Toshiba 5200. Really neat and really expensive. I had one on evaluation
for a week or so and it was cool running X at home (of course, these days X
is just run of the mill).
Huw Davies | e-mail: Huw.Davies(a)latrobe.edu.au
Information Technology Services | Phone: +61 3 9479 1550 Fax: +61 3 9479
1999
La Trobe University | "My Alfas keep me poor in a monetary
Melbourne Australia 3083 | sense, but rich in so many other ways"
<everybody expects to figure everything out from little hieroglyphs.
<That don't work for me -- I read and use a command line. Intuitive?
<Intuition is for illiterate women (NOT ALLISON -- don't hit me!)
That is sexist.... ;-) I prefer "pets and small children" in place of
women in that sentence. As to hitting you, never. I've trained old dogs
and I don't hit them either. ;)
<Intuition is for illiterate pets and small children.
Here's a historical quote....
"Unix is snake oil"
Tee shirt seen at the mill: owner remains:
Front:
The NO circle with the word unix in lower case.
the digital logo (the "keys")
"Unix the unsystem, never had it never will".
Allison
Off-topic part of post, please ignore.
Here's the way I remember these things:
BeeGee = 70's pop music group memeber
GeeBee = 30's racing aircraft
Meantime, back to the computers;
1) I vote strongly in favor of keeping the 10-year rule. It's simple, it's
hard to start an argument over, and it has worked wonderfully so far. It is
a "moving window", but that's appropriate. Time is moving on...
2) On whether to mothball or use a system: if it's your second one,
mothball. If it's your first one of that type, follow Tony's good
suggestions regarding PS testing and then *use it*. Keep the packing
material, keep the manuals pristine, but get some time on it. Why? Nobody
is going to get passionate about a box in the closet. Five years from now
when the rest of your family needs more room in the closet, that box will
hit the streets or the dumpster if it's just a box. ("But you *never use
it!*") Worse, 5 years from now Tony may have been hit by a truck (er...
lorry. and no offense intended, Tony!) and no one will be able to help you
debug the power supply if you decide to fire it up and it fails its test.
On the other hand, if it's the system you spend your nights hacking
on to try to port Mosaic or bring up a Mandelbrot-set displayer on, it's
*safe*. Your family will hit the streets instead :-). And if it's got an
infant-mortality problem, better to flush it out while this group is around
to help you.
Just my humble opnion. I play Tetris on my Rainbow and am planning to (real
soon now (TM) ) write a Mandelbrot set program on it. I use my Mac Plus for
the family finances and all sorts of games (it's getting flaky though.
needs work.). My NeXT is at my office and web-surfs and runs Mathematica
analyses for my job, in exchange for its IP address. (urk! wasn't I just
advocating the 10-year rule? Sorry. We'll be there soon!)
- Mark
classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu, photze(a)batelco.com.bh
Subj: Re: Interest In Unix
Tim D. Hotze wrote:
>------=_NextPart_000_0006_01BD01A6.0C8FEE00
>Content-Type: text/plain;
> charset="iso-8859-1"
>Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
>
>Season's greetings! I have just gotten interested in Linux, (so, it's =
>not truly classic content, but it's implementations are); and I was =
>wondering if anyone here has experience with this kind of thing.... any =
>Linux experience at all. (Sorry for the decipful headline)
> And I know that it makes me look like an idiot; but possilby if =
>someone could transmit some good newsgroups. People have said time and =
>time again that there are betternewsgroups where we can put all of our =
>"modern" questions. Possibly, that could be included in the FAQ. (Or =
>NAQ)
> Thanks,
>
> Tim D. Hotze
>
I was under the impression that Linus started with the minix code - early
versions of which are certainly approaching the 10 year classical limit.
Here is some other help:
% newsgroups | grep linux
comp.os.linux.admin
comp.os.linux.advocacy
comp.os.linux.announce
comp.os.linux.answers
comp.os.linux.development
comp.os.linux.development.apps
comp.os.linux.development.system
comp.os.linux.hardware
comp.os.linux.help
comp.os.linux.m68k
comp.os.linux.misc
comp.os.linux.networking
comp.os.linux.setup
comp.os.linux.x
have fun.
Peter Prymmer
At 01:41 PM 12/4/97 -0500, you wrote:
>Th PX-8 can wake up, do something and go to sleep automajikally.
I noticed that in the docs t'other day too.
Which brings me to the changed subject... With the receipt of a PX-8 (with
matching P-80 Portable printer!) I kinda feel like I've got a pretty decent
collection of portable computers going. What I've got so far is:
Altima 2
Amstrad PPC640
Amstrad PDA 600 "PenPad"
Apple Macintosh Portable
Atari Portfolio
Bondwell B310plus.
Casio FA-10 Docking Station
Compaq Portable 386
Data General One
Epson HX-20 Laptop
Epson PX-8 Laptop
Grid GridCase3
Grid GridPad 1910
Hewlett-Packard 75D
Hewlett-Packard Vectra LS/12
Hewlett-Packard Portable Vectra CS
Iasis Computer in a Book
IBM PC Radio
IBM PS/2 Model 70 Lunchbox
Interactive Network
NEC MultiSpeed
NEC PC8201A
NEC PC8401A "Starlet"
Osborne 01
Osborne Executive
Outbound Laptop
Panasonic HHC (HandHeld Computer)
Radio Shack Model 100.
Sharp PC-7000 with printer
Sharp PC-7100
Seequa Chameleon
Sharp PC-4
Texas Instruments Compact Computer 40,
Type-O-Graph
Zenith ZP-150
Zenith ZF-161
Zenith Z-170
Zenith Supersport 286
Not all of these are working 100% (yet), and a couple are still enroute
(Outbound & Portfolio).
So anyway, I sorta feel like I could not add another machine and still have
a collection of portables that covers the important ones, plus a bunch that
were kinda weird or personally significant.
But, I'm certainly no expert, so there may very well be some that I'm
missing that are important. I know I'd like to get a Z88 and a Poquet PC,
an Original Compaq (I've got a Compac [sic] but that's not the same thing).
Can anyone else think of some I should be looking for?
Thanks! (And sorry for the longness(? Length)!)
--------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.crl.com/~sinasohn/
Over the last couple of years my PX-8 has suffered a slow degredation of
its quality of life. Firstly the old batteries gave out, but when these
were replaced with a set from Tauber Electronics of 4901 Morena Blvd,
San Diego, Ca., the replacement set took a looooong time to charge up,
and in the process burnt out a transistor - GRB - R6 in the attached
Multi-unit (64) board. Nothing would work. So I detached the multi unit
and limped on with the original 12kb of memory. However, the tape drive
also stopped writing correctly. If I wrote to it I could no longer
access any thing from it.
But still we limped along for over 2 years, by downloading through the
serial port via a VT200 cable to the Unix system at work using the Term
program, each time we'd written four pages of text.
But finaly the it is also not powering up, and all the advise I read in
the archives of this list - particularly:
To: "Discussion re-collecting of classic computers"
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: Epson PX-8, no power up
From: Paul E Coad <pcoad(a)crl.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 1997 00:16:23 -0700 (PDT)
In-Reply-To: <33DB9664.7DF771DF(a)rain.org>
AND
To: "Discussion re-collecting of classic computers"
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: Epson PX-8, no power up
From: Marvin <marvin(a)rain.org>
Date: Sun, 27 Jul 1997 11:41:40 -0700
References: <Pine.SUN.3.91.970727103047.2032L-100000(a)crl3.crl.com>
Etc. has been to no avail. All the ROMS are in, the batteries are
connected, the Power units work etc. etc...
Is it time to turn the unit into a boat anchor? It has served us so
well for so long it seems there should be a more fitting way of saying
goodbye. I'd be willing to mail it anyhere, but it was repairable when
it left Israel, I doubt it would be by the time it got to where it is
going.
Now I'm left with an orphaned P-80X printer - I guess I may as will
ditch it as well.
Pity...
regards,
Bryn Deamer
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Email: bryn(a)bwc.org : Bryn and Sherna Deamer
URL : www.poboxes.com/bryn : P.O. Box 155, 31001
Ph: 972-4-8358457 fx: 8358591 : Haifa, Israel
---------------------------------END--------------------------------
this weekend brought me several interesting items. someone from south carolina
noticed my name was on the classic computer mailing list and emailed me about
some machines he wanted to give me so i met him halfway and picked up a
truckload of items. i got:
2 xycom cpm workstations which are big old one piece units, complete with 8
inch floppy drives.
an external 10 meg hard drive unit.
add on floppy unit for a total of 3 drives
a giant and extremely heavy box full of original documentation and cpm 1.1
system disks/wordstar/spellstar/business software. ~200 disks total, and some
are still blank and never used!
also got a decwriter on casters and all the cables to hook everything up.
i have not powered up the machines yet, as i'm letting them acclimate for 24
hours since they had to ride in the back of the truck in 20 degree weather.
at a radio rally the same day i got:
mac se fdhd
ibm basic primer handbook still in shrinkwrap.
mca modem <?> card
apple //c power supply in original plastic wrap. ( i didnt know it was
supposed to be so white!)
some C= 64 stuff, including some manuals, a print interface and a modem in the
original box with a price tag of over $100. i even got the quantumlink
software in a never opened box.
and my best find, a tandy 102! complete with owner's guide, ps, and matching
battery operated cassette recorder. the guy wanted $30 for it, but my
girlfriend's smile got the computer for $20 lol.
david
On Sat, 6 Dec 1997 11:34:40 +0000 (GMT), Tony Duell
<ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>>Well done!!!
Thanks! This has been a long time in coming (since October).
Unfortunately, I have to go down there again because the guy there e-mailed
me and said that he "found the right-hand panel for the rack." Dooooh!
>>If you ever need to change the heads on an RK05 you need to get an
>>alignment disk. I'm rather too far away to pop round with mine.
Is there a way to make a copy of that disk pack, or is it a factory-made
item>
>>Have you clamped the RK05 heads (remove the top covers and there's a 'L'
>>shaped clamp on top of the positioner. Use that to hold the voice coil in
>>the rearmost position)? If not, do it now. There's a battery pack (4 off
>>1/2AA NiCds) on top of the RK05 PSU that's supposed to keep the heads
>>retracted (and to retract them if there's a power failure with a pack
>>mounted), but it's probably decayed by now.
I don't recall seeing a battery pack when I opened the RK05's, but yes,
I did lock the servos before moving the computer.
I also, looked at the specs for the computer -- I definitely have to
drop a new electrical service to my shop. Start-up current on the two RK05's
alone is 20a at 125v.
>>I'd advise you to take all the units out of the rack to move it. With 2
>>people helping, you can carry an RK05 or PDP11/34 CPU box fully
>>assembled, but I'd not want to carry more than 1 at a time. You should be
>>able to move the rack with all the slide rails still in place, I think
The PDP is in my garage right now. What a trip it was trying to tilt it
up while getting it out of the van. It took 3 people to make sure that no
one got crushed!
>>Enjoy your new toy - it's a great machine
I can't wait to get it up and running. Thanks for the tips!
Rich Cini/WUGNET
<nospam_rcini(a)msn.com> (remove nospam_ to use)
ClubWin! Charter Member (6)
MCP Windows 95/Windows Networking
============================================
<A 68040 -based machine is not that old, maybe a bit under 10 years. What I
<was wondering is whether or not there is any objective advantage of old
<machines to new ones. F.E. one could get an old IBM mini (System/3X) for
<little or no money, but is there anything doable on it that is impossible t
<do on a W****** 95 machine?
It would be rare to say that a late W95 box isn't more capable. The only
thing it cant do is support more than one user! Though I've seen PDP-8s
that can. Now a late model PC running something other than w95 like
linux can support multiple users, not that common though. Most older
machines that was an expectation. After all they were expensive. ;-)
There is something that is possible on older machine that is close to
impossible on a win95 box. I can completely document my entire s100
machine right down to sources for CP/M, a significant number of
applications and the circuits for all the cards, backplane and power
supply. Some of my PDP-11 stuff I can do near as well. In other words
I have all the resources to understand it and even copy it or improve it,
something I have done.
Allison
>The military once procured a bunch of XT-like machines that were portable
>and keyboardless. Everything was done thru a touchscreen, including a
>virtual keyboard. About five years ago, there were a bunch floating around
>the hamfests in the Chicago area.
That would be _so_ cool to see.... can anyone tell me what they looked like?
Hi,
I found today a Dyna Micro. This is all I know about the thingy.
It is apparently a learning system or a prototping system. Unfortunately
the board was completely nude (only sockets).
Does anybody have any info on it, is it worth salvaging?
It has a 4x4 keypad on the bottom right corner and a vero style
prototyping area on the left side, the circuitry is above there is a row
of 24 LEDs room for a processor (whaterver it might be) and a couple
ROMS the rest might be RAM and glue.
On the brighter side I also found two Osbone I in perfect condition with
one set of disks for $7 :) :)
------------------------------------------------------------
Francois Auradon
Visit the Sanctuary at: http://home.att.net/~francois.auradon
>But, I'm certainly no expert, so there may very well be some that I'm
>missing that are important. I know I'd like to get a Z88 and a Poquet PC,
>an Original Compaq (I've got a Compac [sic] but that's not the same thing).
>Can anyone else think of some I should be looking for
I forgot one more - the Cambridge Z88. It's not significant because of what
it was (being very similar to the Amstrad Notepad, although I am not sure
just how similar as I failed to pick up the only one I have seen), but for
who made it. Cambridge Computers, I believe, was the computer company set
up by Sir Clive Sinclair after the collapse (and sale to Amstrad) of
Sinclair.
Adam.
>But, I'm certainly no expert, so there may very well be some that I'm
>missing that are important. I know I'd like to get a Z88 and a Poquet PC,
>an Original Compaq (I've got a Compac [sic] but that's not the same thing).
>Can anyone else think of some I should be looking for
I would have to suggest the Commodore SX-64 (I have one, and they are
pretty good) and the TRS-80 Model 4P (also one I have, and certainly worth
having). Also, although extremely unlikly to be found, there was a C64
laptop made that didn't go into production - I doubt there were many
prototypes, but I know they existed.
Someone else mentioned the Apricot Portable _ I am desperatly after one
myself, and figure it would be a wonderful find. Not a great computer, mind
you, but nevertheless a wonderful find. Very stylish.
Adam.
Unfortunatly, my good friend Daniel Seagraves (dseagrav) a
frequent contributer to this list is temporarily out of service due to the
death of his grandmother last night. He is expected back Tuesday. I feel
sorry for him being he is one of my closest friends. I don't reguraly post
to this list and this doesn't really fit in to classic computing other
than the fact that he's a collector and he's out of service for a few
days.
Slow begining but a few finds Friday and Saturday. My biggest find was a
Wang laptop with carrying case (black), 14.5 lbs, 512k ram, NICAD battery
(dead), 10mb HD, full size keyboard, full size supertwist LCD screen, RS-232
port, SCSI port for external floppy drives, MS-DOS 3.2 and DOS reloaded,
builtin modem, uses NEC V30 CPU, 8 Mhz clock rate. It's missing the ext
drives 3.5 and 5 1/4 and 18V power supply. This unit has a builtin printer
also. Other finds - Socrates infra-red keyboard do not have a base unit here
to test it with; 2 Mac Plus keyboards; Apple Personal LaserWriter NT $5 not
tested yet; Hitachi external CD-ROM drive (free) not tested yet; Laser128
with power brick not tested yet; a Amiga 500 with mouse, ext 3.5 FD, and
power brick not tested yet cost was .80 cents for all of it; HP Thinkjet
model 2225C not tested yet; a Zenith luggable model ZFA-138-42 not tested
yet $5; about 30 different manuals for many different products like Kennedy
model 1600 tape unit;VTech video painter; and last a Apple personal modem
model A9M0334. Well that's it for the week, will take a day off Sunday.
Still trying to setup the warehouse deal for BIG load of systems. - John
Keep computing !!
Hello. First post to this list:
I am looking for any and all info for the GRiD GRiDCASE 3 laptop. I know all
the specs, but I need info for the GRiD-OS and any software and it's
availability for the GRiD-OS.
As it stands now, I have MS-DOS 2.11 ROM installed, GRiD-OS ROM internal
daughter card with various apps installed, and an optional ROM that includes
a VT100 terminal.
I would really like to find out how to format a disk under GRiD-OS, and any
other system commands I can use besides the built-in menu.
I have no external (floppy) software for the GRiD-OS, but if anyone has it,
I'd pay for copies.
Also, if anyone is looking for specs and info for GRiD laptops, please
checkout this page I am slowly putting together:
http://limbo.netpath.net/hw/GRiD
- John Higginbotham
- limbo.netpath.net
--Original
So anyway, I sorta feel like I could not add another machine and still have
a collection of portables that covers the important ones, plus a bunch that
were kinda weird or personally significant.
---
Well, an interesting one was the Apricot portable, which I have no experience
with. I heard it had voice command, and ran off an 8088.
Today, my father and I drove to Philadelphia to pick-up an 11/34 system.
It has been used by the Univ. of Pennsylvania psychology department since
its original installation date. It was only decommissioned two months ago
because its "user" retired.
I haven't taken a complete inventory yet, but here's the haul: 11/34
processor, expansion box and two RK05s in a 6' rack (It's even configured as
shown on the cover of the 11/34 hardware book), engineering diagrams,
manuals, programming books, 4 disk packs, replacement drive heads, air
filters, one spare RK05, and loads of spare boards.
I'll start inventorying this week. Also, I have to tear the rack down in
order to move it to the basement (it's in my garage now). At 450 lbs., it
was too heavy to move downstairs. I'll probably remove the RK05s to move it.
Then, I have to drop a 120v/30a line into the shop.
More to come...
Rich Cini/WUGNET
<nospam_rcini(a)msn.com> (remove nospam_ to use)
ClubWin! Charter Member (6)
MCP Windows 95/Windows Networking
============================================
Is this a list? Hoping this won't show up to a bunch of subscribers... Want
to see if I can join the list, and all I have is this obscure e-mail address
reference...
Didn't mean to piss anyone off if I did by posting this message through the
"wrong" channels... Prease Excuse.
- John Higginbotham
- limbo.netpath.net
<"tuner wash" would be bad for the connectors, PC board, plastic IC
<sockets, silk screening, solder mask, etc. I considered rubbing
<alcohol, but I don't know what the effect of that would be either. I
<checked the FAQs that I know of, and about all I came up with was
<someone's technique of "giving the circuit board a good scrubbing"
<with dish soap and swinging it on the end of a string to dry it. As
<this technique strikes me as possibly dangerous, to myself, the
Remove the front panel circuit board. Insure any dress items like the front
pannel overlay are not on it and put it in the dish washer with the usual
cleaner (any dishes too). This will do a very good job and is not caustic.
It dry it well, if it come out with water in the switches don't panic.
Put it in an oven set real low (you want 140 degrees) and bake it
dry. Lubricate the switches with a contact leaner that has some low
residue lubricant in it. Drying is a no rush thing. FYI soap with
plenty of clean water rinse is the least damaging thing you can use.
I've done this many, many times (whole production runs!) using this
approach.
Any switches once dries that are failed/flaky can be replaced easily as
they are common parts.
Allison
At 02:36 PM 12/5/97 -0800, you wrote:
>Hmm. Just thinking about portables in my own collection....
>
>Convergent Workslate
Yep, definitely very cool. Gotta add it to my wish list. (Hey, christmas
is coming! 8^)
>Gavilan
I know the name, but little else. I'd love to hear more when you get
through all the docs & such.
>HP 110 (Portable)
>HP Portable Plus
Y'know, I donated a couple of these to CHAC back when I thought I could get
away without actually collecting computers myself... But I'm an HP lover
too, so these go on the wish list... (P.S., do you know about the 918DX offer?)
>HP Integral PC
> - Unix in ROM
Oh yeah. Saw yours at the VCF. <drool, drool, lust, lust> I *definitely*
want one of these.
>Osborne 3
> - Somebody please tell me I don't have the *only* one in the world!
>Osborne 4 (Vixen)
> - Hey, if you're interested in collecting the whole set....
I wouldn't mind having the whole set at all. 8^)
Thanks!
--------------------------------------------------------------------- O-
Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad
roger(a)sinasohn.com that none but madmen know."
Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates
San Francisco, California http://www.crl.com/~sinasohn/
At 04:36 PM 12/5/97 EST, you wrote:
>What exactly is a PX-8? BTW, I have a Mac Portable, which I got because it
The PX-8 is a small laptop, kinda similar to the HX-20 or the m100/NEC/m10
crowd, but more in the same class as the NEC Starlet. It's a CP/M machine
with an 8(?) line flip-up display and built-in micro-cassette drive.
>wasn't working. After connecting the battery directly to the AC power for a
>few seconds, it worked. The battery is dead now, though. I use another AC
The Mac Portable is an odd critter. It seems it runs off the battery, and
the power supply is only there to charge the battery. I'm learning a lot
about them right now, in fact. My current idea is to make a doohickey that
will feed power in from an external power source to the battery contacts so
you don't need the regular power supply at all.
Basically, if you don't have a working battery (or something to fool the mac
portable into thinking you do) then it won't work. The battery is a 6v
lead-acid battery.
>adapter for the battery, as well as the normal one. That thing eats power! Why
>your battery is alive and mine died, god only knows.
The PX-8 runs (iirc -- I only got mine on Wednesday and spent yesterday at a
funeral so I haven't played with it much) on AA batteries. It has no floppy
or hard drive, and the small LCD screen probably doesn't use much juice.
Hence, all you need power for is the RAM and CPU/electronics.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.crl.com/~sinasohn/
I have an HHC in perfect working order and was just wondering what it might be worth to a collector.
Just curious,
Dave Dales
Ddales(a)cts.com
San Diego, CA
<From: Zeus334 <Zeus334(a)aol.com>
<What exactly is a PX-8? BTW, I have a Mac Portable, which I got because it
PX-8 aka geneva is a z80 based CP/M portable circa 1984.
<few seconds, it worked. The battery is dead now, though. I use another AC
<adapter for the battery, as well as the normal one. That thing eats power!
<your battery is alive and mine died, god only knows.
Well I've had to replace the cells due to age based failure. The CPU is
a CMOS z80 and uses very little power, combine that with no backight LCD,
no hard drive (uses ramdisk or microcassette) the power consumption is
extremely light. FYI the two week limit was not for lack of battery but
the fact that nicads self discharge and would be dead within 30 days if not
charged.
The nicads used for PX-8 are real cheap I got a set of 4 cells for $10 new.
Allison
Another person asked first. He asked about "the TRS-80s", which indicates
he wants all of them. I e-mailed, mentioning someone else (you) wanted
some, and will wait for his e-mail.
manney(a)nwohio.com
----------
> From: classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu
> To: Manney
> Subject: Re: FREE! Trash-80 Model 4's
> Date: Friday, December 05, 1997 3:08 PM
>
> I'm interested in the TRS-80s you mentioned. How much will it cost? I'm
in
> PA 17347.
>
> Thanks,
> Tom
I stopped in there today and they're not kidding. Piles of PDP-11s: 11/04, 11/23, 11/34, 11/44. VAX, MicroVAX, VAXstation (I picked up a Tempest-shielded VAXstation cabinet), disk and tape drives, terminals (tons of VT100s,)
monitors, documentation, you name it.
I didn't see any PDP-8s, though the guy said he thought there might be some 8/a stuff squirreled away. The DECsystem 2020 is in a single cab.
They're anxious to empty the building and stop paying rent, so at some point, the unclaimed items will be tossed.
I snagged a small pile of stuff and put dibs on a couple others that I'll be picking up early next week.
-- Tony
----------
From: kyrrin2@wizards.net[SMTP:kyrrin2@wizards.net]
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 1997 3:30 PM
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
Subject: RED ALERT!! BIG LOAD OF FREEBIES!!
ATTN: Classic Computer Rescue Crewmembers in the Dover, Delaware area!
Take note of this missive I found on Usenet. If I were ANYwhere
near the east coast, I'd already have visited the place.
This is a terrific opportunity for those of you who want to get
your hands dirty on DEC hardware to do it. And, if anyone goes down
there and finds an M7552 module (RRD50 controller), please snare it
for me! ;-)
Attachment follows.
-=-=- <snip> -=-=-
OK. The powers that be no longer want to store this stuff, so the
time has come to make it go away.
We have around 5000 square feet of Vax and PDP equipment
that needs to find new homes. It's mostly older Qbus and Unibus
stuff, so don't expect to find state of the art stuff in here.
There is way too much stuff to list, but in a nutshell, there are
vaxen from 11/730 up to 8820, with many microvaxen in ba23's
and ba123's. There are many unibus pdp-11's, and some
pdp-8 stuff.
There is also a DEC-system 2020.
Many peripherals. TONS of books, manuals, and printsets.
Miles of tape, zillions of disk packs, many 8" floppies, etc.
If someone is looking for something in particular, let me
know and I can see if it is there. Your best bet, however,
is to come walk around and see what you can use.
Equipment is free for the taking and is located in Dover,
Delaware. Don't respond if you are only interested in
scrap. We want to get rid of it, but don't want to see
the stuff junked. Hell, we can junk the stuff ourselves
if that is what we wanted to do. We thought there should
be people out there that can use this equipment.
take one piece, or take everything. First come, first
served. You haul. Unfortunately, we do not have time to
package things for shipping, although if the item is small
enough, and you make a good enough case, exceptions
may be possible. :-)
We are interested in moving this stuff quickly, so please
respond if interested. Email address has been purposely
munged to prevent spam. Re-assemble the address
below to respond.
Thanks,
Jim Bender
jbender at
corpamerica dot com
In a message dated 97-12-05 05:03:13 EST, you write:
<< Yes but the PX-8 is now 13 years old and the nicads in it could sustain
continous computing for 12-16 hours. I've tried one for logging data and
it ran for two weeks at 1-2 minutes per hour without trouble. The time
and autostart/shutdown was built in, no extras needed. Most laptops would
be hard pressed to run the total uptime without killing the battery.
Allison
>>
What exactly is a PX-8? BTW, I have a Mac Portable, which I got because it
wasn't working. After connecting the battery directly to the AC power for a
few seconds, it worked. The battery is dead now, though. I use another AC
adapter for the battery, as well as the normal one. That thing eats power! Why
your battery is alive and mine died, god only knows.
At 07:01 PM 12/3/97 -0800, you wrote:
>I have an HHC in perfect working order and was just wondering what it might
be worth to a collector.
I recently got mine for $15.50. See
<http://komodo.ebay2.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1585402> for
details.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.crl.com/~sinasohn/
At 01:23 PM 12/5/97 EST, you wrote:
>Atari STacy portable computer. 4MB RAM. 40 MB hard disk. Built-in
>screen, MIDI, and trackball. Can also use external mouse and monitor if
These still sell for several hundred dollars, mostly because they are just
about the ideal MIDI solution for traveling musicians (except maybe for the
never-produced ST-Book). I'd love to have one, but since I don't get to use
my various ST's & Falcons as it is...
--------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.crl.com/~sinasohn/
Hi,
Yes, I've got experience with Linux. Email me at
mark(a)cyberlightstudios.com
Mark
-----Original Message-----
From: Hotze [SMTP:photze@batelco.com.bh]
Sent: Friday, December 05, 1997 9:49 AM
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
Subject: Interest In Unix
<< File: ATT00000.htm >> Season's greetings! I have just gotten
interested in Linux, (so, it's not truly classic content, but it's
implementations are); and I was wondering if anyone here has experience
with this kind of thing.... any Linux experience at all. (Sorry for the
decipful headline)
And I know that it makes me look like an idiot; but possilby if someone
could transmit some good newsgroups. People have said time and time again
that there are betternewsgroups where we can put all of our "modern"
questions. Possibly, that could be included in the FAQ. (Or NAQ)
Thanks,
Tim D. Hotze
I recently started the process of bringing my old IMSAI back to the
land of the living; it's been packed away for about 10 years, and
while it is still functional, the front panel (which never was too
stable to begin with) is showing some signs of dirty connections, such
as LEDs that flicker if the panel is bumped, unpredictable response to
some address switches, etc. I would like to give it a good cleaning,
and was wondering what I should use. I didn't know if something like
"tuner wash" would be bad for the connectors, PC board, plastic IC
sockets, silk screening, solder mask, etc. I considered rubbing
alcohol, but I don't know what the effect of that would be either. I
checked the FAQs that I know of, and about all I came up with was
someone's technique of "giving the circuit board a good scrubbing"
with dish soap and swinging it on the end of a string to dry it. As
this technique strikes me as possibly dangerous, to myself, the
boards, and passers-by, I'm hoping someone can point me in the right
direction. :^)
-Bill Richman
bill_r(a)inetnebr.com
http://incolor.inetnebr.com/bill_r
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"When they took the fourth amendment, I was quiet because I didn't deal drugs.
When they took the sixth amendment, I was quiet because I was innocent.
When they took the second amendment, I was quiet because I didn't own a gun.
Now they've taken the first amendment, and I can say nothing about it."
-www.paranoia.com
found on dc.forsale.computers, so it's located somewhere in northern va. email
the seller, not me!
For Sale:
Atari STacy portable computer. 4MB RAM. 40 MB hard disk. Built-in
screen, MIDI, and trackball. Can also use external mouse and monitor if
desired.
STacy is perfect for serving as the MIDI heartbeat of an art installation
or for live gigs. To this day, the Atari has the most accurate MIDI
clocking ever produced on a computer. No other full-computer package
provides the perfect MIDI portablility of the STacy - one piece grab and
go! Though the memory and disk seems small by modern standards, the
software written for this machine (and there is lots of it) was written
small and fast. Thus, MIDI-wise, STacy can do it all, and do it well,
besting many modern boxes running modern un-tuned code. (No digital audio
though...)
Also, if you want to exercise the score-printing capabilities, I can
provide an Atari laser printer with it.
Though old, this is still a special box. I'm not "blowing it out", but
all reasonable offers will be considered. Please respond via email.
Subject: FS: Atari STacy portable MIDI computer
Path:
lobby01.news.aol.com!newstf02.news.aol.com!portc02.blue.aol.com!pitt.edu!dsinc
!news.voicenet.com!netnews.com!howland.erols.net!feed2.news.erols.com!winter.n
ews.erols.com!progster
From: progster(a)erols.com (Progster)
Yesterday I picked up a DECmate II. Unfortunately, there were no disks
with it. I have a few questions...
1. How would I recognize an APU or XPU board?
2. Where can I get a boot disk for it?
3. What software was(is) available for it?
(I guess I can now say I have a PDP-8.)
ttfn
srw
Season's greetings! I have just gotten interested in Linux, (so, it's not truly classic content, but it's implementations are); and I was wondering if anyone here has experience with this kind of thing.... any Linux experience at all. (Sorry for the decipful headline)
And I know that it makes me look like an idiot; but possilby if someone could transmit some good newsgroups. People have said time and time again that there are betternewsgroups where we can put all of our "modern" questions. Possibly, that could be included in the FAQ. (Or NAQ)
Thanks,
Tim D. Hotze
At 04:59 PM 12/3/97 -0500, William Donzelli wrote:
>> > There is also a DEC-system 2020.
>> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>
>> Holy &*^%&*%! (Spits out soda) That's a DEC-10!
>
>Wipe that up!
>
>Well, it is a 36 bitter, thus deserving a spot in any collection, but I am
>sure some of the PDP-10 old timers (hmmmm, who could they be?) will be
>quick to tell you that the 2020s are the little runts of the family. They
>were slow and not really elegant.
I think of myself as a young DECsystem-10 old timer :-)
Whilst it's true to say that the horrible orange 2020s are runts, not real
-10s (they're the wrong colour and size to start with), they are the only
practical DEC 36 bit system for the home user.... It's no bigger than a
VAX-11/780 and there are quite a few people with systems that size at home.
The biggest regret I have is that I was offered one about 5 years ago and
didn't have the space or money at the time to get it - it was later
scrapped....
Huw Davies | e-mail: Huw.Davies(a)latrobe.edu.au
Information Technology Services | Phone: +61 3 9479 1550 Fax: +61 3 9479
1999
La Trobe University | "My Alfas keep me poor in a monetary
Melbourne Australia 3083 | sense, but rich in so many other ways"
Seattle area:
Zenith Z-180 portable, circa 1983
lotsa SW
manuals
battery unvouched for
display spotty
please bid, not looking for a gold mine, u-haul!
FREE:
Katpro 2, manuals, some SW + Jukiwriter 6100, cables (hey, it got me
through school about 10 years ago!)
>
<> Th PX-8 can wake up, do something and go to sleep automajikally.
<>
<Well, I agree that these systems are better; recently, wintel machines als
<have certain accessories which can schedule the PC to turn on.
Yes but the PX-8 is now 13 years old and the nicads in it could sustain
continous computing for 12-16 hours. I've tried one for logging data and
it ran for two weeks at 1-2 minutes per hour without trouble. The time
and autostart/shutdown was built in, no extras needed. Most laptops would
be hard pressed to run the total uptime without killing the battery.
Allison
At 10:12 AM 12/2/97 -0600, you wrote:
>>I am amazed that there isn't a standard for remotes -- 01 for on/off, 02 for
>
>Hmm. I've got seven remotes and devices here on my desk, and I'm glad
>they don't speak the same symbols. I wish they had fewer standards
>and more configurable uniqueness, so I could run two of the same
>devices each with their own remote. :-)
Okay, good point. So what we need is channels, like MIDI gear (and maybe
Device ID's, like SCSI.) Hmmm... But then we're getting too complicated for
the average bozo (comment about flashing 12:00 omitted.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.crl.com/~sinasohn/
>i need some help with an applecolor rgb monitor if anyone can.
>does anyone know any way of testing this monitor? i have one in the
>silver-gray colour that matches my mac IIcx yet, i cannot seem to get any
>video on it.
This really sounds like the monitor for an Apple IIgs. I have three
such monitors. (One isn't in very good shape and the other two are
in use.) I think there are some Macs that can use this monitor, but I'm
not positive. Make sure you are using analog RGB, not digital.
What pinout is on the end of the cable? (I think it's supposed to be
DB-25, if I have the number right, but I'm using the monitor to type
this message and thus can't check right now. :))
--
Andy Brobston brobstona(a)wartburg.edu ***NEW URL BELOW***
http://www.wartburg.edu/people/docs/personalPages/BrobstonA/home.html
My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Wartburg College
as a whole.
><< <> I hate to continue the waste [well, maybe not], but in my original post
><> said "on _and_ off..." These machines cannot turn on by themselves
> <> unattended by setting an internal wake-up time.
> <>
> <Well, actually, they can.
>
> Th PX-8 can wake up, do something and go to sleep automajikally.
>
Well, I agree that these systems are better; recently, wintel machines also
have certain accessories which can schedule the PC to turn on.
Two TRS-80 Model 4's are available for free in northern Ohio. I can stall
the owner for a couple of days, but if I don't get a reply, they get
trashed.
Some software, too, (don't know what, will find out) and a wide carriage
daisy wheel printer.
I'll pack if you pay for shipping.
manney(a)nwohio.com
----------
> From: classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu
> To: Manney
> Subject: Re: Franklin Ace500 ???
> Date: Wednesday, December 03, 1997 9:19 PM
>
> Probably the same as the IIc and Laser 128:
>
> Input: AC120v 60Hz 36VA
> Output: DC17V 1.8A
>
> Polarity:
>
> NC(1)
> +VE(2,3)
> GNd (4,5,6)
> NC(7)
>
> Pin 1 is at 1:00. Pin 7 at 11:00.
>
> Hope that helps.
>
> Tom
>
> >I just got a Franklin Ace 500 copy of Apple ][C, no documentation or
power
> >supply. Would anyone have the pin outs and voltages of the seven pin DIN
> >power connector?
I have got some more bits to add to my MicroVAX II - 2 extra RA81s and
an RA82 in their own rack unit. This makes RA drives in all now but I
can't connect more than 2 at a time as I didn't get any cables with the
3 'new' ones :-(.
The RA82 has NetBSD on it but the person who gave them to me said he
wasn't sure whether it would work on my machine. When I try to boot off
that drive I get the following:
2..1..0..
howto 0x0, bdev 0x11 booting...
10556+552+33996 start 0x0
Nboot
:/netbsd
610304+2696+61260 start 0x8c17c
?06 HLT INST
PC=00000003
>>>
Am I right in thinking that this means I am not going to be able to boot
>from this drive.
As it is a Unix filesystem I tried to mount it from Ultrix running on
the other drive and failed. Is it possible tat I may be able to boot
>from the drive, or failing that, is there any other way that I can have
a 'nose around' in the drive or should I just incorporate it into my
Ultrix filesystem and forget about NetBSD.
Eventually I hope to assist in the VAX-Linux port and then use this
machine as a server. If anyone knows of any VAX architecture and/or
assembly language tutorials on the web I would welcome the URL, and if
anyone in the UK has any books or documentation going spare... ;-)
I tried buying books but at about 50UKP each, I have no chance.
Regards
Pete
<> Initially, pulled the RQDX1 from the last slot, and installed RQDX3 into
<> empty dual wide position (slot 3, right, seemed odd that it was empty.
<> And yes, the system ran prior to this) next to tape controller. Later
<> reversed process.
<
<I assume this is a BA23? "Slot 3, right" is empty for a good reason -
<it's a special "CD bus" slot, and isn't connected to the rest of the
<Q-bus. Nothing works there unless it was specially designed to work there
depending on what in the slot order only the first 3 quad slots are CD
and the remaining are dual width Q/Q. So if the RQDX1 was was in quad slot
4 or lower you could have a bus grant problem if rqdx3 was plussged into the
wrong one of the two now vacant dual with slots!
You would definatly get an error if that was the case.
Micro11 ba23 from the rear. The numbers are the bus grant order.
----+---- 1 CPU (q/cd)
----+---- 2 memory (q/cd)
----+---- 3 memory (q/cd) Devices get Q off left slot
----+---- 4/5 device (q/q)
----+---- 7/6 device (q/q)
----+---- 8/9 device (q/q)
----+---- 11/10 device (q/q)
----+---- 12/13 device (q/q)
I forgot the message but error 14 or 15 is a drive or controller error.
kdj11b error 11 not bootable, 12 no disk, 14 no controller, 15 nonexistant
drive, 16 invalid unit selected.
kdf11b error 12 no controller, 13 drive not ready, 14 drive error,
15 controller error, 16 not bootable
Allison
New day, new aggrivations...
I've been trying to get an ST-212 drive formatted up as an RD51 so I can
install a copy of Micro-RSTS onto one of my systems.
Got the parameters to format the drive on my VS2000, and that seemed to go OK.
Put the drive into the system (a MicroPDP 11/23), and it looked OK until I
told the RSTS installer to prepare the drive, at which point it started
complaining about various things, and claimed that the drive was an RD52?!?
Back to the notes... Find a note that drives formatted on a VS2000 are not
compatable with an RQDX1 controller... Whats in the 11/23? Yank the back
off... Figures... An RQDX1! FOO!!
Off to the board box... Locate an RQDX3, looks promising... Install it in
the system... Now the system completes its self test and immediately
complains about a "DU0 - ERR 15 Controller Error". WTH is this? Off to
the book shelf... NUTZ! Latest book I've got only gets up to the RQDX1!
Decide to bag it for the night... Put the RQDX1 back in... Same error???
AARGH!!!
So to the questions:
What is "DU0 - ERR 15 Controller Error" ?
Did the RQDX1 perhaps munge the format on the drive during the install
attempt?
Anyone have a list of the jumpers on the RQDX3 that might be of use ?
Can a RQDX3 be subbed straight across for an RQDX1 ?
If not, does anyone have a formatter disk (or whatever) for the RQDX1 ?
Why am I now getting the same error from the RQDX1 and the RQDX3 ?
Anyone got a spare copy of a manual that covers the various RQDX? ?
Foo!
-jim
---
jimw(a)agora.rdrop.com
The Computer Garage - http://www.rdrop.com/~jimw
Computer Garage Fax - (503) 646-0174
<> I hate to continue the waste [well, maybe not], but in my original post
<> said "on _and_ off..." These machines cannot turn on by themselves
<> unattended by setting an internal wake-up time.
<>
<Well, actually, they can.
Th PX-8 can wake up, do something and go to sleep automajikally.
Allison
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Roger Merchberger [SMTP:zmerch@northernway.net]
> Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 1997 1:41 PM
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
> Subject: Spoiled by geezers
>
> ;
> I hate to continue the waste [well, maybe not], but in my original post I
> said "on _and_ off..." These machines cannot turn on by themselves
> unattended by setting an internal wake-up time.
>
Well, actually, they can.
Kai
<>Funny... My CoCo can support multiple users, and it wasn't expensive at
<>all... $xxx for the machine, $yyy for the floppy drive, $zzz for OS-9 =
And the point was...
I made a subtle point that the older and often smaller machines were not
short on capability and also didn't lack for understandability.
The later is significant. Far to many of the wintel boxen are undocumented
kluges running a million or more lines of incomprehensable code that
sometimes works. After that programming something like PDP-8 with it's
smaller memory and very small instruction set suggest getting to the
concise solution was essential. Same so for the early micros were 64k
of ram and an instruction set that could be remembered.
Often the only difference was speed.
Allison
Probably the same as the IIc and Laser 128:
Input: AC120v 60Hz 36VA
Output: DC17V 1.8A
Polarity:
NC(1)
+VE(2,3)
GNd (4,5,6)
NC(7)
Pin 1 is at 1:00. Pin 7 at 11:00.
Hope that helps.
Tom
>I just got a Franklin Ace 500 copy of Apple ][C, no documentation or power
>supply. Would anyone have the pin outs and voltages of the seven pin DIN
>power connector?
I just got a Franklin Ace 500 copy of Apple ][C, no documentation or power
supply. Would anyone have the pin outs and voltages of the seven pin DIN
power connector?
Thanks
Charlie Fox
Thanks to all who gave me pointers a while back. I now have my
SwTPC S/09 booting UniFLEX from 8" floppys. There were a handful
of broken solder-joints in the floppies' power supply, and a dead
NOR gate on one of the Qume's controller boards.
Next up, the winnies...
Bill.
PS. I'm still having daydreams of getting an old SwTPC 6800 machine,
and maybe a CT-64/CT-VM to go with it. Does anyone have any idea
how many of these things were actually produced, and where most
of them went to, geographically speaking? Should I expect San
Antonio to be a virtual tar pit of old SwTPC stuff?
For those interested...see paste below. 5msf of DEC equipment in Dover, DE.
Rich Cini/WUGNET
<nospam_rcini(a)msn.com> (remove nospam_ to use)
ClubWin! Charter Member (6)
MCP Windows 95/Windows Networking
============================================
OK. The powers that be no longer want to store this stuff, so the
time has come to make it go away.
We have around 5000 square feet of Vax and PDP equipment
that needs to find new homes. It's mostly older Qbus and Unibus
stuff, so don't expect to find state of the art stuff in here.
There is way too much stuff to list, but in a nutshell, there are
vaxen from 11/730 up to 8820, with many microvaxen in ba23's
and ba123's. There are many unibus pdp-11's, and some
pdp-8 stuff.
There is also a DEC-system 2020.
Many peripherals. TONS of books, manuals, and printsets.
Miles of tape, zillions of disk packs, many 8" floppies, etc.
If someone is looking for something in particular, let me
know and I can see if it is there. Your best bet, however,
is to come walk around and see what you can use.
Equipment is free for the taking and is located in Dover,
Delaware. Don't respond if you are only interested in
scrap. We want to get rid of it, but don't want to see
the stuff junked. Hell, we can junk the stuff ourselves
if that is what we wanted to do. We thought there should
be people out there that can use this equipment.
take one piece, or take everything. First come, first
served. You haul. Unfortunately, we do not have time to
package things for shipping, although if the item is small
enough, and you make a good enough case, exceptions
may be possible. :-)
We are interested in moving this stuff quickly, so please
respond if interested. Email address has been purposely
munged to prevent spam. Re-assemble the address
below to respond.
Thanks,
Jim Bender
jbender at
corpamerica dot com
Found the following on comp.sys.dec, anybody close to
Dover, Delaware?
Mike
=====================================================
Subject: Free to good home -- tons of DEC equipment
From: MegaGodzilla(a)Tokyo.com (Mega Godzilla)
Date: Wed, Dec 3, 1997 00:26 EST
Message-id: <3484e8a4.184368394(a)news.bdsnet.com>
OK. The powers that be no longer want to store this stuff, so the
time has come to make it go away.
We have around 5000 square feet of Vax and PDP equipment
that needs to find new homes. It's mostly older Qbus and Unibus
stuff, so don't expect to find state of the art stuff in here.
There is way too much stuff to list, but in a nutshell, there are
vaxen from 11/730 up to 8820, with many microvaxen in ba23's
and ba123's. There are many unibus pdp-11's, and some
pdp-8 stuff.
There is also a DEC-system 2020.
Many peripherals. TONS of books, manuals, and printsets.
Miles of tape, zillions of disk packs, many 8" floppies, etc.
If someone is looking for something in particular, let me
know and I can see if it is there. Your best bet, however,
is to come walk around and see what you can use.
Equipment is free for the taking and is located in Dover,
Delaware. Don't respond if you are only interested in
scrap. We want to get rid of it, but don't want to see
the stuff junked. Hell, we can junk the stuff ourselves
if that is what we wanted to do. We thought there should
be people out there that can use this equipment.
take one piece, or take everything. First come, first
served. You haul. Unfortunately, we do not have time to
package things for shipping, although if the item is small
enough, and you make a good enough case, exceptions
may be possible. :-)
We are interested in moving this stuff quickly, so please
respond if interested. Email address has been purposely
munged to prevent spam. Re-assemble the address
below to respond.
Thanks,
Jim Bender
jbender at
corpamerica dot com
=====================================================
I have what seems to me a 2400 baud Apple Powerbook modem with book,
drivers, cable and pretty corregated cardboard box.
I'll send it for the price of shipping.
Please get it out of my hair!
manney(a)nwohio.com
At 12:27 PM 12/2/97 -0500, you wrote:
>It's 800xl compatible _if_ you expand the memory, which IIRC was 64K
>standard in the 65xe but 128K (or bigger...) in the 800xl. However, you
I'm pretty sure the 800XL was 64K. The original 800 was 16K standard,
expandable to 48K. The 400 was 16K I think. The 600XL was 16K and not
expandable unless you had the expansion box (saw one once). The 1200XL
might be 128K, but I'm not sure.
P.S., this doesn't include 3rd party stuff. I've seen 1200XL's with the
6502-compatible 16-bit processors with internal hard drives hooked up to a
Pentium being used as a CD-ROM drive.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.crl.com/~sinasohn/
At 11:49 AM 12/2/97 -0500, you wrote:
>While doing my usual thrift store rounds, i bought an atari 65XE, xmm801
The Atari 65XE is part of the same generation of 8-bit Atari computers as
the 130XE someone mention the other day. Compatible with the 400/800,
600XL/800XL/1200XL, and 130XE/130XEG. IIRC, the 130XE has 128K ram, the
65XE had 64K? I'm not sure, but the 65XE may be a bit of a rarity; I don't
remember them being sold much. Check with some of the atari sites on the web.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.crl.com/~sinasohn/
While doing my usual thrift store rounds, i bought an atari 65XE, xmm801
printer, two disk drives, and joysticks, all for five bucks! a little surface
cleaning, and it will look like brand new. anyone know compatibility on this?
it uses the 1050 disk drives, which makes me think it's more or less
compatible with an 800xl, since it can run dos 2-3. i'm also missing the main
computer power supply, although i did get two for the drives. if anyone has a
copy of atari dos 2, 2.5 or 3, i'd need a copy mailed to me since i'd have no
other way of acquiring it.
david
I have a working harddisk, the Fuzzball source, and RT-11SJ. Now to
combine them. I am trying to transfer KSERVE to the PDP so I can use it.
But it won't take an ASCII transfer, I overrun the buffer.
VTCOM and KERMIT don't work, they need an XM monitor. Is there a way to
tell RT11 to increase the buffer size?
Here is the instructions for making the disks.
Keep in mind as you read this that one of my personal mottos
is that if I could write I'd be a writer.
Some of the directions are clearer if you are actually doing
it as you read them.
.............. CUT HERE .................................
PROCEDURE FOR CREATING HARD SECTORED FLOPPY
DISKS FROM SOFT SECTORED FLOPPY DISKS
by Doug Coward
For some time now I've thought about the possiblity of
creating my own hard sectored mini-floppies so that I
would not have to rely on being able to find disks at
surplus and thrift shops as they became more and more
scarce. It seem to me that the only difference between
a hard sectored disk and a soft sectored disk should be
the number of index holes. So I tried making 3 disks
and they worked.
So far this technique has only been used to create double
density 10 sector hard sector disks but there is no reason
I can think of that would keep this same technique from
working to create single density or 16 sector disks.
Currently, I don't own a Wang or any other computer that
would use a hard sectored 8" diskette, so I will not be
able to test this procedure on the larger diskettes. When
I have more time, I plan to try and use the pieces of an
old floppy disk drive to build a "punching gig" to make
the process of punching the index holes easier.
MATERIALS NEEDED
1 1/8" round hand operated paper punch
1 Soft sectored 5 1/4" floppy disk
1 Hard sectored 5 1/4" floppy disk to use as a template.
1 Plain piece of white paper
2 Pieces of 1/2" wide x 1/2" long clear adhesive tape.
The normal index holes from my measurements appear to be
between 3/32" and 4/32". So I decided to use a 1/8" punch
which will make the holes oversize by about 1/64" but
should not make any great difference. Most paper punches
are 1/4" so you will need to go to a large office supply
store to find this punch (like Office Max). The punch I
purchased had a plastic piece over the "female" jaw of the
punch to catch the material punched out. This I removed so
that I could see through the "female" jaw of the punch to
center the punch on the index hole.
PROCEDURE
The difficult part of punching the disk is guaranteeing
the placement of the holes. That is why I use a hard sectored
disk as a template.
1. With the two pieces of tape ready, take and rotate each
diskette in its jacket until an index hole is visible
in the center of the index hole aperture in the jacket.
2. Place the hard sectored disk on top of the soft sectored
disk so that the two visible index holes line up.
3. While holding the diskettes together, insert 3 finger tips
of one hand through the hub opening applying a slight
outward pressure to align the hubs of the two disks.
If the index holes are not aligned
go back to step 1. If they are slightly out of alignment
use the point of a pin or any object that can be inserted
through the two index holes and wiggled to realign the
index holes.
4. With the hubs and the index holes aligned, firmly pinch
together the two diskettes with your other hand, at the
hub. Remove your 3 fingers out of the hub.
5. While still pinching the diskettes together, apply 1 piece
of tape to the diskettes at the hub so that the tape
wraps around through the hub opening and sticks to both
diskettes BUT NOT THEIR JACKETS. Apply the other piece
of tape across the hub opening from the first piece of
tape in the same manner.
6. At this point the two diskettes should have their hub
openings and one index hole perfectly aligned. Also
they should be securely taped together but still be able
to rotate in their jackets. It's important that the
jackets be more or less aligned with each other while
punching the holes or you can finish with some extra
holes in the "new" diskette's jacket. You can, if you
need to, use a small piece of tape across the edge of
the two jackets in one corner to keep them aligned.
7. Now you're ready to punch some holes. Holding the two
diskette jackets in one corner with one hand, insert
2 fingers of the other hand into the hub opening and
rotate the diskettes until an index hole in the top
diskette (the hard sector template disk) appears in
the center of the index hole aperture of the jacket.
Hold the diskettes "template disk up" so that the
index hole aperture is on the other side of the hub
opening from you (away from you).
8. Insert the piece of plain white paper between the
diskettes from the side closest to the index aperture
until you can see the paper through the index hole in
the diskette. This is to make the index hole more visible.
9. Now with the jackets aligned, and the index hole (with the
paper visible) in the center of the index aperture, insert
the paper punch through the hub opening so that the
"female" jaw is positioned above the index hole and the
"male" jaw positioned below the index hole. You will
have to bend the diskettes slightly to get a clean punch.
As you slowly close the jaws of the paper punch you
will be able to sight through the "female" part of the
punch and line up the punch exactly to the existing index hole.
This is where the plain white paper really helps to see
that index hole.
PUNCH THE HOLE.
10. Repeat steps 7,8,9 until you have punched all of the holes.
Remember to keep rotating the diskettes in the same direction
after punching each hole.
Reposition the paper before punching each hole. When done,
peel the tape off carefully, most diskettes today don't
have a hub reinforcement ring and the hub opening can
be stretched or distorted. If you are careful the template
disk over and over again.
.............. CUT HERE .................................
=========================================
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
=========================================
ate: Wed, 3 Dec 1997 09:43:51 -0600 (CST)
From: Cord Coslor <coslor(a)pscosf.peru.edu>
To: classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu
Subject: Is anything wrong with the server?
This is basically a test to see if I am still subscribed, or if there are
other problems with the list. I haven't received any messages for a couple
of days, and was curious.
How can I contact the list 'grunt' to see if I am still on, to find out
the subscriber list, etc., etc.
Thanks,
CORD
//*=====================================================================++
|| Cord G. Coslor P.O. Box 308 - 1300 3rd St. Apt "M1" -- Peru, NE ||
|| (402) 872- 3272 coslor(a)bobcat.peru.edu 68421-0308 ||
|| Classic computer software and hardware collector ||
|| Autograph collector ||
++=====================================================================*//
This is basically a test to see if I am still subscribed, or if there are
other problems with the list. I haven't received any messages for a couple
of days, and was curious.
How can I contact the list 'grunt' to see if I am still on, to find out
the subscriber list, etc., etc.
Thanks,
CORD
//*=====================================================================++
|| Cord G. Coslor P.O. Box 308 - 1300 3rd St. Apt "M1" -- Peru, NE ||
|| (402) 872- 3272 coslor(a)bobcat.peru.edu 68421-0308 ||
|| Classic computer software and hardware collector ||
|| Autograph collector ||
++=====================================================================*//
<Small dia. hammered punches, called "arch punches" (try General Tool Co.)
<might be good. Any competent machinist should be able to convert a
That works as well. Small punches (I measured the hole at 0.096 +-.001)
are easily gotten.
But to do it correctly you have to position the hole reasonably
accurately. For that you need an indexer, so that the index hole
to sector 1 and the remaing nine fall at the correct places. An
old drive mostly stripped would do for that with the flywheel
marked using a known disk with the envelope removed. Perfect use
for a dead 5.25" drive of any type though some may provide better
mounting and access. The head, track00 sensor, index sendor, motor
and logic can be removed s all that is needed is the spindle and
door clamp assembly. The anvil for the punch can be mounted in the
drive and the clamp closed such that index hole is at the anvil
position in the index mark on the flywheel. With the door closed
the flywheel can then be rotated to each position and the hole
then punched. The correct position on the perimeter of the
flywheel can be notched at the 11(for 10 sector, 17 for 16 sector)
positions and a spring steel detent made. A precision of 1 degree
is easy to achieve and would insure good operation. Once done,
converting 360k soft sector media to 10 sector would be easy and fast.
Allison
> So where the Hell do you find a 1/8" paper punch? The only ones I find
> seem to be closer to 3/16" or 1/4". Like the ones I used back when I
> thought it was practical to flip TRS-80 diskettes. (It wasn't. They
> worked -- for a while, especially when diskettes were $20+ per ten.)
Small dia. hammered punches, called "arch punches" (try General Tool Co.)
might be good. Any competent machinist should be able to convert a
astandard paper punch into a smaller one by turning down the punch and
fitting a bushing into the die.
manney(a)nwohio.com
At 12:36 PM 12/2/97 -0500, you wrote:
>Speaking of my T200, it can turn itself on and off... can a Wintel box do
>that??? ;-)
Sure, most computers can... All you need is a good X10 setup... 8^)
(Actually, I'd love to be able to build a box that would switch on my
voicemail system after X rings.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.crl.com/~sinasohn/
Found the following:
>>I have a (more than) complete Intel ISIS-II development system for sale.
I got
it from work. We used it to develope 8051 projects. I have a few emulators
and EPROM programmers that go with it. Cost $100. You pay shipping costs.
Please E-mail me at DSevy2(a)aol.com if you are interested.<<
Rich Cini/WUGNET
<nospam_rcini(a)msn.com> (remove nospam_ to use)
ClubWin! Charter Member (6)
MCP Windows 95/Windows Networking
============================================
Well I finally finished my project and I'm currently enjoying my month off,
trying to get done all of the little things that I've been meaning to do for
the last 2 years.
====> Warning - shameless plug inserted here
By the way, if you own a Sega Saturn and are interested in NASCAR racing -
check out NASCAR 98 published by Electronic Arts. The NTSC version should
be in the stores any day now. And the English,French, and German PAL version
should be in the stores by Christmas.
======== end plug ============
Any way, I have some PRELIMINARY results from my first little research project.
For some time now I've been worried that when my last two boxes of 10 sector
hard sector mini-floppies were gone, I would not be able to find any more.
So, I started toying with the idea that I could make my own floppies.
Last weekend, using a 1/8" paper punch, I changed 3 DSDD soft sectored floppies
into 3 DSDD 10 sector hard sector floppies by punching 10 more holes in them!
AND THEY WORKED!
So far I've just tested them on an IMSAI and a North Star Horizon using CP/M
1.4 and NSDOS. NO PROBLEMS! (Format,copy disk,boot with new disk)
North Star DOS has a DT (Disk Test) command that writes an incrementing pattern
to the entire disk starting at track 0 (over and over until you press ctl-C).
AGAIN NO PROBLEM!
If there is any interest, I can write up a step by step procedure for the List.
Also over the weekend I got my S-100 monitor card to working. It uses
74LS04s and
LEDs to monitor just about every line on the bus. It also has LEDs for each of
the 3 voltages and a timer circuit that flashes a set of LEDs to show if the
clock is running. Now I can start checking out some those systems that have been
sitting around waiting to be tested.
On the lighter side-
Here is a couple of the requests that I've received since my museum has been
"discovered".
"did coleco make a toy called a superstar guitar in 79 or 80?
The spokesman for the toy was wolfman jack.
Thanks. rz"
"Mr. Coward
I recently came into possesion of a hand held scanner
Model: Realistic Pro-31/HiLo
It seems i have no info that would tell me how to use, let alone
find someone that knows..about this make of scanner..
do you know if radio shack has a web site,or mabey realistic..
thanks for your time..Ray Coupal."
"Hi there
Because of non serious Atari business in Norway ,We (my friends and I )
want to
present Atari in Norway again .Could you please help us getting
contacted with the right
manufactor/producer or other responsible for Atari computing.
Please reply (by e-mail )"
"Dear Mr. Coward:
Several years ago I purchased several Dr. Seuss stuffed toys, namely the
Cat in the Hat, Little Cat in the Hat and the Grinch. The tag on the
toys says manufactured by Coleco Industries. Do you have any idea if
these are still available or where I might be able to purchase them?
Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated."
This last one, I was able to find one being auctioned off at EBAY.
=========================================
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
=========================================
Recent Wintel machines can turn themselves on and off, but anyway. I
repeatedly become interested in the CoCo, and then lose interest again. What
I wonder is this: I suppose I could find the package below for a relatively
low price. But, I have two problems with those old home machines: they use
composite monitors, and they are usually 320X240. solutions? Speaking of
composites, I have an IBM CGA card that has a flicker whenever I type
something. Solutions?
In a message dated 97-12-02 13:11:37 EST, you write:
<< Funny... My CoCo can support multiple users, and it wasn't expensive at
all... $200 for the machine, $300 for the floppy drive, $129 for OS-9 and
$50 for the 13" color TV I bought at a garage sale... still cheaper than an
single-user IBM box at the time, even when you add the $50.00 RS-232 cart
and the $139 multi-pak so I could connect at up to 19200 bps with my Tandy
200...
Speaking of my T200, it can turn itself on and off... can a Wintel box do
that??? ;-)
>>
Uncle Roger <sinasohn(a)ricochet.net> wrote:
>I am amazed that there isn't a standard for remotes -- 01 for on/off, 02 for
>VolUp, 03 for VolDn, etc. But of course, nobody listens to me.
Hmm. I've got seven remotes and devices here on my desk, and I'm glad
they don't speak the same symbols. I wish they had fewer standards
and more configurable uniqueness, so I could run two of the same
devices each with their own remote. :-)
- John
www.threedee.com/jcm
<Really? I agree that while the speed must be correct within a few
<of percent, but none of the Teletypes that I ever owned (Model 28's and
<Model 33's) had any adjustment for speed. The speed was determined
TTYs could be run at different speeds using differnt gear sets. The differnt
gear sets for both 50/60hz and 10cps and several other speeds such as those
used for RTTY. I believe 25, 50, 60 and 75 were other speeds.
<Now there are adjustments related to the data-bit-timing relative to the st
<bit. Is this what you're talking about?
That is the TD(transmitter distributor) adjustment, that only synchronzes
the reader/keyboard transmit bit stream. There is another timing related
adjustment which is the reciever(a solenoid) to escapment. position.
Used to have one for over ten years did my own maintenance and at taht time
had the manual set.
Allison
I have a query about the operation of a KSR 33 TTY when reading paper
tape : does the TTY blindly send the characters read from the tape at 10
cps or is the tape advance and read triggered by a signal from whatever
th TTY is connected to.
Regards,
--
Hans B. Pufal : <mailto:hansp@digiweb.com>
Comprehensive Computer Catalogue : <http://www.digiweb.com/~hansp/ccc/>
_-_-__-___--_-____-_--_-_-____--_---_-_---_--__--_--_--____---_--_--__--_
At 05:26 PM 12/1/97 -0500, you wrote:
>machines to new ones. F.E. one could get an old IBM mini (System/3X) for
>little or no money, but is there anything doable on it that is impossible to
>do on a W****** 95 machine?
You can't heat your house with a Wintel box. 8^)
But seriously, how about supporting multiple users? I dunno much about
IBM's, but an HP3000 (like my Micro3000) can handle up to 8 users (Has 16
ports, iirc, but after 6-8 users, the system gets pretty slow.) I have yet
to find a PC database and development environment that could match what's
available (Image/KSAM, Cobol, Powerhouse, Qedit, MPEX, etc.) on the 3000.
(Though, admittedly, I haven't looked all that hard.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.crl.com/~sinasohn/
>As I recall, there was much criticism of the IR keyboard since if you were
>far enough away to make it useful, you were too far away to read the
screen.
See what I mean, about the IR keyboards, they were a mistake. Possibly the
downfall of the jr. I mean, new sub-$1000 PCs don't try to press new
technologies, but use old ones; which is why they're staying around; and
getting popular. Does anyone remember how much the IR keyboard cost?
Tim D. Hotze