test-drb

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

101090 discussions

by Will＠Swaggie.net

Back in the early 80s, i worked as an assembler programmer for Reuters in London. I was involved with maintenance and development of software on two platforms - one was the PDP11, but the other was a much more obscure machine and i can't remember the name of the manufacturer. The machines in question worked together as a pair - we referred to them as "SGS", which stood for "Second Generation Slave". I believe they were designed as a front end for the IBM 360, but Reuters used them as, i guess, minicomputers. These machines were the heart of Reuters' oldest live stock and share price reporting system - and subscribers were able to check prices via a PDP8 in their office which was connected to the SGS pair. One of the pair was what you'd call a database server nowadays and the other did the comms stuff. As far as i remember, each machine was the size of three racks next to each other (which is probably what they were). The data was stored on a drum in one machine, and the other machine had a card reader and a teletype terminal. They both had paper tape readers. They were 16-bit machines and had a row of lights and toggle switches at the top of one rack, with a switch to change between memory location and data, plus an "enter/run" button. The data machine was booted by toggling in a paper tape reader bootstrap and then loading the drum reader bootstrap from paper tape, then booting the OS, which was stored on the drum. The comms machine also had a three stage boot process - toggle in paper tape bootstrap, read card reader bootstrap off paper tape, then read the OS from a stack of cards. I can't remember how we got the OS onto the drum now - but i do remember we did a lot of "patching" in memory, through the front panel, for debugging etc. These machines ran IBM 360 machine code and we did the development in 360 assembly language on an IBM 370, which was later upgraded to a 4340. Recently i've been trying to remember the name of the manufacturer of these machines, but i just haven't got a clue - although i'm sure i'd recognise it if i saw it. I've looked through computer history sites on the web, hoping i'd come across the manufacturer's name and recognise it, but i never have. So if anyone knows, or can give me any clues, i'd be grateful. I'm not subscribed to this list, so i'd be very grateful if anyone replying could Cc me. Thanks Will Kemp

18 years, 3 months

Rescue opp in Boston

by evan＠snarc.net

Just passing this one along for whoever's interested. >>> Xerox 820 II with 8" floppy disks, CP/M operating system, Select Word processing, and a 630 Daisy wheel printer. It was bought in 1982 and we have all the manuals. It has not been turned on since we "retired" it in 1989 or so, but it was working at that point. JoAnne Yates jyates at MIT.EDU

18 years, 3 months

ST506 and/or ST412 hard disk drives

by lynchaj＠yahoo.com

Hi, I am restoring a Vector Graphic computer and would like to add a hard disk drive. The controller only supports two kinds of hard disk drives, the ST506 and ST412. The HD controller is hard coded to support these DRIVES not just a compatible interface and relies on a special signal present only in these actual drives. If anyone has one or more of these hard disk drives they would like to sell me, please contact me or reply here. Thanks! Andrew Lynch

18 years, 3 months

Sun 3/60 - how to boot this thing?

by trasz＠FreeBSD.org

I just got a Sun 3/60, 8MB RAM, no disk. I have several questions: 1. Were these used with an external disk? There is some room inside the machine, but there are also several strange looking capacitors there. 2. With diag switch set to "norm", there is nothing (no output) on the serial console; the machine just blinks one of the LEDs. With diag switch set to "diag", the following appears: Boot PROM Selftest PROM Checksum Test Context Reg Test Segment Map Wr/Rd Test Segment Map Address Test Page Map Test Memory Path Data Test NXM Bus Error Test Interrupt Test TOD Clock Interrupt Test MMU Access Bit Test MMU Access/Modify Bit Test MMU Invalid Page Test MMU Protected Page Test Parity Test Memory Size = 0x00000008 Megabytes Selftest passed. Type a character within 10 seconds to enter Menu Tests... (e for echo mode) Is that a sign of EEPROM problem? Failed battery? -- If you cut off my head, what would I say? Me and my head, or me and my body?

18 years, 3 months

Part for IBM 5110

by eastofthesun2＠gmail.com

Henk, I was researching my Corcom F2280 on the internet and came across your 2004 message: --------------------------------------- Who can help me with an EMI filter from an IBM 5110 ? Mine has an internal non-repairable short circuit. This EMI filter is a CORCOM type F2280 and is located in the mains entry box underneath the screen tube. Any one ? Thanks Henk --------------------------------------- I have one, if you're still interested. Bob

18 years, 3 months

Test - Don't Reply

by bpettit＠ix.netcom.com

Testing to see if send problem resolved.

18 years, 3 months

ASCII Art

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

> I rarely see ASCII art these days. There was a retro ASCII Art > newsletter that was published every few months which had some ASCII art > in it, but sadly the people behind it have decided to stop making it. > Only 5 issues exist, and at present I only have issue 5 I feel there are 2 subtly-different forms of ASCII-Art. The first is essantally 2-colour, and uses characters of the right shape to form the image. The second uses characters of different average densitys to form a sort-of greyscale image. The former is used (and I still regularly use it) for things like schematic diagrams. I think I've worked out ASCII-Art versions of the symbols for all common components, and I've drawn up quite complex scheamtics that way. The second, which seems to be a lot rarer, is the sort of thing used for that picture of the cat, I guess. -tony

18 years, 3 months

Framegrabber MMAC and WinTV questions

by Arno_1983＠gmx.de

Stroller <classiccmp.org at stellar.eclipse.co.uk> wrote: > > The board has a PCI edge connector, a BT848 video decoder ... > > I do not believe these are uncommon. > > Note especially the first link: > http://www.google.com/search?q=BT848 Err, yes...I actually had noticed before, and meanwhile got it to work using the generic Bt8x8 driver from btwincap.sourceforge.net. I had just hoped that somebody might point me to the original driver for that card. The btwincap thingie implements lots of stuff (like program lists, tuner and audio crossbar control by I2C or I/O lines...) that this simple device doesn't need. -- Arno Kletzander Der GMX SmartSurfer hilft bis zu 70% Ihrer Onlinekosten zu sparen! Ideal f?r Modem und ISDN: http://www.gmx.net/de/go/smartsurfer

18 years, 3 months

how to connect a DECprinter I (LA180) ?

by henk.gooijen＠hotmail.com

The seasonal holidays give me time to play around a bit ... I wanted to connect my DECprinter I (that's an LA180) but I could not find any documentation here at home, neither on the web! Can somebody who knows or has an LA180 connected tell me how it is hooked to a serial line? Or point me to an LA180 user's manual on the web? >From my guess, the BERG header is "standard" as on M7800 DL11's or M7856 DL11-W, SLU's (with the appropriate lugs either RS-232 or 20 mA current loop), but I would rather be assured than destroying a very nice printer! thanks, Henk

18 years, 4 months

new find: NS BLC80/10

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

I was dismantling some old stuff that I got as a lot and came across this beastie. It's a National Semiconductor Microcomputer Systems BLC 80/10. Clone of an Intel iSBC 80/10. Single board 8080A computer with sockets for PROMs and 1K of RAM onboard, several parallel ports, one serial port, and Multibus interface for expansion. As used in this case, it was standalone with only the power pins on the Multibus connected (and the I/O at the top). As the only Multibus backplane I have is an IRIS 3000 series (double-deep), it's available.

18 years, 4 months

Mail formatting

by cclist＠sydex.com

> From: Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> > > Worse, on many systems the answer differs depending what point you > > measure at. On most Unix variants, for example, it's 0x0a when > > measured in files or in C strings, but 0x0d 0x0a when measured on > > hardware serial lines. > > in which case, what characters would > fprintf(PRN, "%s" , "X\n" ); > actually send to the printer? Unix was the first ASCII-using OS that I saw that used a print control character "\n" as a logical separator. Prior to that, I'd seen decimal 31 (US) used. The benefit of using the ASCII separator characters (US RS GS FS) is that one can stucture a file or files hierarchically (i.e. units in records in groups in files). A shame that our current modern systems don't take advantage of this. Even CDC SCOPE or NOS allowed for file/record-level hierarchies. Up to 15 levels of records were allowed, IIRC. So you could skip to the next level 4 record within a file, bypassing all intervening level 0, 1, 2 and 3 records in the process. A shame that was never carried into our "modern" systems. Does anyone know why SUB (0x1A, 26) was used to denote an EOF in CP/M and, to some extent, DOS text files? IIRC, there is at least one programming language that treats newline as a quotable character. Cheers, Chuck

18 years, 4 months

(Fwd) CDC Grid Display Subsystem

by cclist＠sydex.com

This from Billy Petit: ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Unless I have badly confused names, the GRID system was a very unusual Control Data experiement. It was a 160-A made from CDC's Interbrid logic chips. It used a 12 bit X and Y axis vector display. The instruction set was the standard 160-A but with some extra commands supporting the display. It was initialized with Function Ready commands, then did vector transfers directly from the processor memory. The memory was 12K core of 12 bits. This was a very small run system, somewhere around 20 to 30 systems total built. They were made at the Roseville plant. The GRIDsystemwas droppeda little afterCDC bought out the imaging group from Itek and formed the Digigraphics Division. (The market wasn't big enough to support two competing product lines.) The 274 console was the second generation system from this new group. The first was a huge console used on 3000 systems. It was used on large CAD systems. They were made at the Burlington, Mass. plant. I installed four of them at Lockheed in Marietta when they won the C-5 contract, circa 1966-67. Maybe another 10 systems total, were made. The second generation Digigraphics system used a new controller built >from 6000 logic modules. It was a 16 bit controller and used on the 1700 systems. There was a limited version that shipped with the System 18. I'd love to see the GRID manual posted to bitsavers. If you will loan it to Al or me, we will scan it and return to you. I may still have some schemantics for it in the garage, but I haven't seen them since 1976 so I maybe imagining their existence. I have recently talked to one of the designers of the GRID, but my contact addresses for him don't work. I still can't post emails directly to the cclist, so can I get one of you to put up this follow up message? Thanks, Billy

18 years, 4 months

Free for Shipping, PSpice & P-CAD Security Devices

by trag＠io.com

I am throwing stuff out and found these two dongles. The first is a little 2" X 2" dongle which says "Plug into serial port" on one end and has a female DB25 port, with a pass through on the other end. It says PSpice MicroSIM Corporation, Electrical Circuit Simulator, ID #66097". The other is a long module labeled "P-CAD Software Security Device, 104-0019-01, Serial No. 15871, 047-0124-00. This module is about 12" long and has a lid which hinges upwards and contains ten slots for small modules. One module is installed and it is labeled "PC-CAPS, Serial No. 7125, 104-0120-01". This long module also has a pass-through and appears to require a 9VDC power supply. I have no use for these and only a vague idea of how I would make use of them. So if anyone wants them for the cost of shipping let me know by email. I am in Austin, TX near Spicewood Springs and Mopac. If I don't make arrangements with anyone by Sunday, they're going in the trash. Jeff Walther

18 years, 4 months

Source code to MMD1 and MMD2

by eniveld＠gmail.com

I wrote the machine code for the MMD1 and MMD2 and was wondering if anyone would find it valuable? I also created an experimental model for E&L that never shipped where I converted the CPU over to a 6502. Any takers? It's all on printed paper, so I don't know what the best way to get it on line is. --David

18 years, 4 months

ASCII Art (was Re: how to connect a DECprinter I (LA180) ?)

by dm561＠torfree.net

Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2007 01:52:14 +0000 (GMT) From: Andrew Burton <aliensrcooluk at yahoo.co.uk> Subject: ASCII Art (was Re: how to connect a DECprinter I (LA180) ?) >Last time I searched for "ASCII Art" on the net I found a couple of pictures of naked women amongst those of Spock and Kirk. I >didn't see any of Snoopy though :( >I rarely see ASCII art these days. There was a retro ASCII Art newsletter that was published every few months which had some >ASCII art in it, but sadly the people behind it have decided to stop making it. Only 5 issues exist, and at present I only have issue 5. >Happy Holidays, >Andrew B >aliensrcooluk at yahoo.co.uk --------- Lots of ASCII art here (a couple dozen Snoopys in the DECUS section): http://textfiles.group.lt/art/ Anybody know of a simple program to print these on a laser or inkjet? mike

18 years, 4 months

Looking for California Computer Systems Z-80 CPU Card

by mardy＠voysys.com

Hi All, I'm looking to get my hands on a California Computer Systems Model 2810 Z-80 CPU card. This is an S-100 bus card. Anybody out there have one they want to sell? I'm also looking for a readable schematic for this card. Thanks, -Mardy

18 years, 4 months

ASCII Art (was Re: how to connect a DECprinter I (LA180) ?)

by iamvirtual＠gmail.com

If you look for the PBM tools, there is a PBM to ASCII output format. Using the tools, any picture could be converted to the ASCII art. Enjoy! --barrym

18 years, 4 months

ASCII Art

by djg＠pdp8.net

Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks at usap.gov> wrote: >I have a dim memory that someone who is now, or was once, a >member of this list had some ASCII art on a PDP-8 page. I have some. This is a tape of IBM lineprinter art ftp://ftp.pdp8.net/ascii_art If you enter snoopy on the search you will find several versions All really the same simple picture wrapped in different languages http://www.pdp8online.com/htdig/search.shtml Also more on this one http://www.pdp8online.com/pdp8cgi/os8_html?act=dir;fn=images/os8/dial%2Ddec… That reminds me, I have a box of teletype art also for 5 level machines I need to read the paper tapes in.

18 years, 4 months

HD 5.25 floppy disk drives emulating legacy DSQD floppy disk drives

by lynchaj＠yahoo.com

Hi a quick follow up to my question to the list earlier. I found that on the TEAC FD-55GFR more closely emulates the TM100-4M signals if the "E2" jumper is ON. It changes the logic of the /INDEX and /READ DATA signals to be compatible with older PC and XT floppy drive controllers which do not give the drive adequate time to fully settle. Apparently the older TM100-4M drives don't seem to care much about it but the Vector Graphic FDC is expecting to get those signals whether regardless of seek status. If anyone has any additional thoughts on the matter, please post. I am still trying to figure this out for the Panasonic JU-475-1 drive. Is anyone familiar with it so that it's /INDEX and /READ DATA are compatible with PC and XT FDCs? Thanks! Andrew Lynch Hi, Sorry for the long post. I have done a lot of things to make this work but am still stuck on this problem. As some of you know, I and some others have been busily working on restoring some Vector Graphic machines. One goal is to replace the Tandon TM100-4M 100tpi drives with more commonly available High Density 96tpi floppy drives. I realize the disks between the two types of drives are incompatible and I plan to retain both types of drives for compatibility with other Vector Graphic machines. However, the 100tpi drives are difficult to obtain and I would like to limit their use to preserve their remaining lifespans. I would like to transition my regular usage disks to the HD 96tpi drives to utilitize commonly available and inexpensive HD floppy drive mechanisms. I believe it is possible to make an HD drive emulate a legacy DSQD drive -- at least I am sure it can be done on the PC. The late Don Maslin was apparently able to use 720K (DSQD) 5.25" floppy drives on his Vector Graphic system (see link below). I would like to do a similar thing but using the HD drives in DSQD emulation mode. http://www.classiccmp.org/pipermail/cctalk/1998-January/093114.html I have a couple of HD floppy disk drives such as the Panasonic JU-475 and TEAC FD-55GFR. I have jumpered and modified both drives so that the spindle motor turns at 300 RPM which I have verified using a fluorescent lamp and tach wheel. I have set the jumpers or directly wired to ground Pin 2 to force Double Density mode. I have covered Pin 2 on the interface with tape so that it does not interfere with the FDC on my Vector Graphic machine and vice versa. According to the schematic of my Vector Graphic integrated FD/HD controller (FDC) neither pin 2 (density select) nor pin 34 (/ready) are used. After many tests and inspections, I have verified both HD drives do work in 720K DSQD emulation mode on my floppy test bench PC. They are configured as 3.5" 80 track drives. The motor spins at 300 RPM and they are both able to format and verify with scandisk under MS-DOS using good quality 5.25" disks. The problem comes in when I attach either HD drive to the Vector Graphic FDC. Whenever it tries to format under CP/M, the VG is able to write out all 154 tracks (I have verified it is writing the tracks by inspecting the disks using my Catweasel) but the VG cannot verify the tracks correctly and fails the format. Everytime it tries to format a disk, it ends with "PERMANENT DISK ERROR" messages. Using different CP/M utilities to write to the HD drives results in similar errors such as VG BACKUP, a disk copy utility, and CPYFSTU, another CP/M disk copy utility. I do not know for certain whether the disks are have errors when written or the drive is having problems reading the track. I know the disks are good as I can format them on the VG using the TM100-4M drive without issue. When I verified the tracks are written using the Catweasel and the same disk and drive I noticed several read errors and bad sectors which implies the tracks were written with errors. Does anyone know why these HD floppy drives are incompatible with the Vector Graphic FDC? Is there something I am missing or some setting which would make them compatible? The HD drives work just fine at DSQD drives on the floppy test bench PC so I am fairly sure the drives themselves are OK. The VG FDC works fine with the TM100-4M drives so I think they work OK. The problem is only when I attach the HD drives to the VG FDC. Would anyone please give me some insight on this problem? Thank you in advance for any help. Andrew Lynch

18 years, 4 months

Laser Turbo XT turbo mode switch? (Sellam Ismail)

by alhartman＠yahoo.com

Sellam, According to the manual I have, the keys are as following: [Ctrl] 8 = 8mhz Turbo [Ctrl] 5 = 4.77 XT Speed If you run across an extra P.S., let me know. I have one here I can't power up without one. Al Phila, PA

18 years, 4 months

how to connect a DECprinter I (LA180) ?

by tiggerlasv＠aim.com

The LA180 cable (at least for use with an LPV11) is a BC11S-25. That is a round cable with a 40-pin BERG on each end. I couldn't tell you if all the pins are used or not, or if the connections are pin-for-pin. The LA180 engineering print set is available at?? http://vt100.net/manx although it is in two parts, in multi-page TIFF format, takes up 20 MB, and takes FOREVER to load in Windows.?? Would be nice if someone converted it to PDF format.?? ;-) Tim ________________________________________________________________________ More new features than ever. Check out the new AIM(R) Mail ! - http://webmail.aim.com

18 years, 4 months

How to connect a DECprinter 1 (LA180)

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

> The LA-120 (DECwriter/printer III) is serial, as is the LA-36, and > a bunch of other LA-xxx printers. I think the LA-180 might be > unique in its naming series to be parallel. The LA100 is also serial (that's a strange printer with a solenoid to move the printhead up and down by half the dot pitch, giving NLQ output). The LA324 (much later) is paralell and serial, the serial port being an MMJ connector (and the parallel port is a 36 pin Microribbon, wired as a Centronics connector). -tony

18 years, 4 months

How to connect a DECprinter 1 (LA180)

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

> > =20 > The seasonal holidays give me time to play around a bit ... > I wanted to connect my DECprinter I (that's an LA180) but > I could not find any documentation here at home, neither > on the web! Can somebody who knows or has an LA180 > connected tell me how it is hooked to a serial line? It's not!. The interface is a TTL-level parallel one, somewhat similar to Centronics, but IIRC some of the control lines are inverted, etc. IIRC, it connects to an LP11 or LPV11 card. The cable is straight-through wired, I think, but you probalby flip one of the connectors over, as is usual with DEC cabling. > Or point me to an LA180 user's manual on the web? > =20 > >From my guess, the BERG header is "standard" as on M7800 > DL11's or M7856 DL11-W, SLU's (with the appropriate lugs > either RS-232 or 20 mA current loop), but I would rather be > assured than destroying a very nice printer! I suspect applying RS232 levesl to the connector will cook a few ICs. I do have the printset somewhere, so it would be repairable... -tony

18 years, 4 months

how to connect a DECprinter I (LA180) ?

by RodSmallwood＠mail.ediconsulting.co.uk

Hi If my memory is not totally shot. The basic model was the LA180-PA. It had a Centronics interface and I think all that was required was a cable to go from the Berg to a 36way Plug. The various boards in LSI's PDP's may well have been parallel (Centronics type) interfaces and could have been pin-to-pin matches requiring only a flat ribbon cable to the LA-180. RS232 and EIA (20mA) interfaces were on their own boards and plugged into the Berg. Rod Smallwood DEC Terminals Product Line 1975 - 1979 -----Original Message----- From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Henk Gooijen Sent: 28 December 2007 22:00 To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts Subject: RE: how to connect a DECprinter I (LA180) ? [Sent again, to get it readable. What can I do to correct this?] Sorry, I just don't understand why the quoted text is so messed up. It all looks fine before I click the "Send" button. This time, I changed the encoding from UTF-8 to Western Europe (Windows) ... I better not put my answers interspersed. If somebody knows how to get this stupid quoting corrected: help! The manual is called "LP11/LS11/LA11 line printer user's manual", but the etch on the M7258 only says "LS11 interface". The round cable is not a flat cable, but has separate wires. At least, that is how it looks to me. The diameter is approx 0.5". I will shoot a picture of that cable too. I will "announce" the LA180 page when it is finished ... and hunt down that cat :-) If somebody has that text file,I would love to print it! You got me up the attick for the third time Ethan :-) If you hold the M7258 with the fingers at the right side and look at the component side of the module, the BERG header is at the top left side. The single height module is directly above the M7258, like this ASCII art: ----------------------------------------------------- | ############### ---- \\ | | \ \| M5973 | | component side view | / /| | // | BERG (to M7258) | | ############### ---- ----------------------------------------------------- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <--- flat cable ----------------------------------------------------- | ############### ---- | M7258 | === === The module is original DIGITAL, it is in the etch, M5973. It's in the Field Guide: "M5973 LLD11 U TTL to differential transceiver". There are only 3 fingers connected at the end, for power supply. The way it is, this M5973 must have been installed in position B of the slot, where the M7258 goes into an SPC (position C-F). The manual indeed is for the major part concerning the LP01/02/04/05. Wished I could have played with DEC stuff in those days! Cool havingyour own pdp8 at 16!! Henk (wondering how this will appear on the list!)

18 years, 4 months

Laser Turbo XT turbo mode switch?

by sellam＠vintagetech.com

I have a Laser Turbo XT that I'm trying to resuscitate to 100%. I have it almost all working, but I'd be durned if I can't figure out how to get it into turbo mode. Right now it's blazing along at 1.4Mhz if the Landmark speed test is to be believed. There are no hardware switches so I can only assume there is some sort of utility program that needs to be run? If so, I don't have it :( Any hints? Thanks! Happy New Year! -- Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org [ Old computing resources for business || Buy/Sell/Trade Vintage Computers ] [ and academia at www.VintageTech.com || at http://marketplace.vintage.org ]

18 years, 4 months

Jump to page:

2026

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

test-drb