Can someone point me to somewhere I can find bootable disk images for
MS/PC DOS 1.x? I found vetusware.com, but the quality is spotty and
frequently uses obscure compression programs.
--
David Griffith
dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu
------------Original Message:
Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2007 20:21:53 -0400
From: "Andrew Lynch" <lynchaj at yahoo.com>
Subject: 100TPI floppy disk drives
Hi,
I recently bought this S-100 chassis with four Vector Graphic boards. Based
on what I gathered from searches, the Vector Graphic system uses 100TPI
floppy disk drives.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSAA:US:1
1&Item=320164273848
Will anyone confirm which disk drives are compatible with the Vector Graphic
floppy disk controller? I believe those 100TPI drives such as the Tandon
TM-100-4M. There are probably others from Micropolis as well so if you know
of some please include them in a response.
In addition, I would like to extend the Catweasel hard sector decoder
software concept to the Vector Graphic 16 sector 5.25" hard sector floppy
disks. I have written Catweasel floppy disk decoder software for the
NorthStar which now seems to be working pretty good. Also, the Catweasel
Heath project is coming along although not as far along as the Catweasel
NorthStar software. It can make images of Heath SSSD floppy disks.
Does anyone have some 100TPI floppy disk drives they would be willing to
sell? I think I will need at least two or three drives total so even if you
have only a single drive you can part with, I would appreciate an offer.
Thanks!
Andrew Lynch
----------------Reply:
FWIW, my Vector MZ has a pair of Micropolis 1016-II drives which AFAIK
are SS 77Trk 100TPI drives, with a Vector Graphics Disk Controller
marked FD CONTROL B MICROPOLIS.
However, I believe Vector Graphic used different drives in some later
models, even soft sector in some if I'm not mistaken.
mike
> Terak or a ROM reader. I'd be glad to lend some ROMs if someone's up
> for the task.
> I'm happy to read 'em..
There is a file called TERAK.ROM dated Nov 2004 in the distribution. I had thought he
had told me he had the Terak simulation working.
> Years ago, I had an AED 767, which I suppose was a cross between a
> graphics subsystem and a graphics terminal.
> Has anyone else worked on those?
I worked at AED from 84 - 86 and was the architect of the AED 1280, which
was their last graphics terminal.
The 767 is a modification of the AED 512 which used 64k instead of 16k
DRAMs and 4x the frame buffer space. The original designers of the 512
did their own version called the Jupiter 7. It has a 6502 processor and
an RS232 or 'AED' (parallel intf, the same as the AED 3100 floppy ctlr)
parallel interface. I still have most of the docs/firmware for these.
AED terminals were popular with chip designers. The Berkeley CAD tools
suite supported them, as well as VTI.
>
>Subject: choosing a 360k FDD
> From: David Griffith <dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu>
> Date: Mon, 08 Oct 2007 20:05:29 -0700 (PDT)
> To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
>
>
>So, I'm faced with a bunch of 360k floppy drives. One of them I will put
>in my main desktop machine for replicating floppies for, say, my C64,
>Kaypro, etc. What should I look for when choosing such a drive? The best
>specimen I have right now was taken from a Morrow Micro-Decision.
>According to the tag, it's a "TEC FB-503". Can someone tell me something
>about this?
>
>By the way, I have an IBM-branded full-height Tandon that I will trade for
>the "ideal" half-height.
>
>--
>David Griffith
>dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu
I have a collection of drive but my go to drives are the TEAC 55B
for 360K, and 55FG for 720k/1.2M.
Allison
I've found (in the slowly shrinking pile I'm trying to distribute) an
IBM PC Network Adapter identified by what I believe is the part
number 6450213
I've got the original box (from 1985 looks like) and driver disks and
manuals. Doesn't look like this has ever been used. 8 Bit card,
with a coax
connector (it includes the coax cable). Not sure exactly what kind
of network it would connect to... but I definitely have no need for it.
Before I toss it in the scrapper, figured I'd see if anybody was
interested in it for the price of shipping... (it also has a
diagnostics for
IBM Personal Computer AT, Hardware Reference Library Diagnostics, and
IBM PC XT compatibility test diskettes...)
Earl
>The RD52 has RXS11 and boots.
Perhaps a matching fur hat and pink handbag to go with the boots!!
Rod Smallwood
-----Original Message-----
From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org
[mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of John A. Dundas III
Sent: 10 October 2007 16:25
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Re: DEC RSX-11
At 1:50 PM -0400 10/9/07, Allison wrote:
>HALP!
>
>I just decided to attack a micro-11 system I had not attendded to.
>Good news is it's pristine and complete:
>
> BA23, 11/23BH, 512k (M8057), DEQNA, RQDX2(late firmware).
>
>The RD52 has RXS11 and boots.
What version?
>It's been a long time since I used RSX and longer since I've
>administered it. So some procedures for doing things I need to know or
>a pointer to.
>
>TO shut down I do?
>RUN $SHUTUP
>from a privileged account.
LB:[1,2]SHUTUP.CMD can be edited to include local shutdown tasks. It is
invoked as part of $SHUTUP.TSK.
>TO change admin password how, and which account again?
If this is a version of RSX that has DCL installed, use SET PASSWORD.
Otherwise
>RUN $ACNT
>If I add a 8line mux (DHV or DZV) what the procedure to get system to
>install and recognise it.
Either VMR or @[200,200]SYSGEN; no longer remember under what
circumstances you could "just" VMR.
>On line DOCs to refresh memory from?
I've assembled some of mine, Al's, and others at
<http://dundas-mac.caltech.edu/~dundas/retro/DEC%20Docs/RSX/>
John
Does anyone have a comprehensive list of graphics products (UNIBUS or
Q-BUS) for the PDP-11 family of minicomputers?
Please don't list terminals with graphics capability, that's not what
I'm after.
Thanks!
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download
<http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/download/index.html>
Legalize Adulthood! <http://blogs.xmission.com/legalize/>
Hi,
I recently bought this S-100 chassis with four Vector Graphic boards. Based
on what I gathered from searches, the Vector Graphic system uses 100TPI
floppy disk drives.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSAA:US:1
1&Item=320164273848
Will anyone confirm which disk drives are compatible with the Vector Graphic
floppy disk controller? I believe those 100TPI drives such as the Tandon
TM-100-4M. There are probably others from Micropolis as well so if you know
of some please include them in a response.
In addition, I would like to extend the Catweasel hard sector decoder
software concept to the Vector Graphic 16 sector 5.25" hard sector floppy
disks. I have written Catweasel floppy disk decoder software for the
NorthStar which now seems to be working pretty good. Also, the Catweasel
Heath project is coming along although not as far along as the Catweasel
NorthStar software. It can make images of Heath SSSD floppy disks.
Does anyone have some 100TPI floppy disk drives they would be willing to
sell? I think I will need at least two or three drives total so even if you
have only a single drive you can part with, I would appreciate an offer.
Thanks!
Andrew Lynch
>
>Subject: Re: PDP-11 graphics products
> From: "Zane H. Healy" <healyzh at aracnet.com>
> Date: Tue, 09 Oct 2007 12:21:52 -0700
> To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
>
>At 1:02 PM -0600 10/9/07, Richard wrote:
>>Does anyone have a comprehensive list of graphics products (UNIBUS or
>>Q-BUS) for the PDP-11 family of minicomputers?
>>
>>Please don't list terminals with graphics capability, that's not what
>>I'm after.
>
>I'm not aware of such a list, I believe there are only about 3-6
>"video cards". I've a 3rd party card that was used in a Cameca
>Microprobe (Electron Microscope). The DEC cards were/are popular in
>spectrum analyzers, and a lot of those are still in service in labs.
>
>Zane
Ones I know of are the QVSS, QDSS and the Matrox cards for QBus but
versions for unibus may exist. I do have a video/graphics card for
Qbus but no info or vendor name but I can say it's NOT DEC or Matrox.
Allison
> Quoth Ian
> But, of course, in an ideal world, all this would be
> much easier. First consider a stairwell with a 45
> degree incline, and a spherical arcade machine....
Ideal world? I'm thinking Sisyphus here...
At 11:22 PM 10/9/2007, you wrote:
>Yep, I remember finding your page when I saw a Terak on ebay a year or
>so ago. Even though I don't know much about them, it's in my top-5
>wanted items list. Must be the unique-factor. Same goes for the
>Symbolics machines :)
There was a Terak on eBay!? Wow. Never saw that. What did it go for?
I have four or five 8510/a's and matching monitors, plus a box or two
of parts, as well as a rare hard drive. I know another fellow from
my old days in the computer graphics business who has a slightly
larger pile as well as a color Terak or two.
I have a lot of other computers that I'd give away before I'd give away
these, just on the theory that you should pick one system and specialize,
as well as my baby-duck affection for having used them in college
approximately 53 million years ago.
When they asked me to bring a working Terak to the 25-year UCSD Pascal
reunion a few years ago, I was sad to discover that my last working
unit no longer powered-on. When I get around to it, I'll need to figure
out why. The other long-standing to-do item would be to create
extensions for one of the PDP-11 emulators to match the Terak's hardware.
- John
I think I've sucessfully digitized the Timex Sinclair 1000 Power Pack 1
(2K RAM) tape. Would someone with a Sinclair and a tape player please
check my result?
Please email me privately so I can give you the correct URL. I don't want
random people hammering my connection.
--
David Griffith
dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu
A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?
>
>Subject: Re: DEC RSX-11
> From: "Ethan Dicks" <ethan.dicks at gmail.com>
> Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2007 11:46:06 +0200
> To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
>
>On 10/9/07, Allison <ajp166 at bellatlantic.net> wrote:
>> HALP!
>>
>> I just decided to attack a micro-11 system...
>>
>> It's been a long time since I used RSX and longer since
>> I've administered it. So some procedures for doing things
>> I need to know or a pointer to.
>>
>> TO shut down I do?
>
>IIRC, from an account with privs, it _might_ be...
>
>@[1,4]SHUTUP.CMD
>
>.... or something quite similar.
>
>> TO change admin password how, and which account again?
>
>It's been a long time, and I've worked with a variety of early-1980s
>versions of RSX, but the account, at least, is probably [1,4].
>Unfortunately, I can't recall what program you have to invoke to
>twiddle passwords and privs. It might even be dependent on exactly
>what version of RSX you have, if it's an old one (not all that likely,
>though, if it's a MicroPDP. It would be more likely on an 11/34,
>say).
>
>> If I add a 8line mux (DHV or DZV) what the procedure to get
>> system to install and recognise it.
>
>IIRC, you'll have to do some type of SYSGEN - lots of questions to
>answer, then several hours as your wee little F-11 spins its wheels
>and builds a new system. I haven't done a sysgen in over 20 years, so
>hopefully someone else with fresher experience can speak up.
>
>> On line DOCs to refresh memory from?
>
>I don't know of any, and I wasn't able to Google any. :-/
>
>-ethan
Thanks,
Thats a start, I found docs on bitsavers. Some however appear broken
as I down load them and mid way my system crashes. First thats rare
and unusual for this crate. The other is there is no clear reason
why. May be that some are >50mb in size and something is broken.
I'll try FTP rather than firefox and see.
Allison
>
>Subject: Re: PDP-11 graphics products
> From: "William Donzelli" <wdonzelli at gmail.com>
> Date: Tue, 09 Oct 2007 20:23:08 -0400
> To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
>
>> UNIBUS: VT30, VS100 (wasn't X developed on this?)
>
>I think it was developed on a VAXstation 2000?
I don't think so, as my memory of X predates VAXstation2000.
>A long time ago I had a Unibus color vector graphics board from some
>third party. I remember it had some really weird coax connectors for
>output signals.
I may have a few of the Qbus versions, Need to dig them out.
Allison
>
>No amount of truth serum will be able to dig up any facts from
>my head, however.
>
>--
>Will
At 09:34 PM 10/9/2007, you wrote:
>I know naught of its specs, but what of the Terak system, which I
>believe was 11-based?
The original Terak 8510/a was 320 x 240 mono square pixels
with hardware smooth pan and scroll, and downloadable character sets.
My rarely updated Terak page:
http://www.threedee.com/jcm/terak/index.html
There were subsequent Terak models that I believe doubled the resolution
and added color, but I don't know much about those models.
- John
> With new hardware, it may be impossible to secure proper documentation
> and it may be difficult to impossible to decipher what's happening
> inside of such tiny chips.
Not completely on-topic, but a recent acquisition by the school had a
schematic in the so-called "user's manual" that dutifully showed all
the interconnections to the black-box ASICs and the 2 or 3 transistors
(and handful of passives). All in a 4" square area.
[snip]
>
>Masking out pin 8 (Index) on the 34-pin connector has no effect, I
>still get:
>
>Error reading diskette B: (Cyl 1, Side 1, Sect 1)
>Sector not found
>
>This sector DOES exist, both ImageDisk and TeleDisk can read it fine,
>however no amount of "Retry" will convice 22disk to read it.
Dave,
Have you considered using the Tim Mann software (cw2dmk) and the Catweasel?
That would pull up whatever information is on the disk and you could use it
to diagnose what is wrong with the disk. It won't decode the CDOS file
format
but it will give you the sector headers and the raw sector data.
If you send me a disk, I will return it with a raw disk Catweasel image
>from cw2dmk. Best of luck with your project.
Andrew Lynch
On 10/7/07, Zane H. Healy <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote:
> I have been looking into the parts needed to build one of these. Not
> even including the price of the PCB or MMC/SD card, it isn't exactly
> cheap. It looks like it will cost about $64.00 just for the parts.
See below...
> It is also worth noting that most of these parts are surface mount.
Indeed.
> I've done up a web page showing the price breakdown when ordering the
> parts from Newark, as they are a US arm of Farnell.
> http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/commodore/1541-III.html It also
> includes the Manufacturer and Newark part numbers.
Nice work. I do notice that you've listed two MCUs, a PIC 18F252 and
a PIC 18F2620. Presumably, the design takes one _or_ the other, not
both.
Also, it looks to me like those 0.1" (2.54mm) jumpers is a bit high -
$0.25 each, min q. 10. Other killers are the $15 handling fee
(presumably because the order value isn't up to their minimum value -
$50?), the RL73K2BR33JTD resistor (1 required, min q. 10 @ ~$2), and
various min quantity orders. What might make more fiscal sense, to
me, at least, would be to order enough parts to build two, rather than
one. More of the teeny parts would be used up for zero additional
expense, plus the order might cross the min-order threshold and avoid
the $15 service fee. Of course, if it were _my_ order, I'd find some
MCUs or other parts to round up my own order, just because I'd rather
have $15 worth of additional components than pay a $15 fee that gets
me nothing substantial.
Thanks for laying everything out in a very plain and clear fashion.
It's a great starting point, especially for those who might have to
order every single part to build a kit (I see large numbers of things
I'd pull from my own stores).
-ethan
There's what appears to be a very nice Olivetti Programma 101 up on
eBay, with a little over a day to go and no bids. It's in the Netherlands.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8801280590&sspagename=AD…
The Programma 101 was a very advanced programmable calculator,
introduced in 1965. Discrete transistors, delay-line memory, magnetic
card I/O.
I've exchanged a little bit of email with the seller. He says its been
in storage for a long time, and a couple of rubber belts inside have
turned gooey, but looks to be complete and in otherwise good shape.
If you want a little bit of discrete-transistor goodness, I doubt you
can find it in any smaller package than this (Ok, so a 9100A/B has both
discrete transistors *and* core memory, but the Programma 101 was
earlier.) I don't have any relation to the seller, I just decided that
I wasn't going to bid on this, so I'd make sure the list saw the listing
-- this is a very desirable machine and I figure someone, maybe one of
the UK folks, would go for it.
--Bill
>
>Subject: Re: MFM or ESDI QBUS controller for one PDP-11/23 PLUS
> From: "Glen Slick" <glen.slick at gmail.com>
> Date: Tue, 09 Oct 2007 11:55:21 -0700
> To: "General Discussion: On-Topic Posts Only" <cctech at classiccmp.org>
>
>On 10/9/07, Allison <ajp166 at bellatlantic.net> wrote:
>> The only MSCP boards I've used that didn't require breakout were
>> SCSI.
>>
>
>I have at least three Q-bus MSCP ESDI controllers that have standard
>20-pin & 34-pin IDC header ESDI connectors, no breakout required.
>Emulex QD21, Dilog DQ696, Sigma SDC-RQD11. They are hard disk only
>though, so maybe in general controllers with floppy support do require
>breakout adapters.
That may be the difference as all of my MSCP with RQDXn replacements
need a breakout or a funky cable to do it. I do not have anything
for ESDI.
Allison
>I also have an Andromeda ESDC Q-Bus ESDI controller which I haven't
>been able to use yet as I am lacking documentation on how to configure
>it. Anyone have a manual? I don't see any Andromeda manuals at all
>on bitsavers.
>
>-Glen
Does anyone happen to know the exact part number of the flyback
transformer in the DEC VT100 terminal? The VT100 in question has the 'DEC'
type video board, not the 'Ball' type. Is there a matching HR-Diemen or
equivalent part number?
Oh, and questions concerning another VT100: What may cause a bad geometry
of the picture on a VT100 (slight trapezoid and pincushion; Philips CRT)?
The only adjustable magnets are the two sets of rings on the neck, one for
the position and one for the focus (it's a magnetically focused CRT as
most monitors are).
Christian
So, I'm faced with a bunch of 360k floppy drives. One of them I will put
in my main desktop machine for replicating floppies for, say, my C64,
Kaypro, etc. What should I look for when choosing such a drive? The best
specimen I have right now was taken from a Morrow Micro-Decision.
According to the tag, it's a "TEC FB-503". Can someone tell me something
about this?
By the way, I have an IBM-branded full-height Tandon that I will trade for
the "ideal" half-height.
--
David Griffith
dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu
>
>Subject: Re: MFM or ESDI QBUS controller for one PDP-11/23 PLUS
> From: "Sergio Pedraja" <spedraja at gmail.com>
> Date: Tue, 09 Oct 2007 08:57:56 +0200
> To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
>
>Hi, Allison.
>
>I'm perplexed. The RQDXn controllers are MFM and Floppy. Best shot
>> is late firmware RQDX3 as it does RX33 and most all MFM drives. Its
>> also easier to find.
>>
>>
>At least as I can remember, the RQDx3 needs an internal distribution
> panel. I'm searching for ONE single board.
Understood. Most of the nonDEC FM/EDSI boards still require a
distribution pannel as they were targeting DEC systems. At a minimum
you need to make a hybrid cable to use them with one drive. How can you
tell? Simple, if the board is said to do FM/EDSI and has only a 50pin
connector a breakout board (distribution pannel) is required. Most do.
I have several differnt examples of nonDEC MSCP controllers
for floppy and hard disks and they all like the 50pin cable to
breakout. There may be some that do not I don't have one.
Actually there are several possible distribution or breakout
boards. They primarily serve to translate the 50pin RQDX cable
to the more typical cables used for floppy and FN/EDSI disks.
One is the distribution pannel used in the BA23 and its only
connectors and wires so easily duplicated. Its function is to
take the 50pin cable from the RQDXn (or nonDEC MSCP) and route
them to the 34pin connector for floppy and the 26/34 pin cables
used for MFM. It is located in back of the drive bay of the BA23
and can be used outside of BA23.
The second is the M9058 used in the BA123 and that is a dual width
Qbus board that can support 1 floppy and 3 hard disks. It's Qbus but
only takes power for running the local buffers and extended device
select plus providing the interconnect point for the ready/writelock
switch pannel. While it appears complex it's really trivial and is
better described as a breakout board. If You get a M9058 it is not
required to install it on the Qbus, only provide it with needed
power if that is mechanically more suitable. The reason for that
is while it's dual width it's thick due to the presence of many
connectors. The M9058 is typically located outside the BA123
backplane cage nearest the disk bays for easy cable routing.
There is a third board RQDXE that is for use mostly in BA23s for
extending the RQDXn outside the case for additional drives. Its
of limited utility as breakout/distribution.
I know this from fitting two half height HD + RX33 in ba23 and also
putting RQDX3 in BA11S with RX33 and 3 RD52s.
Hope this helps.
The only MSCP boards I've used that didn't require breakout were
SCSI.
Allison