test-drb

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101090 discussions

Anyone collect Dec/Compaq Alphaservers or VAXen?

by mtapley＠swri.edu

At 12:00 -0500 9/29/07, Dan wrote: > What about Alphaservers? Alphaserver 1000A 4/266 Alphaserver 2100A 4/275 (3 CPU's) Alpha 3000/300x Gotta find some tuits in my circular file and get VMS and distributed.net running on those. The honor of VMS is being sadly neglected in the distributed.net standings! -- - Mark, 210-379-4635 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Large Asteroids headed toward planets inhabited by beings that don't have technology adequate to stop them: Think of it as Evolution in Fast-Forward.

18 years, 7 months

ALERT, WA State: Boeing Surplus Closing...

by kyrrin＠bluefeathertech.com

This is directed primarily at those in or near the Puget Sound region. Fellow techies, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I have learned that Boeing Surplus's retail store will be closing permanently at the end of this year. The last day for retail operations will be Friday, December 21st. This decision was revealed to the employees on July 13th. Boeing has, for unknown reasons, made no apparent effort to publicize it. The news left me in shock when I first heard. Boeing's been operating that store for at least 30 years, and it has become something of a local icon for the region. I have spoken with some contacts I still have inside the company, and have been told that the "official" word is that it was costing more to run the store than it was bringing in. I'm not at all certain I believe this -- If true, I think it would have happened a lot earlier on, and certainly with more frequency. The surplus store is cyclical, just like the manufacturing side, and I don't see how its possible that they could run into a perpetual downward trend. The excuse was also made that the volume and variety of equipment going through the retail level was falling too far off to justify maintaining the store. There is, to my mind, a simple answer for that -- Simply route more equipment through retail, rather than selling it off in bulk to the big-dollar wholesalers! This is especially true where test gear is concerned. In short: I don't believe that this is a smart move by Boeing. Quite the contrary! I think it's the dumbest stunt they've pulled since selling off their commercial avionics unit to BAE.They have a very loyal customer base, and a large core of 'regulars' for the surplus store, myself included, and I for one do not intend to let this issue simply die off without a fight. If you agree, and you want to make your voice heard on this issue, I ask that you do two things. (1) SPREAD THE WORD!!!! I have no clue why Boeing hasn't made this more public, but my speculation is that they know, full well, how loyal a following the store has and they're trying to avoid a public backlash. If that is the case, I would like nothing better than to see that plan backfire! (2) Make a POLITE contact with the office of Mr. Tim Copes, president of Boeing's Shared Services Group (they're in charge of all surplus programs, companywide), and ask that the decision to close the store be reversed. Mr. Copes' office can be contacted at: (425) 865-7501 If you wish to mail a letter, you can do so to this address: Mr. Tim Copes Boeing Shared Services Group Mailstop 6R7-01 PO Box 3707 Seattle, WA 98124 Will it work, if enough noise is made? Who knows? Honestly, I don't think there's much chance of saving the current store in its current form, given the time it has left. HOWEVER -- If enough voices are raised, it may convince the company to provide a meaningful alternative, or perhaps even open another store down the road a stretch. Thanks for reading. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bruce Lane, Owner & Head Hardware Heavy, Blue Feather Technologies -- http://www.bluefeathertech.com kyrrin (at) bluefeathertech do/t c=o=m "If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped with surreal ports?"

18 years, 7 months

Easily Amused...

by listmailgoeshere＠gmail.com

On 9/29/07, Zane H. Healy <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote: > How cool is this domain name? > > http://ami.ga/ It's not quite as cool as this one: http://atari.st ;) Ed.

18 years, 7 months

IMSAI II - still viable OR has anyone else lost their deposit?

by robert.stek＠gmail.com

I don't think he had any bad intentions in the beginning (some 6 years ago), as I said in a related comp.os.cpm post, "Never assume malice when incompetence will suffice." But his actions over the last two years suggest a lot about his integrity now. I have now heard from four individuals (in 24 hours), two of whom paid in full in advance, with the same basic story: after politely asking for updates, we are ignored despite repeated attempts at communication - no updates, no explanation, no 'good faith' offer of partial shipment (Howard Harte's super I/O board was produced, though apparently by Howard directly), no 'good faith' offer of anything, and certainly no offer of refund. I am sure that the project has been a personal nightmare for him. It is a shame to see someone who contributed so much to the development of the microcomputer industry in its early days end up trying to sweep his recent mistakes (and our money) under the rug while still pretending to offer an IMSAI II (and other items) for sale on his website - it's not only unethical but very probably fraudulent as well. I've screwed up in my life (just ask my ex-wife!). But IMHO it's far better to admit defeat and offer whatever atonement you can, than to continue in the self-delusion that the IMSAI II will ever be built and that a bunch of 'cry-babies' (my projection, not his words) who want their money back are stopping forward progress by reducing working capital. rant := off So, any there any others out there who are willing to admit that they lost their front money? Or anyone who actually received any of his other hardware offerings? Or who received a refund? Bob Stek Saver of Lost Sols >From: Grant Stockly <grant at stockly.com> >Subject: RE: IMSAI II - still viable OR has anyone else lost their > deposit? >To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" > <cctalk at classiccmp.org> >Message-ID: <0JP900ENKGIGSQ80 at msgmmp-1.gci.net> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed > >I've talked to him several times. Before the Altair kit and >after. Very nice guy. I don't think he has any bad intentions at >all. I will buy one the second they become available. I have no >idea what the situation with them is, but I'd have a hard time >thinking he was trying to defraud people or lie (of course, I have >all my money). He has told me of the money, engineering, and time he >has spent. > >Possibly he just isn't a "business" man. That's not a bad thing at >all, we all have our strengths! Engineers aren't good with making >their own due dates... ; ) The Kenbak kit was supposed to be done >by March. I just shipped the first 8 kits a week ago today. ; ) > >When I started selling kits I decided in the beginning not to collect >money until stuff was ready to ship. I wasn't worried too much about >getting lazy, but it made me look forward to shipping and work >towards that goal. > >Grant

18 years, 7 months

Intel MSD 225 value

by dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu

As I was driving north from the Los Angeles area with, among other things, an Intel MDS 225, I was struck from the rear by someone who was driving on a suspended license. I'm fine, but the MSD appears to have been destroyed. Picture rolling one down a steep staircase. So, to get a figure on how much monetary damage was done, I'd like some help. What's a guestimate of the value of an Intel MDS with integral CRT and 8-inch floppy drive? If you want one, how much would you be willing to spend? If you have one, how much would you want to sell it? -- David Griffith dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu

18 years, 7 months

80s video game markets...

by julesrichardsonuk＠yahoo.co.uk

Random mutterings... I was just thinking earlier how huge the UK computer game market was in the 80s - and yet most of the titles were produced by UK people for the UK market, and presumably never exported elsewhere. Other countries presumably followed the same pattern - and there must be games which were huge in one country and relatively unheard of anywhere else. Which sort-of raised the question of whether anyone's ever tried to 'map' the 80s video game industry by popularity in each country? Like I said, random mutterings. I'm just curious what was going on elsewhere while us UK lot were playing Frak, Manic Miner, Repton, Monty Mole etc... :-)

18 years, 7 months

PDP-11/84 availability (multiple)

by jwest＠ezwind.net

A gentleman contacted me who is working at a facility where there are eight PDP-11/84-AA's in use. Six are working, two are spares. Whenever they are decomissioned (he didn't say how long it would be, but I got the impression "not several years"), he would like to have people lined up to take them. He seemed quite interested in making sure they went to people who would appreciate them rather than scrappers/dealers. That sounds like us! If interested, I suggest you open a dialog with him now. His name is Mike Kinslow, and his email address is first initial, last name, at netstorm.net I know of no other information, nor where they are located. Please direct all inquiries to Mike. Jay West

18 years, 7 months

Anyone collect Dec/Compaq Alphaservers or VAXen?

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: RE: Anyone collect Dec/Compaq Alphaservers or VAXen? > From: "Rod Smallwood" <RodSmallwood at mail.ediconsulting.co.uk> > Date: Tue, 02 Oct 2007 07:08:33 +0100 > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic Posts Only" <cctech at classiccmp.org> > >Hmmm > Time for a quick 'We are not worthy' ^00^ Consider my leg pulled. :) > >What did you do? >Raid the Mill with a fleet of trucks? No. I did get some small amounts of odd items from DEC salvage before it was shut down. Mostly things like H751A power controllers, power supplies and TU58 drives and boards. The one uVII (BA123 VIDSYS::) was a parting gift(I paid 100$ for it with DOCS and licenses) during the days of blood. For those that don't understand the post 1991 sell off of parts of DEC, that's when the DIGITAL logo went from blue to burgandy. The other was built from scrounge. VIDSYS:: is still setup for DECnet area 56.920 (one area in OGO was 56) and HIPPY:: was area 63.390 (hidden area for DECnet overflow). My 11T03 which is now the 11/73 was a gift from my boss at DEC. I kept it in the lab area for years for those odd projects but by late 80s it was obvious it was getting used less and less. He suggested "when are you going to scrap that thing?" I bring it home (on property pass) which I did. A year later when it was time to confirm and renew the property pass his answer was "what 11?". The remainder were mostly rescues. The bulk of the uVAX3100s came from UV Waterloo over 10 years ago on a if you take one you take them all and I was the only one willing to take a huge pile of uVAX3100s plus cables, VT320s VS2000s, TK50s, several TLZ04s.. Took two seperate 400mile round trips with a pickup truck filled to capacity. A fair number of those got redistributed to others as sixteen uVax3100s take a bit of space. The rest are also rescues from various seperate trips. Usually if the system is incomplete I jump on it and clean it up and restore it to life from spares. The few pending systems are due to my activities in amateur radio this year and now that I'm done with the bigger projects it's back to machines. I don't do Ubus-11s, big VAX (780s and the like) and unfortunately PDP-10/20s as most are too large to handle or power here. Also I've reached the point where excess do get passed on to others as I don't store any large number of systems either. I try to manage my collection. Those excess sometimes get cleaned up board added and moved along so they are operable and don't end up in the trash or worse. I like to power them up and play and that's incompatable with storage. There are a few small items like extra VT320s (white, green and amber), VT100s, H19, DECMate-IIIs I keep in the garage on rotation but I can and do run them there as well as it's warm enough in the winter and very dry. I keep those out there mostly to make it easier to move other stuff around in the room. What seperates me from museum is I use them, reconfigure and expand them them to suit my wishes or for fun. However, junking them is out of the questionas even basket cases are salvaged for any and all usable parts. FYI: if anyone needs parts for PDT11/1xx systems I have many CPU, memory and IO boards I'm not ever going to use. Someone took a bunch apart and then later gave me the box of boards. (ugly mutter mutter cuss cuss.) I mostly do DEC and CP/M based systems (s100, totables, SBCs) but I do have a few oddballs. For some reason the MIPS based DEC hardware never got my attention nor have the PC/clone(intel) based systems like Rainbow and VAXmate. I did have PROs (350s and 380s) but gave those away to concentrate on Qbus. Allison > >Rod > >-----Original Message----- >From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org >[mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Allison >Sent: 01 October 2007 15:47 >To: cctech at classiccmp.org >Subject: RE: Anyone collect Dec/Compaq Alphaservers or VAXen? > >> >>Subject: RE: Anyone collect Dec/Compaq Alphaservers or VAXen? >> From: "Rod Smallwood" <RodSmallwood at mail.ediconsulting.co.uk> >> Date: Mon, 01 Oct 2007 08:00:44 +0100 >> To: "General Discussion: On-Topic Posts Only" >><cctech at classiccmp.org> >> >> >>My list >> pdp11/94 x 4 R >> >> DEC Rainbow 100+ * >> >> VAX 300 * >> VAX 400 * >> VAX 500 R >> VAXStation 3100 * >> >> DEC 3000 * >> >> Multia * >> >>* = Working >>R = Renovation (Mostly missing parts) >> >>Rod Smallwood > > >A more detailed list of DEC systems here. :) > > >Collection of operational hardware: > >PDP-8 based machines: >==================== > PDP-8f, 20k core and 2 serial 8650 and 8652 >2 Decmate-IIIs OS/278 > Intersil sampler (6100 chipset) extended to 3k ram > 6120 based board, homebrew 32kram 8k rom > >PDP-11 based machines: >===================== >1 LSI-11/03 rx02 >2 PDP11/23 BA11S boxes, > 1MB, RQDX2 and RD52 > 1MB, RQDX2 and RD31, RX50 >1 pdp11/73 50" RACK SYSTEM (4MB, DLVJ11, DEQNA, RQDX3>> RX02, RD52, >RX33, RL02). >1 BA11va with 11/23 +tu58 RT-11 >1 BA11va with 11/23 +Viking RX02 equivilent RT-11 > PDT11/130 11/03 with tu58 dectapeII > OSs in use: RT-11, XXDP-11 and unix V6 > >VAX based machines: >=================== > Microvax-II (ba23 based) 12mb, RQDX3, RD53, RX33 > This one lived as HIPSS:: during my days at DEC. > Microvax-II/GPX (Ba123 based, TK50 and SCSI disks) > This one was know as VIDSYS:: inside DEC. >3 Microvax2000 all with 2 RD53, 1 RD54 drive, one with ultrix >1 Microvax2000 as hard disk formatter and MOP bootable system. >2 Microvax3100/m76/gpx 32mb 2 each 1gb scsi internal >3 Microvax3100/server (not M10e) (filled with 400mb and 1gb disks) >4 BA42 SCSI disk farm for the 3100s populated with RZ56s > OSs in use VMSv5.4-4,V5.54, V7.2, Ultrix 4.2 > >Terminal for the uVAX systems is usually VT1200 via thinnet and the >PDP-11s the usual terminal is either VT340, VT320 or VT180 in terminal >mode. > >DEC CP/M speaking machines: >=========================== >1 Vt180 complete (dual RX180s) >2 Vt180 CP/M board built up as standalone one modded for 6mhz >1 Vt185 Thats a Vt125 + Vt180. > >In the non operational list: > >11/23B uPDP-11 in a BA23 pedestal that while complete with 11/23B, >M8057 memory, DHV11, RQDX2 and RD52, RX50 it requries cleaning and >testing. > >H11 Backplane complete with LSI-11 CPU, 16k of ram, two serial cards and >a parallel card of heath origin. Some day I'll find the case/power >supply for it. All parts are tested as working. > >Small 11/23 system using a H9281-BC (12x2 slots) filled with: > M8186 1/23 (Overclocked CPU mod) > 4 M8059 MSV11 ram > DLV11j, > RQDX3 with M9058 distribution board. (for RX33 and RD31) > MRV-11 Eprom card with MSCP boot. > VK170 with matching LK02 keyboard and a monitor. The VK170 > is a minimal VT52 on a dual width card for packaged systems > that communicates via RS232 to system and the bus use is > power only. >This is waiting on being packed in a reasonable nonDEC box with a DEC PS >and fans. The boards are known working and the backplane is already >jumpered as Q22. > >Generally in my house operational means I can actually turn it on and >play and it has a permanent spot that is easily accessable. > >One project that is in process is a H9800 desk/rack that will replace >the existing standard steel office desk. the system to be installed >there will be 11/23B in BA11s with a hand made Disk box for RX33 and >RD52s. > >I have two boxes (Xerox Paper sized) of tested boards enough to build >another few 11/23s and a few uVAXII as my spares. Failed boards get >repaird when I feel like it so I have good boards around. > >Who was it that has the SIG of > "DEC had then what you wish you could buy now." ? > >Allison > > > >

18 years, 7 months

DX10 (was TI-99/4A Floppies)

by aek＠bitsavers.org

> Since the 990/4 Mini was based on a TMS9900, Probably not much. Dont know if > its enough to run DX10 though. DX10 requires the memory management of the 990/10 or /12 or a 99000 A simulation of the 990/10 that can run DX10 is present in MESS. TX990 could run on the 990/4 or /5 http://bitsavers.org/bits/TI/990/TX990_TXDS_2.0/ http://bitsavers.org/pdf/ti/990/txds/

18 years, 7 months

Epson QX-10 Emulator

by cclist＠sydex.com

Has anyone tried Toshiya Takeda's Epson QX-10 emulator at http://www1.interq.or.jp/~t-takeda/top.html ? >From what I can gather, one needs at least the boot rom image to get the thing to run. Anyone know where I can get one? Cheers, Chuck

18 years, 7 months

these RTL or what?

by rtellason＠verizon.net

I ran across some data in the pile of what I've been collecting, and there's some stuff there apparently by Signetics (?) referring to what they're calling "Utilogic II" -- is this stuff RTL or what? It doesn't say. Dates are in the late 1960s, and it looks like it, but I figured I'd ask in here... -- Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and ablest -- form of life in this section of space, ?a critter that can be killed but can't be tamed. ?--Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters" - Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James M Dakin

18 years, 7 months

Anyone collect Dec/Compaq Alphaservers or VAXen?

by RodSmallwood＠mail.ediconsulting.co.uk

Hmmm Time for a quick 'We are not worthy' ^00^ What did you do? Raid the Mill with a fleet of trucks? Rod -----Original Message----- From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Allison Sent: 01 October 2007 15:47 To: cctech at classiccmp.org Subject: RE: Anyone collect Dec/Compaq Alphaservers or VAXen? > >Subject: RE: Anyone collect Dec/Compaq Alphaservers or VAXen? > From: "Rod Smallwood" <RodSmallwood at mail.ediconsulting.co.uk> > Date: Mon, 01 Oct 2007 08:00:44 +0100 > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic Posts Only" ><cctech at classiccmp.org> > > >My list > pdp11/94 x 4 R > > DEC Rainbow 100+ * > > VAX 300 * > VAX 400 * > VAX 500 R > VAXStation 3100 * > > DEC 3000 * > > Multia * > >* = Working >R = Renovation (Mostly missing parts) > >Rod Smallwood A more detailed list of DEC systems here. :) Collection of operational hardware: PDP-8 based machines: ==================== PDP-8f, 20k core and 2 serial 8650 and 8652 2 Decmate-IIIs OS/278 Intersil sampler (6100 chipset) extended to 3k ram 6120 based board, homebrew 32kram 8k rom PDP-11 based machines: ===================== 1 LSI-11/03 rx02 2 PDP11/23 BA11S boxes, 1MB, RQDX2 and RD52 1MB, RQDX2 and RD31, RX50 1 pdp11/73 50" RACK SYSTEM (4MB, DLVJ11, DEQNA, RQDX3>> RX02, RD52, RX33, RL02). 1 BA11va with 11/23 +tu58 RT-11 1 BA11va with 11/23 +Viking RX02 equivilent RT-11 PDT11/130 11/03 with tu58 dectapeII OSs in use: RT-11, XXDP-11 and unix V6 VAX based machines: =================== Microvax-II (ba23 based) 12mb, RQDX3, RD53, RX33 This one lived as HIPSS:: during my days at DEC. Microvax-II/GPX (Ba123 based, TK50 and SCSI disks) This one was know as VIDSYS:: inside DEC. 3 Microvax2000 all with 2 RD53, 1 RD54 drive, one with ultrix 1 Microvax2000 as hard disk formatter and MOP bootable system. 2 Microvax3100/m76/gpx 32mb 2 each 1gb scsi internal 3 Microvax3100/server (not M10e) (filled with 400mb and 1gb disks) 4 BA42 SCSI disk farm for the 3100s populated with RZ56s OSs in use VMSv5.4-4,V5.54, V7.2, Ultrix 4.2 Terminal for the uVAX systems is usually VT1200 via thinnet and the PDP-11s the usual terminal is either VT340, VT320 or VT180 in terminal mode. DEC CP/M speaking machines: =========================== 1 Vt180 complete (dual RX180s) 2 Vt180 CP/M board built up as standalone one modded for 6mhz 1 Vt185 Thats a Vt125 + Vt180. In the non operational list: 11/23B uPDP-11 in a BA23 pedestal that while complete with 11/23B, M8057 memory, DHV11, RQDX2 and RD52, RX50 it requries cleaning and testing. H11 Backplane complete with LSI-11 CPU, 16k of ram, two serial cards and a parallel card of heath origin. Some day I'll find the case/power supply for it. All parts are tested as working. Small 11/23 system using a H9281-BC (12x2 slots) filled with: M8186 1/23 (Overclocked CPU mod) 4 M8059 MSV11 ram DLV11j, RQDX3 with M9058 distribution board. (for RX33 and RD31) MRV-11 Eprom card with MSCP boot. VK170 with matching LK02 keyboard and a monitor. The VK170 is a minimal VT52 on a dual width card for packaged systems that communicates via RS232 to system and the bus use is power only. This is waiting on being packed in a reasonable nonDEC box with a DEC PS and fans. The boards are known working and the backplane is already jumpered as Q22. Generally in my house operational means I can actually turn it on and play and it has a permanent spot that is easily accessable. One project that is in process is a H9800 desk/rack that will replace the existing standard steel office desk. the system to be installed there will be 11/23B in BA11s with a hand made Disk box for RX33 and RD52s. I have two boxes (Xerox Paper sized) of tested boards enough to build another few 11/23s and a few uVAXII as my spares. Failed boards get repaird when I feel like it so I have good boards around. Who was it that has the SIG of "DEC had then what you wish you could buy now." ? Allison

18 years, 7 months

Who was putting together the TSX+ archive?

by aek＠bitsavers.org

> Is this already in the archive, or would it be useful? Lyle Bickley was putting together the software archive unfortunately, he's no longer subscribed here. The TSX docs are under pdf/dec/pdp11/tsxPlus and I have some manuals scanned from Feb 84.

18 years, 7 months

MSCP controllers

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

> Jochen Wrote: > Dave McGuire <mcguire at neurotica.com> wrote: > >> Absolutely. Every time I hear someone blathering on about "new >> SAN technology" I show them stuff about VAXclusters and CI. I always >> get a kick out of the reactions. :) > Yes, thats it. Just like that 64 bit hype. DEC Alpha systems where the > first real 64 bit machines, 15, 16 (?) years ago... > > Where do HyperTransport and HyperThreading originate? > Alpha... I remember being somewhat dumbfounded yet amused when Apple made the big deal about having the first "World First 64-bit desktop with native 32-bit application compatibility" as I looked over at my DEC 3000, Indigo2 R10k, HP 9000 C180, and Sun Ultra 1. Ah - here's the marketing drivel: "On other platforms, switching to a 64-bit computer requires migrating to a 64-bit operating system (and purchasing 64-bit applications) or running a 32-bit operating system in a slow emulation mode.With the PowerPC G5, the transition to a 64-bit system is seamless:Current 32-bit code?such as existing Mac OS X and Classic applications?runs natively at processor speed, with no interruptions to your workflow and no additional investment in software." Gee that's funny- IRIX did that in '96, Solaris in '99, and HP-UX in '99 or '00 - and DEC's VEST wasn't too shabby in '92 even if it wasn't transparent.

18 years, 7 months

Core duo SC/MP?

by dogas＠bellsouth.net

Hi there folks. I just got a sweet NS LCDS (low cost dev system) with a SC/MP II processor card and nice set of docs on the chip itself, the lcds,appnotes,and assembly programming It looks pretty easy to add more than one scamp to the same bus and I was wondering if there are known multiproc scamp systems or archetectures out there. So, in looking for a few additional sc/mp II chips (national semi ISP8060 or ISP 8-A/600N) , the only place I could find was the CPU Shack.com He said he could get them, but 8 would have to be purchased at $14/chip. I only want two more for my rig, any interest in filling out the rest of an order for the other 6? Or does anyone have them cheaper? Thanks - Mike

18 years, 7 months

[SPAM(date)] Re: Burroughs B80 rescued

by stevew＠ka6s.com

Some possible suggestions: Serial line- likely this is a Burroughs Multidrop line - RS485 using a polled protocol. Should be compatible with TD830/TD850/MT983 Burroughs terminals etc. Disk drive control was done by the CPUs - most of the drives were not terribly smart. Best bet is bitsavers as you've already suggested. I've never used a B80 myself, - but am an expert on B1900 stuff. Steve Wilson

18 years, 7 months

VSII/GPX joy (and minor annoyance)

by Arno_1983＠gmx.de

Jochen Kunz <jkunz at unixag-kl.fh-kl.de> wrote: > > To my understanding, this means the grant chain was broken in slot 5 > > (after the RQDX3) because there's no board in its CD half. > Yes. But I asume it doesn't matter, as the QDSS isn't a DMA device (?) > and maybe can't generate interrupts at all? Hmm. One half of the base board does however have circuitry connected to those pads that are just linked by grant continuity traces on the second half (and the 4-plane memory boards), so I figured it might actually be doing something useful with it. Haven't studied the technical description yet... > Most likely you will have to solder the BC18Z yourself. But I think I > can provide a LK201 keyboard and a VSxxx rodent. I can throw in some > QBus stuff like a 8 port serial mux or a TQK50, maybe a TK50 drive too. > But TK50 tape drives are as reliable as RD53 disks... I recommend to get > a TK70. Much better. I found the pinouts of the BC18Z somewhere (and I'm aware that there is a buggy version), so I should be able to construct a replacement. Your offer for the other stuff is gratefully taken, let me know what I should be on the lookout for you in private mail. The MVII at University has a TK70 installed, but as it will probably never see much use even if we manage to fix the supply, I might be able to get it traded for a TK50 (which was what the machine originally had). -- Arno Kletzander Stud. Hilfskraft Informatik Sammlung Erlangen www.iser.uni-erlangen.de 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, 7 months

"destructive read of a ROM"?

by legalize＠xmission.com

Over on comp.terminals someone wrote this about the VT100: "The power-on operation does a "destructive" read of the ROM-based firmware. After so many power-ups, the ROM becomes unreadable. This was a design issue at the time - the technology to fix it did not evolve until the VT200 series." Is this true? I've never heard of a ROM being damaged by reading it a lot. -- "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/>

18 years, 7 months

TI-99/4A Floppies

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: TI-99/4A Floppies > From: "Roy J. Tellason" <rtellason at verizon.net> > Date: Mon, 01 Oct 2007 16:11:42 -0400 > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >On Monday 01 October 2007 15:19, Mark Meiss wrote: >> Preservation for TI-99/4A software on floppies seems to be pretty poor >> right now, because of (as Jim mentioned) the rarity of the expansion box >> and third-party software that used it. > >I remember back when we were talking about getting a computer for the first >time... > >She called my attention to the fact that there was this local place >advertising that machine "for only $149"... So we went up there and talked >to them about it. > >My thoughts at that time were that to have something useful you'd need at >least two floppy drives. I also thought that more memory than what came in >the basic unit wasn't a bad idea, either. The sales dude did some figuring, >and when the expansion box, the memory, and the drives were all added in >the total came to something over $1,000 -- not as good a deal as it looked >like, at the time. :-) > >I also didn't consider that it had only a 40-column screen, either. Having >done a bunch of work on C64s, and having gotten (eventually) an Osborne >Executive which came with a built-in monitor showing an 80-column screen, I >think I probably would've found that hard to live with as well. The Ti though color was a step down from the smallest screen I'd had at the time and that was the PT VDM1 at 64charx16 lines which was at least useful. >I suspect that that machine was an attempt to make a "computer appliance" >which would provide a platform for commercial software or similar, and it >wasn't even that good at that. <shrug> > >I never got one, never played around with one, but I don't think I'm missing >much. > I have one I bought back in the big sell off so I got it all for under $150 floppies and what not as well. Still have that. Since then I've aquired two more. However the screen size 40x anything is painfully short for me. At the other end the software was decent and the time (1981-2ish) it wasn't a bad machine to use off the serial port with a real terminal (you could do that with some software). I still enjoy bugertime and some fo the games on it. Allison

18 years, 7 months

"Chuck" question

by cclist＠sydex.com

A friend forwarded this message to me and I agreed to post it. Please note that she's an archivist and not a collector: "I tried posting this elsewhere but other than one reply that some schools have old computers around, nobody's come up with a good explanation. So I thought I'd try Archives List in the hopes that somebody who either attended Stanford University or works there might be able to say if the reference is some sort of in-joke. The show is Chuck on which premiered on NBC this week and the question is: Why would a character who's 27 years old say he'd developed a video game on a TRS80 when he attended Stanford? Assuming a normal progress through school, Chuck attended college between 1997 and 2002 or perhaps a few years earlier if he was a child prodigy (of which there is no evidence in the pilot.) Would he have been able to to find a Trash-80 there and use it to design a video game? TRS-80's were first manufactured before he was born and production ended by the time he entered kindergarten. Although the Model 100 laptop enjoyed some popularity - especially with reporters - until the 1990's, surviving TRS-80's were antiques by the time the character was in high school. I've checked various message boards, etc. but haven't found a mention of this - just lots of comparisons to Jake 2.0 and a fairly even mix of pans and praise for the show. Judy Turner Whitefish Bay, WI"

18 years, 7 months

VSII/GPX joy (and minor annoyance)

by Arno_1983＠gmx.de

Patrick Finnegan wrote: > > On Sunday 30 September 2007 06:03, Arno Kletzander wrote: > > my very first DEC computer has arrived (...) > Congrats. Thanks. I'd already had my hands on a MicroVAX II and a MicroVAX 3100, but those weren't my own. I basically just dusted them off, tried to boot them up once, wrote a catalog page and placed them in storage at the University's computer collection, so there wasn't much reason to get more involved with them. The MVII wouldn't boot due to a broken power supply and Tony currently talks me through finding the fault there :) > As others will tell you, dead RD53s are a common occurrence. And sometimes quite possible to repair in a makeshift clean box because the problem in most cases is just the sticky rubber bumper inside, as I've been reading. > You can always pull out the VCB cardset... (...) > I think that you may need to pull the VCB to get it to use the serial > port as the console. The ribbon cable interconnects between the VCB boards look a little frail and the connectors are so difficult to get at that I think I was already pushing my luck when I changed the board order. I also would like to keep all the boards in the machine and just have to plug in the user interface components when I get some. As I've said, I can get into the console by causing a Break condition and I don't _need to_ see the identification and countdown stuff. It was just a minor rant on what I would see as a desirable feature of the PROM code. > Other than that, I'm off now looking for a MOP server and some > netbootable OS image, perhaps NetBSD, for a start... I have since finished downloading NetBSD/vax 3.1. In order to make 'er boot that, I still need a MOP daemon that will run without me jumping through flaming hoops, i.e. under Win9x. I have found some old messages >from Fred N. van Kempen about a creation of his called OpenMOP, which should meet these requirements, but his homepage www.pdp11.nl is down and, come to think of it, I don't remember seeing him on the list recently. Anybody know where the program can still be obtained? Search machines are coming up mostly blank. And more importantly, is Fred okay? -- 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, 7 months

two multibus systems in Pasadena need homes

by dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu

Sorry about the short notice on this... I will be down in the LA/Pasadena area on Monday October 1 to pick up another load of stuff to liquidate. Among the items are two Intel Multibus systems. I have not yet examined these systems, but the owner (the same one who had the Nova 4 mini) tells me that they're ready to boot if you have some boot media. Each is in a rackmount case about 20 inches cubed. No boot media or docs appear to be present. If you're in the LA area and are interested in one or both, please email me immediately. I will describe the machines to you on the phone when I see them and then if you decide to buy them, I'll deliver them for gas money (range within reason). The machines are in Glendora. -- David Griffith dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu

18 years, 7 months

"Chuck" question

by lproven＠gmail.com

On 30/09/2007, Zane H. Healy <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote: > Not knowing the show (and not caring to), my hand-wave of an > explanation would be the guy had the computer around when he was a > little kid and took it to college with him. He might have written > software for it just for fun. That's what I did, going up to the University of London in 1985, with a Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48K in a full-travel keyboard and a small black-and-white TV. At first, outside of playing, it did some basic stats for me. Chi-squared and so on, written in BASIC. A year or so later, it had a 5.25" floppy drive, a printer port and I was writing essays on it. This made me painfully cutting-edge for the time; AFAIK I was the only person in my year to have their own computer. I also had an account on the college's cluster of twin VAX 11/870s, on which I learned Fortran (which I thought would be useful, but wasn't) and things like email and BBSs and comms (which I didn't think would be useful, but was). -- Liam Proven ? Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/liamproven Email: lproven at cix.co.uk ? GMail/GoogleTalk/Orkut: lproven at gmail.com Tel: +44 20-8685-0498 ? Cell: +44 7939-087884 ? Fax: + 44 870-9151419 AOL/AIM/iChat: liamproven at aol.com ? MSN/Messenger: lproven at hotmail.com Yahoo: liamproven at yahoo.co.uk ? Skype: liamproven ? ICQ: 73187508

18 years, 7 months

Core duo SC/MP?

by holger.veit＠iais.fraunhofer.de

dogas at bellsouth.net said: > Hi there folks. I just got a sweet NS LCDS (low cost dev system) with a > SC/MP II processor card and nice set of docs on the chip itself, the > lcds,appnotes,and assembly programming It looks pretty easy to add more > than one scamp to the same bus and I was wondering if there are known > multiproc scamp systems or archetectures out there. So, in looking for a > few additional sc/mp II chips (national semi ISP8060 or ISP 8-A/600N) , > the only place I could find was the CPU Shack.com He said he could get > them, but 8 would have to be purchased at $14/chip. I only want two more > for my rig, any interest in filling out the rest of an order for the other > 6? Or does anyone have them cheaper? unicornelectronics, USD 5.99 -- Holger

18 years, 7 months

Displaywriter available

by LauraTurner＠bhsu.edu

Hello Is this still available?? Thanks Laura Laura Turner Computer Technology Instructor College of Education - BHSU 642-6235 lauraturner at bhsu.edu <mailto:lauraturner at bhsu.edu> Ed Portalhttp://www.bhsu.edu/education/edfaculty/lturner/index.html <http://www.bhsu.edu/education/edfaculty/lturner/index.html>

18 years, 7 months

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