test-drb

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101090 discussions

Anyone collect Dec/Compaq Alphaservers or VAXen?

by blstuart＠bellsouth.net

From: "Dan Snyder" <ddsnyder at zoominternet.net> > Heat issues are what the Alphaserver 1200 is about, for sure keep the case > closed. It has > dual 475W supplies and both are required for operation. It does serve very > well as a space > heater. I justify it for this purpose by looking at the watt rating of an > average oil filled electric > space heater, they are 1500W. I'll second that. I've got a 5300 (the "white box" version of the 1200). I ended up building a little cardboard duct to keep it from blowing on my legs. And I sometimes even keep the window cracked open during the winter. Speaking of cooling these things, does anyone know of a good source of CPU fans? My second CPU is currently out of the machine because the fan doesn't spin up right and the system shuts down because of it. As near as I can tell, they're not the same a the fans on commodity Intel boxes. BLS

18 years, 8 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: 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, 8 months

"destructive read"

by melamy＠earthlink.net

the "destructive read" could have been a design issue where the ROM outputs are enabled while some other output drive is attempting to use the data bus. The ROM output drivers may well fail after repeatedly being abused like this. >On Monday 01 October 2007 14:31:15 Richard wrote: >> 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.

18 years, 8 months

Burroughs B80 rescued

by ian_primus＠yahoo.com

Well, I drove up to Canada yesterday and picked up the Burroughs B80. That thing is HEAVY. It was down in the basement, and took several of us to get it out. Unfortunately, while the two sections of the main unit (CPU and console) will unbolt, they can't easily be separated because of the massively complex wiring harness inside. You'd think they would have put a few convenient connectors in there. But, that meant that we had to move the main unit up as one piece - it's the size of an office desk and weighs several hundred pounds. The power supply was an interesting beast, and I am unsure of it's purpose. The B80 has a hefty power supply inside it - with transformers and regulators, and seems perfectly capable of being connected to the wall directly. But along with the system unit is a power supply box - 23" wide, 30" tall and 29" deep. I didn't pull the panels off it, but the computer was direcly wired into it originally, with a heavy three conductor cable. (well, sorta directly. A three conductor cable came out the back of the unit, with no connector - and the computer had no power plug on it either. He had it spliced to the power supply's output with tape. ) I really think that this power supply box is only a UPS - but he claims that the computer won't work without it. Maybe it's a power conditioner of some sort? Step-up transformer? It takes 240v in, and I am unsure of the output/computer input. The power supply is a nondescript box with breakers and outlets on the back. I'll know more when I can pull the covers off it. The disk drive was simple to move, it was a slim little rack, 44" tall, with two drives in it - they appear to be Diablo style drives. Amazingly simplistic mechanisms. Looks more like a giant floppy drive than a removable platter hard drive. Exposed heads and very few boards on the drives. There's a controller interface board on the bottom of the rack that they plug into. I was more concerned with moving the computer than inspecting it, but I don't recall seeing any kind of standard looking interface ports. I believe that the B80 can support extra terminals, but I don't see it. Hopefully, when I get it going, I can connect something external to it and back up the disk packs. I have 11 packs, at least one of which is the operating system, MCP. And yes, this computer predates Tron. I do not have any manuals for the machine. There are some documents on Bitsavers, so hopefully some will be close enough for me to figure it out. -Ian

18 years, 8 months

Anyone collect Dec/Compaq Alphaservers or VAXen?

by pcoghlan+cctech＠vms.eurokom.ie

> >I have monitored the postings and know of a few collectors of VAXen, all types it seems. The >PDP family is popular too. What about Alphaservers? some are by classic definition at least >10 years old such as the 1000/1000A and 1200 series. Alphastations definitely qualify like the >200/250/255/500 series. I collect most of the Alpha family as I use them frequently. OpenVMS >and Digital Unix is the OS of choice. > I have: 3 x Vaxstation 2000 - 6MB 2 x Vaxstation 3100 Model 76 16MB/24MB 1 x Microvax 3100 - 16MB 1 x Microvax 3100 Model 40 - 24MB 1 x Microvax 3100 Model 80 - 16MB 1 x Microvax 4000-100A - 128MB 2 x Dec 3000 M600 1 x Alphaserver 1000A 1 x Alphaserver 2100 4/275 All run VMS - the Alphaserver 1000A also has NT but I've never worked up the enthusiasm to find out how to break into it. The Alphaserver 2100 also has Digital Unix - I keep threatening to delete this but I have kept it around in case I need to make use of it for porting something unixy to VMS. The Microvax 4000-100A runs fine when it's cold but croaks once it heats up with most of the useful console commands generating errors and providing no help in diagnosing the problem. Some random attempts to narrow down the problem with a can of freezer were not successful. One of the Microvax 3100s had an intermittent problem with its SCSI interface which has now turned permanent. The model 80 died in the middle of a self test and can't be persuaded to do anything now. I haven't had any success in locating a list of the diagnostic led codes, only for the earlier models which seem to have quite different firmware. The two Dec 3000 machines both failed in service before I got them. Nothing appears on the console and as far as I recall, the diagnostic leds count down as far as F0 and then stop. The Alphaserver 2100 worked fine when I first got it but some time ago began powering itself off intermittently due to a problem with the main fan which started varying its speed erratically. At one point the machine was all but unusable but now the problem appears to have gone into hiding! I would be interested in obtaining more memory, cpu and a spare fan for the 2100, possibly also a decent graphics card and a redundant power supply for it. I would also be interested in finding out about what I could do with the Qbus interface on the 4000-100A and what bits and pieces would be needed to get started with this. I presume at a minimum, I need one or two oddball cables, a backplane of some sort and a power supply. I would like to get hold of one or two small DSSI disks as the ones that came with this machine both died. I am located in Dublin, Ireland - unfortunately there don't seem to be many other classic computer nuts located nearby. Regards, Peter.

18 years, 8 months

Anyone collect Dec/Compaq Alphaservers or VAXen

by cheri-post＠web.de

> > On 9/30/07, Scott Quinn <compoobah at valleyimplants.com> wrote: > > Ethan Dicks wrote: > > > I have a DEC 4000 (Futurebus+, 1 CPU installed approx 384MB RAM... [...] > It already has network and have plenty of SCSI busses, but if I'm > going to be paying to power this thing up, it might as well be fully > loaded. I've had it for years and never run across loose spare parts > - so I'm thinking if I ever _do_ get to upgrade mine, it will be by > harvesting parts from another DEC 4000. Ethan, I share the same experience in regard to DEC 4000 spare parts. Apparently, the Futurebus systems were quite rare. Situation seems to be such, that can get parts only , when you're lucky enough to obtain another DEC 4000 system. The spare parts problem seems to be so serious, that I know of people, who won't let their DEC 4000 run, as they are afraid that boards or other parts my become defective... knowing that it's difficult to get replacement boards. Kind regards, Pierre ______________________________________________________________________________ Jetzt neu! Im riesigen WEB.DE Club SmartDrive Dateien freigeben und mit Freunden teilen! http://www.freemail.web.de/club/smartdrive_ttc.htm/?mc=021134

18 years, 8 months

VSII/GPX joy (and minor annoyance)

by Arno_1983＠gmx.de

(Hah...Just in time to join in when vax-ownership is asked!) Hello folks, my very first DEC computer has arrived - a VAXstation II/GPX in a BA123 enclosure from Jos Dreesen, which I just brought home from Switzerland last weekend with the help of my parents. Thanks again! The original configuration of the system was: Slot AB CD 1 ----KA630-A CPU---- 2 ----some memory---- 3 ----more memory---- 4 -DELQA- ..empty.. 5 -RQDX3- ..empty.. 6 ----QDSS 4-plane--- 7 ----QDSS 4-plane--- 8 ----QDSS base------ 9-12 .......empty....... 13 ..empty.. -RQ Dist- As to mass storage, there is a RX33 floppy drive in the vertical bay and the system has one HDD frontpanel insert installed. It came with a dead (possibly revivable) RD53, but a fellow collector also gave me a supposedly functional one. I assume the backplane is the original 4x Q/CD, 8x Q/Q thing that belongs in a BA123 as indicated by the lettering in the cardcage. 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. I rearranged the cards so that the RQDX3 now resides in 4AB, the QDSS base board is in 5AD and the DELQA in 8CD (I hope I did get that serpentine configuration right). After correcting an issue with the cardcage fan (which turned out to be just the connector inside the fan tray plugged in backwards!), I hooked up a crufty old laptop as a terminal but didn't get any output as the selftest always got stuck at "A", which corresponds to a keyboard/pointing device problem. This is supposedly normal since I have the VCB02 video option installed but nothing plugged into it. (I have yet to get myself a DEC keyboard, mouse and the BC18Z splitter box cable; at the same time, I'll be looking for a TK drive with controller and any other stuff I can cram in there.) I can get into console I/O mode (chevron prompt) by sending a Break from the terminal but it's a bit annoying that I don't get to see the CPU version banner and the test countdown that way. Shorting pins 8 and 9 on the serial console connector didn't make any difference either (I have read it will cause some VAXstations to use that as console instead of the graphics display) - bit of a bummer considering that any humble SPARCstation who realizes they haven't got a keyboard attached will start using the serial console. I have read the KA630 User's Guide, especially the meaning of the BBU RAM contents, and it doesn't look as if there is anything short of hacking the POST code and burning a new PROM that could be done about it, but if I have overlooked something, I'm all ears. Other than that, I'm off now looking for a MOP server and some netbootable OS image, perhaps NetBSD, for a start... Yours sincerely Arno Kletzander, DEC neophyte ;) -- Arno Kletzander Stud. Hilfskraft Informatik Sammlung Erlangen www.iser.uni-erlangen.de Ist Ihr Browser Vista-kompatibel? Jetzt die neuesten Browser-Versionen downloaden: http://www.gmx.net/de/go/browser

18 years, 8 months

Anyone collect Dec/Compaq Alphaservers or VAXen?

by RodSmallwood＠mail.ediconsulting.co.uk

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 -----Original Message----- From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Allison Sent: 29 September 2007 14:04 To: cctech at classiccmp.org Subject: Re: Anyone collect Dec/Compaq Alphaservers or VAXen? > >Subject: Anyone collect Dec/Compaq Alphaservers or VAXen? > From: "Dan Snyder" <ddsnyder at zoominternet.net> > Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007 20:32:23 -0400 > To: <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >To all, > >I have monitored the postings and know of a few collectors of VAXen, >all types it seems. The PDP family is popular too. What about >Alphaservers? some are by classic definition at least 10 years old such >as the 1000/1000A and 1200 series. Alphastations definitely qualify >like the 200/250/255/500 series. I collect most of the Alpha family as I use them frequently. OpenVMS and Digital Unix is the OS of choice. I collect Qbus PDP-11s and MicroVAX and also have a selection of 3100 series machines (VAXserver and microVAX). OS for the Vaxen are OVMS5.4, V7.3 and also Ultrix4.2. OS for the PDP-11s is RT11, RSTS and unixV6. Never considered Alpha as they are too recent for me. If I had one it would be in daily service. Allison

18 years, 8 months

gEDA symbols

by doc＠mdrconsult.com

I'm fiddling around with the gEDA suite, and I'm finding that nearly none of the chips I want to use - MC6809[E], NEC 675, some 74LSxxx chips - have symbols in the gschem libraries. I have the 6809E and 765 parts done, but there are several smaller parts to go. After thinking about it, I seem to remember that this came up a few months ago, and that somebody (Dave?) either had an extensive private symbol library or knew of an online repository. Anyhow, I thought I'd ask before I invent anymore wheels. Anyone have pointers to "obsolete" and arcane part descriptions for gschem? Doc

18 years, 8 months

Anyone collect Dec/Compaq Alphaservers or VAXen

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

> I have a DEC 4000 (Futurebus+, 1 CPU installed approx 384MB RAM, > IIRC), and a "no-name" AXPpci33. My DEC 4000 came with one 5.25" SCSI > drive and 3 3.5" SCSI drives, with OSF/1 or similar on one disk, and > OpenVMS on another. DEC 4000/AS8000 have interested me for a while- were there any other commercially available general-purpose computers using the Futurebus+? I know that most AS8ks probably don't have the Futurebus+ adaptor, but it is available. Pity they are so big. > I bought the AXPpci33 as a bare board, but the > DEC 4000 came from Uni Surplus and used to be known as "Oscar", the > machine that ran the card catalog for the library system at The Ohio > State University. "Card Catalog" - ILS (Integrated Library System) please! They do so much more than simple cataloging now. I realized how much of a computer snob I was this week- my school system is considering replacing their current ILS (Dynix Scholar, circa 1988 interface) with either Follett or DynixSirsi. I have a hard time taking Follett seriously because it's Windows-NT only.

18 years, 8 months

kodak kims (VAX?) available

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

I received this email today... if interested contact me off-list... ----- I Just today saved a Kodak KIMS workstation from being thrown in the garbage. It appers to be a VAX based system produced by digital for Kodak to be used as some sort of specalized information management and photo editing machine. I was only able to save the system itself. http://www.steubentech.com/~talon/KIMS/

18 years, 8 months

EPROM deaths...

by julesrichardsonuk＠yahoo.co.uk

Is there any kind of common failure mode for EPROMs? I've just had a couple which are refusing to erase - I'm getting repeating patterns of bits which refuse to clear (i.e. go high) under the eraser. Normally they seem to erase in ten minutes, twenty at the most - these pair have had 30 so far. Just wondering whether to keep baking 'em or just toss them because they're junk... (I've managed to find what I did with my nice eraser - but it'll still only erase a couple of chips at once) cheers Jules

18 years, 8 months

Anyone collect Dec/Compaq Alphaservers or VAXen

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

> > Subject: Anyone collect Dec/Compaq Alphaservers or VAXen? > From: "Dan Snyder" <ddsnyder at zoominternet.net> > Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007 20:32:23 -0400 > To: <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > > To all, > > I have monitored the postings and know of a few collectors of VAXen, > all types it seems. The > PDP family is popular too. What about Alphaservers? some are by > classic definition at least > 10 years old such as the 1000/1000A and 1200 series. Alphastations > definitely qualify like the > 200/250/255/500 series. I collect most of the Alpha family as I use > them frequently. I have a 3000/300X, AS1000A 5/333, VX42 Multia, EB164-based-system, and an AlphaServer 2100 4/275RM that's probably going to be parted out (too big, I have no racks, and periodically I have to open it up and tap on the CBUS-I/O backplane connection). If anyone's interested . . . Alphas are nice machines, fast, interesting, and SRM is nice and pretty standard, so no more "what's the console support on this model?" moments. Bad side - WNT and the NT-only models. Half-flash can make for some fun times, too, but the only machine I have with half-flash is the EB164. The one I've had the most problems with is probably the VX42 - for some reason, when the PROMs are loaded with the OVMS-capable SRM and the battery dies, it will not come back up until the PROMS are re-flashed to the old Multia firmware and updated again. This took some figuring out... I have a brace of VAXen, too (one 3100/76 and one 4000/200), both of which are run off of serial (there really isn't much of a reason to have graphics on a VAX anyway). My biggest surprise was the fact that the 4k (SOC, 5VUPS) is often as responsive as the 3100/76 (Rigel, 7.6 VUPS). I wouldn't advise a Qbus-based machine for a first-timer, since disks are hard to come by (fortunately Boeing had a HSD-05 in their $5 bin that I was able to hack up into the BA430 chassis. For some reason the disks don't register sometimes at first power-on- perhaps I need to wire in a reset button for the HSD- I'm not sure there). > OpenVMS > and Digital Unix are the OS of choice. > Naturally :-) .

18 years, 8 months

looking for an IBM 9348

by ballsandy＠msn.com

Well to satisfy my craving for a 9-track tape drive I have decided to start looking for something I can manage. Yes, I would love a 3240 or that massive IBM 5360 (system/36?) on the Vintage computer marketplace but I have to get serious and remember that that kind of gear weighs too much for a teen like me to ship. Anyways, yeah I am looking for an IBM 9348 scsi tape drive. I was looking into using it in a little IBM 360 emulator that runs on Ubuntu but mainly it's for bragging rights (Chicks dig guys with big drives). Now while it is samller it's still hjeavy (if you alrready have one than you understand me here) so if you want to part with yours PLEASE promise me that it works before I shell out. It would be nice to get one locally too. Identification photos can be found on the link below. http://ripsaw.cac.psu.edu/~mloewen/Oldtech/IBM9348.html Thanks. _________________________________________________________________ Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live Spaces. It's easy! http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx…

18 years, 8 months

Catweasel NorthStar / Catweasel Heath?

by w6nct＠arrl.net

Hi Andrew, I can probably help you with this, if you don't already have a line of volunteers. I'm interested in archiving some "stuff" off my (and my Mom's) old H-89 diskettes before I start disposing of the hardware and excess media. Although most of my personal stuff was saved on soft-sectored 5.25" and 8" media, a small amount of my information (and all of my Mom's) was on the hard-sectored media. We can work out any details off-list. Please contact me directly if interested. <<< vern >>> ----- Original Message ----- From: <cctalk-request at classiccmp.org> To: <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Sent: Sunday, September 30, 2007 10:05 AM Subject: cctalk Digest, Vol 49, Issue 74 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 28 Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2007 13:39:27 -0400 From: "Andrew Lynch" <> Subject: Catweasel NorthStar / Catweasel Heath? To: <cctech at classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <001a01c802bf$b00229c0$a903a8c0 at andrewdesktop> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" <<< snip >>> ...next project. The Heath H89 computer using H-17 disk controller uses the same media as the NorthStar (10 sector 5.25" hard sector floppy disks) and in some superficial ways are similar to the NorthStar SSSD disk so this seems like a logical next choice. I would like to extend the concept of CWNS to include Heath hard sector disks (i.e. Catweasel Heath, CWH) My theory is the main difference between CWNS and CWH will be the bit stream decoding logic. The H-17 disk format is entirely different than the NorthStar MDS-A series disks. However, the disk format is documented here: http://davidwallace2000.home.comcast.net/h8/project8080_archive/design_h17.h tml#format A major problem with this plan is I do not have an H89 or any Heath formatted disks. I am seeking a partner to collaborate on this project. If someone would send me some Heath formatted hard sector disks, I will start the investigating whether a Catweasel Heath program is feasible. Please do not send irreplaceable originals or critical data disks. I need working disks you can afford to either lose or be damaged as a result of testing the software. Please contact me offline or reply to this message if you are willing to help out. Thanks! Andrew Lynch End of cctalk Digest, Vol 49, Issue 74 **************************************

18 years, 8 months

pdp 11 boot roms

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

My semi-yearly reminder.... Would anyone have the DEC boot rom for the M9312 that boots off TMSCP TK50 & TU81 (MU)? Please check your M9312 boards and your PDP-11/44 boot roms for rom "E39A9" or part number "23-E39A9". If you have it, I (and a few others) would love if I could borrow it to make an image. Best regards, Jay West

18 years, 8 months

vintagecomputer.net update - IMSAI video and more.

by billdeg＠degnanco.com

Hi - I have updated my web site with some new information and pictures http://www.vintagecomputer.net The Community Memory Project The People's Computer Company Original Parody Cartoon: Fortran Man (with Billy BASIC) Core Memory for S-100? INFOREX Core Memory Controller with DATARAM installed Assembling IMSAI 8080 and Wonderbus Thinker Toys repair project (capacitor blow-outs) IMSAI 8080 and Solos / Cutter youtube.com VIDEO (more progress on the system Bill S worked with me to restore) Original Macintosh restoration project Bill

18 years, 8 months

Anyone collect Dec/Compaq Alphaservers or VAXen?

by ddsnyder＠zoominternet.net

To all, I have monitored the postings and know of a few collectors of VAXen, all types it seems. The PDP family is popular too. What about Alphaservers? some are by classic definition at least 10 years old such as the 1000/1000A and 1200 series. Alphastations definitely qualify like the 200/250/255/500 series. I collect most of the Alpha family as I use them frequently. OpenVMS and Digital Unix is the OS of choice. I have in my collection: 1 Alphastation 200/166 - 192M 1 Alphastation 250/266 - 256M 1 Alphaserver 400/233 - 256M 1 Alphaserver 800/500 - 2G 1 Alphaserver 1000/266 - 768M 1 Alphaserver 1000A/333 - 1G 1 Alphaserver 1200/w dual 533 CPUs - 2G 1 Alphaserver DS20/w Dual 500 CPUs - 4G 1 Alpha PWS 600au - 2G 2 Alpha XP1000/667 - 2G 1 Alpha XL366 - 256M 2 DEC3000 300X - 256M 2 Alphastation 500/400 and 333 - 512M I have VAXen as well, fully loaded 2 MicroVAX 3800 w 64M and fully loaded with QBUS options The VAXen are not used as often, but I have one client left that still has these machines in use. I remember the PDP family as I have used them in the past, but I do not have any desire to re-live that part of my past. Enough for now, let me and/or the group what you have. Maybe we can form some sort of list for contact and advice or maybe part swapping. Dan

18 years, 8 months

Motorola S-record converter source for new project

by w6nct＠arrl.net

Hi Robert; I am not familiar with the particular program you refer to; but I used to have a couple similar programs to convert S-records. If you like, I can look around and see if I can find one or more for you; or maybe even some documentation. As I recall, the last time I messed with it, I just wrote a quick TCL script to convert the few record-types I needed. Many times, that is easier than writing a comprehensive converter. Do you know which record formats you need converted? <<< vern >>> ----- Original Message ----- From: <cctalk-request at classiccmp.org> To: <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2007 10:00 AM Subject: cctalk Digest, Vol 49, Issue 68 ------------------------------ Message: 8 Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007 15:40:40 +0200 From: Robert Mounier <robertlp.mounier at 9online.fr> Subject: Motorola S-record converter source for new project To: cctalk at classiccmp.org Message-ID: <006901c80042$d6a072a0$45474c56 at BARCO> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Hello, On internet I found a chat where you write about Lilbug.asm. Could you please help me to findinformation about it. Many years ago I used to work with 6801L1 coming with LILbug monitor. Today I still have few pieces, but I no longer have any documentation about the monitor. Could you help me to find an user manual of the LILbug or more simply the list and syntax for the commands and addresses of the routines (like conversion Hexa-Ascii and so.). In advance many thanks for your answer. ------------------------------

18 years, 8 months

Who was putting together the TSX+ archive?

by shoppa_classiccmp＠trailing-edge.com

In the past couple years somebody here was putting together an archive of TSX+ stuff. I have about 15 pounds worth of paper 6.31 manuals, including some release notes up to I think TSX+ 6.50, and some other release notes going back from 6.31 too. Is this already in the archive, or would it be useful? There was some mention of it being in bitsavers but I don't see an S&H or sandh directory there. Tim.

18 years, 8 months

OT: nifty equipment sighting

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

In Stargate Atlantis, season 2 episode 19, I spotted the console of an Etec Autoscan scanning electron microscope, identical to mine. It appears on what I think is the bridge of the warship that McKay is working to resurrect, a moment after "more fissures open" in the volcano. Neat! -Dave -- Dave McGuire Port Charlotte, FL Farewell Ophelia, 9/22/1991 - 7/25/2007

18 years, 8 months

OT: nifty equipment sighting

by dkelvey＠hotmail.com

> Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2007 18:43:15 -0600> From: bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca> To: > Subject: Re: OT: nifty equipment sighting> > Dave McGuire wrote:> > > I'm no chemist, but I assume they're some oxide of tungsten. That's > > what happens when an incandescent light bulb blows out due to loss of > > vacuum. Pretty amazing stuff, if you ask me.> > Looks organic like some thing was realy growing. Hi This doesn't look like oxide, it looks like tungsten crystals. these form as the filament evaporates and recondenses on the filament. This is part of why they fail. There are two factors. One is that they tend to thin over time by evaporation. The other is that they tend to get more brittle over time. It is rare to see one fail because of loss of vacuum but when it does, the filament turns to a whitish yellow powder. Most lights do not have a high vacuum. If they did, the glass would cover with evaporated tungsten quickly and bock the light. You might notice that only the tops of the bulb get darkened. This is because of simple convection of the gas in the bulb. Dwight _________________________________________________________________ News, entertainment and everything you care about at Live.com. Get it now! http://www.live.com/getstarted.aspx

18 years, 8 months

WTB/Trade: DECstation 5000/133 memory

by sethm＠loomcom.com

Hey everyone, I'm looking for 8 or 16 sticks of memory for a DECstation 5000/133. These are 4MB 80-pin 70ns ECC SIMMs. I don't remember the DEC part number for these, alas. If you're interested in a trade, I have a metric buttload (that's a technical term) of MS02-AA DECstation 5000/200 memory I'd be willing to trade. Please let me know if you have any! Regards, -Seth Morabito

18 years, 8 months

movie.byu

by aek＠bitsavers.org

> What kind of tape? 9-track? correct. 9trk 800bpi 2400' blocked 80chars/record.

18 years, 8 months

9-track tape seals

by aek＠bitsavers.org

> I take it that the only remedy for the stuff is landfill? In my opinion, yes. > it makes a mess when it sticks black sticky tar. > Can it be baked to restore usability? meaning 'read once to recover what you can from it'? yes, to a point. 24 hours at 55degC (and lots of forced air) will take care of most brands, with the exception of 2400' MRX V. The DEC LCG archive was mostly silver-label MRX V, but 3600', and the formulation was different enough that I had OK luck with that. The thicker tape/binder on the 2400' MRX V is the pits.

18 years, 8 months

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