test-drb

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

101090 discussions

by RodSmallwood＠mail.ediconsulting.co.uk

Not as far as I know, but BARCO are a big Belgian maker of TV's and monitors. They may have been involved. Rod -----Original Message----- From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Ethan Dicks Sent: 03 September 2007 06:09 To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts Subject: Belgian computers? I have the opportunity to travel to Gent, Belgium, in about a month, and with all the recent talk of British computers, I wanted to ask the list if anyone knows if there were ever any Belgian-made computers. I'm mostly interested in 1980s micros, but any sort of machines would be germane. -ethan

18 years, 9 months

GALs and PALs (was Re: [Free] Old Data Books (Australia))

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

On 9/4/07, Roy J. Tellason <rtellason at verizon.net> wrote: > On Tuesday 04 September 2007 23:41, Ethan Dicks wrote: > > Hope that illuminates more than obscures, > > Sure. I have a bunch of PALs around, mostly pulls from a bunch of XT-class > machines that Zenith made, and it's debatable whether there will ever be a > use for them. Indeed. You might check for "PALCE" - those are CMOS PALs that _can_ be reprogrammed. Bipolar PALs by MMI and other vendors are strictly OTP. You _could_ poke around the PAL with a signal generator and a logic analyzer/logic probe/VOM/O-scope and divine the internal programming, but, honestly, blown PALs are rarely useful out of their original context. The only use _I_ have ever had for them is a pattern to be able to make modifications to an existing device - I've started with PALs for, say, an Amiga 3000, then burned a faster GAL to get rid of video jitter - I was partially successful. I've never tried to take a PAL out of a circuit and re-use it in a new circuit. > GALs, on the other hand, sound like they'be be useful for > all sorts of things. Indeed they are. Bob Armstrong is a heavy user of GALs for the Spare Time Gizmos line of hobby products. In the case of the Elf 2000, for example, you can change the logic equations yourself (he provides the source) and change the memory and/or I/O map - all of the select logic goes through a GAL, so the memory map is mutable. If you are designing your own circuits, a 18 or 24-pin GAL can replace several square inches of TTL, with the benefit of being able to make changes later that don't involve cutting traces and adding blue wires. You lose the ability to poke around in the middle of select circuits, and to make substantial changes, but it all depends on what your goals for the project are if that's a worthwhile tradeoff or not. You do have to start with a GAL programmer, though. Not all hobbyists have them, so if you make a product to sell, as Bob does, you should consider selling programmed parts for those that can't burn their own. > I should probably seek out some data on these parts, > or even a databook, somewhere. Got any pointers to specific numbers? The two most common parts I've worked with are the 18-pin Lattice GAL 16V8 and the 24-pin Lattice GAL 22V10. There's also a 22-pin GAL 20V8, and I do have a few pull, but I've never run into a hobby project that uses them. I would expect to pay $1.25 for small quantities of 16V8s and up to $3.50 for small quantities of 22V10s. Bargains can be had, but to be honest, when I see 22V10s for under $2.00 each, I tend to buy a few. They aren't as easy to find cheaply as 16V8s. One type of occasional bargain are surplussed already-programmed parts. Just throw them in your programmer, erase them, then you are ready to go with only a couple of burn cycles ticked off their lifetime. AMD also makes (made?) the PALCE line of PLDs. They are pin compatible with GALs, and should program in the same programmer as a GAL. I do not know if there are any substantial technical advantages of PALCEs over GALs or not. In general, for non-modern circuits, a GAL is going to be fast compared to layer after layer of TTL. For example, 15ns GALs are not particularly fast or expensive. 15ns would be a problem for a multi-gate address select circuit for, say, a 6502. Fortunately, with 1MHz and 8Mhz designs and such, speed really isn't a factor, but it's nice to know how much slack you have in your design. You can start here for technical details... http://www.latticesemi.com/products/cpldspld/gal.cfm -ethan

18 years, 9 months

After Next Question

by mtapley＠swri.edu

...and once you have an account set up... use NeXTAdmin/Hostmanager (click on the local.. menu item) to set up your ip address (no DHCP, sorry). ftp to ftp.peak.org, login as anonymous cd /pub/next-ftp/next browse away. Recommended: /apps/internet/www/OmniWeb gets you a web browser, which you can then use to hit http://www.distributed.net go to Download, then "Official Distributed.net clients", and you can pick up the current NeXT client and start crunching Optimal Golomb Ruler candidates. You need never waste another 68040 clock cycle! -- - 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, 9 months

Next Question

by dave06a＠dunfield.com

Hi Guys, Picked up a Next Slab yesterday ... complete with a couple boxed versions of NextStep. Got it to boot up - It was configured to prompt for a username and password - which of course I didn't have. I managed to restart it into single-user mode, and used "passwd root" to change the root password. I also looked at /etc/passwd and noted that "me" didn't have a password (blank field). I did confirm that after "passwd root" the encrypted string in /etc/passwd was changed. On restarting in multi-user mode, I was still unable to login to the graphical interface - neither "root" with the password I had set, or "me" with no password would work. Restarted in single-user mode - this time I dug around on the net and found information to use "nu -m" to set the password. I reset the root password (again), and also reset the "me" password to a null string. Looking at /etc/passwd I noted that the password field for "me" was no longer blank but now has an encrypted field (isn't no password supposed to be represented by a blank field). Now the system boots up in multiuser mode and automatically logs in as "me" - so I got to play with NextStep which is kindof interesting (mouse is painfully slow however). Ideally, I'd like to have it prompt for login name so that I could login as either root or me - anyone know: - How to configure it back to having a login screen - Wny I couldn't login as "root" at the graphical interface after I had just set the password (and yes, I checked that the password was entered correctly) Thanks, Dave -- dave06a (at) Dave Dunfield dunfield (dot) Firmware development services & tools: www.dunfield.com com Collector of vintage computing equipment: http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/index.html

18 years, 9 months

AT&T PC6300 available, in Fort Worth, TX, USA

by frustum＠pacbell.net

Today I received an email from a gentleman in possession of an AT&T PC6300, wanting to know if I wanted it for the cost of shipping. I'm not interested in collecting PCs, so I said I'd pass it on to the list. Here is his description of the machine: (start of quote) As the original purchaser, I am seeking a new home for a pristine 1985 Personal Computer with peripherals, software, and original documentation. All were functioning perfectly in February 1998, when replaced and stored. All items are in their original boxes: AT&T PC6300 with 256KB RAM and two 5-1/4" floppy drives, Color Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, and Citizen MSP-15 dot matrix printer with 8-1/2x11 and 11x15 tractor feed paper. As you know, this PC was the state of the art technology in 1985 and the best and fastest of the pre-"Windows" operating system platforms. It is an excellent representation depicting the end of the Dot Matrix and DOS eras. (end of quote) If you are interested, please mail me off-list at frustum at pacbell.net. I'll forward his contact information to you (I'd put it here, but some people reasonably don't like having their personal information stuck in a public forum archive). Thanks.

18 years, 9 months

D-shell sizes [was Re: Slightly rare Mac 512k with

by trag＠io.com

>Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2007 15:55:04 -0500 >From: Mark Tapley <mtapley at swri.edu> >Subject: Re: D-shell sizes >To: cctalk at classiccmp.org >Message-ID: <p06240819c304c5a417d4(a)[129.162.152.69]> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed" > ><Hangs head in shame> > >I am *so* sorry - I left off the correct letter (thought it was "B", >just wasn't sure) in hopes of *avoiding* kicking off the annual >D-shell connector nomenclature thread. > >Have we dug up the horse bones, beat them into flour, baked the flour >into bread, and punched it down enough now? > >Guess not. I'll add to the mess: <chuckle> Going back to your earlier topic, so I really should nest another "Was:" up there. :-) Jim's old Mac had the same kind of SCSI connector. You probably never looked closely at it at an early Geekathon. Or maybe he only brought it to the first one and brought the Outbound the next few years. Anyway, the upgrades for the 128K and 512K[E] models which provided a SCSI port, typically routed the ribbon cable around the edge of the battery compartment. A few ran the cable over the floppy connector. The more elegant ones actually provided a replacement battery compartment cover which had the DB25 connector (awww, back to the topic) mounted in the plastic cover. One removed the old battery compartment cover, routed the SCSI ribbon cable out of the case around the edge of the battery compartment and secured the new cover over the battery compartment, which gave one a DB25 connector mounted over the battery compartment. There were several SCSI upgrades for those old machines. The SCSI-only upgrades usually plugged into the ROM sockets, provided sockets on top of the upgrade daughter board for the two ROM chips and then bore a 53C80 and ribbon header. There might have been a bit more logic, but not much. IIRC, they did require that the host machine be upgraded to the later 512KE or Plus ROMs because the original 128K and 512K ROMs did not contain a SCSI port driver. Other upgrades provided additional memory as well and those typically required tapping all the CPU lines, so they either used a Killy Clip (clear plastic receptacle with embedded pins which fits snuggly over the 68000 DIP) which provided a double row of pins above the clip in the standard 64 pin DIP spacing, or they relied on headers soldered directly to the 68000 pins. My favorite was the NewLife brand upgrades because they provided eight SIMM sockets on the daughter board. If one had a 512KE, one could install the NewLife upgrade and add a SCSI port and eight SIMM sockets. Then two 1MB SIMMs and six 256KB SIMMs later, one had a 4MB (maximum) RAM equipped Mac Plus equivalent, which was supposedly somewhat faster for reasons I never really understood. The CPU ran at the same speed, but the Newlife guys claimed some part of their interface to the peripheral logic or maybe to the RAM was faster. The advantage of that memory arrangement was that back at that time (early 90s) 1 MB SIMMs were still close to $100 each, but 256KB SIMMs cost between free and $5, or $10 if one totally failed one's merchant skill. Jeff Walther

18 years, 9 months

SCSI/IDE laptop adapters: outcome

by mouse＠Rodents.Montreal.QC.CA

Back on August 25th, I wrote of a possible group buy of adapters to take a laptop IDE disk and use it in a machine expecting a laptop SCSI disk. One person (you know who you are, and thank you very much) wrote to one of these lists and named a vendor that carried them as of a day or two earlier (the post said something like "I just ordered a few more"); interestingly enough, it was the very vendor who had denied all knowledge of them on the phone to me: MCE Technologies, LLC, mcetech.com, +1 949 458 0800, or, in the NANPA, 1-800-500-0622. (I can't speak to the validity of the 949-458-0800 number; I used the 800-500-0622 number when calling as outlined below.) However, this post also named an MCE Tech part number for them ("sta-idescsi25", and indeed the invoice copy packed with the devices says "STA-IDESCSI25" in the "Item No." column). So I called them again, and, not letting on I'd called before, asked about them by that number. They said they had some in stock, so I ordered two. They arrived today, and as far as I can tell are exactly what I wanted: I have a Toshiba laptop IDE drive of slightly over 4G in my Voyager right now using one of them. I did hear from some people wanting into the group buy. MCE said on the phone that they ship worldwide (they use FedEx, or at least they did for me), and their price of (US)$20 is enough below the $65 I was expecting to pay that I daresay anyone who was willing to join the group buy can just order directly and still come out ahead. (Usual disclaimers apply - I have no relationship with them other than that of customer with supplier, etc.) They did get one thing wrong: they asked whether I'd rather have express or ground shipping, and I'm quite sure I said ground, but they shipped express anyway. The extra cost was a little annoying, but still got me two of them for about what I was expecting to pay for one, so I'm not kicking - but anyone who wants non-express shipping might want to be fairly emphatic about it. (As before, I'm setting a reply-to to a bitbucket; please fix up your to-line if you're replying, to point to the list or person to whom you intend to reply.) /~\ The ASCII der Mouse \ / Ribbon Campaign X Against HTML mouse at rodents.montreal.qc.ca / \ Email! 7D C8 61 52 5D E7 2D 39 4E F1 31 3E E8 B3 27 4B

18 years, 9 months

British Computers

by pcoghlan+cctech＠vms.eurokom.ie

> I was going to ask about Irish machines and see that James got there > first; did Ireland ever make any micros? Several multinationals had or have a presence in Ireland including: Amdahl Apple Dell Digital EMC Fujitsu Siemens Gateway HP IBM Memorex Many of these built computers or peripherals here for the European market. However, it is pretty much the same as equipment thats found everywhere else in the world. I am not aware of anything that could be regarded as being uniquely Irish in the same way that for example Acorn kit could be regarded as being British. Intel also have a large manufacturing presence here as have/had Analog Devices and Motorola (although I think Motorolas operation here was more involved in mobile phones) so unfortunately we're responsible for the production of lots of x86 type microprocessors. I hope none of them were designed here, especially the ones that couldn't divide accurately :-) > >Many an Apple was made in their factory in Cork. > I was disappointed to find that my Mac SE from Cork doesn't have any signatures inside the case so I guess they didn't copy the case moulds used in the US. Regards, Peter.

18 years, 9 months

D-shell sizes

by mtapley＠swri.edu

<Hangs head in shame> I am *so* sorry - I left off the correct letter (thought it was "B", just wasn't sure) in hopes of *avoiding* kicking off the annual D-shell connector nomenclature thread. Have we dug up the horse bones, beat them into flour, baked the flour into bread, and punched it down enough now? Guess not. I'll add to the mess: At 13:54 -0500 9/5/07, der Mouse wrote: >I have a machine somewhere that uses 3W3 - basically, 13W3 without the >ten individual pins, and the shell shrunk correspondingly, to about DA >size (it's at home and I'm not, so I can't be precise about the shell >size). My DEC VAX4000VLC uses a connector that sounds just like that for video output. <Sigh> -- - 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, 9 months

D-shell sizes

by wdonzelli＠gmail.com

> I am *so* sorry - I left off the correct letter (thought it was "B", > just wasn't sure) in hopes of *avoiding* kicking off the annual > D-shell connector nomenclature thread. Thats OK. I forgive you. So far, over the years NOBODY has managed to give the proper nomenclature. I suggest anyone interested should look up the mil standard. It tells all. -- Will, who has nothing more to add to this annual time waster.

18 years, 9 months

8k Mac development environments

by aek＠bitsavers.org

> There's a set of those at a downtown bookstore The entire set was distributed as PDF's on a CD. I wouldn't bother with the dead tree version. There was also an overview volume added in the later versions. and > MPW (Macintosh Programmer's Workshop?) hasn't been mentioned yet; > that was the Apple-supported environment, but rarely held up as a > standard of usability. We used it for all system development 'til the switch to OSX. Think of what the Mac would have been with a command line interface, and you have MPW. Code management (projector) was OK, but had some nasty constraints when building big projects. The big problem with all the 68K programming environments for the Mac is A5 relative addressing, creating a segmented 64K environment on a machine that originally had a flat address space. That was the big thing we changed on PPC machines.

18 years, 9 months

IBM Radio PC's

by chrism3667＠yahoo.com

I haven't yet laid my hands on them, idiot eBay vendors keep using my stored address instead of sending it where I tell them, but I have a couple of these. Info seems a little hard to find. Used an 80c186 so arguably they're on topic. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Need a vacation? Get great deals to amazing places on Yahoo! Travel. http://travel.yahoo.com/

18 years, 9 months

train to Boston (MIT)

by chrism3667＠yahoo.com

I suppose I could just drive and save myself the headaches. And looking at some of these websites and just trying to find a freaking schedule, aside from the crap about scheduled getaways and WHATEVER THE FRIG, can someone tell me (who's done it) if it's practical to get to Boston from NYC by train? Amtrak is just to expensive (~120$ round trip). I doubt sincerely that anyone on this list would have done this, so I guess I'll be driving. I hear Massachusetts people have lost the ability (as if they ever had it) to drive... Metro north only goes as far as Waterbury, CT, so I guess you get off there and start thumbing??? ____________________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! oneSearch: Finally, mobile search that gives answers, not web links. http://mobile.yahoo.com/mobileweb/onesearch?refer=1ONXIC

18 years, 9 months

8k Mac development environments

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

On 9/5/07, Mark Tapley <mtapley at swri.edu> wrote: > Also in the "you should know about" category is "Inside Macintosh", > the Apple manual set for how to write Mac Applications, of which the > oft-quoted description is "(n > 10) volumes, to understand the > content of any one of which you have to have already read the other > (n-1)". There's a set of those at a downtown bookstore in Madison, WI, but the individual volumes are priced at more than a few dollars each. I don't know the exact total, but I would suspect that you'd need to show up with between $80-$120 to walk away with the 8-10 volumes. They are moving soon, so perhaps they'd bargain... -ethan

18 years, 9 months

Slightly rare Mac 512k with D(?)-25 connector

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

On 9/5/07, Mark Tapley <mtapley at swri.edu> wrote: > All, > spotted in the San Antonio Goodwill Computerworks: > > A Mac 512k, but with a minor difference. On the back side, > above where the power switch normally is and far away from the rest > of the connectors, is a 25-pin D connector reminscent of the Mac > "SCSI" connectors on Mac Plus and other machines. I did not > disassemble or power up the machine (no KB or Mouse in evidence), so > I don't know what it is. Could be SCSI. I have one myself - it was one of the 512K Macs my mother used in the mid 1980s for her typing and typesetting shop. I upgraded that one to a 512Ke (double-sided floppies and replacement ROMs), then installed a "Dove Snap" 512K and SCSI expansion. You removed the 512K mobo, then positioned the Dove Snap over the right part of the mobo, then pressed down with a *large* amount of force to "snap" the expansion board connectors right over the legs of chips on the mobo. Think of a bunch of 5mm-tall Gompers Clips and you aren't too far off. I don't recall what pins were tapped, but it was certainly all the necessary signals >from the memory field to refresh another 512K. There must have been some unused memory select on a 74LS138 or something to enable the new memory, and probably the 5380 SCSI chip. The connector for this one was on the back of the battery door - you removed the factory battery door, threaded a 24-pin cable through the back of the battery compartment, then plugged it into the Dove Snap before reassembling the case. In effect, the Dove Snap turned her 512Ke into a Mac Plus, with DE9 serial/printer connectors. She was using Farallon PhoneNet, with a networked Apple LaserWriter, so the lack of DIN serial/network didn't matter. This was all in the 1985-1989 timeframe - I was happy to be her in-house Mac hardware dude, especially since it meant that I had a key and could work on papers after hours with, in effect, a personal laser printer. If you think back to those days, that was a nice perk. (We also used to go over and play NetTrek on her collection of 512Kes and Pluses and SEs, but the laser printer was what really did it for me). > Don't know whether they'll pak/n/ship. They were asking $5 > for the machine. If you don't already have a 512K machine, that certainly sounds cheap. Keyboards and mice shouldn't be hard to find. > Forgotten what the correct designation for those D-connectors > is, and wanted to get this out fast in case anyone wants it. Mac SCSI is a DB25F - it's one of those times when it _really_ is a DB connector. -ethan

18 years, 9 months

8k Mac development environments

by mtapley＠swri.edu

At 9:48 -0500 9/5/07, Trag wrote: > Later, they based >their examples on Codewarrior, but Codewarrior arose around the time of >the PPC era, so Think C is probably the better choice. I'm pretty sure >that early Codewarrior included the ability to compile for 68000, but I'm >not certain and if you're developing on the IIfx, Codewarrior might be a >bit cycle hungry. I can pretty much confirm this. CodeWarrior is a thing of beauty, but it's a thing of beauty with a substantial disk footprint. 411 MB for a full install, literally thousands of files. It seems fast on my PB3400, but I don't think that much speaks to its usability on a IIfx. Turbo Pascal rocks on the Mac Plus, FWIW; I'd expect Turbo C to be roughly as good but don't know from experience. MPW (Macintosh Programmer's Workshop?) hasn't been mentioned yet; that was the Apple-supported environment, but rarely held up as a standard of usability. http://developer.apple.com/tools/mpw-tools/ Also in the "you should know about" category is "Inside Macintosh", the Apple manual set for how to write Mac Applications, of which the oft-quoted description is "(n > 10) volumes, to understand the content of any one of which you have to have already read the other (n-1)". I think at least some of the content is available at http://developer.apple.com/documentation/macos8/mac8.html Good luck! -- - 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, 9 months

8k Mac development environments

by trag＠io.com

> Message: 16 > Date: Tue, 04 Sep 2007 19:36:41 -0700 > From: Josh Dersch <derschjo at msu.edu> > Subject: 68k Mac development environments > I'm looking to do a bit of (simple) development targeting a 68k Mac (or > two, or three, or six...) and since I've never done any programming on a > Mac before I'm curious if anyone out there has any recommendations for a > development environment to use or to avoid. I'd prefer C/C++, but I'm > flexible :). I'd like to be able to run my code on a Mac Classic/SE (so > I need to be able to compile to 68000 code) but I'll be doing the > development itself on a IIfx. > You might look around for a copy of Think C 5.x by Symantec (It's on 4 floppies). It had a great reputation in its day and some of the learning books used examples which were based on Think C's IDE. Later, they based their examples on Codewarrior, but Codewarrior arose around the time of the PPC era, so Think C is probably the better choice. I'm pretty sure that early Codewarrior included the ability to compile for 68000, but I'm not certain and if you're developing on the IIfx, Codewarrior might be a bit cycle hungry. Jeff Walther

18 years, 9 months

British Computers

by RodSmallwood＠mail.ediconsulting.co.uk

Well trust me to forget Mentec. They have gone very quiet. I doubt they have made (or have had made) any processor boards in a while. Pity ... But there it is.. Rod -----Original Message----- From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of David Cantrell Sent: 05 September 2007 12:02 To: General Discussion: On-Topic Posts Only Subject: Re: British Computers On Mon, Sep 03, 2007 at 01:57:12PM +0100, Peter Coghlan wrote: > Several multinationals had or have a presence in Ireland ... > > Many of these built computers or peripherals here for the European market. > However, it is pretty much the same as equipment thats found > everywhere else in the world. I am not aware of anything that could be > regarded as being uniquely Irish in the same way that for example > Acorn kit could be regarded as being British. I'd be inclined to count the Mentec PDP-11s, even though they didn't create them to start with. -- David Cantrell | Godless Liberal Elitist When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life -- Samuel Johnson

18 years, 9 months

train to Boston (MIT)

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

Chris M asks: > if it's practical to get to Boston from NYC by train? The northeast corridor is the best train service in the US between Boston/NYC/ Washington downtowns and a number of the suburbs. > Amtrak is just to expensive (~120$ round trip). Having to go up and down between downtown Washington and NYC for work, Amtrak is way too convenient compared to airline travel. There's no friggin way I'm ever gonna sit on a runway at LaGuardia for hours again. For getting between NYC/Boston/Washington very very cheaply, google up "chinatown bus". Most make some stops in the Bronx, the burbs, etc. The bus stops are frequently just people sitting on their luggage in the streets, and the operations may seem a little shady, but a lot of people on a budget go this way. Tim.

18 years, 9 months

British Computers.

by RodSmallwood＠mail.ediconsulting.co.uk

Now for something a bit more serious. I have been building up my collection of DEC equipment. The vast majority of it works at least to a level where it passes the diagnostics. DEC equipment was always well built. The OEM market installed DEC equipment in all kinds of bad environments. As the equipment is robust you can be fairly heavy on the cleaning side. The yellowing on VT series cases responds to a Brillo Pad No, it does not scratch it for the same reason they use wire wool and turpentine on antique furniture On LK series keyboards you can remove the key caps put then in a bucket and zap with a power washer. No, the letters will not come off they are two part moulded. The letter is part of the plastic. Whilst I don't travel much these days. (Broadband means I can get to a customers system in seconds) I must make an effort to come up to BP. Rod Smallwood -----Original Message----- From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Jules Richardson Sent: 05 September 2007 01:24 To: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts Subject: Re: British Computers. Rod Smallwood wrote: > So I can come along sit down and start knocking out some code then? > That might cause a crowd to collect. Then something dynamic. > Line printers thumping away, Paper tape reader on a long loop. > Tape punch doing a Woody Woodpecker. IBM 029 doing verify. > Two security guys dragging me out of the building. > The visitors would love that!! Heh :-) Being as hands-on as possible is still one of our primary goals - although there's always going to be caveats on what's left running, or what level of supervision any given system has of course, but for the majority of machines we actively encourage people to sit down and have a play. The best will in the world probably isn't going to keep this stuff operational much beyond a few decades, and I'm not sure if anyone really knows what's going to happen to the plastics a few more decades beyond that; whilst we have a duty to store inactive systems for future generations, it also seems wise to let people extract maximum enjoyment out of these systems now whilst they still can... cheers Jules

18 years, 9 months

British Computers

by RodSmallwood＠mail.ediconsulting.co.uk

DEC Did indeed make systems in Ireland. There where two plants one in Galway and something else at Clonmel I went to Galway loads of times. It was a big FA&T operation assembling 11/34's, 11/70's etc. VAX I suppose later. I think Clonmel was a software duplicating and packing operation for Europe. There was also a plant at Ayr in Scotland. The Scottish plant was called Silicon Glen and the Irish one Silicon Bog. Rod -----Original Message----- From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Roger Holmes Sent: 02 September 2007 23:35 To: cctalk at classiccmp.org Subject: Re: British Computers > >> I was going to ask about Irish machines and see that James got there >> first; did Ireland ever make any micros? > > I thought I read on some faq that DEC had some computers made in > Ireland. > I think potatoes not puters when it comes to Ireland Many an Apple was made in their factory in Cork.

18 years, 9 months

British Computers.

by RodSmallwood＠mail.ediconsulting.co.uk

Seriously though.a lecture plus demo of programming (next performance 3:30) Might enhance things a bit. Rod -----Original Message----- From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of woodelf Sent: 04 September 2007 20:46 To: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts Subject: Re: British Computers. Rod Smallwood wrote: > So I can come along sit down and start knocking out some code then? > That might cause a crowd to collect. Then something dynamic. > Line printers thumping away, Paper tape reader on a long loop. > Tape punch doing a Woody Woodpecker. IBM 029 doing verify. > Two security guys dragging me out of the building. > The visitors would love that!! > > Rod Well if you have Hard Drives Dancing to music from the *DISCO* panel lights, I am sure you would have I nice padded cell waiting for you as well. Ben Alias Woodelf PS.With Broadcast Band Valve Radio Blasting away the DISCO music from the CPU,I guess the security just don't like music. :)

18 years, 9 months

Bug reports

by tpeters＠mixcom.com

I found this in my ancient documents collection. Thought it might have some reminiscence value. WORDSTAR 5.5 PROBLEM REPORTS Ed Zollars [72235,1234] Date: June 25, 1989 The following file summarizes some of the possible bug reports and undocumented features in the WordStar 5.5 editor. These listings apply to Revision A of WordStar 5.5 and represent only a summary of those items reported on the WordStar Forum on Compuserve. If you find any errors in this document, or believe you have found something else that should be included in this document, please post a message on the WordStar forum on Compuserve and I will work it into a new file. This file only summarizes problems and undocumented features with the editor itself--I have not attempted to describe possible problems with the printer drivers. I have attempted to give credit to the individuals who first posted the problem or undocumented feature on the WordStar forum--I apologize to anyone I left off. This file is meant to serve the same purpose for WordStar 5.5 that the BUGS.WS4 file written by Robert J. Sawyer did for WordStar 4, and that BUGWS5.COM does for WordStar 5.0. ---------------------------------------------------------------- BUGS AND DOCUMENTATION ERRORS ---------------------------------------------------------------- ADVANCED PAGE PREVIEW SHOWS LINE HEIGHT CHANGES TAKING PLACE ONE LINE HIGHER THAN THEY ACTUALLY DO: (Reported by Kurt Gebauer) Problem: Advanced Page preview shows a line height change as taking place one line before it actually will during printing. A line height command will actually control the amount of space after the line following the command--APP shows it as affecting the line preceding the command. ADVANCED PAGE PREVIEW WILL RESET A HERCULES INCOLOR CARD TO MONOCHROME MODE: (Reported by Gary Gibson) Problem: The README file indicates that you set colors for a Hercules InColor Card by using the PALETTE.COM program prior to entering WordStar. This will work just fine until the user enters page preview using ^OP. At that point the card will be reset to monochrome. AUTOMATIC LEADING DOES NOT CHANGE LINE HEIGHTS ON THE PROPER LINE: (Reported by Kurt Gebauer) Problem: When using automatic leading (.LH AUTO), line height changes on the line AFTER a font change is made, which is one line after it should in order to maintain proper spacing. Workaround: Trick WS55 by placing a font change on the end of the line before the line you want to use the new font. That will cause WordStar to use the proper spacing. WordStar International reports that this problem will be corrected in Revision C of the program, to be released at the beginning of July. AUTOPATCHING FROM A WORDSTAR 5.0 COPY WITHOUT REMOVING CERTAIN LABELS CAN CAUSE LOSS OF FILES: (Reported by James Burton/WordStar International) Problem: The following is taken directly from a message posted by James Burton. CAUTION must be used when creating a patch file in WordStar 5.0 and reading it into WordStar 5.5 with the Auto-Patcher in WSCHANGE. Some labels from WordStar 5.0 are obsolete and should be removed from a WordStar 5.0 patch file before it is read into 5.5; there is a list of these labels in README Section 20.2.1. One problem related to this: ^KQ can sometimes delete a file if WordStar 5.5 has been patched indiscriminately from a WordStar 5.0 Auto-Patch file. CURSOR POSITIONING FOR PROMPTS IS ERRATIC IN ROM BIOS MODE: (Reported by Chuck Christenson) Problem: The following description of a problem was posted by Chuck Christenson: On my HP150 (running in ROM BIOS mode), when a prompt is displayed onscreen, the cursor is typically positioned somewhere to the southeast of the field in which the response is supposed to be typed, and the response character is displayed onscreen where the cursor is positioned. This is sometimes cleared up when the screen is refreshed after the response is entered, and in any case can be cleared up by using ^\. CURSOR IS IMPROPERLY POSITIONED ON THE SCREEN FOLLOWING A GLOBAL REFORM: Problem: Following a global reform (^QU), the cursor is positioned at the top left corner of the screen, rather than at the end of the file. The cursor also refuses to respond to most positioning commands. Workaround: Press ^\ after doing a global reform. WSI is aware of this problem, and has announced that it should be fixed in the first inline release due at the end of June. CURSOR SIZING AND OVERWRITE MODE (Reported by Jim Gainsley) Problem: WordStar 5.5 includes a feature to set the cursor to differing sizes depending upon whether insert mode is on or off. Unfortunately, if insert mode is set off as the default, WordStar 5.5 won't set the cursor to the correct size upon entry into WordStar. The cursor will also be set to the incorrect size if you use Advanced Page Preview or run a DOS command while insert is set off. Workaround: If the cursor is out of synch, pressing ^V or insert twice will bring it back into agreement with the state of the insert mode. WSEX for WordStar 5.5 (a copyrighted free program available in Library 4 of the WordStar Forum on Compuserve) will fix this bug in most situations. WSI has announced that this bug should be fixed in the Revison C inline for WordStar 5.5, due out at the end of June. DELETING TO THE LEFT OF THE LINE (^Q<DEL>) ON A LINE IMMEDIATELY BEFORE A PAGE BREAK CAN CAUSE THE LOSS OF THE LINE IMMEDIATELY ABOVE THE PAGE BREAK: (Reported by Roger Mayer) Problem: Attempting to delete to the left of the cursor on the line before a page break can result in WS deleting both the characters to the left of the cursor and the line above the page break. Also, the page break itself will disappear and can only be brought back with ^QR/^QP. Workaround: No real workaround except to remember to hit ^U to restore the deleted text if this happens to you. DISPLAY OF ENHANCEMENTS ON THE SCREEN IS IN ERROR WHEN A PRINT CONTROL IS WRAPPED ONTO COLUMN ONE: (Reported by Daniel A. Murphy) Problem: If you are editing a document and a print control code gets wrapped into the column one (as will happen if the first word affected by code happens to come at the beginning of the line), WordStar will display the wrong attributes on the screen for the code in question. For instance, if the code is a ^S for underlining, all the text on the screen that isn't going to be printed with underlines will be displayed with underling. Workaround: Hit ^\ when this happens. That causes WS to redraw the screen. When WS does that, it will "notice" the problem and correct it. EDITING A DOCUMENT FILE THAT USES STYLES IN NONDOCUMENT MODE WILL CAUSE A SYSTEM CRASH: Problem: If you open a document file in nondocument mode in WordStar, the program will freeze as you attempt to cursor past a style setting. WSI has acknowledged this problem and has announced plans to correct it in the Revision C inline upgrade for WS5.5, due out at approximately the end of June. ENTERING A LINE HEIGHT COMMAND IMMEDIATELY BEFORE A CONDITIONAL PAGE BREAK WILL CAUSE A CRASH: (Reported by James Burton/WordStar International) Problem: If you attempt to enter a line height command immediately before a conditional page break, the program will crash with a Divide Overflow. Note also that attempting to edit a line height command immediately preceding a conditional page break could cause the same problem. Workaround: Comment out the conditional page break before editing the line height command. It is best to move the line height command way from that position if at all possible, or to use a style to replace the line height command. WSI has acknowledged this problem and has announced plans to correct it in the Revision C inline upgrade for WS5.5, due out at approximately the end of June. FOOTNOTE SEPARATOR CANNOT BE SET TO AN UPPER ASCII (> 128) VALUE IN WSCHANGE. (Reported by Robert Vanatta) Problem: If you attempt to use a character in the upper ASCII set (like the line drawing horizontal bar) as your footnote separator, WS will strip off the high bit and treat the character as its lower ASCII equivalent. FINAL PAGE OF A DOCUMENT IS NOT EJECTED IN SOME CASES: (Reported by Robert H. Herrin) Problem: If pause between pages is turned on when printing, WordStar will not eject the last page (at least when using certain daisy wheel printers). FUNCTION KEY LABELS DISAPPEAR AFTER SELECTING A PRINTER: (Reported by Jerry Cudmore) Problem: When a printer is selected with ^P?, the function key labels will disappear from the bottom of the screen. Workaround: Hit ^\ to force a repainting of the screen. The function key labels will reappear. This problem has been acknowledged by WSI, and is supposed to be fixed in the Revision C inline version of WS5.5, due out at the end of June. GLOBAL REFORM WILL NOT UPDATE THE SCREEN WHILE RUNNING EVEN IF THE OPTION IS SET IN WSCHANGE: (Reported by Robert Vannatta) Problem: If you turn on the option in WSCHANGE to cause WS to not suppress the display when doing a global reform (^QU), the program will not properly show the reform taking place. While the cursor will move up and down the screen, no text will be rewritten. Workaround: None. This problem has been acknowledged by WordStar International and will be fixed in the Revision C inline upgrade to WS5.5, which should be released at the beginning of July. HIGH BITS ARE BEING STRIPPED OFF FILES WHEN THEY ARE SAVED FROM NONDOCUMENT MODE: (Reported by Robert J. Sawyer) Problem: If you load a file that contains "high bit" characters (ECS characters) that aren't surrounded by the appropriate WS document mode fence characters (such as a file downloaded from a BBS), WS will strip off the high bits when it saves the file. Note that WS has always displayed such characters as if the high bits were gone, but it used to still save the high bits unless you explicitly issued a ^QU to clear those bits. Workaround: The following patch was posted by James Burton of WordStar International on the forum to fix this problem: You reported that nondocument mode was stripping high bits on saving. I've been provided with a patch for that effect, to wit: REN WS.EXE WS DEBUG WS -R (Check the DS register and add 2000 to its value,.ie., 3237+2000=5237. Let nnnn = the result). -E nnnn:74B0 <ENTER> (you'll see): .7F . (Enter): FF -W -Q Rename the file back to WS.EXE and you should be fixed. This problem is also fixed in the current version of WSEX that is available in Library 4 of the WordStar forum on Compuserve. WordStar International has acknowledged this problem, and it will be fixed in the Revision C inline that will be available at the beginning of July. HIJAAK TRANSLATED GRAPHICS FILES SOMETIMES CAN'T BE DISPLAYED BY PAGE PREVIEW: (Reported by Robert J. Sawyer) Problem: Some Hijaak translated files (some TIFF format files have been implicated) will not be displayed in APP, and instead you will receive an improper graphic format complaint. The graphic will print fine, and you can use Inset to preview the graphic on the text screen. ITALICIZING TEXT THAT HAS BEEN BOLDED WITH A STYLE DOES NOT WORK CONSISTENTLY: (Reported by Robert J. Sawyer) Problem: If text has been set to boldface by using a style, you may not get italicized text if you attempt to set italics with ^PY. Workaround: If you encounter this situation, use hard formatting (^PB) to set boldface rather than using the style. WordStar International has acknowledged the problem, and this will be corrected in the Revision C inline upgrade available at the beginning of July. LEFT MARGIN SET TO LARGE NUMBER THAT IS WIDER THAN THE RIGHT MARGIN WILL RESULT IN AN INFINITE RIGHT MARGIN WHEN LEFT MARGIN IS CORRECTED: (Reported by Mark Peterson) Problem: If you happen to enter a large left margin value (such as 150) that is greater than the right margin, WordStar will reset the right margin to an infinite length. This can easily happen if you work with insert on and go to the dot command line to change the left margin. For instance, if you typed in ".LM 10" as your original right margin command, then went back to change it to 20, you might place your cursor on the 1, type a 2 and then delete the 1. When you do this, you will find your right margin has been reset to an infinite length. Workaround: Return to the top of the file (^QR) then return to your old edit position (^QP). This will force WS to reread the dot commands and set its margins accordingly. LINES IN THE MIDDLE OF PARAGRAPHS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING A PAGE BREAK ARE MISALIGNED AT TIMES ON THE SCREEN: (Reported by Peter Mierau) Problem: If a paragraph spans a page break and the left margin is set to a value other than zero, the first line following the page will be offset approximately twice as much as it should be to the left on the screen. The printout is not affected, and Advanced Page Preview shows that the line is properly aligned. This doesn't always happen when reforming across a page break, but will eventually appear if you edit the paragraph. Workaround: You can force WS to move the line back if you want the onscreen display to be correct. Turn on soft space display (^OB) and print control code display (^OD). You will see two "tabs" to the left of the first character. Go to the left margin and delete BOTH of them--WS should reform the line with just one of these characters. WordStar International has acknowledged this problem and it should be fixed in the Revision C inline upgrade, to be available in early July. LOGGING ONTO A NEW DIRECTORY WHILE EDITING A DOCUMENT FOR THE FIRST TIME WILL CAUSE THE FILE TO BE SAVED IMPROPERLY: (Reported by Robert J. Sawyer) Problem: If the directory is changed with ^KL while editing a brand new document that has not previously been saved, exiting the document with ^KD will cause the document to be saved with the proper filename, but with the temporary file extension of $B$. That name will flash briefly on the status line during the save when this problem is encountered. The $B$ file will not be visible in a WordStar directory listing (unless the default exclusion list has been changed). Attempting to edit this file will cause an immediate loss of the information in the file. This problem has also been reported by other users in slightly different circumstances. Workaround: If you do create the $B$ file, rename the file and then edit it as normal in WordStar. You can protect yourself from deleting the file accidentally by setting up WordStar through WSCHANGE as if it is being used on a multiuser system--then when it detects the presence of the $B$ files, it will refuse to edit the file. PAGE PREVIEW AT TIMES SHOWS THE WRONG FONT WHEN THIRD PARTY FONTS ARE ADDED: (Reported by Robert J. Sawyer) Problem: At times, Page Preview will show a number of your third party fonts which you have generated screen for as the same font in the preview page. Workaround: From a message left by Richard Zuris of WordStar International: Page Preview gets confused by some fonts and puts in the wrong font code in FONTID.CTL. The font code is a four- character hexademinal word that comes at the end of the line where the font is listed in FONTID. This number is supposed to be read from the PDF. You can read it from the PDF and straighten FONTID out yourself. In PDFEDIT, select Typestyle/font information, choose a typeface, then hit enter on "Key (# and characteristics)." This reveals the font code, which can be used in FONTID to replace the incorrect number the. The symptom of having wrong font codes in FONTID is that all of your third-party (i.e., LSRFONTS-generated) fonts will display in Preview with the style/face of whatever the LAST font is in the FONTID list. PARAGRAPH NUMBERING SOMETIMES SHOWS IMPROPER NUMBERS ON THE SCREEN: (Reported by Thomas J. River) Problem: At times, the paragraph numbers shown on the screen contain incorrect values. Workaround: Go out to Page Preview or go to the top of the file and return (^QR^QP). That should restore the proper onscreen numbering. PHRASES MARKED FOR INDEXING WITH ^PK THAT WRAP OVER TWO LINES WHERE THE LEFT MARGIN IS NOT 1 WILL NOT INDEX PROPERLY: (Reported by Robert J. Sawyer) Problem: If the left margin is set to a value other than one and ^PK is used to mark a phrase for indexing, a problem can occur if the phrase is split over two lines. Workaround: Use ^ONI to indicate phrase index entries in areas of text where the left margin will be other than 1. PRCHANGE WILL NOT GENERATE PROPER SCREEN FONTS IF A FONT IS AVAILABLE ONLY IN BOLDFACE: (Reported by Robert J. Sawyer) Problem: If you allow PRCHANGE to generate screen fonts in a case where some of the fonts are available only in boldface, you will lose the ability to display any fonts in boldface in page preview. Workaround: First install only those fonts that have standard weight fonts available. Generate those screen fonts and exit PRCHANGE. Later, reenter PRCHANGE and add the other fonts. DO NOT generate screen fonts for these fonts, but instead use the defaults. PREVIEW CRASHES IF INSET IS LOADED AND A GRAPHIC EXISTS ON THE PAGE: (Reported by Robert P. Vannatta) Problem: If Inset has been loaded as a TSR (from the DOS command line and not using ^P&), attempting to preview a graphic will cause WS to lock up, requiring a reboot. Workaround: Inset should not be loaded as a TSR when working inside WordStar. PRINT COMMAND SOMETIMES FAILS TO WORK ON COMPLICATED DOCUMENTS: Problem: The "P"rint command from the main menu sometimes fails when confronted with a complicated document to print. For example, most users have had problems using the "P"rint command to print out the WSEX 1.05 documentation. The program will freeze at certain points in the printing process, requiring a reboot. Workaround: Use the merge command to print the file. Merge has not had the problems the print command has had in printing the files. As a practical matter, the merge command can be used as the "standard" printing system for WS5.5, unless you intentionally want to supress the action of merge commands. PRINTING WHEN THERE IS A "MODE=LPT1:,,p" IN EFFECT WILL CAUSE A SYSTEM HANG: Problem: If your AUTOEXEC.BAT file contains a MODE setting for LPT1 that includes the "p" parameter or you later invoke that command while working with your computer, WordStar will hang when you attempt to print. Workaround: Don't use the MODE command in this manner. WSI has announced that this bug will be fixed in the first inline for WordStar 5.5 (scheduled for the end of June). RECURSIVE MACROS CANNOT BE EXITED WITH ^U IN SOME CIRCUMSTANCES: (Reported by Jerry Cudmore) Problem: If WordStar is given a macro that calls itself (a recursive macro), you may not be able to stop execution the macro with ^U and will find that the only way out is to reboot the machine. Workaround: Put a ^P<space> in the repeating portion of the macro. During the execution of that command, WS will check the keyboard buffer for a ^U. Since the command does nothing, it has no real effect on the macro. SEARCHING FOR A CARRIAGE RETURN BY ITSELF CAUSES AN UNUSUAL DISPLAY IF THE FOUND CARRIAGE RETURN IS AT THE END OF A PAGE: (Reported by Robert J. Sawyer) Problem: If the search function is looking for a bare carriage return (^M^J), when it finds one at the end of a page the display will be corrupted. Workaround: Press ^\ when the display is corrupted--the actual text in your file has not been damaged, and ^\ will update the screen to reflect this fact. SETTING EDITING VALUES IN WSCHANGE APPEARS TO HAVE NO EFFECT: (Reported by James Burton/WordStar International) Problem: The following comment was posted by James Burton on the forum message board: Resetting some default values in WSCHANGE will appear to have no effect while editing. This is because the Body Text Paragraph Style currently overrides those settings (left and right margins, tabs, default font, etc.). To set defaults for those parameters, make the changes to the Body Text Style and save them to the library. This is covered on the OOPS sheet that came with the package. SETTING THE HELP LEVEL TO AN ERRONEOUS VALUE CAUSES AN ERRONEOUS ERROR MESSAGE TO BE ISSUED: (Reported by Robert J. Sawyer) Problem: If you type an invalid response (such as a letter) when attempting to change help levels using ^JJ, WordStar will respond with an error message that states "Only numbers and the + and - characters are valid". In fact, the + and - signs are also invalid. SOFT FORMATTING DOES NOT WORK (Reported by Elias Davis) Problem: If you have turned off the insertion of dot commands in WSCHANGE, WordStar will not change margins when you exit the tabs & margins dialogue box. Workaround: There really isn't one, except to go ahead and insert hard formatting codes into the document, or define and use a style. STYLES SOMETIMES DON'T TAKE EFFECT DEPENDING UPON THEIR POSITION IN THE LINE: (Reported by Robert J. Sawyer) Problem: Style sheet attributes sometimes don't take effect depending upon their position with regard to soft spaces in the line. Workaround: Try moving the style in the line if you encounter this problem. The best place to put a style code is at the beginning of a line. STAR EXCHANGE IGNORES STYLE SHEET SETTINGS: (Reported by Elias Davis) Problem: Star Exchange does not pick up changes that are made to a WordStar file through the use of styles. The last hard formatting command entered will control the translated formatting. Workaround: Any document that is to be shipped to another format using Star Exchange should be formatted with dot commands, and *not* with styles. TABS CANNOT BE CONVERTED FROM LEFT ALIGNED TO DECIMAL: (Reported by Jerry Cudmore) Problem: If a tab is first entered with the ruler line showing the tab as left aligned, changing the tab in the ruler line to a decimal tab will not cause the text to align correctly, even after reforming. Workaround: Delete the tab and reenter it. WSSETUP DOES NOT WORK CORRECTLY WITH DOS 4.0X IF SHARE.EXE IS LOADED: (Reported by John Jurewicz) Problem: DOS 4.0x users with large hard disk partitions (greater than 32 Meg.) have reported problems running WSSETUP. The conflict appears to be with the SHARE.EXE that DOS 4.0x loads to support the larger partition. WSSETUP will report that it can't find WINSTALL.HLP and won't recognize the Advanced Customization Disk. Workaround: The only way around this one is to do a manual installation, copying your files from the distribution disks to the hard drive. Some users have reported success by removing SHARE.EXE from their CONFIG.SYS and using DOS 4.0's automatic load (by having SHARE.EXE in the root directory). Apparently the automatic load does not cause conflicts with WSSETUP. WordStar International has acknowledged the problem, and the Revision C inline (due out at the beginning of July) should fix this problem with WSSETUP. ---------------------------------------------------------------- UNDOCUMENTED FEATURES ---------------------------------------------------------------- ^] TO REDUCE SIZE OF SECOND WINDOW (Reported by Robert J. Sawyer) Description: If you are using a help level of 3 or lower, you can use ^] to reduce the size of the second window. At help level 4 this command puts the cursor on the pull down window line (performs like Alt-Space). ^L IN DIALOGUE BOXES: (Reported by Robert J. Sawyer) Description: WordStar 5 will let you use ^L to move backwards through a dialogue box, in addition to the Shift-Tab command that is documented. ^O? DISPLAYS MEMORY USAGE: (Reported by Peter Mierau) Description: The undocumented ^O? command will display the amount of memory usage of WordStar while editing a document. In addition, it displays the current language in use and whether Inset is currently loaded. ^P1 - ^P9 FOR EXTENDED CHARACTERS: (Reported by Robert J. Sawyer) Description: In addition to using ^P0 to call up the ECS entry window, you can call up the window by hitting any of the other number keys after hitting ^P. The number you hit will be automatically entered as the first number in the dialogue box. ^Q~--SET INSERT MODE AND DON'T FLUSH BUFFER Description: When WS5 receives this command, it automatically turns insert on and disables the flushing of the keyboard buffer that WS normally does until the buffer is empty. This command is useful for external keyboard enhancers that need to be able to disable WS5's keyboard buffer flushing and want insert mode set on. This command is not new in WS5, but existed in Release 4. ^QU WILL CONVERT A FILE TO ASCII IN NONDOCUMENT MODE: (Reported by Chuck Christenson) Description: ^QU will remove the WS5 header from a document file, convert tabbed symmetrical sequences to spaces, remove all other symmetrical sequences and strip off any high bits set in the file. What it does not do is remove print control codes (like ^PB, ^PS, etc.). CONFIGURATION FILES CAN BE USED WITH WORDSTAR 5.5: (Reported by James Burton/WordStar International) Description: Beginning with the 09x releases of WordStar 5.0, configuration files were supported. These files allow you to put together various patched versions of WS without having to have an entire extra copy of WS on your hard drive. In Release 5.5 they appear to have disappeared again, but you can get them back. The steps to use are taken from a message from James Burton of WordStar International Corporation that is listed below: Run WINSTALL, select WSCHANGE. (Don't just run WSCHANGE). Select E for Patching. Hit "=", enter the label MPMFLG. Add 4 to the left digit of the first byte, i.e.: 30 +4 =70 Enter the result. Hit "." to display the change. Hit "X", "^X", and "Y" to exit and save changes. As you leave WSCHANGE, you'll hit the CFG selection screen. The current setup sort of locks you in to using CFG files, but I personally have not found this to be a burden. Additional information: CFG files cannot be used to define the default paths for WordStar. WS will continue to use the defaults that were set in the WS.EXE file before you switch to CFG files. DOUBLE UNDERLINING CAN BE FULLY IMPLEMENTED USING ".XX_": (Reported by Robert J. Sawyer) Description: The WordStar manual and the PRINT.TST file says that if the user sets the strikeout character to "_" and then surrounds the text to be double underlined with both ^X and ^S characters, the text will be double underlined. All that is necessary is the ^PX command--once you reassign the strikeout character to "_", WS will do all of the work of building a true double underline character. If you set your default in WSCHANGE to make the strikeout character "_", then by default ^PX will invoke double underlining. FILES CAN BE SELECTIVELY INCLUDED IN THE FILE DIRECTORY: (Reported by Peter Mierau) Description: If you want to include files with extensions listed in the NOTYPE table in the default directory rather than exclude them, you can patch the undocumented USETYP flag to do so. FONTID.CTL IS AN ASCII FILE THAT CAN BE EDITED USING NONDOCUMENT MODE TO CONTROL VARIOUS DEFAULTS IN ADVANCED PAGE PREVIEW: Description: The FONTID.CTL file that is copied to your hard disk during the installation of Advanced Page Preview is a pure ASCII file that can be edited in nondocument mode. This file allows setting the type of graphics adapter that WS should use (rather than allowing WS to autosense the adapter), the aspect ratio that should be used by APP for displaying text, the type of grid that should be displayed when on is requested (6 per inch, 10 per inch, or 4 per inch) and the page size. CAUTION: Do not allow edit this file in document mode--if you do, WordStar will most likely freeze at your first attempt to preview text. I would strongly suggest that you make a backup of the FONTID.CTL file before attempting to modify values in the file. LANGUAGE TABLES ENTRIES MUST BE INSTALLED FOR ALL MEMBERS OF A FONT FAMILY IF IT IS INSTALLED FOR ANY: (Reported by Jim Gainsley) Description: When using PDFEDIT to change a font, if a symbol set table is added for one variety of the font, it must be defined for all varieties of that font. Failure to do this will cause error messages to be generated at print time and possibly enter the printout. LINE HEIGHT CAN BE SET IN POINTS: (Reported by Ed Zollars) Description: Line height can be set in points by using the fact that WordStar allows mathematical equations to be placed in most dot commands. To set a line height in points, the following dot command is entered: .lh n/72" where n is replaced by an appropriate point value. LINE NUMBERING UNDOCUMENTED FEATURES: (Reported by Gary Gibson) Description: The following excerpt is from a message left by Gary Gibson on the forum about line numbering: 1. The last byte in the INIEDT patch area controls the line numbering defaults. PATCH.LST file's comments describe this, but they don't say that bits 0-6 of this byte control the DEFAULT value for the "spacing". As released, this value is zero. If set non-zero, all documents are line numbered by default UNLESS you turn it off (.l# 0) at the top of a page. Also, this isn't really "spacing", but an indication that for spacing=n, every nth line is numbered, the others just have the bars. The manual also shows only values 0, 1, and 2. Values up to 127 work just fine. 2. You can omit the "style" in the .l# command: .l# p1 and .l# 1 are the same. 3. Unusual "column" values have unusual results, like fractional values or a column value of 32768. MAILLIST CAN USE DEF FILES FROM THE OLD DATASTAR PROGRAM: (Reported by Phil Burnside and Ed Greenberg) Description: MailList can use the "DEF" files from the old DataStar program. You can also use FORMGEN to edit and create DEF files for MailList. DataStar was sold by itself and as part of the old InfoStar database package that MicroPro used to sell. MARGINS IN A DIALOGUE BOX CAN BE SET IN COLUMNS: (Reported by Peter Mierau) Description: If you add an "R" after the setting, WS5 will interpret your setting entered in the margins & tabs dialogue box as being expressed in characters. ONSCREEN JUSTIFICATION CAN BE SUPPRESSED WHILE STILL JUSTIFYING THE OUTPUT BY USING AN ALWAYS FALSE CONDITIONAL COMMAND: (Reported by Ed Zollars, based upon an idea discussed by Mojo Jones and Ed Greenberg for use with WordStar 2000) Description: The fact that WordStar doesn't evaluate conditional commands until print time can be used to suppress the onscreen display of justified text. The following dot commands will result in unjustified text appearing on the screen, but the output being justified. .OJ ON .IF 10#=5 .OJ OFF .EI This solution can also be used to set up onscreen rulers that allow all of the text to be seen on the screen, while actually using a different ruler for printing purposes. In that case, you probably will need to add a ".PF ON" command at the top of the file to force WordStar to reform the paragraphs at print time. "POINT AND SHOOT" WORKS TO CHANGE DIRECTORIES IN HELP LEVEL 4: (Reported by Ed Zollars) Description: If WordStar is working in help level 4, you can change the current directory from the opening menu by moving the cursor into the directory listing (using the down arrow or ^X). If you point at a directory name, WS will log onto that directory. If you point at a filename, WS will open it up to edit. Remember that selecting ".." directory in the directory display will take you back one level in the directory tree. RELATIVE VALUES ARE SUPPORTED IN A NUMBER OF DOT COMMANDS BESIDES THOSE LISTED IN THE MANUAL: (Reported by Gary Gibson) Description: You can use a "+" or "-" value for a number of dot commands besides the left margin and right margin dot commands that are documented. Specifically, you can change the line height by using "+" and "-" to change it relative to the last setting. SPELL CHECKS PERFORMED ON NONDOCUMENT FILES WILL CHECK DOT COMMANDS: (Reported by Robert Vannatta) Description: If you run the spelling check while in non-document mode, text in dot commands will be spell-checked. UNDOCUMENTED KEYS ON THE OPENING MENU: (Reported by Gary Gibson): Description: Although not listed on the menu, the H, W and Z keys will have certain affects when the Opening Menu is displayed. "H" will take you directly to the change help level screen (the equivalent of pressing "JJ" using the officially listed commands). Pressing W or Z will cause the file directory to scroll in the appropriate direction without having to hold down the control key. VERSION 5.0 PRINTER CAN BE USED WITH VERSION 5.5 WITH CERTAIN LIMITATIONS: (Reported by James Burton/WordStar International) Description: The following is from a message posted by James Burton on the forum: Can you use a WordStar 5.0 Printer Definition File (PDF) with WordStar 5.5? Yes, although there are limitations. First, you can't use the Auto Leading feature (.LH A) with these PDFs. Second, you can't use WordStar 5.5 PDFEDIT to edit them; the PDF format has changed slightly to accommodate the addition of previewed graphics. ----- 976. Any teacher that can be replaced by a computer, deserves to be. -- David Thornburg --... ...-- -.. . -. ----. --.- --.- -... tpeters at nospam.mixcom.com (remove "nospam") N9QQB (amateur radio) "HEY YOU" (loud shouting) WEB: http://www.mixweb.com/tpeters 43? 7' 17.2" N by 88? 6' 28.9" W, Elevation 815', Grid Square EN53wc WAN/LAN/Telcom Analyst, Tech Writer, MCP, CCNA, Registered Linux User 385531

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Reviving DEC RX01 power supply

by oldcpu2＠rogerwilco.org

Chuck said: > Well, the 24v is used primarily for the head positioner and the head- > load solenoid, so its voltage isn't terribly critical. This is good to know. I admit, I haven't gone through the RX01 logic PCB schematics. You've saved me some trouble. Thanks. > If you want to feel secure with a regulated voltage, try putting > something like a 7824KC or 78H24 (2A, 24v) TO-3 regulator. But if > your RX01 has lasted this long without, it's probably not important. Yes. I'm probably not worried enough to do this. Like you said, if this 30-year old system has survived all these years so far, it's probably going to be okay (unlike an RD53 that just failed on me, but that's another story....). - Jared

18 years, 9 months

Reviving DEC RX01 power supply

by oldcpu2＠rogerwilco.org

> IIRC, the 'raw DC' is unregulated, just rectified and smoothed from the > transformer. As is the 24V line. Both are about 1.7* what they should be. That's the strange thing to me. The two secondaries from the transformer (one for the 24V line, and the other for the 10V line [which sources the regulated 5V output]) are 'proper' at 27.8V and 11.2V, respectively. What I don't understand is how a 24V line can suddenly produce 42V! It's like something is 'pumping' the circuit, and I admit I have never studied how such things work. The funny thing is that the 5V regulation is working, even with 17V input instead of 10V. > It's gettign late, so I'll not find the prints tonight. But IIRC, the > transformer in this supply is a ferroresonant one, and that's what > stabilises the 'raw' and 24V lines. What happens if the capacitor hung > off that is defective? Fair point, but can a faulty capacitor 'pump' up the voltage like I'm seeing? > I suspect the last part is very ture. Actually replacing the faulty part > is the easy bit :-) Hey, thanks for your confidence! :-) I can use a little outside support! ;-) Let me add that this RX01 is the second of two RX01 units in this system. When I went through the first one a week ago, it checked out fine...that is I saw 25V/10.2v on the outputs, without a load. And you're not going to like this :-), but for an electronics novice, tonight I followed my instinct and swapped the regulator PCBs between units. Yup, the 'good' system's PCB now is putting out 42V and 17V! So, it's not the regulation circuit, I guess, or any component on the two system's PCBs. But after swapping the PS regulator PCBs, all that's left are the transformer (which appears to be putting out 'expected' voltages), a 660V AC capacitor thingy (which I obviously don't understand...is it part of the ferrroresonance?) that only connects back to the transformer itself, and the two smoothing caps (one for the 24V line and one for the 10V line). Is it possible that one/both caps are 'pumping' the circuit? <shrug> I'm just too novice to know. Another suggestion I received privately hints that putting a dummy load on the PS might bring it into line, and that I will try. I have access to an oscilloscope, and will put it on the thing, too, to see if I can discover anything strange. Thanks, Jared

18 years, 9 months

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