test-drb

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

101090 discussions

by aliensrcooluk＠yahoo.co.uk

How did you magnetise them and what little parts are you referring to? - Andrew B (via mobile phone) --- cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org <dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu> wrote: > > Can someone point me to schematics for a decent homebrewed demagnetizer? > I've accidentally magnetized a bunch of little parts that really shouldn't > have been. > > > -- > David Griffith > dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu > > A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text. > Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing? > A: Top-posting. > Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

19 years

Floppy Disc Capacities [was Pictures of My Machine Room (So Far)]

by wayne.smith＠charter.net

> Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2007 13:50:43 -0400 > From: Sridhar Ayengar <ploopster at gmail.com> > Subject: Re: Pictures of My Machine Room (So Far) > To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts > <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > Message-ID: <4676C5F3.40609 at gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > > Roy J. Tellason wrote: > > On Sunday 17 June 2007 17:26, Fred Cisin wrote: > >> Oh, well. I guess that it is like selling disks based on their > >> unformatted capacity - a 2.8M ED disk is called "2.88" by IBM, and > >> was called "4 meg" by NeXT. > > > > I have some boxes that had "1.44s" in them branded IBM and > which were > > labeled "2.0MB"... > > Indeed. All of the IBM 2.88's I have are labeled 4.0MB. > > Peace... Sridhar > My first iteration of Windows 95 was on 3.5 inch floppy diskettes. At some point, I wanted to make a backup copy on diskettes but couldn't because the file sizes of the Windows distribution floppies was 1.8-1.9MB each. At the time I thought it was some sort of copy protection. I assume they must have been able to format the discs for a higher capacity - close to 2MB. Does anyone know how?

19 years

Trouble with HP 59309A Digital Clock

by vp＠drexel.edu

"Pat Walsh" <PWalsh at energysolutions.com> wrote: > Just got one of these for a desk clock and need to > know how to set the calendar addressed setting. Hi, I have the manual but I won't be able to get to it for 1-2 months (wrong continent :-). Do you want to know how to use it, or how to repair it? The manual tells you both. NOTE: Before you use it be sure to open the clock to check if the backup 9V battery is still inside. If so, you will hve a lot of cleaning to do. Use lemon juice or vinegar to clean things up. Using it as a desk clock is easy, you jsut power it up, open the metal flap under the display on the front. You then press reset to clear the clock and press the buttons to set he correct day of the year and time. There is also a switch called INT/EXT (or smth) move it to the INT position (internal time reference) If you intend to keep the clock mostly powered off, do not bother to install a battery inside, it will suck it dry in a day or two. Controlling it via the HPIB is also easy, you just send a string over HP-IB to set it and thn you can simply trigger it to read the time. Also check the underside of the clock, it should contain instructions on how to address it and set it remotely. Its pretty easy, depending on what kind of HPIB controller you have. E.g. on the Series 80 you read it with smth like INPUT 706, A$ and set it with , say, OUTPUT 706, "RPDDDDDDDDDDDDHHMMMMMT" R: reset clock DDDDDDDDDDDD: advance teh day to the 12th of the year (Jan 12) HH: advance hour to 2am MMMMM: advance minute to 5, T: start clock at 02:05 on Jan 12 This assumes that the clock is strapped as unit 6 of the HP-IB bus. Most of the above is from memory (just looking at the underside of my 59309A), so there may be some errors. **vp

19 years

NorthStar Horizon Case Cover Replacements

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: RE: NorthStar Horizon Case Cover Replacements > From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com> > Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 13:56:02 -0700 > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >On 20 Jun 2007 at 8:49, Allison wrote: > >> What made the box notable was floppies in the crate rather than external >> box and only a LED (power on) on the front pannel. It was one of the early >> turnkey systems and became popular with applications/system integrators >> for that reason. The reason being it was now possible to sell a small(then) >> system that was powerful enough to be a complete office accounting system. >> It didn't hurt that the wood cover fit into office decor of the time. >> The wood disappeard when FCC started forcing RFI constraints. By RFI I mean the kind of interferfence from the disgital switching action that could blanket communications bands. >There was a good reason for that. A friend had purchased one of the >Integrand S-100 boxes with a floppy cutout. He'd installed an SA-400 >(IIRC) and complained that it wouldn't work reliably. What I >discovered was that the field from the large power transformer was >playing hob with the drive electronics. I installed a substantial >steel shield around the floppy and the problem abated. NS* Horizon never had a transformer magnetic field problem. And the drives are only a few inches from the transformer. The problem may have been the CVC transfomer used in some Integrand boxes. Those radiate a larger magnetic field. > >When I purchased my own Integrand box, I opted for the drive-less >model. > >Even on the Durango box, we had to shield both the drives and the >small monitor that sat over them to get reliable drive operation. > I have an NS* Advantage and they also apparently did it right as the drives behave well without steel shield plates. Allison >Cheers, >Chuck

19 years

T11 design WAS - Re: Inside old games machines, was: Re: Simulated CP/M-68K?

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: T11 design WAS - Re: Inside old games machines,was: Re: Simulated CP/M-68K? > From: woodelf <bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca> > Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 22:18:57 -0600 > To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >Roger Ivie wrote: > >> I don't know anything about the internals, so I can't say. Although >> AFAIK core was pretty much gone by the time the T-11 happened, it may >> have been based on an earlier design that did interface to core. >I think a read modify write may have made Dynamic ram interface simpler. > No. RMW was PDP11. However some instructions would read, alter the value and write it back. Very useful for autoincrement addressing. It also had to be that way to be compatable with ALL previous PDP11s. Allison

19 years

Massbus simulation

by jam＠magic.com

> Guy Sotomayor wrote: > > > > > > Dave McGuire wrote: > >> On Jun 20, 2007, at 2:49 PM, Ethan Dicks wrote: > >>>> > Even so, I'd think the most obvious consumers of a new Massbus > >>>> > storage device would probably be either the 11/70 crowd, or, more > >>>> > >>>> Indeed. My 11/70 has RP06s. > >>> > >>> Mine have SI9900s, but I'd love to throw an RH70 in one. > >> > >> I've got a pair of Emulex SC72s for mine...The SC72 is a set of > >> boards that plugs into the RH70 slots in an 11/70, and controls SMD > >> drives. I've not installed them yet, but I expect them to be very nice. > > > > They *are* very nice. I have 2 sets in my 11/70. One for controlling > > the Eagles and the other for the CDC 9766's. > > > > I have a couple of SC72s which I hope to use in my 11/70 to hook up > both my CDC 9762, Fujitsu M2284K, and a pair of Seagate (CDC) 9720 Sabre > drives. I'm hoping that the SC72 can handle the data rate of the Sabres. > Does anyone know? I have an SC70 in my 11/70 and a couple of RH70's. I've also got one complete RH11. But, no Massbus peripherals, so I cannot test those out. I'm looking forward to Guy's emulator! RL02's just aren't big enough for real work on an 11/70. James Markevitch

19 years

T11 design WAS - Re: Inside old games machines, was: Re: Simulated CP/M-68K?

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: T11 design WAS - Re: Inside old games machines,was: Re: Simulated CP/M-68K? > From: "e.stiebler" <emu at e-bbes.com> > Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2007 09:52:25 -0600 > To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >Robert Borsuk wrote: >> I've been loosely following this thread and never heard of a T11 from >> DEC. So good'ole Google and Bitsavers saves the day, but it get's me >> thinking. Has anybody done any design's with this processor? Why >> wasn't this processor used instead of the 6100? >> >> Rob > >There is a guy who made his own SBC with a T-11, and even ported Forth >on it. I thought I knew his webpage, but it seems, I lost the bookmark. >But check google groups for "peter mccollum forth t11" and you will find >at least the discussions ... It's an easy cpu to interface and use. One of it's features is that at reset the bus can be configured for 8 or 16 bit wide path, for standard or varible microcycle and static memory or Dram(with refresh). I'd suspect the Dram support would be valuable in a game at a time when large rams were dynamic. Allison

19 years

Emulating old computers on FPGA

by lproven＠gmail.com

Since I see this is coming up, I though folk might be interested in this: http://www.msx.org/One-Chip-MSX-MKII.newspost3805.html Of course, there is also the lovely Jeri Ellsworth's C-One: http://c64upgra.de/c-one/ -- Liam Proven ? Blog, homepage &c: http://lproven.livejournal.com/profile Email: lproven at cix.co.uk ? GMail/GoogleTalk/Orkut: lproven at gmail.com Tel: +44 20-8685-0498 ? Cell: +44 7939-087884 ? Fax: + 44 870-9151419 AOL/AIM/iChat: liamproven at aol.com ? MSN/Messenger: lproven at hotmail.com Yahoo: liamproven at yahoo.co.uk ? Skype: liamproven ? ICQ: 73187508

19 years

strange Televideo terminal? in Belgium (eBay)

by chrism3667＠yahoo.com

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-TELEVIDEO-PT-100_W0QQitemZ230140614394QQihZ013Q… ____________________________________________________________________________________ Get your own web address. Have a HUGE year through Yahoo! Small Business. http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/domains/?p=BESTDEAL

19 years

T11 design WAS - Re: Inside old games machines, was: Re: Simulated CP/M-68K?

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: T11 design WAS - Re: Inside old games machines,was: Re: Simulated CP/M-68K? > From: "Ethan Dicks" <ethan.dicks at gmail.com> > Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 16:22:25 -0400 > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >On 6/20/07, Roger Ivie <rivie at ridgenet.net> wrote: >> On Wed, 20 Jun 2007, Allison wrote: >> > It's an easy cpu to interface and use... > >> >> However, it's not without its obnoxious bits. >> >> On the T-11, all writes are performed as read-modify-writes. > >Hmm... was that because of the needs of core memory, or was it just to >simplify some aspect of its internal design? It's part of the memory to memory design and the way intructions work. It's annying as micros go but ALL PDP-11s word that way and the T-11 is a PDP-11 in LSI. >RMW cycles are typically no problem with main memory, but I've seen >problems with them in a number of situations involving I/O, typically >involving "clever" peripherals that take a read of some register as a >trigger signal, but also with some 68000-family designs where you >weren't allowed to use instructions in your code which invoked RMW >cycles because they weren't interruptible (intentionally) and could >cause interrupt or instruction-restart problems. Yep the fix is easy. The read address is dirrent from the write address. So when the system doe sthe read before write or Read modify write it only touches the address register for thatread or write as desired. >At least with the 68000, RMW cycles were rarely done by real-world >code, and never accidentally. > >With a from-scratch T-11 SBC, one could, I'd expect, select I/O >peripherals that wouldn't be subject to side-effects (like clearing >status bits on reads), but that's a lot harder when you have a mandate >to use a particular vendor's chip and the chip tries to be clever. Easy, make the read and write different addresses. Just like PDP-11s do. Allison

19 years

T11 design WAS - Re: Inside old games machines, was: Re: Simulated CP/M-68K?

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: T11 design WAS - Re: Inside old games machines,was: Re: Simulated CP/M-68K? > From: "Ethan Dicks" <ethan.dicks at gmail.com> > Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 10:02:02 -0400 > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > > >Even without 32-bit registers, there are tricks one may employ. >Twenty years ago, I had to implement a high-frequency filter in 286 >assembler as part of an auto-focus routine for a vision system. It >had to be fast, and the company would not pay for a 287 co-pro. The >normal technique for a simple 3x3 kernel is to sum up all the values >in a 3x3 area and divide by 9 to get the average value, then iterate >over the entire frame. Dividing by 9 is expensive for a 286. >Dividing by 8 isn't, and produced acceptable results. > >There are frequently tricks to avoid expensive math operations. Video >games use most of them. > >-ethan I've used the same idea for decimal to bin and bin to decimal as multiply or divide by 10 is costly in 8080/Z80/8048. It was far easier and faster to do a pair of shifts and one add and then do a shift again than a general multiply. The same is true for the reverse though then you do a subtract as needed. The code is linear and faster. It also works well for other non binary constants (3,5,6,7,9,10,11..). Doing it this way is the obvious specific unrolling of a general shift and add multiply routine. One of many tricks. Allison

19 years

looking for a C16 in any condition

by chrism3667＠yahoo.com

all I want is the case, so it don't have to work LOL. Actually it would make a curious project to get going even at that. I had heard (or actually read) there was a way of retrofitting (no pun intended hosers) a 6502 into a Commie 64. So why not the same, or a 6510 in a Commie 16. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Choose the right car based on your needs. Check out Yahoo! Autos new Car Finder tool. http://autos.yahoo.com/carfinder/

19 years

NorthStar Horizon Case Cover Replacements

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: RE: NorthStar Horizon Case Cover Replacements > From: "Rod Smallwood" <RodSmallwood at mail.ediconsulting.co.uk> > Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 08:59:36 +0100 > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic Posts Only" <cctech at classiccmp.org> > >Hi > >Even though my main collection is DEC I'd love a Horizon with or with >out its wooden case. I wrote a lot of code on one in CBASIC back in the >70's > >They are somewhat rare in the UK to say the least. >In fact, the case is less of a problem than finding a system in the UK. >I have a retired friend with fully equipped wood working shop. > >Consulting my 1979 copies of Practical Computing (a UK magazine). >They were widely available in the UK. They must be out there somewhere. > >Rod Smallwood For the most part you can do the same on ANY S100 CP/M machine or even SBC (CBASIC stuff). The only thing that sperated the horizon from most S100s was the case had room for two full height 5.25 floppies and had two serial and a parallel port built on the the mother board. However any serial card that used 8251s coud be configured for ports 0/1,2/3 and be transparent. The rest is the NS* MDS controller (either SD or DD version) and that worked fine in most any Z80 S100 crate. What made the box notable was floppies in the crate rather than external box and only a LED (power on) on the front pannel. It was one of the early turnkey systems and became popular with applications/system integrators for that reason. The reason being it was now possible to sell a small(then) system that was powerful enough to be a complete office accounting system. It didn't hurt that the wood cover fit into office decor of the time. The wood disappeard when FCC started forcing RFI constraints. Allison > >-----Original Message----- >From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org >[mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Allison >Sent: 19 June 2007 12:37 >To: cctech at classiccmp.org >Subject: Re: NorthStar Horizon Case Cover Replacements > >> >>Subject: NorthStar Horizon Case Cover Replacements >> From: "Andrew Lynch" <lynchaj at yahoo.com> >> Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2007 17:35:13 -0400 >> To: <cctech at classiccmp.org> >> >>Hi, >> >> >> >>I noticed in another cctech mailing list thread about the NorthStar >>Horizon case cover replacements. Recently, I procured a NorthStar >>Horizon which is missing its original wooden case cover and I was >>looking to either buy an original replacement or make a new one. >> >>I did not get a lot of responses to my queries on other forums for a >>replacement wooden case cover so I am considering fabricating my own. >>Apparently, it is common for Horizons to have lost their wooden covers >>over time for many reasons and others have done what I am considering. >> >>Has anyone built replacement NorthStar Horizon case covers before and >>would be willing to build more? They do not look terribly >>sophisticated to build provided you have access to a table saw and the >>proper bits. I was planning on just copying the dimensions from >>another Horizon wooden case cover I already have. >> >>If anyone has a spare NorthStar Horizon wooden case cover, has built >>new ones, or knows how to build a replacement, I would certainly like >>to hear from you. Please email me or post here. >> >>Thank you in advance. >> > >First it's a simple 3 sided thing. with a groove routed (or kerf cut) to >overlap the cover. The corners are mitered, grooved for biscuts and >glued. >I added two 1/2" cleats to the corners of mine when I reglued it. There >are 4 recessed hole for screws to secure it. Nominal material is 3/4 oak >ply though current dimension materials would work as well. There is >nothing special about it or difficulty in making it. > >The metal cover is simple but without a bending brake it's not easy to >do. > > >Allison > >

19 years

Hyperion on eBay (Winnipeg)

by chrism3667＠yahoo.com

http://cgi.ebay.com/early-vintage-bytec-dynalogic-HYPERION-LAPTOP-COMPUTER_… ____________________________________________________________________________________ Boardwalk for $500? In 2007? Ha! Play Monopoly Here and Now (it's updated for today's economy) at Yahoo! Games. http://get.games.yahoo.com/proddesc?gamekey=monopolyherenow

19 years

Items for sale In Bel Air, Maryland

by mokuba＠gmail.com

I'm leaving for military service at the end of july, so I'm tidying up and getting rid of everything I don't need or want ... Atari Portfolio with the memory expander plus and smart parallel interface, one 64K memory card - if I can find it, there's a serial interface and another 64K card.... Boxed copy of "Harvard Graphics"... Solaris 8 box kit, Sun Ultra 5 w/o harddrive - IDE system , 270MHz UltraSPARC Iii with 384MB ram Palm IIIxe + cradle DEC 3000-300x with video cable and keyboard / mouse / adapter - OpenVMS was installed but it threw an MCHK error about the ram and I never had time to figure out which module it was ... One SparcClassic with original CPU and a scsi/ethernet sbus card - two modules of ram inside the machine both marked 4x36 ... No harddrive in the machine Numerous sun keyboards and a mouse or two ... About 4-5 apple ADB keyboards Lots of rolls of radioshack thermal fax paper 13W3 video extension cables VGA-> BNC video cables and short adapters SCSI and IDE cables out the wazoo Possibly three IPX's ... Need to check storage for them Tomorrow afternoon I should know if I still have the Indigo2 and O2 for sale, along with a powermac 8500 and a quadra 605 .. Email for information and offers please

19 years

FW: Still LOADS of free computer stuff remaining

by jack.rubin＠ameritech.net

June 19, 2007 FREE FREE FREE Even though LOADS of stuff has already been picked up, only about HALF the volume has been given away so far. Here is just a SAMPLE of what remains - Scores of modems Lots of ASCII terminals (Mostly Televideo) Hundreds of floppy disk drives As many as 100 printers (Okidata, IBM, NEC, HP, Epson, C.Itoh, Anadex, ALPS, Star Micronics, AST). We may even have some line printers in another location. Laser, dot matrix, ink jet (as well as some supplies) THOUSANDS of dollars in printer repair parts. Repair manuals. More sheet feeders and printer add-on that you have liekly ever seen in one location. A couple of photocopiers Scores of Monitors: NTCS Composite, TTL, RGB, VGA, SVGA Back up, Stand by, and on line power supplies. Lots of PC parts: power supplies, etc. Tape drives and media Over a TON of computer software...much of it never opened! Oddball parts, supplies, cables, jumper boxes Manuals, documentation, driver disks by the dozens. Altos computers, software, cables. Lots of other stuff. This stuff will go to the first person who comes by and assures me that he will responsibly use the materials and that which cannot be used will be shared with others who could use it and the final remainder will be responsibly recycled. It would be a shame for this valuable information and these parts to be 'lost' as there are so many folks who still have vintage/obsolete computers who are crying for this stuff...and it is FREE for the taking and I will help you load it up! I estimate that the remaining volume would easily fill a 24' van type truck. The stuff is located southeast of Indianapolis and northwest of Cincinnati in Shelbyville, Indiana. This is about 100 miles >from Purdue, but don't count on anything remaining by the time the Vintage Computer Show at Purdue takes place. Call me at 317-716-8807 for pick up. It would be great if one party came by and loaded it all up. Tim Deaton No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.472 / Virus Database: 269.9.0/853 - Release Date: 6/18/2007 3:02 PM

19 years

FW: Open VMS Hobbyists Disc

by RodSmallwood＠mail.ediconsulting.co.uk

Well spotted, it does have a .PCSA;1 extension. In the KIT directory is a file called ... Wait for it!! DEC-VAXVMS-TCPIP-V0501-15-1.PCSI;1 I'll read up on PRODUCT INSTALLATION Rod -----Original Message----- From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Rick Murphy Sent: 20 June 2007 11:23 To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts Subject: Re: FW: Open VMS Hobbyists Disc At 09:05 PM 6/19/2007, Rod Smallwood wrote: >Hi > The above disk having arrived (new version 7.3) I managed to >install VMS on both VAXes with out any problem. >In order to install the other items first the disk has to be mounted. >Again no difficulties. I can list the directories and see their >contents. >@SYS$UPDATE:VMSINSTAL invokes the installer, again normal. > >It then asks I'm satisified withthe backup of the system disk (Default >[YES]) >Next it wants the location of the distribution so I say >DKA100:[TCPIP_VAX051] Finally it needs the product code. So TCPIP051 to >that (they specify the >format) > >It then says it cant find the product. > > >Answers please! You can do it entirely from the command line: $ @sys$update:vmsinstal tcpip051 dka100:[tcpip_vax051.kit] The VMS distribution CDs usually have the savesets in the [.kit] subdirectory. If you don't see tcpip051.a in that directory, it's a PCSA install and you'll need to use PRODUCT INSTALL to install it. The release notes should provide pretty explicit instructions. -Rick

19 years

AMD2901s (was e: Inside old games machines,was: Re: Simulated CP/M-68K?)

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: AMD2901s (was e: Inside old games machines,was: Re: Simulated CP/M-68K?) > From: "Ethan Dicks" <ethan.dicks at gmail.com> > Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2007 13:30:47 -0400 > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >On 6/19/07, woodelf <bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca> wrote: >> Providing the word length is a multiable of 4 bits that is. > >It sure would be "fun" to debug microcode issues with nine of those >puppies chained together. Ignoring race conditions 9 of them are no harder than one. The nasty is propagation delays. A machine that you can microcode single step or slow step makes life easier. I did an "improved 8080" a bunch of years ago using 2 and it was fun. I have a dozen or so 2901Cs that were supposedly the fastest of the TTL flavor. Though the ECL parts were much faster. Allison

19 years

FW: Open VMS Hobbyists Disc

by rick＠rickmurphy.net

At 09:05 PM 6/19/2007, Rod Smallwood wrote: >Hi > The above disk having arrived (new version 7.3) I managed to install >VMS on both VAXes with out any problem. >In order to install the other items first the disk has to be mounted. >Again no difficulties. I can list the directories and see their >contents. >@SYS$UPDATE:VMSINSTAL invokes the installer, again normal. > >It then asks I'm satisified withthe backup of the system disk (Default >[YES]) >Next it wants the location of the distribution so I say >DKA100:[TCPIP_VAX051] >Finally it needs the product code. So TCPIP051 to that (they specify the >format) > >It then says it cant find the product. > > >Answers please! You can do it entirely from the command line: $ @sys$update:vmsinstal tcpip051 dka100:[tcpip_vax051.kit] The VMS distribution CDs usually have the savesets in the [.kit] subdirectory. If you don't see tcpip051.a in that directory, it's a PCSA install and you'll need to use PRODUCT INSTALL to install it. The release notes should provide pretty explicit instructions. -Rick

19 years

NorthStar Horizon Case Cover Replacements

by RodSmallwood＠mail.ediconsulting.co.uk

Hi Even though my main collection is DEC I'd love a Horizon with or with out its wooden case. I wrote a lot of code on one in CBASIC back in the 70's They are somewhat rare in the UK to say the least. In fact, the case is less of a problem than finding a system in the UK. I have a retired friend with fully equipped wood working shop. Consulting my 1979 copies of Practical Computing (a UK magazine). They were widely available in the UK. They must be out there somewhere. Rod Smallwood -----Original Message----- From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Allison Sent: 19 June 2007 12:37 To: cctech at classiccmp.org Subject: Re: NorthStar Horizon Case Cover Replacements > >Subject: NorthStar Horizon Case Cover Replacements > From: "Andrew Lynch" <lynchaj at yahoo.com> > Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2007 17:35:13 -0400 > To: <cctech at classiccmp.org> > >Hi, > > > >I noticed in another cctech mailing list thread about the NorthStar >Horizon case cover replacements. Recently, I procured a NorthStar >Horizon which is missing its original wooden case cover and I was >looking to either buy an original replacement or make a new one. > >I did not get a lot of responses to my queries on other forums for a >replacement wooden case cover so I am considering fabricating my own. >Apparently, it is common for Horizons to have lost their wooden covers >over time for many reasons and others have done what I am considering. > >Has anyone built replacement NorthStar Horizon case covers before and >would be willing to build more? They do not look terribly >sophisticated to build provided you have access to a table saw and the >proper bits. I was planning on just copying the dimensions from >another Horizon wooden case cover I already have. > >If anyone has a spare NorthStar Horizon wooden case cover, has built >new ones, or knows how to build a replacement, I would certainly like >to hear from you. Please email me or post here. > >Thank you in advance. > First it's a simple 3 sided thing. with a groove routed (or kerf cut) to overlap the cover. The corners are mitered, grooved for biscuts and glued. I added two 1/2" cleats to the corners of mine when I reglued it. There are 4 recessed hole for screws to secure it. Nominal material is 3/4 oak ply though current dimension materials would work as well. There is nothing special about it or difficulty in making it. The metal cover is simple but without a bending brake it's not easy to do. Allison

19 years

FW: Open VMS Hobbyists Disc

by RodSmallwood＠mail.ediconsulting.co.uk

________________________________ From: Rod Smallwood Sent: 20 June 2007 01:55 To: 'cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org' Subject: Open VMS Hobbyists Disc Hi The above disk having arrived (new version 7.3) I managed to install VMS on both VAXes with out any problem. In order to install the other items first the disk has to be mounted. Again no difficulties. I can list the directories and see their contents. @SYS$UPDATE:VMSINSTAL invokes the installer, again normal. It then asks I'm satisified withthe backup of the system disk (Default [YES]) Next it wants the location of the distribution so I say DKA100:[TCPIP_VAX051] Finally it needs the product code. So TCPIP051 to that (they specify the format) It then says it cant find the product. Answers please! Rod Smallwood The DECCollector

19 years

DEC M220 as a board-level bit-slice device (was Re: Inside old games machines)

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

On 6/19/07, Brent Hilpert <hilpert at cs.ubc.ca> wrote: > Before bit-slice chips, the HP 2116 was constructed in 'bit-slice form' from > SSI: 4 boards plugged into the backplane are identical, each board containing > 4 bits of the 16-bit ALU and main registers. I expect other SSI-era minis were > done this way. The PDP-8/L and PDP-8/i used this technique - six identical M220 "major registers" boards provided 2 bits each of the AC, PC, MA, and MB registers and the adders. http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/modules/mSeries/M220.pdf >From a glance at the schematics, it's about 30-some-odd inputs (various enables and adder/shift signals) and almost as many outputs on a dual-height card (72 pins total, including 2 Vcc and 4 GND). Looking at how the logic breaks down, perhaps it might be reimplementable with a pair of 22V10s for the lower part of the flow (combining enables and register bits into the adders), then perhaps a pair of 16V8s for the middle part (shifts and adds), then piped out to, perhaps, one 22V10 and then, if required for fanout, a quad buffer of some type to take the place of the two 7440s - six more modern parts to replace a stack of 7474s, 7483s, 7460s and 7440s and a 7482, of which, I think, only the 7474s are easy to find anymore. I only bring up the M220 at this level because I have a few dead M220s and will need to resort to component level repair or board-level replacement to keep my -8/i and -8/Ls running. From my existing experience, though, I'd start by ensuring my 7474s and 7440s are working as expected - I've replaced several in other boards over the years. They seem to be the two most common ICs to fail in my PDP-8/L. -ethan

19 years

Anyone got a working DEC10 (or a running emulator?)

by gtoal＠gtoal.com

A friend at Edinburgh recovered some binaries, a bit of source code, and a fair bit of documentation for the Imp language running on the Dec 10. We're holding a reunion and historical conference in Edinburgh in a couple of weeks - it occurred to me it might be fun if I could show the folks back home that the old code was running again... Does anyone have a working Dec10, whether a physical or a virtual one? Our recovered code is here: http://history.dcs.ed.ac.uk/archive/dec10/imp/ (also if you pop up a directory there's some more stuff, but not of as immediate interest as getting the compiler to run again!) If you could download any of these binaries and give them a try I'ld be very interested to see the results. I think this ran under tops10/tops20 and the precise version of CPU shouldn't be critical I don't think. A trivial "hello world" imp program might be: %begin print string("Hello world!") newline %end %of %program If anyone can get it running, I'll announce it and credit you at the conference :-) Graham

19 years

OT: demagnetization

by dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu

Can someone point me to schematics for a decent homebrewed demagnetizer? I've accidentally magnetized a bunch of little parts that really shouldn't have been. -- David Griffith dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text. Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing? A: Top-posting. Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

19 years

Wanted: Apple ADB keyboard

by zmerch-cctalk＠30below.com

Rumor has it that Richard may have mentioned these words: >In article <9e2403920706171739y297fe37dj6cbe2a1db48b675b at mail.gmail.com>, > "Josef Chessor" <josefcub at gmail.com> writes: > > > On 6/17/07, Richard <legalize at xmission.com> wrote: > > > Based on this, I believe I have a ROM 01 motherboard. It has a memory > > > expansion card in it that appears fully populated. Does it display > > > the amount of memory visible on startup? > > > > Unfortunately, no. You've got to have an Apple ADB keyboard to see > > that (enter the NVRAM setup screens by hitting Ctrl-OpenApple-Escape, > > and select the 'RAM Disk' to do so). > >Anyone got an Apple ADB keyboard laying around they'd like to offload? I believe I do - I'd have to check the attic, tho, to be sure. Dunno if it comes with a cable - would an S-Video cable work? Let me know if you want me to dig it out. Just pay shipping. Laterz, Roger "Merch" Merchberger -- Roger "Merch" Merchberger -- SysAdmin, Iceberg Computers zmerch at 30below.com Hi! I am a .signature virus. Copy me into your .signature to join in!

19 years

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