William Maddox wrote:
Some years ago, an old decomissioned Cobalt-60
radiation therapy machine that had been sold to a
Mexican hospital ended up in a lot of scrap metal.
The problem was detected when a truckload of "hot"
steel rebar set off the radiation detectors when
coming *into* one of the weapons labs. It turned out
some of the metal had ended up in the cast-iron stands
for restaurant tables (McDonald's, I think). I wonder
how much of this radiactive metal was never located...
--Bill
-------------------------------------------
There was an old Nova special about a very similar case except that a lot
children were playing with bits and pieces from the machine in the scrap
yard. Several came down with radiation poisoning and/or leukemia. By time
it was discovered there were dozens of people exposed to it. If I remember
correctly, though it was Cesium 137 packaged in nice bright coloured
packages, very attractive to children. Most of the material was never
recovered.
Billy
Someone on comp.os.cpm wanted to fiddle with the Alcyon C compiler
and asked if there is a simulation of CP/M-68K running under Unix.
After a bit of digging, I couldn't find one, which was surprising.
Does one exist? There are a few simulated 68K systems in MESS, but
none of them ran CP/M. It looks like a SAGE II simulation could be added
since the software and docs appear to be out there (doesn't look like
the SAGE IV boot prom has been dumped)
> 1820-2075 = 74LS245 (that has 20 pins, surely)
> 1826-0210 = LM361
> 1820-1197 = 74LS00
> 1820-1216 = 74LS138
> 1820-1202 = 74LS10
> 1820-1112 = 74LS74
> 1820-1422 = 74LS122
> 1820-2058 = MC3448L (HPIB buffer chip)
> 1820-0325.= MC815P
Wow!!!! Thank you!!
This really simplify the task to understand what's wrong and replace a chip
if needed.
I'm just curious about two things:
first, are this hp house codes generic (i.e. valid for any product), or are
they related to this controller only?
second, where do you find these valuable informations?!?!? ;-))
>> I've checked almost all points in the circuit, and I didn't find any -Ve
>> supply. Also, PSU only gives +5 and +12 volt.
>Yes, but if the -ve supply circuit has failed, you won't find it :-)
Oh, yes, that's true... ;-)
>I am pretty sure I have one of these, or something closely related. If
>you get stuck, I can be convinced to find it, pull the covers and do some
>tests.
Ok, I'll let you know.
In the meantime, maybe I've found a complete service manual for the drive.
I'm waiting for it.
Thank you.
Roberto
At 07:12 PM 6/14/2007, Rod Smallwood wrote:
>So back to the original question:
>
> If I want to build a Linux system I go to a distribution site (one of
>many), download an .iso image, burn it into a standard 600Mb CD, boot
>the CD and create a system. No funny block sizes, no odd file extensions
>and no special SCSI drives. So what can I not do this for VMS without
>the pantomime? A step by step known to work checklist would be a start.
A process known to work (I used this to copy the VMS Hobbyist CD:
dd if=/dev/cdrom of=vmscd.iso bs=32768
cdrecord vmscd.iso
VMS CDs use 2048 byte sectors, just like everything else so there's
nothing to worry about there.
You don't need to use a magic "512 byte" capable drive to burn the
disk, but you do need a drive that will remap if you're going to boot it.
You apparently already have the image, so get cdrecord, available for
Unix and Windows.
I do find myself wondering how you created the disk image in the first
place, and if it's actually usable; you can't just copy a ODS-2 hard
disk block-for-block onto a CD and end up with anything usable.
Why not just get yourself a copy of the Hobbyist CD and avoid the
pantomime?
-Rick
>Someone on comp.os.cpm wanted to fiddle with the Alcyon C compiler
>and asked if there is a simulation of CP/M-68K running under Unix.
>
>After a bit of digging, I couldn't find one, which was surprising.
>
>Does one exist? There are a few simulated 68K systems in MESS, but
>none of them ran CP/M. It looks like a SAGE II simulation could be added
>since the software and docs appear to be out there (doesn't look like
>the SAGE IV boot prom has been dumped)
>
>
I have a working Sage IV and would be glad to help with a simulation project by providing boot prom dumps, docs, etc.
david.
---
http://www.sageandstride.org
Hi
Yes I got past that afer a bit of trying.
I have both Ricoh and ASUS DVD and CD R/RW Drives
I had to change the extension from .img to .nrg as raw data or not
Nero would not look at either of my drives as .img is not supported.
It asks about block sizes around 2k. VMS CD are 512.
My first attempt did not boot. I'll try again to-night
Rod
-----Original Message-----
From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org
[mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Antonio Carlini
Sent: 14 June 2007 08:41
To: 'General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts'
Subject: RE: Boot CD - The last LAP
Rod Smallwood wrote:
> 2. Nero and imgBurn wont read the image file.
I'm sure I used Nero when I did this. I'm also sure that if ImgBurn
("Image Burn") cannot do it then it should be renamed :-)
I think the sequence with Nero is something like:
Start->Programs->wherever Nero Burning ROM lives
Cancel the initial screen that helps you determine whether you are
burning a CD or DVD or whatever
Recorder->Burn Image
Select "All Files" (make sure yours is called .img or .bin)
On the "Foreign Image Settings" leave it as "Data Mode 1" and tick
"Raw Data"
Try a CD-RW until you find the right incantation.
I would download one of the Freeware CDs from the HP VMS website and try
that image, so at least you know you have a good ODS-2 image at the
start.
An RRD42 will not (IIRC) cope with a CD-RW ... so you may need to use
the Yamaha to start with (assuming it will).
Antonio
I have heard of success using BurnAtOnce. It seems to be free and is
based around known-good UNIX tools (runs on Windows), and so it should
handle odd filesystems just fine (you may need to rename your image
>from .odsimg or whatever you call it to .iso for the burning run).
What is cygwin ?
-----Original Message-----
From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org
[mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Patrick Finnegan
Sent: 14 June 2007 16:27
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Re: Boot CD - The last LAP
On Thursday 14 June 2007 00:42, Rod Smallwood wrote:
> 4. Suggection for a ROM burning program that:
>
> a) Will run under Windows 2000
>
> b) Produce a cd that is Bootable on a VAX
> 4000/200 or 300.
Use cdrecord.
There's a cdrecord that runs inside of cygwin on windows...
http://smithii.com/cdrtools
(None of that GUI crap or trademark Windows "helpfulness" to get int the
way).
Pat
--
Purdue University ITAP/RCAC --- http://www.rcac.purdue.edu/
The Computer Refuge --- http://computer-refuge.org
Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 14:31:38 -0400
From: "Ethan Dicks" <ethan.dicks at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Boot CD - The last LAP
On 6/14/07, Antonio Carlini <arcarlini at iee.org> wrote:
>> Ethan Dicks wrote:
>>> The joy of operating systems with enforced filename extensions. :-P
>> To be fair, this is Nero assuming or enforcing! I can usually override
>> Windows' defaults.
>Strictly speaking, yes... but extension rigidity is a Windows mentality.
<snip>
--------------------------------
Well, I don't find it rigid at all; in fact, I find being able to associate a file
with the program that I normally want to process it, with the option to use a
different one when I have the need, to be a very convenient feature indeed.
mike
VCF East 4 was nostalgia writ large. Chuck Peddle entertained all. A true
pioneer. And other presenters - collecting and CP/M history -> warmed the
cockels of my heart; the historian in me. Kudos to all who put VCF East 4 on
-> a computer faire that celebrates old computers. May they never die.
[ Have to add this. I was in New York City after the Faire and had the most
wonderful dinner at Cosette, a French bistro on 33rd Street. Magnifique! Off
topic but we all have to eat! ]
Retro computing forever!
Murray--
>Scarce (or maybe scarcer) than hen's teeth. It's basically a 1771
>wired to handle MFM codes. I've got a couple, believe it or not.
>It'd be interesting to see if the MB8866 is anything like that.
Unfortunately I didn't find any datasheet for it.
Anyone?
Thx.
Roberto
>From: Vincent Slyngstad
>
>A friend of mine who is a former DEC employee once told me a war story
>about being given a "prototype" terminal to take home. He said the PCBs
>were thin, and kind of flexible, like the cardboard sheets in the back of a
>tablet of paper, and the thing was very tempermental -- even after you got
>it working again the MTBF was in hours. He said he eventually threw the
>accursed thing away.
>
>I wonder if this is one of those?
>
> Vince
It definitely sounds like one of these, except that the guy said he
used this one for about 6 years. I have posted more pictures of this
odd terminal. The board in the back is warped and kinda flimsy
looking. Check out the pictures:
http://www.woffordwitch.com/ProtoVT50.asp
Ashley
http://www.woffordwitch.com
I've had no problems writing ISO image files using a piece of freeware
called "CDBurnerXP Pro"
>from this website http://www.cdburnerxp.se/
Despite the name it is claimed to work on Win 2k
(Though I'm not doing VMS images these days)
Dave.
>
>Subject: Re: Viatron System 21 on eBay (US only)
> From: James <james at machineroom.info>
> Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 11:43:19 +0100
> To: General at address.invalid, "Discussion at address.invalid":On-Topic Posts Only
> <cctech at classiccmp.org>
>
>Richard wrote:
>> In article <BAY107-F37BA11B5F1E742034FDEB4D8180 at phx.gbl>,
>> "John S" <john_a_s2004 at hotmail.com> writes:
>>
>>> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330130310578
>>>
>>> Obvious question - just what is a Viatron System 21? Hard to believe it is a
>>> computer, there is very little information on the web after a quick Google
>>> search.
>>
>> Dunno, but I'm not going to up against Al for it :-)
>
>Al, of course, has docs on line! (http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/viatron/)
>
>In summary, 16 bit CPU built from LSI/MOS parts, 4 or 8 K words core
>memory. Cool :-)
It's been 29 years since I've seen one. One of the LICA (LI computer assoc,
LI NY) had one and brought it in. Impressive for it's time when an AMD EV68
(6800 based single board system) was a very big deal.
Allison
OK ...
1. I'm ready to burn a VMS image onto a CD
2. Nero and imgBurn wont read the image file.
3. What s needed is a Burner program tha will run
on a Windows 2000 system and prduce a VMS bootable CD.
4. Suggection for a ROM burning program that:
a) Will run under Windows 2000
b) Produce a cd that is Bootable on a VAX
4000/200 or 300.
Rod
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330130310578
Obvious question - just what is a Viatron System 21? Hard to believe it is a
computer, there is very little information on the web after a quick Google
search.
Regards,
John
_________________________________________________________________
Win tickets to the sold out Live Earth concert! http://liveearth.uk.msn.com
Hi all--
I'm doing some work on promoting Netrek, and it's gotton
me interested in the following qualities:
graphical (incl. ascii graphics)
action (real-time-ish)
multiplayer, by which I mean 3 or more
wide area
on the internet
teams
leagues and guilds
If anyone can help with the following questions or add material,
that'd be great...
I've got the following timeline points:
1972 - Alto Trek
probably first networked game
multiplayer
1973 (Fall) - Empire II on the PLATO system
not networked, but a wide-area multiplayer action game from
graphic terminals
did not clock like a modern game; players called for their own
screen updates manually
1974 - MazeWar, probably second networked game
? XNS/PUP, right?
first First Person Shooter
first use of Avatars (enemy players appeared as walking
eyeballs. I don't count ships as Avatars)
first level mapping
first or second rendered 3D perspective graphics (Spasim may
have been first on this)
? In 1993, SGI did a Mazewar demo at Interop, with
workstations placed around the show,
So at some point, MazeWar became playable on a routed TCP/IP
network. When?
1981 - Empire tournament play starts
1983 Jan - flag day; NCP turned off, net goes TCP/IP
1983 - SGI Dogfight (aka fight)
? I think the first game with its own Internet client-server
protocol?
? Did Mazewar get there first? It was client-server and not peer-
to-peer, right?
? I also think it was LAN-only, using broadcast UDP? I've also heard
it was originally XNS, but there's a well-known UDP port for it,
so when did it switch?
I believe that while it was possible to choose to play in
? cooperation, the game itself did not have teams per se?
1985 - X Window System 10 ships
1986 - Xtrek, descendant of PLATO Empire
? first X-Windows thrown-display game?
1988 - Xtrek II: Netrek
? second client-server game?
? first client-server team game?
? first client-server game with routeable protocol?
1991 - Netrek league play starts
So, what am I missing?
1974 to 1983 seems like too long a gap for there to have been
no ARPAnet graphic action games... there were many PLATO games
during that timeframe, and an IBM space battle game of some sort.
Also probably military simulators.
Thanks all!
Hello all - I'm heading out tomorrow on a work trip to San Jose, CA
and may have about a day for some personal adventuring. Top of my
list is the CHM, of course, having never been there. What other
landmarks, stores, shops, signs or holes in the ground are worth
seeing out that way?
I will be flying, so if I pick up anything interesting I'll be paying
to ship it back :)
-j
--
Retrocomputing and collecting in the Chicago area:
http://chiclassiccomp.org
Hi
Its down load image to a PC then burn CD ROM. Then boot CD on VAX.
My CDROM burner may not know about ODS-2/-5 I'll check
Thanks
Rod
-----Original Message-----
From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org
[mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Zane H. Healy
Sent: 13 June 2007 01:18
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
Cc: cctech at classiccmp.org
Subject: Re: Boot CD
> In Linux land you can download an ISO image and burn a boot cd
> that will install a system. Does anybody know if something similar is
> possible with VMS?
The short answer is yes.
The longer answer is that an ISO image isn't really the right term as it
is an ODS-2 or ODS-5 format disk, but most people will understand what
you're asking. I recently created a logical disk on my VMS system,
copied data to it, and then FTP'd it to my Mac where I burned it to CD
and was able to access it on my VMS box.
I'm not sure if you're asking about being able to burn CD's on VMS, but
that is also possible, at least on Alpha and Itanium, and I believe that
as of
8.3 it is part of the OS. I've not done this, as it would be more
trouble to set this up than to simply FTP the file to my Mac. :^)
Zane
Hi
Minor intervening problem.
1. Turn off VAX 4000-200
2. Install KZQSA in first free slot.
3. Leave terminator on KZQSA SCSI output connector.
4. Power up system.
5. Wait for self test -> no problems.
6. >>> SHOW DEV -> Nothing new there.
7. >>> SHOW QBUS -> Nothing new there.
8. >>> CONFIGURE -> device,number -> KZQSA,1
9. Reboot
10. Wait for self test -> no problems.
11. >>> SHOW DEV -> Nothing new there.
12. >>> SHOW QBUS -> Nothing new there.
13. ????????????????
Rod
-----Original Message-----
From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org
[mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Rick Murphy
Sent: 13 June 2007 11:24
To: 'General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts'
Subject: RE: Boot CD
At 03:23 AM 6/13/2007, Antonio Carlini wrote:
>Rod Smallwood wrote:
> > Hi
> > Its down load image to a PC then burn CD ROM. Then boot CD on
VAX.
> > My CDROM burner may not know about ODS-2/-5 I'll check
>
>If you have a binary image of an ODS-2 disk you can certainly transfer
>it to a PC and burn it to a CD-R which you can then use to boot a VAX.
>I've done that. The exact way you burn it will depend on the burning
>software, but basically you choose the mode that says "this is a
>physical image, trust me and burn it block by block".
>
>I've done this plenty of times in the past. It is even possible to
>build a hybrid CD where there is an ODS-2 structure and an ISO9660
>structure and they can even share data (files visible in both, but only
>stored once on the CD).
That's largely due to the fact that ODS-2 and base ISO9660 formats are
the same (other than block sizes.) VMS Engineering apparently had a lot
to do with the 9660 standard. The directory structures are the same,
including an RMS file control block in the directory entry. That's also
why ISO files have version numbers, just like VMS.
I wrote a VMS ACP for handling ISO disks many years ago that took
advantage of this. The intervening decade or so may have some of the
details wrong but most of what the software did was just reblocking to
cast the 2048 bit CD data into 512 bit blocks.
-Rick
.. 14) Locate brain..
15) Jumpers? Surely not? Always factory default
16) Power down
17) Remove KZQSA
18) Call up jumper settings from web.
19) Cross check and.. yup one set not default.
20) Set to default.
21) Put board back in system
22) Power up
23) Choose 4 for language
24) at >>> Type SHOW QBUS
25) Hallelujah!! -> 200002C0 (761300) = 0000 KZQSA
26) Type SHOW DEV
27) SCSI Adapter 0 (761300), SCSI ID 7
-DKA100 (YAMAHA CRW4416S)
Hell, it even read the firmware in the drive!!!
Rod
Hi,
I have a few of these for sale, priced $9 / ?5 each plus postage from the
UK.
These are blank boards, there are 100 gold plated fingers with a short track
leading to a pad with a hole. The rest of the board (glass fibre) is bare,
so no power rails etc, so you have to drill and fit sockets or components
and wire-wrap them together.
Please mention 'classiccmp' when replying.
Regards,
John
_________________________________________________________________
The next generation of Hotmail is here! http://www.newhotmail.co.uk
Here's my ROM Burner
ImgBurn supports a wide range of image file formats - including BIN, DI,
DVD, GI, IMG, ISO, MDS, NRG and PDI.
-----Original Message-----
From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org
[mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Rick Murphy
Sent: 13 June 2007 11:24
To: 'General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts'
Subject: RE: Boot CD
At 03:23 AM 6/13/2007, Antonio Carlini wrote:
>Rod Smallwood wrote:
> > Hi
> > Its down load image to a PC then burn CD ROM. Then boot CD on
VAX.
> > My CDROM burner may not know about ODS-2/-5 I'll check
>
>If you have a binary image of an ODS-2 disk you can certainly transfer
>it to a PC and burn it to a CD-R which you can then use to boot a VAX.
>I've done that. The exact way you burn it will depend on the burning
>software, but basically you choose the mode that says "this is a
>physical image, trust me and burn it block by block".
>
>I've done this plenty of times in the past. It is even possible to
>build a hybrid CD where there is an ODS-2 structure and an ISO9660
>structure and they can even share data (files visible in both, but only
>stored once on the CD).
That's largely due to the fact that ODS-2 and base ISO9660 formats are
the same (other than block sizes.) VMS Engineering apparently had a lot
to do with the 9660 standard. The directory structures are the same,
including an RMS file control block in the directory entry. That's also
why ISO files have version numbers, just like VMS.
I wrote a VMS ACP for handling ISO disks many years ago that took
advantage of this. The intervening decade or so may have some of the
details wrong but most of what the software did was just reblocking to
cast the 2048 bit CD data into 512 bit blocks.
-Rick
Having racked my ancient brain I think the white one might have been a
"Burn in test model". DEC used to rate reliability on terminals as "XXXX
Hours MTBF YY% Confidence factor". To establish a baseline they would
take several hundred terminals and run them noting the failures.
What this meant was that if you burned in terminals for XXXX Hours in
test then you could estimate the in service MTBF to a confidence level
of YY%. This was also used to estimate field service spares
requirements. If the actual failure rate differed then they would alter
the burn in time on the production testing.
As the test models were never intended for sale they never bothered to
get them silk screened. What do with a lot of unsaleable VDU's? Answer
give them to your employees.
Rod Smallwood
DEC Terminals Product Line 1973.
-----Original Message-----
From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org
[mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Ashley Carder
Sent: 12 June 2007 14:57
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
Cc: wacarder at usit.net
Subject: Strange VT50 Decscope
A couple of months ago I acquired a strange looking terminal that was
said to be a VT50 Decscope. A picture of it can be found on my web site
at:
http://www.woffordwitch.com/VT50.asp
The case looks like it was cast in pieces from a rough mold of a
standard VT50. Many of the key caps are not the usual color, and look
more like the key caps on the earlier VT05. I have not opened it up and
studied the inside yet to see if it has the proper "guts" of a VT50.
The previous owner said that he worked for DEC back in the 1970s, and
they gave this "VT50" to him to use at home so that he could remotely
connect to a system at work.
Are there any former DEC employees (or anyone else) here who have ever
seen or heard of anything like this?
Thanks,
Ashley Carder
http://www.woffordwitch.com
Yes definitly existed..
Same case as a VT52.
Difference may have been
a) 12 x 80
b) Uppercase only
c) 20mA only.
Rod Smallwood
DEC Terminals Product Line 1973
-----Original Message-----
From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org
[mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Ashley Carder
Sent: 12 June 2007 18:28
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Re: Strange VT50 Decscope
>> Are there any former DEC employees (or anyone else) here who have
ever seen or heard of anything like this?
Richard said:
>I saw one of these for sale on ebay recently, advertised as a VT52.
This is the one that was on ebay. It was listed as a VT50. It also
came with the VT50 engineering prints and a VT50 manual.
Ashley
