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101090 discussions

by doc＠mdrconsult.com

y'all, This really is a plug for a for-profit business. Flame on. A few weeks ago there was a thread concerning sources for 7400 TTLs. I thought my friends here stock them, but kept my mouth shut till I had a chance to check. I was up there yesterday and they have literally 50-60 feet of 6' shelves, nothing but 74xxxx ICs. They also have an amazing array of arcane memory modules sitting around. I have a vested interest in this. MCH introduced me to the art of hacking when they saved me several hundred bucks by swapping the DRAMs on a memory module for me. They're one of the few shops I know that still keep soldering irons and use them. I want them to stay profitable. :^) They're MC Howard Electronics in Austin, Tx. http://www.mchoward.com 1-800-490-6896 eBay seller mchowardelectronics Warning: pay no attention to the prices on the website. Call 'em up and chat. They ship internationally. Doc

19 years, 3 months

Value of a PDP/8?

by wacarder＠earthlink.net

> Jules wrote: >I feel the need to ask - what is it that makes DEC stuff so popular and >collectible, versus other machines of the same time period? Generally they're >equally as interesting, and often more so (IMHO) due to all the quirks and >design differences versus the more mainstream DEC stuff. > >So... why? More of a community? Better documentation? Better hardware or >software availability? What do collectors *do* with their running DEC systems >anyway? > >I'm not knocking the DEC crowd in any way - just trying to work out what it is >that makes the systems so much more popular than anything else of the time. I >feel like I'm missing some vital piece of info :-) With me (and maybe with other folks too), the PDP-11 was the first computer I ever "knew", and it is what I learned on. I think in the 1970s the PDP-11 and PDP-8 were commonly used in academic computer centers. Once I met the PDP-11, I was hooked. My life / career has revolved around computers ever since. As for what I do with my running DEC systems, I boot them up from time to time and maybe play a game of Adventure, punch a program on paper tape on the ASR33, print a pinup poster on the LA36 on greenbar paper, copy RK05 packs to disk image files on my PC, etc. Periodically I will get a new peripheral (drive, terminal, etc) and test it out and rack it with my system. Lately I have done nothing at all because I have been too busy with other things. Ashley

19 years, 3 months

Hewlett Packard A quick reference to HP Time-Shared BASIC

by billdeg＠degnanco.com

I have posted scans on my web site for the Hewlett Packard "A quick reference to HP Time-Shared BASIC" The guide was printed in 1969 for users of the HP 2000A. http://www.vintagecomputer.net/hp/2000A/

19 years, 3 months

Someone in the UK who can make an 8" disk from my NEC APC images?

by dave06a＠dunfield.com

I received an email from a gentleman in Burnley, England who has recently received a NEC APC, and managed to format A: instead of B: while attempting to backup the only system disk ... (and he didn't have it write protected). He's found my APC images, but he's not setup to make a 8" disk on a PC. He's asked for my help, however I wanted to check and see if there's someone closer to him (I'm in Canada, so it's a fair ways to post disks). He needs someone who can either write my DOS 2.11 disk image to an 8" floppy for him (it's in ImageDisk format), or someone who has a working APC and can simply copy the DOS 2.11 boot disk. He has blank disks - he just needs someone who can put the system on one for him. Can anyone help? Please contact me and I'll connect the two of you. Regards, 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

19 years, 3 months

Value of a PDP/8?

by aek＠bitsavers.org

> OK, so this is a pretty dumb question, but what is the 'value' of a > typical PDP/8? PDP8/A's appear to be the least valuable. The original PDP-8 and 8/S much more so. Price ranges are $300 or so for an 8/A. A well configured Original 8 with a discs and DECtape sold for well over 10K within the past few years. If you want something with lights and paddle switches, an 8/E with a usable mass-storage device and full compliment of memory will be on the order of 2K

19 years, 3 months

Ashley Carder: VT52

by legalize＠xmission.com

"Ashley Carder" sent me an email about the VT52 and I accidentally deleted it, so if you could resend I would appreciate it. Thanks! -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/download/index.html> Legalize Adulthood! <http://blogs.xmission.com/legalize/>

19 years, 3 months

Microterm ACT V terminal on epay

by jwstephens＠msm.umr.edu

for the St. Louis collectors this might be interesting. It may even be the one I sold some years ago. I had both this one, and the small keyboard package (ACT-I?) which fed composite video as well. I wish I still had the original one, but IIRC I got quite a bit for it in the 80's when I sold it. maybe Jay might like this one if he doesn't have one already. Just be sure if you buy this one or any similar to make sure they handle the suspension of the CRT in the package. I have had a microdata Prism for example snap the plastic mounting tabs by not supporting the thing and then putting it in proper packaging. jim 270095781634

19 years, 3 months

Vintage terminals (was Re: PDP-11 available in New Zealand)

by wacarder＠earthlink.net

>> > Where can you get real VT52s nowadays? I haven't >> seen one on Ebay for at >> > least three years. >> >I have never seen one on eBay - and I have looked >often. Found a lot of other things that are named VT52 >though... I have several VT52s, alive and semi-alive. I have been clearing out some space in my shop and would be willing to part with one of the semi-alive ones for a small fee. If anyone is interested, contact me off-list at wacarder at usit.net. If you're not into component-level debugging, I can dig up the name of a place in the northeastern U.S. that would repair them for $125 a couple of years ago. Ashley Carder http://www.woffordwitch.com

19 years, 3 months

DEC Disks Available

by James＠jdfogg.com

> I was just at the local scrapper and had him put aside two > RL02s, an RA81, an Unibus crate ( I wasn't able to get the > model), a dual cassette box, and the red and orange trim > pieces that go at the top and between the units - everything > was about to be sent to the shredder. If there is any > interest, let me know and I'll pass on the info. I can do any > checkout anyone wishes later in the week. What part of the country are these in?

19 years, 3 months

FW: Free PDP-11/34A in Germany

by cvijovic＠EUnet.yu

Dear Sir Where I can find to buy PDP11-04 or 11-34 and what will be a price. Velimir Cvijovic

19 years, 3 months

Gemini, Shugart and Xebec

by richard.smith＠mewgull.com

Hi all, I've just dug out my old Gemini 80-BUS computer to remind myself what I was doing back then..... It has a Shugart SA604 hard drive with a Xebec S1410 controller and a Gemini GM829 FDC/ SASI controller card.....as well as two TEC FB-504 floppy drives. I have the original test certificate for the Shugart, dated 5-16-84 signed off by the operator Barb! I have a file with all the old user manuals, and a catalogue from the mid-1980s with a price list from May 1986! Question is, do I put this lot back into the cupboard, do I sell it or do I junk it? Any suggestions? Richard

19 years, 3 months

Chi Corp. / Computer Logics PCTD3 and PCTD16 Pertec-interface

by glen.slick＠gmail.com

Pulled this out of archives: > Chuck Guzis cclist at sydex.com > Wed Nov 30 01:06:31 CST 2005 > > I've got both Chi Corp./Computer Logics PCTD3 and PCTD16 Pertec-interface > tape controlers. What I don't have is a clue as to how to drive them. > > Normally, this wouldn't be a problem that running down traces and some > pencil and paper work wouldn't cure. But, other than for a couple of > lines, much of the logic for these cards is hidden inside an early Xilinx > FPGA. Thus far, my "pork poking" hasn't given up any information. > > So, I'm wondering if anyone has any information on these beasts or perhaps > has hung onto the TDRIVER.EXE or API.EXE files. I'm not interested in > using the files, but rather want to use them to give up some clues on how > that blasted FPGA is set up. > > Thanks, > Chuck > Do you still have a PCTD16? I acquired one not too long ago and have it cabled up to a Fujistu 2444AC. I'll have to take another look at the card. I don't remember seeing anything that looked more complicated that 16-pin DIPs. Nothing that clearly stood out as an FPGA. Luckily it was acquired inside a PC with Chi API.EXE and Outright on the MS-DOS boot drive, along with a small manual with the programming interface for the API.EXE TSR. No sign of TDRIVER.EXE. It didn't take too much to port the 2.11BSD maketape.c program (http://www.tribug.org/pub/tuhs/PDP-11/Distributions/ucb/2.11BSD/) to an MS-DOS application using the API.EXE TSR interface. Last night I created a 2.11BSD installation tape using the PCTD16, then connected the 2444AC to a QT13 (using a pair of Pertec cables I built up myself) and finally got 2.11BSD installed and booting up on my 11/73. -Glen

19 years, 3 months

14" drives

by marvin＠rain.org

Someone I know *had* some 14" drives but the only thing I saw left were two 14" platters and an aluminum casing. It sounded like the complete unit was about 24" or so square and maybe 18" high. Rack mount? I don't know. First, does this *really* vague description describe anything useful? Second, there was half an aluminum casing left; is this worthwhile saving? He is going to see if there are any more drives left, but I am kind of curious if it is worth the effort.

19 years, 3 months

Vintage terminals (was Re: PDP-11 available in New Zealand)

by jfoust＠threedee.com

At 04:03 PM 3/8/2007, Ethan Dicks wrote: >For VT100-compatible work, it's not _too_ hard to set up an emulation >environment that handles 99% of what's thrown at it (vttest is a good >way to see how your emulator _really_ behaves). If you need >double-high/double-wide or flashing chars, etc., I've wondered if anyone ever developed an emulator based on an emulation of the hardware and ROM inside the terminal. - John

19 years, 3 months

Data I/O model IX and 1702A proms

by jack.rubin＠ameritech.net

Dwight, The early Data I/O burners took individual sets of digital/analog cards to program each prom or family. For models 1 through 9, these were separate cards. In Models 17 and 19, the same two cards were combined in a Card Pak (carrier) which snapped into the chassis just like the UniPaks. For the Intel 1702A and equivalents, the card set was the 909/919-1183-1 (909 meant the two cards alone, 919 is the same two cards in a programming pak carrier. In either case, the card set consisted of a "digital" card, 701-1173, and an "analog" card, 701-1183-1. The cards were joined by cable 709-1608. In addition, a special socket adapter, p/n 1047, was used for these PROMs. I have the programming pak carrier minus the socket adapter and with a set of 1063 cards installed. Unfortunately, I have no idea what the target PROM is for this card set. I do have the calibrator and 1702 adapter card for it but without the programming cards it really isn't too useful. Scooter (riatla) is one of the eBay "good guys" and would probably be willing to take a peek inside the chassis to see what cards are included. More to the point, I figured by now that you or one of the other listers would have come up with a modern programmer for the 1702A - can't be too difficult other than the -48v programming requirements and I expect a few others would be interested in the project if someone designed one. Jack -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 268.18.7/711 - Release Date: 3/5/2007 9:41 AM

19 years, 3 months

Vintage terminals (was Re: PDP-11 available in New Zealand)

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: Vintage terminals (was Re: PDP-11 available in New Zealand) > From: "Ethan Dicks" <ethan.dicks at gmail.com> > Date: Thu, 08 Mar 2007 17:05:00 -0500 > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > >On 3/8/07, Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com> wrote: >> David Griffith <dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu> writes: >> >> > Where can you get real VT52s nowadays? I haven't seen one on Ebay for >> > at least three years. >> >> At the expense of looking stupid (again), why not use one of the many >> VT-100/VT-220-type teminals that also have a VT-52 mode? > >Dunnou about David's needs, but for my own (VTEDIT under OS/8), >emulation within a more modern dumb terminal is rarely accurate >enough. If you just want approximate emulation, lots of DEC terminals >and DEC-compatible terminals do offer VT-52 emulation, but I've only >tested and rejected the emulation in the VT220. > >-ethan I use my VT320 and 340 in VT52 mode with no issues. The VT100 does it very well. Vt220 did bse VT52 but it was a marketing error to not make it fully compatable, something fixed in later tubes. The hard reality is the VT52 was so limited that to write an emulation >from scratch is fairly trivial. Heck I did a PT VDM-1 driver that did base VT52 (video side) sequences so I could use it with Vedit and VTedit (under cp/M and as terminal to PDP8). The only significant breakage was 64 vs 80char lines. What is hard is a good keyboard emulation of VT100 or VT52 on PCs as the keypads really don't match. PC terminal emulations are mostly plain broken. Allison

19 years, 3 months

Commodore is back--sort of

by cclist＠sydex.com

>from ttp://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070306-commodore-announces- new-gaming-pcs.html: "At the upcoming CeBit electronics show in Germany on March 15, a company called Commodore Gaming is scheduled to release a new line of gaming PCs for the European market. "25 years ago, Commodore launched the best selling personal computer of the late 20th Century, the C64, and defined the early computer games experience for millions of people worldwide," said Bala Keilman, CEO for Commodore Gaming. "We are privileged and excited to bring the Commodore brand back to the gaming community and mark a new chapter in its history with this exceptional machine. We're sure that it will deliver what gamers need and want." Cheers, Chuck

19 years, 3 months

PDP-11 available in New Zealand

by walkerpa＠ihug.co.nz

For the record a PDP 11/04 is on offer at: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Computers/Vintage/auction-90878548.htm I seem to recall that comment on the list has been that these machines are fairly easily obtained. And there's the *slight* drawback for anyone who's interested that it's pick-up only! Cheers, Peter

19 years, 3 months

tools / test gear / components in the US?

by Watzman＠neo.rr.com

Here is a list of some places where I find things: www.computergate.com www.pimfg.com www.cyberguys.com www.monoprice.com (cables) www.digikey.com www.mouser.com http://www.stanleysupplyservices.com/ (was Jensen Tools, Contact East and others) www.jameco.com www.zipzoomfly.com www.newegg.com

19 years, 3 months

bitsavers RSS beta

by aek＠bitsavers.org

> I suppose (or is it like that already?) bitsavers needs some form of database This is difficult to do the way that it is hosted and mirrored currently. Right now, it is just a directory heirarchy with a couple of files I have to manually edit and upload every time I add something (IndexByDate and Whatsnew in the pdf directory) There are no equivalent files in the 'bits' directory. I know Jay would like it to distribute the transfer load across the mirrors, too.

19 years, 3 months

Multiplexing Nixies

by tpeters＠mixcom.com

At 07:21 PM 3/6/2007 -0500, you wrote: >On 3/6/07, Steven Canning <cannings at earthlink.net> wrote: >>I think the multiplexing issue has been well addressed ( no pun intended ) >>so for those who would like to mux their nixies may I suggest checking into >>the following IC's for that purpose: 7441, 74141 and the Soviet KM1551 ( Das >>Vadanya ! ) . > >I knew about the 7441 and the 74141 (such things are well covered in >Don Lancaster's "TTL Cookbook"). I did _not_ know what the Russian >part number is. I'll have to see if I can scare up one or two of >those. I was thinking of breaking my large strip of Nixies into a >clock or three. My great treasure is a box of Burroughs 7971 nixies. I have five, or maybe six of them. As you may know, these are "British Flag" displays that can do any number, letter, and some punctuation. They're 4.55 inches high, excluding the pins, and the characters are 2.5 inches high. They have 15 segments each making designing for them a challenge. What I want it a device I can build with a PIC or two that will display the time and maybe the temp, plus a scrolling alpha numeric message uploaded to it via a USB port. I see USB port boards for PIC use all over the place, but I'm fairly daunted by the prospect of designing a circuit flexible enough to drive 6x15 segment nixies. Maybe a character generator in addition to the main PIC?? The other thing I want is a WWV decoder so it sets itself. Yes, I know I could periodically set it over a USB port, but I want it to be self sufficient if no PC is handy. The only suggestions I've gotten so far are to cut up a cheapo atomic clock from a big-box store and salvage the 1 PPS output from it. That might help me keep it accurate, but won't help me set it automagically. Others have suggested a GPS eval board. Those are certainly cheap enough and some require no more than power and spit out NMEA strings the minute you power them up. But GPS won't work indoors and certainly not in the basement. Still looking, -Tom ----- 445. [Humor] I just got skylights put in my place. The people who live above me are furious. --Steven Wright --... ...-- -.. . -. ----. --.- --.- -... 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

19 years, 3 months

New subscriber

by compoobah＠valleyimplants.com

> On Wed, 7 Mar 2007, Jules Richardson wrote: > >> Jim MacKenzie wrote: >>> Hello, >>> >>> I just recently got approved as a participant on the list. >> >> Welcome, pull up a VAX cluster etc. :-) > > Speaking of which, and continuing my wantwantwant: does anyone have a > fairly recent OpenVMS VAX (i.e. beyond 7.3-something, whatever version > shipped TCP/IP with ssh v2, or better) ? In return I can assist with > kits > from a recent-ish CONDIST for OpenVMS VAX. That would be difficult. OpenVMS AXP can be done (but is not convenient - I've been keeping tabs on the Hobbyist distro and they're trying to remaster with v8.2, but it is slow). v8.anything VAX would require acquisition of sources and backporting. VAX support stopped at 7.3 (boo, hiss, and all that I suppose). BTW, excl. a better SSH (which can be done with Multinet or TCPware, see www.process.com [they even have hobbyist licenses]) what are the advantages of v8 for you?

19 years, 3 months

OT Re: Is this true?? (TI & watches)

by marvin＠rain.org

> From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com> > I can remember seeing at least one project for a crystal-controlled > timing source using tubes (I think it used push-pull 6F6's in the > output stage) to run an ordinary synchronous-motor wall clock. This > would probably be during the 1940s or 50s. > > Does anyone remember that the oldest of said wall clocks required the > owner to start the motor manually by spinning a little knurled shaft > located on the back? I seem to recall a rumor where the power companies were offering to replace at no charge those clocks that needed to be mamually started (before my time.) The reason had something to do with using power that didn't register on the power meter. Anyone here know if this is fact or fiction?

19 years, 3 months

cctalk Digest, Vol 43, Issue 15

by mtapley＠swri.edu

At 19:41 -0600 3/7/07, ard wrote: >Well, I've said many times the most important piece of test gear is not a >'scope or multimeter, it's that thing between your ears. Your call :-) Ah. My "ballast". (My family calls it 'rocks', but what do they know ...) -- - 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.

19 years, 3 months

Some mainstream media attention for our hobby

by evan＠snarc.net

Hey listmates ... some good news ... Computerworld magazine invited me to blog for them about our hobby. I'm really excited about this because Computerworld's site reaches hundreds of thousands of people! This means awesome exposure for our hobby to a prime audience of potential new collectors. (Way back in April 2004, as many of you will recall, I announced the "Computer Collector Newsletter" ... that started with 350-ish subscribers and reached 1,000 before I burned out two full years later. But that's kiddie play compared to the likes of Computerworld.) There isn't much posted yet -- just a short bio and a short "hello world" post. There still won't be much until post-VCF East this summer. Anyway, I just wanted to share the good news. The classiccmp list will be atop the blog's links page. Feel free to suggest blog topics, etc. - Evan

19 years, 3 months

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