I have a terminal server (NIB) but it didn't come with any of the
cabling for connecting a gaggle of serial devices to the server. I
could always make one, but its pretty tedious. I'd consider buying
them for a reasonable price from someone who has some they're not
using.
Thanks!
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download
<http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/download/index.html>
All:
I have a question. I'm getting a Tandy 2000 that doesn't have a
color monitor (it comes with a VM-1 monochrome). I've read that you could
use a third-party (i.e., non-Tandy) color monitor like the old NEC
Multi-Sync, but I was wondering if a modern VGA monitor could be used if I
made a 9-pin to 15-pin adapter.
Thanks for any hints.
Rich
Rich Cini
Collector of classic computers
Lead engineer, Altair32 Emulator
Web site: <http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/>
http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/
Web site: http://www.altair32.com/
/***************************************************/
On 2 Nov, 2006, at 18:00, cctech-request at classiccmp.org wrote:
> The Versatec V80 electrostatic printer is another odd beast -- it
> builds up a charge image on special paper and then flows liquid toner
> over it (yes, I have one, and not just beacuae it was one printer
> supported on the PERQ).
We used to have a V80 on long term loan from Versatec so we could
develop a 'GreenSheet' interface card for the NuBus slots in the older
Macs along with driver software to drive their wide (up to six foot)
electrostatic and Laser printers. It never gave us any problems, so
few moving parts to give trouble. I wonder, can you still get the
bottles of toner or do you mix your own?
On the subject of peripherals, my 1301 has a card reader, card punch,
line printer, paper tape reader (Elliott type) and a non standard
paper tape punch (Teletype BRPE). I'm not sure if the drums really
count as peripherals, but I have two connected, 12000 words by 48 bits
and of course the mag tape drives from my recent e-mail.
The second machine has card reader, card punch, printer, one drum
and more tape decks (13 in total).
More modern, I have an Apple Imagewriter 2 and some of the older
Apple parallel printers made by C.Itoh to connect to the Apple 3 and
the Lisa. Shortly before I joined the list we chucked out one of the
original Apple Laserwriters and their DaisyWheel printer. They both
still worked but took up too much space (and the LaserWriter made
a lot of Ozone). If anyone has one of the old HP electrostatics
printers (A1 size or D size to the guys in the states), I still have
some
bits from it, the ink pump, the big transformer and some rollers. I
have quite a few manuals for pen plotters and some printers from the
eighties if anyone is lacking a manual for their plotter.
--- Jim Battle <frustum at pacbell.net> wrote:
> aliensrcooluk at yahoo.co.uk wrote:
> ...
> > Can we *please* stop acting like kids? As I
> > figure (forgive me if I'm wrong) it most of you
> > guys are in your 50's/60's. The only exceptions
> > I know of are myself (27, before you ask)
> > and Cameron Kaiser (Cameron, I got a copy
> > of Robert Bernardo's footage from both
> > CommVEx 2005 & 2006 and would like to say
> > that even though I don't own a C64 I love
> > the intro to Geotrope).
> >
>
> Andrew --
>
> There are many people (hundreds) under 50 on this
> list. A couple years
> ago there was a thread about demographics. You
> should also be aware
> that there are > 1000 people on the list, even if
> most don't post very
> often.
>
Ahhh, ok.
*feels this >< big*
I didn't know the list had >1000
members. I thought it was more around the
500 mark. Either way, it's still alot of people.
That said, the demographics have probably
changed slightly.
Regards,
Andrew B
aliensrcooluk at yahoo.co.uk
> On Nov 2, 2006, at 12:47 PM, woodelf wrote:
> >> Not to be argumentative, but you sound exactly like someone who's
> >> never
> >> really participated in a wiki-centric community.
> >> If you tried it (and correct me if you have), you might find you
> >> like it.
> >
> > Well I like email-lists ( other than send.me.spam :) ) since I
> > don't have to navigate thru a web site. How soon do you expect the
> > wiki will have 'Pee Cee' stuff on it, my guess is 15 minutes or
> > a sex ad posted.
>
> Yep. It's rare for a community survive a mailing list -> wiki
> transition. Things that start out as wikis seem to do ok, but they
> tend to attract a slightly different crowd...those who think a web
> browser is "how you access the Internet". ;)
>
> -Dave
And I think that if those wanting classiccmp to "go wiki" would try some classic computer searches
at wikipedia.org (assuming they haven't already done so), they'd find that there's already a
tremendous amount of technical and historical information there with more easily added by anyone
who desires to. And, of course, new topics can be created if some system you have expertise on
isn't represented.
Of course, I might be misunderstanding their request since I'm not familiar with wiki sites being
used as substitutes for email groups. Perhaps there's some great advantage of which I'm not
aware. However, since the wiki topic has apparently been discussed here before at length and
didn't meet with approval, I'll go with those previous conclusions.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Check out the New Yahoo! Mail - Fire up a more powerful email and get things done faster.
(http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta)
I've got a bunch (maybe 10) of the 50 pin blue-ribbon connector SCSI-
1 cables. Most are about a foot long, though some are longer. I've
also got a bunch of 10base2 50 ohm RG-58/U coax cables with BNC's on
each end. Several are 10 foot, a couple are longer. Heck, I'll even
throw in a bunch of terminators and tees.
Anyone interested in the whole lot for the cost of postage?
Cheers,
Chuck
> > Tony Duell wrote:
> >
> > > You do. It saved them having to fit a tokenising routine into the ROM.
> > >
> > > So how do you distinguish 'calculator' from 'computer'?
> > They work better as a door jam. :)
>
> Except that a common name for the ZX81 over here was the 'black
> doorwedge' :-)
>
> -tony
That's what Commodore used them for:
"Under this steady promotional blitz [of the C64], plus a trade-in option that offered a $100
rebate on any other computer or video game console (a clever New York chain called Crazy Eddy
started selling the cheap Timex Sinclair 1000, an Americanised Sinclair ZX-81, for $10 so that
users could get the rebate; Commodore donated most of them to charity but kept some, reportedly,
for doorstops!), sales skyrocketed and the C64 eclipsed its older sibling within a short time."
http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/ckb/secret/history.html
____________________________________________________________________________________
Get your email and see which of your friends are online - Right on the New Yahoo.com
(http://www.yahoo.com/preview)
--- Julian Wolfe <fireflyst at earthlink.net> wrote:
> >
> > NO ONE SAID THAT CLASSICCMP WAS GOING TO BECOME
A
> WIKI, AND
> > STOP BEING A MAILING LIST.
> >
> > NO ONE.
>
> Starting Monday, it will only be available via WAI
S.
>
Huh?! I hope you are joking Julian, as it is
Jay in charge of this list. I have no desire to
move to Wiki. I enjoy reading emails from the
list.
Can we *please* stop acting like kids? As I
figure (forgive me if I'm wrong) it most of you
guys are in your 50's/60's. The only exceptions
I know of are myself (27, before you ask)
and Cameron Kaiser (Cameron, I got a copy
of Robert Bernardo's footage from both
CommVEx 2005 & 2006 and would like to say
that even though I don't own a C64 I love
the intro to Geotrope).
Sheesh......
Andrew B
aliensrcooluk at yahoo.co.uk
I have a paper tray for an Apple Laserwriter Select, free for price of
postage.
--
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?
> I think a wiki would be a nice adjunct. It could become something like
> an "annotated bitsavers" if we all put things there.
I have been thinking of something like that for a long time. There are lots
of little tidbits I've collected on systems that aren't documents. A few
show up in the 'pdf' directory because I think they're important (like
histories and bibliographies). Problem is I have so many documents
backlogged that I never get around to creating the commentary (with
REFERENCES d**m it!).
That's pretty much why I just update related entries on wikipedia and add
pointers to the source documentation on bitsavers.
This does bring up the point that expanding the wikipedia entries is a good
thing too, and would have a wider audience than a specialty wiki. There is
the start of a software related wiki on the Computer History Museum's
Software Preservation SIG http://community.computerhistory.org/scc/scwiki
But there isn't any content there yet.
Hi Cosmac experts,
recently I got hands on a Cosmac 1802 Evaluation Kit Rev 2
(CDP18S020). There is a a "Cosmac CDP18S021 Micro Terminal"
as well. I want to restore this kit and would be very happy
to get hands on a user manual with schematics for this!
Google did not bring up the desired result.
In powering up the unit, the 1802 executes "Wait for DMA or
IRQ (0x00)" permanently and thus the micro terminal stays
black as well. There is a firmware ROM CDPR522 on the unit
and all datasheets are available on the www. Only the chip
labeled "RCA 640" within the micro terminal are mystic,
but a schematic might help here, too.
Any hints where to get the user manual or a copy of it?
Best regards,
Erik.
I saw a mention of the laserwriters by Roger Holmes in his posting, and
remembered I have some to get rid of as well. I have them in Anaheim,
Ca. They are free take if you pick them up.
Probably no interest for the same reason he chucked his (size and ozone)
but better to ask before the act.
I originally planned to use them with older sun systems, since they could
substitute for the Sun laserwriters, but since have gone to the freebie
ghostscript stack to print what .ps files I need.
The larger sun laserwriters were fast and clean, but not for the
faint hearted to set up. The apple writers matched the lower end
ones with the movement similar to the HP laserwriter 2's.
I'm also inclined to chuck the Laserwriter 2 I have, if there is
interest in that.
The Apple laserwriters are untested. The Laserwriter moves
paper, but is in need of attention to work.
Jim
Just had this offer from someone: "I am having a clear out and have a couple
of Mac IIs, 2 good colour monitors and various peripherals including a b/w
laserwriter and scanner."
We've got all the Apple stuff that we need (with the exception of a Lisa 1 ;)
but maybe someone else on the list can rescue these. They're free for pickup
>from Cradley Heath - yell at me off-list if you want them and I'll pass on
contact details...
cheers
Jules
------------Original Message:
From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com>
Subject: Re: Discussion of large systems
>On 2 Nov 2006 at 10:25, M H Stein wrote:
> And considering the cost of CPU time and the fact that input data was
> still on punched cards in most cases, it was usually more efficient and
> cost-effective to still sort the cards off-line and then copy/merge to/with
> tape.
I suppose that relibility was about the same--the chance of creating
a mangled card in unit-record gear was probably about the same as
that of mangling it in a 1442.
------------Reply:
Reminds me of my very first night working in a unit record shop:
Was running an invoicing job on a 402 with a 514 punching the new
summary cards; loaded the feed hoppers with cards and went upstairs
for a smoke and a chat with my new boss. Came back down to reload
the hoppers about a half hour later, but there were only two or three
cards punched in the 514 instead of the 200 or so expected, and one
card sticking out from under the machine cover. Opened the cover
and the other 197 or so cards literally exploded out of the machine, torn,
accordioned and with nice black stripes where they'd passed through
the drive gears into the machine's innards instead of into the output stacker.
Figured it was going to be a good place to work when the boss joined
me in the keypunch room and helped with finding and putting the torn
fragments back together in order to manually repunch them. Got pretty
good at reading cards that night...
m
Some TV bonehead (I've come to realize that anyone who works in TV is a
bonehead) e-mailed me last night to tell me he "desperately" needs a "cool
looking" computer terminal for a commercial shoot this weekend.
If anyone has a terminal they think looks "cool" and would like to earn
some cash, e-mail me prontolitiously.
Do not reply to this message because I'm not subscribed to the list. If
you do reply even after having just been told that I'm not subscribed,
you too will be deemed a bonehead.
Contact me directly.
--
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org
[ Old computing resources for business || Buy/Sell/Trade Vintage Computers ]
[ and academia at www.VintageTech.com || at http://marketplace.vintage.org ]
On 2 Nov, 2006, at 18:00, cctech-request at classiccmp.org wrote:
>>> Does anyone have enough tape drives that they can do the
>>> multi-drive merge/sort tape algorithms described in Knuth's
>>> Art of Computer Programming?
>>
>>
>> That would be six, I believe. But, why? Just to say one did it?
>> In today's world, the way to implement the same algorithm would be to
>> use disk files; MUCH faster. With a TERABYTE of screaming fast disk
An ICT 1301 can support up to eight half inch tape decks. I actually
have
13 decks in total, though currently I only have three of them running.
Only one of them can both read and write, though that is the next
thing on the
list to be sorted out. We need to write an 'All Ones' tape to re-
calibrate the
read amplifiers (ten per deck). Then hopefully we will not be relying
on the
error correction circuitry to correct the single bit errors we are
currently
getting almost all the time. Maybe next year I could get six or seven
decks
working but our priority is to read the libraries of software
recorded on the
very old tapes. Surprisingly this seems to be possible, we have
already read
some data off a tape written 30 years ago or more. At only 300 frames
per
inch the bits are so much bigger they are less likely to degrade (I
hope).
There is an engineer's facility to 'Read All Tracks' which we will
use to
read the entire tape, hopefully without stopping and send all 40MB
to a parallel port we are building with a built in FIFO. The data
will then
hopefully be captured onto a modern machine. We will repeat this two or
three times on different decks and then analyse the data to produce the
original (up to 10MB of data per reel). There may be some digits we will
not be sure of due to multiple bit failures in a single frame, but we
will
at least know which ones they are. The regular read hardware just says
which blocks have one of more frames with multi bit failures.
I am hoping to extend the computer room, get both my 1301s assembled and
have all 13 decks in a row. There's no plans yet to get the second 1301
running but I want to get it at least bolted together whilst there is
a glimmer
of a memory in my head as to how to do it. I have a quite a few years
to go
before senility (I hope), but it is already 30 years since I took
that beast apart
and the ink on the labels I carefully applied has now faded away to
almost
nothing.
There will be room for a small exhibition of other stuff, props used
in the making
of the 'Darling Buds of May', some old Apple computers, ][, ][e, ///,
Lisa and
some older Macs, plus a mechanical calculator, a wind up gramaphone,
a 19th century pounds shillings and pence till made by NCR, an Eddison
drum (grooves not magnetic) dictating machine and player, and maybe
some stuff which is currently in my office, an HP7475 plotter, a big old
HP DraftMaster MX+ plotter and various other items I have not had the
heart to throw in the skip over the years. Oh and my UK101 computer
maybe. It'll only be open one day a year to the general public when we
hold a classic car show at the farm.
Surprisingly this seems to be possible, we have already read
some data off a tape written 30 years ago or more. At only 300 frames
Per inch the bits are so much bigger they are less likely to degrade (I
hope).
There is an engineer's facility to 'Read All Tracks' which we will
use to read the entire tape, hopefully without stopping and send all 40MB
to a parallel port we are building with a built in FIFO. The data
will then hopefully be captured onto a modern machine.
--
If you are interested, I could probably get you one of these when they're
available
http://bitsavers.org/tools/wizl/tapewizl/
Paul Pierce built something similar to what you did for recovering 7-track
data, and discovered that you really need to recover the data using analog
techniques to get any reliability.
http://www.piercefuller.com/collect/proj.html
Jay West wrote:
> I posted about this board before and one or more people said they had
one.
> Now I'm curious if anyone has documentation for it :)
Ooh, if only you had asked me a few years ago!
> This is a 3rd party quad height unibus board and appears to be a 4
port SLU.
> The manufacturer is ACT, and the only part numbers I can find on the
board
> are 10015000, 10015001, and 10015002.
These were very common for 20 years as DL11-alikes.
You might have better luck if you identified the manufacturer as "Able"
instead of "ACT". They call it a "Quadrasync".
Tim.
I posted about this board before and one or more people said they had one.
Now I'm curious if anyone has documentation for it :)
This is a 3rd party quad height unibus board and appears to be a 4 port SLU.
The manufacturer is ACT, and the only part numbers I can find on the board
are 10015000, 10015001, and 10015002.
There are 4 rotary dials (my guess is baud rate), and one 10 position switch
bank (priority & address?). I'm curious what all the dip switch settings
are, can it start at the normal console address and thus replace an M7856,
does it have an LTC capability, etc. Pinouts for the port (berg) connectors
would be good.
I can't seem to find anything about it on bitsavers or googling. Any
pointers appreciated!
Jay West
All:
Since I couldn't find much on the web about it, I decided to snap a
couple of photos and put the information on my Durango F-85 system on
a web page.
http://www.sydex.com/durango/durango.html
I've actually got two of these things; the second has the integrated
hard disk but is otherwise the same. Does anyone think a photo of
the external hard drive (SA-4008) would be worthwhile including?
How about an old (and worthless) Durango stock certificate?
Cheers,
Chuck
I was at work and needed an EBCDIC code, came across this. A useful link if
you are using the old hardware and need a old code.
http://www.lookuptables.com/
Billy
Since several people have asked... the last batch of 82S131's I bought was
>from www.arcadechips.com
I also exchanged a few emails with the proprietor. He was very helpful,
overly considerate... and emailed me after the order came just to make sure
I got it and it was all to my satisfaction. I gotta give this guy a high
rating. Prices were good too.
As an additional resource, I have also bought fairly large (to me)
quantities of the above (and similar) proms from another place at
www.mikesarcade.com
I received the same unusually high level of service and good prices from the
second source as well.
Jay West