test-drb

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

101090 discussions

by deramp5113＠yahoo.com

It might be the Mikra-D MD-2040 1702 programmer. Similar to the MD-2044 on my website but a parallel data interface (e.g., manual switches and lights) instead of a serial RS-232 interface. The 2040 is briefly mentioned in the .pdf file here: https://deramp.com/downloads/eprom_p...kra-d/md-2044/ Mike

4 years, 5 months

Old Apple II game manuals and the Internet Archive

by nospam212-cctalk＠yahoo.com

While clear out storage spaces I have come across binders of photocopies of lots of old Apple II game manuals. I've checked online for those that have been scanned already and will toss those. Before I toss the rest which I haven't found online, I'd like to scan them and upload to the Internet Archive to save them. Most of these are one page with a few 2-4 pages. What I'm wondering about is the best way to upload them after scanning. Do each individually, which adds a lot of entries to my small upload page (which I suppose isn't a big deal) or zip them up and upload the one file and make sure the metadata is properly set to identify each manual in the zip. Or some other method? Suggestions? Thanks, David Williams www.trailingedge.com (http://www.trailingedge.com)

4 years, 5 months

SQ703/6 conversion and a little fun

by g4ajq1＠gmail.com

A few months ago, thanks to help from several people here, I converted an SQ703 TMSCP controller to SQ706 MSCP. I had problems trying to use it on the vax due to the complexity of mapping Q-Bus registers under ODT, so put off trying until I got the LSI-11/73 going. Now I have a problem: It seems to run and recognise the controller as SQ706 according to the on-board diagnostics, however it insists saying it is at 777450, the TMSCP address.? Trying to change it gives me an out-of-bounds message. OK, I thought, I will just use it there. Put it in to a running RT11 system and it shows up at 772150 and clashes with an existing controller! It seems that one of the PALs is maybe setting up the address! Anybody else tried this? cheers, Nigel Here's the fun:? https://www(dot)bbc(dot)com/news/entertainment-arts-59089596 Maybe our vax computers will become popular once again! -- Nigel Johnson, MSc., MIEEE, MCSE VE3ID/G4AJQ/VA3MCU Amateur Radio, the origin of the open-source concept! Skype: TILBURY2591 nw.johnson at ieee.org

4 years, 5 months

8" disk drive questions...

by geneb＠deltasoft.com

I'm working with the developer of the Applesauce disk imaging tool in order to iron out some issues with 8" disk support. I'm using a Qumetrak 842 disk drive that's got support for both double and single-sided media. This means that it's equipped with two index hole sensors, slightly offset from one another. It's my understanding that single-sided media has the index hole in one spot on the jacket, and double-sided media has one in a slightly different location. The issue at hand is some NIB Dysan double-sided 8" media I have - the disks have index holes in the jacket in both locations. Is this typical, or do I have some weird "special" disks on my hands? The Applesauce author posits that the combination of the dual-sensor drive and the dual-hole media wouldn't typically find themselves together. Is this accurate? If it's not, how would a system contemporary with the media have handled the two index holes? Thanks! g. -- Proud owner of F-15C 80-0007 http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind. http://www.diy-cockpits.org/coll - Go Collimated or Go Home. Some people collect things for a hobby. Geeks collect hobbies. ScarletDME - The red hot Data Management Environment A Multi-Value database for the masses, not the classes. http://scarlet.deltasoft.com - Get it _today_!

4 years, 5 months

ISO: GE Terminet 300 knowledge

by derschjo＠gmail.com

Hey all -- I picked up a GE Terminet 300 which appears to be mostly functional, but is in need of alignment -- it's printing fairly smudged garbage with a few recognizable characters intermixed. Character positioning (horizontal) seems to be fairly irregular, for the characters that print clearly. The unit has suffered some knocks in its life and it's clear the photocell board has come slightly loose, which I'm sure is not unrelated, so I'm studying the service docs to get a better idea what's going on. There's an alignment gauge which I could reproduce if I had any idea what it's specs are. The service docs are a bit vague and the photocell assembly is a bit difficult to see, buried beneath the print band on the left hand side. Anyone out there have any experience with these? Any wisdom to impart here? Also, anyone have any spare print fingers? My print band's missing one (a "9") and I suppose it wouldn't be a terrible idea to have a few extras just in case... Thanks, - Josh

4 years, 5 months

Mystery 1702A(?) EPROM Programmer

by lists＠glitchwrks.com

Does anyone recognize this EPROM programmer: https://imgur.com/a/GcmefTl It appears to be for 1702A EPROMs. Working on cleaning it up and figuring it out! Thanks, Jonathan

4 years, 5 months

Tape Belts, was: FTGH: FH disk drives (and one HH) - Toronto + Scotch DC 300XL tapes

by lists＠glitchwrks.com

The belts are more or less all failing at this point, even on the newer multi-gigabyte QICs. I finally had to stop extracting the good ones from newer tapes, boiling, and reusing because that was not reliable anymore. Seems everyone is using these nowadays: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08536J6Y5 Thanks, Jonathan ??????? Original Message ??????? On Saturday, October 30th, 2021 at 22:30, Nigel Johnson Ham via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote: > Toby, will those 300XL tapes move the tape if you turn the capstan?? I > > got my drive working but when I tried to see if the tapes would read, > > the rubber band that moves the tape just shattered due to age. > > Try turning the wheel with your finger and see if it moves the tape, if > > it does i would like them. > > Cheers, > > Nigel > > On 2021-10-30 10:28 p.m., Toby Thain via cctalk wrote: > > > On 2021-10-30 1:14 p.m., Toby Thain via cctalk wrote: > > > > > Hi, > > > > > > Located in Toronto Canada, for shipping cost only: > > > > > > - 3 x Hitachi DK516-15 > > > - 2 x Computer Memories Inc (CMI) 6426-S > > > - Microscience HH-1060 (half height; marked bad) > > > - Tandon TM-502 > > > > > > Unknown working condition, but have been stored well. > > > > > > First come, first served, etc. > > > > > > --Toby > > > > Also: 2 x Scotch DC 300XL tape cartridges, good condition. > > > > --Toby

4 years, 5 months

PDT-150 miniminc floppies wanted.

by scott451＠gmail.com

I have a PDT-150 with a box of blank 8? floppies. Is there someone in this group who can image miniminc BASIC and a system disk onto floppies? Preferably in the Bay Area ?

4 years, 5 months

Sun-2 and Sun-3 mice (eBay)

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

> > AFAIK, the posts are there so you don't plug your mouse into a phone > jack or a modem port. There are cutouts on the back of the Sun3 > keyboard to admit that connector. > My Sun 2/120 server has an RJ mouse connector next to the RJ keyboard connector on the back of the chassis. My Sun 2/50 desktop client has a DA-15 keyboard connector on the back and has the mouse plugged into the keyboard. I have a black Mouse Systems mouse with a Sun sticker on the front. P/N 900783-002/01. Maybe for a Sun-1? -- Michael Thompson

4 years, 5 months

Sun-2 and Sun-3 mice (eBay)

by bear＠typewritten.org

https://www.ebay.com/sch/xi_jinping/m.html?item=334195034340&hash=item4dcf9… Hadn't realized before that there were Sun-2 mice which weren't black (were white/beige). I know some folks are looking. No connection with the seller, apart from having bought one of them already. ok bear.

4 years, 5 months

Vt131 4 sale in St.Louis

by dillera＠dillernet.com

https://www.estatesales.net/marketplace/items/579642 <https://www.estatesales.net/marketplace/items/579642> ADM-3a. Some interesting stuff to be sure. too bad it too far from me. -andy > On Oct 26, 2021, at 2:59 PM, Wayne S via cctech <cctech at classiccmp.org> wrote: > > VT 131 for sale at auction in St. Louis. It?s local pick up only which means they won?t ship. > Some other interesting stuff too. > I have no affiliation to the seller. > > > https://www.estatesales.net/marketplace/items/579633 > > Sent from my iPhone >

4 years, 5 months

Programming Bipolar PROMs (Tom Hunter)

by mark＠markesystems.com

From: Tom Hunter <ccth6600 at gmail.com> Subject: Programming Bipolar PROMs > The part is an Intersil IM5600CP, but these were also made by others, for > example Signetics and Philips made the 82S23 and TI and NTE made the > faster > SN74S188N. Some vendors still sell these parts and there are even a few on > Ebay. > > How do I program these PROMs? I found one somewhat obscure description of > the algorithm in the NTE datasheet, but I suspect that each manufacturer > had (somewhat) different algorithms. I built a project using Russian clones of the 74188, and ended up building a programmer for them. The programming process is slow (over a minute to program 32 bytes), draws quite a bit of power (the chip is uncomfortably warm afterwards), and it took a while to work out the programming algorithm. Also, as Tom Hunter mentioned, the programming process isn't perfect - about 5% don't program correctly; I don't know if this is my algorithm or the fact that the clones aren't so good. However, once programmed, they seem to work just fine. I bought the Russian devices off eBay for cheap - I think they were about $0.20 apiece, so I got a hundred of them, which I've been slowly nibbling away at as my little product sells. I still have several dozen left; if you'd like you could send me the hex file (or listing - it's only 32 bytes, which I could type in), and I could program a couple for you. I'm not sure I could recommend building your own programmer. It's obviously possible, and there are hand-operated versions floating around on the internet (really hand-operated: set a rotary switch for the bit and five address switches, turn on the power, and push a button for 1-1/2 seconds; repeat for every "1" bit in the PROM), but you'd need more than just the Arduino. You need eight high-side drivers that will handle an amp apiece, plus another driver to switch the power supply voltage between 5 and 13.5 volts, as well as writing a program to implement the algorithm. (actually, it's slow enough that you could get by using relays for all the higher voltage switching.) I don't believe that any modern programmer handles these - if the Data I/O does, then that's probably your only option. ~~ Mark Moulding

4 years, 5 months

Maybe - re- DMX11

by bobsmithofd＠gmail.com

I left in 79, I designed the AUtodin II mode 1A//Mode VI line usints. Those were synchronous comms interfaces for Bisync.ADCCP/ etc connections while CSS did the Mode 1 I think it was Asynch interface line unit. I suspect DMX is the commercial version of that Autodin II Asynch design, using the KMX/COMMIOP cpu and a dedicated unibus system unit set to support the lineunits BUT I could be wrong maybe DMX was something completely different but it seems to tickle my memory. bb

4 years, 5 months

Linux and the 'clssic' computing world

by c.murray.mccullough＠gmail.com

To my knowledge the Linux kernel was released to the public 30 years ago around this time. My dear friend swears by it and will never go back to Windows even though WIN 11 is much more secure than previous Windows versions. Prior to Linux there were other much-earlier operating systems for 8-bit and 16-bit machines we classic computer users could use. For emulators now we have a choice but do they work better in Linux or Windows? Happy computing. Murray ?

4 years, 5 months

Looking for manual for MDB MLSI-LP11

by g4ajq1＠gmail.com

Does anybody have any sources other than bitsavers and vcf? cheers, Nigel

4 years, 5 months

Dec DMX11--What was it?

by cz＠alembic.crystel.com

Anyone know about the Dec DMX11? It was apparently a 64 serial line Mux that plugged into pdp11 Unibus systems and had a fair amount of both intelligence and insanity on board. Reason is I'm looking into some old documentation about late 1970's Tote systems for Asian race tracks and the system they were building was beyond astronomical in terms of insanity. (As in an 8 way pdp11/70 system cluster, with 11/04's running these DMX11's to hundreds of terminals)

4 years, 5 months

: FTGH Various DLT and 4mm DAT Drives - Midlands UK

by james＠attfield.co.uk

============================================================================ ===================== Message: 1 From: Liam Proven <lproven at gmail.com> Subject: Re: FTGH Various DLT and 4mm DAT Drives - Midlands UK On Fri, 22 Oct 2021 at 06:38, James Attfield via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote: > > I?m having a general clear out and the following are free for the collection rather than they go in the skip/dumpster. You haven't said where you are. Message: 2 From: Grant Taylor <cctalk at gtaylor.tnetconsulting.net> Subject: Re: FTGH Various DLT and 4mm DAT Drives - Midlands UK On 10/22/21 3:41 PM, Liam Proven via cctalk wrote: > You haven't said where you are. Per the subject, Midlands UK. I don't know how big of an area that is, but I do know that it's way out of the way for me to go pick up. ============================================================================ ===================== Apologies if I did not make it clear, I am located about 12 miles SSW of Birmingham, United Kingdom. My 3W location is tilt.custom.glitz I have also checked and tested the following: Apple Powermac G4/768Mb/74Gb OSX 10.4 Apple Powermac G4 Mirror Door Dual 867MHz CPU/1.75Gb/74Gb OSX 10.5 Both in very good condition and running very nicely with OSX installed, working DVD and Ethernet. Both are lovely machines, not keen to do FTGH but would entertain reasonable offers to get them a good and loving home. Also available but as yet untested (working when racked) a Dell Prolinea 575e and an HP Vectra VE. The Dell has what you might term a proper FDC. Those who are into FDD transfers will know what I mean. Both of these are FTGH. Sorry for those who are outside of the UK, I know how it feels. Having said that, I would trade all of this (including the Powermacs) for a working Cromemco Z2D or CS3 chassis. I would even consider a Cromemco System-1 chassis. James

4 years, 5 months

Looking for info on memory

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Nigel Johnson Ham > an 11/23 will not work without bank zero memory It depends on what you mean by 'work'. If you mean 'ODT does not operate correctly', or 'the CPU won't run', I can assure you that neither of those is correct. Here is a recorded log from a session earlier today on a system here next to my desktop: it contains a KDF11-A (in slot 1Left of a Q-Q backplane) and a console DLV11-J (in slot 1Right), and no other cards: ^@^@ 000000 @777560/000000 @777564/000000 777566/000000 777570/? @777640/177777 777 @/000777 @777640G Cmd: 177640 @^@^@ As you can see, ODT is working,and the console registers are all responding OK. The thing at the bottom is that hack of putting a small program in the PARs (UIPAR0, in this case). The "Cmd:" prompt is where I told my console program to send a 'break' down the serial line to the -11, stopping the CPU. (The 'run' light had been on, after the "777640G".) (Note: The PAR hack doesn't work in J-11 CPUs; they won't do instruction fetches from PARs.) To confirm that I'm not BSing you, can someone else on the list please do this on their KDF11-A, and confirm that it produces the results I show about? Thanks. > All I get is output of 173000 and the no ability to input. If that's with just a non-LSI11 CPU card and the console serial line, the machine has a problem. As you can see above (the "777560/", etc were my type-in), you should be able to talk to ODT on a KDF11 (and I tried a KDJ11 yesterday, it worked too). (I don't recall if the LSI-11 types _anything_ when started with no working memory at 0; if anyone wants to know, I can fairly easily try it, I have a bunch of working LDI-11's, both quad and dual cards). Noel

4 years, 5 months

Looking for info on memory

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Nigel Johnson > I will wait with bated breath! First things first; did you get either/both CPU's running ODT OK in a system containing just i) the CPU card and ii) the console serial interface? Noel

4 years, 5 months

Atari ST documents

by van.snyder＠sbcglobal.net

I sold my Atari ST some time ago. Today, I found some old documents relating to it. Not from Atari. 1. Zubair Z-Ram 3-D/4MEG add-on memory board (plugs into the glue socket). 2. Atari CHKDISK3 Documentation (April 22, 1990) 3. Atari GEMDOS Reference Manual (April 4, 1986) 4. Weirdly, the circuit diagrams for the IBM AT 5.25" double-sided diskette drive in the same folder. 5. Quick reference sheet for microEmacs. They're yours for the price of a PDF shipping label for a 14oz 10"x12" envelope. Van Snyder van.snyder at sbcglobal.net 1.

4 years, 5 months

FTGH Various DLT and 4mm DAT Drives - Midlands UK

by james.attfield＠icloud.com

I?m having a general clear out and the following are free for the collection rather than they go in the skip/dumpster. Most if not all were working when put away but I can?t offer any guarantees. Preference will be given to anyone who will take all of them. Photos are available if required, if I get time to ge a drive on line and can erase tapes quite a few will be available as well. - Compaq 20/40GB in chassis - HP Surestore DLT40 in chassis (20/40GB?) - Digital DLT in chassis (35/70GB) - Compaq 35/70GB in chassis - DLT 35/70GB in chassis (same drive as in the Digital chassis) - DLT 35/70GB bare drive (same drive as in Digital chassis) - 4mm DAT in chassis (probably 4/8GB) - 4mm DAT, 5.25? spacers, no chassis, (probably 4/8GB) - 4mm DAT, 5.25? spacers, no chassis, (probably 4/8GB) - 4mm DAT, no spacers, no chassis, (probably 4/8GB) They won?t be around long so with apologies, if you have any interest, please don?t delay. Let me kow here then we can take comms off line. Sorry, can?t ship. ? James --- Credentials Loves Cromemco, loves Unix, loves DeSmet C. Hand built an original IMSAI 8080, Nascom I and II, resurrected a TU-ART from the dead, owned one of the first EXIDY Sorcerers in the UK, ran Byte Shop/Computerland (Birmingham).

4 years, 5 months

Power supply power-up and power-down sequencing: how did it work?

by stepleton＠gmail.com

Hi cctalk, I asked this question over on vcfed, but in the spirit of knowing more (and avoiding silly, costly mistakes) I thought I'd ask again here. I hope this is okay --- I think there must be a lot of community expertise to draw from, and not everyone is in the same forums. After seeing CuriousMarc's horror film about the killer transistor that zapped the guts of his HP9825T, I've been working for some time on a solid-state DC power supply monitor device that will chop all power to logic if there's ever any excursion above or below critical voltage thresholds on any power supply channel. I've been pretty successful in the development so far and have a gizmo that accomplishes the basic goal, even if it's not going to win any industrial design awards. It's not a crowbar circuit: each voltage channel passes through a substantial driver IC that can switch the power right off. My device can detect and react to anomalies very quickly. But then you browse through old DRAM datasheets and see warnings like these: "Vbb must be applied prior to Vcc and Vdd. Vbb must also be the last power supply switched off." "Forward biasing this supply [that is, Vbb] with respect to Vss will destroy the memory device." And so even though my device is fast, it's possible that when it's slamming the doors shut, there's a split second where -5V is off and +12V is still on, or even the chance of a Vbb-Vss forward-bias "blip", who knows? Of course you can measure whether this is happening, but it's difficult to know how meaningful that will be: maybe a computer that loads the voltage rails differently will have different behaviour, and remember, the case you really care about is when a power supply behaves abnormally! System characterisation is hard... Anyway, my question is: what did hardware designers in the '70s do to satisfy specified power supply requirements for the chips they were using? The conversation so far on vcfed has two remarks: one observing that a lot of folks just didn't worry about it, and one pointing out an anti Vbb>Vss gimmick in the PSU for the Nascom kit computer involving a ladder of protective diodes between each of the rails: (-12V) ---->|---- (-5V) ---->|---- (0V) ---->|---- (+5V) ---->|---- (+12V) I noticed a similar pattern in a few other PSU schematics, but usually only for the negative channels. Were there any other common tricks? How serious was the danger of getting it wrong? How fast could you fry your DRAM if you did? Thanks for any insight, --Tom

4 years, 5 months

Looking for info on memory

by g4ajq1＠gmail.com

I am trying to bring up an 11/23 system in a BA23 box, and the only memory i have is an obscure Plessey one. The only identification is the p/n 705920 with dash-100 in white ink. By counting the chips I make it 4MB, but it does not respond. Since it takes the full 22-bit memory space I can't see how any jumpers would change its accessibility. Does anybody have a manual? any help appreciated, Nigel Johnson

4 years, 5 months

Looking for info on memory

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

A couple of comments on a number of things touched on in this thread: > From: Nigel Johnson Ham > Ah, well there you see the end of my technical knowledge. My observation is that since varying QBUS PDP-11 CPU's can be swapped in and out (unlike UNIBUS PDP-11's, where the CPU's backplane and front panel are not interchangeable between models), and QBUS machines were therefore often upgraded over their lifetime by switching in a CPU, when starting out with a new machine, one should _always_ start by working out what kind of QBUS backplane one has, and going from there. The BA23 is the one that's part Q/CD and part Q/Q. > No, I don't know if the CPU is good (it is a dual-width KDF11-A btw), > ... > I do have an 11/73 dual width board arriving tomorrow > ... > it is crashing into ODT and not accepting input from the console, which > I remember was a symptom of no bank 0 memory. That's true of all LSI-11's (and it threw me for a while when we first ran across it), but KDF11-A's and KDJ11-A's work fine with _no_ working memory in the machine: i.e. just a CPU board and a console will work fine (as in, ODT works, and one can examine what few registers are on the bus). (I had previously fried the KDF11-A; just tried the KDJ11-A. Probably the KDF11-B and KDJ11-B work too, but I'm toolazy to try them at the moment.) So if a machine with _just_ a CPU and console doesn't work, you've got a problem; but it shouldn't be too hard to find it, with only two boards. > From: Joshua Rice >> "many boards designed for Q/CD slots (such as PMI cards) do not avoid >> the QBUS pins on the CD connectors which contain 'hazardous' (to TTL >> circuitry) voltages." I should note that that text is somewhat questionable; I recently checked the list of PMI pins, and I didn't see any that conflicted with 12V pins on Q/Q slots. But definitely plugging a PMI card into a Q/Q slot will damage it: MicroNote 28 says "MSV11-J MODULES CAN[NOT] BE PLACED IN A Q/Q BACKPLANE SLOT. IF THIS IS ATTEMPTED PERMANENT DAMAGE WILL BE DONE TO THE BOARDS". > From: Jerry Weiss > I don't believe ODT is dependent on working memory. On LSI-11's, it us. Location 0 must respond to a read cycle, or the CPU will spin trying to read it, _before_ ODT will start. Noel

4 years, 5 months

FTGH (-Shipping): Assorted 9 track tape media

by toby＠telegraphics.com.au

Hi, I'd like to find homes for: 22 x 11" reels 5 x 9" 2 x 7" Most rated up to 6250bpi, a handful to 3200bpi. Some CONTROL DATA branded, rest mixed brands. All in decent condition. Located: Toronto Canada, will post for cost of shipping by Canada Post (reimbursed PayPal). First come, first served, etc. --Toby

4 years, 5 months

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test-drb