test-drb

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

101090 discussions

by glenslick＠hotmail.com

I was hoping there might be some sort of preassembled optical sensor array available with the right spacing for paper tape holes, but maybe that is hoping for too much. If you build one with discrete sensors, is it easy to find ones that are narrow enough to stack side to side with the correct spacing? >Hi > Ahh, such concepts as make one come to mind. You could >scrap a number of mice for the optical sensors ( two for >each axis, 4 total per mouse ) or you could buy photo >transistors from Jameco. In a pinch, the clear lensed >LED's make reasonable detectors. > Use a little imagination. >Dwight _________________________________________________________________ Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail

23 years, 4 months

More Acquisitions

by jss＠subatomix.com

As promised in a previous message, last Friday I went to the office of the guy with all the VMS manuals. It took me two trips, but when it was over, 11 boxes of varying sizes full of VMS and VAX docs sat in my garage. Unfortunately, some of the older orange and grey binders were empty, and it appears that I now only have full docs for VMS from version 6 to 7.2. Also in there was one manual for MicroVMS 4.something. I didn't get everything, so I will go back next Tuesday to finish up. Today the university surplus shop had put out for sale the MicroVAX II system that I had seen last week. It consists of a BA23 with RX50 and RD5x, a Fujitsu(?) Eagle hard drive, and a Kennedy 9600 tape unit (looks like a DEC TS05). Great, right? Well, un^H^Hfortunately, I had a job interview today, scheduled such that I would be unable to attend the sale. I found a trustworthy-looking person and bribed them to proxy-purchase the item for me during the sale. It worked. So tomorrow morning I will pick up the SA900 disk cabinet for the VAX 6K I got last week, and now a MicroVAX II system. And there's no school for a couple of days. Another great week. The job interview took 3 hours and 20 minutes. I did well. -- Jeffrey Sharp

23 years, 4 months

Tek 310A sillyscope

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Nov 26, 15:45, John Allain wrote: > FWIW here's some of the fuse types I've found: > > AGC 3AG 3AD GLH MTH MSL, none of which I know 3AG means "Automobile Glass size 3". I suspect those designations have more to do with heating, rupturing, voltage, overload capacity, and most especially materials, shape, and dimensions, than with "slow" or "fast". > for the 1.6A MDL I have > 2A "plain", 2.5A "plain", MSL 2A, MDL 2A > as candidates. I guess a slightly higher value is OK when > replacing a slo with a non slo? Maybe, but how much is "slightly"? The slow-blow was probably intended to cope with short-duration inrush current, but reliably blow if the current was too high for more than perhaps a few seconds. A "fast" fuse will typically blow at 250% - 350% of the nominal value within 1-2 seconds, but a "very fast" fuse might blow within 0.2 seconds. I've seen some "very fast" fuses described as blowing at 1000% current within 0.001 seconds. That's only 10 times nominal current rating, so it wouldn't allow for much of an inrush current! As far as I know (and I am not an expert, just someone who is sad enough to read lots of catalogues), the difference between slow/medium/fast/very fast is primarily tolerance to short-duration overloads like that, ie like inrush current. > Also I imagine all of those letter codes are different blow rates? Nope, see above. Fuses aren't expensive. I'd try to find the right one. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

23 years, 4 months

IMSAI Series Two

by dwightk.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "Steven Edwards" <chessnotation(a)mac.com> > >Greetings to the list: > >It looks like the IMSAI Series Two (the "S2") is nearing its first >production run. (See http://imsai.net/ and >http://groups.yahoo.com/group/imsaiusergroup/) > >I've ordered one of these as a replacement of sorts for the IMSAI 8080 >I assembled back in 1976 but managed to, uh, "lose" in the early 1980s. > It's been a long time since I've had a chance to fool around with a >machine equipped with a real front panel. > >I had thought I'd seen about every S-100 machine ever made, but I >recently came across a net reference to the Ithaca Intersystems DPS-1. >It looks almost identical to the IMSAI 8080 except that the DPS-1 front >panel is styled more in the way of Digital's later PDP models. I note >that the DPS-1 PSU is somewhat different from the IMSAI 8080, but other >than that. the internals seem to be very similar. > >So, are there any other IMSAI 8080 fans on the list? > Hi I have one that I fixed the front panel, a number of bad RAMs, and added an extra RAM card to bring it to 64K. I then read the ROM's in the disK controller ( state machine, not uP ) and figured out how to format, read and write disk. I then wrote my own BIOS and combined it with the CP/M I got from the net. Ya, there are a few IMSAI fans here. I'll have to admit, I'm not overly excited about the IMSAI series two but I do wish them the best of luck. Dwight

23 years, 4 months

8 bit vs other Computers.

by dwightk.elvey＠amd.com

Hi One thing to reflect on. In my hand, right now, is a small board with three major parts and a total of six IC's. I have at home, an IMSAI with 64K of RAM. This board has 128K RAM, 128K FLASH and a processor that runs at a clock speed that is 20 times as fast. The board was made in '96. In retrospect, I don't think software has made even one tenth that improvement ( most is not as useful ). Just more thoughts Dwight

23 years, 4 months

What is it

by loedman1＠juno.com

Can anyone provide me information on this board, Approximately 4in X 3 1/4 in, plugs into a adapter that replaces the processor, marked "Surprise" 1986 Maynard Electronics, INC. Arrived in an aged IBM PC. It has a NEC V20 chip. Also, anybody interested in, Quadram Quadboard, complete but rather battered. Memory Module, 16 meg IBM part # 11S9111010784AF05P8A 02K2288 DIMM 16M Free for personal use, not for resale Rich Stephenson loedman1(a)juno.com

23 years, 4 months

IMSAI Series Two

by chessnotation＠mac.com

Greetings to the list: It looks like the IMSAI Series Two (the "S2") is nearing its first production run. (See http://imsai.net/ and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/imsaiusergroup/) I've ordered one of these as a replacement of sorts for the IMSAI 8080 I assembled back in 1976 but managed to, uh, "lose" in the early 1980s. It's been a long time since I've had a chance to fool around with a machine equipped with a real front panel. I had thought I'd seen about every S-100 machine ever made, but I recently came across a net reference to the Ithaca Intersystems DPS-1. It looks almost identical to the IMSAI 8080 except that the DPS-1 front panel is styled more in the way of Digital's later PDP models. I note that the DPS-1 PSU is somewhat different from the IMSAI 8080, but other than that. the internals seem to be very similar. So, are there any other IMSAI 8080 fans on the list?

23 years, 4 months

Flexowriter

by cgmm＠thersgb.net

Does anybody in the UK (apart from me) possess a Mk. 1 Friden Flexowriter? Can I be of any help (info/spares) to such a person? Godfrey.

23 years, 4 months

Data Translation Qbus modules.

by vaxzilla＠jarai.org

I've picked up some miscellaneous Qbus modules which seem to be related to data acquisition. They're made by Data Translation: DT2768, DT2769, and DT5712. From what I can find online, the DT2769 appears to be a realtime clock interface compatible with DEC's KWV11-C; I assume this is fairly useless without the RTC. I can't find anything on the DT2768, and the DT5712 is an AD/DA converter of some sort. Does anyone have details or manuals on these boards? For a long time now I've wanted to use an AD/DA Qbus module as a primitive sort of soundcard in one my Qbus VAXen. I'm not sure if the DT5712 would be suitable for the task; hopefully it is. This would also give me a /great/ excuse for learning how to write device drivers under NetBSD/vax. Thanks for any info or tips. -brian.

23 years, 4 months

Optical paper tape readers

by dwightk.elvey＠amd.com

Hi Glen There isn't much application for things with this spacing. Remember, you will most likely be connecting this to a uP. You really don't need to space then in a straight line. You can stager them and reassemble the entire byte width afterwards. Another though would be to use one of the linear arrays, used in scanners. Most of these are about as wide as a paper tape. You could use a collimated source and drag the tape directly over the array. You'd need to do a little image processing but it shouldn't be too difficult. There are some mechanical options that might work as well. Like I said, use some imagination. Dwight >From: "Glen Slick" <glenslick(a)hotmail.com> > >I was hoping there might be some sort of preassembled optical sensor array >available with the right spacing for paper tape holes, but maybe that is >hoping for too much. If you build one with discrete sensors, is it easy to >find ones that are narrow enough to stack side to side with the correct >spacing? > > >>Hi >> Ahh, such concepts as make one come to mind. You could >>scrap a number of mice for the optical sensors ( two for >>each axis, 4 total per mouse ) or you could buy photo >>transistors from Jameco. In a pinch, the clear lensed >>LED's make reasonable detectors. >> Use a little imagination. >>Dwight > > >_________________________________________________________________ >Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. >http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail > >

23 years, 4 months

Electric Pencil WP ... for the IBM PC!

by r.stek＠snet.net

The manual I have is in the form of a large format (8 1/2 x 11) paperback, 237 pages with the authors of the software listed as Dale Buscaino and Scott Daniel (apparently aka Progressive Software Design) with the authorship of the manual given as them plus Michael Shrayer and Harvard Pennington ("TRS-80 Disk and Other Mysteries" and president of IJG). It was published in 1983 by IJG Inc. (the Thoughtware Company tm) of Upland, CA. A Google search revealed a review from 1984 by Betsy Staples, an editor at Creative Computing. It was a rewrite rather than a translation of the original code and had some expanded features and additional support programs. Bob Stek Saver of Lost Sols

23 years, 4 months

HP 2784B Paper Tape Reader on ebay

by xds_sigma7＠hotmail.com

Well I wouldn't bid on it because I don't need 2... If someone does get it, I have the manual. And, FWIW, it is not a 2784B, it is a 2748B... I dunno what a 2784 is, but it ain't a paper tape reader... Will J _________________________________________________________________ The new MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

23 years, 4 months

8 bit vs other Computers.

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Nov 25, 8:30, vassilip(a)dsl.cis.upenn.edu wrote: > > In the 80s I had a BBC microcomputer, probably the best 8-bit microcomputer > there is. I won't argue with that -- I still use mine, too :-) > It had an 80x32 (I think) screen which you could configure to display > as a ruled page (like a notepad) - very useful for looking across > rows of numbers. Mode 0 is 80x32 mono, with no gaps between lines. You're probably thinking of Mode 3, 80x25, with gaps between the lines; also mono but you can set the foreground and background to be different from the gaps. > Something that is missing from todays machines. I just found out > that my laptop decided to ignore its power settings, did not go into > power save when I closed the lid, and kept operating in by backpack > while I was running all over town. The machine overheated and the disk > got trashed. Excellent. You're lucky it was only the disk! Take a look at http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/28245.html -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

23 years, 4 months

[Fwd: [ghate@essar.co.id: NetBSD WWW feedback from ghate@essar.co.id]]

by xds_sigma7＠hotmail.com

> > ghate(a)essar.co.id (A.M.Ghate) sent the following > > comment about The NetBSD Project's WWW server: FYI, .id would indicate Indonesia as the point of origin... I don't know about the rest of the list, but I don't want another MV II badly enough to go to Indonesia for it! Will J _________________________________________________________________ MSN 8 with e-mail virus protection service: 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus

23 years, 4 months

HP 2784B Paper Tape Reader on ebay

by dwightk.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "Glen Slick" <glenslick(a)hotmail.com> >I noticed that one a couple of days ago and was somewhat interested. But it >is listed at 40lb so shipping would probably cost more than the opening bid, >plus it looks like it needs some weird type of V35ish connector which might >be difficult and/or expensive to source if you don't happen to have one >already. > > >Has anyone built their own optical paper tape reader? Where would you get >the 8/9-bit sensor part? Hi Ahh, such concepts as make one come to mind. You could scrap a number of mice for the optical sensors ( two for each axis, 4 total per mouse ) or you could buy photo transistors from Jameco. In a pinch, the clear lensed LED's make reasonable detectors. Use a little imagination. Dwight > > > >>From: "Bill Sudbrink" <wh.sudbrink(a)verizon.net> >>Reply-To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org >>To: <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> >>Subject: HP 2784B Paper Tape Reader on ebay >>Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2002 10:53:02 -0500 >> >>Sorry if this screws up someone's snipe plans... but it was >>offered a couple of weeks ago and closed with no bids. It >>currently (10:50 am EST) has no bids with 11 hours to go. I >>can't imagine that nobody one the list would want this: >> >>http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1789314629 > > >_________________________________________________________________ >The new MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE* >http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail > >

23 years, 4 months

HP 2784B Paper Tape Reader on ebay

by glenslick＠hotmail.com

I noticed that one a couple of days ago and was somewhat interested. But it is listed at 40lb so shipping would probably cost more than the opening bid, plus it looks like it needs some weird type of V35ish connector which might be difficult and/or expensive to source if you don't happen to have one already. Has anyone built their own optical paper tape reader? Where would you get the 8/9-bit sensor part? >From: "Bill Sudbrink" <wh.sudbrink(a)verizon.net> >Reply-To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org >To: <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> >Subject: HP 2784B Paper Tape Reader on ebay >Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2002 10:53:02 -0500 > >Sorry if this screws up someone's snipe plans... but it was >offered a couple of weeks ago and closed with no bids. It >currently (10:50 am EST) has no bids with 11 hours to go. I >can't imagine that nobody one the list would want this: > >http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1789314629 _________________________________________________________________ The new MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

23 years, 4 months

old test equipment found

by carlos_murillo＠epm.net.co

I've recently come across three pieces of vintage test equipment; a Precision brand signal tracer, a Heathkit audio analyzer and a Radiometer Copenhaguen model HO-32 beat frequency oscillator. Here are some pics; the ones marked "small" are 60KB on average and the others are roughly 600KB and highly detailed: http://nazas.autonoma.edu.co/heathkit_audioanalyzer-small.jpg http://nazas.autonoma.edu.co/heathkit_audioanalyzer.jpg http://nazas.autonoma.edu.co/heathkit_audioanalyzer_bottom-small.jpg http://nazas.autonoma.edu.co/heathkit_audioanalyzer_bottom.jpg http://nazas.autonoma.edu.co/heathkit_audioanalyzer_top-small.jpg http://nazas.autonoma.edu.co/heathkit_audioanalyzer_top.jpg http://nazas.autonoma.edu.co/precision_tracer_model_st-22.jpg http://nazas.autonoma.edu.co/precision_tracer_model_st-22_small.jpg http://nazas.autonoma.edu.co/radiometer_copenhagen_ho32_BFO-small.jpg http://nazas.autonoma.edu.co/radiometer_copenhagen_ho32_BFO.jpg The Heathkit audio analyzer passed visual inspection (pretty clean and caps looked ok) and I powered it up. It seems to work. The Precision signal tracer is not working; somebody took off the rectifier tube/valve and soldered a couple of diodes; I suspect that at least one filament is open (pins 3 and 4, right? It's been a long time since I last worked with tubes). I certainly want to restore it; I like the "magic eye" indicator tube. The Radiometer Copenhagen gear I haven't powered up because several large electrolitic caps show signs of deterioration. The construction of this last device is outstanding in terms of the quality of the components. The Heathkit is pretty good too; not so the Precision signal tracer. Now the question: can you please take a look and see if 1) you have docs for any of these, 2) might guess what the operating procedures are and what the controls and connectors are for? Some I can guess, others I don't know. regards, carlos. -------------------------------------------------------------- Carlos E. Murillo-Sanchez carlos_murillo(a)nospammers.ieee.org

23 years, 4 months

Tek 310A sillyscope

by dwightk.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "R. D. Davis" <rdd(a)rddavis.org> > >Quothe John Allain, from writings of Mon, Nov 25, 2002 at 10:06:30PM -0500: >> This is marked "1.6A MDL" and I have no clue what MDL is. > >Might a 1A and a 0.5A fuse in parallel work? No Dwight > >> If it's marginal are you reccomending 2A? I perhaps could go even >> higher and use a circuitbreaker as backup. No Variac here, now I know >> why I want to buy one next time I see it. > >Yes, it's a useful thing to have! > >-- >Copyright (C) 2002 R. D. Davis The difference between humans & other animals: >All Rights Reserved an unnatural belief that we're above Nature & >rdd(a)rddavis.org 410-744-4900 her other creatures, using dogma to justify such >http://www.rddavis.org beliefs and to justify much human cruelty. >

23 years, 4 months

Honeywell/Bull D120 cartridge drive infor wanted.

by bernd＠kopriva.de

Hi Jos, what's the relation between a Bull D120 (which i don't know) and a Lillith ... Bernd On Mon, 25 Nov 2002 01:52:20 +0100, Jos Dreesen / Marian Capel wrote: > > >If anyone on the list has a user-, or even better, a maintenance manual for a >Bull D120 cartridge drive I would like to hear from them. ( a 10Mb cartridge >drive ca. 1980 ) > >Spare parts, empty cartridges or a complete replacement part would be more >than welcome. >They will form the basis for a new attempt to bring my ETH Lilith back to >live..... > > > Jos Dreesen

23 years, 4 months

Zilog System 8000 Model 31 available in Australia

by vcf＠siconic.com

Charles has a Zilog System 8000 Model 31 available somewhere in Australia (sorry, I don't know what city...I realize Australia is vast ;) This is a development system based on the Zilog 8000 CPU. I have no idea what it looks like (estimated to weigh around 20Kg) but here is a picture >from a brochure: http://siconic.com/computers/Zilog_System_8000_Brochure.jpg Contact Charles for details. Reply-to: <tjf(a)dodo.com.au> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 9 Nov 2002 01:33:00 +1100 From: Charles L <tjf(a)dodo.com.au> Subject: Donation Hello, I have a Zilog System 8000 Model 31 that I don't really know what to do with. Would you be interested in it? Regards, Charles -- Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org * Old computing resources for business and academia at www.VintageTech.com *

23 years, 4 months

Dying VaxStation 4000 VLC - help?

by mtapley＠swri.edu

All, That does it. I'm turning off digest mode. Apologies if I miss an important message, but this is just too annoying! ... well, that was easy. Hopefully I'll hear back from myself in just a few minutes... Toth asked: >...Have you checked the solder joints and connections between >components with an ohm meter? That might help turn up any problems. More or less. I tend to probe both on the component and on the pit next to it for SMD's or on the pad for devices with pins. But I have not been rigorous about it. Tony said: >You will _not_ see the oscillations of a 393 comparator on a VOM. We are >talking about hundreds of kHz / a few MHz... Oh, right. But I'm assuming the duty cycle of the oscillations can vary, and I might be able to see that on the (analog) VOM. >RIght. On the other hand, if it _is _ a capacitor, then it might have >gone leaky, in whiuch case it will have an effect on the DC levels. Oh my. Well, I don't know of any way to test the capacitor in circuit. Once the comparator is out, I could measure resistance on the lower leg of the divider. If it changes while I'm watching it, that'd be a clue, but with power off the system I don't see what'd make it change. Or if I knew what the resistance was supposed to be, and it was in the leaky state when I measured it, that'd be a clue, but at least the first condition isn't met and maybe not the second. >Are there any component refeneces (Rnnn, Cmmm, etc) on the PCB? None that I've seen, other than the "+" markings on one end of the tantalum caps. >It could be a resistor, sure. And perhaps, then, there's a capacitor >elsewhere to hunt for... This comment, waiting for me in my digest as I found the component in question, was what convinced me to off digest mode. Tony and Toth agreed: >Get some silver-loaded solder. Ok. I'm sticking with my plan, to wit replace the comparator and see what happens. I'll measure resistance on both legs of the divider while it's off. If that doesn't solve the problem, I'll head back to the electronics store and try to get replacements for the tantalum cap (and one more for the backward one, while I'm there) and for the resistors in the voltage divider - and some silver-loaded solder. How will I know what values to shop for for the capacitor (maybe not so critical?) and the resistor? Is there a catalog of 1992 or so surface-mount devices? Toth futilely wished: >Erm, I just hope the iron is of fair quality, and is in the range of >20-25W. Anything larger is likely to damage the board, especially those >awful soldering irons Radio Shack sells (or used to?). It's an awful Radio Shack pencil-type iron. It's about 20 years old. I think it's about 20 W, don't remember for sure. I only have one tip for it. Maybe I should think about a better iron while I'm at the electronics shop, if it comes to that. - Mark

23 years, 4 months

Score! Sol-20, Netronics Elf, MCS-85 SBC

by r.stek＠snet.net

Welcome to the club, Sol owner! I hope you have checked out Jim Battle's SOLace website - lots of good documentation if you need it. And if there is anything I can do to help, let me know. I have lots of docs too. Bob Stek Saver of Lost Sols

23 years, 4 months

Dilog DQ142 Available

by kyrrin＠bluefeathertech.com

The original bidder never came through, so I've placed a Dilog DQ142 tape controller and manual up on E-pay. The link is here if you're interested. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2075389363 Thanks for putting up with the occasional ad. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bruce Lane, Owner & Head Hardware Heavy, Blue Feather Technologies -- http://www.bluefeathertech.com ARS KC7GR (Formerly WD6EOS) since 12-77 -- kyrrin(a)bluefeathertech.com "I'll get a life when someone demonstrates that it would be superior to what I have now..." (Taki Kogoma, aka Gym Z. Quirk)

23 years, 4 months

AIX for a Bull Estrella

by Buckel_B＠medizin.uni-wuerzburg.de

Hi Alex, I read your posting to classiccmp.org regarding an alternative for a Bull Estrella running AIX - do you have installation media for this (unfortunatedly) rare combination? I own such a beast and all my attempts to install AIX (in the original IBM flavor) have failed so far... TIA! Bernhard -- Bernhard Buckel Institut fuer Klinische Biochemie und Pathobiochemie Josef-Schneider Str. 2 97080 Wuerzburg / Germany Tel: +49 931 201 36312 Fax: +49 931 201 36793

23 years, 4 months

8 bit vs other Computers.

by vassilip＠dsl.cis.upenn.edu

In the 80s I had a BBC microcomputer, probably the best 8-bit microcomputer there is. It had a ROM-based OS and an number of ROM-based applications (you got BASIC with the default configuration, but you could add word processors, spreadsheets, Forth, BCPL, Pascal and other languages). I used it extensively for almost 10 years (I developed the prototype for my MSc in CS and I also wrote my MSc thesis on it). Even after I switched over to a PC, I did not pack my BBC away, as for many many years (until I decided to leave my computer always on) it was the only machine in my house I could use to scrible a few thoughts or a shopping list without waiting forever for my PC to boot). The ROM based system allowed instant switch on, like e.g. a Palm Pilot. It had an 80x32 (I think) screen which you could configure to display as a ruled page (like a notepad) - very useful for looking across rows of numbers. I had an Epson FX80 - it was a 9pin dot martix, but I had written a program to print high quality output using the quad density graphics mode. It was *slow* but almost typewritter quality. But the good thing about that machine was that it was *convenient* it didn't stand in your way, it was a tool to help you do your work. Something that is missing from todays machines. I just found out that my laptop decided to ignore its power settings, did not go into power save when I closed the lid, and kept operating in by backpack while I was running all over town. The machine overheated and the disk got trashed. Excellent. **vp

23 years, 4 months

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