>The main difference with this box is that it's not as expandable as a
>full VAX 6000. The big ones have ample space within them for disk
>drives, tape drives, and BI bus card cages. I think the full VAX 6000s
>come standard with one, maybe two BI bus card cages.
My VAX 6000 is no longer here, so I have to go on memory. Pretty much all
there is in a standard 6000 is a row of PSUs at the top, a row with the
VAXBI and XMI busses and - right at the bottom - a converter/coditioner
that takes the incoming power feed and presents it to the rest of the box.
There is a large gap with plenty of air in it. About the only thing you could
use it for was a late-breaking internal storage addon. Every 6000 I've
seen had external storage (mostly via CI, since that's what big customers
were expected to do).
Internally it cannot have been much wider that 19" so I would guess that the
rack-mount version would be about the same but without the large wad
of air :-)
>These rackmount boxes only have an XMI bus. I suppose it'd be possible
>to hang BI busses off of this with an external box; that's if you needed
Is there no space for a VAXBI? My box had an XMI to the right and two
VAXBIs to the left (IIRC).
>on comp.os.vms say that it's easy to boot this type of system over an
>ethernet based VAXcluster. Your disk I/O will be bottlenecked by the
>speed of the ethernet. I'm planning on running mine this way initially.
I've done this - it works well. Especially nice is botting from an
InfoServer for upgrades etc.
Antonio
arcarlini(a)iee.org
OK, I finally dug out my DEC systems & options catalogs, and found
a couple of references to the rack-mount 6000 in the 1990 and 1991
catalogs. These were originally sold as two 19" rack-mountable enclosures,
one containing the XMI cardcage, and the other containing a BI cardcage.
Both enclosures appear very similar, with the main difference being that
the XMI enclosure has a very small front panel on it. The BI enclosure
seems
to have a cutout on the front panel for a TK70 tape drive and _no_ front
panel. The earlier catalogs treat the 2 cardcages as 1 complete system,
while the later catalogs refer to the 19" rack BI enclosure as an "option".
Not being greatly familiar with the 6000, am I correct in assuming that
if you don't have the BI "option" you have not I/O capability whatsoever?
(except for possibly ethernet? how about SCSI?)
-al-
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Antonio Carlini [mailto:Antonio.Carlini@riverstonenet.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2002 5:21 AM
> To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org
> Subject: RE: New VAX 6000 toys.
>
>
>
> >The main difference with this box is that it's not as expandable as a
> >full VAX 6000. The big ones have ample space within them for disk
> >drives, tape drives, and BI bus card cages. I think the
> full VAX 6000s
> >come standard with one, maybe two BI bus card cages.
>
> My VAX 6000 is no longer here, so I have to go on memory.
> Pretty much all
> there is in a standard 6000 is a row of PSUs at the top, a
> row with the
> VAXBI and XMI busses and - right at the bottom - a
> converter/coditioner
> that takes the incoming power feed and presents it to the
> rest of the box.
> There is a large gap with plenty of air in it. About the only
> thing you could
> use it for was a late-breaking internal storage addon. Every 6000 I've
> seen had external storage (mostly via CI, since that's what
> big customers
> were expected to do).
>
> Internally it cannot have been much wider that 19" so I would
> guess that the
> rack-mount version would be about the same but without the large wad
> of air :-)
>
> >These rackmount boxes only have an XMI bus. I suppose it'd
> be possible
> >to hang BI busses off of this with an external box; that's
> if you needed
>
> Is there no space for a VAXBI? My box had an XMI to the right and two
> VAXBIs to the left (IIRC).
>
> >on comp.os.vms say that it's easy to boot this type of system over an
> >ethernet based VAXcluster. Your disk I/O will be bottlenecked by the
> >speed of the ethernet. I'm planning on running mine this
> way initially.
>
> I've done this - it works well. Especially nice is botting from an
> InfoServer for upgrades etc.
>
> Antonio
> arcarlini(a)iee.org
>
>I found my firster, a Minivac601, starting where all I really remembered
>was that it was small and that it had a spinning bit.
My first was either an Apple II+, or an IBM 5110. Both of which I still
have (I don't know if the II+ is the exact same unit as we had many of
them and some have been tossed).
My only issue is, which was it. When did the 5110 come out? I know the
Apple II+ was bought by my brother in 1978 (I had always remembered 1977,
but IIRC, the II Plus wasn't released until 78, and I'm sure it was a
Plus, not a regular II).
So if the 5110 was earlier than 78, I'd have to say it was the first
computer I saw and used.
-chris
<http://www.mythtech.net>
What are you offering for them?
Joe
At 10:54 AM 10/16/02 -0600, you wrote:
>Wanted: DEC RRD40 or RRD42 CD-ROM Drive
>
>
>John P. Willis, MCP
>Software Engineer/Database Architect
>Ariel Technologies
>(505) 524-6860
>jwillis(a)arielusa.com
>
>
>
>
>
>Attachment Converted: "C:\EUDORA\Attach\WANTEDDE.htm"
>
Wanted: DEC RRD40 or RRD42 CD-ROM Drive
John P. Willis, MCP
Software Engineer/Database Architect
Ariel Technologies
(505) 524-6860
jwillis(a)arielusa.com
>Sorry, I know this is quite off topic but I know a lotta people here
>accumulate tons of stuff with time (like me) and there is a good chance some
>will have this...
>
>Looking for these for an older Apple system...32megs or 64megs 3.3v edo 2k
>refresh 168pins...
>
>Will trade for vintage/semi-recent/recent stuff - I have tons : networking,
>DEC, Sun, SGI, Apple, 8-16 bit hobby micros etc... - Ask
They won't be willing to trade... but www.18004memory.com (Coast to Coast
Memory) sells these. I just bought two 64 MB ones (these exact ones) for
$23 each.
I can't say for sure if they are new, or used (they don't differentiate
on their site), but I do know that they test everything right before it
is packaged for shipping, so it worked when it left their store. They
also stand behind their chips, and will trade out anything that arrives
non-functional (or if you bought the wrong chip).
-chris
<http://www.mythtech.net>
As I posted on 5/30, Alltronics has an adaptor that looks like what I had
for my O1 (which I no longer have). The link is
http://www.alltronics.com/computer_miscellaneous.htm and the catalog number
is #92C024. they are only $4.95, so you won't be out much if they are not
the right one. The description also fits: "Requires +12V (or +5V) and video,
vertical drive, horizontal drive signals. Produces RS-170 type composite
video output. Fully assembled with 74125 sync regenerator, 3 terminal
regulator, 2N2222 transistor. Only 2" square."
Bob
-----Original Message-----
From: Sark [mailto:ian_primus@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, October 15, 2002 4:42 PM
To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org
Subject: Re: Osbourne 1 problems
Oh, also, does anyone have the schematics for the composite adapter, or
someplace where I can find one? I have heard rumors of an electronics
store on the 'net that still carries them.
Thanks!
Ian Primus
ian_primus(a)yahoo.com
On Monday, October 14, 2002, at 05:56 PM, Feldman, Robert wrote:
> I have an O1 Tech Ref manual, from which I can send you info that
> might be
> useful. I'm busy this week, so won't be until next, though.
>
> One thing to check is the video shunt on the front of the unit. It
> takes the
> video signals and power from the bottom of the board and passes them
> to the
> top, where they go to the monitor. If the contacts on the shunt are
> oxidized, you could have video problems.
>
> The pinout of the edge connector is (numbered right to left, odd on
> top,
> even on bottom):
>
> (19 ... 1)
> (20 ... 2)
>
> 2 Ground
> 4 Brightness High ---> 3 on top
> 6 Brightness Low ---> 5 on top
> 8 Brightness Arm ---> 7 on top
> 10 Ground
> 12 Horiz Sync
> 14 +12 volts
> 16 Video Out
> 18 Vert Sync
> 20 Ground
>
> 3 and 7 go to the outsides of a 100K brightness pot, 5 to the wiper of
> the
> pot.
>
> Video out and one of the grounds go to a 500 ohm contrast pot.
>
> Bob
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sark [mailto:ian_primus@yahoo.com]
> Sent: Monday, October 14, 2002 2:08 PM
> To: cctech(a)classiccmp.org
> Subject: Osbourne 1 problems
>
>
> I recently accquired an Osbourne 1 computer. I turned it on and it
> seemed to work, I was able to boot BASIC off of a floppy and I wrote a
> couple little programs, (print hello world, count to ten, and count
> forever, stuff like that). The picture on the screen was kinda dark in
> spots, and while the computer was counting, it flickered to a very dark
> and barely readable, then it went black all together. I tried turning
> up the brightness and contrast controls, the only one that makes any
> change on the screen is the brightness control. I can see the rasters
> when the brightness is up all the way, but the contrast control has no
> effect. The computer seems to still work though, I can turn it on, then
> hit enter and it will boot from the floppy. Previously, when it was
> working, I noticed the screen flicker when the computer accessed the
> floppy drive. My guess is that there is something wrong with the power
> supply. Does anyone have any ideas? I would really like to get my
> Osbourne working again, it's a really cool little computer.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Ian Primus
> ian_primus(a)yahoo.com
>
Yep, I just noticed one on ebay a little bit ago... I'm seriously
thinking about it... Are these equivalent to the full-blown 6000
systems that I've seen show up in the past? What are you giving
up by going with the rack-mount version? Also, anyone have
a guess as to how heavy these are? (UPS shipable?)
-al-
-acorda(a)1bigred.com
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Brian Chase [mailto:vaxzilla@jarai.org]
> Sent: Monday, October 14, 2002 7:19 PM
> To: 'cctalk(a)classiccmp.org'
> Subject: New VAX 6000 toys.
>
>
> I've recently acquired two of those rackmount VAX 6000's that
> were being
> sold on eBay. I paid more than I should've, but given the
> nature of the
> systems, I'd have gone higher. Though they're still hefty, they are
> very small and light in comparison to the full sized VAX 6000's.
> They're still built like tanks, but I'm able to move one easily by
> myself. Well, at least as long as I don't have to pick it up off the
> ground. The other huge plus with these is that they're
> already wired up
> for single-phase power--no hacks are required. The systems
> have Hubbell
> Twist-Lock connectors: L6-20 (20A @ 250V). It'll be trivial to hook
> these up to household dryer circuits in the US. In their present
> configurations, they've each a single 6000-400 CPU, 384MB of
> RAM, three
> XMI ethernet modules, an XMI FDDI module, and two XMI CI-bus modules.
> My employer is planning on tossing out some of their old FDDI
> concentrators, so it all works out rather nicely.
>
> I'm still trying to determine if the XMI card cage is the original XMI
> or if it's XMI-2. Looking at the back of it, some of the
> metal dividers
> in the backplane are stamped with a date in 1991; this is after DEC
> started producing the XMI-2 based VAX 6000 systems. If these
> do support
> the 500 and 600 series CPUs, I'm planning on turning at least one into
> the world's smallest VAX 6660. The other will be a VAX 6420 with two
> vector processors. MUH HA HAH!!!
>
> Another interesting thing with these systems is that they've
> Intel asset
> tags affixed to them. I've often heard it stated that Intel operated
> the production control systems at their fabs with VAX/VMS systems. I
> don't know if these systems served in that capacity or not,
> but the guy
> selling them is located only a few miles from Intel's Chandler, AZ
> campus where several of Intel's fabs are located.
>
> As a side note, I'm often disappointed with the packing jobs of the
> bulkier gear I buy online. That's not the case with this seller. He
> seems to be well equipped for shipping heavy items. The
> rackmount unit
> was packed in a large box with thick foam surrounding it. The box was
> also secured to wooden pallet and wrapped in plastic. It
> took me about
> half an hour to unpack everything. He really went crazy with the
> plastic wrap.
>
> I believe he has more of these, three have already been put
> up on eBay.
> I've got my two, so I'm done throwing money at them; I expect
> the others
> will go for considerably less.
>
> -brian.
>
-2 DEC fan sleds with fans for BA440 chassis, from R400X DSSI Expansion
Chassis
-1 power supply for BA440 chassis, from R400X DSSI Expansion Chassis
-Procomm Plus for Windows on 3.5" disk
-Linear power supply from old Sperry external drive case, 12vdc 2amp,
5vdc 3.5 amp
-Kensington System saver for a Mac Plus, SE, etc
located in southwest Michigan, but I'll ship at the cost of the new owner.
Chad Fernandez
Michigan, USA
Hi Marvin,
If you still have these ones ,please contact me .I want to buy some.
Kevin.
Apollo Keyboard w/ Logitech 3-button Mouse - $5.00 plus shipping for 6
pounds from zip code 93105. Email me if interested.
> You don't watch much Japanese Animation do you.
> It is only the USA that can't draw and needs to
> go computer generated 3D. I suspect that software
> rather than hardware is the factor here as it seems
> all TOP 3D animation uses custom in house software.
> A lot of traditional ink and cel style animation
> is done on computer but it does not have the
> "special effects look" that 3D has,so most people
> don't notice it.
I watch a lot of Japanese Anime, and trust me, there is a lot of computer
generated work in there. While I've not seen much computer generated 3D
animation, there is definitly a lot of 2D that is computer generated.
On the 3D note, I was rather disappointed when I got the "Lensman" movie on
Laserdisc a few months ago. I'd seen it back in '93, and had forgotten that
it had a bunch of 3D animation mixed in with the traditional 2D. Simply
put, 3D animation, doesn't always age that well!
Zane
I just emailed the pic to Brian.
--fred
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sellam Ismail [mailto:foo@siconic.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2002 3:12 AM
> To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org
> Subject: Re: Fw: Sign of the times :(
>
>
> On Tue, 15 Oct 2002, Brian Chase wrote:
>
> > The url isn't working for me, but it's probably not a
> troll. There are
> > quite a few large vfx and animation shops out here. I might
> be able to
> > identify the area if the pic was available. Nearly everyone
> in the movie
> > business is dumping, or have already dumped, their non-essential SGI
> > gear.
>
> I'd like to see the picture too so I can try to identify the
> area (just
> for kicks ;)
>
> 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 *
> Jerome Fine replies:
>
> I presume the LK201 and the LK401 are plug compatible?
>
> Also, what are the actual differences and why do you prefer
> the LK401?
Yes, they are compatable/interchangable. I've ended up with a LK201
attached to the VT420 on my PDP-11/73 somehow, but the rest of the VT420's
I'm using have LK401's. I prefer the LK401's as they 'feel' better to me.
I think the keys are slightly different in shape/angle. I just wish they
had the flap that at least some LK201's have to put the piece of cardboard
that shows what the function keys are mapped to.
Zane
>From: "Glen Goodwin" <acme_ent(a)bellsouth.net>
>
>> From: Will Jennings <xds_sigma7(a)hotmail.com>
>
>> Hey all,
>> I'm trying to get rid of some of the vast quantities of misc. random crud
>I
>> have piled on every flat surface, and one those items is a stack o' Z-100
>
>> software.>
>
>[snip list of software and *really* generous offer]
>
>> Will J
>
>Will, I'd love to take you up on this but for the following two Really Good
>Reasons:
>
>1 -- I've already got the diskettes you mentioned.
>2 -- Although I have a lot of MS-DOS software for the Z100, I have no
>intention of polluting yet another machine with MS products.
>
>To the group: as the proud owner of two really pristine Z100s (one with
>hard drive), I am amazed at the paucity of CP/M-86 software available for
>this system. Most of the CP/M-86 stuff on the 'net is of the "CP/M-86 for
>the IBM PC" flavor.
>
>And *forget* about CP/M-85! It seems as if nobody ever used the 8085 MPU
>in the Z100 . . .
Why would one have a CP/M-85. There are only a couple of instructions
that are different than a 8080.
Well written CP/M code shouldn't care what machine it was on, only
the processor. Most general purpose CP/M-86 code should run on
a Z100 under CP/M-86. What am I missing??
Dwight
>
>Anybody care to 'splain me why this is? Am I the only person on the planet
>who has/had any interest in running CP/M on the Z100?????? To me, running
>MS-DOS on a Z100 turns it into just another kinda-PC-clone.
>
>Later --
>
>Glen
>0/0
>
>From: "Brian Chase" <vaxzilla(a)jarai.org>
>
---snip---
>I'd estimate the weight at somewhere between 150-200lbs. The seller
>shipped my stuff FedEx Ground. To ship it from Phoenix to SoCal cost a
>little more than $60 with full insurance. I've had very good luck with
>FedEx Ground in the past; I'd even say I prefer them to UPS. I'm a
>little biased though--my first "sizeable" VAX, a MicroVAX-II in BA123,
>was delivered by UPS. I watched in horror as the guy dropped it off the
>back of his truck from a height of about 4-5ft right onto the concrete.
I wonder if this is done on purpose. I had a EC-1 ( HeathKit analog
computer ) shipped by UPS. They wanted me to pick it up at the
depo so I did. When the guy brought it out, he says, "Gee, this
is a heavy one!" as he dropped it on the counter ( about 1.5 foot drop ).
I replied, carefully, not to let my anger show too much, " Yes,
it is a rare old piece of vacuum tube gear". He had a funny expression
on his face so I'm sure he understood how I felt. The fellow that
packed it had no padding at all. Remarkably, the tubes were all
OK but the inside chassis had bent a little, breaking some wires.
I debated writing a complaint but decided it might cause issues
with future deliveries.
I've had some bad luck with FedEx as well so I don't think either
does as good as they could. Partly, I think it is because the
people handling things don't care about the quality of their
work. It makes little difference if they do a good or bad job.
They get paid the same.
Dwight
>The VAX was rather badly dented, most all of the plastic bits were
>broken, and the plastic top was sheered off its bolts. I was not
>amused. Surprisingly, the VAX still ran fine, but it took a lot of
>epoxy and dent hammering to make it look presentable.
>
>-brian.
>
>
> From: Will Jennings <xds_sigma7(a)hotmail.com>
> Hey all,
> I'm trying to get rid of some of the vast quantities of misc. random crud
I
> have piled on every flat surface, and one those items is a stack o' Z-100
> software.>
[snip list of software and *really* generous offer]
> Will J
Will, I'd love to take you up on this but for the following two Really Good
Reasons:
1 -- I've already got the diskettes you mentioned.
2 -- Although I have a lot of MS-DOS software for the Z100, I have no
intention of polluting yet another machine with MS products.
To the group: as the proud owner of two really pristine Z100s (one with
hard drive), I am amazed at the paucity of CP/M-86 software available for
this system. Most of the CP/M-86 stuff on the 'net is of the "CP/M-86 for
the IBM PC" flavor.
And *forget* about CP/M-85! It seems as if nobody ever used the 8085 MPU
in the Z100 . . .
Anybody care to 'splain me why this is? Am I the only person on the planet
who has/had any interest in running CP/M on the Z100?????? To me, running
MS-DOS on a Z100 turns it into just another kinda-PC-clone.
Later --
Glen
0/0
Hey all,
I'm trying to get rid of some of the vast quantities of misc. random crud I
have piled on every flat surface, and one those items is a stack o' Z-100
software. No manuals, but these are genuine original floppets, complete with
Heath Zenith Data Systems labels.. I'd prefer someone with a Z-100 getting
them, and a small amount of money would rock... Say $10? Disks are:
MS-DOS VERSION 3 FOR THE Z-100 PC (Disk I and II)
SUPERCALC 3 PROD DISK
SUPERCALC 3 UTIL DISK
MICROPRO WORDSTAR PROFESSIONAL CORRECTSTAR DICTIONARY
rest are more wordstar flops so I'll save myself typing the whole name:
PROFESSIONAL OPTIONS
WORDSTAR
TUTOR DISK I
TUTOR DISK II
Will J
_________________________________________________________________
Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com
Does anyone know if Zentec bought LSI or what? I recently got an ADM-11 and
ADM-11plus for free, and they have Zentec Corp. stickers on them...
Will J
_________________________________________________________________
MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos:
http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx
Hello everybody,
my father is cleaning out his office and wants to get rid of two SUN
SPARCstations. I had hoped we'd keep them, but he would like to get a moderate sum
of money out of them, so he asked me to offer them here...
! We also consider trading some of the stuff off for a working Calcomp !
! 971 L ethernet interface card (for a CalComp laser printer). !
If possible, we would like to sell them as complete systems as follows, but
if nobody wants these, we also consider splitting them up.
System 1: System 2:
SUN SPARCstation 1+ SUN SPARCstation 2
Framebuffer Framebuffer
21" CAD monitor 21" CAD monitor
4 GB SCSI ext. HDD 4 GB SCSI ext. HDD
660 MB SCSI ext. HDD 660 MB SCSI ext. HDD
Type 4 Keyboard Type 4 Keyboard
optical mouse + grid pad optical mouse + grid pad
all necessary cabling all necessary cabling
SCSI terminator SCSI terminator
(I do not know how much memory, internal HD, ... they have; NVRAM may have
died over time. Nevertheless, they powered up correctly last time)
Furthermore, a SCSI DAT streamer in external enclosure has also become
available.
They are in Germany at present (Nuremberg, northern Bavaria). Taker(s) would
have to pay shipping. Please contact me off list & place your offers if
you're interested in anything: A r n o _ 1 9 8 3 @ g m x . d e (remove blanks
first...)
So far by now
Arno
--
+++ GMX - Mail, Messaging & more http://www.gmx.net +++
NEU: Mit GMX ins Internet. Rund um die Uhr f?r 1 ct/ Min. surfen!
I have the possibility to pick up the following:
Sun 600-2575-06 : 10" square by about 4" tall. Has drive and a whole
lot of memory . . . .
Sun Sparc Station 1 Model 147 p/n 608-2217-01 : 15" square by about 3"
tall. Guess this is the pizza box model
I only looked at both briefly, and not have any detailed info at this
time.
I can get matching monitors, but don't think there is a keyboard/mouse
available. I was wondering if you can power them up
w/o keyboard/mouse, just box and monitor to verify basic operation,
whether dead or alive.
Gary Hildebrand
St. Joseph, MO
I am looking for the following software:
Window Master (Structured Systems Group)
Concept VP (Scientia)
Inview (Graphicon)
If you have any of these GUI software packages (early to mid-80s vintage)
please contact me directly at <sellam(a)vintage.org>.
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 *
"Scarletdown" <SecretaryBird(a)SoftHome.net> wrote:
> I might just build a very minimalist 386 or 486 system from spare parts
> I have lying about here, set it up with FreeDOS or MINIX, and make that
> the console. [...]
Actually the easiest way to build a 386-based terminal is with MSDOS
(or DRDOS) and kermit. Kermit supports most serial cards and even some
ethernet cards (so you can telnet over TCP/IP). There is even
DOS-based software for mouse support (so you can cut & paste text).
Kermit or DOS can take care of most input and output conversions so
you can talk to almost any system that support telnet or async serial.
BTW since most IDE disk have a spin down feature, you can spin down the disk
just after you load kermit, so you don't even have to listen to the hard
disk. Many systems of that era didn't have PSU fans, so spinning down
the disk made the system totally quiet.
**vp
> Sounds like motivation to keep a bootable DOS5 system around, with both
> 3.5" and 5.25" drives....
And don't forget to have an ethernet card, and either a copy of PCTCP, or
anotherbootable OS on the system that has a TCP stack. One of these days
I'm going to build such a system. I've managed to collect all the parts,
and even a nice small PC, I just haven't found the time (or really a place
to put it).
Zane
> What's to know?
Still..
> How available is it?
Dunno. Technically, I shouldn't have it, right? Then again, MS dropped
DOS quite a while ago, so... pfff... Fair Use for retro-hackers ? :)
--f
> This may have been the very first (for me at least) of the by now
> innumerable MS Gotchas
Dunno about MS-DOS V6.22; I'll look it up in the format.exe source..
(yes, we have the source, and no, we're not gonna fix it ;-)
--fred