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101090 discussions

by Dcsonntag＠aol.com

I have a bunch of old data tapes that my father (deceased) wrote on his TI 733 ASR terminal. Any idea how I might go about accessing data on the tapes or transferring to more modern media? Thanks, Dave Sonntag

23 years, 7 months

For Sale/Trade at the VCF - plus want list

by RonaJoyner＠hotmail.com

I am looking for either :- - working Sharp PC1500 Pocket Computer with or without printer or - working Sharp PC1500A Pocket Computer with or without printer I live in Australia

23 years, 7 months

PDP-8 "Introduction to Programming"

by a.krennmair＠aon.at

Hello, I'm a student interested in retrocomputing. That's why I started programming PDP-8 assembly a few days ago (Debian basically delivers all you need to do that, i.e. simh and palbart). One problem I have is the documentation. All that I found is either only a reference for the PDP-8 instructions or the documentation of PAL III assembler. The third thing I had as reference was the source code of OS/278. All in all, very incomplete. Now I learned about the "Introduction to Programming" by DEC, written for and about the PDP-8. Unfortunately I was unable to find a copy of it on the internet. Now I ask whether anybody of you has a copy of it (machine-readable preferred). In Austria, DEC hardware doesn't seem to have been very popular at that time, so documentation isn't easily available, either (it's even quite hard to get VAXen, fortunately I did). Thanks in advance, Andreas Krennmair -- "I treat [women] like compilers. They take simple statements and make them into big productions." -- Pitr

23 years, 7 months

OT: dumpster dive and water/mold cleanup

by tothwolf＠concentric.net

I guess I should give a little background for the folks who haven't heard >from me privately lately. Just a few weeks ago or so (has it been that long already?), I ended up rescuing nearly an entire ham shack/photo/woodworking shop from a 40cu yard dumpster. A friend of mine who lived around the corner died a few years ago, and even after picking up tons of stuff from his family, and after numerous attempts to arrange pickup of the remaining stuff, I found out some of his family dumped the entire shop into a huge dumpster (or skip for you folks on the other side of the pond). Thankfully, I found out about it *before* the dumpster was to be picked up. I spent a total of around 22+ hours (with permission from the folks who filled the dumpster) over the course of two nights with the help of a work light pulling out everything I could salvage. There were a few things missing (someone else got there first), and 1000s (I'd guess that number anyway) of magazines and some books were ruined due to rain before I found out about the dumpster. Magazines dating from the 1940s to the 1970s were mostly ruined beyond salvage. These included titles such as Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Mechanix, and Popular Electronics. It also included 3-4 different photo oriented publications with dates from early 1970s to the 1980s. Ironically, they also accidentally trashed 1000s and 1000s of photos, slides, negatives (both plastic and glass plate), and home movies. I've been returning those items as I sort them from the rest, since they did not mean to trash them. I still need advice on unsticking/cleaning the home movie films, since none were in water tight containers. Most are small reels in 3"x3"x3/4" cardboard boxes. I did explain to the family how to separate/clean prints, and I think about 99% of those were successfully salvaged. I am currently trying to figure out how to clean/salvage books that were exposed to the water, and since the texts are irreplaceable, I'm hesitant in what I try. Many books have a very fine powder-like mold on their covers, while the pages are ok. Some books have small amounts of mold growing on the edges of the pages. I also rescued a huge vinyl 33 1/3 record collection that needs to be cleaned up somehow. They were added to the dumpster (by mistake I was told) after the initial dive, and were subsequently exposed to yet more rain (Houston really sucks sometimes). I'm very worried about cleaning any mold from the album covers, but I imagine most of the vinyl is currently ok. Some of the records may have been broken when they were dumped into the dumpster, but I expect to find most intact. I imagine these may be the most time sensitive of all the rescued materials. I am also trying to figure out how to clean minor mold from and separate QSL cards that are stuck together. The cards date from the 1950s, but thankfully most were not exposed to water. I also have 100s of HARC publications that need to be salvaged. Some are in very good condition, while some have a significant mold growth on them. I should also add that I am keeping all the items stacked (and piled) in my (unfinished) computer building (nowhere else to put them at present), and have been keeping the lights on 24/7 to help inhibit the growth of mold. Also, if there is anyone located in Houston that feels like lending a hand in sorting/cleaning up stuff, please contact me. It is abit overwhelming for me to try to deal with ~50-60 years worth of items. -Toth

23 years, 7 months

PDP-8 "Introduction to Programming"

by aek＠spies.com

I've had a copy sitting next to the scanner for a while now. I'll see about getting it pdf'ed and up at www.spies.com/aek/pdf/dec/pdp8

23 years, 7 months

Old Computers - Xerox

by aek＠spies.com

here's an exchange I already had with them: From: "Kathy Marsh" <kmarsh(a)dnsllc.com> To: "Al Kossow" <aek(a)spies.com> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by spies.com id g7KCZnVt000585 X-SpamBouncer: 1.6 beta (7/05/02) X-SBClass: OK X-Folder: Bulk Status: RO Good morning, Al! I apologize for the delay in responding to this. I work 8 am to 3 pm, EST, Mon-Fri, so I had already left yesterday when you sent this. We are located in Erie, PA. I have some links with photos of the items. We are asking $999.00 plus shipping for everything or $950.00 plus shipping for the computer system and software (no printer).

23 years, 7 months

HP 4972A LAN Protocol Analyser

by seweryni＠grs.nasdsl.com

Do you still have a manual for this equipment and software? George

23 years, 7 months

VMS Conquest.

by gcroasdill＠enlighten.com

Just saw you posting about conquest. This was an old favorite of mine. I Googled it this morning because an old college chum and I were reminiscing last night. You might want to check out www.radscan.com/conquest.html Looks like ConQuest was ported to linux, and this site has a telnet service where you can go play (just like the good old days). Not quite the same as a VT100 hooked to a VAX750, but, fills the bill ;-) Take Care! GregC /-----------------------------------\ + Greg Croasdill + gcroasdill(a)enlighten.com \-----------------------------------/

23 years, 7 months

Proper Observance of ESD Handling Proceedures

by mail.list＠analog-and-digital-solutions.com

If any of you list members ( that are also eBay buyers, as many of you are ) feel as we do, that computer components should be shipped in some type of antistatic packaging, you might wish to avoid purchases from ... eBay seller ... davidth dba ... Tec Instruments Inc We purchased a computer card from them that they did not place in an antistatic bag. They just wrapped it in clear bubble wrap, which is not an antistatic material. As most, if not all, of you well know, the pink bubble wrap is the antistatic variety. We just purchased a roll ourselves that cost us less than eight cents per square foot. One square foot ( eight pennies worth ) would have been sufficient to have done a decent job, but that was not done. They also did not realize we had paid them for the part virtually immediately after the auction was over ( IIRC we purchased with the Buy It Now feature ) and SIX WEEKS+ LATER when we still hadn't received it, we had to call and inquire as to it's whereabouts. We felt that a job done that poorly did not deserve a positive comment, so we gave them a neutral comment calling it like it was. This seller sees fit to retaliate against neutral comments and lie in their response. Just a heads up for anyone that would wish their purchases not to be senselessly placed at risk of damage before you have ever even received it.

23 years, 7 months

Free Stuff for PICKUP ONLY in Collegeville, PA (near philly)

by wonko＠4amlunch.net

i have had the pleasure of making a trip with Dave McGuire to rescue some very nice PDP-11/70 boxes. what were not expecting was the volume of stuff that we were presented with. being the people we are, we could not just flat out say no, we had to take it all. it filled a 24' truck. that's a lot of PDP-11/70. in the pile of stuff was a bunch of LA36 and LA120 terminals. only one of the LA36 terminals powers up and DTRT, the rest are assumed to be dead. this is WAY more stuff that i can deal with, so i need these dead terminals (including a dead LA120) as well as the working LA36 and four CRT terminals gone from my house as soon as possible. i am not one to lightly toss things into the skip, but if these are not recovered from my house in a timely manner, i fear i have no choice but to do so. ok, quick run out to the driveway, and here is a list of what is there for the taking: 1 LA120 (assumed broken) 4 LA36 (assumed broken) 1 LA36 (seems to work) 1 Qume QVT-101 CRT terminal (powers up, seems to work) 1 Qume QVT-201 CRT terminal (powers up, seems to work) 1 Qume QVT-202 CRT terminal (powers up, seems to work) MicroTeam FE 4520 CRT terminal (powers up, seems to work) Diablo 620 (untested, has the extra tractor assembly) i think i have the keyboards for all the CRT terminals, but i'd have to check. -brian ps: some pics of the PDP-11 haul, as well as moving my large collection of VAX kit from dave's locker to my garage (stone/dirt floors SUCK) -- she manipulates my language | the scion of a cunning goddess | Fridge and i *am* but a MAN | Magnet watching my gratuitous torment | Poetry not looking herculean |

23 years, 7 months

OT: PC Motherboard with a vacuum tube

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Sep 7, 0:53, Tony Duell wrote: > I'll bet that in, say, 5 years time you'll still be able to get 12AT7s > (what's that? ECC82?) Roughly. My Mullard 1977 Data Book lists as equivalents 12AT7 ECC81 12AU7 ECC82 12AX7 ECC83 12AZ7 ECC81 but I notice that my 1976 book lists ECC81 as obsolescent! You can still get them, though. That's a long obsolescence period! There's not much difference, actually; ECC81/82/83 are the same except for gm, mu, -Vg and Ia: gm mu -Vg Ia ECC81 5.5mA/V 60 2V 10mA ECC82 2.2mA/V 17 8.5V 10.5mA ECC83 1.6mA/V 90 2V 1.25mA And I found the 12AT7 data elsewhere: 12AT7 5.5mA/V 55 2V 10mA The small difference in mu between 12AT7 and ECC81 might just be the result of minor differences in measurement techniques or manufacturer quality; I read something that suggests the ECC81/82/83 were designed as exact replacements for the 12A?7 series. All data refer to 250V anode voltage. Those dual triodes are/were often underrun at 150-200V, and obviously the gain and currents etc change if you do that. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

23 years, 7 months

Cygwin

by appleone＠mac.com

If you're running Windows, you want Cygwin (http://cygwin.com) which is a unix environment foe Windows, GCC, bash shell & everything (even a port of XFree86). It has a port of ps2pdf. "Unix environment foe windows"? Boy, what a Freudian slip! And I think Mr. Gates would agree! Steve Christensen

23 years, 7 months

Noval 760 on eBay (again)

by sloboyko＠yahoo.com

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2052619348 This is that Noval 760 machine discussed earlier. If I had the room and could move it myself, the buy it now price seems reasonable (for a change!). It actually looks like a nice piece of furniture! __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance - Get real-time stock quotes http://finance.yahoo.com

23 years, 7 months

FOR ST20 compiler

by han_hao＠163.net

hi,all I'm looking for something about ST20's compiler,ST20-SWC, ST20-SWC++ anybody can help me :_) HanHao han_hao(a)163.net

23 years, 7 months

OT: dumpster dive and water/mold cleanup

by doug_jackson＠citadel.com.au

This sort of reminds me that the village isn't quite so global...Even though the marketing says so... Brasso is an Australian Trademark. It may not exist elsewhere. Doug Jackson MSS Operations Manager Citadel Securix (02) 6290 9011 (Ph) (02) 6262 6152 (Fax) (0414) 986 878 (mobile) > -----Original Message----- > From: Geoff Roberts [mailto:geoffrob@stmarks.pp.catholic.edu.au] > Sent: Tuesday, September 03, 2002 12:19 PM > To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org > Subject: Re: OT: dumpster dive and water/mold cleanup > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Chris" <mythtech(a)mac.com> > To: <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> > Sent: Tuesday, September 03, 2002 11:14 AM > Subject: Re: OT: dumpster dive and water/mold cleanup > > > > >I've found that 'Brasso' applied by hand can descratch a CD > > >that was unreadable due to serious scratching and make it > > >useable. > > > > What's Brasso? > > Liquid brass polish. Been around forever. There is a > companion product for > silver called, oddly enough, Silvo which is a bit finer in > composition I > believe. > Brasso works very well on scratched cds, I've got a couple that were > unplayable/readable > and now look and play like new. Requires patience. I don't > recommend power > tools in this > application though I have resorted to putting the cd in a holder on a > variable speed drill for really > heavy scratching that was going to take forever by hand. > That worked, with > a chux and plenty of > brasso. > > Cheers > > Geoff in Oz > > > CAUTION - The information in this message may be of a privileged or confidential nature intended only for the use of the addressee or someone authorised to receive the addressee's e-mail. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error please notify postmaster(a)citadel.com.au. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of Citadel Securix. Feel free to visit the Citadel Securix website! Click below. http://www.citadel.com.au

23 years, 7 months

OT: dumpster dive and water/mold cleanup

by mythtech＠mac.com

>My sons had (as late as the late 70's) small Golden Books that came with a >thin vinyl record that had the story and sounds recorded (yeah they'll reall >learn how to read if you give them a record to play instead - duh!) I have >a feeling I stashed those away and might come across them this winter. My sister and I used to have something along those lines. It was a mini record player/slide projector. The records were hard plastic or vinyl, and they came with a stick with slides on it and a book. You would play the record, and insert the slide stick. The record would tell the story in the book (not word for word if I remember), and every time it would beep you would pull the slide stick up one notch (maybe pressed a button to do it for you, don't remember). Somewhere in a box I still have some of the record/slide/books, but the player is long gone. Some day I hope to find a new player at a flea market. -chris <http://www.mythtech.net>

23 years, 7 months

Interesting Book: "The Digital Dictionary"

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

Yesterday I finally got a couple books I'd gotten on eBay a couple weeks ago, obviously "VAXcluster Principles" is an interesting book, but I was surprised how good of a book "The Digital Dictionary" is. I got the 2nd Edition (the first was mainly internal use). It's a dictionary of all the different terms that were in use around 1986. As such it contains info on the PDP-10, PDP-11, and VAX, as well as DECmate's, Rainbows, and Professionals. As well as the Apps, Languages, and OS's. Great book if you want to know what a specific term or acronym means. Well worth picking up if you are in to DEC stuff and can find a copy! Zane -- | Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Administrator | | healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | OpenVMS Enthusiast | | healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector | +----------------------------------+----------------------------+ | Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, | | and Zane's Computer Museum. | | http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/ |

23 years, 7 months

Wanted

by MSHLI＠aol.com

We would like to locate some Matrox QG-640 graphics boards for Qbus. These were manufactured in the 80's. Is there still an appropriate bulletin board where this want could be posted? Thank you, Neil Rubenstein Neil Rubenstein, Pres. N&R Scientific Co., Inc. 201 592 1864 201 592 7027-fax mshli(a)aol.com

23 years, 7 months

Paper tape reader/punch restoration

by coredump＠gifford.co.uk

I'm just starting to fix up and restore a very fine old paper tape reader, a GNT 4104. It's a photoelectric model and can go up to 1000 characters per second. It was originally used on a CTL Modular One, and has the CTL logo and "1.32" designation. Next, I'll have a look at the Facit 4070 paper tape punch. This seems to be a common model, and there's interfacing info available on the web. I also have a supply of blank paper tape! What I need is a recommendation for finding teletype oil, or something similar to lubricate the mechanical parts of these machines. The oil on the machines at the moment seems to have got very sticky, and nothing moves freely any more. Oh, and I do have manuals for both of these machines. -- John Honniball coredump(a)gifford.co.uk

23 years, 7 months

OT -- more housecleaning -- Victor computer

by zaft＠azstarnet.com

Okay, I have a Victor computer and monitor. It has a single 5.25" floppy drive. I've not opened it up but I suspect it's an early PC clone. The monitor plugs into the back of the PC and has no power cord or other attachments. The machine powers on, seemingly, but I get no display at all. I don't have a keyboard for it either. Anyone who wants it can have it, otherwise it goes to the recyclers next week. I'm in Tucson, AZ. Please contact me offlist. GZ Gordon Zaft zaft(a)azstarnet.com

23 years, 7 months

visiting NY next week?

by red＠bears.org

Howdy. I'm going to be in Poughkeepsie, NY, next week for an IBM z/VM class. I think it'd be nice to meet up with a couple of folks from the list, and maybe try to arrange to do something besides sit alone in my hotel room and read trashy novels. (: I'm due to arrive late Monday night, and I'm leaving early Thursday evening. Drop me a line and let me know what you think. ok r.

23 years, 7 months

OT: PC Motherboard with a vacuum tube

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

You gotta be kidding! It's not even April Fool's Day yet! Joe At 08:14 AM 9/6/02 -0600, you wrote: >Sufficiently retro to be interesting. > >Take a look at http://www.aopen.com/products/mb/Pax4b-533tube1.htm. The tube >is used in an onboard audio preamp. > >

23 years, 7 months

FA: Nova 1200, 1210 & 1220 Technical manuals, PCB book, N* book, more

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

I just finished putting some suff on E-bay including Technical Manuals for the Data General Nova 1200, 1210 and 1220, HDOS manual for the North Star hard drive systems, a good book on Magnaflux magentic partical inspection and a GREAT book on printed circuit boards by Clyde Coombs of Hewlett Packard. see <http://cgi6.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&userid=rigd…> Joe

23 years, 7 months

Amiga goodies clearance

by ghldbrd＠ccp.com

Having had next to no interest in the usenet groups, I'm cleaning out my stash of Zorro cards and other Amiga goodies. Included are: Toaster 2000 cards, Flyer cards, A2065 Ethernet, A2091 SCSI with 2 Meg RAM, PP&S 040 accelerators, and memory cards. If you are interested e-mail me off-list and we can either go cash and carry or trade. I'm interested in SCSI-3 drives of more than 1 gig, an LCD display for an Apple IIc+, or anything to make an A1200 into a towerized computer, including case, slot expander, etc. Gary Hildebrand St. Joseph, MO

23 years, 7 months

S-100 Question (ISC Computer/Seattle Computer Products)

by gstreet＠indy.net

Back on June 9th of this year (Classic Tech Eletter #11), someone thoughtfully posted the paragraph at the bottom of this message (on this newsgroup). Coincidentally, I had already found the same S-100 computer and I eventually ended up winning the bid (I was the only bidder). I only very recently received this machine (it was slightly damaged in shipping, and it _really_ was filthy! (There was an enormous delay in shipping it to me.) I've got the damage straightened out and I completely disassembled it for cleaning. I just got it back together last night and turned on the switch. I seems to power up and the led's come on (led near the on/off switch and 3 led's on the backplane/motherboard). I talked to one person who said that he thought that he'd had an ISC computer before, but that it wasn't pure S-100. The reason that I bought this machine is that I have some Seattle Computer Products S-100 cards that I really want to get running. They drop in the ISC "S-100" computer _perfectly_, but I have not powered it up with the SCP cards in place. If there's something that's not "pure S-100" about the ISC, I don't want to damage the SCP cards. I just checked the link (below) and it still works. I think the link will disappear in just a few more days (90 days), so I can provide the same pictures to anyone interested after the link disappears. The reason it's taken so long to ask this question is because it took over 2 months for me to actually receive the unit (now the darned link is ready to vanish, probably on Sept 10th). http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2029719366 I cannot find _any_ information about ISC Systems Corp., Spokane, WA. It's an absolutely beautifully crafted unit and from the filthy condition that I received it in--it appears to have been left running for, perhaps, _years_! The seller claimed that he'd removed the existing cards to install in his Altair, but if that's true, someone must have already substituted different cards--in the pictures, you'll notice a bunch of twisted pair and other small gauge wires: these all appear to hook up to what would seem to be "non-standard" S-100 cards, through proprietary connectors. I cannot fathom how the original ISC cards could have been of any use to anyone except a user of this ISC system. It appears that the "non-standard" wires go to things like: keyboard, monitor, a network and LP 1 and LP 2 (LPT 1 & LPT 2??). There is yet another connector that I've no clue as to what it might do. _BUT_, _if_ the box itself conforms to the S-100 standard, and if I can use the SCP cards, all the other wires don't matter, because they won't be connected to anything. I've really taken a liking to this machine--I hope I can use it! Any help would be much appreciated! Thank you, Robert Greenstreet gstreet(a)indy.net > >At 08:33 PM 6/9/02 -0400, you wrote: >CLASSIC TECH ELETTER, Vol. 1, Issue 11 > >It's too bad the seller gutted this ISC Systems S-100 computer. If it >sells close to the opening bid, however, the buyer will get a good deal on >an S-100 starter system. (The seller's right about the system needing a >cleaning. You could knit a sweater with all the lint stuck in the fan >vent.)

23 years, 7 months

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