Hi all --
In addition to the 11/45 project I'm also working on restoring an RF08/RS08
fixed head disk/controller (in the vain hopes of one day running TSS/8 on
my PDP-8/I). I have the power supply repaired and running and I'm getting
ready to power the logic up (the disc itself will be a project all its own,
once it arrives).
I'd like to double-check that all the flip chips are in their right places;
I have no cause to think they've been shuffled around but I want to be
sure. The engineering docs have detailed schematics but no placement chart
for the modules themselves. Given enough time with the schematics I could
derive this chart but I'm saving that as a last resort. So, two
possibilities here:
1) Does anyone know of a document I've overlooked that includes module
placement?
2) Can someone with an RF08 and/or RS08 take a few detailed pictures of the
logic (from the handle side, of course) so I can compare? (Note: the
available RF08/RS08 pictures on the 'net are of the unit currently in my
possession, so are not useful in this regard!)
Thanks!
- Josh
Spring cleaning. Will be recycled otherwise. While most are probably
not of interest to this group it's possible someone may want the SCSI
related items like the ES-1000C flatbed scanner manual or Yamaha
CRW8424SX manual or the Adaptec stuff.
I'm in downtown Toronto, Canada. On Freenode IRC my nick is genii
imgur gallery of the stuff https://imgur.com/a/USejVEv
--
"..we are dwarfs astride the shoulders of giants. We master their
wisdom and move beyond it. Due to their wisdom we grow wise and are
able to say all that we say, but not because we are greater than
they." Isaiah di Trani
> From: Eric Smith
> The KB11-B (original 11/70) and KB11-C (later 11/70) have essentially
> the same changes as from the KB11-A to KB11-D
Speaking of which, two of the boards that are different in the KB11-D, from
the -A, are _identical_ to boards in the KB11-C - the M8123 ROM & ROM control
and the M8132 instruction register decode! (The M8123 is also different from
the M8133 board in the KB11-B.) Pretty wierd that the -11/45 and -11/70 CPUs
share two boards, but true! (The FP11 boards are the same in both, too.)
> It sure would be nice to get backplane wirelists for all four (KB11-A,
> -B, -C, and -D).
ISTR a previous, un-fulfilled request for the -11/70 wirelist, so it's been
missing for a while.
We _might_ have the -11/45 wirelist:
http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/pdp11/1145/1145_System_Engineering_Drawing…
but it's short (pp. 128-132), so maybe it's not complete)? Two other
print sets seem to have the same list:
http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/pdp11/1145/1145_System_Engineering_Drawing…http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/pdp11/1155/MP00039_1155vol1_Mar76.pdf
(pp. 45-49 and pp 131-135 respectively).
> Also, I'm looking for a Field Maintenance Print Set for the RH70.
Heh. I didn't see it online; the manual:
http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/unibus/CSS-MO-F-5.2-27_RH70_Option_Descrip…
is a CSS document, which makes no sense, because the CPU backplane is laid
out to have room for four, so it's an integral part of the /70 CPU - so why
is it a CSS product? Anyway, the print set listed there seems like it might
be a CSS thing, too.
I see that the CHM seems to have a set:
https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102749003
so maybe Al will take pity on us and scan it!
I looked in my /70 print set, and although it contains all sorts of odds and
ends (including MJ11 prints - which kind of half makes sense, since that was
the only main memory option on early /70's), it doesn't have the RH70. (I
didn't see the MJ11 prints on BitSavers, so I was thinking I was going to
have to scan them, but on further looking I found them on deramp.com.)
Noel
> From: Henk Gooijen
> I have the M8120 and 4 M8121 boards (32kW bipolar RAM). It is a bit
> weird, but in the 11/55 are also two G114 boards (4kW MOS RAM), IIRC.
G114s? Those are the sense/inhibit module from the MM11-U/MJ11. Did you
mean G401s?
If so, one guess as to what happened there is that the machine used to have
two banks of MS11 Fastbus memory, one bipolar, and one MOS, and some of the
boards from the MOS bank (the memory control, and maybe some of the matrix
boards) got removed?
A KB11-[AD] can have two banks of MS11; the only type mixing allowed is that
one can be all bipolar, and one all MOS; within each bank they all have to be
the same. More here:
https://gunkies.org/wiki/MS11_Semiconductor_Memory_System
Interesting factoid: the M8110 and M8120 use the same etch. I'm not sure
quite what the difference is (the MS11-A MM doesn't say, I couldn't find, and
I don't think we have the M8120 engineering drawings, just the M8110);
the M8120 has a bunch of ECO wires on it, and maybe there are component changes
too. (I don't have an M8110 to compare them directly.)
Noel
Sort of an odd request, but I have some LK201-AA keyboards that have (of
course) not got their little black riser feet any more. I don't think
they've ever had them while in my possession, in fact.
If anyone has one, and has the time and interest, could you do me a big
favor and take measurements of them for me? I would like to 3D print
some replacements, so getting the outer dimension is the most critical
part (though I can always measure the inner dimension of the hole they
fit into, too), along with the protrusion of the two clips that fit into
the key of the hole on the bottom of the LK201 keyboard.
I have good pictures of them, just not dimensions, so I think once I
know the size of the critical bits, designing and printing them
shouldn't be too difficult.
Thanks,
-Seth
--
Seth Morabito
Poulsbo, WA, USA
web at loomcom.com
>
>
> On 4/24/21 10:28 PM, Noel Chiappa via cctalk wrote:
> > Noel
> >
> > PS: I wonder how many people here have -11/45's? ISTR one other, but
> they aren't
> > common.
The Rhode Island Computer Museum has two. The pair were the interface
between fire pull boxes and the 911 dispatch system in Brooklyn, NY. Both
have DV11 & DH11 serial controllers. These are capable of the very low baud
rates needed to talk to the fire pull boxes.
https://www.ricomputermuseum.org/collections-gallery/equipment/dec-pdp-11-45
--
Michael Thompson
Some one appears to have three AT&T 3B2/300 manuals, cables diskettes, sadly
in Brazil and has posted some pictures in a Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/vintagecomputerswapmeet/permalink/3954289997
980016/
You can open the link in an incognito, sandboxed, VPNd session and still see
the post..
Dave
G4UGM
https://www.ebay.com/itm/164815576309
$9570 for a keyboard.
As much as I'd like to find a keyboard for my Lambda's second head, I
somehow doubt that's going to happen. And now I think I need to go find a
really, really (really) safe place to keep the keyboard I *do* have...
- Josh
>//>/Digital DEC 3000 />//>/I have an old DEC 3000 unit that I no longer have time or space for, and />/was wondering what to do with it. />//>/The rear plate shows PE42A-B9, CPU KN17, DEC 3000 600S and the ROM has a />/sticker showing Dec 1989. />//>/I have a video cable but not a suitable monitor so can't fully test it />/but I think it is booting up OK as the diagnostic LED's on the rear show />/11011101 or DD in hex which I think means it has booted OK to console. />//>/It has been running in the past and my last efforts were probably 10+ />/years ago when I installed VMS version 7 with a guest licence. />//>/I also have a few peripherals including a SZ12 disk unit, LK201 />/keyboard, circular mouse and various SCSI and video cables. />//>/It has been stored in my garage which is not totally sealed so it has />/suffered a little corrosion to the rear connectors but it looks
recoverable. />//>/All thoughts and opinions welcome. />//>//
Hi Rob,
I have three DEC 3000 600 machines which don't work with various issues
including multiple cache failures, shorted decoupling capacitors and
power supply issues. They seem to accumulate more issues each time I
get around to looking at them again :-(
If you are willing to part out, I would be interested in your system board
and I/O board to help me get some of my machines sorted out. I guess you
also have a graphics card? I would be interested in that too.
You don't say where you are. I am located in Ireland.
Regards,
Peter Coghlan.
I hadn't considered splitting the components but I can see that would be an option and a lot more manageable boxing up smaller parts for the post office.
I would really prefer to see the unit go in one piece but will keep it in mind as an option.
I am in Cardiff.
I am new to the list so please excuse me for leaving out a few essential
elements of my message.
-----------------
I am in Cardiff in the UK and would prefer collection of the Digital DEC
3000 unit as it is large and heavy and would not be easy to arrange
postage.
I am happy to wait for a few weeks/months until covid restrictions are
fully lifted and would really like the item to go to someone who
appreciates its heritage.
-----------------
I have an old DEC 3000 unit that I no longer have time or space for, and
was wondering what to do with it.
The rear plate shows PE42A-B9, CPU KN17, DEC 3000 600S and the ROM has a
sticker showing Dec 1989.
I have a video cable but not a suitable monitor so can't fully test it
but I think it is booting up OK as the diagnostic LED's on the rear show
11011101 or DD in hex which I think means it has booted OK to console.
It has been running in the past and my last efforts were probably 10+
years ago when I installed VMS version 7 with a guest licence.
I also have a few peripherals including a SZ12 disk unit, LK201
keyboard, circular mouse and various SCSI and video cables.
It has been stored in my garage which is not totally sealed so it has
suffered a little corrosion to the rear connectors but it looks recoverable.
All thoughts and opinions welcome.
Digital DEC 3000
I have an old DEC 3000 unit that I no longer have time or space for, and
was wondering what to do with it.
The rear plate shows PE42A-B9, CPU KN17, DEC 3000 600S and the ROM has a
sticker showing Dec 1989.
I have a video cable but not a suitable monitor so can't fully test it
but I think it is booting up OK as the diagnostic LED's on the rear show
11011101 or DD in hex which I think means it has booted OK to console.
It has been running in the past and my last efforts were probably 10+
years ago when I installed VMS version 7 with a guest licence.
I also have a few peripherals including a SZ12 disk unit, LK201
keyboard, circular mouse and various SCSI and video cables.
It has been stored in my garage which is not totally sealed so it has
suffered a little corrosion to the rear connectors but it looks recoverable.
All thoughts and opinions welcome.
I'm trying to track down a keyboard to complete a system which is proving
quite difficult!
Here is the specific unit: https://i.imgur.com/FsG24G3.jpg
if anyone happened to have one of these spare or know someone who does
please let me know!
> From: Fritz Mueller
> could I ask that you take some closeups around the Mate-n-Locks along
> the top? I'd be very interested to see the board traces and the details
> of the red bus wiring there.
I had a look at my /45 (a later KB11-D - although I think the backplanes for
the -A and -D are identical), and it seems to have heavy red wires attached
to the upper row of Mate-n-Lok's that look just like those on Josh's. I'd
really want to take pictures of mine (I don't want to take the backplane out
- too much work - but I can get decent images with it in, I think) so I
can compare them directly, though, not depend on visual memory.
Noel
PS: I wonder how many people here have -11/45's? ISTR one other, but they aren't
common.
> I had a look at my /45 ... and it seems to ... look just like those on
> Josh's. I'd really want to take pictures of mine .. so I can compare
> them directly, though, not depend on visual memory.
Yeah, mine (a late /55, actually) has the _exact_ same wires at Josh's.
So that's probably the final ECO level. Image here:
http://ana-3.lcs.mit.edu/~jnc/tech/pdp11/jpg/1145CPUBackPlane.jpg
if you're interested. (Not a great image, but OK; I can try for a better one
if there's a need.)
> From: Henk Gooijen
> Most of the CPU boards in the 11/55 are the same as the ones in the
> 11/45
The -11/45, /50 and /55 are all the same CPU (KB11-A or -D), so the same
backplane/everything, but differ only if they were sold pre-configured with
the MS11 Fastbus memory.
And of course some /45's (especially those sold before the introduction of the
/50 and /55 as sales options - I have a /45 price list from Sep, 1972 which
lists the /45 and /50 but not the /55; and one from Jan, '73 which only lists
the /45 :-) were upgraded (possibly after sale, after the /50 and /55
appeared) with MS11 - or possibly some /50's and /55's had the MS11 removed at
some point. So the number doesn't mean anything; one has to look at the
boards.
Noel
Hey all --
I've started stripping down the "fire-sale" PDP-11/45 I picked up in
November, in preparation for sanding and repainting the rack and processor
chassis. There were two H742a supplies in the rack that I believe are too
far gone to be reasonably restored (in particular the heat definitely did a
number on at least one of the transformers) and I have a pair of H7420a's
ready to take their place. I hate to see things go to waste, though, and
even though it's probably pointless -- before I send these off to the
scrapyard, I wanted to check to see if anyone here needed any parts.
Shipping the whole unit(s) would be pretty expensive, local pickup is an
option if you want the whole thing(s). The transformers are a bit toasty
but the power supply boards look like they might be usable after a good
cleaning and testing. Fans are dead (either melted away entirely or rusted
out). I suppose there's not really much else that'd be useful to anyone
but I have a compulsion to make sure...
Here's a couple of pictures:
https://1drv.ms/u/s!Aqb36sqnCIfMpL89R2GtJFrrRqZ1vQ?e=Re3KZr
And for fun, here's a bunch of pictures of the unit just prior to the
teardown: https://1drv.ms/u/s!Aqb36sqnCIfMpL8-mTCp-NndzDTpbw?e=8aWCl4
(I do think there's a good chance this will run again, the major casualties
were the front panel, power supplies, and wiring harness. I have
replacements for the first two, and the third is just a matter of taking
the time to build a new one. The boards cleaned up nicely and there's no
real damage to the processor backplane, amazingly.)
- Josh
Earlier I'd found a box with a speaker, what looked like a volume
control and maybe a headphone jack with a ribbon cable going to a DB-25
connector. Thought it might be for playing sounds from the system.
Appears to be partly right. While digging through various Exidy doc on
Bitsavers I came across a manual for a Cognivox Speech Recongnition and
Voice Response Peripheral by a company called Voicetek. The images in
the manual match the box itself. What I thought was a headphone jack is
for a mic and it appears to plug into the parallel port in the expansion
unit.
I haven't found any of the software that the manual says ships with it
though I'm still finding parts of this system packed away in various
boxes so might find it yet. I know it is probably a huge long shot but
if anyone else has software or anything else about this peripheral,
please drop me a line.
David Williams
www.trailingedge.com
Hi,
I'm trying to find out if the BASIC dialect that was available for the
MINCAL computers (aboutn 1971) was something derived from another "system"
or whether it was an own dialect.
Some characteristic instructions that I can't find somewhere else are:
- Formatted output with PRINT FOR(<FORTRAN like description>)
Example: PRINT FOR(F5.0)500.1
- Computed GOTO with GOTO <expression> OF n1,n2,...
Example: GOTO A+B+1 OF 100,20,50
- Presence of "DEF FN", lack of RESTORE for DATA/READ constructs.
This BASIC must have been around 1970-1972.
Christian
On 4/23/21 10:33 AM, Rik Bos wrote:
> That would not work the capstans of the 9144/45 have much larger
> diameter. Those drives use DC600HC tapes not a QIC tape.
How do you figure that? I've got a DC600HC cart here and it's the same
dimensions as a standard DC600A cartridge--it is Iotamat preformatted,
without the usual optical sense stuff. It was used on a number of QIC
(yes, it's quarter-inch) drives, such as the Kennedy 9455 and the ADIC
32-track drives.
As far as the capstan being too large, I suspect you may underestimate
the "stretchiness" of silicone hose. Somewhere, I posted a photo if an
Archive 2060S drive with a red hose replacement capstan.
The hose comes in larger sizes, regardless. I still need to refurb the
capstan on my 3M DCD-01 drive, but it's been too long since I've run
into any 2-track DC300 tapes, so it's not a priority.
In any case, the suggestion is offered for whatever value one can gain
>from it.
--Chuck
Hi folks,
I just got pipped on an auction for one of these last night, clearly someone needed it more than me and I hope it was for a real usage reason and not just to add to their collection of MDS-related machines.
I?ve been looking for an 8085 ICE for ages now to help troubleshoot my STC Executel phone systems so this seemed like an ideal opportunity to get my hands on one but hey, that?s how auctions work. This one also has an external 37 pin floppy interface so I was hoping I could hook up an 8? drive to be able to read the Executel source floppy disks I have.
Does anyone have one in the UK they don?t need/taking up too much space etc?
This weekend I?ll be investigating getting a Greaseweazle running with an 8? drive now that I have all the components to power my Shugart 860.
(I now await comments along the lines of ?what do you need an ICE for when you have a DMM, scope and LA - easy answer: the whole environment was designed on an MDS80 so it would be fun)
Cheers,
--
Adrian Graham
Owner of Binary Dinosaurs, the UK's biggest private home computer collection?
t: @binarydinosaurs f: facebook.com/binarydinosaurs
w: www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk
Hello all again,
With a heavy heart I need to find a new home for the following beautiful
hardware:
- AlphaServer DS15 server
- Sun SPARC Enterprise T5140 1U rack server
- Sun Blade 10 mini tower
- HP Proliant DL380 G7 2U rack server
- DEC VT220 with screen, keyboard, and various adapter cables
Please note that the Sun T5140 and HP DL380 are deep (700mm for purposes
of installation in a rack).
I'm starting a new job next week and intend to focus on that and my
family. I've stopped working on various projects and I am vacating my
studio workshop, so I have a lot of things to give away or sell.
The above items are all FREE FOR COLLECTION ONLY (a car will be fine to
transport the above items).
I am located in London, UK. Post code is N15 4QL (Seven Sisters and
Tottenham Hale) in Haringey, London.
Kind regards,
Andrew
There's a nice, working PDP 11/23 with 20 meg hdd and 1meg (!!) of ram,
with terminal screens indicating full operation. The asking price is
$900.00, but I imagine the fellow might negotiate. Shipping is gonna
be a fair penny.
best,
Jeff
Moved recently and finally have space to set up the collection and play
with it. I've set up my Apple IIgs and a Macintosh Plus and in testing
they are still working but while doing so I've noticed an issue with the
3.5" drives. I have an Apple Superdrive and 4 Apple 3.5 Drives on the
IIgs and where they all work as far as reading and writing, only the
Superdrive can actually eject the disks. The Mac Plus has the internal
drive and an external Apple 800K drive, both of which work except not
being able to eject disks either. So out of 7 drives, I have one that
doesn't need a paperclip to eject the disk. Haven't opened them up to
look at them yet, wanted to see if this is common and suggestions on
possible causes to check.
Thanks.
David Williams
www.trailingedge.com