A while back many of you helped me compile a long list of DEC handbooks.
I want to publish a beautiful book about them and it would also be a collector's
guide.
Well our combined efforts needed both more information to complete the list
and it also needed an authority to confirm the completeness of our list. To do
this I contacted a number of people at DEC/Compaq and finally got to a
Mr. Stephen Dougherty. He was excited about the project and told me to get
back to him in a week. This would give me time do some internal exploring.
That was 2 months ago. His mail doesn't bounce back so he must still be
working for Compaq, but he isn't replying. Thus the project is on hold.
My investigation did some good though. The photo-archivist at Compaq was
about to finalize arrangements to transfer DEC's archives to MIT when I
introduced them to the Charles Babbage Institute. It doesn't matter who gets
the photographs as long as they are preserved, but at least now, with the
advice and encouragement of the professionals at the CBI, we will hopefully
discover that all sorts of other important DEC memorabilia will be preserved.
Take care ya'all.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------
Kevin Stumpf * Unusual systems * www.unusual.on.ca
+1.519.744.2900 * EST/EDT GMT - 5
Collector - Commercial Mainframes & Minicomputers from
the 50s, 60s, & 70s and control panels and consoles.
Author & Publisher - A Guide to Collecting Computers &
Computer Collectibles * ISBN 0-9684244-0-6
.
On May 24, 12:05, Sipke de Wal wrote:
> Subject: Re: FONT NAME question
> >From what I can gather it must be something very much like ARIAL but
> with a bit more rounded features and the absence of a slant-end on
> the top of the 't'
>
> Maybe you could make it yourself with a tt-font-editor. taking one
> of the ARIAL-fonts as a starting point.
> > Anyone know the name of the font used in the old "d|i|g|i|t|a|l" logo?
I'm
> > trying to reconstruct it (I've found a couple of gif files but I'd
really
> > like line art) for reproduction. Compaq is squashing this logo fast so
> > seeing it is getting harder and harder!
It's not very close to Arial. It's almost exactly standard Helvetica Bold.
I have hundreds of PostScript fonts (I used to be in the printing
business) and I couldn't find an exact match. However, PostScript fonts
are just vector graphic descriptions, and I have software that can read
those into a vector drawing package, so I just took Helvetica as starting
point and tweaked it. The result isn't *exactly* right, but very close.
You can have a PostScript copy of that if you want it...
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Dept. of Computer Science
University of York
If you poke around a bit you may find that the three extra memory IC's
contain the BASIC interpreter which was sold as an add-on.
Dick
-----Original Message-----
From: Joe <rigdonj(a)intellistar.net>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Monday, May 24, 1999 4:01 PM
Subject: AIM 65 question
>Hi,
>
> I picked up several AIM 65 computers. I've noticed that some of them
>have two 24 Pin ICs in the lower right corner and some have five. Anyone
>know what the difference is? Also some have only two of the 19 pin ICs in
>the top right corner and other have eitht ICs there. What's the difference
>there?
>
> Anyone know of a site where I can find out more about these and the
>commands to operate them?
>
> Joe
>
Hi!
I just got two IBM Optical drives, complete with drivers, controllers,
operator's manual, and service manual.
Now for the questions:
-Are there updated drivers for these drives? The ones that cane with it run
the driver as a DOS shell, which takes up a bunch of memory, and slows down
the entire computer (also won't work with Windows).
- Does anyone have an ISA controller card for one of these drives? Both
controller cards I got are MCA, and I only have one MCA machine (The Model
80 runs OS/2, and I don't have OS/2 drivers), which is a P70. I have the
external drive (I got an internal and an external) on there, and it works,
but no way of testing the internal (I was going to use it on my Pentium).
- Sometimes, when I put in a disk, and try to read it, I get a "General
Failure" error. I take the disk out, put it back in, and it works. I think
there was a discussion about this before. Do I just need to clean the
disks?
-The drives that I have are 3363's, and the disks I have are 3363 200MB
Single Sided cartridges (IBM). Can I use other types of Optical disks, or
do I have to use the IBM 3363 ones?
Last question (for now...)
I've heard (I think it was on this list) that the 3363 is a WORM drive.
However, it allows you to delete files, but you don't get any added space
when the file is deleted (as if the file is still there). If the file is
actually gone, where did the empty space go, and is there any way to get it
back? Or is the file still there, and it being 'deleted' is it just an
optical illusion (no pun intended)?
ThAnX,
///--->>>
-Jason Willgruber
(roblwill(a)usaor.net)
ICQ#: 1730318
<http://members.tripod.com/general_1>
Back in the days before "glass" consoles, computers often (if
they had them) used typewriter devices as console input and
output stations. Many minicomputers used Teletypes, but Control
Data used (believe it or not) IBM Selectric typewriters.
(You can bet THAT stuck in someone's craw...) This was the case
on the "lower 3000" line (3150, 3200, 3300, 3500) and I believe
it was the case on the sister line of "upper 3000" (3600, 3800)
systems as well.
On the 3300 system, the console typewriter was a "drop in" unit
with a small number of cables connecting it to the system. It
dropped into a well on the console operators station and sat in
this well on little rubber feet. Think of a "modern" Selectric
with the top of it's case only; the lower part of the case was
omitted and surrounded by the "well" it sat in.
For a "vintage-like" construction project, I'm trying to locate
an example of this console device. It needs to be working (or
repairable.) The choice of type font is unimportant at this
point.
I've considered picking up one of the inexpensive Selectric
or Selectric-II typewriters (don't need no stupid correction
mechanism) and "converting" it to operate as said console device.
However, I helped a guy do this conversion once (many odd years
ago) and it wasn't pretty then and doubt it would be pretty now.
And the conversion didn't cover the "input" side of the equation
at all. It was just a printer.
Does anyone know where I can get a unit such as this? If any
of you have such a thing, I would be interested in purchasing
and/or trading.
Contact me offline if you want to arrange a deal.
If any of you have pointers to places selling these sort
of things, please let me know. I've mined all my usual surplus
haunts and have searched the net considerably but have yet to
come up with anything "right."
Thanks,
Gary
Wow, I sure didn't expect such a response for these! Several vigilant
members of the list responded within a couple of minutes of the post, so
they're gone. Thanks!
Aaron
Amongst my collection is a Centronics 739 printer, which needs a new EPROM
(the old one is corrupt). Needless to say, Centronics have no parts for a
~1980 printer, so does anyone here have one I could a get a dump of?
Unfortunately, my collection of "useful ROM images" has only the 737
version (almost exactly the same, but without the graphics capability).
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Dept. of Computer Science
University of York
Interested, 72020 ZIP code about $10, depending on size and pickup
location
Bob
bobyates(a)steward-net.com
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Bag O' Thinkpads available
Author: classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu at NetTalk
Date: 05/24/1999 4:07 PM
Soon to be classic...
I thought someone on this list might want this stuff.
I was going through another dark corner of my office and, besides the
occasional Grue, stumbled upon a bag of Thinkpad 720 systems. Or rather,
the remains of them. What appears to be three or four systems, with most
of their parts, in pieces. These were 486 DX2/50's, and you could probably
come up with at least one 100% system from the bag. 10 or 15 lbs total,
>from Southern Calfornia (91740 area code), if you want to figure out
shipping. Let me know soon, I don't have time to mess with them and will
toss them in a week or so.
Cheers,
Aaron
Soon to be classic...
I thought someone on this list might want this stuff.
I was going through another dark corner of my office and, besides the
occasional Grue, stumbled upon a bag of Thinkpad 720 systems. Or rather,
the remains of them. What appears to be three or four systems, with most
of their parts, in pieces. These were 486 DX2/50's, and you could probably
come up with at least one 100% system from the bag. 10 or 15 lbs total,
>from Southern Calfornia (91740 area code), if you want to figure out
shipping. Let me know soon, I don't have time to mess with them and will
toss them in a week or so.
Cheers,
Aaron
No, but they do take up less space. Consequently, I've been pulling out the
hard drives and the power supplies. The power supplies make a decent brick
substitute and the drives have enough high quality scrap aluminum in them to
pay for the XT and a cinder block.
Dick
-----Original Message-----
From: Fred Cisin (XenoSoft) <cisin(a)xenosoft.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Sunday, May 23, 1999 6:33 PM
Subject: Re: Space, the next frontier
>where you are, are cinder blocks cheaper than XTs?
>
>> And, of course, a zero millisecond seek time.
>I thought there was a small time (<<1ms) for the read amplifier to settle
>down after a head switch. In other words, the 'seek time' (really the
>head switching time) was very small, but none-the-less measurable.
True, but of no consequence as long as the head switching time is less
than the time it takes to spin through the intersector gap. According
to my RS03/04 docs, there's enough time to make such a switch between
sectors.
What I always found interesting about the RS-series drives were the
write-protect switches. You can set six on/off switches to the
binary number specifying the highest (of the total of 64) tracks
that you want write-protected.
--
Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com
Trailing Edge Technology WWW: http://www.trailing-edge.com/
7328 Bradley Blvd Voice: 301-767-5917
Bethesda, MD, USA 20817 Fax: 301-767-5927
Usually. It depends on where you find them. XT's go for around $15 -
cinder blocks go for about $1-$5. It depends on what you want. The ones I
got were pick-and-choose from a demolition site. I had to chip off some
chunks of cement and such, but I think it was worth it.
///--->>>
-Jason Willgruber
(roblwill(a)usaor.net)
ICQ#: 1730318
<http://members.tripod.com/general_1>
-----Original Message-----
From: Fred Cisin (XenoSoft) <cisin(a)xenosoft.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Sunday, May 23, 1999 5:24 PM
Subject: Re: Space, the next frontier
>where you are, are cinder blocks cheaper than XTs?
>
>
>Well the RS11 with no suffix is just the controller but since yours has a
>motor and a "W" serial number it sounds like one of the fixed head disks
>for the RF11. I'm guessing that the tube would connect to the air
>filtration system. I've not had much luck locating a picture for
>comparison. I'll bet you any amount of money if you were to open it you
>would find a single platter attached to that motor inside the housing
>and a pair of read/write heads.
^^^^^^
*A* pair? It's a fixed head disk of 64 tracks, so I'd expect 64 such heads!
RS03: 64 tracks, 64 sectors/track, 64 words (128 bytes) per sector.
RS04: 64 tracks, 64 sectors/track, 128 words (256 bytes) per sector.
An RS03 actually has 4 spare tracks and a timing track, while the RS04
has 8 spare tracks and a timing track, with (of course) a set of heads for
each track.
And, of course, a zero millisecond seek time.
--
Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com
Trailing Edge Technology WWW: http://www.trailing-edge.com/
7328 Bradley Blvd Voice: 301-767-5917
Bethesda, MD, USA 20817 Fax: 301-767-5927
<RAM16 A3 board in the machine currently. Then I'll have 56k. Perhaps
<then I'll be able to load and use CP/M 2.2. =-D
CPM needs memory starting from 0000h. and dependinghow is was sysgend or
move'd anywhere from 20k all the way up to E800h (base of the FDC).
Currently the only version of CPM I have for the NS is V1.4 for the single
density controller. When I went to CPM2.2 I used a different controller.
The upside is there is burried on the WC CPM cdrom a few BIOSs for the NS*
controller.
Allison
Heads Up......
Conteact the person directly by e-mail if interested.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: bobm(a)istal.com
Newsgroups: rec.radio.swap
Subject: COMMODORE
Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 21:13:27 GMT
I HAVE SEVEN BOXES OF COMMODORE COMPUTERS AND ASSOCIATED ITEMS
INCLUDING SEVERAL VIC 20'S, C-64, NEW 128, NEW DRIVES,NEW TAPE DRIVES
DOZENS AND DOZENS OF BOOKS AND LOTS OF SOFTWARE.
BEST OFFER PLUS SHIPPING
DON'T BE BASHFUL, MAKE AN OFFER IF YOU WANT THIS STUFF. YOU MIGHT BE
SURPRISED.
bobm(a)istal.com
In a message dated 5/21/99 1:49:05 PM US Eastern Standard Time,
jim(a)calico.litterbox.com writes:
> Here's a thought.
>
> If you've got classic computers you'd love to run but can't think of
> anything
> to DO with them, (and they speak unix) go to
http://setiathome.ssi.berkeley.
> edu
> and make your computer's idle cycles part of the SETI search for
> extraterrestrial life. They download you a chunk of data from the Arecebo
> radio telescope and your computer spends its idle time running analysis on
> that chunk, then sends the results back.
I believe distributed.net has a similar premise where just about any computer
could help crack some encryption algorithm.
They had client software for many operating systems including my favourite,
OS/2. Even xt based machines could help out by running dos based client
software.
david
>How big (storage capacity) might this device provide.
512 kbytes for the RS03, 1024 kbytes for the RS04.
>As for a picture, I shall look into providing same to the newsgroup.
>I do not have a web page, so some other mechanism of image
>distribution will be required.
Doesn't everyone here have a mid-70's PDP11 Peripheral Handbook? They've
all got a picture of the RS series drives (and RM, and RP, and RK, and
RX, and ...)
--
Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com
Trailing Edge Technology WWW: http://www.trailing-edge.com/
7328 Bradley Blvd Voice: 301-767-5917
Bethesda, MD, USA 20817 Fax: 301-767-5927
> I picked up a Compupro 816 computer yesterday and an external drive unit
>with a hard drive and an 8" floppy drive. I haven't brought it home yet so
>I haven't taken more than a quick look at it. Can anyone tell be about the
>computer and drive? What CPU, speed, etc. What kind of operating system it
>uses, etc.
If it's using the same CPU's it shipped with, it has a 8085A and a
8088A on a 85/88 CPU board. Speed is 2 or 5 MHz, depending on what
the big red switch labeled "SPEED" on the CPU board is set at.
Of course, it's a S-100 box, so just about anything could have been
dropped in at either the factory (special-order), the Compupro dealer,
or by the end user.
Typically the system either ran CP/M-80, CP/M-86, or a special
Compupro version that was basically CP/M-86 but would also run 8-bit
executables on the 8085.
There were many aftermarket CPU's available, some with 80286's on them
and 8 MHz Z-80's, that were commonly dropped into Compupro chassis.
> I don't see a keyboard or video connectors so I assume it needs
>a terminal to talk to it.
Very likely, yes. Most likely, it has a System Support 1 board
with console serial port, clock, and interrupt controllers. But there
are lots of other ways to set up a S-100 system.
> Does any have a pinout of the serial port so I
>can make a terminal cable.
Look for a 25-pin cable from the System Support 1. It's plain old
RS-232. Depending on which OS and version you run, and how it was
generated, you might need to assert DTR.
> What size is the hard and floppy drives
You tell us :-). A Compupro 816 most likely shipped with a Qume
Datatrack DSDD 8" floppy drive, a bit over a Megabyte, most likely
hooked to a Disk 1 (or 1A or 1B or 1C) controller in the S-100 chassis.
The hard drive is likely a MFM drive, anywhere between 5 and 30 Megabytes,
hooked to a Disk 3. Again, just about anything was orderable/configurable.
> does
>the floppy drive use hard sectored disks, etc etc, etc.
Almost certainly soft-sectored disks.
> I noticed that
>there are connectors for both a 5.25" and an 8" floppy drives and another
>for a hard drive on the back of the CPU box. Does anyone have a manual or
>the OS software for one of these?
Sure. I bought out the last Canadian Compupro dealer while I was in
Vancouver and have manuals, configuration software, etc. Let us know
what's *in* your box and you'll get more details.
--
Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com
Trailing Edge Technology WWW: http://www.trailing-edge.com/
7328 Bradley Blvd Voice: 301-767-5917
Bethesda, MD, USA 20817 Fax: 301-767-5927
So interesting that you would suggest the results of "device
surgery," as that is one of the options that I had considered.
How big (storage capacity) might this device provide.
As for a picture, I shall look into providing same to the newsgroup.
I do not have a web page, so some other mechanism of image
distribution will be required.
William R. Buckley
>Well the RS11 with no suffix is just the controller but since yours has a
>motor and a "W" serial number it sounds like one of the fixed head disks
>for the RF11. I'm guessing that the tube would connect to the air
>filtration system. I've not had much luck locating a picture for
>comparison. I'll bet you any amount of money if you were to open it you
>would find a single platter attached to that motor inside the housing and a
>pair of read/write heads.
>--Chuck
>
Anyone know the name of the font used in the old "d|i|g|i|t|a|l" logo? I'm
trying to reconstruct it (I've found a couple of gif files but I'd really
like line art) for reproduction. Compaq is squashing this logo fast so
seeing it is getting harder and harder!
--Chuck
Because I had an excess amount of them I used Fujitsu 2333 8" hard drives in
place of the building blocks when building board and block shelves. While
they are heavier than concrete blocks they will not break. I have had
concrete blocks collapse in the past.
Paxton
Well the RS11 with no suffix is just the controller but since yours has a
motor and a "W" serial number it sounds like one of the fixed head disks
for the RF11. I'm guessing that the tube would connect to the air
filtration system. I've not had much luck locating a picture for
comparison. I'll bet you any amount of money if you were to open it you
would find a single platter attached to that motor inside the housing and a
pair of read/write heads.
--Chuck
At 10:59 PM 5/23/99 -0700, you wrote:
>I can not see how a suffix is missing, since the label is without
>marks other than those used to emboss the "RS11" identification.
>
>As for this being a hard disk assembly, please tell me more.
>
>One other item of identification is that the gold top cover has a
>pipe sticking out of it, which is curved and of diameter about 1.5",
>and to tell you the truth, I thought this paperweight was some kind
>of blower or air conditioning unit. Still, the weight of the unit lends
>credence to the notion of it being some kind of DASD (to use IBM
>parlance).
>
>William R. Buckley
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Chuck McManis <cmcmanis(a)mcmanis.com>
>To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
><classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
>Date: Sunday, May 23, 1999 8:51 PM
>Subject: Re: Strange DEC heavyweight.
>
>
>>This is where the Option/Module guide comes in handy.
>> RS11 - probably a suffix missing (either B,C, or D and an optional
>A)
>>This is a HDA (hard disk assembly) for an RF11 drive which could have two
>such
>>drives installed.
>>
>>A complete RF11 consists of
>> RF11 + RSO8-M + RS09-M (yours is the RS09-M)
>>
>>--Chuck
>>
>>At 08:25 PM 5/23/99 -0700, you wrote:
>>>
>>> I have a paperweight of rough dimension 20" by 20" by 6", having a base
>with
>>> a
>>
>>
>>
>
I can not see how a suffix is missing, since the label is without
marks other than those used to emboss the "RS11" identification.
As for this being a hard disk assembly, please tell me more.
One other item of identification is that the gold top cover has a
pipe sticking out of it, which is curved and of diameter about 1.5",
and to tell you the truth, I thought this paperweight was some kind
of blower or air conditioning unit. Still, the weight of the unit lends
credence to the notion of it being some kind of DASD (to use IBM
parlance).
William R. Buckley
-----Original Message-----
From: Chuck McManis <cmcmanis(a)mcmanis.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Sunday, May 23, 1999 8:51 PM
Subject: Re: Strange DEC heavyweight.
>This is where the Option/Module guide comes in handy.
> RS11 - probably a suffix missing (either B,C, or D and an optional
A)
>This is a HDA (hard disk assembly) for an RF11 drive which could have two
such
>drives installed.
>
>A complete RF11 consists of
> RF11 + RSO8-M + RS09-M (yours is the RS09-M)
>
>--Chuck
>
>At 08:25 PM 5/23/99 -0700, you wrote:
>>
>> I have a paperweight of rough dimension 20" by 20" by 6", having a base
with
>> a
>
>
>
This is where the Option/Module guide comes in handy.
RS11 - probably a suffix missing (either B,C, or D and an optional A)
This is a HDA (hard disk assembly) for an RF11 drive which could have two such
drives installed.
A complete RF11 consists of
RF11 + RSO8-M + RS09-M (yours is the RS09-M)
--Chuck
At 08:25 PM 5/23/99 -0700, you wrote:
>
> I have a paperweight of rough dimension 20" by 20" by 6", having a base with
> a
