I'm "just about" finished with an emulator for a Control Data
3300 computer (you might ask "why" - I'll explain later.)
But I'm looking for diagnostics tapes (instruction, floating point,
mass storage, memory, etc.) Also, other operating systems would
be interesting (I was dumb back in the 70's and didn't make copies
of all my old stuff...) such as Master with MATS or MSOS or Realtime
Scope. (I have no problem reading 7 track tapes.)
I'm building this primarily to resurrect an obscure language, also
developed at OSU, called "Oscar". It was a numerical person's
dream interactive system for it's time (way before common graphics
terminals, alas) including all sorts of large precision arith and
rational number management (ratios of integral fractions) which made
matrix manipulations a lot easier. Oscar ran under OS-3 and hence the
need for the emulator. Besides, it's fun. (And I have source for damn
near all of the OS-3 system, languages and tools (I was "with it"
enough to make copies of those at least.) The original 3300 at OSU was
"decommissioned" back in the early 80s, so this part is even "on topic!"
It's a bit depressing (and humiliating) to see that my entirely-C-based
emulator (i.e. NO assembler "optimization" on my part) runs at nearly
the speed of the original machine on a lowly 66 mhz 486. (1.6us/cycle
where instructions USUALLY took 2 cycles, for fetch and memory reference.)
It'll probably scream on a reasonable Pentium-class system. (By inference
will we be writing emulators in 15 to 20 years that emulate 400 mhz Pentiums
and Power PCs at the full speed of day? Boggles the mind...)
I'm emulating most CDC periphs (as far as I can without real "iron") so
the emulator should handle virtual 604/607 tape drives, disk controllers,
501/512 printers, card readers, punches, etc.
I realize this may be a bit "off topic" with respect to the other
"mainstream" collectable computers (dec/hp/etc.) but, hey! it's
what I learned on way back when. And the computer was far too large
to ever think of "owning" one.
For reference, the 3300 was a 3rd generation computer (no IC's - all
Germanium transistors) with memory that came in chunks of 8k words
(24 bits) all the way up to 256k words (LOTS of boxes.) Each 8k
took half a 7 foot tall by 6 foot wide rack (IIRC). I think
very late in life they had 32k modules... 24 bit ones-complement
math with a "reasonable" two-state architecture (program/system
mode) that actually worked (OSU's may have been the only one that
really challenged it, though, running timesharing software on it.)
Any and all software for the beast would be welcome. For reference,
anything for the 3150, 3200, 3300 or 3500 would be welcome, as well
as any CDC docs on these machines. I've got quite a few, but some
of the more obscure controllers (3317 terminal control, for example)
eluded me. Information on 3600 or 3800 (a sort of "48 bit word" 3300
and 3500) would also be welcome, as these two lines shared a lot of
peripherals and controllers.
And of course, assuming anyone else is as silly as me and wants to
play with this mess, I'm happy to make the source/executables available
(it's Linux based.) It's not "ready for prime time" yet, but soon...
Thanks for sharing the bandwidth,
Gary
<What's that got to do with it? Diodes are analogue parts - the output
<(current) is a continuous function of the input (voltage), not a
<discrete one (to me the difference between an analogue and a digital
Yes, but they don't (generally) amplify.
<component). In fact, Allison, you were saying only a few days ago that
<you don't need any amplification to make an analogue _computer_ (with
<which I agree - although some of your examples I wouldn't call
<computers).
I still hold that amplification is a factor in the equation that an analog
function may contain but it is not required.
----||----+---------+------>
| |
| |
V ---
input === diode ---
| |
--------------------+------>
This is an analogue function, take a shot at the equation it solves.
<For non-electronic digital computers, where do Facit mechanical
<calculators lie? I have one (which is driven by an electric motor but
Computers, mechanical, fixed program.
<For pneumatic computers, I think some pipe organs of the turn of the
<century came close - you could program some buttons to set various
<combinations of ranks for fast selection during performance. However,
<the more complicated schemes of this nature (popular around 1920) used
<electrical as well as pneumatic logic elements.
pipe organs were an example of repetitive but generally simple logic.
I might point ot that when they went electronic they used lots of
flipflops to generate octave and also diodes and tube to do keying
(gating). They were likely one of the earliest users of large numbers
of bistable and monostable elements in one system other than computers and
electronic measuring instruments.
You've not seen a modern production line that uses air logic. I've worked
on one that was used to produce pharaceuticals that were in flamable bases
(ethanol). There was some fairly complex logic in that system. Working
with it is like designing with relays.
Allison
> <Are you thinking of 'Digital circuits are built from analogue parts' ?
>
> Not a valid concept. both OR and AND gates can be done using totally
> non amplifying devices (diodes).
What's that got to do with it? Diodes are analogue parts - the output
(current) is a continuous function of the input (voltage), not a
discrete one (to me the difference between an analogue and a digital
component). In fact, Allison, you were saying only a few days ago that
you don't need any amplification to make an analogue _computer_ (with
which I agree - although some of your examples I wouldn't call
computers).
> It was Vonda that postulated that digital was analogue with a precision
> of two states, true and false. The realm of analogue is one of infinite
> precision but possibly of limited accuracy. The digital realm is one of
> limited precision and absolute accuracy.
That is an excellent concept. Thank you - I'll remember that.
For non-electronic digital computers, where do Facit mechanical
calculators lie? I have one (which is driven by an electric motor but
could conceivably use any motor) which has algorithms for optimised
decimal multiplication and non-restoring decimal division. It is not
programmable, but it is pretty complex - and all done mechanically.
For pneumatic computers, I think some pipe organs of the turn of the
century came close - you could program some buttons to set various
combinations of ranks for fast selection during performance. However,
the more complicated schemes of this nature (popular around 1920) used
electrical as well as pneumatic logic elements.
Philip.
On May 5, 11:37, Daniel A. Seagraves wrote:
> [Adding RX50 to the Supnik emulator...]
>
> Yeah, it'd be a Lot Of Work(tm).
It certainly would. Even the RT-11 driver (which is about the simplest
I've seen) is fairly complex.
> Those talk MSCP, and there's little/no documentation on how it works.
> (I think...)
It's basically a message-passing protocol, unlike most of the earlier DEC
disk stuff where you can poke the hardware registers to "make things
happen". To oversimplify, with MSCP you make a message containing
instructions, put it in a memory buffer somewhere, tell the controller it's
there, and it does the rest with DMA, returning a response message.
The relevant documentation is "MSCP Basic Disk Functions Manual",
AA-L619A-TK, and "Storage System Diagnostics And Utility Protocol",
AA-L620A-TK, which in turn are parts of the UDA50 Programmer's
Documentation Kit (QP-905-GZ). My copy is version 1.2, April 1982.
It's not good bedtime reading; the plot's a bit too convoluted and the
characterisation is weak :-)
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Dept. of Computer Science
[remove indy. from email address to reply] University of York
In a message dated 98-05-05 22:56:32 EDT, you write:
<< Speaking of sealed originals, I found some original still shrink-wrapped
Osborne software today, with the original Byte Shop price stickers on them
no less. They were basically some accounting packages by a company called
Computronic that made software for the gamut of the machines of the era
(TRS-80, Apple, Atari, Commodore, Xeroex, Osborne, Kaypro...that was the
list of machines on the package). I also got a shrink-wrapped copy of
WordStar circa 1981, a shrink-wrapped copy of Microsoft Multi-Tool Budget
and a shrinkwrapped copy of Desktop Plan II by Visicorp. Vintage
shrink-wrapped software is still out there, you just gotta look for it.
Sam >>
i agree, my list is small, but i do have os2 1.1 which came in two seperate
boxes wrapped together and includes sidekick 2.0 which i paid $3 for. i also
got a never opened 1.3 which i did open just to look at but i never used, and
several boxes of the ibm pc 3270 emulation program entry level version 1.22
david
Philip Belben:
>Sam Ismail:
>
>> The party agrees that unauthorized copying or disclosure will cause great
>> damage to MICROSOFT."
>
>Hey! Let's all start copying Basic 80! Or other Microsoft stuff!
>Perhaps we can cause great damage to Microsoft!
>
>Wait a bit... somehow I don't think we'll do any damage unless we
>persuade people to buy our copies in preference to the originals.
Oh? You know somewhere you can buy the originals?
Roger Ivie
ivie(a)cc.usu.edu
<Whether the distributed monitors and drivers are enough to run it
<depends strongly on your application! Under an emulator - where
If your developing with RT-11 for a specific task then sysgening is
needed. If you need to run BASIC, DECUS-C, MicroPower Pascal, write
assembly code files or edit text then the stock monitor are just fine.
Sysgening to simply move to a different varient of PDP-11 cpu or disk
however is not required. The typical example of sysgening RT-11 I've
done was to use a console that wasn't DL (standard PDP-11 serial line
unit) compatable.
RT-11 was designed as both a development enviornment and a realtime
executive for embedded applications. It's pretty flexible and small
so it's good for lots of other stuff. It weakness (there is one) is
that it does not use a scatter-gather map for storage so storage space
can be poorly used due to device fragmentation.
<I interpret "no source code" quite differently, mainly because I have
<the source kits!
Same here, V4, V5.0, V5.1, V5.4 I may even have 3.xx. Heck I've been
running RT11 since '79 on one thing or another Q-bus.
Allison
Wow, anyone desparate for a Horizon should check out recent posts to
comp.sys.northstar. No fewer than six systems from three different
individuals have been offered there in the past couple of days. And
some AFAIR are free for pick up or the cost of shipping.
--
mor(a)crl.com
http://www.crl.com/~mor/
>
>>
>> Well, this kind of comes from a rant of mine... ya see, on my
computer, I
>> origionally had an AMD InterWave chip on my sound card, but found
that it
>> was STB made. It was made in Dec. 1996. I called about it in Dec.
1997,
>> and NO ONE at their technical support knew ANYTHING about it. And
that's a
>> year after it was made!!!
>
>Don't get me started on Tech Support, or the lack of it.
>
>When I call Tech Support I will have made some attempts to check the
>obvious, gather evidence, and solve the problem. In particular :
>
>I'll have checked the 'bleeding obvious' - that it's plugged in, that I
>
>I'll have read all available documentation, including, but not limited
to
>the user manual, tech/service manual (if available), schematics, data
>sheets on the chips, command reference, processor instruction set,
>language standards, etc as appropriate.
>
>I'll be sitting in front of my machine with a 'scope, logic analyser,
>software debugger, etc at the ready
>
>Alas this seems to mean that I know more about the product than the
>company that sold it to me. Tech support seems to consist of either
>telling me to check I've inserted the disk correctly or reading the
user
>manual to me very, very slowly (I am not kidding...). I am fed up with
You've got to be gentle w/tech support. For one thing, they're
nothing more than figureheads for the company, also, they are
treated fairly poorly, according to PC World. Most have no desire
to spend 8 hours reading assembly listings. There's just no
encouragement, like with teachers. In the end, they just get tired.
>> Anyway, lets call, e-mail, fax, walk up and talk to, etc. people
at
>> various companies and talk about tech support, etc. for old OLD
products.
>> (Like calling up IBM... "Hello, I've got this 8" disk here, it was
new in
>> package, and it was not free of mechanical errors. I want my money
back!")
>
>IBM are better than most, at least for providing parts/manuals. They
may
>claim that a machine never existed (IBM UK told be there was 'no such
>thing as a PC-jr'), but they can often find all sorts of things given a
>part number or forms number.
>
>> Or saying that we found a bug in the 4K MS tape basic, etc. ;-)
>
>Sending in bug reports (and even better, fixes) for ancient products is
>great fun :-).
Have you ever gotten a response?
>
>Agreed.
C'mon d00dZ, 1've got \/\/1nd0ze 98 beta on ftp.aol.com/max/42342/!!!
Let's get some c00l \/\/aReZ, Man!
>-tony
>
>
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
I have just returned after a long weekend to find my mail had got set to
Postpone again. This has probably all been said but I thought I'd put
my bit in anyway.
Tony:
< A question occurred to me today : Can you have an embedded analogue
< computer, and if so, how many op-amps are needed to have one?
Allison
> Yes, and that's very common. None, a low pass filter(RC) performs a
> function and can be considered analogue.
A filter made of passive components or otherwise I wouldn't consider a
computer, although I agree it is definitely analogue (Americans may omit
the ue where appropriate).
I would say that an analogue computer:
(a) combines two or more signals
(b) does so in a more complex way than by simple addition or
subtraction. (But this could be A+dB/dt, for example)
An analogue computer need not be electrical at all - quite complex
analogue functions can be implemented in cams, for example. A good
example of a simple embedded analogue computer is the ignition
distributor on a petrol engine. This:
Takes two inputs - camshaft angle and manifold vacuum;
Differentiates camshaft angle to get engine speed (centrifugal
weights on springs);
Applies some non linear function to engine speed (cams attached to
the centrifugal weights);
Adds together camshaft angle, function(engine speed) and constant *
vacuum level;
Compares the result with a reference angle to generate pulses of a
given width for the ignition.
I claim that is a simple (but actually quite sophisticated) analogue
computer.
< I was looking at the service manual for my Micropolis 1203 hard disk, and
< I read the circuit description of the servo electronics. It's a fairly
< complicated array of op-amps, which combine integral and differential
< forms of the position error, positioner current, etc. I would claim that
< is an embedded analogue computer.
> Valid claim, also a good example of a fairly complex function.
Agreed 100% (As Tony would say). An excellent example of an embedded
analogue computer.
Another example is the convergence circuit in a colo(u)r television.
This takes the two timebases as inputs, multiplies them and their
squares/ first derivatives etc. by user settable constants, and feeds
this back onto the deflection systems of the tube.
< On the other hand, I think it would be stretching the definition to call
< a simple op-amp wired as a voltage follower an analogue computer.
> Correct. However often the buffer is between some function or follows one
> so it's part of the analog system.
Agreed it could be part of an analogue computer. But I think Tony's
point was that it does not by itself make one. Otherwise practically
any analogue circuit becomes a computer (One of Vonada's axioms, I
think: All circuits are amplifiers)
> Other analog systems common to computers:
>
> cassette IO (low pass filter on output) and complex filter/differentiator
> edge/peak detectors for input. Some of the acients used PLLs for clock
> recovery (KANSAS City is one).
>
> Analog to digital conversion (quantification).
> Digtial to analog conversion (filtering)
>
> Disk/tape systems have several layers of analog function for data and
> control.
Definitely analogue systems. But some are merely filters, not
computers. (I think a PLL almost qualifies as a computer, though...)
But in general, I agree with you both - analogue computers are often
small, simple and embedded, and they're a heck of a lot more common than
most people think.
Philip.
Anybody ever heard of the following?
KMW Systems Corp.
VP-10 Vector Processor
Its a smallish box (about the size of a small PC desktop box sliced
horizontally in half).
Anyone?
Sam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't blame me...I voted for Satan.
Coming in September...Vintage Computer Festival 2.0
See http://www.siconic.com/vcf for details!
[Last web page update: 05/03/98]
Well, this kind of comes from a rant of mine... ya see, on my computer, I
origionally had an AMD InterWave chip on my sound card, but found that it
was STB made. It was made in Dec. 1996. I called about it in Dec. 1997,
and NO ONE at their technical support knew ANYTHING about it. And that's a
year after it was made!!!
Anyway, lets call, e-mail, fax, walk up and talk to, etc. people at
various companies and talk about tech support, etc. for old OLD products.
(Like calling up IBM... "Hello, I've got this 8" disk here, it was new in
package, and it was not free of mechanical errors. I want my money back!")
Or saying that we found a bug in the 4K MS tape basic, etc. ;-)
And DON'T COPY ANY SOFTWARE. I don't even care if it was made by a
criminal, it gives you no right to do the same.
BTW, I remember seeing copies of DOS 3.3 shwrinkwrapped by this company
for Microsoft. Was this done widely? Where can I find out more? (Kai
Kaltenbach? Know anyone who knows anything about this? I REALLY am longing
for a copy of Windows 2.x, as I've got this software for it... from our
school, even though they can't find hte actual 2.x disks.)
Thanks,
Tim D. Hotze
-----Original Message-----
From: Tim Shoppa <shoppa(a)alph02.triumf.ca>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Tuesday, May 05, 1998 8:05 PM
Subject: Re: Microsoft BASIC 80 non-disclosure agreement
>> >> The party agrees that unauthorized copying or disclosure will cause
great
>> >> damage to MICROSOFT."
>> >
>> >Hey! Let's all start copying Basic 80! Or other Microsoft stuff!
>> >Perhaps we can cause great damage to Microsoft!
>> >
>> >Wait a bit... somehow I don't think we'll do any damage unless we
>> >persuade people to buy our copies in preference to the originals.
>>
>> Oh? You know somewhere you can buy the originals?
>
>I've found some original sealed Microsoft CP/M software by frequenting
>comp.os.cpm. None of the registration cards that I've sent in during
>the past couple years have come back returned from any of Microsoft's
>old Redmond/Seattle addresses, so I assume they found their way to
>the right place (though I've never heard anything back from any bug
>reports on CP/M products.)
>
>Q7 of the comp.os.cpm FAQ provides this address as a non-US source
>of several Microsoft CP/M products:
>
> For our European readers, much is available in Germany. dBASE,
> WordStar 3.0, Multiplan 1.06, SuperCalc PCW, and Microsoft Basic
> (Interpreter and Compiler), M80, L80, CREF80 , and LIB80 can be
> ordered in either PCW format or C128 (also native 1571) format from:
>
> Wiedmann Unternehmensberatung & EDV-Handel
> Hauptstrasse 45
> 73553 Alfdorf
> F.R.Germany
> Tel: +49-7172-3000-0 (Inside Germany use 0-7172...)
> Fax: +49-7172-3000-30
>
> They are marketed as "for the C128", however the disks are in KAYPRO
> IV format, and since the C128 uses the same screen codes as ADM-31
> or KAYPRO, it's probably interesting for people with other CP/M
> machines as well. Everything is said to come with a German language
> manual and each one is offered for DM 149.50 , including sales tax
> of 15%, which you could probably somehow get a refund on if living
> outside the EC.
>
>Tim. (shoppa(a)triumf.ca)
I know, I know, when I get a chance. For now;
I found an Anderson-Jacobson 1200 BPS modem (AJ1256). Is there any
thing special about it, or is it safe to throw this back?
This was on the way to a thrift store. There I saw:
TI-60 w/thermal printer for $10,working --fair?
RCA Victor, couldn't tell if it worked, $75, no I won't buy it
IBM PPS II ( I think) form printer - does anyone have any experience
w/ this?
I didn't buy any of the three, but I might get the TI-60.
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
I have one remaining Hewlett Packard 700/44 terminal with keyboard left
to get rid of. Like new shape and in working order, fairly modern.
Emulates other terminal systems like 52, 100, 200 series and HP series,
maybe others.
I need $10 plus shipping on this if someone wants it. I'm sure someone
has a need for one.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Russ Blakeman
RB Custom Services / Rt. 1 Box 62E / Harned, KY USA 40144
Phone: (502) 756-1749 Data/Fax:(502) 756-6991
Email: rhblake(a)bbtel.com or rhblake(a)bigfoot.com
Website: http://members.tripod.com/~RHBLAKE/
ICQ UIN #1714857
AOL Instant Messenger "RHBLAKEMAN"
* Parts/Service/Upgrades and more for MOST Computers*
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Sam Ismail:
> The party agrees that unauthorized copying or disclosure will cause great
> damage to MICROSOFT."
Hey! Let's all start copying Basic 80! Or other Microsoft stuff!
Perhaps we can cause great damage to Microsoft!
Wait a bit... somehow I don't think we'll do any damage unless we
persuade people to buy our copies in preference to the originals. And
it goes rather against the grain to persuade people to buy Microsoft
stuff at all.
Oh well.
;-) ;-) ;-)
Philip.
Here's an interesting artifact. I got the reference manual for Microsoft
BASIC-80 (version 5) over the weekend and it still had inside the original
non-disclosure registration card that I guess one was compelled to sign
and send in before they could use MS BASIC. This book was distributed
with some morrow system as the card is addressed to Morrow Designs
Software License Department. It reads:
"The party below agrees that it is receiving a copy of MICROSOFT DISK
BASIC or FORTRAN for use on a single computer only, as designated on this
registration form. The pary agrees that all copies of MICROSOFT DISK
BASIC and FORTRAN are owned by MICROSOFT, that all copies will be strictly
safeguarded against disclosure to or use by persons not authorized by
MICROSOFT to use MICROSOFT DISK BASIC or FORTRAN, and that the location of
all copies will be reported to MICROSOFT at MICROSOFT's request. The
party may make up to two additional copies only, for back-up purposes.
The party agrees that unauthorized copying or disclosure will cause great
damage to MICROSOFT."
Sheesh!
Sam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't blame me...I voted for Satan.
Coming in September...Vintage Computer Festival 2.0
See http://www.siconic.com/vcf for details!
[Last web page update: 04/25/98]
Sorry about this message but I have friend who still uses a
Sord IS 11C. Unfortunately it is now failing.
I saw the message thread you had concerning some units
that were available last year. Could either of you let me know
the availability of a similar device or a person who can repair
these units?
Thanks,
Ivan Calhoun
I promised Sam I'd look this up a long time ago. I had some trouble with
the phone lines, though, which made it impossible to use the modem.
But here it is. I seem to have a preliminary version of the 'Voice Module'
manual, although I did not get the module itself with the machine.
The manual goes into a lot of detail: theory of operation, external
interfaces, architecture... schematics...
I'll quote from the overview:
INTRODUCTION TO THE MODULE
__________________________
GENERAL
The Voice Processor Module, shown in Figure 1-1, provides a fully
integrated voice and data interface between a workstation and the switched
telephone netowrk or commonly used private automatic branche exchange
(PABX) system (supporting Tip and Ring connection). When used with a
digital PABX system, all signals and transmission between the Voice
Processor Module and the PABX occur via analog techniques.
The Voice Processor Module is an X-Bus module containing two
printed-circuit boards. The first board contains a Bell 212A-compatible
modem.
The second board contains the following:
* modular jacks for two telephone line interfaces (FCC, part 68, registered)
* additional modular jack (FCC, part 68, registered) that allows
connection to any standard voice unit (telephone set)
* analog crosspoint switch allowing any device to connect to either line
under software control
* Dual-Tone Multifrequency (DTMF) touch-tone auto-dialer
* DTMF touch-tone decoder that permits numeric data entry via remote
voice unit touch pad
* call progress tone detector
* voice amplifier
* Adaptive Pulse Code Modulation (ADPCM) CODEC (Coder/Decoder) for
support of digitized voice communications at speeds far less than the
normal 64Kbps
* 8051 microprocessor to control all module activities
(...excepts from following specifications...)
Modem board is originate/answer, full-duplex. Supports 212A and Bell
103/113.
DTMF generator generates all 16 DTMF digits, may be programmed to transmit
various key sequences, and can generate single tones.
CODEC and ADPCM technique allows recording/playback of digitized voice
information at 6-kHz (24Kbps) or 8-kHz (32Kbps) rates.
Software support is provided by CT-MAIL, CT-Net, and "Operator" software,
which is specifically tailored for the Voice Module as follows:
* Telephone directory management, which has the ability to add, delete,
modify, and look up entries in a disk-based telephone directory, and
automatically establish calls using the information in the directory.
Menus provide assistance in accessing special functions used by PABXs.
* Voice digitization, which allows the operator to use the CODEC to
record and play back calls or messages. This capability enhances
CT-MAIL, where it is used for voice annotation of written documents, as
well as the inclusion of voice attatchments to textual mail.
* Telephone answering, which allows an unattended system to automatically
answer the telephone and perform a variety of user-selectable
operations ranging from simple messatge playback/recording to input of
numeric data from a telephone touch-tone pad.
There you have it. All typos are my responsibility.
ok
r.
I recently bought a Maxtor IDE along with other HDDs at a hamfest. When I
got it home, I noticed that it "clunked". No response when I hooked it up,
so, I took it apart...
The head had gouged its way through the entire thickness of the platter; the
remaining part of the platter was lying loose around the hub! It must have
made a horrible screeching sound for days (months?), but I guess no-one
noticed.
The head is ground away, of course, but the arm's still intact.
Anyone ever seen a worse failure?
manney(a)lrbcg.com
Found this on Usenet. A fellow in Colorado's looking for a home for a
DS3100. Any takers, please contact him directly.
-=-=- <snip> -=-=-
From: jimvela(a)aol.com (JimVela)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.dec
Subject: DS3100: Free to good home
Lines: 22
Message-ID: <1998050417034500.NAA19003(a)ladder03.news.aol.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: ladder03.news.aol.com
X-Admin: news(a)aol.com
Date: 04 May 1998 17:03:45 GMT
Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com
Path:
blushng.jps.net!news.eli.net!news-out.internetmci.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!204.59.152.222!news-peer.gip.net!news.gsl.net!gip.net!portc01.blue.aol.com!audrey03.news.aol.com!not-for-mail
Greetings...
I have a DS3100 system which I picked up cheap, and was planning to play
with NetBSD or OpenBSD on it.
As it turns out, I've picked up a couple of other projects and will
probably never get 'around to it'.
I'll give the system away to anyone who can pick it up- I'm near Boulder,
CO.
The system is a DecStation 3100 with a VR299 monitor and Dec Keyboard. I
don't have a mouse, or hard drives. I believe that there is 16Mb of Ram
installed. As far as I know, it works fine. (I never got further than
realizing that the mouse was generating an error on boot, and never made a
loopback connector to go further.)
Anyone that's interested, reply via email...
Regards,
Jim Velasquez
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bruce Lane, SysOp,
The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fido 1:343/272)
kyrrin {at} j<p>s d[o]t n=e=t
"...No matter how hard we may wish otherwise, our science can only describe
an object, event, or living creature, in our own human terms. It cannot possibly
define any of them!..."
Before I go calling around to drive repair places, does anyone happen to
have the service manual for a Fujitsu 'Eagle' (M2351 series) that they feel
they could part with? I'd be happy to pick up postage for such.
Thanks in advance.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bruce Lane, Sysop, The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fidonet 1:343/272)
(Hamateur: WD6EOS) (E-mail: kyrrin(a)jps.net)
"Our science can only describe an object, event, or living thing in our own
human terms. It cannot, in any way, define any of them..."
Found in comp.sys.northstar:
>Hi,
>I have three functional Northstar Horizons (at least they were working
>when they went into the basement) that I'd like to find a good home
>for.
>
>For history buffs. the systems used to belong to Dr. Tim Lineham in
>Olympia Wa. and served as one of the very early Z-Node bbs systems.
>Gar Nelson
>Seattle, Wa.
Reply directly to the original author (elli12(a)gte.net) .
Rich Cini/WUGNET
<nospam_rcini(a)msn.com> (remove nospam_ to use)
ClubWin! Charter Member (6)
MCP Windows 95/Windows Networking
============================================
Now the RA is hardware visible. As opposed to the RA81, where you CAN'T
plug it straight into the controller, the RA92 likes that. Go figure.
Anyway, I boot up and say HARDWR LIST.
It sees 2 devices off the UDA50, the RA81 and the RA92. It identifies the
RA92 as a RA92 also.
Now, I try to DSKINT the 92. I get to where it asks me for
pack clustersize. The default here is 32. When I type 32, it says
?Illegal clustersize specified
and prompts me again. Nothing works.
Apparently 32 is too big a number, but it's the required number, so
I've shot myself in the foot.
Is this a known bug? Have I screwed up here? Is there something I can change
in RAM to let me go ahead?
I can't find any mention of this anywhere....
-------
From: Lawrence Walker <lwalker(a)interlog.com
To: Sam Ismail <dastar(a)wco.com>
Subject: Re: Wang PC XC3-2
Reply-to: lwalker(a)interlog.com
Date: Sat, 2 May 1998 15:02:08
On 2 May 98 at 22:48, Sam Ismail wrote:
>
> Ok, what do you all know about the Wang PC XC3-2 circa 1984? I got one
> today. Unfortunately it was just the system itself with no documentation,
> but I did get some software. This one has a 5.25" disk drive and a
> half-height hard drive. I haven't dug into it yet so don't know many more
> details but from the labels on the interface cards on the back it has an
> IBM Monochrome emulator board among all the basic stuff (winchester disk
> controller, serial, parallel, etc.)
>
> Sam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com
I posted on a trash find about 2 weeks ago on virtually the same machine,
with no response. Ditto on some newsgroups. That in itself is fascinating.The
one I have is a PC-S3-2. The only info I was able to find on Wang's venture
into the world of MS-DOS was on the Wang users bbs and this was pretty slim.
They call it a "classic" Wang, (Apple anyone ?) I was able to get a start-up
file from them but it seems to be an orphan like the Atari PC. There's quite a
few Wang CP/M enthusiasts sites but like the TRS m.2 little info on this beast.
even tho, like the TRS m.2, many were sold to the business community.
Most likely quietly fed to dumpsters around the world since most small
businesses don't have garage sales. You were fortunate ( mind you didn't find
it in the garbage) to have some means of IO. Mine had the 2 winchesters
removed and nothing else. I find the MB interesting with its mix of Zilog,
Motorola and Intel chips. Old Wang was known for it's interesting innovations
and IIRC many of it's people went on to illustrious careers with other
companies , like the original DEC, Xerox, and Atari crews did. I don\t have the
URL for the WUG handy but it should be readily available thru a search. They're
a Brit group IIRC and I wasn't about to pay $35 for the privelage of joining
their discussions. Could you give me some info on the FDD's , KB , etc.
ciao larry
lwalker(a)interlog.com
