test-drb

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101090 discussions

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<instead of the vinyl, would a small section of heat-shrink tubing work? Ni <it a little longer than the thickness of said ferrule, then hit it with I presume over the gummy roller. The problem is the ferrule for the tu58 is 0.435 od, the roller is 0.625 od. The gummey material does not hold shape in the advanced cases of rot. The tygon tubing has a 0.385 ID and when stretched over the ferrule has a od of 0.610 after grinding. This is adaquate as the tape speed is servo controlled via read back data. Having worked with machines used to produce pharmaceuticals I have a better than average appreciation for various elastic materials. There are many of them to choose from and the urethanes or neopyene are a good choices but Tygon(aka Vinyl) thick wall tubing is a easy one to obtain and use and proven satisfactory. The later ease of availability and use are key in the selection. Allison Allison

28 years, 4 months

Rubbery Bits Gone Gooey

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<I have told my friend not to toss the drives so I think one or the <other of us will have some to play with now. Thanks for the tips; <it's, well, reassuring that someone has already figured something out. They are repairable. <The only thing I'm worried about w/r/t hardness is whether that will <create additional wear or reduced traction with the belt capstan. The belt capstan is very hard. The tygon after 6months of constnt use has shown good wear and the same tape has been used with no bad effects nor are any expected. I could think of a dozen materials I'd like to try but this was the only one available and its worked remarkably well. Allison

28 years, 4 months

NEC Starlet probs

by sinasohn＠ricochet.net

I have to say I love my new Starlet (PC-8401-A, CP/M laptop) but it seems to have a problem. When turned off, the memory gets all scrambled. The longer it's off, the more scrambled it gets, until any saved files are gone and the directory entries are filled with garbage filenames. Formatting RAM1 clears it, but it will happen again. I've tried leaving it plugged in and made sure that there are fresh batteries in it. Nothing helps. Also, when it's on, the low battery light comes on or flickers, even if its plugged in. Thanks in advance... --------------------------------------------------------------------- O- Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad roger(a)sinasohn.com that none but madmen know." Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates San Francisco, California http://www.crl.com/~sinasohn/

28 years, 4 months

DECMate III

by Zeus334＠aol.com

A relative of mine has a DecMate III. It comes with a cheap word processor. I have used it, and have found it very difficult, worse than vi or something. Could someone tell me if there is any use for it? It has no hard drive...

28 years, 4 months

Rubbery Bits Gone Gooey

by fmc＠reanimators.org

allisonp(a)world.std.com (Allison J Parent) wrote: > this is also common to DEC TU58 tape system (also a dc100 cart). Yep, I forgot about those. Sorry about that. > The solution I've used to date is to first strip the goo off the alumninum > ferrule that is on the drive. Then I found a peice of tygon(vinal) clear > tubing that had the required ID for a tight fit. I cut a ring the width of > the original(cut squarely and clean) and proceded to glue it on using > superglue (cyanoacrylic). then I run it up on a spare motor and grind it > using a emery board. The last step it insure roundness. I've done this > for 6 tu58 drives and it seems to work fine. It's noisier as it's harder > but seems to have enough friction to drive the tape well. I have told my friend not to toss the drives so I think one or the other of us will have some to play with now. Thanks for the tips; it's, well, reassuring that someone has already figured something out. The only thing I'm worried about w/r/t hardness is whether that will create additional wear or reduced traction with the belt capstan. > The material is not the best possible choice (polyurethane might be better) > but I had it handy and it's easy to find. Between uses I pull the tape to > avoid dents that seem to cause no problems other then making the drive > very noisy. It's been in use for about a year, so the tygon hardening > from age was a concern. However it works and it's easy enough to do again > if needed. Pulling the tape is sound anyway, at least in the bigger QIC drives that I've dealt with, leaving the tape in sometimes results in the tape getting dents from having the head pushed into it for so long. Today I ran into Paul Coad and he mentioned seeing similar stuff happening to QIC drives, and I think I've seen it too on some HP 9144s. This could be extra nasty on 9144s: they use tapes that look like QIC but have some subtle differences, like being preformatted with block markers written with a special full-width head and I suspect (from experience with a drive that was trashing tapes) that you can scribble over the block markers if the tape speed isn't right. Of course, once you do that the tape is mechanically OK but the drive will not let you load it. -Frank McConnell

28 years, 4 months

Update on finds

by jrkeys＠concentric.net

They have 8085A chips with '76 dates on them. Thanks for the info and now to try and test them. At 09:21 AM 11/23/97 -0800, you wrote: >> I also found in the >> same box 12 Intel boards dated copyright 1976 with white keys, a red lED >> readout, a boxed area marked Bus Expansion Drivers filled with various >> chips, TTY interface boxed area, PROM area, Address Decoder area, and all >> kinds of things on these boards. Does anyone know what thses units are ? > >These sound like Intel SDK-85 evaluation kits. Do they, indeed, have >8085's on them? There was also an earlier 8080A version. Both were >bought by the truckloads by tech schools, universities, and colleges >for computer courses and data acquisition work. What are the date >codes on the chips? > >Tim. (shoppa(a)triumf.ca) > >

28 years, 4 months

CGA, part II

by defaultuser＠mail.mankato.msus.edu

Ooops - forgot an address: polaris(a)vax1.mankato.msus.edu Thanks again, Dave

28 years, 4 months

Commodore PET finds.

by scott＠saskatoon.com

Well, after a long dry spell (partly self-induced) I came home this week with a few machines. I picked up 5 PET 4032's (one labelled 'No Good') a VIC-20, a 4022 printer, 5 datasettes, a 1571 disk drive (it rattles, i'm not hopeful), a box of VIC power adaptors (the 10vac ones) and RF modulators. I also got 4 'MSD Super Disk Drive' model SD-1. These look similar in design to the external TRS-80 drives (except they're cream coloured). They have two 6-pin DIN plugs and an IEEE-488(?) plug. Are these what I think they are? (Drives that will work on the VIC-20/C-64 and PETs) I don't have any 6pin cables to try these on a VIC. I haven't tried them on a PET yet, either. Any idea what format these would be? (2040, 8050?) Finally, I picked up a bit of PET software. I got five copies of VisiCalc. It turns out, however, that this software requires a ROM chip to be installed in the machine it is to be run on. (an early dongle?) No problem, five VisiCalcs, five PETs... they must have the ROMs in them, right?... wrong. Not-a. So... does anyone have a dump of the 'VisiCalc for PET' ROM that they could email to me so I can try out this classic piece of software? (and preserve it, of course.) Oh, for those who follow the prices... I got the lot for $75CAD (about $55USD) A little more than I wanted to pay, but it was a school board, so I guess it's a good cause. ttfn srw

28 years, 4 months

Update on finds

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<> I also found in the <> same box 12 Intel boards dated copyright 1976 with white keys, a red lED <> readout, a boxed area marked Bus Expansion Drivers filled with various <> chips, TTY interface boxed area, PROM area, Address Decoder area, and al <> kinds of things on these boards. Does anyone know what thses units are ? < <These sound like Intel SDK-85 evaluation kits. Do they, indeed, have <8085's on them? There was also an earlier 8080A version. Both were Intel did the SDK80 (8080), SDK85(8085), and SDK86(8086). I'd love to get a SDK85, for my SBC collection even a used one. Allison

28 years, 4 months

Update on finds

by jrkeys＠concentric.net

Well the last 3 weeks have been pretty slow and more people have started going to the thrift's that I shop. I'm still trying to work out a deal to save alot of classic's setting in a warehouse here in Minn. and will let everyone know when and if they come avaiable. I did find a few items such as several pairs of black paddles made by Apple for the II series I guess (they were free), a Mac SE/30 with HD problems for $5, Apple 2400 data modem with power supply for free, 2 PS/2-70 386 for $5 each one is load with memory and all the slots are full of cards, have pulled them yet to see what they are, and the other has no memory in it or extra cards, a Commodore 1571 drive for $5, Franklin Ace 1100 with Franklin video monitor both were free and I have tested them yet, Apple IIc power supply for free, AppleColor Composite for $5 and it works great, IBM 4019-E01 laser for 19.95 needs a little work, A NEC kB MMTKB-1001 for 2.95, and a 2600 cartridge called "Kool-Aid Man" for .25. I'm also still trying to get away to test the 10 Sym-1's that picked up a few weeks ago so that I can trade or sell them. I also found in the same box 12 Intel boards dated copyright 1976 with white keys, a red lED readout, a boxed area marked Bus Expansion Drivers filled with various chips, TTY interface boxed area, PROM area, Address Decoder area, and all kinds of things on these boards. Does anyone know what thses units are ? I plan to keep one and trade or sell the others if I can figure their value. Times like these are when I could use a digital camera and my own web site to show strange finds to everyone for help in figuring out what it is. Well a new week is starting and a four day weekend so I hope to shop alot. Keep computing and have a great Thanksgiving - John

28 years, 4 months

TRS-80 Model I

by foxvideo＠wincom.net

On a TRS-80 Model I, no expansion unit, I am getting the left half of the screen filled with graphics and the right half with scrambled text. Does anyone have a suggestion of where I should start looking for the solution to this problem? Thanks Charlie Fox

28 years, 4 months

Progress report

by foxvideo＠wincom.net

Early in the summer I got involved with a fellow who is attempting to start a science museum in Windsor, Ont. and undertook to work on the computer collection. Following Sam's suggestion I inserted a small ad in our local weekly shopping guide: "Old computers wanted, working or not, for museum collection." with my name and phone number. This has been in three times at about three week intervals, and so far has resulted in turning up over fifty computers. Apparently word is spreading, for I have had calls as much as two weeks after the ad ran. Also I feel having my name in it is important for it lets people know who they are dealing with. Also on two occasions folks who I knew years ago in other organizations have brought me their unwanted machines. How one answers the phone can be important. What seems to work best, when some one asks if I am the fellow collecting old computers, and what kind, or how old, is to ask "What do you have, and how much are you asking for it?" In a lot of cases they will say they don't want anything for it, they just want it out of the basement, and even an XT or an Apple clone might have a lot of useful parts. So far we have turned up lots of XT and Apple clones along with an assortment of TRS-80s, T.I.s Commodores, Ataris and Timex Sinclairs, but an Osborne and a DEC Rainbow have come along as well as the fragments of a Basic 4, a Philips Micom, and a Wang wordprocesser. Also about a dozen assorted calculators have made an appearence. While I keep dreaming of a PDP11, or a VAX, we have to realize that Windsor, (pop 200,000) is not as fertile a field as you folks have in the western states. Cheers Charlie Fox

28 years, 4 months

Rubbery Bits Gone Gooey

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<Thus far he has discovered a problem with tape drives in two <terminals. His description of the problem is that, when used, the <motor capstan in the tape drive "melts". In one case he has not <been able to get all the ex-capstan goo off of the belt capstan <in the cartridge; fortunately that was a blank tape. this is also common to DEC TU58 tape system (also a dc100 cart). The solution I've used to date is to first strip the goo off the alumninum ferrule that is on the drive. Then I found a peice of tygon(vinal) clear tubing that had the required ID for a tight fit. I cut a ring the width of the original(cut squarely and clean) and proceded to glue it on using superglue (cyanoacrylic). then I run it up on a spare motor and grind it using a emery board. The last step it insure roundness. I've done this for 6 tu58 drives and it seems to work fine. It's noisier as it's harder but seems to have enough friction to drive the tape well. The material is not the best possible choice (polyurethane might be better) but I had it handy and it's easy to find. Between uses I pull the tape to avoid dents that seem to cause no problems other then making the drive very noisy. It's been in use for about a year, so the tygon hardening >from age was a concern. However it works and it's easy enough to do again if needed. <And an observation: the HP 9815A desktop calculator I have sitting here <seems to use a similar drive (at least the capstan looks similar when I <peer in the slot), and I think the HP 85 does too. I'd guess. Allison

28 years, 4 months

Progress!

by dseagrav＠bsdserver.tek-star.net

OK, now the lights on the UDA strobe. The drive is not connected. Typing boot du0 gets me this >>>b du0 CONSOLE ?20 MPC=15 >>> is that normal?

28 years, 4 months

What's the audible alarm in a BA11 for?

by dseagrav＠bsdserver.tek-star.net

I removed the backplanes to re-add them one at a time. Now the BA beeps at me. Whats the beep for?

28 years, 4 months

Here we go... multi-BA problems.

by dseagrav＠bsdserver.tek-star.net

The CPU *REFUSES* to go to the run state when powered on. Both BAs come on, the DEC power bus is connected. I have the cable correct, it's not twisted... What did I do? Current config: +------+ +------+ | BA #1| | BA #2| | [1] ======= [2] | +------+ +------+ [1] CPU backplane only [2] DD11-CK with the UDA in it. The terminator is in BA #2

28 years, 4 months

One from the 'believe it or not' file...

by jimw＠agora.rdrop.com

You know, I always hate these moral dilemmas... In the last few days the collection received an AT&T UNIX PC (aka 7300, 3b1) in extremely good condition. It arrived with all of the original docs, software, and mouse. The docs were unwrapped , and the mouse was in its original foam packing. "Kind of nice when someone packs things away properly" I thought. Well, its been a bit busy around the garage the last couple of weeks, so I put the unit and its associated stuff on the shelf and covered it up for a time. Last night, while I was working on a notebook (yes, one of those 'modern' things) for one of my wife's friends, I decided to have another look at the UNIX PC while I was waiting for a disk scan to finish... Found a spot for it on the bench, made a cursory check of the unit (nothing loose, nothing rattling...) and powered it up. It hummed and beeped happily and started drawing little boxes on the screen as I recalled it doing when it was starting up... However, about 3-4 minutes and 4-5 lines of little boxes later, it starts to dawn on me that it should not be taking quite this long to get a prompt of some kind. So, I move the keyboard to have a look at the floppy drive (it hides behind the keyboard you see) and sure enough the machine is looking for a floppy. Fine... so, I grab the binder containing the software distribution, open it up... All of the disks are still sealed! At this point it starts to dawn on me, that this machine has never been run! A comment flashes back to mind; made by the person who gave me the machine... "My father bought it for his company, read the manuals and realized that he had no idea what he was doing..." I find myself wondering... Back around 1985 when this thing was released (and about $10k+), who could have afforded to buy one of these things, open the manuals, decide that they were in over their heads, and just put it on the shelf without even loading the software??? EEK! And so, the dilemma... do I open the disks and crank this critter up? Or just pack it all away as another classic 'artifact'? (or leave it until I have a fair amount of time to spend with it) No flame wars please, just the random philosophical question... -jim --- jimw(a)agora.rdrop.com The Computer Garage - http://www.rdrop.com/~jimw Computer Garage Fax - (503) 646-0174

28 years, 4 months

The XT Dilema

by photze＠batelco.com.bh

I've tried replacing the controller, and used another 360K floppy. Now, the monitor stops working :( Does the XT just not LIKE me? Tim D. Hotze

28 years, 4 months

CLASSICCMP digest 241

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<Could someone tell me what exactly "core memory" is? From mentions of Core memory. A system using metal or ferrite(magnetic) material to store data using magnetization. One core, one bit. The direction of magnetic field is key to determining the data stored. <Acoustic delay line? What is that? The principle is that sound(mechanical vibration) moves slower than elctrons. Data, bit are translated from voltages or current to using a transducer resulting mechanical vibration and transmitted through a medium to a like mercury or water to a like transducer where the vibrations are translated back to data. The best example is you see lightening immediately, but sound in air travels about 1100 feet per second. If you time from the flash to the sound you can calculate how far. In solids and liquids sound travels faster but still far slower than the speed of light. So if you put a vibration in to a medium large enough in length there is time before it comes out. So it's possible to put strings of bits in if the medium chosen is long enough as the first one is comming out the last one is in. If you circulate these(with amplification) you now have a memory that is serial in nature and can store information. The name comes from the fact that the first data in will have a finite time delay before it arrives at the other side. The longer the time the more data can transit the space and the greater the storage. There are mechanical and other considerations that limit things. Allison

28 years, 4 months

10 years and change/use it or lose it

by sinasohn＠ricochet.net

At 07:22 PM 11/19/97 +0000, you wrote: >Okay... I started all this stuff... and I'll end it... it *was* a mistake.... >but now, at least we know that until something BIG happens, the 10 yr. definition Or until somebody else new comes along. 8^) --------------------------------------------------------------------- O- Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad sinasohn(a)ricochet.net that none but madmen know." Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates San Francisco, California http://www.crl.com/~sinasohn/

28 years, 4 months

So far, so good... Will DD11-CK work in an 11/44?

by dseagrav＠bsdserver.tek-star.net

OK. Now the 44 starts, and I can talk to ODT. I removed all the boards & backplanes except the CPU. There are 2 free preiph slots on the CPU, it's got 1.5M RAM. Now I have to add a second backplane for the DZs and the UDA50. So, I have a new DD11-CK. Will that go in a 44?

28 years, 4 months

10 years and change/use it or lose it

by manney＠nwohio.com

> > > It would be even better if it > > > were easy to require that the subscriber afirm that the FAQ had been > > > read in return mail before the subscription actually started. > > > > It helps that there is a bit at the bottom of the welcome message > > pointing out that anyone who does not prove that they have read that far > > and reply will not have their subscription completed. (If this is > > actually enforced) > > Hmmm. Perhaps there should be a quiz during the subscription process > whereby you are asked 10 questions that you will only know the answer to > if you've read the FAQ. It seems to me that I'd rather put up with a few "dumb" questions -- something I get all the time, in my computer business) than alienate, or scare away new users by quizzing on the FAQ. People were patient and gentle with me when I was starting out, and freely shared their knowledge with me without censure. Let's give the new people a break -- encourage the reading of the FAQ, certainly, but be patient with silly mistakes.

28 years, 4 months

PDP-11/44 is back in one general area!

by dseagrav＠bsdserver.tek-star.net

I moved the parts back to Tek-star. Now to start reassembling the beast... It's now in 2 places at once: My house and here. A week ago, it was in 5 places at once: My house, here, SSI, my car, and Jeff's house. I'll bring the BAs in and I can get to work!

28 years, 4 months

CLASSICCMP digest 241

by Zeus334＠aol.com

Could someone tell me what exactly "core memory" is? From mentions of ferrite, I am guessing it was some kind of magnetic thing, but what exactly? Acoustic delay line? What is that?

28 years, 4 months

Case designs (was: New Definiton REQUIRED)

by adam＠merlin.net.au

>Any other thoughts on case designs? I still think the Lisa was beautiful, >and I'll have to check out the 3b1. I have to agree about the Lisa - there is just something about her lines which really appeals to me. :) The Atari 400 is also a faviourite, as it has the weird science-fiction look. But the best (apart from the Lisa) would have to be the Mac 128 and Apple IIc - both are very much Steve Jobs' concept of what a computer should be, and although I don't agree with him they nevertheless have a fine design concept. If only I have a NextCube - that is one of the two computers I most want in the world (the other being a Sinclair ZX81). Adam.

28 years, 4 months

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