test-drb

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

101090 discussions

by bwit＠pobox.com

>Speaking of names, the best (most descriptive) program name I ever ran >across was the CP/M debugger, DDT. Indeed! In fact, IIRC, it was advertised as, "DDT - kills bugs dead". Bob

28 years, 9 months

Sony CP/M machine?

by sinasohn＠crl.com

At 10:45 AM 7/3/97 +1000, you wrote: >Take one "Classic" Mac case. Make another slot for a second floppy drive. >Insert 64K of memory and an 8085 (could be a Z80). Sell lots (or, as I I think I might have a picture of one around somewhere (probably on my girlfriend's Mac); if I can find it, I'll put it somewhere accessible if anyone's interested in seeing it. --------------------------------------------------------------------- O- Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad sinasohn(a)crl.com that none but madmen know." Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates San Francisco, California http://www.crl.com/~sinasohn/

28 years, 9 months

Crappadore 64

by cerebral＠michianatoday.com

At 10:31 PM 7/2/97 -0700, you wrote: > >I have to get this off my chest. > >Commodore 64s have to be the god damn shittiest made computers ever. I >had to test these 1571 drives that I sold someone and brought out 2 C64s >I have in my garage and 2 power supplies because I know how notorious >each part is for not working. I plug each in and niether work. I try >the other p/s...same thing. I get ANOTHER p/s...both dead. I get yet >ANOTHER power supply and 3 more C64 consoles I have. Of those 3, 2 >worked! Is this a shittily engineered system or what? What bad weed >were these idiots who designed this smoking? I've never had such bad >luck with any other system. Out of all the systems I've ever acquired, >the commodores and their stupid prone-to-burning-out power supplies have >been the most likely to not work. I've gotten systems out of the rain >that have been sitting in the elements for probably YEARS that have >worked. But a C64? Hell no! Piece of crap! > >There must be some well-known fix for these idiotic things. I turn them >on and get just a pure black screen. This is what happened to the first >C64 I ever got from a friend 9 years ago. It just up and died on me all >of a sudden one time when I was using it. Screen went black. There's >got to be an easy way to fix these stupid things. Either that or there >must be a well known joke passed around in commodore circles about how >unreliable these junk heaps are. What a depressing hunk of crap. > >Aye. > >Sam >------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass As you sig says, you are a JAckass, but calling you a jackass is not fair to the jackass. seeing that this is flamebait, I have to say that I NEVER had a Commodore 64 that did not work. Now if you want to talk about shitty commodore stuff, that would have to be the C=128 keyboard. the electronics in it are fine, but the keyboard is crap. all in all however, Commodores still rule over Apples anyday, sure the wonderful apple disk was faster, but a fast disk alone dont make a machine. That is just like having a 454 supercharged big block in your garage, with nothing to put it in.....

28 years, 9 months

northstar advantage/cordata

by SUPRDAVE＠aol.com

i posted a note locally about ti99 goodies and someone emailed me back with an offer for a northstar advantage and a cordata. i need info on what these are and if they're worth getting. david

28 years, 9 months

Panasonic Handhelds

by dastar＠crl.com

I am posting this again to hopefully get more response. Right now we are collectively committed for 46 units of the Panasonic Hand Held Computers. I am hoping to at least double this figure. The more we want, the merrier for all. I'll include a little more information about these units. To those of you who have already submitted requests or have read this message, you can skip the rest of the message after my signature as you've seen it before. These units are a Panasonic HandHeld Computer circa 1984. They have a FORTH-like language in ROM called "SNAP". They have a built-in thermal printer. They have 8K of RAM running off a 6502 CPU. The custom-designed memory expansion tray which each comes with allows up to 10 additional 8K EPROMS along with the 3 that the HHC itself allows for. It has a 26 character by 1 line display, and its dimensions are 9" by 3.5". It has a full "qwerty" keyboard. Now please read the rest of the message for instructions on how to reserve 1, 2, 3 or more of these babies for yourself at a maximum price of $10 each. Sam ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 28 Jun 1997 10:52:11 -0700 (PDT) From: Sam Ismail <dastar(a)crl4.crl.com> To: Classic Computer Discussion <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Subject: RE: Panasonic Handhelds PANASONIC HANDHELD UPDATE: This is the latest message from Mike who has the hundreds of Panasonic HandHeld computers. In case its not obvious what's going on, I put in an offer of $10 each for 50, $9 each for 100, $8 each for 150, etc. I don't have $2000 lying around with which to buy them all up. I have a plan, but first read what Mike had to say: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 28 Jun 1997 10:39:01 -0400 (EDT) From: Mikeooo1(a)aol.com To: dastar(a)crl.com Subject: Re: EPROM Burners re: Classic Computers Dear Sam, I believe the total number of HHC's available will be about 400.Based on your offer I assume that for 150 of the units you would be willing to pay at the rate of $10 for the first 50,$9 for the next 50, $8 for the next 50 and $7 for the next 50 whcih would come to $1700 for 200 units.Would you be interested in 300 units for $2000 even?To make the offer even sweeter I'll throw in the memory expander trays with each unit.The cost for each tray alone was well over $100 when they were purchased,as well as a quantity of the MCM 68674 8K eprom chips that the programs were written on. As always Best Regards, Mike ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ END FORWARD So here's my plan...anyone and everyone who is interested, reply to ME (do not reply to classiccmp! People will hate you and want to drown your pets!) telling me how many you want. Do this soon. I will save all of your e-mails and then at the end of say, 10 days I will tally up the total and make Mike an offer. So again... Reply to ME only (dastar(a)crl.com) Tell me HOW MANY of the Panasonic HandHeld Computers you want. Do it SOON. You have about 10 days. Price will be NO MORE THAN $10 EACH. I'll get back to everyone in 10 days or so. Sam ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass

28 years, 9 months

Video Brain

by ccm＠sentex.net

Yep, you're absolutely correct. I messed up, again. Sorry. Thanks for the gentle correction. Kevin >> From: ccm(a)sentex.net (COMMPUTERSEUM/Kevin Stumpf) >> This is a case of two computers and one name. >> >> The Video Brain is also a desktop, CP/M microcomputer built in the earl >> 1980's. It physically resembles an Applied Digital Data Systems ADDS 7 >> intelligent terminal with dual 5 1/4" floppies mounted beside the monit >> >> Now you must investigate further and tell us which one it is. > >Sure you not confusing the Superbrain, a CP/M machine with the Video >Brain a F8 based game? > >Allison > > >

28 years, 9 months

Old Tandys

by manney＠nwohio.com

Tandy has an 800 number -- (800) THE-SHACK (You musk key in the final "K"...it won't work without it). The technicians are knowledgeable about the older machines and *very* helpful. btw, I have some trash-80 software (if bitrot hasn't got to it)

28 years, 9 months

Sony CP/M machine?

by dastar＠crl.com

I mentioned previously a discussion I had over dinner of some classic systems. One of the systems mentioned was a Sony CP/M machine from the very early 80s. Anyone know anything about this system? Sam ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass

28 years, 9 months

'Home' computer: Definition

by allisonp＠world.std.com

> From: Tony Duell <ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk> > The origianl statement stands. I can't think of a single computer syste > by me or not) that can't be used for useful work in 1997. The fact that > old has nothing to do with it. Tony, Everyone, I'd be loath to point out that one of the more common houseflys in computer terms is the PDP-8. While not large or fast they are common still running CNC machines that were built over 20 years ago. I come >from a time when home computerists lusted for one of these. Granted the 80xx was still TBD! ;-) Allison

28 years, 9 months

Video Brain

by allisonp＠world.std.com

> From: ccm(a)sentex.net (COMMPUTERSEUM/Kevin Stumpf) > This is a case of two computers and one name. > > The Video Brain is also a desktop, CP/M microcomputer built in the earl > 1980's. It physically resembles an Applied Digital Data Systems ADDS 7 > intelligent terminal with dual 5 1/4" floppies mounted beside the monit > > Now you must investigate further and tell us which one it is. Sure you not confusing the Superbrain, a CP/M machine with the Video Brain a F8 based game? Allison

28 years, 9 months

Today's Wall Street Journal Article

by rcini＠msn.com

All: For your enjoyment... ------------------------ Rich Cini/WUGNET - ClubWin Charter Member (6) - MCPS Windows 95/Networking Why We Can't Part With Those Vintage PCs By G. PASCAL ZACHARY Staff Reporter of TIIE WALL STREET JOURNAI. When it comes to her husband's habit of clut-tering their Redmond, Wash., home with broken and outmoded computer gear, Pam Vavra knows where to draw the line. The kitchen. Last month, Brad, her husband, stuffed a Mason jar with dozens of old memory chips and put it on a shelf next to similar jars that held fruit. Brad thought "it looked cool," he says, but she disagreed. "The kitchen is mine," she told him. "Your chips don't go with the decor." It would be an exaggeration to say that in kitchens all over America, people are filling their shelves with old computer gear. But as computers become nearly as common as toasters, the space devoted to computer junk expands, too. To be sure, some people have always had a hard time throwing things away. Didn't everyone's grandmother save string? Like the savers of old, today's digital packrats can't help themselves. "The reason you can't throw it away like an old shoe box is pre-cisely because you've established a prior relationship with it," says Brigitte Jordan, an anthropologist at Xerox Corp. who studies the relationship between people and things. As computers become more sophisticated, Ms. Jordan says, human interactions with them become more in-tense, intimate and memorable, making it harder for owners to part with their gear. For instance, Jim Kelnhofer, a programmer at Microsoft Corp., keeps his first computer in plain view in his bedroom. "I turn it on once or twice a year," he says. Hanging onto old computer stuff isn't just sentimen-tal, though. Some people paid so much for their outmoded machines that they can't bear to part with them for a song. And with computers changing so rapidly-obsoles-cence typically occurs in three years-many owners com-bat the disorientation of rapid change by keeping their old stuff nearby. "My theory is that these folks are so giddy with the pace of change that they keep this junk around as a trail of intellectual breadcrumbs, leading them back to their computing origins," says Paul Saffo, director of the Institute for the Future in Menlo Park, Calif. That's certainly true of Mr. Vavra, a software programmer who keeps the first computer he ever owned (a Franklin Ace) in his garage. A year ago, he donated to Microsoft's museum his Apple Lisa, a precursor to the Macintosh, but he can't part with an original Apple II, a computer on which he wrote some of his first programs in the 1970s. It is even more common for people to surround themselves with old gear at work. Alan Cooper, a computer consultant in Palo Alto, Calif., keeps a line of old chips on his desktop computer monitor and a few hundred computer punchcards -- not used since the 1970s -- in his desk drawer. "That's a lifetime supply now," says Mr. Cooper, who uses them as bookmarks. Mr. Cooper occasionally tosses out gear, but not easily. He is still sorry about his decision five years ago to give away an original Macintosh to a public school. Whenever he considers tossing out, say, the Hewlett-Packard calculator he bought in college 25 years ago, he thinks about how much he misses the Mac. "I don't want to make that mistake again," he says. While vintage computers provide psychological ballast against the shock of the new, there are sound economic reasons for retaining obsolete machines: Many are im-possible to sell or give away. In California alone, an esti-mated two million PCs are abandoned each year. Many sit in closets or warehouses or under desks. Others are sold at yard sales, left on the street, or cannibalized by recyclers for valuable metals. Most charities, for instance, have firm standards on which computers they will accept as donations. “We don’t want your junk,” says Helga Luce, a spokeswoman for Goodwill Industries. Even perfectly good computers often can't be given away. The Detwiler Foundation, which donates to schools computers rescued from oblivion, doesn't take machines that are powered by anything less than Intel's nine-year-old 386 chip. "We're not doing a school a favor by giving them a 286," says Diane Detwiler, the foundation's executive director, referring to Intel's 15-year-old microprocessor. Some charities have even tougher standards. Gifts in Kind, an Alexandria, Va., nonprofit that distributes donated computers, will accept only those machines whose parts, manuals and maintenance are readily available. The charity won't accept, for instance, the Macintosh Classic, a venerable computer that sold in the millions. Thwarted in their efforts to give away their most ancient machines, some computer owners try to make the best of a bad situation. Cliff Stoll, a computer-security expert in Oakland, Calif., came up with a novel answer to the question, "What do you do with a used computer?" Mr. Stoll, who is a commentator on the cable channel MSNBC and an author, has turned a one-piece Macintosh Plus into an aquarium, hollowing out the electronics and filling the case with water and fish. As if the aquarium weren't enough, Mr. Stoll turned an old IBM PC into a litter box for his cat. While the cat became enamored of the box, "I realized that really isn't a good second life for a computer," he says. For some fanatics, giving their computers decent storage space is more fitting. "My reasoning is really very simple," says Marc Weiser, a computer scientist at Xerox's Palo Alto, Calif., research lab. "Old computers are worthless to everybody else, so even if they have a dime of value to you its a dime you wouldn't have otherwise." Mr. Weiser keeps three old computers in his garage, including one he built in 1975. "Maybe I'll show it to my kids someday. You know, like an heirloom." Other digital packrats harbor similar delusions. Kimball Brown, a market researcher in San Jose, Calif., thinks his motley collection of modems, compact-disk drives, memory chips and entire computers could be worth something someday. Even if he's wrong, he insists, he can't lose. "I have a dream that someday I'll open a computer museum," he says. But there already are computer museums, and they are pretty choosy, too. Curators want collectible computers to be in pristine condition and perhaps bear some unique mark, such as a designer's signature. "What turns out to be valuable, you can't really know," says Gwen Bell, co-founder of the Computer Museum in Boston. But "if it's not shiny and polished and isn't part of a big story, it probably isn't worth keeping."

28 years, 9 months

Exidy Sorcerer Info

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

Somebody (I forget who) was asking for information on the Exidy Sorcerer. I've found the manuals, and will give a little useful info below. Memory Map : 0-1FFF 8K RAM (standard) - 1F50-1F90 Monitor stack, 1F91-1FFF Monitor workspace. [Or 0-3FFF 16K RAM, 0-7FFF 32K RAM, with the monitor stuff at the top of that] C000-DFFF 8K ROM cartridge [Or D000-DFFF 4K ROM cartridge, A000-DFFF 16K ROM cartridge] E000-EFFF Monitor ROM F000-F07F Video Scratchpad F080-F7FF Video (Screen) RAM F800-FBFF Ascii PROMs FC00-FDFF Standard graphics FE00-FFFF User Graphics Monitor Commands : DU <a1> <a2> DUmp memory from <a1> to <a2> EN <a> ENter hex data to memory starting at <a>. Type / <cr> to get out of this command TE <a1> <a2> TEst RAM from <a1> to <a2>. TE <a1> <a2> C TEst RAM continously. MO <a1> <a2> <a3> MOve block <a1> - <a2> to address <a3> MO <a1> <a2> S <count> MOve <count> bytes from <a1> to <a2> SA <name> <a1> <a2> <unit> SAve block <a1> - <a2> onto cassette <unit> with file<name> FI <unit> List FIles on cassette <unit> LO <name> <unit> <address> LOad file<name> from cassette <unit> at address <address>. The last 2 arguments are optional LOG <name> <unit> <address> LOad and Go file<name> as above GO <a> GO at address (run program) PP <parameter> Run Program Pack (ROM cartridge). If no paramenter given, do a warm start, otherwise cold SE <a>=<b> SEt monitor parameters : S=XX display delay to XX T=X Tape rate (0=1200 baud, 1 = 300 baud) F=XX set file type. D8 == non-auto-execute. Bx = Basic programs X=XXXX set execution address in tape file header O=V set output to video =P Parallel output =L Centronics Printer =S Tape output =XXXX send to address I=K set input to keyboard =P Parallel input =S Tape input =XXXX read from address CR CReate Batch file on tape unit 1 LI LIst Batch file BA run BAtch file OV End (OVer) of batch file. Returns control to the keyboard Memory : There are 2 rows of DRAM chips on the main PCB. Supported configurations are ; 2 rows of 4K chips (8K total) Front row (only) 16K chips (16K) 2 rows of 16K chips (32K) There are 2 jumpers at the front edge of the board (column 11). The front jumper is fitted if there are 2 rows of RAMs in the system. The rear one is fitted for 16K rams, removed for 4K rams. Pinouts: Serial interface (RH 25 pin connector) 1 : Shield 1 2 RS232 out 3 RS232 in 4 Ground 5 Aux level output to cassette 1 6,7,8 Ground 9 +12V 10 N/C 11 RS232 in 12 Motor control #1 + 12 Motor control #2 + 14 Shield 2 15 Microphone level output to cassette 1 16 microphone #2 17 Ground 18 Aux 2 19 Ground 20 Earphone input from cassette #1 21 Ear 2 22 N/C 23 RS223 out 24 Motor Control #1 - 25 Motor Control #2 - Parallel interface (LH 25 pin connector) 1 Ground 2 Output data Accepted 3 Output data Available 4 Output D7 5 Output D6 6 Output D5 7 Output D4 8 Ground 9 Input Data Available 10 Input D0 11 Input D2 12 Input D4 13 Input D6 14 N/C 15 +5V 16 Output D0 17 Output D1 18 Output D2 19 Output D3 20 +5V 21 Input data accepted 22 Input D1 23 Input D3 24 Input D5 25 Input D7 System bus (50 pin edge connector) 1 Reset out 2 Int* 3 wait* 4 Data bus enable (into sorcerer) 5 Busrq* 6 NMI* 7 Buskack* 8 Data Bus Direction (into sorcerer) 9 ROM Enable* 10 Phi1 (clock?) 11 ROM PRE 12 Reset Ack 13 Phi2 (clock out) 14 Up8K 15 Mreq* 16 M1* 17 Rd* 18 iorq* 19 rfsh* 20 wr* 21 A8 22 halt* 23 A10 24 A9 25 A15 26 A11 27 A13 28 A14 29 A0 30 A12 31 A2 32 A1 33 A4 34 A3 35 A6 36 A5 37 D0 38 A7 39 D2 40 D1 41 D4 42 D3 43 D6 44 D5 45 Reset input 46 D7 47 N/C 48 I/O 49 Ground 50 Ground ROMpack slot 1 A7 2 A6 3 A5 4 A4 5 A3 6 A2 7 A1 8 A0 9 A9 10 A8 11 D0 12 D1 13 D2 14 D3 15 D4 16 D5 17 D6 18 D7 19 A11 20 A10 21 RomDIS 22 A14 23 ROMPRE 24 A12 25 A13 26 +12V 27 -5V 28 N/C 29 +5V 30 Gnd Centronics printer cable Sorcerer Printer Signal 1 19-30 Ground 2 10 Ack 4 1 Stb 5 8 D6 6 7 D5 7 6 D4 8 19-30 Ground 16 2 D0 17 3 D1 18 4 D2 19 5 D3 25 11 Busy 9 D7 (Unused - maybe tie to ground - ARD) Serial cable : This was a 'hydra' cable with a DB25 to fit the sorcerer, 8 jack/phone plugs for the cassette recorders and a DB25 serial connector. I'll try to give the wirelist Sorcerer Device RS232 port 2 DB25/2 (TxD) 7 DB25/7 (Ground) 3 DB25/3 (RxD) 8 DB25/8 (Ground) Tape 1 : (Mic, Aux, Ear 3.5mm (mini) phone plugs, Remote 2.5mm (submini) phone plug) 15 Mic plug tip 1 Mic plug sleeve 5 Aux plug tip 4 Aux plug sleeve 20 Ear plug tip 19 Ear plug sleeve 24 Remote plug tip 12 Remote plug sleeve The remote connections are swapped for some recorders Tape 2 (Notes as above) 16 Mic plug tip 14 Mic plug sleeve 18 Aux plug tip 17 Aux plug sleeve 21 Ear plug tip 6 Ear plug sleeve 25 Remote plug tip 13 Remote plug sleeve I seem to remeber that something was asked about the PSU. According to my manual, the PSU was mostly on the main board, and used 3 off 3-terminal regulators for the +5V, +12V and -5V lines. If these are present, then the external (to the PCB) part of the PSU is simply a mains transformer giving 16V C/T and (probably) 16V). But if you don't have these regulators, let me know, and I'll try to figure out what is going on. -tony

28 years, 9 months

Early Computer History (RE: who's on first? )

by kaikal＠MICROSOFT.com

> ---------- > From: Nick Challoner > On 1 Jul 97 at 22:45, e.tedeschi wrote: > > > I would be most interested in hearing peoples' views on where the > > > Bletchley Park computer (i can't remember its name) > > > > Colossus I ? > Yes! that was it. Thanks Enrico. > It was just called Colossus at the time (they ended up building 10 of them). They're rebuilding one at Bletchley Park. > Now back to the main question in my > post: where does this fit in to the timeline of early computers? > The following are arguable.... Colossus (1944) was probably the first electronic computer. ENIAC (1946) was probably the first general-purpose electronic computer, while Colossus was built strictly to break a German cipher. Manchester/Harvard Mark 1 (1948) was probably first electronic stored-program computer. (ENIAC, though built in '46, was made stored-program in 1948, complicating matters somewhat) EDSAC (1949) is sometimes called the first full-scale operational stored-program computer. UNIVAC 1 (1952) was probably the first commercial computer. I haven't been able to find any citations of the first all-solid-state computer. Kai

28 years, 9 months

who's on first?

by zmerch＠northernway.net

Whilst in a self-induced trance, Ward Griffiths and/or Lisa Rogers happened to blather: >On Sun, 29 Jun 1997, Brett wrote: >That was me. Yes, it might have been _possible_ to build a machine in >1930, but at that time nobody had made the connection between Babbage's >ideas and electronics. IIRC, it was John von Neuman who took that fatal >step, then published it. And then all Hell broke loose, and there is no >sign of the rift closing within our lifetimes. I _love_ it. With >respect to the old Chinese curse, we live in interesting times. And we >have done so since the Harvard Mark I. (Well, there _is_ that rumoured >German predecessor, but it was never advertised.) Uh, actually, try October 1939... with the ABC. That's the Atanasoff - Berry Computer, which is now recognized as the first functional electronic computer. I posted 2 or 3 URL's for more info on the web, if there's a searchable archive of this list, check there for my post. If not, I'll look it up in mine if I still have it. BTW, you're timeline is still a bit off... IIRC John von Neumann invented the stored-program concept, didn't he? It was Markus & someone who designed the first UNIVAC mostly with concepts hijacked from the ABC... methinks it was in 1972 or so when the U.S. Patent office yanked the patent away from them and gave it back to Atanasoff & Berry. Anywho, have fun, y'all! "Merch" -- Roger Merchberger | If at first you don't succeed, Programmer, NorthernWay | nuclear warhead disarmament should *not* zmerch(a)northernway.net | be your first career choice.

28 years, 9 months

8088 ROM image (fwd)

by more＠camlaw.rutgers.edu

If anyone can help this guy out, please e-mail him (he does not subscribe AFAIK to the mailimg list.) Thanks, Les ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 01 Jul 1997 18:57:12 -0700 From: michael neufeld <mneufeld(a)awinc.com> To: more(a)camlaw.Rutgers.EDU Subject: 8088 ROM image Hello, Would you happen to have the BIOS for an 8088 IBM PC, XT or compatible? I would like to build a DOS compatible single board computer, however I need a BIOS and/or information on it. Any help you could give me would be appreciated! Thanks, Michael Neufeld mneufeld(a)awinc.com

28 years, 9 months

Tandy 100

by jrice＠texoma.net

Does anyone out there have a Tandy Model 100, that is non functioning? My LCD display died and RS Parts want $225.00 for a new one. Thanks, James

28 years, 9 months

Sony CP/M machine?

by foxvideo＠mail.wincom.net

At 12:06 PM 7/2/97 -0500, you wrote: >On Wed, 2 Jul 1997, Ken Marshall wrote: > >> I was just given a Sony SMC-70 last weekend by a friend of my son's that is >> moving. The machine has 3.5" single-sided floppy disks, both black & white >> and RGB video outputs, an RS-232 interface, parallel interface, and a DB-25 >> connector labeled "external drives". It also has a "supercharger" unit > >I have an SMC-70 as well; unfortunately, I have neither an OS nor the >floppy drives for mine. The few pieces of information that I have found >about this machine are that it was (supposedly) the first mass-produced >computer to use 3.5 inch floppy disks and that it was used as a part of a >video editing controller that Sony produced in the early '80s. The >floppy disk claim does make some sense, since the 3.5 inch format was >developed by Sony. > >A few more interesting things about this machine: > >- The power supply is located in the rear portion of the case, which is >mounted on tracks and movable. Moving the power supply away from the main >portion of the case reveals a ribbon cable with several 50-pin socket >connectors. This ribbon cable terminates at the 50-pin Centronics >connector on the back of the unit. Does anyone have a description of this >bus? I'm assuming that there were options available that fit into this >area and extend the length of the unit, somewhat like the options that can >be connected to the IBM PC Convertible. > >- There is a switch on the side of the unit that selects the startup >device, which can be either ROM or disk. I'm assuming that the boot ROM >was an optional product. In any case, mine doesn't have a boot ROM. > >Does anyone know if the SMC-70 floppy drives are the same as (or >compatible with) any of the other drives that are made by Sony, such as >the 400k SSDD drives used in the Macintosh 128k/512k? > >If anyone is interested, I can snap a few pictures of the SMC-70 tonight, >put them on the Web, and post the URL. > >-- >Scott Ware s-ware(a)nwu.edu > The Sony part numbers listed for the manuals are as follows: SML7000Z Operating instruction binder. SML7001Z Sony basic introductory manual& basic user guide. SML7002Z Basic reference manual SML7003Z System monitor manual SMC70. SML7004Z Hardware manual, technical description, SMC70. I suggest not ordering them retail from Sony as they are listing at about $ 50.00 ea.in 1986 Cheers Charlie Fox

28 years, 9 months

Sony CP/M machine?

by foxvideo＠mail.wincom.net

At 12:34 AM 7/2/97 -0700, you wrote: > >I mentioned previously a discussion I had over dinner of some classic >systems. One of the systems mentioned was a Sony CP/M machine from the >very early 80s. Anyone know anything about this system? > > >Sam >------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass > > Hi, Sam: In 1983 Sony Video Products Catalog listed a SMC70 microcomputer, and again in 1986 Japan Video Centre (Toronto) listed a SMC70G "Genlocker" which was supposed to make a good character generator for video production. I remember going to see one, but didn't bite because they wanted about six grand for it, and that is a bit much, even in Canada. Regards Charlie Fox

28 years, 9 months

RT-11 and OS/8 floppy interleave algorithms?

by dbetz＠xlisper.mv.com

Does anyone know the RX01 floppy sector interleave algorithms for RT-11 and OS/8? Thanks in advance, David Betz -- David Betz dbetz(a)xlisper.mv.com DavidBetz(a)aol.com (603) 472-2389

28 years, 9 months

by dastar＠crl.com

I had a business meal tonight and after some discussion I found out that one of our guests is sort of into collecting old computers (basically he never got rid of any of the systems he's bought over time). One of the systems he mentioned he had was a Video Brain. Apparently this is a video game system. I *think* I vaguely remember hearing about this system. At any rate I'm curious about it and was wondering if anybody knew what it was as we both had too much tequila for him to describe and for me to comprehend it. I told him of my plans for the First Annual Vintage Computer Festival (which, by the way, is still on...I'm still in the planning phases) and he mentioned that he had close contacts with a show called The Computer Guys on the Discovery Channel and would arrange for me to meet with them to discuss possible coverage of the show. Very nice! Sam ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass

28 years, 9 months

CLASSICCMP digest 99

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

In message <3.0.1.32.19970701060900.00f809f0(a)mail.wizards.net> classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu writes: > >> I've seen a couple of posts in here that declare, in very firm terms > >> indeed, that machines like the MicroVAX and PDP's are not "home" computers. > > > > My PDP is a home computer. All it takes up is a table (I don't have a > > rack yet. It's coming...) Besides, my XT is bigger than the PDP at the > > moment (condidering keyboard, monitor, printer, and disks) At one time I had a PDP8/e and a PDP11/44 _on my desk_. They were thus desktop computers :-). The 11/44 is now elsewhere, since I now have the 8/e's peripherals on my desk....

28 years, 9 months

Help with Apple Lisa 2

by kaikal＠MICROSOFT.com

Hi all, I just acquired a Lisa 2/10 and I'm trying to figure things out. The system starts to boot from the hard drive and comes up with a MacWorks/Sun Remarketing logo, then asks for a diskette. Looks like it's running MacWorks XL, is that correct? The system still has regular Lisa H/88 ROMs so it's not messed with hardware-wise. How come it wants a diskette and won't boot from the HD? I tried putting in a System 1 diskette from my Mac 128 and it gave me the "Welcome to Macintosh" splash and then died with a Sad Mac FE0002. Do I need a special Mac System version diskette to boot this sucker? Any info appreciated!! (anyone have a spare keyboard? I need a few keys) thanks Kai

28 years, 9 months

Flex for 6809/6800

by bluesky6＠ix.netcom.com

Does anyone know if one can still get Flex for the 6809 or 6800? There're people archiving and using CP/M stuff but it seems a waste to let a very simple and neat OS like Flex go the way of the dinosaur. Ben

28 years, 9 months

Auction: Odds and Ends, Power Supplies, etc.

by gmast＠polymail.cpunix.calpoly.edu

I am still sorting through my stuff and have a few odd items up on the eBay auction. These type of things go pretty cheap (a buck for 3 power supplies and 4 RF adapters? Cheaper than the Goodwill!) but are sometimes hard to find (especially when you need one...power supplies?). Anyway, all you have to do is go to the link listed and check the price. Remember to figure shipping into what you want to pay. I'm in CA. Lot of Power supplies & RF Adapters (TI99/4A) Current bid: $1.00 Auction ends on: 07/03/97, 13:38:45 PDT http://www2.ebay.com/aw/itemfast.cgi?item=fpl6975 Indus GT Black Drive for Commodore 64 (photo) Current bid: $14.50 Auction ends on: 07/03/97, 13:50:38 PDT http://www2.ebay.com/aw/itemfast.cgi?item=mtr1454 Lot of 3 Joysticks (photo) Bidding starts at: $1.00 Auction ends on: 07/03/97, 13:57:24 PDT http://www2.ebay.com/aw/itemfast.cgi?item=hpq2180 Atari 800XL and Power Supply (No Workee?) Current bid: $1.00 Auction ends on: 07/05/97, 13:10:40 PDT http://www2.ebay.com/aw/itemfast.cgi?item=ntp8872 Thanks for reading, Greg

28 years, 9 months

collection value

by lynn＠ferberts.com

Are old (classic) computer magazines worth more now than the issues price? Example: original first issue of BYTE magazine? Or can I tell my husband to throw them out and give away the tin shed? Lynn Lynn Perez-Hewitt lynn(a)ferberts.com P.O. Box 1630 Oracle, AZ 85623 520.896.9316

28 years, 9 months

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