test-drb

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

101090 discussions

by jce＠seasip.demon.co.uk

Liam Proven wrote: > Hey, John, welcome! Have you just joined or been here lurking all along? Just joined. > In CP/M, isn't the BIOS just a file on disk anyway? It is, but adding functionality to it without the loadable driver facility would be nowhere near as straightforward. You'd need to work out how to allocate memory to your additional feature, how to hook it into the various BIOS data structures, and then how to get the .EMS self-unpacker to relocate it to the right place. And since it would be infringement of copyright to distribute the patched file, you'd have to distribute a program that did that patching. Chuck Guzis wrote: > Suppose I wanted to use 1.44M 3.5" floppies. The hardware (with a > bit of tweaking) is capable of it. No way to get to the boot > software, however. Suppose I wanted to boot from a home-built CF > card... In theory you could replace the boot ROM (desolder the 8041, read its contents, and burn an 8741 with the new boot image. Or even an 8742, if you wanted more than 256 bytes of boot program). In the 9512 it would be even easier, because the corresponding microcontroller used an external ROM. It was also possible for peripherals plugged into the expansion port to provide their own boot ROMs; Cirtech's external hard drives did so, for example, and they advertised a similar device that booted from flash. -- John Elliott

13 years, 8 months

I'm looking for a job

by ajp166＠verizon.net

Spammer! Does anyone trim the list? On 08/23/2012 04:39 AM, dennis.yurichev at gmail.com wrote: > Hi! > > Your email was taken from classiccmp/cctalk mailing list. > (So it's kind of SPAM). > I'm writing you because I'm looking for job and you'll see now why I do it in that way. > I'm good on reverse engineering of ancient software like those for MS-DOS, ancient Unices and/or for exotic platforms. > I'm

13 years, 8 months

GIDE replacement?

by LYNCHAJ＠YAHOO.COM

[snip] > >> I'd love to find one of those add-on boards that would allow IDE or > >> CF to be used - the HD in my 10 isn't going to last forever. :( > > > > GIDE works in the Kaypros I think. > > > Is anyone selling them? > [snip] Hi The GIDE is a neat circuit but finding one is difficult. They are long out of production and are hard to replicate since it uses GALs. At least the equations for the GALs are known. It also uses obscure obsolete RTC chip that is hard to find. How about instead of just replicating the GIDE convert the XT-IDE V2 circuitry to use a Z80 socket rather than an 8 bit ISA slot. The XT-IDE V2 provides a 16 bit IDE interface, an optional boot ROM, and an optional UART for remote booting capability. All of those would be useful things on Kaypro or any other Z80 computer. It would use the same "shim socket" approach as the GIDE and would be easy for anyone to use and/or replicate. Thanks and have a nice day! Andrew Lynch

13 years, 8 months

DEC RX02 microcode listing

by chd＠chdickman.com

Is a microcode listing for the DEC RX02 floppy controller available anywhere? -chuck

13 years, 8 months

Dysan PAT-2+ manual

by aek＠bitsavers.org

Anyone have one? I have the front half of one, which is up on bitsavers now. Termites got the back of it.

13 years, 8 months

The best CP/M machine ever? was Re: Kaypro II

by stekster＠gmail.com

I'm a bit surprised that there hasn't been more discussion about S-100 machines. In particular I would point out the Morrow Decision 1. It's DJ-DMA floppy controller could handle 8" SSSD thru DSDD, and both soft-sectored and hard-sectored (NorthStar) 5.25" formats and a separate hard drive controller was also available of course. Later variations even had a switching power supply. Not strictly a CP/M machine (though probably 90+% used CP/M or variation thereof) and CP/M came standard with the machine. Morrow even provided a UNIX-like OS, the name of which escapes me at the moment (Micronix maybe?). With the addition of an 8086 S-100 board it would certainly run a plain vanilla CP/M-86 system. Other S-100 systems like CompuPro and Cromemco and even NorthStar were all versatile and well-built CP/M machines which could aspire to be called 'the best CP/M machine ever.' In general I would even proclaim the category of S-100 micros as the holder of that title. Bob Stek Saver of Lost Sols

13 years, 8 months

cctech Digest, Vol 108, Issue 39

by jce＠seasip.demon.co.uk

> Personally, I'm partial to the Amstrad PCW line.While it was marketed > as a dedicated word processor in much of the world, it had gobs of RAM > (at least 256KB), high-resolution monochrome graphics (720x256) and > shipped with a very nice CP/M Plus implementation which included a > better-than-average BASIC as well as DRI LOGO and the GSX graphics > libraries. The non-standard 3 inch floppies are a bit of a drag, but > it was fairly easy to add 3.5 inch drives and even hard drives were > available. Second-generation PCWs corrected that; they had 3.5" drives. And later iterations of the BIOS supported loadable device drivers, with all sorts of possibilities for mischief. -- John Elliott

13 years, 8 months

Wabash Floppies

by stekster＠gmail.com

I haven't yet tried it but at tapeheads.net you can learn about the use of a 50-50 mixture of Nu-Finish car polish and naptha as a treatment for flaking/shedding reel-to-reel tape. (Honest)

13 years, 8 months

I'm looking for a job

by jhfinedp3k＠compsys.to

> > >[Snip] >Sorry if it was offensive! >And thanks in advance for your attention. > And as some of you have stated, the market these days is MUCH more difficult than it was a few years ago. I have been waiting to observe if anyone else mentioned the following two points: When you consider that probably every other response has used more bytes than the original request (including this one - and there have been at least 20), it certainly seems reasonable to have sent the request. In addition, no links were activated when the body of the e-mail was displayed. On the rare occasions I receive spam these days, most of the time a link attempts to activate itself - which is almost always impossible since I try to remember to disconnect the cable to the router before I start to read any e-mail. If such a link had been included, that would have been unacceptable!!!!! Jerome Fine

13 years, 8 months

Wabash Floppies

by cclist＠sydex.com

Has anyone had any success at all recently in recovering data from Wabash-branded floppies? I haven't. The binder on these things has gone to Hades and the oxide will flake off if you so much as touch it with a drive. Yesterday, I thought I'd try again after swearing off of the things, as the disks in question were 10-sector rather than soft-sector. I wondered if 10-sector being rarer than the soft-sector variety might not be different. No soap. That grinding sound, accompanied by dirty heads tells me that *no* Wabash disk is worth touching. Anyone got any secrets for these? Cheers, --Chuck

13 years, 8 months

was: The best CP/M machine ever?

by LYNCHAJ＠YAHOO.COM

Hi Rich! Thanks! I really appreciate the support! Here is a little background information in case anyone was wondering about building your own home brew CP/M computer. At the N8VEM home brew computer project there are several boards to assemble your own home brew CP/M computer. The original is the SBC V2 which is a Z80 based Eurocard system. It can be stand alone or act as an ECB bus controller for IO expansion. Next is the Zeta which is an SBC without bus expansion but several built in peripherals such as a floppy drive controller, IDE, serial, RTC, etc. Finally there is the N8 which is a Z8S180 based all-in-one computer with complete IO suite (FDC, IDE, serial, parallel, video, audio, etc). It is a bit like the P112 with built in video, sound, and some other peripherals along with hobbyist friendly components. All of the N8VEM CP/M computers share a common ROM BIOS (RomWBW) or you can use your own or someone else's custom BIOS (MSX CBIOS). What is really neat is a sizable robust community has grown up around the N8VEM computers and builders are even making their own systems (like the Zeta) for the group. We don't always agree on things but manage to get along pretty well. There are many points of view and not everyone sees things the same way. That's OK -- its healthy. There is also a fairly complete suite (25+ types) of S-100 boards with backplanes, serial IO, drive controllers, video controllers, RAM boards, CPU boards, etc. Really too many to mention here. All the hardware and software design information is free (as in speech and beer) and publicly posted. There is a mailing list and wiki available for information and support if you want it. You are free to use what's there even if you never participate in the N8VEM home brew computer project. Several other projects have branched off N8VEM and are now making their own CP/M computers, S-100 boards, etc. http://groups.google.com/group/n8vem http://n8vem-sbc.pbworks.com Most boards have parts lists in addition to full schematic and PCB layout. Complete KiCAD EDA files with custom libraries are included as well as full source code listings, tools, etc. I try to emphasize the use of free/open source tool sets so literally *anyone* can build their own systems including making their own home made PCBs. The PCBs are available through group buys which is a sort of informal process. I try to keep the cost as low as possible and it more or less works. Active community participation is encouraged and expected but not required since everyone is a *builder*. There are no bosses, management, users, stockholders, clients, or customers! So if you have the inclination or ever desired to build your own home brew computer this is your chance. It is pretty easy to do and a lot of fun! Please consider this your personal invitation to come to the N8VEM home brew computer project. You are all most certainly welcome! Thanks and have a nice day! Andrew Lynch PS, if you have questions feel free to contact me at LYNCHAJ at YAHOO.COM > -----Original Message----- > From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk- > bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Rich Cini > Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2012 9:19 AM > To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts > Subject: Re: The best CP/M machine ever? was Re: Kaypro II > > Do you mean hobbyist or COTS? There are several hobby SBCs that can do it, > including the P112 and N8VEM. There are 68k and 8086 boards as well. > > > > Rich Cini > Sent from my iPhone > > > On Aug 23, 2012, at 8:56 AM, microcode at zoho.com wrote: > > > Are there any modern ready-to-go SBCs capable of running CP/M? > > > >

13 years, 8 months

The best CP/M machine ever? was Re: Kaypro II

by elazzerini＠interfree.it

I could not help but become part of the conversation even if people have already written more 'diligent and competent than me. My site is http://elazzerini.interfree.it Originally my disposal clone a Ferguson Bigboard I that I was able to start charging even CP / M 2.2 to 3.5" diskettes. Obviously I could not help but come into possession of his descendants: the Xerox 820-I and the Kaypro-II whose reviews I entered the site and are still working. The only board xerox 820-I has been assembled by me in a PC case for making all the corrections have composite video, and use PS2 interface-parallel drive with 3.5 ". The Kaypro II was full of his case but with a full size 5.25" drive out of service and when buying a separate drive full size 5.25 " is fully operational. I'm happy to have just these two machines, but fully functional. I could not afford them to buy them with the original prices of the 80's. To assess the selling rate of your Kaypro-II if the goal is to gain much more money I suggest whether it is fully functional and free of scratches, it is best to sell it to pieces, only one drive fullsize 5.25 " fully functional sold separately makes it almost more 'all over the computer alone. Probably be able to sell the first pair of drive 5.25 ", then the mainboard and then the keyboard or the power supply while you remain the case and the monitor. I do not think could you sell it in bulk to achieve a fair return if the product Kaypro-II at that time very popular. At least every three days you find it for sale on epay. I am currently looking for other boards like the Ferguson Bigboard II or the Ampro Little Board based on the Z80 or Z80 based mainboard in general other. Greetings Enrico - Pisa (Italy)

13 years, 8 months

1962 Navy Film on Digital Computers

by mc68010＠gmail.com

Kinda neat old film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDQROzrFD1o

13 years, 8 months

Kaypro II

by feldman.r＠comcast.net

>Message: 20 >Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2012 15:31:40 -0400 >From: Allison < ajp166 at verizon.net > > > >On 08/23/2012 01:06 PM, Fred Cisin wrote: <snip> >> Why didn't the Otrona catch on? >> Charlie Chaplin [clone] carrying a table with computer down stairs wasn't >> enough? >> >Osborne was first, smaller and had a 5" screen. > >Kaypro was later, had better screen, keyboard, more IO, and generally >better. >I'd agree the Darth Vader lunch box look as less than kool but it was >durable. > >Allison Regarding why the Otrona did not catch on (other than in some circles, such as the JPL): 1. Price. Much more expensive than either the Osborne or Kaypro. I think I paid over $3500 for my 8:16, with a substantial educational discount. 2. Screen size: 5". 3. Late arrival. The O1 and Kaypro were already established. I saw my first Otrona at a Chicago FOG meeting. I heard the Osborne described as a Buick, the Kaypro as a Chevrolet and the Otrona as a BMW. BTW, I still have my 8:16, which I had aftermarket upgraded to 512KB RAM . Bob

13 years, 8 months

Sun 1 Computer - Here are the photos

by nick.allen＠comcast.net

Check out the photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/NeXTprototype/Sun1Computer?authkey=Gv1sRgCIbH_… Still need a way to get the Sun Series 2 Keyboard and Mouse working on the Sun 100u. Is my best bet trying to connect it to the SUN2 CPU series conectors, or the bwtwo prime mono video board serial connectors? Anyone have pinouts for the keyboard? Thanks a million! Nick

13 years, 8 months

hp 9000/300-320 68K, Questions

by jimpdavis＠gorge.net

I have a HP 9000/300 68000 with an extra processor card. I was surprised when I pulled the processor card from the machine and discovered a 68030 CPU. I was shocked I didn't remember that card. Looking for software, I checked bitsavers, but only located a Pascal compiler. Does this machine have any interesting (O/S) software freely available? Are their any list members playing with this machine? Is it possible to boot from the GPIB? I'm behind a dial-up wall and I was hoping to save some bandwidth before downloading the manuals. Thanks, - Jim.

13 years, 8 months

Announcing the Vintage Computer Festival Southeast 1.0

by david＠classiccomputing.com

The Atlanta Historical Computing Society has decided to host the first ever Vintage Computer Festival Southeast. It is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, February 9th, from 10 AM - 7 PM. We're also planning a Friday night dinner / hang-out, plus an after-show / cleanup dinner too. Lonnie Mimms, a local commercial property manager (and owner of perhaps the single largest personal computer collection in the SE) has agreed to furnish us a venue! Hopefully, he will also setup some computers for display and give at least one tour of his collection. There are lots of details to work out and we're just getting started. In any case, I'm excited and I wanted to start spreading the word. This will be great! Best, David Greelish, Computer Historian - Author, "The Complete Historically Brewed" - Founder, Atlanta Historical Computing Society - "Classic Computing Show" podcast - "Stan Veit's History of the Personal Computer" audiobook podcast - "Retro Computing Roundtable" podcast ClassicComputing.com | atlhcs.org

13 years, 8 months

Coffee and ringing (was: Re: Hearing ...)

by mtapley＠swri.edu

At 0:06 -0500 8/15/12, Chuck wrote: >So, does anyone know of any publicly-owned hearing aid manufacturers? >Looks like a growth industry... > >--Chuck >(with some ringing in his ears) Unpopular suggestion of the day: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus Avoidance of caffeine, nicotine, or salt can reduce symptoms, Anecdotally, it works for me (and I'm cutting out caffeine most days) and for a friend of mine (who cut out complaining about his "horrible Tinnitus" once I told him the cure (but only after verifying it via a 3-day coffee detox period)). Usually at this point I would say "hope this helps" but in this case ... ? -- - Mark 210-379-4635 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Large Asteroids headed toward planets inhabited by beings that don't have technology adequate to stop them: Think of it as Evolution in Fast-Forward.

13 years, 8 months

Any Transputer + Helios experts out there?

by derschjo＠gmail.com

Anyone out there have any expertise/experience with Helios on PC hardware? I've got a fairly small Transputer setup going; it's a standard PC + an ISA TRAM motherboard holding 10 1mb TRAMs. (I also have a 4mb TRAM coming in the mail, I'm so excited...) The PC's running DOS + Win98 at the moment and I've been playing around with Helios. Thus far I've been using the DOS I/O "server" executable to run Helios but I'd like to do something graphical with it (fractals of course, what else do you do with 10 transputers?). I have a Windows-based server (winsrvr3, v3.201) but I have no idea what its capabilities are or how to use them (graphics in particular). I've been unable to find any useful documentation for this server. Any tips here? Thanks! Josh

13 years, 8 months

Paging Al [Apple Stuff]

by jon＠jonworld.com

I saw this and remembered you may be among the photographed? http://www.nycresistor.com/2012/08/21/ghosts-in-the-rom/ -- -Jon Jonathan Katz, Indianapolis, IN.

13 years, 8 months

To all with interest in preservation

by wdonzelli＠gmail.com

> There's a lot to that report. It is also only dealing with semiconductor devices. While semiconductors are a crucial component, they are not the only one. Yes, but it is basically the first thing I found (and being tired after going to the Kagan memorial, I was not about to make a big project about it). The point is that Ian wanted a citation, so I gave him one, in less than a minute's worth of Google. There are similar studies on other components and materials, certainly. Even the paint industry has its own bushel of studies about paint aging. I will leave the discovery of those to you guys. > The problem is that none of these documents are studies on conservation. The way I see it, this is still in its larval form. Only 70 years ago these machines hadn't even been invented yet, that is within the life span of quite a few people who are still around. We just don't know how best to preserve a computer. The world needs data. Very, true, but we can make some very good guesses on how to preserve these machines. At least with the modern materials found in computers - materials that "normal" museums do not have to deal with - conservators can look to the bushels of engineering reliability studies, like that Panasonic one I pointed out, for some guidance. It is not shooting in the dark. > The only way to get data is to do our best, and try different strategies. There are many very clever people on this list and elsewhere. With enough effort, anything can be made and replaced. It's going to be a crapshoot either way until we've had more experience with this stuff. Yes, we need more data on this. But, one way to certainly taint that data is to keep using the materials (keep running the machines). > It's not necessary to convey the experience exactly. But an approximation can give people the feel of what it was like. Yes, and this is why simulations and living museums, like the Living Computer Museum, are good as well. For the time being, until we can have our perfect virtual reality simulators, having a running machine in a raised floor room is the best we can do, but it uses the artifact and changes what it is (I am not sure I want to get into a "historic fabric" fight with anyone at this point). Those changes can not be reversed, no matter what anyone says. This is why it is good to have machines that are in museums, preserved and not run at all. Everyone, please do not hate on the museums that preserve the machines by not running them - they have a point for doing so. -- Will

13 years, 8 months

New haul - three classics

by nospam212-cctalk＠yahoo.com

Picked up my first additions in some time today. Three new systems plus two packed boxes of software, documentation, books and magazines. All from the same original owner. Feel like a kid on Christmas morning. Going to take some time to document and record what all is in this collection but the three systems are: Compucolor II Osborne 1 Sharp PC-4501 So much stuff, so little time. Alas now I have to leave it at home and go into work. David Williams http://www.trailingedge.com

13 years, 8 months

Panasonic HHC technical information

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

Could the chap who wanted scehamtics, etc for the HHC please get in touch with me. It turns out it's been scanned and can be quite easily sent to you. I've lost your address... -tony

13 years, 8 months

Heurikon HK68/V4F boards

by whsiung＠simconsultants.com

Hello, I came across this thread (http://www.classiccmp.org/pipermail/cctech/2006-May/020758.html) as I was searching for the subjected Heurikon VME modules. Do you still have the boards that you mentioned you had? If so, are you interested in making them available for sale? I am looking to purchase a total quantity of 3 boards (HK68/V4F) in working conditions with a 90-day warranty. Thank you for reviewing my inquiry. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Best Regards, Winnie Hsiung CentraTech Corporation

13 years, 8 months

Sun 1 Computer LIVES!!!

by nick.allen＠comcast.net

Thanks everyone (especially Bear) for the wonderful help in reviving my Sun 1 Computer (100u to be exact). After extensive CRT repairs, a EPROM reprogram (from Rev N to V100), my Sun is now booting via the Sun2 CPU card and the bwone video board. Will upload screenshots tomorrow! Next step is to acquire a keyboard and mouse. Anyone have a series 1 Parallel Keyboard and mouse? Or have any ideas on what type of keyboard or mouse would be compatible (if I was able to rewire to DB25). It appears to be a serial protocol, are the old RJ45 keyboards of the same format? Other ideas? Thanks a million, you are the best! -Nick

13 years, 8 months

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