test-drb

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

101090 discussions

by jules.richardson99＠gmail.com

Hmm, have people on here ever found a *sensible* way of defining our interests such that it's obvious we're *not* interested in that x86 clone PC running Windows that you bought in 2002 and have just unearthed in your garage? I've been trying to put the word about a bit locally that I'm interested in rescuing vintage machines, but boy is it ever a struggle - sifting through offers of "very big, old computers" that turn out to just be PCs running a decade-old version of MS Windows is getting a little tiring (that's when the "very big, old computer" doesn't turn out to be just a CRT monitor, of course, which happened to me twice last week) Maybe someone's cracked this particular nut and got the wording down just right - or maybe everyone just lives with it. Setting a cut-off date of 1990 (say) wouldn't work, I think, because a) it might cut out a few interesting non-PC/non-Apple items, and b) a lot of people out there really seem to have no idea how *new* the item that they have is. Idle thoughts for an afternoon, anyway... cheers Jules

14 years, 3 months

DEC Boot PROMs; Looking for Old PROM Programmer

by mcquiggi＠sfu.ca

Hi All: I have been lurking for several years, although I was quite active in the retrocomputing community before that. Work and other pleasures kept me a bit inactive until my retirement last summer. Just coming up for air! I have several old DEC systems, including pdp-8s, pdp-11s, and VAXen. I am getting going on them again. I have acquired some new (NOS I suppose) 82S131 ROM chips, and am looking to write some boot ROMs for my 11/34. Specifically, these are chips that fit into an M9312 Unibus terminator/boot ROM card. I want to create RX01 and RX02 boot ROMs. In DEC-speak, these are 753A9 and 811A9 part numbers. The ROM images are available through Don North at (http://www.ak6dn.dyndns.org/PDP-11/M9312/). Thanks Don! I have a one-size-fits-all new-fangled EPROM/PROM programmer, and I thought I had it made when I saw the chips. Unfortunately, my programmer is too new to handle these chips. Sigh! I wonder if anyone has a programmer they will either part with; or who I could send the 82S131 ROM blanks to, for programming. Alternatively, if anyone has spares of the these chips (753A9 and 811A9), I can swap you blanks for them. Thanks and I am looking forward to becoming active on the list and in the hobby/fixation again! Kevin mcquiggi at sfu.ca

14 years, 3 months

Ohio Scientific Challenger 1P

by jon＠jonworld.com

All, I've come across one of these systems. Is there any interest in these? There are 3 RCA jacks on the back, but they aren't labelled. I know that 2 are for a tape recorder and one is video, but which is which? Anyone know off-hand? I'd like to verify if it works/runs OK. It belongs to a friend of mine and he needs to get as much cash out of it as possible. Any ideas/offers are welcome. Thanks! -- -Jon Jonathan Katz, Indianapolis, IN.

14 years, 3 months

Does anyone have any use for UltraSCSI hard disks?

by lproven＠gmail.com

Not sure if SCSI-3 is too modern. I have some plain ol' SCSI2 ones going up soon, too. Anyway, I have just listed a couple of ST19171W drives on the Bay of E: items 270900073846 & 270900074301, I believe. Please excuse the pimping - just thought someone might be interested. Opening price, 99p. (A buck fifty, roughly.) -- Liam Proven ? Profile: http://lproven.livejournal.com/profile Email: lproven at cix.co.uk ? GMail/G+/Twitter/Flickr/Facebook: lproven MSN: lproven at hotmail.com ? Skype/AIM/Yahoo/LinkedIn: liamproven Tel: +44 20-8685-0498 ? Cell: +44 7939-087884

14 years, 3 months

DEC terminals for New England Digital Synclavier II

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

> The genuine VT100 has a white phosphor IIRC, but the VT640 I > say had a green phosphor CRT fitted. All the DEC CRT terminals were available with customers choice of green, white, or amber CRT's. Probably some other phosphors I didn't see too. The default phosphor was white for the VT100. My distant memory tells me that VT100-LC was the order code for the green phosphor I liked best (P31, long glow?). By the time of the VT-220, amber was really popular. Tim.

14 years, 3 months

Seattle Retro-Computing Society's 1st 2012 meeting: Sat. Jan. 28th

by searetcompsoc＠gmail.com

Come one, come all, to the Seattle Retro-Computing Society's first monthly meeting of 2012! It will be held Saturday, January 28th from 11:30 AM to 5:00 PM (please note our new, later starting time). Do you do any of the following with old computers? Will you be near Seattle on Saturday? + Use, collect, and/or restore them + Play games on them + Write programs for them + Develop new hardware for them + Help other people do any of the above If your answer was "yes," then the SRCS is for you! We exist so you can show off your awesome stuff, bounce ideas off of fellow enthusiasts, and be inspired by one another's achievements, plans and aspirations. No idea is too big or too small, and we're not picky about what flavor of vintage machine you prefer! Come on down and tell us about it! The meetings are graciously hosted by the Living Computer Museum, which is gradually fitting out a computer museum in Seattle's SODO neighborhood. There will be refreshments, a Buy-Sell-Free-Trade table, and enough table space & power to set up anything you may want to show off! For further details, please see our web page at http://www.seattleretrocomputing.com/ and our mailing list at http://groups.google.com/group/seattle-retrocomp . Hope to see you there! Gordon "gsteemso" Steemson SRCS agitator-in-chief -- The Seattle Retro-Computing Society http://www.seattleretrocomputing.com/

14 years, 3 months

DEC Application Note AP-M-017

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

Does anyone have a copy of the DEC Application Note AP-M-017 for the M730 and M731 bus interface modules? -- Michael Thompson

14 years, 3 months

Availability of 36-bit systems [was RE: new haul, serious goodies]

by RichA＠vulcan.com

From: Wolfgang Eichberger Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 1:34 PM > you're right, Ethan. Playing with a real 36bit Machine would be a good > pleasure. Personally, I never had the chance to work on one - except > virtual ones. It'd be great to see one in action - live, but as far as I > found out nothing survived here in Austria (correct me if I am wrong). You can always play on our Tops-10 and TOPS-20 systems, which are assuredly very real hardware. Just use the "Request a Login" button on our home page at http://www.LivingComputerMuseum.org/ to sign up for free accounts. Rich Alderson Vintage Computing Sr. Systems Engineer Vulcan, Inc. 505 5th Avenue S, Suite 900 Seattle, WA 98104 mailto:RichA at vulcan.com mailto:RichA at LivingComputerMuseum.org http://www.LivingComputerMuseum.org/

14 years, 3 months

Ohio Scientific Challenger 1P

by billdeg＠degnanco.com

> >Subject: Ohio Scientific Challenger 1P > >All, > >I've come across one of these systems. Is there any interest in these? > >There are 3 RCA jacks on the back, but they aren't labelled. I know >that 2 are for a tape recorder and one is video, but which is which? >Anyone know off-hand? I'd like to verify if it works/runs OK. > >It belongs to a friend of mine and he needs to get as much cash out of >it as possible. Any ideas/offers are welcome. > >Thanks! > >-- >-Jon >Jonathan Katz, Indianapolis, IN. Here is a link to the manual http://vintagecomputer.net/OSI/Challenger_1P/C1P-UserManual.pdf Here is a link to my hacked up OSI 1P just to make the point that no two are going to be alike, the video could be different than the users guide. http://vintagecomputer.net/OSI/Challenger_1P/ Note - the 1P is the same thing as a Superboard II with a chassis/cover. Bill

14 years, 3 months

P112 kits for sale

by drb＠msu.edu

How does the smt/through-hole discussion qualify as NOT hijacking the P112 thread? </snark> De

14 years, 3 months

Tektronix 4113 Host Programmer's Manual available

by legalize＠xmission.com

<http://manx.classiccmp.org/collections/legalize/tektronix/061-2616-01_4113_…> -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 version available for download <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com/the-direct3d-graphics-pipeline/> Legalize Adulthood! <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>

14 years, 3 months

Cray-1 on an FPGA

by lproven＠gmail.com

This has garnered a lot of attention for me on Twitter and Facebook today. Hardware & case: http://chrisfenton.com/homebrew-cray-1a/ The hunt for software: http://chrisfenton.com/cray-1-digital-archeology/ Helping recover the OS: http://blog.archive.org/2011/09/03/hard-drive-archaeology-and-hackerspaces/ -- Liam Proven ? Profile: http://lproven.livejournal.com/profile Email: lproven at cix.co.uk ? GMail/G+/Twitter/Flickr/Facebook: lproven MSN: lproven at hotmail.com ? Skype/AIM/Yahoo/LinkedIn: liamproven Tel: +44 20-8685-0498 ? Cell: +44 7939-087884

14 years, 3 months

P112 kits for sale

by dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu

I have seven P112 kits for sale. One will ship immediately. The other six will ship a week later, which is when I expect some memory chips to arrive. I'm taking orders first-come first-served, one per customer and ONLY from people who don't have a P112 already. The price is $160 shipped in the US. For outside the US, I expect the charge to be $10 more. These kits include everything you need to end up with a working P112 computer except disk drives, drive cables, power supply, and terminal. You also get a copy of the Walnut Creek CP/N CDROM and Rlee Peter's Archive. Email me with your intent to buy and I'll invoice the first seven. -- David Griffith dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text. Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing? A: Top-posting. Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

14 years, 3 months

diskpacks available

by quapla＠xs4all.nl

As I'm reducing my stash of DEC items I have the following diskpacks available : 8x RA60 @ Eur 5/piece 20x RL02 @ Eur 25/piece 3x RL02 @ Eur 5/piece 2x RK06 @ Eur 10/piece They are all in the Netherlands, pick-up is preferred. Ed -- Dit is een HTML vrije email / This is an HTML free email.

14 years, 3 months

cassette interface of Panasonic HHC

by raycretired＠charter.net

Hi Eric. I am looking for the printer out of the Rl-P1004A printer /computer combination. Do you have one that you would sell that is operational? Raymond C Phillips, LT USN Retired raycretired at charter.net 10104 West Argent Road, Pasco, WA 99301 509 646 3485. If interested please quote a price?

14 years, 3 months

Brazilian curiosity: Schematic of many brazilian

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

Al writes: > On 1/23/12 10:48 AM, Richard Atkinson wrote: >> I suggest using Megaupload.com >very funny. Just to prove that I am at least 10 years behind the times and therefore on-topic, I'm going to suggest Napster.

14 years, 3 months

FFS: Plessy/Cipher Tape docs

by silent700＠gmail.com

I have completed scanning the manuals for the Cipher 1/4" Tape drive and its QBUS interface, along with some Plessy software that came with it. They are posted here: http://chiclassiccomp.org/docs/index.php?dir=/computing These aren't in my hard copy preservation pile, so if anyone wants them (one 3-ring binder, about 3" thick) I will send them to you for shipping cost from 60070. Otherwise, to the recycle bin they go. -j

14 years, 3 months

Extended Deadline Call for paper Computing Frontier 2012

by computing.comp＠study.beds.ac.uk

### Apologies for cross-posting / multiple copies ### Call for Paper ACM conference Computing Frontier 2012 We are Glad to invite you to participate in the upcoming conference, IEEE computing Frontier 2012 The 9th ACM International Conference on Computing Frontiers May 15-17, 2012, Cagliari, Italy Sponsored by ACM SIGMICRO http://www.computingfrontiers.org The increasing complexity, performance, cost and energy efficiency needs of current and future applications require novel and innovative approaches for the design of computing systems. Boundaries between state of the art and revolutionary innovation constitute the computing frontiers that must be pushed forward to provide the support required for the advancement of science, engineering and information technology. The Computing Frontiers conference focuses on a wide spectrum of advanced technologies and radically new solutions relevant to the development of the whole spectrum of computer systems, from embedded to high-performance computing. Authors are invited to submit full papers to the main conference and Ph.D. students are invited to submit an extended abstract for a special Ph.D. forum and poster session We seek contributions on novel computing paradigms, computational models, application paradigms, computer architecture, development environments, compilers, or operating environments. Papers are solicited in, but not limited to, the following areas: ? Applications, programming and performance analysis of advanced architectures ? Next-generation high performance computing and systems ? Accelerators: many-core, GPU, custom, reconfigurable, embedded, and hybrid ? Defect- and variability-tolerant designs, dependable computing ? Power and energy efficiency: architectures, compilers and algorithms ? Virtualization and virtual machines ? Cloud-, internet-scale, service-oriented and smart infrastructure computing ? Compilers and operating systems: adaptive, run-time, and auto-tuning ? System management and security ? Impact of novel technology (e.g. NV memory, silicon photonics) on computing ? Computational neuroscience, neuromorphic and biologically-inspired architectures ? Computational aspects of intelligent systems and robotics ? Reconfigurable, autonomic, organic, and self-organizing computation and systems ? Interfaces and visualization for emerging applications and systems ? Novel frontiers in computational science and scientific data repositories ? Storing, managing, analysing, and searching large data sets (" big data ") ? Sensors and sensor networks. EXTENDED DEADLINES Paper Submission Deadline January 25, 2012 Ph.D. Forum Deadline February 15, 2012 Author Notification March 7, 2012

14 years, 3 months

PDP-8/I at the RICM

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

We reformed the capacitors in all three power supplies in the PDP-8/I at the RICM and powered on the CPU to see if it would show any signs of life. It randomly lit some lights and would not react to the front panel switches. Looks like we have some debugging to do. The front panel power switch was corroded and burned. Any idea where we can get a replacement? Were can we get some Oshinos OL-1 bulbs to repair the front panel? Does anyone have diagnostics for the 8/I on DECtape? -- Michael Thompson

14 years, 3 months

Thinking of keyboard interfaces (HP9915)

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

With this discussion of interfacing PC keybaords to vintage machines, I've been thinking about a project I've had in mind for some time now.. Firstly soem backgroud. The HP9915 is essentially an HP85 in a half-rack-width metal case. It could be run on a bench, or there was an HP mounting kit top put it in an instruemtn rack. Electornically, it's similar to the HP85. There is a buit-in tape drive. Ther is no printer. There is no built-in monitor, but there's BNC socket o nthe back that outputs TV-rate composite video (so getting a display is no problem). The keyboard controled IC is present, but obviously there's no built-in keyboard. There are some user-definable buttons on the front which are wired as the programamble function keys on an HP85. The keybaord row and commn lines are also buffered to TTL levels and broufht out on a DB25 socket on the rear of the machine. There was an HP keyboard that conencted here, this is basically just a matrix of switches wired to a DB25 plug. It's the same matrix as the HP85 keyboard, and that one is docuemtned in the service manual (although with at least one typo!). However, the keyboards are much harder to find than the machines. It's a 10*8 matrix with separate lines for the shift, control and capslock keys (these lines are simply grounded by the the appropraite key) My first question in designing this is : Is there ever a time when you press 2 keys simultaneously on an HP85 (other than shift or control along with another key). In onter words, is there ever a time when 2 locations of the keyboard matrix are closed at the same time? The reason I ask is that I can't think of one, and if such a case doesn't have to be considered there's a very simnple interface (a mutlipezer to sleect a scan line drivign the enable input of a demultiplexer to select an input line) that could be used. It'd be 2 or 3 cheap TTL ICs. I'd not want to connect a microcontroller directly to an external connector in any case (risk of damaging it, I notice that HP had much the same idea about the keyboard controller IC in the 9915, all the signals brought out on the connector are buffered). Thing is, it's a lot easier to replace a non-programmed TTL IC than having to program a repalcement microcontroller. So I'd either want to add buffers even if I was goign to try to use the microcontroller direcrly (which for reasons we've already discussed I think it 'pushign it'). The mux/demux ICs wouldn't need any more buffering IMHO, they could be simply wired to the connector. Of course if I do need to be able to have multiple 'keys pressed' at the same time, then I would haev to use the crosspoint switch or dual port RAM solutions we've already discussed. -tony

14 years, 3 months

PS/2 Keyboard adapter for TRS-80?

by alhartman＠yahoo.com

Does anyone on the list know if there is an adapter for TRS-80s (Model I/III/IV) to use PS/2 Keyboards? Cloud-9 makes one for the Color Computer, but the keyboard matrix between the two families are slightly different. My friend has a Model IV with a bad keyboard (the thin film ribbon is damaged) and replacement keyboards don't come up on eBay all that often. Thanks! Al Hartman

14 years, 3 months

pdp8a assistance tapes terminals i dunno?

by dm561＠torfree.net

----- Original Message: Date: Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:49:57 +0000 From: Liam Proven <lproven at gmail.com> On 22 January 2012 18:55, MikeS <dm561 at torfree.net> wrote: > ----- Original Message: > Date: Sat, 21 Jan 2012 13:59:25 +0000 > From: Pete Turnbull <pete at dunnington.plus.com> > >>> I dislike hyperterminal fairly intensely... > > >> Just curious: what is it specifically about HyperTerminal that you not >> only dislike, but dislike "fairly intensely" (other than that it used to >> be supplied by Microsoft and runs in Windows)? > As for me: I really dislike the business of selecting a session, attaching > it to a specified modem device and so on. I want a comms program to just > open up and point me at the serial port; I'll do the dialling, thanks. ------ Different strokes for different folks, I guess; for 'real work', i.e. connecting to an external system/device, I actually like being able to simply click on an appropriate icon and being transparently connected to that system without selecting com ports, dialing numbers, etc. ------ > I do feel that the basic function of a comms program is to be a terminal > emulator, though. HyperTerm compelled you to create a session, install a > modem driver, choose a modem and so on, even if you just wanted to type > ATI1 > ATI2 > ATI3 > ...etc. > If you wanted a dumb terminal session, IIRC, you had to configure a null > modem or a direct cable connection and point it at that. It was just > obstructive. ------ Umm, no, not really; if all you wanted was to talk to a comm port then like any terminal program you selected the comm port, baud rate and handshaking and away you went, optionally saving the configuration to a session in case you wanted to use it again. Of course most of the time you wanted to connect to a _system_ or a _device_ and not a comm port, which would require some additional setup like entering phone numbers, modem configuration parameters, etc. But yes, if what you wanted was to tinker with different baud rates, handshaking, emulations etc. instead of just connecting to whatever, then other terminal programs like Bray's Term, RealTerm, PuTTY etc. or even DOS's ProcommPlus or Telix were indeed more flexible, and I use them all as well >from time to time.

14 years, 3 months

pdp8a assistance tapes terminals i dunno?

by dm561＠torfree.net

----- Original Message: Date: Sat, 21 Jan 2012 13:59:25 +0000 From: Pete Turnbull <pete at dunnington.plus.com> > I dislike hyperterminal fairly intensely... Just curious: what is it specifically about HyperTerminal that you not only dislike, but dislike "fairly intensely" (other than that it used to be supplied by Microsoft and runs in Windows)?

14 years, 3 months

DEC terminals for New England Digital Synclavier II

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

ADM-3A was for a long time the lowest common denominator in the terminal world. The VT-100 came later but became the next lowest common denominator. (Ignoring the VT52 in between.) VT640 is a VT100 with a third-party (Retrographics) graphics board fitted into it. They were the cat's meow for plotting and graphics if you didn't have a real Tek 4010 on your desk. I am guessing that there are additional graphics features the Synclavier could use on a VT640 but that's just a guess. ADM3A and/or VT100 emulation are pretty much expected on any terminal you would've bought in the late 70's onwards. And most all terminal emulation software for PC's claims to do them too (with different degrees of fidelity; MS-DOS Kermit really remains one of the best, with most windows terminal emulation packages choosing to emulate other terminal emulation packages rather than the real terminal!)

14 years, 3 months

Cromemco FDC

by dm561＠torfree.net

----- Original Message: Date: Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:53:19 -0500 From: "Bill Sudbrink" <wh.sudbrink at verizon.net> Subject: RE: Cromemco FDC ... > I run SA-851's on my 16FDC with a simply modified ribbon cable. care to share the details? m

14 years, 3 months

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