test-drb

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101090 discussions

Disposing: IBM Microchannel cards, for free

by guykd＠optusnet.com.au

I'm clearing out some old stuff. These are free (but you pay postage) if anyone wants them. Catch: they are in Sydney Australia. --------------------------- Digital Communications Associates Inc. Circa 1985 IRMAlink IRMA 2 3270 Micro-to-Mainframe communications IRMA 2 supplies the personal computer with direct coaxial connection to an IBM 3174, 3274, 3276 or Integral Terminal Controller with Type A adapters. Includes two completes sets, each: card + documentation + 3 x 3.5" disks with code and drivers. Not in original packing. See http://everist.org/spacejunk/sell/irma.htm --------------------------- DigiBoard MC/8e Intelligent Async serial communications board (8 ports) Circa 1993 One microchannel card plus octopus cable and manuals. Some manuals still in sealed envelopes. In original packing See http://everist.org/spacejunk/sell/mc8e.htm --------------------------- Guy

6 years, 5 months

"First Internet message" and ...

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Fred Cisin > Is that message about 1) history of internet? (THANK YOU for specifying > "internet", otherwise "computer to computer" involves much older history. > ... > those messages were sent on PRECURSORS to the internet, NOT on the > internet. Did you mean "internet" or 'Internet'? The poorly educated cretins at the AP nothwithstanding, those are two different words, with _different meanings_. > Definition and history of the WORD "internet" is also critical > ... > do you know of any actual use of the word/name "internet" prior to the > December 1974 RFC about TCP? I believe the word 'internet' was coined for: V. Cerf and R. Kahn, "A Protocol For Packet Network Intercommunication," IEEE Transactions on Communication, vol. C- 2O, No. 5. May 1974, pp. 637-648. There was earlier work in the general area of connecting computer data networks together, performed in the International Packet Network Working Group (INWG), which had an alternative term 'catenet' which had much the same meaning as 'internet'. (Although little-known, the INWG - not to be confused with the later DARPA-centric group of the same acronym - is documented in two papers, a draft one by Ronda Hauben, and a later one by Alex McKenzie.) I don't know if the term 'internet' was used there before its appearance in the Cerf/Kakhn paper. Interestingly, "Internetworking" is mentioned in RFC604, December 1973, so the word was in circulation in the technical community before the Cerf/Kahn paper came out. "Internet" came along later, when we needed a name for the internet centered around the ARPANET. The need was discussed on the then-central email list for the TCP/IP community (which may have been called 'inwg' - my memory is, alas, fading), and we decided on 'Internet'. I'd previously looked for the first use of 'Internet' in that sense in the RFC's, and found it, but I don't remember what it was! Looking again, there's a lot of 'Internet Protocol' and similar things to sort out; I see an 'Internet' in RFC780, May 1981, but it's marginal (it says "ARPA Internet"); the first 'true' use of 'Internet' on its own in the current meaning which I found was in RFC821, August 1982. Noel

6 years, 5 months

Straight -8 Front Panel

by rodsmallwood52＠btinternet.com

Hi ? Can anybody tell me the dimensions of a Straight-8 Front Panel. - Just the glass section Thanks Rod --

6 years, 5 months

"First Internet message" and ...

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Richard Pope > Isn't the proper term for my network of computers here at home: > internet It depends on what's inside it. An 'internet' is a collection of disparate networks tied together with packet switches which examine the internet-layer headers of the packets passing through them (such boxes are now known as 'routers'). The "internet layer" doesn't appear in the ISO 7-layer model, since the concept didn't appear until after that was done; but you can imagine it as layer '3A', crammed in between 3 ('Network') and 4 ('Transport'). Note that there are a number of networking protocol families that include the internet concept; CHAOS, PUP, XNS and DECnet among them (although there are several versions of DECnet and I no longer remember the details of most of them, so take that one with the proverbial grain, but several had internets). Does does the network in your house use router(s) to tie it together? If so, it's an internet; if not, no. If you have a wireless hub, connected to a CATV modem, you probably have a small piece of 'the Internet' in your house. (See below.) Note that there are still internets (and networks) which are not connected to the Internet - Google for "air gap". > and the term : Internet the proper term for the worldwide collection of > networked computers? Originally 'the Internet' was the large TCP/IP internet centered around the ARPANET, and later the NSFNET. These days, the concept is more diffuse - there was some discussion recently on the internet-history list: http://mailman.postel.org/pipermail/internet-history/ about it, but I'm too lazy to track down the exact messages. Noel

6 years, 5 months

TurboDOS for S-100, IMS or L/F Technologies

by new_castle_j＠yahoo.com

Yes, I was able to determine that the TurboDOS 1.41c disks which would complete my particular setup do exist and that they are in good hands, however I have not been able to get copies of the disks as of yet. I'm hoping that patience will prevail and perhaps another copy will turn up or the copies that I know about might someday become available. The 16-bit 1.43 version that you need is readily available as 5.25" disk images. I've got copies of them and they work well. If you need it on 8" floppy, I can probably convert them using my IMS system to write them to 8". Getting a system up and running is not that difficult, I can guide you through if there's any trouble. Jonathan __________________________________________________________________________________________________ did anything more ever turn up? I'd like to try getting a 16-bit 1.43 running, there is a set of disks on ebay, but the seller has blocked me https://www.ebay.com/itm/193098921854 On 6/28/19 7:17 PM, Jonathan Haddox via cctalk wrote: > Just sending a thanks for the replies from various folks on this list. I was able to recover a partial set of operating system files for my IMS/LF-Technologies S-100 machine from members who dug deep into their archives. It's booting now to a basic single-user TurboDOS 1.4 which proves that my hardware is sound. In order to get what I really want out of this machine, I still need to source a full set of TurboDOS 1.4 drivers (.REL files) from IMS L/F Tech distribution diskettes. I'll be around if they ever turn up. > > Thank You! > > IMS A645 Z-80 Processor > IMS A631 serial/parallel I/O > IMS A930 Floppy controller > IMS A465 64K RAM > IMS 1100 Winchester Hard disk controller > IMS 862 User Processor (Z80) > IMS 1081 User Processor (186) > IMS 1120 Tape Controller On Tuesday, June 11, 2019, 11:55:29 AM CDT, Jonathan Haddox <new_castle_j at yahoo.com> wrote: > > I'm restoring an IMS - L/F Technologies S-100 Bus computer.? I've got all the pieces except for the Operating System.? I'm hoping that someone here may have a disk stashed away.? From the literature I have read, I would need TurboDOS version 1.40a or 1.41c from IMS or L/F Technologies.? I've seen TurboDOS 1.3 versions out in the wild from IMS, but the 1.4 version was greatly enhanced and offered better compatibility with my specific hardware.? I'd be much obliged if anyone can help. > > Thanks, > > Jonathan > new_castle_j? at yahoo

6 years, 5 months

DEC KA650 VAX memory troubleshooting (video)

by joezatarski＠gmail.com

Hey Everyone, I just thought I'd share a video of how I'm going about troubleshooting the bad DRAMs on my MS650 memory board. https://youtu.be/eDMhdAEFEgc I apologize for the shaky-cam, I don't have a tripod, and I needed to do a lot of panning anyway. I will be sharing my notes on the MS650 once I have a chance to write them up properly as well. I wasn't able to find a printset for the RAM card itself, so I assume one doesn't exist in digital form yet. I have documented what bit and memory range each DRAM on the card corresponds to, which may help someone troubleshooting in the future Regards, Joe Zatarski

6 years, 5 months

Who changed the gravitational constant (Dec pdp11 stuff)

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Chris Zach > The MSV11-QC board ... failed startup diagnostics with what looks like > a stuck bit. .. now I need engineering schematics for that board so I > can replace one of the 41256 memory chips. On the positive side it looks like > a pretty obvious stuck bit, just need to know which chip is at that > address and memory location.... I suspect you're out of luck on the prints, I think all there is is the User Manual. Not to worry, it should be pretty easy to create a bit->chip table, I did that for the MSV11-J: https://gunkies.org/wiki/MSV11-J_QBUS_memory#Technical_information when I needed to repair one; it should be pretty easy to duplicate the process for the -Q. I did it with a 2-instruction scope loop, doing a word write to a given location, floating a '1' bit along a word of '0's, looking at the 'data in' pin on the DRAM chips. I see the -Q has a 17x8 array of DRAMs, so 16 bits of data and a parity bit (odd chip out); so in some ways even easier than the -J (which had ECC). 8 banks, but with a little luck they're in some sort of logical order. I have a -QA, of the later etch rev, which is the same etch as your -QC; so I can help with the mapping process, if you need it; let me know. Noel

6 years, 5 months

UniBone: Linux-to-DEC-UNIBUS-bridge, year #1

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Rob Doyle > http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/unibus/RH11-C_Engineering_Drawings.pdf Oooh, thanks ever so much. Not sure how I missed that when I looked on BitSavers for RH11 stuff! Very illuminating - eventually! The M7294-YA seems to be a manual ECO to the M7294; there's a detailed rework list on page 6 of the PDF. I'm still trying to work out what the changes do. E66 is a 'component carrier' header, so it seems like in part the ECO adds a bunch of option-controlling jumpers there (see pg. 2 for a table of what they do). The main thing, though, seems to be the addition of E22, a 74191 binary up/down counter, on page DBCA (pg 10 of the PDF). It seems to modify the operation of 'Bus Hog' mode - maybe to do 16-cycle bursts? (All the bit inputs and outputs are unused; only the Max/Min output - pin 12 - is connected to anything.) That would make sense; with UNIBUS A and B tied together, the original Bus Hog (below) would lock out the CPU from the RH11 until the end of the transfer. Actually, though, even without the cross-connect, having the RH11 going flat out Bus Hog might lock out the CPU from the _KS10 memory_... > However there is plenty of DEC documentation that mentions that the > RH11C has a "bus hog" mode for the KS10 disks so that the Unibus can do > back-to-back 18-bit transactions. The RH11-AB has Bus Hog too; see Section 4.12.10, "BUS HOG Mode", pg. 4-22 (59 of the PDF) in "RH11-AB Option Description" for details; it "hold[s] the Unibus ... until the required number of words have been transferred". Noel

6 years, 5 months

UniBone: Linux-to-DEC-UNIBUS-bridge, year #1

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Rob Doyle > Your memory is correct. The RH11C was the buffered version of the RH11 Umm, both the -AB and -B have FIFOs - confirmed from the prints. (I have an M7294 if we want to confirm that the prints aren't confused.) Now, maybe the -C has a _bigger_ FIFO (e.g. large enough to hold a complete sector), I could definitely see that. What's your source - I'd like to study/cite it? The only KS10 prints I can find don't show the RP11-C? Noel

6 years, 5 months

UniBone: Linux-to-DEC-UNIBUS-bridge, year #1

by j_hoppe＠t-online.de

>>>> *What it is:* >>>> In case you forgot: UniBone is a plugin board to DEC PDP-11 UNIBUS >>>> systems containing a BeagleBone Black. >>>> >>>> See http://retrocmp.com/projects/unibone. > > Is it possible to get it as a "kit+" where the SMD components only are already soldered onto > the bare board, but all the rest left for those who are ok with a normal soldering iron but > not confident on doing the SMD? Yes, can do that. Joerg

6 years, 5 months

UniBone: Linux-to-DEC-UNIBUS-bridge, year #1

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> Although, with the 3 SPC slots - although they are on UNIBUS A, and only > UNIBUS B has the 18-bit capability Duhhhh. My brain finally turned on. It is of course perfectly possible to run UNIBUS _A_ (where the SPC slots are) in 18-bit mode too - although the _RH11_ can't use it that way. But you won't be using the RH11 anyway, so who cares? Also, I took another look at the KS10 tech manual, and they do in fact use use an M9200 'thin' jumper (although it's mis-labelled "M9300" in the diagram - that diagram has a number of errors, including the "M8014" in the UNIBUS 'A' In slot - they must mean an M9014 [UNIBUS to 3 flat cables] instead) to link the two UNIBI together. Which answers the question of how the KS10 CPU gained access to UNIBUS A (where the device registers, interrupts, etc are) when it also had to be connected to UNIBUS B (for 18-bit data transfers). So I think all our questions are answerered (except for the -AB/-C difference issue). Noel

6 years, 5 months

TurboDOS for S-100, IMS or L/F Technologies

by new_castle_j＠yahoo.com

I'm restoring an IMS - L/F Technologies S-100 Bus computer.? I've got all the pieces except for the Operating System.? I'm hoping that someone here may have a disk stashed away.? From the literature I have read, I would need TurboDOS version 1.40a or 1.41c from IMS or L/F Technologies.? I've seen TurboDOS 1.3 versions out in the wild from IMS, but the 1.4 version was greatly enhanced and offered better compatibility with my specific hardware.? I'd be much obliged if anyone can help. Thanks, Jonathan new_castle_j at yahoo

6 years, 5 months

UniBone: Linux-to-DEC-UNIBUS-bridge, year #1

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> the Revision J prints (September 1993). Ooops, typo: '1973'. Noel

6 years, 5 months

UniBone: Linux-to-DEC-UNIBUS-bridge, year #1

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Eric Smith > One version of the RH11 added a small FIFO (called a "silo" by DEC, > IIRC) in the data path. I don't recall which suffix that was, nor > whether it was the version used in the KS10. Well, the -AB has the FIFO, according to the Revision J prints (September 1993). It's on the M7294 card (see drawings DBCC/D). Interestingly, I have prints for an RH11-B! That appears to differ by having an M7295-YA; that differs from the M7295 by having a hand ECO (i.e. same etch), part of which can been seen in the lower left corner of drawing BCTB - the two one-shots. As to the RH11-C, I looked, and we do have the KS10 prints (MP00540, mis-labelled "KS10_MaintSch" :-), and it does include RH11 prints. Alas, those show an M7294, not the claimed M9294-YA. :-( The RH11 sheets are also out of order (some are at the very back of the pack), and DBCD seems to be missing entirely. They are revision "L", and the RH11-BA prints are revision "H", FWLTW. Noel

6 years, 5 months

UniBone: Linux-to-DEC-UNIBUS-bridge, year #1

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: J?rg Hoppe > UniBone can be used in UNIBUS-A SPC slots in 18 bit mode without any > extra adapters? And can emulate an RH11-C there As far as I can see, yes. > even if the RH11 is supposed to run in UNIBUS B? Well, all RH11's have both UNIBUS A and UNIBUS B; under program control, one can select either A or B to be the one where the DMA from the RH11 happens. (Access to the registers in the RH11 is only possible via UNIBUS A, and interrupts from it can only happen on A.) I'm not sure exactly what your question is, but I hope that answers it! :-) > We've seen early SPC slots (PDP-11/40, '45) without NPG wired, > 'cause SPC was apparently originally meant for "Small" peripherals > without DMA. Is KS10 UNIBUS-A wired to be DMA capable? Good question! Well, the RH11 is designed so that it can other devices 'downstream' from it, on both UNIBI. So that says that NPG is sent _through_ the RH11 on both UNIBI - but doesn't speak to the SPC slots. For that, one needs to look at the backplane wire list - which isn't in the drawings! :-( However, I happen to have an RH11-AB backplane, and it has the AA1-AB2 jumpers for NPG on those three slots. Same thing for interrupts - both UNIBI are wired to for them (although the grant lines for UNIBUS B don't go into the RH11 cards, they are only on the RH11 backplane). Noel

6 years, 5 months

Who changed the gravitational constant (Dec pdp11 stuff)

by cz＠alembic.crystel.com

I do not remember these RL02 drives being this heavy..... https://i.imgur.com/7BwIwas.jpg On a slightly more interesting note it looks like I only have RL02 drives (3) and do not have any RL01 drives. That could be a problem if I want to re-load Cobol 81 onto this RSTS/E system. However the RL02's *should* allow me to reboot RSX11M 4.2 and repair the instance of RSX11M 4.0 that is on my Fujitsu drive (damaged). Likewise my RT11 images might be on RL01. However I do have the Plessey disk drive that emulated 4 RK05's on a fixed platter and a removable platter disk subsystem (which uses disks that look like RL01's but are *NOT* RL01's) and I *think* I had either RT11 with MUBASIC or a really weird Gen of RSX11M and RT11. Though I'm not sure if RSX11M would run on RK05's as boot devices (2.5mb of space) The dig continues. This weekend I'll see if I can fire a RL02 up.

6 years, 5 months

ISO: I/O panel for Wangco ST-2222 (or similar) drive

by derschjo＠gmail.com

Hi all -- Picked up a mostly complete Wangco ST-2222 drive recently. This is a removable pack drive with one fixed platter, nominally Diablo 30 / RK05 compatible in terms of interface, but uses IBM 5540-style packs. It's in good condition and I'd like to restore it and see if I can interface it to an RK11. The part I'm missing is the I/O panel -- on this particular model there was a breakout board that bolted to the rear of the rack the drive was mounted in (rather than being mounted to the back of the drive), and it contained some buffers, level shifters, drive select logic, and the actual interface connectors. There were two variants of this -- 301062 was the Diablo 30/31 style (with the big Winchester blocks) and 301291 had a more generic interface with what looks like centronics-style connectors. (You can see assembly drawings of them in the schematic here: http://bitsavers.org/pdf/wangco/301462-002_Super_Series_Magnetic_Disk_Opera…, pages 55 and 69). I figure it's a long shot, but does anyone have one of these two boards going spare, or have a similar drive (others in the ST family share the same panel, it seems) that is in unrestorable/parts-donor condition they could steal one from? Thanks, Josh

6 years, 5 months

UniBone: Linux-to-DEC-UNIBUS-bridge, year #1

by j_hoppe＠t-online.de

>2. When doing 18bit on UNIBUS-A we put all kind of signal levels >on parity lines PA,PB = DATA<16:17>. >Won't the KS10 CPU interpret these as real BUS parity errors generated >by some UNIBUS-A device? I asked nonsense here: if UNIBUS-A is 18bit too, no parity will be evaluted of course. Joerg

6 years, 5 months

UniBone: Linux-to-DEC-UNIBUS-bridge, year #1

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

> > Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2019 22:13:30 -0500 > From: Chris Zach <cz at alembic.crystel.com> > Subject: Re: UniBone: Linux-to-DEC-UNIBUS-bridge, year #1 > > One of my long term questions has been to see if a 2020 could talk to a > RM80. It should be possible as the Massbus personality module talks to > the bus at 3600 RPM just like the RM03, and they did manage to get the > R80 to talk to the 11/730 with a dedicated memory channel connection > (though maybe the R80 was heavily interleaved) > > C > ITS could boot from an RM80 on a 2020. -- Michael Thompson

6 years, 5 months

UniBone: Linux-to-DEC-UNIBUS-bridge, year #1

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> maybe the two can be jumpered together (the way the two UNIBI in the > KD11-A/D can). Actually, now that I think about it, that might be the reason for the order of the UNIBUS A out B in/out slots in the backplane: https://gunkies.org/wiki/RH11_MASSBUS_controller#Backplane_layout One of those thin M9200 UNIBUS jumpers could be used to connect the A out to the B in. > Depends what you mean by "full-length"; no MUD (hex) slots, but yes to > SPC slots (SPC) Oooh, typo: 'SPC slots (quad)' Noel `

6 years, 5 months

UniBone: Linux-to-DEC-UNIBUS-bridge, year #1

by j_hoppe＠t-online.de

* *Messages sorted by:* [ date ] <http://www.classiccmp.org/pipermail/cctech/2019-November/date.html#41793> [ thread ] <http://www.classiccmp.org/pipermail/cctech/2019-November/thread.html#41793> [ subject ] <http://www.classiccmp.org/pipermail/cctech/2019-November/subject.html#41793> [ author ] <http://www.classiccmp.org/pipermail/cctech/2019-November/author.html#41793> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> Although, with the 3 SPC slots - although they are on UNIBUS A, and only >> UNIBUS B has the 18-bit capability > > It is of course perfectly possible to run UNIBUS _A_ (where the SPC slots are) > in 18-bit mode too - although the _RH11_ can't use it that way. But you won't > be using the RH11 anyway, so who cares? > >Also, I took another look at the KS10 tech manual, and they do in fact use use >an M9200 'thin' jumper (although it's mis-labelled "M9300" in the diagram - >that diagram has a number of errors, including the "M8014" in the UNIBUS 'A' >In slot - they must mean an M9014 [UNIBUS to 3 flat cables] instead) to link >the two UNIBI together. Which answers the question of how the KS10 CPU gained >access to UNIBUS A (where the device registers, interrupts, etc are) when it >also had to be connected to UNIBUS B (for 18-bit data transfers). > >So I think all our questions are answerered (except for the -AB/-C difference >issue). So I understand right: UniBone can be used in UNIBUS-A SPC slots in 18 bit mode without any extra adapters? And can emulate an RH11-C there, even if the RH11 is supposed to run in UNIBUS B? Thats good news. Two more things to check: 1. We've seen early SPC slots (PDP-11/40, '45) without NPG wired, 'cause SPC was apparently originally meant for "Small" peripherals without DMA. Is KS10 UNIBUS-A wired to be DMA capable? 2. When doing 18bit on UNIBUS-A we put all kind of signal levels on parity lines PA,PB = DATA<16:17>. Won't the KS10 CPU interpret these as real BUS parity errors generated by some UNIBUS-A device? best regards Joerg

6 years, 5 months

UniBone: Linux-to-DEC-UNIBUS-bridge, year #1

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: J?rg Hoppe > did DEC construct 18bit mutants for a few PDP-11 peripherals to run > them in KS10? Yes and no. There were two 18-bit UNIBUS devices, but they were originally done for the PDP-15 (DEC's last 18-bit machine). They were the RK11-E and the RH11-AB. When the KS10 appeared, the RH11 was re-purposed for it. (How the RH11-C in the KS20 differed I'm not sure. I know it used the M7294-YA instead of the M7294, but I'm not sure how that differed. It's the MASSBUS data buffer and control, so it's something MASSBUS related. The RH11-AB already has the 18-bit stuff; see 4.16 "Logic Diagram DBCE", pg. 4-28 (65 of the PDF) in "RH11-AB Option Description" for details; it's poorly documented.) > From: Daniel Seagraves > There's still the problem of the disk Unibus itself to solve - the disk > UBA doesn't terminate into a normal Unibus. It goes into the disk RH11 > directly, and the bus is terminated on the far end of the RH11. ... The > ideal scenario would be if the first slot of a RH11 (where the bus > jumper comes in) can accommodate the (quad card) Unibone without > issues, the rest of the RH11 boards can simply be pulled without > breaking bus continuity The RH11-C seems like it's very similar to the RH11-AB, physically. Both the 'disk' and 'tape' RH11-C's seem like they are separate 9-slot system units, with the same layout (in terms of boards->slots). Both have 3 Small Peripheral Controller slots, like the -AB. The first slot is purpose-wired to hold the M7296 and M7297: https://gunkies.org/wiki/RH11_MASSBUS_controller#Backplane_layout so 'no' to that idea. Although, with the 3 SPC slots - although they are on UNIBUS A, and only UNIBUS B has the 18-bit capability - although maybe the two can be jumpered together (the way the two UNIBI in the KD11-A/D can). (IIRC, the "RH11 Peripheral Controller Course" may talk about that.) I don't think things will work with the RH11 boards pulled, unless you manually jumper whatever pins are used to feed NPG and BG? through the device. Probably the easiest thing is to change the bus address of the RH11. > From: Chris Zach > I seem to recall that the RH11C included a full length unibus slot > after the boards Depends what you mean by "full-length"; no MUD (hex) slots, but yes to SPC slots (SPC) - as above. Noel

6 years, 5 months

UniBone: Linux-to-DEC-UNIBUS-bridge, year #1

by j_hoppe＠t-online.de

>> Well, I was expecting to have to do all of the work myself. There?s still the problem of the disk Unibus itself to solve > -the disk UBA doesn?t terminate into a normal Unibus. > It goes into the disk RH11 directly, and the bus is terminated on the far end of the RH11. I?d either have to buy another Unibus backplane to plug the Unibone into, or find a way to plug the cables from the UBA directly into the Unibone. >This still leaves the issue of terminating the bus. > The ideal scenario would be if the first slot of a RH11 (where the bus jumper comes in) can accommodate the (quad card) > Unibone without issues, the rest of the RH11 boards can simply be pulled without breaking bus continuity, > and the normal terminator in the far slot can be used. I haven?t looked at any prints or anything yet. I gave UniBone a set of pinheaders for all UNIBUS signals in parallel to the gold fingers. So an adapter board can be designed, which plugs onto the pinheaders, contains some provision for the UBA connection and contains the terminator array. The UBA-UniBone adapter may consist of two parts coupled via flat cable, with flipchip plugs on one end if necessary. All this is only mildly annoying, did similar before, for example http://www.retrocmp.com/tools/uniprobe > Right, there were two unibus ports on a 2020: The first one went to the > RH11-C and was very odd in that "Hog Mode DMA" was enabled to allow the > device to just stream data as much as it wanted to the controller. This > would mean that other devices on the bus would time out and not have > their interrupts serviced, but since the RH11 was the only thing it > didn't matter (and I think this is why you could use RM03's instead of > RM02's: The whole track could be read and buffered to the 2020's UBA > controller in one shot. > That would have to be programmed into the BBB software to ignore the 16 word > DMA limits and go as fast as the drive can go). As the disk drives are also emulated, they are not putting any constraints on the DMA logic: give them the speed and DMA length you prefer. Joerg

6 years, 5 months

Got it: RD54 formatting write protect solved

by cz＠alembic.crystel.com

Figured it out at last. On a BA23, the RD54 needs to be jumpered at the disk as UNIT 3, and I had it as unit 4. Thus the jumper needed to be between 3 and C, I had it one stake over between 4 and C. Fixed that, did the format where you do not select Autoformat, and downline load UIT and you get the disk going tick, tick, tick as the sectors are formatted. Here is Terry Kennedy's instructions updated to a BA23 instead of a BA123: DR> STA CHANGE HW (L) ? Y # UNITS (D) ? 1 UNIT 0 Enter controller IP address (O) 172150 ? What unit do you want to format [0-255] (D) 0 ? 0 Would you like to revector a single LBN only [Y/N] (L) N ? Do you want to use the "AUTOFORMAT" Mode [Y/N] (L) Y ? N Would you like to use the RCT - Revector known bad blocks [Y/N] (L) N ? **** WARNING **** [text about don't proceed if you're just kidding deleted] Do you wish to continue [Y/N] (L) Y ? MSCP Controller Model: 19 Microcode Version: 4 Do you want to use manufacturing bad block information [Y/N] (A) N ? Downline load UIT [Y/N] (A) Y ? UIT Drive Name ------------------------------------------------------- 0 RD51 1 RD52 part # 30-21721-02 (1 light on front panel) 2 RD52 part # 30-23227-02 (2 lights on front panel) 3 RD53 4 RD31 5 RD54 6 RD32 Enter Unit Identifier Table (UIT) [0-7] (D) ? 5 Continue if bad block information is inaccessible [Y/N] (A) N ? Y Please type in the serial number [8-10 digits] (A) ? 013284212 (use whatever you want) Formatting of Drive 1 Begin. [a long sequences of messages is displayed here, 1 per minute, showing the progress of formatting and what step is in progress on which block number.] Format Completed. And Bob's your uncle!

6 years, 5 months

Meantime, fixing RX50's.

by cz＠alembic.crystel.com

So while trying to figure out this XXDP format error (the FCT Write protect enabled one that's stopping me from formatting an RD54) I spent a bit of time copying the floppy to a backup disk. My RX50 was *very* flakey, throwing errors so I pulled it to see what was up. Opened the unit and sure enough: The disk head could use a cleaning, and more important the little pad on the other side came off when I touched it. Apparently the glue holding it in has decayed in the past 30 years. Drat. Used isopropyl and q tips to clean the heads, then broke a Q tip in half and put a bit of cyanacryllic glue on the tip, then transferred it to the pad holder, then put the pad back on. Pressed down and breathed on it to give the glue some moisture and waited an hour. Did same to other head. RX50 now works perfectly, and I was able to make and boot a backup. So if your RX50 is flakey check to see if the pads are still on the head assembly, it's possible it is loose or fell off (if fell off look around in the RX50 for it, probably in there somewhere) Never dull. Now to figure out this write protection issue: I have set the drive to unit 4 (well 3 in the 0-3 world), set the RQDX3 to pins 1 and 2 on the write precomp jumper, and it still comes up but thinks the drive is write protected. Drat.

6 years, 5 months

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test-drb