test-drb

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

101090 discussions

by jacob.ritorto＠gmail.com

Hi, Anyone with the requisite hardware handy willing to do a box of ten or so for me, pretty please? I'm in western Pennsylvania, USA thx jake

6 years, 5 months

VAX & PDP-11 Stuff To Clean Out

by david＠thecoolbears.org

I have the following 5-1/4" Drives that I would like to get rid of. These have all been working at one time or another, but I have no idea what condition they are in now. Maxtor EXT 4330 Seagate ST4766N Hitachi DK516-12 Maxtor XT-8760E Maxtor XT-4170E I also have the following QBUS cards to part with. Module Number Part# Description Form QBUS Extender D M7504 DEQNA Ethernet D M8043 DLV11 4xSLU D M8043 DLV11 4xSLU D M7941 DRV11 16 Bit Parallel D M8186 KDF11 11/23 CPU D M8186 KDF11 11/23 CPU D M8189 KDJ11 11/73 CPU D M8192-YB KDJ11 11/73 CPU D M8192-YB KDJ11 11/73 CPU D M8047 MXV11 ROM/RAM D M7555 RQDX3 D M8029 RXV21 RX02 Controller D M7646 TQK50 Tape Controller D M8044-DB Memory 16K 32K? D M8044-DE Memory 16K 32K? D DATARAM 63010 Q Camington CMX1651 Memory Q M7606-AF KA630 CPU Q M7620-AA KA650 CPU Q M7620-BA KA650 CPU Q M7164 KDA50 SDI Controller Q M7165 KDA50 SDI Controller Q M5976-AA KZQSA SCSI Controller Q M5976-AA KZQSA SCSI Controller Q M8067 Memory Q M7168 VCB02 Bit Map Q M7169 VCB02 Controller Q M7608-BP MS630BB 4-Meg Memory Q M7608-BP MS630BB 4-Meg Memory Q M7957 4xSLU Q SCD-RQD11/EC ESDI Controller Q All of these are FTAGH, but I wouldn't turn down a trade either. I'd be interested in drive sleds for my BA123 or a spare power supply, also for the BA123 or I'm always interested in M68K/M6809 stuff. I would prefer local pickup near Livermore, CA. I don't believe that the drives are shippable. Please contact me directly at <david at thecoolbears.org>

6 years, 5 months

VAX & PDP-11 Stuff To Clean Out

by david＠thecoolbears.org

Most of the items are spoken for but I still have the following: Caminton CMX1651 Memory M7606-AF KA630 CPU M7620-AA KA650 CPU M8067 Memory M7168 VCB02 Bit Map M7169 VCB02 Controller M7608-BP MS630BB 4-Meg Memory M7608-BP MS630BB 4-Meg Memory SCD-RQD11/EC ESDI Controller ...so, mainly the VAX stuff. Priority goes to local pickup. I've had all of these boards working at one time or another but I can't speak to their current status. David Coolbear david at thecoolbears.org

6 years, 5 months

Qume Qumetrack 542 track seeking issue

by rescue＠hawkmountain.net

Been away for some time from the mailing lists.... getting back into my classic gear again.... I have two of these Qumetrack 542 drives. While testing my 360K drive collection (8 drives.... I must be slacking :-) ...), 2 worked, 4 had issue (resolved with a good head cleaning), and 2 (both of the Qumetrack 542 drives (I have two of them)) have mixed results. My testing is on a Tandy 2500SX/33 using the Tandy straight through cable and with the drives set do DS0. I seem to have no issue with Dunfield's testfdc (using testfdc/x a:) with these drives, doing SS and DD and getting 'pass' from testfdc. However, when I do a format a:, the drive will format through the 40 tracks, then instead of the heads returning to track 0 quickly, they do these small stepping 'bursts' and DOS times out saying failure..... it probably would have worked if DOS would wait 10 seconds or more for the drive to move to track 0. I've never seen behavior like this. I even tried an external power supply in case the Tandy one wasn't up to driving the full height floppy drive due to an aging marginal supply, but that didn't help anything. I've now also had one of them shut down the power supply (a shorted tantalum cap I'm sure). I've looked through the manual on the drive, I've tried the HM, HS, and no jumper setting for stepper motor power, same results in all cases. I'm trying too determine if these drives are good. I'm planning on using them in a Tandy Model III that is upgraded internally to a Model IV, but I feel these are basic drives and should work in DOS fine too. I hope someone has a clue, as I'm tapped out of them currently. Thanks, -- Curt

6 years, 5 months

A plethora of DEC manuals

by sales＠elecplus.com

https://www.manualslib.com/brand/dec/ Cindy Croxton Electronics Plus 1613 Water Street Kerrville, TX 78028 830-370-3239 cell sales at elecplus.com -- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

6 years, 5 months

Looking for older Motorola pagers (UHF, POCSAG)

by ethan＠757.org

Anyone have any pointers to places to buy quantity of UHF Motorola pagers? Also wouldn't mind a VHF Advisor or two (the original large one with holsters.) Mainly looking for UHF non-FLEX ones. Thanks -- : Ethan O'Toole

6 years, 5 months

Repurposing cable for IBM Model M Keyboard

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

I need a keyboard cable for my VAXmate. This uses an SDL connector on one end and RJ11 on the other. Keyboard cables for the IBM Model M have SDL connectors at one end and a PS/2 connector at the other. I bought one of these cables with the intention of replacing the PS/2 connector with an RJ11. However, I now have a pang of conscience about hacking around with a perfectly good cable, particularly if they are uncommon. How common are these cables? Regards Rob

6 years, 5 months

Links to archived software, pinouts for keyboards, etc.

by sales＠elecplus.com

First up is a text page that describes how to use the same keyboard with different layouts, or different keyboards with one layout, regardless of the caps and intended layout. Written for Emacs, maybe? <http://web.mit.edu/babel/doc/mule/keyboard-translation.text> http://web.mit.edu/babel/doc/mule/keybo ... ation.text ADB pinouts and documentation <http://www.interfacebus.com/ADB_Pinout.html> http://www.interfacebus.com/ADB_Pinout.html PS/2 pinout and documentation <http://www.interfacebus.com/Keyboard_Pinout.html> http://www.interfacebus.com/Keyboard_Pinout.html Pinouts for just about everything (except terminal keyboards) <https://allpinouts.org/pinouts/connectors/> https://allpinouts.org/pinouts/connectors/ Still more pinouts, including Mac, serial, and some others <http://www.networktechinc.com/technote.html> http://www.networktechinc.com/technote.html Sun and SGI keyboards <http://teryx.bobdbob.com/~protius/pinouts/#console> http://teryx.bobdbob.com/~protius/pinouts/#console Dig around in this one for all kinds of old software and hardware help <https://www.oldergeeks.com/downloads/index.php> https://www.oldergeeks.com/downloads/index.php <http://www.sunhelp.org/faq/sunref5.html> http://www.sunhelp.org/faq/sunref5.html Sun keyboards, mice, HDD, etc. Includes pinouts for the keyboards. This is a link to a very large archive of old PC related software. <http://www.retroarchive.org/> http://www.retroarchive.org Cindy Croxton Electronics Plus 1613 Water Street Kerrville, TX 78028 830-370-3239 cell sales at elecplus.com -- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

6 years, 5 months

Looking for TEAC FD-55BV parts

by rescue＠hawkmountain.net

Need a faceplate and the eject control shaft (it is sheared off (the way I aquired it)) (I do have the eject lever).... I thought I had some floppy drive parts kicking around, but if I do, I can't find them (and chances are I don't have parts for that specific drive). Anyone have a dead drive, or parts from one kicking around ? Thanks, -- Curt

6 years, 5 months

Modcomp Minicomputers Related - Preservation and Repair

by lyokoboy0＠gmail.com

Greeting. Its been a while since I have posted here. A while back I picked up a large Modcomp classic minicomputer. Recently the person i picked the computer up off of gave me a call to come and get many books and software, among much more hardware. I have picked up hundreds of 9 track tapes. The modcomp computer mainly ran the real time os MAX, however i also found many tapes for a unix variant for the machine, that supported real time operation as well. I am trying to preserve things as best i can, I am set to pick up 3 more machines, and among the tapes and documentation, Space is running out fast. I am curious if any of this documentation has been archived already, if not, i can get to scanning it in my free time. I have documentation on everything. The hardware, the software, os code, everything. The tapes are another issue all together. They were stored in probably the worst possible place, in a area of extreme heat and humidity. Some are musty, others look like new. I do not own a 9 track drive, i was thinking it would be possible to get a 9 track drive with a scsi interface attached to a more modern Linux system to dump the tapes to images. If anyone here has suggestions on how to read off the tapes or where to find a drive, it would be most helpful. As a last resort, I have a 9 track drive that is attached to my pdp 11/34, however i have not gotten that system into working order yet either, and am unsure of if the drive is working yet. I was also given an old emulator for the system,m written for linux. I have not gotten the software to work yet. I need to be sure the software is not still a licenced product and that the company is gone before i post it. Perhaps someone here can find out why its not working. On a modern debian system, it attempts to run and just exits, without any info as to whats wrong. Any help or suggestions on how to best preserve the documentation and software is most appreciated. I am undecided on what to do with the hardware yet. The hardware is fascinating, and there is a bunch of it, however it is quite large and is taking up a large portion of space. The hope is to at least get one running to test out and see if i decide to keep a system after that. --Devin D

6 years, 5 months

TRS-80 Model III stopped responding

by rescue＠hawkmountain.net

I haven't dug into this one yet, but I did get it booted in trsdos, and the letter I on the keyboard wasn't working. I shut it off, disconnected and removed the keyboard. I desoldered and removed the APLS switch, opened it up, cleaned up the carbon pad and the contacts below it, reassembled it, tested it with my DVM, all good to go. I soldered it back into the keyboard, put the keyboard back, powered on the system.... I get CRT glow, system reset button will cause the floppy drive to seek, but nothing on the screen, and pressing return after inserting TRSDOS does not boot the drive (i.e. testing for a working core system with no display....). I do need to test the power supplies and make sure I have not lost a power rail on one of the two supplies. I presume the one I need to check is the one on the backside of the cpu board, as the one on the side of the drive 'cage' powers the drives and the drive controller board, and on power up and reset, the drives are motor on and tracking, so I think that supply is at least providing +5/+12V. Seems odd that putting the keyboard back in resulted in a non working system. I unplugged it, same behavior with no keyboard plugged in. I did not connect the kb connector off by one pin or one row.... so as best as I can tall, Murphy has struck, and it isn't 'operator error' :-). Any tips from Model III experts welcome. -- Curt

6 years, 5 months

Cheap minicomputer (Tracor-Northern 1610) on Facebook Markeplace (Allentown, PA) 18 bit?

by cctalk＠harlie.org

Has anyone seen this? It looks like an 18-bit machine. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/736222363558907/ --Bill

6 years, 5 months

Looking for DEC RA80 (or RM80, R80) service manual (EK-ORA80-SV or similar)

by derschjo＠gmail.com

Hi all -- I have an R80 drive in my VAX-11/730 cabinet that I'm trying to get running. Symptoms are: most of the time when the Run/Load switch is depressed, the drive will begin spinning up for 1-2 seconds (sometimes as long as 3-4 seconds) and then stop, faulting with error code 01 ("Spindle Timeout Error"). Every now and again it will spin up and go ready -- the other night it ran for several hours, long enough for me to get a dump of the disk with no read errors (*). I've checked the usual -- the motor and the spindle spin freely and the belt is good and tight. Connectors have been cleaned and reseated, as have socketed ICs. Power supply voltages are OK. The motor start cap tests fine. I'm getting pulses from the optical spindle sensor. I suspected that the brake might have been slowing things down during spin-up as it was a bit noisy (due to some light corrosion), but the spin-up error persists even with it entirely removed. I haven't been able to find the actual service manual for the R80 (or the very closely related RA80 and RM80 drives). Anyone have a copy stashed somewhere? Anyone have any debugging advice? Thanks as always, Josh (*) The drive contained a 4.3BSD system used to run a bbs and uucp relay, "Darkstar 730" out of Beaverton, OR. Looks like it was last run in the early 1990s. Now I just need to track down the owner :).

6 years, 5 months

Floppy drive (DSDD) DOS compatability woes (are these drives ok?)

by rescue＠hawkmountain.net

Been away for some time from the mailing lists.... getting back into my classic gear again.... I have two of these Qumetrack 542 drives. While testing my 360K drive collection (8 drives.... I must be slacking :-) ...), 2 worked, 4 had issue (resolved with a good head cleaning), and 2 (both of the Qumetrack 542 drives (I have two of them)) have mixed results. My testing is on a Tandy 2500SX/33 using the Tandy straight through cable and with the drives set do DS0. I seem to have no issue with Dunfield's testfdc (using testfdc/x a:) with these drives, doing SS and DD and getting 'pass' from testfdc. I can also use his imagedisk program, go to the alignment section, and I can track the drive properly up an down the disk.... it is just DOS that can't seem to do it. However, when I do a format a:, the drive will format through the 40 tracks, then instead of the heads returning to track 0 quickly, they do these small stepping 'bursts' and DOS times out saying failure..... it probably would have worked if DOS would wait 10 seconds or more for the drive to move to track 0. I've never seen behavior like this. I even tried an external power supply in case the Tandy one wasn't up to driving the full height floppy drive due to an aging marginal supply, but that didn't help anything. I've now also had one of them shut down the power supply (a shorted tantalum cap I'm sure). I've looked through the manual on the drive, I've tried the HM, HS, and no jumper setting for stepper motor power, same results in all cases. I'm trying too determine if these drives are good. I'm planning on using them in a Tandy Model III that is upgraded internally to a Model IV, but I feel these are basic drives and should work in DOS fine too. I hope someone has a clue, as I'm tapped out of them currently. Thanks, -- Curt

6 years, 5 months

George Schmidt, Distinguished Lectures, January 16, 2020

by mark.tapley＠swri.org

All, Southwest Research Institute will be hosting a talk in San Antonio, (Texas, USA) by one of the engineers involved in the Apollo navigation effort, George T. Schmidt. I understand he is aware of and very interested in the Apollo Guidance Computer work done by some of the folks on this list and others, but anyone who has not had a chance to talk to him might well be interested in attending, and would certainly be welcome. The abstract and title for the talk are below, along with the URL for the IEEE distinguished lecturer website (which doesn?t say any more than I have copied below). Anyone interested in attending, let me know and I?ll forward more details as I learn them. I expect the lecture will be around noon on Jan. 16 at SwRI, with a repeat at St. Mary?s University in the evening. Inside Apollo: Heroes, Rules and Lessons Learned in the Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) System Development<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__nam12.safelinks.protec…> This Abstract was written in March 2019 which is halfway between the 50th Anniversaries of Apollo 8 (Dec 1968) and Apollo 11 (July 1969). Those 2 flights were among the greatest explorations of mankind. In 8, astronauts deliberately put themselves in orbit around the moon expecting the rocket engine to later fire and bring them home to Earth. In 11, it was mankind?s first visit to the moon and Tranquility Base. Movies, books, articles, and documentaries have covered the space race. The author will give his thoughts based on 10 years inside the GNC program design, many hours in the Spacecraft Control room at Cape Kennedy monitoring GNC performance through liftoff, and then providing real-time mission support to NASA from MIT in Cambridge, MA. that abstract appears on this website: http://ieee-aess.org/education/distinguished-lecturer-and-tutorial-program#… - Mark 210-522-6025 office 210-379-4635 cell

6 years, 5 months

Hyperland and Doctor Who (Was: 70's computers

by annelies.vanopstal＠gmail.com

hello there, just read your reply in the thread "70?s computers" (from about a year ago) where you talk about having created a .SRT file for Hyperland. Is it still possible to get a copy of that .SRT file? That would be rreally sweet, 'd love to show this docu to a bunch o? millenials. Can?t wait to see their jaws drop ;.) Thanks allready! Kind regards, annelies

6 years, 5 months

swtpc.com expired???

by wh.sudbrink＠verizon.net

Anybody know if Mike Holley is OK? Bill S. -- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

6 years, 5 months

Free font software

by bob099＠centurytel.net

Sorry don't know how to respond directly https://fontforge.github.io/en-US/

6 years, 5 months

Original DEC logo in PostScript

by bob099＠centurytel.net

On 11/3/2019 12:00 PM, cctalk-request at classiccmp.org wrote: > Send cctalk mailing list submissions to > cctalk at classiccmp.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://www.classiccmp.org/mailman/listinfo/cctalk > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > cctalk-request at classiccmp.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > cctalk-owner at classiccmp.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of cctalk digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Cheap minicomputer (Tracor-Northern 1610) on Facebook > Markeplace (Allentown, PA) 18 bit? (Chris Zach) > 2. Re: Cheap minicomputer (Tracor-Northern 1610) on Facebook > Markeplace (Allentown, PA) 18 bit? (Guy Dunphy) > 3. Re: Cheap minicomputer (Tracor-Northern 1610) on Facebook > Markeplace (Allentown, PA) 18 bit? (ED SHARPE) > 4. Re: Original DEC logo in PostScript (Stefan Skoglund) > 5. Re: 50 yrs. ago today (Stefan Skoglund) > 6. Re: OT(?): Emulation XKCD (Stefan Skoglund) > 7. RE: Original DEC logo in PostScript (Rob Jarratt) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sat, 2 Nov 2019 13:37:02 -0400 > From: Chris Zach <cz at alembic.crystel.com> > To: cctalk at classiccmp.org > Subject: Re: Cheap minicomputer (Tracor-Northern 1610) on Facebook > Markeplace (Allentown, PA) 18 bit? > Message-ID: <892fa3cb-ce81-1a92-f165-0c90c8f3f4e7 at alembic.crystel.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed > > Indeed. I was thinking since it was a 16 bit bus but 18 bit switches > that it might be an 11/35 or 11/40 inside there. Interesting. > > On 11/2/2019 11:35 AM, Jon Elson via cctalk wrote: >> On 11/02/2019 03:32 AM, cctalk--- via cctalk wrote: >>> Has anyone seen this?? It looks like an 18-bit machine. >>> >>> >>> https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/736222363558907/ >> At least at one time, these things contained PDP-11's.? The CPU at the >> bottom sure looks like a PDP-11, >> I'm thinking it might actually be a Cal-Data CPU (PDP-11 clone) with a >> custom logo. >> >> Jon >> > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Sun, 03 Nov 2019 08:39:47 +1100 > From: Guy Dunphy <guykd at optusnet.com.au> > To: Chris Zach <cz at alembic.crystel.com>, "General Discussion: On-Topic > and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > Subject: Re: Cheap minicomputer (Tracor-Northern 1610) on Facebook > Markeplace (Allentown, PA) 18 bit? > Message-ID: <3.0.6.32.20191103083947.00e56608 at mail.optusnet.com.au> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Well, it's sold. I hope someone here hought it, and will post some better pics and details. > > If it had been near to me I'd have bought it instantly. A rack, a Tektronix XY display, > a rack drawer, blanking panels, some neat mysterious instruments, two 8" floppy drives, > and a probable PDP-something all for $45? > Bet the various items are on slide rails too. How rare is it to get both parts of > workable slide rails? Here in Oz, virtually unheard of. Separating slide halves and losing > one half seems to be a near universal syndrome with people who part out test equipment. > > Guy (Australia) > > > At 01:37 PM 2/11/2019 -0400, you wrote: >> Indeed. I was thinking since it was a 16 bit bus but 18 bit switches >> that it might be an 11/35 or 11/40 inside there. Interesting. >> >> On 11/2/2019 11:35 AM, Jon Elson via cctalk wrote: >>> On 11/02/2019 03:32 AM, cctalk--- via cctalk wrote: >>>> Has anyone seen this??? It looks like an 18-bit machine. >>>> >>>> >>>> https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/736222363558907/ >>> At least at one time, these things contained PDP-11's.?? The CPU at the >>> bottom sure looks like a PDP-11, >>> I'm thinking it might actually be a Cal-Data CPU (PDP-11 clone) with a >>> custom logo. >>> >>> Jon >>> > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Sat, 2 Nov 2019 22:56:01 +0000 (UTC) > From: ED SHARPE <couryhouse at aol.com> > To: cctalk at classiccmp.org > Subject: Re: Cheap minicomputer (Tracor-Northern 1610) on Facebook > Markeplace (Allentown, PA) 18 bit? > Message-ID: <2032848827.223085.1572735361572 at mail.yahoo.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 > > heck just the empty? rack? with? drawer is? worth that - -Yes Guy I know about the anguish of half sets of rack? rails - we have that in Arizona also!? ?Ed#? ?SMECC > In a message dated 11/2/2019 2:40:15 PM US Mountain Standard Time, cctalk at classiccmp.org writes: > > Well, it's sold. I hope someone here hought it, and will post some better pics and details. > > If it had been near to me I'd have bought it instantly. A rack, a Tektronix XY display, > a rack drawer, blanking panels, some neat mysterious instruments, two 8" floppy drives, > and a probable PDP-something all for $45? > Bet the various items are on slide rails too. How rare is it to get both parts of > workable slide rails? Here in Oz, virtually unheard of. Separating slide halves and losing > one half seems to be a near universal syndrome with people who part out test equipment. > > Guy (Australia) > > > At 01:37 PM 2/11/2019 -0400, you wrote: >> Indeed. I was thinking since it was a 16 bit bus but 18 bit switches >> that it might be an 11/35 or 11/40 inside there. Interesting. >> >> On 11/2/2019 11:35 AM, Jon Elson via cctalk wrote: >>> On 11/02/2019 03:32 AM, cctalk--- via cctalk wrote: >>>> Has anyone seen this??? It looks like an 18-bit machine. >>>> >>>> >>>> https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/736222363558907/ >>> At least at one time, these things contained PDP-11's.?? The CPU at the >>> bottom sure looks like a PDP-11, >>> I'm thinking it might actually be a Cal-Data CPU (PDP-11 clone) with a >>> custom logo. >>> >>> Jon >>> > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Sun, 03 Nov 2019 14:37:21 +0100 > From: Stefan Skoglund <stefan.skoglund at agj.net> > To: rob at jarratt.me.uk, Rob Jarratt <robert.jarratt at ntlworld.com>, > "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" > <cctalk at classiccmp.org>, 'Jason T' <silent700 at gmail.com> > Subject: Re: Original DEC logo in PostScript > Message-ID: <c93899d01b98e3360d49e7f99745000a3fdfb0a6.camel at agj.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > tis 2019-10-29 klockan 17:48 +0000 skrev Rob Jarratt via cctalk: >> I know next to nothing about PostScript and fonts, is it possible to >> convert this to a font that can be installed on Windows? I found a >> site that says it converts it (convertio.co), but I am suspicious of >> free sites like that. >> >> Regards >> >> Rob >> > did you solve your problem ? > > Either way doing RTFM - .pfm is binary encoded .afm. > > I did a simple drawing with the font in a ps and exported to pdf. > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 5 > Date: Sun, 03 Nov 2019 16:01:12 +0100 > From: Stefan Skoglund <stefan.skoglund at agj.net> > To: Paul Koning <paulkoning at comcast.net>, "General Discussion: > On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org>, allison > <allisonportable at gmail.com> > Subject: Re: 50 yrs. ago today > Message-ID: <2fe0ef07b99716c46cc8a853035b4b41db526052.camel at agj.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > ons 2019-10-30 klockan 13:17 -0400 skrev Paul Koning via cctalk: >> In some countries, at least in the early 1980s (Sweden?) the law said >> that private organizations could run communication wires on a floor >> of a building, but to wire from one floor to another was the monopoly >> of the government PTT. So DEC Ethernet bridges had PTT approval >> stickers on them from those countries, indicating those PTTs would be >> willing to build you a bridged Ethernet from floor 1 to floor 2. >> > I remember stickers on modems and telephones (ie not televerket > provided equipment) which said that this equipment is certified > to be directly connected to televerket's telephone lines. > > But computer network equipment owned by the organization and used > on the organization's premises ?? That i don't remember. > > PS > Televerket : Sweden's state owned telephone monopoly, today > known by the public as Telia company. Ellemtel the development > organization was co-owned by Ericsson/LME/Three-bars and Televerket. > DS > > PPS > LME still exist in name basically as a holding company for Ericsson. > DSS > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 6 > Date: Sun, 03 Nov 2019 17:14:29 +0100 > From: Stefan Skoglund <stefan.skoglund at agj.net> > To: Zane Healy <healyzh at avanthar.com>, "General Discussion: On-Topic > and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org>, Charles Anthony > <charles.unix.pro at gmail.com> > Subject: Re: OT(?): Emulation XKCD > Message-ID: <c9c11fb4bbbd89a0067ad8d763da5fd085b7ed21.camel at agj.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > ons 2019-10-30 klockan 16:01 -0700 skrev Zane Healy via cctalk: >> I rebuilt the system recently, and now the error seems >> intermittent. I will say, that backing up my directory of files, and >> restoring it to the new system was a lot easier than fighting with >> the tape drives we had on the DPS-8 Mainframes I worked with nearly >> 30 years ago (we ran GCOS-8). >> > My old university had an Pyramid with a normal tape drive - either > way one of my teacher had as his own last year student job being a > system administrator for said machine. > > One day he had to restore from backup but finds out that the tape drive > is cranky. > > One of his terse comments in the report was: > It is good to fix things immediately when the fault is found - not > waiting until you one day finds out that it is preferable to have said > thing in order. > > He had to help the drive start (the drive was sluggish in startup) the > whole evening that day..... > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 7 > Date: Sun, 3 Nov 2019 17:03:51 -0000 > From: "Rob Jarratt" <robert.jarratt at ntlworld.com> > To: "'Stefan Skoglund'" <stefan.skoglund at agj.net>, > <rob at jarratt.me.uk>, "'General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic > Posts'" <cctalk at classiccmp.org>, "'Jason T'" <silent700 at gmail.com> > Subject: RE: Original DEC logo in PostScript > Message-ID: <03de01d59268$ab603240$022096c0$(a)ntlworld.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > > >> -----Original Message----- >> From: Stefan Skoglund <stefan.skoglund at agj.net> >> Sent: 03 November 2019 13:37 >> To: rob at jarratt.me.uk; Rob Jarratt <robert.jarratt at ntlworld.com>; General >> Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org>; 'Jason T' >> <silent700 at gmail.com> >> Subject: Re: Original DEC logo in PostScript >> >> tis 2019-10-29 klockan 17:48 +0000 skrev Rob Jarratt via cctalk: >>> I know next to nothing about PostScript and fonts, is it possible to >>> convert this to a font that can be installed on Windows? I found a >>> site that says it converts it (convertio.co), but I am suspicious of >>> free sites like that. >>> >>> Regards >>> >>> Rob >>> >> did you solve your problem ? >> >> Either way doing RTFM - .pfm is binary encoded .afm. >> >> I did a simple drawing with the font in a ps and exported to pdf. >> >> > No I didn't. I did a little bit of searching but didn't find anything except the convertio.co site, which I am reluctant to try unless someone knows it to be safe. If anyone knows of a way to get this to a TrueType font that would be nice. I know so little about fonts, I wonder if there is a way to manually convert it to TrueType, are there any free tools for creating fonts? > > Regards > > Rob > https://fontforge.github.io/en-US/

6 years, 5 months

Paleontological data fossilized on IBM 8" floppies

by cclist＠sydex.com

On 11/3/19 1:47 PM, Lyle Bickley wrote: > Antoine, > > It's not too difficult to read most "standard" 8" floppies (DEC RX02's being > the exception). The board below deals with both signal routing between 8" and > standard PC floppy interfaces and the "TG43" signal required by most 8" drives: I believe that the TG43 signal (if required; some drives generate it internally) is only used for writing (reduced write current). You can probably get by just fine if you've got the connectors handy by wiring up your own cable. Micro Solutions, back in the day sold a small adapter PCB with a 34-conductor PCB edge connector and a 50 conductor header for connection to a SA-800 style cable. This assumes that your 8" drive follows the SA-800 pinout convention. Some early drives (e.g. Calcomp, (IBM) do not. Same for the power connections. Many use the Amp (now TE) Mate-N-Lok connector PIN 1-380999-0, but by no means all. AC connections, if needed are subject to the usual 50/60 Hz and line voltage considerations. I use older open-frame linear power supplies, but the +24V/+5V requirement is a lot easier to satisfy today, since inexpensive multi-amp SMPSUs are available (generally less than $15). Even dual- and triple- output PSUs are available for around $20 that should supply more than enough current. Hope this helps, Chuck

6 years, 5 months

Original DEC logo in PostScript

by binarydinosaurs＠gmail.com

Hi folks, An interesting article on adafruit about the digitalisation (hem) of the original hand drawn DEC logo, including the PS file itself - https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/10/28/the-digital-equipment-corporation-dec-… <https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/10/28/the-digital-equipment-corporation-dec-…> This news must have done the rounds back in 2007 though, because I have the file in question (declogo17.ps) on my Mac already?hmm... Cheers, -- Adrian Graham Owner of Binary Dinosaurs, the UK's biggest private home computer collection? t: @binarydinosaurs f: facebook.com/binarydinosaurs w: www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk

6 years, 5 months

OT(?): Emulation XKCD

by mark.tapley＠swri.org

All, my daughter is well aware of my affinity for old computers and software, and, as usual, she pointed out that there?s an XKCD for that: https://xkcd.com/2221/ I found this remarkably accurate. - Mark

6 years, 5 months

50 yrs. ago today

by c.murray.mccullough＠gmail.com

The first inter-computer communication happened 50 years ago today. L. Kleinrock part of that historic moment, said, and I paraphrase here, ARPANET was the instrument that was to enable computers to talk to each other remotely. He sent ?LO? because the system crashed(how surprising was that!) This was the precursor to the inter-net, moving from the intra-net. Happy computing all! Murray ? <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_cam…> Virus-free. www.avg.com <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_cam…> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

6 years, 5 months

Best email to reach a human at the centre for computing history (computinghistory.org.uk)

by aek＠bitsavers.org

I've tried several times to email them, and never received a reply. Could someone send me an email adr for a human who might be able to answer if they could scan something which is in their catalog but isn't available on line there?

6 years, 6 months

Estate sale

by technoid6502＠gmail.com

This link was posted on an Atari forum. I noticed a PDP 8 faceplate, a UNIVAC keyboard, and some other seriously retro parts. Might want to Hit this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-n9AUXZAiVw0nvht-JhD4IN8DMZWrAW7YCsS7gv… Jeff

6 years, 6 months

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