- test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org - classiccmp.org

by wmaddox＠pacbell.net

The title says "20 Old Computer Boards/23lbs Scrap Gold", but if you read the rest of the listing, it describes all of the boards and claims they are pulls from a working system. Looks like lots of Q-Bus PDP-11 stuff, including a CPU and backplane. It's up to a measly $10.50 with two days to go. Item # 2588111758 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2588111758&category=1504 It looks like there are a couple of DEC boards in this lot as well: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2217820473&category=3360 --Bill

22 years, 3 months

1
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Emulation (Was: Emulators of Classic Computers)

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Jan 16, 4:43, der Mouse wrote: > >> What indeed... Now, Maplin do some nice 13mm LEDs, how big do you > >> think we could make a panel? How about the 3" LED clusters they use > >> as tail lights on buses round here? Make a PDP-8 6' across, like > >> the giant MS-20 that Korg made for demo tours in the 1970s? > > But then you'll need the MIG welder again :-) > > Details, details. :) > > Actually, I'm a bit interested in the other direction: how _small_ > do/can LEDs get? (And how much heat do they produce?) I've been > pondering something, but in order for it to be workable I need to be > able to cover fairly large areas with some kind of display technology > at a resolution no worse than about 75dpi. Since "large areas" means > dozens of square feet, too large for a CRT, all I've been able to think > of are LEDs. But I don't know how practical (or more likely how > drastically impractical) that is. Interesting... Smallest I've seen are surface mount, about 0.1" x 0.05". Not small enough for 75dpi, but perhaps you can get smaller arrays. However, even LCD displays for laptops are only about 75 dpi, and I suspect you'd get gaps between the arrays. Power? Well, rule of thumb is around 2V across an LED, at around 10mA, depending on the type and brightness you want. Suppose you used the surface mount types I've seen, that would be 10 x 20 = 200 in a square inch; at 10mA each that's 2A at 2V = 4W, or about 576W per square foot. I don't know offhand what the efficiency of an LED is, but a few of those would make a reasonable room heater :-) Of course, you could multiplex them and cut the power to maybe 10%-20% of that. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

22 years, 3 months

1
0
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Apple 'Star Trek'?

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Jan 16, 1:14, Witchy wrote: > I'll just make do with my NeXT Station for now :) Sleek. Black. No burn on > the screen and NeXTSTEP 2.3 installed. If anyone's got spare NeXSTEP media > I'll be all ears :) I wonder if it'll compile Moz Firebird? I'm sure I have a later version somewhere. I could burn a copy, though it might take a while to find it. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

22 years, 3 months

2
1
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Apple 'Star Trek'?

by witchy＠binarydinosaurs.co.uk

Hi folks, Googling around for more info on NeXT Computer to flesh out my new NeXT page on Binary Dinosaurs turned up something I'd really like to get my paws on but I'll bet was consigned to the bin straight away - the 'star trek' project started by Apple to port MacOS across to Intel hardware in the early 90s. So far I've found that a team of engineers succeeded in the port, but it was canned in 1993 when Apple was moving from 68K to PowerPC processors and it was found to be faster on a 486. The same tale reminds me that I'd really like a Be Box too :) Cheers, -- Adrian/Witchy www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk - possibly the UK's biggest online computer museum www.snakebiteandblack.co.uk - ex-monthly gothic shenanigans :o(

22 years, 3 months

4
5
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Emulator search

by classiccmp.org＠irrelevant.fsnet.co.uk

All this talk of emulators has got me thinking. (See you knew you could smell burning dust.) Does anybody know of an emulator of the BBC Micro that supports: - Econet (networking, preferably mapped over tcp/ip so I can run multiple emulators and have them talk to each other) - Serial Port as Telnet (A couple will map to COM1 etc, but would be nice to have a telnet interface instead) - Tube/65C02 Second Processor This is so I could set up my BBS again on a PC and not have to find space for half a dozen micros and a hard disc unit the size of a 1KW UPS. (And almost as heavy) Somewhere out there in the world there is also at least one econet <--> X.400 box, (coz I saw it on eBay) which was based on a BBC B with some customer software/hardware - would be nice to get hold of the specs/software on that too - could eventually link my emulated BBCs to the Internet properly..

22 years, 3 months

1
0
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Hmm...

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Jan 15, 20:00, Fred N. van Kempen wrote: > On Thu, 15 Jan 2004, Curt vendel wrote: > > > The Atari 822 Thermal printer was also an Apple ][ printer as well, I think > > it was an alp's I need to doublecheck, I saw the exact same printer in a > > very old Apple catalog long ago... the Atari 825 printer was a Centronics > > 737 > ... and wasnt that 737 also known as 'GLP' - Great Little Printer, > budnled with several Tandy and Commodore (via user port) 'puters > at the time? Similar but not the same. 737 is a 739 without the graphics ROM. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

22 years, 3 months

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Fwd: imm. help with a classic comp (NEC V20) reqd.

by india_50＠yahoo.com

--- Subramanian Iyer <india_50(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2004 19:47:59 +0000 (GMT) > From: Subramanian Iyer <india_50(a)yahoo.com> > Subject: help with a classic comp (NEC V20) > To: cctech(a)classiccmp.org > > i could lay my hands on an old NEC V20(8088 i guess) > comp (a Hitachi Motherboard i guess no. HIL8) > recently. it must be atleast 15-20yrs old. it does > hv > all its components and interfacing cards along with > its bios. > here lies the problem. i don't hv any idea if it > works > or not. the pwrsupply works for sure (i checked). > the > monochrme monitor that i got with it does not work. > where should i start checking if it is working, if > the > bios, processor and other chips ar in good > condition? > i hv no idea.... > kindly help. > contact in pvt. for helping me... > Subs > > ________________________________________________________________________ > Yahoo! Messenger - Communicate instantly..."Ping" > your friends today! Download Messenger Now > http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/download/index.html > ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Messenger - Communicate instantly..."Ping" your friends today! Download Messenger Now http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/download/index.html

22 years, 3 months

1
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Fwd: imm. help with a classic comp (NEC V20) reqd.

by india_50＠yahoo.com

--- Subramanian Iyer <india_50(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2004 19:47:59 +0000 (GMT) > From: Subramanian Iyer <india_50(a)yahoo.com> > To: cctech(a)classiccmp.org > Subject: help with a classic comp (NEC V20) > > i could lay my hands on an old NEC V20(8088 i guess) > comp (a Hitachi Motherboard i guess no. HIL8) > recently. it must be atleast 15-20yrs old. it does > hv > all its components and interfacing cards along with > its bios. > here lies the problem. i don't hv any idea if it > works > or not. the pwrsupply works for sure (i checked). > the > monochrme monitor that i got with it does not work. > where should i start checking if it is working, if > the > bios, processor and other chips ar in good > condition? > i hv no idea.... > kindly help. > > Subs > > ________________________________________________________________________ > Yahoo! Messenger - Communicate instantly..."Ping" > your friends today! Download Messenger Now > http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/download/index.html ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Messenger - Communicate instantly..."Ping" your friends today! Download Messenger Now http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/download/index.html

22 years, 3 months

1
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Picked a Canberra 35 Plus???

by jrkeys＠concentric.net

At a auction today I got a lot that had a Canberra Series 35 Plus model 3502 something in it? I checked google and really found knowing that help figure out what this unit is? Anyone have a glue? Thanks

22 years, 3 months

4
3
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Emulators of Classic Computers

by msokolov＠ivan.Harhan.ORG

Vintage Computer Festival <vcf(a)siconic.com> wrote: > I may well be in San Diego in a couple weeks, but that's too far south. Too far south? San Diego is exactly where I am! Escondido specifically. E-mail me if you do come down here in a couple of weeks! MS

22 years, 3 months

1
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Emulators of Classic Computers

by msokolov＠ivan.Harhan.ORG

Vintage Computer Festival <vcf(a)siconic.com> wrote: > > Where are you located? > > The Bay Area (the REAL Bay Area ;) Well, then maybe we can meet next time I attend the annual Bay Area UFO Expo (every September), or the annual Conspiracy Con (held in the same place by the same people every May). Unless you come down sometime to South California where I am. MS

22 years, 3 months

2
1
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Looking for a parallel keyboard

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

Hi Does anyone have a parallel out keyboard that they would like to sell to me? Dwight

22 years, 3 months

8
10
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Emulators of Classic Computers

by aek＠spies.com

I doubt that I will be able to locate a schematic given that I am having so much difficulty locating just a manual. -- Emulex sold the rights for their disc product line to a company in Guardian Computer www.guardian-computer.com

22 years, 3 months

2
1
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Emulators of Classic Computers

by msokolov＠ivan.Harhan.ORG

Fred N. van Kempen <waltje(a)pdp11.nl> wrote: > This (no more low-level tech hackers) might very well be a reality, > yes, if the current trends keep up. Scaring thought... According to the plan my girlfriend and I will start living together when she finishes high school this May. If we get married and I beget a son, I'll teach him how to be a low-level tech hacker and a ClassicCmp-er (among many other things), so there will be at least one. Heck, if I beget a daughter I'll teach the same to HER! MS

22 years, 3 months

4
3
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Emulators of Classic Computers

by msokolov＠ivan.Harhan.ORG

Vintage Computer Festival <vcf(a)siconic.com> wrote: > Hey, anytime! Where are you located? MS

22 years, 3 months

2
1
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HP 2114A value??

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

I have an opportunity to pick up a HP 2114A with the 2155A I/O Expander and a 7900 disk drive. It was SUPPOSED to be complete and working when it was pulled out of service. The CPU is FULL of cards but only three cards in the IO Expander. What's something like this worth? The current owner wants some of my nicer areospace parts for it. Oh yeah, There's supposeed to be a good size stack of docs with this machine. We looked today but didn't find them. Anybody care to tell me more about the computer, expander or disk drive? Joe

22 years, 3 months

9
17
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HP2000/Access - in it's final form - alive!!

by MGemeny＠pgcps.org

Jay, Congrats on getting your system back up! I have a favor to ask. Could you give us times for Access to run these HP benchmarks. HP was kind enough to give us times for a number of other systems, but Access was not around when these numbers were published. I guess we should know which CPU type your Main is too. Were you able to get the HP2000 Access running under SIMH? It sure sucks a lot less juice than real hardware, and that translates directly into heat. The heat is reusable in the winter (free heat) but in the summer you have to pay a second time to get rid of the heat (AC). I have a number of other HIB tapes that I need to get converted and tested. Are you in a position to convert dot-tap files back to real (reel) tapes? If so I can post things for you and send you a URL for them. Otherwise I would have to get some scratch tapes and cut them here and mail them. How much disk are you running? We'll have to set up HIBE tapes that will fit on your system. We usually run 2 simulated 2883 disks for an Access simulation (50 MEG total) but that could be pushed up if we need it. Keep us posted. Mike. BTEST 10 REM HP benchmark taken from "E" IMS. Rekeyed by MWG. 20 REM 30 REM System Time to Run 40 REM C' 2 Min. 2.8 sec. 50 REM F 1 Min. 16.5 sec. 60 REM C 2 Min. 2.5 sec. 70 REM E 1 Min. 23.6 sec. 80 REM Access Unk. Jay? Want to help out here? 90 REM 100 READ L 110 IF L<0 THEN 999 120 DATA 60000. 130 DATA -1 140 PRINT "START=";TIM(0) 150 X=0 160 X=X+1 170 IF X<L THEN 160 180 PRINT "X=";X;"STOP=";TIM(0) 190 GOTO 100 999 END FPTS9 1 REM HP benchmark from "E" IMS. Rekeyed by MWG 2 REM 3 REM system time to run 4 REM C' 1 min. 58.2 sec. 5 REM F 1 min. 16.4 sec. 6 REM C 1 min. 58.2 sec. 7 REM E 1 min. 15.4 sec. 8 REM Access Unk. <-- Jay? want to help here? 10 DATA 5000 20 READ L 30 K=0 40 PRINT "start=";TIM(0) 50 I=0 60 J=50 70 I=I+J+100*(I-J)^2 80 I=I+I+I+I+I+I+I+I+I+I+I+I 90 J=I-J+I-J+I-J+I-J 100 I=J^(-2)+I*I*I 110 K=K+1 120 IF K<L THEN 50 130 PRINT "STOP=";TIM(0) 140 END

22 years, 3 months

2
2
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Emulators of Classic Computers

by msokolov＠ivan.Harhan.ORG

Fred N. van Kempen <waltje(a)pdp11.nl> wrote: > Geez, you should have lunch with Sellam, Michael.. :) Sure! Sellam? And Fred, what happened to your plan to come to Long Beach? I want to meet you too! MS

22 years, 3 months

3
2
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Picked a Canberra 35 Plus???

by technobug＠comcast.net

At Thu, 15 Jan 2004 14:33:40 -0600 "Keys" <jrkeys(a)concentric.net> keyed in: > At a auction today I got a lot that had a Canberra Series 35 Plus > model 3502 > something in it? [...] You are the proud owner of a Pulse Height Analyzer/Multichannel Analyzer (depending what's installed). These beasties are generally used in the nuclear physics area for spectrum analysis and timing analysis. Contact me off-line if you want more info... Claude Ceccon

22 years, 3 months

1
0
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MicroVAX I update

by witchy＠binarydinosaurs.co.uk

Hi folks, Gave my 'new' MV I a good going over this afternoon and apart from the fact it has a pair of M7135s (MV I Datapath according to Megan's field guide) and came with a sodding great big (and heavy) Tek 4109 screen/keyboard/tablet/pointer there's nothing too exciting in there: M7551 & M8067 memory boards M7957 DZV11 mux M8639 RQDX2 to run the RD52 and RX50. This means there's still a couple of slots to add in a DEQNA should I want to get it on the network. It'll have acclimatised by tomorrow so can anyone give me the pinouts of the PSU so I can check voltages before I run the whole lot up? I'll trudge through the snow to dig out my MVII techref just in case they're in there, but if anyone knows off the top of their head that'd be great :) -- Adrian/Witchy www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk - possibly the UK's biggest online computer museum www.snakebiteandblack.co.uk - ex-monthly gothic shenanigans :o(

22 years, 3 months

2
1
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oddball televideo problem

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

I have a system that does an "autobaud" when you hit return to log in. If I hook up a VT220, it works at 7/1/E, 8/1/N, 7/1/O, etc. etc. no problem. If I hookup a Televideo 950, hitting return gets no response at all. This is NOT a DTE vs. DCE problem, because the televideo does work with the same system on a different type of serial port. I was thinking something might be brain damaged with parity generation/checking on this terminal. Is this a known issue of TV950's? About the only way I can find out whats going on is to dig out my datascope and see the start data & stop bits between the two when hitting return and see what is different. Any thoughts? Jay West --- [This E-mail scanned for viruses by Declude Virus]

22 years, 3 months

6
7
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Emulators of Classic Computers

by msokolov＠ivan.Harhan.ORG

Teo Zenios <teoz(a)neo.rr.com> wrote: > Highschool? Either you are into classic computers at an early age or your > one heck of a cradle robber lol. I'm 24 now. I mastered PDP-11 assembly at age 7. By age 11 wrote my own OS for a Soviet PDP-11 clone. But then I'm Soviet, so that should explain it. We Soviets are obviously superior. :-))))))))))))) My girlfriend is 18, but she is very mature for her age. And I have absolutely no fear about letting her around my classic computers since she has the highest respect for my work. We are both pagans and these computers support our pagan work. For her to screw up the computers would be equivalent to betraying her Goddess Herself. I will teach her how to use my operating system (a classic version of VAX UNIX, other people in my group run other classics OSes too), she'll have a terminal on her desk in our command room just like I do, and the policy of no pee seas with Weendoze being allowed in the house will be entirely reasonable and acceptable to her because it's the enemy's operating system. Other people on this list keep whining about their wives conflicting with their classic computing, but I will have a female partner using these great systems together with me in our pagan work, which has brought us together in the first place. MS

22 years, 3 months

3
2
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Young generation of ClassicCmp (was Re: Emulators of Classic Computers)

by msokolov＠ivan.Harhan.ORG

Fred N. van Kempen <waltje(a)pdp11.nl> wrote: > You're assuming he or she WANTS to know about "that stuff". My > son is now just over 1.5 years old... I'll await his reaction > to me talking about tech stuff... Well, with proper input from BOTH parents it would be a lot easier to raise him/her right. My gf is a witch (1st degree priestess, working on 2nd degree) and will also have a lot of "unusual" stuff to teach to our future children. They will be really fortunate to have a two-parent thoroughly pagan family. The way pagans raise their children is VERY different from the common American Judeo-Xtian way. A few months ago the Coast to Coast AM radio talk show featured two girls who were reading ancient Sanskrit and seriously getting into its teachings at ages 2 and 4. MS P.S. Anyone here a regular Coast to Coast listener? You may have heard me on the air, as I have called in a few times. Hoping to be a C2C guest some day.

22 years, 3 months

1
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New Computer Museum in Austin

by jrkeys＠concentric.net

Earlier this week I was told that Dell (Mr. Dell not the company) had purchased a very large old warehouse and was going to turn it into a vintage computer museum of his own. I was also told that he had sent out a team to locate old hardware and stuff for him. Anyone in the Austin area know about this?

22 years, 3 months

2
3
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physical tape drive emulation? ts-11?

by brad＠heeltoe.com

This may seem silly, but it occured to me this morning (musing about how to boot an old 11/34) that I could use a device which would pretend to be an actual tape drive. There are lots of tape images out there (on the web) in the form of big disk files. It would be nice to be able to turn one of my pc's into a "virtual tape drive" by plugging a cable from the pc into a TS11 controller... Has anyone ever seen such a device? seems like it would not be that hard to build (he said, never having looked at the interface between a physical tape drive and a controller like a TS11). I hope to find an old RL01/2 drive around the Boston area (anyone?) but even when I do it seems bootstrapping will be an issue. Even if I grab one of those Dilog controllers which talk SCSI I'll need some way to load up the drives initially. It's just that those 9-track drives are *really heavy* :-) any comments appreciated! -brad

22 years, 3 months

5
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Emulators of Classic Computers

by aek＠spies.com

even if we save the raw files, how will we view them in 50 (or even 5) years? -- The short answer: You won't -- The reason will be no one will have preserved the data describing the file formats, since it is "proprietary" And you won't be able to simulate the systems, because the data needed to simulate it is proprietary also. -- Two example systems I can think of right now: Schematics or chip designs done on products by Daisy Systems (dead, dead, dead) or Mechanical and electrical CAD designs done on Calcomp electronic drafting systems based on the Xerox D-machine.

22 years, 3 months

5
5
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Kaypro

by melamy＠earthlink.net

how much do you want for the 4? I live in Fredericksburg, VA 22406. best regards, Steve Thatcher Original Message: ----------------- From: Paul H Rivet energyx(a)ucs.net Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 10:49:34 -0500 To: cctech(a)classiccmp.org Subject: Kaypro Available for purchase I have a Kaypro 10 and a Kaypro 4. Both in excellent working condition with programs some manuals. PAUL H RIVET CREATIVE ENERGY LLC 35 West Orangeburg Road Orangeburg, New York 10962 845 359 4434 Fax 845 365 3650 -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ .

22 years, 3 months

1
0
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Emulators of Classic Computers

by palazzol＠comcast.net

Hello, I just wanted to take a chance to plug MESS: http://www.mess.org/ It is an open-source, multi-system emulator for old computers and game consoles, based on the MAME codebase. If someone is interested in writing an emulator of an old system, this is one way to go. There is definitely a learning curve, but there are preexisting modules for many microprocessors. If anyone is interested in exploring this, feel free to contact me directly. Thanks, -Frank

22 years, 3 months

1
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Kaypro

by energyx＠ucs.net

Available for purchase I have a Kaypro 10 and a Kaypro 4. Both in excellent working condition with programs some manuals. PAUL H RIVET CREATIVE ENERGY LLC 35 West Orangeburg Road Orangeburg, New York 10962 845 359 4434 Fax 845 365 3650

22 years, 3 months

1
0
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KDJ-11A won't run

by gordonjcp＠gjcp.net

Hi there, I'm working on what I am led to believe is a PDP-11/73 (but it doesn't look like one). It *was* working last week, but one of the leads had dropped off the console socket on the back. On resoldering, it worked perfectly. Last night, when I opened it to fit the RXV21 another lead dropped of (RXD this time), so again, I resoldered it. I don't think this has much to do with the problem. When I power the machine up, the 2nd-from-right status LED lights up. >From googling, it seems this means "SLU Error". The Run light on the front panel comes on for a moment, then goes back out. The green LED on the KDJ-11A never comes on (but I'm not sure that it ever did). All the cards are firmly seated. Unfortunately I don't have a list of all the cards fitted to hand. >From memory it is (might help to read this in a monospace font): | M8192 | Serial? | | full width memory card | | RL02 Controller | | ST506 | Console/ROM | | M8029 | | Can't remember exactly, or quite what the cards are (some seem to be third party). One - does this seem to be a sane layout of cards (modulo uncertainty on my part); and Two - What would cause my SLU Error, and how should I proceed? Thanks in advance, Gordon Pearce

22 years, 3 months

2
2
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IBM series/1

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

I always kinda wanted one of these. But just right now is a bad time for me to buy another rack of stuff, so I'm passing it on. http://www.legler.com/equip.htm

22 years, 3 months

4
3
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Emulators of Classic Computers

by r_a_feldman＠hotmail.com

Hello All: I've just started a new job (!) at a small firm that does computer consulting for architectural firms. One project we are involved with is a study for the Art Institute of Chicago on how best to collect the digital design data (CAD files, 3D renderings, PowerPoint client presentations, etc.) that architects are more and more producing. One question that has arisen is, even if we save the raw files, how will we view them in 50 (or even 5) years? The AIC doesn't want to collect all the systems and software that architects use, so the suggestion to use emulators has come up. I'd like to pick the collective brains of the list and ask what emulators people know of. If you could email me at rfeldman<at>kfa<dash>inc<dot>com, listing the hardware and software emulated and what the emulator runs on, I'd appreciate it. Many thanks in advance, Bob _________________________________________________________________ Check out the new MSN 9 Dial-up — fast & reliable Internet access with prime features! http://join.msn.com/?pgmarket=en-us&page=dialup/home&ST=1

22 years, 3 months

8
9
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Looking to Restore PDP-8

by david＠dynamicconcepts.us

Greeting to all. I am looking to restore a PDP-8 computer (any flavor except PDP-8/A). Thought I had located a unit at a reasonable price, but the deal just fell throught. If anyone has items they would like to sell/trade/etc or know of some solid leads, I would be extremely grateful. The equipment will have a good home, and will be well cared for. I programmed PDP-8's from 1971 until around 1988 (continued to program PDP-11 and Vax machines until the mid 90's). My wife is claiming this is my "mid-life crisis". Who knows she could be right. I am especially interested in loacting a TU-56 tape unit to install on the machine. Ideally I will be able to get it running TSS-8, but may have to settle for OS/8. Also interested in ASR-33's with working papertape, as well as a high speed paper tape reader/punch (e.g. PC01). Thanks, and looing forward to hearing from all.....

22 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

Looking to Restore PDP-8

by dvcorbin＠optonline.net

Greeting to all. I am looking to restore a PDP-8 computer (any flavor except PDP-8/A). Thought I had located a unit at a reasonable price, but the deal just fell throught. If anyone has items they would like to sell/trade/etc or know of some solid leads, I would be extremely grateful. The equipment will have a good home, and will be well cared for. I programmed PDP-8's from 1971 until around 1988 (continued to program PDP-11 and Vax machines until the mid 90's). My wife is claiming this is my "mid-life crisis". Who knows she could be right. I am especially interested in loacting a TU-56 tape unit to install on the machine. Ideally I will be able to get it running TSS-8, but may have to settle for OS/8. Also interested in ASR-33's with working papertape, as well as a high speed paper tape reader/punch (e.g. PC01). Thanks, and looing forward to hearing from all.....

22 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

Looking to Restore PDP-8

by david＠dynamicconcepts.us

-----Original Message----- From: David V. Corbin [mailto:david@dynamicconcepts.us] Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2004 10:14 PM To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org Subject: Looking to Restore PDP-8 Greeting to all. I am looking to restore a PDP-8 computer (any flavor except PDP-8/A). Thought I had located a unit at a reasonable price, but the deal just fell throught. If anyone has items they would like to sell/trade/etc or know of some solid leads, I would be extremely grateful. The equipment will have a good home, and will be well cared for. I programmed PDP-8's from 1971 until around 1988 (continued to program PDP-11 and Vax machines until the mid 90's). My wife is claiming this is my "mid-life crisis". Who knows she could be right. I am especially interested in loacting a TU-56 tape unit to install on the machine. Ideally I will be able to get it running TSS-8, but may have to settle for OS/8. Also interested in ASR-33's with working papertape, as well as a high speed paper tape reader/punch (e.g. PC01). Thanks, and looing forward to hearing from all.....

22 years, 3 months

1
0
0 0

Looking to Restore PDP-8

by david＠dynamicconcepts.us

Greeting to all. I am looking to restore a PDP-8 computer (any flavor except PDP-8/A). Thought I had located a unit at a reasonable price, but the deal just fell throught. If anyone has items they would like to sell/trade/etc or know of some solid leads, I would be extremely grateful. The equipment will have a good home, and will be well cared for. I programmed PDP-8's from 1971 until around 1988 (continued to program PDP-11 and Vax machines until the mid 90's). My wife is claiming this is my "mid-life crisis". Who knows she could be right. I am especially interested in loacting a TU-56 tape unit to install on the machine. Ideally I will be able to get it running TSS-8, but may have to settle for OS/8. Also interested in ASR-33's with working papertape, as well as a high speed paper tape reader/punch (e.g. PC01). Thanks, and looing forward to hearing from all.....

22 years, 3 months

1
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Emulators of Classic Computers

by r_a_feldman＠hotmail.com

I'll make some comments on several posts here, even though Sellam's is copied below. The committes working on the problem have come up with recommendations that match Sellam's points #1 and #2. It is likely that we will be able to get donations of software and documentation to handle some of #3. There is not much support for #4. Storage will probably be in a live archive such as DSpace or Fedora. As to emulators, we are interested in more than PC's. Some of the early CAD programs were in-house ones written at Skidmore Owens and Merril here in Chicago. They ran on PDP's (11?) using Tektronic terminals. In response to Ted's suggestion to make paper printouts, that won't work for a 3D model with a lot of attached information about materials, suppliers of doors, etc. If you output one view, you loose an almost infinite number of other views, as well as the attached information. Also, paper won't work for an animated fly-through of a building. Granmted that there are many problems with trying to preserve digital data that is in proprietary formats, but the AIC wants to make a start, and to be able to do it in a way that preserves as much of the richness of the data as possible. Bob Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 13:40:12 -0800 (PST) From: Vintage Computer Festival <vcf(a)siconic.com> Subject: Re: Emulators of Classic Computers To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <snip> I would do this: 1) Gather all the relevant data files into one place 2) Find whatever technical data you can on the formats of the data files 3) Gather up all the applications used to create the various files and their documentation 4) Gather up all the operating systems that those applications run on 5) Burn this all to DVD ROM Keep this all on a "live" archive (i.e. a hard drive) and DVD ROM and update the medium (migrate the "live" archive to a new hard drive and re-burn the DVD ROMs or upgrade to the latest and greatest archival medium of the day) every 2-3 years. >I'd like to pick the collective brains of the list and ask what emulators >people know of. If you could email me at rfeldman<at>kfa<dash>inc<dot>com, >listing the hardware and software emulated and what the emulator runs on, >I'd appreciate it. Emulators for what? PeeCees? I don't think there are PC emulators yet, except on other platforms (like the Mac) for compatibility purposes. -- Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival _________________________________________________________________ Find high-speed ‘net deals — comparison-shop your local providers here. https://broadband.msn.com

22 years, 3 months

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E11 and RT11v2

by aek＠spies.com

and while we're on the subject.. what ever happened to the software that John gave you? From: "John B" <dylanb(a)sympatico.ca> To: "Al Kossow" <aek(a)spies.com> Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2000 20:51:57 -0500 Jerome Fine is coming over on Monday so I will look tomorrow and see if we can find any on Monday. john

22 years, 3 months

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Lisa 2/10 HD question

by jos.mar＠bluewin.ch

So what is the actual harddisk in a lisa 2/10 ? I believed it to be a ST412, but the HD coverplate that is inside my Lisa does not match the ST412 in my 11/23 homebuilt ( not by me). The coverplate is, sadly, all that remains of the Lisa HD. The actual platter and heads have been trown away by the previous owner. Jos Dreesen

22 years, 3 months

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E1 and RT11v2

by aek＠spies.com

The V20C that I just tested was acquired in Montreal about 2 years ago. I acquired a number of RK05 media along with an RK05 drive. -- And Eric Smith has an empty spot in one of his racks that he travelled across the country to pick up, along with no software for the machine thanks to your 'rescue' efforts.

22 years, 3 months

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Canadians?

by waltje＠pdp11.nl

Hi all, Although my friends in South Park would hate me for sending this out... I need some help from someone in Canada, to buy something thats only available there, and not in the U.S. or Europe.. Pse contact me offlist if you can help.. Thx, Fred -- Fred N. van Kempen, DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation) Collector/Archivist Visit the VAXlab Project at http://VAXlab.pdp11.nl/ Visit the Archives at http://www.pdp11.nl/ Email: waltje(a)pdp11.nl BUSSUM, THE NETHERLANDS / Mountain View, CA, USA

22 years, 3 months

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AMC Multibus cards?

by aek＠spies.com

Does anyone have any information on ANY Multibus cards made by Advanced Micro Computer? -- yes send along the part numbers (probably four digits starting with 9xxx or 4xxx) and i'll put them up on bitsavers.

22 years, 3 months

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Emulators of Classic Computers

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

>From: ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk > >> I am having problems getting enough information to make my Emulex >> SC70 masbus disk controller work. If I have to repair it, I'm will >> be in serious trouble. I doubt that I will be able to locate a >> schematic given that I am having so much difficulty locating just > >If it uses standard chips (i.e. data sheets exist), then it can be >reverse-engineered! > >> a manual. The SC70 uses a 16bit 290x bitslice processor, so after >> those parts are no longer available, even though it would trivially >> fit into a small FPGA of the time, and even if the logic levels are >> compatible, reprogramming an FPGA to do what the 290x does will not >> be a trivial task. > >OK, the 290x chips are not simple, but data sheets exist, so it should be >possible to make an FPGA do the same thing. Oh come now, the 290X parts are not that complicated. The 2901 is just an ALU. I don't think there is anything in this series, including the 2916 that can't be easily implemented in todays technology. In fact, I'm sure you can even buy off the shelf models for these. I've seen things like 8051's and 6800's for those that need that fuction in a fpga. Dwight > >> >> Just imagine trying to repair all of the proprietary components >> in a PC or even the CAD program dongle 50 years from now. > >I knew there was a reason why I stuck to classic computers ;-) > >-tony >

22 years, 3 months

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E11 and RT11v2

by oliv555＠arrl.net

I was trying to organize some E11 stuff, spread over several computers, and could not get my rk05/RT11v2B to boot. Some years back when I first loaded these images, I thought these had booted for me, but maybe my memory is playing tricks on me. Anyone ever succeeded in booting v2B under E11? -nick o

22 years, 3 months

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HP2000/Access - in it's final form - alive!!

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

Well, the HP2K system restoration is done (except for the rails for the paper tape punch, but those aren't visible, it's temporarily mounted anyways). I've been through several sysgens and all is perfect. Even typed in a program I had a listing for that I wrote in high school that creates word search puzzles :) For those wondering, yes, I can confirm, 7906 drives (non H models) work wonderfully, you just don't get to use head 3 (at least for variants of TSB that support 7905's - variants that support 7900 or older (E) of course will not work with 7906's). I ran into a problem with the 7970, turned out to be a tape reel lockdown mechanism was faulty and the reel was slipping during use. That's fixed too. I am suprised how much heat the system generates! Now I'm looking for HIB tapes to get a respectable system library. I also ordered a wireless card for my PC downstairs, so I will be putting 2000/Access online via telnet for just a little while. Many people requested dialup access, but I think telnet will be easier. I want to give an extra special thanks to many people who have helped me along the way - Craig and Larry at Crisis Computer (call them for HP parts, great guys!), Al Kossow, Eric Smith, Jeff Moffatt, Bob Shannon, Stan Seiler, Frank McConnell, Bill McDermith, and... everyone on the classiccmp list for years of help and advice on various issues. What's next? Hummm restoring an HP 2610A printer? Or my 11/45? Or upgrading my 8E to use RK05? Or maybe finally getting back to hpemu? We'll see! Thanks very much folks! Jay West PS - Al, my MCP tapes are fine. It was the tape reel slipping that made me think it was bad!

22 years, 3 months

1
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Mouse doody

by tponsford＠theriver.com

Sifting through ye ol' computer shed, I brought down two alpha 255's I intended to combine and make one working machine. I was not too surprised to find that the local field mice had got inside the case through an open pci-slot cover and had made a nest. I cleaned out the seeds and wadding and mouse doody, but I need to probably clean to motherboard from mouse urine. Any suggestions?? I know urine can have a possible corrosive effect so I want to make sure I can clean the MB thoroughly, before attempting to put it back together. Cheers, Tom

22 years, 3 months

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MFM Controller queries

by kyrrin＠bluefeathertech.com

Hi, gang, I have an Atlantic Research 7000 series datascope that is dependent on an MFM drive to run itself. It works fine at the moment (testament to the durability of early drives, I suppose), but I would like to be able to take an image snapshot of its hard drive in case of failure. With that in mind, I'm starting to accumulate a small variety of MFM controllers (going for variety because I have no idea what the determining factor is going to be in which controller is able to read the drive). So far, I've found a WD1002-WA2 and a WD1003-WA2. I still have memories of the last and (supposedly) best MFM board that WD made, in the form of the WD1006V-MM2, but I've had no luck finding one as yet (nor do I know if I really even need one). Suggestions for what to go after would be greatly appreciated. Thanks much. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bruce Lane, Owner & Head Hardware Heavy, Blue Feather Technologies -- http://www.bluefeathertech.com kyrrin (at) bluefeathertech do/t c=o=m "If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped with surreal ports?"

22 years, 3 months

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9825B

by hoang＠faho.rwth-aachen.de

Hi Tony, i read an email of you in internet about HB 9825B. I would like to know if the CPU of HP 9825 works with little endian or big endian format. Do you have any information for me about this old computer ? I'm trying to write a small testprogram (windows 2000 / VC++ 6.0) for directing the HP analyzer 4145A. Its manual has a sample program for this computer 9825B. If you have any information for me ... it is very nice. Thanks alot Hoang

22 years, 3 months

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H89 lives - but for how long?

by jack.rubin＠ameritech.net

Many thanks to Patrick Rigney for his help in getting my rickety H89 (it is literally held together in places with baling wire and wallboard screws) back on its feet - last nite it loaded and ran CP/M for the first time since ???. Here's my question - after the machine was running for a minute or so, the screen got very bright - the "black" background became green and the screen characters were so over-driven that they became "fuzzy". The brightness control worked (i.e. changed brightness levels) but the available range only went from "too bright" to "really too bright". After another minute or so, the brightness level gradually subsided back to normal and everything seemed ok for the next 20 minutes of operation. What caused the "glow" and what incipient failure does it suggest? [unpaid politically-correct endorsement]BTW - although Patrick is a regular participant in classiccmp, I "met" him through the Vintage Computer Market and his offer for NorthStar boot disks. Thanks Sellam and Patrick! Jack

22 years, 3 months

4
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Mouse doody

by technobug＠comcast.net

Some comments on cleaning electronics which have been despoiled by biorchid rodents and other sources: Loose stuff should be removed by dusting, vacuuming or blowing off the offending offal. However, in low humidity locations be aware that you can build up fairly large static charges can be generated by vacuum cleaners / air jets. I normally place boards on conductive mats and ground the nozzle to the mat, or in the case of cabinets, the cabinet. The remaining junk to be removed is either water soluble or not. If water soluble, water is the best means of cleaning. If insoluble, then a suitable surfactant added to water will remove oils, etc. That leaves the nasty stuff that requires a solvent. Isopropyl alcohol is a good starting choice - anything stronger is likely to dissolve wanted items. If you use soap do not use one that is extremely caustic - you can remove things that you want like the copper runs. Hand dishwashing soaps are generally safe. However, the last step in any cleaning process should be a rinse with ** de-ionized ** water and a thorough drying. This will remove any conductive remnants that remain. I generally air dry my stuff over night (Arizona, but recommend 6 months for Florida). If you are in a hurry, a hair dryer or and oven at 140F/60C will hasten things ( using heat guns and warmer ovens runs the risk of doing in capacitors and removing surface mount items). Distilled water can be used in a pinch, but be aware that the stuff is corrosive. This last step is especially important if you have CMOS or analog circuits involved. The military uses pure alcohol as a final step to remove any remaining water. However, the stuff they use is far less volatile than isopropyl and does not contain any water. Of late I have been playing with a daily shower cleaner (USA->TILEX Fresh Shower). The stuff has isopropanol, a great surfactant, and a chelating agent. The latter ingredient will take off those insoluble minerals that remain. Seems to work well. If you go this route, ensure that you read the label - there are shower cleaners that have acid in them and will definitely take everything off the board... Still do the de-ionized rinse afterwards. A couple of precautions: dip switches should be sealed with tape to limit wetting. I generally drop some switch lubricant/cleaner in each and exercise the switch subsequent to cleaning. Unplug and remove relays, if possible. Switches, relays, connectors, and edge connectors should get a treatment with a suitable lubricant/preservative. Lastly, you should do all the above in the undisturbed privacy of your home. A number of years ago, a friend's salt sculpture atop his TV broke filling the set with the super-saturated salt solution. I told him to take the set out back, remove the back, and hose it out. A nosy neighbor asked what he was doing and he said that he was watering the set to make it grow bigger. He related the line to the sheriff that subsequently showed up. I then spent the afternoon convincing the psychologist that hosing down a TV was a rational act... Claude Ceccon

22 years, 3 months

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