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

by julesrichardsonuk＠yahoo.co.uk

> hi, > >> (the chip in question is a ST9293J9B1/AEL for the record, > What is this TV model & brand? It's a Ferguson T7073SJD, using an ICC9 chassis. One website containing a faults database listed the failure of that chip giving the exact symptoms that I see (no sound when the set warms up and the remote operation goes unresponsive). I've pulled the main board and will re-solder all the joints in that area just to check; there's only one electrolytic as part of the circuitry surrounding that chip but I'll replace it with a known-good just in case. Tony's point about the crystal was interesting - I didn't think those things ever failed. I'll see if I've got a spare to try anyway. The set's awful inside - very cheaply made with little thought to cable runs, connectors, and how the various boards plug together. Guess they must have had different teams working on different sections and management for the overall project wasn't exactly what it should have been... (typical of more modern equipment unfortunately!) cheers Jules For a better Internet experience http://www.yahoo.co.uk/btoffer

23 years

2
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IBM 5161

by cb＠mythtech.net

>But in the XT, one slot is different. Why? -chris <http://www.mythtech.net>

23 years

10
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DF32x4 questions; software needed

by djg＠drs-esg.com

>From: Ethan Dicks <erd_6502(a)yahoo.com> >--- "Dr. Charles E. Morris" <c.morris(a)townsqr.com> wrote: >> registers... Ethan Dicks has pointed out that I should look at the >> drivers in OS8 and TSS8 to see if this will be a compatibility problem. >> http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/academic/computer-science/history/pdp-8/os8/os8.… ftp://ftp.dbit.com/pub/pdp8/tss8 >As I mentioned earlier, I've only done some basic DF32 twiddling >from a PDP-8/i to prove that the interface mostly worked (and to >diagnose my repairs of a smoked rotation sensor board). I've never >had the joy of an 8K machine + DF32s, so I've never had an OS to >explore them. > 4k and 1 DF32 is enough for Disk Monitor System. I built an image with the standard programs and put it at ftp://ftp.pdp8.net/software/dms/ The paper tapes images to build it and the manual are pointed to in the readme. It was installed for 8k since my 8/i is 8k but can be installed for 4k. I also have programs to dump and restore DF32 images over the console port. They aren't online yet since they need a little more cleanup but I can send you a copy. Let me know if you need any help. David Gesswein http://www.pdp8.net/ -- Run an old computer with blinkenlights.

23 years

1
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Thanks for the welcome

by tradde＠excite.com

Well, I am mainly into pdp-8 and pdp-11. Those were my first computers when in high school and college. But pdp-10s also interest me. Actually anything pdp related might get my interest. I have a pdp-8e, pdp-11/34a, and a pdp-11/84e. One day I hope to have a pdp-8i as that was the first computer I ever used. I am still working on getting all my systems fully operational. The 8e will have a dual rk05 drive connected to it. The 11/34a will have an RL02. I am not sure what the 11/84 will have as I have only had it a short while. Tim Radde >Well, let me be the frist so say "hello" & welcome aboard! Yes, >you'll >like this place, it can get intresting, some of the discussions get a >little off on a tangent, but aside from that, I've learned a whole >bunch of info I never would have known. _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web!

23 years

2
1
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Interesting 8/L problem (more than you want to know about switching transistors)

by charlesmorris＠direcway.com

I was sending blocks of data to and from my DF32x4 emulator when I noticed that Bit 5 was always writing a zero to the disk - turned out to be a bad bus driver (M623 in slot D28) and I found a short >from collector to emitter of the output switching transistor. After destroying the transistor removing it, I found out the clamping diode was the actual shorted part :^P so after replacing it with a 1N4148, I grabbed the nearest 2N3904 switching transistor and put it in. Guess what - Bit 5 still didn't work, although it was now changing states! To make a long story short, I found that the rise time of a 2N3904 is reasonably fast (around 50 nS) but the storage time in the circuit DEC used (a 7402 NOR gate driving the transistor base through 390 ohms) is on the order of 500 nS. (Once a bipolar transistor is turned on, there is a significant time required to extract the charges from the base so it will turn off, especially if a negative drive voltage is not available). Although the 7402 output waveform was square, this particular transistor base voltage was dropping much more slowly than any of the others; I could see on the scope that this made the BMB5 output change from 0 to +5 volts AFTER my disk circuit wrote the data into the NVRAM! Some research through the data books showed that a 2N5769, for example, would have been a much better replacement, with a storage time spec of 13 nS. Fortunately, after a little experimenting with "peaking" capacitors across the 390 ohm resistor, an 820 pF gave a sufficiently fast turn-on and turn-off with the 2N3904. So the object lesson here is that all switching transistors are not created equal, even in 1960's technology! Naturally since the DEC part numbers are no longer available, some thought is needed before just deciding on PNP or NPN... -Charles (Relearning long-dormant EE skills!)

23 years

2
1
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New Finds & question

by quapla＠xs4all.nl

Hello all, This morning I picked up some Dec stuff : 1x Alpha 400/166 + 1 Dec storage tower running Unix 1x Alpha 400/166 + 1 Dec storage tower running NT 1 Infotower/infoserver 1000 with 5 CD-Rom's 1 Vax 4000/100 With it came a box of cables, for which I have no idea where they can be used for. One of the cables is marked BC18D-02 and is about 50cm long, the other is a cable which has on one end a sort of high density connector and has a small block in the middle which forks into 4 D25 connectors. The vax 4000 has the female connectors at the back, am I right if these cables are for terminals? Thanks, Ed -- The Wanderer | Politici zijn onbetrouwbaar quapla(a)xs4all.nl | Europarlementariers: zakkenvullers http://www.groenenberg.net | en neuspeuteraars. Unix Lives! M$ Windows is rommel! | Wie mij te na komt zal het weten. '97 TL1000S |

23 years

3
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Hello, I am new to this list

by tradde＠excite.com

I should have said Hello before my first post. I just found out about this list. It seems quite impressive and very useful. I know I will get much use from it. Hopefully I can answer a question ever now and then too. Tim Radde _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web!

23 years

4
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Available: Livingston PortMaster Internetwork Router.

by vaxzilla＠jarai.org

This was heading out towards the dumpster today, so I grabbed it. From what our network admin told me, this router is from the early 1990s. It looks like Livingston made several varieties of these plain gray boxes. The identifying markings on this one are very sparse, so I can't provide much in the way of info about /exactly/ which model this is. Dimensions are 3.2" x 16.8" x 11.5" and it weighs around 12 lbs. It has a DB-25F console/diag port. It has another DB-25F port that's switchable between RS-232 and V.35 (so, presumably, you could hook up a slower serial device or a T1/E1 device to this). And then it has a choice of RJ-45, BNC, or AUI ethernet port. The only identifying marking of note apart from the "PortMaster Internetwork Router" on the front is small label which reads "Model: IRX S/N: 1A13813". Some info related to the Livingston and their products can be found here: <http://portmasters.com/>. This one does power up and I was able to get a login prompt by connecting a terminal to the diag port with a null modem cable at 9600 8-N-1. The login and password are unknown. The condition of it is also unknown, though it's believed to have been working when it was taken out of service a number of years ago. Available to the first taker for US$2 + shipping to anywhere in the US or Canada from zip code 90232. It won't be until sometime next week that I'll have the time to pack, estimate shipping, and send this out. -brian.

23 years

1
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Soroc terminal/Northstar DOS wanted

by vcf＠siconic.com

See below and respond to the original sender. Reply-to: <paulmoadib(a)aol.com> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 4 Apr 2003 19:17:39 -0800 From: Philip Baily <paulmoadib(a)aol.com> To: vcf(a)siconic.com Subject: VCF Feedback! Do you know of anyone with a SOROC IQ 120 Terminal for sale? (I can offer $100.00+ for it if is in good working condition.) Also, I am looking for a copy of Northstar DOS / BASIC to run my NS Horizon computer. Do you know of anyone who might be able to help me get a copy? Many thanks, Phil Baily -- Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org * Old computing resources for business and academia at www.VintageTech.com *

23 years

1
0
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Need IRIS Antivirus software ($$$)

by vcf＠siconic.com

This is a follow-up to a message I posted on Monday. I am looking for some early (circa 1990) antivirus software made by a company called Iris (maybe spelled "iRiS"). This may have gone under the names of "Virus-Free", "Antivirus" and "Antivirus Plus" (sometimes in combination with the company name "IRIS"). The software was distributed by Iris and the software apparently written by Computers of Israel. The iRiS software was included in the system software that came with an Arche computer of the same vintage (1989-1990). It is the software that I am really after but the computer also has some use. If you tried contacting me about this but had your message bounce it was because I was moving my server around. Sorry. Please try again. I have posted bounties of $200 for the computer and $100 for the software. -- Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org * Old computing resources for business and academia at www.VintageTech.com *

23 years

1
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breathing life into old chips

by julesrichardsonuk＠yahoo.co.uk

hi, this is sort of off-topic as it applies to my TV and not a computer, but I bet some of the folks here can offer advice... :) the microcontroller in the set seems to have developed a fault which only appears when the set's warm. Tracking down a replacement seems to be easier said than done as the chip was obviously discontinued a while back (and then I'd have to worry about the on-board ROM anyway). At the moment though there's no heatsink on the chip - if I do stick a heatsink on it in the hope that it keeps it cool enough to operate, is it still likely to fail at a later date anyway? Once a chip's started to exhibit heat-related problems is that basically the end of it even if something's done about the cooling? I figure some of you people will likely know about these things :) (the chip in question is a ST9293J9B1/AEL for the record, but no infomation appears to exist on the web or on ST's site for it; wish I could get pin-outs to check that it is the chip and not surrounding circuitry that's failing) cheers! Jules For a better Internet experience http://www.yahoo.co.uk/btoffer

23 years

4
3
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Free (ish) tape drive & hard drive

by Lee.Davison＠merlincommunications.com

Further information .. The FACIT tape drive can be used an a PDP 11/34, see .. www.tno.nl/instit/fel/museum/computer/en/comp783E.html The AMPEX hard drive is 10MB, ST506 interface, full height 5.25" Lee. ________________________________________________________________________ This e-mail has been scanned for all viruses by Star Internet. The service is powered by MessageLabs. For more information on a proactive anti-virus service working around the clock, around the globe, visit: http://www.star.net.uk ________________________________________________________________________

23 years

1
0
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The Gospel according to ARD:

by jpl15＠panix.com

Tony Duell provides us with an exemplary indicator of the true collector: > >and give you a nasty (and possibly fatal) shock, or worse still do ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >serious damage to said classic computer. > Collectors are many; vintage computers, few! ;} Cheers John One-Hand-In-Back-Pocket-At-All-Times Lawson

23 years

4
5
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Cool calculator

by jrkeys＠concentric.net

I picked up a Compucorp 324G Scientist calculator/micro computer at a thrift today for $8.08. Seems to work great.

23 years

12
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H89 CP/M hard-secored boot diskette

by dwightk.elvey＠amd.com

>From: ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk > >> MTR-90 is in the ROM on the 89's CPU board. My MTR-90 manual indicates > >[...] > >> It certainly seems as if you can run both controllers in one machine. > >You most certainly can. My Z90 (essentially the same machine -- AFAIK the >differences are that it came fully assembled ('Z', not 'H'), and came >with 64K RAM, has MTR-90, the hard sector controller and the >double-density soft sector controller. The former is cabled to the single >built-in drive, the latter to an external drive box. > >It will boot either HDOS or CP/M, and can use both types of disks > >-tony > The Z90 is built to be 64K a H89 isn't. As far as I recall, the H89 took more than a simple jumper or switch to make it CP/M compatable. Also, one should note that HDOS came in both hard and soft sectored. Dwight

23 years

4
6
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IBM 5161

by n8uhn＠yahoo.com

The ibm 5161 expansion box was designed for use with the ibm pc. the pc had fewer slots then the later released pc xt and it's power supply was too small to handle a hard drive. the exp box added a hard drive to the system and provided extra card slots ( i think the box also had additional bios or came with an extra fixed disk rom chip that went into the pc). the card that connects to the ribbon cables that come >from the exp box goes into one of the pc's card slots. i cannot remember if it is slot specific or if it can go into any slot - there is a plate on the pc's back that removes to allow the ribbon cables to exit the case. a local retired ibm ce had asked me years ago if i had ever seen one - as he was looking for one at the time. i was told that the expansion box was a little rare because, shortly after the pc was released that pc xt was released . the pc xt has a large enough power supply to support a hard drive as well as the bios to operate one and it has eight card slots. Bill Message: 44 From: "Witchy" <witchy(a)binarydinosaurs.co.uk> To: <cctech(a)classiccmp.org> Subject: IBM 5161 Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 20:25:09 +0100 Reply-To: cctech(a)classiccmp.org Hi collecting folks, A surprise consignment arrived for me this morning - an IBM 5150 in not bad condition complete with keyboard/monitor and a 5161 expansion box, spare expansion card and 2 extender cables.....reading the classiccmp archives back to 1998 makes me think I should be impressed since the 5161 isn't that common? It all apparently works but I won't be able to set it up fully till tomorrow. Not much info about it on the web either, though because 5161 is obviously bits of a phone number there's a very high signal to noise ratio..... cheers -- adrian/witchy www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk - the online computer museum www.snakebiteandblack.co.uk - monthly gothic shenanigans --__--__--

23 years

7
11
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Handheld Computer organizer available

by anheier＠owt.com

I have this cool little Psion Organizer II, model XP available. It's a 6800 processor powered handheld computer. I have the COM link cable and a 32K Datapak. It appears to be functional. It was made in the UK. Someone out there probably knows the history of this little device. Best offer, please send zip code for shipping costing and I prefer Paypal. Thanks Norm

23 years

2
2
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Free (ish) tape & hard drive

by Lee.Davison＠merlincommunications.com

I have surplus to requirements the following.. FACIT tape drive Model No. 4203 Prod. No. 9281 01 09 .. and .. AMPEX hard drive PYXIS 13 Part No. 3315422-01 Both are of unknown status having been stored in a garage for at least a decade and both show some signs of having been damp at some time (some corrosion). Both are heavy so will cost to post. Anyone interested in these please contact me off list. Lee. ________________________________________________________________________ This e-mail has been scanned for all viruses by Star Internet. The service is powered by MessageLabs. For more information on a proactive anti-virus service working around the clock, around the globe, visit: http://www.star.net.uk ________________________________________________________________________

23 years

1
0
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semi-OT: Power Computing 100 power supply

by cb＠mythtech.net

>I've got a Power Computing 100, one of the earliest Mac clones >(equivalent to Mac 8100/100, though the logic board is physically >different). It seems that its power supply has died. It is a Seasonic >SSH-200G. I'm pretty ignorant about PSU standards, so am not sure what >I need to look for in a replacement -- a friend said "it looks like an >AT power supply, but that little 4-pin plug [which connects to the >logic board, I think] is non-standard, so a standard AT PSU won't work >as a replacement." It also has two large 6-pin plugs that plug into the >motherboard as well. The rest of the plugs are standard 4-pin. If you find out any info, forward it on to me. I recently aquired one of those as well, and the power supply, along with every other cable in it, has had all the wires cut. It looks like someone either was fired and pissed off, so they took their revenge on the machine, or more likely (since the hard drive is missing as well), the machine was officially "decommissioned" and rendered to an unusable state to take it off the books. Before I go thru the effort of patching the leads together, if I can find a suitable, available replacement, I'll go that route for the purpose of testing it to see if the system has been damaged in other ways (then if it works, I'll go back and patch the power supply together, just because it will be fun). I did ask a Power Computing list if the Power100 used a standard AT power supply, and was told that it does not. However, the person that gave me the response spent no effort discussing how it differs, but did spend 3 paragraphs telling me not to waste my time with a Power100 and instead to buy a used PowerTower Pro. So that told me that they just didn't get it, and didn't understand the interest in reviving an old machine... which also makes me suspect the validity of their answer (not that failing to understand old computers equals a lack of knowledge of the power supply... just that it seemed more like an uninterested/uninformed wave off of the power supply question in the effort to push me to a newer faster machine). -chris <http://www.mythtech.net>

23 years

6
7
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DEC keyboard/mouse protocol

by erd_6502＠yahoo.com

Re: recent discussions Found this in section 14.38 of the VMS FAQ: http://h71000.www7.hp.com/wizard/faq/vmsfaq_016.html The protocol definition for the old DIGITAL keyboard and mouse interfaces is buried at the back of the QDSS section in the old VAXstation II manual, specifically, in the back of the VCB02 Video Subsystem Technical Manual (EK-104AA-TM). The keyboard wiring and protocol is in appendix B, and occupies circa 44 pages. The mouse is in appendix C, circa 12 pages. ... in case anyone wants to tackle a protocol converter. -ethan

23 years

2
1
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DF32x4 questions; software needed

by c.morris＠townsqr.com

My "DF32x4" disk emulator is alive and talking to my 8/L and appears to be reading and writing blocks of data correctly. There are a few instructions that I did not implement (e.g. the "Maintenance" IOT's 6631-4 which the manual says are only used in "diagnostic programming". Also the DCEA instruction does not clear the extended address and EA registers - it would have taken quite a bit more logic to implement and there was no more room on the PC board; additionally the DEAL instruction would be used anyway, which combines the clear action with a load of these registers from the AC - so the clear would be superfluous. The DEAL and DEAC load/read register commands are, of course, implemented). Ethan Dicks has pointed out that I should look at the drivers in OS8 and TSS8 to see if this will be a compatibility problem (i.e. they may expect to be able to clear EMA and EA for some reason, rather than loading them from the AC). Can anyone tell me where to find the source code so I can verify this? Also, I would love to have a paper tape copy of 4K Disk System Builder to start a build of Disk Monitor from scratch (I already have a copy of a DF32 build thanks to David Gesswein). Anyone? thanks Charles

23 years

2
1
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Ebka Familiarizor 6502

by Hans.Franke＠mch20.sbs.de

Now for something strange: Who of you has ever heared about a Ebka Industries Familiarizor 6502 I have just seen this little beast at ePay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1247&item=3409229078 Now, doing a quick search, nothing did show up, except a very short mentioning in Hans Pufals list. Any other info around? Gruss H. -- VCF Europa 4.0 am 03./04. Mai 2003 in Muenchen http://www.vcfe.org/

23 years

2
1
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PDP-11/24 Available in Virginia

by timothy.p.radde＠lmco.com

Is this system still available? I am in Pennsylvania and might be interested.

23 years

1
0
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Ultrix Driver Question

by sridhar＠neurotica.com

Hi people. I assume that SDI disks show up as /dev/ra* on Ultrix? What do the SDI controllers show up as? Specifically, the XMI ones? Peace... Sridhar

23 years

3
2
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That pesky battery! (was: Re: semi-OT: Power Computing 100 power supply)

by mbates＠whoopis.com

Well okay then! I dug around in the pile of old Macs in the basement and found an identical 3.6v mb battery, which tested good...stuck that in there, plugged old PSU back in, and it boots! Hooray! Thanks for all the help, everyone! :) (Sorry Chris, guess I won't be getting parts to share with you now...good luck with your Power 100 repair project.) -- MB

23 years

2
1
0 0

Origins of Hierarchical Filesystems

by root＠parse.com

Hi folks, writing a chapter on filesystems, and was wondering if anyone knows the origins of the hierarchical filesystem (and no, it wasn't MS-DOS 2.0 :-)) I know TOPS-10 and friends used it, so it's got to be at least that old. Any takers? I'm looking for a ballpark year and the name of the OS and company... Probably just reply to me only; I'll be happy to summarize for the group. Thanks! -RK -- Looking for Digital Equipment Corp. PDP-1 through PDP-15 minicomputers! Robert Krten, PARSE Software Devices +1 613 599 8316. Realtime Systems Architecture, Consulting and Training at www.parse.com

23 years

2
1
0 0

breathing life into old chips

by melamy＠earthlink.net

Hi Jules, one of the ways to isolate a heat issues is to find a can of cold spray (Chemtronics Freeze Spray). They sell them at electronics stores and places like www.mcmelectronics.com (just searcj for it there). You allow the fual to start and then selectivespray different parts to cool them down. If the fault goes away on a particular device then you have your culprit. best regards, Steve Thatcher Original Message: ----------------- From: Jules Richardson julesrichardsonuk(a)yahoo.co.uk Date: Fri, 4 Apr 2003 10:04:56 +0100 (BST) To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org Subject: breathing life into old chips hi, this is sort of off-topic as it applies to my TV and not a computer, but I bet some of the folks here can offer advice... :) the microcontroller in the set seems to have developed a fault which only appears when the set's warm. Tracking down a replacement seems to be easier said than done as the chip was obviously discontinued a while back (and then I'd have to worry about the on-board ROM anyway). At the moment though there's no heatsink on the chip - if I do stick a heatsink on it in the hope that it keeps it cool enough to operate, is it still likely to fail at a later date anyway? Once a chip's started to exhibit heat-related problems is that basically the end of it even if something's done about the cooling? I figure some of you people will likely know about these things :) (the chip in question is a ST9293J9B1/AEL for the record, but no infomation appears to exist on the web or on ST's site for it; wish I could get pin-outs to check that it is the chip and not surrounding circuitry that's failing) cheers! Jules For a better Internet experience http://www.yahoo.co.uk/btoffer http://mail2web.com/ .

23 years

1
0
0 0

semi-OT: Power Computing 100 power supply

by cb＠mythtech.net

>What I may do is look for an entire Power 100 machine on eBay (found >one last week, but the seller pulled it unexpectedly before it was due >to end). They're usually pretty cheap. If I end up going that route to >get a PSU, I'd be happy sell you the rest of the parts for cost of >shipping. (Probably ought to keep them for the next piece that fails in >mine, but I don't have the space for that. Plus I will become obsessed >with finding another PSU to make the second PC100 work, so I'll buy a >third, etc.) Obviously if we did this, you would still need a power >supply too, but might be a good way to share the cost of other parts. If you get one, let me know. I probably won't want all the parts, as that will just cause me to want to get TWO PC100's to work (much the same reason you don't want to keep it). However, I would want the SCSI and floppy drive ribbon cables, as even those have been cut in mine. The SCSI cable is trivial for me to replace (I can order one from anywhere, or even pull one from inside an old external hard drive... ironically, I just gave away a cable that would have worked fine since I had it sitting on a shelf unused for years), but the floppy cable isn't as easy, and I would most likely have to buy fresh ribbon of the right size, and swap the ends to it. Not a tough job, but more work than simply buying the cables from your parts machine. I may also want to buy some other parts, like the front panel switches, since those have had their leads cut as well (although those are all fairly easy to patch together). -chris <http://www.mythtech.net>

23 years

1
0
0 0

semi-OT: Power Computing 100 power supply

by mbates＠whoopis.com

Hi folks, Dunno if this is within the 10-year rule or not, but I don't know who else to ask. :) I've got a Power Computing 100, one of the earliest Mac clones (equivalent to Mac 8100/100, though the logic board is physically different). It seems that its power supply has died. It is a Seasonic SSH-200G. I'm pretty ignorant about PSU standards, so am not sure what I need to look for in a replacement -- a friend said "it looks like an AT power supply, but that little 4-pin plug [which connects to the logic board, I think] is non-standard, so a standard AT PSU won't work as a replacement." It also has two large 6-pin plugs that plug into the motherboard as well. The rest of the plugs are standard 4-pin. Does anyone know what would be a compatible replacement? For example, I have been corresponding with the seller of this (which he will relist if I want it): http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/ eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3670&item=3409672341&rd=1 which he says is the same except for being 250 watts instead of 200. But the model number's different and it looks a little different in the picture. Thanks in advance, -- MB

23 years

3
2
0 0

Anyone with LP25 Schematics? (or a power board)

by classiccmp＠knm.yi.org

Hi, I've got a DEC LP25 line printer here I just unearthed. I picked it up (ha!) a couple of years back and didn't have much success repairing it. Anyway - I discovered it after my parents tried to move it - oblivious to the fact the cover wasn't screwed on, and dropped it. Looks like just cosmetic damage - but impossible to test as the power board didn't work 2 years ago, and still doesnt. There's some cosmetic damage (read corner it landed on totally smashed) but I don't see any obvious damage to the workings. I've got the maintainance manual, which has the test points in for just about everything, apart from the power board. Only tells me the motherboard voltages, all of which are absent, apart from the 38V you get >from the PSU itself. So if anyone out there has the schematic for the power board in this beast (or even a complete set of schematics) and the ability to scan them in, that would be an enormous help. Also, any ideas for how to prod board with meter when it's in the machine would be useful, as you can only get to one side of the board due to the location of the card in the machine. The cards are plugged into standard edge connectors, with a pair of fingers on the cards themselves. I figure some sort of extender might be my best bet, but how to get hold of such a thing is another matter. I suppose I could always make one :&) Oh - I have a sneaking feeling the paper drive motor is fried (that's my initial thought to why the power board is dead) cause it doesn't look at all sane when you put a meter over it (infinite resistance if memory serves). So where to find a replacement would be nice. Any thoughts on the matter would be useful. It seems a shame to gut it and trash it when I'm sure it *could* be repaired. -- Matt

23 years

1
0
0 0

IBM 5161

by n8uhn＠yahoo.com

Which is why i keep an old db25,ibm, 8 bit, single port "asynchronus serial communications adaptor" (serial port) card around. if you rotate one of the dip jumper packs 90 deg, it goes from async to current loop. try that with a multifunction card (hehe) the pins for current loop are different then the async pins. great for testing out teletypes or old ham gear ;) the other jumper pack sets com 1 or 2 Bill Message: 5 Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2003 20:51:28 To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org From: Joe <rigdonj(a)cfl.rr.com> Subject: Re: IBM 5161 Reply-To: cctech(a)classiccmp.org At 06:35 PM 4/2/03 -0700, you wrote: >Fred Cisin (XenoSoft) wrote: > >>>>incompatible, and they had a giant surplus of serial (RS232 and current >>>>loop) cards that nobody wanted, so they provided a "FREE" serial card to >>>> >>>> >> >>On Thu, 3 Apr 2003, Tony Duell wrote: >> >> >>>Why did 'mobody' want them? A serial port is a very useful thing to have... >>> >>> >> >>Because they occupied an entire slot (out of 5 on the PC), and other >>companies sold "multifunction" cards that could use the same slot for >>serial, parallel, clock, and memory. Most of those were marketed as SIX >>functions - how many people remember what the other two functions were? >> >floppy, game port BEEP! Nope. Joe --__--__--

23 years

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Do you recognize these boards?

by patrick＠evocative.com

Does anyone recognize these three boards? I haven't had much luck with Google... http://www.rigneyfamily.com/patrick/ Warning: LARGE graphics... best avoided if you are on a slow connection. --Patrick

23 years

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Perkin Elmer 550 Terminal and CRT mildew

by ian_primus＠yahoo.com

I recently acquired a nice looking Perkin Elmer 550 terminal. I haven't powered it on yet, as I just unpacked it and it's still somewhat cold >from being shipped, but the person I got it from said that it works. It certainly looks to be in very good condition, I even have the manual. Right now, the only thing that worries me is that there seems to be a little bit of mold or mildew forming under the protective cover on the CRT. I remember seeing this mentioned on a site linked to on a post a while back (http://www.science.uva.nl/faculteit/museum/rampspoed.html). It isn't very noticeable, and only on the very corners, but I would like to clean it off, or at least find a way to prevent it from spreading. What causes this growth? What can be done to prevent it? I have a Hazeltine terminal that has a protective plastic cover, but no mold, and I want to keep it that way. Thanks! Ian Primus ian_primus(a)yahoo.com

23 years

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Sector interleave (was: H89 CP/M hard-secored boot diskette

by dwightk.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "Fred Cisin (XenoSoft)" <cisin(a)xenosoft.com> > >> > I always wondered, if it was so easy to change the sector interleave on >> > disks to make them load faster, why didn't the original >> > programmers/designers optimize the interleave in the first place? >On Thu, 3 Apr 2003, ben franchuk wrote: >> It depends on your disk hardware and the speed of your computer. >> 1) Computers got faster 2) Disk i/o got dma rather than poiled >> i/o. > >It also depends on what kind of processinbg is being done to it during >loading. For example, dumping file contents into RAM can be done a lot >faster than loading a document into a word-processor. > >The fastest interleave occurs if the system can handle the next sector >immediately after the previous. In that case, the fastest sequence is >plain sequential, and a track can be read in a single revolution. But >when you add extra processing of the data during reading, (such as a word >processor loading a document), you could end up with NOT being ready for >the next sector in time, resulting in the read taking as many revolutions >of the disk as there are sectors per track. Alternating sectors might >reduce that to two revolutions (or skipping 2 sectors, etc.), but that can >easily be twice as long as necessary for a task that did NOT need the >extraneous processing. Most system software developers DO think that >they have optimized it. But they have optimized it for the type of file >access that they EXPECT you to be doing (usually whatever THEY do most). > >BTW, it can be done either by placing the physical sectors in various >orders (such as 1,3,5,7,9,2,4,6,8,10) OR can be done by a translation >between logical sector and physical sector (physical sectors numbered >1,2,3,4, . . . , but data that doesn't finish in sector 1 continues in >sector 3, etc.) > Hi Fred As I recall, most things worked well with just 2 to 1 interleaving. The major problem was how the H89 used the hard sectored. It was guaranteed to wait one extra sector hole, regardless of the speed of the software. This meant that consecutive sectors took an extra revolution+ to find the next sector. I always figured that Heathkit continued to sell the formatter with the 1 to 1 because it made the soft sectored look much better when there really wasn't much difference between the two. This was one of the big claims for upgrading to the soft sectored. As I recall, there was formatter from HUG that was like the one I had. I wrote my Forth because I couldn't justify a separate purchase of HDOS( which I later acquired ). I wrote my own disk interface to FIG's block access. That was when I noticed the slow access and rewrote my formatter. It wasn't until later that I found that all of the HDOS disk had the slow access as well. My H89 was my second computer, after my Poly88. I did find that some BASIC programs worked a little better with a 3 to 1 formatting but that wasn't typical. Even then, writes and read were different. Dwight

23 years

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Need byte-splitter utility

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Apr 1, 11:28, Andy Holt wrote: > > What is the difference between odd/even and high/low? > > > On a "little-endian" bus: none > On a "big-endian" bus: flipping the low order address bit :-) > or is it vice-versa. Depends if it's word-aligned or not :-) -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

23 years

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H89 CP/M hard-secored boot diskette

by dwightk.elvey＠amd.com

Hi As I mentioned earlier, I have a Forth that runs standalone on hard sectored. Since it is standalone, I've used it to make exact copies of other disk. I've done things like changing the interleaving to make about a 10X improvement in load speeds for many programs. It has been a while since I had the machine running. I can fire it up and check what I have. The only issue I have for making copies for others is the media. I only have a few hard sectored disk. For some reason, I thought that disk formats would last at least as long as 33 lp records. I didn't realize at the time that media was being obsoleted as fast as it was produced. I know better now. Anyway, if I can get it all running, I'll make copies if someone supplies media. Dwight >From: acme(a)ao.net > >Don -- > >Do you have the means to copy such a diskette? I have a set of the original >distribution diskettes here, and last time I checked the boot diskette was >good. > >Later -- > >Glen >0/0 > >> On Mon, 31 Mar 2003, Fred Cisin (XenoSoft) wrote: >> >> > On Mon, 31 Mar 2003, Jason J. Gullickson wrote: >> > > On that note, if any of you know where I could find a copy of CPM and a >> > > compatible C compiler on hard-sectored disks, that would be greeeaaat, >> > > yeah. >> > >> > Don Maslin can probably help you with the CP/M boot disk. But you are >> > going to have to immediately come up with software for serial port file >> > transfer, since that is the only PRACTICAL way to transfer files to or >> > from hard-sectored disks. >> >> I wish that I could, Fred. Unfortunately, I do not have a hard >> sectored boot disk for the H89 to make a copy from so I am >> stumped. >> - don >> >> > There have been several C compilers for CP/M. Aztec/Manx is probably the >> > best, but the most popular was Zolman's BDS C. Good news! As of 6 months >> > ago, BDS C became public domain! : >> > >> > On Thu, 26 Sep 2002, Rich Beaudry wrote: >> > >> > > >> > > Don't know how many of you are on comp.os.cpm, but in case you missed >> > it, >> > > Leor Zolman has decided to release the full retail package of BDS C, >> > > including *ALL* source code (compiler as well!) to the Public Domain. >> > > >> > > http://www.bdsoft.com/resources.html#bdsc >> > > >> > > Check it out! >> > > >> > > Rich B.

23 years

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Ping Pat Barron

by mross666＠hotmail.com

If Pat Barron is reading this, could he email me please? mross666(a)hotmail.com Thanks Mike _________________________________________________________________ Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail

23 years

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RSX-11M Plus [1,2] Directory

by univac2＠earthlink.net

My [1,2] directory has disappeared from my 11/23+ running RSX-11M Plus v4.1 Base Level 46!!! I have no idea how it happened, because the last time I powered up the system it was there! I know it was because the STARTUP.CMD file ran just as it should. I guess realistically it *was* something I did, although I'll never know just what it was... Anyway, the system now aborts it's startup procedure as soon as it can't find the STARTUP.CMD file and I'm able to log in as a privileged user from there. What I need to know is: 0) What exactly was in the [1,2] directory? Other than the STARTUP.CMD file, I don't know much about the directory's contents. 1) Could anyone give me an example of what the STARTUP.CMD file should contain? I'd like to make a new STARTUP.CMD file, but I have no clue what I should put in there. 2) Every time I try to issue a SET or SHOW command, I get the message: MCR -- Task active Why is that? 3) To prevent this from happening in the future, how do I back up files to floppy via the RX50? So have I totally messed up my RSX system? I hope not, because I don't have any distribution media. -- Owen Robertson

23 years

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H89 CP/M hard-secored boot diskette

by acme＠ao.net

Don -- Do you have the means to copy such a diskette? I have a set of the original distribution diskettes here, and last time I checked the boot diskette was good. Later -- Glen 0/0 > On Mon, 31 Mar 2003, Fred Cisin (XenoSoft) wrote: > > > On Mon, 31 Mar 2003, Jason J. Gullickson wrote: > > > On that note, if any of you know where I could find a copy of CPM and a > > > compatible C compiler on hard-sectored disks, that would be greeeaaat, > > > yeah. > > > > Don Maslin can probably help you with the CP/M boot disk. But you are > > going to have to immediately come up with software for serial port file > > transfer, since that is the only PRACTICAL way to transfer files to or > > from hard-sectored disks. > > I wish that I could, Fred. Unfortunately, I do not have a hard > sectored boot disk for the H89 to make a copy from so I am > stumped. > - don > > > There have been several C compilers for CP/M. Aztec/Manx is probably the > > best, but the most popular was Zolman's BDS C. Good news! As of 6 months > > ago, BDS C became public domain! : > > > > On Thu, 26 Sep 2002, Rich Beaudry wrote: > > > > > > > > Don't know how many of you are on comp.os.cpm, but in case you missed > > it, > > > Leor Zolman has decided to release the full retail package of BDS C, > > > including *ALL* source code (compiler as well!) to the Public Domain. > > > > > > http://www.bdsoft.com/resources.html#bdsc > > > > > > Check it out! > > > > > > Rich B.

23 years

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Two ESDI drives available

by CCTalk＠catcorner.org

Well, I've made up my mind. Actually, I found a controller for these drives and have installed them in a computer I use to emulate the old Tandy's I collect. How's that... Emulating a 20 year old computer on a 10 year old computer with 15 year old hard drives. Now, on to the next question. I need a 34 conductor flat cable with male IDC on one end and socket on the other. Anyone know of a good source for these? Thanks, kelly -----Original Message----- From: Kelly Leavitt [mailto:CCTalk@catcorner.org] Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2003 6:29 PM To: 'cctalk(a)classiccmp.org' Subject: Two ESDI drives available I have two: Imprimis 94166-182 (150 MB) Maxtor XT-4170E (170MB) Any one need them? I collect mostly old Tandy stuff. Model II, 12, 16, 6000 is my main focus. Any interesting uses for these boat anchors? Thanks, Kelly

23 years

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Brian Instruments BRIKON Mdl 723 Floppy Drive Tester / Analyzer

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

At 11:52 PM 4/2/03 -0500, you wrote: >Here's an interesting item for keeping those vintage floppy's in order? > >Brian Instruments BRIKON Mdl 723 Floppy Drive Tester / Analyzer They are interesting. I have one and I've bid on this one. Anybody have docs for the 727 multiplexer? > > > >I saw a web site where these were about $900.00 Typical Re-seller wishfull thinking!!! These sell on E-bay for about $20. Note that this one has a $15 "handling fee" in addition to the selling price and shipping. Again typical of re-sellers. They never miss a chance to boost their profits! Joe

23 years

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[Fwd: Fw: [TRS-80] Fw: Ed Juge, RIP] (fwd)

by geneb＠deltasoft.com

This may be of interest....unfortunately. g. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2003 06:24:50 -0500 From: Bob Klahn <bob.klahn(a)sev.org> To: trs80(a)cs.ubc.ca Subject: [Fwd: Fw: [TRS-80] Fw: Ed Juge, RIP] Just got this msg today. Didn't check yesterday. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Fustanella" <fustaNOSPAMnella(a)spammop.org> Newsgroups: comp.sys.tandy Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2003 11:06 AM Subject: Ed Juge, RIP > It is with great sadness, all the more on a day known for its pranks, > that I must pass on from a friend that Ed Juge passed away today. He had > been battling a brain tumor for several months. > > Ed was one of those unique individuals who was instantly liked by anyone > who came in contact with him. He was a friend and a mentor to many > people, whether they knew him or not - his work with Tandy and the > TRS-80s, and his TANDYPRO Forum on CompuServe, helped bring personal > computing to the masses in the Seventies and early Eighties. When his > passion transferred to his later interest of RVing, he helped many enjoy > the road all the more. > > Friends and former co-workers of his plan to hold a 'Virtual Wake' on > Wednesday, April 2 at 9.00pm ET, 6.00pm PT. Anyone and everyone is > welcome to drop by and pay their online respects, share stories, and > perhaps a toast or two. It's being held on the RV Forum on CompuServe > (http://go.compuserve.com/rv - free to all, not just CS members), chat > room 1 (Virtual Campfire). > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Get 128 Bit SSL Encryption! http://us.click.yahoo.com/xaxhjB/hdqFAA/VygGAA/CFFolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Using an emulator? Please join! Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Only $9.95 per month! Visit www.juno.com -- Bob Klahn bob.klahn(a)sev.org http://home.toltbbs.com/bobklahn

23 years

3
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keyboard translator

by david＠dakota.dk

Hello there, Found your address through Google. We are trying to connect a Vax 3850 using a LK201 keyboard and a ?mouse to ps2 based KVM switch. Do you know of any products that can do the translation? regards, David Troutman

23 years

4
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Brian Instruments BRIKON Mdl 723 Floppy Drive Tester / Analyzer

by melamy＠earthlink.net

I am with you guys, anyone who says untested may be selling a cabinet that has nothing inside and there is no protection against that. best regards, Steve Thatcher >--- Original Message --- >From: Ethan Dicks <erd_6502(a)yahoo.com> >To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org >Date: 4/3/03 7:09:58 AM > --- Joe <rigdonj(a)cfl.rr.com> wrote: >> >I saw a web site where these were about $900.00 >> >> Typical Re-seller wishfull thinking!!! These sell on E-bay for about >> $20. > >Typical indeed. OTOH, when researching other devices of similar vintage, >plotters and protocol analyzers, to name some recent targets, they are >available from instrument companies for $1000-$2000 every day of the >week, and they will be *glad* to sell you one for that, but over on eBay, >it's more like $50-$60 every week. > >The brick-and-mortar catalog-oriented resellers are basing their prices >on a stiff percentage of the new price, and living off of "gotta have >a replacement now" commercial traffic. eBay resellers are limited to >what the traffic will bear over the course of a week, regardless of >individual customer demand. > >> Note that this one has a $15 "handling fee" in addition to the >> selling price and shipping. Again typical of re-sellers. They never miss >> a chance to boost their profits! > >I noticed that. I tend to shy away from those guys, no matter what >the deal seems to be - if they are pulling that, how do I know that >the "untested" condition doesn't really mean "tested, guaranteed >broken"? > >-ethan

23 years

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Two ESDI drives available

by CCTalk＠catcorner.org

> For a cable already made up, IIRC cables like these, 34 pin > with male IDC on one end, and female IDC on the other end > came with floppy controller controlled tape backup drives, to add > a third device ( the tape drive ) to a floppy cable already being > used by both an A: and B: floppy drive. I've got a dozen of these cables. The problem is that they have a pin pulled that I think is used in standard DS/DD floppy operation, but not in tape operation. I tried several anyway and it would not work. Looking carfeully, most floppy cables use one of the ground pins as a key. I know that if I use a straight direct cable it works fine. With one of these cables it does not. I am not using these for the ESDI drives, but for my TRS-80 Model 4. The internal drives do not work, the metal cage is not deep enough for "standard" 5.25" floppies, and for cosmetic reasons I want to leave the old drives in place. So I need to put two dirves in an external case. However, Having something like this hard wired in place makes handling difficult. I tried to use a card edge connector from the bottom of the unit, but it then doesn't sense the drives. I'll just keep looking and trying differnet cables. I know Digikey has them, but at $20 each it would be more than I paid for the model 4. Thanks, Kelly

23 years

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Victor Keyboard Identification

by Paul.Hills＠siemens.co.uk

John, Whereabouts are you in the UK? I would be interested in that Sirius 1, and could collect it if you're anywhere near Manchester. Would you be interested in a spare Epson HX20 as a swap? paul -----Original Message----- From: John Honniball [mailto:coredump@gifford.co.uk] Sent: 02 April 2003 20:02 To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org Subject: Re: Victor Keyboard Identification Thomas Martin wrote: > You can also see them labeled as Sirius machines from > time to time. Yes, I'd have called it a Sirius keyboard! Mine are darker in colour, though; dark grey instead of beige. I have a spare Sirius I, if anyone in the UK would like one -- as designed by Chuck Peddle. -- John Honniball coredump(a)gifford.co.uk

23 years

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Brian Instruments BRIKON Mdl 723 Floppy Drive Tester / Analyzer

by mail.list＠analog-and-digital-solutions.com

Here's an interesting item for keeping those vintage floppy's in order? Brian Instruments BRIKON Mdl 723 Floppy Drive Tester / Analyzer I saw a web site where these were about $900.00 http://www.mbiusa.com/Bucket/test1.html and this one is only at $5.00 with only about 1 and a half days to go. Brian Industries Brikon 723 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2519413979

23 years

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Qbus artifact score!

by erd_6502＠yahoo.com

I was visiting a data-center-not-to-be-named and talked them out of an item on the scrap heap - a CompuServe Tri-Node - it's a rackable box, about 21" tall (twice as tall as an RX01, say), with *3* independent Qbuses inside. The only cards I got were some CompuServe-branded grant cards and one terminator each. I don't know how long ago it was gutted, but it's been sitting on a pallet for months. The front panel is in triplicate - three boot switches, three LTC switches and three run switches. It has three power switches on the back, and three watchdog boards inside. *Dual* boot?!? Nay! Three OSes in one! I should have enough PDP-11 boards to have an RT-11, a 2BSD, and some thing else, all in the same cabinet (external disks, naturally). I have plenty of LSI-11 and KDF-11 boards, but not KDJ-11, unfortunately. If only there was a DEC terminal with triple-session capability. Maybe I could rig up a video switcher and use three VT240 bases?!? (I know I can switch the RS-232 line, but that won't preserve screen contents of the other sessions) ... or perhaps three ports on a terminal server... The only thing missing is the back door skin. It was apparently removed some years ago, and none of the tri-nodes have them. Should be a bunch of fun getting this guy running! -ethan

23 years

2
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Free Stuff ???

by mail.list＠analog-and-digital-solutions.com

Free Stuff ??? page info says date last modified ... Tuesday, May 04, 1999 9:32:15 PM GMT But it's currently indexed in Google, so who know? http://www.monmouth.com/~wstreett/equip.html Best Regards

23 years

1
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AST Multifunction card manual

by swtpc6800＠attbi.com

I have a photo copy of the AST I/O Plus II card user's manual. It is a Serial Parallel, Clock and Game card. It is about 50 pages long and has schematics. I will mail it to any one who needs it. Michael Holley www.swtpc.com/mholley

23 years

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