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

FTGH clear-out at Mesa Electronics, Richmond, CA, USA

by classiccmp＠crash.com

Regarding the thread started by Peter Wallace of Mesa Electronics the other month - I've been by for one load, and there are still tons of DEC and HP, and a few RS6k, workstations/servers. Including a rare DECserver that has a TurboChannel Expansion box. Lots of HP 712 and 715 workstations, a C110, DECstations (MIPS) and VAXstations (derp). Please note that the vintage calculators shown are spoken for. Sorry. Mesa has to vacate these offices by the end of the month. They're super nice people, just trying to avoid anything involving a scrapper. Please dig up that thread and have another look (sorry, traveling). Link to some photos I took: https://www.flickr.com/photos/smj_crash/albums/72157683795598746 Again, location is Richmond, East SF Bay, California, USA, Earth, Sol System, Perseus Arm, etc etc. Convenient to highways and spaceports alike! Best, --Steve.

9 years

14
33
0 0

Kryoflux or Catweasle

by jwsmail＠jwsss.com

Anyone know of where these can be had now days? thanks jim

9 years

15
36
0 0

Ebay - PDP-8/M

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

The most we saw had the full panel back in the day... good lookin' 8! Ed# In a message dated 5/26/2017 12:06:07 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, cctalk at classiccmp.org writes: Oh boyee: http://www.ebay.com/itm/112414315290 I thought the M variants all had blank front panels and bootstraps, but this has all the pretty stuff! How difficult are those switchers to fix for one trained in EE, but better at debugging logic? =] -- Anders Nelson +1 (517) 775-6129 www.erogear.com

9 years

1
0
0 0

Teletype 43

by brain＠jbrain.com

OK, go ahead and roll your eyes at me, but I was Dayton Hamvention last weekend, and there was a lonely Teletype Model 43 sitting in the flea market (on the ground, no less) for free, and so I decided I needed it in my life. I know it's not considered a "true" teletype, because it's essentially a little uC, a KB, and a little dot matrix printer, but I will wear the stigma of shame of not owning a "proper" mechanical model 33. I got home last night, and the unit fires up and works (well, in local mode. Docs claim it is rs232 out the back, but could not coax anything from my PC to it yet), though the ribbon has seen better days. I used a bit of WD-40 to free up the ink, and so things are legible now. Not sure I need help yet (did not do much debugging yet on rs232), but I see the ribbons are no longer available. Thus, I am wondering if anyone has a spare one for it, or knows of someone who can restore this ribbon (looks like it needs a new polyester ribbon and the internal foam roller looks like it will fall apart if I try to rinse it out and re-ink it) I know it's a long shot to ask, but I figure there was no harm in inquiring, and I believe making a home for a model 43 is not entirely without value. :-) Jim -- Jim Brain brain at jbrain.com www.jbrain.com

9 years

13
24
0 0

Alphaserver 4100 - Give my Monster Life!!!!

by rlloken＠telus.net

My monster lives! After being brought home in a dozen parts, cleaned with Windex and an air compressor, and reassembled, my Alphaserver 4100 is once again up and running OpenVMS. There were a couple minor snags while I went up to the attic to find a CPU fan, move a ton of stuff to find an electrical outlet, and reseated the memory modules but all that is behind me now. It is using lots of electricity and making lots of noise while displaying a Motif session in a 19" liquid crystal monitor without a stand... What could be better than this? -- Richard Loken VE6BSV : "...underneath those tuques we wear, Athabasca, Alberta Canada : our heads are naked!" ** rlloken at telus.net ** : - Arthur Black

9 years

3
2
0 0

FTGH clear-out at Mesa Electronics, Richmond, CA, USA

by shadoooo＠gmail.com

Hello, given the rules, I think the winner could be me! :) I hope it would not cost me a liver for shipment.... As I mentioned in my direct email to you, if the DECtalk business goes to the end, I would be interested also on the couple of Data General memory board, these could fit in a Nova I have here, I think. If you need address for shipping estimation to Italy, please answer to my email, or write to the address used in this newsgroup. Many thanks for your efforts! :) Andrea - DECTalk priority goes to the person who responded to my offer first. After I get shipping estimates (FedEx services only, please) should he/she decline I'll offer it to the next person to respond.

9 years

1
0
0 0

vaxstation/vlc mouse connector

by emu＠e-bbes.com

anybody here knows what the right name for it is? I need to replace some on a vlc, but how to find the right one ... Thanks!

9 years

2
1
0 0

FTGH clear-out at Mesa Electronics, Richmond, CA, USA

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Anders Nelson > Heavens, why are the bit positions in descending order right to left in > that PCM-12? Numbering bits in descending order from right to left (AKA increasing order >from left to right) used to be the standard - IBM S/360, PDP-10, etc, etc all did it that way. Noel

9 years

3
2
0 0

Kryoflux or Catweasle

by fjkraan＠xs4all.nl

On 24 May 2017 08:28:42 -0700 Chuck Guzis via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote: > Mine are for specific-purpose applications, so they're not likely to be > of use to anyone else. Note that I'm not interested in archiving disks, > but rather getting at their content and saving that. > > But golly, it isn't that difficult--most MCUs have several timers, and a > "capture" facility so reading should be easy. Writing is again, mostly > feeding a PWM output to the drive. The floppy interface itself is very > much brain-dead. This is indeed very easy to implement, I did it in less than a day, including some doc: https://fjkraan.home.xs4all.nl/digaud/arduino/FDDExer/. > > This isn't news--the HxC emulator basically does the work and runs on an > STM32F1 platform--which is weak tea compared to the ARM CPUs currently > available. I'm not sure this will work on my Teensy, but it will be fun to try. Or else I could upgrade. > > My .02 cents. > Chuck Fred Jan

9 years

2
1
0 0

Atari ST SCSI hard drive question

by wheagy＠gmail.com

I have an Atari 1040ST that I picked up some time back. It is very clean and for the most part appears to work. It has what appears to be some kind of generic SCSI hard drive (no markings except a serial number on the back) as well as a DMA/SCSI adapter. The computer will boot to GEM/TOS with or without a floppy, but I can't seem to get the HD to do much. The HD powers up and spins/clicks like you'd expect, but after that, I get nothing on the desktop. I tried different SCSI device number settings as well as moving the SCSI plug to each of the two plugs on the drive. It did not have a SCSI terminator with it, but I picked one up...made no difference. I know very little about STs, so am learning as I go. I'm guessing that maybe there should be a driver for the HD? The machine came with software, but I don't see anything that looks like an HD driver disk. It has two slightly different language disks and will boot each of them successfully, but the HD does not show up. Is anyone familiar with this particular drive and can possibly point me in the right direction? https://imgur.com/a/pxMxl The adapter on top is a male to female adapter. Not sure what that was for. The SCSI terminator is plugged in the back below the DMA/SCSI adapter. Thanks...Win wheagy at gmail.com

9 years

6
5
0 0

Alphaserver 4100 - Give my Monster Life!!!!

by rlloken＠telus.net

On Wed, 24 May 2017, Pete Lancashire wrote: > Displaying that Motif session on a 'real' CRT that takes 1/3 of your desk, > weights 50+ lbs and takes around 150W. I had a lovely 21" trinitron CRT here that I sent to the dump last year, it had sat idle in the storage room for ten years and I needed the space. That is shameful. On the other hand, I feel no guilt about sending a few white box pentiums to the dump along with a couple ghetto blasters. No jury would ever convict me! Oh! Wait! I have a VAXstation 3100 and its associated 50lb monochrome CRT still in the storage room. I will have to dig it out some time... -- Richard Loken VE6BSV : "...underneath those tuques we wear, Athabasca, Alberta Canada : our heads are naked!" ** rlloken at telus.net ** : - Arthur Black

9 years

2
1
0 0

Directory of old computer collectors

by rdawson16＠hotmail.com

Hi Jim, Anybody that is paranoid about telling their location and the computer dinosaurs running in their basement needs a head alignment. Another case of some guy over-estimating the worth of the junk we hold on to. It is zero, of value to only us that play with it. And our numbers are diminishing every day. Randy ________________________________ From: jim stephens <jwsmail at jwsss.com> Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2017 11:26 PM To: Randy Dawson; steven stengel Subject: Fwd: Re: Directory of old computer collectors Randy, I'm sort of running interference for STeve on the list. Since his email is cc'd here and he's a subscriber I suspect has seen this. the tosteve at yahoo.com<mailto:tosteve at yahoo.com> is his email for these computer matters. People are getting a bit torqued out over non issues, I think, thanks for chiming in. Hopefully we can all help each others collecting efforts with a bit of visibility. thanks jim -------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: Re: Directory of old computer collectors Date: Wed, 24 May 2017 05:19:41 +0000 From: Randy Dawson <rdawson16 at hotmail.com><mailto:rdawson16 at hotmail.com> To: jim stephens <jwsmail at jwsss.com><mailto:jwsmail at jwsss.com>, steven stengel <tosteve at yahoo.com><mailto:tosteve at yahoo.com>, General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org><mailto:cctalk at classiccmp.org> Hi Jim, add me to your list. I am in Thousand Oaks, CA (Los Angeles area). I have a Tektronix 4051 vector graphics computer running, just BASIC games at the moment. I have a Compaq Model 1 with the PC-IDE flash setup, running Autocad, Versacad, Dr. Halo, Turbo-C, MS-Fortran. I am in conversation with some Tek guys to add a modern RAM flash drive to the 4051 to replace the DC300 tape. We are about to build some PCBs for it, let me know if you have a 4051. Randy ________________________________ From: cctalk <cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org><mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org> on behalf of steven stengel via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org><mailto:cctalk at classiccmp.org> Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2017 12:05 PM To: jim stephens; General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts Subject: Re: Directory of old computer collectors I will post anything you want me to, just tell me. email is not necessary, a link or website will do fine as well.The map is intended to be a method to see who's where for assistance, trading, meet-ups, etc.There's hundreds of people here, but few know where each other live, I suppose. From: jim stephens via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org><mailto:cctalk at classiccmp.org> To: cctalk at classiccmp.org<mailto:cctalk at classiccmp.org> Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2017 12:09 AM Subject: Re: Directory of old computer collectors On 5/22/2017 11:06 PM, Lyle Bickley via cctalk wrote: > On Mon, 22 May 2017 16:29:22 -0400 > william degnan via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org><mailto:cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote: > >> can you send a link to the people who are on the list so they can see >> their listing? I personally don't mind as long as any record that >> includes me personally does not include my email address or phone >> number. I much prefer to send people to my web page contact form. > Folks who are on the list should have the opportunity to approve what > will and will not be posted about them. That's not only a legal > requirement in many States, but also common courtesy. > > Regards, > Lyle You do get that this isn't cctalk, but one that people had already sent contact info for. I sent him revised publishable contact info for the list. I realize he probably made the request w/o 40 pages of consent forms to read, but he seems to just be asking to allow him to publish >from that list, and a note here for anyone who didn't see it in their email, since the respondents came from here. thanks jim >> On Mon, May 22, 2017 at 4:19 PM, steven stengel via cctalk < >> cctalk at classiccmp.org<mailto:cctalk at classiccmp.org>> wrote: >> >>> Hi, >>> In the past, I requested the email address and home city of old >>> computer collectors to a compile a list for my own purposes. >>> Over 120 people had responded, which is great! Now I want to make >>> this list PUBLIC with a Google map showing everyones location, >>> email, and collecting preferences. >>> Since I don't have anyone's explicit permission to publish their >>> information, I am now asking. >>> Please let me know if I may, or may not, place your information on >>> the public webpage. >>> Thanks- >>> Steven Stengelhttp://oldcomputers.net/ >>> >>> > >

9 years

12
11
0 0

Key for Intel MDS-800

by barythrin＠gmail.com

Is this a thing? There's an archive of vintage physical computer keys? This would be very cool. Heck one could potentially even 3d print a key for short term usage. -------- Original message --------From: Dennis Boone via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Date: 5/10/17 4:13 PM (GMT-06:00) To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: Re: Key for Intel MDS-800 If someone has one, let's get it added to the ccmp keys list: blank type, cut info, etc. De

9 years

3
2
0 0

cctalk Digest, Vol 35, Issue 24

by fred＠miser.misernet.net

On Wed, 24 May 2017, cctalk-request at classiccmp.org wrote: > Message: 51 > From: Anders Nelson <anders.k.nelson at gmail.com> > To: "Peter C. Wallace" <pcw at mesanet.com>, "General Discussion: > On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > > To whomever wants that DECTalk, I live in San Francisco and could pick it > up and ship it for you! I believe there was a gentleman in Italy that wanted it. If that falls through, I would like right of next refusal, shipping to Ohio. :) Fred

9 years

1
0
0 0

FTGH clear-out at Mesa Electronics, Richmond, CA, USA

by shadoooo＠gmail.com

Hello Anders, thanks for your offer! I wrote you an email, I would be glad to receive the DECtalk! Andrea

9 years

1
0
0 0

Fixing flakey floppies

by imp＠bsdimp.com

Greetings, I have three flakey floppies. I wonder if they are worth fixing. Two are TEAC FD-55FRs. One appears to not report the INDEX mark, the other works well until around track 35 or so then fails... The third floppy is a 1.2 MB YD-380. It won't reliably move the head... I've tried cleaning the heads (which rehabbed a forth drive: a TEAC FD-55GFR) on these drives a few times. I'm thinking that it's too much hassle and I should just trash them, at least the YD-380. I have 3 1.2MB drives that work. The 55FRs are desirable to have working since I can put them in a Rainbow, but even at ebay prices it isn't worth more than an hour of my time to rehab. Before I do that I thought I'd see if there was something simple I can do. I did all my testing with the kryoflux board on a known-good disk (720k 5.25" drive so it tests both sides at the normal density and tests all 80 tracks w/o using the high density mode so the FRs can read it). Warner

9 years

5
5
0 0

BBS software for the PDP 11

by lyokoboy0＠gmail.com

I have both a pdp 11/34 and 11/23 and am trying to find some bbs software to run. Preferably something that will run under an os and not monopolize the whole machine. Any suggestions? i have not had much luck finding anything. --Devin

9 years

32
96
0 0

Directory of old computer collectors

by tosteve＠yahoo.com

Hi, In the past, I requested the email address and home city of old computer collectors to a compile a list for my own purposes. Over 120 people had responded, which is great! Now I want to make this list PUBLIC with a Google map showing everyones location, email, and collecting preferences. Since I don't have anyone's explicit permission to publish their information, I am now asking. Please let me know if I may, or may not, place your information on the public webpage. Thanks- Steven Stengelhttp://oldcomputers.net/

9 years

11
14
0 0

KDF 8189 processor board foobared (ebay warning)

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Jim Stephens > The fellow responded and as I had suspected had never seen anything > this old before and had thought that the parts were separable. > ... > Also he is going to hopefully share photos of the entire pile and I'll > try to help him market the parts in the most profitable way for him. This is good to hear. If he doesn't know about not trashing backplanes, etc (since most people save the boards, and trash everything else), please let him know about that too. I just lucked into a DH11 backplane, w/out boards. The boards are, however, easy to find on eBay, due to people following the 'save the boards' method... Noel

9 years

1
0
0 0

usenet text newsgroup archives

by jwsmail＠jwsss.com

I've not hunted for anything much new on text usenet groups in ages. However I ran across a reference to a mailman mail list from 2006 call sun at home. Then stumbled across something call os.solaris.at-home. I presume that may be comp.os.solaris.at-home ? Anyone have a pointer to stable archives. And perhaps what happened to the mailman and archives? the trail to that list runs like this: This site with lots of Sun info I can use: http://www.obsolyte.com/ References this which is "on hiatus": http://www.net-kitchen.com/mailman/listinfo/suns-at-home apparently above is by Dwight D. McKay. From what I recall of Purdue IT and the like he is probably someone who knows or worked with George Gobel. (google his liquid oxygen BBQ sometime, for a taste). This is the link, but the above will hit all sorts of fun madness. Way before Mythbusters and the like as far as "don't try this at home" (subscript, tell George and let him set himself on fire). https://youtu.be/sab2Ltm1WcM thanks Jim

9 years

1
0
0 0

RICM Data General Rescue

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

Dan and I did a rescue run yesterday and came back with four Data General systems; a Nova/3, a Nova/4, an Eclipse S/20, an Eclipse MV/4000, and a large assortment of test equipment and spares. All of the systems are in very nice condition. The Eclipse S/20 is mounted in a cabinet with a model 6125 1/2" tape drive and a fixed disk drive. In the next week or so I will add them to the RICM WWW page. -- Michael Thompson

9 years

3
2
0 0

Expander Model 1

by vintagecomputer＠bettercomputing.net

Curious about this machine. ?I've seen a few come up on ebay and they've sold for not much money, mistaken as mere Apple II clones. ?I read Lee Felsenstein's account of creating them and they seem like interesting machines. ?Wondering what sort of value is reasonable to pay for one and how hard it would be to find or rig up a power supply, since they are usually missing that in auctions.

9 years

1
0
0 0

Directory of old computer collectors

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

Risk indeed,.. Pity the fool that brags he has an APPLE 1... In a message dated 5/22/2017 2:06:36 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, cctalk at classiccmp.org writes: I really think you should give people the chance to yay/neh their listing and a way to edit/delete. Otherwise it's a potential risk. Letting the world know who has what where coukld invite a thief under the right circumstances now that I think about it. Bill Degnan twitter: billdeg vintagecomputer.net On May 22, 2017 4:57 PM, "Jason Scott via cctalk" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote: > I have no idea if I am on this list or not but I do not want to be on it at > all. > > On May 22, 2017 16:52, "Mark Linimon via cctalk" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > wrote: > > > I do not want my location information published other than city. > > > > mcl > > >

9 years

1
0
0 0

Directory of old computer collectors #3

by tosteve＠yahoo.com

Regarding the previous message, all email will be obfuscated to foil scrapers.

9 years

2
1
0 0

Directory of old computer collectors #2

by tosteve＠yahoo.com

Regrading the previous message, the map would just show the city, not your actually home address, which I do not have, but to be honest, anyone could find it using the internet.

9 years

1
0
0 0

Announcing: VCF Midwest 12!

by vintagecomputer＠bettercomputing.net

Very cool! ?Wish we had one of these up here in Vancouver, BC. Sent from my Samsung device -------- Original message -------- From: Jason T via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Date: 2017-05-20 6:05 PM (GMT-08:00) To: chiclassiccomp at yahoogroups.com, "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org>, The Rescue List <rescue at sunhelp.org> Subject: Announcing: VCF Midwest 12! We did this nerd-fest thing at this hotel last year and no one complained (much), least of all the hotel, so I think we're up for another go. The TWELFTH edition of the Vintage Computer Festival Midwest is happening September 9th and 10th, 2017 in lovely Elk Grove Village, Illinois, mere minutes from O'Hare International Airport and an array suburban shopping and dining opportunities. Those who have joined us in the past will be happy to know that we're running the same show (and more!) this year: same location, same hours, still free to attend, show or sell.? If you're new to VCF Midwest, you can find all the relevant details at http://vcfmw.org. If you have any questions not answered there, feel free to contact me directly. Registration: No registration is necessary to attend the show. If you would like a table(s) for exhibition and/or vending, please contact us via the form on our site at: http://vcfmw.org/signup.html.? We'll do our best to get you the space you need. Presentation: If you would like to volunteer a talk or demo between 30-60 minutes, please contact us via the form http://vcfmw.org/pres.html.? Our friendly events coordinator will get back to you soon. Accommodation: Hotel registration is now open!? Follow the link here http://bit.ly/2phDUyI or at vcfmw.org and reserve your room at our reduced rate of $89/night. The nights of the 8th, 9th and 10th are available, with either a single King bed or a dual Queen room. If you're staying additional nights, they will probably have to be booked separately at the regular rate - however it's worth calling the hotel directly at (847) 437-6010 and asking them for the "Vintage Computer Fes" (yes without the "t") or "VIN" rate on the extra nights. No guarantees they'll extend it but it's worth a try.? If you have any other booking needs or difficulties, please call that number as well. Do not call the main toll-free line for Holiday Inn/IHG. They don't have the rate code and won't be able to help you. Hesitation: Why wait?? Book your room and travel and mark your calendars TODAY. Socialization: For Facebook users, there's a FB event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/805945506224113/ For the tweeting kind, you may follow us at: https://twitter.com/vcfmidwest Does anyone use Google+ any more?? We have a page here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/102061024739945029100/102061024739945029100 Donation: VCF Midwest is a community-supported event, made possible through the generous donations of attendees, vendors and the organizing staff.? As such, we humbly beg for your contribution toward the show's expenses, payable via the PayPal or GoFundMe links on our main page.? Every donation helps and we appreciate them all. See you in September! -j

9 years

3
2
0 0

FTGH clear-out at Mesa Electronics, Richmond, CA, USA

by shadoooo＠gmail.com

Hello, I would really like the Dectalk, if somebody could ship it to me in Italy. Anybody could help me with this? Thanks Andrea

9 years

1
0
0 0

CFL (was: Re: BBS software for the PDP 11)

by seefriek＠gmail.com

> And if you break one you have to call HAZMAT. You did realize that, > didn't you? They contain mercury and any breakage requires professional > remediation by law!! Please quit spreading this urban legend. Some care in handling is recommended, but no professional help is required, by law! or otherwise. https://www.epa.gov/cfl/cleaning-broken-cfl

9 years

6
7
0 0

BBS software for the PDP 11

by mark＠matlockfamily.com

As for power, if you have a wife and/or kids, a PDP-11's power > consumption is not even above the noise floor in your electric bill. > (Unless your trying to do it with RA disks!!) > > bill Out of curiosity how much power do these wee beasties consume? ___________________________________ The plate on the back of my 11/93 says 345 Watts. That's about a fifth what your wifes hair dryer draws. Or slightly more than 3 100 watt light bulbs (which your kids leave on all over the house all the time!!) bill I run a similar PDP-11/83 system 24/7 on a BA23 in a Pedestal stand. It has two 2MB memory boards, an Emulex UC07 connected to two SCSI2SD Cards emulating two RD54s and two RA92s, and a DELQA-T running RSX11M+, DECnet and Johnny Billquist;s TCP/IP and it draws 100-105 watts on my UPS. I also run a Simh PDP-11 on a Raspberry Pi 3 as an adjacent node and it is much faster, much quieter, but not quite as much fun. Mark Matlock

9 years

4
3
0 0

OT (was RE: CFL AND BBS software for PDP11)

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

Unless somehow the discussion of CFL bulbs revolves around front panel light replacement.... this thread needs to die. J

9 years

1
0
0 0

KDF 8189 processor board foobared (ebay warning)

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Jim Stephens > I just ran across a sale on epay by a guy who thought you could pull > the processor chip off the board and sell each in separate auctions. There are a lot of idiotz out there. I ran into one who'd removed a group of boards from (probably) an -11/40, and then scrapped away the rest of the machine (including an RK11-D backplane). I took _great_ pleasure in informing him that the stuff he'd scrapped had been worth several times what the boards he had 'saved' had been worth. Noel

9 years

8
10
0 0

Pair of Twiggys

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Raymond Wiker > Steve Jobs ... was also a stickler for perfection and largely unwilling > to make compromises. Absolutely; and that's a large part of the reason for the success of Apple. His products were just really well done. It's also, I think, a big part of the causality for another Apple characteristic: their push for closed systems. The thing is that Steve wanted to make the user experience as good as possible (another hallmark of Apple stuff) - and when the 'system' includes pieces being independently sourced >from multiple entities, it's hard to make that happen - there will be glitches, etc. So that's why he usually wanted to bring the entire thing inside the Apple envelope. > So, Steve Jobs ... should get some of the credit for the fact that > we're not all running Windows on variations of crappy PC hardware. I think that's not accurate; Linux may not have a large user base among non-technical people in the laptop area, but it does show that there are other alternatives. And when it gets to smart-phones, of course, things which are neither Apple nor uSloth are the majority there, no? > From: Chris Hanson > What the Apple folks saw and what was implemented for Lisa and then > Macintosh were vastly different. I don't agree with the "vastly". (Having said that, I salute the Lisa/Mac people for doing a very good job of producing a excellent user interface.) The changes in the interface (menu bar, etc) are not that large; they are mostly minor refinements to the basic image/pointing-based interface pioneered by Xerox. The biggest improvement, IMO, was not in the details of the window system, but that everything used a common user interface - and the lack of that on the Alto was not planned, but more a result of the fact that the Alto was so far into new territory, and not done as an integrated system, but as a platform for research. > - The one-button mouse. Err, some of us don't see that as an 'improvement'... :-) > If you sit someone who knows how to use a Mac in front of a circa-1979 > Xerox Alto, they'll be pretty mystified. Yeah, but that's in good part because the Alto user interface is such a dog's breakfast - Draw is nothing like Bravo is nothing like etc, etc. But, like I said, that was inevitable, given the process that produced the Alto. Noel

9 years

33
76
0 0

DECSystem 3100 (broken) for free

by lukas.ka＠gmail.com

Hello list, does anybody need a broken MIPS-Server? The battery leaked and corroded the mainboard. I already cleaned it up, but it still didn't work... Maybe somebody can fix it or use it for spare parts. (please contact me off list.) romanis

9 years

3
2
0 0

Repairing an DEC LA424 Printer

by go＠aerodesic.com

I've inherited an LA424-A2 printer that had been stored for a while but now has obvious problems. Powering up 'jogs' the paper feed motor, flashes the three green LEDS on the panel through a rapid sequence, but then it stops with the display showing what appears to be a fault code. Unfortunately, one of the other parts that is failing is the LCD (16 char I think) that should be showing a fault code. It appears to be "CO <something>" but I can barely make out the "CO". Is this LCD use a traditional byte-wide interface and can it be replaced with one of the current crop of cheap LCD modules? Once I can see the fault code, I can begin to determine what else is failing, though the manual doesn't seem to be much help on error codes: they seem to be simple state-of-operation codes. Thanks, Gary

9 years

1
0
0 0

KDF 8189 processor board foobared (ebay warning)

by jwsmail＠jwsss.com

I just ran across a sale on epay by a guy who thought you could pull the processor chip off the board and sell each in separate auctions. I couldn't find the processor from the huge number of gold scrap chip auctions he had, but he said it (or the other) chip(s) for the board were listed. I think giving him the benefit of the doubt, he thought that the two were separable like motherboards and processors are now day. Worst case he was just an unfortunate idiot that destroyed the board. I sent him an email telling him the value I place on it (tested) and suggested that he think of older boards as the full components to be kept together unless he wants to destroy the board, or knows what he is doing breaking them up. Of course on old Qbus and the like boards, one does have some components that are more valuable if you break up the board, and pull "unobtainium" chips. But pulling out the KDF processor isn't one of them in general. I just bought a KDJ Jaws chip for a "round 2it" project to try to get it running, as I archived a PDP11 "Hack" page indicating how to get one running on a proto board with minimal hardware. I don't know if you could do that with the KDF, but that isn't what this guy is doing. thanks Jim

9 years

6
10
0 0

Commercial AIM-65 Video Controller?

by kylevowen＠gmail.com

Any idea what this thing is? https://imgur.com/a/aNFiK Didn't come up with much of anything with Motion Control, Inc. I did plug it in, and it seemed to come alive. I tempted fate again and plugged a composite video source into the input, and a monitor into the output. One pot on top adjusts the vertical sync, apparently; other than making the colors slightly weird, the video came through more or less the same. The other two (marked Y and Z cal) seemed to change nothing. The switch mounted behind the pots caused the LED display to change (as seen in the pictures), though the switch mounted closer to the right side of the unit seemed to make no difference. When I get done moving, I'll dump the EPROMs and get more pictures, especially if there's sufficient interest. Thanks, Kyle

9 years

4
4
0 0

Free to a good home, VAXstation 3100 M38, memory errors

by aaron＠aaronsplace.co.uk

I have a VAXstation 3100 m38 which fails its POST due to problems with the on board memory. I am not particularly interested in trying to fix it myself, as I have another VAXstation which I am fond of. However, if anyone else would like to try and repair it, it is free to a good home. It seems as though the battery had leaked and caused some. I've cleaned it up a bit but of course this wasn't enough to fix it. The only condition is that you also take it with its alleged life long partner, a working VR290 display (cables included). I'm based in Nottingham, UK. Please contact me off list if you are interested. Thanks, Aaron.

9 years

2
2
0 0

Help needed: Identifying the right RK611 <-> RK06/RK07 cabling

by p.gebhardt＠ymail.com

Hello list, Paul Anderson and myself are trying to figure out the available cabling options that allow to connect an RK611 controller to RK06/RK07 drives. To my knowledge, there is the possibility to get a drive connect via: RK611 <-> flat cable <-> cabinet transition bracket <-> round cable <-> RK06/07 The part numbers I found so far: Flat cable: BC-06R-xx round cable: 70-12292 or BC23Z-xx The transition bracket's PN is 70-12415 and is the same as for RL01/RL02 configurations. The round cable with same connectors as used for RL01/02 cannot be used for RK06/07 as not all cables are wired to the connectors. But a RK06/07 cable can be used for RL01/RL02. Can the BC-06R also be used for RL01/RL02? Apparently, there are also direct cable connections between RK611 and RK06/07 existing. In that case, no transition bracket is needed. BC80M shielded: RK611 to first drive ... and the cable required to connect two RK07/07 drives: BC17E shielded Can anybody help us in confirming and correcting us regarding the cabling configurations and the part numbers? Thanks a lot for your help! Have a nice Sunday, Pierre ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pierre's collection of classic computers moved to: http://www.digitalheritage.de

9 years

1
0
0 0

Announcing: VCF Midwest 12!

by silent700＠gmail.com

We did this nerd-fest thing at this hotel last year and no one complained (much), least of all the hotel, so I think we're up for another go. The TWELFTH edition of the Vintage Computer Festival Midwest is happening September 9th and 10th, 2017 in lovely Elk Grove Village, Illinois, mere minutes from O'Hare International Airport and an array suburban shopping and dining opportunities. Those who have joined us in the past will be happy to know that we're running the same show (and more!) this year: same location, same hours, still free to attend, show or sell. If you're new to VCF Midwest, you can find all the relevant details at http://vcfmw.org. If you have any questions not answered there, feel free to contact me directly. Registration: No registration is necessary to attend the show. If you would like a table(s) for exhibition and/or vending, please contact us via the form on our site at: http://vcfmw.org/signup.html. We'll do our best to get you the space you need. Presentation: If you would like to volunteer a talk or demo between 30-60 minutes, please contact us via the form http://vcfmw.org/pres.html. Our friendly events coordinator will get back to you soon. Accommodation: Hotel registration is now open! Follow the link here http://bit.ly/2phDUyI or at vcfmw.org and reserve your room at our reduced rate of $89/night. The nights of the 8th, 9th and 10th are available, with either a single King bed or a dual Queen room. If you're staying additional nights, they will probably have to be booked separately at the regular rate - however it's worth calling the hotel directly at (847) 437-6010 and asking them for the "Vintage Computer Fes" (yes without the "t") or "VIN" rate on the extra nights. No guarantees they'll extend it but it's worth a try. If you have any other booking needs or difficulties, please call that number as well. Do not call the main toll-free line for Holiday Inn/IHG. They don't have the rate code and won't be able to help you. Hesitation: Why wait? Book your room and travel and mark your calendars TODAY. Socialization: For Facebook users, there's a FB event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/805945506224113/ For the tweeting kind, you may follow us at: https://twitter.com/vcfmidwest Does anyone use Google+ any more? We have a page here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/102061024739945029100/102061024739945029100 Donation: VCF Midwest is a community-supported event, made possible through the generous donations of attendees, vendors and the organizing staff. As such, we humbly beg for your contribution toward the show's expenses, payable via the PayPal or GoFundMe links on our main page. Every donation helps and we appreciate them all. See you in September! -j

9 years

1
0
0 0

Ethernet 1973/1974

by mark.kahrs＠gmail.com

The early ethernet schematics are best read with the a copy of the original patent (US 4,073,220) in hand. In particular, you can match up figure 5 and the explanation in the text with the schematic from Xerox. I wrote such a document decades ago but it has vanished along with many other bits. Has anyone interviewed Tat Lam about the transceiver?

9 years

1
0
0 0

bbs or crude facsimile of such

by jwsmail＠jwsss.com

When I got my first system running, S100, I had an Imsai 8080 with a Hayes 103 modem. I used it to log into multics and some BBS's at the time and record sessions and files and the like. I only had the usual 8" floppies, with eventually 1mb x 2 for storage. However, reason for mentioning was that there was a simple program which would auto answer on the Hayes modem and allow you to run things. One evening when my roommates and I had gone to dinner, a friend who was going to call at a certain time did so. However we had forgotten he was to call, and I had left the system up and connected to the phone. He called a couple of times and realized that we weren't around to pull the line, or call back, so he got his terminal up and running and left us a message on the screen for later. I sort of count it as the first sort of BBS type I ran. There was a program you could leave running which would challenge for a password, and then re-run when the modem lost signal, so you could have a low grade login that way. (password only). And one could take ones choice of files and xmodem them (which he did in future sessions). I logged into many BBS systems which weren't much more than this or a restricted menu program after you logged in. Some were nice with some presentation, and some were just (enter 1 to do ... 2 to do ... etc). Not much else really required if you want to get to very basics. With any BBS having more than just the floppies, login and messaging and more download options were the next level up. And after that there were various BBS software packages that had networks of like users that one could obtain. thanks Jim

9 years

4
3
0 0

Eunice BSD on TK50

by silent700＠gmail.com

I have here a shipping box, a shrink-wrapped TK50 tape and various docs for Wollongong Group's "EUNICE BSD," which I take to be a BSD Unix-like environment for VMS. I can't find a copy of either the docs nor the bits online. I will take care of scanning the docs. I would like to send this tape to someone - Al K getting first shot if he's interested - who can image the TK50 cart and make it available to all. I have a spotty TKZ50 drive that I'd rather not risk this potentially valuable data to. The tape is marked: "EUNICE BSD Binary Distribution Relase # E-11575-IP. Users: UL" Hooray, unlimited license! Any takers? -j

9 years

1
1
0 0

BBS software for the PDP 11

by lproven＠gmail.com

On 19 May 2017 at 13:36, Bill Gunshannon <bill.gunshannon at hotmail.com> wrote: > Nope. Take a trip to Amazon and look at just how much power this stuff > actually consumes. And, if you go back to the days when we started > running this stuff in our homes, compare the draw of a QBUS PDP-11 to > a TV with a picture tube, standard incandescent lights, a refridgerator, > window air conditioners, etc. Our toys draw much less power than most > people think. Heck, I have seen modern PC's (you know, the kind gamers > use) that draw more power and are frequently run 24/7. I wonder if this is one of those USA-vs-Rest-of-world differences. I think I have seen a running PDP-11 twice in my life, and it was the same one -- a machine I had to get exchanging files with Mac clients acting as terminal emulators, in about 1989 in my first job. It was already very old kit by then. I've no idea how much power they draw. Window air conditioners are another thing I've never seen, incandescent lights are now a rarity in Europe, hoarded by some old-timers -- i.e. older than me, at a hair under 50. I've never bought a new TV set with a CRT, either. In fact most of my CRT monitors over my whole home computing time period -- nearly 40y -- were cast-offs, hand-me-downs, or bought 2nd hand. I've bought a few 2nd hand LCD monitors now, because I like big ones. (Oo er missus, etc.) I'm currently running a 23" + a 24" on a 2011 Mac mini with a 1987 Apple Extended keyboard. All bought used. New kit is for suckers. So I don't look into power consumption -- used price is more important to me, TBH. Probably bad of me, but wotthehell archie wotthehell. -- Liam Proven ? Profile: https://about.me/liamproven Email: lproven at cix.co.uk ? Google Mail/Talk/Plus: lproven at gmail.com Twitter/Facebook/Flickr: lproven ? Skype/LinkedIn/AIM/Yahoo: liamproven UK: +44 7939-087884 ? ?R/WhatsApp/Telegram/Signal: +420 702 829 053

9 years

3
2
0 0

BBS software for the PDP 11

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Christian Corti > I have a similar setup with our 11/34. .. It's not the fastest system, > and the kernel uses overlays like crazy ;-) ... I still have to add the > cache and FPP boards and see how that improves the performance. The cache should help some, but the FPP, probably not (unless you are running some application which actually does a lot of floating point). Noel

9 years

1
0
0 0

BBS software for the PDP 11

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

we ran ours first on a hp-2000 then migrated to a hp-3000 final version had 100 boards on it email , multi user chat, poll and voting and much more. yep it kicked ass! The machines were used also as board test machines etc when needed and also some were used as sale of computer time to people tthat had developed an application and did not want to rewrite it for a pc. ... and I found they were better to just run rather than turn on and off.. but they drew power! and they generated heat. ... nothing like having a 10 platter 500 lb drive as a leg warmer next t o your desk. Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org) In a message dated 5/18/2017 1:23:13 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, cctalk at classiccmp.org writes: On Thu, 18 May 2017, allison via cctalk wrote: > Never forget, BBS were about storage and cheap which at that time were mostly > opposed (disks weren't cheap!). The amount of Ram and CPU were less > important > considering what had to be done. Often the modem and hard disk were as > costly > as the basic system and we didn't exceed 2400 baud till '85or later. Most > anything > could keep up with IO at under 4800 baud. > Here's what amounts to a canonnical(sp?) list of BBS programs for a number of different platforms: http://software.bbsdocumentary.com/ g. -- Proud owner of F-15C 80-0007 http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind. http://www.diy-cockpits.org/coll - Go Collimated or Go Home. Some people collect things for a hobby. Geeks collect hobbies. ScarletDME - The red hot Data Management Environment A Multi-Value database for the masses, not the classes. http://scarlet.deltasoft.com - Get it _today_!

9 years

2
1
0 0

AT&T Work Group System Voice Power voice processing boards for Unix PC 6300/7300 for sale

by sellam.ismail＠gmail.com

I have two of these available for sale. Details here: http://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?57816-AT-amp-T-Work-Group-System-… Thanks! Sellam

9 years

3
5
0 0

BBS software for the PDP 11

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Chuck Guzis > Well, okay--but then let's be period-correct. The PDP-11 dates from > 1970, when, AFAIK, BBSes, if they existed, were far from what people > think they were. You're thinking of the -11/20, released in 1970. But that was only the first PDP-11 model; the -11/23 dates from 1979, and the last -11 model, the /93-/94, was released in 1990. Noel

9 years

1
0
0 0

BBS software for the PDP 11

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

I know of several very different PDP-11 BBS's using very disparate architectures. Some were run on RT-11 or RSTS-11 entirely inside a BASIC program that managed every element of call answering, logging in, and disconnection. And others took advantage of TSX-11, RSX-11 and RSTS-11 login security and "captive accounts" that were either entirely menu-driven or had restricted command sets, with the menu options or command sets oriented strongly towards typical BBS functions. I know Billy Youdelman's TSX-11 BBS in LA was operating in the 1980's and 1990's and may have gone on longer than that. Tim N3QE

9 years

1
0
0 0

BBS software for the PDP 11

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Systems Glitch > You need split I&D for 2.11BSD ISTR reading that the network code runs in Supervisor mode, so you need that to, technically (although all -11s CPUs with Supervisor also have I+D, and vice versa). Does the 2.9 include networking code? If so, it must use overlays like crazy on a 'small' machine (/40-/34/-/23)... Noel

9 years

1
0
0 0

DCC-116 E / DATA GENERAL NOVA 2/10 / Nixdorf 620 - Restoring and restarting

by dce＠skynet.be

Hi guys ! My name is Dominique, 43 , from Belgium (I apologize in advance for my approximate English). I join this forum under the recommendations of Curious Marc. It seems there are people here who can help me to get back to life the venerable machine that I have just recovered. Some pictures of the beast : http://www.actingmachines.com/classiccmp_forum/overview01.jpg <http://www.zeltrax.com/classiccmp_forum/overview01.jpg> http://www.actingmachines.com/classiccmp_forum/terminal.jpg <http://www.zeltrax.com/classiccmp_forum/terminal.jpg> http://www.actingmachines.com/classiccmp_forum/comrack_closeup.jpg <http://www.zeltrax.com/classiccmp_forum/comrack_closeup.jpg> It is a "Nixdor 600 series" (Apparently a Nixdorf 620/35), upgraded several times until 1980, the CPU board is dated from this year. So I do not know exactly what machine it is today the equivalent. Anyway, the Nixdorf 620 is actually built by "Digital Computer Controls" and after some researches it seems that it is a "DCC-116 E", the 17 slot version of the "DCC-116" which Is a clone of the "Data General Nova 2/10". http://www.actingmachines.com/classiccmp_forum/DCC.jpg <http://www.zeltrax.com/classiccmp_forum/DCC.jpg> The machine has five Key-stations (ENTREX DATA/SCOPE), a Mag-tape Pertec 8840A - A Disk Cartridge Diablo Model 40 and a big line drum printer (Data Products model 2230), strange machine, there is a tape reader inside the printer. Here is the list of the boards I have with the references written on them and their position in the machine: *17 HEX 0 ? 15 ENTREX INC 62 00 01842 002 REV A* *16 HEX 16 30 31 ENTREX INC 62 00 01842 002 REV A** 15 OPTION 2 Empty** 14 OPTION 1 Empty** 13 PRINTER ENTREX INC SN598** 12 TAPE 556/800 BPI 2433 LFI 213** 11 TAPE 1600 BPI Empty** 10 DISK 2456 00 MP-Kontroller D44an620 6393500215 2456 7 0 1577** 09 COMMO Empty** 08 SCANNER Scanner BD 2431 NCAG 54147.1.15 2431 02394** 07 MEM 1609 0 7 02616** 06 MEM Empty** 05 MEM 1609 0 8 02367** 04 MEM 1615 01 9 5596** 03 TTY Empty** 02 DO NOT USE Empty** 01 C.P. 1509 05 4 04436* Concerning this I also ask a few questions: * What are the boards in slots 16 and 17 for? * I do not have a COM card, does that mean that I could not attempt a serial transmission (type rs232) with this actual setup ? * I have no idea how many kilobytes are present, apparently there are two core memory cards (8kb each? 16Kb each?), And non-core RAM board. I first solved a problem with the power supply of the disk pack (bad HF filter, short-circuited with the chassis, then it is also dead HF filter in the "multi-plug" of the chassis that start to burn, once these problems were solved, I cleaned the machine thoroughly, cleaning the heads of readings with isopropyl alcohol, I Not yet cleaned the disc himself which at first glance looks extremely clean, it has not left the machine for 30 years. http://www.actingmachines.com/classiccmp_forum/disckpack01.jpg <http://www.zeltrax.com/classiccmp_forum/disckpack01.jpg> I cleaned all the guides and the heads of the nine track tape Pertec 8840A. There was also a false contact in the ON-LINE button. I did a first cleanup. I think there is always a problem with the HI-DEN button used to set the magtape to 800BPI. It is currently ineffective, but I have a doubt about the contacts of the lamp socket). http://www.actingmachines.com/classiccmp_forum/ninetrack.jpg <http://www.zeltrax.com/classiccmp_forum/ninetrack.jpg> I then cleaned all the sockets and contacts at the boards of the computer (logic and PSU) http://www.actingmachines.com/classiccmp_forum/clean_contact.jpg <http://www.zeltrax.com/classiccmp_forum/clean_contact.jpg> Unfortunately, after a couple of hours, the "POWER FAIL" light has started to light up. The problem here is that I have no schematics, it is a modular power supply consisting of two elements: http://www.actingmachines.com/classiccmp_forum/psus.jpg <http://www.zeltrax.com/classiccmp_forum/psus.jpg> One seems to be dedicated to the 15 VDC regulated, the second module is in charge of the regulated 5VDC. Both elements have a "Power fail module". When the machine is completely populated I now observe that the + 5VDC collapses at +1,9VDC. Here what I measured out, you will also see what the boards of these power supply look like. http://www.actingmachines.com/classiccmp_forum/psu_module_1.jpg <http://www.zeltrax.com/classiccmp_forum/psu_module_1.jpg> http://www.actingmachines.com/classiccmp_forum/psu_module_2.jpg <http://www.zeltrax.com/classiccmp_forum/psu_module_2.jpg> Another thing I noted during my measurements, where I should (I think) measure 15V, I have 18V, looking at the documentation on the NOVA 2 (4 slots), I observed according to the diagrams below That there is 18V but before a zener diode and not at the level of connectors where there must be 15VDC, should I warn me ? Would the diode be dead ? I tried to join temporarily a secondary regulated power supply to reinforce the + 5VDC so as to be sure that the problem did not come from the logical part of the computer which checks these voltages and triggers the Power Fail status. By coupling this external regulated power supply, the computer restarts again, thus it is definitively the power supply (or the comparator component(s) of the power fail module) If I removes all the boards (printer, core memory, scanner, disk controller, etc.), the Power Fail light eventually goes out, I get again the 5VDC, so the power has become "too weak" to power the computer when it is fully populated. Despite the temporary (and dangerous) look of my assembly with secondary power supply, I could not stop myself and attempt a boot procedure via the Cold Start button of the machine from the Disk Pack, and it works! :-) http://www.zeltrax.com/classiccmp_forum/first_boot.jpg It seems that I still have problems with the magtape, I had errors trying to read a backup, but it may be simply because I still cannot get the machine in 800BPI because of the capricious buttons of the front panel. I also wrote a tape mark via a "WRITE TAPE MARK AND REWIND" function, the mark seems to be written but does not do the Rewind, however if I launch a REWIND only function, it executes the action appropriately. In short, still things to investigate on this side. Notes that the Operating system I used to make these tests is a very limited OS named DIDOS which was distributed by Nixdorf for his 620 Serie. As the machine is a clone of DG NOVA 2/10, I wonder if the computer is compatible with programs for the NOVA series of Data General? So I wonder if the DCC-116 was compatible with the software for NOVAs? The other questions I ask myself at this point are the ways to transfer softwares or bootable OS on this machine? I have no other disk pack on another system but I have a nine track tape TU81 + connected to a VAX 4000-605A under OpenVMS 6.2, and I can put this computer on my network. Do you think there's a way to make a bootable tape for my NOVA 2 clone with the Pertec 8840A from a VAX 4000 with a TU81+ ? Well, to continue, I have to repair this PSU, all information is welcome, schematics would be ideal of course. Finally, note that I am not a professional electronics technician, I fixed a lot of machines basic knowledge, intuition, researches, comparisons and logic, it is effective but full of limitations too, so forgive me in advance If I do not always understand the possible answers of electronics in "high engineering" mode ;-) As a bonus, the V1 of a small video mounted with a few clips captured during a session of my nocturnal repairs, during the first boot of the machine since 3 decades ! (on my music, yes, I'm also a composer ;-) ) https://youtu.be/5jWOUtLKRIU Thanks a lot to all in advance ;-) Dominique

9 years

8
14
0 0

2026

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

test-drb