Friendly reminder that Vintage Computer Festival East XII is only 10
days away! March 31-April 2 in New Jersey. Two hands-on exhibit halls, a
dozen tech talks, three keynotes, consignment sale, and you can visit
the year-round Vintage Computer Federation museum while you're here. All
the details are here:
http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-east/
________________________________
Evan Koblentz, director
Vintage Computer Federation
a 501(c)3 educational non-profit
evan at vcfed.org
(646) 546-9999
www.vcfed.orgfacebook.com/vcfederationtwitter.com/vcfederation
Host is a HP 9000/382
Copied the orig drive using a linux box, adaptec 2940N and good old dd
Then swapped drives, a unused 9 GB 80 pin with a Chinese 80 to 50
adapter.
Did have to issue a spin up command and then copied the data to this drive
again with dd.
Powered all off, added a motor start jumper to the adapter and put it on the
9000/382. Motor will not start, added a jumper right on the drive, no spin.
so .. any ideas what I'm doing wrong, or just try a different drive ?
-pete
I just wanted to share a little project I've been working on, it's an
adaptation of Lee Davison's EhBASIC to become a timeshared multiuser BASIC.
There's still a bit more to do, but here's a video of it in operation:
https://youtu.be/SAJpHiBPMcQ
In that video, it's only running 3 sessions (I had no convenient 4th
terminal) but it's capable of running 4. It is a very very simple
preemptive multitasking 'kernel' providing I/O services and performing
periodic context switches for the instances of the interpreter. It only
runs a fixed number of processes, and all the process memory is statically
allocated. EhBASIC lends itself well to this, the code is position
independent by design, and the memory range is passed in. Everything is
dereferenced relative to the 'start of memory' pointer. This means no need
for an MMU or relocation.
I'm hoping to set this up at VCF MW in September, running 4 terminals.
More info on the hardware I'm using is available here:
https://hackaday.io/project/6150-beckman-du600-reverse-engineering
Pictures:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/uw6cjqigk2sdwdy/AAAwP55aelyzrYeP1HVUDdMqa?dl=0
And another software project I'm working on as well (a ROM monitor program):
https://github.com/jzatarski/Joe-Mon
Camiel wrote:
> What would the requirements for the system be? How often would it need to
> be online?
I added an answer here:
https://github.com/DoctorWkt/4bsd-uucp#joining-the-growing-uucp-network
For central sites (like decvax) that had a lot of connectivity, you will
be expected to run them continuously. For edge sites which only dial in
to one other site to exchange news and e-mail, you can run them whenever
you want.
It's mostly simulated sites right now, but I'd love to see some real
systems come up and connect in. Not sure how to connect the simulated
sites (using TCP for the dialup links) and the real sites.
Cheers, Warren
I have a clean, and somewhat functional expansion interface that I just
tested over the weekend. Without the EI connected, the model 1 reports
~16K RAM and with the EI the model 1 reports ~48K, so the RAM seems OK.
But, the FD1771 IC, for some reason, was removed from an otherwise
apparently functional EI.
http://imgur.com/a/3NzOh
Is there any reason why this chip would be removed? I see a number of them
on ebay for around $25. The expansion interface hardware manual indicates
it is an FD1771B-01, but the service manual indicates a couple
possibilities....FD1771 A/B -01 -11. Any considerations to look for here?
Thanks,
Win
Hi,
Two years ago I've found scans in PDF with the article (dated 197?, I don't
remember) describing DIY TTL-based calculator. This was microprogrammed
machine (if I remember correctly microproprogram was "stored" in the diode
array). It has LED display and possiblity to calculate square root.
Definitely not talking about EDUC-8 computer from 1975. I think this
calculator was published a little bit earlier.
Unfortunately I'm no longer able to find it. Does anyone associate the name of
that magazine?
Regards,
Jacek
> From: geneb
>> When people decided Steve Jobs had become a god?
> Right about the time that whole "computer for the rest of us" started...
Yes, of course: nobody had thought of a cheap personal computer before him.
(Which reminds me, does the CHM have a Datapoint 2200? If not, we really out
to try to round one up for them.) Or even a personal computer. (Ditto for the
LINC.)
Although I suppose you might have been talking about the software. I mean,
without that whole display/windows/menu/mouse thing he invented, to allow
ordinary people to use a computer, where would we be?
Look, I fully admit that Steve Jobs was a _very_ sharp person who had a
_tremendous_ influence.
(Every time I hear someone saying marketing people are useless - first up
against the wall, etc - I reply 'No, only bad ones - which is a lot of them.
The very best ones, like Steve Jobs, are worth their weight in triple-refined
iridium. A _good_ marketing person can tell you what customers _want_. A
_truly great_ one can tell you what they _need_, but don't yet even realize
they do.')
However, the people (and there are quite a few of them) who have gone way off
the deep edge, and have turned him (and Apple) into some sort of overblown
cult, just don't have a balanced perspective.
There are plenty of people out there who deserve at least as much credit for
the information society we now live in, who are almost totally unknown to the
population at large; starting (probably) with Licklider.
Noel
Dear friends
Is it allowed to request a ROM code?
I lost my XT BASIC ROMS, can someone send me the code so I can burn it
and replace on my XT?
Thanks!
Alexandre
---
On Mar 19, 2017 12:47 PM, "Adam Sampson via cctalk" <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
wrote:
>
> Alexandre Souza via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> writes:
>
> > I lost my XT BASIC ROMS, can someone send me the code so I can burn it
> > and replace on my XT?
>
> minuszerodegrees.net has several versions of the XT ROM images, along
> with lots of other useful service information for PC/XT/AT machines:
>
> http://www.minuszerodegrees.net/bios/bios.htm
>
> --
> Adam Sampson <ats at offog.org> <http://offog.org/>
Has anyone made a ROM that runs BASIC and allows use of the disk drive to
save on an IBM PC? This always bugged me that if you forgot to insert your
dos disk before the computer powered up that one could not enter a basic
command to tell the system to boot up from the drive without
ctrl-alt-delete and wait....or to boot from the b drive, etc.
Bill Degnan
twitter: billdeg
vintagecomputer.net
FWIW, Dore'[1] doesn't compile out of the box on FreeBSD 10.3-stable:
tingo at kg-core1$ uname -a
FreeBSD kg-core1.kg4.no 10.3-STABLE FreeBSD 10.3-STABLE #0 r310083:
Wed Dec 14 21:00:13 CET 2016
root at kg-core1.kg4.no:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/GENERIC amd64
Result
tingo at kg-core1$ make -f Makefile.ini World
Building Release 6.1 of Dore.
I hope you checked the configuration parameters in ./config/cf
to see if you need to pass BOOTSTRAPCFLAGS.
Sun Mar 19 22:31:44 CET 2017
cd ./config/imake; make -f Makefile.ini BOOTSTRAPCFLAGS="" clean;
make -f Makefile.ini BOOTSTRAPCFLAGS=""
rm -f ccimake imake.o imake
rm -f *.CKP *.ln *.BAK *.bak *.o core errs ,* *~ *.a tags TAGS make.log \#*
making imake with BOOTSTRAPCFLAGS=
cc -o ccimake -O -I../../include ccimake.c
ccimake.c:42:1: warning: type specifier missing, defaults to 'int'
[-Wimplicit-int]
main()
^~~~
ccimake.c:44:2: warning: implicit declaration of function 'write' is
invalid in C99 [-Wimplicit-function-declaration]
write(1, imake_ccflags, sizeof(imake_ccflags) - 1);
^
ccimake.c:45:2: warning: implicitly declaring library function 'exit'
with type 'void (int) __attribute__((noreturn))'
exit(0);
^
ccimake.c:45:2: note: please include the header <stdlib.h> or
explicitly provide a declaration for 'exit'
3 warnings generated.
cc -c -O -I../../include `./ccimake` imake.c
imake.c:265:1: warning: type specifier missing, defaults to 'int'
[-Wimplicit-int]
main(argc, argv)
^~~~
imake.c:274:2: warning: implicit declaration of function 'init' is
invalid in C99 [-Wimplicit-function-declaration]
init();
^
imake.c:275:2: warning: implicit declaration of function 'SetOpts' is
invalid in C99 [-Wimplicit-function-declaration]
SetOpts(argc, argv);
^
imake.c:278:2: warning: implicit declaration of function
'CheckImakefileC' is invalid in C99 [-Wimplicit-function-declaration]
CheckImakefileC(ImakefileC);
^
imake.c:285:2: warning: implicit declaration of function 'AddMakeArg'
is invalid in C99 [-Wimplicit-function-declaration]
AddMakeArg("-f");
^
imake.c:296:2: warning: implicit declaration of function 'cppit' is
invalid in C99 [-Wimplicit-function-declaration]
cppit(cleanedImakefile, Template, ImakefileC, tmpfd, tmpMakefile);
^
imake.c:300:4: warning: implicit declaration of function 'showit' is
invalid in C99 [-Wimplicit-function-declaration]
showit(tmpfd);
^
imake.c:302:3: warning: implicit declaration of function 'makeit' is
invalid in C99 [-Wimplicit-function-declaration]
makeit();
^
imake.c:303:2: warning: implicit declaration of function 'wrapup' is
invalid in C99 [-Wimplicit-function-declaration]
wrapup();
^
imake.c:307:1: warning: type specifier missing, defaults to 'int'
[-Wimplicit-int]
showit(fd)
^~~~~~
imake.c:315:3: warning: implicit declaration of function
'writetmpfile' is invalid in C99 [-Wimplicit-function-declaration]
writetmpfile(stdout, buf, red, "stdout");
^
imake.c:318:1: warning: control reaches end of non-void function [-Wreturn-type]
}
^
imake.c:320:1: warning: type specifier missing, defaults to 'int'
[-Wimplicit-int]
wrapup()
^~~~~~
imake.c:328:1: warning: control reaches end of non-void function [-Wreturn-type]
}
^
imake.c:345:1: warning: type specifier missing, defaults to 'int'
[-Wimplicit-int]
init()
^~~~
imake.c:361:8: warning: using the result of an assignment as a
condition without parentheses [-Wparentheses]
if (p = getenv("IMAKEINCLUDE")) {
~~^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
imake.c:361:8: note: place parentheses around the assignment to
silence this warning
if (p = getenv("IMAKEINCLUDE")) {
^
( )
imake.c:361:8: note: use '==' to turn this assignment into an equality
comparison
if (p = getenv("IMAKEINCLUDE")) {
^
==
imake.c:365:3: warning: implicit declaration of function 'AddCppArg'
is invalid in C99 [-Wimplicit-function-declaration]
AddCppArg(p);
^
imake.c:372:8: warning: using the result of an assignment as a
condition without parentheses [-Wparentheses]
if (p = getenv("IMAKECPP"))
~~^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
imake.c:372:8: note: place parentheses around the assignment to
silence this warning
if (p = getenv("IMAKECPP"))
^
( )
imake.c:372:8: note: use '==' to turn this assignment into an equality
comparison
if (p = getenv("IMAKECPP"))
^
==
imake.c:374:8: warning: using the result of an assignment as a
condition without parentheses [-Wparentheses]
if (p = getenv("IMAKEMAKE"))
~~^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
imake.c:374:8: note: place parentheses around the assignment to
silence this warning
if (p = getenv("IMAKEMAKE"))
^
( )
imake.c:374:8: note: use '==' to turn this assignment into an equality
comparison
if (p = getenv("IMAKEMAKE"))
^
==
imake.c:379:1: warning: control reaches end of non-void function [-Wreturn-type]
}
^
imake.c:381:1: warning: type specifier missing, defaults to 'int'
[-Wimplicit-int]
AddMakeArg(arg)
^~~~~~~~~~
imake.c:389:1: warning: control reaches end of non-void function [-Wreturn-type]
}
^
imake.c:391:1: warning: type specifier missing, defaults to 'int'
[-Wimplicit-int]
AddCppArg(arg)
^~~~~~~~~
imake.c:399:1: warning: control reaches end of non-void function [-Wreturn-type]
}
^
imake.c:401:1: warning: type specifier missing, defaults to 'int'
[-Wimplicit-int]
SetOpts(argc, argv)
^~~~~~~
imake.c:479:1: warning: control reaches end of non-void function [-Wreturn-type]
}
^
imake.c:505:14: warning: cast to 'char *' from smaller integer type
'int' [-Wint-to-pointer-cast]
LogFatal(s, (char *)i);
^
imake.c:527:27: warning: implicitly declaring library function
'strerror' with type 'char *(int)'
fprintf(stderr, "%s: ", strerror(errno));
^
imake.c:527:27: note: please include the header <string.h> or
explicitly provide a declaration for 'strerror'
imake.c:538:1: warning: type specifier missing, defaults to 'int'
[-Wimplicit-int]
showargs(argv)
^~~~~~~~
imake.c:544:1: warning: control reaches end of non-void function [-Wreturn-type]
}
^
imake.c:550:1: warning: type specifier missing, defaults to 'int'
[-Wimplicit-int]
CheckImakefileC(masterc)
^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
imake.c:561:8: warning: implicitly declaring library function
'strncmp' with type 'int (const char *, const char *, unsigned long)'
strncmp(mkcbuf, TmplDef, sizeof(TmplDef)-1)) ||
^
imake.c:561:8: note: please include the header <string.h> or
explicitly provide a declaration for 'strncmp'
imake.c:573:1: warning: control reaches end of non-void function [-Wreturn-type]
}
^
imake.c:575:1: warning: type specifier missing, defaults to 'int'
[-Wimplicit-int]
cppit(imakefile, template, masterc, outfd, outfname)
^~~~~
imake.c:626:2: warning: implicit declaration of function
'CleanCppOutput' is invalid in C99 [-Wimplicit-function-declaration]
CleanCppOutput(outfd, outfname);
^
imake.c:627:1: warning: control reaches end of non-void function [-Wreturn-type]
}
^
imake.c:629:1: warning: type specifier missing, defaults to 'int'
[-Wimplicit-int]
makeit()
^~~~~~
imake.c:662:1: warning: control reaches end of non-void function [-Wreturn-type]
}
^
imake.c:706:7: warning: implicitly declaring library function 'strcmp'
with type 'int (const char *, const char *)'
if (strcmp(ptoken, "define") &&
^
imake.c:706:7: note: please include the header <string.h> or
explicitly provide a declaration for 'strcmp'
imake.c:747:1: warning: type specifier missing, defaults to 'int'
[-Wimplicit-int]
CleanCppOutput(tmpfd, tmpfname)
^~~~~~~~~~~~~~
imake.c:754:14: warning: using the result of an assignment as a
condition without parentheses [-Wparentheses]
while(input = ReadLine(tmpfd, tmpfname)) {
~~~~~~^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
imake.c:754:14: note: place parentheses around the assignment to
silence this warning
while(input = ReadLine(tmpfd, tmpfname)) {
^
( )
imake.c:754:14: note: use '==' to turn this assignment into an
equality comparison
while(input = ReadLine(tmpfd, tmpfname)) {
^
==
imake.c:755:7: warning: implicit declaration of function 'isempty' is
invalid in C99 [-Wimplicit-function-declaration]
if (isempty(input)) {
^
imake.c:762:31: warning: implicitly declaring library function
'strlen' with type 'unsigned long (const char *)'
writetmpfile(tmpfd, input, strlen(input), tmpfname);
^
imake.c:762:31: note: please include the header <string.h> or
explicitly provide a declaration for 'strlen'
imake.c:775:1: warning: control reaches end of non-void function [-Wreturn-type]
}
^
imake.c:782:1: warning: type specifier missing, defaults to 'int'
[-Wimplicit-int]
isempty(line)
^~~~~~~
imake.c:819:7: warning: implicitly declaring library function 'strcpy'
with type 'char *(char *, const char *)'
strcpy(pend+1, pend+5);
^
imake.c:819:7: note: please include the header <string.h> or
explicitly provide a declaration for 'strcpy'
imake.c:915:1: warning: type specifier missing, defaults to 'int'
[-Wimplicit-int]
writetmpfile(fd, buf, cnt, fname)
^~~~~~~~~~~~
imake.c:923:1: warning: control reaches end of non-void function [-Wreturn-type]
}
^
48 warnings generated.
cc -o imake imake.o
imake.o: In function `main':
imake.c:(.text+0xb2): warning: warning: mktemp() possibly used
unsafely; consider using mkstemp()
rm -f Makefile.bak; mv Makefile Makefile.bak
mv: rename Makefile to Makefile.bak: No such file or directory
*** Error code 1 (ignored)
./config/imake/imake -I./config/cf -DTOPDIR=. -DCURDIR=.
./config/imake/imake: No such file or directory: Cannot exec
/usr/libexec/cpp. Stop.
./config/imake/imake: Exit code 1. Stop.
*** Error code 1
Stop.
make: stopped in /zs/tingo/work/Dore-6.01
No, I haven't tried digging out the old FreeBSD port files from the
archives yet.
References:
1) https://www.ibiblio.org/pub/packages/development/graphics/Dore/
--
Regards,
Torfinn Ingolfsen
Yepper ...sure... I know that...
But.... we need the physical artifact or at lest the box and a real
manual to lay in the display.
remember 90 percent of what I have to do here is for .... the visual!
thnx Ed#
In a message dated 3/20/2017 2:55:35 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
cc at informatik.uni-stuttgart.de writes:
On Mon, 20 Mar 2017, Ed wrote:
> Looking for windows 1.x for HP-150 touchscreen Also looking for
Look at the obvious hpmuseum.net site, it's there.
Christian
Looking for windows 1.x for HP-150 touchscreen Also looking for
Touchscreen II
drop me a line offlist.
Thanks Ed Sharpe archivist for SMECC
In a message dated 3/20/2017 1:06:35 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
cctalk at classiccmp.org writes:
Probably you wanna say "original retail package" :)
2017-03-19 21:54 GMT-03:00 Sellam Ismail via cctalk
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>:
> I have for sale a complete copy of Windows 1.0 (release 1.01) in the
> original retail pricing. Please check out my ad on the VCF forums for
> complete info:
>
> http://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?56814-Microsoft-Windows-1-0-in-
> original-retail-packaging-complete
>
> Thanks!
>
> Sellam
>
Hey guys, figured it was time for an update on the LGP-30 resuscitation.
Some further detective work found a leaky 1500uF cap in one of the B+ supplies which was causing the 'surging' issue on the scope. For good measure I replaced all six 1500 and 3000uF caps even though ripple was low. Better safe than sorry and if it means pulling that chassis and its covers again, all the better. I attempted to weigh it on my shipping scale, but it only registers to 100 lbs and the indicator flew right past that.
There had been a small thermal event in the AC junction box that the twist lock connector mounts to, and I suspect it occurred pre-60's refurb. It's not too surprising as the wiring on the computer side is aluminum and the feed is copper. The box needed replacing but was a unique Hubbell variation of a std 4" box with special ears. I couldn't find anything even close to that at any of the supply houses online, probably because it violates today's conductor fill rules (it's only 1" deep but the socket consumes most of that depth and 75% of the area). I eventually settled on drilling/tapping a standard box and cleaned up the wiring.
The sequencer unit is now working correctly after I found an NOS relay to R&R contacts with. The blower is still steady and quiet with its new bearings, and no issues (knock on wood) with the drum after greasing the end bearing, belt and 'tightening' up the tolerances on the timing and short register heads.
Some good news- I now have three horizontal lines on the scope, rock solid and where they should be. I can get the occasional pattern for Instruction contents, but Order and Accumulator still aren't reading/writing/displaying. All in good time.
http://radar58.com/LGP30/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/lgp.jpg
Even better news is that the three timing tracks appear to be intact on the drum and the supporting hardware is working.
http://radar58.com/LGP30/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/scope-e1489957963176.jpg
(1, 2 and 3 correspond to S1, S2 and S3)
Now to investigate those short registers... -Cory
Hi folks,
8085-based phone system weirdness continues and I'm beginning to wonder if
the PSU rails are all coming up in time for RESET to go high - given there's
4116 DRAMs in there isn't there supposed to be a proper power up order?
While I look at using a 20-pin ATX PSU to run this machine temporarily I
need a safe way to reset the CPU rather than constantly power cycling. The
RESET line comes from an ICL7611 op-amp via an MC14081B through pins 1-4 of
a 74LS04 and I need to pull it low for longer than 3 clock cycles.
I wish I had a schematic to show!
Cheers,
--
Adrian/Witchy
Binary Dinosaurs creator/curator
Www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk - the UK's biggest private home computer
collection?
>
> Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2017 21:46:21 -0500
> From: Jay Jaeger <cube1 at charter.net>
> Subject: Re: LINCtape/DECtape Head Alignment
>
> Curious: How are you measuring the signal from the head? Do you have
> an honest to gosh differential probe, or are you using some other
> technique? (If you have a differential probe, then the TU56 manual
> indicates that you should see 10mv-12mv (the addition of the two paired
> heads together), so as a first guess I am guessing you are looking at
> the coils one at a time.
>
> The reason I ask is that the TU56 that I use most often has gotten a bit
> cranky over the years. Generally I can read and write, but I do
> typically see some errors - unacceptably many, and it *seems* that the
> longer the machine is on, it seems the more mark track errors I get when
> running the ZTCC?? diagnostic (test 3).
>
> I don't have a differential probe, and the A-B math function on my Rigol
> DS2072 scope is not anywhere near fast enough (though maybe a firmware
> patch which I have downloaded will help, but I doubt it will help
> because their is a lot of HF noise on the signals when measuring
> voltages this low). However, if I apply a 50KHz low pass filter on the
> signal on the scope, then sometimes I can see a 5mv per coil signal
> using an ordinary probe. I say sometimes because the scope seems to
> have some firmware problems so it isn't consistent in its behavior. (I
> have downloaded a firmware update that *might* help).
>
> I don't really doubt my heads at this point - certainly nothing is open
> - I can measure each coil at about 1.5 ohms (3.0 ohms across both), but
> it is something I would like to make sure I know how to do.
>
> Also, have you degaussed your heads? If so, how? I ask because some of
> my symptoms could point that way (I have yet, for example, to test with
> a tape, have it get worse, then go back with the machine "cold" and see
> if it gets better - and if it doesn't, that could point to demagnetized
> heads.)
>
> Thanks.
>
> JRJ
>
We used the procedure in the TU56 maintenance manual, and used two G888
modules to make the equivalent of the G500 described in the manual. The
G888 modules really cleanup the high frequency noise mixed with the head
signals.
--
Michael Thompson
Hello,
I'm sorry to bother you, but I was hoping you might be able to help me with a problem I'm having getting hold of some scientific data that's currently stored on DEC VAX magnetic tape.
A colleague of mine carried out some ecological fieldwork ~30 years ago, and her results are stored on eight magnetic tapes (two of 7" diameter, one 8.5", and five 10.25"). The data would be incredibly useful to look at, as the study was looking at how restored mines changes over time (the study is somewhat described here; https://www.jstor.org/stable/20038221?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents). If we could get these original data, we could compare how the mine is now with how it was then, which would be phenomenally useful to conservation biologists trying to conserve and restore damaged ecosystems.
Do any of you have any ideas as to how I might get the data off this tape? I live and work in Utah (USA), but I would be willing to travel a little ways if it meant getting the things read off into a computer!
Thanks again for your time,
Will Pearse
---
Need a phylogeny? Try phyloGenerator: original<http://willpearse.github.io/phyloGenerator/> or new version<http://willpearse.github.io/phyloGenerator2/>
Measuring phylogenetic structure? Try install.packages('pez')
Will Pearse<http://www.willpearse.com/>
Assistant Professor of Biology, Utah State University
Office: +1-435-797-0831
Skype: will.pearse
I just bought an IDE-CF adapter the other day with the intention of
replacing the spinning rust in my disk imaging system (which is some
early/mid-90s 80486-based thing).
However, the CF entry on Wikipedia says:
"Most CompactFlash flash-memory devices limit wear on blocks by varying the
physical location to which a block is written. When using CompactFlash in
ATA mode to take the place of the hard disk drive, wear leveling becomes
critical because low-numbered blocks contain tables whose contents change
frequently. Current CompactFlash cards spread the wear-leveling across the
entire drive. The more advanced CompactFlash cards will move data that
rarely changes to ensure all blocks wear evenly."
... I'm a little wary about the way it says "most CF cards", implying that
there are some out there which don't do any wear-leveling at all. So, the
obvious question: is there a way of knowing which cards are going to be
good and which are useless as IDE replacements? Maybe by age, capacity,
manufacturer? I'd prefer not to invest time into setting software up only
to find that the card fails in a matter of weeks.
cheers
Jules
The RICM is working on the skew adjustment on a TU56 tape drive on a
PDP-12. We only see a 5mV signal from the head, so when we flip the tape
over we will only see 1mV. This is below the capabilities of my 'scope.
The DEC skew adjustment procedure talks about using a DEC amplifier to
boost the head signal to several volts. We are planning to make an
equivalent amplifier using a modern Op-amp. It would be really convenient
to have one of the Amphenol 133-022-03 connectors from a G851 Relay module
on our amplifier so it would plug directly into the head cable.
Does anyone have a DEC G851 module that we could remove the connector from?
--
Michael Thompson
I've been scanning some user group newsletters. Reading them today reveals
just how important they were for orphan machines home computers like the
EACA Colour Genie. Even if you're not interested in that model, they are
worth a look as they do reflect the "user club" scene of the day. I'm
assuming New Zealand was much the same as anywhere else in this regard.
Somewhat quaint, they reflect a bygone era.
http://www.classic-computers.org.nz/blog/2017-03-18-eaca-colour-genie-auckl…
Terry (Tez)
The New "CC Anonymous" Survey Form!!
20 QUESTIONS
Assessment for Compulsive Hoarding & Cluttering 1. Are some living
areas in your home cluttered?
Y/N
2. Do you have trouble controlling urges to acquire things?
Y/N
3. Does the clutter in your home prevent you from using some of your
living space?
Y/N
4. Do you have trouble controlling your urges to save things?
Y/N
5. Do you have trouble walking through areas of your house because of
clutter?
Y/N
6. Do you have trouble throwing away or discarding things?
Y/N
7. Do you experience distress throwing away or discarding possessions?
Y/N
8. Do you feel distressed or uncomfortable when you can not acquire
something you want?
Y/N
9. Does the clutter in your home interfere with your social, work or
everyday functioning?
Y/N
10. Do you have strong urges to buy or acquire free things for which you
have no immediate use?
Y/N
11. Does the clutter in your home causes you distress?
Y/N
12. Do you have strong urges to save things you know you may never use?
Y/N
13. Do you feel upset/distressed about your acquiring habits?
Y/N
14. Do you feel unable to control the clutter in your home?
Y/N
15. Has compulsive buying resulted in financial difficulties?
Y/N
16. Do you often avoid trying to discard possessions because it is too
stressful or time consuming?
Y/N
17. Do you often decide to keep things you do not need and have little
space for?
Y/N
18. Does the clutter in your home prevent you from inviting people to
visit?
Y/N
19. Do you often buy or acquire for free things for which you have no
immediate use or need?
Y/N
20. Do you often feel unable to discard a possession or possessions you
would like to get rid of?
Y/N
Most hoarders will answer "yes" to at least 7 of these questions.
In a message dated 3/18/2017 5:23:28 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
cctalk at classiccmp.org writes:
-------- Original message --------From: jim stephens via cctalk
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
On 3/17/2017 9:01 PM, Peter C. Wallace via cctalk wrote:
>>also significant pressure from SO to
>> "get rid of that junk"
>So far noone that matters has said anything >that dumb to me.
It happens when your XYL gets the rank of Spousal Officer.
-------- Original message --------From: jim stephens via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
On 3/17/2017 9:01 PM, Peter C. Wallace via cctalk wrote:
>>also significant pressure from SO to
>> "get rid of that junk"
>So far noone that matters has said anything >that dumb to me.
It happens when your XYL gets the rank of Spousal Officer.
You guys want me to list these? Manuals, software, Tandy Xenix 6000 binder
with 8" floppies and manual? Some old (but sealed IBM 8" floppies for I
don't recall what (not blanks).
Cindy Croxton
I bought an AlphaLabs GM-2 Gaussmeter for another project, and measured the AC magnetic
field strength touching these devices yesterday, since I really didn't have any idea beyond
order of magnitude what they might be
Handheld tape head demagnetizer: 40 Gauss
GC Elec 9317 CRT degausing coil: 70 Gauss
Audiolab TD-3 desktop bulk eraser: 1000 Gauss
Inmac 7180 or
RS 44-233A handheld bulk tape erasers: 2000 Gauss
also the DC field of a 1/4" button super magnet like on the
backs of clip on badges is about 3000 Gauss
On 02/28/2017 05:21 PM, Jon Auringer wrote:
>
> Chuck,
>
> I had the same display issue. Uncheck "Show only display name for
> people in my address book" under Tools-Options-Display-Advanced.
Jon,
Thanks for the hint! I'm using the Linux version of Thunderbird, so the
setting isn't under "Tools"; it took me a bit of searching to find it.
In the *nix version, it appears to be under Edit->Preferences->Display.
That seems to have fixed things.
Thanks again,
Chuck
Just threw out all of my HP/UX v9 training manuals from that era, last year.
Reliable machine for the era when Intel 80386/80486 were the top processors.
greg
Sent from iPad Air
On 17 March 2017 at 14:43, Philipp Hachtmann via cctalk
<cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
>
>
> On 03/16/2017 10:07 PM, Mike Stein via cctalk wrote:
>>
>> I'm pretty confident that every member of the list appreciates the
>> time, effort and whatever else you and certain others have
>> contributed to keep this list humming as well as it almost always
>> does;
>
> Full ack, of course!
>
> But the new addressing scheme still sucks, sorry.
I still maintain that the change solved every issue I've had, reading
with gmail.
No more posts ending up in the spam folder unless I configured 'never
send to spam' (which has its own issues), no more of the weekly or
bi-weekly automatic de-registrations, and addressing (when replying)
at the same level of difficulty as before (i.e. not much, just edit
out what's not needed).
Hello from a newbie to the list
I've just acquired 2 HP 382's with expanders. Have not had the time to look
inside them yet.
End goal is to set one up as an instrument controller i.e. using the built
in GPIB and potentially a 2nd GPIB card.
One thing I do not have is a display, keyboard and mouse.
A few question
Is there a PS/2 or USB (yea long shot) adapter for the HPIL interface ?
Does someone have a keyboard/mouse they a not beholding to, or know
where there maybe one ?
Once I get the opened up and take an inventory, anything I should look out
for be trying to power one of them up ?
Can one boot to a terminal on the RS-232 port. Until I find a kbd/mouse ?
What would be optimum version of HP-UX to run on them ?
-pete
Folks,
Rod has spurred me on to pay a visit to VCF Europe. I wonder if any one else on the list is going. If so any thoughts on Hotels? I will probably only manage the Saturday!
Dave
Here?s a long shot, about as long as they get.
I received an Intel iPSC/860 supercomputer, but it?s lacking the Intel SRM
(System Resource Manager), without which the system is a boat anchor.
The SRM is an Intel 386 desktop machine, with a SYP301 motherboard and a
plugin card to connect it to the iPSC/860. There?s a cable coming from the
iPSC with a 25-pin D connector, which I believe is the connection to the
SRM. It?s not a regular serial port, but a bidirectional 2.6MByte per
second connection. The interface card likely uses a bunch of Xilinx chips
(the interface cards on the iPSC node boards do). I have not been able to
find a picture of what the box looks like on the outside, so I have no
idea. So, I?m looking for one of these, preferably one the owner would be
willing to part with :-)
Camiel
Hi folks,
this might be quite interesting for the folks that miss front panel
switch handles!
As some of you might know I'm currently working (a bit) on a new batch
of Omnibus USB boards. And I have announced that there will be a kind of
handle for the boards this time... I went to my neighbour and showed him
some bits and pieces. He has a nice little workshop for concrete artwork
(https://www.fritzundfranz.com/) and spent a lot of time into perfecting
his moulding skills.
I gave him a pdp8/e yellow switch handle with broken axle (usual
problem) to try what can be done.
Today I came home and he gave me the piece saying that he was unable to
replicate it. I took it (a bit frustrated) and stated that he has
somehow ruined the surface... Haha! It was the replica!
He told me that this was a first "fast" shot including a "rough"
approximation of the colour.
I was stunned!
Here you can see pictures. Even the defects of the original have been
replicated.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sih4qrrw4o3zgbh/AACf7kY7MbGDLt5FYJgfI4kDa?dl=0
He told me that it was a bit difficult to get the holes at the side
right. I think that it would be no problem if they'd be more shallow or
even gone.
* His material is less translucent than the original. Won't probably
change. So a perfectionist could spot the difference.
* He states that he can hit colors even better! (Think of the special
colors!!!)
* The axle stubs would be omitted and made of steel (something I already
plan for repair of that weakest point)
* He is able to produce flawless finish (remember: it's a raw prototype!)
This is not my business. I told him that I'd ask around if there would
be serious interest. He is not in vintage computing and does not work
for free. So one piece would probably cost around 5-15 EUR each,
depending on demand, color etc.
Please give some feedback!
Philipp :-)
Last Friday, I finally received a shipment of 1980's minisupercomputers
>from the US that I've been working on since September. One of the systems
is an Ardent Titan, which to my knowledge was the first (mini-)
supercomputer to come with an integrated high-end graphics subsystem
(1280x1024 at 60Hz, hardware spheres, antialiasing, and cast shadows).
After careful checking, I powered it on yesterday, and got as far as
trying to boot it; unfortunately, the harddisk does not contain the OS,
but I'm trying to get access to an installation tape. There's a full
writeup about my efforts this weekend on my website:
http://www.vaxbarn.com/index.php/42-repair/576-ardent-titan-power-on
A description with some pictures of the Ardent can be found here:
http://www.vaxbarn.com/index.php/other-bits/565-ardent-titan
Uncrating pictures are here:
http://www.vaxbarn.com/index.php/41-acquisitions/575-supercomputers-have-ar
rived
Anyone who knows anything about these machines, please contact me! Also,
if you have access to installation tapes, manuals, brochures, anything
related to these systems, please let me know.
Kind regards,
Camiel Vanderhoeven
Dwight wrote:
> The Olivetti used a piece of wire for the delay line.
The Programma 101 indeed used a delay line. Such delay lines use
magnetostrictive means to push a torque pulse into one end of the wire,
as well as detect a torque twist at the other end of the wire.
Magnetostrictive materials are typically a metal alloy that lengthens or
shortens depending on the polarity of an external magnetic field, and
will also generate a small magnetic field if stretched or compressed.
In a magnetostrictive delay line thin strips of magnetostrictive metal
are attached to opposite points tangential to the circumference of the
end of a nickel-alloy(typically) wire. These strips, for whatever
reason, are typically called "tapes".
Each tape has a small coil of magnet wire surrounding it, wound
oppositely around each tape, such that when a short current pulse is
sent into the coils, one tape momentarily lengthens, and the other tape
contracts, causing a slight but sharp twisting torque to be applied to
the wire. This acts to transmit a pulse of energy into the wire. The
torque twist mechanically travels through the wire to the other end,
where it causes one tape to lengthen slightly, and the other to compress
slightly, which induces a small current pulse into the coils around the
tapes, which can be amplified to match the electrical characteristics of
the original pulse. Sending a current pulse through the coils in one
direction causes the twist to occur clockwise, and the pulse going the
other direction induces a counter-clockwise twist, allowing ones and
zeros to be pushed into the wire as clockwise or counter-clockwise
torque twists.
The amount of time that elapses (delay) from the pulse being injected
to being received at the other end of the wire is based on the
metallurgy of the wire, and its length. The wire is capable of
remembering some number of torque twists as bits, with a clockwise
torque, for example, representing a one, and a counter-clockwise twist
representing a zero.
The wire was typically arranged in a spiral inside a metal housing.
Silicone or rubber supports supported the wire without attenuating the
torque pulses in the wire. In some cases, there were "taps" along the
length of the wire that used the same transducer method to pick off bits
at different delay periods.
The use of such delay line technology in calculators arose out of the
need to store a moderate number of bits to represent the working
registers of the calculator. At the time, magnetic core memory was
still quite expensive, integrated circuit technology was in its infancy
and too expensive to use for mass storage in a calculator, and it was
generally cost and size prohibitive to store the bits required in
discrete transistor flip flop storage registers (though a few very early
electronic calculators did use this method).
Given that delay line technology had been used with success on computers
(though the Univac I delay lines were very different than
magnetostrictive delay lines), they were a low cost, relatively simple
way to provide the small amount of storage required for an electronic
calculator. A prime example of the use of magnetostrictive delay lines
in a computer was the Packard Bell 250, a low-cost "personal" computer
introduced in the early 1960's.
The bit-serial nature of the delay line was ideal for a calculator,
since a bit serial architecture is coincident with the most efficient
way to make an electronic calculator, where raw speed is not a
requirement, and minimizing the component count saves money. The serial
nature of the delay line means that if a specific bit is needed, the
logic must wait around for the bit to arrive at the end of the delay
line. This slows down the operation of the device, but in the case of
a calculator, where results are subject to human perception, 10s to
100's of milliseconds is well within the acceptable time for a
calculation to occur.
> I forget what the Dielh Combitron used but I know it used a two delay
lines. One was for registers and the other was for lookup tables that
loaded at turn on time from a metal tape ( as I recall ).
The Diehl Combitron did use two separate delay lines, one for the
registers(as well as learn-mode program storage) as mentioned, but the
other one wasn't really for lookup tables, but instead stored the
operating microcode that made the machine run. The microcode was
indeed loaded from a punched metal tape at power-on time. The
ingenious design of the Combitron was done by Dr. Stanley Frankel, a
nuclear physicist who was deeply involved in the mathematical modeling
that made the atom and hydrogen bombs possible. After the Manhattan
project ended, he was involved in the design of quite a few computers
and calculators. Notable computers that he designed were the
Librascope-General Precision LGP-30, the aforementioned Packard Bell
250, and some design work on early General Electric computers. He also
designed the Smith Corona/Marchant Cogito 240 (and follow-on Cogito
240SR) electronic calculator, as well as the Diehl Combitron.
Many calculator companies used magnetostrictive delay line technology
for storage in their earlier calculators, before the time that
integrated circuits took over the storage duties. They included
Friden(Singer) (all of their in-house designed machines used delay
lines, e.g., 130, 132, 115x, 116x), Canon(which made machines for
Monroe), Wyle Laboratories (WS-02 and Busicom 202, 207 and 2017),
Olivetti (Programma 101 & follow-ons), Sony(early Sobax),
Victor(1400-series), Monroe(EPIC 2000/3000, 820/820A), Diehl(which made
machines for SCM and Victor), and Olympia.
-Rick
--
Rick Bensene
The Old Calculator Museum
http://oldcalculatormuseum.com
Hi all
OK, following up on my own post here.
>I have a couple of Oki 3305BU 1/3 height 5 1/4" drives.
>
>On startup the motor spins and the heads load, but the heads don't
>move. Also, my BIOS tells me I have a drive failure.
>
>On taking them apart for a bit of a lube I noticed they have EPROM
>8748s inside. Could this be the problem, EPROMs lost data? This would
>be a first for me, I have EPROMs from the seventies which are still fine.
I caused (I have people working for me who are really good at this)
the 8748 to be removed from the one PCB. Reading it in my Expro gives
me sort-of random results. Looks like some bits are high, some are
low, and some float all over the place. No two reads return the same
data, but some bytes are constant over two or three reads and other
bytes are constant over two or three other reads.
Is this the way an EPROM would fail? Seems reasonable to me.
Anyway, I guess I'm SOL unless I can find a working drive. As far as
I can tell these were used in the Heath / Zenith 170/170 luggables,
also in the Morrow Pivot maybe.
Tony would probably just rewrite the firmware. It's only 1024 bytes,
how hard can it be? :-) Seriously, I am thinking of reading each byte
say 100 times, averaging that, and then sticking the whole thing
through a disassembler. But it seems a bit of a mammoth task.
W
This statement is hurting my brain. I was never an Apple (company) user or fan but personally felt the Apple product line was hacker friendly before the Apple II c threatened to void your warranty if opened, then the Mac seemed to follow similar unfriendly EULAS.
But then again I wouldn't have guess GUI would win the UI war either when it was so great to type exactly what you needed with minimal system resources. Admittedly my opinions seem to only satisfy myself ;-)
You prefer Apple and expansions or Mac II?
-------- Original message --------From: TeoZ via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Date: 3/14/17 5:49 PM (GMT-06:00) To: geneb <geneb at deltasoft.com>, "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: Re: Pair of Twiggys
Jobs had to get fired for Apple to recall the expansion capabilities of the
Apple II days and start making the Mac II series.
-------- Original message --------From: Glen Slick via cctalk<cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
>>
>> www.ebay.com/itm/122383386508
>>
>> still a few hours to go, hovering at $20K
>
>
>And the answer is $32,100.52 (plus $20.95 >shipping)
Ugh.. they always get ya on the shipping.
I don't know if I'd pay $25k for Twiggys but I understand the impulse. ?The problem is, what happens when the novelty wears off? ?I also wonder what the long term value is as generations that experienced these things pass on to those who've never known a day withot a smartphone.
That's a worry for another day though. ?For now.. I'm thinking about grabbing a shovel and going digging for Twiggy gold at a certain dump in Logan.
Sent from my Samsung device
On Mar 14, 2017 5:24 PM, "Fred Cisin via cctalk" <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
wrote:
Ah, out of touch on that, as well!
"But, you can do ANYTHING with Photoshop!" Yeah. right.
Want a stabilization processor?
Most of a ragged Beseler 45, plus a dichroic head that I never got around
to rebuilding and mating?
Movie film daylight developing tank? (motorized back-and-forth reel to
reel 16mm, 35mm, but not large diameter reels)
Fujinon desktop holography camera? (needs new laser tube)
bellows for 35mm? tilt and shift? (I am keeping my
Hama/Kenlock/Spiratone for now, but getting rid of the rest)
Selling my Linhof and Tachihara soon.
Just got through setting up a darkroom in my upstairs bathroom. Did some
developing years ago, but it's nice getting back into it. Looking at doing
some wet plate work next, but I haven't found a cheap source of ether yet.
Kyle
> From: geneb
> I'm going to assume you're being sarcastic. :)
With a steam-shovel... :-)
>> that whole display/windows/menu/mouse thing he copied from Xerox
> Fixed that for ya. :)
Well, technically, as you probably know, the mouse came from Engelbart (well,
his group; I'm not sure who the individual was); and the display, I'm
honestly not sure of.
I know the Knight TV system at the AI Lab was a very early bit-mapped
display, but I don't know where the idea first appeared. (There were of
course influential earlier display systems, such as the one on SAGE, althoug
those were of course all stroke-based systems, given the limited memory of
the period.)
Windows and menus are AFAIK from PARC, but maybe there are antecedents I
don't know of.
> Bah, he was an ego-driven trinket salesman. His trinkets quit being any
> good after the IIgs. :)
Now I'm not sure how serious _you_ are being! :-)
As to the first, there is some truth to it, but like many (all) humans,
he was complex...
Hard to say what else he would have done, could he have gone on; perhaps not
so much (he was getting up there, and people do slow down), but I suspect his
early death was a serious loss (in terms of further advances).
Noel
> From: geneb
> I'm going to assume you're being sarcastic. :)
With a steam-shovel... :-)
>> that whole display/windows/menu/mouse thing he copied from Xerox
> Fixed that for ya. :)
Well, technically, as you probably know, the mouse came from Engelbart (well,
his group; I'm not sure who the individual was); and the display, I'm
honestly not sure of.
I know the Knight TV system at the AI Lab was a very early bit-mapped
display, but I don't know where the idea first appeared. (There were of
course influential earlier display systems, such as the one on SAGE, althoug
those were of course all stroke-based systems, given the limited memory of
the period.)
Windows and menus are AFAIK from PARC, but maybe there are antecedents I
don't know of.
> Bah, he was an ego-driven trinket salesman. His trinkets quit being any
> good after the IIgs. :)
Now I'm not sure how serious _you_ are being! :-)
As to the first, there is some truth to it, but like many (all) humans,
he was complex...
Noel
Hi CHris - We wanted one cleaner! for the exterior view.
also 2 are good.
one can be showed set up
and
another one for people to peek inside.
OK did that with pair of Altairs which due to conditions worked
out well
had pristine looking Altair with replaced power supply and mother
board ... blah right? but left closed for exterior view in display
looks great.
had 2ed one nasty out side and front pane front... not so nice l but
inside it has the correct orig. wimpy power supply and the little
linked together mother board segments with 100 jumper wires holding each
together... this MADE A GREAT INTERIOR display.
Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org)
In a message dated 3/14/2017 12:08:45 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
cmhanson at eschatologist.net writes:
On Mar 12, 2017, at 7:26 PM, Ed via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
>
> OK anyone else have a cube out there that is cosmetically decent?
does
> not need to be internally complete?
>
> Ours is a bit of a beater for the display
What?s wrong with yours that you can?t clean it up for a non-operational
display?
-- Chirs
OK anyone else have a cube out there that is cosmetically decent? does
not need to be internally complete?
Ours is a bit of a beater for the display
thanks Ed Sharpe archivist for smecc
In a message dated 3/12/2017 7:18:42 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
santo.nucifora at gmail.com writes:
On Sun, Mar 12, 2017 at 10:13 PM, <COURYHOUSE at aol.com> wrote:
ok can you spare the cube?
Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org/)
No. As I noted, I haven't even booted it up yet to try it. I will be
keeping that, one of the mono NeXTstations (the one for parts ) and passing on
a NeXTstation to a fellow collector. I appreciate the interest but it
hasn't even warmed up yet from the cold :)
Santo