On Feb 13, 10:34, Tim wrote:
> On an only slightly related note, IMHO the build quality and general
> longevity of Silicon Graphics hardware really isn't what you'd hope
> of kit that cost so much new...
>
> I've seen Sun boxes that have been through the mill several times by
> the look of things, but flick the switch and you're up and running
> (possibility of needing to solder a battery onto the PROM
> notwithstanding.)
Doesn't sound like you've looked at many recent Suns. The Ultra5 and later
are built like cheap PCs. Not at all like the older ones.
> Personal (limited, I grant you ;-) experience of Indys on the other
> hand suggest you need at least 3 candidates handy if you want to put
> together a working combination of power supply, processor and mobo/PROM.
I've not had much trouble with them. I have three of my own, and was
responsible for "tidying up", reconfiguring, and reselling several dozen at
work. I admit the Nidex PSUs have a bad reputation, but I've only had two
(or maybe three) fail out of nearly 100 machines. You do know that a few
of the later graphics boards need 005, 008 or 010 PROMs? Same applies to
certain CPUs (the R5K needs an 010, for example, and that comes with the
upgrade kit).
> Which isn't to say I don't love 'em, an Indy is my main workstation at
> home & the sight of SGI rapidly going down the tubes is deeply sad...
I spent this afternoon splitting an Origin 2000 apart to sell part of it
off :-(
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Network Manager
University of York
Bill Bradford wrote:
> On Wed, Feb 13, 2002 at 10:34:31AM +0000, Tim wrote:
>> I also don't think I've yet forgiven SGI for making the power
>> supply (simple slide-in/slide-out with two thumbscrews) on the O2000
>> a non user replaceable part - i.e. they won't sell you one without
>> a service contract and an engineer round to plug it in.
> You sure about that? I had to replace a bad PSU on an O2K in '99;
> called SGI, shipped them the power supply, they shipped one back...
In the UK, in 2000, they wouldn't ship a power supply without an
attendant engineer to perform the complex task of undoing the thumbscrews.
(With the attendant cost, as well - of course...)
Whether this was global policy or just a local thing, or just SGI being
bloody minded for the sake of it I wouldn't like to comment :-).
Of course, when said engineer did come round, he cheered me up
immensely with "Oh, yes, this model of PSU was known to be bad, they
always blow; the replacement should be fine." Well great, thanks
for telling me when I needed to know...
I also forgot to mention the sheer awfulness of IRIX in my previous
list of gripes... Anyone else had to deal with a corrupt XFS filesystem
on a production machine? "Excuse me, my XFS filesystem is corrupt and
I need it fixed," "well, XFS can't get corrupted so we don't have any
tools to repair it." "OK, lets pretend XFS isn't corrupt but that IRIX
panics every time it reads a particular directory entry, how do I repair
it?" "Sorry, XFS cannot be corrupt, so there is no way to repair it..."
Cue a long night of restoring from backups :-(.
Fortunately for Sun, there ain't any SGI systems still in production
use round my end of the world any more...
Cheers,
Tim.
--
Tim Walls at home in Croydon - Reply to tim(a)snowgoons.fsnet.co.uk
> But wouldn't I need the full FMP installed on the old IBM machine ? Since
>this is a neighborly freeby I'm not about to put out big bucks for an
>install.
There is a developer version of FMP that lets you create runtime
solutions, that you can distribute royalty free (you are allowed to
charge any amount you want for your database solutions and don't have to
pay FMP a dime past the cost of the dev kit). However, that developer
version last time I checked is about $500 (that was the price when I
bought it, it might have gone up or down slightly since, but figure
around there). If this is just a "neighborly freeby" like you say, then I
would agree, $500 is WAY too much to spend... as is $200 for a regular
single copy of FMP.
Depending on your needs, one of the FMP versions has been released as
freeware. I *think* it is version 3, which would be good as it is
relational and has decent scripting... but I can't seem to turn up any
info on it. It might be version 2.1 that was released as freeware, in
which case don't bother... it has no relational abilities so doing
database linking gets to be VERY messy.
If you want to poke around to find the free version, all I recall is some
time back, FileMaker Inc released one of the versions free with a few
magazine CDs (which I guess might not technically make it freeware, but
rather just super cheap purchased... but I would think it would fall into
enough of a grey zone that you could get away with using it if you can
find a copy).
I will keep hunting, and if I turn up any good info, I'll let you know.
-chris
<http://www.mythtech.net>
> Douglas Quebbeman wrote:
>
> > Seriously, Outlook isn't the source of the stated problems; half-assed,
> > self-taught, sycophantic sysadmins who can't secure their systems are!
>
> Is that true, or has network management gotten to the point that it
> takes the equivilent of a PhD to be able to manage the thing?
I don't have a PhD; it took me seven years to get an associate degree
(well, you don't get credits for partying, and they were no yet offering
a bachelor's degree). You just have to realize it's not just a mailer but
a programmable platform and secure it accordingly.
Regards,
-dq
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Owen Robertson [mailto:univac2@earthlink.net]
> would welcome the opportunity to be an active participant in its
> development. My only question is (question, not criticism): Why UUCP?
Ehh -- good question. Why not? I, for one, would be open to any
similar method of communication. FIDO, maybe? :) UUCP is just what
springs to my own mind.
Chris
Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL
/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'
"Lawrence Walker" <lgwalker(a)mts.net> said:
> So now I'm trying to set up a program using an old copy of
>Paradox for Windows. (Yeah I know many other OS are better but M-Sloth
>is what they'll be exposed to in this world)
"This world" depends on what you give them, in this case, since they (from
your description) don't have heritage or outside interaction with computers
to consider. Thoughts:
1) You won't be around forever (no offense intended).
2) They may have to maintain or replace the system, or decide to upgrade,
themselves.
If you use Mac OS 7-9 on a used Mac and go with a used copy of Filemaker
instead of Paradox, they are *far* more likely to be able to maintain the
program themselves, and far more likely to be able to acquire new hardware
(if the old one dies) without having to replace the software as well. Note
that FM is currently cross-platform, so if they later decide to go Winders,
they can.
I don't know the cost of hardware and software to you, so maybe lack of
availability of Mac's or copies of Filemaker makes this not an option, but
you would be doing them a *real* favor to get them off MICROS~1 right at
the start.
Disclaimer: I don't run a business, so I may not know what I'm talking
about. Anybody knowledgable here, please chime in. I think this is a
*vital* topic for classic-computers, BTW, as keeping the machines
productive is far and away the best way to keep them alive and known. The
upgrade path availability is admittedly slightly off-topic, but relevant to
the discussion.
- Mark
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sellam Ismail [mailto:foo@siconic.com]
> Sent: 12 February 2002 09:00
> To: 'classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org'
> Subject: RE: great site
> Unfortunately, a lot of pictures were posted that shouldn't have been.
> What you're referring to were pictures that were taken of my
> collection
Aaah! That makes sense. No wonder I thought I'd struck museum paydirt!
> The site is undergoing renovation but if you want something badly and
> aren't getting a response, let me know and I'll get the
> message through to the right people.
OK then. I'll give them a test with an Exidy Sorceror, Memotech RS128 and an
HH Tiger. *grin*
a
www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk
I came across a desktop something-or-other today with radiused front
and rear faces, about 18"x13"x2.25", 2 1.5"x2"x5" sokets in the front
edge with some kind of cartridge in one, and "MINDSET" embossed on the
front side. I didn't have a flashlight, so I couldn't read the FCC
label.
Does that sound familiar to anyone?
Doc
Thanks to all for the information re the above. Turns out it is basically a
dog unless I can get the wierd special interface card which is scarcer than
the proverbial rocking-horse excrement.
There's a remote chance it was still where the scanner came from but I'm
probably too late now. I won't throw it out just yet though- will put it
with all the other 'computer trash' - just in case.... ('Oh Lord' sez spouse
of 30 plus years who still can't get the car in the garage!)
And the connector WAS a 36 pin standard Centronics style printer connector-
enjoyed all the discussion though!
Tks all
Dave Brown
Christchurch NZ
> -----Original Message-----
> From: James L. Rice [mailto:jrice@texoma.net]
> Watch out for semiconducting tape. I had one electrician working for
> me, who wrapped all of the splices on a entire job with leftover
> semiconducting tape. When we megged the leads, every one showed a
> direct short to ground. The guy had over 20 years
> experience, but was
> in over his head on that one.
*ouch* I don't remember having seen semiconducting tape. Does it look
a lot like normal vinyl tape? :)
Chris
Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL
/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'
Sellam - this one is racked in a tower box as well with TEN 5 1/4"
half height drive bays - is that what you are using? I can't begin
to imagine TEN 5 1/4" FULL HEIGHT drive bays, but if that
is what you really meant, then I guess this box is only half the size.
But in addition to the 6 SCSI drives listed below, there are:
two EIDE 40 GByte hard drives - eventually to be expanded to four
one 3 1/2" floppy 1.44 MByte
one 5 1/4" floppy 1.2 MByte
one IDE CDRW burner
one IDE CDROM
Total drives = 12
the 2 (eventually 4) EIDE drives are hanging on two brackets OUTSIDE
the box - so I can see the LEDs flash on them - the LEDs are on the
bottom of the drive in the middle. The drives are hanging from secure
solid brackets at the 90 degree angle orientation so they stick out only
a total of 1 1/4" from the box - very little torque on the brackets. This
idea was from a recent suggestion about hanging drives from convenient
locations inside the box - thank you (I forget who gave the suggestion -
I simply extended it to hanging the drives outside).
I have been able to do the following with a single internal SCSI cable that
is terminated via an active external terminator (#1 configuration):
SCSI hard drive #0 FAT32 - ID=0
SCSI hard drive #1 FAT32 - ID=1
SCSI hard drive #2 FAT32 - ID=2
SCSI Iomega Zip Drive - ID=4
SCSI CDROM Drive #0 - ID=5
SCSI CDROM Drive #1 - ID=6
It all boots and work fine under W98.
I can also use an external cable as well (#2 configuration - includes #1):
Sony SMO S501 - ID=0
Sony SMO S501 - ID=1
Sony SMO S501 - ID=2 (this one only is terminated)
In this case, I MUST remove both SCSI CDROM drives from
the internal cable (not just power them down), but ONLY power
down the three SCSI hard drives. This also boots and works fine.
On many occasions, I wish to switch between the three Sony
drives and the three SCSI hard drives. Since W98 and the device
drivers think that the Sony drives are removable, none of the
software complains if I switch off (i.e. JUST turn off the power)
the Sony drives and power on the SCSI hard drives - no cables
are added or removed and I use a spare PC power supply for
SCSI hard drives, so the internal power supply for the PC is not
affected. This all works fine and since it is the minimum configuration
that I need right now, I am VERY pleased and satisfied.
Question: Can anyone suggest why I must remove the SCSI CDROM
drives from the internal SCSI cable before I can attach the external cable
with the three Sony drives - otherwise W98 does not complete the boot?
Hint: If I attempt to boot with the same configuration as #2 (i.e. with
the 3 Sony drives attached via the external cable) but now with the
3 Sony drives turned off and the 3 SCSI hard drives turned on, I also
can't boot - i.e. if I want to be able to switch between the Sony drives
and the SCSI hard drives, I must boot with the Sony drives powered
on and the SCSI hard drives powered off - and the SCSI CDROM
drives removed from the SCSI internal cable.
Please don't say I am not allowed to switch between the Sony and the
SCSI hard drives in the first place - that is something I often require -
it works and I am satisfied - if it ever stops working on future systems,
I will obviously need to find a solution.
=================================================
A note added this morning. My son#3 suggested that I eliminate the
external cable completely. Just attach a connecting cable to the end
of the internal 50 pin flat cable (remove the active terminator) to the
external Sony drives (my case will always be run with the sides off)
and put the active terminator at the end of the Sony daisy chain (instead
of having that last Sony drive apply termination - so that when I turn
off the Sony drives and power on the SCSI hard drives termination
will still be there). This all works just fine. Except that when I boot
>from a floppy to be able to copy a GHOST backup file from a CD
to the D: hard drive, I must unplug the power from the SCSI CD internal
drives as only TWO CDROM drives are recognized by the floppy
when DOS from W98 boots. Since the SCSI CD internal drives
are OT (10 years old and slow), I certainly want to use the "newer"
IDE CDROM drives which are much faster. The reason that I will
just copy the GHOST back-up file to the D: hard drive is that GHOST
will not work when I boot with CDROM support - after I do the
copy from the CD to the D: hard drive, I must boot again without
CDROM support in order to run GHOST.
All in all, the restrictions was very few. I now can now normally boot
with all four CDROM drives and the three Sony drives. Or if the
Sony drives are off, then I can boot with the three SCSI hard drives
turned on and they will be recognized as permanent had drives with
correct FAT32 file structures (I did need to do an FDISK). Of course,
in this latter case, I can't switch to the Sony drives.
The only time that I need to do something a bit unusual is to unplug
the internal power to the two SCSI CDROM drives when I boot from
a floppy and I want to copy a file from a CD to the D: drive - and then
only because of the time it takes with the old SCSI CDROM drives
as opposed to the new IDE CDROM drives.
Question: Is there agreement that the probable cause of the original
problem when there was both an external and an internal cable was
likely to do with termination? But is there a specific explanation as
to why the SCSI CDROM drives needed to be removed from the
SCSI 50 pin internal flat cable when the three Sony drives were
plugged into the external cable?
'Tis a puzzle, but now a satisfactory solution has been found.
Lawrence LeMay <lemay(a)cs.umn.edu> asked:
> Somewhat out of question, but does anyone know of any software that would
> download a web site, or a portion, to a local disk?
Chris answered:
> I think the other app that I have heard recommended (I
>use iCab myself), is called Site Sucker, or Web Sucker, one of those...
WebWhacker came with the OS (mmmm... 7.6?) on my PB3400. It seemed OK,
though I did not exercise it much.
- Mark
"Robert Schaefer" <rschaefe(a)gcfn.org> wrote:
> Hey, I've got a DCA controller here in front of me. It's a full-length
> 8-bit ISA/MCA flippy card, with 1 BNC & 1 RJ-11 (4P4C) ports on it. One
> sticker says `*LA 0006E1*' and one says `003581 REV.A' A little googling
> indicates this might be some sort of 3270 controller, but I couldn't find
> anything to confirm this. Anyone know what it is/want it?
I haven't seen the thing in years, but Wollongong had something like
this in the QA lab. Made by DCA, ISA on one edge, MCA on the
opposite, with a daughterboard that plugs into one side or the other
depending on which bus you want it to ride. Oh, and it had two
different back plates (one for MCA, one for ISA); you attached the
appropriate one to the daughterboard. I don't remember what
connectors it had poking out the back.
Anyway, it was an Ethernet interface. I wouldn't be surprised to find
out that they made IRMA 3270 interfaces this way too.
What does surprise me is that Attachmate (who bought DCA) appears to
still sell something like this: the "IRMA 3 Convertible Adapter".
http://www.attachmate.com/products/profile/0,1016,416_1,00.html
-Frank McConnell
> -----Original Message-----
> From: r. 'bear' stricklin [mailto:red@bears.org]
> On Tue, 12 Feb 2002, Christopher Smith wrote:
> That's a shitty answer.
> That being said, I concede the point.
Well, my father was an electrician, and I was raised with stories
of incredibly non-compliant I-can't-believe-it-doesn't-melt wiring
schemes...
Chris
Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL
/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'
Hello, all:
Has anyone used the USB to parallel port adapter cables for homebrew
projects? I'm wondering if it can truly function as a parallel adapter for a
non-printer application (a LCD display hack) and if anyone has done this.
Rich
Rich Cini
Collector of classic computers
Build Master for the Altair32 Emulation Project
Web site: http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/
/************************************************************/
> -----Original Message-----
> From: chris halarewich [mailto:halarewich@shaw.ca]
> Sent: 12 February 2002 11:19
> To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
> Subject: great site
>
>
> that sells old computer stuff
> http://www.aftermathtechnologies.com/index.html
It would've been a greater site if it'd had let me spend money and not just
tell me half the things I wanted were reserved. Mmmm boxed Magnavox
Odyssey.....had 3 of 'em too.
a
www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk
> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Woyciesjes [mailto:DAW@yalepress3.unipress.yale.edu]
> Oh boy! What did I do! I was just trying to make up an
> example of
> dumb-ass electricians! At least this thread does relate to
> Classic Computer
> Collecting...
Well, a common problem I've seen three or four times personally is
to wire the neutral and earth swapped. This causes all manner of
trouble for UPS systems. They don't like it at all. :)
I've also seen wires taped together with incredibly
not-good-at-insulating masking tape, causing a high-resistance
(if you're very, very lucky) short.
Last one of those I found was when I went to change a light bulb,
and wondered why the ceiling felt all tingly. Joking aside, I'm
lucky the ceiling tile was between me and the wires.
Chris
Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL
/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tothwolf [mailto:tothwolf@concentric.net]
> Needless to say, a 20A system (max inrush) running from a 15A
> outlet/circuit just does not seem all that safe. I put the
> proper plug on
> the cord just this weekend, since I got one in with that
> weekends haul.
Well, isn't the breaker on the SGI desksides 16A?
I suppose, in that case, that they'd be relatively safe on a 16A
"air conditioner" circuit, or the like, but 15A is living
dangerously. :)
Chris
Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL
/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'
And I do mean "haul".
I found the stash at work today, and dragged it home.
I had already copped the DEC 3000/300x Friday, and my boss told me he
thought there was some more of that stuff around somewhere. So I
snarked it.
3 DEC 3000/300x
2 untested as yet, w 2xRZ26E each and looks like 64M RAM
also MAGMA 2+1 TC (serial/parallel adapter?)
1 w/2xRZ26E and 80M RAM. no MAGMA
booting OSF/1 v3.2, Oracle
1 Mouse/KBD breakout w/mouse.
1 DEC SZ12 expansion unit with an RZ58 and a Seagate ST32430N
1 DEC MicroVAX 3100-90 w/serious problems - system board looks like it
was wet & powered up. :o(
Boots to console, but gets errors at several checkpoints and
ends up with "normal operation not possible". Haven't done much
trouble-shooting.
Looks like 128M RAM
*** RRD42 - with "OpenVMS v6.2 Binaries 1 of 1" in caddy!
2xRZ26-E 1G
RZ26L-E 1G
3 DEC MicroVAX 3100-80
1)
72M
RZ25-E 425M
No OS
2)
40M
TLZ06 4mm DAT
2xRZ25-E @425M
OpenVMS 6.2
3)
40M
TLZ06 4mm DAT
3xDSP3107 @1G
OpenVMS 6.2
RZ26-E
OpenVMS 6.0
1 VSXXX-AA Mouse untested
1 VSXXX-AB Graphics Tablet & Puck. untested, and haven't found the
Stylus yet.
Do the RZ26-E drives always sound like a gravel-crusher, or are all
these toast?
All this cool stuff, and the other day I was heavily lusting after an
MV3100-30 on eBay, and right now I'm just p*ssed because the '90 is
broken. Spoiled, huh?
Doc
I'm trying to get my brand new (to me) Emulex QT13 working on my QBus
VAXstation 3200, and am having some troubles. When I have the card set to
MicroVAX mode, it doesn't get recognized by the hardware. When I set it
to LSI-11 mode, it gets recognized, but doesn't seem to work. I've tried
both TSV05 and TMSCP emulations, and neither one will seem to work. I've
even run the on-card diagnostics, and haven't had any success getting the
card to recognize the drive, either (it just waits a few seconds and then
says *** TAPE ERROR ***). I've tried swaping the data cables to the
drive, with no luck in getting it to work.
Help!
-- Pat
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Russ Blakeman [mailto:rhb57@vol.com]
> Ever thought to take a plane/train/bus to Mass (Doesn't Amtrack run to
> Chicago still from Shampoo-Banana?) and once you get there
Yep, thought about that. The problem is that I guess it will likely
take more than a weekend to do it. I could try to get a day off of
work, but I'd really rather not do that.
Another option is to send somebody else. I know a few people crazy
enough to try it... who knows.
> If Amtrak doesn't come from C-U, I know there are commuter
> planes from the
> C-U airport to both Midway and O'hare and Greyhound should
> still run there.
Yep -- all true, though it still may be a longer trip than I'd
like to make.
> be the best in this case. truckers won't appreciate the
> equipment and will
> charge big bux for crating and handling as well.
Well, I'd hope they won't go out of their way to screw it up. ;)
Chris
Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL
/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'
I'm not sure this is quite 10 years old, but....
I have an HP Apollo 9000/735 with the infamous HIL kbd/mouse port.
I've been running the thing headless since I got it because I can't
bring myself to pay the asking price for the "Localization Kits" out
there.
I've run across references to & pictures of an adapter that converts
HP-HIL to 2 PS/2 ports. Does anyone have the pinouts/schematic for this
critter? Or have one they don't want?
Aquiring minds just want.
Doc
Last weekl someone was asking about the greatest number of bit slice
CPUs that they'd ever seen on a card. I know this isn't the record but
today I picked up two card with six 2901s on them. The surprise is that
there's also an 8008 on the same card!
--
Sounds like some sort of 24 bit processor (SEL ?)
DEC floating point processor boards for the 11/34 and 44 have a
bunch.
Magnetic Peripherals made the CDC 9" drive line 9715 IIRC.
Could be a tester for that. Look at the cables. They should be SMD. (26 pin &
60 Pin)
I think it is worth saving but I have none of the drives any more.
Paxton
Astoria, OR
Last weekl someone was asking about the greatest number of bit slice
CPUs that they'd ever seen on a card. I know this isn't the record but
today I picked up two card with six 2901s on them. The surprise is that
there's also an 8008 on the same card!
Joe
Hi guys.
I'm seriously considering (to the point of looking for a shipping
arrangement) picking up that Prime system that was offered here
recently.
Any ideas? The system is in Waltham Mass, and I'm in Champaign,
IL.
I'd love to hear from somebody going this direction sometime soon,
otherwise, what is a good shipping company to use? I would have
to arrange pickup and delivery, myself, which I've never done
before, so assume I know nothing about this.
Also, U-Haul probably isn't a desirable option. :)
Chris
Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL
/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'
Location: Chicago, Illinois, Wabash and Lake Streets, behind Harold
Washington College.
What: a 20 foot construction dumpster being loaded at this moment (8:00 AM
CST) with PC's, mainly PS/2 30's and 50's.
They're literally tossing them into the dumpster. :(
Bob
Oh boy! What did I do! I was just trying to make up an example of
dumb-ass electricians! At least this thread does relate to Classic Computer
Collecting...
--- David A Woyciesjes
--- C & IS Support Specialist
--- Yale University Press
--- mailto:david.woyciesjes@yale.edu
--- (203) 432-0953
--- ICQ # - 90581
Mac OS X 10.1.2 - Darwin Kernel Version 5.2: Fri Dec 7 21:39:35 PST 2001
Running since 01/22/2002 without a crash
> ----------
> From: r. 'bear' stricklin
>
> On Tue, 12 Feb 2002, Tothwolf wrote:
>
> > You won't find a 16A breaker in a branch circuit. You'd likely see a 15A
> > breaker (residential, probably 14Ga, maybe 12Ga wire), or a 20A breaker
> > (12Ga or 10Ga wire). A 15A circuit would not be safe at all, while a 20A
> > *might* be ok, but the system could still overload the receptacle and
> plug
> > since they are still only rated for 15A.
>
> Wait a minute, isn't the only physical difference between NEMA 5-15 (110V,
> 15A) and 5-20 (110V, 20A) that one pin is rotated 90 degrees? In this
> case, since residential electrical code would mandate wiring capable of
> delivering 20A service on a circuit protected by a 20A breaker, wouldn't
> you say that the principle reason for NEMA 5-20 existing be to prevent
> user error more than anything else?
>
> ok
> r.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: r. 'bear' stricklin [mailto:red@bears.org]
> Wait a minute, isn't the only physical difference between
> NEMA 5-15 (110V,
> 15A) and 5-20 (110V, 20A) that one pin is rotated 90 degrees? In this
> case, since residential electrical code would mandate wiring
> capable of
> delivering 20A service on a circuit protected by a 20A
> breaker, wouldn't
> you say that the principle reason for NEMA 5-20 existing be to prevent
> user error more than anything else?
Who's to say that all wiring is done in a manner compliant with
residential electric code? ;)
It's better to be safe, especially where electricity is concerned.
Chris
Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL
/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'
I went back downstairs at about 9:00, and a trash picker was _tossing_ PC's
into the bed of his beat-up pickup, which he had backed up next to the
dumpster. Went back out at 11:00, and the dumpster had been hauled away.
Probably land fill by now :(
Bob
-----Original Message-----
From: Tothwolf [mailto:tothwolf@concentric.net]
Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2002 2:36 PM
To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
Subject: Re: Dumpster in the alley. (Chicago)
On Tue, 12 Feb 2002, Julius Sridhar wrote:
> On Tue, 12 Feb 2002 CARL.P.HIRSCH(a)sargentlundy.com wrote:
>
> > It's a shame they're 286's and can't even run Linux...
>
> They are 286's and they *can* run Linux? Anyway, these aren't your
> everyday standard piece-o-shit PC's.
AT the very least, some of the MCA boards, drives, memory, and power
supplies could be useful to some people.
Hrm, that's nearly a complete system isn't it? ;)
-Toth
> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Allain [mailto:allain@panix.com]
> > ...The web information is stale...
> - - -
> > ...{items were} trashed internally.
> > ...There was a shipping mix-up on that item
> > ...Needless to say, it wouldn't power up when I got it
> > ...They're a little slow in responding.
> Let's see...
> The item was broken, misdelivered
Again, this wasn't exactly their fault, and they did do their
best to fix the problem with the indy, which is likely to have
been caused by shipping. In the other case, I purchased the
LD player with the understanding that since they had no LDs to
check it, I had to buy it as is.
> and service was poor (slow).
Slow... can't argue with that, but having worked with
volunteer organizations in the past, I can understand that
they're likely to be way understaffed. I wouldn't equate
slow service with poor service, though.
> What's _Your_ time worth, anyway?
Whatever I make of it. As I said, the misdelivery was probably
an exceptional case. I'm satisfied that they did their best to
correct the problem, and I'm certainly willing to try them again.
Chris
Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL
/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tothwolf [mailto:tothwolf@concentric.net]
> On Tue, 12 Feb 2002, Christopher Smith wrote:
> > Well, isn't the breaker on the SGI desksides 16A?
> It is, but I don't think I want to push the limits that close.
Well, me neither, but the point is that if your wire will handle
it, most houses have 20A breakers. :)
Chances are it would be ok on a 16A dedicated line, or a nominally
15A circuit with nothing else plugged in. (depending on wiring, of
course)
> You won't find a 16A breaker in a branch circuit. You'd
> likely see a 15A
Well, what I meant here was a dedicated circuit designed to carry
16A, which likely would (obviously) have a breaker that's rated
higher... I have encountered them in a couple of houses before,
usually for air conditioning, refrigerators, etc.
> *might* be ok, but the system could still overload the
> receptacle and plug
> since they are still only rated for 15A.
True enough -- unless they aren't.
> SGI actually rated these systems for a dedicated 20A branch circuit.
At any rate, that's probably the safest way to go.
Chris
Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL
/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'
> ----------
> From: Robert F Schaefer
>
> >> ----------
> >> From: Robert F Schaefer
> >>
> >> > You want to know why this message subject immediately jumped out
> >> > an grabbed my attention?
> >> > My Wife is the Grainger/National Accounts Coordinator for Hubbell
> >> > wiring devices. She's one of the people who tell dumb-***
> >> > electricians that you can't use a 15 amp plug in a 30 amp circuit...
> >>
> >> Hey! I *don't* resemble that remark. In my experience, it's commonly
> >> the
> >>
> >> owner or the equipment mfgr with their head up their a$$. I've seen
> >> some scarey stuff in my few years in the trade. (And you can put a
> >> 15 amp plug
> >>
> >> on a 30 amp circuit-- see NFPA 70 (2002) article 210.21(B)(3)
> >> exception no.
> >> 2 --not that it comes up often!)
>
> (After I looked that over again, it reads like I might be pissed-- that's
> not the case!)
>
---Nah, I knew you weren't pissed. After I wrote it, I realized that
I might be a little off in that example... :-)
> > Bob ---
> > I know, I'm sure you don't :-). But there _are_ some electricians
> > out there, who are, well, *out there*.
>
> I know-- I work with him... ^_^
>
> > As for that "15 amp plug - 30 amp circuit" thing, you're right, I
> > pulled that example out of my ass [1], but she has dealt with many
> > idiot customers trying to do things that are _very_ asinine. I'm
> > surprised that some of them haven't managed to kill themselves yet.
>
> Some people are alive just because it's illegal to stand by and watch them
>
> kill themselves. It's amazing that some of these people manage to
> remember
> to breath every day.
>
> `Don't put your finger in there.' `Ok.' `Don't put your finger in
> there.' `Ok.' `Don't put your finger in there.' `Ok.' **BZZZAP** `What
>
> happened?' `I put my finger in there.'
>
> I sure hope I don't get killed trying to save some moron. I'll be cursing
>
> all the way to h#ll if I do.
>
> Bob
>
---"Doc, it hurts when I do this!" "So don't do that!"
> >
> > [1] Yep. That shows that I can do the wiring in the house, I just don't
> > design it without a little reference nearby. :-)
> >
> > --- David A Woyciesjes
>
>
--- David A Woyciesjes
--- C & IS Support Specialist
--- Yale University Press
--- mailto:david.woyciesjes@yale.edu
--- (203) 432-0953
--- ICQ # - 90581
Mac OS X 10.1.2 - Darwin Kernel Version 5.2: Fri Dec 7 21:39:35 PST 2001
Running since 01/22/2002 without a crash
It's a shame they're 286's and can't even run Linux...
Bob, I'm wondering if I can hit you up for resources here in Chicago. I've
lived here for about 2 years and haven't come across any good tech
resources. I'm hoping you can point me to some of the various resellers,
corporate liquidators, junk shops, and scrappers where good stuff might be
found in the Chicagoland area. I'm looking for stuff to rescue as well as
raw material for art.
Also - HAMFESTS. Are there any hamfests in the area this year? Are hamfests
in chicago likely to have much non-radio content?
thanks much,
-carl
"Feldman, Robert"
<Robert_Feldman@jdedw To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
ards.com> cc:
Sent by: Subject: Dumpster in the alley.
owner-classiccmp@clas
siccmp.org
02/12/02 07:58 AM
Please respond to
classiccmp
Location: Chicago, Illinois, Wabash and Lake Streets, behind Harold
Washington College.
What: a 20 foot construction dumpster being loaded at this moment (8:00 AM
CST) with PC's, mainly PS/2 30's and 50's.
They're literally tossing them into the dumpster. :(
Bob
I have an NSA 3270/Elite sleeve/binder with 3 disks that I haven't got a clue
about. Of course I could RTFM but any attempt so far has escaped me.
I'm trying to determine if I could use it for something, sell it on E-Pay for
BIG BUCKs, offer it to the list, or bury it in my obscure,likely of no use bin.
Any illumination would be helpful and appreciated.
Lawrence
Reply to:
lgwalker(a)mts.net
> ----------
> From: Robert F Schaefer
>
> > You want to know why this message subject immediately jumped out and
> > grabbed my attention?
> > My Wife is the Grainger/National Accounts Coordinator for Hubbell
> > wiring devices. She's one of the people who tell dumb-*** electricians
> > that you can't use a 15 amp plug in a 30 amp circuit...
>
> Hey! I *don't* resemble that remark. In my experience, it's commonly the
>
> owner or the equipment mfgr with their head up their a$$. I've seen some
> scarey stuff in my few years in the trade. (And you can put a 15 amp plug
>
> on a 30 amp circuit-- see NFPA 70 (2002) article 210.21(B)(3) exception
> no.
> 2 --not that it comes up often!)
>
> Bob
>
> >
> > --- David A Woyciesjes
>
Bob ---
I know, I'm sure you don't :-). But there _are_ some electricians
out there, who are, well, *out there*.
As for that "15 amp plug - 30 amp circuit" thing, you're right, I
pulled that example out of my ass [1], but she has dealt with many idiot
customers trying to do things that are _very_ asinine. I'm surprised that
some of them haven't managed to kill themselves yet.
[1] Yep. That shows that I can do the wiring in the house, I just don't
design it without a little reference nearby. :-)
--- David A Woyciesjes
--- C & IS Support Specialist
--- Yale University Press
--- mailto:david.woyciesjes@yale.edu
--- (203) 432-0953
--- ICQ # - 90581
Mac OS X 10.1.2 - Darwin Kernel Version 5.2: Fri Dec 7 21:39:35 PST 2001
Running since 01/22/2002 without a crash
Yes, this is Off Topic, but since you're all knowledgeable, and packrats...
Probably should keep this off-list too...
I have a Quantum Viking 3.5" SCSI-2 HDD, SCA-80 connector, P/N 4550S
VK45J012 REV 03-C K8600. It seems to spin up okay, but ARC setup on my DEC
Alpha doesn't see it. The biggest chip on the board, probably the
controller, gets to a temperature that seems way hotter than it should be.
Well, compared to another Quantum 4.5GB Viking drive.
Question is, can just the controller board be replaced? Does anyone
have one? or is this toast?
--- David A Woyciesjes
--- C & IS Support Specialist
--- Yale University Press
--- mailto:david.woyciesjes@yale.edu
--- (203) 432-0953
--- ICQ # - 90581
Mac OS X 10.1.2 - Darwin Kernel Version 5.2: Fri Dec 7 21:39:35 PST 2001
Running since 01/22/2002 without a crash
You want to know why this message subject immediately jumped out and
grabbed my attention?
My Wife is the Grainger/National Accounts Coordinator for Hubbell
wiring devices. She's one of the people who tell dumb-*** electricians that
you can't use a 15 amp plug in a 30 amp circuit...
--- David A Woyciesjes
--- C & IS Support Specialist
--- Yale University Press
--- mailto:david.woyciesjes@yale.edu
--- (203) 432-0953
--- ICQ # - 90581
Mac OS X 10.1.2 - Darwin Kernel Version 5.2: Fri Dec 7 21:39:35 PST 2001
Running since 01/22/2002 without a crash
> ----------
> From: Tothwolf
>
> I'm sure there are other folks on the list that have systems that use
> twist-lock connectors, so I am posting here before I contact a surplus
> company to work out a trade.
>
> I have the following Hubbell twist-lock connectors that are surplus to my
> needs:
>
> Qty Description Hubbell Part #
> NEMA
> 4 125V 30A Insulgrip Plug HBL2611
> L5-30P
> 3 125V/250V 20A Insulgrip Plug HBL9965C
> N/A
> 1 125V/250V 20A Insulgrip Flanged Receptacle HBL3326C
> N/A
> 1 125V/250V 30A Insulgrip Plug HBL3331C
> N/A
> 1 125V/250V 30A Insulgrip Flanged Inlet HBL3334C
> N/A
> 1 125V/250V 30A Insulgrip Flanged Receptacle HBL3335C
> N/A
> 2 125V 15A/250V 10A Insulgrip Plug [Not UL Listed] HBL7567C
> N/A
>
> I am looking for these connectors to get power to my old SGI systems:
>
> Qty Description Hubbell Part #
> NEMA
> 2 125V 20A Insulgrip Plug HBL2311
> L5-20P
> 3 125V 20A Insulgrip Connector Body HBL2313
> L5-20R
> 4 125V 20A Single Flush Receptacle HBL2310
> L5-20R
> 2 250V 30A Insulgrip Plug HBL2621
> L6-30P
> 2 250V 30A Insulgrip Connector Body HBL2623
> L6-30R
> 3 250V 30A Single Flush Receptacle HBL2620
> L6-30R
>
> Hubbell twist-lock catalog:
> http://www.hubbell-wiring.com/new/sectionb.pdf
>
> If anyone wants to make a trade, email me directly.
>
> -Toth
>
>
Okay, in order to pose this question I have to come clean here and admit my
age:
Right around 1960 or '61 (I was five or six years old at the time) I was
given a toy computer. I suppose it was meant to represent a mainframe
(what else could it have been, given the era?) and there was a rectangular
(4 x 8? 5 X 7?) array of blinkenlights on the front of it. There was also
a tray in the front which accepted a small punched card. A set of these
cards came with the toy. Each card had a multiple-choice question printed
on it, as well as four answers to choose from, numbered A through D.
Additional card sets could be purchased separately.
When a card was placed into the tray and the tray was then closed, the
blinkenlights would display a "random" pattern for a couple of seconds
(always the same pattern) and then the array would display the correct
answer to the printed question, A B C or D. It didn't take long for me to
be able to read the holes in the cards, and I even "modified" a couple of
them so that the toy displayed an incorrect answer.
Does *anyone* remember this thing? It must have cost a few bucks back
then. What was it called?
Glen
0/0
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Marvin Johnston [mailto:marvin@rain.org]
> Douglas Quebbeman wrote:
> > Seriously, Outlook isn't the source of the stated problems;
> half-assed,
> > self-taught, sycophantic sysadmins who can't secure their
> systems are!
> Is that true, or has network management gotten to the point that it
> takes the equivilent of a PhD to be able to manage the thing?
Actually, no, but it's a combination of some things:
The software that's mandated for use in most companies (by people
who have too much authority in the company and no idea what they're
doing...) is terrible, and hard to manage.
The people being hired to run networks these days only know how to
"use" this terrible software, leaving anything that isn't garbage
to be either neglected or outsourced. (usually the former...)
People don't expect decent performance from their systems, because
of the aforementioned terrible software, and so points one and two
continue.
Well, that's what _I_ think it is...
Chris
Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL
/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'
> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Woyciesjes [mailto:DAW@yalepress3.unipress.yale.edu]
> You want to know why this message subject immediately
> jumped out and
> grabbed my attention?
> My Wife is the Grainger/National Accounts Coordinator
> for Hubbell
> wiring devices. She's one of the people who tell dumb-***
> electricians that
> you can't use a 15 amp plug in a 30 amp circuit...
Well, um, I suppose you _could_ do it, if you didn't mind toasting the connector, and possibly some other stuff in the process :)
Chris
Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL
/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'
> ----------
> From: Eric Dittman
>
> > So, to see if I understand you correctly...
> >
> > - The SBB is the tray for the HDD...
>
> The SBB is "Storage Building Block", with the storage element inside.
>
Okay, a simple "yes" would've worked... ;-)
> > - The SBBs for use in the 350, have a 50 pin connector, none have the
> SCA...
>
> Yes. The BA350 and BA356 have the same backplane connector, but the
> wide SBBs can not be seen when installed in a BA350. However, narrow
> SBBs can be used in a BA356.
>
Not surprised...
> > -- If so, I wonder if there is room inside the tray to fit a SCA
> 80-50pin
> > adapter?
>
> Usually not. There isn't much room in the 3.5" SBBs. Maybe, if the
> SCA converter was real small, it may fit.
>
Hmmm, bummer...
<<<<<clip>>>>>
> > -If I want to use narrow SCA-80 drives in a Digital Storage Shelf, I
> should
> > look for the 356 and SBBs for that?
>
> It would be easier. With a BA356 you can use a BA35X-MG narrow
> personality module if you want to connect to a narrow SCSI bus
> or use a wide-narrow external SCSI cable. The only drawback
> (which may not be an issue for you) is the HSxY0 raid controllers
> don't work well with a wide-narrow external cable.
> --
>
Alright, thanks for the info, Eric. Well, I do have a (so far)
winning bid of $6.00 on a BA-350. I wonder if that's what it really is...
I'll see what I can find for SBBs for it ( has only 2 power supplies). If I
can't use it, no big loss.
Alternatively, I've been thinking about just converting a PC case to
a drive tower, and just have a pile o' disks. And if I want some RAID, use
software RAID. Yes, this is personal use. I'd never suggest software RAID in
a business...
It'd be a shame to see 7 good 1GB HDDs go to waste...
--- David A Woyciesjes
--- C & IS Support Specialist
--- Yale University Press
--- mailto:david.woyciesjes@yale.edu
--- (203) 432-0953
--- ICQ # - 90581
Mac OS X 10.1.2 - Darwin Kernel Version 5.2: Fri Dec 7 21:39:35 PST 2001
Running since 01/22/2002 without a crash
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Doc [mailto:doc@mdrconsult.com]
> FWIW, I got curious. Everyone has been mentioning FidoNet
> in the past
> tense, and I just did work 2 years ago for a guy who was
> trying hard to
> get me into it. I just looked, and there are 8 active Fido dialups in
> Austin.
Yep, it's probably still going. :)
Chris
Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL
/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'
I think A/UX 3.0 is only 7 years old, so its not really on topic, but it
_is_ dead, so that has to account for something!
I recently downloaded the CD image of the A/UX 3.0.1 installation CD & a
boot disk from http://home.earthlink.net/~gamba2/syslist.html
I got the boot disk extracted (it was a diskcopy_image) and the CD image
itself was gzipped. I gunzipped it on my linux box and burned it onto a
CD with:
cdrecord -speed 8 -dev 0,6,0 -eject -v AUX_3.0.1_Install.toast_image
When I try to boot up on a IIci, the floppy works ok, and it starts to
search for the CD in the CD drive. The cd drive is a toshiba 5401B, I
pulled from an alpha. It never finds a valid disk. So, to try to
figure out what was wrong, I used BasiliskII (a mac-on-unix emulation)
and tried to mount the CD image as a disk under system 7.6...and it
wanted to format it. Should the CD be mountable?
With this bit of experimentation, it looks like the CD image isn't
right.
Any ideas?
Thanks!
Brian Wheeler
bdwheele(a)indiana.edu