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

building a PDP11 from the things you find at home

by dittman＠dittman.net

> > > > > Two examples of the results of that... AmigaDOS, BeOS. There are others. > > > > AmigaDOS is different, but I don't know if it has all the features > > I'd like. As far as I know, BeOS tries to be somewhat Unix compatible. > > Well, AmigaDOS has processes, threads, semaphores, message ports, > messages, preemptive multitasking, multiple file systems and long file names > (on such filesystems that support that). It's not multi-user so it lacks > file permissions but it's a single user OS anyway. What else do you need? Well, for one thing I'd want multiuser capability, clustering, and the GUI would have to be improved. I never liked the looks of the Amiga GUI; it looked primitive to me. I haven't seen an Amiga lately, so I don't now if the looks of the GUI ever improved. I use a GUI primarily to manage several text windows, so I could ignore most of the GUI anyway, but the text displays would have to be fixed. And the OS should not require a GUI for system operation. I like my systems to be connected to a terminal server with one main system acting as the terminal (along with my VT525). -- Eric Dittman dittman(a)dittman.net

24 years, 11 months

2
1
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Next N4000 Megapixel -- whats c57 and C201B?

by claudew＠videotron.ca

Hi all... I have been trying to bring my Next station to complete working shape... I have "restored" and tested the CRT on the N4000 (part no 135.00) MegaPixel monitor and seems to be ok on a Sencore CRT tester...dont think it would last for years now but should be giving a picture.... But I am still without a picture. When power is turned on, I can hear the HV "crackle" for a fraction of a second but then no HV. I dont know if someone played around in this monitor but on the verticaly mounted board ("analog board"?) C57 and C201B (top near flyback) are missing...anybody got one open or schematics to tell me if they should be there and the values? There seems to have been some soldering work there -- but hard to tell... Kinda weird cause these are the two only empty parts locations in the whole board... Thanks Claude http://www.members.tripod.com/computer_collector or http://computer_collector.tripod.com

24 years, 11 months

2
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DEC B400X expansion chassis

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

OK, my neighbor just dumped a B400X expansion chassis on me (unfortunatly he's keeping the VAX 4000-100). Is the backplane straight Q-Bus? I'm wanting to see about stuffing a VAX 3400 boardset in there (that he also gave me). I'm assuming I can't stick something like a 4000-300 boardset in it (really don't know as I've not had access to something like that), or do they plug directly into the Q-Bus? Zane -- | Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Administrator | | healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | OpenVMS Enthusiast | | | Classic Computer Collector | +----------------------------------+----------------------------+ | Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, | | and Zane's Computer Museum. | | http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/ |

24 years, 11 months

5
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New toy: VAX with DECVoice

by rdd＠smart.net

This morning a truck arrived with a box for me weighing about 140lbs. :-) Please note: quite some time ago, I mentioned ordering something from a company called Techs R Us, in Texas, via E-Bay that, hadn't arrived yet. There was a reason for the (very) long delay in the shipping of this computer system; the lady who owns the computer business selling it had a health problem and was unable to ship it at the time. That apparently explains negative feedback on E-bay for her company. She's a very pleasant person to speak with, and does return telephone calls, although not always right away... so, if you order anything from her, please be patient. It may take a long time to arrive, but you should receive it. What I received today arrived in excellent physical condition; not even a dent in the packing box. Has anyone on this list been to her store in Dallas Texas? The aforementioned system was sent via Craters and Freighters, and USF Worldwide delivered it after they called ahead a couple of days ago. The two men on the truck asked where I wanted it, and they carefully placed the box in that location. Much better service than UPS! After pulling all of the heavy wire staples out, opening up the box, removing big pieces of styrofoam and lots of foam packing chips, a VAX 4000-200 in heavy bubble wrap became visible. After extracting the VAX from the box and unwrapping it, I discovered the following: a rather ordinary VAX with what appears to be 16MB of RAM, a KA660 CPU and two 300MB DSSI disks... and other interesting bits described below. Seeing what appeared to be terminated miniature SCSI connetor and a centronics connector, I was hoping to find a SCSI board in the system, but no such luck. ...what I did find, however: a dual height board labeled "Talon Technology Corporation" connected to a DB15 connector. This board has various numbers on it; not sure which one the model number is. Some of the numbers are: 100501-2, 01B14 and 1242344. Does anyone know what sort of critter this board is? The other somewhat interesting find: a set of boards labeled M3135-01, M3135-02 and M3136. The M3135 boards appear to be something called DECVoice and the M3136 connects the M3135 to T1 telephone service. Is anyone familiar with these? It is correct to guess that this won't work with a regular home telephone line? Once I finish disassembling it, extract any spiders and move it inside the house, I'll check it out, and see if it boots up. ...that is, if I can find any place to put it, which I should have thought of before buying it many months ago. Alas, it has neither a tape drive nor a CD-ROM drive. There's one cable that looks like the type that attaches to to a TK50 or TK70 drive, but no power connector in sight. Am I going to need a tray for the tape drive that plugs into the sockets on the backplane? -- Copyright (C) 2001 R. D. Davis The difference between humans & other animals: All Rights Reserved an unnatural belief that we're above Nature & rdd(a)rddavis.net 410-744-4900 her other creatures, using dogma to justify such http://www.rddavis.net beliefs and to justify much human cruelty.

24 years, 11 months

11
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Apple II mini-assembler

by paul＠orchard.wccnet.org

The Enhanced Apple IIe has the mini-assembler built-in. From the monitor, type an exclamation point and press RETURN. I am not sure about the IIc's or IIgs's, but I would guess they support it the same way. If you boot a DOS 3.3 System Master, it loads the language card with Integer BASIC and the rest, including the mini-assembler. I have some information about the Apple II ROMS, including the mini-assembler source code, at http://people.delphi.com/paulrsm/6502/6502.htm Paul R. Santa-Maria Monroe, Michigan USA

24 years, 11 months

2
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Hackers: Computer Outlaws revisited

by LFessen106＠aol.com

In a message dated 7/27/01 1:00:08 PM Eastern Daylight Time, mikeford(a)socal.rr.com writes: > OH... I see... The victim has primary responsiblity for the crime. I must > >admit, I do agree with your statement "LOCK THEM UP". But it's not the > house > >or the server that shuold be locked up, it's the CRIMINALS! > > I think a server on a high bandwidth connection with the default root and > password could easily be considered an attractive nuisance. Just like a > backyard swimming pool with no fence or lock on the gate. > Excellent analogy!! Somebody falls in your insecure pool and YOU are at fault. This scenario happens all too often in America. It should not be this way agreed, but it is. -Linc Fessenden In The Beginning there was nothing, which exploded - Yeah right... Calculating in binary code is as easy as 01,10,11.

24 years, 11 months

1
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HP 88780 scsi command ref?

by aek＠spies.com

I've been having trouble locating a copy of the manual which fully describes the command set supported by the 88780. I have the maint manual, but it doesn't talk about how to program the drive. If you have a copy of a manual which describes this, please email me at aek(a)spies.com

24 years, 11 months

1
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DEC B400X expansion chassis

by dittman＠dittman.net

> > So you can plug a 3400 card set into it, or a KA660 (VAX 4000/200) > > card set into it. Both work just fine. But you _cannot_ plug a 4000/300 > > board set into it. > > Is this a Q-CD issue, a bandwidth issue or what? The 4000/300 and up CPUs use a different bus for CPU and memory interconnect. -- Eric Dittman dittman(a)dittman.net

24 years, 11 months

1
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NCD HMX stuff available

by Mzthompson＠aol.com

During a recent pickup of some DEC, I was also given a couple NCD HMX Xterminal bases. These are the pizza box ones. I was told one had a bad power supply and the other had no video output. Given that, I pulled the good power supply and the two network cards. One card has BNC/AUI and the other has RJ45/AUI. They're available for S&H. Mike

24 years, 11 months

1
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New find: DECUS RSX SIG Tapes

by mbg＠world.std.com

>My understanding of the Mentec hobby license only covered use fo rthe >emmulators, not real hardware. Firstly, Mentec doesn't have a hobbyist license. Secondly, the license which they have granted does indeed limit the rights to use the software to certain emulators only. It does not grant rights to use the software on real hardware... You are correct. Megan Gentry Former RT-11 Developer +--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+ | Megan Gentry, EMT/B, PP-ASEL | Internet (work): gentry!zk3.dec.com | | Unix Support Engineering Group | (home): mbg!world.std.com | | Compaq Computer Corporation | addresses need '@' in place of '!' | | 110 Spitbrook Rd. ZK03-2/T43 | URL: http://world.std.com/~mbg/ | | Nashua, NH 03062 | "pdp-11 programmer - some assembler | | (603) 884 1055 | required." - mbg KB1FCA | +--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+

24 years, 11 months

1
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Lexidata (was Re: Sun 1)

by cmr＠sitaranetworks.com

> Yep that monitor looks a lot like one I have... but mine has a logo > that says "LexiData", I think. It has 10 BNC connectors (separate > sync, and a set of pass-through connectors I guess). I worked at Lexidata from 82-84. They should have been up there with Sun and Apollo, but they made some bad business decisions. Lexidata had the patent for the h/w implementation of Z-buffering and should have 'owned' the solids modeling market. The monitor (from memory) should have 2 sets of R G B Vs Hs, which accounts for the 10 bnc connectors. Internally it could probably take sync from the green bnc. It is almost certainly 1280x1024 and might be non-interlaced as Lexidat was either the first or one of the very first to have 1280x1024x60 controllers. Thanks for the memories and I hope this is useful Charles Richmond Manager of Kernel Development -- *********************************************************************** * Charles Richmond @ Sitara Networks * * cmr(a)sitaranetworks.com cmr(a)iisc.com cmr(a)acm.org * * 52 Second Avenue Suite 200, Waltham, MA 02451 * * (781) 487 5919 FAX (781) 684 8291 Cellular (617) 504 3379 * ***********************************************************************

24 years, 11 months

1
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Collecting microprocessors?

by forslund＠tbaytel.net

Hi, I have been collecting microprocessors (among other things) for a couple of years. I collect mostly those from the 1970's period - 4,8, and 16 bit models, but have a few newer ones - all 486 and before. I collect any flavours i can obtain - Intel, AMD, Signetics, ... Most have either been given to me, or I've salvaged from old computers - don't worry, i won't dissassemble an older (working) computers, and I usually keep processor boards intact with memory ... Anyway, is there anyone else out there collecting these? Sure could use a catalogue/ list of available processors. Maybe it could be called The Chip and DIP Catalog ;-) Bob

24 years, 11 months

2
1
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argh was Re: FDDI

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

Folks, I apologize if my last remark (regarding FDDI, Ford Festivas, and using the right tool for the job) sounded snotty. I'm just trying to stand up for my principles, that combined with the fact that I'm in a bad mood probably didn't sound very nice. Sorry folks. -Dave McGuire

24 years, 11 months

3
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In a bind - need someone to host transputer website

by rmeenaks＠olf.com

Hi, Well, NBCi finally decided to get out of the webhosting business, so I need someone to host my website. NBCi was nice as it gave unlimited diskspace for free. I remember someone posted a message to the list indicating that he (was it Jay?) was willing to host any "classiccmp" related websites for free. Can anyone help me out? Thanks.... Ram -- ,,,, /'^'\ ( o o ) -oOOO--(_)--OOOo------------------------------------- | Ram Meenakshisundaram | | Senior Software Engineer | | OpenLink Financial Inc | | .oooO Phone: (516) 227-6600 x267 | | ( ) Oooo. Email: rmeenaks(a)olf.com | ---\ (----( )-------------------------------------- \_) ) / (_/

24 years, 11 months

2
1
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Megagraphics

by optimus＠canit.se

I've been a whole lot to the junkyard this week. Together with a friend, I salvaged to 1990 vintage monitors. One is an Idek Iiyama 21" one, which works fine. I appreciate the fact that it's got both a D9 TTL input, a D15 analogue input, five BNC analogue inputs and five BNC outputs. The only minor flaw is the analogue connector, which is a plain D15, not a D15HD. I found that it used the same "standard" D15 VGA cable as IMP monitors, though. Anyone heard of some kind of common D15 VGA pinout? The other monitor, though, is an anonymous beast. It's around 19", and the label at the front says Megagraphics. On the back, apart from all the warnings and certifications, it says that it's been manufactured by Zenith, and the model number is 19MGM2. It's rather short in the back, which implies (to me, at least) that it's a monochrome monitor. It's got a D9 female input. The case style reminds me somewhat of a Xerox monitor (a lot of straight lines, very much late 80s). The size makes me think that it probably isn't TTL. Possibly ECL, which really wouldn't do me any good. OTOH, there's a chance that it could be analogue, and if I'm really lucky, that it uses the "standard" D9 VGA pinout. Does anyone know anything about this monitor, or have any advice on how to find anything out through probing? -- En ligne avec Thor 2.6a. "Computer games don't affect kids, I mean if Pac Man affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms, munching pills and listening to repetitive music." David McMinn

24 years, 11 months

1
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hayes chronograph

by mrbill＠mrbill.net

Anybody know where I can find a Hayes Chronograph? I ran across my Smartmodem 300 (in original box!) in the garage the other day, and it showed the "companion" clock in a "stack" on the back of the box.. I"ve always wanted to find one.. Bill -- Bill Bradford mrbill(a)mrbill.net Austin, TX

24 years, 11 months

14
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ThinNet Hub

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Jul 26, 17:29, Shawn T. Rutledge wrote: > On Thu, Jul 26, 2001 at 10:03:02PM +0100, Tony Duell wrote: > > It's better to think of the 'hub' as being distributed in the 10base2 > > transceivers (the modules that connect between the AUI port and the > > Well I have seen hubs to which coax is connected. Some were probably > arcnet, but weren't coax hubs ever used for thinnet? Maybe to boost > the signal and get past the length limitation, or maybe to isolate > "problem" branches so they don't interfere with other branches? They're often called "repeaters" which is actually a more accurate description. Yes, they are used to get over the length limitation (you can have up to 5 segments, connected by 4 repeaters, between any two hosts, though not all segents can be populated and there are rules about lengths, propagation delays, etc). They're also used to get over the number-of-hosts-on-a-segment limitation. However, they don't isolate collision domains; a collision on one segment will be faithfully copied to the others. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

24 years, 11 months

1
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Hackers: Computer Outlaws revisited

by LFessen106＠aol.com

In a message dated 7/26/01 10:25:06 AM Eastern Daylight Time, vaxman(a)qwest.net writes: > Crap Crap Crap Crap Crap Crap Crap Crap Crap Crap Crap Crap Crap Crap! > > How would YOU feel if someone broke into your computer system and took > YOUR files to do whatever he felt like with? Or hacked your voicemail > system and listened to your messages? > > I know your knee-jerk reaction... I don't have anything I care about > on my computer... First off, there is a HUGE difference between Hackers and Crackers. Hackers generally DO NOT make it a point to cause dammage - they are just "browsing" for the most part. > If your name, DOB, and SSN are ANYWHERE on your computer, a hacker can > steal your identity. A credit card number (perhaps from an letter you > typed in and FAXed to purchase something because you didn't want to > send your CC# across the internet)? Bank account numbers? ETrade > account numbers? You would FAX a credit card or account number? Why not just buy a billboard for it somewhere. Computer systems for online purchases use encryption for this information and I know we all know that on this list. Now before you go getting bent about my reply, let me quantify a little bit: I am not promoting hacking into someone's computer nor am I saying I want anyone roaming around in any of mine for any reason. What I am saying is I would much rather have a "hacker" in there than some damn "script kiddie" (which wasn't covered really in the show).. They are the bad ones - the crackers.. Now as far as the show, I though it was pretty good and tastfully done. On a personal note, while people like Kevin Mittman might "legally" be considered criminals my opinion is since they caused little or no dammage, and made no money off their "efforts" the FBI would have been better off spending my taxpayer money catching murderers or drug dealers, etc.. But, like I said, that's only my opinion. If you want to throw someone in jail for computer crimes, catch some of those 13 year old script kiddies that keep crashing computers and running DDOS attacks and hang them - AND their parents. At least with Mittman in your system, your system is still running. -Linc Fessenden In The Beginning there was nothing, which exploded - Yeah right... Calculating in binary code is as easy as 01,10,11.

24 years, 11 months

3
2
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WTB: Epson HX-40 in working order

by nerdware＠laidbak.com

Hey, group. A friend of mine just acquired one of those big programmable highway emergency signs (the one with the little flourescent flip segments). It works, except the computer that runs it is flaky on a good day. It's an Epson HX-40 with a cassette interface that connects to the sign-control circuitry, running a proprietary control app. Anybody here have one in good working order that they wouldn't mind parting with? Let me know. Thanks! Paul Braun WD9GCO Cygnus Productions nerdware_nospam(a)laidbak.com "A computer without a Microsoft operating system is like a dog without a bunch of bricks tied to its head."

24 years, 11 months

3
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Strange PSU mains connector

by rdd＠smart.net

It appears that the engineers at DEC who designed the VAX4000-200 power supply may have been short on functional brain cells. Although due to a lack of MMJ or RJ-14 (I'd just cut the tabs off) connectors, I can't properly test this VAX, I thought I'd at least power it up, check the PSU and look at the LEDs. This was foiled by the need for a special power cord, or at least a, literally, hacked power cord. For those who haven't seen this PSU mains connector, it looks sort of like illustration A below, where the 'o' represents a piece of plastic sticking out to block a standard cable from being plugged in. - - o- - - - A B Did DEC have a reason for doing this, other than to be able to extort money from people who need replacement power cords, or to sell them new systems when they make replacement power corde obsolete? -- Copyright (C) 2001 R. D. Davis The difference between humans & other animals: All Rights Reserved an unnatural belief that we're above Nature & rdd(a)rddavis.net 410-744-4900 her other creatures, using dogma to justify such http://www.rddavis.net beliefs and to justify much human cruelty.

24 years, 11 months

6
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The new VAX is alive!

by dittman＠dittman.net

> Nothing wrong with newer versions, personally I prefer running 7.2 on my > VAXen, though I do keep one at 5.5 for compiles. Still for systems without > a lot of RAM V5.5-2 choice. I picked up a TZ867 yesterday and the cartridge library had what might be a TK50 distribution of V5.5-2H4. I'm going to check this week and if it is, I'm going to install it on a secondary drive. I seem to recall -2H4 is the earliest release that runs on the 4000/300. > > This far, I haven't noticed anything truly remarkable with regards to > > software, although at first glance, it looks like nothing is missing. > > Fortunately, someone installed kermit, so that will make things, > > such as installing TCP/IP, easier. :-) > > You've a couple choices with VMS 5.5, the easiest is the freeware stack > CMUIP, I used it before the V2 Hobbyist program. I'd recommend a TCPIP > stack from Process software, one or both supports V5.5-2. I prefer Multinet. > > DECnet is installed and apparently configured, so I guess this means > > that I can use my DEC terminal server with this machine... do I need > > to do anything other than connect the terminal server to the VAX and > > then use it? I know nothing about DECnet. > > Try saying 'connect {hostname}' on the terminal server, and see what > happens. If that doesn't work, you might need to turn on the software that > is needed for LAT. The configuration needs to be checked before connecting to the network if you've got any other systems running DECnet to make sure there are no conflicts. As for the termina server, are you wanting to connect a serial port on the terminal server to the console port on the VAX or do you want to connect the terminal to a serial port on the terminal server and connect to the VAX over the network? -- Eric Dittman dittman(a)dittman.net

24 years, 11 months

2
1
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Cipher C880 tape drive

by brian＠quarterbyte.com

I read this list in digest form so I get stuff a little late. No need to worry Chad, the controller is an Emulex Pertec-type controller - two 50-pin cables. I think the model is TC02 (big chip label reads TC0210201-FSJ), assembly # on pcb is TU0210401 rev G. Re the Cipher C880 tape drive, I found some references in Google but nothing panned out. There was supposed to be a PDF version of the F880 manual on www.retrobytes.org according to http://www.classiccmp.org/mail-archive/classiccmp/2000-03/0050.html but danged if I can find it there. Looks like the site only lists used PC stuff for sale. The back of the drive says it runs at 1600 or 3200 bpi. That's a new one on me. Hope those old tapes I made long ago are at 1600 and not 800. Photos I saw of the F880 look just like my drive. That's promising but superficial. Does anyone know the difference between the Cipher C880 and the F880 series? Anybody have any detailed info on either drive? Brian =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- _| _| _| Brian Knittel / Quarterbyte Systems, Inc. _| _| _| Tel: 1-510-559-7930 Fax: 1-510-525-6889 _| _| _| Email: brian(a)quarterbyte.com _| _| _| http://www.quarterbyte.com

24 years, 11 months

2
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I'm *ALSO* new to this list!

by Mzthompson＠aol.com

On Thu, 26 Jul 2001; Mike Ford <mikeford(a)socal.rr.com> wrote: > You aren't REALLY a true packrat until you realize you can't bring home > more than a small bag of groceries because of the computer stuff in your > car that you don't have room to put in your house. ROFL... The truth don't hurt as much when it is funny... Seriously, thanks Mike. I knew that router was around here somewhere, and it turns out it was right where I left it, in the back of my wife's car. I just needed a little reminder. Mike

24 years, 11 months

1
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Wanted: info on Limrose MicroTutor (8080 trainer)

by sieler＠allegro.com

Hi, I just got a nice looking Limrose Microtutor (MPT 8080/K-1) ... without any documentation :( Does anyone have any? thanks! Stan Sieler sieler(a)allegro.com Stan Sieler sieler(a)allegro.com www.allegro.com/sieler/wanted/index.html www.allegro.com/sieler

24 years, 11 months

1
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Hackers: Computer Outlaws revisited

by LFessen106＠aol.com

In a message dated Thu, 26 Jul 2001 10:12:37 PM Eastern Daylight Time, "Clint Wolff (VAX collector)" <vaxman(a)qwest.net> writes: > A point to ponder... Would it be okay for someone to enter your house > and poke around in your closets? Watch your home movies on your VCR? A point for you to ponder.. There is no such thing as complete security on your computer. You can't do it unless you never turn it on. Since that is true, realisticly I would much rather have someone browse than break/crack/destroy. Thats my only point. Stopping everyone from hacking would be like stopping everyone from speeding - just can't be done. > > PS Why do you think a FAX is equivalent to a billboard? It is a > lot easier to break into an etailer's computer and steal the > whole database of customer information. Couple real logical reasons for this.. What if you send the fax to the wrong place? Who says how many people have access to walk by the fax machine with your credit card number on it before it's delivered to who it needs to go to? I work in a company office with only 50 other people and can't manage to get my faxes every time they're sent - somehow they "get lost" between the machine and me - this would horrify me if I were getting credit card numbers or account numbers, etc.. Who says the person delivering your faxed numbers is an honest person? etc.. It's easier to break into a secure encrypted computer and get information than to walk by a fax machine somewhere and grab some papers? NOT.

24 years, 11 months

1
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ThinNet Hub

by dittman＠dittman.net

> There were thinnet repeaters which provided segment isolation and regenerated > the signal onto other segments... > > The DEC Delni comes to mind. I've got a DECrepeater 90C. It has six coax connectors for linking segments. I don't use it for anything, but I can't see throwing it away. Someone may need one sometime. -- Eric Dittman dittman(a)dittman.net

24 years, 11 months

1
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building a PDP11 from the things you find at home

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

> Sean 'Captain Napalm' Conner wrote: > > just how much has been lost to time in the onslaught of Microsoft and Unix > > (the two worst things to happen to the industry but some might argue about > > the Unix bit 8-) > > At the risk of pandering to a troll, what were/are the alternatives? > > I am not interesting in hearing about MS as having had to deal with it > for 17 years, I've lived why it was a bad thing. > > Unix - well fragmentation is the only thing I can think of, which is > being mirrored in Linux these days. > > what alternative(s) was there? Why do you speak in the past tense? While at work, I do UNIX, at home I use two *very* good alternatives, OpenVMS and MacOS (ok, so it's turning into another OS, but I'm not using OS X). There is also Amiga OS, version 3.9 was released a couple months ago. TOS systems are still available new. Then there are the various non-UNIX OS's that IBM has. Let's not forget the PDP-11 OS's that are still in active use, and still seeing some development (nor forget the fact you can still buy new PDP-11's). Shoot, TOPS-20 is still around on XKL's hardware. Of all of the above, as many here know, my personal favorite is OpenVMS, and it's a very real, very good, and very actively developed alternative. Zane

24 years, 11 months

1
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building a PDP11 from the things you find at home

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

> And as to the "much faster" part, for purist reasons, I put a config flag in > my HP 2100/21MX/7900/7948/7970 emulator that attempts to present a similar > instruction execution speed profile as the original hardware. Of course I > turn it off for development, but.... *G* Interesting point. IIRC, the Macintosh PDP-8/e emulator has an option to run at native speeds, however, I don't think any of the PDP-11 emulators do. Of course other than clock skew that I've seen, the faster the PDP-11 the better :^) Same thing goes for the PDP-10, the faster the better (and on at least the simh PDP-10 emulator the clock skew problem has been solved). Zane

24 years, 11 months

1
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what the hell.

by jeff.kaneko＠juno.com

On Wed, 25 Jul 2001 16:22:15 -0700 "Stan Sieler" <sieler(a)allegro.com> writes: > The HP 300 (codename "Amigo") is an exceedingly rare computer from > 1978 or so, and didn't run Unix of any kind. > > Pictures at: http://www.sieler.com/hp300/ (someone else's) > and http://www.sieler.com/hp300_2 (mine) Whoa, that's one beat-up badboy you got there. Does it run? ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

24 years, 11 months

7
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HP7978A tape drive

by ojw＠dircon.co.uk

Hi - new to this list and wondered if anyone could point me in the direction of likely sources for user and/or (preferably) technical docs/manuals for HP7978A reel-to-reel tape drive? I have tried Monterey Bay but unfortunately no success). Many thanks in advance. Oliver

24 years, 11 months

2
1
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Looking for AS/400 help

by red＠bears.org

Hi there. This is not on-topic for the list, since it's a newer RISC model, but if there is anybody listening who knows aught about AS/400 who wouldn't mind giving me a hand with this 9406 I just bought from a dot-gone auction, I could use some help getting it set up and checked out. Help local to the Seattle area would be a bonus. Contact me off list if I can pick your brain. Thanks! ok r.

24 years, 11 months

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Apple varients?

by marino13＠btinternet.com

Quick, probably quite stupid, question... but can anyone tell me what exactly teh differences are between teh various "flavours" of Apple II? I.e. the IIe, IIc, IIee, IIcp etc? Cheers! Shaun

24 years, 11 months

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building a PDP11 from the things you find at home

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

> Hmm... I think I'd rather have a go at making a real PDP10.... That could > be an 'interesting' project.... > > -tony > There is currently a project underway to do an FPGA implemenation of a PDP-10 (I forget which CPU). The person working on this seems to be making fairly good progress. Zane

24 years, 11 months

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I'm *ALSO* new to this list!

by Mzthompson＠aol.com

On Wed, 25 Jul 2001; Shaun Stephenson <marino13(a)btinternet.com> wrote: > I'm also new to the list... how did I miss it all this time?! Welcome > Nice to be in a new community - you guys certainly seem to collect way different > stuff to the UK guys! Well Shaun, it is this way. Since we crossed the pond to the colonies, we have undergone a genetic mutation with regards to out 'packrat' genes. We will haul home just about anything and everything, then the genes kick in and we just can't seem to part with it. So it becomes part of the collection. :^)) Wife's point of view :(( Mike

24 years, 11 months

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Fun "events" for VCF

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> > Vintage geek clothing contest. > heh. the winner should be someone who manages to find a way to wear both a t-sheet and a pocket protector... -dq

24 years, 11 months

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OT Jurassic Park

by jrice＠texoma.net

Does anyone know what Silicon Graphics systems were featured in Jurassic Park (the first one)? I can't find my copy of the movie, I think my 8 year old has hidden it.

24 years, 11 months

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Apple varients?

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

> Quick, probably quite stupid, question... but can anyone tell me what > exactly teh differences are between teh various "flavours" of Apple II? > I.e. the IIe, IIc, IIee, IIcp etc? Not off the top of my head, the info is in the Apple ][ FAQ, but I've no idea where you can find it these days. Zane

24 years, 11 months

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building a PDP11 from the things you find at home

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> > As far as you can build a mainframe from the things you find at home... > > > > It's pretty true if you start with Simh26... PDP11, PDP8, PDP10. > > No, not an emulation, a real machine.... > > Actually, round here, you probably couldn't run the emulator (and > certainly not at any reasonable speed) on any of the machines I own. But > if you dug about a bit, you might find enough parts to make at least a > minicomputer from scratch... Tony- I'm running SIMH on a 233MHz Pentium-1 with rather good response. At least, TOPS-10 seems as fast as it was at university loaded with students... Regards, -doug q

24 years, 11 months

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hayes chronograph

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Jul 25, 14:54, Iggy Drougge wrote: > I don't know what it's like in your part of the hemisphere, but there's an > atomic clock down in Germany which broadcasts its time. IUt's quite easy to > obtain clocks which rely on its signal, and I've seen designs for a similar > cartridge for the Atari ST. Can't remember whether it plugged into the > parallel or cartridge port. > Hmm, sounds very much like something that would be printed in Elektor or C't. Elektor did indeed publish a design -- in fact, more than one -- some years ago, and other magazines have, too. The transmissions are pretty low frequency (low end of long wave: 60kHz) so a receiver has to be accurately controlled if it's going to work - most use crystal control. > Anyway, that should be the optimal timekeeping device, assuming you can come > up with the hardware and that you're within reach of the transmitter. The German one is DCF at Mainflingen (IIRC) and there's a similar transmitter (MSF) at Rugby in the UK. There's at least one in the US (Colorado) as well. See http://www.npl.co.uk/npl/ctm/electronic_projects.html for some ideas. One of my erstwhile colleagues built a very nice receiver with an active aerial (the signal is easily interfered with by other LF sources, eg computers) and a Z80-based decoder driving a cuckoo clock (yes, with a wooden cuckoo behind door, that comes out on the hour, and by courtesy of a speech synthesis routine, says "At the third stroke, the time will be .... KOO-koo .. KOO-koo .. KOO-koo". He had an eccentric sense of humour :-)) The clock is still used to provide time service accurate to a few miliseconds across campus. His web pages are no longer around, I think, but similar designs are to be found at http://www.nukem.freeserve.co.uk/contents/electronics/clock/ and several other places. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

24 years, 11 months

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building a PDP11 from the things you find at home

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> --- Douglas Quebbeman <dhquebbeman(a)theestopinalgroup.com> wrote: > > > Anybody have MDL compiler? I'll get back into PDP-10 hacking if I can > > > find one. > > > > There's been discussion about it over on alt.sys.pdp10; not being a > > Zorkaphile, I haven't been following the discussion very closely... > > Thanks. I have access to an XKL-10 for regression testing of my zDungeon > port of Zork to the Inform language, but the binary I have is several > puzzles out of date (no Royal Puzzle, no Canary, no Bank, and, a few more). > It's about 18 months older than the final version that was cut before > the crew left to found Infocom. > > Of course, if anyone has a newer binary of Zork for the PDP-10, I'd welcome > that, too. > > I'll go check out Deja.com and see what I can see on it. > Thanks for the tip. Better purge those deja.com links before they go stale... point yourself instead at: http://groups.google.com Regards, -dq

24 years, 11 months

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HP 300 (was: "what the hell")

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> On Thu, 26 Jul 2001, Stan Sieler wrote: > > > The CPU was CISC, silicon-on-saphire, and > > What a very interesting little machine. I am most intrigued. > What do you mean by "silicon on saphire" though? I wasn't following the earlier part of this, but chips that are bound for use in satellites often use sapphire as the substrate... something to do with resiliancy in a high cosmic-ray environment... -dq

24 years, 11 months

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machine appraisals

by tdilliga＠ilm.com

Is there any sort of group that does machine appraisals? I have a Tektronix 4054 which I picked up a couple of years ago by accident and am interested in getting a general idea of what it is worth. The machine is in good shape with some scratches and damage to the enamel, is clean on the inside, and works. I do not have documentation or any peripherals. >>>Tom

24 years, 11 months

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SGI Indigo keyboard?

by marino13＠btinternet.com

Hi all... Anyone got a spare keyboard and mouse for an SGI Indigo Iris XS24? Its a fairly specific one, different to the later machines in that it supported a pass thru for the mouse actually ON the keynoard, kinda like a Mac does. Any leads would be appreciated Shaun

24 years, 11 months

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building a PDP11 from the things you find at home

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> --- Douglas Quebbeman <dhquebbeman(a)theestopinalgroup.com> wrote: > > I'm running SIMH on a 233MHz Pentium-1 with rather good response. At > > least, TOPS-10 seems as fast as it was at university loaded with > > students... > > > > Regards, > > -doug q > > Anybody have MDL compiler? I'll get back into PDP-10 hacking if I can > find one. There's been discussion about it over on alt.sys.pdp10; not being a Zorkaphile, I haven't been following the discussion very closely... -dq

24 years, 11 months

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Hackers: Computer Outlaws revisited

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> > Kevin Mitnick is a CONVICTED criminal, and has ADMITTED criminal > > behaviour. I don't get teary-eyed thinking about the time he spent in > > prison before the trial. He was a proven flight risk (he ran away > > once, and hid out in Denver). > > Me either. But then you forget just how badly the US Gubment violated his > civil rights. I don't know who's the bigger criminal in this case: > Mitnick or the Government. And believe me, I fear the Government WAY > more than I fear Mitnick. The Government is everywhere, and much more > powerful. Righto. I can think of some terrible things that might justify violating a citizen's civil rights; electronics sabotage is not, hwoever, amongst them... > > PS I daily have probe attacks on my DSL system from script kiddies > > looking to add another machine to their DDOS attack farm. > > Yeah, me too, but I don't obsess over it. I just make sure my security is > tight and worry about more important things. Yup. -dq

24 years, 11 months

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Fun "events" for VCF

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> --- Douglas Quebbeman <dhquebbeman(a)theestopinalgroup.com> wrote: > > > > > > > > Vintage geek clothing contest. > > > > > > > wear... a t-sheet... > > > > -dq > > Is that what Roman Geeks wore? only when in posse mode, and only when roman' [sic] the food court... ;-) -dq

24 years, 11 months

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OT: Hackers: Computer Outlaws revisited

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> You would FAX a credit card or account number? Why not just buy a billboard > for it somewhere. I haven't had a chance to ask him yet, but my former sociology professor has *every* piece of confidential information you'd normally expect people to protect openly listed on his web page. I'm sure he's trying to make a point; eventually, I'll ask... -dq

24 years, 11 months

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VCFE Shopping List

by RCini＠congressfinancial.com

ROLF... -----Original Message----- From: Mzthompson(a)aol.com [mailto:Mzthompson@aol.com] Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2001 1:21 PM To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org Subject: Re: VCFE Shopping List On Wed, 25 Jul 2001; "Cini, Richard" <RCini(a)congressfinancial.com> wrote: > ...whatever I get I have to sneak into the house :-) <snip> > "No, honey, really. I didn't buy anything more than this t-shirt." Rich, don't you think she will get suspicious when the t-shirt shows up in the laundry and she notices a size of XXXXXXXXL. She's gonna think to herself: "I thought he looked a little hefty when he came home, I wonder why????" :-) Mike

24 years, 11 months

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heck, are 11/785s extinct?

by phil＠ultimate.com

> Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2001 07:02:22 -0700 (PDT) > From: Ethan Dicks <ethan_dicks(a)yahoo.com> > > > The 11/782 was dual cpu 11/780's with shared memory bus run > > master-slave for compute bound tasks with the i/o run off of one > > cpu. > > Right. Developed by George Goble (of the LOX-on-the-BBQ fame), et. al, at > Purdue, IIRC. The 782 was the DEC solution, using a multiported memory (MA780). Each CPU had it's own SBI, with private UBA's and MBA's (UNIBUS and MASSBUSS adapters); <a href="http://www.montagar.com/dfwcug/VMS_HTML/timeline/1982-5.HTM">VAX/VMS V3</a> VMS V3 supported three new processors: the VAX-11/750, VAX-11/725, VAX-11/782. V3 features included asymmetric multiprocessing (ASMP) for VAX-11/782, support for new architectures, protocols and busses, system communication architecture (SCS), mass storage control protocol (MSCP), lock management system services, and MONITOR utility for performance monitoring. <a href="http://www.netbsd.org/Documentation/Hardware/Machines/DEC/vax/vax700.html">VAX hardware reference - VAX 700 series</a>; VAX 11/782 Nickname: Atlas Cpu: Dual KA780 Vup: 1.8 Bus: 2 SBIs with 15 nexus slots each. Each slot can take a UBA (UNIBUS adapter), MBA (MASSBUS Adapter), or CI. (?) Introduced: 1982 NetBSD: (?) Probably The Purdue work connected the two CPU's by replacing the SBI bus terminator with the second CPU. There aparently were also a few 11/784s, with 4 CPU's, also using the MA780. http://www.cam.anglia.ac.uk/~systimk/History/Vaxes.Txt, discusses it all, an includes a 1993 message from George. > My understanding was that the 11/785 was DEC's official implementation > of what George and crew cobbled together as the 11/782. It only saw > the light of day because, as you say, there was a gap in DEC's product > line with the delays in the 8600 and customers wanted more than what was > presently out there. The 785 was a late life kicker to the 780; It was not (by itself) a multiprocessor system. <a href="http://www.montagar.com/dfwcug/VMS_HTML/timeline/1984-2.htm">VAX-11/785</a> CPU cycle time in the VAX-11/785 was 133ns, 50% faster than the 200ns cycle time of the VAX-11/780. The accelerated cycle time allowed all CPU operations to run up to 50% faster, resulting in higher throughput, faster response time and the ability to support more users The NetBSD VAX hardware reference says that a 782 built from two 785's would have been called a "787" Disclaimer; I worked at DEC in the 80's, but on 36-bit products. (and briefly on the 64-bit RISC machine, codenamed "SAFE", which, after Cutler grabbed the project, was renamed PRISM).

24 years, 11 months

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Apple ][ boards -- what have I found?

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

> Both of the Torch Coprocessors that I've seen use the 1MHz bus. The Z80 > one needs a ROM installed in one of the BBC's sideways ROM sockets. All the Torch Z80s I've seen DO use the Tube, though they don't quite follow Acorn's Tube protocols and don't always play well with other Acorn sideways ROMs. They don't use the Tube code in the Acorn DNFS ROM, instead they have their own sideways ROM (which unfortunately grabs some vectors at times it shouldn't, so having a DNFS ROM in the same machine can be problematic). Nor do they use an Acorn Tube ULA, instead they have an 8255 on the Z80 card. The Graduate does indeed use the 1MHz bus, though, and I think the Unicorn does too. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

24 years, 11 months

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