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

Fleamarkets (was Re: A LART is needed (was: VCF 4.0))

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> FWIW there was what must've been a 30" disk platter > at the MIT Flea this weekend, mounted on its > center hub. Never saw a disk larger than 14" > before. Didn't get the manufacturer but the > price was $40.00 and the seller was Frank Fink. Frank's alive? He owes my company money for returned product for which he never issued a refund. I'd assumed he'd died. <sigh> -dq

25 years, 8 months

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AT&T 6300 PC

by jolminkh＠nsw.bigpond.net.au

This machine is very common in Australia but is badged as an Olivetti M24. Magazines of the time had many ads for them and it's contemporary the NEC APC III Hans > >A new addition to my collection, an AT&T 6300 PC. Some stats that I have >so far: > > i8086 CPU > 640 K RAM > Weird keyboard > green monochrome display > Boots MSDOS 3.3 happily > >I'll do some searching on the web later tonight for info on it, as well as >cleaning it up, but if anyone has information on this little artifact, its

25 years, 8 months

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New stuff

by agraham＠ccat.co.uk

Hi folks, Some recent additions to the BD collection, courtesy of a customer who was about to skip (dumpster) the whole lot of 'em! Well, the skipping happens tomorrow so I saved 1 of each: VT100 (yay), serial #AB00914 so I don't know if that makes it early or not? Worked fine once I put the fuse in properly and reseated the space bar on the keyboard :) Aaah, that keyclick of yore.... VT320 with keyboard VT420 in box VT510 w/keyboard VT520 w/keyboard (yes I know you can still buy 'em but I hate seeing anything chucked!) Rainbow 100+ with screen & keyboard....works fine running CPM/86....... Also got a couple more Pongs at the weekend including the Tandy TV Scoreboard in tasteful orangey-brown..... And as a P500-related aside I am the current custodian of my own P500's stablemate which I have to say is in far better condition (packaging wise) than mine but sadly the keyboard doesn't work. What are the chances of this - a guy working for Commodore brings a couple of P500s in for a shop called Vulcan Electronics in London in what, 82/83?. Both are packaged identically, both have german power cords etc and are taped up the same way. One ends up in a collector's loft courtesy of said Commodore bloke and the other ends up being picked up by me at a local boot sale. The machines are 30 miles apart and I already know the bloke that has it in his loft! Spooky, that's what it is. -- Adrian Graham MCSE/ASE/MCP C CAT Limited Gubbins: http://www.ccat.co.uk (work) <http://www.snakebiteandblack.co.uk> (home) <http://www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk> (80's computer collection) "Missing you already" - Mark Radcliffe

25 years, 8 months

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Free Intel MDS

by jolminkh＠nsw.bigpond.net.au

I'm local to them and have made contact by phone but got a fuzzy answer. They'll check it out. I note the web page was last updated in February 1999. -----Original Message----- From: Joe <rigdonj(a)intellistar.net> To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org> Date: Thursday, 19 October 2000 7:49 Subject: Free Intel MDS > I was searching for more info on the Inel MDS and found this ad for a >free one. "http://www.dazed.org/blazermate/". There just one hitch, it's >located in NSW, Australia. I don't know any more about it. If someone >picks it up leet me know. > > Joe > >

25 years, 8 months

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Dauphin DTR-1 running Ersatz-11

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

Thanks to the CP/M User Group swap meet today I'm closer to my dream of a PocketPDP-11, as I picked up a box of Dauphin DTR-1 stuff, with three complete systems which are already earmarked (unfortunatly my wife wants one for some simple games). Still that leaves one for the PocketPDP-11 (if you've big enough pockets), and a console for the VAXlaptop project! Anyway the Dauphin is basically a pin-based handheld (that will accept either thier mini keyboard or a standard PS/2 keyboard) 486/25 with a 64 shades of grey 640x480 LCD display running MS-DOS 6.0, and Windows 3.1. I've got the external floppies, and an internal 40MB HD. I've loaded Ersatz-11 onto it and I've got a RT-11 RL02 image that I've used with the Supnik emulator. I'm doing the following with Ersatz-11: set cpu 23 mount dl0: c:\e11\rt11.dsk boot dl0: However, it just sort of sits there, and does nothing :^( Anyone have any ideas? It's not showing any indication of RT-11 booting. Zane | Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator | | healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast | | healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector | +----------------------------------+----------------------------+ | Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, | | and Zane's Computer Museum. | | http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/ |

25 years, 8 months

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Who collects (reads the mailing list...?) vintage computers

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

From: Richard Erlacher <richard(a)idcomm.com> >Was that uPD 372 the version that handled hard-sectored diskettes as well? It could. >I remember they had a uPD 371 as well, but I'm not remembering whether it >was a tape controller or a hard-sectored disk interface controller. I seem >to remember something of that sort being available in the mid-late '70's. All the way up to 1980. I have some 371s too. makes a fair tape controller. Though I found using a 765 or 1793 far easier to use as the old 37x parts were three voltage nmos and two phase clocks. They were ok with systems that had 8080s. >I remember Robert Suding once telling me that the reason they couldn't do >any better with their FDC's was because the 74S124 (VCO) was too expensive. >Now, I used it from time to time and don't rmember ever paying more than $2 >for one. Of course, you never know how long before then the DG people were >trying to buy the things. the 74124 was fast enough and pretty cheap. PLLs using it were a pita. If you used it there was a lot of other TTL around it so it was not the cheapest way to go and often the flakeyest. A good design with oneshots worked well enough. Later one when people figured out how to do a digital oneshot or digital PLL then it got real cheap. Allison

25 years, 8 months

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Red Erasors, contacts, and gold revisited

by b.layer＠vikingelectronics.com

>Anyone tried this snake oil^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hamazing substance? Quantum tunnelling eh? No comment :) FWIW, I am still a big fan of LPS-1, I've used it for years to clean & restore some of the most inconsolable antique potentiometers & switches. I would think that a greaseless lubricant of that type would be very happy on computer connectors.. As for erasers, I'm assuming that red pencil erasers are out due to their slight abrasive characteristics? what about the 'kneaded' erasers that chalk / conti artists use? (I'm not talking about Artgum ) Please let me know if this is bad thinking... Bill PS Thanks to everyone for posting the wealth of MDS background - I now feel like it was worth my time to drag this behemoth home. Hey, anything with a bank of switches & lights has got to be OK, right?

25 years, 8 months

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PDP-8 question...

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

-----Original Message----- Mega thanks, that makes some sense looking at the board. I'd suspected something like that. Te ability to start on any 4k boundary is nice. The 74138 on one side and the '20 on the other should have screamed at me. Allison >The 16 pin DIP socket has a "black box" plugged into it. Hmm, popping >that box open reveals the expected jumpers. > >Looking down at the jumpers, the upper left corner is pin 1, upper right >is pin 16, I have 4 wires installed: > > pin 5 - pin 14 > pin 6 - pin 13 > pin 7 - pin 12 > pin 8 - pin 11 > >My board is set to cover fields 4 - 7. > >My guess would be that the 3 EMA bits are decoded into 8 lines, and are >present on pins 1 - 8, corresponding to DEC field terminology 0 - 7, >which makes obvious sense since pins 1 - 8 are on one side of the >DIP jumper, and that pins 11 - 14 are the individual 4Kx12 field >select jumpers. > >-Lawrence LeMay

25 years, 8 months

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Fleamarkets (was Re: A LART is needed (was: VCF 4.0))

by John.Allain＠donnelley.infousa.com

It aint no VCF, but the last MIT Flea of the year is this Sunday! (IBM 5100 last seen: 1992, $200.00) http://web.mit.edu/w1mx/www/swapfest.html John A. (Didn't buy it. Fool!)

25 years, 8 months

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IDE on Qbus (was Re: Microvax II)

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

From: Phil Budne <phil(a)ultimate.com> >> Has anyone designed a quick-n-dirty Qbus IDE adapter? > >see ftp://digital.dp.ua/DEC/ata/ Knew someone would look. ;) > ATA disk interface See above. > BOOT EPROM or Flash MRV11 with what you need in eprom or MXV11 M8189 11/23 takes eproms on the cpu. > Crystal CS8900 Ethernet DELQA > 512KW SRAM MS11 memoriesare out there. > SuperIO (ie; WinBond) > or > NS16550A (or eqiv high-speed, deep FIFO) UART for networking/kermit > Floppy ctrlr (capable of driving Shugart 8", 5.25" 3") Well the 16550 is basically a DZV-11, DHV11, that will get you a bunch of lines good to 38kb FDC for the mix if 3.5 or 5.25 is RQDX3, late rom. 5.25 is rx50(400k) and rx33(1.2m) 3.5 is rx23(1.44m) and rx24(720k) 8" is RX02/RX12. 256k/512k with 256k standard sssd 8" media and formatting. > ISA Bridge Why bother. Now if you wanted that all on a 8x9" board then I'd perk up my years. Allison

25 years, 8 months

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Who collects (reads the mailing list...?) vintage computers

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

From: Eric Smith <eric(a)brouhaha.com> >The originally shipped a single-density FDC for 8-inch drives. It used >some NEC single-density only FDC chip that was *NOT* related in any way >to the uPD765 or the Intel 8271 or 8272. I don't recall the part number, >but it was almost certainly uPD and three digits. The uPD372... I have two of them. Allison

25 years, 8 months

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48v dc power

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

From: Joe <rigdonj(a)intellistar.net> >>400ft, 10mhz clock for a S100 z80 system that was also distributed to >>other boards on the bus. A modification to the termination of that line >>virtually made it disappear, the standard terminators didn't actually >>match the impedence of the line making it antenna. Other hot one >>was the Altair you could hear the 2mhz anywhere in the house >>with the case on. > > Was that being ratiated via the AC power lines or the keyboard cable or >what? > > Joe The altair just radiates.... All the jungle wire fromthe FP to bus. There was no attempt to provide ground planes or decent grounding. None of the systems I mentioned would have a "keyboard cable". Allison

25 years, 8 months

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IDE on Qbus (was Re: Microvax II)

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

From: Ethan Dicks <ethan_dicks(a)yahoo.com> >Has anyone designed a quick-n-dirty Qbus IDE adapter? If one is willing >to let the VAX processor do the work, it could be as simple as mapping >the I/O registers of the IDE drive into some I/O addresses. Not much >more than a few Qbus drivers and an address comparator, a la older ISA >IDE cards. It would probably heavily tax most CPUs, though. Some Russin person did. it's out on the net somewhere. As to taxing the older CPUs... How? IDE can do real slow, that's not much of an issue. Most of the VAX cpus do not handle interrupts very fast due to the huge overhead of context switch. But they can PIO in a loop fairly fast, that is to the limits of Qbus. Allison Allison

25 years, 8 months

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Fixing a TK86

by cmcmanis＠mcmanis.com

Hello Everyone, I seem to be in possesion of a "broke" TF86 drive. As far as I can tell the only thing "wrong" with it is that it seems to have unhooked its "tongue" (the take up leader) and I've fixed that. Now I was wondering if there were any tests I could run on it before I tried putting it into a chassis to see what it does :-). It has a separate "bridge board" that converts its HD50 connector to DSSI. Some things I'm trying to ascertain: 1) Can I convert it to a TZ86 using the bridgeboard from a TK85? (they at least share connector similarity. 2) Is there any way to test it without hooking it to a DSSI bus? 3) Does anyone know the MOLEX part number for the 5 space DSSI power plug? --Chuck

25 years, 8 months

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Red Erasors, contacts, and gold revisited

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> Hi > I also find it interesting to see the following app note: > > http://www.stabilant.com/appnt32h.htm > > I have never seen the problem they are talking about and > I have a sea going sail boat. According to their note, > this should be the worst condition. Makes me wonder > what I might be doing that is different than what > they are doing? Are you cleaning periodically with the silicone? Perhaps you're cleaning it often enough to prevent the silicate >from forming... -dq

25 years, 8 months

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VMS with no documentation

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

From: Bill Pechter <pechter(a)pechter.dyndns.org> >The real fun on VMS is how slick EDT is with a good VT100/220. > If you think EDT is slick... try TPU or LSE after that Word will be intolerable. Allison

25 years, 8 months

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Amiga stuff (was Re: NEC APC available)

by ethan_dicks＠yahoo.com

--- John Foust <jfoust(a)threedee.com> wrote: > At 09:10 PM 10/12/00 -0700, Chuck McManis wrote: > >I recently gave away all my Amiga stuff. And it wasn't because it wasn't > good stuff. > > Argh! I trust it found a good home. I haven't morphed far enough to > toss my Amiga schtuff, which includes the truly rare and obscure. > > I get the impression that today's Amigoids aren't interested in the > historical details, but more the latest-greatest that keeps their machines > functional and alive. Speaking of keeping Amigas alive, if anyone is looking to use semi-modern hardware with an Amiga, (*begin blatant commercial plug*) I still stock the GG2 Bus+ ISA adapter card, new, with factory warranty. They aren't exactly flying off the shelves these days. Contact me off list if you want details. -ethan ===== Even though my old e-mail address is no longer going to vanish, please note my new public address: erd(a)iname.com The original webpage address is still going away. The permanent home is: http://penguincentral.com/ See http://ohio.voyager.net/ for details. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Messenger - Talk while you surf! It's FREE. http://im.yahoo.com/

25 years, 8 months

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IDE on Qbus (was Re: Microvax II)

by ethan_dicks＠yahoo.com

--- ajp166 <ajp166(a)bellatlantic.net> wrote: > IDE is fairly stupid and easy to interface as PIO, DMA would not be that > bad for vax or PDP11 but you would pay for it by needing drivers as > there are none. . . . > RT-11 and the overlay TSX-11 are easy compared to something like VMS. I've written VMS drivers from scratch (for the VAXBI COMBOARD) and I've dug deep into someone else's code for an AmigaDOS IDE driver (PIO via ISA interface and GG2 Bus+ ISA bus adapter). If it were possible to make an inexpensive IDE adapter for Qbus, I'd be more than happy to tackle a driver. I've got a couple of uVAX-IIs, KDF11 CPUs, etc., so the rest of the system is no problem. Has anyone designed a quick-n-dirty Qbus IDE adapter? If one is willing to let the VAX processor do the work, it could be as simple as mapping the I/O registers of the IDE drive into some I/O addresses. Not much more than a few Qbus drivers and an address comparator, a la older ISA IDE cards. It would probably heavily tax most CPUs, though. -ethan ===== Even though my old e-mail address is no longer going to vanish, please note my new public address: erd(a)iname.com The original webpage address is still going away. The permanent home is: http://penguincentral.com/ See http://ohio.voyager.net/ for details. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Messenger - Talk while you surf! It's FREE. http://im.yahoo.com/

25 years, 8 months

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Red Erasors, contacts, and gold revisited

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> I'm sure the Canadian product uses some kind of silicone > oil. I have friend with a can of silicone oil ( like is > used in car waxes ). I'll have to try it to see if it > has similar contact improvements as the grease does. You can buy Stabilant 22 in dilute, ready-to-use form, or in large quantities as a concentrate. They describe it as a polymer, specifically: Polyoxypropylene-Polyoxyethylene Block Polymer of the Polyglycol family Any of you chemists know if this happens to be the same as/ related to silicone? Link to manufacturer: http://www.stabilant.com/techt01h.htm regards, -dq

25 years, 8 months

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VMS

by mac＠Wireless.Com

http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2000/1010newvms.html -Mike C

25 years, 8 months

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PDP-8 question...

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

>Well, mine is set for fields 4-7, but I dont have any docs. And since >its working i'm hesitant to tear it apart. > >-Lawrence LeMay Tear it apart? This one is only two boards at the top one is the only one with significant logic and drivers. the other is the diode matrix and core mat. There is a DIP socket in the middle (mine has nothing in it) and a set of three posts one dip above it. If you could tell me what you have there it would help. I'd like to get mine into fields 0-3. then I can put the 4k at field 4 making a nice tidy 20k system. Then I have to get some mass storage going. I do have two serial cards (m8650 and 8652)so at least I can fake a serial reader with a glass console. Allison >> I just got a DATARAM DR118A core (16kx12) for Omnibus

25 years, 8 months

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early non-US personal computers

by mranalog＠home.com

Doug Salot <doug(a)blinkenlights.com> said: > Hey unamericans, any candidates for personal computers made outside of the > US before 1976 (other than Micral)? > > Define "personal computer" any way you like to as long as you define it > this way: digital, (semi)automatic, programmable, accessible/available, > small, inexpensive, and simpler than an F-14 fighter jet :-) Turing > completeness helps, but I'm flexible. We this WOULD have have been a good opourtunity to talk about the 1971 English computer I received in the mail last Wednesday from the NE coast of England. I WOULD have said that it is a "Educational Analogue Computer Type C180" made by Physical & Electronic Laboratories Ltd. It has 18 amplifiers, 16 of which can be used as integrators. It my first general purpose analog to use intergrated circuit amplifiers. The DIP 741 amplifiers are are in beautiful all gold packages with date codes of 7105. And I have a picture at: http://www.best.com/~dcoward/analog/c180.jpg But, I'll save this for later. The person I bought this computer from does have some newer digital computers for sale. He has 18 Memotech MTX512s and other Memotech stuff that he is hoping to sell as one lot. He also has Atari STs, Amstrads, Amigas, Atari Lynxs, games for the Lynxs and VIC20. See the whole list at: http://www.theoldecomputerosityshop.freeserve.co.uk/Computers/Computers.htm The Olde Computerosity Shoppe, Harlepool contact: "john.masterman" <john.masterman(a)ntlworld.com> --Doug ========================================= Doug Coward Press Start Inc. Sunnyvale,CA =========================================

25 years, 8 months

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VMS

by cmcmanis＠mcmanis.com

Yeah, but they don't mention a VAX version :-( --Chuck At 10:44 AM 10/16/2000 -0700, you wrote: >http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2000/1010newvms.html > >-Mike C

25 years, 8 months

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Red Erasors, contacts, and gold revisited

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> Sorry to bring this one back up, but I was cruising the Classiccmp > archives and read the thread. > > I liked the idea of dipping the erasor in alcohol. Nice bearing fluid and > would help reduce abrasion as well as acting as a solvent and carrier for > gunk. > > Not all contacts are gilt which is one application for abrasives. The > hard disk MIO for my Atari 8-bit is an example. It's traces are unfinished > tin-colored things and they oxidize rapidly. > > Some of you folks had solutions to check the oxidation such as silicone > grease. Could you amplify on this and especially what type of grease and > where to find it. Another possibility (one I haven't tried with computer gear) would be a substance called Stabilant 22... it's made in Canada, can't recall the name of the firm. It's a liquid described as a contact enhancing fluid, and operates as both an insulator, and as a conductor through what they call "quantum tunnelling". I use it on automotive connectors, and no treated connector has yet shown signs of oxidation. Anyone tried this snake oil^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hamazing substance? regards, -doug q

25 years, 8 months

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Paging Anthony Eros

by cmcmanis＠mcmanis.com

Has anyone heard from Tony recently? I'm beginning to get concerned that perhaps something has happened to him. --Chuck

25 years, 8 months

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48v dc power

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

From: R. D. Davis <rdd(a)smart.net> >Out of curiosity, what's the furtherest distance anyone here has >noticed RFI from their systems (open or closed)? 400ft, 10mhz clock for a S100 z80 system that was also distributed to other boards on the bus. A modification to the termination of that line virtually made it disappear, the standard terminators didn't actually match the impedence of the line making it antenna. Other hot one was the Altair you could hear the 2mhz anywhere in the house with the case on. Usually if you can isolate the freq you can tame it. one that get me every time is the 15700 hz horizontal retrace >from TVs with most monitors running second, all plastic cased. Most stuff in a metal box with screws in tend to be quiet and commercial systems like DEC, SUN and HPs in full dress tend to be quiet if made to the specs in effect after 1980ish. PCs however are all over the map, some excellent and some very poor. Allison

25 years, 8 months

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Alphastation 255 question..

by mlnealey＠earthlink.net

Hi All! Quick question. Does the Digital Alphastation 255 take a regular ( as in PC type ) floppy disk drive? Is there a special DEC FD drive I need to get? I have a part number for the FD from DEC but the part description doesn't tell me anything and the purchase price for the item is about what you would expect for a PC type floppy drive buying direct from a manufacturer. Any help is appreciated... Thanks... Mike N.

25 years, 8 months

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Paging: Jason McBrien

by jeff.kaneko＠juno.com

Guys: Sorry for the intrusion, but I haven't received responses to my e-mails; so Jason, if you're reading please e-mail me ASAP at: jeff.kaneko(a)juno.com Thanks! We now return you to our regularly scheduled programme . . . ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

25 years, 8 months

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Who collects (reads the mailing list...?) vintage computers in Quebec, C...

by LFessen106＠aol.com

In a message dated 10/14/00 10:56:08 PM Eastern Daylight Time, claudew(a)sprint.ca writes: > Hi > Sometimes I think I may be the only vintage computer collector in > Quebec, Canada. > I would like to hear if anybody else does any collecting around here > (Montreal area) > I have yet to find anybody to trade or talk collecting face-to-face > anywhere around here even if I have posted on several montreal > newsgroups that I am looking to buy/trade this kinda stuff... > When I mention I collect vintage computers, people look at me like I am > due for a trip in the "wacko wagon"... > Computers are tough to find here (not like california...) I have managed > to accumulate/fix/restore approx 50 micros (all working) from the > 197x-198x early 1990's...lotta books, software and peripherals... > Those who feel sad for me can send me their Lisa's, TRS model IIIs and > Next boxes ;-> > ...things I will probably never find around here and I refuse to > purchase them on ebay for a zillion bucks... > Thanks for reading > Claude Hi Claude! I may not be a Canadian Computer Collector, but I do collect computers, and I have even been to Montreal :-) Seriously though, I know how you feel. I live in PA, USA, and I know for a fact there are at least 2 other major collectors in the state, but have never been able to get either of them to respond to my emails. The other problem I am having here is that I would like to collect "business type" UNIX stations, servers, etc, like Sun Sparc's and Decstations, etc, and the only thing I am able to find anywhere are PeeCees. Ugh. I also used to collect Commodore and Apple II computers - and still have a fairly decent selection. You all can view my web page at http://members.aol.com/lfessen106 There is a description of my machines, some tips on collecting in general, and some other misc information. Let me know what ya think. -Linc Fessenden.

25 years, 8 months

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R.F. Interference (Was 48V)

by jpl15＠panix.com

On Topic: I am reminded by the "RFI" from open machines thread, of the tried-and-true early computer music method of simply placing an AM Broadcast reciever next to one's Box and then diddling the various registers, front panel displays, etc., until the tones generated by the RFI made the 'music' patterns in the radio's speaker. This was also echoed in the many compositions for various line and dot-matrix printers, and the obscure but maybe better known theme music to NPR's financial program (Wall Street Week?) [Louis Rukeyser] which used a tape punched to make an ASR33 do a repeating pattern and the resulting sounds recorded and used as the rhythmic basis for it, the which music was called TWIX in Twelve Bars. (composer name escapes me completely) Off Topic: Shortwave radios. I have gotten hold of an ICOM PCR-1000, which is the actual 'radio' parts of a modern full-coverage receiver, minus the front panel. One uses various programs on a PC.laptop, or Mac to 'run' the unit. Since the operation is computer-based, many possiblities open up that were before only the province of agencies and *really* dedicated radio-heads. It covers 100KHtz -> 1.3GHtz continuous but for the Cellular bands, which are blocked. It is the size of a small book and wieghs a pound, runs on 12VDC. Just add antennae.... www.icomamerica.com and look in 'recievers' for more info. Cheers John

25 years, 8 months

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Halon dumps: a data point

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org> Date: Friday, September 15, 2000 8:36 PM Subject: Re: Halon dumps: a data point >That depends upon whether or not Algore is elected president. If he's The alternates scare me more. >I know what you're thinking. Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, etc. probably >won't stoop to this level, but, do they count enough for manufacturers >to still keep producing hardware for them if Microsoft, and even >manufacturers of commercial UNICES, etc. begin taking that approach And crazies like me will be running PX-8s with solidstate disks made >from all that huge and very cheap ram out there. >and electricity use is rationed, and those of us here in the states >can't get enough gasoline or natural gas to power a generator, what >good will our collections of power-hungry real computers over here do Any my CPM system running on solar/battery will run fine. Such a dark world your in. Me, I'll keep trucking, I did all those years before the so called great boom I'm still waiting to ride. I made it through the '73 oil embargo, and the three after that too. If you so doom and gloom try this... WE aka BELL bought vaxen that ran off 48V... Always wanted one of those BA213s. the Americas cup racer america carried one of those when PCeees were still useless. Now are there endless hacking possibilities or what? How about a 24x365 system that runs off hydro,or maybe wind... sure it's not going to one of those power nasty 733s but a laptop no problem. What may be missed is the internet is about who has info and what it may cost when it gets hard to find. Allison

25 years, 8 months

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48v dc power

by dburrows＠netpath.net

> >Most stuff in a metal box with screws in tend to be quiet and >commercial systems like DEC, SUN and HPs in full dress >tend to be quiet if made to the specs in effect after 1980ish. >PCs however are all over the map, some excellent and >some very poor. But I know in the case of DEC that if they are open like my test beds are then you can forget everything except REAL strong FM broadcast in the same room. The 2M rig with an outside antenna even gets hit. This is in a metal sided and roofed office trailer. Dan

25 years, 8 months

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48v dc power

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

From: THETechnoid(a)home.com <THETechnoid(a)home.com> >I heard that! I wonder what my machines are doing to the airwaves. I've >walked around the house with my shortwave receiver looking for freqs from >the khz range up to 30mhz. Not really a problem. Radio Moscow comes in >clear even if I have the whole house 'lit up'. > >Does this mean I have clean systems or should I test some more? If you can't hear it on a resonable reciever your doing good. Here I have birds on a lot of freqs and I've traced the source, the monitor is the worst culprit. If I turn off the monitor it gets much quieter. My favorite pastime is listening to the AM window at 3885KHz on a custom monobander I made. Keeping the systems in the cases does help or I start hearing carriers up and down the bands. Allison

25 years, 8 months

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my return

by jhellige＠earthlink.net

Hello All, After a roughly 3 year absence from this list, I've finally settled down in one place long enough to be able to handle it's traffic once again. I look forward to all the good discussions once again! Jeff -- Power Computing PowerCurve, 400mhz G3, Mac OS 9.0.4 Collector of Classic Microcomputers and Video Game Systems: http://www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/lakes/6757

25 years, 8 months

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Need help or service manual for RS COCO mini disk 26-3022...

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

From: Joe <rigdonj(a)intellistar.net> >>Coco were Shugart SA400s. That is a 35 track drive with the spiral groove >>disk. Allison pointed out that there was a later model (SA400L) that >>could handle 40 track. BTW, if you have decent machine shop capabilities, >>the SA400 could easily be modified for more tracks, but it is NOT a >>handheld Dremel task. > > > How many tracks can they be made to handle? Any details about how you go >about changing them? The number is 40 and it's at 48tpi. Te trick before the SA400L (40 tr) version was around was to mill the groove further and mill the end stop. Both were done at high precision. Or sub in the disk from the sa400L. It was done back in the days when 35 tr was passe` and 40 tracks were emerging as the standard for 5.25 floppies. It was a big deal then as with single density that meant another 12.5k on an 90k disk. If you had DD controller so much the better. Other common mods were to go to SA450s (40 cylinders two sides) or other far better drives. Allison

25 years, 8 months

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Need help or service manual for RS COCO mini disk 26-3022...

by rigdonj＠intellistar.net

At 09:44 AM 10/15/00 -0700, "The Forslunds" <forslund(a)tbaytel3.tbaytel.net> wrote: >On Sun, 15 Oct 2000, Claude.W wrote: >> >>These are the 1st floppy disks for the COCO made by RS. The units are >> >>TEC FB-201. > >At least around here, the very FIRST drives that RS made available for the >Coco were Shugart SA400s. That is a 35 track drive with the spiral groove >disk. Allison pointed out that there was a later model (SA400L) that >could handle 40 track. BTW, if you have decent machine shop capabilities, >the SA400 could easily be modified for more tracks, but it is NOT a >handheld Dremel task. How many tracks can they be made to handle? Any details about how you go about changing them? Joe

25 years, 8 months

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Greetings!

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

>Hello all, my name is Gene Buckle and I run the Commercial CP/M Software >Archive at http://deltasoft.fife.wa.us/cpm. > >This list was pointed out to me by a nice gent on comp.os.cpm. I've got a >MicroVAX II that I need drives for. Both of my RD54 drives have pretty >much given up the ghost. I'd like to obtain a SCSI board for it since my >chances of getting a pair of RD54 drives are fairly slim. :) If anyone >knows where I can get one, please let me know. RD54s are Maxtor2190s 159mb 1224 cyl, 15 heads. You can substitute other MFM dives if you can find the formatter (or a MV2000 to use as formatter). VMS is fairly tolerent of different drives, NetBSD does too. >rx55[?] two 8 port serial boards (DHV-11's I think) and a DEQUNA ethernet RX55? do you mean RX50 (dual 5.25 SSDD 96tpi) or RX33 (5.25 teac fd55GFV that does both RC50 and 1.2mb RX33)? Allison

25 years, 8 months

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Need help or service manual for RS COCO mini disk 26-3022...

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

>I am sure there was a service manual for these, RS had a service manual for >almost everything they sold back then including stuff like calculators!...I >actually bought a lot of about 300 at one point and threw them all out after >a few years not using them.... > >Thanks for the reply >Claude Contact RS, they may still have manuals. The TEC201 is unfamiliar to me but the mechanism sounds like the Shugart by a different name. The alternate solution is a newer 48tpi drive jumperd as needed. Allison

25 years, 8 months

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Greetings!

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

>At 22:55 14-10-2000 -0700, you wrote: > >>Hello all, my name is Gene Buckle and I run the Commercial CP/M Software >>Archive at http://deltasoft.fife.wa.us/cpm. Gene, welcome to classiccmp. Say Hi to Tim O. too. Allison

25 years, 8 months

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Microvax II

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

Ok, lets try this way. You want to use a disgustingly large drive (Larger than 8GB) on a Qbus controller. First problem, do you have a SCSI-(anything) that knows and can handle drives larger 4 or 8GB regardless of the connector? Assuming you have that covered, can you back it up in an average lifetime? Allison From: Jerome Fine <jhfine(a)idirect.com> > >> >Anyone out there who wants to try? I would be very pleased to >> >swap some of my time for a couple of SCSI 32 GByte hard drives >> >to test out the software. The only problem is that the only SCSI >> >host adapters I have are the 50 pin type (CQD 220/M), so there >> I've run my PDP11 with SCSI CQD already as it's MSCP, Same >> for VAX/VMS (it's in my MVII). > >Jerome Fine replies: > >It seem like we agree. The question I was asking was whether or not >SCSI-2 drives with the 50 pin interface are made that have a capacity >of more than 9.2 Gbytes such as the ST410800N - preferably at >least 16 GBytes are maybe even 32 Gbytes. Since I already know >about this Seagate drive and I agree that is is reasonable in cost, it >is the larger drives that I am asking about - sorry if I was not clear >as to the question. > >> It's limited to 4 or 8gb and SCSI-II so forget the reall monster drives. > >Are you sure? Is anyone aware of larger drives that still use the 50 pin >SCSI-2 interface? > >> The idea of such huge drive with RT11 and friends is that is wasted. >> I use D540s (31mb) and swap them like carts as I have a bunch of em >> and they are plenty big enough. Drives in the 120-400MB range are >> plentyful for me, one 200mb drive would take all the binaries and >> sources I have with room to spare that aren't already on Tims CD. >> Whats the point? > >The point is that maybe you are not the only person who runs with >drives that are so small. And while I agree with you that probably >most RT-11 or TSX-PLUS users do not use drives even as large >as 2 GBytes (I use a 600 MByte drive myself and find that is normally >more than enough capacity), there may be a few who could benefit >from even larger drives. The problem with the standard MSCP >DU(X).SYS device driver in RT-11 is that the software limits the user >to easily using drives that are smaller than 8 GBytes. While I know >that you are aware of the limitation, the actual question I asked is >if MSCP allows the hardware use of drives up to a 32 bit block >number? Again, I obviously did not make my question clear >enough since you did not answer it. Namely, if the DU(X).SYS >device driver in RT-11 could handle sending more than a 24 bit >block number to the hard disk drive via the use of SET commands >(which would allow a partition number with more than 8 bits), could >the hardware handle that? > >I did not say that everyone would want to make use of that feature >if it were possible - I know that you will not and I will not. I was >just asking if it were possible and maybe someone might want >to do so? > >I guess that the point I am trying to make is that I enjoy a software >challenge whereas you enjoy a hardware challenge. I look a >some hardware and see what is. You look at the same hardware >and see what could be. I guess that I do the same with software. >Then I also go ahead and try make it work. Many times, I actually >can enhance or fix software just as you make changes to the hardware. >Can we agree on that? > >Sincerely yours, > >Jerome Fine >

25 years, 8 months

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Need help or service manual for RS COCO mini disk 26-3022...

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

>At least around here, the very FIRST drives that RS made available for the >Coco were Shugart SA400s. That is a 35 track drive with the spiral groove >disk. Allison pointed out that there was a later model (SA400L) that >could handle 40 track. BTW, if you have decent machine shop capabilities, >the SA400 could easily be modified for more tracks, but it is NOT a >handheld Dremel task. Actually if you have SA400s better to replace them with most anything else unless it's strict preservation. I still have a few for that reason. Those things were horrid. >Later drives around here included Tandon (TM100-1)? and TEC. Tandon uses The TM100 was far better. >Was the "TEC" label on the drive itself, or on the case (possibly a drive >had been changed?) Likely TEC on the outer case, thats why I said open it and see if they are SA400s. Allison

25 years, 8 months

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Need help or service manual for RS COCO mini disk 26-3022...

by claudew＠sprint.ca

>>These are the 1st floppy disks for the COCO made by RS. The units are >>TEC FB-201. >> >>Large full size mounted on their side in silver case with power supply. > >> >>When dskinit (format) command issued, they go about 35 tracks then an >>error is reported on the COCO screen. > > >You sure it isn't the first drives for the TRS-80? The symptom would be >the older SA400 drives designed for 35 track operation used within. >The later drives were SA400Ls that were designed for 40 track operation. >Both used the spiral groove cam but one was a bit different. > >Open up the box and see which you have. > >The other possibility is old (really old) media ment for the 35 track >drives and this media has a smaller "window" in the jacket that will >limit head travel. > >>They can't read a disk formatted on a good drive. > > >That suggests teh head follower is out of the groove or >the stepper has been rotated or other wear probems. > >>These drives use a plastic disc with a "spiral" grove stuck to the >>stepper motor shaft to step the head along. I have seen this in Apple II >>drives, it seemed reliable...but I have been told these RS drives were >>not really realiable... > > >SA400 drives were very poor over time for reliability. You would >need an alignment disk to set it up or lot of trial and error assuming >the head moves freely on it guide rails. > >Allison Cant see SA400 anywhere...TEC FB-201 only thing I see... They have "TRS80 Color Computer MIni Disk" in front of case. They are listed by catalog no. on COCO web sites as being the 1st drives put out for the COCO. Problematic but no hints given to fix them... They don't "look" like they have been used a lot. Looks like everything is working as far as the "groove cam" is concerned.... If it was wear and "slack" in the groove or other parts , I think I should be able to have it "track" and do small reads when playing around with the step motor alignement...no? It look almost like nothing is being written or read at all...perhaps a failure in the electronics... Test points are "identified" on the board with abbreviations...I will probe these out "blindly" trying to figure out what's happening if I get no other hints... I am sure there was a service manual for these, RS had a service manual for almost everything they sold back then including stuff like calculators!...I actually bought a lot of about 300 at one point and threw them all out after a few years not using them.... Thanks for the reply Claude

25 years, 8 months

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Need help or service manual for RS COCO mini disk 26-3022...

by claudew＠sprint.ca

Hi These are the 1st floppy disks for the COCO made by RS. The units are TEC FB-201. Large full size mounted on their side in silver case with power supply. When dskinit (format) command issued, they go about 35 tracks then an error is reported on the COCO screen. They can't read a disk formatted on a good drive. I checked speed and tried to ajust alignement by moving head stepper motor, could not read to good disk...no improvement These drives use a plastic disc with a "spiral" grove stuck to the stepper motor shaft to step the head along. I have seen this in Apple II drives, it seemed reliable...but I have been told these RS drives were not really realiable... I have two. I would really like to get them going again...I hate keeping stuff in my vintage computer collection that does not work... Thanks for reading Claude

25 years, 8 months

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RL02 Sanity Check

by jeff.kaneko＠juno.com

Hmm, okay. That means mine's broke then. I powered it up, pack in place, heads retracted. The fan comes on, the "READY" lite comes on, but it doesn't sound like it's spinning up. No "FAULT" lite. I pull the pack (heads still retracted), and turn it on whilst fooling the pack inserted/door closed switch. The spindle turns *very* slowly, and then stops. With the rear cover off, it looks like it does the same thing with the pack inserted, and cover closed. I haven't plugged this thing into a live host interface yet; I'm just trying to see if everything's okay first. I read somewhere that it gets it's spindle motor clock >from the RLV12/11). Jeff On Fri, 13 Oct 2000 10:04:26 -0400 Jerome Fine <jhfine(a)idirect.com> writes: > >Jeffrey l Kaneko wrote: > > > I realize this falls into the category of stupid > > questions, but: > > The RL02 has to be plugged into a *live* RLV12 > > before it will spin-up, right? > > Jerome Fine replies: > > NO! But the RED FAULT light will be ON if the RL02 is > not plugged into the RLV12 (or RLV11) and the CPU is > not powered on. > > Sincerely yours, > > Jerome Fine > ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

25 years, 8 months

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A LART is needed (was: VCF 4.0)

by fauradon＠mn.mediaone.net

I gues that was not you I had in mind, after all I bought your portfolio which in my opinion was rightly priced for the content. (did you ever find that parallel port?) The seller I was refering to had the biggest booth of all and the most inflated prices I have ever seen. For reference the name started with "Computer" and ended in "Jones", That's the guy who didn't want to sell at the VCF. I don't know where he comes from but I have never ever ever seen a dealer in used "crap" refusing to bargain. And that really pissed me off (here you go Sellam another example of where cussing IS appropriate). That's the dude I hope had to take his load back home. He's a buisness and should know better. If he wants "ebay prices" (TM) for his stuff, he should sell on ebay or out of his store or whaterver hole in the wall he normally operates from. A hobby meeting is for hobbyists where you unload stuff you don't want anymore and sell at a reasonable price so you're not out of pocket. If a business wants to participate, they should undrstand the spirit of the event and be willing to play by the rules. I could go on but I have a meeting to attend My rant Francois >> >Let's see, how would you name a meeting where several buyers went >> >home with new toys at acceptable prices (a TRS 80 M1 with expansion >> >box, printer and all dust covers (!) at USD 30 isn't realy overpriced) >> >and some pricepushing dealer went home with their entire stock ? >> > >> I just Wish I could have seen his face when he was packing his stuff back. >> I hope he swore to never make it back. > >I don't think that my prices were THAT bad! We made a lot of people >happy, got rid of a few boxes of old class handout reprints from Dr. >Dobbs, and found homes for a few items (PCJrs, Portfolio, etc.). At the >end of the day, I sold my entire remaining stock that I had brought down >to a colleague who is starting a collection (OSI, N*'s, Compupro, etc) for >a preset price. He still owes me one more pizza. > > >Sellam puts on a fantastic event (calling it a "great fucking show" could >be miscontrued). I shall return. > >-- >Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin(a)xenosoft.com >

25 years, 8 months

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Intel MDS 225 (1st post)

by b.layer＠vikingelectronics.com

Greetings, I subbed this list because I was given a rather large & heavy old machine which the owner refers to as an "Intel MDS225" and I am totally devoid of any official information about it. It consists of a large, white, main unit, which houses a CRT display, power supply and a bank of slots, several of which are occupied by plug-in cards. The unit also includes a separate keyboard, and a dual 8" floppy drive housed in a cabinet (which is blue in color), and fits underneath the main unit. Also supplied is a set of hardware that I believe is for in-circuit emulation of an i8048 microprocessor. As I understand it, this machine was used to develop firmware for several products which were controlled by 8048 / 8749 micros. The owner also said that it runs (or ran, I have not put power to it) the ISIS operating system. So what have I got here, and to what potentially interesting use might I put it? Was it worth the agony of dragging it home and up the steps? :) Thanks, Bill Layer Sales Technician <b.layer(a)vikingelectronics.com> +----------------------------------+ Viking Electronics, Inc. 1531 Industrial St. Hudson, WI. 54016 - U.S.A 715.386.8861 ext. 210 <http://www.vikingelectronics.com> +----------------------------------+ "Telecom Solutions for the 21st Century"

25 years, 8 months

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Alphastation 255 question..

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

From: healyzh(a)aracnet.com <healyzh(a)aracnet.com> > >Beware, I found that it was painful to run Netscape on a Tru64 system with >96MB. Tru64 seems to be even more of a memory pig than OpenVMS. VMS isn't a memory pig. Alpha however was aimed at big apps and isn't as byte efficient as VAX so it tends to consume 2x-4x the ram. The design goal of Alpha was big address space for even bigger apps like gigabyte or even terabyte sized databases. A VAX with 64-128 mb is a big (memory wise) machine. Besides 7.2 runs just fine in the MVII with 9mb! Allison

25 years, 8 months

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Entertainment Value

by jpl15＠panix.com

Yet-to-be-plundered Jerry Springer Topics: Upright Vintage Computer Collector is secretly an E-Bay Slut and once sold a Royal McBee to the highest bidder: a scrapper from Taiwan. London-based Enthusiast and Under-Employed Physicist admits to converting all his Classics to 110 VAC 60Htz and using a hidden rotary inverter in his basement. Discovered after neighbors complained to police about the incessant humming, and late night cries of "It Lives!!! It Lives!!!" Ex VCF Promoter and Producer gives up profitable consulting business, salty wit and caustic repartee, to take up new carreer as a Sunday School Teacher and Spiritual Counsellor in the Great Midwest. You *GO*, girlfr'en! -------------------------------------------------------------------- Cheers John

25 years, 8 months

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IBM Series/1 Minicomputer

by Mzthompson＠aol.com

Owen Robertson <univac2(a)earthlink.net> wrote: > Shipping for the hard disk will be hundreds, so I won't be getting it. To which Sellam Ismail <foo(a)siconic.com> replied: > Have you considered driving to go pick it up? Have you considered having > another list member retrieve the hard drive? Sellam, that needs to be list members. I walked away from several of them a while back. Stuck on the front of the drive assembly is a sticker that says to the effect "Caution: Unit weighs 156 pounds". Heavy metal, ey? Mike

25 years, 9 months

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DSSI: What was it like?

by Mzthompson＠aol.com

Bruce Lane <kyrrin(a)bluefeathertech.com> wrote: > For that matter, what the heck did DSSI abbreviate? My guess: > Distributed Storage Subsystem Interface. To which Chuck McManis <cmcmanis(a)mcmanis.com> replied: > As for the abbreviation DSSI I've heard two different expansions used: > "Digital Standard Storage Interconnect" > "Digital Standard System Interconnect" > I've yet to find something that pins it down definitively. DEC lists in the manuals for both the DECsystem 5400 and the DECsystem 5500 as: "Digital Storage System Interconnect" and states: The DSSI bus has the following characteristics: A 4-Mbytes-per-second bandwidth Up to eight nodes Eight data lines One Parity line Eight control lines And gleened from somewhere a long time ago: One person wrote: :DSSI was developed from early SCSI definitions in an attempt to make :it robust, reliable and versatile (e.g. dual host option was defined :from the very beginning, while many of today's SCSI controllers still :can cope with only a single host adapter per bus). :The additional features made it more expensive then SCSI, and the :industry decided to go with the cheaper solution. Another person wrote: :> Are the two inter-changeable??? (SCSI vs DSSI) :No. It's interesting, though, that there were vendors whose storage :controllers had host ports that were software configurable as either :DSSI or SCSI. I never got close enough to one of these to find out :if they used the same signal wiring, though [most likely not - it is :conceivable that logic levels were compatible enough that one could :use the same line drivers and receivers, but they would still have had :to have a way to choose connectors that matched the interface type]. FWIW Mike

25 years, 9 months

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