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

Apple /// keyboard

by Poetry1948＠aol.com

I broke 2 keys off of my Apple ///. Does anyone know where I can get a replacement cheap?

25 years, 11 months

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List Archives?

by owad＠applefritter.com

Hello all, I'm back after a month and a half long hiatus. Is there an up-to-date archive of the list publicly available so that I can catch up on my reading? All of the ones I've managed to find are outdated. Thanks. Tom ------------------------------Applefritter------------------------------ Apple Prototypes, Clones, & Hacks - The obscure, unusual, & exceptional. ---------------------<http://www.applefritter.com/>---------------------

25 years, 11 months

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Other useful test equipment (was: RE: Scope use...)

by CordaAJ＠nswc.navy.mil

> -----Original Message----- > From: ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk [mailto:ard@p850ug1.demon.co.uk] > Sent: Friday, July 21, 2000 6:05 PM > To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org > Subject: Re: Other useful test equipment (was: RE: Scope use...) > > > > One last word on test equipment. Unless you are into vintage > > test equipment collecting (a very respectable hobby in it's own > > right!) I suggest that you try to get the most modern/reliable > > version you can _reasonably_ afford, especially if your point > > Relaible, sure, but not necessarily modern. > > Often the choice (at least for a hobbyist) is between an > older high-class instrument (like a Tektronix 'scope) and a more modern, > cheaper, and much worse instrument. I agree with this in concept. What you're shooting for above all is _quality_ of design. My point was that given 2 O'scopes, One by HP and One by Tektronix (both quality manufacturers) approx. same condition and at approximately the same price, I would lean towards the one with the newest fabrication date. This is especially true if you are considering 2 scopes of the same model/manufacturer. The newer model will most likely have the newest engineering revisions/mods. > > Take the better one _every time_. You may have to spend a > couple of days repairing it, but after that it will be reliable > again. And it will work properly. Here again, I agree with this in principle. My only comment is that you should _know_ what you are doing if you buy a 'Scope with problems. If you feel comfortable with your ability to repair this level of equipment, you can end up with some real bargains! But then again, I didn't target the original post to those people, as they already know what they are doing. If you look at the root message that this thread was derived from, it concerned someone asking on how to "use" a scope to debug digital hardware. We must keep in mind that a lot of people on the mailing list are "digital" experts (except for all you PDP-8 owners with "real" Transistor logic flipchips :-), and most older scopes are as far from "digital" internally as you can get. Different worlds. > You will be able to trust the results you get from it. Some > hobbyist-grade instruments couldn't possible give sensible results ! > A lot of cheap 'scopes don't trigger properly -- I have seen one that > can't trigger on a 1kHz TTL square wave (!). And without a > decent trigger > system you won't get a stable trace, and without a stable > trace you can't > make measurements. > > My first 'scope was a Solartron CD1400. Old, valved, and not > particularly > high spec (15MHz IIRC). I spent a good few days tracking down > the open > resistor on the timebase PCB. After I'd done that I had a 'scope that > worked and which still works some 20 years later (it's needed _no_ > repairs in those 20 years). Having seen some of the modern > 'cheap scopes' > (that would have cost about 20 times what I paid for the > Solartron), I > know I made the right decision. > > > > in obtaining it is to use it to debug something else. This goes > > for O'scopes as well as Logic Analyzers, meters, etc. > > As any engineer will tell you, you want to reduce the number of > > variables in a problem you are trying to troubleshoot, and the > > last thing you need in such a situation is a piece of test > > equipment that you can't trust. Also be realistic in your > > True. But don't make the mistake of thinking that a new instrument is > _necessarily_ a trustworthy instrument. And don't make the mistake of > assuming that if you get 'crazy results' that the instrument > is working fine, no matter how good a brand it is, and how new it is. > _Check it_. > I couldn't agree with you more! The primary ingredient of troubleshooting is Common Sense. If your test equipment is telling you nonsense, then suspect the test gear. Of course, experience is the greatest way to develop Common Sense. > It doesn't take long to ensure that the 'scope gives a sensible > trace when tapped on the supply line. Or when connected to a known-good clock > generator. And it might save many hours of looking for a > non-existant fault! > > It is well worth learning how to verify that your instruments > are giving sensible results. Not necessarily knowing how to calibrate > them (because 99% of the time you don't need accuracy). But at least > to ensure that they're not out by a factor of 10. Or that the 'scope > hasn't suddenly lost all high frequency response, or that it's ringing > like crazy on a sharp edge. > > > selection. If you have a choice between an 1997 Fluke DVM (in > > good condition) and a 2000 "Bonusmart blisterpack special" > > you might be much better off choosing the Fluke from a > > reliability/dependability viewpoint. > > Err, 1997 is not old. Any Fluke meter that didn't last at > least 10 years would disappoint me... Agreed... I just picked that date at random. I still use an analog meter (Brain Rot has caused me to block out the Manufacturer at the momement... perhaps a Triplett Mod 260? Black thing with a mirrored scale...oh well :-)when working on some circuits. It's older than sin, but as far as I'm concerned, it's one of the best analog meters around. > > Given the choice between a 1960's Fluke/Solartron/HP and a modern > no-name, I'd probably take the older instrument. Spend a few > days getting it back to rights. And then know it would carry on working. > > -tony >

25 years, 11 months

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Tek 2230 'scope

by jfoust＠threedee.com

I picked up a Tek 2230, a 100 MHz two-channel digital storage oscilloscope for $150 today, on a rolling stand. It shows signs of life in the sense that the display works and the buttons seem to have some effect, like stepping through menus. I've always wanted a nice 'scope, even though I have very little experience using one. Where do I begin? I have no manual, just the little tech ref booklet. A manual sold on eBay a few weeks ago for $25 or so. It has a half-dozen probes. Was this a good deal? I found a number of refurb places on the web selling them for $1400-$2500. - John The 2230 Digital Storage Oscilloscope is a combination non-storage and digital storage dual-channel 100 MHz bandwidth instrument. It is a rugged, lightweight oscilloscope featuring microprocessor operation and alphanumeric CRT readout of many of the front panel controls. In the digital storage mode, up to three waveform sets (CH 1 and/or CH 2) may be stored in a save ref. memory and recalled for display at a later time. The digital storage sampling rate is 20 megasamples per second maximum, and the acquired record length is 4 k samples (1 k may also be selected) for a single channel or 2 k samples for dual-channel (Chop or Alt) displays. Manufacturer's Standard Accessories 2 10X Voltage Probes Front Panel Cover Accessory Pouch Operators Manual Users Reference Card Manufacturer's Options Option 10 = GPIB IEEE-488 Interface includes 26K battery backed memory Tektronix 2230 This is a 100MHz, digital storage and non-storage oscilloscope. Features include cursors for time and voltage measurements, 100ns glitch capture, and signal averaging. TEKTRONIX/ 2230 100 MHz Digitizing Oscilloscope 100 MHz, 2 channel, combination analog and digital storage oscilloscope. Features microprocessor operation and alphanumeric CRT readout of many of the front panel controls. Up to three waveform sets may be stored in digital storage mode. Dual Mode portable Oscilloscope. Bandwidth: DC to 100 MHz (storage or non-storage), Single-shot: 2 MHz (single channel). Vertical deflection factors: 2 mV/div to 5 V/div. Sweep Ranges: 0.05us to 0.5 s/div. Triggering modes: Normal, P-P, Auto, TV Line, TV Field, Single Sweep, and HF Reject. Glitch capture: 100ns. Record Length: 4K. Sampling Speed: 20 MSa/s with 10 bit vertical resolution. Switch between real time analog ? digital storage modes at a touch of a button. Full waveform measurements with on screen cursors. 4 memory locations.

25 years, 11 months

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Compucorp 140

by mbillian＠erols.com

Hi, I'm new to the list, was wondering if anyone could help me with a Compucorp 140 (Statistician) nixie tube calculator I found the other day. The calc is missing a couple of items. I was wondering if anyone has a power cord (fits 1 in dia socket with 3 pins in equilateral triangle on 3/8" spacing), 'chg sign' key, 'reset' key and the key with 2 bell shaped curves on it (or a complete junk unit). I would be greatful for any help Mitch Billian

25 years, 11 months

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PDP-11/34A

by xds_sigma7＠hotmail.com

OK, to clarify, what I'm asking about is whether or not all 11/34A PSU's have those three particular power supplies in the main box and if so, is that where those three belong? Will J ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

25 years, 11 months

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Other useful test equipment (was: RE: Scope use...)

by CordaAJ＠nswc.navy.mil

> -----Original Message----- > From: Douglas Quebbeman [mailto:dhquebbeman@theestopinalgroup.com] > Sent: Friday, July 21, 2000 3:17 PM > To: 'classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org' > Subject: RE: Other useful test equipment (was: RE: Scope use...) > > > > I'll second that. I picked up a used HP 16xx something or > other with 4 > > pods of 8 inputs each, and it's been so useful debugging my home > > designs. An alternative would be a PC parallel port > based model, but > > they seem kind of cheesy compared to a nice, solid, HP unit. > > I used an (older?) HP Logic Analyzer that appeared to be an embedded > Macintosh; I never opened it up to make that determination, though, > as it was on lease. I don't know about the earlier HP units, but I think a number of the really _early_ designs for logic analyzers were based on some of the microprocessing systems available at the time. At one time I had 2 logic analyzers, both made by Nicolet, separated by a few years. The innards of the earlier (and smaller) unit turned out to be a repackaged Apple II. the later unit was a Z80 based CP/M unit with a built-in 5.25" drive. It even came with a CP/M boot disk that turned the unit into a general CP/M machine. > > Are these the vintage of units that are being dumped? > > -dq > No, I didn't mean to imply that any particular manufacturer's units were being dumped on the market... although I have noticed quite a number of HP1631A and D systems at the hamfests in my area of the country (VA-MD). My current analyzer is a HP1631D, and I paid < $200 (with probes.) It has a 200 Mhz sample rate (50 Mhz analog bandwidth.) It can even display analog waveforms, so you can use it as an Digital O'scope in some situations. We still use this same model where I work, and I am very pleased with it. BTW, A number of pieces of HP equipment of this era (circa 1985) shared the same physical "look", i.e. the HP1631D Logic analizer looks virtually identical the the HP54201D (and HP54101?) Digital O'scopes (unless you pay close attention to the button legends and nameplate), so If you happen across a stack of identical HP equipment at a hamfest, don't assume that they are all the same model from simply a casual glance. One last word on test equipment. Unless you are into vintage test equipment collecting (a very respectable hobby in it's own right!) I suggest that you try to get the most modern/reliable version you can _reasonably_ afford, especially if your point in obtaining it is to use it to debug something else. This goes for O'scopes as well as Logic Analyzers, meters, etc. As any engineer will tell you, you want to reduce the number of variables in a problem you are trying to troubleshoot, and the last thing you need in such a situation is a piece of test equipment that you can't trust. Also be realistic in your selection. If you have a choice between an 1997 Fluke DVM (in good condition) and a 2000 "Bonusmart blisterpack special" you might be much better off choosing the Fluke from a reliability/dependability viewpoint. -al- -acorda(a)1bigred.com

25 years, 11 months

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Some Finds

by jrkeys＠concentric.net

Just a short list of some items added to the collection this week; 1. HP 7980XC Tape unit with manual, rolling case with keys, cables, and mics items 2. HP 2563A printer working and complete 3. HP6000 SCSI SE minitower 4. A rack mounted computer named Tano AVT2 the company is out of New Orleans 5. Supercharger by ARCADIA for the Atari 6. NeXT OS 3.2 new in unopened box 7. NeXT CD-rom drive manual ( now to find a Next CD-rom drive) That's it for now. Keep on computing John Keys

25 years, 11 months

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Rewiring 3phase VAX 6000 for single phase

by mrbill＠ohno.mrbill.net

Anybody have instructions on re-wiring a VAX 6000 wired for 3phase for normal 240V single phase power? The pallet gets delivered this afternoon... 8-) Bill -- +-------------------\ /-----------------+ | Bill Bradford | www.sunhelp.org | | mrbill(a)mrbill.net | www.decvax.org | | Austin, Texas USA | www.pdp11.org | +-------------------/ \-----------------+

25 years, 11 months

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Other useful test equipment (was: RE: Scope use...)

by xds_sigma7＠hotmail.com

My logic analyzer is a nice HP1615A, circa 1978, 8080-based... It was free >from this guy I bought all kinds of DEC crud from (he happened to have designed the I/O read/write board for the RA90 among other things, but thats a diff story). I had paid him for the DEC stuff, and then he said "Hey, do you want this?" so I said "Wow, cool!" and voila, free logic analyzer.. I think I even have the pods for DSPs.. weird. Will J ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

25 years, 11 months

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Other useful test equipment (was: RE: Scope use...)

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> I'll second that. I picked up a used HP 16xx something or other with 4 > pods of 8 inputs each, and it's been so useful debugging my home > designs. An alternative would be a PC parallel port based model, but > they seem kind of cheesy compared to a nice, solid, HP unit. I used an (older?) HP Logic Analyzer that appeared to be an embedded Macintosh; I never opened it up to make that determination, though, as it was on lease. Are these the vintage of units that are being dumped? -dq

25 years, 11 months

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Logitech Modula 2 Compiler

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

I had forgotten that when I first heard of the company Logitech, it was from a flyer for their Modula 2 compiler. The brochure has a 1984 postmark, so timewise it qualifies for discussion here, but OTOH it's software, not a computer. Anyway, does anyone know of a part of Logitech still considers itself a software firm? That is, are they still selling this compiler? Or might they be willing to donate it to the growing list of abandonware? I've been in touch with Teresa Knezek recently, and unless someone else knows its already available or if she's already working on trying to get it masde available, then I think I'll drop her a line next week to see what she can do. Did anyone ever use this compiler? How was the code generation? How fast was it? -doug quebbeman

25 years, 11 months

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Mac floppy

by agraham＠ccat.co.uk

Tony wrote: > Ouch!. That's what I thought, as well as some choice expletives :) > heads and stepper, so it should work on the Apple drive chassis) and > align it with that electronics. Maybe a couple of years down the line I'll be able to tackle something like that, but for now the easiest way is to get another drive for $5 from another list member! Should be with me in just over a week. cheers

25 years, 11 months

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For cost of shipping: Two problematic floppy drives

by Marion.Bates＠dartmouth.edu

A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 570 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.classiccmp.org/pipermail/cctalk/attachments/20000721/ea25ed84/at…

25 years, 11 months

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Repair or Replace? [Was: Repairing Timex]

by agraham＠ccat.co.uk

Hi Dwight, I got a 'proper' Opening tool from RS for ukp6, which was well worth it. cheers > -----Original Message----- > From: Dwight Elvey [mailto:elvey@hal.com] > Sent: 21 July 2000 01:37 > To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org > Subject: Re: Repair or Replace? [Was: Repairing Timex] > > > > Hi > Torx drivers can be bought from auto parts stores that carry tools. > To get long shaft ones, you'll most likely need to order them. > Torx have gotten popular in the auto industry so the tool companies > like K&D sell them. I have a set of 1/4 inch drive bits that I > bought from Sears, so you just need to ask around. > Dwight >

25 years, 11 months

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PDP 11/05 (was: RE: It's been awhile (hi, new stuff, help, ap olog ies, etc...))

by agraham＠ccat.co.uk

> I'm also trying to restore an 11/05 (without any docs), > and would love to find the same info. I've done some > web searches, but most people seem to post only a photo > and some basic info for their system (Interesting, but > not much help when trying to do a restoration). Does > anyone know of a site where I might find scanned > images of the 11/05 schematics, and possibly some > scanned docs or information on the 11/05 Unibus > backplane, card placement, etc.? I'm hopefully getting either an 11/03 or 11/05 soon....if it's an 05 hopefully it will come with some docs since ISTR they've had it from new. I'll let you know! a

25 years, 11 months

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Mac floppy

by agraham＠ccat.co.uk

I know I *could* use that drive, but I'm going for authenticity; plus I really want to fix the Classic and not cannibalise it. cheers! > -----Original Message----- > From: Eric Smith [mailto:eric@brouhaha.com] > Sent: 20 July 2000 19:34 > To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org > Subject: Re: Mac floppy > > > > I was considering using the floppy drive from my bust Classic till I > > discovered that it uses a SuperDrive..... > > I'm pretty sure I've used Apple FDHD/SuperDrive mechanisms in place of > 800K drives in the past. The Mac Plus obviously won't be able to use > the 720K and 1440K modes, but it should work fine for 400K and 800K. >

25 years, 11 months

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Digest version of the classiccmp list

by mark_k＠iname.com

Hi, Has anyone else who subscribes to the digest version of the list noticed that it seems to be limited to sending messages of 45K or less? If the total list traffic is larger than that in any given day, the list processor sends out two or three digest messages rather than a single one containing all messages for that day. Isn't the point of the digest version so that you only receive one message per day? It worked like that before the list moved server. Is there any chance of the list maintainer changing the digest behaviour to send a single message per day? -- Mark

25 years, 11 months

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Mac floppy

by agraham＠ccat.co.uk

Hi all, It's amazing how fast you can do things when you've got the right tools for the job :) Got my Mac Plus cracked open last night - that long TORX driver isn't called a MacCracker for nothing - and discovered the previous owner had managed to mash the metal cover of a floppy disk into the head mechanism etc; having freed that up and got it working mechanically again I discovered what had been rattling round the case - the bottom read/write head which has snapped off. So! Beyond repair since I haven't got another drive for spares.... Has any of you got one they'd be willing to sell? It's not the sort of thing I see lying around at markets and boot sales! cheers -- 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, 11 months

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Bad link on VCF site (was: Re: PDP 11/05 (was: RE: It's been awhile (hi, new stuff, help, apologies, etc...)))

by fauradon＠mn.mediaone.net

The link to the Sanctuary is obsolete (and the old site is gone) Tha new site is at: http://people.mn.mediaone.net/fauradon/index.html It stil is incomplete but hey it's got a couple of scans that could be interesting. Francois -----Original Message----- From: Sellam Ismail <foo(a)siconic.com> To: 'classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org' <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org> Date: Thursday, July 20, 2000 4:17 PM Subject: Re: PDP 11/05 (was: RE: It's been awhile (hi, new stuff, help, apologies, etc...)) >On Thu, 20 Jul 2000, Corda Albert J DLVA wrote: > >> not much help when trying to do a restoration). Does >> anyone know of a site where I might find scanned >> images of the 11/05 schematics, and possibly some >> scanned docs or information on the 11/05 Unibus >> backplane, card placement, etc.? > >Try checking the DEC section of the VCF Link Library: > >http://www.vintage.org/cgi-bin/links.pl#dec > >Sellam International Man of Intrigue and Danger >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- >Looking for a six in a pile of nines... > > VCF 4.0 is September 30-October 1 > San Jose Convention Center, San Jose, California > See http://www.vintage.org for details! > >

25 years, 11 months

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PDP 11/05 (was: RE: It's been awhile (hi, new stuff, help, apolog ies, etc...))

by CordaAJ＠nswc.navy.mil

-----Original Message----- From: Mike [mailto:dogas@leading.net] Sent: Wednesday, July 19, 2000 11:02 PM To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org Subject: It's been awhile (hi, new stuff, help, apologies, etc...) ...<Text deleted for brevity>... >... >I also finally got the processor board I needed to get my PDP 11/05 running. Can >someone help me out with a 'restoration checklist' for the machine? (no docs...cept' a >11x processor handbook) >... I'm also trying to restore an 11/05 (without any docs), and would love to find the same info. I've done some web searches, but most people seem to post only a photo and some basic info for their system (Interesting, but not much help when trying to do a restoration). Does anyone know of a site where I might find scanned images of the 11/05 schematics, and possibly some scanned docs or information on the 11/05 Unibus backplane, card placement, etc.? -al- -acorda(a)geocities.com

25 years, 12 months

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Mac floppy

by agraham＠ccat.co.uk

> Oh dear, that sounds like a drive that's "beyond repair" > even for Tony Duell :-) *grin* > I have to report that I did buy a Mac external disk drive > at a car boot sale for three quid. One of the useful > skills for the car boot enthusiast is the ability to spot a > rare and valuable artifact at twenty paces, then buy it > without giving the seller any hints that might cause them > to jack the price up... Yep - already got that skill, thankfully. It's how I spotted things like a fully boxed and packaged Sharp MZ700 under a pile of clothes, my first Mac Plus buried under a table amongst, you guessed it, clothes.....even my first museum machine (Enterprise) was spotted from quite a distance as it lay scattered on a blue sheet with old lawnmowers and tables etc! Had a nice muddy footprint on it too. > Anyway, keep searching the car boot sales, PC shop > junk-boxes and charity shops! You'll find one, eventually! I was considering using the floppy drive from my bust Classic till I discovered that it uses a SuperDrive.....charity shops up here don't sell electrical items much since they've got to get them tested for safety. I'll just have to keep mingling with the great unwashed every weekend :o) a

25 years, 12 months

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It's been awhile (hi, new stuff, help, apologies, etc...)

by dogas＠leading.net

Thanks everyone for the NeXT links and info. I'm kinda stoked about getting it going and will follow up with updates. Thanks - Mike: dogas(a)leading.net

25 years, 12 months

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It's been awhile (hi, new stuff, help, apologies, etc...)

by dogas＠leading.net

>From: Mark Tapley <mtapley(a)swri.edu> > >Cha-ching! Nice score. Thanks, it made me feel a little better about my current poverty level. > - Optical disk which says NeXTStep 1.0 on the package. > ...snip... >bootable in that configuration. (I'd take as an even trade a known-good >3.5" SCSI drive with capacity greater than 540 Meg, which I'd then use to >swap for my flaky drive, but that may not be a good trade for you. Or you >could just agree to keep html out of your posts :-) . ) I won't be able to </html> D'oh. I think I can dig up some scsi disks for you. Thanks for the ver 1.0 offer! I'll drop you a note again when you're ready. I'll get in the queue at Apple, but I'd like to get as much software for it as I can. Especially Mathematica. and the development environment. Thanks Mark! - Mike: dogas(a)leading.net

25 years, 12 months

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It's been awhile (hi, new stuff, help, apologies, etc...)

by dogas＠leading.net

From: Tim Mann <mann(a)pa.dec.com> >There is a scan of the TRS-80 VS-100 voice synth documentation at >http://www.asub.arknet.edu/wade/wintrs80.htm. Look near the bottom of >the page for the link. Wonderful! Thanks!

25 years, 12 months

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NeXT boot floppy (was: Re: It's been awhile...)

by mtapley＠swri.edu

>> It is possible to load from CD, but I think you need either a floppy or >> an optical to start the boot process (but I'm not clear on that). > >Is the boot floppy image available anywhere? I can migrate the 2.88Mb drive >to my desktop, fire up Linux and just dd the info right to it (presuming I >track down a source of 4Mb media). OK, I got a bit less lazy so I could answer more accurately: Turbo systems can boot directly from CD: http://til.info.apple.com/techinfo.nsf/artnum/n72662 Other systems need a boot floppy to kick into the CD. It is possible to create floppies from images if you have a running NeXT: http://til.info.apple.com/techinfo.nsf/artnum/n72667 I have a running NeXT cube with a floppy drive, and a limited supply of floppies, so Ethan, if you have trouble with your Linux box, contact me off-list, and anyone else stuck for a boot floppy, same offer. - Mark

25 years, 12 months

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Repair or Replace? [Was: Repairing Timex]

by mgregory＠vantageresearch.com

I'm curious to know how list members feel about the question of repairing versus replacing common computers. For example, in my area, Commodore 64s are extremely common. So if I received a bad one, after checking for obvious faults I probably wouldn't spend much time trying to troubleshoot it. It's easier to just find a working one. The bad machine would either become a static display, or a parts donor, or a very low priority rainy day project. >From some previous discussions on the list, I believe that some people feel that every classic computer (regardless of rarity) is worth saving. Many electronic hobbiests may find as much joy in repairing the broken 64 as in playing with a working one. These are completely valid viewpoints. However, I could also argue that the limited time I have to spend on this hobby would be better spent trying to document a rare find, or repair an unusual computer, than in repairing yet another C-64. How do list members (especially those with large collections) feel about this? Repair, replace, both? Other viewpoints welcomed. Regards, Mark Gregory

25 years, 12 months

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aaaargh - frickin' Outlook!

by agraham＠ccat.co.uk

For the 2nd time this week I've managed to delete the location all the list messages end up. For some reason when you've finished reading a message and you delete it sometimes Outlook will have focus on the FOLDER and not the message. Of course, its partially my fault for always doing permanent deletes, but if you're going to delete a folder with unread messages in it I think it should tell you! So, if you've sent any answers to my questions last night, particularly Tony, and you've still got them can you resend please......Grrr.... -- 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, 12 months

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Repair or Replace? [Was: Repairing Timex]

by agraham＠ccat.co.uk

> > putting out *a* voltage but can't deduce from the readout > *what* voltage. > > Eh? This was taught in schools in my day :-)... My school wouldn't let me do electronics because I didn't have a maths o'level :( They wouldn't accept my argument that all an exam proved was you could remember what was in the text books. Nothing to stop me looking anything up I needed? Ta for the tutorial - I'll compare it to my meter tonight! a

25 years, 12 months

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The Apple ][c+ lives!

by agraham＠ccat.co.uk

> > with a new carrier (in case of accidents) and a new fuse. > Of course, she's > > You were lucky! :-) I know! > lock to either 50Hz or 60Hz with a tweak of the vertical hold > control. I thought that; the monitor I used was a Monitor ///. The vertical hold control couldn't get a steady picture. I've got a Monitor // and a couple of small Philips monitors I use on a QL that might work. > Some later model TVs are actually designed to handle both > 50Hz (PAL) and > 60Hz (NTSC) signals so you can watch American recordings, etc. The next TV I buy will have that feature; mine's around 6 years old now, right from the beginning of NICAM broadcasts. cheers a

25 years, 12 months

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While we're talking about Lisas

by agraham＠ccat.co.uk

> That's actually not the major hazard. It's well insulated, and unless > it's defective, it won't flash over. The main problem is the > few hundred volts on tracks on the monitor analogue board. Painful if you > touch them to say the least. That's why the bloke that gave me the things to check recommended I solder on some flyleads to the components I need to check; a lot less risk of zappage and I can put the ends into a terminal block for ease of testing. a

25 years, 12 months

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Repair or Replace? [Was: Repairing Timex]

by CLASSICCMP＠enterprise.trailing-edge.com

>> Incidentally, an analogue multimeter can be more use than a >> digital one >> for some work. It's a lot better at showing trends, >> indicating when the >> amplitude of a signal is peaking, etc. Accuracy is not that >> important in >> most repairs -- certainly +/-5% is easily good enough for most work. >Yes, but the cheapie one I bought for work hasn't got the clearest readout >on the planet :) And I don't think it survived a 1 foot drop onto a wooden >floor despite being encased in a smart rubber coat! The one thing I've never >been able to do is read voltages from one - I can see that my transformer is >putting out *a* voltage but can't deduce from the readout *what* voltage. >Inexperience showing thru there. It's like the difference between analogue >and digital watches I suppose. Earth - a planet so backwards they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea. I personally don't see what's so inaccurate about analog watches. I can easily read mine to a precision of one second, which is one part in 12*60*60. And that's just a regular watch; there are plenty of analog stopwatches out there that will time to a hundredth of a second, which (considering the human interface) is just fine. Tim.

25 years, 12 months

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It's been awhile (hi, new stuff, help, apologies, et

by lgwalker＠look.ca

On 19 Jul 2000, at 17:09, Mark Tapley wrote: > Mike, > > >I won a lot at the auction for $15. Under the pile was a 1988 NeXT Cube = > >(fist year of production after six years of umm, development), matching = > >NeXT laser printer, and keyboard, and mouse. Trading the rest of the = > >cart off got me also a 21" radius monster for free that I niavely hoped = > >I'd be able to use with the Cube. > > Cha-ching! Nice score. > Turning green with envy. I only have a color W-S > >I rushed home with my new MegaPixel, fondiling it along the way, and = > >immediately hooked everyting up. Power! ...Well, it boots. I get to = > >the NeXT rom monitor ver 1 rel 46 and can exercise the machine from = > >there. It doesn't have the floptical in it and a 'b sd' boot command = > >returns a read capacity error on the scsi hard disk. With the rom = > >monitor I can boot to an ethernet attress or scsi target. Is there = > >anyway I can get a disk image of ole NeXTStep on a compatible scsi drive = > >and can I use something like an Apple scsi CD-ROM with it? > > You can use an Apple CD-ROM, my cube works fine with an Apple 300 external. > Reputedly you can even use an AppleCD 150 SNIP > Alternately, hit http://til.info.apple.com/techinfo.nsf/artnum/n70038 and > surf from there; Apple was upgrading for free to NS 3.3 for any existing > machine. (I'd do this anyway if I were you, just to get a current copy of > the OS, whether you want to keep the machine original or not.) You'll get a > CD. It is possible to load from CD, but I think you need either a floppy or > an optical to start the boot process (but I'm not clear on that). There are > then patches to put atop that...depends on whether you want original > NeXTStep or current NeXTStep. > Apple supplied a couple of floppies with the free upgrade. > Let me know... > - Mark > ciao larry lgwalker(a)look.ca walkers(a)altavista.net bigwalk(a)xoommail.com

25 years, 12 months

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No subject

by lgwalker＠look.ca

25 years, 12 months

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(Micro)VaxServer/Station 3100

by hofmanwb＠worldonline.nl

A good soul decided to give me a pile of 3100's. And I know not very much about Vaxes. So I started digging before I part with most of them. When booting a 3100 it tells you it is a KA41-2,KA41-A,B,D,E, KA42A or B, KA43-A or KA45-B I could not locate a proper list of what is what in 3100's. Lists I found were incomplete or contradictionary. Anyone? What I did find however was that in order to get from a KA41-D to a KA41-E you had to switch Eprom. A MicroVax 3100 turned into a VaxServer this way. A miracle. What consequences has such a switch for your software? Are you no longer allowed to do things? Does some software run and other software not? Although I have a number of VMS books, I could not locate how to make a chinese copy of a disk. It is nice to be able to go back after you tried something hazardous. Help will be appreciated!! Wim

25 years, 12 months

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(Micro)VaxServer/Station 3100

by ethan_dicks＠yahoo.com

--- "W.B.(Wim) Hofman" <hofmanwb(a)worldonline.nl> wrote: > What I did find however was that in order to get from a KA41-D to a KA41-E > you had to switch Eprom. A MicroVax 3100 turned into a VaxServer this way. > A miracle. What consequences has such a switch for your software? Are you > no longer allowed to do things? Does some software run and other software > not? I know that some stuff was written to check the model number and was user-limited to, for example, two for a "workstation" and either unlimited or less-limited for a "server". The idea was that you would pay less for a workstation license and so there should be some way to prevent customers >from buying the cheaper product and using it on a more "powerful" machine. Lots of products, third-party and DEC alike, were priced based on the capacity of your box. If you upgraded your CPU (adding extra CPUs, changing out a 6xxx for an 11/7xx, etc), you typically owed lots of people lots of extra money. I remember the phenomenon because our products were priced according to modem speed (sync modems) - a 9600 bps product was about 1/2 the cost of the 56Kbps product. Our customers loved the fact that we would let them pull a board from an 11/750 and drop it in an 8600 for no charge. Back to you original question - there's a call you can make from DCL that will tell you the type of CPU installed in your machine (It's an F$GETSYI call, far enough down in the OS). As a developer, you can easily build in code to refuse to operate on a "full VAX" or something similar, but that wasn't common. -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!? Get Yahoo! Mail – Free email you can access from anywhere! http://mail.yahoo.com/

25 years, 12 months

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It's been awhile (hi, new stuff, help, apologies, etc...)

by ethan_dicks＠yahoo.com

> Mike, > > >Is there anyway I can get a disk image of ole NeXTStep on a compatible > >scsi drive... I have a slab that I got for free a couple of years ago - mono monitor, mouse and keyboard included, 0K RAM, 0Mb disk (pre-scavenged). I've been wanting to get something running on this ever since I got it. > Alternately, hit http://til.info.apple.com/techinfo.nsf/artnum/n70038 and > surf from there; Apple was upgrading for free to NS 3.3 for any existing > machine. You'll get a CD. I went there and it all seems simple... > It is possible to load from CD, but I think you need either a floppy or > an optical to start the boot process (but I'm not clear on that). Is the boot floppy image available anywhere? I can migrate the 2.88Mb drive to my desktop, fire up Linux and just dd the info right to it (presuming I track down a source of 4Mb media). I've got lots of other toys to play with, but since this came up, I'd like to see what I can get running here. Thanks, -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!? Get Yahoo! Mail – Free email you can access from anywhere! http://mail.yahoo.com/

25 years, 12 months

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It's been awhile (hi, new stuff, help, apologies, etc...)

by mtapley＠swri.edu

Mike, >I won a lot at the auction for $15. Under the pile was a 1988 NeXT Cube = >(fist year of production after six years of umm, development), matching = >NeXT laser printer, and keyboard, and mouse. Trading the rest of the = >cart off got me also a 21" radius monster for free that I niavely hoped = >I'd be able to use with the Cube. Cha-ching! Nice score. >I rushed home with my new MegaPixel, fondiling it along the way, and = >immediately hooked everyting up. Power! ...Well, it boots. I get to = >the NeXT rom monitor ver 1 rel 46 and can exercise the machine from = >there. It doesn't have the floptical in it and a 'b sd' boot command = >returns a read capacity error on the scsi hard disk. With the rom = >monitor I can boot to an ethernet attress or scsi target. Is there = >anyway I can get a disk image of ole NeXTStep on a compatible scsi drive = >and can I use something like an Apple scsi CD-ROM with it? You can use an Apple CD-ROM, my cube works fine with an Apple 300 external. It's possible... Right now my optical is intermittent (just needs cleaning, I hope?) but once I get it cleaned I have: - Optical disk which says NeXTStep 1.0 on the package. I haven't tried booting this disk, so I can't promise that's really what's in it. - 380 M original Maxtor hard drive from my cube. That's now out of the cube to make room for a floppy + 3.5" 540M hard drive combo in a custom bracket. (which hard drive is also getting a wee bit flaky, I think.) I've backed up the 380M drive to optical, so what I could do when I take the system home to work on it is boot the NS 1.0 optical, build the 380M hard drive from the optical, and ship you the 380M drive. It should be bootable in that configuration. (I'd take as an even trade a known-good 3.5" SCSI drive with capacity greater than 540 Meg, which I'd then use to swap for my flaky drive, but that may not be a good trade for you. Or you could just agree to keep html out of your posts :-) . ) I won't be able to work on it until next weekend at least, though. Sorry about that. Alternately, hit http://til.info.apple.com/techinfo.nsf/artnum/n70038 and surf from there; Apple was upgrading for free to NS 3.3 for any existing machine. (I'd do this anyway if I were you, just to get a current copy of the OS, whether you want to keep the machine original or not.) You'll get a CD. It is possible to load from CD, but I think you need either a floppy or an optical to start the boot process (but I'm not clear on that). There are then patches to put atop that...depends on whether you want original NeXTStep or current NeXTStep. Let me know... - Mark

25 years, 12 months

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It's been awhile (hi, new stuff, help, apologies, etc...)

by dogas＠leading.net

Hi everyone! It's been a bit since I allowed myself the luxery of 'dropping in' I've missed you guys. I've been playing around lately with a pretty complete TRS-80 Model 1 setup( LNW EI, RS EI, Holmes EI (real cool), Plug&Power, LightPen, Voice Synth, Floppies, Exatrons, Plotter, Quick Printer, LinePirnters, Acoustic and dc modems, sans software) . Anyone have some trs-dos or newdos systems disks and software and I'm especially looking for the software driver to run the voice synthesizer. One day I'll find a Voxbox too. Also been tinkering with the RCA Cosmac Dev 4, what a cool machine. I also finally got the processor board I needed to get my PDP 11/05 running. Can someone help me out with a 'restoration checklist' for the machine? (no docs...cept' a 11x processor handbook) And of couse I was able to interleve in some classic computer hunting with the many temporary bouts of insanity and on a low budget I must brag. First, at a school sale, I picked up a Commodore PET 4008, and a PET 40032, and a TRS-80 Plotter 1 for $1 each. Then, a comrad going through spacial compression, ;), yielded 2 station-wagon fulls of stuff including a TRS-80 m1 monitor, 3 minidisks, a128k mac, 3 ][+'s, 15 ][e's, many ][ and /// monitors, many ][ drives, a Commodore 1581 floppy and light pen, two Adam floppys (one boxed), and more. He wouldn't take money. I had to fight being given money for the "work done cleaning." A Tandy 4D, one of the few RS computers through the 6000 that I was oddly missing. Then, found a great apple 2gs system with a Mac Crate card and 30mb harddrive with gsos 6 on it. It rocks! and cost $5 Then, found another Osborne 1 at a fleamarket. Heh, when I opened the keyboard lid, water drained out. Lets say that negotations began then. ;) At that same fleamarket I also found the oldest Commodore that I now own for $5. It's a logo'd model 202 electromachicanical adding machine that's beautiful and works. A Tek 464 Storage Scope for $9. And then the sequence began that would put some wood in the ole pants... I won a lot at the auction for $15. Under the pile was a 1988 NeXT Cube (fist year of production after six years of umm, development), matching NeXT laser printer, and keyboard, and mouse. Trading the rest of the cart off got me also a 21" radius monster for free that I niavely hoped I'd be able to use with the Cube. I got the Cube home and after first glance I realized that I wouldn't even be able to turn it on. I was missing the MegaPixel display. Mouse plugs into keyboard, keyboard plugs into monitor, monitor plugs into the Cube, Cube plugs into wall, funny bone's connected to the... Anyway, the power switch is on the keyboard. I coudn't even turn it on because of the missing monitor link. I thought that one was going to take a *long* while to find. I 'got a fix the only way I could' by reading "Steve Jobs: The NeXT Big Thing" by and recommend it. Early PARC and a little Apple is touched upon, and Jobs stewardship of NeXT and more is evaluated pretty openly. Anyway, employing blue feather technologies, not the company, guess what, the MegaPixel display showed up the *next time* at the same auction. Major probability earthquake! This time though, someone else was intereted in something else on the cart (all junk) and it took $40 to win it. Damn! Auction dynamics in action, At other times it would have been $5. But the other bidder was known to 'just sit' on purchases and desperate situations call for desperate measures. I marginalized $20 and scored! I rushed home with my new MegaPixel, fondiling it along the way, and immediately hooked everyting up. Power! ...Well, it boots. I get to the NeXT rom monitor ver 1 rel 46 and can exercise the machine from there. It doesn't have the floptical in it and a 'b sd' boot command returns a read capacity error on the scsi hard disk. With the rom monitor I can boot to an ethernet attress or scsi target. Is there anyway I can get a disk image of ole NeXTStep on a compatible scsi drive and can I use something like an Apple scsi CD-ROM with it? That's all of it for the 'new stuff'' section, I think I also owe some people documentation (Allison and Doug) and will get those copies out early next week. I'm very sorry it is taking so long Also been trying to organize the collection, an inhuman feat. One of my Mt. Everests, among many. Joe, where are ya buddy? I'd have been down there earlier but my car's been acting up. D'oh. Howzit going? And, should anyone find themselves in or going to Jacksonville FL, drop me a note for a little north Florida VCFing. Cheers - Mike: dogas(a)leading.net

25 years, 12 months

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The Apple ][c+ lives!

by agraham＠ccat.co.uk

Yes folks, my little apple is happy again after I replaced the blown fuse with a new carrier (in case of accidents) and a new fuse. Of course, she's kicking out a 60hz video signal so I can't really use the display, but I did get a 'no boot disk found on line' prompt with no obvious burning smell. And the floppy drive mechanism works too - must've been Apple's first dalliance with mechanised eject, er, mechanisms. Lisa and HP monitor tonight so cross your fingers :) cheers -- Adrian Graham MCSE/ASE/MCP C CAT Limited http://www.ccat.co.uk (work) http://www.snakebiteandblack.co.uk (home) http://www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk (80's computer collection) "In the pub already" - Mark Radcliffe

25 years, 12 months

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Repair or Replace? [Was: Repairing Timex]

by agraham＠ccat.co.uk

Tony didst spake: > the Xcellite tools are available from RS components, etc. Not any more they're not; well according to the web anyway. The dead-tree edition of the march-august catalogue only has Xcelite drivers and nut spinners, not TORX tools. However, RS DO do a extra long T15 driver that can be used in 'maintenance and servicing of computer systems, especially Macintosh' so I'll need one of those then :) 6 english pounds to you, squire. cheers

25 years, 12 months

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Repair or Replace? [Was: Repairing Timex]

by agraham＠ccat.co.uk

> Basically they will tell you if a given point is 'high' > (above a certain > threshold voltage), 'low' (below a different threshold voltage), > illegal/floating (between the 2 thresholds). They also indicate if a > point is changing state ('clocking'), or if there's a narrow > pulse on a particular point. Right, so I need to know which pins of various chips do what then. Dammit - that's more info than I have time to find ATM. Pity there isn't a 'Logic Probing for Dummies' book :o) Once the museum room's finished and I get a proper work area I can maybe kick back and start getting down to that sort of level. > The cheaper ones have fixed thresholds for TTL chips (which > is all you > really need) and maybe 4000-series CMOS. More advanced (and > expensive!) Maplins appear to do 2, one just over a tenner (ukp10) and the other at ukp17. > Now, as to how it's used. You can use it to find a stuck (or > not driven > at all) line on a data or address bus. To check if buffer > chips are being > enabled. To see if the output of a gate is stuck high or low, > and what > the inputs are doing. To see if a CPU is getting a clock signal, etc. Definitely too much info I need to learn for now I think.... > If you want to preserve both the board and the chip, then > first suck off > the solder with a temperature-controlled iron (you should > really be using > one of these for all work...) and a solder sucker. If a hole My gas one is temperature controlled, plus our erstwhile engineer down in head office is retiring, so I might be able to buy some of their test kit off them since he was the last one who could do those sorts of repairs. An entire electronic workshop will be vacant!

25 years, 12 months

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While we're talking about Lisas

by agraham＠ccat.co.uk

> I wish this list had been around when I started with classic > computers some 14 years ago. Back then there were few collectors, and I > had to work a lot of stuff out for myself... You sound like the sort of bloke who's easily capable of doing that though. > In general testing with the unit powered up (assuming this > can be done > without causing further damage) is going to find the fault a lot more > quickly than testing individual components. It's also going to find > thermal problems that only occur when the unit is warm, or components > that fail under load, etc. I know, I'm just worried about being zapped. The Lisa in particular is difficult to work on without dismantling because of the positioning of the video card. At least it's the other side of the CRT from the high voltage stinger - they scare the crap out of me! > South-west London.... Bugger - too far south :) cheers

25 years, 12 months

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Repair or Replace? [Was: Repairing Timex]

by agraham＠ccat.co.uk

> Incidentally, an analogue multimeter can be more use than a > digital one > for some work. It's a lot better at showing trends, > indicating when the > amplitude of a signal is peaking, etc. Accuracy is not that > important in > most repairs -- certainly +/-5% is easily good enough for most work. Yes, but the cheapie one I bought for work hasn't got the clearest readout on the planet :) And I don't think it survived a 1 foot drop onto a wooden floor despite being encased in a smart rubber coat! The one thing I've never been able to do is read voltages from one - I can see that my transformer is putting out *a* voltage but can't deduce from the readout *what* voltage. Inexperience showing thru there. It's like the difference between analogue and digital watches I suppose.

25 years, 12 months

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Repair or Replace? [Was: Repairing Timex]

by allisonp＠world.std.com

>I'll agree with that. The instrument I use the most is (obviously) a >multimeter -- in my case an old analogue one. One day I must get a Fluke Got a few of those, my favorite is an Eico circuit tester/transistor tester I built in my teens. I like it as there are no diodes or other rectifier devices and it's stable in strong RF fields. I also use a Triplite 630 pocket meter (analog). The fluke is a M12, well made, rugged holds calibration well. I also have a weston, a digital volt meter that is probe shaped (NLS) and an old tandy DMM I got back in 74. >comes a logic probe. For a long time I used a cheap Tandy one, then I >upgraded to the LogicDart. And third on the list comes a bench PSU. Mine Wish I had a Dart. I do have several I've made for my own use. >is a 30V 8A Velleman kit that works very well. It's a simple design All my bench PSUs are home made or resurected and modified H744 PSUs. >Ditto. I've found a little handheld 'scope (only 5MHz on repetitive >waveforms, 500kHz single-shot) is very useful for checking for PSU Old faithful is a NLS M15 I got in 74, been through a few sets of gell cells. Another is a B&K 2120, at 379$(US) it's an honest 20mhz triggered sweep scope, small too for the 5" screen. I recently got a heath IO 10D-31 5mhz triggered also, replaced a few bad fets and dialed it in and it's a fair scope. >the other instruments I've mentioned. Other stuff (counters, sig-gen, LCR >meter, etc) is very nice to have, and I'm sure it's saved me a lot of >time, but I think I could work without it if I had to. I have them and use them, I do/did a fair amount of RF. >As I said a few years back 'Your brain is the most important piece of >test gear that you have'. No instrument will find the fault for you -- >all instruments just provide information as to what's going on. You have >to know how to interpret the results. ;) Allison

25 years, 12 months

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It's been awhile (hi, new stuff, help, apologies, etc...)

by gregorym＠cadvision.com

----Original Message----- From: Mike <dogas(a)leading.net> To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org> Date: Wednesday, July 19, 2000 8:13 AM Subject: It's been awhile (hi, new stuff, help, apologies, etc...) I rushed home with my new MegaPixel, fondiling it along the way, and immediately hooked everyting up. Power! ...Well, it boots. I get to the NeXT rom monitor ver 1 rel 46 and can exercise the machine from there. It doesn't have the floptical in it and a 'b sd' boot command returns a read capacity error on the scsi hard disk. With the rom monitor I can boot to an ethernet attress or scsi target. Is there anyway I can get a disk image of ole NeXTStep on a compatible scsi drive and can I use something like an Apple scsi CD-ROM with it? Hi Mike, I'd recommend contacting Deep Space Technologies (www.deepspacetech.com). They're a NeXT vendor of long standing, and they still sell NeXT hardware and parts. They sell hard drives formatted with NeXTstep as part of their systems; they'll probably be willing to unbundle one for you. Licensing isn't an issue, since Apple takes the very sensible position that possession of the hardware entitles you to run the OS. However, you got an exceptional deal on your NeXT, so you may pay as much for the drive and OS as you paid for the rest of the system. Almost any SCSI CD-ROM will work with a NeXT. I don't know if a Cube will boot from CD-ROM, (I never had a CD-ROM when I had my Cube), but if it will, you could get a copy of NeXTstep on CD (see next paragraph) and do an install to any SCSI drive you have lying around. You should also contact Apple and request the Year 2000 Upgrade/NeXTstep 3.3 upgrade from them. If you send in your machine's serial number, they'll send you free of charge a CD containing the last version of NeXTstep and some Y2K patches. I believe you can also request Openstep if you prefer that. You should also try and get an optical drive - a Cube just isn't complete without one. Brand new ones were selling on eBay for reasonable prices ($30-40 IIRC) 4-6 months ago. Enjoy your Cube! Mark (who has a mild case of seller's remorse after parting with his Cube a few months ago)

25 years, 12 months

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Repair or Replace? [Was: Repairing Timex]

by agraham＠ccat.co.uk

Am I right in assuming DVM=digital voltmeter? a > -----Original Message----- > From: Douglas Quebbeman [mailto:dhquebbeman@theestopinalgroup.com] > Sent: 18 July 2000 13:34 > To: 'classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org' > Subject: RE: Repair or Replace? [Was: Repairing Timex] > > > > Surely any serious computer hobbyist, especially one who is a > > collector or preservationist, has at least the following: DVM, > > oscilloscope (even if just an old 5mHZ one to look for > things like PSU > > ripple/spikes), soldering iron, logic probe, assorted hand tools and > > perhaps a logic analyzer. These are not things that the > average hobbyist > > should be unlikely to have. > > I guess I got spoiled by working at the university and at a local > electronics trade school, and then later for a small embedded systems > firm. I almost always had a scope of someone else's available to use. > Now I don't, and I regret not picking up a dual-trace 15 or 20mHz > scope when I'd see one available, cheap, from time to time. > > My favorite was the Tektronix storage display scope. Now, I just > try to get by using a Rat Shack logic probe and a DVM. Plenty of > soldering irons (one Ungar, one generic one-piece, one Wahl), and > various hand tools. A manual wire-wrap pen somewhere. A CSC bread- > board. A fair selection of components, new and used. > > -dq >

25 years, 12 months

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VAX-11/730 (was RE: Unresistable pond comment)

by agraham＠ccat.co.uk

Me and a colleague once brought an entire PDP 11/73 (big box variety, not the BA23 or BA213 style) down a flight of stairs; I think we removed the RL02s first, but even then it was still bloody heavy. Nutters. > -----Original Message----- > From: ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk [mailto:ard@p850ug1.demon.co.uk] > Sent: 18 July 2000 20:59 > To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org > Subject: Re: VAX-11/730 (was RE: Unresistable pond comment) > > > [Moving the 11/730] > > > > No, but it took an entire weekend and you had quad muscles > *this big* by the > > time you'd finished :o) > > Actually, it took an afternoon to dismantle and move 2 > machines (one to > me, one to a friend). Putting them back together took a > little longer... > > Once they're taken apart, the individual parts are not that > heavy and are > no problem to carry. The empty rack frame was about the worst > part to move. > > -tony >

25 years, 12 months

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Repair or Replace? [Was: Repairing Timex]

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> > ....and then replace it with a chip socket followed by working chip? > > Yes. The socket may not be 'original', but it makes future repairs > easier, and possibly prevents further damage to the PCB from > such repairs. > > Use a good quality socket. I use nothing but the turned-pin type now -- > bad connections on IC sockets are a pain to trace. The extra cost of such > a socket is cheap compared to my time tracking down a fault! Tony- By "turned pin" you mean as in turned on a machine lathe, correct? We just call these "machined" pins here... always a joy to discover alternate usages of our uncommon tongue. :-) -dq

25 years, 12 months

3
2
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Repairing Timex

by sring＠uslink.net

Can anyone recommend sources regarding the troubleshooting and repair of the Timex 1000? Also wish to buy magazines, etc. for this computer. From: "Stephanie Ring" sring(a)uslink.net

25 years, 12 months

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