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

http://hackaday.com/2016/05/29/dragging-teletypes-into-the-21st-century/?...

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

I will comment... make anything talk to a tty. The designer is wonderful. Keep him encouraged. I like to see people actually doing something ! We are implementing thee boards in some of our in house displays at the SMECC museum and several offsite journalism displays incorporating teletype machines.. Eric implemented several features we suggested that we needed for our mission. Glad to see the designer getting some credit. ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org) In a message dated 5/29/2016 5:32:57 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, cisin at xenosoft.com writes: On Sun, 29 May 2016, wulfman wrote: > I figured some of you might have had an interest. Excuse me if i was wrong. WITH a sentence or so of commentary. An email with NO content other than a URL and an impersonal signature, but no personal description, and with a subject line of the URL looks more like a malware offer than a mention of interesting content. We need SOMETHING to indicate that it is from YOU, rather than from crypto-locker. (and not just "Click on this!") Do you trust Thunderbird to reliably block those kinds of emails?

10 years

1
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AT&T 5620 (Blit/DMD) software

by lists＠loomcom.com

Hey folks, I recently picked up an AT&T 5620 terminal, the WE32K version of the Blit, and I've been tracking down software to run on my 3B2. It looks like there are two separate packages which provide the 'layers' windowing system: 1. A package named "AT&T Windowing Utilities", on one floppy disk. 2. A package named "DMD Core Utilities 2.0", on a set of three floppy disks. The DMD Core Utilities set comes with a lot of demos and source code. It installs 'layers' as /usr/dmd/bin/layers. The one-disk AT&T Windowing Utilities has no demos, and installs 'layers' as /usr/bin/layers. Can anyone elaborate on the difference between these two? Are they both appropriate to use with the 5620, and should I favor the DMD Core Utilities over the AT&T Windowing Utilities? Or are they both needed? Confused and lacking documentation, -Seth -- Seth Morabito seth at loomcom.com

10 years

3
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TU58 yet one more time.

by mattislind＠gmail.com

I have been fiddling with a TU58-EX device, dual TU58 drives in a small box. The capstans is replaced. I used silicone tubing which I glued on and then sanded down a bit. PVC tubing in a size that would fit seems to be unavailable in Sweden. The two capstans were a little bit different in diameter at first. Drive one closer to 17 mm but drive zero around 16.5mm. Drive zero read 5 of 8 tapes (two more tapes had belt breakage). One tape gave "Invalid Directory" in RT11 the two other gave "Error reading directory". On drive one just one tape was readable. So the decision was to get closer to the nominal 5/8" (which I read was the OD in a post by Tony Duell). With both drives at 16mm drive zero still read the same amount of tapes and drive one read the same tapes plus one more which was not readable on drive zero. Highly annoying. So I decided to read more on the TU58. The spec says that the bit time is 41.2 us. When I measure I get reading of between 42 and 44 us. (Yes I should have measured before trimming the capstans). So now the tape is too slow. Although the OD is slightly above the nominal. Is silicone tubing too soft? Having been working on a project to recover a tape from a Zilog S8000 machine together with AJ (http://mightyframe.blogspot.se/) I just thought that it might be possible to read the TU58 and HP DC100 tapes with some other hardware doing post processing in a regular Linux box. Would it be possible to use a Floppy Tape (QIC-117) tape drive to read them? It appears that the tapes are not identical in size. A DC1000 is 0.25 " while the DC100 is 0.15". The capstan position would also differ. Are there other physical differences that I am not aware off? Since the TU58 drive is not able to format a tape it could be useful to also write a new tape with TU58 format. But I guess that there are difference in coercivity between different tapes. I have read that Rik Bos successfully converted HP85 drives to take DC1000 tapes by modifying the capstan and changing the write current. Before I go ahead buying some old Colorado T1000 drive dirt cheap I just like to ask if this project is doomed because of whatever reason. /Mattis

10 years

4
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Mystery IBM processor

by malcolm＠avitech.com.au

Just wondering if anyone can help us to identify a rather large IBM processor assembly. It weighs around 60 pounds. The frame has a P/N of 34F5089. The frame houses 9 modules, 6 of which are installed. The module we removed for inspection has a P/N of 34F0615. Photos available here -> http://avitech.com.au/?p=561 Thanks, Malcolm.

10 years

6
9
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PC/AT "power good" problems

by radiotest＠juno.com

At 10:30 AM 5/29/2016, Dwight wrote: >Power to a load tester is not the same as power in a system. That is why I never use a load tester. I built a system with a set of adaptors that lets me measure voltage and current, and check for ripple and noise with an oscilloscope, for each output of a power supply while it is supplying the target system. Dale H. Cook, Roanoke/Lynchburg, VA Osborne 1 / Kaypro 4-84 / Kaypro 1 / Amstrad PPC-640 http://plymouthcolony.net/starcity/radios/index.html

10 years

2
1
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PC/AT "power good" problems

by rich.cini＠verizon.net

All ? I pulled my old PC/AT off the shelf to see if I could get Windows 1 running on it (since I just located the Windows 1.04 SDK which I have running in Bochs). It worked when shelved years ago, but it unfortunately suffered some case damage from a leaky battery. No damage to the mobo or cards thankfully. I replaced the battery with a 4-AA pack. Basically, the PC won?t come out of reset. I tested the power supply with a load tester specifically for PC power supplies and it reports power_good and all voltages look good on a meter. So far, so good. I dug out my ISA POST diagnostics card which also has a PG tester in it. This reports no_PG but I do see the reset pulse on the bus. Not sure why one would report OK and one not. I have a spare generic power supply (which also tests good using the same tester) and produces the same result. I have no cards installed but I tried it with floppy/hard drives both connected or not connected. I traced the PG signal from the power supply through the 82284 clock driver/ready interface chip and the PG is definitely there (transitioning L->H on power-on) and RESET is transitioning H->L. Any recommendations on where to go from here? Does anyone have an extra PC/AT motherboard they would be willing to part with? As an aside, would this have been a typical development machine? AT was introduced in August 1984 and Windows 1.04 was released in 1987 so I?m guessing probably. Thanks! Rich -- Rich Cini http://www.classiccmp.org/cini http://www.classiccmp.org/altair32

10 years

4
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Front panel switches - what did they do?

by swiftgriggs＠gmail.com

Since I'm an igmo about most machines before the mid-eighties (and still fuzzy even on most of those), I'm curious about all these older machines with front panel buttons and switches. What all did they do? You could actually program them using the front panel right? Some of them bootstrapped this way, too? What kind of "language" was used for that (ie.. what were the basic mechanics)? Did the buttons ever change color? Were you considered a badass if you had switch flipping all memorized down to an art? Were they mainly multi-position toggle switches or on/off buttons? They just seem to be a lot more important on older mainframes and minis. Also, what was the main reason for the blinkenlights? Was it to show system load or specific system states? Just curious. I'm learning a ton from reading these threads on older machines, but there is so much I don't know. -Swift

10 years

27
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Monster 6502

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: drlegendre > Gawd, what a lovely piece of work that man hath wrought! I love the term he invented for it: "dis-integrated circuit"! :-) Good FAQ page here: http://www.monster6502.com/ My favourite entry: "Q: Are you nuts? A: Probably." Clearly a person after our own hearts! :-) Noel

10 years

1
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FFS - Fujitsu Sylistic, Toshiba TLCS 900L Development board

by rdawson16＠hotmail.com

I do not have the pen for the Stylistic. Its 386, I have booted a BSD / Xwindow environment on it, works. The Toshiba is a thru hole board with a prototyping area. Includes c compiler, assembler and the CMX RTOS on 3 1/4 floppies, power supplies, cables, from Softaid. Randy

10 years

1
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Monster 6502

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

Absolutely Amazin' Eric! KUDOS! Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org) In a message dated 5/28/2016 9:51:25 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, cctalk at ibm51xx.net writes: http://makezine.com/2016/05/27/this-functioning-monster-6502-is-a- > larger-than-life-version-of-the-iconic-microchip/

10 years

1
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Monster 6502

by barythrin＠gmail.com

That is incredibly awesome. ?Since childhood I've always wanted to either be a computer processor or see data flow. ?Closest i came was a visual memory editor i wrote using circles and vga (0-255) to represent the bytes. ?At least i could watch the computer keep track of time and found the keyboard buffer in dos.? Back on topic, what a great and educational creation by Eric. <div>-------- Original message --------</div><div>From: Al Kossow <aek at bitsavers.org> </div><div>Date:05/27/2016 10:15 PM (GMT-06:00) </div><div>To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> </div><div>Subject: Monster 6502 </div><div> </div>Here is a video of it running at Maker Faire http://makezine.com/2016/05/27/this-functioning-monster-6502-is-a-larger-th…

10 years

2
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Re: Windows use in medical spaces (Re: vintage computers in active use)

by alexmcwhirter＠triadic.us

Where Windows generally fails in my experience is in the idot proofing / automation mechanisms. I can really only comment on Windows 7 as it's what we use in production on our client boxes. Granted this is a different environment where all machines have access to the internet and thus Windows updates / aplication updates. Group Policy is something I struggle with regularly. Automatically feeding Group Policy updates to clients is not always straightforward, especially when you need to push application updates to fix important security or functionality bugs. Yes, you can gpupdate /force, but that's only seems to work about 50% of the time and requires user intervention on an admin account. I've seen issues with the Print Spooler randomly crashing from a partially install printer through group policy. Some kind of event happens similar to a power outage at some point and the printer only partially installed. According to Windows and the group policy management utilities the printers were successfully installed, but all of the driver utilities didn't quite make it causing the Spooler to freak out. When something like this happens event log is almost useless because it just tells you the prinint spooler crashed from an uknown error. Windows update seems to regularly stop working when a malformed update package is downloaded. You would think it could just checksum it and delete the package rather than failing to install it a few hundred times before a user complains that their workstation won't stop installing upates. I even had a case where a failed update created new registry keys every time it tried to install and after a few months of not being able to do so the machine slowed to be unusable.? Roaming profiles is an absolute mess, and folder redirection Works decently as long as you disable offline files on all of the clients. Otherwise windows will just randomly decide that it can't connect to the server and only show the users their offline files. ?Windows deployment services on the other hand Works absolutely great and is perfect to put fresh installs on the machines that died from various other issues with windows and / or malware. This is starting to somewhat turn into a rant, and in all honesty for most things Windows does a pretty good job. Pretty much all the issues I outlined would only affect people using Windows as a workstation OS. Embedded applications generally don't have updates or network connectivity, and thus are probably fine. That being said my *nix machines have never given me an issue that wasn't easily fixed since they were put in place. I almost forget about them sometimes. Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device -------- Original message -------- From: Rod Smallwood <rodsmallwood52 at btinternet.com> Date: 5/27/2016 5:37 PM (GMT-05:00) To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: Re: Windows use in medical spaces (Re: vintage computers in active use) On 27/05/2016 22:04, Ali wrote: >?? >> It makes me wonder how many patients have had to wait on care or didn't >> get proper care because of an IT screwup related to Windows. I have to >> say just _seeing_ Windows on machines in the ER made me livid. I found >> it breathtaking they were that caviler about getting people checked in, >> keeping records straight, etc... I guess I shouldn't have visited the >> sausage factory, so to speak... >> >> Then again, folks in hospitals probably should be more concerned with >> patients than with their IT tools. Ugh. Still. Windows? I'd have felt >> better about paper forms. At least they don't blue screen. > > I would say very few. You have to remember critical systems are not running > a general windows system i.e. people are not surfing the web on them and > installing the latest games recommended by friends from facebook. Windows on > its own is very stable. I.E. if you take a clean install of windows SW on > recommended HW and just use the built in apps and never go on the internet > it will run without any issues. Medical HW makers are basically using > recommended HW, building one application on top of the OS, and test the hell > out of it. Since they limit the HW, SW, and modality of use it runs stable. > > Almost all (maybe 80%) of your medical HW is probably running some flavor of > windows. > > Pyxis/Omnicell: Windows CE > Sonosite: Windows 2K or XP > EMRs: Windows XP or 7 (usually virtualized through Citrix). > > Heck DOS is still around too! > > The more specialized equipment (fluoro machines, MRI/CT, etc.) usually have > their own OS although I am seeing C-Arms w/ windows back bones now a days as > well. As the focus is going toward cost saving more and more generalized > HW/SW is being used. After all why re-invent everything for each device when > you can use windows to run the HW, network, input, etc. and just have the > medical device (e.g. ultrasound probe) act like a peripheral with its own > drivers. > > Where windows causes an issue for the hospital is in the general business > areas (HR, accounting, administration, etc.). > > -Ali > Please can we have some specific instances of? Windows causing problems. Not unqualified people at home or students but real production environments with qualified support on hand. I used every version of windows from 1 to 10.? yes XP and millennium too I wrote time and mission critical food distribution related software for the ten years before I retired in vb and then vb.net (oo)? I would have seen just about every possible bug in windows and in developing applications under it. Lets hear what others experienced. Rod

10 years

2
1
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ISO "VME/10 Microcomputer System Equipment Manual"

by aek＠bitsavers.org

Moto part number M68KVSEM/D1 I have most of the manuals, but not the hardware manual.

10 years, 1 month

1
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Need Rec: Book to teach about computers and BASIC at an eight year old level

by iamcamiel＠gmail.com

I learned BASIC around that age. I used the Usborne book, which has been made available as a PDF file by the publisher: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bxv0SsvibDMTUXdYTnRaTy1LLVE/view Op 27 mei 2016 8:12 p.m. schreef "Electronics Plus" <sales at elecplus.com>: http://www.amazon.com/Basic-Handbook-Encyclopedia-Computer-Language/dp/09327 60333/ for the basics of BASIC http://www.amazon.com/BASIC-Computer-Games-Microcomputer-David/dp/0894800523 / for games he can program in BASIC >from there go to http://www.amazon.com/Creating-Adventure-Games-Your-Computer/dp/0345318838/ and http://www.amazon.com/More-Basic-Computer-Games-David/dp/0894801376/ One designed for elementary school kids that does not use BASIC is https://www.amazon.com/Coding-Kids-Dummies-Camille-McCue-ebook/dp/B00MFPZASK which works on a Mac or PC. There is nothing like making your first program work to make a youngster feel like a god! Cindy -----Original Message----- From: cctalk [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Ali Sent: Friday, May 27, 2016 12:29 PM To: 'General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts' Subject: Need Rec: Book to teach about computers and BASIC at an eight year old level So somewhat OT - I've setup an 8 year old w/ an IBM PC XT w/ CGA. To say he is less than impressed is understating things :). However, I am determined that he will learn basic computer terminology, architecture, history (i.e. how we got here) and at least get his feet wet with programming by learning BASIC this summer. Apparently teaching is not my strong suite - while I can talk about a larger number of the above topics, especially at his level, organizing them in a way to make sense is the problem. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good book that gets the basic stuff out of the way (what is the CPU, memory, storage, etc. what are different the parts called, etc.) and maybe another one that teaches an intro to BASIC written for a very young reader? It would be nice if the book is in the PD or at least available as a PDF that way he can read it on his Kindle. However, I am not averse to buying a physical new (or used book) either. Thanks. -Ali

10 years, 1 month

8
12
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HP Draftmaster II 7596A: EPROM dumps needed, urgent :-(

by martin＠shackspace.de

Hello, the EPROMs are labeled 07595-18045 and 07595-18046. Can anyone do a dump for me? It's really urgent. Our local hackerspace wants to get rid of it, if there is no chance to get the Firmware again. greetings, Martin

10 years, 1 month

5
11
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vintage computers in active use

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Ethan O'Toole > Might not be a bad idea to make a wiki page somewhere and ... source > generic replacements. This way vendor/part# of modern replacements can > be had for old belt drive floppys and computer tape drives? > I think the audio cassette deck enthusiasts do something like this Excellent idea. The data can be put on the Computer History wiki; I've been putting a lot of PDP-11 info up there. Let me know if you have data to post, and can't get access. > From: Paul Koning > It clearly is not all that accurate. In a discussion of "old" systems, > it mentions a system with "reported age 52 years" but it "runs on > windows server 2008 and is programmed in Java". ... A number of other > examples are similar. For example, a "56 year old" IRS system that > actually runs on an IBM z series machine from 2010. Perhaps this is just sloppy writing, and they really 'the application is 52 years old, but it has been translated into Java'? And the latter one could easily be System/360 code from 56 years ago, running on a z series. Noel

10 years, 1 month

6
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Omen Technologies

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

I don't know if anyone else has been working this, but at least I have been following up occasionally with the Omen Technologies owner. Current status (as of yesterday), she is selling the domain name and looking for "big bucks", which I suspect "omen.com" will probably fetch. She wants that done first, to make sure that the domain passes hands completely unencumbered with regards to any other Omen Tech stuff (IP, licenses, etc.). Once that happens, then she'll look to work on the machine holding the docs/software that were public facing (it also houses personal/private info that needs to remain so). That machine has hardware issues and many passwords are not known. However, it won't be touched until the domain sells. After that. work will begin. Just thought some folks might want to know status.. Best, J

10 years, 1 month

1
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WTB VAX 8650, 8600, or 6340

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

I always get emails from people wanting to know where to get rid of old vintage computers. I don't think I've ever gotten an email from someone wanting to buy one. But. Just got an email from someone that wants to buy a VAX 8650, 8600, or 6340. Given that the email address is from "Northrop Grumman" I'm guessing it could be a commercial purchase. If someone has a good condition working VAX that is one of those three models and wants to part with it, email me off-list and I'll pass along the contact info and you can work a deal with them. Best, J

10 years, 1 month

1
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Need Rec: Book to teach about computers and BASIC at an eight year old level

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

> Of course, rather than expose him to 8088 assembler, I?d recommend > you run right out and grab a used TRS-80 Color Computer - cheap, > and 6809 assembly is very very nice - no segment registers. > The downside of *that* is that if he ever decides to use the ?Sign Extend? > instruction, you?ll have to have a talk with him about the birds, the bees, > and where little subroutines come from :-). I suspect you'll need some 'support' when you come to unconditional relative branches too :-) -tony

10 years, 1 month

1
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Seeking Sanyo CRT-70 RGB monitor in the US

by witchy＠binarydinosaurs.co.uk

Folks, I've been contacted by someone wanting to recreate these monitors and is wanting to buy mine but I can't sell it since it's the only one I've got and apropos of nothing shipping a glass tube across the pond without expensive packing/dismantling isn't really an option. He claims mine is the only one he's seen in 5 years of searching, are they really that rare? This is mine, matching its MBC-555 PC nicely: http://www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk/Sanyo_MBC555.jpg Speaking to him tonight he really only wants to borrow one for taking a casting of the front bezel so has anyone over there got one to lend/rent to him? I think he's in CA but will check if necessary. Cheers! -- Adrian/Witchy Binary Dinosaurs creator/curator Www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk - the UK's biggest private home computer collection?

10 years, 1 month

1
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vintage computers in active use

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Guy Sotomayor Jr > There was a political fight within IBM and the Unix center of > competency moved .. All of the Series/1 Unix materials were destroyed > at that point I wonder if any of the engineers who worked on it kept a copy at home (as engineers will often do)? Noel

10 years, 1 month

3
2
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Front Panel News - New production run coming up

by rodsmallwood52＠btinternet.com

Hi Our order for front panel blanks has now arrived. We have enough to make ten of each of PDP-8/e (A) PDP-8/e(B) PDP-8/f PDP-8/i * PDP-8/L * PDP-8/m * New - uses a 465mm x 150 mm panel I'm expecting production of PDP-8/e (A) and PDP-8/e(B) to start on Tuesday 31-MAY-2016 at one layer per day (allowing for drying time) plus set up and packing. The first panels should start coming off the line on or about 8-JUN-2016. PDP-8/f and PDP-8/m should start about the 13-JUN-2016 finishing about 22-JUN-2016 Followed by PDP-8/i Followed by PDP-8/L Followed by PDP-II/XX Price remains unchanged at USD150.00 per panel plus USD20 shipping. Payment to PayPal rodsmallwood52 at btinternet.com There's only ten of each type so one of each type per customer please Back orders ship first then in order received sequence. _*Just a quick note about production techniques. *_ The printing is done by hand on a printing table. Its a big heavy cast iron tray about a foot deep and five feet square. It stands about three feet high There are hundreds of small holes in the bottom to allow a vacuum to hold down whats being printed. On top of the table is an arrangement of bars and slides to allow one or more silk screen frames to brought down on a work piece held down by the vacuum. Next to the table is the drying rack. It looks like half a giant rolodex. You put your wet work between the pages.They are made of open mesh panels to allow air to circulate. You start by marking the position of the blank panel on the bottom of the table. Then the first screen is positioned over the work and horizontal movement locked. You can still move the frame vertically. Position your work between the marked guides on the bottom of the table. Bring down the frame and drag the ink across the screen. Put the wet printed blank in the drying frame and repeat for each panel in the batch. Wait 24 hours and setup your next fame for the next layer(color) Take first panel out of drying rack print and replace. Repeat for each board in the batch until done. Cycle time per batch about eight days elapsed. Rod (Panelman) Smallwood

10 years, 1 month

1
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vintage computers in active use and restoring them

by wdonzelli＠gmail.com

> As far as I can tell, if I suddenly need a specific SLT module, the > odds of finding that specific module at any given time on eBay is > essentially zero. Stuff with standard SLT shows up on Ebay quite often. Not every day, but one could build up a decent pile of SLT cards in time to harvest from. > Some SLT modules are far more common than others. I don't know how > many different SLT modules are used in the 360/30, nor what percentage > of the SLT modules in that machine are common ones. For the standard (slower) families of SLT, their are only a few types of modules - I might guess only 15 or 20 types in something like model 30. They would likely all be 361xxx parts. Anyway, if one confines an S/360 restoration project to sources limited to Ebay and Digikey, one will have a bad time. Look around. IBM made a huge amount of this stuff, and a reasonable amount still survives. -- Will

10 years, 1 month

1
0
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Servant .953

by roger.holmes＠microspot.co.uk

On 7 May 2010, at 08:25, cctalk-request at classiccmp.org wrote: > > Message: 2 > Date: Thu, 06 May 2010 16:06:37 -0700 > From: Al Kossow <aek at bitsavers.org> > Subject: Re: Servant .953 > To: cctalk at classiccmp.org > Message-ID: <4BE34B7D.6060902 at bitsavers.org> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > > On 5/6/10 2:23 PM, Fred Cisin wrote: >>> Al Kossow wrote: >>>> I am interviewing Andy Hertzfeld tomorrow, and had hoped to talk about >>>> Servant, but I can't find a copy of it around anywhere tonight. > > A huge thank you to Nigel Williams who forwarded a working copy of .951 five > minutes before Bill and Andy arrived. We spent an hour talking about MacPaint > and Quickdraw (Apple has finally given CHM approval to make the sources available) > then another hour on Alice, Dali Clock, Servant, Hypercard, and Magic Cap. Could you please clarify, the QuickDraw source is available for what purpose? Could developers modify it any include it in heir commercial 64 bit Intel applications for instance? Is the source Pascal, Assembler, C or something else? Roger Holmes, Director of Microspot who has a Carbon application which compiles with over 10,000 warnings about deprecated QuickDraw calls.

10 years, 1 month

4
5
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strangest systems I've sent email from

by swiftgriggs＠gmail.com

Here's my top 3 weirdest devices I've ever sent email through, just for fun: 1. The AlphaSmart "Dana" which was a strange laptop-like device which ran PalmOS. The email client was Eudora for PalmOS. 2. Sony eVilla BeIA appliance using some kind of (crappy) built-in mail application. 3. Sharp Wizard handheld organizer over a serial TTY connected to a 386/SX with optional math co-processor installed so it could run ... Xenix. Logged in via simple built-in vt100 terminal app on the wizard at 2400 BPS to the Unix box. Used 'elm' to send the mail. That Sharp Wizard was a helluva organizer for it's time. The main feature was that it takes AAA batteries and thus I was actually able to afford to run the thing in college by getting rechargables. It had a nice keyboard and the display was readable in the sunlight, too. No backlight, though. -Swift

10 years, 1 month

52
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Bringing a VAX 750 and Nova from Canada to US: What to expect?

by ian.finder＠gmail.com

Self explanatory- asking other computer collectors here to see if anyone has experience. Will there be any trouble bringing them across? They look weird and big, but they have no real commercial value and are just going to my personal computer collection. Anything I need? I think both were manufactured in the US. Thanks- - Ian -- Ian Finder (206) 395-MIPS ian.finder at gmail.com

10 years, 1 month

5
6
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Early 360 machines (Was: Front panel switches - what did they do?)

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Jon Elson >> I interned at IBM Bermuda, and they had a 360/20 as their main service >> bureau machine; it had (IIRC) ... a 4301 printer. > I'm guessing, maybe, that would be a 1403 printer? Ah, right you are! The old grey cells are, well, old! ;-) Those printers had an amazingly long life! They were first introduced in 1959 with the 1401 computer, and, like I said, the brand spanking new System 3 they got in ca. 1976 came with one! I wonder when IBM stopped producing them? Noel

10 years, 1 month

8
20
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Front panel switches - what did they do?

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Swift Griggs > I'm curious about all these older machines with front panel buttons and > switches. What all did they do? In addition to reading/writing memory locations, and basic machine control (boot, start, stop, continue, single-step, etc), some machines had additional functionality, but what it was (if any) varied widely from machine to machine. E.g. the KA10, the first model of the PDP-10, had a front panel which also allowed you to (among other things): - execute the contents of the data switches as an instruction - either stop the CPU, or execute an interrupt (switch selected), when the address in the address switches was used for (switch selected): -- instruction fetch -- data fetch -- data write - repeat the previous key-press indefinitely (at a selectable speed) The latter one could be used for all sorts of things. I once watched someone halt the machine, put it in single-step mode, hit 'continue', and then 'repeat': by turning the 'repeat speed' knob up and down it was possible to cause the CPU to run at varying speeds, down to 1 instruction/second! I imagine that key could have also been used to clear memory by putting 0 in the address and data switches, hitting 'deposit' and then 'deposit next', and then 'repeat' (with the repetition rate turned to the max). You'd have to read the processor manual for each machine to know exactly what it could do from the front panel. E.g. some of the PDP-11's (/04, /34, /45 and /70, IIRC) had a mode where you could single-step the microcode. I recall using this on our /45 to debug it when the RETURN instruction broke... :-) Noel

10 years, 1 month

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equipment & memorabilia available

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

This one is a little sketchy; location is Mont Vernon, NH. Situation is a lady's husband passed away and shes going through all his DEC stuff. She would like to sell it, but has no idea what it is all worth. I do not have a list that is really useful, so someone would need to contact her, go onsite, and see what all is there and make an offer. Below are just tidbits from several emails we exchanged. If you're interested and local to that area and willing to take on a "project recovery", drop me a line off-list. Please do not respond if you just want to cherry pick one or two items unless you're fully prepared to at least help her find a home for the parts you don't want. Best, J I have a pdp 11 in the basement and lots of old mouldy documentation......and who knows what else? I'm trying to clean it all out. also have an LA36, and who knows what else. My husband died in January and I've a whole house to readjust to. I can get you the model, etc. soon. I live in Mont Vernon, NH. Thanks for answerig...nice to know someone cares about the old stuff. I scoped out the basement for the pdp-11 and here's what I've come up with so far: 26 tape cylinders 12 RL02 1 Decscope 1 rx01 1 decdatasystem box 1 unknown grey metal box 1 Decwriter II 5 RT-11 oranger binders several LS11 System Service Manuals other binders, etc. I would like to sell this, but have no idea as to value, and would also like to find someone who wants them...so what do you think someone would pay for this? Also found a copy of a RSTS auto license plate with a note to (XXXX - husbands name) from Simon Szeto "for someone who also loves RSTS" ahhh...the good old days. Were you a part of them? I've found more documentation, old badges, bumper stickers, etc.

10 years, 1 month

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Question about UNIBUS terminators, M9300

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: William Degnan > Here is the layout starting from slot 9/11 of the expansion cabinet Just slot numbers by themselves aren't much use, because if there are any non-UNIBUS backplanes (e.g. custom backplanes for core memory, for an RH11 - which has its own custom backplane, you can't use a regular SPC/MUD 'UNIBUS' backplane to hold it), we need to know what those are, and where. Note that many boards can only go in a specific slot in a custom backplane, and vice verse - some slots in such backplanes will only hold a specific kind of card. Taking the RH11-AB as an example: it comes with a 9-slot custom backplane. Hex RH11 boards M7294 and M7295 go in slots 3 and 2, respectively (and nowhere else, and nothing else can go in those slots). UNIBUS A in is in slot 1, connectors A/B; UNIBUS A out is in slot 9, connectors A/B. UNIBUS B in is in slot 8, connectors A/B; UNIBUS A out is in slot 7, connectors A/B. The RH11 backplane has some slots which are not needed/used by the RH11; those are wired as SPC slots; slots 7, 8 and 9, connectors C-F (the A-B connectors in these slots are UNIBUS, per above), are SPC slots. That means that they need _at least_ a G727 single-width card (the little square grant continuity cards which jumper BG4-7) in them if there is no other device plugged in. If the NPG wire-wrap jumper on the backplane for that slot has been removed, you'd have to use a G7273 dual-width jumper card, to jumper NPG also. So, looking at your list; first, a comment about naming: 9/11: M9202 (1-2) 11: M7297 (3-4) 11: 7296 (5-6) This looks like slot 1 of an RH11 backplane. Standard practise it to use letters for the vertical, and numbers for the horizontal, for positive identification. So standard nomenclature would be to say that the M9202 is in connectors A/B, the M7297 in C/D, and the M7296 in E/F. (Individual pins are named xYZn, where 'x' is the slot, 1-N [where N is typically 4 or 9]; 'Y' is the connector, A-F; 'Y' is the pin, A-V using the 'DEC alphabet'; and 'n' is the side, 1-2. The NPG jumper is CA1-CB1 in all SPC/MUD slots, i.e. 1CA1-1CB1 in slot 1.) The stuff starting in slot '21' looks like a DB11 UNIBUS repeater, but I have no idea how large a backplane that is, and what the various slots/connectors in it are used for. It's almost certainly custom wired. It looks like slot 31 starts another backplane. Given the cards that are plugged in (LP11, DL11, etc), it's probably a 'UNIBUS' backplane (i.e. SPC or MUD slots). Noel

10 years, 1 month

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Question about UNIBUS terminators, M9300

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Bill Degnan > I have an M9300 bus terminator which I read is the same as a M930 with > the NPR logic (so you don't also need an NPR terminator in slot 3/4). Err, the M9300 would go in the same place as a M930, i.e. the UNIBUS in/out dual connector group, usually at the top (A/B connectors) of a slot in a backplane, in either the first or last slot _of the entire UNIBUS_. > I am thinking I can replace the M930 and G7273 in the last slot of my > backplane with a W2-open M9300. As a UNIBUS in/out dual-width device, the M9300 does not have separate 'grant in' and 'grant out' pins - just _one_ pin for the grant; the pin will function as 'in' _or_ 'out', depending on whether the card in question (of whatever type) is placed in the first or last slot of the UNIBUS. The dual-width G7273 goes in the middle connectors (C/D) of an SPC/MUD slot, to jumper both bus grants (BG4-BG7) and also NPG, all of which have both an 'in' and an 'out' pin in SPC/MUD slots (look at the G7273, you'll see 5 pairs of pins jumpered together - 1 set on one side, NPG; 4 sets on the other, BR4-BR7). So an M9300 cannot replace a G7273: it's intended for use in an entirely different kind of connector group. You might want to read the UNIBUS description in one of the earlier versions of the "PDP-11 Peripherals Handbook", which explains how the grants work: basically, they are daisy-chained through every device, so if a UNIBUS SPC/MUD backplane (which can hold a UNIBUS device in every slot) has a slot which does not contain a device, you have to put something with grant jumpers in instead. Whether the jumper need to be BG4-BG7 _only_ (the little small grant jumper cards), or a G7273 (which _also_ jumpers NPG) depends on whether _that particular slot_ has had its NPG jumper (wirewrap on the backplane) pulled, or not - most backplanes come with jumpers on NPG on all slots, and you have to remove the jumper if a device uses DMA. (In the early days, most did not, which is why that was the default.) > There are jumpers on this card. W1, W2, W. I did not find any specific > examples online of scenarios for the jumpers > ... > I think I get why one would remove the W2 jumper but if W1 is removed > (open) instead can someone give me an example scenario for when you'd > want to use this card "for beginning of non processor bus termination". > Can someone give me an example of when you'd do this? The device the M9300 was invented for was probably the RH11-AB, which is where one most often finds them. The RH11 is an UNIBUS device which is a MASSBUS controller; the RH11-AB has connectors for _two_ UNIBI (so one RH11-AB can be 'in' two PDP-11's at the same time; i.e. all the devices connected to that controller can be accessed from either machine). If it's only connected to a single CPU, though, what does one do with the second UNIBUS? That's where the M9300 comes in. It simulated the NPG-granting section of a CPU, and when jumpered to do that, it goes at the _start_ of a UNIBUS - e.g. the second UNIBUS in the RH11-AB. (Leave all the jumpers in, and it functions like an M930, and can go at either end). You can find a description of its use in the RH11-AB, as well as a description of how the M9300 works, in the "RH11-AB Option Description" document (available online), starting on page 4-32. I can't conceive of any use for one in most PDP-11's, though (outside an RH11-AB, of course). Noel

10 years, 1 month

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BBC Tube... Running UNIX?

by aaron＠aaronsplace.co.uk

I just revisited the Wikipedia page for the BBC Micro Tube [1]. Apparently with a 32bit NS320 processor it was possible to run some variant of UNIX? Does anyone know anything about this? I'd be very interested in experimenting with it, if it is true. Thanks, Aaron [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tube_(BBC_Micro)

10 years, 1 month

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VAX 4000 model 500.

by rodsmallwood52＠btinternet.com

Hi My main system a VAX 4000 Model 500 with a KA680 CPU has just started halting at test 51 on power up. Does any body know where I can lay my hands on a spare KA680? Rod

10 years, 1 month

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Early 360 machines (Was: Front panel switches - what did they do?)

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Jon Elson > the /20 was intended for very specific uses in 360 shops, and maybe as > an entry-level "foot in the door" to move totally tab card shops into > the 360 family. The only /20s I ever saw were used as offline spool > printers and card readers in large 360 shops. I interned at IBM Bermuda, and they had a 360/20 as their main service bureau machine; it had (IIRC) a card reader/punch, 4 tape drives, and a 4301 printer. When I got there, they had just gotten in a System 3 (two single-platter hard drives, a 4301 printer, and I'm not sure what else) to replace it. Noel

10 years, 1 month

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IBM1130 (was RE: Front panel switches - what did they do?)

by dave.g4ugm＠gmail.com

paths. > > Do you mean the 360/20? On the topic, were the 20 and 40 the only members > of System 360 to use TROS? > > I remember picking up the programming manual for a Model 20 and realizing > that I'd essentially have to re-learn programming. 16 bit registers, stripped- > down instruction set, no I/O channels, "substitute" > instructions for regular 360 fare. > > A really strange thing was that the 1130 came out *after* the 360/20. > I am not sure why IBM produced an in-compatible machine so soon after 360 was announced, but it was sold in a completely different way to a new and emerging market. It was billed as the cheapest computer IBM had ever offered. The announcement letter here:- https://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/1130/1130_initial.html is dated almost exactly one month before DEC announced the PDP-8 and I am sure targets the same markets DEC did. You just wonder if IBM had spies in DEC, or more likely they both spotted a marketing opportunity. It is also interesting to note a "typical" configuration was priced at almost twice that of the PDP-8.. (assuming Wikipedia is right) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDP-8 I don't have any links but I know in the UK IBM1130's were used on ships by the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences but I can't find any reference to that on-line. I was told that they had great trouble getting the IBM engineers who worked on it that a suite was not suitable dress for a small research vessel. Dave G4UGM > --Chuck > > Dave G4UGM

10 years, 1 month

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Question about UNIBUS terminators, M9300

by billdegnan＠gmail.com

I have an M9300 bus terminator which I read is the same as a M930 with the NPR logic (so you don't also need an NPR terminator in slot 3/4). I don't want to blow anything up, but I am thinking I can replace the M930 and G7273 in the last slot of my backplane with a W2-open M9300. I have discovered past threads in CCTECH about this card, comes up every so often. There are jumpers on this card. W1, W2, W. I did not find any specific examples online of scenarios for the jumpers so I have a question of confirmation to my understanding: I think I get why one would remove the W2 jumper but if W1 is removed (open) instead can someone give me an example scenario for when you'd want to use this card "for beginning of non processor bus termination". Can someone give me an example of when you'd do this? Something to do with expansion cabinets? b --

10 years, 1 month

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Using a Commodore 1541 drive with a PC via USB

by jws＠jwsss.com

A fellow has made up a nice adapter to read and write Commodore disks on a PC via USB using a 1541 drive. The thing that jumped out at me is that this is a 5 1/4" drive that reads and writes via USB. Anyone want to comment on whether the floppies it accesses would be useful other than on the C64? Could one do say 360K floppies via this hardware for other than the Commodore? At least part of the work is done to do more than just archival like Catweasel, et. al. do, in that it can also write. XU1541-interface-connect-your-C-drive-to-PC-enclosed-version-NEW/ http://www.ebay.com/itm/322092922596 Thanks Jim

10 years, 1 month

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HP Visualize B132 PA-RISC workstation FREE for pickup BNE Australia

by pye＠mactec.com.au

Worked a couple of years ago, but now won?t power up. Chris

10 years, 1 month

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VAX-11/730 and Emulex UC17 woes

by JoshD＠LivingComputerMuseum.org

Hi all -- I'm working on restoring a VAX-11/730 at the museum and things have been going pretty well thus far. I've been bootstrapping the console and diagnostics from simulated TU58 (images from: https://github.com/NF6X/VAX-11-730-Console-v57). All of the TU58-based diagnostics are passing. I'm attempting to bring up an Emulex UC17 SCSI controller for mass storage and I'm having trouble with it. I thought I'd check with you guys to see if any of you have seen this issue or have any idea where I might be obviously going wrong before I start digging deeper into this. The current issue is that I can't get the UC17's built in diagnostic/utility (referred to as the 'FRD' in the manual) to run. I am following all of the steps to the letter (see the manual here http://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/www.bitsavers.org/pdf/emulex/UC1751001-C…, pages 71-79 (section 4.5.7)) and I'm getting the right values back when examining the SA register during the process, but executing "S 80" halts after a second or so with: ?08 PC=00000298 Which is an odd way for it to halt, 08 means "No user WCS" according to the 11/730 user's guide. Here's the full conversation, just in case: >>> I >>> D/L/P F26800 80000000 >>> D/L/P F26804 80000001 >>> D/W/P FFF46A 3003 >>> E/W/P FFF46A P 00FFF46A 0100 >>> D/W/P FFF46A 4401 >>> E/W/P FFF46A P 00FFF46A 0400 >>> S 80 ?08 PC=00000298 I've confirmed that the issue isn't with the card, I can run the FRD without issue on it, in an 11/44 we have here. I've done my best to ensure that everything is sane on the UNIBUS; my understanding from the 11/730 manuals is that by default none of the SPC slots have the NPG wire-wrap fitted and that any empty SPC slots need to have an NPG grant card installed. (This makes sense given how difficult the backplane is to access, it requires pulling the power supply out first.) Just to make sure, I have double-checked that the NPG wirewrap jumper is not present on Slot 10, where the UC17 is installed. At the moment the grant chain should be unbroken as far as I can tell, here is the current configuration: TOP Slot 1 - Empty (normally RB730 option) Slot 2- Empty (normally FPA option) Slot 3- M8390 (DAP) Slot 4- M8391 (MCT) Slot 5- M8394 (WCS) Slot 6- M8750 (1mb memory) Slot 7- M8750 (1mb memory) Slot 8- M8750 (1mb memory) Slot 9- M8750 (1mb memory) Slot 10- Emulex UC17 Slot 11- DMF32-AA Slot 12- M9302 terminator | G7273 grant BOTTOM Thanks as always for the help. - Josh

10 years, 1 month

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Board swapping (was Re: General Question about UNIBUS backplanes)

by abs＠absd.org

On 24 May 2016 4:45 pm, "Ethan Dicks" <ethan.dicks at gmail.com> wrote: > > On Tue, May 24, 2016 at 11:36 AM, william degnan <billdegnan at gmail.com> wrote: > > On Tue, May 24, 2016 at 11:17 AM, js at cimmeri.com <js at cimmeri.com> wrote: > >> B, what was the issue with the core, that you fixed it so fast? > > > > I guessed that the G114 was bad based on a hunch. > > > > I had a spare. > > Q. How do you know the guy on the side of the highway with a flat tire > is a DEC Field Service Engineer? > > A. He's swapping out all the tires to see which one is flat. > > (or from net.jokes in 1981... > https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/net.jokes/GQ2B6HZIY_4 ) > > The way I heard it was: > How do you tell if a man with a flat tire is a DEC Field Service Rep? > Look in the trunk; if he's from DEC F.S. he'll have three spares with little > red tags on them and no jack. My favourite at the time was: Q: How does DEC Field Circus deal with a flat tyre? A: Swap the wheels one by one until the issue is resolved. Q: How does DEC Field Circus deal with a flat battery? A: Swap the wheels one by one until the issue is resolved. :)

10 years, 1 month

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ND-10 software - Re: Harris H800 Computer

by mattislind＠gmail.com

> > > > Hey, this is useful. > > Thanks for doing it! > > Yep! > Already investigating. IMD gave me some trouble, had to resort to > dosbox. Source for PED (Programmer's Editor) version G? I've never > seen source. I have version F as a :PROG file. I'm guessing that Planc > version C may compile it.. this will stretch my emulator. Haven't yet > figured out how to handle that PED2.DMK file, so I don't know what it > contains - executable? > > > PED2.DMK and DISK8.IMD is the same disk, but different ways of reading it off the disk. I used both the standard PC-floppy and then also the catweasel card. I tried the catweasel for some floppies that I had reading trouble with. I am really interested in hearing more about your emulator! /Mattis

10 years, 1 month

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Board swapping (was Re: General Question about UNIBUS backplanes)

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

On Tue, May 24, 2016 at 11:36 AM, william degnan <billdegnan at gmail.com> wrote: > On Tue, May 24, 2016 at 11:17 AM, js at cimmeri.com <js at cimmeri.com> wrote: >> B, what was the issue with the core, that you fixed it so fast? > > I guessed that the G114 was bad based on a hunch. > > I had a spare. Q. How do you know the guy on the side of the highway with a flat tire is a DEC Field Service Engineer? A. He's swapping out all the tires to see which one is flat. (or from net.jokes in 1981... https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/net.jokes/GQ2B6HZIY_4 ) The way I heard it was: How do you tell if a man with a flat tire is a DEC Field Service Rep? Look in the trunk; if he's from DEC F.S. he'll have three spares with little red tags on them and no jack. -ethan

10 years, 1 month

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General Question about UNIBUS backplanes

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Bill Degnan > I removed the core backplanes and returned the DD11-C to the orig > config next to the CPU. I re-inserted cards as-was. I am not getting > comms from the M7856. Ugh. Not good. Does it respond on the UNIBUS? (I.e. if you try to read the registers from the front panel?) > I may have shorted the card. If you somehow plugged it into one of the core backplanes, good chance, alas. They have either -15V or +20V (I think the latter, for the MM11-U) running around on various pins. (Oh, BTW, you probably already know this, but just in case not: those backplanes take specific boards in specific slots; check the manuals/prints for the correct slots.) Do you have a spare M7856 you can swap in to make sure the machine is otherwise functional? If not, let me know, I have a bunch of spare M7800's, I can send you one (known, tested good). Noel

10 years, 1 month

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Most useful 3D Printer I've seen

by mark＠markesystems.com

> Why have cool looking replica systems. Edible ones would be so much > better. > http://phys.org/news/2016-05-d-candy-maker-billed-world-york.html This is a bit off-topic, but I can't resist a correction to provide some credit where due. Although billed as such, this is far from being the "first 3D printer for candy". One (of many) counter-examples can be found at http://candyfab.org (from 2006). ~~ Mark Moulding

10 years, 1 month

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General Question about UNIBUS backplanes

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Bill Degnan > Card slot 2 of the backplane was "de-jumpered" and requires a NPR card. > The RL02 needs to be in a slot that would otherwise need an NPR card, as I > understand things. Correct. (Although technically it's an RL11 controller card, the RL02 is the drive; but there are other controller cards for the RL02 for other buses, e.g. the RLV11 for the QBUS.) >> those would be MM11-U backplanes, right? > Here is a closeup. I'm away from my machine at the moment, so I don't know if that's what an MM11-U says; I'll check tomorrow. > System came to me as thus, after the CPU, the 3011-cf backplane had the > following: This below all looks OK. > UNIBUS 10 A-B (LEFT SIDE OF UNIBUS) Yeah, that's 'UNIBUS in'. > M7856 10 F-C (RS232 WITH 19.2 OPTION?) And the console board in the bottom part of that slot, good. > G7273 11 C-D An NPG/BG jumper card (but that doesn't mean the NPG jumper is removed >from that slot, mind - you have to check the wiring to be positive). You could put the RL11 card in this slot (with the jumper removed). > 7891 12 A-F (64k MEMORY) Yup, sounds good. > M9312 13 A-B (ROM CARD) > 672A 13 D (GRANT CONT.) Yeah, nothing in the SPC part of that slot, and the 9312 in the 'UNIBUS out' part, so it must be acting as a terminator. > I am going to switch to another backplane and start over. To be honest, I'd stick with that one, actually! You have some data to indicate that it is OK (the machine worked as you got it). > From: Mattis Lind > Isn't it just a a DD11-C backplane with power-wring entering from the > back, rather than through small circuit boards? I think the one with the power coming in through paddle-boards is the DD11-A. The DD11-C has 2 MUD slots in the center, not the SPC slots of earlier backplanes. (Not sure what the DD11-B is.) > But all this still doesn't now explain the problem that you cannot > access (or send characters to) the serial port. I got the impression from what he said (that the boot ROM seemed to run OK) that the registers on the console serial board are accessible from the bus OK. If they aren't, the potential causes are quite different from those which would cause the different symptoms of 'card responds, but no characters come out', so we need to nail down which it is before further debugging. Oh, another idea for debugging this: if it's 'registers OK, no characters', try an EIA debugging unit (one of those things with a DB25 male and female, and a bunch of LEDs, that would probably help a lot). > If I were you I would try to get back to the state where it worked, > shortening the Unibus to just include the 4-slot back plane and the CPU > backplane and also remove the RL11 for now. Then install the RL11 in > slot 11 when everything is working. Exactly what I would do! :-) Noel

10 years, 1 month

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ISO Force DRAM-8C switch/jumper settings

by aek＠bitsavers.org

If anyone has any Force manuals squirreled away, I'd like to figure out how to configure one of their 8meg memory boards. Started playing with some VME boards that I had collected over the years, including a huge pile of stuff from Integrated Solutions. Depressing that I had forgotten how much of this stuff I have.

10 years, 1 month

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General Question about UNIBUS backplanes

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Bill Degnan > So I decided to insert two 32K core memory backplanes 32KW, those would be MM11-U backplanes, right? > My plan is to replace the solid-state RAM card with core, and this will > free up a slot on the 4-slot backplane for a terminator. Terminators all only go in the last slot of the last backplane anyway (either that, or a UNIBUS 'out' cable), so adding extra backplanes shouldn't give you "a slot .. for a terminator". Also, Paul's point is a good one: the hex memory cards need so-called 'MUD slots' (hex), not SPC slots (quad), and only (IIRC) the DD11-C/D have MUD slots. (Those came in with the 11/04-34, IIRC). > the serial card seems to have stopped working. It appears that the > console program is being loaded and runs from the M9312 but nothing is > appearing on the terminal. I cannot send an "A" to the terminal, the > most basic test I can think of. Hmm. You can read/write the console registers from the console, though, it sounds like? My guess would be that if your serial port is EIA, somehow you're missing -15V or something on the DD11 in its new location. Study the -11/35-40 system manual to learn about which 'bricks' supply which voltages to which system units. And while you're at it, check that you have the right 'bricks' for the MM11-U. The -11/35-40 system manual has lots of text on how to support the MM11-U. > Can you only use the core backplanes for core memory (assume yes), or > are they capable of holding other types of cards temporarily? AFAICR, the MM11-U backplane does _not_ have an SPC slot in it. IIRC, the 16KW MM11-U board set is a quad controller board, and 3 hex boards (core, X-Y and something else). So two sets (the backplane holds two) would be 8, so one empty slot - which IIRC is blank. Check the MM11-U manual, it's available. > I have one slot that needs the npg, it's in place. ??? _Every_ SPC/MUD slot which does not have a DMA device in it _must_ have the jumper on the backplane (or the _double_ width UNIBUS grant card, whose number escapes my memory, which contains a NPG jumper). Not sure if that was the import of what you wrote there. Noel

10 years, 1 month

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General Question about UNIBUS backplanes

by billdegnan＠gmail.com

On May 22, 2016 1:22 PM, "Mark Darvill" <mark.darvill at mac.com> wrote: > > The core memory/CPU backplane is a special case and doesn?t need grant cards. > > If you have linked up to the expansion Unibus then you need to check you have the NPG jumper in row C, Pins A1 and B1 in each slot. If these do not have wire wrap then you will either need to wire wrap them or insert a G727 into the backplane slot. Without these the units will hang on attempting to use a card that requires DMA access. > > Hope this helps. > > Mark > Thanks Mark..yes I have one slot that needs the npg, it's in place. I have not had a chance to test with grant cards removed hope that does the trick

10 years, 1 month

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Most useful 3D Printer I've seen

by jws＠jwsss.com

Why have cool looking replica systems. Edible ones would be so much better. http://phys.org/news/2016-05-d-candy-maker-billed-world-york.html thanks Jim

10 years, 1 month

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'Inside Macintosh' books

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

Still unpacking after a house move 18 months ago... I have found just over a dozen volumes of Inside Macintosh. Since programing is not my thing, and I am not into the Macintosh, I don't really need them. Does anyone want them? Tbey are free, but would have to be collected from me in SE London (near Bromley, easy to get to from the M25). I can make a list of titles if there is any interest. -tony

10 years, 1 month

9
10
0 0

2026

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

test-drb