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

by kurtkilg＠geocities.com

On Thu, 10 Dec 1998 Hans.Franke(a)mch20.sbs.de wrote: > Don't forget: the V(I)C-20 was a bit faster and a way better > design then the C64. > I learned many things about the C64 recently. First, that it was a underpowered, low quality computer that was more expensive than an Apple ][ and had less features. I disagree because I have never liked the Apple ][ more than the C64. Second, I learn that the VIC-20, a predecessor to the C-64, was better than it. How is this? Last I heard, it is the VIC that was underpowered because it only had 8k ram or something like. Please explain; how was it better? > -- > Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut > HRK > ---------------------------------------------------- Max Eskin | kurtkilgor(a)bigfoot.com | AOL: kurtkilgor

27 years, 7 months

8
14
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Rescue - WANG systems available in St. Louis (fwd)

by ware＠interaccess.com

J. Buck Caldwell has 7 WANG desktop computer systems available in St. Louis. If anyone is interested, please contact him directly. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 09 Dec 1998 16:49:41 -0600 From: "J. Buck Caldwell" <buck_c(a)Polygon.com> To: ware(a)interaccess.com Subject: Computer Rescue List I'm getting rid of my WANG computers (for lack of OS) and was wondering if you want them. Free if you pick up, St. Louis area, I've got 7 Wang desktop systems - don't know much about them, looks like they can boot >from a floppy, serial, or network - but it's not ethernet (or arcnet, or anything NORMAL). Let me know if you're interested. -- J. Buck Caldwell Engineer - Technical Support - Webmaster Polygon, Inc. email:buck_c@polygon.com phone: (314) 432-4142 PO Box 8470 http://www.polygon.com/ fax: (314) 997-9696 St. Louis, MO 63132 ftp://ftp.polygon.com/ bbs: (314) 997-9682

27 years, 7 months

1
0
0 0

Does DECNET = DECNET?

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

How OS specific is DECNET? If I've got a Linux Box speaking DECNET (Yes, they do that now), can that same box do a 'set host' to a system running DECNET on RSX-11M? I've used a Linux box to speak to a VAX before and it worked quite well. Basically I'm more interested in transfering files to the PDP-11 rather than logging into it over the net. Oh, and I'm assuming I should get this working, is it possible to write a tape on RSX-11M that RT-11 can understand. I would assume so, but... Life would be so much easier if I'd ever gotten a floppy drive working on my main PDP-11/73. Zane | Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator | | healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast | | healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector | +----------------------------------+----------------------------+ | Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, | | and Zane's Computer Museum. | | http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ |

27 years, 7 months

2
2
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Mainframes at Junk Yard

by tomowad＠earthlink.net

I was at Coleman's Surplus in Millersburg, PA, today. The place turned out to be little more than a junk yard, but I did stumble across some interesting mainframes. They units were literally dumped in a pile, all twisted and broken, most unidentifiable (to me, anyway). Two of the mainframes, though, looked like they'd be possilbe to salvage, if somebody was _really_ interested in them. They're listed below, along with some questions. The Gould/Concept: All one piece, but with two doors (like a refrigerator). The top reads "Gould 32/27", the bottom "Concept /32". I've no idea what this is. Anybody? Interestingly, the top was full of DEC cards (looked like the one's for my VAX), most of which have their connectors broken off. The Sperry Univac: This one's bigger that a refrigerator, with a reel unit (which is nearly as big) attached to it. There wasn't any model number on the front panel that I could see. This is a Unix system, I'm guessing? The Kodak Automated Disk Library: I was running out of time, so I didn't look very closely at this, though it appears interesting. Mounted in the rack that ended up on the very top of the pile, it's not very big, and doesn't really look all that beat up. It appeared to be some sort of tape reader. Has anybody heard of this? Not salvageable: Several Vax 11/780's - appeared to be stripped of cards, but power supplies easy to get at. 2 Wang Units - didn't look too interesting to me, and they were hard to get at. "Harris" front panel - so I'm assuming the rest of it is there somewhere nearby. Digitech Encoder - this thing was really neat looking - pity its smashed. It remined me of the Commodore SX64 in appearance. It has a small monitor on the right hand side, a 5.25" floppy on the lower left, and a bunch of lights in the upper left. Can anybody tell me what it is? Several Deckwriter III's - easily accessable, but in very poor condition. Tom Owad -- Sysop of Caesarville Online Client software at: <http://home.earthlink.net/~tomowad/>

27 years, 7 months

2
1
0 0

epson hx-20 problems

by SUPRDAVE＠aol.com

i finally did initialise the machine and now i get two choices, monitor and basic. machine seems to be working now. i was able to get the tape drive working by keying in LOAD but thats all. any web resources for this machine as far as how to use it? In a message dated 12/12/98 6:04:42 PM EST, ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk writes: << Did you try pressing Control-@ ? That is a hard reset, which is what you need to do at that point. It clears the memory. I am a little worried that choice '2' isn't BASIC. It should be. Maybe initialising the machine would help. >>

27 years, 7 months

3
2
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HX20 (was: Re: Just bought this . . .)

by sinasohn＠ricochet.net

At 08:55 AM 12/11/98 -0000, you wrote: >Roger wrote, regarding the printer in the HX-20 and AIM-65: >> As to five heads versus one, you can print five characters at once. Faster >> printing. > >Disregarding the time spent moving the paper, it is slower (5/8 the speed), >since you are only printing five dots at a time rather than eight. But >speed wasn't the point. I always thought that the more common printheads were 9x1 -- that is, a single column of 9 dots. This moved across the paper printing 8 or so times for each character. To have 5 sets spaced out would divide your horizontal print time by 5. For the HX-20, because it had only one row of dots, you then have to multiply the time by 9 to get the 5 full characters. So the HX-20 probably took 9/5 as long or was about twice as slow. It would have been considerably slower if there were only 1 pin instead of 5 across. >The real win was just that the mechanism was cheaper than the more common >eight-vertical-dot mechanisms. For the HX-20, that may have been very true, since it may have been prior to Epson getting into buying/building mass quantities of printheads. --------------------------------------------------------------------- O- Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad roger(a)sinasohn.com that none but madmen know." Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates San Francisco, California http://www.sinasohn.com/

27 years, 7 months

1
0
0 0

Mosaic/Netscape

by lfb107＠psu.edu

At 06:55 PM 12/12/98 -0700, Jim Strickland wrote: >netscape has older versions, but they're hard to find on their download site. > >Mosaic 3.x is available at >http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/WinMosaic/Install.htm > >Previous versions are probably on their ftp site. >> >> Does anyone here know where I can get Windows and Linux versions of >> Netscape 3.x or less, or Mosaic? I need these for computers that are >> growing classic... >> -------------------------------------- >> Max Eskin kurtkilgor(a)bigfoot.com I actually have Mosaic 0.9 laying around somewhere. Is that old enough for ya? Les

27 years, 7 months

3
2
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Today's rescues

by jpl15＠netcom.com

Along with a *pile* of DEC stuff (in someone else's behalf, more later when some details have been worked out..) I adopted a Mac SE30 with a LaserWriter II... which was being used up to yesterday.. and a Zenith Data Systems SupersPort 286 Laptop. (This unit assumes you have a *generous* lap.) The Zenith is in 8 out of 10 shape, cosmetically almost perfect, with battery pack and ac adapter. The battery pack works, unfortunately the CMOS battery has failed it's trust and therefore no HD access. The unit boots from a floppy, however the neatest feature of this machine is the ROM Monitor that it boots into if nothing else works. Now to get out the hacksaw and electric chisel and see if I can't dig down to that naughty little CMOS batt. There also might be available a number of new-looking GridCase portables, but I don't have them yet.... Cheers and Best of the Season John

27 years, 7 months

1
0
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Z-80 Emulator

by jfoust＠threedee.com

At 09:00 AM 12/11/98 -0800, Sam Ismail wrote: > >C'mon, Hans! Get with it. This is just a cheezy way to dupe people into >thinking this thing is worth more than it really is. So entering a description like "It's not an Altair, but..." would be more accurate and wouldn't attract eyeballs or search queries? :-) - John

27 years, 7 months

3
2
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Mosaic/Netscape

by kurtkilg＠geocities.com

On Sat, 12 Dec 1998 lfb107(a)psu.edu wrote: > I actually have Mosaic 0.9 laying around somewhere. Is that old > enough for ya? Yes, quite > > Les > ---------------------------------------------------- Max Eskin | kurtkilgor(a)bigfoot.com | AOL: kurtkilgor

27 years, 7 months

1
0
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Looking for TRS-80 Model III Parts/Advice (fwd)

by roblwill＠usaor.net

>Yes I am sure my M3 keyboard is like that. So is my Model 4 keyboard. >They're both made by Alps. > >_BUT_ when I ordered a new keyswitch for my Model 3 some 10 years or so >ago, Tandy National Parts needed to know that I wanted an Alps keyswitch. >They implied that there were others. I'd forgotten about that until you >reminded me. > > Mine's an Alps, too, unless it's just an older model. -- -Jason Willgruber (roblwill(a)usaor.net) ICQ#: 1730318 <http://members.tripod.com/general_1>

27 years, 7 months

1
0
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Warped or bent floppies

by CLASSICCMP＠trailing-edge.com

>So, what do I do? Is it conceivable to open and remove the inner >media from the warped sleeves? Absolutely. With 5.25" floppies, it's not even necessary to put them back into a sleeve before reading. With 8" floppies, which can be substantially more floppy and harder to seat in the drive without a sleeve, just put them in a nice known-clean sleeve. 8" DS drives will also likely get confused if you stick a naked floppy in them, so best to find a nice clean sleeve. > Any ideas or practical >experience with this would be greatly appreciated. Certainly, a common cause for "floppy won't rotate" is "the Pepsi sydrome". A good rinse of the media in warm water will help remove whatever soda/orange juice/kool-aid is causing the problem. -- Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com Trailing Edge Technology WWW: http://www.trailing-edge.com/ 7328 Bradley Blvd Voice: 301-767-5917 Bethesda, MD, USA 20817 Fax: 301-767-5927

27 years, 7 months

1
0
0 0

DecSystem 5400 with RA90s and TK70 Available

by cube＠msn.fullfeed.com

While I was at the regular weekly UW (Wisconsin) Friday surplus sale yesterday picking up an Intergraph Clipper system for my collection ( working 8-) ), I noticed a DecSystem 5400 with 2 RA90 disk drives and a TK70 tape drive is available out there for $20, including a short rack. The system looks very very clean, physically. I have no room for it. It is not a MicroVAX, but is instead a RISC system, presumably using a MIPS RISC processor. The folks over there told me they are having a big sale December 29th, so if you want it, you should probably grab it no later than that. They are open every Friday AM from 8AM to 2PM, IIRC. They also have an old ACC System 370 channel interface Ethernet controller, for you mainframe collectors. 8-) Jay --- Jay R. Jaeger The Computer Collection Jay.Jaeger(a)msn.fullfeed.com visit http://www.msn.fullfeed.com/~cube

27 years, 7 months

2
1
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Looking for TRS-80 Model III Parts/Advice (fwd)

by roblwill＠usaor.net

> >If you want to try to repair a keyswitch, then try the following. > >You can unclip the 2 parts of the housing at the sides. The top part >lifts off, releasing (in order) the plunger, a spring and a little rubber >dome. The contact is the black (graphite-loaded) rubber pad inside the >dome and the 2 metal contacts in the bottom part of the switch. Clean the >metal contacts with a cotton bud and isopropyl alcohol (propan-2-ol). You >can try rubbing the rubber pad on very fine (1000 grit or finer) >wet-n-dry paper. > >Put the switch together. Measure the resistance between the pins when >it's pressed down. You should use 2 pins diagonally oposite each other >for this test. A good switch is about 50-100 Ohms. A useable one is ><300Ohms. More than that, and it probably won't work. If you have all the >switches out, put the worse ones on the numeric pad as above. > >If you still have a defective switch, then try rubbing a soft pencil (I >use a 6B) on the rubber pad inside. That got my worst swtich useable >again. There is a special kit for this from Chemtronics which recoats the >rubber contacts, but it's not cheap ($30). It could be worth using if you >can't get the switch working any other way. > Sure that's a model III keyboard? The keyboard on my Mod. III has actual metal contacts in the switch that are pushed together by a tab when the key is pressed. >Putting it all back together is the reverse of dismantling it. Take great >care when putting the Model 3 case back together - it's possible to break >the CRT neck on the logic cage. And while it's possible to replace the >CRT, new ones are not that easy to get. > The CRT was blown out in mine when I got it. Replaced it with one from an old RCA 12" B/W TV. Works fine. Where I live, the local thrift store usually have at least 2 or 3 B/W TV's at a time. I picked up the one I used for $2.50. -- -Jason Willgruber (roblwill(a)usaor.net) ICQ#: 1730318 <http://members.tripod.com/general_1>

27 years, 7 months

2
1
0 0

Digital Group photo from VCF?

by Mzthompson＠aol.com

Uncle Roger <sinasohn(a)ricochet.net> wrote: >A bit of trivia... I was in Denver on holiday a while back, and went to >the Colorado History Museum (Denver has great museums!) There, amidst a >lot of other Colorado stuff, was a Digital Group computer. Very Cool, but >I'm sure there are still drool stains in the carpet around it. 8^) Another bit..... It wasn't until after my business trip to Sydney, Australia that I find out they have a computer museum. I found out >from the guy who is involved with a like museum in Perth. What do you suppose they use for a drool control system? Mike

27 years, 7 months

1
0
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Looking for TRS-80 Model III Parts/Advice (fwd)

by scott＠saskatoon.com

Can anyone help this guy out? Please respond directly to him. ttfn srw ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 23:12:09 -0500 From: LABOMBARD(a)PSFC.MIT.EDU To: SCOTT(a)SASKATOON.COM Cc: LABOMBARD(a)PSFC.MIT.EDU Subject: Looking for TRS-80 Model III Parts/Advice Dear Scott, I found your web site and thought you might have some advice on how I could keep an antique computer operational. Believe it or not, my Dad has a TRS80 Model III that he still uses! I programmed it back in the 80s to compute and plot out (using a home-made "polar" plotter) mechanical cam profiles for old automatic screw machines. Now my Dad is retired but he still dabbles as a consultant in setting up old screw machinery and running the TRS80 Model III to generate cam profiles. The software package on the TRS80 is extremely large and customized (with basic and Z80 instructions "poking "and "peeking" here there and everywhere) so we never felt it was worth the effort of converting it to a newer machine. Also, the "polar plotter" works fine and to generate the equivalent output on a modern printer would be easy for the hardware but a nightmare for converting the software. Rather, I have just kept the hardware operational to run the dedicated programs. This strategy has worked well for a very long time. But now there is a serious problem - the keyboard is getting worn out to the point where some of the keys refuse to work! So this brings me to ask you a question: Do you know where I could find another TRS80 Model III as a parts computer or a keyboard PC board for the same? I might be able to unsolder and fix/replace the keys themselves on the PC board but then again this action may lead to irreversible damage. I would appreciate any comments on this. Thanks, Brian ___________________________________________ Brian LaBombard LABOMBARD(a)PSFC.MIT.EDU MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center 175 Albany St Cambridge, MA 02139 (617) 253-6942 TEL (617) 253-0627 FAX

27 years, 7 months

2
1
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epson hx-20 problems

by SUPRDAVE＠aol.com

my little hx20 is doing strange things, perhaps someone can help. when i power up i get two beeps, then the lcd shows: ctrl/@ initialize 1 monitor 2 pcn 3 ok and choices 4-6 show nonsense characters. choosing any choice drops me to a register dump and the word TRAP! hitting the menu key gives me the initial bootup choices listed above. i noticed there was two access doors underneath which i opened all push down all all the socketed chips but no improvement. i hit the reset b utton and that does nothing. at least the printer paper feed works! any ideas? should i disconnect the expansion unit? david

27 years, 7 months

2
1
0 0

"Single instance" machines

by cfandt＠netsync.net

Doug Yowza <yowza(a)yowza.com> wrote: > I've always wanted to know which machines have only a single instance > represented on this list. Anybody have an HP250-30, IBM 9370, Tektronix 31 (kinda like the 9825)? Also, I haven't heard of anyone in our own group on the list mentioning they have a DG Nova 1200. These are four are in my collection. Regards, Chris -- -- Christian Fandt, Electronic/Electrical Historian Jamestown, NY USA cfandt(a)netsync.net Member of Antique Wireless Association URL: http://www.ggw.org/freenet/a/awa/

27 years, 7 months

12
25
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HP 264x terminals (wasRe: HP Cards - ID?)

by A_Finney＠wfi-inc.com

>Ha! I recognize those. They're spare boards out of HP's 264x terminals. Speaking of these terminals, I have a 2649a that is just old enough to buy a Penthouse, sans keyboard/documentation. The cards are really pretty, as Hans said, and unfortunately full of gold (which means they're probably usually melted rather than just junked). I'd like to be able to use this with my HP 3000/37 system, but need a little help locating a keyboard and setting it up. I'll try on the HP300-L mailing list too, but any info/pointers, as always, would be much appreciated. Aaron

27 years, 7 months

1
0
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tektronics 503 scope

by allisonp＠world.std.com

< ok, so its not a classic computer but there was a discussion a while bac < about ocilloscopes and i happened upon a model 503 at a thift store for < is it worth getting? presumably it works but i have no idea how one woul < it, much less use it. Old... maybe a bit high priced. If it gets a trace then it's likely ok. You can test the V-amp if there is trace by touching the input and seeing if you can get a rough(from noise) sine wave. Allison

27 years, 7 months

1
0
0 0

Laser 128

by SUPRDAVE＠aol.com

the keyboard on the laser is terrible! not much better than an atari 400. i've got two, one with a bad keybounce problem. anyone know of a way to fix it? In a message dated 12/12/98 0:32:41 AM EST, rexstout(a)uswest.net writes: << Try an Apple IIc power supply if you can find one, the L128 is a clone of that. I had one a while back, got it at a hamfest with two power supplies(Apple & VTech) and a bunch of other Apple II stuff. The Apple PS didn't work with it, I'm not sure if it's just incompatible or maybe the PS is bad, but they looked the same. The Laser 128 isn't a bad computer, but that keyboard is enough to drive me insane... >>

27 years, 7 months

2
1
0 0

Problems with a PDP-11/04

by dburrows＠netpath.net

I was thinking about is but it seems like he has the docs there and I have no docs on the 11/04 here. Viasystems has some docs but I have not gotten copies yet. I will drop him a note about the items I am sure about however to get him on the right track. Dan > Could someone a little smarter on 11/04's than I am please give this >fellow a hand? > > Thanks in advance. > >-=-=- <snip> -=-=- > >On Fri, 11 Dec 1998 07:22:51 GMT, in alt.sys.pdp11 you wrote: > >>>From: hamster(a)telnet.hu

27 years, 7 months

1
0
0 0

HP-HIL keybaord and mouse

by rigdonj＠intellistar.net

Can the person from this list that asked me for a HP-HIL mouse and keyboard contact me again? I found the items but I can't find your name or message. Joe

27 years, 7 months

2
3
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Info needed: Old video card

by kyrrin＠bluefeathertech.com

A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 738 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.classiccmp.org/pipermail/cctalk/attachments/19981212/61df15be/at…

27 years, 7 months

2
1
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HP Cards - ID?

by jolminkh＠nsw.bigpond.net.au

I have found a bunch of very pretty HP cards that I would like to ID. They are about 12 inches long and 4 inches high with edge connectors just off the middle with 22 connectors per side. Most have these on top and bottom. All have 02640 in the numbers somewhere. Examples of the full numbering are: HP 42L 02640-60256 A-212-42 8080 Processor 665494. 42-2230 4242-3896 97 of 175 (Has no 8080, only an 8048) HP 42F 02640-60065 E-1914-42 665983 Memory 4K. 42-2230 4241-7975 119 of 250 (Has 8 X National Semiconductor MM5280J memory chips) When I say pretty, I mean lots of gold circuits very aesthetically laid out. Hans Olminkhof

27 years, 7 months

2
1
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Dr. Dobbs..

by cmcmanis＠freegate.com

Dale Luck has PCC newspaper vol1 number 1. It was a hoot to read through! --Chuck

27 years, 7 months

2
1
0 0

Laser 128

by pctech＠davidbowie.com

Thanks for the info i will try that. -----Original Message----- From: John Rollins <rexstout(a)uswest.net> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Friday, December 11, 1998 9:31 PM Subject: Re: Laser 128 >>I am in need of a power cord for a Laser 128 >>from 1985.If anyone can help please let me know. > >Try an Apple IIc power supply if you can find one, the L128 is a clone of >that. I had one a while back, got it at a hamfest with two power >supplies(Apple & VTech) and a bunch of other Apple II stuff. The Apple PS >didn't work with it, I'm not sure if it's just incompatible or maybe the PS >is bad, but they looked the same. The Laser 128 isn't a bad computer, but >that keyboard is enough to drive me insane... > >-------------------------------------------------------------- >| http://members.tripod.com/~jrollins/index.html - Computers | >| http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Lair/1681/ - Star Trek | >| orham(a)qth.net list admin KD7BCY | >| ham-mac(a)qth.net Portland, OR | >-------------------------------------------------------------- > >

27 years, 7 months

1
0
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Laser 128

by pctech＠davidbowie.com

I am in need of a power cord for a Laser 128 from 1985.If anyone can help please let me know.

27 years, 7 months

2
1
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Help! PS 2 model P70

by rigdonj＠intellistar.net

I have a P70 that won't boot. It displays error numbers 167 and 163. Does anyone know anything about these? Joe

27 years, 7 months

3
4
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Just bought this . . .

by cfandt＠netsync.net

I just checked out the newly-remodeled Salvation Army Thrift Store and found a nice piece: a new-in-the-box Hewlett-Packard Thinkjet model 2225B equiped with HP-IL interface. All accessories are there, plastic wrap still over the machine, battery pack there too. $15 sounded fair enough I think. I should go back more often. They usually had ancient PeeCee junk in real tough shape for way too much $$$ whenever I was there before. But now with the remodel, a new manager and finding this gem maybe I'll keep checking more often. Besides, they're only about 150 meters from our house:) This is great as I already have a couple of HP 75's to use it with. Or it could be used on a PC as I've got an HP-IL-to-HPIB converter and a PC IEEE488 card. Anybody have experience with using normal xerographic copy paper instead of the HP-specified Thinkjet paper? If so, how are the results? They also had an Epson CX-20 handset coupler for $5 new in the box (plastic wrap still on the device). Anybody want it for the cost plus shipping? Let me know ASAP! Regards, Chris Christian Fandt, Electronic/Electrical Historian Jamestown, NY USA cfandt(a)netsync.net Member of Antique Wireless Association URL: http://www.ggw.org/freenet/a/awa/

27 years, 7 months

10
18
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Mac IIci cache cards

by erd＠infinet.com

> > have a pile of mac IIci cache cards, if interested email. have no use > for them. > > -Eric I might be interested. How much for one? How much for three? Thanks, -ethan

27 years, 7 months

1
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A few notes

by jrkeys＠concentric.net

Just a couple of things, first I got a great book for collectors by Stan Veit called Stan Veit's History of The Personal Computer full of stories and lots of pictures. I got it off eBay for $3 and it's brand new, the guy had 1000 of them and only asked for $3 his email is ralph(a)abooks.com I highly recommend this book for your collections'. Second I got over 160 new items in the last few weeks for my collection and one of the more interesting items was a Sony SMC-70 that is silver in color and has a black metal monitor stand mounted to it that is adjustable, has ver 10 ports on it for hooking all sorts of items like light pen and key pads. It has a RS232 Interface unit mounted on the rear of it. This unit and a CPT6100 complete with all manuals and software and a printer were given to me for free. People have started telling others about me collecting and get 1 or 2 calls every two weeks for these to pickup for free and very little cost. I know I said 2 comments but it's been awhile since I have shared my finds with everyone so here is one more, a Tektronix unit taken from a rack system with a type RM564 Storage Oscilloscope a type 2B67 Time Base and type 2A60 Amplifier all in one unit for $5. Once I finish my web page you will be able to see a complete list of my collection. Keep Computing John

27 years, 7 months

1
0
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Help needed with a PDP-11

by geoffrob＠stmarks.pp.catholic.edu.au

I found this plea in comp.sys.dec, he seems to have had no response, so I thought I'd throw it in for the experts here. If anyone can help him, please contact this guy direct. Quote: I acquired a PDP11/04 last week. It's my first UNIBUS -11, so I don't really know how to get it working again... The machine is in a BA-11KA drawer (rev m, eco 0015; the whole machine was labeled "LANDIS & GYR VISIONIX 4000). It has two DD-11DK system units (only the first is used), with the following cards in it: M7263, 2 x M7856, 32K core, M9312, M7262, M9302, G727A. I know what these cards are, my problem is that I don't know this backplane enough, and I don't know what to expect from the system. After I got the machine, I cleaned it, examined the cards for anything strange - haven't found anything. Then I put back the cards, in the order they were originally (there were stickers on the side of the chassis showing the modules' places). One of the DL11W's is configured as the console (at the proper address; also at 110 baud, 5 data bits, odd parity, 2 stop bits, active current lopp Rx, passive Tx), it has a BC05C-25 cable leading out of the chassis. I checked with a multimeter (I haven't got a scope, and even if I'd have, I'm not familiar with it), there's _something_ on the DB25F connector. Right now I have two choices: to get the DL11W working with an EIA-interfaced CRT terminal) to see if the CPU is working, or check this some different way (without a scope that is; am I beeing impatient?:) The machine has the simple "frontpanel": OFF/ON/STDBY, RUN/HALT, BOOT/INIT switches, RUN and DCOK LED. So my questions: 1. what are the settings for a EIA console on a DL11W? I've tried to set 9600, 8N1 according the manuals, but I don't know what to do next, about the current loop interface, about the cable (nullmodem? straight? with modem control?), as I still have nothing on the VT (and I know that this could be my fault...) 2. How do I know if the CPU is really running? (the DCOK LED is on, and if I switch "RUN", the RUN LED lights up, but does this really reflects the state of the CPU and the bus? There's the RL controller on the bus, when the drives are connected to it, and are switched on, the RL01's "FAULT" light turn off (I was told the drives need timing signals from the controller; they get it as I interpret this behaviour), but that's about everything I know from the cards in the chassis. Is there a safe method to see if the bus is okay, like pulling out cards and/or moving them around? I don't want to mess something up with all these modified/SPC slots... Thanks for your time! / ___ _ _ ___ ____ ___ ___ /__//__///_///__ / /_ / ) Varga Akos Endre hamster(a)telnet.hu / // // /___/ / /__ / ( www.telnet.hu/hamster/english.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Museum" http://www.internetto.hu/muzeum/e_kiallitas.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------- End Quote. Geoff Roberts Computer Systems Manager Saint Marks College Port Pirie South Australia. My ICQ# is 1970476 Ph. 61-411-623-978 (Mobile) 61-8-8633-0619 (Home) 61-8-8633-8834 (Work-Direct) 61-8-8633-0104 (Fax)

27 years, 7 months

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FW: Problems with a PDP-11/04

by kyrrin＠my-dejanews.com

Could someone a little smarter on 11/04's than I am please give this fellow a hand? Thanks in advance. -=-=- <snip> -=-=- On Fri, 11 Dec 1998 07:22:51 GMT, in alt.sys.pdp11 you wrote: >>From: hamster(a)telnet.hu >>Newsgroups: alt.sys.pdp11 >>Subject: Problems with a PDP-11/04 >>Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 07:22:51 GMT >>Organization: Deja News - The Leader in Internet Discussion >>Lines: 54 >>Message-ID: <74qh8b$vl3$1(a)nnrp1.dejanews.com> >>NNTP-Posting-Host: 194.149.0.154 >>X-Article-Creation-Date: Fri Dec 11 07:22:51 1998 GMT >>X-Http-User-Agent: Mozilla/3.04Gold (X11; I; Linux 2.0.34 i586) >>X-Http-Proxy: 1.0 proxy.datanet.hu:3128 (Squid/1.1.22), 1.0 x14.dejanews.com:80 (Squid/1.1.22) for client 195.56.133.225, 194.149.0.154 >>Path: blushng.jps.net!news.pbi.net!151.142.220.3!WCG!feed1.news.rcn.net!rcn!news.maxwell.syr.edu!nntp2.dejanews.com!nnrp1.dejanews.com!not-for-mail >> >>I post this message for the second time, as I haven't seen the first try >>in any of the groups I posted it to... :-( >> >>I acquired a PDP11/04 last week. It's my first UNIBUS -11, so I don't >>really know how to get it working again... >>The machine is in a BA-11KA drawer (rev m, eco 0015; the whole machine >>was labeled "LANDIS & GYR VISIONIX 4000). It has two DD-11DK system >>units (only the first is used), with the following cards in it: >>M7263, 2 x M7856, 32K core, M9312, M7262, M9302, G727A. I know what these >>cards are, my problem is that I don't know this backplane enough, and I >>don't know what to expect from the system. After I >>got the machine, I cleaned it, examined the cards for anything strange - >>haven't found anything. Then I put back the cards, in the order they were >>originally (there were stickers on the side of the chassis showing the >>modules' places). One of the DL11W's is configured as the console (at the >>proper address; also at 110 baud, 5 data bits, odd parity, 2 stop bits, >>active current lopp Rx, passive Tx), it has a BC05C-25 cable leading >>out of the chassis. I checked with a multimeter (I haven't got a scope, >>and even if I'd have, I'm not familiar with it), there's _something_ >>on the DB25F connector. Right now I have two choices: to get the DL11W >>working with an EIA-interfaced CRT terminal) to see if the CPU is working, >>or check this some different way (without a scope that is; am I beeing >>impatient?:) The machine has the simple "frontpanel": OFF/ON/STDBY, >>RUN/HALT, BOOT/INIT switches, RUN and DCOK LED. >>So my questions: >> >>1. what are the settings for a EIA console on a DL11W? I've tried to set >>9600, 8N1 according the manuals, but I don't know what to do next, about >>the current loop interface, about the cable (nullmodem? straight? with >>modem control?), as I still have nothing on the VT (and I know that this >>could be my fault...) >> >>2. How do I know if the CPU is really running? (the DCOK LED is on, and if >>I switch "RUN", the RUN LED lights up, but does this really reflects the >>state of the CPU and the bus? There's the RL controller on the bus, when >>the drives are connected to it, and are switched on, the RL01's "FAULT" >>light turn off (I was told the drives need timing signals from the >>controller; they get it as I interpret this behaviour), but that's about >>everything I know from the cards in the chassis. Is there a safe method to >>see if the bus is okay, like pulling out cards and/or moving them around? >>I don't want to mess something up with all these modified/SPC slots... >> >>Thanks for your time! >> >> / ___ _ _ ___ ____ ___ ___ >> /__//__///_///__ / /_ / ) Varga Akos Endre hamster(a)telnet.hu >>/ // // /___/ / /__ / ( www.telnet.hu/hamster/english.html >>----------------------------------------------------------------------- >> "Museum" http://www.internetto.hu/muzeum/e_kiallitas.html >>----------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> >>-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==---------- >>http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bruce Lane, Owner and head honcho, Blue Feather Technologies -- kyrrin (at) bluefeathertech [dot] com Web: http://www.bluefeathertech.com "...No matter how we may wish otherwise, our science can only describe an object, event, or living thing in our own human terms. It cannot possibly define any of them..."

27 years, 7 months

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Dr. Dobbs..

by ddameron＠earthlink.net

At 10:22 PM 12/9/98 -0800, Sam wrote: >Never heard of either "Computer Hobbyist" or "Amateur Computer Society" >but I'd love to trade copies of those for copies of what I have. > >Sellam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com >------------------------------------------------------------------------------ >Always being hassled by the man. > > Coming in 1999: Vintage Computer Festival 3.0 > See http://www.vintage.org/vcf for details! > [Last web site update: 12/07/98] > The "Amateur Computer Society" was started in 1966 and ran to the early/mid 1970's? It was done in Conn. by a Stephen Gray. Here is a summary of the 10 "Computer Hobbyist" issues. It was started in Nov. 1974 by Hal Chamberlin and others in Cary, NC. Issue 1, Nov 1974: A graphics display for the 8008. (Vector graphics, overview) A modified version was printed later in BYTE by Steve Ciarcia, still using a 8008 system as a refresh controller for his main system, Digital Group? Issue 2, Dec. 1974 Graphics display, part 2: hardware. The 8080 is here. (The issue was written on an 8008 system with a floppy disk) Issue 3, Jan 1975 Graphics display, part 3: deflection hardware, CRT's. Displays include musical notes, schematics, a chess board + sw routine. No. 4, Feb 1975 Subscriber's survey (hardware) Human interface for graphics display. 8008 vs 8080 vs IMP-16. No. 5, March/April 1975 Audio cassette data recording, part 1, description, schematic. Computer snowflake display (Uses 32 bit shift register random number gen). No. 6, May, 1975 Audio cassette standard, part 2, parts, pc board. Add a data stack to your 8008 (Also in BYTE Mag.) No. 7 Audio cassette software, CRC routines , etc. Computer ping-pong. No. 8 Interfacing the Altair 8800 bus. No. 9, Feb. 1976 Simple floppy disk interface, formats, description. IMP-16 microcomputer system. Interfacing the Altair, part 2. No. 10, August, 1976 Floppy disk interface, part 2. Pictures from first Trenton Computerfest (Part 3 of the floppy interface = software was going to be next...) -Dave

27 years, 7 months

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Oral History Questions

by allisonp＠world.std.com

< I can't imagine any sensible reason for making them default to edge-sens < the 8259 is very flexible and can be configured either way. I can only < surmise that they had no clue and decided by flipping coins or throwing < darts. Sounds about right. Sharing can be done but the drivers have to have a local pull down and be logically open collector(or emitter). Of course you can reprogram the 8259a too. Allison

27 years, 7 months

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Oral History Questions

by dcoward＠pressstart.com

Uncle Roger <sinasohn(a)ricochet.net> said: >I have a chance to speak with the designers of some of the machines in my >collection. But other than the basic "when was it intro'd, what are the >specs, what did it cost" stuff, what should I ask? My two favorite questions would be: Do you know who currently owns the rights to the software and documentation for XYZ computer? And to the owner of those rights: Have you ever considered releasing the rights to the public domain? ========================================= Doug Coward Press Start Inc. Sunnyvale,CA =========================================

27 years, 7 months

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Looking for group archive

by DaveyGF＠aol.com

Kevin's archive is nice, but it is very difficult to search for what you want (by keyword for instance) on a web based threaded archive as he has set it up. I just grabbed the archived files from classiccmp's file area. try sending a message to: listproc(a)u.washington.edu the body should read: info classiccmp

27 years, 7 months

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Digital Group photo from VCF

by mark_metzler＠xoommail.com

Eric Smith: >The machine I purchased should be here next week. I've >started a web page >at > >http://www.brouhaha.com/~eric/retrocomputing/the_digital_gr >oup/ Great! I have a photo of some Digital group memory boards on my webpage.(Its a lousy photo, that I'm about to take again.) I'll add a link to your page :) --- Mark Metzler VON NEUMANN MACHINES Online Computer History Bookstore/Museum http://home.pacbell.net/mmetzler/vnm.html ______________________________________________________ Get your free web-based email at http://www.xoom.com Special clipart offer: http://orders.xoom.com/email

27 years, 7 months

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Top 10 Holy Grails of Classic Microcomputer Collecting

by fmc＠reanimators.org

Doug Yowza <yowza(a)yowza.com> wrote: > I've always wanted to know which machines have only a single instance > represented on this list. Hmm, any other HP9000 series 500 owners out there? (I have a 520, but would like to hear from anyone who has any FOCUS-architecture 9000s.) -Frank McConnell

27 years, 7 months

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Just bought this . . .

by fmc＠reanimators.org

Christian Fandt <cfandt(a)netsync.net> wrote: > Anybody have experience with using normal xerographic copy paper instead of > the HP-specified Thinkjet paper? If so, how are the results? It depends on the cartridge, or more precisely the ink in the cartridge. When the Thinkjet first came out, there was only one type of cartridge and you were encouraged to use the special Thinkjet paper -- plain paper would work but didn't absorb the ink as well, and so the printing would be sort of smeared but legible. Later, HP came up with plain-paper cartridges and sold both flavors. I don't know whether they still sell the cartridges for Thinkjet paper, but I guess that if you can get the paper you can probably get the cartridges too. They are the same cartridges as for the QuietJet printers (same idea but wider carriage) so I'd expect you can still get them in office-supply stores. -Frank McConnell

27 years, 7 months

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Latest Project: homebrew paper tape reader

by dcoward＠pressstart.com

Richard A. Cini, Jr. said: > I saw a project in one of my old Bytes for a hand-pulled paper tape >reader. Very simple - 9 photodiodes, a light, a latch, a pulse-stretcher, >and some guide posts. > Well, here's the parts I have lying around: a BasicStamp-II, two R/C >servos modified for constant running, a few switches, and photodiodes. > If I get this thing working over the Christmas holiday, I'll post a >construction article. > Any recommendations for rubber pinch rollers? I'm thinking rubber >stoppers from a plumbing supply shop. These are pre-drilled and come with a >washer, bolt, and wing nut. FWIW, I have a "store bought" manual tape reader about the size of a small candy bar. The circuit board inside has the row of detectors (9 in all), and two hex TTL bus driver ICs, and that's it. On the outside, a piece of black tape with 9 holes punched in it, covers the detectors. Over this is a strip of clear plastic supported by four very short nylon stand-offs. I insert the paper tape under the plastic and between the stand-offs. That's all thats needed to keep the paper tape alined and flat against the detectors. Room light is used to detect the holes. The output is 9 bit parallel, which I connect to a VIC-20 user port with the spocket hole output going to the interrupt line for that port. Unfortunately writing the software to read tapes is one of those projects that I have no gotten back to. As far as lighting goes, the Heath H-10 uses a neat trick. In it they use a automobile tail light bulb which has a filament about an inch long. They position the bulb so that the filament is directly over, alined with, and parallel to the row of detectors. This gives uniform illumenation to all the detectors. ========================================= Doug Coward Press Start Inc. Sunnyvale,CA =========================================

27 years, 7 months

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Looking for analog owners

by dogas＠leading.net

>manufacturers, programming tips, histories, books, >pictures of machines, etc. I know you're out there! No analog computers, but one cool book 'Basics of Analog Computers,Information, Experiments, and Applications' 1963, Bureau of Naval Personnel, Navpers 92699A - Mike: dogas(a)leading.net

27 years, 7 months

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Looking for analog owners

by dcoward＠pressstart.com

I would like to make a list of fellow analog computer owners that are interested in sharing information about manufacturers, programming tips, histories, books, pictures of machines, etc. I know you're out there! E-Mail me. ========================================= Doug Coward Press Start Inc. Sunnyvale,CA =========================================

27 years, 7 months

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Rescue a pair of RK05-j's in Portland, OR

by nabil＠teleport.com

I have a pair of RK05-j's that would love to be rescued. They are in Portland, Oregon, and are each in a DEC rack by themselves. The racks need to go with them. If you can't pick them up, the only way to have them shipped would be to have someone pick them up, as I can't transport them anyplace. Free, but act quickly, as they are in my way and probably won't be around much past this week. Reply directly via email, I don't read two out of the three places this is posted to. -- Aaron Nabil nabil(a)teleport.com

27 years, 7 months

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FSOT: Microchannel PC cards

by rigdonj＠intellistar.net

More house cleaning! Found these two cards; IBM Auto 16/4 Token Ring Adapter/A (FRU 94X1756) and a 300/1200/2400 Baud MODEM (FRU 53F7748). Both are original IBM cards. I'll take $20 + shipping for the pair or trade for goodies for my Altair, Tek 4051 or HP stuff. Joe

27 years, 7 months

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Looking for group archive

by fauradon＠pclink.com

Thank you Francois >Kevan Heydon has an archive site: >http://www.heydon.org/kevan/mlists/classiccmp/ > >Regards, Chris

27 years, 7 months

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Indexing Byte and using BibTex

by rcini＠msn.com

Does anyone have any experience using BiBTex on the PeeCee? I downloaded the Byte indices from 1975 to 1990, but I was not able to D/L any of the non-Unix tools from the site I was on. Any recommendations as to tools are welcome. Thanks. [ Rich Cini/WUGNET [ ClubWin!/CW7 [ MCP Windows 95/Windows Networking [ Collector of "classic" computers [ http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/ [ http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/pdp11/ <================ reply separator =================>

27 years, 7 months

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HX20 (was: Re: Just bought this . . .)

by kurtkilg＠geocities.com

> > The HX20 printer is quite interesting. It's got 4 print solenoids/pins on > > a little 'shuttle', spaced 5 characters apart in the same horizontal > > line. A motor/scroll cam assembly wobbles this backwards and forwards > > across the paper and moves the paper up one dot line for ever complete > > movement of the shuttle. The HX20 electronics sends appropriately timed > > pulses to the solenoids to put dots on the paper. It is an impact > > printer, of course. May I ask, why do this when it's probably easier to use 9 vertically aligned pins like the rest of the civilized dot matrix world? (Except for engineering chauvinism, that is) ---------------------------------------------------- Max Eskin | kurtkilgor(a)bigfoot.com | AOL: kurtkilgor

27 years, 7 months

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Saving vs. Shipping (was: Re: "Single instance" machines, Tek 8000

by dogas＠leading.net

>or across the states... that's my dilemma... :-( ok, so I'm considering a rescue... ;) Can someone tell me about these machines (and how big they are, etc....) Initial internet query's yield nothing Thanks - Mike: dogas(a)leading.net

27 years, 7 months

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