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

by fedorkow＠mit.edu

? Al K has read hundreds of these Whirlwind tapes using a standard 8-track optical reader, so I think we can confirm that it is punched with the common geometry, except one track narrower, with four bits on one side of the sprocket holes, and three bits on the other. ? The tapes are for pedagogical purpose, so if I can punch on inch-wide tape and perhaps trim the width later, that works just fine. Thanks all! ?/guy Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2021 16:01:38 -0700 From: Al Kossow <aek at bitsavers.org> To: cctalk at classiccmp.org Subject: Re: punching paper tape Message-ID: <f52af974-dbc4-0a51-409e-b4cc2b9076e9 at bitsavers.org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed On 3/26/21 2:58 PM, Steve Malikoff via cctalk wrote: > OK thanks for that. I just had a browse and read that "Whirlwind used > the same paper tape format that was popular with Teletype machines" so > I gather it's nothing special after all. the best picture i have at hand of what a ww tape looks like is on the right of http://bitsavers.org/bits/MIT/whirlwind/X4222.2008_Whirlwind_ptp/pictures/s… you can see it is narrower by one punch than a normal 8-channel tape

5 years

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Hard To Believe This Person Is Serious

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/313467585213

5 years

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punching paper tape

by fedorkow＠mit.edu

Is there someone in North America that might be willing and able to help out a small historical display project by punching a few short paper tapes? I'm glad to try to accommodate whatever coding requirements are easiest. Thanks! /guy fedorkow fedorkow at mit.edu

5 years

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Logic Analyser Usage Advice

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

I have an old HP 1630G logic analyser. I am trying to use it to debug a problem with an 82C206 peripheral controller (or rather I think damage between the CPU and the peripheral controller). I am not very experienced with logic analysers and I wonder if I am using it correctly. What I am trying to do is see which internal registers are being read/written and the values. To do this there are two signals (XIOR and XIOW) that trigger the read/write on their rising edge. So I have connected the XIOR and XIOW signals to the J and K clock inputs and set the LA to clock on the rising edge. I have then told the LA to trigger on a particular address range (in the State Trace screen if anyone is familiar with this LA). When I run the analyser it complains of a slow clock. This makes sense, because I am using the read/write signals to drive the clock inputs so that I only capture actual reads and writes to the peripheral controller. However, I don't seem to be getting sensible values in the trace and I am wondering if the LA is really not capturing anything because of the slow clock? I don't think it makes sense to clock the LA on the actual clock signal because I won't be able to capture the address and data values on the rising edge of the read/write signals and I would end up with traces full of useless data. Am I doing it right, or is there a technique that I am missing here? Thanks Rob

5 years

3
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MaxSpeed VGA MaxStation

by commodorejohn＠gmail.com

So, some months ago, I was in an electronics surplus store and picked up what was obviously an X terminal - tiny metal slab with a VGA connector, serial & parallel, AT keyboard, and RJ45 "communication" port. I got it bare, without the external PSU that would've gone with it, and I've since been unable to determine just what the heck I'm supposed to feed this thing. It's a standard barrel jack, but there's no markings on the case or the PCB to give any clue as to what voltage/amperage or polarity it expects, and Google has been no help at all. Does anyone have any recollection of these things? Any idea what they want for juice? To throw an extra mysterious wrinkle into this, when I popped open the case to get a look at the PCB, I found that, apart from the CPU, DART, and ROM, the only non-glue ICs on the board were an 8K SRAM and a W82C476 RAMDAC - but 8K isn't even remotely enough for a VGA screen, not even a monochrome one at VGA resolution! Am I missing something on how these things operated? Given this, my only guess would be some kind of insane networked-framebuffer scheme where the host would blast video data in on the fly, but there's no way this was even 100Mbps Ethernet, and 10Mbps isn't nearly fast enough to transfer 150KB at 60FPS, and there's no memory to buffer it for a slower refresh. What in the heck is going on here?

5 years

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seeking docs for Monlithic Systems 303-0158 unibus memory

by fritzm＠fritzm.org

Subject line says it all -- I'm working on a restoration that includes one of these, and it looks as if it needs some troubleshooting/repair. I didn't see docs posted at Bitsavers. Anybody have a manual squirreled away? cheers, --FritzM.

5 years

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DEC CTI Bus Technical Manual, or looking for Ken Wellsch or Megan Gentry

by bdweb＠mindspring.com

Hello All, Does anyone have a copy of the DEC CTI Bus Technical Manual (EK-00CTI-TM-002) I can scan? If not, does anyone have an email address for Ken Wellsch or Megan Gentry as they both appear to be authorities on the CTI bus (see https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/DEC_Professional_(computer)/Archive question 10)? Thanks in advance! --Bjoren Davis

5 years

2
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VCF Swap Meet in Wall, NJ

by jeffrey＠vcfed.org

Announcing our second Annual Vintage Computer Federation Swap Meet! Last year's Swap Meet was very successful so ... we are doing it again! *DATE*: April 24, 2021 (RAIN DATE: April 25, 2021) *TIME*: 8AM to 2PM *ADDRESS*: Parking Lot on Monmouth Boulevard, Wall, NJ Across from Infoage Museum and Brookdale College *GPS location*: https://goo.gl/maps/m1AAS4UUziGXnoPeA (40.1848793,-74.0630848) *WEBSITE*: http://vcfed.org/wp/vcf-swap-meet *EMAIL*: swapmeet at vcfed.org *PHONE*: 732-722-5015 Free to buyers. Vendor cost is per space. First space is $20, each additional space is $10. You can park in your space and sell out of your vehicle. *SEND PAYMENT TO*: paypal at vcfed.org (FRIENDS AND FAMILY OPTION) Write in the note section: [your name] VCF Swap Meet 4/24/2021 Number of spaces: *SWAP MEET SIGNUP*: https://forms.gle/kNCL8WVxTQcnw5nA6 * Reservation doesn't guarantee sales. * The Vintage Computer Federation is only providing a space, vendors must bring their own tables, tents, cars. * In case of inclement weather, money paid will be refunded. * All items that you bring must be taken with you. No items are to be left behind. * Port-o-potty on site. Jeff Brace ========================================= Vice President & Board Member Vintage Computer Festival East Show-runner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity http://www.vcfed.org/

5 years

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BS was Re: VCF Swap Meet in Wall, NJ (Liam Proven)

by marvin＠west.net

What a bunch of ^%#%#@$^. FYI, this is a listserver designed for classic computer discussions. Please save your diatribes for a more appropriate venue!!! Marvin > Look, TBH, sorry to be That Guy, but what it sounds like is made-up > mumbo-jumbo with as much basis in science as saying his choler is too > low and phlegm and bile out of equilibrium. > > It's an anti-masker trying to justify killing other people. It's no > more valid than a gun nut shouting about the constitution when they've > never been near a "well-organized militia" in their life. > > Keep well away from any people like this in real life. Do not come > into physical contact with them, ever, anywhere. > > -- > Liam Proven ? Profile: https://about.me/liamproven

5 years

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Any info on a Western Peripherals DC-230 disk controller?

by derschjo＠gmail.com

Any ideas what this disc controller is? https://www.ebay.com/itm/PDP-11-Backplane-Western-Peripherals-DC-230-Disk-C… Can't find much about this on the 'net, other than that it was a controller for Diablo/Pertec style drives -- no idea if it's an RK11 clone or something else entirely. Looks to be suitable for a PDP-11/20 given the little notch missing from the side there, and the lack of a separate power harness for the backplane. - Josh

5 years

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ODE 2.1.1 documentation

by ben＠huntsmans.net

Hello! Does anyone have any old documentation for ODE 2.1.1, or relatively close versions? I know "newer" versions have been released and have documentation available, but there are some changes in some of the config files that are very different from older versions. For example when creating a sandbox, in the sandbox directory there is a subdirectory called rc_files, that is supposed to have two files, "local" and "shared", but they don't work the same way that rc_files/Buildconf and Buildconf.exp work in newer versions... Anyone on here know anything about ODE, or any other sources of information? Many thanks!

5 years

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VAX rom patches - VAXstation 2000 SCSI boot, KA420 > 1GB boot

by abs＠absd.org

I had some extra A4 pages with a VAXstation 2000 manual which covered a preview PK2K kit for VMS, bootloader and ROM to allow use of the VAXstation 2000 SCSI controller for more than just tapes. Rough scan at http://sync.absd.org/vax/VAX-PK2K-preview-kit.pdf (the originals will be sent to someone who can do a better job) The pages led me to http://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/vms/ which includes some goodies: - http://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/vms/pk2k - uVAX-2k SCSI patches with source for boot roms, VMB & VMS - http://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/vms/ka420 - ROM patches for KA420/KA430 boot >from >1GB disks - http://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/vms/dk-552/ - VMS 5.2 patch to allow to accept more SCSI disk devices (Starting a new thread in case there is (slightly) more general interest for anyone interested in using the onboard uVAX-2K SCSI controller more more than tapes (OK, OK, for anyone not running NetBSD on their uVAX-2K interested in etc etc) - have cross posted to cctalk & port-vax - hopefully not violating any conventions there) David

5 years

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VAXstation 2000 network & hardware guides (English & German)

by abs＠absd.org

I have acquired a tiny slice of Orange Wall, and wondered if anyone would be interested - preference for anyone who is setup to scan and upload the missing bits to bitsavers or similar :) These seem to already be generally available online EK-NETAB-UG-002 Workstations and MicroVAX 2000 Network Guide EK-VAXAB-OM-002 VAXstation 2000 Owner's Manual (Covers how to replace your mouse balls, and details exciting options such as LN03, LN03 PLUS, LPS40, LA210, LA100, LA75, LA50. LGC01, LVP16, DF224, DF124, DF112, VSXXX-AB :-p) These I cannot immediately find EK-NETAA-UG-001 VAXstation 2000, MicroVAX 2000 and VAXmate Network Guide EK-VAXAB-IN-002 VAXstation 2000 Hardware Installation Guide Likewise these German versions EK-NETGA-UG-001 VAXstation 2000, MicroVAX 2000 und VAXmate Netzwerk-Anleitung EK-A0305-IN 001 VR160 Installations-und Bedienungsanleitung EK-A0355-OG-001 Grafikkoprozessor (8 Bildebenen) fur die VAXstation 2000 Installations- und Bedienungsanleitung Thanks David

5 years

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TC08 DECtape bootloader question

by kylevowen＠gmail.com

My understanding of the OS/8 TC08 bootloader (MI8-EC) is as follows: 0. Rewind tape 1. Set current address (07755) to 07600 2. Set word count (07754) to -0200 3. Read block 0 and wait for flag 4. Continue executing at 07600 However, it appears as though word count will be hit by the loading of the first block. In fact, my instrumented version of SimH says it's overwritten with a zero. If that's the case, it would seem as though the word count overflow flag will never get set. Not to mention, the current address will be updated next, causing data to be redirected to yet another position. But according to SimH, a write to the current address, 07755, never happens. How can this be? Any help would be appreciated! Kyle

5 years

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DECtape ancestry (Kyle Owen)

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

> > Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2021 16:21:44 -0400 > From: Kyle Owen <kylevowen at gmail.com> > Subject: Re: DECtape ancestry > > What systems took advantage of the bidirectional nature? > > Kyle > ADSS on the PDP-9 does an interleave of 6 when reading/writing to the DECtape. If it runs off the end it reverses direction and keeps going. I have seen some library files take three passes of the DECtape to fully search. -- Michael Thompson

5 years

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DECtape ancestry

by paulkoning＠comcast.net

I just read part of the Grant Saviers interview from CHM, where near the end he gives a bit of history of DECtape. In particular, the fact that it was derived from LINCtape though the format details are quite different. A question popped into my mind, prompted by having read Guy Fedorkow's paper about Whirlwind just a few days earlier: the Whirlwind tape format has 6 physical tracks but 3 logical tracks (each logical track is recorded redundantly on two physical tracks) and one of those tracks is a clock track. LINCtape and DECtape have the same redundant recording scheme, and also have a clock track; the difference is that they add a mark track to enable the recording of block numbers and in-place block writing. That made me wonder if LINCtape was, in part, inspired by the Whirlwind tape system, or if those analogies are just a concidence. Incidentally, it's probably not widely known that LINCtape/DECtape is not the only tape system with random block write capability. Another one that does this is the Electrologica X1 tape system, which uses 1/2 inch 10 track tapes, which include a clock and a mark track. An interesting wrinkle is that the X1 tape system lets you chose the block size when formatting the tape, and then data block writes allow for the writing of any block size up to the formatted block size. I'm not sure when that device was introduced; the documentation I have is from 1964. There's no sign the designers knew of DECtape (or vice versa). paul

5 years

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the question

by sieler＠allegro.com

Hi, I just wanted to thank Tony for asking the question (disability vs. masks) and particularly wanted to thank Robert for the kindness of answering it! I learned something today! Stan

5 years

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Oregon Pascal for M68000

by classiccmp＠philpem.me.uk

Hi all, Does anyone have any documentation (or perhaps even a copy?) of Oregon Pascal for the Motorola 68000? I'm looking for information on its calling convention, if such is available -- or otherwise a way to run it with arbitrary code and see how it behaves. Once again I'm reverse-engineering a 68K-based embedded system... :) Cheers Phil.

5 years

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FS: Panavise vise with circuit board adapter!

by mechanic_2＠charter.net

Hello all, As you all know by now I probably have cancer and I am selling off my possessions to finance my travels around the country. I have for sale one Panavise vise with nylon jaws and a large circuit board holder adapter. $100 plus shipping. Please reply off list. I live in Reedsburg, WI 53959. I prefer Paypal F&F. If you use G&S please add the 4.5% handling fee. Will accept MO, Cashiers Check, and Personal Check (must clear before shipping)! GOD Bless and Thanks, rich!

5 years

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[HOswap on IO] FS: Panavise vise with circuit board adapter!

by mechanic_2＠charter.net

Hello all, The Panavise is sold. I appreciate the interest! GOD Bless and Thanks, rich! On 3/18/2021 3:41 PM, Richard R. Pope wrote: > Hello all, > As you all know by now I probably have cancer and I am selling off > my possessions to finance my travels around the country. I have for > sale one Panavise vise with nylon jaws and a large circuit board > holder adapter. $100 plus shipping. Please reply off list. I live in > Reedsburg, WI 53959. I prefer Paypal F&F. If you use G&S please add > the 4.5% handling fee. Will accept MO, Cashiers Check, and Personal > Check (must clear before shipping)! > GOD Bless and Thanks, > rich! > > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- > Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. > View/Reply Online (#47099): https://groups.io/g/HOswap/message/47099 > Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/81439849/89555 > -=-=- > Help spread the word about HOswap! Tell your friends and groups about > how great this group is. https://groups.io/g/HOswap > -=-=- > Group Owner: HOswap+owner at groups.io > Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/HOswap/unsub [mechanic_2 at charter.net] > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- > >

5 years

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name/model of HP portable printer? (not HP 2225x) circa 1993

by sieler＠allegro.com

Hi, Does anyone remember the product name or number of the tiny HP portable printer (*not* an HP 2225 of any kind!) that probably came out about the same time as the HP Omnibook 300 (1993)? (My google-fu failed me.) IIRC, it was able to print on regular paper 8.5" wide, probably using a thinkjet mechanism. Battery powered, probably black, probably HP-IL interface. I remember coveting one when I got my first Omnibook, but by that time they were off the market and the only one I ever saw wasn't for sale (I did borrow it for a few days, it worked well). The use of standard (in the U.S.) paper, plus the tiny size, had be interested in it. thanks, Stan

5 years

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who collects modems?

by rsmilward＠frontier.com

If anyone has a modem made by Datec, a long-defunct manufacturer from Chapel Hill, NC, please let me know. I used to do customer support for them back in the early '80s. (They used to run ads in Byte Magazine touting their "crystal-controlled stability".) Thanks. **Richard

5 years

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PDP-10 I/O notes

by dstalk＠execulink.com

For what it's worth I've posted some notes on PDP-10 I/O from a course taught by Mike Bennett at UWO in the early 1970s. The monitor at the time was likely prior to 5.06. See: http://www.execulink.com/~dstalk/pdp-10_io.pdf Don

5 years

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who collects modems?

by boris＠summitclinic.com

Have a bunch of modems as well but first have to get PDP-11 stuff shipped off to those people who want it. Will see if Value Village in Kamloops will still take them. For a while they were a great place to get old electronics like the DAT SCSI drive I picked up for $5 8 years ago. "high speed" at 50 Kb/sec transfer rate which seemed fast in 2010 when I picked it up and got all my DAT backup tapes transferred to "disks" which can only run under BasiliskII now. >Clearing out stuff at my space, I have the following modems: > >NEC UltraLite-Series Image Modem Plus w/box >CTS Datacomm 2424 ADA modem w/box >Scout Plus External Data/Fax modem w/box >Digital DF03 modem > >Any offers? > >--tom

5 years

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Looking for Overland TC-50M 8-bit ISA Controller drivers&software

by bvasea＠gmail.com

I have this controller, I bought it from the Netherlands three years ago with a Cipher horizontal tape drive. It was pulled from a working system but... no drivers. Does anyone have any related software for this controller? It is listed here: http://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?66915-Overland-Data-TC-50M-Pertec… I tried everything from Bitsavers. All drivers, all software. Nothing works. The board is not listed so I installed and tried everything. To give something in exchange, I wish to contribute with the full Qualstar Tapestar for Dos package to bitsavers and archive.org (separate thread).

5 years

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Tapestar for DOS

by bvasea＠gmail.com

Hello I have the Qualstar Tapestar Package for DOS. It is fully working. However it requires a Microtech MCS1 "TAPE816" 16-bit ISA Pertec controller. I have the full Ms-Dos package. Where do I send the software package to be uploaded to bitsavers?

5 years

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80286 Protected Mode Test

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Guy Sotomayor > the LOADALL instructions including all of it's warts (and its inability > to switch back from protected mode) Good to have that confirmed (for the 286; apparently it works in the 386). > the other way to get back to real mode from protected mode is via a > triple-fault. Any insight into why IBM didn't use that, but went with the (allegedly slow) keyboard hack? Noel

5 years

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Wagner WAC40

by Rice43＠btinternet.com

Hi, I recently bought a core rope memory unit from a Wagner WAC40, mainly because it?s very aesthetically pleasing and looks good on display: https://i.redd.it/h9sb550uhnm61.jpg However, i can fine very little about Wagner Computer, the WAC40 (and WAC12), or the man behind the company, G?nter Wagner. Does anyone have any info on any of these subjects? This links seems to be all i can find: https://blog.hnf.de/gauner-gelder-und-computer/ Thanks, Josh Rice

5 years

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Diversified Technology CAT904 80286 single board PC

by new_castle_j＠yahoo.com

I've got a Diversified Tech 286 SBC as well and was able to switch to 3.5 floppies by modifying the BIOS settings. Mine has the Dallas Real Time Clock chip and the battery was dead so the BIOS settings weren't preserved after a reboot. Fortunately I obtained a replacement chip available on ebay to fix that issue. I haven't got a manual to share, but it's a neat little board. Jonathan On Tuesday, March 16, 2021, 12:00:02 PM CDT, <cctalk-request at classiccmp.org> wrote: Send cctalk mailing list submissions to ??? cctalk at classiccmp.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit ??? http://www.classiccmp.org/mailman/listinfo/cctalk or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to ??? cctalk-request at classiccmp.org You can reach the person managing the list at ??? cctalk-owner at classiccmp.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of cctalk digest..." Today's Topics: ? 1. VAX rom patches - VAXstation 2000 SCSI boot, KA420 > 1GB boot ? ? ? (David Brownlee) ? 2. Re: Diversified Technology CAT904 80286 single board PC ? ? ? (david raingeard) ? 3. Re: PDP-10 I/O notes (Lars Brinkhoff) ? 4. who collects modems? (Tom Uban) ? 5. Re: Any info on a Western Peripherals DC-230 disk controller? ? ? ? (Jay Jaeger) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2021 18:36:23 +0000 From: David Brownlee <abs at absd.org> To: rob at jarratt.me.uk,? "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic ??? Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org>, port-vax List <port-vax at netbsd.org> Cc: Malte Dehling <mdehling at gmail.com> Subject: VAX rom patches - VAXstation 2000 SCSI boot, KA420 > 1GB boot Message-ID: ??? <CAGN_6pbBzUQDJP-YiCQRZsaNOsGye1oWQ_ULyvavEd52ZrYp2Q at mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" I had some extra A4 pages with a VAXstation 2000 manual which covered a preview PK2K kit for VMS, bootloader and ROM to allow use of the VAXstation 2000 SCSI controller for more than just tapes. Rough scan at http://sync.absd.org/vax/VAX-PK2K-preview-kit.pdf (the originals will be sent to someone who can do a better job) The pages led me to http://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/vms/ which includes some goodies: - http://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/vms/pk2k - uVAX-2k SCSI patches with source for boot roms, VMB & VMS - http://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/vms/ka420 - ROM patches for KA420/KA430 boot >from >1GB disks - http://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/vms/dk-552/ - VMS 5.2 patch to allow to accept more SCSI disk devices (Starting a new thread in case there is (slightly) more general interest for anyone interested in using the onboard uVAX-2K SCSI controller more more than tapes (OK, OK, for anyone not running NetBSD on their uVAX-2K interested in etc etc) - have cross posted to cctalk & port-vax - hopefully not violating any conventions there) David ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2021 16:41:54 +0100 From: david raingeard <david.raingeard at gmail.com> To: Tom Uban <tom at figureeightbrewing.com>,? "General Discussion: ??? On-Topic Posts" <cctech at classiccmp.org> Subject: Re: Diversified Technology CAT904 80286 single board PC Message-ID: ??? <CAFvDS1SvQZFE_dzGQaheyLRpFqh-ZqFZyyWpBaMg_D22gZ+8kA at mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" i rather do? what doe with ibm dos Le lun. 15 mars 2021 ? 16:23, Tom Uban via cctech <cctech at classiccmp.org> a ?crit : > It dawned on me that I probably just need to change a BIOS setting. I > haven't dealt with PCs in so > long I've forgotten what to do... > I would still like to find a manual if someone has one. > > > I have a Diversified Technology CAT904 80286 single board PC in a system > with a 5.25" floppy drive > running DOS. > > I would like to switch the system to use a 3.5" drive and am wondering > if anyone has a manual for > the dip switch settings for this board or if I can simply add a 3.5" drive > as a 2nd device on the > floppy cable (guessing not without switch changes)? > > > > --tnx > > --tom > > ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2021 06:04:44 +0000 From: Lars Brinkhoff <lars at nocrew.org> To: Don Stalkowski via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: Re: PDP-10 I/O notes Message-ID: <7wzgz3zlab.fsf at junk.nocrew.org> Content-Type: text/plain Don Stalkowski wrote: > For what it's worth I've posted some notes on PDP-10 I/O from a course > taught by Mike Bennett at UWO in the early 1970s. Thank you! Interesting to see the DECtape file structure format. ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2021 09:48:33 -0500 From: Tom Uban <tom at figureeightbrewing.com> To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" ??? <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: who collects modems? Message-ID: ??? <d22a7559-5c13-28e5-eec0-b1587b5c5a79 at figureeightbrewing.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Clearing out stuff at my space, I have the following modems: NEC UltraLite-Series Image Modem Plus w/box CTS Datacomm 2424 ADA modem w/box Scout Plus External Data/Fax modem w/box Digital DF03 modem Any offers? --tom ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2021 11:23:28 -0500 From: Jay Jaeger <cube1 at charter.net> To: Josh Dersch via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: Re: Any info on a Western Peripherals DC-230 disk controller? Message-ID: <0877749a-9d01-466e-9e59-854977e13808 at charter.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed I may have a little info - but the info is in storage, and it is just a "Western Peripherals Instruction Reference Card", apparently referring to the DC-230, PDP-11 and TC-130 (the latter being a tape controller, for which I do have some doc.) Once the weather warms up again - say, maybe this weekend, I'll trot off to storage, bring it back and scan it. Back in the 1970's the UW Madison CS Department's 11/20 had a 3rd party disk controller of some sort - one pack removable, one fixed, but I don't remember who made it (might have been Wangco). JRJ On 3/12/2021 5:02 PM, Josh Dersch via cctalk wrote: > Any ideas what this disc controller is? > > https://www.ebay.com/itm/PDP-11-Backplane-Western-Peripherals-DC-230-Disk-C… > > Can't find much about this on the 'net, other than that it was a controller > for Diablo/Pertec style drives -- no idea if it's an RK11 clone or > something else entirely. Looks to be suitable for a PDP-11/20 given the > little notch missing from the side there, and the lack of a separate power > harness for the backplane. > > - Josh > End of cctalk Digest, Vol 78, Issue 16 **************************************

5 years

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Diversified Technology CAT904 80286 single board PC

by david.raingeard＠gmail.com

i rather do what doe with ibm dos Le lun. 15 mars 2021 ? 16:23, Tom Uban via cctech <cctech at classiccmp.org> a ?crit : > It dawned on me that I probably just need to change a BIOS setting. I > haven't dealt with PCs in so > long I've forgotten what to do... > I would still like to find a manual if someone has one. > > > I have a Diversified Technology CAT904 80286 single board PC in a system > with a 5.25" floppy drive > running DOS. > > I would like to switch the system to use a 3.5" drive and am wondering > if anyone has a manual for > the dip switch settings for this board or if I can simply add a 3.5" drive > as a 2nd device on the > floppy cable (guessing not without switch changes)? > > > > --tnx > > --tom > >

5 years

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DEC Professional: software and docs for CP/M and PC-Bridge boards

by bdweb＠mindspring.com

I have two oddball CTI boards for my DEC Professional: a DEC-made CP/M board (P/N 54-15641) and a board labelled "VIRTUAL MICROSYSTEMS PRO BD. REV 1" which appears to be an x86 MS-DOS board (it contains an 8086, a video controller and a bunch of RAM). I've managed to get them both functional, I believe, but I don't have software or documentation for either. I did find the RCS/RI diskettes at https://web.archive.org/web/20040113090630/http://starfish.rcsri.org/rcs/pd…, but although the image files are uncorrupted it appears the diskettes were not read reliably in the first place. And I also know that at some point the PC-Bridge software and doc set was available on eBay (https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/virtual-microsystems-pc-bridge-2-200…). Does anyone know where I can get a copy of the diskettes and/or documentation? Thanks. --Bjoren Davis

5 years

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80286 Protected Mode Test

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Jim Stephens > The 286 can exit protected mode with the LOADALL instruction. Really? So why all the hullabaloo about Triple Faults: http://www.rcollins.org/Productivity/TripleFault.html back in the day; and why did IBM set up the keyboard controller so it could send a RESET signal (so people could get out of protected mode)? Or is it that LOADALL (which was also undocumented early on, so maybe that's why the IBM thing) could be used to cause a triple fault? Noel

5 years

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VAXstation 2000 network & hardware guides (English & German)

by mdehling＠gmail.com

I'd be interested in the guides if you're located in Germany, and I do have access to a book scanner. Best, MalteOn Mar 14, 2021 19:08, David Brownlee via cctalk wrote: > > I have acquired a tiny slice of Orange Wall, and wondered if anyone would > be interested - preference for anyone who is setup to scan and upload the > missing bits to bitsavers or similar :) > > These seem to already be generally available online > EK-NETAB-UG-002 Workstations and MicroVAX 2000 Network Guide > EK-VAXAB-OM-002 VAXstation 2000 Owner's Manual (Covers how to replace your > mouse balls, and details exciting options such as LN03, LN03 PLUS, LPS40, > LA210, LA100, LA75, LA50. LGC01, LVP16, DF224, DF124, DF112, VSXXX-AB :-p) > > These I cannot immediately find > EK-NETAA-UG-001 VAXstation 2000, MicroVAX 2000 and VAXmate Network Guide > EK-VAXAB-IN-002 VAXstation 2000 Hardware Installation Guide > > Likewise these German versions > EK-NETGA-UG-001 VAXstation 2000, MicroVAX 2000 und VAXmate > Netzwerk-Anleitung > EK-A0305-IN 001 VR160 Installations-und Bedienungsanleitung > EK-A0355-OG-001 Grafikkoprozessor (8 Bildebenen) fur die VAXstation 2000 > Installations- und Bedienungsanleitung > > Thanks > > David

5 years

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Classic browsing and duckduckgo

by rtomek＠ceti.pl

Howdy, I more often than not use one of the old style browsers (lynx, dillo etc). Using search engines with them was rather uncool (unusable links in search results, wanting to load some bs or js, etc). For this reason I type my searches using mozilla and very rarely trying this with duckduckgo and almost never with goog. Today I noticed that duckduckgo redirects my classic browsers to lite.duckduckgo.com and I can use the results. Cool! Tried with dillo and w3m. -- Regards, Tomasz Rola -- ** A C programmer asked whether computer had Buddha's nature. ** ** As the answer, master did "rm -rif" on the programmer's home ** ** directory. And then the C programmer became enlightened... ** ** ** ** Tomasz Rola mailto:tomasz_rola at bigfoot.com **

5 years

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80286 Protected Mode Test

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

I have a DECstation 220 (Olivetti M250E) which is failing POST on a "simple test of the 80286 protected mode". It says in a service manual I have that for this test the CPU is set in the protected mode, the machine status word is checked to see whether it indicates the protected mode and then exits protected mode. This test seems to be failing. Is there any possible explanation for this other than a failed 80286 CPU? Could there be any external reason? This board suffered some battery leak damage. Clearly the 80286 is working well enough to execute this diagnostic and send some text to the screen, so it basically works. Thanks Rob

5 years

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Help with PCB ID

by coryheisterkamp＠gmail.com

I?m wondering if anyone recognizes this PCB. Double-sided, 74xx vintage, measuring 14?x15?. There?s a ?B.I.? logo in one corner, but no google match. IC date codes are ?77/?78 vintage. There?s a pair of DB-25?s, a BCD encoder, and for some reason, two pots. DC rectification appears to take place onboard. I thought perhaps the 112-7753 marking might be a part or catalog number, however the flip side is marked 112-1754, so perhaps not. Anyone recognize it? -Cory https://photos.app.goo.gl/dogAPxn7vLV87YRw9

5 years, 1 month

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Looking for gnupro for BeBox BeOs PowerPC

by david.raingeard＠gmail.com

Hello, I am looking for cygnus gnupro for powerpc BeOS, to be able to make ports. thank you

5 years, 1 month

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PDP-8 Backplane on eBay

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

There's a PDP-8 (/E or /M) backplane (presumably OMNIBUS) on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/0-slot-Backplane-H1919-9216/402735040240 (The number is given incorrectly in the title; it's actually 'H9191'.) Noel

5 years, 1 month

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[GreenKeys] OT FTGH Xerox 820

by jfoust＠threedee.com

Richardson, TX I assume. At 09:42 AM 3/11/2021, John, W9DDD wrote: >I have a Xerox 820 (rev 2 -II?) that will go to it's happy hunting grounds soon unless there is interest. > >Pictures if interested, part it out if it gets to that point. > >(On topic to the extent it makes room for more Teletype equipment.) > >-- >John, W9DDD >______________________________________________________________ >GreenKeys mailing list >Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/greenkeys

5 years, 1 month

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[GreenKeys] OT FTGH Xerox 820

by jfoust＠threedee.com

At 09:59 AM 3/11/2021, Tom Uban wrote: >I am interested if this is not already spoken for. I'm sorry, I forgot to include the giver's email. "John, W9DDD" <w9ddd at tapr.org> Contact him directly. - John

5 years, 1 month

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Is DECtape Read/Write Head "In-the-Weeds" Info Available?

by bobvines00＠gmail.com

Does anyone have "in-the-weeds" information on the DECtape read/write heads? I've got several TU-55 transports and a box of DECtapes (thank you very much Doug!) _and_ Michael's failed DECtape head from several years ago that I'm de-potting. I very much want to figure out how to repair Michael's DECTape head and will return it to him if I can do so. I've read the document that Al posted a link to in the discussion on DF32s: Message-ID: <1e97981e-05d9-f272-d2fe-10ae38da6668 at bitsavers.org> ... "remided me of the problems with rhodium plating on RF08 drives here on page 9 http://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/2012/08/102746014-… " The "Oral History of Grant Saviers" is interesting and gives a lot of information about various storage technologies that were used over the years. It reminded me of my desire to learn everything I can about DECtape _and_ DECtape transports. Maybe the CHM or someone else has interviews or tech data that helps answer my request? Bob

5 years, 1 month

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Need to have a roll of paper punch tape read by a tape reader and printed

by camiel.vanderhoeven＠vmssoftware.com

Gary, I don't know if you're in Europe or elsewhere. I'm in the Netherlands, and I could do that free of charge. I'd also make a video recording of the process for your sons education. Camiel ________________________________ From: cctech <cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org> on behalf of Gary Dye via cctech <cctech at classiccmp.org> Sent: Monday, March 8, 2021 11:30 PM To: cctalk at classiccmp.org <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: Need to have a roll of paper punch tape read by a tape reader and printed Hi folks. I wrote a basketball program in Basic over 40 years ago in high school. I printed the 13 pages of code, and produced a roll of paper punch tape of the code, but the 13 pages were destroyed, leaving me with only the paper tape. My 14-year-old son was pretty fascinated to see the roll of computer punch tape -- paper with holes in it! -- that we used to store files in the old days. And that we didn't have computer screens, but only a teletype element that printed -- one letter at a time -- the back-and-forth information between the timeshare computer and the teletype (output). This paper punch tape is the Basic program that I wrote in high school that played a random basketball game (as called by Bill Schonely, radio voice of the Portland Trailblazers). I'm trying to find someone to run it through a tape reader so that I can retrieve the code and play the game again. I'm hoping to explain the code to Owen so that he might understand the power of coding and get interested in coding. Is there anyone out there that I can send my roll of paper tape to such that the code can be restored? I could pay some compensation for your troubles. Much appreciated, Gary This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain privileged, confidential, proprietary, private, copyrighted, or other legally protected information. The information is intended to be for the use of the individual or entity designated above. If you are not the intended recipient (even if the e-mail address above is yours), please notify us by return e-mail immediately, and delete the message and any attachments. Any disclosure, reproduction, distribution or other use of this message or any attachments by an individual or entity other than the intended recipient is prohibited.

5 years, 1 month

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DF32?

by cz＠alembic.crystel.com

There's a DF32 on Ebay. I've got a bid in on it, will see what happens. In the unlikely event I win I'll have to build a system to adapt the Negibus to the pdp8/L. However did the pdp8/L have 3 cycle data break? C

5 years, 1 month

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Need to have a roll of paper punch tape read by a tape reader and printed

by marvin＠west.net

OOPS on my last response... I should have said I found the original on the CCTECH archive. Hope there was no confusion there!

5 years, 1 month

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Need to have a roll of paper punch tape read by a tape reader and printed

by marvin＠west.net

FWIW, I went back to the CCTALK archives and could not find the original message either. Being curious, I went back to the CCTALK archives and there it was. > Hi folks. I wrote a basketball program in Basic over 40 years ago in high school. I printed the 13 pages of code, and produced a roll of paper punch tape of the code, but the 13 pages were destroyed, leaving me with only the paper tape. My 14-year-old son was pretty fascinated to see the roll of computer punch tape -- paper with holes in it! -- that we used to store files in the old days. And that we didn't have computer screens, but only a teletype element that printed -- one letter at a time -- the back-and-forth information between the timeshare computer and the teletype (output). This paper punch tape is the Basic program that I wrote in high school that played a random basketball game (as called by Bill Schonely, radio voice of the Portland Trailblazers). I'm trying to find someone to run it through a tape reader so that I can retrieve the code and play the game again. I'm hoping to explain the code to Owen so that he might understand the power of coding and get interested in coding. > > Is there anyone out there that I can send my roll of paper tape to such that the code can be restored? I could pay some compensation for your troubles. > > Much appreciated, > > Gary

5 years, 1 month

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Tymshare PDP-10 tapes

by lars＠nocrew.org

Hello, Someone sent me these magtape images from Tymshare and said "they fell off the back of a truck on route 62 in Hudson, MASS." I don't know their provenance. Sorry, I don't have any good hosting. For now they are here: https://gitlab.com/larsbrinkhoff/tymshare The download.sh script will retrieve individual files one by one rather than cloning the repository; next use cat.sh to get the .tape.bz2 files. The tape format is close to not not quite FAILSAFE. With help from Joe Smith, I made a tool to extract the files: https://github.com/larsbrinkhoff/pdp10-its-disassembler/blob/master/tito.c

5 years, 1 month

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From SIMH list: Whirlwind software recovery

by phil＠ultimate.com

> From: "Christian Brunschen" <christian at brunschen.com> > Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2021 21:45:11 +0000 > Subject: Re: [simh] recovering software for the MIT Whirlwind > To: simh at groups.io > > https://www.historia-mollimercium.com/whirlwind/ww-page.html > https://www.historia-mollimercium.com/whirlwind/Whirlwind-Software-Recovery… > ? > > On Mon, 8 Mar 2021 at 21:41, "Nelson H. F. Beebe" <beebe at math.utah.edu> > wrote: > > > The latest issue of IEEE Annals of the History of Computing has an > > article that may be of interest to some list members: > > > > G. C. Fedorkow > > Recovering Software for the Whirlwind Computer > > IEEE Annals of the History of Computing 43(1) Jan/Mar 2021 pp. > > 38--59 > > https://doi.org/10.1109/MAHC.2020.3048815

5 years, 1 month

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Spelunking the places where files are not

by jfoust＠threedee.com

At 03:16 AM 3/8/2021, Tor Arntsen via cctalk wrote: >Linux distros come with a standard tool to do some of that, >'testdisk'. From the overview: I'm familiar with the various undelete tools for Windows and Linux. Such tools may not exist or make sense for older file systems. Entire files would be great to find, but I suspect interesting fragments may be more likely. Running a Windows-based tool like Recuva on a hard drive leads to such a firehose of fragments if you choose the deep scan that examines all unused blocks. I've only tried the free version. Does the pro version give you a way to exclude all the dozens of OS file types that are probably not the user-made files that you want? And for the archaic disk formats, it would be good to have platform-specific methods of identifying fragments to guess their file type beyond executable and ASCII. Older run-length compression image formats may be more possible to recover than today's block-compressed images. - John

5 years, 1 month

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RSTS processor identification

by paulkoning＠comcast.net

I was just asked some questions about how RSTS identifies your processor type. Since that topic might be of broader interest I figured I'd do some code reading and summarize the logic. In the RSTS initialization code (INIT.SYS), the first step is to identify what your hardware looks like. That is a combination of CPU type, bus type, memory layout, and peripheral configuration lookup. They aren't strictly separated into sequential blocks for those four activities, though naturally you'd want to know the bus type before you start looking for I/O devices on that bus. What I describe here is in RSTS/E V10.1. The general idea of scanning the hardware was introduced in V6B, and I believe is basically the same from that time onward apart from the addition of support for more hardware types. Prior to V6B, the assumption was that you had the hardware you specified during SYSGEN, neither more nor less. Here is an outline (not all the details) of the hardware scan flow: 1. If word 0 of the boot block contains a zero, this is a Pro (CT bus); otherwise it isn't. 2. Make sure the MMU exist; if not, halt. 3. Check the CPU type (MFPT instruction). If it's an F-11, see if 177570 exist. If yes, 11/24 (Unibus); if no, 11/23 (Qbus). If it's a J-11, read the board type register at 177750 and use the bus type bit to distinguish Qbus from Unibus. 4. Check that there is a clock, and if possible determine the power line frequency. 5. Check if there is a CPU cache, and whether there is a cache error address register. 6. If Qbus, check whether there is memory above the 18 bit range. 7. Check that there is at least 96kW of memory (but the message says that 124kW is required -- the actual check value was apparently overlooked and not updated). 8. Check CPU features: EIS (required), FPP, FIS, switch register, display register, MED, two register sets, system ID register, CIS, Data space. 9. If Unibus, check for UMR. 10. Find where memory is. This is done by looking at every 1kW address to see if it answers. So unlike some other operating systems, RSTS will keep looking if it finds a hole in memory. The kernel needs to be at 0 and contiguous, but holes above that are not a problem. 11. Scan the I/O bus for peripherals. This uses the fixed addresses and float rules for Unibus/Qbus (either, the code doesn't care) or the slot use bits and device type register codes for the Pro. 12. Find the vectors, which for almost every device is done by making it interrupt. 13. Identify specific device models if we care, like RL01 vs. RL02, Massbus disk type, DMC/DMR/DMP, etc. 14. Find which of these devices we were booted from. That's about it. Once you get past that point the INIT prompt appears and you can ask what INIT found with "HARDWARE LIST". Incidentally, RSTS doesn't try to identify the exact CPU type you have. Instead, it cares about features or distinctions that affect the code. In a number of cases it does report the type -- if MFPT works then "hardware list" will report that information. But for older CPUs, it doesn't say explicitly, though you can deduce it to some extent. If no type is given but there is cache and more than 128 kW of memory, it's an 11/70. If MED is available, it's an 11/60. If it has FIS, it can only be an 11/40. Etc... paul

5 years, 1 month

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RSX11D disks on EBAY- anyone interested?

by lee.gleason＠comcast.net

? Saw this on EBAY today - three RK05s with what looks like at least part of RSX11D on them. Who knows, it might be a distribution - RSX11D distributions came on 3 RK05s. https://www.ebay.com/itm/PDP-11-RSX-11D-Executive-Programs-Phase-II-3xRK05-… ? The auction starts at? more than I have in my computer budget this month, though - would some other RSX historians like to go in together on this (preferably at least one person with an RK05 drive)? ? I'd just like the contents of the disks - I don't care about the physical disks, just what's on 'em -- Lee K. Gleason N5ZMR Control-G Consultants lee.gleason at comcast.net

5 years, 1 month

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