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

Top 10 Holy Grails of Classic Microcomputer Collecting

by kaikal＠MICROSOFT.com

That's good, the Sphere works better unassembled :) Kai -----Original Message----- From: William Donzelli [mailto:william@ans.net] My unbuilt Sphere-1 is getting donated to RCS/RI, with the understanding that the boards will never see an iron.

27 years, 9 months

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Eventual fate of our machines

by Marty＠itgonline.com

I belong to the Mid-Atlantic Antique Radio Club which has established the Radio History Society, a non-profit musuem, which is located at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The Radio History Society http://www.radiohistory.org/ is an IRS 501(c)(3) organization which can provide donors with a tax deduction. A single friend of mine has decided that he will donate much of his collection to RHS when he passes on as nobody in his family is interested in old radio. Anyway, I'd imagine CHAC and other organizations can offer help in directing people to good homes for their gear. Marty ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________ Subject: Eventual fate of our machines Author: classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu at internet Date: 10/7/98 11:09 AM Has there been any discussion about the eventual fate of our collections after we are gone? My wife and I have discussed this at some length. I see three phases to my collection. Phase one: Active procurement (Present state) My collection currently exists in a very unorganized state in my basement. I have no real inventory list. Phase two: Active display Fully inventoried with a list of what works and what doesn't. We've discussed the possiblity of setting up some sort of cybercafe to help pay for maintaining the collection. Phase three: Finding the collection a new home (After I'm gone) This is the tough one. In the wrong hands the collection might just go to a landfill and that would be a real shame. I have no kids so there is no one to carry on the tradition. I shudder to think about the eventual fate of all of our collections. Do we need a national repository for all of this stuff? Thoughts to ponder, George ========================================================= George L. Rachor george(a)racsys.rt.rain.com Beaverton, Oregon http://racsys.rt.rain.com ------ Message Header Follows ------ Received: from lists4.u.washington.edu by smtp.itgonline.com (PostalUnion/SMTP(tm) v2.1.9i(b5) for Windows NT(tm)) id AA-1998Oct07.110957.1767.68258; Wed, 07 Oct 1998 11:10:00 -0400 Received: from host (lists.u.washington.edu [140.142.56.13]) by lists4.u.washington.edu (8.8.4+UW97.07/8.8.4+UW98.06) with SMTP id IAA02277; Wed, 7 Oct 1998 08:07:26 -0700 Received: from mxu2.u.washington.edu (mxu2.u.washington.edu [140.142.32.9]) by lists.u.washington.edu (8.8.4+UW97.07/8.8.4+UW98.06) with ESMTP id IAA36360 for <classiccmp(a)lists.u.washington.edu>; Wed, 7 Oct 1998 08:07:17 -0700 Received: from racsys.rt.rain.com (racsys.rt.rain.com [199.2.210.34]) by mxu2.u.washington.edu (8.9.1+UW98.09/8.9.1+UW98.09) with ESMTP id IAA12 828 for <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>; Wed, 7 Oct 1998 08:07:15 -0700 Received: from localhost (localhost.rdrop.com [127.0.0.1]) by racsys.rt.rain.com (8.8.7/8.8.7) with SMTP id IAA24650 for <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>; Wed, 7 Oct 1998 08:10:55 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from george(a)racsys.rt.rain.com) Message-Id: <Pine.BSF.3.96.981007080210.24636A-100000(a)racsys.rt.rain.com> Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1998 08:10:53 -0700 (PDT) Reply-To: classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu Sender: CLASSICCMP-owner(a)u.washington.edu Precedence: bulk From: George Rachor <george(a)racsys.rt.rain.com> To: "Discussion re-collecting of classic computers" <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Subject: Eventual fate of our machines In-Reply-To: <Pine.GSO.3.96.981007072916.6874A-100000(a)shell1.ncal.verio.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII X-To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.1 beta -- ListProcessor(tm) by CREN

27 years, 9 months

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Top 10 Holy Grails of Classic Microcomputer Collecting

by allisonp＠world.std.com

< I meant, what was the proportion of each media at the time? No idea, seems biased to tape where I lived (LI NY). < Back in the days of my IMSAI experience, we had both an ASR-33 and < a cassette interface card. I don't remember the relative costs, < though. A cassette interface and deck were less costly than < an ASR-33, even at ham radio prices? 1975-76 time frame a used ASR33 was 500-900$US. The only machines at the ham meets were BAUDOT with 5level tape (and slower), they ran 75-150$US for a good working one. The ACR and a cassette tape were like 199$US and 35-45$US and faster as well. The third choice was an optical PTreader homebrew or commercial and they required a parallel port (cheap or trivial build) and inexpensive. Punching was again a cost thing and the old teletype BPRE punches were a good find at 100-200$. The point being things we take for granted as cheap or available now (or during the 80s) were less common and expensive in the mid to late 70s. Back in '76 showing up with some kind of terminal storage and more than 4-8k of ram and Basic generally put one in the fortunate class. My altair by late '75 had a home made ascii keyboard attached to a MITS-PIO and a modified (for 64char, 16line) SWTP CT1024 and a MITS 88-ACR and 12k of very flaky (solder plated edge connector rot) 88-S4k ram. I was able to run MITS 4kbasic, 8kbasic and Programming package II. That for its time was a power system. A bit more history... the other systems seen at the time that were pretty neat were the AMI EVK series (6800 SBC with decent amount of ram and rom) and the SWTP 6800. I havent seen either one in years. Both were pretty nice systems and less hardware intensive for the user. It seemed to me at the time that the 6800 camp were doing more software work and the 8080/s100 camp were into hardware. Anyone remember the Viatron systems that were turning up surplus around '75-78 time frame? It used tape and had a multichip LSI cpu. Allison

27 years, 9 months

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North Star Horizon Help

by allisonp＠world.std.com

< I would do that is I knew how. My memory board has several < jumpers and a couple of 8-switch dip switches but I have no doc on < the board so don't know memory settings. It is a 64K board so I < would assume I have a full address space. It is a N* RAM board < BTW. Can't help on that no docs for that board. < > Are they personalized for the machine and are all the port headers don < > the mother board set up correctly? Are the media the correct density < > the controller in use? < < Good question. These were sent to me by someone on the list. < The disks are 10 sectored (hard) double sided double density. The < controller is an N* Micro Disk Controller MDS-AD or that is all I can < see on it. The MDS-AD is a double density controller...ok there. Now the disks can be formatted as 48tpi or 96 tpi as the controller will support most 5.25 drives and if the drive is wrong... Personalizing, if they were set up for different IO they may not work on you NS*. < Any other tips to help out? Get docs! Your working blind without them. Allison

27 years, 9 months

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For sale stuff gone.

by william＠ans.net

OK, all of the stuff is now spoken for. I had to flip a few coins on some of it, as there was demand for some of the things. Sorry to anyone that lost the coin toss - I wish I had more. I am still looking for those IBM 5103 ribbons. William Donzelli william(a)ans.net

27 years, 9 months

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Top 10 Holy Grails of Classic Microcomputer Collecting

by allisonp＠world.std.com

< >How do you know it was paper tape... MITS basic that was "pirated" was < >often supplied on MITS ACR format audio tape. Still have one! < < At the time, were ASR-33s or cassettes the more common media for exchang Yes! ASR33 was expensive so many people used terminals or VDM1/parallel port keyboard or other combinations. Also ASR33 was 10 cps and ACR was 300baud... considering the 4k basic was a 8-9 minute load on the tty and about 3 on the ACR it should be obvious tape was a better way to go. Allison

27 years, 9 months

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Top 10 Holy Grails of Classic Microcomputer Collecting

by allisonp＠world.std.com

< 4) 'The original' paper tape of BASIC that was pirated from Bill Gates. How do you know it was paper tape... MITS basic that was "pirated" was often supplied on MITS ACR format audio tape. Still have one! Allison

27 years, 9 months

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Tron, con't

by jfoust＠threedee.com

Regarding Tron and the recollection of friend-of-a-friend-who-worked there anecdotes, it reminds me of what's still happening in the computer graphics business today: everyone wants to take credit for what's on the screen. For example, the company I work for, Viewpoint DataLabs <http://www.viewpoint.com>, did the modelling for the recent movies Godzilla and ANTZ. What does this mean? It means our artists and 3D modelers created some of the data used by some other company's animators. Of course, our PR people trumpet the fact that Viewpoint made Godzilla. Well, we made the computer model by digitizing and finesse-ing some big rubber scale models made by someone else. And it goes on and on... some other company does the animating, someone else does the rendering, someone else does the compositing of real and fake images, someone else produced it, someone else funded this or that, someone else's 3D software was used to render it. At Siggraph, the industry's big trade show, the Kingston memory chip booth wasn't far from our booth, and they spent the week telling people to buy their memory because it was used in the machines that rendered scenes from Titanic. Back to Tron, though - three-four years ago, I remember meeting someone at a Siggraph who claimed to have worked on Tron, and who still had a copy of the original computer 3D models. I think he was a Caucasian wearing a robe and Sikh-like turban, but my memory may be faulty. If the truth is ever documented, I'm sure Tron was assembled using what equipment they could afford, and whatever could get the job done to the satisfaction of those paying the bills. - John

27 years, 9 months

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Unknown Apple II Card

by SUPRDAVE＠aol.com

I have the drive but no adaptor and when i took mine apart, it appears to be just a standard seagate mfm type drive, i think mine was an st-225. In a message dated 10/6/98 11:00:22 PM US Eastern Standard Time, fauradon(a)pclink.com writes: > It's a Host adapter for the SIDER hard drive. I believ it is SCSI type. I > have the manual and software if you ever get your hands on a sider Hard > drive. > Francois

27 years, 9 months

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Unknown Apple II Card

by fauradon＠pclink.com

You might be able to use any 10Mb (or so) external SCSI drive, I'm not sure about that though. I can get the connector pinout from mine, I haven't taken it apart yet so I don't know what Hard drive it takes. I could chek if nobody else has the answer ready. Experts please? Francois ------------------------------------------------------------- Visit the desperately in need of update Sanctuary at: http://www.pclink.com/fauradon -----Original Message----- From: David Williams <dlw(a)trailingedge.com> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Tuesday, October 06, 1998 11:24 PM Subject: Re: Unknown Apple II Card Ok, guess I'll have to look for a SIDER if that's what this is. Wish I'd know that when I was at the thrift where I picked it up. Unfortunately they recently threw everything out and became a $0.99 store. Shame because they still had a bunch of computer stuff I wanted to pick up. On 6 Oct 98, at 23:01, Francois wrote: > It's a Host adapter for the SIDER hard drive. I believ it is SCSI type. I > have the manual and software if you ever get your hands on a sider Hard > drive. Francois ----- David Williams - Computer Packrat dlw(a)trailingedge.com http://www.trailingedge.com

27 years, 9 months

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Vaporware (and not) from '83 CES

by franke＠sbs.de

> - Panasonic JR-200 (I think this may exist) Exists, I have one. > - Sanyo PCH20/PHC25 (Z80, 4K/16K, $99/$199) Exists (at least acording to some web sites. > - STM Pied Piper (CP/M portable, 64K, $1295) Never heared of. > - TI 99/2 (Supposedly $100, including 4.2K RAM) Never heared of. > - TI CC-40 (Compact Computer 40, laptop like Epson HX-20, 4 AA cells, 31 > character LCD display, $249) Exists - I miss it in my collection, but have seen several > - Unisonic Futura 8300 (Z80, 2K, Sinclair BASIC, $90) I have one, originaly boxed, althrough the box name is different (Your Computer). But almost any Exemplar I know has a different name. > - Video Technology VZ200 (Z80, 4K, MS BASIC, $99) I own two of them. They have been somewhat popular for a very short time. > By the way, has anyone actually seen an TI 99/4 (not 4a)? Shure, have one, barebone :( Gruss H. -- Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut HRK

27 years, 9 months

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Top 10 sins of a computer scrapper

by Innfogra＠aol.com

Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa. I have sinned. I am retireing after 10 yrs of reselling computer, test and laboratory equipment. It was with interest and dismay that I read the top 10 Holy Grails and the following threads. After ballooning up to 16,000 sq. Ft of warehouse my partner insisted on scrapping large parts of the inventory. I was an accumulator, he was a scrapper. Needless to say we didn't last. Unfortunitely during that time we destroyed a lot of older computers including a Xerox Alto, I recognized it later on Revenge of the Nerds several Xerox Stars, I have some of the factory software left and maybe a mouse. a Magnolia Jaquard 100 Word Processor Used the 4004 computer chip Unknown SBC with an 8008 chip, I saved the chip (Std bus I believe) 3 IBM 5100s Scores of early Intel development systems including several Prompt-48 and MCS-8, we bought large lots from Intel Chameleon, I may have a manual or two. Litton 1251, Dual drum memory 400K, punch tape programmed PDP-8 Several Teraks Cincinatti Millichron 2000, I may have a programming card left I'm sure some of the big iron counts but I didn't know that field well. OK so this is more than 10. Where were you guys 4 years ago? I'm really sorry for my part.It is really hard to figure out what is collectable, particularly if you don't recognize it. I felt really bad when I finally recognized that that funny looking Drive with Xerox on it. Is there any interest in a DEC VAX 730, a General Automation Zebra 5500 (a Pick machine), DEC RA60 & RA81s, Tektronix 4113, NCR 1000. These need to go very soon. I enjoy the list. Thanks a lot. Paxton

27 years, 9 months

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Smoke Signal Broadcasting FS

by Innfogra＠aol.com

I have gotten lots of requests for details on this system. So I am posting a list of Chieftain systems and their board count that I have for sale. I am open to all offers, of course I am looking for the best one. Please reply to whoagiii(a)aol.com not to the list. I and the equipment are in Portland, Oregon. Smoke Signal Broadcasting System 1) Chieftain with a wood top. with 2 5 1/4" FHFD and the following boards LMB-1A 9 slot Backplane with 8 slots IO 6809 CPU OS9-SCB69 CIMIX 64K Static Ram M512X populated with 128K 2X M32-X 1 fully populated, the other 6 of 8 banks full M16-X Fully populated DCB 4A Drive Controller 4 2 port serial cards 2) Dual 8" DSDD with a wood top. Qumetrack 242s, attaches to #1 3) Chieftain with wood top with a 5 1/4" FH MFM Hard Drive with an attached Omti 20C Controller LMB-1A 9 slot Backplane with 8 slots IO CPU 50719, 68B09, OS9 SCB-69 M512X with 128K 2X CIMIX 64K Static Ram M16-X Fully populated M32-X Fully populated HDA-P/STA-A/HDA-S 4X 2 port Serial Cards It is interesting that the unit with the hard drive has no floppy. There is wiring that leads me to believe that one power switch turned on all three units at the same time. This is cut now. Paxton

27 years, 9 months

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Cromemco FS

by Innfogra＠aol.com

I have gotten lots of requests for details on the systems. So I am posting a list of Cromemco systems and boards that I have FS. I am open to all offers, of course I am looking for the best one. Please reply to whoagiii(a)aol.com not to the list. Portland, Oregon 97214 is home. Cromemco C 10 Computer with evternal 5 1/4" Floppy and Kbd I think this system was the controller for the Computer following System 2 in a dual height wood cabinet 30"X24"X36" with a 5 1/4 FHFD and the following cards : UUX 68020 CPU wi 68881 - 16 mhz 64FDC PRI STDC SFLSH 2 2048 MSU MCU SVID SDMB 1024 KTD SDCM SDMA The following software in 6 boxes of 5 1/4 disks containing Fortran IV, Ptr., Com, WP, Proprint, Procall, backup and Data and 68000 Fortran 77. Most of the disks are copies and not originals. The following Books a Binder of Program data, Cromix-plus users manual, Intro to C+, Baseline Graphics Inst., S Series Board Family Inst., SDD Camera Digitizer Board Manual, SDCM Color Monitor Board Manual, C-% Tech Reference, Cromix+ Programming, 68020 Cromix Admin. This system may not be complete. The boards appear to be out of order and the cables pulled off the cards. All of the cables may not be there. System 3 with 2 8" 1/2 Ht Floppys and a 5 1/4" hard drive (I would have to remove it to identify it) and the following cards 4X 256KZ Memory DPU 68000/8 Octart 16FDC WDI-II System 1, CS-1H, 6/13/83, 8 Slot MF with the following cards WDI-II 4X 256K Memory DPU Z80 & 68000/8 Octart 16FDC This Octart brake3out cable is homemade. It breaks out to 8 serial connectors mounted on a wood board. One of the cables has been damaged by it being ripped out of its plug. Extra Cards and Parts, please bid each. 3X 64KZ-I 2X 256KTP ZPU ZCPU SCC 64FDC TU-ART Quadart attached to a IOP Keyboard All are untested. After reading the threads about starting old systems I decided to sell them as-is untested. Thank you, Paxton

27 years, 9 months

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Top 10 Holy Grails of Classic Microcomputer Collecting

by scott＠isd.canberra.edu.au

At 19:38 6/10/98 -0700, Uncle Roger <sinasohn(a)ricochet.net> wrote: >At 08:24 PM 10/5/98 -0500, you wrote: >>I've always wanted to know which machines have only a single instance >>represented on this list. > >If I've got any that aren't duplicated, I'd guess them to be: > >NEC PC-8201 (not the PC-8201A) [Snip] What is the difference between the PC-8201 and the PC-8201A? I've got two PC-8201As, and what *seems* to be an PC-8201. It's a different, bronze, colour and has "NEC PC-8201" printed on the top left-hand corner. However, the silver sticker on the bottom of the computer says it is a PC-8201A. How can I tell for sure which I have? Regards, | Scott McLauchlan |E-Mail: scott(a)cts.canberra.edu.au | | Network Services Team |Phone : +61 2 6201 5544 (Ext.5544)| | Client Services Division |Post : University of Canberra, | | University of Canberra, AUSTRALIA | ACT, 2601, AUSTRALIA. |

27 years, 9 months

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Vaporware (and not) from '83 CES

by scott＠isd.canberra.edu.au

At 17:07 6/10/98 -0700, Kai Kaltenbach <kaikal(a)MICROSOFT.com> wrote: >New computers announced at the 1983 CES: > >Vaporware? Please respond if you KNOW any of these exist for SURE. > [Snip] >- Video Technology VZ200 (Z80, 4K, MS BASIC, $99) Not only do these exist, they were very popular in Australia in the mid-80s. They were marketed as the Dick Smith VZ-200 (Dick Smith is *the* major electronics retailer in Australia). Not only that, but there was also a VZ-300 (also known as the Video Technology Laser 310). For details, please see the following URLs: http://www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~alexios/MACHINE-ROOM/Video,Technology_Laser_200. html http://www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~alexios/MACHINE-ROOM/Dick,Smith,Electronics_VZ-2 00.html http://www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~alexios/MACHINE-ROOM/Dick,Smith,Electronics_VZ-3 00.html http://www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~alexios/MACHINE-ROOM/Video,Technology_Laser_310. html >By the way, has anyone actually seen an TI 99/4 (not 4a)? Yes, I've got one, Unfortunatly I have no power supply for it. Not only that, but I don't know what the power supply pinout is, nor where I could get a plug to suit the strange power supply socket (it's just like the one for the TI-99/4a, except one of the pins is bigger, so a TI-99/4a socket won't fit). For details on the TI-99/4, see http://99er.interspeed.net/994.html Regards, | Scott McLauchlan |E-Mail: scott(a)cts.canberra.edu.au | | Network Services Team |Phone : +61 2 6201 5544 (Ext.5544)| | Client Services Division |Post : University of Canberra, | | University of Canberra, AUSTRALIA | ACT, 2601, AUSTRALIA. |

27 years, 9 months

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Unknown Apple II Card

by fauradon＠pclink.com

It's a Host adapter for the SIDER hard drive. I believ it is SCSI type. I have the manual and software if you ever get your hands on a sider Hard drive. Francois ------------------------------------------------------------- Visit the desperately in need of update Sanctuary at: http://www.pclink.com/fauradon -----Original Message----- From: David Williams <dlw(a)trailingedge.com> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Tuesday, October 06, 1998 6:40 PM Subject: Unknown Apple II Card I have an unknown interface card for the Apple ][. At least I think it is for a II. It has a 50 pin connector down the front of the card. "REV E" and "SCI Typ. 1A" dated "Jan 24 '85" printed on the card. An EPROM with 8443EPP AM2732ADC Copyright 1983 AMD printed on it. That's all I can find printed on the card. Any ideas? For those who can handle images, there are a couple at: http://www.trailingedge.com/~dlw/comp/images/acard1.jpg http://www.trailingedge.com/~dlw/comp/images/acard2.jpg Not the best pictures but I have the camera here right now and may take some closeups of the board and chips. Thanks. ----- David Williams - Computer Packrat dlw(a)trailingedge.com http://www.trailingedge.com

27 years, 9 months

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North Star Horizon Help

by allisonp＠world.std.com

< Nope, no manuals except a copy of the N* DOS manual and a < monitor manual I believe. The system has a CPU board, disk < controller and a 64K RAM board so I'd guess N*DOS should load < fine. Opened it back up but don't see any DIPs near the back. < There are a couple of switchs outside the case which are labeled < for different baud rates for the video and printer port. The dips are on the mother board at the rear of the machine inside. They set up all of the IO charateristics including the sense of pins two and three in the serial connectors. I know of no Horizon that has switches for baud rates, that was a user mod. Allison

27 years, 9 months

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North Star Horizon Help

by allisonp＠world.std.com

< Ok, I have a few minutes now to play around with the N* Horizon < I've been fixing up. I've tried to power it up and it seems to hit the < disk drive and then nothing. I've plugged some spare terminals into < the port marked "Video Terminal Port" and played with baud rates < and other comm settings but get nothing on any of my terminals. There is no resident monitor or software other than a disk boot in a standard horizon. It will not say anything to a terminal untill it boots (assuming the booted code has something to say). If the boot fails likley the only signals you get is disk activity or the lack of it. Make sure you have at least 32k of ram starting at 0000 for CPM or 16k starting at 2000h for NSdos. < Also tried straight through and flipped comm cables. Can < someone give me some info on these and maybe walk me through < getting it set up and running so I can check and see if I've missed < something? Oh, I'm trying both N*DOS 5.2 and N* CP/M 2.2. Are they personalized for the machine and are all the port headers don on the mother board set up correctly? Are the media the correct density for the controller in use? I have and still run one. it occurs to me, if you have DOCS for it the setup and checkout procedure is in there. Allison

27 years, 9 months

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Corrections to trivia

by allisonp＠world.std.com

< >For example why is it that prople are hunting for MARK-8 and Kenbec's < >when the most likely find (greatest quantity) for 8008 machines is a < >MCS-8 from intel?!?! < < I disagree - an even *more* likely find is a 11/34a with an 8008 < running the front panel! Tim, That would be the case if I were looking for anything with an 8008. I was thinking more of a SBC or Evaluation board when I wrote that. Allison

27 years, 9 months

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North Star Horizon Help

by allisonp＠world.std.com

< Also, I seem to recall that North Star DOS was generated for a specific < size -- I believe it's top-resident. A DOS set up for 16K would work on < or 48K, but not vice versa. No it isn't. The controller fills the e800h to efffh space but NSdos is ORGed for 2000h and up. CPM is top resident and for the NS* that usually means a 58k maximum system unless there are some tricks appled. Allison

27 years, 9 months

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Top 10 Holy Grails of Classic Microcomputer Collecting

by jeff.kaneko＠juno.com

On Tue, 6 Oct 1998 21:12:07 -0500 (CDT) Doug Yowza <yowza(a)yowza.com> writes: >On 7 Oct 1998, Eric Smith wrote: > >> > The Heathkit people have pretty much set a precedence with unbuilt >kits - >> > if you build one, your name turns to mud. Then they kill you. >> >> Why would the Heathkit people care whether I assemble a Cromemco >Dazzler >> kit? :-) > >The Heathkit People can't see very well, they carry hot soldering >irons, >and they kill first and ask questions later. Certain areas near >Benton >Harbor are *very* dangerous at night. Be carefull out there. > >BTW, after getting my H-8 chassis last week, I found a complete H-8 >today. >Yet another data-point supporting Rax's "bait" theory. Damn. I wish I'd known this a zillion years ago when I could have grabbed an H-11 shell I saw in an L.A. scrapyard. I'd be using it for trolling right about now . . . Jeff ___________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]

27 years, 9 months

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Partner 128

by oajones＠bright.net

I picked up a cartridge at a flea market. It says PARTNER 128, Cat. No. 7361, (C)1985 TIMEWORKS, INC. What is this thing? --Alan -- Computing since: 1982, VIC-20, CoCo, PC, CP/M Military Computers: COMTRAN 10, Nida 250 Amateur Radio since: 1971, WN8JEF, KA6EXR, N8BGR, AA4ZI BASIC, dBASE, Assembly, C++ mailto: oajones(a)bright.net

27 years, 9 months

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Top 10 Holy Grails of Classic Microcomputer Collecting

by allisonp＠world.std.com

< Tony Duell wrote: < > Agreed. If I ever get an unbuilt kit my first reaction is to build the < > thing. Examples of 1970's packaging are not very interesting to me :- < < I disagree. I have three unassembled Cromemco Dazzler kits. I plan to < assemble one. But if I only had one unassembled kit I think I'd leave i < that way. I personally do find the packaging to be of interest. I'm with tony as the early altairs were not packaged other than needed for shipping. Mine was very early and mostly poly bags of stuff like screws, nuts washers wires and non esd sensitive parts, MOS parts in black foam and sockets in pink foam. The PC card were between sheets of cardboard and it was all in a box with a xeroxed 4th generation manual with atleast two erata sheets for each board. Not much to look at. Some of the later 8800a and the 8800b machine had some nice bent corrigated and all. Allison

27 years, 9 months

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Rookie PDP help needed again...

by allisonp＠world.std.com

< The only thing on the board is what's on the handle; "M8186". There is < circular sticker on the underside of one handle that says "mpg jun/81" < it. There are four 40-pin sockets (individual pin sockets on the board) < with the following configuration: < < 1) AMI 303D & AMI 302F on 8048 DEC < 2) AMI 303D & AMI 303D on 8117 DEC < 3) Empty < 4) AMI 304E What's th3 point it's a m8186 kdf-11, aka 11/23? the only thing I can add about it is it appears to have the FIS (floating point extended instruction set) that should run most anything in the way of DEC OSs with the only question being is it limited to 18bit or 22bit able. The latter being less of an issue unless your using more than 256k of ram or certaion backplanes/periperals. < One of my problems is that 4 8" drives are my only storage devices. Any < advice on getting RT-11 or RSX on 8" floppies? I have a bunch of disks, < though I have no way of knowing if they're any good, but no way to writ < to them. RT-11 was nominally supplied on rx01 (8" single density) or rx02 (8" double density) floppies. RSX-11 wants a hard disk for swapping and all. < As far as the Multifunction board, I checked the pins of the console < port with a scope but I can't seem to get anything from it at boot. I < checked the scope on another serial output source and it seems to be < working OK, so I'm assuming that the port on the PDP just isn't giving m 1 which port there are two? 2 is one of the ports set up as a console? 3 is the rom on the MXV setup for the correct boot and is the rom installed? 4 can you hit break and get console ODT prompt and actions? There is a good possibility you have a improperly configured MXV-11 and there is a sea of jumpers on it and it must have the correct proms installed as well. < any console messages immediately on power up? Does it display the POST < procedure, like my Vaxstation? One Sun 3/50 I had with 12 megs of ram to No! The BDV11 if you had it does. < around a minute to display a console message; should there be a long del < like that when booting a PDP-11? If there is a few hundred K maybe 10-20 sec. usually you hear some disk activity before that and then it boots. You vax and Sun knowledge is not helping you as this isn't them. Allison

27 years, 9 months

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Top 10 Holy Grails of Classic Microcomputer Collecting

by sinasohn＠ricochet.net

At 08:24 PM 10/5/98 -0500, you wrote: >I've always wanted to know which machines have only a single instance >represented on this list. If I've got any that aren't duplicated, I'd guess them to be: NEC PC-8201 (not the PC-8201A) Datavue 25 Iasis Computer-in-a-Book (I think Hal Layer has one, but I don't think he's on the list) Symbolics 3600 Seequa Chameleon? Sanyo MBC-8000 Zenith ZP-150? --------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, 9 months

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Top 10 Holy Grails of Classic Microcomputer Collecting

by sinasohn＠ricochet.net

At 08:38 PM 10/5/98 -0700, you wrote: >How many people have a Chameleon? A friend of mine gave it to me probably 5 >or so years ago when he was cleaning out his garage. Bzzzt... Got three. Also have some scans (from a former employee of Seequa) of one of the brochures. (Gotta remember to get back to him to get more info.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, 9 months

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Top 10 Holy Grails of Classic Microcomputer Collecting

by sinasohn＠ricochet.net

At 03:44 PM 10/5/98 -0700, you wrote: >Just for the hell of it, I thought I'd make a list of the Top 10 Holy Grails >of classic microcomputer computer collecting. This is the "Rembrandt in the Hmmm... Seems like your list got garbled in transmission... Here's what it should have looked like, I think: Canon FlatCat STM Systems Baby! 1 Teleram Model 4000 and 5000 Atari ST Book and ST Pad Apricot Portable Dynalogic Hyperion Osborne "Encore" and "Vixen" Gavilan GRiD Compass 1100 Toshiba T1100 Unfortunately, I've only got one of those so far. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, 9 months

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Corrections to trivia

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

Although it's certainly interesting, I doubt my new-found knowledge of the first microprocessor is going to radically change any of my view of the world. F14CADC doesn't mean anything different than 4004. But, what I guess might be significant is that this shows how major an impact the military has played on computers. The ENIAC, F14CADC, DEC Alpha, and other stuff I'm sure can all be attributed to the pentagon. And _that_ is significant because instead of saying that the computer is a triumph of enterpreneurs and daring capitalists, we can _also_ say that it is a triumph of America's great war machine. > >the F14 CADC was the first microcomputer system that made fly by wire >practical. The 4004 was the first commercially viable single chip CPU. >Clear statments that do not conflict but do make a statment that points >to their significance. > >< I'm not denying that Holt produced a CPU, and it may be important in th >< history of military computers. It is irrelevant in the history of the >< personal computer unless there was a personal computer designed that >< included it or a direct descendant. > >Or the technology that made the silicon possible for later commercial >designs. It doesn't have to be the same design. > >< I think it's great that Holt got his story out. Footnotes always add >< depth, but no chapters need to be rewritten. > >The assuption is they are accurate chapters. ;) the depth is needed to >see how the later chapters are significant. > > >Allison > > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

27 years, 9 months

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Apple IV/Lisa (was: Re: Somebody has a C65 on eBay)

by tomowad＠earthlink.net

>>>There's some evidence to suggest that the Lisa is the Apple VI, which raises >>>the question of what happened to IV and V. >> >> I think it would be more accurate to say that Apple considered naming the >> Lisa the Apple IV. "Lisa" was originally just a code name, after all. > >In what way can that be said to be more accurate? "...Lisa is the Apple IV" gives one the impression that the Apple IV was a definite computer, rather than just a name that was considered, but never actually used, for the Lisa. It is quite probable Apple considered using the name "Apple IV" for many computers that shipped after the Apple ///. Said Steve Wozniak, in reference to the Apple ///, "...when we reintroduced it we should have called it the Apple IV." (The Mac Bathroom Reader, pg 34). My point is, "Apple IV" is such a logical name for a computer from Apple that it could have been considered for just about anything. "Apple IV", however, is not the sort of name that was used as a codename at Apple, and therefore most likely would not have been called so in the development stage, though there are many prototypes that could have ended up bearing that name. Of course, I'm just hypothesizing here. :-) >Aside from the marketing model numbers, the only information I've ever found >regarding alternate names that may have been considered was the story about >the name "Applause". According to _The Mac Bathroom Reader_, by Owen Linzmayer, page 80: "Apple figured it needed a more professional-sounding name to appeal to the business market, so it hired an outside consulting firm to recommend a new name. Among others, they suggested Applause, Apple IV, Apple 400, The Coach, Espirit, Teacher, and The World. Quite an effort went into thinking up a different name, but the forthcoming computer had already received so much press coverage under its code name that Apple reverse engineereed the explanation that Lisa stood for 'Local Integrated Software Architecture'" If you're interested in reading about Mac History & prototypes, _The Mac Bathroom Reader" by Owen Linzmayer and _AppleDesign_ by Paul Kunkel are both excellent books. Tom Owad -- Sysop of Caesarville Online Client software at: <http://home.earthlink.net/~tomowad/>

27 years, 9 months

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Aquarius Data Recorders

by dlw＠trailingedge.com

I just received an email from a local group which has 250 new in box Aquarius cassette recorders. They are taking bids but I suspect you can't just buy a few but would have to take the whole lot. I have one but could use at least one more and maybe two and it would be nice to have the box and any doc or cables. Is there any interest in this out there? If so, how much would people be willing to pay? Don't forget shipping costs. Let me know. BTW, "local" in this case is Houston, TX. ----- David Williams - Computer Packrat dlw(a)trailingedge.com http://www.trailingedge.com

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subscribe

by mew_jac＠swbell.net

27 years, 9 months

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North Star Horizon Help

by kaikal＠MICROSOFT.com

Do you have the manuals? You'll need to check the port definitions that are set via jumpers on the open DIPs near the back of the motherboard. Also, I seem to recall that North Star DOS was generated for a specific RAM size -- I believe it's top-resident. A DOS set up for 16K would work on 32K or 48K, but not vice versa. Kai -----Original Message----- From: David Williams [mailto:dlw@trailingedge.com] Sent: Tuesday, October 06, 1998 3:38 PM To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers Subject: North Star Horizon Help Ok, I have a few minutes now to play around with the N* Horizon I've been fixing up. I've tried to power it up and it seems to hit the disk drive and then nothing. I've plugged some spare terminals into the port marked "Video Terminal Port" and played with baud rates and other comm settings but get nothing on any of my terminals. Also tried straight through and flipped comm cables. Can someone give me some info on these and maybe walk me through getting it set up and running so I can check and see if I've missed something? Oh, I'm trying both N*DOS 5.2 and N* CP/M 2.2. Thanks. ----- David Williams - Computer Packrat dlw(a)trailingedge.com http://www.trailingedge.com

27 years, 9 months

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TI CC-40 was RE: Vaporware (and not) from '83 CES

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

I have one; does anyone know where I could get a tape drive and some cartridges for it? >The TI CC-40 exists for sure - I've seen several of them. > >Bob > >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >Bob Withers Do or do not, there is no try. >bwit(a)pobox.com Yoda >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > >On Tuesday, October 06, 1998 7:07 PM, Kai Kaltenbach [SMTP:kaikal@microsoft.com] wrote: >> New computers announced at the 1983 CES: >> >> Vaporware? Please respond if you KNOW any of these exist for SURE. >> >> - Panasonic JR-200 (I think this may exist) >> - Sanyo PCH20/PHC25 (Z80, 4K/16K, $99/$199) >> - STM Pied Piper (CP/M portable, 64K, $1295) >> - TI 99/2 (Supposedly $100, including 4.2K RAM) >> - TI CC-40 (Compact Computer 40, laptop like Epson HX-20, 4 AA cells, 31 >> character LCD display, $249) >> - Unisonic Futura 8300 (Z80, 2K, Sinclair BASIC, $90) >> - Video Technology VZ200 (Z80, 4K, MS BASIC, $99) >> >> Not Vaporware >> >> - Jupiter Ace >> - Mattel Aquarius >> - Spectravideo SV-318 >> - Timex Sinclair 2000 >> >> >> By the way, has anyone actually seen an TI 99/4 (not 4a)? >> >> Kai >> >> > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

27 years, 9 months

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Top 10 Holy Grails of Classic Microcomputer Collecting

by foxnhare＠goldrush.com

Let's get this into the proper perspective here there is only one "Holy Grail" (unless you read National Inquirer then there are millions for $39.98 plus shipping and handling) Let's see if I can think of some true 'Holy Grails' of computing: 1) The pre Apple 1 prototype Steve Wozniac brought to the Homebrew Computer Club. 2) The original code listing for the BASIC he hand typed to demonstrate that computer. 3) The PDP-1 used to write and play Space War at MIT (with the original game controls) ( I know it's not a micro, but I like the idea. ) 4) 'The original' paper tape of BASIC that was pirated from Bill Gates. Now those would be 'holy grails,' something along the lines of you either don't tell anyone or are very carefull who you tell that you own them. Larry -- -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- Larry Anderson - Sysop of Silicon Realms BBS (300-2400bd) (209) 754-1363 Visit my Commodore 8-Bit web page at: http://www.goldrush.com/~foxnhare/commodore.html -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

27 years, 9 months

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C65

by foxnhare＠goldrush.com

> From: Sam Ismail <dastar(a)ncal.verio.com> > Subject: Re: Somebody has a C65 on eBay > > On Mon, 5 Oct 1998, Cameron Kaiser wrote: > > > :: > > ::Somebody's posted a Commodore C65 prototype on eBay. 4 days left and the > > ::bidding is at $1025. > > :: > > > > That's nothing. The last one sold went for $1400. (!) > > Well, how many of these "prototypes" exist? Has anyone authenticated > these things? I would venture to guess a couple hundred to several hundred. Commodore was almost to production before they decided to drop the C65 (I remember reading 1991 as the year they dopped the project). After Commodore went bankrupt some of thier warehouse assetts were liquidated, the Graprvine Group in New York had bought the one with the most c65s and were selling them for I think about $100 a unit. It kinda resembles an Amiga 500 with the floppy drive facing forward (no neumeric keypad). The c65 would best be compared to the Apple IIgs, still has its roots in the 6502 but alot of the graphics and sound are adapted from Amiga technology. It would have done well with the people wanting a more amiga-like system without sacrificing all thier Commodore 8-bit drives and such. There are enough c65s out there that some people have FTP sites of c65 programs. Unfortunately I wasn't one of the people who got a c65 on time. *sigh* -- -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- Larry Anderson - Sysop of Silicon Realms BBS (300-2400bd) (209) 754-1363 Visit my Commodore 8-Bit web page at: http://www.goldrush.com/~foxnhare/commodore.html -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

27 years, 9 months

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Corrections to trivia

by CLASSICCMP＠trailing-edge.com

> Intel supplied the ammunition for a >revolution: cheap computers. The high level of integration was what >enabled them to make it cheap, and they commercialized it. The level of >integration is the salient feature of the chip, but not the main feature >of the important event. It *certainly* wasn't obvious in the mid-70's, when Intel had picked up its pieces and put together a microprocessor chip (the 8080A) which cost a significant fraction of what a new car cost at the time, that VLSI CPU's were going to be replacing boards full of TTL logic. It was Intel's competitors - notably Motorola and especially MOS Technology - who were responsible for driving microprocessor CPU costs to the hundred-dollar-level and below. That's when times really began a-changin'. Tim.

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Vaporware (and not) from '83 CES

by bwit＠pobox.com

The TI CC-40 exists for sure - I've seen several of them. Bob ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bob Withers Do or do not, there is no try. bwit(a)pobox.com Yoda ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On Tuesday, October 06, 1998 7:07 PM, Kai Kaltenbach [SMTP:kaikal@microsoft.com] wrote: > New computers announced at the 1983 CES: > > Vaporware? Please respond if you KNOW any of these exist for SURE. > > - Panasonic JR-200 (I think this may exist) > - Sanyo PCH20/PHC25 (Z80, 4K/16K, $99/$199) > - STM Pied Piper (CP/M portable, 64K, $1295) > - TI 99/2 (Supposedly $100, including 4.2K RAM) > - TI CC-40 (Compact Computer 40, laptop like Epson HX-20, 4 AA cells, 31 > character LCD display, $249) > - Unisonic Futura 8300 (Z80, 2K, Sinclair BASIC, $90) > - Video Technology VZ200 (Z80, 4K, MS BASIC, $99) > > Not Vaporware > > - Jupiter Ace > - Mattel Aquarius > - Spectravideo SV-318 > - Timex Sinclair 2000 > > > By the way, has anyone actually seen an TI 99/4 (not 4a)? > > Kai > >

27 years, 9 months

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Aquarius Data Recorders

by SUPRDAVE＠aol.com

In a message dated 10/6/98 5:25:47 PM US Eastern Standard Time, oajones(a)bright.net writes: > Hi David, > I would be interested in one cassette recorder. myself included. perhaps two if the price is low.

27 years, 9 months

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Definitions

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

I think it's helpful to say that a computer is any implement, mechanical or otherwise, to aid in calculation. But this means rocks, fingers, and calculators are all computers. I guess we can say, any machine which is capable of performing something besides addition, mulitplication, subtraction, division without further input from the user. Thus, I guess a computer must either have stuff like that hard-coded (like a slide-rule) or be programmable. So, from this 1-min. train of thought, I say: A computer is any implement capable of processing super-arithmetic functions. BTW, my New Bantam English Dictionary says: A machine capable of performing highly complex mathematical calculations at very high speed. >calculator, reckoner. spec. a person employed to make calculations in an >observatory, in surveying, etc. >1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. vi vi 289 The Clenders of these computers. >1704 .... > >I've heard that some newer editions of the OED have added some of the >more modern usages. > > >> an industry that in my lifetime went from the early commercial vacuum >> tube machines to the 64bit CPU chip running some thousands of times >> faster. > >And with software that has grown to compensate for the speed of the >hardware and keep the usefulness of the system where it was. > > >Nevertheless, it WOULD help if we agreed on basic definitions of our >fundamental terminology. > > >-- >Fred Cisin cisin(a)xenosoft.com >XenoSoft http://www.xenosoft.com >2210 Sixth St. (510) 644-9366 >Berkeley, CA 94710-2219 > > > > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

27 years, 9 months

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North Star Horizon Help

by dlw＠trailingedge.com

Ok, I have a few minutes now to play around with the N* Horizon I've been fixing up. I've tried to power it up and it seems to hit the disk drive and then nothing. I've plugged some spare terminals into the port marked "Video Terminal Port" and played with baud rates and other comm settings but get nothing on any of my terminals. Also tried straight through and flipped comm cables. Can someone give me some info on these and maybe walk me through getting it set up and running so I can check and see if I've missed something? Oh, I'm trying both N*DOS 5.2 and N* CP/M 2.2. Thanks. ----- David Williams - Computer Packrat dlw(a)trailingedge.com http://www.trailingedge.com

27 years, 9 months

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Top 10 Holy Grails of Classic Microcomputer Collecting

by MPritchard＠EnsembleStudios.com

My personal list is much smaller and more mundane.. and more personal, these are machines I actually worked on when I was very young. 1) Compucolor 2 (The Model with floppy disk in the monitor housing) - I let one of these, working w/ software slip through my hands about 4-5 years ago 2) an Exidy Sorcerer - I have a story about loosing a huge folder full of software and papers because I left them at a computer store where I was working on one; when I came back next week, they had folded and were gone. every time one comes up on the net, I'm too late, alas. 3) Ohio Scientific Challenger 4p (?) -Matt Pritchard > -----Original Message----- > From: Kai Kaltenbach [SMTP:kaikal@MICROSOFT.com] > Sent: Monday, October 05, 1998 5:45 PM > To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers > Subject: Top 10 Holy Grails of Classic Microcomputer Collecting > > Just for the hell of it, I thought I'd make a list of the Top 10 Holy > Grails > of classic microcomputer computer collecting. This is the "Rembrandt in > the > Attic" sort of stuff. These are roughly in my opinionated order, but > somewhat randomly ordered: > > 1. The Altair prototype that was to be the cover photo for Popular > Electronics but was lost in shipment > 2. Xerox Alto > 3. Mark 8 > 4. Scelbi 8H > 5. Kenbak-1 > 6. Micral 8008 > 7. Apple I > 8. An unassembled Altair 8800 Kit > 9. Busicom Japan Intel 4004-based Calculator > 10. IBM 5100 > > Kai > >

27 years, 9 months

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a collectors grail

by allisonp＠world.std.com

< >> Don't you mean 1801R and 1801S? My early 18xx book doesn't list any < > Both. Mine do, I have an unusual collection of RCA data books with al < < Well, don't leave us in suspense. What's an 18101? Did it come before < or after the 1801R/1801S pair? During... it was the SBC with both chips. Allison

27 years, 9 months

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Somebody has a C65 on eBay

by mark_k＠iname.com

On Mon, 5 Oct 1998 Sam Ismail wrote: >> ::Somebody's posted a Commodore C65 prototype on eBay. 4 days left and the >> ::bidding is at $1025. >> >> That's nothing. The last one sold went for $1400. (!) > >Well, how many of these "prototypes" exist? Has anyone authenticated >these things? I'd say quite a few. A couple of years ago a company which sells Amiga & Commodore spares listed C65s in their ad in Amiga Computing magazine. Christmas 96 issue, Paxtron corporation ad: Motherboards (factory new) C65 inc. all chips, latest ROM (PAL only) $70 C65 service manual $20 There is/was also a C65 mailing list. -- Mark

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Definitions

by jsalzman＠hersheys.com

>So would it be possible to come up with a group sanctioned list of >definitions for: > computer (generic) Someone who calculates numbers > digital computer Someone who uses an electronic calculator to calculate numbers > analog computer Someone who uses an abacus to calculate numbers > minicomputer The assistant to the Computer > microcomputer The assistant to the Computer's assistant > processor Someone who collects and delivers the finished calculations > microprocessor ...his assistant > mainframe The big connecting series of tables where all these people work from Sorry guys, but after the day I had at work, I needed to interject a shot of humor Jeff Salzman Tongue-in-cheek

27 years, 9 months

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Rookie PDP help needed again...

by aaron＠wfi-inc.com

Thanks for the other responses about the cards, I think I have all the Plessey clone cards identified with the DEC models. However, I am a little confused on my CPU board identification. The board is an M8186, which I have searched on and found to be a KDF11-AA. Or KDF11-AB. Or KDF11-AC. The problem is that I can't find any revision code on the board. To add to the confusion, the original configuration sheet in the case lists the CPU board as a KDF11-HF, of which I haven't been able to find any info at all. Does anyone have any info on this CPU, or can you tell me how to identify which board it actually is? Also, I have looked everywhere for a CPU/OS matrix and haven't found it. Could someone provide me with a URL or just a quick hand-rolled list of what versions of which OS run on which processor? The multifunction board is Plessey #MFV11A; same as DEC MXV11A? I tried to make a console cable using the pinouts on the sunsite PDP-11 page with no success, setting the terminal at 4800baud. Is there something I'm missing here, or can someone suggest how to wire the cable? I just arranged a loner scope (my Tek is basically dead), so I'll start going pin-by-pin until I figure it out, but a "here's how to wire the cable" would sure help a lot. Finally, is there anyone who remembers these clones? Does anyone have _any_ documentation on them at all? Anything really different from a standard DEC PDP-11? The front panel calls it a "Plessey Periperal Systems - Micro II." It has 6 switches on the panel: write protect switches for the two internal 8" floppies, the cpu halt/enable switch, a boot switch, an LTY on/off switch, and the power switch. Any info at all would be greatly appreciated. I feel like I've just stepped into the pages of a wild adventure book... Aaron

27 years, 9 months

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Corrections to trivia

by cmcmanis＠freegate.com

At 01:30 PM 10/6/98 -0500, Doug wrote: >I'm not denying that Holt produced a CPU, and it may be important in the >history of military computers. It is irrelevant in the history of the >personal computer unless there was a personal computer designed that >included it or a direct descendant. So do you judge Xerox's impact on the "personal computer" as their Xerox 820 II or 8/16 machines or by the impact PARC had on user interface metaphors? One of the more subtle things that this sort of blanket statement misses is that places like the Silicon valley are filled with folks going from job to job and bringing their knowledge (some of it classified) with them. Xerox had a tremendous impact on Sun because a lot of ex-Xeroids went to work there (look at a Dandelion box and a Sun 3/160 sometime :-) The impact of Ray's design could be indirectly felt by people who worked with him and went elsewhere. --Chuck

27 years, 9 months

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RSX-11M and CSR's

by mbg＠world.std.com

I think RSX has something called autoconfig which will tell you how your system is configured (apparently by actually touching the hardware).... RT-11 can only tell you a part of the information, and only if it matches the configuration of the handers... SHOW CONFIG will tell you about the machine itself (processor, memory, fpu, etc) while SHOW DEVICES will list all the devices for which at least the CSR the handler knows about responds... even if the CSR is the wrong one for that handler... Megan Gentry Former RT-11 Developer +--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+ | Megan Gentry, EMT/B, PP-ASEL | Internet (work): gentry!zk3.dec.com | | Unix Support Engineering Group | (home): mbg!world.std.com | | Compaq Computer Corporation | addresses need '@' in place of '!' | | 110 Spitbrook Rd. ZK03-2/T43 | URL: http://world.std.com/~mbg/ | | Nashua, NH 03062 | "pdp-11 programmer - some assembler | | (603) 884 1055 | required." - mbg | +--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+

27 years, 9 months

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Corrections to trivia

by allisonp＠world.std.com

< ::It was Intel's competitors - notably Motorola and especially MOS < ::Technology - who were responsible for driving microprocessor CPU cost < ::to the hundred-dollar-level and below. That's when times really bega < ::a-changin'. Tim is right as is was MOS Tech. that lobbed the biggest shot by offering the 6502 for a mere $20 (single unit price!) at one of the computer shows. < I agree with this. The 6502 architecture and the 6800/68000 series did m Where did zilog fit in... they certainly improved on the 8080, they did it cheaper and had a design that was easier to use too. Forced intel to emphasize the 8085 that didn't extend the instructionset of the 8080 any significant amount. < to advance low-cost computing than anything Intel did. Intel seemed perf < satisfied to stay in the high-end market until relatively recently. I strongly disagree. The following were Intel chips aimed at low to mid end applications/markets. 8048/9 series the 8088 and 80188 parts (8bit bus lower cost to use design with) 8051 series That may not be the total list either. The market that intel couldn't or didn't care to be in was the $1 single chip microprocessor market where TMS1000, COPS, uCOM4 and other 4bitters can and did have a distinct presence. Allison

27 years, 9 months

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Top 10 Holy Grails of Classic Microcomputer Collecting

by altair8800＠hotmail.com

I received a tip last year that a long time computer business located in Mobile, Alabama was a virtual storehouse of vintage machines. I payed them a visit and could not get past the receptionist. I was told that they occasionally donated the things to be used in educational institutions but that they were absolutely not interested in selling anything. About six months later I learned that the business had closed. Subsequently, I was told by a veteran employee of this firm that when they shut their doors they hauled two Xerox Altos (among many others) to the landfill. I told this person that it was unlikely that they would ever have been in possesion of Xerox Altos but he was adamant that they were indeed Xerox Altos. In hindsight, I now wish I had fibbed to that receptionist and told her that I was connected with the University of Alabama. Bob Wood ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

27 years, 9 months

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