I have that program, and I have only been able to copy something
so that the mac could read it only a couple of times. There is a
problem of it being unable to copy a file with both sides of the fork
used (i.e. you can dump everything into the resource fork, or
everything into the data fork, but can't use both. Executor stores
the two as separate files, it would be nice if I could tell Mac-ette
to use bla for the data fork of bbb and blb for the resource fork
of bbb. Alas...)
>>
ftp://ftp5.info.apple.com/Apple.Support.Area/Apple_SW_Updates/US/Macintosh/S
>> yste
>> > m/Older_System/
>> >
>> > Of course you need a functional Mac to make the floppies. If you
have
>> both
>> > hard drives, simply make sure the SCSI ID's are set to different
numbers,
>> > and either leave both in the machine, or copy the 40Mb drive to the
>> larger
>> > one. Another more expensive alternative would be to get a external
>> CD-ROM
>> > and a copy of MacOS on CD.
>>
>> Umm.... If there has any method to build up the Mac Discs on a PC??
>
>Yes, there is a free(?)/share(?)ware program named MAC-ETTE that will
>format, read, and write the 1.44mb Mac disks. The problem that most of
>us non-Mac yokels have is trying to figure out what goes in which fork!
>
>You should be abble to find it with a Web search.
>
> - don
>
>
>> Yours,
>> Ken Yaksa
>>
>
>
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
At 09:25 PM 6/18/98 -0700, you wrote:
>
>New Topic! Ok people: what sort of storage media (and for what system) did
>you guys carry around to start out with?
>
[Joel Fedorko]
Mid-Late '70s -
Punch Cards (80 col) for the IBM box
Paper tape for various HP & DEC boxes (with upgrades to mylar in the later years),
tape cartridges for the HP2645A Mini Data Station,
tape cassettes for a TI? terminal,
DECtape PDPs,
LINCtape (relative of DECtape) DEC, DG, Varian, Perkin-Elmer, Altair
Late 70s early 80s
9 Track tape dominated across the board
8" floppy for micro's
Brief encounter with the 96 column System 32 punch card
40 Meg disk pack for HP3000 (forget drive part#, it was made by CDC?)
<> Mechanical: man or motor powered, bars cams, wheels
<> Electric: Relays, steppers, solonoids and contacts has logic tree.
<> Electronic: uses active devices, tubes, transistors, ICs some types of
<> diodes and neon filled tubes.
<
<A good definition, I could agree, althrough I've seen
<Electric and Electronic the same, since a relay isn't
<diferent from a transistor or a tube for the effekt
<(beside the current).
The distinction for the last two is significant from a design and speed
standpoint. the design process is very different at the detail level.
Allison
From: Philip.Belben(a)powertech.co.uk
Subject: Re[2]: CP/M
> Likewise the Commodore 8-bitters. In the early 1980s, I was one of the
> first in my school (I was 14 or so at the time) to own a floppy disk
> (yes, a disk, not a drive).
Gosh what memories, did you lug around a box of cassettes too??? Yeah,
disks back then were about $5.00 (US) a shot [not to be confused with
ammunition in previous off topics, though I can wield a mean VIC-20] for the
cheap SS/SD ones.
New Topic! Ok people: what sort of storage media (and for what system) did
you guys carry around to start out with?
I started with cassettes for the PETs at high school, though not as old as
some but still nostalgic. I still have my original first tape, though it had
been transfered to a new housing and snaps when a good (assertive?) datasette
rewinds it, it is still readable.
--
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
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
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
A large circulation (100,000) alternative publication in Toronto has run
several Chiapas-related articles the last couple of weeks. for the latest check
out
http://www.now.com/issues/current/News/feature2.html
They are slightly left of center and have a large influence among younger
people.
ciao Larry
lwalker(a)interlog.com
<>New Topic! Ok people: what sort of storage media (and for what system)
<>you guys carry around to start out with?
<>
8 level paper tape, boces/lirics PDP-8I timeshare system 1969
DECTAPE BOCES/LIRICS PDP-10 (tops-10) timeshare system 1970
MITS ACR casette(300baud), 1975
2400baud NRZ using audio cassette hardware (homebrew)late 1975
4800baud FM using audio cassettes early 1976
DRUM memory (real ugly four track, stored 32kb)
NS* microfloppy (5.25 sa400) late 1976
Just a few I've played with...
Allison
"Max Eskin" <maxeskin(a)hotmail.com> said:
>Do you have any diagrams of the mechanical fire control computers?
Try going to your local Federal building and look for the Goverment
Book Store. There you can find many different military training manuals.
Look for Navy manuals for Fire Control Technician 3 and 2. If you can
find it, it should have plenty of information on mechanical fire control
computers (At least they did 30 years ago).
I'm sure the Navy still uses these kind of computers on older ships with
5" guns.
=========================================
Doug Coward dcoward(a)pressstart.com
Senior Software Engineer
Press Start Inc.
Sunnyvale,CA
Curator
Museum of Personal Computing Machinery
http://www.best.com/~dcoward/museum
=========================================
On Jun 18, 21:25, Larry Anderson wrote:
> Yeah,
> disks back then were about $5.00 (US) a shot [not to be confused with
> ammunition in previous off topics, though I can wield a mean VIC-20] for
the
> cheap SS/SD ones.
I recall being one of the first at the college I worked at then, to own
floppies. I remember the price was a few pounds each around 1980, and one
local supplier sold them to students one at a time. Unfortunately (for the
dealer) not all the staff realised the price was per floppy, not per
box-of-10, and a few of us reaped the benefit of that. I still use some of
those disks in an Apple ][.
> New Topic! Ok people: what sort of storage media (and for what system)
did
> you guys carry around to start out with?
Most of my early computing was done on machines that used punched cards or
paper tape, but I didn't often get to keep the cards, and sadly I have no
cards or paper tape now. The first thing I carried about regularly was
cassette tape (CUTS format).
BTW, DECtape is 3/4" not 1" as Jim suggested (slip of the pen?). I still
have some, but alas no deck to read it on.
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Dept. of Computer Science
University of York
At 06:30 AM 6/16/98 -0400, you wrote:
>>
>> Hello all,
>> I have found a AT&T 6310 PC box. Can anyone tell me anything about it? Is it
>> 10 years old, yet? It is heavy enough I'd thought it had a large
>>linear supply in it, but only a switcher ps! It was made in Italy by
>> Olivetti, as mentioned on the 6300 thread.
>
>Thats a 10MHZ 80286 box which was one of the last Olivetti AT&T PC's.
>
>Bill
>
Would anyone like it? Otherwise, I may find a use for it as a case or
"parts" set, as radio collectors say (I actually like to build old radios as
another hobby), as I don't have a keyboard, etc. for it. It would have to be
a pickup, as it weighs about 40 lb, (18kg)! I live in So. California,
Manhattan Beach.
-Dave
This is one for the, "You can't do squat with those dumb old computers"
file... I picked up a book at a thrift today, called, NEW HORIZONS IN
AMATEUR ASTRONOMY by Grant Fjermedal (C) 1989. Before I got out of the
first chapter I read this excellent little tidbit:
"...David Gedalia, of California's San Fernando Valley, attracted a lot
of attention by day and night with his 10-inch reflector on a
servo-controlled Dobsonian mount. This was set up near the back of his
pickup truck on the upper field, and on the tailgate of the truck was a
simple 64K Atari 800 computer running a star finding program that
Gedalia had written himself.
He had all the objects from Messier (the classic catalog of 104
prominent galaxies, nebulae, and other objects identified in the late
1700s) and several hundred other objects from the more voluminous New
General Catalog. It was so nice at night to see him enter a Messier
number, hit "Return" and listen to the purr of the servos as they
positioned the object right in the center of the eyepiece field..."
> From: mbg(a)world.std.com (Megan)
> Subject: Need help with Mac Classic
>
> My partner's classroom received a Mac Classic, donated by a parent.
> I've never done anything with Macs, so I need some help with this.
>
> - Can someone tell me the standard configuration(s) for a Mac Classic?
>
68000 processor 1 to 2 megs of RAM
> - What options are available for it?
>
You can add up to 4 megs of RAM assuming you have the extra RAM expansion card
if not you have 1 until you locate the card to plug more SIMMs in.
There are a few accellerators (such as the MicroMac) but they are not all that
much faster when you get down to serious work.
No expansion, no color... :/ It will get you crawling on the internet with
B/W Mac Web and Eudora though.
You can get printers (apple ImageWriter, Stylewriter or Stylewriter II,
anything later wouldn't work or a Parallel printer using a PowerPrint
interface), external modems, extra drives, some decent educational programs,
decent applications (I recommend Claris Works 2 or 3) etc. for it, there is
still some usefullness in it.
> - Where can I get a mouse (and other hardware) - Do I need a mouse?
> Can I get along without one?
Barely, assuming you can activate the mousekeys (if the extension is in your
system) by pressing SHIFT-COMMAND-[KEYPAD]CLEAR, then you have the keypad
numbers to move the pointer and the 5 as a mouse button. I would really
recommend a mouse, thrift stores or used computer shops are a good try at
first, if not you can find used mice available somewhat reasonably on the
internet like in
news:misc.forsale.computers.mac-specific.misc
>
> - Where can I get an operating system for it (MacOS?)
>
You can download it from the Apple site (www.apple.com) up to system 7... You
would be best to get 7.1 (no higher, it will bog down your 68000/4meg unit too
much) also available from resellers. System 7 is the minimum for somewhat
decent (read painless) internet access.
A Classic II is a much more capable machine... :/
> Any and all help appreciated...
>
Lemme know if you have any more, I still deal with them from time to time at
work (I don't think too much longer though I think most of our organization
will be color Macs and 'those other computers' soon... (=))
--
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
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
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
At 09:25 PM 6/18/98 -0700, Larry Anderson wrote:
> I started with cassettes for the PETs at high school, though not as old as
>some but still nostalgic. I still have my original first tape, though it had
>been transfered to a new housing and snaps when a good (assertive?) datasette
>rewinds it, it is still readable.
I too started with cassettes, but in my early years it was Apple II and
Commodore VIC-20/C-64/C-16 tapes. A friend of mine (the owner of the C-16)
didn't have a datasette. He's pretty artistic; he'd sit there for hours,
plotting graphics through BASIC to the screen, only to lose it all when the
power was offed. He did have a VCR though, and would record the images on
VHS tape. (I wonder what he ever did with that tape, anyway?)
-
- john higginbotham ____________________________
- webmaster www.pntprinting.com -
- limbo limbo.netpath.net -
jon(a)techniche.com (Jon Healey) wrote:
> I went back to the surplus store today and picked up
> the old HP system that was there. This was not as simple
> as it sounds. The system was wired into a 5 bay 19" rack
> assemblage.
It reads to me like what you got was the *processor*. And I have to
wonder, why did you take it out? OK, I understand for transport but
you also wrote that there was an expansion card frame (which might
have more I/O cards) and other units in the rack. They may not be
essential to operation of the processor but they probably do go
together. Processors ain't everything ya know.
> The item obtained is an "HP 2100S Microprogrammable Systems Computer".
> It looks just like the 2100A shown at: www.trailingedge.com
>
> The card cage is fully populated but I haven't a clue at this
> point with what, with the exception that I already know it does
> have an async card (with associated moniter) and a GPIB
> card (and cable).
OK. If you take the top off, the cards in in the wider cage right
behind the front panel are the CPU proper (in slots 1-7 I think, with
options in 8 and 9 and maybe 10, though I may be off by one or two
here -- it's been a while since I looked) and the I/O interfaces. The
cards in the narrower cage about halfway back are memory (core) and
drivers for same. The not-card-cage areas contain power supply and
fans.
There should be part numbers and legends on at least some of the card
ears that give some clues what the cards are/do. Also the cards
themselves will often have part numbers etched. Of course I don't
have my books handy so can't post a handy decoder chart just now (and
doubt it would be complete even if I did). Feel free to post a list,
then sit back and watch us guess what you've got.
Given that this one says "Microprogrammable" on the front panel I
wonder if it has the WCS (Writable Control Store) option.
All that said...the 2100 is a second-generation HP mini from 1972, the
follow-on to the 2116/2115/2114 and predecessor to the 21MX that came
later in the 1970s. These processors formed the basis of the HP2000
time-shared BASIC and HP1000 real-time computer lines, as well as many
other special-purpose computer systems that HP developed and sold.
Overall they are a 16-bit two-accumulator architecture; the 2100 is
part hard-wired part microcoded with room for growth in the microcode,
while the earlier 2116/2115/2114 were purely hard-wired processors.
> Anyone interested in trading something for this beast?
>
> The biggest problem I see is that this thing weights
> about 100 lbs. It would be expensive to ship.
I'm interested but am thinking that you're in New Hampshire and I'm in
California. Shipping is possible but you're right, you can't just
toss this in a cardboard box with some peanuts or bubblewrap, so if
someone closer by says the magic words ("I'll come pick it up") or you
decide you want to keep it I'd say go for it. Besides, I'd want you
to go back for the rest of it. Foo, I want you to go back for the
rest of it *anyway*.
-Frank McConnell
In a message dated 98-06-17 22:37:02 EDT, you write:
<< I have a model 80 with built in SCSI that won't survive the next trash
pick up! My neighbor just pitched his model 70. I didn't bother to take
it out of the trash! I have a LOT of PCs that are a lot older than any PS-2
ever made! Altair -1976, IBM 5100 - 1977, HP 9100 - 1968, lots of HP
9815s, HP 9825s and HP 85s from the '70s.
You left out the idiotic micro-channel bus!
Joe >>
well, so you dont like mca. that's fine, but the 8580 didnt come with scsi
built in. the hard drive in it was ESDI. the premium series had built in scsi
on the planar. let me correct myself in saying that my model 77 will certainly
outlast any IBM-PC compatible machine of its era. please note that i am
comparing MCA to ISA here. im not disparaging any other type.
david
Hi there...
> Actually you can get copies of 6.0.x and 7.0.x from one of their FTP
sites
>
ftp://ftp5.info.apple.com/Apple.Support.Area/Apple_SW_Updates/US/Macintosh/S
yste
> m/Older_System/
>
> Of course you need a functional Mac to make the floppies. If you have
both
> hard drives, simply make sure the SCSI ID's are set to different numbers,
> and either leave both in the machine, or copy the 40Mb drive to the
larger
> one. Another more expensive alternative would be to get a external
CD-ROM
> and a copy of MacOS on CD.
Umm.... If there has any method to build up the Mac Discs on a PC??
Yours,
Ken Yaksa
>>
>>Hard, I own 2 Robotron PCs (one Z80 CP/M system and one PC Clone),
>>but since I live in Muenchen (:), I'm not in the 'native Environment'
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>of Robotron clasics. But maybe I could forward your questuons to some
>>east German friends.
> Well, Hans, I *thought* you had to be Bavarian (Bayerische)!! Either that
> or perhaps Austrian because of your signoff ("Servus").
You're the first US citicen to recognize this :)
> Will be over again in one year or more.
Great - give me a call (or a mail :) and I'll show yo usome
of my babys.
> Great to have you on the list as I've not seen
> postings of yours since the time I had joined last November until recently
> I think.
I just joined two weeks ago after Sam Ismail pointed
me to the list (we had some discusion about VCF - I
will come to see it - and other strange things).
> Good to have a person in our group who is nearby to the Deutches
> Museum who seems to have a very good early computer collection (saw it in
> 1994 or 95. Been there four times since '93).
You just searched a phon directory ? Didn't you ? Or
who told you that I live near the Deutsches Museum ?
True, my apartment is just 100m from the (back) entrance.
Their _very_ early collection - up to the Zuse - ist quite
good, but anything later is crap - or at least the display
is crap - I left the museum society because of the computer
displays. I'm especialy upset because they have _real_
unique things to show in a _unique_ way, but they just build
some junk place.
Ok, I have to be fair - the dispaly is quite amazing, but
in my opinion they ignored a lot of one-of-a-kind chances
just to finish it for the grand opening.
Example: they recived a _complete_ SIEMENS 2002, the first
fuly transistorized copmuter. Not only the main boxes -
they got _everything_ needed to show the machine complete,
including _all_ manuals, even spare parts. I think it would
have been possible to rebuild this marvelous machine and
power it up (ok, once) to show it. Maybe it is still possible,
but it has to be done soon - right now several of the old
tecnicans are still alive, but in ten years from now noone
will be here to tell the story.
Oh, next time when you visit the Deutsches Museum, take a
look at the Operator desk of the 2002 - you'll find a burned
spot, done by a cigarette. I know the guilty one - a friend
of mine, now retired, did it while they tried to find a power
up problem at the main drum - he acidently left his cigaret
at te desk and got so involved that he forgot it - BIG trouble.
> Wish I knew enough German to
> actually speak it but Bayerische is even harder to understand ;)
Amazing - I always had problems the other way.
> Gruss! Bis spaeter, Chris
Jo bis nacha.
Servus
Hans
--
Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut
HRK
>>I never heard of it, but maybe he thought about some
>>machine in his time as Imperial Mathematician in Prag
>>(1601..1612 - nice history on
>>http://www.kepler.arc.nasa.gov/johannes.html
>>) - but afaik the idea of calculating machines
>>did recive more attention (althrough more seen
>>as scince fiction) after the invention of the
>>Taschenuhr by Peter Heinlein (15something).
> I've never heard of the Taschenuhr. Can anyone tell me more or direct me to
> a source of information?
Taschenuhr -> fob watch.
Peter Heinlein did the first clock small enough to
fit in a pocket. It had the size of a big egg. I don't
remember the exactr year, but I think it was in the
first half of the 16th century.
There are a lot of legendary stories around this device
- inclundig the one that his whife had destroyed the
first one, since she belived that this thing, going
tick-tack must be devils work (remember 16th and 17th
century was a or better _the_ high time of witch hunting
and dark religous belives - Kepler for example had to
defend is mother somewhen in the 1620s agains a triel
of witchhood). So she destroyed his masterpice, and he
let himself imprisson for the next few month in the city
prison, to build a new one without beeing disturbed :)
Building small time devices had an impact to trade
like calculating machines in the early days of this
century. Starting from coach clocks for merchants
who lead their 'empire' from their coaches, until
fob watches. in the 15th/16th century coach clock
was an enormous expensive device - even compared
th the expensiv travling coaces, a coach clock could
cost up to 5 times the coach ! (Like wehn I put a
new Server in my old car :)
Servus
Hans
--
Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut
HRK
Hey gang!
Several times during the past week or ten days I've tried to connect to the
ClassicCmp website http://haliotis.bothell.washington.edu/classiccmp but
never seemed to be up. Always got a message after Netscape timed out
suggesting the web server is either down or not responding. Anybody know
what's happening?
Thanks,
--Chris
-- --
Christian Fandt, Electronic/Electrical Historian
Jamestown, NY USA
Member of Antique Wireless Association
URL: http://www.ggw.org/freenet/a/awa/
I think the attached was directed at me.....and deservingly so.
The HP 2100S is at my offices in Manchester, NH. We're right
across the street from the airport. You could just fly in
pick it up, carry it on (yea sure) and be gone in a flash.
Jon
>At 02:24 PM 6/19/98 -0400, you wrote:
>
> Everything except where it is!
>
>
>> Ooh! Not so fast! Is it straight, helical, worm or hypoid? Or an
>> eliptical gear even? But yes, a gear is easy to rconstruct from its
>> wreckage.
>
> Well, obviously one replaces with the correct type of gear!
>
>> Some cams and levers, though, have quite tight tolerance
>> spikes and notches which it is quite difficult to get right from seeing
>> the bent/broken ones.
>
> Impossible, sometimes. What if a special "hump" on a cam is so worn down
> that one cannot reconstruct its shape? Some of the correct "shape" could
> exist as aluminum powder.
That's what I meant. Tony was saying - and rightly so - that while you
can often see what a failed mechanical part was meant to be like by
studying the failed component, and can then cut a new gear (the
assumption was the gear isn't a standard part) / lever / cam or
whatever, you can't possibly tell what a dead chip was meant to do just
by looking at it. Likewise you can't tell what the value of that
charred resistor used to be...
I merely pointed out that with some tight tolerance cams and levers, you
have a similar problem - you can't tell by looking. "Difficult" in my
line above was a euphemism for "no hope"
>> Bearing in mind Tony's, Sam's and others' comments on intermittent
>> faults and the like, yes, up to a point. Video is not the only
>> exception, though - other things (e.g. disk drives) can suffer
>> similarly.
>
> No, not disk drives. Sure, some analog circuitry in a drive might go sour,
> but those faults would result in bad data. With a working drive, you want
> correct data, and if you do not get it, something is wrong. There is no
> tolerance. With an analog system, you have to expect that the output data
> will not be perfect. For example (also a magnetic recording medium),
> playing back a signal will never be the same as what was recorded, due to
> noise and distortion.
True, every word. But if you draw the distinction there - digital vs.
analogue circuitry - the comment to which I was replying deserves your
reply as well. The previous poster (wasn't you, William, was it?) drew
the distinction at a higher level, and said something like "a digital
_machine_ either works or it doesn't. Apart from video, the results are
either right or wrong. With analogue/mechanical, things can be slightly
out but the machine will go on working" Video is another analogue
subsystem in a digital machine, just like a disk drive, and all that
that implies...
BTW, video may not make the change from digital to analogue until
actually in the monitor, but the same applies - that which you see on
the display is (at the digital level) either right or wrong. It is only
when you get to the analogue bit that it is merely fuzzy.
Philip.
I've got this Hewlett Packard Controller 362 and have no need for it.
Anyone want it for the price of $5+shipping?
It's about the size of a "pizza box" workstation, heck, I think it is a
workstation. Boots up to something unix-like, has built-in VGA, 2mb memory,
and a slot on the front for a 3.5" 1.44mb floppy drive, which I needed to
scavenge for another machine.
It weighs about 15 lbs. and I live in North Carolina, so shipping might be
between $10-$15 depending on where you live.
Features:
HP-IB
Keyboard connector, RJ-45?
RS-232
Parallel
HP-IB 98624A Card installed in the back, apart from the built-in HP-IB.
Powe button on the front.
I couldn't test it out too thoroughly, I did have a monitor to boot it up
with, but no keyboard. Oh, and there's no HD inside the unit. I guess it
takes an external HP-IB drive.
If anyone wants it, first private response gets it.
-
- john higginbotham ____________________________
- webmaster www.pntprinting.com -
- limbo limbo.netpath.net -
for compact mac goodies, check out www.eden.com/~arena/jagshouse
i believe therewas some older system software there as well as some
interesting programs. be sure to get and run despair.sit; its the best one.
lol.
david
Hi there...
> If you still have the 40mb drive, set it for an ID other than 0 and
> connect it also. Then simply drag the system folder from the 40 to the
> new one. This assumes that the 40 had 7.5.x, of course.
>
> - don
Don, Which is 7.5.1 in the 40M HDD... But, if there has any way for me to
get a 7.5.3 diskette version?? 7.0 is just.... Umm....
Yours,
Ken Yaksa
>> P.S.: The first calculatin machine might be the one of
>> Wilhelm Schickard from 1623.
> Johann Kepler tried to build some kind of calculator too I think.
I never heard of it, but maybe he thought about some
machine in his time as Imperial Mathematician in Prag
(1601..1612 - nice history on
http://www.kepler.arc.nasa.gov/johannes.html
) - but afaik the idea of calculating machines
did recive more attention (althrough more seen
as scince fiction) after the invention of the
Taschenuhr by Peter Heinlein (15something).
Gruss
H.
--
Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut
HRK
> I think that there are some exceptions to that Tony. The following is a
> clip from some correspondence with Chuck Guzis at Sydex a while back:
>
> "Another topic that I'd like to see some commentary on is how people
> have handled those old diskettes that lack the Index Address Mark
> information, such as those used on the Cromemco C10. On a PC
> controller, the first sector on a track on such a diskette usually falls
> to be seen by the FDC because it falls in the "blind spot" (ostensibly
> PLL sync-up time) of the 765-family chip.
Have you tried using a controller that doesn't need the Index Address Mark,
such as a WD1772 or a NatSemi DP8473 ?
> "But 3.5" diskette drives are too difficult to modify. We've had good
> read and write results by passing the index signal through a 1-shot
> carefully adjusted to trigger slightly ahead of the actual index
> position. But this is a very touchy arrangement, though it does work.
But the Index Address Mark isn't part of the spec for 3.5" disks. I know
most PC controllers put it there, but it's not in the Sony spec, and some
controllers (see above) will work fine without it.
> I know that I have experienced the problem of the first paragraph on more
> than the C10 disks.
> - don
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Dept. of Computer Science
University of York
Hi,
Well this just goes to show how innate this collecting
behavior is or maybe I could blame it on altruism?
I went back to the surplus store today and picked up
the old HP system that was there. This was not as simple
as it sounds. The system was wired into a 5 bay 19" rack
assemblage.
The item obtained is an "HP 2100S Microprogrammable Systems Computer".
It looks just like the 2100A shown at: www.trailingedge.com
The card cage is fully populated but I haven't a clue at this
point with what, with the exception that I already know it does
have an async card (with associated moniter) and a GPIB
card (and cable).
I don't know what condition this is in other than the whole
rack of equipment looks like it was decomissioned while
still working. Most parts were still wired up. It hadn't
been plundered (one or two rack slots were newly emptied).
This unit appears to be in good shape. No dents or bent
edges. One of the front switch covers is missing (these
look like they pop off for lamp replacement). I even have
the key for the power lock, an obvious indication that it
has been taken care of!
There was another expansion card frame in the same rack.
Similar box but with no front panel switches. I didn't
get this. It is probably still available. I also didn't
get any of the i/o card edge connector cables that connect
to the other equipment in the 5 bay unit. As it was it
took me over an hour to extract this thing from its nest.
I did take the GPIB and async i/o cables.
Anyone interested in trading something for this beast?
The biggest problem I see is that this thing weights
about 100 lbs. It would be expensive to ship.
Jon
At 02:50 AM 6/18/98 -0500, you wrote:
>On Wed, 17 Jun 1998, Doug wrote:
>
>
>Fixing my stuck "execute" key looks like it'll be a bastard too. It's not
>stuck, the "snap" mechanism appears to be simply gone (not easily
>explained since the keyboard appears to be a tight sandwich). I hope that
>key isn't important in the big scheme of things, but I have a nagging
>suspicion that it's needed to program.
Yes, it's important. You press it to execute an expression immediately.
You press ENTER (or STORE? I haven't used it in a while) to enter the
expression into a stored program.
Joe
> HRK wrote:
Ups :)
>>>>Speaking of big iron, if anyone runs across any arcade machines in my
>>>>general area, like within 300-400 miles, I WILL pickup. Looking for mostly
>>>>80's era games, like the old Atari vectors (Tempest, Asteroids, Battlezone,
>>>>etc.) but will take just about anything.
>>> And if you know of a robotron in the SF bay area available for cheap,
>>> 4-6hours of sleep per night is way too much anyway... 8^)
>> Robotron ?
>> Talking about the East German Computers ?
> [falls on floor laughing]
> No. He is talking about video games.
> I made exactly that mistake about a year ago - someone mentioned that he
> liked Robotron, and I immediately jumped in asking for info about East
> German computers! (only to back out, somewhat embarrassed, a few
> messages later)
Shure, the context is prety clear - I just couldn't resist :)
> I have, it seems, the front panel and associated logic from a Robotron
> [can't remember the model number]. I bought it on holiday in Munich,
> sorry, Muenchen, a few years ago (picture the scene: eccentric hacker
> with estate car (station wagon) full of kit, GB plates on the back,
> trying to get through customs at Strasbourg. I got so exasperated that
> when they asked, "etes-vous espion?" I said "mais oui!")
rotfl.
> But what I was really wanting to say was, at last someone else who's
> heard of the East German Robotron! Do you have any info about them,
> what they did, when they did it, specific machines? Is there the
> remotest chance that if I post the model number of my stuff you can find
> me docs on it? Or tell me where to find docs on it?
Hard, I own 2 Robotron PCs (one Z80 CP/M system and one PC Clone),
but since I live in Muenchen (:), I'm not in the 'native Environment'
of Robotron clasics. But maybe I could forward your questuons to some
east German friends.
Servus
Hans
--
Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut
HRK
<Yes, but Apple ][ disks are not readable on hardsectored controllers
<either. You couldn't take a disk from an Apple ][ and read it on a NS* or
<a Z17.
Actually the NS* contrller and the apple one are very close in that they
are minimalist. The NS controller can read media without index/sector
as years back I wrote a driver that did track read and writes for to see
if I could use softsector media. I had to lay down a lot more marks thats
all. The basic NS* read and write counts sectors, then waits for a sync
byte and then reads.
What the NS* controller cannot do is create the various marks that have
missing clocks.
Allison
> C'mon. Even I basically know this one. A hard sectored diskette has tiny
> little holes (IIRC, near the inside), so that the computer would move from
> one to the next in a mechanical manner (hardware), while MOST soft sectored
> diskettes had a single hole used for refference. From there, it would just
> spin around, and control the rest by software. The Apple II, however,
> COMPLETELY ignored this. It could use hard sectored or soft sectored
> diskettes, or even diskettes with no little hole at all. It was completely
> software driven.
Likewise the Commodore 8-bitters. In the early 1980s, I was one of the
first in my school (I was 14 or so at the time) to own a floppy disk
(yes, a disk, not a drive). I had heard of "flippy disks" with two
index holes, which you could turn over, thus using both surfaces in a
single sided drive. But I didn't realise you needed to give it a second
index hole.
So I just cut a second write-permit notch and turned it over. It
worked! Commodore 4040 didn't use the index hole!
Philip.
><> And (though no doubt I'll find I'm wrong when I look at those web pages
><> I thought Z3 was a relay machine, not electronic.
><> [Distinction. Relay - switching is performed by moving parts of the
><> circuit. Electronic, whether tubes or solid state, switching acts
><> directly on the electrons (or holes), hence the term]
> Mechanical: man or motor powered, bars cams, wheels
> Electric: Relays, steppers, solonoids and contacts has logic tree.
> Electronic: uses active devices, tubes, transistors, ICs some types of
> diodes and neon filled tubes.
A good definition, I could agree, althrough I've seen
Electric and Electronic the same, since a relay isn't
diferent from a transistor or a tube for the effekt
(beside the current).
Servus
Hans
--
Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut
HRK
Sorry, folks. We have some intermittent mail problems here and I
accidentally got set to POSTPONE again.
If Hans Franke (or anyone else) has posted a reply to my Robotron query,
please send me - privately - another copy. Address,
Philip.Belben(a)powertech.co.uk
Thanks.
Philip.
> Recently, I just got an old Mac IIci, which has 40M HDD & 8M RAM. After
> all, I added the RAM to 32M, and also want to change the stupid 40M SCSI
> HDD to a larger one.... But the problem is, I just can't find a diskette
> version of Mac OS 7.5.x for it... What can I do...??
> If anyone has the old Mac OS, would you all pls make a copy for me?? I will
> pay the shipping and diskette cost..... (Coz, I don't think if I can get a
> new copy from APPLE.. :( )
Buy a external SCSI CD-ROM and install from CD - they should be
sill availabe at Apple dealers (the CDs) - maybe they even give
the CD away for free. Maybe they even lend you the CD drive for a
small fee. The other solution is just to keep the 40 MB drive
and use it as boot drive or, third solution, just use it once
paralell to copy the system folder. If you plan to use the ci
futher, a CD is a must to auire new soft.
Gruss
H.
--
Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut
HRK
>> The first programable general purpose computer is for shure
>> the Z1. And the first electronic computer is the Z3 since
>> the Z1 was just mechanical. Also both are the first binary
>> floating point computers (Babage used decimal wheels).
> Hey! They can't both be the first floating point binary machine!
> Presumably the Z1 was.
Z1 first computer, first floating point and binary computer
but mechanical. Z3 the same (but better) and electronical.
> And (though no doubt I'll find I'm wrong when I look at those web pages)
> I thought Z3 was a relay machine, not electronic.
> [Distinction. Relay - switching is performed by moving parts of the
> circuit. Electronic, whether tubes or solid state, switching acts
> directly on the electrons (or holes), hence the term]
Different definition:
In mechanical computers (and calculators) the information is
proccessed and transported by mechanical actions/things - like
wheels or pushin/pulling bars.
In electronical computers information is processed and transported
by flow of electricity.
So the Z1 is pure mechanical (the only electrcal component
was (is) the motor to drive all bars), while the Z3 is
electronical. The Z2 was in fact a mixed up - The storage
memory was mechanical (used from the Z1) but the CPU was
electronic (Relais). You see ? There are mix ups already
in the early evolution - Zuse even thought about using
tubes instead of relais, but they have been way to expensive.
Later on there have been again mixed ups. Relais + mechanical
+ tubes - or Tubes plus transistors + relais ... and so on.
(Oh and even my APPPLE ][+ was a mixed up - he utilized
a relay on the 80 colum card for switching :)
> Was the Z3 like the Z4 in using old 35mm cine film for punched tape?
> (don't try and read it with an optical reader!!!!)
Never heard of opto-mechanics ? *g*
In fact all early Zuse computers used old cine tapes.
Z1, Z2, Z3, Z4.
>> P.S.: The first calculatin machine might be the one of
>> Wilhelm Schickard from 1623.
> What date was Pascal's calculator, someone?
1642
> Irony of the week: the
> Pascal calculator in the London Science Museum is a decimal model. That
> in the Deutches Museum is a Pounds, Shillings and Pence model. :-)
Afaik they also own a decimal one, but Pounds, Shillings and Pence
ar _way_way_way_ more exotic :) - It gets a lot more attention than
'just' decimal calculaters, althrough the difference are only some
of the wheels.
Gruss
H.
--
Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut
HRK
>>> P.S.: The first calculatin machine might be the one of
>>> Wilhelm Schickard from 1623.
>> Johann Kepler tried to build some kind of calculator too I think.
> Does Blaise Pascal's box count?
19 Jears to late - Pascals machine is dated 1942.
But thinking again, we should define what a 'calulatoer'
is for our search of the first one - Right now I prefer
the definition of a macanic machine to add and subtract
numbers, displayed in (decimal) digits by pointers or
similar, without restrictions to special numbers. This
excludes analogous calculators and special purpose thingis.
Gruss
H.
--
Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut
HRK
At 02:04 AM 6/19/98 -0500, Doug Yowza wrote:
>On Thu, 18 Jun 1998, dave dameron wrote:
>
>> I have a bunch of stuff on the 8008, some too much for me to easily copy
>> completely, including the MCS-8 8008 Users Manual (126 pages).
>
>That sounds interesting. How much of that is just instruction set? If
>that chapter is smallish, a copy would be great! I'm looking for info
>sufficient to write a simulator, so ISA + exceptions/interrupts/etc.
>should do the trick.
>
The stuff on instructions, timing states, interrupts, etc. is about 12 pages.
The 8008 instructions (48) are simple enough that someone just learning how
to write a computer program (Me back then) could understand all of them.
Interesting, back then, 1973, Intel sold a simulator as a Fortran IV program, or
it could be run on a time-share service. Also a cross assembler. The
resident assembler took 2k - 8 1702 EPROMS for their SIM8 microcomputer board.
>> In the 1976 Intel Data catalog, there is a 7 page data sheet:
>> Page 1 Title and block diag.
>> page 2 Photomicrograph
>> Page 3 Functional pin description
>> Page 4,5 Instruction set
>> Page 6 Ratings, D.C., A.C. characteristics
>> Page 7 Timing Diagram
>
>Good stuff, but I've already had one offer for a copy. Since it's small,
>I'll try to get around to web-izing it. (Intel copyright lawyers be
>damned! (At least until they ask me to take it down.))
>
>-- Doug
>
-Dave
I just picked up a bag full of 5.25" disks, that are completely
soaked by rain. How do I dry them so that
a)they are usable at least long enough to transfer the software
b)I run a reasonable chance of saving the labels
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
You might want to check out the MDP-8008 Assembler Users Manual at:
http://jldh449-1.intmed.mcw.edu/assembler-doc.html
-Mike
----------
From: dave dameron
Sent: Thursday, June 18, 1998 5:47 PM
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
Subject: Re: 8008 Datasheets
Hi Doug and all,
At 05:04 PM 6/18/98 -0500, you wrote:
>Does anybody have Intel 8008 datasheets that they're willing to copy for
>me? I'll gladly pay for the copying/shipping.
>
>
I have a bunch of stuff on the 8008, some too much for me to easily copy
completely, including the MCS-8 8008 Users Manual (126 pages).
In the 1976 Intel Data catalog, there is a 7 page data sheet:
Page 1 Title and block diag.
page 2 Photomicrograph
Page 3 Functional pin description
Page 4,5 Instruction set
Page 6 Ratings, D.C., A.C. characteristics
Page 7 Timing Diagram
-Dave
They're on the web at:
www.sunrem.com
Mike
----------
From: Ken Yaksa
Sent: Friday, June 19, 1998 2:06 AM
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
Subject: Re: Old Mac OS.... Help PLS!
Hi Pamela Allison:
> If you can't find one, check with Sun Remarketing in Smithfield Utah.
They will sell all the way back to version 3.2 on 400 k disks.
But the problem is that I live in Hong Kong.... :(
<
<> And (though no doubt I'll find I'm wrong when I look at those web pages
<> I thought Z3 was a relay machine, not electronic.
<
<> [Distinction. Relay - switching is performed by moving parts of the
<> circuit. Electronic, whether tubes or solid state, switching acts
<> directly on the electrons (or holes), hence the term]
Mechanical: man or motor powered, bars cams, wheels
Electric: Relays, steppers, solonoids and contacts has logic tree.
Electronic: uses active devices, tubes, transistors, ICs some types of
diodes and neon filled tubes.
Allison
> My mom got fed up by the amount of junk I have in my room, so I will
> start to get rid of it (something I'd been planning to do).
My girlfriend's getting fed up by the amount of junk I have in our
apartment, so I'm trying to get rid of some of it, too. Shipping costs
are all I'm looking for (trades accepted, too, though preferably for
small things).
1. An Amdek color monitor, originally for use with Apples (I think). RCA
video input, eighth-inch audio input. I've used this as a spare TV, but
the screen has a strong green tint to it. It's heavy.
2. A Commodore 64, sold to me as not working, never bothered to test it.
No power supply or anything.
3. A docking station for a Compaq laptop - 386/486, exact model unknown.
--
Ben Coakley http://www.math.grin.edu/~coakley coakley(a)ac.grin.edu
CMEL: Xavier CBEL: Xavier OH
Spammers: How can you be sure that I don't live in Washington State?
Hi Megan,
If you're looking for a place to donate some computer
(mac or otherwise), I'll take it. I'm trying to organize
my personal collection in to a formal museum-like display.
I'm always looking to expand that collection. At present
it has 0 apple computer systems in it!
I own my own software company and I am trying to do this
in our warehouse area. I intend that it should remain a
privately owned collection, but I'd like to open it up to
public viewing, by appointment anyway. That way I could
show it to groups like ham clubs, schools, software and
hardware professional groups, etc.
It's not a non-profit organization (in fact it's not legally
any kind of formal organization, although my company informally
subsidizes it), so there wouldn't be any tax write-off.
Keep me in mind,
Jon Healey
techNiche, Inc.
(603) 626-7000
>> My partner's classroom received a Mac Classic, donated by a parent.
>> I've never done anything with Macs, so I need some help with this.
>>
>> - Can someone tell me the standard configuration(s) for a Mac Classic?
>>
>> - What options are available for it?
>>
>> - Where can I get a mouse (and other hardware) - Do I need a mouse?
>> Can I get along without one?
>>
>> - Where can I get an operating system for it (MacOS?)
>>
>> Any and all help appreciated...
>>
>> Megan Gentry
>> Former RT-11 Developer
>>
>
>Get in touch with me and I'll be glad to help you out.
>I can cut the OS on Mac disks for you.
>I also have a couple of old Mac Plus systems that I've been looking
>to donate somewhere.
>
>I can probably dig up a mouse as well.
>
>Bill
>+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
>| Bill/Carolyn Pechter | 17 Meredith Drive | Tinton Falls, New Jersey 07724 |
>| 908-389-3592 | Save computing history, give an old geek old hardware. |
>| pechter(a)shell.monmouth.com |
>+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
>
<That sounds interesting. How much of that is just instruction set? If
<that chapter is smallish, a copy would be great! I'm looking for info
<sufficient to write a simulator, so ISA + exceptions/interrupts/etc.
<should do the trick.
The instruction set is some 48 instructions and most are real simple.
to make a sim you need timing, instruction set functions and a few trivial
details. one thing, write in something like interpreted pascal, the 8008
was slow as the fast part did a register to register move in a whopping
10.8 microseconds. To give an idea of how slow that is the 8080 did it
in 2 us, z80/4mhz in 1us, 8048 2.5us, 8051/11mhz 1us, 8088/5mhz 1us.
The 8008 was slow!
Allison
<"But 3.5" diskette drives are too difficult to modify. We've had good
<read and write results by passing the index signal through a 1-shot
<carefully adjusted to trigger slightly ahead of the actual index
<position. But this is a very touchy arrangement, though it does work.
<
<I know that I have experienced the problem of the first paragraph on more
<than the C10 disks.
< - don
Some formats produced with 1771 or 179x can be nasty. The fix is to delay
the index using two oneshots one set long (95% or a rotation) and the
second long enough to provide a recognizable pulse. This trick can permit
you to "move" the index sensor as needed electronically.
Allison
My partner's classroom received a Mac Classic, donated by a parent.
I've never done anything with Macs, so I need some help with this.
- Can someone tell me the standard configuration(s) for a Mac Classic?
- What options are available for it?
- Where can I get a mouse (and other hardware) - Do I need a mouse?
Can I get along without one?
- Where can I get an operating system for it (MacOS?)
Any and all help appreciated...
Megan Gentry
Former RT-11 Developer
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| Megan Gentry, EMT/B, PP-ASEL | Internet (work): gentry(a)zk3.dec.com |
| Unix Support Engineering Group | (home): mbg(a)world.std.com |
| Digital Equipment Corporation | |
| 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 |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
I'm also playing with a Mac Classic at the moment. Mine had 2Mb RAM, a 20Mb
hard drive and the keyboard and mouse. I believe they are very similar to
the SE, just more economical to manufacture and with a 1.4Mb floppy drive.
>
>My partner's classroom received a Mac Classic, donated by a parent.
>I've never done anything with Macs, so I need some help with this.
>
>- Can someone tell me the standard configuration(s) for a Mac Classic?
Ram on the mainboard is 1Mb but there is an extender card usually fitted
with another 1Mb and room for 2 X 30pin simms. I put 2 X 1Mb PC simms in it
and they work fine. There is a jumper to move to do this. Well marked. 4Mb
is max RAM.
I replaced the hard drive with a 120Mb SCSI drive but the initialization
program in the OS only works on Apple branded disks. I'm still trying to
sort this out.
>
>- What options are available for it?
>
>- Where can I get a mouse (and other hardware) - Do I need a mouse?
> Can I get along without one?
You need a mouse. I have accumulated a few from garage sales etc. There are
two types. You can't use the one from very early Macs, you need the one with
a PS/2 size connector. Same as the keyboard, and in fact it plugs into the
normal keyboard.
>
>- Where can I get an operating system for it (MacOS?)
I also picked these up at garage sales. I have been told to stick with
System 6 because System 7 takes up too much memory for this machine.
Hans
HRK wrote:
> A neat (english) description of the Z1 and Z3 could be found at
> http://www.zib.de/prospekt/zuse/zusez1z3.html
> (Hard code documentation) or
> http://bang.lanl.gov/video/sunedu/computer/z1z4.html
> (soft :)
Thanks - I'll have a look at those!
> The first programable general purpose computer is for shure
> the Z1. And the first electronic computer is the Z3 since
> the Z1 was just mechanical. Also both are the first binary
> floating point computers (Babage used decimal wheels).
Hey! They can't both be the first floating point binary machine!
Presumably the Z1 was.
And (though no doubt I'll find I'm wrong when I look at those web pages)
I thought Z3 was a relay machine, not electronic.
[Distinction. Relay - switching is performed by moving parts of the
circuit. Electronic, whether tubes or solid state, switching acts
directly on the electrons (or holes), hence the term]
Was the Z3 like the Z4 in using old 35mm cine film for punched tape?
(don't try and read it with an optical reader!!!!)
> P.S.: The first calculatin machine might be the one of
> Wilhelm Schickard from 1623.
What date was Pascal's calculator, someone? Irony of the week: the
Pascal calculator in the London Science Museum is a decimal model. That
in the Deutches Museum is a Pounds, Shillings and Pence model. :-)
Philip.
HRK wrote:
>>>Speaking of big iron, if anyone runs across any arcade machines in my
>>>general area, like within 300-400 miles, I WILL pickup. Looking for mostly
>>>80's era games, like the old Atari vectors (Tempest, Asteroids, Battlezone,
>>>etc.) but will take just about anything.
>
>> And if you know of a robotron in the SF bay area available for cheap,
>> 4-6hours of sleep per night is way too much anyway... 8^)
>
> Robotron ?
>
> Talking about the East German Computers ?
[falls on floor laughing]
No. He is talking about video games.
I made exactly that mistake about a year ago - someone mentioned that he
liked Robotron, and I immediately jumped in asking for info about East
German computers! (only to back out, somewhat embarrassed, a few
messages later)
I have, it seems, the front panel and associated logic from a Robotron
[can't remember the model number]. I bought it on holiday in Munich,
sorry, Muenchen, a few years ago (picture the scene: eccentric hacker
with estate car (station wagon) full of kit, GB plates on the back,
trying to get through customs at Strasbourg. I got so exasperated that
when they asked, "etes-vous espion?" I said "mais oui!")
But what I was really wanting to say was, at last someone else who's
heard of the East German Robotron! Do you have any info about them,
what they did, when they did it, specific machines? Is there the
remotest chance that if I post the model number of my stuff you can find
me docs on it? Or tell me where to find docs on it?
Philip.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Philip Belben <><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Bloedem Volke unverstaendlich treiben wir des Lebens Spiel.
Grade das, was unabwendlich fruchtet unserm Spott als Ziel.
Magst es Kinder-Rache nennen an des Daseins tiefem Ernst;
Wirst das Leben besser kennen, wenn du uns verstehen lernst.
Poem by Christian Morgenstern - Message by Philip.Belben(a)powertech.co.uk
Hi Pamela Allison:
> If you can't find one, check with Sun Remarketing in Smithfield Utah.
They will sell all the way back to version 3.2 on 400 k disks.
But the problem is that I live in Hong Kong.... :(