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

by go＠ao.com

I'm "just about" finished with an emulator for a Control Data 3300 computer (you might ask "why" - I'll explain later.) But I'm looking for diagnostics tapes (instruction, floating point, mass storage, memory, etc.) Also, other operating systems would be interesting (I was dumb back in the 70's and didn't make copies of all my old stuff...) such as Master with MATS or MSOS or Realtime Scope. (I have no problem reading 7 track tapes.) I'm building this primarily to resurrect an obscure language, also developed at OSU, called "Oscar". It was a numerical person's dream interactive system for it's time (way before common graphics terminals, alas) including all sorts of large precision arith and rational number management (ratios of integral fractions) which made matrix manipulations a lot easier. Oscar ran under OS-3 and hence the need for the emulator. Besides, it's fun. (And I have source for damn near all of the OS-3 system, languages and tools (I was "with it" enough to make copies of those at least.) The original 3300 at OSU was "decommissioned" back in the early 80s, so this part is even "on topic!" It's a bit depressing (and humiliating) to see that my entirely-C-based emulator (i.e. NO assembler "optimization" on my part) runs at nearly the speed of the original machine on a lowly 66 mhz 486. (1.6us/cycle where instructions USUALLY took 2 cycles, for fetch and memory reference.) It'll probably scream on a reasonable Pentium-class system. (By inference will we be writing emulators in 15 to 20 years that emulate 400 mhz Pentiums and Power PCs at the full speed of day? Boggles the mind...) I'm emulating most CDC periphs (as far as I can without real "iron") so the emulator should handle virtual 604/607 tape drives, disk controllers, 501/512 printers, card readers, punches, etc. I realize this may be a bit "off topic" with respect to the other "mainstream" collectable computers (dec/hp/etc.) but, hey! it's what I learned on way back when. And the computer was far too large to ever think of "owning" one. For reference, the 3300 was a 3rd generation computer (no IC's - all Germanium transistors) with memory that came in chunks of 8k words (24 bits) all the way up to 256k words (LOTS of boxes.) Each 8k took half a 7 foot tall by 6 foot wide rack (IIRC). I think very late in life they had 32k modules... 24 bit ones-complement math with a "reasonable" two-state architecture (program/system mode) that actually worked (OSU's may have been the only one that really challenged it, though, running timesharing software on it.) Any and all software for the beast would be welcome. For reference, anything for the 3150, 3200, 3300 or 3500 would be welcome, as well as any CDC docs on these machines. I've got quite a few, but some of the more obscure controllers (3317 terminal control, for example) eluded me. Information on 3600 or 3800 (a sort of "48 bit word" 3300 and 3500) would also be welcome, as these two lines shared a lot of peripherals and controllers. And of course, assuming anyone else is as silly as me and wants to play with this mess, I'm happy to make the source/executables available (it's Linux based.) It's not "ready for prime time" yet, but soon... Thanks for sharing the bandwidth, Gary

28 years, 1 month

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Definition of an Analog(ue) Computer

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<What's that got to do with it? Diodes are analogue parts - the output <(current) is a continuous function of the input (voltage), not a <discrete one (to me the difference between an analogue and a digital Yes, but they don't (generally) amplify. <component). In fact, Allison, you were saying only a few days ago that <you don't need any amplification to make an analogue _computer_ (with <which I agree - although some of your examples I wouldn't call <computers). I still hold that amplification is a factor in the equation that an analog function may contain but it is not required. ----||----+---------+------> | | | | V --- input === diode --- | | --------------------+------> This is an analogue function, take a shot at the equation it solves. <For non-electronic digital computers, where do Facit mechanical <calculators lie? I have one (which is driven by an electric motor but Computers, mechanical, fixed program. <For pneumatic computers, I think some pipe organs of the turn of the <century came close - you could program some buttons to set various <combinations of ranks for fast selection during performance. However, <the more complicated schemes of this nature (popular around 1920) used <electrical as well as pneumatic logic elements. pipe organs were an example of repetitive but generally simple logic. I might point ot that when they went electronic they used lots of flipflops to generate octave and also diodes and tube to do keying (gating). They were likely one of the earliest users of large numbers of bistable and monostable elements in one system other than computers and electronic measuring instruments. You've not seen a modern production line that uses air logic. I've worked on one that was used to produce pharaceuticals that were in flamable bases (ethanol). There was some fairly complex logic in that system. Working with it is like designing with relays. Allison

28 years, 1 month

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Definition of an Analog(ue) Computer

by Philip.Belben＠powertech.co.uk

> <Are you thinking of 'Digital circuits are built from analogue parts' ? > > Not a valid concept. both OR and AND gates can be done using totally > non amplifying devices (diodes). What's that got to do with it? Diodes are analogue parts - the output (current) is a continuous function of the input (voltage), not a discrete one (to me the difference between an analogue and a digital component). In fact, Allison, you were saying only a few days ago that you don't need any amplification to make an analogue _computer_ (with which I agree - although some of your examples I wouldn't call computers). > It was Vonda that postulated that digital was analogue with a precision > of two states, true and false. The realm of analogue is one of infinite > precision but possibly of limited accuracy. The digital realm is one of > limited precision and absolute accuracy. That is an excellent concept. Thank you - I'll remember that. For non-electronic digital computers, where do Facit mechanical calculators lie? I have one (which is driven by an electric motor but could conceivably use any motor) which has algorithms for optimised decimal multiplication and non-restoring decimal division. It is not programmable, but it is pretty complex - and all done mechanically. For pneumatic computers, I think some pipe organs of the turn of the century came close - you could program some buttons to set various combinations of ranks for fast selection during performance. However, the more complicated schemes of this nature (popular around 1920) used electrical as well as pneumatic logic elements. Philip.

28 years, 1 month

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RSX-11 Disk Images anyone?

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On May 5, 11:37, Daniel A. Seagraves wrote: > [Adding RX50 to the Supnik emulator...] > > Yeah, it'd be a Lot Of Work(tm). It certainly would. Even the RT-11 driver (which is about the simplest I've seen) is fairly complex. > Those talk MSCP, and there's little/no documentation on how it works. > (I think...) It's basically a message-passing protocol, unlike most of the earlier DEC disk stuff where you can poke the hardware registers to "make things happen". To oversimplify, with MSCP you make a message containing instructions, put it in a memory buffer somewhere, tell the controller it's there, and it does the rest with DMA, returning a response message. The relevant documentation is "MSCP Basic Disk Functions Manual", AA-L619A-TK, and "Storage System Diagnostics And Utility Protocol", AA-L620A-TK, which in turn are parts of the UDA50 Programmer's Documentation Kit (QP-905-GZ). My copy is version 1.2, April 1982. It's not good bedtime reading; the plot's a bit too convoluted and the characterisation is weak :-) -- Pete Peter Turnbull Dept. of Computer Science [remove indy. from email address to reply] University of York

28 years, 1 month

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Microsoft BASIC 80 non-disclosure agreement

by SUPRDAVE＠aol.com

In a message dated 98-05-05 22:56:32 EDT, you write: << Speaking of sealed originals, I found some original still shrink-wrapped Osborne software today, with the original Byte Shop price stickers on them no less. They were basically some accounting packages by a company called Computronic that made software for the gamut of the machines of the era (TRS-80, Apple, Atari, Commodore, Xeroex, Osborne, Kaypro...that was the list of machines on the package). I also got a shrink-wrapped copy of WordStar circa 1981, a shrink-wrapped copy of Microsoft Multi-Tool Budget and a shrinkwrapped copy of Desktop Plan II by Visicorp. Vintage shrink-wrapped software is still out there, you just gotta look for it. Sam >> i agree, my list is small, but i do have os2 1.1 which came in two seperate boxes wrapped together and includes sidekick 2.0 which i paid $3 for. i also got a never opened 1.3 which i did open just to look at but i never used, and several boxes of the ibm pc 3270 emulation program entry level version 1.22 david

28 years, 1 month

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Microsoft BASIC 80 non-disclosure agreement

by IVIE＠cc.usu.edu

Philip Belben: >Sam Ismail: > >> The party agrees that unauthorized copying or disclosure will cause great >> damage to MICROSOFT." > >Hey! Let's all start copying Basic 80! Or other Microsoft stuff! >Perhaps we can cause great damage to Microsoft! > >Wait a bit... somehow I don't think we'll do any damage unless we >persuade people to buy our copies in preference to the originals. Oh? You know somewhere you can buy the originals? Roger Ivie ivie(a)cc.usu.edu

28 years, 1 month

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RSX-11 Disk Images anyone?

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<Whether the distributed monitors and drivers are enough to run it <depends strongly on your application! Under an emulator - where If your developing with RT-11 for a specific task then sysgening is needed. If you need to run BASIC, DECUS-C, MicroPower Pascal, write assembly code files or edit text then the stock monitor are just fine. Sysgening to simply move to a different varient of PDP-11 cpu or disk however is not required. The typical example of sysgening RT-11 I've done was to use a console that wasn't DL (standard PDP-11 serial line unit) compatable. RT-11 was designed as both a development enviornment and a realtime executive for embedded applications. It's pretty flexible and small so it's good for lots of other stuff. It weakness (there is one) is that it does not use a scatter-gather map for storage so storage space can be poorly used due to device fragmentation. <I interpret "no source code" quite differently, mainly because I have <the source kits! Same here, V4, V5.0, V5.1, V5.4 I may even have 3.xx. Heck I've been running RT11 since '79 on one thing or another Q-bus. Allison

28 years, 1 month

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Northstars up the wazoo

by mor＠crl.com

Wow, anyone desparate for a Horizon should check out recent posts to comp.sys.northstar. No fewer than six systems from three different individuals have been offered there in the past couple of days. And some AFAIR are free for pick up or the cost of shipping. -- mor(a)crl.com http://www.crl.com/~mor/

28 years, 1 month

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Microsoft BASIC 80 non-disclosure agreement

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

> >> >> Well, this kind of comes from a rant of mine... ya see, on my computer, I >> origionally had an AMD InterWave chip on my sound card, but found that it >> was STB made. It was made in Dec. 1996. I called about it in Dec. 1997, >> and NO ONE at their technical support knew ANYTHING about it. And that's a >> year after it was made!!! > >Don't get me started on Tech Support, or the lack of it. > >When I call Tech Support I will have made some attempts to check the >obvious, gather evidence, and solve the problem. In particular : > >I'll have checked the 'bleeding obvious' - that it's plugged in, that I > >I'll have read all available documentation, including, but not limited to >the user manual, tech/service manual (if available), schematics, data >sheets on the chips, command reference, processor instruction set, >language standards, etc as appropriate. > >I'll be sitting in front of my machine with a 'scope, logic analyser, >software debugger, etc at the ready > >Alas this seems to mean that I know more about the product than the >company that sold it to me. Tech support seems to consist of either >telling me to check I've inserted the disk correctly or reading the user >manual to me very, very slowly (I am not kidding...). I am fed up with You've got to be gentle w/tech support. For one thing, they're nothing more than figureheads for the company, also, they are treated fairly poorly, according to PC World. Most have no desire to spend 8 hours reading assembly listings. There's just no encouragement, like with teachers. In the end, they just get tired. >> Anyway, lets call, e-mail, fax, walk up and talk to, etc. people at >> various companies and talk about tech support, etc. for old OLD products. >> (Like calling up IBM... "Hello, I've got this 8" disk here, it was new in >> package, and it was not free of mechanical errors. I want my money back!") > >IBM are better than most, at least for providing parts/manuals. They may >claim that a machine never existed (IBM UK told be there was 'no such >thing as a PC-jr'), but they can often find all sorts of things given a >part number or forms number. > >> Or saying that we found a bug in the 4K MS tape basic, etc. ;-) > >Sending in bug reports (and even better, fixes) for ancient products is >great fun :-). Have you ever gotten a response? > >Agreed. C'mon d00dZ, 1've got \/\/1nd0ze 98 beta on ftp.aol.com/max/42342/!!! Let's get some c00l \/\/aReZ, Man! >-tony > > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

28 years, 1 month

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Definition of an Analog(ue) Computer

by Philip.Belben＠powertech.co.uk

I have just returned after a long weekend to find my mail had got set to Postpone again. This has probably all been said but I thought I'd put my bit in anyway. Tony: < A question occurred to me today : Can you have an embedded analogue < computer, and if so, how many op-amps are needed to have one? Allison > Yes, and that's very common. None, a low pass filter(RC) performs a > function and can be considered analogue. A filter made of passive components or otherwise I wouldn't consider a computer, although I agree it is definitely analogue (Americans may omit the ue where appropriate). I would say that an analogue computer: (a) combines two or more signals (b) does so in a more complex way than by simple addition or subtraction. (But this could be A+dB/dt, for example) An analogue computer need not be electrical at all - quite complex analogue functions can be implemented in cams, for example. A good example of a simple embedded analogue computer is the ignition distributor on a petrol engine. This: Takes two inputs - camshaft angle and manifold vacuum; Differentiates camshaft angle to get engine speed (centrifugal weights on springs); Applies some non linear function to engine speed (cams attached to the centrifugal weights); Adds together camshaft angle, function(engine speed) and constant * vacuum level; Compares the result with a reference angle to generate pulses of a given width for the ignition. I claim that is a simple (but actually quite sophisticated) analogue computer. < I was looking at the service manual for my Micropolis 1203 hard disk, and < I read the circuit description of the servo electronics. It's a fairly < complicated array of op-amps, which combine integral and differential < forms of the position error, positioner current, etc. I would claim that < is an embedded analogue computer. > Valid claim, also a good example of a fairly complex function. Agreed 100% (As Tony would say). An excellent example of an embedded analogue computer. Another example is the convergence circuit in a colo(u)r television. This takes the two timebases as inputs, multiplies them and their squares/ first derivatives etc. by user settable constants, and feeds this back onto the deflection systems of the tube. < On the other hand, I think it would be stretching the definition to call < a simple op-amp wired as a voltage follower an analogue computer. > Correct. However often the buffer is between some function or follows one > so it's part of the analog system. Agreed it could be part of an analogue computer. But I think Tony's point was that it does not by itself make one. Otherwise practically any analogue circuit becomes a computer (One of Vonada's axioms, I think: All circuits are amplifiers) > Other analog systems common to computers: > > cassette IO (low pass filter on output) and complex filter/differentiator > edge/peak detectors for input. Some of the acients used PLLs for clock > recovery (KANSAS City is one). > > Analog to digital conversion (quantification). > Digtial to analog conversion (filtering) > > Disk/tape systems have several layers of analog function for data and > control. Definitely analogue systems. But some are merely filters, not computers. (I think a PLL almost qualifies as a computer, though...) But in general, I agree with you both - analogue computers are often small, simple and embedded, and they're a heck of a lot more common than most people think. Philip.

28 years, 1 month

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KMW Systems Corp. VP-10 Vector Processor

by dastar＠wco.com

Anybody ever heard of the following? KMW Systems Corp. VP-10 Vector Processor Its a smallish box (about the size of a small PC desktop box sliced horizontally in half). Anyone? Sam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't blame me...I voted for Satan. Coming in September...Vintage Computer Festival 2.0 See http://www.siconic.com/vcf for details! [Last web page update: 05/03/98]

28 years, 1 month

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Microsoft BASIC 80 non-disclosure agreement

by photze＠batelco.com.bh

Well, this kind of comes from a rant of mine... ya see, on my computer, I origionally had an AMD InterWave chip on my sound card, but found that it was STB made. It was made in Dec. 1996. I called about it in Dec. 1997, and NO ONE at their technical support knew ANYTHING about it. And that's a year after it was made!!! Anyway, lets call, e-mail, fax, walk up and talk to, etc. people at various companies and talk about tech support, etc. for old OLD products. (Like calling up IBM... "Hello, I've got this 8" disk here, it was new in package, and it was not free of mechanical errors. I want my money back!") Or saying that we found a bug in the 4K MS tape basic, etc. ;-) And DON'T COPY ANY SOFTWARE. I don't even care if it was made by a criminal, it gives you no right to do the same. BTW, I remember seeing copies of DOS 3.3 shwrinkwrapped by this company for Microsoft. Was this done widely? Where can I find out more? (Kai Kaltenbach? Know anyone who knows anything about this? I REALLY am longing for a copy of Windows 2.x, as I've got this software for it... from our school, even though they can't find hte actual 2.x disks.) Thanks, Tim D. Hotze -----Original Message----- From: Tim Shoppa <shoppa(a)alph02.triumf.ca> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Tuesday, May 05, 1998 8:05 PM Subject: Re: Microsoft BASIC 80 non-disclosure agreement >> >> The party agrees that unauthorized copying or disclosure will cause great >> >> damage to MICROSOFT." >> > >> >Hey! Let's all start copying Basic 80! Or other Microsoft stuff! >> >Perhaps we can cause great damage to Microsoft! >> > >> >Wait a bit... somehow I don't think we'll do any damage unless we >> >persuade people to buy our copies in preference to the originals. >> >> Oh? You know somewhere you can buy the originals? > >I've found some original sealed Microsoft CP/M software by frequenting >comp.os.cpm. None of the registration cards that I've sent in during >the past couple years have come back returned from any of Microsoft's >old Redmond/Seattle addresses, so I assume they found their way to >the right place (though I've never heard anything back from any bug >reports on CP/M products.) > >Q7 of the comp.os.cpm FAQ provides this address as a non-US source >of several Microsoft CP/M products: > > For our European readers, much is available in Germany. dBASE, > WordStar 3.0, Multiplan 1.06, SuperCalc PCW, and Microsoft Basic > (Interpreter and Compiler), M80, L80, CREF80 , and LIB80 can be > ordered in either PCW format or C128 (also native 1571) format from: > > Wiedmann Unternehmensberatung & EDV-Handel > Hauptstrasse 45 > 73553 Alfdorf > F.R.Germany > Tel: +49-7172-3000-0 (Inside Germany use 0-7172...) > Fax: +49-7172-3000-30 > > They are marketed as "for the C128", however the disks are in KAYPRO > IV format, and since the C128 uses the same screen codes as ADM-31 > or KAYPRO, it's probably interesting for people with other CP/M > machines as well. Everything is said to come with a German language > manual and each one is offered for DM 149.50 , including sales tax > of 15%, which you could probably somehow get a refund on if living > outside the EC. > >Tim. (shoppa(a)triumf.ca)

28 years, 1 month

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Get a life! Buy a PDP!

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

I know, I know, when I get a chance. For now; I found an Anderson-Jacobson 1200 BPS modem (AJ1256). Is there any thing special about it, or is it safe to throw this back? This was on the way to a thrift store. There I saw: TI-60 w/thermal printer for $10,working --fair? RCA Victor, couldn't tell if it worked, $75, no I won't buy it IBM PPS II ( I think) form printer - does anyone have any experience w/ this? I didn't buy any of the three, but I might get the TI-60. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

28 years, 1 month

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RSX-11 Disk Images anyone?

by sethm＠loomcom.com

A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text Size: 932 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.classiccmp.org/pipermail/cctalk/attachments/19980505/fe42077d/at…

28 years, 1 month

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HP 700/44 terminal

by rhblake＠bbtel.com

I have one remaining Hewlett Packard 700/44 terminal with keyboard left to get rid of. Like new shape and in working order, fairly modern. Emulates other terminal systems like 52, 100, 200 series and HP series, maybe others. I need $10 plus shipping on this if someone wants it. I'm sure someone has a need for one. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Russ Blakeman RB Custom Services / Rt. 1 Box 62E / Harned, KY USA 40144 Phone: (502) 756-1749 Data/Fax:(502) 756-6991 Email: rhblake(a)bbtel.com or rhblake(a)bigfoot.com Website: http://members.tripod.com/~RHBLAKE/ ICQ UIN #1714857 AOL Instant Messenger "RHBLAKEMAN" * Parts/Service/Upgrades and more for MOST Computers* --------------------------------------------------------------------

28 years, 1 month

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Microsoft BASIC 80 non-disclosure agreement

by Philip.Belben＠powertech.co.uk

Sam Ismail: > The party agrees that unauthorized copying or disclosure will cause great > damage to MICROSOFT." Hey! Let's all start copying Basic 80! Or other Microsoft stuff! Perhaps we can cause great damage to Microsoft! Wait a bit... somehow I don't think we'll do any damage unless we persuade people to buy our copies in preference to the originals. And it goes rather against the grain to persuade people to buy Microsoft stuff at all. Oh well. ;-) ;-) ;-) Philip.

28 years, 1 month

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Microsoft BASIC 80 non-disclosure agreement

by dastar＠wco.com

Here's an interesting artifact. I got the reference manual for Microsoft BASIC-80 (version 5) over the weekend and it still had inside the original non-disclosure registration card that I guess one was compelled to sign and send in before they could use MS BASIC. This book was distributed with some morrow system as the card is addressed to Morrow Designs Software License Department. It reads: "The party below agrees that it is receiving a copy of MICROSOFT DISK BASIC or FORTRAN for use on a single computer only, as designated on this registration form. The pary agrees that all copies of MICROSOFT DISK BASIC and FORTRAN are owned by MICROSOFT, that all copies will be strictly safeguarded against disclosure to or use by persons not authorized by MICROSOFT to use MICROSOFT DISK BASIC or FORTRAN, and that the location of all copies will be reported to MICROSOFT at MICROSOFT's request. The party may make up to two additional copies only, for back-up purposes. The party agrees that unauthorized copying or disclosure will cause great damage to MICROSOFT." Sheesh! Sam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't blame me...I voted for Satan. Coming in September...Vintage Computer Festival 2.0 See http://www.siconic.com/vcf for details! [Last web page update: 04/25/98]

28 years, 1 month

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Sord Computers

by Ivan.Calhoun＠ins.gte.com

Sorry about this message but I have friend who still uses a Sord IS 11C. Unfortunately it is now failing. I saw the message thread you had concerning some units that were available last year. Could either of you let me know the availability of a similar device or a person who can repair these units? Thanks, Ivan Calhoun

28 years, 1 month

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Convergent Voice Module

by red＠bears.org

I promised Sam I'd look this up a long time ago. I had some trouble with the phone lines, though, which made it impossible to use the modem. But here it is. I seem to have a preliminary version of the 'Voice Module' manual, although I did not get the module itself with the machine. The manual goes into a lot of detail: theory of operation, external interfaces, architecture... schematics... I'll quote from the overview: INTRODUCTION TO THE MODULE __________________________ GENERAL The Voice Processor Module, shown in Figure 1-1, provides a fully integrated voice and data interface between a workstation and the switched telephone netowrk or commonly used private automatic branche exchange (PABX) system (supporting Tip and Ring connection). When used with a digital PABX system, all signals and transmission between the Voice Processor Module and the PABX occur via analog techniques. The Voice Processor Module is an X-Bus module containing two printed-circuit boards. The first board contains a Bell 212A-compatible modem. The second board contains the following: * modular jacks for two telephone line interfaces (FCC, part 68, registered) * additional modular jack (FCC, part 68, registered) that allows connection to any standard voice unit (telephone set) * analog crosspoint switch allowing any device to connect to either line under software control * Dual-Tone Multifrequency (DTMF) touch-tone auto-dialer * DTMF touch-tone decoder that permits numeric data entry via remote voice unit touch pad * call progress tone detector * voice amplifier * Adaptive Pulse Code Modulation (ADPCM) CODEC (Coder/Decoder) for support of digitized voice communications at speeds far less than the normal 64Kbps * 8051 microprocessor to control all module activities (...excepts from following specifications...) Modem board is originate/answer, full-duplex. Supports 212A and Bell 103/113. DTMF generator generates all 16 DTMF digits, may be programmed to transmit various key sequences, and can generate single tones. CODEC and ADPCM technique allows recording/playback of digitized voice information at 6-kHz (24Kbps) or 8-kHz (32Kbps) rates. Software support is provided by CT-MAIL, CT-Net, and "Operator" software, which is specifically tailored for the Voice Module as follows: * Telephone directory management, which has the ability to add, delete, modify, and look up entries in a disk-based telephone directory, and automatically establish calls using the information in the directory. Menus provide assistance in accessing special functions used by PABXs. * Voice digitization, which allows the operator to use the CODEC to record and play back calls or messages. This capability enhances CT-MAIL, where it is used for voice annotation of written documents, as well as the inclusion of voice attatchments to textual mail. * Telephone answering, which allows an unattended system to automatically answer the telephone and perform a variety of user-selectable operations ranging from simple messatge playback/recording to input of numeric data from a telephone touch-tone pad. There you have it. All typos are my responsibility. ok r.

28 years, 1 month

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HDD died in a spectacular way

by manney＠lrbcg.com

I recently bought a Maxtor IDE along with other HDDs at a hamfest. When I got it home, I noticed that it "clunked". No response when I hooked it up, so, I took it apart... The head had gouged its way through the entire thickness of the platter; the remaining part of the platter was lying loose around the hub! It must have made a horrible screeching sound for days (months?), but I guess no-one noticed. The head is ground away, of course, but the arm's still intact. Anyone ever seen a worse failure? manney(a)lrbcg.com

28 years, 1 month

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FW: DECStation 3100 needs rescue in CO.

by kyrrin＠jps.net

Found this on Usenet. A fellow in Colorado's looking for a home for a DS3100. Any takers, please contact him directly. -=-=- <snip> -=-=- From: jimvela(a)aol.com (JimVela) Newsgroups: comp.sys.dec Subject: DS3100: Free to good home Lines: 22 Message-ID: <1998050417034500.NAA19003(a)ladder03.news.aol.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: ladder03.news.aol.com X-Admin: news(a)aol.com Date: 04 May 1998 17:03:45 GMT Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com Path: blushng.jps.net!news.eli.net!news-out.internetmci.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!204.59.152.222!news-peer.gip.net!news.gsl.net!gip.net!portc01.blue.aol.com!audrey03.news.aol.com!not-for-mail Greetings... I have a DS3100 system which I picked up cheap, and was planning to play with NetBSD or OpenBSD on it. As it turns out, I've picked up a couple of other projects and will probably never get 'around to it'. I'll give the system away to anyone who can pick it up- I'm near Boulder, CO. The system is a DecStation 3100 with a VR299 monitor and Dec Keyboard. I don't have a mouse, or hard drives. I believe that there is 16Mb of Ram installed. As far as I know, it works fine. (I never got further than realizing that the mouse was generating an error on boot, and never made a loopback connector to go further.) Anyone that's interested, reply via email... Regards, Jim Velasquez -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bruce Lane, SysOp, The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fido 1:343/272) kyrrin {at} j<p>s d[o]t n=e=t "...No matter how hard we may wish otherwise, our science can only describe an object, event, or living creature, in our own human terms. It cannot possibly define any of them!..."

28 years, 1 month

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Fujitsu Eagle

by kyrrin＠jps.net

Before I go calling around to drive repair places, does anyone happen to have the service manual for a Fujitsu 'Eagle' (M2351 series) that they feel they could part with? I'd be happy to pick up postage for such. Thanks in advance. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bruce Lane, Sysop, The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fidonet 1:343/272) (Hamateur: WD6EOS) (E-mail: kyrrin(a)jps.net) "Our science can only describe an object, event, or living thing in our own human terms. It cannot, in any way, define any of them..."

28 years, 1 month

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N*'s available in Seattle

by rcini＠email.msn.com

Found in comp.sys.northstar: >Hi, >I have three functional Northstar Horizons (at least they were working >when they went into the basement) that I'd like to find a good home >for. > >For history buffs. the systems used to belong to Dr. Tim Lineham in >Olympia Wa. and served as one of the very early Z-Node bbs systems. >Gar Nelson >Seattle, Wa. Reply directly to the original author (elli12(a)gte.net) . Rich Cini/WUGNET <nospam_rcini(a)msn.com> (remove nospam_ to use) ClubWin! Charter Member (6) MCP Windows 95/Windows Networking ============================================

28 years, 1 month

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OK, got farther... (RSTS 8.0-07 + RA92)

by DSEAGRAV＠toad.xkl.com

Now the RA is hardware visible. As opposed to the RA81, where you CAN'T plug it straight into the controller, the RA92 likes that. Go figure. Anyway, I boot up and say HARDWR LIST. It sees 2 devices off the UDA50, the RA81 and the RA92. It identifies the RA92 as a RA92 also. Now, I try to DSKINT the 92. I get to where it asks me for pack clustersize. The default here is 32. When I type 32, it says ?Illegal clustersize specified and prompts me again. Nothing works. Apparently 32 is too big a number, but it's the required number, so I've shot myself in the foot. Is this a known bug? Have I screwed up here? Is there something I can change in RAM to let me go ahead? I can't find any mention of this anywhere.... -------

28 years, 1 month

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(Fwd) Re: Wang PC XC3-2

by lwalker＠mail.interlog.com

From: Lawrence Walker <lwalker(a)interlog.com To: Sam Ismail <dastar(a)wco.com> Subject: Re: Wang PC XC3-2 Reply-to: lwalker(a)interlog.com Date: Sat, 2 May 1998 15:02:08 On 2 May 98 at 22:48, Sam Ismail wrote: > > Ok, what do you all know about the Wang PC XC3-2 circa 1984? I got one > today. Unfortunately it was just the system itself with no documentation, > but I did get some software. This one has a 5.25" disk drive and a > half-height hard drive. I haven't dug into it yet so don't know many more > details but from the labels on the interface cards on the back it has an > IBM Monochrome emulator board among all the basic stuff (winchester disk > controller, serial, parallel, etc.) > > Sam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com I posted on a trash find about 2 weeks ago on virtually the same machine, with no response. Ditto on some newsgroups. That in itself is fascinating.The one I have is a PC-S3-2. The only info I was able to find on Wang's venture into the world of MS-DOS was on the Wang users bbs and this was pretty slim. They call it a "classic" Wang, (Apple anyone ?) I was able to get a start-up file from them but it seems to be an orphan like the Atari PC. There's quite a few Wang CP/M enthusiasts sites but like the TRS m.2 little info on this beast. even tho, like the TRS m.2, many were sold to the business community. Most likely quietly fed to dumpsters around the world since most small businesses don't have garage sales. You were fortunate ( mind you didn't find it in the garbage) to have some means of IO. Mine had the 2 winchesters removed and nothing else. I find the MB interesting with its mix of Zilog, Motorola and Intel chips. Old Wang was known for it's interesting innovations and IIRC many of it's people went on to illustrious careers with other companies , like the original DEC, Xerox, and Atari crews did. I don\t have the URL for the WUG handy but it should be readily available thru a search. They're a Brit group IIRC and I wasn't about to pay $35 for the privelage of joining their discussions. Could you give me some info on the FDD's , KB , etc. ciao larry lwalker(a)interlog.com

28 years, 1 month

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FD55E drives...

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<Bingo! They are a single head version of the FD55F which was their <'quad' density drive - 96tpi and 250k data rate. < <What other info would you like? Thanks Don, that conformed what I thought. They are used in Visual 1050 CPM3 systems as 400kb drives. I'm looking at fitting them with a 3.5" drive to be compatable with my other CPM systems at 720/780/1.44. Allison

28 years, 1 month

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I guess RSTS doesn't like RA92s...

by DSEAGRAV＠toad.xkl.com

I dragged the RA92 up here, plugged it in as DU1, and started RSTS, but RSTS says DU1 doesn't exist. This is RSTS/E v8.0-07. Is there some trick to do to make the RA92 work, or am I up a creek? I'll play with it to make sure it's not my cabling, but I have it the same way as the RA81, so I doubt it... -------

28 years, 1 month

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Wang PC XC3-2

by dastar＠wco.com

Ok, what do you all know about the Wang PC XC3-2 circa 1984? I got one today. Unfortunately it was just the system itself with no documentation, but I did get some software. This one has a 5.25" disk drive and a half-height hard drive. I haven't dug into it yet so don't know many more details but from the labels on the interface cards on the back it has an IBM Monochrome emulator board among all the basic stuff (winchester disk controller, serial, parallel, etc.) Sam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't blame me...I voted for Satan. Coming in September...Vintage Computer Festival 2.0 See http://www.siconic.com/vcf for details! [Last web page update: 04/25/98]

28 years, 1 month

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FD55E drives...

by allisonp＠world.std.com

Anyone have or know where I can find specs for TEAC FD55E drives? I know they are single sided half height but I suspect they are 96tpi 80track drives. Allison

28 years, 1 month

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HDD ...

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

With all this talk of hard drives slicing themselves and adjacent walls to pieces, how is it that the motor can spin up to such a high speed when it's not supposed to, and why doesn't the head dragging on the disk surface cause it to stop? Can any of these stories happen to a modern drive? ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

28 years, 1 month

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Backing up to videotape

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

I have seen, on this list and otherwise, comments about cards that allow a VCR to be plugged in and data to be written to them. I was wondering if a) this is a good idea b) why these things cost so much - shouldn't a simple D/A converter and serial port do? ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

28 years, 1 month

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HDD ...

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On May 3, 23:30, Tony Duell wrote: > On (almost) all hard disks, the head doesn't drag on the disk - it floats > on a film of air. Even if the head crashes, the intertia of a stack of > 14" aluminium platters is considerable, and the most likely result is > that the head/mounting is ripped off the arm and flung into the HDA > housing/across the room. That's what happened to my Seagate, as far as I could see. > > > Can any of these stories happen to a modern drive? > > Unlikely. The platters are a lot smaller for one thing, so they can > probably rotate faster without breaking up. And there's likely to be more > complex speed control of the spindle motor, so it may not be able to > overspeed significantly. > > I'm not worried about my PC drive suddenly spreading bits of platter > through the front of the case. No, but the load bang I described was from a 3.5" winnie. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Dept. of Computer Science University of York

28 years, 1 month

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HDD died in a spectacular way

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On May 3, 23:38, Tony Duell wrote: > Tim wrote: > > Same goes for the RL01/RL02 (which will spin about 3000 RPM instead > > of nominal if you convince them to spin up without a pack). > > Yes, but with no pack there's no platter to break up :-) > > I'm not going to try it, but what does an RL0x do if you get it to > overspeed with a pack in place, I wonder? Probably not a lot. Not much, it just goes rather faster than normal. I've seen it happen when a servo circuit failed (actually, a field servoid had removed a vital component from a drive that he thought wouldn't be used again). -- Pete Peter Turnbull Dept. of Computer Science University of York

28 years, 1 month

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HDD died in a spectacular way

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On May 3, 23:23, Tony Duell wrote: > Pete Turnbull wrote: > > I have a couple of 14" Fujitsus (a massive 135MB apiece) similar to that. > > Well, that Shugart I mentioned is either 12Mbytes or 24Mbytes depending > on how many disks/heads were fitted at the factory. > > > They're the predecessors to the Eagles, which have heavy cast metal HDA > > enclosures. Much more fun to watch (and listen to). > > I remember the Eagle... I've got the service manual somewhere (given to > me along with some other manuals) and I once had to repair a later drive > (2361???) that was somewhat similar to the Eagle (maybe it was called a > Double Eagle or something - I forget). The HDAs in those drives certainly > look impressive. Super Eagle. Impressive? Yes, those fins really are there to cool it. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Dept. of Computer Science University of York

28 years, 1 month

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FD55E drives...

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On May 3, 19:16, Allison J Parent wrote: > Anyone have or know where I can find specs for TEAC FD55E drives? > > I know they are single sided half height but I suspect they are 96tpi > 80track drives. Easy way to find out is to try it :-) There's a small amount of data on TEAC's web site, http://www.teac.com/dsp/fd/fd_55.html but that's really for the -R series which are newer. I've got jumper and setting info for the GFR (similar to RX33) and a little info on the FD55-FB and FD55-BVU (40 trk DS) and FD55-GFV-17 (HD 80 trk). TEAC also have a faxback service, and there's a catalogue of the faxback documents at http://www.teac.com/dsp/catalog.html You could try http://www.psyber.com/~tcj as well. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Dept. of Computer Science University of York

28 years, 1 month

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HDD ...

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<With all this talk of hard drives slicing themselves and adjacent <walls to pieces, how is it that the motor can spin up to such a <high speed when it's not supposed to, and why doesn't the head <dragging on the disk surface cause it to stop? Head draging...? only if it's crashed even then the motors on those old drives were huge. <Can any of these stories happen to a modern drive? Less likely as smaller platters, less mass and more exotic speed control servos. The big difference is that you would need som really amazing RPM to make a 3.5" plater fracture and fail where a 14" platter has a far higher speed at the perimeter at a lower RPM. Without running the numbers a 14" platter goes transsonic at the perimeter at something like 14,000 RPM however before you get to that speed the forces working on the metal are high enough that it will exceed the tensile strength. Also small imbalances show up with increasing rotational speed and the platter start to develop vibratory waves which if allow to go to destructive extremes make for good stories. I know as I have an operating Morrow (thinkertoys) DISCUS with a 10mb memorex(m101) 8" drive. Allison

28 years, 1 month

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HDD died in a spectacular way

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On May 3, 18:19, Tony Duell wrote: > > Well, seen after the fact when I was called in to 'repair' it... > > > > Probably over 15 years ago, NorthStar offered a 14 inch hard drive in an > > external cabinet for use with the 'Horizon' microcomputers. It was > > amusing to watch with the top of the enclosure off as the entire unit > > was enclosed in a slightly smoked brown Plexiglass 'bubble'. > > That description matches a number of 14" hard disks available at that > time. I still have a Shugart SA4000 (on a PERQ 1) which has a similar > design of HDA. But that one uses a synchronous mains motor to turn the > disks (and produces the write clock from a special head on one of the > disks, thus synchronising the whole thing to the disk rotation). I have a couple of 14" Fujitsus (a massive 135MB apiece) similar to that. They're the predecessors to the Eagles, which have heavy cast metal HDA enclosures. Much more fun to watch (and listen to). -- Pete Peter Turnbull Dept. of Computer Science University of York

28 years, 1 month

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HDD died in a spectacular way

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

Truly incredible. The official explanation sounds like something >from a book on Chernobyl. What the heck did the thing use for a motor? Diesel or Gasoline? > >At 04:53 PM 5/2/98 -0400, you wrote: >> >>Anyone ever seen a worse failure? > >Well, seen after the fact when I was called in to 'repair' it... And >actually, quite a good thing that no one was there to witness it! (you >will see why in a moment) > >Probably over 15 years ago, NorthStar offered a 14 inch hard drive in an >external cabinet for use with the 'Horizon' microcomputers. It was amusing >to watch with the top of the enclosure off as the entire unit was enclosed >in a slightly smoked brown Plexiglass 'bubble'. > >The down side was that the sector wheel/transducer/tachometer assembly was >external to the sealed housing and frequently caused "sector not found" >errors as dust collected on it. This required regular (monthly or so) >cleaning which required removal of the HDA from the external enclosure in >order to access the bottom of the assembly. (quickly rectified by our >staff after a couple of calls by using a 'nibbler' tool to add a 2"x3" >opening on the bottom of the external enclosure that we could access the >assembly through) > >It was also noted in one of the service bulletins that since this assembly >also served as the tachometer for the spindle drive, that you could tell if >the wheel was becoming dirty by a "surging" sound coming from the unit even >if you did not experience sector errors. Little did we know... > >We had one customer who tended to keep his system up 24x7 since he had an >external sales staff that used the system to file orders and he liked to >work from home. (dial-in lines) He also liked to run the HD with the upper >part of the external enclosure removed so that he could show off to >customers and clients just how advanced their operation was. (ignoring our >warnings that this would allow the unit to attract dust and dirt more rapidly) > >Well... One Monday morning I get to the shop and we have a number of >messages on the answering machine (in increasing levels of agitation). He >starts off by explaining that Friday evening he started getting frequend >'sector' errors reported from the system. Over the course of the day >Saturday the errors increased and the system response degraded. Sunday >morning the system would not answer a call at all. Sunday evening he got a >call from the Alarm Monitoring company that something had tripped the >offive alarms. When he went in to check the building, he noted that there >"appeared to be a problem with the hard drive" and wanted us out there >first thing to make sure he did not lose any data. > >So... a couple of us went out expecting to have to clean out the wheel >assembly (yet again) and perhaps correct a couple of glitched sectors... >WRONG! > >When we entered the computer room, it was quite obvious that there was a >bit more than a "problem with the hard drive"! > >The room looked like someone had stood in the center of the room with an >M-16, and used it to try to cut the room in half. Clear around the room at >about table top level were pieces of plastic and metal stuck into the wall >boards. The plexiglas 'bubble' from the HDA was gone (obviously shattered) >and the platters had large chunks missing from them. No need to even look >for the head/arm assemblies. > >After an extended discussion with the customer, of which most of the time >was spent explaining that we would NOT be able to recover any data from the >drive, we set about collecting the wreckage and installing a new drive and >software. > >Once back at the shop, a call to NorthStar brought a visit a few days later >from one of their technical support staff as well as an engineer from the >manufacturer of the HDA (Micropolis if I recall correctly). > >The "official" explaination went something like this: > >Due to the design of the (rather basic) tachometer circuit in this unit, a >missing sector pulse was intrepreted by the tach as a loss of spindle >speed. (start-up mode mentality, if you are starting the drive and don't >see a pulse, speed up (or start-up) the motor until the required pulse rate >is achieved) This was the cause of the "surging" sound noted in previous >service bulletins. > >In "theory" (now apparently proven) if the sector/tach wheel became >sufficiently dirty the tachometer circuit could attempt to keep increasing >spindle speed up to such a point where a failure of the unit might be >induced either by overload failure of the spindle motor or by excess >vibration caused by excess rotational speed. > >Apparently, no one ever considered a 'fail-safe' for the tachometer circuit... > >While they never did detail just exactly what failed first, whatever it was >apparently caused a head crash severe enough to fracture one or more of the >platters, and from that point it was all downhill... > >Without the cover of the external enclosure to contain it, (a metal >enclosure by the way) when things started to come apart there was nothing >to stop it! And the results were indeed quite spectacular. > >Made everyone a good deal more serious about keeping those sensor wheels >clean... (and the covers on!) > >BTW: NorthStar did replace the drive for us... > >-jim > >--- >jimw(a)agora.rdrop.com >The Computer Garage - http://www.rdrop.com/~jimw >Computer Garage Fax - (503) 646-0174 > > > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

28 years, 1 month

1
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'Classic' typewriter?

by kyrrin＠jps.net

Yes, you read correctly. One of the local thrift stores turned up a Xerox 'MemoryWriter 630' for all of $8.00. Since I was in the market for something to fill out forms with, and curious about the MW series in any case, I picked it up (with a grunt -- these are not light!). It's built very robustly inside, and appears to be based heavily on the 8085 chip. The design and layout resemble (no surprise) the Diablo 630 series daisywheel terminals. A good vacuuming and a little oiling later and it works just great. Original manufacture date is around 1984 (based on the date codes I found on the components). No CRT on this one, though I understand that was one option. If anyone happens to have a user's guide, accessories, options, or diskettes for this beast, please let me know. Thanks in advance. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bruce Lane, Sysop, The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fidonet 1:343/272) (Hamateur: WD6EOS) (E-mail: kyrrin(a)jps.net) "Our science can only describe an object, event, or living thing in our own human terms. It cannot, in any way, define any of them..."

28 years, 1 month

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TI99: Anyone reading this with a TI-99/4A?

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<To my knowledge no flavor of unix runs on anything less than a 32-bit <processor. There's a unix-workalike for the C-64/128, but that's not Your knowledge is limited. Unix was started and lived for years on PDP-11s (a 16 bit machine) in the form of V5, V6, V7 and 2.9BSD and 2.11BSD. I may add it was on other machines like the Interdatas. <quite the same thing. Anyway, it's called Lunix. I haven't tried it yet, There is also ELKS embedded kernal linux aimed at XT class(16bit) and other small machines. <but it's possible that Lunix could become fairly popular amongst the <8-bitters. The point I was trying to make about running Minix (since you Linux is is one form of popular free unix and was launched on PC hardware that happens to be 32bit(386 and later). Fitting unix on most 8bitter means a minikernal and swapping as most 8bitters have only a 64k address space unless some banking logic was added or the CPU is only of the later z80 varients with MMU(z180 1mb, z280 16mb). <generally run that on a PC anyway) is that it just simply makes more <sense to run Linux or FreeBSD or some other supported operating system. Minix is supported exactly the same way LINUX is. <It's possible to run those operating systems with 8MB comfortably <(provided you're not running XFree86)...all the text-based stuff runs <just fine. Besides 8MB RAM doesn't exactly break the bank nowadays. :) Well, my 386 is running it in 8mb with xfree86 and while not blindingly fast it does run well. Not everyone has bundles of cash for their computer. I find the idea of not less than 32bits, 200mhz cpus and large memory being a must to be patently retrorevisionist to the history of what was done before those things were available. Allison

28 years, 1 month

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A British piece

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<> Today I picked up a G.R. Electronics Ltd "Pocket Terminal" and I am <> looking for some user information on it. I have two of them, it's a mini terminal. I have no data even though I know mine work. Allison

28 years, 1 month

1
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'Classic' typewriter?

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

I once saw one of these w/CRT and two floppy drives at a thrift store. It looked quite old ;) I tried it out, coudn't really tell how to use it, and didn't bother to take it. The thing on the screen looked a bit vi-like. Another thing that's more complicated than it should be... > Yes, you read correctly. One of the local thrift stores turned up a Xerox >'MemoryWriter 630' for all of $8.00. Since I was in the market for >something to fill out forms with, and curious about the MW series in any >case, I picked it up (with a grunt -- these are not light!). > > It's built very robustly inside, and appears to be based heavily on the >8085 chip. The design and layout resemble (no surprise) the Diablo 630 >series daisywheel terminals. A good vacuuming and a little oiling later and >it works just great. Original manufacture date is around 1984 (based on the >date codes I found on the components). > > No CRT on this one, though I understand that was one option. If anyone >happens to have a user's guide, accessories, options, or diskettes for this >beast, please let me know. > > Thanks in advance. > > >-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- >Bruce Lane, Sysop, The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fidonet 1:343/272) >(Hamateur: WD6EOS) (E-mail: kyrrin(a)jps.net) >"Our science can only describe an object, event, or living thing in our own >human terms. It cannot, in any way, define any of them..." > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

28 years, 1 month

1
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Seagate info

by scottk5＠ibm.net

-----Original Message----- From: Joe [SMTP:rigdonj@intellistar.net] Sent: Saturday, May 02, 1998 2:44 PM To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers Subject: Seagate info I just picked up a couple of old Seagate SCSI drives and I'm looking for jumper information. (YES, these DO have jumpers.) I can't find a Seagate site. Does anyone know of a site that has this kind of information? [Kirk Scott] Try: http://www.blue-planet.com/tech/no-frames.html I've gotten a lot of information help on older drives from them. Kirk scottk5(a)ibm.net

28 years, 1 month

5
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Another IBM S/

by william＠ans.net

At first I thought it was some sort of typo, but now I have another reference... What the heck is an IBM System/7? William Donzelli william(a)ans.net

28 years, 1 month

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HDD died in a spectacular way

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On May 2, 16:53, PG Manney wrote: > The head had gouged its way through the entire thickness of the platter; > > Anyone ever seen a worse failure? Not seen, but heard... Some time ago, I had a little Seagate 50MB drive on running on the shelf above a workstation. I knew it had a stiction problem, so I tended to leave it running most of the time. So there I was, minding my own business, as they say, and suddenly there was a very loud BANG. I couldn't see anything amiss, but I shut things down anyway. Then I realised any damage that was going to be done by whatever went bang had presumably already happened. I wasn't going to find much out by staring at a blank screen, so I powered everything up again. All came to life, but the Seagate just reported disk errors. Tried reformatting; no joy. So I took it apart. Every platter had huge circular gouges, and two of the heads were in bits, mostly embedded in the walls of the disk chamber. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Dept. of Computer Science University of York

28 years, 1 month

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Seagate info

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On May 2, 22:20, Joe wrote: > Yes, I tried that URL. It said that that webpage was not available!?!?!?!? > I don't know about Impris but Seagate just bought Conner (who had already > bought Maynard, who had already bought Irwin.) There goes a lot of their > competion! > >Uh, did you try www.seagate.com? They have information on even their > >oldest SCSI drives, Conner drives, and Imprimis too. They also have an ftp site (ftp.seagate.com, I think) which has all the jumper info in text files. They also have zip files giving the info for griups of drives, eg all the scsi drives, all mfm, etc. I use them so often that I always have a reasonably up-to-date version on my server. BTW, I find seagate's site and similar sites much more useful than TheRef. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Dept. of Computer Science University of York

28 years, 1 month

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Artistic Computers (was: Re: Lost Treasures (was: Cray-1))

by allisonp＠world.std.com

For direct to ugly... Commodore PET netronics explorer-85 intel mds800 minutman missle computer (lots of ways ugly!) I can think of others but those were pretty ugly on an esthetic basis and a few were ugly from a human factors standpoint (pet chicklet keys). Programming the serial disk computer of the MMC was really nasty. Allison

28 years, 1 month

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Apologies... Was Re: Anyone know where to find a Setup disk for Epson Equity II+?

by lfb107＠psu.edu

I am truly sorry for sending that huge file to the mailing list. I had intended it for Daniel only. Sorry for any inconveniences it may have caused. Les

28 years, 1 month

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Artistic Computers (was: Re: Lost Treasures (was: Cray-1))

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

I believe KISS tends to apply in these cases. In general, I find that I like blockier ones more. I won't get myself started on modern case design, but I will say that I do not find any of the "home computers" by Compaq, Toshiba, Acer, and Sony to be very nice-looking. Of classic computers, the TI 99/4a probably is in that vicinity... >On Sat, 2 May 1998, R. Stricklin (kjaeros) wrote: > >> On Fri, 1 May 1998, William Donzelli wrote: >> >> > Speaking of which, what are the ugliest machines? >> >> Apollo DOMAIN computers and every last intel based PC manufactured since >> 1993 and _especially_ since 1995. Except the new IBM GL machines which are >> actually kind of nice. > >I'm actually keen on the contemporary Compaq designs and the cool Acer >designs with the neon colors and artistically drilled venting holes in the >dense pattern. > >Sam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com >------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >Don't blame me...I voted for Satan. > > Coming in September...Vintage Computer Festival 2.0 > See http://www.siconic.com/vcf for details! > [Last web page update: 04/25/98] > > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

28 years, 1 month

1
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Auction crap

by aaron＠wfi-inc.com

In case anyone cares, I put another Sun 3/50 and a Sparcstation 1+ on www.haggle.com. The 3/50 is a 12meg flat-top, and the 1+ has 36megs and a 205meg HD. I started them at something like $5 so they'll probably go for just enough to cover packaging tape. The impetus? The space is now being hogged by the System 36 I just dragged in here.... By the way, does anyone want that Sperry IT I got awhile back? It is sitting in the garage looking forlorn. It has that nifty Genoa video card, a memory board, an ethernet card, an unknown size HD, keyboard, optical mouse and pad, complete manual set (system installation guide, Basic user's guide, and MS-DOS user's guide), and original disk set. I haven't had the chance to even power it on yet, so I don't know the operational status (worked when removed). It's heavy (duh), so if someone just wanted the cards/HD/etc, I could disassemble and ship what you wanted and leave the carcass at the local thrift. Oh yeah, I am in the L.A. vicinity, so if someone wanted to pick it up.... Aaron

28 years, 1 month

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2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

test-drb