< I imagine I was just lucky and the DEC disks came in to the
<shop separately, but a nagging idea of the Rainbows ability to boot
<msdos came to mind. I also finally found a DEC k-b for a long-dormant
<Rainbow which has a 5meg Seagate. When I get the 15-pin video cable
<I'll be able to check further.
Rainbows did run MSdos versions 1.1 and 2.11.. I may even have a copy of
2.11(rx50).
Allison
At 07:46 AM 3/9/98, you wrote:
>>I'll give you $40 for one to kill two birds with one stone: I'll get an
>>HX-20, and we'll establish the going market price for them.
I hate to say it, but there is a market for them, (one of which is right
here) and $40 for a machine as described (assuming it works) is rather on
the cheap side. Probably closer to $75, maybe even $100+ if you put it up
for auction on eBay.
Something tells me I should really be tracking what I pay for my
machines... I guess I'll start doing that.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- O-
Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad
roger(a)sinasohn.com that none but madmen know."
Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates
San Francisco, California http://www.sinasohn.com/
Found in comp.os.vms:
>Hello all,
>We have several (currently 6, more to come) VaxServer 3100's that
>we have retired from service. They had been doing Macintosh file =
>serving,
>for the last 5 years and have been replaced with NT boxes.
>Our current options are either 1) find them a good home, 2) send them
>to State Surplus Equipment, or 3) throw them out.
>I can offer them FREE to anyone who wants them, PROVIDED you
>arrange to either pick them up or have them shipped to you at no
>cost to us.
>Also available are a couple of Storage Expansion units for these boxes,
>a few VT320's, and 3 TLZ04 tape drives.
>The 3100's are rather minimally configured, nothing beyond the base
>memory (8MB? maybe 16MB?) and a relatively small hard drive
>(250MB?). I'm not primarily a Vax person, so I'm not sure what other
>information anyone might need, but feel free to ask.
>These machines do work. They came out of service between September
>and now, and were under DEC service agreements until June 30th, 1997.
>We intended to donate them to a sister college, who later decided they
>didn't want them, and we tried a used equipment dealer who didn't want
>them either.
>If anyone's interested, please reply to me by email. If we don't get =
>rid
>of them by the end of next week, the whole lot goes to State Surplus.
>Tony Harris
>Network Administrator
>Community College of Vermont
>harrist(a)mail.ccv.vsc.edu
I'm looking for a manual (hardware / service / etc.) for an
HP "9869A Calculator Card Reader". Just for clarification,
this is a 50 pound table-top beast from the mid-70s that
seems to be a full 80/40 column hollerith. Has 117v primary
and a 34pin "ribbon" ("centronics-style") connector for I/O.
I can probably make it "go" without docs, but it will be
easier to repair and adjust if I have the specifics.
Of course, the usual offer of payment for copies or (preferably)
originals is in effect.
Thanks for any info,
Gary
<2)Let's take the GRiD server as an example (I have never seen a GRiD
< machine, BTW). How does it differ from any desktop system?
Too broad a question. What is a desktop system? I can come up with
several that might surprize you.
<3)Have there been any machines that made extensive use of a truly
< unusual architecture? What I am looking for is twofold: I am
< interested if anything ever used a neural network-like arrangement,
< and I am interested in something that had a processor that
< interacted w/the user and a separate one to do the processing
< (ie a real-time system capable of doing all that a normal one can)
IS there one or three questions in there?
yes there have been some very unusual machines like transputers,
connection machines, vector processors, Turing machines.
the latter half of your question is too broad. My z80 s-s100 crate would
qualify as the OS was distributed over several z80s but only on had the
user interface. The Vax-11/780 had a qbuss PDP-11 as a diagnostic fromt
pannel. An xterm on an eithernet to a server could even qualify.
Allison
At 03:55 PM 3/9/98 -0500, you wrote:
>> [Not too heavy?]
>>
>> No, it's just actually not as heavy as it looks. Most of the insides are
>> air.
>
>Well, that is true. Most big IBMs are that way. IBM still managed to use
>some very heavy parts - heavy gauge steel chassis, big stiff transformers,
>and disk drives with really big motors.
>
>Still, once a computer tips the scale over 300 or so pounds, I consider it
>heavy.
>
>William Donzelli
>william(a)ans.net
>
>
Heavy? Not if you add the optional System/34 Transport Attachment (shoulder
harness/hernia belt), IBM PN 74G5666.
Sorry, couldn't resist.
David
dwollmann(a)ibmhelp.com
At 08:54 AM 3/9/98 -0500, Ward Donald Griffiths III wrote:
>> Well my 3B2 and 6300 cases match exactly. (Brown bottom, white tops, black
>> inserts, etc.)
>
>Check for the suffix WGS after 6300. The 6300 WGS (_much_ more PC
>compatible than the original) had that color scheme, the original had
>a mostly black front. Does it have the DB-25 video connector? I'll
>accept an interim color change that I might have missed -- I only
>dealt with AT&T equipment when the WGS systems were just appearing
>and the original 6300 and 6300+ had been discontinued -- but the
>store kept so much old stuff in inventory that I shouldn't have
>missed anything like that.
I don't recall if there was a "WGS" or not (in storage now) but it does have
the 25 pin video connector. The color scheme is brownish-black base with
the top being approx 1 1/2" white bordered and about half of the middle
section being black, the other half, or course, depending on the color of
the drives in the system. Sorry the above is so confusing.
Les
>--
>Ward Griffiths
>Dylan: How many years must some people exist,
> before they're allowed to be free?
>WDG3rd: If they "must" exist until they're "allowed",
> they'll never be free.
>
>
I have, at some what short notice, been told I am going to Taiwan
tomorrow (for two weeks). :-(
I shall be able to redirect my e-mail, but past experience of such
things shows that I usually get my list subscription forcibly set to
"postpone" after about a week under such conditions.
However, (and this is the real point of the message), I shall probably
have some space for souvenirs on the return journey. Does anyone on the
list know of _any_ Taiwannese computer equipment which could be
considered a classic? (Preferably not a PC clone!)
Philip.
It looks like I am now the proud owner of a LINC-8 carcass - stripped of
everything but the front panel, backplane, scope, supplies, and core
stack. The LINC-8s are interesting machines in that they are a PDP-8s
(staight-8s) with strapped on LINC processors. They were made for a few
years in the 1960s until the PDP-12 came about.
I am looking for ANY of the small DEC Flip-Chips in the R, S, B, G, A, or
W category (I do not yet have numbers). These are much smaller than the
more common modules found in later PDP-8s and -11s, but still have the
familiar plastic handles found on the M series boards. These have no ICs
on them, but may have weird looking hybrid grey SIP packages (at least I
have seen some on R107 modules).
Any leads would be appreciated. Thank you.
William Donzelli
william(a)ans.net
"Bob Wood" <altair8800(a)hotmail.com> wrote:
>I am in the market for a Sol 20 and and/or an Imsai 8080.
A few weeks ago, a couple Altair systems on ebay.com went for
more than $1500 each. However, an IMSAI was recently sold for
$126 on comp.os.cpm. Prices are all over the map, from $0 to
$1500 it seems.
Aren't you the guy who's always posting messages to newsgroups,
saying you're looking for these machines? Are you a collector
or an arbitrageur? Judging by author profiles at www.dejanews.com,
it looks like you deal in all sorts of collectables. Can you
tell us more about your business?
- John
Jefferson Computer Museum <http://www.threedee.com/jcm>
At 06:23 PM 3/3/98 PST, Max Eskin wrote:
>>I'll differ on this point. one of the primary things that killed the
>'6300
>>was that it was NOT totally IBM compatable. The video subsystem (noted
>>below) is a prime example.
>Is it possible to somehow slap a CGA or any standard monitor into
>one of those?
Yup, just set switches 5 and 6 to on dipswitch 1 to disable the video
controller.
>Was the thing designed for UNIX or was it just a plain "enhanced" PC
>clone?
I think it was just meant to be an enhanced PC clone. I have to admit tho,
the 6300 case design is still one of my favorites (looks real purdy sittin' next
to a 3B2) and not a bad overall machine for it's age.
Les
PS If anyone else needs any dipswitch settings, etc. I have the tech manuals.
>Hmm? It must be the contrast between the white 3B2 cases and the black
>fronts of the 6300s, because I've always thought the 6300 was as ugly
>as party politics. The 7300 (and 3B1), now that's another story.
Well my 3B2 and 6300 cases match exactly. (Brown bottom, white tops, black
inserts, etc.)
les
At 11:58 PM 3/8/98 -0600, you wrote:
>On Sun, 8 Mar 1998, Joe wrote:
>
>> >Any additional info (and offers to give me one) appreciated.
>>
>> Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha! Fat chance!
>
>FWIW, I got email earlier today from somebody who threw his IPC away when
>nobody took him up on his offer of taking it away for free....
That's very strange since I frequently see ads from people wanting to
buy them. There was an ad in one of the HP news-groups just a few days ago.
Joe
I'm surprised the IBM drive caused such comment.
All I was re-iterating was what the guy said "an original IBM 10Meg drive" -
and as I saw IBM embossed on the front black plastic cover part, I figured
thats what it was. It's just a 5" or so hard drive, and nothing special.
Unless I'm mistaken, which is possible, as I don't know my stuff!
Add to the list from the other night a mint Z80 Big Board II
Cheers
A
-----Original Message-----
From: Tim Shoppa <shoppa(a)alph02.triumf.ca>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Monday, March 09, 1998 3:46 PM
Subject: Re: Motherload
>> >> > original IBM 10Meg hard drive
>> >>
>> >> Did IBM make this? I thought it was Seagate...
Hi. I just read about a Tandy 2500 XL with a 286 10MHz, 2MB RAM, MS-DOS and
DeskMate GUI built into ROM.
So, if anyone has one of these that they'd be willing to part with....
Thanks,
Tim D. Hotze
I picked up two cards rather than having them trashed.
They're approximately square in size about mmmh....20cm to a side.
I counted about 73 or 74 pins on the connector on one side of each card, the
other side a solid block connect. The 1st card is labeled "Q050 DUAL TVT"
and has a MCM2708(?) eprom and a 10 pin output port, whilst the 2nd is
labeled "Q025 16K RAM". Were these worth rescuing?
I can do images if really necessary.
Cheers
A
The 2650 card is called a SBC-2650, and the manual does not mention the
vendor, but does mention Microbyte as the supplier of the software (eg: ACOS
operating system).
>> - S100 speech card
>By who? Votrax, by any chance?
Nup, board is labeled "Electric Mouth - 1 NETRONICS R&D Ltd. (c)1981"
>> 4 x 1702A EPROMS that I was after! (whoo hooo)
>Well, if you run out of these, they're readily available here in
>North America, at $1.95 each, from Jameco
Its not so much the value of them, but that I wanted some and *there they
were*
Cheers
A
>> > S100 system with prototype of Signetics 2650 processor board
>> > - this board later went into commercial production
>>
>> Who sold it, out of curiosity?
>>
>> I remember a _Radio-Electronics_ (or was it _Popular Electronics_?)
article
>> from '76 or '77 that had construction plans for a 2650-based machine.
>> I don't remember it being S-100 based, though.
I will put the whole story up on my website as soon as I can. The design
was published either in Electronics Australia or ETI, and basically the gent
was ripped off. However, he told me they sold perhaps 100 of these boards.
I have lots of software for it, both on floppy and casette!! and this
includes... wait for it.... an 8080A emulator. Bizarre.
Cheers
A
The beast runs OK, just a couple of LEDs out on the front panel, it seems.
A brief brief play showed stepping through worked OK - will play with it
more, later.
At least the PSU is OK - next to check the EPROMs.
Cheers
A
The hitherto unseen Matell Aquarius II machine is pictured on the top menu
option on
http://www.comcen.com.au/~adavie/weird/
Enjoy!
A
PS: I have TWO Aquarius II machines.
Dear Friends: I have a TRS-80 Model II, expansion bay with one extra drive,
and a daisy wheel printer. I don't exactly use this equipment much and
would like to ger rid of it. Any suggestions?
Thanks.
Terry Moore
toonsband(a)msn.com
I just found two Epson HX-20 computers with expansion units, plug-in
printers and plug-in micro-cassette drives. I've seen lots of these
computers but not the other items. Can anyone tell me about them? What's
a setup like this worth? Everthing is in PERFECT condtion, but no books,
tapes or anything else included.
Joe
<I've been revising my web site a bit recently. One of the things I've
<added is the entire 1978 Tandy Computers catalog which features such
<things as the IMSAI 8080, Sol-20, Vector 1, etc. I don't know about
<you, but aside from this one catalog, I had no idea that Tandy ever
<sold anything like this. At any rate, the whole thing has been
They didn't! I was working from them from 75 through 79 and help start
the computer repair centers in ALlentown PA and then in Bethpage NY
and while they did sell a few non tandy machines IMSAI, SOL, Vector
were never seen in any of those places save for when I'd bring my altair
or NS* to test out something.
Now it's possible that one of the independently owned dealer stores held
and advertized other machines. Even the Radio Shack computer centers
didn't start opening until the beginning of 78. The trs-80 was mid '77
and Tandy did nothing in computers before that.
Allison
Doug,
At 01:09 AM 3/8/98 -0600, you wrote:
>I've had an HP IPC near the bottom of my wish list for a while, and I
>might be able to get one. The owner wasn't impressed with my first offer,
>but there may still be hope.
>
>Does anybody else have one of these?
Yeap, I have two of them. I love them.
> I've never actually seen one, but
Then go look at "http://www.intellistar.net/~rigdonj/hp9807.htm".
>the thought of an early portable Unix box appeals to me. I seem to
>remember they ran an early (1.0?) version of HP/UX on a 68K (?) from ROM
>(?).
Only a ****VERY*** minimal system was run out of the built-in ROM.
Usually HP-UX was run from an external hard drive or the built-in floppy
drive. There was a plug-in ROM available that contained a complete HP-UX
system. It was called the "Software Engineering ROM". It was optional and
VERY rare. Disk based BASIC was available for the IPC and was also
available in a plug-in ROM.
>
>Any additional info (and offers to give me one) appreciated.
Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha! Fat chance!
Joe
>
>BTW, I also saw a Mentor Graphics box today. It said something like
>series 400, model 425. I vaguely remember that Mentor sold rebadged
>Apollos with their CAD software. I was never crazy about Apollo Domain OS
>from a programmer's perspective, but I do remember it being fairly
>innovative/interesting at the time, so I'm thinking about getting the box.
>Attempts to talk me out of it are warmly welcomed.
>
>Thanks,
>Doug
>
>
Have three older terminals, condition unknown but in good physical
shape. They go to the big mainframe in the sky if I don't get an
interested party by March 15th....
Digital VT100, no keyboard
Digital VT220, no keyboard
Visual 102 with keyboard
I'm going to ask $5 for each plus shipping to more or less cover the
time involved in packing and running these to the shipper, but otherwise
they're here and awaiting some interested foster home to contact me
about them. Neither weighs a lot but due to the glass crt they aren't
featherwight either.
COntact me directly. I'm in the process of finishing my new shop and
these are NOT going into it and taking up much needed space.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
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/
* Parts/Service/Upgrades and more for MOST Computers*
--------------------------------------------------------------------
>> > original IBM 10Meg hard drive
>>
>> Did IBM make this? I thought it was Seagate...
>
>Well, there certainly were Seagate/shugart (I can't remember if it was
>after the name change...) drives with 'IBM' moulded into the front panel.
>I have a few lying about...
Yeah, but it could also be a Winchester drive, (external?) I think that it
was the first hard drive to use technology still used today.
>>
>> Tim. (shoppa(a)triumf.ca)
>>
>
>-tony
>
I think you guys were right after all. It's a futile endeavour.
I just trashed the AT case and the entire PS/2 system except the
drives, cards, and ribbon cables. I couldn't stand it anymore. I will
pick up another case, there's plenty left that are not necessarily
PS/2. The thing did have an expansion card that had 2 MB RAM on it,
I will ship it to anyone who wants it.
>
>The power good line is a signal from the PSU to the motherboard that
>indicates that all the PSU lines are at the right voltages. If you
can't
>find a suitable signal on the PS/2 supply, then try connecting it to a
>+5V line (red wire, normally). That should get the machine running.
>
>
>-tony
>
>
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
I've been revising my web site a bit recently. One of the things I've
added is the entire 1978 Tandy Computers catalog which features such
things as the IMSAI 8080, Sol-20, Vector 1, etc. I don't know about
you, but aside from this one catalog, I had no idea that Tandy ever
sold anything like this. At any rate, the whole thing has been
scanned and put on my web site. I tried to keep the page images small
so they don't take forever to load, but it means that you can only
read the tag lines and prices. Still, the pictures and prices are fun
to look at. Take a look and let me know what you think. If there is
sufficient interest, I might go back and scan the pages at a higher
resolution and link the bigger images to the current ones. Also, let
me know if you see any glaring errors on my site; I'm still tracking
down some minor formatting problems, but most of it should be fine.
Just pick the "classic computers" link on the first page and go from
there to see the catalog. Hope you enjoy looking through it as much
as I did!
-Bill Richman
bill_r(a)inetnebr.com
http://incolor.inetnebr.com/bill_r
(Home of the COSMAC Elf Simulator!)
OK, despite your warnings, I pulled my AT motherboard out of its case
and put it into the PS/2 tower case. It fits reasonably well
physically, but I AM having a bit of trouble with the power supply
conversion. I have pretty much figured out how to wire the psu
to the motherboard, but the problem is the power good line. What
is it, and what would I need to hook it up to for the PSU and MB to
think that the power is good? (this is line 1 of P8 on most AT
motherboards)
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
Today I found the motherload
S100 system with prototype of Signetics 2650 processor board
- this board later went into commercial production
- homebrew video display for the s100 system
- twin floppy drives, video card, memory cards, etc.
- prototype of production 16K RAM card
- additional memory cards
- full documentation of all work
- S100 speech card
- about 8 S100 disk controllers (various versions of prototypes, I
guess)
Heaps of 2650 software, including FORTH, ACOS (casette operating system) and
about 30 other tapes chokka, too much to list. - I know it has 8080A
disassembler, PIPBUG monitors, etc etc.
- i have source code and listings for all these languages and OS
Mattel Aquarius, with ALL software (apparently) for this machine
- SCHEMATICS and technical documentation for the aquarius!!
- cassette drive
- printer (x 2) using colour pens, i think
- various RAM and ROM cartridges
Mattel Aquarius II in original box
lead on an Aquarius disk drive - will chase tomorrow.
prototype Aquarius cartridges, including 16K RAM, and a teletext dongle
(complete)
C64 grey model
- Prototype (functional) C64 modem
- programmer's reference guide (I was looking for one of these)
4 x 1702A EPROMS that I was after! (whoo hooo)
original IBM 10Meg hard drive
interesting thermal(?) printers - silver paper with Aluminium that was
sparked off
- have 34? and 80 column versions (80 col new in box)
lots more things that I haven't unpacked yet.
A good day.
Cheers
A
I have a like new, great condition DEC PC 100+ (Rainbow?) with Seagate
St412 10mb hard disk and dual floppy. One problem...NO monitor, NO
keyboard. I'm sure these can be located though. The power supply case
indicates a manufacture date of December 14, 1983. The unit looks as
though it just came out of the box, other than the little DEC plate in
the upper left corner of the front missing. The other one that says
"100+" is intact though. I have no idea why this is missing.
Make me an offer. Cash or trade or a combination. I'm always looking for
PC components such as internal/external cdroms, sound cards, SIMMs (30
or 72 pin, parity if possible). Best offer gets this one.
Email me directly.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
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/
* Parts/Service/Upgrades and more for MOST Computers*
--------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Joe <rigdonj(a)intellistar.net>
Subject: RE: Vacation Finds...
>I just bought CMB 8032 complete with a 4040 drive and CMB (rebadged Diablo
>630) printer and a Novation CAT accoustic MODEM.
Modems for the PET are probably the hardest thing to find (I am still
looking) as they had IEEE-488 interfaces.
> I got all the original
>disks and manuals and everything else with it including the warranty
>papers. I got Commodore BASIC, SuperSpell, Word Pro 5 Plus
Wordpro was IT for PET word processors those of you familiar with
Easyscript for the 64 or Plus Script for the Plus/4 would recognize the
simliarity.
> something called Jinsam and a bunch of other stuff that I haven't figured out
> yet. Believe it or not, I bought this from a NASA auction last week.
> Joe
Jinsam is a database management program, and I remember the ads
extolling it's use by NASA, so I don't doubt it. I read about another
NASA application for PETs in an early Micro magazine (sometime in 1980)
something to do with launch countdown of un-manned missiles. As I have
said before, it my not have been a graphics superstar but it had the
interfacing (IEEE-488 and parallel user port) for just about anything
scientific.
Larry Anderson
--
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Visit our web page at: http://www.goldrush.com/~foxnhare/
Call our Commodore 64 BBS (Silicon Realms 300-2400 baud) at: (209)
754-1363
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
From: Ethan Dicks <erd(a)infinet.com>
Subject: Re: Vacation Finds...
>>
>> Have been on vacation since Friday and still have a couple days to
>> go... From the thrift store outlook in the area things are improving
>> again (I guess people are starting their pre-spring cleaning)
>>
>> What I passed up on...
>> PET 8032, 4040 dual drive.
>Agggggh! I'd *love* to replace my long-lost 8032. [snip!]
>Anyway, rambling aside, where are you on vacation and is the PET still there?
>-ethan
That was in Modesto, CA, (My vacation this time is closer to home). I
think the proboability of those units being there are good (since most
of the local 'thrifters' snag the IBM, Mac, and Amiga machines that show
up). I would have gotten them myself but those PETs take up alot of
shelf-space (which is limited for me cause I have several PETs already),
and I was pretending to be strong (of course if it were an original PET,
an 8x50 dual drive or a B-128 it would have been bought. :) That chain
of thrift stores (they call themselves Thrift Center Thrift Stores) are
interesting, on Wednesdays and Saturdays they have 1/2 price days and
with their sometimes low prices you can pick up some really inexpensive
hardware, they also strangely have been a good source for Atari 800s.
Yesterday on our travels, we took off to Sacramento (California's
state capitol) and discovered in our wanderings SEVERAL THRIFT STORES
(Many within a square mile on just one street.) But given the time we
didn't stop, *sigh*, but we now know where to look next time. We did
stop at a warehouse sized used book store (on Power Inn Road) most of
the stuff is discontinued school texts, some assorted stuff... Not much
computer book pickings there unless you have an IBM, Apple II, or a Mac
(finding quality older computer books almost the most challenging task
only after finding software.)
Been wandering the valley for most of this last week and plan to rest
out at least today and possibly tomorrow before work on Monday.
Larry Anderson
--
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Visit our web page at: http://www.goldrush.com/~foxnhare/
Call our Commodore 64 BBS (Silicon Realms 300-2400 baud) at: (209)
754-1363
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
To Greg Troutman:
I received the Laser 50 in the mail today... just as promised!! Thanks a
ton, and I hope you received my end the bargain as well?
To the list, I posted this here just as an example that there are
successful trades that take place because of the correspondance on the
list. Greg got in touch with me because I posted information about some
Apple cards that I had. We talked a bit, and decided this would be a
fair trade, neither of us had worries that the other wouldn't come
through on their side of the deal. It turns out we both sent our
hardware out the next morning, and 2 days later I received mine! Boy
Greg, I hope you got your ok... let me know.
Anyway, that's all. Just some publicity that trades can go right, after
having some bad experiences in the past, this re-opened my eyes to the
possibility of doing more often.
Thanks,
CORD COSLOR
--
___________________________________________________
| Cord G. Coslor : archive(a)navix.net |\
| Deanna S. Wynn : deannasue(a)navix.net | |
|---------------------------------------------------| |
| http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Vista/4395 | |
|---------------------------------------------------| |
| PO Box 308 - Peru, NE - 68421 - (402) 872- 3272 | |
|___________________________________________________| |
\____________________________________________________\|
>Propose a slightly labor intensive but very practiceable method.
>
>Once the machine is operational step through the eporms using the front
>pannel and write down the data on a sheet of paper...it's only 1024 bytes.
>it can be then typed into another machine and stored, disassembled or
>whatever. Hand disassembly of 1024 bytes it's not that bad, I've done
>it in the past.
Just received by email from the original owner...
"When I got the DL8a there were only the 4 EPROMs. Not sure what's in them
though, I found the what I assume was the code in the EPROMs when stepping
through memory, but I couldn't be bothered trying to disassemble it. "
I guess this implies that it was probably working, and that it would be safe
to power-up and step through the memory myself. Any agreement here, or is
this a bad idea?
Cheers
A
Well the bottom line is... I'm not an electronics guy.
The option I will be following is getting the 1702A EPROMS copied and
a) backed up to several media formats
b) duplicated to new 1702As.
>I supose the solution is for him to build a 1702 reader (which is a lot
>simpler than the programmer!) and to read the EPROMs himself.
>The ultimate solution would be for somebody to program a 'spare' 1702
>with a known byte sequence, and use that to test the homebrew reader. A
>lot of work, though.
No, this isn't a solution. I'm a software guy - I'll re-engineer the 8080A
code if and when necessary, but there's no way I'm going to build hardware
for this thing. I just want to copy some EPROMS... not delve into clever
engineering to make them redundant! By the way, I have found several 8080A
disasemblers for MSDOS. THere are quite a few websites around carrying such
goodies.
> Or the one that's
>X-rayed with a sufficient dose to damage the chips, or the one that's
>lost, or whatever.
Is the X-Raying a valid problem? Will X-Rays further damage already fragile
EPROMS? As I said, I may have found myself four 1702A EPROMS, the only
problem here is getting the code from A to B. Maybe the ideal solution
would be for me to borrow a 1702 reader and do the job over here. That way,
the irreplacible EPROMs don't travel at all.
Cheers
A
OK, I've kind of settled on an approact to restoring the DL8A. I figure I'm
completely unqualified to do any of this and so will rely upon advice and
help from those of you who are.
I think the first and most important step is to back-up the extant 1702 boot
program. I've been thinking about this one (re: bit rot); would it be
possible to get a disassembly of the code to see if it looks OK? It can't
be too big - only 4 eproms total. Does bit rot proceed on a bit-by-bit
basis, or are whole segments knocked out at a go (ie: bytes/multiples)? I
presume that it will be possible to restore the boot program if there is
some significant part of the eproms intact - opcodes anyway...
The disassembly should give some clues as to operation of the machine, too.
So, firstly I ask if anyone with a 1702 programmer who would be prepared to
handle copying these 4 eproms for me to wave their hands in the air. I'll
also need 4 of the 1702 eproms, so would appreciate anyone with those to
also wave their hands. And finally, I'm looking for a PC based 8080A
disassembler. My plan is to pull the chips and airmail them to a kind
volunteer. Actually - although I don't have a lot to spend - I will be most
happy to pay for the preservation (restoration?) of these data. I think its
important.
I do believe this machine is possibly unique; certainly rare - and worth
restoring properly. I would note that the cosmetics are near flawless;
this bodes well for the electronics inside, no?
Cheers
A
Just a clip from the lineprinter:
Ready
sy
RSTS V8.0-07 GALAXIA status at 04-Mar-98 03:06 PM Up: 5:07
Job Who Where What Size State Run-Time Pri/RB RTS
1 [SELF] Det ERRCPY 5/32K SR 1:47.7 0/6 BAS2F
2 [SELF] KB0 SYSTAT 13/32K RN Lck 1.3 -8/6 BAS2F
Busy Devices: None
[clip...]
I've deleted most of the old accounts - The disk was at 8% free when I got it,
now it's at 88% free... The accounts remaining look like they have system
stuff in them, or are refrenced in the start-up files. I'm backing them up
to DECtapes, then deleting them to see what happens. If it runs a month without
the files on the tape, I wipe the tape. (Write nulls over it)
I'm moving the 44 to school, there I'm going to attach it to the nameserver
(Linux) and kludge up something interesting so that people can telnet to the
RSTS without having to have accounts on the Linux box. Right now I'm working
out a plan with the 23+. The move is scheduled for Monday. Fun! I get to lug
the RA81 up a flight of stairs! :)
Oh, and does removing the account (With REACT) kill the directory by NULLing
over it, or do I have to go do something else to make sure they're gone?
I did see a few accounting-type things in the [5x,*] area, so I killed them all
sight-unseen. The system runs OK now... Kermit is still here, I assume I can
keep that... OPSER and the batch stuff are missing, and the OS source has been
removed, but if Kermit works I may be able to go find some nice person
with 8.0-07 and get the files needed. I renamed the machine GALAXIA, and
made a copy of the old Monitor .SIL so I can kill those too.
Basically now, without some real digging, you can't tell where the machine came
from.
-------
Several weeks ago I posted a question about whether a standard
PC DD/DD drive could read/write ATARI floppy disks. I got one
responce which was in the negative... however, at the time the
comp.sys.atari.8bit faq wasn't available from my news server (both
comp.sys.atari.8bit and news.answers). Well, it is now and I have a
correct answer. Check:
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/atari-8-bit/faq/
Subject: 11.2) Can I read/write 8-bit Atari disks on an IBM-PC?
There are several programs that allow an MS-DOS system to work with an
Atari-format diskette. The following require a DOS and disk drive on
the Atari end capable of the SS/DD 180K format:
[... details snipped for brevity]
Guess it's time to get DosEMU working again. ;-)
--jmg
It appears that what is happening is that the mail sever with the fulll
mailbox is looking at the From: header of the message and thus sending the
'bounce' notification the the individual posters. This is, of course,
better than bouncing the mail to the list as a whole but not as good as
bouncing it to the list administrator who can then drop the offending
account.
Regards
Pete
Well, I scored an Apple IIc with an external Floppy drive,
Imagewriter printerer, and small composite green (maybe 9"?) monitor.
$20 bucks. I also got some disks with it, but no games - mostly old
nibble magazine disks. This thing has a serial port on it, anyone
know what the pinout is and if these ports are compatible with
Macintosh adapters? If not, what's the pinout and can I buy the DIN
plug from Mouser? And hell, while I'm at it, where can I find a
terminal program with x/y/zmodem capabilities? Is there anything like
XIO2PC on the Atari for the Apple? Anyone know of a web page which
documents DOS commands? Gee, I'm just full of questions.
I'm still looking for a cheap source for DD/DD 5 1/4"
floppies. The office supply store down the street wants $10 for a ten
pack and I have to special order them, while $10 will get me a huge
box of HD 3 1/2....grrrrr
Thanks!
--jmg
<>I supose the solution is for him to build a 1702 reader (which is a lot
<>simpler than the programmer!) and to read the EPROMs himself.
Propose a slightly labor intensive but very practiceable method.
Once the machine is operational step through the eporms using the front
pannel and write down the data on a sheet of paper...it's only 1024 bytes.
it can be then typed into another machine and stored, disassembled or
whatever. Hand disassembly of 1024 bytes it's not that bad, I've done
it in the past.
Allison
I've searched the world web over ,but never did I find......
There seems to be a lot of info on Mods. 1,3,100,Coco etc. but nada
on this beast. Any sites I might have missed ? Merch , Cord ?
What I have is a TRS Model II with 1 internal 8' fdd and 1 external
fdd , 3 humungous 5Meg hdd ( about the size of a large XT) , K-B ,
TRS model 7 modem , and a box of 8" disks with CP/M 2.2 , TRSOS,
Scripsit and a bunch of other prgms.
When I boot up with or without an OS disk I get a "boot error ht'
msg. The dd spins up and sounds like its loading. Could it have been
set up to boot off one of the hard drives ? I'm really a novice with
TRS-80s but have Coco 1 and 2 in my collection and a Scriptsit cart.
Is there something I'm not doing ?
ciao larry
lwalkerN0spaM(a)interlog.com
At 03:15 PM 3/6/98 -0500, you wrote:
>For quite a few years, one bit of folklore that has popped up on a regular
>basis is that of old IBM dinosaurs running our air traffic control system.
>Well, I was just wasting some (work)time now looking at some recent
>threads on <bit.listserv.ibm-main>, and it is fairly clear that the 9020s
>are now all gone after probably too many years of service.
>
>The interesting thing is that the machines that replaced them, 3083s, are
>also now considered classics.
That's what you would referr to as using proven technology!
This reminds me of a story about the HP calculators. When the HP 35
calculator came out some of the US Army artillery men at Ft. Sill saw how
fast they were and their accuracy so they put in a requision to buy a bunch
of them. The Department of Defense liked the idea but they had to have a
feasibilty study to justify the purchase, so they spent $150,000 for a
study that took two years and end the end the study did show the costs of
the purchase to be justified. Next, the army went to HP to buy some HP 35s
but they found out that the 35 had been discontinued and had been replaced
by the HP 45. They tried the HP 45 and found that it was even better, so
they requested that the HP 45 be purchased instead. Again the DOD liked
the idea so they commissioned another $150,000 study to justify the
purchase of HP 45s. After a year and a half, this study also found the
purchase to be justified. The army then went back to HP to purchase their
HP 45s and .... You guessed it, the 45 had been discontinued and had been
replaced by the HP 55. So the army requested that HP 55s be purchased. The
DOD commissioned a third study (only $100,000 this time, the beltway
bandits had this down pat!) to justify this purchase. This time the study
only took a year. Again the army personnel rushed to HP to buy HP
calculators, only to find out that the HP 55 had been discontinued! The
artillerymen gave up and went back to their charts and tables!
Joe
>
>William Donzelli
>william(a)ans.net
>
>
mold? if its everywhere inside, good luck! if its just the foam, rip it out.
use that armor all all-purpose cleaner. wont take the colour out and cleans
good.
the pinout is proprietary. this is a ps/2 remember? the form factor is not AT
compatible, so forget it.
model 60 is 10mhz 286 with 1 meg. there are chips to upgrade to 386 from 286,
but only access up to 16meg anyway. 24bit mem addressing. the hard drive is
esdi type which connects like an mfm drive. can't do ide drives either. i dont
know of a mca ide card. maybe aftermarket though. i have os2 1.3 never used,
but i'm keeping that for archives.
david
In a message dated 98-03-06 20:28:14 EST, you write:
<< I got a PS/2 Model 60 and OS/2 2.0 (1992, but still classic)
PS/2:
a)How do I get rid of the mold inside?
b)What is the PSU pinout if I want to put in a regular motherboard?
c)Is there a way to upgrade the mb to 386 with <$10 and a 386 mb
OS/2:
a)I installed it on a 386 w/4 MB RAM (min. requirement). It CRAWLS.
Should I replace the MFM HDD w/ IDE?
b)Does anyone have os/2 1.x that they could send me? >>
In a message dated 98-03-06 16:18:31 EST, you write:
<< Well, this is the chepaest I've found them:
>
> http://oracle.uvision.com/prdct/923/78.html
> $3.14 / box of 10 (plus shipping I presume) >>
i have ~100 i'd like to get rid of. most are dd, a few are hd. they've all
been used before, but i reformatted them on a pc so they all work. they all
have their jackets too. they're not worth much in money terms, but anything
similarly worthless for trade would be welcome.
david
