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

by Philip.Belben＠powertech.co.uk

> Well, finding a composite video point is trivial, therefore. Inside the modulator can, I fear. I had another look inside last night. The two metal cans appear to be video circuitry (on motherboard) and modulator (separate). They are linked by a 4-way ribbon cable of which one conductor is ground. I suspect the remaining three of being video, line sync and frame sync. (They could, I suppose, be composite mono, U and V but I doubt it) > >Someday I must get a decent TV standard monitor - probably the Barco I > >sold to my brother for use as a telly - but I ought to have a composite > > Err... You do not use a Barco monitor as a TV. It's far too nice for that. I > happen to have one, you see. Au contraire, the Barco is one of the few pieces of kit I _would_ consider using as a telly (the other being my Bush TV24 of course). > Not of course. There were Barco's with built-in PAL, SECAM or NTSC decoders OK, you win. > >> What chips _other than the 8048_ are in this device? Is the video side > >> custom or does it use one of the many Philips video chipsets? (Philips > >> Prestel terminals tend to be stuffed with their Teletext IC's, for > >> example...) Pretty boring, I'm afraid - 8245 and 6110 plus about 20 TTL chips. I can't read the numbers of the chips inside the video can unless I desolder said can from PCB. Philip.

28 years, 8 months

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Olivetti M20

by Philip.Belben＠powertech.co.uk

> I met someone who had worked on the Olivetti M20 many years ago and > could possibly still get a hold of some of these. > > The M20 is a Z8001 based machine with bitmapped graphics and can run > PCOS (its own OS) or CP/M 8000 > > Is anyone else interested? Which side of the Atlantic is it on? Philip.

28 years, 8 months

1
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Could I build a PDP-8

by hans1＠filan00.grenoble.hp.com

bluesky6(a)ix.netcom.com (Benedict Chong) wrote : > There is or was a prentice hall book on logic design that described > the design of a PDP-8 workalike. I bought the book and told myself > that one day, I'll build a PDP-8 with EPLDs. Like Allison, I ended up > with 16 bits and then other things got in the way... > The book is called top-down logic design or something like that. The Art of Digital Design, an introduction to top-down design by Franklin P. Prosser and David E. Winkel Prentice-Hall 1987 ISBN 0-13-046673-5 025 I have a copy and can highly recommend it. It has a two complete design descriptions of a PDP-8 CPU, one a state machine implementation the other a microprogrammed one. Talking of 16 bit extensions to the PDP-8, that is what the HP-2116A appears to be, anyone konw that processor? Regards, Hans B Pufal

28 years, 8 months

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Could I build a PDP-8?

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<From: Phil Sutherland <philsuth(a)mycroft.DIALix.oz.au> <I recently tracked down the articles on the EDUC-8 as the first step <towards building one. My plan to put it in the corner of my office as an <"executive toy". However, by the time I get round to it I suspect I'll <be using it as an educational toy for my (currently 1 year old) son! On the build it yourself tack I've considered building my own TTL pdp-8 but every time I put the paper down I end up with 16 bits. The basic 16bit design was PDP-8 with four more address bits. Allison

28 years, 8 months

2
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Just a reminder (Auto)

by danjo＠xnet.com

Just a test of the *Broadcast* facility. Trying to put up a Calendar and Scheduling program on the web site 8-) -------------------------------------------------- Performed by Auto-Remind : another fine product of The Software Forge and danjo(a)xnet.com --------------------------------------------------

28 years, 8 months

1
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Philips G7000

by ard＠siva.bris.ac.uk

>> Presumably if it has a UHF output it also has an internal modulator. Can't you >> just tap off composite video from the input to that? > >It does indeed, and on a separate board, too! Well, finding a composite video point is trivial, therefore. > >Someday I must get a decent TV standard monitor - probably the Barco I >sold to my brother for use as a telly - but I ought to have a composite Err... You do not use a Barco monitor as a TV. It's far too nice for that. I happen to have one, you see. >one as well (Barco is RGB, of course). At present the monitor I have Not of course. There were Barco's with built-in PAL, SECAM or NTSC decoders acording to the user manual for mine. (Barco User manual = 1/2 page explaining the controls and about 40 pages telling you how to set it up, schematics, waveforms, test points, etc). >requires Video + Composite Sync - or it can free-run and generate sync >for a TV camera. > >> What chips _other than the 8048_ are in this device? Is the video side >> custom or does it use one of the many Philips video chipsets? (Philips Prestel >> terminals tend to be stuffed with their Teletext IC's, for example...) > >I can't remember offhand, except that there are quite a lot of them. >I'll have another look tonight. Please e-mail me a list when you get a chance and I'll see what I can find out about them. > >There seem to be two large rectangular metal cans - one with its own PCB >(probably the UHF modulator) and one on the motherbaord (VHF for US?) Possible VHF for europe. There are 625 line transmissions on Bands 1 and 3 according to some info I have. > >Philip. -tony

28 years, 8 months

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IBM 5100

by kaikal＠MICROSOFT.com

They're extremely rare. Rarer than almost anything except an Apple I. Just before I was lucky enough to be gifted mine from a saintly old-timer, I saw one sell for $650. That's the only one I've ever seen for sale, and the seller said he'd received over 60 inquiries. He also said he could have gotten more if he wanted to drag the bidding on for another couple of weeks. I am aware of a gentleman who may be willing to part with a 5110 + dual 8" external drives + printer, but he wants a "very generous offer" for it and the shipping alone would be a killer since the total weight is about 200 lbs (he's in PA). BTW, do you have a web page for your collection? Kai > ---------- > From: Anthony Eros > Reply To: classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu > Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 1997 7:32 AM > To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers > Subject: IBM 5100 > > High up on the list of wants for my collection is an IBM 5100. I > passed on > one several years ago at a Goodwill (arrrgh!), but I'd sure like to > track one > down now. > > Any ideas? > > -- Tony Eros > proprietor -- FooBear's Cluttered Cellar Classic Computer > Collection >

28 years, 8 months

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Atari 850 Interface

by thedm＠sunflower.com

Anything that will do downloads with Zmodem, Ymodem or Xmodem I just need a start. I think the most popular is called BOBTERM ---------- > From: Faiaz, Michael C. HSD <FAIAZMC(a)hsd.utc.com> > To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> > Subject: RE: Atari 850 Interface > Date: Wednesday, August 13, 1997 3:27 PM > > I may have one. Can you be more specific, as to which term program you > need? > Mike > > ---------- > From: Bill Girnius > To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers > Subject: Atari 850 Interface > Date: Wednesday, August 13, 1997 12:16PM > > > Welp! I finally got one. Case got a little damaged in shipping,but it > looks > like it will still work. Is there anyone out there that still uses the > 8bit Atari's that can send me a copy of a Term program on an Atari 8bit > format disk so I can start downloading stuff to my 8bit atari's?

28 years, 8 months

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Atari 850 Interface

by FAIAZMC＠hsd.utc.com

I may have one. Can you be more specific, as to which term program you need? Mike ---------- From: Bill Girnius To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers Subject: Atari 850 Interface Date: Wednesday, August 13, 1997 12:16PM Welp! I finally got one. Case got a little damaged in shipping,but it looks like it will still work. Is there anyone out there that still uses the 8bit Atari's that can send me a copy of a Term program on an Atari 8bit format disk so I can start downloading stuff to my 8bit atari's?

28 years, 8 months

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Philips G7000

by Philip.Belben＠powertech.co.uk

> Presumably if it has a UHF output it also has an internal modulator. Can't you > just tap off composite video from the input to that? It does indeed, and on a separate board, too! Someday I must get a decent TV standard monitor - probably the Barco I sold to my brother for use as a telly - but I ought to have a composite one as well (Barco is RGB, of course). At present the monitor I have requires Video + Composite Sync - or it can free-run and generate sync for a TV camera. > What chips _other than the 8048_ are in this device? Is the video side > custom or does it use one of the many Philips video chipsets? (Philips Prestel > terminals tend to be stuffed with their Teletext IC's, for example...) I can't remember offhand, except that there are quite a lot of them. I'll have another look tonight. There seem to be two large rectangular metal cans - one with its own PCB (probably the UHF modulator) and one on the motherbaord (VHF for US?) Philip.

28 years, 8 months

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Philips G7000

by ard＠siva.bris.ac.uk

[G7000] > >Yes thanks, I have four or five. I don't expect to use the thing until >I can find out how to get composite video or RGB out, since I don't >possess a television. Presumably if it has a UHF output it also has an internal modulator. Can't you just tap off composite video from the input to that? What chips _other than the 8048_ are in this device? Is the video side custom or does it use one of the many Philips video chipsets? (Philips Prestel terminals tend to be stuffed with their Teletext IC's, for example...) > >Philip. -tony

28 years, 8 months

1
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Olivetti M20

by bluesky6＠ix.netcom.com

I met someone who had worked on the Olivetti M20 many years ago and could possibly still get a hold of some of these. The M20 is a Z8001 based machine with bitmapped graphics and can run PCOS (its own OS) or CP/M 8000 Is anyone else interested? Ben

28 years, 8 months

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Prices/speculation (RE: A moment of silence, please)

by sinasohn＠crl.com

At 10:17 AM 8/12/97 -0700, you wrote: >buy a ton of Apple IIe/IIc's and Commodore 64's - like a warehouse full. [...] >hit age 50 (in approximately 2015) they're going to have to buy one, and At which point you would be deeper in debt than the US Gov. from all the storage costs... 8^) --------------------------------------------------------------------- O- Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad sinasohn(a)crl.com that none but madmen know." Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates San Francisco, California http://www.crl.com/~sinasohn/

28 years, 8 months

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A moment of silence, please

by sinasohn＠crl.com

At 09:14 AM 8/12/97 -0800, you wrote: >Unfortunately, the high demand for common "trendy" machines (i.e. IMSAI's, >Altairs, whatever) often displaces the preservation of machines which >are much rarer, which are far more important historically, and which >present far greater difficulties to preserve, maintain, and use. Keep in mind that Value <> importance/significance/etc. Value represents a combination of many variables, including visibility, size, trendiness, etc. There are plenty of relatively valueless items running around the world that are incredibly significant, while a whole lot of insignificant things command high prices on the open market. If I wanted to invest in classic computers, it would be IMSAI's, Osbornes, and Apple I's. But I want to collect them, so I've got an Epson, an NEC, a m100, etc. --------------------------------------------------------------------- O- Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad sinasohn(a)crl.com that none but madmen know." Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates San Francisco, California http://www.crl.com/~sinasohn/

28 years, 8 months

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PDP-9 and 7 (DEC 18 bit machines....)

by carl.friend＠stoneweb.com

On Wed, 13 Aug 1997 12:27:11 -0400, allisonp(a)world.std.com mentioned: > Despite have seen a few and being even an EX-digit I've never played > with the PDP-9. Is any there that can describe the archecture and > instruction set? Mostly curiosity here. I think I've got a processor handbook for the -9 at home; it's either that or the -15 (which was an up-rated successor to the -9). I'll dig it out and post a few bits when I get home. (If I'm sober enough. <insert grin as appropriate>) I seem to remember my first impression was "bizarre machine"... ______________________________________________________________________ | | | | Carl Richard Friend (UNIX Sysadmin) | West Boylston | | Minicomputer Collector / Enthusiast | Massachusetts, USA | | mailto:carl.friend@stoneweb.com | | | http://www.ultranet.com/~engelbrt/carl/museum/ | ICBM: N42:21 W71:46 | |________________________________________________|_____________________|

28 years, 8 months

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PDP-9 and 7 (DEC 18 bit machines....)

by allisonp＠world.std.com

Despite have seen a few and being even an EX-digit I've never played with the PDP-9. Is any there that can describe the archecture and instruction set? Mostly curiosity here. Allison

28 years, 8 months

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Philips G7000

by Philip.Belben＠powertech.co.uk

> > collectible. (What is the G7000 anyway? Yes, I did buy it! It has an > > 8048 as the CPU, of all things!) > > It is a video game system that is compatible with the Magnavox Odessey^2 > > Do you have any cartridges for it. If not then I have a few duplicates. Yes thanks, I have four or five. I don't expect to use the thing until I can find out how to get composite video or RGB out, since I don't possess a television. [For those of you not in the UK, here one requires a licence to operate "Television Receiving Apparatus", which I think includes any TV with a UHF tuner, but not a monitor. The licence fee is (without looking up either the current fee or the exchange rate) about $120 a year, and I am not prepared to pay this. So I don't have a TV - and seldom miss it.] Philip.

28 years, 8 months

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Atari 850 Interface

by thedm＠sunflower.com

Welp! I finally got one. Case got a little damaged in shipping,but it looks like it will still work. Is there anyone out there that still uses the 8bit Atari's that can send me a copy of a Term program on an Atari 8bit format disk so I can start downloading stuff to my 8bit atari's?

28 years, 8 months

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A moment of silence, please

by Philip.Belben＠powertech.co.uk

> > The 'speculators' who are out to try to make a quick buck on these > > machines while having no regard for their preservation or history will > > only make life much more difficult (and expensive) for those who would > > preserve both the machine and its history. > > I think that there will always be people around who don't have the "purest" > motives for doing anything, and collecting computers is no exception. > Antique dealers could be considered collectors only in it for the money, BUT > without that force being present, a lot more collectibles would be in that > great landfill in the sky. Dig the mixed metaphor! Seriously though, there are two processes at work here. One is that those who grew up with such machines have got the nostalgia bug. This starts prices rising, which in turn attracts speculators. The latter fuel the second process - articles get published about how fast the market is growing, etc. One hopes that in a few years time, they will become unfashionable once again, and we will see a return to the situation when these machines first became unfashionable - they crop up at car boot sales, etc., for not much money. > Another thing to think about is the opportunity that the speculators > provide. I don't recall the number of museums spread around the world, but > it is at least a dozen or two :). Right now, I am in the learning stages of > finding out what it takes to run a museum and donations seem to be a > biggie. If a non-profit status museum is available, I can't imagine any > speculator trashing something instead of taking a tax rightoff. Do keep us posted! There are plenty of us on this list who dream of converting our private collections into musea when we retire - or before! - who would welcome any info on the subject. > And yes, this type of stuff WILL make it harder for people to collect > computers. HOWEVER, we are still at the stage where the perceived value of > most older computers is not very high thus making it relatively easy for > anyone who has the desire to get a fairly complete selection of computers > relatively inexpensively. And since we seem to be some of the few concerned > with the preservation of old computers and their history, that leaves us in > a rather responsible position and I think the future will look back kindly > at our efforts! And however much we dislike the price spirals that occur, we must remember that unless people know that collectors want these machines, they'll put them in the dustbin. That is one reason why, unlike Sam, I do not often haggle. If people know that the Philips G7000 videopac computer that they priced at four pounds at the car boot sale will get snapped up for that amount of money, and tell people at work etc., others will think twice about throwing out the PDP8 or whatever. If, however, they price it at L4 and can't even get that for it, they will think that computers are not collectible. (What is the G7000 anyway? Yes, I did buy it! It has an 8048 as the CPU, of all things!) > > Are *you* prepared to pay $500US for an Osborne or a TI99-4a ??? No, but I'd rather pay $500 for an Osborne than see the last remaining one disinegrate between the teeth of a rubbish crusher like that PDP9.

28 years, 8 months

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A moment of silence, please

by carl.friend＠stoneweb.com

On Tue, 12 Aug 1997 07:33:33 -0700 (PDT), Mr. Willing graced us with these words: > On Tue, 12 Aug 1997, William Donzelli wrote: > > > I also talked to a guy that deals with old computers. Two weeks > > ago, he _finally_ scrapped out a bunch of old machines - really > > old. Amongst the deaths were various PDP-8s, two PDP-9s, a > > Burroughs mainframe, and an IBM 7090 of some sort. > > I think; I may scream! I had the same sort of reaction when I heard the news through different channels. Needless to say I was less than pleased. However, Mr. Donzelli believes there to be hope in this; he states that the guy in question was willing to let him know about future systems like that. > *How* do we reach these people *before* things like this happen?!? That's the proverbial $64,000 (65,536?) dollar question. I guess we'll have to get to know the various scrap dealers (and especially "recyclers") in our areas. > (preferably without starting a mad rush from yuppie collector > wannabes!) This is another hot-button issue with me, having seen what the price of Altairs and the like is now. (No, the price is not justifiable - other than the machines are very "trendy" right now and speculators think they can make a killing on them.) However, given the size of things like PDP-9s and mainframes, I doubt that systems in that class are likely to fall victim to "speculative collection". Some of the smaller machines in the PDP-8 class might, but the PDP-8/I I just acquired filled half of the rear of my minivan (the other half had an Interdata Model 4 in it) - a bit too large for the average yuppie. You've got to be pretty sick to collect things the size of refrigerators (yes, I know, I fit the bill). Cheers. -- ______________________________________________________________________ | | | | Carl Richard Friend (UNIX Sysadmin) | West Boylston | | Minicomputer Collector / Enthusiast | Massachusetts, USA | | mailto:carl.friend@stoneweb.com | | | http://www.ultranet.com/~engelbrt/carl/museum/ | ICBM: N42:21 W71:46 | |________________________________________________|_____________________|

28 years, 8 months

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IBM 5100

by Eros＠mail.dec.com

High up on the list of wants for my collection is an IBM 5100. I passed on one several years ago at a Goodwill (arrrgh!), but I'd sure like to track one down now. Any ideas? -- Tony Eros proprietor -- FooBear's Cluttered Cellar Classic Computer Collection

28 years, 8 months

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Unix on PDP-11

by wkt＠henry.cs.adfa.oz.au

I seem to have received an email which has bounced thru a few people. I'll try to give attributions where possible. Dave Jenner: > Is this the same SCO that is receiving the PDP-11 Unix petition? > Heaven help us! Unknown: > I saw a thing on SCO's webpage about submitting a success story to win a > prize. I decided it was time for some shameless plugging! > Look what I got in return... He almost gets the point... Daniel Seagraves: > > > >I have a PDP-11. I bet it would make for some > >pretty decent advertising if you'd give me the > >source to compile Unix on it... :) Jim Sullivan: > Well, since much of the early UNIX development was done on PDP11s, a version > of UNIX could possilbe be found for it, but it's probably very old and > out of date. Of note, my first job in the industry was with a company > called Human Computing Resources (later HCR, later merged with SCO). > HCR was one of the pioneers in the UNIX industry and was the provider of > UNIX ports and layered implementations of UNIX across many platforms, > including PDP11s. PDP11/Unity was one of our products. Of course, we > don't sell it anymore and haven't sold it for over a decade. The Answer ---------- The answer for Daniel Seagraves is to fill in the petition asking SCO to sell the source code for these old UNIXes. SCO does hold the legal rights to these old systems. We're hoping that they will be encouraged by the petition, and help people like Daniel out. The petition is at: http://minnie.cs.adfa.oz.au/PUPS/ and choose the top hyperlink. The petition has been formally presented to SCO, and we're waiting on an answer back from them. The signs seem good, though! Cheers, Warren

28 years, 8 months

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Unix on PDP-11

by jim＠sco.COM

Well, this just gets weirder and weirder.

28 years, 8 months

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Yeek! I 'Bruced' him!!

by sinasohn＠crl.com

At 06:53 AM 8/12/97 -0700, you wrote: >>Bruce, and everyone else. I just heard from Bill. He got in a car wreck >>going over to Bruce's place to pick some stuff up. Not knocking ya Bruce >>but from now on we can call a wreck - getting Bruced 8-) He is OK but in Or perhaps being "Whit"led (it was Bill Whitson?) could mean willing to go to any length (including getting your car hit and breaking bones) in order to rescue classic computer stuff? 8^) Hope he gets well soon! --------------------------------------------------------------------- O- Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad sinasohn(a)crl.com that none but madmen know." Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates San Francisco, California http://www.crl.com/~sinasohn/

28 years, 8 months

2
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Superbrain

by Philip.Belben＠powertech.co.uk

> I have some. I also live in the UK (Cambridge) so shipping won't be > much. I actually have a Superbrain Jr. I can't remember what density > disks it has but I will check tonight. What model is yours. Excellent. Thank you very much. I too shall check such things tonight - if I can (I have no documentation at all) > Did the company Intertec make any other machines? According to Kai Kaltenbach's recent post, it seems they made something called a Compustar. The name doesn't ring any bells for me, however. If you're in Cambridge, you ought to belong to the Cambridge University Computer Preservation Society. I think Richard Davies (rjd27(a)cam.ac.uk) will be able to tell you more. I shall be at CUCPS next term, on 4th November, hopefully demonstrating the Tektronix 4052, if you're interested. Philip.

28 years, 8 months

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Update on Altair scans

by rcini＠msn.com

Hello, all: I got a message from my friend with the Altair scans (list previously posted here). On Monday, he mailed me a Zip disk filled with scans. It really makes me wonder if this guy has a job! Actually, he must work for a publishing house or something, somewhere where he has access to high-volume scanners. Anyway, when I get this, I'll put together a disk/tape and Fedex it to Bill Whitson {Bill: I need your physical address and telephone#} and have him post it to the ftp site. More to come... ------------------------ Rich Cini/WUGNET <rcini(a)msn.com> - ClubWin Charter Member (6) - MCPS Windows 95/Networking

28 years, 8 months

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(Fwd) HELP

by dlw＠neosoft.com

I received this today, can anyone here help him out? If so, send him an email. Thanks. ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- From: "Bill Creager" <creagerb(a)ix.netcom.com> To: <dlw(a)neosoft.com> Subject: HELP Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 15:44:50 -0400 Found your wanted ad for Cromemco's. I have a need for a programmer with a Crememco and the know how to program a EPROM chip for a Hand Held data terminal (MSI 85)..... any help or leads would be greatly appreciated. Bill Creager CREAGERB(a)ix.netcom.com ---------------------------------------------------- ----- David Williams - Computer Packrat dlw(a)neosoft.com http://www.neosoft.com/~dlw

28 years, 8 months

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Prices/speculation (RE: A moment of silence, please)

by kaikal＠MICROSOFT.com

> The problem I see with this view, is that it does not fully take into > consideration the class/capabilities/intent of "people" who are > throwing > these outlandish amounts of money around! > Do we have any evidence of outlandish prices actually being paid? There are lots of newspaper articles referencing ridiculous amounts for an Apple I like $10-$15K, but no facts to back them up. The only documented sale in existence is the one at the 1996 Computer Bowl charity auction for $22K, but that hardly counts. Does anyone have any facts about Altairs or IMSAIs going for thousands? > The 'speculators' who are out to try to make a quick buck on these > machines while having no regard for their preservation or history will > only make life much more difficult (and expensive) for those who would > preserve both the machine and its history. > While there seem to be quite a lot of "Altair / IMSAI Wanted" ads on USENET, I've never actually communicated with anyone who was in this for the speculation. Does anyone know someone who is? My advice to anyone who actually wanted to speculate in old computers would be to buy a ton of Apple IIe/IIc's and Commodore 64's - like a warehouse full. They're common as dirt right now and go for garage sale prices. When all of those people whose first computer was one of those hit age 50 (in approximately 2015) they're going to have to buy one, and you'd be in fat city :) > Once the percieved value of a given item is (publically) driven up, > either > by speculators with too much money to spend or too many badly out of > touch > New York/L.A. Times articles, it can take a very long time for the > prices > to return to reality (if they ever do). > That's the truth brother. > And once an item is in the hands of one of these money oriented types, > it > may well languish in a vault(sic) until someone will pay the 'proper' > prices, or when the novelty has worn off the item may still end up in > the > trash rather than being released for a more reasonable price. (don't > laugh, I regularly deal with a *lot* of these types!) > Really?!? Egads. > There has got to be a balance somewhere, I'm just not sure how to get > there. > > Are *you* prepared to pay $500US for an Osborne or a TI99-4a ??? > Geez, I found homes for a couple of nice Osbornes at your Tigard swap meet for $15-$20 apiece. What was I thinking! :) Kai

28 years, 8 months

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Prices/speculation (RE: A moment of silence, please)

by kaikal＠MICROSOFT.com

> From: Kevin McQuiggin > Most of the hype and hoarding has been with bakelite radios from the > late > 40s and 50s > Occam's Razor says it's more likely that the baby boomers who owned or wanted to own such radios in the 40s and 50s are now of the age where they have a lot of nostalgia and a good deal of money to spend. That doesn't mean that speculators are driving up prices. Kai

28 years, 8 months

1
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Superbrain

by Philip.Belben＠powertech.co.uk

One machine I hear very little about nowadays - the Superbrain. It was one of the CPM machines that competed with the later PETs and things, and there used to be one that sat in the librarian's office where I work. One day I saw it being trundled towards the stores, and sure enough it appeared in the skip soon afterward. A little discussion with our procurement (= disposals) people, and the machine went home with me. It now sits on my shelves, waiting for someone to give it a boot disk. Anyone know where to get system disks for this machine? I have one friend who keeps promising to ask his neighbour (etc....) to get me one, but said neighbour never seems to be available. Can anyone else get me a disk? - I will pay all reasonable costs involved, of course. Philip. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Philip Belben <><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Bloedem Volke unverstaendlich treiben wir des Lebens Spiel. Grade das, was unabwendlich fruchtet unserm Spott als Ziel. Magst es Kinder-Rache nennen an des Daseins tiefem Ernst; Wirst das Leben besser kennen, wenn du uns verstehen lernst. Poem by Christian Morgenstern - Message by Philip.Belben(a)powertech.co.uk

28 years, 8 months

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Superbrain

by kaikal＠MICROSOFT.com

Hi Philip, Don Maslin has the list of Intertec stuff below in his collection of CP/M boot disks. He is kind enough to distribute these in the U.S. for his cost of $3/first disk and $1/each additional. Contact him at donm(a)cts.com and see what it would run for international shipping. Kai INTERTEC SUPERBRAIN & COMPUSTAR Name Format Description QD-BIOS4 DSDD System disk w/ experimental BIOS QD-UTILS DSDD System-specific utilities QD-ZCPR3 DSDD ZCPR BIOS and source QDHDBIOS DSDD Hard disk BIOSes SBRAIN32 SSDD SUPERBRAIN v 3.2 system disk VPU-COMM SSDD COMPUSTAR communications files VPU30ENH SSDD COMPUSTAR enhanced system disk VPU30NON SSDD COMPUSTAR non-enhanced system disk VPU30NRM SSDD COMPUSTAR non-enhanced system disk WATSTAR DSDD COMPUSTAR(?) network BIOS & files COMPUSTR TXT System description SBRNINFO TXT Boot-up information CMPSTR30 ZIP COMPUSTAR system files CSR-COMM SSDD Backup to VPU-COMM CSR30ENH SSDD Backup to VPU30ENH CSR30NON SSDD Backup to VPU30NON CSR30NRM SSDD Backup to VPU30NRM NEW.COM Short program to allow 'smarter' C'Star to run non enhanced operating system NORMAL.COM Restores screen to normal video > ---------- > From: Philip.Belben(a)powertech.co.uk > Reply To: classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu > Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 1997 9:20 AM > To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers > Subject: Superbrain > > One machine I hear very little about nowadays - the Superbrain. > > It was one of the CPM machines that competed with the later PETs and > things, and there used to be one that sat in the librarian's office > where I work. One day I saw it being trundled towards the stores, and > > sure enough it appeared in the skip soon afterward. > > A little discussion with our procurement (= disposals) people, and the > > machine went home with me. It now sits on my shelves, waiting for > someone to give it a boot disk. > > Anyone know where to get system disks for this machine? I have one > friend who keeps promising to ask his neighbour (etc....) to get me > one, > but said neighbour never seems to be available. Can anyone else get > me > a disk? - I will pay all reasonable costs involved, of course. > > Philip. > > <><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Philip Belben > <><><><><><><><><><><><><><> > Bloedem Volke unverstaendlich treiben wir des Lebens Spiel. > Grade das, was unabwendlich fruchtet unserm Spott als Ziel. > Magst es Kinder-Rache nennen an des Daseins tiefem Ernst; > Wirst das Leben besser kennen, wenn du uns verstehen lernst. > > Poem by Christian Morgenstern - Message by > Philip.Belben(a)powertech.co.uk > >

28 years, 8 months

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V7 Unix. WAS: Re: Success Story (fwd)

by dseagrav＠bsdserver.tek-star.net

I saw a thing on SCO's webpage about submitting a success story to win a prize. I decided it was time for some shameless plugging! Look what I got in return... He almost gets the point... ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 10:23:52 -0400 From: Jim Sullivan <jim(a)sco.COM> To: dseagrav(a)tek-star.net Subject: Re: Success Story Well this came in through a strange interface.... At 05:20 PM 8/11/97 MDT, you wrote: >Name: Daniel Seagraves >Telephone: 692-5893 > >Customer's Environment: I have a PDP-11. I bet it would make for some >pretty decent advertising if you'd give me the >source to compile Unix on it... :) Well, since much of the early UNIX development was done on PDP11s, a version of UNIX could possilbe be found for it, but it's probably very old and out of date. Of note, my first job in the industry was with a company called Human Computing Resources (later HCR, later merged with SCO). HCR was one of the pioneers in the UNIX industry and was the provider of UNIX ports and layered implementations of UNIX across many platforms, including PDP11s. PDP11/Unity was one of our products. Of course, we don't sell it anymore and haven't sold it for over a decade. I seriously doubt that the current UNIX source code could easily port to the PDP11 environment. >The Economics: To be determined. Probably not worth it... >System Configuration: 2 systems: >PDP-11/44 Unknown RAM, RA81 475MB 12" harddisk > 32 terminal ports, FPP, misc. goodies. >PDP-11/23+ 1 meg RAM, KDF11-B CPU, No harddisk, 2 > RX02 8" Floppy drives. Well, loading UNIX, as it exists today, into 1M, may be impossible. Good Luck, but I don't think I can help you. ---- Jim Sullivan "Don't plant your bad days. They grow into bad SMB Segment Marketing weeks and then bad months and before you know it SCO - jim(a)sco.com you've got a bad year" - Tom Waits 416 216 4611

28 years, 8 months

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VersaWriter

by fmc＠reanimators.org

Marvin <marvin(a)rain.org> writes: > No, it was not like a Koala pad or touch pad but more like a digitizing > pad. The end of the arm looks like it has a magnifying lens on it. The arm > assembly looks a lot like a miniature version of a drafting machine. The arm has joints at its base and middle, right? And the base of the arm is at the top center of the pad? I'd expect this thing to look like two game paddles to an Apple ][, where the obligatory 150K linear pots are mounted at the joints so to report their angles. That and software could get you a tolerable digitizing tablet depending on how tolerant you are and the quality of the pots. My vague recollection is one of seeing it advertised in Creative Computing in the early 1980s, maybe by one of CC's related companies, but I may very well have my wires crossed. -Frank McConnell

28 years, 8 months

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Yeek! I 'Bruced' him!!

by kyrrin＠wizards.net

At 00:02 12-08-97 PDT, you wrote: >Date: Mon, 11 Aug 1997 20:38:05 -0500 (CDT) >From: Brett <danjo(a)xnet.com> >To: classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu >Subject: Hey Bruce - don't get rid of it yet! >Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.3.95.970811203257.24325F-100000@typhoon> >MIME-Version: 1.0 >Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII > > >Bruce, and everyone else. I just heard from Bill. He got in a car wreck >going over to Bruce's place to pick some stuff up. Not knocking ya Bruce >but from now on we can call a wreck - getting Bruced 8-) He is OK but in >a cast and car-less (for a while) and can't get to read the list. Maybe >we should have a little *Net Get Well* party for him? Yikes! No offense taken, but I'd prefer to have something a little more pleasant associated with the term -- perhaps being loaded down with hardware? ;-) Anyway.... thanks, Brett! I'm sorry to hear about the wreck, and I will hold the stuff for him until I know one way or the other. Glad to hear it wasn't more serious than a cast. Any details on where or who hit him? There are a couple of hotspots on the route to my place that are unavoidable unless you really know the area well and, for the sake of my own hide, I'm curious as to where he got nailed. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bruce Lane, Sysop, The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fidonet 1:343/272) (Hamateur: WD6EOS) (E-mail: kyrrin(a)wizards.net) http://www.wizards.net/technoid "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, 8 months

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Morrow MD1

by dgc＠pa.dec.com

does anyone have technical documentation (prints would be nice, but just a high quality description of what's where in the address space of the z80 would make following out things easier) for a Morrow micro-decision md-1.

28 years, 8 months

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Corvus Concept

by fmc＠reanimators.org

Kai Kaltenbach <kaikal(a)MICROSOFT.com> writes: > Does anyone know what a Corvus Concept is? A little. I have one, haven't actually fired it up as yet but have looked through the manuals a bit. It's a 68000-based system, integrated monochrome graphics, can deal with the monitor in either portrait or landscape rotation. (I'm not sure how it knows which way you've positioned the monitor, I think you have to tell it.) Has built-in Corvus Omninet, which means it can hook up to an Omninet network with other stuff and I believe can be a file server or a diskless system or a diskful stand-alone system. I think Corvus had word processing and spreadsheet software for it, as well as a Pascal compiler. The innards of the operating system (what I saw in the programming manuals) reminded me a lot of UCSD Pascal/p-System, but it didn't seem to have a p-machine in there anywhere, it just ran 68000 code and I guess that is what the Pascal compiler produces. I gathered it would be pretty easy to port stuff developed for UCSD Pascal, and I guess that's not too surprising as there was a bit of that deployed with Corvus networking on Apple ][s. There was a review in Byte sometime in 1984 or maybe 1983. I don't remember and all my Bytes are in storage, with the Concept and the manuals and other documentation I have for it. The monitor is the monitor. The base is where the CPU lives. If it has disks they are in separate boxes; I think I have one that is a hard disk and another that is an 8" floppy drive. There's an external keyboard too. If you have other questions, holler and I'll go find the manuals, I really ought to inventory them anyway. -Frank McConnell

28 years, 8 months

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apple gs rgb monitor help needed.

by SUPRDAVE＠aol.com

i came across some good luck today and bought an applecolor rgb monitor; looks like it belongs with the gs model. however, when i connect it to a rgb source, all i manage to get is a wavy blue bar and no text. i fiddled with all controls and could stop the rapid scrolling, but that's about it. i still get a diagonal blue bar that moves. does anyone know of an internal control or setting i can check out? i'd hate to think i have TWO apple rgb monitors that are bad! david

28 years, 8 months

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Hey Bruce - don't get rid of it yet!

by danjo＠xnet.com

Bruce, and everyone else. I just heard from Bill. He got in a car wreck going over to Bruce's place to pick some stuff up. Not knocking ya Bruce but from now on we can call a wreck - getting Bruced 8-) He is OK but in a cast and car-less (for a while) and can't get to read the list. Maybe we should have a little *Net Get Well* party for him? If you need to talk to him - he is at the Other Address. Let's not flood him under but I think short Get Well's will be appreciated. BC

28 years, 8 months

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Accidental Empires

by IVIE＠cc.usu.edu

On Mon, 11 Aug 1997, Marvin wrote: > I just read the book "Accidental Empires" by Robert X. Cringely that was the > basis for the PBS movie, "Triumph of the Nerds." Sam Ismail wrote: > I'll add that I thought the book to be extremely entertaining and a great > read. I'll comment on the fact that not much mention was made of CP/M in > that history seldom celebrates the losers. I just recently saw "Triumph of the Nerds" (playing a lot lately on a PBS station near you, no doubt) and was fascinated by the view of history presented in it. Basically, if it did not involve Apple, Microsoft, or IBM, it wasn't history; they only started talking about CP/M when it got to the "and IBM needed an operating system" part of the story. One curious bit. The statement that Apple had 50% of the PC market share when IBM came out with its PC stuck in my mind. Going through my pile of old BYTE magazines, I found a BYTE from that era (well, 1984 actually; which is actually a match for era because they were building up the Macintosh story) which gives 50% of the market share to Tandy... Roger "cut my teeth on a TRS-80 Model I" Ivie ivie(a)cc.usu.edu

28 years, 8 months

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Latest trade list

by kaikal＠MICROSOFT.com

OK, it's been a month or two since my last trade list post, so here goes: Computers For Trade: - Apple II+ - Apple IIgs (cpu only, appears to have 192K) - Apple IIgs (cpu only, appears to have 320K) - Apple Macintosh 128 w/correct keyboard & mouse, boot disk - Atari 800, fully populated 48K - Atari 520STfm - Atari 1040STf - Atari 1040STf (missing some keys) - Commodore 64 in original box - Commodore 128D (rare 128 with built-in 1571 drive & PS, separate kbd) - North Star Horizon, wood case model - Radio Shack TRS-80 Model I CPU & monitor (supply your own PS) - Timex-Sinclair ZX1000 with 16K RAM Expansion Peripherals For Trade: - Bell & Howell "Black Apple" Disk II drive (labeled drive 1) - Commodore Amiga 5 1/4" drive (Rare!) - ICL Multi I/O SCSI HD interface for Atari 8-bit with 130XE connector - SoftStrip Reader (extremely rare) - Supra SCSI HD interface for Atari ST Game Systems/Games For Trade: - GCE/Milton Bradley Vectrex - Magnavox Odyssey2 in original box - Tengen Tetris cart for NES WANTED: - Anything MITS, IMSAI, etc. and various other S-100 and/or 8080/Z-80 stuff; drive systems, cards... - Battery for Apple Macintosh Portable - Battery for IBM PC Convertible - Apple Lisa Mouse - Apple-II-On-A-Card for PC (Quadram, Trackstar) - Exidy Sorcerer - 1975 BYTEs, Popular Electronics, 1974-75 Radio Electronics - Brochures, ads, Micro Shopper/Byte Shopper, etc. - Posters - Robert Tinney prints - Microsoft Adventure

28 years, 8 months

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Need: RX50 Utility

by kyrrin＠wizards.net

Hi, folks, I have need of a utility that will allow me to read/write RX50 diskettes, initialized with MicroVMS 4.6, on a PC. Formatting ability is not necessary, as I can initialize with the VAXStation. So far, I've tried both PUTR and RX50.EXE (the archive). Neither has worked. Thanks in advance. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bruce Lane, Sysop, The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fidonet 1:343/272) (Hamateur: WD6EOS) (E-mail: kyrrin(a)wizards.net) http://www.wizards.net/technoid "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, 8 months

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Corvus Concept

by kaikal＠MICROSOFT.com

Does anyone know what a Corvus Concept is? thanks Kai

28 years, 8 months

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Altair prices!

by roblwill＠usaor.net

> From: Bob Wood <altair8800(a)hotmail.com> > To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> > Subject: Altair prices! > Date: Monday, August 10, 1998 8:19 AM > > No, I'm not talking about Ebay prices. > > Instead I thought you might be interested > in seeing an original Altair Price list > from July,1976. Here's the link to a jpeg of it... > http://home.att.net/~rwood54741/25.jpg > > We have heard that the 680 was a failure > because the 16k memory card for it cost more than > the computer. Take a look at this list and you > will see it in black and white. The 680 computer kit > cost $466 ($625 assembled). The 16K memory card cost > a staggering $685 as a kit and $865 assembled. That > is a whopping $43 per 1k of memory. > Yipes! And I thought paying $43 for a 4 meg SIMM a few years ago was expensive! > Bob Wood > > > > > ______________________________________________________ > Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

28 years, 8 months

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XT COMPUTERS

by marcw＠lightside.com

> I had a Phillips XT that had 760k RAM. No idea how they did it but > it reported the memory available at start-up and definitely didn't > use Quarterdeck. > > ciao larry > My Tandy 1000 HX has a memory board giving me 736K RAM (and EMS). I don't know how they do it but it's pretty neat. That added new life to this old machine though. Marc -- >> ANIME SENSHI << Marc D. Williams marcw(a)lightside.com Lightside, Inc. marc.williams(a)mb.fidonet.org The MailBox BBS marc.williams(a)652.sasbbs.com Paradigm Shift BBS IRC Nick: Senshi Channel: #dos #IrcHelp http://www.agate.net/~tvdog/internet.html -- DOS Internet Tools

28 years, 8 months

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applecolor rgb monitor info needed

by SUPRDAVE＠aol.com

i have this big apple monitor that i need some help with. it's big, beige, and heavy with a motorized tilt screen and a db15 connector. i'm having a video problem with the monitor. i don't get any kind of raster screen and i do not have the special card to run it on my //e. i've tried it on the video port of my laser 128 and on my dodgy apple ///, all to no avail. can anyone figure out a possible solution? if i cannot get it to work, i'd like to get rid of it, but it's so heavy it wouldnt be worth shipping unless you live in north carolina. david

28 years, 8 months

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Lisa battery leakage??

by roblwill＠usaor.net

Don't quote me on this - I'm not a Lisa expert. I've heard the internal HD's on Lisa's referred to as a Widget drive, so I believe you're correct on that one. It's sort of like the internal HD on the WANG WLTC was referred to (at least in the manual) as a Winchester Disk. -- -Jason (roblwill(a)usaor.net) ICQ#-1730318 ---------- > From: Zane H. Healy <healyzh(a)ix.netcom.com> > To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> > Subject: Re: Lisa battery leakage?? > Date: Sunday, August 09, 1998 8:33 PM > > >On Sun, 9 Aug 1998, Zane H. Healy wrote: > > > >> Lisa -- 2 5.25" flippy drives > >[...] > >> NOTE: not too sure flippy and widget are the correct terms. > > > >Don't know about widget, but shouldn't flippy be twiggy? > > Um, yeah, that's it :^) > > Zane > > > >-- Doug > > | Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator | > | healyzh(a)ix.netcom.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast | > | healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector | > +----------------------------------+----------------------------+ > | Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, | > | and Zane's Computer Museum. | > | http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ |

28 years, 8 months

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old laptop

by roblwill＠usaor.net

What auction? -- -Jason (roblwill(a)usaor.net) ICQ#-1730318 ---------- > From: Joshu2415(a)aol.com > To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> > Subject: old laptop > Date: Sunday, August 09, 1998 9:00 PM > > The auction is called off.

28 years, 8 months

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CCC : Atari machines

by zmerch＠northernway.net

Whilst in a self-induced trance, Lawrence Walker happened to blather: >> On 08-Aug-97, Lawrence Walker wrote: >> >> >> be listed instead or separately? (For that matter, the XE Game System, >> >> which is on the list, only becomes a "computer" when the ^^^^^^^^^^ [[ part I missed before I re-read the msg. ]] >> >> separately-marketed keyboard is added to it; otherwise, it is strictly a >> > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >> >> cartridge game machine too.) >> >> > Not so . I have one in the original packaging . As well as a >> >keyboard, it also included a joystck and a "light-gun". It also had a >> >manual for Atari Basic AND 2 game cartridges.WOW, what a deal. : ^ ) >> >> Larry, >> >> I believe that initially, the XEGS keyboard was optional though. The >> wording in the keyboard's manaul, at least the one I have, seems to support >> this. The argument of whether the XEGS is a game console or a computer is one >> that has been going on in the newsgroups for quite some time off and on. > The one I have had basic built into it's 32k ROM and was >functionally an XE . If the XL and XE qualify then so does >the XEGS IMHO. After reading the message three times (as I'd misread it twice), I agree with Larry. Let's remember what the true defination of a computer is: "A machine that can perform arithmatic and logical calculations without the aid of a human." My Casio watch -- by defination -- is a computer. (of course, it's not classic _yet_, tho. ;-) The inclusion of a keyboard does not matter to the defination of a computer, else there are many folks with IMSAIs and Altairs with front panel switchboards, which IMHO is not a "keyboard" per se, yet they are computers. The XEGS (or 2600, 5200, 7800 as well) are computers as well. Remember, you _could_ do Basic programming on a 2600! Just MHO, "Merch" -- Roger Merchberger | If at first you don't succeed, Programmer, NorthernWay | nuclear warhead disarmament should *not* zmerch(a)northernway.net | be your first career choice.

28 years, 8 months

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area code

by zmerch＠northernway.net

Whilst in a self-induced trance, Glenn Roberts happened to blather: >FYI, according to > > http://www.555-1212.com/aclookup.html > >The geographical location for area code 248 is Michigan (major cities: >Novi, Waterford, Troy). Gwarsh, is my face red! They must have just instituted it, and that area is getting bigger than I thought! (BTW, my dad was raised in Royal Oak, and my grandparents lived in Troy for many years...) They only put the (810) area code in there around 4-5 years ago, IIRC! Well, if a whole buncha folks smarter than me say it's so, then it's so! BTW, the "better half" of Michigan is known as the Upper Peninsula (We're not even connected to the Lower Peninsula except via the Mackinac Bridge), otherwise known as "God's Country." If you like history, you'd love the area! Mail me private and I'll tell you all about it! "Merch" -- Roger Merchberger | If at first you don't succeed, Programmer, NorthernWay | nuclear warhead disarmament should *not* zmerch(a)northernway.net | be your first career choice.

28 years, 8 months

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Us Computer Exchange

by zmerch＠northernway.net

Whilst in a self-induced trance, Sam Ismail happened to blather: [snip] >This guy is Rob Campbell. He is in Detroit, Michigan. His number is >(248) 583-9000. Call him, talk to him. Sounds like a reasonable guy. Uh, Sam? Are you sure this guy's in Detroit? The Area Code for phone numbers in Detroit are either (810) or (313). I've never heard of (248), especially in Michigan. (BTW, I live in the "Better" half of Michigan, in the (906) area code!) HTH, "Merch" -- Roger Merchberger | If at first you don't succeed, Programmer, NorthernWay | nuclear warhead disarmament should *not* zmerch(a)northernway.net | be your first career choice.

28 years, 8 months

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