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

Who's rewired their house for this hobby?

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Eric Smith > I was surprised about an aspect of the KL10 design. To my astonishment, > he replied, "The reason I made that decision was..." Any chance you could document (for history) what the aspect was, and why he did it the way he did? Actually, there is this thing called the 'IEEE Annals of the History of Computing' journal, and they have a special category called 'Anecdotes', where people tell the history of things they were involved in. They don't go through the whole peer review process, so there's a lot less hassle to writing something for that. I just did one on token rings at MIT. It's a good way to capture all this stuff that is of historical interest, but not otherwise documented. Maybe he could be convinved to do one on 'The Design of the KL-10'? Noel

11 years, 7 months

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Who's rewired their house for this hobby?

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

> > From: jnc at mercury.lcs.mit.edu (Noel Chiappa) > Subject: Re: Who's rewired their house for this hobby? > > > From: Michael Thompson > > > just for the KS10 > > You have a KS-10? Way cool! What OS are you running on it? You should run > ITS > (the best PDP-10 OS _ever_, all sort of cool features), it was modified to > run on a KS-10, and there are emulated KS-10's running it still. > > Noel > The KS10 is on long term loan from the Rhode Island Computer Museum. I borrowed it so I could get it and a RP06 working. It runs TOPS-10 and TOPS-20. I haven't tried ITS, but I have everything that it would take to get ITS running. There are actually quite a few real KS10s in collectors hands. -- Michael Thompson

11 years, 7 months

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retry: classiccmp help sought

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

I sent this a week ago, didn't get a response, thought I'd try one more time before trying to shoehorn time on my own to address (aka defying the physics of time): Greetings folks. Is there anyone that is *very* well versed in mailman "under the hood" that can do a one-time assist with the following: 1) Get the "two views of the same list but joined at the hip" working the way it previously was. I have some details/recollections on this, but not complete "do this" instructions. 2) There has been an ongoing issue for years with the "forgot password" emails and/or the new subscriber email verification not working right. 3) Please for the love of god figure out why every single post to the list gets me a "bounce rejection" notice to my mailbox and stop it. 4) Integrate multiple fragments (I have several, if that's not complete other listmembers have mentioned they can supply any missing fragments) of the list archives into one archive that is complete. FYI - when rebuilding the server a couple weeks ago, I switched from sendmail to postfix, so a passing familiarity with postfix would be helpful as well in your endeavors above. The OS is FreeBSD r10 p11. If anyone is versed in the above and has a bit of time to spearhead the above tasks, please email me off-list. Also - once the archives are cleaned up, two other folks have volunteered to get archive searches to be "much improved". Thanks!! J

11 years, 7 months

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Reading a CD that has no reflective layer

by jfoust＠threedee.com

At 06:06 PM 11/24/2014, Eric Smith wrote: > Having an ISA slot is necessary but not sufficient; it also >requires a sufficiently slow CPU, and I'm not sure where the cutoff >is. Probably need a 286 or older. Yes, I think I saw a note that said 25 Mhz was too fast. - John

11 years, 7 months

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Machinery, free for local pickup in Germany

by jkunz＠unixag-kl.fh-kl.de

Hi. The Unix-AG has several machines taking up space. Those machines have not seen any use in many years. So we would like to give them into good hands. If YOU don't take the machines they will hit the dumpster, sooner or later. I can't rescue them. My flat is completely out of space. Problem: Local pickup in Kaiserslautern, Germany. Take them all, take only part of it. We don't care. As long as we can get rid of the stuff. Available is: - about half a dozen HP9000 B2600 - about half a dozen RS/6000 43P-100/-133 - about half a dozen RS/6000 44P-170 - one RS/6000 F50 - one Sun Enterprise 450 + the guts of an other E450 - one Sun Enterprise 250 + the guts of an other E250 - some Sun OEM thing, basicly a rackmount U60, dual 400 or 440 MHz. - one or two Sun Ultra 5 - one or two Sun Ultra 10 - one or two SparcStation 5 and 20 each. - Myrinet switches, cables and PCI adapters. (Copper and fiber optic.) - probably a SGI Indigo R4k and an Indigo2 R8k. - some minor stuff I forgot about. I may throw in some HP9000/700, SPARC and RS/6000 stuff from my private collection... (I need space to work on my PDP-11/34 and its Tektronix 4012...) -- tsch??, Jochen

11 years, 7 months

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TRS-80 Model 16

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Kevin Parker > good quality 8" media is a significant problem given its age .. > I have .. several hundred 8" floppies. .. > Some of the disks look like the parched earth of a desert so they'll be > a no go. As for the rest it's a guess - just be careful if you're > popping disks in and out and check if the surface of the disk is > visually OK and that it leaves nothing behind in the drive. I was under the impression that older floppies should be given the same 'heat soak' treatment given to old tapes (which makes sense; they are similar formulations on a mylar base). Once that is done, my understanding is that older floppies are actually generally quite usable, pretty must like they were when new? Noel

11 years, 7 months

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Who's rewired their house for this hobby?

by killingsworth.todd＠gmail.com

Hi All - I'm looking into getting a bigger Sun box (bigger than my E3000) and after reading the specs... If I'm really going to do this, I'll need to get some 220v outlets wired up. (I'm in the US.) Any advice to pass along for this? I'd much rather listen to other people's surprises than have to rediscover them on my own. How much of what you collect requires 220v? How many big boxes do you keep running - 24/7 or just turn it on/off as you want to use it? I guess somewhere in the back of my mind, I realized that old machines took lots of power. But do the collectors here wire up their homes and keep machines there? Or do you have another place (old warehouse or somesuch) that already supports multiple 220v hookups? Or do you colo it somewhere? Not yet sure how expensive it would be, but my wife thinks I'm completely certifiable. Todd Killingsworth

11 years, 7 months

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Yay, now I need some Osborne boot media!

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Fred Cisin cisin at xenosoft.com > The flamewar about RX02 is based on defining what is meant by the > phrase "MFM floppy"! ... The RX02 is NOT an "FM floppy"; the RX02 is > NOT an "MFM floppy". It is a hybrid. Exactly. > In terms of the floppy ITSELF, disks rated for FM or rated for MFM > should both work I guess I don't understand this. Single-density FM and double-density MFM have the same maximum number of flux reversals per unit distance (which is how the RX02 can write double-density data on a single-density floppy). So >from the magnetic domain perspective, the coating can't really see any difference between single-density FM and double-density MFM. So what's the difference, if any, between a disk which is "rated for FM" and one "rated for MFM"? Noel

11 years, 7 months

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mainframes and other stuff

by jfoust＠threedee.com

At 12:32 PM 11/24/2014, you wrote: > To give a more modern >perspective on things - how much gold do you think is in a Pentium Pro >microprocessor? Thick plate over a large surface area...go look it up, >and you will probably be surprised. Then do some back of the napkin >calculations on the surface area of the PPro, compared to thousands >upon thousands of pins in a 2075... Let's say that a Pentium Pro has a third of a gram; a troy ounce is 31.1 grams; so 94 Pentium Pro to the troy ounce; 4.5 pounds is about 65 troy ounces; so 6,182 Pentium Pro might have that much gold. The price of gold was still $35 a troy ounce in 1970; so that S/360's gold cost about $2,300 (or what feels like about $14,000 today.) In 2013 at $1,200 an ounce, that S/360's gold was worth $78,720. - John

11 years, 7 months

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DEC Professional 350 - video issues

by commodorejohn＠gmail.com

I went out to Seth's moving-sale giveaway this past weekend and came away with a few DEC goodies, including a DEC Professional 350 which was given to me on the understanding that the video didn't work. I set it up yesterday and sure enough, the video doesn't work. Specifically, the monitor (a VR201 with BCC02 cable) turns on and displays no picture, but shows visible sync lines all across and down the screen, and the diagnostic LEDs indicate a selftest failure on the card slot that the bitmap card is plugged into. (I tried moving it to another slot just to check, and sure enough, it fails there, too. I don't think it's a general CTI bus issue because the other two cards don't generate a selftest failure code. I did test the monitor with the Rainbow I also picked up and it's working fine.) The card itself doesn't have any socketed ICs, so it's not chip creep, and the ZIF connector looks to be in good shape. Beyond that, I don't know what to look for in diagnosing the issue - does anybody have any idea what might be wrong with it, and how it could be fixed? (Is there a service manual for the card out there somewhere? I couldn't find one.)

11 years, 7 months

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RX01 Floppies

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

>So is the original poster (Michael) really looking for already >formatted RX01 floppies, or will blank 8-inch single sided floppies do >just as well? Probably easier to find generic floppies than already >formatted RX01 floppies. So, where can I get some already formatted generic SSSD 8" floppies? -- Michael Thompson

11 years, 7 months

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TRS-80 Model 16

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Al Kossow > IBM-branded, Dysan, and 3M have held up pretty well, most of the rest > esp Verbatim, BASF, and Memorex, have not, and baking will not help > them. Hmm. I had a number of second-hand floppies with what looked like it might be interesting stuff on them; I was planning on reading them, seeing if it was worth uploading, and then re-using the floppies. Unfortunately, dipping into one box of them, there are a lot of Verbatim and Memorex in there. Am I wasting my time even trying to read them to get the bits off, or what? Also, other brands I see that weren't listed above - Maxell and HP. Good/bad? Noel

11 years, 7 months

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Reading a CD that has no reflective layer

by spacewar＠gmail.com

Thanks to John's pointer, I've got a CM153 card, so I might be able to test my stash of CM100 drives at some point. Now I need to track down the CM153 driver, and an old enough PC that it's got a chance of working. Having an ISA slot is necessary but not sufficient; it also requires a sufficiently slow CPU, and I'm not sure where the cutoff is. Probably need a 286 or older.

11 years, 7 months

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IBM 9406-270 Install Media / Drive Recommendations?

by Kevin＠RawFedDogs.net

Classic Computer Enthusiasts, I took a chance on an IBM 9406-270: http://www.eBay.com/itm/291300259440 I probably paid way too much for it, especially without drives. The fact that it was small enough to not require freight shipping appealed to me. Plus that fact will make it easier to deal with once it arrives. I realize when all is said and done I may end up with an overpriced doorstop. Does anyone have suitable OS/400 install media for this box I could borrow or get a copy of? I know I need AS/400 specific drives for this box. Does anyone have recommendations on the minimum number and size of drives I'd need to perform an OS install? I know without license keys the most I can hope for is a base OS install that would have to be restored or reinstalled every couple of months. I'll also need a twinax terminal for a console, and probably a multi-port twinax connector block since one wasn't listed in the eBay listing with the box itself. Is there anything else I might need to get started? -- Kevin http://www.RawFedDogs.net http://www.Lassie.xyz http://www.WacoAgilityGroup.org Bruceville, TX What's the definition of a legacy system? One that works! Errare humanum est, ignoscere caninum.

11 years, 7 months

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Who's rewired their house for this hobby?

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Michael Thompson > just for the KS10 You have a KS-10? Way cool! What OS are you running on it? You should run ITS (the best PDP-10 OS _ever_, all sort of cool features), it was modified to run on a KS-10, and there are emulated KS-10's running it still. Noel

11 years, 7 months

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Who's rewired their house for this hobby?

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

In installed three 30A 115VAC, one 20A 220VAC, and lots of 20A 115VAC just for the KS10. -- Michael Thompson

11 years, 7 months

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VAX/VMS Manuals Sets Available

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Lee Courtney > I have scanned all these and they are headed to Al Wow! That's quite a list of scanned stuff! You must have been using something with mechanical page-feed! :-) Hats off for such a great effort for preservation! Noel

11 years, 7 months

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books available

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

They have been claimed. J

11 years, 7 months

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books available

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

PDP-11 Architecture Handbook (1983) PDP-11 Microcomputer Interfaces Handbook (1983) PDP-11 Micro/PDP-11 Handbook (1983) PDP-11 Unibus PDP-11 Handbook 11/84, 11/44, 11/24 (1985) In addition, there are: PDP-11 Programming Card (1975) VT220 Installation Guide (1984) VT220 Programmer Pocket Guide (1984) They are all in excellent shape. Owner is willing to send via USmail for free. I saw a picture of them and they are in mint condition. Email me off-list if interested. Best, J

11 years, 7 months

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DECWriters Available

by leec2124＠gmail.com

I have a DECWriter III and II available for pick-up in Menlo Park, CA 94025. The III powers up, the II does not. It goes without saying that these are used, cases are yellowed. But all the parts are there and good restoration project. Contact me off-list lee_courtney (at) acm (dot) org to arrange local pick-up. Sorry no shipping. Need to be gone by Sunday 11/30 or going to AuctionBDI. -- Lee Courtney

11 years, 7 months

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VAX/VMS Manuals Sets Available

by leec2124＠gmail.com

VMS 4.4 and 5.0 manual sets, plus some additional bits and pieces available for pick-up (only) in Menlo Park CA 94025, first-come first-serve. Sorry, paper only, no binders. Must be gone by Sunday November 30. Contact me off-list via lee_courtney (at) acm (dot) org. I have scanned all these and they are headed to Al as soon as I can finish post-processing and convert filenames. Here is a list of available documents: 0000_00_Extensible VAX Editor (EVE).pdf 0000_00_PDP-11 44 Site Planning Material.pdf 0000_00_VAX C Runtime Library Reference Manual.pdf 1976_05_DMS 500 USER'S GUIDE.pdf 1979_06_LA120 USER GUIDE.pdf 1982_02_Silent 700 Model 745 Portable Data Terminal Operating Instructions.pdf 1982_05_Programming in VAX 11 C.pdf 1982_05_VAX VMS Guide to Writing a Device Driver.pdf 1982_11_BASIC Reference Manual.pdf 1982_11_BASIC User's Guide.pdf 1983_01_Introduction to VAX-11 FMS.pdf 1983_09_Correspondent Operator Reference Guide.pdf 1983_09_Correspondent Programmer Reference Manual.pdf 1984_02_BASIC User's Guide.pdf 1984_08_VAX FMS Installation Guide and Release Notes.pdf 1984_08_VAX FMS Utilities Reference Manual.pdf 1984_09_Guide to Networking on VAX VMS.pdf 1984_09_Patch Utility Reference Manual.pdf 1984_09_VAX VMS Accounting Utility Reference Manual.pdf 1984_09_VAX VMS Authorize Utility Reference Manual.pdf 1984_09_VAX VMS Bad Block Locator Utility Reference Manual.pdf 1984_09_VAX VMS Command Definition Utility Reference Manual.pdf 1984_09_VAX VMS DELTA XDELTA Utility Reference Manual.pdf 1984_09_VAX VMS Disk Quota Utility Reference Manual.pdf 1984_09_VAX VMS Install Utility Reference Manual.pdf 1984_09_VAX VMS Librarian Reference Manual.pdf 1984_09_VAX VMS Linker Reference Manual.pdf 1984_09_VAX VMS Mail Utility Reference Manual.pdf 1984_09_VAX VMS Message Utility Reference Manual.pdf 1984_09_VAX VMS Mount Utility Reference Manual.pdf 1984_09_VAX VMS Phone Utility Reference Manual.pdf 1984_09_VAX VMS Sort Merge Utility Reference Manual.pdf 1984_09_VAX VMS System Generation Utility reference Manual.pdf 1984_09_VAX VMS Verify Utility Reference Manual.pdf 1984_11_M2311K M2312K Disk Drives Engineering Specification.pdf 1985_03_TC11 TAPE CONTROLLER TECHNICAL MANUAL.pdf 1985_07_Guide to VAX VMS System Security.pdf 1985_07_M2311K M2312K Microdisk Drives Customer Engineering Manual.pdf 1985_07_VAX VMS Error Log Utility Reference Manual.pdf 1985_07_VAX VMS Exchange Utility Refeence Manual.pdf 1986_04_VAX VMS Access Control List Editor Reference Manual.pdf 1986_04_VAX VMS Backup Utility Reference Manual.pdf 1986_04_VAX VMS DCL Concepts Manual.pdf 1986_04_VAX VMS DCL Dictionary.pdf 1986_04_VAX VMS Debugger Reference Manual.pdf 1986_04_VAX VMS IO User's Reference Manual Part 1.pdf 1986_04_VAX VMS Monitor Utility Reference Manual.pdf 1986_04_VAX VMS Network Control Program Reference Manual.pdf 1986_04_VAX VMS Networking Manual.pdf 1986_04_VAX VMS Show Cluster Utility Reference Manual.pdf 1986_04_VAX VMS System Dump Analyzer Reference Manual.pdf 1986_04_VAX VMS System Manager's Reference Manual.pdf 1986_04_VAX VMS System Messages and Recovery Procedures Reference Manual.pdf 1986_04_VAX VNS Debugger Reference Manual.pdf 1987_03_EMULUX PDP-11 LSI-11 DIAGNOSTIC DISTRIBUTION KIT.pdf 1987_03_Guide to VAX C.pdf 1987_04_Guide to VAX DEC Code Management System.pdf 1987_04_Guide to VAX DEC Module Management System.pdf 1987_04_VAX DEC Code Management System Callable Routines Reference Manual.pdf 1988_04_Guide to Creating VMS Modular Procedures.pdf 1988_04_Guide to DECnet-VAX Networking.pdf 1988_04_Guide to Maintaining a VMS System.pdf 1988_04_Guide to Setting Up a VMS System.pdf 1988_04_Guide to Using VMS Command Procedures.pdf 1988_04_Guide to Using VMS.pdf 1988_04_Guide to VMS File Applications.pdf 1988_04_Guide to VMS Files and Devices.pdf 1988_04_Guide to VMS Performance Management.pdf 1988_04_Guide to VMS Programming Resources.pdf 1988_04_Guide to VMS System Security.pdf 1988_04_Guide to VMS Text Processing.pdf 1988_04_Introduction to the VMS Run-Time Library.pdf 1988_04_Introduction to VMS System Management.pdf 1988_04_Introduction to VMS System Routines.pdf 1988_04_Introduction to VMS System Services.pdf 1988_04_Introduction to VMS.pdf 1988_04_VAX DIGITAL Standard Runoff Reference Manual.pdf 1988_04_VAX EDT Reference Manual.pdf 1988_04_VAX VMS I O User's Reference Manual Part II.pdf 1988_04_VMS Accounting Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Analyze Disk_Structure Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Analyze RMS File Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Authorize Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Backup Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Bad Block Locator Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Command Definition Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Convert and Convert Reclaim Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS DCL Dictionary.pdf 1988_04_VMS Debugger Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS DECnet Test Sender DECnet Test Receiver Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Delta XDelta Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Device Support.pdf 1988_04_VMS Error Log Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Exchange Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS File Definition Language Facility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS General User Master Index.pdf 1988_04_VMS General User's Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Glossary.pdf 1988_04_VMS Install Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Installation and Operations VAX-11 725, 730.pdf 1988_04_VMS IO User's Reference Manual Part 1.pdf 1988_04_VMS IO User's Reference Manual Part II.pdf 1988_04_VMS LAT Control Program Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Librarian Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Linker Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Mail Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Master Index.pdf 1988_04_VMS Message Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Monitor Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Mount Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS National Character Set Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Network Control Program Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Networking Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Patch Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Phone Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Programming Master Index.pdf 1988_04_VMS Record Management Services Reference Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS RTL DECtalk DTK$ Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS RTL General Purpose OTS$ Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS RTL Library Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS RTL Mathematics Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS RTL Parallel Processing Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS RTL Screen Management (SMG$) Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS RTL String Manipulation Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Show Cluster Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Sort Merge Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS SUMSLP Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS SYSMAN Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS System Dump Analyzer Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS System Generation Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS System Management Master Index.pdf 1988_04_VMS System Messages and Recovery Procedures Reference Manual Part II.pdf 1988_04_VMS System Services Reference Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Terminal Fallback Utility Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS Utility Routines Manual.pdf 1988_04_VMS VAXcluster Manual.pdf 1988_08_PDP-11 FORTRAN-77 Language Reference Manual.pdf 1988_08_PDP-11 FORTRAN-77 Object Time System Reference Manual.pdf 1988_08_PDP-11 FORTRAN-77 User's Guide.pdf 1988_08_VMS DECwindows Guide to Non-C Bindings.pdf 1988_12_VMS Version 5.1 Installation Guide.pdf 1989_05_DECforms Guide to Converting VAX FMS Applications.pdf 1989_10_Realtime Systems and Options Catalog.pdf 1989_11_Systems and Options Catalog VAX Systems DECSystems BW.pdf 1989_11_Systems and Options Catalog VAX Systems DECSystems GREYSCALE.pdf 1990_05_SD89X SERIES DISK DRIVE USER's MANUAL.pdf 1990_06_VMS DECwindows Device Driver Manual.pdf 1990_06_VMS DECwindows Display PostScript System Programming Supplement.pdf 1990_11_SLC-1 User's Manual.pdf 1991_08_DECWindows Extensions to Motif.pdf 1991_08_VMS DECwindows Guide to Xlib Release 4 Programming MIT C Binding.pdf 1991_08_VMS DECwindows Guide to Xlib Release 4 Programming VAX Binding.pdf 1991_08_VMS DECwindows Motif Guide to Application Programming.pdf 1991_08_VMS DECwindows Transport Manual.pdf

11 years, 7 months

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mainframes and other stuff

by elson＠pico-systems.com

On 11/23/2014 02:53 PM, John Foust wrote: > At 09:28 PM 11/21/2014, William Donzelli wrote: >> The NASA model 67 reportedly had 66 ounces of gold in the CPU. Even an >> early model 30 could have 8 or 9. > How could a CPU have four-and-a-half pounds of gold? > > I'm VERY skeptical of this one! First, I know IBM went to great lengths at some time in the early 60's to figure out how to make reliable computers with a LOT less gold than the traditional wisdom required. As far as I know, all 360's had a LOT less gold in them than similar-sized machines from other makers at the same time. On the other hand, a lot of gear from the mid-60's actually used gold as the etch resist on the circuit boards. I have some examples of that. The traces of the boards are totally plated with gold! Jon

11 years, 7 months

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TRS-80 Model 16

by wrh＠wootsie.com

Hello, I recently recused a TRS-80 Model 16. It's in beautiful condition and appears to be fully functional. I received some 8" SS,DD 128/F floppies with it, but unfortunately none of them appear to have anything on them (that I can tell) - receive "BOOT ERROR RS" on this system. What are my options? This is my first TRS-80 model II/8" floppy-based hardware. I'm located in central Wisconsin. Thanks! -Bill

11 years, 7 months

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Net-boot and install OpenVMS 7.x on MicroVAX 3x00?

by scaron＠umich.edu

Hi all, Now that I've got some BA23s I've been busy building up a few Q-bus systems. I've got one KA650 based system with a good, booting RD54 and one KA655 based system with a good, booting Maxtor 340 MB ESDI drive (via a Sigma controller). Points to Maxtor for quality, I guess! As fun as it is to boot the vintage VMS 5.x releases on these drives and fool around, I'd like to get OpenVMS 7.2 or 7.3 installed at least on my KA655. While I'm saving up my pennies for a Q-bus SCSI card, does anyone know if it's possible to do both a net-boot and a fresh VMS installation given an existing VAXcluster where I do have a SCSI CD-ROM hooked up to one of the machines? I don't just want to boot it as a satellite node, I just want to use the net-boot to bootstrap an installation since I don't have a local CD-ROM on that machine to boot from. If I can get it booted as a satellite maybe there's something "unsupported" I can do to perform a network installation? If not I guess I'll just play with 5.x until I can get a SCSI card on hand. Thanks! Sean

11 years, 7 months

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Osborne Vixen - Zenith 7" display t-shooting issues

by drlegendre＠gmail.com

Need some help on this one.. trying to repair the built-in CRT in an Osborne Vixen portable. There's some complexity here, so I'll do my best to be succinct. The unit presented with a vertical line down the screen, and very low voltages on the scan-derived power supplies - the 50V in particular was doing about 18-20V Removed / tested the horiz. opt. transistor (HOT). Neither open nor shorted, but beta measures ~12. Replaced the HOT and scoped the B & C circuits - base drive was +much+ higher (like 10X) level than the output at the collector. So again pulled the HOT and swapped in the only thing I had that +seemed+ it might work: RCA SK9118 (375) - Pt 25W / Vcbo 200V / Vceo 150V / Vebo 6V / Hfe 150 (typ.) Bingo! Display is now bright & crisp, looks great.. but.. the sub. HOT is running way, way hot. Rose to 170F in 2-3 min, and was steadily climbing. And that's in free air, not sealed up in the case. 50V supply came up to 42V.. better, still seems too low. So I think you can see my conundrum, here.. Is the +original+ HOT actually OK, and I'm only masking another problem in the circuit by installing a new part with 10X the gain? Why is the new part running so dang hot - and if the orig. is in fact bad, what killed it, anyway? To make things worse, I can't find +any+ service data or parts list for the display; all I have is a schematic. Nor can I find a datasheet for the original HOT - so I can't tell if it's in or out-of-spec. It's marked "SGS 1070 / 8309". I +think+ the 8309 is for March 1983 but who knows. Any ideas on this one, folks? =)

11 years, 7 months

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FS: HP 16500C logic analyzer system

by rob＠bitscience.ca

I?m getting rid of my HP 16500C logic analyzer. It?s got the 16550A and 16517A modules. The former has 96 data channels and 6 clock/data channels, all at 100MHz; the latter provides 16 channels @ up to 4GHz. It comes with all the pods/probes and many connectors, as well as the manuals and training materials. It passes all self-tests. I?m in Vancouver, BC. The LA is probably too big to ship economically, but if someone in the BC lower mainland or Washington state is interested, let me know. I?ve got it up on Craigslist for a firm $300 (http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/nvn/ele/4775079685.html <http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/nvn/ele/4775079685.html>), but list members can make me an offer. Thanks, Rob Ferguson

11 years, 7 months

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mainframes and other stuff

by wdonzelli＠gmail.com

> How could a CPU have four-and-a-half pounds of gold? First, 66 oz. of gold really is not all that much metal. If you ever have the chance to hold a pound of gold, take it - it is impressive how a little lump can be so heavy. Second, the 2075 was really freakin' big. -- Will

11 years, 7 months

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mainframes and other stuff

by jfoust＠threedee.com

At 09:28 PM 11/21/2014, William Donzelli wrote: >The NASA model 67 reportedly had 66 ounces of gold in the CPU. Even an >early model 30 could have 8 or 9. How could a CPU have four-and-a-half pounds of gold? - John

11 years, 7 months

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RX01 Floppies

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Johnny Billquist > The RX02 is not a standard double density floppy. It is a single > density format floppy with a double density encoding for the data area > of each sector. .. > I have double density IBM floppies at home, and believe me, I have > tried using them in RX01 and RX02 drives. Something I'm mildly curious about, all, knowing very little of the very-low level recording techniques used in single-density, RX02, and 'standard' double-density 8" floppies: The RX02 documentation indicates that the encoding scheme used in the double-density data portion of the sector is 'Modified Miller Code'. (Miller Code I get - it's either 0 or 1 flux reversals per bit time, which is half the maximum flux reversal rate used in the single-density FM encoding - but the Modified Miller is beyond me; it's not explained very clearly, and I don't see any value to forcing my aging neurons to work it out! :-) So, my question: is either of those (Miller and Modified Miller) the same recording scheme used in standard double-density, or do those use something else again? Noel

11 years, 7 months

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HP2100A luser questions

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

I am still unpacking after the move.... Anyway, I came across my HP2100A minicomputer, so I took a long look at it (seriously, I must have spent a couple of hours pulling boards, etc). Some day I would like to get it running again. I have the standard 8 CPU boards, and the 12895 DMA board. I almost have 32K of core. What I mean by that is that I have all the boards for 32K words of core. I am missing one of the top connectors between a core board and the address driver next to it. I have a few I/O cards in the machine : 12531-60022 Buffered TTY Reg (2 off) looks to be current loop and RS232 serial 12551-6002 Relay Out Reg 12592-6001 +8 but Dup Reg (8 bit parallel for paper tape punch/reader?) 12554-60023 +16 bit Dup Reg (16 bit parallel?) 12566-60021 +True In/Out (another 16 bit parallel?) 13210-60004/6 Disc Interface 1/2 (7900 interface, 2 boards) 12539-60001 Time Base Gen (Heartbeat interrupt ?) 12590-6001 Plotter (I can find nothing about this board on the obvious sites). Anyway, I have downloaded the appropriate manuals, but have some questions... What is Current Transfer Logic, the machine seems to be full of such ICs? Any data sheets, etc out there? I assume there's no chance of me finding a top connector for the memory system. Am I right that the only difference between the 2 flavours is the spacing of the edge connectors on the PCB? Due to the fact that the connector plugs into the core plane daughterboard, which is fitted on the component side of the sense/inhibit board, so the spacing between the edge plugs changes depending on whether the core is to the left or to the right of the address driver. Both top connectors seem to be just pin-pin wired on the PCB, but the manuals don't really mention them. There is a tab on my A2 board telling me I have the floating point microcode and indeed the 6 ROMs are fitted (in sockets) near the standard microcode ROMs. Was there ever a published source listing of this? It would be interesting... Any information on that 'Plotter' board? One major problem concerns the power switch. I don't have the key, and it's currently in the 'panel lock' position. Now, I can trivially jumper the switch to enable the panel but I would rather not. I have taken the switch assembly apart (there is an exploded diagram in the IPB manual) and it seems to use a standard Ace 7 pin tubular lock. Were all 2100A's keyed alike (like all DEC machines were)? If so, does anyone have the key cutting data? If not, I wonder if I could get a replacement lock and key? Or take the existing lock apart (looks to be one pin to drill out to get it apart, at least the IBM 5170 lock comes apart like that) and either get a key cut to suit the existing pinning, or re-pin it. With the configuration I have (assume I can get 32K words of core, and have the I/O cards I listed) what can I run on it? -tony

11 years, 7 months

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RX01 Floppies

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

Where can I get RX01 SSSD 8" floppies? Used are fine. -- Michael Thompson

11 years, 7 months

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Free: NeXT Mono Slab & Matching Printer

by slandon110＠gmail.com

About 4 years ago a very generous list member had given me a NeXT Mono Slab, I havent used it very much since then and I think the right thing to do is pass it along to someone else who will appreciate it and use it. The only thing I ask is that it never hits ebay and if you decide to get rid of it give it to another person who will love and appreciate it. Its a complete system with laser printer and matching NeXT power cord. Im located in Farwell Michigan

11 years, 7 months

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11/73 (ba23) bringup after 12 years in deplorable storage conditions

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Jacob Ritorto > I don't yet understand where to insert the resistors, but I guess > anywhere there's 12v and 5v would be sensible. Alas, I don't (yet) have a BA23, so I can't offer any personal-based guidance on how to attach a dummy load to the power system. (On the BA11-N/BA11-S, it's pretty simple, there's a nice barrier strip, but I don't know much about how a BA23 is, inside. I suppose I should go read a manual... :-) Maybe I should just lend you some of my QBUS load modules? That would avoid the whole issue, you just plug it in like a normal card. You're in PA, right? > So now, with no boards at all in the chassis, I do at least get a few > lights on the little front panel but unfortunately not the "DC OK" > light and still no fans. To get them to stay on, I have to kind of > 'trick' the PSU by turning it off, waiting a second, then turning it > back on. If it's a switching power supply (which it probably is, as late a machine as that is), it probably needs _some_ load to operate properly. > Would it be more sensible to just buy a commodity PC power supply that > has lots of 5v and some 12v, find a way to bolt it in and rework the > wiring to fit? Or do you think it's likely I'll be able to bring this > power supply back to safe, reliable condition without getting in over > my head? Hard for me to answer that.. you're the one who knows how much you can handle! Alas, I'm not an analog whiz, so it will have to be others who help you through it, if you go that way. > Got lots to re-learn here; thanks for bearing with.. Hey, you're not the only person in that particular boat... :-) Noel

11 years, 7 months

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11/73 (ba23) bringup after 12 years in deplorable storage conditions

by jacob.ritorto＠gmail.com

Hey all, I've been getting the bug worse and worse to start working on a real pdp11. The Raspberry Pi / simh emulation is fantastic, but my hunger for authenticity is becoming rampant. I haven't run the youngest in my fleet of pdp11s, the 11/73, since circa 2002 and if I recall correctly, it was becoming flaky and popping out to ODT inexplicably from time to time back then (I think this is the one with the notoriously combustible power supply wires that probably haven't been ECO'd yet -- need to get to that too). It's been lying in a warehouse in western Pennsylvania with no heat and a lot of dust. So, worst case, we're talking temperature transients around 110 F and -20 F with no protection. It did stay quite dry. Think it'd be bad to simply blow the dust off and fire it up? thx jake

11 years, 7 months

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National Semiconductor NS23C 1MB memory cards

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

So I have a couple of National Semiconductor 1MB QBUS memory cards, NS23C's. They have a _ton_ of configuration jumpers. I have located a technical manual for the NS23C, _but_, reading it, it seems it only applies to the 256KB version of this board. (It's definitely a 1MB version; the memory chips are KM41C256P, 256Kx1, and there are 36 - 4 bytes wide, with parity, so 1MB total. And there are tons of hits on Google for NS23C 1MB boards.) Does anyone happen to know how the 256K and 1M versions differ, if at all, jumper-wise? I can probably work it out (maybe there a couple of extra jumpers for the size, unless they simply multiplied the size settings by 4 - quite possible), but it would be not too useful to expend the effort if someone else already knows the answer. Noel

11 years, 7 months

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Old x86 "PC" SBCs (Toronto Microelectronics)

by jules.richardson99＠gmail.com

I've got this ISA card sitting around which was made by Toronto Microelectronics (TME), but it gives the impression that it may be a complete SBC in its own right; it has a 386sx for CPU, takes 30 pin simms, and has various connectors (IDE, floppy, 2x RS232 and parallel are obvious, then there are another six unlabeled connectors). IC dates are all around 1993. Does anyone happen to know anything about these boards - in particular, the purpose/pinouts for the unknown connectors, and whether they require a backplane to work? (Or, maybe there's a standard amongst the x86 SBC world for this kind of thing, I have no idea.) I'm thinking it might make the basis a nice little serial terminal, at least if it has any on-board video capability - it would be quite easy to hide it (along with a suitable small PSU) inside a 14" CRT case. There's a picture of one here, but I've been unable to find any info anywhere: http://www.ascent-tecsemispares.com/index.php/other/t/toronto-microelectron… cheers Jules

11 years, 7 months

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Who's rewired their house for this hobby?

by ak6dn＠mindspring.com

Just curious: What is your maximum load in kVA when system(s) are running? What is that in $$/hr? -----Original Message----- >From: William Donzelli <wdonzelli at gmail.com> >Sent: Nov 21, 2014 5:14 PM >To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> >Subject: Re: Who's rewired their house for this hobby? > >> So, who has run 3-phase to power their MG set and HVAC for their mainframe? >> Extra points for chilled water and even more for a cooling tower for said >> water. > >I have 600 Amps of three phase service. > >I also have motor generator and solid state converters to make about >135 kVA of 400 Hz power, providing everything gets fixed. > >Oh, and (I think about) a 25 kVA 100/200 Volt transformer, in case of >Japanese machines. > >So there. > >-- >Will

11 years, 7 months

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digital LA210 Letterprinter, available in Ottawa

by ba600＠ncf.ca

I have a friend loking to clean out his basement. >Have digital LA210 Letterprinter, tractor feed, and ribbon headed for scrap. >Want it? Is there any interest in DEC printers? -- Collector of vintage computers http://www.ncf.ca/~ba600

11 years, 7 months

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An excellent cordless screwdriver recommendation

by drlegendre＠gmail.com

Decided to share this little bit of Good Info with the list. If you're like me, you probably turn away from most of those small, in-line cordless screwdrivers. Well, here's one to keep an eye out for, when you're browsing the garage sales, flea markets or thrift stores.. it's the best of the best ever made. The Black & Decker 9038 (Image attached) This particular model was good enough for Snap-On to re-badge (and re-color it, red & black) as a Blue Point Cordless Screwdriver - which they sold for silly $$$. Do NOT confuse it with ANY of the similar appearing models, no matter how close they may seem. Only the 9038 will do! They were only sold during the 1989-1992 era; later discontinued. The battery packs are no longer available, but can easily be re-built with generic NiCd cells. I've done at least two of them, this way, and they run quite a bit longer & stronger with modern NiCd cells. With its dual-planetary gear sets, this unit makes enough torque to break small screws or damage your wrist.. and it locks-up solid any time you're not running the motor - no need to 'shift gears' to reverse or lock the shaft. Reversing is simply a matter of moving the switch one way or the other. Find one, rebuild the battery, and put it in your kit. You'll love it.. one of the only electric tools I've used for 20+ years. Hope you find this useful.

11 years, 7 months

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Moving Sale (SF Bay Area, USA)

by lists＠loomcom.com

Well, it's finally happened. I've bought a house west of Seattle, and I'm going to be leaving the bay area. First things first: I am NOT getting out of classic computers! I'm taking a nice little core collection of microcomputers with me. That said, the move is going to be extremely expensive and I have a lot of stuff that I'm just not likely to ever get around to. Liquidating some stuff could save me thousands of dollars. So, it's time to try to pass it on. Everything here is located in Fremont, California, very close to I-880 and Decoto Road. It's in a garage for very easy access. Because of the craziness of moving, I'm very sorry to say that everything here is pick-up only. I cannot make the time to pack and ship. If you're remote and you'd like to get someone else who's local do some picking up for you, of course you're more than welcome. Anyway, I hate to do this, but it's time... First, the non-free stuff. I'd actually like some money for these. How much? I'll take reasonable offers. I'm not looking for eBay money. Seriously. Make an offer, the worst that could possibly happen is that I'll counter. - PDP-11/35. This is my semi-infamous restoration project that consumed much of my 2012. I very lovingly restored the power supply, backplanes, chassis, and front panel. The logic is almost certainly beyond repair. It needs a new set of cards. This system is housed in a full-height rack that has seen much better days. Includes a Diablo Series 30 drive, ECCO paper tape reader (not punch), and a DSD 440 8" floppy drive. I'll throw in a big huge pile of 8" floppies. - PDP-11/53. This is a nice half-height DEC rack with a PDP-11/53 card set in a PDP-11/23+ chassis, plus two working RL-02 drives. Will include 10 RL-02 packs. This is a nice setup. It pains me more to get rid of this than it does the 11/35, if I'm honest. (Drive heads are currently parked and secured!) Now, the cheap and/or free WORKING stuff. Just make a token offer to help defray some moving costs and I'll be thrilled. - MicroVAX 3800. Nice system. Used to belong to Lockheed Martin and once had Hubble Space Telescope pointing control software developer accounts on it! - Two AlphaServer DS20e systems and 4 SCSI storage arrays. Marginally classic, but come on, you know you want them. - TWO MicroVAX 3100 model 80s. Loud little beasts. Lots of small SCSI disks. Ideal doorstops. - AlphaStation 200 4/233. Cute little desktop. Works great! - Sun SPARCClassic. - Sun SPARC IPC. - Assorted Sun keyboards / mice. - SGI Octane. It's a perfectly nice system. No keyboard / mouse. It has texture RAM! - SGI R5000 Indy. Also no keyboard or mouse, sorry. At least these SGI systems are PS/2. - A C-One FPGA system. This is not technically classic, but it is neat. These were sold as a re-targetable FPGA system to emulate Commodore Amiga A500 among other systems. Had a minor following in the early 2000s before the project dried up. - Heathkit H-89. Had to do some minor power supply repair to get it working, but it works great now. Hard-sectored floppy drive. I'll throw in 6 hard sectored floppies. That's all I have! - Tandy TRS-80 Model 4. - Tandy Color Computer 3, still in the box! - No-name serial terminal. It's always good to have more of these, right? - Sharp PC5000 - TWO DEC Rainbows (one has a bad power switch), plus monitors and keyboards. - Panasonic Sr. Partner luggable computer. - Packard Bell 286 - 2 or 3 TI Silent 700 terminals. (I'm keeping a few, but I have an absurd number of these things) - Execuport 4000 printing terminal. - DEC LA100 printing terminal. - 90% working blue ADM-3a terminal. Needs some slight logic repair, should be an easy job. Finally, the stuff that DOES NOT WORK. I just want this gone. Please take it. Any of these could be a fun project. If you don't take it, it will go to WeirdStuff Warehouse where they'll do horrible things. I especially - KayPro 10. - Another MicroVAX 3800. The non-working version of the one above. - DEC Professional 350. Dead video. That's it. If you happen to come over and we're going through stuff and I find something else I should get rid of, you're welcome to it! -Seth

11 years, 7 months

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RX01 Floppies

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Glen Slick > So is the original poster (Michael) really looking for already > formatted RX01 floppies, or will blank 8-inch single sided floppies do > just as well? Generic _single-density_ floppies are what the RX01/2 needs. So AFAIK any pre-formatted single-density floppy will work in either one. AFAIK, originally, all SSSD floppies came already low-level formatted, but that may have changed later on. (I don't recall if DSSD floppies exist; if they did, the RX0x would probably just ignore the second side.) I'm not sure what you mean by 'blank' - did you mean 'no data/ file system', or 'not low-level formatted'? The thing is that neither RX0x can _low-level format_ floppies (i.e. write sector headers, etc). They _have_ to have pre-formatted floppies. I have this bit set that DEC did it that way with the RX01 since that was the (then minimally-used) IBM standard; if so, probably they just continued that way with the RX02. So you _can_ feed an RX0x xSDD floppies - if you first put them in a machine which will format them to xSSD low-level format. (Which I think someone has previously enquired about here.) Noel

11 years, 7 months

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RX01 Floppies

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> On 11/21/2014 2:26 PM, Glen Slick wrote: > Is it correct that RX01 format floppies can be created from blank > floppies with a standard PC floppy controller (or at least some > controllers / motherboards, depending on the controller chip) while > RX02 format floppies cannot? My understanding (perhaps incorrect, if so, someone please correct me) is that the wart-level-detail answer to this question is that '_blank_ RX02 floppies can be created on anything that can create RX01 floppies', but that RX02 floppies _with data on them_ can only be created on RX02 drives. I.e. an RX02 is fed RX01 floppies, which it then writes in the unique-to-DEC double density RX02 format. (As Chuck explained, the _headers_ are in the standard IBM form, but the _data_ part of the sectors is written in a DEC-specific double-density format.) Noel

11 years, 7 months

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Re; What to look for in a Model 33 Teletype - a newb's buyer's guide?

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: drlegendre > And one more - how do you differentiate a 20mA current-loop model from > a 'standard' RS-232 model? I believe the Model 37 is the RS-232 Teletype. (Is it based on the 33, or 35? I don't know.) If you have a working UNIBUS PDP-11, there are still 20mA serial interfaces avalable for it. I have a DL11-C (M7800-YA) you can have for what I paid for it (a song, just about), and someone on eBay has a DZ11-C (M7814) for sale for cheap; someone else there has the breakout panel for it. Noel

11 years, 7 months

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What to look for in a Model 33 Teletype - a newb's buyer's guide?

by drlegendre＠gmail.com

I've gone off the Deep End and now I just have to re-have a Teletype model 33.. I feel awful about what became of the junker I bought for $15 when I was a 13 year-old and wish I still had it today, so I could fix it and put it to use. So what should a mentally-challenged guy like myself be looking for, in a Model 33 - preferably an ASR model with the paper tape reader? What does and doesn't go bad? Are there any serious game-changing, show-stopping or buzz-killing issues that effectively render one of these units as a parts donor? What differences exist between the various ASR-model units, as they progress through the years? What does one look for - and more importantly, what to avoid? And one more - how do you differentiate a 20mA current-loop model from a 'standard' RS-232 model? Can you tell from the rear panel, or do you need to go under the hood?

11 years, 7 months

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What to look for in a Model 33 Teletype - a newb's buyer's guide?

by radiotest＠juno.com

At 02:58 PM 11/21/2014, drlegendre wrote: >I have virtually no idea what any of that means. =/ The 20 mA current interface was the standard current loop interface for Teletypes such as the ASR-33 sometimes used as consoles for DEC minis. I used them for a number of years on a couple of pdp8/m systems that had ASR-33s as consoles, and also took care of many 20 mA loops used with other Teletype models when I worked as an Associated Press technician in the early 1980s. AP used Lenkurt data sets to receive data from analog telco loops and convert it to current loops for teletypes. Dale H. Cook, GR / HP Collector, Roanoke/Lynchburg, VA http://plymouthcolony.net/starcity/radios/index.html

11 years, 7 months

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RX01 Floppies

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: tony duell >> the wart-level-detail answer to this question is that '_blank_ RX02 >> floppies can be created on anything that can create RX01 floppies' Sorry, I was slightly imprecise - I guess I should have said '_blank_ floppies that an RX02 can use to write double-density RX02 floppies can be created on anything that can create RX01 floppies'. But the bottom line is the one I gave: blank floppies which one can use in an RX02 can be created on anything that can make RX01 floppies. > An RX02 drive can reformat an RX01 disk as RX02. Right, that was what I meant with: > an RX02 is fed RX01 floppies, which it then writes in the unique-to-DEC > double density RX02 format If anyone wants to see the gory details, "RX02 Floppy Disk System User Guide" (EK-RX02-UG-001) has them on pg. 4-41, "4.3.3.5 Set Media Density (100)". Sections 1.5.2 ("Recording Scheme") and 1.5.3 ("Logical Format") give the technical details of the floppy content in quite complete form. Noel

11 years, 7 months

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5.25" SCSI Drives

by alexmcwhirter＠mojovapes.net

Does anyone need any of these drives? I have 18 of them that I don't need and are just taking up room. Anyone who's willing to pay for shipping can have some or all of them. I can only power test them at the moment. Some are regular 8 bit SCSI 50 pin, and some are 16 bit wide SCSI 68 pin. Sent from my iPhone

11 years, 7 months

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Re; What to look for in a Model 33 Teletype - a newb's buyer's guide?

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: drlegendre > Though again, I don't know how or why that came into the conversation. You were asking about RS-232 for a Teletype; I was thinking, bring the mountain to Mohammed (a 20mA interface on the computer), not the other way around. Noel

11 years, 7 months

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Who's rewired their house for this hobby?

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Todd Killingsworth > I realized that old machines took lots of power. But do the collectors > here wire up their homes and keep machines there? Heh, about to join this crew! I'm having the electricians in to put in a whole separate subsidiary panel (the existing ones are all pretty full), and run outlets from that (with those Hubble locking 3-pin sockets). > my wife thinks I'm completely certifiable. That's not the important question, which is 'is she tolerant of your insanity'? :-) > Todd Goodman > My wife thinks I'm certifiable as well since there couldn't possibly be > anyone else in the world interested in this "junk." So subscribe her to CCTalk... :-) > Oh, and also that I'm a "semi-hoarder." Duhhh! > From: Chuck Guzis > Where you get into the exotica is 3-phase service. There, you need a > cooperating utility and a deep pocketbook. Be prepared to be turned > down flat by your utility with the excuse that "We don't distribute 3 > phase in your area". Or they will try and give you what my house has (it came that way, the previous owner was a serious woodworking guy), which is 400A 3-phase service - but it's not really 3 phase. The area has two-phase service, and they hung a small transformer on the pole outside my house and wired it up to produce 3 phases that _will_ run a three-phase motor - but the third phase is like 170V to neutral, not 120V. (I forget the details, a foreman explained it to me once, but I've since forgotten.) So things that try and take three phases and power a bunch of 120V things, with some on each phase, won't work. Noel

11 years, 7 months

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Re; What to look for in a Model 33 Teletype - a newb's buyer's guide?

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: drlegendre > I have virtually no idea what any of that means. Clearly because you don't have a UNIBUS PDP-11! :-) Oh well, it was worth a shot (I didn't know). Noel

11 years, 7 months

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