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

online cross ref hosting found, still need a few other things

by sales＠elecplus.com

A volunteer has come up for the hosting space and software (all open source, Linux) I have the data, and will put it into uploadable formats, and provide templates for others who want to contribute also. I am NOT a php programmer, so a volunteer is needed who will design the site and create a script to do the searches and display the results. Any volunteers? _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2013.0.2899 / Virus Database: 2639/6114 - Release Date: 02/18/13

13 years, 4 months

2
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QX-10 / terminal software

by jules.richardson99＠gmail.com

Morning all, I thought I'd try and get the ol' Epson QX-10 running as a dumb terminal. AFAIK, there's nothing on the 'standard' set of disks to do this (e.g. valdocs has the 'mail' program which is aware of the serial port and which I think can talk via a direct link rather than a modem - but I think its functionality is all quite high-level and there's no 'terminal' mode). So... MEX looks like a possibility, and an overlay for the QX-10 seems to be available (although I'm not sure how much work is involved in merging them yet). Does anyone know of any other options[1] which will work with the QX-10's serial hardware? Or, does anyone happen to have a QX-10 enabled version of MEX archived already? [1] does CP/M abstract serial hardware into a set of common calls, or is that outside its scope? cheers Jules

13 years, 4 months

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PDP-9 Restoration at the RICM

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Mike Ross <tmfdmike at gmail.com> > To: cctech at classiccmp.org > Cc: > Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2013 00:22:04 +1300 > Subject: Re: cctech Digest, Vol 114, Issue 23 >> Message: 3 >> Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2013 09:21:07 -0500 >> From: Michael Thompson <michael.99.thompson at gmail.com> >> To: cctech <cctech at classiccmp.org> >> Subject: PDP-9 Restoration at the RICM > >> We need to fix the paper tape reader so we can load some of the diags. >> We are a long way from connecting the TC-59 and the TU20. >> I suspect that getting the TU20 working will be a challenge. > > How are you fixed for doc & spares? > > I have a TC59 on one of my pdp-15s - I have doc and I think I have > some spare boards... > > Mike Bitsavers has the TC59 Instruction Manual and Schematics. I have an HP 7975A (TU20) tape deck manual on the way. I will scan it and send it to Al. I have not been able to find any documentation on the rack of electronics in the bottom of the TU20 cabinet. We don't have the I/O cables to connect the TC59 to the PDP-9. We have some spare generic B, R, and S modules. We probably don't have any spares for the special modules for the PDP-9 and TC59. Any offers of help are gratefully accepted. -- Michael Thompson

13 years, 4 months

1
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Need Kermit for Xerox 820-II in .IMD format

by xmechanic＠landcomp.net

(Think I may have goofed on my earlier post (excess formatting)) Hiya, Just wondering if anyone has a Xerox 820-II with CP/M 2.2C that already has Kermit installed, that could make a Image Disk of it and upload it someplace? I have Dave Dunfield's Image Disk program, and I've successfully transferred several programs to the machine this way, but I'd like to have a comm program to transfer stuff, as I'm using a modified cable from the existing 8" floppy drive to an old win98/DOS PC for transfers, and I don't like to disconnect and connect those 50 pin edge connectors on and off the boards too many times. I actually have the .HEX files for the machine, but I tried to get them transferred with 22disk, and it doesn't seem to like 8" drives too much (ver. 1.42 or 1.44). I also tried the host terminal transfer, but hex files seem to wreak havoc and don't transfer properly. So I'm kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. If anyone can help out, it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks. Dave Land Land Computer Service

13 years, 4 months

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online cross reference?

by sales＠elecplus.com

Is anyone interested in hosting an online cross reference for components both small and major? I have a fairly large (3000+ line items) of cross reference for hard drives, CDROM, CDRW, NIC cards, video cards, etc for computers and servers that I would be willing to contribute in spreadsheet format. Also MANY hard copy sheets of old printouts for parts that go into HP and IBM servers. Cindy Croxton _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2013.0.2899 / Virus Database: 2639/6114 - Release Date: 02/18/13

13 years, 4 months

2
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DG Nova repair etc.

by RolexTM＠gmx.de

Hi all, Tony, thanks for your input, we will check the PSU on Thursday when we get to the machine again. as Christian pointed out, the problem is not so much the pure amount of components but the puzzle game of identifying them since they have been relabled. Whats definitely worse when comparing to out old VT100 is that the DEC manual has one complete definitive service manual that covers all schemes and logic. For our NOVA i failed to find a comparable thing. I have constantly to go back an forward through all kinds of docs. Again I may be unable to find a "real" service manual, if you know any let me know ;) Bruce, I am looking forward hearing from you. It would be great if you come up with anything helpful before Thursday so we can check everything out. Dwight, we are currently missing the exact schematics for our machine. I hope thats where Bruce comes into play. The only real schematics i found were for the NOVA 2, and a quick glimpse showed that the machine is different (at least the layout of parts). None the less we will keep our eye on the clock(s), i guess it will do no harm and make our scopes and logic analyzers happy ;)

13 years, 4 months

2
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networking via SCSI

by saquinn624＠aol.com

>Jeff Jonas [jeffj at panix.com] wrote: >> Long ago when SCSI was young >> and just an 8 bit parallel bus, >> Ampro littleboards advocated using the SCSI bus >> for peer to peer communications, not just master/slave. >> >> Did anyone else do that? > >I don't remember the details but I'm fairly sure you could run >OpenVMS clusters over SCSI at some point. I don't recall >whether this was "just experimental" or whether it was >actually supported in some configurations. > >Antonio OpenVMS AXP and I64 support partial clustering over some SCSI adapters, but I wouldn't call it full "networking". The machines are configured as multiple initiators and can send storage requests over the SCSI bus to shared disks or arrays. You still have to have another connection (usually Ethernet) for machine->machine cluster communication. While I haven't looked into it much beyond pinouts, DEC produced the proprietary DSSI which, in some cases, used SCSI ASICs - indicating that at some level it was similar (HSD-05 used, I think, an Emulex at either side. Can't check now, but can later). The protocol was different, and cluster communications could go over the DSSI bus between machines. I'm not sure whether the lack of a similar setup for SCSI is more because of impossibility or because Fast/Gig Ethernet came about and there was no longer much of a reason to not use the Ethernet for cluster comms.

13 years, 4 months

1
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DOS (PC) FTP server testing needed

by jbdigriz＠crucible.dragonsweb.org

Michael B. Brutman <mbbrutman-cctalk at brutman.com> wrote .. > Hi, > > I made some changes in my TCP/IP code to make it behave better when > packets are lost and it has to retransmit. The old code used to wait a > fixed amount of time before retrying, which was painfully slow on a > local connection. The new code is adaptive and should work much better > on a wide range of connections. > > If you'd like to help me test it I have my PCjr running the mTCP FTP > server with some old computer pictures, some software, and some text > files. (I'll add more during the day to keep it interesting.) You can > connect by going to the following address: > > ftp://96.42.84.69:2021/ Ok, I did a SITE STATS after I disconnected and it showed the server was lightly loaded (only me), so I went ahead and restarted wget. Will let it run and note any more hangs. later, jbdigriz

13 years, 4 months

3
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IDing mircobee GUI from video

by tom_a_sparks＠yahoo.com.au

Can anybody ID the gui in the "Microbee -??The Evolutionary Computers" video [1] @ the 7:20 and 8:44 mark? [1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow0fM5DJ4Dw --- tom_a_sparks "It's a nerdy thing I like to do" Child of the Internet born 1983 Please use ISO approved file formats excluding Office Open XML - http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html Ubuntu wiki page https://wiki.ubuntu.com/tomsparks?

13 years, 4 months

5
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Symbolics 3640 on eBay

by vansloot＠gmail.com

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Complete-Functional-Symbolics-3640-Artificial-Intel… ? Hans

13 years, 4 months

1
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IBM SR10 up for auction

by jdr_use＠bluewin.ch

Up for auction at a local site : an IBM 10SR harddisk. Might be rare enough to mention here. What was it used in anyway ? no affiliation, too expensive in my opinion, etc etc, but there might be people looking for exactly this. Jos

13 years, 4 months

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Data General Nova

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

>> DG used in-house part numbers, very much like IBM and HP did. But I >> haven't come across an equivalence list, so if you don't have the >> schematics, you're lost. > I vaguely seem to recall I had a DG equivalence list in the 90's. Aha! Found a binder labeled "Components Guide" which has an equivalence list for some discretes in the back, and enough plagiarism from the standard IC manuals in the chip descriptions to help find the SSI/MSI original chips. Same thing on the web at http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/dg/015-000028-03_DG_Components_Guide…

13 years, 4 months

1
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HP-UX 10.20 or less for series 800

by saquinn624＠aol.com

I have an old G70 that's currently running HP-UX 11 (I had 11i v1 on it for a while - bit slow for that, and the patches would break it if you weren't careful). Anyway, I have a workstation for all my HP-UX 11 needs and was kicking around the idea of putting 10.20 or 9.04 on the beast to give it a bit more vintage flair, but all of the CDs I have and have seen have been 10.20 for the 700s. Anyone seen a 10.20 for 800 around?

13 years, 4 months

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Aviion was Re: Data General Nova

by a50mhzham＠gmail.com

I actually had an Aviion 66 and a ?33? available at work. No one wanted it. It's probably gone now. Not Motorolla based though. It was a box full of Pentium Pros, IIRC. At 05:18 PM 2/17/2013, you wrote: >I saw what I believe was a Motorola based Aviion >tower in a junk pile in a scrap pile a few years >ago. I remember asking the list if anyone wanted >me to retrieved it. There were no replies. 71 . [Computing] Hit the philistines three times over the head with the Elisp reference manual. --petonic at hal.com (Michael A. Petonic) a50mhzham at gmail.com ? N9QQB (amateur radio) "HEY YOU" (loud shouting) ? Second Tops (Set Dancing) ? FIND ME ON FACEBOOK 43? 7' 17.2" N by 88? 6' 28.9" W ? Elevation 815' ? Grid Square EN53wc LAN/Telecom Analyst ? Open-source Dude ? Musician ? Registered Linux User 385531

13 years, 4 months

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Data General Nova

by RolexTM＠gmx.de

Hi Bruce, thanks for taking your time to answer my mail! Sorry to leave out details, i know how frustrating it is if people forget the important bits of their problems ;) I have (at least sighted) all documentation from bitsavers: http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/dg/ and read a good amount of code and documentation of the simh project (because i would like to build a media emulator for this machine later....maybe) My main problem is that most of the stuff from bitsavers seems to be for newer machines that have a builtin ROM? My machine does not have the program load option (at least theres no switch for it) and i was under the impression that all documentation i found somehow just loaded a stored program for the check procedures. Am i wrong with this? So, in short i did not find any checkout procedure that looked adequate for my machine so i just hacked in some small asm programs that at least ran on the simulator. Actually, the machine runs simple nop jumps at least 1: jmp 2 2: jmp 3 3: jmp 1 If i remember right when running this program it did not even hang itself up (aka you could "stop" the machine). But i prepared the popular "Hello World" asm example to run without RDOS, and it obviously failed at least because of the stuck ACs. I mean, how can you write anything meaningful without using an AC? ;) By "Reset" i mean pushing the reset switch up when pressing down for "stop" does nothing. Again i may be subject to interpret the meaning of STOP and RESET wrong. Clearly this machine is confusing me ;) We will examine the power supply for sure! It bugs me that we did not think of that, since for now we only get to the machine once per week. We may also have the option to take it home though.... Also a friend of mine (which should be registering here soon, too - and is more experienced than me when it comes to electronics) said that the machine was acting strange when he first powered it up after it sat for a week (aka cold). Maybe that points to another aging/heat related/power supply problem. Thanks for clarifying the internal structure of the machine. I was not aware of that although i looked at alot bus pinouts, transfer timings, signal descriptions etc. See above, confusing! The third party board is unidentified for now. We tried to run without it but saw the same error. We also already noticed that the machine runs only with 2 CPU boards and nothing else, at least the PC counts and the ACs still deposit and load. I promise to take quality photos of anything you like once we get back to the machine. I apologize for the bad photos my phone makes. best regards Alex On 02/15/13 18:03, Bruce Ray wrote: > G'day Alex - > > Your e.mail begs many question. > What documentation do you have? > Are you following the checkout procedures in the DG hardware manual? > What "simple programs" can be run? > What does "reset the machine" mean? Does it mean use the Reset > switch, power off the machine, or...? > > The original Nova is an interesting whose big weakness was its power > supply (mainly the higher-voltage memory Vinh and Vmem supply). > Note that console accumulator functions exam and deposit may be > functionally tested without having a memory board in the computer(!). > > As Al said, the Nova uses data paths of 4-bit "nibbles" for most > internal transfers - even to and from main core memory(!). Your > symptom appears a common single-bit failure mode. > > What is the 3rd party board? > > > Bruce Ray > Wild Hare Computer Systems, Inc. > bkr at WildHareComputers.com > > www.WildHareComputers.com > > > www.NovasAreForever.org >

13 years, 4 months

5
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3B2 Winchester (ST4376N/CDC Wren)

by saquinn624＠aol.com

Pulled it out, reseated the cables, checked the connections, plugged it into a big enough power supply, and gave it another go. Spun up, head load or lock solenoid clicked, waited about 4 seconds (no sound of seeking), spin down. Sounds like the problem might be somewhere in the head positioning or voice coil/drive.

13 years, 4 months

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Data General Nova

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

> DG used in-house part numbers, very much like IBM and HP did. But I > haven't come across an equivalence list, so if you don't have the > schematics, you're lost. I vaguely seem to recall I had a DG equivalence list in the 90's. Or maybe confusing it with something else and my memory is just a red herring. Maybe Carl Friend has it? Poly Paks always had lots of house-numbered TTL, I'm guessing floor sweepings from DG :-) When I had to read DG schematics, if the part didn't have a standard number on it, it was usually pretty obvious from pinout or other parameters, what the standard part was. By the time the Eclipse came along, those were just chock full with bipolar PROM's. Tim

13 years, 4 months

2
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Wang VS7150, VS7010 and 3270s on eBay (London, UK)

by gerardcjat＠free.fr

Ebay help, please. How comes that things like that CANNOT BE FOUND thru EBAY Search(es ) ??? i.e. Take a part of the item description : "Wang VS7150" Do an Ebay search ..... and ( at least for me, from France ) You won't get any hit !!! Why ???? Is that an Ebay Bug ?? Is it known ?? ( Of course, it is NOT the first time that I come across that kind of Ebay bug, that is why I am calling for help ;-) )

13 years, 4 months

2
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3B2 software and docs, 3-4 boxes

by sales＠elecplus.com

Will the gent who emailed me that he wanted these please email me again with your address, etc. Very sorry, but your previous email got lost in the shuffle. Cindy Croxton Electronics Plus 1613 Water Street Kerrville, TX 78028 (830)792-3400 phone (830)792-3404 fax AOL IM elcpls _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2013.0.2899 / Virus Database: 2639/6110 - Release Date: 02/17/13

13 years, 4 months

1
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DG Aviion

by sales＠elecplus.com

I have an old DG Aviion server here, has qty 4 Pentium Pro 200 chips. No idea what the model number is, sorry. Local pickup only. Plenty of 4.3GB SCSI hard drives to go in it. Probably still have some old memory to go in it. Cindy Croxton Kerrville, TX _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2013.0.2899 / Virus Database: 2639/6110 - Release Date: 02/17/13

13 years, 4 months

2
1
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cctech Digest, Vol 114, Issue 23

by tmfdmike＠gmail.com

> Message: 3 > Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2013 09:21:07 -0500 > From: Michael Thompson <michael.99.thompson at gmail.com> > To: cctech <cctech at classiccmp.org> > Subject: PDP-9 Restoration at the RICM > We need to fix the paper tape reader so we can load some of the diags. > We are a long way from connecting the TC-59 and the TU20. > I suspect that getting the TU20 working will be a challenge. How are you fixed for doc & spares? I have a TC59 on one of my pdp-15s - I have doc and I think I have some spare boards... Mike http://www.corestore.org 'No greater love hath a man than he lay down his life for his brother. Not for millions, not for glory, not for fame. For one person, in the dark, where no one will ever know or see.'

13 years, 4 months

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Wang VS7150, VS7010 and 3270s on eBay (London, UK)

by gerardcjat＠free.fr

Could be interesting .... As I am not too far .... BUT ** IF ** system has Disk Pack Units ( Drives ). And, from the pics, I do not see any ??? Someone does ??

13 years, 4 months

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Aviion was Re: Data General Nova

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

------------------------------ On Sun, Feb 17, 2013 4:05 PM PST Toby Thain wrote: >On 17/02/13 6:18 PM, ChrMinhis Tofu wrote: >> >> I saw what I believe was a Motorola based Aviion tower in a junk pile in a scrap pile a few years ago. I remember asking the list if anyone wanted me to retrieved it. There were no replies. >> > >Damn, been looking for one forever. > >--T unless I'm mistaken you're in Australia. and that being the case don't feel too bad this was hardly a museum quality piece. It's obvious rareness made me think someone could have used parts. But I'll keep you in mind if I should come across another.

13 years, 4 months

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PDP-9 Restoration at the RICM

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

Warren Stearns and I have been working on the PDP-9 at the RICM. Yesterday we got the core memory working and started debugging the processor. Quite a milestone for a 44 year old system. All of the operate instructions seem to work. The JMP and ISZ instructions are flakey, even when single stepping. This could be a microcode problem, or a problem with the data multiplexers. It is an interesting machine because it is microcoded with read-only core memory. I am not sure why they used core for the microcode. Maybe just a board with a bunch of diodes would have done the same thing and would have been a lot simpler? I am finding the schematics a challenge because they were created before ANSI or IEC standard logic symbols were invented. Eventually I will understand the symbology. Some of the design is a little strange because you can abuse DTL logic in ways that TTL will not tolerate. Lots of delay lines where you can adjust the delay by changing wire-wrap on the backplane. Lots of pulse amplifiers to improve fan-out and reshape signals. You can read about our debugging progress here. http://www.ricomputermuseum.org/Home/equipment/dec-pdp-9/pdp-9-restoration We need to fix the paper tape reader so we can load some of the diags. We are a long way from connecting the TC-59 and the TU20. I suspect that getting the TU20 working will be a challenge. -- Michael Thompson

13 years, 4 months

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Aviion was Re: Data General Nova

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

>I wish I could get that NCR tower running. If anyone has any technical >information on Series 3400 boxes I'd love to know. I need wiring >diagrams and schematics for the power supply. It is a model 2113 that >seems fine but, just doesn't turn on. Perhaps it's just a solder crack. If you dismantle it enough to get at the pcb's bottom you could touch each blob with a soldering gun. I have fixed at least 1 unit that way (it worked after I did anyway).

13 years, 4 months

2
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MRRT-11 anyone?

by bob＠jfcl.com

Would anyone have a distribution for MRRT-11? I'd really like to find a copy if anyone has it or can give me a pointer. [What the heck is MRRT-11? "Memory Resident RT-11" - it's a hacked up version of RT-11 that runs diskless. It was an official DEC product sold in the late 70s.] Thanks, Bob Armstrong

13 years, 4 months

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Who were the worst of the worst?

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

I disagree. By comparison it lacks features compared to the Tandy. As does the Sanyo. They share enough to make the comparison. I wouldn't for instance make the same comparisons between the 1000 and 2000. They're just too different, but in many respects the model 2000 is a more powerful machine.

13 years, 4 months

1
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Who were the worst of the worst?

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

------------------------------ On Sun, Feb 17, 2013 11:21 AM PST Michael B. Brutman wrote: >On 2/14/2013 4:36 PM, Chris Tofu wrote: >> >> Um yeah. The Peanut was an anemic T1000. It's a fun unit if you can live or partially deal with it's deficiencies. I'm just glad I.wasn't suckered into buying one back then. The Sanyos, Peanut, and T1000 had similar video modes. Must have been a creeping hardware virus anomole. >> > >You have that backwards. The Tandy 1000 line was designed as a clone of >the PCjr. And in many ways, they did not make the same mistakes that >IBM made. For example, the location of the expandable video buffer ... I didn't say the Tandy came before the Peanut. The P* was an anemic T1K, the T* was a P* on steroids, same thing. Now what might be an interesting project would be to drop the guts of a Jr into a clone case and add functionality that way, instead of endlessly adding side carts. You'd need to piggyback off the 8088 socket in order to provide for ISA slots and other assorted madness. It's truly a pity no one offered such a solution when it would have mattered most...

13 years, 4 months

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Wang VS7150, VS7010 and 3270s on eBay (London, UK)

by mj＠mjturner.net

Hi Just came across this on eBay and thought it may be of interest to the list: WANG VS7150, VS7010, 4 x 3270 terminals - Diskpacks - early 1980s Computing - Could be useful for Spares, Film Props, Collector, etc? ... Main processor is a VS7150. This was attached to another large cabinet which houses three large and heavy hard drives (believed to be 454MB). There is also a VS7010 and a VS75E, the latter of which seems to be missing some covers. There are also somewhere between 4 and 6 3270 terminals (see photo of single unit). There are also a quantity of the removeable disk-packs, which, if my memory serves me correctly, used to be 300MB. There is also an old line-printer with acoustic hood and some boxes of the flowline paper. ... Current price is GBP 950 and it's available for collection in London (UK) - seller is also willing to ship it anywhere in the UK. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221183449983 Not affiliated with the seller in any way. -mj -- Michael-John Turner mj at mjturner.net <> http://mjturner.net/

13 years, 4 months

2
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Who were the worst of the worst?

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

------------------------------ On Sun, Feb 17, 2013 11:19 AM PST Michael B. Brutman wrote: >On 2/14/2013 3:16 PM, Jason McBrien wrote: >> >> To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" < >> cctalk at classiccmp.org> >> Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2013 3:38 PM >> >> Subject: Re: Who were the worst of the worst? >> >> >> >> Some of the Tandy 1000 series were stinkers. Weird proprietary ISA >> connectors, weird video adapters, weird versions of DOS that were >> incompatible with most utility programs. >> >> Not a clone, but no list would be complete without the PC Jr. IMHO. What an >> absolutely terrible machine. It was actually *less* PC-5150 compatible than >> early clones. >> >> > >You contradict yourself. You say the PCjr was not a clone, and then you complain that it was less PC-5150 compatible than early clones. > >Note that the PCjr runs most later software just fine, assuming you have enough memory. I think what broke the Jr has more to do with people coding to specific BIOS locations, which broke any "near" clone. In 1983 when the PCjr was introduced that practice was rampant. By 1985 there were enough other "near clones" with some unique hardware out there so that the practice would break other machines too. > >Case in point: Nobody complains about the 5140 Convertible being not compatible enough, yet it has a lot of the same general problems as the PCjr. (Using the NMI for keyboard handling, mapping the keyboard scan codes, etc.) > > >Mike I'm sure Jason can speak for himself, but... It would seem his point is since it was offered as a PC substitute, it should have been more "clone" then it was. While nowhere near a clone in the purest sense, an nearly exact copy, like a generic Taiwanese clone, it still should have been a more workable substitute for a PC. The AT for instance, while could be considered something of a steroidal clone, was worlds more compatible then the Jr. And add to that company's willingness to work around the AT's minor incompatibilities you had a ready upgrade solution to the PC. I'm not that familiar with the JX but something like that should have been the Jr. Or the model 25s. Some expandability, in reality could have been a good secretary's unit (strangely the model 30 seems to have been used more along those lines).

13 years, 4 months

1
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RGB analog, sync on G to VGA or HDMI?

by chrise＠pobox.com

Are there any recomendations for a converter that can take RGB with sync on GREEN as input and produce a VGA (or HDMI) output suitable for driving a modern LCD? I seem to be accumulating numerous older pieces of gear that produce RGB output and space and reliability of the old tubes to which they connect is becoming more and more premium. Would like to be able to use an LCD as an alternative. A couple DEC VT240 came my way this weekend and they will need some TLC to restore but the VR240 that came along with them is in even worse shape. I'll give it my best shot but ability to use an LCD as Plan B would be nice. Any recomendations from success? Chris -- Chris Elmquist

13 years, 4 months

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DOS (PC) FTP server testing needed

by mbbrutman-cctalk＠brutman.com

Hi, I made some changes in my TCP/IP code to make it behave better when packets are lost and it has to retransmit. The old code used to wait a fixed amount of time before retrying, which was painfully slow on a local connection. The new code is adaptive and should work much better on a wide range of connections. If you'd like to help me test it I have my PCjr running the mTCP FTP server with some old computer pictures, some software, and some text files. (I'll add more during the day to keep it interesting.) You can connect by going to the following address: ftp://96.42.84.69:2021/ That URL should work in most browsers (Firefox, IE and Chrome). Chrome tends to be a bit of a pig and it tries to preload the content that it finds, so if you see it going slowly it is probably due to multiple connections. The poor PCjr is only setup for 9 simultaneous connections. If you use an FTP client anonymous FTP should work fine. Note the non-standard control port - 2021. Which also means that if you are using a real FTP client (and not a browser) you should be using PASSIVE mode. (Port mode with a non-standard control port confuses most firewalls, and they won't pick it up. Most browsers use PASSIVE mode by default.) Uploading is not turned on for this test, but if you are dying to upload contact me and I'll give you the password. Fun facts: - The machine is a PCjr with a jrIDE sidecar, 20GB IDE hard drive, WD8003 ISA Ethernet adapter, NEC V20 CPU, and an IBM PC 5150 keyboard. Yes, this is the same machine that was recently maligned on the list. ;-0 - If you want to see how the TCP/IP code is holding up you can get statistics by using the "SITE STATS" command in a suitable FTP client. - This is a DOS machine - you have to use DOS filenames and paths, except for the directory delimiter - that uses the standard forward slash. (Using the DOS backslash was too difficult for most clients and browsers.) Also, if you use MGET remember that you have to use *.* and not just * for a filespec. Comments and bug reports are welcome. Use good judgement to avoid cluttering up the list too much ... Mike

13 years, 4 months

1
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Who were the worst of the worst?

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

------------------------------ On Thu, Feb 14, 2013 1:16 PM PST Jason McBrien wrote: >> >> To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" < >> cctalk at classiccmp.org> >> Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2013 3:38 PM >> >> Subject: Re: Who were the worst of the worst? >> > > >Some of the Tandy 1000 series were stinkers. Weird proprietary ISA >connectors, weird video adapters, weird versions of DOS that were >incompatible with most utility programs. 1000s didn't use DMA. O/w compatible afaik. I think there was a card that addedc the 8237 iinm >Not a clone, but no list would be complete without the PC Jr. IMHO. What an >absolutely terrible machine. It was actually *less* PC-5150 compatible than >early clones. Um yeah. The Peanut was an anemic T1000. It's a fun unit if you can live or partially deal with it's deficiencies. I'm just glad I.wasn't suckered into buying one back then. The Sanyos, Peanut, and T1000 had similar video modes. Must have been a creeping hardware virus anomole.

13 years, 4 months

2
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NEC D765D

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

------------------------------ On Thu, Feb 14, 2013 7:17 AM PST Eric Smith wrote: >Fred Cisin wrote: > >> I don't remember what it was. Leading Edge? e-machine? Packard-Bell? >> Some sort of freebie thrown at him by some company's marketing. > >Chris Tofu wrote: >> O bruther. E-Machines, if even around then, wasn't making no clones. They made Mac video cards and monitors. And I'll have you know my Leading Edge/Sperry Model M runs rings around that Big Pyew. Supports 8" drives even maybe. > >I wrote: > >> I'm not sure when "then" was, but I think you've confused the company "eMachines" with the older UMAX/Supermac brand. eMachines was from their inception a PC clone company. Through acquisitions, eMachines was most recently an Acer brand, but has just been discontinued recently. > >Chris Tofu wrote: > >> Nuh uh. The original emachines at least sold mac cards. Check ebay. I still have my old Futura SX video card stuck in a IIcx. > >Which has nothing whatsoever to do with the *company* eMachines, which did in fact, as Fred stated, produce PC clones. In the 1980s??? Please provide proof of that.

13 years, 4 months

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Introduction and IBM 1130 replica project

by Carl.Claunch＠gartner.com

Chuck Guzis wrote: > > Nice work! > > I remember the 1130. What are you doing for a card reader? I recall that the 1130 could only read column-binary--it was up to software to interpret the data into character codes. > > Has anyone done an FPGA emulation of the 1620? That one has a soft spot in my heart to the extent that I can still remember the numeric opcodes for many instructions. The 1401 occupies a similar place in my memories. Little IBM boxes were really cute. > > --Chuck At the moment, I use a high speed stream protocol over USB, via the brilliant fpgalink library by Bruce McClelland ( http://www.makestuff.eu/wordpress/software/fpgalink/ ) to a bit of python code on a PC which takes files and sends them as card column signals to my 2501 reader emulation logic in the fpga. I am mapping all the signals from the 2501 to the adapter circuits in the 1130, timing everything and modeling state as close to a real 2501 as I can determine, so that it appears that the photocells are detecting holes at the right time as the card virtually slides through the emulated transport, but the content of the columns that get turned into lights are stuffed into a FIFO by the link from the PC. However, someone has offered a small card reader that I will be gratefully accepting and utilizing. I plan to map the real reader as the 2501 and use my alternate 1442 reader/punch emulation over the fpgalink channels so that I can both read real cards and read files on the PC as virtual cards. Yes, the 2501 just delivered to the 1130 one bit for each of the 12 card rows, exactly what was punched in that column. The 1130 programmer would convert the Hollerith coded characters into whatever other coding they wanted in their program. Boot mode wired the signals a bit differently to provide a 16 bit result to the 1130 that was usable as initial program load instructions, that is done in the 1130 adapter logic, not in the 2501. Finally, various forms of binary coding were used in the 1130, such as the user program format and a special binary mode used by diagnostic programs, but all of those are just the status of holes in a column sent as 12 bits plus 0000 to form an 1130 word. My python program converts ascii files to Hollerith, as well as delivering binary mode files directly as card hole images. I don't personally know of any fpga emulations of 1620 machines, but there are excellent simulators available. Carl ________________________________ This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the person to whom it has been sent, and may contain information that is confidential or legally protected. If you are not the intended recipient or have received this message in error, you are not authorized to copy, distribute, or otherwise use this message or its attachments. Please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail and permanently delete this message and any attachments. Gartner makes no warranty that this e-mail is error or virus free.

13 years, 4 months

2
1
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VCF East pictures

by mloewen＠cpumagic.scol.pa.us

http://sturgeon.css.psu.edu/~mloewen/Oldtech/VCF-East2012/ Mike Loewen mloewen at cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://sturgeon.css.psu.edu/~mloewen/Oldtech/

13 years, 4 months

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Cyclone CVME961

by seefriek＠gmail.com

From: Benjamin Huntsman <BHuntsman at mail2.cu-portland.edu> > > Here's an odd one... > Anyone here ever seen, heard of, or have a Cyclone CVME961 board? > > > I have. The 961 was a pretty nice i960-based general purpose embedded controller that got a lot of use in real time systems and, as I understand, a lot of military stuff. i960CA of various speeds, memory, 2 serial ports and a mezzanine expansion scheme Cyclone called "Squall" that had a few options (I know there was an async serial card, think there was a SCSI card and ethernet card, but can't recall anything else). Not sure what specifically you want to know, but there is a good bit of info out there still at Google reach. Unfortunately, I decided i960 wasn't something I had time to play with, so all of mine are long gone. BTW...what you really want to find if this sort of thing is your kink is a CVME-965. 960HA, VME64, private and shared memory and 2 x Squall 2 mezzanine slots. The Squall 2 slots were much more useful, as Cyclone made all sorts of interesting options for it. I had, at least, SCSI, 2-port ethernet, various serial cards, some digitial input cards, etc. I sorta-kinda remember there was an ATM card; I didn't have one. Made whipping up a router on a card pretty easy, even if the preferred dev environment was Ada.

13 years, 4 months

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let's try this again... how do you build a floppy disk?

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

------------------------------ On Sat, Feb 16, 2013 8:44 PM PST Chuck Guzis wrote: >On 02/16/2013 07:51 PM, Chris Tofu wrote: >> >> start with a disk... >> >> Then what? smear on some rust? is it sprayed on? once you get the >> chemistry correct it doesn't sound like the application portion >> should be that challenging. is there an adhesive applied first? >> Afterwards? Where's that Jeri lady. Get her on this LOL > >Well, no, you don't start with a disk. That would be silly. > >You start with a very wide blanket-on-a-roll of substrate. You mix the binder and oxide together in a thick paste and spread them on the sheet. I suspect that the thickness of the coating is regulated by a "doctor blade" setup. The coating is cured and then round disks are punched--the result is called a "cookie" for obvious reasons. It's then verified and inserted into the jacketing medium, sealed and packaged. Not so fast bucko. Got to flip the blankee over and coat that side. >The oxide coating on a 5.25" DD floppy is not much different from that of VHS videotape. I suspect that the demise of floppy manufacturing to more a case of video- and audiotape dying off. I would think what put the kybosh on both were advances in optical media, which became a solution for computer storage earlier then video. Both useful.posts though. Anyone think this can't be done? Is choice of substrate that critical? Question in my mind is how to control the thickness. This is why I had thought spraying would be appropriate. Maybe it is.

13 years, 4 months

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DG Nova repair etc.

by RolexTM＠gmx.de

> The original Nova has a 4 bit ALU What do you mean? I think i did not get your answer. >> When I got my Nicolet, I had a similar sounding problem.It turned out to be a missing clock.Of course, yours may be soemthing different but you aregoing to need some schematics and a scope to track down.( I did mine without a schematic but I was lucky ).Dwight We already sighted most of the pdfs and schematics at bitsavers and simh. We have a scope and logic analyzer and some experience in component level repairs of electronics. This machine is just a bit harder to diagnose than for say our old VT100...the documentation is overwhelming and my brain has not adapted to it well atm ;) so i just hope to get somebody that has intimate knowledge of the machine.... The problem of the machine only running on single step and not on "run" may well be related to a missing clock, although i wonder if even single instruction stepping would work without clock since it also needs some form of clock to single step through one asm instruction...although i might be on the wrong train since there may well be more than one clock inside the machine.

13 years, 4 months

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Introduction and IBM 1130 replica project

by Carl.Claunch＠gartner.com

Dave wrote: > > Has anyone done an FPGA emulation of the 1620? > > I don't think so. Of course there already is an FPGA emulation of the > 1130 by Richard T. Stofer which does plotting to an HPGL plotter. There is a video of his presentation to the 06 1130.org party here:- > > http://ibm1130.org/party/v06 > > I also have hacks to the SIMH emulation to drive an HPGL plotter. > Video of it in action here:- > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCUUgLvVvpg > Richards excellent work was what first got me involved with this - after watching his talk and contacting him, he shared his code and expertise to allow me to create a copy of his emulator. It inspired me to learn hardware design and electronics and to aim for my project. Richard designed his machine by designing hardware that would match the Functional Characteristics manual, analogous to how Amdahl designed an IBM compatible system by adhering to the Principles of Operations but adopting their own unique design within the machine. He did not have a goal to emulate the hardware console functions such as Single Step, Single Memory Cycle, Interrupt Run, Load, and so forth. Since I first got hands on experience with computers on an 1130, learning by using those controls and watching what my code was causing to happen, I wanted to recreate to that level. My machine is built to map almost exactly onto the logic gates of the 1130, as I used the ALDs (automated logic diagrams) to recreate the system. It is designed to run at the same speed as the physical 1130. It is therefore a cycle by cycle faithful recreation, allowing someone to see what changes when releasing the Start key in Single Step mode at cycle T4 of instruction phase E1, which is phase B of the clock. Certain conditions change or actions take place on specific phases of those cycles - this recreates them. I also mapped all the hardware adapter logic faithfully and built hardware to emulate all the signals that came into the 1130 from the peripherals. As a final step, I adapt real hardware I have, an Electronic Typewriter 50 (selectric ball type machine), to link to my hardware emulation so that it behaves the same. My keyboard is a photocell driven partially mechanical unit from a keypunch of the era, interfaced to link to the 1130 adapter circuits and present the exact signals that would come from the real 1130 keyboard hardware. I built the display light pedestal above the console printer to scale, as another example of my obsessiveness. My aim is to replicate the experience of running an 1130 hands on. This certainly is no denigration of the emulator built by Richard Stofer - it provides higher performance than a real 1130 and from a programmers standpoint is a truly faithful replica. For most people, that is all the recreation they want. Beyond that, there are software simulators such as the one hosted by Brian Knittel at http://www.ibm1130.org with a full set of 1130 software at the same site - highly recommended. This project has allowed me to meet a number of great people who have offered advice, aid and a supportive ear as I toiled away - I try to credit them all in my blog, but it is possible I haven't mentioned all of them. I am also indebted to Al Kossow and the Bitsavers archive for availability of ALDs and other documentation sufficient to produce this hardware level recreation. > But for the 1620 nothing so far. There is Java based emulator but the only software thats been converted is the diagnostics. Al did load up the other stuff he has to bit savers , but I havn't had time to look at it, as I got distracted by a project to connect some Creed equipment from a Ferranti Pegasus to a software emulator.... > Sounds like you are having some fun yourself. Hope it is going well. >> That one has a soft spot in my heart to the extent that I can still >> remember the numeric opcodes for many instructions. The 1401 occupies >> a similar place in my memories. Little IBM boxes were really cute. >> > >The 1620 I used wasn't what I would call "cute" but it was the second machine I programmed. I guess we are all bonded by an appreciation of early technology machines that were formative for us. Carl ________________________________ This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the person to whom it has been sent, and may contain information that is confidential or legally protected. If you are not the intended recipient or have received this message in error, you are not authorized to copy, distribute, or otherwise use this message or its attachments. Please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail and permanently delete this message and any attachments. Gartner makes no warranty that this e-mail is error or virus free.

13 years, 4 months

2
1
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Question about NeXT 17" B/W monitor

by IanK＠vulcan.com

Does anyone know the part number for the CRT in a 17" NeXT monochrome monitor? I've cast about for a schematic that shows it to no avail. I've opened up the monitor (N4000A), and the number is not evident. The internal frame bears a Sony name and number, SMC-311A. I fear the number may be hidden under the yoke - which I'd rather not pull free, for obvious reasons. Before I start getting dramatic with this thing, does anyone know the part number? I'm going to try rejuvenating the CRT, per a comment by Ethan a little while back (I acquired a B&K for $9 on ePay). Nearly all of the 17" CRTs have the same switch settings, but count on Jobs to have picked an off one. :-) So it seems wise to tap the collective wisdom before just crossing my fingers. Thanks -- Ian

13 years, 4 months

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let's try this again... how do you build a floppy disk?

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

------------------------------ On Sat, Feb 16, 2013 8:36 PM PST Nigel Williams wrote: >On Sun, Feb 17, 2013 at 2:51 PM, Chris Tofu ><rampaginggreenhulk at yahoo.com> wrote: >> Then what? smear on some rust? is it sprayed on? once you get the chemistry correct it doesn't sound like the application portion should be that challenging. is there an adhesive applied first? > >There is a short section here about the raw materials and process: > >http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Floppy-Disk.html > >It would seem that the community might want to track down this document (book?): > >Aronson, Susan. Diskette Reference Manual. 3M Data Storage Products >Division, 1990. > >I notice that this fellow references this document too: > >http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs_stuff/drive.html Smashing research excellent research

13 years, 4 months

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let's try this again... how do you build a floppy disk?

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

start with a disk... Then what? smear on some rust? is it sprayed on? once you get the chemistry correct it doesn't sound like the application portion should be that challenging. is there an adhesive applied first? Afterwards? Where's that Jeri lady. Get her on this LOL

13 years, 4 months

3
2
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Northstar Dimension keyboard question

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

------------------------------ On Sat, Feb 16, 2013 7:17 PM PST Fred Cisin wrote: >> > I won it. It resembles a Keytronic 5150, but has something like an rj11 >> > (don't ask me how many conductors). Is it an IBM/K* internally? >> >No. > >On Sat, 16 Feb 2013, Chris Tofu wrote: >> How do you know? > >Because in 1983, Michael Swaine (Infoworld) called the Dimension, "PC >compatible". I fail to see what that has to do with the keyboard >How many "workstation" terminals did you get with it? exactly 0. is that a bad thing? the monitors that I see pictured with it look just like an Eagles. which could mean they are 5151 compatible. which could mean it might have more aspects of compatibility then you might think. in any event it's a toy to play with and now I have a keyboard. I have discs but something tells me they're not going to be what I want them to be. I know it doesn't run MS DOS natively but it might be fun to try. it's not intended to be a product tivity tool.

13 years, 4 months

1
0
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Cyclone CVME961

by BHuntsman＠mail2.cu-portland.edu

Here's an odd one... Anyone here ever seen, heard of, or have a Cyclone CVME961 board? Thanks in advance! -Ben

13 years, 4 months

2
2
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Northstar Dimension keyboard question

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

------------------------------ On Sat, Feb 16, 2013 5:44 PM PST Fred Cisin wrote: >On Sat, 16 Feb 2013, Chris Tofu wrote: >> I won it. It resembles a Keytronic 5150, but has something like an rj11 >> (don't ask me how many conductors). Is it an IBM/K* internally? >No. How do you know? >> I guess >> I should have asked before I bid/bin.

13 years, 4 months

2
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any interest in an IBM Displaywriter

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

Yeah. Gone. ------------------------------ On Sat, Feb 16, 2013 6:30 PM PST Nigel Williams wrote: >On Thu, Jul 5, 2012 at 2:11 PM, Chris Tofu <rampaginggreenhulk at yahoo.com> wrote: >> I payed 100$, and had to pick it up in Queens/Nassau. I'll take 50$ plus shipping, from 08758. It works, but >> there is noticeable screen burn even when off. I have some disks, and >> the 8" drive cabinet. > >did someone end up taking this off you?

13 years, 4 months

1
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any interest in an IBM Displaywriter

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

I payed 100$, and had to pick it up in Queens/Nassau. I'll take 50$ plus shipping, from 08758. It works, but there is noticeable screen burn even when off. I have some disks, and the 8" drive cabinet.

13 years, 4 months

4
3
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Silver-oxide cells lifetime

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

------------------------------ On Sat, Feb 16, 2013 5:57 PM PST Chuck Guzis wrote: >For the third time, I've had to replace the three 357 silver-oxide cells in my HP16C calculator. That's probably very close to 15 years on average between sets--not bad. You make me wish I had a *real* HP calc :(

13 years, 4 months

1
0
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Silver-oxide cells lifetime

by cclist＠sydex.com

For the third time, I've had to replace the three 357 silver-oxide cells in my HP16C calculator. That's probably very close to 15 years on average between sets--not bad. What surprised me was that one day, the thing was working nicely and the next, it was dead--no display, nothing. A voltmeter confirmed the power failure. I suspect the cells get pretty near their shelf life in this application. Is it usual for them to reach the end of their shelf life so suddenly? --Chuck

13 years, 4 months

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