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

Hans Camenzind, Inventor of the 555, dies.

by charlesmorris800＠centurytel.net

On Aug 17, 2012 at 12:47, David Riley wrote: > On Aug 17, 2012, at 12:40 PM, Chuck Guzis wrote: > > > On 17 Aug 2012 at 9:15, Fred Cisin wrote: > > > >> It shouldn't be so hard, with XP and a Winmodem, but it'll be a few > >> days before I can get back to a decent connectin. > > > > I could download and write the article to a 9-track tape and mail it > > to you.... > > I'd really prefer a stack of 80-column cards, please. My tape drive > is on the fritz. Could you please provide me a copy on ASR-33 paper tape? :) -Charles

13 years, 10 months

2
1
0 0

X Window server for NEC 7220

by LYNCHAJ＠yahoo.com

Hi Does anyone know of an X Window server implementation for the NEC 7220 GDC? The chip has several names including the Intel 82720, NEC 7220A, NEC 7220D, uPD7220, uPD72020, etc. Essentially this graphics chip was the main rival to the MC6845 prior to the domination of the IBM PC architecture for microcomputers. The NEC 7220A is most notably known for the NEC APC and Epson QX-10 however was used in a number of other systems. Typically it was used for CAD type graphics and/or business graphics as its main strength was drawing primitives like lines, circles, rectangles, etc rather than BITBLT operations. I would imagine an X Window server for the NEC 7220 would suffer in comparison to today's graphics boards. However I think it would be comparable to non-accelerated VGA and/or VESA modes which both have X Window server implementations. Thanks and have a nice day! Andrew Lynch, 73 de N8VEM

13 years, 10 months

14
47
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PXG/PXG+/PXG Turbo/PXG Turbo+ boards for DECstation 5000

by legalize＠xmission.com

Does anyone have one of these boards? They are derived from research at UNC on Pixel Planes. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decstation#Graphics_3> -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" free book <http://tinyurl.com/d3d-pipeline> The Computer Graphics Museum <http://computergraphicsmuseum.org> The Terminals Wiki <http://terminals.classiccmp.org> Legalize Adulthood! (my blog) <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>

13 years, 10 months

6
11
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PPS 4/1

by orgwood＠iaxs.net

Did you ever get your info on this series? I was a Rockwell rep and have it plus I bought a few Mattel games for my kids too! Original Woodworks 4631 Lake Ave., White Bear Lake, MN 55110 By appointment only! (651) 429-2222 www.originalwoodworks.com orgwood at iaxs.net

13 years, 10 months

3
3
0 0

32-bit code in 16 bits

by dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu

Is there anyone here who understands 16-bit DOS coding well enough to help me make some 32-bit code work in 16-bit DOS? -- David Griffith dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text. Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing? A: Top-posting. Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

13 years, 10 months

9
25
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3483

by BHuntsman＠mail2.cu-portland.edu

Sorry for the noise, but just curious, anyone have an IBM 3483 terminal they'd be willing to part with for reasonable consideration?? Thanks! -Ben

13 years, 10 months

1
0
0 0

PDPs in the garage

by earl＠retrobits.com

Hi folks, I'm a little concerned about the load that my PDP-11 cabinet (rack mount, dual RL02 drives) is putting on the floor in my daylight basement. Also, I'm thinking that recovering the space might be nice, so I was considering moving the PDP-11 system back to the garage. If any of you have a PDP or other big-iron systems in the garage, how do you deal with temperature extremes (hot in summer, cold in winter)? Do you simply not operate the computer when it's too hot or cold? Do you think it's a risk to even store the system in the garage? My location is Portland, Oregon, so it doesn't really get super cold in the winter. I think the coldest I've measured in the garage is 50F. But summer can get pretty warm. It's scheduled to get 85F today, and we had 100F a week or two ago. Of course the garage doesn't get as hot as outside temps, but it can get up there. I realize heat can be a big enemy of computers/electronics. Also, since the RL02 drives are mechanical and precision devices, they might not take well to temperature shifts. Thoughts? - Earl

13 years, 10 months

21
22
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need docs for Canon AS-100

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

And other lesser known lesser known intel boxes/pseudo compatibles

13 years, 10 months

1
0
0 0

Remaining S-100 board PCBs

by LYNCHAJ＠YAHOO.COM

Hi The last couple weeks have been pretty good. I can see the bottom of the stack of S-100 board PCBs and will be ordering some more new boards and additional reorders soon. There are two S-100 Serial IO board and five S-100 8088 CPU board PCBs left. They are $20 each plus $3 shipping in the US and $6 elsewhere. Please send a PayPal to LYNCHAJ at YAHOO.COM and I will send your boards right away! Thanks to John Monahan for all his dedication in making these PCBs possible for the S-100 hobbyist community. Both the S-100 Serial IO and S-100 8088 CPU board PCBs have been built and tested repeatedly and are known working units. Thanks and have a nice day! Andrew Lynch

13 years, 10 months

1
0
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OT: Re: Hearing (was Re: HP3000 Marketing Collateral)

by feldman.r＠comcast.net

<Message: 6 <Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2012 17:47:43 -0700 <From: "Chuck Guzis" < cclist at sydex.com > < <snip> <So, does anyone know of any publicly-owned hearing aid manufacturers? <Looks like a growth industry... < <--Chuck <(with some ringing in his ears) The best manufacturers are German or Swiss: Phonak, ReSound and Siemens. I recently got hearing aids and find them both amazing and annoying. Amazing in how small they are (less than a cm^3 in volume, including the battery). The best now have digital equalizers that can adjust the amplification across a dozen or more frequency ranges and can automatically adjust to filter out background noise. They can also be controlled wirelessly -- mine even have an "airplane" mode the shuts off the wireless when you are flying in an airplane and electronic devices are banned. Annoying in that they are far from perfect and require a new set of batteries after every 75 hours or so of use. For any of you who live in the US, the least expensive place to get good hearing aids is Costco. Most insurance plans do not cover them, so my cost was $2600 for the pair, which is 30%-50% less than anywhere else charges for a similar model. Bob

13 years, 10 months

2
1
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To all with interest in preservation

by cctech＠beyondthepale.ie

> >Every time I'be both seem an emulator of a chassic machine (runinng on a >friend's machine, obvious) and also run the rela hardware myself, I feel >the emultor doens't come close to the experinece of actually running the >classic computer. > Before I came across Hercules, I tended to dismiss emulators in the same terms. However, I find the experience of using Hercules or Simh remarkably close to the experience of using the actual machine in question. Many users of certain classic computers never saw or heard the actual machine they used and only interacted with it through a terminal (or even a terminal emulator). There are also other factors which prevent both emulators and real preserved hardware from recreating the original experience. Factors such as not having a real world workload to process and not having a realistic number of users working the machine hard (as opposed to a few museum visitors at a time trying to figure out valid commands). (I don't know why I am adding to this thread which looks destined to go on and on and achieve little except to demonstrate that different people have different ideas on how things should be preserved and that most are not going to change their minds.) Regards, Peter Coghlan.

13 years, 10 months

8
13
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DEC Server 300

by holm＠freibergnet.de

Hi, a friend of mine sent me an DEC Server 300 which he saved from the dumpster. There is a triangle in the bottom that some sharp metall edge must have made. This hit broke a 300mil 24pin DIL chip in the inside that must be related to the BNC network. The Chip is located next to the 20MHz Crystalnext to the poushbutton Switch, it is broken in two halves and the ceramic top plate of the chip is missing. It seems that the pcb survivied, so here comes the question: What was this for an (Network-)chip? Can please someone help? Kind Regards, Holm -- Technik Service u. Handel Tiffe, www.tsht.de, Holm Tiffe, Freiberger Stra?e 42, 09600 Obersch?na, USt-Id: DE253710583 www.tsht.de, info at tsht.de, Fax +49 3731 74200, Mobil: 0172 8790 741

13 years, 10 months

12
39
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PDPs in the garage

by saquinn624＠aol.com

I used to worry about things like racks and half racks and floor load limits, but consider the following: Think about how heavy a rack is. Probably about 500lbs or so for most of our stuff (I'm not talking maxed-out S/390s or VAX 9000 installations), and there's probably one or two in a room. For the area of the rack, the load/sqft is similar to a 250lb person, which the floor is hopefully specced for. A small piece of 3/4" plywood underneath to keep the carpet happy is nice, bigger one if you're going to be pulling the rack in and out for connections to the rear. n.b. I do put my heavy stuff near the bearing walls so things are more straightforward.

13 years, 10 months

1
0
0 0

PDPs in the garage (Earl Evans)

by pechter＠gmail.com

> Message: 2 > Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2012 11:20:58 -0700 > From: Earl Evans <earl at retrobits.com> > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic Posts Only" <cctech at classiccmp.org> > Subject: PDPs in the garage > Message-ID: > <CAMDAk4d3sfqET1Rj3Yw45ctgg+2BLHr=aSvyVqBxnGurveNhHA at mail.gmail.com> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > Hi folks, > > I'm a little concerned about the load that my PDP-11 cabinet (rack mount, > dual RL02 drives) is putting on the floor in my daylight basement. Also, > I'm thinking that recovering the space might be nice, so I was considering > moving the PDP-11 system back to the garage. > > If any of you have a PDP or other big-iron systems in the garage, how do > you deal with temperature extremes (hot in summer, cold in winter)? Do you > simply not operate the computer when it's too hot or cold? Do you think > it's a risk to even store the system in the garage? > > My location is Portland, Oregon, so it doesn't really get super cold in the > winter. I think the coldest I've measured in the garage is 50F. But > summer can get pretty warm. It's scheduled to get 85F today, and we had > 100F a week or two ago. Of course the garage doesn't get as hot as outside > temps, but it can get up there. > > I realize heat can be a big enemy of computers/electronics. Also, since > the RL02 drives are mechanical and precision devices, they might not take > well to temperature shifts. > > Thoughts? > > - Earl I could tell you a story about an 11/780 at Fort Monmouth that ran without air conditioning and with the windows upen for 3 months. Serious intermittant problems sprung up. The humidity had rust on the TU45 tape drive motors. The problem isn't heat -- it's the rate of change. You get serious expansion cracks in the boards when the etches expand and contract. The faster the rate of change in temporature when running (both up and down) the worse the issue. The machine was flaky as hell. The thing would crash VAX/VMS about 5 times daily. I actually would boot the machine and hit each one with my little brass hammer. If it crashed... the board was replaced. Swapped about 6 boards in the data path and cache sections and the box was then stable for over three years. The 11/34's a lot lower in power draw and slower. It's probably less sensitive with some larger etches. I'd worry more about the peripherals. Disk drives with rusty parts in them are probably a bad thing. I know the tape drives would have a problem. The RL02's might even have a different flying height depending upon the temperature which could end in head crashes. If you kept the internal temp under 100 degrees you're probably ok... but if the outside temp's above 100... The real trick is to keep the temp as steady as possible. Perhaps strategic fan placement to keep it from getting too hot in certain places. Bill -- d|i|g|i|t|a|l had it THEN. Don't you wish you could still buy it now! pechter-at-gmail.com

13 years, 10 months

1
0
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different types of monitor strain

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

I got a call from a man who has been in the development business since the 70s. We got to talking about a whole lot of stuff (actually it was more listening on my part then anything else). On the topic of eyestrain (?) he said that different colors (primary?) have different focal depths, so at least for some people strain is caused when looking at a color monitor w/fine dot pitch. I have to at least take him at his word on that, but when I mentioned that staring at green phosphors for an extended length of time (>30 minutes say) caused white to appear pink. For instance the numbers on a cars speedometer. He said he never experienced that. Can anyone explain the reasons for that? It stands to reason that causing your eyes to focus on something small? and multichromatic would cause strain (you're forcing your eyes to focus on a single point that in essence appears to be at varying distances. I don't understand the pink eye effect though.

13 years, 10 months

3
2
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To all with interest in preservation (more)

by wdonzelli＠gmail.com

And I will add... > That is why simulators are so important. You can get most of the feel > of the machine from the comfort of your own home. ...and no vintage machines are harmed. -- Will

13 years, 10 months

11
18
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Graphics programming on DOMAIN/OS (was: NeWS)

by legalize＠xmission.com

On Thu, 09 Aug 2012 13:33:41 MDT, Richard <legalize at xmission.com> wrote: > In article <50240091.9060108 at bitsavers.org>, > Al Kossow <aek at bitsavers.org> writes: > > > On 8/9/12 10:21 AM, Richard wrote: > > > > > I have been attempting to find details on the Apollo DOMAIN/OS > > > windowing environment before they started running X11, but so far > > > haven't been able to find much of anything. > > > > > > > There wasn't anything in the Apollo documents on bitsavers? > > Looks like it was pre-2009 that I last looked, when you added a bunch > of stuff. I will have to dig into that pile! "Programming with Domain Graphics Primitives" (005808-01)[1] makes reference to "Programming with General System Calls" (005506) which explains pad calls that allow you to create pads and frames. If this manual could be made available, that would be a helpful addition. [1] <http://bitsavers.org/pdf/apollo/005808-01_Programming_With_Domain_Graphics_…> -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" free book <http://tinyurl.com/d3d-pipeline> The Computer Graphics Museum <http://computergraphicsmuseum.org> The Terminals Wiki <http://terminals.classiccmp.org> Legalize Adulthood! (my blog) <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>

13 years, 10 months

4
4
0 0

HtG differential SCSI [was RE: To all with interest in IBM 7090]

by RichA＠vulcan.com

From: Dave McGuire Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2012 1:33 AM On 08/14/2012 04:06 AM, TeoZ wrote: >> There was a brief hop to just differential SCSI (higher voltage then >> LVD which is how LVD got its name). HVD and SE/LVD don't like each >> other while the other SCSI standards did with some tweeking. > This overlapped entirely with SE SCSI to the end, though. HVD was > used in very high-end machines (Tandem and Cray come to mind) for the > better noise immunity for longer cable runs. It really wasn't a hop > from SE to HVD then to LVD. Also the XKL Toad-1 System (4 x differential FASTWIDE SCSI-2 ports). An absolute bear to find drives for. Rich Alderson Vintage Computing Sr. Systems Engineer Vulcan, Inc. 505 5th Avenue S, Suite 900 Seattle, WA 98104 mailto:RichA at vulcan.com mailto:RichA at LivingComputerMuseum.org http://www.LivingComputerMuseum.org/

13 years, 10 months

5
6
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HP3000 Marketing Collateral

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

> Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2012 22:33:52 -0500 > Subject: Re: HP3000 Marketing Collateral > On Sun, Aug 12, 2012 at 2:13 PM, Lee Courtney > <charlesleecourtney at yahoo.com> wrote: >> I posted some 1980's vintage HP3000 marketing shots at Flicker: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjBmrAyC >> >> Enjoy! The Rhode Island Computer Museum has an HP3000 Series 70, just like in one of your pictures. Too bad we don't have that many disk drives to go with it. https://sites.google.com/a/ricomputermuseum.org/home/Home/equipment/hp3000-… -- Michael Thompson

13 years, 10 months

1
0
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Fwd: [DatapointComputers] Datapoint 1560

by axelsson＠acc.umu.se

I thought this could be interesting for members on the list. Too bad it's too far away for me. /G?ran -------- Ursprungligt meddelande -------- ?mne: [DatapointComputers] Datapoint 1560 Datum: Tue, 14 Aug 2012 18:21:24 -0000 Fr?n: techiegabe <gabehabib at rogers.com> Svar till: DatapointComputers at yahoogroups.com Till: DatapointComputers at yahoogroups.com I finally got around to unpacking a Datapoint 1560 system that has been lying around in my basement crawl space since the late 80's gathering dust. After a good cleaning and resetting of boards and connectors it looks in great shape, BUT the Monitor "Sparked and Smoked" when I turned it on. I haven't turned on the disk subsubsystem yet. Anyways, I am able to take it with me when we head down to Wickenburg AZ, for the winter, and wondering if that Computer Museum (or anyone else) may want to give it a new home? I'm still looking for the Diskettes and Manuals. I also have a MINX Monitor. Gabe x-Datapoint Canada Inc.

13 years, 10 months

1
0
0 0

Slight-OT: DynaText readers?

by wulfcub＠gmail.com

I'm trying to retrieve some old printer manuals from a 1999 CD-ROM, and they are supposedly DynaText. The problem I'm running into is that DynaText 4.1 doesn't recognize a valid collection. The installer on the CD looks for dynatext.ini and books.ini (which doesn't seem to exist anywhere, including on the CD). It wants these files to come >from Xerox\ODOC\ .The installer fails without both of those files present. If I point it to a valid dynatext.ini, and fake a books.ini or give it an empty file, the installer completes "successfully" having done nothing. The 'books' directory contains a subdirectory with the book name (41354635 in this case). This directory then contains four more directories, EBT, INDEX, STYLES, and FIGURES, as well as a Setup.ini file with a few lines of information on the collection. 'Figures' is a collection of TIFF's. 'Index' contains index.dat and vocab.dat. The EBT directory contains 5 files: 41354635, 41354635.edr, 41354635.tag, search.tdr, toc.tdr. Google turns up almost nothing on these file extensions. The 'Styles' directory has several .v and .rev files, carrying copyright information bearing the name Electronic Book Technologies (thus EBT). EBT as a company is long gone. Most of the various book files are encoded (that is, not plain text), though each has an ASCII header. 'EDIR DATA' 'EDIR EDIR' 'EDIR TDIR' and 'EDIR TAGS' (this file is plain text). Anyone have any clues on how to read these files? So far, I've tried so far: Adobe FrameMaker (trial), Adobe Acrobat Pro 9, Altova StyleVision (trial), DynaText 4.1. Thanks! --Shaun

13 years, 10 months

1
0
0 0

free book Voice Technology 1983

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

For shipping. Ill need a check.

13 years, 10 months

1
0
0 0

To all with interest in IBM 7090

by jonas＠otter.se

On Mon, 13 Aug 2012 20:01:41 +0100 (BST), ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell) wrote: > I am going to define 'London' as the area I can get to with a London bus > Pas (I do not mean the 'City of London', I mean an area about 30 miles by > 30 miles. In 'London' I know of preceisely_one_ shop tht sells a > reasoanble range of electronic components [1]. I know of no shops that > will sell me small-ish qunatiites of common engineering metals (say 1m of > 1/2" diamaeter CZ121 bras rodd, or similar free-machining mild steel). I > know of no shop that sells 'engineering' tools (lathe and mil lcutting > tools, individual sockets, spanenrs, etc). That sucks. I can get all of that in a town less than 1/10 the size of London (admittedly it is the second largest town in this country). The largest distributor in Sweden has a shop where you can get the most frequently ordered items from their catalogue over the counter, and the rest of what they have in stock next day. Not far from there, there is a shop that sells any machine tool or part you may want. None of them are cheap, but you can get what you need. Jonas

13 years, 10 months

1
0
0 0

rough Microvax II in NJ

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

I never plugged it in. Really don't want to (but I could be coaxed, no pun intended though it would be a poor, spurious one). Judging by the prices I've seen these things go for on ePay, I would think anything is worth 100$, but I *may* decide to cut someone a break, especially if they picked it up. This unit is in rough shape, don't even know if it works. Some of the metal side and rear paneling has accumulated rust, one piece a lot of, but nothing a proper restoration couldn't remedy I don't think. The front bezel is all funky, a noticeable crack, though not too large, very brown. I have pictures somewhere. There appears to be a baby opossum living in mom's garage, so I was apprehensive about dragging the unit out for yet more pictures today. ?If I have to ship it, I'm going to tack something on (many thousands of dollars likely). ?Your thoughts are welcome :)

13 years, 10 months

7
12
0 0

TO-263 footprint?

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

Hey folks! Would anyone happen to have a PCB footprint for a TO-263 package? I'm designing a circuit that will use an LM2577 switching regulator. I've checked on gedasymbols.org to no avail. I'm kinda surprised it's not in the standard library. Thanks, -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA

13 years, 10 months

3
6
0 0

Sunday-night repair for Wangtek 5000 series tape drive

by cclist＠sydex.com

Last night I pulled out an old Wangtek 5000 series QIC tape drive (uses DC300XL carts) and discovered that the rubber capstan had totally degraded and fell to pieces. After looking at bits of rubber and vinyl hose as possible replacements, I hit on using a plain old vinyl grommet that fit snugly on the bare shaft and, for good measure, added a nitrile O- ring to fill the "slot" in the grommet. Worked like a champ. Maybe this will be useful to others. --Chuck

13 years, 10 months

1
0
0 0

Panasonic HHC technical information

by rrr_lopes＠yahoo.com.br

Hello Tony, That would be great! If somebody don't may you scan it and send by e-mail, please? Thank You! Ricardo > > > > Hello,=0A= > > =0A= > > I'm trying to understand the intriguing Panasonic HHC.=0A= > > Does somebody have additional technical information beside the contents of = > > the User's Manual?=0A= > > I'm particularlly searching for the SnapFORTH ROM image and manual, any har= > > dware schematics, and the expansion connector pinout.=0A= > I haev my own had-drawn schematics for the machine and the > printer/cassette interface. Of course they don't give any information for > the interals of the ASICs, but they might be a start. > > I can't remember if I have already sent them to somebody (Eric?) who > might have scanned them. If not, I can make a photocopy and post them out. > > -tony >

13 years, 10 months

2
1
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To all with interest in IBM 7090

by blstuart＠bellsouth.net

> If the compatability goes far enough that either kind of > device works > with either kind of interface, then I agree, but then I don't know quite how far it goes, but the controller cards we use in our products all speak both SATA and SAS.? So the drives border on interchangable.? There are differences in the command messaging and in the drive characteristics, but it's pretty easy to support both. As to the question of SATA vs IDE, I agree with your concerns over forced obsolescence.? But as far as classic machines go, I'm more concerned by the dearth of 50-pin SCSI I drives, and I haven't had very good luck with using adapters to put newer drives on older machines. As to FC, I will have to admit to a bit of bias. Competing with FC pays the bills.? But even with that bias, for communicating between a host and a storage shelf, I have a hard time imagining a good reason to do anything other than a light weight storage protocol directly over Ethernet. (And to avoid any confusion, my definition of light weight does not include FCoE or iSCSI.) BLS

13 years, 10 months

1
0
0 0

IBM 5324? - was Items free for pickup; Iowa

by nigel.d.williams＠gmail.com

On Fri, Aug 10, 2012 at 11:56 PM, JP Hindin <jplist2008 at kiwigeek.com> wrote: > IBM 5324 w/keyboard and monitor > I've never powered this on and the drive knobs were snapped off prior to > my receiving it. My understanding is this is a binary compatible System/34 > in baby shoes, but I might be full of it. > my search-fu is weak or that is a tough machine to find much about, anyone have any further details? is it part of the IBM Datamaster family? I found pictures here: http://www.retrocomputing.net/parts/ibm/5324/ and JP's video pans past the console terminal here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgECJPIU1AI#t=5m40s and an overall view here (lower right under the bench): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgECJPIU1AI#t=9m47s

13 years, 11 months

3
6
0 0

Found a rs6000 43p

by john＠yoyodyne-propulsion.net

...in a closet here. They used to have a bunch of these were I used to work, as a CAD system. This one has AIX on it... it fails bootup and drops you to some sort of prompt right after it plays it's tune (with the little speaker icon). You can type ls at the prompt and gets what looks like a list of devices. Should I bit it, or is it worth trying to fix? Anyone point me in the right direction? I only dug it out because of the CDE thread, so it's "all your fault!" -- Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems: "The Future Begins Tomorrow" Visit us at: http://www.yoyodyne-propulsion.net -------- "I'd like to hold off judgement on a thing like that, sir, until all the facts are in. " General "Buck" Turgidson

13 years, 11 months

15
29
0 0

IBM terminals (shame on Richard)

by wdonzelli＠gmail.com

> Actually I have been learning more about HDLC, X.25, 3270 chitchat, > etc., in order to try and get these Westinghouse airline terminals to > talk. You will probably need a fair amount of beer, too. > However, as we discussed during your last visit when we were at the > Hole, I need to focus on graphics and not become exclusively a > terminal museum. Get some twinax/bisync *graphics* terminals my way > and I'll get a lot more interested. However, I just haven't found > them. The 5080 family of terminals is probably up your alley. But, they seem to be rare. I used one many years ago, at an open house at EMD. Fun stuff. And then their is the 7361 FastDraft system - it is an IBM S/1 controlling some sort of third party graphics engine. RCS has one, and we can not figure the thing out. If you watch a bad Cameron Diaz movie >from a few years back, you can see it on the big screen (stuffed and mounted, anyway. No, not Ms. Diaz.). -- Will

13 years, 11 months

5
5
0 0

PXG/PXG+/PXG Turbo/PXG Turbo+ boards for DECstation 5000

by markwgreen＠rogers.com

> Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2012 09:39:31 -0600 > From: Richard <legalize at xmission.com> > To: cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > Subject: Re: PXG/PXG+/PXG Turbo/PXG Turbo+ boards for DECstation 5000 > Message-ID: <E1T0aGJ-0000zS-R7 at shell.xmission.com> > > > In article <20120812105727.2a3ad798.jkunz at unixag-kl.fh-kl.de>, > Jochen Kunz <jkunz at unixag-kl.fh-kl.de> writes: > > > On Sat, 11 Aug 2012 14:53:46 -0600 > > Richard <legalize at xmission.com> wrote: > > > > > Does anyone have one of these boards? > > Yes, at least one PXG+ and IIRC a PXG that's the RAM modules missing. > > I'd like to see some high resolution close-up pictures if possible! > -- > "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" free book <http://tinyurl.com/d3d-pipeline> > The Computer Graphics Museum <http://computergraphicsmuseum.org> > The Terminals Wiki <http://terminals.classiccmp.org> > Legalize Adulthood! (my blog) <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com> I have one of the PXG models in a Decstation 5000/200 up at the cottage, I can try to get a picture of the next time I'm at the cottage. The PXG uses an i860 for 3D geometry and a pixel planes chip for 2D raster fill. A pixel planes chip is relatively easy to design, even with primitive VLSI tools. I built one in the mid 1980s using a gate array technology that we had free access to. Once you have the cell for a single pixel it's just a matter of duplication and adding some interface logic around the edge of the chip.

13 years, 11 months

1
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Anyone have printouts for KKTA/KKTB 11/44 MEM MGMT tests?

by brad＠heeltoe.com

Just curious if anyone has printouts (or scans) of the PDP-11/44 memory management diagnostics KKTA/KKTB KKTA 11/44 MEM MGMT PRT A KKTB 11/44 MEM MGMT PRT B KKTAB1.BIC xx-xxx-xx 3369 27 3395 0 KKTBD0.BIC xx-xxx-xx 3396 30 3425 0 I have the binaries from xxdp images but no listing... -brad

13 years, 11 months

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C64 PSU specs

by jules.richardson99＠gmail.com

I finally got hold of that PSU-less C64 that I mentioned on the list a few weeks ago, followed by a 9VAC PSU to test it with. Other than needing the VIC-II and associated ICs re-seating I've not encountered any problems (I've not tested the 1541 yet though due to lack of a cable). Anyway, I'd like to sort out a better PSU for the machine itself until I can get a genuine one from somewhere - does anyone know what a reasonable max current draw on the 9VAC lines might be? (This is an original 'breadbox' machine) The wall-wart 9VAC PSU that I found for testing is only rated for 400mA, which I suspect might be on the low side; I've seen claims of needing 1A or more, and http://www.hardwarebook.info/C64/128_User_Port only states 100mA max for the user port, suggesting that the machine itself might require quite a lot under certain conditions. cheers Jules

13 years, 11 months

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X Window server for NEC 7220

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

not sure the 2nd 7220 in the APC is for more colors or not. They are on separate boards. My rather uneducated guess was a 2nd was needed to implement the virtual screen.

13 years, 11 months

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Identify two cards (Unibus and Q-Bus)

by iamcamiel＠gmail.com

I picked up the last of Fred's stuff yesterday, and I have a couple of cards I can't find much information on: 1. UNIBUS card made by ComDesign Picture at http://flic.kr/p/cQ6PYd. Marked "Epsilon US 2000 Board" and "Assy no. 010231". It's got a 80186, 1 2910, 2 2901's and an 82586 (IEEE802.3 coprocessor). I therefore figure this is a UNIBUS Ethernet NIC (like a DELUA). Is anything known about these cards? DIP switch configuration would be good to know, as would the function of the 5 on/off toggle switches on top. 2. Q-BUS card, probably made by Plessey Picture at http://flic.kr/p/cQ6Rtf. Marked "P/N 703365-100D". Has a COM8017 UART. Nothing else known... Thanks, Camiel

13 years, 11 months

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Looking for a DEC MXV11-B

by derschjo＠gmail.com

Anyone have an MXV11-B (M7195) going spare? I'd like to be able to use TU58 emulation to get my "tiny" (SB-11) 11/23 system bootstrapped, plus right now the only dual-height memory board I have is a mere 32K; the MXV11-B seems like a perfect fit for this system (128K, dual SLU, LTC, etc) if I can just find one... Thanks as always, Josh

13 years, 11 months

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OT: Old radio and tv tubes in Omaha, NE

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

http://omaha.craigslist.org/gms/3188782630.html noticed in my travels. Doesn't hurt to alert :)

13 years, 11 months

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Apollo DN590 workstation

by legalize＠xmission.com

Anyone got one? It's supposedly the first Apollo workstation to support 24-bit truecolor.[1] [1] <http://bitsavers.org/pdf/apollo/005808-01_Programming_With_Domain_Graphics_…>, pg. 6-17 -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" free book <http://tinyurl.com/d3d-pipeline> The Computer Graphics Museum <http://computergraphicsmuseum.org> The Terminals Wiki <http://terminals.classiccmp.org> Legalize Adulthood! (my blog) <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>

13 years, 11 months

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Bits and Bytes (a classic computer show from 1983) now on YouTube

by prd＠decarchive.org

Hello all, I'm afraid I'm more of a long-time appreciator than a regular poster here, but I wanted to share a link to an archive of episodes and clips from the TVOntario show, 'Bits and Bytes' ? partly because there probably are a few people who saw this show when it originally aired and might enjoy a trip down memory lane, partly because it features many of the microcomputers that were popular in North America back then, and partly because its explanation of many of the key concepts are still relevant today. (Plus, for those who haven't seen it, it's also quite entertaining.) The channel is over at http://www.youtube.com/user/bitsandbytestvo, and I've included a modified blurb from that page below for people's information. Hope this brings back a few memories, and even educates a few of the people who are too young to have caught it first time 'round. This is the show that got me into computing and programming (my first computer was the Commodore 64), and I know that the episode on computer music, and the clip about compilers and interpreters have both been used to explain concepts in current computer science and computer music classes (as in, since the show became available again on YouTube). Cheers and (hopefully) enjoy! Peter P.S. And for those who are concerned about such things, from what I've been able to ascertain, this show is no longer available for purchase from TVO and, for that matter, they no longer have the full set of episodes in their own archives. ----- Bits and Bytes is a classic, and still foundational, Canadian television series about microcomputers and the key concepts behind them. It was produced by TVOntario in 1983, and stars Luba Goy as the instructor, and Billy Van as the student. The show consisted of 12 episodes and featured many of the classic 80s microcomputers including the Apple ][, Commodore PET, VIC 20 and 64, Atari 800, TRS-80, TI 99 and the IBM PC. The subjects were: Program 1: Getting Started Program 2: Ready-Made Programs Program 3: How Programs Work? Program 4: File & Data Management Program 5: Communication Between Computers Program 6: Computer Languages Program 7: Computer-Assisted Instruction Program 8: Games & Simulations Program 9: Computer Graphics Program 10: Computer Music Program 11: Computers at Work Program 12: What Next?

13 years, 11 months

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Domain OS (was: NeWS)

by bqt＠update.uu.se

On 2012-08-09 22:10, Al Kossow <aek at bitsavers.org> wrote: > On 8/9/12 10:21 AM, Richard wrote: >> >I have been attempting to find details on the Apollo DOMAIN/OS >> >windowing environment before they started running X11, but so far >> >haven't been able to find much of anything. >> > > There wasn't anything in the Apollo documents on bitsavers? > > In the queue are about 100 ESDI Apollo disks with what HP had left of Apollo's > development environment. I'm hoping they're still readable. Gah! It's over 20 years now since I used the window system on Domain OS, but I still shudder at the memory. It was not fun. From what small details I can still remember it made no difference between the mouse pointer and the text cursor. Move one, and you moved both. Input for a window was normally done in a special sub-window one line high, at the bottom of the window. In general it was weird and somewhat unintuitive, and we *longed* for a switch to X11, but since X11 took much more resources, it took a few years before we actually switched. There were some cool concepts in Domain/OS, but for the most part, it was just weird and horrible. Johnny

13 years, 11 months

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X Window server for NEC 7220

by dm561＠torfree.net

Original Message: Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2012 13:53:41 -0400 From: "Andrew Lynch" <LYNCHAJ at yahoo.com> .... The NEC uPD7220 readily adapts itself to the S-100 bus and provides a nice VGA monitor compatible bitmap. However it is completely non-VGA compatible and really is as different from the MC6845 derivative as can possibly exist. It uses a totally different approach down to the philosophical theory of design! If you or anyone else has some insight on how to implement a register compatible SVGA on the S-100 bus I am very willing to listen! Thanks and have a nice day! Andrew Lynch -------Reply:------- Isn't it always the way... a couple of weeks ago I finally threw out about 4" worth of detailed OEM documentation about designing for and implementing PCChips VGA chips, among others... The NCR Decision Mate (for one) used the 7220 and I even still have some of the guts of one including the video board if it's any use to anyone. IIRC there were some drivers etc. to make them semi-compatible with the PC; maybe you can find something useful among the NCR crowd?

13 years, 11 months

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Found a rs6000 43p

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

> From: Jochen Kunz <jkunz at unixag-kl.fh-kl.de> > Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2012 16:42:31 +0200 > Subject: Re: Found a rs6000 43p > John Many Jars <john at yoyodyne-propulsion.net> wrote: > >> This one has AIX on it... it fails bootup and drops you to some sort >> of prompt right after it plays it's tune (with the little speaker >> icon). >> >> You can type ls at the prompt and gets what looks like a list of devices. >> >> Should I bit it, or is it worth trying to fix? Anyone point me in the >> right direction? > There are several different variants of 43P. This one seems to be a > 43P-150 because you can type "ls" and get a divice tree. This sounds > like the OpenFirmWare of a CHRP machine. The enclosure of the machine > should be black? > > You have a quite capable PPC machine there. You could reinstall AIX. > Instalation media should be obtainable. An other option is to install > NetBSD. Maybe it drops to OFW just because autoboot is disabled. Try to > type "boot" at the OFW prompt and see.. > > \end{Jochen} It should also run Solaris 2.5.1. I think I have the install CD. -- Michael Thompson

13 years, 11 months

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Tractor Feed Teletype?

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

Someone I know on this list has an ASR33 Teletype which has a tractor feed. I am sure that all the ones I used at the time were friction feed. Was tractor feed a common thing on these terminals? Regards Rob

13 years, 11 months

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Odd PDP-11/84 Unibus behaviour

by bqt＠update.uu.se

On 2012-08-08 23:17, ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell) wrote: >> > >> >From: "Tony Duell"<ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk> >> >Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2012 9:16 PM >> >To:<cctalk at classiccmp.org> >> >Subject: Re: Odd PDP-11/84 Unibus behaviour >> > >>>> > >> >>>> > >>I'm noticing something on my PDP-11/84 that I can't explain. I've >>> > > >>> > >I';ll try a one-word explamation : 'Grants'. >>> > > >>> > >[... snip excellent explanation from Tony ...] >> > >> >I remember working on grants in the 11/84. >> >The 11/84 is very user-friendly, because there is a board next to >> >the CPU that has several DIP switches. Each DIP switch opens >> >or closes the NPR of one slot. So there is no need to count pins >> >on the backplane to find CA1-CB1. Just open/close the switch >> >for the appropriate slot. > Right. That I did not know. TO be honest, the J11-based machiens are too > mdoern for my taste:-) It is rather convenient. But it should be pointed out that DIP switches for the NPG signal only exists for the first eight Unibus slots, which are in the first backplane. If you put in any more Unibus backplanes, it's the same standard story of the jumpers on the pins as always. (I *think* it is eight slots on the first backplane in the 11/84, but I might remember that detail wrong, but I hope people understand the idea even if I happened to get the actual number wrong.) > However, I would adcvise against flipping said switches unless you know > what you are doing (for example you'bve got a switch open correspodning > to an empty slot). It is better, IMHO, to actuall trace the fault and be > sure it is an NPG problem before changing anything. Otherwise you will > get in a muddle very quickly. Right. Random flipping of switches is no way to troubleshooting. Johnny

13 years, 11 months

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DEC SB11 info

by derschjo＠mail.msu.edu

Hi all -- Anyone know anything about the DEC SB-11 enclosure? It's a small (13"x12"x3.5" or so) chassis containing a power supply and a 4-slot dual-height q-bus backplane. Very cute, and I want to put together a small 11/23 system in it. Anyone know the original intended usage for these little things? In particular, a power supply schematic would be helpful as the one in mine is giving me trouble at the moment. (Just blows fuses when powered up.) I can't find anything useful about it on the 'net. The full model designation on this one is "OSB11-EA." Thanks as always, Josh

13 years, 11 months

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What tools do you use/recommend for content dumping of, PALs/PLAs/GALs/EPROMs

by fjkraan＠xs4all.nl

On 2012-08-10 00:17, p.gebhardt at ymail.com wrote: > > I'd like to ask the list, what kind of tools/porgrams do you use in order to dump especially older device types as we can find it in older computer equipment? > A couple of years back, I was lucky to use an old system at University in order to dump PAL and EPROM contents of my Onyx C8000 and from a DEC DELUA board. > But since then, I've never had accessibility to such tools and I'l like to obtain/purchase one in order to go on with programmable device content saving. > > Any suggestions? Hints? Experiences? A while ago I started deveoping something around an Arduino like platform to read PALs and EPROMs. See http://fjkraan.home.xs4all.nl/comp/divcomp/ppread/. So far I developed sketches (programs in Arduino lingo) to read out devices. I still have to make something to analyse the output. This is trival for (EP)ROMs and PALs without registers and tristate pins, tricky for those with... This assuming the security fuses are blown. > > Kind regards, > Pierre Greetings, Fred Jan

13 years, 11 months

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Current license holder of DEC PDP-11 operating systems

by earl＠retrobits.com

Hi there, I'm looking for contact information for the company that is the current license holder for the DEC-developed PDP-11 operating systems (e.g., RT-11, RSX, RSTS). If you have that info and could send it to me off-list, it would be much appreciated! Thanks, - Earl

13 years, 11 months

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DEC, VAX, items in quantity

by useddec＠gmail.com

I have two 25 foot lockers of mostly DEC items I would like to sell within the next few months. I can ship by the box, pallet, gaylord,or truckload. I do not have a complete inventory listing, but feel free to inquire off list. The following is a limited sample: LA36's, and parts LA120's and parts Vav3100's- a dozen or so 3000's 5000's 11/780, 785 boards 6000 boards 8000 unibus options and several thousand boards 8A, E, F, M boxes and about 1000 boards Various table top LAxx printers and parts VT's, monitors and parts tons (literally) more I am not selling any H960's (still need a few) , Unibus systems,RK05's, RL's, RX's (except a few replacement drives) or any media for the listed drives. I might be looking for a VT05, LA180, and a TU10. Please feel free to contact me off list with any questions. Thanks, Paul

13 years, 11 months

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CDE article in The Register [was RE: [rescue] "bloated pig X11"]

by RichA＠vulcan.com

From: feldman.r at comcast.net Sent: Thursday, August 09, 2012 1:38 PM >>Date: Thu, 09 Aug 2012 14:12:38 -0400 >>From: Dave McGuire <mcguire at neurotica.com>> > <snip> >> I heard about CDE the other day too. That could be interesting. Many >>people hated CDE, but I thought it was ok. (not great, but ok) I will >>probably try to build it soon. > http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/09/cde_goes_opensource/ Like Dave, I came to like it (as VUE) on HP-UX, and will probably put it on a Linux box at some point. But I mostly wanted to point out that the Register article was written by our own Liam Proven! Thanks, Rich Rich Alderson Vintage Computing Sr. Systems Engineer Vulcan, Inc. 505 5th Avenue S, Suite 900 Seattle, WA 98104 mailto:RichA at vulcan.com mailto:RichA at LivingComputerMuseum.org http://www.LivingComputerMuseum.org/

13 years, 11 months

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