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

by david＠classiccomputing.com

>> At 5 minutes the guest has still not had chance to say anything the >> interviewer needs to get the guest to speak After the long introduction, I almost don't speak at all! The interview isn't just for hard core computer history enthusiasts, but also for a mainstream audience. > I got as far as when he started with "all I thought you ever did was fire Steve Jobs and ruin Apple" > > I don't care what you think of the guy, but that was just insulting. It was a joke, and John laughed at it. I then made sure to say to both the audience and John that I was joking. If you had listened to the introduction then you would have heard where I made it clear that I was a fan of John Sculley's and etc. Also, that I thought he was getting a bad rap. These are exactly the two main misconceptions which the interview addresses. Best, David Greelish, Computer Historian President, Atlanta Historical Computing Society Classic Computing The Home of Computer History Nostalgia http://www.classiccomputing.com Classic Computing Blog Retro Computing Roundtable podcast "Stan Veit's History of the Personal Computer" audiobook podcast Classic Computing Show video podcast

14 years, 4 months

1
1
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S-100 6502 CPU board and S-100 8086 CPU board PCBs

by LYNCHAJ＠YAHOO.COM

Hi! I have 9 remaining S-100 6502 CPU board PCBs and 6 remaining S-100 8086 CPU board PCBs. My stock of S-100 PCBs are starting to dwindle so if you are considering getting one or both of these PCBs now would be a good time. Both 6502 and 8086 CPU boards for S-100 bus are fairly uncommon in the usual market places like eBay, etc. They are $20 each plus $3 shipping and $6 elsewhere. Thanks and have a nice day! Andrew Lynch

14 years, 4 months

1
0
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What is a mainframe? (was Re: NASA unplugs last mainframe)

by terry＠webweavers.co.nz

I don't know much about mainframes. However, last night I watched an IBM presentation about mainframes on Youtube. Part 1 (of 5) is here: http://youtu.be/mPCvlr9QRII After watching all five parts, it seems that (contrary to what I thought) the mainframe is very much alive and in fact growing in market-share and use due to cloud computing etc. Of course there could be a bit of IBM spin in this. But, it then begs the question. What is a mainframe anyway, and can a clear distinction be made between the 'mainframe" and other server technologies nowadays? Terry (Tezza)

14 years, 4 months

32
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Atari CX2600A parts...

by jules.richardson99＠gmail.com

What's the parts availability like for Atari CX-2600A consoles? I've been offered one locally which the owner says "has a missing knob" - at the moment I'm guessing that means one of the four control levers on the top has been snapped off (but I'm awaiting clearer info). I'm totally unfamiliar with these machines; if that is the case, I don't know if that also means there's likely to be PCB damage or if it's more of a cosmetic issue? They also say they can't find "a connector" to hook it up in order to test it - that's a bit light on detail, too! Again, I'm totally unfamiliar with these critters - do they have a built-in RF modulator and just use a standard co-ax cable to the TV? Or are they composite video output? Or something else entirely? What about PSU; is this internal, or an external brick? I expect its value in current untested state is peanuts (which might end up being a problem if the seller equates age with value) - even tested, complete units with a similar amount of games don't seem to sell for very much. It'd be nice to get a handle on cost to fix any external issues though (setting aside any electronic problems which might be lurking - are there any gotchas in terms of these beasts being known for bit-rot?) cheers Jules (never an Atari owner!)

14 years, 4 months

16
23
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The Elf 2000 PCBs and GALs are available again

by william＠donnelly-house.net

I have another batch of Elf 2000 PCBs in stock while, as the saying goes, supplies last. It's the same deal as before - the PCB is a snap apart combination that includes the Elf 2000, Disk/UART/RTC and STG1861 individual PCBs. http://www.sparetimegizmos.com/Hardware/Elf2K.htm#Ordering The partial kit includes the aforementioned PCB and all the pre-programmed GALs and one OTP EPROM necessary for these three Gizmos. You have to supply the rest of the parts, however thanks to the feedback from some recent customers a current list of suppliers can be found in the Elf 2000 Wiki: http://www.sparetimegizmos.com/wdoc/index.php?title=Elf_2000 Bob Armstrong

14 years, 4 months

1
0
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What is this: PR1ME computer terminal

by tosteve＠yahoo.com

A guy sent me this photo, of his one-piece PR1ME (spelled with s number 1) terminal. They were big in the 70's, not so much in the 80's. Is this something rare? http://oldcomputers.net/temp/prime-terminal.jpg

14 years, 4 months

3
3
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Card reader update

by wdonzelli＠gmail.com

On the good news side, it looks like $200 for a decent Documation is an accepted price, and payment can be done with Paypal. On the not so good side, it looks like not this week. -- Will

14 years, 4 months

1
1
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RL01/RL02 unit select plugs

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

Can anyone here (preferably in the US) spare an RL01/02 unit select plug for unit "2"? I thought I had one but I can't find it. I can swap a "0" if desired. Thanks, -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA

14 years, 4 months

2
2
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Reverse-engineered source code for TRS-80 Model II/12/16 boot ROMs

by eric＠brouhaha.com

http://www.brouhaha.com/~eric/retrocomputing/radio_shack/trs80_model_ii/trs…

14 years, 4 months

4
7
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If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It: Ancient Computers in Use Today

by stephane.tsacas＠gmail.com

A nice and illustrated article : http://www.pcworld.com/article/249951/if_it_aint_broke_dont_fix_it_ancient_… -- Stephane FreeDonne <http://www.freedonne.org> Join FreeDonne - Rejoignez FreeDonne.

14 years, 4 months

5
5
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Commodore 1581 repair conclusion

by jonas＠otter.se

>> > properly again! I believe this is the first time I've run into a >> faulty >> > CPU in a vintage computer (or peripheral). >> >> Wow, that's bizarre. 6502s don't fail very often. > > I can't remember if I'ev ever had to replace a 6502, but I've > certainly > had other CPUs fail. Z80, 8085, 6800, 8035 (fortunately ROMless), > some > 6803-seires microcontrolelr (again ROMless), and so on. > > My expeirence, as I've said beore is that while LSI ICs (including > microprocessors) are more reliable than the same circuit built from > TTL or > discretes, the LSI chips are less reliable than idividualt TTL ICs. > > -tony I once had an 8088 that behaved very strangely, it read the correct opcodes from memory but executed something completely different sometines. It turned out that the voltage between the +5V pin and the 0V pin was something like 4.65V. 0.1V too low a voltage was enough to make it execute some code correctly and other code completely wrong. Since then I always check the voltage at the chip's pins if strange things are happening. /Jonas

14 years, 4 months

5
4
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Seattle Retro-Computing Society meets Saturday Feb. 25th

by searetcompsoc＠gmail.com

Come one, come all, to the Seattle Retro-Computing Society's regular monthly meeting! It will be held Saturday, February 25th from 11:30 AM to 5:00 PM (please note our new, later starting time). Do you do any of the following with old computers? Will you be near Seattle on Saturday? + Use, collect, and/or restore them + Play games on them + Write programs for them + Develop new hardware for them + Help other people do any of the above If your answer was "yes," then the SRCS is for you! We exist so you can show off your awesome stuff, bounce ideas off of fellow enthusiasts, and be inspired by one another's achievements, plans and aspirations. No idea is too big or too small, and we're not picky about what flavor of vintage machine you prefer! Come on down and tell us about it! The meetings are graciously hosted by the Living Computer Museum, which is gradually fitting out a computer museum in Seattle's SODO neighborhood. There will be refreshments, a Buy-Sell-Free-Trade table, and enough table space & power to set up anything you may want to show off! For further details, please see our web page at http://www.seattleretrocomputing.com/ and our mailing list at http://groups.google.com/group/seattle-retrocomp . Hope to see you there! Gordon "gsteemso" Steemson SRCS agitator-in-chief -- The Seattle Retro-Computing Society http://www.seattleretrocomputing.com/

14 years, 4 months

1
0
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Sun GDM-20D10 monitors

by ama＠ugr.es

Hello everybody: A while ago I got two Sun GDM-20D10 monitors in very good condition. Both were working find, very clean, and they had been very well kept. I was using one of them with my Ultra 1 workstation and I was very happy with it. The other one I kept in storage (well preserved) to be put in use when I moved to a larger office and had enough space for it. Unfortunately, before that happened, I had to move temporarily to a smaller place, where I was using a TFT screen on a PC instead of my beloved Ultra 1 with it great monitor. When I had the chance to start using the Ultra 1 again the GDM-20D10 screen I had been using didn't work. It won't even start when I switch it on. I then took the second one from storage and try it out and the same happened, it won't start and it won't show any video activity or anything. I really like those monitors and would love to get them working again. That's why I asking here, where I think I have the highest chances to get help with them. Are there maybe any known problems with those monitors when they are off for sometime? I'm wondering because both of them were working fine and then none work anymore. I'm hopping there is something stupid I can easily fixed when I know about it and I can use them again soon. Any ideas, please? Thank you and regards. ?ngel -- Angel Martin Alganza Departamento de Genetica, Universidad de Granada Full contact data at http://www.ugr.es/~ama/ PGP Public key at http://www.ugr.es/~ama/ama-pgp-key ------------------------------------------------------ () ASCII Ribbon Campaign - http://www.asciiribbon.org/ /\ Against all HTML e-mail and proprietary attachments Please avoid sending me Word or PowerPoint attachments http://linux.sgms-centre.com/advocacy/no-ms-office.php

14 years, 4 months

5
11
0 0

VAX for running old version of VMS

by bqt＠softjar.se

On 2012-02-20 22:23, Holm Tiffe<holm at freibergnet.de> wrote: > Johnny Billquist wrote: > >> > By the way, yes, there is plenty of SCSI support in VMS. All of the more >> > modern VAXstations and whatnot have only native SCSI, and no MSCP or >> > similar. >> > >> > Johnny >> > >> > -- > Jonny I have had a very similar problem on my experimental KA630 uVAXII > with the Emulex UC07/08 Controllers. I've tried to connect some IBM 4GB > Disk since they where quiet. That hasn't worked at all. The Emulex > Firmware was happy, but neighter the RT11 (with an 11/53 CPU) nor the > VAX could access the two logical disks I've created on that drive. > Must have something todo with the emulex firmware that I have on that > controller. Way too hard to figure out what the problem is with this information. Have you checked that the CSR really is correct, for instance? If the controller firmware itself sees the disks just fine, then the connection between the controller and the OS is one obvious point to look at. But there could be a bunch of issues. Johnny -- Johnny Billquist || "I'm on a bus || on a psychedelic trip email: bqt at softjar.se || Reading murder books pdp is alive! || tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol

14 years, 4 months

7
9
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Lisa 1s at University of Michigan

by wayne.smith＠charter.net

Cool photo of a room full of Lisa 1s at the University of Michigan - taken March 4, 1984. http://tinyurl.com/6stp4hf

14 years, 4 months

5
4
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Wanted: Commodore CBM disk drive cable

by dan＠decodesystems.com

Hello, First, thanks to Jay West et al for bringing the list back to life. I'm looking for a source for the data cable that connects a Commodore PET, CBM 8032 to a Commodore 4040 dual disk drive. The cable has an IEEE-488 connector on one end and a female PCB connector on the other. Any leads would be appreciated. Thanks! Cheers, Dan dan at decodesystems.com

14 years, 4 months

7
11
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Starting a PDP 11/03

by jfoust＠threedee.com

At 07:48 PM 2/21/2012, Rich Alderson wrote: >At the time that the WD Pascal MicroEngine came out, I was informed >(by someone who would have known) that *it* was a re-use of the LSI-11 >chip set using new microcode. That was 30+ years ago, so I have no >way to back it up now, but I'm going to challenge you to provide the >evidence that WD came first. Wikipedia agrees, and so do I. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MCP-1600>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MCP-1600 - John

14 years, 4 months

1
0
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FS or TD: HP 9845B

by hp-fix＠xs4all.nl

I have a HP 9845T (B with 2 tape drives and printer) for trade or sale. The unit is in a nice optical condition, except for a bit screen mold on the monitor and the ROM's are bad, not a real problem because I throw in 2 ROM-boards with the programmed flash IC's. The only thing you have to do is to build the rom boards and place them in the HP 9845B (I did tested it with the board of my own and it works). I tested the PSU and replaced the filter caps with new ones. This also includes a manual and some other papers. Trade for other HP-stuff preferably HP 9800 items (roms manuals interfaces etc.) But I will consider other options. Item is located in the Netherlands. -Rik

14 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

SHOgraphics X/PEX terminals wanted

by legalize＠xmission.com

Got one laying around? I'd really like a PEX terminal for my Computer Graphics Museum. <http://computergraphicsmuseum.org> -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 version available for download <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com/the-direct3d-graphics-pipeline/> Legalize Adulthood! <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>

14 years, 4 months

1
0
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Wanted: Commodore CBM disk drive cable

by dm561＠torfree.net

------ Original Message: Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:34:19 -0500 From: Dan Veeneman <dan at decodesystems.com> > Hello, > First, thanks to Jay West et al for bringing the list back to life. -- Ditto! -- >I'm looking for a source for the data cable that connects a Commodore PET, >CBM 8032 to a Commodore 4040 dual disk drive. The cable has an IEEE-488 >connector on one end and a female PCB connector on the other. > Any leads would be appreciated. Thanks! > Cheers, > Dan Toronto PET Users Group store: http://www.tpug.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=73&Itemid=70

14 years, 4 months

1
0
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Commodore 1581 repair conclusion

by alhartman＠yahoo.com

While not a 6502, 6809E chips fail on the Coco quite often. The cartridge connector is directly connected to the processor without buffering or protection of any kind. Removing a cartridge, or jostling the disk controller cartridge with the power on can short lines and kill the chip. Cloud9 sells a board that one can install with a 6809E or the Hitachi version of the 6809 (6309) to protect the processor. http://www.frontiernet.net/~mmarlette/Cloud-9/Hardware/Pro-TectorPlus.html I haven't bought one yet, because I bought 68B09E chips from Jameco for $5 each. I've only seen one Coco with a blown chip, and I got it that way. Al

14 years, 4 months

1
0
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VAXstation 3100 Free To A Good Home

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

I have a VAXstation 3100 that I would like to pass on. I acquired it recently and I have successfully booted it into VMS over the network. It does not have a disk. I am based in Stockport, UK and would prefer collection in person. Regards Rob

14 years, 4 months

2
4
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Debugging CRT monitors (Philips CM8833 Mk2 / Acorn AKF17)

by classiccmp＠philpem.me.uk

I've got an Acorn AKF-17 on my workbench, serving duty as a test monitor and the display for my Acorn A3000. For those not in the know, it's essentially a Philips CM8833 Mk.II chassis with most of the inputs blanked off. It's actually quite a nice monitor, except the power switch is on the back (I prefer front-mounted power switches) and it's not quite as nice looking as the metal-case Microvitec Cub (which has a nice industrial look going for it). Here's the catch. It seems to have a bit of a problem in the video synchronisation department. Specifically, the picture rolls vertically (from bottom to top), and seems to move to the right as it does so. In other words, a vertical line turns into a forward-slash. Has anyone worked on one of these "fine" monitors (CM8833, CM8833 Mk2, AKF17 or one of the many re-brands e.g. Atari SC1435) before? What should I be staring daggers at first? Does anyone know where I might be able to get a service manual (or at least a schematic set)? I've got the Mk1 schematics and service manual, but not the Mk2. Apparently someone posted them to Rapidshare last year but the link is now rather dead :( Also, does anyone know where I might be able to get a new power switch? Apparently it's an ITT ME5A, Philips 12NC number 4822 276 11504 though I can't confirm this (I don't have an AKF17 or CM8833mk2 service manual). I've ruled out the A3000 -- MonitorType is 0 (TV-rate monitor) and Sync is 0 too (composite sync). If I switch to Separate Sync (MT0/SYNC1), my LCD monitor (an NEC EA231WMi) will lock on and display video... Cheers, -- Phil. classiccmp at philpem.me.uk http://www.philpem.me.uk/

14 years, 4 months

7
20
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Commodore 1581 repair conclusion

by derschjo＠mail.msu.edu

A couple of weeks back I wrote to the list asking for advice on fixing a C1581 drive (and thanks again for all the suggestions!). I now have the drive working again so I thought I'd detail my experience in case it helps someone else... Symptoms: Both LEDs (red & green) stuck on constantly, no response from drive via serial port. Drive does seek back to track zero on powerup. Power supply good. Initially, I had assumed that because the drive was seeking back to track zero on startup, that the CPU was running properly. (I later discovered that this is actually incorrect -- the 3.5" drive unit in the 1581 (an 800K unit identical to those used in the Amiga 500) does this operation itself when it is powered up.) The CPU's clock pin was pulsing so at least -something- was running. The EPROM and WD floppy controller chip are socketed in my unit. There were no visible signs of life on the WD control pins. Dumped the EPROM and verified its contents (they were good). Since the WD controller was socketed and I had a spare, I swapped it out. No joy there. At this point, lacking any other diagnostic information I decided to monitor the CPU's Address and Data lines to see if I could work out what it was trying and failing to do at powerup. Thanks to a new 40-pin DIP clip (thanks again, Ian!) it was pretty easy to connect up my logic analyzer (a Tek 1241 for those curious) and it pretty quickly became clear that while the CPU was running, it wasn't functioning properly at all. No matter how I looked at the address & data I couldn't work how it could possibly be running a valid program. Data matched up to the addresses being read (for addresses within the EPROM's address range anyway) but the ordering of the addresses did not seem to correspond to a running program. I desoldered the 6502 and stuck it in a working Apple II, and sure enough the Apple would not run with the 1581's CPU. I installed a replacement 6502 in the 1581 and I'm happy to report that it now works properly again! I believe this is the first time I've run into a faulty CPU in a vintage computer (or peripheral). - Josh

14 years, 4 months

6
5
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IC Manufacturer Logo Listing?

by brain＠jbrain.com

From a friend just getting back into hardware: "I'm wanting to catalog a large collection of chips that my Dad had so I know what I have... 7400 chips are easy to find / grab the datasheets for... Others I'm having issues as it appears manufacturer's have used the same number various times; often times locating on the web is a problem even finding the number... Major question is : 1) Is there a list of somewhere that I can use to identify the chip manufacturer's logo? Some of these chips are from the 70's. " I'm not a "vintage IC" knowledgable person, but I would be happy to pass on any links provided. I also asked him to snap some pics of ICs, and maybe folks here could point him to relevant datasheets for some of them. Jim -- Jim Brain brain at jbrain.com www.jbrain.com

14 years, 4 months

6
5
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Who wants a nice monitor (UK)?

by jonas＠otter.se

>> > I guess I'm a total anorak, but there was a TNIX.. >> > >> > [Tektronix Unix, running on a PDP11/23-based development sustem] >> I own one of those and BTW I am looking for software for it. The >> hard >> disk needs a fsck(8) and this is a stand alone tool. Unfortunately I >> didn't get those floppies with the machine. > > I _may_ have the distribution kit for my machine I will see what I > can find. > > -tony > ISTR fsck needed to be run quite often on the 8560. Not the world's most stable system :-( But IIRC Tnix is simply AT&T Unix version 7 with bits taken out and other bits added on, so fsck should be the standard Unix v7 fsck for the PDP-11. I suppose that could be found elsewhere? Or would it have been modified to suit Tek's hardware? /Jonas

14 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

Who wants a nice monitor (UK)?

by pete＠dunnington.plus.com

I've had to have a bit of a tidy up, and I have to part with the nice Sony monitor off one of my SGI INdys. Sony GDM-17E21 17" CRT, colour "granite" grey, to match an Indy or O2 keyboard. Dual inputs: HD15 "VGA" connector and 5 BNC (R/G/B/HS/VS). Not used for a few years but should be in good order. I can't ship this because I can't find a box and packing large enough, so it will have to be collected from York, UK. It also can't stay here long; it was going to the electrical waste this weekend before I put my foot down. But it might stay a few extra days if someone guarantees to collect it. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

14 years, 4 months

29
63
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VAX for running old version of VMS

by bqt＠softjar.se

On 2012-02-09 02:26, Dave McGuire<mcguire at neurotica.com> wrote: > > On 02/08/2012 08:18 PM, Charles Dickman wrote: >> > On Wed, Feb 8, 2012 at 7:31 PM, allison<ajp166 at verizon.net> wrote: >> > >>> >> >>> >> There is no SCSI support in VMS at all. >>> >> >> > >> > What was the KZQSA for? I got one and thought I had scored a qbus scsi >> > adapter and quickly determined it was pretty much useless. What I >> > never understood for sure was if it lacked hardware documentation and >> > drivers and was not supported for general SCSI use or if it was >> > broken/crippled in some way so that it couldn't be used for general >> > SCSI. > That's a driver issue and was some sort of "business decision". > (means "got screwed up by suits for no good reason") > > And it is an MSCP controller, is it not? As far as I can remember, no. That was the point. It is a SCSI controller, not an MSCP controller. By the way, yes, there is plenty of SCSI support in VMS. All of the more modern VAXstations and whatnot have only native SCSI, and no MSCP or similar. Johnny -- Johnny Billquist || "I'm on a bus || on a psychedelic trip email: bqt at softjar.se || Reading murder books pdp is alive! || tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol

14 years, 4 months

5
4
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Documation card readers available

by wdonzelli＠gmail.com

I am helping a company dispose of some of their assets, and amongst the items are a good sized stack of Documation punch card readers. There is everything from supposedly working units to complete junkers. Most are model 200s, but some are model 600s. The widow of the owner is looking to get some decent money for these - I suggested $200 for the top grade units is fair street price, and obviously less for anything lower. There are also some convertors available to hook the Documations up to an RS-232 port, and *maybe* some CR11 cards. There are also some Maul card sorters (great name!) available, probably for considerably less. There are likely no unpunched cards available - they are spoken for. These are located outside on Philadelphia (northwest-ish), and are really either pick-up only (yourself or a pack-n-ship company), or perhaps I could be convinced to pick up when I go down there next week. There is a serious time limit on this stuff - ACT NOW. Contact me off list. ACT NOW. -- Will

14 years, 4 months

3
5
0 0

Nokia terminals (Was: Apple ][ disk/game server)

by tingox＠gmail.com

2012/1/28 G?ran Axelsson <axelsson at acc.umu.se> > I've got a 12 80186 in purple ceramic with sockets. If anyone needs or > want one, let me know. > Pulled from working VT-220 compatible Nokia terminals (rebranded as Norsk > data Notis terminals). > > I was offered $5 per piece from a gold refiner, but I rather sell them to > collectors. > > ... and before anyone start harassing me about scrapping working > terminals. I announced it here on the list two years ago when I helped a > friend clean out a storage. Of the close to 200 terminals I still have > 60-70 left but I need to get it down to 20 in the end. So, they are also > available. > Which terminals are those? Models? -- Regards, Torfinn Ingolfsen, Oslo, Norway

14 years, 4 months

3
6
0 0

NASA unplugs last mainframe

by dave.g4ugm＠gmail.com

I was, it was late in the uk. Note that whilst in general a z9 can run 360 applications it can not run 360 or 370 operating systems as it does not support 370 style io instructions. On 20 Feb 2012 01:42, "Eric Smith" <eric at brouhaha.com> wrote: Dave wrote: > > Well its basically a box of playstation chips, wouldn't be on my list.... Where do you get that? Are you confusing the z9 with the IBM Roadrunner? The z9 is full of z9 microprocessors, which natively execute the z/Architecture 1 instruction set, which is an enhanced version of ESA/390, which was an enhanced version of ESA/370, which was an enhanced version of System/370 XA, which was an enhanced version of System/370, which was an enhanced version of System/360. In other words, the z9 microprocessor can natively execute System/360 and System/370 code.

14 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

DEC H960 Rack

by paisley＠erols.com

Help! I am looking for a DEC H960 rack to house my PDP-8. I don't care what condition it is in as I am going to sandblast it and have it powdercoated. I am willing to offer a reward leading to me obtaining one. I am located in the eastern US. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank. Todd Paisley

14 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

NASA unplugs last mainframe

by stephane.tsacas＠gmail.com

NASA unplugs last mainframe IBM mainframes no longer a NASA workhorse IBM mainframe available for a collector ? http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/nasa-unplugs-last-mainframe -- Stephane FreeDonne <http://www.freedonne.org> Join FreeDonne - Rejoignez FreeDonne.

14 years, 4 months

9
12
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What is a mainframe? (was Re: NASA unplugs last mainframe)

by a50mhzham＠gmail.com

So then that's a TLA? At 05:02 PM 2/19/2012, you wrote: > > What is a mainframe anyway, and can a > > clear distinction be made between the 'mainframe" and other server > > technologies nowadays? > >Yes, a mainframe can be described in three letters. > >-- >Will 910 . [Politics]"Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation." - Henry Kissinger NEW: 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

14 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

DEC 874-D power controller

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

Hey, does anyone have an electronic copy of the schematics for the DEC 874-D power controller? I looked on bitsavers and didn't see anything there, my paper originals are 1200 miles away, and I have an 874-D "buzzing" and dropping power periodically. Yuck! -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA

14 years, 4 months

5
10
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Would anyone like to buy my Compukit UK101?

by lproven＠gmail.com

Please excuse the spam, but a couple of list members asked me to let them know when I was going to sell this. Well, the time has finally come, I'm afraid. I need the space and the money. :?( Complete Compukit UK101 with case, original manual, demo cassette and a bare, uncased, mono composite CRT monitor. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/270918417815 -- Liam Proven ? Profile: http://lproven.livejournal.com/profile Email: lproven at cix.co.uk ? GMail/G+/Twitter/Flickr/Facebook: lproven MSN: lproven at hotmail.com ? Skype/AIM/Yahoo/LinkedIn: liamproven Tel: +44 20-8685-0498 ? Cell: +44 7939-087884

14 years, 4 months

2
2
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DEC 874-D power controller

by cctech＠beyondthepale.ie

> >What we found was that the internally wiring of the 811 was completely >inexplicable. Documentation on the 811 was found in the museum's >archives, and the wiring was significantly different than indicated. As >wired, 120VAC was applied directly across the vane switch that closes >when it sense airflow across the deflection transistor assemblies. As >soon as it closed, it welded shut, and tripped the breaker. > >We never found out why the 811 was wired that way. We're pretty sure >that it wasn't supplied by the factory that way, and that someone did a >field modification, but we couldn't make any sense of how the modified >version could have been useful for anything. We rewired it to factory >spec, replaced the vane switch, and it has worked properly ever since. > Is it possible that it could have been deliberately sabbotaged? It seems likely that if someone attempted a modification like that for some useful purpose, they would have tested it. Even if the machine was abandoned after the modification was seen to have failed, the evidence of their having tested it would have remained in the form of a damaged vane switch. It's hard to see why someone would make the modification and never power the machine again unless they knew there would be trouble when it was powered. Regards, Peter Coghlan.

14 years, 4 months

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Fwd: NCR System3300 BIOS Questions

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

The RICM has an NCR3300 PC that was missing the disk drive when it was donated. We installed the right part number 200MB SCSI drive but don't know what the SCSI ID should be set to. We tried all IDs and never saw it try to boot from the disk. We tried to boot from a floppy, but it asked for a password. It has a Phoenix BIOS 1.05.00, Setup 3.05.00. Does anyone know how to get around the boot password on this system? Do we need a setup diskette? Any idea where to get one? -- Michael Thompson

14 years, 4 months

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Looking for a Vaxstation 4000 VLC

by wlewisiii＠gmail.com

Digging for something else in the basement, I came across my owners manual for the VLC I used to have. I should not have gotten rid of that sweet little box. Anyone out there got one to spare, preferably cheaply, to a good home? I'm in Madison, WI. Thanks, William -- Live like you will never die, love like you've never been hurt, dance like no-one is watching. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Alex White

14 years, 4 months

2
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Looking for (retired) IBM CE with System/360 experience

by RichA＠vulcan.com

The Living Computer Museum project of Vulcan, Inc., is looking to hire an expert on IBM System/360 hardware maintenance to guide the restoration of a 360/40 which we have acquired. The official job posting can be found at https://jobs.vulcan.com/ as Sr. Systems Engineer (Vintage), job ID 2258, posted 13 Feb 2012. (There doesn't appear to be any way to provide a link directly to the posting because of the programming model used.) I'm happy to answer questions, in the group or offline. I will ignore any flame fest similar to the last time we posted a job. 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/

14 years, 4 months

3
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Who wants a nice monitor (UK)?

by jonas＠otter.se

>> No No No ... that was T-nix followed later with U when the >> programers could >> club meat, build fire and recite most of the Alphabet*. > > I guess I'm a total anorak, but there was a TNIX.. > > [Tektronix Unix, running on a PDP11/23-based development sustem] > > -tony > I used a TNIX system for most of the 1980s, with an 8540 microprocessor emulator connected to it. IIRC TNIX was a stripped-down version of Unix version 7, with most of the programming tools and compilers and other useful stuff removed, these could be bought separately. There were Tek-specific commands added to operate the 8540. On top of that we ran Tek's Pascal development software for 8086. The first version of the compiler was rather awful; very limited symbol table capacity and lots of weird bugs. The consumption of weed and shrooms among the compiler developers must have been remarkable. The manuals are on Bitsavers. I also saw in an old thread here that Tony has an 8560 running TNIX. Nice machine, but very slow. /Jonas

14 years, 4 months

3
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xml manifest for ROM/PROM dumps?

by legalize＠xmission.com

I was just thinking that when we dump a ROM/PROM contents we get a binary file out. In order to understand that binary file we need to know some metadata about the data, such as: - what is the organization of the chip/data? Is it 2048x1 bit or is it 256x8 bits? - is it a character generator table for a terminal? - is it microcode for a CPU? - is it code for a commercial microcontroller/microprocessor? if so, which chip is it for? (8086, 8051, 6809, etc.) - what part number information is on the chip package? - if there is a printed label on the packge, what does it say? (i.e. version number label on an EPROM) - who performed the dump of the data? what is their contact information? It seems to me that this small amount of metadata could easily be housed in an XML manifest file and an XML schema could describe the allowed tags and attributes and their expected values. Yeah, I know XML is "bloated", but there are plenty of tools for processing XML files and there are editors that are schema aware and prompt you for allowed elements. The schema can be made extensible if there is a need for that. -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 version available for download <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com/the-direct3d-graphics-pipeline/> Legalize Adulthood! <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>

14 years, 4 months

2
1
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VAXstation 3100 Model 30 Owner's Manual

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

Does anyone have the PDF for this manual? On manx the link to it is dead and it does not seem to be in the mirrored copy I have. The part number is EK-265AA-OM-001. Thanks Rob

14 years, 4 months

2
2
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FW: [N8VEM-S100:702] Re: S-100 Z80 CPU board PCBs

by LYNCHAJ＠YAHOO.COM

Hi, to let you know that there are more of the S-100 Z80 CPU board PCBs available. There is information here: http://s100computers.com/My%20System%20Pages/Z80%20Board/Z80%20CPU%20Board.h tm http://n8vem-sbc.pbworks.com/w/browse/#view=ViewFolder&param=S-100%20Z80%20C PU Many builders have gotten these boards to work and the board is "clean" with no cuts and jumpers needed. Thanks! Andrew Lynch -----Original Message----- From: n8vem-s100 at googlegroups.com [mailto:n8vem-s100 at googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of lynchaj Sent: Sunday, February 12, 2012 10:58 AM To: N8VEM-S100 Subject: [N8VEM-S100:702] Re: S-100 Z80 CPU board PCBs Hi! Good news! The S-100 Z80 CPU board PCBs arrived! Please let me know if you would like one. 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 and have a nice day! Andrew Lynch

14 years, 4 months

1
0
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VAX QBUS Memories..

by holm＠freibergnet.de

Hi again, Guys I still have a problem to get my qbus VAx Memory boards working thogether. I do have an KA630CPU, Firmware 1.30, and want to get 2 8MB Memory Boards to work thogether in a H9278 Backplane which has 3 CD interconnect slots. I've tried all variants ot plug the boards and of the switch and Jumper settings. The one board is an National NS638 the other is a Chrislin CM-VI-8. For the memory sizing test I'm booting NetBSD 1.5.3 over the network from my FreeBSD Workstation. There are setting where I get a double fault while booting, think that is why there is to small amaount ov memory enabled. Mostly I get 9MB of Memory (1MB from the KA630 + one 8MB Board) but I had 10Mbytes too so that at least one of the boards must have worked as 1MB Mem. There is also a setting where the machine doesnt boot at all. The NS638 has a Jumper that can be set into the W1 and W2 positions, have tried both of them. I have additionally an MS630 Board with 4MB of memory, this board works thogether with the crislin and the national board, I get 13MB of memory total (8+4 +1MB KA630). An other MS630 with only 2 Mbytes is still untested. So please, please, does anyone here know whats happening here and what for the jumpers and the switches on the handles of the 8MB boards are for? Has anyone those boards too and can confirm this? 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

14 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

List test

by auringer＠tds.net

Is it down, or did I get dropped?

14 years, 4 months

5
4
0 0

3-pin hdd power connector

by sander.reiche＠gmail.com

Hi guys, I recently picked up a Compaq Portable 486c/66 for fun. It has no hard disk and as I was checking out the bay to see if there was something different in what it would take, I noticed it needed a 3,5" IDE disk powered by a 3-pin connector, not the usual large 4-pin molex power connector. It seems the Maxtor 7000 series was a series of drives with these added power connectors as well as some Quantum Fireballs of which I had one, but apparently has deceased on me. ?J3 ? DC Power and pin connector assignments ?------------------------------------------- ? ? ?+------------+ ? pin 1 ? ?+12 VDC ? ? ?| 4 ?3 ?2 ?1 | ? pin 2 ? ?+12 V Ground Return ? ? ?+------------+ ? pin 3 ? ?+ 5 V Ground Return ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? pin 4 ? ?+ 5 VDC ?J7 ? DC Power and pin connector assignments ?------------------------------------------- ? ? ?+---------+ ? ? ?pin 1 ? ?+ 5 VDC ? ? ?| 1 ?2 ?3 | ? ? ?pin 2 ? ?+12 VDC ? ? ?+---------+ ? ? ?pin 3 ? ?Ground Anyone know what this connector is called and maybe even call out some drive names/types for which I can start the hunt? Kind regards, Sander Reiche

14 years, 4 months

2
1
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TRS-80 Model 2/Model 16 ROMs

by fjkraan＠xs4all.nl

There are at least five different boot ROMs for the Model II. I posted them with some disassemblies and comment at: http://fjkraan.home.xs4all.nl/comp/trs80m2/. If someone has knowledge of another version, please let me know. Fred Jan

14 years, 4 months

3
4
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VAX Maintenance Handbook, VAX-11/750

by steve_spiller＠msn.com

Does anybody have a mirror of this online somewhere? http://vt100.net/manx/details/1,2827 I find myself in possession of an 11/750 that doesn't quite work right and it seems this would aid in troubleshooting the thing. Thanks,Steve

14 years, 4 months

3
3
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Lisa in Kansas City, mo

by jws＠jwsss.com

Just passing it on. I have boots on the ground there if it helps, but no interest in this (as in I don't have ownership). Listing shows some knowledge on the part of the owner. Posting: Own part of the Apple history with this RareVintage Lisa Computer. The Lisa computer was introduced by Apple in the early 80's. This Rare Vintage Lisa Computer will power up but will not accept a floppy disk. The case of the computer is in excellent condition with slight yellowing. The monitor is clear and all the keys on the keyboard appear to work with no chips on the corners. Comes with the mouse. The original price for a Lisa computer was $10,000. http://kansascity.craigslist.org/sys/2841035465.html

14 years, 4 months

7
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