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

by sytsezelf＠gmail.com

> Why do you all assume, it has to be on the FPGA. 512KB memory > not on the FPGA. Quickly looking at Digikey Canada -- Altera Flex 6000 > seems > to fit my needs, but no development board. The DE0 board for now looks to > be a valid base development board for now. Looks like I'll order it > early next year. > Ben. DE0 sure is a very nice board. But, it only has dram - which is a bit more difficult to interface than sram. DE1 gives you both. Then again, DE1 comes with an older generation FPGA, that is bigger than the one on as well. It calls for a comparison table, really - or, you might just order both? The boards are really not that expensive. And, both can run a PDP11 - and without needing a PC attached after the flash is programmed, by the way.

14 years, 7 months

1
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uPD7281 (was Re: VHDL PDP11

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

> NEC during the 1980s was very big in dataflow work--there's a ton of > published work by NEC and by many others on the subject. It's easy to look backwards by a quarter century plus, on "Fifth generation computing" as a failure, but a lot of interesting and durable stuff came out of it (if not the "fifth generation computer"). The Japanese large-system peripherals of the late 80's and early 90's really cleaned the clocks of any competitors, not just the reliability of the electromechanical transports, but in large part because of signal processing done in NEC/Fujitsu/Hitachi/Toshiba signal processing chains. Tim.

14 years, 7 months

1
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[B205] burroughs clearing house bound set. for trade- gotta be something great!

by bfranchuk＠jetnet.ab.ca

from: COURYHOUSE at aol.com > Burroughs clearing house bound set. for trade- gotta be something great! > Actually we are more in the mood for TV studio stuff... but will listen > to anything > here are the guidelines... > respond off list > send photos and details > Thanks, > > Ed Sharpe, Archivist for SMECC > > See the Museum's Web Site at www.smecc.org <http://www.smecc.org/>

14 years, 7 months

1
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VHDL PDP11

by sytsezelf＠gmail.com

>> The only interfaces seem to be serial lines. What there is now is basically a KL11 type serial controller - the simplest version of a rs232 controller, without the option to set baud rates, byte lengths, parity, without modem control, and without any error detection capability. ie. What you would connect a terminal or hardcopy console to. >> I take it that any DEC peripheral that is connected via a serial line could >> possibly be supported. More specifically: any device connected to a KL11 - or whatever variant of that that would be accepted by the software that interfaces to the controller. >> Other than the serial lines are there any plans to produce an interface to >> any of the standard DEC PDP-11 busses ie Uni and Q22? If you mean, do I have any plans to make it possible to connect original "real" Uni/Q controller boards to the FPGA? No, I don't - firstly, because I don't have any of those boards; secondly, because it would likely be more appropriate to recreate the functionality in VHDL as well. And maybe easier - because, interfacing would mean that the timing and electrical behavior of a 'real' Uni/Q bus would have to work with the timing and electrics of the 'logical' bus inside the FPGA. That would not be a trivial challenge. >> An Ethernet port (co-ax or UTP) would be nice. I agree :-) I do have some thoughts on adding one of the Ethernet controllers, but that is a nontrivial job - it will probably take me at least a couple of months to get it working. And, unlike RS232 ports, Ethernet hardware differs across FPGA boards - some have a phy, some have a complete controller including dma to memory, some have wire/transformer only, most have nothing at all. So there too is a bit of a challenge - which situation to build the VHDL for?

14 years, 7 months

7
13
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CMD CQD-220TM problems

by jonas＠otter.se

> Well, that depends on what counts as "hard". From one point of view, > it's really easy to damage them electrically - just connect straight > to > mains power; few RS232 ports will withstand that, even over here > where > mains pwoer is only half the voltage it is on your side of the pond. > But it _is_ true that it's hard for someone not totally boneheaded to > damage them accidentally. > > /~\ The ASCII Mouse > \ / Ribbon Campaign > X Against HTML mouse at rodents-montreal.org > / \ Email! 7D C8 61 52 5D E7 2D 39 4E F1 31 3E E8 B3 27 4B > > If you are hell-bent on killing something, mains power applied between appropriate terminals will usually do the job, even for otherwise robust devices such as 2N3055s or big speakers. Unless of course it's a washing machine, in which case a hand grenade or dynamite would be more useful. Or 10kV from the local substation. /Jonas

14 years, 7 months

2
1
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NIBL - Dr Dobbs article

by rborsuk＠colourfull.com

Does anyone have a scan of the Dr Dobbs V1 #10 article on the NIBL for the sc/mp? Or can anyone point me to a link of the article or mag? Thanks Rob Robert Borsuk rborsuk at colourfull.com Colourfull Creations http://www.colourfull.com

14 years, 7 months

3
3
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ISO HP-UX 9.10 install CD

by mountainlogic-systems＠comcast.net

Rik, Back in 2009, you had posted on this thread that you could make HP-UX 9.10 (HP 9000 series 300) ISO's available, but the thread, basically ended there. I have been looking on and off for this software for some time for an HP 360 that I have. Thanks, Chris

14 years, 7 months

2
2
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WTD -- AMD Am95C60 datasheet + register map

by classiccmp＠philpem.me.uk

Hi guys, Does anyone have a full datasheet for the AMD Am95C60 graphics controller LSI? (also known as the Quad Pixel Dataflow Manager, or QPDM) I'm trying to reverse engineer the firmware in a piece of test-and-measurement gear, and the most I've been able to find for this chip is an abridged preliminary datasheet, which is pretty useless (lists the registers, but not what the various bits do, and contains no command list for the processor core). Basically, the box has some hidden features which I need to access to do a re-calibration. The manufacturer has binned all the documentation (quote from their tech guy: "Omigod, we last made those in, like, 1992... I can't believe those things are still around!") so no help there... :( Thanks, -- Phil. classiccmp at philpem.me.uk http://www.philpem.me.uk/

14 years, 7 months

2
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Micropolis 1355 disk drives

by useddec＠gmail.com

I have a quantity of these which probably have the imfamous sticky rubber bumper. If anyone wishes to mank an offer, please contact me off list. Shipping from 61853, Champaign, IL area. Thanks, Paul

14 years, 8 months

7
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Speaking of keyboards...

by auringer＠tds.net

Does anyone have a need for some HP terminal keyboards? Part number C3340-60201 for a 700 series terminal. I have a few that I need to get rid of. They seem to be "new in box". Location, Madison, WI 53714. -Jon

14 years, 8 months

2
1
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53CF94-2: same as AM53CF94?

by fraveydank＠gmail.com

I just bought a few LSI/Symbios/NCR 53CF94-2 chips, and I'm having a spot of trouble finding their datasheets. The web is replete with datasheets for AMD's AM53CF94, which looks to be the 10 MB/S version of the 53C94. However, that datasheet mentions that there is a 3.3v variant available. Does anyone know if the 53CF94-2 is the same as what AMD calls a 53CF94? It's used for the SCSI controllers in the higher-end DEC AXP 3000 machines, if that's any help, so I assume it's the same, but I'd rather not cook one finding out. - Dave

14 years, 8 months

1
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DEC card cage plastic rails?

by fraveydank＠gmail.com

My 11/23+ is currently in a small 4-slot backplane. Said backplane came to me missing 2 of the plastic rail guides on the card cage to get the cards in properly. This isn't a terrible problem during operation for the quad-wide card I've got in there, because the insertion/extraction clamps and the backplane itself hold the card in place just fine once it's installed, but it does make the insertion/removal problem a pain in the ass. Does anyone know the part number of the rails? I've had a devil of a time finding that in the service manuals available. I'd really rather just have a better backplane, but that costs more money than I'm interested in spending at the moment. In a related note, does anyone have a BA23 enclosure they're looking to get rid of? - Dave

14 years, 8 months

2
1
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Teletype model 33s in Phoenix and Orange County

by jfoust＠threedee.com

> ><http://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/for/2687081512.html>http://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/for/2687081512.html > >http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/sys/2616025271.html >

14 years, 8 months

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Solaris 11 downloads available!

by vintagecoder＠aol.com

Solaris 11 downloads available!

14 years, 8 months

1
0
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Radio Electronics Articles by Author Ross Ortman

by brain＠jbrain.com

I was wondering if anyone had softcopies of Ross Ortman's R-E articles, probably from '86 or so. He owns Dakota Digital here in town, and lamented that he never saved a copy of the articles he wrote. I thought maybe someone might have copies electronic, or otherwise. Jim -- Jim Brain brain at jbrain.com www.jbrain.com

14 years, 8 months

1
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Good Quality 'modern' keyboards

by md.benson＠gmail.com

I'm looking for a good action, high quality keyboard of the same action/type as an IBM Model M or the really great Cherry keyboards of 'the day' to use on modern machines to code with and work at a terminal. My Logitech G110 is fine for general work (it's a decent keyboard in it's own right) but the 12 macro keys on the end confuse the b-jebus out of me and also the key-spacing is designed for gamers no typists. I don't want to fudge an older PS/2 keyboard via a USB adapter as it generally doesn't work 100% right and I occasionally get keys dropped or doouble-typed. I also need the 'Windows' keys that a lot of older decent keyboards lack. I'm willing to drop decent money to get one, so anyone got any ideas? -- Mark Benson http://DECtec.info Twitter: @DECtecInfo HECnet: STAR69::MARK Online Resource & Mailing List for DEC Enthusiasts.

14 years, 8 months

23
66
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Analytical Engine

by a50mhzham＠gmail.com

At 10:09 AM 11/8/2011, you wrote: >On Tue, Nov 8, 2011 at 4:08 PM, John Many Jars ><john at yoyodyne-propulsion.net> wrote: OT: I just filled in a gap in my 16-year-old son's education by watching Buckaroo Banzai with him. -John Worfin 987 . Everything that can be invented has been invented. -- Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899 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, 8 months

1
0
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Emulex CU02

by rob_j37＠hotmail.com

I recently acquired a machine that contains an Emulex CU02. I suspect it is a Qbus SCSI controller, but I am not sure. I have not been able to find any information on this card, all my searches find is dealers selling them, but no description. Does anyone have any pointers to information on this card? Thanks Rob

14 years, 8 months

5
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Analytical Engine

by evan＠snarc.net

Excellent NY Times article about the British Science Museum's plan to build a Babbage Analytical Engine: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/08/science/computer-experts-building-1830s-b… <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/08/science/computer-experts-building-1830s-b…>

14 years, 8 months

2
2
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who won the lisp machine?

by dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu

So... Who won the lisp machine on ebay? See http://www.ebay.com/itm/320784929577 -- 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?

14 years, 8 months

4
4
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grrr....an apology

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

Dammit. I've been trolled once again. I have very little tolerance for (what I perceive as) cluelessness backed up by arrogance, and something in my personal makeup just can't let misinformation stand. I try very hard to know the difference between facts and opinions, and I think I do that much better than many people, so I tend to be (and try very hard to be) pretty certain of my facts. That part isn't the problem...feeling the overwhelming urge to "correct" people is. I don't do this out of arrogance. I hate to see people laboring under bad information or false assumptions that may bite them in the future, so I try to help. I've done this stuff, and nothing else, all my life and I've been fortunate to have learned a lot from some very smart people and a whole lot of varied experience. There are people here with both a lot less and a lot more experience than I have; I like to get information from the latter and give information to the former. This backfires when people with too much time on their hands and a desire to push buttons decide they want to rile me up. I don't have time for this. I'm a busy guy, and this is a distraction that just ends up with me in a bad mood and falling behind on my work. So...Once again, I Have Been Trolled, and I apologize. I promise to try to be better about it in the future, for my own sake as well as the sake of others. -Dave -- Dave McGuire New Kensington, PA

14 years, 8 months

4
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NEC FD1157C jumper doco

by drb＠msu.edu

Anyone have jumper setting documentation for an NEC FD1157C? The internet does not deign to provide. Thanks, De

14 years, 8 months

3
6
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All the VAX talk has me wanting my VAXen back :(

by hexsane＠gmail.com

In the early 2ks I had gotten my hands on several VAXen (VAX Stations, MicroVAXen and QBUS Rack and Pedestals). Lacking the space and having a money crisis I had to give up all of them. Now I want another one so I can fire up NetBSD :) Anyone have a spare VAX Station or other small VAX sitting around they want to part with? Or even a larger one if you're close to Omaha. ;) -Matt

14 years, 8 months

7
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Things I should have learned in school

by fraveydank＠gmail.com

I never really dealt with Fortran in university, and if I had, it probably would have been in a Unix context. Anyone have some pointers to me on how to process command-line switches in VMS from Fortran (I'm specifically tinkering with f77, but I suppose f90 should do; it's a matter of environment)? I guess it would be good to point out that I'm essentially a total neophyte when it comes to working with systems that are not UNIX (or bare metal, or classic Mac OS). Best I can tell is that I need to call either a SYS$ or CLI$ library function, but I'm a bit lost in the giant manual and Google doesn't seem to be helping me find sample code. The "standard" (which probably means UNIX-standard) iargc() and getarg() functions don't seem to work, at least not without some external library linked in, so I assume those aren't the way to go. - Dave

14 years, 8 months

6
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Looking for some parts help with an old computer (or two).

by mnealey＠gmail.com

Hi, I am breaking out some old computers I have and need a couple parts to get them working. The computers in question are an Alpha ES40 and an HP ZX6000 workstation. Anyone out in list land happen to have any spare memory for an ES40? Any size will do, just need at least 4 pieces to work. I want to run some OpenVMS on this guy so any help would be great. Also, I need some Itanium 2 processors for the zx6000. Not worried about speed but the faster the better I guess. And would love to get two if possible. If ya have anything like the stuff I'm looking for laying around, let me know what you want for it. Thanks!

14 years, 8 months

3
3
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John McCarthy

by vintagecoder＠aol.com

The editor/IDE that comes with FreePascal that Gene B pointed me to has a very MSDOS/TurboPascal look and feel.

14 years, 8 months

6
15
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Looking for a copy of MicroPDP-11 Systems Maintenance Guide

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

I am looking for ek-mic11-sg-001, it is listed on Manx, but the link there does not work since the original site disappeared. I have the archive tar of Manx but it isn't in there either. Does anyone have a copy? Thanks Rob

14 years, 8 months

3
5
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MacSSH source

by spectre＠floodgap.com

A couple weeks ago people expressed interest in my salvaged MacSSH source and I finally got a round tuit. It's very pretty, all symmetric and frilly, and perfectly circular. I make no guarantees. If you get it working, I want your changes. :) However, I have salvaged as many of the resource forks as I can and manually massaged the files. I have not tried to build it. CW6 or better strongly advised. I threw the .sit into gopher://gopher.floodgap.com/1/archive/by-request/source-code -- ------------------------------------ personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckaiser at floodgap.com -- You're only as good as the last problem someone had. -- Ballmer on security

14 years, 8 months

4
10
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various S-100 PCBs for home brew projects

by lynchaj＠yahoo.com

ben bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca wrote: > Does one have to go with ebay? Can I just send you the $$$? Yes that would be fine. You don't need to use eBay but for some reason many builders seem to prefer it even though it is more expensive. I don't understand why but I guess that's their choice. It is one of life's many mysteries. Thanks! Andrew Lynch

14 years, 8 months

2
1
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KryoFlux - imaging of vintage floppy disks via USB

by kieron.wilkinson＠gmail.com

Mouse wrote: > I sent them mail saying "I would want documentatino on how to talk to > the hardware, because your GUI will not be suitable for me" (any UI > that's suitable to most of pretty much any market has an excellent > chance of being somewhere between unpleasant and unsable for me). Well, since I wrote the user interface for KryoFlux, I'd be very interested in what would work for you, even if you don't intend to use whatever changes we might make. The GUI was designed to be extremely easy to use, even for non-technical people such as those in libraries and archives. There are advanced features, but they are mostly hidden unless specifically wanted. I think it turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself. Some examples: http://www.softpres.org/kryoflux:ui:stream-plot http://forum.kryoflux.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=262 As it happens, even though I wrote the graphical user interface, I didn't need to know anything about how to talk to the hardware. The GUI just uses the existing software supplied. Anyone could have done it really. > Document it enough I can write my own software to drive it, and I might > be interested in the hardware. I will not be interested in > undocumented hardware and, as mentioned above, I will not be interested > in the software (unless it's open sourced, and then only insofar as it > forms documentation on how to talk to the hardware). That is fair enough. If it is not suitable for you, it's just not. We do have the stream file/protocol documented, which is the main complicated part: http://www.softpres.org/kryoflux:stream It would be nice to document completely as you want, but we have very limited resources, and unless there is much demand for something, we would find it hard to prioritise it. I think you might agree that your requirement is a little unusual... :) Kieron

14 years, 8 months

5
4
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Good Quality 'modern' keyboards

by halarewich＠gmail.com

like this http://pckeyboards.stores.yahoo.net/customizer.html On Sat, Nov 5, 2011 at 11:56 AM, Zane H. Healy <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote: > I wish I had a good idea. I'm typing this on an Apple Extended II ADB > keyboard plugged into a USB-to-ADB converter so I can use it on my Mac Pro. > On the PC I tend to use a no-name keyboard I got 20 years ago, but really > like the SGI PS/2 keyboard that came with my O2. I really wish someone > would make a good replica of the Apple keyboard, but as a USB keyboard. In > part because I love the shelf behind the function keys. This is also why I > like the IBM Model M keyboards. > > I seem to remember someone is making a keyboard like you're looking for, > but it isn't cheap. > > Zane > > > > > At 6:46 PM +0000 11/5/11, Mark Benson wrote: > >> I'm looking for a good action, high quality keyboard of the same >> action/type as an IBM Model M or the really great Cherry keyboards of 'the >> day' to use on modern machines to code with and work at a terminal. My >> Logitech G110 is fine for general work (it's a decent keyboard in it's own >> right) but the 12 macro keys on the end confuse the b-jebus out of me and >> also the key-spacing is designed for gamers no typists. >> >> I don't want to fudge an older PS/2 keyboard via a USB adapter as it >> generally doesn't work 100% right and I occasionally get keys dropped or >> doouble-typed. I also need the 'Windows' keys that a lot of older decent >> keyboards lack. >> >> I'm willing to drop decent money to get one, so anyone got any ideas? >> >> -- >> >> Mark Benson >> >> http://DECtec.info <http://dectec.info/> >> Twitter: @DECtecInfo >> HECnet: STAR69::MARK >> >> Online Resource & Mailing List for DEC Enthusiasts. >> > > > -- > | Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Administrator | > | healyzh at aracnet.com | OpenVMS Enthusiast | > | | Photographer | > +-----------------------------**-----+------------------------**----+ > | My flickr Photostream | > | http://www.flickr.com/photos/**33848088 at N03/<http://www.flickr.com/photos/33848088 at N03/> | >

14 years, 8 months

1
1
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various S-100 PCBs for home brew projects

by lynchaj＠yahoo.com

Hi, I am getting ready to order some home brew S-100 8086 CPU PCBs. They'll be $20 each with $3 shipping in the US and $6 shipping elsewhere. Please let me know if you want to be in this batch. There is more information here: http://n8vem-sbc.pbworks.com/w/browse/#view=ViewFolder&param=S-100%208086%2… http://s100computers.com/My%20System%20Pages/8086%20Board/8086%20CPU%20Boar… There are plenty of other S-100 PCBs left too http://www.ebay.com/sch/lynchkl/m.html Thanks and have a nice day! Andrew Lynch

14 years, 8 months

2
1
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Market value of VAX 4000-96 - Re: Can anyone explain this to me ?

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

Four Ubuntu 11.11 machines in the past week, thanks, and that's even when it isn't my job. Please don't assume knowing something about VMS implies NOT knowing something about UNIX. -Dave -- Dave McGuire New Kensington, PA leaknoil <leaknoil at gmail.com> wrote: >On 11/4/2011 5:07 PM, Gene Buckle wrote: >> >> Hell, I'd offer up that VMS 5 was more secure than your average unix >> variant right out of the box. >> >> g. >> > >I get the feeling you guys haven't installed a current linux distro in a >very long time. Tell me how debian is less secure out of the box ? Oh >you can't. Right sorry.

14 years, 8 months

4
7
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another weird pdp 11/70 color scheme

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

> Here's a variation of the pdp 11/70 with a chocolate-brown and white color > scheme: http://661.org/images/csis1170.jpg CSI was a computer typesetting company. Pretty much cradle-to-grave in terms of end user support. "Composition Systems Incorporated" I think. There was at least one other company that specialized in typesetting for classified ads that used PDP-11's for typesetting. Their name is not coming to mind at the moment but they were surprisingly common at metropolitan newspapers. I remember them using the 3270-like capabilities of VT-oh-something terminals. Tim.

14 years, 8 months

7
7
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Puzzling error message

by trestivo＠cfl.rr.com

When running OS8 on a PDP8/a system I get an error message that reads "ahain error". Has anyone ever seen or heard of this. I cannot find info anywhere on this. One thought we have is that maybe the message should read "chain error" and was mis-spelled in the program that generates it. Any thoughts? Thom

14 years, 8 months

2
1
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KryoFlux - imaging of vintage floppy disks via USB

by robert.stek＠gmail.com

I am sure that I represent a very small number of the members of this list, the great majority of whom have more technical knowledge in their pinky than I have in my whole body. But I may represent those of us at whom the Kryo-Flux is at least partially aimed. I built my Sol-20 from a kit because I wanted a personal computer, could program in BASIC, FORTRAN, a little COBOL, a little C, and I knew which end of a soldering iron to hold on to. I am still a Heathkit/Dynaco kind of a hardware guy. I have a general understanding of maybe half of the technical concepts discussed on the list and can't contribute much beyond my 'power user' knowledge of S-100 machines and CP/M and what I remember from Sol Libes' S-100 Microcomputing, PC Tech Journal, BYTE, Interface Age, etc. I could patch a BIOS if necessary but my longest assembly language routine was about 13 bytes long. But I lurk here because I still have my Sol, some NorthStar drives, and even an 8" drive (which I once had Steve Ciarcia help me get working on my IBM AT!). My interest in the KryoFlux and the DiscFerret is both personal and potentially of use to the wider micro community in that I still have hundreds of 5.25" and 8" disks, many of them original, many more not. I simply enjoy tinkering with my machine and old software. I publicly give loud thanks to Jim Battle, Dave Dunfield, and others who have provided emulators, but I lack the determination (and space) (and my skills are VERY rusty) to set up my PC and Sol with both 5.25" and 8" drives under both NS-DOS and CP/M to read (and write?)and transfer the variety of hard and soft-sectored formatted software I have (with Kryo-Flux and DiscFerret in their present states). And I want to be able to preserve this software. Most of the big-name commercial software I have has already been preserved (but I may have a missing version). I was a software junkie back then and have more stuff than I can even recall. I am more than willing, nay, I am eager to save this stuff. I can offer my time and effort but I don't have the skills at the currently necessary levels to further the general effort. But what I need is a more semi-'turnkey' solution. I want something like Grumpy Ol' Fred's Xeno-Disk running under Windows or OSX or linux talking to a Kryoflux or DiscFerret attached to my still operating (for now) 5.25", 8" and plain vanilla 3.5" drives (and one at a time is fine). I want to be able to save my old programs in a format that can be used by the emulators available. I will send copies (and what documentation I have or can create) to any preservation society that wants it. This may not be much of a contribution but it is what I can do. And I suspect that there may be a whole lot more of 'me' out there. Whether we do it for fun, for nostalgia or for giving back to the micro community, it has got to be a 'plug 'n' play' type solution. I don't have and never expect to see some of the more exotic formats that some on this list deal with regularly. OTOH, I believe that I represent a mainstream portion of 'old geeks' who were the early adopters in the '70's and '80's and can still contribute something now if we have the tools. Maybe what I want will eventually happen. Maybe publicity efforts by libraries, preservation societies, etc. can make people aware that their cache of old disks has value and that they can contribute them directly or they can buy a device that easily connects their current computer to older drives so they can do it themselves. I don't mind paying $150 for the hardware AND software to do this. I hope that there are others (hopefully many others) like me out there. Are there? I don't know, but if you are reading this, please chime in. I applaud the people involved in these efforts. I have sent N* formatted disks and some technical docs to Phil (and have offered the same to KryoFlux). But that's about all I can do now. I'll just keep 'lurking' and hope that a solution which fits me will get here before I 'shuffle off this mortal coil.' Bob Stek Saver of lost Sols

14 years, 8 months

1
0
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KryoFlux - imaging of vintage floppy disks via USB

by cb＠kryoflux.com

Hi all, I wanted to give a little update on our progress making our universal floppy controller KryoFlux even better. For those that have not heard of it - what does it do? - Reads all kinds of floppy disks with a "standard" PC drive (e.g. 3", 3.5", 5.25", 8") - Reads custom formats used by vintage computers like Acorn Electron, Apple, Amstrad CPC, Archimedes, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, BBC, Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga, MSX, IBM PC, PC-8801, Sam Coupe, Spectrum, E-MU Emulator & Emulator II, DEC RX01 & RX02 - Stores _all_ data present on disk, including custom formats and copy protection (e.g. for preservation / long term storage of original game disks) - Connects comfortably via USB - Track data visualisation built right into the GUI: http://softpres.org/kryoflux:ui:stream-plot - Host software available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X.It's free for private use! - Hardware schematics are public as well and can be freely used in an private, non-commercial environment. That means the hardware is free as well, you don't have to buy anything to use it. - Pre-built hardware (only EUR 90.-) available for those that can't or don't want to build something on their own. - Already used by hundreds of users as well as archives, museums and libraries all around the globe: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-05/10/british-library-digital-arch… How did we make it better? - Now also writes images back to disk. Writing IPF files creates pristine clones of preserved disks long gone before. It also writes data other controllers refuse to write. - Now supports one-pass dumping of "flippy" disks with a modified 5.25" drive. The problem dumping these is explained here: http://forum.kryoflux.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3#p1991 <http://forum.kryoflux.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3#p1991> , comprehensive video tutorial explains how drives can be modified: http://forum.kryoflux.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=253#p2021 <http://forum.kryoflux.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=253#p2021> - We released the full source code to our own format, IPF, introduced over ten years ago, that stores original data as found on original disks, e.g. custom formats and copy protection. We spent over ten years on preserving games, now KryoFlux brings extended floppy imaging to home users as well. More information is available on our website: http://www.kryoflux.com Or check the trailer if you like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOtwq5eqeuA Can we do better? Please let us know! Best, Chris

14 years, 8 months

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Puzzling error message

by rick＠rickmurphy.net

At 01:38 PM 11/4/2011, THOM RESTIVO wrote: >When running OS8 on a PDP8/a system I get an error message that reads >"ahain >error". Has anyone ever seen or heard of this. I cannot find info anywhere >on this. One thought we have is that maybe the message should read "chain >error" and was mis-spelled in the program that generates it. Any thoughts? The OS/8 USR (User Service Routine) has a CHAIN function that allows a program to exit and start up another program. For example, the FORTRAN compiler has multiple phases and chains from one phase to the next. CHAIN requires that the program being chained to be on the system boot device (SYS:), otherwise you'll get a CHAIN ERROR message from USR. What program are you using when you see this error? Are you running that from the SYS device? If not, that's the fix. As far as the "AHAIN" versus "CHAIN" - I don't know why it's spelled incorrectly, but it wouldn't surprise me that it's someone's idea for bumming a bit for some reason from an infrequent error message. -Rick

14 years, 8 months

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4000 Series CMOS Parts?

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

> RCA had a bit-slice part in one of their 1970s COSMOS databooks, with an > app note in the back, but I've never been able to find that particular > COSMOS databook again I think... it was in the back of one of their memory databooks. I think that everybody except AMD really fell flat trying to fit bitslice parts into their marketing.

14 years, 8 months

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KryoFlux - imaging of vintage floppy disks via USB

by cb＠kryoflux.com

> A meta-comment: I've been watching the KryoFlux discussion and, > whatever I may think of the hardware[1] or past management policies[2], > I'm very positively impressed with the people who are representing > KryoFlux[3] here. > [..] > > [1] What I've heard sounds good; I've never even seen it personally, so > I can't say much authoritatively.[4] > > > [4] Given that it hooks up to a stock drive (at least that's the > impression I've gotten) and is largely open and getting opener, I'm > tempted to get one against possible future need. (I'm not thrilled > by USB, but I've got enough USB-capable machines, and will likely > get more, that it's tolerable. And, while I currently have no real > use for it, it is not unlikely that will change someday, and I'd > hate to discover them gone when I do want their product.) Chuck has passed the offer of trying the board for free (ok, return postage, as I can't print a US or Canadian label from here). If you want to try it, please feel free to chime in. I just can't change the status of the software for now, so you would have to go with the binaries. Cheers!

14 years, 8 months

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KryoFlux - imaging of vintage floppy disks via USB

by cb＠kryoflux.com

> I may be dense today, but after digging through the kryoflux.org site I'm > not having any luck finding the schematic. Don't be shy, download the software (Win32/64 is latest). It's free, no registration required, and schematics are included. Cheers!

14 years, 8 months

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KryoFlux - imaging of vintage floppy disks via USB

by cb＠kryoflux.com

> Being a hardware geek myself, are current schematics available for the > kryoflux? I had asked a year or so ago and got pointed to old schematics > that were a couple revisions out of date. Just download the latest software package, it has the schematics included. Enjoy. Cheers, Chris

14 years, 8 months

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Market value of VAX 4000-96 - Re: Can anyone explain this to me ?

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

Heh. OpenBSD's original claim to fame was that it provided a certain arrogant ass with a way to thumb his nose at his peers. I'm glad enough grownups eventually joined in to make it a useful project. -Dave -- Dave McGuire New Kensington, PA leaknoil <leaknoil at gmail.com> wrote: >On 11/4/2011 7:33 PM, Mouse wrote: >>> What would you do to a current Debian distro to make it more secure ? >> Boot the NetBSD install CD. >We are heading into platform war territory here but, shouldn't that be >OpenBSD ? Security was their claim to fame over NetBSD. Still it >wouldn't be any more secure than a current linux install. I think we are >talking about things as they were ten years ago. Today most OS are >really pretty tight out of the box. Much more so then they were in 1988 >or 2010 for that matter.

14 years, 8 months

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Multiplexing was Re: Information on the PPS-4/1 4 bit microprocessor wanted

by benjamin.soelberg＠gmail.com

2011/10/31 Eric Smith <eric at brouhaha.com> > Benjamin S?lberg wrote: > > So if you multiplex 8 leds you need 8 times the peak current to keep the > > same luminance ? > > 8:1 multiplex requires 8 times the peak current to get the same average > power. Years ago I saw some claims that with multiplexing you can use > lower average power for the same perceptual brightness, due to retinal > persistence. However, I've seen other people claim that this is not true. > It would be entertaining to set up a double-blind test and find out. > > I would expect a double-blind person would say that he couldn't see any difference :-) Joke-a-side.. If multiplexing really did save power then just pulsing a single led would do the same.. It might be true... think bicycle lights ? -- Med venlig hilsen / Best regards Benjamin S?lberg

14 years, 8 months

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KryoFlux - imaging of vintage floppy disks via USB

by cb＠kryoflux.com

On 4 Nov 2011 at 0:26, Chuck Guzis wrote: >>/Not only does it support raw imaging of flux transitions, we also / >>/support output of sector image formats for pretty much all major home />>/platforms of the last 25 odd years (as well as a few strange ones). / >That's a pretty bold claim. I'm not saying that you haven't, just >that I've got several cabinets full of samples and some are very odd >indeed. >Suppose I were to send you a specimen copy of one without providing >any details (pretty much what I'm given to work with). Do you think >you could send me a duplicate and a sector-by-sector dump? > >I'd really be impressed. Chuck, how about the following: You just try this for yourself; it already supports so many generic FM and MFM formats, chances are, a broad range will work out of the box. My offer would be as follows: I send you a board, you give it a try with your various test disks. If your data does not read as expected, or there is something we don't support yet, but should be supporting, you make a STREAM dump and put it on our FTP. We'll take a look. I'd have to ask for a EUR 50.- deposit, which I will gladly refund the moment you send it back (are 60 days long enough to give it a try?). I am not asking you to sign anything and it does not come with any obligations. Plus: If you'd want to keep it, you keep it for EUR 50.-. Your only risk would be the return postage... And I'd of course like to hear all feedback you have, even if negative, here on the list. What do you think? --Chris

14 years, 8 months

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Post Jobs speculation or just scrap thieves?

by jbdigriz＠dragonsweb.org

Had a IIe, a gs, and several Mac SEs and SE 30s take missing this past weekend, along with some empty filing cabinets and a pedestal for a TI DS-10 drive. DS-50 disappeared a while back. Anyone else having a problem? jbdigriz

14 years, 8 months

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Encompass US down?

by fraveydank＠gmail.com

I figured it was about time I gave VMS a shot, but to get a hobbyist license I need to join Encompass US. encompassus.org seems to be down in a not-so-good way. Anyone have any insight on that? - Dave

14 years, 8 months

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SWTPC Progress...

by wh.sudbrink＠verizon.net

Hi, Some time ago, I asked for some help locating documents for the Percom LFD-400 disk system. A number of people kindly helped out so I thought I would give a brief progress report to the list. 1) I removed various hacks on the MP-C and MP-S boards to return them to "factory" spec. 2) I implemented a switch on the MP-A CPU board to turn the onboard RAM on and off. This made debugging much easier. At this point, I was able to boot into SWTBUG with the MP-A RAM turned on. 3) I debugged several problems with the GIMIX 16K static RAM board. The original owner reported that this card always caused problems. No schematics seem to be available for it so the troubleshooting was slow going. The most interesting problem was that one of the 5 volt regulators (there are 4 on the board) was only providing 1.8 volts. As well as powering one of the 4K banks, this regulator was supplying power to some of the address decoding chips. With the out of spec supply, these chips were interfering with the correct operation of the address bus, preventing the whole system from operating. Other problems included some dead RAM chips, some bent pins on socketed chips and 39 undocumented dip switches. If somebody turns them up, I would love to get the docs for this board. At present, I have determined that 16 of the switches control the address of the 4 4K banks of RAM. I have left the other 23 switches as they were set when I acquired the system. Experiments as simple as turning them all on or off result in a non- functioning system. 4) I implemented the MP-B motherboard enhancement documented in the September 1978 issue of Interface Age. Fortunately, my MP-B was built with sockets, so the modifications can be easily removed if it should be necessary to restore the system to "factory" behavior. 5) I tied the MP-B mod into the address decoding on the 32K GIMIX card and the system now has 48K less 32 bytes of RAM and boots into SWTBUG with the MP-A RAM turned off. 6) I then proceeded to the Percom floppy interface board and determined to my great pleasure that it was functioning perfectly. I was able to jump into MINI-DOS+ with the SWTBUG 'Z' command, format a disk and create some files. I did this initially with a different 5 1/4 inch floppy drive as the original Percom (Shugart) drive had some problems. 7) I corrected two issues with the Percom drive and it now functions correctly. The first issue was shorted caps on the logic board. These were easily identified as they were smoking. The second problem puzzled me for a while. The drive worked fine as long as I did not put the cover on it. MINI-DOS is, unfortunately, pretty cryptic with its error reporting, only giving integer error codes. The magazine articles that I got don't document them. I finally figured out the problem when I noticed that the drive stopped working when I leaned over it. Turned out that there was some dust partially obscuring the index sensor. With the lid off and the overhead light shining on the drive, there was enough index signal for the drive to work. Put the cover on, or even shade the drive, and the internal LED was not producing enough light to detect the index holes. Interestingly, canned air was not enough to dislodge the dust. I had to reach in with a small, soft, unused paint brush and poke around to get it to the state where it works reliably with the cover on. One neat thing about the drive is that it has two sets of index and write-protect sensors. It is "flippy". It only has one read/write head, but you can insert a double sided diskette in either side up and use both sides. So, now I need some software. For those visually inclined, I put some pictures here: http://wsudbrink.dyndns.org:8080/swtpc6800/ Pictures 1 to 11 are of the AC-30 cassette interface and CT-64 terminal that I will be working on next. Pictures 16 and 17 are of the 6800 cover (I'm missing the screws). Pictures 18 to 21 show the output and listing of an SWTPC BASIC program I wrote to solve last week's Car Talk puzzler. Pictures 22 to 25 show SWTBUG working and using both serial interfaces. Pictures 27 and 28 show booting from SWTBUG into MINI-DOS+, getting a file listing and loading BASIC from a diskette. Pictures 30 to 35 show the beast itself. The cards from front to back are 1) The GIMIX 32K RAM 2) The GIMIX 16K RAM 3) The Percom floppy interface 4) The SWTPC MP-A CPU 5) The I/O card to the left (slot 0) is the MP-C and the card to the right (slot 1) is the MP-S. Picture 34 also shows the Percom floppy drive. Picture 35 is from the back. You can see the switch to control the MP-A RAM and also the small brown card that is the MP-B addressing enhancement. Bill

14 years, 8 months

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another weird pdp 11/70 color scheme

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

> From:?David Griffith <dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu> > > Here's a variation of the pdp 11/70 with a chocolate-brown and white color scheme: ?http://661.org/images/csis1170.jpg > > -- > David Griffith > dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu The Rhode Island Computer Museum has two 11/70 panels from CSI. The CSI systems ran a regional newspaper. -- Michael Thompson

14 years, 8 months

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Reading obsolete ICs... Mostek 3851 PSU

by pinball＠telus.net

Has anyone tried to read the data from the Mostek 3851 PSU (ROM, I/O) used with the 3850? I am looking to replace these tiny computers with a modern FPGA or similar... Thanks, John :-#)#

14 years, 8 months

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