Hi CC Techers, Dwight Elvey visited here the other day and dumped the
contents of the eight 1702 PROMs that are the heart of the Digibarn's
8008 system built by Bill Pentz and team at Sacramento State in
1972-73. It might have drivers and code for their "DOS" which
supported a serial interface, hard disk, Tektronix 4023 and
interpreter for mainframe 370 IBM BAL. It might be junk or nothing.
If there was something there it would be the "earliest" such code for
a microcomputer and very valuable historically.
The SacState 8008 story can be seen at:
http://www.digibarn.com/stories/bill-pentz-story/index.html
and we would love to add the disassembled code to this ongoing project.
If you are interested in trying to disassemble this and interpret
what this code represents please email me directly at:
bdamer at digitalspace.com
and I will send you the binaries.
Bruce
cc Dwight
Pontus Pihlgren <pontus at Update.UU.SE> wrote:
> Hi
>
> I've acquired two PDP-11/44 and have just now gone throught the list of
> cards in the cpu-boxes and the spares. Here is a list:
>
> http://www.update.uu.se/~pontus/slask/11-44-kort.txt
Nice! You'll be able to put together atleast one really nice 11/44 from
that. I notice one FP11 in the list.
> Also I wonder what the
> "M7251 KG11-A U Network interface XOR and CRC block check option"
Just what it says, Network interface XOR and CRC block check option. :-)
Ok. The long answer then... You know about CRC-16 I assume?
This is hardware to generate that. You shove data to the card, one word
at a time, and you can read out the CRC value.
This card is, however, not very popular or useful, since software CRC
routines are actually faster on the PDP-11. DECnet can use this card if
you have it, but it's recommended that it not be used for this fact.
(The card is actually more generic, and can be used to generate any kind
of CRC checksum, not just CRC-16.)
> "M3110 DRCSA U Protocol assist #1 w/special character check and CRC (DEC/DLC/DRCSA)"
> "M3111 DRCSA U Protocol assist #2 w/special character check and CRC (DEC/DLC/DRCSA)"
No clear idea about those two...
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
Hi,
I recently obtained a Microwriter with an LCD display. It turns on and displays MW4/10, with an 'f' in the right of the display. I can enter letters, but after about 8 it locks up and I need to power cycle (using the white button), which resets the unit as above.
I think 'f' is a mode, I think it was 'I' originally (but I can't find a way to change it!). I hope it stuck in some mode or waiting for serial input, can anyone help with command sequences please? Else it may be faulty, I found Tony's post from 2009 asking for a 'good' EPROM image, maybe mine is failing in a similar way.
Regards,
John
I just ran across an NEC D75008 microcontroller in a small photo copier
ca. 1990. According to a search it is a 4-bit microcontroller.
Idle curiousity, but does anybody know if this has any inheritance from
or relation to better-known microcontrollers such as the TMS1000, that
is, is it NEC's version of something better known?, or is it NEC's own
architecture?
On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 10:09 PM, Zane H. Healy <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote:
> Does anyone happen to know where to get parts for one of these? At a
> minimum I need lenses to get it working.
>
> Zane
>
Talk to Ken Hansen with Imaging Systems - 608-276-5559 or Dick
Svehla at All Micrographics & Scanning - 352-684-1159. Both are
pretty resourceful and tend to have a lot of assorted microfilm gear
and parts on hand. If neither of them can help you out, let me know,
and I'll dig a little deeper into my contacts list to see who else I
can find.
--Shaun
--
"If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus
one day, so I never have to live without you." -- Winnie The Pooh
http://www.lungs4amber.org
On Youtube I found a video of some guy walking through an IBM mainframe
installation showing the viewer a bunch of stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdNxaRa4roo
Does anyone here know of similar videos for, say, a DEC installation?
--
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?
I have an Apple Lisa 1 for sale. Yes, it has the Twiggy drives. It
includes the Twiggy systems OS disks (2), original Lisa 1 manual,
keyboard, original Lisa (rectangular button) mouse.
It works.
Excellent condition.
Normally I would not so brazenly hawk something but I need to raise funds
for an imminent move of the VCF archives.
I'm entertaining any and all offers. At a minimum, there should be three
zeroes before the decimal point.
Please contact me directly if you're interested. Photos and more detail
will be forwarded upon request.
Will ship galaxy-wide.
Thanks!
--
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org
[ Old computing resources for business || Buy/Sell/Trade Vintage Computers ]
[ and academia at www.VintageTech.com || at http://marketplace.vintage.org ]
Hey folks. I realize this is short notice, but on Tuesday the 7th
I'll be hitting the road from Port Charlotte, FL (Gulf coast south of
Tampa) and driving a mostly-empty 16' box truck up to the Washington DC
area. I am willing to transport stuff along that route, within a
reasonable distance of the 95 corridor, for reasonable compensation.
In the middle of the following week, likely around the 14th, I'll be
driving back down the same route. I will have less space available
then, but I should have some free room.
Contact me directly via email if interested.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
I'm thinking of doing a little write-up/summary on the
emulation/exploration of classic mainframe and minicomputer platforms
and I was wondering what all is available to folks both in terms of
host platforms (emulators and affordable real iron) and software. I
know that DEC stuff (especially PDP-8, PDP-10, PDP-11 and VAX stuff)
is widely available, as is a lot of early IBM stuff (360 and early 370
era) and even there's even a little bit available for things like the
Interdata minis, the HP 2100 and (if you know the right people) the
CDC 6x00/Cyber x70 systems. In addition, I've heard that a whole bunch
of Data General software has been authorized for release to hobbyists,
but work on that project is rather slow. Apart from what I've
mentioned, is there anything else that's either available or "in the
pipeline" or have I got it all?
Mike
And another item to go:
an RS232 to/from GPIB interface
Small metal box, 220V supply, contains a minimal 8085 system with the expected gpib interface IC's
Etched on the PCB is "Hopp systems", no further info available.
I have already decided not to bother with GPIB anymore, so off it goes.
Do not know how or if it works. Those who want tp pay something for this get preference, but other may apply also !
( + shipping from Switezerland of course..)
Jos
Once more cleaning up, I came across 1300 sheets of fanfold thermal paper, which I will never use, since I do not have the thermal printer it is intended for.Am I right in believing that this paper is getting rare ?
For the (rounded up,,,) cost of shipping from Switzerland it is yours.
Jos Dreesen
> Has anyone ever seen the MINC BASIC system? It wsa essentally an
> interpreted BASIC with routines to do thigns like generate and display
> (on a VT105) a historgram of pulse heights, things like that. I don't
> have it myself, I think I have some of the manuals for it.
>
I got it with my mini-MINC, essentially a PDT-150. But it came without
the VT-105, so no graphics. Later I got a VT-125, which should emulate a
VT-105, but apparantly not seamless.
The images of the disks are here:
http://electrickery.xs4all.nl/comp/miniminc/floppyImages/info.html. I
also have the manual set, but scanned the mini-MINC specific parts only
so far (http://electrickery.xs4all.nl/comp/miniminc/doc/).
> -tony
>
Fred Jan
PDP-11/34 - $100 (Kitsap)
------------------------------
Date: 2010-09-04, 10:42AM PDT
Reply to: sale-szusu-1936500683 at craigslist.org<sale-szusu-1936500683 at craigslist.org?subject=PDP-11%2F34%20%20-%20%24100%20(Kitsap)&body=%0A%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fseattle.craigslist.org%2Fkit%2Fsys%2F1936500683.html%0A>
[Errors when replying to
ads?<http://www.craigslist.org/about/help/replying_to_posts>
]
------------------------------
This is a piece of history. Extrended memory, Floating Point card, Vt50
terminal, (2) RLO2's, (1) RLO1, (2) 500 Mb Eagles, including platters,
manuals. If you know what this is, then you remember washing machine sized
computing in the labs. Load with UCC APT NC programming software. Call for
details. Merle, at 360-[see ad]. It was running when I last used it in 1991.
This is not a laptop or a desktop! LOL.
- Location: Kitsap
- it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial
interests
PostingID: 1936500683
http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/sys/1936500683.html
<http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/sys/1936500683.html>
--
Stephane
http://updatedoften.blogspot.com
Next Saturday (11th September 2010) there is an HPCC mini-conference in
London. This is not a classic computing event really (which is why it's
OT), but it is somewhat traditional for one of the talks to cover a
classic HP computer or calculator, and anyway, there will be older
machines to look at...
Non-members of HPCC are welcome to attend, but please let a member of the
committee (e.g. me) know if you are likely to come. More details are on
the hpcc web site, http://www.hpcc.org/
-tony
I was looking for other things in the IBM area, and stumbled across a
store with a lot of cheap (by classic computing standards) stuff.
this Adaptec SCSI to Qic-36 is $24 + 10 shipping, as an example 330221339704
If you have a lot of time, there a lot of parts such as some PS2
controller, and so forth if you look thru the entire store. I made it 4
pages (800 items) before I got tired tonight, but will look at more.
The PS2 to QIC was $5 bucks for instance.
If anyone has dealt with the vendor, post here if you like good or bad.
I'm local to the place and may track them down and see if they will let
the public noodle thru their pile.
Jim
I'm looking for guide rails for the 5.25" drive bays for Chenbro cases
(many use the
same rails, mine is an SR20969 case.... I rescued this system from being
recycled
(2 dual core Opterons), however it is missing the front plastics and the
guide rails....
You can find a p/n and buy the front plastic... but I can't find a part
number for these
rails (seems a shame to scrap a decent chassis over lack of device guide
rails).
Sorry this isn't a classic box... but I'm not having any luck finding
these and was hoping
maybe someone out there has something in there local scrap pile....
-- Curt
I hear all kids these days are using the Twitters, so I went and set
up an account for VCF Midwest. Those not able to make it can enjoy
some "live tweeting" of the, er, "action" and attendees can get
last-minute updates on setup times and other logistical issues. So if
you're a Twitterererer, point your device our way:
http://twitter.com/vcfmidwest
Folks of the more old-school persuasion can also join us on IRC at
#vcfmw on the freenode servers.
Hope to see everyone there!
--
jht
vcfmw.orgchiclassiccomp.org
Hi all --
I am one step closer to having a "useful" IMSAI 8080; thanks to a kind
listmember I now have more spare 2147s than I know what to do with, and
have used them to repopulate my 32K static RAM board. That brings me up
to 48K of working RAM, which seems like more than enough to play with.
Now I'd like to get the IMSAI talking to the world. Or at least a
terminal. (Gotta start somewhere.)
Were there ever any standards for serial I/O in the IMSAI/Altair/S-100
world (ports, interrupt settings, etc)? I have an IMSAI MIO board that
I'd like to use. It has more configuration options than one can shake a
stick at, and the (185 page) manual makes mention of several port
address configurations, referring to them as "IMSAI SIO," "Processor
Tech 3P+S," "Altair SIO." Did one of these emerge as a de facto
standard at any point?
My _eventual_ goal is to run CP/M at which point (hopefully) I assemble
a CBIOS for whatever serial configuration I end up with and it's all
taken care of; for now I'd be happy to get some paper-tape software to
run. (Altair BASIC might be nice.) So I'm trying to work out a serial
configuration that will work with a fair amount of archived software --
what would you recommend? Is the MIO board a decent serial board, or
should I find something else?
Thanks as always,
Josh
Does anyone have some info in the Texas Instruments SN75413 ? I am
trying to restore the front panel controls of an early Tandy Radio Shack
hard disk (8 MByte!), but cannot find this chip info. The reverse
engineered diagram is at
http://www.xs4all.nl/~fjkraan/comp/trs80m2/driverboard.png, but as I do
not have the pin functions, I cannot connect the lamp and switch part
(this bit is missing) to the board.
There is some info on Radio Shack hard disks online, but not for this
old model. For some more context of the board see
http://www.xs4all.nl/~fjkraan/comp/trs80m2/8megDisk.html.
Fred Jan
A recent hamfest yielded a beautiful AMD LabPro Digelec PLD programmer,
along with PALASM software and several pounds of programmable devices. The
only thing lacking are docs for operating the programmer. It's reasonably
self explanatory in local mode but I'd like to figure out how to connect
with a PC to allow file transfers to and from the device. Anybody have the
docs or experience with this device?
Thanks,
Jack
On 9/2/10, Dave McGuire <mcguire at neurotica.com> wrote:
> A MINC is a lot more than just a PDP-11!
While that's certainly true, has anyone on the list ever done anything
with the Lab I/O stuff on a MINC? I got one years ago with all the
docs and software (everything, really, except for the cart, which the
lab kept for something else). Mine only has one or two modules - a
clock board and one of the input boards (I'd have to check the exact
types), but since I didn't have much, I've only ever booted RT-11 and
noodled around on the VT105. ISTR the CPU bay is stuffed with a
KDF-11, 256K of memory, an RXV21, a DLV11J, and an IBV11.
Over the years, I've been given plenty of Qbus parts, but I've never
run across any loose MINC modules. I'm curious if anyone else ever
got a MINC loaded enough to do something fun with it.
-ethan
We have been working to establish some sort of I/O, preferably RS232 with a
PDP 11/05
After spending many hours on the problem we came up empty.
The computer itself appears to be OK, the continuity cards are in the right
places, the core RAM works, simple test programs function properly. For
example entering code from 177700: 000240 000777 the computer will set the
lowest address bit to 0-1-0-1 continuously.
The current configuration is
M9970
M7260
M7261
M920/H214
G110
G231
Grant
UNIBUS bridge
M7856
Grant
Grant
We don't have a device for 20ma current loop-ing so we're trying to use the
M7856 for RS232 communications. We're not sure what ports to use with the
M7856 while a M9970 is also installed, does a conflict exist?
We have found the following resources and worked through what info was
provided there
http://www.shiresoft.com/pdp-11/11-10/index.htmlhttp://www.pdp-11.nl/per...terface/dl11w-info.htmlhttp://www.bitsavers.org...-DL11W-OP-001_May77.pdf
If anyone on this list can assist with diagnostic steps it would be greatly
appreciated. For example an octal listing for a character echo program.
Please contact me directly. We're not sure what port to use for RS232, the
default teletype port seems to be 60. I think we're close, and it's also
possible that there is a problem with the card. The switch settings appear
to be OK.
Thanks
Bill Degnan
I've been looking for this case for years. And I stumbled upon it on
ebay. Here's the listing. The price is also has some comedy value.
http://cgi.ebay.com/AMAZING-VINTAGE-ONE-OWNER-ATARI-LOT-PRISTINE-MINT-/3602…
I'm interested in the full heigh 5.25" case to the right in the photos
with what looks like a floppy drive and a half height hard drive. Is
there a name or model number for this case? And would anyone be
willing to part with one?
thanks.
brian
Morning folks,
Slightly less panic now, I almost accidentally fell over a house just
half a mile away with enough storage and land for everything I already
have that's less money than I'm currently paying - result!
I'm still going to try and shift the vast majority of the DEC stuff
though, particularly since the terms of the let on the new place are
only for 2 years then I have to move again. I now have a chance to
find related software etc for those of you who've asked for machines
and bits and attempt to ebay the rest.
I'm guessing there's no interest at all in my Grey Wall given the
online availability of docs and CDs etc, I've dragged it all between
houses for 10 years now, maybe it's time to hit the recycler and give
some of those trees back :)
I've also found 3 more DEC monitors - VRT21 (heavy trinitron model)
plus a 17" and 21" workstation monitor, can't remember its designator
but it has all the BNC connectors (r/g/b/h/v) and VGA inputs.
I also doubt I'll ever do anything with most of the big TRS80 stuff on
my Tandy page (http://www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk/Museum/Tandy/) like
the model 2/3/4 and all-in-one model 1 (2nd one on the list - came
with a LOT of books and docs). Any interest?
I take it nobody wants the MINC-11? I'm not surprised to be honest
though, it IS big.
Cheers,
--
adrian/witchy
Owner of Binary Dinosaurs, the UK's biggest home computer collection?
www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk
Hi guys,
I'm toying with the idea of doing an MFM/RLL hard drive bolt-on for the
DiscFerret (seeing as the DF hardware is basically done now -- I'm just
doing a final design check before I send the PCBs off for manufacturing).
Problem is, I don't have a drive to play with.
Does anyone have any or all of the following kicking around?
- MFM or RLL hard drives. I could do with one or two of these;
anything's good, as long as it has an ST506-style interface (that is,
straight MFM/RLL with no funny business) and is believed to work. I'm
ideally aiming for something "of reputable manufacture" -- so not a
Kalok Octagon!
- Cable kit for the above. So that's the Data and Control cables --
edge connector to IDC plug.
- MFM/RLL controller to match the drive. Anything goes here -- e.g.
Western Digital WD100x series, DTC, Omti... as long as I can make it
work with the drive for long enough to format the drive and 'dd' some
data onto it. I'll even consider SCSI-to-MFM bridges if they can be
relatively easily tied to a modern PCI, PCIe or USB SCSI card (say, an
AHA2940).
I'm happy to pay reasonable market value for the above, but that doesn't
extend to paying ?390 for drive-on-its-own (read: drive that's had the
PCB removed and is basically useless) on "that online auction site"...
Thanks,
--
Phil.
classiccmp at philpem.me.uk
http://www.philpem.me.uk/
Could someone here make a high-resolution scan of a Twiggy floppy that I
can put on Wikipedia?
--
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?
I distinctly remember a dedicated word processing machine that used 2-inch
or 2.5-inch floppies. Does anyone remember what it/they were?
--
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?
Does anyone happen to know where to get parts for one of these? At a
minimum I need lenses to get it working.
Zane
--
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Administrator |
| healyzh at aracnet.com | OpenVMS Enthusiast |
| | Photographer |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| My flickr Photostream |
| http://www.flickr.com/photos/33848088 at N03/ |
On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 12:58 PM, John A. Dundas III <dundas at caltech.edu> wrote:
>
> A MINC-23 can be upgraded to a -73 (which ours has), and I would find that
> VERY interesting.
>
Is the standard backplane 18-bit or 22-bit? Do you need to mod the
backplane to upgrade to an -73?
I have a MINC-23 currently sitting idle in my garage. If I ever
decide to part with it shipping it (Seattle area) would be a
challenge.
-Glen
Hi,
Very interested, we should make a direct contact ...
With best regards
Gerhard
-----Urspr?ngliche Nachricht-----
Von: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] Im
Auftrag von cctalk-request at classiccmp.org
Gesendet: Donnerstag, 02. September 2010 05:03
An: cctalk at classiccmp.org
Betreff: cctalk Digest, Vol 85, Issue 3
Send cctalk mailing list submissions to
cctalk at classiccmp.org
To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
http://www.classiccmp.org/mailman/listinfo/cctalk
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
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You can reach the person managing the list at
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When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of cctalk digest..."
Today's Topics:
1. Re: Getting started with programmable logic, was Re: Cray 1
replica (Chuck Guzis)
2. Re: Getting started with programmable logic, was Re: Cray 1
replica (Keith M)
3. Re: WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller
(Tony Duell)
4. Re: First digital camera (Fred Cisin)
5. Re: First digital camera (Jerry Wright)
6. RE: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA
(Fred Cisin)
7. Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA
(geoffrey oltmans)
8. Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA
(Ben)
9. Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA
(Ben)
10. Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA
(Sridhar Ayengar)
11. DRTS-11 (E. Groenenberg)
12. RE: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA
(Chuck Guzis)
13. Re: DRTS-11 (Chuck Guzis)
14. RE: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA
(Rich Alderson)
15. RE: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA
(Fred Cisin)
16. Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA
(William Donzelli)
17. Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA
(Fred Cisin)
18. Re: WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller
(Philip Pemberton)
19. Re: WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller
(Dennis Boone)
20. Lots of TTL chips (David Betz)
21. Re: WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller
(Philip Pemberton)
22. Re: Lots of TTL chips (Sridhar Ayengar)
23. Re: Lots of TTL chips (Ethan Dicks)
24. Re: WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller
(Chuck Guzis)
25. Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA
(jim s)
26. Re: WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller
(jim s)
27. Re: Getting started with programmable logic, was Re: Cray 1
replica (Eric Smith)
28. Re: Getting started with programmable logic, was Re: Cray 1
replica (Eric Smith)
29. Re: Getting started with programmable logic, was Re: Cray 1
replica (Eric Smith)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:08:57 -0700
From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com>
Subject: Re: Getting started with programmable logic, was Re: Cray 1
replica
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <4C7E2639.24859.57E3A2 at cclist.sydex.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
In the eval kits, the Spartan 6 kits seem to offer a significantly
higher bang-for-the-buck than the Spartan 3 ones.
What am I missing?
--Chuck
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:12:54 -0400
From: Keith M <keithvz at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: Getting started with programmable logic, was Re: Cray 1
replica
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
Message-ID: <4C7E8996.2060506 at verizon.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
On 9/1/2010 12:04 PM, Richard wrote:
> In article<4C7DEE9F.5020807 at brouhaha.com>,
> Eric Smith<eric at brouhaha.com> writes:
>
>> Richard wrote about the Xilinx Spartan-3E:
>> > I believe the 3E is for embedded designs, i.e. automotive
>> applications, etc.
>>
>> No, they do have special parts rated for an automotive temperature
>> range, but that's not what the 3E is. All Spartan FPGAs are
>> general-purpose FPGAs. I have no idea what would be special in an FPGA
>> for an embedded design; nearly all FPGA designs are embedded, so I think
>> there would be no real market for an FPGA that was NOT suitable for
>> embedded designs.
>
> Well, when I try to find out information on Spartan 3 FPGA's on
> Xilinx's web site, all the web sections have "Automotive" plastered
> all over them.
>
> Perhaps they are just trying to market to that segment.
Maybe. Did you see my other post?
There are multiple versions of the Spartan-3E.
PDF page 2 here
http://www.xilinx.com/support/documentation/data_sheets/ds635.pdf
outlines the differences between the commercial XC version and the
automotive XA version.
The XA automotive version is designed to be low-cost but has wide-range
temperature support and has reliability qualifications. Otherwise it
offers a LIMITED feature set, limited speed grades --- in comparison to
the full commercial-grade Spartan-3E (that I own)
There are no (AFAICT) specific automotive "features" that make it an
extra special fit.
Keith
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:48:19 +0100 (BST)
From: ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell)
Subject: Re: WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
Message-ID: <m1OqQGF-000J3uC at p850ug1>
Content-Type: text/plain
>
> Hi guys,
>
> I'm toying with the idea of doing an MFM/RLL hard drive bolt-on for the=20
> DiscFerret (seeing as the DF hardware is basically done now -- I'm just=20
> doing a final design check before I send the PCBs off for manufacturing).
>
> Problem is, I don't have a drive to play with.
>
> Does anyone have any or all of the following kicking around?
>
> - MFM or RLL hard drives. I could do with one or two of these;=20
> anything's good, as long as it has an ST506-style interface (that is,=20
> straight MFM/RLL with no funny business) and is believed to work. I'm=20
> ideally aiming for something "of reputable manufacture" -- so not a=20
> Kalok Octagon!
Alas not. Well, actually, I have a number od such drives, but I have even
more classic computers that use them. So nothing 'spare'
>
> - Cable kit for the above. So that's the Data and Control cables --=20
> edge connector to IDC plug.
Err, the connectors are still avaialble (easily...) So is IDC ribbon
cable. And I assume you own a metalwork vice, since it's so useful for
other things. Which means you could make the cables in less time that
it's taken me to type this.
> - MFM/RLL controller to match the drive. Anything goes here -- e.g.=20
> Western Digital WD100x series, DTC, Omti... as long as I can make it=20
What do you want as the host computer interface? I am pretty sure I can
find the odd ISA bus one, but what would you use that with?
-tony
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 10:34:50 -0700 (PDT)
From: Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com>
Subject: Re: First digital camera
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <20100901101623.T21871 at shell.lmi.net>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
As always on this list, ANY use of the word "first" is subject to
challenge.
On Wed, 1 Sep 2010, Pontus Pihlgren wrote:
> Hi
> Somewhat offtopic (and old), but interesting. Does the d|i|g|i|t|a|l
> cassette mean that it is a DECcassette they are using?
> http://pluggedin.kodak.com/post/?id=687843
It may very well have been the first digital camera from Kodak, or the
first to meet certain completely arbitrary further restrictions (of
weight, size, power source, image quality, etc.). But it (1975) was most
certainly NOT the first digital camera.
In 1970, I saw a Rube-Goldberg homemade system that used an almost
unmodified Sony video-camera feeding its signal to a digitizer in
the case of a gutted CV series recorder. Is that invalidated because it
was two pieces connected with a cable? When I saw it, the tinkerers were
putting together an interface to a crude fax machine.
(Fax machines have been around a LONG time.)
It is also amusing to note that in spite of this very nice "proof of
concept", a decade later Kodak was betting the company on chemical capture
with digital storage ("photo-CD" and later "picture-CD")
Now, Kodak is phasing out a lot of their chemical products :-(
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin at xenosoft.com
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 10:38:33 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jerry Wright <g-wright at att.net>
Subject: Re: First digital camera
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <811884.32138.qm at web83805.mail.sp1.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Don't know about the Cassette, but they used a Motorola
Exorciser to render the image. (6800)? Picture is missing the
computer? interface and most likely floppy disk system.
- Jerry
--- On Wed, 9/1/10, Pontus Pihlgren <pontus at Update.UU.SE> wrote:
From: Pontus Pihlgren <pontus at Update.UU.SE>
Subject: First digital camera
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
Date: Wednesday, September 1, 2010, 12:06 AM
Hi
Somewhat offtopic (and old), but interesting. Does the d|i|g|i|t|a|l
cassette mean that it is a DECcassette they are using?
http://pluggedin.kodak.com/post/?id=687843
Cheers,
Pontus.
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 11:14:25 -0700 (PDT)
From: Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com>
Subject: RE: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <20100901111320.J21871 at shell.lmi.net>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
> I'd love to have that dual 8 inch drive.
> See should know that that McIntosh amp is
> quite valuable.
"Wow! An amplifier named after the computer!"
"I wonder why Apple let them do that"
------------------------------
Message: 7
Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 11:20:08 -0700 (PDT)
From: geoffrey oltmans <oltmansg at bellsouth.net>
Subject: Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <250203.77282.qm at web83915.mail.sp1.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
I wonder why Apple Records let an Apple Computer company alone for so long.
;)
________________________________
From: Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com>
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Wed, September 1, 2010 1:14:25 PM
Subject: RE: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA
> I'd love to have that dual 8 inch drive.
> See should know that that McIntosh amp is
> quite valuable.
"Wow! An amplifier named after the computer!"
"I wonder why Apple let them do that"
------------------------------
Message: 8
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:26:48 -0600
From: Ben <bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca>
Subject: Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <4C7E9AE8.6010801 at jetnet.ab.ca>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Fred Cisin wrote:
>> I'd love to have that dual 8 inch drive.
>> See should know that that McIntosh amp is
>> quite valuable.
>
> "Wow! An amplifier named after the computer!"
> "I wonder why Apple let them do that"
I dare you to hook that to a IPOD output and
headphones. :-)
Ben.
------------------------------
Message: 9
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:29:49 -0600
From: Ben <bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca>
Subject: Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <4C7E9B9D.9060705 at jetnet.ab.ca>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
geoffrey oltmans wrote:
> I wonder why Apple Records let an Apple Computer company alone for so
long. ;)
Apple computer has better lawyers? I thought that records and a file
would both count as music MEDIA.
------------------------------
Message: 10
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:34:35 -0400
From: Sridhar Ayengar <ploopster at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <4C7E9CBB.6070607 at gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Ben wrote:
> geoffrey oltmans wrote:
>> I wonder why Apple Records let an Apple Computer company alone for so
>> long. ;)
> Apple computer has better lawyers? I thought that records and a file
> would both count as music MEDIA.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Corps_v_Apple_Computer
Peace... Sridhar
------------------------------
Message: 11
Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 21:13:13 +0200
From: "E. Groenenberg" <quapla at xs4all.nl>
Subject: DRTS-11
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
Message-ID:
<9e1a269a118c7f0bd11afe800ede49d5.squirrel at webmail.xs4all.nl>
Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1
I have found a manual which is called the 'DRTS-11 Reference Manual'
(Distributed Real Time System) and it talks about a pieces of software
which is placed on top of RT-11. According to the description it optimized
for I/O and uses 2 systems. One being the 'I/O processor', the other being
the DRTS-11 system.
The introduction reads :
This document describes version V04.00 of the DRTS-11 multiprocessor
operating system, and the Qnector processor link.'
Apparently this software was made by 'Westfries Systems BV' and/or
'Viking Computer Corp.'
Interesting bit is that this system does need one to logon to it and
one can switch accounts.
BTW, the manual is both the 'User guide', 'Admin guide', and 'Installation
Guide'.
Does this ring a bell to anyone?
Ed
--
Dit is een HTML vrije email / This is an HTML free email.
------------------------------
Message: 12
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:33:10 -0700
From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com>
Subject: RE: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <4C7E4806.7539.DBEE1F at cclist.sydex.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
On 1 Sep 2010 at 11:14, Fred Cisin wrote:
> "Wow! An amplifier named after the computer!"
> "I wonder why Apple let them do that"
Macintosh .NE. McIntosh
Reminds me of then-new Victor demanding that a electronics retailer
who'd called his business "Victor Electronics" for 20 years (IIRC)
change his business name or face the wrath of their mighty lawyers.
That really put me off of that company.
On the other hand, I've never used hand lotion to thicken gravy
(Wondra).
Maybe someday--when I'm very old and terribly confused and can't be
trusted with sharp implements.
--Chuck
------------------------------
Message: 13
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:35:17 -0700
From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com>
Subject: Re: DRTS-11
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <4C7E4885.29423.DDDDAB at cclist.sydex.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
On 1 Sep 2010 at 21:13, E. Groenenberg wrote:
>
> I have found a manual which is called the 'DRTS-11 Reference Manual'
> (Distributed Real Time System) ...
> Does this ring a bell to anyone?
Never heard of it, but I can well imagine that the name was just too
good to resist pronouciation. ("Dirts-11" or better yet, "Dirtsy")
--Chuck
------------------------------
Message: 14
Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 12:41:04 -0700
From: Rich Alderson <RichA at vulcan.com>
Subject: RE: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID:
<CC28F43ED4708D489ABCF68D06D7F556040A5CCA41 at 505DENALI.corp.vnw.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
From: Chuck Guzis
Sent: Wednesday, September 01, 2010 12:33 PM
> On 1 Sep 2010 at 11:14, Fred Cisin wrote:
>> "Wow! An amplifier named after the computer!"
>> "I wonder why Apple let them do that"
> Macintosh .NE. McIntosh
In fact, Apple *did* pay a small fee to McIntosh just to head off exactly
this kind of thing all the way back in 1984. The payment was reported in
_BYTE_, or another similar venue.
The computer company vis-a-vis the music company has been touched on else-
where in this thread.
Thanks,
Rich
Rich Alderson
Vintage Computing Sr. Server Engineer
Vulcan, Inc.
505 5th Avenue S, Suite 900
Seattle, WA 98104
mailto:RichA at vulcan.com
mailto:RichA at LivingComputerMuseum.orghttp://www.PDPplanet.org/http://www.LivingComputerMuseum.org/
------------------------------
Message: 15
Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 12:55:38 -0700 (PDT)
From: Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com>
Subject: RE: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <20100901125331.O25169 at shell.lmi.net>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
> > "Wow! An amplifier named after the computer!"
> > "I wonder why Apple let them do that"
On Wed, 1 Sep 2010, Chuck Guzis wrote:
> Macintosh .NE. McIntosh
They ARE close enopugh for trademark squabbles.
It is "common knowledge" that Apple Computer paid McIntosh Audio a royalty
for using the name.
------------------------------
Message: 16
Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 16:25:47 -0400
From: William Donzelli <wdonzelli at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID:
<AANLkTi=-1OYH__uPx0W4Tr7XZkVM9+8gF13tgq3Ds4eM at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
> They ARE close enopugh for trademark squabbles.
> It is "common knowledge" that Apple Computer paid McIntosh Audio a royalty
> for using the name.
A purchase of legal protection, or a PR stunt? I bet a bit of both.
--
Will
------------------------------
Message: 17
Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 13:47:05 -0700 (PDT)
From: Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com>
Subject: Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <20100901134219.U31991 at shell.lmi.net>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
> > They ARE close enopugh for trademark squabbles.
> > It is "common knowledge" that Apple Computer paid McIntosh Audio a
royalty
> > for using the name.
On Wed, 1 Sep 2010, William Donzelli wrote:
> A purchase of legal protection, or a PR stunt? I bet a bit of both.
At the time, the news reports referred to it as having been initiated by
McIntosh Labs.
Does anybody know the details on the Apple Music deal?
At the time, it was touted as a mutual non-competition agreement. That
would seem to preclude "iTunes". Or were there other relevant clauses?
Or did it have an expiration date?
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin at xenosoft.com
------------------------------
Message: 18
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:50:58 +0100
From: Philip Pemberton <classiccmp at philpem.me.uk>
Subject: Re: WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <4C7EBCB2.6060504 at philpem.me.uk>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
On 31/08/10 13:48, Tony Duell wrote:
> Alas not. Well, actually, I have a number od such drives, but I have even
> more classic computers that use them. So nothing 'spare'
Yeah, I've heard of a lot of folk in the same situation.
I'm actually getting slightly tempted to hunt down a 1st-gen Acorn
Archimedes with Acorn-installed ST506 hard drive. That would give me a
drive and a known-good controller.
> Err, the connectors are still avaialble (easily...) So is IDC ribbon
> cable. And I assume you own a metalwork vice, since it's so useful for
> other things. Which means you could make the cables in less time that
> it's taken me to type this.
Yes I could make a cable, but it's easier to use a ready-made one (if
you can find one) than it is to make one up specially :)
>> - MFM/RLL controller to match the drive. Anything goes here --
e.g.=20
>> Western Digital WD100x series, DTC, Omti... as long as I can make it=20
>
> What do you want as the host computer interface? I am pretty sure I can
> find the odd ISA bus one, but what would you use that with?
ISA would be fine. Basically I need something I can hook up to a PC
(either my clunky old 386-with-ISA-IDE-controller or something more
recent) that will allow me to format the drive, and write something to
it. Bulk-erase by holding WR_GATE active and WR_DATA low and
track-stepping, then format using the controller. Read the data back
with the Ferret and see what's there (probably an MFM bitstream based on
the Seagate format recommendations).
SCSI would be fine too, but then I'd have to buy a SCSI card... :)
And it'd have to be capable of talking to a (relatively) modern SCSI
card (PCI interface; Adaptec AHA2940 or something like that).
At the moment, it's a "this would be really cool to have" type feature
addition -- it doesn't seem that much harder to do MFM HDD dumping, and
would make the DiscFerret the only imager capable of doing this at
transition level. SMD might also be an option... later.
--
Phil.
classiccmp at philpem.me.uk
http://www.philpem.me.uk/
------------------------------
Message: 19
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:03:49 -0400
From: Dennis Boone <drb at msu.edu>
Subject: Re: WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <20100901210349.37AC2A580D2 at yagi.h-net.msu.edu>
> ISA would be fine. Basically I need something I can hook up to a PC
> (either my clunky old 386-with-ISA-IDE-controller or something more
> recent) that will allow me to format the drive, and write something to
> it. Bulk-erase by holding WR_GATE active and WR_DATA low and
> track-stepping, then format using the controller. Read the data back
> with the Ferret and see what's there (probably an MFM bitstream based on
> the Seagate format recommendations).
My understanding is that there's enough variation in the low level
formatting between controllers that MFM drives aren't very portable.
That could be interpreted as timing differences between models, or as
timing variations in different instances of the same model, or even
actual structure differences. I don't know which was meant by whatever
source told me this long ago.
Even assuming it is true, it doesn't necessarily kill your concept,
though it might make implementation a hell of a lot more exciting.
De
------------------------------
Message: 20
Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 17:13:46 -0400
From: David Betz <dbetz at xlisper.com>
Subject: Lots of TTL chips
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <BDE2D6FB-2A41-447C-9B36-94931D64B95D at xlisper.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Does anyone want a whole slew of 74xxx TTL chips? Most are new although I
suspect I bought them from some surplus place back in the '70s so I can't
guarantee that they all work. I'm trying to clean out a parts cabinet and I
don't want to throw these away if someone can use them. I also have a bunch
of 27xxx EPROMs. I think they are mostly 2708s but there are certainly some
2716s and 2732s. I think there are even a few 27160s. I don't have fancy
conductive foam to ship these in so you'll get a box full of stuff with
possibly some bent pins. Anyone interested?
------------------------------
Message: 21
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 22:21:52 +0100
From: Philip Pemberton <classiccmp at philpem.me.uk>
Subject: Re: WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <4C7EC3F0.5050905 at philpem.me.uk>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
On 01/09/10 22:03, Dennis Boone wrote:
> My understanding is that there's enough variation in the low level
> formatting between controllers that MFM drives aren't very portable.
> That could be interpreted as timing differences between models, or as
> timing variations in different instances of the same model, or even
> actual structure differences. I don't know which was meant by whatever
> source told me this long ago.
There are format differences. Different CRC implementations, different
encoding rules (gap lengths and so on), slightly different ways of
encoding the data (LSB-first, MSB-first, bit-sequential, staggered),
interleaving, ......
The fun part is figuring out what those differences are, then 'teaching'
the software how to identify them, and make sense of what's there. Same
as I did with MagScan (which is still tied up in Licensing Hell and very
close to being rewritten from scratch).
> Even assuming it is true, it doesn't necessarily kill your concept,
> though it might make implementation a hell of a lot more exciting.
My life would be FAR more boring without all these fun and interesting
puzzles :)
I'm not above "blackbox" reverse engineering if it proves necessary.
Change one byte, see what happens, that sort of thing.
--
Phil.
classiccmp at philpem.me.uk
http://www.philpem.me.uk/
------------------------------
Message: 22
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:29:24 -0400
From: Sridhar Ayengar <ploopster at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Lots of TTL chips
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <4C7EC5B4.5080102 at gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
David Betz wrote:
> Does anyone want a whole slew of 74xxx TTL chips? Most are new
> although I suspect I bought them from some surplus place back in the
> '70s so I can't guarantee that they all work. I'm trying to clean out
> a parts cabinet and I don't want to throw these away if someone can
> use them. I also have a bunch of 27xxx EPROMs. I think they are
> mostly 2708s but there are certainly some 2716s and 2732s. I think
> there are even a few 27160s. I don't have fancy conductive foam to
> ship these in so you'll get a box full of stuff with possibly some
> bent pins. Anyone interested?
Yes. Location?
Peace... Sridhar
------------------------------
Message: 23
Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 17:59:45 -0400
From: Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Lots of TTL chips
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID:
<AANLkTi=n5924C1K10OZFTVPdonUAOn0Wu+CyumNDToSs at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
On 9/1/10, David Betz <dbetz at xlisper.com> wrote:
> Does anyone want a whole slew of 74xxx TTL chips?
Yes, especially if you mean TTL vs TTL-LS. I have a use for many TTL
parts for PDP-8 repair (7474, 7410, 7420, 7430, 7440 and several
others).
-ethan
------------------------------
Message: 24
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:11:42 -0700
From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com>
Subject: Re: WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <4C7E6D2E.19247.16D104C at cclist.sydex.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
On 1 Sep 2010 at 22:21, Philip Pemberton wrote:
> I'm not above "blackbox" reverse engineering if it proves necessary.
> Change one byte, see what happens, that sort of thing.
...and then after you've cracked the MFM/RLL/ARLL hard drives, you
can tackle the various flavors of ESDI...
Fun!
--Chuck
------------------------------
Message: 25
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:46:48 -0700
From: jim s <jws at jwsss.com>
Subject: Re: OT: Vintage electronics/HAM radio for sale-Costa Mesa, CA
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <4C7E9F98.3080303 at jwsss.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
> geoffrey oltmans wrote:
>> I wonder why Apple Records let an Apple Computer company alone for so
>> long. ;)
> Apple computer has better lawyers? I thought that records and a file
> would both count as music MEDIA.
>
>
They didn't, but the legal issues have been settled.
Jim
------------------------------
Message: 26
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:49:13 -0700
From: jim s <jws at jwsss.com>
Subject: Re: WTD -- ST506 style (MFM or RLL) hard drive and controller
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <4C7EA029.9050404 at jwsss.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>> Hi guys,
>>
>> I'm toying with the idea of doing an MFM/RLL hard drive bolt-on for
the=20
>> DiscFerret (seeing as the DF hardware is basically done now -- I'm
just=20
>> doing a final design check before I send the PCBs off for manufacturing).
>>
>> Problem is, I don't have a drive to play with.
>>
>> Does anyone have any or all of the following kicking around?
>>
>> - MFM or RLL hard drives. I could do with one or two of these;=20
>> anything's good, as long as it has an ST506-style interface (that is,=20
>> straight MFM/RLL with no funny business) and is believed to work. I'm=20
>> ideally aiming for something "of reputable manufacture" -- so not a=20
>> Kalok Octagon!
> Alas not. Well, actually, I have a number od such drives, but I have even
> more classic computers that use them. So nothing 'spare'
>
>> - Cable kit for the above. So that's the Data and Control cables
--=20
>> edge connector to IDC plug.
> Err, the connectors are still avaialble (easily...) So is IDC ribbon
> cable. And I assume you own a metalwork vice, since it's so useful for
> other things. Which means you could make the cables in less time that
> it's taken me to type this.
>
>
>> - MFM/RLL controller to match the drive. Anything goes here --
e.g.=20
>> Western Digital WD100x series, DTC, Omti... as long as I can make it=20
> What do you want as the host computer interface? I am pretty sure I can
> find the odd ISA bus one, but what would you use that with?
>
> -tony
>
>
I have an ST 225 / 238 that I have no particular use for. I'm in Los
Angeles. It was a trophy at the local Goodwill Computer works, and I
relieved them of it. I don't know where it came from, nor do I have a
matching system to run it on at the moment.
However it is not going to have priceless data from some system I know
of on it, so no data or other attachment to it. Might be nice to drain
it, but one has to do what one has to do to develope the first of
anything, so wiping it out isn't a real big problem.
jim
------------------------------
Message: 27
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:46:25 -0600
From: Eric Smith <eric at brouhaha.com>
Subject: Re: Getting started with programmable logic, was Re: Cray 1
replica
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <4C7F1001.3040100 at brouhaha.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Richard wrote:
> Well, when I try to find out information on Spartan 3 FPGA's on
> Xilinx's web site, all the web sections have "Automotive" plastered
> all over them.
>
> Perhaps they are just trying to market to that segment.
>
The Spartan-3 (no alpha suffix) is now an "older" family (as compared to
the -3E, -3A, and -6), so yes, they might only be "pushing" the
automotive spec parts, but they are still in full production in the
standard commercial and industrial grades. Basically to get information
for older devices out of the Xilinx web site requires clicking on "all
devices" or some such thing.
In fact, even the older Spartan-XL and Spartan-2 families are in full
production, though they are not recommended for new designs, and you
have to use older ("archived") versions of the ISE software to develop
for them. (For Spartan-XL, there is no version of ISE that included HDL
synthesis, so I definitely recommend against trying to use those for
hobbyist development with Verilog or VHDL.)
Beyond that, even some of the XC3000 and XC4000 parts are still in
production. AFAIK, the only FPGA families that Xilinx have completely
discontinued are the original XC2000 series (introduced in 1985), XC5200
series, and XC6200 series.
Generally speaking, it only makes sense to use the most recent two
generations of FPGAs for new designs, as the newer parts are always more
cost-effective than the older ones, thanks largely to Moore's Law.
Usually the only reason not to use the very latest (currently Spartan-6)
is that the availability is not as good as the previous generation
(Spartan-3E, -3A).
Eric
------------------------------
Message: 28
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:53:26 -0600
From: Eric Smith <eric at brouhaha.com>
Subject: Re: Getting started with programmable logic, was Re: Cray 1
replica
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <4C7F11A6.5070209 at brouhaha.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
geoffrey oltmans wrote:
> Don't some FPGAs have dedicated peripherals on them for specific
applications
> besides the field programmable parts of the silicon?
I can't tell you much about Altera, but some of the dedicated hardware
in Xilinx FPGAs have included:
* block RAMs, 18 or 36 Kbit, in almost all parts
* multipliers or multiply/accumulate blocks in many parts
* very high speed (>1Gbps) serial transceivers in some parts
* a small amount of logic for traditional PCI, in the Spartan-2
* hardware PCIe endpoint logic in the Spartan-6 and Virtex-6
* hardware DDR SDRAM controller in the Spartan-6 and Virtex-6
* PowerPC processor core in some Virtex-4 and Virtex-5 parts
* 10/100/1000 Ethernet MAC in some Virtex-5 and Virtex-6 parts
For details, such as which parts have how many of what hardware blocks,
you'll have to check the datasheets.
Generally they only put in hardware blocks for things that can't be
implemented reasonably efficiently in the fabric. I consider the
10/100/1000 Ethernet MAC to be an exception to that rule of thumb.
Certainly if you want the kinds of traditional peripherals found in
early microcomputers (GPIO, timers, UARTs, video display controllers),
those will have to be in the fabric.
Eric
------------------------------
Message: 29
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:03:12 -0700
From: Eric Smith <eric at brouhaha.com>
Subject: Re: Getting started with programmable logic, was Re: Cray 1
replica
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <4C7F13F0.8050004 at brouhaha.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Chuck Guzis wrote:
> In the eval kits, the Spartan 6 kits seem to offer a significantly
> higher bang-for-the-buck than the Spartan 3 ones.
Certainly the Spartan-6 chips are far more cost effective than Spartan-3.
For eval boards, I'm not convinced that this is the case yet. There
aren't nearly as many inexpensive development boards for the -6 yet. I
haven't yet seen any inexpensive Spartan-6 boards that seem comparable
to the Digilent Spartan-3E or Spartan-3A boards, in terms of FPGA
capacity, on-board peripheral interfaces/connectors, and availability of
GPIO pins on connectors.
Eric
End of cctalk Digest, Vol 85, Issue 3
*************************************
I just put some documentation up on the Vintage Computer & Gaming
Marketplace site:
http://marketplace.vintage-computer.com/
These are some of the docs a friend of mine had. Listed right now are
the docs for the Western Peripherals TC-120 Nova Tape Controller,
Ziatech ZT-7488, and ADDS CONSUL 520/580 Desktop Terminals.
Other docs I'll be listing shortly include the ADM-1 Reference Manual
(appears to be a copy) and operator's handbook, ADM-2 Maintenance Manual
(appears to be a copy) and operator's handbook, and The Operations
Manual for the AQ8080Z Microprocessor Analyzer (for use with the Pro-Log
7803.)
Later today, I expect to get the HP 9825As checked out and listed (so
far, they are in reasonable condition and don't work as I would expect.)
Marvin
On 2 September 2010 15:13, Zane H. Healy <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote:
> At 11:00 AM +0100 9/2/10, Adrian Graham wrote:
>>
>> I'm guessing there's no interest at all in my Grey Wall given the
>> online availability of docs and CDs etc, I've dragged it all between
>> houses for 10 years now, maybe it's time to hit the recycler and give
>> some of those trees back :)
>
> You're on the wrong side of the Pond, plus we should have more than a
> complete Grey Wall for the library, and we just got an Orange one.
Fortunately it's looking like the wall will be saved from the pulpers
thanks to Dave Caroline, my little fiches too. There's a few orange
manuals too but I'm keeping my RT11 stuff.
> Now this makes me wish you were local, not that I'm sure where I'd put one.
> ?I haven't had time to verify since moving, but I've a feeling my last one
> is dead, or nearly so (ISTR it having started having issues).
Bah, I'd not fancy shipping it over the water :/
> This surprises me. ?Sure a MINC isn't the fastest box, but it is definitely
> interesting. ?I had one for about two hours, sadly I traded it to Jim
> Willing for an external RX02 drive unit.
Double bonus with this MINC - it has the external RX02!
--
adrian/witchy
Owner of Binary Dinosaurs, the UK's biggest home? computer collection?
www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk
Hi,
I just came across this and it's pretty cool. Some has built a somewhat functional 1/10 scale Cray-1 using a Xylinx dev board. Here's the link: http://chrisfenton.com/homebrew-cray-1a/
TTFN - Guy
Does anyone want a whole slew of 74xxx TTL chips? Most are new although I suspect I bought them from some surplus place back in the '70s so I can't guarantee that they all work. I'm trying to clean out a parts cabinet and I don't want to throw these away if someone can use them. I also have a bunch of 27xxx EPROMs. I think they are mostly 2708s but there are certainly some 2716s and 2732s. I think there are even a few 27160s. I don't have fancy conductive foam to ship these in so you'll get a box full of stuff with possibly some bent pins. Anyone interested?
I have found a manual which is called the 'DRTS-11 Reference Manual'
(Distributed Real Time System) and it talks about a pieces of software
which is placed on top of RT-11. According to the description it optimized
for I/O and uses 2 systems. One being the 'I/O processor', the other being
the DRTS-11 system.
The introduction reads :
This document describes version V04.00 of the DRTS-11 multiprocessor
operating system, and the Qnector processor link.'
Apparently this software was made by 'Westfries Systems BV' and/or
'Viking Computer Corp.'
Interesting bit is that this system does need one to logon to it and
one can switch accounts.
BTW, the manual is both the 'User guide', 'Admin guide', and 'Installation
Guide'.
Does this ring a bell to anyone?
Ed
--
Dit is een HTML vrije email / This is an HTML free email.
Hi
Somewhat offtopic (and old), but interesting. Does the d|i|g|i|t|a|l
cassette mean that it is a DECcassette they are using?
http://pluggedin.kodak.com/post/?id=687843
Cheers,
Pontus.
has anybody tried localtalk bridge (
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=60290 ) in their mac setups?
I was thinking of taking one of my old LC slabs and throwing a $10-$20
ethernet card in, throwing a phonenet dongle on the modem port, either
loading the hard drive with a low os with all but the needed extensions and
files removed, or the same on a floppy, and just using it like a router,
with its only purpose being passing data between the apple ethernet segments
and the apple phonenet segments(which at this time is only my SE as every
other mac has ethernet).
As some of us know all too well, flyback transofrmers fail, and are often
next-to-impossible to get. So I have been wondering if it's possible to
make a replacement...
There would appear to be 2 parts to this.
1) Desigining the replacement. I think we can assume a schematic of hte
horizontal output stage it's going to be used in. But how do you
calcualtor the number of turns on each winding? Since the origianl is
likely ot be potted in epoxy (for HV insulation reasons), counting the
turns there is impossible.
Are there any good references (books, web pages, etc) on the desing of
such transoformes and/or the design of horizotnal output stages? I would
have thought something must exist, but I've never seen it.
2) Making the replacement. It owuld ahve to be vacuum pmpregnated, I
think. But I believe some model engineers who make internal combustion
engines make the own ignition coils (and vacuum-impregnate them?). Again,
any good references on doing this?
-tony
Hello, World!
I took a cursory look through the archives at classiccmp, and I was
disappointed to discover that the response to my having found the
Video TECO tarball was lukewarm to negative. I understand that I may
have committed a few mistakes along the way, but this was compounded
by the fact that several other messages that I had written clarifying
my reasons were not additionally sent to classiccmp.
First of all, I had asked for and received permission from Paul
Cantrell, my flying instructor, to have the source code. I had looked
for it on sourceforge in vain, as the downloads section was completely
empty. This was when I asked Paul to send me the source, which he
did. In addition to this, I found a patch for Video TECO on another
Web site, with a dead link---I also requested and received the patch.
Only lately did I discover that the Video TECO tarball was available
on CVS.
Second, I understand the issue with licencing, and I take this moment
to apologise. My actions were wrong, and I made the stupid error of
not looking to see in the file whether there was a licence or not. My
reasoning for publishing it under Sleepycat was the additional clause
that if the software is bundled, the software it is bundled with
should also be open source. I see now that I was mistaken, and I
apologise for all the inconvenience it may cause.
Third, I apologise for perhaps being unclear in my first post. For
instance, Mr Alderson mistakenly believed or believes that I had
implied that the original Video TECO (for DEC PDP's) had been lost.
No, it hasn't, and yes, I've heard of it.
alt.lang.teco? Seriously? There hasn't been a new post there in
months! What there is is generic Viagra and "V1c0d1n" spam! Yes,
maybe some of the other newsgroups I should perhaps have asked, but I
thought I could have been excused from that as I did have the source
code straight from the horse's mouth so to speak.
Mr Stephens: there's a patch available that should fix your problems;
it's on my Sourceforge site.
Also: yes, I've made a few mistakes, but if someone would please help
me on this project, it would be greatly appreciated. I am writing
documentation for it (using Cantrell's very rough html file and some
DEC manuals as a base), several pages per day, but I can't do the
whole thing by myself. I mean, I can finish the docs by myself in a
week or two if I work hard, but the rest of it might be a more dicey
proposition.
Cordially,
Ted Matavka.
I'm still looking for an HP 7970E 9-track tape drive and a 13183A
interface card. If you know of one available (preferably in working
order), please let me know, off-list.
Mike Loewen mloewen at cpumagic.scol.pa.us
Old Technology http://sturgeon.css.psu.edu/~mloewen/Oldtech/
I posted this last Wednesday - but for some reason, it didn't make the "cctech" list. I'm posting it again FYI...
Cheers,
Lyle
---------- Forwarded Message ----------
Subject: Re: Should you correct production mistakes?
Date: Wednesday 25 August 2010, 17:20:22
From: Lyle Bickley <lbickley at bickleywest.com>
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic Posts Only" <cctech at classiccmp.org>
On Wednesday 25 August 2010, Eric Smith wrote:
> I wrote:
> > Had we found any problem analogous to that in the PDP-1 restoration,
> > where the machine operated correctly despite a manufacturing defect, I'm
> > sure we would have had a debate on whether to fix it. I think my own
> > opinion in that case would be that we should leave it alone, but tag the
> > module (paper tag attached with a short loop of string) and document the
> > issue in the system logbook.
>
>
> Fred Cisin wrote:
> > In the example that I mentioned of an IBM MDA board, it worked for about
> > 10 years, and then became intermittent. Even that, I would NOT consider
> > to be "operates correctly", as the particular defect IS a defect, and may
> > eventually bring the system down.
>
> I think the way that I would state it is that just because the system is
> working correctly (at the moment) doesn't mean that it isn't broken.
>
> Part of the reason I don't think we'd fix such a problem in the PDP-1 is
> that the PDP-1 isn't doing anything criticial. We can afford to have
> downtime if a latent problem eventual causes a failure. If we've
> properly documented that latent problem, we can check for it when the
> system does fail, and fix it if necessary at that time.
To be specific, during the original restoration, we checked every
solder joint in the PDP-1. We found four bad connections. We then
reviewed the implications of the bad connections in terms of function
and reliability. The Team decided to only repair two of the connections
because they could affect normal operation and demoing of the system.
We left the other connections "loose". As Eric already stated,
we documented everything and labeled all changes (fixes) we made.
BTW: We have never experienced a problem with the "unfixed" solder
joints ;-)
Cheers,
Lyle
--
Lyle Bickley, AF6WS
Bickley Consulting West Inc.
http://bickleywest.com
"Black holes are where God is dividing by zero"
All the boxes finally arrived (and I still have to go through
everything), but I am the proud owner of an Epson QX-10... with
original manuals, newsletters from a users group and a nice collection
of software... CP/M, Valdocs 2, Valdocs 3, dBase II, PeachText,
Uniform and a bunch of other diskettes (easily 7 or 8 of the 10-disk
holders).
I'll post pictures and more info as I go through the boxes, but this
is quite exciting!
Mark
Well, I am stumped here. I have been fighting with this for a while and I can't figure it out...
I use an old Needham's PB-10 EPROM programmer. Best device programmer ever, as far as I'm concerned. It's fast, reliable, and the software is so nice and easy to use. Only problem - it's old, and doesn't support 16 bit devices. I really need to be able to program 27c160 and 27c322 devices.
So, I built an adapter. I bought a 16bit adapter intended for those cheap and nasty Willem programmers. I made some minor modifications to use it with my Needhams, and added toggle switches for the upper address lines. Now, I can program larger devices in chunks. This worked perfectly for the couple of chips I had at the time - two 27c160's and two 27c800's.
So, I bought more chips. 27c160's and 27c322's. The 27c322's work flawlessly. I can program them in four passes, the programmer thinks it's programming a 27c080.
But 27c160s... I am having horrible luck with them. A couple out of the batch programmed. The rest did not. I was able to fill them with zeroes, but couldn't program data - it kept erroring out at various stages. Tried erasing/reburning, same thing. Finally got fed up and bought another batch from a different seller, assuming I just had some bad ones. Nope. SAME problem. I noticed a pattern:
On chips with a date code before about 2000, the die is larger, and none of these want to program. On chips with a date code after 2000, the die is smaller, and some of them program perfectly, others get most of the way through before erroring out.
In all cases, I'm working with ST brand chips - I haven't found any other manufacturer available.
So, carefully reading the datasheet, I notice that the 27c160 wants a program pulse of 50us. The chip that the programmer thinks it's programming, a 27c040, uses a programming pulse of 100ns. The programming waveforms between a 27c160 and a 27c040 look the same to me, besides that. But it would seem that my problems lie with the waveform being incorrect, and newer chips being less picky about it than the older chips of the same part number.
Now, I'm stumped. I *really* want to make this programmer program these chips. It does everything else properly, including program 27c322's with this adapter. Now, I know the adapter is wired correctly, because I have programmed newer rev 27c160's properly, and they have worked perfectly in their intended purpose. The adapter is wired up such that in 27c322 mode, the programmer is used as if it were a 27c080, and in 27c160 mode the programmer is used as if it were a 27c040. I did it this way due to the pinouts of the devices and the required programming algorithms.
Basically, I am wondering if any of our resident gurus have seen behavior like this with EPROMs, and if there may be anything I can do to shorten pulses, buffer, or something to get this to program... or, if anyone just *happens* to have the source code to the EMP software laying around somewhere...
Yeah, I know, long shot.
Failing that, does anyone have a suggestion of an EPROM programmer that I can buy that will program 27c160's. Preferably something that can be operated from DOS over a parallel or serial port, or better yet, an ISA card.
-Ian
For those that have access to IEEE Xplore (or a decently stocked
library), the latest issue of the IEEE Annals of the History of
Computing has an interesting article on restoring the first edition of
UNIX (from paper copies, Al Kossow is mentioned) by Warren Toomey.
The abstract:
"Until recently, the earliest versions of the Unix operating system
were believed to have been lost completely. In 2008, however, a
restoration team from the Unix Heritage Society completed an effort to
resurrect and restore the first edition Unix to a running and usable
state from a newly discovered listing of the system?s assembly source
code."
Interesting read! Fun statement I noticed, with respect to the
"factory faults" thread that is ongoing:
"Should bugs or faults found in the leg- acy software be fixed, or
should the envi- ronment be modified to work around the problem?" (p.
78)
Joe.
--
Joachim Thiemann :: http://www.tsp.ece.mcgill.ca/~jthiem
After some very minor cleanup and front panel fixing, the DG1230 seems to spring to life. I can deposit and examine different values from all four cpu registers, as well as small random ranges of memory. I've been skimming some of the DG docs I have, but I am coming up short on knowledge on a few points and was wondering if someone could shed light on any of these items or better yet, direct me to the appropriate manual that I can't seem to find.
1) In DEC & HP documentation, I can find a fair number of "front panel dittys" to perform basic tests in the absence of I/O devices. I can find no such short programs for the DG1200. Before I attach an I/O device (CRT, Cassette, or paper tape) I'd sure like to feel more confident that the cpu is on fairly solid ground. Unless someone knows of some docs on short front panel test programs, I'll just write a few short "copy range of memory from A to B, etc." programs myself and hand assemble them.
2) At the bottom of the backlane are several small pin connectors - P5, P6, P7, P8, and P9. Going from memory, but they are something like 2 rows of about 10 pins per row for each P connector. I can't seem to find where these are documented. Can someone point me to the right manual? They don't even show up on the backplane diagrams I have.
3) On most of my DG12xx cpu's, the backplanes don't have extra wiring, other than what is obviously going to a device. But on this one, Pin 10 of backplane connectors 2 through 12 is daisychained. I believe the signal is "VINH". I can't seem to find documentation on this. I'm guessing it has to do with allowing (or disallowing) memory cards in slots other than slot 2, but I'd like some better understanding as to when and when not this jumper set should be present.
4) Again, on most of my DG12xx boxes, the backplane has nothing other than I/O connections. But on this one, pin 96 (intp in) slot five is wrapped to pin 95 slot 16 (intp out). Likewise pin 94 (dhcp in) is wrapped to pin 93 slot 16 (dhcp out). I do have some idea what this is for, but I'd like a better understanding as to when and when not this jumper should be present. This has got to be documented/explained somewhere, but I sure can't find a discussion of it. Thoughts? I'm guessing this jumper is only required to get DHCP to the upper I/O card section on the "jumbo" version?
Thanks in advance for any thoughts!
Jay