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

by chrism3667＠yahoo.com

I know I've seen ads for these in the past. Can anyone inform as to those models that were available here or in the great white north (er Canada).

16 years

6
14
0 0

Commodore C 900 documentation and software required ...

by bernd＠kopriva.de

Hi, a short time ago, i got hold of a C 900 (bare machine only, no keyboard/monitor), that i want to get working again ... I have already searched the Web for specs of keyboard and monitor but without success. The machine has an AT-type keyboard plug, but it's not clear (at least for me), if a normal IBM compatible keyboard will work. As i have the workstation version, the display resolution should be 1024*800 which seems to be a bit uncommon, so i'm not sure, which monitor could work ... Can anyone provide some documentation, that would help to find a working keyboard/monitor ? Getting the software for the machine would be very helpful too ! ... Thanks a lot Bernd

16 years

8
18
0 0

IBM S/370 retrieved

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

I've just taken possession of a small IBM System/370 mainframe, and I thought I'd share the joy. This system has been sitting in North Carolina waiting for me for about six months; I've only now been able to arrange for transport due to financial restrictions. I've got 450 pictures and nearly a gigabyte of video to sort through, but here's a quick series of shots, including one or two with yours truly striking a pose: http://www.neurotica.com/misc/s370/ The system is a member of the 9370 family. It consists of a 9375 processor, five 9335-B01 disk drives (824MB/ea), two 9335-A01 controllers, and a 3430 tape drive. Everything was shrink-wrapped and sealed with IBM anti-tamper stickers. All the cabling is present; it's all coiled up in the back of the processor cabinet. I also received a mountain of documentation which I've not yet gone through. Everything is absolutely pristine save for some tape residue. I broke the seals and unwrapped the system personally, with camera rolling and heart pounding. Thanks to my friend George Adkins for the Herculean effort of loading it onto a truck in North Carolina and bringing it down here, and my friends James Sharp and Pat Sherrill for assisting with the unload. If I can get it running, I'd like to run VM/370 and/or MVS on it. It originally ran VSE/SP. On that note...does anyone have an appropriate console terminal for this system that might be available? I believe that'd be a 3215, or perhaps an early (C.U.T. protocol I think) 3270. I am so happy about this I can hardly contain myself. =) -Dave -- Dave McGuire Port Charlotte, FL

16 years

11
18
0 0

OS/8 editors, was Re: Programing PDP-8 assembler - details

by djg＠pdp8online.com

> I'm very much interested in both of those. Can I talk you into making >them available? > I have a copy of vista here http://www.pdp8online.com/pdp8cgi/os8_html?act=dir;fn=images/os8/dewar-edit… In a search I found this http://vandermark.ch/pdp8/local/Sources/read_dir.php?f=Other/new-22-vista-2… It appears to be the vista editor source. The actual vista source seems to be in the empty at the end if its complete. I haven't tried to build it. Has modules for a couple different terminals.

16 years

1
0
0 0

Making Amiga Disks

by alhartman＠yahoo.com

Just to let all the folks on the list know... There's a program just like the Disk Transfer Utility for Apple ]['s called "Amiga Explorer". It's sold by Cloanto, who makes "Amiga Forever". Being an owner of that, I have the program. All I need to do is find one of my Null Modem Cables to attach a PC to the Amiga 500 to transfer disk images. It will even install the program needed on the Amiga end over the serial connection. So, once I get the Amiga 500 sorted out (the unit came badly packaged, showed up in pieces and isn't working...), I'll be able to transfer OS disk images to it. Anyone have advice on which version of Kickstart ROMS and OS is the best/most useful on an A500? Is there a driver to use a ZIP Drive as mass storage? Or use an old Adaptec Parallel Port SCSI adapter to run a Disk Drive? Al

16 years

2
1
0 0

Dynalogic Hyperion MS-DOS disks

by bear＠typewritten.org

I'm helping a local school district with a technology exhibit. They have a Dynalogic Hyperion, and are looking for the custom MS-DOS for it. Anyone who might be able to help is encouraged to contact me off-list. Thanks! ok bear

16 years

27
71
0 0

OC/OD 48 ma transceivers

by cclist＠sydex.com

I'm working on a controller to drive some long >1m bidirectional lines that require 220/330 termination and 48 ma. drive current capability. For sake of argument, call them SCSI-1 SE (but they're not SCSI (or HPIB)). I'm finding that my choices are pretty limited. I could use a 74F621, 74FCT621 (CMOS) or a good old 75160. All appear to be within the same approximate price range. Can anyone make any recommendations? Thanks, Chuck

16 years

3
3
0 0

Authentic PDP-11 rack available for rescue in London

by jonathan.pdp11＠gmail.com

Dear All I have a PDP-11 rack available for rescue in central London. It's just the metal rack, no computer or power supply. Sadly space is no longer available for it. It's the cream-coloured style, about 42-inches tall, with a radiused top, to match your 11/34 and RL02s. Has both sides, top, and two front blanking panels. Has a few rust spots but not too bad. Castors. It looks like this 11/94 <http://www.pdp11.co.uk/profiles/item-enlarge.ehtml?i=38>. It would really suit someone trying to achieve an authentic "cream period" PDP-11 which I believe began with the 11/04 in 1976. I might be able to find one or two more pieces, I think even an old power supply for a 11/34. Free for anyone who would like to collect it. Would require a van or at least an estate car. Any takers? Kind regards, Jonathan.

16 years

1
2
0 0

pinout for Vector Graphic's ZCB cable

by dm561＠torfree.net

It's just a straightforward 16-pin DIP to DB25 IDC ribbon cable, DIP pin 16 aligned with DB25 pin 1. Boy, those are huge files, almost 70MB; my copy from Howard Harte's site is only 3MB (there are several revisions BTW). mike ******************************************* Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2010 08:35:50 -0400 From: "Bill Degnan" <billdeg at degnanco.com> Subject: re: pinout for Vector Graphic's ZCB cable > > I have a Vector Graphic's ZCB cable that is wired for a 9600b 8/n/1 serial > terminal. It was working yesterday, but the connections were brittle and a > few of the wires have come loose from the 25-pin connector. I can see the > spots where the solder was applied but I am not confident that I have the > correct repair points. Does anyone have the pinouts for this cable so I > can re-solder/replace? <snip> I believe this is the answer to my question page 10 of http://vector-graphic.info/vg_zcb.aspx (download/part 2) Bill

16 years

1
0
0 0

quick test: floppy motor speed variation

by keithvz＠verizon.net

Since I've been failing miserably coming up with a working verilog PLL, I decided to do something easier tonight. I captured about 1,000 index pulses from a Sony MPF920-E(if I read date code right, it's from April 1997) with a 20+ year old floppy disk with a logic analyzer. I exported the data, and then massaged the data into some results with Excel. My average pulse was 200.487ms apart. All pulses were within 55us of each other, range was 200.464ms -> 200.519. Standard deviation was 9.46us. This sounds way way better than the NatSemi AN-505 note of 1-2%. Is anyone else surprised by this result? I was expecting differences measured in milliseconds not micros. Thanks Keith

16 years

2
1
0 0

pinout for Vector Graphic's ZCB cable

by billdeg＠degnanco.com

> > I have a Vector Graphic's ZCB cable that is wired for a 9600b 8/n/1 serial > terminal. It was working yesterday, but the connections were brittle and a > few of the wires have come loose from the 25-pin connector. I can see the > spots where the solder was applied but I am not confident that I have the > correct repair points. Does anyone have the pinouts for this cable so I > can re-solder/replace? <snip> I believe this is the answer to my question page 10 of http://vector-graphic.info/vg_zcb.aspx (download/part 2) Bill

16 years

1
0
0 0

Commodore C 900 documentation and software required ...

by jfoust＠threedee.com

At 02:43 PM 6/15/2010, Brian Lanning wrote: >On Tue, Jun 15, 2010 at 2:30 PM, Zane H. Healy <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote: >> I assume most of us have never seen a C900. I need to google it, as I'm >> curious as to what it actually is. I remember seeing one at CES in '85 or so. I saw one or two since then, back in Amiga days. Secret Weapons says 500 units were produced. I would guess that CBM would've sold as many as they could, which isn't quite the same as saying they were all scrapped. I think I have an AMIX tape and tape drive in the basement somewhere, for the A2500. - John

16 years

1
0
0 0

Senzig S-100 boards

by jfoust＠threedee.com

A year or so ago, Jim Battle passed along a tip from the brother of Don Senzig, a Milwaukee area S-100 devotee who passed away leaving a collection of old boards. I eventually received them. Here's a quick overview: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37817884 at N07/?saved=1 Are there any gems there? I'm not an S-100 collector, (although if an IMSAI fell in my lap I've take it (having helped my high school computer club build one, once upon a time.)) I'm open to ideas about disposing of these boards. I don't have any reason to keep them. - John

16 years

2
1
0 0

Moreo n the HP82909 RAM module

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

I've spent a bit more time looking at the HP82909 128K RAM module for the HP86/HP87 machines which I mentioned a few days ago. I think I know what the missing chips are -- a pair of '30s, a '27 and a '74. Thers's also a resistor (around 4k7?) and a transistor (TUN :-)), not fitted as well. And a mode control link or switch which enables this extra circuitry (and changes a couple of other logic signals that I've not fully investigated yet) if these parts were present, then it appears a write to location 0xFFC7 would enable or disable the internal system ROMs of the HP85/87 (bit 0 of the data written determines whether the ROMs are enabled or disabled. I don't know enough about the custom RAM controller IC in the module to know if it can be programemd to map the RAM in place of the system ROMs, or if a differnt controller IC is needed too. I am wondering what this was designed for? Developing new versions of the ROMs? Has anyone come across anHP product which could make use of this capability? -tony

16 years

1
0
0 0

RK05 data problems with misaligned drive?

by hachti＠hachti.de

Hi folks, I'm just reviving a completely misaligned RK05 drive. I want to get it fully up and running and tested before I use an alignment pack. So I started debugging and got it to the point that I can play with the formatter. Here comes the question: The formatter (RKLFMT under OS/8) threw MANY CRC errors when reading back the freshly formatted disk. Changing the head cables at the drive proved that the problem is only with one head i.e. the failures change "side" when you change the head plugs. Now I ran the test several times. With random failing disk addresses. And they decreased and decreased... Now I've run two error-free formatter rounds. Could it be possible that new data on new tracks (keep in mind that the drive is actually misaligned by means of mechanical alteration!) suffers from interference from old tracks? That's the only reason I can see for this kind of behavior. On the other hand that would mean that I'd have to degauss the pack before I ever could use it reliable again. Any ideas? Kind regards, Philipp :-) -- http://www.hachti.de

16 years

5
7
0 0

pinout for Vector Graphic's ZCB cable

by billdeg＠degnanco.com

I have a Vector Graphic's ZCB cable that is wired for a 9600b 8/n/1 serial terminal. It was working yesterday, but the connections were brittle and a few of the wires have come loose from the 25-pin connector. I can see the spots where the solder was applied but I am not confident that I have the correct repair points. Does anyone have the pinouts for this cable so I can re-solder/replace? A picture says a 1K words. I am not sure I have an original cable. I will keep looking and if I find the answer I will post it here. Thanks Bill

16 years

1
0
0 0

Programing PDP-8 assembler - details

by bqt＠softjar.se

Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks at gmail.com> wrote: > On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 1:09 PM, Ben <bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca> wrote: >> > Johnny Billquist wrote: >> > >>> >> Why use a line editor? There are several full screen editors for OS/8. >>> >> Really fast and nice ones. >> > >> > Where? > > I just know of one - VTEDIT.TE > > http://www.pdp8.net/os/os8/os8_cmd.shtml > > I had unhappy results with a VT220 in VT52 mode 25 years ago, but it > works great with a real VT52. I seem to remember using it just fine with a VT320 though. I think you had to make sure you set it to 7M1 or something like that, and not use 8N though, or else it wouldn't be pretty. I totally forgot that I wrote a Emacs-clone for TECO8, which is what I normally use. That one I have probably not posted anywhere anytime. But we also have VISTA, which was available from DECUS, and which I have. I think I made it available, and maybe others have too. So for people in general, you have atleast two options, and I should post my EMACS.TE sometime too... Johnny

16 years

3
2
0 0

yet another pdp-8 in a fpga, but this time running tss/8

by dave＠mitton.com

On 6/8/2010 09:54 AM, cctech-request at classiccmp.org wrote: >Message: 17 >Date: Mon, 7 Jun 2010 16:45:00 -0400 >From: Brad Parker <brad at heeltoe.com> >Subject: Re: yet another pdp-8 in a fpga, but this time running tss/8 >To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" > <cctalk at classiccmp.org> >Message-ID: <D71821FC-0C2B-4891-ACF6-C4835EF9DBDE at heeltoe.com> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii > > >On Jun 6, 2010, at 7:02 AM, Jerome H. Fine wrote: > > > > > (a) Without being very accurate, and based on your experience > with the PDP-8, how > > long do you think that it would take you to implement a > PDP-11? Just a rough estimate > > in months or years! > >um. I already did that. It took a few years, but I only worked on >it sporadically. It currently >boots (in simulation) RT-11, RSTS V4, BSD 2.9 and V6. I have not >debugged the split I & D >but it's there. > >If you send me a RK05 image with TSX on it I'll try and boot it in sim. > >The last FPGA version I did had no MMU but it did boot RT-11. It had >some disk problems which >I have since corrected. I believe I could synthesize and run the >"no mmu" version pretty quickly. >The mmu version need still needs some work do make 50mhz timing. > > > (b) About how fast might the FPGA solution be compared to > something like a PDP-11/93? > > Again, just a rough estimate like 10 or 20 times as fast. > >Well, as I said, the no-mmu version runs at 50MHz. I could improve >that. The mmu version probably >won't run faster, mostly due to the 20ns rams on my fpga board. > > > Any idea why you did an FPGA implementation of the PDP-8? > > >back in the day I spent a lot of time on TSS/8. I wanted to run it >again :-) And, I want >to work on cpu's when I grow up. > >I also spent a lot of time on RSTS and TSX, hence the pdp-11. > >I know the s/w sims are better, but I like hardware and love running >h/w simulations. > >-brad > >Brad Parker >Heeltoe Consulting >781-483-3101 >http://www.heeltoe.com Now what would be really cool would be to make 4 CPUs and re-create an 11/74 quad. http://www.miim.com/faq/hardware/multipro.html#castor Dave.

16 years

1
0
0 0

Paging Richard

by pat＠computer-refuge.org

Sorry to eat up bits on the list, but I've tried sending you a few emails from two different addresses, but haven't seen any reply from you (re: the SGI Onyx XL). Pat -- Purdue University Research Computing --- http://www.rcac.purdue.edu/ The Computer Refuge --- http://computer-refuge.org

16 years

2
1
0 0

Lightbulb police? (was RE: Anyone off to VCF-UK)

by IanK＠vulcan.com

Are you kidding? We can't fund enough people to deal with important things like education, health and public safety, and people really think we are paying people to watch *lightbulb sales*? I think someone's tinfoil hat is too tight.... -- Ian ________________________________________ From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of William Donzelli [wdonzelli at gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2010 2:49 PM To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts Subject: Re: Anyone off to VCF-UK > I cannot find the primary legislation, and I bet if I could I'd > regret it :-) > > Here's one retailer's opinion: > http://www.lightbulbs-direct.com/info/incandescent/ > > Here's another actually selling them: > http://www.lyco.co.uk/Light-Bulbs/Regular-Light-Bulbs/Rough-Service-Bulb > s/sc1340.aspx What I have heard from all this lightbulb talk, as well as other issues - in the US, everything you read is crap, unless you are looking at the text of the law. There are many people with axes to grind, and will even use lightbulbs to do it. > Apparently in the US the sales of alternatives (like rough service > bulbs) are being > monitored and action may be taken if sales go up too much. or maybe not, > who knows. Lightbulb cops? No, there is no monitoring. > Same as the analgesics packaging rules: if you make it inconvenient > to go around the rules, most people won't be bothered. Job done. Pretty much like the various copy protection systems software has used over the years. -- Will

16 years

40
234
0 0

DEC TC02 available

by hachti＠hachti.de

Hi, I have a TC02 DECTape controller for pdp15 available. Reasonable offers welcome. Regards, Philipp -- http://www.hachti.de

16 years

1
0
0 0

Floppy disk data separators...

by herby1620＠yahoo.com

While I do understand that an external data separator is a good thing, I was one of those who did a design using the internal data separator using the WD1771 (and later National) chip. It was on a M6800 system I did some work on, and it seemed to work OK for me. I was using (originally) 35 track Seagate drives, but later used 40 track ones. I used 256 byte sectors (10 per track). If I git an error, I just did a retry. No real problems. Just my experience. I still have a system operational (I haven't turned it on in a few years, but may soon). I also interfaced various hard disks. What fun. It was 1976 and also worked on Qume (daisywheel) printers (it only takes a single PIA to interface to them!). I'm sure that others will have different views on data separators. My experience was a bit different, I don't know what I did different (maybe it was something!).

16 years

5
6
0 0

amiga floppy disk reading experience

by keithvz＠verizon.net

The last two nights I've been busy archiving some of my Amiga floppy collection. Most disks were written over 20 years ago. On a sample size of about 150 floppies, most of them were perfectly readable by my homegrown usb external amiga floppy drive controller. I paid very close attention to the failures or ones where my controller struggled. Without sounding too obvious here, the time between the pulses (which more or less define the data) were grossly out of spec. The DD pulses should nominally be 4us, 6us, and 8us apart before pre-write compensation. Most good disks are slightly faster, and normal times for these ranges are: 4us: 3.2-4.2us. Many around 3.75us 6us: 5.5-6.2us. 8us: 7.5-8.2us (notice margins around 1-1.3us) My original microcontroller implementation was 3.2-4.2, 5.2-6.2, and 7.2-8.2. When my current FPGA controller would have a problem, I'd notice that there were problems right on a boundary. So maybe pulses were coming in at 3.1us apart instead of 3.2. Or maybe 4.3 instead of 4.2. So I kept bumping the intervals apart, making a larger range of pulse times acceptable --- the XOR sector checksums were passing, so I was likely making the right choices. The bits were ending up in the right buckets. But as I went through some of these disks, I ended up with the difference between ranges(and basically my noise margin) being reduced smaller and smaller. Some to the point where an incoming pulse time might fall darn smack in the middle of the noise margin. Which bucket does THAT one go into? My approach has been very successful(easily 95%+), but it makes me wonder about Phil's DiscFerret dynamic adaptive approach where a sample of the incoming data defines the ranges. Some disk drives and controllers might be faster or slower than others, and if you create custom ranges for each disk (each track?), perhaps you'll have better luck. Keith

16 years

13
41
0 0

6809 transistor count?

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

Can anyone tell me the approximate transistor count of the 6809? -Dave -- Dave McGuire Port Charlotte, FL

16 years

15
21
0 0

Emulex UC17 UNIBUS SCSI boards

by harry＠systemresale.com

I have a customer who may be interested . How much would you like to sell them for? -- *Harry McMaster* President P 519-763-3391 ext:223 F 519-763-9241 C 519-841-3391 www.systemresale.com <%3Fwww.systemresale.com%3F>

16 years

1
0
0 0

asteroids board

by rdawson16＠hotmail.com

Hi Dan, If you still want to get rid of an non working asteroids board, count me in! I can fix the others too, if you wish. The problem for most folks is that they will need a vector type monitor, thats a little harder to find, but I see them out there for about $300. Wells Gardner if I recall. Here's a interesting page on the vector generator... http://jmargolin.com/vgens/vgens.htm Randy Dawson _________________________________________________________________ The New Busy is not the old busy. Search, chat and e-mail from your inbox. http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?ocid=PID28326::T:WLMTAGL:ON:…

16 years

10
21
0 0

DEC RQZX1 and KDJ11-E boot problem?

by bqt＠softjar.se

All right. Time to clear up some misconceptions, I see... :-) Nigel Williams <nigel.d.williams at gmail.com> wrote: > On Sun, Jun 13, 2010 at 3:11 AM, Zane H. Healy <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote: >> Of course you may simply have some sort of hardware issue going on there as >> well, I'm not familiar with the RQZX1. > > The drives passes the built-in RQZX1 diagnostics, which includes > read/write/verify tests etc. I formatted the SCSI drive via the RQZX1 > too (prior to using the drive on Linux via SIMH to install RSTS/E), > just in case the format process was doing something special (although > I can't imagine what since I understand MSCP masks drive specifics). Well, when you format the drive on the RQZX1, the controller might put down some special information on the disk. But once you move that drive over to your PC, you are no longer talking MSCP, nor are you aware of any special areas set aside by the RQZX1, so you will most likely overwrite any such information making the formatting pointless. Ie, if the RQZX1 is putting some special information on the disk during the formatting, you cannot then take the drive to some other system and connect and use it there expecting things to not become messed up. However, if the RQZX1 does not put down any special information on the disk, what you do should work fine. But in that case, a formatting will not make any difference either. MSCP in a way do more than just "mask drive specifics". I don't have my RQZX1 manuals anywhere near, so I can't say more about any RQZX1 specific things. Sorry... > A next posible step is to use this source-code for a MSCP boot so I > can catch the initial boot load and see what is in the first disk > block (containing the next level bootstrap): > > http://www.slowdeath.com/AK6DN/PDP-11/M9312/23-767A9/23-767A9.lst I doubt that will help. I suspect that it is the controller which just throws an error back at the boot code when it tries to read the boot block. So nothing will be read. > I will also try a different model of SCSI drive too - perhaps the > Quantum Fireball is too much of a good thing (4200RPM 2.1GB); I have > an old clunker of a Quantum ProDrive 80S (3600 RPM 80MB!) > > Does anyone know how SCSI ID's are mapped to MSCP LUNs? so far the > RQZX1 appears to map the first SCSI ID (in my case #4) to LUN 0 (which > is what I want) - I am assuming it just does them in sequence. I would have thought that SCSI id #0 should map to LUN 0. #4 have traditionally been reserved for tapes (or was that CD?), although that could also have been #5 or #6. Johnny

16 years

2
2
0 0

Cromemco Z2-D system and accessories in Seattle, WA - Wish to donate

by wysoft＠hotmail.com

I would like to note to all that the system has been claimed and given a new home. Thanks to all of those who responded. Jeff ---------------------------------------- > From: wysoft at hotmail.com > To: cctalk at classiccmp.org > Subject: Cromemco Z2-D system and accessories in Seattle, WA - Wish to donate > Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2010 20:02:41 +0000 > > > Greetings, > > I'm posting here to inquire about the possibility of someone wanting to take this old Cromemco off my hands. I appreciate all that it is, and it has some family history behind it, but no one else in my family seems to want it, and it's far beyond my era of interest, so... Here we are. > > The system itself is in good physical shape - no damage, structural or cosmetic. My late uncle also built a wooden rolling base for the system, which includes additional power outlets for peripherals, and a remote reset switch. He developed software for Boeing on this machine, and I imagine it was pressed a lot. > > Based on the advice of others, to avoid damage to the unit I have not powered on the unit or plugged it in. > > Hardware installed in unit: > CPU board, 4FDC, 8PIO, two 64KZ boards > > Additional hardware, still in boxes: > 16-FDC, four 16KZ boards, two WANGCO floppy drives > > Zenith Z-29 terminal is also included if you wish, though I had originally intended to keep it. I used it over a year ago to do VAX stuff, and it still worked. There is also a printed manual. > > Printed and bound documentation: > Word Processing System, Cromix Operating System, Database Management System, Cromemco Extended BASIC, Z-80 Macro Assembler, Link and Lib, CDOS, FORTRAN IV, Cromemco System & Components, Cromemco Trace System Simulator, Zilog Z-80 Tech Reference > > There's also a huge stack of assorted manuals, catalogs, etc. My uncle really kept everything. Also included are a fair amount of my uncle's scribblings and notes, some of which might be helpful to you. > > Software (almost too much to list): > CDOS 2.36, CDOS 2.54, Z80 Macro Assembler, Word Processing System 4.06 & 6.0, FORTRAN & utilities, CROMIX, Database Management System 3.05, Database Report Language 1.0, Relocatable Assembler, BASIC 5.2, 16K Extended BASIC, COBOL, Database 0.02 (?), Drivers (?) > > I'll gladly snap photos if you wish. > > I would really, really like to avoid having to dispose of this stuff. I never knew my uncle, but if I hadn't taken this stuff from where it sat for the past twenty years in my grandmother's basement, it would have ended up in the trash. Hopefully someone here can make good use of it. > > I'm in Bremerton, WA. I'll drive to meet you within a reasonable distance. Please let me know if you have any additional questions. > > Thanks, > Jeff > > > _________________________________________________________________ > The New Busy think 9 to 5 is a cute idea. Combine multiple calendars with Hotmail. > http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?tile=multicalendar&ocid=PID2… _________________________________________________________________ The New Busy is not the old busy. Search, chat and e-mail from your inbox. http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?ocid=PID28326::T:WLMTAGL:ON:…

16 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Making Amiga Disks...

by alhartman＠yahoo.com

I recently picked up an Amiga 500 on eBay. I may have some Workbench disks that will work with it. In case I don't. Does anyone have advice on how I can get disk images and make floppies from them readable by the A500? I have PC's and Macs with floppy drives available to make the disks. Thanks! Al

16 years, 1 month

5
6
0 0

Any HP80-seires experts around?

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

Are there any HP80 seires experts here? I've got a curious quesiton. I am looking at the HP82909 128K RAM module (for the HP86/87 series). There are several places on the PCB that are not used -- from memory, thre are 4 locations for 14 pin ICs. More curiously, there's a place for a rssistor and transsitor to drive the ROMDIS/ line on the computer connector. I am pretty sure the 'missing' chips are simple logic functions. One is very probably a '74. Another may well be a '30. But I haven't worked out the details yet. My guess is that some HP product actually used this extra logic. So my 'curious quesiton' is : What product was it? -tony

16 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

PDP 11/23+ on Craigslist (LA)

by mdavidson1963＠gmail.com

On Tue, Jun 8, 2010 at 3:56 PM, Zane H. Healy <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote: > At 11:03 PM +0200 6/8/10, St?phane Tsacas wrote: >> >> http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/sys/1777867686.html PDP 11/23+ - $1 >> (Sherman Oaks ) >> >> Western Digital , PDP 11/23+ , Brand New , Never Used , RLO2 , Kenedy Tape >> Drive > > It's probably just as well I'm no where near close, but I have to question > the description. What is the odds of a 20-30 year old system being "brand > new", and where do the Western Digital and Kennedy Tape Drive come into play > based on the photo. ?I see a /23+ and two RL02's. ?A rather nice config. ?I > have a /23 like that, though lack the rack. I'll let you know... I've contacted the seller and told him that if he didn't get any local offers, I'd be interested (I'm in San Jose). The family would enjoy a long weekend drive to LA... :) Mark

16 years, 1 month

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DEC RQZX1 and KDJ11-E boot problem?

by bqt＠softjar.se

"Zane H. Healy" <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote: >> >I will also try a different model of SCSI drive too - perhaps the >> >Quantum Fireball is too much of a good thing (4200RPM 2.1GB); I have >> >an old clunker of a Quantum ProDrive 80S (3600 RPM 80MB!) > > Do you happen to have any DEC RZ2x HD's? I'd recommend giving those > a try. While RSTS/E 10.1 doesn't require these, it is possible that > the RQZX1 does, or the combination of the board and RSTS/E does. No, that will not help. But I agree that those drives are nice. > RSTS/E can be touchy. I was totally unable to install DECnet/E from > 4mm DAT using a TLZ06, even though I installed RSTS/E 10.1 that way. > On the other hand the install worked just fine using a TK50 and TKZ30 > drive. RSTS/E is sometimes very picky, which is sad. It absolutely requires that some stuff be installed from a specific type of tape drive, that write protection is on, or other weird requirements for things to succeed. I think John Wilson documented that pretty good in his E11 manual. Other PDP-11 OSes are more sensible. I don't know why DEC did things so strange in this aspect for RSTS/E. > Personally I'm using a PDP-11/73, Viking QDT, a 50-pin 2GB Seagate > Barracuda SCSI HD, and a Plextor 8x Caddy CD-ROM drive to run 10.1. Me, I'm using a CQD-220, five different SCSI disks, DAT, Exabyte, and occasionally I've also had different CD-ROM drives in there as well. But I've only run RSX and 2.11BSD on my hardware. (11/83, 11/84 and 11/93 systems). (Well, the 11/84 used a CDU-720, but anyway...) Johnny

16 years, 1 month

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PDP 11/23+ on Craigslist (LA)

by charlesmorris800＠centurytel.net

On Sun, 13 Jun 2010 12:00:07 -0500, you wrote: >>off list that I can answer. Again, two cabinets, condition looks >>like it was stored in a garage (not pristine, but not rusted >>either). He says "well I powered it on 10 years ago and it worked" >>when I explained the situation about his idea of value, and mine. > > With most of the stuff I see that I might be interested in, the sellers seem to >have a very inflated sense of value. It seems that the value fluctuates over a wide range depending on where it's located, among other things. I also have a perfectly good working 11/23+ that I have no need for (RT-11, 4 MB RAM, two RL02's, corporate cabinet) but I'm not inclined to just give it away free either... so I guess it can just sit there until it IS worth a few bucks!

16 years, 1 month

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Semi-OT: Apple iPad

by madodel＠ptd.net

> Okay, I know the iPad is totally OT, but here is my question, does > anyone on this list have one, I have a wifi only iPad. Standard it uses Safari to read pdfs directly from the web. You can buy pdf reader apps though. > and have you tried using it for reading > PDF's off of Bitsavers? How practical is this? > It should be fine for reading pdf's. There are several apps for pdf viewing, but I'm not sure what they add. I have never used it for reading PDF's off of Bitsavers, but then I think I've only looked at one pdf in the month or so I have had it. OK I just tried and it worked. I was able to browse bitsavers.org and view a pdf. Just a very basic reader though. Mark > I'm finally making real progress at getting my computer "lab" setup > with the systems I plan to keep, and don't have a way to read manuals > out there. Currently the only computer that doesn't have a VT420 > attached is the Commodore 64. Guess I should get the SGI o2 or > Sunblade 1000 hooked up... > > Zane > > > > -- > | Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Administrator | > | healyzh at aracnet.com | OpenVMS Enthusiast | > | | Classic Computer Collector | > +----------------------------------+----------------------------+ > | Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, | > | PDP-10 Emulation and Zane's Computer Museum. | > | http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/ | > > -- Mark Dodel<madodel at ptd.net> sent by ibisMail on my Apple iPad!

16 years, 1 month

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pdp8/a rebuild

by trestivo＠cfl.rr.com

Does anyone know a reason why I can't remove the G8018's and G8019 and replace them with newer OEM power supplies? I know that one G8018 supplies 5V @ 25a, +15V @ 2a, -15V @ 2a and +20V @ 4a. I believe the 20V is only used for core memory. So.a 5v supply @ 50a should be sufficient, and a 2 dual output +/- 15v supply @ 2@ each should be a reasonable substitute. I am aware of the functions of the G8019 and that I would be defeating the "dead fan shutdown" and battery backup feature. OR. Does anyone have a written procedure for troubleshooting the backplane, specifically the SC260m triac, the opto isolator, the 2n6531 transistor and what causes the 47 ohm resistor to burn. With all boards removed I know how to defeat the removal of the two G8018's and on a good backplane by adding a jumper between two pins on the G8018 connectors. I can apply 3v to a pin on the G8019 connector to get the triac to fire. But this is not enough for troubleshooting a bad backplane. All help will be greatly appreciated. Thom Melbourne Florida

16 years, 1 month

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Suggestions for repairing HP tape drive capstans?

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

I have a number of HP QIC tape drive units -- I think it's 2 off 9142, 3 off 9144 (1 3-board, the other 2 are single-board) and a 9145 [1] all with hte same problem. The rubber capstan has turend to goo. [1] There's a darn 68000 processor in that drive, unlike the 68B09s in the other units. Eeek! The capstan is a rubber 'tyre' on a metal hub, the latter being glued to the motor spidnle. The diameter of the hub is around 12mm (but I wil measure that accurately) and the overall diameter of the tyre is perhaps 18mm (it's going to be hard to measure, sure the fact I don't have a solid one :-() Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions as to suitable material that I can obtain in the UK to repair this? Assume as ever I have a reasonable workshop and am not affraid to pull the drives to bits :-) -tony

16 years, 1 month

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DEC RQZX1 and KDJ11-E boot problem?

by nigel.d.williams＠gmail.com

On Sun, Jun 13, 2010 at 3:11 AM, Zane H. Healy <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote: > What version of RSTS/E, and does it support the RQZX1? ?I think that support > might have come with 10.1. Yes, I am using 10.1 > I'm not sure if anyone has actually attempted what you're doing, some of us > were discussing this a year or two ago, but I know I've not had time to try > it. I tried all the obvious combinations for imaging the hard disk, the final one being: SIMH using the SCSI drive as a block device (Linux: attach rq /dev/sdc) and confirming that SIMH boots the drive successfully after the install, however on re-attaching to the 11/93 it still throws the Drive not ready error when trying to boot. > Of course you may simply have some sort of hardware issue going on there as > well, I'm not familiar with the RQZX1. The drives passes the built-in RQZX1 diagnostics, which includes read/write/verify tests etc. I formatted the SCSI drive via the RQZX1 too (prior to using the drive on Linux via SIMH to install RSTS/E), just in case the format process was doing something special (although I can't imagine what since I understand MSCP masks drive specifics). A next posible step is to use this source-code for a MSCP boot so I can catch the initial boot load and see what is in the first disk block (containing the next level bootstrap): http://www.slowdeath.com/AK6DN/PDP-11/M9312/23-767A9/23-767A9.lst I will also try a different model of SCSI drive too - perhaps the Quantum Fireball is too much of a good thing (4200RPM 2.1GB); I have an old clunker of a Quantum ProDrive 80S (3600 RPM 80MB!) Does anyone know how SCSI ID's are mapped to MSCP LUNs? so far the RQZX1 appears to map the first SCSI ID (in my case #4) to LUN 0 (which is what I want) - I am assuming it just does them in sequence.

16 years, 1 month

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DEC RQZX1 and KDJ11-E boot problem?

by nigel.d.williams＠gmail.com

I "imaged" (via SIMH/Linux [*]) a Quantum SCSI drive with RSTS/E and connected to the RQZX1 and via the built-in configuration menu able to see the drive (drive label appears at the correct SCSI ID) and run the "read" diagnostics successfully. But using the KDJ11-E boot menu I get an error "10 - Drive not ready" - is there something I need to do in the KDJ11-E or the RQZX1 that I have overlooked? Any ideas would be appreciated. I now have access to the KDJ11-E manual thanks to Bitsavers. But no documentation on the RQZX1, other than what I can glean from the built-in menus. [*] SYSGEN'd and then "dd" the resulting file to the drive. If I "od -o" the drive I can see location 0 and 2 have the DEC boot signature. RQZX1 SCSI Host Adapter Monitor Software Rev 2.2 23-Jun-1993 (C) Digital Equipment Corporation 1992 Hardware Rev L ***************************** Q-bus Configuration ****************************** * * * DMA : Burst length : 01 CSR0 : 172150 MSCP * * Block length : 08 CSR1 : 174500 TMSCP * * Burst delay : 01 * 1.6 us * * * * LUN CSR Mode Drive no. Start LBN End LBN Device Type * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- * * DU 0 0 MSCP SCSI ID 0 0000000000 0004124732 Disk * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Type Control-Z or <CR> to return to previous menu * * * ********************************************************************************

16 years, 1 month

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PS/2 model 77s

by SUPRDAVE＠aol.com

In a message dated 6/11/2010 7:08:56 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, doc at vaxen.net writes: On 6/9/10 4:00 PM, Zane H. Healy wrote: > > >> On Wed, 9 Jun 2010, William Donzelli wrote: >> >>> I think these machines are all fitted with a pretty standard set of >>> guts - I do not think you will find any weird cards or huge disks or >>> anything. I have not tested these machines. Condition is so-so - about >>> what you would expect from a warehouse. >> >> Actually I was thinking these might have some nice small disks. I have a >> nice stash of 100MB and 200MB 1" high 3.5" SCSI HD's that came out of some >> model of PS/2. I bought them 10+ years ago from someone that scrapped out a >> whole pile of PS/2's. They're great for my PDP-11. > Are these Model 77 or Model 77i? > Good system, either way, but the 77i is IDE, not SCSI. For the mod 77, there are two planars used. The Bermuda for the SCSI models and Lacuna for the IDE type.

16 years, 1 month

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<OT> Pentina

by ken＠seefried.com

I lost Fleabag, my 20-something year old cat and last pet I had since college days on the 31st. So...right there with you. KJ

16 years, 1 month

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<OT> Pentina

by mtapley＠swri.edu

At 1:33 -0500 6/10/10, Tony wrote: >This alas is not a problem for me any more. Poor Pentina passed away >yesterday. Here's to Pentina <clink> may his soul always have a warm monitor to rest on! -- - Mark 210-379-4635 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Large Asteroids headed toward planets inhabited by beings that don't have technology adequate to stop them: Think of it as Evolution in Fast-Forward.

16 years, 1 month

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SuperKIM

by spectre＠floodgap.com

I'm cleaning out my closet and came upon (again) one of my collector's mysteries, a microproducts (sic) Superkim (or SuperKIM). This appears to be an evaluation board (everything is socketed) that slots into a larger chassis. It has a Rockwell 6502 and several 6522s, and a tremendous amount of wirewrap on the bottom which may be after the fact. Anyone ever encountered one of these? I have the manual for it but it seems to be more of an experimenter's board rather than a substitute for the KIM like the AIM-65. -- ------------------------------------ personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckaiser at floodgap.com -- Don't Be Evil. -- Paul Buchheit --------------------------------------------

16 years, 1 month

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Diloq MQ 606 manual wanted

by jdr_use＠bluewin.ch

I would like to reuse some former PC MFM drives for use in a PDP11, with a Dilog MQ606 controller. Anyone know of an online manual on this controller ? Jos

16 years, 1 month

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Cromemco Z2-D system and accessories in Seattle, WA - Wish to donate

by wysoft＠hotmail.com

Greetings, I'm posting here to inquire about the possibility of someone wanting to take this old Cromemco off my hands. I appreciate all that it is, and it has some family history behind it, but no one else in my family seems to want it, and it's far beyond my era of interest, so... Here we are. The system itself is in good physical shape - no damage, structural or cosmetic. My late uncle also built a wooden rolling base for the system, which includes additional power outlets for peripherals, and a remote reset switch. He developed software for Boeing on this machine, and I imagine it was pressed a lot. Based on the advice of others, to avoid damage to the unit I have not powered on the unit or plugged it in. Hardware installed in unit: CPU board, 4FDC, 8PIO, two 64KZ boards Additional hardware, still in boxes: 16-FDC, four 16KZ boards, two WANGCO floppy drives Zenith Z-29 terminal is also included if you wish, though I had originally intended to keep it. I used it over a year ago to do VAX stuff, and it still worked. There is also a printed manual. Printed and bound documentation: Word Processing System, Cromix Operating System, Database Management System, Cromemco Extended BASIC, Z-80 Macro Assembler, Link and Lib, CDOS, FORTRAN IV, Cromemco System & Components, Cromemco Trace System Simulator, Zilog Z-80 Tech Reference There's also a huge stack of assorted manuals, catalogs, etc. My uncle really kept everything. Also included are a fair amount of my uncle's scribblings and notes, some of which might be helpful to you. Software (almost too much to list): CDOS 2.36, CDOS 2.54, Z80 Macro Assembler, Word Processing System 4.06 & 6.0, FORTRAN & utilities, CROMIX, Database Management System 3.05, Database Report Language 1.0, Relocatable Assembler, BASIC 5.2, 16K Extended BASIC, COBOL, Database 0.02 (?), Drivers (?) I'll gladly snap photos if you wish. I would really, really like to avoid having to dispose of this stuff. I never knew my uncle, but if I hadn't taken this stuff from where it sat for the past twenty years in my grandmother's basement, it would have ended up in the trash. Hopefully someone here can make good use of it. I'm in Bremerton, WA. I'll drive to meet you within a reasonable distance. Please let me know if you have any additional questions. Thanks, Jeff _________________________________________________________________ The New Busy think 9 to 5 is a cute idea. Combine multiple calendars with Hotmail. http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?tile=multicalendar&ocid=PID2…

16 years, 1 month

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Programing PDP-8 assembler - details

by bqt＠softjar.se

Ben <bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca> wrote: > Johnny Billquist wrote: > >> > Why use a line editor? There are several full screen editors for OS/8. >> > Really fast and nice ones. > > Where? Like others mentioned, you have VTEDIT, which you can find at ftp://ftp.update.uu.se/pub/pdp8/os8/teco8/ for instance. I also have VISTA, which is a nice editor that can handle various different terminals. However, for some reason I can't seem to find it in our ftp archive right now. I was pretty sure I put it up there at some point. But maybe someone else knows a location where you can find it. Johnny

16 years, 1 month

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PS/2 model 77s

by wdonzelli＠gmail.com

I have a bunch of IBM PS/2 model 77s here that are not long for this world. If there is any serious interest, please let me know. If no real interest, into the grinder they go! Please contact off list. I am in 10512. If you want me to ship, I need to have it worth my while. -- Will

16 years, 1 month

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Programing PDP-8 assembler - details

by bqt＠softjar.se

Ben <bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca> wrote: > Johnny Billquist wrote: > >> > The system calls, information about file system stuff, and all other >> > information you need to write programs in assembler is documented in the >> > OS/8 SOFTWARE SUPPORT MANUAL >> > Don't know if it's available online, but I would suspect so. > > It is online, and as scanned text file. It printed out rather > clean on the laser with only a few blank pages. Saw that later. Good. That means you have everything you need. >> > Johnny >> > > The important thing is got windows ( hyper-term ) and the > SBC6120 with k12mit ( Kermit ) talking to each other today. > The PDP 8 was promoted as paper tape system, and it is > harder to think of communicating with it remotely. > I still will do most of my editing in DOS box, since the line > editor is pain to use with the PDP 8. Why use a line editor? There are several full screen editors for OS/8. Really fast and nice ones. Johnny

16 years, 1 month

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Ultrix Media

by aek＠bitsavers.org

> Trouble is I am not > entirely sure what to do with the individual files to make an Ultrix virtual > tape. Anyone know? > You put them together with the right blocking factors and file marks to make a .tap image. I've uploaded some earlier versions to http://bitsavers.org/bits/DEC/vax/ultrix to show you what they should look like. I probably should do the same for the 4.x versions he has.

16 years, 1 month

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Programing PDP-8 assembler - details

by bqt＠softjar.se

Ben <bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca> wrote: > What are the programs needed to program under OS/8 in assembler > using OS/8 as I/O for the assembler? What is the OS/8 handbook > that lists the OS/8 system calls for OS/8 use from assembler. > IS IT ONLINE as pdf? > Planing to write a few new programs for the 8, because we have the > technology. > Ben. Programs needed? PAL8 is the standard assembler, and ABSLDR is the normal linker/loader. The system calls, information about file system stuff, and all other information you need to write programs in assembler is documented in the OS/8 SOFTWARE SUPPORT MANUAL Don't know if it's available online, but I would suspect so. Johnny

16 years, 1 month

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yet another pdp-8 in a fpga, but this time running tss/8

by bqt＠softjar.se

Ben <bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca> wrote: > Looking back with the emulators, of vintage hardware > it is the fact that expensive things like mass-storage > could be shared among several people. I have just been > installing some PDP 8 software on a IDE drive and even > with the small size of PDP 8 disks ( 2048k max ) you > sure can see how small programs and data was back then. > With a PDP 8 multi-tasking the programs I expect where > dog slow, but they could run with larger memory and > disks a larger machine could justify. In all fairness, there is no such limitation on the size of disks on PDP-8s. OS/8 have a limitation on disks being no more than 4096 *blocks*, but that's a limitation in that OS, which is based on the fact that just one word is used to specify the block number for device drivers. Larger disks (which weren't that unusual) had to be presented as several logical disks to the OS, in order for them to be fully used. So an RL02 (as an example) looked like five disks to OS/8. RL0A, RL0B, RL0C, RL0D and RL0E. All about 2M each. As for multi-tasking - no, that was/is not dog slow. Most of the time it was perfectly fine even for several interactive users in parallel. Johnny

16 years, 1 month

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