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

by silvercreekvalley＠yahoo.com

Hi, I've got a Dell PowerVault 120T available if anyone is interested. I believe this is a DLT7000 tape autoloader and the interface on the back looks to be a SCSI (possibly differential scsi). Info I'm sure is available on the web. I've never switched this unit on, so cant confirm if its working or not. It looks as if its designed to fit a 19" rack, and there is one rack ear on the right side, nothing on the left. Anyway get in touch off list if interested. I'm in the UK (Yorkshire). Its free if collected. Cheers Ian.

16 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Vitek & Alcyon Regulus info (early 68k UNIX)

by derschjo＠mail.msu.edu

Hi all -- I snagged that Vitek Systems machine that was being discussed earlier this month and now that I'm back from my holiday travels I have some time to play with it. It's a 68010 machine with 2mb of memory and 2 40mb scsi drives. Hooked up a terminal to TT0 and it booted up to a login prompt, much to my amazement. The login banner says: VITEK Nerve Center II Copyright (c) 1992 by bioMerieux Vitek Inc. So I guess that gives a bit more detail on what this machine is. Clearly a system used in some sort of medical application, and bioMerieux appears to still be in business, though I can't find any info on this particular machine on their site. It appears to be running an early UNIX variant called Regulus (5.2.2, dated 7/31/86) by a company called Alcyon. I can't find much more information on the 'net other than the fact that it existed. Anyone know anything about this version of UNIX? Any idea what filesystem it used? I know none of the usernames/passwords, so either a backdoor or some way to access the filesystem would be handy... I'm going to be dumping an image of the drives this evening, before something catastrophic happens to them... Thanks, Josh

16 years, 6 months

4
10
0 0

Convergent NGEN documentation

by aek＠bitsavers.org

I spent the weekend scanning and taking pictures of what I was able to find on the NGEN/Burroughs B2x systems, now up under http://bitsavers.org/pdf/convergent There are a few things in particular on the wanted list, mainly hardware docs. I'm hoping another list member will scan the system documentation that he has. I'm also working on trying to understand how to make a bootable floppy >from a running 10mb system. It was interesting to see how the Xerox XDE development envronment influenced CTOS. File naming conventions are pretty much the same as in XDE, for example.

16 years, 6 months

2
2
0 0

Dec paddle board needed

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

Guy writes: > On Dec 28, 2009, at 12:18 PM, Ed Groenenberg wrote: >> Maybe one of you can help me, I need an M908 paddle board. > While the number is familiar, what is it for? TU11 to TU56 cable (and possibly other things too). Tim.

16 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

IBM (Federal Systems Division) FSC Documents, and IBM GC20 documents

by spedraja＠ono.com

Hello. I am searching for some documents from IBM Federal Systems Division, particularly the related with the Systems Software Development (FSC-71-5108 et.al). In the other hand, Bitsavers contains some valuable documents in http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/generalInfo/ related with Software Engineering, but I should like to know if this set can be expanded in a future with some other interesting documents released by IBM in the 60/70 and early 80s (HIPO diagrams and so). I have some programmed courses about the matter from this epoch (which I saved from the dumpster) but in Spanish. Regards Sergio

16 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

DDC BUS-65517 1553 card

by shrlkhms＠comcast.net

Do you still have these 3 cards (65517)?

16 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

GopherVR

by spectre＠floodgap.com

For those who remember GopherVR, this will need no introduction; it is a virtual reality interface to Gopherspace. I have managed to get it working again on Mac OS X, and it should build other places. There is a long way to go, but it is now stable and does work even though it is still not finished. A pre-built binary is available for Mac OS X 10.4+, and source for everyone else. http://www.floodgap.com/software/gophervr/ -- ------------------------------------ personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckaiser at floodgap.com -- "Eight tries. The number is ... seven." ------------------------------------

16 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Dec paddle board needed

by quapla＠xs4all.nl

Hello All, Everyone recovered from X-Mas yet :) Maybe one of you can help me, I need an M908 paddle board. Let me know off list and maybe we can come to an agreement. Thanks, Ed -- Certified : VCP 3.x, SCSI 3.x SCSA S10, SCNA S10

16 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

Old DEC Power Control 861C

by icipasla＠gmail.com

Old DEC Power Control 861C Hi, looks like I am not getting the posting in my e-mail but my messages do get posted. I found this replyto my previous message by Tony Duell <cctalk%40classiccmp.org?Subject=Re%3A%20Old%20DEC%20Power%20Control%20861C&In-Reply-To=%3Cm1NM4jS-000J3uC%40p850ug1%3E>in the archives. To follow-up, the 861C emits a crackling noise for the first few seconds (20 or so) and then I can hear a relay chattering (very noisy!). Also the light on the front panel is flashing continuously (maybe that's normal.) Normand * * ------------------------------ >* *>* On December 18, 2009, Normand Fisher wrote: *>* > Hi Mike, *>* > *>* > I have an old 861C (and a 874A) which are very noisy and trigger off *>* > after a short period under load. Would you, by chance, have a copy of *>* > the schematics? *>* > *>* > Or matter of fact any knowledge as to the cause of noise(old capacitors? *>* > ...). *>* *>* Your best bet wouls be to post to Classiccmp Classiccmp mailing list at *>* cctalk at classiccmp.org. <http://www.classiccmp.org/mailman/listinfo/cctalk> * The DEC power cotnrollers are _very_ simple inside, and you don't really need tjhe printsets to repair them. I am not sure I understand the fault description. In particular, what sort of noise (hum, chattering relay?). And what do you mean by 'trigger off'. Do you mean the contactor drops out, or the breaker trips, or what? Let me know exactly what happens and I might be able to help. -tony

16 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

HP-IB disc drive emulation program available

by jdbryan＠acm.org

Ansgar Kueckes has released a new version of his "HPDrive" disc emulator that works with HP 64000 logic development stations and HP 1000 MEF-series minicomputers, in addition to the HP 9845. The emulator is hosted on a Windows PC with a GPIB interface card and appears to the target system to be any of a selection of HP-IB floppy, hard, or cartridge tape drives that use the Amigo or CS/80 protocols. Drives that are not supported natively may be added via a configuration file if the drive parameters (Amigo) or Describe information (CS/80) is supplied. The project page is here: http://www.hp9845.net/9845/projects/hpdrive/ The emulator has not been tested with the HP 1000 A/L-series, nor with the HP 3000, but the disc emulations are reasonably thorough and may well work with these systems. My thanks to Michel Bissonnette, Al Kossow, Frank McConnell, and Jay West for lending hardware for HPDrive development and testing. -- Dave

16 years, 6 months

18
60
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FS: 8" IBM Diskettes - quantity 40 Spring Hill FL

by ygehrich＠yahoo.com

8" (eight inch) IBM Diskettes - quantity 40 Some blank, some with software $12 + shipping for all Paypal preferred, cash, check or money order

16 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

the venerable 80186 (and 80188)

by feldman.r＠comcast.net

The HP 100LX/200LX/1000CX/OG700LX use the "Hornet" chip, which contains an 80C186 along with I/O, display and other modules. There is info on this chip (block diagram, pinout) at http://www.daniel-hertrich.de/en/knowledgebase/hplx/hornet ? Bob ----- Original Message ----- Date: Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:07:23 -0800 (PST) From: Cameron Kaiser <spectre at floodgap.com> Subject: Re: the venerable 80186 (and 80188) To: cctalk at classiccmp.org Message-ID: <200912280207.nBS27NxF017080 at floodgap.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII > > Also add the HP 95LX palmtop, and possibly others in the LX line (I don't > > remember if they all do). They used a '186. > > IIRC the 95LX uses an 80C188. Actually, I was thinking of the HP 200LX, sorry. That *does* have a 80186 for sure. -- ------------------------------------ personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- ??Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckaiser at floodgap.com -- If it's tourist season, why can't we shoot them? -- Justice Gustine -------- ???

16 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

RT-PC Gone!

by snhirsch＠gmail.com

Thanks to all who contacted me. The RT-PC has been taken. Steve --

16 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

2732 eproms.

by geoffr＠zipcon.net

Does anyone have a stash of them? I have one fo them and it is getting old burning it, testing the device, erasing it, and burning different code into it, lather ? rinse ? repeat.

16 years, 6 months

13
21
0 0

Help restoring early issues of Mark-8 Newsletter

by lausadel＠gmail.com

Hi. Just wondering if you ever figured out how to chemically lift images from faded dittos. I have the same problem with a personal document that you did with the Mark-8 Newsletter. Thanks. --Dawn Lausa

16 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

VAX 11/750 2.5V supply problems

by david_comley＠yahoo.com

I have been trying for some time to repair the 2.5V supply on an 11/750, without success. The symptoms are loud squealing which changes back and forth in pitch (in fact it sounds a bit like RTTY, only over a couple of pitches), OVERCURRENT and REG FAIL indicators on the status panel on the back of the machine. All the boards are pulled from the backplane and I?m using dummy loads on the supply. There?s no evidence of shorts on the chassis or on any of the supply outputs. I?m testing with the voltage sense wiring in place. The output electrolytics have been replaced on the 2 regulator boards and the big electrolytics on the primary side check out OK. I?ve measured 300V DC across the switching transistors on the primary side. I?ve not detected any problems with the electrolytics on the 30V supply and 2.5V supply but I have ordered replacements just to be on the safe side. I?ve checked over all the diodes and transistors with the Huntron tracker with no obvious evidence of any failures. So far all I?ve really been able to establish is that there?s no output on the ?secondary? side of the supply, that is, the 30V supply which drives the +/-5VB and 12V regulators, and the 2.5V main output of the supply. I think the REG FAIL lamp is a red herring because without the 30V supply active, REG FAIL would have to be lit if I understand the schematic correctly. I?m posting on the off-chance that someone has had this problem and has dealt with it. I?ve been looking at this on and off since July but haven?t made any headway. Thanks for any suggestions the group may be able to offer. By the way, the story of the machine and work done to date is at http://comley.us/browse.php?&action=show&artefactID=1051 -Dave

16 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Data General software agreement pre-announcement (Merry Christmas)

by bruce＠Wild-Hare.com

Data General legacy preservation fans - After 9+ years of negotiations, Wild Hare has secured an agreement with Data General to recover, archive and release Data General 16-bit and some 32-bit software for educational and non-commercial purposes. A official announcement will be made next month, but I wanted to let list members know that sometimes good things can happen. A special thanks is extended to the amazing William Donzelli, and to the quick-footed Carl Friend, who made the physical tape rescue in Massachusetts possible. Thanks also to the legal and technical folk at EMC (Data General) who finally made this a legal reality - and who might prefer annonymity at this point. Details will be posted in a few weeks, but I wanted to share this bit of Merry Christmas for DG fans. Bruce Bruce Ray Wild Hare Computer Systems, Inc. bkr at WildHareComputers.com ...preserving the Data General legacy: www.NovasAreForever.com

16 years, 6 months

2
2
0 0

Data General software agreement pre-announcement (Merry Christmas)

by bruce＠Wild-Hare.com

G'day DG legacy preservation fans - After 9+ years of negotiations, Wild Hare has secured an agreement with Data General to recover, archive and release Data General 16-bit and some 32-bit software for educational and non-commercial purposes. A official announcement will be made next month, but I wanted to let list members know that sometimes good things can happen. A special thanks is extended to the amazing William Donzelli, and to the quick-footed Carl Friend, who made the physical tape rescue in Massachusetts possible. Thanks also to the legal and technical folk at EMC (Data General) who finally made this a legal reality - and who might prefer annonymity at this point. Details will be posted in a few weeks, but I wanted to share this bit of Merry Christmas for DG fans. Bruce Bruce Ray Wild Hare Computer Systems, Inc. bkr at WildHareComputers.com ...preserving the Data General legacy: www.NovasAreForever.com

16 years, 6 months

5
4
0 0

Oki

by evan＠snarc.net

Is anyone here an expert on Oki computers from the early 1980s? If so, please contact me off-list.

16 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Happy Newtonsday!

by mtapley＠swri.edu

...in deference to one of our treasured list members. And to others, Merry Christmas; and to all, a Happy New Year; may your capacitors all retain a low ESR and may the "good stuff" appear at the curbside of your path, decked with signs saying "take me"! -- - 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, 6 months

3
3
0 0

IBM RT-PC available

by snhirsch＠gmail.com

All, In my ongoing effort at clearing space, I must part with my beloved IBM RT-PC. This is a desktop form-factor with the "enhanced advanced CPU" (don't you love 80s marketing-speak) running at a stunning 16Mhz. with 8MB of memory on-board. I have upgraded it with a 1GB ATA drive and an Adaptec SCSI adapter and it's currently loaded with AOS / BSD 4.4. Has ethernet adapter and was in-use on my own network. Other items: - A bookshelf or two of documentation - One or two of every expansion card ever made for the unit - Extra mouse and keyboard (non-standard connectors) - Multi-Port serial card for POS systems (?) - Complete software distribution of AIX 2.x - Complete AOS / BSD 4.3 - The semi-mythical BSD 4.4 port w/ sources - A couple of ESDI drives (original hard disk) - The "academic" OS high-resolution grey-scale monitor w/ video adapter. This supports X10 R-something under AOS. And probably many, many other goodies that slipped my mind. I'm open to negotiation on price, but the kicker is: You Gotta Come And Get It. There's enough stuff to fill the back of a small van and I'm not even going to address shipment. I'm located in Burlington, VT. Please, someone give this a nice home? Steve --

16 years, 6 months

12
20
0 0

PDP-11/34A acquistion and questions -

by jack.rubin＠ameritech.net

I recently rescued the following system: One full size (H960)rack cabinet containing (from the top down) - DEC PDP-11 crest Telebyte TDX 1/2" tape drive PDP-11/34A w/ full programmer's console Data Systems Design (DSD) 880-120 homebrew connector panel Wesperline I/O unit One "corporate highboy" cabinet (VAX style) RLO2 drive BA11-KE chassis non-racked items - 2nd RLO2 drive DSD twin floppy system, 110/430 additionally - 8 disk packs + "pack rack" several boxes of 8" floppies, including an install set for RT-11 V5.1c, configured by Cambridge Digital, dated 1984 card inventory (by chassis slot) - - 11/34A (chassis marked 11/34A XX) (1) M8266 control module (KD11-EA) (2) M8265 datapath module (KD11-EA) (3) M8267 floating point (FP-11A) (4) M7859 programmer cons (KY11-LB) (5) M8268 cache board (KK11-A) (6) M7801 data word cntrl (MC11) [I think I must have misread the card number and this is really M7891, 128KW MOS RAM, but I haven't yet verified that] (9)<->(11) M9202 backplane jumper (12)DSD 808830 controller for DSD 880-120 (13)DILOG DU130 tape controller (14)M7865) SLU+RTC (DL11-W) - BA-11-KE (3) M7860 parallel I/O (DR11-C) (5)&(6) MSP-3/A, MSP-3/C Computer Design Assoc. boards (8) M7762 RL02 disk controller (RL11) (9)<->(11) M9202 backplane jumper (12)&(13) MDP-3/M CDA boards (includes 4 AMD 2903 SuperSlice chips) Pictures at: http://tinyurl.com/pdp1134a ************************* The system was apparently used for data logging and analysis in a windtunnel application. Questions: 1) Can anyone provide more info on the Computer Design Associates board sets? Each of the board sets is comprised of two boards in adjoining slots with ribbon cables across the board tops. I've emailed the researcher who used this system in the early '80s but haven't heard back from him yet. 2) Are there PDP8 device interfaces for either the DSD430 or DSD880? The 430 emulates a pair of RX02's; the 880 emulates an RX02 + RL02 and is capable of formatting floppy disks in stand-alone mode. From the bitsavers manuals, I see that there is a PDP8 interface (DSD 2131) for the 210 and 440 chassis, but it's not clear if there were similar interfaces for the other units or if the 2131 will support the 430 chassis. Thanks for any help, Jack

16 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

Apple monitors

by brianlanning＠gmail.com

So it appears that not all apple monitors are created equal. I have a 17" apple monitor from a mac that I tried to attach to an Apple 2gs. They're all db-15, but this combo didn't work. Is it a frequency range thing? Is there an easy way to get this to work? The 9" 2gs monitor is a bit small. brian

16 years, 6 months

2
2
0 0

CNC/NC

by roger.holmes＠microspot.co.uk

> From: Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks at gmail.com> > > <roger.holmes at microspot.co.uk> wrote: >> I wrote a similar program in 1979 to do a similar job with an Apple ][ europlus (to a Bridgeport Series 1). > > Oddly enough, one of my side projects is tracking down a problem with > the original controls for a Bridgeport Series 2. One of the control > cabinets got packed with sawdust from an adjacent woodshop, so it > appears to be power-supply related (all the motor driver and pre-amp > boards check out, but only X moves; Y and Z make noise but are > stationary). If I remember right the series 2 used stepper motors. One set of coils faulty? But on Y and Z seems strange. Maybe there's something in common for the coils of both axes. Rather less likely but the (woodruff?) drive keys could have sheared, but again on both axes at once seems unlikely. Do the motors turn or just go a tiny bit backward and forwards? Of course its possible one of the axes could have failed earlier and the machine used for simpler jobs. I once made a CNC program (prepared on the Apple 2) to machine elliptical valves (upside down poppet valves) and the program only used X and Y axes. Similar jobs must exist.

16 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

Need Parts for DIGI-COMP1

by jthecman＠netscape.net

Happy Holidays to all I'am trying to restore a DIGI-COMP1 that I got off eBay awhile back and need the following items. It's missing 1-End Plate #2 (broken), 1-Clock Tube #16 or a way to make one, 3-Springs #17 and 1-Logic & Clock Rod #18. If anyone has these parts that want sale or give away please contact me off list. Thanks, John

16 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

1Mx4 DRAM DIPs

by keithvz＠verizon.net

Hi, This is my annual 1Mx4 DRAM memory chip post. I'm looking for some old DRAM memory chips with the following specs: 20-pin DIP memory chips (16) 1meg x 4-bit dips make up a bank of 8mb. Should be 60-ns Fast Page Mode non-parity An example would be Toshiba TC514400AP-60. Other manufacturers might use the following base part numbers: Fujitsu MB : 814400 Goldstar GM : 71C4400 Hitachi HM : 514400 Hyundai HY : 514400 Micron MT : 4C4001 Mitsubishi M5M: 44400 I have some in surface mount (in a goofy 26/20 format), but without small PCBs to convert, they aren't much use. There are some out there in SOJ, also not useful. Yes, I know some old video cards might have them, and yes, I know the Epson ActionLaser 1500's have them. I haven't found a single source in a couple years. There are some companies, like usbid.com, that have them. All of these companies have $250-$500 minimum purchases, and I really don't need that many of them. Or want to pay that much. The form factor is important, but if I can only get EDO and 80ns, I'll take those too. :) Thanks and Merry Christmas. Keith

16 years, 6 months

2
3
0 0

Data General software agreement pre-announcement (Merry Christmas)

by shoppa＠trailing-edge.com

Bruce, My contribution, tapes I recovered and imaged in the mid-90's: http://www.trailing-edge.com/~shoppa/dg1.zip http://www.trailing-edge.com/~shoppa/dg2.zip Good luck with the big project! Tim.

16 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

CNC/NC

by roger.holmes＠microspot.co.uk

> From: "Rick Bensene" <rickb at bensene.com> > > Earlier controls had RS-232 ports. I wrote a system on a PC running > FreeBSD Linux using Perl (a very early version) that would send and > receive programs to all of the controls in the shop over RS-232. I used > a SCSI terminal server box from Central Data that hooked up to the PC > over a SCSI channel, and provided 16 RS-232 serial ports that went out > to all of the machines. Amazingly enough, this thing is still in > service (in a shop environment) after over 15 years, providing an easy > way to load programs on some of the older controls. I wrote a similar program in 1979 to do a similar job with an Apple ][ europlus (to a Bridgeport Series 1). It was written in my own high level assembler (for the 6502) and worked with only one machine at a time and included Apple's word processor integrated in (by disassembly, converting to high level and inclusion in the source with suitable links) and we sold a normal version with it with permission from Apple.We also had a program which emulated a vertical mill and drew the programmed path on screen or on a pen plotter. I know they were in use about 20 years later but probably all dead by now. We also did a version which allowed operators to program a Heidenheim 131 or 145(?) controller on the Apple 2 without tying up the real machine which cost about 30 times as much as an Apple 2.

16 years, 6 months

5
4
0 0

DECmemory

by shoppa＠trailing-edge.com

Will writes: > What machine does the DEC 54-21139 SIMM go with? VAXstation or Alpha? > I have quite a pile - available cheap! It goes in at least some of the DEC 3000 Alphastations. Which themselves could use commodity PC-clone memory with parity (at least for the 8MB SIMM's, there's some special sensing resistor in the DEC 32MB SIMM's) so they would probably work in anything needing 8MB Parity SIMMs. Geeze, I haven't thought about DEC 3000 memory in a decade. IIRC the Alphastations shipped with 8MB SIMM's and these often were pulled and replaced with 32MB SIMM's. Tim.

16 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

DDC BUS-65517 1553 card

by arlin＠gdca.com

Do you have any BUS-65517 cards. I have a system that I need some spares on. Arlin 925-784-4642

16 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

IBM 9375

by wdonzelli＠gmail.com

Curious - did someone here win that nice IBM 9375 on Ebay? I doubt it was a scrapper - the hammer price is too high. -- Will

16 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

HP91xx controllers (was HP-IB disc drive emulation programavailable)

by shoppa＠trailing-edge.com

Chuck writes: > What we no longer have is convenient inexpensive storage for modest > amounts of information, say a megabyte or two? Ideally, such a > medium would be read-mostly or write-once and a handful of them would > buy a cup of coffee at your local watering hole. When I got started in computing, a RK05 pack was circa $200 and a 8" floppy was circa $5. A researcher or student might have had a personal RK05 or two and a box of floppies. Today for the non-inflation-amount of money I get a couple of Terabyte portable drives for $200 and a cheapie USB keychain for $5. And they're used for similar purposes (despite a factor of 5 or more orders of magnuted in byte capacity) as the 30-year old equivalents. I see things really staying the same in price and in usage more than changing. What's really cool, is both the USB keychain and the terabyte portable drive use the same cheap and ubiquitous low-end interface. That is an improvement over 30 years ago (don't take that as a slam against the Unibus, if I wanted to insult the Unibus I would call it "cheap and ubiquitous" 30 years ago!) Tim.

16 years, 6 months

20
39
0 0

Burroughs B5500 and successors (Was: Happy DEC-20 Day!)

by alanp＠snowmoose.com

> > From: "Jonas Otter" <jonas at otter.se> > The architecture has so-called display registers, each of which pointed > to a stack frame for a lexicographical level in the code, i.e. the > procedure call level. Data is addressed as an address couple consisting > of a display register number and an offset, stored in a so-called > Indirect Reference Word (IRW). Data outside of the stack can be > addressed by means of descriptors. Data in another program's stack is > addressed by means of Stuffed Indirect Reference Words (SIRW), which > include a stack number and an offset. The operating system keeps track > of individual program stacks by means of a tree of pointers to job > stacks. Also, to keep track of the procedure calling and return linkage, > Mark Stack Control Words (MSCW) are created whenever a procedure is > called. The Display Registers point to the MSCWs. > Yes, that all sounds familiar. Do you recall the sizes? > All this is designed to support block-structured high level languages, in > fact all the operating system software is (was) written in various ALGOL > dialects. > My favorite dialect was NEWP. I particularly liked the UNSAFE directive. I worked for Burroughs from just before the name change to Unisys (summer '86) to spring '89, my first job out of college. I worked on A Series, V Series, B1000, BTOS and DOS stuff while I was there. At school, I used BSD Unix on VAX and DEC-20, so the Burroughs stuff was really different (from stack machines to two-wire direct, poll/select terminals) and fun to play with and learn. alan

16 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

for the Gopher nerds in the audience

by spectre＠floodgap.com

A successful build of GopherVR on Mac OS X: http://www.floodgap.com/iv/632 As you can see, this is the famous unfinished "virtual reality" gopher client. And it really works! I just wanted to share the joy. It doesn't do much more than this, and required some unholy hacking to get it this far, but I'm hoping to release source soon. For those who want to play with GopherVR on classic Mac OS now, you can get it from gopher://gopher.floodgap.com/1/gopher/clients/mac/ -- ------------------------------------ personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckaiser at floodgap.com -- If it's tourist season, why can't we shoot them? -- Justice Gustine --------

16 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Searching for some Systems Analysis Documents

by spedraja＠ono.com

Hello. I am searching for these documents or books related with Systems Analysis: * Study Organization Plan, IBM, (Form C20-8075), 1961 * Time Automated Grid System, IBM, (Form GY 20-0358), 1971 * A Study Guide for Accurately Defined Systems, NCR, 1968 Regards Sergio

16 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Anyone happen to have one of these chips?

by teoz＠neo.rr.com

DM74LS 244WM Octal tri-state buffers/line drivers/line receivers 20 pin chip, surface mount. I need one for an 8 bit ISA SCSI card so the ROM I installed works. Looking over my junk boards I dont see any I can snag. If you have one let me know.

16 years, 6 months

4
3
0 0

Burroughs B5500 and successors (Was: Happy DEC-20 Day!)

by jonas＠otter.se

Alan Perry <alanp at snowmoose.com> wrote: > > This also included the Burroughs/Unisys A-series systems that were > made into the early 90s. > > The A-series systems used a 52-bit, tagged word. 1 bit of parity, 3 > bits of tag and 48 bits of data. > > I don't recall how the addressing worked and Al has my papers on the > architecture, so I can't look it up ... The A-series were direct successors to the B5000/6000/7000 series and used the same architecture. Unisys still sells the ClearPath MCP systems, now using Intel processors and running the MCP operating system (under emulation I think). The architecture has so-called display registers, each of which pointed to a stack frame for a lexicographical level in the code, i.e. the procedure call level. Data is addressed as an address couple consisting of a display register number and an offset, stored in a so-called Indirect Reference Word (IRW). Data outside of the stack can be addressed by means of descriptors. Data in another program's stack is addressed by means of Stuffed Indirect Reference Words (SIRW), which include a stack number and an offset. The operating system keeps track of individual program stacks by means of a tree of pointers to job stacks. Also, to keep track of the procedure calling and return linkage, Mark Stack Control Words (MSCW) are created whenever a procedure is called. The Display Registers point to the MSCWs. All this is designed to support block-structured high level languages, in fact all the operating system software is (was) written in various ALGOL dialects. There is quite a lot of information about this on the net. A book which describes it is Computer Systems Organization by Elliott Organick (ACM Monograph Series, 1973. LCN: 72-88334). -Jonas

16 years, 6 months

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Opening 20 year old software on it's anniversary

by RBORSUK＠COLOURFULL.COM

So about a month ago I purchased some Wang branded MSDOS software off of eBay. Much to my delight, when it arrived, it was still factory sealed. I showed my wife the date of manufacture on the label and she suggested I wait to open it. I reluctantly agreed to wait. So it's been about a month and today is the day. Please enjoy some pictures of the moment. http://gallery.me.com/irisworld/100109 Rob Rob Borsuk email: rborsuk at colourfull.com Colourfull Creations Web: http://www.colourfull.com

16 years, 6 months

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DECmemory

by wdonzelli＠gmail.com

What machine does the DEC 54-21139 SIMM go with? VAXstation or Alpha? I have quite a pile - available cheap! -- Will

16 years, 6 months

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Speechless! (ebay madness alert)

by evan＠snarc.net

I sent a question to the seller, asking for clarification about the serial number. This is the (insane) reply that I got: ------------------ evan_k, thank you for asking about this fine microwaved masterpiece of fine art. This was a perfectly working complete unaltered Mac 512k before it was microwaved by the AMIR 9000 One Ton Microwaving Robot, now a first of it's kind. It is now an incredible work of art considered to be priceless and even better than before it was microwaved. The artist also known as your professional microwave operator waited 25 years to microwave this computer. Some things only just get better with age especially when it comes to the world of art. You can be assured that a fine connoisseur of art will acquire this work of art. The artists has sold artworks to collectors which include Dale Djerassi [son of the of Carl Djerassi who invented the birth control pill, Georgia Frontier just to name a couple. He has also been featured internationally in numerous prominent publications that have included HGTV, OPRAH, TLC, People magazine, Mal Sharp's Weird Rooms Book, CNN, Good morning show, 100 Hojdare Sweden, Urdu Magazine, Los Angeles Times and so on. He also was featured at the most prominent modern art museum in Baltimore called the AVAM. You can be sure this art is authentic, original & sign and dated by the artist & guaranteed microwaved.

16 years, 6 months

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Happy DEC-20 Day!

by roger.holmes＠microspot.co.uk

>>> In hindsight, could the DEC-20 or RISC version of it >>> had marketing and other bad luck changed ,and >>> today replaced the PC in many applications? >> >> Six bit based architectures all died with the rise of the IBM S/360 >> family. DEC, CDC, Univac. >> >> It also did not help that many of these old line mainframe >> architectures were getting hard to extend. For the DEC 36 bitters - >> what does one do after the 18 bit address pointer, with two neatly >> stuffed into a 36 bit word? A kludge. What does one do after the 36 >> bit address pointer? A worse kludge. > > I kind of suspected that was the case. Did anyone make a large 48 bit > machine? > If you mean physically large, then yes. However on the 1301, addresses range only from 0 to 3999 (decimal). Probably not what you meant really.

16 years, 6 months

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[Fwd: [Mandrakeot] Hey Gene - Amiga stuff]

by woyciesjes＠sbcglobal.net

FYI, for the Amiga developers around here.... -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [Mandrakeot] Hey Gene - Amiga stuff Date: Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:54:21 -0500 From: Ric Moore Reply-To: mandrakeot at mdw1982.com To: mandrakeot at mdw1982.com http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/open-source/~3/KX0p_xQ7x7g/know… Thought you'd get a kick outa this one. Ric -- --- Dave Woyciesjes --- ICQ# 905818 --- AIM - woyciesjes --- CompTIA A+ Certified IT Tech - http://certification.comptia.org/ --- HDI Certified Support Center Analyst - http://www.ThinkHDI.com/ "From there to here, From here to there, Funny things are everywhere." --- Dr. Seuss

16 years, 6 months

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HP 3000 micro GX with MPE/V OS. need tape

by ss＠allegro.com

Hi, Where are you located? Can you use DDS (DAT) media? I'm one of the "too busy" people, but perhaps I can get some time in between now and the New Year. On Dec 17, 2009, at 9:45 PM, g-wright at att.net wrote: > I'm back to try this again. I need a boot tape for a HP 3000 > Micro GX machine. Does anyone have a working machine > or a tape. I can use almost any media. I had 2 list members > say they would help but they seem to be too busy and its > been 6 months. I would really like to get this going. > > Thanks, Jerry > g-wright at att.net >

16 years, 6 months

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MDS Series IV schematics on line

by aek＠bitsavers.org

under http://bitsavers.org/pdf/intel/MDS4 thanks to Bob R. for the loan of the originals still looking for a couple of other multibus hardware manuals isbc286/10, 386, 486S, 214, 215, 221 disk, 550,552 ethernet nj

16 years, 6 months

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Hackable DVD players (was Re: Amiga Demo's)

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

On 12/14/09, Alexandre Souza - Listas <pu1bzz.listas at gmail.com> wrote: > Tony Duell wrote: >> I suspect such players are too expenice _new_ for me even to consider >> buying, and contain suffieicently complex custom ICs that it's a bad idea >> to buy one for which manufacuters spares are no longer available. > > Want something hackable? Look for an AP660 from Apex. No service manual > but full listing of the ROM :oD I have one of those. Unlike most cheap-o consumer devices, there _is_ detailed internals data available - detailed enough to retool the firmware. It's not full circuit diagrams and datasheets, but from the software side of things, much, much better than most devices. It also has a bog-standard IDE DVD transport, unlike less expensive devices. That's the model I was contemplating mounting the IDE-CF rig on for the Click! experiment (since I already have some 3.5"-drive-bay-PCMCIA adapter frames on hand). My main AP660 is on the fritz right now, but it's probably PSU issues. Fortunately, I have a parts unit I can use to verify that everything else is good with. I've had one since it was new and been very happy with it. -ethan

16 years, 6 months

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Burroughs B5500 and successors (Was: Happy DEC-20 Day!)

by alanp＠snowmoose.com

> > From: Ben <bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca> > >> Because the Burroughs B5500 and B6700 computers used a word >> containing 48 bits of data, but also extra bits that described the >> type of the data which played an important role in programming the >> machine, I would consider that series sufficiently out-of-the- >> ordinary to attempt to discuss here; This also included the Burroughs/Unisys A-series systems that were made into the early 90s. The A-series systems used a 52-bit, tagged word. 1 bit of parity, 3 bits of tag and 48 bits of data. I don't recall how the addressing worked and Al has my papers on the architecture, so I can't look it up ... alan

16 years, 6 months

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Running Computers Cold

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

On 12/9/09, Zane H. Healy <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote: > At 9:55 PM -0800 12/8/09, Chuck Guzis wrote: >>On 8 Dec 2009 at 21:19, Zane H. Healy wrote: >> >>> Okay, this is the first time I've ever had to worry about this. When >>> is it to cold to run a computer? It's 35F out in the garage, and it >>> is supposed to get a lot colder tonight. I just shut the dehumidifier >>> down (to cold to run it) and setup a heater near the computers (and >>> other stuff I don't want to freeze). >> >>It seems to me that Ethan would be the perfect one to answer this. >>35F is probably a heat wave at the South Pole. > > Except I don't think they run their computers outdoors! :-) But we do use outside air to cool them. It's free except for the power to push it around. (Oh... and +35F is never seen at the Pole - the record is +7.5F, and I've personally been around for +7.0F). As for the extreme case, we've had computers malfunction when outside access doors were left open and -80F air came in directly, bypassing the blowers and the louvers. On a day-to-day basis, the room with the 14 racks that was AMANDA (it was shut down earlier this year after a 10+ year run) shed about 35-40kW of heat with indirect access to outside air with some measure of automatic and manual thermal controls (covering up open cable panels and stuffing blankets in hatches in addition to thermostatic controls on air blowers). If we let the room get over about +55F, the high-voltage supplies for the photomultipler tubes would go into thermal shutdown (ultra-dry air at 650millibars doesn't have much heat capacity). OTOH, and more to the point, if we let the room get much colder than about +35F (say +25F or colder), a specific rack of digital hardware that was adjacent to the floor vents feeding cold air to the high voltage supplies would malfunction until the temp came up to the high thirties to low forties. In another location entirely, central Ohio, I used to rent the basement of my mother's typing and typesetting shop. The building was a late 19th C/early 20th C brick "shotgun" commercial space with a former storm-cellar-type access to the basement. As such, cold air poured from the modern back door, down the basement stairs, and into the space I ran PDP-8s, PDP-11s and a VAX-11/730. One of my jobs at the time was hacking PDP-11 assembler on an 11/23. The basement would routinely get to +40F, and sometimes colder if the wind was from the right direction (the water pipes had electric wraps). I couldn't personally stand to work in that environment without a heater pointed at me, but the computers ran fine. The lone device that had problems was an LA-180 printer I used for listings. It worked down to about +45F, but colder than that, I speculate that the rail lubricant got too viscous, because it would blow carriage motor fuses until it warmed up. I quickly learned not to print on cold nights. I'd say that if you keep things at or above freezing, you are probably perfectly fine. Magnetic media is a lot more sensitive than ICs in terms of cold soaking. One thing to watch for is to not power up cold-soaked electronics. The current inrush is likely to blow ICs (the internal bonded wires between the die and the frame, mostly). I've thawed machines that were left in unheated buildings over the winter at McMurdo - ordinary temps around -45F or so. Specifically in that case (ultra cold, powered off), there are known and published "max rates of rise" of temps to minimize the risk of permanent damage >from thermal expansion. A good rule of thumb is about 2-3 degrees per hour. What I did with the cold-soaked computers was to throw them into a lab freezer at -40F for a few hours, then into a lab environmental chamber at -30F that I would tweak up about 5 degrees every couple of hours. When the chamber was up to about +20F, I threw the equipment in a lab refrigerator. The thaw process took two workdays, but 100% of what I treated that way survived (no hard disk - these were floppy-booting diskless PCs that ran from a Novell server). If it gets really cold (+0F, say), I'd bring the disks in the house and leave the CPUs powered off until the garage temps are back around +32F. ICs can be stored down to -40 typically, but not operated at those temps (and especially not put through a power-on cycle at those temps). So that's my experience and observations of cold and computers. Take away from it what you will. -ethan

16 years, 6 months

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Happy DEC-20 Day!

by RichA＠vulcan.com

Long live the system that is a major improvement on its successors! Rich Alderson Vintage Computing Server Engineer Vulcan, Inc. 505 5th Avenue S, Suite 900 Seattle, WA 98104 mailto:RichA at vulcan.com mailto:RichA at livingcomputermuseum.org http://www.pdpplanet.org/ http://www.livingcomputermuseum.org/

16 years, 6 months

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paper tapes

by aek＠bitsavers.org

did anyone on the list buy these http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220526045578 i'm curious what the interest was

16 years, 6 months

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need specs for mag DJ920

by brianlanning＠gmail.com

I just got the monitor for free from craigs list. (and a lead on possible other equipment) Does anyone have the specs for this monitor? Google searches have been fruitless.

16 years, 6 months

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