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

by jacob.ritorto＠gmail.com

Hi, Anyone with the requisite hardware handy willing to do a box of ten or so for me, pretty please? I'm in western Pennsylvania, USA thx jake

6 years, 5 months

2
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VAX & PDP-11 Stuff To Clean Out

by david＠thecoolbears.org

I have the following 5-1/4" Drives that I would like to get rid of. These have all been working at one time or another, but I have no idea what condition they are in now. Maxtor EXT 4330 Seagate ST4766N Hitachi DK516-12 Maxtor XT-8760E Maxtor XT-4170E I also have the following QBUS cards to part with. Module Number Part# Description Form QBUS Extender D M7504 DEQNA Ethernet D M8043 DLV11 4xSLU D M8043 DLV11 4xSLU D M7941 DRV11 16 Bit Parallel D M8186 KDF11 11/23 CPU D M8186 KDF11 11/23 CPU D M8189 KDJ11 11/73 CPU D M8192-YB KDJ11 11/73 CPU D M8192-YB KDJ11 11/73 CPU D M8047 MXV11 ROM/RAM D M7555 RQDX3 D M8029 RXV21 RX02 Controller D M7646 TQK50 Tape Controller D M8044-DB Memory 16K 32K? D M8044-DE Memory 16K 32K? D DATARAM 63010 Q Camington CMX1651 Memory Q M7606-AF KA630 CPU Q M7620-AA KA650 CPU Q M7620-BA KA650 CPU Q M7164 KDA50 SDI Controller Q M7165 KDA50 SDI Controller Q M5976-AA KZQSA SCSI Controller Q M5976-AA KZQSA SCSI Controller Q M8067 Memory Q M7168 VCB02 Bit Map Q M7169 VCB02 Controller Q M7608-BP MS630BB 4-Meg Memory Q M7608-BP MS630BB 4-Meg Memory Q M7957 4xSLU Q SCD-RQD11/EC ESDI Controller Q All of these are FTAGH, but I wouldn't turn down a trade either. I'd be interested in drive sleds for my BA123 or a spare power supply, also for the BA123 or I'm always interested in M68K/M6809 stuff. I would prefer local pickup near Livermore, CA. I don't believe that the drives are shippable. Please contact me directly at <david at thecoolbears.org>

6 years, 5 months

7
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VAX & PDP-11 Stuff To Clean Out

by david＠thecoolbears.org

Most of the items are spoken for but I still have the following: Caminton CMX1651 Memory M7606-AF KA630 CPU M7620-AA KA650 CPU M8067 Memory M7168 VCB02 Bit Map M7169 VCB02 Controller M7608-BP MS630BB 4-Meg Memory M7608-BP MS630BB 4-Meg Memory SCD-RQD11/EC ESDI Controller ...so, mainly the VAX stuff. Priority goes to local pickup. I've had all of these boards working at one time or another but I can't speak to their current status. David Coolbear david at thecoolbears.org

6 years, 5 months

2
1
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Qume Qumetrack 542 track seeking issue

by rescue＠hawkmountain.net

Been away for some time from the mailing lists.... getting back into my classic gear again.... I have two of these Qumetrack 542 drives. While testing my 360K drive collection (8 drives.... I must be slacking :-) ...), 2 worked, 4 had issue (resolved with a good head cleaning), and 2 (both of the Qumetrack 542 drives (I have two of them)) have mixed results. My testing is on a Tandy 2500SX/33 using the Tandy straight through cable and with the drives set do DS0. I seem to have no issue with Dunfield's testfdc (using testfdc/x a:) with these drives, doing SS and DD and getting 'pass' from testfdc. However, when I do a format a:, the drive will format through the 40 tracks, then instead of the heads returning to track 0 quickly, they do these small stepping 'bursts' and DOS times out saying failure..... it probably would have worked if DOS would wait 10 seconds or more for the drive to move to track 0. I've never seen behavior like this. I even tried an external power supply in case the Tandy one wasn't up to driving the full height floppy drive due to an aging marginal supply, but that didn't help anything. I've now also had one of them shut down the power supply (a shorted tantalum cap I'm sure). I've looked through the manual on the drive, I've tried the HM, HS, and no jumper setting for stepper motor power, same results in all cases. I'm trying too determine if these drives are good. I'm planning on using them in a Tandy Model III that is upgraded internally to a Model IV, but I feel these are basic drives and should work in DOS fine too. I hope someone has a clue, as I'm tapped out of them currently. Thanks, -- Curt

6 years, 5 months

3
3
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A plethora of DEC manuals

by sales＠elecplus.com

https://www.manualslib.com/brand/dec/ Cindy Croxton Electronics Plus 1613 Water Street Kerrville, TX 78028 830-370-3239 cell sales at elecplus.com -- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

6 years, 5 months

2
1
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Looking for older Motorola pagers (UHF, POCSAG)

by ethan＠757.org

Anyone have any pointers to places to buy quantity of UHF Motorola pagers? Also wouldn't mind a VHF Advisor or two (the original large one with holsters.) Mainly looking for UHF non-FLEX ones. Thanks -- : Ethan O'Toole

6 years, 5 months

2
1
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Repurposing cable for IBM Model M Keyboard

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

I need a keyboard cable for my VAXmate. This uses an SDL connector on one end and RJ11 on the other. Keyboard cables for the IBM Model M have SDL connectors at one end and a PS/2 connector at the other. I bought one of these cables with the intention of replacing the PS/2 connector with an RJ11. However, I now have a pang of conscience about hacking around with a perfectly good cable, particularly if they are uncommon. How common are these cables? Regards Rob

6 years, 5 months

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Links to archived software, pinouts for keyboards, etc.

by sales＠elecplus.com

First up is a text page that describes how to use the same keyboard with different layouts, or different keyboards with one layout, regardless of the caps and intended layout. Written for Emacs, maybe? <http://web.mit.edu/babel/doc/mule/keyboard-translation.text> http://web.mit.edu/babel/doc/mule/keybo ... ation.text ADB pinouts and documentation <http://www.interfacebus.com/ADB_Pinout.html> http://www.interfacebus.com/ADB_Pinout.html PS/2 pinout and documentation <http://www.interfacebus.com/Keyboard_Pinout.html> http://www.interfacebus.com/Keyboard_Pinout.html Pinouts for just about everything (except terminal keyboards) <https://allpinouts.org/pinouts/connectors/> https://allpinouts.org/pinouts/connectors/ Still more pinouts, including Mac, serial, and some others <http://www.networktechinc.com/technote.html> http://www.networktechinc.com/technote.html Sun and SGI keyboards <http://teryx.bobdbob.com/~protius/pinouts/#console> http://teryx.bobdbob.com/~protius/pinouts/#console Dig around in this one for all kinds of old software and hardware help <https://www.oldergeeks.com/downloads/index.php> https://www.oldergeeks.com/downloads/index.php <http://www.sunhelp.org/faq/sunref5.html> http://www.sunhelp.org/faq/sunref5.html Sun keyboards, mice, HDD, etc. Includes pinouts for the keyboards. This is a link to a very large archive of old PC related software. <http://www.retroarchive.org/> http://www.retroarchive.org Cindy Croxton Electronics Plus 1613 Water Street Kerrville, TX 78028 830-370-3239 cell sales at elecplus.com -- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

6 years, 5 months

1
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Looking for TEAC FD-55BV parts

by rescue＠hawkmountain.net

Need a faceplate and the eject control shaft (it is sheared off (the way I aquired it)) (I do have the eject lever).... I thought I had some floppy drive parts kicking around, but if I do, I can't find them (and chances are I don't have parts for that specific drive). Anyone have a dead drive, or parts from one kicking around ? Thanks, -- Curt

6 years, 5 months

1
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Modcomp Minicomputers Related - Preservation and Repair

by lyokoboy0＠gmail.com

Greeting. Its been a while since I have posted here. A while back I picked up a large Modcomp classic minicomputer. Recently the person i picked the computer up off of gave me a call to come and get many books and software, among much more hardware. I have picked up hundreds of 9 track tapes. The modcomp computer mainly ran the real time os MAX, however i also found many tapes for a unix variant for the machine, that supported real time operation as well. I am trying to preserve things as best i can, I am set to pick up 3 more machines, and among the tapes and documentation, Space is running out fast. I am curious if any of this documentation has been archived already, if not, i can get to scanning it in my free time. I have documentation on everything. The hardware, the software, os code, everything. The tapes are another issue all together. They were stored in probably the worst possible place, in a area of extreme heat and humidity. Some are musty, others look like new. I do not own a 9 track drive, i was thinking it would be possible to get a 9 track drive with a scsi interface attached to a more modern Linux system to dump the tapes to images. If anyone here has suggestions on how to read off the tapes or where to find a drive, it would be most helpful. As a last resort, I have a 9 track drive that is attached to my pdp 11/34, however i have not gotten that system into working order yet either, and am unsure of if the drive is working yet. I was also given an old emulator for the system,m written for linux. I have not gotten the software to work yet. I need to be sure the software is not still a licenced product and that the company is gone before i post it. Perhaps someone here can find out why its not working. On a modern debian system, it attempts to run and just exits, without any info as to whats wrong. Any help or suggestions on how to best preserve the documentation and software is most appreciated. I am undecided on what to do with the hardware yet. The hardware is fascinating, and there is a bunch of it, however it is quite large and is taking up a large portion of space. The hope is to at least get one running to test out and see if i decide to keep a system after that. --Devin D

6 years, 5 months

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3
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TRS-80 Model III stopped responding

by rescue＠hawkmountain.net

I haven't dug into this one yet, but I did get it booted in trsdos, and the letter I on the keyboard wasn't working. I shut it off, disconnected and removed the keyboard. I desoldered and removed the APLS switch, opened it up, cleaned up the carbon pad and the contacts below it, reassembled it, tested it with my DVM, all good to go. I soldered it back into the keyboard, put the keyboard back, powered on the system.... I get CRT glow, system reset button will cause the floppy drive to seek, but nothing on the screen, and pressing return after inserting TRSDOS does not boot the drive (i.e. testing for a working core system with no display....). I do need to test the power supplies and make sure I have not lost a power rail on one of the two supplies. I presume the one I need to check is the one on the backside of the cpu board, as the one on the side of the drive 'cage' powers the drives and the drive controller board, and on power up and reset, the drives are motor on and tracking, so I think that supply is at least providing +5/+12V. Seems odd that putting the keyboard back in resulted in a non working system. I unplugged it, same behavior with no keyboard plugged in. I did not connect the kb connector off by one pin or one row.... so as best as I can tall, Murphy has struck, and it isn't 'operator error' :-). Any tips from Model III experts welcome. -- Curt

6 years, 5 months

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2
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Cheap minicomputer (Tracor-Northern 1610) on Facebook Markeplace (Allentown, PA) 18 bit?

by cctalk＠harlie.org

Has anyone seen this? It looks like an 18-bit machine. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/736222363558907/ --Bill

6 years, 5 months

9
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Looking for DEC RA80 (or RM80, R80) service manual (EK-ORA80-SV or similar)

by derschjo＠gmail.com

Hi all -- I have an R80 drive in my VAX-11/730 cabinet that I'm trying to get running. Symptoms are: most of the time when the Run/Load switch is depressed, the drive will begin spinning up for 1-2 seconds (sometimes as long as 3-4 seconds) and then stop, faulting with error code 01 ("Spindle Timeout Error"). Every now and again it will spin up and go ready -- the other night it ran for several hours, long enough for me to get a dump of the disk with no read errors (*). I've checked the usual -- the motor and the spindle spin freely and the belt is good and tight. Connectors have been cleaned and reseated, as have socketed ICs. Power supply voltages are OK. The motor start cap tests fine. I'm getting pulses from the optical spindle sensor. I suspected that the brake might have been slowing things down during spin-up as it was a bit noisy (due to some light corrosion), but the spin-up error persists even with it entirely removed. I haven't been able to find the actual service manual for the R80 (or the very closely related RA80 and RM80 drives). Anyone have a copy stashed somewhere? Anyone have any debugging advice? Thanks as always, Josh (*) The drive contained a 4.3BSD system used to run a bbs and uucp relay, "Darkstar 730" out of Beaverton, OR. Looks like it was last run in the early 1990s. Now I just need to track down the owner :).

6 years, 5 months

4
8
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Floppy drive (DSDD) DOS compatability woes (are these drives ok?)

by rescue＠hawkmountain.net

Been away for some time from the mailing lists.... getting back into my classic gear again.... I have two of these Qumetrack 542 drives. While testing my 360K drive collection (8 drives.... I must be slacking :-) ...), 2 worked, 4 had issue (resolved with a good head cleaning), and 2 (both of the Qumetrack 542 drives (I have two of them)) have mixed results. My testing is on a Tandy 2500SX/33 using the Tandy straight through cable and with the drives set do DS0. I seem to have no issue with Dunfield's testfdc (using testfdc/x a:) with these drives, doing SS and DD and getting 'pass' from testfdc. I can also use his imagedisk program, go to the alignment section, and I can track the drive properly up an down the disk.... it is just DOS that can't seem to do it. However, when I do a format a:, the drive will format through the 40 tracks, then instead of the heads returning to track 0 quickly, they do these small stepping 'bursts' and DOS times out saying failure..... it probably would have worked if DOS would wait 10 seconds or more for the drive to move to track 0. I've never seen behavior like this. I even tried an external power supply in case the Tandy one wasn't up to driving the full height floppy drive due to an aging marginal supply, but that didn't help anything. I've now also had one of them shut down the power supply (a shorted tantalum cap I'm sure). I've looked through the manual on the drive, I've tried the HM, HS, and no jumper setting for stepper motor power, same results in all cases. I'm trying too determine if these drives are good. I'm planning on using them in a Tandy Model III that is upgraded internally to a Model IV, but I feel these are basic drives and should work in DOS fine too. I hope someone has a clue, as I'm tapped out of them currently. Thanks, -- Curt

6 years, 5 months

1
1
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George Schmidt, Distinguished Lectures, January 16, 2020

by mark.tapley＠swri.org

All, Southwest Research Institute will be hosting a talk in San Antonio, (Texas, USA) by one of the engineers involved in the Apollo navigation effort, George T. Schmidt. I understand he is aware of and very interested in the Apollo Guidance Computer work done by some of the folks on this list and others, but anyone who has not had a chance to talk to him might well be interested in attending, and would certainly be welcome. The abstract and title for the talk are below, along with the URL for the IEEE distinguished lecturer website (which doesn?t say any more than I have copied below). Anyone interested in attending, let me know and I?ll forward more details as I learn them. I expect the lecture will be around noon on Jan. 16 at SwRI, with a repeat at St. Mary?s University in the evening. Inside Apollo: Heroes, Rules and Lessons Learned in the Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) System Development<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__nam12.safelinks.protec…> This Abstract was written in March 2019 which is halfway between the 50th Anniversaries of Apollo 8 (Dec 1968) and Apollo 11 (July 1969). Those 2 flights were among the greatest explorations of mankind. In 8, astronauts deliberately put themselves in orbit around the moon expecting the rocket engine to later fire and bring them home to Earth. In 11, it was mankind?s first visit to the moon and Tranquility Base. Movies, books, articles, and documentaries have covered the space race. The author will give his thoughts based on 10 years inside the GNC program design, many hours in the Spacecraft Control room at Cape Kennedy monitoring GNC performance through liftoff, and then providing real-time mission support to NASA from MIT in Cambridge, MA. that abstract appears on this website: http://ieee-aess.org/education/distinguished-lecturer-and-tutorial-program#… - Mark 210-522-6025 office 210-379-4635 cell

6 years, 5 months

1
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Hyperland and Doctor Who (Was: 70's computers

by annelies.vanopstal＠gmail.com

hello there, just read your reply in the thread "70?s computers" (from about a year ago) where you talk about having created a .SRT file for Hyperland. Is it still possible to get a copy of that .SRT file? That would be rreally sweet, 'd love to show this docu to a bunch o? millenials. Can?t wait to see their jaws drop ;.) Thanks allready! Kind regards, annelies

6 years, 5 months

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1
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swtpc.com expired???

by wh.sudbrink＠verizon.net

Anybody know if Mike Holley is OK? Bill S. -- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

6 years, 5 months

3
2
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Free font software

by bob099＠centurytel.net

Sorry don't know how to respond directly https://fontforge.github.io/en-US/

6 years, 5 months

4
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Original DEC logo in PostScript

by bob099＠centurytel.net

On 11/3/2019 12:00 PM, cctalk-request at classiccmp.org wrote: > Send cctalk mailing list submissions to > cctalk at classiccmp.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://www.classiccmp.org/mailman/listinfo/cctalk > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > cctalk-request at classiccmp.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > cctalk-owner at classiccmp.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of cctalk digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Cheap minicomputer (Tracor-Northern 1610) on Facebook > Markeplace (Allentown, PA) 18 bit? (Chris Zach) > 2. Re: Cheap minicomputer (Tracor-Northern 1610) on Facebook > Markeplace (Allentown, PA) 18 bit? (Guy Dunphy) > 3. Re: Cheap minicomputer (Tracor-Northern 1610) on Facebook > Markeplace (Allentown, PA) 18 bit? (ED SHARPE) > 4. Re: Original DEC logo in PostScript (Stefan Skoglund) > 5. Re: 50 yrs. ago today (Stefan Skoglund) > 6. Re: OT(?): Emulation XKCD (Stefan Skoglund) > 7. RE: Original DEC logo in PostScript (Rob Jarratt) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sat, 2 Nov 2019 13:37:02 -0400 > From: Chris Zach <cz at alembic.crystel.com> > To: cctalk at classiccmp.org > Subject: Re: Cheap minicomputer (Tracor-Northern 1610) on Facebook > Markeplace (Allentown, PA) 18 bit? > Message-ID: <892fa3cb-ce81-1a92-f165-0c90c8f3f4e7 at alembic.crystel.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed > > Indeed. I was thinking since it was a 16 bit bus but 18 bit switches > that it might be an 11/35 or 11/40 inside there. Interesting. > > On 11/2/2019 11:35 AM, Jon Elson via cctalk wrote: >> On 11/02/2019 03:32 AM, cctalk--- via cctalk wrote: >>> Has anyone seen this?? It looks like an 18-bit machine. >>> >>> >>> https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/736222363558907/ >> At least at one time, these things contained PDP-11's.? The CPU at the >> bottom sure looks like a PDP-11, >> I'm thinking it might actually be a Cal-Data CPU (PDP-11 clone) with a >> custom logo. >> >> Jon >> > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Sun, 03 Nov 2019 08:39:47 +1100 > From: Guy Dunphy <guykd at optusnet.com.au> > To: Chris Zach <cz at alembic.crystel.com>, "General Discussion: On-Topic > and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > Subject: Re: Cheap minicomputer (Tracor-Northern 1610) on Facebook > Markeplace (Allentown, PA) 18 bit? > Message-ID: <3.0.6.32.20191103083947.00e56608 at mail.optusnet.com.au> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Well, it's sold. I hope someone here hought it, and will post some better pics and details. > > If it had been near to me I'd have bought it instantly. A rack, a Tektronix XY display, > a rack drawer, blanking panels, some neat mysterious instruments, two 8" floppy drives, > and a probable PDP-something all for $45? > Bet the various items are on slide rails too. How rare is it to get both parts of > workable slide rails? Here in Oz, virtually unheard of. Separating slide halves and losing > one half seems to be a near universal syndrome with people who part out test equipment. > > Guy (Australia) > > > At 01:37 PM 2/11/2019 -0400, you wrote: >> Indeed. I was thinking since it was a 16 bit bus but 18 bit switches >> that it might be an 11/35 or 11/40 inside there. Interesting. >> >> On 11/2/2019 11:35 AM, Jon Elson via cctalk wrote: >>> On 11/02/2019 03:32 AM, cctalk--- via cctalk wrote: >>>> Has anyone seen this??? It looks like an 18-bit machine. >>>> >>>> >>>> https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/736222363558907/ >>> At least at one time, these things contained PDP-11's.?? The CPU at the >>> bottom sure looks like a PDP-11, >>> I'm thinking it might actually be a Cal-Data CPU (PDP-11 clone) with a >>> custom logo. >>> >>> Jon >>> > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Sat, 2 Nov 2019 22:56:01 +0000 (UTC) > From: ED SHARPE <couryhouse at aol.com> > To: cctalk at classiccmp.org > Subject: Re: Cheap minicomputer (Tracor-Northern 1610) on Facebook > Markeplace (Allentown, PA) 18 bit? > Message-ID: <2032848827.223085.1572735361572 at mail.yahoo.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 > > heck just the empty? rack? with? drawer is? worth that - -Yes Guy I know about the anguish of half sets of rack? rails - we have that in Arizona also!? ?Ed#? ?SMECC > In a message dated 11/2/2019 2:40:15 PM US Mountain Standard Time, cctalk at classiccmp.org writes: > > Well, it's sold. I hope someone here hought it, and will post some better pics and details. > > If it had been near to me I'd have bought it instantly. A rack, a Tektronix XY display, > a rack drawer, blanking panels, some neat mysterious instruments, two 8" floppy drives, > and a probable PDP-something all for $45? > Bet the various items are on slide rails too. How rare is it to get both parts of > workable slide rails? Here in Oz, virtually unheard of. Separating slide halves and losing > one half seems to be a near universal syndrome with people who part out test equipment. > > Guy (Australia) > > > At 01:37 PM 2/11/2019 -0400, you wrote: >> Indeed. I was thinking since it was a 16 bit bus but 18 bit switches >> that it might be an 11/35 or 11/40 inside there. Interesting. >> >> On 11/2/2019 11:35 AM, Jon Elson via cctalk wrote: >>> On 11/02/2019 03:32 AM, cctalk--- via cctalk wrote: >>>> Has anyone seen this??? It looks like an 18-bit machine. >>>> >>>> >>>> https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/736222363558907/ >>> At least at one time, these things contained PDP-11's.?? The CPU at the >>> bottom sure looks like a PDP-11, >>> I'm thinking it might actually be a Cal-Data CPU (PDP-11 clone) with a >>> custom logo. >>> >>> Jon >>> > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Sun, 03 Nov 2019 14:37:21 +0100 > From: Stefan Skoglund <stefan.skoglund at agj.net> > To: rob at jarratt.me.uk, Rob Jarratt <robert.jarratt at ntlworld.com>, > "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" > <cctalk at classiccmp.org>, 'Jason T' <silent700 at gmail.com> > Subject: Re: Original DEC logo in PostScript > Message-ID: <c93899d01b98e3360d49e7f99745000a3fdfb0a6.camel at agj.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > tis 2019-10-29 klockan 17:48 +0000 skrev Rob Jarratt via cctalk: >> I know next to nothing about PostScript and fonts, is it possible to >> convert this to a font that can be installed on Windows? I found a >> site that says it converts it (convertio.co), but I am suspicious of >> free sites like that. >> >> Regards >> >> Rob >> > did you solve your problem ? > > Either way doing RTFM - .pfm is binary encoded .afm. > > I did a simple drawing with the font in a ps and exported to pdf. > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 5 > Date: Sun, 03 Nov 2019 16:01:12 +0100 > From: Stefan Skoglund <stefan.skoglund at agj.net> > To: Paul Koning <paulkoning at comcast.net>, "General Discussion: > On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org>, allison > <allisonportable at gmail.com> > Subject: Re: 50 yrs. ago today > Message-ID: <2fe0ef07b99716c46cc8a853035b4b41db526052.camel at agj.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > ons 2019-10-30 klockan 13:17 -0400 skrev Paul Koning via cctalk: >> In some countries, at least in the early 1980s (Sweden?) the law said >> that private organizations could run communication wires on a floor >> of a building, but to wire from one floor to another was the monopoly >> of the government PTT. So DEC Ethernet bridges had PTT approval >> stickers on them from those countries, indicating those PTTs would be >> willing to build you a bridged Ethernet from floor 1 to floor 2. >> > I remember stickers on modems and telephones (ie not televerket > provided equipment) which said that this equipment is certified > to be directly connected to televerket's telephone lines. > > But computer network equipment owned by the organization and used > on the organization's premises ?? That i don't remember. > > PS > Televerket : Sweden's state owned telephone monopoly, today > known by the public as Telia company. Ellemtel the development > organization was co-owned by Ericsson/LME/Three-bars and Televerket. > DS > > PPS > LME still exist in name basically as a holding company for Ericsson. > DSS > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 6 > Date: Sun, 03 Nov 2019 17:14:29 +0100 > From: Stefan Skoglund <stefan.skoglund at agj.net> > To: Zane Healy <healyzh at avanthar.com>, "General Discussion: On-Topic > and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org>, Charles Anthony > <charles.unix.pro at gmail.com> > Subject: Re: OT(?): Emulation XKCD > Message-ID: <c9c11fb4bbbd89a0067ad8d763da5fd085b7ed21.camel at agj.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > ons 2019-10-30 klockan 16:01 -0700 skrev Zane Healy via cctalk: >> I rebuilt the system recently, and now the error seems >> intermittent. I will say, that backing up my directory of files, and >> restoring it to the new system was a lot easier than fighting with >> the tape drives we had on the DPS-8 Mainframes I worked with nearly >> 30 years ago (we ran GCOS-8). >> > My old university had an Pyramid with a normal tape drive - either > way one of my teacher had as his own last year student job being a > system administrator for said machine. > > One day he had to restore from backup but finds out that the tape drive > is cranky. > > One of his terse comments in the report was: > It is good to fix things immediately when the fault is found - not > waiting until you one day finds out that it is preferable to have said > thing in order. > > He had to help the drive start (the drive was sluggish in startup) the > whole evening that day..... > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 7 > Date: Sun, 3 Nov 2019 17:03:51 -0000 > From: "Rob Jarratt" <robert.jarratt at ntlworld.com> > To: "'Stefan Skoglund'" <stefan.skoglund at agj.net>, > <rob at jarratt.me.uk>, "'General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic > Posts'" <cctalk at classiccmp.org>, "'Jason T'" <silent700 at gmail.com> > Subject: RE: Original DEC logo in PostScript > Message-ID: <03de01d59268$ab603240$022096c0$(a)ntlworld.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > > >> -----Original Message----- >> From: Stefan Skoglund <stefan.skoglund at agj.net> >> Sent: 03 November 2019 13:37 >> To: rob at jarratt.me.uk; Rob Jarratt <robert.jarratt at ntlworld.com>; General >> Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org>; 'Jason T' >> <silent700 at gmail.com> >> Subject: Re: Original DEC logo in PostScript >> >> tis 2019-10-29 klockan 17:48 +0000 skrev Rob Jarratt via cctalk: >>> I know next to nothing about PostScript and fonts, is it possible to >>> convert this to a font that can be installed on Windows? I found a >>> site that says it converts it (convertio.co), but I am suspicious of >>> free sites like that. >>> >>> Regards >>> >>> Rob >>> >> did you solve your problem ? >> >> Either way doing RTFM - .pfm is binary encoded .afm. >> >> I did a simple drawing with the font in a ps and exported to pdf. >> >> > No I didn't. I did a little bit of searching but didn't find anything except the convertio.co site, which I am reluctant to try unless someone knows it to be safe. If anyone knows of a way to get this to a TrueType font that would be nice. I know so little about fonts, I wonder if there is a way to manually convert it to TrueType, are there any free tools for creating fonts? > > Regards > > Rob > https://fontforge.github.io/en-US/

6 years, 5 months

1
0
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Paleontological data fossilized on IBM 8" floppies

by cclist＠sydex.com

On 11/3/19 1:47 PM, Lyle Bickley wrote: > Antoine, > > It's not too difficult to read most "standard" 8" floppies (DEC RX02's being > the exception). The board below deals with both signal routing between 8" and > standard PC floppy interfaces and the "TG43" signal required by most 8" drives: I believe that the TG43 signal (if required; some drives generate it internally) is only used for writing (reduced write current). You can probably get by just fine if you've got the connectors handy by wiring up your own cable. Micro Solutions, back in the day sold a small adapter PCB with a 34-conductor PCB edge connector and a 50 conductor header for connection to a SA-800 style cable. This assumes that your 8" drive follows the SA-800 pinout convention. Some early drives (e.g. Calcomp, (IBM) do not. Same for the power connections. Many use the Amp (now TE) Mate-N-Lok connector PIN 1-380999-0, but by no means all. AC connections, if needed are subject to the usual 50/60 Hz and line voltage considerations. I use older open-frame linear power supplies, but the +24V/+5V requirement is a lot easier to satisfy today, since inexpensive multi-amp SMPSUs are available (generally less than $15). Even dual- and triple- output PSUs are available for around $20 that should supply more than enough current. Hope this helps, Chuck

6 years, 5 months

1
0
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Original DEC logo in PostScript

by binarydinosaurs＠gmail.com

Hi folks, An interesting article on adafruit about the digitalisation (hem) of the original hand drawn DEC logo, including the PS file itself - https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/10/28/the-digital-equipment-corporation-dec-… <https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/10/28/the-digital-equipment-corporation-dec-…> This news must have done the rounds back in 2007 though, because I have the file in question (declogo17.ps) on my Mac already?hmm... Cheers, -- Adrian Graham Owner of Binary Dinosaurs, the UK's biggest private home computer collection? t: @binarydinosaurs f: facebook.com/binarydinosaurs w: www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk

6 years, 5 months

5
5
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OT(?): Emulation XKCD

by mark.tapley＠swri.org

All, my daughter is well aware of my affinity for old computers and software, and, as usual, she pointed out that there?s an XKCD for that: https://xkcd.com/2221/ I found this remarkably accurate. - Mark

6 years, 5 months

10
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50 yrs. ago today

by c.murray.mccullough＠gmail.com

The first inter-computer communication happened 50 years ago today. L. Kleinrock part of that historic moment, said, and I paraphrase here, ARPANET was the instrument that was to enable computers to talk to each other remotely. He sent ?LO? because the system crashed(how surprising was that!) This was the precursor to the inter-net, moving from the intra-net. Happy computing all! Murray ? <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_cam…> Virus-free. www.avg.com <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_cam…> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

6 years, 5 months

19
33
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Best email to reach a human at the centre for computing history (computinghistory.org.uk)

by aek＠bitsavers.org

I've tried several times to email them, and never received a reply. Could someone send me an email adr for a human who might be able to answer if they could scan something which is in their catalog but isn't available on line there?

6 years, 5 months

3
2
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Estate sale

by technoid6502＠gmail.com

This link was posted on an Atari forum. I noticed a PDP 8 faceplate, a UNIVAC keyboard, and some other seriously retro parts. Might want to Hit this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-n9AUXZAiVw0nvht-JhD4IN8DMZWrAW7YCsS7gv… Jeff

6 years, 5 months

10
9
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cctalk Digest, Vol 61, Issue 27

by oltmansg＠gmail.com

> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: "Ethan O'Toole" <ethan at 757.org> > To: Murray McCullough <c.murray.mccullough at gmail.com>, "General > Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2019 11:11:49 -0400 (EDT) > Subject: Re: Coleco & Atari > > old? 1983. Coleco ADAM, my favourite, and Atari 600XL, not so much. I > still > > have my ADAM. No not why. But isn?t this why we all belong to > classiccomp. And > > $600. How quaint! BTW(sorry), it had an update on CP/M called CP/M Plus. > > Gosh, I miss those old days. > > Oh man, the Atari 8bit is second to the Adam? IIRC the 800XL and Floppy > Drive cost less than the Coleco Adam kit. You didn't get a daisy wheel > printer, but you got better sound and a much larger library. > > I grew up on the ColecoVision, neighbor had the Atari 5200. I used to say > the ColecoVision was better when younger but now I have to say I think the > Atari 5200 is better. > > Have yet to own an Adam, but I always thought of the Adam as something of > a failure? There was a large number of them that shipped DOA or close to > DOA as well due to power supply issue (in the printer) ? > > > The ADAM was a well-designed system with a great set of launch software hobbled by a rollout/gamble for the Christmas buying season that didn't pay off. If they had a proper release to work out the manufacturing issues they would have been a lot more successful I think. Nevertheless, any system in the wild you come across should work just as well as any other vintage machine by this time. It's my favorite machine pre-Amiga/ST/IIgs/Mac.

6 years, 5 months

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And yet another batch of IBM big iron one Ebay Germany..

by jos.dreesen＠greenmail.ch

an IBM 4331 for 1000 Euro b.i.n. seems OK to me, if I was in that sort of thing ! See? https://www.ebay.de/itm/IBM-grosrechner/184010116585 and his other offerings... Jos

6 years, 5 months

10
17
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[cctalk] First transistors

by w9gb＠icloud.com

Jack Ward would be happy to include in the museum collection. http://semiconductormuseum.com/Museum_Index.htm Helped Jack over a decade ago, to document the usage of transistors in Explorer I. He did oral history interview with Dr. George Ludwig before he passed in 2013. http://semiconductormuseum.com/Museum_Index.htm#ORAL_HISTORIES gb

6 years, 5 months

1
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IBM 1500 [was RE: Vintage Computer Warehouse Liquidation]

by RichA＠livingcomputers.org

From: William Donzelli Sent: Saturday, October 26, 2019 6:45 PM > PICTURES! PICTURES! PICTURES! >> I have been unable to find anything about the 4505 display station. Does >> anyone know any details about this item? It resembles an IBM 2260, but the >> keyboard is not built-in, as in the 2260. > I think it may be for an IBM 1500, the educational system based on an 1130. The 1500 I worked with at the University of Texas School of Education was based on an 1800 (which is of course the same architecture as the 1130, but in highboy industrial cabinetry rather than a desk. Coursewriter II and APL\1500 for the educational software, FORTRAN II and assembler for background tasks. Rich

6 years, 5 months

3
2
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a bunch of decus pdp-8 writups

by aek＠bitsavers.org

https://archive.org/details/manuals_hack42?and%5B%5D=addeddate%3A2019-10%2A… who knows if they've already been scanned

6 years, 5 months

2
2
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Vintage Computer Warehouse Liquidation

by tsraguso＠gmail.com

This is a picture of the IBM 4505 display station. https://photos.app.goo.gl/iQXPGLS8zdD3JHyF8 Thomas Raguso

6 years, 5 months

2
1
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IBM 2321 Data Cell

by peter＠vanpeborgh.eu

Hello again everyone! This is my regular visit to CCTECH trying to find an example (or two) of this weird and wonderful piece of IBM mass storage for my ancient computer collection. For a description, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_2321_Data_Cell . Hope springs eternal, thank you for your patience, peter

6 years, 5 months

1
0
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Can't contact Dave McGuire AK4HZ

by elson＠pico-systems.com

Dave McQuire keeps emailing me about the CAMAC controller boards, but he obviously is not getting my replies. Anybody know how to contact him? Thanks, Jon

6 years, 5 months

3
3
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Coleco & Atari

by c.murray.mccullough＠gmail.com

I came across an old copy of Popular Science on yesterday, forthwith I know not how, that had a story of two vintage/old/retro/classic-computers. How old? 1983. Coleco ADAM, my favourite, and Atari 600XL, not so much. I still have my ADAM. No not why. But isn?t this why we all belong to classiccomp. And $600. How quaint! BTW(sorry), it had an update on CP/M called CP/M Plus. Gosh, I miss those old days. Happy computing all. Murray ? <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_cam…> Virus-free. www.avg.com <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_cam…> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

6 years, 5 months

3
2
0 0

Philips mini computers

by nico＠farumdata.dk

Hi all, Back in the 70's and 80's Philips had a quite popular series of mini computers called P800, which also branched out to the PTS series and possibly other. Could I be lucky to find other list members interested in these products? I know of a few, but there surely must be others. I'm trying to collect what is left of the documentation. 73, Nico

6 years, 5 months

8
25
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ck703 - ge g11 first transistor -- prototypes of first bell transistors pt contact and grown junction and solar cells and more and mroe and more

by couryhouse＠aol.com

ck703 -? sylvania first sold transistor? ge g11 ge's? first transistor -- prototypes of first? ever produced bell transistors pt contact and grown junction and solar cells drop me a note OFFLIST t many many treasures? including ingots, slabs, slices and? steps? of? item manufacture?Any one interested in these to accompany your commuter collection???? ==thanks highest? and best use a plus? drop me a note OFFLIST thanks e#

6 years, 5 months

1
0
0 0

Philips mini computers

by fjkraan＠xs4all.nl

Hi, Some manuals are available at: http://electrickery.xs4all.nl/comp/divcomp/doc/index.html There is a simulator (and more manuals) at: http://www.theoengel.nl/P800/p800sim.html Greetings, Fred Jan

6 years, 5 months

2
1
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Looking for Silent 700 parts

by charlesmorris800＠centurytel.net

I'm still looking for a Silent 700 printhead with all the pixels working. And three keyswitches (or a complete keyboard, doesn't have to be all there or working). thanks Charles -- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

6 years, 5 months

2
1
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Vintage Computer Warehouse Liquidation

by tsraguso＠gmail.com

Update #3: I have found many examples of rare IBM gear from the 1960s inside the warehouse. These include: 8x IBM 029 keypunch keyboard Boxes of IBM keypunch parts 2x IBM 552 Interpreter 1x IBM 083 Card Sorter 1x IBM 4505 Display Station I have been unable to find anything about the 4505 display station. Does anyone know any details about this item? It resembles an IBM 2260, but the keyboard is not built-in, as in the 2260. I am taking offers on the items listed above. Thomas Raguso

6 years, 5 months

2
1
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VCF PNW: 2nd call for Exhibits, Speakers and Volunteers

by mbbrutman＠brutman.com

Just a friendly reminder ... VCF PNW 2020 will be on March 21st and 22nd at Living Computers:Museum+Labs in Seattle, Washington. We are looking for exhibits, speakers and volunteers. Presenting an exhibit or speaking at the event takes a little time but it is not difficult. And the reward is that you get to share something that you are passionate about with like-minded people, usually over 1000 of them. Exhibits range from small homebrew machines all the way up to high dollar bigger-iron. (I didn't say big iron because we have not had anybody move anything in with a forklift yet.) Pictures from previous years and details on what to expect can be found at http://vcfed.org/vcf-pnw . Volunteering is pretty easy too; we usually just need a few extra hands to do setup, teardown, and some minor tasks. In between you get to enjoy the museum and the event. If you have special skills we'll put those to use too. If you are thinking of traveling from outside of the region there is plenty to do in Seattle while you are here. Local attractions include the Connections Museum, the Pacific Science Center, MoPOP, the Boeing factory tour, Mr. Rainier, etc. Victoria, British Columbia is also a short distance away. See a more complete list at https://goo.gl/3emMWH . Five months seems to be the distant future but we all know how quickly it will pass. If you are mildly curious or have a question don't be shy - I'm happy to explain the event in more detail. Regards, Mike mbbrutman at brutman.com or michael at vcfed.org

6 years, 5 months

1
0
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Jacquard Systems

by aek＠bitsavers.org

https://www.ebay.com/itm/372814919055 I'm surprised there is any interest in these. I bought some docs/sw on eBay years ago for one of these and have never run across anyone that had a system.

6 years, 5 months

1
0
0 0

Yahoo Groups going away

by paulkoning＠comcast.net

A bit off topic, but I figure a number of us are interested in this older "social media" mechanism. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/10/yahoo-is-deleting-al… So if you subscribe to any Yahoo groups, or value any of that content, be sure to archive it before your friendly telco sends ALL of it to the bit bucket. paul

6 years, 5 months

14
27
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Lear Siegler terminal

by sales＠elecplus.com

I recently purchased one of these, and it arrived in rather sad shape. It does power on. Is there anyone out there who would give it a good home? The housing is cracked in 2 places, and a lot of the key caps got lost before it arrived at my door. Make offer if interested. I will pack it well for shipping, or it can be picked up. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1OvlRYmr1sC9xvZPAImedqUl7nh11Rs_K Cindy Croxton Electronics Plus 1613 Water Street Kerrville, TX 78028 830-370-3239 cell sales at elecplus.com -- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

6 years, 5 months

1
0
0 0

FTGH Decstation 5000

by trash80＠internode.on.net

FTGH Decstation 5000 * Decstation 5000/125 - also houses a CD drive * 2 Expansion storage boxes - one has a tape drive and the other one has a floppy drive. * 2 very large and heavy RGB Digital monitors - one has both Digital and Sony branding on the back of it. I haven't dug the other one out as it's in a corner and is dam heavy but it looks the same as the other one. * A box of spares including a keyboard, two mice, a CD drive, some cables, a couple of CPU's, three genuine HDDs and a big bag of RAM I've never powered it up - it was a rescue - I believe it was a server at a TAFE college in Adelaide, South Australia. I am located in south western Victoria (Australia) Kevin Parker 0418 815 527

6 years, 5 months

3
2
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Anyone have a firmware dump for Teleray Series 10 terminals?

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

Hi, All, I was recently at the CompuServe 50th Anniversary event which included a tour of our old building at 5000 Arlington Center Blvd, where I worked in 2001-2002. The old data center is still in operation, being rented out by Expedient as a cloud hosting and co-location facility. One of the highlights of the tour is an old Teleray 10T they found when they moved in 9 years ago. They have it cleaned up and on display in their conference room. I did a little digging and quickly found the docs on Bitsavers (thanks as always, Al). What struck me was the appearance of the mainboard. I went up into my attic, and wouldn't you know, I _have_ one, labelled "Model 10C" - same board but (formerly) with special feature firmware to be a 10C. What I don't have is ROMs in the ROM sockets. :-( It's five ;places for standard 2708 EPROMs. From the memory map and some of the photos in the docs, not every model had ROM in "Position 5". It looks like all did have 4 EPROMs installed. I have blanks and I have a burner. What's not up on Bitsavers is the 10T or 10C firmware. Does anyone have anything like that? It looks like the keyboard is both easy and not easy to remanufacture. It's a raw matrix, attached via fat round cable and DB25. The Keyboard includes a 74154 to decode 4 bits to 16 lines and the returns are via 8 lines. On the Terminal side, the 4 bits map to the 6502's A0-A3 and the return lines map to D0-D7 (it appears at $0000-$000F in the memory map). 91 keys, 1 IC and a lot of diodes would implement a keyboard, as would an AVR microcontroller sitting on the 12 row/column lines, translating to/from a modern keyboard. The video appears to be standard 15.575KHz 1.0-2.5V mono video plus H. Sync and V. Sync. routed off the board via the power supply connector (+5V @ 3A, +/-12V @ 0.4A and a smattering of -5V for the 2708s). So the only thing I would really need is copies of 4 or 5 EPROMs and I think I could get this working with a replacement display and reimplemented keyboard. Anyone happen to have the firmware? Thanks, -ethan

6 years, 5 months

1
0
0 0

Vigra MMI-210 (VME DSP/audio card) documentation?

by cmhanson＠eschatologist.net

I just acquired a Vigra MMI-210 VME DSP/audio card that I?d like to get working. Does anyone happen to have manuals or know where I could find them? The Wayback Machine at the Internet Archive provides some programming information <https://web.archive.org/web/19970811215245/http://vigra.com/products/vme-au…> so if I can configure the card, I can make it do things. Unfortunately I have yet to find an installation guide. Since it?s a VME card, it has plenty of jumpers that will need to be properly set before it?ll actually work. Anyone have a source for more information, or another place to dig for it? -- Chris

6 years, 5 months

2
2
0 0

PDP-8/E MM8-E jumper settings

by pete＠dunnington.plus.com

I've lost track of where the jumper settings are documented for the MM8-E, and I've got five sets here that have all been changed one way or another. Can anybody remind me where to find the settings for the three EMA jumper links on the G111? I want to set at least one board set to the lowest bank. -- Pete Pete Turnbull

6 years, 5 months

1
0
0 0

Interdata extender board

by aek＠bitsavers.org

In case someone needs it. It is for a 70 series. https://www.ebay.com/itm/283652630301

6 years, 5 months

1
0
0 0

IBM 129 keypunch: How to remove the complete mechanics unit?

by p.gebhardt＠ymail.com

Hello all, I may get a 129 IBM keypuncher soon and was wondering, if for transportation- and weight-related reasons, the punch&read mechanics can be carefully removed with the cables from the rest of the sytem? >From the IBM documents, it seems that after removing the top cover from the table, the mechanics connected to two holders (one one each end) could be separated from the table by removing two screws and two bolts (one of each on every side) and deconnecting all cables down in the electronics cabinet. See for instance: UvA Computermuseum UvA Computermuseum Did anybody make any experiences with this? I am grateful for any suggestions and/or recommendations. Best regards, Pierre ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.digitalheritage.de

6 years, 5 months

1
0
0 0

Sun Ultra 1 PROM update to OBP 3.11.1 or better

by jacob.ritorto＠gmail.com

Hi, My pal Dave just gave me a very nice original Ultra 1 Creator! Found a nice 10000K 146GB disk and 1GB genuine X7004 Sun RAM from good old MemoryX and this store I'd never used before called DiscTech (great ecomm site and decent prices afaict), so this baby's shaping up to be a fantastic and affordable rescue! Alas, it seems some corporate best practices aficionado from the company that was entrusted with the care and feeding of Sun has unilaterally and unceremoniously "lost" all the old patch clusters for these machines. Anyone still have them? The particular one I need is the patch SUNWflell >from anytime after late 1997. This will allow her OpenBoot to play nice with 64-bit operating systems like Solaris and the Illumos-based Tribblix, OpenSXCE, etc, which I'm thinking will be extremely cool to see running on a 25 year old machine! thx much. jake

6 years, 5 months

2
1
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