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

by vcf＠siconic.com

I just made contact with Don's wife, Bristol. They're not sure what Don died of, but he'd had cancer for 18 years and he died a couple days after entering the hospital after falling ill. Understandably, she has no idea what Don has in his garage. I offered to help her sort things out and to get money for whatever computers are in his collection that are worth anything, and of course I informed her of the importance of Don's disk archive. She's very nice and willing to pass the collection along but she first wants to run everything by her nephew who knows about computers before anything happens, which is understandable. This process will take some time. Bristol has many other things to deal with of course, but she informed me that she will make sure none of the computers or software will be discarded until they can get a full idea of what they have. She said they already took 5 computers to recycling but she didn't think they were anything of concern as her computer savvy nephew was the one who chose them and felt they weren't old or valuable or anything. At any rate, she assured me that nothing will be taken for recycling until we figure out what's all there. I'd like to enlist the help of some local San Diegans to assist with the inventory of Don's collection. I will probably end up making a trip down there in the future to either help with the dispersal of his collection and/or retrieve the disk archive. It would be a great help to Bristol if someone with knowledge of vintage computers can help her nephew identify the valuable machines so she can decide what she wants to do with them. And of course, to help identify the disk archive. I would imagine (or hope at least) Don had it pretty well organized and labelled, but we need someone to identify and separate it from the rest of his collection. Also, I want to give Don a tribute at the upcoming VCF 7.0. I'd like to talk a bit about Don's life and what he did for a career and all that. His wife didn't know much about Don's computing career and so I'm hoping that some people on the list who got to know Don and his history can share it with me. I'll keep the list updated as the process moves along. -- Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org [ Old computing resources for business || Buy/Sell/Trade Vintage Computers ] [ and academia at www.VintageTech.com || at http://marketplace.vintage.org ]

21 years, 4 months

2
3
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tracing out schematics

by julesrichardsonuk＠yahoo.co.uk

Has anyone got any useful tips for tracing out schematics? The SMPSU in this 'ere NCR Tower is toast, but it's a complex beastie as it's pretty huge and spread over two large boards. Is copying down component locations (but in their schematic form) to a sheet of paper the same sort of size as the PCB a good place to start? (Which can then be tweaked into a more sensible-looking schematic later) What about making a list of every component on the board and how many tracks leave it at each terminal, which can then be used for sanity checking? I'm not used to drawing out schematics for something this complex, so on smaller items I normally just muddle through somehow :) At least this one's only 2 layer... Aside: the PSU doesn't blow fuses, but is totally dead and doesn't even attempt to start. I found a dead 5W 10 ohm resistor (open circuit, no discolouration) in the live feed upstream of the bridge, which seemed like an odd component failure. I had a spare in the junk pile so replaced it, and that one immediately went the same way. The diodes in the bridge check out OK, the main filter caps aren't shorted, and the large chopper transistors (all 8 of them) seem healthy enough tested on a meter. Whether the filter caps are on the way out is another matter - no bulging/leakage though (I've got a homebrew ESR meter, but it's at the museum at the moment not at home) Startup for the machine is on the surface pretty complex; the switch on the front goes into the main backplane (multibus) and from there to who knows where. Then there are 12 low-power wires going between the backplane and the PSU (in addition to the main power lines) presumably for status monitoring / startup signal. Then there's going to be a lot of charging circuitry in the PSU for the system battery that keeps the memory alive when the mains power goes out... Hence the reason having done some obvious checks I really need to trace out the whole darn lot so I can see how the thing's even supposed to start up... :) cheers Jules -- PERSON 1: That's an awful gash on your forehead! How did you get it? PERSON 2: I bit myself. PERSON 1: How the hell did you manage to bite yourself on the forehead? PERSON 2: I stood on a chair.

21 years, 4 months

10
26
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KIM, SYM, AIM, etc.

by chobbs＠socal.rr.com

> Still can't imagine a SYM-1 being worth $900. From $75 to maybe >$150 someplace is more like it. It has little to be note worthy >of that I know of. The KIM is more recognized as a historic >board. I doubt if that person though it was actually worth something >that they'd have thrown it away, regardless of what they said. > Still, for one rounding out their 6502 collection, the SYM-1 >is a nice item to have. >Dwight I sold a couple of Rockwell AIM-65's for about $100 each at VCF, though I didn't really test or know the condition of them. I've seen some of these board computers go for as high as $300 on Ebay, although Ebay prices tend to be higher because of the bidding wars...

21 years, 4 months

2
1
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Sale of "free" stuff on eBay

by dave04a＠dunfield.com

>Hi Dave. Hi Sellam, >You make good points overall, but I don't think it takes very much effort >to contact the authors/producers of each contribution on the CD. It's >just a matter of basic courtesy. This would take maybe an hour or two of >e-mail. They're charging $50 per CD. That's about a dollar in production >costs and $49 of profit. Assuming they sell even 5, that's still a good >return for material to which they didn't contribute. The auction I looked at (briefly) showed $10 - if he is charging $50, then this is out of the "reasonable return for the convienence" catagory, and I would agree that he should be putting a bit more effort into how he acuuires the material. My point would more apply to thing like the SIMTEL collection - the CD set has a HUGE directloty listing which is "single line per item" - adding even one line of acknowlegement would double this size, and would be negative in effect (IMO) - And most people don't look at or care about each package on the set - they read the desciptions and unpack the stuff they are interested in, at which point they get exposed to all of the authors original material, promotional or otherwise - It these cases, the CD really is not much different >from an internet connection - its just a means of delivery. I looked at the listing at $10 and placed it in this catagory... I am also assuming that Rich's material is included on the CD in it's original form, as he prepared it - if not, then that would also cause me to have a problem with the CD. >You're referring to Al. I specifcally avoided mentining names, because I do not recall all of the details - this was intended as an example of how the "don't use my stuff" attitude has prevented me from obtaining some material, NOT as a flame on any particular person(s). >>Really annoying, considering that he doesn't have permission >> from most of the original authors, and claims to be preserving them and >> "making them available" ... but apparently only to the "high-speed" >> elite (but again I rant :-) > >He doesn't "claim" to be preserving them. He *IS* preserving them! >I'm sorry, but have some fucking respect. As noted above, this is not directed to a particular person ... And I DO have a great deal of respect for Al and others like him. And no dispute that these people are preserving important documents. But, anyone who takes the attitude "only to be distributed by download from my site" is NOT making them available to EVERYONE - it prevents me from obtaining much of the larger material (and doc scans tend to be large :-) No matter how well information is preserved, it is of no benefit if it is unobtainable. >> Lets have a show of hands ... anyone participatng in this list ever >> distrbure any material without obtaining explicit permission from the >> orignal author? > >The question is, do you make a practice of this? Yes, sometimes - see the "notes on documents and software" on my site for more information. Btw: I do have some of Rich's scans in my Altair section, and I *DID* contact him for permission, and he *IS* listed in my credits. I even gave him some scans of docs he was missing during our correspondance. A lot of the documents on my site have been scanned by yours truly, there are some from other sources, and some I don't even know/recall where they came from. so far nobody has minded, and as described in my "notes", I will remove any material if asked to do so by the holder of rights to that material. Rich's simulator is a bit of a different case than most "vintage material", because he is still around and supporting it. But he DOES give it away, and hasseling the creator of a $10 "collectin" CD will probably only result in its being excluded >from the CD, and I do not see how this benefits anyone. BUT - the choice as to what to do is ultimately Rich's .. He asked our opinion and I gave him mine. to quote Spock, he is free to "give it all the consideration it is due". For the record: My original material from my site is welcome to be included on collection CDs and any other reasonable uses. I don't do this for money (in fact it's quite the opposite :-), I don't do this for fame/recognition ... I do it because I want people to be able to see and experience something of the era that we enjoyed, before computers became another appliance (see my FAQ for a better description of my motives and activities). Regards, Dave -- dave04a (at) Dave Dunfield dunfield (dot) Firmware development services & tools: www.dunfield.com com Vintage computing equipment collector. http://www.parse.com/~ddunfield/museum/index.html

21 years, 4 months

3
2
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An Actual On-Topic DILOG question

by aek＠spies.com

I've offered the Diablo 31 (RK05 emulators) to Al, but he hasn't indicated whether he wants the Q-bus controller or not. -- I would like it. d

21 years, 4 months

1
0
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An Actual On-Topic DILOG question

by doc＠mdrconsult.com

;^) There are a DILOG DQ142 and a DQ142 QBus Pertec controllers on eBay right now. I have a PDP11/03 in the 18-bit backplane that seriously needs a storage option. I have a couple of TU80 drives, but only Unibus controllers for those. The questions are: either Dilog board is compatible with both the TU80 and the 18-bit backplane, right? And which is the better choice, the DQ132 or the DQ142? Thanks. Doc

21 years, 4 months

2
2
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Possible Trade? HP48G < > HP67 | HP97

by ron.hudson＠sbcglobal.net

I have an HP48G with serial cable and User's Guide. I want an HP67 or HP97, - Preferably with quick ref or manual (or both) - Would be nice to have one where the magnetic card drive works (ie de-gummied) but I would be willing to de-gummie it myself if need be (with instructions :^)

21 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Ferranti Mercury

by julesrichardsonuk＠yahoo.co.uk

I don't think I posted this already :) Does anyone have any info lurking online about the Ferranti Mercury (specs, what roles the handful of machines that were made took on etc.)? The chap we got the BeBox, Lisa etc. from has an original programming manual for one (although nowhere does it say Ferranti - just 'Mercury') and it'd be nice to give him a bit more info about the machine itself. Google didn't turn up much when I tried, other than the single picture of the machine which seems to be common to a lot of sites. cheers J.

21 years, 4 months

12
21
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Paper Tape Punch

by jrkeys＠concentric.net

Finally got my Facit 4070 Paper Tape Punch that I purchased last year home last night. I got the punch and a HP 9884A Tape Punch Operating and Service Manual and nothing else. Anyone have the adapter with cable for this and some HP paper tapes (#9280-0229)?

21 years, 4 months

3
3
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FYI: identity theft

by jfoust＠threedee.com

At 04:25 PM 11/23/2004, Gary Fisher wrote: >Kind of a round about way to do credit card fraud, but on the other hand it puts the trail onto the hapless guys who paid for the items on eBay. As I pointed out in my first message, the credit-card-stealing seller hadn't even received payment from the eBay buyers in three of the four cases I found. So he's playing a game - hoping someone will pay faster than the time he needs to grab the money and run and before the credit card owner figures it out. >I hope you went to the eBay forums with your info, I suppose eBay will do nothing to warn anybody (scams never happen on eBay!). I'm looking forward to filing a complaint with local law enforcement, which will allow them to kick out a few subpoenas to request records that eBay / eGold / Yahoo / BestBuy / Staples won't release. It would give IP addresses, maybe other account info, maybe a trail to where the money went. I'm hoping the police will share the details with me, so I can assist in the investigation. >Any idea how your credit card info got to the scammer? No idea. This card was generally used only for business, about half-and-half in-person and online. - John

21 years, 4 months

1
0
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HP 93788 cards?

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

I picked up two HP cards that I think are from a HP 3000 but I can't find anything about them online. They're large cards with the number HP 93788-80041 on them and they have a daughterboard on them that's marked 93788 CII Chipset. Does anyone know what these are? Joe

21 years, 4 months

1
0
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Pictures Re: Masscomp computers?

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

Jules, Did you see this? <http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1247&item=5141765514 &rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW#ebayphotohosting> Joe At 12:51 PM 11/25/04 +0000, you wrote: >On Wed, 2004-11-24 at 22:15 -0500, Joe R. wrote: >> OK I just finished posting some pictures of the Masscomp machine that I >> took apart. Here they are: > >Thanks for those! That's very different to our machine - ours is a big >tower setup; going from memory about 10" wide, maybe 24" deep and 36" >tall. If it weren't an hour's drive away I'd go take a look at it now >and see what it has inside... That sounds like a pedistal system. They also made a table top and rack mount systems but the manual mostly talks about the pedistal systems. > >> In no particular order these are: (1) this card that I can't remember >> what it is <http://www.classiccmp.org/hp/masscomp/unknown.jpg>. > >Not much in the way of large chips on that - given that and the size of >the connectors, it suggests some sort of data aquisition again to me, or >parallel output to something... > >> (6) The last card in the system (topmost) is a XMC (hard)disk/floppy/tape >> controller >> <http://www.classiccmp.org/hp/masscomp/XMC%20disk-floppy-tape%20controller%2 >> 0xylogic%20431.jpg>. I believe this actually a XYLogics 431 card. > >Hmm, that looks vaguely like NCR's Mass Storage Controller - quite >possibly the same board. I'll have to have a look; I've got an MSC >culled from a Tower 400 but it's not to hand at the mo (God knows *why* >I've kept it; it's of no use in my Tower 700 as that has a SCSI >controller) The manual says that there's also a XMD controller for LARGE (ESDI?) hard drives that only controls HDs. It uses an 8031 microcontroller and has a large connector (34 pin?) in the top center of the card and two smaller ones (20 pin?) on each side of it. And also a XMT card that can be used to control up to two Pertec 1/2" tape drives. That card also uses an 8031 and it has two large connectors on the top edge. I'm pretty sure that all three of the cards are XYLogics cards. The interesting thing about them is that they use I/O Parameter Blocks to communicate with them just like the Intel MDSs do. I'm not that familar with the structure of Intel's IOPBs but this manual has a detailed description of ones that these cards use so someone could check them against the Intel description and see if they're the same. If you'll post a picture of your card I'll compare it against the drawings in the manual and see if it matches. > >cheers! > >Jules > >

21 years, 4 months

2
1
0 0

Happy Thanksgiving :-) (switch to fixed with font)

by chobbs＠socal.rr.com

,+*^^*+___+++_ ,*^^^^ ) _+* ^**+_ _+^^*+_ ( ,+*^ ^ \+_ ) { ) ( ,( ,_+--+--, ^) ^\ { (@) } f ,( ,+-^ __*_*_ ^^\_ ^\ ) {:;-/ (_+*-+^^^^^+*+*<_ _++_)_ ) ) / ( / ( ( ,___ ^*+_+* ) < < \ U _/ ) *--< ) ^\-----++__) ) ) ) ( ) _(^)^^)) ) )\^^^^^))^*+/ / / ( / (_))_^)) ) ) ))^^^^^))^^^)__/ +^^ ( ,/ (^))^)) ) ) ))^^^^^^^))^^) _) *+__+* (_))^) ) ) ))^^^^^^))^^^^^)____*^ \ \_)^)_)) ))^^^^^^^^^^))^^^^) (_ ^\__^^^^^^^^^^^^))^^^^^^^) ^\___ ^\__^^^^^^))^^^^^^^^)\\ ^^^^^\uuu/^^\uuu/^^^^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\ ___) >____) >___ ^\_\_\_\_\_\_\) ^^^//\\_^^//\\_^ ^(\_\_\_\) ^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^

21 years, 4 months

1
0
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Masscomp computers?

by aek＠spies.com

http://www.classiccmp.org/hp/masscomp/unknown.jpg is an Ikon DR11 interface (assuming those two connectors are 40 pins)

21 years, 4 months

2
1
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KM11 maintenance module

by unibus＠gmail.com

> On Tue, 2004-11-16 at 16:25, Tony Duell wrote: > > > See if you can find the cpu manuals for an 11/70. There are some > > > documentation on the KM11 in those, I seem to remember. > > > > The original KM11 (I was given a pair _after_ making my homebrew > > version..) consists of 2 boards -- IIRC W130 and W131. One contains the > > switches and lamps, the other the driver transistors, etc. The latter > > goes into the backplane slot and had an edge connector on the end to > > connec to the former. > > I've done a version based on Tony's design. I'm about to send the board > out to be fab'd. I've sized it so that it should be able to take the > original overlays too. > > I'll be offering the PCB's (with schematic, BOM, etc) or PCB + parts + > docs for sale once I get the first boards back and debugged. > > The PCBs will be nice with silk screen, solder mask and gold edge > fingers. > > > > > I think I got the schematics in the RK11-C printset, certainly it's > > either there or in the 11/45 prints. > > > > -tony > -- > > TTFN - Guy I'd be interested in a kit for my 11/05. Think the overlay is shown in the Printset so I should be able to do my own ovelay when I find the manuals. Thought the KM-11 was also used on the LA180, been too many years to guarantee that (it could have been the RX01, one or the other). Regards, Garry

21 years, 4 months

1
0
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OT: Need Mac TCP Guru

by jpl15＠panix.com

I'd really like to exchange some Off-List mail with a Listmember who is fluent in Apple Mac Comms - I've got a very obsucre set of intelocking problems that is keeping my G4 from talking over it's ethernet port, which I need it desperately to do - so I can download some patches for *another* program that is misbehaving... aarrgh... If anyone is familiar with the intricacies of the TCP/IP implementation (currently running OS9.2.2) and could offer some advice, I'd be very grateful... Please respond off-list - thanks! Cheers John

21 years, 4 months

1
0
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Making CP/M disk images

by rcini＠optonline.net

Hello, all: I'm trying to make disk images of a CP/M disk from an MS-DOS machine so I can send the images to some one else to generate disks. The CP/M machine is a Micromint SB180. The PC is a standard Compaq 386. Both machines have HD 5.25" drives although the format of the disk is standard 40-track. I've used Copy-II-PC to make disk-to-disk copies with some success but the CP2PC software can't make images. I have not hooked-up the CP2PC floppy controller board yet, but that could be another test option. I've also used Teledisk 2.12, which can make disk images but I haven't been able to successfully regenerate a test disk image into a working diskette. Are there any other disk imaging programs out there for the PC that can read and archive CP/M-format disks? Thanks. Rich Rich Cini Collector of classic computers Build Master for the Altair32 Emulation Project Web site: http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/ /************************************************************/

21 years, 4 months

3
3
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facit 4070 schematic

by aek＠spies.com

found the schematic in some varian peripheral schematics am still working on trying to find an HP 2753A manual. Talked to Jeff M. tonight, he'll check his docs. www.bitsavers.org/pdf/facit/4070_schematic.pdf

21 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Making CP/M disk images

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "Richard A. Cini" <rcini(a)optonline.net> > >Hello, all: > > I'm trying to make disk images of a CP/M disk from an MS-DOS machine >so I can send the images to some one else to generate disks. The CP/M >machine is a Micromint SB180. The PC is a standard Compaq 386. Both machines >have HD 5.25" drives although the format of the disk is standard 40-track. Both are HD?? Are you using the first 40 tracks on the CP/M side as compared to alternate 40 tracks on the PC side? Usually when a PC program thinks it is using 40 tracks on a HD drive, it skips every other track. Unless the firmware on the CP/M machine has modified low level code for seeking tracks, it will single step between tracks. This could be an issue when doing images. You can always do some direct to controller stuff. Several of the books on writing code for PC's describe how to setup the DMA channels and talk to the controller. I've used that to get around the problem of the first track being single density while the rest of the disk was double density. Dwight > > I've used Copy-II-PC to make disk-to-disk copies with some success >but the CP2PC software can't make images. I have not hooked-up the CP2PC >floppy controller board yet, but that could be another test option. > > I've also used Teledisk 2.12, which can make disk images but I >haven't been able to successfully regenerate a test disk image into a >working diskette. > > Are there any other disk imaging programs out there for the PC that >can read and archive CP/M-format disks? > > Thanks. > >Rich > >Rich Cini >Collector of classic computers >Build Master for the Altair32 Emulation Project >Web site: http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/ >/************************************************************/ > >

21 years, 4 months

2
1
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movies, open source, RMS and linux...

by msokolov＠ivan.Harhan.ORG

Doc Shipley <doc(a)mdrconsult.com> wrote: > I absolutely see RMS as the father of the open intellectual > "property" revolution, not just open software. Bu after the SIGLinux > deal, I have to say he's gone right over the top. The fundamental problem with RMS is that he cannot make a distinction between free software / open source *philosophy* (which ought to be applicable to *all* platforms regardless of technology) and his GNU project, which is one very specific technology with one very specific set of *technical* design decisions behind it (which I happen to disagree with most emphatically). The problem can be seen in how www.fsf.org redirects to www.gnu.org (or at least it did last time I visited). MS

21 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Software for Apple I

by aek＠spies.com

How, exactly, do you plan on executing BASIC programs on an Apple I? You do realize that there was no built in BASIC, and the cassette interface was an option? The only firmware in the base machine was a 256 byte monitor program.

21 years, 4 months

1
0
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Masscomp computers?

by aek＠spies.com

it's an Excelan board, but doesn't give a model number -- It is a 201. Docs for the card and the basic firmware are on bitsavers. I'm trying to locate the manuals for the other (VME,Qbus,and Unibus) versions if anyone has them. The optional downloaded TCP stack had an interesting feature that the IP address was hardwired to the Ethernet adr. Between that, and it having worse performance than the code running on the main processor, most people ran the cards in logical link mode.

21 years, 4 months

1
0
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Looking for BCC computer

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

Hi I'm looking for a 486 BCC laptop computer that I can use for spare parts. Mine has a video chip that seems to be failing. I forget the model number but it is one of the color ones. I use it for all kinds of transfers of data to my vintage machines so I'd like to keep it in working order( to keep things on subject ). Dwight

21 years, 4 months

1
0
0 0

Dragon32 Power-Supply

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "John Honniball" <coredump(a)gifford.co.uk> > >Dwight K. Elvey wrote: >> Although, not particularly good practice, as long as the >> power dissipation is kept down, this is a design within specifications >> of the part. They have built in current limit and are suppose >> to be able to handle continuous loads in current limit. >> This means that they can be paralleled. > >Hmmm... OK, but they still won't be sharing the current equally. >The one that has the lower current-limit point will be at >its full capacity, while the other one will have a smaller >share of the load. At least, that's how I understand it. It is true that they won't share. One will run until it reaches its max and then the other will pick up the rest. Remember, the biggest issue is the power ( how hot it gets ). That is related to voltage drop and current, not just current by it self. > >> I once talked with some application engineers at National >> about this type of operation. > >I'm sure I've seen a note somewhere to the effect "do not >connect in parallel", but of course I've no idea where I >read that! Some regulators do not have a current shut down. They you shouldn't parallel. Others are intended to run with the current limit. These can often be paralleled. The ones that only do thermal shut down shouldn't be paralleled. If you know the current load, one can add a parallel resistor. The current load has to be relatively constant. If the regulators are close, adding some series resistance can make them share. In some cases, even some additional circuit board traces may be enough. I've seen memory banks where there were regulators on either side of the array and both sides shared relatively well. This is just from the natural drop of the traces. Dwight > >-- >John Honniball >coredump(a)gifford.co.uk >

21 years, 4 months

1
0
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Daling with Mouse damage? (Not the computer kind)

by dave04a＠dunfield.com

Just took in a Superbrain-QD which was "stored" uncovered in a garage for the past 10 (or more) years ... It's got serious mouse damage - underneath and all around the monitor was stuffed with insulation, wood chips and bits - obviously a large nest. More seriously, both the main PCB and the power supply PCB are *COVERED* in mouse droppings, and *SOAKED* in mouse urine (mostly dried up now, but the damage has been done). Lots of corrosion and such, but it looks repairable.... But both boards are covered in a layer of dried urine, sprinkled with generous gobs of urine soaked manure (about the consistancy of fairly dry tar), which is "glued" to the board. This is the worst case of mouse damage I have seen ... I would very much appreciate any tips that can be offered on how best to clean the boards without damaging them... ??? Regards, Dave -- dave04a (at) Dave Dunfield dunfield (dot) Firmware development services & tools: www.dunfield.com com Vintage computing equipment collector. http://www.parse.com/~ddunfield/museum/index.html

21 years, 4 months

8
7
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Anti-Apple Commercial edit...

by aek＠spies.com

In Windows Media Viewer format, of course.

21 years, 4 months

6
9
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Difference between sun4, sun4c and sun4m subarchitectures

by msokolov＠ivan.Harhan.ORG

Hello ClassicCmpers, Does anyone know what are the real technical differences between sun4, sun4c and sun4m subarchitectures of SPARC from the viewpoint of an OS kernel writer? I know that SunOS treats them as different kernel architectures while Net/OpenBSD has a unified SPARC kernel, as does Linux if I'm not mistaken. I'm trying to evaluate the pros and cons of the two approaches. Reason: a friend of mine is porting 4.3BSD-Quasijarus to SPARC and I'm trying to help him with the key architectural decisions. We have the SunOS 4.1.4 source. MS

21 years, 4 months

6
5
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Sale of "free" stuff on eBay

by dave04a＠dunfield.com

> Tonight, I looked at Volume 5 and in the CD table of contents (link >above), I see "altair32 Project Altair Emulator.zip" and two other related >listings. As you all know, this is my baby and this person never had the >courtesy to ask my permission to distribute my albeit free software. > Am I crazy here? Should I contact this guy and ask him to remove it? >Should I ask him to place a link to the project page instead? How about >modifying the listing to include a "permission granted" message? > Any thoughts on this? Hi Rich, Personally, I don't have a problem when people include my free stuff on a collection CD which is nominally priced - what they are selling is convienence, not the material on the disk (which can be freely downloaded). Perhaps I appreciate this more than most, because I have to download through a dial-up connection. On a good day I get 25kbps - it takes *HOURS* to download even a few 10s of megs, let alone a CD or DVDs worth. It is often worth it to me to pay $10-$20 for a CD containing the material I want rather than to try and keep a connection up long enough to download it. Dynacomp is not "some guy", they have been around a LONG time. I have some titles for my Altair which were purchased from them back in the late 70s. I think they are a reasonable company, and given the amount of material on the CD, and the nature of the target audience, I doubt they are making a "killing" from your material. I understand that you may feel it is somehow "wrong" that someone makes a bit of money from your material, however consider: - Given the amount of material on the CD, the percentage which can be attributed to your project is VERY small. The overhead in contacting everyone on the CD, and handling "royalties" would prohibitive in this case, and such collection CDs would bascially not be possible. - Do you really think the price of the CD would go up/down if any one individual project is added/removed (Given that it is freely available elsewhere). - As noted above, Dynacomp is a real company - this is no different than Walnut Creek or other companies which sell compilation CDs. I've seen LOTS of my stuff on these, and have never been contacted for permission - and it has never bothered me. - What about ISPs ... if you don't want anyone to charge for a CD containing your project, then why do you allow people to charge for a network connection which is used to deliver your project? - To my mind, this is really not much differece, both are a form of media. - I expect part of your reaction is due to the fact that this is Ebay, not so much the fact that someone has included your project in a collection (which must have happened many times before). >Should I contact this guy and ask him to remove it? Do you have a reason why people who purchase this collection should not have easy access to your project? >Should I ask him to place a link to the project page instead? Give that I can find Altair32 with google (or any other search engine) easily on the first try, then do you really think it necessary to clutter up the Ebay listing with links (remember, if they do it for you, they should do it for everyone else). I don't think people normally use Ebay as a "links" resource - the listing is long enough as it is... >How about modifying the listing to include a "permission granted" message? Again, would this really benefit people looking at this collection? Would it really benefit you? See above comments regarding the size of the listing. Do you think anyone who is considering this collection really cares who explicitly have their permission (given that the material is freely available anyway). Returning to the ISP analogy, perhaps since people download via their network connection, all ISPs should be required to explicitly obtain permission from every author of every project which is available on the net, and display individual "permission granted" messages and links for each one (to make sure you are aware of this important detail) before allowing you to proceed with your connection (where you might access one of those projects)??? - Would doing so benefit anyone? [Yeah, this is stretching a point, however most of the people who buyt the CD will not access every project on it either, it is just a form of bulk media] Sorry to rant - but this is a pet peeve of mine - CD/DVD collections are one of the fews ways that I can obtain large "free" files. Authors who prevent their works from being included on these are going out of their way to make it very hard for me to obtain them (to no actual benefit to themselves). Granted it would be nice if they asked, but this is probably a lot of extra overhead in the preparation of a large project, and you *DO* make the project freely available to people who live in the city / have high-speed-connections. There was a similar thread a few months back, when one of the guys who maintains a site of archived manuals got upset that another guy was including some of "his" manuals on a DVD that he was selling for $30 (and gives to anyone who contributes material which is how I got it) - Insisting that I download the material prevents me from bring able to obtain most of the larger manuals (some of which I would really like to get). - Really annoying, considering that he doesn't have permission from most of the original authors, and claims to be preserving them and "making them available" ... but apparently only to the "high-speed" elite (but again I rant :-) Lets have a show of hands ... anyone participatng in this list ever distrbure any material without obtaining explicit permission from the orignal author? Regards, Dave Dunfield -- dave04a (at) Dave Dunfield dunfield (dot) Firmware development services & tools: www.dunfield.com com Vintage computing equipment collector. http://www.parse.com/~ddunfield/museum/index.html

21 years, 4 months

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Ferranti Mercury

by aek＠spies.com

forgot to mention I'd like to get a copy of the programming manual to add to the archive. I have one other manual on programming the Pegasus from '58 that I need to get on line.

21 years, 4 months

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Ferranti Mercury

by aek＠spies.com

Ed Thielen has Livingston's "Early British Computers" on line http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/EarlyBritish.html Mercury was a valve machine from 1957 specs at http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/EarlyBritish-App.html#Ap-02

21 years, 4 months

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Free : Facit Ribbons

by birs23＠zeelandnet.nl

I dont know if anybody is interested in these but I have a bunch of unused Facit ribbon's for the Facit B3150 / B3350 / B3550 / D635 / E630 / E750. They are free for shipping costs or you can pick them up too offcourse. Located in the Netherlands. Cheers, Stefan. http://www.oldcomputercollection.com

21 years, 4 months

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Free : Facit Ribbons

by rimmer＠xs4all.nl

I dont know if anybody is interested in these but I have a bunch of unused Facit ribbon's for the Facit B3150 / B3350 / B3550 / D635 / E630 / E750. They are free for shipping costs or you can pick them up too offcourse. Located in the Netherlands. Cheers, Stefan.

21 years, 4 months

1
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Dragon32 Power-Supply

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

>From: "John Honniball" <coredump(a)gifford.co.uk> > >Jules Richardson wrote: >> In the six or so Atoms that have passed through my hands though I've >> never had one with the original supply, so I can't confirm that :) (All >> of mine have either been kits - and I assume the PSU was optional - or >> previous owners have bypassed the regulators and used a more capable >> supply) > >Ah, that was a standard modification. The Atom uses two 7805 >regulators in parallel, which is not a good way to turn two >1A regulators into a 2A PSU. In practice, one regulator >(depending on the voltage tolerances of the parts) takes >nearly all the load, while the other regulator just sits >there. So, many Atom users who expanded their machines >also bypassed the regulators and added a proper external >supply. > >I'll check my boxed Atom in the loft sometime to see what >brick it's got. > Hi Although, not particularly good practice, as long as the power dissipation is kept down, this is a design within specifications of the part. They have built in current limit and are suppose to be able to handle continuous loads in current limit. This means that they can be paralleled. I once talked with some application engineers at National about this type of operation. Dwight

21 years, 4 months

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tracing out schematics

by dwight.elvey＠amd.com

>From: ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk > >> >> Interestingly, there's no feedback between the low-voltage side of the >> switching transformer and the circuitry surrounding that SOC603B 6-pin >> IC, so maybe it isn't an opto-isolator at all. All the circuitry > >That does not suprise me. Since there's a pulse transformer in the >chopper base circuit, the controller IC is on the isolated side of the >PSU (the isolation is performed by the pulse transformer), so there's no >need for any optoisolator in the voltage feedback loop. > >One question. Have you found how the controller IC gets its power? Is >there a separate (maybe linear) PSU for this? > Hi I just thought I'd note that you don't need feedback if the transformer is just used to drive a square wave and not used as a flyback type. It just comes down to turns ratios for the voltage. If there is a post regulator, having a regulated switcher is not needed. Most PC supplies use a flyback type and regulate the 5V line by the switcher to maximize efficiency but I doubt HP was concerned about that. Dwight

21 years, 4 months

1
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hardware fault on SGI Indigo?

by fabtagon＠gmx.de

Hi everybody, I have an old SGI Indigo (IP12) which refuses my attempts to populate the harddisk with Irix 5.3. The harddisk doesn't boot, so I assume it to be empty. I get sashIP12 and fx.IP12 to load from cd, but using fx with that hd fails: SGI Version 5.3 IP12 Oct 31, 1994 fx: "device-name"= (dksc) fx: ctrl#= (0) fx: drive#= (1) ... opening dksc(0,1,) dks0d1s10: Drive not ready: RAM failure, ASQ=0x80. fx: warning: Failed to open dksc(0,1,10) SGI Version 5.3 IP12 Oct 31, 1994 (and the same again, if I want) Is it trying to open a non-existent partition dks0d1s10? Is it a software-fault? If it's a hardware fault: What's broken: hd or ram? The hd is in the bottom drive bay. After my enter keystroke in line 4 (drive#=1) the led flashes for a short time and at the same time (or maybe some millisecconds later) the error message appears. The error isn't very meaningful to me. Does anybody know about the problem or does have any hints? Thanks in advance, Fabian

21 years, 4 months

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Test -- please ignore

by news＠computercollector.com

(intentionally blank) ===== Tell your friends about the Computer Collector Newsletter! -- It's free and we'll never send spam or share your email address -- Publishing every Monday(-ish), ask about writing for us -- Mainframes to videogames, hardware and software, we cover it all Visit our web site for lots of extra content: http://news.computercollector.com Contact us at news(a)computercollector.com 600 readers and counting!

21 years, 4 months

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Sorta OT Mac G4 TCP question

by cb＠mythtech.net

> I get "Internal error #300" and "Mac OS error -23" pointing to a >funkyness on the part of the TCP/IP stack / driver / panel / thingy, as >far as I can see from looking up endless pages of error codes. And I've >made all the settings recommended... also, the cable is known good and >works perfectly when drug back into the office and hooked up to this >laptop upon which I type. I assume you have the OS Install CD that came with the Mac. Reinstall the networking portion (if it gives you an option). If not, just reinstall the entire OS. As long you don't do a "clean install" then it will safely drop the new OS right on top of the old one, and you shouldn't really know the difference. (clean install is NOT the default so you shouldn't have to worry about it). However, since you are seeing odd problems, I would run Disk First Aid first at the very least. If you have a better disk checking program, run that too (Tech Tools or whatever). There is a good chance there is some kind of disk corruption that killed the Open Transport drivers. If you don't have a copy of the OS that you can reinstall from let me know off list. (Apple keeps going back and forth with shipping a usable install CD versus just a reimage CD, so I don't know which you have) -chris <http://www.mythtech.net>

21 years, 4 months

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Dragon32 Power-Supply

by dave04a＠dunfield.com

At 19:54 23/11/2004 +0000, you wrote: >Dave Dunfield wrote: >> Can anyone give me the pinout and details of the power >> supply used on the Dragon32 (have a machine with no >> supply) - It has a 9-pin 'D' connector on the back of >> the machine for the power input! > >OK, I've just got my machine down from the loft and had a look >for the manual -- but I don't have a manual! So, time to test >it with a meter... > >Pin 1 joined to Pin 6, one side of 8.5V AC Red >Pin 2 joined to Pin 7, other side of 8.5V AC Black >Pin 3 14V AC Yellow >Pin 4 0V White >Pin 5 14V AC Blue > >The two 14V AC windings form a centre-tapped 28V winding, which >according to the label on the transformer is rated at 250mA. The >8.5V winding is rated 1.5A. The actual voltages I measured were >8.9V and 14.3V (twice), so they're slightly higher off-load. The >9-pin 'D' connector on the end of the PSU cable is a female. The >PSU itself is clearly just a transformer in a white plastic box. Hi John, Thanks for the info - makes perfect sense, an 8v input to drive a 5v supply, and C.T. 28v input to drive +/-12. I shall see if I can fire it up this weekend. Regards, Dave -- dave04a (at) Dave Dunfield dunfield (dot) Firmware development services & tools: www.dunfield.com com Vintage computing equipment collector. http://www.parse.com/~ddunfield/museum/index.html

21 years, 4 months

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Sorta OT Mac G4 TCP question

by jpl15＠panix.com

Have a G4 400 running OS9.2.2, 1G ram, used as an 'appliance' computer in my studio. As a result of a bizarre problem in getting a new software package to authorize (so far the company can't figure out why it's broke - !) I need to hook the Mac up to the Rest Of The World and download a bunch of patches and crap. To date, I have never used this computer on-line - so I drug Cat5 cable in from the switch, hooked it up, and Voila! 'That Which Communicates' is also completely hosed. I get "Internal error #300" and "Mac OS error -23" pointing to a funkyness on the part of the TCP/IP stack / driver / panel / thingy, as far as I can see from looking up endless pages of error codes. And I've made all the settings recommended... also, the cable is known good and works perfectly when drug back into the office and hooked up to this laptop upon which I type. I've spent the better part of three hours turkey-ing about with this - and I have *way* too much invested in it to just heave it into the desert like I want to - so I thought to bend the List Protocols a bit and see if anyone has one of those "Oh, yeah, here's what ya do..." type responses. More info will be cheerfully supplied, I don't know what elese to add. Cheers John

21 years, 4 months

2
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KM11 maintenance module

by fm.arnold＠gmx.net

> >Message: 2 >Date: Wed, 17 Nov 2004 00:25:22 +0000 (GMT) >From: ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell) >Subject: Re: KM11 maintenance module >To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org >Message-ID: <m1CUDdV-000JEQC@p850ug1> >Content-Type: text/plain > >> See if you can find the cpu manuals for an 11/70. There are some >> documentation on the KM11 in those, I seem to remember. > >The original KM11 (I was given a pair _after_ making my homebrew >version..) consists of 2 boards -- IIRC W130 and W131. One contains the >switches and lamps, the other the driver transistors, etc. The latter >goes into the backplane slot and had an edge connector on the end to >connec to the former. > >I think I got the schematics in the RK11-C printset, certainly it's >either there or in the 11/45 prints. > >-tony > The KM11 is also present in the 11/05 (11/10) printset I have. I would also expect this to appear in the 11/35 (11/40) printset too. The interesting thing is that in every different place the KM11 is used, a different overlay will redefine the meaning of the lamps, so in fact you will need this picture of the overlays too! Frank

21 years, 4 months

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FYI: identity theft

by GFisher＠tristonecapital.com

Wow! Nasty. Kind of a round about way to do credit card fraud, but on the other hand it puts the trail onto the hapless guys who paid for the items on eBay. I suppose eGolds records would just lead to some post office box or even worse, general delivery and i'm sure a battery of lawyers would be required to even get that far. New day, different scam! I hope you went to the eBay forums with your info, I suppose eBay will do nothing to warn anybody (scams never happen on eBay!). Any idea how your credit card info got to the scammer? Gary Fisher This e-mail and any attachments may contain confidential and privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail, delete this e-mail and destroy any copies. Any dissemination or use of this information by a person other than the intended recipient is unauthorized and may be illegal. Unless otherwise stated, opinions expressed in this e-mail are those of the author and are not endorsed by the author's employer. Original Message (edited for brevity)is below: Message: 39 Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 10:37:23 -0600 From: John Foust <jfoust(a)threedee.com> Subject: FYI: identity theft To: <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <6.2.0.14.2.20041123102938.0517b8b0@pc> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Bound to happen! A few odd charges showed up on my business credit card. I caught it quickly, then went into gumshoe mode.

21 years, 4 months

1
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Anti-Apple Commercial edit...

by cvendel＠att.net

If you're looking for a good laugh, I just found this anti-Apple commercial, its very vulgar, so be forwarned! http://media.ebaumsworld.com/apple.wmv Curt

21 years, 4 months

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FW: Sanyo MBC 4050 computer available (Glasgow)

by julesrichardsonuk＠yahoo.co.uk

Hi all, Chap in Glasgow's got a Sanyo MBC 4050 CP/M machine which is surplus to requirements - anyone want? Apparently it's got all disks (OS, WordStar, CalcStar, Reportstar and Datastar) and docs, plus the guy thinks he has the original packaging in his loft. It's got a daisywheel printer with it too. His name's Richard Service - drop him an email directly at richardservice(a)ntlworld.com if you're interested. No connection with him - he conacted the museum with a view to donating it, but we're swamped with CP/M machines as it is! cheers, Jules

21 years, 4 months

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FW: Sanyo MBC 4050 computer available (Glasgow)

by msokolov＠ivan.Harhan.ORG

Joe R. <rigdonj(a)cfl.rr.com> wrote: > They're understanding as long as they're girlfriends. When they become > wifes it's a whole different story! Is it part of the marriage vows to support each other's Life's Work? Did you make it clear upfront when you first met that running classic computers is your Life's Work and Mission and that it is what you would be doing together for the rest of your life ("till death do you part")? MS

21 years, 4 months

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Help needed in the US

by williams.dan＠gmail.com

I have bought some cables on ebay but the seller will only ship with ups. The package is about 5kg. UPS are quoting over $100. Can anyone kindly receive them for me and forward on to me in the UK. They are 5 6ft dssi cables. Thanks Dan

21 years, 4 months

1
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IBM 3270 interfacing?

by mross666＠hotmail.com

Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 11:13:53 +0100 From: Tore S Bekkedal <toresbe(a)ifi.uio.no> Subject: IBM 3270 interfacing? To: cctech(a)classiccmp.org >Does anyone know anything about the protocol that the IBM 3270 terminals >uses on the BNC ports labelled I/O? Is there any possibility of hooking >this up to anything modern? 3270 terminals use... 3270 protocol, at the lower levels, to send noises down a coax wire. At the higher levels, you get into heavy-duty blue-glue acronyms you don't want to touch with a condom-covered bargepole. Like BSC, SNA... <shivers>. Here's the trick. These 3270 terminals hook up, not directly to hosts (well, except for a few special cases), but to terminal controllers. The least ancient of these are type 3174 - search ebay for IBM 3174* and you'll find a few usually. 3174-2x are best. Pay $10-$50 perhaps. These normally hook up directly to mainframes, via bus/tag channels or escon, or remotely to mainframes, via modems and wierd IBM protocols. You want nothing to do with either. The 3174s also came with options for token ring (pretty cheap now) and ethernet (still ruinously expensive) attachment. Get one of those, and get the latest version of the controller microcode (C6.4 I think) from IBM. This magic microcode allows you to also use the 3174 as a telnet client - you boot the controller, power on any coax-attached 3270 terminals - and the terminal displays a screen which essentially allows you to type 'telnet <hostname>' and connect, like any other telnet client or serial terminal (but with a funky keyboard!). See http://www.corestore.org/emuterm.htm for some my adventures with this stuff! Mike http://www.corestore.org

21 years, 4 months

3
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Found 1954 IBM manual

by wacarder＠usit.net

Today I was cleaning out my room over the garage, which is where I have my home office and my *MODERN* computers. In the process of cleaning out one of the desk drawers, I found an old manual that I knew I had kept since college in the 1970s, but I had lost track of where it was. It's a 1954 "Preliminary Manual of Information" for IBM Electronic Data Processing Machines, Type 702. It's 83 pages long and has lots of interesting information on the 702 system and its related set of peripherals and other items. On page 4 is a picture of an installation, with some 727 Magnetic Tape Units, an operator's console, a 712 Card Reader, the 702 Arithmetic and Logic Unit, a 732 Magnetic Drum Storage Unit, a 722 Card Punch, and a 717 Printer. The main storage unit can hold a total of 10,000 characters, which are stored as dot and dash charges on 3" cathode ray tubes. Does anyone on this list remember this kind of system? It is really interesting reading, looking at this manual and comparing to where we are today, or even where we were back in the 1970s, when I picked this manual up from the "free giveaway" table outside our college's computer room. Does anyone know if this manual exists in scanned form? If not, I'll scan it and send it to Al Kossow to put on bitsavers. Ashley

21 years, 4 months

2
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IBM PC, MAC+, Misc related items free for postage

by wpileggi＠juno.com

These items free for postage from 19001 - manuals/media sent book/media rate. All in good or better condition. Macintosh Plus 1MB/kybd/mouse/cables/dustcover. Works, no boot floppies, 20 pounds. IBM PC "B", mfd. May, 1985. Works. 23-30 pounds. IBM AT Technical Reference 3 ring binder - purple. Empty. IBM Personal Computer AT - Guide to Operations. Full manual with floppies - slipcase. IBM Proprinter X24E and XL24E Hardware Maintenance and Service. Full manual - slipcase. Couple hundred 360Kb floppies, used. Email me off-list. Thanks, Bill. ________________________________________________________________ Juno Platinum $9.95. Juno SpeedBand $14.95. Sign up for Juno Today at http://www.juno.com! Look for special offers at Best Buy stores.

21 years, 4 months

1
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DEC colours

by r_a_feldman＠hotmail.com

Companies like Munsel and Macbeth make special color cards for manufacturers. I remember seeing one made for Matel in "Barbie Pink" at the Munsel booth at a National Design Engineering Show some years ago here in Chicago. More recently, I've seen a color card set, the SalmoFan ™ (http://www.smithandlowney.com/salmon/), for grading the color of farm-raised salmon. Message: 26 Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2004 18:04:31 -0800 (PST) From: Vintage Computer Festival <vcf(a)siconic.com> Subject: Re: DEC colours To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.33.0411191802070.21610-100000(a)siconic.com> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII On Fri, 19 Nov 2004, John Allain wrote: >like the problem of describing right and left to an alien. Where do you >get the reference colors in the first place? Guess one of us has to find >a vendor for the three swatches to mail to requesting parties. And how do we know if DEC maintained the same reference colors throughout their company history? And if so, perhaps they faded over time? Maybe someone played shenanigans and switched them out with similar but different colors at some point? Who knows? Who cares! Color matching by eye is "good enough". -- Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival

21 years, 4 months

1
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classiccmp server migrations

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

I am moving the websites off the old classiccmp server and onto the new one. This will be protracted over several days as I have time. After the sites are moved, then I'll dig into the mailman setup. So, anyone who has a free website on the classiccmp server (you all know who you are), please dont make changes to your sites for a few days. If you do, not a huge deal, just let me know and I'll make another pass for your site. Jay

21 years, 4 months

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