On Apr 17, 18:06, Nick Oliviero wrote:
> Jeffrey l Kaneko wrote:
>
> > BTW-- Are RL02's a maintainance nightmare? Do the advantages
> > of these drives outweigh the problems (not to mention their *size*,
> > or are they simply not worth it?
>
> I'll second Tony's comments re:maintenance&alignment. We've had two
> RL01's running on a 11/23 since 1980 and one RL02 on a 11/45 since
> 1991 and I can recall just one head crash in all that time. I'm no longer
> on the maintenance side, but I don't believe anyones changed the filters
> in the last 5 years. (I am not recommending this aproach)
Same sort of story with my pair of RL02s; they're not really in continuous
use, though they were for about 4-5 years, haven't had a filter change in
ten years, and they live in the garage. The only real incident was when a
spider decided that nice warm drive was a good place to live, made its home
amongst the heads, and came to a sticky end when the drive was spun up.
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Dept. of Computer Science
University of York
On Apr 17, 22:09, Peter Pachla wrote:
> >> It's a nice machine, but of little use with nothing but the OS
> >>installed. :-(
>
> > True :-) I've possibly got things that you might have a use for. It
> >depends on what you're interested, obviously. What would you like to
do?
>
> Initially, the main things I'm interested in are learning about the
system
> architecture and getting an assembler for it so I can try out ARM
assembly
> language.
Ah, well I might have an assembler somewhere -- there were two flavours:
one produced executable object code directly (I think) and the other
produced object modules which could be linked with modules produced by
high-level languages such as C, Fortran, and Pascal. I'm sure some of the
remaining Acorn web and/or FTP sites, like Stuttgart or HENSA, still have
instruction set lists.
But you don't even need that to get going -- BBC BASIC V contains a
reasonable 2-pass ARM assembler. It works just like the 6502 assembler in
BBC BASIC II (et al). Here's a sample so you seen what I mean (don't ask
me exactly how it works, it's intimatley bound up with the interactions
between the desktop palette, the OS palette, and the hardware palette, and
anyway I wrote this 12 years ago :-)):
REM part of palette control program for RISC OS 2.0
DIM code% 408
PROCassemble
REM main program loop here
REM followed by several other procedures/functions
DEF PROCsupremacy
CALL getpal : REM read actual colour mapping
D%=colour% : REM R3=colour%
H%=windowhandle% : REM R7=windowhandle%
CALL do_sup
ENDPROC
DEF PROCassemble
LOCAL cnt,sup,bm,sptr,vptr,val,ptr,ccol,sp,link,pass%
ptr=1 : ccol=3 : cnt=6 : sp=13 : link=14 : REM windowhandle passed in
R7
sup=10 : bm=4 : sptr=5 : vptr=8 : val=9 : REM arbitrary register
choice
log=0 : phys=1 : bpp=4 : wptr=5 : tmp=9
FOR pass%=0 TO 2 STEP 2
P%=code%
[ OPT pass%
.do_sup STMFD (sp)!, {link}
ADR sptr, supremacy% ; set up pointers
ADR vptr, vpalette%
LDR sup, [sptr] ; get supremacy word
MOV bm, #&80 ; supremacy bit mask
MOV R0, #12 ; for OSWORD 12
; In case of moving from 16-colour mode to 256-colour mode,
; we need all the clrs separate from all the sets - because
; several colours may share one physical palette register
ADD ptr, vptr, #95 ; ptr to last vpalette entry
MOV cnt, #19 ; counter
.clr TST sup, bm, LSL cnt ; s-bit for this palette entry
LDRB val, [ptr, #1]
AND val, val, #&7F
STRB val, [ptr, #1]
SWI "OS_Word"
SUB ptr, ptr, #5
SUBS cnt, cnt, #1
BPL clr
; Do sets after clrs to ensure that if any colour in a group
; is set, all will be. If we did set/clr together, might
; finish a group with a clear.
ADD ptr, vptr, #95 ; ptr to last vpalette entry
MOV cnt, #19 ; counter
.set TST bm, sup, LSR cnt ; s-bit for this palette entry
LDRNEB val, [ptr, #1]
ORRNE val, val, #&80
STRNEB val, [ptr, #1]
SWINE "OS_Word"
.next SUB ptr, ptr, #5
SUBS cnt, cnt, #1
BPL set
; If there is a current colour, and it should be clear, then
; we need to clear it explicitly in case it's been set as part
; of a group which is set
TST ccol, ccol ; see if there IS a current colour
BMI newsup
ADD ptr, ccol, ccol, ASL#2 ; if so, point to vpalette%+ccol*5
ADD ptr, ptr, vptr
LDRB val, [ptr, #1] ; get logical colour
ORR val, val, #&80
TST sup, bm, LSL ccol ; should it be set ?
ANDEQ val, val, #&7F ; clear supremacy if not
STRB val, [ptr, #1]
SWI "OS_Word"
; now we re-get supremacy in case of interactions above
.newsup ADD vptr, vptr, #95 ; ptr to final vpalette entry
MOV cnt, #19 ; counter
MOV val, #0
.nsloop LDRB R0, [vptr] ; logical colour
LDRB R1, [vptr, #1] ; supremacy+programming info
AND R1, R1, #&7F ; just programming info
SWI "OS_ReadPalette"
AND R2, R2, #&80 ; return just supremacy
ADD val, R2, val, LSL#1 ; shift into new supremacy word
AND R0, bm, sup, LSR cnt ; corresponding bit in old word
TEQ R0, R2 ; see if same
BLNE toggle
SUB vptr, vptr, #5
SUBS cnt, cnt, #1
BPL nsloop
STR val, [sptr]
LDMFD (sp)!, {PC} ; pop PC to return
.toggle ADR R1, wimp%+1024
SUB R1, R1, #1024
STR R7, [R1] ; wimp%!0=windowhandle%
STR cnt, [R1, #4] ; wimp%!4=icon% or cnt (ie R6)
CMP cnt, #16
MOVLT R11, #&00000005 ; depending on which icon,
MOVGE R11, #&77000000 ; change different things
STR R11, [R1, #8] ; wimp%!8=icon flags EOR word
MOV R11, #0
STR R11, [R1, #12] ; wimp%!12=icon flags clear word
SWI "Wimp_SetIconState"
MOVS pc, link
.getpal MVN R0, #0 ; get bits-per-pixel for mode#-1
MOV R1, #9
SWI "OS_ReadModeVariable"
MOV bpp, R2 ; save Log2BPP
ADR wptr, wpalette%
MOV R1, wptr
SWI "Wimp_ReadPalette" ; get wimp palette mappings
ADR vptr, vpalette%
ADD vptr, vptr, #95
MOV cnt, #19
.pal CMP cnt, #16
LDRMIB log, [wptr, cnt, LSL#2] ; get colour programming info
ANDPL log, cnt, #7 ; for 16-19, log=cnt MOD 16
MOVMI phys, #16
MOVEQ phys, #24
MOVHI phys, #25
BPL lc_ok
CMP bpp, #3 ; if 256 colours, GCOL => LogColNo
ANDEQ tmp, log, #&40
ANDEQ log, log, #7
ADDEQ log, log, tmp, LSR#3
.lc_ok STRB log, [vptr]
SWI "OS_ReadPalette"
BIC R2, R2, #&1F ; correct physical colour
ADD R2, R2, phys
MOV tmp, #3
.byte STRB R2, [vptr, #1]! ; save RGB, prog info, supremacy
MOV R2, R2, LSR#8
SUBS tmp, tmp, #1
BPL byte
SUB vptr, vptr, #9
SUBS cnt, cnt, #1
BPL pal
MOV pc, link
; claims upcall to permit OS_ChangeDynamicArea
; as it does no checking, it must only be enabled immediately prior
; to calling OS_ChangeDynamicArea, and disabled immediately
thereafter
.upcall MOV R0, #0
LDMFD R13!, {PC}
]
NEXT pass%
ENDPROC
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Dept. of Computer Science
University of York
On Mon, 17 Apr 2000 12:35:56 -0400 (EDT) allisonp(a)world.std.com writes:
> > Has anybody ever ripped the Low Level formatter
> > from the XXDP+ diskpack and put the needed components
> > onto a floppy (of some sort)?
> >
> > I'm contemplating attempting to do this myself,
> > but in case it's been done already, I'd just as
> > soon as not re-invent the wheel.
>
> It's doable. You need to create a bootable XXDP disk and copy the
> required formatter to it. not much more than that required.
I figured as much; I was just probing to see if anyone had already
done it.
BTW-- Are RL02's a maintainance nightmare? Do the advantages
of these drives outweigh the problems (not to mention their *size*,
or are they simply not worth it?
Jeff
________________________________________________________________
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Hello, all:
This weekend I finished archiving my Mac diskette collection. I copied them
to the hard drive of my Mac SE as a safety maneuver. Once I have a little mo
re time, I'll make images of them on the gs, move the images to the PC and b
urn a CD of them.
Anyway, I found two diskettes which have unrecoverable errors. If anyone ha
s these that they can image and send my way, I'd appreciate it:
Microsoft Basic Interpreter, version 2.10 (single disk)
Microsoft Basic Interpreter, version 3.00 (disk 2 of 2)
Thanks again.
Rich
[ Rich Cini
[ ClubWin!/CW1
[ MCP Windows 95/Windows Networking
[ Collector of "classic" computers
[ <http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/>
<================ reply separator =================>
>I seem to remember that the IDE standard that I read said that the
>command/status registers were all 8 bits (and mapped to the lower 8 data
>lines). Only the data register was 16 bits, and the drive would assert
>I/OCS16 when that was accessed and at no other time. Of course I have no
>idea how modern drives handle this...
This is still true for all the ones I've worked with (up to 528mb). Based
on how the larger ones work in older systems they should be identical. The
emulation is supposed to be WD1003 controller and based on the work I've
done with them
it rings true. This is why every 8bit system example you see the data path
is folded somehow to 8bits.
While reading the spec I discovered that Set_IO_8bit command and did a,
Wow this will help. Never could make it do what is written in the spec. I
suspect the drive never read the spec. If it worked I'm sure the 8bit
community
like those that did the GIDE, COCO IDE and others would have jumped on that.
Allison
I've been sorting through a large pile of Shugart 800's and 801's here,
and many of them have goo on the head stepper lead screw. It looks
like white lithium grease, undoubtedly put there by a previous owner
or all-thumbs tech, as the Shugart manuals say (section 3.3):
Do not lubricate the SA800/801; oil will allow dust and dirt to
accumulate.
However the goo got there on the leadscrew, it's so thick now that it's
quite difficult to turn it - not only is the stepper motor not up to the
job, I can barely turn it by hand in some cases.
I have found that "Liquid Wrench" (yes, that stuff you get at the auto
parts store) does a pretty good job of at least softening the goo temporarily,
enough so that I can actually run the drive through diagnostics,
but eventually the solvents evaporate and I'm left with thick goo. Is
there an easy way to clean this goo off without completely disassembling
the stepper motor/leadscrew assembly and doing the subsequent realignment?
I can go in and do a half-assed job of cleaning the goo off the threads
with Q-tips and skewers, but there's really a lot there and this doesn't
get it all.
--
Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com
Trailing Edge Technology WWW: http://www.trailing-edge.com/
7328 Bradley Blvd Voice: 301-767-5917
Bethesda, MD, USA 20817 Fax: 301-767-5927
As an aside to the 8-bit IDE thread, I was wondering whether anyone knew
where I could find the specification for the Matsushita CD-ROM interface
used on Panasonic and Creative Labs drives?
I have a "CR-562-B" I'd like to interface to a non-PC machine you see....
TTFN - Pete.
--
Hardware & Software Engineer. Sound Engineer.
Collector of Arcade Machines, Games Consoles & Obsolete Computers (esp DEC)
peter.pachla(a)wintermute.org.uk | www.wintermute.org.uk
--
In a message dated 4/14/00 11:30:19 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
allisonp(a)world.std.com writes:
> Heres a PS2/50z question.
>
> Mine only has 1meg, looks like 72pin simm but none I have seem work.
> All of them happen to be 8x32 (16chip).
>
> There is only one SIMM socket. What is the limit for ram (max)?
> Where can I get something bigger than 1mb?
>
> As my internal network progresses this box has value as I have a SMC 10bt
> NIC for it. I figure OS/2 warp V3 or Win3.1 would be a good os for it.
> Being 286 there are few unix based OSs with a networking that run well on
> it.
>
> That and its just too silly not to.
the only version of OS2 that will work on the mod50 is 1.3. any OS2 version
with built in windows support requires 386 or higher. you can put in various
memory cards to goto max supported mem of 16meg. plus, the hard drive has bus
attachment with only 160meg size being the biggest i've seen.
DB Young ICQ: 29427634
view the computers of yesteryear at
http://members.aol.com/suprdave/classiccmp/museum.htm
--You can lead a whore to Vassar, but you can't make her think--
-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Pachla <peter.pachla(a)wintermute.org.uk>
> > Actually the documentation is good but also there is tons of it worse
> >than the vax grey wall if you try to get it all in one place....
>
>That's very interesting, both the local college and factory I worked at had
>support contracts with M$ but we were unable to get much more information
>than what comes in the "user guide" out of them.
Between technet Cdroms and microsoft press I have far more info about NT3.51
then I can possible use and yet I can't find what I need when (or
even around when) I need it. it's so convoluted and random as to be
useless.
The gray wall at least has a useful index and the structure for the gray is
the same as the orange before it. But then again you pay $3000 for VMS!
Then again I paid nearly that for NT4 and 50 clients... and got that horrid
0.250 inch thick thing the call a book and all the helpfines I can stand on
CDrom.
>I must admit, I'm a little concerned with the way things are headed in the
>Linux world right now. But then at least the underlying OS is lean and
>stable and you can pare down your installation any way you want. My recent
>Win2K test installation, OTOH, came in at well over 600Mb, and insisted on
>installing piles of stuff which I neither want nor use (like the
>accessibility options) with no way of uninstalling them....without going to
>a LOT of trouble anyway.
True, and all the bugs too! Thats why I went with NT4, it's finally mature.
Allison
On Apr 2, 19:44, Peter Pachla wrote:
> Actually, do you know of any sites which cover the A4000?
>
> I got one about 6 months back, and despite asking in the appropriate
> newsgroups have been unable to find any useful sites on the web thus far
-
> all the ones I was pointed at were either no longer there or were of
> manufacturers of hardware for RiscPCs....
>
> It's a nice machine, but of little use with nothing but the OS installed.
> :-(
True :-) I've possibly got things that you might have a use for. It
depends on what you're interested, obviously. What would you like to do?
Is there any extra hardware (I expect not much, as an A4000 is baically an
A3000 re-boxed)?
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Dept. of Computer Science
University of York
