14 Apr
2016
14 Apr
'16
10:28 a.m.
On Apr 14, 2016, at 12:05 PM, Josh Dersch <JoshD at LivingComputerMuseum.org>
wrote:
We used to swap packs between Diablo?s and RK05?s all the time. We had third party Qbus
controller (18bit!) on an 11/73 and an RK11D on a PDP11/34. Never had an interchange
problem.
Jerry
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Al Kossow
Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2016 9:58 AM
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
Subject: Re: Xerox Alto on eBay
On 4/14/16 9:55 AM, Josh Dersch wrote:
Yes, I've re-used a handful of 12-sector packs formerly used on a PDP-11 in an RK05
without any issues. I suppose it might be possible that if the alignments of the Diablo
in the Alto and the RK05 used to write the pack originally are off by enough that there
could be some odd issues (old data left halfway between the new tracks?) but that's
purely speculation on my part. Bulk erasing certainly couldn't hurt.
- Josh
If anyone out there ends up with a working Alto
and needs working media,
we can help out in that regard (assuming you provide
usable packs).
Have you ever gotten a pack from an RK05 to write?
I've tried a couple of times without luck and have wondered if they needed
to be bulk-erased first.