Symbolics 3650.. and Toobs! - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

19 Mar 1998

...
  Date: Wed, 18 Mar 1998 10:41:49 -0700
 From: Jack Harper &lt;jharper(a)bs2000.com&gt;
 To: classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu
 Subject: Symbolics 3650.. 
...

 Question - I very recently obtained a Symbolics 3650 lisp machine -- along
 with six large boxes of associated 'stuff'. With luck, I hope to get this
 beast back to life -- it apparently worked prior to being shipped to me (by
 truck) but I obviously expect some problems. Does anyone on the List have
 any experience or have any available spare parts or documentation -- or,
 most important, actual experience with Symbolics lisp machines??? 
I also have a big Symbolics and supposedly some documentation, but I
haven't opened any of the boxes so I don't know whats there. I don't
have any experience with these machines and don't expect to be able to
try mine any time soon, but other than that would be happy to share
experiences. I also have contacts in a shop that ran them fairly
recently, but they are a startup (of sorts) so don't have spare time to
hold our hands.

Corresponded with a fellow who has a complete listing of LISP 1.5, we
talked about how to get it into machine readable form so it could run on
a 7090 emulator. Definitely something I'd like to see happen. If you run
across any LISP on 7-track tape I can read it.

...
  ------------------------------

 Date: Wed, 18 Mar 1998 14:12:28 -0500 (EST)
 From: William Donzelli &lt;william(a)ans.net&gt;
 To: classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu
 Subject: Toobs! 
...

 I now have sitting on my desk six modules from an IBM 700 series
 mainframe, destined for the Mill at RCS/RI. Of course, six modules does
 not make a computer, but I think we should at least try them out, just to
 see how badly they perform. 
If they are from a 704, 705 or 709 or ancillary equipment I may have
module diagrams. Look for a 4-digit number rubber stamped on the metal
on the tube side, also there may be a 6-digit part number. To get an
idea of what machine they might be from list the tube types. For
instance, the higher performance 704/709 modules used mostly 5965's in
the processor. Also look at the parts on the sides, logic modules have
resistors and lots of diodes and maybe a few inductors. Other modules
will have few or no diodes. One common module from card equipment has a
small double row of core memory in the middle near the connector.

Paul Pierce
http://www.teleport.com/~prp/collect/