25 Oct
2010
25 Oct
'10
8:45 p.m.
I recently acquired a small truckload of DEC and Wang equipment which
I am starting to sort and inventory in my garage. The DEC is mostly
accounted for (tho will lead to later questions here) but I know far
less about the Wang stuff. It seems Google does, too. I've got a few
larger units plus a number of boards - it appears the stuff originally
came from a repair shop and/or dealer. I've photographed two pieces:
The first I'm not even sure of the make - its colors sort of suggest
DEC but I'm leaning toward it being a Wang printer stand:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Silent700/MysteryCart#
The second is a Wang Word Processor, model 5506-A. Google has much on
earlier WPs from them, but nothing on this model:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Silent700/Wang5506AWordProcessor#
What I find especially strange about this one is that it's called a
"Word Processor," suggesting it is a complete system, yet it has ports
for neither storage nor a printer. Could it be a terminal to a
networked (WangNet) system? Still, the only ports on the back are
Video and Keyboard - both of which it has built-in. They could be aux
video in or out, or an attachment for an add-on keyboard?
The 5506 is practically mint. The guy I got it from said he had the
original box but it was in such bad shape he tossed it :( There is
still shipping plastic on the space bar and the screen. Turning it
on shows a blank greenscreen - turning up the brightness shows
diagonal lines, so there may be a display problem.
Hoping for clues! More to come...
--
jht
25 Oct
25 Oct
9:36 p.m.
On 2010 Oct 25, at 8:45 PM, Jason T wrote:
The second is a Wang Word Processor, model 5506-A. Google has much on
earlier WPs from them, but nothing on this model:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Silent700/Wang5506AWordProcessor#
What I find especially strange about this one is that it's called a
"Word Processor," suggesting it is a complete system, yet it has ports
for neither storage nor a printer. Could it be a terminal to a
networked (WangNet) system? Still, the only ports on the back are
Video and Keyboard - both of which it has built-in. They could be aux
video in or out, or an attachment for an add-on keyboard?
I'll hazard a guess it is a very-dumb terminal: the connectors could be
video-in for the monitor and keyboard-out, the smarts all being
elsewhere. Could open it up and see how much (if any) logic is in
there.
The 5506 is practically mint. The guy I got it from
said he had the
original box but it was in such bad shape he tossed it :( There is
still shipping plastic on the space bar and the screen. Turning it
on shows a blank greenscreen - turning up the brightness shows
diagonal lines, so there may be a display problem.
Sounds like the retrace becoming visible, turning up the brightness on
a raster scan often shows this, notably the horizontal scan lines
during the vertical retrace interval show up as angled lines.
11:24 p.m.
-very very dim memory here-
I had some exposure to these at the UW ACC (University of Washington
Academic Computing Center) years ago.
ISTR that the video is a 75 ohm input, you might be able to feed composite
video in to it, the unit was cabled up to a unit with 8" drives and the guts
of the word processor in it. Also those things had a bad habit of eating
disks, the drive kept spinning with the heads loaded at all times, if you
powered it off without going through the usual shut down procedure you more
often than not corrupted the data on whatever sector the head was over when
you power-cycled it.
Please be kind to me, this was probably 20-30 years ago now that I was
around any of these.
On 10/25/10 9:36 PM, "Brent Hilpert" <hilpert at cs.ubc.ca> wrote:
On 2010 Oct 25, at 8:45 PM, Jason T wrote:
The second is a Wang Word Processor, model 5506-A. Google has much on
earlier WPs from them, but nothing on this model:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Silent700/Wang5506AWordProcessor#
What I find especially strange about this one is that it's called a
"Word Processor," suggesting it is a complete system, yet it has ports
for neither storage nor a printer. Could it be a terminal to a
networked (WangNet) system? Still, the only ports on the back are
Video and Keyboard - both of which it has built-in. They could be aux
video in or out, or an attachment for an add-on keyboard?
I'll hazard a guess it is a very-dumb terminal: the connectors could be
video-in for the monitor and keyboard-out, the smarts all being
elsewhere. Could open it up and see how much (if any) logic is in
there.
The 5506 is practically mint. The guy I got it
from said he had the
original box but it was in such bad shape he tossed it :( There is
still shipping plastic on the space bar and the screen. Turning it
on shows a blank greenscreen - turning up the brightness shows
diagonal lines, so there may be a display problem.
Sounds like the retrace becoming visible, turning up the brightness on
a raster scan often shows this, notably the horizontal scan lines
during the vertical retrace interval show up as angled lines.
26 Oct
26 Oct
8:41 a.m.
On Mon, Oct 25, 2010 at 11:36 PM, Brent Hilpert <hilpert at cs.ubc.ca> wrote:
I'll hazard a guess it is a very-dumb terminal:
the connectors could be
video-in for the monitor and keyboard-out, the smarts all being elsewhere.
This is about all that makes sense to me, too, given those ports. I'm
still quite surprised though that no one has seen one and that Google
comes up empty, too. And this isn't a one-off product from some
garage - Wang was a major manufacturer for a time.
How much other unknown ccmp is out there?
10:18 a.m.
On Oct 26, 2010, at 11:41 AM, Jason T wrote:
On Mon, Oct 25, 2010 at 11:36 PM, Brent Hilpert
<hilpert at cs.ubc.ca> wrote:
I have one. It integrates with my Wang word processing base. Has a printer and disk
drive built in the base.
Rob
Robert Borsuk
rborsuk at colourfull.com
Colourfull Creations
http://www.colourfull.com
I'll hazard a guess it is a very-dumb
terminal: the connectors could be
video-in for the monitor and keyboard-out, the smarts all being elsewhere.
This is about all that makes sense to me, too, given those ports. I'm
still quite surprised though that no one has seen one and that Google
comes up empty, too. And this isn't a one-off product from some
garage - Wang was a major manufacturer for a time.
How much other unknown ccmp is out there? 
3:36 p.m.
In article <AANLkTim=gP7WE+ja_X4Vzs+RdHDDESao-dX-Yi9euWMR at mail.gmail.com>,
Jason T <silent700 at gmail.com> writes:
On Mon, Oct 25, 2010 at 11:36 PM, Brent Hilpert
<hilpert at cs.ubc.ca> wrote:
Looks like you have the standalone terminal that goes with the 2200
LVP system described here. (Look at the photo.)
<http://wang2200.org/systems.html>
--
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Legalize Adulthood! <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>
I'll hazard a guess it is a very-dumb
terminal: the connectors could be
video-in for the monitor and keyboard-out, the smarts all being elsewhere.
This is about all that makes sense to me, too, given those ports. I'm
still quite surprised though that no one has seen one and that Google
comes up empty, too. And this isn't a one-off product from some
garage - Wang was a major manufacturer for a time.
3:51 p.m.
On Tue, Oct 26, 2010 at 5:36 PM, Richard <legalize at xmission.com> wrote:
Looks like you have the standalone terminal that goes
with the 2200
LVP system described here. ?(Look at the photo.)
<http://wang2200.org/systems.html>
It sure does....hmm, I wouldn't have expected this term to be that
old. Further down the page, it looks like it was used with the big WP
box (2200LVP,) too.
I also acquired an odd white box that almost looks like an IBM
terminal controller. It's got the WangNet (one coax, one BNC)
connection on it as well as a 25pin (serial?) connector. It turns on
and hums and that's it. I'll post its details as soon as I clean it
up.
At some point all this stuff will be up for trade, so if there's
anyone out there more in to Wangs than I am, stay tuned...
-j
8:30 p.m.
In article <AANLkTi=2c892s2wUVjv9mszSvDR77-JKkOybzbBdy9bh at mail.gmail.com>,
Jason T <silent700 at gmail.com> writes:
On Tue, Oct 26, 2010 at 5:36 PM, Richard <legalize
at xmission.com> wrote:
I get the impression that Wang reused this same enclosure for lots of
different products. I have a Wang terminal that is obviously RS-232
in nature and it has the same enclosure as yours and the 2200s. So
visual similarity doesn't guarantee its the same product. Wang died
off before the interent got big, so its one of those companies where
its hard to find information online. Intergraph's Clipper
workstations are another example of this information void, even though
Intergraph is still doing well as a company.
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download
<http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com/the-direct3d-graphics-pipeline/>
Legalize Adulthood! <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>
Looks like you have the standalone terminal that
goes with the 2200
LVP system described here. (Look at the photo.)
<http://wang2200.org/systems.html>
It sure does....hmm, I wouldn't have expected this term to be that
old. Further down the page, it looks like it was used with the big WP
box (2200LVP,) too.
8:57 p.m.
New subject: Unknown Wangs (Intergraph Clipper Stations)
On Oct 26, 2010, at 11:30 PM, Richard wrote:
Intergraph's Clipper
workstations are another example of this information void, even though
Intergraph is still doing well as a company.
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download
<http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com/the-direct3d-graphics-pipeline/>
Legalize Adulthood! <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>
Yeah, I got one of the desk side clipper computers and can't find nothing on it.
Always pains me when you can't find a manual.
Robert Borsuk
rborsuk at colourfull.com
Colourfull Creations
http://www.colourfull.com
10:23 p.m.
New subject: Unknown Wangs (Intergraph Clipper Stations)
On 10/26/10 11:57 PM, Robert Borsuk wrote:
I'm pretty sure I still have databooks on the processor chipset, but
nothing on the systems.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
Intergraph's Clipper
workstations are another example of this information void, even though
Intergraph is still doing well as a company.
Yeah, I got one of the desk side clipper computers and can't find nothing on it.
Always pains me when you can't find a manual.
27 Oct
27 Oct
9:28 a.m.
New subject: Intergraph Clipper Stations
On Oct 27, 2010, at 1:23 AM, Dave McGuire wrote:
On 10/26/10 11:57 PM, Robert Borsuk wrote:
I'm pretty sure I still have databooks on the processor chipset, but nothing on the
systems.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
Hi Dave,
I have an Intergraph Series 6700 (had to unbury it to remember what it was). Are the
books you have different then the Fairchild ones on BitSavers ?
Rob
Robert Borsuk
rborsuk at colourfull.com
Colourfull Creations
http://www.colourfull.com
Intergraph's Clipper
workstations are another example of this information void, even though
Intergraph is still doing well as a company.
Yeah, I got one of the desk side clipper computers and can't find nothing on it.
Always pains me when you can't find a manual.
3:58 p.m.
New subject: Intergraph Clipper Stations
In article <0266A8A4-22CC-4847-B8C1-2C2C6C01419A at colourfull.com>,
Robert Borsuk <rborsuk at colourfull.com> writes:
Are the books you have different then the Fairchild
ones on BitSavers ?
I have one at home; it might be this one:
<http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/fairchild/clipper/AD7640011_Introduction_to_the_Clipper_Architecture_May86.pdf>
But I'll have to check. Other than that, which I purchased
separately from the machines, I have no docs. Apparently the machines
I have a fairly complete though.
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download
<http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com/the-direct3d-graphics-pipeline/>
Legalize Adulthood! <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>
28 Oct
28 Oct
6:59 p.m.
New subject: Intergraph Clipper Stations
This is the book I have:
CLIPPER C300
32-Bit Compute Engine
Advance Information
Data Sheet
Sept 1988
DCLP11800-5K
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download
<http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com/the-direct3d-graphics-pipeline/>
Legalize Adulthood! <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>
27 Oct
27 Oct
3:27 p.m.
New subject: Unknown Wangs (Intergraph Clipper Stations)
In article <D3AA12C0-6F19-4951-B720-727A34406DB9 at colourfull.com>,
Robert Borsuk <rborsuk at colourfull.com> writes:
Yeah, I got one of the desk side clipper computers and
can't find nothing on
it.
Always pains me when you can't find a manual.
Which model do you have? Does it look like these?
<http://picasaweb.google.com/legalize.slc/Intergraph#>
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download
<http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com/the-direct3d-graphics-pipeline/>
Legalize Adulthood! <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>
28 Oct
28 Oct
7:11 a.m.
New subject: Unknown Wangs (Intergraph Clipper Stations)
On Oct 27, 2010, at 6:27 PM, Richard wrote:
In article <D3AA12C0-6F19-4951-B720-727A34406DB9 at colourfull.com>,
Robert Borsuk <rborsuk at colourfull.com> writes:
No, mine looks different. I took some pics of it this morning (even used the Kodak, not
the iPhone)
http://picasaweb.google.com/rborsuk
I don't have anything else for it. It's an orphan in my collection. One of those
deals that I couldn't pass up but now I ask what I'm going to do with it.
Rob
Robert Borsuk
rborsuk at colourfull.com
Colourfull Creations
http://www.colourfull.com
Yeah, I got one of the desk side clipper
computers and can't find nothing on
it.
Always pains me when you can't find a manual.
Which model do you have? Does it look like these?
<http://picasaweb.google.com/legalize.slc/Intergraph#>
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download
<http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com/the-direct3d-graphics-pipeline/>
Legalize Adulthood! <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>
10:23 a.m.
New subject: Unknown Wangs (Intergraph Clipper Stations)
In article <AE5D6E6E-54C2-4A8D-8201-06C4B3380CC4 at colourfull.com>,
Robert Borsuk <rborsuk at colourfull.com> writes:
On Oct 27, 2010, at 6:27 PM, Richard wrote:
Kodak, not the iPhone)
I am not an expert on this, but my guess is that I have the "smaller"
version of the workstation (holds fewer expansion boards) and you have
the "larger" version of the workstation.
They use a custom keyboard which you can see in the album I posted
above. I believe the monitor is a standard 13W3 style connection.
Mine came with tablets and pucks, but no docs and I haven't opened the
case to see if the hard drives are still present.
E&S and SGI both made similar "smaller" and "larger" versions of
the
same workstation, with the only significant difference being the
number of boards you could add into the system (which sometimes had
implications for how much graphics you could put into the system as
well).
If you want someone to adopt your orphan, I'm willing :-).
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download
<http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com/the-direct3d-graphics-pipeline/>
Legalize Adulthood! <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>
Which model do you have? Does it look like
these?
<http://picasaweb.google.com/legalize.slc/Intergraph#>
No, mine looks different. I took some pics of it this morning (even used the 
26 Oct
26 Oct
9:07 p.m.
Intergraph's Clipper
workstations are another example of this information void, even though
Intergraph is still doing well as a company.
Mostly because the company is run by a bunch of dicks. Very hobbyist unfriendly.
RCS has a bunch of Intergraph stuff, including a Intergraph tagged VAX
(8250?) with custom hard disk hardware to search for graphics
primitives (hell of a way to run a railroad).
--
Will
27 Oct
27 Oct
3:28 p.m.
New subject: Intergraph Clipper (was: Unknown Wangs)
In article <AANLkTi=XXY2kODKBuDqxvTeFVr0ALi-Ty=pj5j1dr9Es at mail.gmail.com>,
William Donzelli <wdonzelli at gmail.com> writes:
RCS has a bunch of Intergraph stuff, including a
Intergraph tagged VAX
(8250?) with custom hard disk hardware to search for graphics
primitives (hell of a way to run a railroad).
...and they never respond to inquiries. I've emailed them several
times and they never bothered to reply. If you could kick some tires
with a personal contact, that would be appreciated.
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download
<http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com/the-direct3d-graphics-pipeline/>
Legalize Adulthood! <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>
28 Oct
28 Oct
9:05 p.m.
New subject: Intergraph Clipper (was: Unknown Wangs)
...and they never respond to inquiries. ?I've
emailed them several
times and they never bothered to reply. ?If you could kick some tires
with a personal contact, that would be appreciated.
Yes, they are good at hiding under a rock.
I will prod. Again.
--
Will
11:26 p.m.
On 10/25/10 11:09 PM, "Jason T" <silent700 at gmail.com> wrote:
On Tue, Oct 26, 2010 at 12:54 AM, Doc Shipley <doc
at vaxen.net> wrote:
My favorite memory was when I was at the ACC, and some grad student had the
wang word processor crash and he couldn't get it to boot up, he went up to
the help-desk in the facility, tears streaming down his face "My wang won't
come up"
Damn near the whole ACC burst out laughing.
?I don't know anything at all about Wang computers, but I did get a good
chortle out of the subject line.
You don't know how hard it was to stop there...
26 Oct
26 Oct
5:55 a.m.
I don't
know anything at all about Wang computers, but I did get a good
chortle out of the subject line.
You don't know how hard it was to stop there... 
30 Oct
30 Oct
3:01 a.m.
On Oct 25, 2010, at 9:45 PM, Jason T wrote:
The first I'm not even sure of the make - its colors sort of suggest
DEC but I'm leaning toward it being a Wang printer stand:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Silent700/MysteryCart#
Apologies if somebody already answered this. I am almost certain this is a wang disk drive
stand. IMaybe for a 2280 but I am not 100% sure.
Paul
5167
days inactive
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23 comments
10 participants
participants (10)
-
doc＠vaxen.net -
geoffr＠zipcon.net -
hilpert＠cs.ubc.ca -
legalize＠xmission.com -
mcguire＠neurotica.com -
paul0926＠comcast.net -
rborsuk＠colourfull.com -
silent700＠gmail.com -
spectre＠floodgap.com -
wdonzelli＠gmail.com