17 Jun
2002
17 Jun
'02
5:35 p.m.
In Wellington, New Zealand, a large proportion of the
traffic lights in
the central city (A city of 450,000 people) is controlled by a
PDP11/34a.
This 11/34a has been in place since 1981, I believe,
and since it just
continually does its job, its yet to be replaced.
They use a VAX of some description as a backup unit.
At last count - which was maybe 3 or 4 years ago now - the unit hadn't
been power cycled since '84.
The really amazing part to all this is that they apparently haven't had
a power failure in 18 years...
18 Jun
18 Jun
10:38 a.m.
New subject: Computers in cars (PDP11/34a in NZ)
On Mon, 17 Jun 2002, Geoffrey G. Rochat wrote:
Ever heard of a UPS?
JP
At last count -
which was maybe 3 or 4 years ago now - the unit hadn't
been power cycled since '84.
The really amazing part to all this is that they apparently haven't had
a power failure in 18 years... 
10:51 a.m.
New subject: Computers in cars (PDP11/34a in NZ)
On Mon, 17 Jun 2002, Geoffrey G. Rochat wrote:
Ever heard of a UPS?
Yes, I hear UPS's all the time, down in the machine room. They're the boxes
that are always beeping to tell us their very few years old batteries arent
working anymore. We connect them to our uninterruptable power, which is fed
by two separate power stations and some device switches power immediately
if one feed loses power. That device hasnt worked properly in the 12 years
its been installed...
So much for a 12-13 year old, 'modern' computer science building.
-Lawrence LeMay
At last
count - which was maybe 3 or 4 years ago now - the unit hadn't
been power cycled since '84.
The really amazing part to all this is that they apparently haven't had
a power failure in 18 years...
11:13 a.m.
New subject: Computers in cars (PDP11/34a in NZ)
On Tue, 18 Jun 2002, Lawrence LeMay wrote:
> > The really amazing part to all this is that
they apparently haven't had
> > a power failure in 18 years...
> Ever heard of a UPS?
Yes, I hear UPS's all the time, down in the
machine room. They're the boxes
that are always beeping to tell us their very few years old batteries arent
working anymore. We connect them to our uninterruptable power, which is fed
by two separate power stations and some device switches power immediately
if one feed loses power. That device hasnt worked properly in the 12 years
its been installed...
Heh. The big APC UPS at the ISP I worked at we had running bets that in a
power outage it'd last maybe 12 seconds.
When the power outage came, who'd a thought? 15 minutes! A record.
The last I heard, the longest uptime for any machine was a Digital Tandem
in a mine complex in Arizona, 22 years, and that was back in 2000.
Not surprisingly it was Compaq dudes trying to sell me an AlphaServer at
the time, but I believe him.
JP
12:26 p.m.
New subject: Computers in cars
When I think of computers in cars, I think of the little
Zemco Compucruise that I put in my '69 Mustang back in 1980.
Anyone else out there had one? It was nifty, calculating
instantaneous MPG, ETA, cruise control (with a nifty feature
to accelerate to a given speed), temperature monitoring, etc.
Before the Mustang went off to a new owner, I removed all
the parts and put them in a bag. Years later, I found a
Usenet message from my old friend Dale Luck (of Amiga Corp.)
looking for Compucruise parts. Off it went.
- John
12:59 p.m.
New subject: Computers in cars
Still have one of those too... Removed it from my old Chevy Citation when
I sold it and never re-installed it in anything....
George
=========================================================
George L. Rachor Jr. george(a)rachors.com
Hillsboro, Oregon http://rachors.com
United States of America Amateur Radio : KD7DCX
On Tue, 18 Jun 2002, John Foust wrote:
When I think of computers in cars, I think of the little
Zemco Compucruise that I put in my '69 Mustang back in 1980.
Anyone else out there had one? It was nifty, calculating
instantaneous MPG, ETA, cruise control (with a nifty feature
to accelerate to a given speed), temperature monitoring, etc.
Before the Mustang went off to a new owner, I removed all
the parts and put them in a bag. Years later, I found a
Usenet message from my old friend Dale Luck (of Amiga Corp.)
looking for Compucruise parts. Off it went.
- John
1:05 p.m.
New subject: Computers in cars
On Tue, 18 Jun 2002, John Foust wrote:
When I think of computers in cars, I think of the
little
Zemco Compucruise that I put in my '69 Mustang back in 1980.
Anyone else out there had one? It was nifty, calculating
instantaneous MPG, ETA, cruise control (with a nifty feature
to accelerate to a given speed), temperature monitoring, etc.
Before the Mustang went off to a new owner, I removed all
the parts and put them in a bag. Years later, I found a
Usenet message from my old friend Dale Luck (of Amiga Corp.)
looking for Compucruise parts. Off it went.
IF I can ever find it again, d'ya want another (actually 2 or them, with
some sensors missing from one) Both model 44.
--
Fred Cisin cisin(a)xenosoft.com
XenoSoft http://www.xenosoft.com
PO Box 1236 (510) 558-9366
Berkeley, CA 94701-1236
3:47 p.m.
New subject: Computers in cars
On Tue, 18 Jun 2002, John Foust wrote:
When I think of computers in cars, I think of the
little
Zemco Compucruise that I put in my '69 Mustang back in 1980.
Anyone else out there had one? It was nifty, calculating
instantaneous MPG, ETA, cruise control (with a nifty feature
to accelerate to a given speed), temperature monitoring, etc.
I have a car computer but not the one you speak of, though it's the same
vintage. I can't recall the manufacturer.
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
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7 comments
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-
cisin＠xenosoft.com -
foo＠siconic.com -
geoff＠pkworks.com -
george＠racsys.rt.rain.com -
jfoust＠threedee.com -
jplist＠globe.net.nz -
lemay＠cs.umn.edu