Re: Fwd: Chasing Digiac...

[allison via cctalk]

Huge temporal disconnect.

The smcc manual is from 1966...  S100 was first seen as the MITS altair
in late 1974.

Allison


On 09/17/2017 03:03 PM, Ed via cctalk wrote:
> well there is  this total  cool  book and picture! 
>  
> http://www.smecc.org/digiac.htm
>  
> we  would love to  find the system!
>  
>  
>   
> 
>  From: cctalk@classiccmp.org
> Reply-to: ge...@deltasoft.com
> To:  cctalk@classiccmp.org
> Sent: 9/17/2017 11:55:38 A.M. US Mountain Standard  Time
> Subj: Chasing Digiac...
>
>
> I'm trying to find out more information about a Digiac 4500  S-100 bus 
> system that will eventually be coming my way.  The machine  was originally 
> obtained through an estate sale and all the docs were  thrown out. :(
>
> It appears to be some kind of computer system trainer,  but information on 
> the 'net is VERY scarce.  In fact, the only time  I've found "Digiac 4500" 
> _anywhere_ is where it's listed as having  software support in an ad for a 
> robot  arm.
>
> Thanks!
>
> g.
>
>

updates to the Little Orphan Tomy Tutor site

[Cameron Kaiser via cctalk]

The Little Orphan Tomy Tutor site has finally been updated again:

* Tutti II 2.0, the tape-enabled Tomy Tutor emulator, is updated with lots of
  core fixes (including a new ALU core derived from MAME/MESS), improved
  faster graphics with fixed 9918A palette, and all-new high quality
  SN76489AN sound emulation. Still running on any Power Mac or Intel Mac
  from 10.4 to 10.12 (and AltiVec-accelerated on G4 and G5 computers).

* New demotapes (compatible with Tutti II), including four of the Japanese
  Pyuuta cassette "games" converted for American systems, and another James
  Host masterpiece BASIC game.

* Expanded BASIC programming section with more keywords.

* More screenshots and entries on the Tomy Tutor catalogue.

* Updated trade list.

* Other custodial changes.

See you there: http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/

Next up is some additional photos, particularly of my Pyuuta PR1000 cassette
deck and the Pyuuta-kun I got off Yahoo! JP, and some upgrades for XTOMYDEV
to do proper quantization of sound input on a wider array of systems. I'm
hoping to have that done in a couple more months.

-- 
 personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ --
  Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com
-- It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail. -- Gore Vidal ---

Re: ICL 1501 terminal available in Sweden.

[Ed Sharpe via cctalk]

looks like a good catch for someone... we have never seen these before   
Ed# 

Sent from AOL Mobile Mail

On Sunday, September 17, 2017 Torfinn Ingolfsen via cctalk 
 wrote:
On Sun, Sep 17, 2017 at 10:01 PM, Mattis Lind via cctalk
 wrote:
> In a closed Facebook group in Sweden there is someone that want to sell a
> number of ICL1501 terminals.
>
>
> https://i.imgur.com/GvwCeEw.jpg
> https://i.imgur.com/WdzXiNw.jpg
> https://i.imgur.com/EXAV19v.jpg
>
> They have two small tape drives that uses what it seem standard audio
> tapes. The terminals seems to be very ICL specific.
>
> If there are interest in these I could get you in contact with the seller.

There doesn't seem to be any information about ICL terminals at the
Terminals wiki http://terminals-wiki.org/

But some information is found
http://computermuseum.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/dev_en/icl1501/icl1501.html

looks like these are a bit more than terminals

-- 
Regards,
Torfinn Ingolfsen

RE: H7878 Fails Under Even Moderate Load

[Maciej W. Rozycki via cctalk]

On Sun, 17 Sep 2017, Rob Jarratt via cctalk wrote:

> Many thanks for all the suggestions. I will go through them all, although it
> may take me a while
> 
> On your last point, at first I thought that there isn't any feedback from
> the machine. However, apart from a DC OK (which will be an output), there is
> a wire labelled "Warning", which could possibly be an input, so I will look
> at that too.

 That's pretty surely the PSU overheating status sent to the computer -- 
readable as the CSR register's PSWARN bit (bit #27) in the 5000/200 or 
signalled as the IOASIC interrupt (SIR register's bit) #4 in the 5000/240 
and /260.

  Maciej

RE: H7878 Fails Under Even Moderate Load

[Rob Jarratt via cctalk]

Many thanks for all the suggestions. I will go through them all, although it
may take me a while

On your last point, at first I thought that there isn't any feedback from
the machine. However, apart from a DC OK (which will be an output), there is
a wire labelled "Warning", which could possibly be an input, so I will look
at that too.

Regards

Rob

> -Original Message-
> From: cctalk [mailto:cctalk-boun...@classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Peter
> Coghlan via cctalk
> Sent: 17 September 2017 21:26
> To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts

> Subject: Re: H7878 Fails Under Even Moderate Load
> 
> >
> > Can anyone explain the behaviour?
> >
> 
> It's hard to know what to do from a distance but here's what I think I'd
look at if
> I was faced with this problem.
> 
> I think failing under moderate load could be explained by one or more of
the
> following possibilities and probably others I haven't thought of:
> 
> - The power supply is not capable of producing sufficient current.  Check
how
>   the voltage across the main input smoothing capacitors which have been
>   replaced varies while the load is applied.  If it dips severely, check
input
>   components such as filters, surge limiting devices, connectors and so on
for
>   breaking down under load.  If you can measure the ripple here while
changing
>   the load, an increase may indicate that one side of a fullwave rectifier
is
>   going high impedance or open circuit under load.  Also check for damage
that
>   might have occurred in the struggle to remove the capacitors.
> 
> - Overcurrent sensing is kicking in too soon.  Look for low value,
moderate to
>   high power resistors in the output current paths and check their values
and
>   how the voltage across them varies with applied load.  If they seem
good,
>   check associated small components.
> 
> - Regulation is not working correctly.  Try to figure out how the
regulation
>   is supposed to work and take measurements to see how it is behaving in
>   reality.  Easy to say but may be difficult to do in practice.  If the
PSU
>   uses a chip to provide regulation and drive to a chopper device, the
>   data sheet for the chip may provide some guidance on how it is supposed
>   to work.  Be careful taking measurements as accidentally shorting
something
>   out could lead to big bangs.
> 
> - The PSU may be looking for feedback from other parts of the machine in
the
>   form of remote voltage sensing or remote current sensing or inputs which
>   cause particular supply lines to be switched on or off or come up in a
>   particular order.  If this is the case, the fault may be elsewhere in
the
>   machine or may be as result of operating the power supply without it
being
>   connected to the rest of the machine.
> 
> Hope this helps.
> 
> Regards,
> Peter Coghlan.

Re: ICL 1501 terminal available in Sweden.

[Torfinn Ingolfsen via cctalk]

On Sun, Sep 17, 2017 at 10:01 PM, Mattis Lind via cctalk
 wrote:
> In a closed Facebook group in Sweden there is someone that want to sell a
> number of ICL1501 terminals.
>
>
> https://i.imgur.com/GvwCeEw.jpg
> https://i.imgur.com/WdzXiNw.jpg
> https://i.imgur.com/EXAV19v.jpg
>
> They have two small tape drives that uses what it seem standard audio
> tapes. The terminals seems to be very ICL specific.
>
> If there are interest in these I could get you in contact with the seller.

There doesn't seem to be any information about ICL terminals at the
Terminals wiki http://terminals-wiki.org/

But some information is found
http://computermuseum.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/dev_en/icl1501/icl1501.html

looks like these are a bit more than terminals

-- 
Regards,
Torfinn Ingolfsen

Re: H7878 Fails Under Even Moderate Load

[Peter Coghlan via cctalk]

>
> Can anyone explain the behaviour?
>

It's hard to know what to do from a distance but here's what I think I'd look
at if I was faced with this problem.

I think failing under moderate load could be explained by one or more of the
following possibilities and probably others I haven't thought of:

- The power supply is not capable of producing sufficient current.  Check how
  the voltage across the main input smoothing capacitors which have been
  replaced varies while the load is applied.  If it dips severely, check input
  components such as filters, surge limiting devices, connectors and so on for
  breaking down under load.  If you can measure the ripple here while changing
  the load, an increase may indicate that one side of a fullwave rectifier is
  going high impedance or open circuit under load.  Also check for damage that
  might have occurred in the struggle to remove the capacitors.

- Overcurrent sensing is kicking in too soon.  Look for low value, moderate to
  high power resistors in the output current paths and check their values and
  how the voltage across them varies with applied load.  If they seem good,
  check associated small components.

- Regulation is not working correctly.  Try to figure out how the regulation
  is supposed to work and take measurements to see how it is behaving in
  reality.  Easy to say but may be difficult to do in practice.  If the PSU
  uses a chip to provide regulation and drive to a chopper device, the
  data sheet for the chip may provide some guidance on how it is supposed
  to work.  Be careful taking measurements as accidentally shorting something
  out could lead to big bangs.

- The PSU may be looking for feedback from other parts of the machine in the
  form of remote voltage sensing or remote current sensing or inputs which
  cause particular supply lines to be switched on or off or come up in a
  particular order.  If this is the case, the fault may be elsewhere in the
  machine or may be as result of operating the power supply without it being
  connected to the rest of the machine.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Peter Coghlan.

ICL 1501 terminal available in Sweden.

[Mattis Lind via cctalk]

In a closed Facebook group in Sweden there is someone that want to sell a
number of ICL1501 terminals.


https://i.imgur.com/GvwCeEw.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/WdzXiNw.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/EXAV19v.jpg

They have two small tape drives that uses what it seem standard audio
tapes. The terminals seems to be very ICL specific.

If there are interest in these I could get you in contact with the seller.

/Mattis

Fwd: Chasing Digiac...

[Ed via cctalk]

well there is  this total  cool  book and picture! 
 
http://www.smecc.org/digiac.htm
 
we  would love to  find the system!
 
 
  

 From: cctalk@classiccmp.org
Reply-to: ge...@deltasoft.com
To:  cctalk@classiccmp.org
Sent: 9/17/2017 11:55:38 A.M. US Mountain Standard  Time
Subj: Chasing Digiac...


I'm trying to find out more information about a Digiac 4500  S-100 bus 
system that will eventually be coming my way.  The machine  was originally 
obtained through an estate sale and all the docs were  thrown out. :(

It appears to be some kind of computer system trainer,  but information on 
the 'net is VERY scarce.  In fact, the only time  I've found "Digiac 4500" 
_anywhere_ is where it's listed as having  software support in an ad for a 
robot  arm.

Thanks!

g.


-- 
Proud owner of F-15C  80-0007
http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its  kind.
http://www.diy-cockpits.org/coll - Go Collimated or Go Home.
Some  people collect things for a hobby.  Geeks collect  hobbies.

ScarletDME - The red hot Data Management Environment
A  Multi-Value database for the masses, not the  classes.
http://scarlet.deltasoft.com - Get it  _today_!

Chasing Digiac...

[geneb via cctalk]

I'm trying to find out more information about a Digiac 4500 S-100 bus 
system that will eventually be coming my way.  The machine was originally 
obtained through an estate sale and all the docs were thrown out. :(


It appears to be some kind of computer system trainer, but information on 
the 'net is VERY scarce.  In fact, the only time I've found "Digiac 4500" 
_anywhere_ is where it's listed as having software support in an ad for a 
robot arm.


Thanks!

g.


--
Proud owner of F-15C 80-0007
http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind.
http://www.diy-cockpits.org/coll - Go Collimated or Go Home.
Some people collect things for a hobby.  Geeks collect hobbies.

ScarletDME - The red hot Data Management Environment
A Multi-Value database for the masses, not the classes.
http://scarlet.deltasoft.com - Get it _today_!

H7878 Fails Under Even Moderate Load

[Rob Jarratt via cctalk]

I have been doing more work on my H7878 PSU for my DECstation 5000 Model
240. It looks like if I put the +5V or -12V outputs under any kind of load
then it stops working. I have posted more details here:
https://robs-old-computers.com/2017/09/17/decstation-5000-model-240-psu-fail
ing-under-moderate-load/

 

Can anyone explain the behaviour?

 

Regards

 

Rob

Re: Estate sale: Rainbow 100, Mac

[Warner Losh via cctalk]

On Sun, Sep 17, 2017 at 10:37 AM, Dave Mitton via cctech <
cct...@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> I passed by an estate sale home of an ex DEC employee.
>
> In his attic was a Rainbow 100 (original not 100) and an old Macintosh.
> Lot of software diskettes, LA50, some other stuff.
>

What kinds of software diskettes?

The estate sale is till 2pm.
> 26 Woodberry Lane, North Andover, MA 01845
>

Google says if I drive from Colorado I'll get there too late... :(


> Otherwise you could arrange an appointment time.
> The guy in charge is Stephen P. Cyr, 207-409-5999


I may have to call him to see if any of the software diskettes are
remaining and if they are interesting...

Warner

Estate sale: Rainbow 100, Mac

[Dave Mitton via cctalk]

I passed by an estate sale home of an ex DEC employee.

In his attic was a Rainbow 100 (original not 100) and an old Macintosh.
Lot of software diskettes, LA50, some other stuff.

The estate sale is till 2pm.
26 Woodberry Lane, North Andover, MA 01845

Otherwise you could arrange an appointment time.
The guy in charge is Stephen P. Cyr, 207-409-5999 



---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

Re: DEC H9xx rack parts needed

[Paul Koning via cctalk]

> On Sep 16, 2017, at 7:44 PM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk  
> wrote:
> 
> On 09/16/2017 03:21 PM, Steve Malikoff via cctalk wrote:
> 
>> Yes I agree they both appear to be simple machining jobs. As a substitute 
>> for drill rod...
> 
> I'm unclear why the recommendation has been for "drill rod" (i.e.tool
> steel) for the parts that essentially hold the parts to a hinge together.
> 
> It would seem that a plain 1018 cold-rolled steel would be strong
> enough.  For easy machining, even 12L14 would seem to be preferable,
> although I don't know if that's legal in the EU, given the slight lead

I just meant it in the sense of steel rod that's available in many sizes to 
good tolerances.  You're right, for this application mild steel is certainly 
strong enough.

Today's WTF sale find

[jim stephens via cctalk]

One card, piece of cardboard, 65 bucks.

I managed to snag 12,000 cards recently for about $20 / box.

vintage-ibm-box-mainframe-computer-punch-cards-early-1970s-punched-hollerith-/

http://www.ebay.com/itm/322745650297

It was stored in climate controlled conditions, you know.