A New Batch of Items in Sellam's Virtual Warehouse

[Sellam Ismail via cctalk]

Hello Everybody!

I hope you're enjoying your summer.  I have added more items to my online
Virtual Warehouse, as follows:

Atari XF551 external 5.25" floppy disk drive
Atari 410 Program Recorder
Atari 410-P Program Recorder
Data Pacific TR-1 Translator One
Blue Chip BCD/5.25 floppy drive
Panasonic KX-P412 AppleTalk Interface Board
Pacific Bell [Cidco DETI] eMessage e-mail terminal
Gandalf Data XpressConnect 5242i ISDN router
Monster Cable MacCable LocalTalk Connector
Telephone Talk PhoneNet adaptor
Sinclair ZX81
Timex-Sinclair 1000
Sinclair 16K RAM
Timex-Sinclair 1016
Timex-Sinclair Command Stick
Byte-Back Co. Modem
Sinclair power supply
Timex-Sinclair 2020 AC Adaptor
Macintosh Performa 475
Macintosh 12" RGB Display
Farallon MacRecorder Sound System
Nuvotech TurboNet ST
Macintosh Performa 475
Votrax International PC Dial/Log
MediaVision Pro Movie Spectrum Video Capture and Display System
Radeon 9700 Atlantis Pro
Microsoft SideWinder 3D Pro
Mouse Systems PenMate
Lotus Information Network FM Receiver
IntelliTools IntelliKeys touch tablet keyboard
Tandy CCR-82 Cassette Recorder
Micropolis 1022-1 floppy disk drive
Micropolis 1042 I floppy disk drive
Micropolis 1043 II floppy disk drive
Lexisoft, Inc. Spellbinder and Electric Webster
Micropolis 1040/1050 S-100 Floppy Disk Subsystems User's Manual
Micropolis Maintenance Manual Floppy Disk Subsystem
Colorado Memory Systems QIC-02
Everex Systems Inc. EV-940 modem
Hayes SmartModem 1200B
Hayes JT Fax 9600B modem
Hayes B0014800-A modem
Practical Peripherals PM2400
Adaptec AHA-1510A SCSI Adapter
Future Domain Corp TMC-850IBM
Video Seven VEGA Enhanced Graphics Adaptor
Ven-Tel MD212-3E modem
Racal-Vadic VI1222 modem
Racal-Vadic VA3467 modem

The index of links to the specific items above is, as always, here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1I53wxarLHlNmlPVf_HJ5oMKuab4zrApI_hiX0pNmy48/edit#gid=949372371=A1

Check the News and FAQ tabs for news and information.  Right now I'm
offering 10% off for the month of July from new buyers ONLY!  But for past
buyers, you get 15% off! ;)

Thanks!

Sellam

Re: 8 inch floppies, decaying

[Fred Cisin via cctalk]

No, no, no! Do not use isopropanol to clean floppies--you'll wind up


On Wed, 11 Jul 2018, Steve Malikoff via cctalk wrote:

Well, I suggested IPA (to Chuck's horror) so decided to put my money where my 
mouth is and try it myself.
Using a 38-year old 8" IBM Diskette 1 (128-bit sectors) that I had lying around 
(it's physically damaged) I proceeded
to clean it with high-grade IPA and a cotton bud as I suggested.


What concentration of IPA were you using?

There might be a difference in results between 70% and 91%

There might also even be a difference in the oxide formulation between 
brands.  (If Chuck was trying to clean a Wabash, then it might dissolve 
right through the plastic.)



I've used water, and a heavily diluted dish soap.
And Kodak "Photo-Flow"
I kept a few spare jackets on hand.
I had cotton film editing gloves around, but didn't always bother to use 
them.
I was going to modify some 5x7 and 8x10 film hangers to use a film washer, 
but never got around to needing it.



I often received 5.25" and 8" diskettes that didn't turn freely in the 
jacket.
Most of the time, rubbing each of the four edges HARD against the 
corner of the table would loosen them up.  If not, I just slit the jacket, 
and put them into a spare jacket.


--
Grumpy Ol' Fred ci...@xenosoft.com

Re: 8 inch floppies, decaying

[Steve Malikoff via cctalk]

Chuck reckoned
> No, no, no! Do not use isopropanol to clean floppies--you'll wind up
> with a soft oxide coating and a brown rag.  Were these mine, I'd first
> remove them from their jackets and then bake them and then clean them
> with distilled water and perhaps a couple of drops of a wetting agent
> (Kodak Photo-flo is a good) choice--a couple of drops goes a long way).
>
> You should be good to go--at least my experience tells me that.


Well, I suggested IPA (to Chuck's horror) so decided to put my money where my 
mouth is and try it myself.

Using a 38-year old 8" IBM Diskette 1 (128-bit sectors) that I had lying around 
(it's physically damaged) I proceeded
to clean it with high-grade IPA and a cotton bud as I suggested.

After a good scrubbing, no detectable oxide came off at all. It even looked a 
tiny bit cleaner on the area I tried.
Photos:

Diskette:  http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/500/diskette_1.jpg

Before:http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/500/diskette_before.jpg

After: http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/500/diskette_after.jpg

So there you have it. I'm not asserting that all diskettes were manufactured as 
well as this IBM one but I stand by
what I suggested, I would certainly try IPA again if I had to. By the 1970s I 
would think a diskette surface had come a
long way from my dad's RAMAC days and even the 1/2" magnetic tape from the 50s 
and 60s, where I would be considerably
more reticent trying this.

Steve.

Re: Can anyone identify this S100 serial board?

[systems_glitch via cctalk]

Got it:

ftp://filedump.glitchwrks.com/manuals/s100/national_multiplex/Computer_Aid_2SIO-R.pdf

Thanks,
Jonathan

Re: Can anyone identify this S100 serial board?

[Ethan via cctalk]

/me bows

"National Multiplex" is the brand! Thanks Glitch!



I've got the manual for this one -- I've got one myself. I'll get it
scanned and uploaded.

Thanks,
Jonathan

On Tue, Jul 10, 2018 at 10:20 PM, Richard Cini via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:









The two connectors at the top remind me of the MITS 2SIO board.
Chip on the left with the label seems odd — looks like an EPROM. Not sure
why they’d use a UART (40-pin chip) and an ACIA, but it’s an interesting
two-port combo board.



Get Outlook for iOS






On Tue, Jul 10, 2018 at 10:17 PM -0400, "dwight via cctalk" <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:










I'm thinking one serial and one cassette. The 8251 for the cassette.

I can't make out all the chips at the pins? The board was hand laid out.
Is there nothing on the bottom but traces?

Dwight



From: cctalk  on behalf of Ethan via cctalk
Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2018 6:43:12 PM
To: cctalk@classiccmp.org
Subject: Can anyone identify this S100 serial board?


Trying to identify the S100 serial board in my Imsai 8080.

https://imgur.com/eZyOVT5

I assume it was a kit. There are wires from behind one of the ICs that go
to DB25 on the rear, along with other DB25s with a few pins (maybe
cassette input.)

Any help appreciated.


--
: Ethan O'Toole












--
: Ethan O'Toole

Re: Can anyone identify this S100 serial board?

[systems_glitch via cctalk]

I've got the manual for this one -- I've got one myself. I'll get it
scanned and uploaded.

Thanks,
Jonathan

On Tue, Jul 10, 2018 at 10:20 PM, Richard Cini via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> The two connectors at the top remind me of the MITS 2SIO board.
> Chip on the left with the label seems odd — looks like an EPROM. Not sure
> why they’d use a UART (40-pin chip) and an ACIA, but it’s an interesting
> two-port combo board.
>
>
>
> Get Outlook for iOS
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Jul 10, 2018 at 10:17 PM -0400, "dwight via cctalk" <
> cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> I'm thinking one serial and one cassette. The 8251 for the cassette.
>
> I can't make out all the chips at the pins? The board was hand laid out.
> Is there nothing on the bottom but traces?
>
> Dwight
>
>
> 
> From: cctalk  on behalf of Ethan via cctalk
> Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2018 6:43:12 PM
> To: cctalk@classiccmp.org
> Subject: Can anyone identify this S100 serial board?
>
>
> Trying to identify the S100 serial board in my Imsai 8080.
>
> https://imgur.com/eZyOVT5
>
> I assume it was a kit. There are wires from behind one of the ICs that go
> to DB25 on the rear, along with other DB25s with a few pins (maybe
> cassette input.)
>
> Any help appreciated.
>
>
> --
> : Ethan O'Toole
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

Re: 8 inch floppies, decaying

[dwight via cctalk]

I've had the goo from the adhesive of 5.25 inch 360k disk come through the nice 
liner and make gobs on the disk. I tried several thing but found that 
isopropanol worked without removing any of the magnetic material ( maybe s tiny 
amount that was likely loose already ). I'm not saying it would be the same for 
8 inch disk. Once working I did copy them to floppies without liners.

Dwight



From: cctalk  on behalf of Chuck Guzis via 
cctalk 
Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2018 7:15:13 PM
To: Richard Pope via cctalk
Subject: Re: 8 inch floppies, decaying

No, no, no! Do not use isopropanol to clean floppies--you'll wind up
with a soft oxide coating and a brown rag.  Were these mine, I'd first
remove them from their jackets and then bake them and then clean them
with distilled water and perhaps a couple of drops of a wetting agent
(Kodak Photo-flo is a good) choice--a couple of drops goes a long way).

You should be good to go--at least my experience tells me that.

--Chuck

Re: Can anyone identify this S100 serial board?

[Richard Cini via cctalk]

  
  
  

The two connectors at the top remind me of the MITS 2SIO board. Chip on 
the left with the label seems odd — looks like an EPROM. Not sure why they’d 
use a UART (40-pin chip) and an ACIA, but it’s an interesting two-port combo 
board. 



Get Outlook for iOS

  




On Tue, Jul 10, 2018 at 10:17 PM -0400, "dwight via cctalk" 
 wrote:










I'm thinking one serial and one cassette. The 8251 for the cassette.

I can't make out all the chips at the pins? The board was hand laid out. Is 
there nothing on the bottom but traces?

Dwight



From: cctalk  on behalf of Ethan via cctalk 
Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2018 6:43:12 PM
To: cctalk@classiccmp.org
Subject: Can anyone identify this S100 serial board?


Trying to identify the S100 serial board in my Imsai 8080.

https://imgur.com/eZyOVT5

I assume it was a kit. There are wires from behind one of the ICs that go
to DB25 on the rear, along with other DB25s with a few pins (maybe
cassette input.)

Any help appreciated.


--
: Ethan O'Toole

Re: Can anyone identify this S100 serial board?

[dwight via cctalk]

I'm thinking one serial and one cassette. The 8251 for the cassette.

I can't make out all the chips at the pins? The board was hand laid out. Is 
there nothing on the bottom but traces?

Dwight



From: cctalk  on behalf of Ethan via cctalk 

Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2018 6:43:12 PM
To: cctalk@classiccmp.org
Subject: Can anyone identify this S100 serial board?


Trying to identify the S100 serial board in my Imsai 8080.

https://imgur.com/eZyOVT5

I assume it was a kit. There are wires from behind one of the ICs that go
to DB25 on the rear, along with other DB25s with a few pins (maybe
cassette input.)

Any help appreciated.


--
: Ethan O'Toole

Re: 8 inch floppies, decaying

[Chuck Guzis via cctalk]

No, no, no! Do not use isopropanol to clean floppies--you'll wind up
with a soft oxide coating and a brown rag.  Were these mine, I'd first
remove them from their jackets and then bake them and then clean them
with distilled water and perhaps a couple of drops of a wetting agent
(Kodak Photo-flo is a good) choice--a couple of drops goes a long way).

You should be good to go--at least my experience tells me that.

--Chuck

Can anyone identify this S100 serial board?

[Ethan via cctalk]

Trying to identify the S100 serial board in my Imsai 8080.

https://imgur.com/eZyOVT5

I assume it was a kit. There are wires from behind one of the ICs that go 
to DB25 on the rear, along with other DB25s with a few pins (maybe 
cassette input.)


Any help appreciated.


--
: Ethan O'Toole

Re: 8 inch floppies, decaying

[Richard Pope via cctalk]

Steve, Adrian,
I am pretty certain that alcohol will break down the binders and 
remove the oxide.  Since the bad disc was run through the drive the 
head/heads should be cleaned before any more read or write attempts are 
made otherwise more discs will be damaged.

Thanks,
rich!

On 7/10/2018 8:25 PM, Steve Malikoff via cctalk wrote:

Adrian said:

Tonight I got my imaging PC to successfully read some of the 8” disks from my 
CPT8500 word processor using one of its own Tandon TM848-01 drives, sadly it 
seems the boot disk is toast but I’ve been able to dump some of the data disks 
as well as the Utilities. Since I have a box of unused disks

I thought I’d try writing back an image but got a lot of CRC errors. Closer inspection 
of the disk itself shows this - 
http://www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk/8inchFloppyImaging-7.jpg 
 - which looks like 
damp.>

Is it actually the magnetic coating breaking down? Dare I attempt cleaning?


If it was me I certainly would attempt cleaning, after all it was unreadable 
anyway. Perhaps try cleaning a test area with a cotton bud (Q-tip)
and isopropyl alcohol. If the stuff comes off without oxide removal then I'd 
slice the top edge off the jacket to remove (with clean disposable
gloves on a lint-free surface) and clean the whole disc and finally put into a 
clean jacket.

Steve.

Re: 8 inch floppies, decaying

[Steve Malikoff via cctalk]

Adrian said:
> Tonight I got my imaging PC to successfully read some of the 8” disks from my 
> CPT8500 word processor using one of its own Tandon TM848-01 drives, sadly it 
> seems the boot disk is toast but I’ve been able to dump some of the data 
> disks as well as the Utilities. Since I have a box of unused disks
I thought I’d try writing back an image but got a lot of CRC errors. Closer 
inspection of the disk itself shows this - 
http://www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk/8inchFloppyImaging-7.jpg 
 - which looks like 
damp.>
> Is it actually the magnetic coating breaking down? Dare I attempt cleaning?


If it was me I certainly would attempt cleaning, after all it was unreadable 
anyway. Perhaps try cleaning a test area with a cotton bud (Q-tip)
and isopropyl alcohol. If the stuff comes off without oxide removal then I'd 
slice the top edge off the jacket to remove (with clean disposable
gloves on a lint-free surface) and clean the whole disc and finally put into a 
clean jacket.

Steve.

8 inch floppies, decaying

[Adrian Graham via cctalk]

Hi folks,

Tonight I got my imaging PC to successfully read some of the 8” disks from my 
CPT8500 word processor using one of its own Tandon TM848-01 drives, sadly it 
seems the boot disk is toast but I’ve been able to dump some of the data disks 
as well as the Utilities. Since I have a box of unused disks I thought I’d try 
writing back an image but got a lot of CRC errors. Closer inspection of the 
disk itself shows this - 
http://www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk/8inchFloppyImaging-7.jpg 
 - which looks like 
damp.

Is it actually the magnetic coating breaking down? Dare I attempt cleaning?

Just for another test I tried reading some of my DEC diagnostic floppies since 
I hoped they were RX01 format, but they error constantly so they must be RX02s.

Still, it was good to see the drive spring into life :)

-- 
adrian/witchy
Owner of Binary Dinosaurs, the UK's biggest home computer collection?
t: @binarydinosaursf: facebook.com/binarydinosaurs
w: www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk

Re: Another DCJ11 oddity

[Eric Smith via cctalk]

On Tue, Jul 10, 2018 at 1:38 PM, Noel Chiappa via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> > From: Jerry Weiss
> > In addition to above, there is a bypass cache bit in the PDR (section
> > 1.5.6.2) for finer control.
>
> Yes, I only found that out last night (or maybe I saw it on a previous scan
> of the manual, but its importance didn't register). The -11/70 doesn't have
> that! Very useful for my application (a memory tester program)...
>

IIRC, there are jumpers in the 11/70 that can be used for cache bypass. It
wasn't considered necessary or useful for normal system operation. Software
control of cache bypass was added to the KB11-Cm used in the ill-fated
PDP-11/74 multiprocessor system. Also the KB11-Cm had interlocked ASRB like
the J11; the memory bus from the cache to the MKA11 multiport memory had an
additional signal to interlock the ASRB read/modify/write. Unfortunately
there's no public documentation on the KB11-Cm or the MKA11 from which to
inspect the details. I think the KB11-Cm _might_ have forced ASRB
instructions to always bypass the cache, to avoid the need to dedicate an
entire uncached page to semaphores, but I'm not certain.

Re: Another DCJ11 oddity

[Antonio Carlini via cctalk]

On 10/07/18 11:01, Noel Chiappa via cctalk wrote:

I suppose only someone who worked on the DCJ11 would know; but I have no idea
how to track down such a person.



Not sure that I know such a person but you might try hunting for the 
Semiconductor Databook Volume 1 1987.
It has some basic information packed into about 80 pages. It might be on 
bitsavers already otherwise, if I've
scanned it (and you want it, and I can find it) I expect it could make 
it's way to a google drive near you soon (ish).


If I have to scan the pages by hand then it'll be a few days at least ...

Antonio

--
Antonio Carlini
arcarl...@iee.org

Re: Another DCJ11 oddity

[Noel Chiappa via cctalk]

> From: Jerry Weiss

> See http://simh.trailing-edge.com/semi/j11.html for information on the
> design of the J11.

Thanks for that pointer; I don't think I've ever seen that - quite
interesting.

Alas, it didn't have the cache info - but now that I've though about it
overnight, I'm pretty sure the reason for the two bits that do the same thing
is for -11/70 compatability.

> I've always assumed the differences in controls in the CCR as necessary
> to support diagnostics of memory and the cache itself.

Yes, the DCJ11 cache is quite interesting, the way the functionality is
partitioned between the chip itself, and external circuitry; the actual cache
data is stored externally, along with the tags, parity, etc, and also the CPU
and DMA comparators.

The KDB11-A and -B differ a bit in their cache; both are single-associative
(i.e. only one cache cell for each word), but the -B has duplicate tag arrays,
one for the CPU's use, one for DMA devices - apparently so that contention
between the two for access to the tags doesn't slow things down (since the tag
stores are memory arrays, they need to do an address-input before any tag can
be checked).

> In addition to above, there is a bypass cache bit in the PDR (section
> 1.5.6.2) for finer control.

Yes, I only found that out last night (or maybe I saw it on a previous scan
of the manual, but its importance didn't register). The -11/70 doesn't have
that! Very useful for my application (a memory tester program)...

Noel

Re: 360 Technologies selloff

[Robert via cctalk]

I just called, looking for a cable. Mike said they were selling the
building and the plotter side of the business, but it sounded like the
HP side might be coming back in some shape or form.

--
Robert

Re: 360 Technologies selloff

[Derek Newland via cctalk]

If this is them, they are apparently located in Austin;
https://www.360tech.com

On Tue, Jul 10, 2018 at 12:57 PM Glen Slick via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> On Tue, Jul 10, 2018 at 9:15 AM, Al Kossow via cctalk
>  wrote:
> > 360 Technologies is (was) and old HP reseller.
> >
> > I just tried buying a 9145 from them, and didn't hear anything back.
> > Called them, and they are in the middle of selling off what they haven't
> scrapped.
> > Mike is going to let me know more of what will be available and by whom
> next week.
>
> I noticed recently that all of their eBay listings (360dibs) were
> canceled. I wondered what was up with that. I bought a couple of HP
> 1000 A-series cables from them in the last year or so that I couldn't
> find anywhere else. Are there any HP resellers left now that have
> their own inventory and don't speculatively list parts that they don't
> have or never had?
>


-- 
*Derek Newland* | (828) 234-4731 | derek.newl...@gmail.com

Re: 360 Technologies selloff

[Glen Slick via cctalk]

On Tue, Jul 10, 2018 at 9:15 AM, Al Kossow via cctalk
 wrote:
> 360 Technologies is (was) and old HP reseller.
>
> I just tried buying a 9145 from them, and didn't hear anything back.
> Called them, and they are in the middle of selling off what they haven't 
> scrapped.
> Mike is going to let me know more of what will be available and by whom next 
> week.

I noticed recently that all of their eBay listings (360dibs) were
canceled. I wondered what was up with that. I bought a couple of HP
1000 A-series cables from them in the last year or so that I couldn't
find anywhere else. Are there any HP resellers left now that have
their own inventory and don't speculatively list parts that they don't
have or never had?

360 Technologies selloff

[Al Kossow via cctalk]

360 Technologies is (was) and old HP reseller.

I just tried buying a 9145 from them, and didn't hear anything back.
Called them, and they are in the middle of selling off what they haven't 
scrapped.
Mike is going to let me know more of what will be available and by whom next 
week.

Re: Another DCJ11 oddity

[Jerry Weiss via cctalk]

On 7/10/18 5:01 AM, Noel Chiappa via cctalk wrote:

So, if one looks up the Cache Control Register in, say, the KDJ11-A
(EK-KDJ1A-UG-002), one sees (in section 1.6.2.1) that there are _three_ ways
to disable the cache: bits 2, 3 ('force miss'), and 9 ('bypass cache').
Looking at the DCJ11 manual (EK-DCJ11-UG-PRE) doesn't provide any additional
insight.

(The 9 bit one is slightly different than the other two, because it causes
cache contents to be invalidated as the code runs, whereas the other two
don't.)

What is going on here, does anyone know? I'm _guessing_ that this is for
compatability with the -11/70, where the cache is divided in two ('two-way set
associative'), and either half can be disabled separately (using the 2 and
3 bits in its CCR).

I suppose only someone who worked on the DCJ11 would know; but I have no idea
how to track down such a person.

 Noel
See http://simh.trailing-edge.com/semi/j11.html for information on the 
design of the J11.  This may give you the 11/70 background you are seeking.


I've always assumed the differences in controls in the CCR as necessary 
to support diagnostics of memory and the cache itself.


In addition to above, there is a bypass cache bit in the PDR (section 
1.5.6.2) for finer control.  This will help support memory mapped 
devices which update those memories independently. Lastly there is a 
selective bypass for certain instructions related to multiprocessing.   
EK-DCJ11-UG-PRE  Section 5.2.4 describes three bypass mechanisms.


   Jerry