[cctalk] Re: Overland Data Depot4 application

[jim stephens via cctalk]

On 2/8/24 00:59, Nico de Jong via cctalk wrote:


Maybe you dont know, but all the Qualstars I've met, are basically 
Pertec. I've run some 1052's on Overland software.


The 34xx series has a SCSI - Pertec interface, so if you remove this 
board, you have a Pertec drive.


Thanks'

Nico 
Thanks, Nico.  I have both the Pertec and the SCSI 1052 and 1260.  I 
know inside there is a SCSI converter.  FWIW there is a SCSI to pertec 
on both Kennedy and Cipher drives which will run Pertec when you pull 
off the SCSI adapter on the back as well.


I have a system called Pick which some here know, and have Pertec 9 
track software to allow the PC version R83 to access Pertec half inch 
drives, FWIW.  At the early stages we met with the founders in San Diego 
about their designs as well (Overland).  A friend developed and marketed 
the Pick product with our engineering help.


Thanks for noting about the Qualstars.  I have a skid of a mixture of 
Cipher, IBM, Qualstar, M4 and some 100X rack mount as well as CDC.  I 
haven't gotten into the mode of seeing if they still work, but "they did 
from 10 to 40 years ago".


thanks
Jim

[cctalk] VCF SoCal Saturday

[Bill Gunshannon via cctalk]

On 2/9/2024 5:08 AM, Steve Lewis via cctalk wrote:

There's a good chance I'll make it to the upcoming VCF SoCal coming up on
Sat. the 17th.

Some things I'm looking for:
- recently an associate of mine gifted me their original 1978 TRS-80 (Model
1).  But not much in accessories.  I have a suitable tape deck, but other
accessories might be nice.  His father used this particular unit while he
worked in the Tandy Towers in downtown FW (that's all I know about it so
far).




Checkout the MISE and MIRE from Bartlett Labs
and the FreHD from Ian Mavric.


bill

[cctalk] Re: NRAO Data tapes

[Jeff Woolsey via cctalk]

On 2/9/24 10:16 AM, Gary Sparkes via cctalk wrote:

Do we have anyone who can read these tapes? Maybe Al at CHM?


He may have an interest in them for their historical value.

I could read them.  I'm not as busy as Al, and I'm only a couple miles 
from his lab in Fremont.  If the tapes are problematic or difficult, 
there are others who can take actions to condition tapes for higher 
probability of success, but of all the tapes that I have read, maybe 10% 
had some trouble requiring re-reading several times but eventually 
getting all of the data, and maybe 1 or 2% had failures while assisting 
the tape drive.  (I managed to reconstruct the data because I had made 
previous incomplete attempts but it was all there in aggregate.  The 
tape drive declared several tapes to be blank, even though their senders 
claimed they were not.   I also had some 7-track tapes that I gave to Al 
to read (not exactly trivial).   Many people did not need their tapes 
back, but I'm reluctant to discard them (how?). About a dozen of the 
tapes are originally mine.





On Wed, May 17, 2023 at 4:58 AM mokuba--- via cctalk 
wrote:


For some handy clarification - some of the tapes I saw seemed to be
operating system tapes for the MAX 32 computer.

Labeled things like "MAX 32 O/S & SUPPORT PART 2 OF 2" and "MAX 32 GLS -C
COMPILER"

1600 BPI, 9 track.

Also has MODCOMP copyrights, leading to this line of machines:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modcomp

So likely the Modcomp Classic. Copyright dates on the labeling indicated
1981. So it would have been the latest and greatest OS for this system at
the time.

So this would have been the OS, according to that wiki article,
controlling space shuttle launch complex. Also tangentially related
(Modcomp IV, their first 32 bit computer) to the OS running PAVE PAWS
initially.





--
Jeff Woolsey {{woolsey,jlw}@jlw,first.last@{gmail,jlw}}.com
Nature abhors straight antennas, clean lenses, and empty storage.
"Delete! Delete! OK!" -Dr. Bronner on disk space management
Card-sorting, Joel.  -Crow on solitaire

[cctalk] Re: NRAO Data tapes

[Chuck Guzis via cctalk]

On 2/9/24 10:16, Gary Sparkes via cctalk wrote:
> Do we have anyone who can read these tapes? Maybe Al at CHM?

Any number of folks here should be able to read them.  I certainly can,
but that's business for me, so not free.

--Chuck

[cctalk] Re: NRAO Data tapes

[Gary Sparkes via cctalk]

Do we have anyone who can read these tapes? Maybe Al at CHM?

On Wed, May 17, 2023 at 4:58 AM mokuba--- via cctalk 
wrote:

> For some handy clarification - some of the tapes I saw seemed to be
> operating system tapes for the MAX 32 computer.
>
> Labeled things like "MAX 32 O/S & SUPPORT PART 2 OF 2" and "MAX 32 GLS -C
> COMPILER"
>
> 1600 BPI, 9 track.
>
> Also has MODCOMP copyrights, leading to this line of machines:
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modcomp
>
> So likely the Modcomp Classic. Copyright dates on the labeling indicated
> 1981. So it would have been the latest and greatest OS for this system at
> the time.
>
> So this would have been the OS, according to that wiki article,
> controlling space shuttle launch complex. Also tangentially related
> (Modcomp IV, their first 32 bit computer) to the OS running PAVE PAWS
> initially.
>


-- 
Gary G. Sparkes Jr.
AC3IG

[cctalk] Re: VCF SoCal Saturday

[Lars Brinkhoff via cctalk]

jos wrote:
>> I don't recall emulators for the early Datapoints.-
> There now  is a Datapoint 2200 emulator
> Be aware that it does not show the true Datapoint fonts.

There is also an emulator for the 3300, with a font from an
imaged ROM.  It's in here: https://github.com/aap/vt05/

(The 3300 is older than the 2200, and doesn't have a processor.)

[cctalk] Re: VCF SoCal Saturday

[jos via cctalk]

- I guess while I'm at it, I've also been seeking for a working Datapoint
2200 (or equivalent variant, any 1974 or earlier) or Wang 2200.  Even just
seeing either of those in working condition would be neat (working in terms
of still booting to BASIC).   I was surprised I didn't see one at VCF in
Dallas last year (but they did have a HP9830 and Tek4051, those were neat
to see and still working)..  The Wang systems have some decent emulators,
but I don't recall emulators for the early Datapoints.-

There now  is a Datapoint 2200 emulator, see https://github.com/MattisLind/DP2200 

Mattis is trying to add DP5500 support.

Be aware that it does not show the true Datapoint fonts.

Jos

[cctalk] VCF SoCal Saturday

[Steve Lewis via cctalk]

There's a good chance I'll make it to the upcoming VCF SoCal coming up on
Sat. the 17th.

Some things I'm looking for:
- recently an associate of mine gifted me their original 1978 TRS-80 (Model
1).  But not much in accessories.  I have a suitable tape deck, but other
accessories might be nice.  His father used this particular unit while he
worked in the Tandy Towers in downtown FW (that's all I know about it so
far).

- any IBM 5100/5110 parts (including 8" disks); an associate here in Texas
has gotten their IBM 5114 disk drive unit working, so we'd be interested in
maybe copying disk files over to QIC tapes, and then somehow off-system to
archive.And I'm still looking for a copy of "PC51" (a 5110 BASIC
emulator that ran under MS-DOS 2.0), it was by CORE NET.   Probably at most
only a few hundred customers bought it (at its $3000 price tag) around 1983.

- any parts for a Sharp PC-5000.  Mine works, but I've been looking for a
Sharp CE-510F floppy disk drive (that has a "special" 37-pin connector that
makes it only work with some of the Sharp models - and I've verified it is
not the same as the 37-pin connector used on the IBM PC 5150 controller
card).

- anyone who can replace the screen on an Atari Lynx.  I have the parts,
just don't have the talent :)

- a ThinkPad 385CD.  I have one and it's in really decent condition, but
thinking I'd like to have a spare.  Nice thing about the 385CD is it has
both 3.5" floppy and CD-ROM. [ I'm specifically looking for 486DX or
Pentium, so mid-1990s, not late 1990s -  I have plenty of Pentium 3's and
onward;  going for a "period correct" OS/2 Warp setup, even though I do
have ArcaOS on some 2001-era systems ]

- I guess while I'm at it, I've also been seeking for a working Datapoint
2200 (or equivalent variant, any 1974 or earlier) or Wang 2200.  Even just
seeing either of those in working condition would be neat (working in terms
of still booting to BASIC).   I was surprised I didn't see one at VCF in
Dallas last year (but they did have a HP9830 and Tek4051, those were neat
to see and still working)..  The Wang systems have some decent emulators,
but I don't recall emulators for the early Datapoints.- so I've been
curious about their font and if it was as good at the brochures show.
 I've read that the thing that really got Datapoint some money (initially)
was they pulled off crisp 80-column early on (and from the IBM SCAMP
journals, I read that even IBM struggled to do 80 cols - part of why the
IBM 5100 was only 64-column).


I just happen to be near LA that weekend, so hopefully it works out that I
can get to this VCF event.  Is it the first time being held in that area?

Cheers, hope weather all works out for this event!
-Steve