Re: cctalk Digest, Vol 61, Issue 27

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

> -- Forwarded message --
> From: "Ethan O'Toole" 
> To: Murray McCullough , "General
> Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" 
> Cc:
> Bcc:
> Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2019 11:11:49 -0400 (EDT)
> Subject: Re: Coleco & Atari
> > old? 1983. Coleco ADAM, my favourite, and Atari 600XL, not so much. I
> still
> > have my ADAM. No not why. But isn’t this why we all belong to
> classiccomp. And
> > $600. How quaint! BTW(sorry), it had an update on CP/M called CP/M Plus.
> > Gosh, I miss those old days.
>
> Oh man, the Atari 8bit is second to the Adam? IIRC the 800XL and Floppy
> Drive cost less than the Coleco Adam kit. You didn't get a daisy wheel
> printer, but you got better sound and a much larger library.
>
> I grew up on the ColecoVision, neighbor had the Atari 5200. I used to say
> the ColecoVision was better when younger but now I have to say I think the
> Atari 5200 is better.
>
> Have yet to own an Adam, but I always thought of the Adam as something of
> a failure? There was a large number of them that shipped DOA or close to
> DOA as well due to power supply issue (in the printer) ?
>
>
>
The ADAM was a well-designed system with a great set of launch software
hobbled by a rollout/gamble for the Christmas buying season that didn't pay
off. If they had a proper release to work out the manufacturing issues they
would have been a lot more successful I think. Nevertheless, any system in
the wild you come across should work just as well as any other vintage
machine by this time. It's my favorite machine pre-Amiga/ST/IIgs/Mac.

Re: Astounding Asking Price

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Wed, Oct 24, 2018 at 10:53 AM Rob Jarratt via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> My jaw dropped when I saw this:
> https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223201002247?ul_noapp=true
>
>
>
> It looks nice externally, and it has the pedestal, which is nice, but the
> seller has not even give the spec or posted pics of the innards and it is
> "untested". At that price I would expect a bit more information..
>
>
>
> As it happens, I am trying to fix my 350 at the moment.
>
>
>
Would it make you feel bad if I told you I threw away a perfectly good 350
with the pedestal as pictured in the early 90s? ;)

RE: Desktop Metaphor

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

I’ll throw in my two cents to say that I’ve used a fair number of GUIs over the 
years both commercially available and FOSS, and I’d say that Windows 95’s UI 
blew the doors off of anything I’d used up that point in terms of usability. 
Nobody IMO can fairly compare it with the previously available X based 
desktops. The Mac was good, the Amiga was good, but there was a lot more 
flexibility in how Win95 operated, and that’s probably why  (along with 
familiarity) that it has been so oft copied up to this point (Mac OS X’s UI 
notwithstanding, which is also quite good).

Re: how good is the data reliability with CD ROM and DVD RAM?

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Mon, Jul 23, 2018 at 12:54 PM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

>
> IMIHO, a grievous error by making things too physically small.  The
> standard SD card is easy enough to pick out in a deep-pile carpet.  Not
> so, the usual black-colored MicriSD.  The dog might well eat it without
> even being aware of having done it.
>
> Are there such things as "microSD" to "standard SD" adapters that allows
> for insertion of standard SD into mcroSD slots?
>

I agree. Most sold today come with a microSD to SD adapter.

Re: how good is the data reliability with CD ROM and DVD RAM?

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Sun, Jul 22, 2018 at 7:13 PM, Charles Dickman via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> Below is a sampling of disks recorded between 2001 and 2009. It is
> likely that the disks of the same type were from the same package
> because I don't use many disks. They were stored without much care,
> but in a spaces tolerable to humans for reasonable periods.
>
> Imation CD-Rrecorded 2003/12/29  readable
> Imation CD-Rrecorded 2004/01/02  recoverable errors
> Imation CR-Rrecorded 2001/12/18  recoverable errors
> Imation CD-Rrecorded 2005/07/15  recoverable errors
> Imation CD-Rrecorded 2001/12/24  recoverable errors
> TDK  DVD-R recorded 2006/02/05  recoverable errors
> TDK  DVD-R recorded 2009/09   unrecoverable errors. The
> edges of the disk have a strange faded coloration.
> TDK  DVD-R recorded 2007/10/07  readable
> Memorex  CD-Rrecorded 2005unrecoverable errors
>
>
>
Probably a good idea to use something like RAR with parity. I know I have
downloaded some multi-segment binaries in RAR format from usenet  with
several missing segments and as long as I had the parity file set it could
successfully recover the entire archive.

Re: Last of the TRS-80's

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Tue, May 1, 2018 at 6:11 AM, Peter Cetinski via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

>
> > I am trying to ascertain what the last computer released by Tandy/Radio
> Shack was that had the TRS-80 name on it
> >
> > I think it was the CoCo 3 in 1986
> >
> > Kevin Parker
>
> The CoCo 3 was Tandy badged and never had TRS-80 nomenclature.  I believe
> the honor of last TRS-80 labeled computer falls on Tandy Radio Shack’s
> first PC clone attempt, the TRS-80 Model 2000 released in 1983, shortly
> after the Z80 based Model 4 and MC68000 based 16B in the same year.



The TRS-80 Model 100 was also in 1983.

Re: Identifying bad RAM on Amiga 1000 WCS board

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Sat, Apr 28, 2018 at 6:34 PM, Ethan Dicks via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> Hi, All,
>
> I've been doing component-level diagnosis of a bad Amiga 1000 WCS
> board and since I was unable to find this information anywhere, I
> thought I'd post it to the list so that it's in the hands of more than
> one person.
>

I wonder if one might be able to use the excellent Diagrom in place of the
A1000 ROMs to do some testing.

At least then you might be able to put some known patterns into the WCS to
read back and see if they make sense.

Re: TRS-80 Fragmentation

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Thu, Apr 26, 2018 at 10:53 PM, Carlos E Murillo-Sanchez via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:


> I see that the actual fragmentation is about how each and everyone got in
> touch with computers, personal or mainframe or whatever! Me, I was in
> junior high and usually understood everything in the math class by the
> first 15 minutes, after which I would become restless (bored) and the
> teacher would send me several buildings away to inquire about the room
> temperature of the computer room, which hosted an HP3000 system with
> several terminals (that included primitive graphics capabilities via serial
> connection!).  It was 1978, and I learned BASIC right there. Afterwards, it
> was Apple II and their Franklin clones as a freshman, running UCSD
> Pascal... in 1982.  Later it was the Z80 card in the same computers,
> running CPM, but just for the sake of using the Z80 assembler tools.  And
> we were using also the said Apple II to impersonate card readers that would
> send jobs to the IBM 4381, as a sophomore... My dad bought me an HP71B
> calculator in 1984, and that really was when my numerical math skills
> progressed.  I still do that for a living.  And the height of my BS
> years... getting to run MATLAB in an IBM-AT with a math co-processor.
> Later, as a teacher, getting my first BITNET email account in 1987,
> learning XENIX, wiring phonenet for the Mac network at the university, then
> as a grad student (1989) using VAX machines at UW-Madison, but also Apollo
> machines, Sun 4/50  machines, and HP-300 machines... and in1990, I
> telnet-ed to UCSD to run jobs in a Cray at UCSD...  whoa, such memories...
>

Don't get me wrong. Like you I learned a lot due to all the variety of
differing machines that were available in the market early on. From a
business perspective I don't think it made a lot of sense however to have
so many internally competing models.

Of course then, I guess you could argue that Atari probably had the most
cohesive set of computers, but that didn't necessarily translate to great
success. I guess that did mostly work for Apple with the II line, save for
the major III distraction.

Re: TRS-80 Fragmentation

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Fri, Apr 27, 2018 at 8:06 AM, geneb via cctalk 
wrote:

> On Thu, 26 Apr 2018, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote:
>
> Then they upgraded the model 1 to reduce the cords and cables, and made
>> the Model 3.  I don't know whether the resemblance to the Northstar
>> Dimension was deliberate.
>>
>>
> I think the primary driver for the Model III was that the Model I would no
> longer pass the FCC emission tests due to regulation changes.
>
>
I've heard this before too, which is all the more curious considering that
the original Atari 400/800 machines were hampered in their construction due
to RFI restrictions by the FCC earlier on that were relaxed later. I wonder
how much better off Atari would have been if they were able to fit a simple
metal shield instead of that crazy cast metal PCB enclosure. I have also
heard that the CRT sold for the Model I had some safety concerns? I think
that was just a rebadged RCA TV set with the tuner section removed?

Supposedly the RFI restrictions is one of the reasons that Apple didn't
include an RF modulator under the hood (and presumably TI on the 99/4(a)).

Re: TRS-80 Fragmentation

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Thu, Apr 26, 2018 at 7:18 PM, Fred Cisin via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

>
> D'ya mean like an automobile company making more than one model?  Surely
> there is no need for Toyota to make both a Corolla AND a Camry!
>
>
Hmm... not really sure about that comparison. After all, it's not like the
Corolla and Camry need different fuel and/or travel on separate roads.
Plus, I expect that despite their many differences there are probably quite
a few fundamental similarities (similar stereos, HVAC controls, brake
components, etc).

The Model 1 was a wild venture into a field that they knew little about,
> and didn't know what to expect.
> Ask Allison about what they expected.
> It turned out that what they made was surprisingly close to correct for
> people like US.
> Well, other than 16 lines by 64 characters of B, and a memory map that
> was not compatible with CP/M.
>

I guess they fixed that by the time the 4 came along.



> But what about pocket computers, PDAs, calculators?  Have to come out with
> some offerings there.
>

Well, like I said before. I think you could easily dismiss the calculators
and PDAs, since they were more of an appliance (i.e. create text documents
that are easily interchangeable with other machines). Heck even a lot of
the early PDAs could create spreadsheets that were compatible with Lotus
1-2-3, even moreso in some cases they were built in applications.


>
> Would they have been more successful if the model 2000 had been a PC
> clone, instead of "better than"?
>

Well, in some respects they eventually managed to do that with the Tandy
1000s... some incompatibilities aside.

Re: Rick Dickinson, ZX Spectrum designer, RIP

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Thu, Apr 26, 2018 at 4:15 PM, Liam Proven via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> On Thu, 26 Apr 2018 at 23:04, Fred Cisin via cctalk  >
> wrote:
>
> I'd go for a bike over a car any day. Well, when I was young, anyway. Now,
> I'm getting kinda stiff and creaky... Because of all the bike crashes and
> the scar tissue.
>

I don't know what it's like around your home, but most places in the US
aren't terribly bike friendly. Since the advent of texting and smart phones
even less so. Still, I keep thinking I should trade my one way 4 mile car
commute for a bike ride... my fear of being struck while riding on a short
half mile long section of limited sight distance hilly roads between home
and work gives me some pause. We are starting to get some bike lanes and
more bike friendly roadways around here though (as well as some paved
greenways).

I did in my younger days bike extensively around town, not so much anymore
since I've got kids and a wife that count on me. :)

TRS-80 Fragmentation

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

It is obvious that the TRS-80 line of computers suffered severe
fragmentation with differing architectures:

TRS-80 Model I, III, and 4(P) are all obviously of a mostly compatible
architecture.
TRS-80 Model II and 16, 68k based "business" machines
TRS-80 CoCo I, II, III (Dragon)
TRS-80 PC-x, various rebadged machines from Sharp, Panasonic, or Casio
TRS-80 MC-10 (a Matra Alice)
TRS-80 Model 100, 102, 200 (rebadged Kyoceras)

So, obviously there were several good sellers in there, and of course for
every good seller there's at least one bad seller. The PC line were mostly
replacements for calculators that were programmable, and the Model 100
derivatives were mostly used as appliances rather than general purpose
machines. Aside from that, it seems like Tandy more than most went off in
the weeds with their own wide variety of machines instead of settling on a
common architecture. Do you think that if they had, say, revised and
extended the Model I system to color/80 column that the rest would have
been mostly redundant?

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Wed, Mar 28, 2018 at 1:39 PM, Toby Thain via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> On 2018-03-28 1:51 PM, Ethan Dicks via cctalk wrote:
> > On Wed, Mar 28, 2018 at 12:59 PM, Al Kossow via cctalk
> >  wrote:
> >> The rock has been lifted (again)
> >>
> >> DOES ANYONE READ OLD POSTS HERE??
> >
> > Some of us...
> >
> >> Do the math. Scanning all of that fiche is man-centuries of work with
> all but the most expensive equipment.
> >
> > Quite.  Maybe someday 9600 dpi scan heads will be cheap, but not soon
> > enough for most of us here today to care.
> >
> >> That's why it hasn't been done.
> >
> > Indeed.
>
> I wonder if you could use a photographic enlarger and a flatbed scanner to
> do this.
>
>
>
>

Re: An NTSC Atari looks good on a PAL TV. How come?

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Wed, Mar 7, 2018 at 2:06 AM, Terry Stewart via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> The PAL vrs NTSC TV standard complicated things when collecting home
> computers from other countries.
>
> In New Zealand we are on PAL.  PAL Atari 800s are rarer in the world that
> NTSC ones.  That being the case I recently settled on an NTSC one for my
> collection.  Hooking it up to a couple of my PAL TVs (via composite video)
> I was surprised to see a reasonable colour image.  I then dropped in a UAV
> video enhancement board and was surprised to see a very good colour image!
>
> I'm assuming it's because composite input into "relatively" modern can
> handle NTSC and PAL?  Is this a reasonable thought?  The UAV is not an NTSC
> converter, and even the inventor was surprised this worked.
>
> Those interested can read about the adventure here:
> https://www.classic-computers.org.nz/blog/2018-03-06-
> Converting%20-NTSC-Atari-800-for-PAL-using-UAV.htm
>
>
>
As others have said there are many sets on the market today that can do
either/or because supporting one vs the other is a "gimme". However, one
thing you may run into with PAL vs NTSC is that many games depended on the
video refresh timing of 50 or 60 Hz to work correctly and were hardcoded to
work with one or the other instead of determining the correct timing at
runtime. This can cause incompatibility problems with some software.
Another issue with other systems with more display memory (i.e. Atari ST or
Amiga) is that the PAL screen resolution tended to be a few lines higher
which can crop the image off at the bottom when running software designed
for PAL in NTSC mode. The timing problem is a real issue with a lot of C-64
software that you run across since a lot of it on the 'net assumes PAL, so
I ended up converting my Commodore 128D to a PAL system with a PAL VIC-II
chip and the various load option changes (oscillator, etc). Problem I have
now is that I'd rather use a CRT monitor, and most all that were sold in
North America can do only NTSC, so I'm stuck with black and white.

Re: Re: Keyboard "enthusiasts"

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Wed, Jan 24, 2018 at 2:31 AM, Ed Sharpe via cctalk  wrote:

> ah  do they  don't  just  collect just loose keyboards  they 'snatch'
>  keyboards  leaving the rest of the carcus  to of the terminal to  rot??
>
>
>
>
I suspect that the problem may be two-sided. Could be there are a fair
number of people that stash an old computer and toss the keyboards thinking
they can just use some off the shelf one later.

Re: Keyboard "enthusiasts"

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Tue, Jan 23, 2018 at 11:35 AM, Guy Sotomayor via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> …are the bane of my existence and should all rot in hell.
>
> Sorry, I just received an email from a “keyboard enthusiast” who was
> looking for
> various IBM 327x keyboards and wanted to know if I could help him and I
> needed
> to vent a little.
>
> I sent him a polite “no way in hell” response but I’m still angry about
> it.  These
> terminals are hard enough to find.  And more often than not, the keyboard
> is
> missing because some “enthusiast” thought it would be cool to convert it
> to a PC
> keyboard.  ARG!  And of course the keyboards that they want are the
> “typewriter”
> keyboards (all of my 3278 terminals have the “data entry keyboard”).
>
>
In their defense (and yes, I think they are awful no good people), I guess
you can't fault them too much since up until fairly recently a quality
mechanical keyboard was either too expensive or practically impossible to
source for a modern computer, what with the obsession with flat square
keycaps with next to no travel, etc. At least now we are starting to get
some decent lower cost options in the marketplace as new. Maybe these new
keyboards will dissuade people from destroying rare artifacts.

Re: Keyboard "enthusiasts"

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Tue, Jan 23, 2018 at 12:58 PM, william degnan via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> Did anyone attend VCF South East this past year, there was a large table
> run by a keyboard vendor.  Just keyboards, laid out like tusks from poached
> elephants.
>

Lol! I love it.

Re: Visicalc Addendum

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Wed, Oct 18, 2017 at 1:09 PM, Bill Gunshannon via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> Is that like the notion that we have Stallman to thank for Open Source
> software?
>
>
>
Exactly.

Re: Visicalc Addendum

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Wed, Oct 18, 2017 at 11:51 AM, Fred Cisin via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

>
 ??
> VisiCalc was written and developed in Massachusetts.  3 thousand miles
> from Silicon Valley.
>
>
Right. That was sarcasm on my part, since we have been repeatedly told by
armchair historians that we have Silicon Valley alone to thank for the
state of computing today. ;)

Re: Visicalc Addendum

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Wed, Oct 18, 2017 at 9:00 AM, Liam Proven via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> On 18 October 2017 at 01:33, Fred Cisin via cctalk
>  wrote:
> > "Entry in my journal: First complete VisiCalc in a package was October
> 19,
> > 1979. I received a copy the next day as I recall."
> >
> > http://www.bricklin.com/history/saiproduct1.htm
> >
> > So, Murray gave us a few extra days to prepare for the party.
> >
> >
> > BTW, "conception of the idea" is what is commemorated at Harvard!
> > SHIPMENT is a more objective measure, but vaporware is a tradition.
>
> Hey, good discovery!
>
>
 I'm glad to see that once again we have validated that all
innovation in the computer revolution happened in Silicon Valley. 

Re: Halt and Catch Fire (TV series)

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

I felt like Cardiff also had a resemblance to Tandy/Radio Shack as well,
since they were in the electronics business before getting into computers.

On Sun, Oct 15, 2017 at 3:24 PM, tom sparks via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> I have just finished watching [Halt and Catch Fire](
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halt_and_Catch_Fire_(TV_series))
> I've tried to Identify the companies the show represents
>
> early 1980-1985 (Season 1):
>
> * Cardiff Electric = [Compaq](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compaq)
> Joe MacMillan, Gordon Clark, Cameron Howe
>
> 1985-1989 (Season 2-3):
>
> * Muntiy = [PlayNET](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayNET) / [Quantum
> Link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_Link) / [Habitat](
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitat_(video_game))
>  Cameron Howe ( founder ), Donna Clark
> * MacMillan = [McAfee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McAfee)
> Joe MacMillan ( founder )
> *  Unknown? = [NSFNET Regional networks](https://en.wikipedia
> .org/wiki/National_Science_Foundation_Network#Regional_networks)
> Joe MacMillan ( founder )
> * Gordon Clark computers = [Dell](https://en.wikipedia.or
> g/wiki/History_of_Dell)
> Gordon Clark ( founder )
>
> 1990 -1995 (Season 4):
>
> * Comet = [Yahoo! Directory?](https://en.wikiped
> ia.org/wiki/Yahoo!_Directory)
> Gordon Clark ( founder ), Joe MacMillan
> * Rover = [AltaVista?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AltaVista)
> Donna Clark ( intervestor )
>
>
> Issues I had was:
>
> * Hollywood hacking: [packet sniffer](https://en.wikipedia.
> org/wiki/Packet_analyzer) = bloodhound
> * Amiga computer: poor portrayal, looked like a DOS  computer
>
>

Re: The origin of SCSI [WAS:RE: The origin of the phrases ATA and IDE ]

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Thu, Oct 5, 2017 at 1:50 PM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

>
> You could well be right--I do recall that there was "Mac SCSI" and then
> the slightly different "Everyone else's SCSI".  I ran into this when
> talking with some SMS/OMTI engineers about an ST506-to-SCSI bridge board
> that I have.  Their reaction was "Oh, that's Mac SCSI--you want real SCSI".
>
>
Supposedly the Mac Plus SCSI implementation is slightly broken/non-standard
(or at least draft standard), either in its drivers or the SCSI controller
chip, so maybe that's what they were referring to.

Re: Reviving ancient MFM drives (was Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC)

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Fri, Sep 29, 2017 at 3:05 AM, Christian Corti via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> On Thu, 28 Sep 2017, Geoffrey Oltmans wrote:
>
>> Speaking of I've got a couple of old MFM drives (10 and 20 MB of a
>> variety whose name and model #'s escape me, I wanna say Tandon, but not
>> sure). They seem to work fine when I initially format and partition, but
>> as
>> they run for a while, they get more and more unreliable. It seems to be a
>> function of how long they've been running for rather than a predictable
>> pattern of bad tracks sectors? Are there any good sources of
>> troubleshooting info at the controller level for these old drives?
>>
>
> Well, that's normal. The usual procedure is to let the drive warm up for
> 10-20 minutes before formatting. And it is also normal for some models that
> they must be reformatted after, say, a couple of months or years, depending
> on make and manufacturer. The Rhodime 50MB drive in my IBM 8550 is such a
> beast. My procedure is to run Norton CALIBRAT to reformat the drive
> losslessly.
>
>
> Good idea. I'll give that a shot.

Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Thu, Sep 28, 2017 at 7:36 PM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

>
> What I find perplexing is the acronym "SATA" for "Serial ATA".  The name
> would imply that a drive can be connected to a 5170, but I'm not aware
> of any SATA adapters for the 5170 PC/AT.
>

I'm sure you're probably aware that a command set was part of the original
ATA and has persistently been enhanced over time. I think that it pays more
homage to the command set part of the specification rather than the
physical interface.

Reviving ancient MFM drives (was Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC)

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Thu, Sep 28, 2017 at 11:17 AM, Al Kossow via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

>
>
> On 9/28/17 7:38 AM, Mike Stein via cctalk wrote:
>
> > What is it that usually fails when the drive can't read the servo info?
> The data on the platter, or?
>
> I've never dug that far into it beyond fiddling with Micropolis trying to
> mechanically get it to
> find the servo tracks and calibrate to track 0.
>
> One of the problems is schematics and documentation on the servo systems
> are extremely difficult
> to get. The little that is on bitsavers is all I've come up with in 25
> years of searching and there
> is practically nothing useful elsewhere on the web about fixing servos in
> old 5" disks.
>
> It could be heads, media, positioners, component aging in the analog
> section, etc etc..
>
>
>
>

Speaking of I've got a couple of old MFM drives (10 and 20 MB of a
variety whose name and model #'s escape me, I wanna say Tandon, but not
sure). They seem to work fine when I initially format and partition, but as
they run for a while, they get more and more unreliable. It seems to be a
function of how long they've been running for rather than a predictable
pattern of bad tracks sectors? Are there any good sources of
troubleshooting info at the controller level for these old drives?

Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Wed, Sep 27, 2017 at 11:16 AM, allison via cctalk 
wrote:

>
>>
> IDE disks format usually meant high level only.  SCSI could be either
> depnding on the specific controller and media.
>
>
Seems like the omission of low level formatting of IDE drives had more to
do with preserving the servo track data, (and maybe aforementioned
firmware/bad sector data) yes? Were any earlier MFM/RLL voice coil/servo
controlled, or were they all stepper drives?

Re: RIP Jerry Pournelle - Firsts

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Fri, Sep 15, 2017 at 12:50 PM, Jim Brain via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> On 9/15/2017 10:49 AM, Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk wrote:
>
>> Wow... that really doesn't make him look good at all!
>>
>>
>>> It does not surprise me.  Not that I knew the man, but it seems in
> general, our heroes are more blemished and our villains more redeemable
> than we want to remember or admit.
>
> On a more practical note.  If I were a writer, had an audience, and
> managed to snag an account on the coolest network around, I'd probably have
> flaunted it as well, with the same end.
>
>
I didn't either. He answered a couple of questions or posts on one of the
RoundTables on GEnie for me when I was on there ages ago, but that's the
only interaction I've had with him.  He seemed fairly likable on there as I
recall.

Re: RIP Jerry Pournelle - Firsts

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

Wow... that really doesn't make him look good at all!



On Tue, Sep 12, 2017 at 11:47 PM, Eric Smith via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> On Mon, Sep 11, 2017 at 7:43 PM, Charles Dickman via cctalk <
> cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:
>
> > On Mon, Sep 11, 2017 at 1:15 PM, Shoppa, Tim via cctalk
> >  wrote:
> > > He seems to have been the first to mention ARPANET in a popular
> > hobbyist-type context like BYTE. (Leading him to get kicked off ARPANET!)
> >
> > Yes I remember reading something like that too. I would like to know
> > the story of that.
> >
>
> http://www.stormtiger.org/bob/humor/pournell/story.html
>

Re: Tips For Soldering a Surface Mount PLCC Socket

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

The way a lady at my work did them was to crack out the bottom piece of the
socket to give better access to the pins. She didn't typically put the
bottom piece back in since we used the PLCC socket to plug into an emulator
pod so there was no need for it (shoulder around the POD connector wouldn't
allow it to fit too deeply into the socket. I suppose if you just dropped
the bottom of the socket back in place before plugging in the chip that
would probably be sufficient.



On Mon, Sep 11, 2017 at 1:23 PM, shad via cctalk 
wrote:

> Hello,
> in my experience SMD components doesn't need a presoldering operation at
> all, because pins are already stained or golded, thus very solderable.
> Plus the extra heat could let the pin move inside the plastic, or add
> somehow excessive thickness when positioned on the PCB.
> In my experience the best option is to clean well the PCB with a
> desoldering wick, then add some flux and touch the pads with a thin
> soldering iron and some AgPb wire, to dilute the no-Pb alloy on the pads,
> which is harder to melt than Pb alloy.
> Thanks to flux, surface tension will be low and Agpb alloy will form a thin
> layer with no oxide.
> Now position the new component, it should seat well in position, without
> excessive height over the PCB.
> Now with thin iron, heat two opposite pins letting the alloy to melt, and
> the component will be held in place.
> Now proceed in order with all pins.
>
> Note: use lower temperatures (<380C, less is better), good quality flux and
> AgPb are required for comfortable operation with low risk of damage.
>
> Andrea
>

Re: determing date on TI 99/4 computers.

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Wed, Sep 6, 2017 at 10:45 AM, Liam Proven via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> On 6 September 2017 at 16:55, Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk
> <cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:
>
> > There's a pretty good article about TI's home computers that I've been
> > trying to find that lays out a pretty convincing argument for why the 4A
> > was not successful in the market despite early success.
>
> https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-history/heroic-failures/
> the-texas-instruments-994-worlds-first-16bit-computer
>
> ...?
>

 That's a good article, but not the one I remember. The one I remember was
about three pages long and mentioned the AC adapter recall in particular.

Re: determing date on TI 99/4 computers.

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

Depends on if you're talking about the 99/4 or 99/4A. The 99/4 was black
and silver and had a chiclet style keyboard and is rare. The 4A had a black
and silver finish first, and then later switched to beige I imagine in an
effort to curb costs since they were being undercut pretty badly by
Commodore.

There's a pretty good article about TI's home computers that I've been
trying to find that lays out a pretty convincing argument for why the 4A
was not successful in the market despite early success. Basically a costly
recall of the power supplies wiped out a lot of their profits, and the
system was too expensive due to the insistence of using as much in-house
parts as possible even when there were much cheaper components available in
the wider market, for example the CPU (Z80 or 6502).


On Wed, Sep 6, 2017 at 1:00 AM, Ed via cctalk  wrote:

> There is a white  or beige one
>
> then there is the black and chrome  one?
>
> which  first?  and  dates please?
>
> This is unfamiliar territory  for me.
> but need to pay homage to these
> in a museum display here.
>
> looking  for  good  hi res scans of
> adv. material etc. for  display??
>
> thanks  ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org)
>

Re: Beautifully-posed photos of various kinds of retro kit

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

Looks great!

On Wed, May 3, 2017 at 6:52 AM, Liam Proven via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> From the Apple ][ up to PowerMac G4s. So, possibly a bit new for many
> of you folk, but I enjoyed them and thought others might too.
>
> http://podstawczynski.com/retro/beauty_shots.html
>
> --
> Liam Proven • Profile: https://about.me/liamproven
> Email: lpro...@cix.co.uk • Google Mail/Talk/Plus: lpro...@gmail.com
> Twitter/Facebook/Flickr: lproven • Skype/LinkedIn/AIM/Yahoo: liamproven
> UK: +44 7939-087884 • ČR/WhatsApp/Telegram/Signal: +420 702 829 053
>

Re: Intellivision reset switch

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

On Mon, Apr 3, 2017 at 10:16 AM, Richard Sheppard via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

>
> May depend on the model, but mine has a spring under the plastic reset
> button in the top of the case and one of those metal domed tactile switches
> on the PCB.
>

This matches my recollection of the system I had. The type of metal domed
switch made famous by the Atari 2600 joysticks.

Re: [VideoMagia] Reparando um Vectrex

[Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk]

Not sure how it worked on the Vectrex, but I am familiar with Atari vector
arcade games (used to own a Tempest and Asteroids machine). In them, they
used a display controller that utilized a display list of coordinates,
colors, etc and IIRC it even had the ability to do jumps, etc probably
similar in concept to how the CTIA/GTIA would work on the Atari home
computers with their display lists. Certainly a lot less data to write than
a framebuffer or pattern-generated display. In the case of the Asteroids
game, it's resolution was around 1024x800ish, pretty high res for the day.

I can imagine that they employed a similar vector generator on the Vectrex.

On Fri, Mar 24, 2017 at 1:47 PM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> On 03/24/2017 08:34 AM, Alexandre Souza via cctalk wrote:
> > Well...there is some description in english, google translate is a
> > very useful tool and the post has a pertinent video. I cannot view it
> > as spam. Anyway...sorry for bothering :)
>
> I rather enjoyed the Vectrex story--and  yes, Google translate works
> pretty well.
>
> I remember when the Vectrex came out--and I wondered how well an MPU of
> the day could keep up with drawing relatively complex game displays,
> since, unlike a raster display, the vector display has to be
> continuously regenerated.  It clearly worked.
>
> Thanks for the narrative,
> Chuck
>
>

Re: PAL video in the states

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

I use a TV tuner/video capture card (Hauppauge WinTV-D) and DScaler to
display output from my PAL Commodore 128D either composite or Y/C. It works
quite well actually. I did try a cheapy PAL/NTSC converter from eBay but
any horizontal movement is terrible since it doesn't do any
framebuffering/pulldown necessary to handle the difference in refresh
rates. Dscaler displays just about perfect (although the Hauppauge card
introduces a bit of noise in the video).

On Fri, Jan 13, 2017 at 12:02 PM, Tony Duell  wrote:

> On Fri, Jan 13, 2017 at 4:17 PM, Adrian Graham
>  wrote:
> > On 13 January 2017 at 15:49, Tony Duell  wrote:
>
>
> [Sony PVM9044QM]
>
> > I bought one of those recently ostensibly as a monitor for my Apple ][s
> but
> > like you say it's capable of pretty much anything you can throw at it.
> > ukp25 too, bargain.
>
> You can get the service manual from elektrotanya, and believe me you
> need it!
>
> >
> > I didn't think of putting my Einstein through my big TV, instead I spent
> > quite a bit on the official Tatung monitor for an exhibition I was doing.
>
> The Einstein can output either RGB (analogue) + sync or 'Component
> video' (luminance and 2 colour difference signals). There are links on the
> PCB to select which.
>
> I've never seen the official Tatung monitor for it. I assume it's based on
> a common TV chassis design. (The Einstein PSU is very similar to some
> 1980s Decca/Tatung TV power supply circuits).
>
> -tony
>

Re: ADM 3A in Sunnyvale, CA

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Tue, Oct 11, 2016 at 11:33 AM, Peter Cetinski  wrote:

> >
> > On Oct 11, 2016, at 12:17 PM, Bob Rosenbloom 
> wrote:
> >
> > On Craigslist. Has bad screen rot.
> >
> > http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/atq/5817891157.html
> >
> > Bob
> >
> >
>
> That’s an understatement!  Anyone know how difficult is it to source a
> replacement CRT for these?



I wonder what the deal is with different ones. Mine has a perfect CRT on
it, and as far as I know it is original (I acquired mine from the guy that
built it).

Re: Gaming on old systems (was Re: Twiggys [

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Tue, Oct 11, 2016 at 7:51 AM, Adam Sampson  wrote:

>
> On the Amiga, our favourites included: Lemmings (two mice), Stunt Car
> Racer (serial link), Gravity Power, Blob Kombat, Space Taxi, XTreme
> Racing, and Super Skidmarks (all two joysticks). On Unix machines, hunt
> (terminal) and XPilot (X).
>


There was a port of Space Taxi for the Amiga? Interesting. One of my
favorites on the C-64. Off the top of my head another favorite vintage game
is Dino Eggs, which I believe the creator is working on releasing for
mobile platforms right now.

Re: Twiggys [was: Re: ka... ching!]

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Sat, Oct 8, 2016 at 8:42 PM, Chuck Guzis  wrote:

> On 10/08/2016 06:13 PM, TeoZ wrote:
> >
> > Everybody has something they do to chill out, some drink or jog, or
> > play games.
>
> Certainly, but playing computer games after a hard day in front of the
> number-cruncher seems like a terrible way to detox.
>
> [...]



> I do recall that there was a small start-up that occupied part of the
> lower floor of the "Prudential building' on Moffet Park Drive--we had
> the upper floor as overflow from the main SVLOPS building. I think they
> called themselves "Atari".  A couple of us wandered into their offices
> during lunchtime  and asked about job opportunities.  We were rebuffed
> with a firm "no mainframe programmers wanted".
>

Apologies for saying this, but it almost sounds like to me that you are
validating their "no mainframe programmers wanted" stance. ;)

Re: G4 cube (was Re: 68K Macs with MacOS 7.5 still in production use...)

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Mon, Sep 12, 2016 at 11:32 AM, Al Kossow  wrote:

>
>
>
> >
> > They make nice Kleenex dispensers.
> >
> >
>
> http://www.cultofmac.com/62678/diy-powermac-g4-cube-tissue-dispenser/
>
>
>
Why, why, why? sheesh.

Re: Halt and Catch Fire Tonight

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Wed, Aug 24, 2016 at 11:59 AM, j...@cimmeri.com  wrote:

>
>> Who said anything about it being a documentary?  It's a period drama
> largely
> based on the kinds of flamboyant personalities that pioneered much of the
> personal computer industry.  While retro computers are in the show, I don't
> view it as being about the retro computers themselves.
>
>
Not you. But several previous posters lamented about the
aprocryphal/anachronistic quality of the tech in the show.

Re: IC Identification?

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Tue, Jun 28, 2016 at 10:41 PM, Chuck Guzis  wrote:

> On 06/28/2016 08:06 PM, Geoff Oltmans wrote:
> > Hey everyone,
> >
> > I'm in the process of trying to unload a bunch of things I don't
> > need, and I have several sticks of old ICs that I have no need for.
> > Most are easily identified, but this one in particular I can't figure
> > out, so I'm hoping someone here knows:
> >
> > 130018 4393409 RCA Z 806
> >
> > Any help would be appreciated!
>
>
> RCA, was at one time, very big in transistor arrays.  I wonder if this
> isn't just a house number for a CA3018.
>
> A thought, anyway.
>
> --Chuck
>

I guess I should have mentioned that it's in a DIP 40, the size of a Z80
processor or the like. I wonder if it's some MPU for an RCA TV? Not sure, I
do have a bunch of ICs for TV video circuits in this box of stuff.

Re: thinking of the "ultimate" retro x86 PCs - what bits to seek/keep ?

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

If you're in the neighborhood of a DX2-66 IIRC, 486DX 50s with VLB were
fairly desirable vs a 486DX2-66 if you got the right mix of VLB cards to
use, since you could run the VLB cards faster.

Re: thinking of the "ultimate" retro x86 PCs - what bits to seek/keep ?

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Thu, Jun 2, 2016 at 6:16 PM, Chuck Guzis  wrote:

>
> 2.88M 3.5" floppies were a huge mistake (there were also 2.88M 5.25"
> ones as well).  The media was expensive (I think I paid nearly $50 for
> box of 10 DSED floppies and the drives needed FDC support.  That being
> said, most P2 and later boxes did have 2.88M FDC support.  Drives were
> uncommon (e.g. Teac FD235J).  I think that I've seen all of about five
> floppies in for conversion over the last 20 years in 2.88M format.
>
>
given the poor track record of 3.5" DSHD media I've had in my collection, I
can only imagine how unreliable ED media is/was.

Re: Big announcement tomorrow night

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Wed, Jun 8, 2016 at 10:58 AM, Mark J. Blair  wrote:

>
> > On Jun 8, 2016, at 08:39, Evan Koblentz  wrote:
>
> > Read list your emails. :)  It was not VCF Southern California.
> >
> > But northern California is nice too.
>
> I seem to have missed the announcement in the noise, unless you were
> referring to the Woz-signed Apple auction. Northern CA is nice, but it's
> farther than I wish to drive. ;)
>
>
>
I didn't see it either.

Re: vintage computers in active use

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Thu, May 26, 2016 at 11:48 AM, Fred Cisin  wrote:

>
> And, THAT is why it MUST be replaced immediately by "modern" hardware
> and software, to put an end to that.  Windows10 can change that.
>
>
Yes, and while we're at it, put it in "the cloud" so that the we can have
an app for "red button." ;) What could possibly go wrong?

Re: classics I threw away or sold ... foolishly

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Thu, May 19, 2016 at 11:10 AM, Geoffrey Oltmans <oltma...@gmail.com>
wrote:

>
>
> That's a pretty good list. I agree with you on the Atari Lynx. I miss mine
> as well...bought it brand new and ended up buying about 21 games for it for
> dirt cheap when they started clearancing them off (most games I paid $2-6
> for brand-new at Kay Bee Toy Store). Other than that:
>
> 1. Amiga 3000
> 2. Tandy 1000HX
>
> Most everything else I remember fondly but don't have any particular
> feeling I need to go back.
>

Gah! Spoke too soon, I'd also like to have one of the few Amiga 1000s back
and also a DEC Pro/350 that my Uncle gave me when it became obsolete for
him.

Re: classics I threw away or sold ... foolishly

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Wed, May 18, 2016 at 3:50 PM, Swift Griggs  wrote:

>
> I've stack-ranked all the classic items that I, to my everlasting shame,
> let go of at some point and now I feel like it was a mistake:
>
> 1. Amiga 2500. I ditched it thinking I'd pick up a 3000 then never did.
> Ugh. It was free. They were using at some radio station where I helped
> them fix their PCs but then decided I wanted their Amiga (stashed in a
> closet) to subsidize my fee.
>
> 2. SGI Indigo R4400 with pristine KB + mouse, Maxxed RAM, and Elan. Ugh.
> /me bangs head against wall
>
> 3. Mac IIci with 060' accelerator. I put the accelerator in and paid $$$
>   for it. Darn it. That was a cool system.
>
> 4. Sun Voyager. These go for a fortune now on Ebay. I *gave* mine away.
> Not this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sun_Voyager
> This one: http://tinyurl.com/lhzjfks
>
> 5. NeXTStation Color Turbo. I got tired of the proprietary-everything and
> the space it was taking to keep it working and pristine. Still. I wish I
> hadn't sold it.
>
> 6. Mac Quadra 660AV. This was a pizzabox M68k classic mac with a video
> frame capture (a crappy one but still...) capability. I notice you can't
> really even buy classic macs on ebay anymore. There used to be scads of
> them. Damn... does that mean I'm old now?
>
> 7. SGI Origin 200 dual R12k 270Mhz. It's the top model Origin 200 and it
> had good skins etc... If I had it today it'd be running in my garage with
> the rest of the zoo. I had to ditch some gear to move way back when, and
> this box was a casualty.
>
> 8. Sharp Wizard OZ-8000 organizer. This thing rocked. I'd probably be
> tempted to *use* it. I got a lot of mileage out of it "back in the day". It
> ran on a Z80 and took AAA batteries (yes!). Plus I had (and maybe I still
> do) a DB9 serial interface for it. You could use it as a vt220 terminal,
> IIRC.
>
> 9. Atari Lynx. I had all the cool games. Like a fool I sold mine for some
> quick money in college to help fund a silly trip with some chick who is
> long gone long ago. Ugh. I'd rather have the Lynx back...
>
> 10. TRS-80 model 100. I didn't really like it that much, but nowadays it'd
> look cool in my collection and I have more nostalgic love for the
> trasheighty. Plus it takes AA batteries (I love that!).
>
> -Swift
>

That's a pretty good list. I agree with you on the Atari Lynx. I miss mine
as well...bought it brand new and ended up buying about 21 games for it for
dirt cheap when they started clearancing them off (most games I paid $2-6
for brand-new at Kay Bee Toy Store). Other than that:

1. Amiga 3000
2. Tandy 1000HX

Most everything else I remember fondly but don't have any particular
feeling I need to go back.

Re: beige rant (was Re: IBM 5150 with red case on ebay)

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Fri, May 13, 2016 at 4:24 PM, Swift Griggs  wrote:

>
>
> In the 1980's and 1990's SGI was a bright shining exception and I love
> them for that early middle finger to the beige box priesthood. Apple/NeXT
> did a decent job, too. Once they became one and Jobs got his way, he seems
> to have set about claiming a significant space in the then-wilderness of
> PC industrial design. In the meantime, their stock went from @$30 a share
> in 98' into the stratosphere, splitting a few times along the way. Guess
> thinking about design wasn't such a bad idea.
>

While I think the SGIs were cool at the time, their industrial design,
colors and all from the 90's look rather dated today.

Re: Accelerator boards - no future? Bad business?

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Fri, Apr 22, 2016 at 2:17 PM,  wrote:

>
>> The
>> other is that many Amigas had processor "slots" (with edge connectors)
>> rather than some tiny fiddly ball-grid array etc...  but I'm not a EE; so
>> maybe that's bunk.
>>
>>
> High clock rates for data busses of modern systems wouldn't work with old
> style card edge interconnects AFAIK. Also, I don't think the old PPC
> accelerators for the Amiga or the ones for the Macs (that sometimes had CPU
> upgrade slots) would really accelerate everything - you might get faster
> processor instructions and maybe L1/L2 cache -- but memory and I/O are
> still slow?


Well, the native memory, and peripherals, yeah sure, that was still "slow."
(but still adequate).  Most every accelerator board available for Amiga had
it's own dedicated on-board memory and SCSI adapter for faster IO where it
really mattered most. The other major thing being graphics adapters ran
better on the 3000 and 4000 since those had 32-bit busses (and with higher
speed and burst modes available), so they kinda sorta planned on people
putting faster processors on those than what they were shipped with (and in
some cases didn't have a CPU on the motherboard even).

Not sure about the Apple front.

Re: Vintage computer ads...

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Wed, Apr 20, 2016 at 10:30 AM, Jason Scott  wrote:

> It would be nice if you linked to where you saw him in the video,
> time-wise. Here's what Bryan Cranston looked like in 1984, the time this
> video came out.
> http://starcasm.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/bryancranston.jpg
>
> He was definitely working in ads and plays at the time.
>
>
Sorry, about 6:10. I watched it a few times before your response and I
think it's not him (especially after your pic).

Re: Vintage computer ads...

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Wed, Apr 20, 2016 at 9:37 AM, geneb  wrote:

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T1IYdjOpYE
>
> The video is an hour long, but you can skip around.  It includes ads for
> machines like the ITT Xtra, IBM PC Jr, etc.  The Hayes Smartmodem ad is
> just atrocious. :)  There's even ads for IOMega drives and the Promethus
> Pro Modem...
>
>
Is that Bryan Cranston a la Breaking Bad in that video??? Sure looks like
him.

Re: ROM Cartridges. Lifespan, and other tidbits

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Tue, Apr 19, 2016 at 9:53 AM, Swift Griggs  wrote:

>
> I have some 90's consoles in my collection and I fondly remember a few
> systems that took carts that family and friends owned back in the 80's and
> 90's.  I thought the Colecovision Adam was awesome.  My cousin had one and
> I
> was so jealous.  The C64, 80's 8bit Atari PCs, the IBM PC Jr, and others
> all
> had cartridge ports, too.
>

I loved (and still do) the ADAM. It is an under-appreciated machine these
days IMO. Most of the initial launch issues you read about have long since
been corrected by the ravages of time, and what remains are on the whole
pretty solid units.

Re: ROM Cartridges. Lifespan, and other tidbits

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Tue, Apr 19, 2016 at 11:41 AM, Swift Griggs 
wrote:

>
> On Tue, 19 Apr 2016, et...@757.org wrote:
> > > Why does blowing on them help? (mosture? cleaning action?)
> > The moisure makes the connection work better or something, so that is
> > where it comes from.  Cleaning the contacts is best, and if it's a NES
> you
> > can replace the "finger module" or the slots on other systems.
>
> It seems like both sides can get worn out.  I've seen carts that'd have
> problems wherever you took them, even on nearly new NES units.  On the
> other
> hand I've seen well-worn NES systems that could barely play a brand-new
> cart.  I'm guessing that's where replacing the finger module would really
> give you a new lease on life for your NES.
>
>
I bought an NES back in the day brand-new ( I guess that would have been
about 1988) and as an anally-retentive pre-teen I never had problems with
any of the cartridges that I spent my hard-earned lawn mowing money on for
couple of years worth of solid play... that is until I lent them out to
friends that would invariably use the "blow in the cartridge" trick. It
does work, and I suspect that the moisture from your breath is the correct
culprit. Some carts had gold fingers, some tinned, and as I later went on
to work at a local video game swapping business as a teenager I noted that
quite a few of the tin plated edge connector carts were really really
corroded... from people blowing on the carts no doubt.

Nevertheless, later model systems without the ZIF connector never seemed to
have the same issues with carts that the NES had. :)

Re: MiST - Amiga ST FPGA + intro

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Thu, Mar 31, 2016 at 3:53 PM, Swift Griggs  wrote:

>
> This is what I struggled with, too. Why buy yet another piece of kit when
> I can run UAE and other emulators with ease (and all on my main
> workstation) ? For me, the reason is a bit specific to my situation. For
> one, the MiST is _tiny_ it's about the size of a box of strike-anywhere
> kitchen matches (I used to shoot these out of my BB gun, dunno why that
> came to mind, sorry). Another reason is that I like to use a KVM on my
> workstation at home. I find that if a machine isn't on my KVM, it doesn't
> get much use. So, being that the MiST is HD15 VGA + USB kb & mouse, that
> suited my KVM rig perfectly. I had a little 5-port USB power supply down
> there, too. So, I was able to plug the MiST into that without burning
> another power-socket or needing a thick cable.
>
> The emulation is also a bit better in some cases. I can run demos on my
> MiST that have significant problems with UAE (glitchy graphics display). I
> also enjoy console games (heck any games for that matter, including
> pinball). So, the MiST emulates some big platform names there.
> Unfortunately, there is no Neo Geo or SNES support, yet. However, I have a
> feeling that'll come. Folks are already discussing those. So, i see it as
> kind of a "super-emulator" that has the additional benefits of working with
> my KVM console rig (and my monitor), without having to burn a bunch of
> space.
>
> Still you are completely correct, you could setup all the same OS's using
> pure software emulators, and use one of those USB-to-ancient-joystick
> converters to get that little feature. Using the MiST is a weird
> experience. To me, it's more exciting than firing up an emulator, but less
> than putting hands on the real metal. YMMV, but I see your points, for
> sure. I thought a lot of the same things. However, given it's size, it
> won't junk up my place anymore which is my main concern. Given the cost, if
> I get tired of it... well it was just $180 or so, and someone will buy it.
>
> -Swift
>

Good info. I haven't talked to anyone that could compare one with the
software emulation that's available.

I have been working on improving Adamem for the Coleco ADAM for the past 10
years or so off and on. In most respects it does an excellent job of
emulating the real deal. There are a couple of areas I'm still working to
address on it (namely sound emulation).

Granted, that system is quite a bit simpler than an Amiga.

Re: MiST - Amiga ST FPGA + intro

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Thu, Mar 31, 2016 at 3:39 PM, ben  wrote:

>
>
FPGA's can match the  TIMING and HARDWARE BUGS better, if given half a
>>> chance.
>>>
>>
>>
Either one is an approximation of the real hardware. It all depends on the
level of effort given to either approach.

For what it's worth, for very complex hardware the FPGA approach makes the
most sense. For an Amiga or an Atari ST though? Not so sure about that.
>From what I've seen the software emulation is extremely good.

Re: Apple Lisa 2/10 for sale

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

Slight threadjack... which is uglier... the Lisa or the Apple ///?

Re: What to Do with a PS/2?

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Wed, Jan 27, 2016 at 12:14 PM, John Willis 
wrote:

> everything-is-plaintext philosophy. IMO, NT offers a better kernel than
> OS/2,
> but nothing has ever matched the elegance and sheer power of the Workplace
> Shell as a graphical abstraction.
>

Hmmm... agree to disagree I guess. I generally found the Workplace shell in
OS/2 a bit cumbersome and maddening compared to a lot of the GUI
alternatives.

Re: NEC 8201a

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Mon, Jan 25, 2016 at 1:54 AM, Fred Cisin  wrote:

> Anyone still messing with the Kyocera machines?
> (Radio Shack Model 100, NEC PC-8201A, and a few others were part of the
> same series made by Kyocera (Kyoto Ceramics))
>
>
>
I've been tinkering with a Tandy 102 lately. Recently picked up a TPDD2
drive with no cable. I have to construct one so I can use it, and then I
don't have the Utility disk, so I'm not sure how useful it will be.

The one I got needed a new battery backup battery, and I had to repair a
trace. The system would work, but the memory wouldn't retain contents. The
AA batteries leaked on the power supply trace and etched it away in a small
section, enough to sever the NiCad connection to the RAM, but leave the AA
to power the RAM once turned on.

Re: 10 forgotten wonders of 1980s homes

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

I should note too that more "forward looking" approaches such as in
Australia with NBN Co have re-evaluated their wholesale approach at a
fiber-only deployment to also include some copper deployments, due to cost
pressures.

Re: 10 forgotten wonders of 1980s homes

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Thu, Dec 31, 2015 at 10:58 AM, Chuck Guzis  wrote:

>
> Several times.  When the weather improves and they start working again,
> I'll corral a tech and ask him to open one up for photos.  They're great
> guys to a man/womam.  It's a big cabinet--perhaps 10-12 feed long. There
> are smaller cabinets there too, but they're mostly filled with wire.
>
> What surprises me is the age of the customer copper. Folks around here
> feed from individual pedestals on the road, using 5-pair buried cable
> that's probably 30 or more years old to the residence.  When the local REC
> (rural electrical cooperative) came through about 5 years ago to replace
> the buried individual 12KV customer feeds, it would have been a golden
> opportunity to bury new customer lines, sadly ignored.  So while my
> electrical goes along the driveway from the disconnect on the road to the
> transformer in my yard, the telco buried wire wanders across the property
> among the trees until it finally enters the house.
>
>
There's a lot of pressure to reuse old copper. As you indicate, there's a
ton of it still in the ground and it's not easy in a lot of cases to dig it
up or replace, plus it's already invested in, wholesale replacement costs
money, and if you don't have to, why bother? In multi-unit housing, it may
not be economically feasible or practical to retrofit the building to use
anything but the existing wiring. As a result, you see a lot of
fiber-to-the-node installations or fiber-to-the-distribution-point,
particularly in established rural applications. The death of copper has
been preached since I started into this business. Back then copper's savior
was HDSL, and ever since there's been some other xDSL technology
improvements to squeeze more out of the existing copper plant.

So, I'd say realistically you're likely to see copper for a good while
longer, but it is getting pushed farther and farther to the edges of the
networks. I'm happy for it to stick around for as long as possible. :)
Eventually xPON will supplant it, and the Cable company and Telco networks
will look virtually identical.

Re: Copper (Was: 10 forgotten wonders of 1980s homes

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Thu, Dec 31, 2015 at 12:17 PM, Fred Cisin  wrote:

>
> Almost half a century ago, there were attempts to use aluminium instead of
> copper for house wiring.  It did not go well.
>

No, it didn't! We looked at several old houses back in 2012 before we
bought the house we're in now. Several of these houses were from the late
60's/early 70's and that concern was forefront in my mind with them. They
still sell special outlets and switches compatible with aluminum wiring in
the hardware stores.

Re: Copper (Was: 10 forgotten wonders of 1980s homes

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Thu, Dec 31, 2015 at 1:59 PM, Paul Koning  wrote:

>
> I haven't see aluminum-rated devices in hardware stores in many years.  Be
> careful: typically they will be labeled either as "copper only" or as
> "CU/AL".  But that doesn't mean "copper or aluminum" -- it means you're
> allowed to user copper-clad aluminum.  That's a hack type of wire that was
> adopted for a while after the plain aluminum was discovered to be a Very
> Bad Idea.  It's not quite as bad but there is really no justification for
> its existence, and indeed it is no longer the current practice.
> Copper-clad aluminum can be used with copper without much trouble, but the
> wire is thicker and it breaks more easily.
>

Hmm... if this is to be believed then you can use these for aluminum
wiring...

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-15-Amp-Duplex-CO-ALR-Outlet-Ivory-R51-12650-00I/100357026

"CO/ALR switches and outlets are required anywhere aluminum wiring has been
installed."

Although I agree with you... I wouldn't want to knowingly sign up for a
house with aluminum wiring because improperly repairing the wiring could
result in just as much fire risk as if you didn't do any repairs at all.

Re: 10 forgotten wonders of 1980s homes

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Wed, Dec 30, 2015 at 1:24 PM, Jim Brain  wrote:

>
> We were spoiled in South Dakota, as somehow (and I am sure someone knows
> and will enlighten us/me) the rural telcos (LECs?)  tapped into lots of
> funds from somewhere to drop fiber to all of the rural homes.  50Mb was the
> slowest speed, as I recall, for data.  The catch was that you had to buy a
> telephone service with your Internet, probably for some legal/regulatory
> reason.  But, it was cheap, and we bought just the basics, and 50Mb was
> more than one could expect when you are 8 miles from the nearest town and
> on a large acreage.  So, in markets where this type of service is offered,
> I think telcos will thrive.
>

Probably the FCC's Connect America Fund. This is meant to do for broadband
what the REA did for electrical power.

Re: 10 forgotten wonders of 1980s homes

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Wed, Dec 30, 2015 at 4:40 PM, Chuck Guzis  wrote:

> Speaking of 1980s/90s, are telcos pretty much the only ones using ATM
> nowadays?
>
> --Chuck
>
>

I can't speak for the whole Telco segment, but I work on DSLAMs for a
living and have done so for the past 15 years. Our earliest generation
DSLAMs were ATM based (T1 IMA fed), but within a couple of years
transitioned to Ethernet. Almost all of the equipment that I come in
contact with is Ethernet at this point, but I'm not on the front-lines and
I don't have a lot of exposure to voice services though, but I think it is
safe to say that telcos are vested pretty heavily in Ethernet these days.

I'll have to ask a co-worker about the makeup of the networks he's seen in
the field, but pretty much all the talk I hear about these days is all
Ethernet. I occasionally hear about GR303, SIP and pseudowire ( a tech that
allows for timely delivery of packetized TDM streams primarily for POTS
services).

Re: 10 forgotten wonders of 1980s homes

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

It doesn't much matter who the telco is for CAF money to be awarded... you
can see who has been awarded what money on the FCC's website, and
CenturyLink has definitely gotten a large sum for it ($500M/yr for 6 years).

Here's a press release on Clink's own website:
http://news.centurylink.com/news/centurylink-to-bring-broadband-to-1-2-million-rural-households-in-33-states

Poke around on FCC for CAF and you're sure to find deployment maps.It is a
sizable chunk of money up for grabs.





On Wed, Dec 30, 2015 at 3:02 PM, Chuck Guzis <ccl...@sydex.com> wrote:

> On 12/30/2015 11:59 AM, Geoffrey Oltmans wrote:
>
>> On Wed, Dec 30, 2015 at 1:24 PM, Jim Brain <br...@jbrain.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>> We were spoiled in South Dakota, as somehow (and I am sure someone
>>> knows and will enlighten us/me) the rural telcos (LECs?)  tapped
>>> into lots of funds from somewhere to drop fiber to all of the rural
>>> homes.  50Mb was the slowest speed, as I recall, for data.  The
>>> catch was that you had to buy a telephone service with your
>>> Internet, probably for some legal/regulatory reason.  But, it was
>>> cheap, and we bought just the basics, and 50Mb was more than one
>>> could expect when you are 8 miles from the nearest town and on a
>>> large acreage.  So, in markets where this type of service is
>>> offered, I think telcos will thrive.
>>>
>>>
>> Probably the FCC's Connect America Fund. This is meant to do for
>> broadband what the REA did for electrical power.
>>
>
> Probably because we're served here by one of the big outfits
> (CenturyLink), that sort of money isn't available for us.  So we rural folk
> still suffer--because it doesn't pay to deploy service to low-density areas.
>
> It really is amazing that I've been living with internet service that
> wouldn't even tax a 10base2 "thinnet" LAN connection.  In the meantime, CL
> still pays an annual dividend of something like 8% to its stockholders.
>
> --Chuck
>

Re: Trivial to adapt C64 1902 monitor output to s-video?

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

That's not universally true. I had a breadbin C-64 that only output
composite video. All the C-64Cs do, but apparently an easy way to check on
the older ones is whether the video connector is 5-pin or 8-pin.




On Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 7:33 PM, drlegendre .  wrote:

> The C-64 video output +is+ S-Video.. nothing to convert so much, as just
> making the correct cable for your application.
>
> You just need to get the Chroma and Luma signals (and possibly the audio as
> well) from the port. That's S-Video..
>
> On Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 11:39 AM, Jacob Ritorto 
> wrote:
>
> > On Sun, Dec 27, 2015 at 12:10 PM, tony duell 
> > wrote:
> >
> > > [...] I am (mainly) a Commodore enthusiast).
> > >
> >
> > This discussion bumped my memory a little and I was wanting to do it.
> Has
> > anyone tried this or does anyone have knowledge of why it should or
> > shouldn't work?
> >
> > -thx
> > jake
> >
>

Re: Anyone fancy a laugh?

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Mon, Dec 21, 2015 at 7:40 AM, Adrian Graham 
wrote:

> Having typed that subject line I'm changing my attitude slightly:
>
>
> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ONE-OF-FEW-REMAINING-1ST-AVAILABLE-MICE-IN-THE-WORLD-1983-APPLE-LISA-MOUSE-/172035907806?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276


That is an odd connector. I haven't seen the original Lisa mouse in an
auction before. I always seem to see the Mac style instead.

Re: Decisions you regret (classiccmp related)

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Fri, Dec 18, 2015 at 8:44 AM, Noel Chiappa 
wrote:

>  'joy' of using exclusively Teletypes for
> the first two years I worked with computers, and I didn't (and still don't)
> miss them one bit!
>
> Which is not to say I look down on those who collect/restore them, I
> understand they are an important part of the history, and I salute those
> who
> are into them. I'm just saying that, as a user, I was glad to move on!
>
>
I'm reminded of the commercial for PRIME computers with the Doctor and
Romana:


"would you like to be introduced? It's terribly interactive."
"you mean immediate response??"
"immediate"

haha

Re: Up for Auction: Memory from the First Computer in Space

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

Seems like it's worth is totally dependent on its provenance...how do you
prove that?

On Wed, Oct 28, 2015 at 2:31 PM, Paul Koning  wrote:

>
> > On Oct 28, 2015, at 12:58 PM, feldma...@comcast.net wrote:
> >
> > A core memory unit from Gemini 3 is up for auction:
> http://www.scientificcomputing.com/news/2015/10/auction-memory-first-computer-space?et_cid=4906629_rid=742193094=top
>
> Comical.  "Chip" indeed.  And "first use of core memory ... in an era of
> rotating drum memory" -- in 1965?  I wonder why they have such a clueless
> person write their blurbs.
>
> paul
>
>

Re: Motherboard (Was: The Burroughs B5900 and E-Mode

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

IIRC, IBM liked to refer to them as planar boards...

On Thu, Oct 15, 2015 at 2:34 PM, Mark Linimon  wrote:

> On Thu, Oct 15, 2015 at 10:18:46AM -0700, Fred Cisin wrote:
> > Wasn't the B5900 from 1980?
>
> Hmm.  I guess my mind put "B5500" for "B5900".
>
> mcl
>

Re: De-yellowing results

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Thu, Aug 27, 2015 at 4:04 PM, Terry Stewart te...@webweavers.co.nz
wrote:



 Regarding the keycaps -- Corey Cohen suggested that I remove them and soak
 them in 3% peroxide. Going to have to try that.


Well, remember this is with just 3% hydrogen peroxide, which is quite a bit
less than what's in the hair gels (what's it, 20-40%)? I used this on my
commodore 128D, just a handful of parts and it worked fine. It did take
several days to work though, which is probably better as far as the
blooiming and streaking effects that happen with the stronger treatments.

Re: De-yellowing results

[Geoffrey Oltmans]

On Fri, Aug 28, 2015 at 11:28 AM, Evan Koblentz e...@snarc.net wrote:

 Ah! That explains my lack of results. I soaked the keys for five or six
 hours. They got clean, but didn't change color very much. Sounds like I
 pulled them out too soon. Several days, you say?

 The keys float (as noted in T's link), so I just turned them upside-down
 in the peroxide.


Yes, in my case I did it in a mostly dark room with a small UV light (that
I use for erasing EEPROMS), so it didn't get a full sun treatment, but it
did take the better part of a week. And, as you say, I had problems with
keys constantly wanting to float away. I figure next time I try it I may
get some silly putty to put in the underside to weigh them down or
something.