[cctalk] Re: How to print old files.

ben wrote: > What I would like to get is a serial printer (rs232), with a definable > character set. Does any one know of a cheap one? Probably not cheap unless you get lucky, but an excellent choice would be the Toshiba P1351 (not to be confused with their later 1351 laser printer) or the

[cctalk] Re: Flipping an 8" diskette

jim stephens wrote: > Sad day when AOL changed to CDs and you then had to make > coasters or trash them. My wife and our neighbor use them as reflectors to scare birds away from her garden. We finally ran out of the AOL CDs and are now working on my backlog of MSDN CDs. I keep them stacked

[cctalk] Re: Dec rl02 disk pack shelf design

I would also buy at least two, probably three. Alan Frisbie

Re: PDP-11/44 gas struts

Earlier, I wrote: > 30-pound struts are not strong enough. They improved things a bit, > but it still takes a lot of effort to raise the box. I have ordered a > pair of 50-pound struts and will post an update when they arrive (next > week). The pair of 50-pound struts arrived today, and in my

Re: PDP-11/44 gas struts

Chris Zach wrote: Jesus. How much does the 11/44 chassis weigh? On 12/30/2021 3:39 PM, Alan Frisbie via cctalk wrote: 2. 30-pound struts are not strong enough.? They improved things a bit, but it still takes a lot of effort to raise the box.? I have ordered a pair of 50-pound struts

Re: PDP-11/44 gas struts

On 12/25/21 3:37 PM, I wrote: I made a wild random guess and ordered two of the 30 pound struts, which should be delivered Wednesday (12/29/2021).  The 40 pound ones have a seven week lead time, and a pair of 50 pound ones seem way too high.  When they arrive, I'll let you know how well they

Re: PDP-11/44 gas struts

Mark J. Blair wrote: > When I need gas struts and cannot identify a source for exact original > replacements, I usually look at McMaster-Carr first: > https://www.mcmaster.com/gas-struts/ Thanks for the McMaster-Carr suggestion, I should have thought of that. I removed the gas struts from my

PDP-11/44 gas struts

I have a PDP-11/44 system in the DEC 41" high cabinet. It is designed to be tilted up for service, aided and supported by two gas struts, one on each side. Unfortunately, after all these years, the struts have failed and do not provide any assistance. That box is heavy! Does anyone know where I

Re: DEC RF30 Integrated Storage Element Service Guide

Rob Jarratt wrote: I am looking for the service guide for the RF30 DSSI disk. It is not on Manx and not on BitSavers. Does anyone know of a copy? The part number is apparently EK-RF30D-SV. If anyone finds one, I would greatly appreciate a copy also. Thanks, Alan Frisbie

TU56 DECtape takeup reel needed

I just unpacked the rack with my TU56 DECtape drive and discovered that the movers managed to break the takeup reels. This, despite many layers of foam padding, stretch film, and warning signs. On the other hand, this was the only item that suffered any damage at all. Not too bad for three

Disk cartridge storage racks

I am in need of some disk cartridge storage racks. The kinds I am looking for are the ones used for front-loading cartridges (IBM 2315, DEC RK05, etc.) as well as the ones for top-loading cartridges (IBM 5440, DEC RL02, etc.). They were typically made of welded wire, and stored the cartridges

Re: Wilson Laboratories SX-530 disk exerciser

Al Kossow wrote: > On 8/25/21 4:51 PM, Alan Frisbie via cctalk wrote: > > I recently acquired a Wilson Laboratories SX-530 disk exerciser > > for SMD interface disk drives.? Unfortunately, it did not come > > with a manual.? Does anyone out there have a copy they could >

Wilson Laboratories SX-530 disk exerciser

I recently acquired a Wilson Laboratories SX-530 disk exerciser for SMD interface disk drives. Unfortunately, it did not come with a manual. Does anyone out there have a copy they could make available? Yes, Bitsavers was the first place I checked. :-) Yes, I still have some SMD drives in

Punched card file wanted

Now that I am finally getting my vintage computer accumulation in order, I need a punched card file cabinet. Does anyone know of one that might be available for purchase or trade? I am willing to pick up anywhere in the western US. In an ideal world, I would love to find one of the ones with a

Re: Multiprocessor Qbus PDP-11

Charles Dickman wrote: > There are indications in the KDJ11-B processor spec on bitsavers that > the M8190 could be used in a multiprocessor configuration. For > example, bit 10 of the Maintenance Register (17 777 750) is labeled > "Multiprocessor Slave" and indicates that the bus arbitrator is

Re: 11/84 print set

Al Kossow wrote: > anyone willing to chip in some money to help me pay for this? > https://www.ebay.com/itm/303733340900 I don't have a PDP-11/84 and likely never will but I just sent you $150. Bitsavers has saved my bacon multiple times and it's only right that I support you. In about a

Re: Computer stores

Fred Cisin wrote: > On Tue, 25 Aug 2020, Alan Frisbie via cctalk wrote: > > A few months later, two guys named Steve showed up at a meeting > > with a kit they called the "Apple I", for the grand price of > > $666.66. I wish I had had the foresight to buy one!

Re: Computer stores

On 8/22/20 8:52 AM, Murray McCullough via cctalk wrote: > 45 yrs. ago last month, mid-July, Dick Heiser started a new industry, > the retail computer store. It opened in West L.A. under the name > Arrow Head Computer Company. aka, The Computer Store. This began the > direct marketing of

Re: Burroughs L-series paper tapes

Al Kossow wrote: On 8/3/20 7:25 PM, Mike Stein via cctalk wrote: And what about your L9000 (or was it an 8000?) ? Did it also go to the LCM? Not many left, alas... we have an L-9000 https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/X1742.2001 Here is another one: In 2006, Nelson

Re: Previous message: Wire list for the RKV11-D Qbus RK05, controller backplane anywhere?

Jerry Weiss wrote: > On 2/12/20 11:28 AM, Noel Chiappa via cctalk wrote: > > > > That fourth card (M7268) is apparently a connector card for the Q-Bus > > > and drive bus. > > > > Yes, but actually there are 6 cards: the M7269 is a dual card which goes > > into the QBUS backplane, and

RE: Scanning question (Is destruction of old tech docs a moral crime?)

Guy Dunphy wrote: > Ditto for a service/schematics manual for the Documation > TM200 punch card reader. No copy can be found. I don't know about the TM200, but I have the technical manual for the Documation M-200 card reader. If that will help you, I would be happy to scan it for you. It is

Re: PDP-11/45 RSTS/E boot problem

Ethan Dicks wrote: > I have had an RK11-C for a long time that I've never tried to > power up (I got an RKV11-D and used that on Qbus machines > instead). Wow, someone else with an RKV11-D! I thought I was the only person who had one. I modified mine (using the dead bug technique) to add

Re: PDP-11/45 RSTS/E boot problem

> > > Likely some disk controllers did NOT SUPPORT crossing 64K boundaries! > > > > No; the RK11 spec says "[the two extended memory bits] make up a two-bit > > counter that increments each time the RKBA overflows". > > > > The actual error turns out to be slightly different to my guess;

Re: Mounting HP7970e 9-Trk 1/2" Tape Drive

j...@mercury.lcs.mit.edu (Noel Chiappa) wrote: > > From: Alan Frisbie > > > Harbor Freight sells a nice hydraulic lift table for under $200 that I > > have found very useful for that sort of thing. It doesn't go up very > high > > (like for the top of a rack), but I used it with

Re: Mounting HP7970e 9-Trk 1/2" Tape Drive

Jack Harper wrote: I got both drives into the rack this past weekend and I am an old guy (67) - I carefully stared at the thing before I started and finally figured out that I could, in fact, lift the drive from a waist high cart for a few seconds, but definitely could not lift it or lower it

Re: Novapalooza in 2 months...

> > Alan Frisbie via cctalk wrote: > > I always found it amusing that Data General's computers were > > named after transitory phenomena: Nova, Supernova, Eclipse. > Bruce Ray wrote: > > I see what you mean... sorta like the DEC "Rainbow"? Good one! I didn't see that coming. :-) Alan

Re: Novapalooza in 2 months...

Bruce Ray wrote: > Really, the Nova is 50? Yup - so join us in celebrating the personal and > technical impact of this youngster.. I always found it amusing that Data General's computers were named after transitory phenomena: Nova, Supernova, Eclipse. Of course, in the grand scale of things,

Re: ISO: Tape Seal Belts

Chuck Guzis wrote: > I'm looking for a small quantity of 10.5" half-inch reel tape seal > belts. These are the things that almost everybody with a large > collection of tapes used to hang their half-inch tapes in racks made for > the purpose. > I can't seem to find anyone who is sitting on a

Re: RK05 spindle pulleys - trade 50Hz vs 60Hz?

Chuck Guzis wrote: > In WWII radio equipment, MGs in a unitzed form called > "dynamotors" were used to supply the high-voltage anode voltage > for the tubes. And long after WWII! In the 1960s, I had a Motorola 140D (140 for the power, "D" standing for Dynamoter) mobile radio (6 meter ham

WRQ Reflection 4+ DOS

While cleaning out my office, I found a brand new, unopened copy of WRQ Reflection 4+ version 5.0 for DOS. It provides (per the box): Accurate emulation of Digital VT340, VT320, VT220, VT241, VT102, and VT52 terminals, with VT420 features. Windows-like interface with pull-down menus and

Re: Modifying microcode

Tony Duell wrote: > > until the 8085 CFE loaded the microcode. > > Loaded from a TU58 cartridge, which is the main reason my 11/730 is not > running at the moment. The hardware is fine, I've rebuilt the drive rollers, > but as yet don't have a readable tape (not even blank, to write the >

Re: Andromeda SCDC Qbus controller question

Douglas Taylor wrote: > I just got one of these and wanted to configure it via the 10 > pin RS232 port on the board. > Is the port a standard DLV11-J type? Yes, it is identical. I was the original beta tester on the SCDC and used it extensively. In fact, the

Re: RL01/RL02 emulator needed -- (was Many thanks to Glen's Vintage Computer Info)

j...@mercury.lcs.mit.edu (Noel Chiappa) wrote: Err, which RLV11/RLV12 emulators are you seeing? I know of several RL02 emulators - Reinhard Heuberger's, and another I can't immediately find my saved info on - (and one crazy project that turned a real RL02 into a USB device :-), but you still

Re: RL01/RL02 emulator needed -- (was Many thanks to Glen's Vintage Computer Info)

"pe...@rittwage.com" wrote: > You don't want to try to repair the controller? There are some custom > IC's on there (it appears) but is largely off-the-shelf TTL... I'm > sure someone on the list has a lot of experience with these and could > repair it or help. Indeed, I DO

RL01/RL02 emulator needed -- (was Many thanks to Glen's Vintage Computer Info)

Several days ago I wrote about my joy of finding a TDL-12 disk controller, emulating four DEC RL02 drives and using a SCSI drive. Sadly, I discovered that the controller is a dead as a doornail. It doesn't respond to any bus address at all. So, I'm back to my original quest: I need a controller

Many thanks to Glen's Vintage Computer Info

I don't know if Glen Slick is on this list, but I owe him one! I am working on an elderly PDP-11/23 system running RSX-11M v3.2 -- too old to know about MSCP disk controllers like the RQDX1/2/3 and compatibles. It is only sysgened for RK05, RL01/2, and an incompatible 3rd-party disk, but neither

Compaq Storageworks V5.4 kit for SUN Solaris

I'm cleaning out my accumulation of "stuff" and there are several things that aren't worth the effort of putting on ebay. If anyone on this list wants them, they are yours for the cost of shipping. The first item is: QB-5JCAG-SA Compaq Storageworks RAID Array 450 V5.4A Platform Software Kit

Re: ounting screw threads for VR201?

Ethan Dicks wrote: I don't happen to have a VR201 here right now to measure directly (or I would just do that), but IIRC, there's a threaded mounting insert on the bottom (for the "E.T. Stand", if nothing else), I want to fabricate a shelf clip for a VR201 and am

Re: PDP11 media looking for a good home

Paul Koning wrote: > I have two items that I'd like to send to a good home. That > means, someone who can read the item in question and make it > available so it's preserved. > 1. A DECtape labeled "VT30 distribution for RSX11D V06-B". > VT30 is a DEC CSS product, a

Re: what is this NCR modem? what did it go to?

couryho...@aol.com wrote: what is this NCR modem? what did it go to? NEW Vintage 1971 NCR Acoustic Coupler Modem, NOS, Factory Boxed, C260-400 / F01 132411929563 on the bay It is a Bell 103A compatible modem (110 or 300 baud) used with the NCR 260 series of thermal printing

Re: Line printer art: (was Re: tape baking)

Al Kossow wrote: > Need to update my reader anyway soon, so I'm going > to append something similar to what you did the new > images I create, probably just a ascii text record > and a label picture. For the many hundreds of 9-track tapes I'm turning into image files, I am

Re: DEC TRAX documentation set for sale

On 07/06/2017 02:01 PM, Paul Koning wrote: On Jul 6, 2017, at 4:20 PM, Alan Frisbie wrote: ... TRAX was designed around a modified version of RSX-11M-Plus, v1.0, yet no mention of it survives today. Indeed, a year after its announcement, it appeared to have sunk without a trace. I don't

DEC TRAX documentation set for sale

Since it is doubtful that I will ever have a need for them, and I badly need the space, I am selling my TRAX documentation set on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/142437733294 or search for "TRAX" or Seller Frisbie99 This includes the five TRAX manuals that are NOT on Bitsavers. Description: In

Re: tape baking

Al Kossow wrote: https://strandgames.com/blog/magnetic-scrolls-games-source-code-recovered and now we know why all the questions were asked recently So, what are the currently-recommended tape baking temperatures and times? I have been using 58C/136F for 24 to 48 hours

Re: McLeyvier music synthesizer

Al Kossow <a...@bitsavers.org> wrote: > Alan Frisbie via cctalk wrote: > > Our current project is to replace the ST-506 disks with > > the David Gesswein MFM disk emulators. To do this, we > > need to determine the CRC algorithm used by DTC, which we > &

McLeyvier music synthesizer

In the early 1980's, a company in Toronto, Hazelcom Industries, produced a music synthesizer based on an LSI-11/23 running RSX-11M v3.2. The music part of it was written by David McLey, so the product was called the McLeyvier (pun intended). Several people in the industry have told me that

Re: RK11-D print set

Marc Howard wrote: > Although I can find the RK11D users manual on the web there doesn't appear > to be print set (schematics) out there. Does this exist somewhere under a > non-obvious name? The RK11-D controller maintenance manual is on Bitsavers at:

Re: Bitsavers size

"Shoppa, Tim" wrote: The bitsavers archive is 267 Gbytes. And growing. I just sent Al a CD with 450 MB of scans of old obscure IBM manuals from the late 1960s and early 1970s. One example: 225-3360-1 2030 Processing Unit Field Engineering Theory of Operation (It describes

Re: Copy of UNIBUS Interface Manual available for trade

j...@mercury.lcs.mit.edu (Noel Chiappa) wrote: > One DEC book I really crave, but _cannot_ find, is the "PDP-11 Systems > Handbook" ("Featuring: MicroPDP-11/83 MicroPDP-11/73 MicroPDP-11/53 > PDP-11/84"). If anyone has an extra copy of this they're willing to part > with, please let me know, I