Re: Installing an operating system on an 11/83

> On Feb 21, 2022, at 7:32 PM, Rod Smallwood via cctalk > wrote: > > Hi > > I have built an 11/83 in a BA23 box. > > It has a KDJ-11B, 2mB PMI memory, an RQDX3 with an RX50 attached, > > Plus a CMD CQD 220A Disk controller with a digital RH18A 2Gig SCSI drive > attached. > > Diag see

Re: Seeking paper tape punch

> On Feb 21, 2022, at 4:26 PM, Guy Fedorkow via cctalk > wrote: > > [apologies if this is a dup, but I didn't see it coming back in any of the > cctalk digests] > > Greetings CC-Talk, > I've been working on a low-budget project to help to introduce students to > history of computing thro

Re: VAX9000 unearthed

> On Feb 19, 2022, at 1:28 PM, Jon Elson via cctalk > wrote: > > On 2/18/22 21:43, ben via cctalk wrote: >> >> The 70's was all low scale tech. I suspect it was the high speed/edge rates >> more the power that kept ECL from common use. Any other views on this topic. >> Ben, who only had ac

Re: VAX9000 unearthed

> On Feb 18, 2022, at 4:30 PM, Chris Zach via cctalk > wrote: > >> XMI already existed as the system bus for the VAX 6000 series machines. >> I/O on the VAX 6000's was via an XMI-to-BI bridge. I don't remember the >> exact performance specs on XMI, but it was wider and faster than BI. >

Re: VAX9000 unearthed

> On Feb 18, 2022, at 3:18 PM, Gary Grebus wrote: > > On 2/18/22 09:46, Paul Koning wrote: >> ...The 9000 also had its own I/O bus, XMI, different from BI. I don't know >> how its performance compares, whether it was worth the effort. > > XMI already existed as the system bus for the VAX 60

Re: VAX9000 unearthed

> On Feb 18, 2022, at 12:16 PM, Lee Courtney wrote: > > Paul, > > What was the timeframe for the MPP? I thought late 1980s. Just did some searching, which turns up some manuals for the "DecMPP 12000". And a trade press article that says it's a rebadged MasPar machine. https://en.wikiped

Re: VAX9000 unearthed

> On Feb 18, 2022, at 7:08 AM, Joerg Hoppe via cctalk > wrote: > > Hi, > > my computer club c-c-g.de could acquire the remains of a VAX9000 ! > The machine ran at the GWDG computing center in Göttingen, Germany, around > 1993. > Parts of it were in stock of their museum for 20+ years. > >

Re: Also WTB: DEC VSXXX-AA Mouse or Compatible

> On Feb 11, 2022, at 2:52 PM, Jonathan Stone via cctalk > wrote: > > > If available, I'd like to purchase a bunch. FWIW: it would not be all that hard to convert from readily available USB (or PS2) mice to DEC protocol. I did the analogous work for keyboards (LK201) on Arduino. That sa

Re: DEC Tape TU56 head pictures

> On Feb 9, 2022, at 11:11 AM, Mike Katz via cctalk > wrote: > > I am in the process or restoring a TU56 so it's in pieces. Pictures of the > head were requested so here they are. > > These were taken with my phone so the quality is only mediocre. > > This, like the rest of the drive, is

Re: DECTape head problem

> On Feb 8, 2022, at 5:14 PM, Wayne S via cctech wrote: > > Searched a lille bit for Western Magnetics. Here’s a site that has some > surplus heads, even a western magnetics onebut probably not the correct one. > There is a corporate charter record for Western Magnetics in Minnesota dated

Re: DECTape head problem

> On Feb 8, 2022, at 4:04 PM, Ron Pool via cctech wrote: > >> So it sermsdectape heads are special. I don’t think Dec would have the >> desire to make them internally so they probably contractef with a company >> already set up to do that. Who were the big tape head manufacturers at that >>

Re: DECTape head problem

> On Feb 8, 2022, at 2:53 PM, Wayne S via cctech wrote: > > Since so many audio tape players and computer magtape units were made it > would stand to reason that there has to be a stash somewhere of tape heads > and it’s just a matter of finding where they are. > Are there any part numbers o

Re: DEC AXV11-C analog board

> On Feb 8, 2022, at 2:34 PM, Douglas Taylor via cctalk > wrote: > > Update on this: I did put together a battery and voltage divider to test the > AXV11. The label on the A/D module says it brings the output from the > multiplexer to one of the external pins. I was able to verify that t

Re:

> On Feb 2, 2022, at 1:20 PM, John Ames via cctalk > wrote: > >> Back in the bad old days of the 5160 PC, some DTC controllers allowed for >> partitioning a drive (using witch settings) > I think "witch settings" is my new preferred term for this. They're > certainly mysterious and arcane en

Re: OT: Who? What? Was: Re: Origin of "partition" in storage devices

> On Feb 1, 2022, at 6:46 PM, Jon Elson via cctalk > wrote: > > On 2/1/22 15:40, Paul Koning via cctalk wrote: >> >>> On Feb 1, 2022, at 4:31 PM, Grant Taylor via cctalk >>> wrote: >>> >>> On 2/1/22 11:23 AM, Paul Koning via cctalk

Re: Origin of "partition" in storage devices

> On Feb 1, 2022, at 6:00 PM, Warner Losh via cctalk > wrote: > > On Tue, Feb 1, 2022 at 12:42 PM Grant Taylor via cctalk < > cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > >> On 2/1/22 2:14 AM, Joshua Rice via cctalk wrote: >>> There's several advantages to doing it that way, including balancing >>> wear

Re: OT: Who? What? Was: Re: Origin of "partition" in storage devices

> On Feb 1, 2022, at 5:08 PM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk > wrote: > > On 2/1/22 13:40, Paul Koning via cctalk wrote: >> > >> With MSCP, DEC switched to addressing disks by sector offset, as SCSI did >> later, rather than by geometry (cylinder, track, sector)

Re: OT: Who? What? Was: Re: Origin of "partition" in storage devices

> On Feb 1, 2022, at 4:31 PM, Grant Taylor via cctalk > wrote: > > On 2/1/22 11:23 AM, Paul Koning via cctalk wrote: >> Did any DEC MSCP disks use it? > > Please expand "MSCP". My brain is failing to do so at the moment. Mass Storage Control Protocol

Re: Origin of "partition" in storage devices

> On Feb 1, 2022, at 2:42 PM, Grant Taylor via cctalk > wrote: > > On 2/1/22 2:14 AM, Joshua Rice via cctalk wrote: >> There's several advantages to doing it that way, including balancing wear on >> a disk (especially today, with SSDs), as a dedicated swap partition could >> put undue wear

Re: Origin of "partition" in storage devices

> On Feb 1, 2022, at 1:03 PM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk > wrote: > > On 2/1/22 09:16, Mike Katz via cctalk wrote: >> In the rotating drive world there is constant linear velocity (CLV) and >> constant angular velocity (CAV) drives. >> >> On CLV drives the speed of rotation would vary based on t

Re: Origin of "partition" in storage devices

> On Feb 1, 2022, at 1:09 PM, Glen Slick via cctalk > wrote: > > On Tue, Feb 1, 2022 at 10:04 AM Paul Koning via cctalk > wrote: >> >>> Slower on the outer tracks, I believe. CDs work this way. >> >> I suspect CLV was invented for CDs, in f

Re: Origin of "partition" in storage devices

> On Feb 1, 2022, at 12:21 PM, Paul Koning via cctalk > wrote: > >> On Feb 1, 2022, at 12:16 PM, Mike Katz via cctalk >> wrote: >> >> In the rotating drive world there is constant linear velocity (CLV) and >> constant angular velocity (CAV) dr

Re: Origin of "partition" in storage devices

> On Feb 1, 2022, at 12:21 PM, Paul Koning via cctalk > wrote: > > > >> On Feb 1, 2022, at 12:16 PM, Mike Katz via cctalk >> wrote: >> >> In the rotating drive world there is constant linear velocity (CLV) and >> constant angular velocity (C

Re: Origin of "partition" in storage devices

> On Feb 1, 2022, at 12:16 PM, Mike Katz via cctalk > wrote: > > In the rotating drive world there is constant linear velocity (CLV) and > constant angular velocity (CAV) drives. > > On CLV drives the speed of rotation would vary based on the track (slower in > the inner tracks and faster

Re: Origin of "partition" in storage devices

> On Feb 1, 2022, at 5:02 AM, Liam Proven via cctalk > wrote: > > ... > I suggested making a D: drive and putting the swap file on it -- you > saved space and reduced fragmentation. > > One of our favourite small PC builders, Panrix, questioned this. They > reckoned that having the swap file

Re: Origin of "partition" in storage devices

> On Jan 31, 2022, at 7:35 PM, Noel Chiappa via cctalk > wrote: > >> From: Tom Gardner > >> You define logical disks by assigning a logical disk unit number to a >> file on a physical disk. You can then use the logical disk as though it >> were a physical disk. > > To me, 'partition' implie

Re: Origin of "partition" in storage devices

> On Jan 31, 2022, at 2:01 PM, Tom Gardner via cctalk > wrote: > > There is a discussion of the origin of the term "partition" in storage > devices such as HDDs at: > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Disk_partitioning#Where_did_the_term_%22p > artition%22_originate? > > It seems clear it w

Re: What was a Terminal Concentration Device in DEC's products?

> On Jan 31, 2022, at 11:04 AM, Noel Chiappa via cctalk > wrote: > >> From: Bob Smith > >> the original UART was designed by DEC, Vince Bastiani was the project >> lead and designer, Gordon Bell was behind the project, and it may have >> been his idea. > > "Computer Engineering: A DEC View

Re: What was a Terminal Concentration Device in DEC's products?

> On Jan 30, 2022, at 4:44 PM, John Forecast via cctalk > wrote: > > ... > Is it possible that the DMX11 was a CSS product? Clearly it is; the Option/Module list (1983 edition, from Bitsavers) says so. It shows the controller and three different 64 port line units, for different signal sp

Re: What was a Terminal Concentration Device in DEC's products?

> On Jan 30, 2022, at 2:43 PM, Chris Zach via cctalk > wrote: > > ... > From what I can see, the the kmc11 was an M8204 single board which is > different from the 8200 used in the dmc11. I had a DMC11 somewhere. > > From the books, the kmc11 had an "lsi11 on board", 1k of 16 bit ram, 1k of

Re: What was a Terminal Concentration Device in DEC's products?

> On Jan 29, 2022, at 3:58 PM, Noel Chiappa via cctalk > wrote: > >> From: Paul Koning > >> DH-11 is unusual in that it has DMA in both directions > > McNamara's DH11? (I don't know of another DECdevice of that name.) Per: > > > http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/unibus/EK-ODH11-OP-002_DH1

Re: What was a Terminal Concentration Device in DEC's products?

> On Jan 29, 2022, at 12:28 AM, Chris Zach via cctalk > wrote: > > Old question: I'm looking through some old reports from 1977 about a failed > DEC project with the DMX11 multiplexer system and there is reference to the > following key items: > > 1) The DMX was designed to handle block mo

Re: Question about DECtape formulation

> On Jan 26, 2022, at 1:28 PM, Tom Gardner via cctalk > wrote: > > ...The UNISERVO I, of Univac I, tape drives had a separate spool of clear > very thin film that was clock motor wound across the head when tape was > moving, since the phosphor bronze plated tape was very abrasive. That > exi

Re: Question about DECtape formulation

> On Jan 25, 2022, at 3:13 PM, Bjoren Davis via cctalk > wrote: > > > On 1/25/2022 9:18 AM, Paul Koning via cctalk wrote: >> >>> On Jan 24, 2022, at 10:27 PM, Gary Oliver via cctech >>> wrote: >>> >>>> ... >>> >&

Re: Question about DECtape formulation

> On Jan 24, 2022, at 10:27 PM, Gary Oliver via cctech > wrote: > >> ... > > As to the real reason I was doing this: Most of my tapes are un-boxed and > have suffered being in a dusty area (before I got them) with the dust forming > a sort of 'crust' on the outside of the tape. It's only

Re: Question about DECtape formulation

> On Jan 25, 2022, at 1:13 AM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk > wrote: > > So, can we assume that the words about a "tape sandwich" refer to a > mylar base, oxide coating, and a lubricant/protective coating? > > That is not an oxide coating sandwiched between to layers of mylar. The 3M spec for the

Re: Typing in lost code

> On Jan 24, 2022, at 5:57 PM, ben via cctalk wrote: > >> ... > Document source is also a problem. > You would want to keep scan it at the best data format, > not something in a lossey format. That's true generally. Anything other than actual photographs (continuous tone images) should NOT

Re: Question about DECtape formulation

> On Jan 24, 2022, at 2:46 PM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk > wrote: > > On 1/24/22 11:05, Paul Koning via cctalk wrote: > >> Looking at that spec some items pop out. >> >> The coating is quite thin, much thinner than the backing. Not too >> surpris

Re: Question about DECtape formulation

> On Jan 23, 2022, at 8:40 PM, Noel Chiappa via cctalk > wrote: > >> From: Gary Oliver >> I've always thought the physical tape wound on a DECtape spool was a >> fairly conventional 'sandwich' of mylar/oxide/mylar ... >> Was there some kind of 'lubricating' coat on the data side? It makes >>

Re: Question about DECtape formulation

> On Jan 24, 2022, at 10:56 AM, Jon Elson via cctalk > wrote: > > Back in 1971 or so, we had a PDP-5 with DECTapes, and bought 3/4" analog > recorder tapes surplus to make up new tapes. It was much thinner than > DECTape, and we had print-through issues of tapes that were stored for a few

Re: Question about DECtape formulation

> On Jan 23, 2022, at 8:40 PM, Noel Chiappa via cctalk > wrote: > >> From: Gary Oliver > >> I've always thought the physical tape wound on a DECtape spool was a >> fairly conventional 'sandwich' of mylar/oxide/mylar ... >> Was there some kind of 'lubricating' coat on the data side? It makes

Re: Typing in lost code

> On Jan 23, 2022, at 12:09 PM, Gavin Scott wrote: > > On Sun, Jan 23, 2022 at 9:11 AM Paul Koning via cctalk > wrote: >> One consideration is the effort required to repair transcription errors. >> Those that produce syntax errors aren't such an issue; >&g

Re: Typing in lost code

I've run into that situation too, with listings so difficult that even a commercial OCR program (FineReader) couldn't handle it. At the time Tesseract was far less capable, though I haven't tried it recently to see if that has changed. Anyway, my experience was that the task was hard enough th

DECnet/10 manuals?

I'm looking for a manual I can't find on Bitsavers: a DECnet/10 programming manual. The reason: trying to read PSTHRU.MAC and realizing that I was trying to understand DECnet-10 code while reading the DECnet-20 programming manual. Oops. paul

Re: OT: looking for help remembering name/info about security bug

No, Heartbleed was a protocol specification error, where if you implemented what the spec said you automatically produced a security bug. paul > On Jan 11, 2022, at 3:02 PM, Jonathan Katz via cctalk > wrote: > > Heartbleed? > > > On Tue, 11 Jan 2022 at 20:00, Hauke Fath via cctalk

Re: Memory Tech you don't see very often

> On Jan 6, 2022, at 2:11 PM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk > wrote: > > On 1/6/22 10:17, William Donzelli wrote: >> If you include prototypes, then you need to include ALL the prototypes >> - even things made in single quantities that never worked. >> >> That is a HUGE amount of stuff that makes E

Re: Memory Tech you don't see very often

> On Jan 6, 2022, at 4:06 AM, Brent Hilpert via cctalk > wrote: > > On 2022-Jan-06, at 12:19 AM, Joshua Rice via cctech wrote: >> Not cost effective at nearly $10,000! I understand they're very rare, given >> they were only used for a few years in industry and they're clocking on 3/4 >> of

Re: 3-phase power; was: cctalk Digest, Vol 88, Issue 2

> On Jan 4, 2022, at 7:08 PM, Jonathan Chapman via cctalk > wrote: > >> much of it related to Niagara Falls and other power systems >> modeled after it. > > The IIRC oldest US generating station still in operation (on original > hardware anyway) is at Mechanicville, NY. It is hydroelectric

Re: 3-phase power

> On Jan 4, 2022, at 12:00 PM, Adrian Stoness via cctalk > wrote: > > you can use a vfd drives to get 3phase power from single u just gotta size > them bigger then the load u would normally need I've said that too, and I've been told that this is not a good idea for power supplies. Somethi

Re: VAX 780 on eBay

> On Jan 4, 2022, at 10:40 AM, Grant Taylor via cctalk > wrote: > > On 1/4/22 12:14 AM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk wrote: >> Seymour Cray, along with Bill Norris and Jim Thornton and others left >> Remington Rand/UNIVAC after Rand bought the near-bankrupt ERA. Apparently, >> the work environmen

RSTS V10.1 patch

I just added a patch to https://github.com/pkoning2/decstuff, in patches/shut.cmd, which cures a problem in RSTS V10.1 that seems to come and go with no clear pattern. The failure is a crash, sometimes a halt, during system shutdown. The cause was a write to the wrong location when removing th

Re: VAX 780 on eBay

> On Jan 3, 2022, at 3:36 PM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk > wrote: > > On 1/3/22 10:58 AM, Paul Koning via cctalk wrote: >> The discussion about 3-phase made me check some documentation. > >> I also looked at some CDC 6000 series docs. Those used 400 Hz 3 phase fo

Re: VAX 780 on eBay

The discussion about 3-phase made me check some documentation. The drive I remembered that uses 3-phase power is the RP04. I remember a warning to the installer to verify the phase order; if that's wrong the drive will try to spin up in the wrong direction, which might partially unscrew the pa

Re: VAX 780 on eBay

> On Jan 1, 2022, at 4:19 PM, Josh Dersch via cctalk > wrote: > > On Sat, Jan 1, 2022 at 12:47 PM Guy Dunphy via cctalk > wrote: > >> ... >> But you're all focussed on that, and missing another important detail. The >> machine has a liquid cooling system. >> ... > > For clarification -- th

Re: VAX 780 on eBay

> On Jan 1, 2022, at 3:08 PM, Grant Taylor via cctalk > wrote: > > On 1/1/22 12:44 PM, Paul Koning via cctalk wrote: >> ... >> And of course 400 Hz gave them an additional advantage in reduced >> transformer size and reduced ripple (for a given filter capacitor

Re: VAX 780 on eBay

> On Jan 1, 2022, at 2:38 PM, Grant Taylor via cctalk > wrote: > > On 1/1/22 12:33 PM, Paul Koning via cctalk wrote: >> And mainframes may use 3-phase power supplies; CDC 6000 mainframes do, >> though with those it's 3 phase 400 Hz produced by motor-generators

Re: VAX 780 on eBay

> On Jan 1, 2022, at 2:21 PM, Grant Taylor via cctalk > wrote: > > On 1/1/22 12:17 PM, Dennis Boone via cctalk wrote: >> IIRC nothing in the VAX cpu actually requires 3 phase. The PDU(s) just eat >> that from the wall. > > I think that's the same with all the /computer/ equipment that I've

Re: VAX 780 on eBay

> On Jan 1, 2022, at 1:46 PM, Bill Gunshannon via cctalk > wrote: > > On 1/1/22 1:40 PM, Paul Koning via cctalk wrote: >>> On Jan 1, 2022, at 1:12 PM, Noel Chiappa via cctalk >>> wrote: >>> >>> This: >>> >>>ht

Re: VAX 780 on eBay

> On Jan 1, 2022, at 1:12 PM, Noel Chiappa via cctalk > wrote: > > This: > >https://www.ebay.com/itm/275084268137 > > The starting price is expensive, but probably not utterly unreasonable, > given that: > > - the 780 was the first VAX, and thus historically important > > - 780's are

Re: TU56 DECtape takeup reel needed

> On Dec 17, 2021, at 9:44 AM, Mike Katz via cctalk > wrote: > > I am also in need of emtpy reels. I purchased a TU56 that had been taken > apart to restore and the restoration had never been finished. The empty reels > were not in the box of parts. > > Has anyone tried 3D printing these?

Re: VAX/VMS 4.0 source listings scans

> On Dec 15, 2021, at 10:19 AM, Joerg Hoppe wrote: > > Paul, >> Full micro fiche scans of VAX/VMS 4.0/4.1 source listings are now published >> at >> http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/vax/microfiche/vms-source-listings/AH-BT13A-SE__VAX-VMS_V4.0_SRC_LST_MCRF/AH-BT13A-SE__VAX-VMS_V4.0_SRC_LST_MCR

Re: VAX/VMS 4.0 source listings scans

> On Dec 14, 2021, at 12:25 PM, Joerg Hoppe via cctech > wrote: > > Full micro fiche scans of VAX/VMS 4.0/4.1 source listings are now published at > http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/vax/microfiche/vms-source-listings/AH-BT13A-SE__VAX-VMS_V4.0_SRC_LST_MCRF/AH-BT13A-SE__VAX-VMS_V4.0_SRC_LST_MCR

Re: RC11 controller (Was: Reproduction DEC 144-lamp indicator panels)

> On Dec 10, 2021, at 12:57 PM, Guy Sotomayor via cctalk > wrote: > > All valid points. My frustration has been where I see projects that use a > RPi for something that a simple HW circuit/CPLD/FPGA could have done it > simpler and more efficiently. > > I've lost count of the FPGA boards

Re: RC11 controller (Was: Reproduction DEC 144-lamp indicator panels)

> On Dec 9, 2021, at 11:15 PM, Jay Jaeger via cctalk > wrote: > > On 12/9/2021 7:49 PM, Noel Chiappa via cctalk wrote: >> > From: Steven Malikoff >> > Was there ever an indicator panel for the RC11? .. I have a set of RC11 >> > modules .. No backplane though. I've not found any do

Re: Siemens T100 Terminal with Paper Tape - Available

No, it's 5 bit tape. 2 data bits, transport sprocket holes, 3 data bits -- top to bottom on the reader (right side), left to right on the punch (left side). DEC PDP-10 systems used six bit code internally but I don't remember those appearing on punched tape. The punched tape machines I have se

Re: Siemens T100 Terminal with Paper Tape - Available

5 bit; if it really were 6 bits it would typically be typesetting codes. That's a relative of the machine used as console terminal on Dutch Electrologica X8 computers; I recognize the "Iron cross" symbol, the figures shift character on the D key. But some of the other function codes have diffe

Re: 370 control panel

> On Dec 8, 2021, at 1:20 PM, David Wade via cctech > wrote: > > Is "not on EPAY" a good thing. I see there is a 10% buyers premium plus 4% > for credit card > .. and " ALL ITEMS ARE SOLD AS IS WHERE IS AND HOW IS WITH NO WARRANTIES OF > ANY TYPE EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED CONCERNING" Those

Re: RK11-C indicator panel inlays?

> On Dec 6, 2021, at 4:05 PM, Ethan Dicks via cctalk > wrote: > > On Mon, Dec 6, 2021 at 10:36 AM Mike Katz via cctalk > wrote: > > Sounds like a great approach. I have a couple of Picos but haven't > dug into the PIO engines yet. Raspberry Pico PIO engines are seriously cool. I used the

Re: RK11-C indicator panel inlays?

> On Dec 5, 2021, at 3:24 PM, Ethan Dicks via cctalk > wrote: > > I have both an RK11-C, _and_ a DX11 light panel sitting around (got it > loose some years back) Now *that* is a wonderfully obscure device. I wonder if any software for it exists anywhere. paul

Re: PDP-11/70 Boards

> On Nov 30, 2021, at 7:17 PM, Jay Jaeger via cctalk > wrote: > > ... > The issue is (I think) that the ExpressPCB software can only be used to > create files to order boards from them - or can it now export ordinary > gerbers? (Otherwise, to go with another fab. I presumably would re-ente

Re: PDP-11/70 Boards

> On Nov 29, 2021, at 4:12 PM, Josh Dersch via cctalk > wrote: > > On Mon, Nov 29, 2021 at 1:06 PM Ethan Dicks via cctalk < > cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > >> On Mon, Nov 29, 2021 at 3:19 PM Henk Gooijen via cctalk >> wrote: >>> I think the FP11 boards are not essential for the 11/70 >>>

Re: The precarious state of classic software and hardware preservation

> On Nov 24, 2021, at 11:18 AM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk > wrote: > > On 11/24/21 6:42 AM, John Herron via cctalk wrote: >> I can speak for state government but not fed (this was 20 years ago). It >> was an annoying buzz kill that we had to destroy old equipment, and deface >> documentation and

Re: The precarious state of classic software and hardware preservation

> On Nov 23, 2021, at 2:22 PM, Jon Elson via cctalk > wrote: > > On 11/23/21 12:21 PM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk wrote: >> On 11/23/21 9:51 AM, Bill Gunshannon via cctalk wrote: >> doubt that a single line of that survives. >>> You would probably be wrong, it likely was archived before >>> it s

Re: The precarious state of classic software and hardware preservation

> On Nov 23, 2021, at 1:21 PM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk > wrote: > > ... > Just think of all of the stuff that hits the landfill from old timers > who have passed. The inheritors don't know what to do with the stuff > other than dispose of it. Or they might not know how to find devices that c

Re: The precarious state of classic software and hardware preservation

> On Nov 20, 2021, at 2:06 PM, Antonio Carlini via cctalk > wrote: > > On 20/11/2021 18:46, Paul Koning via cctalk wrote: >> Is there an archive.org mirror? > > How many of us could afford the disk space? 30PB in 2016 apparently. I know > that 10 years from n

Re: The precarious state of classic software and hardware preservation

> On Nov 20, 2021, at 7:56 AM, Bill Gunshannon via cctalk > wrote: > > On 11/19/21 9:33 PM, Steve Malikoff via cctalk wrote: >> Michael asked >>> What are we, as a community, to do to fix this and make sure that our >>> history stays peserved and isn't one bad day away from vanishing. >> When

Re: PDP-11 Diagnostic Program Listings Micro Fiche Scans

> On Nov 20, 2021, at 11:15 AM, Jon Elson via cctalk > wrote: > > On 11/20/21 1:30 AM, Joerg Hoppe via cctalk wrote: >> Hi Friends, >> >> Micro fiche scans of the PDP-11 XXDP listings are online now: > > Wow, took a quick look. The scans are likely not good enough to run through > an OCR

Re: Apple cube cleaning

> On Nov 18, 2021, at 11:59 AM, Peter Corlett via cctalk > wrote: > > On Thu, Nov 18, 2021 at 03:34:19PM +0100, jacob--- via cctalk wrote: >> I got a Apple cube here as part of a larger haul, at some point someone >> placed a bit of tape on the clear polycarbonate case, the tape is long >> go

Re: Apple cube cleaning

A chemical engineer friend in the adhesives business told me years ago that WD-40 is a good solvent to use for adhesives stuck to plastic. It's unlikely to hurt the plastic but it will soften the glue. It's not fast but it does work. As always, check on a hidden part of the case to make sure

Re: Intel 4004 turns 50

The Wall St. Journal had a good essay about that, by Andy Kessler. This link should get you there: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-chip-that-changed-the-world-microprocessor-computing-transistor-breakthrough-intel-11636903999?st=nm37ik74mq9vp51&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

Re: Sun-2 and Sun-3 mice (eBay)

> On Oct 26, 2021, at 2:14 PM, Zane Healy via cctalk > wrote: > > On Oct 26, 2021, at 7:45 AM, Ethan Dicks via cctalk > wrote: >> >> On Tue, Oct 26, 2021 at 2:43 AM r.stricklin via cctech >> wrote: >>> https://www.ebay.com/sch/xi_jinping/m.html?item=334195034340&hash=item4dcf9388e4%3Ag%3A

Re: Dec DMX11--What was it?

> On Oct 23, 2021, at 10:16 PM, Chris Zach via cctalk > wrote: > > Anyone know about the Dec DMX11? It was apparently a 64 serial line Mux that > plugged into pdp11 Unibus systems and had a fair amount of both intelligence > and insanity on board. Reason is I'm looking into some old documen

Re: PDP-11 Unix V7M-11 V1.0 under SIMH

> On Oct 4, 2021, at 9:47 PM, Ethan Dicks via cctalk > wrote: > > On Mon, Oct 4, 2021 at 7:42 PM Chris Zach via cctalk > wrote: >> Oddly enough I do have a copy of Pro/Venix 1.0 that would fit on a >> Pro/350 with a 5mb hard drive. Slow as *dirt*, you could literally watch >> the hard drive

Re: Terminal Emulator

> On Sep 30, 2021, at 6:02 PM, ben via cctalk wrote: > > On 2021-09-30 1:18 p.m., Bill Degnan via cctalk wrote: >> I would ask Dave Mcguire (LSSM) >> On Thu, Sep 30, 2021 at 2:57 PM Mike Katz via cctalk >> wrote: >>> I am looking for a good terminal emulator. Not for connecting to older >>>

Re: PDP-11/05 Fault?

> On Sep 30, 2021, at 1:02 AM, Nigel Williams > wrote: > > On Thu, Sep 30, 2021 at 10:49 AM Paul Koning via cctalk > wrote: >> I see that the PDP-11 architecture handbook doesn't seem to be on >> Bitsavers... > > Do you mean this handbook? >

Re: PDP-11/05 Fault?

> On Sep 29, 2021, at 8:21 PM, Matt Burke wrote: > > On 30/09/2021 01:06, Paul Koning wrote: >> Either the diagnostic has a major bug, or you're running it on a machine it >> doesn't support, or there is a setup to tell it the difference which you >> missed. >> >> What you're seeing is the

Re: PDP-11/05 Fault?

> On Sep 29, 2021, at 7:31 PM, Matt Burke via cctalk > wrote: > > > I've been restoring a PDP-11/05 recently and after replacing several > faulty ICs I have it mostly working. I've run into a bit of a problem > whilst running MAINDEC-11-D0NB (T14 TRAP TEST) though. > > The failing instructi

Re: Linux and the 'clssic' computing world

> On Sep 28, 2021, at 8:32 PM, ben wrote: > > On 2021-09-28 2:24 p.m., Paul Koning wrote: > >>> ... >>> More I play with my designs, I come to the conclusion that >>> 32 bits is not ample for a general purpose computer. >> I think Von Neumann would agree; he picked 40 bits as I recall. There

Re: Linux and the 'clssic' computing world

> On Sep 28, 2021, at 3:15 PM, ben via cctalk wrote: > > On 2021-09-28 11:43 a.m., Vincent Long standing via cctalk wrote: > >> The C standards are more liberal, and continue to require char types to be 8 >> or more bits. > Was PL/I the only language that would let you select data size for v

Re: Linux and the 'clssic' computing world

> On Sep 28, 2021, at 1:43 PM, Vincent Slyngstad via cctalk > wrote: > > On 9/28/2021 5:14 AM, Toby Thain via cctalk wrote: >> On 2021-09-27 11:46 p.m., ben via cctalk wrote: >>> POSIX requires a byte to be exactly 8 bits I read somewhere. >>> C99 C standard? >>> Great for ARM and INTEL, not

Re: Linux and the 'clssic' computing world

> On Sep 27, 2021, at 12:06 PM, Kenneth Gober via cctalk > wrote: > > On Mon, Sep 27, 2021 at 11:18 AM Alan Perry via cctalk < > cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > >>> On Sep 27, 2021, at 07:07, Joshua Rice via cctalk >> wrote: >>> >>> Obviously, there's more hardware platforms that support L

Re: DEC KM11 (Was: DEC KL11)

> On Sep 23, 2021, at 1:38 PM, Noel Chiappa via cctalk > wrote: > >> So I can't say whether they are 18 bit compatible. > > Huh? The KM11 doesn't plug into the UNIBUS (or QBUS); it's a MASSBUS device (a > solid-state storage device, actually), so it plugs into an RH11 or RH70 or > something

Re: Setting up a VMS system

> On Sep 23, 2021, at 9:12 AM, Scott Quinn via cctalk > wrote: > ... > Isn't VMS DCL pretty close to RSX? Never used RSX, but that is what I > was always told. I don't know how close it is to RSX, but I do know that RSTS (V9 and later) DCL was explicitly modeled on VMS DCL, including the DCL

Re: Burnable, patched Microvax-2000 SCSI-boot EPROM images?

> On Sep 21, 2021, at 12:00 PM, Jonathan Stone via cctalk > wrote: > > The RD53s in both Microvax 2000s are dead. I'm reluctant to buy more 30+ year > old rotating media. > If I'm going to buy a disk emulator, I'd much prefer SCSI to MFM, for the > obvious performance reasons. Emulators pr

Re: Unix or BSD for Dec PDP 11/34 and 11/45

> On Sep 17, 2021, at 8:48 PM, Fritz Mueller via cctalk > wrote: > > A fully-populated 18-bit address space on the /34 and /45 is only 128K words, > which seems like a pretty tight fit for a TCP stack with practically sized > buffers? > > I had always sorta assumed DELUA/DEUNA were only pr

Re: Scanning Suggestions (Bookmarks & Colour)

> On Sep 10, 2021, at 12:21 PM, Paul Flo Williams via cctalk > wrote: > >> ... > > https://hisdeedsaredust.com/2021/09/10/colour-separations-with-graphicsmagick.html Paul, You said "At the moment, I’ve been picking the colour by choosing an image with a large area of blue, pulling it into

Re: Scanning Suggestions (Bookmarks & Colour)

> On Aug 28, 2021, at 12:22 PM, Al Kossow via cctalk > wrote: > > On 8/28/21 8:57 AM, Antonio Carlini via cctalk wrote: > >> Neatly solved in the document's future (but our past and present) by having >> documents that are born digital. > > Good luck translating documents that HP, DEC and

Re: Scanning Suggestions (Bookmarks & Colour)

> On Aug 27, 2021, at 8:55 PM, Al Kossow via cctalk > wrote: > > I was also just thinking you would probably have to have a layer (black) with > all of the > stuff to OCR including the stuff in red and blue, then overlay the color on > that > after the pass through whatever you're using to

Re: Scanning Suggestions (Bookmarks & Colour)

> On Aug 27, 2021, at 8:32 PM, Paul Koning via cctalk > wrote: > > ... > >> It turns out though that if you drive it with a computer then you also get >> the choice of TIFF or PNG as additional choices. TIFF is likely to be quite >> a bit too big. I'l

Re: Scanning Suggestions (Bookmarks & Colour)

> On Aug 27, 2021, at 5:36 PM, Antonio Carlini wrote: > > On 27/08/2021 22:05, Paul Koning wrote: >> JPG is the wrong tool for pages with color text or color line art. As I've >> mentioned before, JPG is fit ONLY for photos, not for any image with hard >> edges. Text compressed with JPG will

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