Re: FOLKS LOOK! - In Case you have some Radio Shack Vintage interest also... - -

[Sam O'nella via cctalk]

It's an interesting set of emotions to see another giant pass.  Interesting 
prices lol (the irony of some seeming high). Of course thanks for the post. I 
think everyone went hush since it would mostly attract attention to anything of 
bidding interest. Seems like some good stuff for museums though with the 
company photos, etc.
I honestly didn't realize they had bought Grid or computer city.
 Original message From: Ed via cctalk
 
FOLKS  LOOK! -  In Case  you have  some Radio Shack Vintage interest  
also... - - - ICONIC RADIOSHACK MEMORABILIA AUCTION 
Thru  - July 3 - with online bidding- 
 
https://ubidestates.hibid.com/catalog/103245/radioshack-auction--1/

Need captive panel screw for unibus mounting

[Marc Howard via cctalk]

I need (1) of the 8/32 x 1 3/8 captive screws that are at either end of a
unibus backplane to mount it to the chassis.

I've looked online and not only are they expensive (~ $10.00/ea) but you
have to order 5 of them at a time.

I'm hoping that there's someone on the list that has one to spare from
their bone pile that they could part with for some cash.  I don't mind the
$10.00 for one (ouch) but ordering 5 is just over the top.

Thanks,

Marc Howard

Any way to undo SECURE of HP BASIC .PROG files?

[Glen Slick via cctalk]

I have a 3.5-inch LIF format floppy with some HP BASIC .PROG files
which I can load on an HP 82321B Viper card running HP BASIC 6.2

Unfortunately the majority of the program lines appear to have been
SECURE'd. When doing a LIST or a SAVE the majority of the program
lines appear as just an '*' character.

Is there some way to undo the effect of the SECURE so that the .PROG
files can be SAVE'd back to the complete ASCII source version before
they were SECURE'd?

I'm sure this has been asked several times over the years but I've
turned up empty so far searching for an answer.

VCF West XII Call for Exhibitors

[Erik Klein via cctalk]

Heya gang,

VCF West is fast approaching and we're going to have to cut off exhibitor
registrations soon so I can craft and print the program, lay out the space,
etc.

So if you're planning to register an exhibit, please do it now!  Even if
you're just thinking about it, please do it now! :)

We've got a great show on tap at a great venue.

We'd love to have you join us!

http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-west/vcf-west-exhibits/

-- 
-
Erik Klein
www.vintage-computer.com - My personal collection
www.vcfed.org - The Vintage Computer Federation
www.vcfed.org/forum - The Vintage Computer Forums
marketplace.vintage-computer.com - The Vintage Computer and Gaming
Marketplace

Re: Anybody has Control Data (CDC) disk packs for 841 and 844 disk drives to spare with?

[Paul Koning via cctalk]

> On Jun 8, 2017, at 8:23 AM, Philipp Hachtmann via cctalk 
>  wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> On 06.06.2017 20:56, Paul Koning via cctalk wrote:
>> Agreed, and packs from the 2311, RP03, RK05 era are washable.  In fact, I 
>> remember a pack washing machine.
> Hm, hm.
> I successfully cleaned many RK05 packs from gooey foam and other residue, 
> even after a crash. But... I usually use 100% isopropylic alcohol and some 
> cleenex.
> And: The DEC manual says that one should be only carefully blow onto the 
> platters; spitting onto them has to be avoided because the finish is not 
> water proof...!
> Ok, after days being submerged... We will see.

Optimal is Kimwipe or some other lint free cleaning cloth.  Paper tissues are 
likely to shed dust.

For blowing, canned air or dry nitrogen or the like is best.  Breathing is not 
such a good idea.  Air from a compressor may be ok if the compressor is 
oil-less (airbrush type), but workshop piston compressors put oil in the air 
and you definitely don't need that.

paul

Re: RC11 manuals / schematics online?

[Paul Koning via cctalk]

> On Jun 8, 2017, at 3:22 AM, Mattis Lind via cctalk  
> wrote:
> 
> I happened to find a RS64 / RC11 combo (missing the PSU though). The
> previous owner was an ex DEC field engineer that himself got it in the
> beginning of the seventies. It is used but has the shipping lock on the
> motor axis.
> 
> Maybe the chances to get this working isn't that high especially since the
> donator told me about all sorts of problems that happened to them. As far
> as he remembered there were quite some problems with these RS64 and the
> PSUs.

Nice find!  I don't think they were all that common; they were only made way at 
the beginning of the PDP11 line.  I used one in college; it developed a bad 
bearing at one point, which was cured simply by sending the motor out to the 
local motor shop for a new bearing.  Apart from that it worked fine.

paul

Re: rectangular sense core vs. diagonal

[Chuck Guzis via cctalk]

On 06/08/2017 01:08 AM, Christian Corti via cctalk wrote:

> 
> I got two ECS modules, I put pictures of them on my FB album. I've also
> put them on our server right now, at
> ftp://computermuseum.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/cdc/ecs/
> 
> The core planes are *huge*, about 4000cm² !

Thanks for that--I never got to see the inside of one of those.

The simplicity of construction brings up another old memory about CDC
using separate facilities to produce ECS; in particular, the joke about
the "Tijuana Core House"...

--Chuck

Re: rectangular sense core vs. diagonal

[Mike Stein via cctalk]

- Original Message - 
From: "Fred Cisin via cctalk" 
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" 
Sent: Thursday, June 08, 2017 10:39 AM
Subject: Re: rectangular sense core vs. diagonal


> On Thu, 8 Jun 2017, Mike Stein via cctalk wrote:
>> Another reason why things were better in "The Good Old Days":
>> While removing a (spring-loaded) microSD card from a tablet yesterday my 
>> fingernail slipped and 32 Gigabytes of data shot out and disappeared 
>> somewhere among the dust bunnies behind my desk; that could never have 
>> happened with these core modules!
> 
> What would have happened if 32 Gigabytes of data fell on your desk?
--
Need more info: How many bytes in one of those modules, how thick are they 
(i.e. cm3 instead of 4000 cm2) and what does one weigh?

I don't think it would be pretty though...

It still boggles my mind that you can put a Terabyte of data on a card the size 
of a postage stamp, with 2 TB around the corner...

Re: rectangular sense core vs. diagonal

[Norman Jaffe via cctalk]

There'd be no desk, just dust. 

From: "cctalk"  
To: "cctalk"  
Sent: Thursday, June 8, 2017 7:39:40 AM 
Subject: Re: rectangular sense core vs. diagonal 

On Thu, 8 Jun 2017, Mike Stein via cctalk wrote: 
> Another reason why things were better in "The Good Old Days": 
> While removing a (spring-loaded) microSD card from a tablet yesterday my 
> fingernail slipped and 32 Gigabytes of data shot out and disappeared 
> somewhere among the dust bunnies behind my desk; that could never have 
> happened with these core modules! 

What would have happened if 32 Gigabytes of data fell on your desk? 

Re: rectangular sense core vs. diagonal

[Fred Cisin via cctalk]

On Thu, 8 Jun 2017, Mike Stein via cctalk wrote:

Another reason why things were better in "The Good Old Days":
While removing a (spring-loaded) microSD card from a tablet yesterday my 
fingernail slipped and 32 Gigabytes of data shot out and disappeared 
somewhere among the dust bunnies behind my desk; that could never have 
happened with these core modules!


What would have happened if 32 Gigabytes of data fell on your desk?

Re: rectangular sense core vs. diagonal

[Mike Stein via cctalk]

- Original Message - 
From: "Christian Corti via cctalk" 
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" 
Sent: Thursday, June 08, 2017 4:08 AM
Subject: Re: rectangular sense core vs. diagonal


> On Wed, 7 Jun 2017, Paul Koning wrote:
>>> How is ECS constructed?   I fooled with a lot of it back in the day, but
>>> never got a good look at the core planes.
>>
>> I'd love to know.  I never saw the insides of ECS.  There are some 
>> documents on Bitsavers but none that I have seen show the ECS memory 
>> subsystem itself, certainly not at the circuit level.
> 
> I got two ECS modules, I put pictures of them on my FB album. I've 
> also put them on our server right now, at
> ftp://computermuseum.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/cdc/ecs/
> 
> The core planes are *huge*, about 4000cm² !
> 
> Christian
--
Another reason why things were better in "The Good Old Days":

While removing a (spring-loaded) microSD card from a tablet yesterday my 
fingernail slipped and 32 Gigabytes of data shot out and disappeared somewhere 
among the dust bunnies behind my desk; that could never have happened with 
these core modules!

Re: rectangular sense core vs. diagonal

[dwight via cctalk]

This is more like DRAM. There are bit lines and word lines.

All the address decoding is done outside the array.

No X Y partial addresses.

Instead of having one plain for each bit, the bits are all in the single plane.

Dwight



From: cctalk  on behalf of Christian Corti via 
cctalk 
Sent: Thursday, June 8, 2017 1:08:19 AM
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Re: rectangular sense core vs. diagonal

On Wed, 7 Jun 2017, Paul Koning wrote:
>> How is ECS constructed?   I fooled with a lot of it back in the day, but
>> never got a good look at the core planes.
>
> I'd love to know.  I never saw the insides of ECS.  There are some
> documents on Bitsavers but none that I have seen show the ECS memory
> subsystem itself, certainly not at the circuit level.

I got two ECS modules, I put pictures of them on my FB album. I've
also put them on our server right now, at
ftp://computermuseum.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/cdc/ecs/

The core planes are *huge*, about 4000cm² !

Christian

Re: Anybody has Control Data (CDC) disk packs for 841 and 844 disk drives to spare with?

[Philipp Hachtmann via cctalk]

On 06.06.2017 20:56, Paul Koning via cctalk wrote:

Agreed, and packs from the 2311, RP03, RK05 era are washable.  In fact, I 
remember a pack washing machine.

Hm, hm.
I successfully cleaned many RK05 packs from gooey foam and other 
residue, even after a crash. But... I usually use 100% isopropylic 
alcohol and some cleenex.
And: The DEC manual says that one should be only carefully blow onto the 
platters; spitting onto them has to be avoided because the finish is not 
water proof...!

Ok, after days being submerged... We will see.

Re: Anybody has Control Data (CDC) disk packs for 841 and 844 disk drives to spare with?

[Philipp Hachtmann via cctalk]

On 06.06.2017 20:26, Al Kossow via cctalk wrote:

On 6/6/17 6:10 AM, Philipp Hachtmann via cctalk wrote:

And I have cables and lots of spare heads: All submerged since Saturday. I most 
probly won't try to recover the packs

If they really are that rare you may want to reconsider.

The cables have been rescued and washed.
The special tools and spares have been washed and cleaned. Looks still 
usable. The spare bearings don't look perfect but might be still usable.
The heads (probably for my very old discretely built CDC drive) have 
been rescued but still sit in their detoriated and soaked foam packages.


I can do only a bit from time to time. Hopefully the heads survive. It 
looks as they don't rust (in contrast to the bearings and some screws 
which instantly became a bit rusty).


So I'm not careless. But I have a job and some other duties, the stuff 
is not directly at home. So it takes a bit.

Re: What happened to PacComm?

[Alexandre Souza via cctalk]

Long time I don't hear this name. I loved packet radio. It saved me from
getting nuts when my father died and I had to move to a landline-less place
:(
73 de PU1BZZ :)

2017-06-08 7:46 GMT-03:00 David Griffith via cctalk :

>
> Does anyone know what happened to PacComm?  The company was known mainly
> for ham radio TNCs.  All of a sudden, their website was gone.
>
> --
> David Griffith
> d...@661.org
>
> A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text.
> Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
> A: Top-posting.
> Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?
>

What happened to PacComm?

[David Griffith via cctalk]

Does anyone know what happened to PacComm?  The company was known mainly 
for ham radio TNCs.  All of a sudden, their website was gone.


--
David Griffith
d...@661.org

A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

Re: rectangular sense core vs. diagonal

[Christian Corti via cctalk]

On Wed, 7 Jun 2017, Paul Koning wrote:

How is ECS constructed?   I fooled with a lot of it back in the day, but
never got a good look at the core planes.


I'd love to know.  I never saw the insides of ECS.  There are some 
documents on Bitsavers but none that I have seen show the ECS memory 
subsystem itself, certainly not at the circuit level.


I got two ECS modules, I put pictures of them on my FB album. I've 
also put them on our server right now, at

ftp://computermuseum.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/cdc/ecs/

The core planes are *huge*, about 4000cm² !

Christian

RC11 manuals / schematics online?

[Mattis Lind via cctalk]

I happened to find a RS64 / RC11 combo (missing the PSU though). The
previous owner was an ex DEC field engineer that himself got it in the
beginning of the seventies. It is used but has the shipping lock on the
motor axis.

Maybe the chances to get this working isn't that high especially since the
donator told me about all sorts of problems that happened to them. As far
as he remembered there were quite some problems with these RS64 and the
PSUs.

http://i.imgur.com/jsgpF6v.jpg

Anyway. Does someone has an online scan for the RC11 controller manual
and/or schematics?

/Mattis