Re: LINCtape images

[Vincent Slyngstad via cctalk]

On 11/2/2021 2:25 PM, Jay Jaeger via cctalk wrote:
Here is a program I wrote for reading/writing tape images via XModem 
protocol for my PDP-12, and another for comparing two linctapes.


Cool!  I was able to recover the code and convert it into a more modern 
PAL dialect.  Your listings also don't display the many literals that 
were generated on page zero (except sort of implicitly).


In making the page zero literals line up (so that the code matches the 
originals), I found two locations in xmtape which are coded as

TAD (16.
but the code references a new literal at location 0161, instead of the 
previously generated one at location 0166.  This is at location 0567 and 
again at 0666.


(In the PAL assemblers, the "(" must be a "[", you can't use "." to 
change radix, etc. etc.)


Vince

RE: The Prolok Saga (Was: Applesauce FDC

[Fred Cisin via cctalk]

Vault Corporation produced "Prolok" with a physical defect.  To make it


On Tue, 2 Nov 2021, Ali wrote:

Which could be defeated w/ the Copy II Plus Enhanced Option board:
http://retro.icequake.net/dob/img/eob/


There were many ways around it.

Because Vault didn't write a new software package for each client, it was 
fairly easy, after some [not always easy] disassembly to make a patch that 
cracked it.  Those patches were widely distributed, and the end user only 
knew that it was a small patch.



I find it important to note that the Vault VS Quaid lawsuit was before 
DMCA.  Afterwards, Vault might have prevailed!  At the time, disassembly 
and bypassing copy-protection was not illegaal.
But, Vault tried to claim that Quaid's software infringed on Vault's 
copyright!  The courts ruled that Quaid's software was in no way a copy of 
Vault's.  There was no sftware by Vault included inside the Quaid 
software.


The announcement of Prolok-PLUS was insane, and destroyed Vault.


There were many other protection schemes.

Early on, I noticed that the software with the Central Point Option 
Board could not work if it didn't see the index hole.  As a proof of 
concept, I showed that one could write a disk disk without an index hole 
(indexing on spindle, or covering the hole (moving cookie to a flipped 
jacket)) that couldn't be copied by the Option Board, but could be copied 
by DISKCOPY.

Re: Zorba owners/Help diagnosing display issues

[Bill Degnan via cctalk]

I suppose the first thing you need is the schematics for the Zorba, anyone
have this?

Do you have a volt meter with an ESR setting?  There are caps in the
display controller board, but not too many that often are used to control
the wobble and hotiz/vert behind the potentiometers.  Start with an
inspection of these caps.  You should test them and replace the bad ones.
Also test caps near the voltage regulators and coming from the main power
connector.  It's a bit of a shotgun approach, but if you test after each
change you might get lucky and the display will stabilize without having to
make too many repairs.  You could stop at that point until something
happens again.  Keep a record of which caps you replaced.It could be
something other than a cap.   voltage regulators go too, but as you
describe the symptoms I would bet there is a bad cap in the display
controller board.

If the system does not work at all it could be a power supply problem.

Bill

On Tue, Nov 2, 2021 at 6:22 PM Ben McAllister via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> Hello from Seattle everyone,
>
> I'm new to the list. I recently bought a Zorba on Ebay, which was my first
> machine as a kid back in 1985, dialing into BBSs and learning assembly and
> basic. I put a lot of hours in on this machine and was very excited to
> acquire one, even though the sale was 'as is'.  I have some issues to
> address, beginning with perhaps a faulty component on the video board
> driving the crt.
>
> While I'm an experienced programmer and have some rudimentary skills with
> electronics, I'm going to be in bootcamp troubleshooting this board. I have
> some help in my network of friends, but wanted to throw this out to the
> list.  Are there any Zorba owners who would be willing to trade
> notes/advice with me on their experiences troubleshooting hardware issues
> (or anyone else out there, for that matter :) )?  Have you used the
> composite video out to feed another monitor?
>
> Detail on my first issue: the display appears to need the kind of
> stabilization I _thought_ the horizontal and vertical hold adjustments
> would provide, but it's not entirely stable. I have tried the composite
> out, feeding it to a cheap composite->HDMI adapter, but that signal looks
> like a blank screen in need of vert/horiz hold adjusting.  Before I go much
> further, I was hoping someone out there might be able to verify their use
> of the composite out to an external display. I haven't found any detail on
> what that signal should look like, other than it's 'composite' - maybe
> someone with more expertise can tell me what assumptions I can make about a
> composite signal.
>
> Thanks for reading that long message - and glad to be a new member of the
> list.
> Ben
>

RE: The Prolok Saga (Was: Applesauce FDC

[Ali via cctalk]

> Vault Corporation produced "Prolok" with a physical defect.  To make it
> MUCH MORE IMPRESSIVE to investors and clients, instead of a roomful of
> people scratching disks with paperclips, they used a "laser
> fingerprint"
> (use a laser, instead of a paperclip).

Which could be defeated w/ the Copy II Plus Enhanced Option board:

http://retro.icequake.net/dob/img/eob/

This board had a small bit of onboard RAM that would load info about the
defect:

"EOB has an extra circuitry that allows it to emulate a burn-hole in a
diskette and cause a running application to think that the original
diskette is present inside the drive. As it can be understood, the copy
of a burn-hole protected diskette can only be executed on a computer
equipped with the standard or deluxe EOB.

In order to create a working copy of a diskette that is protected by a
physically damaged media, the diskette has to be copied using the regular
option board methods (TC/TCM), and then the EOB utility PK.COM must be
executed in order to analyze the original diskette and locate the exact
place of the burn-hole. Once the place has been found, PK saves the data
in a file for future use.

Every time before the copied diskette is used, the PK application must be
executed with the filename that contains the information as a parameter.
Then, PK will program the EPROM that is present on the EOB, according to
the information inside that file.

Whenever the copy protected application tests for the original diskette
and tries to read from (or write to) the physically damaged sector, the
EOB emulates the very exact behavior of a physically damaged media at the
exact place where the burn-hole was, thus confusing the application to think
that the original diskette is present inside the drive."

Zorba owners/Help diagnosing display issues

[Ben McAllister via cctalk]

Hello from Seattle everyone,

I'm new to the list. I recently bought a Zorba on Ebay, which was my first
machine as a kid back in 1985, dialing into BBSs and learning assembly and
basic. I put a lot of hours in on this machine and was very excited to
acquire one, even though the sale was 'as is'.  I have some issues to
address, beginning with perhaps a faulty component on the video board
driving the crt.

While I'm an experienced programmer and have some rudimentary skills with
electronics, I'm going to be in bootcamp troubleshooting this board. I have
some help in my network of friends, but wanted to throw this out to the
list.  Are there any Zorba owners who would be willing to trade
notes/advice with me on their experiences troubleshooting hardware issues
(or anyone else out there, for that matter :) )?  Have you used the
composite video out to feed another monitor?

Detail on my first issue: the display appears to need the kind of
stabilization I _thought_ the horizontal and vertical hold adjustments
would provide, but it's not entirely stable. I have tried the composite
out, feeding it to a cheap composite->HDMI adapter, but that signal looks
like a blank screen in need of vert/horiz hold adjusting.  Before I go much
further, I was hoping someone out there might be able to verify their use
of the composite out to an external display. I haven't found any detail on
what that signal should look like, other than it's 'composite' - maybe
someone with more expertise can tell me what assumptions I can make about a
composite signal.

Thanks for reading that long message - and glad to be a new member of the
list.
Ben

Re: LINCtape images

[Jay Jaeger via cctalk]

On 10/29/2021 7:22 AM, Christian Corti via cctalk wrote:

Short question:
How do I transfer LINCtape images back to tape on a PDP-12? Ideally 
there is some binary program to load via papertape to format a tape and 
recreate it with data transfer over the console serial line.


Christian


Here is a program I wrote for reading/writing tape images via XModem 
protocol for my PDP-12, and another for comparing two linctapes.


JRJ

8L OF XMTAPE PAGE 01
LN=0001

0001 [ PROGRAM TO SEND A
0002 [ TAPE ON UNIT 1 TO
0003 [ A PC VIA XMODEM
0004 [
0005 [ CONSTANTS
0006 [
0007 XSOH=1
0010 XNAK=25
0011 XCAN=30
0012 XACK=6
0013 XEOT=4
0014 SRTAPE=1[ SR11 1 FOR OS/12 TAPE
0015 SRCMP=2 [ SR10 1 FOR COMPARE
0016 SRWRIT=4[ SR9 1 FOR WRITE
0017 [
0020 [ SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS
0021 [
0022 AXO=1
0023 PDP=2
0024 TMA=23
0025 RDC=700
0026 WDE=706
0027 DKSF=6401
0030 DKCC=6402
0031 DKRB=6406
0032 DTLS=6416
0033 DTSF=6411
0034 [
0035 [ DATA
0036 [
0037 $70
0040  0070   #XMPTR  0   [ PTR INTO XMBUF
0041  0071   #XMBLK  0   [ XMODEM BLOCK #
0042  0072   #XMCKSM 0   [ XMODEM CHECKSUM
0043  0073   #XMCNT  0   [ WORK COUNTER
0044  0074   #XMACK  0   [ ACKNOWLEDGEMENT CHAR
0045  0075   #ROTCNT 0   [ WORK COUNTER FOR RAR
0046  0076   #WDCNTI 0   [ WORDS PER BLOCK
0047  0077   #BLKCNT 0   [ BLOCKS PER TAPE
0050  0100   #WDCNT  0   [ WORK COUNTER
0051  0101   #HNKCNT 0   [ WORK COUNTER
0052  0102   #HNKMEM 0   [ ADDRESS OF BLOCK
0053  0103   #XMWORD 0   [ XMODEM INCOMING WORD
0054  0104   #XMPROT 0   [ XMODEM PROTOCOL CHAR
0055 [
0056 [ INITIALIZATION
0057 [
0060 $200
0061  0200 7402  #START  HLT
0062  0201 7301  CLA CLL IAC [ XMODEM BLOCK=1
0063  0202 3071 0071 DCA XMBLK
0064  0203 1177 1155 TAD (XMBUF  [ XMPTR = ADDR(XMBUF)
0065  0204 3070 0070 DCA XMPTR
0066  0205 1176 7600 TAD (0-128. [ XMCNT = -128
0067  0206 3073 0073 DCA XMCNT








8L OF XMTAPE PAGE 02
LN=0070

0070  0207 7404  OSR [ IF SR11 == 0 THEN
0071  0210 0175 0001 AND (SRTAPE
0072  0211 7440  SZA
0073  0212 5220 0220 JMP INITP
0074  0213 1174 7400 TAD (0-256. [ WDCNTI= -256.
0075  0214 3076 0076 DCA WDCNTI
0076  0215 1173 7000 TAD (0-1000 [ BLKCNT = -01000
0077  0216 3077 0077 DCA BLKCNT
0100  0217 5225 0225 JMP INIT1   [ ELSE
0101  0220 7300  #INITP  CLA CLL
0102  0221 1172 7577 TAD (0-129. [ WDCNTI = -129.
0103  0222 3076 0076 DCA WDCNTI
0104  0223 1171 5000 TAD (0-3000 [ BLKCNT = - 03000
0105  0224 3077 0077 DCA BLKCNT
0106  0225 3254 0254 #INIT1  DCA BLOCK   [ BLOCK = 0
0107  0226 7404  OSR [ IF SR10==1 THEN COMPARE
0110  0227 0170 0002 AND (SRCMP
0111  0230 7440  SZA
0112  0231 5567 0500 JMP CMPINI  [ GO COMPARE
0113  0232 7404  OSR [ IF SR9==1 THEN WRITE
0114  0233 0166 0004 AND (SRWRIT
0115  0234 7440  SZA
0116  0235 5565 0603 JMP WTINI   [ GO WRITE
0117 [
0120 [ READ NEXT HUNK (1 FIELD)
0121 [ (16 BLOCKS) INTO MEM.
0122 [
0123  0236 7300  #RDHNK  CLA CLL
0124  0237 1164 7760 TAD (0-16.  [ HNKCNT = -16.
0125  0240 3101 0101 DCA HNKCNT
0126  0241 3102 0102 DCA HNKMEM  [ HNKMEM = 0
0127  0242 7300  #RDBLK  CLA CLL
0130  0243 1102 0102 TAD HNKMEM  [ TMA MEMORY ADDRESS
0131  0244 6141  LINC
0132  0245 0023  TMA
0133  0246 0002  PDP
0134  0247 7300  CLA CLL [ EXTENDED, FIELD 1
0135  0250 1163 1020 TAD (1020
0136  0251 6141  LINC
0137  0252 0001  AXO
0140  0253 0710  RDC 10  [ READ UNIT 1
0141  0254   #BLOCK  0
0142  

The Prolok Saga (Was: Applesauce FDC

[Fred Cisin via cctalk]

On Tue, 2 Nov 2021, dwight via cctalk wrote:
The trickiest protection I've seen is where there is a hole punched 
through the disk on one track. The idea is that the protected program 
writes to that track and expects to see a failure to read that track.
It doesn'tneed to be a hole all the way through, merely any physical 
defect that renders that spot unusable.


The "Physical Defect" protection.

Copy protected disks had already been made with flawed content to produce 
an error on READ, and were easily circumvented by the "duplicate" copy 
having flawed content. The next step was to have a physical defect, so 
that the protection software would WRITE to the bad track, and confirm 
that the track really was damaged.

So, they would scratch the disk.
In the case of Prolok, the check to confirm a physical defect consisted of 
writing all zeroes to that area; verifying all zeroes; writing all ones; 
and verifying all ones.



Vault Corporation produced "Prolok" with a physical defect.  To make it 
MUCH MORE IMPRESSIVE to investors and clients, instead of a roomful of 
people scratching disks with paperclips, they used a "laser fingerprint" 
(use a laser, instead of a paperclip).


Since they gave the same or similar subroutines, that checked for the 
defect, to every client, it was cracked with software that would locate 
that subroutine, and replace the subroutine call with NOPs or gut the 
innards of the subroutine.  The cracks were often posted on Compuserve. 
(Vault sued Quaid software for "CopyWrite"/"RAMKEY")

https://casetext.com/case/vault-corp-v-quaid-software-ltd )

For "cloning" (pirating copies, often with the Central Point Option 
board (flux hardware)), software was developed that would 
identify the location of the defect, the cloner would then attempt to 
scratch the disk at that location, and then the software would locate the 
defect and juggle stuff around to put the content in the right place(s) 
relative to the defect.



But, Vault Corporation wasn't satisfied until they shot themselves in the 
foot with very high caliber rounds.
They announced "Prlok PLUS".  W. Krag Brotby (chairman of Vault) said that 
it would, if it detected a "fake" copy, wipe out the user's hard disk!
Even at the announcement of Prolok PLUS, the computer marketing 
community was aghast and enraged.  It doesn't take much to realize the PR 
nightmare, and the legal liabilities for damaging a customer computer, 
even if it was NOT a false positive!


Ashton-Tate, the largest Prolok client for dBase III, and part 
owner of Vault, immediately cancelled their contracts.  And announced 
that they had done so, that they had never used Prolok Plus, never would, 
and no longer used Vault Corporation products.

Almost all of Vault's other clients follwed suit.

Prolok Plus never made it to market!
'Course the "word was out".  Few people realize that it was NEVER 
actually put to use.  In fact some of the more idiotic newspaper "solve 
your computer problems" columnists, when stumped, would actually speculate 
"maybe your computer was attacked by an out of control copy-protection 
program."



So, we ended up with a mythical monster, and the creator of that mythical 
monster was vanquished.


If anybody can document an actual existence of Prolok Plus, I would like 
to hear about it.



There is little mention of it on the web, but:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/08/06/09/1927205/a-history-of-copy-protection
"Re:Ahhh, holes burned in disks (Score:5, Informative)"

https://books.google.com/books?id=9y4EMBAJ=PA19=PA19=prolok+plus+copy+protection+vault+corporation=bl=9Y7SBcnFx9=ACfU3U3JDSEI-QjLjMi1V_gWdPq8gaHrHg=en=X=2ahUKEwjijpjCufrzAhX2TDABHXh2DBgQ6AF6BAgHEAM#v=onepage=prolok%20plus%20copy%20protection%20vault%20corporation=false

https://www.pcjs.org/blog/2019/05/05/
Kryoflux display of Prolok

--
Grumpy Ol' Fred

Re: Applesauce FDC

[Chuck Guzis via cctalk]

On 11/2/21 12:13 PM, dwight via cctalk wrote:
> The trickiest protection I've seen is where there is a hole punched
> through the disk on one track. The idea is that the protected program
> writes to that track and expects to see a failure to read that
> track.

There were more floppy protection schemes than you could shake a stick at:

https://diskpreservation.com/dp.php?pg=protection

The Apple II ones were interestingly devious, particularly the "spiral
track" one.

At any rate, lots of stories there, both in creation and defeating.


--Chuck

Re: Applesauce FDC

[dwight via cctalk]

The trickiest protection I've seen is where there is a hole punched through the 
disk on one track. The idea is that the protected program writes to that track 
and expects to see a failure to read that track.
Dwight

Re: SerialDisk (Re: LINCtape images)

[Vincent Slyngstad via cctalk]

On 11/2/2021 7:12 AM, Christian Corti via cctalk wrote:

On Tue, 2 Nov 2021, Vincent Slyngstad wrote:

https://github.com/drovak/os8diskserver

The current version should have no problems with the 8/I or with the 
PDP-12. (Maybe even the straight-8, but I can't remember checking if 
it is "increment and rotate" clean.  Doug might know.)


Thanks. I've seen this, but the doc/comments apparently don't reflect 
the changes and modifications so I was thinking that this is the 
unpatched version.


The edit history in the handlers/*.pal reflect the driver changes, and 
there's also a pile of useful changes to the installer, etc.  The github 
per-file check-in comments aren't always that helpful.  The "history" 
button in the upper right gives perhaps the best synopsis of the changes 
on a "per commit" level.


If "RES/E" doesn't report version "I", you aren't running the latest.
(Kyle's code was through "E", Bob's code  was "F", CJL's code was "G" 
and "H", and my KIE fix is "I".)


I also have lying around somewhere a bootable SerialDisk image I made 
with LINCtape drivers, which I hope to actually run on my -12 someday.


CJL had some ideas about a SerialDisk for PQS?8 and other non-OS/8 
operating systems, but I haven't seen any code for that.  (I also 
disagree with his ideas about the need to switch to 128-word blocks.)


Vince

Re: SQ703/6 conversion and a little fun

[Zane Healy via cctalk]

I should have realized that it was Dilog.  Interesting, I wasn’t aware that was 
due to Royalty payments that you had to choose between  Tape, Disk, or 
Disk/Tape.  That makes perfect sense.  I can’t speak for Dilog, my experience 
is with the Viking boards (I forget how many names they were sold under).

With the Viking (Unibus and Q-Bus), you need the correct PAL, the correct 
EPROM, and you need the correct cab-kit that lets you log into the controller 
and flip a couple bits. 

I need to work on a power-supply or two for my PDP-11’s.  I don’t really feel 
like letting the magic smoke out on my BA23 or BA123.

Zane



> On Nov 1, 2021, at 6:09 PM, Nigel Johnson Ham  wrote:
> 
> No, Zane, it is made by Dilog. I heard that the device can do both tape and 
> disk, but that to save money on DEC's royalty payments they only put the 
> proms in for what you bought - which is not a problem since I got two of them!
> 
> I figure if you can't beat it, go with the flow!  I am going to move the 
> Plessey DCV54 to 160340 and let the SQ706 play at 172150, even though its 
> diagnostic says its at 174500! The reason I know it is coming up at 
> 172150 is that the DCV54 diagnostic says there is a non-DCV54 controller 
> there, only when the SQ703(6) is plugged in.
> 
> Unfortunately  there are other jobs I have to do first, including fixing a 
> very noisy power contactor in a DEC power controller that is upsetting the 
> wife, and the microvax seems to have a ground  loop voltage that is 
> preventing me from entering anything on the console channel since I installed 
> the power converter!
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Nigel
> 
> 
> Nigel Johnson, MSc., MIEEE, MCSE VE3ID/G4AJQ/VA3MCU
> Amateur Radio, the origin of the open-source concept!
> Skype:  TILBURY2591 nw.john...@ieee.org 
> 
> 
> 
> On 2021-11-01 1:40 p.m., Zane Healy wrote:
>> Who made the SQ703/SQ706?  Is this a rebadge Viking board?  If so then it’s 
>> the PAL. 
>> 
>> I think that the OED needs to improve their definition of VAX.
>> 
>> Zane
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> On Nov 1, 2021, at 4:23 AM, Nigel Johnson Ham via cctalk 
>>>   wrote:
>>> 
>>> A few months ago, thanks to help from several people here, I converted
>>> an SQ703 TMSCP controller to SQ706 MSCP.
>>> 
>>> I had problems trying to use it on the vax due to the complexity of
>>> mapping Q-Bus registers under ODT, so put off trying until I got the
>>> LSI-11/73 going.
>>> 
>>> Now I have a problem: It seems to run and recognise the controller as
>>> SQ706 according to the on-board diagnostics, however it insists saying
>>> it is at 777450, the TMSCP address.  Trying to change it gives me an
>>> out-of-bounds message.
>>> 
>>> OK, I thought, I will just use it there.
>>> 
>>> Put it in to a running RT11 system and it shows up at 772150 and clashes
>>> with an existing controller!
>>> 
>>> It seems that one of the PALs is maybe setting up the address!
>>> 
>>> Anybody else tried this?
>>> 
>>> cheers,
>>> 
>>> Nigel
>>> 
>>> Here's the fun: 
>>> https://www(dot)bbc(dot)com/news/entertainment-arts-59089596 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Maybe our vax computers will become popular once again!
>>> 
>>> -- 
>>> Nigel Johnson, MSc., MIEEE, MCSE VE3ID/G4AJQ/VA3MCU
>>> Amateur Radio, the origin of the open-source concept!
>>> Skype:  TILBURY2591 nw.john...@ieee.org 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 

Re: SerialDisk (Re: LINCtape images)

[Christian Corti via cctalk]

On Tue, 2 Nov 2021, Vincent Slyngstad wrote:
Another option would be to spin the data onto LINCtape with a TD8E, then 
mount the result on the PDP-12.  I think Dave is creating the images in the 
first place with either a TD8E, or possibly a custom controller.


I think he used a custom controller.
I have several TD8E controllers, but the TU56s are wired for the TC08, and 
one unit for the TC11.



https://github.com/drovak/os8diskserver

The current version should have no problems with the 8/I or with the PDP-12. 
(Maybe even the straight-8, but I can't remember checking if it is "increment 
and rotate" clean.  Doug might know.)


Thanks. I've seen this, but the doc/comments apparently don't reflect the 
changes and modifications so I was thinking that this is the unpatched 
version.


Christian

Re: 8" disk drive questions...

[geneb via cctalk]

On Mon, 1 Nov 2021, Chuck Guzis via cctalk wrote:


Just as a follow up, I grabbed one of the Memorex "flippies" out of my
files:

https://i.imgur.com/3VnrazS.jpg


That's really neat.  Thanks for the photo!

g.

--
Proud owner of F-15C 80-0007
http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind.
http://www.diy-cockpits.org/coll - Go Collimated or Go Home.
Some people collect things for a hobby.  Geeks collect hobbies.

ScarletDME - The red hot Data Management Environment
A Multi-Value database for the masses, not the classes.
http://scarlet.deltasoft.com - Get it _today_!

Re: SerialDisk (Re: LINCtape images)

[Vincent Slyngstad via cctalk]

On 11/2/2021 2:42 AM, Christian Corti via cctalk wrote:

On Fri, 29 Oct 2021, Vincent Slyngstad wrote:
There seem to be a couple of formats that were frequently used, and a 
third lesser used format.  One of the issues is that you have to go 
into maintenance mode, as far as I can tell, to determine the size of 
the block you just read into memory.


It seems so.
But I would need just a restore version of the program, capable of 
formatting the tape first.
I'm wondering if I am the first who wants to create LINCtapes from an 
image. There is a mention of using SerialDisk with the PDP-12 (a 
modified version by cjl), but I can't locate it :-(


Another option would be to spin the data onto LINCtape with a TD8E, then 
mount the result on the PDP-12.  I think Dave is creating the images in 
the first place with either a TD8E, or possibly a custom controller.


I folded in the SerialDisk changes from Bob and from CJL back in 
January, as well as the new boot loader from Doug and various other 
fixes in February, including support for systems without the KIE 
instruction.  Kyle approved and merged my pull requests, so that should 
all be there for you at Kyle's github:


https://github.com/drovak/os8diskserver

The current version should have no problems with the 8/I or with the 
PDP-12.  (Maybe even the straight-8, but I can't remember checking if it 
is "increment and rotate" clean.  Doug might know.)


Vince

Re: SQ703/6 conversion and a little fun

[Nigel Johnson Ham via cctalk]

Thanks, you have given me hope. While the model # stickers have worn
off, there is a serial number that seems to be like 703AQ1570, and the
board has a revision K.

I'll report back when I have gone through all the gyrations to test it
on the LSI-11

cheers,

Nigel

Nigel Johnson, MSc., MIEEE, MCSE VE3ID/G4AJQ/VA3MCU
Amateur Radio, the origin of the open-source concept!
Skype:  TILBURY2591 nw.john...@ieee.org



On 2021-11-02 12:04 a.m., Glen Slick via cctalk wrote:
> On Mon, Nov 1, 2021 at 4:23 AM Nigel Johnson Ham via cctalk
>  wrote:
>> A few months ago, thanks to help from several people here, I converted
>> an SQ703 TMSCP controller to SQ706 MSCP.
>>
>> ..
>>
>> It seems that one of the PALs is maybe setting up the address!
>>
>> Anybody else tried this?
> I never tried it with a Dilog SQ703 and SQ706. The two that I have
> have numerous differences between the boards, which made me skeptical
> that just a simple EPROM swap would be the only change necessary.
>
> However with the newer S-handle versions of the Dilog TMSCP SQ3703A
> and MSCP SQ3706A boards that I have, they appear identical except for
> the EPROMs. On those I did try swapping the EPROMs between the two
> boards and that did appear to completely swap them between TMSCP and
> MSCP functionality.

SerialDisk (Re: LINCtape images)

[Christian Corti via cctalk]

On Fri, 29 Oct 2021, Vincent Slyngstad wrote:
There seem to be a couple of formats that were frequently used, and a third 
lesser used format.  One of the issues is that you have to go into 
maintenance mode, as far as I can tell, to determine the size of the block 
you just read into memory.


It seems so.
But I would need just a restore version of the program, capable of 
formatting the tape first.
I'm wondering if I am the first who wants to create LINCtapes from an 
image. There is a mention of using SerialDisk with the PDP-12 (a modified 
version by cjl), but I can't locate it :-(


Christian

Re: Old Apple II game manuals and the Internet Archive

[Michael Mulhern via cctalk]

David, simple solution is to scan (to 600dpi tiff) the pages, and zip them
and then change the *.zip to *.cbz (Comic Book Zip) and upload.  You could
add a simple cover page listing the titles.

The Book-op process on the IA will produce the downloadable PDF and online
display page/images.

I'd also be happy to also copy the zip/cbz you create and reload as
individual metadata for each of the titles.

Cheers,

Michael


*Blog: RetroRetrospective – Fun today with yesterday's gear……..
*
*Podcast*: *Retro Computing Roundtable * (Co-Host)


On Tue, 2 Nov 2021 at 07:33, David Williams via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> While clear out storage spaces I have come across binders of photocopies
> of lots of old Apple II game manuals. I've checked online for those that
> have been scanned already and will toss those. Before I toss the rest which
> I haven't found online, I'd like to scan them and upload to the Internet
> Archive to save them. Most of these are one page with a few 2-4 pages. What
> I'm wondering about is the best way to upload them after scanning. Do each
> individually, which adds a lot of entries to my small upload page (which I
> suppose isn't a big deal) or zip them up and upload the one file and make
> sure the metadata is properly set to identify each manual in the zip. Or
> some other method? Suggestions? Thanks, David Williams
> www.trailingedge.com (http://www.trailingedge.com)
>