Re: Teletype 43

On 05/22/2017 10:44 AM, Jim Brain via cctalk wrote: > I know it's not considered a "true" teletype, because it's > essentially a little uC, a KB, and a little dot matrix printer, but I > will wear the stigma of shame of not owning a "proper" mechanical > model 33. I got home last night, and the

Re: Kryoflux or Catweasle

On 05/24/2017 01:59 AM, Torfinn Ingolfsen via cctalk wrote: > On Wed, May 24, 2017 at 8:30 AM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk > <cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > > Some of us just want a working solution. So, any links for hardware, > software and an assembly description? Mine are

Re: Kryoflux or Catweasle

On 05/24/2017 11:19 AM, ben via cctalk wrote: > But who wants to write the software? Yes, just so. I learned about that one decades ago. > I am building a 1977 ttl style computer because now I have spare time. > Finding vintage or similar devices is being a challenge as well fighting > modern

Re: Fixing flakey floppies

On 05/23/2017 05:40 PM, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote: > On Tue, 23 May 2017, Warner Losh via cctalk wrote: > In addition to cleaning the heads, look at the parts that slide when the > head moves. The old grease is probably in bad shape by now. With a > little solvent (WD-40 is NOT a solvent),

Re: Kryoflux or Catweasle

On 05/24/2017 02:28 PM, Al Kossow via cctalk wrote: > Once you've built up a set of test vectors, it actually becomes really > obvious where a single gate error is through simulation. Does anyone collect the old Zycad hardware emulators? They were the (very expensive) cat's whiskers at one

Re: Kryoflux or Catweasle

On 05/24/2017 12:49 PM, allison via cctalk wrote: > I remember when RTL was new and uRTL was a later improvement. Flatpack and TO-100. I probably still have a few mW RTL packages around. DIPs came later. --Chuck

Re: Kryoflux or Catweasle

On 05/24/2017 12:49 PM, allison via cctalk wrote: > I remember when RTL was new and uRTL was a later improvement. Flatpack and TO-100. I probably still have a few mW RTL packages around. DIPs came later. --Chuck

Re: Atari ST SCSI hard drive question

On 05/24/2017 07:03 PM, Zane Healy via cctech wrote: > I think you’ll find that’s an ACSI Disk, I’m not sure how compatible > they are with SCSI. ACSI is close--there are some differences from SCSI. I still have a board I built back in the day to bridge the SCSI-ACSI difference. I used it with

Re: BBS software for the PDP 11

On 05/20/2017 11:12 AM, Warner Losh via cctalk wrote: > In the bay area in california, and likely elsewhere too, there was a local > calling zone that was set based on the population patterns of the 1950's > and 1960's. This meant that calls to some numbers were free, while others > had a toll

Re: CFL

On 05/22/2017 07:52 AM, Diane Bruce via cctalk wrote: > I never said I wasn't worried about both fluorescents and CFL's. I > find it horrendous that people freak out over CFL's yet blithely > throw their fluorescents into the garbage without a thought; And yet > older fluorescents were far

Re: What is this bus?

On 05/29/2017 10:13 AM, Mike Stein via cctalk wrote: > But it's also quite possible that the PS and the backplane don't even > belong together. ^ This was my initial guess. It just looked wrong. --Chuck

Re: Kryoflux or Catweasle

On 05/25/2017 07:31 AM, Fred Jan Kraan via cctalk wrote: > This is indeed very easy to implement, I did it in less than a day, > including some doc: https://fjkraan.home.xs4all.nl/digaud/arduino/FDDExer/. Nice--I did a similar one using a $4 Maple Mini clone. (STM32F103). Again, as you say,

Re: FTGH clear-out at Mesa Electronics, Richmond, CA, USA

On 05/25/2017 08:13 AM, Paul Koning via cctalk wrote: . > > For some definition of "standard". It seems that IBM did this, and DEC prior > to the PDP-11, but other machines of that time or earlier numbered bits > according to the power of 2 they represent, i.e., the "current standard". > CDC

Re: BBS software for the PDP 11

On 05/18/2017 12:27 PM, allison via cctalk wrote: > BBSs are really the thing from about 1978 to pre-internet (varied > where you lived). Examples of the big BBS are Source, Delphi, Well, > STD(software tool and die), and the big one Compuserve. Small ones > like Sage and those mentioned by

Re: BBS software for the PDP 11

On 05/18/2017 10:44 AM, geneb wrote: > Because. That's why. :) Well, okay--but then let's be period-correct. The PDP-11 dates from 1970, when, AFAIK, BBSes, if they existed, were far from what people think they were. I'm thinking of,say, Call Computer in Mountain View, frequented by the HCC

Re: BBS software for the PDP 11

So, if it's authenticity you want, you'll have to incorporate some sort of noise generator on the lines. Telco quality is much better today than 40 years ago (although you may not think so). I recall that calling Sunnyvale from Los Gatos (or vice-versa) was a real adventure in connectivity.

Re: Kryoflux or Catweasle

On 05/23/2017 05:31 PM, Andrew Harvey via cctalk wrote: > I don't think Indivudual Computers make the catweasle any more. They never > released a 64bit Windows driver for it. In point of advancing technology, one can purchase a STM32F4 development board with USB, UART, microSD, battery-backed RTC

Re: Kryoflux or Catweasle

On 05/23/2017 05:31 PM, Andrew Harvey via cctalk wrote: > I don't think Indivudual Computers make the catweasle any more. They never > released a 64bit Windows driver for it. In point of advancing technology, one can purchase a STM32F4 development board with USB, UART, microSD, battery-backed RTC

Re: CFL

On 05/22/2017 09:08 AM, William Sudbrink via cctalk wrote: > Don't forget playing with a big tub of Hg in chemistry class. Heh. I remember building a mercury diffusion pump as a special class project. If a kid was to spill as much mercury today that I spilled back then, they'd probably raze

Old Soviet PDP-11-type DVK-3 computers available

I received the following email from Michael Veselov. Please address your inquiries directly to him at mihail.vese...@gmail.com: -- Hello! We have 3 old Russian computers ДВК-3 and we want to sell them. There are photos

Re: What is this bus?

On 05/28/2017 04:38 PM, Mike Stein via cctalk wrote: > I have a bus backplane here, very similar to an S100 backplane but the 2x50 > connectors use .1 in spacing instead of .125 and the supply voltages are > regulated +5 and +/- 12V. Photo, please? --Chuck

Re: I hadn't made the connection before

On 06/02/2017 07:55 AM, Al Kossow via cctalk wrote: > > A very odd version of the PDP-11 > > I did some programming on it for GI in the late 70's using their > GIMINI development system and cross-development tools on their Sigma > 9. I sold a bare CP1600 chip about a year ago to a collector.

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

On 06/04/2017 02:43 PM, jim stephens via cctalk wrote: > Note as a side story, they had been doing something similar to a > source control program, so though the above sounds like a fantastic > amount of software, some times one or two card drawer racks contained > dozens of revisions of the same

Re: Recovered a .bas file from my old Mac Plus

On 06/06/2017 08:32 PM, Michael Hunter via cctech wrote: > Hey folks, > > I hope all is well. Curiosity got the better of me and I sent in an EMAC > external HDD I had for my old Mac Plus in for recovery. I'm happy to report > that the recovery was a success. Now I'm struggling to figure out how

Re: rectangular sense core vs. diagonal

On 06/07/2017 10:47 AM, Paul Koning via cctech wrote: > 6600 core memory is documented in great detail in the training manual > which is on Bitsavers. It has conventional diagonal sense lines. It > does have some interesting design attributes, though. For one thing, > it has pairs of inhibit

Re: rectangular sense core vs. diagonal

On 06/07/2017 05:02 PM, Paul Koning wrote: > 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 found a paper from SJCC 1967 that does a pretty good

Re: rectangular sense core vs. diagonal

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

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

On 06/04/2017 11:47 AM, Al Kossow via cctalk wrote: > > > On 6/4/17 3:35 AM, ANDY HOLT via cctalk wrote: > >> I would think it "not too difficult" to build a modern controller > > The electronics isn't the problem. Getting a poorly stored > electromechanical device to not turn your or any

Re: Unknown boards

On 06/16/2017 02:40 PM, Ed via cctalk wrote: > don't think it is any GE 100 200 400 or 600 series. nor any of > the early process control computers either. Ed# _www.smecc.org_ > (http://www.smecc.org) Perhaps not a computer, but a controller? I'm thinking of things of that time like the

Re: Electronic Systems TRS-80 Serial I/O Board?

On 06/13/2017 06:27 PM, Eric Smith wrote: > They sold it, then spent a bunch of money on Field Service trips to make > it work for customers. It cost them enough to justify multiple > redesigns, including (finally) switching to a crystal. The TRS-80 board? Do you have any documentation on

Re: Electronic Systems TRS-80 Serial I/O Board?

On 06/13/2017 02:26 PM, Eric Smith wrote: > On Tue, Jun 13, 2017 at 12:39 AM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk > A person might think so, but as DEC found out with the PDP-11/05 > console serial port, it's really not. The percentage tolerance of > async serial is not any higher at low bi

Re: Electronic Systems TRS-80 Serial I/O Board?

On 06/13/2017 05:29 PM, Eric Smith wrote: > It's mathematically impossible for a normal UART [*] to handle 49% > timing error. The cumulative timebase error by the end of a > character can't be more than one bit time, or the wrong bit will get > sampled, resulting in incorrect data, or, (if that

Re: Electronic Systems TRS-80 Serial I/O Board?

I'll also grant that there's a big difference between driving one or two meters of cable and one or two hundred meters with TIS232 levels. --Chuck

Re: RL02 Replacement indicator bulbs

On 06/18/2017 10:59 AM, Vincent Slyngstad via cctalk wrote: > From: Aaron Jackson via cctech: Saturday, June 17, 2017 2:14 AM >> Can anyone suggest a source of replacement indicator bulbs for an >> RL02 drive? Are they fairly standard? > > The correct bulb is the GE-73, a fairly common bulb: >

Re: Electronic Systems TRS-80 Serial I/O Board?

On 06/12/2017 10:23 PM, jim stephens via cctalk wrote: > Things odd about the board. No 1488 / 1489 or any other transmit / > receiver chips. No clock circuit. Was there an appropriate > frequency crystal or clock on the interface to divide to something > for the 1602 uart clock? > > I see

Re: Bulk tape eraser

On 04/30/2017 06:22 PM, Jerome H. Fine via cctalk wrote: >> Chuck Guzis via cctalk wrote: > FORTUNATELY, I had an old voice coil fram a speaker available. It > must have been a large speaker because the coil was a cylinder about > 3" in diameter and about 3" long. T

Re: Bulk tape eraser

On 04/30/2017 07:38 AM, Mike Loewen via cctalk wrote: > > Looking for recommendations for a bulk tape eraser for SDLT and DLT > IV tapes. If it's just a small quantity to be erased, there are many Radio Shack videotape erasers being offered, some NIB, all for about $20. I've used one for years

Re: Bulk tape eraser

I'll add that using the little Radio Shack "high power" device well, is not a simple matter--the trick is to keep the eraser moving and using different angles and distances. If you want a high-power tape *degausser*, be prepared to part with some real cash--the low end seems to start just north

Re: Bulk tape eraser

On 04/30/2017 08:55 AM, Al Kossow via cctalk wrote: > You may as well run them through a shredder. All modern tapes have > embedded servo tracks. Certainly not DLT IV tapes--I've done the bulk eraser thing with them and the result re-recorded just fine. But then, DLT IV is hardly modern.

Re: Extracting files off “unknown” 8 inch disks. Any thoughts…

On 05/05/2017 11:19 AM, Bill Gunshannon wrote: > > Not really, in the event they would like them read and we know they > are RX02 there are a number of people here who likely could read them > (myself being one of them!) Just image them sector-by-sector and let folks fool with the images. The

Re: Extracting files off “unknown” 8 inch disks. Any thoughts…

On 05/05/2017 10:24 AM, Jon Elson via cctalk wrote: > If you can read the first block on track zero, it will probably make > it clear what the file system is. I apologize for being dense in this discussion, but it's pretty clear that the disks are RX02 "double density" (I hesitate to call them

Re: Extracting files off “unknown” 8 inch disks. Any thoughts…

On 05/05/2017 12:20 PM, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote: > This is a rare occasion that I will disagree with Chuck. I'm fine with that. Let a thousand flowers bloom... > Yes, there are situations, where the file system is unknown or not > understood, where the best approach is to copy all of the

Re: 8i front panel hmm

It's okay, Fred. I know what Adrian meant. BTW, there's a photo of the the panel in question here: http://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?53352-the-smashed-8i-resto-project-of-sorts=459110#post459110 --Chcuk On 05/08/2017 01:37 PM, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote: > On Mon, 8 May 2017,

Re: Extracting files off “unknown” 8 inch disks. Any thoughts…

On 05/05/2017 01:14 PM, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote: > Although, when I have an "unknown" disk, before I launch a sector > editor, I type "DIR", just in case it ISN'T anything challenging. I > didn't try flux-transition until I failed with my sector editor. The hardest that I've run into so

Re: Ohio Scientific Universal RAM Board GW-OSI-RAM1

On 05/03/2017 05:37 PM, Systems Glitch wrote: > I want to say the only 12-bit work I've done has always been octal > (PDP-8), but 8- and 16-bit has been a mix. I can switch between them, > but it's kinda like using vim and $graphical_work_editor -- you use > vim on a weekend long hack session and

Re: Extracting files off “unknown” 8 inch disks. Any thoughts…

On 05/04/2017 04:30 PM, js--- via cctalk wrote: > On 5/4/2017 6:16 PM, Terry Stewart via cctalk wrote: >>> If these are from a VAX, could they be microcode disks for a >>> 11/780? >> There was a RX01 attached via a LSI-11 as console. > > And yet, if there were an RX02 somewhere on this VAX, I

Re: RIP Jerry Pournelle, the first author to write a novel on a computer Early adopt

On 09/11/2017 07:22 PM, Chris Elmquist wrote: > Lincoln had ETAOIN on his personalized MN license plate (on the very well > worn Ford full size van he drove) and another guy had SHRDLU on his plates. > > I was told that the name came from this string which could be found in > printed works and

Re: ETAOIN SHRDLU (Was: RIP Jerry Pournelle, the first author to write a

On 09/11/2017 08:35 PM, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote: > Etaoin Shrdlu was most importantly one of Walt Kelly's characters in Pogo. > > ETAOIN SHRDLU ETA name > On Mon, 11 Sep 2017, Chris Elmquist via cctalk wrote: >> I was told that the name came from this string which could be found in >>

Re: Subject: Re: RIP Jerry Pournelle, the first author to write a novel on a microcomputer

On 09/11/2017 07:28 PM, Murray McCullough via cctalk wrote: > Was Jerry Pournelle the FIRST to write a PUBLISHED NOVEL on a > MICROCOMPUTER? Yikes! Talk about SHOUTING. As a historian is it worth > the aggravation to please everyone? Does revisionism take away the > honour(Cdn. Here!) Jerry

Re: RIP Jerry Pournelle - Firsts

On 09/15/2017 11:54 AM, Bill Gunshannon via cctalk wrote: > Never understood why Byte kept him around, unless for his humor > value. And, even being a long time SciFi fan I didn't like his books > either. I recall that he was a bit of a pompous a** on his Usenet postings, but you have to

Re: Rainbow Disk Imager

Good grief! All this discussion--about what amounts to a straightforward task. Get a PC with a 1.2M 5.25" drive and some DD floppies. Make sure it boots to MS-DOS, not Windows. Grab a copy of Dave Dunfield's ImageDisk. (on the classiccmp server, if memory serves). Use it read and make images

Re: Chasing Digiac...

On 09/17/2017 11:17 PM, Ed via cctalk wrote: > yep Allison - noticed the date but once posted... alas too late. too > late. > I would like to find the 1966 one by the same name though! Ed# >From what I can determine off the web, Digiac made quite a range of training tools, both analog

Re: DEC H9xx rack parts needed

On 09/16/2017 03:21 PM, Steve Malikoff via cctalk wrote: > Yes I agree they both appear to be simple machining jobs. As a substitute for > drill rod... I'm unclear why the recommendation has been for "drill rod" (i.e.tool steel) for the parts that essentially hold the parts to a hinge together.

Re: DEC H9xx rack parts needed

On 09/16/2017 01:47 PM, Ethan Dicks via cctalk wrote: > This sort of project would be perfect on this wee lathe. The pins > would be trivial (just need to grind an HSS cutting bit with the > profile you described), and the bushings not much harder (ordinary bit > for the main diameters and the

Re: HP 9845 complete system on auction in Sweden

On 09/23/2017 04:11 PM, Eric Smith via cctalk wrote: > On Sep 22, 2017 11:47 PM, "Curious Marc via cctalk" > wrote: > > I didn't know you could interface a 9845 with a 7970 tape drive. > > > The 9845 was the top-of-the-line workstation. It could be interfaced to > almost

Re: RIP Lofti Zadeh, often attributed with "Fuzzy Logic"

On 09/13/2017 12:12 PM, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote: > One of my profs (William Cooper) had a discussion with him about the > mathematical combination of multiple inexact items. After Zadeh talked > about mathematically combining the uncertainties, Cooper asked, "Isn't > that just probability?"

Re: CDC Omega 480

On 09/12/2017 10:16 AM, Ron Tetu via cctalk wrote: > *Yes, Chuck, the CDC Omega 480 is real*. Control Data sold 240 Omega > 480 systems. It competed with the IBM 370-145 and 370-148. This > computer was totally plug-compatible including operating system and > software. We could install a

Re: Rainbow Disk Imager

On 09/14/2017 03:27 PM, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote: > > I have run into quite a few badly maintained drives. The innermost > (higher numbered) tracks are the most sensitive to problems. This. And you can hook a "native" 96 tpi DD drive to a PC and use Dave Dunfield's IMD to do the copying.

Re: What's the matter with kids today (Was: The origin of the phrases

On 10/06/2017 02:54 PM, emanuel stiebler via cctalk wrote: > I completely agree with you. (I probably should have put some smileys > in there somewhere). I do most of my work in embedded, and still > counting bytes, and searching for a better algorithms ... Algorithms, as I learned later in

Re: What's the matter with kids today (Was: The origin of the phrases

On 10/06/2017 12:08 PM, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote: > But, it is a common attitutde. I gave an assignment of writing a > program that could sort a data set that was too big to fit into > memory. Students COMPLAINED (including complaint to the dean), saying > that the "CORRECT" solution is

Re: OT: the death of shortwave / Re: Hallicrafters S-85

On 10/07/2017 04:46 PM, Brent Hilpert via cctalk wrote: > > SW is dead. The internet killed it. I tune through the commercial broadcast bands every couple of years Bible-thumpers mostly. The last I checked, the semi-religious HCJB was still 5-by-9 here. I have fond memories of planting trees

Re: Did DEC make a Daisy Wheel printer?

On 10/08/2017 10:19 AM, Zane Healy via cctalk wrote: > Did DEC make any sort of impact printer, besides dot-matrix printers? I have > an LA50 or two, and dot-matrix isn’t what I’m after. You mean like the LQP03 or LQP45? I don't know if DEC made the basic mechanism, however. --Chuck

Re: The origin of the phrases ATA and IDE [WAS:RE: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC]

On 10/02/2017 10:03 AM, Alan Perry via cctech wrote: > Here is a complete quote from the minutes: > "Jim McGrath of Quantum defined his company's interest as being > primarily in the ability to embed SCSI into a drive without there being > a physical SCSI bus present. He described some problems

Re: The origin of the phrases ATA and IDE [WAS:RE: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC]

See: https://books.google.com/books?id=HXDkCoqMiVIC=PP399=IDE+hard+disk+interface+1989=en=X=0ahUKEwj01P2UmdPWAhUJhlQKHTBVD9IQ6AEILTAB#v=snippet=IDE%20hard%20disk%20interface%201989=true For a CompuAdd 1989 ad that offers a dual IDE hard disk interface on their motherboards. I didn't even bother

Re: The origin of the phrases ATA and IDE [WAS:RE: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC]

Here's one a bit earlier: Jan 31, 1989, for a CompuAdd 286 machine with on-board IDE interface: https://books.google.com/books?id=pMnJ2MkrjNgC=PA161=Built-in+IDE+interface=en=X=0ahUKEwiYnpG0yNPWAhVSy2MKHXdMA4kQ6AEIXTAI#v=onepage=Built-in%20IDE%20interface=true Which means that the ad copy was

Re: The origin of the phrases ATA and IDE [WAS:RE: formatting MFM

On 10/03/2017 12:09 PM, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote: > Also, of course, "pre-ATA IDE" can mean IDE prior to the ATA > standard release, rather than prior to the early use of "ATA" as a > name. Indeed, you can still find "XTA IDE" and "ATA IDE" mentioned in literature. That is, the generic term

Re: The origin of the phrases ATA and IDE [WAS:RE: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC]

On 10/03/2017 11:40 AM, Phil Blundell via cctalk wrote: > On Tue, 2017-10-03 at 18:56 +0100, Pete Turnbull via cctalk wrote:  >> So there's clear proof that at least three companies in the UK were  >> using the term IDE before (or at least by) 1990.  I never heard it  >> called anything else in

Re: (Classic Computers) HP 7970 1/2" 9-Track Reel-to-Reel Tape Drive

On 10/03/2017 06:58 PM, Jay West via cctalk wrote: > HP manuals of the period are awfully detailed. They all have the theory of > operation section with a circuit walkthrough, etc. It could be helpful for > you to also take a look at the manual for the 13181 or 13183 controller set, > as you'll

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

On 10/09/2017 06:52 AM, Jules Richardson via cctalk wrote: > My understanding there is that true SASI supports just a single target, > and so there's no selection phase like there is with SCSI (and SCSI > provides an extra signal on the connector uses during selection, which > simply isn't there

Oddball 7-track tapemark?

Gang; I'm running some old (>50 years) 7 track tapes and I've come across an oddball tapemark. Instead of 17 octal with a 17 LRCC and even parity, I"m getting 17 00 17 - and the 00 is in the correct (for the tape, odd) parity. I don't know what system wrote this. Does this ring any bells

Re: 8" magtapes

On 10/05/2017 09:35 AM, Jon Elson via cctalk wrote: > Those all look like 10.5" reels. Yup. As a guide, the hub hole in a reel of tape is abou 3.75" in diameter. --Chuck

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

On 10/05/2017 11:18 AM, Tom Gardner via cctalk wrote: > I suspect this might start another discussion, but as I understand it Apple > had little to do with the evolution of SASI into SCSI. > Shugart Associates published SASI in 1981 and took it to ANSI in 1982 where > they renamed it SCSI to

Re: HP 7970 1/2" 9-Track Reel-to-Reel Tape Drive...

On 10/13/2017 06:27 PM, Jon Elson via cctalk wrote: > For 800 BPI I have most of this in my head, if you have any specific > questions.  (I wrote up a mostly software read/write interface for 800 > BPI NRZi mag tape many years ago on a CM/M system.) > > 800 BPI is a VERY simple format. ...and

Re: HP 7970 1/2" 9-Track Reel-to-Reel Tape Drive...

On 10/13/2017 01:34 PM, Paul Koning via cctalk wrote: > ISO standards are sold for actual money, so a real copy may be hard > to find. You may be better off looking for an old computer company > document. The HP document Anders mentioned might work; IBM also has > several documents that are

Re: Kennedy 9800 - supply reel o-ring size?

On 10/13/2017 12:55 PM, Anders Nelson via cctalk wrote: > The Kennedy 9800 arrived, packed way better than I was expecting - it looks > perfect cosmetically and intact electrically. There are date stamps of > February 15, 1984 inside. Perhaps the last manufacturing run or refurb date? I can't

Re: More tape drives - what is this one?

On 10/13/2017 04:00 PM, Anders Nelson via cctalk wrote: > Found on eBay: > > https://www.ebay.com/i/172896286711 > > Something out of the '50s? Just curious. Multichannel audio recorder, I think: https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/budapesti_multi_channel_tape_shr_21.html --Chuck

Re: HP 7970B Capstan?

On 09/05/2017 10:47 PM, David Collins wrote: > From my old HP CE days you could always get black off the capstan if > you used alcohol or similar (never recommended). The key thing is it > shouldn't be sticky/gooey. I noticed the issue by starting a read from load point and observing that the bit

Re: HP 7970B Capstan?

On 09/08/2017 07:24 AM, Jay Jaeger via cctalk wrote: > On an IBM 1410 (at least - but I suspect this was likely widely true), > tape marks were *always* EVEN parity, 0x0F (Bits 8421), even on an odd > parity tape. Oh, I know--but remember that I was reading a 7-track tape in a 9-track drive.

Re: Floppy rescue: media separation from hub

On 09/08/2017 11:51 AM, John Foust via cctalk wrote: > > When attemping to read an old Amiga floppy, the magnetic media > separated from the metal hub. Were these originally glued? > > Assuming I can find a way to re-affix the media to the hub, how many > guesses as to the proper alignment

Re: Floppy rescue: media separation from hub

On 09/08/2017 01:42 PM, Fred Cisin wrote: > "Normal" "simple" PC-type read, such as > COPY source destinat > CAN have a big problem. If you put the bub back on, so that index is > right in the middle of a sector, then that sector can't be read (with > NEC-type FDC, unless you "mask-off" the

Re: PSU Input Rectifier Question

On 08/29/2017 11:24 PM, drlegendre . via cctalk wrote: > snap-cap removal goes like this: heat up the joints and solder-suck > them clean as possible. Then hold on to the cap body, and attempt to > rock it back & forth has you re-heat one pin and then the other(s). > Once all the pins are broke

Re: What Is The Spec of This Capacitor?

On 09/09/2017 10:28 AM, Rob Jarratt via cctalk wrote: > I have found a leaked capacitor on my DECstation 5000 Model 240 PSU. The > markings on it are not absolutely clear to me as it is simply marked 10 25. > It looks to be connected to the 12V output, so I *think* this is a 10uF 25V > capacitor.

Re: RIP Jerry Pournelle, the first author to write a novel on a computer Early adopt

On 09/11/2017 11:09 AM, Paul Koning wrote: > No, not kerning. Justifying. Linotype machines can't kern; when that's done > in metal typesetting, which is rare, it involves cutting bevels onto the > sides of the type blocks to allow them to partly overlap. You're correct; I misstated the

Re: Convex C220 lives

On 09/11/2017 08:47 AM, Camiel Vanderhoeven via cctalk wrote: > Now I¹m looking for some FORTRAN code that would typically have run > on this kind of computer so I can show people what this kind of > system was used for. Congratulations! I'd recommend starting with LINPACK:

HP 7970B Capstan?

I've got an HP 7970 tape drive here that's a little dicey on its reading (haven't tried writing yet). One thing that I noticed today was that the surface of the capstan is a bit powdery--wipe it with an alcohol swab and you get a lot of black schmutz. It wasn't very soft and it occurred to me

Re: HP 7970B Capstan?

On 09/04/2017 09:41 PM, Mike Loewen via cctalk wrote: > On Mon, 4 Sep 2017, Chuck Guzis via cctalk wrote: > > > >The rubber on my 7970E capstan is not tacky, but fairly firm. I've > used Techspray Rubber Roller Rejuvenator successfully on keypunch > rollers to make

Re: HP 7970B Capstan?

On 09/07/2017 09:32 AM, Al Kossow via cctalk wrote: > The problem you're fighting is things are just a little marginal at 800 ? As I just mentioned to Al in an offlist email, it turns out that the stack of tapes labeled "800 NRZ 9 track" are, in fact, 7 track. Kyread doesn't lie. Argh. Time

Re: HP 7970B Capstan?

On 09/07/2017 07:18 PM, Jon Elson wrote: > Ah, well, I can see why a 7 track tape won't read well on a 9-track drive! I was a bit puzzled at why a tapemark would read as 135 (hex). Sigh--at least the parity is correct. --Chuck

Re: RIP Jerry Pournelle, the first author to write a novel on a computer Early adopt

On 09/10/2017 11:08 AM, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote: > But, there were MANY obscure, mostly unpublished, manuscripts among the > VERY first uses of word processing. Well before Jerry got into computers. In fact, I'm aware of at least one novel that was composed using punched cards on a

Re: RIP Jerry Pournelle, the first author to write a novel on a computer Earl...

For what it's worth, WikiP gives the following attribution: "The first novel to be written on a word processor, the IBM MT/ST, was Len Deighton's Bomber, published in 1970." But history is a fickle mistress. --Chuck

Re: RIP Jerry Pournelle, the first author to write a novel on a computer Earl...

On 09/10/2017 11:40 AM, Ed via cctalk wrote: > then. who was. the TRUE first? > We'll probably never know that one. It was an obvious application once alphanumeric printing was possible. See, for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_processor#History One of the initial

Re: Computers before Information Theory

On 09/10/2017 10:22 AM, Noel Chiappa via cctalk wrote: > A very good question indeed! Does anyone know? Wikipedia gives credit to Kathleen Booth in 1947 developing an assembler for the ARC2 at the UofL. EDSAC had one in 1949. Then there was SAP (Symbolic Assembly Program) and SOAP (Symbolic

Re: RIP Jerry Pournelle, the first author to write a novel on a computer Early adopt

On 09/10/2017 03:43 PM, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote: > I tried to interest my publisher in going straight from microcomputer > into typesetting machine, but I couldn't do that disk format, and the > Rochester Dynatyper was too funny to watch. Not nearly as funny to watch as a Mergenthaler

Re: RIP Jerry Pournelle, the first author to write a novel on a computer Earl...

On 09/10/2017 03:53 PM, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote: > Surely SOMEBODY must have used one for a manuscript. Possibly after > hours in a business where the boss might not have even approved of using > it for "non-business" stuff. 'course it might have been something > obscure and forgettable. >

Re: RIP Jerry Pournelle, the first author to write a novel on a computer Early adopt

On 09/10/2017 06:25 PM, Tapley, Mark via cctalk wrote: > There was one of those machines in my Junior High School shop > classroom. I saw it run once (not well enough to successfully set a > line of type, but nearly). > > I endorse Mark’s assessment of its safety characteristics... I knew a

Re: RIP Jerry Pournelle, the first author to write a novel on a computer Earl...

On 09/12/2017 09:34 AM, Mike Stein via cctalk wrote: > Does my creating a procedures manual from punched cards printed on an IBM 402 > back in 1962 count as word/text processing? Isn't that known as an "80-80 listing run on an accounting machine?" :) Never got to use a 402 or 405--just 407s.

Re: HP 7970B Capstan?

On 09/06/2017 06:50 PM, Jon Elson wrote: > On 09/06/2017 12:11 PM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk wrote: >> Will do--I've mentioned in another message that I'm preparing a test >> tape using the drive, so I should get some inkling of timing and >> adjustments pretty quickly. --Chuck

Re: HP 7970B Capstan?

On 09/06/2017 06:50 PM, Jon Elson wrote: > On 09/06/2017 12:11 PM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk wrote: >> Will do--I've mentioned in another message that I'm preparing a test >> tape using the drive, so I should get some inkling of timing and >> adjustments pretty quickly. --Chuck

Re: HP 7970B Capstan?

On 09/06/2017 08:14 PM, Al Kossow via cctalk wrote: > I could mail you a skew tape. > > On 9/6/17 8:09 PM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk wrote: > >> I'm just scratching around looking for ideas. If you could spare it for a week or so, I'd be grateful. On the other hand, my MCU s

Re: HP 7970B Capstan?

On 09/05/2017 10:55 AM, Jon Elson wrote: > Some spring-arm drives had really bad problems with tape slipping. I > know some Pertecs had circular grooves in the capstan to prevent an air > bearing effect. On one of our spring-arm drives, I cut thumbs out of > latex gloves and stretched them over

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