[cctalk] Re: Z80 vs other microprocessors of the time.
> I shared an office with a lady who got a computer from Ohio Scientific > that had both a Z80 and a 6502. The Commodore 128 says hi. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- If you're too open-minded, your brains will fall out. --
[cctalk] Someone with ExpressPCB: can you convert these to Gerbers?
I'm trying to build some prototype Tomy Tutor cartridges of my own but I'm all thumbs in KiCad, and while prefab ones exist that I can just add an EPROM to, they're in ExpressPCB and PCBWay wants Gerbers. This Mac won't run ExpressPCB, or at least not in a way that wouldn't involve a significant expenditure. Is someone out there with a copy of ExpressPCB willing to convert these to Gerbers I can upload? They're quite small so it should be a simple task. If so, please contact me off-list with many thanks! -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- E pluribus Unix
[cctalk] Re: How to shutdown RT11?
> You say that like fsck is reliable now... There's a reason it's only one letter off. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Premature optimization is the root of all evil. -- Donald Knuth
[cctalk] Allied Telesyn stuff was Re: Cleanup time again
>> Here's something operators of older systems might find useful. >> >> Allied Telesis CentreCOM 210TS Twisted Pair Transciever >> IEE 802.3 10 BASE-T (MAU) >> >> I have 14 used and another 14 still in the box, never been opened. >> > > > Wow!!! Maybe I should try eBay again. I was going to let > them go for $20-$25 but I according to google they are listing > for $180 to $250. :-) Hmm. I have a drawer full of these and I think they furiously multiply in the dark like little metal network gerbils. Every so often I put one in service when a new machine arrives but I never seem to run out. Allied Telesis/Allied Telesyn kit is good stuff. I have a 10MBit hub from them that's been in continuous service since at least 1998. It won't die. -- -------- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- I've never had but one wrinkle, and I'm sitting on it. -- Jeanne Calment ---
[cctalk] CommonPoint for AIX
Just a ping out there to see if anyone's sitting on installation media for CommonPoint (the last gasp of Taligent). Seems appropriate to try to coerce it to run on an Apple Network Server. Let me know on or off list as appropriate. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- "I'd love to go out with you, but I need to clean my toilet brush."
[cctalk] Re: Tadpole/RDI UltraBooks - UNIX notebooks - species needs rescue...
> Interesting. So you still have got the hostid and the MAC address which might > indicate, that the contents are not completely lost yet. Maybe just a few > bits flipped leading to a wrong checksum (and the diag-switch? being set to > true, leading to lng POST times)? Maybe, but it also says "Setting NVRAM parameters to default values." which suggests it has default values stored somewhere to set NVRAM to. I don't know much about these systems' boot process, however. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- It's bad luck to be suspicious. -- Andrew W. Mathis
[cctalk] Re: Tadpole/RDI UltraBooks - UNIX notebooks - species needs rescue...
> Do anyone out there have got UltraBooks or UltraBooks IIi up and running? > Would > highly be interested in a dump of the NVRAM/Timekeeper!!! > > The failed first generation UltraBook are (DS1643 NVRAM): > (*) U20-14-9-512P with three (!!) hard drives, no battery port > (*) U20-14-3-128B two hard drives, battery port > > And my beloved UltraBook IIi (TimeKeeper DS1553-070) > (*) U40-14-1X-1024C one harddrive, battery port and creator graphics. I just got out my own UltraBook IIi to test and while it makes a lot of complaints during POST (which takes a good couple minutes), it does eventually come up into OpenBoot and will start Solaris. I note that it states it seems to have already lost its NVRAM contents but appears to have spontaneously self-recovered. Typing verbatim from the boot screen, Starting real time clock... Incorrect configuration checksum; Setting NVRAM parameters to default values. Setting diag-switch? NVRAM parameter to true. Reset Control: BXIR:0 BPOR:0 SXIR:0 SPOR:1 POR:0 UltraSPARC-IIi Version 9.1 (E$=1MB) 2-2 module Advanced PCI Bridge Version 1.3 Probing Memory Group #0 256 + 256 : 512 Megabytes Probing Memory Group #2 0 + 0 : 0 Megabytes Probing Floppy: No drives detected Probing UPA Slot at 1e,0 Nothing there Probing /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1 at Device 1 network Probing /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1 at Device 2 Nothing there Probing /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1 at Device 4 Nothing there Probing /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1 at Device 3 ide disk cdrom Probing /pci@1f,0/pci@1 at Device 1 pcma pcma Probing /pci@1f,0/pci@1 at Device 2 ATI,3D-Expression Probing /pci@1f,0/pci@1 at Device 3 scsi disk tape -- Ultrabook IIi (UltraSPARC-IIi 400MHz), Sun Keyboard -- OpenBoot 3.10.7 Tadpole-RDI 1.06, 512MB memory, Serial #[censored] -- Ethernet address [censored], Host ID: [censored]. The IDPROM contents are invalid Creator card not detected Boot device: net File and args: >From there it times out, drops to an ok prompt, and I can start Solaris. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- si non confectus, non reficiat -
[cctalk] Re: Silly question about S-100 and video monitors
> I did manage to get one of those stickers off in one piece. I stored > it on the backing paper of some rub-down letter transfers (remember > those?) and never put it back after I completed the > modifications/repairs. My idea was I'd put it on a unit I'd been > inside if I did want to claim on th warranty. Never did that, I might > still have it somewhere. This week I installed a cooling fan in my Commodore 128DCR. I've been inside that unit twice in the last couple months to replace the power supply and then solder the leads and mount the fan. The warranty sticker remains undisturbed. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- I have but two things to say to you: Celery and Sidewalk. -- Michel Rivard -
[cctalk] Re: Apple 1
> Personally I use my IMSAI somewhat regularly, thats my favorite computer
> from the mid 70s.
I have an IMSAI as well, but for me my favourite computer of that era is the
KIM-1, and that's such a simple design there are tons of reimplementations
(though I prefer the original since some of them apparently have edge-case
incompatibilities).
--
personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ --
Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com
-- When in doubt, take a pawn. -- Mission: Impossible ("Crack-Up")
[cctalk] Re: 50 pins in three rows
>> Anyone seen those before, and is it actually SCSI, or is it something else? > Common on old Sun SCSI stuff, it's a DD-50. Could be something else, but they > were indeed used for SCSI termination. Given what else was in there, this makes sense, and they look exactly like a SCSI terminator should look. TIL. Thanks! -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- The point of good writing is knowing when to stop. -- Lucy Montgomery --
[cctalk] 50 pins in three rows
In a shipment today I got several AMP-labeled dongles that look like SCSI terminators ... except the 50 pins are arranged in three rows (17-16-17), not the Centronics-style 50-pin connector nor the usual 2-pin configuration. Anyone seen those before, and is it actually SCSI, or is it something else? -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong. -- Oscar Wilde
[cctalk] Re: KIM-1 debug board RAM test: *zero* flashes
Answering my own question for posterity: > However, test 1, the RAM test, should show long flashes of the green LED if > RAM > is bad. I was prepared to see all long flashes which might implicate the > buffers or address decoder, but instead it won't blink the LED at all in that > or any of the other tests. The red LED remains lit and appropriately > extinguishes when the RS button is down. > > Again, the board works correctly and fully certifies the other two KIMs. > > What would cause it to hang (?) in the RAM test on the defective one? Dwight suggested something wrong with the address lines. That made sense, since the continuity problems I had on the board were on the address lines (turned out to be lifted traces). However, after spending a couple hours more with the tester, the actual problem was two address lines that had an intermittent short. I cleaned that up and everything passes. The original fault, a bad 2nd bit from $280 to $2bf, was indeed a single RAM chip gone bad in a single row. Now that it's replaced and the board is fixed, the fault is gone. Buffers and address decoding check out just fine. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Not sun-worshippers: Son-worshippers! -- Uhura, Star Trek "Bread & Circuses"
[cctalk] KIM-1 debug board RAM test: *zero* flashes
I assembled Dwight Elvey's KIM-1 debug board (thank you, Gary!) and have now certified two of my KIMs with it, so I'm very confident the harness operates properly. Unfortunately, the one I *want* to repair, my original KIM-1, won't start up at all after replacing the 2102 RAM I was pretty sure was bad. I checked my soldering and found a couple spots without continuity that should according to the schematic, but fixing those didn't fix it. I also buzzed out the socket and found no obvious shorts, and a second 2102 equivalent from a second manufacturer has the same symptoms. I connected the debug harness and test 0, the initial "dead board" test, does show CPU accesses on the red LED and slowly flashes the green LED, so the CPU at least is alive and can access the test EPROM. However, test 1, the RAM test, should show long flashes of the green LED if RAM is bad. I was prepared to see all long flashes which might implicate the buffers or address decoder, but instead it won't blink the LED at all in that or any of the other tests. The red LED remains lit and appropriately extinguishes when the RS button is down. Again, the board works correctly and fully certifies the other two KIMs. What would cause it to hang (?) in the RAM test on the defective one? -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Roger Waters to moving crew: "Hey! Careful with those racks, Eugene!" --
[cctalk] Re: Need AUI cable
> Anyone in MD got an AUI cable (few feet long) I can steal so I don't have to > remove the bolts from the Pro/380's Ethernet socket or the pins on my 10bt > ethernet MAU? I just cheat and use a straight through DB-15 (waiting for someone to tell me it's a DQ-15 or something instead ;), like a PC joystick cable or some such. > Friendly note: If you try to boot a Pro/380 running POS 3.2 with Decnet > installed and don't have the loopback plug the system will crash hard with a > numeric error on the display. Noted. Duly noted for the one I have here, but it runs Venix/PRO. Gotta try 2.9BSD one of these days. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- 1-GHz Pentium-III + Java + XSLT == 1-MHz 6502. -- Craig Bruce --
[cctalk] Dwight Elvey's KIM diagnostics board
Does anyone have one of Dwight Elvey's KIM-1 diagnostics boards out there who would be willing to let me borrow it (I'm in southern California)? I would be happy to pay shipping and a rental cost, provide a deposit, etc. Please contact me off list if you're willing and the arrangements you'd prefer. Yes, I'm aware schematics exist, but I was hoping not to place my ability to fix this unit entirely upon my ability to assemble a board if a working one is already out there. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- I went to San Francisco. I found someone's heart. Now what?
[cctalk] Re: Bob Applegate passed away
> Just letting everyone know that Bob Applegate passed away a few days ago. > He had been battling cancer for some time. He was involved with vintage > computing for some time. Here is his website: http://www.corshamtech.com/ > > This is the website for his memorial: > https://everloved.com/life-of/robert-applegate/ Bob made great stuff. I bought a few KIM boards off him a few weeks back. He said the treatment wasn't going well, and it didn't seem like it would be long. I'm glad he's at peace. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- "The ants are my friends/They're blowing in the wind" --
[cctalk] Re: KIM-1 stuck bits from $280 to $29f
> If the failure affects the EPROM monitor,then any results you get from the > monitor are suspect. No, what I mean is, the appearance of the upper six bits being dead was because of how the monitor shifts in data from the keypad. Since bit 2 was always zero, it would look like everything above it was zero too because the bit shifts carried the error forward. A direct brute-force step through showed the actual issue and I should have just done that in the first place. The monitor works properly everywhere else outside of those locations, including from the TTY. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Ninety-nine percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name. ---
[cctalk] Re: KIM-1 stuck bits from $280 to $29f
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. This board has NEC D2102AL-4 SRAMs on it, so I ordered a couple MM2102AN-4s which look equivalent. I'll swap one in when it arrives and see if that's the problem. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- I don't like losing anyways. -- Usain Bolt -
[cctalk] Re: KIM-1 stuck bits from $280 to $29f
> I thought about this, but the KIM is a pretty simple system. The only memory > mapped device in that range (really, on the entire unit) are the RIOTs, and > their RAM at $1780 is fine and does not echo. > > The KIM only does address decoding for 8K and echoes the rest, so the same > fault is mapped at $2280, $4280, etc. I would think this would still suggest > data is the problem. > > I suppose I could randomly replace the RAM and see what changes but again it > seems weird to have a fault so neatly aligned and only in a specific range. With a simple step through program, *=$ r=$0280 inc w lda w sta $f9 sta r sta r+1 lda r sta $fb lda r+1 sta $fa jsr $1f1f jsr $1f6a cmp #$12 bne *-8 jsr $1f1f jsr $1f6a cmp #$15 bne *-5 jmp $ w .byt 0 it's actually an artifact of the monitor that the upper 6 were clear. Actually, the stuck bit is entirely bit 2 (i.e., it goes 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 a b c d e f 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 8 9 a b 8 9 a b and the high nybble is OK). Now that sounds more like a bad RAM chip, but why would it be *just* those addresses? Does that sound like a plausible failure mode? -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- God made the integers; all else is the work of Man. -- Kronecker ---
[cctalk] Re: KIM-1 stuck bits from $280 to $29f
>> Odd fault on my Rev D KIM-1 popped up while writing code this afternoon >> (initially I thought I had a bug in my paper tape transmitter) - between >> $0280 >> and $029f, the upper 5 bits are stuck at zero. The rest of the address range >> seems fine. In particular, $0080-$009f, $0180-$019f and $0380-$039f work >> correctly. >> >> This doesn't smell like a bad RAM chip to me or I would think there would be >> a >> bad bit throughout the entire 1K, so I suspect this is a data bus problem but >> I'm not sure where to start looking. Any guesses from the group? >> > Maybe an I/O device is sending on the bus when it should not be. Are there > any > devices that have a register range of XX80 to XX9F? (By the way, I had a typo in my message: it's the upper *six* bits, not five.) I thought about this, but the KIM is a pretty simple system. The only memory mapped device in that range (really, on the entire unit) are the RIOTs, and their RAM at $1780 is fine and does not echo. The KIM only does address decoding for 8K and echoes the rest, so the same fault is mapped at $2280, $4280, etc. I would think this would still suggest data is the problem. I suppose I could randomly replace the RAM and see what changes but again it seems weird to have a fault so neatly aligned and only in a specific range. -- -------- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- "I'd love to go out with you, but my personalities each need therapy." -
[cctalk] KIM-1 stuck bits from $280 to $29f
Odd fault on my Rev D KIM-1 popped up while writing code this afternoon (initially I thought I had a bug in my paper tape transmitter) - between $0280 and $029f, the upper 5 bits are stuck at zero. The rest of the address range seems fine. In particular, $0080-$009f, $0180-$019f and $0380-$039f work correctly. This doesn't smell like a bad RAM chip to me or I would think there would be a bad bit throughout the entire 1K, so I suspect this is a data bus problem but I'm not sure where to start looking. Any guesses from the group? -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- require "std_disclaimer.pl"; ---
[cctalk] Atari PLATO was Re: Re: Age of Tape Formats?
> Was there any PLATO/NovaNet arrangements with Atari like
> there was for Texas Instruments computers?
Yes, though not exactly. The TI implementation was a true, full Micro-TUTOR
runtime that ran Off-Line System lessons directly. Atari had a PLATO cartridge
that could connect to a server via modem ("PLATO Homelink") and was arguably
more functional than the contemporary PC Homelink, but the Micro-PLATO (*not*
Micro-TUTOR) lessons on floppy disk for Apple II and Atari were ported to the
6502 and had no runtime or interpreter per se.
--
personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ --
Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com
-- You are not ready! -
[cctalk] Re: mainframe vs mini
This has been around the block: You can lose a screw in a micro. You can lose a screwdriver in a mini. You can get lost in a mainframe. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Merci d'eviter le "Top posting"
[cctalk] WTB: Accutech Gobi (Gobi7 or Gobi8)
Well, the weekend of hardware sudden death continues. The reason for getting the UltraBook IIi out was to do some more work on kOpenRay, the free Sun Ray server software I very occasionally maintain. Among other devices I use(d) two Accutech Gobi laptops to talk to it since they have an oddball VPN setup that used to cause problems. Unfortunately, neither will configure their network interfaces anymore and just hang. The board is of course a cheap mass of unrepairable components. If anyone has an Accutech Gobi (either the 7 or 8 model, both will suffice, I don't need the 3.5G module but will use it if it's there) sitting around gathering dust, I'd love to buy it off you. I have the power supply and batteries already. Southern California. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- And now for something completely different. -- Monty Python
[cctalk] Re: Tadpole RISC laptop RAM modules
>> I don't think it's the connector, but it's junk if it isn't anyway, so I >> might >> see. These things screw in place and the fit was tight getting it out so it >> would boot again, so I don't think it wiggled. Still, would be nice to know a >> source for spares because it seems like others on this list have had similar >> problems with theirs. > > It might be possible to transplant DRAM ICs from other SIMMS onto the Tadpole > memory modules to refurbish them. I think that's possible, but it would need someone with better soldering skills than I've got. I draw the line at surface mount; I've wrecked boards before, and this module has 18 Hitachi DRAM chips on it (parity). -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- If I am not for myself, who will be for me? -- Pirkei Avot -
[cctalk] Re: Tadpole RISC laptop RAM modules
>> Well, this is the second Tadpole laptop RAM module I've had go bad on me (one >> in my PA-RISC PrecisionBook and now one in my SPARC UltraBook IIi). These are >> the maroon-red 256MB or 512MB screw-in modules marked "Huxley Only" using a >> custom friction fit connector, not regular SO-DIMMs. I can't find an obvious >> part number on them and searching for Tadpole RAM modules just finds the >> rinkydink 8MB parts for the earlier SPARCbooks. > > Can you tell if it's one of the DRAM ICs or if it's the connector? Deoxit on > the connector then reseat? I don't think it's the connector, but it's junk if it isn't anyway, so I might see. These things screw in place and the fit was tight getting it out so it would boot again, so I don't think it wiggled. Still, would be nice to know a source for spares because it seems like others on this list have had similar problems with theirs. -- -------- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Queen, you shall be it if you wish/Look for your king -- Pink Floyd
[cctalk] Tadpole RISC laptop RAM modules
Well, this is the second Tadpole laptop RAM module I've had go bad on me (one in my PA-RISC PrecisionBook and now one in my SPARC UltraBook IIi). These are the maroon-red 256MB or 512MB screw-in modules marked "Huxley Only" using a custom friction fit connector, not regular SO-DIMMs. I can't find an obvious part number on them and searching for Tadpole RAM modules just finds the rinkydink 8MB parts for the earlier SPARCbooks. Anyone know someone who carries them, or better still, is willing to sell some they have? Looking for a 256MB module but a 512MB module would be even better. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Put your Nose to the Grindstone! -- Plastic Surgeons-Toolmakers Union Ltd. -
[cctalk] Re: DLOAD BASIC command for Color Computer 1/2 heritage
>> I think (I might have mentioned it at the thread start) it was part of a >> plan for a school network. Tandy offered a similar setup for schools >> for the Model 1/3/4 systems, where the "host" could send programs, and >> the clients would load from the common host system. > IIRC there was the Network 1 which was 500 baud M1/3/4 only, and the > Network 2 which was very similar but could also handle 1500 baud M3/4 > and Coco (and M100?). These used the casstte ports and allowed the > host machine to 'broadcast' a file (program) to all the student > stations or load a file from one student station at a time back to the > host. I worked with an elementary school teacher who used exactly such a system to ship software from a CoCo 3 with a floppy drive to diskless CoCo 2s. You turned the dial to each client in turn and ran CLOAD on the client, and it pulled it over the cassette port. No automatic push, but I think he had only around 15 computers or so, so it didn't take long to load software. My math fractions trainer I wrote in CoCo BASIC was in use there for a number of years. -- ---- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Birth, n.: The first and direst of all disasters. -- Ambrose Bierce
[cctalk] Re: Mac System 7.1 or 7.5 question
>> That sounds like a floppy disk written by PC Exchange. RESOURCE.FRK would >> contain any resource fork for any file in that folder, so at the root >> \RESOURCE.FRK\DESKTOP would probably have been the equivalent of the Desktop >> folder. > Thanks Cameron, that jogs a few old brain cells, and sounds right. Initially I thought this had something to do with FASTBACK on MS-DOS, which made zero sense, as I was finding them on FASTBACK backup floppies. Then I realized some of the floppies were just simple data floppies. > > I’m finding Google has limited knowledge of some of this stuff. Searching Google for anything related to the classic Mac OS has become more and more useless (along with everything else Google is getting more and more useless for). All you get nowadays is little-m macOS. Sometimes I have luck searching for "System 7.x" but that won't work for Mac OS 8 and 9. :/ -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Shell scripting: the ultimate open source software.
[cctalk] Re: Mac System 7.1 or 7.5 question
> I’m looking at some 3.5” floppies from about 1995, so probably about the time > I got my first Mac. > Am I correct that System 7 used A:\RESOURCE.FRK\DESKTOP as the Resource Fork > data? MacOS 12.5 doesn’t appear to use it. :-) > A bunch of the floppies I’m looking at have this, including ones that appear > to be PC Backups. That sounds like a floppy disk written by PC Exchange. RESOURCE.FRK would contain any resource fork for any file in that folder, so at the root \RESOURCE.FRK\DESKTOP would probably have been the equivalent of the Desktop folder. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Our way is peace. -- Septimus, Son worshipper, Star Trek "Bread & Circuses"
[cctalk] Re: Replacing NiCd with NiMH in a pro way.
> > dumb charger. Might be worth a watch, but the tl;dr seems to be that trickle > ^ > The what ??? Too long; didn't read -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends? ---
[cctalk] Re: what is on topic?
> > Something like the HP LX series or even the portable ZEOS DOS palmtops would probably be on-topic. The OmniGo 100LX behind me has a Vadem equivalent of an 80186. > Vadem made 186 clones? They made dense glue for V40 based Ampro sbc's. Never > knew they made cpus. Not saying they didn't, but if so that's a shocker to me. It has a VG230 in it which apparently is a NEC V30HL variant. My mistake, it's an 8086 clone, not an 80186. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- NEWS ITEM: Energizer Bunny arrested, charged with battery --
[cctalk] BSD 2.11 on the DEC PRO
My PRO 380 runs Venix/PRO. Which is cool, but someone sent me this: https://www.frijid.net/blog/index.php/2015/06/07/182/ Allegedly this gets BSD 2.9 on, at least, the PRO 350. I'm particularly interested because it supports networking. Anyone tried this on their PRO? Or better still, an actual 380? -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Male Macintosh geeks are so predictable. All we think about is X. --
[cctalk] Re: what is on topic?
> I agree that we should probably use the intent of a specific era. > > I believe that the world certainly dropped out of my personal definition of > 'Classic' when the 386 came in. > > I have an interest in things up to and including 80186, and they certainly > are not run of the mill. Something like the HP LX series or even the portable ZEOS DOS palmtops would probably be on-topic. The OmniGo 100LX behind me has a Vadem equivalent of an 80186. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Beware the Lollipop of Mediocrity: lick it once, and you suck forever! -
[cctalk] Apple AWACS register documentation
Any Apple alumni (Al?) with documentation on AWACS registers? I'm trying to figure out why the BeOS AWACS sound driver works on some Power Mac 6500s and TAMs but not others (but works fine on 6400s and everything previously). Yes, I'm aware that Be considered the 6500 "Unsupported but Compatible" and it boots fine on my 6500/275 but is totally mute. An instrumented driver in debug mode yielded little insight. The driver thinks it's initialized everything correctly and reports no errors. I wonder if there's something about the SRS sound enhancement that's different on later 6500s/TAMs. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- God made the integers; all else is the work of Man. -- Kronecker ---
[cctalk] Re: Inline Serial Device?
> AI, not so clear. In my view, AI is a catch-all term for "software whose > properties are unknown and probably unknowable". Someone recently on Hacker News talked about the possibility of neural net models to translate code for other architectures. The best response to this idea described it as a "turbo SIGILL generator." The mental image of a CPU ramming into a silicon brick wall, reversing and doing it again, over and over, possibly infinitely (the halting problem) comes irresistibly to mind. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- The earth is like a tiny grain of sand, only a lot heavier and bigger. -
[cctalk] Re: Inline Serial Device?
>>> I am looking for a device that sits transparently in an RS-232 serial line >>> and upon seeing a particular code go over the serial line ((or sequence of >>> codes) will actual a relay (or a transistor). Something with two DB25s or >>> DE9s and is configurable to what code will trigger the output? Some kind of >>> box? >> >> not that it's easy but a raspberry pi could be set up to watch the serial >> line. > > Or even cheaper, and Arduino uno I second the Arduino recommendation. I have a Power Mac G4 with a serial dongle that drives an Arduino Nano-based IR blaster. It sends serial commands to it and the blaster transmits a signal to the room air conditioner. Should be easy to adapt the GPIO pins to a relay. Arduino programming and interfacing is pretty straightforward. https://oldvcr.blogspot.com/2022/10/ir-controlling-new-air-conditioner-in.html -- -------- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws. -- Tacitus -
[cctalk] GLACIER-01 in the DataRover 840
Cracked open my General Magic DataRover 840 to find out what specific MIPS R3000 variant is in it. However, the only chips that are large enough to be CPUs are *two* with Bowser logos marked (C)GMI JAPAN GLACIER-01 F840276. The other chips of notable size are easily identified as RAM, a sound/modem codec and the inverter for the LCD backlight. I've seen systems with two CPUs that handle two halves of an LCD (the Tandy PC-1 and Laser 50 come to mind), but none with a CPU this large. Any General Magic alums on the list who can explain more about these? -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- "Endian Little Hate We" -- credits from Connectix Virtual PC 6 for Mac -
[cctalk] Re: HP Computer Museum update
David, > With only a few exceptions, the museum's entire collection of HP hardware, > software and manuals has now been shipped from Melbourne, Australia, to > HPCA's archival company - Heritage Werks Inc, in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The > equipment will be catalogued and preserved as a record of HP's early years > in computing, with the ability for HP offices to borrow equipment for > display purposes. Thanks for all your hard work on this and preserving a major historical treasure. Will software downloads remain available, particularly historical OS releases? -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Traditionally, most of Australia's imports come from overseas. -K. Enderbery
[cctalk] Re: IBM 4863 monitor sync problem (PCjr display)
> I had a problem like this on a VT52, and the problem turned out to be one the > power supplies (the -12v one) had died. Wired in a 7812 (or whatever it is for > - voltage) and the monitor came back. > > May want to look inside and see if a supply rail is dead. A good suggestion. This morning it powers up fine, so maybe there's a cold or bad solder joint somewhere in that area, or a failing cap. I'll check the rails next time it goes bad. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- They told me I was gullible ... and I believed them. ---
[cctalk] IBM 4863 monitor sync problem (PCjr display)
Got the Peanuts out today for a shakedown. They work well, or at least they did until about 5 minutes into playing Kings Quest when the h-sync on the monitor suddenly went out. Colours show and match what should be on screen but the horizontal display is scrambled. It does it on both Peanuts, so I think something in the display blew. Anyone recognize this issue? Seems like it should be a straightforward fix; I can't imagine this monitor is particularly complex internally. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Put down your guns, it's Weasel Stomping Day! --
[cctalk] Re: RDI BriteLite IPX keeps going to white screen
> Is there any kind of brightness control? Does it work at all when the screen > goes white? There are brightness and contrast controls, but they don't seem to do anything even when the screen is working properly. (Note that this could simply be an issue with the physical controls themselves rather than the display controller.) Likewise, when the screen goes white, turning down the brightness (or upping the contrast) does nothing; the screen remains blank bright white. The CCFL backlight is unchanged and fully illuminated. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- I thought his Markov chain needed oiling. -- Mark J. Blair -
[cctalk] Re: RDI BriteLite IPX keeps going to white screen
> This usually means the timer of the pulse width modulation circuit is > changing. > If it’s an RC type circuit, probably the resistor is heating up and changing > value. If it’s a ic that controls the PWM then check out the IC and the > components that connect to the control pin. That's an interesting thought. It's almost certainly an IC, though I don't know the details of the panel (though it looks like it's off-the-shelf, not RDI-custom). I suppose I could start with what's in the cooling airflow zone. My worry is if I found the marginal part(s) I'm not sure how I could easily fix it (with my luck it won't be a discrete part). -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- A penny saved is stupid. ---
[cctalk] RDI BriteLite IPX keeps going to white screen
I've been trying to do a little work on the RDI BriteLite IPX I have here, but when it runs more than a few minutes the LCD just blanks out white. The machine seems to still respond to commands, so it seems like it's something with the display hardware. Even powered off and back on it won't go back to normal until I let it sit for awhile. I suspect heat is part of the issue and it certainly feels warm; there are two loud cooling fans inside, but with the case off and checking airflow the fans do seem to be working. Having the case off doesn't make the display any happier though. One fan is in the power supply and another fan is in the (LCD?) inverter board. Finger-checking large chips while in operation doesn't burn the skin. Anyone familiar with this issue? I suppose I could look for a SPARCstation IPX to take the motherboard out of and replace this one with it, but it seems more like the problem is in the display, which is a custom part. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Fish will never understand fear of deep water. -- Tanner Greer -
[cctalk] Re: Apple G5 Rebuild
> TenFourFox is essentially a current web-browser. It's kind of you to say that, but at its core it's still just a hopped-up Firefox 45. Many things work, many things work but look funny, and an increasing proportion of things don't work at all. I myself just use it for basic tasks now that I'm on a Raptor Talos II as my desktop machine, though I do issue security patches on an irregular timeline. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- If they give you ruled paper, write the other way. -- Juan Ramon Jimenez ---
[cctalk] Re: bubble memory stable?
> I suppose it's the computer as well but I was surprised by how relatively > slow they are, considering that they're 'solid state'. It's largely the fact that bubble memory is inherently serial. You have to cycle through all the bits in a line until you get to the right location. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- BOND THEME NOW PLAYING: "The Living Daylights" -
[cctalk] Re: bubble memory stable?
> How "stable" is bubble memory, over decades? > > There is a Sharp PC-5000 that may be available, I believe from 1983-1985 > era, which is said to have bubble memory. But the owner can't find a power > cable, to verify if anything still works. > > I have older systems with ICs that are still working OK, but I was > wondering thoughts on any risk associated with bubble memory? (likelihood > of not working at all, or being damaged in long distance shipping) > > Actually another thought, can any "normal" ICs be used to > replace/substitute the bubble memory? Bubble memory uses magnetic domains, so to a first approximation it's as "stable" as any other magnetic storage system. These domains tend to be relatively large by modern standards. The modules are invariably magnetically shielded in heavy coverings, and are shockproof. If it works it all, it probably works fine. I have a Texas Instruments Silent 700 Model 763 and so far no problems with storing and retrieving data on its bubble memory cards, even though this unit is well over 40 years old (here it is with my KIM-1 as a punch tape storage system: http://oldvcr.blogspot.com/2022/09/what-kim-1-really-needs-is-bubble.html ). There are no modern drop-in equivalents for bubble memory modules specifically. Bubble memory is inherently serial and requires additional drive circuitry. However, that doesn't mean someone couldn't make a unit that emulates the entire system and looks like a bubble memory storage device, naturally, just like any other disk emulator. -- -------- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Do you think I could buy back my introduction to you? -- Groucho Marx --
[cctalk] Re: i860 vs. i960 WAS Intel's i860, Cray-On-A-Chip
> I always thought the i960 was an upgrade to the i860 (sort of like i386 to > i486 upgrade). However, based on the info on wiki it seems as if the i960 > actually came first and although a RISC chip it was in no way in the same > league as the i860. Anyone can clarify or verify this? I'm not even sure I'd call them related. The i960 is a very different, almost "normal" RISC chip compared to the i860, though it uses Berkeley register windows like SPARC. It has excellent XOR performance, so it got used a lot later on in RAID arrays (my Apple Network Server 500 has a RAID card with an i960 on it). A few systems used it and it was popular in military applications but it never achieved its potential mostly due to internal politics at Intel -- not because it sucked -- and the DEC StrongARM settlement mostly put a stake through it. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- The faster we go, the rounder we get. -- The Grateful Dead, on relativity --
[cctalk] Re: Intel's i860, Cray-On-A-Chip
> I think there was a unix/unix-like OS for them, but I imagine context > switching > was slow... There were a couple *nix workstations based on it. The Oki 7300 series comes to mind. I think someone exhibited at that VCF pre-COVID. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Everything is permissible, but not everything is expedient. -- 1 Cor 6:12 --
[cctalk] Re: 9-pin mini-DIN serial?
>> Trying to identify two cables I ended up with, one to DE-9 and one to Mac >> 8-pin >> mini-DIN. The other end on both is a male 9-pin mini-DIN. These clearly look >> like serial cables, but to what? A cursory Google didn't come up with >> anything >> obvious. They don't fit the Mac GeoPort or Sun SPARC serial ports because the >> pins are slightly out of place. > > Possibly to an Epson PX-8. An interesting thought, but the PDF manual you linked shows the PX-8 serial port (pp16-17) is 8-pin mini-DIN. This is what the connector on these looks like, including the metal "bar" at the top: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MiniDIN-9_Diagram.svg -- ---- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- If you use Arabic numerals, THE TERRORISTS WIN -
[cctalk] 9-pin mini-DIN serial?
Trying to identify two cables I ended up with, one to DE-9 and one to Mac 8-pin mini-DIN. The other end on both is a male 9-pin mini-DIN. These clearly look like serial cables, but to what? A cursory Google didn't come up with anything obvious. They don't fit the Mac GeoPort or Sun SPARC serial ports because the pins are slightly out of place. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Don't let 'em drive you crazy when it's within walking distance. ---
[cctalk] Agenda VR3 MIPS cross-gcc
There used to be a cross-compiling gcc for MIPS specifically for the VR4121 in the Agenda VR3 PDA, but it doesn't seem to be on any of the remaining sites. Anyone out there got it or, he asked hopefully, the entire SDK? Binaries OK, source better. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- You can't fool me: there ain't no Sanity Clause. -- Chico Marx -
OT: foreign language away messages was Re: cctalk Digest, Vol 94, Issue 20
>> Dziękuję za twoją wiadomość. Przepraszam, jestem na wczasach i odpowiem >> później. > > For those not conversant in Polish, he said he's on vacation/holiday and > will answer later. See, this is why watching Borat is educational: I actually knew what the first word meant. And I also knew why wearing mankinis in Kazakhstan is normal and masculine. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Quoth the Web Server, "404!" ---
Re: List migration
> The new hosting is provided by the Chicago Classic Computing group. > > Many thanks to Jay West for hosting the lists for 20 years! Thanks, Jay, CCC and Dennis! -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- An intellectual is someone whose mind watches itself. -- Albert Camus --
Re: OT: mail provider recommendation
> Gmail has ceased to provide classic authorization for smtp, pop3 or IMAP > access; they want users to employ their new authorization mechanisms. So, > which email service do you guys recommend? I'd like to be able to access it > in the old classic way, from different clients. Ideally it would be a free > service (I don't store my messages on the server, but rather, download them > to my client, so I don't need a lot of storage), and also likely to remain > in operation for many years to come. I used to be a self-hoster for my E-mail, but I've recently switched to Fastmail, and I've been fairly happy with it. It's not free, but it's not very expensive either. It offers both POP and IMAP as well as webmail and some useful privacy features (and my wife likes the fact they're Aussie, even if they're in Melbourne ;). I don't get a commission; I'm just a satisfied customer. My usual mail client is Thunderbird on Linux and macOS, but I see people using all kinds of clients with it. https://www.fastmail.com/pricing/ -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Computers are like air conditioners. They stop working if you open windows.
Looking for Silent 700 Model 765 lower board
These things must be cursed by G-d. I've landed three. Two had bad lower boards (the ones with the bubble memory and the main 9980 MCU) already. The third had a bad print mechanism. I replaced the printer mechanism, but the printhead on that was bad, so I powered it down and replaced the print head. I power it back up and its lower board suddenly stops responding too. Then, shortly after that, the upper board! (What is that circular metal can bolted down with wires exiting near the power switch? It squeals like a stuck pig.) I have plenty of bubble memory boards from these damn units, but what I need is a working lower board itself. Unless someone is experienced with board level repair and knows the typical faults on these. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Don't you just hate rhetorical questions? --
Re: DEC OSF/1 for i386?
> but I know at IBM we had 2 principle "ports" that we maintained (PPC Did this have anything to do with Apple's alleged "A/UX for PowerPC" which was supposedly OSF/1 based? -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Wouldn't your life be simpler if you were reading this on a Commodore 64? --
Re: Not just slashed zeroes/ohs
> Now with electronics records (EMRs) we just get legible but junk notes - copy > and paste for a week straight Yeah, I consider that lazy. I always rewrite my notes, even if I saw them myself the last time. It forces me to check the history and make sure nothing's changed (and that I didn't miss anything). -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- How do you explain school to a higher intelligence? -- Elliott in "E.T." ---
Re: Not just slashed zeroes/ohs
> Cameron, do they teach indecipherable handwriting in med school? Seems to be > universal! It's probably the hand cramping after writing clinic notes all day. Unexpectedly, electronic medical records have made my handwriting worse, not better. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Focus is all about saying no. -- early Apple employee --
Re: Not just slashed zeroes/ohs
> I still cross my zeds and sevens. And I propose that more people should do s > as handwriting continues to deteriorate into un-favomable scribble! So do I, but as a physician, my handwriting is already indecipherable. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Time makes more converts than reason. -- Thomas Payne --
Re: Retro networking / WAN communities
>>> I still have 10 Mb Ethernet at home (on my Pro, and while it's not in use I >>> have a few 10Base2 bits). >> Please expand "my Pro". There's not much to go on. >> #LivingRetroVicariouslyThoughOthers > DEC Professional 380 (and a caseless 350) -- PDP-11s with a screwball bus and > their own set of peripherals. I have an Ethernet card for one of them. > Working on the driver. I'd love Ethernet to work in Venix/PRO but I think my 380 is just going to have to do some user-level SLIP driver. I suppose that's something I could write up for gits and shiggles. -- ---- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Maybe this world is another planet's hell. -- Aldous Huxley
Re: Retro networking / WAN communities
>> I find myself interested in (at least) the following and would like to >> find others with similar (dis)interests to chat about things. >> >> - 10Base5 / 10Base2 / 10BaseT >> - ISDN >> - DSL / ADSL / SDSL / HDSL >> - T1 / E1 >> - ATM >> - Frame Relay >> - ARCnet >> - PSTN / PBX / PABX > > For your consideration: > > - Arpanet (NCP) > - Tymnet > - Chaosnet > - PUP > - UUCP If we're going to do Tymnet, we should definitely do Telenet. I'll also throw in SLIP, since I imagine most remote access nowadays is all PPP, and maybe even old school EtherTalk or LocalTalk. I had a T1 locally up until a couple months ago. I still have the smartjack and the wiring, but DSLX wouldn't support it anymore. They just left the T1 routers, too. They're embedded PowerPC systems I should figure out something fun to do with. -- ---- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- MOVIE IDEA: The Never-Ending E-mail Signature --
Re: Retro networking / WAN communities
> I don't have a 10Base2 switch, Were there ever actual true 10b2 switches? I've only ever seen them as hubs, and I haven't seen a 10bT switch that had a 10b2 port (all the 10bT devices I have with 10b2 ports are hubs). I just have one 10b2 system now, the VAXstation 3100 M76 (previously the HP 9000/350 was 10b2, but I replaced its IO board with a later one with an AUI port: http://oldvcr.blogspot.com/2021/04/refurb-weekend-hewlett-packard-9000350.html ). -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Proponents of other opinions will be merrily beaten to a bloody pulp. --
Dialcom, Telenet and The Source was Re: restoring a Silent 700 Model 765
>>> 301 24 CONNECTED >>> DIALCOM NETWORK SYSTEM 10 >>> >> Please do scan these! It is hard as hell getting info on The Source >> and also on Dialcom! > > Yes, I definitely plan to transcribe them. There is potentially some > copyrighted material here but I think I can just excerpt that and still > include > all the rest of the login process, etc. > > Still, would be nice to get the terminal itself working and see what's in the > ASR's bubble memory, assuming that's still operational, so any ideas people > have would be appreciated. > I've now transcribed the teletype transcripts and included some scans from the manual, including a nice picture from InfoWorld in 1984 of the Prime hardware. https://oldvcr.blogspot.com/2022/04/tonight-were-gonna-log-on-like-its-1979.html -- -------- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Humor is a drug which it's the fashion to abuse. -- William Gilbert
Re: restoring a Silent 700 Model 765
>> 301 24 CONNECTED >> DIALCOM NETWORK SYSTEM 10 >> > Please do scan these! It is hard as hell getting info on The Source > and also on Dialcom! Yes, I definitely plan to transcribe them. There is potentially some copyrighted material here but I think I can just excerpt that and still include all the rest of the login process, etc. Still, would be nice to get the terminal itself working and see what's in the ASR's bubble memory, assuming that's still operational, so any ideas people have would be appreciated. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- mouse, n: A device for pointing at the xterm in which you want to type.
Re: restoring a Silent 700 Model 765
> I understand many Bubble memoryTi's were used by press. Does anyone have > adverts or articles on this? Need some backup material for our tools of the > journalist section weave one of the units to put in the display I'm not sure if the prior owner was a writer or just an interested subscriber, but there are United Press International transcripts here. On one of them (s)he compares what was entered into the bubble memory with what actually got transmitted. Couldn't say much more about it though from these. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Perl: the only language that makes Welsh look acceptable. -- David Cantrell
restoring a Silent 700 Model 765
I found my old Model 745 in storage and other than needing a print head clean and adjusting the printer contrast, it works splendidly. It has the manual and I've got some plugs to build it an RS-232 connector when I find some more round tuits. This whetted my appetite for other 700s, including the (in)famous bubble memory 763/765. I was able to land a set of 765 ASRs. One of them came with Telenet transcripts from The Source (various logins from 1978 to 1980), which was really cool reading. I'll scan these. However, neither of them work. Both power on, but they immediately go into COMMAND mode and sit there, which appears to be abnormal behaviour based on what I'm reading in the service manual (thanks, Bitsavers!). The NUM LOCK switch works and the paper advance works, but nothing else appears to elicit a response. One of them advances the page and acts like it's printing the command prompt, but the other one doesn't even do that. The service manual suggests I need to replace both the TMS 9980 and 8080 boards, which would really suck. I'm hopeful that the one that's "more active" has a working 9980 board and I can use the 8080 board from the other one. (I haven't even gotten to the bubble memory yet.) Anyone repaired these units or have an idea of a repair strategy other than replace damn near everything? TELENET 303 8A TERMINAL= @C 301 24 301 24 CONNECTED DIALCOM NETWORK SYSTEM 10 -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. -- da Vinci -
Re: Commodore vic 20 poweroff
> I suspect none of this applies to the VIC-20 - the power switch just > disconnects the 120VAC from the wall in the same way that pulling the wall > plug out of its socket (or flipping the switch on a power-strip) would do - > but I don’t know this at all. Is that the case? Yes, it's just a hard cut of a voltage line. There's no software involved at all. Ditto really for any Commodore 8-bit. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Laughter is the closest distance between two people. -- Victor Borge ---
Re: Origin of "partition" in storage devices
>> 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 on certain areas of disk. > > I thought avoiding this very problem was the purpose of the wear leveling > functions in SSD controllers. Yeah, it's all block level now. The controller shouldn't care about the purpose of an individual block. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- A/C was the worst thing that ever happened to Washington. -- Harry S Truman
Re: AOL diskettes
>>> I can only conclude you needed something to save the surface on one of >>> these... >>> https://www.thisiswhyimbroke.com/floppy-disk-table/ >> >> I just love that table > > Although the ad says "1.44 megabytes", it is a 720K. > The write enable notch is not openable to write protect it, > and the shutter may have lost its spring.. The one *with* the spring working has a handy catch basin for your distal finger fragments. -- -------- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- My opinions may have changed, but not the fact that I'm still right. ---
mirror of ftp://unix.hensa.ac.uk
Looking for some tools (guide_reader, others) that were apparently only on unix.hensa.ac.uk's FTP. This hostname still exists, but directs to University of Kent's mirror service, and there is no trace of the old archive. Anybody happen to have saved any pieces of it? -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- In memory of Peter Graves --
Samsung Ubigate iBG-1000 router
Well, DSL Extreme is getting out of the T1 business, leaving me high and dry (they've really gone to hell since GTT bought them out) since they don't offer a static IP option on any of their lines anymore. I'll be working around that problem for the next couple months while we move ... Anyway, I have a spare Ubigate iBG-1000 T1 router here set up by the tech, but no password to access it. It appears to be an embedded PowerPC system, around 603 level. I have some possible reset instructions and can access its serial console, but was wondering if anyone out there has the administration manual for it. It might be fun to repurpose it. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- PowerPC inside!
Re: Wanted: IBM PC compatible 8 or 16 bit Arcnet cards
> > For my kids and their friends I used to set up several (up to like 5) > > bare motherboards first with lantastic 2MB cards and then NE2000 10mB > > compatible cards and play Doom over IPX back in the 90's. > > Yes. Thank you. IPX. That was the network layer. Mac Doom even plays over AppleTalk. LocalTalk suffered a bit though. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- LOAD"STANDARD DISCLAIMER",8,1 --
Re: Shiner ESB Apple Network Server prototype
> > https://oldvcr.blogspot.com/2021/10/shiner-esb-apple-network-server.html > > http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/ans/esb/ > > "Were you a Shiner designer? " > > That would be Dennis Yarak. Dennis went to portables from the server group > and was project lead on the G4 powerbooks. Is he around here? > Bit puzzled when you say the server group was in Austin. > Shiner started out in Cupertino in the N group in DeAnza 3. > I was involved in early development when all of the AIX/Netware/Pink > stuff was going on with it. *Somebody* was in Austin, though (for one thing, I don't know how it would have acquired its code name otherwise - no one knows what Shiner beer is out in California). There was these mentions as well: https://www.applefritter.com/node/538 http://www.ydl.net/board/viewtopic.php?f=9=8251#p42600 Was Brinton Baker in Cupertino, or Austin? Maybe started in Cupertino and moved over? -- ---- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- If you cannot convince them, confuse them. -- Harry S Truman ---
Shiner ESB Apple Network Server prototype
Finally took some pictures of the (sadly non-working) Apple Network Server prototype I landed and also got around to analysing the hard disk it came with. Spoiler alert: this Shiner HE was at Netscape doing "real work" for several years at least. https://oldvcr.blogspot.com/2021/10/shiner-esb-apple-network-server.html http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/ans/esb/ -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- A kindness done today is the surest way to a brighter tomorrow. -- Anonymous
Re: Found my favorite DOS editor
> > > "I've been using vi for about two years, mostly because I can't > > > figure out how to exit it." > > > > :q > > > > you're welcome > > Or having to power cycle the machine to get out of EMACS. I think people missed the part where I said I typed the reply (and, for that matter, this reply) in vi. But it's still my favourite vi joke. -- ---- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- I used to not finish sentences, but now I --
Re: Found my favorite DOS editor
> 'course, then there are the MAJOR religious battles. Such as VI VS EMACS. "I've been using vi for about two years, mostly because I can't figure out how to exit it." (written in vi) -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Faith is to be sure of what you hope for. -- The Kry, "Take My Hand" ---
Re: Speaking of emulators... I have a userland Venix/86 executive...
> I've written a Venix/86 userland emulator. It uses FreeBSD's vm86 to run > binaries natively and intercepts traps for things like system calls. I > finally have it to the point where it can run the compiler via cc (which > forks and execs c0, copt, cpp, as, ld, etc). My plans to try to recreate > the sources for the binaries for Venix/86 from V7 and other extant sources > have taken a step forward. Don't know if I'll ever get there, but at least > I don't need a working Rainbow and can run the compiler at ~4GHz rather > than ~4MHz > http://bsdimp.blogspot.com/2021/08/a-new-path-vm86-based-venix-emulator.html I wonder if an approach like this could work for Venix/PRO. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Flat text is just *never* what you want. -- stephen p spackman -
Tektronix XpressWare 8.1
Bitsavers has 6.3 (thank you Al) but I'm trying to push my luck and find 8.1 for this XP421CH Xterm. Anyone know of where it can be found? -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- FOOLS! I WILL DESTROY YOU ALL! ASK ME HOW! -- "Girl Genius" 8/29/07
Re: Atari 800 to C64
> I wonder what it would take to go the other way. I have plenty of C-64's > and no 8-bit Atari computers. Maybe I'll finally get one at the next PRGE. A lot more, I should think. This is just Commodore BASIC v2.0, which has just about zero special hardware support and was ported almost verbatim from the PET, whereas Atari BASIC gave you access to lots of Atari-specific graphic and audio features. As a result, this particular hack would fall over the minute someone tried POKEing to a critical memory range. There's no VIC-II at $d000, for example. Still, it's a fascinating facsimile. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Math according to Pentium: 2 / 2 = 1.037587439439485486372112039523781385 ...
FTGH for pickup in So Cal v3: Power Macs, DuoDock, Compaq 486, ...
A number of the prior systems were picked up or other arrangements made, and a couple more pulled from storage to make room. As before, these are FREE TO A GOOD HOME but you have to come PICK UP from various locations in the Riverside-San Bernardino, CA region. Contact me privately if interested. These remaining machines and peripherals will go to the scrapper on August 14 if not otherwise claimed. NOT WORKING: Network General Sniffer (Compaq 486 portable). Should "just work" with a new power supply, but I don't have any time to deal with it anymore and Wireshark has made it generally obsolete for what I used to use it for. NOT WORKING: Macintosh DuoDock, with key. Doesn't feed; this is usually a capacitor problem. A bit yellowed but otherwise physically intact. I use a different dock with my 2300 so I don't really need this either. PARTIALLY WORKING: 500MHz iBook G3 laptop (snow, not colour) M6497 with tray loader optical drive and power supply. Does boot OS X, but needs a new LCD backlight (mini VGA port works and you can see the display in bright light) and battery is of course toast. Otherwise physically intact except that ex-bro-in-law put grotty stickers on it. PARTIALLY WORKING: Sawtooth Power Mac G4 450MHz. No RAM, no video card, no hard disk. Used to be my file server but had issues with one of the PCI slots. Has optical drive and ZIP with matching Apple bezels. Does power on, but obviously without RAM or a video card (AGP) will not pass POST. Add your own USB keyboard and mouse. Various other items: Apple II Super Serial card with DB-25 670-0020-? (uses 6551 ACIA) and Apple IIe 80 column 64K memory expansion 607-0103-K. Can't test them but both look intact. Kurta Penmouse. Serial and PS/2 connectors. Seems to have a power supply jack (9V) but I don't have the power supply and I don't know if it needs it. Can't test it, no drivers, physically intact. Sun model 411 SCSI CD-ROM. Requires caddy. Won't mount discs, might need a recap. UMAX Astra 2100U flatbed USB scanner with power supply. Powers on. Works with classic Mac OS but probably most systems. No driver disc. Pair of Telular SX5 GSM terminals. These were the server room's backup communication system. They work, but no GSM network to connect to anymore. Might be fun if you set one up. Real serial ports! Real GSM modem! Full kits with power supply. Visual UpTime Select T1 CSU/DSU. Has a Cisco V.35 cable connected and jacks for Ethernet, serial, DSX-1 and T1. Powers on, obviously goes right into Red Alarm since there's no network. You telco nerds will love it. Samsung 17" SyncMaster CRT. Works fine, great shape, just too big to keep around anymore. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Never say never again. -
FTGH for pickup in So Cal v2: Macs, Atari ST, various hardware
The PDP-11, VT100, Flyer/Video Toaster and some of the Macs have found homes, but there are still some items left and a couple more I added. These will be going to the recycler soon unless they are spoken for (all free to good homes). I may be adding some others, too. As before items are at various locations in Riverside-San Bernardino, CA. Please contact me OFFLIST to arrange PICKUP. POSSIBLY WORKING: Mega ST4 with Megafile 60 and SC1224 and SM125 monitors. These are a bit yellowed and the keyboard is thrashed. Also, the TOS is on a separate card with two leads that got loose and I don't know where they go (probably to +Vcc and a select pin). Thus, can't test the monitors or the hard disk, but the system does power on, and the hard disk does power up and makes happy hard disk noises. No idea what's on it. The SM125 puts on a power light and does appear to try to make a picture, though its previous owner separated it from its stand for some reason. The SC1224 sounds like the flyback is bad but may be serviceable. Includes ST mouse and hard disk cable. No manuals or software. If you want this unit, you need to take everything including the monitors. PARTIALLY WORKING: 500MHz iBook G3 laptop (snow, not colour) M6497 with tray loader optical drive and power supply. Does boot OS X, but needs a new LCD backlight (mini VGA port works and you can see the display in bright light) and battery is of course toast. Otherwise physically intact except that ex-bro-in-law put grotty stickers on it. PARTIALLY WORKING: Quad G5 2.5GHz x2x2, 8GB RAM, Nvidia 6600. Got whacked in shipping and one side of the case is damaged. No hard disk. Does power on but you will need to service the processors and the liquid cooling system. Aftermarket optical drive needs "help" when you eject it. Add your own USB keyboard and mouse. PARTIALLY WORKING: Sawtooth Power Mac G4 450MHz. No RAM, no video card, no hard disk. Used to be my file server but had issues with one of the PCI slots. Has optical drive and ZIP with matching Apple bezels. Does power on, but obviously without RAM or a video card (AGP) will not pass POST. Add your own USB keyboard and mouse. NOT WORKING: Single G5 1.8GHz, 2GB RAM, GeForce 5200. The previous owner seemed to have had a disagreement with the front panel connector and the front panel connector lost. I received it stripped to the chassis except for the processor and the logic board, but it does have the fans, video card, wireless (with T-antenna), power supply and panel cable. Because the front panel connector is busted I can't test it. You get to replace the front panel assembly and put it back together. This unit is air-cooled, but probably could benefit from reapplying thermal compound while you're at it. Has optical drive (disconnected), no hard disk, add your own USB keyboard and mouse. Various other items: Apple II Super Serial card with DB-25 670-0020-? (uses 6551 ACIA) and Apple IIe 80 column 64K memory expansion 607-0103-K. Can't test them but both look intact. Kurta Penmouse. Serial and PS/2 connectors. Seems to have a power supply jack (9V) but I don't have the power supply and I don't know if it needs it. Can't test it, no drivers, physically intact. Sun model 411 SCSI CD-ROM. Requires caddy. Won't mount discs, might need a recap. Samsung 17" SyncMaster CRT. Works fine, great shape, just too big to keep around anymore. UMAX Astra 2100U flatbed USB scanner with power supply. Powers on. Works with classic Mac OS but probably most systems. No driver disc. Pair of Telular SX5 GSM terminals. These were the server room's backup communication system. They work, but no GSM network to connect to anymore. Might be fun if you set one up. Real serial ports! Real GSM modem! Full kits with power supply. Visual UpTime Select T1 CSU/DSU. Has a Cisco V.35 cable connected and jacks for Ethernet, serial, DSX-1 and T1. Powers on, obviously goes right into Red Alarm since there's no network. You telco nerds will love it. Adaptec AHA-1542CF ISA SCSI card. I don't have a system to put this in. Looks fine, might work. No software or drivers. ATI PCI Rage XL card, VGA DE-15 port. Likely for PC, doesn't seem to have a Mac ROM. Good condition. No drivers. Diamond ATI Radeon HD 6450 PCIe card with DVI, VGA, HDMI. Has manual, no drivers. Good condition. Various complete external modem packages ranging from 14.4 to 33.6K. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Man fears Time, yet Time fears the Pyramids. -- Arab proverb ---
Re: What's left of the Houston Museum stuff
> > "Houston Computer Museum" ... I wouldn't call this a "museum". The > > condition of the stuff is fitting for a garbage tip. It is a disgrace. > > Isn't this the place in Texas that flooded last year? Houston and floods ... -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Drive defensively ... buy a tank. --
Re: FTGH for pickup in So Cal: PDP-11/44, Macs, Atari ST, RiscPC, ...
> > There is also a big Kennedy disk next to it but I don't know if they > > originally went together. > > Just to satisfy my curiosity, is that SMD or something else? I *think* so but I'm not an expert on these things by any means. This was an attempt to gain expertise. Oh well. > re. Acorn RPC 700 for anyone reading, I may still have a logic board or two > for these over in England. No real ETA for getting them US-side, though > (and chances are that they have battery issues, too). It's still on the market if people want to give it a shot. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- All generalizations are false, including this one. -- Mark Twain ---
Re: FTGH for pickup in So Cal: PDP-11/44, Macs, Atari ST, RiscPC, ...
picture on the screen at all. > Undoubtedly needs a recap and may need other repairs based on the funny > pulsing of the system fan when connected to power. I think it had 4MB of RAM, > don't recall exactly. I think I removed the hard disk, but if not, hey, free > hard disk. Add your own ADB keyboard and mouse. > > PARTIALLY WORKING: > Sawtooth Power Mac G4 450MHz. No RAM, no video card, no hard disk. Used to > be my file server but had issues with one of the PCI slots. Has optical drive > and ZIP with matching Apple bezels. Does power on, but obviously without RAM > or a video card (AGP) will not pass POST. Add your own USB keyboard and mouse. > > NOT WORKING: > Quad G5 2.5GHz x2x2, 16GB RAM, Nvidia 6600. This is in better physical > condition and does power on and bong but shortly afterwards puts on OVERTEMP > and CHECKSTOP lights, so you definitely will have to service the LCS and > possibly the processors (no obvious leaks but I haven't checked thoroughly). > No > wireless card, no hard disk, OEM optical drive, add your own USB keyboard and > mouse. > > NOT WORKING: > Single G5 1.8GHz, 2GB RAM, GeForce 5200. The previous owner seemed to have > had a disagreement with the front panel connector and the front panel > connector lost. I received it stripped to the chassis except for the > processor and the logic board, but it does have the fans, video card, wireless > (with T-antenna), power supply and panel cable. Because the front panel > connector is busted I can't test it. You get to replace the front panel > assembly and put it back together. This unit is air-cooled, but probably > could benefit from reapplying thermal compound while you're at it. Has optical > drive (disconnected), no hard disk, add your own USB keyboard and mouse. > > > Various other items: > > Newtek Video Toaster 4000 and Video Toaster Flyer boards with a whole > mess of cables (looks like SCSI and some other internal pin header-type). > Don't know if these are complete and no way to test. No software. > > Apple II Super Serial card with DB-25 670-0020-? (uses 6551 ACIA) and > Apple IIe 80 column 64K memory expansion 607-0103-K. Can't test them but > both look intact. > > Kurta Penmouse. Serial and PS/2 connectors. Seems to have a power supply > jack (9V) but I don't have the power supply and I don't know if it needs > it. Can't test it, no drivers, physically intact. > > Sun model 411 SCSI CD-ROM. Requires caddy. Won't mount discs, might need a > recap. > > UMAX Astra 2100U flatbed USB scanner with power supply. Powers on. Works > with classic Mac OS but probably most systems. No driver disc. > > Pair of Telular SX5 GSM terminals. These were the server room's backup > communication system. They work, but no GSM network to connect to anymore. > Might be fun if you set one up. Real serial ports! Real GSM modem! Full > kits with power supply. > > Visual UpTime Select T1 CSU/DSU. Has a Cisco V.35 cable connected and > jacks for Ethernet, serial, DSX-1 and T1. Powers on, obviously goes > right into Red Alarm since there's no network. You telco nerds will love it. > > Various complete external modem packages ranging from 14.4 to 33.6K. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Even cabbage more sense than you! -- Shampoo, "Ranma 1/2" --
FTGH for pickup in So Cal: PDP-11/44, Macs, Atari ST, RiscPC, ...
e not thermal calibrating your way out of this one. Has the wireless card. Aftermarket optical drive needs "help" when you eject it. Add your own USB keyboard and mouse. NOT WORKING: Macintosh SE/30 (marked "Lake Washington"). 8MB RAM. Powers on and bright display on the monitor but Simasimacs immediately. Probably fine with a recap. Case yellowed as hell. I think I removed the hard disk, but if not, hey, free hard disk. Add your own ADB keyboard and mouse. NOT WORKING: Macintosh SE/30 (marked "Clover Park"). Also used to be my file server but then Simasimaced and now doesn't put a picture on the screen at all. Undoubtedly needs a recap and may need other repairs based on the funny pulsing of the system fan when connected to power. I think it had 4MB of RAM, don't recall exactly. I think I removed the hard disk, but if not, hey, free hard disk. Add your own ADB keyboard and mouse. PARTIALLY WORKING: Sawtooth Power Mac G4 450MHz. No RAM, no video card, no hard disk. Used to be my file server but had issues with one of the PCI slots. Has optical drive and ZIP with matching Apple bezels. Does power on, but obviously without RAM or a video card (AGP) will not pass POST. Add your own USB keyboard and mouse. NOT WORKING: Quad G5 2.5GHz x2x2, 16GB RAM, Nvidia 6600. This is in better physical condition and does power on and bong but shortly afterwards puts on OVERTEMP and CHECKSTOP lights, so you definitely will have to service the LCS and possibly the processors (no obvious leaks but I haven't checked thoroughly). No wireless card, no hard disk, OEM optical drive, add your own USB keyboard and mouse. NOT WORKING: Single G5 1.8GHz, 2GB RAM, GeForce 5200. The previous owner seemed to have had a disagreement with the front panel connector and the front panel connector lost. I received it stripped to the chassis except for the processor and the logic board, but it does have the fans, video card, wireless (with T-antenna), power supply and panel cable. Because the front panel connector is busted I can't test it. You get to replace the front panel assembly and put it back together. This unit is air-cooled, but probably could benefit from reapplying thermal compound while you're at it. Has optical drive (disconnected), no hard disk, add your own USB keyboard and mouse. Various other items: Newtek Video Toaster 4000 and Video Toaster Flyer boards with a whole mess of cables (looks like SCSI and some other internal pin header-type). Don't know if these are complete and no way to test. No software. Apple II Super Serial card with DB-25 670-0020-? (uses 6551 ACIA) and Apple IIe 80 column 64K memory expansion 607-0103-K. Can't test them but both look intact. Kurta Penmouse. Serial and PS/2 connectors. Seems to have a power supply jack (9V) but I don't have the power supply and I don't know if it needs it. Can't test it, no drivers, physically intact. Sun model 411 SCSI CD-ROM. Requires caddy. Won't mount discs, might need a recap. UMAX Astra 2100U flatbed USB scanner with power supply. Powers on. Works with classic Mac OS but probably most systems. No driver disc. Pair of Telular SX5 GSM terminals. These were the server room's backup communication system. They work, but no GSM network to connect to anymore. Might be fun if you set one up. Real serial ports! Real GSM modem! Full kits with power supply. Visual UpTime Select T1 CSU/DSU. Has a Cisco V.35 cable connected and jacks for Ethernet, serial, DSX-1 and T1. Powers on, obviously goes right into Red Alarm since there's no network. You telco nerds will love it. Various complete external modem packages ranging from 14.4 to 33.6K. -- -------- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- The cost of living has not adversely affected its popularity. --
Re: Pipelining and Dec Jupiter thoughts....
> Back in the mid-90s, there was an outfit in Britain which made some > laptops using Alpha processors. That was the Tadpole ALPHAbook. Not many of those got to the outside world. Been watching for one for over a decade. For a period of time it was the fastest laptop available and it was reportedly not overly unpleasant to use (my Tadpole Viper, on the other hand, *is* unpleasant to use). > There was a rumor inside DECin the same time-frame about DEC engineers > prototyping an Alpha-based laptop (which never made it to market). > The rumor included the internal code-name... "BURNS". I don't doubt it! -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Famous, adj.: Conspicuously miserable. -- Ambrose Bierce --
Re: MaxSpeed VGA MaxStation
> So, some months ago, I was in an electronics surplus store and picked > up what was obviously an X terminal - tiny metal slab with a VGA > connector, serial & parallel, AT keyboard, and RJ45 "communication" > port. [...] > To throw an extra mysterious wrinkle into this, when I popped open the > case to get a look at the PCB, I found that, apart from the CPU, DART, > and ROM, the only non-glue ICs on the board were an 8K SRAM and a > W82C476 RAMDAC - but 8K isn't even remotely enough for a VGA screen, > not even a monochrome one at VGA resolution! Am I missing something on > how these things operated? It might be text only. There's a mention in InfoWorld 11/18/91: "Maxspeed corp. has introduced a controller to connect a 386 or 486 running a multiuser operating system to eight of the company's MaxStation base units. The $1,495 SH-8 MaxStation Controller is scheduled to ship at the end of this month." From that era it could simply be 80x25. -- ---- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- If you're not very clever, you should be conciliatory. -- Benjamin Disraeli
Re: Any interest in RLX blade servers
> RLX Technologies pioneered the blade server concept between 1999 and 2005 > (when they got acquired by HP). I have two of their early RLX 24 blade > enclosures, one fully populated with 24 transmeta-based processor blades, > and the other with 19 blades. Wait. Transmeta?? Which chip, specifically? I assume running in x86 mode. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- The world is not enough. ---
Re: RX02 DMK image to raw tool?
> > That's right, for disks detected as RX01 (which are of course fully FM, 128 > > bytes per sector).__ Sector data that is actually 0xDEADBEEF will > > show up in the .dmk as 0xDDEEAADDBBFF. > > I've wondered why .dmk did that. Redunredundancydancy? -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Think right and you can fly. -- George Clinton, Funkadelic -
classic Mac GUSI compiler issue
I think we have some old Mac programmers here. I've dusted off some code that allegedly compiles with CodeWarrior Pro 2, and it needs CWGUSI, so I installed 1.8.0 (which was on the CW Pro2 Tools CD). A bit of hacking and everything compiles, but it won't link; it's missing a symbol _Stdout that CWGUSI apparently requires (I traced it back to a couple fflush(stdout); calls). I've got SIOUX, the Metrowerks Standard Library and everything else I can think of, and while everything else builds, I can't seem to find the lib with this mysterious _Stdout symbol. Any guesses? Does this sound familiar? -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Do I look like I just fell off the turnip truck?! -- Ryoga, "Ranma 1/2"
looking for egcs for PowerPC BeOS R4
I know it exists, or existed, as there are references all over to it from the skeletal remains of various BeWare mirrors. However, the package itself has disappeared. The Intel version is marginally easier to find but if anyone knows where the *PowerPC* one is (I'll take R3 or R4) please advise. I guess, since I've got mwcc on it, I could try to reconstruct it, but I don't know if I would have all the BeOS-specific changes. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- My opinions may have changed, but not the fact that I'm still right. ---
Re: DEC Pro operating systems and MFM emulator
> The Venix/Pro that's in the archives works on all Pros (1.0) but 2.0 > requires the 380. I should have said what it was running. It is indeed 2.0. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- The steady state of disks is full. -- Ken Thompson -
Re: DEC Pro operating systems and MFM emulator
> > > 2. Venix: panic at boot, "Bad access number". That doesn't mean anything > > > to me. I wonder if the issue is that Venix doesn't support the 380. [...] > > Venix runs fine on my 380. In fact, it's the only OS installed on it. It has > > the stock hard disk, though I'd like to convert to solid state, so I've been > > reading this thread with interest. > > Interesting. I wonder if it has to do with the peripherals I have > installed. I should try it again with the PC3XC and CNA pulled out. > > What is your configuration? Do you have EBO? Memory size? Option cards? It's a pretty vanilla 380. I think it has just the 256K. No EBO, no option cards. RD52-A and RX50-AA. Note that I can't exclude that it has a 380-specific Venix installed; it came to me with it and I don't have floppies (part of why I'd like to convert it). But I don't recall Venix coming in a 380-specific version. -- -------- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- The best of all: God is with us. -- John Wesley
Re: DEC Pro operating systems and MFM emulator
> > > 2. Venix: panic at boot, "Bad access number". That doesn't mean anything > > > to me. I wonder if the issue is that Venix doesn't support the 380. > > > > The Venix image is special. Venix doesn't support more than 16 sectors > > per track. You may need to put it on a disk whose geometry is 16spt. Maybe > > that is why? Venix should support both the 350 and 380. > > That doesn't explain it, because all hard drives on the Pro by definition > have 16 sectors per track. Venix runs fine on my 380. In fact, it's the only OS installed on it. It has the stock hard disk, though I'd like to convert to solid state, so I've been reading this thread with interest. -- -------- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Honey, are you incapable of complexity? -- "Mountains Beyond Mountains"
Re: cc:Mail version numbers
> > CC:Mail used to have "Versions" in the 80's if I recall. "Releases" > > came when Lotus bought them. > > Ok, so 1,2,3 happened quickly? At least from Lotus' point of view ... (scnr) -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- You're never too old to become younger. -- Mae West
Re: DEC Pro hard drive formatter
> > I've successfully used a DREM-2 (https://www.drem.info/) with my Pro 380 > > for both floppy and hard disk emulation. > > Cool! I just bought one of the G thingies ($30 on Amazon), will try > loading up the modified firmware and see if it works. Just easier than > making an endless pile of floppies I will only use once or twice (I > already have the whole POS 2.0 set). Which firmware is this? The DREM-2 also interests me since I'd like to have a reproducible Venix install on my PRO 380 and it seems to handle both the floppy and HD side. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- This manual has been carefully for errors to make sure correct. -- classiccmp
Re: personal history of personal computers
> There was a little known 68K machine. It was the Canon Cat. I love the form factor of my Cat. Wish it was easier to "do things" with it though. > If you should ever get one, don't use the disk drive until you talk to me. Don't leave us in suspense! However, mine seems to be fine. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Why is it you can only trust short, dumpy spies? -- Hogan, "Hogan's Heroes"
Re: Rod Coleman's personal history of founding, building & running SAGE
> Thanks for the link as didn't realize 68000 was > used for home systems before I ran into Mac. Don't forget about Alpha Micro, though they preferred to be in multi-user vertically integrated environments rather than the engineering and personal use SAGE seemed to be targetting. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- In memory of Commodore Business Machines (1954-1994) ---
Re: Emails going to spam folder in gmail
> It seems easier to bash Google than it is to debug the actual problems. I think this is an unfair characterization of the frustrations people have voiced. I agree individual engineers aren't out to get people with private mail servers, but: > There are a lot of factors that > need to be considered besides DKIM and SPF. Google has heuristics which > are probably well justified with data, and it works for the vast majority > of people. Stuff like the link you gave > https://support.google.com/mail/answer/81126 aren't the problem. The problem is when you're doing all of that, and it doesn't work (i.e., you're not part of this "vast majority"). I don't find it reasonable to assume everyone who's voiced frustration with Gmail isn't doing everything in that list already. When you get to that point, after all that sweat and work, there's no one to communicate with to find out which part of that black box of heuristics is still getting its nose out of joint, and it doesn't serve Google's interest to put any bodies towards that sort of communication because it costs money and it's not their problem. Plus, well, the more people who need to communicate with a Gmail user, the path of least resistance is ... Gmail. That works out pretty well for Google. >From your view in the company, do you see an incentive on their end to work with folks like us? -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Sleep, delicious and profound, the very counterfeit of death. -- Homer -
