August 2025 - cctalk - classiccmp.org

Re: Tesla's Forgotten Founder Speaks Out - Exclusive w/ Martin Eberhard

by donald donaldwhittemore.com

This is one of a few websites where ‘nice rack’ has a totally different meaning. 😊

2 weeks, 5 days

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Chuck Guzis -- Equipment and Archive

by Chuck Guzis

I am Michael St. Clair, Chuck's nephew by marriage. I'm writing from his account to establish bona fides; apologies for any surprise it might cause. You appear to be the people he considered his professional peers, so I'm reaching out to you for some help. Chuck had little warning before he passed. He left his equipment and development environments in working order, but without a legacy plan. I'm a software engineer and data archivist, and my aunt has asked me to find good homes for his equipment and IP. I'm going to organize and open-source the software and other IP that he hadn't already released. However, I don't know how to safely use, maintain, or even store his physical gear. I'm only in Eugene for a couple more days on this particular trip. is there any specific physical information (that doesn't require disassembly) that might be useful to potential adopters? I don't have time to make a complete inventory, but here's a list of highlights and a Drive folder containing some photographs. This is not (yet) a formal "come and get it" offer, but it's likely a prelude to one (excluding business documents and computers). Highlights: - Multiple 8-inch floppy drives in built-like-a-truck housings - Dozens of assorted 80s and 90s-era I/O devices -- ZIP drives, 5 1/4" readers, etc. - rack-mounted HP 7970B tape drive - another full-height rack-mounted 9-track tape drive with external control panel; no manufacturer or model number on anything I can get to - custom-built 'tape dehydrator' - around a thousand pieces of assorted removable media, primarily 3.5", 5 1/4", 8", CD, DVD, and a variety of late-90s and 00s digital tape formats. Per labels and spot-checks, their contents range from widely-distributed commercial software to Sydex master floppies to lost BASIC dialects to industrial control software in CP/M formats. Basically 25 years of Chuck's professional life and the industry around it. - full electronics workbench with partially-finished projects, including something involving Pertec controllers - a variety of functioning vintage keyboards, from IBM Model Ms to something apparently taken from an industrial control station. Drive folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1KUs-x6t4OtzS_b7lxYMM7i-GxNi-QRv3 I'd very much appreciate any input. -- Michael St. Clair

2 weeks, 6 days

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Re: Chuck Guzis -- Equipment and Archive

by Gravity Loop

Hi Magnus, Thanks for the link but as I said, this is a field that is still under researched with a lot of misinformation out there especially on the less academic or lab side of things. I understand this stuff and the processes but I am here to help other people understand and acquire these skills for the future. The thing is, if he has custom equipment for it he may have also documented a reliable workflow that could be used in smaller operations, at home setups, etc. I'm looking to further disseminate information as well as continue the research outside of corporate interests. Making sure knowledge is handed off and widely available, including in print form. So while your helping spirit is definitely appreciated, as a professional audio engineer I'm explaining the state of things outside of lab preservation. Not to mention, you can read posts online by professionals even talking trash on the stuff linked. This is exactly how I found out about Chuck years ago. I'm chiming in here because I'm specifically interested in the knowledge Chuck collected, preserving any techniques he hammered into followable steps or additional knowledge not spread, and to share in more ways for others that didn't liaten or haven't figured it out yet. He was someone who knew a lot of tricks and helped a lot of people. - Lichen

2 weeks, 6 days

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Any interest in any of this at VCFMW?

by Paul Anderson

If you have any questions or wish to contact me, Please email me directly at useddec(a)gmail.com. 42" cab with BA23 microvaxII, plus additional BA23 42" cab with 2 RL02 drives, outer case for 11/23 and you pick which Qbus box you want with it and what boards you want in it. 42"cab with RL02 RAMTEK Marquis model III with Compugraphic monitor HP7475 plotter LA36 with Datasouth board 120cpm LA100 LA12 with carrying case Darkroom equipment including Omega B22, D2, other enlargers, timers, tanks, trays, etc. I can text photos of any of these items and anything I have listed, but have problems posting them. If you have any US or foreign coins or currency, I'm interested in trading for computer equipment. If you are interested in stopping here before or after VCFMW, or when you are in the area, let me know so we can set up a time. I'm outside Champaign, IL, with easy access to I-57, I-72, and I-74. Thanks, Paul

3 weeks, 2 days

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Anybody need a Pentium III MB?

by Van Snyder

I have a Supermicro P3TDDE MB. It has two processors with their fans, and four USA DEM DO133-065651I 64x64 133-222 memory sticks. Also the ATX plate for the back, and a Matrox dual-VGA graphics card. All yours for a PDF of a shipping label.

3 weeks, 3 days

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BLACK BOX SP400A-R3 and SP340A-R2 opto isolators

by Holm Tiffe

Hi all, A customer has a problem with an old CNC Mill that uses an LSI11 for control. There is an DEC VT510 connected to the LSI11 as console, The LSI11 is booting from an RX01 (2?) and uses some basic programm.. pretty much a museum... The problem is, that on the Sigma Systems serial Card (similar to the M8043) the AM26LS32 receiver is going bad afer some on/off cycles of the computer. I've already fitted a socket for the 26LS32.. The AM26LS23 only could tolerate +-7V common mode voltage difference and seems to be not the best part for RS232.. I've checked the terminal and changed in the meantime the X2 and X capacitors at the line filter, the protective earth from the Line is connected to the Pin 7 (singal Ground) of the DB25 Connectors and I could'nt measure realy potential differences that could be the cause for the damadge of the receiver chip. To make it short..chase away the problem I wan't to use some RS232 Opto Isolator in the RS232 Line. I've got a used BLACK BOX SP340A-R2 and an SP400A-R3 from Ebay, additional some Power Injector from BLACK BOX for powering that with some wall wart that wasn't included. I've now looking for a Manuals for the BACK BOX SP340A and the SP400A to configure the dip switches in there. There are 2 DIP Switches with 8 positions each..for configuring the power supply for the opto couplers from the DB25 connectors it seems. Haven't found anyithing related on bitsavers, there is blackBox in the communication archive, but nothing related to the SP340 oder SP400.. Can anybody help please? Regards, Holm -- Technik Service u. Handel Tiffe, www.tsht.de, Holm Tiffe, Goethestrasse 15, 09569 Oederan, USt-Id: DE253710583 info(a)tsht.de Tel +49 37292 709778 Mobil: 0172 8790 741

3 weeks, 3 days

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Someone posted about old "CSM Core" Board on Reddit

by Christian Liendo

It looks like they may be looking to let them go. https://www.reddit.com/r/vintagecomputing/comments/1mv17hn/197274_boards/

3 weeks, 4 days

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80386 - 1985

by Murray McCullough

40 years ago this year Intel came out with the 80386 – 386 – or i386. Either seems to be correct. What this meant was a memory address of 4GB, far beyond what an average computer user would need or want, but was so much more than previously(8086, 80286); ‘true’ multi-tasking which for the average computer user didn’t mean all that much; and paging, which made virtualization possible- experimenters were over-joyed! What all this contributed to was the end of the classical/vintage-computing era. Whether this began the time of open-source OS development is debatable! Happy computing? Murray 🙂

3 weeks, 4 days

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PDP-8/s Engineering Drawings?

by Tom Hunter

I have recently bought a DEC PDP-8/s. It hasn't been powered on for about 40 years before I got it. I cleaned it and did some repairs on it (glued broken flip-chip handles, replaced all front panel lights, restored the acrylic front panel to as new condition and built a new switch mode power supply for +10V and -15V). After testing each flip-chip individually for dead shorts on the power rails I reassembled the flip-chips into the backplane and on power up it shows signs of life, but has a number of problems I will have to debug and fix. Does anyone here have the original Engineering Drawings or good PDF scans of the drawings? There are reduced copies of the PDP-8/s Engineering Drawings in Appendix A of the two PDP-8/s Maintenance Manuals on Bitsavers, but I have not been able to find scans of the actual Engineering Drawings. Some details in the reduced copies in Appendix A are not legible. Thank you Tom

3 weeks, 5 days

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3.5" DD disks, NOS, $10 pack of 10

by Anders Nelson

Found earlier today: https://www.facebook.com/share/16ubJMkAzw/ I was looking for an affordable source of 720K disks before I sold my 5140 so my instinct kicked in haha. -- Anders Nelson

3 weeks, 5 days

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