Hi everyone,
I'm seeking to buy a Sun Microsystems monitor with a 13W3 interface.
Ideally somewhere around central Europe for pickup in person. But I'm happy to consider shipping options as well.
Background: I'm looking to complete a Sun Ultra 1 build that I've been collecting parts for 🙂
Best regards,
D.O.
Those who have an interest in vintage HP computing will most likely know of
the HP Computer Museum (www.hpmuseum.net). The HP Computer Museum is the
result of over 30 years of work by Jon Johnston who collected HP equipment
and documentation and systematically catalogued, photographed and commented
on almost all of the over 7,000 items in the collection.
After Jon's death in 2016, I kept the museum website going and worked on
restoring many of the more notable items in the collection to working order,
but the museum has largely been static for the last six years.
Jon's wish was that the collection would eventually find its way either to
HP or to one of the major computer museums, and I'm pleased to advise that
the Hewlett Packard Company Archives (HPCA) has agreed to take over the
entire collection and website.
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.
The HP Computer Museum website (www.hpmuseum.net <http://www.hpmuseum.net>
), which has long been a popular reference resource for enthusiasts and
industry on HP's computing history, will continue and be maintained by the
HPCA, through Heritage Werks, with the intent of ensuring ongoing access to
the wealth of information collected by Jon and many other HP enthusiasts
over the last 30 years.
Over the coming weeks and months, the website will be relocated to new
hosting platforms and the curatorship will transfer to Heritage Werks.
This will bring to a close my role in maintaining Jon's legacy in HP
computing. It's been a privilege to be responsible for the collection and
the website and to see the value they bring to the vintage computing
community.
David Collins
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 * ckaiser(a)floodgap.com
-- "Endian Little Hate We" -- credits from Connectix Virtual PC 6 for Mac -----
Is anyone familiar with PC-51 and/or CoreNET?
These are IBM 5110/5120 related tools developed by an individual in the
early 1980s.
My understanding is PC-51 was an emulator that ran BASIC programs from the
IBM 5110. One keyword new in the IBM 5110 was the "FORMS" keyboard, and
you could define input fields (including type-formatting constraints, like
sequence of letters and numbers) -- and once defined, you could
relatively-easily store all the contents of the fields to a file (on tape
or disk). I'm not entirely sure what format PC-51 supported (e.g. could
read in ASCII text files containing the BASIC programs?). But I always
imagined those customer data entry forms in old Radio Shack or Sears stores
-- large department stores -- being developed in something like this.
And CoreNET, I think was some kind of "null modem cable" that let the IBM
5110 communicate with an IBM PC 5150. The IBM 5110 has 3x DB25 connectors
at the backside (and 1x DB15 cable like what became the "standard" joystick
port on some systems in mid-late 1980s). The external tape and disk system
would use these connectors -- with software driven from the ROS. I've
always imagined it would be possible to "bit bang" across these external IO
pins with some PALM-assembly -- the machine should be fast enough to encode
7-bit ASCII at 300 baud across those pins, maybe 1200. I'm not sure if
CoreNET used or required any async card or the parallel communication card
(that did IEEE-488), i.e. not sure if it was more than just a cable.
But what's more interesting - apparently Sony is now the owner of both
these assets, PC51 and CoreNET. Maybe Hal Prewitt sold it to them? Why
would Sony be interested in it? Anyone happen to know anyone who works at
Sony, or ideas on where to start on even "asking them" about it? Might be
a lost cause these days.
Anyone happen to have a copy of the old manuals of either of these?
-Steve
I recently bought an Alacron FT200-AT dual i860 card. Basically the
earlier ISA version of this:
http://www.alacron.org/clientuploads/FT-200-PCI.PDF
It included two manuals but no software. Alacron seems still in business
but they didn't reply to email. I've called twice and noone answers their
phone, it just goes to an anonymous voicemail.
Does anyone have any software? I couldn't find anything via Google or on
bitsavers.
Thanks
Tony
I have three DEC RA8x drives that have failed (all of them fault with
"spin error") because of bad photo-interrupter tachometer sensors. After
talking to a few friends, it sounds like this is a pretty common fault.
Photo sensors like this are fairly common, even today, but the specific
parts DEC used are weird and unobtainable.
I designed a little PC board that uses an ITR9606 photo interrupter, a
2N3904 and a resistor as a replacement. Works great - gives a beautiful 5V
P-P clean waveform and with the PCB it's a mechanical drop in replacement.
Just screws right onto the original mounting holes and plugs into the
original connector.
I put the PCB design up on OSH Park
https://oshpark.com/shared_projects/z8DSkQsP
If anybody needs one you're welcome to order some PCBs and build your own.
The ITR9606 is as common as dirt, and you can buy bags of ten on Amazon for
a few bucks.
I've also put a few pictures on the Facebook DEC Computer Users group. I'd
post the pictures here, but I don't think cctalk accepts attachments. It's
not really worth making a web page for it.
Bob
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 * ckaiser(a)floodgap.com
-- Put down your guns, it's Weasel Stomping Day! ------------------------------
So, I screwed up and in my excitement to find a DEC BA123 chassis (and MVII parts) I bid on an Ebay auction where there is no shipping and it's "Local Pickup Only". The problem is that I'm near Fort Worth TX and the MVII/BA123 is in Brunswick, GA and I don't really have the time to make the 2000+ mile round trip drive to pick it up.
Does anyone here know of a reliable shipping service in Brunswick, GA? Or suggestions for outfits to check out? Google hasn't shown me much other that UPS and FedEx stores.
Failing that, is there anyone near enough willing to pick it up in Brunswick that might want it for themselves?
Ebay listing https://www.ebay.com/itm/334615827742?
--
John H. Reinhardt
> From: pbirkel(a)gmail.com
> Sent: Sunday, November 6, 2022 2:50 AM
> To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
<cctalk(a)classiccmp.org>
> Subject: Seeking DEC BN25B-nn Optical Fiber Cable
>
> This is a twin/duplex cable of varying length with 100/140 um "multimode"
cores and
> SMA-906 connectors. SMA-906 connectors have the stepped center-pin,
compared to
> the SMA-905 which is a simpler straight pin. It's used, for example, by
the LAN Bridge 100.
>
> For additional information see pages 169 through 335 (of 452) in
>
http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/comm/EK-CMIV7-RM-005_Communications_Options
_Minireference_Manual_Vol7_Aug88.pdf
I'm reliably informed that the cable actually has a light beige jacket (not
orange), so not so easy to spot in your tangled pile of cables :-{.
paul
