On Wed, 30 Apr 2003 philip(a)awale.qc.ca wrote:
>
> On 29-Apr-2003 Patrick Finnegan wrote:
> > I'm looking for either QBUS parts, or $5 + shipping for each of the
> > following.. Trying to clean out my room before I have to move in a few
> > months.
> >
> > - SparcStation 20, 32MB ram, 1x50MHz proc, floppy, 2GB HDD.
> > I have 2 of these to get rid of.
>
> I'd be interested in one of these. Or have they be claimed already.
> Could you give me an estimate on shipping to Québec (J0B 2C0) ?
All of the sparcstation 20's have been taken.
Pat
--
Purdue University ITAP/RCS
Information Technology at Purdue
Research Computing and Storage
http://www-rcd.cc.purdue.edu
Hello:
I have been searching for the source code to DND for quite a long time now,
and I ran across this post you made at some time in the past. Would you
happen to have worked out the details in order to distribute the source code?
I used to play this game in college many years ago, and it would mean quite a
lot to me to get it up and running again.
Thanks for any help that you can offer,
Ken Carlin
>From what I've read, banned inside of DEC is the best description :^) It
>uses creatures and spells straight from D&D.
Yep, I know exactly which one you speak of... I have the sources
for the pascal version of the game, along with the data files,
preserved for almost 20 years.
I have ported the game to C using curses (actually, it was mostly
a brute-force translation from the pascal) and have it running
at least as well as the original pascal version (which was incomplete)
at home on my Alpha PWS running Linux.
I've been in contact with one of the people who was responsible for
writing the pascal version, and am trying to get ahold of all the
others so that I can figure out how to write up a 'copyright' page
with proper attributions.
>Basically all I know is what's written up at the following webpage:
>http://www.io.com/~adastra/rancourt/dnd/
>It was written by Daniel Lawrence, started on the PDP-10, was ported to
>RSTS/E part way through, and after that ported to VAX/VMS.
I played it on RSTS/E when I was working at Parker St (DEC) in Maynard
back in 1977. Actually, the pascal version was also built on RSTS
using, I believe, the OMSI compiler, and ran on RT-11.
Dan has apparently given permission for any and all versions of the
game to exist with his blessing, but since the source I have had
a copyright which is problematic (since it doesn't mention him), I
have to try to do the right thing.
>I grabbed the source off of the web page above, and it almost works. In
>fact it might work, IF, I could figure out exactly how to build it. BTW,
>the "TOPS-20" executable, looks to be a VMS V1.0 executable.
If/when I can resolve the issues of attribution, I'd love to make it
available... should I even bother with sourceforge? :-)
Megan Gentry
Former RT-11 Developer
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| Megan Gentry, EMT/B, PP-ASEL | email: gentry at zk3.dec.com (work) |
| Unix Support Engineering Group | mbg at world.std.com (home) |
| Hewlett Packard | (s/ at /@/) |
| 110 Spitbrook Rd. ZK03-2/T43 | URL: http://world.std.com/~mbg/ |
| Nashua, NH 03062 | "pdp-11 programmer - some assembler |
| (603) 884 1055 (DEC '77-'98) | required." - mbg KB1FCA |
A reply to an old thread, but since I'm no longer
subscribed to the list, but occasionally monitoring
it, understandable.
I have an old Roland PR100 sequencer. It and some
other audio equipment (Akai 612 ?) as well as a Smith-
Corona word processor used a 2.8 Quick Disk (flippy).
I found a company that still sells the disks:
http://www.esticortland.com
Part #061838 but not cheap at $12.25
Lawrence
------- End of forwarded message -------
lgwalker@ mts.net
Hello,
I have an original Apple II with a keyboard power on light that is raised
above the case and sits in green piece of plastic. I've seen this style of
Apple II in old advertisements but have not been able to find out the
significance of this variant if there is one. I'm finally getting around to
working on my website again and would like to address this feature, any
comments would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Nick
Hello,
I would like to announce a new message board that I have created in
support of our community.
During the past couple of years I?ve been participating as a member of
this mailing list as well as several related ones. I have made a few
observations that I felt needed addressing including:
- the need for a better way to advertise items or help (wanted or
offered)
- the ability to support off topic conversations along with on-
topic ones without burdening those not interested in one or the other
- the ability to easily search archives for topics of interest
- the ability to keep ?threads? of discussion together
- the ability to categorize these threads for easier research
With the above in mind I decided to experiment with a web based
bulletin board (a long way from my days with RBBS and WWIV). Over the
past month or so I have changed my web hosting service for www.vintage-computer.com in order to work with a hosting company that could support
the new forum I was considering. Over this past weekend I finished the
initial phases of moving my site and configuring the boards. The
result is now available for use at www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum. A
link is also available from my www.vintage-computer.com front page.
Since my web hosting has been recently moved the new DNS information
may not have completely propagated yet. If you get an error trying to
access the above address or if the message board link from my home page
refers you to an ezBoard page, please try back a little later.
There are two things that I would like to stress about the new forums.
First, I don?t envision them as a threat to this mailing list or the
community that supports it. I see it as another tool in our toolbox
(or toy in our toy chest) to enhance our enjoyment of our hobby.
Second, although I set up these forums I consider them to be ?ours? in
as broad a sense as that is possible. I am not only willing, but
anxious to have others participate in these forums as administrators,
moderators and contributors. Volunteers are welcome and operators are
standing by!
Hopefully if you are reading this you will see your way clear to
popping over for a visit and supporting this effort with whatever you
are willing to offer, be that participation, suggestions or criticism.
Again, this is our community and I will do my best to make these forums
reflect that.
Thank you and best regards,
Erik S. Klein
www.vintage-computer.com
Andy,
I guess the Electronics and Computing Monthly magazine and Stirling
Microsystems must have based the design on the ACC one. The ECM design was
on 8" square boards too, single sided tracks (you had to run loads of wire
straps!). I still have all the documentation for it, paper-based at the
moment.
There was a choice between a 40x24 monochrome display board implemented
entirely in 4000-series CMOS (which I built), or a newer colour board with
64K RAM and a Thomson EF9365 Graphic Display Processor. I didn't build that
since the cost of 64k RAM in 1982 was prohibitive! That processor could draw
at 1 million pixels per second - impressive for 1982.
Some of the documentation is published by Newbear (Newbury Electronics), and
some by Stirling. One day I'll get around to scanning all the docs in for
general availibility.
paul
-----Original Message-----
From: Andy Holt [mailto:andyh@andyh-rayleigh.freeserve.co.uk]
Sent: 19 April 2003 20:40
To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org
Subject: RE: Seeking good home(s) for old hardware [UK]
> Getting on 20 years ago I built a 6809 based computer from a
> series running in the UK magazine "Electronics & Computing
> Monthly", called the 77/68 system. This was based on the SWTP
> stuff but was marketed through a company called Stirling
> Microsystems in Baker Street, London. Does anyone else here
> remember that system? ...
As I remember it, the 77/68 was published in the ACC newsletter (not in
E&CM) - the original was a rather neat design by Mike Lord on 8" square
PCBs.
I built a seriously extended one of these (which eventually "fissioned" into
two complete systems - connected by a homebrew network that was a sort of
very cheap slow ethernet). Some boards were from the original design -
others I designed and implemented myself ... most notably including a 6809
board (the original was a 6800) with the only technical data being a pin-out
and some other vague descriptions in a Byte article. It was a couple of
years of successful use before I discovered that I was feeding the clock in
through the "wrong" pin!
Amongst the peripherals that this system acquired was a large Calcomp
plotter surplus from the University mainframe.
Unfortunately most of the hardware and documents have now been recycled or
worse.
Andy
I've recently had an HP9915 on the bench. This, as many of you are aware,
is related to the HP85, but it's in a metal case with no printer,
keyboard (although there is a keyboard connector on the back) or monitor
(again, there's a composite video output on the back).
Some details of the insides :
Almost all the HP ICs are the same as those in the HP85 (CPU, CRT
controller, RAM controller, Keyboard controller, ROMs, I/O buffer, even
the printer controller is there). Much of the rest of the circuitry is
similar to that in the HP85 (PSU, etc).
There's an extra 8048 microcontroller that handles the power-on reset,
self-test and autostart keys, and the front panel LEDs. It connects to
the HP CPU via an I/O Translator IC, which is the same as the one used in
the HP85 interface modules. Also linked to this microcontroller is a PCB
that can contain up to 8 2716 (or 2732 if you rearrange the links)
EPROMs. I have no idea (yet) how to format data to put in said EPROMs.
The large board in the bottom of the case contains the PSU, and much of
the logic circuitry. There are 6 'option ROM' spaces at the back of this
board, identical to those in an HP85 ROM drawer.
The PSU provides the same voltages, in much the same way, as the HP85 CPU.
The output of the transformer is rectified and fed t oa switching
converter (U30, 3524 is the controller IC) to provide +12V, -5V and -12V.
This poweres a second switching converter to provide +5V. The +6V is
obtained by a linear regulator. There is a crowbar (Q4) which will short
out the input to the first PSU if the +12V line rises too high. This will
then blow the mains fuse (something to check if the mains fuse blows at
switch-on -- maybe Q5, PIC645, the first chopper is shorted).
Another PCB plugged into the left edge of the main PCB contains the video
RAM, printer chip (used here for the timers, I suspect), buffers/clamp
networks for the keyboard and control connectors, a state machine to
generate the video sync signals, and the composite video mixer. It has
been suggested this is the 'operator interface' mentioned on the options
box on the back, but I think not. I think this must be a standard part of
the machine, and that the 'operator interface' is the keypad on the front.
Talking of the keypad, the top 4 keys are connected as the k1-k4 keys of
the HP85 keyboard. The blue key is connected as the shift key.
On the back of the machine (actually on the vertically-mounted PCB that I
mentioned a couple of paragraphs back) are 2 D connectors. The pinouts
seem to be :
Keyboard (DB25)
1 : chassis ground
2 : R0X (this is Row 0 output, buffered)
3 : R1X
4 : R2X
5 : R3X
6 : R4X
7 : Logic ground
8 : Logic Ground
9 : R5X
10 : R6X
11 : R7X
12 : R8X
13 : R9X
14 : C0X (Column 0 input, buffered)
15 : C1X
16 : C2X
17 : C3X
18 : C4X
19 : C5X
20 : C6X
21 : C7X
22 : KSX/ (Shift key, connect to logic ground to shift)
23 : KCX/ (Control key, ditto)
24 : KCLX/ (Caps lock key, ditto)
25 : SpkrX (Speaker output, return to logic ground)
Control connector, DA15
1 : LED0X (High if top LED on frontpanel is on)
2 : LED1X
3 : LED2X
4 : LED3X
5 : LED4X
6 : LED5X
7 : LED6X
8 : LED7X
9 : RunX/ (RUN LED output)
10 : TestX (selftest LED output)
11 ; PWOX (Power OK output)
12 : Logic ground
13 : KeyStartX/ (ground for autostart key)
14 : KeyStX/ (ground for self test key)
15 : Chassis ground.
The keyboard matrix would appear to be the same as that in the HP85
OK< a couple of questions
1) What is the impedance of the speaker in the keyboard (presumably
between SpkrX and logic ground? 80 ohms?
2) What is the OD of the tape drive roller? Mine has decayed (what a
suprise), and I need to rebuild it. It should be the same as the roller
in the HP85, the HP9825, HP9815, etc....
-tony
I finally started digging in to find out what was wrong with a couple
Soroc IQ120s. The first one was easy; just a memory chip (2102) that
went bad. The second one is a bit tougher. I *think* I have the problem
narrowed down to a Signetics 82S201 PLA, and therein lies the problem.
Is there a replacement chip available, and is the coding of the chip
available? If the coding is not availble, can I just go through a
counter on the input and record the output states to come up with the
chip programming? Needless to say, I am not real familiar with these
devices :).
There are two of these devices in parallel, and when I pull out the
supected bad one (one makes no difference, pulling the other one starts
the screen display again), the screen starts to work again. My suspicion
is that the two are in parallel to increase the drive to the other
chips. There are probably more problems since I don't hear the beep when
the unit is turned on. The keyboard unit has already been checked out on
the working Soroc. Any thoughts or comments?
