I have a need to read some 8-inch CP/M disks. They're pretty old and I'm
nervous about sending them anywhere because I'm afraid that post-9/11
package scanning could ruin them.
If anybody has any hardware they'd be interested in loaning to me (or
selling) for this purpose that would be great.
Or if anyone has a machine and lives in the U.S. Northeast, I wonder if I
could pay for some of your time to help me get this done.
Many thanks in advance for any help!
--Gary
--
Putting http://wecanstopspam.org in your email helps it pass through
overzealous spam filters.
Gary Robinson
CEO
Transpose, LLC
grobinson(a)transpose.com
207-942-3463
http://www.transpose.comhttp://radio.weblogs.com/0101454
On 07/25/2003 11:09:10 AM AST chris wrote:
>
>>Is it just me or is the list dumping the same messages over and over
>>again?
>
>Just you. At least I'm not getting duplicates
I do.
I thought that due to some local mail system hiccup somehow I was
subscribed twice (I probably have sent multiple subscribe mails...).
But if someone else gets them too.... ?
regards,
chris
>Is it just me or is the list dumping the same messages over and over
>again?
Just you. At least I'm not getting duplicates
-chris
<http://www.mythtech.net>
I remember a cartoon in a photo magazine showing a mangled envelope labeled "Photos Do Not Bend" with "Yes they do!" scribbled below that. ;)
Bob
-----Original Message-----
From: Vintage Computer Festival [mailto:vcf@siconic.com]
Sent: Friday, July 25, 2003 4:27 AM
To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org
Subject: Re: Need to read 8-inch CP/M disks
<snip>
I also make sure anyone sending me magentic media writes in big, bold, red
lettres on the packaging "MAGNETIC MEDIA INSIDE".
Hi Everybody,
If you come across the following computer, or know where to find one, or know
anything interesting about it, please let me know!
Labelled as: Fuji MCS-16F
Alleged OS: Unix OS9
Custom User Interface Software: Fuji MCS/2E V3.33
Installed Custom I/O Cards visible on back:
1. VM1161
2. VM1410
3. VM1310
There is one 5-1/4" floppy drive installed.
This appears to be a mid-1980's era customized controller, and is being used
to control a mid-1980's era Fuji SMT system. The problem is that the system
owners are beginning to be very nervous about the long-term feasibility of the
computer/controller and are searching for a backup while preparing for a
surprisingly expensive software upgrade sometime in the future. Fuji no longer
supports the installed software.
This is also the type of thing that one may encounter in the usual places...
in a dumpster, or in a pile at an auction or, well, you know, where ever.
Rest assured that this particular model of obscure computer has some worth
left in it, so please let me know if you encounter one!
Thanks,
Dan M
Bellows Falls, Vermont
USA
Hi Sellam
A while back there was one of these that Patrick Rigney
responded to. He got no reply from that person. I have also
replied to one such mail without a response.
It seems to be a real slow way of fishing for email addresses
but maybe that is what it is. It surely is funny since,
so far, these seem to be bogus. The questions they ask sound
like they almost know what they are doing but they are often
right on the edge of being incorrect questions.
I don't see what they are up to. Maybe this is used to create
an exclusive list for the Nigerian letters. I get more of these
now at this mail address then I do with my hotmail account.
I'm only on two mail groups with this account. My hotmail is
bursting with offers to enhance or reduce various parts of
my body.
I can't think why anyone smart enough to work on classic computers
would be stupid enough to fall for one of these scams. I've
even started replying to some of these scammers to let them know that
their email address harvesting methods were being used by so many
other scammers that they were most likely worthless. I do this
in the hopes that they'll find some other method that doesn't
include me.
Dwight
>From: "Vintage Computer Festival" <vcf(a)siconic.com>
>
>On Tue, 22 Jul 2003, Hanan Friedman wrote:
>
>> I have the same drum problem. I appreciate very much if you could help me on
>> advise of how to put the printer into Service Mode and reset the page
>> counter to 00000
>
>I've noticed in the past few weeks a lot of messages from newbies that
>don't seem to be subscribed to the list, but who are responding to old
>messages or just posting general questions and such. Was the list address
>posted as some sort of open help forum in some news article or something?
>
>Or is this just the magic of Google?
>
>--
>
>Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org
>
> * Old computing resources for business and academia at www.VintageTech.com *
>It worries me (a lot) that you'd throw anything out after scanning it,
>considering that that paper version is easier to read and will last a
>lot longer than any scanned version...
Space... I'm out of space. I can fits lots and lots of stacks of paper
onto a single CD if I scan them all.
-chris
<http://www.mythtech.net>
>Anybody offer a scanner that goes directly to disk,
>possibly via TWAIN over USB? Seems possible
>since there are digital camera solutions that do that.
>My dad wants to do scanning and is computer shy...
>the idea is that I would visit him semiregularly and
>offload/OCR/organize his work then.
>This would involve the destruction of NO manuals.
I don't know about directly to disk, but I can say that Adobe Acrobat's
"Import from Scanner" feature makes it just about directly to disk.
With Acrobat (full version, not Reader), when I choose import, it brings
up my scanner control, I click SCAN (or change options if I want, but I
have it preset to how I want things and it keeps it how I last set it).
My scanner starts, scans the sheets in the sheet feeder, and then Acrobat
prompts me to reinsert for the back side, or asks if there are any more
pages (depending on if I said it was double or single sided).
Once the scan process is done, I'm left with an open new PDF file of all
the scanned pages, in order (including properly ordering the double sided
pages). I just choose Save, give it a name, and I'm done.
So basically, it isn't directly to disk, but it is only about 6 steps to
a finished product, and all the steps are fairly simple so a quick cheat
sheet of directions might be enough for all but the full fledged
technophobes.
-chris
<http://www.mythtech.net>
Teoz,
The specs differ a fair bit from the 8250 to the 1571. The 8250 can store
1024k per disk (http://www.zimmers.net/cbmpics/deieee2.html) whereas the
1571 can store 360k per disk (http://www.zimmers.net/cbmpics/d1571s.html) so
I don't think this is an option.
As far as importing into access goes, I am willing to do a bit of mucking
around. Getting the data in plain text would be great.
Lance.
-----Original Message-----
From: TeoZ [mailto:teoz@neo.rr.com]
Sent: Friday, 25 July 2003 9:05 AM
To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org
Subject: Re: Data conversion (Commodore 64, 8250 Disk Drive, SuperBase)
If a commodore 1571 drive can read your disk you can connect the 1571 direct
to a pc via parrallel port and use software to dump the files directly to
the pc. Converting the database to access might be a problem if the format
isnt standard.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2743816122&category=1247
I have used this type of cable to copy files from a pc to a 1541 drive and
back , supports 1571 (double sided 5.25)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lance Semmens" <ls(a)essential.com.au>
To: "Cctalk (E-mail)" <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2003 7:19 PM
Subject: Data conversion (Commodore 64, 8250 Disk Drive, SuperBase)
> I have 4 disks (5 1/4 floppies) full of data that I'm looking to import
into
> an Access Database.
> The data was written on a Commodore 64 with an 8250 double disk drive. The
> custom software
> that was being used sat on top of a SuperBase database.
>
> If anyone has the means to convert this data or can offer some tips as to
> how I could go about
> doing this it would be much appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Lance.
On Jul 24, 23:03, Jules Richardson wrote:
> Details on the A310 cards would be nice - specs of the video
digitiser,
Can't remember the specs offhand. IIRC it's possible to get colour out
of it (all the early Acorn demos were made with one) but I think the
native mode of operation is monochrome. I have one, and I have the
software on an 800K ADFS E disk, though I haven't used it in at least a
decade. I also have some of the colour demos done with it. The only
thing I don't have, and which I'd dearly like to find, is the spoof of
the BBC rotating globe that was done using images from the digitiser --
Aunty complained and all the copies I had access to got withdrawn. It
uses SWIs contained in the EPROM on the card to drive the hardware; the
version I have is 2.51, which I remember getting from Mike Harrison
(who designed it) specially -- it's not the normal release version.
> what
> scanner plugs into the scanner card (it has an 8 pin min-DIN, a 20
pin
> connector, and what appears to be power output),
Sounds like the Beebug scanner, or possibly the Computer Concepts one
(which may have used the same scanner head). Mine used a Mitsubishi
scan head which was the width of A4 and rolled over a flat sheet, but
there was also a sheet feeder available which used the 8-pin miniDIN.
The 20-way subminiature D-connector is the connection to the scan
head. It could also be used with those little scanner hand units (the
ones that look like a fat barcode scanner). IIRC, the power jack is an
input, for scanners that take more power than the backplane is supposed
to provide.
> and what the hell a Nexus card
> is / does...
If it's what I think it is, it was something that either SJ Research or
Lingenuity built to hook a few Archimedes machines onto a SCSI bus to
share a hard drive. I could be thinking of something else, though.
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Network Manager
University of York
