test-drb June 2009

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

233 participants
404 discussions

by dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu

A couple months ago someone mentioned an URL leading to a circuit that makes a horrible noise when someone is talking too loudly. I can't remember the correct keywords to find it in my archives. Would someone please post it again? -- David Griffith dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text. Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing? A: Top-posting. Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

15 years, 11 months

Optimem 2400

by derschjo＠mail.msu.edu

Saw one of these on eBay (item 150352695537) and I'm intrigued. Seems to be a WORM drive that uses cartridges with 12" platters. (Kinda reminds me of the old RCA videodiscs :)) Anyone know anything about these? Not much info on the 'net. Josh

15 years, 11 months

Stanford's PDP-6

by len＠shustek.com

> From: Al Kossow > Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 8:32 AM > I'm resending this with a revised title so someone has a chance of finding > this again in the future. I sent a similar message to alt.sys.pdp10 when > the subject came up last time. This issue resurfaces every few years. My first post related to it was to alt.sys.pdp10 on 2/28/1996 2:54 PM. The last time I saw it discussed was February of 2006. I have various messages on the subject in my email archive, including those between Gordon Bell and Rich Alderson in 1999. This supposed dismantling of the Stanford PDP-6 predates even my tenure on the board of The Computer Museum, which started in 1995, so I can't make a personal testimonial. But like Al, I've searched the files and spoken to people who were there. I have no evidence that it is true, and I have gotten multiple declarations that it is false. See, for example, the email below from Gwen Bell to me in 1999. I don't know what else we can do. I'm sure this is not the last time it will be discussed. In my 1996 posting I said, > It pains me to read some of the recent comments about TCM's collection > policy. I can't answer any of the complaints about specific items, > because I wasn't involved. I do know, and this comes mostly from > getting to know the Bells, that preserving computers in the context of a > financially sound organization that can survive our lifetimes is their > main priority. And it is ours still today. Len Shustek Chairman, Computer History Museum >Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 19:09:13 -0800 >To: Len Shustek <len at shustek.com> >From: Gwen Bell <bell at computerhistory.org> >Subject: Re: [Fwd: The Computer Museum did WHAT???? >Cc: gbell at Microsoft.com ... >The story of the "sale" of the PDP-6 boards is pretty simple. The >original Museum was in the MR-1 and MR-2 facilities of DEC. These >were the engineering/manufacturing locations for the PDP-6. The >Museum had access to the "trash", the boards that were discarded >for use in the computers to be sold. We held them and sold them >at a single yard sale. I can get the VPs and Engineers in Marlboro >at the time to attest to this version. The Museum did not "strip" >any workable PDP-6 machines, these boards were already "surplussed", >whatever that meant ... but they were not used. And, like the Apple I >boards that we not sold, they would have been shredded and recycled. >This can be attested to by Alan Kotok (part of the 6 project now at >MIT), Ulf Fagerquist, who was engineering head of large computers, >Bob Glorioso, as well as Gordon who was their boss at the time. >The Museum folks essentially scavenged the bays of boards that were to >recycled or just discarded in the dump to sell to "collectors." This >was clearly a market or purpose that the company did not see. But was approved for the purpose of history .. and building a body of >other collectors and establishing collectables, something that happens >for all kinds of technology museums.

15 years, 11 months

NEC uPD7220/GDC Design Manual

by chrism3667＠yahoo.com

remember the APC had the ability to pan on a larger virtual "scree". The native resolution was 640 x 400/or 480. The virtual screen was like twice that (at least). That might be the reason for the complexity. I've seen much less dense boards based on the 7220. JOOC, where are you getting these 7220s from? --- On Wed, 6/17/09, Peter C. Wallace <pcw at mesanet.com> wrote: > From: Peter C. Wallace <pcw at mesanet.com> > Subject: RE:NEC uPD7220/GDC Design Manual > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > Date: Wednesday, June 17, 2009, 9:45 PM > On Wed, 17 Jun 2009, Andrew Lynch > wrote: > > > Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 21:37:04 -0400 > > From: Andrew Lynch <lynchaj at yahoo.com> > > Reply-To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic > Posts" > > <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > > To: cctalk at classiccmp.org > > Subject: RE:NEC uPD7220/GDC Design Manual > > > > --- On Wed, 6/10/09, Andrew Lynch wrote: > > interested in selling it? I contacted NEC and > they didn't know anything > > about it. Apparently very few people still have > the manual and bitsavers > > doesn't have it either. I did some library > searches but no luck although it > > is cited as a reference in a couple of college papers > like masters thesis, > > etc. > > > > What I really need to know is if I can implement a > simple circuit using few > > enough 74LS TTL ICs to fit on a Eurocard ECB > board. That means it can't be > > more than about 30 maximum. Using high capacity > SRAMs should help but I > > think it requires some funky latching mechanisms to > share the video address > > and data lines. > > > > I looked at the NEC APC video board and it is just > huge. I hope that is not > > an indication of the complexity needed! > > > > Thanks and have a nice day! > > > > Andrew Lynch > > > > > Probably 30 would do, I have in front of me a S100 card > with a 7220. 128KB of > 64 Kb DRAM and 31 TTL ICs... > > > Peter Wallace > Mesa Electronics > > (\__/) > (='.'=) This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into your > (")_(") signature to help him gain world domination. > >

15 years, 11 months

IBM Thinkpad 600e can't get past password prompt...

by dgahling＠hotmail.com

can u boot from floppy? if its enabled its easy to wipe the cmos password. also check ibm website for a recovery disk but that still requires either floppy or cd boot ---------- Sent via Telus My Email 2.0 -----Original Message----- From: Al Hartman Sent: 6/18/2009 5:21:44 PM To: cctalk at classiccmp.org Subject: IBM Thinkpad 600e can't get past password prompt... I bought a thinkpad 600e for a friend several years ago on eBay. She put it in storage for a year, and when she pulled it out the backup battery has died. I replaced it, but now the unit is asking for a password. We never set a CMOS password, the eBay seller's email no longer works and I need to get to her data on the HDD which is also locked. Everything I searched tells how to wipe the HDD, but not how to recover the data without shipping the drive to someone who will do it for much more than the laptop and drive is worth. Anyone have a way I can get into the unit and unlock it? I can buy another unit cheap, but that doesn't get me into the HD. Al

15 years, 11 months

Unusual semi-modern DEC terminal - "MT 505"?

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

Hi, All, I'm going through piles of stuff at FreeGeek Columbus, identifying odd stuff (since most of the volunteers are really only trained on commodity PC hardware). We have a pile of DEC terminals and X Terms >from a local car dealer. The VT220s are, of course, easy to plug in and test. There is another terminal, though, that's clearly of DEC origin, but I can't find how to get into 'setup' mode. The terminals are marked on the front "505 MT", and on the back, the DEC label says something like "VT-42 - 505 MT". Physically, they look newer than a VT220 and sort-of resemble a Wyse 50. When powering them on, they appear to have some sort of graphic video memory test on startup. The same LK-series keyboard (not an LK-201, but something in the LK-4xx line) that works find with the VT220s does not give me the setup menu on the 505 MT from pressing F3. >From interpreting the 2-3 labels on the top, back and sometimes sides, it wouldn't surprise me that these are VT-420s with some sort of custom firmware for an ADP system of some kind. I've done some googling, but haven't turned up much except for replacement prices. All of these terminals are dirty and the plastic yellowed with age/UV exposure, but once I get them all checked out, FreeGeek Columbus is interested in selling them for a nominal amount (under $50). There are no keyboards or power cords, and they will all need to be cleaned, but I can say that each one sold will be tested (by me) to work with an LK-series keyboard and have stable video (VT220s have a common fault that takes out horizontal hold) and working serial line drivers (tested with a loopback plug). If anyone recognizes a "505 MT" variant of a VT420 and especially knows how to get into setup, I'd love to hear from you. If anyone is interested in one of these terminals (sans keyboard), I'd love to hear >from you on that, too. FreeGeek Columbus would like to place these terminals into loving homes and not have to scrap them. Thanks, -ethan

15 years, 11 months

Corvus software support for Mac

by alhartman＠yahoo.com

I have some Corvus Mac floppies here. If they are still good, and I can image them... You are welcome to them. Al ----- Original Message ---- Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:25:28 -0400 (EDT) From: Steven Hirsch <snhirsch at gmail.com> Just unearthed a Corvus Omninet interface box for Macintosh. It plugs into the older-style 9-pin Localtalk connector. Does anyone own or have a lead on the client software and admin tools that go along with it? Steve

15 years, 11 months

Montreal: free Sun Ultra 30 barebones, Digital VRT-19 monitor

by alexandre.laguejacques＠gmail.com

Hello all, I'm in Montreal and am giving away: (1) Sun Ultra 30 tower (no RAM, no HDD but working and in good condition) (1) Digital (DEC) VRT-19 monitor (working, good image, cabinet in fair to good condition) For pick-up only and hopefully in the next few days as I'm moving! Thanks, - Alex

15 years, 11 months

Printer rant

by ian_primus＠yahoo.com

--- On Thu, 6/18/09, Brian Lanning <brianlanning at gmail.com> wrote: > When I open the printer, the page is slightly mangled, so I > think it's > a jam. I can also hear the paper crinkling right > before it reports > the jam. It's also pinched on a roller at the top of > the page before > the fuser. But only maybe 1/4" is under the > roller. It gives me a > little resistance when I pull the page out. The error > is 13.5 and it > tells me to check the back paper tray. Check the whole paper path for bits of paper, paper clips, shredded fuser bits, junk, etc. That kind of an error is usally an obstruction or something. Take out the toner cartridge, fuser, transfer roller, etc, and blow all the dust and crud out of the paper path. Check that the transfer roller bushings are good and that it turns freely. Check that there's not a bit of paper stuck in the registration assembly. There are also two sensor flags in the fuser (an entry and an exit). Check to be sure that a bit of fuser hasn't gotten stuck in them... Also, if I remember correctly, there's a little conveyor belt looking thing in there too - make sure nothing is preventing it from moving freely. Honestly, with some of these printers, I wind up taking out the paper tray, the fuser, toner, everything you can easily remove, and turn them upside down and shake. It's amazing the crud that falls into a printer. I fixed a nagging jam problem in one machine by just cleaing out the paper clips. But, if your fuser is that torn up, I can just about garuntee you'll get a ton of jams in the fuser. But the paper should at least make it there. Manually turn through the fuser by turning the gear, and make sure that the ragged edges are "smooth" and won't catch easily on the paper. > Is that the 13.5 that appears on the display or is it > something else? Yeah, that's all - but the status log give a history of jams, in case you can't reproduce the problem, or if you want to see all the other places the paper is getting stuck. I generally have to resort to that, since intermittent jams always seem to behave themselves when I'm present. :) -Ian

15 years, 11 months

logic probe happy-sad

by dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu

I needed a new logic probe, so I found one on Ebay. Whoops, no audio output. Found plans for a "super probe" based on a PIC16 (http://members.cox.net/berniekm/super.html). Still need a case for this thing. Found that kelvin.com has logic probe cases. Whee! -- David Griffith dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text. Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing? A: Top-posting. Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

15 years, 11 months

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test-drb June 2009