I got heaps of documentation from an ex-DEC field service engineer.
Among them there were a VT420 print set. I didn't see any schematics for
the VT420 on bitsavers so even though this one looks a bit strange it is
better than nothing.
http://storage.datormuseum.se/u/96935524/Datormusuem/DEC/VT420-engineering-…
/Mattis
I have updated my inventory of DEC documentation with the latest arrivals
>from Gunnar, the ex-DEC FS tech.
Those were mostly binders of software documentation and handbooks. If there
are a document that you would like to have scanned I will do my best to
help out. But please do me a favour to check if they are not online already
>from the regular sources.
http://forum.datormuseum.se/category/35A7E09F-5154-49F1-BE57-9F9E3D923327.h…
I can only scan documents up to ledger size. Larger documents, like some of
the old schematics, need help from a professional scanning service, which
unfortunately cost money. I cannot scan books, either.
I will continuously update the inventory as I go through all the
documentation.
There are likely to be errors in the inventory. Typing on the phone is a
pain. If you find errors please let me know.
/Mattis
I was just listening to a video on the Voyager space craft. It used an interesting type of memory, called magnetic wire memory. There is only a little bit of information of it on the web. It is clever in that has a non-destructive read. I just wondered if any one else was familiar with this type of memory.
Dwight
I worked at Univac Defense Systems in the early 70's. The launch control computer for the Minuteman was made by Univac. It had plated wire memory. I remember when the failure analysis group had to analyze a module that failed in the field. The module was locked in a safe and someone had to boost their clearance level to work on it. In plant 1, in Saint Paul, MN near the Mississippi River, there was a thin film memory production facility. It produced the memory used in the S3A submarine hunter (an/ayk-10 if I remember correctly). The bit planes were made from etched glass that had metal sputtered onto it, with tons of tiny holes for the word wires. The bit planes were stacked and the word wires were threaded through the tiny holes perpendicular to the planes. Because I sometimes worked out of plant 1, I had to take safety training for hydrofluoric acid which was used to etch the glass. Nasty stuff.
Forwarding from another list because of its general interest:
.....
A heads up that the guy who was responsible for the full professional grade
Spice simulator Microcap (latest version 12) has retired, and made his
software downloadable free of charge. It was $4,500 per seat before.
Download page here http://www.spectrum-soft.com/download/download.shtm
.....
paul
Does anyone know whatever happened to John Keys and his collection?
https://www.guidestar.org/profile/43-1950958
The mission of the Houston Computer Museum is to collect and preserve
historic computers, technology, and related materials; and to use these
collections for exhibitions, educational programs, historical research, and
related activities for the benefit of the public.
Principal Officer
Mr. John Keys
Main Address
9410 Harwin Ste E
Houston, TX 77036
I suspect that something may have happened to John, and this may have been
his collection.
Sellam
This is an Amiga 3000 in excellent condition, both functionally and
physically. Other than the very slight yellowing of the front face and one
barely visible scrape, it is almost perfect.
It is extremely clean inside as well. The on-board battery has not yet been
removed but it should be soon as it has begun to outgas and affect the
surrounding components. I cleaned up the minimal oxidation it had caused on
some of the various components local to it. The capacitors have no visible
age-related issues.
The system boots up into Amiga WorkBench 3.1 and has numerous applications
and drivers installed. Video output is from the GVP EGS (works with SVGA
monitor) board, which plugs into the on-board video port (via external
connector cable).
Photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmxBoNtw
(Despite the marring of the back label, the serial number is readable:
CA1013685.)
Configuration:
16Mhz on-board CPU with Commodore A3640 68040 @ 25 MHz accelerator
2MB Chip RAM
16MB Fast RAM
Great Valley Products L.C. EGS (Rev. 3) 28/24 Spectrum RTG graphics board
w/2MB for 1600?1280?8 interlace, 1152?864?16 interlace, and 800?600?24
non-interlace video modes
Utilities Unlimited Emplant Macintosh emulator board with Macintosh II ROMs
(Apple 342-0105-B, 342-0106-B, 342-0107-B, 342-0108-B)
Conner CFA170S 170MB IDE hard drive
Quantum LPS525S 525MB SCSI2 hard drive
3.5" floppy drive
So many people expressed an interest in this machine that I decided to sell
it by private sealed bid auction.
Between now and Monday, October 21, 8:00PM Pacific Daylight Time, if
interested, please submit your bid to me by e-mail with your bid. I will
confirm your bid by e-mail and notify you if you are the highest bidder, or
otherwise of the final selling price. There is a reserve price of $800.
If you are unfamiliar with a sealed-bid auction, you submit your bid
private to me via e-mail. Your bid is the highest price you are willing to
pay. Whomever has the highest bid by the deadline wins the auction. I will
announce the final sale price to all bidders. The winning bidder has 24
hours to submit payment unless specific arrangements are made otherwise.
Winning bidder pays for shipping via FedEx Ground, shipping from
Sacramento, California. I will ship globally. Local pickup is welcome.
Payment by PayPal using direct funds transfer is required. Other payment
arrangements may be negotiated. My payment policies are explained in full
in my FAQ, located here:
https://tinyurl.com/VWoCW-FAQ
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks, and good luck to all prospective bidders.
Sellam
