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101090 discussions

KDF 8189 processor board foobared (ebay warning)

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Jim Stephens > I just ran across a sale on epay by a guy who thought you could pull > the processor chip off the board and sell each in separate auctions. There are a lot of idiotz out there. I ran into one who'd removed a group of boards from (probably) an -11/40, and then scrapped away the rest of the machine (including an RK11-D backplane). I took _great_ pleasure in informing him that the stuff he'd scrapped had been worth several times what the boards he had 'saved' had been worth. Noel

9 years, 3 months

Pair of Twiggys

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Raymond Wiker > Steve Jobs ... was also a stickler for perfection and largely unwilling > to make compromises. Absolutely; and that's a large part of the reason for the success of Apple. His products were just really well done. It's also, I think, a big part of the causality for another Apple characteristic: their push for closed systems. The thing is that Steve wanted to make the user experience as good as possible (another hallmark of Apple stuff) - and when the 'system' includes pieces being independently sourced >from multiple entities, it's hard to make that happen - there will be glitches, etc. So that's why he usually wanted to bring the entire thing inside the Apple envelope. > So, Steve Jobs ... should get some of the credit for the fact that > we're not all running Windows on variations of crappy PC hardware. I think that's not accurate; Linux may not have a large user base among non-technical people in the laptop area, but it does show that there are other alternatives. And when it gets to smart-phones, of course, things which are neither Apple nor uSloth are the majority there, no? > From: Chris Hanson > What the Apple folks saw and what was implemented for Lisa and then > Macintosh were vastly different. I don't agree with the "vastly". (Having said that, I salute the Lisa/Mac people for doing a very good job of producing a excellent user interface.) The changes in the interface (menu bar, etc) are not that large; they are mostly minor refinements to the basic image/pointing-based interface pioneered by Xerox. The biggest improvement, IMO, was not in the details of the window system, but that everything used a common user interface - and the lack of that on the Alto was not planned, but more a result of the fact that the Alto was so far into new territory, and not done as an integrated system, but as a platform for research. > - The one-button mouse. Err, some of us don't see that as an 'improvement'... :-) > If you sit someone who knows how to use a Mac in front of a circa-1979 > Xerox Alto, they'll be pretty mystified. Yeah, but that's in good part because the Alto user interface is such a dog's breakfast - Draw is nothing like Bravo is nothing like etc, etc. But, like I said, that was inevitable, given the process that produced the Alto. Noel

9 years, 3 months

DECSystem 3100 (broken) for free

by lukas.ka＠gmail.com

Hello list, does anybody need a broken MIPS-Server? The battery leaked and corroded the mainboard. I already cleaned it up, but it still didn't work... Maybe somebody can fix it or use it for spare parts. (please contact me off list.) romanis

9 years, 3 months

Repairing an DEC LA424 Printer

by go＠aerodesic.com

I've inherited an LA424-A2 printer that had been stored for a while but now has obvious problems. Powering up 'jogs' the paper feed motor, flashes the three green LEDS on the panel through a rapid sequence, but then it stops with the display showing what appears to be a fault code. Unfortunately, one of the other parts that is failing is the LCD (16 char I think) that should be showing a fault code. It appears to be "CO <something>" but I can barely make out the "CO". Is this LCD use a traditional byte-wide interface and can it be replaced with one of the current crop of cheap LCD modules? Once I can see the fault code, I can begin to determine what else is failing, though the manual doesn't seem to be much help on error codes: they seem to be simple state-of-operation codes. Thanks, Gary

9 years, 3 months

KDF 8189 processor board foobared (ebay warning)

by jwsmail＠jwsss.com

I just ran across a sale on epay by a guy who thought you could pull the processor chip off the board and sell each in separate auctions. I couldn't find the processor from the huge number of gold scrap chip auctions he had, but he said it (or the other) chip(s) for the board were listed. I think giving him the benefit of the doubt, he thought that the two were separable like motherboards and processors are now day. Worst case he was just an unfortunate idiot that destroyed the board. I sent him an email telling him the value I place on it (tested) and suggested that he think of older boards as the full components to be kept together unless he wants to destroy the board, or knows what he is doing breaking them up. Of course on old Qbus and the like boards, one does have some components that are more valuable if you break up the board, and pull "unobtainium" chips. But pulling out the KDF processor isn't one of them in general. I just bought a KDJ Jaws chip for a "round 2it" project to try to get it running, as I archived a PDP11 "Hack" page indicating how to get one running on a proto board with minimal hardware. I don't know if you could do that with the KDF, but that isn't what this guy is doing. thanks Jim

9 years, 3 months

Commercial AIM-65 Video Controller?

by kylevowen＠gmail.com

Any idea what this thing is? https://imgur.com/a/aNFiK Didn't come up with much of anything with Motion Control, Inc. I did plug it in, and it seemed to come alive. I tempted fate again and plugged a composite video source into the input, and a monitor into the output. One pot on top adjusts the vertical sync, apparently; other than making the colors slightly weird, the video came through more or less the same. The other two (marked Y and Z cal) seemed to change nothing. The switch mounted behind the pots caused the LED display to change (as seen in the pictures), though the switch mounted closer to the right side of the unit seemed to make no difference. When I get done moving, I'll dump the EPROMs and get more pictures, especially if there's sufficient interest. Thanks, Kyle

9 years, 3 months

Free to a good home, VAXstation 3100 M38, memory errors

by aaron＠aaronsplace.co.uk

I have a VAXstation 3100 m38 which fails its POST due to problems with the on board memory. I am not particularly interested in trying to fix it myself, as I have another VAXstation which I am fond of. However, if anyone else would like to try and repair it, it is free to a good home. It seems as though the battery had leaked and caused some. I've cleaned it up a bit but of course this wasn't enough to fix it. The only condition is that you also take it with its alleged life long partner, a working VR290 display (cables included). I'm based in Nottingham, UK. Please contact me off list if you are interested. Thanks, Aaron.

9 years, 3 months

Help needed: Identifying the right RK611 <-> RK06/RK07 cabling

by p.gebhardt＠ymail.com

Hello list, Paul Anderson and myself are trying to figure out the available cabling options that allow to connect an RK611 controller to RK06/RK07 drives. To my knowledge, there is the possibility to get a drive connect via: RK611 <-> flat cable <-> cabinet transition bracket <-> round cable <-> RK06/07 The part numbers I found so far: Flat cable: BC-06R-xx round cable: 70-12292 or BC23Z-xx The transition bracket's PN is 70-12415 and is the same as for RL01/RL02 configurations. The round cable with same connectors as used for RL01/02 cannot be used for RK06/07 as not all cables are wired to the connectors. But a RK06/07 cable can be used for RL01/RL02. Can the BC-06R also be used for RL01/RL02? Apparently, there are also direct cable connections between RK611 and RK06/07 existing. In that case, no transition bracket is needed. BC80M shielded: RK611 to first drive ... and the cable required to connect two RK07/07 drives: BC17E shielded Can anybody help us in confirming and correcting us regarding the cabling configurations and the part numbers? Thanks a lot for your help! Have a nice Sunday, Pierre ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pierre's collection of classic computers moved to: http://www.digitalheritage.de

9 years, 3 months

Announcing: VCF Midwest 12!

by silent700＠gmail.com

We did this nerd-fest thing at this hotel last year and no one complained (much), least of all the hotel, so I think we're up for another go. The TWELFTH edition of the Vintage Computer Festival Midwest is happening September 9th and 10th, 2017 in lovely Elk Grove Village, Illinois, mere minutes from O'Hare International Airport and an array suburban shopping and dining opportunities. Those who have joined us in the past will be happy to know that we're running the same show (and more!) this year: same location, same hours, still free to attend, show or sell. If you're new to VCF Midwest, you can find all the relevant details at http://vcfmw.org. If you have any questions not answered there, feel free to contact me directly. Registration: No registration is necessary to attend the show. If you would like a table(s) for exhibition and/or vending, please contact us via the form on our site at: http://vcfmw.org/signup.html. We'll do our best to get you the space you need. Presentation: If you would like to volunteer a talk or demo between 30-60 minutes, please contact us via the form http://vcfmw.org/pres.html. Our friendly events coordinator will get back to you soon. Accommodation: Hotel registration is now open! Follow the link here http://bit.ly/2phDUyI or at vcfmw.org and reserve your room at our reduced rate of $89/night. The nights of the 8th, 9th and 10th are available, with either a single King bed or a dual Queen room. If you're staying additional nights, they will probably have to be booked separately at the regular rate - however it's worth calling the hotel directly at (847) 437-6010 and asking them for the "Vintage Computer Fes" (yes without the "t") or "VIN" rate on the extra nights. No guarantees they'll extend it but it's worth a try. If you have any other booking needs or difficulties, please call that number as well. Do not call the main toll-free line for Holiday Inn/IHG. They don't have the rate code and won't be able to help you. Hesitation: Why wait? Book your room and travel and mark your calendars TODAY. Socialization: For Facebook users, there's a FB event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/805945506224113/ For the tweeting kind, you may follow us at: https://twitter.com/vcfmidwest Does anyone use Google+ any more? We have a page here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/102061024739945029100/102061024739945029100 Donation: VCF Midwest is a community-supported event, made possible through the generous donations of attendees, vendors and the organizing staff. As such, we humbly beg for your contribution toward the show's expenses, payable via the PayPal or GoFundMe links on our main page. Every donation helps and we appreciate them all. See you in September! -j

9 years, 3 months

Ethernet 1973/1974

by mark.kahrs＠gmail.com

The early ethernet schematics are best read with the a copy of the original patent (US 4,073,220) in hand. In particular, you can match up figure 5 and the explanation in the text with the schematic from Xerox. I wrote such a document decades ago but it has vanished along with many other bits. Has anyone interviewed Tat Lam about the transceiver?

9 years, 3 months

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