Re: organizing a trip to Cuba
Johnny Billquist wrote: > On 2015-06-24 02:06, Mark J. Blair wrote: > > > >>On Jun 23, 2015, at 09:32 , Holm Tiffe wrote: > >> > >>1) > >>Yes they copied the PDP11 and the VAX but, They made an VAX Chip > >>that's > >>compatible to the VAX730...and we all know that the VAX730 ist not an one > >>chip solution as the russian chip is. > > > >Ooh! Is there any chance I could get my hands on one of those single-chip > >VAX730 "clone" machines? That sounds quite cool. > > Well, unless I'm mistaken, when the Russian VAX-11/730 on a chip came, > DEC had already produced the uVAX II, which is also just a chip, but > much faster than an 11/730, so it's not exactly as if the Russians were > outperforming what DEC was doing... Exactly when did this Russian chip > come out, by the way? Curious on exactly how far DEC had come at the > time of that chip. :-) > > Johnny > > -- That wasn't the question at all Johnny. I wanted to make clear that not all clones are clones. I have an Elektronika 60 which is something like an 11/03 clone but it isn't a clone. It has a Q-BUS with connecteors like DECs original but with metric pin raster. Boards are bigger and the used chips and the schematics are totally different in most cases.S My memory confused the VAX730 with the VAX750... The machine is a development of it's own conforming some of the DEC Specs so that the original Software can run on that thing (E60). (The console SLU is a quad size board build from only TTL) The same happened with that VAX730 Chip, it was developed from only 10 people following the DEC reference manual. http://www.155la3.ru/k1839.htm http://www.online-translator.com gives halfways readable results from the translation of the web frame from russian to english. ..for PDP11 like processors: http://www.155la3.ru/k1801.htm I have a file with the internal Schematics (!) of the K1801VM2 processor, a PDP11 running w/o MMU at 10Mhz. There is also a 1801VM3 with internal MMU. Regards, Holm -- Technik Service u. Handel Tiffe, www.tsht.de, Holm Tiffe, Freiberger Straße 42, 09600 Oberschöna, USt-Id: DE253710583 www.tsht.de, i...@tsht.de, Fax +49 3731 74200, Mobil: 0172 8790 741
Re: organizing a trip to Cuba
I just love this translation: "*But me, naturally, anybody especially didn't ask.*" Been there; still am ... On Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 2:45 AM, Holm Tiffe wrote: > Johnny Billquist wrote: > > > On 2015-06-24 02:06, Mark J. Blair wrote: > > > > > >>On Jun 23, 2015, at 09:32 , Holm Tiffe wrote: > > >> > > >>1) > > >>Yes they copied the PDP11 and the VAX but, They made an VAX Chip > > >>that's > > >>compatible to the VAX730...and we all know that the VAX730 ist not an > one > > >>chip solution as the russian chip is. > > > > > >Ooh! Is there any chance I could get my hands on one of those > single-chip > > >VAX730 "clone" machines? That sounds quite cool. > > > > Well, unless I'm mistaken, when the Russian VAX-11/730 on a chip came, > > DEC had already produced the uVAX II, which is also just a chip, but > > much faster than an 11/730, so it's not exactly as if the Russians were > > outperforming what DEC was doing... Exactly when did this Russian chip > > come out, by the way? Curious on exactly how far DEC had come at the > > time of that chip. :-) > > > > Johnny > > > > -- > > That wasn't the question at all Johnny. > I wanted to make clear that not all clones are clones. > I have an Elektronika 60 which is something like an 11/03 clone > but it isn't a clone. It has a Q-BUS with connecteors like DECs > original but with metric pin raster. Boards are bigger and the used > chips and the schematics are totally different in most cases.S > > > My memory confused the VAX730 with the VAX750... > > The machine is a development of it's own conforming some of the DEC Specs > so that the original Software can run on that thing (E60). > (The console SLU is a quad size board build from only TTL) > The same happened with that VAX730 Chip, it was developed from only 10 > people following the DEC reference manual. > > http://www.155la3.ru/k1839.htm > > http://www.online-translator.com gives halfways readable results from > the translation of the web frame from russian to english. > > ..for PDP11 like processors: > > http://www.155la3.ru/k1801.htm > > I have a file with the internal Schematics (!) of the K1801VM2 processor, > a PDP11 running w/o MMU at 10Mhz. There is also a 1801VM3 with internal > MMU. > > Regards, > > Holm > -- > Technik Service u. Handel Tiffe, www.tsht.de, Holm Tiffe, > Freiberger Straße 42, 09600 Oberschöna, USt-Id: DE253710583 > www.tsht.de, i...@tsht.de, Fax +49 3731 74200, Mobil: 0172 8790 741 > >
Computers ... ARMY COMPUTERS! early & beastly with Friden What is it?
Computers ARMY COMPUTERS! early & beastly with Friden What is it? I had a chance to buy these photos so I did! Be fun to find the people and talk to them!What ever this thing is I guess I need to devote a page on it! Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org/) http://www.smecc.org/teleprinters/milita1dgdddf_small.jpg http://www.smecc.org/teleprinters/milita2_small.jpg
Printer ribbons [Was: Re: 1990 Era computer room]
On Tue, Jun 23, 2015 at 10:14:00PM -0700, jwsmobile wrote: > The only reference I could find that separated them are to google > for the printer ribbons. I find a lot of the companies who list > ribbons don't purge their databases of even the most ridiculously > old products, and they list models. > I just experienced the same thing with my newly found DATASAAB D16. Google turns up three worthwhile mentions and whole host of ribbon resalers. I kind of assumed that the printer ribbon was the same as something else and still awailable. Assuming I am wrong, what should I do to get a printer ribbon with fresh ink? /P
Re: organizing a trip to Cuba
On Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 08:45:13AM +0200, Holm Tiffe wrote: > I have an Elektronika 60 which is something like an 11/03 clone > but it isn't a clone. It has a Q-BUS with connecteors like DECs > original but with metric pin raster. Boards are bigger and the used > chips and the schematics are totally different in most cases.S > Which model? Do you have a matching terminal? I believe one of the 60 models was used to implement the original tetris. It requires a special terminals, although hacked binaries that work on VT52-compatibles are out there. /P
Re: Printer ribbons [Was: Re: 1990 Era computer room]
you re ink the old ribbon... used to do that with tty ribbons the 14 inch line printer width.. messy but doable I remember having to make a dried ribbon a bit juicer one time strung it between to poles in the parkinlot and sprayed I think it was a litte wd-40 on it an rolled her back up! I was lucky when I had computer business... printer would come in with extra ribbons I would keep a few for shelf stock... in 13 years never had to buy any It was the absolute filters I always had to be buying new! only once did I get a drive with a couple extra new ones Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org) In a message dated 6/24/2015 1:20:05 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, pon...@update.uu.se writes: On Tue, Jun 23, 2015 at 10:14:00PM -0700, jwsmobile wrote: > The only reference I could find that separated them are to google > for the printer ribbons. I find a lot of the companies who list > ribbons don't purge their databases of even the most ridiculously > old products, and they list models. > I just experienced the same thing with my newly found DATASAAB D16. Google turns up three worthwhile mentions and whole host of ribbon resalers. I kind of assumed that the printer ribbon was the same as something else and still awailable. Assuming I am wrong, what should I do to get a printer ribbon with fresh ink? /P
Re: Computers ... ARMY COMPUTERS! early & beastly with Friden What is it?
Hi ED I only know Friden as the makers of the Flexowriter. It was something like a Teletype, but with many more characters. It was used heavily in the typesetting industry /Nico - Original Message - From: To: ; ; ; Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2015 10:13 AM Subject: Computers ... ARMY COMPUTERS! early & beastly with Friden What is it? > > Computers ARMY COMPUTERS! early & beastly with Friden What is it? I > had > a chance to buy these photos so I did! Be fun to find the people and > talk to them!What ever this thing is I guess I need to devote a > page on > it! Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org/) > > http://www.smecc.org/teleprinters/milita1dgdddf_small.jpg > > http://www.smecc.org/teleprinters/milita2_small.jpg -- I am using the free version of SPAMfighter. SPAMfighter has removed 1412 of my spam emails to date. Get the free SPAMfighter here: http://www.spamfighter.com/len Do you have a slow PC? Try a Free scan http://www.spamfighter.com/SLOW-PCfighter?cid=sigen
Re: Megaprocessor - built from individual transistors
On Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 06:10:38AM +, d...@661.org wrote: > On Tue, 23 Jun 2015, Phil Budne wrote: > > >If I were going thru the trouble, I'd want build a TX-0 clone! > > I think it would me more interesting to build a replica of a pdp-8 > straight-eight using significantly-reduced flip chips with > surface-mount parts. > This exact thing has been on my TODO-list for a while. It will probably remain on the TODO-list for some time, but I really want to do it! I like to think that you could shrink the computer by, at least, a factor of four. Probably smaller. (make the flip chips double sided and double the function of each flip chip). /P
Re: Computers ... ARMY COMPUTERS! early & beastly with Friden What is it?
yea know about friden.. but that tape drive and all the massive cabinets next to guy and friden??? In a message dated 6/24/2015 1:26:17 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, n...@farumdata.dk writes: Hi ED I only know Friden as the makers of the Flexowriter. It was something like a Teletype, but with many more characters. It was used heavily in the typesetting industry /Nico - Original Message - From: To: ; ; ; Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2015 10:13 AM Subject: Computers ... ARMY COMPUTERS! early & beastly with Friden What is it? > > Computers ARMY COMPUTERS! early & beastly with Friden What is it? I > had > a chance to buy these photos so I did! Be fun to find the people and > talk to them!What ever this thing is I guess I need to devote a > page on > it! Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org/) > > http://www.smecc.org/teleprinters/milita1dgdddf_small.jpg > > http://www.smecc.org/teleprinters/milita2_small.jpg -- I am using the free version of SPAMfighter. SPAMfighter has removed 1412 of my spam emails to date. Get the free SPAMfighter here: http://www.spamfighter.com/len Do you have a slow PC? Try a Free scan http://www.spamfighter.com/SLOW-PCfighter?cid=sigen
RE: Megaprocessor - built from individual transistors
> -Original Message- > From: cctalk [mailto:cctalk-boun...@classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Pontus > Pihlgren > Sent: 24 June 2015 09:28 > To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts > Subject: Re: Megaprocessor - built from individual transistors > > On Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 06:10:38AM +, d...@661.org wrote: > > On Tue, 23 Jun 2015, Phil Budne wrote: > > > > >If I were going thru the trouble, I'd want build a TX-0 clone! > > > > I think it would me more interesting to build a replica of a pdp-8 > > straight-eight using significantly-reduced flip chips with > > surface-mount parts. > > > > This exact thing has been on my TODO-list for a while. It will probably remain > on the TODO-list for some time, but I really want to do it! > > I like to think that you could shrink the computer by, at least, a factor of four. > Probably smaller. > > (make the flip chips double sided and double the function of each flip chip). At least two people are building PDP/8E type machines from TTL... http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/showthread.php?47755-Build-your-own- PDP-8I-Part-2&highlight=pdp8%2Fe Dave G4UGM > > /P
Re: Computers ... ARMY COMPUTERS! early & beastly with Friden What is it?
On 2015-Jun-24, at 1:13 AM, couryho...@aol.com wrote: > > Computers ARMY COMPUTERS! early & beastly with Friden What is it? I had > a chance to buy these photos so I did! Be fun to find the people and > talk to them!What ever this thing is I guess I need to devote a page > on > it! Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org/) > > http://www.smecc.org/teleprinters/milita1dgdddf_small.jpg > > http://www.smecc.org/teleprinters/milita2_small.jpg Looks like they could be photos of MOBIDIC, the Army 'Mobile Digital Computer' project from the 50s. Zoom in on the 2nd photo of the model here: http://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/mobile-computing/18/315/1673 Note the mag tape units, the orientation and outline would match your second photo (the double vertical rectangles on the front in the model match those behind the left fellow's head and the right fellow's hand. Flexowriter also present in the model. Another version of the model down the page here: http://www.usarmygermany.com/Sont.htm?http&&&www.usarmygermany.com/Units/ComZ/USAREUR_ComZone.htm Your photos may be quite rare, the MOBIDIC project is often mentioned in computing history but photos of the actual MOBIDIC seem to be hard to come by.
Re: Front Panel Update A and B panels
Try Vince Slyngstad On 24/06/2015 06:59, Paul Birkel wrote: Can anyone recommend suitable rotary switches for either the A (vertical) or B (angled) configuration? On Tue, Jun 23, 2015 at 7:16 PM, Rod Smallwood < rodsmallwoo...@btinternet.com> wrote: Hi Guys I am off to Friedrichshafen for a few days and will be back on 1-JUL-2015. The next two batches of front panels will be: 8/e Type A 1. Old switch position markings (1 and 6 vertical) 2. Line around switch Area 3. Vertical lines between groups of three lamps 4. Holes for switch shaft and lock predrilled 8/e Type B 1. New switch position markings (1 and 6 angled) 2. Line around switch Area 3. Vertical lines between groups of three lamps 4. Holes for switch shaft and lock predrilled Price as before $95.00 + $15.00 Shipping Rod Smallwood
Re: organizing a trip to Cuba
On 2015-06-24 08:45, Holm Tiffe wrote: Johnny Billquist wrote: Well, unless I'm mistaken, when the Russian VAX-11/730 on a chip came, DEC had already produced the uVAX II, which is also just a chip, but much faster than an 11/730, so it's not exactly as if the Russians were outperforming what DEC was doing... Exactly when did this Russian chip come out, by the way? Curious on exactly how far DEC had come at the time of that chip. :-) Johnny -- That wasn't the question at all Johnny. I wanted to make clear that not all clones are clones. It's hard to define exactly what a clone is anyways. But DEC was very aware of the fact that the Russians were copying their stuff. Just look at the CVAX, when they even put a message in Russian on the silicon, for anyone to read, if they actually went down and looked at the chip at the gate level... :-) Johnny -- Johnny Billquist || "I'm on a bus || on a psychedelic trip email: b...@softjar.se || Reading murder books pdp is alive! || tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol
Re: organizing a trip to Cuba
On 2015-06-24 13:40, Johnny Billquist wrote: On 2015-06-24 08:45, Holm Tiffe wrote: Johnny Billquist wrote: Well, unless I'm mistaken, when the Russian VAX-11/730 on a chip came, DEC had already produced the uVAX II, which is also just a chip, but much faster than an 11/730, so it's not exactly as if the Russians were outperforming what DEC was doing... Exactly when did this Russian chip come out, by the way? Curious on exactly how far DEC had come at the time of that chip. :-) Johnny -- That wasn't the question at all Johnny. I wanted to make clear that not all clones are clones. It's hard to define exactly what a clone is anyways. But DEC was very aware of the fact that the Russians were copying their stuff. Just look at the CVAX, when they even put a message in Russian on the silicon, for anyone to read, if they actually went down and looked at the chip at the gate level... :-) Just for people who might be amused: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/creatures/pages/russians.html (And it Bob Supnik is reading this, he might be even more amused.) Johnny -- Johnny Billquist || "I'm on a bus || on a psychedelic trip email: b...@softjar.se || Reading murder books pdp is alive! || tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol
Re: organizing a trip to Cuba
I was at DEC when much of this took place . The big concern was not so much the copying but the USSR just buying DEC product on the open market. They would set up a front company, sign up as an oem, pay their bills on time and carry on shipping. It took a while to sink in that good well behaved customers were he ones to watch not the ones who were in trouble all the time. The copying was much more like the space race and said a alot about what silicon processing the USSR had or had access to. Rod On 24/06/2015 12:40, Johnny Billquist wrote: On 2015-06-24 08:45, Holm Tiffe wrote: Johnny Billquist wrote: Well, unless I'm mistaken, when the Russian VAX-11/730 on a chip came, DEC had already produced the uVAX II, which is also just a chip, but much faster than an 11/730, so it's not exactly as if the Russians were outperforming what DEC was doing... Exactly when did this Russian chip come out, by the way? Curious on exactly how far DEC had come at the time of that chip. :-) Johnny -- That wasn't the question at all Johnny. I wanted to make clear that not all clones are clones. It's hard to define exactly what a clone is anyways. But DEC was very aware of the fact that the Russians were copying their stuff. Just look at the CVAX, when they even put a message in Russian on the silicon, for anyone to read, if they actually went down and looked at the chip at the gate level... :-) Johnny
Re: organizing a trip to Cuba
On 2015-06-24 13:56, Rod Smallwood wrote: I was at DEC when much of this took place . The big concern was not so much the copying but the USSR just buying DEC product on the open market. They would set up a front company, sign up as an oem, pay their bills on time and carry on shipping. It took a while to sink in that good well behaved customers were he ones to watch not the ones who were in trouble all the time. Oh, I know. I'm from Sweden. We had a very big scandal where 5 containers with a VAX-11/782 and peripherials or something like that was found under strange circumstances. When the whole thing started to be investigated suddenly no one seemed to know or own those containers. The system was unclaimed for years, and it became a question of what to do with it, since no one seemed to claim it. I think it was eventually decided that since DEC made it, it was returned to them. The original shipping destination was of course somewhere in Soviet Union. This was in the early 80s... I'm sure someone can find the full story online somewhere. The stuff spy thrillers are made from... :-) Johnny The copying was much more like the space race and said a alot about what silicon processing the USSR had or had access to. Rod On 24/06/2015 12:40, Johnny Billquist wrote: On 2015-06-24 08:45, Holm Tiffe wrote: Johnny Billquist wrote: Well, unless I'm mistaken, when the Russian VAX-11/730 on a chip came, DEC had already produced the uVAX II, which is also just a chip, but much faster than an 11/730, so it's not exactly as if the Russians were outperforming what DEC was doing... Exactly when did this Russian chip come out, by the way? Curious on exactly how far DEC had come at the time of that chip. :-) Johnny -- That wasn't the question at all Johnny. I wanted to make clear that not all clones are clones. It's hard to define exactly what a clone is anyways. But DEC was very aware of the fact that the Russians were copying their stuff. Just look at the CVAX, when they even put a message in Russian on the silicon, for anyone to read, if they actually went down and looked at the chip at the gate level... :-) Johnny -- Johnny Billquist || "I'm on a bus || on a psychedelic trip email: b...@softjar.se || Reading murder books pdp is alive! || tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol
PLATO Empire source?
Back in the late '70s, I played a game called -0empire- on a PLATO system hosted, IIRC, at UIUC. Reading http://www.daleske.com/plato/empire.php, the best match to my memory is Empire IV (IIRC, the 0 prefix indicates that the lesson was installed system-wide, rather than being a relatively meaningless part of the name), and http://www.daleske.com/plato/empire-control.php says, inter alia, "You are welcome to look at the source code under Open Source Commons.". However, it appears my search-fu is too weak to _find_ that source code. So my question for the collective wisdom here is, anyone know where I might be able to find it? /~\ The ASCII Mouse \ / Ribbon Campaign X Against HTMLmo...@rodents-montreal.org / \ Email! 7D C8 61 52 5D E7 2D 39 4E F1 31 3E E8 B3 27 4B
Re: PLATO Empire source?
What team were you on? Wouldn’t want the Kaz, Roms or Bugs to get this kind of information.. <> Uncle Feddie j...@ieee.org > On Jun 24, 2015, at 7:36 AM, Mouse wrote: > > Back in the late '70s, I played a game called -0empire- on a PLATO > system hosted, IIRC, at UIUC. Reading > http://www.daleske.com/plato/empire.php, the best match to my memory is > Empire IV (IIRC, the 0 prefix indicates that the lesson was installed > system-wide, rather than being a relatively meaningless part of the > name), and http://www.daleske.com/plato/empire-control.php says, inter > alia, "You are welcome to look at the source code under Open Source > Commons.". > > However, it appears my search-fu is too weak to _find_ that source > code. So my question for the collective wisdom here is, anyone know > where I might be able to find it? > > /~\ The ASCII Mouse > \ / Ribbon Campaign > X Against HTML mo...@rodents-montreal.org > / \ Email! 7D C8 61 52 5D E7 2D 39 4E F1 31 3E E8 B3 27 4B
Re: PLATO Empire source?
> What team were you on? Wouldn¿t want the Kaz, Roms or Bugs to get > this kind of information.. (Actually, I most often played R.) > <> I built an attempt to recreate it based on decade-old memories sometime in the late '80s, which I recently dusted off (for those with git and curiosity, git://git.rodents-montreal.org/Mouse/games/0empire should be clonable). Looking at the screenshots, though, it's interesting how much I'd obviously forgotten, and the text there makes it clear there's also a lot more I never knew. The main reason I'm interested in the source to Empire is to make my recreation of it behave more like the original. I'm not trying for a total clone - if that's what I were after I'd be looking for a PLATO simulator to run the original on - but something that feels not too unlike it while still being recognizably a little more modern (for example, using finer resolution on the display). This is obviously a balancing act /~\ The ASCII Mouse \ / Ribbon Campaign X Against HTMLmo...@rodents-montreal.org / \ Email! 7D C8 61 52 5D E7 2D 39 4E F1 31 3E E8 B3 27 4B
Re: 1990 Era computer room
If anybody has one I am interested in a Data Products 2310 if that is the same as the DEC LP01. It should be an 80 column zone printer, and I might take a relabeled one. The pedestal one is preferred but a table top would be OK. Thanks, Paul On Tue, Jun 23, 2015 at 1:06 PM, J. David Bryan wrote: > On Monday, June 22, 2015 at 15:39, Jay West wrote: > > > The disc drives appear to be HP 7900A drives. > > I agree. A few pictures for comparison here: > > http://www.hpmuseum.net/display_item.php?hw=275 > > The printers appear to be Data Products 2310 drum printers, also sold as > the HP 2767A; photos: > > http://www.hpmuseum.net/display_item.php?hw=332 > > The ones in the original photo do not appear to be the HP versions, though, > as there are no HP badges present under the operator panels. > > -- Dave > >
Re: organizing a trip to Cuba
On Wed, 24 Jun 2015, Rod Smallwood wrote: I was at DEC when much of this took place . The big concern was not so much the copying but the USSR just buying DEC product on the open market. They would set up a front company, sign up as an oem, pay their bills on time and carry on shipping. It took a while to sink in that good well behaved customers were he ones to watch not the ones who were in trouble all the time. So, where were the best customers located? Langley, Fort Meade, 10th & PA in DC, Moscow, Leningrad? Who were the easiest to get paid from? Did DEC produce manuals in other languages? -- Grumpy Ol' Fred ci...@xenosoft.com
Re: PLATO Empire source?
> On Jun 24, 2015, at 10:19 AM, Mouse wrote: > >> What team were you on? Wouldn¿t want the Kaz, Roms or Bugs to get >> this kind of information.. > > (Actually, I most often played R.) > >> <> > > I built an attempt to recreate it based on decade-old memories sometime > in the late '80s, which I recently dusted off (for those with git and > curiosity, git://git.rodents-montreal.org/Mouse/games/0empire should be > clonable). Looking at the screenshots, though, it's interesting how > much I'd obviously forgotten, and the text there makes it clear there's > also a lot more I never knew. > > The main reason I'm interested in the source to Empire is to make my > recreation of it behave more like the original. I'm not trying for a > total clone - if that's what I were after I'd be looking for a PLATO > simulator to run the original on - but something that feels not too > unlike it while still being recognizably a little more modern (for > example, using finer resolution on the display). This is obviously a > balancing act…. The 0 prefix in the lesson name indicates a “published lesson” — which means a frozen copy of the original made by CDC and distributed as part of the PLATO distribution. The original name was “empire” and it became famous under that name at its original home, University of Illinois PLATO. As for PLATO simulation, there is one, which John mentions (cyber1). That consists of the CDC 6000 emulator “DtCyber” by Tom Hunter, plus a copy of PLATO authorized by its current owners and taken from the last known production PLATO system, plus some additional lessons (programs) recovered from various archives. It connects to terminals — either real PLATO terminals or an emulation program “pterm” over TCP connections. Access is available to all, on request, see the website cyber1.org for details. That said, the copies of empire on that system (there’s a 0empire and an empire) are not set for open source “open inspect” access. I had not seen John’s comment about open source. Possibly he intended to make the sources visible at some other location. If he wants the copy on cyber1 to be open-inspect, that’s easy to do but it would require a specific note from him to the cyber1 admins (of which I’m one) to authorize the change. paul
Re: PLATO Empire source?
On Jun 24, 2015, at 10:24 AM, Paul Koning wrote: > > The 0 prefix in the lesson name indicates a “published lesson” — which means > a frozen copy of the original made by CDC and distributed as part of the > PLATO distribution. The original name was “empire” and it became famous > under that name at its original home, University of Illinois PLATO. > > As for PLATO simulation, there is one, which John mentions (cyber1). That > consists of the CDC 6000 emulator “DtCyber” by Tom Hunter, plus a copy of > PLATO authorized by its current owners and taken from the last known > production PLATO system, plus some additional lessons (programs) recovered > from various archives. It connects to terminals — either real PLATO > terminals or an emulation program “pterm” over TCP connections. Access is > available to all, on request, see the website cyber1.org for details. > > That said, the copies of empire on that system (there’s a 0empire and an > empire) are not set for open source “open inspect” access. I had not seen > John’s comment about open source. Possibly he intended to make the sources > visible at some other location. If he wants the copy on cyber1 to be > open-inspect, that’s easy to do but it would require a specific note from him > to the cyber1 admins (of which I’m one) to authorize the change. > > paul > I’m still looking for a Plato IV terminal keyboard. Both the layout and tactile feel are truly part of the “Empire” experience. Jerry
Re: organizing a trip to Cuba
On Tue, 23 Jun 2015 06:46:30 -0400 Paul Birkel wrote: > I wonder to what Soviet equipment they would have upgraded? > > On Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 5:06 PM, william degnan > wrote: > > > > > http://millennialmainframer.com/2014/12/ibm-still-waiting-cuba-pay-mainframes/ > > > > Who's up for it? For all who are considering a trip to Cuba to find vintage gear, you might want to read this Washington Post article, published June 22: http://flip.it/m6WcU I wonder what the rules are regarding purchasing and shipping computers (even vintage ones) out of Cuba? I don't think I'd want to try smuggling them out... Lyle -- 73 AF6WS Bickley Consulting West Inc. http://bickleywest.com "Black holes are where God is dividing by zero"
Re: organizing a trip to Cuba
On Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 09:18:21AM -0700, Lyle Bickley wrote: > > I wonder what the rules are regarding purchasing and shipping > computers (even vintage ones) out of Cuba? I don't think I'd > want to try smuggling them out... > Not smuggling, liberating! (the computers in question should belong to IBM anyway) /P
Re: 1990 Era computer room
On Tuesday, June 23, 2015 at 22:14, jwsmobile wrote: > Also I don't recall the Data Products ever scaling as fast by > restricting columns. At least our 2230, 2260 and 2290 UC only and 96 > character set printers didn't. Got the same speed regardless of the > columns on those Data Products printers. The HP 2767A service manual (02767-90002, available from Bitsavers) is a reprint of the Data Products 2310 service manual. Page 1-17 says: "The printer receives data from the user system and stores up to 20 characters in the buffer memory. [...] A full line of data is printed in four zones, each zone having 20 consecutive print positions. In this manner, the printer's 20 hammer drivers can be time-shared among the 80 print positions." ...and the spec on page 1-5 says the print rate for the 64-character drum is 356 lines per minute for 80 columns, 460 lpm for 60 columns, 650 lpm for 40 columns, and 1110 lpm for 20 columns. I tested a 2767A as a customer of the HP Rockville, MD office in the early 1970s. As I recall, the character set wasn't staggered on the drum, and the hammer force was constant, regardless of glyph area. The result of printing a line of hyphens -- or worse, a line of periods -- was a very loud bang and a neatly perfed page. -- Dave
Re: PLATO Empire source?
> On Jun 24, 2015, at 12:15 PM, Jerry Weiss wrote: > > ... > I’m still looking for a Plato IV terminal keyboard. Both the layout and > tactile feel are truly part of the “Empire” experience. Aaron Woolfson (at Telswitch) has done that. Proper copies, with USB interface but using the same switches (they still exist) and the correct keycaps. His initial run sold out; I’m not sure if a new one has been created. The original one triggers an OSX bug so you can’t use it on a Mac, but other operating systems handle it fine. paul
Re: 1990 Era computer room
ahh the memorys i worked at dataproducts from late 1978 to late 1980 they were awesome printers the B series used the 2900 series bit slice building blocks they were speed daemons for their time its too bad that manufacturing in the USA has dropped because of cheap Chinese we may still have great companys like that making things here in the USA On 6/24/2015 9:33 AM, J. David Bryan wrote: > On Tuesday, June 23, 2015 at 22:14, jwsmobile wrote: > >> Also I don't recall the Data Products ever scaling as fast by >> restricting columns. At least our 2230, 2260 and 2290 UC only and 96 >> character set printers didn't. Got the same speed regardless of the >> columns on those Data Products printers. > The HP 2767A service manual (02767-90002, available from Bitsavers) is a > reprint of the Data Products 2310 service manual. Page 1-17 says: > > "The printer receives data from the user system and stores up to 20 >characters in the buffer memory. [...] A full line of data is >printed in four zones, each zone having 20 consecutive print >positions. In this manner, the printer's 20 hammer drivers can be >time-shared among the 80 print positions." > > ...and the spec on page 1-5 says the print rate for the 64-character drum > is 356 lines per minute for 80 columns, 460 lpm for 60 columns, 650 lpm for > 40 columns, and 1110 lpm for 20 columns. > > I tested a 2767A as a customer of the HP Rockville, MD office in the early > 1970s. As I recall, the character set wasn't staggered on the drum, and > the hammer force was constant, regardless of glyph area. The result of > printing a line of hyphens -- or worse, a line of periods -- was a very > loud bang and a neatly perfed page. > > -- Dave > > -- The contents of this e-mail and any attachments are intended solely for the use of the named addressee(s) and may contain confidential and/or privileged information. Any unauthorized use, copying, disclosure, or distribution of the contents of this e-mail is strictly prohibited by the sender and may be unlawful. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately and delete this e-mail.
Re: PLATO Empire source?
> The 0 prefix in the lesson name indicates a ¿published lesson¿ ¿ which means$ Ah! Thank you. I knew it had some semantic significance but I didn't really know what. I'm quite sure the version I played was called 0empire and thus would have been such a frozen version. (I wonder if either of the lessons I wrote still exist anywhere) > As for PLATO simulation, there is one, which John mentions (cyber1). That $ I might be tempted, except that it requires agreeing to California legal jurisdiction, which as someone outside the USA I would have to be completely rocks-for-brains to do - and you say it wouldn't get me access to the code anyway. (Plus, it looks as though getting pterm to build for me would involve quite a lot of wading in with a machete. _Playing_ Empire tempts me, but not nearly enough to override the legal jurisdiction issue.) > That said, the copies of empire on that system (there¿s a 0empire and an emp$ Well, if anyone has enough access to John Daleske to find out what the current status of the code is, and, if it _is_ available, where it's available from, I'd be most interested. /~\ The ASCII Mouse \ / Ribbon Campaign X Against HTMLmo...@rodents-montreal.org / \ Email! 7D C8 61 52 5D E7 2D 39 4E F1 31 3E E8 B3 27 4B
Re: Megaprocessor - built from individual transistors
On 6/24/2015 12:10 AM, d...@661.org wrote: On Tue, 23 Jun 2015, Phil Budne wrote: If I were going thru the trouble, I'd want build a TX-0 clone! I think it would me more interesting to build a replica of a pdp-8 straight-eight using significantly-reduced flip chips with surface-mount parts. But only if you build a 1/4 size version ... switches still are a pain to source. Ben.
Re: 1990 Era computer room
On 6/24/2015 9:33 AM, J. David Bryan wrote: On Tuesday, June 23, 2015 at 22:14, jwsmobile wrote: Also I don't recall the Data Products ever scaling as fast by restricting columns. At least our 2230, 2260 and 2290 UC only and 96 character set printers didn't. Got the same speed regardless of the columns on those Data Products printers. The HP 2767A service manual (02767-90002, available from Bitsavers) is a reprint of the Data Products 2310 service manual. Page 1-17 says: The Data Products 2310 isn't a 2230, 2260, or 2290. Those are later models than the one that is being discussed here. When you fired all the same characters on these printers, however the printer almost seemed like it wanted to move with a 64 character model. It was possible to get it to do that if you studied how to get the right pattern of characters. "The printer receives data from the user system and stores up to 20 characters in the buffer memory. [...] A full line of data is printed in four zones, each zone having 20 consecutive print positions. In this manner, the printer's 20 hammer drivers can be time-shared among the 80 print positions." ...and the spec on page 1-5 says the print rate for the 64-character drum is 356 lines per minute for 80 columns, 460 lpm for 60 columns, 650 lpm for 40 columns, and 1110 lpm for 20 columns. I tested a 2767A as a customer of the HP Rockville, MD office in the early 1970s. As I recall, the character set wasn't staggered on the drum, and the hammer force was constant, regardless of glyph area. The result of printing a line of hyphens -- or worse, a line of periods -- was a very loud bang and a neatly perfed page. -- Dave
Re: 1990 Era computer room
On 6/24/2015 9:50 AM, wulfman wrote: ahh the memorys i worked at dataproducts from late 1978 to late 1980 they were awesome printers the B series used the 2900 series bit slice building blocks they were speed daemons for their time its too bad that manufacturing in the USA has dropped because of cheap Chinese we may still have great companys like that making things here in the USA We used their band printers a lot in the early to mid 80's. They were very good printers. Printronix moved to across the street from where I worked on Myford in Tustin some years after that and made a good run, but I never used Printronix after the P300 and P600. Next ones we used were CI-300's, 600's and 900's because we got an OEM deal thru them, and the above mentioned Data Products band printers for applications requiring such character sets, rather than the dot matrix. Data Products was a great company for sure. Still glad to have the 2230's I have. thanks Jim
Re: organizing a trip to Cuba
Pontus Pihlgren wrote: > On Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 08:45:13AM +0200, Holm Tiffe wrote: > > I have an Elektronika 60 which is something like an 11/03 clone > > but it isn't a clone. It has a Q-BUS with connecteors like DECs > > original but with metric pin raster. Boards are bigger and the used > > chips and the schematics are totally different in most cases.S > > > > Which model? Do you have a matching terminal? > > I believe one of the 60 models was used to implement the original > tetris. It requires a special terminals, although hacked binaries that > work on VT52-compatibles are out there. > > /P For the exact model I must take a look to the card cage first.. It has an M2 processor Board: http://www.tiffe.de/Robotron/PDP-VAX/E60/CPU-oben.jpg ...and I have a terminal but it is't functional again jet.. Nevertheless I've played a russian Tetris on that machine, OS was FODOS 2.something (RT11 V4.x). I've modified the SLU board to connect a RS232 insead of the current loop und used an xterm to play with that machine (Seyon Terminal Program). Regards, Holm -- Technik Service u. Handel Tiffe, www.tsht.de, Holm Tiffe, Freiberger Straße 42, 09600 Oberschöna, USt-Id: DE253710583 www.tsht.de, i...@tsht.de, Fax +49 3731 74200, Mobil: 0172 8790 741
Re: organizing a trip to Cuba
Johnny Billquist wrote: > On 2015-06-24 08:45, Holm Tiffe wrote: > >Johnny Billquist wrote: > > > >>Well, unless I'm mistaken, when the Russian VAX-11/730 on a chip came, > >>DEC had already produced the uVAX II, which is also just a chip, but > >>much faster than an 11/730, so it's not exactly as if the Russians were > >>outperforming what DEC was doing... Exactly when did this Russian chip > >>come out, by the way? Curious on exactly how far DEC had come at the > >>time of that chip. :-) > >> > >>Johnny > >> > >>-- > > > >That wasn't the question at all Johnny. > >I wanted to make clear that not all clones are clones. > > It's hard to define exactly what a clone is anyways. But DEC was very > aware of the fact that the Russians were copying their stuff. > Just look at the CVAX, when they even put a message in Russian on the > silicon, for anyone to read, if they actually went down and looked at > the chip at the gate level... :-) > > Johnny > > -- > Johnny Billquist || "I'm on a bus > || on a psychedelic trip > email: b...@softjar.se || Reading murder books > pdp is alive! || tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol Yes, that's old news. Dec was aware that PDP11's an VAXes got copied, but it seems that the russians not copied the cips, the build ther own machines using the Machine description from DEC.. Regards, Holm -- Technik Service u. Handel Tiffe, www.tsht.de, Holm Tiffe, Freiberger Straße 42, 09600 Oberschöna, USt-Id: DE253710583 www.tsht.de, i...@tsht.de, Fax +49 3731 74200, Mobil: 0172 8790 741
Re: organizing a trip to Cuba
Rod Smallwood wrote: > I was at DEC when much of this took place . > The big concern was not so much the copying but the USSR just buying DEC > product on the open market. > They would set up a front company, sign up as an oem, pay their bills on > time and carry on shipping. > It took a while to sink in that good well behaved customers were he ones > to watch not the ones who were in trouble all the time. > > The copying was much more like the space race and said a alot about what > silicon processing the USSR had or had access to. > > Rod 1. is it really neccessary to answer on top when the previous Mail is quoted at bottom? 2. Do you ever heard of the embargo on computing machines against the kommunist counties? Regards, Holm > > On 24/06/2015 12:40, Johnny Billquist wrote: > >On 2015-06-24 08:45, Holm Tiffe wrote: > >>Johnny Billquist wrote: > >> > >>>Well, unless I'm mistaken, when the Russian VAX-11/730 on a chip came, > >>>DEC had already produced the uVAX II, which is also just a chip, but > >>>much faster than an 11/730, so it's not exactly as if the Russians were > >>>outperforming what DEC was doing... Exactly when did this Russian chip > >>>come out, by the way? Curious on exactly how far DEC had come at the > >>>time of that chip. :-) > >>> > >>>Johnny > >>> > >>>-- > >> > >>That wasn't the question at all Johnny. > >>I wanted to make clear that not all clones are clones. > > > >It's hard to define exactly what a clone is anyways. But DEC was very > >aware of the fact that the Russians were copying their stuff. > >Just look at the CVAX, when they even put a message in Russian on the > >silicon, for anyone to read, if they actually went down and looked at > >the chip at the gate level... :-) > > > >Johnny > > -- Technik Service u. Handel Tiffe, www.tsht.de, Holm Tiffe, Freiberger Straße 42, 09600 Oberschöna, USt-Id: DE253710583 www.tsht.de, i...@tsht.de, Fax +49 3731 74200, Mobil: 0172 8790 741
Re: organizing a trip to Cuba
Pontus Pihlgren wrote: > On Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 09:18:21AM -0700, Lyle Bickley wrote: > > > > I wonder what the rules are regarding purchasing and shipping > > computers (even vintage ones) out of Cuba? I don't think I'd > > want to try smuggling them out... > > > > Not smuggling, liberating! > > (the computers in question should belong to IBM anyway) > > /P Which computers? Do you think all computers there are made/owned by IBM? I think IBM can wait until the hell gets frozen for the payment. It seems to me that IBM and you simply don't realize that there was an revolution in the meantime and they don't own something there anymore. There where tents of years with totally different economics, and thinking that that old stuff still exists iand possivble still running is really stupid in my eyes. There is nothing to "liberate".. Regards, Holm -- Technik Service u. Handel Tiffe, www.tsht.de, Holm Tiffe, Freiberger Straße 42, 09600 Oberschöna, USt-Id: DE253710583 www.tsht.de, i...@tsht.de, Fax +49 3731 74200, Mobil: 0172 8790 741
Re: Front Panel Update A and B panels
From: Paul Birke: Tuesday, June 23, 2015 10:59 PM Can anyone recommend suitable rotary switches for either the A (vertical) or B (angled) configuration? Unfortunately I don't have any leads on a modern equivalent. (Just the fairly useless DEC part numbers.) The construction is dead simple, though. Essentially, mine are a set of reed switches mounted at 36 degree intervals, a couple of end plates, and a central shaft with a magnet on it. Some detents which make the shaft tend to want to stay where you put it. The newer ones presumably used an angle of 30 degrees instead of 36. It's probably achievable to create something with a 3D printer and some modern reed switches that would fit the original form factor. Vince
Re: Computers ... ARMY COMPUTERS! early & beastly with Friden What is it?
> On Jun 24, 2015, at 4:25 AM, Nico de Jong wrote: > > Hi ED > I only know Friden as the makers of the Flexowriter. It was something like a > Teletype, but with many more characters. It was used heavily in the > typesetting industry Many more? The only Flexowriters I’ve run into are those used for Algol programming at TU Eindhoven. They were better than many teletypes — upper and lower case, for one, and first class reliability. But certainly nowhere enough characters for typesetting, not unless you used markup codes for things like italics (at which point an ASR33 would be almost as good). Old style paper tape typesetting tended to use specialized machines. Monotype uses oddball very wide tape, and Tape Operated Linotype uses, I think, 6 track paper tape but the perforating keyboard machines had specialized features in them to track the line width. paul
Re: Printer ribbons [Was: Re: 1990 Era computer room]
Get a printer ribbon from another printer, take the ribbon from the cartridge and put it on the cartridge of your printer. Some printers in Brazil I gotta do this, or else. --- Enviado do meu Apple IIGS (pq eu sou chique) Meu site: http://www.tabalabs.com.br Meu blog: http://tabajara-labs.blogspot.com - Original Message - From: "Pontus Pihlgren" To: ; "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2015 5:19 AM Subject: Printer ribbons [Was: Re: 1990 Era computer room] On Tue, Jun 23, 2015 at 10:14:00PM -0700, jwsmobile wrote: The only reference I could find that separated them are to google for the printer ribbons. I find a lot of the companies who list ribbons don't purge their databases of even the most ridiculously old products, and they list models. I just experienced the same thing with my newly found DATASAAB D16. Google turns up three worthwhile mentions and whole host of ribbon resalers. I kind of assumed that the printer ribbon was the same as something else and still awailable. Assuming I am wrong, what should I do to get a printer ribbon with fresh ink? /P
Re: organizing a trip to Cuba
Sorry Holm, didn't mean to grind your gears. /P On Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 09:55:14PM +0200, Holm Tiffe wrote: > Which computers? Do you think all computers there are made/owned by IBM? > > I think IBM can wait until the hell gets frozen for the payment. > It seems to me that IBM and you simply don't realize that there was an > revolution in the meantime and they don't own something there anymore. > > There where tents of years with totally different economics, and > thinking that that old stuff still exists iand possivble still running > is really stupid in my eyes. There is nothing to "liberate".. > > > Regards, > > Holm > -- > Technik Service u. Handel Tiffe, www.tsht.de, Holm Tiffe, > Freiberger Straße 42, 09600 Oberschöna, USt-Id: DE253710583 > www.tsht.de, i...@tsht.de, Fax +49 3731 74200, Mobil: 0172 8790 741 >
Re: Front Panel Update A and B panels
On Wednesday, June 24, 2015 1:35 PM, Vincent Slyngstad wrote: From: Paul Birke: Tuesday, June 23, 2015 10:59 PM > Can anyone recommend suitable rotary switches for either the A (vertical) > or B (angled) configuration? Unfortunately I don't have any leads on a modern equivalent. (Just the fairly useless DEC part numbers.) The construction is dead simple, though. Essentially, mine are a set of reed switches mounted at 36 degree intervals, a couple of end plates, and a central shaft with a magnet on it. Some detents which make the shaft tend to want to stay where you put it. The newer ones presumably used an angle of 30 degrees instead of 36. It's probably achievable to create something with a 3D printer and some modern reed switches that would fit the original form factor. Vince My 8/e had the reed switched based one which had broken reeds and a weak magnet.I replaced the reeds with small one found on ebay and also the magnet to get it working.It has a sloppy feel to it. My 8/m has a mechanical switch. It has a much nicer feel than the reed based one.Probably the different way the panels are marked is because of these two ways of makinga rotary switch. I have no idea why DEC made their own switch out of the reeds. Seems like it would cost more than a standard switch so they probably had a reason. Possibly they thought it would not wear as much with thereeds having millions of operations rating. -Bob
Re: Front Panel Update A and B panels
From: Bob Rosenbloom: Wednesday, June 24, 2015 2:28 PM I have no idea why DEC made their own switch out of the reeds. Seems like it would cost more than a standard switch so they probably had a reason. Possibly they thought it would not wear as much with thereeds having millions of operations rating. I'm not sure they made their own. There's "Angley" or some such written around the corner from the DEC part number on the bottom plate. (Partially obscured by the mounting screw.) I took that to be a maker's mark, though I didn't find any surviving reference to them online. Vince
Persci 299 with unknown Persci dual S-100 cards?
Hello, I recently acquired a Persci 2142 dual disk drive with two S-100 controller cards. The 2142 is a Persci slim-line case that fits the internal Persci 299 drives but also included were to Persci S-100 cards. The only thing that makes sense is that one or both of these are the Persci 1170 controller card (set) but I have not been able to find a picture of such a card anywhere. There is an 1170 card picture at the Computer History Museum but it suspiciously looks like a Vector S-100 prototype board with components on it (and not the right amount compare to my cards). That page is here: http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102712583 I have pictures in my latest post of the front and back of both cards along with the Persci 299 drive mechanism and the complete 2142 unit. If anyone knows what a Persci 1170 controller looks like, I'd love to know if that's what I have. Is it both cards? I am assuming so because there's a marketing brochure out there with a description of the 1170 controller and the Z80 CPU, as described, is on the second card (not the main card) as is the memory. Pictures of what I have are here: http://vintagecomputer.ca/persci-drive-is-a-299-what-are-the-controller-boards/ I can try to read the EPROMS on the second board (they are B2716s) but the first board has a 2708 and I've nothing that will read it. Maybe that will give a clue? I would assume that's where Persci DOS is? I will be taking the 299 drive mechanism apart and refurbishing this drive as I did the Persci 270 in my Processor Technology Helios II (big thanks to Martin Eberhard for his awesome guide and his help!). Hopefully it's close enough to the 299 that the guide will still be useful. I have yet to check if the glass gauge is intact in this drive or all of this will be for nothing. I'll do that when I take it apart. Should be a fun project. If you have any info, please let me know. It would be much appreciated. Santo
Re: Printer ribbons [Was: Re: 1990 Era computer room]
Thirty years or so back I used to have a device called a 'MacInker' with which I re-inked the ribbon spools for my OKI Microline 84 dot matrix printer. This was a plastic plate with legs. It had a very slow rpm motor (perhaps 10rpm?) driving an upward-facing spindle which would engage in the spool. The ribbon ran against a cylindrical ink reservoir with a tiny hole in it, where it would be drawn onto the ribbon. The ribbon was guided by adjusting two O-rings on the reservoir. It was a universal device (the name had nothing to do with Macintoshes) for printers, teletypes and typeriters and came with a few pins and spares to suit different spools or catridges. I recall the ink was thicker and more oily than modern inkjet ink, sort of like what a stamp pad has. It was also very messy to operate, ink went everywhere as it continued to drain out the pin hole in the cylinder.Original MacInkers seem to still be available (Google images finds a few) but it certainly would not be difficult to build a workalike device from Lego or a junked Microwave oven turntable motor. Steve. Original Message Subject: Re: Printer ribbons [Was: Re: 1990 Era computer room] From:"Alexandre Souza" Date:Thu, June 25, 2015 7:13 am To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" -- > > Get a printer ribbon from another printer, take the ribbon from the > cartridge and put it on the cartridge of your printer. > > Some printers in Brazil I gotta do this, or else. > > --- > Enviado do meu Apple IIGS (pq eu sou chique) > Meu site: http://www.tabalabs.com.br > Meu blog: http://tabajara-labs.blogspot.com > > > > > - Original Message - > From: "Pontus Pihlgren" > To: ; "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" > > Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2015 5:19 AM > Subject: Printer ribbons [Was: Re: 1990 Era computer room] > > >> On Tue, Jun 23, 2015 at 10:14:00PM -0700, jwsmobile wrote: >>> The only reference I could find that separated them are to google >>> for the printer ribbons. I find a lot of the companies who list >>> ribbons don't purge their databases of even the most ridiculously >>> old products, and they list models. >>> >> >> I just experienced the same thing with my newly found DATASAAB D16. >> Google turns up three worthwhile mentions and whole host of ribbon >> resalers. >> >> I kind of assumed that the printer ribbon was the same as something else >> and still awailable. Assuming I am wrong, what should I do to get a >> printer ribbon with fresh ink? >> >> /P > >
Re: Printer ribbons [Was: Re: 1990 Era computer room]
It works if you have a good (but out of ink) ribbon/cartridge. But if you doesn't, do as I said :) 2015-06-24 23:40 GMT-03:00 : > Thirty years or so back I used to have a device called a 'MacInker' with > which I re-inked the ribbon spools for my OKI Microline 84 dot matrix > printer. > This was a plastic plate with legs. It had a very slow rpm motor (perhaps > 10rpm?) driving an upward-facing spindle which would engage in the spool. > The ribbon ran against a cylindrical ink reservoir with a tiny hole in it, > where it would be drawn onto the ribbon. The ribbon was guided by adjusting > two O-rings on the reservoir. It was a universal device (the name had > nothing to do with Macintoshes) for printers, teletypes and typeriters and > came with a few pins and spares to suit different spools or catridges. I > recall the ink was thicker and more oily than modern inkjet ink, sort of > like what > a stamp pad has. It was also very messy to operate, ink went everywhere as > it continued to drain out the pin hole in the cylinder.Original MacInkers > seem to still be available (Google images finds a few) but it certainly > would not be difficult to build a workalike device from Lego or a junked > Microwave oven turntable motor. > > Steve. > > Original Message > Subject: Re: Printer ribbons [Was: Re: 1990 Era computer room] > From:"Alexandre Souza" > Date:Thu, June 25, 2015 7:13 am > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" < > cctalk@classiccmp.org> > -- > > > > > Get a printer ribbon from another printer, take the ribbon from the > > cartridge and put it on the cartridge of your printer. > > > > Some printers in Brazil I gotta do this, or else. > > > > --- > > Enviado do meu Apple IIGS (pq eu sou chique) > > Meu site: http://www.tabalabs.com.br > > Meu blog: http://tabajara-labs.blogspot.com > > > > > > > > > > - Original Message - > > From: "Pontus Pihlgren" > > To: ; "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic > Posts" > > > > Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2015 5:19 AM > > Subject: Printer ribbons [Was: Re: 1990 Era computer room] > > > > > >> On Tue, Jun 23, 2015 at 10:14:00PM -0700, jwsmobile wrote: > >>> The only reference I could find that separated them are to google > >>> for the printer ribbons. I find a lot of the companies who list > >>> ribbons don't purge their databases of even the most ridiculously > >>> old products, and they list models. > >>> > >> > >> I just experienced the same thing with my newly found DATASAAB D16. > >> Google turns up three worthwhile mentions and whole host of ribbon > >> resalers. > >> > >> I kind of assumed that the printer ribbon was the same as something else > >> and still awailable. Assuming I am wrong, what should I do to get a > >> printer ribbon with fresh ink? > >> > >> /P > > > > > > >
Re: Megaprocessor - built from individual transistors
On Wed, 24 Jun 2015, ben wrote: On 6/24/2015 12:10 AM, d...@661.org wrote: On Tue, 23 Jun 2015, Phil Budne wrote: If I were going thru the trouble, I'd want build a TX-0 clone! I think it would me more interesting to build a replica of a pdp-8 straight-eight using significantly-reduced flip chips with surface-mount parts. But only if you build a 1/4 size version ... switches still are a pain to source. Ben. With 3d printers, it shouldn't be too much of a problem to make your own paddles at whatever scale is required. The only catch I perceive is which switch to use. I'm thinking of a fairly common slide micro-switch that seems to have been a Radio Shack staple for at least 20 years. -- David Griffith d...@661.org 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?
Re: Printer ribbons [Was: Re: 1990 Era computer room]
On 06/24/2015 07:40 PM, ste...@malikoff.com wrote: I recall the ink was thicker and more oily than modern inkjet ink, sort of like what a stamp pad has. Yup, about five years ago, I gave away mine on the Vintage Computer forum. It had very little mileage on it, mostly because of the mess. There are stamp pad inkers that use a very fine mesh that allows the ink to seep through gradually. I've re-inked ribbons that way with better success than with the Mac Inker (which I believe is still being offered--"Computer Friends" I think is the outfit). Then there's the old WD-40 and plastic bag trick... --Chuck
Re: Megaprocessor - built from individual transistors
On 6/24/2015 10:01 PM, d...@661.org wrote: On Wed, 24 Jun 2015, ben wrote: On 6/24/2015 12:10 AM, d...@661.org wrote: On Tue, 23 Jun 2015, Phil Budne wrote: If I were going thru the trouble, I'd want build a TX-0 clone! I think it would me more interesting to build a replica of a pdp-8 straight-eight using significantly-reduced flip chips with surface-mount parts. But only if you build a 1/4 size version ... switches still are a pain to source. Ben. With 3d printers, it shouldn't be too much of a problem to make your own paddles at whatever scale is required. The only catch I perceive is which switch to use. I'm thinking of a fairly common slide micro-switch that seems to have been a Radio Shack staple for at least 20 years. I thought it was phones ... for the last 20 years. Radio Shack is no more...
Re: Strange DEC PC05 paper tape reader: doc for M705 needed
Am 23.06.2015 um 19:40 schrieb Vincent Slyngstad: From: Ethan Dicks: Tuesday, June 23, 2015 8:07 AM On Tue, Jun 23, 2015 at 10:54 AM, Jörg Hoppe wrote: Does anybody has a FPMS with schematics for the M705 modul? Perhaps as part of some PDP-8 doc? Vince Slyngstad has some modern schematics here: http://svn.so-much-stuff.com/svn/trunk/Eagle/projects/DEC/Mxxx/M705/ http://svn.so-much-stuff.com/svn/trunk/Eagle/projects/DEC/Mxxx/M7050/ http://svn.so-much-stuff.com/svn/trunk/Eagle/projects/DEC/Mxxx/M710/ http://svn.so-much-stuff.com/svn/trunk/Eagle/projects/DEC/Mxxx/M715/ Thanks for the mention! Jörg, if your boards aren't the etch levels mentioned there (or you have trouble reading what's there), let me know, and we'll see what we can do. Vince Vince, thanks for your very extensive module list. Hint: domain "decmodules.net" seeems to be free ;-) Jörg
