Re: QIC Tape help with CRC - Dwight?
Thanks, Lawrence, again. Actually, I am writing a very specific program, for my universal tape reader system to do these CRC checks as the program identifies each block. Thanks to adding the 84CF, this has now been made much, much easier. I'm still new to all of this though, so while my program works as of tonight, there is still much for me to learn about how these work. Great information, please...keep it coming! Thanks again, -AJ On Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 12:24 AM, Lawrence Wilkinson wrote: > Ah, I thought you were writing a specific program, but if you're > just documenting things then specifying the CRC polynomial and > the init value as all-ones should be sufficient. > > The corresponding init parameter of reveng is "-i ". > > On 15/11/15 23:52, Microtech Dart wrote: > >> Lawrence, Dwight & Chuck...thank you! >> >> The revelation that I can append 84CF to the 512-byte data block and the >> 4-byte block address, is golden, and this works! >> > The other thing to point out is that if you append the CRC to > your original block, the resulting CRC should be . > > e.g. 84 CF FF FF gives > > This means there's no need to do a specific 'CRC check', but > after your data block you keep feeding the CRC bytes in and > then check that the result is . > > >> It would have taken a lot longer for me to figure out on my own that this >> was a work-around, and at least one working interpretation of the >> confusing >> text I was quoting from the manuals. >> >> I don't grasp all of the rest of what you shared fully, but now I at least >> have an example of something that works to play with, and from there, I >> hope to get more comfortable with this procedure, and write some programs >> that do this checking to validate each block I read with my Universal QIC >> reader system. >> >> I've updated my web page about QIC-24 decoding CRC section to include this >> knowledge: >> >> >> http://mightyframe.blogspot.com/2015/08/qic-24-tape-data-block-format-decoding.html#CRC >> > When specifying a CRC it's always good to provide a short > example that can be used to validate an implementation - it > doesn't need to be a whole block, but just 10 or so bytes > together with the resulting CRC. > >> >> Thank you again! >> >> -AJ >> >> -- > Lawrence Wilkinson lawrence at ljw.me.uk > The IBM 360/30 page http://www.ljw.me.uk/ibm360 > > -- Thanks, -AJ http://MicrotechM1.blogspot.com
To-days Panelman Poser
Hi Guys! I am the happy owner of a DEC 3000 in other words an Alpha. It is fully working and boots VMS and goes into DEC windows just as it should. Its running a high res 23" colour monitor in RGB As you all are aware I spend my time recreating PDP front panels. (Hopefully the example panel will arrive to-day and I can release the current batch to screening. ) Anyway I thought it would be nice to at least get some pictures up on the Alpha and maybe do a little panel design on it. If you are asking why would I want to do that. Then I might suggest you may not be on the right list. So there you have it; picture display (gif, tif and so on) and a bit of cad on my Alpha (mono is fine.) What do I need and where do I get it? Rod (Panelman) Smallwood
Re: Tektronix 4051 RAMPACK - new design
On Sun, 15 Nov 2015, Bob Rosenbloom wrote: I was contacted by Micheal D. Cranford from the Tektronix Museum up in OR about a design for a ROM module for the Tektronix 4051 graphic computer. It looks to be a very useful item. See the description below. He's looking to build up some of them and make them available. Cost would be about $100 each, assembled. He needs seven people to make it worthwhile, I would take two, so we need five more people. Something similar has been done over 30 years ago, see ftp://ftp.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pub/cm/tektronix/tek4051/backram/ The module is called BACKRAM, and you are supposed to load the contents with RAM_LOADER.PRG. We use the COMBIROM file that has many very useful routines for tape and CBM disk handling. I've attached a CBM 8050 drive to the Tektronix 4051. To use the BACKRAM I only need one tape cartridge that holds the loader and RAM image. Christian
Re: To-days Panelman Poser
rod wrote: Hi Guys! I am the happy owner of a DEC 3000 in other words an Alpha. It is fully working and boots VMS and goes into DEC windows just as it should. Its running a high res 23" colour monitor in RGB As you all are aware I spend my time recreating PDP front panels. (Hopefully the example panel will arrive to-day and I can release the current batch to screening. ) Anyway I thought it would be nice to at least get some pictures up on the Alpha and maybe do a little panel design on it. If you are asking why would I want to do that. Then I might suggest you may not be on the right list. So there you have it; picture display (gif, tif and so on) and a bit of cad on my Alpha (mono is fine.) What do I need and where do I get it? John Bradley's XV is great for viewing lots of types of images and fiddling with your DECWindows background. It can also be used for image editing but you probably want something more that this for designing panels. ftp://ftp.cis.upenn.edu/pub/xv/ http://www-pi.physics.uiowa.edu/~dyson/xv/ ftp://ftp.digiater.nl/openvms/decus/vmslt98b/moreau/xv-310a2-vms.zip As far as I remember, it's a bit of a chore to build it, however, there may be executables available on some of the VMS freeware CDs. Look for one with PNG support as this was the last to be added. If you can't find any, I can send you one if you are happy enough to trust me. Another possibility is to use the SWB web browser to view images but this is a bit of a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Regards, Peter Coghlan.
Re: Oh boy, copyright discussion.
So, unless the current corporate winds suddenly change direction, expect that 95 year to be "amended". After all, we must protect Mickey Mouse until he's long passed out of human memory. The irony being that Mickey Mouse was stolen :-) -- Ethan O'Toole
Re: Tektronix 4051 RAMPACK - new design
On 11/15/2015 9:14 PM, Jos Dreesen wrote: On 16.11.2015 00:10, Bob Rosenbloom wrote: I was contacted by Micheal D. Cranford from the Tektronix Museum up in OR about a design for a ROM module for the Tektronix 4051 graphic computer. It looks to be a very useful item. See the description below. He's looking to build up some of them and make them available. Cost would be about $100 each, assembled. He needs seven people to make it worthwhile, I would take two, so we need five more people. Anyone interested? Let me know! I could use 2, if they are also usable on a TEK4052. ( and if you are shipping outside US ) Jos Unfortunately the 4052 / 4054 are not supported. It's a bit slice (2901's) design which only emulates some of the 6800 instructions, but not all. The ROM packs are not compatible. The memory structure is different also. Bob -- Vintage computers and electronics www.dvq.com www.tekmuseum.com www.decmuseum.org
Testing bus transceivers
So, I have bought a number of DS8641 bus transceivers from a source in China, and cognizant of the claims that there are a lot of counterfeits coming from China, how can I test them to make sure the meet specs? I have a QBUS test board which I have constructed (it's basically just a single read/write register), so I can verify their _basic_ functionality; but the UNIBUS/QBUS specs give a number of analog qualifications, and it's those I'd like to check. Some of them I can figure out how to test, although a couple of them would seem to need special test rigs, e.g. input high threshold of 2.5V and low threshold of 1.4V, but I _think_ I can work out how to test those - a board with a pot on it, so I can vary the input voltage, and see where the output switches. (I'm not necessarily going to test every last chip, but I'd like to do random samples.) However, there are others of which I'm not at all clear how to test, e.g. output high leakage current of 25 uA. How would I test that? (And replies of the form 'use such and such an approach' probably aren't detailed enough for me - my analog-fu is pretty weak - so details would be most greatly appreciated! ;-) Noel
Re: To-days Panelman Poser
Thank you Peter I'll follow it up rod On 16/11/15 09:29, Peter Coghlan wrote: rod wrote: Hi Guys! I am the happy owner of a DEC 3000 in other words an Alpha. It is fully working and boots VMS and goes into DEC windows just as it should. Its running a high res 23" colour monitor in RGB As you all are aware I spend my time recreating PDP front panels. (Hopefully the example panel will arrive to-day and I can release the current batch to screening. ) Anyway I thought it would be nice to at least get some pictures up on the Alpha and maybe do a little panel design on it. If you are asking why would I want to do that. Then I might suggest you may not be on the right list. So there you have it; picture display (gif, tif and so on) and a bit of cad on my Alpha (mono is fine.) What do I need and where do I get it? John Bradley's XV is great for viewing lots of types of images and fiddling with your DECWindows background. It can also be used for image editing but you probably want something more that this for designing panels. ftp://ftp.cis.upenn.edu/pub/xv/ http://www-pi.physics.uiowa.edu/~dyson/xv/ ftp://ftp.digiater.nl/openvms/decus/vmslt98b/moreau/xv-310a2-vms.zip As far as I remember, it's a bit of a chore to build it, however, there may be executables available on some of the VMS freeware CDs. Look for one with PNG support as this was the last to be added. If you can't find any, I can send you one if you are happy enough to trust me. Another possibility is to use the SWB web browser to view images but this is a bit of a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Regards, Peter Coghlan.
Re: Testing bus transceivers
On 11/16/15 8:21 AM, Noel Chiappa wrote: So, I have bought a number of DS8641 bus transceivers from a source in China, and cognizant of the claims that there are a lot of counterfeits coming from China, how can I test them to make sure the meet specs? I have a QBUS test board which I have constructed (it's basically just a single read/write register), so I can verify their _basic_ functionality; but the UNIBUS/QBUS specs give a number of analog qualifications, and it's those I'd like to check. Some of them I can figure out how to test, although a couple of them would seem to need special test rigs, e.g. input high threshold of 2.5V and low threshold of 1.4V, but I _think_ I can work out how to test those - a board with a pot on it, so I can vary the input voltage, and see where the output switches. (I'm not necessarily going to test every last chip, but I'd like to do random samples.) However, there are others of which I'm not at all clear how to test, e.g. output high leakage current of 25 uA. How would I test that? (And replies of the form 'use such and such an approach' probably aren't detailed enough for me - my analog-fu is pretty weak - so details would be most greatly appreciated! ;-) A number of data books have circuits that were used to measure the parameters (including rise/fall times) so you might want to look at some of them (substituting values for the 8641 vs the part in the data book). They all look to be about the same as far as testing goes (except for parameters obviously). Just look for parts that are as similar as possible in terms of input/output configurations (ie don't use a test configuration that was spec'd for totem poll outputs vs open collector, etc). TTFN - Guy
Re: Testing bus transceivers
Do you have any sort of precision, regulated, adjustable lab bench power supply that you could use to vary input voltage? If not, using a potentiometer as you mentioned would also work. Also, how many of these did you buy? If it's something like a dozen, manual testing will be practical. If it's something like a hundred, then automating the testing might be a good idea, and a fun project all by itself if that sort of thing interests you. -- Mark J. Blair, NF6X http://www.nf6x.net/
VCF East: April 15-17, 2016
VCF East XI (yeah, I'm using Roman numerals for now) is April 15-17, 2016, as usual at the InfoAge Science Center in Wall, New Jersey. Friday's schedule will be classes and some kind of software hackathon. Details to be determined. Saturday/Sunday will have morning keynotes followed by the usual fare: exhibit hall(s), consignment, museum tours, food, and so on. Saturday's keynoter is Stewart Chiefet of the old "Computer Chronicles" television show. :) Still working on a keynoter for Sunday. Web site is not yet live.
Nextstep: Visions in black
While copying some data from a bunch of Next HD's, i stumbled upon a snd file containing a song written for Steve Jobs, accompanied by guitar and handclaps from several people. Is this a known song? I was unable to find a better version on the web than the 8012hz sample I have here. -- Met vriendelijke Groet, Simon Claessen drukknop.nl
Re: Giving away collection of computers
Can you post your location to see if in driving distance. > On Nov 16, 2015, at 11:10 AM, "Jim Isbell, W5JAI" > wrote: > > This collection goes back to the first home computers, Sinclair, TRS80 > Model 1 and Model 2, CPM machines, Lobo, Commodore, several "portables" > (suitcase type), PET, one CPM/DOS switchable portable. "Stringy floppy" > (very rare) All are free, but the whole lot goes to ONE person. I want it > gone, not cherry picked. > > My intention was a computer museum, but no longer have the desire. >
Re: Giving away collection of computers
Between the CBM and CPM machines, this lot is exactly the stuff I'm into.. I'd gladly take the whole lot - don't suppose the OP is anywhere near St. Paul / Mpls? On Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 1:52 PM, Kurt K wrote: > Can you post your location to see if in driving distance. > > > On Nov 16, 2015, at 11:10 AM, "Jim Isbell, W5JAI" > wrote: > > > > This collection goes back to the first home computers, Sinclair, TRS80 > > Model 1 and Model 2, CPM machines, Lobo, Commodore, several "portables" > > (suitcase type), PET, one CPM/DOS switchable portable. "Stringy floppy" > > (very rare) All are free, but the whole lot goes to ONE person. I want > it > > gone, not cherry picked. > > > > My intention was a computer museum, but no longer have the desire. > > >
Re: Giving away collection of computers
> On Nov 16, 2015, at 11:52, Kurt K wrote: > > Can you post your location to see if in driving distance. > >> On Nov 16, 2015, at 11:10 AM, "Jim Isbell, W5JAI" >> wrote: If Jim's ham radio license date is up to date, then he's probably near Corpus Christi, TX. -- Mark J. Blair, NF6X http://www.nf6x.net/
RE: Giving away collection of computers
Mark Linimon wrote: > as always, location is helpful :-) He gave you everything you need to know: W5JAI Registration is online. Bill S.
Re: Giving away collection of computers
as always, location is helpful :-)
Re: Giving away collection of computers
huh? On Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 1:16 PM, Bill Sudbrink wrote: > Mark Linimon wrote: > > as always, location is helpful :-) > > He gave you everything you need to know: > > W5JAI > > Registration is online. > > Bill S. > >
Re: Giving away collection of computers
Only other ham radio operators tend to recognize ham radio callsigns and know how to look them up. > On Nov 16, 2015, at 15:44, Adrian Stoness wrote: > > huh? > > On Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 1:16 PM, Bill Sudbrink > wrote: > >> Mark Linimon wrote: >>> as always, location is helpful :-) >> >> He gave you everything you need to know: >> >> W5JAI >> >> Registration is online. >> >> Bill S. >> >>
Re: Giving away collection of computers
On 11/16/2015 4:57 PM, Mark J. Blair wrote: Only other ham radio operators tend to recognize ham radio callsigns and know how to look them up. Get rid of computers ... keep the radios :)
Re: Giving away collection of computers
With SDR one and the same these days. On 11/16/2015 5:07 PM, ben wrote: > On 11/16/2015 4:57 PM, Mark J. Blair wrote: >> Only other ham radio operators tend to recognize ham radio callsigns >> and know how to look them up. >> > Get rid of computers ... keep the radios :) > > -- 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: Giving away collection of computers
Guess you'll have to forgive those of us in the "Classicmp enthusiast" group that don't overlap into the "HAM operator" group. I for one had no idea that a member's location could be pinned-down (to within shipping zones?) using a HAM callsign. Not all of us share the same areas of interest and / or levels of knowledge. Don't make so many assumptions. On Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 6:34 PM, wulfman wrote: > With SDR one and the same these days. > > > On 11/16/2015 5:07 PM, ben wrote: > > On 11/16/2015 4:57 PM, Mark J. Blair wrote: > >> Only other ham radio operators tend to recognize ham radio callsigns > >> and know how to look them up. > >> > > Get rid of computers ... keep the radios :) > > > > > > > -- > 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: Giving away collection of computers
. . / . - - - . . - . . . On 11/16/2015 9:00 PM, drlegendre . wrote: Guess you'll have to forgive those of us in the "Classicmp enthusiast" group that don't overlap into the "HAM operator" group. I for one had no idea that a member's location could be pinned-down (to within shipping zones?) using a HAM callsign. Not all of us share the same areas of interest and / or levels of knowledge. Don't make so many assumptions. On Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 6:34 PM, wulfman wrote: With SDR one and the same these days. On 11/16/2015 5:07 PM, ben wrote: On 11/16/2015 4:57 PM, Mark J. Blair wrote: Only other ham radio operators tend to recognize ham radio callsigns and know how to look them up.
Re: Giving away collection of computers
now ur mocking us none radio peeps i should go take my cert i do tower work allot installing equipment would prolly help me with my jobinfact today i installed 3 120degree sectors lol On Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 8:17 PM, j...@cimmeri.com wrote: > > . . / . - - - . . - . . . > > > On 11/16/2015 9:00 PM, drlegendre . wrote: > >> Guess you'll have to forgive those of us in the "Classicmp enthusiast" >> group that don't overlap into the "HAM operator" group. >> >> I for one had no idea that a member's location could be pinned-down (to >> within shipping zones?) using a HAM callsign. Not all of us share the same >> areas of interest and / or levels of knowledge. >> >> Don't make so many assumptions. >> >> On Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 6:34 PM, wulfman wrote: >> >> With SDR one and the same these days. >>> >>> >>> On 11/16/2015 5:07 PM, ben wrote: >>> On 11/16/2015 4:57 PM, Mark J. Blair wrote: > Only other ham radio operators tend to recognize ham radio callsigns > and know how to look them up. > > >
Re: Giving away collection of computers
We did get a location and a good thread conversation. Sent from my iPhone > On Nov 16, 2015, at 10:21 PM, Adrian Stoness wrote: > > now ur mocking us none radio peeps > i should go take my cert i do tower work allot installing equipment would > prolly help me with my jobinfact today i installed 3 120degree sectors > lol > >> On Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 8:17 PM, j...@cimmeri.com wrote: >> >> >> . . / . - - - . . - . . . >> >> >>> On 11/16/2015 9:00 PM, drlegendre . wrote: >>> >>> Guess you'll have to forgive those of us in the "Classicmp enthusiast" >>> group that don't overlap into the "HAM operator" group. >>> >>> I for one had no idea that a member's location could be pinned-down (to >>> within shipping zones?) using a HAM callsign. Not all of us share the same >>> areas of interest and / or levels of knowledge. >>> >>> Don't make so many assumptions. >>> >>> On Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 6:34 PM, wulfman wrote: >>> >>> With SDR one and the same these days. > On 11/16/2015 5:07 PM, ben wrote: > >> On 11/16/2015 4:57 PM, Mark J. Blair wrote: >> >> Only other ham radio operators tend to recognize ham radio callsigns >> and know how to look them up. >
Re: Giving away collection of computers
it cant! the ham can move and keep the old call so all bets for location are off! Ed# In a message dated 11/16/2015 9:23:06 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, kur...@visi.com writes: We did get a location and a good thread conversation. Sent from my iPhone > On Nov 16, 2015, at 10:21 PM, Adrian Stoness wrote: > > now ur mocking us none radio peeps > i should go take my cert i do tower work allot installing equipment would > prolly help me with my jobinfact today i installed 3 120degree sectors > lol > >> On Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 8:17 PM, j...@cimmeri.com wrote: >> >> >> . . / . - - - . . - . . . >> >> >>> On 11/16/2015 9:00 PM, drlegendre . wrote: >>> >>> Guess you'll have to forgive those of us in the "Classicmp enthusiast" >>> group that don't overlap into the "HAM operator" group. >>> >>> I for one had no idea that a member's location could be pinned-down (to >>> within shipping zones?) using a HAM callsign. Not all of us share the same >>> areas of interest and / or levels of knowledge. >>> >>> Don't make so many assumptions. >>> >>> On Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 6:34 PM, wulfman wrote: >>> >>> With SDR one and the same these days. > On 11/16/2015 5:07 PM, ben wrote: > >> On 11/16/2015 4:57 PM, Mark J. Blair wrote: >> >> Only other ham radio operators tend to recognize ham radio callsigns >> and know how to look them up. >
Re: kinda odd LSI-11 machine?
link doesnt work On Sun, Nov 15, 2015 at 4:34 AM, Joseph Lang wrote: > Internal looks home brew. The case used to be something else. Don't know > what. > > Joe > > > On Nov 14, 2015, at 9:42 PM, "Jay West" wrote: > > > > Never saw one like this, but the chassis/cabinet doesn't look really > > homebrew to me > > > > https://post.craigslist.org/k/drQqW-KK5RG4d-7uD34-Xw/vi2lh?s=preview > > > > J > > > > >
QIC capstan
I got an HP 9000/340 with a 9144 QIC unit. The QIC capstan has softened without losing its shape, so I measured it with a gauge. How can I replace it? Thanks -- Vincenzo (aka Supervinx) --==ooOoo==-- My computer collection: http://www.supervinx.com/OnlineMuseum --==ooOoo==-- You can reach me at: www.supervinx.com www.facebook.com/supervinx http://www.youtube.com/user/supervinx http://www.myspace.com/supervinx
Re: QIC capstan
http://terrysrubberrollers.com/ Terry has rebuilt about a dozen rollers for me over the past 2 years. You'll need to remove the roller and send it in to him with a money order (he doesn't take checks or credit cards), but he'll do a fantastic job for about $40-50 per roller. Not cheap, but worth it if you really want to restore it so it works. On Tue, Nov 17, 2015 at 1:47 AM, supervinx wrote: > I got an HP 9000/340 with a 9144 QIC unit. > The QIC capstan has softened without losing its shape, so I measured it > with a gauge. > How can I replace it? > > Thanks > -- > Vincenzo (aka Supervinx) > > --==ooOoo==-- > My computer collection: > http://www.supervinx.com/OnlineMuseum > > --==ooOoo==-- > You can reach me at: > www.supervinx.com > www.facebook.com/supervinx > http://www.youtube.com/user/supervinx > http://www.myspace.com/supervinx > > -- Thanks, -AJ http://MicrotechM1.blogspot.com
RevEng CRC model on really really long messages of 4096 bytes
I've encountered a new challenge with the CRC now, it's from the data blocks written by the Kennedy 6450/6455 Tape Drive. The below message is to the creator of CRC_RevEng about this topic, but since several here have been so helpful to me on understanding CRCs (and Chuck, you referred me to CRC_RevEng), I thought I would put this out to this group as well. Again, I really appreciate the feedback! Thanks, -AJ On Tue, Nov 17, 2015 at 1:10 AM, Convergent MightyFrame < mightyfram...@gmail.com> wrote: > Greg, > > I am extremely impressed by the CRC_RevEng program you wrote. It is quite > amazing. I have a unique problem using it, and I was hoping you could help. > > Instead of trying to articulate all of the complexities in an email, I > recorded a YouTube video explaining my dilemma and demonstrating the > result. Please watch that here: > > https://youtu.be/nH-tfbvXYrI > > Please forgive me if I ramble on in the video, but I hope it effectively > describes the problem, and how I arrived at it. > > The web pages I reference in the video is my own, at: > > http://microtechm1.blogspot.com/2015/09/kennedy-6450-tape-drive-data-format.html#CRC > and > > http://mightyframe.blogspot.com/2015/08/qic-24-tape-data-block-format-decoding.html#CRC > > The long-data-block files I use as demonstration in the video are attached. > > I would be very appreciative if you could point me toward any available > work-arounds to this issue. > > -- > Thanks! > -AJ Palmgren > 515.460.6393 > http://MightyFrame.com > http://MicrotechM1.blogspot.com > > -- Thanks, -AJ http://MicrotechM1.blogspot.com
