Copyright act Section 108
IANAL, and this is way off topic, but needs to be put out as there are a lot of ears here that depend on Bitsavers, and probably some of the other Museums. The Copyright office seems to be unhinged with an unrelated matter I won't post here (email me off list if you don't know about it), and is looking at things with a bad eye towards messing things up. This is the Section 108, which probably protects libraries and archives who have the need to allow copies of works made. Bitsavers has a slight off center of that charter in that they collect stuff in a different way than libraries do, but once collected it probably enjoys the protection of this part of the Copyright act. Almost everyone sounds like they are puzzled why it needs messing with, and probably does not. But we should be alert that collateral damage from some idiotic revision doesn't include Bitsavers, Boatanchor, or countless others. Manx? Thanks Jim https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160729/23591535111/copyright-office-intent-changing-part-copyright-that-protects-libraries-archives-even-though-no-one-wants-it-changed.shtml
Re: Concurrent Computer Corporation
On Sat, Jul 30, 2016 at 11:54:03AM -0700, Pete Lancashire wrote: > Remove the part and set it in a device programmer ? Well yes :) In theory it's simple. In practice, we'll see. I suppose I must figure out what the device is, how to program it, find out which adress to write to, figure out what to write. I've never done it before either, it will be fun. /P > > On Sat, Jul 30, 2016 at 11:35 AM, Pontus Pihlgren > wrote: > > > On Sat, Jul 30, 2016 at 01:58:49PM -0400, alexmcwhir...@triadic.us wrote: > > > I know nothing about this machine in particular, but i know a decent > > amount > > > about other unix machines of the era. Chances are that the copy of RTU on > > > that box is licensed to the serial / id number programmed in nvram. > > Because > > > the nvram is dead, those numbers no longer match and the OS panics from > > an > > > invalid license. > > > > I think you may very well be right. I noticed that the "show" command in > > the console displays the serial number. I went back and compared it with > > the serial number printed on the back of the machine. Well, it doesn't > > match one bit. So.. I either need to figure out to reprogram the NVRAM > > (simply set serial_number doesn't work and the manual lists the > > environment variable as "permanent") or I suppose I could figure out > > where on disk the serial number is.. but it doesn't sound easy. > > > > > The TOD clock typically part of the nvram chip and loses > > > it's value after every reset. If i had to guess, i would say replace the > > > battery / nvram chip (if it's a self contained chip like the old sun > > boxes) > > > and see if you can get enough data together to reprogram it. Whether or > > not > > > the machine in question has a facility to do that like the old sun's do > > i am > > > not sure. > > > > I've battled the NVRAM death and corresponding TOD problems in SGI, SUN > > and DEC machines before but only succeded because the "set" > > functionality of the console was enough... this time I'm not so sure. > > > > /P > > > >
Re: VCF West tickets
On Sun, Jul 31, 2016 at 09:21:40PM -0400, Evan Koblentz wrote: > >If the festival continues on in the future you guys may > >seriously want to consider better coordination (e.g. CHM has exhibits open > >on both Saturday and Sunday). > > VCF West is definitely back to stay. You're right, we need to improve some > things for next year. We already had a long list before this ticket > confusion arose. I promise this year's show will be awesome, and next year's > will be awesome-r. Music to my ears :) I was afraid that I was missing out on a one time thing. VCF and CHM are high on my list on things to visit, not this year though. /P
Re: Bill Gates: Windows 95 Was 'A High Point'
> > hey! the start it up > song sold me! > it sure was a production eh? > At the time, I wondered about the wisdom of using a song containing lines like: "You make a grown man cry" to market a product to the masses. It appears I may have been overthinking it. Regards, Peter Coghlan.
Re: Bill Gates: Windows 95 Was 'A High Point'
On Tue, Aug 02, 2016 at 10:42:30AM +0100, Peter Coghlan wrote: > > > > hey! the start it up > > song sold me! > > it sure was a production eh? > > > > At the time, I wondered about the wisdom of using a song containing lines > like: > > "You make a grown man cry" > > to market a product to the masses. It appears I may have been overthinking > it. > At the time I could never figure out if the song was a joke or not. /P
Re: Is MS-DOS, PC DOS and DR-DOS vintage enough to count?
On Tue, Aug 2, 2016 at 10:06 AM, Noel Chiappa wrote: > > From: Chuck Guzis > > > I routinely use Win98SE for my DOS tasks--it boots into DOS quite > > nicely if you edit the MSDOS.SYS file to say BootGUI=0. > > That's considerably more elegant than the way I use, to get my 98SE boxes > to > boot into DOS to start with (which I prefer, in case I want to do anything > that requires Windows not to be running, e.g. disk repairs); I just > re-named > 'WIN.COM' to 'LOSE.COM'. So I get an error message grumbling that it can't > find WIN.COM, and then it falls into DOS. > > Of course, my way, I do get the ineffable pleasure of saying "LOSE" to > start > Windows, every time I boot the machines. Never gets old. > > Noel > I built a dual-boot Win 2000 / DOS 6 Pentium III box, gives me the choice which OS to boot to upon boot. My A drive is a 5 1/4" drive, B drive is a 8 in drive. I like WIn 2000 a lot better than Win 98. There are still tentacles to modernity with 2000 a good bridge system. -- @ BillDeg
Re: Is MS-DOS, PC DOS and DR-DOS vintage enough to count?
> From: Chuck Guzis > I routinely use Win98SE for my DOS tasks--it boots into DOS quite > nicely if you edit the MSDOS.SYS file to say BootGUI=0. That's considerably more elegant than the way I use, to get my 98SE boxes to boot into DOS to start with (which I prefer, in case I want to do anything that requires Windows not to be running, e.g. disk repairs); I just re-named 'WIN.COM' to 'LOSE.COM'. So I get an error message grumbling that it can't find WIN.COM, and then it falls into DOS. Of course, my way, I do get the ineffable pleasure of saying "LOSE" to start Windows, every time I boot the machines. Never gets old. Noel
Re: Is MS-DOS, PC DOS and DR-DOS vintage enough to count?
> > Exactly! This! > > All versions of W9x run in 386 protected mode, with DOS sessions in > the 386's Virtual 8086 mode. > > There was no difference that I'm aware of between them. > > Between WfWg 3.11 and 9x, yes. Between 9x and NT, yes. But 95/98/ME, no, > TTBOMK. > > If there _was_ some difference, [a] it was lept _very_ quiet, and [b], > I want to know! > > I wrote at some length about these differences at: https://youngmumpster.wordpress.com/2013/10/13/windows-multitasking-a-historical-aside/ a few years ago.
Re: LASERS! && Freemont Street LED array (was Re: Cray J932SE (was Re: Straight 8 up on Ebay just now))
No, Brad was not the founder of NewTek. He did do early designs of the Toaster. - John Derp! Checked, he built the first Video Toaster but not the company. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Carvey Thanks for the correction! -- Ethan O'Toole
FTGH: RL01 pack
So I have an RL01 pack, and no RL01 drives. Free to someone who can make use of it. (Note: it's missing its protective bottom cover.) If you have something I can use, to send the other way, so much the better! ;-) Noel
Re: Pictures per previous post
So, the full story: I was chatting and mentioned that I thought it would be great to get a Multiflow like I used back in college. Lo and behold, someone saw one listed on eBay, so I immediately hit "Buy it now" when I saw the poster saying "the next stop for this is the scrap yard." I'm in New York, but the thing is in Austin, so I had to go to Austin. Talked to the seller, who told me she had a storage unit of other old computers. So, I flew down to move the Multiflow and looked at her other computers. There were a bunch, as you've seen in the pictures. There were also manuals and 5.25" disks for quite a few old pieces of software including Microsoft Word, Great Plains, Peachtree, etc. There were several few portable PCs including a Compaq luggable and a Panasonic that makes the Compaq look small. There were a ton of old printing calculators. There were other interesting things like the Evans & Sutherland Freedom 1000 with Am-something CPUs, a Sun Graphics Tower, the 2x PC RTs, the Motorola "MicroPersonal Computer," a bunch of boards for something that was labeled "Ametek," and of course the aforementioned things that I brought back with me to New York. I posted the seller's e-mail, so if anyone wants anything else, please contact her. My goal in taking the things home was to save them for people who care about this stuff. I personally want to revive the TI Explorer II, HP 85 and the C64 (never had one in an earlier age), and I brought the rest for others I know (some on this list) who were interested in some of the pieces like the 3b2 and the Blit. The seller wasn't willing to ship, but I was out of space in both the car and the plane, so that was that. Hope others can get some things they would like to save from the seller too. Cheers, Doug > On Aug 1, 2016, at 9:31 PM, Mike Ross wrote: > > Just to clarify did you 'rescue' these hoping to find good homes for > them later - or to keep for yourself? > > If the former I would definitely be interested in the TI Explorer - and the > RT. > > Mike > > On Tue, Aug 2, 2016 at 10:23 AM, Doug Fields wrote: >> I took these things home with me: >> >> TI Explorer II >> AT&T 3b2-1000-70 & BLIT monitor >> Commodore 64 + disk drive >> HP 85 (non-B, I think) >> Bunch of NeXT manuals and PowerPC 601/603/604 manuals >> >> Cheers, >> >> Doug >> >>> On Aug 1, 2016, at 6:05 PM, Glen Slick wrote: >>> >>> On Aug 1, 2016 2:57 PM, "Doug Fields" wrote: Apparently the list strips HTML out, which I didn't know. https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0ZGWZuqDGXYWQL < >>> https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0ZGWZuqDGXYWQL> Try that? Cheers, Doug >>> >>> TI Explorer II - someone is probably interested in that one. >>> >> > > > > -- > > http://www.corestore.org > 'No greater love hath a man than he lay down his life for his brother. > Not for millions, not for glory, not for fame. > For one person, in the dark, where no one will ever know or see.' >
Re: HP 2100A Restoration
On Mon, Aug 1, 2016 at 10:25 PM, Lyle Bickley wrote: > On Mon, 1 Aug 2016 22:11:17 -0700 > Bob Rosenbloom wrote: > > --snip-- > >> There's a bunch of small electrolytic capacitors on the Inhibit >> Driver Load Card, A106, that needed to be reformed before my memory >> would work reliably. > >> They reformed themselves in one of my units. I had memory errors for >> an hour or so then they went away. On other units, I reformed the >> caps (took the board > >> out and slowly brought it up on a bench supply), and had no memory >> errors at first power up of the system. >> >> Bob > > I had exactly the same problem with the capacitors on a spare Inhibit > Driver Load Card. Most would not reform so I just replaced them with > modern caps. The board (and memory) worked perfectly after that. > > Lyle That is good information to know. I have a 2100A that I haven't touched in a while. It had memory issues that I never got around to trying to debug. Next time I work on it I'll look at the IDL card.
Re: HP 2100A Restoration
Back in the day we were running and selling 2000 gear in the 80's never had a bad power supply. one fan died in our 2000 F/ access system and rather than tear it down to replace the fan just bolted a mother of a fan to the back of the processor over the space the dead fan was. Like the story of the shoemakers kids that never got new shoes as the shoemaker was busy helping everyone else this poor processor to this very day still has that fan on the back of the processor.. Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org) In a message dated 8/2/2016 9:42:19 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, glen.sl...@gmail.com writes: On Mon, Aug 1, 2016 at 10:25 PM, Lyle Bickley wrote: > On Mon, 1 Aug 2016 22:11:17 -0700 > Bob Rosenbloom wrote: > > --snip-- > >> There's a bunch of small electrolytic capacitors on the Inhibit >> Driver Load Card, A106, that needed to be reformed before my memory >> would work reliably. > >> They reformed themselves in one of my units. I had memory errors for >> an hour or so then they went away. On other units, I reformed the >> caps (took the board > >> out and slowly brought it up on a bench supply), and had no memory >> errors at first power up of the system. >> >> Bob > > I had exactly the same problem with the capacitors on a spare Inhibit > Driver Load Card. Most would not reform so I just replaced them with > modern caps. The board (and memory) worked perfectly after that. > > Lyle That is good information to know. I have a 2100A that I haven't touched in a while. It had memory issues that I never got around to trying to debug. Next time I work on it I'll look at the IDL card.
Re: Pictures per previous post
As a postscript, I was going to try to meet up with Doug and trade war stories, but I had just gotten back from a 5-week road trip a few days earlier and was glued to the couch. But next time, if anyone on the list is coming through Austin please let me know. About all I can pick up and move around by myself is a 2U though :-) Now, 16-ounce lifts, I *can* do. (And these days I have time to fool around with this stuff more as I just retired.) mcl
Re: Pictures per previous post
On Tue, Aug 02, 2016 at 03:36:44PM -0500, Mark Linimon wrote: > (And these days I have time to fool around with this stuff more as I > just retired.) Which means I owe a couple of people on this list responses to earlier email, too. mcl
RX02 Debugging
I’m a noob using RX02’s but thought I’d run this past people that may have debugged them in the past and see if they agree with what I’m finding: I’m trying to get a RX02 + RX211 + 11/44 going. The RX02 appears to power up OK (fan and motor spinning). I verified I have the DY boot rom in the 44. Attempt booting from the console: >>>b dy S 1707 173436 Which halts in the DY boot rom. I look at the base RX211 register: >>>e 1170 1170 104040 From the manual this like the controller is present but the high order bit is set indicating an error Looking at the status register; >>>e 1172 1172 10 Bit 3 == RX AC LO - This bit is set by the interface to indicate a power failure in the RX02 sub- system. So start looking at the RX02 power supply?
Re: HP 2100A Restoration
Alright, thanks for all the helpful tips and information. I guess what I'll do when disassembling it is note down every electrolytic, and probably just throw them all into a Digikey order that I'm working on for other repairs. Probably will give reforming a try if it seems practical, but I assume on the power supply that's going to mean desoldering one leg on each cap. At that point it's probably better to just replace the cap. My only worry would be obsolete/oddball cap values that I'd have to inspect the circuit to see what replacement I can use, eg. 290uF and 250uF caps. On another note, has anyone ever tried making their own I/O boards for any of the 2100 series computers? The closest I found was http://newton.freehostia.com/hp/ where he makes a paper tape emulator and disk interface. However both of those are designed to connect to an existing I/O board like the "microcircuit interface". I haven't seen anything yet on how to interface to the I/O bus, but then again there are thousands of pages of manuals still to browse through. On Tue, Aug 2, 2016 at 10:42 AM, Glen Slick wrote: > On Mon, Aug 1, 2016 at 10:25 PM, Lyle Bickley > wrote: > > On Mon, 1 Aug 2016 22:11:17 -0700 > > Bob Rosenbloom wrote: > > > > --snip-- > > > >> There's a bunch of small electrolytic capacitors on the Inhibit > >> Driver Load Card, A106, that needed to be reformed before my memory > >> would work reliably. > > > >> They reformed themselves in one of my units. I had memory errors for > >> an hour or so then they went away. On other units, I reformed the > >> caps (took the board > > > >> out and slowly brought it up on a bench supply), and had no memory > >> errors at first power up of the system. > >> > >> Bob > > > > I had exactly the same problem with the capacitors on a spare Inhibit > > Driver Load Card. Most would not reform so I just replaced them with > > modern caps. The board (and memory) worked perfectly after that. > > > > Lyle > > That is good information to know. I have a 2100A that I haven't > touched in a while. It had memory issues that I never got around to > trying to debug. Next time I work on it I'll look at the IDL card. >
RE: HP 2100A Restoration
There is an HP book specifically on I/O interfacing to the 2100 (and 21MX) I/O bus. I think there's also an abbreviated chapter on it in a different manual. I'll see if I can dig up the name and if it's online anywhere. I've restored at least five 2100's, and run a dual cpu 2100A & 2100S system regularly. I have never heard of nor seen a power supply failure on any of them. The power supply always came up with little or no pot adjustment, and nothing else required. I'd be surprised if your PS needed any attention unless they were under water. Debugging the memory section is a far different matter. It's far *far* easier to troubleshoot if you have a known working set. If not, it's very easy for boards to test ok and then later fail and then later test ok (bad upper section of a 16K driver, etc.). J
RE: HP 2100A Restoration
> -Oorspronkelijk bericht- > Van: cctalk [mailto:cctalk-boun...@classiccmp.org] Namens Jay West > Verzonden: dinsdag 2 augustus 2016 23:24 > Aan: 'General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts' > Onderwerp: RE: HP 2100A Restoration > > > There is an HP book specifically on I/O interfacing to the 2100 (and 21MX) I/O > bus. I think there's also an abbreviated chapter on it in a different manual. > I'll see > if I can dig up the name and if it's online anywhere. > > I've restored at least five 2100's, and run a dual cpu 2100A & 2100S system > regularly. I have never heard of nor seen a power supply failure on any of > them. > The power supply always came up with little or no pot adjustment, and nothing > else required. I'd be surprised if your PS needed any attention unless they > were > under water. > > Debugging the memory section is a far different matter. It's far *far* easier > to > troubleshoot if you have a known working set. If not, it's very easy for > boards to > test ok and then later fail and then later test ok (bad upper section of a 16K > driver, etc.). > > J About power supply failures mine did have one, when under power after a few minutes there was a loud bang and the system resets. Which would be repeated every few minutes, some investigating and measurement later I discovered one of the high voltage elco's shorted every few minutes. Which started the power on cycle and resets the cpu. After replacing those all voltages were stable and in range and the banging was over ;) After some testing I concluded there were some faults in the cpu, being the lucky owner of an extender board I was able to fix all the errors. The HP 2100 service manual and hardware course and engineering reference are a big help fixing the 2100 and as J says a set of known good cards can be of help too. But knowledge of the working of the micro instructions is also a big help, IRC the micro instructions are described in both the engineering reference and the service manual both can be found on bitsavers. The only weak point of the 2100 is the use of uCTL a Fiarchild DTL derivate used for IO drivers in the 2100 series. Brent Hilpert has a lot of info on his site about those gates. -Rik
Re: Midwest Scientific Instruments 6800
On Monday (08/01/2016 at 08:24PM -0700), Brad H wrote: > > > Thanks Chris.. yes I think you are correct. Here is a photo of it: > http://s1381.photobucket.com/user/unclefalter/media/20160520_194139_zpswkjgwf17.jpg.html Yup. PERCOM LFD-400. Two of the EPROMs on there make up their little "DOS". It's pretty crude in the modern sense in that you deal with everything by tracks and sectors and the MINIDOS+ extension in the second PROM adds simple named files but otherwise you are just saving and loading memory images to tracks and sectors on a floppy. Nothing handles recovery of deleted space or allows for non-contiguous blocks within a file. They were just getting started with floppies around 1977 when that board was first available. The entry point to this DOS was usually at $C000. So, if you can figure out how to get your monitor to jump to an address, that's where you'd want to go to get the DOS executing. I don't know what the third PROM would be for on your board. It might be driver extensions/support for another operating system or could be really anything. In my system, I put a Diablo daisy wheel printer driver into that third PROM. The PROMs are at $C000, $C400 and $C800. With MIKBUG monitor, to jump to $C000, you would put that address into RAM locations $A048 and $A049. $A048=$C0, $A049=$00 and then use the "G" function to GO to that address. With SWTBUG, the "Z" function jumped to $C000 directly. Maybe your WEEBUG has "G" or "Z"?? With both MIKBUG and SWTBUG, you could examine and change memory with "M", *M A048 A048 C0 A049 00 A04A 55 * > This is the CPU board. I'm wondering why it has four EPROMs, and what the > two unmarked do. This is where I wish there were a manual.. or even a good > pic of an untouched original board to compare. > http://s1381.photobucket.com/user/unclefalter/media/20160520_194018_zps8odxjmid.jpg.html > I'd just settle for being able to fool around in the monitor. But I think > this monitor is called WEEBUG because it's very stripped down. Yes. I haven't heard of WEEBUG until your posting. And see nothing after some web searching other than this old post, http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=732&st=1 Where a guy named "Dana Peterson (Arizon)" says he was the designer of the MSI 6800. Maybe he can be tracked down? Good luck. It's a nice system. Chris > Original message > From: Chris Elmquist > Date: 2016-08-01 8:14 PM (GMT-08:00) > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" > , Brad H > Subject: Re: Midwest Scientific Instruments 6800 > > I have all kinds of SWTPC 6800 stuff here and I think I recognize your floppy > controller as a PERCOM LFD-400 board. These are somewhat unique because they > are built around a sync USART (S2650) and use 10-hole hard-sector floppy > media (just like Heath H17 and Northstar systems). > > Can you see any PERCOM logo on the floppy controller board? > > Are there two 2708 EPROM on that board? > > Chris > > > > > > On August 1, 2016 12:32:49 PM CDT, Brad H > wrote: > >Just thought I'd send out another shout out to anyone who might have > >one of these or is familiar with them. I've had this a while but have > >not really been able to use it, lacking a boot disk. It also doesn't > >have the standard MSIBUG ROM. I'm hoping maybe someone out there knows > >how I could procure the original ROMs and put this back to stock. > >I made a video showing the current 'WEEBUG' ROM in case any are curious > >or someone out there knows about it. > >Thanks! > >https://youtu.be/LY7yoAVxSrM > > > > > > > >Sent from my Samsung device > > -- > Chris Elmquist -- Chris Elmquist
Re: RX02 Debugging
> On Aug 2, 2016, at 4:06 PM, Kirk Davis wrote: > > I’m a noob using RX02’s but thought I’d run this past people that may have > debugged them in the past and see if they agree with what I’m finding: > > I’m trying to get a RX02 + RX211 + 11/44 going. The RX02 appears to power up > OK (fan and motor spinning). I verified I have the DY boot rom in the 44. > Attempt booting from the console: > b dy > > S > 1707 173436 > > Which halts in the DY boot rom. I look at the base RX211 register: > e 1170 > 1170 104040 > > From the manual this like the controller is present but the high order bit is > set indicating an error > > Looking at the status register; > e 1172 > 1172 10 > > Bit 3 == RX AC LO - This bit is set by the interface to indicate a power > failure in the RX02 sub- system. > > So start looking at the RX02 power supply? > If you haven’t already, check the cable seating, orientation and for bent pins. On the RX211 board J1 - TT is the location of the AC LO - Active Low signal. Jerry
Re: RX02 Debugging
Hi KIrk, The H771 is a rock solid power supply. I never saw one go bad while in field service, but they are getting old. Checking the output voltage and ripple is not a bad idea. forgive me for asking, but where are you located? The RX02 had 4 different power hanesses for i20, 220, 50 hz and 60 hz. Also different belts amd pulleys. if any of this is wrong you cn see weird problems. A lot of RX02s and replacement drives were soul through brokers who never asked or were never told where the unit was going. if you aren'y useing 120/60 that would be my first thought. Is the problem the same when booting off either drive? Also check the switches and the resistors on the head cables. Good luck, Paul On Tue, Aug 2, 2016 at 4:06 PM, Kirk Davis wrote: > I’m a noob using RX02’s but thought I’d run this past people that may have > debugged them in the past and see if they agree with what I’m finding: > > I’m trying to get a RX02 + RX211 + 11/44 going. The RX02 appears to power > up OK (fan and motor spinning). I verified I have the DY boot rom in the > 44. Attempt booting from the console: > > >>>b dy > > S > 1707 173436 > > Which halts in the DY boot rom. I look at the base RX211 register: > > >>>e 1170 > 1170 104040 > > From the manual this like the controller is present but the high order bit > is set indicating an error > > Looking at the status register; > > >>>e 1172 > 1172 10 > > Bit 3 == RX AC LO - This bit is set by the interface to indicate a power > failure in the RX02 sub- system. > > So start looking at the RX02 power supply? > > >
Re: HP 2100A Restoration
Well I'm hoping for the memory section that I can find at least one of the 4 core boards that works right away. I've got an 8k driver board I can swap it so I could run the system on only a single core board if needed. I'd probably write a short program to do a bunch of memory writes, reads, and such to exercise it for a few hours or such. The power supply going bang is one of my worries. I've got an old 80s logic analyzer with power supply issues, while testing got a big spark by one of the huge filter caps in it and it put me off working on it for a long while XD. It would have been quite nice if there was no CTuL logic in the system, when repairing my Altair if I find a dead logic chip I can still buy modern compatible replacements. If one of these die, I'd probably have to build a circuit out of discrete transistors on an ugly protoboard. On Tue, Aug 2, 2016 at 3:46 PM, Rik Bos wrote: > > > > -Oorspronkelijk bericht- > > Van: cctalk [mailto:cctalk-boun...@classiccmp.org] Namens Jay West > > Verzonden: dinsdag 2 augustus 2016 23:24 > > Aan: 'General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts' > > Onderwerp: RE: HP 2100A Restoration > > > > > > There is an HP book specifically on I/O interfacing to the 2100 (and > 21MX) I/O > > bus. I think there's also an abbreviated chapter on it in a different > manual. I'll see > > if I can dig up the name and if it's online anywhere. > > > > I've restored at least five 2100's, and run a dual cpu 2100A & 2100S > system > > regularly. I have never heard of nor seen a power supply failure on any > of them. > > The power supply always came up with little or no pot adjustment, and > nothing > > else required. I'd be surprised if your PS needed any attention unless > they were > > under water. > > > > Debugging the memory section is a far different matter. It's far *far* > easier to > > troubleshoot if you have a known working set. If not, it's very easy for > boards to > > test ok and then later fail and then later test ok (bad upper section of > a 16K > > driver, etc.). > > > > J > > About power supply failures mine did have one, when under power after a > few minutes there was a loud bang and the system resets. > Which would be repeated every few minutes, some investigating and > measurement later I discovered one of the high voltage elco's shorted every > few minutes. > Which started the power on cycle and resets the cpu. > After replacing those all voltages were stable and in range and the > banging was over ;) > > After some testing I concluded there were some faults in the cpu, being > the lucky owner of an extender board I was able to fix all the errors. > The HP 2100 service manual and hardware course and engineering reference > are a big help fixing the 2100 and as J says a set of known good cards can > be of help too. > But knowledge of the working of the micro instructions is also a big help, > IRC the micro instructions are described in both the engineering reference > and the service manual both can be found on bitsavers. > > The only weak point of the 2100 is the use of uCTL a Fiarchild DTL > derivate used for IO drivers in the 2100 series. > Brent Hilpert has a lot of info on his site about those gates. > > -Rik > >
Re: HP 2100A Restoration
On Aug 2, 2016 3:55 PM, "Hayden Kroepfl" wrote: > > Well I'm hoping for the memory section that I can find at least one of the > 4 core boards that works right away. I've got an 8k driver board I can swap > it so I could run the system on only a single core board if needed. I'd > probably write a short program to do a bunch of memory writes, reads, and > such to exercise it for a few hours or such. > Isn't there a looping memory test capability built in through the front panel? Maybe you have to flip a switch or something to enable that. I'd have to look at the manual to remind myself.
Irix 5.3 drivers
I realise this is a bit of a long shot, but does anyone have the driver CD "GIO Fast Ethernet 1.0 for Irix 5.3 and 2.0 for Irix 6.2", SGI part number 812-0576-001? This is the drivers for SGI's own Fast Ethernet card, not the Phobos/3Com ones. -- Pete Pete Turnbull
Transitional Technology SCSI controller
I have an S-Box Q-bus SCSI controller made by Transitional Technology, it is missing two socketed chips; the PROM and what I think is a static RAM chip, both 28 pins. Does anyone have the HEX file of the PROM? Does anyone know what the RAM chip is? I curious to take a shot and see if this thing works. The board doesn't have jumpers, is it hardwired to some CSR? Thanks. Doug
RE: HP 2100A Restoration
Glen wrote... -- Isn't there a looping memory test capability built in through the front panel? Maybe you have to flip a switch or something to enable that. I'd have to look at the manual to remind myself. -- My foggy memory is telling me the same thing as Glen mentions above. The 21MX (m/e/f) definitely has a built in microcoded memory test, but I don't recall 100% on the 2100. Hayden wrote - Well I'm hoping for the memory section that I can find at least one of the 4 core boards that works right away. I've got an 8k driver board I can swap it so I could run the system on only a single core board if needed. - That's the problem, what I was referring to earlier. You can't really test just a 4K board. Its been a long while since I had to pop the cover on a 2100 thus my recent brain memory is all 21MX stuff. But as I recall a minimal 2100 memory section is memory controller, ID, XYD, and core. You will be unlikely to tell which of the 4 is causing issues just with front panel tests. A typical program doing read/write/compare can fail with no indication which of the 4 boards is really the problem. Swapping is problematic if there are several bad boards. You can also run into a difficult to test situation if a 16K ID board is bad "at the top", meaning an 8K board tests ok, but the same board tests bad if it's at "the next 8K". Or if you add another 8K, determining if it's the 8K or the upper part of the 16K ID that's faulting. Troubleshooting the memory of a 2100 via boardswapping with no known good boards is ... irksome. Understatement of the year. One thing to keep aware of (this is sketchy, as it's very foggy memory)... I think there is a switch on the panel (under the cover I think) that lets you clear or set all memory INCLUDING the parity bit (memory is 17 bits on these). If you don't do this between memory tests - and you have some board that is not setting memory parity correctly for each word, you are really gonna be scratching your head. Once you get bad parity bit status, you have to wipe before retesting. One other thing I remember from working on the 2100's there was some setting - probably power supply voltages, or something with the memory section - that was temperature sensitive. You had to adjust some trimpot or the like based on the room temperature (+/- a window of course). J
Re: Transitional Technology SCSI controller
On Aug 2, 2016 4:31 PM, "Douglas Taylor" wrote: > > I have an S-Box Q-bus SCSI controller made by Transitional Technology, it is missing two socketed chips; the PROM and what I think is a static RAM chip, both 28 pins. Does anyone have the HEX file of the PROM? Does anyone know what the RAM chip is? I curious to take a shot and see if this thing works. > > The board doesn't have jumpers, is it hardwired to some CSR? Thanks. > > Doug > I have a TTi QTS-30 which is TMSCP tape only. No MSCP disk support. If there are no jumpers (I don't have it front of me to check at the moment) then it must be soft configurable through the 10-pin serial port interface. Post a picture of your board or send me one direct and I'll see if it looks the same as my board. If it is I can dump the EPROM firmware in mine for you. Maybe two EPROMs for 16-bit wide firmware.
Re: HP 2100A Restoration
I've also got two additional boards in a bag that I haven't taken out yet https://goo.gl/photos/D4quXT992Y6huQoAA . They're in there quite tightly, but I did take a peek at some of the chips that I could see from the edge. Couldn't read the part number, but they were Intel chips and almost looked to me like they were early static ram. If they are I know it might not help with testing the memory but might help with making sure the CPU works first. Not sure which slot though they'd install to even if they were, I'd presume the white slots. For the memory test I don't see any (visible) front panel switches that would indicate a memory test, the ones that I can see just look like they're for direct depositing into core. But I'll have to check the manual for that. On Tue, Aug 2, 2016 at 5:33 PM, Jay West wrote: > > Glen wrote... > -- > Isn't there a looping memory test capability built in through the front > panel? Maybe you have to flip a switch or something to enable that. I'd > have to look at the manual to remind myself. > -- > My foggy memory is telling me the same thing as Glen mentions above. The > 21MX (m/e/f) definitely has a built in microcoded memory test, but I don't > recall 100% on the 2100. > > Hayden wrote > - > Well I'm hoping for the memory section that I can find at least one of the > 4 core boards that works right away. I've got an 8k driver board I can > swap it so I could run the system on only a single core board if needed. > - > > That's the problem, what I was referring to earlier. You can't really test > just a 4K board. Its been a long while since I had to pop the cover on a > 2100 thus my recent brain memory is all 21MX stuff. But as I recall a > minimal 2100 memory section is memory controller, ID, XYD, and core. You > will be unlikely to tell which of the 4 is causing issues just with front > panel tests. A typical program doing read/write/compare can fail with no > indication which of the 4 boards is really the problem. Swapping is > problematic if there are several bad boards. You can also run into a > difficult to test situation if a 16K ID board is bad "at the top", meaning > an 8K board tests ok, but the same board tests bad if it's at "the next > 8K". Or if you add another 8K, determining if it's the 8K or the upper part > of the 16K ID that's faulting. > > Troubleshooting the memory of a 2100 via boardswapping with no known good > boards is ... irksome. Understatement of the year. > > One thing to keep aware of (this is sketchy, as it's very foggy memory)... > I think there is a switch on the panel (under the cover I think) that lets > you clear or set all memory INCLUDING the parity bit (memory is 17 bits on > these). If you don't do this between memory tests - and you have some board > that is not setting memory parity correctly for each word, you are really > gonna be scratching your head. Once you get bad parity bit status, you have > to wipe before retesting. > > One other thing I remember from working on the 2100's there was some > setting - probably power supply voltages, or something with the memory > section - that was temperature sensitive. You had to adjust some trimpot or > the like based on the room temperature (+/- a window of course). > > J > > >
Tek 4025 and 4017 Terminal option 31 kit to give away
I was rooting through the drawers in the shop looking for some torx screwdrivers and I found a Tek 4025 option 31 field upgrade kit part # 18-0124-00. This is complete in its original beat up box and useful only on a Tektronix 4025 or 4027 graphics terminal and there are none of those anywhere near here. Option 31 is a character set upgrade kit and has a printed circuit board, two character set ROMs, a DOS 5-1/4 floppy disk containing who know what, and a ribbon cable. And instructions. In the box, but unrelated, is an NIB key for a keyboard Tek part # 260-1924-00 and a used key cap (from a 4025?) labelled ERASE. Anybody want it for the postage? It should be fairly cheap to mail. -- Richard Loken VE6BSV, Systems Programmer - VMS : "...underneath those Athabasca University : tuques we wear, our Athabasca, Alberta Canada: heads are naked!" ** rllo...@telus.net ** :- Arthur Black
Re: Transitional Technology SCSI controller
On Aug 2, 2016 4:39 PM, "Glen Slick" wrote: > > On Aug 2, 2016 4:31 PM, "Douglas Taylor" wrote: > > > > I have an S-Box Q-bus SCSI controller made by Transitional Technology, it is missing two socketed chips; the PROM and what I think is a static RAM chip, both 28 pins. Does anyone have the HEX file of the PROM? Does anyone know what the RAM chip is? I curious to take a shot and see if this thing works. > > > > The board doesn't have jumpers, is it hardwired to some CSR? Thanks. > > > > Doug > > > > I have a TTi QTS-30 which is TMSCP tape only. No MSCP disk support. If there are no jumpers (I don't have it front of me to check at the moment) then it must be soft configurable through the 10-pin serial port interface. > > Post a picture of your board or send me one direct and I'll see if it looks the same as my board. If it is I can dump the EPROM firmware in mine for you. Maybe two EPROMs for 16-bit wide firmware. Responding to my own previous post. First, it is a TTi QTS-3, not QTS-30. The plain dual wide version without the S-Box handles is the QTS-1. Second, I can confirm that the CSR address is configured through the 10-pin serial port. Last, there is a single firmware EPROM. The other 28-pin socket is an 8KB SRAM. A Fujitsu 8464A on one of my boards and an Inmos IMS1630P on the other. Any standard 8KB SRAM of same or better speed (didn't check the speed grade) would likely be fine.
RE: HP 2100A Restoration
Hayden wrote - I've also got two additional boards in a bag that I haven't taken out yet https://goo.gl/photos/D4quXT992Y6huQoAA . They're in there quite tightly, but I did take a peek at some of the chips that I could see from the edge. Couldn't read the part number, but they were Intel chips and almost looked to me like they were early static ram. - I can't make anything out from that picture. One word of caution - HP intended the handles to be color coded to at least show what area they should plug in to on the 2100. Do not take that as absolute. I have seen first-hand where users replaced a broken handle with whatever color they had spare. Also, color coding on the 21MX (where I/O cards are interchangeable with the 2100) was not necessary and not always done. Moving those back to a 2100 could make you think the wrong thing if you follow handle color blindly. And -- If they are I know it might not help with testing the memory but might help with making sure the CPU works first. Not sure which slot though they'd install to even if they were, I'd presume the white slots. -- I am not super smart electronics wise, I'm a neophyte. But I can't comprehend any way that sram could be used in that card cage. Let me give strong clear warning do not plug any board into any slot unless you are 1000% sure that it is supposed to go there. You WILL let out the magic smoke. With very few exceptions, most of those slots are wired differently and expect certain things to be plugged in there. As I recall, the memory section "power in" pins carry enough current to create a permanent glitch. And - For the memory test I don't see any (visible) front panel switches that would indicate a memory test, the ones that I can see just look like they're for direct depositing into core. But I'll have to check the manual for that. - To see the switches I am referring to - you will have to take off the white bezel around the front panel. 4 hex head bolts, two on each side, about 1/2 inch back from the front. HOLD the bezel when you take out the screws so it doesn't fall. It's not going to break, but may break whatever it falls on. Also, pull it forward, and don't let it slide down (the wire wrapped "edge card" pins are at the top, you don't want the bezel to hit them). And again - as I recall the switches weren't specifically for a memory test. I think they were to assist in clearing memory. One of them may have made microcode singlestep... I think there were at least 2 and maybe 4 slide switches under the panel. See operators guide :) J
Re: Irix 5.3 drivers
> I realise this is a bit of a long shot, but does anyone have the driver
> CD "GIO Fast Ethernet 1.0 for Irix 5.3 and 2.0 for Irix 6.2", SGI part
> number 812-0576-001?
>
> This is the drivers for SGI's own Fast Ethernet card, not the
> Phobos/3Com ones.
I don't, but I bet someone on Nekochan does.
--
personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ --
Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com
-- select unique ("Just another SQL hacker") jash from id_rec order by 1; -
Re: Is MS-DOS, PC DOS and DR-DOS vintage enough to count?
> That's considerably more elegant than the way I use, to get my 98SE boxes to > boot into DOS to start with (which I prefer, in case I want to do anything > that requires Windows not to be running, e.g. disk repairs); I just re-named > 'WIN.COM' to 'LOSE.COM'. So I get an error message grumbling that it can't > find WIN.COM, and then it falls into DOS. > > Of course, my way, I do get the ineffable pleasure of saying "LOSE" to start > Windows, every time I boot the machines. Never gets old. > >Noel That's too funny! This is the best method by far! Marc
Re: RX02 Debugging
Thanks for the suggestions. I’m in Sunnyvale, CA. I actually got the rx02 from another hobbyist that used it with the 44 in 2008 so I suspect it is configured correctly. The other drive doesn’t have a belt so I’m unable to test with it. I’ve verified the cable direction. It’s a sweet 44 - super clean, runs great and is like a tank. One of the problems is I don’t know normal behavior of the drive. The motor is aways spinning for unit 0. When I try booting I don’t hear the heads load or seek. I’m new to the 44 monitor commands & boot process etc so I’m learning as I go. I’m also making one of these to help isolate if it’s a drive/cable/controller problem: http://www.torok.info/computing/pdp11/rx02/index.htm Kirk > On Aug 2, 2016, at 3:24 PM, Paul Anderson wrote: > > Hi KIrk, > > The H771 is a rock solid power supply. I never saw one go bad while in > field service, but they are getting old. Checking the output voltage and > ripple is not a bad idea. > > forgive me for asking, but where are you located? The RX02 had 4 different > power hanesses for i20, 220, 50 hz and 60 hz. Also different belts amd > pulleys. if any of this is wrong you cn see weird problems. A lot of RX02s > and replacement drives were soul through brokers who never asked or were > never told where the unit was going. if you aren'y useing 120/60 that > would be my first thought. > > Is the problem the same when booting off either drive? Also check the > switches and the resistors on the head cables. > > Good luck, Paul > Jerry Weiss wrote: > >If you haven’t already, check the cable seating, orientation and for bent >pins. > On the RX211 board J1 - TT is the location of the AC LO - Active Low signal. > > On Tue, Aug 2, 2016 at 4:06 PM, Kirk Davis wrote: > >> I’m a noob using RX02’s but thought I’d run this past people that may have >> debugged them in the past and see if they agree with what I’m finding: >> >> I’m trying to get a RX02 + RX211 + 11/44 going. The RX02 appears to power >> up OK (fan and motor spinning). I verified I have the DY boot rom in the >> 44. Attempt booting from the console: >> > b dy >> >> S >> 1707 173436 >> >> Which halts in the DY boot rom. I look at the base RX211 register: >> > e 1170 >> 1170 104040 >> >> From the manual this like the controller is present but the high order bit >> is set indicating an error >> >> Looking at the status register; >> > e 1172 >> 1172 10 >> >> Bit 3 == RX AC LO - This bit is set by the interface to indicate a power >> failure in the RX02 sub- system. >> >> So start looking at the RX02 power supply? >> >> >>
Re: PDP-8 _Introduction_to_Programming_ & _Programming_Languages_(Scanned) Covers Needed
On Tue, Aug 2, 2016 at 8:20 PM, Bob Vines wrote: > Does anyone have DEC's PDP-8 _Introduction_to_Programming_, Editions 3 > and/or 4 and/or the PDP-8 _Programming_Languages_ handbooks? > > If you're not willing to part with your copy, could you scan the front > covers of these handbooks and tell me which Edition(s) they are from? I'm > especially looking for the front cover that had the "format generator > program" printed on it in the background. > I've got the 2nd and 3rd editions. The 2nd has 'skip to service routines' on the cover, and the 3rd has 'two's complement single precision multiply routine' on it. They're pretty beat up though, lots of faded spots and a few creases. I'm also looking for DEC's PDP-8 _Programming_Languages_. If you are not > willing to part with them, could you scan the front cover and tell me which > Edition(s) it/they are from? > I have the first edition, and it is in very good shape. I'll scan these a little later and send to you. b
PDP-8 _Introduction_to_Programming_ & _Programming_Languages_(Scanned) Covers Needed
Does anyone have DEC's PDP-8 _Introduction_to_Programming_, Editions 3 and/or 4 and/or the PDP-8 _Programming_Languages_ handbooks? If you're not willing to part with your copy, could you scan the front covers of these handbooks and tell me which Edition(s) they are from? I'm especially looking for the front cover that had the "format generator program" printed on it in the background. I'm also looking for DEC's PDP-8 _Programming_Languages_. If you are not willing to part with them, could you scan the front cover and tell me which Edition(s) it/they are from? Thanks, Bob
Re: PDP-8 _Introduction_to_Programming_ & _Programming_Languages_(Scanned) Covers Needed
> Does anyone have DEC's PDP-8 _Introduction_to_Programming_, Editions 3 > and/or 4 and/or the PDP-8 _Programming_Languages_ handbooks? I have a 4th edition PDP-8 Introduction to Programming. I'm not willing to part with it and I don't currently have a scanner in easy reach, but the program on the cover is '[unreadable]'S COMPLEMENT SINGLE PRECISION MULTIPLY ROUTINE'. -- personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- Let us live! Let us love! Let us share our darkest secrets! ... you first. -
Re: MicroVax II
On 08/02/2016 19:49, Douglas Taylor wrote: > > I had 3 different types of SCSI CDROM's and none of them worked [...] > Is there a SCSI CDROM to look for? That's unfortunate. The DEC badged drives would be ideal, but you should be good with Sun-, HP- or SGI-badged drives, or Plextor and Toshiba drives with a SCSI interface. For the non-workstation vendors, search up the model spec sheets to see if you need to change a jumper or, in unusual cases, cut a trace on the PCB. All this info can be found on (third-party) CD-ROM FAQs for the workstation vendors... > I'm curious about the 68 pin scsi drives, what type do you use? The > adapter, I guess it is 50 pin male to 68 pin male? The 68/80 to 50 pin adapters are straightforward and all over eBay. Be advised that some drives spec'd for Ultra 320 may need a jumper or simply won't behave properly on an 8-bit SCSI bus, but its doesn't seem to be that common. If you're looking for spinning iron, I'd recommend drives using the 80 pin SCA connectors. Checking the labels is best, but as a rule of thumb they tend to be more recent production. However all of them are getting long in the tooth! For physical drives, most recently I've been getting the 2.5" Seagate Savvio drives with the SCA connectors. They tend to "only" be ~10 years old, and the smaller form factor often makes it easier to squeeze them and the coverter board into drive carriers designed for 3.5" devices. Be aware that if you don't know your equipment uses High Voltage Differential (HVD) SCSI, avoid it or things that just say "Differential." It will fry older/slower and Low Voltage Differential (LVD) SCSI gear. Sorry if any/all of that was already known, but I'm avoiding actual work this evening. ;) --S.
Re: HP 2100A Restoration
Lyle, I didn't know you had such a collection of 2100's and 21MX and E's and F's! I need to come and visit! Marc > On Aug 1, 2016, at 7:12 PM, Lyle Bickley wrote: > > Hi Hayden, > > On Mon, 1 Aug 2016 19:29:05 -0600 > Hayden Kroepfl wrote: > > --snip-- > >> With regards to the power supply, I'm thinking my best bet would be >> to do a power on with no cards in the system. Though I'm not sure if >> all the power rails would even come up without a load on it, since it >> sounds like it may do some power sequencing from what I've read. I >> was wondering if anyone has some experience with testing a similar >> power supply that hasn't been run in at least 10 years? > > Those of us who have brought up HP2100s that have been stored (even in > military packaging) know the power supplies can be a "bear". The PS is > a "fold out" deal - and never used to be repaired in the field by FEs. > They were swapped with new units - and the failing supply sent back to > HP for refurbishing. The process was detailed to me by a person who sold > 2100's as an OEM for many years. > > That being said, they are a early design switching supply - and should > have a load when powering them on. > >> I'm not sure if using a variac to slowly warm up the supply and the >> caps would be wise on one of these power supplies. I'm not sure how >> the switching supplies would handle the low voltage at the start. > > I would definitely NOT use a variac on them. It's best to check the > caps (and reform if necessary) and then power it up with a load. You may > have to "gently" (as in slowly) turn the PS on and off a number of times > to work out the years of "dormancy" (reforming the capacitors that you > can't get to ;) > >> The only I/O card that was installed in both machines, besides a >> terminator board in only one of them, is a serial interface made by >> some company with the logo CMC. It uses a COM2502 UART which I was >> surprised to find a datasheet for, however I haven't found any >> information on the card itself. I have a photo of the card in the >> album linked below if anyone has any information on it. > > The 2100 has a weird I/O addressing scheme - so check the manual > carefully. Moving a card from one location to another in the mainframe > changes its address! That's very different from DEC (and many > others) who had switches or jumpers on boards to change addresses. > interrupts, etc. > >> I know this email is getting a bit long, but with regards to the >> memory both machines have a ID(16K) driver board, and two core >> modules. However one machine has both core modules marked 02100-60052 >> on the bridge, and the other has one marked 02100-60052 and the other >> 02100-60054. Is there any difference between these modules? I'd >> assume by the 16K driver in both, that all of the core modules are >> 8KW modules. Would that just be a later revision or is one a >> different size? > > Look on bitsavers: http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/hp/21xx/ > and start reading manuals (particularly the Maintenance and Drawings). > There a wealth of information to be found there - and it's what I used > to get my 2100S running. > > --snip-- > >> I'd very much appreciate any help or suggestions that peopleh ave. I >> really want to get at least one of these machines back into full >> working order to have some fun programming with. > > HP2100 restoration is very doable. > > And the 2100 has one of the best front panels going :) > Like how can you not like buttons that light up when you push them!? > > Most of my problems with my 2100S were related to the power supply - > and a few related to memory. > > Wishing you the best!!! > > Cheers, > Lyle > -- > 73 AF6WS > Bickley Consulting West Inc. > http://bickleywest.com > > "Black holes are where God is dividing by zero"
Re: MicroVax II
On Aug 2, 2016 7:50 PM, "Douglas Taylor" wrote: > > I had 3 different types of SCSI CDROM's and none of them worked, they are DEC RRD42, Toshiba and a Sony. > The DEC was dead, removed the drive and applied power that I know is good (from a PC power supply in a working PC) > and nothing, no led, nothing. The toshibas would spit the caddy back out after a few moments and the Sony > refused to eject the caddy. > Is there a SCSI CDROM to look for? > I'm curious about the 68 pin scsi drives, what type do you use? The adapter, I guess it is 50 pin male to 68 pin male? > Doug I have had good luck with Plextor SCSI CD-ROM drives. I picked up some old Plextor 4x, 6x, 8x caddy drives for a couple bucks each a RE-PC Seattle a while ago. They have a 512-byte block mode jumper you need to set. I got a box of 25+ IBM DDRS-39130 9GB 68-pin SCSI hard drives cheap from someone on Craigslist a while back and have been using those with 50-pin male / 68-pin male adapters. Only issue is that the Emulex UC07 firmware is incompatible with them. The drives have a mode page that the UC07 doesn't understand and it tries to do a mode select with some invalid bits for that page, which fails. Then it keeps retrying that failure forever. No problem with the CMD and Dilog controllers. I often use the SG3utils sg_format utility to soft resize the 9GB drives down to something smaller. 9GB might make sense on a VAX, not so much on a PDP-11. Also, the built in SCSI on a VAX 3100 doesn't support drives over 1GB.
Re: MicroVax II
On 7/29/2016 10:55 PM, Glen Slick wrote: On Fri, Jul 29, 2016 at 6:08 PM, Douglas Taylor wrote: I just got a MicroVax II in the BA123 world box chassis. I has a TK50, RX50, RXDQ2, but no DEQNA. I'd like to get it running an OS. The DU disks don't work, but I have a couple of Qbus SCSI controllers that might come in handy. What OS's can I use with this hardware? NetBSD? Are versions of VMS available? How do you get an OS onto this system? What Qbus SCSI controllers do you have? The CMD CQD-200 CQD-220, Dilog SQ706A, Emulex UC07 I have tried were all able to boot from an appropriate SCSI CD-ROM drive. That how I usually go about installing OpenVMS 7.3 on a Qbus VAX. I never got around to picking up a SCSI-SD adapter yet. I just use old fashioned rotating drives, although they are 68-pin drives with 50-pin adapters. I have a BA123 that I maxed out as a something close to a VAXstation III/GPX. Replaced the M7606 KA630 with a M7625 KA655. There are only 4 Q22/CD slots so normally you can only have 48MB using 3 M7622 MS650 16MB boards plus the CPU. I found a couple of third-party 32MB boards to max out at 64MB. Added a (2x) M7168 + M7169 VCB02 set for the GPX graphics. The BA123 is an interesting item for DEC collectors and I'm glad I was able to pick one up, although it's been a while now since I last powered it up. I had 3 different types of SCSI CDROM's and none of them worked, they are DEC RRD42, Toshiba and a Sony. The DEC was dead, removed the drive and applied power that I know is good (from a PC power supply in a working PC) and nothing, no led, nothing. The toshibas would spit the caddy back out after a few moments and the Sony refused to eject the caddy. Is there a SCSI CDROM to look for? I'm curious about the 68 pin scsi drives, what type do you use? The adapter, I guess it is 50 pin male to 68 pin male? Doug
Re: HP 2100A Restoration
On Tue, 2 Aug 2016 21:44:48 -0700 Curious Marc wrote: > Lyle, > I didn't know you had such a collection of 2100's and 21MX and E's > and F's! I need to come and visit! Marc I have way too much of a lot of stuff ;) Lyle > > On Aug 1, 2016, at 7:12 PM, Lyle Bickley > > wrote: > > > > Hi Hayden, > > > > On Mon, 1 Aug 2016 19:29:05 -0600 > > Hayden Kroepfl wrote: > > > > --snip-- > > > >> With regards to the power supply, I'm thinking my best bet would be > >> to do a power on with no cards in the system. Though I'm not sure > >> if all the power rails would even come up without a load on it, > >> since it sounds like it may do some power sequencing from what > >> I've read. I was wondering if anyone has some experience with > >> testing a similar power supply that hasn't been run in at least 10 > >> years? > > > > Those of us who have brought up HP2100s that have been stored (even > > in military packaging) know the power supplies can be a "bear". The > > PS is a "fold out" deal - and never used to be repaired in the > > field by FEs. They were swapped with new units - and the failing > > supply sent back to HP for refurbishing. The process was detailed > > to me by a person who sold 2100's as an OEM for many years. > > > > That being said, they are a early design switching supply - and > > should have a load when powering them on. > > > >> I'm not sure if using a variac to slowly warm up the supply and the > >> caps would be wise on one of these power supplies. I'm not sure how > >> the switching supplies would handle the low voltage at the start. > > > > I would definitely NOT use a variac on them. It's best to check the > > caps (and reform if necessary) and then power it up with a load. > > You may have to "gently" (as in slowly) turn the PS on and off a > > number of times to work out the years of "dormancy" (reforming the > > capacitors that you can't get to ;) > > > >> The only I/O card that was installed in both machines, besides a > >> terminator board in only one of them, is a serial interface made by > >> some company with the logo CMC. It uses a COM2502 UART which I was > >> surprised to find a datasheet for, however I haven't found any > >> information on the card itself. I have a photo of the card in the > >> album linked below if anyone has any information on it. > > > > The 2100 has a weird I/O addressing scheme - so check the manual > > carefully. Moving a card from one location to another in the > > mainframe changes its address! That's very different from DEC (and > > many others) who had switches or jumpers on boards to change > > addresses. interrupts, etc. > > > >> I know this email is getting a bit long, but with regards to the > >> memory both machines have a ID(16K) driver board, and two core > >> modules. However one machine has both core modules marked > >> 02100-60052 on the bridge, and the other has one marked > >> 02100-60052 and the other 02100-60054. Is there any difference > >> between these modules? I'd assume by the 16K driver in both, that > >> all of the core modules are 8KW modules. Would that just be a > >> later revision or is one a different size? > > > > Look on bitsavers: http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/hp/21xx/ > > and start reading manuals (particularly the Maintenance and > > Drawings). There a wealth of information to be found there - and > > it's what I used to get my 2100S running. > > > > --snip-- > > > >> I'd very much appreciate any help or suggestions that peopleh ave. > >> I really want to get at least one of these machines back into full > >> working order to have some fun programming with. > > > > HP2100 restoration is very doable. > > > > And the 2100 has one of the best front panels going :) > > Like how can you not like buttons that light up when you push them!? > > > > Most of my problems with my 2100S were related to the power supply - > > and a few related to memory. > > > > Wishing you the best!!! > > > > Cheers, > > Lyle > > -- > > 73 AF6WS > > Bickley Consulting West Inc. > > http://bickleywest.com > > > > "Black holes are where God is dividing by zero" -- 73 AF6WS Bickley Consulting West Inc. http://bickleywest.com "Black holes are where God is dividing by zero"
RX02 rx-01 heathkit 8 inch drive for H-11 ( lsi11 heath case drive diff?)
we have a heath h11 which is lsi 11 aka pdp 11/03 the drives are not rx o1 or rx o2... but are they and the controller comparable? with rx01 or an rx02? Thanks Ed# at smecc
Re: RX02 Debugging
On Tue, 02 Aug 2016 21:43:03 -0700 Kirk Davis wrote: > Thanks for the suggestions. I’m in Sunnyvale, CA. > > I actually got the rx02 from another hobbyist that > used it with the 44 in 2008 so I suspect it is configured correctly. > The other drive doesn’t have a belt so I’m unable to test with it. > I’ve verified the cable direction. It’s a sweet 44 - super clean, > runs great and is like a tank. > > One of the problems is I don’t know normal behavior of the drive. The > motor is aways spinning for unit 0. When I try booting I don’t hear > the heads load or seek. I’m new to the 44 monitor commands & boot > process etc so I’m learning as I go. The motors always spin. The heads should engage whenever selected. You;ll hear a serious "clunk" when they load. If you're coming to the VCF this coming weekend, Bob Rosenblum and I will have a running RX02 attached to a PDP-8/M. You can hear all of it's "sounds" there. You'll also be able to play "Spacewar!" with our VC8/E and XY monitor, etc. BTW: Make sure you have the correct switch settings on the RX02 mainboard for your PDP-11... > I’m also making one of these to help isolate if it’s a > drive/cable/controller problem: > > http://www.torok.info/computing/pdp11/rx02/index.htm That looks like a cool project. Would like to see it when you've got it running!!! Lyle > > On Aug 2, 2016, at 3:24 PM, Paul Anderson wrote: > > > > Hi KIrk, > > > > The H771 is a rock solid power supply. I never saw one go bad while > > in field service, but they are getting old. Checking the output > > voltage and ripple is not a bad idea. > > > > forgive me for asking, but where are you located? The RX02 had 4 > > different power hanesses for i20, 220, 50 hz and 60 hz. Also > > different belts amd pulleys. if any of this is wrong you cn see > > weird problems. A lot of RX02s and replacement drives were soul > > through brokers who never asked or were never told where the unit > > was going. if you aren'y useing 120/60 that would be my first > > thought. > > > > Is the problem the same when booting off either drive? Also check > > the switches and the resistors on the head cables. > > > > Good luck, Paul > > > Jerry Weiss wrote: > > > >If you haven’t already, check the cable seating, orientation and for > >bent pins. > > On the RX211 board J1 - TT is the location of the AC LO - Active > > Low signal. > > > > On Tue, Aug 2, 2016 at 4:06 PM, Kirk Davis > > wrote: > >> I’m a noob using RX02’s but thought I’d run this past people that > >> may have debugged them in the past and see if they agree with what > >> I’m finding: > >> > >> I’m trying to get a RX02 + RX211 + 11/44 going. The RX02 appears > >> to power up OK (fan and motor spinning). I verified I have the DY > >> boot rom in the 44. Attempt booting from the console: > >> > > b dy > >> > >> S > >> 1707 173436 > >> > >> Which halts in the DY boot rom. I look at the base RX211 register: > >> > > e 1170 > >> 1170 104040 > >> > >> From the manual this like the controller is present but the high > >> order bit is set indicating an error > >> > >> Looking at the status register; > >> > > e 1172 > >> 1172 10 > >> > >> Bit 3 == RX AC LO - This bit is set by the interface to indicate a > >> power failure in the RX02 sub- system. > >> > >> So start looking at the RX02 power supply? > >> > >> > >> > -- 73 AF6WS Bickley Consulting West Inc. http://bickleywest.com "Black holes are where God is dividing by zero"
Re: RX02 Debugging
yea these are nasty sounding drives when they load! ---Ed# Re: You'll hear a serious "clunk" when they load. In a message dated 8/2/2016 10:49:06 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, lbick...@bickleywest.com writes: On Tue, 02 Aug 2016 21:43:03 -0700 Kirk Davis wrote: > Thanks for the suggestions. I’m in Sunnyvale, CA. > > I actually got the rx02 from another hobbyist that > used it with the 44 in 2008 so I suspect it is configured correctly. > The other drive doesn’t have a belt so I’m unable to test with it. > I’ve verified the cable direction. It’s a sweet 44 - super clean, > runs great and is like a tank. > > One of the problems is I don’t know normal behavior of the drive. The > motor is aways spinning for unit 0. When I try booting I don’t hear > the heads load or seek. I’m new to the 44 monitor commands & boot > process etc so I’m learning as I go. The motors always spin. The heads should engage whenever selected. You;ll hear a serious "clunk" when they load. If you're coming to the VCF this coming weekend, Bob Rosenblum and I will have a running RX02 attached to a PDP-8/M. You can hear all of it's "sounds" there. You'll also be able to play "Spacewar!" with our VC8/E and XY monitor, etc. BTW: Make sure you have the correct switch settings on the RX02 mainboard for your PDP-11... > I’m also making one of these to help isolate if it’s a > drive/cable/controller problem: > > http://www.torok.info/computing/pdp11/rx02/index.htm That looks like a cool project. Would like to see it when you've got it running!!! Lyle > > On Aug 2, 2016, at 3:24 PM, Paul Anderson wrote: > > > > Hi KIrk, > > > > The H771 is a rock solid power supply. I never saw one go bad while > > in field service, but they are getting old. Checking the output > > voltage and ripple is not a bad idea. > > > > forgive me for asking, but where are you located? The RX02 had 4 > > different power hanesses for i20, 220, 50 hz and 60 hz. Also > > different belts amd pulleys. if any of this is wrong you cn see > > weird problems. A lot of RX02s and replacement drives were soul > > through brokers who never asked or were never told where the unit > > was going. if you aren'y useing 120/60 that would be my first > > thought. > > > > Is the problem the same when booting off either drive? Also check > > the switches and the resistors on the head cables. > > > > Good luck, Paul > > > Jerry Weiss wrote: > > > >If you haven’t already, check the cable seating, orientation and for > >bent pins. > > On the RX211 board J1 - TT is the location of the AC LO - Active > > Low signal. > > > > On Tue, Aug 2, 2016 at 4:06 PM, Kirk Davis > > wrote: > >> I’m a noob using RX02’s but thought I’d run this past people that > >> may have debugged them in the past and see if they agree with what > >> I’m finding: > >> > >> I’m trying to get a RX02 + RX211 + 11/44 going. The RX02 appears > >> to power up OK (fan and motor spinning). I verified I have the DY > >> boot rom in the 44. Attempt booting from the console: > >> > > b dy > >> > >> S > >> 1707 173436 > >> > >> Which halts in the DY boot rom. I look at the base RX211 register: > >> > > e 1170 > >> 1170 104040 > >> > >> From the manual this like the controller is present but the high > >> order bit is set indicating an error > >> > >> Looking at the status register; > >> > > e 1172 > >> 1172 10 > >> > >> Bit 3 == RX AC LO - This bit is set by the interface to indicate a > >> power failure in the RX02 sub- system. > >> > >> So start looking at the RX02 power supply? > >> > >> > >> > -- 73 AF6WS Bickley Consulting West Inc. http://bickleywest.com "Black holes are where God is dividing by zero"
Re: RX02 Debugging
Cool tnx. Lyle - I’ll be there on Sat. I’ll bring the emulator if I get all the parts by then. Looking forward to it. Kirk > On Aug 2, 2016, at 11:00 PM, couryho...@aol.com wrote: > > yea these are nasty sounding drives when they load! ---Ed# > > Re: You'll hear a serious "clunk" when they load. > > In a message dated 8/2/2016 10:49:06 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, > lbick...@bickleywest.com writes: > On Tue, 02 Aug 2016 21:43:03 -0700 > Kirk Davis wrote: > > > Thanks for the suggestions. I’m in Sunnyvale, CA. > > > > I actually got the rx02 from another hobbyist that > > used it with the 44 in 2008 so I suspect it is configured correctly. > > The other drive doesn’t have a belt so I’m unable to test with it. > > I’ve verified the cable direction. It’s a sweet 44 - super clean, > > runs great and is like a tank. > > > > One of the problems is I don’t know normal behavior of the drive. The > > motor is aways spinning for unit 0. When I try booting I don’t hear > > the heads load or seek. I’m new to the 44 monitor commands & boot > > process etc so I’m learning as I go. > > The motors always spin. The heads should engage whenever selected. > You;ll hear a serious "clunk" when they load. > > If you're coming to the VCF this coming weekend, Bob Rosenblum and I > will have a running RX02 attached to a PDP-8/M. You can hear all of > it's "sounds" there. You'll also be able to play "Spacewar!" with our > VC8/E and XY monitor, etc. > > BTW: Make sure you have the correct switch settings on the RX02 > mainboard for your PDP-11... > > > I’m also making one of these to help isolate if it’s a > > drive/cable/controller problem: > > > > http://www.torok.info/computing/pdp11/rx02/index.htm > > That looks like a cool project. Would like to see it when you've got it > running!!! > > Lyle > > > > On Aug 2, 2016, at 3:24 PM, Paul Anderson wrote: > > > > > > Hi KIrk, > > > > > > The H771 is a rock solid power supply. I never saw one go bad while > > > in field service, but they are getting old. Checking the output > > > voltage and ripple is not a bad idea. > > > > > > forgive me for asking, but where are you located? The RX02 had 4 > > > different power hanesses for i20, 220, 50 hz and 60 hz. Also > > > different belts amd pulleys. if any of this is wrong you cn see > > > weird problems. A lot of RX02s and replacement drives were soul > > > through brokers who never asked or were never told where the unit > > > was going. if you aren'y useing 120/60 that would be my first > > > thought. > > > > > > Is the problem the same when booting off either drive? Also check > > > the switches and the resistors on the head cables. > > > > > > Good luck, Paul > > > > > Jerry Weiss wrote: > > > > > >If you haven’t already, check the cable seating, orientation and for > > >bent pins. > > > On the RX211 board J1 - TT is the location of the AC LO - Active > > > Low signal. > > > > > > On Tue, Aug 2, 2016 at 4:06 PM, Kirk Davis > > > wrote: > > >> I’m a noob using RX02’s but thought I’d run this past people that > > >> may have debugged them in the past and see if they agree with what > > >> I’m finding: > > >> > > >> I’m trying to get a RX02 + RX211 + 11/44 going. The RX02 appears > > >> to power up OK (fan and motor spinning). I verified I have the DY > > >> boot rom in the 44. Attempt booting from the console: > > >> > > > b dy > > >> > > >> S > > >> 1707 173436 > > >> > > >> Which halts in the DY boot rom. I look at the base RX211 register: > > >> > > > e 1170 > > >> 1170 104040 > > >> > > >> From the manual this like the controller is present but the high > > >> order bit is set indicating an error > > >> > > >> Looking at the status register; > > >> > > > e 1172 > > >> 1172 10 > > >> > > >> Bit 3 == RX AC LO - This bit is set by the interface to indicate a > > >> power failure in the RX02 sub- system. > > >> > > >> So start looking at the RX02 power supply? > > >> > > >> > > >> > > > > > > -- > 73 AF6WS > Bickley Consulting West Inc. > http://bickleywest.com > > "Black holes are where God is dividing by zero"
Re: Irix 5.3 drivers
On Wed, Aug 03, 2016 at 12:08:02AM +0100, Pete Turnbull wrote: > I realise this is a bit of a long shot, but does anyone have the driver CD > "GIO Fast Ethernet 1.0 for Irix 5.3 and 2.0 for Irix 6.2", SGI part number > 812-0576-001? Maybe deep down in a box, if no-one else can help you out I can go dig. I don't recognize the title from when I went through that box last year so don't hold your breath. /P > > This is the drivers for SGI's own Fast Ethernet card, not the Phobos/3Com > ones. > > -- > Pete > Pete Turnbull
