[cctalk] Re: Matrox Q bus graphics card, any use

[Richard via cctalk]

In article <0fe9f81b-8253-f155-8fb5-16d834bb8...@alembic.crystel.com>,
"Chris Zach via cctalk"  writes:

> Going through my stuff I found a Matrox QRGB 6/64-4 card which seems to 
> be a 512x512x16 color video array for Q bus systems.

This card?


> Did any software ever support this thing, and does anyone want to trade 
> it for a bean of some sort?

Software would likely be custom for the card.  DEC did have an
implementation of GKS for VMS and had the ability for users to write
their own GKS drivers for custom hardware, which would give you a portable
API that could use the hardware if such a driver were available.

This card's resolution is comparable to a mid 80s Tektronix raster
terminal, such as the Tek 4207 or Tek 4205.  The terminals have a much
more sophisticated command set than this card, however.


-- 
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" free book 
The Terminals Wiki 
 The Computer Graphics Museum 
  Legalize Adulthood! (my blog) 

[cctalk] Re: NCD-17c and NCD-19 X terminal cap lists?

[Richard via cctalk]

In article <07a97414-a207-42f5-8c6b-64f4556e3...@eschatologist.net>,
"Chris Hanson via cctalk"  writes:

> Does anyone have a list of replacement capacitors to use for NCD X
> terminals, specifically the 17c and 19? A couple searches online don't turn
> up anything.

While I don't have a specific replacement list for those terms, this
is exactly the sort of thing for which "caps wiki" was created:


At the least you should contribute what you learn to that wiki if you
have to figure it out yourself.

-- Richard

-- 
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" free book 
The Terminals Wiki 
 The Computer Graphics Museum 
  Legalize Adulthood! (my blog) 

[cctalk] Re: NCD-17c and NCD-19 X terminal cap lists?

[Richard via cctalk]

In article ,
"Chris Hanson via cctalk"  writes:

> I'll also try to get links to them from the terminals wiki.

Yeah, I was thinking that cross-linking to caps wiki from terminals
wiki was in order as pages get added...
-- 
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" free book 
The Terminals Wiki 
 The Computer Graphics Museum 
  Legalize Adulthood! (my blog) 

[cctalk] Re: Sgi tezero for sale

[Richard via cctalk]

In article ,
"devin davison via cctalk"  writes:

> I have a sgi tezro for sale.

Devin I sent you an email off list, but I often end up in people's
spam folders because gmail sucks.  Please take a look.

Thanks,
-- Richard

-- 
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" free book 
The Terminals Wiki 
 The Computer Graphics Museum 
  Legalize Adulthood! (my blog) 

[cctalk] Re: HP9825A for sale

[Richard via cctalk]

In article ,
"Craig Ruff via cctalk"  writes:

> 
> > On Apr 17, 2023, at 11:00, cctalk-requ...@classiccmp.org wrote:
> > For the HP, I think it's a fair asking price because of all the cables,
> > manuals, and accessories that he's got -- he's got all the SerialIO
> > stuff, so it would be a fun project (to me) to try to write a terminal
> > program and get that calculator on the internet :) 
>
> The price seems high to me also, but if someone is willing to pay for it.

A unit that has been cared for over the years by a single owner and
contains all the associated ephemera (manuals, cords, cases, etc.) in
good condition is certainly the sort of thing that commands a price at
the high end of the range.

It's not like we're talking about a barn find covered in pidgeon poop.
-- 
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" free book 
The Terminals Wiki 
 The Computer Graphics Museum 
  Legalize Adulthood! (my blog) 

[cctalk] Re: Magazine no longer in print

[Richard via cctalk]

In article <333df660-9b28-e5ce-5ff1-f1295a9fa...@sydex.com>,
"Chuck Guzis via cctalk"  writes:

> My "answering the call of nature" standard reading was EDN.   Sadly, it
> and Electronic Design are no longer published on dead trees.

I used to love reading EE Times when it was a weekly tabloid style
print edition.  Ever since they moved to a web site only format, it's
been a serious downgrade of the experience.  Even with accounting for
the format change, it's now virtually imposible to find "what's new"
since the last time I was there.  The organization of the articles on
the web site is vastly inferior to the organization of the articles in
the print edition.  The sad part is that there's no reason for the
degraded experience just because they moved to a digital edition.
-- 
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" free book 
The Terminals Wiki 
 The Computer Graphics Museum 
  Legalize Adulthood! (my blog) 

[cctalk] Re: VCF Southwest 2023 some highlights

[Richard via cctalk]

[private reply]

In article  
you write:
>On Mon, Jun 26, 2023 at 1:06 PM Steve Lewis via cctalk
> wrote:
>>
>> VCF SW was this past weekend near Dallas, Texas.
>>
>> Here are some highlights from my perspective.
>>
>> https://voidstar.blog/vcf-southwest-2023/
>>
>>
>> Most photos you can click to enlarge (Edge has bugs with WordPress, you
>may
>> need to scroll up/down a little bit to get the click thing working)
>
>I may be talking nonsense, but you describe the Tektronix 4054 as a
>6800-based system. I thought the 4051 used that processor, but the
>4052 and 4054 used a board of AM2900-series bitslice chips that
>implement a processor with an instruction set similar to the 6800 but
>with no BCD operations and some 16 bit extensions.

My understanding is that it was a strict superset of 6800 with some unused
opcodes implemented fo faster math instructions.
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" free book 
The Terminals Wiki 
 The Computer Graphics Museum 
  Legalize Adulthood! (my blog) 

[cctalk] Re: Good Inventory Program for keeping track of my DEC boards, parts, computers, etc?

[Richard via cctalk]

In article <20230814235627.9b9f64ab...@yagi.h-net.msu.edu> you write:
> > I'm looking for a good inventory program to help me keep track of all of 
> > my PDP-8 stuff.
>
> > I would like to keep track of physical location, board etch revision, 
> > board modification revision, bus type, where used, etc.
>
>If you're using a unix-like operating system, GCstar seems relatively
>usable, and lets you define your own database fields.

It's not unix specific.


--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" free book 
The Terminals Wiki 
 The Computer Graphics Museum 
  Legalize Adulthood! (my blog) 

[cctalk] Re: Friden (was Silly question about S-100 and video monitors)

[Richard via cctalk]

In article  you write:
>And, of course, there was the incredible Friden Flexowriter.
>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friden_Flexowriter

If someone wants one and will be attending VCFmw, I'll bring one.
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" free book 
The Terminals Wiki 
 The Computer Graphics Museum 
  Legalize Adulthood! (my blog) 

[cctalk] Re: vt220 firmware source?

[Richard via cctalk]

In article  you write:
>I'm about to dive in to commenting the disassembly listings, but figured
>I'd ping here to see if anybody might have done this already in case I
>wouldn't have to start from scratch?

Give IDA Pro or Ghidra a crack at it to help you make sense of the raw
disassembly.

I made pretty good progress on VT100 ROMs before Paul Williams put up
a completely reverse engineered commented listing.
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" free book 
The Terminals Wiki 
 The Computer Graphics Museum 
  Legalize Adulthood! (my blog) 

[cctalk] Re: Video/keyboard mono cable for Sun 386i

[Richard via cctalk]

Hi There,

I have a cable attached to my Sun 386i. I used to have spares but sadly no more.

I don’t believe there is anything special in the cable.

If I have an opportunity I can buzz through and let you know what each pin is 
in the cable.

Give me a week or two and if I haven’t reverted please do reach out

Richard 
Sent from my iPhone

> On 30 May 2024, at 19:07, Stefano Sanna via cctalk  
> wrote:
> 
> Hi.
> 
> I recently bought a Sun Microsystems 386i and I discovered (too late...) that 
> monitor and keyboard are connected to the same D15 connector on the back 
> using a "Y" cable (I had experience with other Sun workstations, this was 
> first contact with Intel-based hardware).
> 
> Unfortunately, I have not such a cable neither I was able to find any info on 
> the web about the pinout/wiring; probably it would be possible to create the 
> cable from scratch (assuming that no other circuitry was inside the original 
> Y cable). Moreover, I discovered that there is more than one option for video 
> boards (mono and color): therefore, there is more than a single Y cable to 
> connect monitor and keyboard.
> 
> Looking at the official Sun's hardware list, I found this item:
> 
> 630-1621 386i video/keyboard cable
> 
> but it does not specify whether it is the mono or the color cable. In any 
> case, it seems impossible to buy it on eBay or similar.
> 
> Does anybody have some information on how to rebuild it?
> 
> Thank you.
> -s

[cctalk] Re: Old vintage computing magazine/newsletters

[Richard via cctalk]

In article <016c01dad7c9$a0948fe0$e1bdafa0$@techtimetraveller.com> you write:
>Just a 'survey' sort of question - how much value do you guys put in vintage
>copies of old newsletters, magazines, etc.

If I come across 'em, I scan 'em.

I don't have any personal nostalgia tied to them.

>Someone has been selling them one at a time
>on ebay and they routinely go for $125+ each!

All things vintage computer-y, especially early personal computer or
microcomputer stuff, has become very much sought after.

Who'da thunk that 286s would be sought after some day.

-- Richard

--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" free book 
The Terminals Wiki 
 The Computer Graphics Museum 
  Legalize Adulthood! (my blog) 

[cctalk] Re: VCFMW items available upon request

[Richard via cctalk]

In article  
you write:
>Here is a list of some items I can bring to VCFMW if requested. [...]

Unless they are qualified as working in proper order, they are just
scrap and should be priced accordingly.
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" free book 
The Terminals Wiki 
 The Computer Graphics Museum 
  Legalize Adulthood! (my blog) 

[cctalk] Re: VCFMW items available upon request

[Richard via cctalk]

In article  
you write:
>I think most people here would disagree with you. How many people would
>scrap a KI10, 11/20, PDP8 or any piece of classic computer equipment if it
>was not "working in proper order"?
>
>I usually discuss this with the potential buyer.
>
>I have never heard a technically skilled person say that.

In other words, all your inventory was pulled decades ago and has been
rotting away in some warehouse on a shelf and is a restoration project.

Got it.
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" free book 
The Terminals Wiki 
 The Computer Graphics Museum 
  Legalize Adulthood! (my blog) 

[cctalk] Re: ComputerVision input devices

[Richard via cctalk]

In article <357b522b-8fa4-4363-a36c-51a15c9a6...@snowmoose.com> you write:
>Does anyone here have or know of ComputerVision CADDStation input devices
>(e.g., puck, tablet) that ard for sale? I have started restoring the
>CADDStation Model 32 that has been sitting in my garage for a while but am
>missing some pieces to get the full experience.

They are likely just rebranded devices from an existing tablet
manufacturer, e.g. Summagraphics.
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" free book 
The Terminals Wiki 
 The Computer Graphics Museum 
  Legalize Adulthood! (my blog)