>
> Yeah, but if the emulator doesn't work,
> then you have another important clue.
I _know_ there are problems on the TU58. It should detect the BOT and EOT
markers and not let the tape run off the spool. It should never produce the
waveform I am seeing at the output of the read comparator. No
On 1/17/2016 1:40 PM, tony duell wrote:
Incidentally, another reason I am not
too keen on using an emulator is that
I suspect there could well be logic
faults in the CPU and if I am not
careful I will just have a long list
of unsolved problems, whch can be
somewhat disheartenng...
Yeah,
What's the SD card based TU58 emulator that a couple of people mentioned?
Is that just a Raspberry PI with linux and the existing TU58 emulator
software, or is there something more purpose built?
Bob
>
> What's the SD card based TU58 emulator that a couple of people mentioned?
> Is that just a Raspberry PI with linux and the existing TU58 emulator
> software, or is there something more purpose built?
First hit on Google for 'TU58 Emulator' (no quotes) for me was :
http://www.torok.info/co
>
> On a VAX, there is an application (named EXCHANGE if I remember
> correctly) which reads and writes the first partition of any RT-11 disk
Err, yes... This implies I have a working VAX. Until I repair ths TU58 and get
it to load the CPU microcode, I don't.
Sure...
> If you have a PDP-11 syst
>tony duell wrote:
While the TU-58 tape will not have an RT-11 file
structure, you can at least read each raw block
and display the contents:
Actually I believe the VAX11/730 console tape is an
RT11 file system (for all there is no PDP11 involved).
On a VAX, there is an application (named E
> If it were me, I'd start by setting up some tests to determine what exactly
> the protocol analyzer is doing. If it really is dropping 0 bytes, then I'd
Well, I see 2 ways forward, in that I have found 2 things that look odd...
One is to investigate the serial link between the VAX console pro
> While the TU-58 tape will not have an RT-11 file
> structure, you can at least read each raw block
> and display the contents:
Actually I believe the VAX11/730 console tape is an
RT11 file system (for all there is no PDP11 involved).
-tony
> Moral objections have nothing to do with getting as many tools on a
> problem as you can.
True. But if you don't have said tools set up and working, you may find
(or at least I will find) that when somethng doesn't work you are not sure
if the problem is a genuine fault or misuse/misunderstandi
>tony duell wrote:
Similarly, it could be a useful diagnostic tool to connect the real
TU58 hardware to a known-working (presumably slightly more modern)
machine to see if it's willing to work that way.
Yes. Does such a program exist? Something that will let me send commands
to the TU58 and se
On 01/16/2016 02:31 PM, tony duell wrote:
800 BPI (NRZI) only has transitions on a data track when
As I understand it the TU58 is not NRZI.
WHOOPS! I Somehow read that as one of the 1/2 9-track tape
drives!
Jon
On 1/16/2016 12:26 PM, tony duell wrote:
Powering up gives the expected ROM> prompt on the terminal. Of course all
you can
do at that prompt is load the microcode from the TU58, so that is what I
am trying to
get working. And getting nowhere!
And you don't want to use a TU58 emulator? (Or you
On Sat, 1/16/16, tony duell wrote:
> I tried a RS232 analyser between the TU58 and the VAX. Very odd. Either
> my RS232 anaylser drops 00 bytes or the TU58 sets short result packets. The
> meaningful bytes (response code, etc) are there, but things like the sequence
> number are not. Odd...
>
> D
>
> I can certainly understand that. But a TU58 emulator could be a useful
> diagnostic tool. Personally, I would try to get it working from the
Agreed. But a diagnostic tool is only useful if you can trust it. I suspect
that if
I tried to set up a TU58 emulator I would have problems due to m
>>> Of course all you can do at that prompt is load the microcode from
>>> the TU58, so that is what I am trying to get working. And getting
>>> nowhere!
>> And you don't want to use a TU58 emulator?
> No, I don't want to use a TU58 emulator for the same reason that I am
> restoring this VAX and n
>
> > I had considered that, or one of the TU58 emulators that use SD cards or
> > similar but (a) I am trying to restore this VAX, not make a machine that
> > runs
> > VAX software and is not original and (b) I do have this moral objection to
> > using more components to load the microcode than
On Jan 16, 2016, at 12:15, tony duell wrote:
> I had considered that, or one of the TU58 emulators that use SD cards or
> similar but (a) I am trying to restore this VAX, not make a machine that runs
> VAX software and is not original and (b) I do have this moral objection to
> using more com
> 800 BPI (NRZI) only has transitions on a data track when
As I understand it the TU58 is not NRZI.
According to the manual (and I see this sometimes) a 'bit cell'
starts with a +ve magnetic flux transition (OK, that is meaningless,
it really means there is a +ve edge at the output of the read
co
On 01/16/2016 11:44 AM, tony duell wrote:
So I get that
a bit should take around 41us. And a bit starts with a rising edge, the
position of the falling
edge (recorded at 1/4 or 3/4 of the bit time) determines whether it's a 0 or 1.
No, not correct for 800 BPI (NRZI). That is somewhat how
160
> >
> > Powering up gives the expected ROM> prompt on the terminal. Of course all
> > you can
> > do at that prompt is load the microcode from the TU58, so that is what I
> > am trying to
> > get working. And getting nowhere!
> >
>
> And you don't want to use a TU58 emulator? (Or you enjoy waitin
Hello,
well, if you see square waves, probably the read path analog circuit
could auto-oscillate.
This could be because of poorly filtered supply (bad electrolytic
capacitors),
or possibly some component in the feedback that's not soldered well.
I should have a schematic around, I could give a
> > Does anyone have any sensible ideas as to what to try next. At the moment I
> > have no idea if
> > it's the tape, heads, roller or what
> >
> This might not be what you want, but I boot my 11/730 from a tu58
> emulator running on a linux box. I used a little ttl<->rs232 converter
> board
Some comments inline. Mostly is maybe obvious...
2016-01-16 18:44 GMT+01:00 tony duell :
>
>
> Powering up gives the expected ROM> prompt on the terminal. Of course all
> you can
> do at that prompt is load the microcode from the TU58, so that is what I
> am trying to
> get working. And getting no
On 1/16/16 12:44 PM, tony duell wrote:
Does anyone have any sensible ideas as to what to try next. At the moment I
have no idea if
it's the tape, heads, roller or what
This might not be what you want, but I boot my 11/730 from a tu58
emulator running on a linux box. I used a little ttl<->
I am not sure this fits in with the current topics of this list on the grounds
it involves
real old hardware, but anyway..
I am currently trying to restore a VAX11/730. I got this about 20 years ago and
dismantled it to get it home. For various reasons I never put it back together,
I
am doing t
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