Come on people, please i) try doing some actual research to see if theories
hold water, don't just quickly post, and ii) read prior posts thoroughly.
Searching for "pdp-11" (where the "'s are to indicate what's in the search
box, and are _not_ typed into the search box) turns up a host of items -
> From: Rob Jarratt
> I got this:
> ...
> For security, please keep all communication through the eBay message
> system.
Well, that bit sounds positive.
And the feedback sounds good, but 56 items is a bit low - I've heard of scams
where people do a number of small items to bu
> From: js
> To take a suggestion from your playbook, I'd try asking eBay - 'I'm
> getting incorrect search results. Why?'
Yeah, that would be something to try, but I was wary of stirring up trouble -
eBay might decide to void the sale, etc. Maybe I should.
My message to this list wa
> From: Ali
> the real winning price. Basically on second chance he is offering you
> your highest bid price (the one that lost out to the original bad
> bidder). What it should really be is if that guy didn't exist what
> would have been the winning bid?
Good point. That _is
> From: js
> I've seen similar behavior before, and other search problems. At one
> point in time, eBay's search engine worked just fine. Then, a number of
> years ago, they revised their - supposedly making it 'smarter' - and
> ever since then, it hasn't worked as well
That's
> From: Fred Cisin
> Adding additional OR'ed terms (eBay does OR with comma delimited list
> in parentheses) sometimes results in FEWER hits, when that SHOULD
> always give more hits
A similar one is that adding more terms (i.e. AND) sometimes turns up things
that didn't turn up b
> From: Alan Perry
> They went unsold again and I waited for the next auction run. I offered
> the split-the-difference price again and they countered even higher. I
> got the message and have stopped bidding. That was a couple months ago
> and they still have sold any of those
> From: Ali
> There is a guy with a listing with missing parts which he is
> advertising as working. It has been listed for over two years now ...
> I offered to buy a part off of it for ~half of what he wanted
> for everything and he replied that "the value was in keeping it a
> From: Grant Taylor
> Does anyone have any recommendations for a '90s era PC that has PCI and
> ISA slots?
I have a bunch of HP machines, which are still in heavy use (although upgraded
to Celerons with the PowerLeap iP3/T thingys). Vectra VL6/S8's and VLi8s. I'm
very fond of them
> From: Pete Lancashire
> NO PACKING OR SHIPPING, must be local pickup.
Just a reminded to everyone; most PakMail franchises are prepared to go
somewhere off-site, pick items up where they sit, and then pack them; I've
used this service several times for 'pick up only' items.
Noe
> From: Yvan Janssens
> ...
> I'm located at the other side of the planet.
> Would PakMail work for that as well?
Pakmail can _send_ to most countries (they can only do _pickups_ in the US
and Canada, that I know of), but of course sending a large object a long way
can be expensiv
> From: Pete Lancashire
> Pak Mail is not cheap
Actually, since they buy 'in bulk' from carriers, they are surprisingly
reasonable; their quote to ship an H960 rack from Arizona to me was less
than I was quoted by some carriers.
Noel
Hey, all, the RK11-D contoller for the PDP-11 uses Motorola 4015 MSI chips on
one of the boards (M7254), but I can't find out anything about them. Google
didn't turn anything up, and the appendix in the RK11-D Maintenance Manual
that has info about 'all' the MSI chips used in the RK11-D doesn't hav
So I've just realized that the KB11-B (the earlier -11/70 CPU, the KB11-C
being the later) FMPS is not online; I couldn't find them (but then my
Google-fu is notoriously weak, q.v. the Motorola 4015 - thanks all, BTW), but
Manx also says:
http://manx-docs.org/details.php/1,9214
they aren't ava
> From: Josh Dersch
> the TU56 lacks the G888 flip-chips necessary to work with the TD8E; I
> know these parts are in short supply, but in the unlikely event that
> anyone has (a) a set of 5 G888 boards,
I have this memory that someone in Scandanavia is well along with the process
> From: Mark Linimon
> Would love to if you can change your mind on shipping?
https://www.pakmail.com/
Like I said, they will come pick things up, as they sit - perfect for Pete's
situation. And from my experience, not _always_ cheap, but _usually_ pretty
good (e.g. a large PDP-11 in a 1
So I notice that M8120 controller card for the MS11 seems to share its etch
with the earlier M8110 variant (the M8120 says "M8110" in the etch :-); so the
differences must be component/configuration/ECO. Does anyone happen to know
what the differences between the two are? Thanks!
Noel
> From: Bob Smith
> 8110 for MOS memory, and 8120 for bipolar memory is what field guyde
> list says.
Well, the early bipolar MS11-C (1K boards) used the M8110 during early
production (see e.g. DEC-11-HMSAA-D-D, pg. 1-1), and apparently then switched
over to the M8120. I've only seen
> From: Randy Dawson
> For a while I have collected bits of legacy CAD
> ...
> My question is, did any of the source code for these systems
> .. ever make it out
Well, not quite what you're asking about, I think (it sounds like you're
interested in MechE CAD, not EE, even tho
>From: Al Kossow
> NASTRAN is available
That's a finite element modeling code, isn't it? (I guess it all depends on
what the OP meant by 'CAD'...)
Noel
> From: Jon Elson
> Steve Ciarcia ... made a board using the NS405 called the Term-Mite.
I decided I'd do an article about the Term-Mite for the CHWiki; I found
Ciarcia's long article about the Term-Mite (in his book, which Google books
has); it talks throughout the article about the NS4
> From: Eric Smith
> The NS455 has firmware in masked ROM ... The NS405 has the masked ROM
> disabled
Ah, thanks muchly! Do you know of _any_ documentation extant for the 455? I
couldn't find anything..
> I've been searching for the NS405 manual (not the datasheet) for a very
So I have discovered that the manual and prints for the MM11-F core memory are
not online; it turns out I have a manual/prints set, and at some point will
get them scanned and over to Al.
My question is: is there anyone who has an immediate need for these things?
If so, I will make the scan higher
> From: Kyle Owen
> I do have an 11/45, though... so with this modification, I suppose one
> could have some fun:
That's for the -11/40 - very different machine, one couldn't use the same
technique on the /45; the /40 is prepared to accept additional ucode on
additional CPU boards, th
> From: Kyle Owen
> So the same technique would work on the 11/35, then?
Yes, the /35 and /40 are completely identical, except for the number
painted on the inlay on the front console.
(Well, the /35 was often sold in a BA11-K box, and the /40 in a BA11-F, but
that's just physical config
> From: Henk Gooijen
> My findings so far :
> www.pdp-11.nl/pdp11-35/repair/repair35page.html
> Comments are very welcome!
I got a:
You don't have permission to access to this document on this server.
Apache Server at pdp-11.nl
error message?
> I vaguely remember tha
> From: Dominique Carlier
> I just regret this incredible rise in prices for collector machines
> that, not so long ago, were languishing in wet sheds
Hey, look at the bright side: as a result, they are much less likely to be
simply recycled as scrap.
I took great pleasure in telling
> From: Ethan Dicks
> Mostly, what I need is affordable ($250 or less) Unibus storage with
> modern media
There's this:
http://www.retrocmp.com/projects/unibone
Not quite there yet, but getting there.
Noel
> Jon Elson
> How/where should I submit this?
This is now available through here:
http://gunkies.org/wiki/Term-Mite_ST_Smart_Terminal
I put in a little infrastructure around it (articles on the Term-Mite, NS405,
etc), using info I dug up online.
Noel
Hi, I'm hoping someone here knows the low-level nitty-gritty on how the
characters on the CDC 6600 console CRTs were generated.
Thornton, "Design of a Computer", says "Control of the beam .. is provided by
electrostatic deflection ... electronically converting from the symbol .. to
deflection volt
> From: Toby Thain
> It's suggested there (without any proof though) that the CDC used a
> Fourier process
> ...
> I'd be very interested to know what you find out about the circuitry.
Someone very kindly pointed me at:
http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/cdc/cyber/cyber_70/field
Figure you HP fans will already have seen this, but in case not:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/332695779697
Noel
> From: Paul Koning
> I believe the original concept was just a probe that would poke through
> the cable to contact the center connector. The drill came because the
> cable was too tough to penetrate without it.
No, the original 3 Mbit Ethernet also used a 'drill' (actually, a c
> the AMP coring tool ... doesn't screw in though ... I don't know if this
> is consistent with the original 3 mbit Ethernet, as I've never worked
> with that.
I was speaking of the gear used on the 3 Mbit. I don't recall the 10 Mbit
stuff at all I have this vague memory that the 3
> From: Eric Smith
> If you _must_ run a long -232 cable
'Don't!' That's what -422 is for. :-)
Noel
> From: Paul Birkel
> Same thing in this case.
The CPU looks to see a PMI signal that is generated by the KTJ11 - no signal
-> 11/83.
My impression is that except for the speed of the J11 (and the crystal), and
whether or not it came with the FPJ11, all four of the M8190 board variants
> From: Bill Gunshannon
> Anybody have any PMI memory modules they might let go for less than my
> first born male child?
The DEC PMI memories are the MSV11-J and (I think) the MSV11-R. The latter is
rare, but the -J's can be found. VARx sold me some -JE's a couple of years
back for a
> From: Pete Turnbull
> Bill would want the -JD (2MB) version (the -JE version is 4MB so too
> big).
Err, the -JD is 1MB, and the -JE is 2MB (see e.g. EK-MSV1J-UG-001, pg. 1-3).
Noel
Hi, I'm looking for engineering info on the MSV11-J. I was unable to find any
prints online, or even a technical manual. (I have the User Manual, but it
doesn't
have much detail.)
The main issue I'm after is working out which bits go into which chips. I
have some other QBUS memory boards with no
> From: Glen Slick
> There are 88 41256 256Kx1 DRAMs on a 2MB MSV11-J. Each 512KB bank has
> 22 256Kx1 DRAMs organized as 16 data bits plus 6 ECC bits.
Umm, I think the internal organization is paired banks (one for even word
addresses, one for odd); the manual talks about doing doubl
> I'm going to need this info real soon ... so I'll probably start on
> this later today if nobody has the info.
> ...
> write a two-instruction loop .. which writes a word with only a single
> '1' bit, hook up a 'scope ... to a DRAM input, and walk the bit through
> ... jus
>> I'll add the info to the MSV11-J page on the CHWiki, once I have it.
> Alas, it's down at the moment ... but once it's back, I'll get them
> right up.
It's back, and I've added the chip info for the low 1MB bank:
http://gunkies.org/wiki/MSV11-J_QBUS_memory#Technical_information
> From: Tor Arntsen
> So, here's how to see the updated page while not logged in:
Thanks for posting the 'fix'; the problem, and that workaround, are described
on the 'News' sidebar on the Main Page, but of course people going straight
to a URL won't see that - and since I'm always logged
> From: Glen Slick
> What signal were you probing on the M8186 KDF11-A board?
BDOUT; I'm triggering on that, and without any prints it wouldn't be easy to
find on the MSV11-J. Picking it up off the KDF11-A was the easy way to go.
> If you run the XXDP VMJAB0 diagnostic and there are
> I first have to tweak my 'scope loop program, to turn on memory mapping
So while doing that I just discovered what I _think_ (maybe I'm just not being
smart enough to see that it's somehow 'doing the right thing') is the wierdest
hardware bug I've ever seen.
Plug in an MSV11-J, disable ECC
> none of the other values used in that seemed to have a problem; but of
> course the program didn't include all 2^16 patterns. I suppose I should
> whip up a small program to try other values, and see if anything else
> does this...
And it does! Quite a few values come back wrong,
> it is not board-dependent - two different boards give incorrect read
> data for the same write values!! ... I wonder if the board is storing
> wrong values a _lot_, and the ECC is normally catching them?
Anyone have any idea what might be going on here?
I ask because I'm fixing to r
So, it appears that the KDJ11 (definitely the -A, and probably all of them)
cannot execute code from the PARs - one gets a NXM trap. (Definitely the
kernel I PARs, I haven't checked all 6 sets, but I can't see why they others
would be any different.) Has anyone else run into this, so I can be sure
So, if one looks up the Cache Control Register in, say, the KDJ11-A
(EK-KDJ1A-UG-002), one sees (in section 1.6.2.1) that there are _three_ ways
to disable the cache: bits 2, 3 ('force miss'), and 9 ('bypass cache').
Looking at the DCJ11 manual (EK-DCJ11-UG-PRE) doesn't provide any additional
insig
> From: Jerry Weiss
> See http://simh.trailing-edge.com/semi/j11.html for information on the
> design of the J11.
Thanks for that pointer; I don't think I've ever seen that - quite
interesting.
Alas, it didn't have the cache info - but now that I've though about it
overnight, I'm pre
The two main issues with the CHWiki (non-logged in users not seeing the most
recent versions of pages, and image uploads not working) have been dealt with.
Noel
> From: Jon Elson
> I THINK the 370/145 used the same drive.
The "IBM's 360 and Early 370 Systems" book doesn't say so explicitly (it just
says Minnow - the one with the solenoids - was a"incorporated in .. the
System/370 processors", pg. 517), but given that the follow-on drive
(Figaro/I
Hi, all, if anyone has any broken MSV11-J boards, I recently fixed one for a
list member, and if anyone else has a broken one they'd like me to take a
gander at, please let me know. (No charge!)
I won't be able to fix _all_ problems (we don't have prints, or replacements
for the custom gate arrays
> From: Liam Proven
> one of the questions was about "the early days of the old-time
> internet, if you're old and you've been online forever."
> It was about Myspace.
Yikes.
Send them this:
http://www.chiappa.net/~jnc/tech/sflovers/
Noel
> From: Paul Birkel
> ABLE Computer Technology. Their first product was PN 10001 ... the
> A.C.T. Univerter
This board is not shown in any of the Able brochures we have:
http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/able/brochures/
However, Able info is _very_ thin on the ground, now...
> From: Mark Matlock
> With the 11/83 the position of the memory board ... above the CPU uses
> PMI
Yes, through the C-D interconnect; described in detail here:
http://gunkies.org/wiki/CD_interconnect#Use_by_PMI
The 'above' is because the CD interconnect is not a true bus, it only
> From: Paul Birkel
> Unfortunately there's not much documentation for the MS11.
??? We're actually pretty well off, there; we have:
- MS11 Maintenance Manual (DEC-11-HMSAA-D-D)
- MS11 MOS Memory Troubleshooting Guide (DEC-11-HMSTS-A-D)
- MS11-B Engineering Drawings
About all we're miss
> We're actually pretty well off, there; we have:
> - MS11 Maintenance Manual (DEC-11-HMSAA-D-D)
> - MS11 MOS Memory Troubleshooting Guide (DEC-11-HMSTS-A-D)
> - MS11-B Engineering Drawings
There's also a little bit about the MS11-C (not covered in the documents
above) in EK-11045-
> From: Charles Dickman
> an 11/84 with the UNIBUS adapter and PMI memory does not have a Qbus.
> ... the KDJ11-B (M8190) bus protocols change when a KTJ11 (UNIBUS
> adapter) is present and so what would be expected to be Qbus isn't.
Ah, excellent point.
Looking at the descriptio
> #30 "PMI on KDJ11-B and MSV11-J"
So it turns out there are _two_ uNote sets, with overlapping numbers! (A fact
about which I was previously unaware!)
I have two PDF files of the collections; micronoteReprints.pdf (the first
set), and oemMicronotes.pdf (the second).
Note! There's an index t
> From: Mattis Lind
> Here is how it is connected:
Thanks for that - very informative!
> The sandwiched dual boards are sitting in 27 / 26 AB. The board in 27AB
> was empty (quick glance), while the board in 26AB has a few TTL chips
> on it. Slot 26AB is the Unibus A slot, S
> From: Mattis Lind
> I will take a picture of the boards in more detail so we can figure out
> what they are doing later on.
Thanks, that would be really useful.
> My understanding is that slot 1AB and slot 26 AB is tied to each
> other. So if there would be no expansion un
So, it turns out the power connectors (plastic female shell with metal male
pins, etc) widely used in UNIBUS PDP-11's (e.g. to provide power to
backplanes, etc) are still available, if anyone else wants any. (No doubt some
of you already knew this; this is for those, like me, who didn't! :-)
The 3
> From: Bill Degnan
> is this info on or will be on your wiki?
Well, it's not 'mine', but yes, I will be posting it when I find time.
Noel
> From: Mattis Lind
> Unfortunately the mate-n-lok which has 8 position and is used for
> current loop connectors and H74x plug regulator does not seems to be
> available anymore. But it would be nice to be corrected here.
According to one dealer Web-site, what I think are those c
> From: Fritz Mueller
> If these are what you are talking about, I ordered up a bunch a couple
> years ago when I rebuilt the power harness for my 11/45, and can attest
> they are the right thing:
Yeah, those are the ones.
Note that ConnectorPeople has a relatively large minimum
> From: Ethan Dicks
> Min order 14 @ $0.75 each.
Uh, no. I think they have a $25 minimum at checkout; try it.
Noel
> From: Ethan Dicks
> I just saw that this specific part had a min order.
They have a min $10 order on _every_ part, and also a min of $25 on the total
order.
Noel
> As to what _else_ it is doing, and why it has the cable to the main
> card... I think that it must intercept MSYN from the processor and only
> let it pass if there's no hit in the cache.
> (To explain why it would need to do that... normally with the MS11,
> there's a static
So, for needs of my own I've been studying up on the PC04 and PC05, and also
the differences between them (which cables they use, etc, etc).
I decided I should write up what I've learned, since there's no simple source
for all this stuff; the remaining documentation is kind of spotty (lots of
thin
> From: Al Kossow
> is it roytron/Roytron500_1966.pdf ?
That sure looks like it! The illustration on pg 5-16 of the DEC PC054/PC05
manual looks just like the thing illustated on the cover of that.
I wonder why it didn't turn up in the Web searches? Probably because this
doesn't include t
> can I appeal to anyone who has, or can point me at, documentation for
> the connection of the PC04 to _other_ PDP-8 models please lend a hand -
> _especially_ if you have paper documentation which is not available
> online?
The other thing I'm looking for is anything about the ea
> From: Tony Duell
> I have here a little square board (the same size as the older Unibus
> grant continuity card) with just 2 pairs of pins linked. ... Has anyone
> come across that one before?
No, that's a new one on me. I have seen off-brand single-height QBUS grant
jumpers, bu
> From: Glen Slick
> A few people bought QED-993 boards from eBay in the last few years.
> ... They are set up to use the standard 11/93 console panel, although
> only 4 async ports are implemented, not 8.
Is there any documentation anywhere? Bitsavers had only a thing on the QED-
> From: Pontus Pihlgren
> I hope you can get the help you need.
What ever happened about this? I figure the bulldozers must have arrived by
now?
Noel
> From: Bill Degnan
> I am curious how I'd attempt to use one of these. Any thoughts?
I'd start by dumping and disassembling.
(If you need something to find out where in memory they are, I have
a register discovery program that sweeps the I/O page and lists all
locations that respond. It
> From: Paul Koning
> the original ROM array bootstrap supports not just RK05 but also RF11,
> RC11, and TC11 in just 16 words of code.
Ah, the days of devices that just did what they were told without trying to be
effing rocket scientists about it!
(Yeah, yeah, I know _some_ of the
For those who didn't catch it:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/202415330983
I have bought from this seller before (very happy with the results), but am
not otherwise affiliated.
The -11/04 is a nice UNIBUS starter/test machine (my UNIBUS board debug
machine is an -11/04). The CPU is a single (hex) bo
> From: Anders Nelson
> https://www.facebook.com/503408869821526/posts/1084448565050884/
This is an incredibly cool thing, and my hat is off to the LSSM for
undertaking this.
How's the fund-raising going? If money is still needed, I'll head off to
Paypal and send a goodly chunk.
> From: Paul Koning
> inside are a whole pile of boards, all single-sided etch with many
> hundreds of jumpers to compensate for not being two-sided. Not cheap,
> presumably
If memory serves, didn't the VT52 also have single-sided boards with a whole
bunch of jumper wires? Somethi
> From: Anders Nelson
> Their latest comments on Facebook mention they're about halfway there.
Yeah, but I was wanting to know how things had gone since that posting
(although I haven't looked to see if there's any update). As of last night,
they'd made significant progress past what was
> From: Al Kossow
> I just put up some pictures of the vt02, 05
Those useable for the CHWiki (with credit, of course)?
Oddly enough, I just did the article on the VT05 about a week ago!
Noel
> From: Daniel Seagraves
> Two of them in fact, and a CADR - In my garage, no less!
Neat! Can you say anything about how they came to you?
> and I have a working PDP-11 to debug the CADR with
Was that part of the package, or did you already have it?
Noel
> From: Daniel Seagraves
> I spun up a blog for posting the ongoing status of things;
Cool! Thanks! Very interesting...
How many cards came with the CADR? My memory is dim, are there just memory
and I/O cards, or was the disk controller on a separate card from other I/O?
I wonder how ma
> From: Pierre Gebhardt
> two H745 bricks (delivering -15V) which are still missing. I'd be very
> happy, if anybody could consider parting with one or two. Location is
> in Germany.
There should be some on eBait; mildly expensive, but if you get them from
the US, the shipping is
> From: Pierre Gebhardt
> There are indeed some DEC power brick models on epay, but none
> regarding the H745.
Here is one:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/270303423286
but it is _really_ pricey. I have dealt with them before, they put high
prices on things; try offering them a reasonabl
> From: Henk Gooijen
> As far as I know, the 11/40 uses only one H745.
Depends on what kind of memory it has. If MF11-L, it has two H745's; if
MM11-U, it has an H745 and an H754.
(The harness has two different connectors for the 5th 'brick', so it can
handle either kind. At least, that's
> From: Pierre Gebhardt
> As I don't have core memory modules available, I thought of using MS11
> memory, which, according to my research, seems to be an option for
> 11/40 systems.
Err, which kind of MS11? There are lots of different ones:
http://gunkies.org/wiki/MS11
and t
> From: Cory Heisterkamp
> I can also highly recommend the book 'Digital Apollo'
Yes, it's quite good. Two other good books about the AGC are:
Eldon Hall, "Journey to the Moon"
which is by a guy who was one of the managers on the project. The book is
anything but a 'management history
> From: Eric Smith
> That's way too good for these *&#$ing ST3000DM001 drives, and won't
> provide anywhere near enough sense of satisfaction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxm_qpKh7Jw
'Nuff said.
Noel
So there's something about the H744 I'm not sure I understand; hopefully those
with more analog-fu will set me straight if I'm confused.
This supply runs off 20-30V AC. It takes the input AC, rectifies it, and runs
it through a cap to filter out the ripple. What's next is that it's an early
switch
Oh, one thing I forgot to include:
> a lot of the incoming power in that 30V AC has to be thrown away, in
> producing +5V.
So, if my understanding is correct, the 'switching' H744 really isn't much
better than a classic linear supply. It still wastes a very large amount of
the input power
> From: Mattis Lind
> The H744 is a buck converter. You can read about buck converters here:
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_converter
Wow, that was incredibly hard to read; no clear and simple explanation of the
basic concept of how it works, before getting into the details!
If
> From: Brent Hilpert
> In typical "down-converters" there are additional current paths in the
> supply, paralleling the input path, that can provide the 'additional'
> electron flow rate. ... the whole rationale of a switching supply is to
> use time (varying switching periods
> From: Alexandre Souza
> What about a nuclear bomb?
OK, if we're going to start being _really_ silly. drop them into a
singularity! :-)
The best part is that you'll get to watch them being ripped apart and
destroyed by tidal forces _forever_ (since time dilation means that as they g
> From: Brent Hilpert
> With the given 20-30VAC input (do I have that right?)
Yup.
> A glance at the schematic ... you might think it's just a linear
> regulator
And the writeup in the maint manual gives that impression too, which didn't
help! (Hence my assumtion that it was act
> From: Brent Hilpert
> Your conceptualisation around the role of electrons is perhaps a
> little off.
Well, I'm not taking into effect things like the velocity of electrons
passing around the circuit (more current, with the same number of electrons,
effectively), etc, but I value
Anyone recognize these:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/183446161463
They've got a fair amount of wire-wrap, so I'd think 70's-80's.
Noel
> From: Mark Tapley
> I'm interested in one of the DECServers but Bill says it's big
> enough to be in the "pick up only" pile. ... drop it at a Pak/n/Ship or
> equivalent to get it headed my way.
PakMail will go pick stuff up.
If several people get together, they could make only
> From: Andrew Luke Nesbit ullbeking at andrewnesbit.org
> Where are you located?
Like the listing says, "north side of Boston".
Noel
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