RE: UniSys ClearPath OS/2200 Express?

[Henk Gooijen via cctalk]

Van: Bill Gunshannon via cctalk
Verzonden: woensdag 1 juli 2020 03:05
Aan: cctalk@classiccmp.org
Onderwerp: Re: UniSys ClearPath OS/2200 Express?

On 6/30/20 6:29 PM, Alan Perry via cctalk wrote:
> Why would one get OS/2200 when they can get 
> https://www.unisys.com/offerings/clearpath-forward/clearpath-forward-products/clearpath-mcp-software/clearpath-mcp-express
>  ?
>

Because I very much enjoyed working on Exec-8 on the 1100 lo those
40 years ago.  :-)

bill


I always wanted “something” at home to remind me of my days when working with 
EXEC 37R5 (IIRC, 1991-1999 time frame).
Back then I could read the panic dump listing, a stack of 3 inches thick paper 
only containng 36-bit octal words, and find which program (or user) caused EXEC 
to crash. The joke was “let’s find the 8”.
I did EXEC, Videotex, DMS-1000, and MAPPER. For EXEC and MAPPER I had the 
SPERRY “internals” course.

I really liked MASM and PLUS.
I remember two ERs, ADED$ and SMOQUE$. With the latter I was able to move my 
print out to the top of the queue 😊
IIRC, with ADED$ you could assign (and lock) a CPU to your program. A silly 
mistake in my MASM program “ate” all three CPUs of the 1100/63. Everything 
froze, and even on the console in the computer room response was extremely 
slow. $! had no immediate effect!

Those were the days!  I think I will try to get 2200 running, but I am afraid I 
forgot most of it (if not all), it’s been over 20 years.

Henk

Re: Bringing up MVME 197LE (88k)

[Plamen Mihaylov via cctalk]

Even with a dead battery you should have seen console output. I would check
the serial cable, p2 adapter and 712 console port jumpers first.
You could try to boot directly from the eprom which holds the 197bbug(using
the DIP switches) in case the 197bug has been flashed with custom
firmware(never seen this, but who knows). You can remove the 297 expansion
card as 197 has its own memory soldered on the back-side.


On Tuesday, June 30, 2020, r...@hack.net ryan--- via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

>
> Anyone have experience with the Moto 88k VME boards?  I have an MVME197LE
> that I’m trying to bring up but it’s staying in BRDFAIL, while SYSCON and
> RUN are green and pressing RESET appears to work.
>
> Nothing on console at all. (via a 712 transition module)
>
> Same behavior with the NVRAM removed.
>
> I do have the mezzanine card which has stayed affixed with an interesting
> inter-board connection.  (Is this separate-able?  Should it function
> without this DRAM?).
>
>
> I’ll dive deep into debugging this, but if anyone has some tips or
> experience they could share it would be appreciated!
>
> Thanks!
>
> -Ryan Brooks
> r...@hack.net
>

RE: IDE-SD adapter question

[Maciej W. Rozycki via cctalk]

Eugene,

> Jonas, I am using an SD card, not CF because I need to move files from a 
> laptop to this computer using the SD. Having said that, I suspect 
> everything you said is still true. I don't have access to any linux. But 
> do you think I could make a 300MB partition (for example) on the SD card 
> and use that? I only have windows 7 or 10 machines available to me 
> (other than some PDP machines!)  I don't need very much space. I would 
> like to run windows 95 and two or three other programs.

 It didn't strike me why you needed to use SD rather than CF.

 As my memory has certainly already faded to some extent in this area I 
did a little investigation, and with some reminders I came across I need 
to mention the requirement to make the CHS geometry recorded in the MBR
partition table match one reported by the PC BIOS (as entered in the setup 
program) and the device itself.

 The ATA protocol provides for CHS geometry modification with one of the 
optional commands that the PC BIOS or other software may use for one 
reason or another, but the adapter may not necessarily support it, so one 
used with the PC BIOS of your intended device does need to match one used 
with the firmware.

 To make sure this doesn't get broken somewhere on the way you may want to 
start from scratch and erase the partition table on the SD card.  I can't 
provide you advice other than with Linux as to how to do that, now that 
UEFI is in picture.

 Once that has been done you need to establish the CHS geometry the 
adapter will use with your SD card.  You can use a detection program as I 
noted previously, however a 2GB unit is surely above the 528MB limit, so 
you can guess 1024/16/63 will be right as that is the maximum of the 
intersection of the ATA and PC BIOS CHS geometry limits and the adapter 
ought to handle it if it does the CHS stuff at all.  So use that with your 
intended computer's PC BIOS setup.

 Then boot the machine from a floppy or another device, with the SD and 
the adapter wired, and use whatever tools the OS has to partition the SD.  
Install the MBR as required.  E.g. with DOS this will be `fdisk /mbr', and 
the same command with no arguments to make the partition table.

 If you can use a Linux machine, then I can help setting up the SD card 
directly.

 I have come across: , where 
people report success with hardware as old as 80386, whose PC BIOS surely 
had no idea about LBA, and there haven't been that many ATA-SD adapter 
chip designs made, so chances are yours will work too with sufficient 
care, and the warning as to the use of LBA may have simply come from the 
difficulty to set up SD medium for CHS operation correctly.

 HTH, and good luck!

  Maciej

Re: Bringing up MVME 197LE (88k)

[r...@hack.net ryan--- via cctalk]

Some progress tonight.  Getting this on console with the memory mezzanine 
disconnected (see below).

Regardless of what I type I get the Framing Error response and no echoing.

Thanks for any more insights,

Ryan

---

Copyright Motorola Inc. 1988 - 1994, All Rights Reserved
MVME197 Debugger/Diagnostics Release Version 1.1 - 06/17/94 (06_17.14)
COLD Start
Local Memory Found =0400 (&67108864)
WARNING: Configuration Data Failure (Invoke 'ENV' Command)
WARNING: Board Configuration Data Failure
MPU Clock Speed =50Mhz
Initializing local memory... 
002000400060008000A000C000E00100012001400160018001A001C001E00200022002400260028002A002C002E00300032003400360038003A003C003E00400
 Done
Idle MPU(s) : NONE
197-Bug>
--Framing Error--
197-Bug>
--Framing Error--
...

> On June 30, 2020 5:36 PM Plamen Mihaylov  
> wrote:
> 
> 
> Even with a dead battery you should have seen console output. I would 
> check the serial cable, p2 adapter and 712 console port jumpers first.
> You could try to boot directly from the eprom which holds the 
> 197bbug(using the DIP switches) in case the 197bug has been flashed with 
> custom firmware(never seen this, but who knows). You can remove the 297 
> expansion card as 197 has its own memory soldered on the back-side.
> 
> 
> On Tuesday, June 30, 2020, r...@hack.net mailto:r...@hack.net ryan--- via 
> cctalk < cctalk@classiccmp.org mailto:cctalk@classiccmp.org > wrote:
> 
> > > Anyone have experience with the Moto 88k VME boards?  I 
> have an MVME197LE that I’m trying to bring up but it’s staying in BRDFAIL,...
> > 
> > > 

Re: UniSys ClearPath OS/2200 Express?

[Bill Gunshannon via cctalk]

On 6/30/20 6:29 PM, Alan Perry via cctalk wrote:

Why would one get OS/2200 when they can get 
https://www.unisys.com/offerings/clearpath-forward/clearpath-forward-products/clearpath-mcp-software/clearpath-mcp-express
 ?



Because I very much enjoyed working on Exec-8 on the 1100 lo those
40 years ago.  :-)

bill

Re: IBM System/370 turns 50 years old

[Paul Koning via cctalk]

> On Jun 30, 2020, at 7:38 PM, Jon Elson via cctalk  
> wrote:
> 
> 
>> On 30/06/2020 16:44, Kyle Owen via cctalk wrote:
>>> Happy birthday to the 370! Looks like it was released to the press on 30
>>> June 1970.
>>> 
>>> https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/mainframe/mainframe_PR370.html 
>>> 
> Well, actually, IBM released the first 370 in 1968, only they didn't want to 
> tell anybody too soon.
> So, they camouflaged it as a new 360 model, the /85, ...

That's interesting.

DEC at one point used that same number for the VAX-11/780.  I once at DECUS was 
shown a secret document which was the instruction list (similar in form to the 
way it appeared on the "VAX code card").  The document described it as being 
for the PDP-11/85.

I think that was at DECUS Chicago, 1977 perhaps, and I think the person who 
showed it to me was the attendee from Oregon Museum of Science and Industry 
(OMSI -- which later became a company with the same initials but a different 
name).  I never saw anything more along those lines until the official 
announcement with the real name, but I'm pretty sure about that memory.

paul

Re: UniSys ClearPath OS/2200 Express?

[Alan Perry via cctalk]

On 6/30/20 4:32 PM, Kevin Monceaux via cctalk wrote:

Alan,

On Tue, Jun 30, 2020 at 03:29:31PM -0700, Alan Perry via cctalk wrote:


Why would one get OS/2200 when they can get 
https://www.unisys.com/offerings/clearpath-forward/clearpath-forward-products/clearpath-mcp-software/clearpath-mcp-express
 ?

OK, I may be a little biased since my first job out of college was working at 
Burroughs on MCP.


I don't remember how I stumbled across the OS/2200 Express download option.
I hadn't found the MCP Express download option.  Now that you've pointed it
out, my download request has been submitted.

Hello, my name is Kevin, and I'm a mainframe emulator/mainframe OS addict.
:-)


Since I worked on the Burroughs stuff, I keep up with what Unisys has 
done with it over the years. When I saw that the 2200 stuff was 
available for free, I figured that the MCP stuff would be as well.


Actually I wasn't so interested in MCP, but I liked the stack 
architecture and programming in NEWP (aside from the all caps syntax). I 
missed the good old says when the MCP source code told the illicit story 
of George and Sophia.


alan

Re: IBM System/370 turns 50 years old

[Jon Elson via cctalk]

On 30/06/2020 16:44, Kyle Owen via cctalk wrote:
Happy birthday to the 370! Looks like it was released to 
the press on 30

June 1970.

https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/mainframe/mainframe_PR370.html 



Well, actually, IBM released the first 370 in 1968, only 
they didn't want to tell anybody too soon.
So, they camouflaged it as a new 360 model, the /85, and 
only sold it to the (US) NSA, so nobody was going to get to 
see it for a while.


The 360/85 was a prototype of the 370/165, and they really 
didn't change much to make it the 370.
The /85 had 16-bit static RAM for a small writable control 
store and storage buffer (cache), as well as a read-only 
control store for the 360 instruction set.  The 370/168 
moved up to 64-bit static RAM chips, and the entire control 
store was writable.  They also changed the logic cabinet 
layout a bit.


The computer console was identical, as far as I can tell, 
although photos of the /85 are extremely rare.
The /85 was the first machine IBM delivered with the MST4 
monolithic logic chips, storage buffer, writable control 
store, water cooling, and probably a few other things.


Jon

Re: UniSys ClearPath OS/2200 Express?

[Kevin Monceaux via cctalk]

Alan,

On Tue, Jun 30, 2020 at 03:29:31PM -0700, Alan Perry via cctalk wrote:

> Why would one get OS/2200 when they can get 
> https://www.unisys.com/offerings/clearpath-forward/clearpath-forward-products/clearpath-mcp-software/clearpath-mcp-express
>  ?
> 
> OK, I may be a little biased since my first job out of college was working at 
> Burroughs on MCP.

I don't remember how I stumbled across the OS/2200 Express download option.
I hadn't found the MCP Express download option.  Now that you've pointed it
out, my download request has been submitted.

Hello, my name is Kevin, and I'm a mainframe emulator/mainframe OS addict.
:-)


 

-- 

Kevin
http://www.RawFedDogs.net
http://www.Lassie.xyz
http://www.WacoAgilityGroup.org
Bruceville, TX

What's the definition of a legacy system? One that works!
Errare humanum est, ignoscere caninum.

Re: IBM System/370 turns 50 years old

[Nigel Johnson via cctalk]

I remember the day!  I was in school then, and had  an older friend who 
worked at IBM.  He had previously told me that they had bought the 
entire (416)360 exchange for their offices, and I asked him if they were 
all going to change to 370 now!


cheers,

Nigel



Nigel Johnson, MSc., MIEEE, VE3ID/G4AJQ/VA3MCU
Amateur Radio, the origin of the open-source concept!
Skype:  TILBURY2591 nw.john...@ieee.org



On 30/06/2020 16:44, Kyle Owen via cctalk wrote:

Happy birthday to the 370! Looks like it was released to the press on 30
June 1970.

https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/mainframe/mainframe_PR370.html

Kyle

Re: UniSys ClearPath OS/2200 Express?

[Alan Perry via cctalk]

Why would one get OS/2200 when they can get 
https://www.unisys.com/offerings/clearpath-forward/clearpath-forward-products/clearpath-mcp-software/clearpath-mcp-express
 ?

OK, I may be a little biased since my first job out of college was working at 
Burroughs on MCP.

alan 

> On Jun 30, 2020, at 11:41, Kevin Monceaux via cctech  
> wrote:
> 
> Classic Computer Fans,
> 
> Technically this isn't a classic OS, but I suspect its lineage goes back far
> enough to be of interest.  Has anyone tried out UniSys ClearPath OS/2200
> Express?
> 
>
> https://www.UniSys.com/offerings/clearpath-forward/clearpath-forward-products/clearpath-os-2200-software/clearpath-os-2200-express
> 
> I normally don't run Windows at home, but have set up a Windows 7 VM to try
> it out.  It includes a few PDFs, including basic startup and shutdown
> procedures.  I haven't found any intro to OS/2200 type docs yet.  If anyone
> knows of any, please let me know.  It looks like it could be an interesting
> system, if I can ever learn my way around.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> 
> Kevin
> http://www.RawFedDogs.net
> http://www.Lassie.xyz
> http://www.WacoAgilityGroup.org
> Bruceville, TX
> 
> What's the definition of a legacy system? One that works!
> Errare humanum est, ignoscere caninum.

Re: FS: Video Toaster partial system

[Jules Richardson via cctalk]

On 6/30/20 11:58 AM, JP Hindin via cctalk wrote:


A person on Reddit picked up what appears to be part of a Video Toaster and 
is interested in getting it to someone who can actually use it. I offered 
to pass on the message-


The system is in a PC case, with two full-height 5.25" Seagate SCSI disks 
and a third-height 3.5" IBM SCSI disk, plus an optical drive and two 3.5" 
floppy disk drives.


There's a standard-looking AT power supply and a (looks like) passive 
16-bit ISA bus that has a single card in it which matches a NewTek TBCii 
"Time Base Correction" board.


FWIW I don't know to what extent some form of time base correction was 
required; I think Toasters are still capable of "doing stuff" in other 
ways, and this would have been a standalone [optional] product.


I've got three machines with Toasters, and a 286 PC with time base 
correction hardware, but sadly no docs at present. The 286 PC seems to be 
similar to "your" setup, in that it's only really used for its PSU and ISA 
backplane; mine has a Progressive Image Technology "Kitchen Sync" board 
fitted, along with AmiLink VM-T and VM-TRR boards.


I've sent the person an email, anyway. If it's within driving distance I'll 
try and acquire the drives and card at least (I got the impression they 
might be interested in hanging on to the case/PSU) - given that old drives 
don't travel well I don't think I'd mess with shipping, though.


cheers

Jules

[no subject]

[William Pechter via cctalk]

Re: UniSys ClearPath OS/2200 Express?

[Kevin Monceaux via cctalk]

Bill,

On Tue, Jun 30, 2020 at 04:26:52PM -0400, Bill Gunshannon via cctalk wrote:
 
> Technically, I think it kinda qualifies.  I was an old Univac-1100
> running Exec-8 programmer and I have already been told on more than
> one occasion that my experience is totally up to date  on the 2200.

That's good.

> I am running it just fine under Wine on Ubuntu.

I'll have to give Wine a try.  I don't know how long I'll be able to use the
Windows 7 VM without a license key.

> I don't remember there being anything like that even in the days of
> the 1100.  There were Univac Education Courses but nothing in the
> general press.  It is different, at least at the ECL vs. JCL level.

After posting I found the Exec System Software Operations Manual:

https://Public.Support.UniSys.com/2200/docs/CP17.0/PDF/78310281-032.pdf

which has some introductory information on console keyins, etc.  I think
it'll help me get familiar with some of the OS basics, command parameter
formats, etc.  I was an IBM operator for a couple of decades, so learning
console commands is right up my alley.





-- 

Kevin
http://www.RawFedDogs.net
http://www.Lassie.xyz
http://www.WacoAgilityGroup.org
Bruceville, TX

What's the definition of a legacy system? One that works!
Errare humanum est, ignoscere caninum.

IBM System/370 turns 50 years old

[Kyle Owen via cctalk]

Happy birthday to the 370! Looks like it was released to the press on 30
June 1970.

https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/mainframe/mainframe_PR370.html

Kyle

Re: UniSys ClearPath OS/2200 Express?

[Bill Gunshannon via cctalk]

On 6/30/20 2:27 PM, Kevin Monceaux via cctalk wrote:

Classic Computer Fans,

Technically this isn't a classic OS, but I suspect its lineage goes back far
enough to be of interest.  Has anyone tried out UniSys ClearPath OS/2200
Express?



Technically, I think it kinda qualifies.  I was an old Univac-1100
running Exec-8 programmer and I have already been told on more than
one occasion that my experience is totally up to date  on the 2200.


 
https://www.UniSys.com/offerings/clearpath-forward/clearpath-forward-products/clearpath-os-2200-software/clearpath-os-2200-express

I normally don't run Windows at home, but have set up a Windows 7 VM to try
it out.


I am running it just fine under Wine on Ubuntu.


  It includes a few PDFs, including basic startup and shutdown
procedures.  I haven't found any intro to OS/2200 type docs yet.  


I don't remember there being anything like that even in the days of
the 1100.  There were Univac Education Courses but nothing in the
general press.  It is different, at least at the ECL vs. JCL level.



 If anyone
knows of any, please let me know.  It looks like it could be an interesting
system, if I can ever learn my way around.


Last I looked Unisys had all their docs online.  I never looked for
any of the training manuals.  I enjoyed working on them and tried to
get back into it a number of years ago.  The IRS is a big 1100/2200
shop.  I came out of the process "with the highest rating" but a typical
government fiasco hiring freeze over budget caused them to select no
one and I never really tried again.

bill

UniSys ClearPath OS/2200 Express?

[Kevin Monceaux via cctalk]

Classic Computer Fans,

Technically this isn't a classic OS, but I suspect its lineage goes back far
enough to be of interest.  Has anyone tried out UniSys ClearPath OS/2200
Express?


https://www.UniSys.com/offerings/clearpath-forward/clearpath-forward-products/clearpath-os-2200-software/clearpath-os-2200-express

I normally don't run Windows at home, but have set up a Windows 7 VM to try
it out.  It includes a few PDFs, including basic startup and shutdown
procedures.  I haven't found any intro to OS/2200 type docs yet.  If anyone
knows of any, please let me know.  It looks like it could be an interesting
system, if I can ever learn my way around.





-- 

Kevin
http://www.RawFedDogs.net
http://www.Lassie.xyz
http://www.WacoAgilityGroup.org
Bruceville, TX

What's the definition of a legacy system? One that works!
Errare humanum est, ignoscere caninum.

Re: A tool many of you may make find useful!

[Richard Pope via cctalk]

Tor,
That is very possible. I haven't installed 7Zip but I will do that 
in the next few days. I am kind of overwhelmed with other things at the 
moment.

GOD Bless and Thanks,
rich!

On 6/30/2020 3:47 AM, Tor Arntsen via cctalk wrote:

  Ultimate Zip is showing that the file is empty. Hum! I have been
using Ultimate Zip for decades. Hum! I wounder what is going on!

*Nix 'unzip' shows it as perfectly fine. Could it be that Ultimate Zip
is so old that it only supports zip files where the directory is at
the beginning of the zip file, and not at the end? Like how the first
versions of pkzip did?

FS: Video Toaster partial system

[JP Hindin via cctalk]

A person on Reddit picked up what appears to be part of a Video Toaster 
and is interested in getting it to someone who can actually use it. I 
offered to pass on the message-


The system is in a PC case, with two full-height 5.25" Seagate SCSI disks 
and a third-height 3.5" IBM SCSI disk, plus an optical drive and two 3.5" 
floppy disk drives.


There's a standard-looking AT power supply and a (looks like) passive 
16-bit ISA bus that has a single card in it which matches a NewTek TBCii 
"Time Base Correction" board.


Pictures here:
 https://imgur.com/gallery/lqmRz6i

They do want money, but not much, although shipping might be a bit steep 
for a case of this size and with the weight of the PSU and two full-height 
disks. I am not sure of their location, I got the impression (possibly 
wrongly) they were US based.


eMail address is:
shishkebarbar...@gmail.com

I have no affiliation with the seller and all information is derived from 
the images taken, so do please contact them directly.


 - JP

Re: DZ11 EIA dist panel on eBait

[Paul Koning via cctalk]

> On Jun 30, 2020, at 12:19 PM, Tony Duell via cctalk  
> wrote:
> 
> On Tue, Jun 30, 2020 at 5:15 PM ed--- via cctalk  
> wrote:
> 
 Connecting a DZ11 directly to the pcb with the connectors won't work 
 directly as expected.
>>> 
>>> Why not? I've linked up DZ11s to the distribution panel PCB with a
>>> straight ribbon cable and had no problems.
>>> 
>>> The RFI filters effectively swap odd and even pins in the cable (the
>>> pins are straight through the filter but of course you look at them
>>> from opposite sides). That's why the short ribbon cables between the
>>> filters and the distribution panel are not straight through but have
>>> crossover connections.. But if you remove both the filter and the
>>> crossover cable it will work as you expect.
>>> 
>>> -tony
>> 
>> Ah, I did not know that, interesting to know.
> 
> I suspect the filters were a later addition. The original idea was to
> just connect the DZ11 PCB to the distribution PCB with a
> straight-through cable. But the filters had to be added to meet some
> interference regulations (is that fcc part 15??), the filters swapped
> the pins over, hence the special crossover cables between the filters
> and the distribution PCB.

That sounds right.  Yes, FCC part 15.  That arrived somewhere in the middle of 
the PDP-11 era, so old PDP-11 peripherals and systems don't comply while later 
ones do.

paul

Re: DZ11 EIA dist panel on eBait

[Tony Duell via cctalk]

On Tue, Jun 30, 2020 at 5:15 PM ed--- via cctalk  wrote:

> >> Connecting a DZ11 directly to the pcb with the connectors won't work 
> >> directly as expected.
> >
> > Why not? I've linked up DZ11s to the distribution panel PCB with a
> > straight ribbon cable and had no problems.
> >
> > The RFI filters effectively swap odd and even pins in the cable (the
> > pins are straight through the filter but of course you look at them
> > from opposite sides). That's why the short ribbon cables between the
> > filters and the distribution panel are not straight through but have
> > crossover connections.. But if you remove both the filter and the
> > crossover cable it will work as you expect.
> >
> > -tony
>
> Ah, I did not know that, interesting to know.

I suspect the filters were a later addition. The original idea was to
just connect the DZ11 PCB to the distribution PCB with a
straight-through cable. But the filters had to be added to meet some
interference regulations (is that fcc part 15??), the filters swapped
the pins over, hence the special crossover cables between the filters
and the distribution PCB. Had the filters been part of the original
design then either they would have been on the distribution PCB or the
PCBs would have been designed so that all cables were straight (in
which case it would not have worked without the filters.

-tony

Re: DZ11 EIA dist panel on eBait

[ed--- via cctalk]

June 30, 2020 4:58 PM, "Tony Duell"  wrote:

> On Tue, Jun 30, 2020 at 3:17 PM ed--- via cctalk  
> wrote:
> 
>> June 27, 2020 8:05 PM, "Noel Chiappa via cctalk"  
>> wrote:
>> 
>> https://www.ebay.com/itm/224058116598
>> 
>> Noel
>> 
>> Looks nice, but the cover, the static filter and the 2 small flatcables with 
>> twisted wires are
>> missing.
>> Connecting a DZ11 directly to the pcb with the connectors won't work 
>> directly as expected.
> 
> Why not? I've linked up DZ11s to the distribution panel PCB with a
> straight ribbon cable and had no problems.
> 
> The RFI filters effectively swap odd and even pins in the cable (the
> pins are straight through the filter but of course you look at them
> from opposite sides). That's why the short ribbon cables between the
> filters and the distribution panel are not straight through but have
> crossover connections.. But if you remove both the filter and the
> crossover cable it will work as you expect.
> 
> -tony

Ah, I did not know that, interesting to know.

Ed

Re: DZ11 EIA dist panel on eBait

[Tony Duell via cctalk]

On Tue, Jun 30, 2020 at 3:17 PM ed--- via cctalk  wrote:
>
> June 27, 2020 8:05 PM, "Noel Chiappa via cctalk"  
> wrote:
>
> > https://www.ebay.com/itm/224058116598
> >
> > Noel
>
> Looks nice, but the cover, the static filter and the 2 small flatcables with 
> twisted wires are missing.
> Connecting a DZ11 directly to the pcb with the connectors won't work directly 
> as expected.

Why not? I've linked up DZ11s to the distribution panel PCB with a
straight ribbon cable and had no problems.

The RFI filters effectively swap odd and even pins in the cable (the
pins are straight through the filter but of course you look at them
from opposite sides). That's why the short ribbon cables between the
filters and the distribution panel are not straight through but have
crossover connections.. But if you remove both the filter and the
crossover cable it will work as you expect.

-tony

DEC H-500 re-creation on Instructables

[Will Cooke via cctalk]

Thought this might be of interest:
An instructables project to recreate the DEC H-500.
https://www.instructables.com/id/DEC-H-500-Computer-Lab-Reproduction/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
Will

Re: DZ11 EIA dist panel on eBait

[ed--- via cctalk]

June 27, 2020 8:05 PM, "Noel Chiappa via cctalk"  wrote:

> https://www.ebay.com/itm/224058116598
> 
> Noel

Looks nice, but the cover, the static filter and the 2 small flatcables with 
twisted wires are missing.
Connecting a DZ11 directly to the pcb with the connectors won't work directly 
as expected.

Re: Zenith MinisPort laptop memory issue?

[Bill Degnan via cctalk]

Paul,
Worst case you can borrow my copy of that laptop, swap parts until you find
the bad component that way.
Bill

On Tue, Jun 30, 2020 at 8:55 AM Paul Rickards via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> Hi All,
>
> I'm restoring a Zenith MinisPort laptop, an 8088 based laptop with a
> monochrome screen and 2" floppy drive.
>
> I have a Twitter thread of the restoration so far with pics:
> https://twitter.com/paulrickards/status/1272280795529519105
>
> I recapped the internal power supply board which seems to be working well
> now.
>
> The next issue appears to be memory. The unit won't store the BIOS settings
> properly, even with new lithium batteries or warm restart. In the BIOS
> menu, setting the clock with a "0" changes to "32". Same with the date, if
> you set the day or month, it adds 32 to it.
>
> The internal memory test reported a memory error at B800: bit 5. This
> seems to coincide with the BIOS "0" turning into 32 on screen.
>
> When it eventually boots from the internal MS-DOS 3.3 ROM, it looks fine
> until the screen starts to scroll. The character case of all text on the
> screen changes from lower to upper case.
>
> Anyone know how to map a bit 5 error to a component on the motherboard?
> Would a memory map help here?
>
> Longshot: anyone have a service manual for the Zenith MinisPort ZL-1 (or
> ZL-2)?
>
> Thanks,
> Paul Rickards
> biosrhythm.com
>

Zenith MinisPort laptop memory issue?

[Paul Rickards via cctalk]

Hi All,

I'm restoring a Zenith MinisPort laptop, an 8088 based laptop with a
monochrome screen and 2" floppy drive.

I have a Twitter thread of the restoration so far with pics:
https://twitter.com/paulrickards/status/1272280795529519105

I recapped the internal power supply board which seems to be working well
now.

The next issue appears to be memory. The unit won't store the BIOS settings
properly, even with new lithium batteries or warm restart. In the BIOS
menu, setting the clock with a "0" changes to "32". Same with the date, if
you set the day or month, it adds 32 to it.

The internal memory test reported a memory error at B800: bit 5. This
seems to coincide with the BIOS "0" turning into 32 on screen.

When it eventually boots from the internal MS-DOS 3.3 ROM, it looks fine
until the screen starts to scroll. The character case of all text on the
screen changes from lower to upper case.

Anyone know how to map a bit 5 error to a component on the motherboard?
Would a memory map help here?

Longshot: anyone have a service manual for the Zenith MinisPort ZL-1 (or
ZL-2)?

Thanks,
Paul Rickards
biosrhythm.com

Re: A tool many of you may make find useful!

[Tor Arntsen via cctalk]

> >  Ultimate Zip is showing that the file is empty. Hum! I have been
> > using Ultimate Zip for decades. Hum! I wounder what is going on!

*Nix 'unzip' shows it as perfectly fine. Could it be that Ultimate Zip
is so old that it only supports zip files where the directory is at
the beginning of the zip file, and not at the end? Like how the first
versions of pkzip did?

Re: Bringing up MVME 197LE (88k)

[Rico Pajarola via cctalk]

Make sure the configuration switch for system controller matches the slot
it's in. Fixing the NVRAM seems like a good next step. Not sure I'd remove
the memory mezzanine, I don't think the board can do much without it.



On Mon, Jun 29, 2020 at 3:53 PM r...@hack.net ryan--- via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

>
> Anyone have experience with the Moto 88k VME boards?  I have an MVME197LE
> that I’m trying to bring up but it’s staying in BRDFAIL, while SYSCON and
> RUN are green and pressing RESET appears to work.
>
> Nothing on console at all. (via a 712 transition module)
>
> Same behavior with the NVRAM removed.
>
> I do have the mezzanine card which has stayed affixed with an interesting
> inter-board connection.  (Is this separate-able?  Should it function
> without this DRAM?).
>
>
> I’ll dive deep into debugging this, but if anyone has some tips or
> experience they could share it would be appreciated!
>
> Thanks!
>
> -Ryan Brooks
> r...@hack.net
>