[cctalk] Ampex and the DG Compatible Market

[Paul Birkel via cctalk]

Although I knew that Ampex was a supplier of Multibus non-volatile RAM
boards (MC-8080 and MCM-8086) - Memory Products Division - I didn't realize
that they had competed for a while in the DG-compatible market alongside
companies like Digidyne, Fairchild, Bytronix, and SCI Systems (according to
court documents and the trade press).

 

Can anyone shed light on what they offered and when?  And perhaps why?

 

Thank you,

paul

[cctalk] Re: Ampex and the DG Compatible Market

[Nigel Johnson Ham via cctalk]

Around 1979 I was given a full-size Ampex 4k DG-compatible core memory 
board to try and interface to a MC6800 development system that I was 
building. IIRC I got it basically working but abandoned the project as 
the price of DRAMs fell and could populate a 16k RAM board within my 
budget. It was for a ham radio repeater controller.


Wow!  I had almost forgotten that, and it was difficult to drag it from 
the little grey cells!


cheers,

Nigel


On 2023-12-05 06:07, Paul Birkel via cctalk wrote:

Although I knew that Ampex was a supplier of Multibus non-volatile RAM
boards (MC-8080 and MCM-8086) - Memory Products Division - I didn't realize
that they had competed for a while in the DG-compatible market alongside
companies like Digidyne, Fairchild, Bytronix, and SCI Systems (according to
court documents and the trade press).

  


Can anyone shed light on what they offered and when?  And perhaps why?

  


Thank you,

paul


--
Nigel Johnson, MSc., MIEEE, MCSE VE3ID/G4AJQ/VA3MCU
Amateur Radio, the origin of the open-source concept!
Skype:  TILBURY2591

[cctalk] Re: Ampex and the DG Compatible Market

[Bill Degnan via cctalk]

I can't at the moment, but I bet if one were to review a random assortment
of CompuerWorld newspapers or industry magazine from the 70's (not Byte or
a PC/retail) you'd see a lot of RAM vendor ads, Ampex included.  I have at
least one Ampex core RAM board, I always thought they were among market
share leaders of minicomputer RAM in the 70's.
Bill

On Tue, Dec 5, 2023 at 7:49 AM Nigel Johnson Ham via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> Around 1979 I was given a full-size Ampex 4k DG-compatible core memory
> board to try and interface to a MC6800 development system that I was
> building. IIRC I got it basically working but abandoned the project as
> the price of DRAMs fell and could populate a 16k RAM board within my
> budget. It was for a ham radio repeater controller.
>
> Wow!  I had almost forgotten that, and it was difficult to drag it from
> the little grey cells!
>
> cheers,
>
> Nigel
>
>
> On 2023-12-05 06:07, Paul Birkel via cctalk wrote:
> > Although I knew that Ampex was a supplier of Multibus non-volatile RAM
> > boards (MC-8080 and MCM-8086) - Memory Products Division - I didn't
> realize
> > that they had competed for a while in the DG-compatible market alongside
> > companies like Digidyne, Fairchild, Bytronix, and SCI Systems (according
> to
> > court documents and the trade press).
> >
> >
> >
> > Can anyone shed light on what they offered and when?  And perhaps why?
> >
> >
> >
> > Thank you,
> >
> > paul
> >
> --
> Nigel Johnson, MSc., MIEEE, MCSE VE3ID/G4AJQ/VA3MCU
> Amateur Radio, the origin of the open-source concept!
> Skype:  TILBURY2591
>
>

[cctalk] Re: Ampex and the DG Compatible Market

[Paul Birkel via cctalk]

Not surprising given that they had a whole "division" devoted to memory 
products.  Core memory would have been reasonably close to their magnetic 
tape-expertise.  What is surprising is that they apparently sold a 
DG-compatible Nova-class CPU.  Something like the Digidyne "D.D. 112" (name 
found mentioned in one legal filing in the DG lawsuit).

I can't find anything specific about any of those vendors and their products.  
List appears in "Fairchild Joins Four Others: Firm Starts $30 Million Suit 
Against DG", Computerworld, Nov. 6 1978.

-Original Message-
From: Bill Degnan via cctalk  
Sent: Tuesday, December 5, 2023 8:55 AM
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts 
Cc: Bill Degnan 
Subject: [cctalk] Re: Ampex and the DG Compatible Market

I can't at the moment, but I bet if one were to review a random assortment of 
CompuerWorld newspapers or industry magazine from the 70's (not Byte or a 
PC/retail) you'd see a lot of RAM vendor ads, Ampex included.  I have at least 
one Ampex core RAM board, I always thought they were among market share leaders 
of minicomputer RAM in the 70's.
Bill

On Tue, Dec 5, 2023 at 7:49 AM Nigel Johnson Ham via cctalk < 
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> Around 1979 I was given a full-size Ampex 4k DG-compatible core memory 
> board to try and interface to a MC6800 development system that I was 
> building. IIRC I got it basically working but abandoned the project as 
> the price of DRAMs fell and could populate a 16k RAM board within my 
> budget. It was for a ham radio repeater controller.
>
> Wow!  I had almost forgotten that, and it was difficult to drag it 
> from the little grey cells!
>
> cheers,
>
> Nigel
>
>
> On 2023-12-05 06:07, Paul Birkel via cctalk wrote:
> > Although I knew that Ampex was a supplier of Multibus non-volatile 
> > RAM boards (MC-8080 and MCM-8086) - Memory Products Division - I 
> > didn't realize that they had competed for a while in the 
> > DG-compatible market alongside companies like Digidyne, Fairchild, 
> > Bytronix, and SCI Systems (according to court documents and the 
> > trade press).
> >
> >
> >
> > Can anyone shed light on what they offered and when?  And perhaps why?
> >
> >
> >
> > Thank you,
> >
> > paul
> >
> --
> Nigel Johnson, MSc., MIEEE, MCSE VE3ID/G4AJQ/VA3MCU Amateur Radio, the 
> origin of the open-source concept!
> Skype:  TILBURY2591
>
>

[cctalk] Re: Ampex and the DG Compatible Market

[Lothar Schröder via cctalk]

I hava a technical manual from 1977 for the ARM-3 16kx16 Magnetic Core Memory.
It's designed for the DG NOVA3/4 and 3/10 minicomputers.
In the manual is mentioned a ARM-2 Memory.

Lothar

[cctalk] Re: Trouble with a Samsung monitor

[Jon Elson via cctalk]

On 12/3/23 15:44, Van Snyder via cctalk wrote:

I have a formerly-gorgeous 27-inch Samsung monitor:

Model LF27T350FHNXZA
Serial 0AS1HCNR904588L
S/W M-T3527FGGA-1006.1

that now has a minor defect. The "wallpaper" has a dim stripe about
1/6th of the screen width, top-to-bottom, about 1/6th from the right
edge, where the blue band appears when I run its self test. Windows
display almost normally, with a little bit of dimness in that band for
some colors. White is fine, black is gray,  Changing the wallpaper
doesn't change it. Fiddling with its internal settings doesn't change
it. Photo athttp://vandykle.mynetgear.com/Samsung-27.jpg.

Is this the sort of thing that can be repaired at reasonable cost, or
should I just live with it until the monitor fails altogether?

My guess is that a vertical column driver chip has failed, 
or possibly gotten a bad solder joint to the glass. Some 
people have reported success by placing foam tape to apply 
pressure to the chip to apply a little pressure to the 
connections when the case is closed.


Jon

[cctalk] SMS Scientific Micro Systems corp history?

[Shoppa, Tim via cctalk]

SMS was based in Mountain View starting in the 70's. They sold DEC-compatible 
Q-bus storage systems in the early 80's and transitioned into IBM PC disk 
storage ASICs and boards under the OMTI brand in the late 80s.

What happened to them after that? Some CC'er in Silicon Valley must know :-)

Tim N3QE

Get Outlook for iOS

[cctalk] Re: SMS Scientific Micro Systems corp history?

[Chuck Guzis via cctalk]

On 12/5/23 16:59, Shoppa, Tim via cctalk wrote:
> SMS was based in Mountain View starting in the 70's. They sold DEC-compatible 
> Q-bus storage systems in the early 80's and transitioned into IBM PC disk 
> storage ASICs and boards under the OMTI brand in the late 80s.
> 

SMS declared bankruptcy in 1988 after BofA ended their LOC.  Assets were
picked up by C&T in 1989 for $16M.  C&T then sold off the board business
and held onto the ASIC products.  C&T made it clear that they had no
interest in the board products and intended to sell it off even before
the deal was finalized.

Your typical silicon valley slice-and-dice.

--Chuck

[cctalk] Re: SMS Scientific Micro Systems corp history?

[Nigel Johnson Ham via cctalk]

Thanks for that, Tim.  I was VP Ops of the Canadian Distributor for Data 
Systems design, and we got a lot of fierce competition from SMS.  
However, when non-patched drivers were called for, we won every time.


SMS did have some speed advantages by going their own way though!

I always wondered what happened to them!

cheers,

Nigel


On 2023-12-05 19:59, Shoppa, Tim via cctalk wrote:

SMS was based in Mountain View starting in the 70's. They sold DEC-compatible 
Q-bus storage systems in the early 80's and transitioned into IBM PC disk 
storage ASICs and boards under the OMTI brand in the late 80s.

What happened to them after that? Some CC'er in Silicon Valley must know :-)

Tim N3QE

Get Outlook for iOS


--
Nigel Johnson, MSc., MIEEE, MCSE VE3ID/G4AJQ/VA3MCU
Amateur Radio, the origin of the open-source concept!
Skype:  TILBURY2591

[cctalk] Re: SMS Scientific Micro Systems corp history?

[Chuck Guzis via cctalk]

A little addition is that after the sale to C&T, most of the SMS
employees were shifted to Televideo who bought the SMS board business.

--Chuck

[cctalk] VCFed warehouse closure reminder

[Thomas G via cctalk]

Hello all,

This is a reminder that the Vintage Computer Federation's warehouse will be
sealed for renovation, reorganization, and inventorying starting on *January
1st, 2024*. As such, no items will be permitted into or out of the
warehouse unless absolutely necessary. As many VCF members have used the
warehouse for storage of their personal belongings, it is imperative that
they either come to retrieve their belongings or notify me off-list (
thomas.gilin...@vcfed.org) what of theirs is currently stowed in the
warehouse so that I may tag it and relocate it outside of the warehouse.
Please provide *verifiable proof* that the item in question is your
personal property, AND that it was not given to VCF as a donation.

*All items within the warehouse that have not been verified and tagged by
January 1st will be treated as the property of VCF.*

If your item has been verified and tagged before January 1st, but you are
not able to collect it, then you will still be able to pick it up after the
cut-off date, but *ONLY* if it has been verified and tagged. And, of
course, we will periodically nag you to come collect as well.

Thanks,
-Thomas Gilinsky
Vintage Computer Federation Warehouse Manager

[cctalk] Re: Ampex and the DG Compatible Market

[Bruce Ray via cctalk]

G'day Paul -


Indeed, Ampex sold Nova-compatible computers from around 1977.

Ampex also sold memory systems for certain Nova series, PDP11, 11/70, 
DECsystem 10 and DECsystem 20, IBM, Unicac and Sigma 7 and 9(!).  These 
in addition to the disk drives, tape drives, controllers, fixed-head 
disk emulators (using core) and OEM memory components.


Bruce Ray
Wild Hare Computer Systems, Inc.
Denver, Colorado USA
b...@wildharecomputers.com

...preserving the Data General legacy: www.NovasAreForever.org

On 12/5/2023 4:07 AM, Paul Birkel via cctalk wrote:

Although I knew that Ampex was a supplier of Multibus non-volatile RAM
boards (MC-8080 and MCM-8086) - Memory Products Division - I didn't realize
that they had competed for a while in the DG-compatible market alongside
companies like Digidyne, Fairchild, Bytronix, and SCI Systems (according to
court documents and the trade press).

  


Can anyone shed light on what they offered and when?  And perhaps why?

  


Thank you,

paul