Wirehead Update

From: Wirehead Prime <wirehead_at_retrocomputing.com>
Date: Thu Apr 9 09:26:27 1998

First, let me make an observation. Have you ever watched 6th graders at
recess? They spend more time arguing about the rules than they do
playing the game. Just an observation. Doesn't mean anything. =-)

Second, I can't believe it. A friend of mine says he has an actual
Frieden (sp?) Flexowriter in a storage locker that he'll give me! The
Flexowriter was used as part of the console on PDP-1s etc. Steven Levy,
in Hackers, described it (not exact quote) as sounding like a small
machine gun battle. =-) I need to verify that that is what it is but
does anything have docs for these things?

Third, I've decided to set the SWTPC 6800 aside for a while until I can
get some better test gear or until I get the patience to swap chips until
I find its problem. I did lift the D input on the questionable flip-flop
(which has now been replaced 3 times without change in behavior...so it's
not the flip-flop) and *pow* the NOT HALT line goes high. System,
however, is still somewhat goofed up so I'm suspecting a problem with the
timing circuits which directly or indirectly drive all the other inputs
on the flip-flop. There's also a 7400 and a 7408 in the timing circuit,
used to do things to the clock. The 7400 has been replaced twice to no
effect but the 7408 is the chip right before the timing stuff goes to the
flip-flop and I consider it suspect. Final possibility are a pair of
complementary transistors in a dip package that someone hacked on the
board to replace the original transistors (TO package) that were there.

At any rate, I've decided to focus on the Northstar Horizon (got one in
the mail in good shape...it's not the crusty one in the garage) and the
PDP-8s and PDP-11s in the garage. Don't worry...it's an attached, dry,
semi-heated garage so they're no worse off than in the basement.

The systems that need to be brought in and dealt with are

11/34 without programmer console
11/84
3 PDP8i

I'm really excited about them because they're all in good shape...well
the 11/34 MIGHT have a problem with the RK-05f. In the truck, on the way
back from St. Louis the 11/34 broke loose from its straps (due to the
lack of diligence on the part of my assistant) and rolled all over the truck.
Hit the accellerator, *BOOOOOOM*, hit the brake *BOOOOOOM*. I thought
someone had hit me with their car. But it appeared undamaged and I've
heard stories about DEC gear being rolled down stairs and still working
so I'm somewhat hopeful. ;-)

The other thing I need to do is find uses for the pile of 386 and 486
boxes in my garage. It's 6 feet wide and 4 feet tall, neatly stacked.

A few machines running the Ersatz-11 emulator, a couple more running some
CP/M emulators, one or two for disk conversions, a few more for packet
radio and I think I shut down my local power grid. =-)

Anthony Clifton - Wirehead
Received on Thu Apr 09 1998 - 09:26:27 BST