Pre-Rescue scouting mission - info needed (nicolet, Decitek, and DG)

From: Jay West <jlwest_at_tseinc.com>
Date: Sun Feb 28 08:52:48 1999

I decided to run over to the surplus store this morning for a closer look at
the nicolet. It's in the front window so even though they're closed I could
get a good look at it. I also saw some other gear I never really noticed
before and would like to ask the list members for info.

1) Nicolet
There are two units. The first is a model NIC-80 Data Processor. It looks
identical to the unit on sellam's website. There's three rows of lights
labelled AC (18 lights +1 L light), IR, and PC. Below that is a set of
switches for the SR (switch register?). Top left is a "sweeps complete"
display. There's two yellow buttons in the upper right labelled "data
processor". Top center is a row of buttons labelled 'memory allocation',
with labels off to the left and right of "start" and "size" respectively.
There is a rotary knob labelled "vertical display scale", and several
buttons below that labelled 'ADC resolution'. Below that is two knobs
labelled Constant A and Constant B. Across the bottom are buttons for step,
deposit, examine, load PC, single ins, continue, and start. Finally on the
bottom right there are two buttons called Execute and Stop. Bottom right is
AC power keyswitch.

The second unit is a Nicolet model NIC-298 "diskette storage unit". It has
two 8" floppy drives. There's a row of lights vertically on the side called
read, write, and ltrack. There's an unlabelled pushbutton on the upper
right, and the lower right is a power switch.

Questions: The cpu definitely says model NIC-80. How does this relate to the
model sellam has? More to the point, can someone tell me about operation of
this unit with regards to what OS it ran, what compilers or languages, etc.
Did one hook up a terminal to this or was it just console input? What made
this unit different from more well known computers (ie. what was it's
specialty)? Most importantly, is any real documentation around on this unit
(operators guide, schematics, logic diagrams, programming info)?

2) Paper tape reader
There was what appeared to be a paper tape reader. Had the leftbay/rightbay
arrangement like a PDP PC04/05 with the read cells in the center. The brand
name appears to be Decitek. There were two switches in the center, one was a
toggle for power, the other I couldn't make out. I could easily be mistaken,
but the bays looked much wider than a PC04/05, making me wonder if it took
wider paper tape than I'm used to seeing.

Questions: Anyone have any ideas what type of system this was compatible
with, what type of interface it might use, and does anyone have docs for it?

3) Data General Mag Tape Unit
There is a DG 1/2" mag tape unit there too. The unit is about 13" tall by
19" wide, with a clear blue plastic cover. The takeup reel is on the left,
and it looks like it supports a very slightly smaller than normal 1/2" tape
reel (but larger than the little 8" jobs). The other hub is on the right for
your tape. There is a row of controls down the center sticking through the
blue cover. The top is a rocker switch for power, next is a group of two
lights marked 'ready' and 'write protect'. Lower is another group of two
lights marked 'bot' and 'eot'. Next is a rocker switch marked 'unload' on
the left and 'bot' on the right. At the very bottom is an offline/online
rocker switch, and a light on the online side.

Questions: There's no model on this unit I could see from the front. Anyone
hazard a guess as to the model number? What type of DG was this usually used
on, what interface does it use (pertec, scsi, proprietary, etc.), could it
be used on other systems (till I get a DG :) ), and are there any docs
available?

Finally - I'm still trying to decide if I want to get all of this or some of
it (depends on the prices, when I looked today none of this stuff was marked
so I'll have to ask the owner). If there's any of it I decide I don't want
that others here are interested in - let me know!

Jay West
Received on Sun Feb 28 1999 - 08:52:48 GMT