[rescue] Living computer museum & labs

[John Francini]

Cool!

Josh,

The outfit where I met TSS/8 was in the Westwood Public Schools - they had a
computer consortium called "Project Local", with three separate PDP-8/e
systems, each with an RK05 disk. Each system was connected by leased lines to
schools all over the Norwood/Canton/Westwood/several other towns area,
including one line to Xaverian Bros. HS, where I first met it.

>From what I understand, the student workers there had to do the same disk
driver mod you did to make it run on an RK05. Compared to an RF/RS08, an RK05
was quite spacious for the time.

And they had exactly one DECtape drive, with a single TD8E controller. When
they needed to do backups, they would physically move the controller from one
OMNIBUS to the next. I don't know if they eventually got more
drives/controllers or what, but it did work at the time. I think they
eventually worked out some sort of switch so they could have a controller
residing in each 8/e.

John


b
John Francini <francini at mac.com>
b
I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace;
that two are called a law firm; and that three or more become a Congress.
And by God I have had *this Congress!b
 b John Adams

> On 2 Jul 2020, at 18:19 , Josh Dersch <derschjo at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On Thu, Jul 2, 2020 at 2:39 PM John Francini <francini at mac.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi Dave,
>>
>> Thanks for the invite - some day I might make it down there, seeing as I
>> cut
>> my teeth programming a PDP-8/e running TSS/8,
>
>
> The last major project I completed at LCM+L before the pandemic was getting
> TSS/8 running on the museum's PDP-8/e, off an RK05 instead of an
> RF08/RS08.  Since we're shut down I have my port running on my 8/m at home,
> though right now since I'm unemployed and trying to save money it won't be
> up 24/7.
>
> It's up now, though, if anyone wants to play around; ssh to
> tss8 at yahozna.dyndns.org (password "tss8") and use PPN 1000, password PSWD
> for the guest account.  The TSS/8 guide for LCM still mostly applies:
> https://wiki.livingcomputers.org/doku.php?id=tss_8.
>
>
>>
>> At the moment the only 36-bit system still running is the Toad-2, because
>> that's a KL-10 in a 1U server box. I hope they reopen once the bloody
>> pandemic
>> has passed.
>>
>
> I hope so too.
>
> - Josh
>
>
>
>>
>> I will definitely make it down there some day!
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> John
>>
>>
>>
>> b
>> John Francini <francini at mac.com>
>> b I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace;
>> that two are called a law firm; and that three or more become a Congress.
>> And by God I have had *this Congress!b  b  John Adams
>>
>>> On 2 Jul 2020, at 12:22 , Dave McGuire <mcguire at neurotica.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> On 7/2/20 12:19 PM, John Francini wrote:
>>>> Hopefully this will be only temporary. A year ago, there was something
>> driving
>>>> me to get my butt out to Seattle to see the museum (I'm in New
>> Hampshire).
>> So
>>>> I took a 'busman's holiday' and went out there for a week.
>>>>
>>>> It was absolutely wonderful to be around all that old DEC iron - and it
>> was
>>>> all RUNNING too!
>>>
>>> LSSM is a lot closer to New Hampshire than Seattle, and has a pretty
>>> strong DEC slant.  Lots and lots of running machines.
>>>
>>> Not competing, just sayin'.
>>>
>>> We're closed to tours due to COVID19, but we're not "closing".
>>>
>>>> A vaccine can't come soon enough...
>>>
>>> Agreed.
>>>
>>>          -Dvae
>>>
>>> --
>>> Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
>>> New Kensington, PA
>>> _______________________________________________
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