How I would like to change the *digital* cell phone industry.

[Michael A. Terrell]

Add EPIC, EPIC Express, ITX, Mini-ITX, Nano-ITX, EBX, PCI-104, PC-104
Plus, CompactPCI, EPIC, EPIC-Express, PC/104, PC/104-Plus,
PC/104-Express, PICMG, AMC, ETX, ECX, XTX, COM-Express, COM-Express,
and probably a few I've missed. PC's own the industrial control
market. The catch is that most boards are rather expensive.

You do have to consider the total volume of sales vs the engineering
costs, plus these items are generally not built with all jelly bean
parts.

The HP 85 desktop computer with the tape drive, tiny monochrome
monitor and IEEE-488 port was used at Microdyne for some very old
equipment for test and alignment, till they finally hired a programmer
to write new software for a PC.

http://www.oldcalculatormuseum.com/hp85.html

See:
<http://www.mini-itx.com>
On the right side is a list of "projects" that various users have
built. They range from ingenious to ludicrous. All are interesting.
I suppose that could be done with a disembowled Mac, but Apple doesn't
sell motherboards so it requires cannibalization of a complete
machine. So much for the hobbyist market.

http://www.measurementcomputing.com/index.html was our supplier for
PC-104 IEEE-488 interface boards. They used to be Computer Boards, Inc.


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

Sorry about the duplicated acronyms.





You could have used an emulator.

Most of the software needed updated, anyway. The equipment being
tested had the newer IEEE-488 implementation, and the old system
couldn't make use of it. We had five of them and the cal lab could
barely keep two running. There were days we had to forcible take the
only working unit away from engineering to ship on time. After the new
software was ready, they bought a pile of NI boards for the Win 95
computers used in test and engineering. (This was pre Y2K)

Some of the old HP test hardware has
been emulated on a PC as a means of preserving the investment in
software. For the HP85:
<http://www.kaser.com/hp85.html>

Incidentally, I collect HP calculators:
<http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/hp-calc/>
Ugh. Those are ancient photos. My collection is easily twice as
large today. I also do some repairs:


They still own http:/www.ComputerBoards.com I used to buy
relatively cheap ISA and PCI I/O cards from them.

I may still have a few of the padded shipping boxes, some of each
name.


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

 

[msg]

Michael A. Terrell wrote:

I've also had IEEE-488 interfaces for the Commodore 64. I used it
with their 4023 and 8023 P series printers.

Indeed the PET 4000 and 8000 series GPIB ports are useful for
instrument control and I have seen quite a few in physics
departments doing that job.

Regards,

Michael

 

[msg]

Michael A. Terrell wrote:

The HP 85 desktop computer with the tape drive, tiny monochrome
monitor and IEEE-488 port was used at Microdyne for some very old
equipment for test and alignment, till they finally hired a programmer
to write new software for a PC.

One may be surprised at the current level of interest in HP85
hardware; many are still running well in their roles as experiment
controllers and with spares there is little impetus to replace
them.

Regards,

Michael

 

[Don Bowey]

Sorry about the duplicated acronyms.


You could have used an emulator. Some of the old HP test hardware has
been emulated on a PC as a means of preserving the investment in
software. For the HP85:
<http://www.kaser.com/hp85.html>

(snip)

I have a new, old-stock printer for the HP85, still in it's bag and box.

Is there any interest in it or is it junk?

Post here or email.

 

[msg]

I have a new, old-stock printer for the HP85, still in it's bag and box.

Is there any interest in it or is it junk?

Some many years ago now, I organized a group purchase from PIC of
drive belts for the printer and also developed a technique for
re-rubbering the capstan roller in the tape drive. I would
appreciate getting your printer

Regards,

Michael
msg _at_ cybertheque _dot_ org

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

Not me. I've got one.

Some many years ago now, I organized a group purchase from PIC of
drive belts for the printer and also developed a technique for
re-rubbering the capstan roller in the tape drive. I would
appreciate getting your printer

That was the problem with much of the HP mechanical hardware. The
rubber composition just didn't last and would eventually decompose
into a sticky mess. For example, this is my reconstructed HP-65 mag
stripe reader drive wheel using a slice of clear vinyl tubing.
<http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/hp65/slides/Hp65-Drive-Roller.html>
Incidentally, the most difficult part of this exercise was neatly
cutting the hose to size. I had to use a razor blade or a scalpel.

The tape drive roller in the HP85 was susceptible to the same rubber
deterioration.
<http://www.series80.org/Articles/capstan-repair.html>
I fixed two using the same clear vinyl tubing trick. Sorry, no
photos.

 

[Kurt]

< Snip >

Yes. National Instruments.

Hey, neighbor (also Ventura)

 

[Don Bowey]

Some many years ago now, I organized a group purchase from PIC of
drive belts for the printer and also developed a technique for
re-rubbering the capstan roller in the tape drive. I would
appreciate getting your printer

Regards,

Michael
msg _at_ cybertheque _dot_ org

Where are you located?

 

[Telamon]

Hey, neighbor (also Ventura)

There are a few people from Ventura, Oxnard, and LA that post to this
news group.

 

[DaveC]

I see you don't believe the government's stated primary goal of making E911

available to cell users..

I don't believe or disbelieve. The OP asked a question. I offered my
contribution.