Wangtek 5099 Controller Board #30425 for QIC-02 interface

I'm trying to get a Wangtek 5099 to work with my MightyFrame.

Right now, the MightyFrame uses an Archive 5945, but that only reads 60Mb 9-track QIC-24 tapes.  I want to read older 20Mb 4-track QIC-11 tapes, thus the attempt to switch to the Wangtek 5099, which has the physical hardware capability of reading those.

So, here's what I've discovered so far on my MightyFrame with it's original tape drive: 

Motherboard -> Tape Drive Interface Board -> Archive 5945L

where

Motherboard -> Tape Drive Interface Board = QIC-02 interface

and where

Tape Drive Interface Board -> Archive 5945L = QIC-36 interface

MightyFrame Motherboard Jumpers

See highest-resolution image at http://bit.ly/1RLnkLV 

This board pictured is from a MightyFrame S/320, best we can tell.  (Model CG-5140)

Without any MightyFrame hardware manuals as of yet, we can only guess what these jumpers are for.  We are currently asking around.  See the discussions at: 

1986 Convergent Technologies Status Codes Manual 2nd Edition

Days ago, I missed buying this very hard to find manual on eBay.  While not directly about the MightyFrame, the fact that it references the MightyFrame and CTIX is something that would have been very important to our MightyFrame and Convergent Technologies resource aggregation efforts.

Terminator 'B' Box on 34-pin MFM Cable

The MightyFrame S/320 has a more unique 34-pin cable for connecting to its 3 available MFM (ST-506) drives.  

The 3 drives are labeled D0, D1, and D2.

The card-edge connector for each drive is clearly labeled, and missing very specific contacts, as follows:

D0 is absent 28, 30, & 32.

D1 is absent 26, 30, & 32.

D2 is absent 26, 28, & 32.

Reading & Re-Creating QIC Tapes (for the MightyFrame)

(Note that this is on modern Linux using a Tandberg TDC-3620 with SCSI card, using DC600A tapes)

To read an original tape into the current working directory using my version of straight dd, create and run a script that looks like this:
(for logging purposes, I created 2 scripts, an "outer" and and "inner" script, named tapef and tapefslave respectively)

MightyFrame CTIX 5.25.1 install tape restored and used

Just this past week, I was able to image the first MightyFrame CTIX Install Tape that I've ever had access to.  (I used this process.)

5.25.1 S/120-22X-320 CTIX RAW/UPDATE 16USER

Many thanks to the generous donation of vintage CTIX cartridges from Mario at hardtec.com!

MightyFrame cpio demystified

I personally find cpio very confusing, and I hear that I'm not alone.

When working with the UNIX PC previously in this endeavor,  I abandoned trying, because someone had provided a working version of tar for the 3b1 (MC68010 processor).

However, when I started this post, I couldn't find the equivalent for the MightyFrame MC68020 processor.  I thought that now I must break down and learn how to use cpio.  Since then, Tom has pointed out that it is actually there, at /usr/bin/tar.  But, I found other reasons that I need cpio, such as copying an entire file/directory structure.  So, here is my analysis, such that it is:

MightyFrame: Creating A Boot Tape

First, write the VHB with bootloader, as shown in an earlier post:

sudo dd if=vhb.miti.tape.slice1.dd of=/dev/nst0 

The "nst0" tells the tape not to rewind after writing each file, or something like that.

(Note that this is on modern Linux using a Tandberg TDC-3620 with SCSI card)

Then, add the CTIX kernel after that.  We had to "adjust" the length of this file by padding the end with sets of null bytes (Hex Value 00) until the file reached exactly 396 blocks, otherwise, we got an error saying that 395+1 blocks read, 395+0 blocks written, or to that effect.

MightyFrame Formatting Maxtor XT-2190 followed by mkfs

screen shots...wow...it took us SO long to get here.

Working with Sasa via Skype, I figured out how to trick the MightyFrame to format a Maxtor XT-2190 (physical) hard drive on D1, while the MFM Emulator ran the OS on D0.  

Creating MightyFrame /dev devices using a script on the UNIX PC

Tom Trebisky has done a marvelous job assisting us in this project.  We simply could never have gotten this far without his patient, dedicated help.

One of countless gems, Tom created this shell script to run in the /dev folder on the UNIX PC, where /dev is on slice 1, and contains other MightyFrame os files.

MightyFrame first login date: 01/14/2015

I quite literally by accident, got a command prompt on the thing for the FIRST time since I started this project!

(warning...lengthy, seemingly endless, wandering terminal screen captures follow)

Customizing inittab and rc files for boot diagnostics

The following files are customized to diagnose how the MightyFrame is executing my customized /etc/inittab and /etc/rc files while attempting to boot a version of CTIX5.11onb modified by Sasa Todorovic and renamed to CTIX5.11dbg. 

MightyFrame: Creating & Using A Dump Tape

In this post:

1) Using a dump tape

2) Creating (formatting) a blank dump tape for use

Running the CTIX install process (stand-alone 68020 kernel needed)

How does one "extract" a stand-alone kernel from an existing full kernel?  

MightyFrame Volume Home Block (VHB) executing bootloader!

Executing Loader from either QIC Tape or HD, then specifying various CTIX files to run.

Many thanks to Tom Trebisky for his collaboration on this project.  See his resources at
http://cholla.mmto.org/computers/mightyframe/booting.html

Formatting a Maxtor XT-2190 for the MightyFrame (using a MightyFrame)

a classiccmp email group discussion about this drive:
http://marc.info/?t=142159007000004&r=1&w=2

Here's the description file that the iv (initialize volume) program used on the MightyFrame CTIX 5.11:

Swapping VHB Bootloaders - UNIX PC & MightyFrame

VHB as Volume Home Block vs. Volume Header Block

All AT&T UNIX PC paper documentation and on-screen usage documentation uses the term "Volume Home Block", but never "Volume Header Block".  So in all images and documentation below, please replace in your head as you read, any instances of "Volume Header Block" with "Volume Home Block"
 
The MightyFrame seems to like (or at least read) the VHB on a hard drive formatted by the UNIX PC.   On startup with a UNIX PC-formatted drive connected, the MightyFrame reads:

"executing loader from drive 0"

UMODEM - more than just an obsolete file transfer protocol...

OK, well not really...BUT...since this is the only relevant protocol to transfer files that I can find on the UNIX PC, I'm going to figure out how to get it to run on a modern linux machine.  The FTP protocol that we all know and love today, and still use, seems nowhere to be found on the UNIX PC.

ldrcpy: AT&T UNIX PC System Install clues to CTIX?

Topic References:

CTIX S-80 MightyFrame Hard Drive root filesystem

CTIX S-80 MightyFrame Hard Drive /usr filesystem

Terminal grab from failed CTIX install on MightyFrame

UNIX PC Hard Drive full filesystem

UNIX PC Install Disk #3 (Floppy Unix)

This is what happens when the AT&T UNIX PC fails to write a new operating system onto a MFM hard drive (Winchester ST506).

WDXT-GEN2 PLUS Winchester Disk Controller Board

INSTALLATION GUIDE

I am attempting to install this MFM controller card on an 
ASUS P5A ACPI BIOS Revision 1006 
which first announces as 
Voodoo3 2000 BIOS - Version 1.00.01-SD
(hardware vintage 1999-2000).  
This is successfully booting to an early version of Ubuntu from a Quantum Bigfoot ISA 12Gb Hard Drive.  I want the MFM Drives on the WDXT-GEN2 PLUS to be secondary drives.  This WDXT-GEN2 PLUS controller board is apparently factory defaulted to be the primary drive for any machine in which it is installed.  That appears to be the case here as well, because the machine will not boot with the controller card inserted, but will boot fine witout the card inserted.

Networking UNIX PC with linux on Xubuntu

The guys at this Meetup Group tonight really helped me out...
They got my modern Xubuntu machine to talk to my UNIX PC over its COM port.

MFM ST506/412 Hard Drive Diagnostic Tool

One Backup Tape Found!...well, not really...

When we first received this tape from the former owner & user of our MightyFrame, we were just all too sure that it was for the MightyFrame.  But, as it turns out, it is most likely for a completely different system, from 5 years earlier than the MightyFrame...A Point 4 Mark ? series machine.  We'll probably restore one of these systems, too.  We just love this obscure stuff...

Still, it brought up interesting discussions, which are worth documenting for our MightyFrame restoration projects.

A note from the original owner and user of our "MightyFrame One", as we call it:

MightyFrame Boot ROM Analysis

We are honored to have the collaboration efforts of Tom Trebisky supporting us on this project.  See his page dedicated to our MightyFrame boot ROM project.

Here's the full & long story:

writing a utility to handle the peculiarities of the Convergent mods to the SysV filesystem

Chuck(G) mentions this in this vintage-computer.com post.

If ChuckG can come up with a way for a PC to read 7300 disks....

And  Chuck(G) on AT&T Unix PC (7300/2B1) floppy reading 

     

CommVEx 2014 ideas

Thanks to EVERYONE who came by my UNIX technology this weekend, and lent your knowledge of this vintage technology.  These are my random notes, to be organized soon:

Writing MightyFrame Device Drivers - Manual

A million thanks to Al Kossow at bitsavers.org for providing us with a PDF of our first MightyFrame manual!

Writing MightyFrame Device Drivers - March 1986

Al also provided our first MightyFrame system overview brochure, as well as CTIX overview brochures...all a first for us to ever see!

Reconstructing an AT&T 7300

Several kind folks on comp.sys.3b1 and the MARCH Yahoo Group have suggested that, in order for us to gain a better understanding of the workings of the rare and elusive MightyFrame, that we should get familiar with the AT&T 7300 / 3b1.  

Many say that this machine, manufactured by Convergent Technologies for AT&T, is "functionally equivalent to the MiniFrame".  Even though the MiniFrame and the MightyFrame have significant differences, this certainly seems like a great next step for us.

So, thus begins our journey....

MightyFrame Boot Screens

Our next step in restoring one of our Convergent Technologies MightyFrame Machines is to get one of them to boot to a working operating system.  These systems were designed to run CTIX, a Convergent branded version of UNIX, so far as we have learned.

See our search for the CTIX install OS QIC tape.

Meanwhile, for those of you who may be familiar with the AT&T 7300 / 3b1, we welcome your input reviewing our screen shorts of our attempts to boot both of our MightyFrames.

Maxtor XT-2190 MFM Hard Drive Reading

In an effort to read data from one of these MightyFrames, we are setting up other machines to read these hard drives:

Pinousts for the Maxtor XT-2190

Maxtor XT-1000/2000 Product Specificication and OEM Manual

Details about this on Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists (MARCH)
Thread One and Thread Two

And on vintage-computer.com