Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Blinkenlights
Organization: University of Michigan, College of Engineering
From: ftit@engin.umich.edu (Sergej Roytman)
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A naive question.  What did the blinkenlights on the old iron that had
them, show?  I had always assumed that they were tied to the machine's
data- and address busses (with appropriate buffering), but then the
things would be useless much of the time.  On the other hand, the BLs
on this one old machine that lived in the Chrysler dinosaur pen when I
worked there, did look like they were echoing a bus.  On yet another
hand, the MPEG of a PDP-x(8?) booting up that I found on the Rhode
Island old iron Web site, clearly showed patterns that stuck around for
a second or so, implying that the panel lights were under program
control, and could actually say something.

So, what was it?  Was the front panel an elaborate machine-wedged-p?
indicator during normal operation, or was it a program-controlled
output device?  Or was it something else, of which my limited
intelligence can not even conceive?

-- 
Sergej Roytman

######

From: jmfbahciv@aol.com
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 01 11:31:29 GMT
Organization: UltraNet Communications, Inc.
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In article <r90dntce7oqt3ms5nqqqfp3drj47b99bo0@4ax.com>,
   Nick Spalding <spalding@iol.ie> wrote:
>Sergej Roytman wrote, in <BVXc7.1649$96.1436@srvr1.engin.umich.edu>:
>
>> A naive question.  What did the blinkenlights on the old iron that had
>> them, show?  
<snip>

>Nobody has mentioned the displays on the 1400s which were arranged in
>a data flow diagram so that you could watch the data moving around
>while single stepping, see the address registers, Op code, inputs and
>output of the ALU and so on.  There were two levels of single cycling,
>literally single memory cycles or Instruction phase/Execute phase
>cycling.  Great entertainment value.

Neat!  I wasn't allowed to play with lights.  When I finally
had a project to take a system stand-alone, I didn't have time
to play with the lights.  I sure wish we had managed to keep
that KA.

/BAH

Subtract a hundred and four for e-mail.

######

From: jmfbahciv@aol.com
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 01 10:29:41 GMT
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In article <BVXc7.1649$96.1436@srvr1.engin.umich.edu>,
   ftit@engin.umich.edu (Sergej Roytman) wrote:

>A naive question.  

But it's a damn good question.

> ..What did the blinkenlights on the old iron that had
>them, show?  

<snip>

Is there a closeup of a KI or KA front panel?  Also a close up
of a DC10 and a memory box.  There were two- and/or three-character
incantations below every light that translated into elaborate
circuit diagrams.  Take a look at an external modem.  See those
letters below every light?  They mean something to one of those
hardware guys (or the programmer who has to code for it).

/BAH

Subtract a hundred and four for e-mail.

######

From: jmfbahciv@aol.com
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 01 08:25:15 GMT
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In article <9l92l1$lfr$1@panix3.panix.com>,
   jeffj@panix.com (Jeff Jonas) wrote:

>>>A naive question.  What did the blinkenlights on the old iron that had
>>>them, show?  I had always assumed that they were tied to the machine's
>>>data- and address busses (with appropriate buffering)
>
>It depends on the machine and intended audience.
>When machines were HUGE (such as the IBM 1620),
<snip answers>

>I really do watch my modem, 

Yup.  So do I.  I am going to be very upset when this modem
dies.  It has 9 lights.  The modems that I've seen used at
the library only has three..I think.

> ..DSL and ethernet lights blink since I ought
>to match that to the activity causing it!
>(ex: seeing pauses during large file transfers,
>seeing activity when all ought to be idle, etc).

I listen to my disk.  The only problem with that is it
has the same sound for writes and reads.  I'd really like
to know when this idiot software is writing..especially when
I didn't ask for it.

/BAH

Subtract a hundred and four for e-mail.

######

From: "Charlie Gibbs" <cgibbs@nowhere.in.particular>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: 10 Aug 01 16:01:37 -0800
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In article <3B744FC2.1E44FB3D@sun.com> Eric.Sosman@sun.com (Eric Sosman)
writes:

>Sergej Roytman wrote:
>
>> So, what was it?  Was the front panel an elaborate machine-wedged-p?
>> indicator during normal operation,

It could be, depending on what the lights were displaying.
Generally, if everything stopped flickering it was a bad sign.

Most machines monitored so many lines that a bank of lights could
be switched to display different things to keep the panel from
growing really large - although there were some exceptions,
like the 360/75, which I'm told had so many lamps that pressing
the "lamp test" button would pop a circuit breaker.

The Univac 9300 on which I cut my teeth would by default display
the first 16 bits of the currently-executing instruction while
it was running.  If this display suddenly froze in some random
pattern, it was a pretty good indication that your program had
gone into a loop.  The simplest example, a branch to itself,
would display 0100 0111 1111 0000 (47f0), the opcode and mask
bits of an unconditional branch.  Generally, though, if your
program went into a loop, it was executing enough instructions
each time around that all the lights would come on.

With the processor halted, you could step through your program
one machine instruction at a time, and display and alter memory
locations (both data and instructions) as well, and even jump
to a different spot in your program.  Early but effective
interactive debugging!  Modifying instructions or data on the
fly was possible and scary.

On a card-based 9300, I could tell whether my program was CPU-
or I/O-bound from the lights.  Although it used DMA for all I/O,
there would come a time when a program would have to wait for a
device, and it would block by busy-waiting in a two-instruction
loop:

         TIO   <something>,<device-addr>
         BC    8,*-4

The TIO instruction had an opcode of a5, followed by an 8-bit
device address, while the branch instruction was 4780.  So if
the machine was spending most of its time waiting for the card
reader (device address 01), the two instructions a501 and 4780
would blur together to produce an apparent display of e781.  If
it was waiting for the printer (device address 03), the display
would be e783.

If a program was CPU bound, it would be executing a random assortment
of instructions so all of the lights would come on.  If the program
was only slightly I/O-bound, the patterns I described above would be
discernible as brightly-lit bulbs, while the others would be dimly
lit, and probably flickering in time with the device on which the
program was waiting.

>> or was it a program-controlled output device?

Some machines, like the 9300, had an HPR (halt and proceed)
instruction which would halt the processor and display a pattern
on the lights according to an operand of the instruction.
Pressing the START button would make the program resume execution
at the next instruction.

>> Or was it something else, of which my limited intelligence
>> can not even conceive?

There were options to display all sorts of obscure control lines
and flip-flops within the machine; they were mostly used by CEs
when diagnosing the hardware.  They could step a program one clock
cycle at a time and look at data going through the machine as it
decoded and executed a single instruction.  Or they could monitor
the internal workings of, say, the multiplexer channel to see
whether a flip-flop was sticking or data wasn't showing up.

One cute display I discovered on the 90/30 was the length of the
current seek being made by a disk drive attached to the Integrated
Disk Adapter (as most of them were).  This wasn't an absolute
cylinder number but the actual difference between the current
cylinder number and the one to which it was going.  Consistently
high readings on this display meant that the system was thrashing
badly; moving the file in question to a different drive could
dramatically improve performance.  (This is still true nowadays,
although few people realize it because few personal computers
have more than one drive.)  This was a timely display, because
the newer disk drives on the 90/30 had an opaque cover and you
couldn't see whether the heads were moving excessively anymore.

>    ... all of which brings to mind the S/360 model 69,
>which had quite a few instruction opcodes not found on
>other models. One was BBI, "Branch on Blinking Indicator."

...or "Branch on Burned-out Indicator"...

--
cgibbs@nowhere.in.particular (Charlie Gibbs)
I'm switching ISPs - watch this space.

######

From: Eric Sosman <Eric.Sosman@sun.com>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 17:18:58 -0400
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Sergej Roytman wrote:
> 
> A naive question.  What did the blinkenlights on the old iron that had
> them, show?  I had always assumed that they were tied to the machine's
> data- and address busses (with appropriate buffering), but then the
> things would be useless much of the time.  On the other hand, the BLs
> on this one old machine that lived in the Chrysler dinosaur pen when I
> worked there, did look like they were echoing a bus.  On yet another
> hand, the MPEG of a PDP-x(8?) booting up that I found on the Rhode
> Island old iron Web site, clearly showed patterns that stuck around for
> a second or so, implying that the panel lights were under program
> control, and could actually say something.
> 
> So, what was it?  Was the front panel an elaborate machine-wedged-p?
> indicator during normal operation, or was it a program-controlled
> output device?  Or was it something else, of which my limited
> intelligence can not even conceive?

    Mostly the first: address and data bits, miscellaneous
mode bits, and so on.  Some machines had "sense lights" or
similar indicators which programs could turn on and off at
will.

    Of course, with sufficiently contorted programming one
could "control" the address and data lights, too.  Within
limits, anyhow; it was not possible, for example, to turn
off all the data lights on a machine which also displayed
the (odd) parity bits.

    ... all of which brings to mind the S/360 model 69,
which had quite a few instruction opcodes not found on
other models. One was BBI, "Branch on Blinking Indicator."

-- 
Eric.Sosman@sun.com

######

From: "Geoffrey G. Rochat" <geoff.nospam@nospam.pkworks.com>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
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Sergej Roytman wrote in message ...
>A naive question.  What did the blinkenlights on the old iron that had
>them, show?  I had always assumed that they were tied to the machine's
>data- and address busses (with appropriate buffering), but then the
>things would be useless much of the time.  On the other hand, the BLs
>on this one old machine that lived in the Chrysler dinosaur pen when I
>worked there, did look like they were echoing a bus.  On yet another
>hand, the MPEG of a PDP-x(8?) booting up that I found on the Rhode
>Island old iron Web site, clearly showed patterns that stuck around for
>a second or so, implying that the panel lights were under program
>control, and could actually say something.
>
>So, what was it?  Was the front panel an elaborate machine-wedged-p?
>indicator during normal operation, or was it a program-controlled
>output device?  Or was it something else, of which my limited
>intelligence can not even conceive?
>


The blinkenlights on old machines typically monitored system address and
data lines, CPU registers, CPU states, peripheral control, data and
state registers, and key system states.  Sometimes there was one light
per instance, sometimes there were selector switches to let you choose
what you wanted to see, depending on machine.  Sometimes the
blinkenlights were simply "pacifiers" like the little LED on current PC
disk drives; they didn't tell you much, but they made you (or managers)
feel better knowing that the machine was doing *something*.  Sometimes,
once you got to know the machine, the pattern or rhythm of the
blinkenlights could serve as an excellent indication of system loads, or
what was running, or how well it was running.  Sometimes the absence of
a light or a light stuck on would give an indication of a hardware or
software failure.  (A fine example of this was the constant-on of the
indirect light on a Nova mini indicating a closed loop of indirection
chains.)  Sometimes the lights were under program control, and the
operating system would use them to give you specific information.  (In
most of my embedded work I usually have the system display information
on a set of buried LEDs, visible during debug or maintenance, so that
the system can be monitored without test equipment.)  Sometimes the
lights would indicate specific error conditions.  And often times on old
machines you would debug your code (or a new device you were trying to
hook up) by manually patching memory and single-stepping through code,
and for that switches and blinkenlights were essential.  And sometimes,
when a machine crashed, the only way in to see what was going on was
through front panel switches and blinkenlights.  And that's often the
case still with computers today - except that we don't *have* switches
and blinkenlights anymore, so rather than try to debug things we tend to
just hit "reset".  Hence, "problems" go away, but not bugs.

######

From: "Geoffrey G. Rochat" <geoff.nospam@nospam.pkworks.com>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 17:56:08 -0400
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>    ... all of which brings to mind the S/360 model 69,
>which had quite a few instruction opcodes not found on
>other models. One was BBI, "Branch on Blinking Indicator."
>


That same instruction was implemented, though not documented, on the
infamous System 369.95.

######

From: Howard S Shubs <howard@shubs.net>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 22:46:28 -0400
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In article <9l1km6$qk3$1@news-central.tiac.net>,
 "Geoffrey G. Rochat" <geoff.nospam@nospam.pkworks.com> wrote:

> and for that switches and blinkenlights were essential.  And sometimes,
> when a machine crashed, the only way in to see what was going on was
> through front panel switches and blinkenlights.  And that's often the

This is the way it was on the 1130.  When the machine crashed, you'd decode a 
particular line of lights (binary -> base 10) and look up the error code on a 
list.  http://www.shubs.net/1130/functional/Console.html#displaypanel
-- 
Howard S Shubs
"Run in circles, scream and shout!"  "I hope you have good backups!"

######

From: "Daniel House" <d.house@computer.org>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
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"Charlie Gibbs" <cgibbs@nowhere.in.particular> wrote in message
news:4556.622T1873T9615502@nowhere.in.particular...
> In article <3B744FC2.1E44FB3D@sun.com> Eric.Sosman@sun.com (Eric Sosman)
> writes:
>
> >Sergej Roytman wrote:
> >
> >> So, what was it?  Was the front panel an elaborate machine-wedged-p?
> >> indicator during normal operation,
>
> It could be, depending on what the lights were displaying.
> Generally, if everything stopped flickering it was a bad sign.
>
> Most machines monitored so many lines that a bank of lights could
> be switched to display different things to keep the panel from
> growing really large - although there were some exceptions,
> like the 360/75, which I'm told had so many lamps that pressing
> the "lamp test" button would pop a circuit breaker.
>

The 360/75 display was/is very impressive.  There is one preserved at the
following URL:  http://www.fee.co.uk/360-75.htm

The 360/91 was even more impressive (from a blinkenlights perspective), but
I don't have a link to a picture.
Regards, Dan

######

From: "Michael J. Albanese" <mjalbanese@revoke-my-charter.net>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 03:41:30 -0400
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87229

> they didn't tell you much, but they made you (or managers)
> feel better knowing that the machine was doing *something*.  

Those managers could be a problem, too, since their offices were often 
located adjacent to the computer room (separated by a window). The 
manager would glance out the window occasionally to make sure the 
console lights were blinking. If there was a crash, or if the operator 
committed the blunder of allowing the blinking to stop for more than, 
say, 30 seconds, he could shortly expect a ringing phone, or worse -- 
the manager bursting into the room with the dreaded "What's wrong???". 
In those pre-Dilbert days of expensive mainframes, an operator had to be 
mindful that, to management: lots of blinking = lots of work getting 
done. Nothing seemed to draw attention faster than a costly mainframe 
sitting in a big glass room, idle with no lights blinking :-).

> Sometimes,
> once you got to know the machine, the pattern or rhythm of the
> blinkenlights could serve as an excellent indication of system loads, or
> what was running, or how well it was running.

You could often tell when a big sort was in progress as all the register 
lights would be lit up with a fuzzy, mesmerizing glow. Counting in the 
registers also produced a very distinctive pattern -- very noticeable on 
some of the 60's time sharing computers (GE, for example), where the 
console could be seen "counting" during periods of low system usage.

Mike


-- 
(remove 'revoke-my-' from address for email)

######

From: Janne Rinta-Manty <jrm@iki.fi>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 17:24:35 +0300
Organization: University of Helsinki
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87081

Sergej Roytman 2001-08-10T20:58:09Z:
> [...] the MPEG of a PDP-x(8?) booting up that I found on the Rhode
> Island old iron Web site, [...]

Do you have the URL?  I can't find it.

-- 
Janne Rinta-Mänty

######

From: jcmorris@mitre.org (Joe Morris)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: 11 Aug 2001 15:04:51 GMT
Organization: The MITRE Corporation
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87089

ftit@engin.umich.edu (Sergej Roytman) writes:

>A naive question.  What did the blinkenlights on the old iron that had
>them, show?  I had always assumed that they were tied to the machine's
>data- and address busses (with appropriate buffering), but then the
>things would be useless much of the time.

You have the right point: they were of no real use *much of the time*.

But when the hardware died (especially on computers with no built-in
hardware failure recovery features) the lights could be read to determine
just what was going on at the instant of failure.

The combination of more reliable hardware (thus not requiring the
monitor function) and the introduction of autonomous maintenance
subsystems that were independent of the normal hardware and that
continued to function when the main circuits wedged made the 
Times Square-like blinkenlights panel obsolete.

Joe Morris

######

From: jcmorris@mitre.org (Joe Morris)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: 11 Aug 2001 15:17:38 GMT
Organization: The MITRE Corporation
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87092

"Charlie Gibbs" <cgibbs@nowhere.in.particular> writes:

>Most machines monitored so many lines that a bank of lights could
>be switched to display different things to keep the panel from
>growing really large - although there were some exceptions,
>like the 360/75, which I'm told had so many lamps that pressing
>the "lamp test" button would pop a circuit breaker.

Until the power supply circuits were upgraded, that's exactly what
happened.  For a while a standard feature of every /75 was a handmade
guard of some sort over the LAMP TEST button.

Urban legends claim that operators got their suntans by standing next
to the /75 or /91 CE panel and holding down the LAMP TEST button.

Joe Morris

######

From: Dav_and_Frances_Vandenbroucke@compuserve.com (Dav Vandenbroucke)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 16:06:25 GMT
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87239

On Fri, 10 Aug 2001 22:46:28 -0400, Howard S Shubs <howard@shubs.net>
wrote:

>This is the way it was on the 1130.  When the machine crashed, you'd decode a 
>particular line of lights (binary -> base 10) and look up the error code on a 
>list.  http://www.shubs.net/1130/functional/Console.html#displaypanel

When I was an undergraduate, the usual indication of a programming
error on our 1130, such as an infinite loop, was when the lights
spelled out "FOOO"  (I can't recall the number of "O" anymore).  We
pronounced that "Foo!" and treated it as the computer's comment on our
meager abilities.

Dav Vandenbroucke
dav_and_frances_vandenbroucke@compuserve.com

######

Lines: 19
X-Admin: news@aol.com
From: bbreynolds@aol.comskipthis (Bruce B. Reynolds)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Date: 11 Aug 2001 16:45:03 GMT
References: <9l3hij$i7l$1@top.mitre.org>
Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
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>But when the hardware died (especially on computers with no built-in
>hardware failure recovery features) the lights could be read to determine
>just what was going on at the instant of failure.
>

For the 1800 Data Acquisition and Control System, IBM supplied a printed copy
of the front panel (in a pad of 25) which the operator could use to mark those
lights which were on at the time of a halt; in the shop where I used an 1800
for the longest period, the pad was seldom used, as loops could usually be
detected by light patterns, and single-stepping the system would confirm; by
consistent programming style, the module ID was at the same address in every
coreload, and could be displayed on the data lights. Overall, the 1800 had
about as many lights as a mid-sized 360, but as a 16-bit machine, the rows
weren't as long; if you opened up the main console, there was an additional CE
panel behind it, with more blinkenlights and additional switches and the CE
interrupt pushbutton (these allowed CE diagnostic programs to be run while the
user environment operated).

Bruce B. Reynolds, Trailing Edge Technologies, Glenside PA

######

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
References: <BVXc7.1649$96.1436@srvr1.engin.umich.edu> <9l1km6$qk3$1@news-central.tiac.net> <howard-625951.22462810082001@enews.newsguy.com> <3b754eac.53054140@news.compuserve.com>
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From: seebs@plethora.net (Peter Seebach)
Originator: seebs@plethora.net (Peter Seebach)
Date: 11 Aug 2001 17:02:22 GMT
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87254

In article <3b754eac.53054140@news.compuserve.com>,
Dav Vandenbroucke <Dav_and_Frances_Vandenbroucke@compuserve.com> wrote:
>When I was an undergraduate, the usual indication of a programming
>error on our 1130, such as an infinite loop, was when the lights
>spelled out "FOOO"  (I can't recall the number of "O" anymore).  We
>pronounced that "Foo!" and treated it as the computer's comment on our
>meager abilities.

Fascinating!  Yet another thing to add to the list of possible origins of
"foo".

-s
-- 
   Copyright 2001, all wrongs reversed.  Peter Seebach / seebs@plethora.net
 +--- Need quality network services, server-grade computers, or a shell? ---+
 v   C/Unix wizard, Pro-commerce radical, Spam fighter.  Boycott Spamazon!  v
Consulting, computers, web hosting, and shell access: http://www.plethora.net/

######

From: Ian Stirling <Inquisitor@I.am>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 19:43:42 GMT
Message-ID: <997559022.19434.0.nnrp-14.9e98d142@news.demon.co.uk>
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Joe Morris <jcmorris@mitre.org> wrote:
<snip "Where did all the peanuts go">
>The combination of more reliable hardware (thus not requiring the
>monitor function) and the introduction of autonomous maintenance
>subsystems that were independent of the normal hardware and that
>continued to function when the main circuits wedged made the 
>Times Square-like blinkenlights panel obsolete.

Was this contempory also with internal state getting hidden by 
increasing integration?
Without dramatic efforts for example, it's hard to do blinkenlights
for a pentium.

-- 
http://inquisitor.i.am/    |  mailto:inquisitor@i.am |             Ian Stirling.
---------------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------
Two fish in a tank: one says to the other, "you know how to drive this thing??"

######

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
References: <BVXc7.1649$96.1436@srvr1.engin.umich.edu> <m2ae16broc.fsf.rintaman.home@news.helsinki.fi>
Organization: University of Michigan, College of Engineering
From: ftit@engin.umich.edu (Sergej Roytman)
Lines: 13
Message-ID: <8Phd7.1655$96.1395@srvr1.engin.umich.edu>
Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 21:53:08 GMT
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In article <m2ae16broc.fsf.rintaman.home@news.helsinki.fi>,
Janne Rinta-Manty  <jrm@iki.fi> wrote:
>Sergej Roytman 2001-08-10T20:58:09Z:
>> [...] the MPEG of a PDP-x(8?) booting up that I found on the Rhode
>> Island old iron Web site, [...]
>Do you have the URL?  I can't find it.

  http://starfish.osfn.org/rcs/pdp12-boot.mpg

So, I guess it's a PDP-12.

-- 
Sergej Roytman

######

From: Prof Karl Kleine <kleine@fh-jena.de>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: 11 Aug 2001 22:41:56 GMT
Organization: Fachhochschule Jena, Germany
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Sergej Roytman <ftit@engin.umich.edu> wrote:
> A naive question.  What did the blinkenlights on the old iron that had
> them, show?  I had always assumed that they were tied to the machine's
> data- and address busses (with appropriate buffering), but then the
> things would be useless much of the time.  On the other hand, the BLs
> [........ deleted .....]

Story #1:  Unix kernel state in V6 / V7 on PDP11/45 at KU Nijmegen, NL

On the PDP 11/45 you could watch memory words with the blinkenlights
console. Hendrik-Jan Thomassen, our Unix system manager modified the
Unix kernel in that way that upon entry / exit of certain routines
and upon certain changes of kernel data structures a bit was set or
cleared in location 110. With the inherent glow of the lamps it was
thus possible to have a look at the system state, like swap in progress,
doing namei lookup (a central routine in Unix), waiting for I/O on
disk, drum, other peripheral, and a couple of other events and states
like these. Remember: The system console was an ASR33 teletype, and the
users were hooked to the machines with ADM3a and similar to the 11/45.

We also had a bus meter on the DEC UNIBUS: DEC operating systems like
RSX had busy loops (which accidently produced a running pattern in the
blinkelights) for the idle state, whereas Unix executed a halt
instruction, waking on the next interupt. This meant, that where
was no activity on the UNIBUS, no instruction fetch. The bus meter was
just a suitable ranged amperemeter (classical needle instrument with
the inertia giving a good reading) attached with a few electronics
parts to the bus busy line.

All that was about 1978++ at the Catholic University of Nijmegen,
The Netherlands. hjt was the department's Unix guru and system manager.
Later he founded 'AT Computing BV' with some coworkers and is still
in business teaching Unix and associated technology
	http://www.atcomputing.nl
photo:	http://www.atcomputing.nl/image/midfotos/hjt.jpg

__________________________________________________________________
Prof. Karl Kleine                    http://www.fh-jena.de/~kleine
Fachhochschule Jena                  kleine@fh-jena.de
PF 100314, D-07703 Jena, Germany     +49-3641-205-502 [fax -503]

######

From: Prof Karl Kleine <kleine@fh-jena.de>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: 11 Aug 2001 23:09:55 GMT
Organization: Fachhochschule Jena, Germany
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Sergej Roytman <ftit@engin.umich.edu> wrote:
> A naive question.  What did the blinkenlights on the old iron that had
> them, show?  I had always assumed that they were tied to the machine's
> data- and address busses (with appropriate buffering), but then the
> things would be useless much of the time.  On the other hand, the BLs
> [........ deleted .....]

Story #2:   crash analysis by Polaroid photo for Telefunken TR440

As a student of electrical engineering in the begin of the 70ies at 
Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum, Germany, I had a student job in one of the
workshops of the university. As I also had some aquaintance with
the people and the machines at the computing center I got the job
of constructing and building a very special tripod for a Polaroid
camera: Upon a machine crash (or upon seeing a very peculiar pattern)
the operator would grab the camera with the attached tripod, hook
the rubber feet into the corners of the blinkenlights console
(everything was made to measure and fixed) and take a shnapshot.
Yes, that was a real snapshot of the machine state, with instruction
register, instruction address, the user registers, flags, etc.
After that, reboot.

The trick was to have a camera position slightly off center, as
to eliminated / minimize reflections of various lights in the room,
and at the same time get a good rendering of the on/off state of
the blinkenlights. The second issue was that the whole camera /
tripod assembly was fixed and that it lay in some corner of the
room in a cabinet, no adjustments to be made, just pressing the
shutter release for the operator and taking out the Polaroid.

The TR440 will be unknown to most readers here. It was a German
mainframe for scientific calculation, of which about 40 to 60
machines were built und mostly used in universities and research
facilities under heavy grants from the German government to have
a national computing force. Some of it's software was actually
rather advanced for the late 60ies / early 70ies, and I only found
some of the facilities again a decade later with VAX/VMS. The
machine itself is forgotten today; I found just one picture of
it on the web, but no technical information online. I only have
a minimal collection of printed material like the instruction
set summary. That branch of Telefunken was later bought by Nixdorf
and that in turn by Siemens. So there's nothing left :-(.

__________________________________________________________________
Prof. Karl Kleine                    http://www.fh-jena.de/~kleine
Fachhochschule Jena                  kleine@fh-jena.de
PF 100314, D-07703 Jena, Germany     +49-3641-205-502 [fax -503]

######

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Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
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Prof Karl Kleine <kleine@fh-jena.de> writes:
> As a student of electrical engineering in the begin of the 70ies at 
> Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum, Germany, I had a student job in one of the
> workshops of the university. As I also had some aquaintance with
> the people and the machines at the computing center I got the job
> of constructing and building a very special tripod for a Polaroid
> camera: Upon a machine crash (or upon seeing a very peculiar pattern)
> the operator would grab the camera with the attached tripod, hook
> the rubber feet into the corners of the blinkenlights console
> (everything was made to measure and fixed) and take a shnapshot.
> Yes, that was a real snapshot of the machine state, with instruction
> register, instruction address, the user registers, flags, etc.
> After that, reboot.

boeing wichita somewhere in the 73-74(?) time-frame used some sort of
capture on 370/168 lights to sample the PSW (including instruction
address) that then was used to produce a histogram of time-spent in
various parts of the VM kernel. It was much less expensive than the
IBM hardware performance monitor.

similar sampling
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/94.html#21

-- 
Anne & Lynn Wheeler   | lynn@garlic.com -  http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/ 

######

From: Joe Pfeiffer <pfeiffer@cs.nmsu.edu>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
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Prof Karl Kleine <kleine@fh-jena.de> writes:

> Sergej Roytman <ftit@engin.umich.edu> wrote:
> > A naive question.  What did the blinkenlights on the old iron that had
> > them, show?  I had always assumed that they were tied to the machine's
> > data- and address busses (with appropriate buffering), but then the
> > things would be useless much of the time.  On the other hand, the BLs
> > [........ deleted .....]

And most of the time, you'd ignore them.  But you'd come to know the
expected patterns, and if something weird cropped up you'd recognize
it right away.  People are really, really good at pattern
recognition....

The only real Blinkenlights panel I've ever had the good fortune to
experience was on a clone of the DG Nova...  I still catch myself
thinking of that horrible little mini on the fourth floor of the UW
Physics building (in a Seattle summer, you had to hang the 8" disk
drives out of the cabinet and put a fan on them) as the only real
computer I've ever worked on, never mind CDCs, VAXen, Linux PCs....
-- 
Joseph J. Pfeiffer, Jr., Ph.D.       Phone -- (505) 646-1605
Department of Computer Science       FAX   -- (505) 646-1002
New Mexico State University          http://www.cs.nmsu.edu/~pfeiffer
SWNMRSEF:  http://www.nmsu.edu/~scifair

######

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Joe Pfeiffer wrote:
> 
> Prof Karl Kleine <kleine@fh-jena.de> writes:
> 
> > Sergej Roytman <ftit@engin.umich.edu> wrote:
> > > A naive question.  What did the blinkenlights on the old iron that had
> > > them, show?  I had always assumed that they were tied to the machine's
> > > data- and address busses (with appropriate buffering), but then the
> > > things would be useless much of the time.  On the other hand, the BLs
> > > [........ deleted .....]
> 
> And most of the time, you'd ignore them.  But you'd come to know the
> expected patterns, and if something weird cropped up you'd recognize
> it right away.  People are really, really good at pattern
> recognition....
> 
> The only real Blinkenlights panel I've ever had the good fortune to
> experience was on a clone of the DG Nova...  I still catch myself
> thinking of that horrible little mini on the fourth floor of the UW
> Physics building (in a Seattle summer, you had to hang the 8" disk
> drives out of the cabinet and put a fan on them) as the only real
> computer I've ever worked on, never mind CDCs, VAXen, Linux PCs....

The 8080 based systems I built circa 1974 and that was in use
until sometime in the 90s for medical testing labs (we built
something like 25 to 50 of them) had a portable set of
blinkenlights.  You powered down, plugged in the card (8 x 8) and
had a complete panel with single step, reset, trap to monitor,
etc. buttons on it.  It showed address buss and data buss, with 
additional lights marking i/o cycles and fetch cycles.

An additional card added the ability to trap on particular memory
and i/o accesses (read, or write, or read/write), at which point
the monitor could show us all the details.

I don't think any PCs had equivalent abilities until the '386 and
its debug registers.  The closest thing to the trap ability is
CTL-D here when SoftIce is running.  I don't think anyone puts out
a panel switch to create RST-3.

-- 
Chuck F (cbfalconer@yahoo.com) (cbfalconer@XXXXworldnet.att.net)
   (Remove "XXXX" from reply address. yahoo works unmodified)
   mailto:uce@ftc.gov  (for spambots to harvest)

######

From: "Michael L. Umbricht" <mikeu@osfn.org>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 05:33:52 -0400
Organization: The Ocean State Free-Net
Message-ID: <3B764D80.C68AC48F@osfn.org>
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Sergej Roytman wrote:
> 
> In article <m2ae16broc.fsf.rintaman.home@news.helsinki.fi>,
> Janne Rinta-Manty  <jrm@iki.fi> wrote:
> >Sergej Roytman 2001-08-10T20:58:09Z:
> >> [...] the MPEG of a PDP-x(8?) booting up that I found on the Rhode
> >> Island old iron Web site, [...]
> >Do you have the URL?  I can't find it.

That mpeg shows the pdp booting from LINCtape.

>   http://starfish.osfn.org/rcs/pdp12-boot.mpg
> 
> So, I guess it's a PDP-12.

Yes, in fact we had that same machine on display at the Vintage Computer
Festival (East) a couple weeks ago. 
http://starfish.rcsri.org/rcs/VCF-East-2001/P7290030.JPG  
shows a shot from that weekend, and if you look close you can see the
lamps on the 12 glowing.


Although the blinkenlichts are very usefull, you tend to ignore them
when you're playing Spacewar  ;)

-mikeu

Retro-Computing Society of RI
http://www.osfn.org/rcs/

######

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From: Nick Spalding <spalding@iol.ie>
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Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
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Sergej Roytman wrote, in <BVXc7.1649$96.1436@srvr1.engin.umich.edu>:

> A naive question.  What did the blinkenlights on the old iron that had
> them, show?  I had always assumed that they were tied to the machine's
> data- and address busses (with appropriate buffering), but then the
> things would be useless much of the time.  On the other hand, the BLs
> on this one old machine that lived in the Chrysler dinosaur pen when I
> worked there, did look like they were echoing a bus.  On yet another
> hand, the MPEG of a PDP-x(8?) booting up that I found on the Rhode
> Island old iron Web site, clearly showed patterns that stuck around for
> a second or so, implying that the panel lights were under program
> control, and could actually say something.
> 
> So, what was it?  Was the front panel an elaborate machine-wedged-p?
> indicator during normal operation, or was it a program-controlled
> output device?  Or was it something else, of which my limited
> intelligence can not even conceive?

Nobody has mentioned the displays on the 1400s which were arranged in
a data flow diagram so that you could watch the data moving around
while single stepping, see the address registers, Op code, inputs and
output of the ALU and so on.  There were two levels of single cycling,
literally single memory cycles or Instruction phase/Execute phase
cycling.  Great entertainment value.
-- 
Nick Spalding

######

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Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
From: Steve Garwood <sterling.garwood@worldnet.att.net>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87070

I've been reading this thread for a while and haven't seen any mention of
cpu usage meters. There were two (at least on 360/65 and 67) ... a
speedometer kind that could show program or supervisor or total usage and a
set of odometers that showed total running time (like on a car). I've heard
that IBM used the odometers in some early maintenance charge schemes. A CE
would show up every month or so and write down the readings.



in article r90dntce7oqt3ms5nqqqfp3drj47b99bo0@4ax.com, Nick Spalding at
spalding@iol.ie wrote on 8/12/01 8:17 AM:

> Sergej Roytman wrote, in <BVXc7.1649$96.1436@srvr1.engin.umich.edu>:
> 
>> A naive question.  What did the blinkenlights on the old iron that had
>> them, show?  I had always assumed that they were tied to the machine's
>> data- and address busses (with appropriate buffering), but then the
>> things would be useless much of the time.  On the other hand, the BLs
>> on this one old machine that lived in the Chrysler dinosaur pen when I
>> worked there, did look like they were echoing a bus.  On yet another
>> hand, the MPEG of a PDP-x(8?) booting up that I found on the Rhode
>> Island old iron Web site, clearly showed patterns that stuck around for
>> a second or so, implying that the panel lights were under program
>> control, and could actually say something.
>> 
>> So, what was it?  Was the front panel an elaborate machine-wedged-p?
>> indicator during normal operation, or was it a program-controlled
>> output device?  Or was it something else, of which my limited
>> intelligence can not even conceive?
> 
> Nobody has mentioned the displays on the 1400s which were arranged in
> a data flow diagram so that you could watch the data moving around
> while single stepping, see the address registers, Op code, inputs and
> output of the ALU and so on.  There were two levels of single cycling,
> literally single memory cycles or Instruction phase/Execute phase
> cycling.  Great entertainment value.

######

From: "Daniel House" <d.house@computer.org>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
References: <BVXc7.1649$96.1436@srvr1.engin.umich.edu> <r90dntce7oqt3ms5nqqqfp3drj47b99bo0@4ax.com> <B79BFED0.1CF03%sterling.garwood@worldnet.att.net>
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"Steve Garwood" <sterling.garwood@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:B79BFED0.1CF03%sterling.garwood@worldnet.att.net...
> I've been reading this thread for a while and haven't seen any mention of
> cpu usage meters. There were two (at least on 360/65 and 67) ... a
> speedometer kind that could show program or supervisor or total usage and
a
> set of odometers that showed total running time (like on a car). I've
heard
> that IBM used the odometers in some early maintenance charge schemes. A CE
> would show up every month or so and write down the readings.
>
>

Do you know why there were always (at least that I've seen) two "odometers"
?  They look like Hobbs meters on small airplanes, which count the hours
that the airplane engine runs.  But in a little single engine Cessna or
Piper, I've only seen one per plane.  Why two on a mainframe ?

Related, what exactly did the analog usage meter measure ?  Reactance of the
meter is pretty slow, so was there some aggregation made somewhere of total
busy time per some unit of time ?  Could you select whether you wanted to
see things like problem vs. supervisor state, like on later mainframe 3270
"SADs" (system activity displays) ?

Too many questions. Sorry. Regards, Dan

######

From: "Paul Hardy" <Paul@lsl.co.uk>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 16:58:34 +0100
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Sergej Roytman <ftit@engin.umich.edu> wrote in message
news:BVXc7.1649$96.1436@srvr1.engin.umich.edu...
> A naive question.  What did the blinkenlights on the old iron that had
> them, show?  I had always assumed that they were tied to the machine's
> data- and address busses (with appropriate buffering), but then the
> things would be useless much of the time.  On the other hand, the BLs
> on this one old machine that lived in the Chrysler dinosaur pen when I
> worked there, did look like they were echoing a bus.  On yet another
> hand, the MPEG of a PDP-x(8?) booting up that I found on the Rhode
> Island old iron Web site, clearly showed patterns that stuck around for
> a second or so, implying that the panel lights were under program
> control, and could actually say something.
>
> So, what was it?  Was the front panel an elaborate machine-wedged-p?
> indicator during normal operation, or was it a program-controlled
> output device?  Or was it something else, of which my limited
> intelligence can not even conceive?

The PDP15 (from 1974) had a speed control knob, and you could turn the
processor clock down to one instruction a second or slower if you wanted to.
At those speeds, you could track the program by comparing the address and
data lights with your assembler listing. If the system crashed it was
usually a halt or a loop, both of which could usefully be debugged using the
lights.

It was one one occasion arather a handicap, as the machine seemed to be a
bit slow during an important demo. We discovered afterwards that the
cleaners had dusted the knob and turned the speed down slightly!

I still have the console in a bookcase by my desk.

--
Paul Hardy (Paul@lsl.co.uk)

######

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Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
From: Steve Garwood <sterling.garwood@worldnet.att.net>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
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According to my IBM Field Engineering Handbook System 360, Model 65 May 1968
the cpu meter logics are on ALD page KC-051. Unfortunately, I don't have Mod
65 (or any other) ALDs - sure would like a set.

and if anyone wants to know the layout of all the lights on a Mod 40, 50, or
65 I can scan in the pages from the FE Handbooks - I have all three (as well
as the FE Handbook for 2860/2870/2880.
The nice thing about these is the complete data flow diagrams in them.

On the 65/67, the dial meter could show (IIRC) total cpu, problem cpu, or
supervisor cpu. Probably picked the signal off of the PSW bit for program
state.







in article Boxd7.113914$TM5.18673014@typhoon.southeast.rr.com, Daniel House
at d.house@computer.org wrote on 8/12/01 10:37 AM:

> 
> Do you know why there were always (at least that I've seen) two "odometers"
> ?  They look like Hobbs meters on small airplanes, which count the hours
> that the airplane engine runs.  But in a little single engine Cessna or
> Piper, I've only seen one per plane.  Why two on a mainframe ?
> 
> Related, what exactly did the analog usage meter measure ?  Reactance of the
> meter is pretty slow, so was there some aggregation made somewhere of total
> busy time per some unit of time ?  Could you select whether you wanted to
> see things like problem vs. supervisor state, like on later mainframe 3270
> "SADs" (system activity displays) ?
> 
> Too many questions. Sorry. Regards, Dan
> 
> 
> 
> 

######

From: jmaynard@thebrain.conmicro.cx (Jay Maynard)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
References: <BVXc7.1649$96.1436@srvr1.engin.umich.edu> <r90dntce7oqt3ms5nqqqfp3drj47b99bo0@4ax.com> <B79BFED0.1CF03%sterling.garwood@worldnet.att.net> <Boxd7.113914$TM5.18673014@typhoon.southeast.rr.com>
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87079

On Sun, 12 Aug 2001 15:37:05 GMT, Daniel House <d.house@computer.org> wrote:
>Do you know why there were always (at least that I've seen) two "odometers"
>?  They look like Hobbs meters on small airplanes, which count the hours
>that the airplane engine runs.  But in a little single engine Cessna or
>Piper, I've only seen one per plane.  Why two on a mainframe ?

They were there to record machine usage so users could be charged
accordingly. One was the normal mode meter. The other one measured time the
system was in CE mode; that way, users wouldn't be charged for time consumed
by testing and repair activities. CE mode was enabled by a keylock.

######

Sender: lynn@LYNNPC
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
References: <BVXc7.1649$96.1436@srvr1.engin.umich.edu> <r90dntce7oqt3ms5nqqqfp3drj47b99bo0@4ax.com> <B79BFED0.1CF03%sterling.garwood@worldnet.att.net> <Boxd7.113914$TM5.18673014@typhoon.southeast.rr.com>
Reply-To: Anne & Lynn Wheeler <lynn@garlic.com>
From: Anne & Lynn Wheeler <lynn@garlic.com>
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87185

"Daniel House" <d.house@computer.org> writes:

> 
> Do you know why there were always (at least that I've seen) two "odometers"
> ?  They look like Hobbs meters on small airplanes, which count the hours
> that the airplane engine runs.  But in a little single engine Cessna or
> Piper, I've only seen one per plane.  Why two on a mainframe ?

mainframes were all leased ... and a "CE key" ... which could switch
from the customer billing meter and the "service & maint" meter.

one of the great benefits to time-sharing service bureaus (like
tymshare, ncss, idc, etc) was the ability to let the system (& meter)
go idle when there was no system activity.

you could get different contract leases for hrs per week (i.e. one,
two, three or four shifts typically). nominally the billing meter
would run even when the cpu wasn't executing instructions (i.e. in
wait state) if there was "outstanding" i/o i.e. even tho the processor
might not be executing 360/370 instructions ... it was possible that
the processor engine was executing other kinds of instructions on
behalf of various i/o operations.

one of the time-sharing tricks was to be able to leave a kind of
pending I/O operation on terminal lines (allowing it to accept
incoming characters) which wouldn't cause the billing meter to tick
when characters weren't actually being transferred. this enabled being
able to offer service 3rd & 4th shift ... when there was nominal
little or no (time-sharing) billing activity ... but could still rack
up machine leasing billing activity.

random time-sharing references:
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/93.html#31 Big I/O or Kicking the Mainframe out the Door
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/94.html#5 Schedulers
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/94.html#12 360 "OS" & "TSS" assemblers
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/94.html#15 cp disk story
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/94.html#47 Rethinking Virtual Memory
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/95.html#2 Why is there only VM/370?
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/97.html#7 Did 1401 have time?
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/97.html#16 Why Mainframes?
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/98.html#13 S/360 operating systems geneaology
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/98.html#40 Comparison Cluster vs SMP?
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/99.html#39 Internet and/or ARPANET?
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/99.html#76 Mainframes at Universities
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/99.html#87 1401 Wordmark?
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/99.html#119 Computer, supercomputers & related
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/99.html#122 Computer supersitions [was Re: Speaking of USB ( was Re: ASR 33 Typing Element)]
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/99.html#126 Dispute about Internet's origins
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/99.html#127 Dispute about Internet's origins
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/99.html#130 early hardware
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/99.html#148 OS/360 (and descendents) VM system?
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/99.html#177 S/360 history
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2000.html#81 Ux's good points.
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2000.html#83 Ux's good points.
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2000.html#86 Ux's good points.
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2000.html#89 Ux's good points.
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2000b.html#61 VM (not VMS or Virtual Machine, the IBM sort)
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2000b.html#77 write rings
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2000d.html#40 360 CPU meters (was Re: Early IBM-PC sales proj..
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2000d.html#44 Charging for time-share CPU time
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2000d.html#45 Charging for time-share CPU time
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2000d.html#46 Charging for time-share CPU time
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2000d.html#47 Charging for time-share CPU time
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2000e.html#9 Checkpointing (was spice on clusters)
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2000e.html#13 internet preceeds Gore in office.
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2000e.html#16 First OS with 'User' concept?
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2000f.html#52 TSS ancient history, was X86 ultimate CISC? designs)
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2000f.html#53 360 Architecture, Multics, ... was (Re: X86 ultimate CISC? No.)
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2000f.html#54 360 Architecture, Multics, ... was (Re: X86 ultimate CISC? No.)
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2000f.html#56 TSS ancient history, was X86 ultimate CISC? designs)
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2000f.html#58 360 Architecture, Multics, ... was (Re: X86 ultimate CISC? No.)
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2000f.html#59 360 Architecture, Multics, ... was (Re: X86 ultimate CISC? No.)
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2000f.html#78 TSS ancient history, was X86 ultimate CISC? designs)
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2000g.html#4 virtualizable 360, was TSS ancient history
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2001b.html#15 Linux IA-64 interrupts [was Re: Itanium benchmarks ...]
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2001b.html#35 John Mashey's greatest hits
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2001b.html#45 First OS?
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2001c.html#3 Z/90, S/390, 370/ESA (slightly off topic)
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2001e.html#13 High Level Language Systems was Re: computer books/authors (Re: FA:
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2001e.html#69 line length (was Re: Babble from "JD" &lt;dyson@jdyson.com&gt;)
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2001f.html#2 Mysterious Prefixes
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2001f.html#17 Accounting systems ... still in use? (Do we still share?)
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2001f.html#48 any 70's era supercomputers that ran as slow as today's supercomputers?
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2001f.html#56 any 70's era supercomputers that ran as slow as today's supercomputers?
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2001g.html#32 Did AT&T offer Unix to Digital Equipment in the 70s?
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2001h.html#10 VM: checking some myths.
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2001h.html#12 checking some myths.
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2001h.html#34 D
http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2001h.html#35 D

-- 
Anne & Lynn Wheeler  | lynn@garlic.com - http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/ 

######

From: Steve O'Hara-Smith <steveo@eircom.net>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 19:44:56 +0200
Organization: Wanadoo NL
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87265

On Sun, 12 Aug 2001 07:08:30 GMT
CBFalconer <cbfalconer@yahoo.com> wrote:

> The 8080 based systems I built circa 1974 and that was in use
> until sometime in the 90s for medical testing labs (we built
> something like 25 to 50 of them) had a portable set of
> blinkenlights.  You powered down, plugged in the card (8 x 8) and
> had a complete panel with single step, reset, trap to monitor,
> etc. buttons on it.  It showed address buss and data buss, with 
> additional lights marking i/o cycles and fetch cycles.
> 
> An additional card added the ability to trap on particular memory
> and i/o accesses (read, or write, or read/write), at which point
> the monitor could show us all the details.
> 
> I don't think any PCs had equivalent abilities until the '386 and

	There were cards available for PCs with similar features from
quite early on, usually from the same suppliers that could provide
prototyping boards for PCs.

-- 
    Directable Mirrors - A Better Way To Focus The Sun

	 	        http://www.best.com/~sohara

######

Message-ID: <3B76E12F.36500A3D@yahoo.com>
From: CBFalconer <cbfalconer@yahoo.com>
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Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87445

Daniel House wrote:
> 
> "Steve Garwood" <sterling.garwood@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
> news:B79BFED0.1CF03%sterling.garwood@worldnet.att.net...
> > I've been reading this thread for a while and haven't seen any
> > mention ofcpu usage meters. There were two (at least on 360/65
> > and 67) ... a speedometer kind that could show program or
> > supervisor or total usage and a set of odometers that showed
> > total running time (like on a car). I've heard that IBM used
> > the odometers in some early maintenance charge schemes. A CE
> > would show up every month or so and write down the readings.
> 
> Do you know why there were always (at least that I've seen) two
> "odometers"?  They look like Hobbs meters on small airplanes,
> which count the hours that the airplane engine runs.  But in a
> little single engine Cessna or Piper, I've only seen one per
> plane.  Why two on a mainframe ?
> 
> Related, what exactly did the analog usage meter measure ? 
> Reactance of the meter is pretty slow, so was there some
> aggregation made somewhere of total busy time per some unit of
> time ?  Could you select whether you wanted to see things like
> problem vs. supervisor state, like on later mainframe 3270
> "SADs" (system activity displays) ?

Back around 75 or so I found a cheap 'on-time' meter (a buck or
two) that looked like a mercury thermometer about 1 inch tall. 
They ran from 5V, and I put them on all our embedded
installations.  I think they topped out at 50000 hours or so.

I stopped bothering after a couple of years, when they were all
pegged at the top.

-- 
Chuck F (cbfalconer@yahoo.com) (cbfalconer@XXXXworldnet.att.net)
   (Remove "XXXX" from reply address. yahoo works unmodified)
   mailto:uce@ftc.gov  (for spambots to harvest)

######

From: genew@shuswap.net (Gene Wirchenko)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 03:32:53 GMT
Reply-To: genew@shuswap.net
Message-ID: <3b774945.113941150@news.shuswap.net>
References: <BVXc7.1649$96.1436@srvr1.engin.umich.edu> <9l3hij$i7l$1@top.mitre.org> <997559022.19434.0.nnrp-14.9e98d142@news.demon.co.uk>
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87179

Ian Stirling <Inquisitor@I.am> wrote:

[snip]

>Was this contempory also with internal state getting hidden by 
>increasing integration?
>Without dramatic efforts for example, it's hard to do blinkenlights
>for a pentium.

     Not necessarily cotemporaneous.  The 8080 could drive a display,
but it was designed to allow that.

Sicnerely,

gene Wirchenko

Computerese Irregular Verb Conjugation:
     I have preferences.
     You have biases.
     He/She has prejudices.

######

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: ehrice@his.com (Edward Rice)
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Message-ID: <B79CEF3B966879322@max1h-98.his.com>
Organization: NDS
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 02:43:07 -0400
References: <BVXc7.1649$96.1436@srvr1.engin.umich.edu> <3B744FC2.1E44FB3D@sun.com> <4556.622T1873T9615502@nowhere.in.particular> <vd2NzVOTNb7v-pn2-nE72mdC18nkl@dialup-64.157.52.209.Dial1.Washington1.Level3.net>
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87115

In article
<vd2NzVOTNb7v-pn2-nE72mdC18nkl@dialup-64.157.52.209.Dial1.Washington1.Level3.net>,
javnews@earthlink.net (John Varela) wrote:

 > The AN/FSQ-7 SAGE computer went that one better.  It had a loudspeaker
that 
 > was somehow tied to some register(s)--I think it was the accumulator...

The CDC-3000-lower (3150, 3300, 3500, possibly the 3000-upper as well) had
a console loudspeaker tied to the upper three bits of the A-register
(accumulator).  Toggling the bits controlled the Herz of the tone, and the
loudness was controlled by using the bits as "4-2-1" volume levels.  It
could play rather nice music, but the originally-intended purpose was to
hear what the system was doing while it did it.  Core-table expansions and
contractions caused bird-whistle-like swoops, while normal user operations
typically caused electronic chuckles (much text processing) and static (any
kind of floating-point work).  It was a /very/ useful tool to tell when
things were a little off, because while the console could only be seen from
one side, the speaker could be heard (when the analog volume control was
cranked up) over a fair portion of the machine room.

Since the machine had what amounted to two accumulators (the Q-register,
corresponding to the 704's MQ-register, was capable of doing (almost?)
everything the A-register could), programs that wanted tp play with the
speaker could operate their own logic in the index registers and
Q-register, and reserve the A-register for actually controlling the speaker
drivers.  Terrific little machine.  And, for those who think that 8, 12,
16, 32 and 36 bits are all that God intended, CDC designed it quite nicely
with 24-bit words.

  -- Edward

######

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: ehrice@his.com (Edward Rice)
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Message-ID: <B79CEF3B9668792F1@max1h-98.his.com>
Organization: NDS
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 02:43:07 -0400
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87118

In article <uvgjt9pjn.fsf@earthlink.net>,
Anne & Lynn Wheeler <lynn@garlic.com> wrote:

 > you could get different contract leases for hrs per week (i.e. one,
 > two, three or four shifts typically).

Did IBM charge more for three eight-hour shifts a day, or for four six-hour
shifts?  No wonder they were so profitable!

######

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: ehrice@his.com (Edward Rice)
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Message-ID: <B79CEF3D96687937C@max1h-98.his.com>
Organization: NDS
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 02:43:09 -0400
References: <BVXc7.1649$96.1436@srvr1.engin.umich.edu> <9l1km6$qk3$1@news-central.tiac.net> <3B74E1AA.3080102@revoke-my-charter.net>
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In article <3B74E1AA.3080102@revoke-my-charter.net>,
"Michael J. Albanese" <mjalbanese@revoke-my-charter.net> wrote:

 > You could often tell when a big sort was in progress as all the register

 > lights would be lit up with a fuzzy, mesmerizing glow. Counting in the 
 > registers also produced a very distinctive pattern -- very noticeable on

 > some of the 60's time sharing computers (GE, for example), where the 
 > console could be seen "counting" during periods of low system usage.

As I recall, the trick was that just before going into a
Delay-Until-Interrupt-Signal, or DIS, instruction, the processors would go
to a particular core location to load the accumulator.  If the machine was
extremely busy, then you never saw them enter DIS long enough for the word
to be visible.  If the machine was moderately busy, then all the other
traffic moving through that register would mask that word, even if it was
being displayed part of the time.  But if the system was quite inactive,
then the word would be highly visible.  I can't recall which words were
used but they changed across different versions of GCOS, depending on what
seemed most useful to the people doing that release; and many sites would
patch that load instruction, because they either wanted to play games or
else more urgently needed to know about something else in the system.  It
amounted to either a very expensive toy, OR a very simple peek into one
word of system memory without slowing anything else down.

On later editions of the hardware, the most useful blinkenlights moved
/inside/ the cabinetry, resulting in the unintended and not-recommended
practice of bracing the door of the SCU or control processor or even an IOM
wide open -- providing good access to the blinkenlights but wrecking the
planned-for movement of cooling air through the cabinet.

The blinkenlights panel on the Honeywell 6000 (et succ.) was quite
expensive, and eventually Honeywell made it portable betwen boxes, and
provided only one per type of box.  (At least for some boxes -- I'm not
sure they did it for all of (CPU, I/O Multiplexor, Systems Controller aka
Memory Controller).)  This was infuriating and really cumbersome -- moving
the box to the unit that needed serious attention might be fine for field
engineering division people, but it took the lights away from the
operations folks.  This was not a poopular design decision, and some sites
went so far as to force Honeywell to provide additional maintenance panels
for some of the boxes (don't know if they paid for them or just exerted
leverage on the corporation).

So far as the use, Sergej... instructions weren't atomic of course, these
days atoms aren't atomic, either), they consisted (consist) of many smaller
steps.  To find out what's going on, it may in some cases be useful to
observe the very smallest steps, and in later mainframes it was found
useful to do that rapidly (to conserve on expensive personnel) and
non-intrusively (to conserve on collateral damage caused by jamming 'scope
probes into the wrong places).  I can remember the rhyme used for the GE
600 boxes, or maybe it was the CDC 3000 boxes, that went "RADR, FADR, ROP
and STO, RNI and away we go."  Read address, from the executing
instruction.  Find address, which might involve indexing and indirection,
and in some cases could iterate for quite a while.  Read the operation to
be performed from the instruction word (register).  (presumably, /do/ the
instruction)  Store the results.  Read the next instruction.  When
"something isn't working and this program is failing but shouldn't be," FED
or CE or whatever it's called has to get in and find specifics, and those
panels were the way to get at, or very close to, the problem.

    -- Edward

######

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: ehrice@his.com (Edward Rice)
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Message-ID: <B79CEF3F9668793F1@max1h-98.his.com>
Organization: NDS
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 02:43:11 -0400
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87120

In article <3B744FC2.1E44FB3D@sun.com>,
Eric Sosman <Eric.Sosman@sun.com> wrote:

 >     ... all of which brings to mind the S/360 model 69,

There was a model 69?!

  -- E "goodness!" R

######

Sender: lynn@LYNNPC
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
References: <BVXc7.1649$96.1436@srvr1.engin.umich.edu> <r90dntce7oqt3ms5nqqqfp3drj47b99bo0@4ax.com> <B79BFED0.1CF03%sterling.garwood@worldnet.att.net> <Boxd7.113914$TM5.18673014@typhoon.southeast.rr.com> <uvgjt9pjn.fsf@earthlink.net> <B79CEF3B9668792F1@max1h-98.his.com>
Reply-To: Anne & Lynn Wheeler <lynn@garlic.com>
From: Anne & Lynn Wheeler <lynn@garlic.com>
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ehrice@his.com (Edward Rice) writes:

> Did IBM charge more for three eight-hour shifts a day, or for four six-hour
> shifts?  No wonder they were so profitable!

i think 4th shift was time in excess of 5x24=120hrs per week
(i.e. 7x24=168-120=48hrs ... aka sat & sun). I seem to remember
somebody saying 4th shift rates was only about 10% of 1st shift rates
(if the meter actually ownly ran when somebody was actually being
charged to do something, it was relatively easy to recover costs for
leaving the machine up ... especially if the machine was running
unattended).

-- 
Anne & Lynn Wheeler   | lynn@garlic.com -  http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/ 

######

From: brian_huntley@my-deja.com (Brian Huntley)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: 13 Aug 2001 07:10:59 -0700
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javnews@earthlink.net (John Varela) wrote in message news:<vd2NzVOTNb7v-pn2-nE72mdC18nkl@dialup-64.157.52.209.Dial1.Washington1.Level3.net>...
> The AN/FSQ-7 SAGE computer went that one better.  It had a loudspeaker that 
> was somehow tied to some register(s)--I think it was the accumulator.  The 
> number of ones, or the number of changed bits, or something like that varied 
> the tone from the loudspeaker.  If the loudspeaker went silent, you were 
> halted.  If it started repeating itself, you were in a loop.  (Over the 
> intercom:  "The program is looping in Program 5090.")

We kept an AM radio atop our (seriously out of date, scrap-heap
survivor) NCR-500's CPU. From the operator's console, 12 feet away, it
was quite possible to hear loops. I wish I'd made some audio
recordings of that beast - it was very SciFi-ish sounding.

######

From: mkurtti <mkurtti@knology.net>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Message-ID: <MPG.15e1a14d742eafd6989686@news.knology.net>
References: <BVXc7.1649$96.1436@srvr1.engin.umich.edu> <3B744FC2.1E44FB3D@sun.com> <4556.622T1873T9615502@nowhere.in.particular> <vd2NzVOTNb7v-pn2-nE72mdC18nkl@dialup-64.157.52.209.Dial1.Washington1.Level3.net> <a2957f40.0108130610.215ba246@posting.google.com>
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87313

In article <a2957f40.0108130610.215ba246@posting.google.com>, 
brian_huntley@my-deja.com says...
> javnews@earthlink.net (John Varela) wrote in message news:<vd2NzVOTNb7v-pn2-nE72mdC18nkl@dialup-64.157.52.209.Dial1.Washington1.Level3.net>...
> > The AN/FSQ-7 SAGE computer went that one better.  It had a loudspeaker that 
> > was somehow tied to some register(s)--I think it was the accumulator.  The 
> > number of ones, or the number of changed bits, or something like that varied 
> > the tone from the loudspeaker.  If the loudspeaker went silent, you were 
> > halted.  If it started repeating itself, you were in a loop.  (Over the 
> > intercom:  "The program is looping in Program 5090.")
> 
> We kept an AM radio atop our (seriously out of date, scrap-heap
> survivor) NCR-500's CPU. From the operator's console, 12 feet away, it
> was quite possible to hear loops. I wish I'd made some audio
> recordings of that beast - it was very SciFi-ish sounding.
> 
At Lincoln labthe XD-1 had its own phome number.  You could call and 
listen to the audio and tell if it was running batch jobs or a SAGE 
exercie. with a distinct 15 second fram and 5 econd subrame beat.
In 1970 when I was at Bell Labs, Wippany they had a similar hookup to
their 360-65. However the numer was only available on supervisor's 
phones-DAH.

marv

######

From: jcmorris@mitre.org (Joe Morris)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: 13 Aug 2001 14:37:17 GMT
Organization: The MITRE Corporation
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Steve Garwood <sterling.garwood@worldnet.att.net> writes:

>I've been reading this thread for a while and haven't seen any mention of
>cpu usage meters. There were two (at least on 360/65 and 67) ... a
>speedometer kind that could show program or supervisor or total usage and a
>set of odometers that showed total running time (like on a car). I've heard
>that IBM used the odometers in some early maintenance charge schemes. A CE
>would show up every month or so and write down the readings.

You got the name correct.  They date back to the times when a standard
rental contract for an IBM mainframe included 176 hours per month of
usage; any additional time resulted in an "additional usage" charge.
The customer meter ran whenever the CPU was either executing instructions
or performing I/O.

There weren't any "speedometer"-like instantaneous utilization meters
that were part of any IBM box I've ever seen.  What you might be
thinking of was the type of customer-built box that many shops had
to measure usage by measuring the duty cycle of the WAIT lamp.  Using
a mechanical voltmeter to average the voltage delivered to the lamp
you could calibrate the scale for 100% (lamp always ON) and lower
percentages.  The boxes usually attached to the CPU through a burned-
out lamp assembly, so there was no connection behind the front panel
to upset the CE.

There were two meters with a lockswitch; the Customer Engineer had
a "CE key" that was used to stop the customer meter and start the CE
meter; this prevented CE time from being charged against the customer's
monthly time limit.

CE keys were rigidly controlled, and it was almost a hanging offence
for a CE to lose one.  (I recall at my shop -- which as a gov'mt
customer didn't worry about the 176 hour limit -- one of the really
good CEs had been in the shop one morning, and came back in the
afternoon, frantically hoping that he had left his key in the machine
room (he had).)

When teleprocessing started to become popular the CE meter design
turned into a major problem.  The gotcha was that the communications
controllers raised METERING IN whenever they were conditioned to look
for an incoming call -- even if there was no call connected to any
port.  One of the selling points of the programmable 3705 Communications
Controller was that it did not raise METERING IN.  (This would have been
in the early 1970s.)

I'm not sure when the 176-hour limit finally disappeared from IBM
rental contracts.

Joe Morris

######

From: Eric Sosman <Eric.Sosman@sun.com>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 12:16:29 -0400
Organization: Sun Microsystems
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87424

Edward Rice wrote:
> 
> In article <3B744FC2.1E44FB3D@sun.com>,
> Eric Sosman <Eric.Sosman@sun.com> wrote:
> 
>  >     ... all of which brings to mind the S/360 model 69,
> 
> There was a model 69?!

    I recall several lists of whimsical opcodes, at least
some of them purporting to describe the extended instruction
set of the Model 69.  Geoffrey G. Rochat reports similar
lists for the Model 369.95.

    A Google search on "Read And Shred Card" turns up many
such opcode lists.

-- 
Eric.Sosman@sun.com

######

From: jeffj@panix.com (Jeff Jonas)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: 13 Aug 2001 13:26:57 -0400
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>>A naive question.  What did the blinkenlights on the old iron that had
>>them, show?  I had always assumed that they were tied to the machine's
>>data- and address busses (with appropriate buffering)

It depends on the machine and intended audience.
When machines were HUGE (such as the IBM 1620),
there was plenty of power for the incadescent lamps
(now, the bulbs would draw more power than the rest of the system!)
and many panels were INSIDE the cabinets to help the repair folks diagnose
the problems (the card reader had a tachometer-type thingie!).
The card reader even had a built in multimeter with
a 12+ postion rotary switch to check commonly monitored points!

The General Precision LGP21 was a serial-bit machine so the display
was an oscilloscope showing the bits as they flew by!
It had only 3 traces.
I think they were program counter, instruction and data.
Since that was an "option" I guess many folks ran their machines "blind"
since the only other lights were power and perhaps "halt".

As already mentioned, the IBM system 1130 had a medium sized panel
showing accumulator, accumulator extension
(which were loaded with an errno during a montior-system HALT to read
what went wrong, such as "card reader out of cards",
"printer out of paper", etc.).
I don't think the 1130 had a bus or backplane pre-se,
everything was its own buffer and I/O space.
The core memory was practically a separate peripheral,
with an address register and data register for all I/O
(with their own lights!).
All sorts of CPU status had lights too, such as the carry, overflow flags,
cycle control register and such.

I had time with the IBM system 1130 to myself so I delighted in the things
it could do.
- Run program at full speed.
- too fast? switch the "mode" switch to "interrupt run" and an interrupt is
  generated after every instruction
- still too fast? switch to "single instruction mode":
  the "start" switch advances to next instruction and halts.
- still too fast? switch to "single memory cycle mode"
  Instructions took from 1-7 memory cycles.  As I recall:
  I1: fetch instruction
  I2: fetch 2nd part of instruction (if long format)
  IX: fetch index register (index registers 1-3 were in core)
  IA: indirect addressing: fetch the address from the address
  E1: execute cycle 1
  E2: execute cycle 2
  E3: execute cycle 3
- still too fast? switch to "single clock step" and follow the execution
  with the flowcharts!  See the "add" work bit by bit!
- view and alter memory via the console switches
  (16 toggle switches on the Selectric typewriter, above the keyboard).


The IBM system 3 had only 1-2 rows of lights and a roller/cylinder
below it that showed each bit/light's meaning
(the roller was also a switch to change the display to correspond
to the labels).


I never got to touch the PDP11/45's panel since it was running
Unix Version 6 full time, but it was non-harmful to turn the mode switch
to show the more active areas.


>The blinkenlights on old machines typically monitored system address and
>data lines, CPU registers, CPU states, peripheral control, data and
>state registers, and key system states.  Sometimes there was one light
>per instance, sometimes there were selector switches to let you choose
>what you wanted to see, depending on machine.

Machines are now so fast that the LEDS blink too fast to see anything.
Many were eliminated because
- RF leakage
- they took up too much power
- even with hexadecimal displays, it's much nicer to use a ROM monitor
  and full keyboard and monitor instead of switches and displays.
  That allows for logging the results, remote monitoring and debugging, etc.
- it's now cheaper to have a small PC as the front panel instead of
  lotsa hand-made hand-wired dedicated circuitry.
  (even as a college student, I gave up on my LED & switch front panel and
  used a Timex/Sinclair 1000 as a front panel just to save my sanity).


Nowadays, the modem & network panels have all the blinkenlights
since they're actually useful to show activity.
Many displays are "pulse stretched" so even the slightest activity
causes the LED to stay on long enough to be seen
(and it reduces RF transmission).

I really do watch my modem, DSL and ethernet lights blink since I ought
to match that to the activity causing it!
(ex: seeing pauses during large file transfers,
seeing activity when all ought to be idle, etc).
-- 
Jeffrey Jonas
jeffj@panix(dot)com
The original Dr. JCL and Mr .hide

######

From: Steve O'Hara-Smith <steveo@eircom.net>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 22:13:35 +0200
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On 13 Aug 2001 07:10:59 -0700
brian_huntley@my-deja.com (Brian Huntley) wrote:

BH> We kept an AM radio atop our (seriously out of date, scrap-heap

	There was a program for the 1130 called tune which used an AM radio
as an audio output device. It would either play a tune or transform the
console into one the the most expensive Stylophone clones available.

-- 
    Directable Mirrors - A Better Way To Focus The Sun

	 	        http://www.best.com/~sohara

######

From: ic0cdfw00@ic24.net
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 21:24:34 +0100
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On Sun, 12 Aug 2001 20:49:28 GMT, CBFalconer <cbfalconer@yahoo.com>
wrote:


>
>Back around 75 or so I found a cheap 'on-time' meter (a buck or
>two) that looked like a mercury thermometer about 1 inch tall. 
>They ran from 5V, and I put them on all our embedded
>installations.  I think they topped out at 50000 hours or so.
>
>I stopped bothering after a couple of years, when they were all
>pegged at the top.

IBM used these things to measure the power on time of disk drives. The
8100 systems drives all had them. 

-- 
aml

######

From: wej3715@scully.tamu.edu (wej3715)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: 13 Aug 2001 21:51:23 GMT
Organization: Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87072

Sergej Roytman (ftit@engin.umich.edu) wrote:
: So, what was it?  Was the front panel an elaborate machine-wedged-p?
: indicator during normal operation, or was it a program-controlled
: output device?  Or was it something else, of which my limited
: intelligence can not even conceive?

In 1977, I did some programming on a Data General Supernova.  I wrote
the program on cards, read the cards on another Data General computer,
compiled the program, and produced a paper tape.  I then took the paper
tape to the Supernova, enter the bootstrap program with switches,
read in the paper tape, and execute the program.

The bad thing is that about 1/4 of the lights on that Supernova were
burned out.  That made it particularly difficult to double check
the bootstrap program or even to enter the bootstrap program if you
forgot what address you were at.

By the way, wasn't there some capability on the PDP-11 of having a
program take over control of the lights while running?  I seem to
remember seeing that once, but it has been quite a long time.

Eric Johnson

######

From: wej3715@scully.tamu.edu (wej3715)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: 13 Aug 2001 22:01:25 GMT
Organization: Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87084

Sergej Roytman (ftit@engin.umich.edu) wrote:
: So, what was it?  Was the front panel an elaborate machine-wedged-p?
: indicator during normal operation, or was it a program-controlled
: output device?  Or was it something else, of which my limited
: intelligence can not even conceive?

Also, when the IMSAI 8080 came out, it didn't come with frills like
keyboards, monitors, and printers.

You'd enter the program using switches, run the program, and then
read the results from the lights.

If I remember correctly, they included some programs you could
run.  I watched a friend of mine who built his own from a kit
test out his new computer by entering a game program via the
switches and then play it by flipping switches in response to
patterns in the blinking lights.

Eric Johnson

######

Message-ID: <3B786A17.2B64@indyx.net>
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87392

CBFalconer wrote:
> 
> Daniel House wrote:
> >
> > "Steve Garwood" <sterling.garwood@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
> > news:B79BFED0.1CF03%sterling.garwood@worldnet.att.net...
> > > I've been reading this thread for a while and haven't seen any
> > > mention ofcpu usage meters. There were two (at least on 360/65
> > > and 67) ... a speedometer kind that could show program or
> > > supervisor or total usage and a set of odometers that showed
> > > total running time (like on a car). I've heard that IBM used
> > > the odometers in some early maintenance charge schemes. A CE
> > > would show up every month or so and write down the readings.
> >
> > Do you know why there were always (at least that I've seen) two
> > "odometers"?  They look like Hobbs meters on small airplanes,
> > which count the hours that the airplane engine runs.  But in a
> > little single engine Cessna or Piper, I've only seen one per
> > plane.  Why two on a mainframe ?
> >
> > Related, what exactly did the analog usage meter measure ?
> > Reactance of the meter is pretty slow, so was there some
> > aggregation made somewhere of total busy time per some unit of
> > time ?  Could you select whether you wanted to see things like
> > problem vs. supervisor state, like on later mainframe 3270
> > "SADs" (system activity displays) ?
> 
> Back around 75 or so I found a cheap 'on-time' meter (a buck or
> two) that looked like a mercury thermometer about 1 inch tall.
> They ran from 5V, and I put them on all our embedded
> installations.  I think they topped out at 50000 hours or so.
> 
> I stopped bothering after a couple of years, when they were all
> pegged at the top.
> 

On the few meters that I have seen, you could "start over" by
un-snapping the meter from it's base and replacing it 180 digrees
around.  I think that they operated by the electrolytic transferrance of
metal, as in electroplating.

-- 
use only in open or well ventilated areas
/\>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>\/
/\  I may be demented                          \/
/\                      but I'm not crazy!     \/
/\<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<\/
*    SPAyM trap:  there is no X in my address   *
|| attatch FLAME here ||
\/                    \/
X

######

From: "Geoffrey G. Rochat" <geoff.nospam@nospam.pkworks.com>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 20:15:24 -0400
Organization: WWW.US.INTER.NET
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87223

>>
>>  >     ... all of which brings to mind the S/360 model 69,
>>
>> There was a model 69?!
>
>    I recall several lists of whimsical opcodes, at least
>some of them purporting to describe the extended instruction
>set of the Model 69.  Geoffrey G. Rochat reports similar
>lists for the Model 369.95.
>

Thank you Eric Sosman for the attribution, but to prevent any untoward
accusations of originality on my part, parties interested in this rare
machine are referred to the book "The Devil's DP Dictionary" by Stan
Kelly-Bootle, wherein SK-B mentions this model as the product of a
company called Irish Business Machines.  The book is highly recommended
reading for all participants of this newsgroup.  It may be a bit tough
to find these days, seeing as how not as many people keep parakeets as
used to, but IIRC a Revised Edition was printed about ten years ago.
So..., you could look it up.

######

From: jcmorris@mitre.org (Joe Morris)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: 14 Aug 2001 13:43:35 GMT
Organization: The MITRE Corporation
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87080

javnews@earthlink.net (John Varela) wrote:

> The AN/FSQ-7 SAGE computer went that one better.  It had a loudspeaker that 
> was somehow tied to some register(s)--I think it was the accumulator.  The 
> number of ones, or the number of changed bits, or something like that varied 
> the tone from the loudspeaker.  If the loudspeaker went silent, you were 
> halted.  If it started repeating itself, you were in a loop.  (Over the 
> intercom:  "The program is looping in Program 5090.")

The TX-0 had a good hi-fi amplifier built into the console (but below the
table; you could use your feet to set the volume control) with its input
tied (IIRC) to the sign of the accumulator.

Someone (I suspect Alan Kotok, if for no other reason than the fact
that the amplifier and speakers were in his office next door) built a
small three-channel mixer and tied its inputs to three of the sense
lights in the PDP-1 at MIT, then fed the output to a Heathkit amplifier.

Pete Sampson wrote a very good music compiler to drive the sense lights,
complete with an input syntax that allowed nearly mechanical transcription
of a traditional music score onto a Flexowriter tape.  The classical music
from that program was periodically broadcast by WTBS (at that time the
MIT student radio station ("Technology Broadcasting System"), long
before Ted Turner's ego led him to buy the call letters for his own use).

Joe Morris

######

Message-ID: <3B7968F4.FE909B51@thinkage.ca>
From: "Alan T. Bowler" <atbowler@thinkage.ca>
Organization: Thinkage Ltd.
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87063

Joe Morris wrote:
>
> 
> There weren't any "speedometer"-like instantaneous utilization meters
> that were part of any IBM box I've ever seen. 

Nor on any I have seen.  However, they were a more or less
standard feature of the GE/Honeywell/Bull mainfranes (Gcos,
Multics, DTSS, CP-6, MarkIII).

######

From: jmfbahciv@aol.com
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 01 11:45:39 GMT
Organization: UltraNet Communications, Inc.
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87475

In article <541.626T960T6683889@nowhere.in.particular>,
   "Charlie Gibbs" <cgibbs@nowhere.in.particular> wrote:
>In article
><NKQS2gVdCOMx-pn2-SSdN1ui6kW83@sdn-ar-003dcwashP023.dialsprint.net>
>javnews@earthlink.net (John Varela) writes:
>
>>On Tue, 14 Aug 2001 08:25:15, jmfbahciv@aol.com wrote:
>>
>>> Yup.  So do I.  I am going to be very upset when this modem
>>> dies.  It has 9 lights.  The modems that I've seen used at
>>> the library only has three..I think.
>>
>>Ha!  I've got a Zoom modem with *15* lights.
>>
>>So there.
>
>Got me beat.  My ZyXEL U-1496E only has 12.
>
I didn't mean to start a Mine is bigger than yours...but..

The lights on my Intel 144/144e modem are 

TST, HS, AA, CD, OH, RD, SD, TR, MR

The TST, HS, CD, OH, TR, MR are on hard all the time.
I have no idea what they're for.  I just know patterns.

/BAH

Subtract a hundred and four for e-mail.

######

From: "Charlie Gibbs" <cgibbs@nowhere.in.particular>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: 14 Aug 01 11:08:19 -0800
Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87528

In article
<NKQS2gVdCOMx-pn2-SSdN1ui6kW83@sdn-ar-003dcwashP023.dialsprint.net>
javnews@earthlink.net (John Varela) writes:

>On Tue, 14 Aug 2001 08:25:15, jmfbahciv@aol.com wrote:
>
>> Yup.  So do I.  I am going to be very upset when this modem
>> dies.  It has 9 lights.  The modems that I've seen used at
>> the library only has three..I think.
>
>Ha!  I've got a Zoom modem with *15* lights.
>
>So there.

Got me beat.  My ZyXEL U-1496E only has 12.

--
cgibbs@nowhere.in.particular (Charlie Gibbs)
I'm switching ISPs - watch this space.

######

From: Dav_and_Frances_Vandenbroucke@compuserve.com (Dav Vandenbroucke)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 22:18:34 GMT
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87520

On Sat, 11 Aug 2001 19:08:13 GMT, javnews@earthlink.net (John Varela)
wrote:

>Someone who knew the algorithm that drove the speaker programmed it to play 
>Jingle Bells.  This was broadcast through the building on Christmas Eve.

Sometime ago I saw on eBay a program for the Altair that was for
composing music which could be listened to on a nearby radio.

Dav Vandenbroucke
dav_and_frances_vandenbroucke@compuserve.com

######

From: Mike Swaim <swaim@swaim-03.nol.net>
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87515

Geoffrey G. Rochat <geoff.nospam@nospam.pkworks.com> wrote:
> Thank you Eric Sosman for the attribution, but to prevent any untoward
> accusations of originality on my part, parties interested in this rare
> machine are referred to the book "The Devil's DP Dictionary" by Stan
> Kelly-Bootle, wherein SK-B mentions this model as the product of a
> company called Irish Business Machines.  The book is highly recommended
> reading for all participants of this newsgroup.  It may be a bit tough
> to find these days, seeing as how not as many people keep parakeets as
> used to, but IIRC a Revised Edition was printed about ten years ago.
> So..., you could look it up.

  It's now the _Computer Contradictionary_ I believe.

-- 
Mike Swaim, Avatar of Chaos: Disclaimer: I sometimes lie
Home: swaim at nol * net
Quote: "Boingie"^4 Y, W & D

######

From: nailed_barnacle@NOSPAMhotmail.com (Neil Barnes)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: 15 Aug 2001 17:36:42 GMT
Organization: Around here?
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87530

jmfbahciv@aol.com wrote in <9lb0td$llh$5@bob.news.rcn.net>:

> In article <9l92l1$lfr$1@panix3.panix.com>,
>    jeffj@panix.com (Jeff Jonas) wrote:
> 
>>>> A naive question.  What did the blinkenlights on the old iron that had
>>>> them, show?  I had always assumed that they were tied to the machine's
>>>> data- and address busses (with appropriate buffering)
>> 
>> It depends on the machine and intended audience.
>> When machines were HUGE (such as the IBM 1620), <snip answers>
> 
>> I really do watch my modem, 
> 
> Yup.  So do I.  I am going to be very upset when this modem
> dies.  It has 9 lights.  The modems that I've seen used at
> the library only has three..I think.
> 

Sulk. Mine only has eight, and they're all red. But I suspect the missing 
one is for power :) (Diamond SupraExpress 56e Pro, and very nice too, apart 
from an urge to replace the data lights with something other than red...blue 
LEDs are very sexy...)


-- 
I have a quantum car. Every time I look at the speedometer I get lost...
barnacle
http://www.nailed-barnacle.co.uk

######

From: "Charlie Gibbs" <cgibbs@nowhere.in.particular>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: 15 Aug 01 12:11:12 -0800
Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87609

In article <9le11c$1g4$3@bob.news.rcn.net> jmfbahciv@aol.com (jmfbahciv)
writes:

>I didn't mean to start a Mine is bigger than yours...but..
>
>The lights on my Intel 144/144e modem are
>
>TST, HS, AA, CD, OH, RD, SD, TR, MR
>
>The TST, HS, CD, OH, TR, MR are on hard all the time.
>I have no idea what they're for.  I just know patterns.

The more lights the better.  They can take the place of
a line tester if you have enough.

TST - test mode - Should be off during normal operation,
       although some modems might turn it on during
       retraining or certain error conditions)

HS  - high speed - This indicator meant a lot more when there
       were only two choices (300 and 1200 bps).  Nowadays I
       think it's up to the manufacturer to decide what constitutes
       "high speed".

AA - auto answer

CD - carrier detect - displays the status of pin 8 on the
      RS-232 connector.  (Oh all right, EIA-232 or whatever.)

OH - off hook

RD - receive data - displays the status of pin 3 of the connector

SD - send data - displays the status of pin 2 of the connector

TR - terminal ready (a.k.a. DTR, data terminal ready) - displays
      the status of pin 20 of the connector

MR - modem ready (a.k.a. DSR, data set ready) - displays the
      status of pin 6 of the connector

It's odd that TST, OH, and CD are on all the time - it would
suggest that your modem is always connected to someone, and
is in test mode.

My modem adds indicators for CTS (clear to send, pin 5), EC
(error correction), and SQ (signal quality).  These are getting
a bit obscure, although it's fun to watch the CTS line blinking
on and off when I'm doing a large upload and the other end can't
take it as fast as I can send it.

--
cgibbs@nowhere.in.particular (Charlie Gibbs)
I'm switching ISPs - watch this space.

######

From: "Charlie Gibbs" <cgibbs@nowhere.in.particular>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: 15 Aug 01 17:13:31 -0800
Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87618

In article <3b79dd8e.282999804@news.shuswap.net> genew@shuswap.net
(Gene Wirchenko) writes:

>wej3715@scully.tamu.edu (wej3715) wrote:
>
>[snip]
>
>>Also, when the IMSAI 8080 came out, it didn't come with frills like
>>keyboards, monitors, and printers.
>>
>>You'd enter the program using switches, run the program, and then
>>read the results from the lights.
>>
>>If I remember correctly, they included some programs you could
>>run.  I watched a friend of mine who built his own from a kit
>>test out his new computer by entering a game program via the
>>switches and then play it by flipping switches in response to
>>patterns in the blinking lights.
>
>     IIRC, that would have been the "Hunt the Ducks" program.

That's a nice name, but it wasn't in the original IMSAI docs.
My manual (all pages are stamped "Copyright 1977 IMSAI") just
refers to it as "the game program".

--
cgibbs@nowhere.in.particular (Charlie Gibbs)
I'm switching ISPs - watch this space.

######

From: genew@shuswap.net (Gene Wirchenko)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 20:09:17 GMT
Reply-To: genew@shuswap.net
Message-ID: <3b79dd8e.282999804@news.shuswap.net>
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87590

wej3715@scully.tamu.edu (wej3715) wrote:

[snip]

>Also, when the IMSAI 8080 came out, it didn't come with frills like
>keyboards, monitors, and printers.
>
>You'd enter the program using switches, run the program, and then
>read the results from the lights.
>
>If I remember correctly, they included some programs you could
>run.  I watched a friend of mine who built his own from a kit
>test out his new computer by entering a game program via the
>switches and then play it by flipping switches in response to
>patterns in the blinking lights.

     IIRC, that would have been the "Hunt the Ducks" program.

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko

Computerese Irregular Verb Conjugation:
     I have preferences.
     You have biases.
     He/She has prejudices.

######

From: "Daniel House" <d.house@computer.org>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
References: <BVXc7.1649$96.1436@srvr1.engin.umich.edu> <3B744FC2.1E44FB3D@sun.com> <4556.622T1873T9615502@nowhere.in.particular>
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"Charlie Gibbs" <cgibbs@nowhere.in.particular> wrote in message
news:4556.622T1873T9615502@nowhere.in.particular...
> In article <3B744FC2.1E44FB3D@sun.com> Eric.Sosman@sun.com (Eric Sosman)
> writes:
>
> >Sergej Roytman wrote:
> >
> >> So, what was it?  Was the front panel an elaborate machine-wedged-p?
> >> indicator during normal operation,
>
> Most machines monitored so many lines that a bank of lights could
> be switched to display different things to keep the panel from
> growing really large - although there were some exceptions,
> like the 360/75, which I'm told had so many lamps that pressing
> the "lamp test" button would pop a circuit breaker.
>

Many entertaining ways were invented to to avoid having a bazillion lights.
Some 360's and 370's had rotating drums (or cylinders) that you could spin
with all kinds of things printed on them.  Wherever the drum stopped, the
lettering indicated with the lights just below meant.  The 370/1x8 machines
had operator CRTs attached instead of typewriter keyboards and that seems to
have negated the need for many of the lights -- at least 138, 148, and
168 -- not sure about others.

370/135 had an acetate film, spooled on a roll, with a sensing mechanism.
It sensed the position the film was in and lights behind the film
illuminated to show whatever the lettering on the film said. I have a
picture of this on my 135 page off of
http://home.nc.rr.com/deh/GALLERY/GALLERY.HTM

360/91 had to be the king of blikenlights. I laid hands on a 360/91 operator
console a few days ago (the rest of the machine was smelted many years ago).
There must be over 1000 lights. The 370/155 (I'm working on one now) has 467
lights -- it can't hold a candle (so to speak) to the 360/91.

Regards, Dan

######

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
From: william.hamblen@nashville.com
References: <9lebva$ieg$1@uranium.btinternet.com>
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87647



On 2001-08-15 nailed_barnacle@NOSPAMhotmail.com(NeilBarnes) said:
   >Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
   >jmfbahciv@aol.com wrote in <9lb0td$llh$5@bob.news.rcn.net>:
   >> In article <9l92l1$lfr$1@panix3.panix.com>,
   >>    jeffj@panix.com (Jeff Jonas) wrote:
   >>> I really do watch my modem,
   >> Yup.  So do I.  I am going to be very upset when this modem
   >> dies.  It has 9 lights.  The modems that I've seen used at
   >> the library only has three..I think.
   >Sulk. Mine only has eight, and they're all red.
The not-so-old Zoom modem next to me has 14 LEDs.  My oldest modem
has no lights, but two rubber cups for the telephone handset.


Net-Tamer V 1.11.2 - Registered

######

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
References: <BVXc7.1649$96.1436@srvr1.engin.umich.edu> <9l92l1$lfr$1@panix3.panix.com> <9lb0td$llh$5@bob.news.rcn.net> <9lebva$ieg$1@uranium.btinternet.com>
Organization: Daedalus Consulting
X-Newsreader: trn 4.0-test72 (19 April 1999)
From: don@news.daedalus.co.nz (Don Stokes)
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87702

Neil Barnes <nailed_barnacle@NOSPAMhotmail.com> wrote:
>Sulk. Mine only has eight, and they're all red. But I suspect the missing 
>one is for power :) (Diamond SupraExpress 56e Pro, and very nice too, apart 
>from an urge to replace the data lights with something other than red...blue 
>LEDs are very sexy...)

So get more modems.  It wasn't that long ago that if you wanted to build
a large scale dial-in facility, you bought a cabinet and filled it with
discrete rack-mount modems, a bunch of terminal servers, and arranged
for the telco to bring in lines for these -- in our case that took up
another cabinet.

I wish I had a photo of my former life's machine room in darkness; the
computers were pretty boring, but the row of comms racks in the back
was amazing.

Our fullest dial-in rack had 80 lines worth.  At that time it was
already possible to get that much capacity in one 3-U high box with a
bunch of E1 (or T1 in the US) lines into it.  But it only had three
lights on the front.  (When I left, the Ascend boxes were still more
expensive than using discrete components, but prices came down shortly
afterward.  Then V.90 happened leaving the rack-full-of-modems unable
to be upgraded to V.90.)

The modems we used had a story of their own.  I couldn't find any decent
and cheap enough rack-mount 28k modems; nobody was importing them that I
could find, and I'd already had a "hydra" built to power the stack of
ZyXELs we had, because a dozen "wall wart" power supplies just couldn't
easily be put in a rackmount cabinet.  The few rackmount systems I could
find didn't do 28k, or cost twice as much as their standalone equivalents
before you bought the fancy "smart" shelf unit to put them in.

As I lamented many times, "when I ask for rackmount modems, all I want
is modems that mount in a rack."

Then a colleague at another university pointed to his row of standalone
CTL Comet modems, sitting on their sides on a shelf in a comms cabinet,
made by a local manufacturer. So having bought a pair and played with
them enough, I rang the outfit and asked if they could simply shell the
standalone model and rackmount it with a large power supply. 

We talked through what we needed, and a month or two later it arrived
The modems used the standard board and components, minus the power and
phone outlets which were instead wired to spare pins on the DB25.  This
was mounted on a metal skid, which engaged the slides on the shelf unit,
and held the modem's front panel.  The shelf unit had 12 slots and a
transformer at one end, with DB25 male plugs in the backplane, which
peeled off the power and phone lines and brought the RS232 signal lines
to DB25 ports on the back of shelf; the phone lines came out to RJ11
plugs, and later to a larger gang plug that you could bring a multicore
phone cable up to.

They sold piles of the things in NZ to universities, fledgling ISPs and
so-on -- I think they pretty much saturated the NZ market for small IPS
dialup modems (back when there wasn't really any such thing as a large
ISP) until the Ascend Max boxes became affordable.  I bought about 200
modems for both University and ISP dialup and analogue leased line
needs.  

I don't know if they're still selling the things, but their web site is
still up, http://www.machine-ware.co.nz/, which has (small) photos of
the standalone and rack modems.  There were 7 lights on the rackmount
version; the power LED visible on the standalone version was still
there, but there was no hole in front panel for it.

-- don

######

From: Richard G Molpus <rgmolpus@sff.net>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Message-ID: <5l1sntsdpvd1i4405kfuhjrrfv0ve3qess@4ax.com>
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:87748

Wasn't there a Mainframe with so many lights that pressing the "Lamp
Test" could overload the power supply?



On Thu, 16 Aug 2001 01:25:35 GMT, "Daniel House"
<d.house@computer.org> wrote:

>
>"Charlie Gibbs" <cgibbs@nowhere.in.particular> wrote in message
>news:4556.622T1873T9615502@nowhere.in.particular...
>> In article <3B744FC2.1E44FB3D@sun.com> Eric.Sosman@sun.com (Eric Sosman)
>> writes:
>>
>> >Sergej Roytman wrote:
>> >
>> >> So, what was it?  Was the front panel an elaborate machine-wedged-p?
>> >> indicator during normal operation,
>>
>> Most machines monitored so many lines that a bank of lights could
>> be switched to display different things to keep the panel from
>> growing really large - although there were some exceptions,
>> like the 360/75, which I'm told had so many lamps that pressing
>> the "lamp test" button would pop a circuit breaker.
>>
>
>Many entertaining ways were invented to to avoid having a bazillion lights.
>Some 360's and 370's had rotating drums (or cylinders) that you could spin
>with all kinds of things printed on them.  Wherever the drum stopped, the
>lettering indicated with the lights just below meant.  The 370/1x8 machines
>had operator CRTs attached instead of typewriter keyboards and that seems to
>have negated the need for many of the lights -- at least 138, 148, and
>168 -- not sure about others.
>
>370/135 had an acetate film, spooled on a roll, with a sensing mechanism.
>It sensed the position the film was in and lights behind the film
>illuminated to show whatever the lettering on the film said. I have a
>picture of this on my 135 page off of
>http://home.nc.rr.com/deh/GALLERY/GALLERY.HTM
>
>360/91 had to be the king of blikenlights. I laid hands on a 360/91 operator
>console a few days ago (the rest of the machine was smelted many years ago).
>There must be over 1000 lights. The 370/155 (I'm working on one now) has 467
>lights -- it can't hold a candle (so to speak) to the 360/91.
>
>Regards, Dan
>

######

From: jmfbahciv@aol.com
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Tue, 04 Sep 01 10:10:08 GMT
Organization: UltraNet Communications, Inc.
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:89385

In article <9mu3c5$hk4$1@uranium.btinternet.com>,
   nailed_barnacle@NOSPAMhotmail.com (Neil Barnes) wrote:
>Brian Inglis <Brian.dot.Inglis@Compuserve.com> wrote in 
><bne3pts71urfftuk6h4m33f72cl8r964u0@4ax.com>:
>
>> On Fri, 17 Aug 2001 20:10:17 GMT, javnews@earthlink.net (John
>> Varela) wrote:
>> 
>>> On Wed, 15 Aug 2001 11:45:39, jmfbahciv@aol.com wrote:
>>> 
>>>> The lights on my Intel 144/144e modem are 
>>>> 
>>>> TST, HS, AA, CD, OH, RD, SD, TR, MR
>>> 
>>> The lights on my Zoom V.92 are 
>>> 
>>> OH RI RD TD TR CD CS EC DC V34 56K FAX MSG and MR
>> 
>> You claimed 15 in your earlier post -- are you forgetting PWR? 
>> 
>I'd just like to point out that since the start of 
>this thread, my external modem has gone deaf (though 
>all the lights still seem to work, it no longer 
>pays any attention to what's happening on the line), 

ZAP!!!  Did that work?  Now disable the local setting.
I must admit that I thought twice about yakking this
up myself since I will be offline when my modem dies.

>so please don't mention ....

<snip foolish come-hither to Murphy>

/BAH

Subtract a hundred and four for e-mail.

######

From: jmfbahciv@aol.com
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Tue, 04 Sep 01 10:11:15 GMT
Organization: UltraNet Communications, Inc.
Lines: 22
Message-ID: <9n2j6b$2lq$2@bob.news.rcn.net>
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:89391

In article <3b9301a8.32279557@news.ocis.net>,
   genew@mail.ocis.net (Gene Wirchenko) wrote:
>nailed_barnacle@NOSPAMhotmail.com (Neil Barnes) wrote:
>
>[snip]
>
>>I'd just like to point out that since the start of this thread, my 
external 
>>modem has gone deaf (though all the lights still seem to work, it no 
longer 
>>pays any attention to what's happening on the line), so please don't 
mention 
>>how fast processors are clocking...
>
>     Too much porn spam?  No, wait, that'd be blind.

I thought that was supposed to happen when you got the bits
by hand?

/BAH

Subtract a hundred and four for e-mail.

######

From: jmfbahciv@aol.com
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Mon, 03 Sep 01 08:35:18 GMT
Organization: UltraNet Communications, Inc.
Lines: 25
Message-ID: <9mvp64$1br$1@bob.news.rcn.net>
References: <BVXc7.1649$96.1436@srvr1.engin.umich.edu> <9l1km6$qk3$1@news-central.tiac.net> <9l92l1$lfr$1@panix3.panix.com> <9lb0td$llh$5@bob.news.rcn.net> <NKQS2gVdCOMx-pn2-SSdN1ui6kW83@sdn-ar-003dcwashP023.dialsprint.net> <541.626T960T6683889@nowhere.in.particular> <9le11c$1g4$3@bob.news.rcn.net> <NKQS2gVdCOMx-pn2-t1DRRWmWNb32@dialup-64.157.50.39.Dial1.Washington1.Level3.net> <bne3pts71urfftuk6h4m33f72cl8r964u0@4ax.com> <NKQS2gVdCOMx-pn2-WUtWTdggB7pi@dialup-209.244.210.96.Dial1.Washington2.Level3.net>
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:89400

In article 
<NKQS2gVdCOMx-pn2-WUtWTdggB7pi@dialup-209.244.210.96.Dial1.Washington2.Leve
l3.net>,
   javnews@earthlink.net (John Varela) wrote:
>On Sun, 2 Sep 2001 12:13:06, Brian Inglis 
<Brian.dot.Inglis@Compuserve.com> 
>wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 17 Aug 2001 20:10:17 GMT, javnews@earthlink.net (John
>> Varela) wrote:
>
>> >The lights on my Zoom V.92 are 
>> >
>> >OH RI RD TD TR CD CS EC DC V34 56K FAX MSG and MR
>> 
>> You claimed 15 in your earlier post -- are you forgetting PWR? 
>
>No, actually, on a recount there in fact are only 14.  It's hell getting 
>old.
>
If being off-by-one is a sign of getting old, I was never young.

/BAH

Subtract a hundred and four for e-mail.

######

From: nailed_barnacle@NOSPAMhotmail.com (Neil Barnes)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: 2 Sep 2001 20:04:21 GMT
Organization: Around here?
Lines: 27
Message-ID: <9mu3c5$hk4$1@uranium.btinternet.com>
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:89490

Brian Inglis <Brian.dot.Inglis@Compuserve.com> wrote in 
<bne3pts71urfftuk6h4m33f72cl8r964u0@4ax.com>:

> On Fri, 17 Aug 2001 20:10:17 GMT, javnews@earthlink.net (John
> Varela) wrote:
> 
>> On Wed, 15 Aug 2001 11:45:39, jmfbahciv@aol.com wrote:
>> 
>>> The lights on my Intel 144/144e modem are 
>>> 
>>> TST, HS, AA, CD, OH, RD, SD, TR, MR
>> 
>> The lights on my Zoom V.92 are 
>> 
>> OH RI RD TD TR CD CS EC DC V34 56K FAX MSG and MR
> 
> You claimed 15 in your earlier post -- are you forgetting PWR? 
> 
I'd just like to point out that since the start of this thread, my external 
modem has gone deaf (though all the lights still seem to work, it no longer 
pays any attention to what's happening on the line), so please don't mention 
how fast processors are clocking...

-- 
I have a quantum car. Every time I look at the speedometer I get lost...
barnacle
http://www.nailed-barnacle.co.uk

######

Message-ID: <3B9327B5.DCD0290E@ev1.net>
From: Charles Richmond <richmond@ev1.net>
Reply-To: richmond@ev1.net
Organization: Cannine Computer Center
X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.7C-CCK-MCD {C-UDP; EBM-APPLE} (Macintosh; I; PPC)
X-Accept-Language: en
MIME-Version: 1.0
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
References: <BVXc7.1649$96.1436@srvr1.engin.umich.edu> <9l1km6$qk3$1@news-central.tiac.net> <9l92l1$lfr$1@panix3.panix.com> <9lb0td$llh$5@bob.news.rcn.net> <NKQS2gVdCOMx-pn2-SSdN1ui6kW83@sdn-ar-003dcwashP023.dialsprint.net> <541.626T960T6683889@nowhere.in.particular> <9le11c$1g4$3@bob.news.rcn.net> <NKQS2gVdCOMx-pn2-t1DRRWmWNb32@dialup-64.157.50.39.Dial1.Washington1.Level3.net> <bne3pts71urfftuk6h4m33f72cl8r964u0@4ax.com> <NKQS2gVdCOMx-pn2-WUtWTdggB7pi@dialup-209.244.210.96.Dial1.Washington2.Level3.net>
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Date: Mon, 03 Sep 2001 04:50:42 GMT
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:89527

John Varela wrote:
> 
> On Sun, 2 Sep 2001 12:13:06, Brian Inglis <Brian.dot.Inglis@Compuserve.com>
> wrote:
> 
> > On Fri, 17 Aug 2001 20:10:17 GMT, javnews@earthlink.net (John
> > Varela) wrote:
> 
> > >The lights on my Zoom V.92 are
> > >
> > >OH RI RD TD TR CD CS EC DC V34 56K FAX MSG and MR
> >
> > You claimed 15 in your earlier post -- are you forgetting PWR?
> 
> No, actually, on a recount there in fact are only 14.  It's hell getting
> old.
> 
Like my old daddy said, you would *not* like the alternative...

By the way, he also said:  "Money won't buy happiness, but it lets you
choose the kind of misery you like the best..."

-- 
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
|     Charles and Francis Richmond     <richmond@plano.net>   |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+

######

From: genew@mail.ocis.net (Gene Wirchenko)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Mon, 03 Sep 2001 18:23:02 GMT
Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com
Message-ID: <3b9301a8.32279557@news.ocis.net>
Reply-To: genew@mail.ocis.net
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:89369

nailed_barnacle@NOSPAMhotmail.com (Neil Barnes) wrote:

[snip]

>I'd just like to point out that since the start of this thread, my external 
>modem has gone deaf (though all the lights still seem to work, it no longer 
>pays any attention to what's happening on the line), so please don't mention 
>how fast processors are clocking...

     Too much porn spam?  No, wait, that'd be blind.

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko

Computerese Irregular Verb Conjugation:
     I have preferences.
     You have biases.
     He/She has prejudices.

######

From: jmfbahciv@aol.com
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Wed, 05 Sep 01 08:51:22 GMT
Organization: UltraNet Communications, Inc.
Lines: 43
Message-ID: <9n52sq$69o$1@bob.news.rcn.net>
References: <9lb0td$llh$5@bob.news.rcn.net> <NKQS2gVdCOMx-pn2-SSdN1ui6kW83@sdn-ar-003dcwashP023.dialsprint.net> <541.626T960T6683889@nowhere.in.particular> <9le11c$1g4$3@bob.news.rcn.net> <NKQS2gVdCOMx-pn2-t1DRRWmWNb32@dialup-64.157.50.39.Dial1.Washington1.Level3.net> <bne3pts71urfftuk6h4m33f72cl8r964u0@4ax.com> <9mu3c5$hk4$1@uranium.btinternet.com> <9n2j47$2lq$1@bob.news.rcn.net> <9n4fi1$jic$1@uranium.btinternet.com>
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:89609

In article <9n4fi1$jic$1@uranium.btinternet.com>,
   nailed_barnacle@NOSPAMhotmail.com (Neil Barnes) wrote:
>jmfbahciv@aol.com wrote in <9n2j47$2lq$1@bob.news.rcn.net>:
>
>> In article <9mu3c5$hk4$1@uranium.btinternet.com>,
>>    nailed_barnacle@NOSPAMhotmail.com (Neil Barnes) wrote:
>
>>> I'd just like to point out that since the start of 
>>> this thread, my external modem has gone deaf (though 
>>> all the lights still seem to work, it no longer 
>>> pays any attention to what's happening on the line), 
>> 
>> ZAP!!!  Did that work?  Now disable the local setting.
>> I must admit that I thought twice about yakking this
>> up myself since I will be offline when my modem dies.
>> 
>Thanks Barb, but sadly, no. Also tried a ZOT! and a KAZANGO!, 

I've never used those words.  Did you try them with three
exclamation points?


> ...and that 
>chicken will never be the same again...

No, no!!!!  Not a chicken.  You have to use a field service
guy.  That's what they're there for.

> ...but I think I'm going to have to buy 
>a new one. At the moment I'm restricted to a nasty 
>winmodem on the desktop,  and a 28.8 on the laptop :(

Wow!  You're fast!  I'm still content with a 14.4.


>
>Ah well, I'll be in the land of sensible(ish) prices on Saturday :)

Saturdays produce sense?

/BAH

Subtract a hundred and four for e-mail.

######

From: nailed_barnacle@NOSPAMhotmail.com (Neil Barnes)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: 5 Sep 2001 06:09:05 GMT
Organization: Around here?
Lines: 27
Message-ID: <9n4fi1$jic$1@uranium.btinternet.com>
References: <BVXc7.1649$96.1436@srvr1.engin.umich.edu> <9l1km6$qk3$1@news-central.tiac.net> <9l92l1$lfr$1@panix3.panix.com> <9lb0td$llh$5@bob.news.rcn.net> <NKQS2gVdCOMx-pn2-SSdN1ui6kW83@sdn-ar-003dcwashP023.dialsprint.net> <541.626T960T6683889@nowhere.in.particular> <9le11c$1g4$3@bob.news.rcn.net> <NKQS2gVdCOMx-pn2-t1DRRWmWNb32@dialup-64.157.50.39.Dial1.Washington1.Level3.net> <bne3pts71urfftuk6h4m33f72cl8r964u0@4ax.com> <9mu3c5$hk4$1@uranium.btinternet.com> <9n2j47$2lq$1@bob.news.rcn.net>
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:89643

jmfbahciv@aol.com wrote in <9n2j47$2lq$1@bob.news.rcn.net>:

> In article <9mu3c5$hk4$1@uranium.btinternet.com>,
>    nailed_barnacle@NOSPAMhotmail.com (Neil Barnes) wrote:

>> I'd just like to point out that since the start of 
>> this thread, my external modem has gone deaf (though 
>> all the lights still seem to work, it no longer 
>> pays any attention to what's happening on the line), 
> 
> ZAP!!!  Did that work?  Now disable the local setting.
> I must admit that I thought twice about yakking this
> up myself since I will be offline when my modem dies.
> 
Thanks Barb, but sadly, no. Also tried a ZOT! and a KAZANGO!, and that 
chicken will never be the same again...but I think I'm going to have to buy 
a new one. At the moment I'm restricted to a nasty winmodem on the desktop, 
and a 28.8 on the laptop :(

Ah well, I'll be in the land of sensible(ish) prices on Saturday :)



-- 
I have a quantum car. Every time I look at the speedometer I get lost...
barnacle
http://www.nailed-barnacle.co.uk

######

From: jmfbahciv@aol.com
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Thu, 06 Sep 01 09:31:06 GMT
Organization: UltraNet Communications, Inc.
Lines: 59
Message-ID: <9n7pjj$itf$4@bob.news.rcn.net>
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:89719

In article <9n6k9s$gmr$1@i4got.pechter.dyndns.org>,
   pechter@i4got.pechter.dyndns.org (Bill Pechter) wrote:
>In article <9n52sq$69o$1@bob.news.rcn.net>,  <jmfbahciv@aol.com> wrote:
>>In article <9n4fi1$jic$1@uranium.btinternet.com>,
>>   nailed_barnacle@NOSPAMhotmail.com (Neil Barnes) wrote:
>>>jmfbahciv@aol.com wrote in <9n2j47$2lq$1@bob.news.rcn.net>:
>>>
>>>> In article <9mu3c5$hk4$1@uranium.btinternet.com>,
>>>>    nailed_barnacle@NOSPAMhotmail.com (Neil Barnes) wrote:
>>>
>>>> ZAP!!!  Did that work?  Now disable the local setting.
>
>>>Thanks Barb, but sadly, no. Also tried a ZOT! and a KAZANGO!, 
>
>>I've never used those words.  Did you try them with three
>>exclamation points?
>
>>> ...and that 
>>>chicken will never be the same again...
>
>>No, no!!!!  Not a chicken.  You have to use a field service
>>guy.  That's what they're there for.
>>
>>/BAH
>
>Damnit BAH.
>
>Now you went and told them and I'm one of the old last field service guys
>left on the net...  The rest all gave up after they saw Wintel boxes. 

Those guys gave up too soon.  There are a lot of self-trained 
users these days because of desparation.
>
>Now they're going to bid my value out of site on EBAY and my wife'll
>have to sell the house to keep me here to maintain the house network.

Oh, no.  Your wife won't have to sell the house.  All she has to
do is clean your hair brush and the bathroom drains and sell 
hair roots.  Think of all that valuable DNA going down the drains.

>
>You're gonna have to just point 'em towards Stu Fuller on comp.sys.dec or
>comp.os.vms next time you need to sacrifice one...

Good field service guys were rare!  We just dripped their
blood.  We didn't kill them.  {{shocked emoticon here}} Just
because the rest of DEC got stupid doesn't mean we did.
 
>
>Actually, Field Service guys don't fix REAL MODEMS.  You need an Ex-AT&T
>Pole Climber for that.  Let's see.  Bell DataPhone and Datasets...
>103, 208, 212... does that get this thread on topic.

<grump>  Now you're telling me I need a Pole Climber?  
That 103 even sounds familiar.

/BAH

Subtract a hundred and four for e-mail.

######

From: pechter@i4got.pechter.dyndns.org (Bill Pechter)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: 5 Sep 2001 21:42:20 -0400
Organization: Unknown
Lines: 44
Message-ID: <9n6k9s$gmr$1@i4got.pechter.dyndns.org>
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:89742

In article <9n52sq$69o$1@bob.news.rcn.net>,  <jmfbahciv@aol.com> wrote:
>In article <9n4fi1$jic$1@uranium.btinternet.com>,
>   nailed_barnacle@NOSPAMhotmail.com (Neil Barnes) wrote:
>>jmfbahciv@aol.com wrote in <9n2j47$2lq$1@bob.news.rcn.net>:
>>
>>> In article <9mu3c5$hk4$1@uranium.btinternet.com>,
>>>    nailed_barnacle@NOSPAMhotmail.com (Neil Barnes) wrote:
>>
>>> ZAP!!!  Did that work?  Now disable the local setting.

>>Thanks Barb, but sadly, no. Also tried a ZOT! and a KAZANGO!, 

>I've never used those words.  Did you try them with three
>exclamation points?

>> ...and that 
>>chicken will never be the same again...

>No, no!!!!  Not a chicken.  You have to use a field service
>guy.  That's what they're there for.
>
>/BAH

Damnit BAH.

Now you went and told them and I'm one of the old last field service guys
left on the net...  The rest all gave up after they saw Wintel boxes. 

Now they're going to bid my value out of site on EBAY and my wife'll
have to sell the house to keep me here to maintain the house network.

You're gonna have to just point 'em towards Stu Fuller on comp.sys.dec or
comp.os.vms next time you need to sacrifice one... 

Actually, Field Service guys don't fix REAL MODEMS.  You need an Ex-AT&T
Pole Climber for that.  Let's see.  Bell DataPhone and Datasets...
103, 208, 212... does that get this thread on topic.

Bill
-- 
-- 
  Bill Gates is a Persian cat and a monocle away from being a 
  villain in a James Bond movie              -- Dennis Miller 
  bpechter@shell.monmouth.com|pechter@pechter.dyndns.org

######

From: Jim Thomas <thomas@atlas.cfht.hawaii.edu>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: 06 Sep 2001 13:03:15 -1000
Organization: Canada France Hawai`i Telescope
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References: <9lb0td$llh$5@bob.news.rcn.net> <9n2j47$2lq$1@bob.news.rcn.net> <9n4fi1$jic$1@uranium.btinternet.com> <9n52sq$69o$1@bob.news.rcn.net> <9n6k9s$gmr$1@i4got.pechter.dyndns.org>
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:89879

>>>>> "Bill" == Bill Pechter <pechter@i4got.pechter.dyndns.org> writes:

 Bill> Bell DataPhone and Datasets...
 Bill> 103, 208, 212... does that get this thread on topic.

Naw, the 212 is too new :-)

Jim

######

From: bhk@dsl.co.uk (Brian {Hamilton Kelly})
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
Date: Thu, 06 Sep 2001 23:43:43 GMT
Organization: Dragonhill Systems Ltd
Message-ID: <999819823snz@dsl.co.uk>
References: <9lb0td$llh$5@bob.news.rcn.net> <9n2j47$2lq$1@bob.news.rcn.net> <9n4fi1$jic$1@uranium.btinternet.com> <9n52sq$69o$1@bob.news.rcn.net> <9n6k9s$gmr$1@i4got.pechter.dyndns.org> <9n7pjj$itf$4@bob.news.rcn.net>
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:89912

In article <9n7pjj$itf$4@bob.news.rcn.net> jmfbahciv@aol.com  writes:

> That 103 even sounds familiar.
> 
> /BAH
> 
> Subtract a hundred and four for e-mail.

Well, it's within a 1% margin of error...

[Please remember that I ALWAYS snip .sigs]

-- 
Brian {Hamilton Kelly}                                          bhk@dsl.co.uk
    "We have gone from a world of concentrated knowledge and wisdom to one of
    distributed ignorance.  And we know and understand less while being incr-
    easingly capable."              Prof. Peter Cochrane, formerly of BT Labs

######

Lines: 6
X-Admin: news@aol.com
From: bbreynolds@aol.comskipthis (Bruce B. Reynolds)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Date: 11 Sep 2001 20:17:47 GMT
References: <wwheufncr0.fsf@atlas.cfht.hawaii.edu>
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Subject: Re: Blinkenlights
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Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch alt.folklore.computers:90182

>Naw, the 212 is too new :-)

For high-speed asynch, the fast ones were the 202S and 202T (could squeeze out
1800bps, but most operations at 1200bps).

Bruce B. Reynolds, Trailing Edge Technologies, Glenside PA