WTB: Data I/O 29b with Unipak 2b
Robert Bullock
--
"Quality is the enemy of production."
Homepage - http://members.cox.net/rcbullock/ 'It's lamer than Spaeth's!'
** Replies to rcbullock '"AT"" cox.net ** Sorry, I detest spam.
Dr. Anton T. Squeegee
says...
> Well, didn't get the ones on Ebay, so anyone got one to sell?
I would suggest pursuing a Unisite or at least a System 2900
instead. Support is much better (as in still available) than that on the
29's.
Happy hunting.
--
Dr. Anton T. Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute.
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, ARS KC7GR,
kyrrin (a/t) bluefeathertech[d=o=t]calm -- www.bluefeathertech.com
"If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped
with surreal ports?"
guinness
in law walked into it in the middle of the night after a poker game. Now
the led doesn't come on when you boot up. Something jar'd loose in there if
someone wants a project IO for cheap.
tim (NH)
"Robert Bullock" <rcbullock@_REMOVE_cox.net> wrote in message
news:0tzOd.15876$GT.30@okepread01...
Robert Bullock
"guinness" <timburnh...@adelphia.net> wrote in message
news:NbedndqGB_Y...@adelphia.com...
guinness
for $60 shipped. It was the 29B with unipak 2B.
tim (NH)
"Robert Bullock" <rcbullock@_REMOVE_cox.net> wrote in message
news:YhMOd.17433$GT.14671@okepread01...
Bruce Lane
ayec...@elektronforge.com says...
> > > Well, didn't get the ones on Ebay, so anyone got one to sell?
> >
> > I would suggest pursuing a Unisite or at least a System 2900
> > instead. Support is much better (as in still available) than that on the
> > 29's.
>
> Ack! Support is still available, but are you aware of what they charge!
> That, combined with the fact that the Unisite takes *at least* 15 minutes
> to boot up, makes it impractical except for commercial operations.
Huh? Where'd you get the 15 minute figure? Mine boots and is ready
to go within 3-4 minutes. Even the floppy-boot mode takes less than ten
minutes to come up.
Anyway... Yes, I'm aware of what DIO charges. However, I've also
seen Unisite software come up for bid on Ebay (older versions, yes, but
it still makes it usable). Data I/O doesn't seem too worried about it,
as I've not seen any of those auctions pulled.
There are also alternatives. Advin makes excellent programmers,
and their software updates are free for the downloading.
Keep the peace(es).
Alex Yeckley
> to go within 3-4 minutes. Even the floppy-boot mode takes less than ten
> minutes to come up.
Actual use - granted, that's booting from a floppy because we never succeeded
in gettting it to boot any other way.
> Anyway... Yes, I'm aware of what DIO charges. However, I've also
> seen Unisite software come up for bid on Ebay (older versions, yes, but
> it still makes it usable). Data I/O doesn't seem too worried about it,
> as I've not seen any of those auctions pulled.
My understanding was that the updates are serialized (like Fluke did
with the 9100 systems), so if the hardware and software's S/N's don't
match then it's a no-go (rendering the updates on eBay useless). Feel free
to correct me if I'm wrong...
Alex
----
ayec...@elektronforge.com
www.elektronforge.com
Dr. Anton T. Squeegee
says...
<BigSnip>
> My understanding was that the updates are serialized (like Fluke did
> with the 9100 systems), so if the hardware and software's S/N's don't
> match then it's a no-go (rendering the updates on eBay useless). Feel free
> to correct me if I'm wrong...
Ahhh. At one time, yes, that was the case, but it was in the earliest days of the
Unifamily programmers (A group made up by the 2900, 3900, 3980, and Unisite). What happened
is that, with each update, you would receive a set of floppies and a specially-programmed
(and security-locked) PAL chip.
You booted from the new system floppy, and then installed the PAL in the programmer
socket when prompted. The boot program would read the PAL, and then deliberately destroy it
and proceed with the upgrade. God help you if the PAL arrived defective (many did,
apparently).
Data I/O stopped that practice some time ago. These days, what you get is a CD-ROM
containing the latest revision of TaskLink (for Windows), and a full set of updates for the
entire Unifamily, including self-extracting floppy images.
So, there you have it. Given all that can be found on the Internet, I wouldn't be
surprised if someone, somewhere, has at least part of the Unifamily software up for
download, though it's probably an old version. Heck, I think even Data I/O put up Unisite
ver. 5.3 for free d/l from their FTP site.
The upshot of all this is that the Unisite is now practical enough to make for a good
buy on the surplus market.