[time-nuts] Restoring HP 3048A software: converting TDO files

Jonathan Borden jonathan at openhealth.org
Mon Mar 27 15:31:28 EDT 2017


Adrian,

Thanks for the links to the links to software. I'm posting this in the
hopes someone might find it useful either here, or for anyone who googles
looking at how to deal with TELEDISK TDO format archives.

I likewise have components of the 3048A Phase Noise Measurement system that
I am restoring. The archives of this group are great. The HP site is really
a terrific resource. Those TDO archives are pesky though. I was searching
for the HPIB.SYS MS/DOS driver for the HP 82355A ISA card.

Here is the link: http://www.hpmuseum.net/display_item.php?hw=879
and under software: http://www.hpmuseum.net/display_item.php?sw=57
which leads us to HPIBTOOL.TDO

Here is how to use it:
I created a very small VirtualBox client that I name "DOS" with 1 CPU held
to 10%, 4mb RAM, 10Mb disk of type "Windows 98". All acceleration turned
off.
I then installed DOS 6.22 by mounting the *.img files as floppies (it comes
as a 3 floppy set).
I then created another floppy using the command:
$ dd if=/dev/zero of=myfloppy.img bs=1024 count=1440

Mounted this in the DOS client and formatted it:

C:\> FORMAT A:

I then mounted the floppy on my Mac and copies both the HPIBTOOL.TDO file
as well as the Teledisk software TELEDISK.EXE obtained from:

http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/img54306/teledisk.htm

mounted this "floppy" in DOS, and then ran TELEDISK.EXE to extract the TDO
file into a second floppy, created the same way as the first. This creates
an installation floppy for the HPIB driver.

Now only if there were a virtualization tool that allowed us to attach one
of the USB<->GPIB converters *as if* they were an 82355A ... oh well

In any case this is a general way to extract a TDO archive to a "floppy"
.img in the comfort of your laptop while sipping espresso.

Jonathan


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