wrote in message
news
On Fri, 7 Dec 2007 12:13:55 -0800, "Calif Bill"
wrote:

the better sorter for handling the checks was the NCR 407. The better
reader was the IBM. B of A used the IBM's for the online reading and the
NCR sorters for the offline reading.
Makes sense to me.
It's that capture pass where you do all the photos and writing on the
check. That is a lot of hardware to be maintaining just for the fine
sort where you are just breaking out the checks and assembling the
statement pack. 3890 are faster but they can be tough on the check out
around pass 5.. Your maintenance cost was also based on item count.
You want that speed when you capture the check to catch the daily cash
letter to the fed so you can start collecting the float. The cutoff
was around 9 PM as I recall and after that you lose a day's interest.
They get pretty cranky if a machine is down at 7 or 8. ;-)

Nope, the NCR 407's were lots faster, just that the IBM's read crappy checks
better. Most of the writing on the checks was done in the proof machine,
NCR's 450, do not know the IBM one. That wrote the check's MICR amount and
stamped the back of the check and balanced the checks against the deposit
slip. The NCR 407 was the one hooked up to the mainframe to read in the
checks and then sort them.

wrote in message
news
On Fri, 7 Dec 2007 12:13:55 -0800, "Calif Bill"
wrote:

I was
about 50% through writing a program to take a plotter input tape and
convert
it to print on the 3800.

We had a PC program that would print on a 3800 from a 5150. (using the
s/370 channel emulation card set) Shoulda called me ;-)
I speak 360/370 "channel"

Before PC. Circa 1979. IBM had lots of undocumented channel codes.
Especially for maintenance. I worked my way through college as an NCR field
engineer on mostly their mainframes.

Calif Bill wrote:
wrote in message
news
On Fri, 7 Dec 2007 12:13:55 -0800, "Calif Bill"
wrote:

I was
about 50% through writing a program to take a plotter input tape and
convert
it to print on the 3800.
We had a PC program that would print on a 3800 from a 5150. (using the
s/370 channel emulation card set) Shoulda called me ;-)
I speak 360/370 "channel"

Before PC. Circa 1979. IBM had lots of undocumented channel codes.
Especially for maintenance. I worked my way through college as an NCR field
engineer on mostly their mainframes.

Did you ever hear of a company named Tesdata?

On Sat, 08 Dec 2007 11:37:04 -0500, wrote:

These IBM secrets weren't all that secret. I remember working next to
an AS5, a 3158 clone (Itel?)

Itel/National Advanced Systems (NAS)

It didn't take long for us to show the Tbar guy where his problem was
and that makes the customer happy. Isn't that the real objective?

In a perfect world... :-)

You were one of the good guys. Itel/NAS had a few "good guys" also
but you had to know who they were and ask for them by name.

"BAR" wrote in message
. ..
Calif Bill wrote:
wrote in message
news
On Fri, 7 Dec 2007 12:13:55 -0800, "Calif Bill"
wrote:

I was
about 50% through writing a program to take a plotter input tape and
convert
it to print on the 3800.
We had a PC program that would print on a 3800 from a 5150. (using the
s/370 channel emulation card set) Shoulda called me ;-)
I speak 360/370 "channel"

Before PC. Circa 1979. IBM had lots of undocumented channel codes.
Especially for maintenance. I worked my way through college as an NCR
field engineer on mostly their mainframes.

Did you ever hear of a company named Tesdata?



Name sounds familiar, but do not remember anything about them.

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 08 Dec 2007 11:37:04 -0500, wrote:

These IBM secrets weren't all that secret. I remember working next to
an AS5, a 3158 clone (Itel?)

Itel/National Advanced Systems (NAS)

It didn't take long for us to show the Tbar guy where his problem was
and that makes the customer happy. Isn't that the real objective?

In a perfect world... :-)

You were one of the good guys. Itel/NAS had a few "good guys" also
but you had to know who they were and ask for them by name.


The AS5 microcode updates were handled in the same lab as the one where were
were developing the 3800 clone. Microcode guy was known forever as Floppy
John. His name was John and he did the floppies for the updates. Also his
user name. Of course everyone reverse engineered the competions code. And
just seem to be near the same when re-engineered. ;) When I was an FE, I
handled the optical scanner for cash register tapes and he hooked up to lots
of the competions CPU's. Met some good guys and a few duds dealing with
them.

Calif Bill wrote:
"BAR" wrote in message
. ..
Calif Bill wrote:
wrote in message
news On Fri, 7 Dec 2007 12:13:55 -0800, "Calif Bill"
wrote:

I was
about 50% through writing a program to take a plotter input tape and
convert
it to print on the 3800.
We had a PC program that would print on a 3800 from a 5150. (using the
s/370 channel emulation card set) Shoulda called me ;-)
I speak 360/370 "channel"
Before PC. Circa 1979. IBM had lots of undocumented channel codes.
Especially for maintenance. I worked my way through college as an NCR
field engineer on mostly their mainframes.
Did you ever hear of a company named Tesdata?



Name sounds familiar, but do not remember anything about them.



Mainframe channel monitoring and network monitoring.

Calif Bill wrote:
"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 08 Dec 2007 11:37:04 -0500, wrote:

These IBM secrets weren't all that secret. I remember working next to
an AS5, a 3158 clone (Itel?)
Itel/National Advanced Systems (NAS)

It didn't take long for us to show the Tbar guy where his problem was
and that makes the customer happy. Isn't that the real objective?
In a perfect world... :-)

You were one of the good guys. Itel/NAS had a few "good guys" also
but you had to know who they were and ask for them by name.


The AS5 microcode updates were handled in the same lab as the one where were
were developing the 3800 clone. Microcode guy was known forever as Floppy
John. His name was John and he did the floppies for the updates. Also his
user name. Of course everyone reverse engineered the competions code. And
just seem to be near the same when re-engineered. ;) When I was an FE, I
handled the optical scanner for cash register tapes and he hooked up to lots
of the competions CPU's. Met some good guys and a few duds dealing with
them.

I have a strong dislike for an on-site IBM FE at C&S Bank in Atlanta.
Prick wouldn't let me borrow his o-scope to take two readings on a piece
of equipment I was trouble shooting. I even asked him to operate the
o-scope and he still said no.

"BAR" wrote in message
...
Calif Bill wrote:
"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 08 Dec 2007 11:37:04 -0500, wrote:

These IBM secrets weren't all that secret. I remember working next to
an AS5, a 3158 clone (Itel?)
Itel/National Advanced Systems (NAS)

It didn't take long for us to show the Tbar guy where his problem was
and that makes the customer happy. Isn't that the real objective?
In a perfect world... :-)

You were one of the good guys. Itel/NAS had a few "good guys" also
but you had to know who they were and ask for them by name.


The AS5 microcode updates were handled in the same lab as the one where
were were developing the 3800 clone. Microcode guy was known forever as
Floppy John. His name was John and he did the floppies for the updates.
Also his user name. Of course everyone reverse engineered the competions
code. And just seem to be near the same when re-engineered. ;) When I
was an FE, I handled the optical scanner for cash register tapes and he
hooked up to lots of the competions CPU's. Met some good guys and a few
duds dealing with them.

I have a strong dislike for an on-site IBM FE at C&S Bank in Atlanta.
Prick wouldn't let me borrow his o-scope to take two readings on a piece
of equipment I was trouble shooting. I even asked him to operate the
o-scope and he still said no.

Your operation to cheap to buy one? :) Maybe IBM was tighter than NCR.

Calif Bill wrote:
"BAR" wrote in message
...
Calif Bill wrote:
"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 08 Dec 2007 11:37:04 -0500, wrote:

These IBM secrets weren't all that secret. I remember working next to
an AS5, a 3158 clone (Itel?)
Itel/National Advanced Systems (NAS)

It didn't take long for us to show the Tbar guy where his problem was
and that makes the customer happy. Isn't that the real objective?
In a perfect world... :-)

You were one of the good guys. Itel/NAS had a few "good guys" also
but you had to know who they were and ask for them by name.

The AS5 microcode updates were handled in the same lab as the one where
were were developing the 3800 clone. Microcode guy was known forever as
Floppy John. His name was John and he did the floppies for the updates.
Also his user name. Of course everyone reverse engineered the competions
code. And just seem to be near the same when re-engineered. ;) When I
was an FE, I handled the optical scanner for cash register tapes and he
hooked up to lots of the competions CPU's. Met some good guys and a few
duds dealing with them.
I have a strong dislike for an on-site IBM FE at C&S Bank in Atlanta.
Prick wouldn't let me borrow his o-scope to take two readings on a piece
of equipment I was trouble shooting. I even asked him to operate the
o-scope and he still said no.

Your operation to cheap to buy one? :) Maybe IBM was tighter than NCR.

Yeah, we were too cheap to buy a second one. We had one in the lab and
they wouldn't let it travel. Several times I had to go to Radio Shack
and buy the beginner soldering set to use to fix stuff.