Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
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You're welcome to trade Acorn-related stuff with other forum members here - the rule of thumb to follow when trading, is that items or services offered should be of interest to our Acorn community. Do NOT use multiple accounts - please trade with your regular (and only) forum account. If you're giving items away, please make it clear if you would be unhappy with the recipient selling on some or all of the items. Similarly, please ensure that the giver is comfortable with you re-selling items you have accepted as a gift. We cannot be held responsible for what happens in these trading forums or for deals done via PM. This must be done at your own risk. If you aren't comfortable with this - make the trade via an alternative site which can apply safeguards of their own. Be sensible - if someone approaches you to trade via PM who is not posting in the public forums, this may be a sign that they are not entirely what they seem. Please report it to the moderators if you receive an unsolicited message from anyone suspicious, so that it can be investigated and hopefully stop anyone being taken advantage of.
Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
Hello,
Does anybody have a Hydra controller card I could borrow, to test a Hydra backplane before I put it on ebay, please?
I already have five ARM610's and a Simtec A5000 memory module, and I would like to be able to auction the lot as "tested and working".
Otherwise I'll just list it as "parts only, not working".
Does anybody have a Hydra controller card I could borrow, to test a Hydra backplane before I put it on ebay, please?
I already have five ARM610's and a Simtec A5000 memory module, and I would like to be able to auction the lot as "tested and working".
Otherwise I'll just list it as "parts only, not working".
Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
What does the red star mean on the icon for this topic?
Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
The red star denotes threads in which you’ve posted - i.e. I’ll see one for this thread too now.... 

Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
Hi Treatment,
I see you have now listed the socket board by itself. Not sure I agree with the comments regarding multicore development and so forth, but that's by the by - I did want to note that the A5000 2MB RAM upgrade has nothing to do with Hydra (being for one of the pre-RiscPC series). Not sure if it would suffer or do any damage if fitted to Hydra.
I see you have now listed the socket board by itself. Not sure I agree with the comments regarding multicore development and so forth, but that's by the by - I did want to note that the A5000 2MB RAM upgrade has nothing to do with Hydra (being for one of the pre-RiscPC series). Not sure if it would suffer or do any damage if fitted to Hydra.
Running RISCOS: A5000, A540, R140, RiscPC, RPi B
Running *nix: SGI Fuel & Indigo2, RPi2, x86, amd64, RiscPC, A540, R140
Running *nix: SGI Fuel & Indigo2, RPi2, x86, amd64, RiscPC, A540, R140
Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
It's a Simtec memory module, manufactured in 1998 and clearly designed to fit the Hydra.
Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
Yes - according to the link below, the Hydra shared memory module is extremely rare. I very much a doubt Simtec would have made a specialised board if their standard A5000 memory upgrade would do the job. Given that there can't be many Hydras left around, I wouldn't plug that memory upgrade into it as it might do some damage.
http://www.acornarcade.com/forums/viewt ... adid=12109
http://www.acornarcade.com/forums/viewt ... adid=12109
Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
Simtec banned music.
Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
Must have got quite tedious in the workplace then.
Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142603847393
Really?
Really? 
That's not even LOL price... That's just depressingly unrealistic.
Paul
Really?


That's not even LOL price... That's just depressingly unrealistic.
Paul
Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
I'd be very surprised if that was ever the case.RISC OS was the operating system running on the Acorn computers ARM used to perform the demonstrations. This fact proves RISC OS was and is perfectly capable of multi-core operation.

Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
That is just insanepaulv wrote:https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142603847393
Really?Really?
That's not even LOL price... That's just depressingly unrealistic.
Paul



Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
In fairness, also 5x ARM 610 cards and 1x A5000 memory expansion...
d.
d.
Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
Ahh
had not looked at the other pictures the price scared me off very quickly 


Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
davidb wrote:I'd be very surprised if that was ever the case.RISC OS was the operating system running on the Acorn computers ARM used to perform the demonstrations. This fact proves RISC OS was and is perfectly capable of multi-core operation.Maybe someone should tell ROOL, then, if it's that easy: Bounty proposal - Multicore/node support
From Simtec Hydra ARM Multiprocessor System, via Hydra multiprocessor board Resources.Simtec wrote:The Hydra API (Application program interface)
With four slave processor cards fitted a RiscPC with Hydra has, in theory, five times the processing power of a standard RiscPC. Unfortunately the operating system RISC OS is not a multiprocessor OS and has no way of taking advantage of this increased processing power. One way to make effective use of Hydra is to switch to an operating system which does support multiprocessing such as RiscBSD, Helios or Taos. This has the advantage that any applications software which can multithread will automatically take advantage of any available processors. However, for the ordinary RISC OS user, the easiest way to harness the power of Hydra is to use application software written to enhance parts of RISC OS which uses the Hydra API. As the API exists independently on RISC OS, any MP aware applications will make use of the new resources and ordinary applications will run unaffected.
Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
If (if) people are prepared to pay that much, it's almost worth reimplementing the Hydra from scratch!
Or just tracking down some ex-Simtec people, asking nicely for an IP licence and sending the Gerbers off to some random Chinese PCB assembler.
Or just tracking down some ex-Simtec people, asking nicely for an IP licence and sending the Gerbers off to some random Chinese PCB assembler.
Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
There you go, oh Bin Doon brothers, this Hydra is no more.
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Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
Seriously??? What a tit 

Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
All you've done is deprived yourself of any potential income from selling it. Of course it was never going to be worth £3000 as it's totally impractical without OS multi CPU support and a StrongARM out performing it, but it was a very rare piece of ARM/RISC OS history that has now been lost.
If this is a wind up then it really isn't funny, if you actually destroyed it then you need help with some obvious anger issues.
If this is a wind up then it really isn't funny, if you actually destroyed it then you need help with some obvious anger issues.
Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
Don't feed the trolls!
Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
Indeed, but to see that given all we've learnt in the past 20 years about how rare Acorn kit gets. Tis a sad sight - Bletchley Park or The Centre for Computing History would have loved to take this in.
Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
Hmm. It's pretty dumb to destroy something that could probably have sold for a couple of hundred pounds, just because you're upset you can't get thousands for it.
Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
This is the current state of much of the world today. No value is placed on what has gone before. It's very selfish to destroy history for any reason. We can learn from history, whatever that learning is.
It's a shame a little more forethought wasn't used in this case as to what is possible for rare equipment.
off my soapbox now....
Ed......
It's a shame a little more forethought wasn't used in this case as to what is possible for rare equipment.
off my soapbox now....
Ed......

Ed...... 
3 working Beebs, 1 RetroClinic Master, 1 normal Master, 1 A3010, 1 Pi2 RISC OS, 2 broken but to be worked on Beeb Motherboards

3 working Beebs, 1 RetroClinic Master, 1 normal Master, 1 A3010, 1 Pi2 RISC OS, 2 broken but to be worked on Beeb Motherboards
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Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
I get the impression this would have been a rather loose interpretation of the word "borrow".
C'est magnifique, Hookey Street...
C'est magnifique, Hookey Street...
- Multiwizard
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Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
Indeed, just remove them from *. ...danielj wrote:Don't feed the trolls!

(because of his lack of appreciation of retro things...

New members should take a be worthy test...

Greetings, Wim...

Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
Judging by this thread on comp.sys.acorn.hardware, he'd quite like to be removed!Multiwizard wrote:Indeed, just remove them from *. ...
- Rich Talbot-Watkins
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Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
To be perfectly honest I haven't the faintest idea what he's on about. Bin Doon? Human Rights Movement? Nothing ever seems to get deleted? Our right to freedom of association? What?
Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
Indeed. Must be "alt-right" or Daily Telegraph conspiracy memes or something. Maybe something to do with this. Or perhaps this.Rich Talbot-Watkins wrote:To be perfectly honest I haven't the faintest idea what he's on about. Bin Doon? Human Rights Movement? Nothing ever seems to get deleted? Our right to freedom of association? What?
Meanwhile, it isn't the first time that this kit has been on sale, not even the second time, in fact. Perhaps comp.sys.acorn.hardware isn't the bustling hub for trading - or indeed for anything - that it once was.
I don't have anything polite to say about people selfishly destroying things, so I guess I will leave it at that.
- Lardo Boffin
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Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
I think Freedon of Association Rights refer to the legal right to voluntarily join and leave groups, presumably in this case this forum. I can only assume he tried to shut down his account and delete his history but couldn’t? Just a guess really.
BBC model B 32k issue 4, 16k sideways RAM, Watford 12 ROM board, Acorn 6502 coproc
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BBC model B 32k issue 7, turboMMC, Opus Challenger 3 512k, Pi 3 coproc
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Re: Would like to borrow: Hydra controller card
No request of that nature was ever received.