Article 140657 of comp.os.vms:
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms,comp.sys.dec,vmsnet.pdp-11
Path: nntpd.lkg.dec.com!depot.mro.dec.com!pa.dec.com!decwrl!lll-winken.llnl.gov!fnnews.fnal.gov!unixhub!sldb6.slac.stanford.edu!fairfield
From: fairfield@sldb6.slac.stanford.edu
Subject: RE: Read DSC (RSX-11M) tape on VMS?
Message-ID: <1996Feb19.193713.1@sldb6.slac.stanford.edu>
Lines: 58
Sender: news@unixhub.SLAC.Stanford.EDU
Organization: Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
References: <9602181838.AA14156@uu3.psi.com>,<4ga20f$hsj@nntpd.lkg.dec.com> <4gammh$kgv@milo.mcs.anl.gov>
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 03:37:13 GMT
Xref: nntpd.lkg.dec.com comp.os.vms:140657 comp.sys.dec:39272 vmsnet.pdp-11:5630

In article <4gammh$kgv@milo.mcs.anl.gov>, on comp.os.vms,
             scandora@cmt.anl.gov (Tony Scandora 708-252-7541) writes:
[...]
> Back in those days, the source language was probably Macro-11, or at best
> the old Fortran IV, probably full of six word RSX QIO parameter lists
> and Radix 50 conversions.  Porting this to VMS may be more trouble than
> the old tape is worth.
> 
> We still run VAX-11 RSX, but there is no DSC in it.  There is no DSC in
> the index of the VMS Exchange manual.

[...]

> If your tape drive can read the old tape.  If enough bits have evaporated 
> off the old tape, it won't matter whether or not you have software that 
> can interpret the tape.  Before you waste much time trying to read DSC,
> use TPC or some other utility to read all of the blocks on the tape.
> If the tape is unreadable, you might as well give up.

        Tony confirms what another person told  me in private e-mail (hi
    Kipp!), that VAX-11 RSX does not contain DSC.

        One piece of good news in this  quest  of  mine is that I took a
    closer  look at the atpe and found that it is _1600_ bpi, not 800bpi
    as I had mistakenly said before.  So maybe there is some  hope  (but
    the point is well take to try to read it before investing a lot more
    time in the project).

In article <4garin$692@gap.cco.caltech.edu>, 
	shoppa@altair.krl.caltech.edu (Tim Shoppa) writes:
	    [in follow-up to Glen Everhart's reference to DECUS RSX tapes]
> The utilities you describe are on the RSX86B SIG tape, in the
> directory [330,110].  They are available by anonymous ftp from the URL
> 
> ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/academic/computer-science/history/pdp-11/rsx/decus/
>          rsx86b/330110
> 
> (Yes, that all is supposed to be one line!  Sunsite is extremely busy
> lately, and it may take a while for you to log in using the anonymous
> account.)

        Yep,  they're  there  and  I've  downloaded  the  lot  of  them.
    Included  is the source .FOR and .MAC files, some documentation, and
    both DSCDIR.TSK and DSCCPY.TSK.  The source fortran  does  reference
    PDP-11  QIO  functions (WTQIO?) and Radix 50 stuff, etc.  I'm hoping
    that I can use  DSCCPY.TSK  under  VAX-11  RSX without rebuilding it
    from  sources.   We'll see...  Otherwise, I'll need to learn  a  lot
    more about VAX-11 RSX before I can pull this off.

        Thanks to everyone who has posted on this topic so far!  :-)

            -Ken
-- 
 Kenneth H. Fairfield       |  Internet: Fairfield@Slac.Stanford.Edu
 SLAC, P.O.Box 4349, MS 46  |  DECnet:   45537::FAIRFIELD (45537=SLACVX)
 Stanford, CA   94309       |  Voice:    415-926-2924    FAX: 415-926-3515
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 These opinions are mine, not SLAC's, Stanford's, nor the DOE's...