[cctalk] Re: DEC Unibus variants

You might want to ask your questions on the Digital Equipment discord. Tony Bilquest could probably answer them. Including an invite… <https://discord.gg/DcVqwUzP> Join the The Digital Equipment Corporation Fan Spot Discord Server!<https://discord.gg/DcVqwUzP> discord.gg<https://discord.gg/DcVqwUzP> [favicon.ico]<https://discord.gg/DcVqwUzP> Sent from my iPhone On Mar 29, 2025, at 10:34, shadoooo via cctalk &lt;cctalk(a)classiccmp.org&gt; wrote: Hello, I'm searching information about all existing variants of DEC Unibus in Dual/Quad/Hex flavors. I read the "UnibusSpec1979.pdf" on bitsavers, which reports a "Standard Unibus" pinout in the last pages. However in several backplanes "Small Peripheral Controller", "Modified Unibus Device" and "Extended Unibus" are supported. Maybe also other unlisted Unibus variants do exist (e.g VAX 11/730)? I also found the gunkies.org WIKI very helpful, however it is still quite difficult to compare the pinout differences (dummy proof). Where could I find a specific DEC documentation about the more recent variants, similar to the 1979 specs, but referred to SPC, MUD, EUB, ect? Big doubts: - why DEC, having defined the dual Standard pinout, had then to implement the quad SPC backplanes? - why DEC, having defined quad backplanes, had then to implement the hex (standard + SPC) or (MUD + SPC) or EUB? I mean: given that in AB all Unibus signals are present (from specifications), what is the need for CDEF? Provided that several signals are duplicated in hex pinout, the backplane will connect homologue signals together, or AB bus will always be separated from CDEF bus? My aim is to design a reprogrammable digital logic board which could be employed in any system, using 18bits address or also 22bits (i.e. for 11/24). Thanks Andrea