[cctalk] Re: Apollo DSP80A/90 documentation?

In a nutshell it goes through the self tests all the way to SELF TEST PASSED, and to the MD prompt > and then freezes. It should announce its node ID and then allow for input. Instead it wont respond to any keyboard inputs. Furthermore, There is a front panel with 4 buttons, (shutdown, Service and two Reset buttons) and the ABCD LEDs and a green power LED. Pressing the two Reset buttons simultaneously does a hard reset and will take it though self test. None of the other buttons seem to respond during this sequence and the LEDs are all dark except for the green power LED and the ABCD LEDs. The ABCD LEDs go through their sequence during the Self Test and then nothing. Also I took the front panel off to access the VME boards on the edges and there is another grouping of LEDs along the edge of one of the boards that mimic the front panel during self test. When the self test ends, all the LEDs go dark. I suspect something is not right as it should return control to the input and not just hang. In terms of hook ups, as it's a server, there's nothing except for the ATR transceiver with the two BNC connectors and a SCSI connector for a disk which it never had. There is no Normal/Service toggle switch like the Series 3000/4000 only the soft buttons at the front. I have an ATR cable with the two BNCs on one end and the Apollo bayonet style plug on the other which is connected to a 4 box ATR hub and connected to its partner node , a DN3500 (running SR 9.7.5). This is how it was connected in the past. This node is part of a home brew rack consisting of a Kennedy 9000 tape system and a Cipher drive. The sole purpose of this node was to control the Cipher drive (now seemingly dead). But it could also connect to the Kennedy through an IBEX serial tape interface unit. This node was also connected to the aforementioned DN3500 and the DN420 I sent you a few years back. It was basically a backup tape system for all my Dad's work. I never worked with the DN300, or the DN420 (sent to you and Josh) so I have nothing to compare the DSP90 to in terms of hardware or how the buttons and LEDs are supposed to behave. I did look at the DN300 manual on Bitsavers but it didn't glean too much. Maybe that interface panel behaves the same as the DN420? This is where I was hoping I could get some help since there aren't many of these out there. Self tests in progress. CPU Test # 6 started. Memory Extension Test # 0 started. CPU Test # 7 started. CPU Extension Test # 0 started. Storage Module Disk Test # 0 (not found). File Server Disk Test # 0 started. File Server Disk Test # 1 started. Ring Test # 0 started. --- Load paths tested. CPU Test # 8 started. CPU Test # 9 started. CPU Extension Test # 1 started. CPU Test #10 started. CPU Test #11 started. Self tests passed. there's no response or input capability) -Kurt On Mon, May 4, 2026 at 10:25 PM r.stricklin <bear(a)typewritten.org> wrote: