Does anyone know where I can get a vaxstation compatable terminal, keyboard,
and mouse????
thanx
mark acierno
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Neil Morrison
email:morrison@t-iii.com
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Christian Fandt [SMTP:cfandt@netsync.net]
> Sent: Wednesday, September 15, 1999 12:59 PM
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
> Subject: Re: HP 2114 on ebay
>
.....
> I couldn't even find it in the closed or "ended auction" area. Did he or
> somebody completely remove all reference to the auction? Can that be done?
>
.....
Does anyone know the power requirement on the RFxx series drives? I would
like to mount one in a BA123 and the RFxx connector is a 5 pin power
connector (which I have an extra of but I don't want to screw up!)
Also if you run these things without the 10 pin header plugged in, do you
need to jumper any of the pins?
--Chuck
<> Yup. RD53 is an RLL 40 meg, I think. Not very reliable in my experience
<> Somewhere on the system is probably a tk50 tape drive, too. Slow and not
<> very high density per cartrige, but they work.
BZZT! RD53 is MFM 70mb (100mb if RLL) and only old ones are unreliable...
then again a new one is far from likely.
They were reliable but the typical operational life was about 4 years
(100% powered on). After that they tended to decay. For that time (late
80s) 35,000 power on hours was pretty good though not exceptional. the
problem is the last ones were manufactured some 8 or more years ago!
<As a matter of fact, the DB15F does have the interlocks found in AUI's.
Nominal configuration, AUI for DEQNA or DELQA.
Things to check, if either box make sure the fans work, they are needed!
If its a BA123 end table box then there are three fans, they must all work
or bad things happen. Then check the power supply cables if the box is BA23
(narrow one) as they have been known to melt at the bus or PS connectors.
Generally this things are hard to kill and run well. VMS is available
VIA DECUS hobbiest liccense for free. You can use any media you can
find and versions to 7.2 (one older than current). Montagar sells a CD
with VMS and various other tools included. If unix is you favorite then
Netbsd is an ongoing project but the MVII port is reputed to be functional.
I run two of them one in BA23 and the other in the larger ba123.
Allison
<> 1 CPU? it has two interesting-looking chips:
<> 1: LSILIA 0485, 21-23413-01, DC379, TAC 8546
<> 2: LSILIA 0486, 21-23389-01, DC379, CAC 8544
<
<A couple of very custom DEC chips that form the VAX CPU IIRC.
The Microvax CPU is one chip. The DMA is the other. However neither is
a 78032 Microvax CPU. Maybe a later one.
<> what is the pinout? what is the funny-labeled rotary switch next to
<> it?)
Determins if the machine will stay in diagnostic mode, Inquire what language
to use (13 possible) and run straight through to trying to boot. If there
is a boot device it will try it, if not you get an error message and the
>>> prompt.
<> 3 dec memory board, holds 144 41256-212141302 chips
<
<DEC 4Mbyte memory board, I think.
sounds about right.
<> 4 dec board, some labels are: LPWR M94V-1 25787, and "M7516" in the
<> extraction handle; connected to a DB15F in the back panel
<
<Ethernet I guess. Nice if it is...
DELQA eithernet, the better one to have.
<> 5 dec board, (disk controller?), reads M7555 in the extraction handle
<> connected to what seems to be an older RLL hard drive
<
<Much more likely to be MFM than RLL. IIRC that board handles MFM hard
<drives and RX50 floppy drives.
RQDX3 controller, drive is likely Micropolus 1325(70mb) or
Maxtor2190(159mb).
Allison
<function for a given piece of hardware. Someone dumped a 286 & 12" green
<mono monitor at our store a few years back. Instead of throwing it out, I
<spent a couple of afternoons patching together some C code, a few batch
<files, and some other odds & ends and it's served us well as our cash
<register ever since. It also cranks out our monthly state sales tax report
<and maintains our customer database. 52 MB hard drive, 24 MB free -- I
<imagine we'll be using it every day for years to come.
Therein lies the appeal of many old machines to me. I can use them as
single point applications as they were cheap and do it well. The up
side is some are really interesting!
<Cost: $0.
Call me Yankee but, it's a frugal thing.
<I even have a couple of business apps (Tony Duell, don't gag ;>) which I ru
<on my Sinclair machines . . . just crank up the old imagination, Jim, and
<surely you'll come up with some good use for that old "clunker."
Oh, I forgot one. There's a program called "checks" that can be found on
the WC CDrom and the OAK.oakland.edu archives. Runs nicely on the kaypro.
Theres a lot of messydos and CPM software out there in the archives waiting
to be used.
Allison
Good for there time but very old and small.
< RD50 5mb Seagate ST506
< RD51 10mb Seagate ST412
Excellent drive for a 30mb full height, near indestructable.
< RD52 35mb Quantum Q540
Tended to get cranky when over 4-5 years old, most all are.
< RD53 71mb Micropolis 1325
Good find, 159mb and reliable.
< RD54 159mb Maxtor XT-2190
Excellent 20mb drive.
< RD31 21mb Seagate ST225
Peice of garbage, runs hot and has spindle problems.
< RD32 42mb Seagate ST251
Experience, I have them all and have used them all.
Allison
At 07:54 PM 9/15/99 -0400, Carlos wrote:
>Hi Zane; I don't understand; Jim and Chuck said that the pin-out was
>standard... why do you need a special cable?
I just plugged a DB9 to DB25 cable into it and the back of my FreeBSD box
and ran tip to it. Worked fine.
>> Unfortunatly it doesn't sound as if this system has a TK50 drive, they're
>> kinda hard to miss ;^)
>
>Yes, there's nothing but the hard drive in the front.
The "empty slot" with no cover is where the RX50 dual floppy goes. You can
find them around as they are pretty common. You'll need one of the black
"skids" for them as well. The funky card in the end of the card cage that
cables the hard drive has cables that go to the floppy as well.
If your cabinet is wide, sits on the floor, and has wheels, its a BA123
"world box" if it is about 6" tall, 19" wide and deep, it is a BA23 rack
mount box. Thanks to DEC's re-use of parts you can swap out the CPU in
these boxes to create a micro-PDP system (11/73 etc).
Power supplies are ok for reliability, but too heavy to ship. Lately a lot
of BA123's seem to be falling out of the sky around here.
>How can you tell one from the other? This has four horizontal front bays
>and one vertical; it is rated at 8.8A, 690W at 120V. The whole thing
>measures about 24" (height) x 13" (width) x 27" (depth)
Actually the part number should have told me it was a BA123 but your
description confirms it.
--Chuck
Upon the date 05:13 PM 9/15/99 -0400, cem14(a)cornell.edu said something like:
>
>
>Today I hauled in something that I have no experience whatsoever with,
>but that I'm sure most people in classiccmp own: a microvax II.
>I don't know if it works, or how to hook a terminal to it to
>test it. Here's what I've been able to gather:
Hi Carlos, from how you speak below it sure shows you do have no
experience whatsoever <g>! But we'll help fix that problem!
You've actually got a nice box (provided it still functions) that will be
rather fun to learn VMS or ULTRIX upon (if it still has either of those
OS's running on it). NetBSD is also available.
Your homework for tonite will be to study
http://anacin.nsc.vcu.edu/~jim/mvax/mvax_faq.html which contains much about
the MVII's.
Another URL which has MVII bits is:
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/usr/jmcm/www/info/info.html (aka ASUBI).
I've got an MVII that I've been working on upgrading the hard disk to an
RD54. I haven't had time to touch it since last winter as I've had a heap
of other projects more important. But I'm salivating at the thought of
getting her up and running with OpenVMS during the next winter sometime :)
The other DEC friends here have already given you some other important
comments and I'm sure a few more of us will chime in.
Have fun with it!
Incidentally, for you other DEC mavens, I tried reviewing the VAXArchive at
http://vaxarchive.ml.org/ but it seems to be either relocated or not
available anymore. I felt it was a good VAX info resource. "Unable to find
the server vaxarchive.ml.org" is the message thrown back which suggests
it's MIA. Could anyone confirm?
Regards, Chris
-- --
Christian Fandt, Electronic/Electrical Historian
Jamestown, NY USA cfandt(a)netsync.net
Member of Antique Wireless Association
URL: http://www.antiquewireless.org/
That would be your basic Microvax II all right.
It is a lot of fun to run VMS or NetBSD on them.
Presumably you've got one with the Floppy drives in the front since I
didn't see you mention the TQK50 controller or a 1/2" cartridge tape drive.
The RD53 is a bit small for a complete UNIX distribution (VMS does well
though) and you can net boot it from another server if you want. If you
join DECUS you can get a free license to VMS.
Console connects to the DB-9 in the back, standard serial port pin-out.
Plug in a terminal and fire it up to see if it can get through post. You
never know, it just may boot :-) Tony Duell would have you first carefully
remove all the boards and unplug all the peripherals, and then power it up
and test the voltages on the power rails, then plug in probably one board
(enough to "load" the supplys a bit and test again) and then re-install and
reseat everything and try booting it) But I only do that level of check on
really old stuff.
--Chuck
At 05:13 PM 9/15/99 -0400, cem14(a)cornell.edu wrote:
>
>
>Today I hauled in something that I have no experience whatsoever with,
>but that I'm sure most people in classiccmp own: a microvax II.
>I don't know if it works, or how to hook a terminal to it to
>test it. Here's what I've been able to gather:
>
>Cards:
>
>Slot description
>1 CPU? it has two interesting-looking chips:
> 1: LSILIA 0485, 21-23413-01, DC379, TAC 8546
> 2: LSILIA 0486, 21-23389-01, DC379, CAC 8544
> This is connected to a DB9M in the back panel (console goes here?
> what is the pinout? what is the funny-labeled rotary switch next to
> it?)
>
>2 nemonix memory board, holds 56 TC511000AP-10 chips
>
>3 dec memory board, holds 144 41256-212141302 chips
>
>4 dec board, some labels are: LPWR M94V-1 25787, and "M7516" in the
> extraction handle; connected to a DB15F in the back panel
>
>5 dec board, (disk controller?), reads M7555 in the extraction handle,
> connected to what seems to be an older RLL hard drive
>
>
>Hard drive: RD53-A rev A
>
>label in the back panel:
>
>Model: 630QB-A2
>
>product variation: changed from 630QB-A2 to DH630Q4E2 by WFD.
>
>
>So what exactly is this beast and how can I test if it works?
>
>Best regards,
>
>Carlos.
>
>
>
>
