Computer Listing

[Vaxen] Err... In bits??? Seriously, a lot of larger machines split up into liftable modules quite easily. I'd never think of moving one in one piece, but half an hour with a screwdriver can make the job a lot easier. A few points if you do this : Label anything that's not obvious - cable connections, PSU terminals, board positions, etc. I normally number the card cages in some order, and stick labels on them carrying that number. I then number the slots in each cage, if possible, following the manufacturers convention but if not, I mark slot 1 in each cage. I then label the boards with things like 5/23 or 1/27 (meaning slot 23 in cage 5, etc) Boards are suprisingly heavy, and it's often worth emptying the cardcage. The empty cardcages are often quite light. Oh, make sure the person giving you the machine is expecting you to dismantle it. They often do - I've been offered the use of toolkits, etc (although I always bring my own tools if possible). Once they got rather annoyed with me for pulling covers, etc (they just wanted me to pick up the machine and leave), but I wasn't going to move a Shugart SA4000 winchester without fitting the headclamps no matter what they thought ;-) The power isn't that much of a problem. With the exception of large disk drives (which may have 3 phase motors), almost all this stuff _can_ be kludged to run off a single-phase line. [PERQs] They're not _that_ hard to find, although they may be more common in the UK than the States (A lot were sold by ICL to UK Universities). Keep on looking, and one will turn up. What about them? They eat flyback transformers.... -- -tony ard12(a)eng.cam.ac.uk The gates in my computer are AND,OR and NOT, not Bill