MicroVAX 2000

< Saturday at the local swapmeet, I picked up a MicroVAX 2000. It is a < neat little package, but now that I have it what can I do with it? And < how do I do it? IT's a vax and runs VMS(fits on a RD53 or 54), Ultrix(fits on rd53 or 54) and sorta runs NETBSD(?). If you put a terminal on the DB9 (ground pin 8 to 9) it will use a standard terminal (9600, 8,n,1). The Test 50 command will display ram installed and other data about the system. VMS and ultrix runs fairly well in 4 or more meg of ram NetBSD wants 8 or more, 14mb is max. < This one is a Model 625NT-AA, and comes without harddisk. It appears IT has a hard and a floppy controller on the board (the 60 pin connector). The biggest drive it knows is the RD54 (maxtor 2990) at 159mb. It can also format hard disks and DEC floppies rx50 <400kb dual 5.25> or RX33 <1.2mb, 5.25>. < that there is a resistor board installed to provide a load comparable < to the drive on the power supply. According to a rather sketchy spec < sheet that I d/l'd from DEC, it can handle a maximum 318mb local disk. < Based on the 53C80 chip installed, I presume that the drive should be < SCSI. The 318mb of local disk is 2 RD54s. The 50 pin internal connecter is indeed SCSI... but the only device usable is an oddball version of the TK50 tape that has the ODD scsi bridge board. Reason for oddball, BOOT ROMS do not talk std SCSI nor do they boot anything other than Eithernet (BNC), Floppy, HARD disk or TK50 tape on the scsi BUS. It will not boot a SCSI disk. It can use a SCSI disk IF you supply your own driver. < At the rear of the machine are three sub-D connectors, one each 25-pin, < 15-pin, and 9-pin. What are their functions? The 15 and 9 are < presently encumbered by a plugin box that has three RJ45(?) connectors. < Network link? 25 pin is modem. 15 pin is CRT/keyboard/mouse, 9pin is serial printer or console. The MMJ adaptor bring out the serial printer, mouse and keyboard lines to RS423 serial lines for terminals (ala dec vt320). That MMJ adaptor is removeable (two screws). Network is on the AUI or BNC connector and is eithernet (10base2). They are common as house flies and as small vaxen go pretty useful and fun to run as they really don't use much power. Allison