DEC Rainbow 100+ Plus

Hi I am part way there in that a kind list member has found a VR201 for me. However having gone through the box of items that came with the Rainbow. Lo and behold the colour/graphics card, its installation manual and its programming manual are all there. My aim for all of my DEC collection is to get the systems back to the condition that they left the factory in. As to software, anything that would have been available to run on the system during its normal life, is a collection target. An now for a quick off topic excursion. I bid for on EBay and got at a very low price an HP DesignJet 750CPlus A0 plotter. Somebody had broken inkjet rule number one. "Never never use refilled or non HP cartridges" They refill them through the vent hole. This enlarges it, air gets in and it leaks. The ink catchment reservoir overflows and ink gets everywhere. So I was presented with a plastic end shell full of low grade black ink. Desperate measures were called for. I turned the pressure washer loose on it. The results were amazing the ink went into solution and got flushed away. Result one totally clean cover. So, at your own risk, dirty plastic may respond to careful use of a pressure washer. So phaseII is to locate a VR241 which is the 13" RGB colour monitor that would have been used with the Rainbow when it was current equipment. The Rainbow is specified to work with both monitors attached. Rod Smallwood (The DEC Collector) -----Original Message----- From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Tony Duell Sent: 13 August 2007 22:10 To: cctalk at classiccmp.org Subject: Re: DEC Rainbow 100+ Plus IIRC, the CRT is a pretty generic one, a 7 pin (modified B7G base) with 11.5V heater. I usepect (without trying it) that any 12" 90 degree deflection CRT with those cheacteristics will work. Last time I needed a CRT (to repair a somewhat odd terminal), I found the easiest/cheapest way to get one was to buy a monochrome portable TV and raid it for the CRT. But can you still buy monochrome protable TVs? e) A normal TV-rate composite monitor and the right cabling. Basically, you have to wire up an RJ11 socket to the right 4 pins on the DA15 connector for the keyboard, and take composite video (and ground) from another 2 pins. By default the 'bow uses US rates, but I think you can set it to 50Hz vetical on one of the setup menus, so it should be close then to UK rates. Let me know if you want to do this and I can dig out the pinouts, etc. -tony