1 May
2008
1 May
'08
1:37 a.m.
On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:04:23 -0400
"Curtis H. Wilbar Jr." <rescue at hawkmountain.net> wrote:
1. How is 24M of RAM ? Should I be on the lookout for
more ?
24 MB is OK, but a few more bits would be better.
2. What releases of VMS, Vax Ultrix, etc should I
limit myself to
based on 24M and KA660 ?
Ultrix doesn't support the MicroVAX 4000 line of
machines. If you want
*ix you have to go to NetBSD or OpenBSD. NetBSD sould run fine on it. I
run NetBSD on my 4k2 a few weeks back to fix a few things.
3. Was there a DSSI version of TK70 ?
I
don't know about the TK70, but the first generation of DLT drives
(successors to the TK70) was availale with DSSI intrface.
4. 4000/200 does not have SCSI, correct ? (other than
someone added
an SI SC-1000)
Yes. No SCSI. It is all DSSI.
5. any idea if a SCSI CD can be booted via the SI
SC-1000 ? (boot
cmds would be ?)
I connected a CDROM to a Dilog MSCP SCSI adapter and it showed up
as a
read only disk. So the usual disk boot commands worked.
7. There is what looks like a 50 pin scsi terminator
(small size like
Sun 411 case) that I've
identified as DSSI terminator., What is the 50 pin centronics
style connector above that ?
Depending on the enclosure (BA440?) it may be SCSI.
The BA440 has some
slots with SCSI on the backplane in addition to DSSI. It was meant to
put a SCSI CDROM in there and interface it to the VAX using a KZQSA.
8. What is a DSV11-S good for ?
DECnet? ;-)
9. Not that I plan to, but how do you make use of the
async cards
(they have 50 pin centronics style connectors)
You need special break out cables.
You can build them yourself if you
know how to handle a soldering iron.
12. Can the DSSI drive 'bus' be converted to
SCSI ?
No. ? Ohh, you mean just the physical bus wiring on the backplane?
Hmmm. Maybe. If all 50 pins are routed straight through it shouldn't
matter if you connect them to a SCSI or DSSI adapter.
How are the 4000/200 machines ? (Other VAXen I have
is VAXStation
2000 and VAXStation 3100, neither of which is running (driveless))...
The 4k2 was
the last QBus CPU. Starting with the 4k3 the CPU had
special backplane connectors.
Any drop in cpu/memory upgrades that are worthwhile
(in the free to
cheap territory of course :-) ).
As I wrote: The later VAXen used an entirely
different backplane.
Special connectors for CPU and RAM, QBus only in the left potion of the
backplane. You would need a new backplane along with new CPU and RAM. Most likely you will
get that backplane only within a complete enclosure.
--
tsch__,
Jochen
Homepage: http://www.unixag-kl.fh-kl.de/~jkunz/