29 Jun
2011
29 Jun
'11
3:38 p.m.
On 2011 Jun 29, at 2:31 PM, Pete Turnbull wrote:
On 29/06/2011 11:12, E. Groenenberg wrote:
Just as an example, the MTS system at UBC here used PDP-11s to
multiplex the hundreds of ASCII terminals spread around the campus into
the IBM/Amdahl mainframe. Probably standard for other MTS systems, too.
I don't actually know what the channel<->PDP interface device was, but
this sounds as if it could be a typical application for the CX?DX-11.
Ok, I have this CX-11 which is a half rack full
of backplanes &
flip-chips and has also a half sized lights top panel. It's a Unibus
controller to talk to an IBM bus and tag device. There are 2 large
'In' connectors and also 2 'Out' connectors. I do have a manual which
describes some generic IBM info, but I would like to know what kind
of device(s) could (if possible) directly be connected to such a
thing?
Not sure what the limitations are, but Jim Austin (whom you met, once)
has two CX-11s and a bunch of cables and probably some some
peripherals, as he has at least two IBM
mainframes. IIRC one DX-11 has LEDs and the other has lamps, though I
think the LED one isn't complete. They came from a nearby university,
when they scrapped an Amdahl mainframe and a lot of related DE stuff
about 15 years ago. They also had a couple of QBus systems with IBM
channel interface -- but they were rather smaller boxes! They were
used to hang a couple of PDP-11 systems off the IBM or Amdahl; as I
understand it, the PDPs were comms controllers for the mainframes.