21 Apr
2008
21 Apr
'08
11 a.m.
On Mon, Apr 21, 2008 at 10:37:39AM -0700, silvercreekvalley wrote:
Thanks for the info on TK50 SCSI tapes, I need to
think on
that...
Sure thing.
Another quick question. I have a half height DEC rack
its
probably from the late 80's early 90's.
It has brown side panels (and a brown rear panel). I'm
wondering if there is a way to remove the side panels,
the rear panel comes off easily.
If you can find an identifying number, or at the very least,
provide dimensions (to the nearest inch), there were several
types of cabinets in the "corporate cab" line from that time
frame.
Some of them have snap-out sides - the white rims don't come
off without tools, but the brown panels push out (perhaps after
removing a couple of small bolts). Others, probably the
majority, have large mushroom-headed studs on the racks that
mate with tapered slots on the side panels. Many of those are
difficult to remove. We always used a couple of 2x4s, one on
the ground as a fulcrum, the other used as a lever. You drop
the fulcrum timber on the ground parallel to the side, a few
inches away, then only put about 1/2" of the lever under the
white lip of the side panel, and apply a moderate amount of
steady force. I'd check the inside area of the rack first,
for any possible bolts that might mate the side to the rack.
There was another style of cabinet that height, several inches
longer than usual to accomodate things like RA60 drives.
Those might need tools to get the sides off.
To help narrow down what you have, there might be (should be)
a 1"x3" label with a DEC logo, possibly a serial number, and
a model number that might look like "H-xxxx" or "BTXXX" or
something like that. You can look up that number to see what
was originally in the cabinet, or at least what style of cab
it is.
Thinking back, the type with the press-in sides might have been
a PDP-8-only variety, but I suppose it could have been loaded
with an -11 of some flavor. I never saw one of those full of
VAX peripherals. If you know what your rack was doing when it
was new, that might help narrow down which type it is, too.
-ethan
--
Ethan Dicks, A-333-S Current South Pole Weather at 21-Apr-2008 at 17:50 Z
South Pole Station
PSC 468 Box 400 Temp -90.6 F (-68.1 C) Windchill -128.4 F (-89.1 C)
APO AP 96598 Wind 8.8 kts Grid 50 Barometer 676.9 mb (10745 ft)
Ethan.Dicks at usap.gov http://penguincentral.com/penguincentral.html