30 Jun
2001
30 Jun
'01
8:53 p.m.
--- "Clint Wolff (VAX collector)" <vaxman(a)qwest.net> wrote:
DEC licensed the patent to anyone who wanted for $100
a board,
and Emulex, Dilog, and others STILL made a profit on aftermarket
boards. DEC learned(?) from this and wouldn't license a later
bus (VAXBI?)...
It was very difficult to get a VAXBI license. Software Results had
to apply multiple times and it was only granted after the market
made the VAXBI irrelevant (1989). I still have a pile of VAXBI
COMBOARDs (68010 10Mhz, 2Mb DRAM, Z8530). If it weren't for MSCP,
I'd consider attempting to convert one to SCSI with an 5380 - not
high performance, but neither is the COMBOARD, but that's not a
problem when all you are doing is pushing characters over a sync serial
interface at 56Kb.
....so Emulex and Dilog were limited to purchasing
the cheapest board DEC made, removing the bus interface chips,
and installing them on their own boards. and STILL made a
profit.
Considering I've seen prices like $10K for a VAXBI SCSI card (new,
supported disk _and_ tape), there was room for profit. The VAXBI
interface chip was $350 from DEC, and at one point, you could buy
2Mb memory cards for the 8200 for $50. The most recent cards I've
picked up were (2) 4Mb cards for $10 each, but that was more than
5 years ago. I just wish the KDB-50 wasn't so flakey - I have to
reseat mine on a regular basis or the machine won't boot (VAX 8300).
-ethan
Regards,
Clint
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Who knows? Only the patent office I suppose. It
was a mass storage protocol
that DEC invented and some patent examiner said
"Yup, this is good stuff."
The Microprocessor was also patented but that patent has expired. Most of
the emulators/clones on DEC gear do _not_ include MSCP support. Getting it
is a challenge. Intel and Motorola have copyrights on their Microcode and
patents and various aspects of their processors but as a whole they aren't.
I believe all of Intel's chipsets are
patented in one form or another which
prevents non-licensees from building them.
--Chuck