11 Jul
2005
11 Jul
'05
10:04 p.m.
might not draw the stated 8A @ 120VAC.
That's a "max" rating. Most DEC stuff from that era overstates
power consumption/cooling required by a factor of 2 or 3 for site
installation purposes.
Don't forget there are several square feet of
layered circuits
Oh, yeah, certainly. Some of it is VLSI, other (read channel)
is ECL-like, and it does draw power. But look at the little exhaust
fan on the back of the drive - it is not dissipating a kilowatt,
but a few hundred watts.
I got rid of all my RA8x stuff around about 1996 or so. But
I had no problem running 4 drives simultaneously on a 20A kitchen
circuit. (Sequenced spin-up, of course.) Along with a 11/730.
Tim.