RX02 Debugging - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

2 Aug 2016

yea  these are nasty  sounding  drives  when they  load!  ---Ed#

Re: You'll hear a serious "clunk" when they load.

In a message dated 8/2/2016 10:49:06 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,  
lbickley at bickleywest.com writes:

On Tue,  02 Aug 2016 21:43:03 -0700
Kirk Davis <kirkbdavis at me.com>  wrote:

...
  Thanks for the suggestions. I?m in Sunnyvale, CA.

 I actually got the rx02 from another hobbyist that
 used it  with the 44 in 2008 so I suspect it is configured correctly.
 The other  drive doesn?t have a belt so I?m unable to test with it.
 I?ve verified  the cable direction. It?s a sweet 44 - super clean,
 runs great and is  like a tank.

 One of the problems is I don?t know normal  behavior of the drive. The
 motor is aways spinning for unit 0. When I  try booting I don?t hear
 the heads load or seek. I?m new to the 44  monitor commands & boot
 process etc so I?m learning as I  go. 
The motors always spin. The heads should engage whenever  selected.
You;ll hear a serious "clunk" when they load.

If you're  coming to the VCF this coming weekend, Bob Rosenblum and I
will have a  running RX02 attached to a PDP-8/M. You can hear all of
it's "sounds"  there. You'll also be able to play "Spacewar!"
with our
VC8/E and XY  monitor, etc.

BTW: Make sure you have the correct switch settings on  the RX02
mainboard for your PDP-11...

...
  I?m also making one of  these to help isolate if it?s
a
 drive/cable/controller  problem:

  http://www.torok.info/computing/pdp11/rx02/index.htm 
That looks like a  cool project. Would like to see it when you've got  it
running!!!

Lyle

...
   On Aug 2,
2016, at 3:24 PM, Paul  Anderson <useddec at gmail.com> wrote:

 Hi  KIrk,

 The H771 is a rock solid power supply. I  never saw one go bad while
 in field service, but they are getting  old. Checking the output
 voltage and ripple is not a bad  idea.

 forgive me for asking, but where are you  located?  The RX02 had 4
 different power hanesses for i20,  220, 50 hz and 60 hz. Also
 different belts amd pulleys.  if  any of this is wrong you cn see
 weird problems. A lot of RX02s  and replacement drives were soul
 through brokers who never asked  or were never told where the unit
 was going.  if you aren'y  useing 120/60 that would be my first
 thought.

 Is the problem the same when booting off either drive?   Also check
 the switches and the resistors on the head  cables.

 Good luck, Paul    
  Jerry Weiss wrote:

If you haven?t already, check  the cable seating, orientation and for
bent pins.    
 On the RX211 board J1 - TT is the location of the AC LO -  Active
 Low signal.

 On Tue, Aug 2, 2016  at 4:06 PM, Kirk Davis <kirkbdavis at me.com>
 wrote: 
> I?m a noob using RX02?s but thought I?d run this past people  that
> may have debugged them in the past and see if they agree  with what
> I?m finding:
> 
> I?m  trying to get a RX02 + RX211 + 11/44 going. The RX02 appears
>  to power up OK (fan and motor spinning). I verified I have the DY
> boot rom in the 44. Attempt booting from the console:
>   
>>>> b dy  
> 
> S
>  17777707 173436
> 
> Which halts in the DY boot rom. I look at the base  RX211 register:
>   
>>>> e  17777170  
> 17777170 104040
> 
> From the manual this like the controller is present but the  high
> order bit is set indicating an error
>  
> Looking at the status register;
>    
>>>> e 17777172  
> 17777172  000010
> 
> Bit 3 == RX AC LO - This bit is set  by the interface to indicate a
> power failure in the RX02 sub-  system.
> 
> So start looking at the RX02 power  supply?
> 
> 
>     

-- 
73      AF6WS
Bickley  Consulting West Inc.
http://bickleywest.com

"Black holes are where  God is dividing by zero"