10 Nov
2005
10 Nov
'05
9:50 p.m.
I finally got a drive select plug for my RL01 drive and would like to
try connecting it to my 11/73 but I find that the cable that is
supposed to plug into the RLV12 controller isn't keyed so it can go
in either way. How do I tell what the correct orientation is for this
cable? I'm assuming that if I plug it in backwards I'll fry the
controller and/or drive. The only markings on the end of the cable
that connects to the controller are the manufacturers name "Berg" and
the letters A and B near one end and VV and UU near the other end.
How should this cable be inserted into the RLV12?
Also, assuming I get this straightened out, what should expect to
happen on power up? Should the 11/73 automatically boot from the
RL01? I have an MXV11A boot board installed. Or do I get a console
prompt and have to select the boot device on the console?
Thanks,
David
10 Nov
10 Nov
10:01 p.m.
On Thursday 10 November 2005 16:50, David Betz wrote:
I finally got a drive select plug for my RL01 drive
and would like to
try connecting it to my 11/73 but I find that the cable that is
supposed to plug into the RLV12 controller isn't keyed so it can go
in either way. How do I tell what the correct orientation is for this
cable? I'm assuming that if I plug it in backwards I'll fry the
controller and/or drive. The only markings on the end of the cable
that connects to the controller are the manufacturers name "Berg" and
the letters A and B near one end and VV and UU near the other end.
How should this cable be inserted into the RLV12?
"A" should be near the end of the connector labelled "1" or
"A". :)
And, no, you're not going to fry anything if you hook the cable up
backwards. DEC generally did a good job of engineering things to be
fault tolerant, unlike some other companies. I've misconnected the
cable to my RL02s a few different ways trying to get it going initially
-- I don't have an authentic DEC cable, and didn't feel justified in
spending much money on a cable to connect a drive that cost me $5 to a
machine that cost me at most $20. I eventually spent $10 on buying a
terminator from a dealer, once I realized that I needed one, and
decided that it wasn't worth my time to try and build one myself. :)
Yeah, I'm a cheap bastard. That's why I have so much jun^W^Wmany
machines. I was careful, and asked the list about the chances of
killing things first though. It's always good to get confimation
you're not doing something too stupid or dangerous first, from people
that know what they're doing. :)
Pat
--
Purdue University Research Computing --- http://www.rcac.purdue.edu/
The Computer Refuge --- http://computer-refuge.org
10:11 p.m.
Hmm, firmware based 11s seem to vary as far as how they respond on bootup.
My 11/23plus gives me "MEMORY TEST"(15 second pause)384KW. START?
Then I type DL at the prompt and it boots from the RL02.
On an 11/73, I assume you'd still have native RL0x support, so, perhaps
you'd still have the "START?" prompt?
If you want to boot it manually, i.e. if it doesn't have native RL support,
you can enter an RL02 bootstrap when the console is in ODT mode. This is
what I have to do for certain magtapes or all MSCP devices, because the 23+
doesn't have MSCP support built in to the firmware.
Now secondly, I know you can configure a CPU to autoboot a certain device.
That, I'm sure they carried over from the 23+ on to later machines.
You need the 11/73 processor manual and the RLV12 manual. Get those and you
should be able to figure it out.
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org]
On Behalf Of David Betz
Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2005 3:50 PM
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Connecting a BC80M cable to a RLV12 controller
I finally got a drive select plug for my RL01 drive and would like to
try connecting it to my 11/73 but I find that the cable that is
supposed to plug into the RLV12 controller isn't keyed so it can go
in either way. How do I tell what the correct orientation is for this
cable? I'm assuming that if I plug it in backwards I'll fry the
controller and/or drive. The only markings on the end of the cable
that connects to the controller are the manufacturers name "Berg" and
the letters A and B near one end and VV and UU near the other end.
How should this cable be inserted into the RLV12?
Also, assuming I get this straightened out, what should expect to
happen on power up? Should the 11/73 automatically boot from the
RL01? I have an MXV11A boot board installed. Or do I get a console
prompt and have to select the boot device on the console?
Thanks,
David
10:26 p.m.
I forgot to note that I am rather lucky, and all of my RL02 cables have a
green "THIS SIDE UP" sticker on the connector.
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org]
On Behalf Of Julian Wolfe
Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2005 4:11 PM
To: 'General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts'
Subject: RE: Connecting a BC80M cable to a RLV12 controller
Hmm, firmware based 11s seem to vary as far as how they respond on bootup.
My 11/23plus gives me "MEMORY TEST"(15 second pause)384KW. START?
Then I type DL at the prompt and it boots from the RL02.
On an 11/73, I assume you'd still have native RL0x support, so, perhaps
you'd still have the "START?" prompt?
If you want to boot it manually, i.e. if it doesn't have native RL support,
you can enter an RL02 bootstrap when the console is in ODT mode. This is
what I have to do for certain magtapes or all MSCP devices, because the 23+
doesn't have MSCP support built in to the firmware.
Now secondly, I know you can configure a CPU to autoboot a certain device.
That, I'm sure they carried over from the 23+ on to later machines.
You need the 11/73 processor manual and the RLV12 manual. Get those and you
should be able to figure it out.
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org]
On Behalf Of David Betz
Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2005 3:50 PM
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Connecting a BC80M cable to a RLV12 controller
I finally got a drive select plug for my RL01 drive and would like to
try connecting it to my 11/73 but I find that the cable that is
supposed to plug into the RLV12 controller isn't keyed so it can go
in either way. How do I tell what the correct orientation is for this
cable? I'm assuming that if I plug it in backwards I'll fry the
controller and/or drive. The only markings on the end of the cable
that connects to the controller are the manufacturers name "Berg" and
the letters A and B near one end and VV and UU near the other end.
How should this cable be inserted into the RLV12?
Also, assuming I get this straightened out, what should expect to
happen on power up? Should the 11/73 automatically boot from the
RL01? I have an MXV11A boot board installed. Or do I get a console
prompt and have to select the boot device on the console?
Thanks,
David
11:09 p.m.
Yeah, mine was missing. As it turns out, it was easy to line up the
AB on the connector with the markings on the board connector. That
worked and the drive now seems to be connected correctly. Now to
figure out how to configure the MXV11 bootstrap...
On Nov 10, 2005, at 5:54 PM, Ethan Dicks wrote:
On 11/10/05, Julian Wolfe <fireflyst at
earthlink.net> wrote:
I forgot to note that I am rather lucky, and all
of my RL02 cables
have a
green "THIS SIDE UP" sticker on the connector.
I almost wrote that as well, but I figured David's fell off at some
point in the past.
-ethan
10:34 p.m.
On 11/10/05, David Betz <dbetz at xlisper.mv.com> wrote:
I finally got a drive select plug for my RL01 drive
and would like to
try connecting it to my 11/73 but I find that the cable that is
supposed to plug into the RLV12 controller isn't keyed so it can go
in either way. How do I tell what the correct orientation is for this
cable?
Look at the connector - there is no enforced keying, true, but most Bergs
I've seen have a pair of sub-mm-wide grooves that parallel the connector
pins - those grooves are on the same side as the occasionally-seen keying notch.
So... looking at the connector on the controller end, I'd expect to
see a 2mm ^ 2 notch in the middle of the connector... that side (up)
would go with the grooved side of the cable.
I'm assuming that if I plug it in backwards
I'll fry the controller and/or drive.
Nope. DEC stuff is nice and robust that way.
The only markings on the end of the cable
that connects to the controller are the manufacturers
name "Berg" and
the letters A and B near one end and VV and UU near the other end.
How should this cable be inserted into the RLV12?
If you have markings on the connector, then it's much easier... I
don't have an RLV12 in front of me, but the standard blue DEC Berg PCB
connector has pin markings embossed into the face of the plastic, does
it not? If not, then start by aligning the A-side of the connector
with the left side of the connector on the controller as you look at
it (perhaps it's marked with a pin-1 indicator, or perhaps the PCB has
a square pin)
In any case, try what looks like the right choice, and if your FAULT
light is still powered on, flip the connector and the FAULT light
should be off (when both the drive and the CPU are on).
-ethan
11:07 p.m.
Okay, thanks to all of your help (and Julian's and Patrick's) I now
have the RL01 drive connected to the 11/73 and the fault light goes
off when I power on both units. Now I just have to figure out how to
boot the RL01!
On Nov 10, 2005, at 5:34 PM, Ethan Dicks wrote:
On 11/10/05, David Betz <dbetz at
xlisper.mv.com> wrote:
I finally got a drive select plug for my RL01
drive and would like to
try connecting it to my 11/73 but I find that the cable that is
supposed to plug into the RLV12 controller isn't keyed so it can go
in either way. How do I tell what the correct orientation is for this
cable?
Look at the connector - there is no enforced keying, true, but most
Bergs
I've seen have a pair of sub-mm-wide grooves that parallel the
connector
pins - those grooves are on the same side as the occasionally-seen
keying notch.
So... looking at the connector on the controller end, I'd expect to
see a 2mm ^ 2 notch in the middle of the connector... that side (up)
would go with the grooved side of the cable.
I'm assuming that if I plug it in backwards
I'll fry the
controller and/or drive.
Nope. DEC stuff is nice and robust that way.
The only markings on the end of the cable
that connects to the controller are the
manufacturers name "Berg" and
the letters A and B near one end and VV and UU near the other end.
How should this cable be inserted into the RLV12?
If you have markings on the connector, then it's much easier... I
don't have an RLV12 in front of me, but the standard blue DEC Berg PCB
connector has pin markings embossed into the face of the plastic, does
it not? If not, then start by aligning the A-side of the connector
with the left side of the connector on the controller as you look at
it (perhaps it's marked with a pin-1 indicator, or perhaps the PCB has
a square pin)
In any case, try what looks like the right choice, and if your FAULT
light is still powered on, flip the connector and the FAULT light
should be off (when both the drive and the CPU are on).
-ethan
6998
days inactive
6998
days old
7 comments
4 participants
participants (4)
-
dbetz＠xlisper.mv.com -
ethan.dicks＠gmail.com -
fireflyst＠earthlink.net -
pat＠computer-refuge.org