220v and PDP 11 cards - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

29 Aug 2000

Subject: 220v and PDP 11 cards

...
 This is for those folks out there that have the big
iron, specifically,
anything that uses 220v.  If your machine is at home, and
assuming you don't have a seperate dedicated 220v line, what are
you using to power your machines?  Do you tap into the
oven/washer outlet?  Just how high did your electric bill increase
by?  Any other suggestions? 
For all of the PDP11 chassis I can think of off hand they can be configured
for 120 or 240 volt.
I frequently run multiple PDP11 test systems in the office.  I did cheat and
dropped a 100A panel behind the racks.  This was cheaper and easier than
running numerous 30A drops with L5-30 twistlocks.
One thing you will need to figure on is air conditioning load.  It is
amazing how much heat they can generate.  This will vary widely on what
system and disks you have.
Warning RA8x drives generate a LOT of heat and suck a lot of power.
Caveat.  I support a fair number of commercial end users.  My office is
supplied with a 200A service subfed off the house 400A service.

...
 DRV11C, etc).  What type of boards were these? 

You need to find one of the PDP11 interfaces manuals.  There were several
and what they covered varied with dates published and Unibus vs. Qbus.  My
stock of these currently is low.  I have given several spare copies to
various list members.

Dan