-----Original Message-----
From: cctech [mailto:cctech-bounces at
classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Glen Slick via cctech
Sent: Friday, May 10, 2019 1:34 PM
To: General Discussion: On-Topic Posts
Subject: Re: HP 1000 A900 ("Magic") Questions
On Fri, May 10, 2019 at 4:14 AM Paul Birkel via cctech
<cctech at classiccmp.org> wrote:
>
> Aficionados;
>
> I'm interested in acquiring an HP1000 A900, in any form-factor.
> (
http://www.hpmuseum.net/display_item.php?hw=594)
<snip>
Another hard part is the 12222 memory frontplane. Maybe
it wouldn't be
too hard to build an equivalent PCB if the proper connectors can be
acquired. They are 3-row 96-pin connectors. Maybe common DIN 41612
connectors would work, I haven't looked at that closely.
I can confirm that DIN 41612 connectors should work fine, along with a 4-layer PCB. HP
doesn't seem to have gone "odd-ball" in that particular design choice.
I'd need to get someone to buzz out the connections to ensure that they are 1:1 all
the way across before designing a PCB to fit.
<snip>
At a minimum you need either a 12005 serial card or a
12040 serial mux
for a console interface. Both of those are fairly common, although you
might pay more for cables than the boards if you don't build cables
yourself. There are several firmware versions for the 12040 mux. If
you have a D mux you need need VCP firmware 4020 or higher on the
12203A cache controller.
Cables, and those specialized HP connectors, are always a pain. I would need to make up
my own, given my budget, I expect. I do have one or two possible spares from a 21MX I/O
environment that probably could be repurposed assuming that the edge-connectors match up
... which they may not. We'll see. Thanks for the notes about the firmware version
issue.
As you also said you need a 12009 HPIB card for a
storage interface.
Running HPDrive on a PC to emulate disk and tape drives works well if
you don't have any real HPIB disk and tape drives. I managed to pick
up a 12016 SCSI card. Those are rare and expensive.
I'll bet! Yes, I was assuming that HPDrive would be the way to proceed; it's good
to get confirmation on that point. Also the availability of a suitably configured RTE.
paul