value of RK05 - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

9 May 2000

--->The 11/74 was a little more than a prototype since a number of KB11-CM's
...
 were built and implemented internally in DEC.  The
parts were assigned
real part numbers and were produced in limited quantities. 

That was SOP for DEC.  Anytimg something needed to be produced outside
of the lab and it was projected as production it would get the full
treatment.

...
 These 11/74's were pressed into 11/70 service when
DEC couldn't meet the
demand for Telco (i.e. AT&T) 11/70's due to the FCC specs in the mid
'80's.  They were allowed to sell refurb machines -- so the 11/74's from

That and it threatend to take some of the 11/780s thunder.  One forgets
the 11/70 was the supermini of the day and not too shabby for some
time after.

...
 internal sites in Massachusetts and New Hampshire were
s shipped to the
field to replace Field Service and Software (and in our case the Mid
Atlantic Region Sales) administrive machines in DEC so the 11/70's
running RSTS/E (usually) could be refurbed and shipped to AT&T sites. 

Not all though.  The system known as Video was an 11/70 that was an 11/74
at another point in time.

...
 My biggest fear was backplane failure -- since there
were a couple of
11/74 board sets in the country -- but no one knew if there were any
backplanes out there and the 11/70 backplanes got real creaky after 10
years or so of field maintenance. 

That and the multiport memory boxes.

Allison