8 Oct
2009
8 Oct
'09
5:46 a.m.
I have the following equpment free for pick up. All or nothing deal.
Wrentham, MA. It's going to the scrapper next Wednesday.
two VAX 4000-100
two AlphaServer 400 4/233 complete and working when I shut them down a
few years ago
two VT520
one VR160
MicroVAX 3100
BA42A storage expansion
BA360 with 4 drives
MicroVAX I, I believe complete, I never powered it up
MicroVAX II box/power supply/backplane only, no drives or boards
Joe Heck
8 Oct
8 Oct
7:08 a.m.
Is there anyone close by that can rescue this and the doc's? This
stuff is for the most part worth rescuing. The MicroVAX I and II
can be converted into a PDP-11 if so desired. I think MicroVAX I's
are moderately rare. Though since this is in MA, they might not be
back there.
Question is there such a thing as a BA360? I suspect it is a typo,
and it's a BA350, but I don't know.
I'm not even collecting anymore, but if I was local, I'd be going after this.
Zane
At 8:46 AM -0400 10/8/09, joe heck wrote:
I have the following equpment free for pick up. All or
nothing
deal. Wrentham, MA. It's going to the scrapper next Wednesday.
two VAX 4000-100
two AlphaServer 400 4/233 complete and working when I shut them
down a few years ago
two VT520
one VR160
MicroVAX 3100
BA42A storage expansion
BA360 with 4 drives
MicroVAX I, I believe complete, I never powered it up
MicroVAX II box/power supply/backplane only, no drives or boards
Joe Heck
--
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Administrator |
| healyzh at aracnet.com (primary) | OpenVMS Enthusiast |
| MONK::HEALYZH (DECnet) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| PDP-10 Emulation and Zane's Computer Museum. |
| http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/ |
8:45 a.m.
On Oct 8, 2009, at 10:08 AM, Zane H. Healy wrote:
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
Is there anyone close by that can rescue this and the
doc's? This
stuff is for the most part worth rescuing. The MicroVAX I and II
can be converted into a PDP-11 if so desired. I think MicroVAX I's
are moderately rare. Though since this is in MA, they might not be
back there.
The MicroVAX-I is pretty rare, yes. The -II, though, of course
not. It should still be saved from the scrapper though.
Question is there such a thing as a BA360? I suspect
it is a typo,
and it's a BA350, but I don't know.
I've never heard of a BA360.
-Dave
9:15 a.m.
On Thu, 8 Oct 2009, Dave McGuire wrote:
The MicroVAX-I is pretty rare, yes.
I thought it was, but wouldn't be surprised if the rarity is in part
regional.
The -II, though, of course not. It
should still be saved from the scrapper though.
If nothing else the powersupplies, and if it has them, the side panels
should be saved. It has been my experience that the side panels are harder
to get than the chassis itself.
Zane
9:38 a.m.
On Oct 8, 2009, at 12:15 PM, Zane H. Healy wrote:
That's certainly possible.
What chassis are you talking about, BA123? I don't think Joe
mentioned what chassis his -II is in.
I am short a BA23 power supply. I have two hand-built BA123
prototypes, called "woody boxes" because of their gorgeous wooden
lids, that use BA23 power supplies...one of them has a dead PS. (yes
I checked that sentence for typos...BA23/BA123 above is correct :))
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
The MicroVAX-I
is pretty rare, yes.
I thought it was, but wouldn't be surprised if the rarity is in part
regional. The -II,
though, of course not. It should still be saved from the
scrapper though.
If nothing else the powersupplies, and if it has them, the side panels
should be saved. It has been my experience that the side panels
are harder
to get than the chassis itself.
10:08 a.m.
On Thu, 8 Oct 2009, Dave McGuire wrote:
Good point. Since he said MicroVAX II, I assumed BA123, but it could be in
a BA23.
If nothing
else the powersupplies, and if it has them, the side panels
should be saved. It has been my experience that the side panels are harder
to get than the chassis itself.
What chassis are you talking about, BA123? I don't think Joe mentioned what
chassis his -II is in. I am short a BA23 power supply. I have two hand-built
BA123 prototypes,
called "woody boxes" because of their gorgeous wooden lids, that use BA23
power supplies...one of them has a dead PS. (yes I checked that sentence for
typos...BA23/BA123 above is correct :))
Very cool sounding! Pictures?
Zane
11:04 a.m.
On Oct 8, 2009, at 1:08 PM, Zane H. Healy wrote:
Good point. Since he said MicroVAX II, I assumed BA123, but it
could be in
a BA23.
I've never seen a -I in a BA123, only BA23s. That may just be
incidental, though.
I don't have any yet, and they're packed away. I will get them
out at some point and do a nice photo shoot. They really are nice
little boxes, and very different from the final production BA123.
They are built around a BA23 power supply and backplane (so only
eight slots as compared to the BA123's twelve). They only have four
drive bays, mounted horizontally in a vertical column on the right,
with no vertically-mounted left bay like that of the production
BA123. They are much smaller and lighter than a production BA123,
but they still have casters.
I have the wood tops for both of mine, but I am missing one side
cover, which is very sad. I'll hire a machinist to make me a new one
when I can afford to. Some of the sheet metal parts still sport some
blue layout dye and scribe marks!
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
If nothing else the powersupplies, and if it has them,
the side
panels
should be saved. It has been my experience that the side panels
are harder
to get than the chassis itself.
What chassis are you talking about, BA123? I don't think Joe
mentioned what chassis his -II is in. I am short a
BA23 power supply. I have two hand-built BA123
prototypes, called "woody boxes" because of their gorgeous wooden
lids, that use BA23 power supplies...one of them has a dead PS.
(yes I checked that sentence for typos...BA23/BA123 above is
correct :))
Very cool sounding! Pictures?
1:01 p.m.
New subject: Free VAX/Alpha hardware MV-I clarification
Microvax I is apparently BA23
Dave McGuire wrote:
On Oct 8, 2009, at 1:08 PM, Zane H. Healy wrote:
Good point. Since he said MicroVAX II, I assumed BA123, but it could
be in
a BA23.
I've never seen a -I in a BA123, only BA23s. That may just be
incidental, though.
I don't have any yet, and they're packed away. I will get them out at
some point and do a nice photo shoot. They really are nice little
boxes, and very different from the final production BA123. They are
built around a BA23 power supply and backplane (so only eight slots as
compared to the BA123's twelve). They only have four drive bays,
mounted horizontally in a vertical column on the right, with no
vertically-mounted left bay like that of the production BA123. They are
much smaller and lighter than a production BA123, but they still have
casters.
I have the wood tops for both of mine, but I am missing one side
cover, which is very sad. I'll hire a machinist to make me a new one
when I can afford to. Some of the sheet metal parts still sport some
blue layout dye and scribe marks!
-Dave
If nothing else the powersupplies, and if it has them,
the side panels
should be saved. It has been my experience that the side panels are
harder
to get than the chassis itself.
What chassis are you talking about, BA123? I don't think Joe
mentioned what chassis his -II is in. I am
short a BA23 power supply. I have two hand-built BA123
prototypes, called "woody boxes" because of their gorgeous wooden
lids, that use BA23 power supplies...one of them has a dead PS. (yes
I checked that sentence for typos...BA23/BA123 above is correct :))
Very cool sounding! Pictures?
12:55 p.m.
New subject: Free VAX/Alpha hardware (clarification)
13 inches wide, I believe that to be a BA123
BA350, not 360, I'm too old and the digits are too small... :-)
Joe
Zane H. Healy wrote:
Is there anyone close by that can rescue this and the
doc's? This stuff
is for the most part worth rescuing. The MicroVAX I and II can be
converted into a PDP-11 if so desired. I think MicroVAX I's are
moderately rare. Though since this is in MA, they might not be back there.
Question is there such a thing as a BA360? I suspect it is a typo, and
it's a BA350, but I don't know.
I'm not even collecting anymore, but if I was local, I'd be going after
this.
Zane
At 8:46 AM -0400 10/8/09, joe heck wrote:
I have the following equpment free for pick up.
All or nothing deal.
Wrentham, MA. It's going to the scrapper next Wednesday.
two VAX 4000-100
two AlphaServer 400 4/233 complete and working when I shut them down
a few years ago
two VT520
one VR160
MicroVAX 3100
BA42A storage expansion
BA360 with 4 drives
MicroVAX I, I believe complete, I never powered it up
MicroVAX II box/power supply/backplane only, no drives or boards
Joe Heck
2:38 p.m.
New subject: Free VAX/Alpha hardware (and manuals) update
The hardware is spoken for, it will be picked up before the weekend.
The person receiving the items knows several of you anyway, so you'll
probably hear from him.
He is also taking the manuals, but I don't think he wants them. If
anybody wants the vms 5.0 docs, let me know or post it to the group.
thanks
Joe
7:10 p.m.
New subject: Free VAX/Alpha hardware (and manuals) update
I would enjoy having a Gray Wall to assemble alongside our running VAX-11/780-5 and
soon-to-be-running VAX-11/785. We're running 6.2, but if an arrangement could be made
to obtain the Gray Wall I would love to display it. Actually, I'd like to move to an
earlier VMS version at some point, too, so it could end up being more contemporaneous.
Having said that, I honestly don't have budget for more than shipping. But please put
my name in the hat.... Thanks -- Ian (Living Computer Museum)
________________________________________
From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of joe
heck [trash3 at splab.cas.neu.edu]
Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2009 2:38 PM
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Free VAX/Alpha hardware (and manuals) update
The hardware is spoken for, it will be picked up before the weekend.
The person receiving the items knows several of you anyway, so you'll
probably hear from him.
He is also taking the manuals, but I don't think he wants them. If
anybody wants the vms 5.0 docs, let me know or post it to the group.
thanks
Joe
9 Oct
9 Oct
7:19 a.m.
New subject: Free VAX/Alpha hardware (and manuals) update
I'd like the RMS (Record Mgmnt Services) manual if they are being split.
Russ
--- On Thu, 10/8/09, Ian King <IanK at vulcan.com> wrote:
From: Ian King <IanK at vulcan.com>
Subject: RE: Free VAX/Alpha hardware (and manuals) update
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at
classiccmp.org>
Date: Thursday, October 8, 2009, 10:10 PM
I would enjoy having a Gray Wall to assemble alongside our running VAX-11/780-5 and
soon-to-be-running VAX-11/785.? We're running 6.2, but if an arrangement could be made
to obtain the Gray Wall I would love to display it.? Actually, I'd like to move to an
earlier VMS version at some point, too, so it could end up being more contemporaneous.?
Having said that, I honestly don't have budget for more than shipping.? But please put
my name in the hat....? Thanks -- Ian (Living Computer Museum)
________________________________________
From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of joe
heck [trash3 at splab.cas.neu.edu]
Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2009 2:38 PM
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Free VAX/Alpha hardware (and manuals)? update
The hardware is spoken for, it will be picked up before the weekend.
The person receiving the items knows several of you anyway, so you'll
probably hear from him.
He is also taking the manuals, but I don't think he wants them.???If
anybody wants the vms 5.0 docs, let me know or post it to the group.
thanks
Joe
7:40 a.m.
New subject: Free VAX/Alpha hardware (and manuals) update
If it is indeed a *complete* Gray Wall, and if I end up with it
(I'm talking with Kevin offline), then I can provide individual
volumes from my TWO incomplete Gray Wall sets to people who are
missing volumes.
-Dave
On Oct 9, 2009, at 10:19 AM, Russ Bartlett wrote:
I'd like the RMS (Record Mgmnt Services) manual if
they are being
split.
Russ
--- On Thu, 10/8/09, Ian King <IanK at vulcan.com> wrote:
From: Ian King <IanK at vulcan.com>
Subject: RE: Free VAX/Alpha hardware (and manuals) update
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Date: Thursday, October 8, 2009, 10:10 PM
I would enjoy having a Gray Wall to assemble alongside our running
VAX-11/780-5 and soon-to-be-running VAX-11/785. We're running 6.2,
but if an arrangement could be made to obtain the Gray Wall I would
love to display it. Actually, I'd like to move to an earlier VMS
version at some point, too, so it could end up being more
contemporaneous.
Having said that, I honestly don't have budget for more than
shipping. But please put my name in the hat.... Thanks -- Ian
(Living Computer Museum)
________________________________________
From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org]
On Behalf Of joe heck [trash3 at splab.cas.neu.edu]
Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2009 2:38 PM
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Free VAX/Alpha hardware (and manuals) update
The hardware is spoken for, it will be picked up before the weekend.
The person receiving the items knows several of you anyway, so you'll
probably hear from him.
He is also taking the manuals, but I don't think he wants them. If
anybody wants the vms 5.0 docs, let me know or post it to the group.
thanks
Joe
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
10 Oct
10 Oct
12:31 p.m.
New subject: Free VAX/Alpha hardware (and manuals) update
On Oct 9, 2009, at 12:49 PM, Al Kossow wrote:
Ahh, I had not yet gone through it. Thank you Al, I appreciate it.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
If it is
indeed a *complete* Gray Wall
It is not complete. I sent out a complete set of
titles and part numbers yesterday.
8 Oct
8 Oct
1:12 p.m.
Hey Joe, did you see my off-list email about this?
-Dave
On Oct 8, 2009, at 8:46 AM, joe heck wrote:
I have the following equpment free for pick up. All
or nothing
deal. Wrentham, MA. It's going to the scrapper next Wednesday.
two VAX 4000-100
two AlphaServer 400 4/233 complete and working when I shut them
down a few years ago
two VT520
one VR160
MicroVAX 3100
BA42A storage expansion
BA360 with 4 drives
MicroVAX I, I believe complete, I never powered it up
MicroVAX II box/power supply/backplane only, no drives or boards
Joe Heck
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
9 Oct
9 Oct
8:25 a.m.
From: "Ethan Dicks" <ethan.dicks at gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2009 10:27 PM
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Subject: Re: Free VAX/Alpha hardware
On Thu, Oct 8, 2009 at 4:03 PM, Rob Jarratt
<robert.jarratt at ntlworld.com>
wrote:
Hi Ethan,
when you have made images, I would love to download them.
I can test the images. I have a stack of RX50 floppies waiting to
be written with something useful. And I would love to "endure"
what other people did some 20 years ago. It seems fun to install
microVMS on my uVAX II or uVAX III, and a nice activity to do
during the Holidays indeed :-)
thanks,
- Henk.
If you ever image the floppies I would love to
get a copy, even though I
am
not sure how I would get them to install on my MVII. Could you let us
know
if and when you do this?
These are original distro floppies from the late 1980s. I'm honestly
not expecting 100% success on reading them, but fortunately, the
content is far from unique.
As to how you might use them - I'd expect that you'd need a stack of
RX50-formatted 5.25" floppies and the disk image files and an
Intel-based PC running Linux (or perhaps Windows) to apply the image
files to the physical media. Armed with a stack of floppies, you'd
install VMS the way we did it in the old days - spending an afternoon
feeding floppies to SABACKUP.
I have many other things on my plate, so I wouldn't expect to get to
this before the Holidays.
-ethan 
8:50 a.m.
On Fri, Oct 9, 2009 at 11:25 AM, Henk Gooijen <henk.gooijen at hotmail.com> wrote:
...And I would love to "endure"
what other people did some 20 years ago. It seems fun to install
microVMS on my uVAX II or uVAX III, and a nice activity to do
during the Holidays indeed :-)
I don't know that you could run uVMS on your uVAX-III. The uVAX-II
should be fine, depending on RQDX1 vs RQDX3 issues (if any).
-ethan
8:56 a.m.
On Oct 9, 2009, at 11:25 AM, Henk Gooijen wrote:
when you have made images, I would love to download
them.
I can test the images. I have a stack of RX50 floppies waiting to
be written with something useful. And I would love to "endure"
what other people did some 20 years ago. It seems fun to install
microVMS on my uVAX II or uVAX III, and a nice activity to do
during the Holidays indeed :-)
I can tell you Henk, having done it 20 years ago, there's
absolutely nothing fun about installing MicroVMS from floppies.
Installing it from other media, yes, but not from floppies. ;)
(that said, I'd not mind a copy myself!)
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
9:36 a.m.
From: "Dave McGuire" <mcguire at neurotica.com>
Sent: Friday, October 09, 2009 5:56 PM
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Subject: Re: Free VAX/Alpha hardware
On Oct 9, 2009, at 11:25 AM, Henk Gooijen wrote:
I guess you are correct Dave, but may be every serious collector
should have experienced that job once :-) Besides, if the installation
takes an afternoon, there are always plenty of other little things to do.
Like reading about classic stuff ...
- Henk.
when you have made images, I would love to
download them.
I can test the images. I have a stack of RX50 floppies waiting to
be written with something useful. And I would love to "endure"
what other people did some 20 years ago. It seems fun to install
microVMS on my uVAX II or uVAX III, and a nice activity to do
during the Holidays indeed :-)
I can tell you Henk, having done it 20 years ago, there's absolutely
nothing fun about installing MicroVMS from floppies.
Installing it from other media, yes, but not from floppies. ;)
(that said, I'd not mind a copy myself!)
-Dave
10 Oct
10 Oct
12:30 p.m.
On Oct 9, 2009, at 12:36 PM, Henk Gooijen wrote:
I guess you are correct Dave, but may be every serious collector
should have experienced that job once :-) Besides, if the
installation
takes an afternoon, there are always plenty of other little things
to do.
Like reading about classic stuff ...
Agree 100%..
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
when you have made images, I would love to download
them.
I can test the images. I have a stack of RX50 floppies waiting to
be written with something useful. And I would love to "endure"
what other people did some 20 years ago. It seems fun to install
microVMS on my uVAX II or uVAX III, and a nice activity to do
during the Holidays indeed :-)
I can tell you Henk, having done it 20 years ago, there's
absolutely nothing fun about installing MicroVMS from floppies.
Installing it from other media, yes, but not from floppies. ;)
(that said, I'd not mind a copy myself!)
9 Oct
9 Oct
9:41 a.m.
From: "Ethan Dicks" <ethan.dicks at gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, October 09, 2009 5:50 PM
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Subject: Re: Free VAX/Alpha hardware
On Fri, Oct 9, 2009 at 11:25 AM, Henk Gooijen
<henk.gooijen at hotmail.com>
wrote:
Ahh, OK Ethan.
I (ass)umed that if you can install microVMS on a uVAX II, it is also
possible
on a uVAX III. I have the glued-spine doc of VMS 6.2, and some orange
binders
of microVMS version <mumble>, so when it comes to that point, I surely will
have
read some doc!
thanks,
- Henk.
...And I would love to "endure"
what other people did some 20 years ago. It seems fun to install
microVMS on my uVAX II or uVAX III, and a nice activity to do
during the Holidays indeed :-)
I don't know that you could run uVMS on your uVAX-III. The uVAX-II
should be fine, depending on RQDX1 vs RQDX3 issues (if any).
-ethan
5503
days inactive
5505
days old
21 comments
8 participants
participants (8)
-
aek＠bitsavers.org -
arcbe2001＠yahoo.com -
ethan.dicks＠gmail.com -
healyzh＠aracnet.com -
henk.gooijen＠hotmail.com -
IanK＠vulcan.com -
mcguire＠neurotica.com -
trash3＠splab.cas.neu.edu