Greetings and Questions - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

13 Jan 1999

"Kirk Davis" &lt;kbd(a)ndx.net&gt; wrote:

...
 Hi all - I'm new to the mailing list and have just
started
collecting various pieces of retro computer paraphernalia. Had
some fun today at the local salvage yard prying open a VAX 8800
looking for interesting bits. 
Hi... and "ouch"... prying one open?

...
 Did manage to get the console. Various people have told
me that
this is most likely a PRO350 or PRO380 (PDP!!!!). Looking inside it's
got a RD52 and a set of floppies along with the associated controller 
cards and the main board. It appears to be in good shape - when I
turn on the power, it goes though it's self test and appears to boot
from the hard disk. 
Do you see the 'DIGITAL' logo during the boot process?  (Did you get
the monitor and keyboard?)

...
 1. What are my options are far as os'? I'm told
that it most likely
has a subset of RT11 on the drive. Is this my only option or is it
possible to install other PDP11 based os' on this system? 
If it is off a Vax system, it will probably have a special board in
it for use in controlling that system.  You won't need it.  It will
also probably be running P/OS, not RT11, although you can get an
RT-11 to run on it.

There is also Venix, a unix-look-similar...  You can also run a
version of TSX+ on it (TSX is layered on RT-11, so you would need
RT-11 first).

...
 2. The back panel has a serial port and a monitor port
(along with
what appears to be a printer and AUI network port). There is no
direct keyboard input that I can see. I connected a serial terminal
to the system and tried various baud rates and parity selections
(300-19200, 8-n-1 & 7-e,1) and have been unable to get the system to
respond. I'd assume some sort of signon banner at boot but since this
was a dedicated console for a vax it's limited to the output only on
the other monitor port? Maybe someone can enlighten me.... 
You'll need a monitor and keyboard, attached to the appropriate
connectors.  The AUI port is only usable if you have a DECNA
ethernet adapter card in the machine.  The communications port has
modem control.  The printer port can be used as a debug console (if
the cable has pins 9 and 20 connected) and then runs at (I think)
4800 baud.  This port is at the standard console address for a pdp-11,
but it doesn't have the same interrupt structure.

But the monitor and keyboard are required, since that is the boot
console.  Without them, you won't be able to run anything.

					Megan Gentry
					Former RT-11 Developer

+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| Megan Gentry, EMT/B, PP-ASEL   | Internet (work): gentry!zk3.dec.com |
| Unix Support Engineering Group |          (home):  mbg!world.std.com |
| Compaq Computer Corporation    | addresses need '@' in place of '!'  |
| 110 Spitbrook Rd. ZK03-2/T43   | URL:     http://world.std.com/~mbg/ | 
| Nashua, NH 03062               | "pdp-11 programmer - some assembler |
| (603) 884 1055                 |  required." - mbg                   |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+