Brad> "Ulf Andersson" wrote: Brad> I was just thinking about that this morning :-) Brad> Does anyone have a blueprint which shows the "spec" dimensions? Quick look at Al Kossow's website... I would have thought the Bus Handbook would show that, but it doesn't contain a formal mechanical spec. It does show (on page 90 in Al's copy in dec/pdp11) show the overall dimensions of a M9202 Unibus Jumper module. That's a dual wide module and it seems to be full height. (At least the height matches that of the UDA50 shown in the UDA50 engineering drawings). What isn't shown, unfortunately, is the details of the edge connector. The UDA50 (hex module) is 8.41 by 15.688 inches board dimension. As for the Q-bus, those are dual or quad, not hex, but I think that the mechanical specs are identical to those of the Unibus. Ok, the RQDX3 board is 8.41 high by 5.187 inches wide, same within a few hundreds as the M9202, so that suggests the mechanicals are indeed the same. paul

"vrs" wrote: very nice, thanks. I don't have those books. does it say anything about the size of the "fingers", i.e. 2/4/6 slots? and the sizes of the little cuts? -brad

8.430+/-0.010 too. Yes, it does. What I haven't figure out is how to concisely and accurately convey the information without a picture. Basically, the fingers are .080" across by .563", and spaced at 1/8". The outside notches are .100+/-.01 inches. The narrow notches are .258", and the wide notches are .510" The short side notch and the shallow part of the notches are .625", the deeper notching is .725". The deeper notching in the interior is .140" (instead of the .100" on the outside edges). The tabs are 2.240" wide. It looks like the center-center distance from the first pad on a tab to the last is 2.125". Hope that helps. (If you want I can just send you an Eagle CAD file for an Omnibus card outline with edge connectors, and you can hack on it to make an extended length hex card outline.) Vince

On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 06:15:16 -0500, Brad Parker <brad at heeltoe.com> wrote: I have one in the gEDA/PCB format. I'd be happy to share it. vax, 9000

"vrs" wrote: very nice, thanks. It took me 10 minutes to figure out that was an *eagle* .lbr file :-) (I know you said that but for some reason I got gEDA stuck in my head) I'm curious what the holes on the top of the board are for - I have about 10 metal hex-width "stiffeners" with extractors I was given by a guy who made unibus memory boards - I've yet to measure the holes on those. I assume they end up some how pop-riveted to the board but how one fastens them I'm not sure. I've only used pop-rivets on cars and I don't think I want to use the same style fasteners on a PCB. Maybe nylon screws & nuts with some loctite, and trim the excess threads. Are some sort of plastic handles available? Any thoughts? I want a "spec" paper drawing with dimensions from the books and then verify it with a selection of unibus cards I have. Have you made a PCB with the hex width card model? -brad

Ethan Dicks wrote: yea, but aren't you on the south pole? seems like a long drive to borrow your foot press :-) are these eyelet rivets something that can be fastened with a hand tool? (somehow I see a fabrication project coming on - to make a board stiffener with extraction arms :-) -brad

From: "Brad Parker" <brad at heeltoe.com> No problem. Well those may be silly. What they are is the correct holes for a DEC double-height handle, replicated three times. I do not know if they line up with the stiffener holes, or if that would even matter, as I imagine the stiffeners are hard to find. The plastic handles were riveted to the boards. I have had good luck attaching them with zip ties, actually (see the "Home" page pointed to at the top). That has nearly the mechanical strength of the nylon screw (if not quite the rigidity), and is simpler. I have a pile of plastic handles, but they have non-DEC spacing. If only it were that easy. The manuals I have give some of the spec's, some with and some without tolerances, etc. Between the various manuals it is at least possible to round up the needed basic measurements. No, I just threw the hex height together in response to the request. What I have done is made single-height cards, and mock-ups of double-height cards. I have drawings for a variety of single and double-height Gxxx, Mxxx and Wxxx flipchips. I also have one complete drawing for an RX8E replica (quad height), but I haven't built one. (And a whole other library for drawing flip-chip backplanes, but that's another story.) Vince

I The problem with the straight replica is that the parts for an RX8E have become unobtanium. I do have an adaptation of the RX8E for modern components and Posibus. I have built one of those (but it has nothing to do with DEC board physical sizes). Another list member and I are hoping to get around to debugging the prototypes "real soon". You'd need an M8350 (or Posibus PDP-8) for one of those. Another possibility would be to "fix up" the RX8E with modern (well, obtainable anyway) chips, and make that. (But I like the Posibus idea better, as more PDP-8s can play.) As to the cost, it's pretty reasonable. Could probably be done for about $12-$15 or so per board, in reasonable quantity (say, 30 units). Plus parts, shipping, etc. probably still under $50. (We paid more for the prototypes, but then we didn't spread the cost over 30 units, either.) Vince By the way, you seem to be generating a redundant "Reply-To:" header on your mail to cctalk.

Jim wrote... Yeah, I was watching this. I thought it was a bit pricey for just the cpu. Jay

http://bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/unibus/UnibusSpec1979.pdf There's something very good for BA200 Q-bus systems that tells you pretty much everything you need to know. I have it and I've scanned it and Manx should find it, but I cannot remember the exact title :-( Something like BA200 Series Module Design Guide *should8 find it, but does not ... Antonio -- --------------- Antonio Carlini arcarlini at iee.org