----- Original Message -----
From: Chuck McManis <cmcmanis(a)mcmanis.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, 21 December 1999 4:43
Subject: Re: Microvax 3400
Its a nice little VAX, nicer still if you upgrade
it...
Unfortunately it's missing its (DSSI) drives.
I hate that. Security...
Seems to have the following bits in a biggish cube on casters. (BA213 I
think).
Fortunately DSSI drives seem to be popping up a lot lately.
I don't think I'll need them. The mysterious cards are in fact 2 x Emulex
UC07 SCSI controllers.
There is also another Emulex card a QT1410402, which I am informed is a
Pertec tape controller.
several on Ebay and the local scrap yard had a bunch
recently (RF30's so
hardly worth it, but whatever) check the Austrialian DEC reseller near
you.
DEC Adelaide is about 140 miles. I guess that's near enough. Only one in
the state.
They may be willing to let one or two go for a
"song."
I'd REALLY like to see THAT.....;^)
TQK50 M7546-00 TK50 Controller
TK50 tape drive
Interesting, mine came with a TK70.
Seems to depend when they were made I think. It's definitely a TQK50/TK50
combo, I've got
TK70's in my Vax 6000's.
KFQSA-SA M7769
Storage Adapter (DSSI Disk Interface)
The 3400 has a DSSI interface on the CPU card, did you get another board
as
well?
Disregard. If it's in there, I haven't found it, and yes, what I take to be
the DSSI
cable seems to go to the KA640-AA
I'm unfamiliar with the term "honda"
connector but the DSSI connector
looks
like a SCSI-2 high density connector with a couple of
guide pins stuck up
from it.
That's the one on the end of the cable I took to be DSSI.
The others are in fact the SCSI-2 style high density connectors.
The UC07's have one each on the faceplate.
>DRQ3B-SA M7658-PA 2 port parallel interface (If
I'm looking at the
right
>bits, it has a couple of
>connectors that look more like old type SCSI (Sorta oversized female
>Centronics connectors?)
>on the front panel. What in heck did these talk to? A line printer?
Sweet! It talks to anything you want it to talk to.
General purpose DMA
driven parallel port (dual)
Could be SDI connectors.
?? As in Storage Device Interface? Or do you mean something else?
It's not SDI in that sense. Nothing like it.
The cables come from a board with LEXIDATA on it.
Hard to see numbers, the stuff in the etch is covered by one of the handles.
It could be anything.
the dress panel
that covers the leds, TK50 etc.
The sliding cover is still there but the one behind it on the bulkhead is
missing. (Any spares out there?)
Well there is a "front" that sits over the front of the box and has a
slide
up translucent door that covers the tape drive area.
That's there and intact
Are you missing the metal frame that covers the disk
bulkhead?
The metal frame is there, with the buttons and leds mounted on it,
however,
it appears
it is missing a (presumably) plastic dress cover, that surrounds and covers
the led/button
area and the region around the TK50..
>It seems mostly alive, a quick power up had the
LED countdown going
through
ok, apart from
stops due to lack of
disk drives and no smoke or bad smells.....
Well if it gets to number 3 then you can probably net boot it into a
cluster or netbsd. (NetBSD doesn't support the on board DSSI yet though)
I have plenty of VMS and a couple of boxen for servers, we'll see.
Cheers
Geoff Roberts
Computer Systems Manager
Saint Mark's College
Port Pirie, South Australia.
Email: geoffrob(a)stmarks.pp.catholic.edu.au
netcafe(a)pirie.mtx.net.au
ICQ #: 1970476