VAX 780 on eBay

[Jon Elson]

On 1/1/22 1:50 PM, W2HX via cctalk wrote:
> True.  But if you're trying to get > $5000 for something, it doesn't seem unreasonable to suggest that investing a bit in getting an extension cord run to the location of the machine would be a good idea.  The absence of that effort makes me wonder if the owner knows what the outcome of such a test would be and doesn't want to have to report it.
> But what would that accomplish? I think testing something like this requires a lot more effort than plugging it in and hitting the circuit breaker. To test this to see if some ODT comes up probably requires quite a lot of effort (locate a terminal/pc, wire it up, figure out where to plug it into the 780, etc. If this guy is a bulk dealer I would be surprised if he has the knowledge to do anything more than a power test which, again, would not be very useful and could even be detrimental.
>
>
The /780 needs a readable "console floppy" and working 
drive.  It loads microcode from the floppy and runs some 
power-on self-tests before even starting the VAX CPU.  Not 
real likely the floppy is going to be in good condition or 
the drive, either.  Also, the cooling blowers below the 
circuit boards are likely to be seized and need new 
bearings.  Not to mention the cap banks in the power 
supplies at least need to be re-formed.  Likely, this 
machine has not been turned on since 1990 or so, (just 
guessing).

Jon