Computer Listing

From: A.R. Duell <ard12_at_eng.cam.ac.uk>
Date: Mon Mar 24 11:04:38 1997

[Vaxen]

> But then again, how would I get a one ton machine (not that I know that it
> weighs that much, but it was huge) home? Where do I get three phase 220

Err... In bits???

Seriously, a lot of larger machines split up into liftable modules quite
easily. I'd never think of moving one in one piece, but half an hour with
a screwdriver can make the job a lot easier. A few points if you do this :

Label anything that's not obvious - cable connections, PSU terminals,
board positions, etc. I normally number the card cages in some order, and
stick labels on them carrying that number. I then number the slots in each
cage, if possible, following the manufacturers convention but if not,
I mark slot 1 in each cage. I then label the boards with things like 5/23
or 1/27 (meaning slot 23 in cage 5, etc)

Boards are suprisingly heavy, and it's often worth emptying the cardcage.
The empty cardcages are often quite light.

Oh, make sure the person giving you the machine is expecting you to
dismantle it. They often do - I've been offered the use of toolkits, etc
(although I always bring my own tools if possible). Once they got rather
annoyed with me for pulling covers, etc (they just wanted me to pick up
the machine and leave), but I wasn't going to move a Shugart SA4000
winchester without fitting the headclamps no matter what they thought ;-)

> power? Even though my office is the Cold Room [2] where I work, we don't
> have the room or the power to run those things.

The power isn't that much of a problem. With the exception of large disk
drives (which may have 3 phase motors), almost all this stuff _can_ be
kludged to run off a single-phase line.

[PERQs]
> Now that's a machine I wouldn't mind owning.

They're not _that_ hard to find, although they may be more common in the
UK than the States (A lot were sold by ICL to UK Universities). Keep on
looking, and one will turn up.

>
> -spc (Anyone know anything about DEC VT320s?)

What about them? They eat flyback transformers....

--
-tony
ard12_at_eng.cam.ac.uk
The gates in my computer are AND,OR and NOT, not Bill
Received on Mon Mar 24 1997 - 11:04:38 GMT

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