PDP-8/L - fire hazard?

From: Bill/Carolyn Pechter <pechter_at_shell.monmouth.com>
Date: Mon Aug 17 09:26:56 1998

> I've only ever seen an RK07 PSU and 11/24 PSU erupt in smoke, no flames, but
> the operators at Ohio State University's DEC-20 lab told me about an incident.
>
> For those that don't remember, computers used to have log books for
> maintenance records (I have log books for a couple of -8's and a couple of
> VAXen). A friend of mine noticed the following in the log book...
> (dates simulated for effect)
>
> Date Time Initials Action
> 06/03/81 11:05 jfs TU-77 catches fire
> 06/03/81 11:08 jfs TU-77 puts itself out
> 06/03/81 13:23 jfs TU-77 won't load tapes, DEC field service called.
>
> When the call was placed, it went something like this...
>
> Operator: Our tape drive caught fire.
>
> Field Servoid: Was it a TU-77?
>
> Op: yes.
>
> FS: OK. I know what to bring.
>
> One board swap later, all was well. Apparently, it was a common problem. At
> the place I worked, we never had our TU-78 catch fire; Pertec must have learned
> something by then.
>
> -ethan
>
>

Must've been the defective solid state relays... they ECO'd them out around
'85 or so... I seem to remember this as a manditory ECO.


+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Bill and/or Carolyn Pechter | pechter_at_shell.monmouth.com |
| Bill Gates is a Persian cat and a monocle away from being a villain in |
| a James Bond movie -- Dennis Miller |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Received on Mon Aug 17 1998 - 09:26:56 BST

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.0 : Fri Oct 10 2014 - 23:30:44 BST