RED ALERT! FREE VAX Cluster needs rescue!

From: William Donzelli <william_at_ans.net>
Date: Mon Feb 2 21:36:47 1998

> >To anyone interested, my school is looking to make the old VAX cluster
> >disappear. It consists of two MV3600's, several racks of RA81/82's, one
> >MVII, and a TU-something-or-other. I haven't had time to go down and look
> >at the innards of any of the machines, but I will if anyone expresses an
> >interest in them. The whole shebang was operational the day they took it
> >to the basement, so I assume it still is.

Hmmm...I used to use one of these 3600s. Slow, but better than the 11/780
they ran until 1992 or so.

> >We are located in downtown Milwaukee, WI. The machines would be free for
> >the taking, or if anyone wants to pay the shipping, we could work
> >something out. I'd really like to see it all go toward the NetBSD cause,
> >otherwise they'll be scrapped for the gold :(

The school must be changing quite a bit. It used to be a VMS stronghold,
but I fear that PeeCees started taking over (they were moving in when I
left in 1991). In the past, they kept everything, even way past the stuff
was taken out of service - I snagged my old Interdata 14 (retired in
the late 1970s, I think, but they kept it around) from them. They also had
some first generation Eclipses (with FPS boxes! Want, want, want!), a
PDP-11/70 disguised as a Datasystem 570, a cool Computervision CAD system,
and even a busted LMI Lisp machine (another want!). My guess is that the
stuff is gone now, but if anyone goes, ask!

> >Please get back to me as soon as possible. I'm guessing we have until the
> >end of the week, at which time the scrap metal man comes. I've had
> >phantasies about bringing the stuff home, but "home" is actually a dorm
> >room.

I had the Interdata in my dorm room. The roommate was not pleased. Upon my
graduation and checkout from the dorm, we wheeled the Interdata (minus the
panels to save our muscles) out and told the security guard that it was a
piece of the elevator and it would not be working anymore. He was not
pleased. Come to think of it, I do not think anyone was pleased that I had
the thing.

William Donzelli
william_at_ans.net
Received on Mon Feb 02 1998 - 21:36:47 GMT