I've only seen a System/34, so that's all I'm talking about... You can get
more info by going to
http://www.ibmlink.ibm.com/cgi-bin/master?request=menu&parms=&xu=guest&xp=&xh=lo
gon and choose the SalesManual link, enter the part number(5340, 5360,
etc...) and off you go... Be sure to use the inactive option for the older
hardware, and then go through all of them and see what pops up. Lots of
cool stuff...
>1. How much do these things weigh? The computer person there estimated
>2000 lb. for the 34, 1000 lb. for the 36, 700 lb. on the printers and 500
>lb. on the tape drives. Does that sound about right?
Probably. The 34 is very large and heavy, but they have very nice wheels
under them, works great on smooth floors. No info at IBMLink about
size/weight/etc...
>2. How possible is partial dismantling for transport? I didn't get to
>tear into them to look. Loading access is fairly good in the building
>they are in, but unloading the 34 could be tricky. It would help if I
>could lighten them up.
I'm not sure. There really isn't much that can come apart. I suppose you
could get the hard drives out, but I'm not sure how(just moving those
around would be interesting to watch...). You could take out the floppy
drive, but it doesn't weigh much. Maybe you could get the power supply out,
but I don't know how. I would be worried more about the cabling than the
actual hardware, I'm not sure how everythings hooked up in there.
>Other less important stuff that I'm curious about:
>4. What kind of interface does it have to the terminals?
The 5340 uses twin-ax cabling(big thick expensive stuff) going to 5250-type
terminals. You could also use a PC as a terminal using a twinax interface
card(they seem kinda expensive to me, I seem to remember seeing them for
around $150+ last time I looked). You can still buy the cabling and maybe
the terminals, go to
http://www.system3x.com/, which has TONS of Sys/3x and
AS/400 stuff.
>5. What kind of power does it need? I'd assume 3 phase 220v.
IBMLink shows single phase 208v or 230v as the options available.
>6. How much computing power is this? Compared to a VAX 11/750, say.
I'm not sure, but I doubt it's very much. Looking at IBMLink, they maxed
out with a 258MB hard drive(which required an extension to the cabinet),
and 256K RAM. Bottom end was 8MB HD and 32K RAM.
>7. How will these things tolerate living in an unheated building over
>winter? I live in IL.
Well, most people joke(or were they?) about using them AS a heater... Do a
search at DejaNews(
http://www.dejanews.com/) use the power search option
and set an early begin search date. There's some interesting stories about
the S/34, but mostly resumes for people who once programmed them but no
longer remember anythign about them...
>Any other hints and tips would be greatly appreciated. I'd really like to
>be able to move these machines without damage (to the machines or me).
I'd be worried about damage to yourself. Times like this are good to have
an ambulance sitting nearby ;-)
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Received on Fri Sep 11 1998 - 00:21:15 BST