Microvax 3400

From: Geoff Roberts <geoffrob_at_stmarks.pp.catholic.edu.au>
Date: Mon Dec 20 20:52:28 1999

Have acquired at auction for a mere $30AU (a real one not Ebay) a Microvax
3400 ex Defence Science and Technology Organisation at Salisbury.
Unfortunately it's missing its (DSSI) drives. I hate that. Security...
Seems to have the following bits in a biggish cube on casters. (BA213 I
think).

TQK50 M7546-00 TK50 Controller
TK50 tape drive

KFQSA-SA M7769 Storage Adapter (DSSI Disk Interface)
It/they seems to have about 6 of the little Honda connectors. I think this
might
have multiple controllers or something similar. There are 3 front panels
with the same
lights and connectors anyway.

DRQ3B-SA M7658-PA 2 port parallel interface (If I'm looking at the right
bits, it has a couple of
connectors that look more like old type SCSI (Sorta oversized female
Centronics connectors?)
on the front panel. What in heck did these talk to? A line printer?

What was evidently the DSSI daisy chain cable is floating around in the top
section
with the dinky little DSSI terminator on a plate mounted at the top left.
There is another ribbon cable that has male and female three row DB type
connectors (DB68??)
on it. Looks vaguely like one on my 6000's DMB32's Synchronous port. No
idea what module
it comes from yet. Presumably the DRQ.

MS650-BA M7622-A 16Mb RAM (That's an easy one)

KA640-AA M7624-CA Microvax 3300/3400 CPU with 4MB Ram
Usual console MMJ port and switchable AUI/10Base2 ethernet.
(Finally, a biggish Vax I don't need a txcvr for....)

Seems intact except for the missing drives and the dress panel that covers
the leds, TK50 etc.
The sliding cover is still there but the one behind it on the bulkhead is
missing. (Any spares out there?)
I will be pulling the modules over the next few days for a clean and check.
It's got ribbon cables coming out of
the front between the gaps in the modules, pretty messy looking, one goes to
one of those
big centronics connectors on a mounting plate, that looks like a scsi
connector.

According to a good source, the machine (NODE::TITUS) was part of the JANUS
war game network at DSTO.
It seems mostly alive, a quick power up had the LED countdown going through
ok, apart from stops due to lack of
disk drives and no smoke or bad smells.....

All I gotta do now is scare up some RFxx drives I guess.....

Cheers

Geoff Roberts
Computer Systems Manager
Saint Mark's College
Port Pirie, South Australia.
Email: geoffrob_at_stmarks.pp.catholic.edu.au
           netcafe_at_pirie.mtx.net.au
ICQ #: 1970476
Received on Mon Dec 20 1999 - 20:52:28 GMT