PDP 11/70s For Sale

From: Allison J Parent <allisonp_at_world.std.com>
Date: Fri Sep 24 21:17:38 1999

<>According to a friend who worked in Field Circus, if the systems were
<>inside DEC, that made it much MORE likely that they were entirely
<>non-standard configurations that bear no relationship to the label
<>on the outside of the box.

;) you betcha. Us mill rats were hacking things together that made the
the infernal field circus nuts.

I worked for CSSE, the Field Circus engineering arm. Our cave was
terminals and printers to year 0. However I was one of those that
scrounged whereever I was for systems and put together some creative
combinations that were not warmly recieved by the PDP-11 CSSE group we
were colocated with. I can still hear Evans asking me how I got two
RL02s, 2 BA11 11/23s and RX02 in the same 40" rack then plugged a LN01
laser printer into it. He swore there was no compatable Qbus interface
for the laser printer till I showed him a LPV11 with a LPV180 cab kit!
There was the many examples of unsupported but works. Remnents of that
beast followed me around from '84 and still sits in my room in a different
rack.

Anywho, I've seen a lot of systems, the joke was missed on badge vs cpu
installed. Most if not all were never what the badge said they were.
If I wanted to be pendantic I do have the MicroPDP-11 handbooks. But like
I'd said and I think Tim said in the end it's the contents not the label
and whatever you do have, enjoy it. They are all in whatever current
incarnation may now be, good systems that meet the "Robust and mature
systems we know how to use." mantra.


Allison
Received on Fri Sep 24 1999 - 21:17:38 BST