some DEC finds

From: Lawrence LeMay <lemay_at_cs.umn.edu>
Date: Mon Apr 3 19:39:04 2000

I just picked up a DEC PDP-8/L cpu unit, someone had already taken it out
of the rack for me. How can i determine if I have a complete cpu? most
of the cards are present, and there are 3 cables coming from the unit,
each with a centronics connector at the end.

There is a rack of mystery DEC equipment, lots of green G series
boards, etc. At the top of the rack is an array of lights, and
I found a plastic panel that obviously was supposed to be over those
lights. I've taken a photo of the panel, hopefully someone can
identify it for me. Other stuff in the rack is on wirewrap backplanes,
and the flip chips are plugged in from the bottom, i'm guessing this
stuff goes with the 8/L cpu. http://www-users.itlabs.umn.edu/~lemay/panel.jpg

We also grabbed the top half of a teletype 33 ASR for parts, and plan to
return with a truck tomorrow for a complete Teletype 33 ASR.

There is still a complete PDP 11/20 rack system, with dectape, decpack,
and possibly other stuff in addition to the cpu unit itself. My friend
will try to rescue this, if we can borrow a pickup truck.

Other stuff out on the loading dock includes a DecScope, 2 DecWriter II,
1 DecWriter III, 1 Decprinter. I've contacted the person who is discarding
this stuff, to see if anything else is available, such as manuals or
dectape. By the way, i'm not planning to take the printers I just mentioned,
I just dont have much storage space.

Since this is the first 8/L system I've seen in person, any help in
determining if i have a complete system would be appreciated. Also,
what are those 3 centronix connectors for (connections to expansion
units in that other rack maybe?) and how can I connect a terminal
or something to make this thing a bit more usable?

-Lawrence LeMay
 lemay_at_cs.umn.edu
Received on Mon Apr 03 2000 - 19:39:04 BST

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