> >
> > But I noticed someone auctioning a VAX 8350 for about $50 over on Ebay,
> > and I wondered, would it be relatively straightforward for a VAX newbie
> > like me to:
> > a. ship
>
> Probably have to be crated.
>
> > b. get it running
>
> Nightmarish I suspect
>
> > c. find software (Unix, Vms, etc) and hardware (disk drives, tape drives,
> > etc.)
>
> VMS is the *ONE* True OS!!! Info on the truely great Hobbyist licenses can
> be found at the following page.
> http://www.montagar.com/hobbyist/
>
> Probably pretty easy. While I've not messed with this particular model I've
> found the VAXen I've got to be very reliable. Except the ones using old MFM
> Hard drives (and that's a hard drive issue). I do suspect this model
> probably requires a climet controlled computer room, but really don't know.
The 8350 isn't all that bad. I ran one when I worked for the university lo
these many years ago. Reasonably quick, as I recall it used 110 instead of 220
power, and so on. Some caviets: 1. Unless this machine comes with a SCSI
card or you can get one for it inexpensively, I wouldn't bother. The drives
that it was designed for are huge, slow, not very big datawise, and noisy.
2. It can NOT netboot, at least not as a VMScluster leaf node. I tend to
agree with Zane's recommendation for starting with a vaxstation or microvax
3100. The 8350 wouldn't be my first choice for a beginner's machine.
--
Jim Strickland
jim_at_DIESPAMMERSCUMcalico.litterbox.com
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Received on Wed Jun 28 2000 - 19:11:49 BST