"R. D. Davis" wrote:
>
> On Thu, 24 May 2001, Doug Carman wrote:
> > all left standing in the rain before the local scrap dealer hauled them
> > away. I was able to salvage some parts from the 8650 before we got rid
> > of it, but it would have been impossible to have ever run the system
> > outside a data center environment. The size, weight, massive cooling
> > requirements and the 3 phase, 60 amp power circuit would prevent such a
> > system from being a practical hobbyist computer. It's a shame to see
>
> Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to recall there being people on
> this list who do use such systems at home.
>
That would be doubtful, but not totally impossible. It would be
interesting to hear from anyone who has one of the large VAX-11
computers for a hobby system. Other VAX systems might be more suitable
for home use, but the 11/780 through 8650 were massive power hogs. I
still have the power plug and receptacle from one of our 8650's. People
are always amazed that it was used to power a single computer. A 60 amp
3 phase circuit is out of the range of any type of residential electric
service.
However, I do run a PDP-11/70 at home. The PDP-11 systems are more
easily adapted to residential power because most of the system
components use 120V single phase power. Even though it can be done, it
still draws quite a bit of power and generates a great deal of heat.
--
Doug Carman
pdp11_at_bellsouth.net
Received on Thu May 24 2001 - 23:49:08 BST