VAX 11/780 anyone with some working experience out there?

From: Johnny Billquist <bqt_at_update.uu.se>
Date: Fri Dec 27 17:25:01 2002

On Fri, 27 Dec 2002, Gunther Schadow wrote:

> Johnny Billquist wrote:
>
> > It would flicker very briefly, but I suppose you should see some
> > action. Anyhow, the A or B button should light up if things are working.
> > I assume you have the cabling correct. You know. The total number of
> > cables between the UDA-50 and the disk must be an odd number.
>
>
> DANG! How could I make such stupid mistake! It's not like I had
> overcome this problem before ... so, thanks for reminging me.

No problemo. :-)

> >>The UDA-50
> >>shows the cycling pattern on the LEDs, not unlike the KDA-50 in
> >>my VAX6000s.
>
> > That's the normal idle pattern. Shows that the UDA-50 is working
> > correctly.
>
> The manual that I have mumbles something about the speed of the
> cycle pattern to be significant an might signal an error.

Hum. My manual don't mention anything about speed. Assume it's working
fine for now.

> Also,
> the question still is whether the cycling pattern says that the
> UNIBUS is connected properly ...

I don't think it does. It's just showing that the UDA-50 itself is
working. The outside world is not something it cares about. :-)

> I guess it doesn't have to be
> ever addressed by the CPU in order to be showing this pattern.

Correct.

> So, my address jumpers could still be wrong or the DW780 could still
> be screwed up a bit, right?

Yup.

> My main concern is that I think I should expect the UDA-50 to
> show a different blinking pattern when it is in fact addressed and
> is trying to access disks on the SDI cables.

It should.

> The cables being
> wrong of disconnected does not keep the KDA-50 from blinking
> differently. Since my UDA-50 always keeps cycling, it still looks
> as if I have a problem upstream.

Sounds like a correct diagnose. Still, might not show anything if no disks
are connected. I'm not sure about that situation.

> I guess I will try network booting the machine next. I did that
> with the uVAX II successfully, in the case of the 11/780 I will
> just have to load the boot program through kermit over the console.

That's one way. Another is if you happen to have a KDA50. Then you could
just dump NetBSD on a disk, and then boot it on the 11/780. NetBSD can
boot with VMB nowadays, and I'm certain you have VMB on your RX01.

> I guess the proper way would be to generate DEPOSIT commands for
> the boot loader (that otherwise would have been sent through MOP)
> and send them through Kermit, right? But darn, I don't have a
> DEUNA or DELUA ethernet but some other thing that may not even be
> supported ... actually, I may have a DEUNA hardware, but I don't
> know whether that is working...

If that other hardware don't behave like a DEUNA, you're in trouble,
yes...

        Johnny

Johnny Billquist || "I'm on a bus
                                  || on a psychedelic trip
email: bqt_at_update.uu.se || Reading murder books
pdp is alive! || tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol
Received on Fri Dec 27 2002 - 17:25:01 GMT