Herb's DEC, DG & other equipment

This page Last updated Aug 07 2008

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To order, send an email message with your ZIP code or address (so I can quote shipping costs) and the items desired. My email address is on my ordering page as linked above. If you are making inquiries or comments, the postal address is not required of course.

I mostly deal in Mac and old S-100 equipment (pointers later). But I also obtain other old computers in the process. This section of my Web site lists Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC) items, and some systems like Data General and others. Also, we list related equipment like terminals, tape media, SCSI drives and so forth. Some of this equipment was previously listed on my SGI and Sun systems Web page. Despite their age, there is still interest in these systems.

If you are interested in these systems, you might be interested in other older computers. Check my my S-100 Web page to see all my S-100 (Altair, IMSAI, etc.) docs. Also check my Intel Multibus, STDbus and VME lists of docs and hardware I have.Some of these are Sun related.

Meanwhile, I have other activities on this Web site: Check my Home page for links to other sections on Astronomy and Optics; Apple Macinstosh stuff; S-100 computers and 8-inch floppy drives; SGI, Sun and DEC equipment; some "odds and ends" computer stuff; electronic and other test equipment; and personal information.

DEC equipment: systems, accessories, monitors

I acquired some DEC items, including some DEC terminals, and DEC monitors. They have been tested and appear functional to that extent; or not tested and as are described.

PGT System 4 with LSI-11

[PGT System 4] In July I acquired a Princeton Gamma Tech "System 4", which includes an LSI-11 board and other QBus cards, in a "small" rack system with color monitor and keyboard. It powers up and boots their operating software, which does chemical analysis. This system would be difficult to ship, we'd prefer pickup from central NJ (SUA), or we'd consider shipping it in parts. Weight under 200 lbs, and the base has good ball wheels.

The purpose of these were to acquire & analyze signals and control a liquid nitrogen cooled SiLi (silicon-lithium) x-ray detector that was mounted in a SEM (scanning electron microscope) port, also interfacing the electronics and providing analysis of microscopic features provided by the microscope. They were superseded by the System 4+ that had non-joined monitors and keyboards, although the bottom cabinets were similar. One System 4 was featured on the forensic MD TV show, "Quincy" with Jack Klugman. Forensic labs are still a big customer base.

The included items are in the rack. There is the LSI-11 chassis ; two 8-inch floppy drives (look like Shugart 851's) driven by a single board controller (probably SASI to floppy); and a number of PGT modules for analog processing and high voltage. (No hard drives.) When booted, the color monitor displays the opening message and requests date and time. The system is not Y2K, it complains about a two-digit year past 00! After this dialog it displays a graph and waits for function key or typed commands in the PGT application language. Most commands seem to require access to the floppy drive.

Some of the cards in the computer chassis are:
DEC M7270 dual width, CPU;
memory, 384-0226-001 rev G, looks like 64Kbytes
2 PGT boards, quad width, one is for plotter and video RGB monitor
SMS brand L/E-HIP, an interface to the floppy controller card
Sigma brand 4 port serial card
other cards
and the floppy controller card is outside the chassis.

The PGT modules below the computer rack are:
316 HIgh Voltage module
331B S.A. ADC analog to digital module
347 amplifier
310-10 DC supply and display and A/C power switch.

Alcyon system

I have an Alcyon computer system, a Qbus design with a 68000 processor. Check this Web page for details.

PDP-11 repair pulls

PDP-11 repair pulls In late 2005 I got some boards originally from PGT, which built some PDP-11 based equipment and so still serviced it. Many are tagged "good (some date)". But I can't test so sold AS IS.

SMS board w/60 pin connector. dual width labled 0003772-0001/f, 10011939-00001P, 0003770-0001F. probably disk controller? (4) boards
SMS board, quad width, 0004220, has flatcable connectors for 50 pin, 2X20 pin, 34 pin, 34 pin. 8085 chip, AM2910 chip. (2) boards

DEC M8192, dual width, KDJ11-A Processor (2) boards
DEC M7504, dual width, DEQNA. With apparent test or loopback jumper.

Sigma, dual width, 400200 looks like quad serial card.
quad width extender card. (1) has board edge connector, (1) does not.
TD Systems VIK/QDA, ROM with VIKING lable. dual width, Z80 chip and WD33C93 chip. SCSI controller card. 210-00031. 50-pin connector **SOLD**
Clearpoint RAM board, quad width QRAM-2 SAB-1. has 18 X 8 array of socketed TMS4256-15NL which I read as 256K 150ns DRAMs

Princeton Gamma Tech, TV-3I or TV-3K board. Quad width, 2114's, ROMs, AD7514 chips. I/O of some kind. (3) boards
Princeton Gamma Tech, CTI-1 model 4000 DAC driver, (2) Boards.
Princeton Gamma Tech, IBD II, TMS (32)4256-12 DRAMs (soldered) 40 pin connector.(2) Boards.
Princeton Gamma Tech, looks like IBD II, TMS (32)4256-15 DRAMs (soldered). 40 pin connector.

In March 2006 I acquired some DEC boards, mostly quad width, probably small VAX stuff. references to KA630 suggest MicroVax II systems. Condition unknown but look physically OK, they were nicely anti-stat bagged and labled. Sold AS IS. Prices modest, in 2006 these are apparently being dumped by the dealers.

M7608, quad width, "4Meg" lable. 50-16495-01 lots of 256Kbit RAM chips.
M7608 similar to above "4Meg for KA630"
M7608 similar to above
M7609 quad width "8 Meg" lable. Piceon 3MC94V0, SIP RAM chips.
M7606 quad width, 5016523 01 E1. Apparently MicroVAX/VAXstation II CPU
M7606 as above "KA630"
M7606 as above
M7168 quad width 5016745-01
M7169 quad width. with 7168 apparently the VCB02-B 4-plane (16 colors) video system.
M3104 "DHV11 8 line"
M7602, quad width, apparently a graphics board.
M4002 B, DUAL width, "real time clock" *SOLD*

PDP 11/73 systems!

PDP 11/73 systems! I have two Micro 11/73 systems, rack mount. Both come up and display at the console terminal. One has RSX-11 running some kind of "spectrometer" control/data acq. application; the other has a bad RD53A (Micropolis 1325D) MFM hard drive which shuts down. But the serial console is responsive andit runs through the start-up diagnostics. Both systems have TK50 tape drives, not tested. 1MB or 2MB memory apparently. Cabinet lable says "173QZ-D2" with Astec power supply AA12131, 345W on either. Cards below identified by model name on card tabs, descriptions are NOT GUARANTEED as every card not pulled and examined. Unpacked weight over 60 lbs; packed weight could be near 70 lbs.

The RSX11M booting 11\73 has a TK50 tape drive and a RD53A hard drive, and the following cards: M8190 KDJ11 CPU
M7551 MSV11 MOS RAM card
M7504 DEQNA with cable too DEQNA connector
M7546 TQK-50 tape controller for TK50
M7555 RQDX3 Winchester & floppy controller
--(RX50, RD50-54, RD31, RD32?) M9047 bus grant continuity
M7513 RQDX expander, with cable to rear 50-pin connector
adac card 1953-0, interface to some instrument.

The nonbooting 11/73 has a TK50 tape drive and a RD53A hard drive, and the following cards (check descriptions above): M8190; M7551
SKYMNK-02A-02 >> two quad width cards cabled together:
SKYMNK 02B-01 >> large chip Weitek 1516APC, PALs, etc.
---Sky Computer 1M flop 32-bit float co-processor for FFT calculations?
M7546 with internal cable
M7555 with internal cable
M7513 with cable to rear 50-pin connector
M7504 cabled to DEQNA connector
adac card 1953-0, interface to some instrument.
CQD-200/M by CMD Technology Inc, w/50-pin flat cable connector
---and 10 pin connector. Has 8086 processor, NCR5386? chip, etc.
---may be SCSI disk controller

other DEC stuff

DECpc 486stCase physically identical to DEC Alpha AXP-150. We have now recycled the computer cabinet but retained the cards and power supply. Available as parts or spares for your Alpha computer!Will sell for cost of shipping & packing, within US only.
DEC 486DX2 66MHz processor card and "optional processor" socket; 1.4 MB and 1.2MB (5.25 inch) floppy drives; 1GB DEC SCSI hard drive; power supply; ISA SCSI card (generic I think?); EISA video card (compac), ISA network card (generic, 10bt and thinnet); front bezel.

Vax 3500 system cards

I picked up a Vax system model 3500 a few years ago. It powered up and at the terminal displayed and provided diagnotics via the console serial port; it has 32Mb of RAM, an RK71 cartridge tape drive, a SCSI controller and a small internal SCSI drive, and some networking capability.

As of Sept 2005, I pulled the cards and power supplies. The card list is below:
Make offer for one or all cards, plus shipping
KA650-AA, two cards M7620-AA and M7621-AA, MicroVax IIICPU, w/serial console cable
(3)MS650-AA, the memory
DESQA-SA M3127-PA (thin thick Ethernet)
DELQA-SA M7516-PA, more ethernet?
TQK70 M7559-00, the tape controller
(lable fell off) SCSI controlller? Centronics. 50 connector on it *SOLD* KDA50 M7164-00 dual SDI disk controller
KDA50 M7165-00 goes with above module
..and what is probably two power supplies, one at either end of the cage.

Data General systems

In late July 2005 I acquired four Data General Nova 4 systems. They are banged up a bit but appear to be intact. However I will not power them up to test. They are set up for 220V AC operation. We'll sell a "system" as described (no guarantees it's complete), or individual cards or the card cage/power supply. NO GUARANTEES WHATSOEVER on these items, including completeness or of course operation. (But one Ethernet card sold in Nov 2005 was tested by the buyer and it worked.) They do not appear to be fried but they are certainly old. Indications are these were built in the late 1980's, they may have been operating in the mid 1990's.

For identification, read this quote from Carl Friend's site:

"Three models of Nova 4 were produced, the Nova 4/C, 4/S and the 4/X. The 4/S was the "standard" machine without a memory map and supported a maximum of 32 kW of mainstore. The 4/X, for "eXtended", had a map and could have up to 128 kW of mainstore. Hardware multiply/ divide was optional on both models. The map and MDV options were "adds" to the microcode control store. 4s came in both 5 and 16 slot backplane models. The Nova 4/C is a "compact" 4 which has the mainstore on the CPU card; the others used separate memory boards."

For all "systems" They consist of a card cage with multiple cards and a power supply card. the front of the cage is open, no covering panel. There is a panel to the left with a pair of switches and a power switch, which seems to be intact. There are fans on one side of each cage. I can't offer more information or assistance on these, I simply don't know, what I would know you can find on the Web or from other folks.

For a "system", shipping weight is about 55 pounds per system packed. United States order shipping will be cost of shipping by Fed Express ground plus $10 for PROPER packing by me, plus handling and effort. For shipping outside the US, most likely it will be US Mail Air mail and similar terms but we can discuss that.

Regarding price, we'll take offers. But I won't bother to sell any board for less than $10 plus shipping, or a backplane/case or power supply for less than $20 plus shipping. It's too much fuss to pack.

PLEASE refer to these systems by the identifying numbers 1 through 4.

#1 This Nova/4 system 8390-H2 was obtained as disassembled, I reassembled it but no guarantees on backplane connections or reassembly. Cards as follows:
MS-10 rev AC card, apparently serial/parallel card. has five flat cable connectors on front
with 20, 20, 40, 20 and 26 pins from left to right. two UART chips on board. AY-5-1013A.
DGC BBU memory card 3/4 populated with 4116-20's: 8 X 5 array and 8 X 11 array
DGC CPU 12V0, E0269332 but one chip, AM25905DC is BROKEN, appears physical damage only
SMC 12F by Minicomputer Technology 4-26 pin connectors, one 60-pin - apparently hard disk controller
Claflin and clayton Inc ENet model EC-10 --SOLD, tested OK by new owner.
DGC-3 power supply 220VAC
case is 5 slots, sLots marked I/O, I/o, I/O, memory, CPU (top to bottom)

#2 Nova 4 system s/n 055533-00xx, obtained fairly intact as follows:
SMC 12F card disk controller as described above
MCT-2410 from Microtech has two UARTs so prob. serial and I/O card
DGC 3VO CPU card
power supply at bottom of cage 220V AC

#3 Nova 4 system s/n E1134982 obtained fairly intact as follows: SOLD MAY 2006
interlan NI4010A ethernet card
MS-10 card, apparently serial/parallel card as described above
MCT-2410 from Microtech as described above
DGC 12V0 20711, CPU and memory card, 4 banks of 8 chips, 8116 RAM
power supply at bottom of cage 220 VAC

#4 Nova 4 system s/n E136518 obtained fairly intact as follows:SOLD MAY 2006
E-NEt PC10 ethernet card with 80C186 processor, (c)1992
MS-10 card rev AD, apparently serial/parallel card as described above
MCT-2410 rev Cfrom Microtech serial card as described above
DGC 12V0 20712, CPU and memory card power supply at bottom of cage 220V AC

Contact me if you have an interest in any or all the above.

Terminals

Tektronix 4001 graphics display terminal. This is the small model, green screen about 10 inches diagonal. Got it April 2001, at that time it would power up but was not functional. These were used in the 1970's for graphics, X-Y or vector drawing not raster scan.

LSI ADM-3A terminals

LSI ADM-3A terminals, the little blue Lear/Seigler terminals so popular and cheap in the early 1970's! A few available, let me know of your interest, but we don't plan to give them away. These will have lower case text, display 80 X 24 characters, and have basic cursor control and scrolling.

Units we sell will be clean and working as described, with little cosmetic damage to cabinet and keyboard. Price will depend on the CRT display. Our "best CRT" will have modestly bright and unfuzzy text; our "good CRT" will have dim but usable text. Our "poor CRT" will have text displays or CRTs which are working but not usable or with a lot of screen burn - these are intended for CRT replacement. Please don't ask for "perfect" or "like new", these are 20-25 years old! We test for basic functions but we don't guarantee EVERY function or EVERY feature. Cover for DIP switches NOT INCLUDED.

Here's some images of a "best CRT" ADM-3A terminal:
the front
the back
the side
the CRT's light "burn in" It is less noticable than this photo suggests.
the back ID plate and connectors
the screen with text displayed
the quality of character display

Prices will depend on what we have available, our time available, and market value. But in 2007 aprice for ANY ADM-3A would be no less than $99 plus shipping. We will also charge $15 for handling and packing, plus shipping costs. This covers packing materials and box, to protect these fragile CRT's in transit. THIS IS NOT A CURRENT OFFER OR QUOTE and WILL change. Shipping weight for an ADM-3A terminal is 45 lbs; that and your location relative to New Jersey USA will determine shipping costs.

For weak or cosmetically damaged CRTs, replacements have been available from a CRT vendor. The typical ADM-3A CRT is Samsung 12ZBY4N, white phosphor. If you plan to replace the CRT with a new/unused one, we can refer you to a source for CRT's. As of 2005 a rebuilt CRT was offered by them for $55 plus shipping. For a fee we MAY be able to replace a CRT in a terminal we sell you.

Some ADM manuals are available as photocopies, ask for costs of a copy:
..ADM-2 operator's handbook, polling descript. 80 pgs (half sized)
..ADM-3A operator's handbook, 50 pgs (half sized)
..ADM-3A Maintenance Manual, schematics, 110 pgs (full size)
Prices depend on whether you want full page copies, or half-page copies. Please describe the manuals and format you want.

SCSI drives

We have some small SCSI hard drives from our SGI systems. We don't reformat and retest these on SGI systems; we will see about other testing methods. But we can pull working drives from our various SGI and Sun systems and offer them as follows below. The "SCSI-1" drives have the old 50-pin flatcable connector used on Indy's and such; the "SCSI-2" have the D-shaped 68 pin connector such as used on O2's.

1GB SCSI-1, 1" tall, working, from SGI systems: $10 plus shipping
2GB SCSI-1, 1" tall, working, from SGI systems: $15 plus shipping
4GB SCSI-1, 1" tall, working from SGI systems; $20 plus shipping

1GB SCSI-2, 1" tall, working, from non-SGI systems: $10 plus shipping
2GB SCSI-2, 1" tall, working, from non-SGI systems: $15 plus shipping
4GB SCSI-2, 1" tall, working, from non-SGI systems; $19 plus shipping

I have several of the following drives, from a SCSI array:
micropolis 2217: 1.7Gb formatted, 5400 RPM, 10ms avr seek. $20 plus shipping
Micropolis 4221: 2.0Gb formatted, 7200 RPM, 8.9ms avr seek. $25 plus shipping
Both drives are "half height", typical 3.5 inch drives about an inch tall.
These drives have the usual 50-pin flat cable (SCSI-1) connector on them.

Stackable CD-ROM cabinets with drives, the cases "lock" together. Each case has an independent power supply and a pair of SCSI-1 connectors. We also have short SCSI-1 cables to connect them together. Add $10 to include the CD-ROM drive.
one CD-ROM case, 3.5" high, SCSI-1. $15.
two CD-ROM case, case 7" high, SCSI-1. $20.

We have a few Insite floppy drives, I325VM, untested. check this linked Web page for specifics.

External SCSI drives with SCS1-1 type connectors (like on the Indigo, the "Centronics" 50-pin D) are available on my Mac Web page's SCSI drive section.

We have several Toshiba 4X CD-ROM drives, model XM-5301B. Some SGI-supporting Web sites say that these are compatible with some SGI systems (one says not the Indigo 2). I have them available, check this link to my Mac section for prices and availability. Let me know if these are good for SGI's or not.

It seems some of my old Mac/Apple drives will also support some old DEC equipment. The Apple CD150 drive for instance is actually a Sony CDU-541-25 drive. The Apple CD-300 drive is actually a Sony CR-503C. I also have some 4X Toshiba XM-5301B drives. Check other sources to see if these drives can be used on your old DEC equipment.

SCSI-2 external drives, cases, cables, terminators

"SCSI-2" refers to the SMALL narrow D-shaped 50-pin connector. (NOT the LARGE 50-pin Centronics SCSI-1 connector!) The following are small white cabinets for external SCSI 2 drives. General measurements: about 10 or 11 inches wide by 10 or 11 inches long, 3 inches tall for the one-drive cabinets. They include an AC power supply, and they use a standard "computer" A/C power cord. While these held 5.25 inch SCSI drives, you can add "rails" to fit 3.5-inch SCSI drives. Cabinets have SCSI address switches but the wiring for these may not fit your drive's SCSI address jumpers. Prices do not include shipping. Shipping weight for single-drive cabinets is about 9 lbs; for double-drive cabinets about 12 lbs.

Photos of the one-drive cabinet:
Here's the outside; here's the inside; here's the back with SCSI-2 connectors.

external SCSI CD-ROM drives
SGI Grey cabinet, SCSI-1 connector (Centronix 50 pin) with Toshiba XM-5701 12X CD-ROM drives.
....Two units but only one power supply, has 5V & 12V three pin connector.
....CD-ROM drive and A/C supply $45 plus shipping. Drive only, $35 plus shipping.
PLextor PX-12TSe external CD-ROM, 12X drive, SCSI-2 connector. $35 plus shipping.
Glyph external CD-ROM, SCSI-2 connector, caddy-type drive. $25 plus shipping.
For more external SCSI CD-ROM drives, check my Apple Macintosh drives page

I have a number of SCSI-2 cables and terminators available. Contact me about SPECIFIC cable needs, especially for the drives and systems on this page.
SCSI-2 to SCSI-2, 12 inches to 24 inches, $8 with drive, $12 without.
SCSI-2 to SCSI-2, greater than 2 foot, $15 with drive, $20 without.
SCSI-2 passive terminator, $3 with drive, $6 without

Digital tape drives

Also check my odds Web page, for data tape media and drives.

Links to useful sites

This list is far from comprehensive. A Google search will find many good Web sites regarding the items listed on this page.

The Linux MIPS Web site has info on running Linux on SGI systems. Go there for details. It may be a little dated. There is a mailing list there. A voice says "plugh".

DBIT company supports PDP-11 emulation and also running PDP-11 cards from Intel/Pentium based computers. Check there for details.

References

My references for SGI, Sun and other sales are on my SGI Web page.

Herb Johnson
New Jersey, USA
follow this link to email @ me

Copyright © 2008 Herb Johnson