Herb's DEC items - also terminals & SCSI

This page Last updated Apr 8 2011

To email me or to order, see see my ordering Web page for my email addresses.

Introduction:

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.

Check our SHIPPING AND ORDERING INFORMATION before you order.
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.

On this page:

• MARCH & InfoAge PDP-11/20
• PDP-8/F system
• LINCtape drive
• Flip Chips
• PDP 11/73 systems!
• LSI-11 system
• PGT System 4 with LSI-11
• PDP-11 repair pulls
• Data General systems - sold

On other Web pages:

• SGI systems: Indy, Indigo, Indigo2, Octane, 320's... Also Sun stuff.
• SCSI drives and cases moved to another page
• SCSI-2 external drives and cases moved to another page
• larger selection of SCSI-1 drives, cases
• Terminals moved to another page
• Printers moved to another page
• other workstations and related items
• references from my customers

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.

Here's ordering info, contact info for these items.

MARCH & InfoAge PDP-11/20

For the MARCH computer museum group, I spent a year developing an exhibit and researching the history of an early PDP-11/20 system. Here's a portion of the Web pages and work I did. The system is on exhibit at MARCH's museum. While working with MARCH, I worked on their Calcomp plotter, my own Calcomp plotter, and got help from other plotter owners.

LSI-11 system

In April 2011 I picked up an LSI-11 (11/03) card and backplane in the DEC box. Look at the 11/03 card and Heath RAM on this Web page.

PDP-8/F system

I picked up a PDP-8/f system some years ago. I'm just starting to work with it in 2009: check this Web page about it.

Decwriter LA30-P, acquired early 2010. Nice match for the PDP-8. See this page for details.

LINCtape drive

A few years ago, I picked up this DECtape-like drive. In Aug 2009 I realized it's a LINCtape drive, probably produced in 1966 for a LINC computer of the period. Here's the bottom view. Some 2007-08 work on restoring LINC systems was done at Digibarn in northern California. Check the Digibarn site and other Web sites for the history of the LINC computer from its design and production in the late 1960's, through its influence on DEC and their early minicomputers. In August 2009 I'm corresponding with some LINC developers about the drive I have. See this LINC Web page for what I'm doing with this drive.

Flip Chips

In July 2009 I acquired a few early DEC "Flip Chips". This is a DEC trademark name for their logic modules of the 1960's and 70's. Each small circuit board has one or a few logic or analog functions. The earliest are transistor; most are TTL based. The PDP12.org Web site has a list of DEC modules, such as this list of G-series modules.

DM32 - TTL module, not DEC brand, built in 1971
G126 - dual 1KHz flip flop, built in 1972
G193 - programmable divider, built in 1969
G134 - one shot (pulse generator)
G192 - ???, built in 1970

PDP 11/73 systems!

I have two Micro 11/73 systems, rack mount. Both systems have TK50 tape drives, not tested. 1MB or 2MB memory apparently. 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.Check this Web page for photos and descriptions.

Alcyon system

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

DEC boards and disassembled systems

PGT System 4 with LSI-11

A few years ago 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. The purpose of these systems were to acquire & analyze signals and control a liquid nitrogen cooled x-ray detector mounted in a SEM (scanning electron microscope) port. When I got the computer system (but not the SEM!) it powered up and boots their operating software, which does chemical analysis. We disassembled this system in 2008 but kept the boards, rack, and monitor and drives. Look at this Web page for parts and details.

PDP-11 repair pulls

Among my core memory collection, in May 2009 I stumbled across this pair: a H219A core memory card and attached G649A Core x-y driver & sense/inhibit card. Don't know if they work of course; and "pdp-8.org"'s list of modules says this pair is "too slow for an 8/E" and presumably too slow my PDP-8/F. Additionally, the faster 8/A has the necessary hex bus width backplane and as an option the power supply to power this core. So, these boards are available as they won't fit my (or any other) 8/f system.

I also have two H217 PDP-11 core boards. One is a H217-B, one a H217-C. Here's the front and here's the rear of them. -B or -C look the same. The "lists" say "16-Kword 16-bit memory stack (with G114 and G235)", but I think one of these is 18-bit.

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
KDA50 M7164-00 dual SDI disk controller
KDA50 M7165-00 goes with above module
..and what is probably two power supplies, one from either end of the cage.

Links to useful DEC sites

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

Data General systems

In late July 2005 I acquired four Data General Nova 4 systems. They were banged up a bit but appeared to be intact. They were set up for 220V AC operation. Indications are these were built in the late 1980's, they may have been operating in the mid 1990's. I sold two of them in 2007, and traded the other two, a Nova 4/X and a Nova 4/C, in 2008 to David Comley.

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."

References

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

Terminals

Moved to my "terminals" Web page.

Printer manuals

Moved to my "terminals" Web page.

SCSI drives, sCSI-2 external drives, cases, cables, terminators

MOved to my SCSI drives Web page.

Digital tape drives

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

Copyright © 2011 Herb Johnson