(last updated: 27-May-2017)
The current configuration is in its original 'as acquired' condition. I haven't changed any of the modules/cards or their order in the backplane.
This unit was acquired with an LSI-11 CPU (M7270) module installed, but in slot 5 which is an incorrect location for a CPU module, rather it should be in row 1. Further discovery and research (label on underside of cabinet cover) suggest that this system was originally equipped with a PDP-11/23 CPU module.
| H9275-A | A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q22/Q22 | 1 | M7270 : KD11-HA : LSI-11/2 CPU | M8044-BB : MSV11-DB : 8KW (16KB) Memory | ||
| 2 | M8043 : DLV11-J : 4-SLU | AED WINC 5/08 Controller | |||
| 3 | (empty) | (empty) | |||
| 4 | (empty) | (empty) | |||
| 5 | (empty) | (empty) | |||
| 6 | (empty) | (empty) | |||
| 7 | (empty) | (empty) | |||
| 8 | (empty) | (empty) | |||
| 9 | (empty) | (empty) | |||
20-Feb-2006
This unit was part of a large pickup in Longmont, Colorado.
05-Mar-2006
All right! Let's dig in!
I pulled the power connections from he back of the front panel. I also removed the ribbon cables from the M8043 4-SLU module. Unfortunately, all other ribbons were already loose so I'm not sure I'll be able to get it back as it should be.
Very nice! The top caover uses Dzus 1/4-turn fasteners. So easy! Unfortunately all four screws holding the front panel to the enclosure are missing and it just hangs there on the cables.
In trying to remove the card cage, I had to disconnect 3 power connectors in the rear by the backplane, and remove three wires from the M8016 module (photos).
The card cage contains:
1- (empty) | (empty) 2- M8028 | (empty) 3- M8043 | (empty) 4- M8044-BB | (empty) 5- M8016 | M7270 6- Scientific Micro Sys. 1001939-0001 / 003770-0001 | Data Translation DT2769 7- Data Translation EP058 (?DT2768?) | Data Translation DT3371 8- Data Translation DT3382-8DI -> 9- Alloy LSI-50 ->M8028 has a 4o-pin connector M8043 has (x4) 10-pin connectors M8016 has a 10-pin connectors SMS board has a 40-pin connector DT2769 has a 40-pin connector EP058 (?DT2768?) has (x2) 40-pin connectors DT3371 has a 20-pin connector DT3382 has both 20- and 40-pin connectors LSI-50 has a 34-pin connector
The front panel connection assemblies have the following labels on their respective connecting ribbon cables:
Serial Channels: (2) 20-pin ribbons split to (4) 10-pin ribbons: 1,2,3,4 CF Analog Output: (1) 20-pin ribbon: 3371 (pin 1 at top) RTC: (1) 40-pin ribbon: 2769 (pin 1 at top) DI Analog Inputs: (1) 20-pin ribbon: 3382-DI (pin 1 at top)
There is a card cage contents label/sticker on the underside of the top cover which I photo'd, but it doesn't match what is in the system. It shows the original configuration to be:
1- KDF11 & KEF11AA | D4 Interface 2- DLV-11-J (177560) | 256KB Memory 3- LDT3382-DI (771420) -> 4- LDT2768 (167770) | LDT3371 (771140 / 420) 5- LDT2769 (170420) | (empty) 6- (empty) | (empty) 7- (empty) | (empty) 8- (empty) | (empty) 9- KPV-11-A (177546) | (empty)
So, obviously, the CPU and memory have been swapped out, and what the 'D4 Interface' happens to be is anyone's guess. Plus, the M8028 SLU and the Alloy LSI-50 has been added to the system somewhere along the line.
Interestingly, this card cage has an aluminum cover over the top of the cage itself. I've not seen that before. It almost appears handmade, but I don't think it was.
I had to reattach two of the plastic slide guides in the card cage that had popped free on the front end. Also had to reattache the rear of another guide on the other side of the cage.
There are two OEM power supplies in this system. It appears that the larger one supplies 5V and the smaller one 12V. I've decided to try thise power supplies witht he card cage power disconnected. Yippee! The fans spin up!
I closed the cage with the aluminum top cover. Before this I removed all of the boards and vacuumed the cage and the backplane. I also photo'd all of the non-DEC boards to help with later identification. I reinstalled the cage in the enclosure using the three slide-clip attachements. I connected all of the power cables to the backplane.
I reinstalled all of the boards, according to the way that I found them. Obviously, the M7270 needs to go into slot 1, and I'll move it when I'm ready to do some operation checkouts. Based on information gotten from the web (see below), perhaps there was a M8186 installed in Slot 1 previously. Don't know if the backplane is 16-bit, 18-bit, or 22-bit. That will be determined, and then we'll know if the M7270 is useable in this system or not.
I reattached the 4-SLU port expansion board to the front bezel cables, but left all of the other cables disconnected from the other cards.
I just noticed that there is a cutout in the bottom panel, no dobut to allow ribbon cables to other devices. Must be how the mass storage was hooked up, probably to the Alloy card. Might have been a tape drive. Unfortunately, it's all lost to me now.
I was scrounging for some replacement screws for holding the fron panel, but didn't find anything. Well, I DID find 4 screws that are too long, but they DO allow temporary attachement of the front bezel, at least enough to keep it in place.
I closed up the system (Dzus fasteners on the top cover!).
09-Mar-2006
While surfing the web looking for information on the DATAX and possibly the boards inside, I came across two different postings by the same guy in two different news groups. The first was to the vmsnet.pdp-11 group:
http://groups.google.com/group/vmsnet.pdp-11/browse_thread/thread/27fb9b01f54de04f/47446e28d0d38899?lnk=st&q=dt4253-dr&rnum=2#47446e28d0d38899
Q-bus box and stuffFrom: Douglas W. Jones Date: Wed, Aug 19 1992 8:06 am
I recently picked up the following stuff at a university surplus sale. I don't really want it, but I hate to see what might be decent computer equipment go to the landfill. What's this stuff worth, to you, if you want it, or if not, how should I get it to someone who can use it?
(Note, I've included price information for stuff where I could, mostly from my Federated Consultant's Summer Sale price list -- That's also the list I used to map from DEC's module numbers to useful descriptions of the boards. This price information is really meaningless, because I don't know that any of this stuff works.)
1) A Q-bus backplane (H9275A, 9 slot quad), in rack mount enclosure with power supplies, fan, and front panel with reset and power switches. Made by Data Translation, model DT4253-Dr, SN 5051
This is really a nice package; the fans and power supplies alone are probably worth $40.
2) A Q-bus backplane (DDV-11B, 9 slot hex).
3) M7270 (KD11-H) LSI-11 (PDP-11/02) CPU. Retail price $125
4) M8186 (KDF11-A) PDP-11/23 CPU (missing an option chip, the MMU?). Retail price $225
5) M8044 BB Memory. Retail price $65
6) M8028 (DLV11-F) EIA or Current Loop serial board. Retail price $85
7) M8043 (DLV11-J) 4 channel EIA serial board. Retail price $125
8) M8016 function unknown, but might have something to do with power.
9) Texas Instruments TMM10010-01 Q-bus mem. board, ASSY 1700150-02, SN 0705.
10) Data Translation EP057 Rev J, SN 72421-317; function unknown, but has 40 pin berg connector, 10Mhz crystal.
11) Data Translation EP125 MCP Rev D, P/N 02181, SN 68452-306, quad height. Has DT5712 analog mux and analog to digital converter module. Has DC-DC converter, +5 to +/-12.
12) Data Translation EP075 Rev F, SN 73682-301. Has DT212 12-bit digital to analog converter module. Has DC-DC converter, +5 to +/-12.
13) Data Translation EP058 Rev F, SN 76622-329.
14) LSI 50 Alloy Eng CPD, SN 5115, quad height. Function unknown. Has 40 pin Berg connector.
15) Scientific Micro Systems Prog Assy 1001939-0001, Assy No 0003770-0001, SN LE8056, function unknown, but could be ROM. Has 40 pin Berg connector. Has 20 MHZ crystal.
All of the boards had been pulled from their original slots in the backplanes by the time I got to the pile, although I think that all of the Data Translation cards and most of the others came from the Data Translation box (item 1).
I'd appreciate any advice I can get (by E-mail) about finding a home for this stuff. If you know of places that buy old DEC stuff on the gamble that some of it might work, or if you know of PDP-11 hobbyists who might want the stuff as spare parts, please tell me.
At the worst, the stuff is good for parts, but I'd guess that much of it is still functional. Doug Jones j...@cs.uiowa.edu
The second was posted to the sci.psychology:
http://groups.google.com/group/sci.psychology/browse_thread/thread/a96308d2db4b4dab/8901cd51a0670d8c?lnk=st&q=dt4253-dr&rnum=1#8901cd51a0670d8c
Data Translation PDP-11 HardwareFrom: Douglas W. Jones Date: Wed, Aug 26 1992 2:57 pm
Since I understand that hardware made by Data Translation is sometimes used in psychological experiments, I thought I'd see if I can get in touch with users of such equipment through this newsgroup.
For the curious, Data Translation makes analog to digital converters (and visa versa), and they make packages containing such converters and associated computers.
Anyway, I bought a Data Translation box, model DT4253-Dr, SN 5051, at a surplus sale because it looked like it might hit the landfill if I didn't, and now I'm trying to find a home for it, or more likely, someone who can use the pieces as spares for old Data Translation or DEC PDP-11 hardware they might be using.
I'll get rid of any or all of it for shipping costs plus whatever you think it's worth to you.
Here's what was in the box (and also the box, for that matter):
1) A Q-bus backplane (H9275A, 9 slot quad), in rack mount enclosure with power supplies, fan, and front panel with reset and power switches. This is really a nicely packaged system!
2) I also have A Q-bus backplane (DDV-11B, 9 slot hex), left over from another surplus purchase (I needed the rack mount slides).
3) DEC M7270 (KD11-H) LSI-11 (PDP-11/02) CPU.
4) DEC M8186 (KDF11-A) PDP-11/23 CPU (missing an option chip, the MMU?). Someone bid $50 on this, conditional on CPU revision level, so you may be out of luck.
5) DEC M8044 BB Memory.
6) DEC M8028 (DLV11-F) EIA or Current Loop serial board.
7) DEC M8043 (DLV11-J) 4 channel EIA serial board.
8) DEC M8016 function unknown, but might have something to do with power.
9) Texas Instruments TMM10010-01 Q-bus mem. board, ASSY 1700150-02, SN 0705.
10) Data Translation EP057 Rev J, SN 72421-317; function unknown, but has 40 pin berg connector, 10Mhz crystal.
11) Data Translation EP125 MCP Rev D, P/N 02181, SN 68452-306, quad height. Has DT5712 analog mux and analog to digital converter module.
12) Data Translation EP075 Rev F, SN 73682-301. Has DT212 12-bit digital to analog converter module.
13) Data Translation EP058 Rev F, SN 76622-329.
14) LSI 50 Alloy Eng CPD, SN 5115, quad height. Function unknown. Has 40 pin Berg connector.
15) Scientific Micro Systems Prog Assy 1001939-0001, Assy No 0003770-0001, SN LE8056, function unknown, but could be ROM. Has 40 pin Berg connector.
All of the boards had been pulled from their original slots in the backplane by the time I got to the pile, although I think all of the Data Translation cards and most of the others came from the Data Translation box.
I'd appreciate any advice I can get (by E-mail) about finding a home for this stuff. At the worst, the stuff is good for parts, but I'd guess that much of it is still functional. If you want anything, you'll have to pay postage (UPS surface delivery). If you expect there to be competition for a part, make me an offer above postage. I'll send to the highest bidder, but don't write a checks for more than the postage until you see if what you get works, since I don't know if any of it is any good. I don't want any of it back, though.
Doug Jones j...@cs.uiowa.edu
Interesting thing to note is that this is the very unit that I have! The model and serial numbers are a match!
So this guy got this stuff sometime in 1992, and eventually it made its way to Colorado. Amazing!
Both the M8186 11/23 CPU board and the TI memory boards are missing from this original inventory, but everthing else is here!
03-Nov-2006
I'm ready to test this system, at least the CPU, and see if I can revive it.
I removed all of the cards from the cage and photographed them. I checked them for configuration:
M7270 : KD11-HA + KEV11 : LSI-11/2 CPU + FPP - s/n AB81925571 - Master clock enabled (W1 installed) - Event line interrupt enabled (W3 removed) - Power up mode 2 (begin execution at 173000) (W5 removed, W6 installed)M8028 : DLV11-F SLU (etch D) - s/n AB03705508 - CSR at 177560 (standard console) (A3,A7 removed; A4-A6,A8-A12 installed) - Vector at 60 (standard console) (V3,V6-V8 removed; V4,V5 installed) - Recv 9600 baud (R1-R3 removed; R0 installed) - Xmit 9600 baud (T1-T3 removed; T0 installed) - Break generation enabled (BG installed) - Parity disabled (P removed) - Odd parity (E removed) - 8 data bits (1,2 removed) - Programmable buad rate disabled (PB removed) - Common speed operation selected (C,C1 installed; S,S1 removed) - Halt on framing error enabled (H installed) - Boot on framing error disabled (B removed; -B installed) - Active 20ma receiver (1A,2A,3A installed; 1P,2P removed) - Active 20ma transmitter (4A,5A installed; 3P,4P removed) - Error flags enabled (EF installed) - Maintenance bit disabled (MT removed) - (Test jumpers M,M1 removed)
M8043 : DLV11-J 4-SLU - s/n AB207ABFJ1 - CSR at 176500 (A5,A9=0; A6 installed; A7 removed; A8,A10-A12=1) - Vector at 300 (V5=0; V6,V7 installed) - Channel 3 as Standard Console (CSR=177560,Vector=60) (C1,C2=1) - Halt on Channel 3 BREAK (X=H) - Channel 0: 8 bits, 1 stop bit, odd parity disabled (E,S=0; D,P=1) 9600 baud (0=N) EIA RS232C selected (M0=3; N0=3) - Channel 1: 8 bits, 1 stop bit, odd parity disabled (E,S=0; D,P=1) 9600 baud (1=N) EIA RS232C selected (M1=3; N1=3) - Channel 2: 8 bits, 1 stop bit, odd parity disabled (E,S=0; D,P=1) 9600 baud (2=N) EIA RS232C selected (M2=3; N2=3) - Channel 3: 8 bits, 1 stop bit, odd parity disabled (E,S=0; D,P=1) 9600 baud (3=N) EIA RS232C selected (M3=3; N3=3)
M8044-BB : MSV11-DB 8KW (16KB) Non-parity RAM - s/n 29286 (on handle) - Starting address of 0000000 (S1:1-5 closed) - Powered normally (W2,W3 installed; W4,W5 removed) - No parity supported (5-7 installed; 5-6 removed) - 8KW (16KB) memory installed (15-17,12-14 installed) - Lower 2K of Bank 7 not enabled (1-3 installed; 1-2 removed)
M8016 : KPV11-A Power-Fail / Line-Time Clock - s/n 252F (on handle) - CSR at 177546 (W1-W5,W7,W8 installed; W6,W9,W10 removed) - LTC requests not program controlled (W12 removed; W13 installed) - Panel LTC On/Off switch enabled (W14 installed) - LTC at power line frequency (W15 installed)
: Scientific Micro Systems 3770-01 - W1,W2,W4-W7 removed; W3,W8,W9 installed - Jumper block: 1-16,2-15,5-12 intact; 3-14,4-13,6-11,7-10,8-9 cut -
- identified as the LSI-11 interface board for the SMS FW series of floppy/Winchester add-on storage subsystems. : (?)Data Translation DT2769 (EPO57 Rev. J) - SW1: 1-3,5-7 off; 4,8 on - SW2: 1,2,4,5,7,8 off; 3,6 on - SW3: 2,4-8 off; 1,3 on
: Data Translation ??? (EPO58 Rev. F) - SW1: 1 off; 2-8 on - SW2: 3,6-8 off; 1,2,4,5 on
: Data Translation DT3371 (EPO75 Rev. F) - CSR at 171140 (A3,A4,A7,A8,A10,A11 removed; A5,A6,A9,A12 installed) - Vector at 420 (V3,V5-V7 removed; V4,V8 installed)
: Data Translation DT3382-8DI (EP125 Rev. D) - (many jumpers W1-W54?)
: Alloy Engineering LSI-50 (TS-11 emulation?) - (no user configuration) - CSR at 172520 (A2,A3,A5,A7,A9,A11 removed; A4,A6,A8,A10,A12,A13 installed) - Vector at 224 (V3,V5,V6,V8 removed; V2,V4,V7 installed) - NOTE: Googling shows that this is a QIC-24 type tape device controller for a DC300XL/P cartridge drive with a 45MB capacity.
Looks like the M8028 SLU and M8043 4-SLU boards would conflict over the standard console address. I don't know if these particular boards were ever run together in this system, but here they are!
I had some trouble figuring out what kind of backplane I had, but at last I think I confirmed that it is a Q22/Q22 backplane, and so each dual slot must be filled for the interrupt grant chain to work.
Finally, after getting all of the boards' configurations examined and recorded, I installed only the M7270 CPU, M8044-BB 8KW RAM, and M8043 4-SLU boards in the backplane:
AB CD 1- M7270 M8044-BB 2- M8043
This is the minimal system that should work. I first tried to use the system's own serial ports on the front panel, but couldn't get any output to show on the monitor using my 9-to-25-pin VAX console cable. I then switched to a spare x4 25-pin cable assembly, and using a null modem adapter, a male-to-male gender changer and a straight-through serial cable I got output! Wahoo! It's alive, it's alive, it's alive!
All I get, of course, is just the ODT prompt, but that is a very good sign. I tried storing and retrieving various values in memory and processor registers. They all worked fine. Memory was available up to 037777 which is correct for my 8KW (16KB) RAM board. Yeehaw!
04-Nov-2006
I'm having trouble getting Will Kranz' TU58 emulator to work with this system. I'm using my Compaq Armada laptop as the emulator, and have it connected via null-modem cable to the first 'regular' serial port, Channel 0 (not the console port on Channel 3). I key in the bootloader fine, but when I execute it, I get halts at various places, and it just won't run successfully. I wonder if it's the SLU, or something else, like where I have the boards in the backplane.
Oh, by the way, I finally noticed labels on the front panel ribbon cables assemblies (from left to right):
- "1", "2", "3", "4" : "Serial Channels" with four DB9 serial ports - "3371" : "CP Analog Output" with 7-BNC ports - "2769" : "RTC" with 5 BNC ports, 2 switches, 2 trimmers - "3382-DI" : "DI Analog Inputs" with 9 BNC ports, 1 banana plug
which are obvious hints as to which boards they belong to. Of course, all of the necessary software is long gone, but at least I know what to do with the cables.
Because I was seeing erratic indications on the RUN light, along with a buzzing/whining from the power supply, I guessed that the system load was too low, and the power supply was having trouble maintaining a stable voltage. I reinstalled all of the boards, in serpentine fashion, and tried it.
The power supply is now much happier, but I didn't see a console prompt. (Turns out I didn't have the proper Channel 3 cable connected!) I pulled the M8028 SLU card thinking that was conflicting with the M8043 4-SLU card. Well, after hooking up the correct Channel 3 cable, it works! I believe that someone, somewhere along the line, put the M8028 into the card cage, just to get it 'put away somewhere'. I should put it into my spares inventory, eventually.
Well, with all of the DTC cards installed, the system boots to some ROM code on some board, somewhere, and executes. The RUN light comes on and stays on. I can BREAK into the console ODT mode, which I did and entered Will's TU58 bootstrap loader. It works! Unfortunately, the RT11 disk image that I'm using won't run in 8KW memory space (it needs a minimum of 12KW), and errors out to the console with:
@1000G ?BOOT-U-Insufficient memory000724 @
but this is all really good. I think the system is alive and well. Just needs more memory, and some kind of mass storage.
By the way, the RUN/HALT switch doesn't seem to do anything. If the CPU is running, it will continue running (RUN light stays lit), even when the switch is set to HALT. To halt the processor, I have to BREAK from the keyboard (F5 on the LK401).
15-Nov-2006
I removed the M8028 SLU (s/n AB03705508) from the system cabinet and put into my Dual Spares box.
I then removed the M8044-BB 8KW memory module and replaced it with the M8044-DB 32KW memory module from my Dual Spares box.
I powered up and loaded the bootstrap for Will's TU58 emulator, and it loaded RT-11 just fine! So this memory board works, and it helps to prove that this system as a whole is working nicely. Next, I'm going to connect the AEC WINC 05/8 unit to this system as it's hard storage and see how that goes. The other option is to connect the one of the two free RX02 units and go with that.
16-Nov-2006
After reviewing the original configuration label on the underside of the top cover, I moved the M8016 : KPV11-A Power-Fail / Line-Time Clock module to row 9AB, which helps to keep the AC wires out of the way.
I pulled out the M8029 RXV12 RX02 controller from my Dual Spares box and added it to the system in the slot formerly occupied by the M8016. I then connected the desktop RX02 subsystem to that.
I first tried to boot to the floppy subsystem using the bootloader given in the DIGITAL Microcomputer Interfaces Handbook (1980), but upon execution, I heard the head relays click, and then I dropped back to the ODT console prompt.
Then I booted to Will's TU58 emulator, which went just fine, and then I tried to do a directory of the DY0: device. It just hung there until I pressed ^C a few times, which, along with a head relay click, got me back to the command prompt.
Trying to do a BOOT DY0: command proved fatal with the system eventually halting and dropping out to the ODT prompt.
After swapping in (and back out again) the known good M8029 RX02 controller from the 4.5' rack's 11/23, and seeing the same results (thus the swap out), I started figuring out that some other board was conflicting with the floppy controller. There are several DTC boards, the Alloy LSI-50 and the SMS board, all of which have some unknown function, and with unknown configurations.
I pulled all of these boards, leaving just the CPU, memory, 4-SLU, and RX02 controller and powered up:
AB CD 1- M7270 M8044-BB 2- M8043 M8029 9- M8016
Unfortunately, the power supplies were not seeing enough load, and I kept getting spurious reboots. Figuring that the DTC DT3382-8DI A/D converter board was probably the most benign, I reinstalled it in the backplane. This gave enough load to keep the power supplies happy:
AB CD 1- M7270 M8044-BB 2- M8043 M8029 5- DTC DT3382-8DI -> 9- M8016
I again booted to Will's TU58 emulator, and sure enough, the floppy devices are now functional! So, that's good news for this spare floppy controller. Now we know that it works.
Trying to locate more information on the Data Translation boards, I came across:
http://www.kuno.de/kunden/kch/datatranslation.htm
which gives some tiny amount of information on what the boards are:
DT2769 (EPO57 Rev. J) : RTC Interface wie KWV11-C (EPO58 Rev. F) DT3371 (EPO75 Rev. F) DT3382-8DI (EP125 Rev. D) : 8-channel A/D converter
Hey, I just realized that the DT2769 might be conflicting with the DEC M8016 that is still in the backplane. Hmm...could it be? Why would I have two LTC boards???
From:
http://www.gdca.com/product-list-beta.asp?Bus_ID=99&MFG_ID=3
I saw this information:
Scientific Micro Systems 1001939-0001 : LE INTERFACE
This number matches the PROG ASSY number on my board, so maybe I've been looking for the wrong thing (003770-0001). But what's an LE Interface, anyway? I found a reference in the classiccmp.org mailing list archive:
http://www.classiccmp.org/pipermail/cctalk/2000-September/157419.html
that seems to indicate that this is one board of a two-board set that provided MSCP-style floppy and hard disk devices. I wonder if this board is the floppy side of that and that might explain the conflict with the floppy controller. That's my thinking at this point anyway.
(see more operational testing reports in the AED WINC-05/8 notes.)
19-Nov-2006
I need to determine what the pinouts are for the four DB9 serial channel ports on the front panel. Here's what I came up with:
IDC-10 - female
+------------+
| 1 3 5 7 9 |
| 2 4 6 8 10 |
+------------+
DB9 - female
-----------
( 5 4 3 2 1 )
\ 9 8 7 6 /
'-------'
IDC-10 DB-9
------ ----
1 ............ 5 UART clock (16x baud rate)
2 ............ 3 Signal ground
3 ............ 2 Transmit data +
4 ............ 1 Transmit data - (grounded for RS-423)
5 ............ 6 Signal ground
6 . key
7 ............ 7 Receive data -
8 ............ 8 Receive data +
9 ............ 9 Signal ground
10 ............ 4 +12V
So, an appropriate pigtail conversion cable for use with an RS-232C terminal would be:
DB-9 DB-25 ---- ----- chas ............. 1 8 .............. 2 Receive data 2 .............. 3 Transmit data 7 .., 9 ..| 3 .............. 7 Signal ground
Also, I discovered that though the ribbon cable pigtails are labeled '1', '2', '3', and '4', they are actually connected to the front panel ports this way:
IDC-10 '1' DB-9 'CONSOLE/CH3' IDC-10 '2' DB-9 'CH2' IDC-10 '3' DB-9 'CH1' IDC-10 '4' DB-9 'CH0'
It would seem that the bulkhead assembly has been removed and reinstalled top-to-bottom, which would create this strange mapping of port numbers. I'll remove the assembly and reverse it back, which should give me the correct label correlation of:
IDC-10 '1' DB-9 'CH0' IDC-10 '2' DB-9 'CH1' IDC-10 '3' DB-9 'CH2' IDC-10 '4' DB-9 'CONSOLE/CH3'
Oops. The front panel cutout for the DB9s is oriented one way, so I can't flip the DB9 assembly. I'll have to just renumber the IDC cable ends. I did...'0' through '3'. So it is now labeled:
IDC-10 '0' DB-9 'CH0' IDC-10 '1' DB-9 'CH1' IDC-10 '2' DB-9 'CH2' IDC-10 '3' DB-9 'CONSOLE/CH3'
25-Nov-2006
With some help from classiccmp.org list members I have identified the SMS 1001939-0001 / 003770-0001 mystery board. It is the Qbus interface for the SMS FW Floppy/Winchester Disk subsystem. Turns out that the documentation for the subsystem is online at bitsavers.org, and the board matches what is described in the documentation. The SMS model designation for the complete Qbus-based subsystem is the "FWT01".
A list member mentioned that he has the disk drive box and formatter board, but not this interface card and asked to arrange some kind of trade. We're discussing it.
[FOLLOW UP NOTE: A trade was arranged. In exchange for the SMS board I received a DEQNA Q-Bus ethernet board and mounting brackets for a BA-11N box.]
09-Dec-2006
Still trying to sort out the problem with no power coming into the system since fiddling with the AVIV QSA board. I tested the front panel power switch and it is functioning fine. The fuses are all intact. I decided to take a closer look at the AC cord socket and while trying to remove the 'hot' black wire with crimped connector from L (Line?) terminal on the AC plug, the black wire pulled out of the connector! Now I have to fix that! Argh! Anyway, I took a couple of photos of the cables that come in and out of this assembly.
It's a pretty tightly packed set of wires, but here is a rundown, that I hope will guide me when I reassemble:
A- n/c B- BLACK to white insulated cable C- BLACK to terminal strip 1 D- BLACK to terminal strip 9 E- WHITE to terminal strip 6 E2-WHITE to terminal strip 4 F- WHITE to white insulated cable J- WHITE to N (Neutral?) on AC plug
Sounding out the terminals, I found these internal connections:
B-C-D E-F-J
L is fused to AC plug hot wire.
E---white--->6
E2--white--->4
F---white---(power switch lamp)
-\ /-------N---J
AC )====(
-/ \--|~|--L-------(panel safety switch)---+
B-----(power switch/lamp)---+
C---black--->1
D---black--->9
Well, well, well! While sounding out the white insulated cable at the power switch assembly end, the darn 3-pin molex connector just fell off! This is probably explains the trouble I'm having powering the system. The wires are so old, the insulation is so stiff, that I'll bet that my repeatedly pulling off and putting back on the front panel has flexed this too much, and the tiny length of uninsulated wire gave up and broke off. I'm going to have to check the 5-pin connector too. It's probably suffering also.
The red connecter, when looking at the holes is ordered:
1 2 3 o o oso, the pins on the switch assembly J1 are:
3 2 1 o o owith these connections to the labeled PCB wire points:
3 - AC HI 2 - AC RET - LAMP 1 1 - LAMP 2
Now the question is which wire from the cable goes to which pin in the red connector!?
I believe the cabling worked this way:
BLACK external wire - Pin 3 - AC HI BLACK sheathed wire - Pin 2 - AC RET - LAMP 1 WHITE sheathed wire - Pin 1 - LAMP 2
This should be correct since the WHITE wire is the 'common' and is tapped off of the fuse/AC assembly, and the BLACK,external wire is the 'hot' and is tapped off of the L terminal on the fuse/AC assembly. So the 'hot' wire comes from the fuse, to the safety switch, then to the power switch, and returns back to terminal B on the fuse/AC assembly. This closes the circuit for electricity to flow from the B-C-D terminals to the load, and return to the E-F-J terminals completing the circuit. The power switch lamp is simply another load, served via terminals B and F. I'd know for sure if I had it right, since if I had the two black wires swapped, the power switch lamp would light up whenever the AC cord was plugged in. As it is, since the power switch lamp has never worked, I'll have to confirm with a voltmeter.
Also, while scanning the whole switch assembly, I noted that a trace is cut connecting the HALT/RUN switch Pin 3 with Pin 3 on the 5-pin connector. Instead the 5-pin connector Pin 3 is connected to the HALT/RUN switch Pin 1, using a jumper wire. I wonder if this explains why the HALT side of the switch has no effect to system operation. It appears that someone has hardwired the switch to RUN mode. I could return the switch assembly to normal by simply disconnecting the jumper from Pin 1 and connecting it to Pin 3. I'll think about it.
The power cable fix works! Ha! I obviously got the wire placements correct. Whew!
I didn't change the HALT/RUN switch jumper wire. I'll think about that a bit more. But I figure I'd better sound out the connections before the other wires break.
The 5-pin red molex, looking at the end of the connector:
1 2 3 4 5 o o o o oThe 10-pin IDC on the backplane, looking at the pins (k=key):
1 2 3 k 5 6 7 8 9 10
So, the 10-pin IDC cable, looking at the end of the IDC connector:
2 1 k 3 6 5 8 7 10 9
So, this is the connection arrangement:
Red Molex 10-pin IDC
--------- ----------
1 ------------ 7 red
2 ------------ 3 green
3 ------------ 9 white
4 ------------ 10 orange
5 ------------ 5 black
I was unable to reliably sound out the molex pins 2 and 3. I decided to cut away the shrink wrap, expecting to find some broken wires. Sure enough, just like the 3-pin power connector, there are two broken wires, green and white. Based on the curvature of the wires, I think I have their pins correctly identified. Now I confirmed the molex pins 2 and 3. Fixed. After scanning each board's image, I'll plug them in and try it out. Maybe the HALT switch will work now; perhaps it was a broken wire, rather than the rework on the switch assembly PCB.
Gee, I hope I got the green and white wires in their correct positions. I put the boards back in the system, and I can't get anything out of the console. The RUN light was flickering with only the CPU, Memory, and 4-SLU boards. I put in the LTC board and the quad-wide DT board, as I had done previously, and now the RUN light remains out, but still no console output. I don't even see a momentary RUN light when I restart. Uh, oh. Now what? Time to do what I should have done before...research the signals on the backplane connector.
The BA11-N box print set shows this pinout for the front panel assembly 10-pin connector, which I've noted with the corrosponding wire color (as I figure it):
B POK H - 1 2 - B EVENT
(green) S RUN L - 3 4 - (key)
(black) GND - 5 - 6 - GND
(red) +5V - 7 8 - (spare)
(white) B HALT L - 9 10- B DCOK H (orange)
I pulled all of the wires from the 5-pin molex to check them. It looks like a couple of the metal inserts are spread too wide to make reliable contact, so I may have to re-do the fix. There is too much solder in several of them, too, that prevents complete insertion in the red molex casing. So, I'll resolder all the wires and maybe by getting the connection reliably made that might be all I need. But, I still wonder about having the green and white wires swapped. My review of the print set suggests that no damage will have been done if that is the case, so that's good. Still, need to confirm the correct placement.
Okay, when the HALT/RUN switch is in the HALT position, it closes a circuit between GND and the pin 3 of the molex. So that should be the B HALT L signal (white), right? Or are the 'B' lines inputs and the 'S' lines outputs? If that is true, then I guess the switch would basically pull S RUN L (green) low, but that would mean RUN, right? I'm confused.
Reading the Microcomputers and Memories (1981) handbook tells me that when BHALT is asserted L, it will cause the processor to halt. So that would be the white wire that should be connected to the HALT/RUN switch. When the switch is on HALT, it grounds Pin 3, so that should be the BHALT signal line, which is the (white) wire. So, I have the correct wires correctly identified after all.
My problems must be because the connections are not reliable, with some of the metal inserts being too wide.
18-Dec-2006
I re-soldered each of the connector pins on the 5-pin molex connector. I'm very confident that I have them correctly in place, and that the connector pins themselves are making contact. Why the RUN light no longer comes on is still a mystery. I don't have a console connected at the moment, but based on past experience I should see the RUN light come on, at least momentarily.
28-Jul-2007
After six months, my memory had faded and I couldn't recall whether the LAB DATAX was operational or not, after my rewiring. Without bothering to re-read these notes, I went ahead and pulled the system onto my work table and connected it up with the AEC WINC subsystem. I installed just three boards - the CPU, Memeory, and SLU - in order to check out the system. It fired right up! No problems.
I went ahead and used the system as a platform for testing the CPU and memory boards from both H11A systems. I also tried to test the Heathkit H-11-5 Serial boards, but the results were no good. But it is probably a wiring issue, so no conclusions yet.
Anyway, now that I read these notes again today, I think I have a theory on the RUN light issue from last December. During my adventures testing the H11A boards, I discoverd that one can run the CPU board in any slot, as long as the other boards follow in sequence. But, if the CPU is not in the Slot 1, rows AB, then the Run light will not indicate. All else works fine, but the RUN light stays dark. So, I believe that the signal line that drives the RUN indicator is only found (on this backplane anyway) only in the Slot 1 row AB position. With the CPU in that location, the RUN indicator works as it should.
21-Nov-2009
I need some more formatted floppies for use with my other PDP-11 systems, and since this system is capable of formatting blanks, I need to get it fired up. It's been a long time since I worked with this system, so I need to refresh my memory and make sure that the system configuration is as it should be (I've used this system as a test bed for spare boards).
First, I took the opportunity to record the serial numbers from each of the modules. These are recorded above, in the November 3, 2006 section just to keep all of the module-related data together. Well, now I'm confused. I seem to have an extra 8044-BD memory board. Looks like I've left some spares in place for checkout purposes. For now, I'll go with the basic setup:
LSI-02 : CPU MSV11-BD : 16KW RAM DLV11-J : 4-port SLU AED WINC 5/08 : RL02/RX02 emulation ctlr + ALLOY LSI-50 : [NEEDED TO LOAD THE POWER SUPPLY, OTHERWISE ERRATIC SYSTSEM BEHAVIOR]
Relearning how this system works... Upon powerup, the console will display 'AED>'. To boot the system, I entered 'DL1' which refers to the second simulated RL02. The first is not bootable. Here is a summary of some commands:
AED> DL0 (boot from 1st simulated RL02) AED> DL1 (boot from 2nd simulated RL02) AED> DL2 (boot from 3rd simulated RL02) AED> DL3 (boot from 4th simulated RL02) AED> DY0 (boot from simulated RX02) AED> DY1 (boot from simulated RX02)Formatting: AED> XD[1/2] (density selection: 1=Single 2=Double) AED> XU[n] (format floppy disk [n] (using XDn density))
AED> XI[n] (interleave selection: 1,2,3...) AED> XU[n] (format hard disk [n] (using XIn interleave))
[NOTE: The command pairs must be entered together. Use of 'XD' indicates upcoming format of FLOPPY DISK, 'XI' indicates upcoming format of HARD DISK]
21-Nov-2009
Sounding out the front-panel 'SERIAL CHANNELS' ports gives this configuration:
FUNC DE9 IDB10 clk 5 1 sgnd 3 2 xmt+ 2 3 xmt- 1 4 sgnd 6 5 6 (key) rcv- 7 7 rcv+ 8 8 sgnd 9 9 (+12v) 4 10
OR, sorted by DE9 pins:
FUNC DE9 IDB10 xmt- 1 4 xmt+ 2 3 sgnd 3 2 (+12v) 4 10 clk 5 1 sgnd 6 5 rcv- 7 7 rcv+ 8 8 sgnd 9 9 6 (key)
So, it looks like a cable for the front panel should use:
FUNC DE9 (male) XMT 2 RCV 8 GND 3, 6, or 9
I need to get some DE9 connectors so I can build serial cables.
15-Aug-2013
Wanting to exercise this system, just keeping it alive from time to time I fired it up after connecting the AED WINC 5/08 storage subsystem and a VT-100. The hard disk was not coming ready, and I was not able to boot from it. I could boot from a floppy without difficulty, but even after loading the operating system, the hard disk was not 'there'.
Surmising that the drive's heads may be sticking on their bumper stop inside the case, or some stiction was otherwise holding the heads in place, I let the system just idle, powered up for about 15 minutes, then tried again. Yes! The hard disk was now visible and responsive.
Just goes to show that these systems need to be used once in a while to keep them operational.
05-Sep-2013
At long last I have finally purchased some useable mounting screws for this system's snap-on front panel. The hardware store had only 1/2" long counter-sunk 6-32 screws, so I simply hacksawed about 3/16" off the end of each of the four screws, shortening them to about 1/4" of threads plus the head. They are exactly right and with them I have finally securely attached the snap-on points. With those taken care of I was able to snap on the front bezel and the system looks great!
13-Jul-2015
While working with this system today, and seeing that it had a flakey RUN indication, I discovered that the front control panel cable was again in bad condition. My prior fix was inadequate and the individual conductors were again, here and there, separating from their pins on the connector.
Since this connector is designed to have each wire simply pressed into place, with the pin slot cutting through the wire insulation to make the connection between them, I resolved to use that method. I removed each pin and unsoldered the one remaining wire. Then I cleaned up each pin, removing the broken off stub of the broken wires, making each pin clean and correctly shaped.
However, the wiring in this system is old, with each wire's insulating cover is pretty hard, no longer supple. I had a rather difficult time pressing the wires onto each of the connectors pins. In fact, I was unable to do so. I next used a knive blade to cut a notch into each wire's insulation (in two places since the pins have to cutting notches) and tried again. This worked better, but after I was able to insert all the wires into the connector, tests showed that the connections were still intermitent.
I resolved to return to the soldering method. I removed each wire, again cleaned up the pins, and then soldered about 1/4" of exposed conductor to each pin. Then I re-inserted each pin into the connector body.
Lo! it works! I have reliable control panel connections and the system again is stable.
13-Jul-2015
It appears that the Rodime drive inside the WINC-05/8 is losing its format. I am no longer able to boot from DL1: at all. I hope that the first cylinder on the drive is not really failing, just loosing its format.
I'm considering putting the drive through a complete reformat session using the AED controller firmware, but that will mean losing the present contents of each emulated RL02 drive. I do have drive images archived, but before I resort to this measure, I'll try to re-install the boot sectores:
. COPY/BOOT:DL DL1:RT11SJ.SAV DL1:
Sadly, though the command executed without error, there is no change of behavior. The system will report an I/O ERROR or will simply hang with trying to boot from DL1:. So, it would appear that the format is gone and I will have to reformat the entire drive.
On a lark, I tried to use a different monitor:
. COPY/BOOT:DL DL1:RT11FB.SAV DL1:
Amazingly, this works! Hmmm... that means that the SJ monitor is corrupted on the DL1: device. Well, so be it. The fix would be to re-SYSGEN the monitors for this particular machine, but I don't really need the SJ monitor, per se, just any monitor will work for me at this point. I'll leave this setup in place for now.
09-Aug-2016
As prior notes indicate, the performance of the two logical RL02s on the WINC-05/8 subsystem have been flaky more or less from the get go. Occasional bad sectors were turning up. Even in my very first efforts with this system, I found that the RESORC.SAV file was not copyable due to a bad sector. I was able to replace that file from another source, and mark the bad sector, but the time has come to correct this degradating situation. Of course, it will require drastic measures, in this case a complete reformat of both logical drives. Fortunately, I made images (file-by-file) of both logical drives long ago. Still, I made a new, current copy of each again just to be safe.
Now, to perform the reformatting:
1- reset and restart the system, getting to the AED> prompt 2- format the first logical RL02 drive AED>XI2AED>XU0 # NOTE the '0'!!! (answer)Y 3- format the second logical RL02 drive AED>XI2 AED>XU1 # NOTE the '1'!!! (answer)Y
In the first of the two AED commands, I used '2' as the interleave for each logical drive. The AED firmware allows either '2' or '3'. I tried both and found that the interleave of '2' gave better performance then '3', even on the current relatively slow PDP-11/03 configuration.
Another item to note is that there are two sets of formatting commands above, one for each logical drive. Each logical drive is independent of the other and each must/can be formatted separately. This has the benefit of allowing manipulation of one logical drive without affecting the other.
Next, I rebooted the system from an emulated TU58 tape image with a minimal RT-11 5.3 installation. From there I was able to restore the imaged files and then recopy the bootstrap:
4- .INITIALIZE/REPLACE:RET DL0: 5- .INITIALIZE/REPLACE:RET DL1: 6- .COPY/SYSTEM DD:*.* DL:7- .COPY/BOOT:DL DL:RT11FB.SYS DL:
I'm back in business, and each logical drive shows no errors now having the fresh low-level format on each logical drive.
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