(last updated: 20-Sep-2008)
The boards were in loose disarray inside the card cage when received. I've relocated them in the backplane according to my best information.
| 12 | (empty) |
|---|---|
| 11 | (empty) |
| 10 | (empty) |
| 9 | (empty) |
| 8 | (empty) |
| 7 | (empty) |
| 6 | (empty) |
| 5 | DGC NOVA BASIC IO CONTROL (only center populated) |
| 4 | DGC NOVA CASSETTE I/O |
| 3 | DGC NOVA 3 16K MEMORY |
| 2 | DGC NOVA 3 16K MEMORY |
| 1 | DGC NOVA 3 CPU |
28-Mar-2007
This Nova 3 was found on eBay, listed by 'tsiudak', and I won the bidding with a final bid of $305.
12-Apr-2007
Today the box arrived via UPS. I happened to see the UPS van pull up to the curb and watched from the window as the driver pushed the box out of the truck to the sidewalk. Clearly another case of UPS's lack of care on a box marked 'Fragile'. The box was simply allowed to tumble out of the truck! I went out to assist the lone driver, and together we brought the box indoors.
Rebecca helped me move the box downstairs and we opened it up. The system as boxed well, one box inside another with cut foam surrounding the inner box. I'll give that to the seller, but the choice of UPS over FedEx was not good.
12-Apr-2007
We removed the Nova from the carton and I took a few photos. Of the five cards in the chassis, three had become dislodged during shipment, or maybe just the last 30 feet! Two cards were knocked out of their tracks and were being 'pinched' by the narrower sidewalls of the card cage. These boards were clearly showing a bend at both left and right sides. The third board had been knocked so that the right side was out of it's card guide/track and had somehow gotten lodged in the track below. I photo'd the cards and then removed them to relieve the strain on them.
18-Jul-2008
At long last, I took a board inventory. These board placements are not as I originally received them, but are probably closer to the real operational configuration than before:
Slot 12: Slot 11: Slot 10: Slot 9: Slot 8: Slot 7: Slot 6: Slot 5: "DGC NOVA BASIC IO CONTROL" 400718110 4023 xxxx 77226 (only center populated) Slot 4: "DGC NOVA CASSETTE I/O" E0062455 D4388 PAA A003-2101 R20 T005-3552 R10 Slot 3: "DGC NOVA 3 16K MEMORY" D0782 Pxx A5 5964 Rxx T5 5982 R10 7343 EE01369 Slot 2: "DGC NOVA 3 16K MEMORY" P/N-005-xx62-x S/N-H-14-04880 77476 Slot 1: "DGC NOVA 3 CPU" H22 20044 A005 6509 R19 T005 6411 R20
Somewhere along the way, I've also acquired these two loose boards:
- MCS (Mini Computer Systems) ICOS MEDIA III - DGC FLISC CONTROLLER S103711 005-8927 79-27
and I need to learn more about them.
18-Sep-2008
As received, this system came with no key. The power switch takes a cylindrical key, similar to a vending machine key. Luckily, I have just received the Maddox Nova 3 system, and a key was included in that shipment. I can have a copy made.
But, on this system, the switch lock barrel is mis-aligned with the notches. Somehow, the key was removed without properly turning the barrel to the LOCK position, now preventing me from inserting a key at all.
I'd like to see if I can somehow 'pick' the lock and get the barrel rotated to the needed position.
After removing the front panel from the chassis, I had easy access to the lock, and have removed the lock cylinder from the front panel. Now, I have to figure out a way to get a key (probably one without the splines that normally key into the notches), and 'cut' the perimeter notches to the correct code. It'll be interesting to see how successful I am at that. THe other obvious route is to simply replace the lock cylinder with a similar one from the locksmith's. But, I'd like to stay original if I can.
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