From MANSONdecus.org.au Wed Jan 31 20:04:34 1996 Return-Path: MANSONdecus.org.au Received: from mailhub.liverpool.ac.uk (mail.liv.ac.uk [138.253.100.84]) by mailspool.liv.ac.uk (8.6.12/8.6.6-LIV-CSD) with ESMTP id UAA04111 for mspool2.liv.ac.uk>; Wed, 31 Jan 1996 20:04:33 GMT From: MANSONdecus.org.au Received: from decus.org.au (actually SMIFFY.DECUS.ORG.AU) by mail.liv.ac.uk with SMTP (PP); Wed, 31 Jan 1996 19:49:50 +0000 Received: from decus.org.au by decus.org.au (PMDF V4.3-7 #6878) id <01I0OTTZA2288Y50XXdecus.org.au>; Thu, 1 Feb 1996 06:36:26 AEST Date: Thu, 01 Feb 1996 06:36:25 +1000 (AEST) Subject: Re: FAQ! To: edwardliverpool.ac.uk Message-id: <01I0OTTZBEAA8Y50XXdecus.org.au> X-VMS-To: IN%"edwardliv.ac.uk" MIME-version: 1.0 Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Status: RO Eddy, hi there. >Good to hear from you!!! I'd really appreciate the VS2000 stuff, I'll >put it up as soon as I get it. Lets hope we can make this site good, any >other contributions welcome :-) regards, CrazyCam ========================================================================== The VAX in a wine cask. MicroVAX 2000 / VAXstation 2000 This model is very nearly a portable VAX and, for a home machine, it's extremely nice. The enclosure(s) are neat, inoffensive, and fit on a reasonably strong book-shelf. Introduced in January 1987, the MicroVAX 2000 was a real scale model VAX, naturally, it was/is fully compatible with all the other VAXen, but with dimensions, for the main box, of 33cm x 29cm x 14cm, it's absolutely perfect for the VAX enthusiast with limited space! By the way, the main box weighs in at a surprising 12.7 kilos, so be careful the first time you try to pick one up. The 2000 uses the same processor as the MicroVAX II, rating at 0.9 of a VUP, and has 2 meg of memory on the system board. The standard box has only one device bay, into which you can fit one full-height hard disk, typically RD53 or RD54, or, by using a half-height drive such as the RD32, or RD33, you can also mount an RX33 floppy drive into the bay. The other thing which can be found, especially in the VAXstation 2000's, is a "dummy" load card. The power supply is slightly smart, and, if it doesn't find a disk or two to play with, won't work unless this "dummy" load is connected. The VAX -stations were quite often disk-less, booting across ethernet. The system board has 2 meg of memory on it, and there is space for one extra memory board. Digital produced 4meg,8meg and 12meg boards for the 2000 series, and third-party memory people also produced 8meg and 12 meg boards. The largest capacity memory board for a 2000 is the Clearpoint 16 meg board. This board is a trap, since it appears that part of the installation kit for the board was an updated ROM for the power-up self- testing, to disable the testing of the memory on the system board. Thus, if you find a 16 meg board, putting it into a 2000 without this ROM update will give you a non-working system. (It won't get past its memory test!) A couple of options were available for ethernet connections, the "tail" for thin-wire at the back, does not "prove" ethernet capability. The tail is on the systems board, but you have to have the seperate ethernet card fitted, before the connection does anything. There was also an add-in thick-wire ethernet connection, which fitted at the back, above the power socket, near a _very_ small selector switch. Many people have wasted many hours trying to get a reluctant 2000 to talk on the ethernet, only to find the selector set for thick-wire, and they're using thin. For the big, hairy-chested 2000's with extra disk and/or tape, the "pizza- box" was screwed onto the bottom of the systems box, adding 4cm to the depth of the box, and providing a D 50 pin connector and a SCSI looking connector. The 50 pin job, allowed an extra box (BA400, I think?) to be added with another hard disk drive, usually an RD53 or 54, while the SCSI thingy was for the cable to the TK50-Z, also in another box. (A good 2000 configuration also acts as book-ends! :-) ) Also part of the "pizza-box" allowed a third cable connector. This was used for extra communication devices. I have seen, but don't know the part number or name of a card which, cabled thru the third connection on the "pizza-box" connected to X25 packet-switching network. I believe there was also a card which provided support for upto four more terminals. Since both these cards live in the same space, you can have one or the other but not both. The space, by the way, is also that used for the extra graphics card on the VAXstation, so a VAXstation with 8-plane graphics, can't have X25 connection as well. (Any details of these options welcomed.) Note that the TK50-Z is not the same TK50 as the "normal" one, but a SCSI, or _very_ nearly SCSI. Various discussions have taken place about how "near" it is. I don't have the technical knowledge to make definate statements, but maybe some reader might wish to add to this! Anyhow, we now have the capability of having two hard disks, a floppy drive, and a TK50 (95meg of tape!), so, for a home machine, it is not _too_ limited. Extracted posting WRT SCSI-ness follows:- ========================================================================= From: seanobanioaol.com (SeanOBanio) VAXstation 2000 and MicroVAX 2000 Technical Manual, order number EK-VTTAA-TM, $42 from DECdirect about two years ago. This tells you everything about the hardware (including connector pinouts and bus timing, for example), and a few things about the firmware. Also, the MVAX 2000 Hardware Info Kit, Model number EK-ZNAAG-GZ, $105, gives you the right to use the Field Service firmware diagnotics, and has some loop back connectors for the various ports. On a related subject, there is an NCR 5380 SCSI sub-system on board, but DEC does not support it as a SCSI port. Only the TK-50Z will work. DEC has said (on this newsgroup and in private conversation at DECUS) that an attempt was made at a port driver, but that the system was slow. Also, someone at Trimarchi (remember them?) was working on a better version of thier SCSI disk driver for the 2000's, but I can't find him. If DEC would release the souce for that code, or the souce for related port drivers (like the 2000's disk and tape drivers, and the source of a currently supported NCR 5380 system like the MV3100) to someone like you and/or I, we could put the result out on a DECUS library. I, at least, would be willing to sign a reasonable non-discolsure, even. DEC, are you listening? Sean O'Banion ========================================================================== Further to the near-SCSIness, I have heard that, at one point DEC folk tried to get a SCSI RRD40 (CD-ROM) to work, but the project was given up at the _nearly_ working stage. This was about V4.7. Also some third-party supplier in the States was rumoured to have a way of hunging SCSI disks off the 2000's, but I have no details of that. (Any offers?) To connect other devices, we have to look to the back of the main box, where we find three D connectors, a 25 pin, a 15 pin and a 9 pin. This is true of both the uVAX and the VAXstation, but the uVAX will/should have a strange looking little box screwed into both the 15 and the 9 pin connection, with, on its lower edge, three MMJ type sockets. They are numbered 1, 2 and 3 and are DEC432 connections, complete with the little locking trigger off-set from centre. Thus, a uVAX 2000, can support upto four terminals directly connected, one using the RS232 (25 pin) and the other three thru the wee box, with MMJ connections. The full 25 pin arrangement has full modem control, so mine obviously has the modem there. This is the same as for the VAXstation, by the way. Of the three MMJ's, the first one, number 1, is where you connect the console device, and it gets to be OPA0:. Connection number 2, ends up being TTA0:, number 3 is know as TTA1:, and the modem-controlled port, is TTA2:. Dunno about you, but I got quite confused by this! On the VAXstation, the 25 pin connector is the modem control, the 9 pin is expected to be the printer, and the 15 pin connection is for some horrendous cable, which connects the monitor, keyboard and mouse to the main box. There are actually two possible cables for a VAXstation, BC18p-10 is the cable for a mono-chrome monitor, and BC18z-10 is the one for colour monitors. With the VAXstations, there are several options which you may find. Firstly, a VAXstation with no extra graphic card. This will definately work with a mono screen (dunno about a colour one). Then there were two optional graphics cards, the 4-plane and the 8-plane. They are mutually exclusive, and both support color or mono monitors. Monitor options were the VR260, a 19 inch mono-chrome unit, the VR290, a 19-inch colour unit,(Both of these 1024 hor. x 864 vert. pixels) the VR150, a 15-inch(?) mono screen, and the VR160, a 15-inch colour unit. The later VR299 also works fine with a 2000, as does the VR266. The mono cable, obviously can't work with a colour screen, but the colour cable can work with a mono screen, with 75-ohm terminators on the Red, and Blue BNC's. Warning: the 19-inch monitors are _very_ heavy! The 9 pin printer connection has a neat side use. If you use a printer on it, you use the BCC05 cable, but, if you either don't have a monitor, or you think your monitor is dead, you can connect a VT220 or look-alike, to the printer port, using a BCC08 cable. This allows you to fire-up, test the system, and, if you want, run the VAXstation, as a uVAX. The difference between the 05 and 08 cable, is that the 08 has pins 8 and 9 connected to each other, which is sensed by the system as the alternate diagnostic console, just like they did on the PRO's! Operating Systems. As a VAX, the 2000's will obviously run VMS, from Version 4.6 (might be earlier, but I don't know.) upto whatever the current Version is of Open VMS. The limiting factor being disk space. I've built V4.6 on an RD32 systems disk, and, while I didn't put _everything_ on, I still had some space left over to play. For the depraved U**x freaks, ULTRIX-32 was also available, when the 2000's were introduced. Current state of U**x, I don't know. If you're using a VAXstation, and VMS, you will also probably want to use Vax Workstation Software, (VMS 4.6->5.5), or DECwindows,(VMS 5.0->5.5) or DECwindows/Motif (VMS 5.5->?) to actually get to use the "big" monitor. NOTE:-The above mentioned O.S.'s are the property of Digital and you need a license to legally use them. There appears to be some work underway to port a free version of Unix (NetBSD?) to the 2000. I have no details of the status of this work. Best I have at the moment is the following extract:- ========================================================================== Newsgroups: comp.os.vms Subject: Re: UNIX on Microvax? From: rmsmithcsc.com (Robert Smith) Date: 17 Jun 1995 21:23:52 -0400 Warner Losh (impvillage.org) wrote: : NetBSD is being ported to VAXen, but I'm not sure exactly which models. : For some odd reason, 11/750 and MicroVAX something (II or III) stick in : my head. It is being ported to 750, II, and III! - we are hoping for smaller ones too - like a 2000! ========================================================================== The power-up testing and "console-mode" utilities for the 2000's. KA410-A V1.2 F_..E...D...C...B...A...9...8...7...6...5...4_..3_..2_..1_.. * KA-410-A is a multi-user, uVAX2000 system. -B is the single user * VAXstation 2000. V1.2 is the ROM rev level. NB for VAXstation with * 4- or 8-plane graphics board, v2.1 is required. * In the count-down a "_" means the thing wasn't found for test. ? E 0040 0000.0005 < clock battery need charge. ? C 0080 0000.4001 < odd-ball terminal as console(I get it with a Rainbow used as console,but it works just fine!:-)) If you type T 50 at the >>> prompt should get a display like: KA410-A V1.2 ID 08-00-2B-07-3A-02 * the ID above is the ethernet hardware adress. ?? MONO 0001.F002 * the base (mono) video option. Naturaly not found on a microVAX, * only a VAXstation. ? CLK 0000.0005 * This is saying that the battery which maintains the clock has run * out of electricity... leaving the Box powered-up for 24 hours * should get a display: CLK 0000.0001 which is the healthy sign. NVR 0000.0001 * the Non-Volatile Read-only memory is healthy. ? DZ 0000.4001 00004001 00000001 00000001 00000001 00000000 00000000 * the DZ display's six eight digit numbers refer to the 4 serial * lines, the keyboard, and the mouse or tablet. * A uVAX2000, should always show 00000000 00000000 as the last two * numbers. MEM 0006.0001 00600000 * the .0001 means that the MEMory is healthy, the 0006, and the * 00600000 both tell you the box has 6 meg of memory. N.B. this is * hex. If the first line,second half, is not .0001, there will be * a second eight digit number on the second line telling you the * details of the memory fault. MM 0000.0001 * Memory management FP 0000.0001 * Floating Point IT 0000.0001 * Interval Timer HDC 7770.0001 00000000 00000000 00000000 * the Hard Disk Controller is healthy, but it can't see any disks * which is recognizes as ready to use. Where it does see disks, * the second line shows their size (in Hex) inorder DUA0,DUA1,DUA2 * RD32's=40Mb or 146B8,RD53's=71Mb or 22000, RD54's=159Mb or 4C437 * RX33's are either 1200KB or 960, or, if using RX50's, 400KB or 320 TPC 0202.0001 FFFFFF03 01000001 FFFFFF05 FFFFFF05 FFFFFF05 FFFFFF05 FFFFFF05 FFFFFF05 * the tape-drive port is healthy and it sees a good TK50-z drive to * talk to. SYS 0000.0001 * Main system test is OK. 8PLN 0000.0001 V1.4 * the test found a healthy 8-plane graphics card, and Vx.x shows its * version number. Could alternatively be 4PLN for the 4-plane card. NI 0000.0001 V1.3 * a healthy ethernet card was found, with its version number. * Note, there must be a terminator, or a terminated ethernet cable * for the card to test healthy. Test 51 sets the NVR default Boot device. Valid choices may be DUA0,DUA1,DUA2 (Disks,where available), MUA0 (Tape) or ESA0 (Ethernet) also .... means no default. You type in T 51 and the reply shows the current setting, youi then type in what you want it changed to. >>>T 52 .... ? >>> DUA1 This changes No Default, (....) to Disk DUA1 Should you want to clear the default back to none, enter only one period. Test 52 sets the NVR default Boot flags. Test 53 sets the NVR default recovery action flags. Test 54 sets the keyboard language. Tests 60,61, and 62 are only used on a VAXstation where no graphics card is present. T 60 - Displays alignment circle and cross hatch T 61 - Displays a screen full of Es T 62 - Displays a white screen To run the hard disk formatter : >>> T 70 KA410-A RDRXfmt VSfmt_QUE_unitno (0-2) ? 0 VSfmt_STS_Siz .?? VSfmt_RES_ERR #2 84 FAIL Note 1. The T 70 format is not a valid option to format an RX50 floppy, but _is_ valid to format an RX33 floppy. Note 2. The T 70 format utility will format non-Digital disks, but will go into a series of questions for which you need the appropriate answers. Sample follows:- ======================================================================== How to Format a Non-Digital Hard Disk If the hard disk installed on your system is not a DIGITAL disk, or if it is a hard disk that the formatter program doesn't recognize, the formatter goes into a query mode. This query mode allows you to input specific data about the drive so that the format program can format the drive. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT THE FORMATTER PROGRAM DESTROYS ALL USER DATA ON THE DISK. _______________________________________________________________________ To run the formatter, type "TEST 70" and "RETURN" at the console prompt ">>>". The following text will be output to the screen: KA410-A RDRXfmt VSfmt_QUE_unitno (0-2) To format the hard disk in the expansion box type "0" and "RETURN", to format the hard disk in the expansion box, type "1" and "RETURN". *N.B. I have entered numbers which are the published, presumeably correct *numbers to format an RD32 (aka Seagate ST251). Some of these numbers are *easily obtainable, others.....well, I dunno where they come from. If the hard disk is not recognized by the formatter routine, the following output will be seen on the screen: VSfmt_STS_Siz............. ???? [unknown disk drive] VSfmt_STS_EntUIB [formatter needs disk specific information] At this point, the formatter is in the query mode. It will ask for specific information about the disk drive to be formatted. All the requested data can usually be found in the technical manual for the drive in question. Here is a brief explanation of the data needed to format the drive: xbnsiz :=54 [enter the number of transfer blocks] dbnsiz :=48 [enter the number of diagnostic blocks] lbnsiz :=83236 [enter the number of logical blocks] rbnsiz :=200 [enter the number of replacement blocks] surpun :=6 [enter the number of surfaces per unit] cylpun :=820 [enter the number of cylinders per unit] wrtprc :=820 [enter the write precompensation cylinder] rctsiz :=4 [enter the size of the revectoring control table (RCT)] rctnbr :=8 [enter the number of copies of the RCT] secitl :=1 [enter the sector interleave] stsskw :=2 [enter the surface to surface skew] ctcskw :=9 [enter the cylinder to cylinder skew] mediai :=627327008 [enter the MSCP media ID] * Note this number is not dependant on disk geometry, but is the * magic number for VMS to report on the type of disk. * 627327008 = RD32, and 627327010 = RD33 (I think!) At this point, the formatter exits the query mode. The next output to the screen is: VSfmt_QUE_SerNbr (0-999999999) [enter the serial number for the drive] [or enter a unique number for each unit] VSfmt_QUE_RUsure (DUAx 1/0) ? [where x equals the unit number] [enter 1 for YES, 0 for NO] The formatter is now running, and the output should look like: VSfmt_STS_RdMbb.............OK [manufacturer's bad block located] VSfmt_STS_FMTing............OK [disk formatted OK] VSfmt_STS_ChkPss............OK [check pass completed OK] VSfmt_STS_BBRvec := x [number of bad blocks revectored] VSfmt_RES_Succ [disk is successfully formatted] >>> At this point, the disk has been succesfully formatted, and the console command prompt is displayed. =========================================================================== Note:- Another way of formatting an unknown disk is by use of either a uVAX or PDP-11 with an RQDX-3 disk controller, and maintenance formatting software. The resulting format is acceptable to the 2000 box. Also, RD52 = Quantum Q540,RD53 = Micropolis 1325,RD54 = Maxtor XT2190, RD31 = Seagate ST225,RD32 = Seagate ST251, RD33= Miniscribe 3085. =========================================================================== A related utility is T 71, which is the fixed disk verifier. This will test (only for reading) a disk. The tests of the 8n sequence are only applicable if there is a 4-plane or 8-plane graphics option board present. T 80 - Displays Circle cross-hatch (colour & mon monitors) T 81 - Displays Screen full of Es (colour & mon monitors) T 82 - Displays White screen (colour & mon monitors) T 83 - Displays 4-bar colour bar T 84 - Displays Red screen T 85 - Displays Green screen T 86 - Displays Blue screen T 87 - Displays 8-bar clour bar T 88 - Displays Gray scale (colour & mono monitors) Test T 90 tests the Network (Ethernet). X-NEWS: decus comp.sys.dec: 29452 Relay-Version: VMS News - V6.0-3 14/03/90 VAX/VMS V5.5; site decus.org.au Path: decus!metro!news.cs.su.oz.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!msunews!uwm.edu! chi-news.cic.net!newsfeed.internetmci.com!btnet!dispatch.news.demon.net!demon!yrsk.demon.co.uk!john Newsgroups: comp.sys.dec Subject: Re: VR290 - VR299 Message-ID: <1995Nov8.125735.2421yrsk.demon.co.uk> From: johnyrsk.demon.co.uk (John Laird) Date: 8 Nov 95 12:57:35 +0000 References: <47pcja$gjclibrary.erc.clarkson.edu> Organization: Yezerski Roper Ltd X-NNTP-Posting-Host: yrsk.demon.co.uk Lines: 10 In article <47pcja$gjclibrary.erc.clarkson.edu>, ayengaskcraft.camp.clarkson.edu (Sridhar K. Ayengar) writes: > Hello. What is the difference between a VR290 19" Monitor and a VR299 > 19" Monitor? > > Slightly smaller and lighter and better/more reliable (different manufacturer I believe). Technical specs are exactly the same. -- ---- John Laird, Yezerski Roper ( johnyrsk.demon.co.uk ) "Sigs? Gave them up"