[GreenKeys] Fwd: just bagged a heath TU off eplace good to go with H89 in...

COURYHOUSE at aol.com COURYHOUSE at aol.com
Mon Nov 5 22:49:45 EST 2012


I can use one of each terminal! 
 
 
In a message dated 11/5/2012 8:46:40 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,  
COURYHOUSE at aol.com writes:

_http://oldcomputers.net/pics/heathkit-h8-h9.jpg_ 
(http://oldcomputers.net/pics/heathkit-h8-h9.jpg) 
h8!  uses  h9 terminal
 
_http://www.ricomputermuseum.org/_/rsrc/1300755190274/Home/equipment/heathki
t-h-11/Heathkit_H-11.jpg_ 
(http://www.ricomputermuseum.org/_/rsrc/1300755190274/Home/equipment/heathkit-h-11/Heathkit_H-11.jpg) 
 
h 11 uses  h-19  terminal!
 
 
In a message dated 11/5/2012 8:39:09 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,  
captainkirk359 at gmail.com writes:

I  forgot to forward this to the list. So enjoy those interested in
this  conversation.


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From:  Christian Gauger-Cosgrove <captainkirk359 at gmail.com>
Date: 5  November 2012 21:43
Subject: Re: [GreenKeys] just bagged a heath TU off  eplace good to go
with H89 in disp...
To:  COURYHOUSE at aol.com


This is going to be a really "random" e-mail,  as I'm writing it as I go...


In terms of processors, the best for  use in a H11 would probably be
the 23 or 23+ -- the M8186 and M8189 to be  specific; also called the
KDF11-A and KDF11-B (respectively). This is  because they work fine in
either 18-bit or 22-bit backplanes, Q/Q or  Q/CD.Though, in a Q/CD you
MUST break the grant continuity lines, lest  your cause the release of
magic smoke on CD lines.

In terms of  processor though; the KDF11-A is only available either
with no options,  with the MMU, with the MMU and FPP, or with the MMU
and CIS. The KDF11-B  is available with the same options as the
KDF11-A, as well as with having  both the FPP and CIS along with the
MMU. Essentially all of the KDF11-A  modules have the MMU though, so
nevermind those without an MMU (they are  rare, and only really
valuable as sellable oddities). There is also a  special different
version of the FPP. Namely the FPF11 which is actually  built out of TI
bitslice processors and is incredibly fast. It uses a  cable from the
board to the FPP socket on the KDF11 CPU board. The FPF11  beyond being
incredibly fast, is also incredibly hard to find, and  incredibly
expensive when found because of its rarity.

The FPF11  also takes up a full quad-wide space; so it's rather large.
It however is  also workable with both QBUS and UNIBUS machines (so the
11/23, 23+ and  24), that's because it doesn't take a look at the bus
at all, and its  edge connects are nothing but grant continuity  card
connects.


The J-11 processors are quite a bit faster, but  are geared better
toward large 22-bitter systems rather then the smaller  18-bit H11. The
11/73 comes in two versions the dual wide and the  quad-wide. The
quad-wide does PMI memory as well as normal bus memory.  There is no
direct UNIBUS equivalent of the 11/73 though. Neither is  there an
equivalent for the "low end" 11/53. The 11/83 and 11/93 are  basically
better and faster versions of the quad-wide 11/73; they also  have a
bunch of parallel ports if I remember correctly. There is a  UNIBUS
equivalent of the 83 and 93 though. Namely the 84 and 94; which  are a
normal 83 or 93 paired with a QBUS-UNIBUS card.

If you put a  73 or 53 with a QBUS-UNIBUS card, you do not get a 54.
And you DEFINITELY  do not get a 74. That's because the 11/74 is
something completely  different. Do you know of the best PDP-11 model
the 11/70? Well the 11/74  was DEC's attempt at a multiprocessor system
version of it. Could be  configured at up to four parallel processors.
(Or a single processor  system.) It came with the CIS option. It was
killed for the VAX. Because  apparently DIBOL on the the CIS enabled
11/70 CPU outperformed the DIBOL  on the VAX. Several production
systems appeared, and in fact the internal  DEC department responsible
for RSX-11M/M+ had one of the quad processor  machines -- running SMP
capable RSX-11M+. Which by the way is normal  RSX-11M+ with one set of
build/sysgen options commented out on the normal  distro tapes.


The RQDX* controllers while they do speak to  standard ST_412/ST-506
disk drives require the attached diskette drive  have the *PROPER*
Shugart interface, so PC drives tend to not work on  them. Also the
RX50 5.25" diskette format is nothing like the normal 360K  or 1.2M
diskette formats. Though, the RX33 is apparently a normal 5.25"  1.2M
diskette drive. I don't know if it was for the RQDX3 or DEC's  RZQ*
SCSI controllers.


In terms of peripherals, the most  desierable ones would probably be an
RL01 or RL02 disk pack drive in all  it's glory, with an RLV12
controller (the RLV11 requires C/D interconnect  and is two quad-wide
boards. It also doesn't like 22b buses). Next would  probably be the
RXV11 and RX01 or RXV21 and RX02 8" diskette drives (the  former being
SSSD, the other being SSDD); some third party manufactueres  made so
called 'RX03" drives, being DSDD drives, which are supported by  RT-11
V4, kind of; using a driver build flag to enable dual sided  diskette
drives.

You can also do well with an RXV11 or RXV21  controller without
diskette drives attached. As there is a program to  emulate the
aforementioned diskette drives using the PC parallel  port.


Another "nice" peripheral to have would probably be a DRV11  parallel
port card. Though some of them -- like the DRV11-J -- can  become
pretty expensive. They're quite nice if you want your '11 to  control
something. (Model train set perhaps?)


Also, very  popular are Ethernet controllers. But you have to be
careful of what OS  you are running if you acquire one. As some OSes
require DECnet, others  require TCP/IP, and some do both. Example would
be RSTS/E which only runs  DECnet/E; meanwhile 2.11BSD and
Ultrix-11speak TCP/IP only; while RSX-11  now speaks DECnet and TCP/IP
(due to hobbyists RSX now has TCP/IP). If  you want the best solution
for getting TCP/IP machines speaking to DECnet  machines I'd suggest
either a VAX (or VAX emulator) running VMS being a  bridge. You can
also use standalone Linux if you install that one DECnet  package.


A good terminal is a must of course. I suggest the  VT-220 for
compactness, or the VT-100 for the pure coolness. If you  wanted try
and get a VT_103 and combine your '11 and terminal in one  unit. If you
want graphics, get the VT-241 or VT-330; ReGIS/Tek graphics  are always
a cool demo.


That's all I can think of for now  though.



Cheers,
CHristian



On 5 November  2012 14:38,  <COURYHOUSE at aol.com> wrote:
> this is all  great info  many thanks !!!  feel free to ramble anytime  !!
> ----Ed
>
> In a message dated 11/5/2012 10:21:17 A.M.  Alaskan Standard Time,
> captainkirk359 at gmail.com  writes:
>
> Umm no...
>
> The M8192 version of the  11/73 -- that is the *DUAL WIDE* version --
> will work in an 18-bit  backplane, if I remember correctly. It's the
> M8190 -- the *QUAD  WIDE* version -- that absolutely requires the C/D
> interconnect for  PMI memory.
>
> Of course, the M8190 is also the module number  of the 11/83 and 11/93.
> So some M8190s are more expensive then  others. It's all dependent on
> the appended letters to the M8190  module.
>
>
> You really need to look at either the DEC  Edited Option Module List or
> one of the handy PDP-11 Field Guide  files to see what the suffixed
> letters mean. Since there's quite a  price difference between a board
> that is incapable of getting an FPU  and one with an FPU and CIS
> options.
>
>
> Of  course, there's also the memory modules one needs to know about. A
>  quad-wide PMI memory will *NOT* work in an 18-bit serpentine
>  backplane. A quad-wide or dual-wide QBUS memory will however -- if  it
> supports 18b addressing. (Some of the small memories are only  16b
> addressing capable.)
>
>
> The BA23 box --  which I think looks a bit ugly, I like the BA123 box
> more, or the  BA11 style box -- has a few Q22/CD slots at the top of
> the  backplane, and the rest is all Q22/Q22 serpentine. You'd put the
> PMI  memories *BEFORE* the CPU, and then the devices on the QBUS after
>  the CPU.
>
>
>
> More important information about  the PDP-11's peripherals -- always,
> always *ALWAYS* put an RQDX1 or  RQDX2 controller as the very last
> device on the bus; since they  break the grant continuity chain. The
> RQDX3 and RQDX4 are fine  though.
>
> A good controller to acquire is an MSCP SCSI  controller like the
> CQD-220; because you can still "easily" acquire  fifty-pin SCSI disks,
> which are nice and small, and "reliable  enough". Plus te SCSI disks
> are nice and bit, and you could put  things like BSD or RSX, or RSTS on
>  them.
>
>
>
> Any way, I'm rambling.
>  Cheers!
>
>
>
>
> On 5 November 2012 13:20,  Adrian Stoness <tdk.knight at gmail.com> wrote:
>> u need a ba23  backplane for the 11/73
>> h11 is not a  ba23
>>
>> On Mon, Nov 5, 2012 at 12:15 PM, Christian  Gauger-Cosgrove
>> <captainkirk359 at gmail.com>  wrote:
>>>
>>> Ah, will the 11/73 work in the  H-11?
>>>
>>> The answer is "Maybe." It depends on  whether the H11 does anything
>>> "funky" with the -- at the  time of the LSI-11/03 -- unused bus lines
>>> that the 11/23 and  11/73 (and later 22-bit '11 CPUs) used for the
>>> higher order  address bits.
>>>
>>> It shouldn't since the H11  uses the actual straight from DEC LSI-11 CPU
>>>  board.
>>>
>>>
>>> You will probably  also want to invest in an MSV11-L RAM; or if you
>>> feel very  bored, wirewrap the backplane to 22-bit and invest in a 512K
>>>  or 1MB RAM board.
>>>
>>>
>>> Otherwise,  it should be fine.
>>>
>>>
>>>  Cheers,
>>> Christian
>>>
>>> On 5  November 2012 13:04,  <COURYHOUSE at aol.com> wrote:
>>>  > I will have to make a list  ...    due to it's prior  owner I would
>>> > suspect
>>> > it is as  loaded as can be.  I have the floppy drives but the    disks
>>> > are
>>> > roached ... I need  to  find  some live media or a way to load and  
save
>>> > some....tell me more....... oddly enough I wonder  if the  ACE  video
>>> > editor
>>>  > carcus  that has an  11/73  board in it would fly in  this  H-11 
unit!?
>>> >
>>>  >
>>> > In a message dated 11/5/2012 8:48:43 A.M. Alaskan  Standard Time,
>>> > captainkirk359 at gmail.com  writes:
>>> >
>>> > Hello Ed:
>>>  >
>>> > What kind of boards are in the H11 by any  chance?
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > And  have you considered trying to get the H11 up and running RT-11  
by
>>> > any chance? (All you need is a PC with a serial port  and a second
>>> > serial port on the H11. And patience. BUT  NEVERMIND THAT!)
>>> >
>>> >
>>>  > Also, you considered trying to upgrade the H11's CPU from the  
godawful
>>> > LSI-11 to a PDP-11/23 CPU  instead?
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >  Cheers,
>>> > Christian
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>>
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