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Unibus Madness!

Q

Qbus

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2011
Messages
961
Location
Salisbury Maryland
In an effort to waste more time and money I am looking at another 11/05 full height system, it's for sale over on that place. The question is what else you need to build up a functional system in addition to the two KD-11 cards (M7260 and M7261) and the 32k of core that’s with it? I know it will need at least a serial card and I would have to find the Unibus cards if I wanted to use my RX or RL drives with it. Also isn't there something weird about how the frame is wired and that determines what order and what cards can be used in it? Have everything up and working with the 11/23 but now have the burning desire to do a unibus system with lights and switches, an 11/44 just don’t have the same appeal. Have the 11/05 manuals around here on PDF but thought I would ask here also.
RF
 
You Sir, are a madman. :thumbsup:

Go get yourself into trouble, and we'll help you through.

:wallbang:
 
Ray,

Yup, you will need a DL11 for at least one SLU (I suggest DL11-W). You need an RX11 or RX211 to use an RX01 or RX02 drive. Lastly, you need an RL11 for the RL drives. I say go for it if you can afford it. An M9312 bootstrap card is not a must, but is really handy. In the 11/04 I needed a bus terminator - maybe such a thing is also needed in the 11/05. RSX11M+ will know.

You can have the blinkenlights version of the fun I had building my 11/04 system. Before that I was only a qbus man as well..... It is really educational. Unibus is not weird, but different. You have unibus slots, modified unibus slots, and small perhiperal controller slots. You did such a beautiful job on your 11/23 that I am sure you can get the 11/05 working well.

Just Do it!!!!!!

Lou
 
I say go for it. I have fun with my 11/84, even though it has no blinkenlights. I do miss those.
 
No, looks like no Unibus system for me today! I bid $399 for that 11/05 and when you consider that shipping would be another $120 that would have put me into it for over $500. It sold for over $550 not including shipping and I just don’t have the stomach for buying a blinkey light system at that price. Have to wonder what something like an 11/34 would go for? Saw 11/44 listed for way less but although they are a newer system they don’t have the switches and lights.
RF
 
The 34s, while nice machines, just don't have the sex appeal of the old switch console. You want an 04, 05, 10, 20 or better - a 70. [get in line]

You might try the Hamfest this year... :rofl:


Yes, that was cruel. I'm so ashamed.
 
Unfortunately, the 11/04 had (at best) the same lame programmer's panel as the /34.

I think $550 is quite a chunk of change for what was shown in that auction. There were still a number of pieces required to make a useful system!

Lou
 
Lou - N2MIY said:
Unfortunately, the 11/04 had (at best) the same lame programmer's panel as the /34...
Click to expand...
LOL - true, except for the "Franken-puter" we had in our lab. Someone must have cobbled it together out of parts. [now Who, would do such a thing??] It's the '04 I always think of.
 
1ajs said:
if u tried to buy its cards that came with it on their own plus shipping and just that chasis u woulda prolly spent even more
Click to expand...
Undoubtedly a whole system would be a better deal.

"Hope - springs eternal..."

Economic times being what they are, I think it's still reasonable to keep looking. However, the bigger your purse, the more likely you'll be equipped to jump when one appears before you.
 
Yea, well you know. I am not complaining about what the stuff is selling for and can understand that threes people out there who are willing to pay more then I will. Would like to do a Unibus system but unless I luck into one or one day decide that I too am willing to pull the trigger for "Big Money" system will stick with the primitive DOS Grid systems or my 11/23, maybe it's time to start considering a 11/44 being they sell for a fraction of what a system with switches and lights sell for and can start getting parts like the serial interface and drive adapters that may one day migrate to a older system. Question, do the newer systems like the 11/44 use LSI processors or did they still have discreet processors like the old Unibus systems?
RF
 
Ray,

The 11/24 actually used an F-11 (LSI processor) and similarly the 11/84 and 11/94 use the J-11 LSI processor. The other unibus machines seem to be discrete logic, even the "modern" 11/44.

You certainly can start amassing those unibus interfaces and put them in an older system. I have a UDA50 (SDI disk controller) and a DEUNA (Ethernet) in my lowly 11/04. Although the 11/44 has no pretty panel, it should be a good machine to learn on. Actually, I think the 11/04 or 11/34 should be both eduational and less budget busting than the other models. They have a wired backplane that is not too hard to access for troubleshooting. The 11/24 and newer machines seem to have printed circuitboard buses on the backplane.

Lou
 
Considering this answer is for you Ray -

I suspect you will find an 11/34a KD11-EA ( M8265/M8266 ) more "your style". A 34a is likely to be more repairable than a 44 - given it's implemented in standard logic, although a 44 is quite a machine. UNIBUS Peripherals could be scavenged from a 44, but by enlarge, other components won't.

Some maintenance prints [with processor flows] for both machines can be found here. You should look before you leap.

If you do decide on the '34a, try to find one with an KK11-A CACHE module ( M8268 ) and MS11-L (MOS) Memory. Floating Point is a big bonus as well. Those options will give you the hottest setup. Remember a 34 of any kind is limited to 128KW memory.

  • Note: The PDP-11/34 ( M7265/M7266 ) is incompatible with CACHE.
I hope I got those details mostly right. We were using an 11/34a [equipped with FP, MOS and CACHE] for an engineering department of 30, doing intense software development on RSX. The machine was definitely crowded, but it was holding up. We moved directly from that system to an 11/70. The boss heard of a deal - DEC engineering was selling one of theirs. Funny story - Our company was a Union manufacturing shop, so we had an annual "Shut Down" when all Union personnel were required to take their vacations. Anyway, we "Exempt" R&D types worked through Shut Down, but most of the administrative folks were out too. Kinda nice to have the run of the place. Well, a couple days into Shut Down, this deal comes up. Somehow, my boss got a P.E.A.R. [Capitol Expenditure Request Authorization] through During Shut Down. The other managers were flabbergasted.

So, we moved onto the 70, and it lasted us a whole year before we had to get a "Huge" disk for it. [RA81]. My mistake... in retrospect, I should have gone with RA60's. [RA81's were UDA50 UNIBUS connected, RA60's were MASSBUS RH70 devices]


I digress... My point is: We skipped the '44 altogether. A properly equipped 34a, will be a super-duper UNIBUS system for you, even though it doesn't have that Switch Console.
 
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