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My first Unix machine: HP Apollo 400T

AdamAnt316

AdamAnt316

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Joined
May 23, 2016
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230
Location
Massachusetts
Hello everyone! I was perusing the wares at a local hamfest this past weekend when what should I come across but a pair of early '90s workstations, which ended up coming home with me. One was a Digital VAXStation 3100, which I'm not sure belongs in this forum section, since there's already one for DEC machines (and I'm not sure whether or not it runs Unix). The other one is a Hewlett-Packard Apollo 400T, produced after HP bought Apollo Computer, which was actually located not far from where I live. It doesn't have any disk drives on the front, unlike the DEC, which I find a bit odd. I haven't opened it yet to see what's inside, but it certainly weighs quite a bit. Neither machine came with a monitor, so I'm not sure what to do in regards to powering them up. Anyway, here are some pictures:
apollo400t_front.jpg
apollo400t_rear.jpg
apollo400t_tag.jpg
apollo400t_kbd.jpg
Any idea where I should go from here? I have yet to mess with anything along these lines, mostly early-mid '80s microcomputers. Thanks in advance!
-Adam
 
Nice find on a rare bird. These machines, assuming it hasn't been upgraded to PA-RISC as my "425t" has been, can run both Domain/OS (Apollo's OS) and HP-UX, but the former is far more interesting than the latter. If the keyboard you have can plug into the "DOMAIN KYBD" port, you have a great find indeed and a good bet it's a Domain/OS machine. There are cables that turn the 3BNC video into a regular VGA HD-15 that most multisync monitors will display. I have one around here somewhere for my own unit.

I'd crack it open and see what's inside first before powering it up, and then we can give you more advice about what to do next.
 
Thanks for the reply! I was wondering why there are two keyboard ports on the back. Unfortunately, the included keyboard (with mouse attached) plugs into the "KYBD HP-HIL" port, so I'm guessing that means it runs HP-UX. I'll try and open it up tomorrow in order to take some pictures of the innards, and see exactly what's inside.
-Adam
 
Yes, unfortunately, but these are still nice machines. If you don't like HP/sUX, and there are good reasons not to (speaking as someone who did battle with PA-RISC iron back in the day ;) ), these can also run NetBSD/hp300. See http://wiki.netbsd.org/ports/hp300/ for more info.

But if you want a proprietary Unix box to play around on, you can do worse than one of these. For the record, my HPs all run HP/UX except for the SAIC Galaxy which runs NeXTSTEP.
 
Interesting stuff about NetBSD! I'll have to look into that if the HP-UX install proves to be unusable (and if the hardware is still stock). I've never used anything like this; closest would be the Linux boxes I messed around with in college, as well as my Dolch luggable, all of which have/had Red Hat Linux 9 (Shrike) installed.

Anyway, as promised, here are some more photos! First, here's one of the unit with the lid open:
apollo400t_lidopen.jpg
Next, a closer view of the chassis:
apollo400t_chassis.jpg
Now, a view of the main board with the video board removed:
apollo400t_board.jpg
And here's the video board:
apollo400t_video.jpg
I love the label inside the top lid:
apollo400t_label1.jpg
And for good measure, here's the asset tag on the front panel:
apollo400t_label2.jpg
 
Two things to check to determine exactly what you have there:

Find the cable from the DOMAIN KYBD port. Is that connected to anything internally?

What is the model number from the video board? It looks like A3059 or something.
 
ClassicHasClass said:
Two things to check to determine exactly what you have there:

Find the cable from the DOMAIN KYBD port. Is that connected to anything internally?
Click to expand...
Nothing. The connector was resting on top of a rectangular component labeled "2M2", and I couldn't see anywhere it would connect to. Directly below the "DOMAIN KYBD" port was a header with a jumper installed, apparently for selecting between "THIN" and "AUI" ethernet (currently set for AUI, from the looks of it).

ClassicHasClass said:
What is the model number from the video board? It looks like A3059 or something.
Click to expand...
The number on the back of the video/sound card is A2059-66530. Elsewhere on the card is a sticker reading "A-0000-40 3313-9164 MADE IN USA". Date codes on its ICs seem to point towards 1993.
-Adam
 
Well, well, well. I think your unit was also upgraded to PA-RISC. If so, it's essentially a 715t (see https://www.openpa.net/systems/hp-9000_715.html ). These upgrades, according to miod at Nekochan (rip), were a little more "rock and roll" which is why you have connectors not connected to connectors and so on.

The number on your video board puzzles me, though. Are you sure it's not A2089? Mine is an A2089-66530. This is a combination graphics and sound board.
 
ClassicHasClass said:
Well, well, well. I think your unit was also upgraded to PA-RISC. If so, it's essentially a 715t (see https://www.openpa.net/systems/hp-9000_715.html ). These upgrades, according to miod at Nekochan (rip), were a little more "rock and roll" which is why you have connectors not connected to connectors and so on.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I figured something like that might be going on, given that big heatsink in the front right corner of the board. How common were these upgrades, and what does it mean for the potential usability (such as it might be) of this machine vs. a standard 400t? Was there much of 'Apollo' actually left in these PA-RISC machines? Guessing this means running Domain/OS is right out.......... :rolleyes:

ClassicHasClass said:
The number on your video board puzzles me, though. Are you sure it's not A2089? Mine is an A2089-66530. This is a combination graphics and sound board.
Click to expand...
You're correct, of course, it's A2089-66530 (REV A if it means anything). Read it over and over again to make sure I got everything right, yet still got it wrong. :ashamed: Guessing this means the 'SPKR' port is useless, if there's anything behind the hole on the back panel, anyway...
-Adam
 
commodorejohn said:
I wonder if the RISC-upgraded 400 series can run NeXTSTEP?
Click to expand...

According to the page ClassicHasClass linked to earlier, a HP 9000/715 can indeed run NeXTStep, along with HP-UX (of course), Linux, NetBSD, and OpenBSD. A HP Apollo desktop with the same class of motherboard installed should be able to run it as well. I have yet to power it up to see exactly what (if anything) it has installed. Can a VGA cable with five BNC connectors on the other end be adapted to work with the three on the back of my HP 2089-66530 video/sound card?
-Adam
 
It won't hurt anything, assuming your monitor doesn't mind the frequency (my NEC 23" flat panel was just fine). You'll only need the R, G and B lines because the video is sync-on-green.

The /712 can definitely run NeXTSTEP. I don't see any reason why the /715, which this is effectively, couldn't. There's much less love for PA-RISC NeXTSTEP but that's an excellent reason to try it IMHO. :D

To your other questions:

How common were these upgrades, and what does it mean for the potential usability (such as it might be) of this machine vs. a standard 400t? Was there much of 'Apollo' actually left in these PA-RISC machines? Guessing this means running Domain/OS is right out..........
Click to expand...

No idea how common. They're known, but yours is exactly the second such machine I've encountered personally. They are essentially PA-RISC all the way; the only Apollo bits left is the case and form factor, so no Domain/OS, which is sad.

Dunno about the SPKR port. Never tried myself, but again, won't hurt anything.
 
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