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Vaxen are $$$$

K

Kurthamm

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Joined
May 9, 2012
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South Carolina
I would love to have some big Vax iron, but they are often listed on eBay with a very high price. Are these boxes very popular? I know that we are talking about some initially very expensive servers, but these prices suggest that they are being purchased for production use.

Thoughts?

Kurt
 
It wouldn't at all surprise me if there are VAXen out in the field somewhere - I don't know that they were as popular in embedded applications as the PDP-8/11, but there's still probably businesses who'd rather pay out a few thousand dollars for spare parts every few years than spend millions on a modern replacement that may not even be as featureful or reliable.
 
That is what I was thinking. You see these boxes for $3K, $7K, $15K. These just doesn't sound like hobby interest. Are companies buying these things and cannibalizing them to keep existing systems working? If so, how many of these units could possibly be in production? I mean, I love the boxes, but how many companies would admit to still having them? I can't imagine that these would be approved from a security/risk perspective.
 
VMS and the follow on OpenVMS are quite secure by default, and I would be very surprised to see a VAX/VMS system needing many updates. Search for the string "DEFCON OpenVMS" and read a bit from DEFCON9 and DEFCON16. The vmsone writeup from DEFCON9: https://www.defcon.org/html/links/dc_press/archives/9/vmsone_writeup.htm

Many three-letter agencies have used VAXen of all kinds due to VMS' excellent security reputation.
 
Excellent reference material. Thanks for that.

Also, my memory of that specific error was "Shut 'er down Clancy. She pumping mud". I always thought this was a Mac error, but looked just now and it was attributed to a TI minicomputer.
 
Everyone seems to forget that computers have industrial uses too, where emergency replacement and cannibalisation afford very high prices.
 
Much like everyone has said some of these are being bought by commercial/governmental entities. I saw 3 VAXstation 4000-70s get bought up at $3,000 all by one seller.

But if you're in the market look for resellers.

Take the VAX 4000-100A I have, while not the refrigerator sized VAXen that I someday hope to own, it's still bigger than most of the VAXes I currently own. Brand new, it would have been around $50,000. It was on eBay for like $350 not including shipping from a reseller. I got it for $300 including shipping after I made an offer. I've since added an async module and connector plate to it after finding another reseller and making a best offer on those parts.

In my experience resellers want to sell. So If you find a reseller you should always do a best offer, within reason of course, because there's a good chance they'll accept. Private sellers suck because "They know what they've got!!" I tend to ignore private sellers when it comes to vintage computers.

So those 3 VAX 7000s on eBay being offered for $2,900 by a reseller? When I get that much disposable income someday, I would try $2,500 because there's a decent chance I may get it for that much.
 
Kurthamm said:
Excellent reference material. Thanks for that.

Also, my memory of that specific error was "Shut 'er down Clancy. She pumping mud". I always thought this was a Mac error, but looked just now and it was attributed to a TI minicomputer.
Click to expand...

The specific error in my .signature is from the Tandy TRS-80 Model 16/16B/6000 Xenix system, with the error being written by one Frank Durda IV. Reference: https://groups.google.com/forum/m/#!topic/comp.sys.tandy/rpZRWj9Y0nE (You may need to start at the beginning of the thread ).

Interestingly enough, one of Tandy's primary development machines back in the day was the fabled trsvax. ( https://web.archive.org/web/20181004030755/http://nemesis.lonestar.org/computers/tandy/software/tools/alds/history.html is quite the read.... ).
 
Last year I could get a VAX11/750 with TU80 for free but I could not handle that at home.
So I've arranged that is was brought to a friend which has many PDP11 machines.
The shipping was 100 Euro within the Netherlands. So it's at a good home now.
It doesn't need to be expensive all the time.
 
Kurthamm said:
That is what I was thinking. You see these boxes for $3K, $7K, $15K. These just doesn't sound like hobby interest. Are companies buying these things and cannibalizing them to keep existing systems working? If so, how many of these units could possibly be in production? I mean, I love the boxes, but how many companies would admit to still having them? I can't imagine that these would be approved from a security/risk perspective.
Click to expand...

Sometimes the converse is true. If the VAX is part of a certified system then changing it for something non-Vax would be expensive. Canadian nuclear power stations still run on PDP-11's and they recently advertised for programmers. I think they are getting rare and also VAX had ardent followers in the day.

My largest [Micro]VAX[station] is a 4000/300 which is "under-the-counter" fridge sized. Whilst I didn't pay anything for it, the person who gave it to me did get an ASR33 TTY. In the UK a few of these have been available recently for reasonable prices. (<$500).

If you hang about on here, perhaps CCTALK, perhaps comp.os.vms on Usenet News then I am sure something will pop up.
 
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