On Sun, Nov 11, 2018 at 7:41 AM Alan Perry <ape...@snowmoose.com> wrote: > > > > On 11/10/18 11:00 PM, Tony Duell wrote: > > On Sun, Nov 11, 2018 at 6:56 AM Alan Perry <ape...@snowmoose.com> wrote: > >> > >> > >> On 11/10/18 10:51 PM, Tony Duell wrote: > >>> On Sun, Nov 11, 2018 at 6:47 AM Alan Perry via cctalk > >>> <cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > >>> > >>>> What I got was the system unit, a VR201 monitor, a keyboard, a vertical > >>>> deskside stand for the system unit, and a LQP02 daisy wheel printer. I > >>>> also got the MS-DOS and CP/M doc and software slip cover boxes. The CP/M > >>>> disk box is still sealed and the CP/M docs are still in shrink wrap. The > >>>> specific need that the seller bought it for involved MS-DOS, not CP/M. > >>> Does it have any of the optional expansion boards (hard disk controller, > >>> RAM, graphics) in it? > >> Right now I am looking up how to open up the system unit and see what's > >> inside. > > There's a catch on each side under the 'step'. Release those and the > > cover comes off. Unplug the drive and power cables from the main > > PCB assembly (at the rear right), undo the thumbscrews on the back > > and the PCB assembly slides out. > Nice.
Yes, this series of machines (Rainbow, DECmate II, Pro300) can be dismantled into the FRUs without using tools. Not that that is a great advantage for us now, since once you've taken it apart you most likely need a soldering iron, 'scope, logic analyser, etc to fix it. > > It is clean on the inside. A very thin coating of dust. > > As far as the hardware itself ... > > There is nothing in the left-side drive bay, just the dual floppy drive > in the right-side bay. > > There is a memory expansion board (how can one determine its size?) and I seem to remember there are at least 2 versions of the RAM card. The older one doesn't have a DIP switch on it and can only take 64K DRAMs. I've only ever seen it with a full set of RAMs soldered in, giving an extra 192K (3 banks of RAM). The later one has a 4-way DIP switch on it. Each bank of RAMs (9 chips each) can either be 64K or 256K. You have to set the switch appropriately (I think positions 1-3 are the size of each of the 3 banks of RAM, position 4 enables/ disables parity checking).. If you have that one, it's probably easiest to see what RAMs are installed. > the board that the floppy drive connects to (is it all floppy controller?). Yes. A lot of it is the data separator. > > That's it. > > Is there anything that I should check on it before I connect it to power? > Depends on how lucky you feel. I would always test the PSU on a dummy load before connecting the boards and drive. -tony