>-----Original Message----- >From: cctech [mailto:cctech-boun...@classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Glen Slick >via cctech >Sent: Friday, May 10, 2019 1:34 PM >To: General Discussion: On-Topic Posts >Subject: Re: HP 1000 A900 ("Magic") Questions > >On Fri, May 10, 2019 at 4:14 AM Paul Birkel via cctech ><cct...@classiccmp.org> wrote: >> >> Aficionados; >> >> I'm interested in acquiring an HP1000 A900, in any form-factor. >> (http://www.hpmuseum.net/display_item.php?hw=594)
<snip> >Another hard part is the 12222 memory frontplane. Maybe it wouldn't be >too hard to build an equivalent PCB if the proper connectors can be >acquired. They are 3-row 96-pin connectors. Maybe common DIN 41612 >connectors would work, I haven't looked at that closely. I can confirm that DIN 41612 connectors should work fine, along with a 4-layer PCB. HP doesn't seem to have gone "odd-ball" in that particular design choice. I'd need to get someone to buzz out the connections to ensure that they are 1:1 all the way across before designing a PCB to fit. <snip> >At a minimum you need either a 12005 serial card or a 12040 serial mux >for a console interface. Both of those are fairly common, although you >might pay more for cables than the boards if you don't build cables >yourself. There are several firmware versions for the 12040 mux. If >you have a D mux you need need VCP firmware 4020 or higher on the >12203A cache controller. Cables, and those specialized HP connectors, are always a pain. I would need to make up my own, given my budget, I expect. I do have one or two possible spares from a 21MX I/O environment that probably could be repurposed assuming that the edge-connectors match up ... which they may not. We'll see. Thanks for the notes about the firmware version issue. >As you also said you need a 12009 HPIB card for a storage interface. >Running HPDrive on a PC to emulate disk and tape drives works well if >you don't have any real HPIB disk and tape drives. I managed to pick >up a 12016 SCSI card. Those are rare and expensive. I'll bet! Yes, I was assuming that HPDrive would be the way to proceed; it's good to get confirmation on that point. Also the availability of a suitably configured RTE. paul
