On 21/03/2024 22:03, Jonathan Stone wrote:
What kind of VAX 4000? One with DSSI connectors on the "S:U", or the
/VAX 4000-200/KA660, which has serial and Ethernet? IIRC you can
klludge up the latter using a KA630 SLU, and either re-using the
AUI/10base-2 part of the SLU,
or kludging one from a DEQNA/DELQA to act like the AUI-select switch
setting and AUI of the original
Those come off the KA660 in a single IDC connector, 50 pin if memory
serves.
I have no idea about substituting for DSSI.
It's a VAX 4000-300 (KA670) in a BA440, so it has two DSSI, ethernet,
the usual switches and LED display. I can switch ethernet between AUI
and BNC (the green LEDs change) and I have known working DETPM
AUI<->RJ45 interfaces, so ethernet may be OK. I have found one panel for
a KA650 (uV 3500/3600) that has an OK connector but is otherwise a bit
toasty, so I'll try carefully removing that tomorrow. If that goes OK,
then I'll remove the MMJ socket from the VAX 4000 console SLU: it's dead
so there's not really much risk here as long as I'm careful with the
PCB. At least I could then tack on 6 wires and find a way of
interfacing. I do have at least one H8584-AC, which is an MMJ socket and
an RJ45 plug. So with a bit of measuring I could probably find an RJ45
socket and rig up some temporary franken-console. Or, if the KA650 donor
is really too far gone, and its socket survives half a dozen cable
insertion-removals with no harm, then I could just fit that in place.
If the console ethernet doesn't work, I think I can drop in the DELQA
with appropriate handles from the KA650 system ... I think that the
BA440 Q-bus metalwork and the BA213 metalwork are compatible. If not I
have one Q-bus DELQA panel and I'm sure that neither the VAX nor
anything else in there with it care too much about RF interference these
days!
I can find new MMJ plugs all over the place (admittedly I'm assuming
that Mouser and Farnell could actually supply them!!) but the
corresponding sockets seem to be lost to time. Or at least they remain
beyond my goolge-fu.
Antonio
--
Antonio Carlini
anto...@acarlini.com
