I still have a large supply of DEC SCSI drives, and some BA350’s shelves for them, but I have switched my main VAXen over to SCSI-to-SD boards, though except for the VAXstation 4000/90 it makes more sense to use SIMH. I used to be dead against emulating hardware for VMS, these days I would rather have a nice low-power and reliable solution.
Zane > On Nov 30, 2025, at 4:00 PM, Peter Ekstrom via cctalk <[email protected]> > wrote: > Hi Jerry, > > The ones I am seeing now range from a little over $500 up well over $1000. > But I will keep an eye on what pops up. > And perhaps some other opportunity will present itself too. Who knows. I > have a couple of MFM emulators for my PDPs > so a SCSI emulator would be neat. Those old drives tend to get pricey and > you never know how long they will last. > > - Peter > >> On Sun, Nov 30, 2025 at 6:25 PM Jerry Weiss <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> If you are patient, its likely a MicroVAX 3100 at a lower price will >> eventually appear. >> >> For disks I would suggest a SCSI2SD (now ZuluSCSI ?) or BlueSCSI >> devices. You can partition one SD card into several drives. Using >> industrial endurance SD cards is preferable, and slightly more >> expensive, but in the sizes you are likely to need (~32 GB or less), it >> shouldn't be too bad. SD card speed is not a factor. >> >> Checking out the electrolytic capacitors at the onset is important. It >> can be hard to diagnose and repair semiconductors in switching power >> supplies damaged by a shorted capacitor. >> >> Jerry >> >> >> ------ Original Message ------ >> From "Peter Ekstrom via cctalk" <[email protected]> >> To "Wayne S" <[email protected]> >> Cc "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" >> <[email protected]>; "Peter Ekstrom" <[email protected]> >> Date 11/30/2025 3:27:23 PM >> Subject [cctalk] Re: VAX and OpenVMS >> >>> Ok, good things to keep in mind. And glad to hear I was right in thinking >>> it seemed a bit high. >>> Thank you, >>> - Peter >>>> On Sun, Nov 30, 2025 at 4:19 PM Wayne S <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> It depends on what the machine still has inside. >>>> If you have to add disk and memory that will be expensive. >>>> Also, if memory is missing, I’d be suspicious that the machine was >> faulty >>>> from the beginning. >>>> $550 seems like a lot for a machine, especially if it’s not running. >>>> Just my opinion. >>>> I got my 3100 about two years ago for $90. Just missing disc drives. >>>> Sent from my iPhone >>>>> On Nov 30, 2025, at 13:14, Peter Ekstrom via cctalk < >>>> [email protected]> wrote: >>>>> I have no problem replacing caps in PSUs so if that's the only >> problem >>>> I'm >>>>> good. Although the battery damage you mention can be quite a bit >> trickier >>>>> (if at all possible) to fix. >>>>> Unfortunately many of the sellers on eBay don't really know, so it is >>>> part >>>>> of the risk one takes. So I am trying to make sure I pay a low but >> fair >>>>> price. >>>>> - Peter >>>>>> On Sun, Nov 30, 2025 at 3:54 PM Peter Coghlan via cctalk < >>>>>> [email protected]> wrote: >>>>>>> Very interesting thread. I was kinda thinking too that someone >> running >>>>>> VMS >>>>>>> on a machine for hobby use would be too small of a potato to go >> after. >>>>>>> Incidentally, what would y'all value a MicroVAX 3100 at? I am >> looking >>>> at >>>>>>> one on eBay for $550 but am considering making a lower offer. >>>>>>> I have no details about it so don't know the amount of memory and >> such. >>>>>> I have about five or six MicroVAX 3100s and a similar number of >>>> Vaxstation >>>>>> 3100s. >>>>>> They were all given to me or rescued from being dumped so I didn't >> pay a >>>>>> penny >>>>>> for any of them. Almost all of them have had problems with >> electrolytic >>>>>> capacitors in the power supplies leaking. The nicad battery packs >> would >>>>>> also >>>>>> have leaked if I hadn't removed them years ago. >>>>>> If you are thinking of paying money for a Microvax 3100, I suggest >> you >>>> make >>>>>> sure it hasn't already been damaged by leakage from capacitors or >>>> batteries >>>>>> and if you do aquire it, take immediate steps to make sure it >> doesn't >>>> soon >>>>>> get >>>>>> damaged by same. >>>>>> Regards, >>>>>> Peter Coghlan.
