Re: HP 1000 A900 ("Magic") Questions
On Sat, Dec 18, 2021 at 11:46 PM Joseph Dziedzic via cctalk wrote: > > Are you still in need of any HP1000 RTE equipment? I have a lot of boards, > chassis’, tape drives, etc. If not and if you know of someone who would be > interested in this equipment please let me know…Kind Regards…Joe > Where are you located? While shipping boards might not be expensive, shipping chassis and tape drives could be expensive depending on location. Do you have a list of what equipment you have?
Re: HP 1000 A900 ("Magic") Questions
SMECC NEEDS TO BEG BUY OR TRADE FOR SCSSI HP TAPE REEL TO REEL DRIVES HELP? ED# In a message dated 12/19/2021 12:46:49 AM US Mountain Standard Time, cctalk@classiccmp.org writes: Are you still in need of any HP1000 RTE equipment? I have a lot of boards, chassis’, tape drives, etc. If not and if you know of someone who would be interested in this equipment please let me know…Kind Regards…Joe Sent from my iPhone
Re: HP 1000 A900 ("Magic") Questions
Are you still in need of any HP1000 RTE equipment? I have a lot of boards, chassis’, tape drives, etc. If not and if you know of someone who would be interested in this equipment please let me know…Kind Regards…Joe Sent from my iPhone
RE: HP 1000 A900 ("Magic") Questions
>-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
> wrote:
>>
>> Aficionados;
>>
>> I'm interested in acquiring an HP1000 A900, in any form-factor.
>> (http://www.hpmuseum.net/display_item.php?hw=594)
>Another hard part is the 1 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.
>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
Re: HP 1000 A900 ("Magic") Questions
On Fri, May 10, 2019 at 4:14 AM Paul Birkel via cctech wrote: > > Aficionados; > > I'm interested in acquiring an HP1000 A900, in any form-factor. > (http://www.hpmuseum.net/display_item.php?hw=594) > > Basic need would be a chassis/backplane/PS and minimal set of > CPU/memory/HPIB-controller/terminal-IO PCA, however I'd be interested in > simply acquiring a PCA-set and I'll work the chassis/backplane/PS > separately. Even single PCAs would give me a helpful push forwards. > > And I need to stick to my hobby (beer") budget. > > I'm located in Maryland, USA, and pretty sure that the cost of overseas > shipping would be ghastly for a chassis. But maybe not as bad for the tower > configuration as for the rack-mount. > > If I understand correctly, the CPU consists of: > > 12201A A900 Sequencer Card > 12202A A900 Data Path Card > 12203A A900 Cache Controller > 12204A A900 Memory Controller > 12220A 768KB RAM (Or I presume 12103D 1MB, 12221A 3 MB, or 12221B 8 MB.) > > I imagine that I'll need to synthesize my own OTT "frontplane" for the > memory. > > 12009A HP-IB Controller > 12040D Asynchronous Multiplexer interface board The hard part is the A900 chassis/backplane/PS. Jesse / Cypress Technology has some 2139A 20-slot listed on eBay, but definitely not at hobby budget prices. No idea how much room he has for "Make Offer". I have rarely seen the A900 chassis come up for sale on eBay. Another hard part is the 1 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. The core A900 CPU set 12201A / 12202A / 12203A / 12204A appear to be common enough on eBay if you are willing to pay somewhere in the range of $50 - $175 per board. $200 for a complete CPU board set might not be too bad for a hobby budget, but you can easily go 2x or more higher than that buying the boards individually. The 12220 768KB and 12221 3MB boards are also common enough, typically somewhere in the range of $50 - $175 per board. The 12221 8MB boards seem somewhat rare. The A400/A600/A700 12103 memory boards are not compatible with the A900. 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. 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. The best deal would often be on a complete chassis/backplane/PS box with the complete CPU card set, if you can ever find one, rather than buying individual parts here and there. I got a complete A900 box and boards from Sellam for somewhere around $200, but that was a few years ago now. I should get rid of a lot of the stuff I have collected over the years, but don't plan on getting rid of the A900 anytime soon. If you do get a working A-series up and running, the RTE-A installation tapes are available on Bitsavers.
HP 1000 A900 ("Magic") Questions
Aficionados; I'm interested in acquiring an HP1000 A900, in any form-factor. (http://www.hpmuseum.net/display_item.php?hw=594) Basic need would be a chassis/backplane/PS and minimal set of CPU/memory/HPIB-controller/terminal-IO PCA, however I'd be interested in simply acquiring a PCA-set and I'll work the chassis/backplane/PS separately. Even single PCAs would give me a helpful push forwards. And I need to stick to my hobby (beer") budget. I'm located in Maryland, USA, and pretty sure that the cost of overseas shipping would be ghastly for a chassis. But maybe not as bad for the tower configuration as for the rack-mount. If I understand correctly, the CPU consists of: 12201A A900 Sequencer Card 12202A A900 Data Path Card 12203A A900 Cache Controller 12204A A900 Memory Controller 12220A 768KB RAM (Or I presume 12103D 1MB, 12221A 3 MB, or 12221B 8 MB.) I imagine that I'll need to synthesize my own OTT "frontplane" for the memory. 12009A HP-IB Controller 12040D Asynchronous Multiplexer interface board Thank you for your insights, and opportunities (I hope), paul (offlist at pbir...@gmail.com)
