Greetings, all, While getting ready for VCF Midwest etc, I have been spending a lot of hobby time in the past year digging out various DEC minicomputer items and testing/repairing them. To that end, I've been staring at a DSD480 on top of a PDP-8 rack. It's one of the ones with the DSD 26-pin interface. My question is that since there are several different devices with that connector, are any of them compatible with each other?
Specifically, here are the DSD interfaces with a 26-pin connector: 802130 DSD210 PDP-11 Interface (26 pin) (2130) 802131 DSD440 DSD210 PDP-8 Interface (26 pin) (2131) 802132 DSD210 LSI-11 Interface (26 pin) (2132) 804430 DSD440 PDP-11 PDP-11 Interface (26 pin) (4430) 804432 DSD440 LSI-11 LSI-11 Interface (26 pin) (4432) 808830 DSD880 (SA850/SA1004) PDP11 Interface Card (26 pin) (8830) 808832 DSD880 (SA850/SA1004) LSI-11 Interface Card (26 pin) (8832) 808836 DSD880/20/30 (SA850/Q240) LSI-11 Interface Card (26 pin) (8836) It looks like the 2131 board is Omnibus and works with either the DSD440 or DSD210, but on the PDP-11, can the 883x interfaces work with older drives or do they only work with the DSD880 floppy/hard drive box? I remember where/when I got this DSD480, so it seems likely to me that I have a PDP-11/34 with an 4430 board in it. I could probably use an 2131 board just so I have an Omnibus interface. I also have an 808836 board but do _not_ have a DSD880. I've found the prints on bitsavers that cover the DSD440/480 interface so I know what signals are there, but I haven't found the equivalent docs for the DSS880, just user guides. Anyone here know enough about DSD products to shed some light? Thanks, -ethan
