Subject: Re: Canonical Flip-Chip Terminology

From: [email-masked] (Aron Insinga)
Date: Mon, 6 Jun 1994 04:25:06 GMT

The DEC Alphabet? ABCDEFHJKLMNPRSTUV
Used to number pins on Flip Chip Modules.
Missing some letters to prevent confusion
(especially when there is solder stuck on them?)

More trivia: What color(s) were the handles on M-series modules?

- Aron Insinga
  (employed by DEC 1978-1994)
  (experienced C++ programmer for hire!)

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From: [email-masked] (Charles Lasner)
Date: 6 Jun 1994 13:18:33 GMT

>(especially when there is solder stuck on them?)

WXYZ *are* part of the "DEC Alphabet" but aren't required for Flip Chip 
Modules.  As proof, look at the pin numbering scheme for more complex 
cables such as -8/e connectors.  After the alphabet is exhausted, you 
continue with double-letters taken from the same set.

>More trivia: What color(s) were the handles on M-series modules?

Later: Magenta (obvious)

Early: Red (obscure)

Also most of the early cards have unreliable chips that are usually 
blue.  Some people summarily replace all of the Sprague chips on sight.  
(Both handle colors.)

Additional trivia: What color(s) (besides red!) were used in more than 
one module handle series?

cjl

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From: [email-masked] (Mike McCrohan)
Date: 8 Jun 1994 21:46:51 +0100

In article <[email-masked]>, PDP11 Hacker ..... wrote:
> In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (Mike McCrohan) writes...
> >handles, and the Width was measured along the fingers. The thickness of
> >the board was always referred to a so many layers.
> 
> To me, the number of layers of a circuit board refers to the number of copper
> layers in the PCB - for example, most of the boards in my 11/45 are 4-layer as
> they have circuit traces on both surfaces, and internal power and ground
> planes. Are you saying that DEC used the term layers to refer to the number of
> slots across a backplane that a module would cover?

No disagreement. Maybe I worded my original badly, but Layers did/does
indeed refer to the number of copper layers as you state. 

> 
> >The 11/20 was constructed from single, double and quad height boards -
> >all double width. The 8/e is all dual height quads.
> 
> That's inconsistent, surely. As I understand the terms, the 11/20 was made from
> single, dual and quad height boards, and the 8/e was all quad _height_ dual
> length. That's the way the terms are used in my DEC logic handbook.
> Anyway, if you are having quad height boards in an 11/20, you'd better have
> them in the 8/e as well...
> 

We are not in disagreement. The terms "width" and "length" have been
used interchangebly wrt the DEC modules. As a technician, I and my peers
used the word Width to describe the dimension of the board as measured
along the handles. Yes, the 8/e was built completely with quad height
dual length/width boards - i.e. 4 sets of gold fingers and about 8.5"
from handles to fingers. The 11/20 was built of boards that were 8.5"
finger to handles, and included 1,2 and 4 sets of Fingers.

The issue of terminology is further clouded in Computer Engineering
where, on page 118 Best, Douane and McNamara refer to "extended quad",
"Hex" and "Super Hex" modules.

> > 
> >Trivia: (Mention of the fingers reminded me)
> >        What letters are missing in the DEC Alphabet? And where is that
> >        alphabet used? And why are those letters missing?
> 
> A,B,C,D,E,F,H,J,K,L,M,N,P,R,S,T,U,V  - the letters of the pins on a standard
> (flip-chip) board slot.
> Missing are 
> G (looks like C??)
> I (confusion with 1)
> O (confusion with 0)
> Q (ditto)
> W,X,Y,Z (too few pins :-))
> 

Yep. Full marks.

Regards,
Mike

.
.
.
.
.
.
.

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From: [email-masked] (Mike McCrohan)
Date: 8 Jun 1994 21:46:57 +0100

>   (experienced C++ programmer for hire!)

Magenta (some claimed Maroon. The M fits either way)

-Mike: DEC 1971-1992

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From: [email-masked] (Aron Insinga)
Date: Mon, 13 Jun 1994 17:10:08 GMT

>Magenta (some claimed Maroon. The M fits either way)

Also Metal-colored (trick question?) although perhaps the
metal-handled modules were considered to be in the Magenta module
series too.  I don't think any hex module had colored plastic handles.
The metal-handled modules had toggles on the top 2 corners that could
lock the module in place to keep it from wobbling around.  I think
that included most of the 11/45 cpu and the 2020 cpu and many later
machines.

Hmm, how about the modules without handles, e.g. PDT-11/150?  Are't
they M also series?  If so, there's a third color: invisible!

- Aron Insinga

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From: [email-masked] (PDP11 Hacker .....)
Date: Mon, 13 Jun 1994 19:31:00 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (Aron Insinga) writes...

[M series module handles]
>metal-handled modules were considered to be in the Magenta module

The M-series modules with metal handles had the type number written in Magenta
paint. I have a few G-series hex modules (16K word core planes for a PDP11),
and those have green paint for the type number.

>series too.  I don't think any hex module had colored plastic handles.

On the other hand,
Some Q-Bus quad modules (RLV11 for example) had metal handles...

>that included most of the 11/45 cpu and the 2020 cpu and many later

The entire 11/45 CPU including floating point and memory management was on
hex-height modules, except for the M8109 timing board which was a quad.

>they M also series?  If so, there's a third color: invisible!

Were there ever H-series modules (I am wondering if the braided ROM subboard on
the MR8-E for example. The manual describes it as a M880 quad module with an
H241 braid board mounted on it)?. If so, did it have handles (the picture shoes
it as a shorter-length quad board, _with_ handles), and what colour. My guess
is green, which would mean that green was used for both G and H modules.

>- Aron Insinga
-tony

Bristol University takes no responsibility for the views expressed in this
posting. They are the personal views of the user concerned.

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From: [email-masked] (Mike McCrohan)
Date: 17 Jun 1994 01:06:48 +0100

> is green, which would mean that green was used for both G and H modules.
The H- designation was generally for Cabinets, power supplies,
regulators and related equipment. H960 cab, H722 ps, etc come to mind.
Certain power cables/connectors also, I think had the H- designation.
Also, the core memory stacks were Hxxx, were they not?

The M- and G-series carried on from the plastic handled boards as in the
8/e and 11/20 to the metal handled equivalents in the 11/40, 11/05 and
later 11s. As has been stated the number stamped on the handles was in
green or magenta to match its g-series or m-series family.

The VAX finally departed from M series CPU modiles with the introduction
of the extended hex boards. Are these not H-series too? (Major brain rot
in the memory are here).

On reflection, H was used all over the shop!

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From: [email-masked] (Ronald Copley)
Date: 17 Jun 94 10:26:56 EDT

> Some Q-Bus quad modules (RLV11 for example) had metal handles...

LSI-11 CPU board (quad) had metal handles...

>>they M also series?  If so, there's a third color: invisible!

Well, since the 150 had an /03 (or /23, if you had the EIS/FIS chipset and
dual microm) CPU, I guess it could be construed to be indirectly M-series...

--
Ronald Copley, owner           |  As always, I'm interested in your old
Informatiks                    |  computer equipment. Particularly DEC,
Scottown OH                    |  Pyramid, and DG.
1.614.643.1340                 |  If you have Pink Fairies bootlegs, etc.
<[email-masked]>  |  *please* contact me!
--

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From: [email-masked] (John Wilson)
Date: 19 Jun 1994 18:47:28 GMT

In article <1994Jun17.102656.6787@muvms6>,

>dual microm) CPU, I guess it could be construed to be indirectly M-series...

Um no, the 2-in-1 microm and EIS/FIS microm just made it an /03 with EIS/FIS.
F-11 is an entirely different chipset.  Anyway this sounds familiar, I'm 99%
sure that the 11/150 boards really had "Mxxxx" designations, and I think the
handle-less board in an LA120 does too (both are in storage or I'd look).

John Wilson

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From: [email-masked] (PDP11 Hacker .....)
Date: Sun, 19 Jun 1994 19:16:00 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (John Wilson) writes...
>handle-less board in an LA120 does too (both are in storage or I'd look).

Acording to the printset, the RX02 board had M-series numbers - 
M7744 for the controller 
M7745 for the Read/Write board

Both are handle-less, and not plugged into edge connectors

>John Wilson

While we're talking about obscure DEC boards, 
a) What is the official name for a quad-sized board is _one_ double-sided
18-pin connector. The only one that I know of is the VT105 'waveform
generator' - the board you stick in a VT100 to make it a graphics terminal

b) In the VT55, there's an extra board, over and above what you find in a VT52,
to give it the graphics feautres. This board is hex-height, but it's not
plugged into anything - the connections are made by flying leads with sockets
that fit onto pins on the standard PCBs. However, the edge connectors on the
hex height board seem to be connected to somewhere - basically, why.
Was it for testing, or was there ever a device that accepted a VT55 graphics
board plugged in on the edge connectors?

-tony

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From: [email-masked]
Date: 20 Jun 94 09:47:00 MDT

> of the extended hex boards. Are these not H-series too? (Major brain rot

While it's been an awfully long time since I looked in a /780, I know that a
lot of the strange stuff used in VAXes was labelled L-series. I know the
VAXstation 3520/3540 used L-series and I'm fairly certain that the /750 used
L-series, also.

VAXBI, on the other hand, are T-series...
-- 
----------------+------------------------------------------------------
Roger Ivie      | Don't think of it as a 'new' computer, think of it as
[email-masked] |     'obsolete-ready'

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From: [email-masked] (Aron Insinga)
Date: Tue, 21 Jun 1994 04:31:01 GMT

There was also a list (perhaps only written in someone's gray matter) of wha
the colors meant, and some of them were mnemonic.  This actually is usefull
to get a vague idea of what some module designation is for.  What I recollect
(just a few bits) is:

  K series - blacK - industrial Kontrol
  W series - White - Wire your own (is that the right wording?) [blank]
  S series - red(!) - for pdp-8/S
  A series - Amber - Analog

I'm sure this isn't true of all colors/series, but does anyone know more?
(If this was earlier in the thread, I apologize.)  These are discussed to
some extent in _Computer Engineering_ circa pages 112-118 (where 'hex' etc.
are mentioned).

- Aron Insinga
  (who likes to watch lights flash more than he likes to flip switches :-)

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From: [email-masked] (Mike McCrohan)
Date: 22 Jun 1994 18:03:56 +0100

> VAXstation 3520/3540 used L-series and I'm fairly certain that the /750 used

Yes, of course, it was/is L-series.

The brain rot is getting worse!

-mike

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From: [email-masked] (Ronald Copley)
Date: 24 Jun 94 08:58:12 EDT

> handle-less board in an LA120 does too (both are in storage or I'd look).

Just checked this and you're right. I must have been high. I need to clear my
head of all the extraneous info floating about in it. At any rate, when someone
gets the Mxxxx designations for the PDT-11, please post them.

--
Ronald Copley, owner           |  As always, I'm interested in your old
Informatiks                    |  computer equipment. Particularly DEC,
1010 Township RD 78W           |  Pyramid, Sun and DG.
Scottown OH  45678-9051        |  
+1.614.643.1340                |  If you have Pink Fairies bootlegs, etc.
<[email-masked]>  |  *please* contact me!
--