Subject: VT278 / DecMate available.

From: [email-masked] (Alan R Sieving)
Date: Wed, 31 Aug 1994 02:38:02 GMT

Hi- A coworker recently acquired a VT278/Decmate? which we don't know
the condition of, nor do we have any need for it.  As I am not an '8
person (we do 11s) I'll describe it, and you can tell me if it is
worthwhile.

It is a VT100-like chassis/CRT with keyboard, and a quad sized
backplane in the back.  There are two boards in the backplane, a board
with Comm 0 and 1, and a <CPU?> board with connectors for Disk,
Printer, and the keyboard.  The Comm board (M8437) has 2 2651's, and
two empty 40 pin sockets.  The CPU board (M8436) has two 6402's, two
6121's, a 6120, and six Sips, with four 4116's on each.  The boards
date from 1982.

Again, condition is unknown.  (If I plug it in, do I need a disk?  I
can tell the boards are in the backplane with the right orientation,
but is there a specific slot order?)  Does anyone want this for parts?
Is it worth the cost of shipping?  (Or should I keep the CRT for a
spare?)

In an unrelated question, How did DEC decide on the M-number
assignments?  They obviously aren't ordered by age, so how did these
numbers get assigned?

Thanks!
-- 
  --al.
Alan Sieving,  [email-masked]   or   [email-masked]
Quickware Engineering & Design,  225 Riverview Ave Waltham, MA, 02154-3874
W: 617-647-3800,  FAX: 617-647-3311   800-237-1185 for fast PDP-11's.