System Industries MSCP disk controller problem

Fri Dec 4 06:08:37 AEST 1998

   Dear Tim,

   I have just tried configuring the board as you have suggested and it
works! Thanks! You have saved the Project!

   When I tried starting WOMBAT, it also worked. However, there are tons of
configuration parameters you can set there. All 4 disks connected to this
controller are already configured and formatted, so for now I'd just leave
it alone and install Ultrix on these disks as they are. For the future,
however, I would really appreciate being able to configure all that stuff.
Do you have a full manual for this controller? Would you mind sending me a
xerox copy?

> What else are commercial developers left to do now that
> DEC (after over a decade of trying to) has finally abandoned their
> PDP-11 product line?

   What about VAXen? Can you still call 1-800-DIGITAL with a _BIG_ credit
card in hand and order a VAX?

> You might be a bit hasty in casting these off, as you aren't having
> the best of luck with the rest of the peripherals, either!

   Well, now that the WQESD works and while I'm waiting for the TQK50 (one
very friendly PUPS member is providing me with a working one), I can turn
my attention to these two. Let's start with the 2-drive ESDI one. The
Emulex logo and copyright appear in a lot of places, so there is no problem
with identification. The board is labeled "ASSY QD2110402 REV G", and just
like every other Emulex board I have ever seen, it has a 40-pin chip with
an Emulex SUB-ASSY sticker. In this case it's "QD2110202-00G". Do you know
anything about this board? It has two switch packs, one of 4 and one of 8.
What are the switch settings?

   Now let's turn to the 9-track tape controller. Again there is no problem
with identification (straight Emulex). The board is labeled "ASSY
QT1310401-00 REV E" and the 40-pin chip is labeled "QT1310201-02 REV K".
Again it has one 4-switch pack and one 8-switch pack. There is something
seriously wrong with this board, since when it's present in the backplane
the CPU refuses to power up. It stalls at that infamous 9 very early in the
power-up sequence, before any console tests or displays, suggesting that
something is HORRIBLY wrong with Q-bus (maybe a short or something?).

   And while we are at it, I have a question about 9-track tape transports
and controllers in general. I often hear about something called Pertec.
What is it? Is it some kind of standard interface that nearly all tape
transports use? It is what this QT13 controller is for? (It has 2 50-lead
connectors.) I remember at CWRU there was a very neat-looking tape
transport called Cipher. It looked EXACTLY like DEC TS05, suggesting that
it's what the TS05 really is. That one also had a two-50-lead-cables
interface as far as I could tell (it was disconnected). It also appeared to
be dual-ported. Does this mean that DEC also used this Pertec interface?
Then why are there different DEC controllers for different DEC 9-track tape
transports (TSV05 for TS05, KLESI for TU81+, etc.)? If they were all Pertec
one controller would fit all, wouldn't it? Or is that some DEC 9-track tape
hardware uses Pertec and other DEC hardware doesn't?

   Moving on to the next and last unidentified flying board. This one is a
total mystery. The board is labeled "SIGMA INFORMATION SYSTEMS, INC." and
"ASSY NO 400135 REV A". There are NO microprocessors, ROMs, or any other
LSI chips on the board, only SSI/MSI chips, resistors, and capacitors. It's
a dual-height board. It has 3 8-switch packs. There is one 40-lead shrouded
header connector on the board, and a straight 40-lead ribbon cable connects
it to a bulkhead which has a female 37-lead D-sub connector on the outside.
Any ideas on what in the world is this?

> I'm willing to bet that you have severe Q-bus continuity problems,
> especially now that you've told us that you have an expansion Q-bus
> cabinet and that you've been randomly moving Q-bus cards around.

   I am perfectly aware of the fact that Q-bus requires grant continuity
and, no, I was NOT moving cards around "randomly". I have them in the order
DEC recommends in all of its manuals. There is no problem with the
expansion backplane either, the WQESD is quite happy sitting there right
now.

> Is the "BA23" indeed a real DEC BA23, and not the Sigma "clone"?

   A real DEC one, of course. While I have never been a DEC engineer or
anything like that, I have certainly seen and used enough BA23s to tell one
from a third-party box.

   The expansion backplane is Sigma, though.

> The sigma 5.25" 9-slot backplanes have very different backplane
> wirings (and, indeed, putting a DEC dual-wide Microvax CPU into
> it will very likely cause damage.)

   Yes, I know. The yellow sticker on the expansion backplane says:
"CAUTION! Do not install MicroVAX or KDJ11-B series CPUs into this
backplane."

   Sincerely,
   Michael Sokolov
   Cellular phone: 216-217-2579
   ARPA Internet SMTP mail: msokolov at harrier.Uznet.NET

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