Category Archives: Retro-Computing

After a long wait we finally got to do the next DEC Legacy this weekend. It was started in 2010 and is run on a semi-regular basis and it is something I look forward to every year. There were fewer … Continue reading →

I have just acquired a VAXstation 3520. This is a 2-processor machine, but I got a second processor card with it from another partially complete 3520 to make it a 4-processor machine and really this makes it a VAXstation 3540. … Continue reading →

I recently turned once again to trying to get the DECstation 220 working. I have the original motherboard and a spare one. Both had battery damage and neither one works. The spare actually works less well than the original but … Continue reading →

I have a number of RF72 hard disks. These are 1GB DSSI disks (DEC rather grandiosely called them Integrated Storage Elements, or ISEs). Most of them work well, but I have one that will not spin up. The console firmware … Continue reading →

A few years ago I acquired a KDA50, which consists of 2 modules, the M7164 and the M7165, an RA72 disk, two RA70 disks, an RA60 disk drive, an operator control panel (OCP) and some big cables, with one I/O … Continue reading →

Recently I fixed the power supply of my VAXmate, but found that there was a problem on the monitor board, which may be what caused the power supply to fail in the first place. My suspicion immediately fell on the … Continue reading →

I have a MicroVAX 3100 Model 95 that I acquired some years ago. At 32 VUPs it is one of the faster MicroVAXen. Some time ago I stopped using it because memory modules would suddenly stop working. At the time, … Continue reading →

In previous posts I have been describing my attempts to find a fault in the H7270 power supply of my VAXmate. After a long time studying and testing it I finally found the fault. It was a shorted diode (marked … Continue reading →