[rescue] Rescued VAX 4500 question

[Brian Hechinger]

On Thu, Jun 13, 2002 at 10:25:06PM -0500, Scott Newell wrote:
> 
> So I'm a stark raving idiot!  I've read through most of the LSI-11 docs
> that came with the old iron, and I've got the XINU book.  From those, I
> formed a mental picture of a machine with <64kB address space, a serial
> port, a paper tape interface, and the ODT.  To me, that sounds kinda like

yes, it has those things, as well as up to 4MB ram in some cases, ethernet in
most cases, disks, tape drives, what do you want to hook up to it?  you probably
can.

> an old C-64, TRS-80, or S-100 bus system.  I'd consider stuff like that

not even close.  the PDP-11 is a multiuser system.  actually, THE system that
BSD UNIX was developed on.  not so shabby after all, eh? ;)

> collectable (hell, I'd still like to have an HP-85), but that's a lot of
> heat and space for what sounds like an awfully slow and limited machine.

slow by what standards?  i've got a PDP-11/83 that is going to be a DECnet
router as well as a smalltime webserver, and whatever else i manage to make
the thing do.  maybe only 18Mhz, but an efficient 18Mhz.

> Is my mental picture of the LSI-11 completely wrong?

with then exception of the heat?  yes.  ;)

i would talk to dave m if i were you.  he could really get you straightened out.

-brian
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