[mod.computers.vax] Max amps summary

phil@RICE.EDU (William LeFebvre) (12/07/85)

> On page 466 of the VAX Hardware Handbook (1982-83 edition) in appendix K
> It says that the power available is:
> 25.0 amps at +5 v
> 2.0 amps at +15 v
> 3.5 amps at -15 v

I suspect that either the publication was in error, or the reader was
not very thorough.  I don't have an 82-83 edition of the Hardware
Handbook handy, so I can't scrutinize it myself.  BUT, I do know that
the power available on a *780* unibus is 25.0 amps at +5 V.  I also
know that the power available on a *750* unibus is 32.0 amps at +5 V.
Two curious things about the hardware handbook.  First, it is a
description of all VAX hardware.  Sometimes it is easy to get lost in
the book and not realize that you are reading a "780 only" section
instead of a general section or a "750 only" section.  The other oddity
is that at first, the Hardware Handbook only had to describe the 780.
So it is possible that when DEC revised the book to include 750's, they
forgot to clarify all the sections (like the one telling you how much
power there is on a 750 unibus).

			William LeFebvre
			Department of Computer Science
			Rice University
			<phil@Rice.arpa>
                        or, for the daring: <phil@Rice.edu>

info-vax@ucbvax.UUCP (12/14/85)

In article <1616.phil.Dione@Rice> phil@RICE.EDU (William LeFebvre) writes:
>> On page 466 of the VAX Hardware Handbook (1982-83 edition) in appendix K
>> It says that the power available is:
>> 25.0 amps at +5 v
>> 2.0 amps at +15 v
>> 3.5 amps at -15 v

>I suspect that either the publication was in error, or the reader was
>not very thorough.  I don't have an 82-83 edition of the Hardware
>Handbook handy, so I can't scrutinize it myself.  BUT, I do know that
>the power available on a *780* unibus is 25.0 amps at +5 V.  I also
>know that the power available on a *750* unibus is 32.0 amps at +5 V.

That maybe true, but when our VAX-11/750 was delivered, there were ONLY
25.0 Amps @ +5 volts power supplies in it!
When DEC was asked about this, the answer was: Well, all the new ones
of VAX-11/750 is shipped with 32.0 Amps @ 5 volts.  You must have got
an old one.   But they can be upgraded for a very little extra sum of
money!
We payed the price some months back, because when we had an extra
disk controller in the backplane, the UDA50/RA81 started to report
all sorts of hard/soft errors, due to a too big power drain.

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