ditto@cbmvax.UUCP (Michael "Ford" Ditto) (01/25/89)
I finally got around to buying a spare Unix PC (a 7300 with 512K/10M) and, having previous experience mostly with 3B1s, I found two surprises. 1) It has the "daughter board" emulating the three custom chips. I knew these boards existed but I didn't think they were very common; are they? All of the ICs in the machine are dated mid- to late- 1984, perhaps this is just a very early machine. The serial number on the sticker on the main board is lower than the one in the picture in the Byte magazine review :-). 2) It has two removable panels on the top of the plastic case top, one on each side of the monitor neck. Underneath each one is a small wedge-shaped (1 to 2 cm deep) compartment with openings to the inside of the machine. What are these for? The only thing that comes to my mind is that they were there to make the plastic molding process easier in some way, but the fact that one contains a sponge and the other doesn't adds to the mystery a bit. I was just wondering if either of these surprises are unusual. I beleive I have seen 7300s without these compartments, and I have seen 1M/40M 7300s with real custom chips. BTW: I bought the machine from DDS, and when it arrived both fan grates were smashed. I'm replacing the case top with a full-height one anyway, so I didn't complain. Besides, DDS is trying so hard to get rid of their 512K/10M machines they gave me a real low price. These are almost useless as computers, but are good spare parts kits. In my case, it's to do some hardware hacking on. Another BTW: DDS sells a set of two working monitors removed from dead machines for $50.00. They include the complete case top, and they (the ones I got, at least), are the full height type, so it's an easy way to put a full height drive inside a 7300 (and have two spare monitors when you're done). YABTW: Having a spare monitor is good if you ever have to do hardware troubleshooting inside a Unix PC, because you can have the case top "folded" back (where it has to be for the power to be connected) and have the extra monitor sitting to the left where you can see it. -- -=] Ford [=- "The number of Unix installations (In Real Life: Mike Ditto) has grown to 10, with more expected." ford@kenobi.cts.com - The Unix Programmer's Manual, ...!sdcsvax!crash!elgar!ford 2nd Edition, June, 1972. ditto@cbmvax.commodore.com