weinhous@dinorah.wustl.edu (Martin S. Weinhous) (11/04/88)
I'm interested in selling a DEC Rainbow system. Does anyone know of any individual, group, or comercial buyer that might be interested? The system (a 100+) is configured with a 10MB winchester, 896kB RAM, dual floppy, graphics option, color monitor, technical character set ROMS (original ROMS still available), floor stand, all manuals, most recent DEC MS-DOS and CP/M (and lots of other software), an LA50 printer, and an extra 192kB memory board. The system has been continuously under a DEC service contract (good to next May). Marty Weinhous usenet --> ...!uunet!wucs1!dinorah!weinhous internet --> weinhous@castor.wustl.edu (314) 362-2600 office (314) 727-6024 home
jeff@ingr.com (Jeff Kilpatrick) (02/22/89)
I just read an article in Digital Review where DEC has slashed prices on their Rainbows, model PC100, and Professional 350. I understand the latter machine runs RSX11M+ and the previous runs DOS. Anyone know if these machines have expansion slots? If so, is it an IBM PC type or DEC proprietary(sp?)? Does it come with support for a serial printer? Any recommendations for using one as a home computer? Thanks in advance.
Kushall.Henr@XEROX.COM (Edward) (02/22/89)
Jeff: The PC100 has a Z80 and 8088 CPU and can run CPM/80/86 and MS-DOS (not PC DOS) The machine is not IBM PC compatiable, although some software for the PC will run on the machine. The computer uses DEC RX50 'dual' disk drive (single side 80 tracks) The machine has a serial printer port and a serial COM port. The computer also emulates a DEC VT-100 terminal (almost!) The machine is somewhat expandable, hower the expansion is via DEC proprietary dedicated cards, there is room for a memory expansion board, a hard disk controller OR (but not both) communications option, graphics option, and an 8087 co-procesor PWB is also available. The base machine is equiped with 64K (original PC100) or 128K(PC100B and PC100+) The PC100+ is a PC100B with a hard disk. Since the mother board holds a max of 128K on the 100B and 64K on the 100B memory expansion is a must for most applications(the 100A requires memory expansion to boot MS-DOS 2.11!) The machine is obsolete and accessories are costly from DEC (20 MB disk and controller list for $2500) I got mine cheap in 84 when I was a student a a school that had a deal with DEC. I is a good machine and there is underground suppor but I don't reccomend getting into one now.
aad@stpstn.UUCP (Anthony A. Datri) (02/22/89)
In article <4028@ingr.com> jeff@ingr.com (Jeff Kilpatrick) writes: >their Rainbows, model PC100, and Professional 350. I understand the latter >machine runs RSX11M+ and the previous runs DOS. Anyone know if these >machines have expansion slots? If so, is it an IBM PC type or DEC >proprietary(sp?)? Does it come with support for a serial printer? Any >recommendations for using one as a home computer? As I understand it, DEC doesn't make either of those any more, but makes pro 380's to use as consoles for big vaxes. The rainbow is an MS-DOS or CPM machine, but *not* pc compatible. 400k rx50 floppy drives. There are variants like "A", "B", and "+", but I don't know the differences. The Pro 350 is basically a PDP 11/23 in a box that looks like a stretched rainbow. The Rainbow comes with a serial port -- in fact, you can use it as a vt102 without even booting an operating system. -- @disclaimer(Any concepts or opinions above are entirely mine, not those of my employer, my GIGI, my VT05, or my 11/34) beak is@>beak is not Anthony A. Datri @SysAdmin(Stepstone Corporation) aad@stepstone.com stpstn!aad
davidsen@steinmetz.ge.com (William E. Davidsen Jr) (02/24/89)
In article <4028@ingr.com> jeff@ingr.com (Jeff Kilpatrick) writes: | | I just read an article in Digital Review where DEC has slashed prices on | their Rainbows, model PC100, and Professional 350. I understand the latter | machine runs RSX11M+ and the previous runs DOS. Anyone know if these machines | have expansion slots? Totally non-compatible with PC. The Rainbow has a Z80 and 8088, and can run CP/M-80, CP/M-86, CCPM and MS-DOS thru 2.1. There is one expansion connector, not compatible with anything else. If you want a really neat machine to hack and as a controller, get a Rainbow and CP/M-86. The Z80 runs the disk and the 8088 runs the serial port, and you can do some real learning about parallel processing and real time using one of these boxes. They are also a vt-100 terminal, which makes them worth about $200. I learned a lot from these, and I almost hacked PC/ix (SysIII for 8088) to run on it. The Pro-350 is an LSI-11, or 11/23, or some such. It does run RSX11M+, and I'm told that you can get (could get?) UNIX for it, either V7 or SysIII. Another nice box to hack with! I wouldn't consider either of these for anything other than hacking, but the Rainbow running CP/M-86 is a great place to learn about assembler and debugging. For hacking I highly recommend it! -- bill davidsen (wedu@ge-crd.arpa) {uunet | philabs}!steinmetz!crdos1!davidsen "Stupidity, like virtue, is its own reward" -me
GTHEALL@PENNDRLS.BITNET (George A. Theall) (02/24/89)
An earlier post mentioned the Rainbow runs DOS up to v2.1. That's the latest DEC-supported (if you can call it support :-) version. Suitable Solutions, a Calif. company, is currently selling _and_ supporting MS-DOS v3.1 for the Rainbow. I would not recommend your buying a Rainbow unless you know what you're getting into. First, even though it runs MS-DOS, it is _not_ PC-compatible. Some programs available for DOS will run fine on it, particularly compilers that don't use an integrated programming environment. However, if the program does anything sophisticated with the screen (e.g., graphics, windows) or keyboard, it probably will not work on the Rainbow unaided. Second, it is expensive to upgrade. As others have stated, it does not use the expansion cards so popular in the PC world. DEC, I believe, has charged $695 for 256K of RAM for 4 years! A 3rd party hard disk controller goes for about $350; though you can install Seagate hard disks in the Rainbow with no trouble. Finally, the Rainbow is comparable to the PC-XT in terms of performance. People may consider it obsolete. That's the bad news. Now for the good. Rainbow owners have tended to be very opinionated about their machines. Those that hated them, sold them off early; those that love them still have them kicking around. In my case, I have two machines - a Rainbow in my office for editing, quick letters, and terminal emulation; and a 386 machine at home for fooling around. I'm moving away from the Rainbow only because I need multitasking capabilities which the Rainbow will not provide cheaply. My Rainbow's been on 24 hours/day, 7 days/week, for at least 3 years except for vacations and maintenance. I had the floppy drives go bad when I first brought the machine into my office, but since then, not a problem at all. But perhaps the best facet of the Rainbow is the Rainbow user community. Need some help with installing WordPerfect v4.2 on the Rainbow? (Yes, there's a version for the Rainbow!) Just call up another user. Public domain utilities abound - at Penn we've collected over 40 disks (all ARChived) of public domain programs, many specific to the Rainbow. Or get in touch with Caroline Mack, editor of Rainbow News, for info on Rainbow contacts world-wide. If you're still interested in Rainbows, you might check out the used market for then. There are ads on Compuserve or in Rainbow News. The benefit of getting a used machine is that you avoid the hassle of scrounging around for Rainbow versions of WordPerfect, Lotus, AutoCad, DBase, ... (they exist, it's just they're no longer the current versions). Plus, you can probably get a machine with the extras you want: hard disk, 8087 chip, clock/calendar chip, graphics, colour monitor, ... Just make sure you know what you're getting into before deciding on the Rainbow. George +------------------------------------------+---------------------------+ | GTHEALL@PENNDRLS (BITNET) | Dept. of Economics | | GTHEALL@PENNDRLS.UPENN.EDU (INTERNET) | Univ. of Pennsylvania | | | 3718 Locust Walk /6297 | | (215) 898-6741 (AT+TNet) | Philadelphia, PA. 19104 | +------------------------------------------+---------------------------+ The optimist thinks that this is the best of all possible worlds, and the pessimist knows it. - J. Robert Oppenheimer, "Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists" 1951
tjc@mbunix.mitre.org (Tom J. Colley) (02/24/89)
In article <4028@ingr.com> jeff@ingr.com (Jeff Kilpatrick) writes: > > I just read an article in Digital Review where DEC has slashed prices on >their Rainbows, model PC100, and Professional 350. I understand the latter >machine runs RSX11M+ and the previous runs DOS. Anyone know if these machines >have expansion slots? If so, is it an IBM PC type or DEC proprietary(sp?)? >Does it come with support for a serial printer? Any recommendations for using >one as a home computer? > >Thanks in advance. Jeff, Get this: I own a DEC Rainbow--no, make that two Rainbows. One is a 100A and the other a 100B. Currently, one sits unused, and so does the other! The 100B has 768KB RAM and a 5MB hard disk and the standard two RX50 disk drives. The other has 256KB RAM and the RX50s. True, it can run CP/M and DOS, but I'd be real surprised if anyone has released software for it in 4 or 5 years. It is not IBM compatible in the least. There are two 'slots' you can expand into. One is for the hard disk or extended comm option. The other is for the graphics option. I have documentation for the 100A but never bothered to get the massive three binders for the 100B. In one of the binders is some documentation on the slot for the graphics opt. I have not used either system because of the lack of modern software and compatibility with everyone else. If you indeed are interested in purchasing one, I'll sell you two. Actually I'll unload the 100B with hard disk and 512KB RAM and all the software I have and all the documentation for $999.95 I honestly think that this is way too much for a used DEC Rainbow, but in the local swap sheet, people are asking for $1500 for a 128KB, no hard disk system (I feel for the people who buy them). Incidentally, I used to do some repair work for the CS department at the alma matter. DEC went overboard with service charges, so I volunteered to fix them. It was very nearly a full time job. They were very susceptable to bad connections, and the RX50s fail quickly (and are annoyingly noisy). Now it would seem that I think the things are junk. Well...I did get quite a bit of enjoyment from these machines three years ago, and they were state of the art the day they were released (two processors, CP/M AND MS-DOS, vt100,...). And by the way, two serial ports. One labeled COMM and the other PRINTER. Tom P.S. anyone interested in buying the gem, e-mail your bid! Sorry if I insulted any Rainbow power users :-)
shevett@mccc.UUCP (Dave Shevett) (02/26/89)
In article <13238@steinmetz.ge.com> davidsen@crdos1.UUCP (bill davidsen) writes: >In article <4028@ingr.com> jeff@ingr.com (Jeff Kilpatrick) writes: >| ... I understand the latter >| machine runs RSX11M+ and the previous runs DOS. Anyone know if these machines >| have expansion slots? The Rainbow was expandable, but only with Rainbow cards. The cards cost an arm and a leg, and are WAY overpriced... (something like 600 bucks for a HD controller). >They are also a vt-100 terminal, which makes >them worth about $200. I learned a lot from these, and I almost hacked This is arguable. The Vt??? emulation on the Rainbow is yucky at best. There is not file functions you would hope for from a PC based terminal. Better to run out and get a real vt100 for $150. > > The Pro-350 is an LSI-11, or 11/23, or some such. It does run RSX11M+, >and I'm told that you can get (could get?) UNIX for it, either V7 or >SysIII. Another nice box to hack with! The Pro can run Pro/VENIX, a derivative of V7 Unix. (I think). It's got all sorts of extenstions to make it usable for Real-Time functions. It goes for about a grand, but (big but) - most pro's were distributed with teeny hard drives (ala RD50 (5 meg), RD51, (10 meg), and if your lucky, and RD52, (32 meg). ) Try shoehorning a comfortable Unix system into this and you'll run into problems. Also, the pro has 2 (count 'em 2) serial ports than Venix will turn into terminals, and THATS IT. There is a port expander system for the beast, but just try finding one with a price tag less than a mortgage. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ | Dave Shevett ~----------------------~ Labyrinth II BBS | | W. Trenton, NJ | Have you made your | ...!mccc!labii!shevett | | (609) 883-9352 | saving throw today? | -------------------- | | 1200/2400 ~----------------------~ 3b1ish and proud of it | +----------------------------------------------------------------+