keithe@teklabs.UUCP (Keith Ericson) (08/09/84)
I've just acquired a VMEbus system - Signetics' SMVME9100/9110 - and would be interested in exchanging information on (a) VMEbus systems in general and (b) the above-mentioned system in particular. Should anyone else be interested in this area let's carry on our discussions in net.micro until we either atrophy into oblivion or generate enuff traffic for our "own" news(sub)group. I'll describe what the system is fo now and, after I've had some more experience with it, I'll let you know what I think of it. The system I got (cost ~$6,000) included (first, the SMVME9100 system) 1) SMVME1500 System Controller Board 2) SMVME2000 CPU Board 68000 cpu, possible mmu expansion, 2 serial ports, one parallel (Centronics if you want) port 3) SMVME3100 Memory Board 256kbytes 4) Card cage and 9-slot single-wide motherboard (and secondly, the SMVME9110 disk upgrade) 5) SMVME4300 Disk Controller Board 8X300 microprocessor-controlled Connects directly to 5-1/4" floppy, 8" floppy and 5-1/4" Winchesters (5, 10, 15 and or 20 Megabyte) to which I added a) power supply (left over from a previous project) b) 15 Megabyte Winchester (Seagate ST419) (ordered out of Tek Stock) c) 5-1/4" floppy drives (Shugart SA455's) (also ordered out of Stock) d) cabinet/powersupplies for the above disks (from Jade; I had to put in a larger power transformer in the Winchester cabinet because the original only expected to power a floppy and didn't have enough iron to support the current required. The 3-terminal regulators get pretty hot, now, too.) and am attempting to attach e) 8" floppy disk drive (either a Shugart SS or a Qume DS) (the Shugart 800/1 isn't working yet; I think the head-step pulses are coming out faster than it can handle. And I don't have any utilities (yet) that let me modify the disk-drive parameters set up by C/PM-68k.) The CPU board comes with pSOS installed in ROM. (This software is one of the subjects I'd like to talk about on the net.) Included with the SMVME9110 Disk Upgrade system is C/PM-68k and some utilities, C-compiler (as of yet untested), editor (good ol' ED) linker, assembler, etc. I'm waiting for delivery of Laboratory Microsystem Inc.'s FORTH; that's what I really want to run on the system. I'd like to encourage anyone else who has taken delivery of such a system to talk about it on the net so we can "compare notes" as to what works, what doesn't (seem to) work, enhancements, and so on. And I'd also like to hear from folks having experience with - and more utility programs that run under - C/PM-68k. keith ericson at teklabs decvax!tektronix!teklabs!keithe or ucbvax!tektronix!teklabs!keithe (among many, many others)