Posts: 21 Location: Los Angeles, CA Joined: 08.01.08
Posted on February 01 2013 20:26
Free to a good home, preferably via "local pickup" in the Los Angeles area. See below for description. This machine was in use full-time from 1992 (purchased new) until taken off-line in 2008, and has NOT seen much use at all in the 4.5-years since. I'm overdue in passing it on to someone who would derive some enjoyment from actually using it ....
* DEC VAXstation 4000 / model 60 / OpenVMS workstation (VS46K-AD)
http://h18002.www1.hp.com/alphaServer/vax/archive/vax4000workstation.html
* 104-Mb RAM (8Mb on motherboard, 16+16Mb in slots 0+1, 16+16Mb in slots 2+3, and 16+16Mb in slots 4+5 )
* SYS$SYSDEVICE internal SCSI disk (DKA300) ... large enough for OpenVMS and plenty of user files, but I don't now recall the exact disk capacity;
* 2nd internal SCSI "data" disk (DKA100), several Gb in size (I think), which will be emptied prior to pickup. (EDIT -- No, not internal ... these were "full height" external drives ... best used today as door stops, I suppose ...)
* Boots OpenVMS VAX v7.2 from DKA300
* Includes VSxxx-GA mouse and LK401-AA US/UK keyboard
* For graphics, the internal video board supports TWO MONITORS (dual head), up to (I think) 1280x1024 x 256-colors. Original video cables included (custom connections at VAXstation end that fan-out to five BNC jacks at monitor end -- R,G,B,H,V ... sync on green).
* One 17-inch and one 19-inch Digital Equipment CRT monitor also (made by Sony Corp for DEC), for anyone interested in a true original "vintage" configuration. Local pickup in Los Angeles, CA, USA is a MUST as the monitors are both >heavy<. Note these old monitors are "fixed frequency" and won't work with just any PC video board, but when I last used them in 2004, both still worked okay with the VAXstation. But no guarantee now after 8-years without being used.
* Alternatively, assuming I can find them, I will provide instead two 5-BNC-to-VGA (HD15) adaptors that attach to the five coax connectors at the monitor ends of the cables, and allow connecting to PC standard LCD or CRT "multi-sync" video monitors. Multi-sync monitors generally have no problem adjusting to the VAXstation's fixed frequency video output ... just as long as your monitor(s) support "sync on green" (which almost all multisync should), but check first if in doubt. (EDIT -- Found the BNC-to-VGA connectors, but the VAXstation cable only has R,G,B coax .. the VGA adaptor can accept these as well as Vsync and Hsync, so the adaptor has five BNCs, but the reason a monitor able to "sync on green" is needed is because the VAXstation does not furnish separate Vsync and Hsync output signals).
* Hobbyist licenses for the VAXstation machine were last issued in 2007, so have been expired since 2008 ...
* Besides OpenVMS, most programming languages are pre-installed on the system disk (VAX Fortran, C, Pascal, and MACRO to name several I'm sure about). For networking, TGV (now Process Software) MultiNet is installed, but its Hobbyist License will also need to be renewed.
*** Contact me via e-mail if you are interested in this system (don't assume I'll check this forum very often here). Preference will be given to (a) folks able to arrange for local pickup, but I am prepared to ship the VAXstation, keyboard, and mouse at the recipient's expense; (b) hobbyists with sincere interest in computer programming under OpenVMS; and (c) students or educators.
I'll post a follow-up reply here myself to announce the machine is no longer available.
Thanks everyone for being part of the OpenVMS hobbyist community, and for reading this post -- tell your friends !
malmberg August 04 2022 No more VAX hobbyist licenses. Community licenses for Alpha/IA64/X86_64 VMS Software Inc. Commercial VMS software licenses for VAX available from HPE.
ozboomer July 20 2022 Just re-visiting.. No more hobbyist licenses? Is that from vmssoftware.com, no 'community' licenses?
valdirfranco July 01 2022 No more hobbyist license...sad
mister_wavey February 12 2022 I recall that the disks failed on the public access VMS systems that included Fafner
parwezw January 03 2022 Anyone know what happened to FAFNER.DYNDS.ORG? I had a hobbyist account here but can longer access the site.
gtackett October 27 2021 Make that DECdfs _2.1A_ for Vax
gtackett October 27 2021 I'm looking for DECdfs V2.4A kit for VAX. Asking here just in case anyone is still listening.
MarkRLV September 17 2021 At one time, didn't this web site have a job board? I would love to use my legacy skills one last time in my career.
malmberg January 18 2021 New Hobbyist PAKs for VAX/VMS are no longer available according to reports. Only commercial licenses are reported to be for sale from HPE
dfilip January 16 2021 Can someone please point me to hobbyist license pak? I'm looking for VAX/VMS 7.1, DECnet Phase IV, and UCX/TCPIP ... have the 7.1 media, need the license paks ... thanks!
