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Re: Considering the idea of saving up for a DECstation PMAX

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On 3/29/25 21:24, TronNerd82 wrote:
> I think it'd be fun to pick up an old PMAX DECstation 3100 and try to
> get it working (though anything DEC put out was built like a tank, so I
> probably wouldn't have much of any work to do) and try getting a modern
> operating system on it like NetBSD, perhaps even try porting Slackware
> to it.
> 
> The whole idea is nothing particularly outstanding, but I think old DEC
> hardware is super cool. Would it be a worthwhile endeavor??

   I think so.  I've done a lot with those machines over the years; in 
the 1990s I ran DNS servers, mail servers, etc on them both at home and 
at work.  They're great little machines.

   At LSSM we have quite a few of them, though none are yet on exhibit. 
Sometime this summer we'll put a 3100 and probably a 5000/260 on the 
exhibit floor, in multi-boot configurations with  Ultrix and NetBSD.

   I say go for it.  They really are nice little machines.  Beware of 
dried-out or leaky capacitors in the power supply.

            -Dave

-- 
Dave McGuire, President/Curator
Large Scale Systems Museum
New Kensington, PA

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Considering the idea of saving up for a DECstation PMAX TronNerd82 <tronnerd82@aol.com> - 2025-03-30 01:24 +0000
  Re: Considering the idea of saving up for a DECstation PMAX John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com> - 2025-03-31 07:54 -0700
  Re: Considering the idea of saving up for a DECstation PMAX Dave McGuire <mcguire@lssmuseum.org> - 2025-04-21 22:06 -0400

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