[Info-vax] rx2600s on eBay

[JC]

Just a quick update on the ebay rx2600 servers I purchased
from Asset Recovery Corp in the USA

I purchased 6 servers altogether. Every one of these worked perfectly
when I had completed setup on each one.

I paid a total of US$1480.77 (CDN$1893.18) for all six
rx2600 servers which included shipping charges from the
USA to Canada.(6 Servers=US$1080 Shipping US$400.77)
The Vendor (Asset Recovery Corp.) was very helpful at
every stage. A great lady called Penny was my vendor
contact person, she was terrific and very helpful at all
times. The servers arrived in excellent condition and
were very well packaged to prevent damage.

Upon arrival in Canada I got stung for the following additional
charges by the shipping company DB Schenker. Bear in mind this is
the total charge for all six rx2600 servers.

Duty $0.00
Customs entry processing fee       $200.00
Other (Unspecified) processing fee    $9.71
Customs G.S.T.                          $178.59
G.S.T. on services                        $10.49

Total charges in $CDN                $389.79

I had to fight hard to get these servers cleared through
customs and delivered to my house. Schenker Canada were
pleasant enough but very bureacratic and not very alert.
I needed to push them all the way as the shipment kept
getting held up (going into suspended animation) at various
stages. All told, it took around a week and a half to get my
hands on them.

I ordered DVD-ROM/CDRW drives from the HP Canada parts store which is
here :-

http://h20141.www2.hp.com/hpparts/

Part number is A9919-67001

Price CDN$195

All these drives worked and were easy to install.

I haven't used the Management processor on the rx2600 servers as I
don't have
the special tri-connector cable required and these are hard to find at
a decent price.

I have booted one of the servers by plugging in a VGA monitor, USB
mouse
and USB keyboard. This worked fine with no setup required, however
this
arrangement canot operate as a proper permanent console. You will need
to use either the Management Processor, or the serial console port for
this purpose which is why I also purchased 6 Belkin brand serial
console
cables online from onhop.ca

Onhop SKU is 1148416 Description - 6FT INTERLINK LAPLINK FILE TRANSFER
CABLE DB9F
The total cost for all 6 cables was $35.78 including shipping, GST and
PST

I managed to purchase two batches of used 36GB U320 15K drives
on ebay Canada (Total 10 drives) average price under $50 per drive.
Everything worked
out perfectly for me and I now have 6 running servers. One big plus
with these
rx2600 servers is that they run very quietly compared to the rx1620
server which
I purchased brand new under the HP DSPP program. To give you an idea
of the
noise level, my wife would ask for a divorce if I run the rx1620
server when she
is anywhere in the house. The rx2600's are as quiet as a high end
windows box.

Overall I am very satisfied and would recommend anyone to take
advantage
of this excellent opportunity.

JohnC

>
> Yes, please keep us posted.
>
> I am "SERIOUSLY" think about purchasing an rx2600 on eBay as well.
> (lately there have always been one or two available)
>
> Neil Rieck
> Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge,
> Ontario, Canada.http://www3.sympatico.ca/n.rieck/OpenVMS.html