[Info-vax] DZQ11 on VAX/4000 Model 300

[David Wade]

On 15/01/2019 14:33, John E. Malmberg wrote:
> On 1/15/2019 1:06 AM, Steven Schweda wrote:
>>> [...] The board I added was a 4-port serial which I
>>> understood to be low priority. Therefore I placed it at the
>>> left hand side of the existing cards.
>>
>>     A Web search for "The following list shows the recommended
>> sequence of modules" could be educational on card order.  For
>> example, page 4-2 of:
>>
>> http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/dec/vax/630/
>> AX-GLBAA-MN_MicroVAX_II_630QB_Technical_Manual_Nov85.pdf
>>
>> (My paper copy has the same copyright date, 1985, but a
>> typewriter-like font.  "AZ-FE09A-TN".)
> 

Does that apply to the BA400?

> All devices greater than BIRQ4 should be closer to the CPU than any 
> serial card, regardless of what the documentation states or you will 
> eventually get either a bugcheck or machine check.
> 
> All Q-bus serial cards that I have seen have a bug in that they only 
> pass the birq4 related signal from cards after them in the bus.
> 
> Many 3rd party Q-bus disk controllers are BIRQ5.
> 

Thats the way the system is built. The Serial card is last on the BUS.

>>     And yes, [SYSGEN or console] CONFIGURE is your friend.
>> I'd visit it whenever making any change on the Q-bus.
> 
> A simple running of configure shows that the kzqsa defaults to floating 
> and shows why the system will not boot.
> 
> MERCRY> mcr sysgen configure
> DEVICE> tu81
> DEVICE> dz11
> DEVICE> qza
> DEVICE> ^Z
> Device: TU81  Name: PTA    CSR: 774500     Vector: 260    Support: yes
> Device: DZ11  Name: TTA    CSR: 760100*    Vector: 300*   Support: yes
> Device: QZA   Name: PKA    CSR: 761400*    Vector: 310*   Support: yes
> 

But the cards go TU811,QZA,DZ11. Does this matter?

> MERCRY> mcr sysgen configure
> DEVICE> tu81
> DEVICE> qza
> DEVICE> ^Z
> Device: TU81  Name: PTA    CSR: 774500     Vector: 260    Support: yes
> Device: QZA   Name: PKA    CSR: 761300*    Vector: 300*   Support: yes
> 
> Adding or removing a serial card or other floating device requires 
> changing the CSR and vector of the KZQSA.
> 
> On a VAX-4000 model 300, you do not specify any of the embedded I0 
> devices when running configure, only what is on the Q-BUS.
> 

If order matters then the cards go TU81, QZA and DZ11. When I put them 
into CONFIGURE on the vax I get different answers.

>>     A "modern" serial card is a CXY08 (M3119):
>>
>>        http://antinode.info/dec/cxy08_settings.html
> 
> Nice, as long as you have the octopus cables for them.
> 
> For serial, I would look for a used LAT compatible terminal server.
> 

I was trying to avoid another box.

> Regards,
> -John

Dave