Looking to do a major upgrade; need help.

Stephen M. Youndt steve at hacker.UUCP
Sun Feb 18 03:33:22 AEST 1990


I appologise for the length of this posting, but I've been saving this up
for weeks.  Please read all the way through before responding, as I'm trying
to acomplish some very specific things.  

Hardware:
	AMAX 386/20 w/ 4Mb (1M 80ns DRAMs)
		- expandable to 8Mb on MB
		- 16 total with 32 bin expansion card
		- 2 8 bit slots & 5 16 bit slots
	Everex(?) MFM controller (EV-346 PWA-00538-00 is the only id on
		the board) can control 2 HD and 2 FD 
	Seagate ST4096 80Mb drive
	Toshiba 5 1/4 1.2M floppy
	DTK PII-108 RS-232 card (REV-4)
	Everex Evercom 24E (2400/1200/300 bps) external modem (on COM1/tty00)
	Hercules Monographics Card (Everex)
		- w/ Parallel printer interface
	Star Micronics Gemini10x 9 pin parallel dot matrix printer (yes it's
		ancient)

Software:
	Bell Tech Unix System V/386 Release 3.2u
		- Base System + Kernel Debugger, Xenix File System,
		  Remote Terminal Package, Security Admin Package,
		  Extended Terminal Interface, Editing, 2K File System
		  (ie. Everything except NSU and RFS)
	Bell Tech Software Development System Version 4.1.5 (for 3.2u)
	Lots of other stuff that I built from source code.

Wish List:
	More disk space and better disk performance.
		- The controller/drive combination are slooooww, but I can't
		  afford to get rid of the drive right now, so I need
		  to be able to keep my MFM drive (unless it's impossible).
		- 80 Mb would do for now, with the possibility of a bigger
		  drive (300 Mb+ in the future).
		- Would a SCSI controller and drive work?
	Tape Backup Unit
		- 60 Mb per tape would be sufficient, but I wouldn't scoff at
		  more.
	VGA Graphics & X/Windows
		- I'd like to run 1024 x 768 if possible as well as be
		  compatible with other modes of VGA (colors/densities).
		- If I can do better than 1024 x 768 I'd like to know about
		  it if it's affordable.
		- Is there any way to keep the monochrome card and monitor?
		  I don't need to run X on it, but I'm sure I could find a use.
		- Does SCO's Open Look work under Bell Tech Unix?
	Parallel Printer card
		- I need this if I've got to trash the Monographics card.
	More Intelligent I/O
		- The two port card works fine, but I could use 2 more ports,
		  4 more at most.  Especially if I'm going to use a serial
		  mouse.
	Mouse
		- There's a VGA card with a mouse built in.  I don't remember
		  the manufacturer.  Will it work/is it a good product?
		- Should I go with a bus or serial model?
	IEEE-488 card and driver
		- I'll need this for later device control.
	DOS under UNIX program.
		- Does VP/ix work under X/under Bell Tech UNIX?
		- Is there something better than VP/ix?

Notes:
	Price is an object.  This is a home system.  $3000 tops for this upgrade
	I'm willing to write anything in C if I can get hints.
	Know of any good books for Unix novices (I'm NOT a computer novice)?
	The idea behind this system is for device control experimentation
		and some image processing.
	I know that I'll need a co-processor and more memory.  How much memory,
		and which co-processor?  I can install either the 387 or 
		Weitek 1167.
	Any other suggestions for this type of system (replacing certain parts,
		making software changes, changing the system parameters) is
		welcome and appreciated.

Please send e-mail to me and I'll post a summary if there's enough interest.
Thanks in advance.

					Stephen M. Youndt
					VAX System Manager
					"Hacker at Large"
					...!uunet!hacker!steve

"By the time we realize that ignorance truly is bliss, it's already too late."
							-- Stephen Youndt



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