PDP-8/e rack questions

[Tony Duell]

> 
> Hello.
> 
> I recently acquired a PDP-8/e with a TU56 and a PC04(I think) with
> reader only. I've also gotten a DEC rack, but only one set of rails

I thinkl that makes it a PR04.

[..]

> 
> What does the rails for a TU56 look like? I could not find any holes on
> the sides, are they simply screwed in place with the holes behind the
> flip-front?

I think so (although it wouldn't be a bad idea to put a coule of bits of 
aluminium angle from front to back under the TU56 to support the 
chassis). 

There's no need to have the TU56 pull out, you see. You can get to the 
flip-chip boards from the back and the front panel/transport hinges down 
for access.

> My TU56: http://www.update.uu.se/~pontus/slask/pdp8/tu56.jpg
> 
> And what does the rails for a PC04 look like? I found this picture over
> at Mikes great corestore site: http://www.corestore.org/8i-2.jpg, which
> shows part of it.

Now those are a little strage. They're quite short, not much deeper than 
the PC04 chassis. The rails are in 3 secions (as normal), one screws to 
the side of the PC04 chassis,. then the normal 'middle section' that 
slides over the rail o nthe PC04 and into the rail on the cabinet, and 
finally the cabinet-mounted part. That one has a large plate and the 
front end with a flange to fix to the front rail of the rack (screws in 
from the front) and also screws from the inside into the holes on the 
rear flange of said front rail in a real DEC rack. Finally there's a tie 
bar that's crewed between the rear ends of the cabinet-mounted secions, 
just behind the PC04 chassis. The thing is theese rails mount only tor 
the front upreights, nothing goes the full depth of the rack.

-tony