[cctalk] Re: Q-bus, PDP8, VAX items

The RKV11D was a weird little device, but it really made sense at the time. Technically when the 11/03 came out it was a 16 bit only device, small, and I think DEC realized they had no hard disks at all for it once it got to marketing. I mean they sold it as the 11V03 with the 4k memories, maybe a 16k MSV11-CD and an RX01 floppy drive but that was literally it for support. To give it SOMETHING they did the RKV11: They took the 4 slot RK05 controller from a Unibus system, built the bus interface board to support 16 bit Q-Bus and used the box to box interconnect cables to connect it. Quick, dirty, and got them a drive. Then they got the RL01 shipping, tried putting it on a card, and realized all the analog circuitry needed on the hex height RL11 was not going to fit on a single Q bus card. And thus came the CD interconnect. Only problem was the BA11-M was not going to fit that, so they dumped the BA11-M for the N, a 9 slot backplane with 18 bit support and CD bus so you could install the RLV11 cards. As for the 11/V03's they are pretty, make a good end table, but really fell off the rails for support, the only thing you could do was run a RXV11 system, get a RKV11, or toss it all and go to a BA11-N. Fun times. (Disclaimer, I have an 11/V03 that had the above path taken. Going to RL01's instead of the RX01's was a game changer for 4 user MUBasic) CZ