On May 16, NetBSD Bob wrote:
> Is there some combo of boards I can wheedle together to get NetBSD or
> Ultrix up on the backplane/case?  Or, is it mostly a function of
> finding that proverbial mystical magickal lustful Qbus scsi board?
> 
> Heaven forbid, but, can I take the MVII boardset and stuff it in
> that backplane, and dongle/cable up ESDI drives internally to get
> my 4.3BSD breadboard VAX stuffed into some sort of cabinet?

  That should work, just be sure to use MS630 boards.  A KA650/655 with
appropriate memory (I believe the KA660 memory will work with a
650/655) should also work.  I believe they're all MS650s.

> Is this cabinet one of those with the hard-to-find cable for input
> power, that has the strange extra groove?

  That's a standard IEC power connector.  The IEC standard defines three
connectors...a standard-duty one (good for like 8-10 amps) which is
the one we're all familiar with, a heavier-duty one (15-20 amps?)
which is the one you're looking at with the extra groove, and a heavy
duty one (not sure of the current rating) which is rectangular with
three flat pins.  Those big ones can be found on the back of SGI
deskside Onyx chassis.  The one like you have, the heavier-duty one
with the extra groove, is common in the ISP industry as it's the one
that's used on larger 7500-series Cisco routers.

  If you're careful, you can get away with taking a high-quality
standard-duty IEC power cable and carefully apply a sharp knife to the
plastic and cut the groove where it needs to be.  I've done that
several times and haven't had any problems with cable heating or
anything like that.  But do find the "right" cable if you can.

         -Dave McGuire