"J. Buck Caldwell" wrote:
> 
> Hmm... Just how big is this system? I live in St. Louis, own a big pickup, and
> could be persuaded to drive to Indianapolis (or some point inbetween) to pick one
> up. What specifics do you have? How many processors, memory, disks, &etc? What kind
> of power?

O.K. to give more specifics. I am in Indianapolis. The machines are about 
the size of a normal American refrigerator and are moveable with two adult
people. They have wheels underneath so it's possible to push them on a 
smooth floor. Again, I don't know very much about VAXen, but I have
gotten the following further information:

- most machines have 2 CPUs
- one has even 4 CPUs
- they have 256 or 512 MB memory (512 is the maximum I understand)
- none have disks :-(
- they all have a tape drive from which one could potentially boot them
- all have an Ethernet interface 10 Mbps AUI
- they come with the "CSI" bus, with which I understand on can 
  cluster them together
- it doesn't look like I can get my hand on disks for them, since we're
  still using those
- I'm not sure how much power they suck, but it looks like they run
  on something you could supply in a normal home (110 V or 230 V ...)
  The power cable is big and the plug seems to have 4 connectors with
  one central ground (?).
- they do not have SCSI adapter, but I was recommended to get a 
  DSSI (?) (DEC-SCSI?) card for them and get disks for them...

The disk problem is dissapointing me a little bit. I'm afraid I can't
get the pieces together. But it is still tempting. 

> I've never really looked into anything bigger than a 4000 because I never thought
> I'd have a chance of finding one in the middle of the country.

Yea, now this is the time for us Mid-Western BSD fans to get going
with real computers :-).

regards
-Gunther