[vcf-midatlantic] Anyone have any info on the Sun 511 box?

Dave McGuire mcguire at neurotica.com
Sat Apr 6 11:07:03 EDT 2019


  I don't remember much about these, but I do recall a "stand" shaped
like this:
       ___
     _|   |_     (fixed-width font required of course)

  ...that the drive mounts atop, and then underneath that would be one
of the various SCSI<->QIC-02 or QIC-36 adapters for the tape drive.  A
hard drive mounted on its side, either to the left or the right of the
tape drive, I don't recall which.  The hard drive would be a 5.25" FH
device, either native SCSI, MFM via an Adaptec ACB-4000 SCSI<->MFM
adapter, or ESDI via an Emulex MD-21 SCSI<->ESDI interface.

  I'm pretty sure I have at least one of these boxes.  If I run across
it I will take pictures of the innards.

            -Dave

On 4/6/19 8:42 AM, Glenn Roberts via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
> Certainly looks like the external box I had attached to my Sun 3/110 way back in the day.  We also used these on the 3/60s.  prior to the "pizza box" form factor Sun had external drive units.  As I recall these had a disk drive and quarter inch cartridge tapes for backups.  Never cracked one open so don't know much about mounting devices inside..
> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic-bounces at lists.vcfed.org> On Behalf
>> Of Ethan Dicks via vcf-midatlantic
>> Sent: Saturday, April 06, 2019 2:22 AM
>> To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic at lists.vcfed.org>
>> Cc: Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks at gmail.com>
>> Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Anyone have any info on the Sun 511 box?
>>
>> Hi, All,
>>
>> I'm dusting off old Sun gear for VCF East and I ran across a shell of a Sun 511
>> box on my shelf.  Unfortunately, I can't seem to find any docs online about
>> what would have been stuffed into it back in the day.  Lots of Sun info still
>> out there but the 511 box is not well represented.  I suspect that's because I
>> think it's a late Sun 2/early Sun 3 device.
>>
>> The best description  is here:
>>
>> http://www.obsolyte.com/sunFAQ/X11_case/
>>
>> Better photos at:
>>
>> https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SunShoebox_Front.jpg
>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun-2#/media/File:SunShoebox_Rear.jpg
>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun-3#/media/File:Sun3_60_Disk_Tape.jpg
>>
>> Mostly I'm curious about mounting plates/brackets, etc.  I don't have the
>> original PSU so if I use this box, I'll have to find something modern anyway.
>>
>> I also have some more modern (late Sun 3/early Sun 4) tape/disk shoeboxes.
>> I haven't found any pictures online but they are tall enough to hold a full-
>> heigh 5.25" disk over a 5.25" half-height tape drive on a half-height bracket
>> with the PSU to the rear.  Those are ready to stuff with disks so I'll probably
>> start there.
>>
>> If only I had more than one DD50-P Sun SCSI cable...
>>
>> Alas, the "joy" of vintage machines, when it's hard to find parts that fit.
>>
>> -ethan
> 


-- 
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA


More information about the vcf-midatlantic mailing list