The collected works of jjacocks

So, I picked up another old workstation, this time an HP 9000/375. I did a basic clean-up and test, and it does seem to work. With a reversed VGA-to-5BNC cable, I can see the diags run on the monitor. It has 8mb of RAM.

So, questions, if anyone here has any knowledge about these beasts.

1) I have the HIL-PS/2 adapter (HP calls is the "keyboard adapter module"), but it doesn't plug in to the HIL port on the machine. There is a descending piece of plastic on the right side of the 10P10C connector that blocks it. I know that this adapter was made for the 9000/700 PA-RISC workstations, will it work with the 375, if I remove that tab?

2) What kind of memory do these machines take? I find reference to a 32mb kit (of 2 16mb modules) via HP part number 98229E. The specs say that this machine will take 128mb. So, should I just try to track down 4 kits?

Any other advice would be welcome. This is my first 68k workstation, and I'm hoping to have more, in the future.

Thanks!
- Alex

Thanks for getting back to me, so fast!

So, based on your note, I guess that HIL on the 300 series is not the same as that on the 500 or 700 series, even though it has the same name? Is there an alternate HIL-to-PS/2 adapter available? Proprietary keyboards are one of the peripherals that I try not to have, unless there is no choice.

I take it that the memory is proprietary to the 9000/300 series?

Thanks!
- Alex

I'm glad to hear that there are folks here that like these machines. They seem to not have gotten nearly as much press as some other 80s workstations. I worked at a large lab, in the early 90s, and these guys were hooked up to instruments all over the place. They always seemed really cool, to me, because the stacks that 300s end up in look like no other workstation setups.

Any advice as to a good source of memory? I've been looking, and it seems that the usual SEO/part agregator companies are all that I have found. 8mb definitely doesn't seem like enough, and I'd love to max the machine out at 128mb.

- Alex

What version of HP-UX do you run? I know that 9.1 will run, but I'm not sure if that's the best version.

Thanks!
- Alex

Ah, thanks for the explanation, kjaer.