Talk:VCB03 Video Controller

Board images

This may have a link to a picture of it.

There are four pictures actually, one for a video card, (my guess is the primary bit plane) here

one for a 3D card, with 3 Weitek chips on it, here

and then two other pictures for the front and back of a DEC video local bus connector: I wish I knew what it was called.

here

and

here

And a system picture of the back, with all the video cards in place:

here

This is all very impressive. ForOldHack (talk) 01:45, 17 April 2024 (CEST)

Thanks very much! (Complete listing here.)

From what little documentation on them I could find, in the VAXstation 3520/3540 and 3820/3840 Maintenance Guide, that does seem to be it.

That document calls the 'over the back' connector daughter-board a 'Graphics Frontplane' (pg. 1-21; pg. 38 of the PDF).

The first card (above) seems to be the ' Graphics Output Module' (L2005) (see diagram on pg. 1-22, pg. 39 of the PDF), which must make the second card above the 'Graphics Base Module' (L2004).

Alas, no image of the optional 'graphics expansion module' (L2006); I'll look for one in a moment.

I'm not sure if the images are copyright, or if they'd be OK with us uploading them. (I have down-loaded them, so they will not be lost.) I'd think we can link to the images, though; will do so.

I'd buy it, but I already have a whole basement full of obsolete computer gear my kids are going to have to deal with! :-) Jnc (talk) 06:44, 17 April 2024 (CEST)

I looked, couldn't find an image of an L2006 online :-( Jnc (talk) 07:25, 17 April 2024 (CEST)

Thanks for adding those images: DEC must have spent a lot of time and money on those boards to make them marketable against SGI, SUN and ... Apollo?