[rescue] Tips on VME board access

[Cameron Kelly]

What makes the VME bus cards so expensive?

On Sat, Jun 3, 2023 at 1:06 PM Kurt Nowak via rescue <rescue at sunhelp.org> wrote:
>
> Yes, I've been looking. They are ridiculously pricey! And then there is the problem of finding one that matches the Sun3. The 3/110 chassis is all welded together so accessing the backplane is difficult. Even if I could, it would be a sketchy situation with the 3 boards on top of each other without any ability to space them apart without the side rails. I thought about making 3x 96pin ribbon cables with the matching AMP connectors but connecting/disconnecting them to the backplane seems like it wouldn't be easy. Probably easier/cheaper to just have an extender board fabricated.
>
> -Kurt
>
> On Sat, Jun 3, 2023 at 9:39 AM Dave McGuire via rescue <rescue at sunhelp.org> wrote:
>>
>> On 6/3/23 12:28, Kurt Nowak via rescue wrote:
>> > I have a 3/110 with a faulty video section (hangs at boot when it polls
>> > the FB) and I want to be able to probe and troubleshoot the board. Does
>> > anyone have any tips on how to get at it since it's buried in the VME
>> > chassis. I was thinking of having an extension card made but thought I'd
>> > ask here and see what others have done first. Any thoughts would be
>> > appreciated. Thanks
>>
>>    Extender boards are available, but they cost a fortune.  VME is a
>> current bus, elsewhere if not in the Sun world.  I'd assume somewhere
>> north of $750 for a 9U VME.
>>
>>    In the past, I've put Sun VME boards in larger chassis (x60, x80) to
>> gain access.
>>
>>              -Dave
>>
>> --
>> Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
>> New Kensington, PA
>>
>>
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>
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