Device Driver for TU81 + flame!

[dberry at ucla-cs.UUCP]

I am posting this for a guru friend at a site from which it is not
as convenient to post. JST is Jerusalem Standard Time!
----------------
Date: 21 Jan 86 21:06:52 JST (Tue)
From: Danny Braniss <danny%hujics.BitNet at ucbvax.berkeley.edu>

For some time now, actually more than three months, I have been trying
to obtain info on the Tu81 unibus tape from DEC. Needless to say, I only
got the runaround from DEC.
At the moment, I have enough documentation to install, take apart, and maybe
put together again the Tu81, (needless to say, we have a service agreement
with DEC).
Some facts:
1- The Tu81 is a unibus tape that talks something called TMSCP, a big brother
   of MSCP.
2- Ultrix will support it, but not yet.
3- System V does not.
4- 4.2/3BSD: Berkeley is uncommitted.

I can only come to the following conclusions:
1- There is some kind of conspiracy to kill Unix, at least in what new
   DEC equipment is concerned.
2- It is obvious that DEC is trying, and succeeding(?), in pushing VMS, which
   of course supports the TU81.
3- Since we have no intentions in switching to VMS, and as far as I am
   concerned, this was the last piece of equipment that we
   are buying from dec. There are nicer, faster and cheaper cpu's around.
Or:
   DEC is again blundering it.

Grrrrrrrrrrr.......

Has anyone anywhere managed to get up a device driver for this tapedrive
that is useable or portable to 4.2???

danny
 danny at hujics.bitnet (Since this one is cheaper).