In article <199410041617.RAA06727@taurus.ludd.luth.se>,
Anders Magnusson  <ragge@ludd.luth.se> wrote:
> Yes, there is also an idea to have a list of hex codes that you 
> deposit and then start, which reads the initial boot in from tape
> or something. That was the way we installed 4.2BSD from distribution
> tape :)

As I recall this is how the 7th Edition PDP-11 install worked. (And by
recall, I mean from reading the manuals, that was before my time...
Odly, these manuals were for the Altos 586, but contained the PDP install
information). Anyway, there was I think a three-stage boot process. One
keyed in a tiny loader, that loaded a bigger loader, that loaded the
real loader. Since (IMHO) a large part of the attraction of NetBSD/vax
is nostalgia value, it's fitting that it should install like the olden
days :-)

BTW, is there any good information out there for people interrested in
getting a home vax? A list of the various models, their relative speeds
and features, and approx current value? I've browsed _PROCESSOR_ and the
like, but without knowing the obscure DEC part numbers it's not much
help.

-- 
Ty Sarna                  "Shut up, I'm having a rhetorical conversation!"
tsarna@endicor.com                  -Max, _The Producers_