IBM System/34 5340 rescue in South Africa

Hi, I am in the process of trying to resucue 2 IBM System/34 model 5340 units. One has twin "large" hard disk units (seems to be single platter) and the other a single smaller multi-platter hard disk unit. There are no terminals or external peripherals with the units but there are a series of 8" floppies with each unit. My hope is to rescue at least one of them and consider replacing the cabinet sides with clear plastic in order to form a show unit to be placed at a local school or university as a technology exhibit. The other I would like to see in operation again even if only for fun Has anyone had any experience with connecting peripherals such as terminals to this unit or has any advice on the usage of these machines. A friend of mine has worked on System/360 machines in his younger years and I have a contact who has worked for IBM South Africa for many years so I do have some access to local support. Perhaps there is someone out there that also has one of these or similar in the back room

Any comments welcome. Thanks in advance.

floyd20183 said:

...Perhaps there is someone out there that also has one of these or similar in the back room...

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One? I've got four of these beasts! To be original, you are looking for 5250-series terminals (at least one to be the configuration console) and "twin-ax" cabling.

I can help a little when it comes to connecting the units...

He pretty much summed it up.
These boxes, like the /36 I almost got, breathed using Twinax peripherials. You should also be able to use Twinax baluns to save yourself any hassle with finding long lengths of twinax cable. They let you use regular Cat5 cable instead which is really helpful.

Thanks for the info. I will keep the forum posted if I manage to acquire the units. Then the fun will begin. What sort of cooling would these machines require for short term usage. i.e. a few hours at a time ?

Ok so it's confirmed. I am able to collect the machines. Any suggestions or comments on moving these beasts. I had thought of removing the hard drives to prevent damage and reduce the weight. Any transportation advice is more than welcome.

floyd20183 said:

Ok so it's confirmed. I am able to collect the machines. Any suggestions or comments on moving these beasts. I had thought of removing the hard drives to prevent damage and reduce the weight. Any transportation advice is more than welcome.

Click to expand...

I've moved the units one at a time before, and a few years back, all four, and two of the floor-standing printers, together at one time (Here is what it looked like). Having access to a "car carrier" trailer is highly recommended. The units are on casters, and can be pushed on flat surfaces by a couple burly guys.

The power supply section is probably much more of the weight than the hard drive(s), and I would recommend that you not disassemble for transport...

The main unit should also be 220V. In a location that is comfortable for humans (South Africa is in it's cold season right now, correct?) it should be fine. Have you been able to get any terminals?

Given their current location (2nd floor of a building in a corner office) I am not sure that they will come out any other way in their current format / weight. The lift is too small for the units and I am sure that at some point the lifts must have been bigger since I am sure they were not carried up the stairs .. (I hope). There are no terminals so that will be next on my hunting list. Would the disks have "parked" the heads as part of a system shutdown or must I assume that they are still positioned over data sectors. BTW some pics are under the gallery on www.vcgsa.co.za. You can see the twin disks in the one unit and the smaller drive in the other.

Just a quick update. The first of the 2 system/34 machines has arrived safely