Is acquiring a second-hand Model 170-- is this a good idea?

[ed_doxtator@xxxxxxxxxx]

Hi All:

I'm a first-time caller, long-time listener.

I've seen that there are a number of discontinued AS/400's coming onto the
market, particlualrly the pee-wee football-sized Model 170's, for less than
$2k.  This seems a reasonable price to me... or is it?  I've never _bought_
an AS/400; I just use the ones my employer happens to have lying around.

Since I've never done anything like this before, and can find no "This is
how you'd want to set up an AS/400 in your house," documentation, I'm
hoping one or two list members will indulge me and answer a couple of
questions.

V5R1
Most systems seem to be coming with V4R3-V4R5 loaded.  I'd rather use V5R1.

1. What sort of dance do I do with IBM to get an upgrade?  If I have to pay
for it, does anyone have any idea of how much?

2. I can't remember the minimum requirements for V5R1.  I did install it on
our 170 (9404, I think, but do not quote me) and it went smoothly.  But
that was more than a year ago, and it was an upgrade from V4R5.  I recall
that the V5R1 installation process needed something like 128mb of free disk
space.

3.  Because IBM seems to to-and-fro with regard to what comes with base
OS/400, I have no idea what would be included with the OS.  I'd think the
key development components I would need are
   -WDS
   -ClientAccess
   -Interactive SQL (via STRSQL)
   -Developer kit for Java

ClientAccess
1. What sort of nightmare is this product to configure?  I remember horror
stories, but I haven't had to do it in ages.

Server
1. My thought was to use the AS/400 as a server, connected to the internet.
That is, I would connect the 400 to my DSL line and set up a little network
in the house (with my PC and Laptop), using the 400 as a firewall and all
that.  Is this feasable?

Environment
1. How much heat and dust can a 170 tolerate?  Most systems I've used are
in raised-floor computer rooms.  The only AS/400 I used in an "untreated"
environment was in the UK; it seemed to handle heat and dust reasonably
well.  It certainly tolerated my thumb-fingered programming.

2. Apart from backups, what sort of maintenance is advisable?

Dealing with re-sellers
I've never dealt with a re-seller before.  What are the most common
problems Midrange-L people have run into with these guys?  What sort of
questions should I ask?

As for the "why would I want to do that"?  I do have an actual business
reason.  (My wife wouldn't even countenance me spending the money
otherwise.)

And besides, it'd be neat.

Thanks

-Doc, who is a dweeb and slightly embarassed for confessing a home AS/400
would be "neat"...

-----------------------------------------
Ed Doxtator, Analyst
Baxter International Healthcare