The UDB/Multias are the low end of the Alpha line. They have been around for many years and are now available fairly cheap (I got mine for $50). They are based around a 166MHz or 233MHz Alpha chip, require TRUE parity memory and most seem to have a TGA based graphics card. This card is unfortunately limited to 256 colours in all resolutions, but I have read that it will happily drive a monitor at 1280x1024. You can install other cards though space inside the UDB us usually tight, and watch out for heat, evidently ventilation isn't that good.

For more specific information you can download the PDF version of the Multia system manual (This has been gziped).

UDBs and Flat Batteries
It seems that Cpumicromart is shipping the UDB/Multias from Onsale.com with flat batteries. You can ask Cpu for a replacement which could take some time, (and possibly a credit card number). Another solution is that you can get this battery from Radio Shack. They may not have it in stock but the part number is 10048726, cost should be around $14.99. After initializing the video, you might get a blinking white cursor in the lower left corner of the screen. If you're dying to play with it, you can remove the battery and it will boot. The only catch is that you'll need to set the data/time/boot menu every time you reboot.

Install Help
It seems that many install directions for Alpha's fail to mention that the first floppy (the one for MILO and linload.exe) should be a FAT floppy. There are two ways to make this floppy. The first is to copy the linload.exe file and your MILO image to a regular FAT floppy. The second is to rawrite an image of the MILO disk (udb-noname.img) to a floppy disk. This file is a FAT formatted disk image with the linload.exe and MILO files.

External SCSI
If you, like me, purchased the UDB without the external SCSI port you can order an adapter from CableMakers. The part number is SCSA2040.

Volume
If you find the volume level of the Multia's beeping a little to loud you can enter this command to quiet it down:

setterm -bfreq 100 -blen 50

Sound
Sound is supported on the Multia. A typical sound section of the /etc/conf.modules file might look something like this:

alias sound ad1848
pre-install sound /sbin/insmod sound dmabuf=1
alias midi opl3
options opl3 io=0x388
options ad1848 io=0x530 irq=9 dma=3 dma2=3

Things to remember for Multia sound:

Use the "Microsoft Sound" module
Do not compile in any MIDI support
IRQ = 9
DMA = 3
I/O = 530

Other Hardware

The scsi adapter is an NCR 53c810 (use ncr53c8xx SCSI driver)
The ethernet is usually a DEC 21040 10BaseT (use Tulip or de4x5 driver)
TGA video (remember to compile TGA frame buffer support into any kernels).

Firmware Update: ftp.digital.com