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From: bmw@aesat.UUCP (Bruce Walker)
Newsgroups: net.arch,net.micro
Subject: Re: PDP-8 (it lives!)
Message-ID: <580@aesat.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 14-Mar-86 12:58:18 EST
Article-I.D.: aesat.580
Posted: Fri Mar 14 12:58:18 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 14-Mar-86 13:17:04 EST
References: <1441@gitpyr.UUCP> <890@umn-cs.UUCP> <2007@peora.UUCP> <283@ll-xn.ARPA>
Reply-To: bmw@aesat.UUCP (Bruce Walker)
Organization: AES Data Inc., Mississauga Ont., Canada
Lines: 30
Keywords: where to get one

In article <283@ll-xn.ARPA> olsen@ll-xn.ARPA (Jim Olsen) writes:
> A note of interest to those of us who knew and loved (:-)) the PDP-8:
> DEC is still making them!  The 'DECmate' word processor is based on a
> microprocessor version of the PDP-8.  (You can even run OS/8 on it.)
> -- 
> Jim Olsen   ARPA:olsen@ll-xn   UUCP:{decvax,lll-crg,seismo}!ll-xn!olsen

For those of us masochistic enough to even bother with these early RISC
machines, the microprocessor in the DECmate is made in a CMOS process
by Harris Semiconductor Corp. and is called the HM6120.  It is an
architectural extension of the PDP8/e (runs all old code) with two
stack pointer registers added (and a few other ying-yangs).  If you add
an HD6102 MEDIC (Memory Extension & DMA Interface Controller) chip, you
can have the FULL (yes folks!) 32K words of memory and a DEC-compatible
DMA port.

The "original" CMOS PDP8/e is still made by Intersil (since about 1975-6)
as the IM6100, and a little kit of parts (processor, UART, 256 words ram,
1K words of rom) can be bought for ~$70 (CAN.) that runs a faithful
reimplimentation of ODT.  Hmmm, let's see, all I need now is a paper
tape reader ...

Egads! Do you know it costs less to buy a 10M hard disk than a paper tape
reader these days?!?


Bruce Walker     {allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!aesat!bmw

"I'd feel a lot worse if I wasn't so heavily sedated." -- Spinal Tap