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From: zemon@fritz.UUCP (Art Zemon)
Newsgroups: net.arch,net.micro
Subject: Re: PDP-8 (it lives!)
Message-ID: <465@fritz.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 20-Mar-86 21:31:42 EST
Article-I.D.: fritz.465
Posted: Thu Mar 20 21:31:42 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 30-Mar-86 07:55:45 EST
References: <1441@gitpyr.UUCP> <890@umn-cs.UUCP> <2007@peora.UUCP> <283@ll-xn.ARPA> <580@aesat.UUCP>
Reply-To: zemon@fritz.UUCP (Art zemon)
Organization: FileNet Corp., Costa Mesa, CA
Lines: 46
Xref: linus net.arch:2655 net.micro:12858

The PDP-8 not only lives, it refuses to die.

I have a real, honest to goodness, still WORKING, original
Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-8 in my den.  For those of you
who are religiously familiar with the 8 line, this is simply a
PDP-8, not an 8L or 8E or anything.

For the rest of you, this is what a "real" computer is like:
The PDP-8 predates integrated circuits.  It is made of about a
zillion Flip-Chips (TM or something by DEC) each housing gobs of
discrete transistors, diodes, and other goodies.  For example,
the accumulator is made up of twelve double Flip-Chips, each
implementing one BIT!  Each one of these boards is roughly one
half the size of a normal CRT screen.

The PDP-8 has a box roughly ten inches cubicle which contains
four kilowords of core.  Now this is not four kilobytes nor is
it eight nor is "core" a euphemism.  The 8 has 4096 twelve bit
words of real magnetic doughnuts with wires strung through them.
This stuff, if my memory serves, cycles at the blinding speed of
1.5 milliseconds.

Physically, this machine is straight out of a science fiction
flick.  It is about three feet cubicle with the top two feet
covered with smoked Plexiglass.  The bottom foot of the front
panel has a row of toggle switches all the way across it and
enough lights (incandescent, not LEDs) to keep Santa happy.

But the best part is turning it on when the gas is out on a cold
winter night.  It blithely consumes 780 watts of power and the
six fans swirl it around the entire house just fine.  But they
don't blow the thing over; it weighs in at 250 pounds.


If you compare the "Classic-8" to one of these new fangled
68020s or RISC machines, you'll have to agree.  For sheer
presence and class, the PDP-8 is unsurpassed in the Mini-
Computer market.  Beg to differ?  Lets try a little contest.
You put your computer on top of mine for an hour and well see if
my PDP-8 still runs.  Then....

Cheers,
-- 
	-- Art Zemon
	   FileNet Corp.
	   ...! {decvax, ihnp4, ucbvax} !trwrb!felix!zemon