PiDP-11 – Recreating PDP-11/70 with Raspberry Pi
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PiDP-11 – Recreating PDP-11/70 with Raspberry Pi
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Re: PiDP-11 – Recreating PDP-11/70 with Raspberry Pi
#2Nova 1200 would be easier. Just glass panel painted mostly black and regular off-the-shelf switches. Bigger problem is the menacing glow of blinkenlichts. Leds will never do.
Re: PiDP-11 – Recreating PDP-11/70 with Raspberry Pi
#3Nova 1200 would be easier. Just glass panel painted mostly black and regular off-the-shelf switches. Bigger problem is the menacing glow of blinkenlichts. Leds will never do.
There is a kit for an Altair replica which uses simpler switches. https://adwaterandstir.com/altair/
Re: PiDP-11 – Recreating PDP-11/70 with Raspberry Pi
#4I purchased this as a kit and soldered together myself. It was a lot of fun to put together and it’s very illuminating to use. Happy to answer any questions about the kit or my experiences with it.
Re: PiDP-11 – Recreating PDP-11/70 with Raspberry Pi
#5I have the PiDP-11, assembled it myself from the kit.
It was exciting for me to be able to run RSTS/E, which is one of the first operating systems I ever worked on. I only wish I had a Decwriter to physically connect to it.
And visitors to my office love the blinky lights.
Re: PiDP-11 – Recreating PDP-11/70 with Raspberry Pi
#6Honestly, I've always thought a high quality 3D computer model of the entire thing (including the peripherals) would serve the purpose of learning about this stuff much better; an added benefit: doesn't take space. Learning in the virtual space in general has a huge potential. Even watching educational videos (like those found in abundance on YouTube) suffices in many cases. The age of plastic toys is behind us.
Re: PiDP-11 – Recreating PDP-11/70 with Raspberry Pi
#7I have the PiDP-11, assembled it myself from the kit. It was exciting for me to be able to run RSTS/E, which is one of the first operating systems I ever worked on. I only wish I had a Decwriter to physically connect to it. And visitors to my office love the blinky lights.
Ebay and a serial USB adapter are you friends :).
Re: PiDP-11 – Recreating PDP-11/70 with Raspberry Pi
#8Similar in spirit, a recreation of the VAX-11/780:
https://vxcompany.com/2016/02/13/a-working-vax-11780-revisit...
Re: PiDP-11 – Recreating PDP-11/70 with Raspberry Pi
#9Honestly, I've always thought a high quality 3D computer model of the entire thing (including the peripherals) would serve the purpose of learning about this stuff much better; an added benefit: doesn't take space. Learning in the virtual space in general has a huge potential. Even watching educational videos (like those found in abundance on YouTube) suffices in many cases. The age of plastic toys is behind us.
Hard, hard disagree. Nothing beats learning by getting your hands on a thing.
Re: PiDP-11 – Recreating PDP-11/70 with Raspberry Pi
#10I have the PiDP-11, assembled it myself from the kit. It was exciting for me to be able to run RSTS/E, which is one of the first operating systems I ever worked on. I only wish I had a Decwriter to physically connect to it. And visitors to my office love the blinky lights.
Ebay and a serial USB adapter are you friends :).
Nope.
1. Decwriter terminals are very hard to come by! Haven't seen one on eBay in the years I've been searching. Look for yourself: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=decwriter&_sa...
2. Don't need a USB Serial Adapter with the PiDP-11. The PiDP-11 board will support up to 5 RS-232 ports on it: https://obsolescence.wixsite.com/obsolescence/pidp-11-connec...