RS Wood
2017-07-15 23:57:36 UTC
From the «but can I read NetNews on it?» department:
Title: PiDP-8/I: a modern replica of the 1968 PDP-8/I
Author: Thom Holwerda
Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2017 19:12:59 -0400
Link: http://osnews.com/story/29915/PiDP-8_I_a_modern_replica_of_the_1968_PDP-8_I
Now this is a real treat - over the past few years, Christopher Masto has been
building (and where possible, selling) a PDP-8 replica called the PiDP-8/I. As
you may have guessed from the name, the core of the PiDP-8/I is a Raspberry Pi,
complemented by a replica PDP-8 front panel and case. From a hardware
perspective, the PiDP is just a frontpanel for a Raspberry PI. In the hardware
section below, the technical details of the front panel are explained. In fact,
the front panel could just as easily be driven by any microcontroller, it only
lights the leds and scans the switch positions. From a software perspective,
the PiDP is just a Raspberry Pi, running Raspbian, which automatically logs in
to the SimH emulator. SimH is modified to drive the front panel - meaning it
has instructions added to reflect the state of the PDP-8 CPU registers through
the leds, and responds to the switch settings. The PiDP is fully open source,
so you can download the schematics, design files, and software and build it
yourself from scratch. You can also order a kit from Christopher Masto for
$145, or pay an additional $170 for an assembled version (but isn't building
half the fun?). He has a few great videos of the PiDP up on his YouTube
channel, including a 90 minute build video and a tour and demo video.
Title: PiDP-8/I: a modern replica of the 1968 PDP-8/I
Author: Thom Holwerda
Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2017 19:12:59 -0400
Link: http://osnews.com/story/29915/PiDP-8_I_a_modern_replica_of_the_1968_PDP-8_I
Now this is a real treat - over the past few years, Christopher Masto has been
building (and where possible, selling) a PDP-8 replica called the PiDP-8/I. As
you may have guessed from the name, the core of the PiDP-8/I is a Raspberry Pi,
complemented by a replica PDP-8 front panel and case. From a hardware
perspective, the PiDP is just a frontpanel for a Raspberry PI. In the hardware
section below, the technical details of the front panel are explained. In fact,
the front panel could just as easily be driven by any microcontroller, it only
lights the leds and scans the switch positions. From a software perspective,
the PiDP is just a Raspberry Pi, running Raspbian, which automatically logs in
to the SimH emulator. SimH is modified to drive the front panel - meaning it
has instructions added to reflect the state of the PDP-8 CPU registers through
the leds, and responds to the switch settings. The PiDP is fully open source,
so you can download the schematics, design files, and software and build it
yourself from scratch. You can also order a kit from Christopher Masto for
$145, or pay an additional $170 for an assembled version (but isn't building
half the fun?). He has a few great videos of the PiDP up on his YouTube
channel, including a 90 minute build video and a tour and demo video.
