[rescue] PiDP-8/11, was: The Soul of that old Machine

[Steve Hatle]

I've built both the PiDP-8 and PiDP-11 and really enjoyed both kits. I 
need to do the work to add "real" serial ports to my PiDP-11 and hook up 
real terminals.

I've also built the Altairduino which is an Arduino based version of the 
8800.

Soldering all those resistors, LEDs, and switches really upped my 
soldering game! :-)

Steve

> Lionel Peterson <mailto:lionel4287 at gmail.com>
> November 24, 2021 at 9:39 AM
> Speaking of simulating classic hardware:
>
> Years ago I bought two kits from a fellow named Oscar in Switzerland, his
> PiDP-8 and PiDP-11, they are RPi-based SimH boxes designed to look like
> classic PDP-8 and PDP-11/70 control panels with working switches and 
> LEDs at
> 2/3rds scale.
>
> While these devices would likely only appeal to a certain kind of 
> person, he's
> apparently sold several thousand of each.
>
> I built my PiDP-11 kit a week ago, but (ignorantly) soldered the switches
> upside down (having never worked a 'real' PDP-11 I just assumed the
> address/data switches toggled 'down' not 'up'), now I'm trying to 
> figure out
> proper desoldering tools to fix the switches...
>
> The kits are pricey, but they are well-designed and result in a 
> quality piece
> of blinking light artwork.
>
> The SimH software can be run on a standalone RPi (no control panel) and
> accessed over serial, usb, or ssh sessions. My discovery/recovery of 
> my VT420
> terminal motivated me to pick up my soldering iron and have a go at 
> the kit.
> The PiDP-8 is on-deck for assembly over the holiday weekend.
>
> The PiDP-11 took about 6 hours to build incorrectly, it shouldn't take any
> longer if you follow the instructions.
>
> PiDP-8: https://obsolescence.wixsite.com/obsolescence/pidp-8
>
> PiDP-11: https://obsolescence.wixsite.com/obsolescence/pidp-11
>
> To get back on-topic, I don't think DG had anywhere near the 'fanatic'
> following PDP-8 and PDP-11 systems had, maybe they lacked the 
> blinkenlights?
>
> Ken
>
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> Jonathan Patschke <mailto:jp at celestrion.net>
> November 24, 2021 at 9:11 AM
> On Wed, 24 Nov 2021, John Hudak wrote:
>
>
> Simh is rather nice.B  It's long been my go-to for PDP11 and VAX
> emulation.B  Hacking on it about 15 years ago to have better battery
> performance (mostly spinlock-hunting) on OS X was fun, too.B  It tends to
> feel very "abstract," though, because every machine goes through the
> same interface.
>
> Most of what made, for example, using Hercules not feel like just
> running another VM is that so much of the console experience is
> preserved (albeit at some necessity because of how IBM mainframes treat
> the consoles as extra-special).B  I guess I was hoping for something less
> like simh and more like Hecules.