PDP era and a question

From: Allison J Parent <allisonp_at_world.std.com>
Date: Thu Aug 26 19:06:31 1999

< How many gates is a single chip processor going to use? And how
< expensive is an FPGA that size. Or are large PALs a better choice
< (free tools for AMD/Vantis MACH series, and Altera's entry level
< parts)

Figure well in to the 10000+ region. The PDP-11 looks simple but it's
not!

< What to use for a system. If I use a QBus based system (I have
< several available) what are the timing requirements? Is there
< a doc for this? Or Unibus? Or (my current favorite) Socket-7...

Least significant consideration. First the chip/chips.

< What architecture? Microcoded or gates? Microcode requires an
< assembler, but might be quicker in the long run.

Microcoded, all of the chip level 11s are (LSI-11, F11, T11, J11).

< And when its all done, what is it really good for? How many
< "hardware hackers" are interested in building CPU boards, and
< are willing to share the cost of laying out and manufacturing
< PCBs?

Look a any PDP-11 ask that question, theres your answer.

<I will probably make a stab at it, but depending on life, might not
<ever finish...

It's doable, the docs needed are commonly available. Costly.

Allison
Received on Thu Aug 26 1999 - 19:06:31 BST