building a PDP11 from the things you find at home

From: Zane H. Healy <healyzh_at_aracnet.com>
Date: Wed Jul 25 21:41:02 2001

> > > Imagine different front panels depending on which PDP11 you software
> > > configure...
> >
> > And none of them have the feel of the real thing...
> >
> > -tony
>
> Only if you miss the fan noise...
>
> Bill

I've got to agree with Tony, my /73 in a BA123 is about as quiet as the
Sparc 20 I've run simh on, in fact I think it's quieter. Given the choice
between the two I'll take my /73 hands down! With it I've got a *proper*
terminal, not some whacked out terminal emulation (hmmm, is this when I
admit that the system console for the PDP-10 version of simh is a VT420).
Everything behaves the way it should, and I've got a better choice of disks.
On the emulator I'm pretty much stuck using RL02's, on my /73 I've got two
removable SCSI hard drives, a CD-ROM (yes, I've a bunch of PDP-11
readable CD's), and I can use FTP and TELNET under RT-11 or DECnet under
RSX-11M. Unfortunatly to get files into RSX-11M+ I've first got to boot to
RSX-11M, and copy them over (unless of course they're on CD-ROM). Oh, and
the LA75 display printer hooked up to the VT420 I use for the console comes
in pretty useful!

The only use I see for a PDP-11 emulator personally is so I can run RT-11 on
my wifes laptop when we're on vacation (and then I've got to take a blasted
external keyboard with me). BTW, that's why I'd been running simh on the
Sparc 20, I was setting up my RT-11 RL02 packs.

Where I see emulation as useful is when you need a laptop version of the
system, or you just don't have a chance of getting the hardware (and/or
don't have the space even if you could). There are also commercial
situations where using a emulator makes good business sense. Oh, the other
use, in the case of the PDP-8 emulators with front panel emulation, is so
that you can see what you should be seeing when running diagnostics on a
system you're trying to repair (when you've never used a PDP-8).

                        Zane
Received on Wed Jul 25 2001 - 21:41:02 BST