Talking to DEC disks controllers with non-DEC hardware(was

From: Tony Duell <ard_at_p850ug1.demon.co.uk>
Date: Thu Jun 5 13:32:01 2003

> --- Tony Duell <ard_at_p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> > > If you are going to do that, why not use a DEC CPU?
> >
> > I thought about suggesting that, but the hardware hacker in me wants to
> > keep it as simple as possible :-)
>
> I understand. I'm both a software and a hardware hacker, so I don't mind
> moving the set-point over a bit for a combination solution.

Me too, actually, mut more on the hardware side.

> > Anyway, I'm more of a Unibus person...
>
> Fair enough. I do both (plus VAXBI) since I used to make all of that

Well, my 'main' PDP11 has both Unibus and Qbus (!). It's an 11/45 with a
DW11-B. On the Unibus side I have memory, RX11-C, RX611, DR11-Bs, paper
tape, etc. On the Q-bus side I have an RLV11, MINC modules, IBV11, etc...
Quite an unconventional system...

For hardware hacking, I find the Unibus to be simpler. I also have more
'exotic' controllers for that bus..

> > It's a pity that computers with lots of parallel I/O lines are so
> > uncommon, and the user ports are out of fashion now...
>
> No doubt. I did a lot of stuff with the User Port on the PET and C-64

I try to fit at least one 16 line user port on everything I own... I
suspect I'm the only person to have written microcode to bit-bang the I2C
protocol over a few of the lines on the PERQlink interface, for example ;-)

> > One thing I would _love_ to find is a portable-ish machine which can
> > write a disk that's readable on a PC, and which has at least 32 parallel
> > I/O lines, totally user controllable.
>
> Hmm... you'll laugh... my SBC-6120 w/IOB-6120 fits the bill... the

:-)... That;s the sort of machine that would probably do the job... Pity
it's not available commercially...

-tony
Received on Thu Jun 05 2003 - 13:32:01 BST