Hi Guys,
I built the SBC6120 (a PDP-8/E clone based on the HD6120 chip,
http://sbc6120.SpareTimeGizmos.com) but a bunch of the people in the
SBC6120 group also have IM6100 chips, sometimes tubes of 'em. We've
been having a little discussion about what to do with them on the
SBC6120 mailing list, and when I heard about this thread I thought I'd
open up the discussion.
To start off, I can think of a couple of ways to go with the 6100:
* Another machine with a real lights and switches front panel (a
simplified SBC6120+FP6120). To save money we'd have to use cheap metal
handle (e.g. "Altair style") toggle switches instead of paddle switches.
There'd be no fancy silk screened faceplate like the SBC6120 - if we had
any faceplate, it'd probably be some laser printed graphics sandwiched
between two clear sheets of plastic (again, "Altair style"!). You might
even have to drill your own faceplate - STG might not offer a precut
one.
* An Intercept Jr clone, including the octal keypad and octal display.
Maybe even powered by 3 or 4 "D" cells like the original Intercept Jr.
* A single board computer with an onboard EPROM to talk to a terminal
using something like LSI-11 CODT. No lights, no switches. Basically a
simplified (and less capable) SBC6120.
All of the options would have 4K of memory and a console terminal
interface. They'd run FOCAL-69, DECUS CHESS, or any other 4K paper tape
software. No mass storage and no OS/8.
Would anybody like to cast a vote? Does anybody have another idea?
Thanks,
Bob
Received on Tue Jul 20 2004 - 08:43:51 BST