I have a copy of the 'StarShip Simulation' and have also often thought
about rendering some code...
alas, not enough time...
I do know that there is someone on the net who has been trying
to actually build the hardware for a starship simulator and has
been basing his code on the 68000... I'm not sure where his page
is or if he reads CCMP.
Megan
Jerome Fine wrote:
.
> Is there an actual Qbus - or something else? It certainly
> sounds like a Qbus!
The PDT has no Qbus. I believe the eBay auction has a picture
with the top cover off and the top board elevated - you can
make out a ribbon cable coming off the bottom board, and the
paper insulating sheet that sits between the bottom two boards
when closed.
> Also, I presume there is no possibility of a hard drive?
> How many DL ports are available?
The PDT-11/150 was reportedly available with one or two RX01
drives, and three serial ports with another three optional. I've
only seen the one I own, which has both drives and six ports.
There're no other expansion options that I can recall.
In fact it's sitting in the dining room with a VT100 waiting to
be powered up to check some 8" floppies I received a while back.
I'm in the process of bringing up a VAX 4000/500 I recently
received and it'd be a hoot to connect the PDT to it.
Did RT-11 ever include DECnet support? Probably so, but as of
what version? I don't recall seeing mention of it with whatever
version came with the PDT, and I'd be amazed if the PDT could
support it...
--Steve.
smj(at)spamfree.crash.com (lose spamfree to get through, m'kay?)
>I should hedge my bets here: There is no Qbus backplane in the
>PDT-11/150. There are some stacking connectors between two dual-
>height sized boards (serial ports and memory) on top and the
>middle board, which carries the CPU complex. I believe the bottom
>board in the stack is the floppy controller - not sure if the
>console circuitry (8085 based?) is on that or the middle board.
The interrupt processor on the PDT is an 8085(A)...
Megan
>The PDT-11/150 was reportedly available with one or two RX01
>drives, and three serial ports with another three optional. I've
>only seen the one I own, which has both drives and six ports.
>There're no other expansion options that I can recall.
I've never seen one with only one drive, but I have seen some
which didn't have the extra 3-line option.
>In fact it's sitting in the dining room with a VT100 waiting to
>be powered up to check some 8" floppies I received a while back.
>I'm in the process of bringing up a VAX 4000/500 I recently
>received and it'd be a hoot to connect the PDT to it.
Remember, after powering it on, you type two '@' to autobaud and
boot the unit.
>Did RT-11 ever include DECnet support? Probably so, but as of
>what version? I don't recall seeing mention of it with whatever
>version came with the PDT, and I'd be amazed if the PDT could
>support it...
RT never came with DECnet support... DECnet was, however, available
for it as a 'layered product'. The DECnet available for RT was
Phase III, asynch/sync support only. No Phase IV/Ethernet. I know
of someone who actually had a PDT running RT on the DEC internal
network at one point...
Megan
I noticed this on eBay and thought I'd post it here for those PDP-11
collectors among us:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2733136922&category=1247
The starting price ($199 US) seems high, but these are pretty hard to find.
One possibly sour note though - the seller wants a flat rate of $150 to ship
anywhere in North America.
I picked up one of these in terrific condition last December for $25. It cost
$65 to pack and ship the heavy thing, but it was worth it. I haven't seen
another PDT sell since then.
Stuart Johnson
Sorry, I can't help you with your identification, but must point out that it
can't be MUCH earlier than the Jupiter Ace, since both the Ace and the
MC68010 processor were released in 1983, so the computer you have can be at
most a few months earlier, and probably more recent since the Jupiter Ace
ran for a shorter time than the 68010!
Some CAD stations have multiple joysticks, also video editing consoles, or
even studio music production equipment. Could it be something like that? Is
there any clue from the location you found it (on the kerbside outside what
building???).
You may get more clues if you switch it on and see what comes up on the
monitor!
Good luck
paul
-----Original Message-----
From: peter tremewen [mailto:ptremewe@bigpond.net.au]
Sent: 01 June 2003 22:18
To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org
Subject: Jupiter Computer (No Not the ACE)
Hi all,
I have in my hands a "Jupiter" computer and am wondering if you can
offer any info on it? It is not the Jupiter ACE home computer, but a much
earlier very large and obviously fairly old rack mounted system. The
computer
is based on the 68010 CPU. I can't determine how much memory it has on
board,
but there are more than several banks of 4164 mem chips which if I remember
is
a 64kbit dynamic Ram device. The huge keyboard is attached via a missing
multipair cable and has two joysticks on either side. The monitor has
separate
RGB and Sync cables, each of which are generated using separate discrete
component boards in the chassis. Inside the chassis are two huge Vertex hard
drives, and a 3.5 in floppy, each connected to their discrete driver boards,
Z80 based.
On the front of the computer is "Jupiter". Model number is J12CHAS
and
Man date is "514". It was manufactured in Berkeley C.A. USA. The serial
number
is "Jup.S.N. 12C-1025-AA". I basically found it all on a curbside and
couldn't
resist adding it too my rather small but now growing collection. If you need
any further info to help with identification let me know, I'll see what I
more
I can get from the chassis.
Maybe I'm insane and have just picked up what most would consider
total junk, but I personally think that systems such as this are worth
preserving. I haven't been brave enough to switch the damn thing on yet,
with
all that discrete hardware it will probably double my power bill with about
a
minutes use. However I love all this old stuff, and worse comes to worse at
least their are some interesting discrete components in it. If you need or
would like a photo let me know, I'm a freelance photographer and will take a
few shots anyway, so when I do I'll pass some scans on to you.
Peter T.
My Selectric III went in the local metal-recycle bin quite a few years ago.
It was getting sticky and needed a thorough cleaning. The local IBM service
center wanted $125 just to take a look at it, so enough was enough. I have
not used a typewriter in the last 8 or so years, and don't miss it.
I had a second Selectric my brother gave me, but during a move, one of the
cast-metal parts gave up the ghost. It seemed too expensive to get it
replaced, so it, too, went to the metal recycle bin. I suspect many other
typewriters, Selectrics et al., met the same fate.
My mother, 89, still uses a manual typewriter, but her sight is failing and
she has a hard time getting the right roy of keys. Sometimes we have to sit
at the keyboard and "decipher" her notes. She recently found a typewriter
repair shop on Long Island (NY) that would repair and clean her manual unit.
She got new type and a cleaned unit for about $85. That's a deal.
Jon
Jon Titus
36 Sunset Drive
Milford, MA 01757-1362 USA
Phone: +1-508-478-8040
E-mail: jontitus(a)attbi.com
Member, National Association of Science Writers
Whenever I type anything I just get a left-arrow. I am blaming the
1818-23/-21 for this. Shouldn't I?
OK; current loop.
Would this explain a resistor (14 Ohm, big) in the slot of the KSR would
get extremely hot when off this loop? Also; Hans Pufal, I would be most
grateful for the schematics for the CL>RS232 converter. Also tell me more
about the modifications made to the TTY control on the PDP? The card says
181823 on the solder side and 181821 on the other.
Thanks!
-Tore
"Life's a bitch and then you turn on your PDP and it's all nice and when
you turn it off it goes back to being a bitch. Repeat when nessecary. Oh,
and you die, btw."
I am having trouble on my toshiba laptop 210CT the screen goes dark when i am
working on it i then pull the screen down towards me the back up and the
screen then goes back to normal can you help thanks paul tel 020 8838 4943
How many people would publically claim to own a PERQ 3a, a PERQ T4, an
HP95C, a DAP, a 370/E (which is not an IBM machine!) or something like that?
==
What's the point of having cool stuff if you can't say you have it? :-)
I don't make a secret of the Xerox protos that I have. On the other hand
there aren't a lot of people who know where they actually ARE..
