9 May
2012
9 May
'12
8:53 a.m.
Message: 9
Date: Wed, 9 May 2012 01:08:08 -0400
From: Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks at gmail.com>
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Subject: Re: More photos from VCF East 8
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<CAALmimkv-r06X-W2GAB9VS1_NLpiDB-kACijtzOB3JS7tC6NYQ at mail.gmail.com>
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On Tue, May 8, 2012 at 11:27 PM, B Degnan <billdeg at degnanco.com> wrote:
Yes and no. On a pdp-15, the 11/05 is more a
front-end than a console/bootstrap processor; it doesn't need to load microcode or any
such thing. Any pdp-15 can start up from paper tape (there's usually a reader/punch
immediately above the -15 console, was not installed at VCF) - heck, there's even a
dedicated 'Read-in' switch on the console which initiates that boot. On the -15 I
exhibited, the mass storage *did* rely on the -11; an RK11 talked to two RK05s (also not
taken to VCF to make system easier to handle), and a Unichannel 15-to-Unibus interface
gives the -15 direct access to the RK subsystem in 18-bit mode.
On my other pdp-15, mass storage is all native; it has an RP15 (disk) and TC59 (tape)
controller. That system had an 11/40 front-end, but it was only used for communications
devices. It's a much bigger restoration project as I only got hold of it after it had
been deinstalled; quite a few cables cut, and every single -11 compatible component (the
11/40, power supplies etc) had been robbed by the site engineer for spares.
More photos from VCF East 8
http://vintagecomputer.net/browse_thread.cfm?id=466
You wrote:
"Mike Ross' exhibit consisted of a PDP 11/05 used to interface with
a PDP 15, in two racks. He demonstrated restoration techniques for
attendees. I am not sure exactly what you call this console, there is
no "PDP 15" on the panel, but I assume it's some kind of I/O device
that complements the (not pictured) PDP 11/05 used to presumably
bootstrap this thing."
That _is_ the PDP-15 front panel - if you look, there are 18 data bits.
The PDP-15 CPU was the large spread of M-series cards on the
backplane above this front panel. Its memory was in a black box below
(and not there for much of the weekend). The PDP-11/05 is self-contained
and does the same job as the PDP-11/03 in a VAX-11/780 or the PDP-11
in various models of PDP-10. In each case, the PDP-11 boots from its
own ROMs to start up enough code to feed the larger processor. In the
case of the VAX-11/780, the PDP-11/03 has one RX01 floppy drive. I
don't know what this PDP-11 uses, but there must be some local mass
storage that's part of the scheme. Many I/O devices of the day did have blinkenlights
indicators (usually installed
at the top of the rack), but not this many control switches.
The RP15, TC59, and FP15 all have a good crop of blinkenlights. What I really want to get
hold of is a TC15 DECtape control!
Message: 26
Date: Wed, 9 May 2012 06:10:39 -0700 (PDT)
From: Gene Buckle <geneb at deltasoft.com>
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Subject: Re: VCF East pictures
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<alpine.LFD.2.00.1205090608490.11705 at grumble.deltasoft.com>
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On Tue, 8 May 2012, Mike Loewen wrote:
That PDP-15 console is just a thing of beauty. *sighs*
Would it be bad form to admit at this point that I have two of them? :-D
Mike