>>>> "Ethan" == Ethan Dicks
<dickset(a)amanda.spole.gov> writes:
Ethan> On Thu, Feb 26, 2004 at 08:23:46AM -0500, Robert Krten wrote:
> William Maddox sez...
> >
> > > PS. There is a NICE PDP-11 waiting to sold at VCM.
> >
> > If you compare the picture of this machine with with the 11/20
> on > Guy Sotomayer's site, the front panel of the machine on VCM
> looks > like it has been (inexpertly) modified...
> >
> > Here is a picture of what I think a PDP-11/20 is supposed to
> look like, > with a smooth front panel surface like the PDP-8/L of
> similar vintage:
> >
> >
http://www.shiresoft.com/pdp-11/inventory.html
>
> Well... other 11/20's look a little different :-) :-)
>
>
http://www.parse.com/~museum/pdp11/index.html
Ethan> Ruggedized machines aside, _my_ 11/20 looks like the one
Ethan> depicted at
shiresoft.com... smooth panel (with incandescent
Ethan> bulbs behind).
Correct. The same goes for other PDP11 models; the smooth panel with
lights behind the translucent material is a common feature across the
series.
Remember that the 11/20 came out in 1971. I'm not sure LEDs even
existed that long ago, and they certainly weren't common as lamp
replacements. I no longer remember when I first saw LEDs in PDP11
consoles -- perhaps the 11/70. Some vague memory says that their
lights displays looked red rather than yellow, which would fit.
Digging... the schematics in the pdp11 directory at
www.bitsavers.org
support this: the 11/45 console schematics show lamps, the 11/70
console schematics show LEDs. The 11/20 console manual (KY11 manual)
also discusses lamps and shows lamps in the schematic.
paul