3 Apr
1999
3 Apr
'99
1:57 p.m.
At 20:06 31/03/99 +0100, Tony Duell wrote:
IIRC the Altair (or is it the Imsai) frontpanel uses
the CPU to do much
of the work and forces it to execute jump instructions, etc.
The Intellec panel uses the CPU for almost nothing. It's all done in
hardware. Personnally I prefer that - it makes it easier to debug a
machine with CPU (or more likely CPU bus buffer) problems.
This reminds me of the Intersil 6100 which had a special "front panel" mode
designed to hold code and data to run the (presumably flashy) front panel.
This got me to thinking (dangerous I know - I blame the very small Easter
egg my diet allows :-) that an interesting project might be to construct a
modern PDP8-E (or -F) using modern hardware (I guess the only difficult bit
would be getting a 6100). I did the design/layout/prototype of a 6100 CPU
board about a 100 years ago (OK, 23) and don't recall any real problems. I
guess though the real cost will be the front panel and metal work....
Huw Davies | e-mail: Huw.Davies(a)latrobe.edu.au
Information Technology Services | Phone: +61 3 9479 1550 Fax: +61 3 9479
1999
La Trobe University | "If God had wanted soccer played in the
Melbourne Australia 3083 | air, the sky would be painted green"