Not sure if it's possible for four people to build a PDP-11 out of garbage
in less than ten hours. Given a couple of days in a proper computer
graveyard, maybe.
It's the 4 people that worries me. A single (good) hacker could probably
do it. But add 3 more people and you've got problems....
-tony
IIRC there once was a DEC handout that ran through the 78A and 79J Field
Service office where I worked.
It was purported to be the Field Service Support Engineer boards
(a test and oral argument similar like doing a thesis, the law boards
and public flogging combined...)
It went something like this.
Question 1: Describe the theory of operation memory devices beginning with
the discovery of writing, through electricity, williams tubes, magnetic
storage (including the new Intel work on magnetic bubbles) and static
and dynamic memory.
etc, etc
The last question was a project along the lines of:
Given two AA batteries and one C cell, a 1.5 volt flashlight battery,
65 feet of wire wrap wire, 12 toggle switches and a 3.5mhz crystal
oscillator.
Build a KB11-C multiprocessor capable PDP11 with memory management,
runibus map, 22 bit addressing, DL11-W serial card with 60Hz time of day
clock (KW-11 programmable clock extra credit...) etc.
I wish I had the full copy.
As far as you can build a mainframe from the things you find at home...
It's pretty true if you start with Simh26... PDP11, PDP8, PDP10.
I do prefer Doug Jones' PDP8e emulator with the X11 front panel toggle
switches -- wish the Simh could do all the whiz-bang graphics.
Imagine different front panels depending on which PDP11 you software
configure...
Bill
(meanwhile -- back to loading VAX/VMS on the VaxStation...)
---
Bill Gates is a Persian cat and a monocle away from being a
villain in a James Bond movie -- Dennis Miller
bpechter@shell.monmouth.com|pechter@pechter.dyndns.org
