10 Sep
2008
10 Sep
'08
7:39 a.m.
Intersil made several PDP-8 "work a likes" based on their 6100 chip, and
I'm trying to figure out a few of the exact details. OK, I know this is
really obscure, but I'm hoping somebody out there has used one or at least
seen one :-)
The Intercept Jr was the SYM or KIM like single board computer with a
chiclet keypad and seven segment displays and powered by D cells. That
one's easy to identify. However, after they bought out Intersil, Harris
made a thing called the "Micro12" which was a little like the Intercept Jr
but is clearly not the same. There are no D cells on the Micro12 for one
thing, and more logic on board for another. I only have pictures of the
Micro12, but no details. Does anybody know any more about this gizmo?
And the "Intercept I/II Microcomputer Development Manual" (which I do
have) has pictures and specifications for the Intercept I and II. The I is
in a 3-1/2" chassis that holds four cards horizontally, and the II is a
5-1/4" chassis that holds at least a dozen cards inserted vertically. As
far as I can determine from the manual, the I and II are the same (they use
all the same cards) except for the chassis, and neither one has any kind of
front panel. The front panel is emulated with an ODT like debugger in the
console firmware (a little like the LSI-11).
BUT, I've also seen pictures of something that looks like an Intercept I
(exact same chassis), but with a lights and switches front panel. Intersil
and Harris both published application notes, #006, that described the "6100
Operator Console" and the application note even contains a nice photograph
of just such a machine. What model was this? Is it a unique model, was
there a front panel option for an Intercept I? The Intercept manual says
nothing about any kind of front panel.
Also, Intersil had their own disk (floppy disk, that is) operating system
for the Intercept I/II called IFDOS. I have a manual for IFDOS, but it
doesn't describe the floppy disk hardware for the Intercept. Was it a clone
of the RX01/RX8E? Have any copies of IFDOS media survived?
Thanks!
Bob Armstrong