26 Aug
2021
26 Aug
'21
7:07 p.m.
On Thu, Aug 26, 2021 at 9:46 PM Chuck Guzis via cctalk <
cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
On 8/26/21 5:14 PM, Ray Jewhurst via cctalk wrote:
I have already read that document. The thing that stuck with me most was
the fact that you can not boot off the hard drive (or were they already
calling them DASDs?)
Hello all,
Long time lurker, extremely rare poster, I was reading the Wikipedia
article on the IBM 1620 and became quite intrigued. I know that there
is a
simulator for it on SimH but I have never ran or
simulated any
card-driven
machines before. I have all the documentation
and the ibm1620.zip file
from bitsavers but I am not sure what to do next. I know I would like to
try Monitor, Fortran-II and possibly GOTRAN but I have so many questions.
I read the SimH documentation which gave me some understanding but I
don't
know exactly how the card decks work, how to
install Monitor or how to
boot
Monitor once it is installed since I know you
have to boot off a deck.
My
final question is, is there an easy to use
card-driven machine to cut my
teeth on? Also, any anecdotes on any of the old IBM computers would be
both welcome and greatly appreciated.
Cards are just ASCII lines separated by newlines>
For more information, see:
https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/3610586/ibm-1620-simulator-usage-01-…
It's been years since I used the SIMH 1620
simulator, so I can't even
claim to be remotely current. I used it to check out some sample code
back then.
My reaction: It's just not the same. I guess you had to be there.
Did anyone manage to snag a copy of Monitor IID? Or is the only extant
version Monitor I? The differences were significant.
I only saw Monitor I. Will it even run on a 1620-II?
Also, don't forget SPS!
SPS is included both standalone and in the Monitor I distro, so is
Fortran-II
If you're new to the 1620, I recommend the
following book:
http://bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/1620/Basic_Programming_Concepts_and_the_IBM_16…
Thank you. I will check it out starting tonight.
If you want to use a totally (i.e. no disk)
card-driven version of the
1620, I'd recommend that you start with simple machine language
programs. I (dimly) recall that using the card-only FORTRAN compiler
was a bit of a chore: read pass 1, read your program, while punching an
intermediate deck, read pass 2 and the intermediate deck, read the
subroutine library and wind up with an executable deck.
I will try the card-driven version first I think as an intro to cards.
--Chuck
Thanks
Ray