On 10/15/07, woodelf <bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca> wrote:
Tony Duell wrote:
Check. I have a PDP8/e on my desk.
I
thought a PDP-8 was desk sized.
PDP-8s come in many sizes - the Straight-8 was "desk-sized" in that it
was available with a built-in desk. The -8/a is about the size of a
microwave oven (1/2 the size of a PDP-8/e), but was also available
built _into_ a desk) the CPU was in front of your knees, with room to
mount two RX01/RX02 units or an RL01/RL02 where the drawers would
normally go. DECmates are the size of large desktop PCs or smaller
(like the DM III)... various sizes and weights, all 12-bits, 4Kwords
to 32Kwords (to 128Kwords in rare cases)...
That reminds me to find
a smaller case for SBC6120 so it can fit on a desk.
I have stuffed in a old wooden box.
At one point, I had one mounted in an external floppy case for an Amiga...
http://penguincentral.com/retrocomputing/sbc6120/
As a newbie with just setting up the PDP-8 and OS/8
what is the
best way to get started? I can download stuff from bitsavers
but what to download.
Besides the OS, there's a few collections of BASIC programs running
around - several games and a few of the typical utility-type programs.
If you want to write programs, you'll need the right programs for
that - PAL assembler, FORTRAN-II, FORTRAN-IV (slow on an SBC-6120
since it doesn't have the optional-for-a-PDP-8/a FPP12 math
co-processor), BASIC, etc. BASIC.SV should be on most OS/8 distros
you find out there. The FORTRAN stuff might take a little hunting and
gathering.
DECUS used to have a large PDP-8 collection, but I don't know that
swaths of it are available anywhere.
-ethan