I don't
think you are going to find enough PDP8 owners for a kickstarter.
Sounds like an interesting project. However if you include 1 SMT
chip, you could do it with FRAM or MRAM - which are in a way a modern
day equivalent of core memory. A nice link to the past.
Most people I know who restore old machines, including me, have an
irrational disdain for batteries.
Irrational? Given the damage I've seen batteries do when they leak, I'd
hardly call it irrational.
Yes, but given you'll be solderign up this board yourself, there's
nothign to stop you putting the battery in a leakprrok plastic box behind
the riack and runnign a couple of wires to the memroy board. I doubt
enough electorlyte would creep alogn the wires to do much damage [1].
[1] THis is actualy a problem, certianly in old cameras. The battery
leaks, the (corrosive) electrolyte creps up the wire inside the
insulation. It doesn' normally get to the otehr end, so there's n further
damage, but it does make the wire go open-circuti or worse, intermitant.
You get soem very odd faults...
-tony