20 Oct
2010
20 Oct
'10
11:49 a.m.
On 10/20/10, Vincent Slyngstad <vrs at msn.com> wrote:
Considering how much of the -8/i backplane it takes up (about 1/2 as
much as the EAE), it's a noticable chunk.
Nope. That takes about 3"x5" in TTL (with a 16-bit Dallas RAM/battery
module), IIRC.
From: "Ethan Dicks": Wednesday, October 20,
2010 8:14 AM
Yes, but I thought it worth keeping in play.
On 10/20/10, Vincent Slyngstad <vrs at
msn.com> wrote:
Sure. We've talked about how to do that before, I think. You'd face that
problem starting from either the 8/I or the 8/L. Hmm. I might choose the 8/L for something like
that. Possibly soup
up the memory to 32K, but leave out all the option cruft of the 8/I
backplane.
And replace the 7453 and 7482 with something made with less unobtanium? The memory
extension hardware to take it over 4K is obviously
non-trivial in size (especially considering it doesn't fit in an -8/L
CPU enclosure).
Good point. You would definitely need some board area for that. > OTOH, if you have over 32K
(*have over 4K)
there might as
well be provisions for OS/8-compatible mass
storage, otherwise it's just a papertape machine with more than 4K.
True, though an RF08 emulation doesn't take much board space. Or one could go with an RX08 interface for extra
clanking ambiance :-).
While amusing and handy for some (I would use it), unless someone
whips up a cable-compatible RX01/RX02 emulator (could be to floppy or
removable FLASH), there are only so many original drive sets running
around. Of course, one could build that RX01 emulator and include an
optional Arduino-based MP3 player to emit the whirring and clanking.
Frivolous but entertaining.
-ethan
20 Oct
20 Oct
2:11 p.m.
From: "Ethan Dicks": Wednesday, October 20, 2010 8:49 AM
Considering how much of the -8/i backplane it takes up (about 1/2 as
much as the EAE), it's a noticable chunk.
I did once design an extended memory controller (with time-share)
that was only a few inches on a side. But that was for the 6100, and
it also used a GAL or two, IIRC. Proper homage to the historical
8/I design would definitely be larger.
:-).
There are still plenty of RX01 and RX02 drives around, though they are
big, and are starting to get more expensive. (There's also the concern
that most of them are coming at the expense of PDP-11 systems.)
Vince
The memory extension hardware to take it over 4K is
obviously
non-trivial in size (especially considering it doesn't fit in an -8/L
CPU enclosure).
Good point. You would definitely need some board area for that.
Or one could
go with an RX08 interface for extra clanking ambiance :-).
While amusing and handy for some (I would use it), unless someone
whips up a cable-compatible RX01/RX02 emulator (could be to floppy or
removable FLASH), there are only so many original drive sets running
around. Of course, one could build that RX01 emulator and include an
optional Arduino-based MP3 player to emit the whirring and clanking.
Frivolous but entertaining.
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