I have found with DEC computers you don't need the relay to simply load in
a tape, such as BASIC into memory.
Bill
On Sat, Jul 4, 2015 at 12:02 PM, tony duell <ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote:
Now to see if I can find out how to make a facsimile of the tape reader
control
gizmo that DEC
used to allow the PDP 8 to control the paper tape
reader, so I can get
this terminal properly
interfaced to the 8/e. In the meantime,
I'm going to hook it up to
the Altair 8800 for a little
immediate nostalgia.
Various companies had their own version of the reader control board, but
they were all much the same in
principle. A relay with contacts in series with the reader control circuit
(the one that operates the trip coil
at the back of the typing unit. The important thing is that it is a relay.
In most cases that reader control
circuit is not isolated from the mains power line. The relay, of course,
provides isolation between the
computer (coil) side and the contacts.
If you are tempted to use some more electronic solution you must preserve
this isolation ,for example by
using an optoisolator. You do not want to give you and your 8/e a nasty
shock.
-tony