On 9/16/05, Tim <tradde at excite.com> wrote:
Where in the NY area? I have a second pdp-8a desk system, DecDataSystem 310 I think it
is called.
Yep... I've had one for about 20 years... nice system, and plenty of
room on the desktop for a VT52.
I am not sure what is in
it, but it probably has 16k of core, could have a dual floppy,
the processor and associated cards. It's heavy and big though.
The typical configuration was 16K to 32K of memory (core or MOS), one
RX8E, one dual RX01 or RX02, a KK8A CPU card, and the typical KM8AA
and DKC8AA hex-height multi I/O cards. Some DS-310s might have a
printer interface of one sort or another for anything from an LA-180
up to some sort of daisy-wheel printer. Another semi-common option
was the KL8A quad-serial interface. I think there was support under
WPS-8 to allow multiple WPS users on multiple VT52s, but I haven't
tried that myself.
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/dec-faq/pdp8-models/
http://www.cs.uiowa.edu/~jones/pdp8/hard8e/modules.html
It's a great platform for running OS/8 on... quad or hex cards,
supports 128K (w/KT8A and hex MOS memory modules), but not the right
packaging if you want to use the programmer's panel (the CPU sits in
front of the user's feet, facing the wall), unless you have long
cables and mount the panel over or under the floppies beside the user.
I have one RX02 and one RL01 in my desk, leaving no room for a front
panel.
-ethan