7 Jun
2015
7 Jun
'15
6:13 a.m.
From: Rod Smallwood
I have recently produced a number of high quality
custom PDP8/e front
panels. They are full size reproductions of the original. The
production methods are exactly as used in circa 1971.
First, my sincere congratulations! This is a real contribution, and I doubt it
was trivial to accomplish.
I'll also instigate another batch of ten. .. If I
get orders for more
than ten then I'll bump up the second batch size accordingly.
These sound so cool I'm tempted to buy one, even though I don't even own a
PDP-8! :-)
If there is a demand I'll do other 8's or
11's front panels that use
the same plexiglas and silk screen technique.
Someone mentioned -12's and -15's?
I don't (yet) need any -11 ones, although at some point, I might need an
11/20 one (I have a line on an 11/20 that spent a lot of time outside, so its
front panel is sadly very faded).
The thing we really need to find now is a source for the special switches
that DEC used in the front panels of the machines of this generation.
Electrically, they are just standard SPDT switches (usually two-position,
although for some - e.g. Deposit/Start - they are momentary-contact
spring-loaded); the real issue is the mechanical fastening, which uses a
special front plate (albeit on a standard micro-switch body).
I have a number of different ones in my machines, from various manufacturers,
but I have had no luck tracking down new ones through the part numbers on
them (they seem to be DEC part numbers, or adaptions thereof). I have asked a
number of people, but nobody seems to have spares/extras.
Anyone know of a source?
Noel
7 Jun
7 Jun
7:39 a.m.
The switches were made by a company in the US called Stackpole They
still exist.
The switches are marked Patent 3217112
They are a normal slide type modified with a U bracket to allow
the attachment of a lever arm to operate the switch when toggled up and
down.
They come in three types ; hold up or down to connect and close to connect.
The lever arms are molded from a tough type of plastic (nylon or PET ?)
They have maintained their bright colour over the years suggesting a
tightly bonded structure.
There appear to have been attempts to produce copies but the only results
I have seen, have been disappointing.
3D printing looks hopeful but not for production quantities,
The tooling for injection moulding (thats how they were produced back in
the 1970's )
is too expensive.
At this time I'm just doing replacement panels for 8/e's and maybe other 8's
Long term a light weight resin bezel and maybe (very maybe)
a lamp and switch panel + microprocessr to emulate a real 8.
But only if the switch sourcing problem is solved.
Rod Smallwood (Newbury England)
On 07/06/2015 14:13, Noel Chiappa wrote:
From: Rod
Smallwood
I have recently produced a number of high quality
custom PDP8/e front
panels. They are full size reproductions of the original. The
production methods are exactly as used in circa 1971.
First, my sincere congratulations! This is a real contribution, and I doubt it
was trivial to accomplish.
I'll also instigate another batch of ten. ..
If I get orders for more
than ten then I'll bump up the second batch size accordingly.
These sound so cool I'm tempted to buy one, even though I don't even own a
PDP-8! :-)
If there is a demand I'll do other 8's or
11's front panels that use
the same plexiglas and silk screen technique.
Someone mentioned -12's and -15's?
I don't (yet) need any -11 ones, although at some point, I might need an
11/20 one (I have a line on an 11/20 that spent a lot of time outside, so its
front panel is sadly very faded).
The thing we really need to find now is a source for the special switches
that DEC used in the front panels of the machines of this generation.
Electrically, they are just standard SPDT switches (usually two-position,
although for some - e.g. Deposit/Start - they are momentary-contact
spring-loaded); the real issue is the mechanical fastening, which uses a
special front plate (albeit on a standard micro-switch body).
I have a number of different ones in my machines, from various manufacturers,
but I have had no luck tracking down new ones through the part numbers on
them (they seem to be DEC part numbers, or adaptions thereof). I have asked a
number of people, but nobody seems to have spares/extras.
Anyone know of a source?
Noel 
6:51 p.m.
On Mon, Jun 8, 2015 at 1:13 AM, Noel Chiappa <jnc at mercury.lcs.mit.edu> wrote:
That would be me.
I have one -12 with a smashed front panel, and one -15 with the nasty
XVM sticky plastic sheet front panel that would look much better with
a plexiglass replacement! The -15s I have also all have the same nasty
sticky sheet for the peripherals blinkenlights - RP15 & FP15, see
http://www.corestore.org/15-2.htm - I'd like to replace those too.
(They are a real oddity; did ANY other DEC equipment use this kind of
blinkenlights panel, with cheap nasty sticky plastic sheet instead of
plexiglass? I've never seen them anywhere except pdp-15 XVM systems)
Mike
http://www.corestore.org
'No greater love hath a man than he lay down his life for his brother.
Not for millions, not for glory, not for fame.
For one person, in the dark, where no one will ever know or see.'
From: Rod
Smallwood
I have recently produced a number of high quality
custom PDP8/e front
panels. They are full size reproductions of the original. The
production methods are exactly as used in circa 1971.
First, my sincere congratulations! This is a real contribution, and I doubt it
was trivial to accomplish.
I'll also instigate another batch of ten. ..
If I get orders for more
than ten then I'll bump up the second batch size accordingly.
These sound so cool I'm tempted to buy one, even though I don't even own a
PDP-8! :-)
If there is a demand I'll do other 8's or
11's front panels that use
the same plexiglas and silk screen technique.
Someone mentioned -12's and -15's?
9:01 p.m.
On 08/06/2015 02:51, Mike Ross wrote:
On Mon, Jun 8, 2015 at 1:13 AM, Noel Chiappa <jnc
at mercury.lcs.mit.edu> wrote:
That would be me.
I have one -12 with a smashed front panel, and one -15 with the nasty
XVM sticky plastic sheet front panel that would look much better with
a plexiglass replacement! The -15s I have also all have the same nasty
sticky sheet for the peripherals blinkenlights - RP15 & FP15, see
http://www.corestore.org/15-2.htm - I'd like to replace those too.
(They are a real oddity; did ANY other DEC equipment use this kind of
blinkenlights panel, with cheap nasty sticky plastic sheet instead of
plexiglass? I've never seen them anywhere except pdp-15 XVM systems)
Mike
http://www.corestore.org
'No greater love hath a man than he lay down his life for his brother.
Not for millions, not for glory, not for fame.
For one person, in the dark, where no one will ever know or see.'
Interesting
... I was at DEC for ten years and I cannot recall having
seen either of them.
I'll give some thought as to how to do one offs.
Rod
From: Rod
Smallwood
I have recently produced a number of high quality
custom PDP8/e front
panels. They are full size reproductions of the original. The
production methods are exactly as used in circa 1971.
First, my sincere congratulations! This is a real contribution, and I doubt it
was trivial to accomplish.
I'll also instigate another batch of ten. ..
If I get orders for more
than ten then I'll bump up the second batch size accordingly.
These sound so cool I'm tempted to buy one, even though I don't even own a
PDP-8! :-)
If there is a demand I'll do other 8's or
11's front panels that use
the same plexiglas and silk screen technique.
Someone mentioned -12's and -15's? 
9:31 p.m.
On 6/7/2015 9:01 PM, Rod Smallwood wrote:
On 08/06/2015 02:51, Mike Ross wrote:
I'd be interested in a -12 panel also. Probably the -15 too, they are
just too beautiful and would make nice FPGA based replicas.
Bob
--
Vintage computers and electronics
www.dvq.com
www.tekmuseum.com
www.decmuseum.org
On Mon, Jun 8, 2015 at 1:13 AM, Noel Chiappa
<jnc at mercury.lcs.mit.edu> wrote:
That would be me.
I have one -12 with a smashed front panel, and one -15 with the nasty
XVM sticky plastic sheet front panel that would look much better with
a plexiglass replacement! The -15s I have also all have the same nasty
sticky sheet for the peripherals blinkenlights - RP15 & FP15, see
http://www.corestore.org/15-2.htm - I'd like to replace those too.
(They are a real oddity; did ANY other DEC equipment use this kind of
blinkenlights panel, with cheap nasty sticky plastic sheet instead of
plexiglass? I've never seen them anywhere except pdp-15 XVM systems)
Mike
http://www.corestore.org
'No greater love hath a man than he lay down his life for his brother.
Not for millions, not for glory, not for fame.
For one person, in the dark, where no one will ever know or see.'
Interesting
... I was at DEC for ten years and I cannot recall having
seen either of them.
I'll give some thought as to how to do one offs.
Rod
From: Rod
Smallwood
I have recently produced a number of high quality
custom
PDP8/e front
panels. They are full size reproductions of the
original. The
production methods are exactly as used in circa 1971.
First, my sincere congratulations! This is a real contribution, and
I doubt it
was trivial to accomplish.
I'll also instigate another batch of ten. ..
If I get orders
for more
than ten then I'll bump up the second batch
size accordingly.
These sound so cool I'm tempted to buy one, even though I don't even
own a
PDP-8! :-)
If there is a demand I'll do other 8's or
11's front panels
that use
the same plexiglas and silk screen technique.
Someone mentioned -12's and -15's? 
8 Jun
8 Jun
3:49 a.m.
+1 on cool. I'd like to see a couple for an 11/40, please. Also an 8/I
would definitely be useful.
On Sun, Jun 7, 2015 at 9:13 AM, Noel Chiappa <jnc at mercury.lcs.mit.edu>
wrote:
From: Rod
Smallwood
I have recently produced a number of high quality
custom PDP8/e front
panels. They are full size reproductions of the original. The
production methods are exactly as used in circa 1971.
First, my sincere congratulations! This is a real contribution, and I
doubt it
was trivial to accomplish.
I'll also instigate another batch of ten. ..
If I get orders for more
than ten then I'll bump up the second batch size accordingly.
These sound so cool I'm tempted to buy one, even though I don't even own a
PDP-8! :-)
If there is a demand I'll do other 8's or
11's front panels that use
the same plexiglas and silk screen technique.
Someone mentioned -12's and -15's?
...
Noel
3485
days inactive
3486
days old
5 comments
5 participants
participants (5)
-
bobalan＠sbcglobal.net -
jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu -
pbirkel＠gmail.com -
rodsmallwood52＠btinternet.com -
tmfdmike＠gmail.com