How scarce (valuable) is core for the PDP-8? - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

21 Apr 1999

--- John Dykstra &lt;jdykstra(a)nortelnetworks.com&gt; wrote:
...
  I have several jars of ferrite cores made by IBM
sometime in the late 
 1950's.  I don't know exactly what size they are, but they can be 
 hand-wired without a stereo microscope. 
Cool.

...
  As I recall, I used something like #60 enameled wire. 
One of the 
 challenges was stripping the insulation off the ends of the wires without 
 damaging the copper. 
Heat?  Chemicals?  Friction?

...
  If anyone is seriously intending to build a demo core
memory system, I'd be 
 glad to provide a couple of hundred cores.  I'd recommend something like a 
 16x16 array, unless you're looking for a project to make a 20-to-life 
 sentence go faster. 
I'm serious.  I really have wanted to build something like this.  In terms
of size, the problem isn't the wiring, it's the redundant circuitry.

-ethan

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