20 Jan
2015
20 Jan
'15
8:02 a.m.
From: Guy Sotomayor
I'm using FRAM. They have unlimited write cycles
Although I hear the latest flash have very, very large numbers of write
cycles. But if you can get large enough FRAMs, yeah, they seem like a better
alternative.
I didn't want to have any sort of removable media
as that bring its own
sets of challenges.
Oh well, back to loading all the bits in over a serial line (although I
suppose if one has some other removable media drive, e.g. a RX02, one could
get the bits in that way).
> (Or perhaps even a front-end running on a PC which
is connected to
> the MEM11 over the serial line.)
That was my original thought (command front end) but
that would mean
writing/supporting a bunch of different programs for different
OS/platforms
Well, probably only at most two (Windoze and Linux), and maybe only one (since
there are Windows emulation packages for Linux). Although if one stuck to a
line-oriented interface, something like CygWin would allow one to have only
one version.
and I want the MEM11 to pretty much stand on its own
Oh, I agree that that's a worthy goal - the front-end would only be to make it
'user-friendly', instead of cryptic and terse.
the realistic limit will be on the Unibus interface
ICs. I have (at
last inventory) enough for ~25 boards. After that I'll have to see if I
can either source additional parts or re-design that part of the board
to use something else.
Yes, that _is_ a problem...
Noel
20 Jan
20 Jan
4:57 p.m.
On 1/20/15 8:02 AM, Noel Chiappa wrote:
It's not all that bad! ;-) When in UI mode, it'll support 115200 bps.
When in emulation mode
you'll be limited to 19200. Since the J1 has to process each character
as it comes in from the
UART, that takes time from emulation of other Unibus requests (so memory
latency will go up
slightly). Going too much faster and it would probably be noticeable
and besides the PDP-11
probably won't keep up (at least and do very much with the characters).
I do everything on a Mac. :-P Having ported "Unix" programs between
Unix/Linux on various
occasions, it's the details (like where header files live) that cause
problems. I'll leave it up to
someone else to do that. ;-)
Oh, and one last thing that I forgot to mention. I'm building a "LED"
board that attaches to the
MEM11. The LED board will display all of the indicators for the RF11
controller in a layout similar
to what was on a real RF11. I couldn't resist more blinkin lights. ;-)
It's optional and will
connect to the MEM11 with a small cable (I plan on using RS485 drivers
for the cable) so the
LED board can be a fair distance away. It'll fit as a 19" rack panel (I
haven't looked at doing
an overlay to make it look pretty) but it'll be somewhat generic (4 rows
of 36 LEDs).
TTFN - Guy
From: Guy
Sotomayor
I'm using FRAM. They have unlimited write
cycles
Although I hear the latest flash have very, very large numbers of write
cycles. But if you can get large enough FRAMs, yeah, they seem like a better
alternative.
I didn't want to have any sort of removable
media as that bring its own
sets of challenges.
Oh well, back to loading all the bits in over a serial line (although I
suppose if one has some other removable media drive, e.g. a RX02, one could
get the bits in that way). > (Or perhaps even a front-end running on a PC
which is connected to
> the MEM11 over the serial line.)
That was my original thought (command front end)
but that would mean
writing/supporting a bunch of different programs for different
OS/platforms
Well, probably only at most two (Windoze and Linux), and maybe only one (since
there are Windows emulation packages for Linux). Although if one stuck to a
line-oriented interface, something like CygWin would allow one to have only
one version. 
21 Jan
21 Jan
7:05 a.m.
On 1/20/15 4:57 PM, Guy Sotomayor wrote:
It'll fit as a 19" rack panel (I haven't looked at doing
an overlay to make it look pretty) but it'll be somewhat generic (4 rows of 36
LEDs).
I can see several interesting applications for that, like hooking it onto the km11 paddle
card(s). RK11D with an RK11C light panel... I assume the same spacing on the lights as
the
DEC panel?
10:04 a.m.
On Jan 21, 2015, at 7:05 AM, Al Kossow <aek at
bitsavers.org> wrote:
On 1/20/15 4:57 PM, Guy Sotomayor wrote:
Yes, that's the plan. ;-) But it won't be compatible with the DEC version since
I'm going to be using a very simple serial protocol to get the data over to the LED
board. The drivers that I'm using will actually latch the data. They're also
constant current so there's only one resistor (to set the current) per driver package
(there'll be 9 packages).
TTFN - Guy
It'll fit as a 19" rack panel (I haven't looked at doing
an overlay to make it look pretty) but it'll be somewhat generic (4 rows of 36
LEDs).
I can see several interesting applications for that, like hooking it onto the km11
paddle
card(s). RK11D with an RK11C light panel... I assume the same spacing on the lights as
the
DEC panel? 
1:50 p.m.
On Thu, Jan 22, 2015 at 4:05 AM, Al Kossow <aek at bitsavers.org> wrote:
On 1/20/15 4:57 PM, Guy Sotomayor wrote:
You know, in nearly 25 years of knocking around DEC collecting I've never
seen an RK11C or known anyone who had one. Are any still extant? Any pics
on on the net? I haven't been able to find any; I presume it's similar in
general arrangement to the TC08, RP11, and RP15 controllers which I do
have; a rack, a backplane, a bunch of M-series logic, and an indicator
panel at the rack top? I'd love to find one!
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.'
It'll fit as a 19" rack panel (I haven't looked at doing
an overlay to make it look pretty) but it'll be somewhat generic (4 rows
of 36 LEDs).
I can see several interesting applications for that, like hooking it onto
the km11 paddle
card(s). RK11D with an RK11C light panel... I assume the same spacing on
the lights as the
DEC panel?
1:56 p.m.
On Jan 21, 2015, at 1:50 PM, Mike Ross <tmfdmike at
gmail.com> wrote:
On Thu, Jan 22, 2015 at 4:05 AM, Al Kossow <aek at bitsavers.org> wrote:
I did have one for a while...another collector has it now. ;-) I just didn't have
the time to get it all working (and given the number of RK11-D controllers that
I have, I didn't see the need for it).
TTFN - Guy
On 1/20/15 4:57 PM, Guy Sotomayor wrote:
You know, in nearly 25 years of knocking around DEC collecting I've never
seen an RK11C or known anyone who had one. Are any still extant? Any pics
on on the net? I haven't been able to find any; I presume it's similar in
general arrangement to the TC08, RP11, and RP15 controllers which I do
have; a rack, a backplane, a bunch of M-series logic, and an indicator
panel at the rack top? I'd love to find one!
It'll fit as a 19" rack panel (I haven't looked at doing
an overlay to make it look pretty) but it'll be somewhat generic (4 rows
of 36 LEDs).
I can see several interesting applications for that, like hooking it onto
the km11 paddle
card(s). RK11D with an RK11C light panel... I assume the same spacing on
the lights as the
DEC panel?
8:52 p.m.
You know, in nearly 25 years of knocking around DEC collecting I've never
seen an RK11C or known anyone who had one. Are any still extant? Any pics
Yes, I have one. AFAIK it is still operational (I haven't got it all set up since
the move), if not, it will be easy to fix.
on on the net? I haven't been able to find any; I
presume it's similar in
general arrangement to the TC08, RP11, and RP15 controllers which I do
have; a rack, a backplane, a bunch of M-series logic, and an indicator
panel at the rack top? I'd love to find one!
It's 4 rows of flip-chip cards (some of which may well be specific to the
RK11-C) and an H720 PSU. Some of the backplane connectors are used
for Unibus in and out and for the drive cable (2 cables, 4 drives on each)
There are also a couple of connectors (linked with that flexible DEC
ribbon cable to connectors on the wire-wrap side) for KM11 test
boards and 4 slots for the cables from the panel. The panel may well
have been optional, mine came without it, and there is no mention of it
really in the printset. I have a couple of the lights panels (came with my
DX11s) and I may well move one onto the RK11-C.
-tony
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.'
28 Feb
28 Feb
10:36 p.m.
New subject: Miscellaneous Freebies
The 11/780 logo has been claimed. The Mac Power PC wasn't part of the
offfer...
->CRC
3584
days inactive
3624
days old
7 comments
6 participants
participants (6)
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aek＠bitsavers.org -
ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk -
ggs＠shiresoft.com -
jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu -
technobug＠prelim.org -
tmfdmike＠gmail.com