Availability of PDP-8i Front Panel

[Marc Howard]

Ray,

A worthy undertaking.  However "I volunteer to accomplish the building of
the prototype system using only
the parts available at the time the orginal computer were built." is going
to be problematic.  The 8/I only came with core memory; you'd have to be a
glutton for punishment to do that from scratch.
Also replicating the card connector and backplane might require some
adjustment since you'll probably have to wirewrap that to stay reasonably
consistent.

However, most of the logic chips are available, albeit in cheaper, faster
families.

I think you'll have more fun doing this than if you decided to implement it
in an Fpga or Raspberry Pi.

Marc

On Sun, Sep 25, 2016 at 11:59 AM, Ray Neal <rayneal382 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Sir;
>
> I working on a project to build a PDP-8i for a combined  Compute
> Science/Electronic Engineering course on design.  The purpose of this
> course is to teach the basic of computer design, build and Programing a
> computer they must build.  This course is still a year down the road.
>
> I volunteer to accomplish the building of the prototype system using only
> the parts available at the time the orginal computer were built.
>
> The point of the build is, if a 70+ can sit down with the course material,
> and design and build a working model of the PDP-8i, the there is no excuse
> that each student attending the course, should not be able to accomplish
> the same task.
>
> 1.  I would like to know if you still have your PDP-8i Front Panel still
> available?
> 2.  What is the cost for the panel plus shipping to Tucson, Arizona?
> 3.  I understands that you are attempting to re-manufacture the Switch
> Rocker Assembly? And possibly the PCB board for mounting the switches?
>    a.  If so, I would like to know status, and an estimated cost for a
> complete set?
>    B.  Would these items be compatible to with c&k 7000 u-frame series
> switches assembly?
>
> One other question I have is do you have any drawings that give both the
> dimensions and profile of the mounting frame?  If so are they available?
>
> I want to Thank You for taking the time ahead of time in answering this
> E-mail.
>
> Respectfully;
>
> Ray Neal
>