PDP-11/05 (was: PDP-11/05 microcode dump?)

[Tom Uban]

On 6/14/21 3:39 PM, Noel Chiappa via cctalk wrote:
>     > From: Tom Uban
>
>     > it has the early version M7261E Control Logic & Microprogram board and
>     > the later version M7260 Data Paths board
>
> Ah, I'm glad someone found all that stuff I wrote up there useful. As always,
> I _think_ I got it all transcribed correctly, but do be on the lookout for
> errors!
I most certainly did - thank you for creating it!
>     > it seems like an older/newer combination, but maybe that was common. I
>     > would not have guessed that the four possible combinations would all
>     > work together, but maybe they do?
>
> I honestly don't know. As far as I can tell, the DEC documentation doesn't
> even _mention_ the two different board generations; perhaps a sign that they
> are functionally interchangeable? (Although even the section on baud rate, in
> both DEC-11-HKDBB-A-D and EK-KD11B-MM-001, 4.11, doesn't even mention the
> early board. So maybe the manual just ignores the earlier version completely?)
>
> I don't have an /05 up and running at the moment, or I'd check all 4 and see
> if they all work.
>
>     > Presently, the machine sometimes runs relatively well and other times
>     > it does not.
>
> What are the failure symptoms? (It's almost certainly going to take a 'scope
> to fix it; I expect you have one?)
I have KM11s, a scope, a logic analyzer, a unibone, shiresoft unibus analyzer, etc.
No shortage of gear, just a shortage of time.
> I'd start by monitoring the CPU clock, and make sure it's running when the
> failure happens. (Note that the front console is handled by the microcode, so
> if the microcode isn't running, the machine will be totally dead.
> EK-KD11B-MM-001 has a good description of how that works.)
I think I checked the clock when I started this project a while back, but I will
check it again. Unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to provoke two states,
but it mostly picks the completely dysfunctional state, so I'll look at the clock.
>     > my initial messing with KM11 boards, reveals that I can step the
>     > microcode with a KM11 in either the #1 or #2 position, but when two
>     > KM11s are installed at the same time, they do not function properly
>     > together. Is this expected or do I have an issue there too?
>
> Not sure. EK-KD11B-MM-001 (available at:
>
>   http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/pdp11/1105/EK-KD11B-MM-001_Jan75.pdf
>
> and definitely something you need) says, at pg. 5-6 "KM11 switches have the
> same function in slots KM-1 and KM-2", and on 5-7 "permits the user who has
> only one KM11 to plug into either KM-1 or KM-2".
>
> So that _sounds_ like you should be able to plug two in together. The first
> indicates that the switches, the only input to the KD11-B from the KM11, are
> wired in parallel, and the only other thing on the KM11 are the lights,
> outputs. And why mention "user who has only one KM11", if having two is no
> use because one can't use two at once?
I've read that doc, but did not come away with the impression that both
can be used at the same time or not.
My KM11s are based on Tony Duell's schematic and if you look, switches S3
and S4 are both driving outputs rather than simply switching them to ground,
so I don't think two boards at one time would work if these signals are simply
tied in parallel on slots A2 and B2.

Alas, using only one KM11 at a time is fine and I will be able to make progress
in that way.

--tom

> 	Noel