CDP1861 PIXIE graphics chip replacement for COSMAC Elf

[drlegendre .]

Ah, Ok! Thanks for that.. didn't know squat about the Cosmac ELF. I've
certainly heard the name over the years, but never bothered to investigate
it.

Again, this is one of those seminal enthusiast designs from the nascient
hobby micro-computing era, just a few years prior to my initiation. My
first computing experiences were (briefly) on an M33-ASR and then an Apple
II.

On Fri, Apr 22, 2016 at 10:13 PM, Eric Smith <spacewar at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Fri, Apr 22, 2016 at 7:10 PM, drlegendre . <drlegendre at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > Is the PIXIE chip a common point of failure in those machines.. many out
> of
> > service for lack of one..?
>
> The ELF as presented in the original construction article (Popular
> Electronics, August 1976) didn't have any video support. That was
> added with the CDP1861 "PIXIE" graphics chip in part 4 of the series
> (July 1977).  As such, it is an optional feature for both home-made
> ELFs and some of the commercially produced kits and products.
>
> If you want to build an ELF with graphics now, or add graphics to an
> existing ELF, the CDP1861 is really hard to find.
>