PiDP-8 Simulator Project

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When I was in 7th grade in 1975 we were fortunate to have a PDP-8/I (I think it was an I) with a half dozen teletypes, VT50 terminal,  and a high speed paper tape reader.  Later it was upgraded with a PDP-8/E and dual DEC tapes (“floppy tapes”) a couple DEC Writers.

This was where I first learned computer machine language.  You had to toggle in the bits directly with switches on the front and read the lights (originally grain-of-wheat-bulbs and later versions used LEDs).  Now this was mostly for the experience of it because even then they had a multi user EDU_BASIC and OS/8 to make programming and using more useful and less arduous.

Reading over the different types now I am confused in my memory over which model is which.  I know we had the paddle switches where 1 was up and 0 was down.  That looks like the 8/E  but I also remember rows of LEDs and not so much the selector switch would be the 8/I.  Possibly I am conflating the two models.

I purchased the 2016 version of this kit and soldering will start soon:

http://obsolescence.wixsite.com/obsolescence/pidp-8

 

 

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