5 ms·

> Not sure why this is on HackerNews. This is the type of content I come to HN for. Nice tight code on well designed hardware, what's not to like?

by rahen 5y ago

bsenftner 5y ago
It just seems out of place; not like this is some old game console or hardware typically fondly remembered by the HN audience. That what I meant, all you down voting whippersnappers.
- rahen 5y ago
  You would be surprised, I'm 37 and yet building a PDP-8 on a (large) CPLD, because I'm fascinated with this machine. I even considered building a DTL replica of the straight 8 with PCBs and SMDs for a while, I have some R-series logic gates simulated in LTspice but this proved unpractical to build physically. I also have both a PiDP-11 with V6 UNIX and an IBM XT replica running ELKS, and I'm currently modeling the EDSAC (1949) in HDL. I find those machines fascinating, and the assembly code that came with them just as fascinating in resource efficiency.
  - vaxman 5y ago
    You're my hero, but I hope this evolves into your own SOC design that features a 32-bit variant (no overlays!) with 45 I/O pins, WiFi, BLE and NFC. :)
- implements 5y ago
  I expect there’s a fair few HNs readers with fond memories of using DEC equipment in their very early careers.
  - fortyseven 5y ago
    And there's those of us for whom these machines are well past our time... but we still enjoy reading about them and having appreciation. Frankly it's bizarre to me to think this isn't HN-relevant.
  - mattowen_uk 5y ago
    Me for sure. My first real job was on a VAXCluster. IIRC there was a PDP-11 sitting in the corner of (the very large) room also. I even have a nice anecdote from that era: http://www.mattowen.co.uk/blog/dont-screw-up-a-vaxcluster-tale http://www.mattowen.co.uk/blog/dont-screw-up-a-vaxcluster-ta...
zh3 5y ago
Somewhere I still have source for a PDP-11 bootloader I wrote back in the very early '80s. Managed to boot 2 or 3 different types of floppy and a HDD in a 256-word ROM, complete with command line interface. I vague recall a trick where I happened to have 102 in a register (from loading the bus event interrupt vector) and a free shift gave me 204 which was a sector read command for the FDC - that got me a crucial extra word saving I needed, to shrink it from 257 words to 256.

> Not sure why this is on HackerNews. This is the type of content I come to HN for. Nice tight code on well designed hardware, what's not to like?

by rahen 5y ago

> Not sure why this is on HackerNews. This is the type of content I come to HN for. Nice tight code on well designed hardware, what's not to like?

bsenftner 5y ago

It just seems out of place; not like this is some old game console or hardware typically fondly remembered by the HN audience. That what I meant, all you down voting whippersnappers.

rahen 5y ago
You would be surprised, I'm 37 and yet building a PDP-8 on a (large) CPLD, because I'm fascinated with this machine. I even considered building a DTL replica of the straight 8 with PCBs and SMDs for a while, I have some R-series logic gates simulated in LTspice but this proved unpractical to build physically. I also have both a PiDP-11 with V6 UNIX and an IBM XT replica running ELKS, and I'm currently modeling the EDSAC (1949) in HDL. I find those machines fascinating, and the assembly code that came with them just as fascinating in resource efficiency.
- vaxman 5y ago
  You're my hero, but I hope this evolves into your own SOC design that features a 32-bit variant (no overlays!) with 45 I/O pins, WiFi, BLE and NFC. :)
implements 5y ago
I expect there’s a fair few HNs readers with fond memories of using DEC equipment in their very early careers.
- fortyseven 5y ago
  And there's those of us for whom these machines are well past our time... but we still enjoy reading about them and having appreciation. Frankly it's bizarre to me to think this isn't HN-relevant.
- mattowen_uk 5y ago
  Me for sure. My first real job was on a VAXCluster. IIRC there was a PDP-11 sitting in the corner of (the very large) room also. I even have a nice anecdote from that era: http://www.mattowen.co.uk/blog/dont-screw-up-a-vaxcluster-tale http://www.mattowen.co.uk/blog/dont-screw-up-a-vaxcluster-ta...

zh3 5y ago

Somewhere I still have source for a PDP-11 bootloader I wrote back in the very early '80s. Managed to boot 2 or 3 different types of floppy and a HDD in a 256-word ROM, complete with command line interface. I vague recall a trick where I happened to have 102 in a register (from loading the bus event interrupt vector) and a free shift gave me 204 which was a sector read command for the FDC - that got me a crucial extra word saving I needed, to shrink it from 257 words to 256.