Vintage Computer PDP8S now up and running.

info click

Here is an update on the Digital Equipment PDP8S that was hidden in my museum warehouse for over 24 years.


Click photo to enlarge 

Lyle Bickley & his PDP8S

Lyle Bickley new owner of minicomputer PDP8S serial number 203 reports on 7/18/14.





Hi Dave,

I was chatting with Michael from the RICM and was about to ask him to
watch the video on your website of you finding and opening the box
containing the PDP-8/S you sold me. But I couldn't find it on your
website. - (Here is the link to video- & here is link about my visit to Lyle in California - Dave)

BTW: Since we last chatted my PDP-8/S has been up and running most of
the time. A couple of weeks ago, another transistor went out - and
memory began to fail. I found and replaced it - and now it's working
100% again. So far I've replaced a total of about 32 transistors and
over a dozen diodes.

I recently went through CPU and memory timings in great detail - and
now they meet all of DEC's specifications.

My 8/S passes all DEC diagnostics - and runs FOCAL w/o a hitch.

Bob build a cool I/O interface for the 8/S (and made one for me, too)
that emulates a TTY, high speed paper tape (partial), A->D, D->A and
incremental plotter. He does the hardware and I'm in the process of
modifying the drivers in FOCAL to support all of the above ;)

I hope all is well with you and Gaynell!

Cheers,
Lyle

David Larsen

Just great to have this PDP8S with Lyle and up to date running condition.

^{"by David Larsen"  KK4WW Computer Collector Historian}   
   Join museum on Twitter   Join me on FB

Vintage Computers -First PDP computers from Digital Equipment Corporation early 1960's

     
 
 Lyle Bickley tell story of how Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) started to make their first Minicomputers.

DEC

Bugbooks

How and why Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) started to make minicomputer in the early 1960's. DEC was already making digital modules for science and industrial use. These consisted of the usual AND , OR , NOR, NAND , NOT gates and various filp-flops. Other special modules were made for instrumentation as well. 

Having all this digital capability DEC engineers wanted to use the modules to make a computer. Management resisted this for fear of competition from big Blue (IBM).  Management finally gave in however the computer could not be called a computer it was called a "Programed Data Processor" or just PDP.  The first was the PDP1 soon followed by the PDP8. Folks began calling them minicomputers.

These early PDP computers  are in great demand by collectors however it is believed only 3 PDP1's still exist and the only one operational is at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.  Later models are available but the very early ones - PDP8, PDP8S are difficult for collectors and computer retro  folks to find. I was very fortunate to have acquired several original PDP8, PDP8S and PDP11/70 computers. My interest is more with historical microcomputers. The PDP minicomputers in the "Bugbook Historical Microcomputer Museum" have now been pasted on to other retro collectors of minicomputers. You will some of my past blog posting about these transfers/collectors.

PDP1 Minicomputer 

Photo of DEC PDP1 minicomputer at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.  Lyle Bickley (seated at the control panel) is on the PDP1 restoration team at the museum.  This is the only operational PDP1 in the world.

Video of the PDP1 restoration story by Lyle Bickley 'CLICK'

Photo L-R My wife Gaynell Larsen - Bob  Rosenbloom and Lyle Bickley. This visit was in October 2013.

David Larsen

Thank you Lyle Bickley for allowing me to make this audio story and publishing it on my blog post.  The recording was made while touring the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California --- lots of background noise however I found the story very interesting and I hope you do as well . Thank you for taking a look - listen.

 ^{"by David Larsen"  KK4WW Computer Collector Historian}   
   Send Message CLICK   Like us Click

PDP1 Vintage Computer at the Computer History Museum - Mountain View , California

Bugbooks

The visit to the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California was insanely great - it was 56 years ago my career in computers started with school at 'Remington Rand Univac' in St. Paul, MN.  Much of the old things I worked with long before microcomputers were on display with excellent documentation.

Lyle Bickley is a volunteer at the museum and is on the PDP1 team. Lyle not only demonstrated the PDP1 but gave us a complete tour of all the displays. The PDP1 is a computer I have never had the opportunity to use or see - the only operational one is at the museum and we were able to play "Spacewar!" on the machine.

Video story of PDP 1 history by Lyle Bickley below photo's.

Click on photo to enlarge 

 Lyle Bickley team member for the PDP1 at the
Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.
The 2 boxes on the railing black knobs are for playing
 "Spacewar!" on the PDP1.

L-R David Larsen, Bob Rosenbloom & Lyle Bickley
at the PDP1 Computer. Lyle demonstrated the PDP1
operating and we all played "Spacewar!".

L-R Gaynell Larsen, Bob Rosenbloom & Lyle Bickley.








Lyle told us all the PDP1 computers were custom made and were all a little different. This large photo in on the wall in the room with the PDP1 looks much different with additional display panel and three additional racks of equipment (communications controllers,
etc.).   When restoring the PDP1 at the museum Lyle told us they could not find diagrams or schematics that were a good match for that machine and they had to do some guessing and trial and error testing to make the machine operational. The team worked for 1.5 years restoring the PDP1.

Many different historical items on display - here is a Google Map bicycle and car.






                                                             Video of Lyle Bickley telling
                                                             some history about the PDP1.

David & Gaynell Larsen

.^{"by David Larsen"  KK4WW Computer Collector Historian}   
   Send Message CLICK   Like us Click

Vintage Computer - A look at new home for the Bugbook Computer Museum's PDP8S minicomputer

info click

My wife and I arrived in California just fine and the first afternoon 10/23/13 had a really nice visit with Lyle Beckley . We had a wonderful Italian dinner at the end of the day. Great first day's visit. Today we will be meeting up with Bob Rosenbloom and will tour the Computer History Museum here in Mountain View. Gaynell and I are looking forward to seeing it again. Lyle will give us a guided of the museum. He has some of his computer collection at his home including the PDP8S from the "Bugbook Historical Computer Museum". Lyle  is working to bring it back to life as a functional computer. He has it starting to function but not really executing programs --

Good news - Lyle called me 11/08/13 and he now has his PDP8S fully functional.  Follow up email indicated continued work - replacing a few burned out panel lamps. Great work Lyle sure good to know the 50 year old system is now executing programs. 

Lyle Bickley & David Larsen

Some of Lyle's other Computers

PDP8S from our collection

Lyle running Spacewar! on his PDP8 E

Up date on PDP8S 7-18-14
Hi Dave,

I was chatting with Michael from the RICM and was about to ask him to
watch the video on your website of you finding and opening the box
containing the PDP-8/S you sold me. But I couldn't find it on your
website. - (Here is the link to video- Dave)

BTW: Since we last chatted my PDP-8/S has been up and running most of
the time. A couple of weeks ago, another transistor went out - and
memory began to fail. I found and replaced it - and now it's working
100% again. So far I've replaced a total of about 32 transistors and
over a dozen diodes.

I recently went through CPU and memory timings in great detail - and
now they meet all of DEC's specifications.

My 8/S passes all DEC diagnostics - and runs FOCAL w/o a hitch.

Bob build a cool I/O interface for the 8/S (and made one for me, too)
that emulates a TTY, high speed paper tape (partial), A->D, D->A and
incremental plotter. He does the hardware and I'm in the process of
modifying the drivers in FOCAL to support all of the above ;)

I hope all is well with you and Gaynell!

Cheers,
Lyle

David Larsen

^{"by David Larsen"  KK4WW Computer Collector Historian}   
   Send Message CLICK   Like us Click

Computer History Museum - A planned visit to California to see Computer Collectors Bob Rosenbloom & Lyle Bickley + Museum

Computer History Museum

Bugbooks

My wife and I are planning a visit to California this month the 23rd of October to see our new friends and the Computer History Museum in Mt. View California.  We visited  the museum about 6 years ago however  I understand many changes

and wonderful improvements have been made since our last visit. We are really excited to be making this trip for many reasons.  Several of the minicomputers from our "Bugbook Historical Microcomputer Museum" have gone Bob Rosenbloom & Lyle Bickley & they are associated with the Museum. Lyle is one of the founding members of the Computer History Museum. He volunteered  to give Gaynell and I a personal tour of the museum.  Bob does volunteer restoration work there and will join us. You can see the computers from our collection that Lyle now has here 'CLICK' and Bob's are here "CLICK".
 

Bob Rosenbloom

Lyle Bickley

                          






                                         
It is always a pleasure for me to visit the area where my professional electronics career started in 1963. -WOW that was 50 years ago- I did engineering work for Raytheon, Varian , and Fairchild Semiconductor in the San Francisco Bay Area before my 31 years of teaching at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.  My son was born in Palo Alto (1963)  near the present Silicon Valley.  The Silicon Valley was just  beginning when I was there -- it was mostly orchards of Prune Trees.

David Larsen

I will be taking lots of pictures during our visit and making video's for the blog. I will posting on my at www.twitter.com/computerhobby and here on my computer blog.

  ^{"By David Larsen" KK4WW Computer Collector Historian}   
   Send Message CLICK   Like us Click