Subject: Re: PDP-7

From: Tore Sinding Bekkedal <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat May 24 19:55:50 2003

We have 8 warehouses stuffed with mainframes and minis. Around 120 of
them in total. This belongs to the Norwegian Museum of Science and
Technology, and with so many machines, there's BOUND to be a -10 there
too :). On average, the museum recieves a query for pickup once a week.
They also ran a mainframe on public display 15-20 years ago, but this was
a Norwegian machine (NORD-1 i think, brilliant machine) and the people who
knew about it didn't have the time it took to keep the mainframe going.

This machine has been upgraded to run PDP-9 software, and has a switch on
the front panel named "USE" with the options 7 and 9.

It also had a homemade Automatic Priority Interrupt, nicknamed "Poor man's
API".

It has an oscilloscope display, two TU55 tape drives hooked up to a 550
tape controller, and the EAE (Extended Arithmetic Element).

Picture at http://tore.nortia.no .

Yes, we have a full set of schematics, except for one board (and with
godly precision, this is the one we need), the Teletype Interface Card,
seated inside the teletype. It is numbered 1818(twomoredigits).

If I restore this -7, the Museum might let me inside one of their
warehouses, and maybe restore a timesharing system, like, for instance,
a -10. But, I'm going to keep focused on this task (for now ;) My dream
has always been logging on a timesharing system with a VT terminal.

IF the warehouse has a 15 in it, i'll ask them very nicely for a TC15. Who
knows. We do have tons of -15 documentation (ask me not why) at the
University, and even some -15 OS DECtapes.

Thanks a bunch!!

-Tore

On Fri, 23 May 2003, Robert Garner wrote:

> Tore,
>
> Congratulations on your commendable project!
> I've sent your msg to some old DEC'ies would might be able to help.
>
> I have a Type 550 DECtape controller and documentation,
> which was used in the PDP-1, 4, and 7.
>
> Also have many system module boards, in case you need spares.
> (I still need to inventory them.)
>
> Do you have schematics for the 7?
> (The Computer History Museum here may have a set.)
>
> - Robert
>
> p.s. I have a PDP-15/10E.  Looking for a TC15 (DECtape controller).
>
> p.p.s. I heard there was a PDP-10 (KA-10) somewhere in Norway too.
> Do you know anything about this?
>
>

______________________
|Tore Sinding Bekkedal|
[email-masked]   |
|+47 91 85 95 08      \_________________________
|"Sure, so life's a bitch. But she's *my* bitch.|
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