PDP-8

3D print the case and put a raspberry pie in it.

>>61857604
Naw, i want the real, 60's era thing, core memory and all. I'm a huge vintage computer nut and i only accept the original and the best.

>>61857673
>I'm a huge vintage computer nut
Then you surely realize that you'd be better off with an IMSAI 8080 or an Altair 8800.

>>61859526
but i really like the computers of the 60s and its the only one you can still buy. those are still in common supply, and are run of the mill 8 bit micros. the pdp 8 is pre microprocessor and has core memory, a real selling feature because its nonvolatile like flash.

>>61860041
>after an hour of banging on google to learn just enough to try to have a conversation
>still doesn't quite know enough to get by
Putting that aside, what do you plan on doing with it? A microcomputer is a microcomputer. Buy the one you can afford and can reasonably service. Especially since the only thing you're actually interested in is the front panel -- toggle switches and blinkenlights. You can get that on plenty of other old, non-1960's era, prohibitively expensive machines.

>>61860072
No, other peripherals and hardware is available, but rare and expensive. the altair is equally expensive and hard to service. you can still find any type of hardware for the pdp you want if you have patience, money and can fix it. and i am interested in owning and using a 1960s era computer. i will be running OS8 or BASIC. i see the front panel as a huge pain, which is why i like the core memory. if i spend an eternity toggling in the bootloader for OS8 it will still be there when i turn the machine off unlike the altairs semiconductor sram.

>>61860072
oh and its a mini not micro. a fully decked out machine will be the size of a kitchen refrigerator.

>>61860116
The fact that over the course of two posts you can't quite figure out of the Altair is "still in common supply" or "equally expensive and hard to service" is rather telling. Not to mention the fact that you think the Altair was incapable of having a static bootloader. (Hint: almost all Altair owners didn't bother toggling in the fucking bootloader every time they wanted to use the machine.)

Besides, you were just bitching about how expensive the old Digital stuff is. Now you're not?

>>61860132
It's whatever. If it helps, the first machine I ever worked on was a IBM S/370. It was more the size of a football field rather than a refrigerator.

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Get a PDP11 instead.

>>61860173
go to ebay and compare them then. there are 4 for sale right now and the cheapest one is $3000 dollars. th ONLY working pdp8 right now on ebay is $5000. the better altairs are upwards of 10,000. compared to the pdp, yes they ARE more common and equally expensive. And yes i would like to know how i could get one free or cheap!

>>61857534
face it anon, you're not rich enough. anyways, dec stuff is overrated. and when you buy too much you literally have to move out of your house and live somewhere else. vaxes n shit are just too fuckin big.

>>61860362
well how CAN i get a front panel, s100 computer cheaply?

>>61860417
question: have to tried emulation? installed an os from a virtual dectape or papetape even after flicking in a bootloader? cuz if you ain't gonna do it via emulation why do you think you'd do it for realz?

>>61860461
i want a REAL MACHINE! ive screwed with emulators forever, i hate them!

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>>61859526

>implying consumer toys don't bow down and weep at the sight of DEC big iron

>>61860362

>too fuckin big

For you.

get a pdp 11 and a copy of dec yoonix

>>61857534
The schematics for the serial version of the PDP-8 (I think it's called the PDP-8/S) are available online and it uses less than 600 gates IIRC. Just build one yourself.

>>61857673
If you want the real thing then expect to pay accordingly. What the fuck do you plan on doing with it anyways?

>>61860417
If you just want toggle switches and blinking lights, then just buy whatever version of the 6502 is still being sold and build a KIM-1.

>>61860630
schematics please!

>>61860072
>shits on someone else for "learning just enough to try to have a conversation"
>calls a 12-bit system that is literally the archetypal minicomputer a "microcomputer" on the same level as 8-bit hobbyist kit shitboxes that came nearly a decade after it
Fuck off, faggot roleplayer. You're as much of a dipshit as OP to make a mistake like that.

Altairs and similar systems are ugly as sin and more expensive than 8s anyway nowadays, which is ironic considering that in their prime they were toy computers you bought when you couldn't afford a real one.

>>61860810
>yet more banging on google due to severe asshurt
Why, though?

>which is ironic considering that in their prime they were toy computers you bought when you couldn't afford a real one.
Yeah, because the Altair had a ton of competition out there. More Google knowledge?

>>61860672
So the only research you've done on the PDP-8 is looking at pictures and seeing how much they cost then?

>>61860854
When will you stop projecting? This is the first post I've made in this thread, because your attempt to play pretend oldfag while slipping up on basic fucking shit anyone who actually knew the subject would never mistake made me cringe up the wall.
>Yeah, because the Altair had a ton of competition out there
What does this at all have to do with the statement you quoted?

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>>61860810
THANKYOU!!! the minicomputers were higher quality in every way and were about 10 to 15 years ahead of pcs of the same time. i want the quality of something like that that cost more than a house in the day and is better than all the pcs that came after it until the very late 80s. the PDP 8 is as sexy as a sports car and just as fast (for 1965). it is ahead of every other vintage computer on the market which is why i want it.

>>61860899
Hell no. ive done very extensive research on it.

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>>61860955
Don't jerk me off, dude. But to be real, here, take the advice from earlier in the thread, get yourself a nice shiny G4/G5 Mac and load this emulator on it:
http://www.bernhard-baehr.de/pdp8e/pdp8e.html
It's probably the best fucking one out there, it looks great, it has great attention to detail, it even supports time-sharing systems, and it's great for getting a feel for the system and learning how it works. Mess around with it and see how you feel about it afterwards, then hang around forums and mailing lists and wherever the fuck else iron collectors congregate and wait for someone (or their wife) to decide that their fuckhuge fridge has got to go and they want it gone as soon as possible.

You'd probably have a better time with an 11 though if you're actually serious about it.

>>61860948
>i'll just pretend i don't get it
Why, though?

>>61860630
seriously PLEASE give me the electrical schematics for the pdp8/s so i can print a circuit board and source parts.

>>61861184
>hurr durr
Just shut the fuck up already, the rest of us have moved on.

>>61861227
>i said something that doesn't make sense
>better try to play it off and change the subject
Why, though?

>>61860963
Then why the hell do you want one? What on earth would you even do with it?

>>61861260
Look, i made this thread to get useful information and to have productive conversation about this topic. if you dont have my schematics or some other useful idea, shut the hell up and quit spamming the thread!

>>61861260
Are you ever going to (You) me with something meaningful or are you going to keep sputtering at me like a shit chucking ape?

>>61861331
Or I'll post whatever the fuck I want. I'm not spamming your thread. I'm asking a question.

>>61861319
i find it fun to do anything with machines this old. operating them is very fun and challenging. they can do the same things other vintage computers can do, i just like the way they do it.

>>61861333
I'm not even the faggot you were arguing with. I just thought it was weird that you hopped into the thread shrieking about "roleplayers" and the difference between a mini and micro. It's like, why do you even care? I figured it was some sort of second-hand embarrassment over someone else getting called out for the same sort of bullshit you're probably prone to. So I decided to push your buttons (toggle your switches?) a little.

>>61861378
because its infuriating to us tech savvy folk how moronic stupid niggers who can barely aim a mouse can be!

>>61861375
>fun and challenging
Fun? Sure, if that's your thing. Challenging? Not so much. These old machines are about as basic and primitive as they come. Frankly, I wouldn't even consider most of them teaching tools at this point. I suppose if you're just looking for a hobby toy they're worth something. Or you're completely clueless about how a computer actually functions and feel that, for whatever reason, this is the best way to come to terms with the basics. It would probably be a lot easier and far cheaper to just kit out something running a 6502 if you're trying to learn with old hardware.

Of course, everyone has to have a hobby. If ancient-ass minis are your thing, then they're your thing. Just be ready to spend out the ass and deal with the headaches that come with ancient fossils.

>>61861427
Did you misread that post, or just forget to drop your name before replying?

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>>61861378
>He's not me! And I was just trolling you the whole time and talking exactly like him!
Do you think I'm an idiot? Get off of your phone.

>>61861496
At least you remembered to drop your name this time.

>>61861458
dude you have to program those things in binary! to do anything really cool or useful is insanely difficult and is a lost art.

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>>61861500
Haha, holy fuck. If I keep giving you attention at this rate I'm not going to sleep any time soon.

I've got stuff to do for now. See you in the /retro/ thread, you autistic piece of shit.

>>61861338
nigga get yo bitchass out!

>>61861530
>you have to program those things in binary!
What? No, don't do this to yourself. If you actually get real hardware up and running, get yourself set up with PAL-8 assembly, or run OS8 to get access to an actually usable language.

>to do anything really cool or useful is insanely difficult and is a lost art.
No, assembly isn't really difficult, nor is it a lost art. A hell of a lot better than toggling binary into the front panel switches, at the very least.

>>61861601
thats less memory efficient and binary is a more flexible powerful language. keep in mind theres only 4k of ram and i want to do some crazy shit like make 3d animations and games and simple neural networking

>>61861677
Okay, well this is where I bow out of the thread. Good luck with all that.