{"id":1947,"date":"2019-05-22T14:52:11","date_gmt":"2019-05-22T12:52:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/?p=1947"},"modified":"2020-10-12T12:40:20","modified_gmt":"2020-10-12T10:40:20","slug":"always-wanted-to-own-a-pdp-11-now-you-can","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/index.php\/2019\/05\/22\/always-wanted-to-own-a-pdp-11-now-you-can\/","title":{"rendered":"Always wanted to own a PDP-11? Now you can!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>[ 14,722 keer bekeken \/ views ]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some time ago I wrote a <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"post (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/index.php\/2017\/10\/17\/kim_tapedevice\/\" target=\"_blank\">post<\/a>  about my trip down memory lane. I visited the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Apple Museum Nederland (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.applemuseum-nederland.nl\/\" target=\"_blank\">Apple Museum Nederland<\/a> and wrote how that brought me to the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"micro-KIM (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.brielcomputers.com\/wordpress\/?cat=24\" target=\"_blank\">micro-KIM<\/a> computer. A replica of my very first computer: the KIM-1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But before I build the micro-KIM I found another project. It was the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"KIM-Uno (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/obsolescence.wixsite.com\/obsolescence\/kim-uno-summary-c1uuh\" target=\"_blank\">KIM-Uno<\/a>, a \u2018<em>do it yourself clone of the KIM-1<\/em>\u2019 by <em><strong>Oscar Vermeulen<\/strong><\/em>. I made some changes to the firmware, mainly tidying up the firmware, enabling the use of the 6502 timers and a more accurate driver for the 7-segment displays (so you can fire-up every segment like you could in the real KIM-1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/smWinK6P418\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But this is not a post about the KIM-1 or the KIM-Uno but it is about another very interesting project <em>Oscar Vermeulen<\/em> came up with: <strong>the PDP-11 replica<\/strong>. Oscar made the <strong><em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"PiDP-11 (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/obsolescence.wixsite.com\/obsolescence\/pidp-11\" target=\"_blank\">PiDP-11<\/a><\/em><\/strong> after the huge success of an other project of him, the <em>PiDP-8<\/em>, of which he sold more than <em>Digital <\/em>sold the real thing. There seems to be a huge group of people interested in owning a vintage computer they spend a lot of time with during their (working) life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It took Oscar two years building this kit, mainly because he wanted the console (and the switches) to be an accurate replica of the original PDP-11\/70 console. He designed the console, switches and everything else exactly as you remember, only at a 60% scale. It looks like the real thing and operates like the real thing. This is due to two other projects Oscar incorporates in this project. The hart is the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"SimH (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/simh\/simh\" target=\"_blank\">SimH<\/a> simulator and the blinking leds are made possible by the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"BlinkenBone project (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/retrocmp.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">BlinkenBone project<\/a>. The processing power comes from a Raspberry Pi that has time to spare. In my case it doubles as a music server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--nextpage-->\n\n\n\n<p>You operate the PiDP-11 by it\u2019s console toggle switches. You can even write programs by using the toggle switches and you can also boot real PDP-11 Operating Systems like RSX-11M Plus, 2.11 BSD, RT-11, RSTS\/E, DOS-11, Unix V5, 6 or 7 and then some.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For me the main attraction are the blinking leds to brighten up my office, so I ordered a kit by Oscar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You have to build it yourself and the amount of leds (64) and switches (30) and diodes is a bit overwhelming but after watching some instruction videos and reading the build instructions it was not to difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is not a \u201chow to build post\u201d (for that you better look <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"here (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/obsolescence.wixsite.com\/obsolescence\/pidp-11-building-instructions\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>) but merely a tribute to the work of Oscar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, I will show you some pictures of my build-process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These are the parts you get in the kit:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-Parts.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-Parts-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1949\" width=\"512\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-Parts-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-Parts-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-Parts-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-Parts.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As with every electronics kit you start with the lowest parts first, which in this case are the diodes (37) and the resistors (18).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-a.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-a-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1951\" width=\"512\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-a-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-a-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-a-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-a.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I elevated the Raspberry PI GPIO connector a bit from the PCB so the USB and Ethernet connector of the RPi are a bit further away from the PCB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-RPiConnector.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-RPiConnector-1024x392.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1952\" width=\"512\" height=\"196\" srcset=\"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-RPiConnector-1024x392.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-RPiConnector-300x115.jpg 300w, https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-RPiConnector-768x294.jpg 768w, https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-RPiConnector.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Next you have to slide the 64 leds into a spacer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"503\" src=\"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-b-1-1024x503.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1955\" data-link=\"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/?attachment_id=1955\" class=\"wp-image-1955\" srcset=\"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-b-1-1024x503.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-b-1-300x148.jpg 300w, https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-b-1-768x378.jpg 768w, https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-b-1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-c-1-1024x500.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1956\" data-link=\"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/?attachment_id=1956\" class=\"wp-image-1956\" srcset=\"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-c-1-1024x500.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-c-1-300x147.jpg 300w, https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-c-1-768x375.jpg 768w, https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-c-1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-64Leds-1-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1957\" data-link=\"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/?attachment_id=1957\" class=\"wp-image-1957\" srcset=\"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-64Leds-1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-64Leds-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-64Leds-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-64Leds-1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>and put them all into the PCB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-d.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-d-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1958\" width=\"512\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-d-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-d-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-d-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/PiDP11-d.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The switches take a bit of a fiddling but the instructions and special \u201ctools\u201d provided with the kit help a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My PiDP-11 now sit\u2019s blinking on a shelf in my bookcase running the BSD 2.11 operating system and serving my music collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pNTXXDPtXsY\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ ] Some time ago I wrote a post about my trip down memory lane. I visited the Apple Museum Nederland and wrote how that brought me to the micro-KIM computer. A replica of my very first computer: the KIM-1. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/index.php\/2019\/05\/22\/always-wanted-to-own-a-pdp-11-now-you-can\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[112,113,84,114],"class_list":["post-1947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-computer","category-hardware","tag-pdp-11-70","tag-pidp-11","tag-raspberry-pi","tag-simh"],"views":14722,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1947"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1947\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6187,"href":"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1947\/revisions\/6187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willem.aandewiel.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}