Finally got a "straight" DF32 yesterday - bandwidth saver - many messages inside - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

4 Nov 1999

-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Green &lt;mark(a)cs.ualberta.ca&gt;
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
&lt;classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu&gt;
Date: Thursday, November 04, 1999 4:23 PM
Subject: Re: Finally got a "straight" DF32 yesterday - bandwidth saver -
many messages inside

...
 >
> One other thing.... you mentioned you wanted to add more memory to one of
> your straight 8s. I have two studies done by the McMaster University on
> building core memory expanders for the 8,8/s using straight 8 memory (8/s,8
...
 > used the same kinds) and some flip chips. You
might want to kill one of your
...
 > straight 8s for the memory and ebay/keep the rest
of it. I am picking up at
...
 > least one straight-8 over the next 3 weeks and if
I end up with two (looks
...
 > that way) I have the one sold (have to quickly
restore it first)  and the
> other I will butcher for memory for my 8/s. A straight-8 still isn't worth
...
 > as much whole as it is in parts.. Ugh.. You might
want to think about doing
...
   that as it is
nice to keep the same boards/technology in a transistor
 computer like that.

I remember that particular 8s from when I was an undergraduate.  I
did my undergraduate degree at McMaster, at a time when they were
still running PDP 8 machines.  That probably ages me :-).  At one
point it was a server for a group of DG Novas (I think the
original ones).
 I actually bought the Nova network that was there too! I have the Nova 2,
Nova 3 with the Nova-PDP 8/S link, Ken-Net and all the original software and
docs. The Nova 2 has a graphics interface and IC tester, Kennedy 9800, and a
diablo 42. The first memory expansion study was called "8K Interface for
PDP-8S with memory protect (A study in frustration)", by John Elton McFee,
1966.

BTW I wasn't BORN yet... doesn't that age me!

To give you an idea.. Focal 1969 outdates me!

john

...

--
Dr. Mark Green                                 mark(a)cs.ualberta.ca
Professor                                      (780) 492-4584
Director, Research Institute for Multimedia Systems (RIMS)
Department of Computing Science                (780) 492-1071 (FAX)
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2H1, Canada