[pups] Re: A project--buiilding a device to plug into a PDP-11's bus

[pups] Re: A project--buiilding a device to plug into a PDP-11's bus

[Carl Lowenstein]

> Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 12:30:34 +1100 (EST)
> From: John Holden <johnh at psych.usyd.edu.au>
> To: pups at minnie.tuhs.org
> Subject: [pups] 
> 	Re: A project--buiilding a device to plug into a PDP-11's bus
> 
> Gregg C Levine wrote :-
> 
> > I also recall that the processor in question at one point in its
> > lifespan, actually used the AM2901 family of bit-slice processors.
> 
> DEC didn't use 2901's in central processors, but the FPU's for 11/34 and
> 11/44 used 16 of them to make the 64 bit data path for the FPU. They were
> also used in some peripherals like the KMC-11.

At one time there was a set of application notes that described how
to build a PDP11 clone out of AM2901 bit slices.  I think that the
performance would have been approximately that of an 11/40, while
the time and effort and parts cost would have been prohibitive for
a one-off production.

It is barely possible that I have a set of those notes somewhere,
although it would take a very lucky random search to find them.

    carl
-- 
    carl lowenstein         marine physical lab     u.c. san diego
                                                 clowenst at ucsd.edu

[pups] Re: A project--buiilding a device to plug into a PDP-11's bus

[David Evans]

On Thu, Nov 13, 2003 at 09:51:10AM +0100, Jochen Kunz wrote:
> On 2003.11.13 02:30 John Holden wrote:
> 
> > DEC didn't use 2901's in central processors, 
> The VAX 11/730 CPU is build using AMD bit slice chips.

  Since others are also drifting off-topic, I believe that the KS10
also uses 2901s.  DEC seemed to be fond of them for low-cost (and low-
performance) implementations of complex processors.

-- 
David Evans                                         dfevans at bbcr.uwaterloo.ca
Ph.D. Candidate, Computer/Synth Junkie     http://bbcr.uwaterloo.ca/~dfevans/
University of Waterloo         "Default is the value selected by the composer
Ontario, Canada           overridden by your command." - Roland TR-707 Manual

[pups] Re: A project--buiilding a device to plug into a PDP-11's bus

[Jochen Kunz]

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On 2003.11.13 02:30 John Holden wrote:

> DEC didn't use 2901's in central processors, 
The VAX 11/730 CPU is build using AMD bit slice chips. It is the slowest
VAX (together with the MicroVAX I) and AFAIK the only VAX that
implemented the complete VAX instruction set.
-- 


tschüß,
       Jochen

Homepage: http://www.unixag-kl.fh-kl.de/~jkunz/

[pups] Re: A project--buiilding a device to plug into a PDP-11's bus

[Gregg C Levine]

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Hello (again) from Gregg C Levine
I agree. You will note I didn't say where the medium sized box would
use those parts, just that they did. However, according to three
authors, also AMD engineers at the time of their writings, wrote this
book, "Bit-Slice Microprocessor Design", and the authors were, John
Mich, and Jim Brick. The application notes, that they compiled into
it, suggest that something along the lines of the LSI-11 could evolve
from their work. And indeed a different pairing did just that. 

The book's name, and the author's names were, " The art of digital
design : an introduction to top-down design / David Winkel, Franklin
Prosser". In that book they, completely cloned a PDP-11 system, or
something that could run such software, as we would run on the
families of simulators, and emulators. 
      
So we are both right from a certain point of view. 

And you've got a better idea of what I am up to. 
-------------------
Gregg C Levine hansolofalcon at worldnet.att.net
------------------------------------------------------------
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: pups-bounces at minnie.tuhs.org
[mailto:pups-bounces at minnie.tuhs.org] On
> Behalf Of John Holden
> Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2003 8:31 PM
> To: pups at minnie.tuhs.org
> Subject: [pups] Re: A project--buiilding a device to plug into a
PDP-11's bus
> 
> 
> Gregg C Levine wrote :-
> 
> > I also recall that the processor in question at one point in its
> > lifespan, actually used the AM2901 family of bit-slice processors.
> 
> DEC didn't use 2901's in central processors, but the FPU's for 11/34
and
> 11/44 used 16 of them to make the 64 bit data path for the FPU. They
were
> also used in some peripherals like the KMC-11.
> 
> A lot of OEM's (like Emulex) used them in disk/tape/terminal
controllers.
> _______________________________________________
> PUPS mailing list
> PUPS at minnie.tuhs.org
> http://minnie.tuhs.org/mailman/listinfo/pups

[pups] Re: A project--buiilding a device to plug into a PDP-11's bus

[John Holden]

Gregg C Levine wrote :-

> I also recall that the processor in question at one point in its
> lifespan, actually used the AM2901 family of bit-slice processors.

DEC didn't use 2901's in central processors, but the FPU's for 11/34 and
11/44 used 16 of them to make the 64 bit data path for the FPU. They were
also used in some peripherals like the KMC-11.

A lot of OEM's (like Emulex) used them in disk/tape/terminal controllers.