[pups] Suitable PDP11s, in the UK

[rob@vetsystems.com (Robert Tillyard)]

On 2 Nov 2007, at 10:34, Wesley Parish wrote:

> To add to this, there used to be a book on computer engineering with  
> details
> on designing a PDP of some particular nature.  (It might even have  
> been a
> PDP-11.)
>
> Is it possible to persuade the writer of that book - a University  
> textbook I
> think - to donate it to PUPS?  Alternatively, does someone have an  
> updated
> PDP-11 design that they would be willing to donate to PUPS for  
> anyone with a
> soldering iron and enough time, to play with?
>
> I'm thinking this would be the way to solve this sort of problem in  
> one fell
> swoop, if as I suspect is likely, it is impossible to find a working  
> and
> available PDP-11 in the UK.
>
> Just my 0.02c worth - and my, hasn't inflation risen ... ;)
>
> Wesley Parish
>
> On Friday 02 November 2007 06:31, Tim Bradshaw wrote:
>> Having long ago got rid of my collection of ageing British (super)
>> minis, I realise I'm missing them, though I'm not sure why.  I can't
>> pretend any more that something running 4.2BSD is really practical,
>> so I'd like to get something really impractical, like a pdp11.
>>
>> What I'd like to be able to do is run 7th edition or thereabouts and/
>> or 2.11BSD on something which is not too large (so full-height 19"
>> racks are out).   I'm not interested in emulators.  It looks to me
>> like there are such systems - for instance the recently-discussed
>> 11/23 (or 11/73) looks practical, other than being in Utah.
>>
>> So I guess I have two questions:
>>
>> Firstly is this a practical thing to do in terms of reliability of HW
>> etc?  I finally gave up on the previous lot of machines at least
>> partly because disks &c were just so flaky that it was too painful to
>> keep things working (also we're talking full-height 19" racks in some
>> cases so they were a bit, well, big).  I don't want to spend my life
>> trying to source ancient disks etc (though I'm clearly not expecting
>> things to be as reliable as good, new modern kit).
>>
>> Secondly, does anyone in the UK (may be there is no one but me, of
>> course...) have any hints where I might look and what I might expect
>> to pay.  I've looked on ebay but I'm a little nervous of what I might
>> get that way.
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> --tim
>>
> -- 
> Clinersterton beademung, with all of love - RIP James Blish
> -----
> Gaul is quartered into three halves.  Things which are
> impossible are equal to each other.  Guerrilla
> warfare means up to their monkey tricks.
> Extracts from "Schoolboy Howlers" - the collective wisdom
> of the foolish.
> -----
> Mau e ki, he aha te mea nui?
> You ask, what is the most important thing?
> Maku e ki, he tangata, he tangata, he tangata.
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