A recent (2014) and intriguing concept for making a small computer that feels like it was made in the past is the PDP-11/Hack, which only uses a DEC J-11 microprocessor, some RAM, and a common UART.
Really enjoyed this writeup. I'd come across Don Tarbell’s name before, but didn’t realize how influential he was in the pre-Altair era—and even in setting the stage for the Apple I. Fascinating stuff.
I also wasn’t aware of this site—some really well-researched essays on early computing. Great work, and thanks for putting this together!
A recent (2014) and intriguing concept for making a small computer that feels like it was made in the past is the PDP-11/Hack, which only uses a DEC J-11 microprocessor, some RAM, and a common UART.
The original concept By Brent Hilpert:
http://madrona.ca/e/pdp11hack/index.html
Another implementation:
https://www.chronworks.com/J11/
A more complex and modern PDP-11/Hack:
https://www.5volts.ch/pages/pdp11hack/
Really enjoyed this writeup. I'd come across Don Tarbell’s name before, but didn’t realize how influential he was in the pre-Altair era—and even in setting the stage for the Apple I. Fascinating stuff.
I also wasn’t aware of this site—some really well-researched essays on early computing. Great work, and thanks for putting this together!
From this wonderful article I found a PDF version of the Amateur Computer Society Newsletter 1966-1976.
Probably deserves it's own post. http://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/201...
Ah, the good old days.