X-Authentication-Warning: delorie.com: mail set sender to geda-user-bounces using -f X-Recipient: geda-user AT delorie DOT com X-Virus-Scanned: amavisd-new at neurotica.com X-Original-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/simple; d=neurotica.com; s=default; t=1477343904; bh=TsuHcGFEd+e06wYhz2xTh0BV0SxRyEyOidTa/J6oRBE=; h=Subject:To:References:From:Date:In-Reply-To; b=CAzEfcnwdwcck87B2z7CR7l/axJzXtTR9Kp0Zbc5ZiW4IqQtODmcE6BrcK1EeYdB5 8RC0xlJwTmjBGLrhQDZMJmM4kGq1DFna6riU17ltG+pu9FliDLBfpHr3kk4o2+rcq+ UR+c01PMpGKYElpICfI07zQhgB0oJmNi7conZueg= Subject: Re: [geda-user] COSMAC ELF in gEDA and the power rail problem for logic ICs To: geda-user AT delorie DOT com References: From: "Dave McGuire (mcguire AT neurotica DOT com) [via geda-user AT delorie DOT com]" Message-ID: Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2016 17:18:24 -0400 User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:45.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderbird/45.3.0 MIME-Version: 1.0 In-Reply-To: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Reply-To: geda-user AT delorie DOT com Errors-To: nobody AT delorie DOT com X-Mailing-List: geda-user AT delorie DOT com X-Unsubscribes-To: listserv AT delorie DOT com Precedence: bulk Very, very cool story! The 1802 is far from mainstream of course, but it's still a current product, made by Intersil. The only ones still made are mil-spec, which oughtta tell us something. -Dave On 10/24/2016 04:55 PM, Bob Paddock (graceindustries AT gmail DOT com) [via geda-user AT delorie DOT com] wrote: > On Mon, Oct 24, 2016 at 9:39 AM, Dave McGuire (mcguire AT neurotica DOT com) > [via geda-user AT delorie DOT com] wrote: >> On 10/23/2016 10:24 PM, Atommann (atommann AT gmail DOT com) [via >> geda-user AT delorie DOT com] wrote: >>> Recently I redraw[1] the cosmac elf microcomputer which was from the >>> Popular Electronics magazine 1976 August issue. And soldered one[2], >>> it works right away! >> >> Hi! I don't have any suggestions for your problem, but I just have to >> speak up about the Elf. > > Here is some 1802 trivia you'll not find anyplace else. > > The predecessor to the 1802 was a two chip set the 1800/1801 available > only in ceramic packages. > It was used in some early satellites. Perhaps some other Government projects. > > As this predates my involvement I don't know the details, some how > what would become my boss in the future at Matric Limited, > got a hold of one of these chip sets, probably still has it hidden > away someplace to his wife's dismay; I expect I'll be the one cleaning > out this stuff someday after Lee's passing no one else would know what > it was or where it was stashed in the old building. > > Matric got a contract form the government to build a Automatic Roof > Bolter for Coal Mines as a subcontract to Ingersoll Rand. > So there is some government connection back to RCA, this is the part > I'm missing, which got Lee the 1800/1801 chips. > > Lee designs a new Coal Mine control for a different contract about the > time the 1802 is released. > After the ELF came out, I was hired on to write software for the 1802 > for the new 1802 based control. > > Everyone is aware of the impact of the 1802 after the Popular > Electronics article comes out. > What people are not aware of is how it died. I don't know what > happened internally at RCA. > > RCA was bought out, Harris etc. Same people setting at the same desks > with new name on the door of the company for a while. > > RCA had a product line called MicroBoards, which were a 44-pin edge > card bus and a line of industrial membrane keyboards under the name > Cardinal Technology. > > The controls that ran the sub Alvin from Woods Hole Oceanographic > Institution that found the Titanic was using these boards, because the > CMOS 1802 and rest of the 4000 family logic was the only thing they > found that would work through the dew point as the sub descended at > that time. > > Matric bought out the MicroBoard line from RCA (not sure who actually > owned it at this point.) I flew to New Jersey to learn the testing > procedures and over see the transfer for the board line. After awhile > Matric also took over the keyboard line and Matric ended up with all > of the remaining inventory of the 18xx chips for IO, Graphics, a few > 1802, some 1805 (1805 had the 1802 stack code hard-coded and a couple > of other minor changes that escape me right now) etc. > > After several years Matric retired the MicroBoard line and a few more > years retired the keyboard line. > > After a few more years setting the the warehouse at Matric all of the > related stuff including the chips were moved to a storage locker where > accountant kept their YEARS of paper work. All just tossed in. It > was no fun the one time I had to go find some 18xx chip to fix > something. > > After I left Matric for my current gig (Resume anyone? Feel it is > time to move on and do something different), so this part is second > hand: > > Someone from the US State Department showed up at Matric with a > Cardinal keyboard in hand saying "You *WILL* fix this" (they had be > told on the phone that the line was no longer supported). > > The keyboard failed, I don't know why, and needed some of the chips > from the storage locker as no one else in the world had them. > > The keyboard controlled a Nuclear Power Plant in Japan. Which one I > do not know. No one wanted to do the paper work to use a new keyboard > to run the plant. > So *THAT* keyboard had to be repaired, which it was, it could not even > be replaced with an identical (not that there were any) keyboard. > > So the last vestiges of the once proud 1802 family are decaying away > in a storage locker to the best of my knowledge (perhaps someone has > cleaned it out and trashed everything by now, I do not know)... > -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA