Anyone score any good retro hardware recently? I'm in the market for an
Amiga a1200, but eBay's getting too rich for my blood. Hoping to run into
some C= hardware at my local thrift stores -- we have one in Berkeley
called "Urban Ore" that has a pretty big computer section... Fingers
crossed!


|04a|12LPHA
|03Alpha Complex |15- |11alphacomplex.us:2323

--- Talisman v0.35-dev (Linux/x86_64)
* Origin: aLPHA cOMPLEX: You are in Error. No one is screaming. (21:4/158.1)

On 31 Jan 2022, aLPHA said the following...

Anyone score any good retro hardware recently? I'm in the market for an Amiga a1200, but eBay's getting too rich for my blood. Hoping to run into some C= hardware at my local thrift stores -- we have one in Berkeley called "Urban Ore" that has a pretty big computer section... Fingers crossed!

I bought some RCA 1802 "COSMAC" chips off of Ebay and have been playing
around with those with the help of an Arduino. It's a weird chip, but from a time when Intel/Motorola (and by extension MOS/Zilog) hadn't yet become the standard.

Perhaps the strangest thing about it is that it's an 8-bit MPU with 16 16-bit registers. It proceeds sequentially by default through its instructions, but has no dedicated Program Counter. It has instructions to manipulate a stack, but has no dedicated Stack Pointer. Instead, any of those 16 registers can be the Program Counter or Stack Pointer. Jumps are accomplished by loading the address to be jumped to into one (any) of those registers and then setting
that register to be the Program Counter. Changing the Program Counter to be whichever register was previously the Program Counter effectively executes a return.

Jeff.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Cold War Computing BBS (21:1/180)

On 31 Jan 2022, aLPHA said the following...

Anyone score any good retro hardware recently? I'm in the market for an Amiga a1200, but eBay's getting too rich for my blood. Hoping to run into some C= hardware at my local thrift stores -- we have one in Berkeley called "Urban Ore" that has a pretty big computer section... Fingers crossed!

Just today I got a KP1801BM1 from the Russian Federation. It's a 16-bit CPU
of Soviet design that also happens to be binary-compatible with the DEC
PDP-11. Other than that, I don't know very much about it at all, but it
should be fun to try and make it do something, either with an Arduino Mega or
a small FPGA.

Jeff.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Cold War Computing BBS (21:1/180)

Just today I got a KP1801BM1 from the Russian Federation. It's a
16-bit CPU
of Soviet design that also happens to be binary-compatible with the
DEC
PDP-11. Other than that, I don't know very much about it at all, but
it
should be fun to try and make it do something, either with an Arduino
Mega or
a small FPGA.

Whoah, that sounds pretty cool -- that's like early 1980m yeah? I find Soviet-era technology pretty intersting, especially some of the out-there industrial design... Congrats :)

|04a|12LPHA
|03Alpha Complex |15- |11alphacomplex.us:2323

--- Talisman v0.35-dev (Linux/x86_64)
* Origin: aLPHA cOMPLEX: You are in Error. No one is screaming. (21:4/158.1)

On 01 Feb 2022, aLPHA said the following...

Whoah, that sounds pretty cool -- that's like early 1980m yeah? I find Soviet-era technology pretty intersting, especially some of the out-there industrial design... Congrats :)

Yes, apparently it was designed in 1979, entered production in 1980, and
ended production in 1993. It was the CPU for several of the "official" Soviet home computers. As shipped, it looks a little unusual: it's a 40-pin IC, but the pins are more closely spaced than a standard DIP package. The pins also extend out to the sides rather than being bent downwards, so that it is flat.

I've not been able to find a pinout yet, but there's gotta be one out there somewhere.

Jeff.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Cold War Computing BBS (21:1/180)

Just today I got a KP1801BM1 from the Russian Federation. It's a 16-bit CPU of Soviet design that also happens to be binary-compatible with the DEC PDP-11. Other than that, I don't know very much about it at all, but it should be fun to try and make it do something, either with an Arduino Mega or a small FPGA.

Run a BBS on it!

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
* Origin: Cheshire Underground (21:1/162)

aLPHA wrote to All <=-

Anyone score any good retro hardware recently?

I lucked out and was able to get a TRS-80 Model I with working monitor.
No power supply for the computer part, though. Parts on order.
But the reset button cover was intact! (These usually get lost over time.)

I have the transformers and I should have the power supply board with cables on Friday. So hopefully I'll have a working TRS-80 Model I this weekend.
Keeping my fingers crossed.


... When choosing between two evils, select the newer one.
___ MultiMail/Linux v0.52

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On 01 Feb 2022, Sporathan said the following...

Just today I got a KP1801BM1 from the Russian Federation. It's a 16-b CPU of Soviet design that also happens to be binary-compatible with t DEC PDP-11. Other than that, I don't know very much about it at all, it should be fun to try and make it do something, either with an Ardu Mega or a small FPGA.

Run a BBS on it!

The thought has crossed my mind...

Jeff.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Cold War Computing BBS (21:1/180)

I lucked out and was able to get a TRS-80 Model I with working
monitor.

Oh, that's nice. How much memory on that badboy?


|04a|12LPHA
|03Alpha Complex |15- |11alphacomplex.us:2323

--- Talisman v0.35-dev (Linux/x86_64)
* Origin: aLPHA cOMPLEX: You are in Error. No one is screaming. (21:4/158.1)

aLPHA wrote to Dr. What <=-

I lucked out and was able to get a TRS-80 Model I with working
monitor.

Oh, that's nice. How much memory on that badboy?

The official sticker on the bottom says 16K, but I haven't had it open to see if someone did any mods to it.


... Sigmund's wife wore Freudian slips.
___ MultiMail/Linux v0.52

--- Mystic BBS/QWK v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Linux/64)
* Origin: Al's Geek Lab -=- bbs.alsgeeklab.com:2323 (21:1/126)

Anyone score any good retro hardware recently? I'm in the market for an Amiga a1200, but eBay's getting too rich for my blood. Hoping to run into some C= hardware at my local thrift stores -- we have one in Berkeley called "Urban Ore" that has a pretty big computer section... Fingers crossed!

I am *thinking* of grabbing three PET machines - a seller in PDX has finally went down to the $900 that I was asking... two are working, and one just stopped - so should be something the community can help get rocking again.

I hear they are worth around $400 each; one community member said they'd pay $400 for the BROKEN one, so...

I also want an a1200 - but as I was telling you the other day, I think my next purchase (if I can find the dang hardware!!) is a MiSTeR... for ME, an fpga is 'close enough' and way better than software emulation... while it ain't cheap, I think it will be my next 'retro machine'.

What you think about my PET find? Should I pop? I don't particularly LIKE PETs; and don't need 3(!*) but... good deals are harder to find these days. I might pop.



|07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
|08.........

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbS>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)

Whoah, that sounds pretty cool -- that's like early 1980m yeah? I find Soviet-era technology pretty intersting, especially some of the out-there industrial design... Congrats :)

First, YES - Jeffs KP1801BM1 sounds rad... I'm a little green to use an Arduino to make retro chips do things, but... I'm interested in hearing what beeps and boops he makes it do!!

While this isn't retro COMPUTING, I collect some Russian antiques. Lighters, a couple neat watches, some WWII era bomb fuzes (I have a large fuze collection... very cool.) and a few phones - I love seeing how DIFFERENT their tech was that ours, and most of it is built really well. Very industrial, as you say, too.



|07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
|08.........

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbS>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)