UPDATE: Click here to view a detailed PDF on the lot.
Comprehensive collection of vintage hardware, software, and documentation for the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) PDP-8 minicomputer—one of the first commercially successful minicomputers, informally known as the 'Straight-8.' Introduced in 1965 as the first transistorized microcomputer to retail for under $20,000, its relatively low cost and compact size revolutionized the industry, paving the way for widespread adoption of digital computing. Historical records indicate that 1,450 'Straight 8s' were manufactured and today only a handful of complete systems are known to still exist.
Designed by DEC engineer Edson DeCastro, the PDP-8's use of diode-transistor logic and modular design set new standards for future computer engineering. The PDP-8 utilizes diode transistor logic (DTL) implemented on printed circuit boards known as “FlipChips,” DECs name for its logic modules. The PDP-8 is a 12 bit computer with 4096 12 bits of core (nonvolatile magnetic memory) with the capability of being expanded to 32K. In its heyday, the PDP-8 was used for real time data acquisition, typesetting, and general purpose computing using languages such as BASIC, FOCAL, FORTRAN, and ALGOL. Instructions and data are toggled into the machine’s memory via the switches on the computer’s front panel.
This PDP-8 appears to have been initially purchased by University Computing Company of Texas, as evidenced by the asset tag on the computer’s frame; it also came with a custom silk-screened panel identifying it as one from a University Computing Company remote terminal, implying that the that the computer may have been used as a remote terminal concentrator as UCC provided contract computer services in the 1960s. It was subsequently purchased by the present owner in 1975 and used as a hobby computer until the early 2000s. This PDP-8 system includes an ASR-33 teletype hardcopy terminal as well as additional racks and supplementary hardware, including 213 spare FlipChips of various types, three TU55 DECtape drives installed in a DEC H960 tall rack (albeit without a TC01 DECtape controller), two additional H960 racks containing power distribution controllers as well as power supplies, a wire wrap backplane and an RK05 disk storage shelf. A DEC H967 heavy duty short rack also accompanies the system.
A library of paper tape software included with the system has over 290 individual tapes cataloged. Most of the tapes are DEC and DECUS (Digital Equipment Computer User Society) original tapes. There are also copies of original DEC/DECUS tapes included as well as evolutionary updates to the diagnostic programs. The library includes hardware diagnostics, known as “MAINDECS” as well as languages, utility programs, and system builder programs. Software documentation includes approximately 128 documents for programs. Hardware documentation is comprised of manuals, including two copies the PDP-8 Maintenance Manual, engineering drawings, Users Handbook, Small Computer Handbook 66-67 First Edition, various editions of the DEC Logic Handbook describing the various FlipChips. Much of the documentation was obtained from the High Energy Physics group at Case Western Reserve University when they retired their PDP-8 systems in the early 1980s.
A detailed prospectus prepared by the consignor, offering a comprehensive overview of the system and its individual components, is available online at RRAuction.com. This system will be crated and shipped from Ohio; the buyer is responsible for all associated costs.
