Anyone remember the PDP-8?

If you do, this may be interest. You can buy a PDP-8 front panel (lights, switches and all) powered by a Raspberry Pi and, using the SimH emulator, you can:

  • Connect multiple terminals through SSH, Telnet, Ethernet, WiFi or the serial port. Or hook up a HDMI monitor and PS/2 keyboard. Without the PDP-8 knowing the difference.
     
  • Use the Pi’s SD card to store a complete library of paper/DECtapes, floppy/hard disks.
    Or use USB sticks as removable storage – one stick contains your FOCAL69 paper tape, another an OS/8 disk cartridge.
     
  • Operate the PDP-8 as you should, through the front panel. Or cheat by stepping out into SimH’s debugging environment for a moment, to quickly disassemble code or whatever.

I have the PDP-11 version, and it runs RSTS, RSX-11, and many other operating systems, thanks to an open source culture and the efforts of many volunteers. Perhaps you even remember running ADVENTURE?

PDP-11 and PDP-8 kits and ready assembled units are available from https://obsolescence.wixsite.com/obsolescence/pidp-11 and https://obsolescence.wixsite.com/obsolescence/pidp-8 respectively.