rplacd

IIRC there were a bunch of QBUS/UNIBUS SCSI controllers out there, but I'm sure they cost $$$$ on top of the $$ that a PDP-11 would already cost. Which model is it, by the way? I was thinking of breadboarding my own single-board PDP-11 with a J-11 chip – it's an 11/70 in a single chip that PDP made!

Ah thanks! I've learned electronics troubleshooting/rework from y'all, and hell I hope I learn enough to whip up my own PDS cards one day This is why I love the hobby and the community so much.

A bit of a digression, but how do you get on the Retro Tinkering discord? As someone who wants to get into digital design, it seems like a useful group to be in/passively learn from.

I have no idea how to do this – but if anyone wants to give this a try, contact me.

Kai – glad you're taking this on! If you ever want another badly Maxell bombed Classic LB, I'd be happy to send you one via first class parcel, on my tab.

I'd be interested in financially supporting a project but not because I intend to ever use one – I just think that the community would gain a lot from learning how to design and assemble an accelerator. Hell, if said person creates really good work logs, I'd love to learn something from the process as well, as someone who wants to learn a thing or two about digital design.

I'm not too optimistic about using silica bags. I tried storing a PB180 screen with about 2 pounds' worth of calcium chloride dessicant pellets; after a month, the screen tunnels at the same rate.

Same! This thread has inspired me to take a good crack at learning digital design. As an early Christmas gift I bought myself an FPGA trainer board and a textbook.

Been there, done that Every collector's bound to do it at some point, sadly. I'm still keeping my busted CRT around, though – one day I'll find someone with an angle grinder to cut off the neck, so I can stick an LCD screen behind it.

There's a slight historical irony here: IIRC, Dan Dobberpuhl, who led the Alpha design team and then the StrongARM team, eventually ended up founding PA Semi, which was in turn acquired by Apple – and the rest is history.

Update: oh god they have a screw pitch checker!!!!! Finally I can figure out which standoffs to get for my PowerBook...

Same! Instead of exhaustively measuring things, was just thinking of separately copying curved parts onto engineering paper, scaling it to the correct size, and compositing multiple images like that in Photoshop to get front views and profiles. (I don't have a scanner, so I sure hope that my iPhone camera and perspective correction will work...) I blew a little money on it, and I'll report back.

I think I found the little mini curve duplicator tool you're looking for! A company named MicroMark makes small version of trades tools... https://www.micromark.com/6-Contour-Gauge

Mazel tov! Thanks for keeping on posting your progress, sutekh – I want to do a hardware project this winter, and this thread is good inspiration.

Ooh, that's a good idea! Maybe cover the whole thing in calcium chloride, like mummifying a corpse. Same process eh?