Update on PiDP10 S/N 384

[sunnyboy010101]

Just a quick update on my PiDP10, purchased and built July 2024.

It's been running on my bookshelf since built without any issues. I did try the three operating systems after first build, but mostly left it running the PiDP10 switch program that Lars Brinkhoff wrote (keyed in via front panel switches).

A lot of the teething pains with Raspberry Pi 5's I debugged on a second Pi5 that I bought in anticipation of the kit. The most problematic issue was that I run my all my Raspberry Pis headless, and the lack of HDMI monitor compromised early trials with the Knight terminal etc. I ended up buying some HDMI 'dongles' that solved the issue completely.

My hardware (for the Raspberry) is as follows:

 - CanaKit Raspberry Pi 5 Basic Kit (8GB RAM | NO SD Card)

 - Active Cooler for Raspberry Pi 5, Active Cooling Fan Aluminium Heatsink with Thermal Pads for Raspberry Pi 5 4GB/8GB
 - GeeekPi N07 PCIe M.2 M-Key NVMe SSD PCIe Peripheral Bottom Board for Raspberry Pi 5, Support M.2 Key-M NVMe SSD2230/2242/2260/2280
 - Patriot P300 M.2 PCIe Gen 3 x4 256GB Low-Power Consumption SSD
 - SanDisk 128GB Extreme microSDXC UHS-I Memory Card with Adapter
 - DTECH HDMI Dummy Plug 4K Display Emulator Compatible Windows Mac OSX Linux (fit-Headless, 3 Pack)

All of the above purchased from Amazon.ca (Canada). The SanDisk SD card was used only to boot the initial Pi5 before cloning it to the M.2 SSD (Patriot). The SD card now sits in its case in a drawer.

The CanaKit comes with the BIG brick power supply needed by the Pi5, and it's worked perfectly. 

The bottom-mount M.2 hat for the Pi5 works perfectly and allowed me to mount the Pi to the PiDP10 including the cover board, although it did require the purchase of some 2mm standoffs and fasteners (both brass & nylon). The active fan is also essential, IMO.

My PiDP10 software was the March 2024 build, downloaded from GitHub. I have not touched it since first installed.

Most recently I used the front panel to start the PiDP10 and boot ITS. Following Oscar's original manual, I've been playing with ITS ever since. All the screens (Knight terminal, Type 340 terminal, VT terminals) all work perfectly thanks to the HDMI dummy plug. 

I connect to the PiDP10 exclusively via another computer using VNC (free). It's the way I've done things for years and years now, and it works. The  PiDP10 is running wired internet (DHCP - reserved) because the WIFI shuts off no matter what I tried, so as they say "who needs it?". The wired internet just works.

At this time I'm running "munch" on the 340 because it gives me some nice blinking lights on the console, which I prefer to simple idle conditions.

So original PiDP10 software running ITS and still working without issues after 6+ months continuous operation.

-R

[sunnyboy010101]

Some photos as well - including the build and a couple of the R-Pi 5 mounted on the back.

[Phillip Porch, MD]

Looks great!

Phillip Porch, MD

On Jan 9, 2025, at 1:49 PM, sunnyboy010101 <sunnybo...@gmail.com> wrote:

Some photos as well - including the build and a couple of the R-Pi 5 mounted on the back.

<T800_PiDP10 build 2024-07-25 01.jpg>

<T800_PiDP10 build 2024-07-25 02.jpg>

<T800_PiDP10 build 2024-07-25 03.jpg>

<T800_PiDP10 complete 2024-07-25.jpg>

<T800_PiDP10 displayed 2024-07-26.jpg>

<T800_PiDP10 Pi5 mount detail 2024-08-14 01.jpg>

<T800_PiDP10 Pi5 mount detail 2024-08-14 02.jpg>

On Thursday, January 9, 2025 at 10:16:31 AM UTC-8 sunnyboy010101 wrote:

Just a quick update on my PiDP10, purchased and built July 2024.

It's been running on my bookshelf since built without any issues. I did try the three operating systems after first build, but mostly left it running the PiDP10 switch program that Lars Brinkhoff wrote (keyed in via front panel switches).

A lot of the teething pains with Raspberry Pi 5's I debugged on a second Pi5 that I bought in anticipation of the kit. The most problematic issue was that I run my all my Raspberry Pis headless, and the lack of HDMI monitor compromised early trials with the Knight terminal etc. I ended up buying some HDMI 'dongles' that solved the issue completely.

My hardware (for the Raspberry) is as follows:

 - CanaKit Raspberry Pi 5 Basic Kit (8GB RAM | NO SD Card)

 - Active Cooler for Raspberry Pi 5, Active Cooling Fan Aluminium Heatsink with Thermal Pads for Raspberry Pi 5 4GB/8GB
 - GeeekPi N07 PCIe M.2 M-Key NVMe SSD PCIe Peripheral Bottom Board for Raspberry Pi 5, Support M.2 Key-M NVMe SSD2230/2242/2260/2280
 - Patriot P300 M.2 PCIe Gen 3 x4 256GB Low-Power Consumption SSD
 - SanDisk 128GB Extreme microSDXC UHS-I Memory Card with Adapter
 - DTECH HDMI Dummy Plug 4K Display Emulator Compatible Windows Mac OSX Linux (fit-Headless, 3 Pack)

All of the above purchased from Amazon.ca (Canada). The SanDisk SD card was used only to boot the initial Pi5 before cloning it to the M.2 SSD (Patriot). The SD card now sits in its case in a drawer.

The CanaKit comes with the BIG brick power supply needed by the Pi5, and it's worked perfectly. 

The bottom-mount M.2 hat for the Pi5 works perfectly and allowed me to mount the Pi to the PiDP10 including the cover board, although it did require the purchase of some 2mm standoffs and fasteners (both brass & nylon). The active fan is also essential, IMO.

My PiDP10 software was the March 2024 build, downloaded from GitHub. I have not touched it since first installed.

Most recently I used the front panel to start the PiDP10 and boot ITS. Following Oscar's original manual, I've been playing with ITS ever since. All the screens (Knight terminal, Type 340 terminal, VT terminals) all work perfectly thanks to the HDMI dummy plug. 

I connect to the PiDP10 exclusively via another computer using VNC (free). It's the way I've done things for years and years now, and it works. The  PiDP10 is running wired internet (DHCP - reserved) because the WIFI shuts off no matter what I tried, so as they say "who needs it?". The wired internet just works.

At this time I'm running "munch" on the 340 because it gives me some nice blinking lights on the console, which I prefer to simple idle conditions.

So original PiDP10 software running ITS and still working without issues after 6+ months continuous operation.

-R

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<T800_PiDP10 build 2024-07-25 02.jpg>

<T800_PiDP10 build 2024-07-25 03.jpg>

<T800_PiDP10 build 2024-07-25 01.jpg>

<T800_PiDP10 displayed 2024-07-26.jpg>

<T800_PiDP10 Pi5 mount detail 2024-08-14 01.jpg>

<T800_PiDP10 Pi5 mount detail 2024-08-14 02.jpg>

<T800_PiDP10 complete 2024-07-25.jpg>

[Henry Bartlet]

Interesting photos.

Off topic question: Could you give me any info regarding the work lights on your bench? Make? Model? Where to buy? They look super useful.

Henry

[sunnyboy010101]

No worries! They are portable OTT lights that I bought on sale well over a decade ago. I had to replace the 12V gel cell batteries also some years ago but they also work plugged in. Details: OttLite Model GX7911. I doubt they are made anymore, but they give a really good, bright light for working. I use two in order to prevent or at least minimize shadows.

The magnifier in the foreground is a 2AA LED lit magnifier with 10x spot area. Super useful for examining solder joints - either overall or zeroing in on any potential problem spot. "10 LED Lighting Desk Handheld Lamp With 2.5X 8X Magnifier" from amazon.ca in 2015, no longer made either.

Cheers,

-R

[Henry Bartlet]

Lots of choices for a similar magnifier on Amazon. The OTT light is available 2nd hand on eBay. Between Amazon and eBay I should be able to find something suitable.

Thanks for the info.

[Chris Hobbs]

On Thu, Jan 9, 2025 at 10:16 AM sunnyboy010101 <sunnybo...@gmail.com> wrote:

It's been running on my bookshelf since built without any issues. I did try the three operating systems after first build, but mostly left it running the PiDP10 switch program that Lars Brinkhoff wrote (keyed in via front panel switches).

More info on this program, please? I don't think I've come across it yet. Unless it's the incrementing video that Lars did a video of that I have found on YouTube, which I have keyed in and run.

Thanks!

Chris

--

Chris Hobbs

[Tim Radde]

Nice collection of paperbacks.  I have read quite a few of those myself.  And you have the same soldering station that I use.  You say you have multiple Pi's?  What do you use the 2nd one for?

[sunnyboy010101]

Yes, it's the youtube video. I just paused it a lot and then wrote down the program so I can enter it anytime. It's so much easier having a piece of paper when standing in front of the bookshelf & PiDP10. :-)

[sunnyboy010101]

Thanks. Decades in the making. Many bought in second hand shops and some now completely unobtaium (like "The Demolished Man", not visible in the photo, among many, many others).

As for the multiple Pis, I mean that completely. Years ago I built a Beowulf Linux cluster using NINE Pi 3's mounted in a home-made aluminum frame, with dedicated power supply and networking switch. I have Pis running the PiDP8, PiDP11 (that's a 4) and now two PiDP5's - one mounted on the PiDP10 and another in a case (almost the same config except top M.2 hat) that I used for initial testing. Then there's another Pi4 in a fancy aluminum case that was going to be a Kodi TV box but ended up becoming a Debian Apache 2 server thanks to changes with my internet provider switching to PPPoE for some static IP's (I then needed 3xfirewalls and 3x servers, so the Pi4 got pressed into action).

Honestly, I've lost count as there's at least one sitting in a drawer as well... sorry - make that 2 Pi4s in clear cases in the drawer. 

Likewise I've lost count of the Arduino boards of various flavors I have from teaching my "Robotics / Embedded Controller" class at university for well over a decade now. Every time Sparkfun puts out a new Inventor's Kit the uni sends me one to keep up with my course content. 

My favorite however, are the true Z80 kits I built - from Spencer Owen's RC2014 Blue Box (my latest kit) to Lee Hart's Z80 membership card (the computer in an altoids tin) and an even earlier single board computer set - Donn Stewart's CPUVille single board computers.  I think I enjoy  programming the Z80 best of all as it was the chip in my first ever computers in the 1980s (TRS80 model I -> Model 3 -> Model 4 -> Model 4P which I still have).

-R

[Kim Colwell]

a quick note on one of your paperbacks .. I read 'erehwon' in my 20's while on night shift as a computer operator (an NCR-315 CRAM System) .. I'm now a retired IT manager in my 70's!  quite the read as it has stayed with me all these years. I have seen nor heard of it otherwise in all that time.  Thanks for the memory!

Kim

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[Tim Radde]

Never heard of "The Demolished Man".  Wow, many more Pi's than I have.  I have 4 I think.  One on each pdp (8, 11, 10) and one as a Pi-Hole DNS.  Your robotics course sounds quite interesting.  I've only read about Beowolf clusters.  I think I considered doing that at one time but didn't.  I too got the RC2014 Pro Zed kit.  I had been breadboarding a z80 system.  Got it to have RAM, ROM, and IO.  Then decided I might as well just get the RC2014 to play with.  I enjoy tinkering with CP/M as I never used

it back in the day.  Yep, I have several Arduino boards too.  Used one to emulate RAM/ROM for my Z80 project.  I too use part of Donn's CPUville kit.  I got the display board to use with my breadboard Z80 thinking it would be easier to use that then try to set up that many LEDs on a breadboard.  Works really nice.  You and I must think alike.  I too had several TRS-80s.  My first computer (at home) was the Altair 8800.  With a TTY no less.

[sunnyboy010101]

I bought all the boards for Don's single board Z80 kit and even added an SD card on the IDE interface. I also built the "8 bit computer" kit he sold. Very slow compared to a Z80 but loads of fun.

I've been writing FORTRAN, PL/1 and C on the Z80 systems since the 1980s. Only with the RC2014 have I really started writing assembly for the Z80, though I did write and teach an assembly programming course in the late 1990s for the HC6811 (Handyboard) for a community college. 

My only wish is the resources for Z80 assembly have somewhat dried up. The manuals are available, but a lot of the "how to" type into books are gone. My biggest problem at the moment is trying to get Z80 assembler working properly (it's not). I can get 8080 assembler working just fine, but there's a bit of knowledge missing going to Z80 and other assemblers that I just can't find right now. <sigh> I know, sucks getting old. :-)

[Tim Radde]

Yeah, I understand the "getting old" part.  I never knew Fortran or PL/1 were usable on a Z80.  I remember Fortran from my school years.  And I did enjoy PL/1.  I am more of an assembly language person but more of the IBM BAL.  I messed with Z80 and 8080 for awhile but long ago.  I was using ZMAC on my Macbook Air to assemble my "test" Z80 code, but switched to ZASM.  I like it much better.  This was for burning into the EEPROMs on my breadboard.  I'll get back to that eventually.  I thought about trying a 68000 system but the chips seem quite pricey.

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[terry-...@glaver.org]

On Thursday, January 9, 2025 at 9:37:36 PM UTC-5 sunnybo...@gmail.com wrote:

As for the multiple Pis, I mean that completely. Years ago I built a Beowulf Linux cluster using NINE Pi 3's mounted in a home-made aluminum frame, with dedicated power supply and networking switch.

I built a 1RU assembly of Pi 5's for emulation purposes. I joking call it "Cluster's Last Stand" as it (mostly) emulates the main DEC environment at St. Peter's College when I was the manager of the Academic Computer Center. Two emulated VAX 8650's (VMS) and two PDP-11/70's (one running RSTS/E and one running 2BSD). Not seen in the cluster photo is the 1RU multi-Pi power supply that will mount in the back of the rack.


SPC11Z doesn't show up in the following "lcp show services" because it's running 2BSD and doesn't do LAT.



I am working on recovering data from old backup tapes squirreled away, so there can be a authentic emulation of the systems, complete with contents. Once I (hopefully) get the backups restored, I'll need to scrub all of the student / faculty accounts and other similar stuff, and then I'll put them on HECnet with guest access. SERVER is an emulated AlphaServer DS10 running on a Dell PowerEdge R730 and is my day-to-day VMS systems (yes, I still use VMS daily). Once I have them ready to go, I'll put them on their own isolated network to prevent miscreants getting in (or out).

[Tim Radde]

That first picture seriously nerded me out.  So cool.  Thanks for sharing.

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[David Conners]

My first "home" computer was a TRS-80 Model 1 with 4k of RAM (later upgraded to 16k). I'm seriously tempted by that RC2014 kit. You are making me regret getting rid of my copy of Programming the Z80 by Rodney Zaks in the great book purge of 2015...

(Also "Demolished Man" by Bester, that's another blast from the past...)

Cheers

David

[Charley Jones]

David, we come from similar roots.

In preparation for the incoming TRS-80, dad took college courses at SMU, Southeastern Mass University.  In the library I got some time with the PDP they had timesharing.

Same TRS-80 arrived, 1978, 4k.  We upgraded to 16k and still not enough.  We abandoned TRS for business, and it became my stepping stone.  Much later we did purchase an Ohio Scientific with floppy drives, and that did start to help the business when I wrote AR. 

Sent from my iPhone 15pm!

Charley Jones, PMP

On Jan 10, 2025, at 9:31 AM, David Conners <da...@conners.com> wrote:

My first "home" computer was a TRS-80 Model 1 with 4k of RAM (later upgraded to 16k). I'm seriously tempted by that RC2014 kit. You are making me regret getting rid of my copy of Programming the Z80 by Rodney Zaks in the great book purge of 2015...

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