"Pure" postings, please!
cjl
used in a useful manner. A lot of topics have nothing to do with the
other common alt.computer or whatever groups, while some obviously do.
It was rather curious that some people were discussing a system
coincidentally called AMOS while an unrelated PDP-8 system also has
that name.
The only information I can add about it was that apparently there were
a few machines, and at least one could run OS/8 [and probably would
have benefitted greatly from P?S/8], but that at least one was so
feebly configured that nothing we know about ran on that one, [So why
was it ever built?]
I know they were using anything they could muster. Apparently the
"system call" consisted of passing arguments in the AC, L, and MQ, and
perhaps having to preset some variables within the system page, which
of course is quite unweildy. I don't even know if they maintained
actual data compatibility with real DECtapes [reminiscent of CPS-4K,
except that was due to a blunder!].
Note that P?S/8 and OS/8 require around two pages to get a decent job
done. In OS/8 you need either 12K to get a two-page handler, or 8K to
use the field 7 ROM. Same for P?S/8 except each needed 4K less
memory, this being the usual parallel between the systems in most
cases where the hardware cannot be supported in a single page system
handler.
But these systems require the KM8E card and either 4K more or at least
the MR8E-C field 7 ROM. Apparently not available on this meager
system that prompted them to attempt to write something for it, etc.
cjl