Magnetic Bubble Memory Anyone?

[craig a]

I am awaiting the v1.1 of my 1Mbit bubble memory boards which should arrive this week.  if all goes well after i build and test the first one, I am hoping to find some partners to build and do more extensive playing on the remaining 4 boards.  bare board for the cost of shipping but you need to round up the bubble and support chips plus have a SBC-85 system. Anyone interested?  Bubble project is listed on hackaday.,   SBC-85 project website

regards

craig

[Greg Holdren]

Craig,

Pretty Cool! I used to have some Bubble Memory HW but I think it is gone. I think I gave away my ISA dev card and chips and original App notes and datasheet publications.

Back in the mid-80s I used to work for Intel's PMO (Programmable Memories Orginization) which at the time was UV EPROMs and not Flash. :) Flash came a few years after I left. In 1985 the 27512 EPROM was the new kid on the block and the 386 was new.  IMO (Intel Magnetics Origination) was next to us in another temporary building in Folsom, CA which was transferred from Santa Clara in 1984. Intel announced the plan to discontinue IMO in 1985.

It would be interesting to play with but I don't have to required 8085 system.

Greg

[craig a]

 I have some of the Intel ISA bubble boards, alas no documentation or drivers if you happen to still have either the vintage archives could use them. 

Not a lot of people have vintage bubble experience, you are the rare one!

[Jim McGinnis]

Some amazing technology there.

I recall while working at Ft. Meade (NSA) having a mission payload memory that was loaded as soon as the TR-1/U2-R left the ground. It was slow to load via the RF data link. But it was bubble memory technology. I never learned why it was a preferred memory for critical mission profile data and operational code. I never dug into it as it was compartmental info.

But I guess the volatility of the memory for erasure was better than a in-flight programmed EEPROM and obviously better than a burned PROM.

Bubble Memory - its memory keeps recirculating in my head...  ;-)

[Bill Shen]

Magnetic domain is radiation harden so it is frequently used in space applications despite of various drawbacks.
Bill

[Jim McGinnis]

NSEU makes a lot of sense there. I knew that they had a requirement for "no data survival" if the craft was compromised. But the radiation/SEU risks at 65,000+ are significant for a lot of the devices we take for granted work here at sea level.

Jim

[Colin MacArthur]

WOW

GREAT to see some RETRO devices being reused...

I last worked with Bubble Memory in 1981...

Did not think I would ever see it again...

CM

[craig a]

Greg,

about $6 plus shipping on tindie gets you the tin CPU board and a backplane. gold would set you back another $2.  Those, 5V, a good parts bin, and a 2732 programmer will do it. Then you too can live like it is 1979

regards

craig

On Sunday, May 3, 2020 at 6:45:28 PM UTC-7, Greg Holdren wrote:

[Richard Lewis]

I guess if you really wanted to go retro can try something like this: Core memory shield for arduino

I had thoughts of procuring a surplus core memory module and maybe getting it to work in conjunction with a diode ROM board. 

[craig a]

That is a good idea.

I have been looking for the next system addition project and I have thought of core over and over again but keep choosing something else.  I have a number of medium to large core boards (in the few hundred bits to a tens of kbit range) sitting around that need to be put to work.  The problem is that i try to stick with projects where the components are at least somewhat readily available so others can build the project too.  32 bits like the arduno project just doesn't seem worthwhile but that would be about my limit of patience to hand thread the cores.

So i have been thinking of a configuration where there is a generic interface driver/sense board in the SBC-85 that connects to the core board so people could use whatever core they happen to have or find sitting around.   The sizes would not need to match--ignore what doesn't exist. I just don't know how practical that idea would be to implement.

any ideas appreciated

thanks

craig

[Greg Holdren]

Craig,

I'll have to check it out. I have all kinds of 8085 and Intel 8 bit based ICs in my parts drawer. Memories of the SDK-85 used to have. :)

Greg