[Info-vax] The SBC6120 is back once again! (PDP-8 clone KIT)

[Bob]

[Reposted from http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sparetimegizmos with
Bob's permission. Please direct all discussion to that forum. Bob
requested that I make it VERY clear that more front panels are very
unlikely at this time: it would take at least a hundred orders to make
it possible. And please don't address any questions to me. I'm just
spreading the word for Bob.]


THE SBC6120 IS BACK!

A friend pointed me to a source for still more NOS HD6120 chips and
gently "persuaded" me to order more SBC6120 PC boards. That means the
SBC6120 is back - you can order a bare PC board, a partial kit of the
hard to find parts, or (for a very limited time) a full kit of all
parts, from the web page -

http://www.sparetimegizmos.com/Hardware/SBC6120-2.htm


WHAT'S A SBC6120?

The SBC6120 is a clone of the venerable DEC PDP-8 minicomputer that
you can build yourself, today, using more-or-less modern parts. The
CPU
is the Harris HD6120 PDP-8 chip, which is the same part used in
Digital's DECmate series of computers. The SBC6120 uses an IDE/ATA
disk
or CompactFlash card for mass storage, any ordinary serial ASCII
terminal as a console, and can run OS/8, FOCAL69, and pretty much any
other software that would have run on a PDP-8/E.

Construction is pretty simple with the PC board. Only thru hole parts
are used and no difficult SMT soldering is required. The SBC6120 has
the same footprint as a 5-1/4" disk drive and requires only a 5V power
supply. It's easy to fit the whole thing, including a disk drive, into
an old external drive case. Add a terminal - most people will use a PC
with some terminal emulation software - and you're ready to go.

If you want to get a better idea of what's involved in building one,
there's a complete manual, including assembly instructions and a full
pars list, here -

http://www.sparetimegizmos.com/Downloads/SBC6120.pdf


ORDERING

A bare PC board alone for the SBC6120 is $28 plus $5 for S&H.

A "partial kit" consisting of the PC board, one HD6120 CPU chip, three
64Kx4 SRAM chips, two pre-programmed EPROMS with the BTS6120 firmware,
and three pre-programmed PLD chips, is $150 plus $13 S&H.

You can order either of these options from the SBC6120 web page -

http://www.sparetimegizmos.com/Hardware/SBC6120-2.htm

All shipping prices are for US domestic only - for international
orders please inquire about shipping charges before ordering. All
shipments to California addresses must also pay sales tax.


FULL KITS

People often ask to buy full kits of all the SBC6120 parts, however
I'm always reluctant to sell full kits because of the huge amount of
time required to order all the parts, count them out, and pack them
into
bags. Spare Time Gizmos will sell full kits for the SBC6120, but this
time I've decided to try something a little different.

A full kit of all the PCB mounted parts, except the expansion bus
connector, will be $350 plus $25 S&H. All you'll need to do is build
it, add a terminal, disk drive, and power supply, and you'll be ready
to
go.

If you want to order a full kit, then go to the web page listed above
and order the partial kit. When you complete your PayPal checkout,
include a message with your order saying that you want to buy a full
kit. You'll be charged the regular partial kit price at that time;
I'll
process your order and send you a receipt, and I'll set your partial
kit
parts aside. I will not ship them at that time.

Then, around the middle of January, I'll stop taking orders for the
full kits. You'll get a PayPal bill from Spare Time Gizmos for the
remaining balance, which you'll have a couple of days to pay. I'll
order the parts for the full kits, divide them up, and they'll be
shipped by the end of January. If you don't pay the balance or if you
change your mind, then I'll simply ship you your original partial kit
with no hard feelings.


FRONT PANELS

The front panel kits for the SBC6120 sold out years ago, and I simply
have no parts of any kind left for it. Unfortunately the front panels
are nowhere near as easy to bring back into production as the SBC6120
-
the switches used are special order items, the LED bar and other
mechanical parts were custom machined, and the faceplate itself was
laser cut and silk screened in five colors. If I could find something
like 100 people who wanted to buy one, at a couple hundred dollars for
a
partial kit of the custom parts only, then it might be possible to
have
more built economically.

That seems unlikely, though, so right now Spare Time Gizmos has no
plans to offer the front panel kits again.