<= div class=3D"gmail_quote">On Mon, Oct 24, 2016 at 6:02 PM, Gene Heskett (gheskett AT shentel DOT net) [via geda-user AT delorie DOT com] <geda-us= er AT delorie DOT com> wrote:

On M= onday 24 October 2016 17:18:24 Dave McGuire (mcguire AT neurotica DOT com)
[via geda-user AT de= lorie.com] wrote:

>=C2=A0 =C2=A0Very, very cool story!
>
>=C2=A0 =C2=A0The 1802 is far from mainstream of course, but it's st= ill a current
> product, made by Intersil.=C2=A0 The only ones still made are mil-spec= ,
> which oughtta tell us something.
>
>=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0-Dave

Yes, its ability to work in a radiation environmemt that would cook = any
of us in just a few minutes is the reason.=C2=A0 The deep space stuff we ha= ve
out there is all running on 1802 family stuff.

>
> On 10/24/2016 04:55 PM, Bob Paddock (graceindustries AT gmail DOT com) [via
>
> geda-user AT delorie DOT com] wr= ote:
> > On Mon, Oct 24, 2016 at 9:39 AM, Dave McGuire
> > (mcguire AT neurotica DOT com)
> >
> > [via geda-user AT delorie DOT c= om] <geda-user AT delorie DOT com<= /a>> wrote:
> >> On 10/23/2016 10:24 PM, Atommann (atommann AT gmail DOT com) [via
> >>
> >> geda-user AT delorie DOT co= m] wrote:
> >>> Recently I redraw[1] the cosmac elf microcomputer which w= as from
> >>> the Popular Electronics magazine 1976 August issue. And s= oldered
> >>> one[2], it works right away!
> >>
> >>=C2=A0 =C2=A0Hi!=C2=A0 I don't have any suggestions for yo= ur problem, but I just
> >> have to speak up about the Elf.
> >
> > Here is some 1802 trivia you'll not find anyplace else.
> >
> > The predecessor to the 1802 was a two chip set the 1800/1801
> > available only in ceramic packages.
> > It was used in some early satellites.=C2=A0 Perhaps some other Go= vernment
> > projects.
> >
> > As this predates my involvement I don't know the details, som= e how
> > what would become my boss in the future at Matric Limited,
> >=C2=A0 got a hold of one of these chip sets, probably still has it= hidden
> > away someplace to his wife's dismay; I expect I'll be the= one
> > cleaning out this stuff someday after Lee's passing no one el= se
> > would know what it was or where it was stashed in the old buildin= g.
> >
> > Matric got a contract form the government to build a Automatic Ro= of
> > Bolter for Coal Mines as a subcontract to Ingersoll Rand.
> > So there is some government connection back to RCA, this is the p= art
> > I'm missing, which got Lee the 1800/1801 chips.
> >
> > Lee designs a new Coal Mine control for a different contract abou= t
> > the time the 1802 is released.
> > After the ELF came out, I was hired on to write software for the<= br> > > 1802 for the new 1802 based control.
> >
> > Everyone is aware of the impact of the 1802 after the Popular
> > Electronics article comes out.
> > What people are not aware of is how it died.=C2=A0 I don't kn= ow what
> > happened internally at RCA.
> >
> > RCA was bought out, Harris etc.=C2=A0 Same people setting at the = same
> > desks with new name on the door of the company for a while.
> >
> > RCA had a product line called MicroBoards, which were a 44-pin ed= ge
> > card bus and a line of industrial membrane keyboards under the na= me
> > Cardinal Technology.
> >
> > The controls that ran the sub=C2=A0 Alvin from Woods Hole Oceanog= raphic
> > Institution that found the Titanic was using these boards, becaus= e
> > the CMOS 1802 and rest of the 4000 family logic was the only thin= g
> > they found that would work through the dew point as the sub
> > descended at that time.
> >
> > Matric bought out the MicroBoard line from RCA (not sure who
> > actually owned it at this point.) I flew to New Jersey to learn t= he
> > testing procedures and over see the transfer for the board line.<= br> > > After awhile Matric also took over the keyboard line and Matric > > ended up with all of the remaining inventory of the 18xx chips fo= r
> > IO, Graphics, a few 1802, some 1805 (1805 had the 1802 stack code=
> > hard-coded and a couple of other minor changes that escape me rig= ht
> > now) etc.
> >
> > After several years Matric retired the MicroBoard line and a few<= br> > > more years retired the keyboard line.
> >
> > After a few more years setting the the warehouse at Matric all of=
> > the related stuff including the chips were moved to a storage loc= ker
> > where accountant kept their YEARS of paper work.=C2=A0 All just t= ossed
> > in.=C2=A0 It was no fun the one time I had to go find some 18xx c= hip to
> > fix something.
> >
> > After I left Matric for my current gig (Resume anyone?=C2=A0 Feel= it is
> > time to move on and do something different), so this part is seco= nd
> > hand:
> >
> > Someone from the US State Department showed up at Matric with a > > Cardinal keyboard in hand saying "You *WILL* fix this" = (they had be
> > told on the phone that the line was no longer supported).
> >
> > The keyboard failed, I don't know why, and needed some of the= chips
> > from the storage locker as no one else in the world had them.
> >
> > The keyboard controlled a Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.=C2=A0 Whi= ch one I
> > do not know.=C2=A0 No one wanted to do the paper work to use a ne= w
> > keyboard to run the plant.
> > So *THAT* keyboard had to be repaired, which it was, it could not=
> > even be replaced with an identical (not that there were any)
> > keyboard.
> >
> > So the last vestiges of the once proud 1802 family are decaying a= way
> > in a storage locker to the best of my knowledge (perhaps someone = has
> > cleaned it out and trashed everything by now, I do not know)...

Cheers, Gene Heskett --
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
=C2=A0soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>=