Hi all --
The TI 980B I got from that NWA auction from a month or so ago finally
made its way back to my house, and the CPU looks to be in decent shape.
I'll probably start working on restoring it after the new year.
Bitsavers has ample documentation, but I haven't found much software at
all -- I don't suppose anyone out there's got any tucked away somewhere?
I've found this: http://www.cozx.com/dpitts/ti980.html which provides a
nice cross assembler/linker and simulator so I guess I can write my own :).
I was hoping there'd be a bit more to the system than the CPU, but the
rack it came in was effectively empty apart from the CPU, a gigantic
power supply and an empty backplane and card-cage. There was a stack of
documentation included, so now I know that this TI was originally part
of an Evans and Sutherland "NOVOVIEW 2500" -- a "Night Only View" flight
simulator that used a set of point-plotting X/Y beam-penetration
displays (red/orange/amber/yellow/green colors) to simulate a runway at
night. (These were the DSI displays that were auctioned off as a
separate lot, wish I'd known what they were at the time...) Pretty
interesting, a shame all of the cool hardware was stripped out at some
point. Based on the printout stuck in the Omni 800 that came with it,
this was in use through at least 2000.
Thanks,
- Josh
