On 1/8/2023 3:34 AM, jos via cctalk wrote:
Is it even possible to add a diskdrive to a PDP8/L ? My 1970 "Small
computer handbook" only mentions TU55/TC01 and DF32 as mass-storage
options for the 8/L. Both are essentially unobtainable.
As others have suggested, a "period correct" 8/L solution with mass
storage is difficult. Your best bet is probably a BM08 for the core
memory expansion and a TC08 (you'd want Posibus, not the Negibus TC01)
to control a DECtape drive.
However, a "pure vintage" solution that is willing to mix in later DEC
gear opens the door for a DW8E and that should allow for the MMU, more
RAM and an RX8E floppy controller.
If you're slightly more flexible, there are also modern emulations that
either exist or shouldn't be hard to implement to expand the 8/L. (Some
of them are on my lengthy "to do" list, since I also have a couple of
8/L.) You'd need memory (and a memory controller) and then could use
Serial Disk (or even Console Serial Disk, when that's ready), for example.
Vince
