On Jun 26, 2016, at 18:24, Brian L. Stuart <blstuart@bellsouth.net> wrote:
On Thu, 6/16/16, David Riley via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: Our Bendix G-15, however, is tube-based (and drum-based, which will probably be the bigger hurdle to getting it running).
True. The best bet for restoring the G-15 would be to construct a drum emulator that would interface with the rest of the machine using the same timing and signal levels as the original drum. Use that to get the rest of the machine running. Then if the original drum turns out to be unrestorable, we still have a running G-15, and if the original drum can be restored, the emulator can still be used to minimize any additional wear and tear on the original.
I have no idea, however, how much of the original software still exists. I've got a few of the paper tape cartridges and I've seen some references online about software, so there is hope. Of course, writing software is a lot more fun than running old software, so even if nothing still exists, restoration would still be very interesting to consider.
Agreed on all points. I'd be highly interested in working on that, if only I had more time... a drum emulator should be extremely simple to make in principle, the interface will probably be the hardest part. - Dave