[vcf-midatlantic] A good class for the Altair 8800 50th birthday...
Bill Degnan
billdegnan at gmail.com
Fri Apr 26 20:07:48 UTC 2024
FOr VCF 3 (I think) I did a class on using the front panel and explained
the basics. You'd need a progression of classes so that a person can join
in at their comfort level. Some would start right from the last class some
would go to all classes in order, and so on
On Fri, Apr 26, 2024 at 3:24 PM Dean Notarnicola via vcf-midatlantic <
vcf-midatlantic at lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
> I think a class that started with the fundamentals of microcomputer
> architecture (with the examples Neil gave) would be a great start. It would
> be a great launching point toward understanding any early platform, as that
> knowledge is easily built upon.
>
> On Fri, Apr 26, 2024 at 3:00 PM Neil Cherry via vcf-midatlantic <
> vcf-midatlantic at lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
>
> > On 4/26/24 14:33, Jonathan Chapman via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
> >
> > > Starting from "I bought this Altair on eBay!" would be a week-long
> > course, assuming the individual(s) taking it had enough
> > > background for the material in the first place! There's a lot involved
> > in getting them fully operational and *stable* and having
> > > an unstable machine is a nightmare for someone who's just getting
> > started on S-100.
> > >
> > >> and S50s
> >
> > I'd say it somewhat depends on your background. I started in the industry
> > as an
> > EET. Worked in a small company and learn every step of embedded systems.
> >
> > With the exception of things like the 4004/4040 I can look at a computer
> > and
> > figure it out. The 4004/4040 is strange software. The rest of various
> > processors
> > don't look that different to me. TTL or transistor computers are a bit
> > harder
> > to follow. :-)
> >
> > Now someone who started in software but wants to play with hardware is
> > going to
> > have a different view of the world. I know I've seen a lot of software
> > folks
> > struggle with the hardware. I'm not always good at explaining the
> hardware
> > to help
> > them understand.
> >
> > > Assuming you mean SS-50, these things aren't really related, the
> > (usually) completely different processor architecture changes a
> > > lot of things.
> >
> > Start with the basics, Serial (RS232, current loop, TTL 5v0/3v3) and
> > parallel.
> > Then work in to the logic.
> >
> > I will agree starting with an unstable system is not a great place to
> > start but
> > it will teach you how the systems work. And that's where the repair
> > workshops
> > come into play.
> >
> > --
> > Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry kd2zrq at linuxha.com
> > http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site
> > http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog
> > Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies KD2ZRQ
> >
> >
>
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