> On Jun 2, 2018, at 2:08 PM, Robert Armstrong via cctalk
> <cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:
>
>> Tony Duell <ard.p850...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Incidentally, did DEC ever release any details (flowcharts, source listings,
>> etc) of the 11/730 microcode? And what about the control PROMs for the
>> memory system. The technical manual implies there was a listing of those,
>> but I've never found it.
>
> I thought that DEC had a whole microcode development suite for the 730 to
> support customer written extensions to the microcode, but I've never seen it
> nor any documentation for it. If such a thing did exist then I seriously
> doubt anybody ever bought it. The 730 was never a super popular machine to
> start with, and the market for a customized version would have been very
> small.
Considering that the 730 was a 2901 based machine, and 2901s were widely used,
presumably the tools were not a problem around DEC. Perhaps they tweaked the
UDA50 microcode toolchain?
> I've heard a persistent rumor over the years that the WPS/8 and PDP-8
> software group at DEC had modified the 730's microcode to support a PDP-8
> emulation of some kind, and that they used that internally for development
> 'cause it was faster than a real -8. I've not idea if that's true, but it
> would be cool if they did. And no, I'm not talking about PDP-11
> compatibility mode - even the stock 730 had that (all the 7xx VAXes did, I
> believe).
The PDP-8 emulation used for internal PDP-8 software development was on an
11/60 running RSTS/E, I remember that system in the lab in DEC Merrimack
(MKO1-1). I would imagine it could have been done on a 730 also but chances
are the 11/60 was a whole lot faster.
paul
