MAINDEC-8E questions

[BitWiz]

My 8/E is up and running again (and booting into OS/8 via SerialDisk).

I noticed that maindec-8e-d0ab (instruction test #1) has been replaced by maindec-8e-dhkaf-a. I can't find any documentation on this newer 8/E instruction test except the TIF of the first page.

Does anyone know where I can find a nearly complete list of all of the 8/E maindecs and their documentation?

Also, I tried running the bin loader on Roland's boot board and it doesn't seem to work (most likely operator error).

In the past I would load the bin loader via the toggles in rim loader and then load the maindec. The boot loader board version didn't stop with the AC = 0 at the end of the file?

Does anyone have any ideas what I am doing wrong. It's been a couple of years since I worked with this and I can't find my documentation. Please forgive me for being an old man with a bad memory.

Thank you,

Mike

P.S. Who is planning on coming from out of town for the VCF Midwest show in September?

 

[AK6DN]

Here's what I have collected and use on my 8m: https://ak6dn.github.io/PDP-8/MAINDEC/ aka https://www.ak6dn.com/

pdf, bin, rim, pal, lst of all the CPU, EAE, and MEMORY tests

I have an M847 bootloader in my 8m setup with the rim loader over the console port, so I just
hit the SW switch, and then use TeraTerm to send the rim file as a binary image to load and run them

The rim versions have been setup to autostart after downloading is complete.

The pal (and lst and rim) were generated from the original bin file using the d8tape utility to disassemble the binary image to a source pal file.

The pdf file is the original DEC listing for the diagnostic, with instructions and assembled listing.

The rim file autostart is implemented by including the following code snippet at the end of each disassembled pal source file:

         7751  *7751                       / align to RIMLDR location
   07751 0200      0200                    / addr of program start
   07752 6032      KCC                     / first instr in std RIMLDR
   07753 1352      TAD .-1                 / get KCC instr
   07754 3356      DCA .+2                 / restore into RIMLDR
   07755 5751      JMP I .-4               / start program
   07756 5353      JMP .-3                 / overlay first word of RIMLDR

 

[BitWiz]

Thank you.

I have downloaded your images. I didn't find the DHKAF maindec in your files. Did I miss something?

Thanks again,

Mike

 

[DougIngraham]

My 8/E is up and running again (and booting into OS/8 via SerialDisk).

That is a good thing. It means that a lot of the machine is working.

Does anyone know where I can find a nearly complete list of all of the 8/E maindecs and their documentation?

I know Vince has worked diligently to organize this stuff. https://so-much-stuff.com/pdp8/software/dec.php

Also, I tried running the bin loader on Roland's boot board and it doesn't seem to work (most likely operator error).

This is pretty straightforward.

1. Select the program you want with the switches on Roland's M847 boot board. Toggling the SW switch the correct number of times is too error prone for me.
2. Set the switch register to 7777 if reading from the console. If reading from the High Speed Reader then set the switches to 3777.
3. Lower and raise the SW switch to start the selected program.
4. If using the Low Speed Reader on the Teletype move the reader control switch to start. If using a terminal program you start sending the file now.
5. When complete the program should halt and the AC should be clear.

If the AC is not clear then either the binary you loaded has bit errors or the PDP-8 isn't working correctly.

In the past I would load the bin loader via the toggles in rim loader and then load the maindec. The boot loader board version didn't stop with the AC = 0 at the end of the file?

When it stops you can compare the BIN loader in memory with the listing. I am reasonably certain that Roland put the regular BIN loader in his board. And all the M847 does is copy the program into memory the same way as the front panel switches do.

Does anyone have any ideas what I am doing wrong. It's been a couple of years since I worked with this and I can't find my documentation. Please forgive me for being an old man with a bad memory.

Not really. Best guesses are that the switch register is not set to 7777 or that the bin file you are trying to load is bad.

P.S. Who is planning on coming from out of town for the VCF Midwest show in September?

I am planning on attending. I will be bringing along my decset8000 which is an 8/e variant and showing console serial disk.

 

[vrs42]

My 8/E is up and running again (and booting into OS/8 via SerialDisk).

I noticed that maindec-8e-d0ab (instruction test #1) has been replaced by maindec-8e-dhkaf-a. I can't find any documentation on this newer 8/E instruction test except the TIF of the first page.

Interesting. I can see that some stuff was added on page zero, which moved some stuff, which makes the bincmp output much larger than it needs to be.

Source for 8e-d0ab is in PDF form, so reconstructing dhkaf source would probably be a 2 or 3 day job.

What SIMH does, and I think most folks do, is to just run 8e-d0ab.

Does anyone know where I can find a nearly complete list of all of the 8/E maindecs and their documentation?

Depends on what you mean. The System Program Index or the Software Components Catalog or possibly 8_deco_depo_diagchanges are probably your best references for what DEC intended.

My webiste, among others, tries to collect the suset that remains extant.

Also, I tried running the bin loader on Roland's boot board and it doesn't seem to work (most likely operator error).

In the past I would load the bin loader via the toggles in rim loader and then load the maindec. The boot loader board version didn't stop with the AC = 0 at the end of the file?

Depending on which BIN is in the boot card, you may need to set SR bit zero to get the low speed loader. The HSR mode will probably just spin endlessly waiting for the high speed reader to come ready.

P.S. Who is planning on coming from out of town for the VCF Midwest show in September?

I hope to be there.

Vince

 

[BitWiz]

Vince,

No need to make any extra effort on the DHKAF maindec.

I am only interested in the newer 8/E maindecs to more completely verify that my 8/E work working. I am hoping to get an EAE working with it as well and I wanted to be sure that everything was up to snuff with the latest tests.

Thanks,

Mike