PiDP-11 Replica Minicomputer

The PiDP-11 lab introduces students to classic minicomputer systems and historical computing environments through a hands-on hardware replica of the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) PDP-11/70 console. Interfacing an authentic matrix of switches and indicator lamps to an emulated or FPGA-synthesized PDP-11 processor, students manually key in bootstrap routines, examine and deposit values into memory registers, and step through machine instructions at the hardware level. Learners explore processor architecture, bus transactions, and memory management while running and administering foundational operating systems, including early Bell Labs Research Unix, 2.11BSD, and DEC RSX-11M. The lab provides practical insight into the evolution of instruction set architectures, multi-user timesharing, operating system design, and vintage peripheral communication using teletype and vector graphics terminal emulations.

computer architecture minicomputer PDP-11 DEC Digital Equipment Corporation retrocomputing instruction set architecture ISA front panel console blinkenlights operating systems Unix BSD RSX-11M SimH hardware emulation FPGA soft core Raspberry Pi hardware-software interfacing

Uploaded by demo on 2026-09-03 · ready · Electronics · Original source ↗

Files: README.md · pdp11_kit_page.md · simh_README.md

Readiness checks

  • complete 2026-09-04 00:02 🛡 Cybersecurity: Do not place on an open network · 6 findings 8 searches · 8 pages
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Latest report — 2026-09-04 00:02

Readiness: PiDP-11 Replica Minicomputer

Verdict: Ready with caveats · 2026-09-03 · est. parts cost $407–$540 Cybersecurity — software & network: Do not place on an open network

This is the cold check for this lab — there is no previous report, so everything below is the baseline the next check will measure drift against. The lab is buildable today on its primary path: the PiDP-11 kit is on sale direct from Obsolescence Guaranteed at $270 as a kit, +$125 assembled & tested, $45 shipping worldwide, and the instructor supplies any Raspberry Pi from a Pi 2 to a Pi 5, which are plentiful at $92–$100 for a bare Pi 4 Model B 4 GB. The two generic parts that were checked at a distributor — the panel LEDs and the 40-pin GPIO socket — are Active, cheap and deeply stocked. The caveats are structural rather than any one part being unobtainable. Four of the eight BOM lines (the toggle switches, the rotary control, the enclosure and the front-panel PCB) have no manufacturer part number anywhere in the uploaded materials and are obtainable only inside that one vendor's kit, which publishes no stock figure or lead time; the upload contains no schematic, layout or Gerber files, so the panel cannot be re-fabricated if the vendor stops selling. The optional FPGA host path is a separate problem: the Trenz CYC1000 is discontinued under one DigiKey order code and carries no price or stock under the other, so build the Raspberry Pi version.

Action required

Part Problem Recommended action
Trenz Cyc1000 FPGA board (alternative host) No DigiKey product under the Trenz order code and no ECIA-authorized distributor lists it; under the product name, TEI0003-03-QFCR4A is "Discontinued at DigiKey" and TEI0003-03-QFCT4A is Active but returns no price and no stock. Manufacturer page could not be fetched. Build the Raspberry Pi path instead — it is the primary configuration and fully sourceable. If the FPGA path is required, confirm with the PDP2011 project that its pre-compiled core targets the surviving board variant before ordering.
Front panel toggle switches (30), Rotary control (1) No manufacturer part number exists in any source, so neither can be priced or substituted; actuator style and the momentary/maintained mix are hard requirements. Order inside the $270 kit. For replacements, ask the vendor (oscar@ceds.dev) rather than guessing a generic subminiature toggle.
Injection-molded enclosure, PiDP-11 front-panel PCB Single source, no separate SKU, no published stock or lead time; a shopping search found no third-party reseller at all. No Gerbers or layout files in the upload to re-fabricate from. Order the kit early and treat vendor availability as the lab's key risk.

Cybersecurity — software & network

Do not place on an open network — A legacy default account reachable over SSH with no password step in the setup, cleartext telnet as the documented multi-user access path, and an undocumented rpcbind service enabled by the installer - all with mitigation only, since nothing in the stack is pinned to a version that could be patched.

Component Version How known Support status
Ubuntu (tested host Linux for the command-line build) 24.04 inferred (README.md fetched this run states 'tested on Ubuntu 24.04'; it is a tested-on statement, not a pin - the install script fixes no OS version) supported until 2029-05-31
Raspberry Pi OS (primary host OS, Wayland default) not determined not determined (No release version is stated in the snapshot or in any file fetched this run; the installer does not record or pin one) —
PiDP-11 control software (obsolescence/pidp11, incl. BlinkenBone server mods, pdp11control, pdp11 CLI) not determined unpinned (Installed with 'sudo git clone https://github.com/obsolescence/pidp11.git' at the tip of main - no tag or commit lock. The install script's own header reads '# v20241127' (fetched/01-install.sh), but that versions the script, not the checkout) —
Open SIMH PDP-11 simulator core (open-simh/simh) not determined unpinned (Built from the repository tip by install.sh; the repository root listing fetched this run shows no manifest, lockfile or version file to pin against) —
GNU screen not determined unpinned (apt-installed unpinned by install.sh (fetched/01-install.sh); the version is whatever the host distribution ships) —
apt build/runtime libraries (libsdl2-dev, libpcap-dev, libreadline-dev, libtirpc-dev, xz-utils) not determined unpinned (Extracted from install.sh in the sandbox this run; all five are installed with no version constraint) —
rpcbind (RPC port-mapper service) not determined unpinned (Not named in the snapshot; found in install.sh, which runs 'sudo systemctl enable rpcbind' and 'sudo systemctl start rpcbind') —
Terminal and display simulators (VT11/GT40, VT-52, Teletype Model 33) not determined unpinned (Shipped inside the pidp11 checkout and pulled from external project repositories; no version is stated anywhere in the sources) —
Guest OS disk images (Unix V1/V5/V6/V7, 2.11BSD, RSX-11M/M-Plus, RSTS/E, RT-11, Ultrix-11) not determined unpinned (Downloaded at install time by install.sh; the script is designed to be re-run to pull the latest maintained images, so no fixed version exists) —
PDP2011 FPGA soft core (alternative hardware path) not determined not determined (No version stated in the snapshot; nothing was fetched for it this run) —
Component Finding Severity Fix available?
Default 'pi' account and SSH The project README tells users to reach the machine as 'ssh pi@pidp11.local' - the legacy Raspberry Pi default account - and nothing in the setup sets or forces a change of its password, so a machine left on defaults can be logged into by anyone on the same network who knows the well-known default. posture Mitigation only - set a strong password or key-only SSH for the pi account, and change the default hostname, before the device touches a shared network
PiDP-11 front-panel daemons The installer sets the setuid bit on two front-panel binaries (scansw and pidp1170_blinkenlightd) so they always run with root privileges for GPIO access, which means a bug in either one is a direct route to full control of the machine for anyone who can run code on it. posture Mitigation only - keep the Pi a single-purpose appliance with no other user accounts or untrusted code on it
PiDP-11 install script / guest OS images The installer downloads the system image bundle over unencrypted HTTP (http://obsolescence.dev/pidp11/systems.tar.gz) and unpacks it with tar, and pulls further disk images over anonymous cleartext FTP, with no checksum or signature check anywhere in the script - so anyone able to intercept either connection can put their own files onto the machine. posture Mitigation only - install from a trusted network, and verify the downloaded archives against the vendor out of band before running the script
rpcbind The installer enables and starts rpcbind, a network-listening RPC port-mapper that is not mentioned anywhere in the lab's own documentation, so the machine ends up with an open network service the instructor was never told about. posture Mitigation only - disable rpcbind unless the guest-OS file sharing that needs it is actually used, and keep the device off shared networks
Telnet access to the simulated PDP-11 The documented way to open extra terminal sessions into the multi-user guest operating systems is telnet on TCP port 23 (or SimH's own terminal ports), which sends logins and everything typed across the network in clear text. posture Mitigation only - isolate the device on its own network segment and use SSH rather than telnet for anything off-machine
Whole software stack Dependencies unpinned: all 6 apt packages in install/install.sh carry no version, and both source projects (the PiDP-11 repository and Open SIMH) are taken from the tip of their git branches, so no build has a fixed version that can be checked against a vulnerability database - including on the next re-check of this lab. posture Mitigation only - record the git commit and the installed package versions at build time so the machine can be re-checked later

What this means for your lab

Treat this machine as something to keep off the general campus or office network. Three things stack up. The setup instructions have students reach it as the standard 'pi' account over SSH and nothing in the install makes anyone set a password, so a machine left on defaults can be logged into by anyone nearby who knows that default. The documented way to open extra terminal sessions into the historic operating systems is telnet, which sends the password and every keystroke across the network as readable text that anyone on the same wired or wireless segment can capture. And the installer quietly switches on an extra network service (rpcbind) that the lab's own documentation never mentions, so the machine listens on more ports than the instructor expects. On top of that, the installer fetches the operating system images over a plain, unverified connection, so a hostile network could feed it different files than the vendor intended - install it on a network you trust. None of this has a patch to apply, because the project pins no software versions at all; the fixes are all things you do rather than things you install. Practically: change the pi account's password (or switch to SSH keys) before the first boot on a network, put the machine on an isolated network segment or a lab VLAN, use SSH rather than telnet for anything beyond the machine itself, and mention it to campus IT before connecting it to a shared network. We could not check any component against a vulnerability database this run, so nothing here should be read as saying the software is free of known flaws - only that no version exists to check.

Not checked

  • PiDP-11 control software (obsolescence/pidp11): Cloned at git tip with no tag or commit - there is no version to look up
  • Open SIMH simulator core: Built from repository tip; no manifest or version file exists to pin against, and source-only C projects have no registry to query
  • GNU screen and the five apt build libraries: Installed unpinned by the system package manager - the version is whatever the host distribution ships, so no exact version could be checked against OSV
  • rpcbind: Enabled by the installer at whatever version the distribution ships; no version determined, so no advisory lookup was possible
  • Raspberry Pi OS: No release version stated anywhere in the sources, so no support-status lookup could be made
  • Terminal and display simulators (VT11/GT40, VT-52, Teletype 33): No versions stated and the external projects are source-only checkouts with no advisory database
  • Guest OS disk images (Unix V1-V7, 2.11BSD, RSX-11M+, RSTS/E, RT-11, Ultrix-11): Historic retrocomputing images pulled fresh at install time; no vulnerability database covers them and they run inside the simulator, not on the host
  • PDP2011 FPGA soft core: No version stated and no manifest was available for the alternative FPGA hardware path

Parts

Host and processing platforms

Part Spec/Package Status Stock Price Source
Raspberry Pi Single Board Computer (any 40-pin model) Standard Pi form factor, 40-pin 2.54 mm GPIO header, 5.0 V DC in, 3.3 V LVCMOS I/O Readily available Many sellers $100.00 bare Pi 4 B 4 GB; also $91.86 DigiKey listing / eBay (shopping) — not included in the kit
Trenz Electronic Cyc1000 FPGA board (alternative host) Cyclone 10 LP 10CL025YU256C8G, 61.5 x 25 mm DIP module, 5.0 V via Micro-USB Hard to obtain — one order code discontinued, the other unpriced None returned — TEI0003-03-QFCT4A (Active, no price/stock) · TEI0003-03-QFCR4A (Discontinued at DigiKey)

Front panel components

Part Spec/Package Status Stock Price Source
Front panel indicator lamps, 64 off — Kingbright WP710A10IT (representative) T-1 (3 mm) radial through-hole, 2.90 mm dia, Vf 2 V typ at 20 mA Readily available (representative part; clear lens, not the DEC-tinted kit lamp) 1,907 $0.25 ea (~$16 for 64) DigiKey, Active
Front panel toggle switches, 30 off Subminiature PCB/panel toggle, mixed 2-position maintained and 3-position momentary, dry contact ≤ 10 mA not checked — — No manufacturer part number in any source; supplied in the kit
Rotary control / selector knob, 1 off Panel/PCB rotary switch or encoder, 6 mm or 6.35 mm shaft, DEC-style fluted knob not checked — — No manufacturer part number in any source; supplied in the kit

Enclosure, PCB and interconnect

Part Spec/Package Status Stock Price Source
Injection-molded replica enclosure Custom molded PDP-11/70 chassis and bezel Available — single source, no separate SKU Not published Inside the $270 kit (+$125 assembled, +$45 shipping) Obsolescence Guaranteed, direct only
PiDP-11 front panel PCB Full-size panel PCB, BlinkenBone driver matrix, 40-pin GPIO interface Available — single source, no separate SKU Not published Inside the $270 kit Obsolescence Guaranteed, direct only
40-pin GPIO interconnect — Samtec SSW-120-01-T-D (representative) 2x20 female socket, 0.100" (2.54 mm) pitch and row spacing, through hole, 4.7 A/contact Readily available 323 $4.11 DigiKey, Active

Substitutes

For part Substitute Differences Verified Judgment
Trenz Cyc1000, order code TEI0003-03-QFCR4A (Discontinued at DigiKey) TEI0003-03-QFCT4A Same manufacturer and identical DigiKey product description ("CYC1000 CYCLONE 10 LP FPGA BRD"); it is DigiKey's own MFR Recommended replacement. Status Active, but DigiKey returned no stock figure and no price, so cost and delivery are unknown. No parametrics were returned for either order code, so module footprint and pinout are unconfirmed. verified: manufacturer + product identity (DigiKey lookup, this run). not verified: price, stock, module footprint/pinout, and whether the pre-compiled PDP2011 core targets this exact variant Plausible, unverified — the only surviving CYC1000 order code at this distributor, but confirm the variant with the PDP2011 project and get a price quote before ordering

Verify any substitute against its datasheet — and, for the FPGA board, against the PDP2011 project's own board list — before ordering.

Other dependencies

  • Vendor project pages — obsolescence.dev/pdp11 (overview) and the direct order page: both fetched successfully this run, live, and the order page quotes current prices. This is the lab's critical external link — the kit, and therefore four BOM lines, exist only here.
  • PiDP-11 manual PDF (obsolescence.dev/pidp11/PiDP-11_Manual.pdf): not checked this run.
  • User community forum (groups.google.com/g/pidp-11): not checked.
  • Joerg Hoppe's BlinkenBone project page (retrocmp.com/projects/blinkenbone): not checked.
  • Historical PDP-11 literature — four reference PDFs on bitsavers.org and gordonbell.azurewebsites.net: not checked; background reading, not build-critical.
  • Fabrication specifications: not checkable. The snapshot records that board dimensions and layer count are not stated and that no schematics or Gerber packages are present in the upload, so nothing can be quoted to a board house from what is on file.

Watch list

  • The PiDP-11 kit itself — one small vendor, direct order only, no third-party reseller found, and no published stock level or lead time. Four BOM lines depend entirely on it, and with no Gerbers or layout files in the upload the front panel cannot be reproduced if it goes away. This is the single item most likely to change the verdict.
  • Trenz Cyc1000 — already discontinued under one DigiKey order code with the survivor carrying no price or stock; expect the alternative FPGA path to become fully unavailable through authorized distribution.
  • Raspberry Pi model availability — the lab tolerates any Pi 2 through Pi 5, so this is low risk today, but the Pi 4 Model B specifically has been through supply squeezes before; the wide model latitude is what protects this line.
  • Front-panel switches and knob — no part numbers on record anywhere. If the vendor ever stops supplying spares, there is no documented specification to re-source from, and the momentary/maintained mix would have to be reverse-engineered from the hardware.
Snapshot What the lab depended on when it was uploaded — the baseline the readiness checks research against.

The PiDP-11 replica minicomputer is an open-source hardware and software reproduction of the 1975 Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) PDP-11/70 minicomputer console and system architecture. The lab reconstructs the interactive front panel with functional blinkenlights and switches that interface with a simulated PDP-11 CPU running DEC operating systems and historic Unix versions, or alternatively a hardware-synthesized CPU on an FPGA. The system architecture relies on a custom front-panel PCB connected to a host Single Board Computer (typically a Raspberry Pi) via its 40-pin GPIO header, or alternatively a Cyc1000 FPGA development board running the PDP2011 soft core. The complete system operates primarily from a 5.0 V DC nominal rail supplied to the host SBC or FPGA board via USB, with 3.3 V DC and 5.0 V DC logic rail distribution across the GPIO interface and front-panel driver circuitry.

Bill of Materials

The upload contains project documentation, release notes, and setup guides, but contains no electrical schematic files, PCB layouts, Gerber fabrication packages, or structured BOM spreadsheets. The hardware elements below represent every physical component and module specified across the documentation and extracted design records.

Host Single Board Computer (Primary Host Platform)

  • Identity: Raspberry Pi Foundation Single Board Computer (any standard Raspberry Pi model with a 40-pin GPIO header, such as Raspberry Pi 2 Model B, 3 Model B, 3 Model B+, 4 Model B, or Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W; tested command-line operation also supports x86 PCs running Linux or Windows 11 with WSL2).
  • Quantity: 1
  • Footprint/package: Standard Raspberry Pi form factor (85 mm x 56 mm) or Zero form factor (65 mm x 30 mm) with a dual-row 40-pin 2.54 mm (0.1 in) male GPIO header.
  • Electrical constraints: 5.0 V DC input rail (typically 2.5 A to 3.0 A rating via USB Micro-B or USB-C connector); GPIO signal levels are strictly 3.3 V LVCMOS logic.
  • Substitution latitude: Any Raspberry Pi model providing the standard 40-pin GPIO layout can drive the front panel. Non-Pi hosts (x86 Linux laptops, WSL2) can run the simulation core headlessly via software terminal commands, but cannot physically mate with the front-panel PCB.
  • Operator control: No (host processing platform).
  • Sourcing plan: retail shopping search: Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ or Raspberry Pi 4 Model B

FPGA Development Board (Alternative Host Platform)

  • Identity: Trenz Electronic Cyc1000 FPGA development board (Intel Cyclone 10 LP 10CL025YU256C8G FPGA, running the PDP2011 soft core).
  • Quantity: 1 (used in place of the Raspberry Pi when hardware synthesis is preferred).
  • Footprint/package: Cyc1000 breadboard-compatible DIP form factor module (61.5 mm x 25 mm).
  • Electrical constraints: 5.0 V DC input rail via Micro-USB; internal 3.3 V, 2.5 V, and 1.2 V regulation; 3.3 V LVCMOS I/O.
  • Substitution latitude: Must be the Cyc1000 module if using the pre-compiled PDP2011 FPGA core referenced by the project; other FPGA boards require manual porting and custom I/O breakout boards.
  • Operator control: No (host processing platform).
  • Sourcing plan: retail shopping search: Trenz Electronic Cyc1000 Cyclone 10 LP FPGA board

Front Panel Indicator Lamps (LEDs)

  • Identity: Miniature radial through-hole light-emitting diodes, described only as 64 lamps arranged across the address, data, and machine status fields matching DEC PDP-11/70 panel styling.
  • Quantity: 64
  • Footprint/package: Through-hole radial LED package, 3 mm (T-1) or 5 mm (T-1 3/4).
  • Electrical constraints: Driven from 3.3 V or 5.0 V logic rails via current-limiting resistors and driver multiplexers; forward voltage 1.8 V to 2.2 V (red/amber/yellow) or 2.8 V to 3.2 V (green), forward current 5 mA to 20 mA.
  • Substitution latitude: Any standard through-hole LED matching the PCB hole pitch and diameter will illuminate, but authentic replication requires specific PDP-11/70 vintage lens tinting (DEC magenta/red and amber/yellow indicator groupings).
  • Operator control: No (visual indicator display).
  • Sourcing plan: distributor lookup (representative example — sources give spec only): Kingbright WP710A10IT

Front Panel Toggle Switches

  • Identity: Sub-miniature toggle switches, described only as 30 front-panel switches used for address input, control operations, HALT, single-step, deposit, examine, and system reset.
  • Quantity: 30
  • Footprint/package: Sub-miniature PCB-mount or panel-mount toggle switch with solder pins; includes both 2-position maintained (latching) switches and 3-position momentary (spring-return to center) switches.
  • Electrical constraints: Low-voltage dry-contact switching, 3.3 V / 5.0 V logic levels at current ≤ 10 mA.
  • Substitution latitude: Electrically, any SPDT or DPDT sub-miniature toggle switch is functional, but the actuator profile (paddle or flat bat style in vintage DEC color schemes) and the correct mix of momentary versus maintained positions are strict functional requirements for operating the minicomputer front panel.
  • Operator control: Yes. Actuator style is a hard requirement: must be miniature paddle or bat-handle toggle switches manually operated during address entry and execution control.
  • Sourcing plan: general web research: subminiature toggle switches for PiDP-11 front panel momentary and latching

Rotary Control / Selector Knob

  • Identity: Front-panel rotary control, described only as top rotary knob used in combination with the HALT toggle switch for system reboot and shutdown controls.
  • Quantity: 1 (or more, matching standard PDP-11/70 console rotary functions).
  • Footprint/package: Panel-mount or PCB-mount rotary switch or rotary encoder with a 6 mm or 6.35 mm (1/4 in) shaft, fitted with a vintage DEC-style fluted control knob.
  • Electrical constraints: Low-voltage logic switching (3.3 V or 5.0 V logic levels).
  • Substitution latitude: Must match the mechanical mounting footprint, shaft profile, and electrical pinout of the PiDP-11 front-panel PCB. Actuator must be a manual rotary control with matching knob.
  • Operator control: Yes. Actuator style is a hard requirement: rotary selector operated by hand to adjust system state and trigger shutdown sequences.
  • Sourcing plan: general web research: rotary switch encoder with knob for PiDP-11 front panel

Injection-Molded Replica Enclosure

  • Identity: Custom injection-molded replica case scaled to match 1970s DEC PDP-11/70 industrial design.
  • Quantity: 1
  • Footprint/package: Custom molded plastic chassis housing the front-panel PCB, mounting bezel, and internal host computer mounting bosses.
  • Electrical constraints: Non-conductive structural enclosure.
  • Substitution latitude: Must be the specific injection-molded enclosure from the PiDP-11 kit or an equivalent high-accuracy 3D-printed reproduction; standard off-the-shelf project boxes do not fit the bezel geometry or the 64-LED and 30-switch front-panel cutout layout.
  • Operator control: No (enclosure housing).
  • Sourcing plan: retail shopping search: PiDP-11 injection molded case kit Obsolescence Guaranteed

Front Panel Interconnect Cable / GPIO Header

  • Identity: 40-pin ribbon cable or stacking female socket header, 2x20 positions, 2.54 mm pitch, connecting the Raspberry Pi GPIO bus to the PiDP-11 panel PCB.
  • Quantity: 1
  • Footprint/package: 2x20 female IDC socket or stacking header, 2.54 mm (0.1 in) pin pitch.
  • Electrical constraints: Carries 5.0 V DC, 3.3 V DC, ground, and 3.3 V digital logic signals between the host SBC and front panel.
  • Substitution latitude: Any standard 40-pin 2.54 mm pitch Raspberry Pi ribbon cable or stacking header of sufficient length.
  • Operator control: No (internal electrical interconnect).
  • Sourcing plan: distributor lookup (representative example — sources give spec only): Samtec SSW-120-01-T-D

PiDP-11 Front Panel Printed Circuit Board

  • Identity: Custom PiDP-11 front-panel PCB implementing the BlinkenBone driver matrix, LED mounting positions, switch footprints, and Raspberry Pi GPIO interface.
  • Quantity: 1
  • Footprint/package: Dedicated full-size panel PCB conforming to the DEC PDP-11/70 front-panel bezel.
  • Electrical constraints: Integrates passive pull-up/pull-down networks, current-limiting resistors, and bus-driver/multiplexer ICs operating at 3.3 V / 5.0 V.
  • Substitution latitude: Proprietary bare PCB specific to the PiDP-11 project; cannot be substituted with a generic prototyping board.
  • Operator control: No (circuit carrier).
  • Sourcing plan: retail shopping search: PiDP-11 replica kit PCB Obsolescence Guaranteed

Software and network dependencies

The PiDP-11 replica depends on a multi-tiered software environment comprising a Linux host operating system, minicomputer simulation software, front-panel hardware driver daemons, terminal emulators, and historical guest operating system disk images.

Host Operating System (Raspberry Pi OS / Linux)

  • Name: Raspberry Pi OS (formerly Raspbian) with Wayland window compositor (current default). Also supports Ubuntu Linux on standard PCs (Ubuntu 24.04 tested) or Windows 11 with WSL2 subsystem.
  • Repository: Official Raspberry Pi OS image distribution (https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/) or Ubuntu repository.
  • Version: Ubuntu 24.04 is stated in documentation; Raspberry Pi OS release version is not stated (documentation specifies the default Wayland-based release as of December 2024).
  • Where version came from: stated in documentation.
  • Pinning: Not pinned.
  • Manifest location: None provided.
  • Check plan: support-status lookup: Ubuntu 24.04

PiDP-11 Control Software and Repository

  • Name: PiDP-11 software distribution (includes Joerg Hoppe's BlinkenBone server modifications for SimH, pdp11control daemon manager, and pdp11 terminal attachment tool).
  • Repository: https://github.com/obsolescence/pidp11.git
  • Version: not stated (described in README.md as the "new beta version" moved to GitHub in December 2024, replacing earlier tarball packages).
  • Where version came from: not stated.
  • Pinning: Unpinned. The installation command clones the tip of the git repository via: cd /opt && sudo git clone https://github.com/obsolescence/pidp11.git
  • Manifest location: /opt/pidp11/install/install.sh
  • Check plan: not checkable: unpinned git repository

Open SIMH Simulation Core

  • Name: Open SIMH PDP-11 simulator engine (open-simh/simh).
  • Repository: https://github.com/open-simh/simh
  • Version: not stated (documentation specifies that Open SIMH was forked from Bob Supnik's and Mark Pizzolato's codebase on 12 May 2022).
  • Where version came from: not stated.
  • Pinning: Unpinned. Pulled and built by /opt/pidp11/install/install.sh without a commit hash or release tag lock.
  • Manifest location: /opt/pidp11/install/install.sh and simh_README.md
  • Check plan: not checkable: version not stated

Terminal Multiplexer Utility

  • Name: GNU screen (encapsulates the PDP-11 virtual console terminal session in the background so local and remote terminals can attach/detach via pdp11 CLI).
  • Repository: Debian package repository.
  • Version: not stated.
  • Where version came from: not stated.
  • Pinning: Unpinned (installed via system package manager).
  • Manifest location: /opt/pidp11/install/install.sh
  • Check plan: not checkable: version not stated

Integrated Terminal and Display Simulators

  • Name: VT11 graphics display subsystem (adapted for Wayland compositor), GT40 vector display simulation (with Spacewar and Lunar Lander demos), Angelo Papenhoff's VT-52 terminal simulator, and Teletype Model 33 electro-mechanical teleprinter simulator (with sampled mechanical audio and 10 cps baud emulation).
  • Repositories: Included within /opt/pidp11; external terminal projects referenced include https://github.com/aap/vt05, https://github.com/larsbrinkhoff/terminal-simulator, and https://github.com/rricharz/Tek4010/.
  • Version: not stated.
  • Where version came from: not stated.
  • Pinning: Unpinned.
  • Manifest location: /opt/pidp11/install/install.sh
  • Check plan: not checkable: version not stated

Guest Operating System Images

  • Name: Reconstructed and historical PDP-11 operating system disk images: Research Unix (Unix V1 reconstructed, Unix V5, Unix V6, Unix V7), 2.11BSD (incorporating Chase Covello's ongoing maintenance updates), DEC RSX-11M and RSX-11M-Plus (incorporating Johnny Bilquist's ongoing maintenance updates), DEC RSTS/E, DEC RT-11, and Ultrix-11.
  • Repository: Downloaded by /opt/pidp11/install/install.sh from Obsolescence Guaranteed servers.
  • Version: Historic OS versions; Chase Covello's updated 2.11BSD and Johnny Bilquist's updated RSX-11M+ are updated dynamically when rerun.
  • Where version came from: stated in documentation.
  • Pinning: Unpinned (the install script is explicitly designed to be rerun to fetch the latest guest OS image updates).
  • Manifest location: /opt/pidp11/install/install.sh
  • Check plan: not checkable: retrocomputing guest images

FPGA Core (Alternative Hardware Configuration)

Network Exposure

  • Network attachment: The host SBC joins the local area network via Wi-Fi or Ethernet.
  • Listening services:
    • SSH daemon listening on TCP port 22. Documentation instructs users to connect directly from a client computer using: ssh pi@pidp11.local
    • Telnet server listening on TCP port 23 (or custom SimH multi-user terminal ports) to open auxiliary terminal sessions into multi-user guest operating systems.
  • Default hostname: pidp11.local (advertised over mDNS / Avahi).
  • Default credentials: User pi (Raspberry Pi legacy default account, cited explicitly in README.md: ssh pi@pidp11.local). Default password is not stated in the sources.

Remaining Temporal Dependencies

Downloads and External Documentation

Fabrication Specifications

  • Board dimensions: Scaled replica dimensions matching the injection-molded PDP-11/70 case opening (exact millimeters are not stated in the uploaded documents).
  • Layer count: Not stated in the sources (schematics and Gerber fabrication packages are not present in this snapshot).