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Into production...

A project log for PiDP-10

A replica of the PDP-10 (KA10) mainframe computer

oscarvOscarv 02/03/2024 at 18:190 Comments

Well, the last revisions to the PCB set have been made, and on Monday everything should have arrived so we can make the first 50 kits for daring beta-testers! But it will then still take a week for the packed-up kits to arrive at the fulfillment service we started to use to cut down on shipping costs...

I spent the last couple of weeks on a seeming trivia: sound design. I want the PiDP-10 to give as much of a mainframe feeling as can be done in a desktop replica - a special ventilator raster in the back panel now gives a soft but - mainframish? - hum:

The fans are strictly optional, but with the arrival of the Raspberry Pi 5 that most people will mount inside, air flow is no longer completely unimportant. All the air that the fans suck out of the machine has to get in first, around the Pi. The main PCB behind the Pi also has some air vents.

But now - we await the container with PiDP-10 cases on Monday. It's been a long wait; this project page started in 2018. Just the injection mold cost us 18 months to finish. Ouch! But, I think it'll be worth it :-)

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