Difference between revisions of "Small Peripheral Controller"
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'''Small Peripheral Controller''' or '''SPC''' was [[DEC]]'s name for an I/O board slot in the [[backplane]]s of [[UNIBUS]] [[PDP-11]]s. It was a [[DEC card form factor|quad]] slot, occupying rows C-F in a hex slot, and could hold any kind of device. | '''Small Peripheral Controller''' or '''SPC''' was [[DEC]]'s name for an I/O board slot in the [[backplane]]s of [[UNIBUS]] [[PDP-11]]s. It was a [[DEC card form factor|quad]] slot, occupying rows C-F in a hex slot, and could hold any kind of device. | ||
| − | It was originally conceived to hold a dual-height device-specific card, along with single-height M105 Address Selector and M782 (later M7820 and M7821 revisions) Interrupt Control [[FLIP CHIP]]s. The appropriate UNIBUS signal lines (address, data, etc) were thus wired to the appropriate rows/pins in SPC slots. | + | It was originally conceived to hold a dual-height device-specific card, along with single-height M105 Address Selector and M782 (later M7820 and M7821 revisions) Interrupt Control [[FLIP CHIP]]s. The appropriate UNIBUS signal lines (address, data, etc) were thus wired to the appropriate rows/pins in SPC slots. Other pins were wired to allow the necessary communication between the cards, without requiring cables between them. |
| − | + | It soon became more cost-effective to fabricate an entire device on a single quad card, but the pinout was retained. (For the pinout of an SPC slot, see [[UNIBUS#Pinout|here]].) | |
| − | + | ==Grants== | |
| + | |||
| + | SPC slots were wired to bring all 5 UNIBUS grant lines through the device; this was performed in rows C (for NPG) and D (for BGx). The board generally had a header which routed the grant (and matching request) line for the desired priority level to the on-board interrupt circuity, and passed the other grant lines through. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The DMA (NPG) grant line generally had a jumper on the backplane, which had to be removed if a DMA device was plugged into the slot. Un-occupied slots needed to have a grant continuity card installed. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==SPC Extensions== | ||
| + | |||
| + | On some systems, some SPC pins were recycled for other purposes. | ||
| + | |||
| + | In the [[PDP-11/04]] and [[PDP-11/34]], on the backplane which holds the [[CPU]] card(s), along with the [[KY11-LB Programmer's Console]], the CPU and the Programmer's Console do some communication via the backplane. Pins CP1 and CR1 are Halt Request and Halt Grant, respectively; they allow the KY11-B to tell the CPU to halt. | ||
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||
* [[Modified UNIBUS Device]] | * [[Modified UNIBUS Device]] | ||
Revision as of 22:47, 26 January 2017
Small Peripheral Controller or SPC was DEC's name for an I/O board slot in the backplanes of UNIBUS PDP-11s. It was a quad slot, occupying rows C-F in a hex slot, and could hold any kind of device.
It was originally conceived to hold a dual-height device-specific card, along with single-height M105 Address Selector and M782 (later M7820 and M7821 revisions) Interrupt Control FLIP CHIPs. The appropriate UNIBUS signal lines (address, data, etc) were thus wired to the appropriate rows/pins in SPC slots. Other pins were wired to allow the necessary communication between the cards, without requiring cables between them.
It soon became more cost-effective to fabricate an entire device on a single quad card, but the pinout was retained. (For the pinout of an SPC slot, see here.)
Grants
SPC slots were wired to bring all 5 UNIBUS grant lines through the device; this was performed in rows C (for NPG) and D (for BGx). The board generally had a header which routed the grant (and matching request) line for the desired priority level to the on-board interrupt circuity, and passed the other grant lines through.
The DMA (NPG) grant line generally had a jumper on the backplane, which had to be removed if a DMA device was plugged into the slot. Un-occupied slots needed to have a grant continuity card installed.
SPC Extensions
On some systems, some SPC pins were recycled for other purposes.
In the PDP-11/04 and PDP-11/34, on the backplane which holds the CPU card(s), along with the KY11-LB Programmer's Console, the CPU and the Programmer's Console do some communication via the backplane. Pins CP1 and CR1 are Halt Request and Halt Grant, respectively; they allow the KY11-B to tell the CPU to halt.
