PDP-9
| PDP-9 | |
| Manufacturer: | Digital Equipment Corporation |
|---|---|
| Year First Shipped: | 1966 |
| Form Factor: | minicomputer |
| Word Size: | 18 bits |
| Logic Type: | PNP Transistor FLIP CHIPs |
| Design Type: | microcoded |
| Memory Speed: | 1 μsec |
| Physical Address Size: | 15 bits (32K words) |
| Virtual Address Size: | 13 bits (direct), 15 bits (extended) |
| Memory Management: | bounds register |
| Predecessor(s): | PDP-7 |
| Successor(s): | PDP-15 |
| Price: | US$30K (8KW system) |
The PDP-9 was DEC's fourth 18-bit computer, and the first DEC CPU to use microcode. A little over 400 were built.
Its principal intended use was for real-time systems, including data recording and process control. A variety of models were offered; the basic system provided 8K words of core memory, and the PDP-9/L was a cost-reduced system with cheaper peripherals and 4KW of memory.
Instructions had a 4-bit opcode, 1 bit of indirect, and 13 bits of address. It was a load-store architecture, with a single accumulator. It used hard-wired core memory, similar to that in the Apollo Guidance Computer, for the high-speed ROM needed for a microcoded design. Each microinstruction contained the address of the next one; there was no micro-PC.
Multiply/divide was a hardware option, the KE09A Extended Arithmetic Element, which also performed shifting. Use of more than 8KW of main memory required the Memory Extension Control, KG09A. A memory management option, the KX09A, which included a boundary register to set the boundary between protected and un-protected memory, and two modes for the CPU, was also available.
The KF09A Automatic Priority Interrupt option provided 8 levels of interrupt priority, each of which could support up to 8 devices. Each device could provide its own interrupt vector. The DM09 Direct Memory Access Channel Multiplexor Adapter provided high-speed devices with direct access to main memory for data transfers.
A large range of peripherals were available, including DECtape (via the TC02 controller), magnetic tape (via the TC59), drum (RM09 controller) and fixed-head disk (RB09; and RS09, via the RF09 controller). The RM09 and RB09 use the DM09.
Further reading
(All available online through BitSavers.)
External links
- PDP-9 - Has manuals for KE09, KG09, KX09, KF09, etc
