PDP-8/L

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PDP-8/L
Year Introduced: 1968
Form Factor: minicomputer
Word Size: 12
Logic Type: TTL
Design Type: clocked random logic
Clock Speed: 312KHz
Memory Speed: 1.6 µseconds
Physical Address Size: 8KW (requires optional MC-8/L)
Virtual Address Size: 4KW
Memory Management: none
Bus Architecture: positive logic I/O bus
Operating System: TSS/8
Predecessor(s): PDP-8/I
Successor(s): PDP-8/E


The PDP-8/L was a effectively a cost-reduced version of the PDP-8/I in the PDP-8 line; it apparently had the same CPU as the -8/I.

The primary differences between the two are:

  • The -8/L was slightly slower
  • The -8/L used a positive I/0 bus, not negative
  • The -8/L was not pre-wired for a number of devices
  • The -8/L could not accomodate the Extended Arithmetic Element
  • The -8/L supported a maximum of 8KW of main memory

Options for the -8/L included:

  • DW08-A Negative I/O Bus Interface, to allow use of older PDP-8 devices
  • MC-8/L Memory Extension Control, which was needed to support more than 4K words of memory
  • MP-8/L Memory Parity

It could perform an addition to the accumulator in 3.2 µseconds, and a subtraction in 6.4 µseconds.