OCM 1970.1
PDP-11
A 16-bit minicomputer architecture that shaped a generation of operating systems and software.
- Object type
- Minicomputer
- Maker
- Digital Equipment Corporation
- Introduced
- 1970
- In the collection as
- Emulator in preparation
The emulator is still being reconstructed. It opens when it can run the original software.
About this machine
Introduced in 1970, the PDP-11 was a 16-bit minicomputer family whose clean architecture and orthogonal instruction set influenced generations of processor and operating system design, including early versions of Unix and the C programming language. It shipped in dozens of variants over two decades, from the original PDP-11/20 shown here to compact desktop models, and was paired with storage systems like the RK05 removable disk cartridge.
In the installation
- PDP-11/20 console
- Eighteen address lamps, sixteen data lamps and the switch register used to examine and deposit memory.
- RK05 disk drive
- A removable-cartridge disk drive holding about 2.5 MB per pack.
- VT100 terminal
- A video terminal DEC introduced in 1978, later than the 11/20 itself but common on PDP-11 systems.
