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Anyone know anything about this HP41C RAM / EPROM ROM SIMULATOR?


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Post: #2
09-30-2011, 08:42 AM
Bruce Larrabee Offline
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Anyone know anything about this HP41C RAM / EPROM ROM SIMULATOR?

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Post: #3
09-30-2011, 08:52 AM
Bart (UK) Offline
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Nope, but it looks like a wonderful & historic piece of equipment. Thanks for the photo.

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Post: #4
09-30-2011, 10:31 AM
Eric Smith Offline
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That's for use with the HP SDS (Software Development System), which uses an HP-85 to develop ROM modules for the HP-41.

The HP-41 connector should have a cable wired to an otherwise empty HP-41 module.

I'm not sure what the HP-85 interface is. Possibly to an 82940A GPIO card, but that's only a guess.

The real trick will be finding the SDS software.

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Post: #5
09-30-2011, 02:55 PM
Håkan Thörngren Offline
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So who used these items?

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Post: #6
09-30-2011, 03:12 PM
Marcus von Cube, Germany Offline
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It says "For internal use only" so presumably HP interns.

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Post: #7
09-30-2011, 04:08 PM
Håkan Thörngren Offline
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Yes, but the HP-41 VASM listing indicate that a cross compiler on a HP64000 was used, at least initally. The HP-85 was not not really available at that time.

I also wonder about the box, it looks kind of like a real product, but they must have used less pretty hand built hardware internally?

It is also just a ROM emulator, surely they must have had a simulation environment as well?

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Post: #8
09-30-2011, 09:59 PM
Eric Smith Offline
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The HP64000 assembler for the Nut came about long after the 41 was designed and its ROMs written. There were earlier ROM emulators that were used for debugging.

The SDS was for development of third-party application modules, and did require the HP-85. Originally it did not support the development of microcode, though eventually they added the ability to use some HP-supplied microcode functions.

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Post: #9
09-30-2011, 10:45 PM
Brian Walsh Offline
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What do HAE and PAE on the switches stand for? I'm guessing Hard Addressed (something) and Port Addressed (something).

Edited: 30 Sept 2011, 10:48 p.m.

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Post: #10
10-01-2011, 03:42 AM
Bart (UK) Offline
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Quote:
I also wonder about the box, it looks kind of like a real product, but they must have used less pretty hand built hardware internally?
Not neccessarily, I have worked for big companies where such low volume or even one-off items were mounted in a nice box and had a custom vinyl or anodised aluminium face plate made.
(When I was a student on a 2 month "vacation work" assignment I was tasked to put such an item together).
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Post: #11
10-01-2011, 12:27 PM
Howard Owen Offline
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Quote:
I have worked for big companies where such low volume or even one-off items were mounted in a nice box ...

And this was HP in the 1970s/80s, a famously engineering driven company.

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Post: #12
09-30-2011, 03:37 PM
Eric Smith Offline
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They were used by people developing ROMs. My understanding is that HP never sold the SDS, but made it available to outside parties that were developing modules.

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Post: #13
09-30-2011, 02:25 PM
Ángel Martin Offline
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amazing, a piece of history no doubt!

Edited: 30 Sept 2011, 2:25 p.m.

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