[LMH]CADR software/images?

[Brad Parker]

Daniel Seagraves wrote:
>On Fri, 27 Aug 2004, Nyef wrote:
>
>> It is my understanding that a few people have copies of an LM-2
>> source tape image, but that the source is unbuildable due to there
>> not being a working LM-2 or CADR system to build them from.
>>
>> You're thinking of building a CADR microcode emulator, aren't you?

Many of us want to build a CADR microcode emulator.

And some continue to work on getting what we need to do that...

(ok, so, *where* is the stuff? :-)

Many, many, many old ITS backup tapes are currently being read and after
some "cleansing" (removing personal info) will be available, I'm told,
on cd-rom.  You can assume I'll be like a 4-year old kid camping on the
door step of the people who are doing that :-)

It's quite likely that all the CADR software will be found there.

There are also some old tapes in my area (near Cambridge, MA) which
claim to maybe possibly have CADR sources on them.  I'm in the process
coaxing people to let me read them.  I have a working 9-track with a vax
on ethernet.

There's also a few CADRs around, in various states, and some disk drives
which might still work, but the tapes seem to be a more viable option
since people seem (rightly so) afraid to load 30 year old disk packs.

It may be possible to do some work before that by using the CADR
schematics and a dump of CADR boot roms.  I think those are available
now.  The holy grail would be a CADR microcode and world band.  I've yet
to get a hint of one of those on a tape, but who knows.

I've harassed many people about this issue and so far everyone has been
very kind and very helpful.  I've got a lot of leads but no pay dirt
yet.  Still, I think I'm close.  At some point I'll organize my notes
into some sort of web page.  Some of the stories are hilarious and some
are downright scarey.

While waiting, I've been working on a emulator for the Symbolics
l-machines, since I have a few and I also world files.  I've gotten
about 35,000 instructions in the the boot so far.  I'm hopeful it will
some day (heh, sure) boot Genera.  We'll see.  If nothing more it's been
fun to learn the 3600 architecture.  In my day job I've been working on
some very low level JVM code and binary recompilation, so I have some
thoughts ways to emulate stack machines.  (and I run qemu, which is a
fine example of what can be done).

Emulating a CADR is nicer because it would be unencumbered.  The MIT
folks are happy to release it's sources.  Symbolics is not (yet)
interested in releasing even old CADR work, but I'll continue to ask
them and pray for a miracle.

(ps: i think if someone says lm-2 sources are unbuildable w/o a cadr I
don't think they have not tried very hard; but I may be wrong)

-brad