DECUS 12 BIT NEWS - NUMBER 44, DECEMBER 1983

This DECUS newsletter includes general information, technical updates, and community discussions for 12-Bit system users. It outlines contact points for contributions, submission guidelines (favoring machine-readable format), and upcoming deadlines for issues in February and May.

Key sections include:

• PASCAL-S in DECUS Library: Announcing version V2.0 (March 1983) of PASCAL-S for the OS/8 family, a subset of Pascal by Niklaus Wirth, requiring 28K memory.
• CP/M Option on the DECmate II - Caveat Emptor: A cautionary article detailing a lab's negative experience with the DECmate II's CP/M option. The author highlights that CP/M BASIC could not access the communications port, lacked basic COM port configuration, had poor documentation, and offered no official support or bug-reporting mechanism, contrasting this lack of functionality and support with the more open OS/8 system. The author, a DECUS SIG contact, found no one at DEC who could address these issues and advises potential purchasers to be extremely cautious.
• Note from Rudi Stange: A contrasting, enthusiastic view from the German 12-Bit SIG, praising the DECmate II's capabilities (C/PM, WPS, DIBOL8/11, upcoming OS/8 support, 48KW memory, new instructions). Rudi also offers solutions for PDP8-VAX communication, suggests PASCAL MT PLUS for DECmate II, and strongly recommends DIBOL for data management, offering to conduct an introductory course.
• Help - Digital Software News & Problems with Cross Assembly on RT-11: Requests for help locating "Digital Software News" and addressing issues with a DECUS cross-assembler (11-405) for PDP-8 code on RT-11, which only supported a rudimentary subset of PAL III.
• Winchester Disk Controller: Information on the CESI MDC8, a new single-board controller enabling Winchester disk drives on Omnibus-based PDP-8 systems, compensating for DEC's lack of new hardware for these machines.
• Note from Wally Kalinowski & Call to Arms: Updates on new software submissions (TKPLOT, OS/8 Symbiont, U of M Pascal, MULTOS/8) and an IEEE488 interface for PDP/8. Wally and Louis Tribble issue a "Call to Arms" to the 12-Bit user community to help acquire and preserve existing software, including a questionnaire to gauge interest and resources.
• Approved 12-bit CMOS-processor with new design: Wolfgang Leber introduces the new 6120 family 12-bit CMOS microprocessor, a PDP-8 compatible CPU. It boasts enhanced features like on-chip memory extension (2x 32K words), an increased instruction set (with two stack pointers), and twice the speed through optimized microcode, despite running at the same clock frequency as its predecessor (6100 family). The article details its differences from the older 6100 (e.g., control signals, I/O handling) and notes its role in the "renaissance" of the PDP-8 in systems like the DECmate II.