F15C PDP1 Handbook Jun63

This document is a manual for the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) PDP-1 Programmed Data Processor, a high-speed, solid-state digital computer from the early 1960s (copyrights 1960-1962).

The PDP-1 is characterized by:

• High Performance: Utilizing five-megacycle circuits, magnetic core memory, and fully parallel processing, it achieves 100,000 additions per second.
• Architecture: It's a single-address, single-instruction, stored-program computer with an 18-bit word length. Basic instructions (e.g., add, subtract) execute in 10 microseconds, with an optional hardware multiply/divide package reducing multiplication to 20 microseconds.
• Memory: Standard configuration includes 4096 words of 18-bit magnetic core memory, expandable up to 65,536 words, with a 5-microsecond read-rewrite time. It can also support up to 24 magnetic tape transports.
• Programming Features: Key features include multiple-step indirect addressing, Boolean operations, extensive shifting and rotating capabilities (18 or 36 bits), conditional skip instructions, subroutine calling instructions, micro-coded operate instructions, and program flags. It uses a fixed-point binary number system with one's complement for negative numbers.
• Input/Output (I/O): Standard I/O includes a 400 lines/sec perforated tape reader, an alphanumeric on-line typewriter, and a 63 lines/sec perforated tape punch. A one-channel automatic interrupt "Sequence Break System" is standard.
• Versatile Design: It's noted for being easy to install, operate, and maintain, using conventional 110-volt power and requiring no air conditioning or floor reinforcement. It's compact, occupying only 17 square feet.

The manual details a wide range of optional equipment that significantly expands the PDP-1's capabilities, such as:

• Memory expansion modules and control for larger addressing.
• High-speed data channels (up to 200,000 words/sec) and a more advanced 16-channel Sequence Break System.
• Precision and ultra-precision Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) displays with a light pen.
• Card punch and reader controls.
• IBM-compatible magnetic tape transports with both programmed and automatic controls.
• A high-speed line printer capable of 600 lines per minute.

Finally, the document outlines the standard program library, which includes the MACRO Assembly Program for symbolic assembly, the DDT (DEC Debugging Tape) for symbolic-octal debugging, and various utility and maintenance programs.