Uploaded January 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Join Dave Plummer as he rebuilds a vintage PDP-11/73 from a bare DEC chassis, step by step. In this episode, I install a QBUS CPU card, two PMI memory boards (for a full 4MB), and interface with RQDX3 and M3104 serial boards to bring everything online. I’ll show how I tackled slot configurations, DMA bus grants, and the magic of the QBone for emulating boot media. We’ll format a classic DEC hard drive, then load XXDP diagnostics, and prep the system for BSD or RT-11. If you’re into retro computing, DEC hardware, or PDP-11 restorations, this is your backstage pass to a full rebuild—from backplane setup to kernel tweaks!
Free Sample of my Book on the Spectrum: amzn.to/3zBinWM
Watch ShopTalk Now on Dave's Attic: youtu.be/5Emgx0lhllE
Follow me on X: https://x.com/davepl1968
Facebook: facebook.com/davepl
Join Dave Plummer as he rebuilds a vintage PDP-11/73 from a bare DEC chassis, step by step. In this episode, I install a QBUS CPU card, two PMI memory boards (for a full 4MB), and interface with RQDX3 and M3104 serial boards to bring everything online. I’ll show how I tackled slot configurations, DMA bus grants, and the magic of the QBone for emulating boot media. We’ll format a classic DEC hard drive, then load XXDP diagnostics, and prep the system for BSD or RT-11. If you’re into retro computing, DEC hardware, or PDP-11 restorations, this is your backstage pass to a full rebuild—from backplane setup to kernel tweaks!
Free Sample of my Book on the Spectrum: amzn.to/3zBinWM
Watch ShopTalk Now on Dave's Attic: youtu.be/5Emgx0lhllE
Follow me on X: https://x.com/davepl1968
Facebook: facebook.com/davepl
