General Instrument

[stefan3]

Recently I acquired some GI-chips that some jerk pulled out of a working system (I imagine, have no idea what it was in, maybe some laboratory device) about three decades ago.
These guys were really emotionless towards this stuff in the eighties and threw every old computer into the pit.

I found some hints on the net that one can build a nice breadboard-computer with this. In the way it was done in the seventies, with binary loader and perhaps hex-terminal.

I have already done such things but not with this chipset. By the hints on the net there must have been something special about them (perhaps like the 1802 that is to clock down to zero or something like that).

Does someone have any information like hints, tips, manuals, application note?

There are the following chips:

LP1000
LP8000
LP1010

All datecoded 79/80

As I understood these are needed to build the system (besides a clock generator and memory).

Furthermore I have some chips from the same bin I cannot identify:

COM2014 (datecoded 1974)
These are the weird ceramics in the pictures with the two holes in the plates and the visual bonding stripes.

GIM3C1001
GIM 1 C-1-001

(no idea about these)

Any help is very appreciated

[yy2013]

Your chips are awesome.
I have been chasing for GI chips like LP8000, but have not been able to find one.

Unfortunately, I have no more information than can be collected from datasheet sites.

yy2013

[gshv]

I will be interested in one LP8000 if you decide to sell it. I'm sure you'll get similar requests from other collectors, and they probably offer higher price than me

As for the information on this chip... You can get a datasheet on the LP 8000 and support chips, including LP 1000, here:

http://www.wass.net/othermanuals/GI%20MicroElectronics%20Data%20Catalog%201977%20-%20Full.pdf

Gennadiy

[CPUShack]

LP1000 Memory Interface
LP8000 8-bit Processor (500-800KHz)
LP1010 I/O Buffer

Also used:
LP6000 Program ROM
LP1030 Clock Generator

This series was developed by GI specifically for the European market, it was to be second sourced by SGS-ATES and AEG TeleFunken

[stefan3]

Well, at first thank you all for the kind offers but I will try my luck with a homebrew project first. But all chips will be taken care of and ZIF-Nullkraft-sockets will be used

If someone is interested in one of the chips I have more than two of (want to keep two sets for myself) than I am willing to trade.

Thank you for the link to the brochure. There seems to be all information about the hardware I need.
Maybe there is a programming manual elsewhere.

The hint with Telefunken as second source is interesting. Maybe they used it in their own lab equipment. As I remember they made some lab controller during the seventies which were common among german universities.

So it is possible that someone pulled the chips and (unfortunately) threw the data processor away.

[berni]

The COM2014 should be UARTs from SMSC (Standard Microsystems). I have no data on this one, but the COM prefix hints on the UART thing like the COM2017. You can find some databooks of SMSC at www.bitsavers.org.

Cheers, Berni

[stefan3]

Thanks Berni, this may be it.

I thought of them being some com-device because of the prefix of the name.

They came from a box with other serial communication controllers (but nothing interesting, the most from Siemens S02something and some more common like 8250 and Z80sio) and lots of TTLs.


BTW: Is the prefix "DEC" in an ICs name linked to the company and the PDP? I have a handfull of smaller chips of this kind from the same bin. Seems to be some latch or line driver according to web sources.

And, beneath all the junk, I found one I8008 (purple ceramic) yesterday. Not for sale/trade, just wanted to share the joy

This is what I think of when I talk about breadboard-design with these chips:
http://www.g6lvb.com/when_i_was_a_young_chap.htm