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A Replica of the First 4004 Calculator

Posted by kdawson on from the intel-inside-first-post dept.

mcpublic writes "For the 37th anniversary of Intel's 4004, the world's first off-the-shelf, customer-programmable microprocessor, vintage computer enthusiast Bill Kotaska has successfully built a replica of Busicom's historic 141-PF printing calculator using vintage Intel chips. Decades before the ubiquitous 'Intel inside' sticker, Japanese calculator maker Busicom introduced the first product ever built around an Intel microprocessor. Bill's homebrew replica includes a rare Shinshu Seiki Model-102 drum printer and runs firmware extracted from the original Busicom ROMs. Schematics and photos of his re-creation are available at the unofficial 4004 web site, along with Tim McNerney's new PIC-based emulator of the Model-102 printer. The site includes the Busicom 'source code,' 4004 details, interactive simulators, and other goodies for students, engineers, and computer historians." We discussed the 36th 4004 anniversary project here last year.

9 of 63 comments (clear)

  1. Prior to this... by gowen · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... you would have just got a "4004 Not Found" error.

    --
    Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
    1. Re:Prior to this... by troll8901 · · Score: 2, Funny

      740kHz should be enough for anybody!

    2. Re:Prior to this... by Prof.Phreak · · Score: 3, Funny

      Wait till DMCA lawyers get a hold of this...

      --

      "If anything can go wrong, it will." - Murphy

  2. You mean by Whiteox · · Score: 2, Funny

    You mean I shouldn't have thrown mine out in the trash?

    --
    Don't be apathetic. Procrastinate!
  3. Re:Looks complicated by Smivs · · Score: 1, Funny

    I don't remember these calculators, but having RTFA and STFP (seen the f*****g picture), I can't believe anyone could get away with selling something which apparently consists of a couple of techy-looking boxes joined together by wire!

    --
    Smivs on the intertubes!
  4. Linux by mcnazar · · Score: 4, Funny

    yes.. yes.... but does it run Linux?

    1. Re:Linux by tsjaikdus · · Score: 4, Funny

      10 print "but does it run Linux?"
      20 wait for new article
      30 goto 10

    2. Re:Linux by mustafap · · Score: 2, Funny

      10 wait for new article
      20 print "but does it run Linux?"
      30 goto 10

      There, fixed that for you

      --
      Open Source Drum Kit, LPLC deve board - mjhdesigns.com
  5. While a novel project... by blue+l0g1c · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm afraid he's going to have a lot of trouble finding printer cartridges for that thing.