• FirstComputer

The FirstComputer that TimRiker ever worked on was at [http://www.penfield.edu/phs/ Penfield High School] in [http://www.penfield.org/web/ Penfield, New York]. It may have been an HP-2114C model. It used a form of time shared basic, but it was not a dual cpu model cabinet. It was running a time shared basic environment. Perhaps the "TIME-SHARING EXECUTIVE" mentioned in the [http://oscar.taurus.com/~jeff/2100/family/family.html sales brochure]?

The system config as best recollected:

• HP-2114 style cover with 16 connected touch switches
• mounted in a rack mount cabinet
• 32k of RAM installed split 5/5/3/3 or similar for the 2 CRTs, card reader and teletype

• [http://www.pdp8.net/asr33/asr33.shtml ASR-33 teletype] with punch tape reader (writer?)

• 1 text crt terminal
• 1 "graphics" terminal (honeywell? I remember it had a graphics character set with a toggle button)
• 2? disk drives. (type? 8" floppy? drum?
• card reader
• line printer
• external tape punch was not connected.

Here are some useful links:

• http://kmt.hku.nl/~hans/pdf_files/hp2114c.pdf <- large pdf brochure

• http://d116.com/vcf/east/1.0/ - see hp2114a.jpg

• http://oscar.taurus.com/~jeff/2100/ <- pictures, even some software!

• http://bitsavers.org/pdf/hp/21xx/ <- many of the manuals in pdf format

• http://www.infionline.net/~wtnewton/oldcomp/hp2100/ <- new OS in development, if you can believe that.

• http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/hp/21xx/poyner1.htm <- article about the history

• http://simh.trailing-edge.com/ <- SIMH simulator

• http://kmt.hku.nl/~hans/contents_pages/digital.htm - pdf bruchures, etc.

• http://www.classiccmp.org/HP/ - more docs and some tape dumps

• http://www.decodesystems.com/hp2000/ - info and basic code

Hacking HOWTO:

• install SIMH above and start "hp2100"

• load the hp basic sources: "LO basic1.abs"

• jump into basic "GO 100"

• input a simple program like this one "forever":

  10 DEF FNA(X)=ATN(TAN(ATN(TAN(ATN(TAN(ATN(TAN(ATN(TAN(X))))))))))
  20 DEF FNB(X)=FNA(FNA(FNA(FNA(FNA(FNA(FNA(FNA(FNA(FNA(FNA(X)))))))))))
  30 DEF FNC(X)=FNB(FNB(FNB(FNB(FNB(FNB(FNB(FNB(FNB(FNB(FNB(X)))))))))))
  40 DEF FND(X)=FNC(FNC(FNC(FNC(FNC(FNC(FNC(FNC(FNC(FNC(FNC(X)))))))))))
  50 DEF FNE(X)=FND(FND(FND(FND(FND(FND(FND(FND(FND(FND(FND(X)))))))))))
  60 DEF FNF(X)=FNE(FNE(FNE(FNE(FNE(FNE(FNE(FNE(FNE(FNE(FNE(X)))))))))))
  80 PRINT FNF(1)
  90 END

• list the program: "LIST"

• then run it: "RUN"

• note that on real hardware this silly recursive program could take a very long time to finish. On a 1G ppc debian linux box with SIMH 3.3.1-1 it takes about a half hour and then prints 1.

• Here's a more useful program I whipped up that graphs trig functions

  100 REM TRIG BY TIM RIKER <TIM@RIKERS.ORG>
  110 LET X1=-3.2
  120 LET X2=3.2
  130 LET X3=.1
  140 LET Y1=-1.5
  150 LET Y2=1.5
  160 LET Y3=(Y2-Y1)/70
  170 LET X4=(-X1)/X3
  200 FOR X0=0 TO (X2-X1)/X3
  210 LET X=X1+(X3*X0)
  220 LET S0=INT(((SIN(X)-Y1)/Y3)-.5)
  230 LET C0=INT(((COS(X)-Y1)/Y3)-.5)
  240 LET T0=INT(((TAN(X)-Y1)/Y3)-.5)
  250 LET Y0=INT(((0-Y1)/Y3)-.5)
  300 FOR Y=0 TO 70
  310 IF Y=T0 THEN 520
  320 IF Y=S0 THEN 540
  330 IF Y=C0 THEN 560
  340 IF Y=Y0 THEN 580
  350 IF X0=X4 THEN 600
  500 PRINT " ";
  510 GOTO 700
  520 PRINT "T";
  530 GOTO 700
  540 PRINT "S";
  550 GOTO 700
  560 PRINT "C";
  570 GOTO 700
  580 PRINT "X";
  590 GOTO 700
  600 PRINT "Y";
  700 NEXT Y
  710 PRINT ""
  720 NEXT X0
  999 END