first microprocessor - MP-944 and the F-14 CADC - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Homer J Simpson
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2018, 05:48:05 am
content: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Air_Data_Computerhttp://firstmicroprocessor.com/documents/ap1-26-97.pdfhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Holthttp://firstmicroprocessor.com/

author: David Hess
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2018, 10:31:09 am
content: It cannot be "the device that started the digital revolution" if it was secret until 1998.The UK had this problem after World War Two when technological developments during the war were classified instead of being released to industry.

author: RayHolt
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 03, 2019, 07:54:11 am
content: This is Ray Holt the designer of the F14 MP-944. Even though this first microprocessor was kept secret the design team continued their career and greatly influenced the industry. This link shows the impact these designers had on the industry. Had the MP-944 been available to the public would have dramatically changed the entire Intel design approach as the MP-944 used techniques not otherwise used in the next 5-10 years. The MP-944 was an amazing product produced by an amazing set of engineers from Garrett-AiResearch and American Micro System.http://firstmicroprocessor.com/legacy/Comments are welcome.Ray Holt

author: donotdespisethesnake
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2019, 09:51:19 am
content: Quote from: RayHolt on January 03, 2019, 07:54:11 amClearly they continued their career in the industry but whether it was a "great influence" is subjective and cannot be quantified. Tbh, I don't see any really notable achievements in that list.Humans are somewhat depressing; inventions are nearly always created with a team and/or building on previous work but people's egos are so big they have to argue over who was "first". I'll bet there was a big argument over who invented the wheel. The Greeks were pretty good at documenting other people's ideas and making it seem like they invented them.

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2019, 10:45:36 am
content: Quote from: RayHolt on January 03, 2019, 07:54:11 amWelcome and an honor to have you here!!Regards,Sinisa.

author: RayHolt
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 03, 2019, 12:42:35 pm
content: I think who was first has become a marketing pitch by Intel. Most of us know the order of events so don't have to be convinced. As for the influence of the "list" apparently you don't know them or haven't researched them so its no use making a case with you. I was there and I know what they did.

author: cdev
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2019, 06:17:25 pm
content: I would nominate the 6502 microprocessor as the chip that really startedpersonalcomputing off in the US.As I understand it, there was some big hardware convention where the manufacturer was basically almost giving them away, selling them for something like $25 when previously the cheapest microprocessor was at least five or more times that.That was a watershed event that changed the picture for personal computing, almost overnight.Manufacturers and even hobbyists, imagine that, could suddenly make computers that small businesses and all sorts of working people could buy.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2019, 06:30:13 pm
content: Quote from: cdev on January 03, 2019, 06:17:25 pmVisicalc made the Apple ][ a success. The Apple ][ made the 6502 a success. People went into the store to buy Visicalc, and walked out with whatever kit happened to support it.

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2019, 06:56:31 pm
content: Quote from: RayHolt on January 03, 2019, 12:42:35 pmNo one doubts that. And I'm sure it was a technological highlight for you and your colleagues. But secret knowledge does not bring society forwards.Commercialization does, and that's what Intel did back then.

author: hamster_nz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2019, 07:15:48 pm
content: I will wear my 'Top Gun' t-shirt with an added smile...

author: In Vacuo Veritas
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2019, 07:25:00 pm
content: Quote from: Benta on January 03, 2019, 06:56:31 pmThat's dumb, plenty of stuff is commercialized but still secret. Drink any Coke lately?

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2019, 07:54:58 pm
content: Quote from: In Vacuo Veritas on January 03, 2019, 07:25:00 pm

author: In Vacuo Veritas
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2019, 08:12:58 pm
content: Quote from: Benta on January 03, 2019, 07:54:58 pmOops. Got you there, huh? It's OK, only through mistakes do we progress.

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2019, 08:22:48 pm
content: Quote from: In Vacuo Veritas on January 03, 2019, 08:12:58 pmNo comment. I'll leave the thread here, keep on trolling.

author: In Vacuo Veritas
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2019, 09:44:56 pm
content: Quote from: Benta on January 03, 2019, 08:22:48 pmAh, a Pepsi man.

author: RayHolt
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 04, 2019, 02:35:51 pm
content: Loved the 6502. I knew the design team headed by Chuck Peddle. Used it in 1974 on the Jolt , Super Jolt series, and later on the SYM. Had shipped over 5000 boards with 6502 before Apple, or Steve Woz, decided to use it. I would definitely vote the 6502 as the most influencial in the early days. Intel struggled. Intel could not sell it's 4004, 8008 series because existing product logic designers did not know how to programming. They hired me, my partner Manny Lemas, and Gary Kildahl of Digital Research to travel the country teaching 4004, 8008, and 8080 basic programming. Gary taught his PL/M. This started the "explosion" of micro chip computers by Intel.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 04, 2019, 02:48:10 pm
content: Quote from: RayHolt on January 04, 2019, 02:35:51 pmAll MPUs struggled for some time, getting a lot of interest but few serious volume sales. Many MPUs looked interesting, but when you put all the chips together to make a working solution you had something rather big and expensive, making it unworkable for most potential applications. Its was the TMS1000 (pretty much the first MCU) which first saw serious volumes, as in one reasonably priced package you had a complete solution for many simple tasks.

author: RayHolt
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 04, 2019, 02:52:58 pm
content: Well, I guess we will have to tell history that our space program did not influence the work we live in. Not all was secret but those very knowledgeable engineers and scientists left NASA and its vendors and went on to product development companies and used their knowledge. Jay Minor on the Amiga, Jim Kawakawa on the AMD microprocessors, Brian Schubert at Intel heading the graphics design team, are not home names but their product influence was tremendous. Even my own SYM-1 6502 board was used in the first two military robots and influenced the direction of what we have today. Intel's commercialization and high volume of an idea is mostly good but it does not stand in a world alone of technology and electronics. Two books that tell the real stories best are:The Accidental Engineerhttp://www.lulu.com/shop/http://www.lulu.com/shop/raymond-holt-and-leo-sorge/the-accidental-engineer/paperback/product-23442802.htmlandCommodore: A Company On The Edgehttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0087HTJNC/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0087HTJNC&linkCode=as2&tag=cornerstonebooks&linkId=97db7bf227b0459acf20eaab1cf19668

author: Sparky49
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 04, 2019, 03:15:49 pm
content: Maybe the 6502 was used in the first American military robots (?) but the Germans and Soviets were using robots as early as 1940 with the Goliath tracked mine and teletanks.

author: chickenHeadKnob
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2019, 09:56:09 am
content: I was always curious about the milstd - 1750. How did it come about?, what was the design history and principle movers. When I was a teen age lad during the mid to late 70's I was researching computer architectures with a particular focus on arithmetic/CORDIC algorithms and other realizations of the elementary functions because I was fascinated by hand-held calculators. That led to various IEEE papers and occasional references to 1750 based guidance computers but not much was in the open literature.

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2022, 05:25:20 pm
content: YT video: Ray Holt and the history of MP944/Cadc @ Rome Technopole, 2017Channel: Leo Sorge