PDP-11/34
Introduction
The midrange PDP-11/34 was introduced in 1976 and sold through 1981. It was DIGITAL's most successful PDP-11 in terms of unit sales volume. As such, it found its way into many dedicated applications. It found widespread uses, in research laboratories, military and commercial applications. Norden Inc. manufactured militarized versions of the PDP-11/34. This was the same company, famous for the World War II Norden bombsight.
The 11/34 featured a CPU so compact that the entire CPU logic was contained on two circuit boards. This provided greater flexibility during later system expansion by making additional chassis space available.
The PDP-11/34 was DEC's lower-cost replacement to the PDP-11/40 as the low-end PDP-11 system capable of running time-sharing, using memory management; it had the limited memory management capabilities as compared to the PDP-11/40. The PDP-11/34 was limited to 248KB of main memory.
The CPU came in two variants: the KD11-E (M7265 and M7266), and the plug-compatible replacement KD11-EA (M8265 and M8266); machines with the latter were denominated as a PDP-11/34A. Both required the DD11-PK backplane (DD-11PK nine slot). A 9 slot expansion backplane (DD11-DK) was also available. Both processor models required an M9301 or M9302 bootstrap ROM / Terminator module in slots 3 or 4 of the UNIBUS. This module provided the capability to bootstrap from common peripherals (e.g. RX02, RL01, etc) but also provided the required bus termination. These modules also ran processor diagnostics at boot time. The latter had provision for the FP11-A floating point unit, and the KK11-A cache (the system could use either, or both). Both could be provided with either the KY11-LA Operator's Console (a limited functionality console with only halt and boot functionality), or the KY11-LB Programmer's Console.
Below is an picture of the 11/34 that I owned. The processor cards have been removed, but the bootstrap terminator can be seen. This model came with the operator's console (KY11-LA) and the DD11-PK nine slot backplane. Note the boot/terminator card in slot 3.
Source: Author
PDP-11/34 Guides
| Document Name | Order Part No. | Publication Date | Domain |
|---|---|---|---|
| PDP-11/34A Maintenance Card | EK-11034-MC-003 | 1981 | HW |
| PDP-11/34 System User's Manual | EK-11034-UG-001 | July 1977 | User |
| PDP-11/34A Power System Description | EK-1134A-TM-002 | July 1977 | HW |
| PDP-11/34 Field Maintenance Print Set | EK-1134A-TM-002 | 1976 | HW |
- Adapted from: Gunkies.org