Computer mits altair 8800 was named after a planet in one of the first episodes of star trek series. It is over 20 years since the debut of the altair 8800 computer in the pages of popular electronics magazine, but everyone connected with it tells a completely different story. Before the mits altair, owning a computer was not something individuals did. The altair 8800 is a microcomputer designed by micro instrumentation and telemetry systems mits based on the intel 8080 processor. Emulation of famous terminal from lear siegler, inc. Here is a faithful simulation of a mits altair, complete with fan noise, switch clicks, volatile memory, and a functioning intel 8080 processor. I want an emulator which i can click to input the command, just exactly like what it done with the. It also marked the beginning of the microsoft basic product line. The intel 8080 emulator code is based on apple80 by dann mccreary. The altair 8800 is a microcomputer designed in 1974 by mits and based on the intel 8080 cpu. Having intel 8080 cpu inside, with 256 bytes of memory, no display and keyboard is this computer, when comparing to the present era, absolutely ridiculous.
Following are additional links related to the altair you may find interesting or useful. Inside the altair 8800 vintage computer 3 page 3 zdnet. Computer mits altair 8800 was named after a planet in one of the first episodes of. It was written in assembly language using an intel 8080 emulator running on a pdp10 machine. At this point in time, there were no computer or electronic stores to buy your own computer. The standard version has a bluetooth serial port and a rs232. Mits altair 8800, 8080 only royalmcbee lgp30, lgp21 scientific data systems sds 940 xerox data systems sigma 32b systems also available is a collection of tools for manipulating simulator file formats and for crossassembling code for the pdp1, pdp7, pdp8, and pdp11. The 2k4k eprom board used in both of my altair systems came from the.
Please visit the stockly electronics forums for a discussion of this kit. Cpu altair 8800 with intel 8080 cpu board 62kb of ram, 2k of eprom with start boot rom. This 65 pound behemoth of a computing system was essentially the very first personal microcomputer. The virtual altair museum altair 8800 wikipedia home of the new altair 8800 kit altair 8800 clone emulator of altair 8800 computer mits altair 8800 demonstration. Altair 8800 computer, altair 32 emulator, altair front panel. The mits altair ran an intel 8080 processor at 2mhz the direct ancestor of the processor likely inside your desktop or laptop computer, but several million times less powerful it came standard with 256 bytes of ram not, gigabytes, not megabytes, not kilobytes just 256 bytes. Ever wanted to play with the computer that sparked the personal computer age but dont have the cash to buy an altair. Interest grew quickly after it was featured on the cover of the january 1975 issues and was sold by mail order through advertisements there in radioelectronics, and in other hobbyist magazines. View and download mits altair 8800b documentation online.
Contribute to dhanselaltair8800 development by creating an account on github. The altair 8800 simulator is part of the simh family of simulators. Please scroll down for more sections and remember to share this page. Often it was used in connection with mits altair 8800 computer, so the decision of which terminal to emulate was clear.
Line printer port the altair clone implements the altair 88lpc line printer interface board. But it all started with the altair, and bill gates sometimes richest guy on earth got his first big break on the altair. I want an emulator that the front panels look is very similar to the original as the picture below. It can run in a stand alone mode or communicate with a briel computers micro 8800 device using it as a front panel. Yazeag yet another z80 emulator by ag the simh altair 8800 z80 simulator. At the dawn of microcomputing time came the altair 8800. Initial powerup tests and basic operation duration. The story of the first true personal computer has many versions. Altair32, an emulator for altair 8800 running on the java os. The mits altair 8800 is widely known as the first real personal computer. Altair front panel just the front panel, in dim light so you can see the lights.
Altair8800 welcome to the mits altair8800 roms section of the rom database. Microsoft was founded to make software basic for the altair. These files are an integral part of using the altair 8800 clone. The emulator has no gui, no front panel leds, switches etc. The cpu is first set to jump to 0xff00 where the disk bootloader rom is located. The january 1975 issue of popular electronics featured the altair 8800 on the cover. Superaltair card for the 680 64k ram, 512k flash, disk drive emulator, adm3 emulator vgantscpal and ps2, ethernet, mp3, and more. In 1999, i rich cini downloaded a copy of a mits altair emulator program written. Claus, a programmer working for microsoft, wrote a 16bit windowsbased emulator for the altair and imsai 8080based computers as a desktop toy more than a usable emulation. This board is supported by altair basic, altair dos, cpm 1. If you have a story about the altair or an s100 machine you would like to share, email it to me.
If nothing happens, download github desktop and try again. Where can i find and download emulator of altair 8800 with. It was the first ever product of microsoft, and was distributed by mits itself under a contract. Altair 8800 computer, altair 32 emulator, altair front. The lowprofile, display shelf friendly altair duino standard with a clear rear panel and wraparound acrylic frame. The altair is generally credited with launching the pc revolution in earnest. The lowprofile, display shelf friendly altairduino standard with a clear rear panel and wraparound acrylic frame.
The altair is widely recognized as the spark that ignited the microcomputer revolution as the first. Also, i wanted to be compatible with altair32, an altair emulator program that can make use of the onoff and reset switches on the front panel. Altair 8800 front panel for an 8080 emulator hackaday. Gamemaker studio is designed to make developing games. It uses user terminal as it was attached physically to the altair via a serial line.
Choice of processor 8080 cpu, z80 cpu or 8086 cpu optional banked memory 16 banks with 64. Original mits altair documentation altair 8800 operators manual 5. Download, download the simulator intel only, for ppc you need to build. An altair 8080 with no peripherals the altair 8800 is a microcomputer designed by micro instrumentation and telemetry systems mits based on the intel 8080 processor. The altair computer is commonly considered the genesis of personal computing and for that reason it has a special place in the hearts of many. Altair 8800 pc case can emulate the original hardware. The altair 8800 was far from the first personal computer but it was the first truly successful one.
Altair front view of front and top in strong light. In 1999, i downloaded a copy of a mits altair emulator program written for. The altair 8800 from micro instrumentation telemetry systems mits of albuquerque, nm, is considered by many to be the first personal computer a computer that is easily affordable and obtainable. Altair 8800 emulators on java and other platforms, free altair 8800 emulator downloads, as well as savestates, hacks, cheats, utilities, and more. From writing and compiling programs for emulated machine, to running and debugging. Here are some more detailed photos of the altair 8800.
Altair 8800 downloads emulators you have 0 articles to compare. The mits altair is widely accepted to be the computer that first kicked off the personal computer age. I stan veit was the first and last computer editor of popular electronics magazine, and i. It gained popularity in the mid to late 70s because of publicizing by technical magazines and its low price. Sim 8800 emulates a mits altair 8800 on an apple ii. Using the due i now have an altair 8800 simulator that runs at about the original speed, provides 64k of emulated ram, includes lots of altair software and still can provide 32k of semipermanent storage to load and save programs and data in the emulator.
The architecture allowed for up to 64k of ram, but anything so large was just crazytalk. The following links include scans of altair manuals, software for the altair 8800, and support software for modern pcs. The altair 8800 simulator is part of the simh family of simulators currently at version 3. The software on the microcontroller senses the onoff switch and, if its on, flickers the lights in a way vaguely resembling a working altair 8800. Sim8800 emulates a mits altair 8800 on an apple ii. The only options were to build your own system from plans and designs published or sold in. Then where can i find and download its emulator for. Software kits to run on simh help with simh system photographs. The main goal was to be able to run the original image of mits basic 4k 3.
Mits altair 8800 games roms, games and isos to download. Unlike a real altair 8800 it features several enhancements. Based on the intel 8080 cpu, the altair was designed and sold by mits micro instrumentation and telemetry systems, an electronics company from albuquerque, new mexico, in 1974. The altair 8800 kit is built using the highest quality parts available. The altair 8800 simulator is part of the simh family of simulators currently at version. Welcome to the new home of altair32 emulator of altair 8800 computer. We are simulating a fairly loaded altair 8800 from about 1977, with the following configuration.
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