Digital Equipment Corporation PDP–7/A - S#150

Bolt, Beranek and Newman.

The PDP–7 Service list (1972) shows that machine #150 was shipped to Bolt, Beranek and Newman in January 1967 and consisted of the following options –

OptionS#ShipDEC #Notes
14900011901670184954K core memory stack
14900012101670184954K memory upgrade to 12K
14900012201670184954K memory upgrade to 16K
1730000150167018495Data interrupt multiplexer
1750000440167018495Information collector expansion
177B0000380167018495Extended arithmetic element
550A0000710167018495DECtape control, (up to 4x 555's)
6370000090167018495Bit synchronous data communication system
KA71A0000480167018495I/O device package
KA77A0000500167018495Processor unit
KB030000210167018495Device selector expansion
TU550002870167018495Single DECtape transport
TU550002960167018495Single DECtape transport
76 051050000000167018496Unknown

For descriptions of the above options see the full PDP–7 options list.


120 PDP–7 and PDP–7/A systems were forecast to be built in total, but the 1972 18–bit service list available (6.5Mb pdf download) only has details of the 99 known PDP–7 and PDP–7/A systems in the list at that time.  We do not have any information about the possible remaining 21 systems, who they were delivered to or even if they actually existed.

The PDP–7 appeared to have sold well into Government research and University sectors with 11 systems shipped to the UK alone, almost 10% of the forecast production run!  Serial numbers are concurrent for both PDP–7's and the PDP–7/A's, so the missing 21 could be of either type; however we are reasonably confident that the 99 systems shipped were the only ones that were ever built.

If you know of any information about any of the PDP–7 systems worldwide, options, location of existing systems, spare parts, ancillary bits, software, tapes or manuals, then please contact us.

Documents associated with PDP–7 S#150 - (see below)

An email (Feb 2014) from David Moccia has let us know that machine #150 along with PDP–7/A S#148 were used as front ends to TELCOMP timeshare systems running TELCOMP II.  See TELCOMP and BBN Technologies at Wikipedia.


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