Happy Birthday, Intel 4004
erco
Posts: 20,254
45 years old on Nov 15, how'd we miss this? http://www.4004.com/
Anybody here remember/program/use this?
On November 15, 1971, Intel introduced the first single-chip microprocessor you could get: the Intel 4004. It was a 4 bit processor, ran really, really slow, and was expensive. But the first shot of the revolution had been fired, and the world would never be the same.
Anybody here remember/program/use this?
On November 15, 1971, Intel introduced the first single-chip microprocessor you could get: the Intel 4004. It was a 4 bit processor, ran really, really slow, and was expensive. But the first shot of the revolution had been fired, and the world would never be the same.
Comments
I spaced and forgot to send a BD greeting to you on the 13th. Happy belated BD to you and Hippy!
Scorpios rule!
Agreed, Scorpios do rule!
This is all a bit hazy now but us teenage dorks who were building things with TTL in the early 1970's never got to hear of the 4004. Certainly it seems they were probably impossible for us to get hold of at the time and far too expensive if we could.
It was not until 1976 that I even heard of a microprocessor. My friend had been ordering 8085 or was it 6800 chips from the USA.
I did actually see a 4040 once. It was on an old board in a junk pile in the Marconi Company where I got my first job in 1980.
It is amazing how things have progressed so fast.
Very good question!
I have a couple of i8008s here. Still haven't forgotten that I want to build the award winning project on one of them.
Or on the SY6502, (which I got started on), or any from that period.
Incidentally erco, I saw two of your robots at Maker Faire meeting their friends.
In a relatively short period of time, skills increased, finances improved, and prices went down. Right about then the 6502 came out. Fell in love with assembly language right off the bat. But by then I viewed Intel as the enemy. Classic teenage mentality, there.
The Electronics department at Santa Rosa Junior College had both an Intel MCS-4 and a MCS-8 development system that we worked with for a few projects.
NCI the first Electronics company I worked for as an Electronic Technician (after graduating from Santa Rosa Junior College in 1977) used 4004 and 4040 Intel processors for their electronic scales. Later on they migrated to other 8 bit processors. The image I attached is a later generation NCI counting scale that I have that uses a Signetics 2650 microprocessor and still works great.
Another early user of Intel 4004 microprocessors was ProLog, which used them in their M980 Prom programmers.
I still have a stash of 4004 and 4040 chips from my days working there. I recently purchased an Intel MCS4 chipset tester and verified that my stash of chips still work. Eventually I'll get around to putting them in use.
I also have a few micro's, memories, and such kicking around that I may "put to use someday". Just waiting for that round tuit.
erco.
I still work with them. Last year a work on a robotcar with a original 4004 processor. An propellerchip act as ROM for the 4004. See my little website (sorry, Dutch only) https://sites.google.com/site/bpluswestland/calendar/i4004 and my blog: https://avretro.wordpress.com/ (scroll a little bit down)
Last 5 November I run a challenge of the Dutch Robotica club to finish some task for the Roborama challenge. So i run with this robotcar with the 4004 processor the linefollowing challenge. My program for the 4004 was 61 byte's.
I love it to work with nice old stuff together with the Propeller.
Greeting Abraham Vreugdenhil.
That's fantastic, thank you for sharing that! What a labor of love and a great retro project! Beautiful build, too. I'm attaching your video from that site here.