Silicone on Sapphire

[jebem]

(03-14-2016 10:43 AM)BillCRAV Wrote:  

(03-14-2016 08:14 AM)jebem Wrote:  A simple search show that RCA had at least another microprocessor commercially released as a kit in early 1975: the COSMAC 1801 on which the 1802 was based and released one year later in 1976.

Concerning release dates, this page here have plenty of it and based on actual support documentation.



Is it acceptable that actually discrete 4000 CMOS series were used instead of an already commercially available SOS microprocessor to build that computer?
Yes, it is (I did it in mid 70's as well for a school project), but this is kind of speculative until someone comes up with the actual official papers showing us what was the actual technology used in that spacecraft.

Also, SOS technology was being developed at that time to be used for the military and space applications in some kind of secrecy, way before it was commercially available to the general public.
In the end what we can read in the Internet is mostly noise.

The 1801 dual-chip was basically the "development version" of the 1802, and afaik was NEVER made as SOS. Afaik, NO ONE used it commercially.

It's NOT speculative that 4000 CMOS were used in the Voyagers. It is in the design specs and documentation, which were worked on "WAY before" the 1802 was commercially available, especially when using it would have been "bleeding edge" development, which is NOT what NASA et al. did.

"SOS technology was being developed at that time to be used for the military and space applications in some kind of secrecy, way before it was commercially available to the general public." is EXTREMELY speculative and most probably untrue.

You keep producing statements without showing were are you getting that information.
Why must I believe in what you are telling as being more correct than what Peregrine Semiconductors are telling?
Reasoning is fine here, but until we see some clear information on the technology used, all you can say is speculative as well.

I'm not saying that the 1802 was used in the Voyager (never did) but I'm interested to know the true as much as you do.