Intel 8008 Microcomputer collection

Trinity College professors August (Gus) E. Sapega and David J. Ahlgren purchased Intel’s first 8-bit microprocessor chip (8008) in 1974. The kit included the 8008 processor, 1024 bytes of semiconductor random access memory (RAM), an address decoder, and a few parallel port chips. The parallel ports were used to connect printers, terminals, and analog-to-digital converters. The 8008 clock rate was 0.5 MHz (0.0005 GHz)!

Using these components as a base, Professor Ahlgren and his students in the ENGR 322 class (later ENGR 221L) designed and built a complete working computer during the 1974-75 academic year. The computer was operational by the Class of 1975’s graduation date so the seniors could show the working computer to their parents.

The 8008 microcomputer included a full panel of switches and indicator LEDs with which a user could enter a machine level program and observe its behavior. It allowed the user to run and observe the program one step at a time, as well as an auto-step mode that would execute programs slowly so one could observe the program’s effect.

This system was the first microcomputer on the Trinity campus and was completed before the first commercially available microcomputer hit the marketplace (the MITS Altair, which used Intel’s 8080 chip, the 8008’s successor).

The 8008 machine also inspired students to develop a small operating system and to engage in some of the first microcomputer interfacing experiments at Trinity. These included Professor Haberlandt’s stimulus-response experiments in psychology and biomedical data acquisition experiments in the engineering labs. The 8008 microcomputer gave hands-on design experience to Trinity students, who learned the latest in computer technology and therefore were well prepared for jobs in the exciting new field of microcomputers.

Professor Sapega’s innovative contributions to education at Trinity College were numerous. He had previously purchased and implemented the first ever computer at Trinity (the Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-8), through which students learned about computer hardware and programming at a liberal arts college in the 1970s.

The 8008 project initiated Professor Ahlgren’s research interests in digital circuits and microcomputers, which led to accomplishments in robotics development and education. As early as 1979, Trinity hosted a conference on the uses of microcomputers. Eventually, Ahlgren formed the Robot Study Team and the Trinity College International Fire Fighting Robot Competition (which ran from 1993 to 2019).