Category:Saturn Software: Difference between revisions

Saturn Main Menu

Saturn Software for RSX

Saturn Systems was a company that produced several software packages for PDP-11s that included: 1. Saturn Calc is a spreadsheet program for RSX, RT-11 and RSTS that was extremely powerful 2. Saturn Graph for scientific and business graphics 3. Saturn Word Processing for the office

The RSX version was distributed as RSX11M task images and it had a licensing system that unfortunately broke at some point so that it was no longer possible to activate the tasks. I used this software back in the day in a Research & Development Lab. As I've taken up vintage computing as a hobby, I've been trying to hack these RSX task images to run once again.

I just finished testing the recovered Saturn tasks on RSX11M (not M+) and it seems to work fine. This is great for the 18 bit non-I/D space, PDP-11s like the 11/40,11/34, 11/23, or 11/60.

This Saturn software consists of three main components, Calc, Graph, and Word Processing.

• SAT.TSK – Master Menu and Document control
• CAL.TSK – Spreadsheet
• SIG.TSK – Interactive Graphics
• WPS.TSK – Word Processing

In this distribution there are 23 RSX tasks that perform various functions and 22 (.SAT) files that contain data and configuration information. In addition there are 4 help (.HLP) files and 18 example spreadsheets (.CAL) and 60 example graphics (.GCL) files and 32 drawing files (.GDF). For word processing there are 13 example files (.WPS).

The software is being made available as a Files-11 disk image (SATURN.DSK) currently available at [1](http://RSX11M.com/Saturn.zip) which can be imported into RSX in the following ways:

- Using the RSX VCP utility (see RSX11M+ V4.6 release notes, Chapter 6 for details on using VCP) - Mounted as a uda disk image with a UniBone or QBone on real PDP-11s - Attached as a rq disk in Simh on a PiDP-11/70

The command file INSAT.CMD will copy the Saturn files from the RSX disk drive where you’ve connected the Saturn disk image to a UIC and drive you also specify. It will then install the software by copying the .SAT and .HLP files to LB:[1,1], create the SA77: global logical required and install the required tasks. The command file STARTSAT.CMD should be called during RSX boot-up. This is typically toward the end of either LB:[1,2]USERPROG.CMD or LB:[1,2]INSPROG.CMD.

Saturn software assumes you have DEC VT terminal emulation including the PF1 – PF4 keys that are used extensively. The rest of the numeric key pad is available for numeric entry. If you don’t have the PF1-PF4 keys mapped, it will be difficult to use the software. If you have a VT125, VT240, VT330 or VT340 or good emulation of the Regis graphics (Gigi or VT LAN 40) you will really enjoy using Saturn Graph.

- PF1 usually backs up a step in the menus to the prior screen. - PF2 is context specific help (like EDT or KED) - PF3 is advance to the next screen in menus - PF4 is exit from the current menu

The documentation for Saturn has been partially recovered. Scanned .pdfs of the following manuals, and miscellaneous documents are available.

• 

  Directory Utilities Menu
  Saturn_Calc_Users_Manual_1984.pdf (129 pages)
• Saturn_Calc_System_Summary_1985.pdf (17 pages)
• Saturn_Release_Notes_1991.pdf (6 pages)
• 

  Directory Listing of Saturn Graph files and their description
  Saturn_Install_RT-11_1984.pdf (63 pages)
• Saturn_Calc_Quick_Reference.pdf (quick reference card, duplex legal size)
• Saturn_Graph_Quick_Reference.pdf (quick reference card, duplex legal size)

Category:Documentation

History of this Software

It originally ran on RSX11M, RT-11, and RSTS/E as well as VMS and even MS-DOS. I used Saturn Calc and Graph in an R&D Lab in the 1980s. It was an extremely powerful and easy to learn software package.

I have also been waiting a long time (started in 2013) to be able to use Saturn Calc and Graph. Over the years, I've collected various distributions but the licenses that I had for the RSX version no longer seemed to work. It was distributed as task images, instead of object libraries which would have been easier to hack. The Saturn Calc task would check for a couple files and then if it had not been modified by the license key program it just exited.

I’d like to thank a number of people who had a hand in recovering this software. Norm Byers, the original author of Saturn Calc, who spent time on the phone with me explaining various things. Ken Kunstmann, the former President of Saturn Systems, who was supportive of this effort and connected me with Norm. Malcolm MacLeod, recovered a Saturn dealer’s distribution kit on RX50s in Australia. Most of all, I want to thank Lee Gleason, who developed some fantastic RSX tools that made it possible to disable the license checks.

These task execution tracing tools are able to record a t-bit trace of the executing Saturn Calc task. This trace records the octal value of PC register and the first word of the instruction being executed.

see [2](https://rsx11.blogspot.com/2026/02/) for details

However, RSX works very hard not to allow a task to run with the t-bit trap set. Lee had to modify both INS and LDR in multiple places to NOT clear the t-bit trap in the task header PSW if it is set. When the program exited since the license had not activated it, we would look at the last instruction executed, an EMT 377, to call RSX EXIT$ directive. Then we would work backward to find the conditional branch that could have skipped over the EMT 377. Once that is found change the BLE or BEQ and make it unconditional BR instruction with ZAP.

These tasks are heavily overlaid so the particular overlay of the conditional branch at the correct PC address has to be found. ZAP /LI showed that CAL.TSK had 19 overlays at the address of the EMT 377 and conditional branch. So each has to be checked to find which overlay has the correct octal values in the correct addresses. Then ZAP the BEQ (001403) or BLE (003403) to a BR (000403) to skip over the EMT 377 (104377) that called EXIT$S.

Each of the many Saturn tasks had to be hacked and they each had a couple spots that had to be ZAPped. But then we had working versions of Saturn Calc, Graph and WP and were just checking the other tasks.

This is when we ran into the next hurdle, both Calc and Graph were in a "Demo" mode.

For Graph this meant that each plot that it made had a DEMO Version written diagonally across the chart. This was done at the end of the created plot so you could send the HPGL or RGL code to a file and edit it out but that was no fun. I figured out how too by using the SATKEY task and feeding it old license info, I could remove the DEMO mode. This was the same license KEY that would not unlock things directly I suppose because of a Y2K or similar issue.

Saturn Calc was different, It would allow you to create any size (upto the 16384 max cells) but if you tried to save the spreadsheet, it refused unless you had less than 150 cells. The SATKEY trick did not fix Calc. Lee Gleason solved this one by dumping the entire task image to a .DMP file and looking for the 150 (226 octal) value, decoding instruction around it to see if there was a conditional branch associated with it, then use ZAP to make it an unconditional branch.

So far everything looks good, but there are a couple caveats to know about.

- First, the RSX Saturn software doesn't understand named directories so you should be in a UIC based directory when you use it.

PROBLEM.GCL displayed on TEK 4010 emulator

- Second, there is an obscure bug that I have not been able to solve and don’t know if it was always there or it was somehow introduced by our hacks and zaps. It involves SUM or AVG calculations across a range when the range of cells when the input values are calculated.

Saturn Graph is working very well. I can create a line, bar or pie chart either in SIG (Saturn Interactive Graphics) or from a Calc spreadsheet. Then it can be displayed on a VT125, VT240, VT330 or VT340 (Regis) terminal, then when I'm ready to make a hard copy, send it to a spooled HP7550 (HPGL) plotter or even a LA50 (sixel) printer. The VT340 mouse even works with the Saturn drawing program.

Described in more detail in the Saturn Graph page on this site, Rene Richarz's TEK 4010 emulator for Windows, Linux and Mac works great as a plotting device to quickly see the example files. A screen shot is shown at the right.

I also have a couple F77 programs in development that are allowing me to read the VECTOR.LST file produced by GRF when HPGL output is directed to disk and send that HPGL scaled by various amounts to a modern HP T520 plotter to make 8.5" x 11", 11" x 17", 13" x 19" or 24" x 36" plots. The T520 is sent the modified HPGL data via TCP/IP to its port 9100. Another F77 program does a similar thing for a Brother MFC-L8930CDW color laser printer for print-outs and HPGL plots.

Current Status

   I would be interested in a beta tester or two who are somewhat familiar with Saturn to see if there are any issues remaining. Saturn provided many example files and I'm including them as wellI also included a couple of my .CAL spreadsheets: BENCH.CAL has some bench mark data for various PDP-11s and VAXes. BALLISTIC.CAL calculates ballistic tables for bullets given the initial velocity and Ballistic Coefficient.

This distribution contains in total about 10800 blocks in 300+ files.

If you have an RSX system on HECnet, you can NFT the Saturn files from RDP1:: (30.11) them back to your system.

>NFT =RDP1::\*.\*/LO

I’ve also packaged everything in a RL02 zipped disk image at:

Category:Downloads 

that can be downloaded with wget to a PiDP-11/70 or QBone. Then just unzip and attach the RL02 disk image to a rl device in simh.

Ultimately, Johnny Billquist said he might be interested in creating an RPM package.