First personal computer nostalgia

From: John Tinker <jtinker_at_coin.org>
Date: Sun Nov 26 23:23:51 2000

ajp166 wrote:

> From: John Tinker <jtinker_at_coin.org>
>
> >Guidance computer from Minute Man missle (1961)
>
> Whatever you do preserve that one. They were not that common
> and rare now. It was possible to even make one work useably.
> I havent hacked one since the early 70s, back then I only had
> the remotest clue, but it was cool.
>
> Allison

Oops. Well it's a basket case as far as computing goes. I've had it
since about '78 and along the way decided I would sell the boards one
at a time as souvenirs of the arms race. I pulled the boards, but
didn't actually sell any. The gigantic power connecter has been
clipped out, because it was so neat all by itself. I still have it,
but what a mess.

At the University of Iowa, I was told they had one connected to a
teletype, and were using two air conditioners to keep it cool. It had
something like 10k of 12 bit words on the fixed head harddrive, (the
case of which has a warning label about being made of beryllium and
therefore not to file or scrape it and breath its dust.)

As you know the card cage is cylindrical, and the frame is made of
magnesium. I was told that the "stabile platform" -- I guess a
gyroscope and a telescope, that once was inside of it cost a quarter
million by itself. That part, but not the computer itself was quite
secret, so they were removed them before sending them off to the
Universities. There is a port in the side of the computer frame for
the telescope to be able to look through, totake bearings from stars,
I guess.

When I bought it for $35, I thought it was a satelite! In a way, I
guess it was, sort of, short term, with an orbit intersecting the
surface of the earth. In spite of its defunct condition, it still
looks kind of neat. I always thought it would make a great coffee
table -- with a glass top. Lots of gold plated parts, and every
transistor and diode in the whole thing has its own serial number.

-- John
Received on Sun Nov 26 2000 - 23:23:51 GMT