On Wed, Oct 27, 2004 at 10:08:09AM -0700, Robert A. Rawlinson wrote:
Richard wrote:
On Monday 25 October 2004 05:32 pm, Bruce Marshall wrote:
My first computer experience was with a IBM 650. The memory was on a rotating belt-driven drum. Sometimes with a power spike, the belt would snap..... :-)
Didja ever see what happens to a 6 foot drum with fixed heads when there is a sudden phase reversal? The drum, rotating at 3600 rpm, stops in a fraction of a rotation as it slams into the heads.
I doubt if many here have ever heard of, much less worked on a serial drum machine using ac logic. That was the first Process Control Computer, a RW/BR-300 invented around 1957 and still controlling the original process at the Texaco refinery when I left the company in 1973. You had to speak machine language on that one, assembly came later. ra
The first computer I worked on had them and lots of vacuum tubes. It had the power of one of the first radio shack computers. It took up one story of a five story building and had an interlock with the air conditioning system as they claimed that if the air cond failed the computer would reach the combustion temp of paper in five minutes. I don't know if they were exaggerating or not. Bob
Heh, was it powered by AMD? ;)
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On Wednesday 27 October 2004 12:36 pm, Allen wrote: the first Nuclear Power plant in the US. TO change program you loaded a paper tape. Used a head per track disc (Drum) and do you know what happens when an airline drops one? Also since you were in process control do you know hat a scane value was? (did spell name right) {two hundred fifty six analog inputs, one digital output. -- Russ