Results 1 to 8 of 8

Thread: A Look at the computer that sent man to the moon

  1. #1
    LSemmens
    lsemmens's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Rural South OZ
    Posts
    10,585
    Thanks
    11,867
    Thanked 7,060 Times in 3,338 Posts
    Rep Power
    3153
    Reputation
    132572

    Default A Look at the computer that sent man to the moon



    If you have an hour to spare
    I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

  2. The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to lsemmens For This Useful Post:

    enf (02-02-20),hinekadon (08-02-20),mtv (01-02-20),tristen (01-02-20),Uncle Fester (06-02-20),VroomVroom (07-02-20)



Look Here ->
  • #2
    Super Moderator
    enf's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Canberra
    Age
    70
    Posts
    17,752
    Thanks
    16,816
    Thanked 34,961 Times in 9,058 Posts
    Rep Power
    13677
    Reputation
    644429

    Default

    Also the Science channel had a series called Moon machines. One episode was on the guidance computer with interviews featuring many of the people responsible for it's construction and programming...

    Rope memory? Sheeeesh....

    The fact that there's a highway to hell and a stairway to heaven says a lot about the anticipated traffic flow.

  • The Following User Says Thank You to enf For This Useful Post:

    lsemmens (02-02-20)

  • #3
    Senior Member
    trash's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Tamworth
    Posts
    4,088
    Thanks
    148
    Thanked 3,229 Times in 1,451 Posts
    Rep Power
    1287
    Reputation
    47674

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by enf View Post
    Rope memory? Sheeeesh....
    I think you mean magnetic core memory.


    We were having a laugh today that an Arduino programmed to flash a couple of LED's uses up more memory just to turn on than the entire moon mission.
    Yes I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.

  • The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to trash For This Useful Post:

    hinekadon (08-02-20),humax300 (18-02-20)

  • #4
    Super Moderator
    enf's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Canberra
    Age
    70
    Posts
    17,752
    Thanks
    16,816
    Thanked 34,961 Times in 9,058 Posts
    Rep Power
    13677
    Reputation
    644429

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by trash View Post
    I think you mean magnetic core memory.................................
    Not quite...............

    The fact that there's a highway to hell and a stairway to heaven says a lot about the anticipated traffic flow.

  • #5
    Senior Member
    Uncle Fester's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Commonly found in a pantry or the bottom of a fridge, searching for grains, fermented or distilled
    Posts
    6,405
    Thanks
    2,289
    Thanked 4,414 Times in 2,517 Posts
    Rep Power
    2046
    Reputation
    81778

    Default

    Actually enf you are now fault that I ordered one of these a few days ago


    You can't get rope memory on Ebay but it is the same principle.

    16x CD4051 and a 40pin PIC micro and I should figure out how to address it. The PIC will use way more memory to do the job but maybe I can run a simple program with the 512 Bytes. Of course it will be hard to convince people that the program is actually using the core memory, not the PIC itself but a few flashing small Neon indicators nearby should convince them

    Apart from the retro coolness factor and I am kind of over building projects with Nixie tubes, although I might actually use this core to count a Nixie and rotate a Decatron, I have some kind of 'romantic' connection to core memories that I totally forgot about until enf posted this thread.
    I was still basically a kid (15-16) when I had First Contact with (mainframe) computers and the thing that fascinated me most was the large rectangular prism, radiating a fair bit of heat and awe that was placed in the centre of the room, a bit like the Monolith from Space Odyssey.
    However it would regularly go up in smoke and then opened up for repair.
    Everybody was excited about the new Microprocessor systems that were being installed at that time next door in a much smaller room, so nobody noticed me away from my boring work (finding errors in punch cards) annoying the poor techie trying to fix this memory monster.
    Last edited by Uncle Fester; 09-02-20 at 11:26 AM.
    Update: A deletion of features that work well and ain't broke but are deemed outdated in order to add things that are up to date and broken.
    Compatibility: A word soon to be deleted from our dictionaries as it is outdated.
    Humans: Entities that are not only outdated but broken... AI-self-learning-update-error...terminate...terminate...

  • The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Uncle Fester For This Useful Post:

    hinekadon (09-02-20),humax300 (18-02-20)

  • #6
    Super Moderator
    enf's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Canberra
    Age
    70
    Posts
    17,752
    Thanks
    16,816
    Thanked 34,961 Times in 9,058 Posts
    Rep Power
    13677
    Reputation
    644429

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Uncle Fester View Post
    Actually enf you are now fault that I ordered one of these a few days ago


    You can't get rope memory on Ebay but it is the same principle.

    16x CD4051 and a 40pin PIC micro and I should figure out how to address it. The PIC will use way more memory to do the job but maybe I can run a simple program with the 512 Bytes. Of course it will be hard to convince people that the program is actually using the core memory, not the PIC itself but a few flashing small Neon indicators nearby should convince them

    Apart from the retro coolness factor and I am kind of over building projects with Nixie tubes, although I might actually use this core to count a Nixie and rotate a Decatron, I have some kind of 'romantic' connection to core memories that I totally forgot about until enf posted this thread.
    I was still basically a kid (15-16) when I had First Contact with (mainframe) computers and the thing that fascinated me most was the large rectangular prism, radiating a fair bit of heat and awe that was placed in the centre of the room, a bit like the Monolith from Space Odyssey.
    However it would regularly go up in smoke and then opened up for repair.
    Everybody was excited about the new Microprocessor systems that were being installed at that time next door in a much smaller room, so nobody noticed me away from my boring work (finding errors in punch cards) annoying the poor techie trying to fix this memory monster.
    That's core memory as I recall it and what trash was referring to. I worked on mainframes in the early 70s that used banks of it. IBM and Univac machines mostly, but had a hand with plenty of others. Like walking around in the grand canyon when you were in machine rooms.
    The fact that there's a highway to hell and a stairway to heaven says a lot about the anticipated traffic flow.

  • The Following User Says Thank You to enf For This Useful Post:

    humax300 (18-02-20)

  • #7
    Senior Member

    Join Date
    May 2018
    Posts
    2,251
    Thanks
    527
    Thanked 1,857 Times in 894 Posts
    Rep Power
    881
    Reputation
    36714

    Default

    I read up about the computers that got man to the moon years ago.
    I used to be able to tell people that my camera's had more computing power. I think that's old hat now. I think my Refrigerator and washing machine have more smarts and capability's these days not to mention something like an Arduino you can get for 3 Bux or even single chips.

    Amazing how far things have come although I often think things have come too far in many instances.

  • #8
    Super Moderator
    enf's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Canberra
    Age
    70
    Posts
    17,752
    Thanks
    16,816
    Thanked 34,961 Times in 9,058 Posts
    Rep Power
    13677
    Reputation
    644429

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by george65 View Post
    I read up about the computers that got man to the moon years ago.
    I used to be able to tell people that my camera's had more computing power. I think that's old hat now. I think my Refrigerator and washing machine have more smarts and capability's these days not to mention something like an Arduino you can get for 3 Bux or even single chips.

    Amazing how far things have come although I often think things have come too far in many instances.
    The main on board computer was a system made and programmed by MIT. 72K.
    The fact that there's a highway to hell and a stairway to heaven says a lot about the anticipated traffic flow.

  • Bookmarks

    Posting Permissions

    • You may not post new threads
    • You may not post replies
    • You may not post attachments
    • You may not edit your posts
    •