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Ken Shirriff

The display technology is interesting, using electromechanical rotating wheels with digits on them. (The first indicators are different: compass directions N/S/E/W, along with directions with a slash through them.) 11/17

12 comments
Ken Shirriff replied to Ken

In the display, each indicator module has 10 electromagnets, one for each digit. The rotating digit wheel has a permanent magnet. Energizing an electromagnet causes the digit wheel to spin to the electromagnet to show the corresponding digit. 12/17

Ken Shirriff replied to Ken

This board uses some different ICs from the rest, including some Texas Instruments op-amps. These amplifiers might be sense amplifiers for the signals from the core memory stack. 13/17

Ken Shirriff replied to Ken

I couldn't determine who built this device. NASA used the same Signetics ICs in multiple computers, so perhaps NASA built this computer too. The ICs say "CDC" so perhaps Control Data Corp. built it; they built aerospace computers like this AN/AYK-14 from the F-18. 14/17

Ken Shirriff replied to Ken

If you recognize my mysterious aerospace computer, let me know.
For more, see my latest blog post:
righto.com/2024/05/blog-post.h 15/17

Ken Shirriff replied to Ken

My previous thread on this mysterious aerospace computer.:
twitter.com/kenshirriff/status 17/17

Ken Shirriff replied to blterrible

@blterrible yes, I'm working on this system with CuriousMarc and TubeTime

Keith Mann replied to Ken

@kenshirriff That beauty is used to perform the precise calculations needed to avoid flying right through a star or bouncing too close to a supernova.

F4GRX Sébastien replied to Ken

@kenshirriff Usagi, please come to the fediverse!

retroprom replied to Ken

@kenshirriff This looks so much like a CRM-114 from Doctor Strangelove... but it seems to me like either communications security, or guidance. Maybe, and I'm guessing: T/A = target approach, T/G = terminal guidance? It seems like a thing that might have been classified, but low-risk at this point.

Good luck with your research!

gudenau replied to Ken

@kenshirriff This is such an interesting way of doing a display, I dig it.

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