12 Apr
2024
12 Apr
'24
4:48 p.m.
On Fri, 2024-04-12 at 15:05 -0700, Chuck Guzis via cctalk wrote:
One that comes to mind is the Datatron/Burroughs B-205, used as a prop
in several Hollywood productions (or at least pieces of one)..
In the computer center, beside the 7094/7044 Direct Couple, Caltech had
a Datatron/Burroughs 220. It had a tape drive for metallic tape. If it
detected an error, it backspaced and punched a hole in the tape.
By 1964, the 220 had only two jobs: One was to read paper tape from the
synchrotron into the 7044. The other was to print on its "whippet"
printer, a very fast electrostatic printer that put soot onto a thermal
paper that was then heated to "fix" it. There was a huge variac under
the printer to adjust the heater. The perfect setting was between two
windings. Too cold and the soot fell off. Too hot and it was melted and
smeared into an almost illegible mess. But it was very fast -- and only
80 columns wide. It was about the size of a KSR-33.