[cctalk] Re: Elliott Algol

On Sun, 2025-02-16 at 21:34 +0000, paul.kimpel--- via cctalk wrote: When I was an undergraduate there was a B220 in the computer room, beside the IBM 7094.7044 direct couple. It was used to read paper tapes from the synchrotron into the 7044. It had a magnetic tape drive with permalloy ­— not mylar — tape. If it got a permanent read error, the program could issue a command to punch a hole in the record. It also had a thermal printer called "teledotis." It was very fast, so some called it the Whippet. It electrostatically deposited soot onto special paper, which was then fused by a heat roller. If it was too cold, the soot fell off. If it was too hot you got a big smudge. The temperature was adjusted by a giant Variac under the table. On most days, the ideal setting was between two windings.