> I found a fleeting reference, perhaps, in the ORCAD 4.0 manual,
> chapter 5, on PLDs?
> |GAL16V8 in:RESET,
> | out:(SEG[6~0], CARRY),
Yes that looks like it. So at least I wasn't imagining it.
Lee.
> Hmm... Having said all that, it might be possible to put a state
> machine into a 16V8 that had a 7 bit current state and a next state
> function that corresponded to "counting" is seven segments.
It was just that that I've seen an example of, many years ago, but can't
find now.
Lee.
> 8 74xx30's (8 input NAND) with each output feeding one of the inputs
> of the other stages.
That was my first thought but a quick look at the logic revealed that
pressing one button will make only one of the other seven outputs go
low.
Lee.
It took me longer than I meant to, but I dug up the manual for the AtariLab
package that I'd mentioned in the thread on getting kids into older
computers. In case you weren't reading that discussion, the AtariLab system
was a science kit for the Atari 8-bit home computers that included a
cartridge, an interface box that plugs into the joystick port, and a variety
of measurement probes. Atari must have manufactured them far in excess of
demand (no! not Atari!), because they're still fairly inexpensive NIB.
At any rate, here's the scoop on the interface box: it has 8 phono jacks on
it, arranged into 4 pairs: PADDLE, PTRIG, CONTROL, and POWER.
The PADDLE inputs are the analog inputs; they're simply expecting to see a
variable resistor on the other end, just as you'd except.
The PTRIG inputs are digital inputs corresponding to the joystick fire
buttons.
The CONTROL jacks are indeed digital outputs (this was the question that
came up in the original thread). They are wired to the UP and DOWN pins of
the connector -- the Atari joystick interface can be programmed to use these
pins for output rather than input, it seems. You must use controller jack 3
or 4 on the original 400/800 and 1 or 2 on the XL series. The PTRIG inputs
can be reversed in the same way, giving you a total of four digital output
lines per interface.
The POWER outputs are just connected to the +5V supply of the joystick
interface. The manual doesn't indicate how much current you can draw from
the interface, but I imagine it's not much.
So there you have it: 2 analog inputs, 2 digital input/outputs, 2 digital
outputs, and 2 power connections.
For me, this is exciting because the early transistor research was (to a large extent) encouraged and funded by the Army Signal Corps lab that is now the home of our computer museum.
Yes, Will D., we know for FACT that it was our lab and not just the ASC in general. Will likes to keep us on our toes. :)
Speaking of which -- sorry for the thread hijack -- at the next VCF East we will have a special exhibit of all the computer history that happened or that was directly related to our lab. Bush, Mauchly, Hewlett, Vollum, Shockley -- they all are part of our history here. (Which makes it quite fun for us to roam the hallways looking for ghosts!)
-----Original Message-----
From: Brent Hilpert <hilpert at cs.ubc.ca>
Subj: Re: TRADIC
Date: Sat Dec 8, 2007 2:04 am
Size: 1K
To: General at priv-edmwaa05.telusplanet.net; "Discussion at priv-edmwaa05.telusplanet.net":On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Evan wrote:
>
> A few days ago, someone asked about TRADIC. Tonight I stumbled upon a mention of this computer on page 204 of the book "Crystal Fire" (Michael Riordan and Lillian Hoddeson, 1997). The authors wrote, "In January 1954 Whippany engineers built a fully transistorized computer for the Air Force. Called TRADIC (for TRAnsistorized DIgital Computer), it used 700 point-contact transistors and more than 10,000 germanium crystal rectifiers in its circuits. Capable of performing a million logical operations every second, TRADIC was the first completely solid-state computer; it approached the speed of computers based on vacuum tubes."
>
> By "Whippany" they meant the Whippany, N.J. location of Bell Labs.
TRADIC is a well-known machine in the history of computing.
A little googling does bring up a lot of refs.
(I think there's another experimental/proof-of-concept machine commonly
mentioned as being one of the first transistorised machines (something from
Philco perhaps?).)
Another anecdote I ran across a few years ago in the IEEE AotHoC (which I wish
had kept a ref to), was of an IBM engineer working on one of the first
transistorised designs in the mid-50s (ECL IIRC), telling the story of how he
chose 5 Volts for the logic supply.
I'll make this quick--I just saw a rerun of a 1970 "Mission
Impossible" episode called "The Innocent". The computer there
definitely looks to be Univac; I'm guessing an 1106. Anyone else see
this one?
...and who has a reference manual for KAZAN IV?
Cheers,
Chuck
I was going through some of my old literature and stumbled upon a
discussion of the HP250 architecture. One statement made was that it
was impossible for the customer to write his own binary executables
on this system. The idea being that the customer would program
everything in HP BASIC, I imagine.
Out of curiosity, was this restriction ever relaxed? How many people
have one of these in their collection?
Cheers,
Chuck
All-
In an appeal to avoid the crusher....
I've got an SUN/Sun Sparcstation 5, GDM-1662B monitor (16" specs say,
1280 x 1024, color), 13W3 video cable, keyboard, mouse, 64 MB, 1 GB drive (I believe).
I live near BWI, Maryland.
If you know someone (who knows someone)* who would like this system,
let me know. BTW, that previous line is a joke of sorts for the
regular expressionists among us.
I'd prefer a local pickup, but will ship on your nickel.
Thanks,
Scott
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Hi Bob
Do you remember the S-100 controller and disk drives
I talked you into buying last year?
I recently dug up some more interesting information.
I've actually found someone that has a manual. This
is a find. These controllers are really quite rare.
Manuals are even rarer.
Second thing is that these Digital Systems controllers
were designed by Torode. These were the first S-100 floppy
system that Kildall release a packaged CP/M for.
I knew these were early controllers but didn't realize
the history of them.
Dwight
