2 Feb
2004
2 Feb
'04
2:06 p.m.
On Mon, 2 Feb 2004, William Donzelli wrote:
I'll give this list a shot a something meat I have
had for a while -
maybe I can get a nice trade.
I have a big logic trainer that I would like to move on. It is pretty
neat and unique for three reasons:
1) It is based on vacuum tubes. Inside are a number of 12AX7oids that do
the work. I think this dates to the very late 1950s.
2) The logic is really odd. It is binary, but the logic levels are not
voltage levels, but phases. Hell of a way to run a railroad, in my book.
3) Its Japanese. Yes, Japanese. Apparently part of an early minicomputer
project that came out of Japan called Parametron.
http://www.thocp.net/hardware/parametron.htm
http://citeseer.nj.nec.com/328517.html
and a few others, two in Japanese and one that requires some kind of
password.
Google be yo fren'!
Quite the fascinating device - "based on the EDSAC" so I imagine it's
quite phase-dependent... the ENIAC had 10 seperate clock/buss lines, IIRC.
There's also a transistor-like device bearing the name, and a Paramistor.
Based on Josephson-junction technology.
Cheers
John