Homebrew Drum Computer (magnetic heads)

I didn't quite get to play with one, but I did have the r/w head from a SAGE computer after it was decommissioned at a base near here in Corvallis Oregon in the late 60s (if I recall correctly.) I *did* read one of the maintenance manuals, though, and it suggested strongly it was not a flying head device. I seem to recall the drum was nickel plated (rather hard) and the adjustment procedure was something like "turn the screw to advance the head to the drum surface until you hear a squeal, then back it off a bit." The heads were rather simple devices with a single screw that drove the head to/from the media surface. These heads were long and skinny (from memory about 1cm X 2 cm X 15 cm) with the head mounting in fixed brackets that spiraled around the drum surface (so that spacing was close without having to crowd the heads next to each other.) I do still have my storage-tube display from the SAGE though (a charactron tube) and hope to interface it to something medieval someday. Wish I'd kept the drum parts. -Gary jim s wrote: