Tandy Logix-Kosmos (was: Re: Ferranti Logical Computor (1951) )

At 15:42 -0500 10/16/07, Brent wrote: ...and you have just reminded me of the name (see subject). I had one too. <google> ... ah. http://oldcomputermuseum.com/logix_kosmos.html Power supply, 10 bulbs across the top, 10 slides, each slide opened or closed 5 sets of contacts (functioning as a 5PDT switch), and a pushbutton. Each contact had 3 holes, as did the power supply and the lights. By placing jumper wires, you enabled "gates" to create the logic. You'd slide the slides to generate the input, then press the pushbutton to provide current. The lights would illuminate to generate the output. There were paper fold-ups to place inside the light housing so that the output could be pictographic, and to slide into a holder to label the slides. It's more or less the next step up from the "Digi-Comp" (3 bits -> 10 bits), except that it can't affect its own state. But you could implement "feedback" manually, by sliding slides when the bulb above them was illuminated. I quite clearly remember watching the Star Trek episode where Spock determines that the Enterprise's computer has been tampered with by beating it at chess, and thinking it'd take some pretty hot wiring to get the Logix-Cosmos to play chess, so I'd better get started. I never did figure out how to make the overlays work... Mine died of corrosion on the contacts, and was (regrettably) trashed, I'm pretty sure. -- - Mark, 210-379-4635 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Large Asteroids headed toward planets inhabited by beings that don't have technology adequate to stop them: Think of it as Evolution in Fast-Forward.