While again searching for radio stuff :), I ran across this website in
Australia with an interesting article written in 1954 about the Morgan
Crucible Co. Ltd, and how they justified their purchase of the HEC4
Electronic Computer. From the first few paragraphs:
"The computer selected was the HEC4 Electronic Computer designed by the
British Tabulating Machine Co (later becoming ICT and then ICL - who
re-named it the ICT 1201), which was used with modified Hollerith
punched card equipment for I/O peripherals. Systems were designed to use
conventional 80 column punched card equipment for much processing
(sorters, collators, tabulators and reproducers). Details of this
machine are described in a second article below. Both articles were
published in the "Electronic Engineers Reference Book" for 1958. The
cost of the machine was about ?30,000."
Also included are the specifications of this machine:
Specifications of ICT HEC4
HEC4 Brief Specifications
P.R.F.
38.4 kc/s
Number base
Binary
Mode
Serial
Word Time
1.25 milliseconds
Word length
39 and sign
Instruction type
1 operand; 1 next instruction
Magnetic Drum
3,000 rpm; 64 tracks; 1024 words;
track switching 5 milliseconds;
18.75 milliseconds max. access
Quick Access stores
2 words
Add or Subtract
2.5 milliseconds
Multiply
800 milliseconds max.; 240 milliseconds ave
(slow)
50 milliseconds max.; 22.5 milliseconds ave
(fast)
Divide
48.75 milliseconds
Punched cards
100 cards per minute (in); 100 cards per minute
(out)
Printer
100 lines per minute; 100 characters per line
Price
?30,000
http://www.vk2bv.org/sb/hec4.htm