17 Jun
2014
17 Jun
'14
11:13 a.m.
While digging through a local estate sale yesterday, I found an unknown
(to me), unmarked system. From what I know of the late owner, the system
may be related to the aircraft industry, as many of his tools and bits and
bobs were from Boeing surplus.
As for the unit itself, it is a yellow desk, with a tinted glass
slide-down screen, a complex keyboard. It had two Canon 5.25" floppy
drives mounted behind the screen, next to a USi Pi3 amber monitor. The
bottom section of the desk had a card cage, with cards, but I was unable to
open it for inspection. The only IO I found was a 36 pin Centronics
connection on the lower back of the desk. The console itself has a red
Fault indicator, as well as 3 columns of indicator lamps, with a
corresponding button and markings 1-8. There are also light up
push-buttons for power, load, reset, and compute.
The keyboard has switches for parity select (odd/even), Logic (+/-), Caps
(vs mixed upper/lower), Aux on/off, repeat fast/slow, some sort of counter,
plus a pair of mode A/B select wheels.
Pics can be seen at http://microfilmks.com/~tesla/Oddball/
Thanks!
--Shaun
17 Jun
17 Jun
12:05 p.m.
From: Copper Mistral <wulfcub at gmail.com>
? Pics can be seen at http://microfilmks.com/~tesla/Oddball/
This looks like some homebrew rig built in the cabinet, and with the keyboard,
of a Mohawk Data Sciences key-to-tape machine.
12:27 p.m.
On 06/17/2014 11:13 AM, Copper Mistral wrote:
While digging through a local estate sale
yesterday, I found an unknown
(to me), unmarked system. From what I know of the late owner, the system
may be related to the aircraft industry, as many of his tools and bits and
bobs were from Boeing surplus.
Looks like a CNC controller. I can't see clearly from the photo, but
are those really floppy drives? They look more like tape drives to me.
--Chuck
2:41 p.m.
I doubled checked, they are 5.25" floppy drives, with cardboard head
protectors in them. I'm wondering if the chassis is part of a Mohawk
MDS-1310 buffered matrix printer console. The keyboard is almost correct.,
except the Mode wheels and the buttons across the top.
3:16 p.m.
some sorta industrial machean thats for sure maybe an old hmi system?
On Tue, Jun 17, 2014 at 4:41 PM, Copper Mistral <wulfcub at gmail.com> wrote:
I doubled checked, they are 5.25" floppy drives,
with cardboard head
protectors in them. I'm wondering if the chassis is part of a Mohawk
MDS-1310 buffered matrix printer console. The keyboard is almost correct.,
except the Mode wheels and the buttons across the top.
7:28 p.m.
My Father-In-Law, a long time Boeing guy, has this to say:
"It might have been used as a data recorder or some other test
instrumentation console. It would be useful to see a data plate which could
provide more of a clue."
So, basically, some more speculation, but given the origin as you laid
it out, it seemed worth it to ask him. You said it's unmarked, so I
guess you didn't see any sort of data plate on it. I wonder if there
wouldn't be more a clue inside the card cage.
--Jason
On 6/17/14 5:41 PM, Copper Mistral wrote:
I doubled checked, they are 5.25" floppy drives,
with cardboard head
protectors in them. I'm wondering if the chassis is part of a Mohawk
MDS-1310 buffered matrix printer console. The keyboard is almost correct.,
except the Mode wheels and the buttons across the top.
23 Jun
23 Jun
7:49 p.m.
A small update to this. I now have the system in my possession. I've
opened the various panels and covers, but still have not found a nameplate
or any sort of model indication. The interior rear carries a 2-level card
cage, single height cards on top, double height on bottom. All, or almost
all, of the cards appear to be semi-mass produced. Pads and lands but no
traces, all point to point wiring. The two floppy drives next to the
monitor are Canon MD-210's, and while there is a power line to them, there
is no data cable installed, and I did not see any place for a data cable to
attach in the card cage. The monitor and the Centronics port on back are
both connected to (different) cards in the cage. There are also more
switches and lights inside, as well as a very healthy power supply. The
unit is exceptionally heavy, probably on the order of 300-350 pounds, if
not more.
Pics are now up at: http://microfilmks.com/~tesla/Oddball
73's,
--Shaun
On Tue, Jun 17, 2014 at 9:28 PM, Jason Howe <jason at smbfc.net> wrote:
My Father-In-Law, a long time Boeing guy, has this to
say:
"It might have been used as a data recorder or some other test
instrumentation console. It would be useful to see a data plate which could
provide more of a clue."
So, basically, some more speculation, but given the origin as you laid it
out, it seemed worth it to ask him. You said it's unmarked, so I guess you
didn't see any sort of data plate on it. I wonder if there wouldn't be
more a clue inside the card cage.
--Jason
On 6/17/14 5:41 PM, Copper Mistral wrote:
--
"If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one
day, so I never have to live without you." -- Winnie The Pooh
http://www.lungs4amber.org
I doubled checked, they are 5.25" floppy
drives, with cardboard head
protectors in them. I'm wondering if the chassis is part of a Mohawk
MDS-1310 buffered matrix printer console. The keyboard is almost
correct.,
except the Mode wheels and the buttons across the top.
10:37 p.m.
id say its off a peac of equipment that had a major upgrade in its interface
On Mon, Jun 23, 2014 at 9:49 PM, Copper Mistral <wulfcub at gmail.com> wrote:
A small update to this. I now have the system in my
possession. I've
opened the various panels and covers, but still have not found a nameplate
or any sort of model indication. The interior rear carries a 2-level card
cage, single height cards on top, double height on bottom. All, or almost
all, of the cards appear to be semi-mass produced. Pads and lands but no
traces, all point to point wiring. The two floppy drives next to the
monitor are Canon MD-210's, and while there is a power line to them, there
is no data cable installed, and I did not see any place for a data cable to
attach in the card cage. The monitor and the Centronics port on back are
both connected to (different) cards in the cage. There are also more
switches and lights inside, as well as a very healthy power supply. The
unit is exceptionally heavy, probably on the order of 300-350 pounds, if
not more.
Pics are now up at: http://microfilmks.com/~tesla/Oddball
73's,
--Shaun
On Tue, Jun 17, 2014 at 9:28 PM, Jason Howe <jason at smbfc.net> wrote:
My Father-In-Law, a long time Boeing guy, has
this to say:
"It might have been used as a data recorder or some other test
instrumentation console. It would be useful to see a data plate which
could
provide more of a clue."
So, basically, some more speculation, but given the origin as you laid it
out, it seemed worth it to ask him. You said it's unmarked, so I guess
you
didn't see any sort of data plate on it. I
wonder if there wouldn't be
more a clue inside the card cage.
--Jason
On 6/17/14 5:41 PM, Copper Mistral wrote:
--
"If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one
day, so I never have to live without you." -- Winnie The Pooh
http://www.lungs4amber.org
I doubled checked, they are 5.25" floppy
drives, with cardboard head
protectors in them. I'm wondering if the chassis is part of a Mohawk
MDS-1310 buffered matrix printer console. The keyboard is almost
correct.,
except the Mode wheels and the buttons across the top.
24 Jun
24 Jun
2:16 p.m.
Pics are now up at:
http://microfilmks.com/~tesla/Oddball
THe PCBs you show seem to have some power devices and very little logic
on them. Is there anything in the machine that could be a processor
(either a microprocessor or boards stuffed with logic ICs)? As it is, and
fro mthe fact that there si no data cable to the drives, I wonder if
there should eb another computer unit that goes with it.
-tony
3834
days inactive
3841
days old
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