What are the really unusual or weird computers? - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

29 Jun 2007

My experience is

SDS9300 - 24bit
Elliott 803B - 39bit - one restored and working at Bletchley Park
Digital PDP-7 - 18 bit
Digital PDP11-45 -
LEO 326 - ? bits can't remember

...
  Message: 12
 Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2007 12:01:16 +0100
 From: Roger Holmes <roger.holmes at microspot.co.uk> 
...
   Its got Ampex
  TM4 mag tape drives (not industry standard 7 or 9 track, these are
  ten track units with hubs the same design as professional audio tapes
  and the 2 and 3 inch wide video tapes once used by TV broadcasters). 
Our SDS9300 had TM4 drives but I don't remember them being 2 and 3 inch 
wide, I thought they were 0.5 inch, but then that was 35years ago. The 
Elliott 803B had 35mm tape drives, sprocket driven, derived from film 
handlers, tape made by Kodak.

Mike Hatch
Looking for a PDP-7 (some hope!) 