3 Sep
2005
3 Sep
'05
11:59 a.m.
I found a pile of these things this morning. They are made by Odetics
in Anaheim Ca. After I got home with them I realized that they are for the
space shuttle. Does anyone know anything about them? I THINK they use a
tape drive inside. I haven't opened one up yet but I saw the remains of a
tape drive at the same place and I think it was the guts out of one of these.
Joe
3 Sep
3 Sep
10:39 p.m.
"Joe R." wrote:
I found a pile of these things this morning. They are made by Odetics
in Anaheim Ca. After I got home with them I realized that they are for the
space shuttle. Does anyone know anything about them? I THINK they use a
tape drive inside. I haven't opened one up yet but I saw the remains of a
tape drive at the same place and I think it was the guts out of one of these.
Joe
I'm not sure about how many the shuttle used but there is one on
each solid rocket booster. The had two tape reels stacked on
top of each other. The control signals are 5V logic and power
is probably 24V DC. I try to locate a contact to get some data
in them.
5 Sep
5 Sep
4:35 p.m.
John is correct about the 5 Volt logic control signals. The prime power is
+28 VDC spacecraft power. They have in-rush current limiters on the prime
power input and will run down to + 24 VDC and up to +32 VDC ( there is a
pre-regulator up front ). These are linear scan units ( not helical scan
like a VCR ). Sounds like you have the MMU ( Mass Memory Unit, the smaller
one ) and not the STR ( Standard Tape Recorder, the big guy ). These units
( MMU ) were digital only, and were used to download programs to the five
general purpose IBM computers ( configured like IBM 360s ). Part of this
function was to drive the " glass " dashboard ( CRTs) that provided info on
engines, etc. There was not enough room for all the standard instruments on
the " dash " that would have been required. So you could pull-up " virtual
instruments " like they have on the Toyota Prius dashboard. The two tape
reels were not driven, but maintained tape tension through differential
gears connected to a " gyrator " spring that provided relatively constant
torque between the two counter rotating reels. The tape was " pulled "
through a proprietary delta drive capstan system which incorporated the read
/ write heads. Remember this thing has to survive the G-force of liftoff and
run in a micro-gravity environment.
Best regards, Steven Canning
----- Original Message -----
From: "John C. Ellingboe" <john at guntersville.net>
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Saturday, September 03, 2005 7:39 PM
Subject: Re: Mass Memory Unit from Space Shuttle
"Joe R." wrote:
>
> I found a pile of these things this morning. They are made by
Odetics
> in Anaheim Ca. After I got home with them I
realized that they are for
the
> space shuttle. Does anyone know anything about
them? I THINK they use a
> tape drive inside. I haven't opened one up yet but I saw the remains of
a
> tape drive at the same place and I think it was
the guts out of one of
these.
Joe
I'm not sure about how many the shuttle used but there is one on
each solid rocket booster. The had two tape reels stacked on
top of each other. The control signals are 5V logic and power
is probably 24V DC. I try to locate a contact to get some data
in them.
11 Sep
11 Sep
8:50 p.m.
Joe,
I tried to send you an Email ( offline ) from the address on your webpage.
No go. I was trying to spare the rest of the list our ramblings in-so-far as
to the possible purchase of an MMU or two. Please feel free to contact me
offline concerning same.
Best regards, Steven
Joe,
I'm taking a stab at this being your correct Email address ( from your
homepage ). You do indeed have the Mass Memory Unit as described below ( in
a post that hasn't " posted " yet ). Where abouts in the country are you
located ( I'm in Southern California very near Anaheim ). The reason I'm
asking is if possible I would drive some ( reasonable ) distance to obtain
an MMU or two. I would think shipping might be costly ( or not ... ) ? Have
you thought about a price for these guys ( my first-born is spoken for
unfortunately ) ? Believe it or not, new these sold for about $250 K as I
recall. I'm not trying to cheat the system here, just getting impatient with
the slow postings... Please advise ...
Best regards, Steven Canning
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steven Canning" <cannings at earthlink.net>
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic Posts Only" <cctech at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Monday, September 05, 2005 1:35 PM
Subject: Re: Mass Memory Unit from Space Shuttle
John is correct about the 5 Volt logic control
signals. The prime power is
+28 VDC spacecraft power. They have in-rush current limiters on the prime
power input and will run down to + 24 VDC and up to +32 VDC ( there is a
pre-regulator up front ). These are linear scan units ( not helical scan
like a VCR ). Sounds like you have the MMU ( Mass Memory Unit, the smaller
one ) and not the STR ( Standard Tape Recorder, the big guy ). These units
( MMU ) were digital only, and were used to download programs to the five
general purpose IBM computers ( configured like IBM 360s ). Part of this
function was to drive the " glass " dashboard ( CRTs) that provided info
on
engines, etc. There was not enough room for all the
standard instruments
on
the " dash " that would have been required.
So you could pull-up " virtual
instruments " like they have on the Toyota Prius dashboard. The two tape
reels were not driven, but maintained tape tension through differential
gears connected to a " gyrator " spring that provided relatively constant
torque between the two counter rotating reels. The tape was " pulled "
through a proprietary delta drive capstan system which incorporated the
read
/ write heads. Remember this thing has to survive the
G-force of liftoff
and
run in a micro-gravity environment.
Best regards, Steven Canning
----- Original Message -----
From: "John C. Ellingboe" <john at guntersville.net>
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Saturday, September 03, 2005 7:39 PM
Subject: Re: Mass Memory Unit from Space Shuttle
a
"Joe R." wrote:
>
> I found a pile of these things this morning. They are made by
Odetics
> in Anaheim Ca. After I got home with them I
realized that they are for
the
> > space shuttle. Does anyone know anything about them? I THINK they use > > tape drive inside. I haven't opened one
up yet but I saw the remains
of
a
> tape drive at the same place and I think it
was the guts out of one of
these.
Joe
I'm not sure about how many the shuttle used but there is one on
each solid rocket booster. The had two tape reels stacked on
top of each other. The control signals are 5V logic and power
is probably 24V DC. I try to locate a contact to get some data
in them. 
3 Sep
3 Sep
10:48 p.m.
I found a pile of these things this morning. They
are made by Odetics
in Anaheim Ca. After I got home with them I realized that they are for the
space shuttle. Does anyone know anything about them? I THINK they use a
tape drive inside. I haven't opened one up yet but I saw the remains of a
tape drive at the same place and I think it was the guts out of one of these.
Joe
Any chance of getting a photo up?
Zane
--
--
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Administrator |
| healyzh at aracnet.com (primary) | OpenVMS Enthusiast |
| | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| PDP-10 Emulation and Zane's Computer Museum. |
| http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/ |
4 Sep
4 Sep
3:44 p.m.
Joe,
I worked for Odetics for many years in Anaheim ( Odetics Spacebourne
Division ). We built two different units for the shuttle. One of them was
the size of a very large black shoe box, and provided memory for the five
IBM main computers. The larger unit ( about the size of a pregnant LP size
laser disk player ) contained a 28 track ( re-configurable as analog or
digital on ANY track ) that was used to record telemetry and info from a ton
of transducers throughout the shuttle. Both units contained an extremely
rugged propriety tape drive system ( you will notice the reels are on top of
each other and counter rotate ). Figure out which ones you have and I'll get
all the poop I can for you. Interested in parting with one ?
Best regards, Steven Canning ( former systems design engr Odetics, Inc then
Hughes Aircraft )
I found a pile of these things this morning. They
are made by Odetics
in Anaheim Ca. After I got home with them I realized that they are for the
space shuttle. Does anyone know anything about them? I THINK they use a
tape drive inside. I haven't opened one up yet but I saw the remains of a
tape drive at the same place and I think it was the guts out of one of
these.
Joe
5 Sep
5 Sep
12:40 a.m.
Steven Canning wrote:
of transducers throughout the shuttle. Both units
contained an extremely
rugged propriety tape drive system ( you will notice the reels are on top of
each other and counter rotate ).
Tape path something like the old Philips N1500/N1700 video recorders?
They were pretty substantial beasts too, I seem to recall.
Gordon.
6 Sep
6 Sep
1:31 p.m.
New subject: Wahoo! nEW Find! was Re: Mass Memory Unit from Space Shuttle
At 12:44 PM 9/4/05 -0700, Steve wrote:
Joe,
I worked for Odetics for many years in Anaheim ( Odetics Spacebourne
Division ). We built two different units for the shuttle. One of them was
the size of a very large black shoe box, and provided memory for the five
IBM main computers. The larger unit ( about the size of a pregnant LP size
laser disk player ) contained a 28 track ( re-configurable as analog or
digital on ANY track ) that was used to record telemetry and info from a ton
of transducers throughout the shuttle.
<snip>
I had several of the smaller boxs and one larger box that I hadn't
looked at yet. I just finished examining it and I found that it's one of
the larger analog and digital boxs that Steve described. It's labeled
"Recorder, Magnetic Tape-Wideband Digital/Analog (Shuttle)". Not only did
I get it but I also had some kind of test panel made by Odetics that I also
picked up. It turns out to be the test panel for this unit :-) But wait! I
also picked up a big bundle of cables that were laying nearby and it turns
out that it had ALL of the (intact!) cables for it! After I took the
pictures I found a bag of connectors that are labeled as "Shuttle Tape
Recorder Connector Savers". Apparently these are connectors that mate with
the connectors on the tape recorder to prevent any damage to them when the
regular cables are removed. At least one of the smaller units already had
those installed when I found it.
Pictures at
<http://www.classiccmp.org/hp/Odetics%20Mass%20Memory%20Unit%202/>
I must be living right!
Joe
10:50 a.m.
At 07:48 PM 9/3/05 -0700, Zane wrote:
Here you go:
<http://www.classiccmp.org/hp/Odetics%20Mass%20Memory%20Unit/>. I opened it
up and took pictures on the inside too. I was HAPPY to see that it did have
a tape in it! The red tag on this unit says that it is an "Engineering
Test Unit". I have at least three more of these plus a test panel, some
cables and a larger unit that I'm not sure what it is and haven't had time
to check it yet. A couple of the pictures have a 12 inch ruler in them for
a size reference.
Joe
> I found a pile of these things this morning.
They are made by Odetics
>in Anaheim Ca. After I got home with them I realized that they are for the
>space shuttle. Does anyone know anything about them? I THINK they use a
>tape drive inside. I haven't opened one up yet but I saw the remains of a
>tape drive at the same place and I think it was the guts out of one of
these.
Joe
Any chance of getting a photo up? 
4 Sep
4 Sep
4:28 p.m.
New subject: SPAM-LOW: Mass Memory Unit from Space Shuttle
Joe -
I suspect you're inundated with requests, but just in case, would you be
willing to part with one of the pile you found?
Thanks!
-- Tony
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org]
On Behalf Of Joe R.
Sent: Saturday, September 03, 2005 3:59 PM
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
Subject: SPAM-LOW: Mass Memory Unit from Space Shuttle
I found a pile of these things this morning. They are made by Odetics
in Anaheim Ca. After I got home with them I realized that they are for the
space shuttle. Does anyone know anything about them? I THINK they use a
tape drive inside. I haven't opened one up yet but I saw the remains of a
tape drive at the same place and I think it was the guts out of one of
these.
Joe
6883
days inactive
6892
days old
9 comments
6 participants
participants (6)
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cannings＠earthlink.net -
gordon＠gjcp.net -
healyzh＠aracnet.com -
john＠guntersville.net -
rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com -
tony.eros＠machm.org