10 Apr
2015
10 Apr
'15
10:38 a.m.
Did the PDP14 (or any machine of that era) ever use hand-threaded (by the
end user) core boards as ROM?
tnx.
g.
--
Proud owner of F-15C 80-0007
http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind.
http://www.diy-cockpits.org/coll - Go Collimated or Go Home.
Some people collect things for a hobby. Geeks collect hobbies.
ScarletDME - The red hot Data Management Environment
A Multi-Value database for the masses, not the classes.
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10 Apr
10 Apr
10:46 a.m.
On Apr 10, 2015, at 10:38 AM, geneb <geneb at
deltasoft.com> wrote:
Did the PDP14 (or any machine of that era) ever use hand-threaded (by the end user) core
boards as ROM?
Do you mean DEC machine?
I don?t know any. Certainly not any PDP-11; those used solid state ROMs, or in the early
boot ROM cards, diode arrays.
I think some IBM 360 models used core ROM for microcode.
Another early machine ? the CDC 6000 series mainframes ? used a switch matrix for the boot
ROM (?deadstart panel?). And the character shape data for the console display was
originally implemented as a large pile of random logic, though in the 170 series it turned
into a conventional ROM.
paul
10:54 a.m.
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Paul
Koning
Sent: 10 April 2015 15:46
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Re: Hand-wired core for ROM?
Rather than cores I believe that some machines had coils with drop in ferrite slugs. I
found this patent from 1972 which references IBM Patents..
http://www.google.co.uk/patents/US3691541
I also know the Elliot 803 used ferrite transformers in its logic sections...
On Apr 10, 2015, at 10:38 AM, geneb <geneb at
deltasoft.com> wrote:
Did the PDP14 (or any machine of that era) ever use hand-threaded (by the
end
user) core boards as ROM?
Do you mean DEC machine?
I don?t know any. Certainly not any PDP-11; those used solid state ROMs, or
in the early boot ROM cards, diode arrays.
I think some IBM 360 models used core ROM for microcode.
Another early machine ? the CDC 6000 series mainframes ? used a switch
matrix for the boot ROM (?deadstart panel?). And the character shape data
for the console display was originally implemented as a large pile of random
logic, though in the 170 series it turned into a conventional ROM.
paul
11:43 a.m.
On 04/10/2015 07:54 AM, Dave G4UGM wrote:
Rather than cores I believe that some machines had
coils with drop in
ferrite slugs. I found this patent from 1972 which references IBM
Patents..
http://www.google.co.uk/patents/US3691541
Somewhere on the web, there's a good exposition S/360 microcode store.
Two systems (at least) used--one was capacitive (360/30 et al.) and the
other was what was called "transformer" memory. Very clever, both of them.
I believe that the CDC large machines used capacitor-type ROS.
--Chuck
11:32 a.m.
On Fri, 10 Apr 2015, Paul Koning wrote:
Yes.
On Apr 10, 2015, at 10:38 AM, geneb <geneb at
deltasoft.com> wrote:
Did the PDP14 (or any machine of that era) ever use hand-threaded (by the end user) core
boards as ROM?
Do you mean DEC machine?
I don?t know any. Certainly not any PDP-11; those
used solid state
ROMs, or in the early boot ROM cards, diode arrays.
I want to make sure it wasn't in use before I double-down on calling
shennanigans on "Joe" in this thread:
http://hackaday.com/2015/04/08/restoring-a-vintage-pdp-1104-computer/#comme…
As far as I know, machines of that era used cores that were so small the
DEC hired master seamstresses (myth?) to make them. It's certainly not
something that would be done in the field by John Q. Programmer.
If I'm wrong, I'll happily admit it, but it just doesn't sound reasonable.
Thanks!
g.
--
Proud owner of F-15C 80-0007
http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind.
http://www.diy-cockpits.org/coll - Go Collimated or Go Home.
Some people collect things for a hobby. Geeks collect hobbies.
ScarletDME - The red hot Data Management Environment
A Multi-Value database for the masses, not the classes.
http://scarlet.deltasoft.com - Get it _today_!
11:45 a.m.
2015-04-10 17:32 GMT+02:00 geneb <geneb at deltasoft.com>:
On Fri, 10 Apr 2015, Paul Koning wrote:
What about the PDP-9 micro code memory?
http://www.ricomputermuseum.org/Home/equipment/dec-pdp-9/pdp-9-restoration/…
64 words of 36 bit memory with small transformers.
Not anything that the end user work with though.
On Apr 10, 2015, at 10:38 AM, geneb <geneb at
deltasoft.com> wrote:
I don?t know any. Certainly not any PDP-11; those used solid state ROMs,
Did the PDP14 (or any machine of that era) ever use hand-threaded (by
the end user) core boards as ROM?
Do you mean DEC machine?
Yes. or in the early boot ROM cards, diode arrays.
I want to make sure it wasn't in use before
I double-down on calling
shennanigans on "Joe" in this thread:
http://hackaday.com/2015/04/08/restoring-a-vintage-pdp-
1104-computer/#comments
As far as I know, machines of that era used cores that were so small the
DEC hired master seamstresses (myth?) to make them. It's certainly not
something that would be done in the field by John Q. Programmer.
If I'm wrong, I'll happily admit it, but it just doesn't sound reasonable.
Thanks!
g.
--
Proud owner of F-15C 80-0007
http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind.
http://www.diy-cockpits.org/coll - Go Collimated or Go Home.
Some people collect things for a hobby. Geeks collect hobbies.
ScarletDME - The red hot Data Management Environment
A Multi-Value database for the masses, not the classes.
http://scarlet.deltasoft.com - Get it _today_!
noon
Not seamstresses but nimble fingered girls in Puerto Rico and the
Phillipines
Core was in effect ROM. Power the system down switch off and anytime
later turn it back on and whatever was
in core was still there. I can remember our Field Service guys
restarting the final factory diagnositc on new systems.
On 10/04/2015 16:32, geneb wrote:
On Fri, 10 Apr 2015, Paul Koning wrote:
Yes.
On Apr 10, 2015, at 10:38 AM, geneb <geneb at
deltasoft.com> wrote:
Did the PDP14 (or any machine of that era) ever use hand-threaded
(by the end user) core boards as ROM?
Do you mean DEC machine?
I don?t know any. Certainly not any PDP-11;
those used solid state
ROMs, or in the early boot ROM cards, diode arrays.
I want to make sure it wasn't in use before I double-down on calling
shennanigans on "Joe" in this thread:
http://hackaday.com/2015/04/08/restoring-a-vintage-pdp-1104-computer/#comme…
As far as I know, machines of that era used cores that were so small
the DEC hired master seamstresses (myth?) to make them. It's certainly
not something that would be done in the field by John Q. Programmer.
If I'm wrong, I'll happily admit it, but it just doesn't sound
reasonable.
Thanks!
g.
12:08 p.m.
On Apr 10, 2015, at 12:00 PM, Rod Smallwood
<rodsmallwood52 at btinternet.com> wrote:
Not seamstresses but nimble fingered girls in Puerto Rico and the Phillipines
Core was in effect ROM. Power the system down switch off and anytime later turn it back
on and whatever was
in core was still there. I can remember our Field Service guys restarting the final
factory diagnositc on new systems.
That?s not ROM, that?s non-volatile RAM. It used to be that ?non-volatile? was assumed
and not stated, until semiconductor memory came along that made the adjective necessary.
paul
12:12 p.m.
On 2015-04-10 18:00, Rod Smallwood wrote:
Not seamstresses but nimble fingered girls in Puerto
Rico and the
Phillipines
Core was in effect ROM. Power the system down switch off and anytime
later turn it back on and whatever was
in core was still there. I can remember our Field Service guys
restarting the final factory diagnositc on new systems.
But... That is not what ROM is. You are just talking about store that
persists over power failure. You can still overwrite it whenever.
And actually, reading core is destructive. So you can never have core
for rom. It needs to be rewritten whenever it is read.
Johnny
On 10/04/2015 16:32, geneb wrote:
On Fri, 10 Apr 2015, Paul Koning wrote:
Yes.
On Apr 10, 2015, at 10:38 AM, geneb <geneb at
deltasoft.com> wrote:
Did the PDP14 (or any machine of that era) ever use hand-threaded
(by the end user) core boards as ROM?
Do you mean DEC machine?
I don?t know any. Certainly not any PDP-11;
those used solid state
ROMs, or in the early boot ROM cards, diode arrays.
I want to make sure it wasn't in use before I double-down on calling
shennanigans on "Joe" in this thread:
http://hackaday.com/2015/04/08/restoring-a-vintage-pdp-1104-computer/#comme…
As far as I know, machines of that era used cores that were so small
the DEC hired master seamstresses (myth?) to make them. It's certainly
not something that would be done in the field by John Q. Programmer.
If I'm wrong, I'll happily admit it, but it just doesn't sound
reasonable.
Thanks!
g.
12:16 p.m.
On Fri, 10 Apr 2015, Rod Smallwood wrote:
Not seamstresses but nimble fingered girls in Puerto
Rico and the Phillipines
Core was in effect ROM. Power the system down switch off and anytime later
turn it back on and whatever was
in core was still there. I can remember our Field Service guys restarting
the final factory diagnositc on new systems.
I understand how core works, I'm just _seriously_ doubting the guy's post
where he talked about modifying a core "ROM" by hand by changing the
wiring. However, since I'm not hugely familiar with what went on during
that era, I want to make sure where I stand before I tell him he's full of
it. :)
g.
--
Proud owner of F-15C 80-0007
http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind.
http://www.diy-cockpits.org/coll - Go Collimated or Go Home.
Some people collect things for a hobby. Geeks collect hobbies.
ScarletDME - The red hot Data Management Environment
A Multi-Value database for the masses, not the classes.
http://scarlet.deltasoft.com - Get it _today_!
12:30 p.m.
You should probably cut him a little slack, since core and rope are
easily confused, as they are so similar. Rope could be rewired in the
field, but I certainly would not want to be the FE with that job.
--
Will
On Fri, Apr 10, 2015 at 12:16 PM, geneb <geneb at deltasoft.com> wrote:
On Fri, 10 Apr 2015, Rod Smallwood wrote:
Not seamstresses but nimble fingered girls in
Puerto Rico and the
Phillipines
Core was in effect ROM. Power the system down switch off and anytime later
turn it back on and whatever was
in core was still there. I can remember our Field Service guys restarting
the final factory diagnositc on new systems.
I understand how core works, I'm just _seriously_ doubting the guy's post
where he talked about modifying a core "ROM" by hand by changing the wiring.
However, since I'm not hugely familiar with what went on during that era, I
want to make sure where I stand before I tell him he's full of it. :)
g.
--
Proud owner of F-15C 80-0007
http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind.
http://www.diy-cockpits.org/coll - Go Collimated or Go Home.
Some people collect things for a hobby. Geeks collect hobbies.
ScarletDME - The red hot Data Management Environment
A Multi-Value database for the masses, not the classes.
http://scarlet.deltasoft.com - Get it _today_!
12:32 p.m.
On Fri, 10 Apr 2015, William Donzelli wrote:
You should probably cut him a little slack, since core
and rope are
easily confused, as they are so similar. Rope could be rewired in the
field, but I certainly would not want to be the FE with that job.
Yeah. I think I'm just going to walk away from it. :)
g.
--
Proud owner of F-15C 80-0007
http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind.
http://www.diy-cockpits.org/coll - Go Collimated or Go Home.
Some people collect things for a hobby. Geeks collect hobbies.
ScarletDME - The red hot Data Management Environment
A Multi-Value database for the masses, not the classes.
http://scarlet.deltasoft.com - Get it _today_!
3:29 p.m.
On 2015-Apr-10, at 9:32 AM, geneb wrote:
On Fri, 10 Apr 2015, William Donzelli wrote:
Core RAM and "core rope" ROM sure are often confused, but technically I would
disagree that they are similar.
They have about as much in common with each other as they do with the power transformer in
the other corner of the chassis of whatever equipment they are in, that is to say what
they have in common is using electro-magnetics and having a magnetic core.
The operating principles and design and implementation of core RAM and core rope ROM are
very different. Notably:
- Core rope ROM does not magnetise the core for it's memory function.
Core rope ROM is really just pulse transformers with multiple primaries on each
transformer.
The presence or absence of a primary for a particular address (whether or which way the
address wire goes through the core) is the memory function.
This is in contrast to core RAM of course, which relies on changing the remanent magnetic
state of the core for the memory function.
- Core rope ROM has one magnetic core per the word-width of the memory. That is, a memory
of (say) 1024 16-bit words would have 16 cores.
Core RAM has one magnetic core per memory bit, a memory of 1024 16-bit words has 16,348
cores.
- Core rope ROM typically or often did not use doughnut-shaped cores, they were often
some sort of splittable / two-part core so they could be
accessed for the memory-state wiring.
Strikes me as conceivable that DEC used a field-configurable core rope design for the
PDP-14 program memory - something like the PDP-9 module that Mattis linked to could be
field alterable, but it sounds like "joe" in the OP thread may be confusing
things.
You should probably cut him a little slack, since
core and rope are
easily confused, as they are so similar. Rope could be rewired in the
field, but I certainly would not want to be the FE with that job.
Yeah. I think I'm just going to walk away from it. :)
5:20 p.m.
On 2015-Apr-10, at 12:29 PM, Brent Hilpert wrote:
On 2015-Apr-10, at 9:32 AM, geneb wrote:
This 1969 PDP-14 manual from bitsavers indeed describes a core rope ROM implementation for
the control memory:
http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/dec/pdp14/DEC-14-GGZA-D_PDP14UM_Nov6…
It indicates the initial programming was generally done by specification to the DEC
factory, but in-the-field reprogramming was also done.
On Fri, 10 Apr 2015, William Donzelli wrote:
Core RAM and "core rope" ROM sure are often confused, but technically I would
disagree that they are similar.
. . . .
Strikes me as conceivable that DEC used a field-configurable core rope design for the
PDP-14 program memory - something like the PDP-9 module that Mattis linked to could be
field alterable, but it sounds like "joe" in the OP thread may be confusing
things. You should probably cut him a little slack, since
core and rope are
easily confused, as they are so similar. Rope could be rewired in the
field, but I certainly would not want to be the FE with that job.
Yeah. I think I'm just going to walk away from it. :) 
5:52 p.m.
From: Brent Hilpert: Friday, April 10, 2015 2:20 PM
This 1969 PDP-14 manual from bitsavers indeed
describes a core rope ROM
implementation for the control memory:
http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/dec/pdp14/DEC-14-GGZA-D_PDP14UM_Nov6…
It indicates the initial programming was generally done by specification to
the DEC factory, but in-the-field reprogramming was also done.
Ineed, the bulk of chapter 12 attempts to describe how to do the
reprogramming.
Vince
11 Apr
11 Apr
1:15 a.m.
Core RAM and "core rope" ROM sure are often
confused, but technically I would disagree that they are similar.
They have about as much in common with each other as they do with the power transformer
in the other corner of the chassis of whatever equipment they are in, that is to say what
they have in common is using electro-magnetics and having a magnetic core.
You are nitpicking.
In the field of vintage memory systems, for lack of a better term,
core and rope are far more closely related than core and any other
type of memory, or rope and any other type of memory.
--
Will
2:07 a.m.
On 2015-Apr-10, at 10:15 PM, William Donzelli wrote:
Having in common their era of popularity makes them similar to miniskirts and Andy
Warhol.
Suggesting they are similar just contributes to the confusion about them.
They get confused because of the use of the word core in both, and they're of the same
era, with the result that core rope is misunderstood to be just some minor variation on
core RAM, for example as seems to have happened just now in the OP's thread in another
forum, so I made the point of clarifying their distinction.
Core RAM and
"core rope" ROM sure are often confused, but technically I would disagree that
they are similar.
They have about as much in common with each other as they do with the power transformer
in the other corner of the chassis of whatever equipment they are in, that is to say what
they have in common is using electro-magnetics and having a magnetic core.
You are nitpicking.
In the field of vintage memory systems, for lack of a better term,
core and rope are far more closely related than core and any other
type of memory, or rope and any other type of memory.
2:30 a.m.
On 04/10/2015 11:07 PM, Brent Hilpert wrote:
Having in common their era of popularity makes them
similar to
miniskirts and Andy Warhol. Suggesting they are similar just
contributes to the confusion about them.
They get confused because of the use of the word core in both, and
they're of the same era, with the result that core rope is
misunderstood to be just some minor variation on core RAM, for
example as seems to have happened just now in the OP's thread in
another forum, so I made the point of clarifying their distinction.
Let's also not forget that cores were used to implement pretty much all
logic in some computers. (e.g. NEC Parametrons, Univac Solid-state, an
early Cray military computer, etc.)
There, "solid state" did not mean transistors, which, at the time, were
still not reliable enough for prime-time.
--Chuck
10 Apr
10 Apr
12:08 p.m.
From: geneb: Friday, April 10, 2015 8:32 AM
I want to make sure it wasn't in use before I
double-down on calling
shennanigans on "Joe" in this thread:
http://hackaday.com/2015/04/08/restoring-a-vintage-pdp-1104-computer/#comme…
Since he's talking about PDP-8 and PDP-14 machines, I'm guessing he's
talking about the MR8E core rope memory.
As far as I know, machines of that era used cores that
were so small the DEC
hired master seamstresses (myth?) to make them. It's certainly not something
that would be done in the field by John Q. Programmer.
From what I've read, MR8E were supposed to be
custom configured
at the factory, but it's conceivable that changes could be
made by the
customer.
The Field Service Guide actually recommends re-soldering (after
re-tinning) the connections on boards that were unreliable.
Vince
12:15 p.m.
As far as I know, machines of that era used cores that
were so small the DEC
hired master seamstresses (myth?) to make them. It's certainly not
something that would be done in the field by John Q. Programmer.
As just mentioned, core was hand threaded mostly overseas, except for
IBM core, which was machine made (and even there, they found it was
cheaper to have some made by hand overseas). I do not know if anyone
else automated core production.
And "automate" is a loose word here - core stacks typically had to be
reworked during shipping due to broken wires and bum cores. This is
why with many core stacks, if you look closely, you can see splices in
the wires.
I am pretty sure rope memory (sort of core) could be changed in the
field, due to the general larger dimensions.
If someone is making a list - early Interdatas had rope for the control store.
--
Will
3:10 p.m.
Hey Guys do what I just did .. Go to Google type in rope memory.. Read
and then comment.
Its perfectly true that that DEC only used diode matrixes for bootstrap
boards.
They were easy to change and suitable for customers
However you need to understand the culture back then.
Engineers were encouraged to try any technology they chose and they
chose just about everything.
Rod
On 10/04/2015 17:08, Johnny Billquist wrote:
On 2015-04-10 16:38, geneb wrote:
Did the PDP14 (or any machine of that era) ever
use hand-threaded (by
the end user) core boards as ROM?
Hand threaded or not, core is not rom...
Johnny
9:15 p.m.
On Fri, Apr 10, 2015 at 10:08 AM, Johnny Billquist <bqt at update.uu.se> wrote:
Hand threaded or not, core is not rom...
Wrong. There does exist core ROM. It works differently than "normal"
core memory, and doesn't require the hysteresis loop used by normal
core, nor does it need to flip the magnetization of the cores. Instead
it uses each core as a transformer. It is called "core rope" memory
or "wire braid" memory, and is closely related to the IBM TROS
(Transformer Read Only Store) used as control store in some System/360
CPUs and peripheral control units. It was used in the Apollo Guidance
computer, the DEC PDP-9 control store, some PDP-16 configurations, and
the HP 9100 desk calculator. It was probably used in many other
machines of that era also.
Each "word" of core ROM has one drive line. That line is threaded
through some of the cores and around others. The core acts as a
transformer, so a pulse on the drive line is coupled to the sense
lines of the cores that the drive line is threaded through, but is not
coupled to the sense lines of the cores that the drive line bypasses.
Typically about 64 drive lines are used for one set of cores; beyond
that another set of cores would be used. That makes it 64 times as
dense, in terms of bits per core, as normal read-write core memory.
The HP 9100 has two levels of control store. The top level is a 32Kbit
inductively coupled PCB, which is amazing in its own right. The lower
level store is a core rope memory of 64 words of 29 bits, so there are
64 drive lines each threaded through or around 29 cores, with 29 sense
amplifiers.
To change the contents of the core rope memory, you have to rewire it.
12:14 p.m.
Did the PDP14 (or any machine of that era) ever use
hand-threaded (by
the
end user) core boards as ROM?
AFAIK, there was no ferrite-based ROM made by DEC for use in their
computers. There may have been aftermarket subsystems or boards that
were available for DEC machines that provided ferrite-ROM based storage,
and in some cases, it would make sense for some of the earlier machines,
before LSI ROM was available. I could definitely see use for such
in canned applications such as process control or machine controls.
Once LSI ROM became available, these kinds of devices disappeared very
quickly.
Not computers, but close in some cases:
The Wang 700-series (as well as later 500 and 600-series) electronic
calculators developed in the late 1960's used a ferrite ROM to store the
microcode that ran the machines.
http://oldcalculatormuseum.com/wang720.html
The 700-series calculator was actually a redesign of what was intended
to be a computer, but was quickly converted to a calculator when HP
introduced the 9100A calculator, and Wang Labs had to scramble to make a
competitive machine.
The HP 9100 calculators also used a ferrite ROM for sequencing.
http://oldcalculatormuseum.com/hp9100b.html
The Wanderer Conti (an early printing desktop electronic calculator
designed by Nixdorf) also used a core-based ROM for sequencing control.
The Mathatronics Mathatron calculators
(http://oldcalculatormuseum.com/c-math8-48m.html) used threaded core
ROM to store key-press sequences to implement higher-level math
functions.
The lack of any other real means (other than diode matrices, or
capacitive type ROMs, which took up a lot of space and were expensive to
make) for storing relatively large amounts of read-only data made
ferrite-based ROM attractive. Early on, the ROM in the Wang 700
calculator was strung by hand (by very patient and exacting women), but
eventually machines were built to at least semi-automate the process of
stringing the maze of wires.
Rick Bensene
The Old Calculator Museum
http://oldcalculatormuseum.com
4:58 p.m.
I have several DEC (PDP8) ones downstairs. I'll try to got the part numbers
tonight and post them. They might have been used in the PDP14, but I doubt
it. They were definitely not wired in the field.
Paul
On Fri, Apr 10, 2015 at 9:38 AM, geneb <geneb at deltasoft.com> wrote:
Did the PDP14 (or any machine of that era) ever use
hand-threaded (by the
end user) core boards as ROM?
tnx.
g.
--
Proud owner of F-15C 80-0007
http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind.
http://www.diy-cockpits.org/coll - Go Collimated or Go Home.
Some people collect things for a hobby. Geeks collect hobbies.
ScarletDME - The red hot Data Management Environment
A Multi-Value database for the masses, not the classes.
http://scarlet.deltasoft.com - Get it _today_!
5:04 p.m.
The paternal side of my family is from the southern Minnesota area and my
dad has told me on more than one occasion that my grandmother for a time
had a job working for Control Data "sewing" core memory by hand... This
would probably have been some time in the 1960s... Obviously I can't verify
the veracity of this firsthand :O but it's been said at least of that stuff
was assembled by hand by human beings, in the US...
Not sure about the core you'll find in your common PDP-11... By that time,
the work might have totally gone overseas?
Best,
Sean
On Fri, Apr 10, 2015 at 4:58 PM, Paul Anderson <useddec at gmail.com> wrote:
I have several DEC (PDP8) ones downstairs. I'll
try to got the part numbers
tonight and post them. They might have been used in the PDP14, but I doubt
it. They were definitely not wired in the field.
Paul
On Fri, Apr 10, 2015 at 9:38 AM, geneb <geneb at deltasoft.com> wrote:
Did the PDP14 (or any machine of that era) ever
use hand-threaded (by the
end user) core boards as ROM?
tnx.
g.
--
Proud owner of F-15C 80-0007
http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind.
http://www.diy-cockpits.org/coll - Go Collimated or Go Home.
Some people collect things for a hobby. Geeks collect hobbies.
ScarletDME - The red hot Data Management Environment
A Multi-Value database for the masses, not the classes.
http://scarlet.deltasoft.com - Get it _today_!
10:46 p.m.
On 04/10/2015 02:04 PM, Sean Caron wrote:
The paternal side of my family is from the southern
Minnesota area and my
dad has told me on more than one occasion that my grandmother for a time
had a job working for Control Data "sewing" core memory by hand... This
would probably have been some time in the 1960s... Obviously I can't verify
the veracity of this firsthand :O but it's been said at least of that stuff
was assembled by hand by human beings, in the US...
Probably true. Most of the systems manufacturers eventually took labor
at least out of the country. There was talk at CDC back in the day of
the "Tijuana core house", but that may have been for the bulk core (ECS)
used back then.
--Chuck
11:34 p.m.
OK, I found them. I have MR8-ECs "MAINDEC-08-DHMRA-A".
The full board is a M880, the half size is a H241.
I don't think there is anything like this in my VT14, and I don't recall
seeing it in any of my PDP14 items.
Paul
On Fri, Apr 10, 2015 at 9:38 AM, geneb <geneb at deltasoft.com> wrote:
Did the PDP14 (or any machine of that era) ever use
hand-threaded (by the
end user) core boards as ROM?
tnx.
g.
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