Sellam Ismail wrote: The Imlac's primary applications seem to be editors and terminal programs for larger systems. Did the Imlac ever have high-level language support? I think we would have to call this the first programmable, smart terminal. Speaking of old terminals, does anyone have schematics for a SOROC IQ-120?

Hi Tom, A late night with the Imlac gave me a good step forward towards fixing the vector generation. I now know exactly what the problem is, although I've not found and repaired the cause. Let me correct that, I've found at least one problem... Apparently my Imlac cannot make any negative Y-axis displacements in short vector (increment) mode. Any vector made with a -Y axis deflection is drawn with a +Y axis displacement. So the 'H' and 'E' of "HELLO" are totally misformed. Probing with a scope (and the extender board) shows that the subtract signal going into the Y axis accumulator LSB is stuck low. Checking this at the input to the 8-bit instruction register (slot 220) shows that the input data for that bit is toggeling as the 'hello' program runs, but the output from the 7495 latch is stuck low. I'm not sure that the latch is bad however, I've replaced the card in slot 220 with no effect. Perhaps that net is sorted, or some other device on that net is pulling it down really hard. Assuming that every board I've swapped is good (not a safe assumption) than then the cause of the problem would have to be the input gate on the display program counter board, which has not (yet) been swapped. Now then, there is another problem I'll have to look at. When I run the HELLO program, I get a much too-tall, corrupted H and E, the two L's are fine... But there is no O, nor even any attempt at drawing the O. If I'm lucky, this is a display program counter problem that will go away when I fix the negative Y axis deflection problem. I can't see how this (-Y) problem would totally prevent the formation of vectors for the O, but I've not started looking at that just yet. Also, I've looked at the power supply (mechanically). Normally its been tucked away under the corner of the dining room table, so the exposed transformer AC leads are out of harms way. Its not nearly as tightly packed as I'd originally thought, and its probably very simple to re-cap this supply. So at this point my plan will be to get the other power supply section and rebuilt it with new caps, then install it into the Imlac. Hopefully this will address the DAC power supply noise thats making my vectors unstable.

Many years ago I was trained on the maintainance of what was then an already vintage computer, the HM-4118. This was an 18-bit mini with lots of core, totally mil-spec all the way down to a Klienschmidt teletype terminal. This computer needed to be rugged and dependable, it was the brain for a combat air-traffic control radar system. Built by Huge Aircrash, err, um, Hughes Aircraft, this system (called a TSQ-91) could be set up just about anywhere in the world (and often were) on short notice to provide command, control and communications capabilities, rather like an AWACS plane meets a MASH camp, in a kinda-mobile ground installation. The HM-4118 has got to be one of the most physically rugged blinkinlights mini's ever made. It was so overbuilt it could easily win any contest for 'most-ugly-mini', yet with its real-time, vector-graphic radar display overlays it was also the 'coolest' computer I've ever worked with (beating things like Connection Machines). Anyway, is there anywhere I could find info on the HM-4118, or god-forbid, ever find one of these beasts, or its ancestors? I do know of a stash of photographs of a TSQ-91 system in operation, some excellent quality slides. I should see about getting some of these scanned sometime....