Rayethon Computer AN/FYK9 CMI Store 33

[Bill Degnan]

While we're throwing around bits, here's one - the 1960 ISI 609 Information
and Computer System runs
4096 Words of 39 bits plus a parity bit
OR
8192 Words of 19 bits plus a parity bit
OR
12288 Words of 13 bits each.

...but the basic machine operates upon 39 bit words with the instructions.
The 19 bit is for progrmmed features and the 13-bit word is used to store
data constants.    ISI Information Systems was out of Skokie Illinois, they
used to be called Panascan Division Panellit, Inc.

Bill

On Tue, Sep 25, 2018 at 1:09 PM dwight via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
wrote:

> Nicolet 1080 is 20 bit data but has 16 bit address space. No stack
> functions. It has a register called link but that is only a single bit
> carry. Subroutines use the first address to store the return, meaning they
> were not recursive without something to save the returns ( I think dec did
> this too but I'm not a dec person ).
>
> 20 bits was considered enough noise level to do ffts for NMR chemical
> analysis. The machine typically came with 12Kx20 core but one could add on
> another 12Kx20 unit, even though the address size could access 64K. There
> were special DMA operations that only ran on the lower memory.
>
> Dwight
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: cctalk <cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org> on behalf of Chuck Guzis via
> cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2018 9:21:55 AM
> To: Christian Corti via cctalk
> Subject: Re: Rayethon Computer AN/FYK9 CMI Store 33
>
> On 09/25/2018 08:45 AM, Christian Corti via cctalk wrote:
> > On Mon, 24 Sep 2018, Chuck Guzis wrote:
> >> How about some 22-bit or 13 bit architectures?
> >
> > How about our Dietz MINCAL 523? 19 bit architecture, memory is 20 bits
> > with parity. Microprogrammed machine, microcode within normal address
> > space, mixed twos-complement and sign-magnitude arithmetic. Completely
> > reverse-engineered due to lack of information :-))
> > 8K core memory, microcode and boot loader stored in foil ROMs (similar
> > to wire rope ROMs).
>
> I was wondering if anyone would rise to the challenge.  In fact, some
> Harvard-architecture MCUs have unusual *instruction* word lengths.
>
> I think the PB250 was 22/44 bits and, of course, there was a whole horde
> of 36-bit mainframes, some extending well into the 1980s, as well as
> other systems with multiples of 6 bit lengths.
>
> How many of today's ISAs are *not* byte-addressable nor implement a
> stack?  I'm somewhat curious as to how HLLs have influenced our thought
> regarding architecture.
>
> --Chuck
>
>