CDC CYBER 170 Consoles

[Toby Thain]

On 2020-07-15 9:18 a.m., Toby Thain via cctalk wrote:
> On 2020-07-15 1:51 a.m., Tom Hunter via cctalk wrote:
>> I have been working on CDC CYBER 170 mainframes between 1977 and 1988. ...
>>
>> For many years I have been trying to find one of these vector drawn CC545
>> consoles to use with my emulator but I haven't been able to find one.
>> Recently I decided to build a clone of it myself. Bitsavers has a hardware
>> manual with schematics:
>>
>>
>> http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/cdc/cyber/cyber_170/62952600L_CYBER_170_Display_Station_CC545-CDEF_Hardware_Reference_26Mar1979.pdf
>>
>> The CC545 console achieved unusually fast deflection with an
>> electromagnetically deflected CRT. I am trying to understand the tricks
>> they used to get these high speeds. Part of the magic is a dual-yoke which
>> provided gross positioning within 2 microseconds to anywhere on the screen
> 
> Philco READ system (and probably others) did this as well.
> 
> http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/philco/displays/READ_Theory_And_Operation_Feb65.pdf
> 

Philco was also involved in the design of Carnegie's "Visual Display
System Suitable for Time Shared Use", described by J. Quatse.

It also had a fast vector generator described in that book.

--Toby

> --Toby
> 
> 
>> using the first yoke (this is VERY fast) and then painted the character
>> using a second yoke around that base position with 0.1 microsecond per
>> stroke (this is VERY fast too). The two yokes work in an additive manner.
>> ...
>> Tom Hunter
>>
>