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The first PC and the first embedded system!

I have recently found some old literature for a system I built in the late '60s. It was adapted to be an embedded data processor for some nuclear systems, largely to do with processing Carbon 14 dating data. I have mounted the brochures on my page at:

-- "If you want to post a followup via groups.google.com, don't use the broken "Reply" link at the bottom of the article. Click on "show options" at the top of the article, then click on the "Reply" at the bottom of the article headers." - Keith Thompson

Reply to
CBFalconer
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Fascinating. Gotta love those nixies ;).

It's also very impressive - the precursor of the HP programmable calculator, perhaps.

Have you seen this:

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Apollo Guidance Computer rebuild project... I want one. (Actually I'd like a complete recreation of the Apollo Command Module, and a means of generating

0G so that I can float around in it...)

Steve

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Reply to
Steve at fivetrees

Interesting. What about the Wang:

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They used a Wang computer in a lab where I was working in the mid-70s. By then it had a CRT display and was programmed in BASIC.

Leon

Reply to
Leon Heller

A very nice comprehensive page. From my viewpoint Wang appeared shortly after we did, and was based on some sort of magic means of computing logarithms (which I still don't know). They had the disadvantage of some inherent computational inaccuracies. They also had a lot more development and marketing than we did. We started with $25,000 total, and ran the debts up to about $100,000 before selling out to Picker and saving our financial asses. By that time we had built about 50 machines, and they weren't flying out the door. To me our marketing and financing failed, but the technical part was fine. The whole firm was 5 people until we started production. Then we got up to about 10.

--
"If you want to post a followup via groups.google.com, don't use
 the broken "Reply" link at the bottom of the article.  Click on 
 "show options" at the top of the article, then click on the 
 "Reply" at the bottom of the article headers." - Keith Thompson
Reply to
CBFalconer

for

mid-70s.

Do you still have any of the machines?

Reply to
joep

I wish. When I went to work for Yale about 10 years later I found a complete one under a bench. About 1980 I offered it to the Boston Computer Museum. At that time I still had manuals and schematics, and my memory was much fresher. They ignored it.

--
"If you want to post a followup via groups.google.com, don't use
 the broken "Reply" link at the bottom of the article.  Click on 
 "show options" at the top of the article, then click on the 
 "Reply" at the bottom of the article headers." - Keith Thompson
Reply to
CBFalconer

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