Recounting th e"good olde days"???
Lemin, Graeme
Graeme.Lemin@team.telstra.com
Wed, 27 Apr 2005 08:58:41 +1000
Did anyone else here work on the NCR 315? When I started in IT back in 72, we were still using two NCR 315 machines. One had 20k of memory, the other had 10k. Tape drives had two densities, 128BPI or the super duper 256BPI.
There were no disk drives, data was stored on CRAM decks. CRAM = Card Random Access Memory. Each card was about 4 inches wide and 15 inches long, and was coated in a magnetic material like a tape. Cards had individual binary coded notches at the top, and would drop from the deck, over the read/write head, back up a raceway and return to the deck. The bane of the 315 operator was the dreaded "double drop", where two cards would drop at once, with disastrous results.
The machine was booted from punch cards or punched paper tape. One of my very first jobs was to splice smaller paper tapes together to form a big one. I quickly learned the consequences of using too much glue!
For a picture of a 315, take a look at:
http://www.unoalumni.org/About_Us/Flashback/Archive/92/index.asp
Ah, nostalgia ain't what it used to be!
Graeme Lemin
> -----Original Message-----
> From: powerh-l-admin@lists.sowder.com [SMTP:powerh-l-admin@lists.sowder.com] On Behalf Of Richard Sheehan
> Sent: Wednesday, 27 April 2005 5:59 am
> To: 'powerh-l@lists.sowder.com'
> Subject: Re: Recounting th e"good olde days"???
>
> Ok, I found a pic, not quite as big as what I was thinking, but I'm sure
> they weren't all that light either.
>
> http://is.lse.ac.uk/History/DRUM-Memory-BendixG15computer.htm
>
> Another interesting page.
>
> http://www.caslon.com.au/timeline6.htm
>
> ---
> Richard Sheehan
> IT Programmer Analyst
> 208-282-4427
> Student Services, College of Technology
> Idaho State University
> Pocatello, ID 83209-8380
>
>
>
> Ken Langendock wrote:
>
> >
> >Ha thats a laugh. Anyone actually openned a UNIX
> >server?
> >
> >I pulled apart a IBM UNIX server after being told by
> >my UNIX guy the parts were all proprietory you can't
> >do anything with this machine.
> >
> >What a pile of crap, they were either standard IDE
> >drives or basic SCSII drives. I replaced the small
> >drives with bigger ones I had lying around and
> >reinstalled the O/S. Works perfectly. The memory was
> >old as well....now you can pick that stuff up for
> >peanuts too.
> >
> >BTW, I remember the "washing machines" as well. I went
> >into a service bureau once and thought I was in a
> >sears major appliance section.
> >
> >
> >--- Guy Werry <guy.werry@hbms.ca> wrote:
> >
> >
> >>Sadly, no photos or anything of those, but I do
> >>remember the 404 Mb HP
> >>drives from the mid-80s which we referred to as the
> >>"Washing Machines"
> >>because they were about the size of a short washing
> >>machine and under
> >>certain circumstances they would shake and rumble
> >>very much in the fashion
> >>of one's washing machine during the spin dry cycle!
> >>
> >>(They also cost about $40k CDN ... now we're buying
> >>USED 9GIG Unix drives
> >>for about $2k CDN)!!
> >>
> >>Guy.
> >>
> >>-----Original Message-----
> >>From: Richard Sheehan [mailto:sheerich@isu.edu]
> >>Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2005 2:33 PM
> >>To: Heasman, David
> >>Cc: 'powerh-l@lists.sowder.com'
> >>Subject: Re: Recounting th e"good olde days"???
> >>
> >>
> >>Does anyone have any pic's and/or old literature for
> >>these drums?
> >>
> >>Sounds pretty interesting. I have a picture in my
> >>mind of an old wax
> >>cylinder record - just lots bigger. (Yes these were
> >>also way before my
> >>time.)
> >>
> >>
> >>---
> >>Richard Sheehan
> >>IT Programmer Analyst
> >>208-282-4427
> >>Student Services, College of Technology
> >>Idaho State University
> >>Pocatello, ID 83209-8380
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>Heasman, David wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> -----Original Message-----
> >>> *From:* John Stires
> >>>
> >>>
> >>[mailto:pencarver@sbcglobal.net]
> >>
> >>
> >>> > Speaking of a Sperry Rand Univac 1110,>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>does anybody remember
> >>
> >>
> >>> the Drum stoarge that went with it?
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>> It was about he size of a small car. It was
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>very fast, for
> >>
> >>
> >>> its day, but help less data than the little
> >>>
> >>>
> >>PDA I now carry in my
> >>
> >>
> >>> pocket.
> >>>
> >>> Yes Univac 1100s were used in the UK for
> >>>
> >>>
> >>airline reservations
> >>
> >>
> >>> because of fast file transfer to drum.
> >>> There's an apocryphal tale of one slipping its
> >>>
> >>>
> >>mountings and
> >>
> >>
> >>> whizzing out of the first-storey window
> >>> of the BP Headquarters in London in 1969. It
> >>>
> >>>
> >>weighed about a ton
> >>
> >>
> >>> and revolved at 5000+ r.p.m.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>|
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
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