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| 4 | <head><!--#set var="title" value="Scientifical calculators and mini computers" |
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[15] | 18 | <meta name="t29.SVN" content="$Id: early-computers.shtm 123 2009-11-11 22:56:33Z heribert $" /> |
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[1] | 19 | <meta name="t29.germanoriginal" content="18.07.2007/v5.7FINAL" /> |
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[35] | 20 | <meta name="t29.thistranslation" content="22.08.2008/v5.8FINAL" /> |
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[1] | 22 | <!--changleog: 27.04.2006/v5.5.1 auf Basis 2005/v5.5.1 --> |
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[15] | 23 | <!--changelog: 21.08.2007/v5.7.5 auf Bais 18.07.2007/v5.7FINAL --> |
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[35] | 24 | <!--changelog: 28.07.2008/v5.8.0 auf Basis 18.07.2007/v5.7FINAL: details 2 paragraph formulierung --> |
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[1] | 25 | </head> |
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| 26 | <body> |
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| 27 | <!--#echo encoding="none" var="heading" --> |
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| 28 | <div id="content"> |
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| 29 | <h2><!--#echo var="title" --></h2> |
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| 30 | |
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| 31 | <p>Today's kids think of the latest mobile devices when talking about "mini computers". In contrast, in the 1960s and the early 70s, a computer was always huge (like our <a href="univac9400.shtm">UNIVAC mainframe</a>), thus a 300kg computer was "mini". Early computers are well worth seeing due to their enormous size and the nice transparent auxillary devices. |
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| 32 | <br />There is a very important computer family that finally lead to today's (personal) computers: The development of the "Mini" computers from Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), series PDP 8. The museum owns a complete production run from that devices: From the PDP 8 (also called Classic 8), year of manufacture 1965 to the PDP 8a (1975, this one is less important so it is located in the archive). |
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[35] | 33 | <br/>For further reading see the story about <a class="go" name="backlink-dec" href="/en/devices/dec-history.shtm">Rise and Fall of DIGITAL (Equipment Corporation)</a>. |
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| 34 | </p> |
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[1] | 35 | |
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| 36 | <!--alter Text: The legendary Classic PDP 8 from the company DEC (year of manufacture 1965) can be admired among others. Furthermore you can see the PDP 8L or <a class="go" href="/en/devices/pdp_8I.shtm">PDP 8I</a> (year of manufacture 1967, a lot of periphery) and the laboratory computer <a class="go" href="/en/devices/lab_8e.shtm">LAB8e</a> (1971). |
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| 37 | Because of constantly growing claims for storage capacity, backing storage (19-zoll drawers for 4kB with a weight of 20kg) was offered. The PDP 8I could not administrate more than 32kB. |
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| 38 | <br />THe PDP 8L, a trimmed-down version of the PDP 8I, cannot hold more than 8 kB.</p> --> |
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| 39 | |
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| 40 | <div class="box center"> |
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[123] | 41 | <img src="/shared/photos/rechnertechnik/dec/classic8,594px.jpg" width="594" height="704" alt="PDP 8 Classic" /> |
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[1] | 42 | <p class="bildtext"> |
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| 43 | One of the museal highlights: The complete PDP 8 system with processor, |
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| 44 | big tape deck TU 580 (originally belongs to the PDP 5, year of manufacture |
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| 45 | 1963), punch card reader/puncher PC 01, hard disc DF 32 with immovable heads |
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| 46 | and a teletype as printer. The Classic-8 is called the world's first mass-produced |
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| 47 | "minicomputer". Without ICs or their ancestor it is a seccond-generation apparature. |
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| 48 | <!-- The <b>Classic PDP 8</b> from DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation, Massachusetts): |
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| 49 | He is considered to be the world's first mass-produced "minicomputer" (1965). "Mini" is relative: Only too very |
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| 50 | strong men can lift the computer. It is better to have four people to carry it!. |
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| 51 | Without ICs or their ancestors the device is counted among the seccond-generation calculators. |
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| 52 | <br/>You can also get a view from the "Flip-Chip"-card from the <a class="go" href="/en/devices/pdp-8-left-flank.shtm">left flank</a> |
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| 53 | (<u>flank</u>). The core memory is set above (storage capacity 4kB).--> |
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| 54 | </p> |
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| 55 | </div> |
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| 56 | |
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| 57 | <div class="box left"> |
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[123] | 58 | <img src="/shared/photos/rechnertechnik/dec/pdp8i.jpg" alt="DEC PDP 8I" width="400" height="666" / |
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[1] | 59 | <div class="bildtext"> |
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| 60 | <h3>PDP 8I</h3> |
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| 61 | <p>DEC's first calculator with integrated circuits was not cheap. The CPU on |
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| 62 | its own (in the middle of the picture) without periphery costed 27000$ at that time.<br/> |
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| 63 | The main memory had a capacity of 8kB. While calculating a "bigger" problem, possibly some files |
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| 64 | (programs, data) had to be swapped on a (magnetic) tape and read in afterwards. DEC developed |
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| 65 | a very intelligent operating system (OS/8) which could work very efficiently with such few memory. |
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| 66 | It is very interesting to watch this computer working.</p> |
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| 67 | <p>If you have not yet seen such a computer, you should know that it is more than 2m high (with |
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| 68 | plotter) and has a weight of more than 300 kg.</p> |
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| 69 | <p>The periphery constists of 2 x TU 55 (tape drives), PC 04 (high speed paper tape reader), |
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| 70 | Calcomp 563 plotter (at the top) and of course a teletype (not in the picture).</p> |
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| 71 | </div> |
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| 72 | <div class="clear"> </div> |
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| 73 | </div> |
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| 74 | |
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[123] | 75 | <div class="box left"> |
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| 76 | <a href="/en/devices/lab_8e.shtm" name="lab8e"><img src="/shared/photos/rechnertechnik/dec/lab8e.jpg" width="400" height="461" alt="LAB 8e" class="nomargin-bottom" /></a> |
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[1] | 77 | <!-- other picture --> |
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| 78 | <div class="bildtext"> |
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[123] | 79 | <h3>Lab 8e, PDP 8e</h3> |
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[1] | 80 | <p>Successor of the PDP8i was the PDP8e (1970). This computer had already an |
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| 81 | internal bus system. So you could easily attach any periphery with interface cards. This |
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| 82 | feature made the "Mini"computer all-purpose. This Computer type was offered with diverse |
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| 83 | A/D- and D/A-converters and connection facilities as laboratory computer for analogue |
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| 84 | devices (shown in the picture). The periphery is:</p> |
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| 85 | <ul> |
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| 86 | <li>VR 12 (oscilloscope display)</li> |
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| 87 | <li>PC 04 (High speed paper tape reader/puncher)</li> |
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[123] | 88 | <li>3 x TU 56 (double tape drive)</li> |
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[1] | 89 | <li>A/D- and D/A-converter</li> |
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| 90 | </ul> |
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| 91 | </div> |
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| 92 | <div class="clear"> </div> |
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| 93 | </div> |
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| 94 | |
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| 95 | |
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| 96 | <p>Furthermore the first system that looks like a today's computer is connected: <a class="go" href="/en/devices/wang2200.shtm">WANG 2200</a>, year of manufacture 1973. The computer with so much peripheral devices is propably unique in Germany. The periphery: paper tape reader, reader for stacked cards, 8-inch triple disc drive, disc system with 38cm big disks (the device has a weight of 100kg and costed 24.000,- DM whereas it only saved 5MB), special basic-keyboard, etc.</p> |
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| 97 | <p>WANG quickly recognized that the future of computers needed screens. However the concurrent HP built his |
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| 98 | computers only with a single LED display until 1975.</p> |
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| 99 | |
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| 100 | <div class="box center"> |
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| 101 | <a href="/en/devices/wang2200.shtm" name="backlink-wang2200"><img src="/shared/photos/rechnertechnik/wang2200_komplettanlage.jpg" width="474" height="325" alt="Wang 2200" /></a> |
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| 102 | </div> |
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| 103 | |
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[15] | 104 | <p>The first personal computer was also build by WANG: PCS II (1975). The first PC that was affordable for everybody was the PET 2001 from Commodore. It came on the market in 1977 and was as cheap as a today's PC but saved 8kB and had decent applications. Many more Homepcomputer followed, the market got out of hand and therewith the collection of computers ends.</p> |
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| 105 | |
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| 106 | <p>See further details at <a class="go" href="/en/details2.shtm" title="Details 2">the tabular overview of |
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| 107 | mid range data processing equipment and proffessional early computers</a>.</p> |
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[1] | 108 | </div> |
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