[GreenKeys] Creed equipment for the Ferranti Mercury computers, 1960

Thu May 2 20:50:55 EDT 2013

Hi Jim

I have found on Internet a brochure from those days (before the intro of the 
Creed 75), it is quite a good material
http://albinarrate.com/content/projects/clementina/Creed-teleprinters.pdf

You have pictures there of all the models I mentioned, effectively the 
perforator model 25 (page 38) was not very big, probably Dave made a mistake 
with the keyboard perforators which are big? No big deal really.

If you also have manuals, I will certainly appreciate those as well!

I just need to find a fogotten magic warehouse :D but that will not 
happen...

If anyone is willing to sell his "precious" just let me know!

Regards to all!

Javier Albinarrate

-----Original Message----- 
From: Jim Backus
Sent: Thursday, May 02, 2013 8:53 PM
To: greenkeys at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [GreenKeys] Creed equipment for the Ferranti Mercury computers, 
1960

Hi

The Creed 25 is nowhere as big & heavy as a 7B. I'm not going to go and
check now but think it is about 200 x 200 x 350 mm (8 x 8 x 14 inches)
and probably weighs about 25 lb whereas a Creed 7 is closer to 100 lb.
It is capable of punching at 25 cps or more. An 18 pin male Painton (or
Jones) plug was the parallel input. I have one and know of two others in
the UK. I also have a good photocopy of the manual.

Bank holiday this weekend so won't be able to provide more information
for a few days but would be happy to post photos and could scan the manual.

Regards

Jim

On 02/05/2013 18:42, Dave wrote:
> On 02/05/2013 09:53, Sam Hallas wrote:
>> Javier Albinarrate wrote:
>>> At the local computer museum in Buenos Aires, we will be working this
>>> year in making a replica of the Ferranti Mercury computer....
>>> This early computer came with the following:
>>> - Creed 54 Teletypewriter
>>> - Creed 6S/5 Tape reader (2 of them)
>>> - Creed 25 Tape perforator
>>
> Hi Javier,
>
>  I am working on a similar project for the Pegasus at www.mosi.org.uk 
> which was the predecessor of the Mercury. However we do have the Creed 54, 
> Creed6S/5 and the Creed 25, but I too would like to get a set of these so 
> we can avoid using the originals. The Creed 54 is basically an enhanced 
> Creed 7B and you should be able to substitute a 7B  and get almost exactly 
> the same effect. The 7Bs were fairly common throughout the old British 
> Empire so you may be able to find one at least on the same continent.
>
> Not sure why you want 2x Creed 6S/5 readers. As you an see from the 
> Mercury brochure here:-
>
> http://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/text/Ferranti/Ferranti.Mercury.1956.102646224.pdf
>
> The Mercury (and Pegasus before it) used a Ferranti high speed optical 
> tape reader as the main input device, not a 6S/5 which is a mechanical 
> reader. The 6S/5 was basically only used to slow the output down to the 
> speed of the Creed. Of course finding a Ferranti high speed reader would 
> probably be harder than finding a Creed 6S/5. I personally would see if I 
> could find an more modern reader and build it into a box that represents 
> the Ferranti reader, probably a TR4 or maybe a TR3 or TR5.
>
> The Creed 25 was also a special with a parallel input, so basically 
> manufactured for Computer Use so also rare, and I think it weights nearly 
> as much as the 54. I guess you know that the that the Computer punched the 
> output on the Creed 25 at high speed, and it was feed to the Creed 6S/5 
> which read it in more slowly and fed the Creed 54 for printing. . If the 
> program punched faster than the reader the tape was stored in a bin so 
> providing buffering. The Creed 6S also had a tape tension arrangement so 
> it stopped if the tape got tight...
>
> There was also a column counter on the Creed 54 that generated a Line Feed 
> so if the computer program didn't you didn't keep banging the printer 
> against the end stop
>
>> Javier,
>> I wish them all the best in the reconstruction. What a project!
>>
>> Model 75s are pretty rare. I've never seen one in the flesh, only in 
>> catalogues. Probably because the British Post Office never adopted it. 
>> Never seen the Model 25 perforator either, though I did own a Model 7P 
>> re-perforator at one time. The later Creed model, the 444, had an 
>> integral punch makng the separate perforator redundant.
>>
>>> And here in Argentina, everything was Siemens, so for sure we will not
>>> find a Creed not even by chance.
>>
>
> If you do find them and need manuals, I have books for the 6S/6 (which is 
> only slightly different to the 6S/5), the Creed 25 and the 7B but not the 
> 54. I also have a Ferranti TR5 manual and there is a TR3 manual at MOSI..
>
>> That may be the way to go. A Siemens T100 would be a great interface for 
>> kids to get their hands on. And probably more reliable than the Creed 
>> anyway! The models I've seen had an integral tape punch and reader.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Sam
>> (in England)
>>
>> _________
>
> Cheers from me too,
> Dave
> G4UGM
> Manchester
> England...
>
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