[Milsurplus] Old CPUs

[Robert Nickels]

On 1/30/2010 11:44 AM, Gene Smar wrote:
> a Minuteman (1, I believe) nav computer.  It was inside a drum that
> looked to be about 30 inches in diameter (I'm probably wrong) and contained
> core memory
Could well have been core, Gene, but there was also a rotating memory 
device known as a Drum Memory that was used in the Minuteman Launch 
Control Facilities (LCF) that controlled 10 missles each.  You can see a 
little video of one that was said to be used in the SAGE system here:  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIpoA7Ir9p8      SAGE was an incredible 
accomplishment in it's time - there's a lot of info and a cool 1956 
vintage movie about SAGE here:  
http://history.sandiego.edu/GEN/20th/sage.html


When I lived near Warren AFB and was able to tour a Minuteman LCF, the 
security procedures always included draping red cloth covers over the 
several pieces of sensitive gear in the equipment rack, and one was the 
main computer and drum memory unit.

The guidance computers onboard the Minuteman I and II missles used a 
rotating disk type memory, which was replaced by non-rotating plated 
wire memory that worked similar to core in the Minuteman III.   I 
remember the Boeing guys that worked on that upgrade saying how much of 
an improvement it was.

73, Bob W9RAN