Lmst

Most of a KDF11, the second generation microprocessor version of the PDP-11. (The MMU and optional FPU are separate chips.)

#Photography #RetroComputing #RCSRI

Two chips, each carrying two smaller chips.

ASR33 Teletype answerback drum.

#Photography #RetroComputing #RCSRI

A plastic cylinder with thin tabs that can be individually broken off to encode ones or zeros.

Happy DEC10 day!

#RetroComputing #DEC10 #RCSRI

The front panel of a PDP-11 front-end for a KL10 PDP-10 mainframe.

Backplane wiring for the IO cabinet of a PDP-10 mainframe.

Core memory from a MH10 cabinet of a PDP-10 mainframe.

Panel for setting address, interleaving, and compatibility for a MH10 memory cabinet for a PDP-10 mainframe.

Early Cisco (CSC/3) and SGI (IP2) multibus 68020 CPU boards.

The beginning of the end of the minicomputer era.

#RetroComputing #RCSRI #Cisco #SGI

Two circuit boards, each with a square CPU chip.

We made some progress on the Cray at the museum today.

We suspected the reason the Cray I/O subsystem was unresponsive was dead NVRAM chips. We wound up configuring a new NVRAM chip with all the correct values in a separate machine of similar vintage (Sparcstation 1+) and then moving the chip over to the Themis VME board in the Cray.

It worked! We can now talk to the Cray I/O system.

Getting closer to booting the machine for real...

#RetroComputing #RCSRI #Supercomputer

A circuit board being held in front of a Cray supercomputer cabinet.

A densely packed circuit board from the 90s.

A screenshot of the Cray IO subsystem booting.

Working on the Cray (J90) a little bit today. Trying (and failing) to talk to the IO subsystem from the management workstation (Sun SS5). Pretty sure we know what the problem is.

#RetroComputing #RCSRI #Cray

A large VME chassis. The left half is filled with boards, and there is a mix of ribbon cables and fiber optics coming out.

My best computer photos of 2024.

#Retrocomputing #Photography #RCSRI

Memory board from a Cray J90 supercomputer.

Oscilloscope probe attached to the backplane of a PDP-12 minicomputer.

Abstract shot of a MIPS R12000 processor.

I'm spending the afternoon photographing an HP calculator that NASA configured with custom software to calculate air leaks on the shuttle. This particular one didn't fly, but was used in the SMS "Shuttle Mission Simulator". #NASA #RCSRI

The back of a calculator, with a property of NASA sticker.

A memory board from the space shuttle computer, which was a stripped-down clone of an IBM 360 mainframe. The systems originally used core memory since that was resistant to cosmic rays. This is one of the solid state ram boards from the 1990 upgrade that finally replaced the core memory. There seem to be 656 kilobytes here, presumably a 512k board with a LOT of error correction?

#RetroComputing #RCSRI #NASA

A field of INMOS 1601S70LM 64K by 1 bit static ram chips.

You know it's an old keyboard when it copies the vt100 layout... #RetroComputing #SGI #RCSRI

(Keyboard from an IRIS 3130, mid 80s.)

An early SGI keyboard and mouse. The mouse is an early optical mouse that requires a special reflective grid mousepad.

Closeup of an SGI keyboard on top of a DEC VT100 keyboard, showing the similar setup key and status lights.

DECsystem10 TOPS-10 diagnostics disk pack. #RetroComputing #RCSRI

A large disk pack sits on top of an RP06 disk drive from the 70s. It is labeled "Property of Digital Equipment Corporation".

Mylar punched tape. #RetroComputing #RCSRI

A black and white closeup of a roll of punched tape.

I finally got around to making a stand for the drum printer drum for the museum. Only the innermost section touches, so it spins freely. It's mahogany, I'll put a coat of Tung oil on it, it'll look really nice.

Drum printer info & a photo of what it looks like installed in the printer:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_printer#Drum_printer

#RetroComputing #RCSRI

A metal cylinder, about 0.42m wide, with type engraved in the surface.

Closeup of a drum printer drum, showing the typeface engraved all the way around.

Memory board from a Cray J90 supercomputer, mid 90s. #RetroComputing #RCSRI #Photography

Just spent three days reorganizing the museum. The DECsystem10 is much more accessible, and (almost) all in one spot. A few other key items are also in much better locations than previously. #RCSRI #RetroComputing #DEC

A DECsystem10 mainframe from the late 70s.

I/O cabinets, tape drive, and one RP06 hard drive from a DECsystem10.

Core memory cabinets, IO controllers, CPU, and front-end processor for a DECsystem10.

A LINC-8 with DF32 & DS32 disk drives (32K apiece!) with the octal for the PS/8 bootstrap loader taped to the front, ready to be toggled in... #RetroComputing #RCSRI

Closeup of the control panel for a 1960s disk drive.

Reorganizing my library a bit recently, added a dedicated space for things I've got set aside from the museum to scan. #RetroComputing #RCSRI

A library, with a reading desk in the middle between bookcases. There is a gargoyle high up.

View of library shelves from the floor. There is a cat in the foreground.

Some computer manuals from the 50s through 80s.

We got the #PDP12 working again! #RetroComputing #RCSRI

An oscilloscope displaying a simple waveform next to the insides of a late 60s computer.

A file listing on a running PDP-12 minicomputer.

Attaching an oscilloscope probe to the correct pins on a PDP-12 backplane.

An oscilloscope probe connected to pins on a wirewrapped backplane.

@AbandonedAmerica We have some similar cards from a Jacquard loom in our museum collection. #RCSRI

Cards from a Jacquard loom, sewn together with white thread.

Photographing some old printing tech. A typeball from an IBM Selectric typewriter/printer/terminal. Xerox font for a daisy wheel printer. Drum from a drum printer. #Photography #RetroComputing #RCSRI

#RCSRI

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