Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2012/09/15
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]That's interesting, Herb. I saw my engineers using tape programs, starting with the PDP-8, but I never got involved with it personally. They were great little machines. In the transonic wind tunnel business, we were able to input real time measurements of pressures and temperatures and calulate digital displays of Mach number, including corrections determined from tunnel calibrations. This allowed operators to accurately set and hold test conditions. Eventually, we allowed the computers to control trim valves and automatically control the test conditions. Jim Nichols Tullahoma, TN USA ----- Original Message ----- From: "Herbert Kanner" <kanner at acm.org> To: "Leica Users Group" <lug at leica-users.org> Sent: Saturday, September 15, 2012 2:05 AM Subject: Re: [Leica] IMG A going away party at the Computer History Museum > Yes, paper tape. Back when I was programming Maniac III at U. Chicago, I > learned to hate paper tape. BTW, two of the volunteers at the Museum are > Peter Sampson and Steve Russell. I already mentioned that Peter programmed > PDP music back in 1960 at MIT. Steve Russell, about the same period, > developed Space War on the PDP-1. > > The music was generated by programming square waves of the desired > frequency (On/Off) to four of the six sense lights. These square waves > were then passed through an RC circuit to smooth the square edges and fed > to a Heathkit amplifier. The fascinating thing about the Museum > reconstruction is that after Peter joined the project to get the PDP-1 > working, someone found a cardboard box in the museum's storage area. It > was full of paper tapes and had a note saying: "Peter, guard this with > your life." It was the first time Peter had seen this box in forty years! > It turned out it had data tapes for many pieces of music, but the program > tape was missing. Peter had to take the data tapes home, figure out the > musical coding, and rewrite the program, testing that it would not crash > by using a PDP-1 simulator he found on the Internet. When he brought it to > the Museum, it ran perfectly. > > Herbert Kanner > kanner at acm.org > 650-326-8204 > > Question authority and the authorities will question you. > > > > > On Sep 14, 2012, at 10:10 PM, Jim Nichols wrote: > >> Nice series, Herb. Was the PDP1 programming loaded via punched paper >> tape? That is how I recall the interface with the PDP8. >> >> Jim Nichols >> Tullahoma, TN USA >> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Herbert Kanner" <kanner at acm.org> >> To: "Leica Users Group" <lug at leica-users.org> >> Sent: Saturday, September 15, 2012 12:01 AM >> Subject: [Leica] IMG A going away party at the Computer History Museum >> >> >>> I''m a volunteer and docent at the Computer History Museum in Mountain >>> View, CA. I've been volunteering there since 2003. >>> >>> Recently one of my favorite people on the staff decided to retire and >>> there was an all-afternoon retirement party for him in the main lobby of >>> the Museum. I snapped a lot of pictures of people shmoozing and reduced >>> the set to nine. Decided to make it an album, something I've only done >>> once before. Making an album is really a pain; I may just give it up. >>> >>> Anyway here it is. One bit of commentary. After the informal shoozing >>> period, we were deafened by feedback from a portable PA system that they >>> had some trouble adjusting. When it finally got disciplined, the Vice >>> President for Exhibits and Collections made a speech. Then the one for >>> Education, who was Jim's immediate superior, made a shorter speech, with >>> some emphasis on Jim's quirky sense of humor. She then handed the mike >>> to him; he said three words: "So long suckers". >>> >>> After that, we crowded into the room where lives a reconstructed PDP1 >>> computer (vintage 1960) and all got to sing "For He's a Jolly Good >>> Fellow" to the accompaniment of a four-part version played by the >>> computer; the guy who first programmed that computer to play four-part >>> music in 1960 (Peter Sampson) spent the weekend programming "For He's a >>> Jolly Good Fellow". >>> >>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/McLure+Party/ >>> >>> >>> Herbert Kanner >>> kanner at acm.org >>> 650-326-8204 >>> >>> Question authority and the authorities will question you. >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Leica Users Group. >>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >>> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > >