IBM used beam power amplifier tubes in the magnetic core memory unit of
the AN/FSQ-7. It took a lot of power to drive those huge units. This
was the main computer for the Air Defense Command centers back during
the cold war. It's been so long ago that I don't remember the exact
tube types, but I think they were 6146's. That core memory unit was
huge, but its capacity was only 4096 words consisting of 32 bits each
(131,072 individual cores) and it took a lot of current to switch them
from one state to the other.
Jim N5MSJ
On 4/15/2014 11:18 PM, Charles Ring wrote:
I should have asked what would IBM do with any beam power tube?
73 de W3NU
On 4/15/2014 1834, [email protected] wrote:
Quoting Larry Oneets <[email protected]>:
As a retired IBM'er of 36 years I never saw anything with 6146's in it.
Lots of other tubes but not that critter. Interesting.
Larry K9LWI
But I bet if it had an IBM part number, it went through the supply chain
with little notice. IBM hams may have been the only ones to know the
numbers.
Don W4DNR
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