Jim Hodgers wrote:
>
> At 06:10 PM 07/26/2000, Mark wrote:
> >I've really been enjoying it. I think it's really cool to hear about the
> >early days of computers and programming. These people that were in the
> >industry in those days really broke the ground and set the standards that
> >the rest of us take for granted!
> >
> >Mark
> >
> >No Penguins were mistreated in the making of this message.
> >
> >
> Since you insist :>)
>
> In the late 60's/early 70's I worked for Teledyne Semiconductor making what
> was called a Fettron(ap), which was a FET equivalent of a tube. The
> engineer I was technician for, and i, were handed the job of duplicating a
> 12AX7 for a hush-hush goverment project. The first several attempts were
> all rejected by the goverment, but they kept refusing to tell us what the
> application was. Finally my engineer had gotten a gutfull of this and
> informed the goverment represative we were dealing with that he just could
> not give them what they wanted without being able to measure the circuit to
> see what was needed. Tha caused us to go through the channels to get top
> secret clearances. We were then flown to Seattle where we were taken to a 1
> block square 7 story building with several(7, I think) air conditioning
> units. It turned out that this was the computer for the Dew Line(radar
> scanning of the northern path for missiles). After finally giving them a
> working equivalent af a 12AX7 I understand they were able to turn off all
> but one of the air conditioning units on the roof because a Fettron had no
> filament to heat. Turned out this was cheaper than going to a newer
> computer and writing an all new program!
> Jim
Since you insist too :)
The early 60's I was student ing �lectronics (polytechnique
industrielle) (specialty binary logic, you know the 1s and
0s) and my thesis reported to a �lectr. simulator taking
over mechanical mechanisms.
What was available was only a block (4 on 6cm big)
containing 4 NOR ports,
another block with 2 inverters and a block with 1
powerconverter manufactured
by MBLE working at 24V DC.
Pratically, the simulator whas mounted on a 16m long
knitting-machine and
taked over with solenoids mechanical instructions.
The tests where successfull and after that produced.
I received the simulator as souvenir and my qualification of
corse.
One of the stones to the CAM.
Eric
