On 6/8/20 5:57 PM, Keith Lofstrom wrote:
On Mon, Jun 08, 2020 at 02:30:23PM -0700, Galen Seitz wrote:
<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/13/magazine/women-coding-computer-programming.html>
Keith, can you identify that Tek equipment?
Surprisingly, I can. It is a Tektronix 561A, with
non-Tektronix plugins (probably connected through the back
of the instrument):
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcQzHRwchWaaWZKs1_qjVGMwDxdTnL9rO9n81pcc-F02xDxpDxyX&usqp=CAU
Here's another picture of the same LINC computer as the
New York Times article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LINC
... with the same woman, Mary Ann Wilkes, at her home in
1965. One of the first home computers, which is //pretty
damned cool//.
The rectangular CRT and narrow plugins distinguish it from
older 500 series oscillopscopes, and the knob placement on
the right of the display narrow it down. There are many
oscilloscopes (and photos of them) at the Vintage Tek museum:
https://vintagetek.org
Also manuals at http://w140.com/tekwiki/
I identified the 561a from the manual pdf at that website.
I used debris from a 561 and other electronics scrap to
design and build my first oscilloscope during high school.
If I had known about Mary Ann Wilkes at that time (circa
1970), I would have developed a secret adolescent crush
on her ... but mostly on her computer, sending circuit
boards rather than flowers.
Thanks for all that research. The LINC was a very interesting machine.
One more question for you. What is the Tek box to Ms Wilkes right in
the photo? Signal generator, power supply, scope preamp???
galen
--
Galen Seitz
[email protected]
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