Re: Fairly Extensive Singer/Friden "System Ten" Computer System for Rescue
On 08/18/2018 01:24 PM, Jason T via cctalk wrote: I did finally make contact with the system owner. The case isn't quite as urgent as originally depicted - we have a couple months to work on the rescue. I'm in touch with a museum that has the resources to transport and care for it. Hoping this ends in a triumphant rescue gallery for all to see. Excellent - good news, and thank you :-) Jules
Re: Fairly Extensive Singer/Friden "System Ten" Computer System for Rescue
On Sat, Aug 18, 2018 at 10:32 AM Jules Richardson via cctalk wrote: > Any update on this - has anyone picked up the system, or are there plans to > do so? Folks over at TNMoC are keen to know that it's been saved and is off > to a good home (sadly it's a bit unwieldy to arrange for it to be shipped > back to the UK!) I did finally make contact with the system owner. The case isn't quite as urgent as originally depicted - we have a couple months to work on the rescue. I'm in touch with a museum that has the resources to transport and care for it. Hoping this ends in a triumphant rescue gallery for all to see. -j
Re: Fairly Extensive Singer/Friden "System Ten" Computer System for Rescue
On 08/08/2018 09:13 PM, Rick Bensene via cctalk wrote: Through my Old Calculator Museum website, I have been contacted by a gentleman that has a fairly substantial Singer/Friden System 10 that is located in a building that the business wants to clear out. All, Any update on this - has anyone picked up the system, or are there plans to do so? Folks over at TNMoC are keen to know that it's been saved and is off to a good home (sadly it's a bit unwieldy to arrange for it to be shipped back to the UK!) cheers, Jules
Re: Fairly Extensive Singer/Friden "System Ten" Computer System for Rescue
On 8/8/18 11:39 PM, Jason T via cctalk wrote: While I'm not claiming the system, I've let Rick know that I'm close to it and willing to help facilitate a rescue of at least some of the lot. Hi, I don't have a personal interest in the system, but if you need another hand to help with the hauling drop me a line.. Regards, Jerry j...@ieee.org
Re: Fairly Extensive Singer/Friden "System Ten" Computer System for Rescue
I had been told for decades that there was a flight simulator that used a Singer System Ten and that United Airlines operated it outside Chicago for some unreasonably long time. This was "Urban Legend you wouldn't believe it but that's what the bosses wanted" stuff back in the 1990's. Using a business computer (especially one that looked like an overgrown Frieden calculators from the 1960's) to run a flight simulator always seemed odd to me, to the point of making the story not quite believable. Other Singer-Link flight simulators that I knew of, used GP4's or Sigma-5's and then the Sigma-5 clones. Tim N3QE
Re: Fairly Extensive Singer/Friden "System Ten" Computer System for Rescue
Hi Rick, I'm 2 or 3 hours from there, have have had too mary back surgeries and replacement parts to help a lot, but depending on timing i might be able to help some. It's possible I could even drive a truckload out east. We are thinking of going out in Oct if you find a home out there. Keep me in the loop. Who knows, if someone picks up the expenses, we could go earlier or maybe out west. Thanks, Paul On Wed, Aug 8, 2018 at 9:13 PM, Rick Bensene via cctalk < cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > Through my Old Calculator Museum website, I have been contacted by a > gentleman that has a fairly substantial Singer/Friden > System 10 that is located in a building that the business wants to clear > out. > > The computer system is slated to end up in a dumpster if it isn't > rescued. > > The place the machine was stored is indoors, in an office-like space in > a larger warehouse style building. The space was not temperature > controlled, but there are no signs of water damage or serious corrosion. > Some critters (probably mice) have been inside the cabinets of the > system, but the contact said that there were no obvious signs that they > chewed anything up. The system is very dusty (it was not covered), and > it appears that some panels on the cabinets may have been removed, but > are probably with the system. > Some stuff appears to be partly disassembled. There also might be some > spare parts, e.g., circuit boards. > > The system consists of a CPU, probably a Model 20, two Model 80 Display > Terminals, a line printer of some sort, and two Mode 40 disk-pack (aka > dishwasher-sized) disk drives. There are quite a few Model 41 disk > packs there.. There also appears to be some documentation. There may > also be some kind of magtape drive with the system, as there is a rack > full of 7 or 9-track tapes hanging in it. Not sure if these are > included with the system, though. > > Here is a link to some photos of the system: > > http://pail.bensene.com/Singer10 > > Beware that the web host does not have much upstream bandwidth, and the > photos are pretty high resolution, so downloading them may take some > time. Most of the photos are between 1.8 and 2.5 megabytes in size. > > there is some documentation on the Singer System Ten up on Bitsavers at > http://bitsavers.org/pdf/singer/systemTen . Some of the documentation > there is for the equipment that is available. > > These systems aren't very common, and there likely aren't all that many > of them left in existence. Singer sold a lot of these systems into > retail outlets as part of one of the first online Point-of-Sale systems. > One notable account was Sears and Roebuck, who installed a huge > networked (via Modem) environment using System Ten machines in stores to > run Point-of-Sale systems, with modem links to larger systems that > collected the information, and usually fed it to even larger systems > (e.g., IBM mainframe) for inventory management, bookkeeping, and other > large corporate-level reporting/management systems. However, the > system aged quickly, as other competitors came onto the Point-of-Sale > scene very quickly, with systems that were less expensive, more > reliable, and more easily maintained. Many of the Singer systems in > large retailers were replaced within a few years of being put into > service. There was little market for "used" systems, so most all of > them taken out of service went for scrap. > > The System 10 CPU was pretty unique in that it had "hardware"-based > timesharing. The system managed time-slicing between "partitions" in > main memory (magnetic core) with hardware that provided a fixed > timeslice to each partition, switching to the next either when the > time-slice ran out, or certain instructions (e.g., I/O) were executed > that would trigger an immediate context switch. The system had hardware > protection for the partitions to isolate the partitions from each other, > allowing them to run independently. There was a shared and a read-only > system partition which could facilitate inter-partition communications > and management functions. > Pretty cool for a design done in the late '60's. > > It'd be a real shame for this system to end up in the trash, which is > exactly where it will go if a home can't be found for it relatively soon > (e.g., next couple of weeks). > > The system is located in West Chicago, IL. > > It's all pretty sizable, so, you'd probably need a small > commercial-style moving van with a lift-gate (the stuff is likely quite > heavy, especially the disk drives) to haul it. You would also probably > need a heavy-duty hand-truck or two, and some strong straps. You'd > need some muscle, too. I suspect it'd be more than a 1-man job. > > My contact wants it out of there. You just have to come get it and > haul it away. > > If you have any serious interest in rescuing this system, drop me an > Email, and I'll put you in touch with my contact. > > Hopefully someone out
Re: Fairly Extensive Singer/Friden "System Ten" Computer System for Rescue
I've made a temporary mirror here: http://www.update.uu.se/~pontus/slask/Singer10/ I even tried to rotate some of the photos. I believe this is the system that Singer sued DEC over the name DECsystem-10. Perhaps LCM wants it for that reason :) /P On Wed, Aug 08, 2018 at 07:13:31PM -0700, Rick Bensene via cctalk wrote: > Through my Old Calculator Museum website, I have been contacted by a > gentleman that has a fairly substantial Singer/Friden > System 10 that is located in a building that the business wants to clear > out. > > The computer system is slated to end up in a dumpster if it isn't > rescued. > > The place the machine was stored is indoors, in an office-like space in > a larger warehouse style building. The space was not temperature > controlled, but there are no signs of water damage or serious corrosion. > Some critters (probably mice) have been inside the cabinets of the > system, but the contact said that there were no obvious signs that they > chewed anything up. The system is very dusty (it was not covered), and > it appears that some panels on the cabinets may have been removed, but > are probably with the system. > Some stuff appears to be partly disassembled. There also might be some > spare parts, e.g., circuit boards. > > The system consists of a CPU, probably a Model 20, two Model 80 Display > Terminals, a line printer of some sort, and two Mode 40 disk-pack (aka > dishwasher-sized) disk drives. There are quite a few Model 41 disk > packs there.. There also appears to be some documentation. There may > also be some kind of magtape drive with the system, as there is a rack > full of 7 or 9-track tapes hanging in it. Not sure if these are > included with the system, though. > > Here is a link to some photos of the system: > > http://pail.bensene.com/Singer10 > > Beware that the web host does not have much upstream bandwidth, and the > photos are pretty high resolution, so downloading them may take some > time. Most of the photos are between 1.8 and 2.5 megabytes in size. > > there is some documentation on the Singer System Ten up on Bitsavers at > http://bitsavers.org/pdf/singer/systemTen . Some of the documentation > there is for the equipment that is available. > > These systems aren't very common, and there likely aren't all that many > of them left in existence. Singer sold a lot of these systems into > retail outlets as part of one of the first online Point-of-Sale systems. > One notable account was Sears and Roebuck, who installed a huge > networked (via Modem) environment using System Ten machines in stores to > run Point-of-Sale systems, with modem links to larger systems that > collected the information, and usually fed it to even larger systems > (e.g., IBM mainframe) for inventory management, bookkeeping, and other > large corporate-level reporting/management systems. However, the > system aged quickly, as other competitors came onto the Point-of-Sale > scene very quickly, with systems that were less expensive, more > reliable, and more easily maintained. Many of the Singer systems in > large retailers were replaced within a few years of being put into > service. There was little market for "used" systems, so most all of > them taken out of service went for scrap. > > The System 10 CPU was pretty unique in that it had "hardware"-based > timesharing. The system managed time-slicing between "partitions" in > main memory (magnetic core) with hardware that provided a fixed > timeslice to each partition, switching to the next either when the > time-slice ran out, or certain instructions (e.g., I/O) were executed > that would trigger an immediate context switch. The system had hardware > protection for the partitions to isolate the partitions from each other, > allowing them to run independently. There was a shared and a read-only > system partition which could facilitate inter-partition communications > and management functions. > Pretty cool for a design done in the late '60's. > > It'd be a real shame for this system to end up in the trash, which is > exactly where it will go if a home can't be found for it relatively soon > (e.g., next couple of weeks). > > The system is located in West Chicago, IL. > > It's all pretty sizable, so, you'd probably need a small > commercial-style moving van with a lift-gate (the stuff is likely quite > heavy, especially the disk drives) to haul it. You would also probably > need a heavy-duty hand-truck or two, and some strong straps. You'd > need some muscle, too. I suspect it'd be more than a 1-man job. > > My contact wants it out of there. You just have to come get it and > haul it away. > > If you have any serious interest in rescuing this system, drop me an > Email, and I'll put you in touch with my contact. > > Hopefully someone out there can give this machine a new home. > Email: rickb .at. bensene .dot. com > > > Rick Bensene > The Old Calculator Museum >
Re: Fairly Extensive Singer/Friden "System Ten" Computer System for Rescue
While I'm not claiming the system, I've let Rick know that I'm close to it and willing to help facilitate a rescue of at least some of the lot.
Re: Fairly Extensive Singer/Friden "System Ten" Computer System for Rescue
http://blog.jpnearl.com/?p=10197 On 8/8/18 7:35 PM, Al Kossow via cctalk wrote: > > > On 8/8/18 7:13 PM, Rick Bensene via cctalk wrote: >> Singer sold a lot of these systems into >> retail outlets as part of one of the first online Point-of-Sale systems. >> One notable account was Sears and Roebuck > > I sure remember those terminals in Sears stores > https://www.jpnearl.com/geek/s-l1600.jpg > > had a heck of a time finding a picture of one. > >
Re: Fairly Extensive Singer/Friden "System Ten" Computer System for Rescue
On 8/8/18 7:13 PM, Rick Bensene via cctalk wrote: > Singer sold a lot of these systems into > retail outlets as part of one of the first online Point-of-Sale systems. > One notable account was Sears and Roebuck I sure remember those terminals in Sears stores https://www.jpnearl.com/geek/s-l1600.jpg had a heck of a time finding a picture of one.
Fairly Extensive Singer/Friden "System Ten" Computer System for Rescue
Through my Old Calculator Museum website, I have been contacted by a gentleman that has a fairly substantial Singer/Friden System 10 that is located in a building that the business wants to clear out. The computer system is slated to end up in a dumpster if it isn't rescued. The place the machine was stored is indoors, in an office-like space in a larger warehouse style building. The space was not temperature controlled, but there are no signs of water damage or serious corrosion. Some critters (probably mice) have been inside the cabinets of the system, but the contact said that there were no obvious signs that they chewed anything up. The system is very dusty (it was not covered), and it appears that some panels on the cabinets may have been removed, but are probably with the system. Some stuff appears to be partly disassembled. There also might be some spare parts, e.g., circuit boards. The system consists of a CPU, probably a Model 20, two Model 80 Display Terminals, a line printer of some sort, and two Mode 40 disk-pack (aka dishwasher-sized) disk drives. There are quite a few Model 41 disk packs there.. There also appears to be some documentation. There may also be some kind of magtape drive with the system, as there is a rack full of 7 or 9-track tapes hanging in it. Not sure if these are included with the system, though. Here is a link to some photos of the system: http://pail.bensene.com/Singer10 Beware that the web host does not have much upstream bandwidth, and the photos are pretty high resolution, so downloading them may take some time. Most of the photos are between 1.8 and 2.5 megabytes in size. there is some documentation on the Singer System Ten up on Bitsavers at http://bitsavers.org/pdf/singer/systemTen . Some of the documentation there is for the equipment that is available. These systems aren't very common, and there likely aren't all that many of them left in existence. Singer sold a lot of these systems into retail outlets as part of one of the first online Point-of-Sale systems. One notable account was Sears and Roebuck, who installed a huge networked (via Modem) environment using System Ten machines in stores to run Point-of-Sale systems, with modem links to larger systems that collected the information, and usually fed it to even larger systems (e.g., IBM mainframe) for inventory management, bookkeeping, and other large corporate-level reporting/management systems. However, the system aged quickly, as other competitors came onto the Point-of-Sale scene very quickly, with systems that were less expensive, more reliable, and more easily maintained. Many of the Singer systems in large retailers were replaced within a few years of being put into service. There was little market for "used" systems, so most all of them taken out of service went for scrap. The System 10 CPU was pretty unique in that it had "hardware"-based timesharing. The system managed time-slicing between "partitions" in main memory (magnetic core) with hardware that provided a fixed timeslice to each partition, switching to the next either when the time-slice ran out, or certain instructions (e.g., I/O) were executed that would trigger an immediate context switch. The system had hardware protection for the partitions to isolate the partitions from each other, allowing them to run independently. There was a shared and a read-only system partition which could facilitate inter-partition communications and management functions. Pretty cool for a design done in the late '60's. It'd be a real shame for this system to end up in the trash, which is exactly where it will go if a home can't be found for it relatively soon (e.g., next couple of weeks). The system is located in West Chicago, IL. It's all pretty sizable, so, you'd probably need a small commercial-style moving van with a lift-gate (the stuff is likely quite heavy, especially the disk drives) to haul it. You would also probably need a heavy-duty hand-truck or two, and some strong straps. You'd need some muscle, too. I suspect it'd be more than a 1-man job. My contact wants it out of there. You just have to come get it and haul it away. If you have any serious interest in rescuing this system, drop me an Email, and I'll put you in touch with my contact. Hopefully someone out there can give this machine a new home. Email: rickb .at. bensene .dot. com Rick Bensene The Old Calculator Museum http://oldcalculatormuseum.com
