UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Powered By Google Custom Search Vintage Radio and TV Service Data

Go Back   UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum > Specific Vintage Equipment > Vintage Computers

Notices

Vintage Computers Any vintage computer systems, calculators, video games etc., but with an emphasis on 1980s and earlier equipment.

Closed Thread
 
Thread Tools
Old 30th Jun 2012, 5:50 pm   #1
mintras
Retired Dormant Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Manchester, UK.
Posts: 40
Default Strangest computer you have had?

Mine was an atrari transputer workstation, this ran the helios operating system, and had several transputers attached, was stolen unfortunately.

Or it could have been the whiteboard, a one off that lifted the 6502 out from
a BBC micro, and plugged in a link board to a 68000. The BBC was then Mapped
into the memory of the 68000, so we had a 68000 BBC

A Lad work worked with me shortly, managed to get a Meiko transputing surface, which he has in a shed, this was controlled by a Sun.
mintras is offline  
Old 30th Jun 2012, 8:10 pm   #2
yesnaby
Octode
 
yesnaby's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Newport, Gwent, UK.
Posts: 1,623
Default Re: Strangest computer you have had?

Hello,

I thought a 'transputer' was a chip, sometimes made here in Newport?

Michael
yesnaby is offline  
Old 30th Jun 2012, 8:23 pm   #3
mintras
Retired Dormant Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Manchester, UK.
Posts: 40
Default Re: Strangest computer you have had?

Yes it was, The Thatcher Government decided to fund some hi tech, most of the cash went to the US the rest paid for the plant.

I subscribe to BCS (British Computer Society) bulletin of the computer conservation society
worth hunting out.

In that one of the transputer designers was saying how, one christmas the guys at the local resevoir decided to put two weeks worth of chlorine in the mix, so they could have a holiday, that went down into the plant an messed things up.

This I think was about 286/386 days.

The chip itself was not used in any consumer commercial products, (except maybe the atari) but I sure it has been very quite influencial. I think most of the top supercomputers http://www.top500.org/ use some sort of cluster of many cpus.
mintras is offline  
Old 30th Jun 2012, 11:27 pm   #4
yesnaby
Octode
 
yesnaby's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Newport, Gwent, UK.
Posts: 1,623
Default Re: Strangest computer you have had?

Hello,

Interesting anecdote! I used to pass the plant every day (very pretty blue and yellow design), I did wonder why the transputer never really took off.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inmos_m...cessor_factory

Michael
yesnaby is offline  
Old 1st Jul 2012, 8:30 am   #5
evingar
Octode
 
evingar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Newbury, Berkshire, UK.
Posts: 1,770
Default Re: Strangest computer you have had?

I worked for a company that used Transputers in their design (425 and 805 types). However, they were used to control various areas of "satellite" circuitry, communicating to a 68040 central processor.
They weren't used as a processor array.

They were relatively expensive devices in their day, and we couldn't quite understand why a more standard microprocessor wasn't used for the purpose. The ease of serial communication with the devices is a possibility, for their use, but I'm sure alternative solutions could have been found.

The other problem was when ST took over the production, they seemed to lose the knack of making the higher speed devices that the configuration required (30MHZ parts) so areas of the design had to be slowed to use the 25MHz parts.

When the machines were eventually scrapped, I rescued a quantity of the devices, becuase they were in sockets and it seemed a shame to see them ground down. I kept them for a number of years with a view to knocking up a massively parallel computer, but eventually it dawned on me that I would never get around to it, as it wasn't a central interest of mine.

As I still didn't like the thought of chucking them in the bin, without much hope, I put a listing up on eBay and was surprised to find that there is quite strong demand for them, especially from German and American hobbyists, so there is still a community out there actively developing for the transputer platform
__________________
Chris
evingar is offline  
Old 1st Jul 2012, 10:53 am   #6
brenellic2000
Octode
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Rye, East Sussex, UK.
Posts: 1,647
Default Re: Strangest computer you have had?

Strangest computer I've ever had? Anything running under Windows!

Barry
brenellic2000 is offline  
Old 1st Jul 2012, 11:58 am   #7
mike_newcomb
Rest in Peace
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: West London, UK.
Posts: 665
Default Re: Strangest computer you have had?

Many decades ago I met Iann Barron the guy behind the Transputer, when it was being hailed as a miracle device.

Same was being said of Concord at the time, which resulted in the closure of other UK projects. e.g. 400mph Tracked Hovercraft. Wonder which would have benefited the man in the street most.

My (basic) understanding was that it integrated memory and cpu. Perhaps this did not provide the flexibility required in the coming mass market of business and home pc's.

Regards - Mike.

Last edited by mike_newcomb; 1st Jul 2012 at 12:00 pm. Reason: Set reply notification.
mike_newcomb is offline  
Old 1st Jul 2012, 12:42 pm   #8
paulsherwin
Moderator
 
paulsherwin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 27,786
Default Re: Strangest computer you have had?

The Wikipedia article covers the transputer well.
paulsherwin is offline  
Old 1st Jul 2012, 10:02 pm   #9
dave walsh
Dekatron
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Ramsbottom (Nr Bury) Lancs or Bexhill (Nr Hastings) Sussex.
Posts: 5,814
Default Re: Strangest computer you have had?

I've got a Rainbow 100. State of the art 1983-8 bytes? Never had it running. Printer, 9" monitor and what looks like an oil filled electric heater as the main hardware [tower]. There is a concealed door in the side giving access to a 5.25 floppy disk drive. No one that I've ever asked to identify what it is has ever been able to get it right without viewing the ancilaries and even then....no winners!
Dave W
dave walsh is offline  
Old 2nd Jul 2012, 2:23 am   #10
DragonForce
Retired Dormant Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Bristol, UK.
Posts: 168
Default Re: Strangest computer you have had?

I had a Logix Kosmos thing back in the 70's! A childs' toy, but it was still a programmable computer.

http://www.oldcomputermuseum.com/logix_kosmos.html
DragonForce is offline  
Old 2nd Jul 2012, 10:44 am   #11
whyperion
Hexode
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: London 90% , Northwest England 10%
Posts: 385
Default Re: Strangest computer you have had?

Mr Walsh , http://www.classiccmp.org/rainbow/ . If its a DEC Rainbow 100 highly versatile.
8 Bit and 16 Bit . I ran a word processor and learnt Lotus 123 on it. Only problem was when I used MS-DOS copy commands on the CP/M disk section and wiped all the data off my main disk ( I did have a backup just a pain to restore ). Linked on of them to the DEC VAX and ran informix databases on it , couldn't figure out how to transfer easily database output to Lotus though. Also used to connect Compaq 8088 to a DEC PDP11 , where we could transfer data ( thanks to my technical wizzard )
whyperion is offline  
Old 2nd Jul 2012, 11:04 am   #12
dave walsh
Dekatron
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Ramsbottom (Nr Bury) Lancs or Bexhill (Nr Hastings) Sussex.
Posts: 5,814
Default Re: Strangest computer you have had?

Nice to hear from someone who used to drive one of these! Unfortunately I have always been computer illiterate, despite attempts to learn over the years. Wrong brain I guess This means that I [sort of] understand your experience if not the actual process. Something in the handbook suggested that it was an 8 byte that could be upgraded to 16 but what do I know. This, now vintage, item came from the estate of a very nice chap who'd had the skill and income to support the very latest technology in the 80's [including the Mintel I mentioned in the telephone thread].
Cheers,
Dave
dave walsh is offline  
Old 2nd Jul 2012, 11:12 am   #13
paulsherwin
Moderator
 
paulsherwin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 27,786
Default Re: Strangest computer you have had?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_100

It was a 16 bit computer like the IBM PC but also had an 8 bit Z80 processor which ran a version of CP/M.
paulsherwin is offline  
Old 2nd Jul 2012, 11:16 am   #14
dave walsh
Dekatron
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Ramsbottom (Nr Bury) Lancs or Bexhill (Nr Hastings) Sussex.
Posts: 5,814
Default Re: Strangest computer you have had?

Thanks Paul that will be the source of my confusion!
Dave
dave walsh is offline  
Old 2nd Jul 2012, 1:05 pm   #15
dominicbeesley
Octode
 
dominicbeesley's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 1,885
Default Re: Strangest computer you have had?

http://z80homebrew.blogspot.co.uk/ - I built this one myself a few years ago when I was not working. I really ought to finish it off and add the VGA card I'd started a design for.

Other favourite odd ball is one of these: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS-80_Model_100 with a disk video interface (metal box with 2 x 5 1/4" disk drives and a video interface). I spent ages developing the CP/M like operating system until one of the RAM chips blew. I've still got it all on the round tuit pile somewhere....
dominicbeesley is offline  
Old 2nd Jul 2012, 8:26 pm   #16
bluepilot
Heptode
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Duffort, Gers, France
Posts: 714
Default Re: Strangest computer you have had?

I once had a PC532:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC532
__________________
Stuart

The golden age is always yesterday - Asa Briggs
bluepilot is offline  
Old 2nd Jul 2012, 8:29 pm   #17
soundhog
Retired Dormant Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Denbighshire, north Wales, UK.
Posts: 43
Default Re: Strangest computer you have had?

I've got all sorts of forgotten failures hanging around the place (Camputers Lynx, anyone?) but my favourite is probably the Epson HX20. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epson_HX-20 I've not had it working for well over 20 years unfortunately, I need to make up some new batteries which is a job I never seem to get around to doing.
soundhog is offline  
Old 2nd Jul 2012, 8:33 pm   #18
whyperion
Hexode
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: London 90% , Northwest England 10%
Posts: 385
Default Re: Strangest computer you have had?

Re the DEC Rainbow, I think it must have had disk partitioning as you could chose (and defaul ) CP/M mode or MS-DOS (Actually DR-DOS now I remembe ). Of course neither program at the time could read the other's data and I think we also used a version of DBASE or Paradox as a quick database system which was the main use of the Z80 at the time. I think the monitors were VT22 compatible, but the data sharing with the VAX was not at all straightforward.

I left the company after completing one project for them and went to one that had just installed an Apricot Network (Cheap for the time) and it did not do what we wanted so we tried a Jarrogate 4 concurrent user system instead - it did not like 4 users and fell over after 3 (guess who was fourth). If I knew then and had at least 486PC technology to hand I could have solved the problems quite easily and suggested that the business problem we were trying to solve was actually the wrong problem and there were better ways to increase profits.
whyperion is offline  
Old 2nd Jul 2012, 9:31 pm   #19
Electricdreams
Hexode
 
Electricdreams's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Manchester, UK.
Posts: 478
Default Re: Strangest computer you have had?

Soundhog,

There is a battery on here, http://www.greenbatteries.com/b-523.html

I bought a battery for my HX-20 years ago online, trouble is I cannot remember where. Think it's from this site.

Strangest computer I had was a Amstrad PC1640 It had a speaker with a volume control and the backup battery was under the monitor, I particularly hated the mouse.
__________________
What have you bought now??
Electricdreams is offline  
Old 3rd Jul 2012, 7:58 am   #20
Nickthedentist
Dekatron
 
Nickthedentist's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Oxford, UK.
Posts: 17,820
Default Re: Strangest computer you have had?

My first computer was an Amstrad PC1640DD, bought as NOS from Bull Electrical.

Nothing very strange to most of us about that, but compared with today's machines, it does seem very unusual.

There was no hard drive, so the program disk (e.g. word processing program) went in one floppy drive, and the data (e.g. your text document) went in the other. And the discs were literally floppy, although surprisngly robust if handled with care.

The screen was monochrome and very easy to read. The phosphor was a nice creamy white, and the glass not too refelective, so very easy on the eye.

The other thing about it, which I really miss, is that it was completely silent: not one single fan was required, and no hard drive noise. So working on it was a delight compared with modern PCs.

Printing, on the other hand, made a real din. I can still remember being woken up at the crack of dawn by my dad printing 100-page long proofs for scientific papers he was writing, even though the machine was on the other side of the house. Then there was the noise of the tractor-feed strips being torn off, followed by the sound of each page being torn from its neighbour...

Nick.

Last edited by Nickthedentist; 3rd Jul 2012 at 8:03 am.
Nickthedentist is online now  
Closed Thread

Thread Tools



All times are GMT +1. The time now is 5:24 pm.


All information and advice on this forum is subject to the WARNING AND DISCLAIMER located at https://www.vintage-radio.net/rules.html.
Failure to heed this warning may result in death or serious injury to yourself and/or others.


Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright ©2002 - 2023, Paul Stenning.