ID PCB & Circuit ? - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

60 oldjohn · 3rd Jun 2016, 4:15 pm

Anyone know what this board is from? Also was the PCB made like this to deter copying ? Anyone know how it was made?

John.

Jon_G4MDC · 3rd Jun 2016, 5:17 pm

Looks to me like a prototype board that they never finished wiring up?
Unless there are connections on a buried layer I reckon it's waiting for some point to point wiring.

I could be wrong though!

TonyDuell · 3rd Jun 2016, 5:22 pm

I think there are buried layers.

It looks somewhat IBM-ish to me, but I can't think what it came out of.

G6Tanuki · 3rd Jun 2016, 5:31 pm

Yes it does look to be IBM-style. Could be from almost anything: a terminal, a cluster-controller, a tape-drive, a DASD-controller, a minicomputer. The same style was used on all of them (up to and including the 30XX mainframes).

There are buried layers, yes: I recall seeing the early CAD shortest-path-routing-system used to design them when I visited IBM Hursley in the late-1970s. It could even do things like sometimes putting little zigzags as 'delay lines' in short routes so the clock-signals arrived at all the desired places precisely in-phase with the signals that had (of necessity) traversed longer paths.

60 oldjohn · 4th Jun 2016, 10:16 am

What is not clear on the picture there is a 24pin end entry socket mounted across the end of board, could be mistaken for another chip. The big chip is Intel 77. So late 70s IBM would seem right,

John.

Dual Standard · 4th Jun 2016, 11:45 pm

Without doubt it is IBM but not one I ever remember seeing, the additional connector pins on the top edge are very unusual. The white plastic section on the reverse side of the card has slots that mated with locating lugs on the board that the card plugged into. This style of logic was referred to as MST.

The 1470828 is a part number but it may not be for the populated board, 53G probably relates to a manufacturing plant, 55 was Greenock, 57 Havant and I think 53 was Vimercate so it maybe from an early EPOS system.

Mike

60 oldjohn · 5th Jun 2016, 6:41 am

Thank You Mike, I think some one will come up with its use eventually. Every bit of information is one step closer.

John.

3rd Jun 2016, 4:15 pm	#1
60 oldjohn Dekatron Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: East Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 3,986	ID PCB & Circuit ? Anyone know what this board is from? Also was the PCB made like this to deter copying ? Anyone know how it was made? John. Attached Thumbnails

3rd Jun 2016, 5:17 pm	#2
Jon_G4MDC Nonode Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, UK. Posts: 2,015	Re: ID PCB & Circuit ? Looks to me like a prototype board that they never finished wiring up? Unless there are connections on a buried layer I reckon it's waiting for some point to point wiring. I could be wrong though!

3rd Jun 2016, 5:22 pm	#3
TonyDuell Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Biggin Hill, London, UK. Posts: 5,208	Re: ID PCB & Circuit ? I think there are buried layers. It looks somewhat IBM-ish to me, but I can't think what it came out of.

3rd Jun 2016, 5:31 pm	#4
G6Tanuki Dekatron Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 13,996	Re: ID PCB & Circuit ? Yes it does look to be IBM-style. Could be from almost anything: a terminal, a cluster-controller, a tape-drive, a DASD-controller, a minicomputer. The same style was used on all of them (up to and including the 30XX mainframes). There are buried layers, yes: I recall seeing the early CAD shortest-path-routing-system used to design them when I visited IBM Hursley in the late-1970s. It could even do things like sometimes putting little zigzags as 'delay lines' in short routes so the clock-signals arrived at all the desired places precisely in-phase with the signals that had (of necessity) traversed longer paths.

4th Jun 2016, 10:16 am	#5
60 oldjohn Dekatron Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: East Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 3,986	Re: ID PCB & Circuit ? What is not clear on the picture there is a 24pin end entry socket mounted across the end of board, could be mistaken for another chip. The big chip is Intel 77. So late 70s IBM would seem right, John.

4th Jun 2016, 11:45 pm	#6
Dual Standard Hexode Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Cheshire, UK. Posts: 263	Re: ID PCB & Circuit ? Without doubt it is IBM but not one I ever remember seeing, the additional connector pins on the top edge are very unusual. The white plastic section on the reverse side of the card has slots that mated with locating lugs on the board that the card plugged into. This style of logic was referred to as MST. The 1470828 is a part number but it may not be for the populated board, 53G probably relates to a manufacturing plant, 55 was Greenock, 57 Havant and I think 53 was Vimercate so it maybe from an early EPOS system. Mike Last edited by Dual Standard; 4th Jun 2016 at 11:45 pm. Reason: Spotted a typo

5th Jun 2016, 6:41 am	#7
60 oldjohn Dekatron Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: East Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 3,986	Re: ID PCB & Circuit ? Thank You Mike, I think some one will come up with its use eventually. Every bit of information is one step closer. John.