The Ware for February 2014 is shown below.
This month’s ware is a handsome bit of retro-computing contributed by Edouard Lafargue (ed _at_ aerodynes.org). The ware was a gift to him from his father.
The Ware for February 2014 is shown below.
This month’s ware is a handsome bit of retro-computing contributed by Edouard Lafargue (ed _at_ aerodynes.org). The ware was a gift to him from his father.
High symmetry, lots of caps, 34 pins divide by 2 get 17.
Guessing an isolator for a normally 15 pin ( video D-15 ).
extra pins might be for power. video booster?
a ddp116 “logic” SPAC module. now, which one ?
I’m guessing it’s from a CCC product line, but maybe not the DDP-116.
I’d say by the part number, FL-36, and the pairs of transistors, that it’s a flip-flop. Maybe 8 on a single card?
Second guess: 8 x SR latches.
I combined the two images to try and analyse the circuit. GIMP’s “Cage Transform” is a wonderful tool!
The link is here, in case anyone else wants to have a go in the mean time: http://imgur.com/rCuZdxP
I’m still trying to derive a schematic from this picture, but I don’t think the circuit is complicated enough to implement 8 latches. Maybe 4.
I combined the two images to try and analyse the circuit. GIMP’s “Cage Transform” is a wonderful tool!
The link is here, in case anyone else wants to have a go in the mean time: http://imgur.com/rCuZdxP
I’m still trying to derive a schematic from this picture, but I don’t think the circuit is complicated enough to implement 8 latches. Maybe 4.
guess? that’s pretty clearly a CCC logo on the back side. (see http://www.ddp116.org/ASSETS/logo_banner_blue_700w.gif)
no idea what the module is though.
I don’t know, the look of it doesn’t seem to fit in with any of the other logic cards I can find. It seems like it might be taken from the DDP-116 form factor, but with smaller transistors, higher quality construction, etc. I’m going to take a long shot guess and go with mariner probe.
Could it have been a newer-generation DDP-116 card? Two unusual features, the transistor cases are TO-18s rather than the TO-5’s that you usually see, and there are a pile of jumpers for configuration that aren’t normal for these cards.
Agree. Seems to be 6 RS flip flops with connections between them. Refer to http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102688848 , which also seems to be 6 RS flip flops.
Both have very similar circular QC stamps in the center of the component side.
“3468” stamp at top could be date code 34th week of 1968.
Upper picture, right hand side are the numbers 3468, that’s likely a date code; 34th Week, 1968.
One that ws used for the Apollo missions perhaps? Like the one here:
http://dodlithr.blogspot.com/2011/10/apollo-guidance-computer-agc-and-its.html
Looks like an RTL or DTL logic board that was part of the cpu of an early computer or desktop calculator. These kinds or boards replaced vacuum tubes in the early computers
Yep. Given the discrete transistors, I’d place it from early to mid ’60s. Most of the calculators of that era had fairly large boards (purpose built for the task), whereas computers were more likely to use smaller generic modules like this to build up the system. Another possibility is military (missile guidance system, etc.).
Was it perhaps part of the Apollo missions such as what is shown here:
http://dodlithr.blogspot.com/2011/10/apollo-guidance-computer-agc-and-its.html
The module is marked “FL-36,” which follows the two-letter, two-digit pattern for model numbers of Honeywell/3C S-PAC digital modules, though I didn’t find that model listed in the two instruction manuals posted here:
http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/honeywell/modules/
Perhaps “FL” is “flip latch”?
I see transistors, diodes, resistors, and tantalum capacitors, looks like some sort of DTL logic gate board… but the large red tubular PROFILE things are mysterious.
Those are just old-school ceramic caps, per Wikipedia.
The 3 terminal PROFILE components do not seem to be ceramic caps that I have ever encountered. The 2 terminals close together do not seem to be internally “shorted” in the component. In many cases, the end terminal goes to the PCB connector without any other components involved. The middle terminal goes to transistor bases or offboard via a resistor. Could they be tapped metal film resistors, or even a tapped inductors?
From the form factor, it is obviously an iXXX device.
Very likely the next iPhone 6, with a more hackable connector,
and more repairable electronics.
:D
Here’s a catalog of S-PAC cards from the 60s:
http://www.ddp116.org/products/pacs/s-pacs.pdf
No mention of an FL-36, or even an FL line, and I don’t see it in either the 1966 1-MC instruction manual or the 1968 supplementary equipment manual. A specialty part for NASA, perhaps?
Not sure but Bunnie seems to have decided that my suggestion that this came from the Apollo space program should not be published? Yes I accidently posted it twice because I did not notice that it would only be displayed after moderation…
looks like an old game card
The 3C logo gives something away: Computer Control Company. It can be found on Wikipedia. It was sold to Honeywell in 1966 (according to wikipedia) and the products discontinued in 1970. Which matches with the 3468 code stamped on the board (week 34, 1968?). 3C made indeed the DDP series.
If this board is indeed made in 1968, this board is likely a spare part or continued production of an older model. Maybe a DDP-19 board.
http://www.p3oriontopsecret.com/3c-computer-control-company-ddp-24-card-rack.html shows a complete rack with similar cards but of a more modern design, with thinner traces and smaller parts.
The DDP-118 of 1963 (according to http://ummr.altervista.org/before_micros_2.htm) also looks more modern. And in the DDP-416 of 1967, IC’s were used in an edge connector design.
That leaves the DDP 19: http://www.ddp116.org/products/ddp19/ddp19.jpg . This would be older than 1968. It might an older product still be in production at that time, might be a spare part, or perhaps an aircraft/space/military product manufactured to an older (conservative) spec.
http://www.ddp116.org/products.html shows a lineup.
Looking more closely at http://ummr.altervista.org/before_micros_2.htm I suppose it is an DDP-116 board. Just too close in form factor, even though the parts look a bit different.
Too many similarities in the frame, connector and keying, holes and stamps. 3C seem to have changed teh form factor quite a lot for new series.
it looks like R-2R ladder DAC , may be a daughter card for 4004 SBC , i guess ?
This is an S-PAC modular logic card produced by Computer Control Company (“3C”) using pre-IC discrete electronics. [1]
Complex digital circuits could be constructed by inserting a row of different S-PACs into an S-BLOC enclosure. 3C actually entered the minicomputer business by building the DDP-116 and DDP-24/224 out of of S-BLOCs. [2][3]
These parts wouldn’t have flown in space, though they were widely used at NASA (DDP-224s powered mission simulators for Gemini and Apollo as well as a full instruction set simulator of the Apollo Guidance Computer). [4]
The abundance of big caps on this particular S-PAC is seems unusual, and the design doesn’t resemble anything in the catalogs of 1-megacycle S-PACs. [5] Maybe some kind of register file?
[1] http://www.ddp116.org/products/pacs/s-pacs.pdf
[2] http://www.ddp116.org/products/ddp116/ddp116.pdf
[3] http://www.textfiles.com/bitsavers/pdf/3c/DDP-24_InstructionMan_Aug64.pdf
[4] http://history.nasa.gov/computers/Ch9-2.html
[5] http://www.textfiles.com/bitsavers/pdf/honeywell/modules/130071184B_1MC_Series_S-PAC_Jan66.pdf
Looks like a dual high frequency operational amplifier from an analog computer. (Symmetry around the central axis as well as all traces are curved.) The blade end connectors are very different coming out at a right angles to the board. Are they there to cut down on induced harmonics in the backplane, to provide low noise connections, or meant to be used in a high vibration environment??
Thanks Bunnie, love following your work.
The connectors were just common at the time, I think.
As for the curved connections: these were laid out by hand, with adhesive tape on film. Curved lines were probably easier to do than straight angles.
bank of delay lines
Whatever this is – it is absolutely beautiful – almost has a bit of a steampunkish appeal. SOT-23 transistors and 0603 chip resistors and auto-routed traces are so ugly compared to this utter work of art. I just wonder if something like this could be pulled off with a new line of SMD components that would be created to look good instead of just doing the job while taking as little pcb real estate as possible.
But I digress.
I like especially the jumpers A-B-C D-E-F H-J-K and the cute little bends in the diodes’ leads.
Others have already pointed out the symmetry which actually is almost a double symmetry, so 4 vertical (on the big image) blocks.
When overlaying front and back you can see that the 4 big red capacitors in the middle “PROFILE” connect as only component to one leg of a capacitor each – very strange, a transistor circuit where either base, emitter or collector is kept on a floating dc level? Oh no, now I see – the big capacitors have three pins – most probably the two outer pins go to the inner plate on the inside of the ceramics tube and are thus connected. Cool using a component as a jumper at the same time!
For speculations about 8 latches or flipflops – no the transistor pairs are not connected consistently over the board.
My best guess would be 4 operational amplifiers.
The logo on the card is from Computer Control Company which was purchased by Honeywell in 1966.
The card appears to be in S-PACS form factor. Not sure of the function but the form factor was used in many of the DDP series machines.
Everyone is saying that it’s a card used in some serious vintage tech. Just to be different, I am going to guess that it is actually an Ion Generator (AKA Ozone Generator). That’s why there are so many pins; that’s where the ions are released.
FL-36 does indeed seem to fit the pattern for naming Honeywell/3C S-PAC modules but it doesn’t appear in either of the catalogues I could find. My wild guess is something to do with clock distribution ( (F for frequency? L for locking? Latching? Looping?).
Or it’s a custom board for some kind of Flight Logic …
I am so grateful for your post.Really looking forward to read more. Keep writing.