• Valmond@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    57 minutes ago

    You have the ESP ones, hard to go much much lower without it being impractical (but there are loads of smaller too).

  • MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    57
    ·
    10 hours ago

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliott_803

    Another unusual feature is the use of magnetic cores not only for memory but also as logic gates. These logic cores have 1, 2 or 3 input windings, a trigger (read) and an output winding. Depending on their polarity, current pulses in the input windings either magnetise the core or cancel each other out. The magnetised state of the core indicates the result of a boolean logic function.

    Huh. Clever.

    • TrackinDaKraken@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      41
      ·
      9 hours ago

      A picture similar to this one was on one of my high school text books. Inside the cover was a description of it as magnetic core computer memory. For quite a long time I thought this is what computer chips looked like. The only issue was I was in high school in the 80s, long after such memory was used. Maybe the text book was 15 years old, I don’t know.

      • Simulation6@sopuli.xyz
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        58 minutes ago

        First computer company I worked for was still using it in the early 80s. Slow, but it retained state after a power failure.

      • MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        34 minutes ago

        Though not a fan of his reasoning to have it in silicone oil. The computers back then also didn’t do that, and they had rougher measuring tooling.
        He just wanted a oil-submerged thingy anyway.

  • adarza@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    38
    ·
    10 hours ago

    if that’s truly from 1957, the whole setup would have several pieces that size. the 803 a few years later was three (one about this size, two a little smaller), plus user console, printer, tape reader. nearly 2000 lbs worth of equipment.

    • fizzle@quokk.au
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      21
      ·
      9 hours ago

      I don’t know but my supposition is that the ras pi pictured is several powers of magnitude more powerful than the 803.

      • marcos@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        21
        ·
        edit-2
        8 hours ago

        It certainly is.

        From the wiki:

        “It uses ferrite magnetic-core memory in 4096 or 8192 words of 40 bits, comprising 39 bits of data with parity.”

        So a whooping 39kB of memory on the largest option!

        “Tape is read at 500 characters per second and punched at 100 cps.”

        Compare that with a micro-SD…

        “The bit time is 6 microseconds, jumps execute in 288 microseconds and simple arithmetic instructions in 576 microseconds.”

        And it run and an incredible speed of 1 to 3kHz!

        (And this is overselling the computer, it was slower than what the numbers appear.)

    • adarza@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      4 hours ago

      and all that was inside was a smelly shoe with a can of soup stuffed in it. thanks amazon.

  • db2@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    16
    ·
    11 hours ago

    You could just do the soc, it would probably be closer to feature parity.