jonesg
Well-known member
Major Tom would be impressed.
- Thread starter Ryan
- Start date
Chickenpants
Well-known member
I don’t know about that. Comments aren’t converted to executable object code by any compiler/assembler that I ever heard of. Even the early single pass assemblers that NASA used had robust comments…in the source code.
Just thinking that my engineering career started exactly 50 years ago. I worked with a lot of guys what started at Martin Marietta in the 40's to 60's. Lots of really smart people. I started with a masters degree in engineering-math-physics and thought I was smart. Took about a week to realize I had a LOT to learn!! LOL. It was a fun career for real. Ended up making deep space nuclear power devices that are on Mars.
Many years ago. As I recall, it was interpretive BASIC. Not compiled.
ZRX61
Well-known member
There's also Luky's Hardware on Burbank Blvd
Luky's is a great place for all kinds of hardware, but nothing that qualifies as "space" related. I used to get all kinds of hardware from Luky, and she is friendly to her customers.
pcmeiners
Well-known member
Wondered what happened to the Apollo mission computers, also I though they were much bigger.
newatlas.com
Apollo Guidance Computer sale highlights contrasting views of historical significance
The prices fetched at auction are a useful guide to the perceived societal value of significant historical objects, and the sale of an Apollo Guidance Computer DSKY (DiSplay&KeYboard) for $93,750 this week could not be more illustrative of contrasting views.
newatlas.com
Cluster
Member
Having grown up in Huntsville Ala the whole existence of Marshal Space Flight Center (and von Braun) being located there is due to Army's Redstone Arsenal established there years prior. To this day all kinds of vintage electronics can be had there (if one knows where/who to look/ask).
I picked up a couple of Vectron Laboratories FS-323 Frequency Standards mainly due to the quality of their 'builds'; very well designed', appear bulletproof.
These are interesting units having been unique to Nike installations. Initially my interest was to repurpose as audio enclosures, but testing showed perfect function.
From tech manual: "The oscillator portion employs a 5MHz fifth-overtone crystal. The crystal, oscillator and other critical circuitry is housed within he inner of two concentric ovens which maintain virtually constant temp...."
I picked up a couple of Vectron Laboratories FS-323 Frequency Standards mainly due to the quality of their 'builds'; very well designed', appear bulletproof.
These are interesting units having been unique to Nike installations. Initially my interest was to repurpose as audio enclosures, but testing showed perfect function.
From tech manual: "The oscillator portion employs a 5MHz fifth-overtone crystal. The crystal, oscillator and other critical circuitry is housed within he inner of two concentric ovens which maintain virtually constant temp...."
inphx
Well-known member
This local shop has some NOS rotary switches @ $4.95
theelectronicgoldmine.com
Magnificent Deal! G26981 - Antique Switchcraft Rotary Activated 4PDT Panel Mount Switch with Knob
Switchcraft Rotary Activated Panel Mount 4PDT switch was made years ago. This unique antique switch found use in telephone central offices. It can panel mount by way of a screw and nut (not included). The activation shaft with black knob and white arrow is designed to protrude through a 0.45”...
theelectronicgoldmine.com
driftpin
Well-known member
Speaking of vintage equipment and coding, here is something of interest to people who enjoy the history of data, its use, and developments.
Viewtron, a product of Knight-Ridder and AT&T, was the brainchild of Norm Morrison, vice-president of technology for Knight-Ridder. It started in Miami and Coral Gables FL in 1983. That's 10 years before the www.
www.poynter.org
From the above link:
Using telephone circuitry and a typical television set, Viewtron will offer a variety of news, banking and shopping services from more than 100 merchants, as well as brokerage quotations, travel information, educational, health and reference materials, and games. Subscribers will have access to more than two million pages of information, one of the largest and potentially most useful data packages ever assembled in the United States. There is even a graffiti board for scribblings, although Viewdata officials are quick to point out that they'll censor anything that's too much like what can be found on New York City subways.
But as the importance of videotex to AT&T grew, Viewdata and AT&T officials as well seem to believe that it is not the news services that will drive the product's sales. In an AT&T Ridgewood, N.J., videotex test with CBS Inc., for instance, "the relative importance of news went down," said Clarence Selin, AT&T director for strategic planning and consumer information products.
Home shoppers can get liquor delivered from local liquor stores and products from Burdines and J. C. Penney. Two brokerage houses, 12 banks and six insurance and finance companies are involved in the banking end.
Viewtron, a product of Knight-Ridder and AT&T, was the brainchild of Norm Morrison, vice-president of technology for Knight-Ridder. It started in Miami and Coral Gables FL in 1983. That's 10 years before the www.
Before the Web, There Was Viewtron - Poynter
From person-to-person coaching and intensive hands-on seminars to interactive online courses and media reporting, Poynter helps journalists sharpen skills and elevate storytelling throughout their careers.
www.poynter.org
From the above link:
Using telephone circuitry and a typical television set, Viewtron will offer a variety of news, banking and shopping services from more than 100 merchants, as well as brokerage quotations, travel information, educational, health and reference materials, and games. Subscribers will have access to more than two million pages of information, one of the largest and potentially most useful data packages ever assembled in the United States. There is even a graffiti board for scribblings, although Viewdata officials are quick to point out that they'll censor anything that's too much like what can be found on New York City subways.
But as the importance of videotex to AT&T grew, Viewdata and AT&T officials as well seem to believe that it is not the news services that will drive the product's sales. In an AT&T Ridgewood, N.J., videotex test with CBS Inc., for instance, "the relative importance of news went down," said Clarence Selin, AT&T director for strategic planning and consumer information products.
Home shoppers can get liquor delivered from local liquor stores and products from Burdines and J. C. Penney. Two brokerage houses, 12 banks and six insurance and finance companies are involved in the banking end.
[end of article quote]
I knew Norm, and I used the Viewtron system at his home in Hollywood FL in 1983. I also visited the Viewtron offices in Miami, where the videotex 'pages' (a single screen of computer monitor content was called a 'page' which could be displayed on subscribers' TV screens) were created, and made available to the subscribers. The data was contained on a mainframe computer kept in a room in a clear plastic climate-controlled cube. I watched as the data, of such things as news off the wire services was laid-out, and then stored on the mainframe for retrieval by subscribers. There was also a form of email between two subscribers. Unfortunately, it was not the exact model of success in the public marketplace, and it closed operations after three years. It was a pioneering effort among many large corporations, who would later embrace the www.
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DGersic
Well-known member
Your instructor lied to you, sort of.
Source code gets comments. Once run through the assembler or compiler, the output binary is what matters to the computer.
DGersic
Well-known member
Curious, what switching systems you worked on? Dad spent his career with AT&T working on 4ESS.
I’ve done quite a lot of debugging from hex dumps. A low level patches, hacking in new features from reverse engineering code. Fun times.
Not really. He was talking about interpreted code. BASIC as I recall.
Yes, I know about assemblers & compilers.... Retired after 37 years as a software developer/manager.
I'm fond of vintage electronics and electrical tools history, recently working on a project of robust dc supply system that can bear adverse weathers. We want to make it tough enough to withstand 60 plus celcius to -40 environments. Some of classic works helped us alot specially some of nasa electronics projects.
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Trapps
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Luntz
Well-known member
Apex Surplus in the San Fernando Valley is a toy store. Always something interesting there.
They've supplied props for many, many sci-fi productions.
https://apexsurplus.com
They've supplied props for many, many sci-fi productions.
https://apexsurplus.com
In my cyber security career I had the luck to work on several projects for NASA. Best trip was working at Cape Canaveral and getting an unauthorized tour of the original mission control. The leftover infrastructure was amazing to see such as the comm consoles. The building was just a storage facility full of junk (not the good kind) when I was there in 2004.
I'm also building a basement control center for my security consoles (cameras/network lab). Hoping to recreate that feel. Regretting the mountains of hardware I let get scrapped from my time with Bell labs.
I'm also building a basement control center for my security consoles (cameras/network lab). Hoping to recreate that feel. Regretting the mountains of hardware I let get scrapped from my time with Bell labs.
Hmmm.... I may have to mosey out there and wander around.Apex Surplus in the San Fernando Valley is a toy store. Always something interesting there.
They've supplied props for many, many sci-fi productions.
https://apexsurplus.com
SFV just seems like the other side of the world to me but, in reality, it's under an hour.