🚀 go-pugleaf

Julian Thomas wrote:
> 
> In
> <vd2NzVOTNb7v-p...@dialup-64.157.62.31.Dial1.Washington1.Level3.net>,
> on 08/02/01
>    at 12:17 AM, jav...@earthlink.net (John Varela) said:
> 
> >You are correct that the first purchases were As, but as the software
> >grew  some As were changed to Ds before delivery, under the original
> >contract  provisions.
> 
> Also, the mod 50 version (A) was the first to be developed and tested.
> 
> My favorite 9020 story was about the day of the great blackout (was this
> 1965?) when earlier that day they had hooked up the UPS feature (it had a
> different name then), tested it, and then disconnected it again - before
> the blackout hit Poughkeepsie.

On that date I had a breadboard of a desktop computer running
(remember DTL from components), and no handy Variac.  I had
designed for operation down to 90 V., and the initial five or ten
minutes of the blackout had all sorts of low voltages.  I hung a
Simpson on the A.C. and ran around frantically trying things. 
They were all still working at 75 V. but the fluoroscents were
behaving badly.

-- 
Chuck F (cbfal...@yahoo.com) (cbfal...@XXXXworldnet.att.net)
   (Remove "XXXX" from reply address. yahoo works unmodified)
   mailto:u...@ftc.gov  (for spambots to harvest)

John Varela (jav...@earthlink.net) writes:
>
... 
> One night when they were running a test, the headquarters guy on site, a 
> fellow named Chick Wright, decided to test the UPS, so he threw the system off
> of local power.  The batteries picked up the load while the diesels fired up 
> and took over.  So everything worked except for one thing: the back EMF from 
> the sudden removal of all that load blacked out the entire town of Longmont.

  So for once in a long time, the burghers saw the night sky in all its
  glory, plus the blue fairies along the runways, and the twinkling of
  aircraft wing lights as they arrived or left.  How romantic.  Was there
  a run on the maternity ward nine months later?

On Sun, 5 Aug 2001 20:53:49, ja...@jata-mj.net (Julian Thomas) wrote:

> My favorite 9020 story was about the day of the great blackout (was this
> 1965?) when earlier that day they had hooked up the UPS feature (it had a
> different name then), tested it, and then disconnected it again - before
> the blackout hit Poughkeepsie.

Oh, I understand now from Chuck F's post that you meant THAT blackout.  Not 
one the 9020 caused, one it responded--or failed to respond--to.

There was no UPS that was part of the 9020.  There were non-standard battery 
packs in each cabinet, as I recall, but I forget why, since FAA went to a lot 
of trouble to install critical power systems (AKA UPS) at each Center.  There 
had been diesel back-ups all along, but the switch from analog to digital 
equipment caused a need for uninterrupted power.

Perhaps there were batteries in the 9020 because the decision to procure an 
UPS was made after the 9020 was already specified; I don't recall but it 
sounds right.  The decision to replace the analog display system with an all 
digital system [1] was made after the 9020 was in procurement, and then the 
realization would have come that other equipment than just the 9020 needed an 
UPS.

[1] One of my career achievements was leading the effort at MITRE to convince 
the FAA to dump the analog radar displays.

-- 
    John Varela

John Varela wrote:
> 
> On Sun, 5 Aug 2001 20:53:49, ja...@jata-mj.net (Julian Thomas) wrote:
> 
> > My favorite 9020 story was about the day of the great blackout (was this
> > 1965?) when earlier that day they had hooked up the UPS feature (it had a
> > different name then), tested it, and then disconnected it again - before
> > the blackout hit Poughkeepsie.
> 
> I don't know what incident you're referring to.  The one I know of occurred at
> the Denver ARTCC in Longmont, CO.  They were running system tests, which
> involved a lot more than the 9020: specifically, some 20 or 30 Raytheon Plan
> View Display radar consoles and their central equipment (I forget if that was
> a 9020E or Raytheon) as well as sector terminals (Controller Update Equipment
> = CUE), printers, etc.  This would have been around 1970.
> 
> One night when they were running a test, the headquarters guy on site, a
> fellow named Chick Wright, decided to test the UPS, so he threw the system off
> of local power.  The batteries picked up the load while the diesels fired up
> and took over.  So everything worked except for one thing: the back EMF from
> the sudden removal of all that load blacked out the entire town of Longmont.
> 
> At least, that's the story that came back East.
> 
Yeah, but at least the *computer* kept running and did *not* lose any data.
I guess it's like the little Martian with the Roman helmet who said: 
"I am going to destroy the Earth because it obscures my view of Venus."

-- 
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
|     Charles and Francis Richmond     <rich...@plano.net>   |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+

"Guenther Vieth" <guenthe...@d.kamp.net> wrote in message
news:3B7BD024.FD3E88D9@d.kamp.net...
> A picture of a 9020 panel is published in the book of
>
> Paul E. Ceruzzi
> A History of Modern Computing
> MIT Press 1998
> ISBN 0-262-03255-4
> (Page 150)
>
> The panel look not like a 50 or 65.
> No rollers !
>
> Can anyone comment this ?
>
> gv
>

I've seen 3 separate "large" control panels for 9020E.  First looks to be
360/65 derivative (Computing Element for 9020E--there were 3 of these in an
installation and each had 6 rollers).  Second looks to be 360/50 derivative
(IO Control Element--there were 3 of these in an installation and each had 4
rollers).  The third type is, I believe, a peripheral adapter module control
panel.  It has no rollers, but looks vaguely like a 360/40 panel (without
the voltmeter).

As a funny aside, I was sent a picture of the 3rd type of panel and a
closeup of a price tag still attached on it.  It shows $2,213,784.15.  It is
dated March, 1970.  Not exactly pocket change today, much less 1970.

Regards, Dan

On Sun, 17 Jun 2018 04:22:21 -0700 (PDT), mpar...@gmail.com wrote:

>?? ??????, 26 ??????? 2001 - 4:12:35 ?.?. UTC+3, ? ??????? Daniel House ??????:
>> Having recently discovered a salvage case, I'm interested in this system.
>> Is there any online information about it? Google/image searches came up very
>> light.  I located Vol.6, No.2 of the IBM Systems Journal (from 1967)
>> describing the system and programs for it, but I'd like more, including
>> pictures if there are any to be found. There are only a few drawings in the
>> SJ.
>> 
>> Thanks, Dan House
>
>This is an email of yours, long time ago. Are you still interested in IBM9020? If you are, I have come accross most of its schematic diagrams that explain almost everything you need to know and I am thinking of selling those (at a very reasonable price) since there is no more space available in my storage room. Please let me know.
>Regards
>Michael

That was 17 years ago. But they could still be around.

On 6/17/18 4:22 AM, mpar...@gmail.com wrote:

> This is an email of yours, long time ago. Are you still interested in IBM9020? If you are, I have come accross most of its schematic diagrams that explain almost everything you need to know and I am thinking of selling those (at a very reasonable price) since there is no more space available in my storage room. Please let me know.

I tried emailing him since the Computer History Museum would be interested in the 9020 ALDs, but got no reply.