Hi - nice forum!
I am the curator of The Gallery of Old Iron, located at www.thegalleryofoldiron.com. It's an online collection of IBM large systems technology tidbits (because I don't have the space to keep complete room-sized machines, motor generators to power them, and DI plumbing to keep them cool).
I've found that lots of little parts were squirreled away when old machines were scrapped for precious metal content. Some of these parts are nice reminders of technologies past. I gather them together, put them online, and try to relight some old panels and bring them "back to life."
The oldest computer artifact in the collection is an operator control panel from an IBM 705, built in 1956. I am in the process of restoring this panel and will relight the neons using an original training manual as a guide. We do have older artifacts, but they are from card processing machines (using "hardwired" plugboards instead of software programming).
Thanks for hosting this forum! I've already seen some great stuff here.
I am the curator of The Gallery of Old Iron, located at www.thegalleryofoldiron.com. It's an online collection of IBM large systems technology tidbits (because I don't have the space to keep complete room-sized machines, motor generators to power them, and DI plumbing to keep them cool).
I've found that lots of little parts were squirreled away when old machines were scrapped for precious metal content. Some of these parts are nice reminders of technologies past. I gather them together, put them online, and try to relight some old panels and bring them "back to life."
The oldest computer artifact in the collection is an operator control panel from an IBM 705, built in 1956. I am in the process of restoring this panel and will relight the neons using an original training manual as a guide. We do have older artifacts, but they are from card processing machines (using "hardwired" plugboards instead of software programming).
Thanks for hosting this forum! I've already seen some great stuff here.