My old computers

[monoxrom]

Some old Beehive terminals (mid-70's I think) used the i4004

American terminals is rare like dinosaur eggs, in Ukraine )))
One way to find i4004 CPU go to ebay.com (((

God heard my prayers! Today my friend buy in Poland two NexGen processors with very low price :D (near 15$)
And one go to me )))

 

[Kacher]

Hi monoxrom!
Your Dreams come true)) (about NexGen)

And this is my collectiom of CPU ))):-D

 

[monoxrom]

Kacher
You have double CPUs on this photo
In my photo i dont have double processors (only 4 pentium pro in left)

 

[Chuck(G)]

Doug's post brings up an interesting question regarding the 4004, however. Can anyone supply an instance of where it was used for anything more complicated than a calculator or pinball machine? I can't. I've got the innards of an old microwave oven that use the TMS1000, which is older than the 4004.

I don't even think it was ever used on a "hobbyist" computer.

 

[Doug G]

Doug's post brings up an interesting question regarding the 4004, however. Can anyone supply an instance of where it was used for anything more complicated than a calculator or pinball machine? I can't. I've got the innards of an old microwave oven that use the TMS1000, which is older than the 4004.

I don't even think it was ever used on a "hobbyist" computer.

I'll be watching this with interest too. Unfortunately I've lost touch with my co-worker from those days who could validate the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of my memory

 

[billdeg]

I'll be watching this with interest too. Unfortunately I've lost touch with my co-worker from those days who could validate the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of my memory

I helped rescue the computers from a retiring professor's lab at Columbia University about 7 years ago. In addition to the three N* Horizons, 1702 Prom burner, California Computer Systems 2200, Televideo Terminals, and a bunch of other stuff was a complete homebrew 4004 system designed by the doctor to work with a laser to do difraction grating of blood samples. It was still functional when I arrived and set up for use. That system went to someone else and I don't have it, but I could probably ask around to see where it is. I did not see if it was hooked up to glass terminal or just as a component to run the system with a few toggle switched and print-out of the results.

I have had informal conversations with people from back then, here is my understanding - If you read in the old IEEE hardware related journals from when the 4004 was available as a new microprocessor, you'd probably find references to 4004's being used in very early minicomputer add-ons and diagnostics panels used for computers with no easy way to access memory or to halt/test the processor. THe 4004 may not have been used too often in a stand-alone computer, but you'd probably find them in homebrew front panel add on interface panels. These front panels were relying on the mini's computing power, these were just interfaces.. What people at the time thought was - wow if this 4004 was just a little more powerful we could turn this front panel into a stand alone computer by adding a little storage RAM, a timing circuit, serial IO port for a teletype..

bd

 

[Vint]

I visted the museum collection at http://retro-pc.net/ and spent some enjoyable time looking through all the nice machines. I especially like the novel on/off switch mechanism of the Siemens-Nixdorf PCD-38SX. Another machine I found interesting was the Schneider-Amstrad CPC-6128 with it's 'special' 3" disk drive, instead of the 3.5" type. I used the browser Google Chrome to translate the pages which made it much easier for me to navigate. Very nice!

 

[monoxrom]

About i4004, I think they should look for the old controllers, at least check all computer boards

Vint
Thank you.. Siemens-Nixdorf is all nice computers i love them ))))
And Schneider-Amstrad is popular brand in Europe

I have many computers, in my page is near 30% of collection.. Now i dont have a place for photography all computers. Also i think to go live to another place and many computers already packed.. Maybe for a few years i update my page.

 

[Chuck(G)]

I have had informal conversations with people from back then, here is my understanding - If you read in the old IEEE hardware related journals from when the 4004 was available as a new microprocessor, you'd probably find references to 4004's being used in very early minicomputer add-ons and diagnostics panels used for computers with no easy way to access memory or to halt/test the processor. THe 4004 may not have been used too often in a stand-alone computer, but you'd probably find them in homebrew front panel add on interface panels. These front panels were relying on the mini's computing power, these were just interfaces.. What people at the time thought was - wow if this 4004 was just a little more powerful we could turn this front panel into a stand alone computer by adding a little storage RAM, a timing circuit, serial IO port for a teletype..

Remember that the argument over which was first--the 4004 or the TMS1000 hasn't been settled--and may never be. Yet the TMS1000 found a lot of application as a simple controller embedded in various consumer appliances, where I don't think the same was true for the 4004, probably because of issues with the support chipset.

Remember too, that both were PMOS devices, meaning strange logic levels, particularly if you wanted to interface with standard logic families. My recollection is that most manufacturers took a look at that, as well as the very slow speed and decided to implement their functionality in discrete logic--or you went with a multi-chip CPU such as the NSC IMP16 (you can find those in Sun automotive analyzers of the period)--a 16-bit microprocessor set that came out in 1973.

I believe that the closest the 4004 ever came to being put to a real computer application was in the MCM70 APL computer, but a switch was made to the not-yet-ready-for-primetime 8008 instead, probably making the MCM the first mass-marketed computer system to use a microprocessor.