20
votes
Accepted
What is this diskette drive?
Akhter was a home computer dealer, based in Harlow. The company still exists at a new address, now called Akhter Group plc (but probably not still selling BBC Micros!).
They were the largest sellers ...
- 8,011
20
votes
What kind of printer is shown in the opening title sequence for the movie Desk Set?
You mean this one?
(taken from this sequence on Youtube)
Well, it isn't 'a printer', but rather the 'computer', at least as far as it goes for that setup :))
It's an IBM 403 Accounting Machine, a ...
- 213k
20
votes
Accepted
In this movie I see a strange cable for terminal connection, what kind of connection is this?
It's probably much like the Ampex 210. See page 2-7 of the Ampex 210 Operating Manual. Based on the position, it would be the primary RS232S port connected to a ribbon cable.
Ribbon cables were used ...
- 721
19
votes
Did home computers have mechanical interfaces to typewriters?
I remember such a device described in Personal Computer World magazine, June 1981: https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerWorld1981-06/page/76/mode/2up?view=theater
The Dynatyper allows you to ...
- 353
19
votes
In this movie I see a strange cable for terminal connection, what kind of connection is this?
25-wire ribbon cables were quite common for serial ports. See, for example, the classic breakout box:
I preferred using cables and adapters. Typically I would use 6-wire cables (ground, TX, RX, CTS, ...
18
votes
Accepted
Did home computers have mechanical interfaces to typewriters?
Some further web searches on my part turned up a brochure for the I/O Pak Computer/Typewriter Mechanical Interface by Rochester Data Incorporated:
The Rochester Data I/O Pak is an electro-mechanical ...
- 7,023
16
votes
Accepted
Can anyone help identify this old terminal and printer found in an abandoned nuclear power plant?
I would have written just a comment but did not have enough rep to do so. @JdeBP had basically found the answer so all I had to google was "Youtube comment finder" :).
The video also posts a ...
- 306
16
votes
Accepted
Denys Fisher, of Spirograph fame, using a computer late 1976, early 1977
TL;DR:
It's a HP 9825B desktop calculator and a HP 9872 flatbed plotter.
By the looks it can be eitehr a HP 9825 desktop calculator (*1) introduced in 1976, or a 1978 HP9831 computer (*2).
(HP 9825A ...
- 213k
14
votes
What dot matrix printer? - UK, 1987
The printer looks quite like a C.T.I. CP-80 variant. The silver oval is a give away. See this picture of a CP-80 Model II I have pulled out a few weeks ago for a PC-XT setup to help with GlaBIOS.
(...
- 213k
12
votes
Did Apple bundle a specific monitor with the Apple II+ for schools?
Here's a Sanyo VM-4209 in a 1977 Apple II advertisement. It has a black handle on top (the VM-4509/DM 5109CX has a beige colored recessed handle):
And another photo to show the color of the case ...
- 17.4k
11
votes
What is the model of fast CAD printer used in Pentagon Wars?
If this is a plotter, it might be an electrostatic plotter. But it looks far more likely to be a blueprint copier (or heliographic copier) which isn't a computer device at all.
- 20.5k
10
votes
Did Apple bundle a specific monitor with the Apple II+ for schools?
Sometime in 1980 (or maybe 1981) my school district purchased it's first batch of Apple II+ computers. The hardware our specific school district purchased consisted of Apple II+ computers, each with a ...
- 213k
10
votes
Did home computers have mechanical interfaces to typewriters?
There was a commercially available interface to connect a TRS-80 to an IBM Selectric typewriter, the kind with the golf-ball type head. It wasn't a hack or a DIY recipe in a magazine, it was a ...
- 109
9
votes
What dot matrix printer? - UK, 1987
A useful place to start with the matrix dimensions is this diagram from the Epson LX-810 LX-850 Service Manual:
Each pin is 0.29 mm diameter, and pins are spaced 0.35 mm apart vertically. ...
- 20.5k
9
votes
Unknown device in MANIAC I machine room
It's a thermometer, with a cover plate which doubled as an advertising placard removed.
Initial lead was this image:
Source:
was originally listed at https://www.etsy.com/listing/264070177/
got &...
- 2,917
9
votes
1980's Stand Alone Serial (RS232) Spool File
A quick search found one example here:
This one was marketed specifically for plotters, which makes a lot of sense as plotting can take a long time for a single page.
A search on eBay for printer ...
8
votes
What is this diskette drive?
This is the front of the Akhter 5.25" drive unit:
and the rear:
As you can see the dates and serial numbers aren't that different.
July 1986 is quite early for a 3.5" drive to be attached ...
- 461
8
votes
What is this "switch register - display" and what was it used for?
A "switch register" or "sense switches" provides a way for the CPU to read a binary input without explicitly using the I/O bus. Due to the name "switch register," I ...
- 2,706
8
votes
What 1970's terminal was black on white and had an orange keyboard?
SOLVED:
I am thinking of the ADDS Consul 980, from 1974:
The display was black on white.
It did support lowercase. Solomon Slow is correct. The Data General C/150 certainly supported "console ...
- 343
8
votes
Denys Fisher, of Spirograph fame, using a computer late 1976, early 1977
The pen plotter appears to be an HP 7221 or 9872. They look identical but differ in their interfacing: the 7221 is the RS-232 version and does not speak HP-GL; the 9872 uses HP-IB and HP-GL. If the ...
- 12.4k
7
votes
Unknown device in MANIAC I machine room
Note: I'm answering my own question here. If someone can verify my findings in an answer I'll accept it.
Williams tubes (a.k.a. electrostatic cathode-ray storage tubes) were used for memory in the ...
- 9,290
7
votes
What is this "switch register - display" and what was it used for?
I'm not familiar with this particular model but this type of "front panel" was found in many early mainframe, mini, and micro computer systems. While this example is among the simpler ones, ...
- 3,029
6
votes
Accepted
What is this "switch register - display" and what was it used for?
Caveat: ATM I can not identify the machine this was taken from. I can only describe what can be said from parts visible. I will not go into further speculation.
Seems to be part of a front panel (i.e. ...
- 213k
6
votes
Which plotter used these commands?
It was Calcomp 763, or its narrow variant Calcomp 765. I've got a scan of a page from "Машинная графика для системы БЭСМ-алгол" ("Computer graphics for the BESM-ALGOL system" by V. ...
- 18.3k
6
votes
Accepted
Which plotter used these commands?
There is at least some indication that these are Calcomp commands. The Calcomp Software Reference Manual is available at bitsavers.org and covers the 'Direct Commands' sent to the device. On page 5.24 ...
- 1,043
6
votes
Did Apple bundle a specific monitor with the Apple II+ for schools?
You are not alone, as I have the same memory. Very "cube-looking" 9-inch monitors were a common peripheral for the Apple ][/][ Plus. You will find many pictures online of this setup, and may ...
- 60.1k
5
votes
Did home computers have mechanical interfaces to typewriters?
In a laboratory setting in the early '80s I used a solenoid device on an IBM typewriter, which covered only the numbers, tab and return. It interefaced to to a scientific instrument and allowed the ...
- 231
5
votes
What PC VGA connector used 2 rows of pins?
Could it be CGA, MDA or EGA connector (DE-9) (as in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_connectors#D-subminiature_family) ?
The Pentium !!! era doesn't match, but on Wikipedia, there is this ...
- 659
5
votes
Accepted
The laptops in the Turkish movie Recep İvedik 3 (2009)
The laptop in clip 3 looks like a Commodore C286-LT, judging by the shape and placement of the hinge, the pattern on the top of the case, and the general fit of the look of everything with the laptop ...
- 908
3
votes
The laptops in the Turkish movie Recep İvedik 3 (2009)
It certainly has the look of a ~1990 Toshiba, like the T1000LE, T1200XE, or Dynabook J-3100SS, although none of those is an exact match. It's even got the card insert between the keyboard and the ...
- 4,475
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible