2026-07-31 16:36 UTC
Replies (4)
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@kenshirriff@oldbytes.space 2026-07-31 16:36
This module was part of IBM's 604 Electronic Calculating Punch. It read 100 punch cards a minute, performed calculations that were specified by a wiring panel, and punched the results on cards. In the lower left, you can see rows of tube modules with their handles sticking out.
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@dougmerritt@mathstodon.xyz 2026-07-31 17:01
@kenshirriff@oldbytes.space I've seen one-bit vacuum tube modules like that many times, it feels like, but it's hard to place where. Computer History Museum? The RESISTORS New Jersey barn full of retired mainframes (back when I truly did not grasp what a computer was)? Also possibly pictures on Ebay? It's a bit puzzling. Thanks for this and your other continuing posts; historical computing is cool.
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@pr_ret_lutz@jasette.facil.services 2026-07-31 19:39
@kenshirriff@oldbytes.space If you don't have any left, build your own! http://paillard.claude.free.fr/video.mp4 from http://paillard.claude.free.fr/ #vintage #electronics #diy #DIY_electronics
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@VE2UWY@mastodon.radio 2026-07-31 20:02
@kenshirriff@oldbytes.space Looks like it was a “regular” (dual triode from the description) tube judging by the notes here but maybe made to exacting specs for use in “calculating machines”? Not really a tube guy but like the idea of heating metal until electrons are emitted … https://www.radiomuseum.org/tubes/tube_2033.html