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Apollo 8 Plus 41 Years
Come on, folks, no one's thinking of this first manned flight to
the Moon, that was underway this time 41 years ago ? Wow... 41 years. I recall watching the transmission from the Moon at home, at the age of 10, on a B/W TV, our only set at the time. It wasn't until Apollo 10 that I saw a live launch in colour. Andre |
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Apollo 8 Plus 41 Years
Andre Lieven wrote:
Come on, folks, no one's thinking of this first manned flight to the Moon, that was underway this time 41 years ago ? Wow... 41 years. I recall watching the transmission from the Moon at home, at the age of 10, on a B/W TV, our only set at the time. It wasn't until Apollo 10 that I saw a live launch in colour. I still remember thinking: "I sure hope that SM engine fired..." :-) Pat |
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Apollo 8 Plus 41 Years
On Dec 23, 1:32*am, OM wrote:
On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:33:13 -0800 (PST), Andre Lieven wrote: * *Come on, folks, no one's thinking of this first manned flight to the Moon, that was underway this time 41 years ago ? ...Everyone's too busy arguing with the trolls about some bull**** microwave power concepts. Well then, that would just be silly, as trolls rarely respond well to reasoned discourse and simple facts. F em. Andre |
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Apollo 8 Plus 41 Years
Pat Flannery writes:
I was out in the yard with my 100mm refractor telescope trying to see the sunlight glint off of the CSM as it was in lunar orbit. Okay, I was young and optimistic. :-) Pat I remember following it that year whilst programming my 1st 'electric brain' and Xmas present that year: http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2008/...bs&Qis=XL#qdig By the time Apollo 8 was on its way back, I was already deep into plans to overclock it with my Erector set motor... ;-) Dave PS: Yes, I still have (some of) the components from both.... |
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Apollo 8 Plus 41 Years
David Spain wrote:
I remember following it that year whilst programming my 1st 'electric brain' and Xmas present that year: http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2008/...bs&Qis=XL#qdig By the time Apollo 8 was on its way back, I was already deep into plans to overclock it with my Erector set motor... That sounds like you were converting it to something related to the principle used by the Turing Bombe to break the Enigma Machine codes during WW II: http://jproc.ca/crypto/bombe_turing.html I always wanted one of the ones Edmund Scientific sold, although I can't even remember what the thing looked like (I think it used phone jacks of some sort) There's a interesting history page on PCs here that includes your Geniac: http://www.blinkenlights.com/pc.shtml I've always wanted to see one of these in action: http://www.vcalc.net/cu.htm Which looks like some sort of crank-driven time machine Dr. Who might be dragging around with him, or a high-tech miniature multi-spice mill for use by a gourmand in the uncivilized parts of the world. Pat |
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Apollo 8 Plus 41 Years
Pat Flannery writes:
David Spain wrote: I remember following it that year whilst programming my 1st 'electric brain' and Xmas present that year: http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2008/...bs&Qis=XL#qdig By the time Apollo 8 was on its way back, I was already deep into plans to overclock it with my Erector set motor... That sounds like you were converting it to something related to the principle used by the Turing Bombe to break the Enigma Machine codes during WW II: http://jproc.ca/crypto/bombe_turing.html I was intrigued by ways of speeding up the GENIAC's rotary switches long before I knew anything about Turing machines or the Turing Bombe. Mechanically, I doubt it would have been up to it or have held out for long. I always wanted one of the ones Edmund Scientific sold, although I can't even remember what the thing looked like (I think it used phone jacks of some sort) My first 'real' telescope was an Edmund Scientific 6" reflector! As for computer kits, well there's this catalog picture, but IIRC it used regular hookup wi http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...talogs_70s.jpg (I really, really wanted that LASER shown in the background)... But you sure you aren't thinking of the Heathkit EC-1 Analog Computer? It had phone jack hookups like you describe... http://www.heathkit-museum.com/computers/hvmec-1.shtml There were also these: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digi-Comp_I I think you 'programmed' these using soda straws. I didn't care for them because they weren't electric and never owned one. There's a interesting history page on PCs here that includes your Geniac: http://www.blinkenlights.com/pc.shtml The only 'personal computer' predecessor to the $20 GENIAC considered by this website was the $300 Simon. And that would have been definitely outside of Santa's budget for me. I've always wanted to see one of these in action: http://www.vcalc.net/cu.htm I've a friend who has a working Curta calculator and also one that needs repair. IIRC, these were very popular with road rallyists in the days before minis and GPS'es because of their portablility. Which looks like some sort of crank-driven time machine Dr. Who might be dragging around with him, or a high-tech miniature multi-spice mill for use by a gourmand in the uncivilized parts of the world. Good luck getting one through airport security these days. "A calculator? Yeah sure buddy, get over there in that line, behind the bearded fellow..." ;-) Dave |
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Apollo 8 Plus 41 Years
David Spain wrote:
As for computer kits, well there's this catalog picture, but IIRC it used regular hookup wi http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...talogs_70s.jpg Yeah, that's the one alright. They also had a rotary analog one: http://www.us.profibus.com/wordpress/?p=919 (I really, really wanted that LASER shown in the background)... LASER, huh? You been watching Jonny Quest too? How do I know you're not working for Dr. Zin? (Pat hears knock on door, opens door to find big black ball sitting there, rolls it into apartment.) We had this really primitive one laying around our college's physics department that used a coiled antenna around the gas tube to stimulate the helium-neon via RF, and that also had separate mirrors at either end of the tube that had to be hand align. I never could get it to work. But you sure you aren't thinking of the Heathkit EC-1 Analog Computer? It had phone jack hookups like you describe... No, I just remember the Edmund one, and didn't even know about the Heathkit one until a couple of years ago. What really made me feel old was a few years back when I mentioned magnetic core memory to a computer programmer, and he had no idea what I was talking about - as he had never heard of the little metal donuts on wires. :-D http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digi-Comp_I I think you 'programmed' these using soda straws. I didn't care for them because they weren't electric and never owned one. Oh yeah, that thing is legendary. I've always wanted to see one of these in action: http://www.vcalc.net/cu.htm I've a friend who has a working Curta calculator and also one that needs repair. IIRC, these were very popular with road rallyists in the days before minis and GPS'es because of their portablility. Which looks like some sort of crank-driven time machine Dr. Who might be dragging around with him, or a high-tech miniature multi-spice mill for use by a gourmand in the uncivilized parts of the world. Good luck getting one through airport security these days. "A calculator? Yeah sure buddy, get over there in that line, behind the bearded fellow..." If you did put explosives in one, all the little do-dads inside of it would create a really spectacular fragmentation effect. There's a lot of fun stuff here, BTW: http://cryptocellar.org/simula/ Many years back, we ran some postings through the newsgroup partly in Enigma code: http://tinyurl.com/yfc93t5 Pat |
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Apollo 8 Plus 41 Years
OM writes:
On Sun, 27 Dec 2009 10:23:22 -0800, Pat Flannery wrote: What really made me feel old was a few years back when I mentioned magnetic core memory to a computer programmer, and he had no idea what I was talking about - as he had never heard of the little metal donuts on wires. :-D ...Try bringing up the 92k Bubble RAM expansion for the TI-99/4A. OM Or making sure the volume level on your cassette player is properly adjusted for proper data retrieval. BTW, anything longer than C60 is not recommended. C90 and longer use magnetic tape that is too thin and can stretch, making your program irretrievable. Also be sure to keep your tape head demagnetized and free of oxide build up... http://www.btinternet.com/~shawweb/stephen/book4.htm Dave |
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Apollo 8 Plus 41 Years
David Spain wrote:
Or making sure the volume level on your cassette player is properly adjusted for proper data retrieval. BTW, anything longer than C60 is not recommended. C90 and longer use magnetic tape that is too thin and can stretch, making your program irretrievable. I had a cheap cassette tape once that would play both sides at once due to some sort of overlap in the middle section of the tape when it was being recorded. Stevie Nicks singing backwards sounds downright Satanic. Of course, hearing her sing "Silent Night" forwards is pretty frightening also. Pat |
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