[vcf-midatlantic] Bendix G-15 was Re: Univac, our first real work!

[David Riley]

On Jun 26, 2016, at 18:24, Brian L. Stuart <blstuart at bellsouth.net> wrote:
> 
>> On Thu, 6/16/16, David Riley via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic at lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
>> Our Bendix G-15, however, is tube-based (and drum-based,
>> which will probably be the bigger hurdle to getting it
>> running).
> 
> True.  The best bet for restoring the G-15 would be to construct a
> drum emulator that would interface with the rest of the machine
> using the same timing and signal levels as the original drum.  Use
> that to get the rest of the machine running.  Then if the original
> drum turns out to be unrestorable, we still have a running G-15,
> and if the original drum can be restored, the emulator can still
> be used to minimize any additional wear and tear on the original.
> 
> I have no idea, however, how much of the original software still
> exists.  I've got a few of the paper tape cartridges and I've seen
> some references online about software, so there is hope.  Of course,
> writing software is a lot more fun than running old software, so
> even if nothing still exists, restoration would still be very interesting
> to consider.

Agreed on all points. I'd be highly interested in working on that, if only I had more time... a drum emulator should be extremely simple to make in principle, the interface will probably be the hardest part.


- Dave