Apollo 8 Plus 41 Years
Andre Lieven
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
Pat Flannery
I still remember thinking: "I sure hope that SM engine fired..." :-)
Pat
Andre Lieven
> On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:33:13 -0800 (PST), Andre Lieven
>
> <andrelie...@yahoo.ca> wrote:
> > Come on, folks, no one's thinking of this first manned flight to
> >the Moon, that was underway this time 41 years ago ?
>
> microwave power concepts.
Well then, that would just be silly, as trolls rarely respond well
to reasoned discourse and simple facts.
F em.
Andre
Dr.Colon Oscopy
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I was a little more piggy than that. During the Genesis reading I
hoped they would just keep on going so I got more video feed to
watch. To think about the TV quality now,,, either way it was a
religous experience..............Doc
Frogwatch
wrote:
I took all the money I had earned mowing lawns and replaced bad tubes
in our ancient B&W set for Apollo 8, it still didn't work. Didn't
work for Apollo 11 either.
Pat Flannery
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> I was a little more piggy than that. During the Genesis reading I
>> hoped they would just keep on going so I got more video feed to
>> watch. To think about the TV quality now,,, either way it was a
>> religous experience..............Doc
>
> I took all the money I had earned mowing lawns and replaced bad tubes
> in our ancient B&W set for Apollo 8, it still didn't work. Didn't
> work for Apollo 11 either.
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
David Spain
> 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:
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....
Pat Flannery
> I remember following it that year whilst programming my 1st 'electric brain'
> and Xmas present that year:
>
>> http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2008/07/29/geniac/?Qwd=./PopularElectronics/10-1958/geniac&Qif=geniac_2.jpg&Qiv=thumbs&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
David Spain
> David Spain wrote:
>> I remember following it that year whilst programming my 1st 'electric brain'
>> and Xmas present that year:
>>
>>> http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2008/07/29/geniac/?Qwd=./PopularElectronics/10-1958/geniac&Qif=geniac_2.jpg&Qiv=thumbs&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 wire:
> http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3c/Edmund_catalogs_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
Pat Flannery
> As for computer kits, well there's this catalog picture, but IIRC it used
> regular hookup wire:
>
>> http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3c/Edmund_catalogs_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
David Spain
> On Sun, 27 Dec 2009 10:23:22 -0800, Pat Flannery <fla...@daktel.com>
> 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
Pat Flannery
>
> 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