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| Issue 4 - August 2007 | www.tnmoc.org
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 | Fundraising
Can
you help with our fund raising? Do you have particular contacts who
might be willing to support the museum? Funds at this stage are
absolutely crucial to our survival, giving the museum both security and
stability in its early months and years. One position we believe it
important to fill is that of a full time museum curator to help towards
our accreditation process. While we have enormous support from our
volunteers, we need funds to be able to continue this work on a
professional basis too. Click here for donations | |
 | IBM 1130
We
are about to arrange transport for a complete IBM 1130 machine, which
we hope to have it with us by November. The 1130 was introduced by IBM
in 1965 and was their lowest cost computer at the time. We have had
sets of service manuals and disks for this machine for some time, so we
are pleased to be able to marry these up with the hardware! | |
| Preparing for the ICL2966
This
section is becoming a regular feature, but progress is being made. The
new gallery is clear and decorated and waiting for the machine. We will
use the adjoining workshop as a staging area to make our initial checks
on the hardware units before they are moved into place. I am afraid
your editor couldn't find of a suitable picture, but will try harder
next time. | |
 | Challenging Colossus
Just
a taster at this stage, but we are planning an international cipher
challenge. A set of encrypted messages will be transmitted over
wireless from Germany and then the race is on to decipher the message.
You might not need a receiver like the one pictured here, as we may
give some help to the radio-phonically challenged. | |
 | Credits & Debits
As
work progresses through the museum we are planning a gallery dedicated
to the use of computing in banking, finance, and accounting. Starting
with punched card unit record machines, through visible record systems,
to modern high-availability transaction processing systems. | |
| Finally
this month one of our curators' favorite machines is in its new
location and back on the air! This PDP11/34 system was used to analyse
readings from a seismic sensor array to look for infringements of the
nuclear test ban treaty. An underground test explosion will produce
seismic events sufficiently different from those of a natural
earthquake, and this system was able to detect the difference.
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