6 ms·
Miniature 1959 IBM 1401 Console handmade polystyrene scratch build
- kleer001 6y ago(non-functional) (hahah) Beautiful, still, excellent craftsmanship
- Spearchucker 6y agoLove it. Sadly scratch-building from styrene is an art that's losing ground to 3D printing. Here's a guy who scratch-builds toy trucks https://www.wittenburg.co.uk/Rc/FordF5Coe.html https://www.wittenburg.co.uk/Rc/FordF5Coe.html
- tgv 6y agoCharming and aesthetically pleasing.
- Koshkin 6y agoNice. What would make this really amazing if was also fully emulated (using some basic robotic kit for the tape drives and, say, a Raspberry Pi). Myself, I was thinking about maybe making a paper miniature of IBM System/360 running on Hercules.
- amdelamar 6y agoGiven how small-scale it is, maybe he could opt for lights/LEDs and an ac motor to rotate the tapes.
- kens 6y agoThe IBM 1401 emulator we use is ROPE: http://ibm-1401.info/#1401-Software http://ibm-1401.info/#1401-Software The Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA does demos of the real 1401 (at least until the coronavirus hit), so once things open up again, anyone who is nearby should check it out.
- SeanFerree 6y agoVery nice!!
- esmi 6y agoJust get it to run cobol and you’re golden.
- vincent-manis 6y agoAutocoder (macro assembler) was the main 1401 language.
- kens 6y agoHere's a video of Fortran running on the IBM 1401 at the Computer History Museum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFQ3sajIdaM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFQ3sajIdaM Because memory was so limited (8000 words), the Fortran compiler operates in 63 phases, where each phase consists of 150 to 300 instructions. In other words, the compiler's code was broken into chunks of 150-300 instructions, and that's all that could run in a phase. I'll also mention that memory was 8000 words and not 8192 words, because the IBM 1401 used decimal arithmetic.
- mjcohen 6y agoI thought it had 53 phases.
- kens 6y agoThe paper lists all 63 phases: http://ibm-1401.info/1401-IBM-Systems-Journal-FORTRAN.html http://ibm-1401.info/1401-IBM-Systems-Journal-FORTRAN.html
- cheerlessbog 6y ago30 years of programming and it never occurred to me that DIM derived from DIMENSION.
- tlb 6y agoBuilding miniature mainframe installations is very cool. Much better than a model railway set. I'd like one that works, of course, with blinky lights and tape drives spinning. The electronics can be modern and buried in a box under the table, but I'd like all the lights and switches to behave like the original.
- DanBC 6y agoHave you seen this replica of Cray 1A? http://www.chrisfenton.com/homebrew-cray-1a/ http://www.chrisfenton.com/homebrew-cray-1a/
- jes 6y agoThis is great to see. Congratulations on your effort. As an older (60) software engineer, your modeling brings back some pleasant memories for me.
- tpmx 6y agoThat typewriter/terminal thing: Wow!
- modal-soul 6y agoIs there a name for the aesthetic of the equipment being modeled here?
- twic 6y agoIt probably falls under the broad umbrella of Mid-Century Modern, but if you mean the machinery more specifically, i don't know. It's a little too grounded to be atompunk or streamline moderne, and a little too early to be cassette futurism.
- kens 6y agoIBM put a lot of work into a detailed corporate design aesthetic. Itis described in detail in the book "The Interface: IBM and the Transformation of Corporate Design". The design principles were developed by Edgar Kaufmann, Jr (whose father owned Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater), and they were developed by Eliot Noyes, a notable industrial designer. Some design concepts in the computers were recessed pedestals for a feeling of floating and lightness, the concealment of most of the circuitry, expressing the "inherent drama" of computers, the carefully controlled color scheme, and modern materials for the cabinets. The tape drives in particular were wildly successful at expressing the "inherent drama" of computing, to the point that spinning tape drives became a movie cliche .
- bananapear 6y agoI look at these pictures and can’t fathom how anyone could have the patience to place all those tiny “keys” when I can barely finish reading an article without getting bored and skipping to the next thing. How can I learn patience?
- maxerickson 6y agoPractice. I think I would call it focus instead of patience. It's often useful to have a goal that is motivating.
- amelius 6y agoTrick your brain into thinking you'll get a big reward upon finishing the project.
- rchase 6y agoDaughter is an architect. She's been doing origami since early kidhood, and I marvel at the intricacy of the models she now handcrafts. Point being, like anything, the art of patience takes... practice. Tons of practice.
- acmdas 6y agoVery nicely done. Takes me back...
- bobloblaw45 6y agoI've always loved polystyrene models.I'm curious how the chair was done.
- EvanAnderson 6y agoThe chair has its own series of images: https://imgur.com/gallery/TymP8M5 https://imgur.com/gallery/TymP8M5
- bdefore 6y agoA side attraction to this would be Johann Johannsson's excellent ambient electronica tribute to his father's work on the 1401: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_1401,_A_User%27s_Manual https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_1401,_A_User%27s_Manual I often listen to it while coding. Lots of glacial build up and voice samples of someone calmly instructing how to use the machine.
- hrvach 6y agoThis is so amazing. Respect!
- Kaibeezy 6y agoBeautifully done. “50% of my time spent sanding” I totally get that. Same with wood furniture and sculpture. Easily half the work. And now that I think about it, also true with writing projects... back to the Q10.
- TruffleLabs 6y agoHere is an example of a plastic miniature Vax 11/780 with emulator https://vxcompany.com/2016/02/13/a-working-vax-11780-revisited/ https://vxcompany.com/2016/02/13/a-working-vax-11780-revisit...
- jonjacky 6y agoWhat is that typewriter-like console thingy? I have seen a lot of pictures and literature about IBM 1401 installations and have never seen anything like that. I thought the card reader and tape drive were the only input devices for the 1401. Can anyone point to a contemporary picture or description of it?
- jonjacky 6y agoIt's the 1407 Console Inquiry Station, pictured and described on p. 29 here: IBM 1401 System Summary, Sept 1964. http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/ibm/1401/A24-1401-1_1401_System_Summary_Sep64.pdf http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/ibm/1401/A24-1401-1_1...