On 1/16/23 12:40, Paul Koning wrote: > On the CERL PLATO system at U of Illinois, around 1977, we had 20-ish > 844-21 drives, and maybe a few 844-41 as well. Those were roughly the > same as the DEC RP04 and RP05 drives, same pack and track count. > Different sectors, though; 322 12-bit words per sector. Those are 3600 > rpm drives, linear voice coil head actuator, dedicated servo surface. > The details of the format was handled in a sort of microcoded bit > handling engine, one of two engines in the programmable controller > (7054). I actually have the source code still around, and the manual > for that beast also still exists. Most of our customers from that time had all of the drive farm as well as the unit record equipment on MACs. (Predates Apple--Multiple Access Controller). We kept Spence Preston busy... :
We had a 1311 on a CADET. Slow, but better than the alternatives (cards or paper tape). Monitor IID, IIRC. Work cylinders were 0-25, IIRC. No real file system, just DIM entries. I don't recall what options had to be installed on a CADET to run Monitor, but I think indirect addressing was a requirement. My favorite was the CDC 6603/Bryant 4000. That bugger was engineered to leak oil--it even had plastic jugs inside to collect the drippings. My fondest memory was watching a COMSOURCE operator run to refill a 501 printer, hitting the Bryant oil patch and falling flat on his back... --Chuck
