[DUG] You say potatoe I say....

[Colin/Mina]

Kylie has since trumped me however :-

  I also remember toggling switches on the PDP-8 to make it perform
industrial control functions, but a long time before that I built another
industrial controller for Formica Ltd. This was based on the use of
'Dekatrons' (Vacuum tube 10 position counters) with 10 cathodes which would
provide a voltage output depending upon where the gas discharge inside had
been pulsed to. I think I used two tubes in series for a count of 100 (or
maybe 20). These specific cathode voltages were combined using transistor
'AND' gates and diode 'OR' gates together with series or parallel machine
switches to turn on and off motors and air cylinders appropriate for the
function required at that particular part of the machine cycle.

  It worked exceedingly well, this device using a program counter and hard
wired logic instead of software. I wish I'd thought to patent the basic
process.

If there's a prize for the oldest oldie, I received my first pension payment
this week.

Cheers

   Colin

C R Dillicar
Colmin Associates
Ph. +64 9 834-4040
colmin at ihug.co.nz

"Avast"  AV checked



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Phil Scadden" <p.scadden at gns.cri.nz>
To: "NZ Borland Developers Group - Delphi List" <delphi at ns3.123.co.nz>
Sent: Friday, March 24, 2006 9:27 AM
Subject: RE: [DUG] You say potatoe I say....


> > Started PDP-8,
>
> Okay, You win. You are the oldest man here!
>
> Matthew - at some point I got a sharp EL5150. Its beside me still and
> does all I want in a calculator.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> Phil Scadden, Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences
> 764 Cumberland St, Private Bag 1930, Dunedin, New Zealand
> Ph +64 3 4799663, fax +64 3 477 5232
>
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