Restoring an IBM I/O Tester from the 1960s
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- čas přidán 14. 12. 2021
- Holy mother of blinkenlights! Here is the IBM I/O Tester, coming to us from the 1960's. Let's make it work again!
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The plunger knob at the top was used to secure the io tester to the top of a control unit. I used the io tester to run a test pattern to 1403 N1 to adjust print quality and flight timing on the print train.
Yes Thomas. Found memories of 1403 and 2821 test prints. I'm wondering if specialist sent any other commands other than characters to print
I love how you repaired the switch. When I saw that is was broken, me first idea was: they will have to find a replacement, but this is even better!
The Clickspring reference make me laugh, clickspringing your way out of trouble is always fun to watch! Great vid as always, thanks Marc and Ken!
Love how you engineer parts that no longer exit....no problem we will just make it. Thanks for sharing your incredible amazing journey with us.
Merry Christmas to Marc and the extremely talented team.
A bit easier to make stuff that isn't straightup semiconductors I guess
Finally, you guys are doing something I can relate to. I can''t tell you how many switches I have had to drill out the rivets and after the requisite manipulation of the lever and contacts, use small screws to reassemble. The real "coup de gras" was the lamp repair. Right up my alley. You are geniuses with "regular folk" qualities.
Me: “Mom, can we get JTAG?”
Mom: “We have JTAG at home.”
JTAG at home:
WOW. You bring back memories. I worked for IBM from 1967 until 2005. I used an I/O tester many times. Never had to take one apart but the indicator bulbs always needed replacement. The plunger on the top of the tester allowed the user to clip the tester to the top of the machine under test. So I t wouldn’t fall off. Machines like the 2821 were very tall.
The ingenuity of making it work like a clock display was just icing on cake.
loved those overlay cards....takes me back to my very first job as a student. We were testing the i/o of the mechanical handling system in a power station. We had test panels with banks of leds and switches, and i had to write up overlay cards, and cut slots in them with a scalpel!
First we had Shahriar (The Signal Path) making a nixie tube clock out of an old HP 5245L, and now this... I don't know what this world is coming to, but do know that I like it.
Very cool. Old stuff was made so well, that if you could figure out how to get it apart (switches and bulbs) you could often fix it. Excellent work!
At Eastern Airlines in the 1970s, one of the Eastern techs invented and (surprisingly) got a patent on a Bus-and-Tag cable tester. He would plug one end of the cable into a box with switches (or push buttons) in the pin pattern, and the other end into a box with a light for each conductor except ground, arranged in the pin pattern. Each switch should light up one and only one light. With so many conductors in the cable, this was much faster than doing the same continuity testing one wire at a time (especially with two persons, as required if the cable was already under the floor).
Wow, I could have used that tester. I was installing a new 360 Model 25 system and the the channel did not work. Turns out that one of the connectors had been wired one pin off at the plant. Made me wonder if or how they were tested.
Ibm rested their business on lamp cartridges? - take that HP Ink
Excellently done! Any excuse to break out the mill is a good excuse in my book!
Who would have thunk that an Arduino could breathe new life into old test gear! Well done!
And if the Arduino can control the IO Tester, then vice versa Marc's Arduino setup ought to be able to control the card reader and other peripherals too!
I would really like to see some more detail on the additional Arduino hardware to do this if possible.
In a world where people destroy rare old kit to repurpose it, I find it refreshing to see an attempt made here to keep this old piece of test gear completely intact while turning it into something functional.
I’m reminded of some control panels in Thunderbirds and the original Star Trek. Especially with that bouncing seconds indicator in clock mode!
most the computer systems in Star Trek are based around how mainframes were built and functioned in the 1960s, for better or worse. Even in TNG and Voyager that didn't change, which is also why to those of us who grew up with the PC it makes no sense how computers in Star Trek work
"I ClickSpring'd my way out of trouble." I understood that reference.
As an IBM CE I used the I/O tester many times to troubleshoot. Need the proper overlay for the I/O device you are troubleshooting. Also worked on a lot of 360 Mod 50's.
I am absolutely stoked about all the upcoming projects and thus videos. Can’t wait for them.
One slight correction: ALDs are AutomatED Logic Diagrams.
Mated, not matic. Got it :-)
@@CuriousMarc Hey Marc, do you know any Triumph Adler electronic typewriter people, whom i could contact for manuals and parts for my 1983 -84 TA SE310? Any help would really be appreciated.
I just love this chunky IBM stuff and can’t wait for more.
Clickspring would have spent 20 minutes polishing that piece...
After hand filing it
omg.. i wished i had this knowledge years ago... our plant had lots of new HP & IBM stuff on the factory floor. as it got dated and no more service contracts now i was to keep it alive while working on instrumentation devices... 🙄 then came the desktop PCs and the clueless IT department. 😵💫 thanks a lot. 🥰 a real joy to watch
Me thinking "you could use those tiny lights to make a nice display with an Arduino". Marc: "shut-up, peasant..." 😜
I remember using that I/O tester to work on the 2821 although not very often. The 2821 was very reliable and did not give us a lot of trouble.
For old switches I use a current source to create a spark when you toggle then, the spark cleans the surface, dropping their on resistance.
Those two connectors with center mounting bolts are very similar, if not identical to the ones found on the 90’s train protection equipment as used in the Netherlands and the UK.
Thank You ! You brought memories! I had to trudge these around Chicago in the early 80's as a CE in mid winter between client locations, and cursed the designers for not rounding of the corners. Those cabled had to tuck into a little shelf at the bottom which barely accommodated the cables, which were stiff from the cold weather. Loved the ALD's! Price up the cans on top the SLT modules and you will see the silicone goop that provided better thermal contact between the substrate and lands to the Aluminum can surface. It was rewarding to be able to troubleshoot to the component level!
About the SLT back panels, veterans will remember the mnemonic verse: "Dow Jones Prices Up" - "Buy General Motor Stock" to remember the scope-able pin order : DJPU, BGMS. :)
I really love what you are doing with this channel. I'm an EE and you always amaze me with your content and I learn a lot from your video's.
I think it's the absolute committed passion that you guys have for the beautiful art of electronics that is so enthralling and the slightly whacky ideas that come from your creativity such as how you made the blinkenlights into a clock. It's just magical.
Thank you Marc and the guys that work with you. It's an absolute joy to be immersed in your creativity.
My EE knowledge is limited (changing batteries, basically), but I agree; the passion and creativity of this channel is what makes it a must watch.
Amazing work fixing the lights, switches and then with the demo. I am very impressed your channel.
This is great, I have a Bell&Howell Datatape Tape recorder here with a broken switch like this one, I might use the same approach to repair it! Thanks for the inspiration :)
I think those are ELCO connectors, they are extensively used for old industrial control systems
Wow, those toggle switches bring me back to childhood - and the IBM 1130 my school had in the early ‘70s (in the “computer room.”) IBM tech from that era is particularly beautiful. They didn’t have ICS but that wasn’t going to stop them!
Thankyou Marc and Ken, always fun to watch the step-wise road back from a broken device, no matter who the manufacturer was, or what purpose it served.
best show ever. most is way over my head but i shre the joy of fixing stuff. dont change anything its perfect. ❤️
Knowing the channel, this thing will be used to diagnose and repair aerospace hardware, or maybe cold war classified military nucleary thingy , and H.L. Porter will come by with luggages full of schematics.
5:08 I like the LVDC module just chilling there in the background, like some random part of electronics… :-D
I don't always understand what you are doing to fix things. I'm fascinated by it all though; so much cool old tech.
When I started my professional career in 1981, we had such device sitting in the computer room. As far as I can remember, I have only known once a CE using it when repairing an IBM 2560 MFCM machine (MultiFunction Card Machine) that was connected to an IBM S/370 model 115 with 64K memory (yes, K).
You guys consistently amaze me with your restoration abilities - thanks for another fine video!
It's great to see old rare computer stuff getting restored! 👍
Excellent video, as always!
This is the best way to "reuse" vintage gear - make a connector / adapter to plug it into something modern, without modifying the original device. Then it still works as intended, and has extra use!
Those are 3420 tape drives used on the 370 series, not 360.
Your tester plugs into the controller. This way the i/o device cam remain connected to the controller and the controller stays connected to the bus/tag lines. So the mainframe stays running even though the. CE is doing diagnostics on a device
About the risk of wrath at the end - An instructor once told us how scope probes were often borrowed and neglected to be returned - so he said they "10 to 1 away" (tend to run away).
We did actually find who H. L. Porter was. He was Howard Porter, he was a manager at the Customer Engineer Support Center at IBM Poughkeepsie. The Support Center was a call center that the IBM Customer Engineers could call from the field to help them debug the customers' machines. We got a few pictures and docs from the IBM News journal archives, courtesy of IBM (thanks IBM archives!). Unfortunately we did not get the authorization to publish the pictures, because we never heard back from his heirs, and IBM would not release the pictures without their express approval.
loving that dry Ken humor about the big knob to wind it up
I just had a nerdgasm when I saw that picture of the TROS module - that's just so utterly brilliant! They've basically adapted their paper tape punching expertise to produce a (relatively) cheap and compact core rope alternative. Just punch holes to determine whether the trace bypasses the transformer or not instead of having to weave wires through cores.
Love seeing these older electronics brought back to life, thanks for sharing!
That vlog is deeply cool. Merry Christmas, Marc and Master Ken.
It's funny when you get that little Palmgren vice out 9:05 ... I see all your lovely HP test equipment, all your lovely old computers and I've got nothing to match in my collection of junk.... but the the Palgren vice?!?! I'VE GOT ONE OF THOSE! ;)
These small Palmgren are so useful! I love them. Worth every cent.
Worked at a Nabisco factory as an electrician in the 70s. One of my jobs was running twinaxial cable all over the plant. Because I had learned how to install type “N” connectors due to being a ham. I don’t know long they used the IBM 360.
"Holy smokes lights and buttons galore!" That spells it out. Cool device-
Brilliant work Marc. You guys can improvise anything.
Toujours un régal et beaucoup trop court, des petits bonbons à savourer, meilleur chaine de CZcams sans le moindre doute. Joyeuses fête à toi et ta famille (incluant l'équipe)
Wow. I was amazed.
When I've heard "3V lamps" - I shouted "That's 3.28 Volts!" and I am not that old, only 49. 😁
Thank you for that Three-Sexter - 360-tester!
"No wrath, please"
I died
I MIGHT have switches for that. My Father worked for IBM for 40 years and I have a stash of parts, and I believe i have some of those switches!
Brings back memories, I used to work on the 360 model 50 and the FAA systems back in the 60's.
Yep, me too. The 9020D system. By the time I got to it in the early 70s we were using 360/65s as the main compute element and /50s as IOCEs. We used the I/O test box a lot!
And to know there is an abandoned factory in Italy that has old IBM mainframe parts still rusting away - The proper people did one about it
Link?
Great!
The amazing continues with you guys, what would happen to this stuff if you weren't around, scrap bin I guess. Marc, you have the patience of a saint!
Uau Mark, the idea of Clock-erizing it has been a *FANTASTIC* idea !!! Very impressive!!! Congratulations to you all!
Excellent work yall!!
Awesome as always!
I love old machines.
Nice to have an episode wherein I understand the repairs🤪. Thank you.
Great episode. Cant wait till you guys do more with the 360
Oh man these are the best kind of videos! Reasearch and fix =)
I love this channel :-) Merry christmas.
Wow! You are fantastic!
Great video!
Thats pretty cool well done
Joyeux Noël and thanks for your videos this year.
Really cool tester
Year ago I was excited by stm32 gdb debugger (first time tried debug things), but this one with those bulbs is way cooller than the gdb 😂
I'd use RTV to reseal the lamp assemblies. Excellent glue for when you plan on taking apart later.
I would have killed for something like this as a kid, even if it was never powered up. It would have been a spaceship control panel or some other major fantasy. If the kid who dies with the most toys wins, I've always thought the video and sound panel engineers were in the lead. Now I'm not so sure.
The synth folks are on the list. :)
Great, more stuff I want now!
Excellent!
Nice video clip, keep it up, thank you for sharing it :)
Honey, can I buy a computer?
Ok
I'll need the whole garage.
You now have your count down machine for new years eve !
Great work !......cheers.
At first I thought you will display 2022 on it :)
Why didn't I see this coming? Lucky for you there are just the right number of rows and columns to make a clock display out of it. Great idea!
Have a wonderful XMas Marc & Friends!
Nice one! I like the clock mode, novel use for it when not being used in anger. Those connectors remind me strongly of EDAC connectors, horrible things, at least with the T key they're easier to screw down than EDAC
Oh yes, remember them well. We called them the "green" connectors. Interestingly enough, they were used on multichannel digital Error Detection And Correction systems.
Ah … reading the comments, Thomas Bergevin has the secret. I now feel better in myself as a person. Thanks Thomas.
Matt Lee
I kind of appreciate that you’re at 128k subscribers…
nice job!
Fabulous!
Just waiting for H.L. Porter to reply, or an old co-worker to confess.
You’re so lucky to have Ken on hand!
These guys have the best job. ;)
Finally one I can understand ;-)
“Did you say ‘Abe Lincoln’?
“No. I said ‘Hey, Blinken’.”
-Mel Brooks
Brings back memories of yesteryear
good news you got enough stuff for content for the next 10 years!
Increíble. Me ha gustado mucho. Gracias por compartir sus conpcimientos
Testing a tester!!
Just another very satifying video :D