Author Topic: Identify vintage board  (Read 687 times)

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Offline floppesTopic starter

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Identify vintage board
« on: August 08, 2020, 07:52:54 pm »
A friend of mine found an old, framed board in the legacy of his wife's grandfather and asked me what it is.

So far I found that it was manufactured by CDC (Control Data Corporation). It seems to be a 4K 18-bit-word memory expansion for an AB107/108. I found this manual where you can find the equipment number BA201.

I couldn't find any datasheet for the ICs with the golden labels. The logo looks like "AMI", but the board seems to be from the seventies and American Megatrents wasn't founded before 1985. The 18 pin count is rather strange to me.

Does anyone have more info about the board/computer and an idea why the grandfather would frame it in plexiglass?
 

Offline WattsThat

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Re: Identify vintage board
« Reply #1 on: August 08, 2020, 08:08:36 pm »
The 1103 was the first commercial dram chip. Originally build by Intel in 1970, built under license by many and in your case, AMI (American Microsystems) in late 1974 (week 47).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_1103
« Last Edit: August 08, 2020, 08:14:34 pm by WattsThat »
 

Offline DC1MC

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Re: Identify vintage board
« Reply #2 on: August 08, 2020, 08:16:52 pm »
Well, that's a nice looking board for sure, I can speculate of this being one of the reasons to be framed.

But the 1K RAM chips are the first commercial RAM of Intel, that launched the chipzilla as we know it.

The ones on the board are not Intel originals but "second source", more details here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_1103

Another reason could be that your grandpa was involved in the design of the board that replaced a closed sized core memory.  This was definitely worth of a celebration  :-DD.

Ten years later ('84) I was building Sinclair Spectrum clones with their Russian 16Kbit bigger brother clones, same beautiful package.

EDIT: WattsThat bet me :)

 Cheers,
 DC1MC
 

Offline floobydust

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Re: Identify vintage board
« Reply #3 on: August 09, 2020, 05:35:20 am »
1103 1kbit DRAM $7.25 in 1974 (Solid State Sales, Mass.) or $38 today or $2,730 for them alone. It's a very expensive memory board.

 

Offline floppesTopic starter

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Re: Identify vintage board
« Reply #4 on: August 09, 2020, 07:44:59 am »
Thanks a lot for your responses, that lifted most of the fog :)
« Last Edit: August 09, 2020, 07:48:29 am by floppes »
 

Online KE5FX

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Re: Identify vintage board
« Reply #5 on: August 09, 2020, 08:25:29 am »
Maybe send a link to this thread to bunnie.  It would make a nice Name That Ware contest subject.
 


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