website/content/museum/honeywell-ddp-516.md

---
title: Honeywell DDP-516
categories:
- Computers
types:
- Professional Computer
origins:
- U.S.A.
years:
- '1966'
params:
  name: DDP-516
  image: /media/museum/photos/honeywell_ddp516_system_1.jpg
  company: /companies/honeywell
  company_name: Honeywell
  specs:
  - label: NAME
    value: DDP-516
  - label: MANUFACTURER
    value: Honeywell
  - label: TYPE
    value: Professional Computer
  - label: ORIGIN
    value: U.S.A.
  - label: YEAR
    value: '1966'
  - label: SPEED
    value: 1.1 Mhz
  - label: RAM
    value: 32 Kb.
  tabs:
  - adverts
  - emulators
  - links
  - docs
  forum_thread: 545
  adverts:
  - title: ADVERT
    subtitle: ''
    text: Thanks to [Adrian Wise's website](http://www.sapere.demon.co.uk/computers/honeywell.html) for this picture
    image: /media/museum/pubs/honneywell_ddp516_pub_1.jpg
  - title: 'ADVERT #2'
    subtitle: ''
    text: Picture courtesy of [The Minicomputer Orphanage](http://www.spies.com/~aek/orphanage.html) website
    image: /media/museum/pubs/honneywell_ddp516_pub_2.jpg
  - title: 'ADVERT #3'
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      This man seems not to be so happy being more productive...\
      Note he uses a paper tape puncher to save newspaper articles.
    image: /media/museum/pubs/honeywell_pub_1.jpg
  - title: (FUNNY) PROMOTIONAL PICTURE
    subtitle: ''
    text: '... from a promotional brochure'
    image: /media/museum/pubs/honeywell_ddp516_prm-pic_1.jpg
  emulators:
  - title: Series 16 emulator
    url: http://www.series16.adrianwise.co.uk/emulator/index.html
    platform: Unix / Linux
    text: Adrian Wise has written an emulator for H316 and DDP-516 models.
  links:
  - title: Adrian Wise's website
    url: http://www.series16.adrianwise.co.uk/
    text: Adrian has gathered some very interesting info about the Serie 16 systems
  - title: Mike Umbricht's Series 16 pages
    url: http://users.ids.net/~mikeu/h316/index.shtml
    text: Mike has a nice page about these systems
  docs:
  - title: USER MANUAL
    url: http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/honeywell/h516/
    cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/honeywell_ddp516_user-manual.jpg
    text: |-
      [**USER MANUAL**](http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/honeywell/h516/)written by Honeywell

       compiled/archived by Unknown\
       type of document : PDF\
       source : [www.bitsavers.org](http://www.bitsavers.org)

      **... READ THE ONLINE VERSION BY CLICKING BELOW :**
  - title: INSTRUCTION MANUAL
    url: http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/honeywell/h516/
    cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/honeywell_ddp516_instruction-manual.jpg
    text: |-
      [**INSTRUCTION MANUAL**](http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/honeywell/h516/)written by Honeywell

       compiled/archived by Unknown\
       type of document : PDF\
       size : 5.3 MB\
       source : [www.bitsavers.org](http://www.bitsavers.org)

      **... READ THE ONLINE VERSION BY CLICKING BELOW :**
  - title: INSTALLATION MANUAL
    url: http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/honeywell/h516/
    cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/honeywell_ddp516_installation-guide_doc.jpg
    text: |-
      [**INSTALLATION MANUAL**](http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/honeywell/h516/)written by Honeywell

       compiled/archived by Unknown\
       type of document : PDF\
       size : 3.5 MB\
       source : [www.bitsavers.org](http://www.bitsavers.org)

      **... READ THE ONLINE VERSION BY CLICKING BELOW :**
  - title: THEORY OF OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
    url: http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/honeywell/h516/
    cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/honeywell_ddp516_maintenance_doc.jpg
    text: |-
      [**THEORY OF OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE**](http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/honeywell/h516/)written by Honeywell

       compiled/archived by Unknown\
       type of document : PDF\
       size : 11.8 MB\
       source : [www.bitsavers.org](http://www.bitsavers.org)

      **... READ THE ONLINE VERSION BY CLICKING BELOW :**
  oc_id: 551
  source:
    url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230530145125/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=551
    date: '2023-05-30'
---

The Series 16 computers were originally designed by Computer Control Company, which was then bought by Honeywell in 1966.

Series 16 computers were used in a wide range of applications. Many were used in computer control applications, and many educational establishments used them as general purpose computers.

The most prominent application of them relates to the origins of the internet. The DDP-516 was used as the basis of "Interface Message Processors" or IMPs that were used to connect the very first networked computers to the ARPANET.

The DDP-516, introduced in 1966, and the later H316, which has an identical instruction set, form the core of the Series-16. The DDP-116 is clearly the forerunner of these machines, but seems to have had a limited impact commercially. The DDP-416 appears to be a development that is off the main path for the Series 16. The H716 seems to have come too late to be commercially successful.

Thanks to [Adrian Wise](http://www.sapere.demon.co.uk/computers/honeywell.html) for this information.

About this computer, **Mr. Richard Pearson** said us: The picture is copied from the programming manual of the second computer that I was associated with, in 1966. The Honeywell DDP-516 was chosen for its high clock speed (aprox. 1.1 MHz) and expandability to 32 K of 16 bit words. Card and paper tape readers were the initial inputs with mag tape drives added as the system development progressed. The final configuration included a hard disc drive the size of a large upright freezer. Assorted special purpose devices were controlled by this state of the art unit. This system was done for NSA by a civilian R&D firm.