website/content/museum/feedback-abacus-educational-computer.md

title, categories, types, origins, years, cpus, params

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
Feedback ABACUS Educational Computer	Computers	Professional Computer	United Kingdom	1971	Circuit module	name company company_name specs tabs photos comments oc_id source ABACUS Educational Computer /companies/feedback Feedback label value NAME ABACUS Educational Computer label value MANUFACTURER Feedback label value TYPE Professional Computer label value ORIGIN United Kingdom label value YEAR 1971 label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE None label value KEYBOARD 36 Input keys and 4 Function keys label value CPU Circuit module label value SPEED 250 Hz. (4 ms per instruction except Multiply & Divide label value CO-PROCESSOR None label value RAM 1 KB of ferrite core storage organised as 512 off 2-byte (16 bit) label value ROM No ROM label value TEXT MODES Hard copy and punched paper tape output via ASR33 Teletype label value SOUND No sound label value SIZE / WEIGHT 78.7 (H) x 50.8 (W) x 29.2 (D) cm. / 22.4 Kg label value I/O PORTS Teletype connector label value BUILT IN MEDIA Non volatile memory label value POWER SUPPLY Built-in power supply unit label value PRICE £1800. photos title subtitle text image SYSTEM null title subtitle text image TOP VIEW null title subtitle text image IN USE null title subtitle text image DETACHABLE KEYBOARD null title subtitle text image KEYBOARD CLOSE-UP null title subtitle text image FRONT PANEL null title subtitle text image FRONT PANEL IN USE null title subtitle text image BACK SIDE OPENED null title subtitle text image SYSTEM CARDS null title subtitle text image 1024 BIT CORE MODULE null title subtitle text image CORE MEMORY #1 null title subtitle text image CORE MEMORY #2 null title subtitle text image CORE MEMORY #3 null title subtitle text image EC-362 FRONT PANEL null title subtitle text image EC-362 KEYBOARD null title subtitle text image FULL SYSTEM BACK null title subtitle text image FULL SYSTEM - INSIDE null title subtitle text image FULL SYSTEM - FRONT SIDE null title subtitle text image FULL SYSTEM RUNNING null title subtitle text image FULL SYSTEM - KEYBOARDS null author date text Paul (ISRAEL ) Saturday 10th September 2022 I learned logic and computer basics on an Abacus unit in ISRAEL in 1973. It used serial ALU and logic. It was AMAZING. author date text Johannes Schacht (Deutschland) Tuesday 29th December 2020 Would anyone have technical information on the computer? author date text William.winnt.net (Soule/southKorea) Sunday 10th June 2018 Company. BLUEFIN.NETWORK.COM (founder/author)\ MICROSOFT TRUE OWNERSHIP,WILLIAM.WINN.TAYLOR.COMPANY\ GOGGLE, YAHOO! , CHROME author date text Charles Razzell Wednesday 16th November 2011 My secondary school classroom (in Crowborough, E. Sussex) had an Arithmetic Unit from the ABACUS Educational Computer that was kindly donated to the school by Feedback. This was in 1971 and the school was Crowborough Beacon Comprehensive. I had a lot of fun playing with the machine, either single stepping though binary arithmetic or playing a game of "yellow lights vs. white lights," where the objective was to take turns doing a computation that would increase the number of your chosen color at the expense of the opponent''s color. I like to tell my children that I''m so old, my first computer was an ABACUS! author date text jon Sunday 19th September 2010 What is an abacus and how is it related to the computer? author date text Martin MacLeavy (Kingston Jamaica) Friday 6th February 2004 There was a version of the ABACUS at the C&W Engineering College, Porthcurno, Cornwall on which I cut my teeth in the programming field. I am interested in getting a circuit diagram for it if its available. Regards author date text Brian Townsend (Near Chelmsford, England, UK) Thursday 4th September 2003 I contributed this system to old-computers after rescuing it from possible destruction. I was actually responsible for its purchase for the college in which I worked and I taught computer programming principles to a large number of students using the system.\ If you were one of my students and want to recall those early days (in the 70's) when computing was in its infancy, then leave a message for me. 821 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230607054056/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=821 2023-06-07

The computer system consisted of two units - EC362 and EC372 - that could be used independently or linked together to provide a complete system for computer education.

To enable the input of relatively long programs and the output of computed results, an ASR33 Teletypewriter with 8-hole punched paper tape input and output was connected to the two linked units. In addition, a textual output was printed on an 8 inch (200 mm) wide paper roll.

Unit EC362 was the Arithmetic Unit and unit EC372 was the Core Store and Control Unit. Both units had the same physical size (about 1m high x 600mm wide x 600 mm deep) and the large size allowed the units to be used in a classroom, either singly or jointly, in a demonstration mode.

Each unit had a removable, push button, input console connected to its parent unit via a long connector. This feature allowed input and control of the units at the same time as allowing students a full view of the mimic diagrams on the front of the units.

The lamps on the mimic diagrams could be arranged in groups of either three or four yellow and white lenses. This feature provided the opportunity to use OCTAL coding or HEXADECIMAL coding without having to make wiring changes. The use of different groupings of the coloured push button key tops provided the same facility for input coding.

Behind each of the removable consoles was a set of switches that were used to insert predetermined fault conditions to allow the teaching of faultfinding procedures.

Special thanks to Brian Townsend who gave us this venerable machine.