Welcome Guest! Be sure you know and follow the Phorum Rules before posting. Thank you and Enjoy! (January 12, 2025) x


1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm"
#18

Well, this was not exactly my fault but:

In the year 1986 I was servicing a Soviet-made (well, Soviet-Polish; the CPU was made in Ukraine and the rest of Mera-CAMAC computer was made in Poland) mini-computer, a PDP11-34 clone. The processor designation was Electronika 100-25. (This is its front panel).

   

The processor was mounted on rails in its stand and could be rolled out or back in. The boards were inserted on one side and the back was wire-wrap type.
Whoever have seen wire-wrap panels, knows that the pins of the connectors, that were wrapped with wire, were very rigid. And very sharp at their ends.

So, upon having serviced it (taking boards out, dusting the board edge connectors, cleaning the edges with some good quality grain alcohol) I rolled it back. It so happened that near the wire-wrap pins there was a cable that powered the cooling fans (220V of course). The cable was not jacketed - just the rubber-insulated wires. 
The  wire-rap pins grazed it as the processor was moving back, and the computer stopped.

This computer (whopping 256kBytes of semiconductor DRAM, freshly installed to replace 4 cubes of 64kBytes each of core memory) was powering the whole research facility.

Then there came my boss. His first reaction was very emotional.
I explained what happened.
So, while he realized I was not at fault, but then he tole me that I would have to fix it.

Suffices it to say, the pins were some handshake signals on the UNIBUS. So, every device connected was affected.
I spent 2 weeks pulling every board, diagnosing it, replacing the driver chips.
Some nights too. No weekends.

I fixed it.

It was fun.

People who do not drink, do not smoke, do not eat red meat will one day feel really stupid lying there and dying from nothing.


Messages In This Thread
1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by klondike98 - 01-18-2026, 08:02 PM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by morzh - 01-21-2026, 10:02 PM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by morzh - 01-21-2026, 10:15 PM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by radiorich - 01-21-2026, 10:26 PM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by MrFixr55 - 01-22-2026, 06:36 AM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by Arran - 01-22-2026, 09:22 PM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by radiorich - 01-23-2026, 12:21 AM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by Arran - 01-23-2026, 02:00 AM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by RodB - 01-23-2026, 10:50 AM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by morzh - 01-23-2026, 02:07 PM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by MrFixr55 - 01-23-2026, 03:50 PM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by morzh - 01-23-2026, 05:11 PM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by morzh - 02-01-2026, 07:22 PM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by MrFixr55 - 02-01-2026, 09:49 PM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by MrFixr55 - 02-01-2026, 10:05 PM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by morzh - 02-01-2026, 10:28 PM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by MrFixr55 - 02-01-2026, 10:48 PM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by morzh - 02-01-2026, 11:06 PM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by Arran - 02-02-2026, 03:01 AM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by Arran - 02-02-2026, 03:05 AM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by MrFixr55 - 02-02-2026, 04:55 PM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by MrFixr55 - 02-02-2026, 05:08 PM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by morzh - 02-02-2026, 05:19 PM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by Arran - 02-02-2026, 05:35 PM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by morzh - 02-02-2026, 05:52 PM
RE: 1946 Telechron 8H59 "Musalarm" - by MrFixr55 - 02-02-2026, 06:24 PM



Users browsing this thread: 2 Guest(s)
[-]
Recent Posts
Stromberg Carlson 1500 Squeal
And life just keeps getting more complicated. By dconant. Dittos'Jimradio — 08:01 AM
Plug Voltages Needed For A 1943 CRV-20130 Power Supply
That looks a lot like an aircraft connector of some kind, even if it's a U.S.N power supply. I have a book somewhere abo...Arran — 02:56 AM
Plug Voltages Needed For A 1943 CRV-20130 Power Supply
hello david, I have a similar generator in my collection that features a cast iron, single-cylinder Briggs & Stratt...radiorich — 01:00 AM
under chassis parts locator diagram for 1938 Zenith 9s262
Has anyone gone to the trouble of creating an under chassis parts locator image?  Yes, I can identify components by foll...bobloney — 08:57 PM
Plug Voltages Needed For A 1943 CRV-20130 Power Supply
Try looking at this site the book mark is for a old generator that I was given. David    https://radionerds.com/index.ph...David — 08:36 PM
Plug Voltages Needed For A 1943 CRV-20130 Power Supply
Hello Everyone, I am looking for voltage identification for all the pin positions on the socket of a CRV-20130 power su...Tonym4704 — 08:16 PM
Philco P45-6365 Universal Transformer Instruction Manual
Can anyone guide me to where this may be found?GRG — 03:00 PM
54C Complete Teardown/Rebuild
I don't think that I have encountered a 12Z3 before, curious how it uses one of those but includes a #43, which is a 25 ...Arran — 02:17 PM
HiFi (Chifi) tube amp build - but my own design.
It's the other forum. I'm also in DIY, but mostly read there. Honestly, I kinda jumped into this without much thought to...TV MAN — 10:43 AM
Philco 71 Code 125
Hello,  I am in need of a schematic for this radio. Mine has the three separate circular tube shields and a shadow me...dconant — 08:06 AM

[-]
Who's Online
There are currently 2260 online users. [Complete List]
» 1 Member(s) | 2259 Guest(s)
Avatar

>