The PB 250 (later Raytheon 250
) was a general-purpose
computer
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...
introduced in 1960 by the
Packard Bell Corporation.
Design
The
word
A word is a basic element of language that carries an semantics, objective or pragmatics, practical semantics, meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of w ...
size was 22 bits and the memory could be expanded to a maximum of 16,000 words. The performance was 40,000 operations per second.
It had the ability to operate as an I/O processor in tandem with another computer; at the time this was considered a "radically new feature" for a less expensive system.
The Central Computer weighed .
The design started in November 1959. The computer was intended as a component in special purpose systems, for example, to control electric power plants. The logic design has similarities with the
Bendix G-15 computer, which in turn was based on
Alan Turing
Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist. Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical com ...
’s
Pilot ACE.
The circuits were derived from the TRICE
digital differential analyzer
A digital differential analyzer (DDA), also sometimes called a digital integrating computer, is a digital implementation of a differential analyzer. The integrators in a DDA are implemented as accumulators, with the numeric result converted back ...
.
People involved in development:
*
Max Palevsky Max Palevsky (July 24, 1924 – May 5, 2010) was an American art collector, venture capitalist, philanthropist, and computer technology pioneer. He was known as a member of the Malibu Mafia – a group of wealthy American Jewish men who donate ...
–
general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
, started the development process.
*
Stanley Frankel
Stanley Phillips Frankel (1919 – May, 1978) was an American computer scientist. He worked in the Manhattan Project and developed various computers as a consultant.
Early life
He was born in Los Angeles, attended graduate school at the Univers ...
– consultant on the design of the computer logic
*Robert Beck – designer of the computer logic
*Smil Ruhman – circuit design
*Jack Mitchell and Donald Cooper – management and coordination of the overall engineering project
Features
The PB250 used a
Flexowriter as a
console.
It could be operated entirely from a battery power supply.
Software
*SNAP I (Symbolic Non-optimizing Assembly Program)
assembler
*ATRAN (Algebraic TRANslator),
process oriented language
*CINCH Interpreter, a floating point interpretive system, designed to permit rapid programming of scientific and engineering problems.
*OUP III (Octal Utility Package III) which "allowed the operator to perform certain transfer functions, printout locations of memory, store single words into memory, and begin the execution of programs that had been stored in memory."
*NELIAC compiler
*
Fortran II
Uses
By
WANEF (Westinghouse Astronuclear Experiment Facility), whose task was to perform basic research and reactor analysis on the
NRX
NRX (National Research Experimental) was a heavy-water-moderated, light-water-cooled, nuclear research reactor at the Canadian Chalk River Laboratories, which came into operation in 1947 at a design power rating of 10 MW (thermal), increasing to ...
series of nuclear reactors to be used in nuclear rocket engine.
In
Saturn 1 first stage checkout.
In TRICE models TC5108/250 and TC5036/250
hybrid computers.
In Hycomp 250 hybrid computer, later replaced by PB440.
In nuclear submarine training systems and in antisubmarine warfare trainers.
PB 250 was licensed to SETI (french:
Société européenne de traitement de l'information, lit=European Information Processing Company). It could be connected to SETI 2000 process control system.
In mobile (by
van
A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...
) monitoring and data processing services.
Bibliography
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References
External links
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Transistorized computers
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