The PB 250 (later Raytheon 250
) was a general-purpose
computer
A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...
introduced in 1960 by the
Packard Bell Corporation
Packard Bell Corporation (also known as Packard Bell Electronics or simply Packard Bell) was an American electronics manufacturer founded in 1933 by Herb Bell and Leon Packard. Initially they produced radios, but expanded into defense electron ...
.
Design
The
word
A word is a basic element of language that carries semantics, meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no consensus among linguist ...
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 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
The Bendix G-15 is a computer introduced in 1956 by the Bendix Corporation, Computer Division, Los Angeles, California. It is about and weighs about . The G-15 has a drum memory of 2,160 29-bit words, along with 20 words used for special purpos ...
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. He was highly influential in the development of theoretical computer ...
’s
Pilot ACE
The Pilot ACE (Automatic Computing Engine) was one of the first computers built in the United Kingdom. Built at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in the early 1950s, it was also one of the earliest general-purpose, stored-program computer ...
.
The circuits were derived from the TRICE
digital differential analyzer.
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 don ...
–
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
The Friden Flexowriter was a teleprinter produced by the Friden, Inc., Friden Calculating Machine Company. It was a heavy-duty electric typewriter capable of being driven not only by a human typing, but also automatically by several methods, inc ...
as a
console
Console may refer to:
Computing and video games
* System console, a physical device to operate a computer
** Virtual console, a user interface for multiple computer consoles on one device
** Command-line interface, a method of interacting with ...
.
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 series of nuclear reactors to be used in nuclear rocket engine.
*In the
Saturn 1 first stage checkout.
*In TRICE models TC5108/250 and TC5036/250
hybrid computer
Hybrid computers are computers that exhibit features of analog computers and digital computers. The digital component normally serves as the controller and provides logical and numerical operations, while the analog component often serves as a ...
s.
*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 (). It could be connected to the SETI 2000 process control system.
*In mobile (by
van
A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or ...
) monitoring and data processing services.
Bibliography
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References
External links
*
*
*{{cite web , title=The Retro-Computing Society of RI, Inc. , url=https://www.rcsri.org/collection/pb-250/ , website=www.rcsri.org
Transistorized computers