Minivac 601 Digital Computer Kit was an

electromechanical Electromechanics combine processes and procedures drawn from electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. Electromechanics focus on the interaction of electrical and mechanical systems as a whole and how the two systems interact with each ...

digital computer system created by

information theory Information theory is the mathematical study of the quantification (science), quantification, Data storage, storage, and telecommunications, communication of information. The field was established and formalized by Claude Shannon in the 1940s, ...

pioneer

Claude Shannon Claude Elwood Shannon (April 30, 1916 – February 24, 2001) was an American mathematician, electrical engineer, computer scientist, cryptographer and inventor known as the "father of information theory" and the man who laid the foundations of th ...

and sold by Scientific Development Corporation as an educational toy using digital circuits.Advertisement: Minivac 601
Page 33, 1961-10, ''Popular Science''

Description

In 1961, the system was sold by Scientific Development Corporation's "Consumer Products Division", which was soon renamed as the "Digital Equipment Division".Advertisement: Minivac 601
Page 31, 1961-11, ''Popular Science'' The Minivac 601 was originally housed in a blue-painted wooden case. It used DPDT electrical relays as logic switches and for temporary data storage. The main board had a six-bit binary input/output array, consisting of simple DPDT slide switches, SPDT pushbutton switches, and indicator lights. A 16-position motorized dial

rotary switch A rotary switch is a switch operated by rotation. These are often chosen when more than 2 positions are needed, such as a three-speed fan or a CB radio with multiple frequencies of reception or "channels". A rotary switch consists of a spi ...

could be used to input decimal or

hexadecimal Hexadecimal (also known as base-16 or simply hex) is a Numeral system#Positional systems in detail, positional numeral system that represents numbers using a radix (base) of sixteen. Unlike the decimal system representing numbers using ten symbo ...

numbers, to output numbers, or to act as a

clock signal In electronics and especially synchronous digital circuits, a clock signal (historically also known as ''logic beat'') is an electronic logic signal (voltage or current) which oscillates between a high and a low state at a constant frequency and ...

generator. The components could be interconnected by manually inserting jumper wires fitted with tapered pin connectors into sockets on the main circuit board. The combined components just barely allowed the simple computer to play a winning game of

Tic-Tac-Toe Tic-tac-toe (American English), noughts and crosses (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), or Xs and Os (Canadian English, Canadian or Hiberno-English, Irish English) is a paper-and-pencil game for two players who ta ...

, or to simulate a simple

elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...

control system. An "advanced and improved" version called the Minivac 6010 was released in early 1962, housed in a gray metal case and featuring higher-quality components. It was supplied with additional patch cords incorporating special

resistor A resistor is a passive two-terminal electronic component that implements electrical resistance as a circuit element. In electronic circuits, resistors are used to reduce current flow, adjust signal levels, to divide voltages, bias active e ...

capacitor In electrical engineering, a capacitor is a device that stores electrical energy by accumulating electric charges on two closely spaced surfaces that are insulated from each other. The capacitor was originally known as the condenser, a term st ...

s, and

diode A diode is a two-Terminal (electronics), terminal electronic component that conducts electric current primarily in One-way traffic, one direction (asymmetric electrical conductance, conductance). It has low (ideally zero) Electrical resistance ...

s for further capabilities. Although the price was also increased considerably, the system was more successfully sold to the corporate market, rather than as a toy.Price and Perceived Value
Chapter 3, Page 11, Marketing That Works: How Entrepreneurial Marketing Can Add Sustainable Value to Any Sized Company, By Leonard M. Lodish; Howard L. Morgan; Shellye Archambeau, , "...the entrepreneur's line was the ...MINIVAC 601...no one in the third segment, the corporate sector, bought the product...the corporate types was: "Oh, that—it's just a toy!" The entrepreneur was creative and he listened carefully. He also understood marketing. His next product was the same basic kit—with the switches upgraded to higher tolerances and the machine color changed from blue and red to gunmetal gray. The name was changed to the MINIVAC 6010 and he increased the price from $79.95 to $479. The MINIVAC 6010 sold very well to the corporate segment at $479..." In 1962, the Scientific Development Corporation also advertised educational electronic kits based on

analog electronics Analogue electronics () are electronic systems with a continuously variable signal, in contrast to digital electronics where signals usually take only two levels. The term ''analogue'' describes the proportional relationship between a signal ...

technology.Advertisement: Basic Communications Kits
Page 16, 1962-06, ''Popular Science''

Gallery

File:Minivac601.jpg, Original blue-painted enclosure

References

External links

{{commons category, Minivac601

*Minivac 601 documentation (1961)
Book IBooks II-IVBooks V-VIMaintenance manual
Mechanical computers Educational toys