Slashdot Mirror
UK's Oldest Computer To Be "Rebooted"
Smivs writes with this interesting piece of computer history, excerpted from the BBC: "Britain's oldest original computer, the Harwell, is being sent to the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley where it is to be restored to working order.
The computer, which was designed in 1949, was built and used by staff at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment in Harwell, Oxfordshire. It first ran in 1951 and was designed to perform mathematical calculations. It lasted until 1973.
When first built the 2.4m x 5m computer was state-of-the-art, although it was superseded by transistor-based systems.
The restoration project is expected to take a year. Although not the first computer built in the UK, the Harwell had one of the longest service lives.
Built by a team of three people, the device was capable of doing the work of six to ten people and ran for seven years until the establishment obtained their first commercial computer. 'We didn't think we were doing anything pioneering at the time,' said Dick Barnes, who helped build the original Harwell computer."
I thought that Colossus would take this title? Not only is it older and British, but it's also (I'm told) the World's oldest electronic computer.
the thing uses dekatrons (ten cathode tube where pulse on guide electrode next to a cathode makes conduction jump to next cathode), which though not produced anymore are widely available. A computer made from them is much like a mechanical cash register with counting wheels. they are used by many hobbyists for clocks and other counting applications. no problem getting them