Scrap Dealer Finds Apollo-Era NASA Computers In Dead Engineer's Basement (arstechnica.com)

Long-time Slashdot reader Joe_NoOne quotes Ars Technica: A pair of Apollo-era NASA computers and hundreds of mysterious tape reels have been discovered in a deceased engineer's basement in Pittsburgh... Most of the tapes are unmarked, but the majority of the rest appear to be instrumentation reels for Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11, NASA's fly-by missions to Jupiter and Saturn... At some point in the early 1970s, an IBM engineer working for NASA at the height of the Space Race took home the computers -- and the mysterious tape reels. A scrap dealer, invited to clean out the deceased's electronics-filled basement, discovered the computers. The devices were clearly labelled "NASA PROPERTY," so the dealer called NASA to report the find. "Please tell NASA these items were not stolen," the engineer's heir told the scrap dealer, according to the report. "They belonged to IBM Allegheny Center Pittsburgh, PA 15212. During the 1968-1972 timeframe, IBM was getting rid of the items so [redacted engineer] asked if he could have them and was told he could have them."
"NASA told the family of the deceased that it was not in the junk removal business," Ars Technica reports, adding "The two computers are so heavy that a crane was likely used to move the machines." A NASA archivist concluded there's no evidence the tapes contained anything of historic significance.

Comments

Junk?

[Anne Thwacks]

This looks like a CDC 163 - an early example of Seymour Cray's work, and nothing to do with IBM. Pre-1970 though. I would expect museums to be very interested.

The tapes are standard 1/2", probably recorded as 7 track at 556bpi NRZ, with the opposite parity to IBM - cos that is normal for CDC of that age. Probably readable by sprinkling iron oxide and counting the ridges or you could replace the electrolytics in the tape drives. SCSI compatible tape drives are available on Ebay..

Re:I hope someone with compatible high end tape ge

[HornWumpus]

It's not so much the gear as the knowhow. You often have to cook old 9 track tape (there is a recipe) to get it to unstick and get one last read out of it. Then you get to clean all the magnetic dust out of the drive and repeat the whole process for the next tape.

I'm not the dude, but I know someone that far gone.

Re:No evidence when one does not look

[UnknowingFool]

Yes, there is no evidence when one does not look.

The archivist didn't look on the tapes but perhaps the archivist knew enough about the computer to know nothing of value could exist. For example the control reels may not be data but software for controlling a piece of equipment. Since that equipment doesn't have use anymore what would be point of needing the control software?

Re:No evidence when one does not look

[mikael]

That's like the story of the UK series "The Avengers". Back in the 1960's, they did an experimental shoot with colour filming, but the contract wasn't to make a colour series. So these films were made, then forgotten about. But the knowledge about the filming remained. Then one day, a woman calls the studio up to say they were clearing out a shed and found tins of film reels up under the roof. These were the lost color episodes.

Many other missing recordings have been found elsewhere:

http://ianhendry.com/the-aveng...