phooky is a user on octodon.social. You can follow them or interact with them if you have an account anywhere in the fediverse. If you don't, you can sign up here.
phooky @phooky

Okay, retrocomputing nerds: anyone recognize this weird-ass midplane I've had kicking around? Probably old IBM equipment.
Boost if you think it will help.

Art Delano @ardgedee

@phooky What does the other side look like?

phooky @phooky

@ardgedee both sides are pictured! (The back looks a lot like the front.)

Marcin Cieślak @saper@mastodon.social

@phooky @ardgedee any solutions? Maybe something to build CPUs using technology similar to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Soli ?

phooky @phooky

@saper @ardgedee Wow, that seems very likely! I seem to remember having some cards from the a similar haul that looked similar, and the backplane connectors are a very good match. Thanks!

phooky @phooky

@saper @ardgedee It's very similar to this system/370 backplane-- I think you've nailed it!
moca.ncl.ac.uk/circuitry/fulls

Marcin Cieślak @saper@mastodon.social

@phooky @ardgedee your backplane looks way smaller, but there is something similar, yes!

I think I got to understand the origin of the word #mainframe itself. They were delivered as empty cabinets (frames) that had to be filled with those backplanes and cards... As StackExchange suggests it goes back to big cabling frames in the telephone exchanges.

phooky @phooky

@saper @ardgedee I spent an hour last night on bitsavers looking at old system 370 part catalogs, and you're right: they're basically really, really complicated Ikea shelving that you'd hang a computer inside!

· Tusky · 1 · 1
Marcin Cieślak @saper@mastodon.social

@phooky @ardgedee reminds me of helmer.sfe.se/

I think I am going to fire up my VM/370 on Hercules out of nostalgia!

octodon.social powered by Mastodon