Meeting #8, July 14, 2004

Summary by R. Garner

Attendees:

Tim Coslet

Don Cull

Bill Flora

Robert Garner

Chuck Kantmann

Frank King

Stuart LaFarr

Ron Mak

Dan McInnis

Fred Oehm

Allen Palmer

Ed Thelen

Milt Thomas

Dick Weaver

Ron Williams

Agenda:

• Introduction of new volunteers
• Team email & communications
• Facilities, Lab needs
• 50-Hz power status
• Unit bring-up status (Ron, Bill, Frank, Allen, Chuck)
• Documentation and Accessioning

Meeting Minutes:

• Two new 1401 team members introduced: Stuart LaFarr & Milt Thomas.
• Reminder that all of us should register on the Museum’s volunteer web site, https://www.computerhistory.org/volunteer, and log your volunteer hours.
• There was a request for more building access badges. It was noted that there is no phone in the server room and one can inadvertently get locked out.

• Chuck – Ask Mike F. whether access badges could be issued to more than just the project leads; or work out a viable alternative.

• Dag – Distribute a procedures & safety pledge form for all to sign. Re-present Museum’s restoration safety and procedures again for those who missed 1^st time.

• Mike – Organize a CPR and First Aid class. Get a fire extinguisher and first-aide kit into the server room.

• Mike – Order replacement fluorescent lights and hole-less floor tiles.

• It was noted that there were no cotton or latex gloves, or breathing masks in the server room at the moment.

• Allison – A supply of face masks for the server room.

• There was a long discussion on the pros and cons of restoring the Deutsche 1401 ("DE 1401") mechanical components vs. the mechanical components of the 1401/2/3 in visible storage ("VS 1401"). We confirmed, per the discussion at the 6/30 meeting, that in the case of electrical components and subsystems, we would stick with the self-consistent, 50-Hz DE 1401 and NOT mix and match electrical components between the VS and DE systems. However, due to the poor condition of the DE 1402 mechanical path, we agreed that it would be better to swap the mechanical card handling paths between the DE and VS 1402 card reader/punches. This approach would depend on permission from the Museum (and whether the two card handling paths are actually interchangeable).

• Bill Flora – Determine whether the VS 1402 mechanical path is exchangeable with the DE 1402 mechanical path.
• R. Garner – Explore options for cleaning/restoring of the 1402’s mechanical path.

• Regarding the 50-Hz power issue, we continued discussion on the proposal from last meeting of running half the system (1401/2/3/6) at 50-Hz and the other half – the 729 tape drives – at 60 Hz. This seamed feasible until we inspected the 729’s more closely to find that they all contain ferro-resonant AC power supplies. Furthermore, the 1401 and 1402 also contain ferro-resonant AC supplies. As we assume it would be very challenging to modify the resonance frequency from 50 Hz to 60 Hz (a decrease in capacitance by (50/60)^2 = 0.69), we concluded that the best solution is a 50-Hz source for the entire machine, at 13 kVA. (Although we could use a smaller static converter for initial bring up, say about 5 kVA.)
• Although we do not have a 60à 50Hz converter in hand yet, we acknowledged that plenty of work lies ahead to make forward progress: cleaning fans/filters, reforming the capacitors and testing the power supplies (disconnected from their loads), etc..

• R. Garner & Dave Bennet – Explore procuring at least one 60à 50 Hz, 3-phase solid-state converter rated at 5 and/or 13 kVA.

• There was an involved discussion about documentation control. In summary, the Museum is keeping the original copies sequestered away, with no access (called "C0"); will make one master copy (called "C1") which can be used by Mary or the Museum staff to create multiple additional, working copies. One such copy will be the machine-room "logics" (called "C2"), which will reside in the server room to be kept up-to-date and accurate.

• Mary – Distribute C2 logics and working documentation according to unit lead requests.

• Regarding documentation, there was a consensus that we need a full set of the so-called "Parts Catalogs"; i.e., the "manufacturing and assembly drawings" for the system.

• R. Garner – Search sources inside IBM for 1401 system Parts Catalogs.

• R. Garner & Dave Bennet – Contact IBM Quarter Century Clubs in Boulder & Tucson; contact IBM Fellow Ric Bradshaw in Tucson, and Jim Wiedenhammer (worked on 729 vacuum system); & contact Henry Harvel, parts distribution (in Mechanicsburg, NY)

• Ed Thelen – Meet with Eric Smith to get blog features added to project web site.

• Next meeting scheduled for Weds, Aug 18th, 11-1pm. (Meeting time selection criteria: Summer vacation schedules, morning – to avoid afternoon rush, and during lunch, as some still have full-time jobs.)
• As a regularly scheduled event, every Weds, beginning in the morning, the sub-unit teams, under the direction of Chuck Kantmann, have a "roll-up-the-sleeves" restoration working session.

• If you have materials/updates for the project web site: