🚀 go-pugleaf

On 12/06/2016 06:17, mail-veil@btinternet.com wrote:
> Our web site: http://www.bmpg.org.uk/

I had a little look. Apparently you've done nothing since last autumn...

I'd like to see more about a computer that just pre-dates me.

Andy

Vir Campestris wrote:

> mail-veil@btinternet.com wrote:
>
>> http://www.bmpg.org.uk/
>
> I had a little look. Apparently you've done nothing since last autumn...

There are some recent Youtube videos.

> I'd like to see more about a computer that just pre-dates me.

What they're restored is the revamped version from the 80's not the
original control system from the 60's

On Sun, 12 Jun 2016 18:02:08 +0100, Vir Campestris
<vir.campestris@invalid.invalid> wrote:

>On 12/06/2016 06:17, mail-veil@btinternet.com wrote:
>> Our web site: http://www.bmpg.org.uk/
>
>I had a little look. Apparently you've done nothing since last autumn...
>
>I'd like to see more about a computer that just pre-dates me.
>
>Andy

I take your point Andy; I have not maintained records of our work on
the web site; most remiss of me and all down to other personal
demands.

Two key items have been working on the reliability of the performance
of the system and developing a Compact Flash card replacement for the
Winchester disk which was the one item that put our entire system at
risk as we had only one drive left of this almost unobtainable
component.  The major reliability problems were entirely down to
corrosion as the LCP had been left in a field with the door open
adjacent to the computer rack so a great deal of strip down, cleaning
and proofing was undertaken.  As I said in my message we have been
concentrating on preparation of the cabins for exhibition involving a
huge amount of paint stripping and rectification of corrosion; topics
which tend not to be attention grabbing.

I will make the effort to document more of what we have done on the
web site and exhibit photographs of the Argus 700 and the associated
peripherals.  Our next objective is to develop a replacement for the
tape drive as the cassette drive belts are very unreliable as is the
capstan in the tape machine itself.

The two drives involved with this system are:

Originally the hard drive was a CDC Wren 1 Model 9415-3 (FINCH
Interface).
 There is a CDC Wren 1 9415-5 model which has a Seagate Interface,
this is not used on our Argus 700. The Wren 1 is lifed at 20,000 Hrs
or 5 years. We are certainly well over the 5 years and head crashes
have been the cause of failures of the spare drives we did manage to
obtain.

We later incorporated a SCSI ST31200N system developed by Syseca which
was unique to the Swiss at BL-64 museum and we developed it to work
with the ex-RAF equipment. We now have a CF card system developed in
conjunction with PeripheralVision:
http://www.peripheral-vision.com/products/scsi-to-compact-flash/ .


The tape system uses a Cipher Quarterback, Model F420-90, 90IPS, 20MB,
8.0 using QIC-02  tapes.

Work on the overall kit can only take place on a Saturday so progress
is slow. We are fortunate to have an off-line Argus 700 test rig at
the house one of the BMPG members and the computer development is
almost entirely his work.

We are working from personal funding with no grants and no commercial
support so again we are constrained from that angle but at least we
have saved the system which is unique in UK. The only other working
kit is in Switzerland and the only other LCP is rotting away at the
Imperial War Museum, Duxford which is an utter disgrace for our
national museum to treat it with such disregard (my moan for the
day!).

Hope that gives you greater confidence that we are not sitting on our
rear ends doing nothing.

Mike

On 13/06/2016 10:43, mail-veil@btinternet.com wrote:
> Hope that gives you greater confidence that we are not sitting on our
> rear ends doing nothing.

I didn't think you were. I assumed (as you've just shown) that the web
site had fallen down the cracks.

Thanks

Andy

On Sunday, 12 June 2016 15:17:37 UTC+10, mail...@btinternet.com  wrote:
> The Bloodhound Missile Preservation Group that I belong to had a very
> successful 2015 as this was the year that we eventually achieved a
> serviceable and reliable simulator in our Launch Control Post (LCP).
> This was mainly due to the restoration of the Ferranti Argus 700
> computer, all the Argus I/O and the display console, plus getting the
> audio Doppler working. 
> 
> Since then we have been hard at work restoring the outside of the LCP
> and our Type 86 radar cabins and there is much more to do but a bit
> boring for showing what we are doing.
> 
> To liven things up a bit our team member Pete Murray has produced four
> videos describing and showing the system in operation. These are now
> on YouTube and. I hope you will watch the videos and please share the
> link to get us known more.
> 
> Our web site: http://www.bmpg.org.uk/
> Our YouTube Channel:
> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOW9gd-tJqdqwvWQRaZ1FTw
> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BloodhoundMissilePreservationGroup/
> 
> If you worked with the Ferranti Argus 700 at anytime we would be
> delighted to hear from you.
> 
> Mike

I was a s/w contractor on the Argus 700 for Ferranti, Wythenshaw in the early 80s.
They sent me, with a h/w engineer, to Dahran, to sit in the flying wing and provide support in case of any teething troubles with their air defence screen, powered by the Argus 700.

This 15 million pound computer was supposed to run 24x7, but every night, a guy called Major Hani would turn the thing off when he went home early evening.

I stumbled upon this subject while looking for marketing material for an app I just got round to writing. I have reinvented the flowchart. Actually, I reinvented it all those years ago, but last year I realised no one had thought about this since the 80s. So over 30 year later I will be giving the world a new flowchart standard and a free app to accompany it...

Ian, Sydney
(Worked at BT Martlesham for 10 years in the 80-90s.