UNIVAC 2021 Update - Full Boot and Diagnostic

Bill D. boots up the UNIVAC for the first time in over a year. Watch as we go over the major parts of the system, try to run its diagnostics, mess up a little and recover with a load from (mylar) tape. Full commentary from Bill durning the entire process, reasons and practices of how to maintain and run this unique system from his many years of experience with one.

Filmed inside the Vintage Computer Federation Museum which is located at the InfoAge Technology Center, Camp Evans, in Wall New Jersey.

[vadinhopsc]

My first job, back in 1970, was as a customer engineer for Univac. Worked with 1004, 1005, 1050, 9200, 9300, 9400, 90/30/40, 1100/60 and finally 2200 plus some 40 other peripherals and punched card equipments, until 1989, when I moved to Italy, hired by FPS Computing (scientific processors). Boy, if nostalgia could kill I'd be dead right now.

[Aerospaceman]

Between 1986 and 1988 I was a computer operator on this very system. The light switches were either 325/328 bulbs. On the bottom unit we had 4-bays. We would make our own mag tapes with the BOT/EOT and the tapes were placed on RD-358's

[turboslag]

What an absolute joy to see, construction and build quality the like of which will never be seen again. Reminds me of the 70's when I regularly spent time in London on training course with my job working for Philips. Myself and a friend would take trips to Edgeware Road and Tottenham Court Road where there were dozens of surplus electronic shops. Amongst other things there were 10 pence bins full of circuit cards that looked very much like those seen in this computer. I bought loads of them, not having a clue what they were or what they were from, but were a good source of cheap components. Unfortunately I don't have them now, in fact I have no recollection of what happened to them. Virtually all those shops have gone now, any that did survive have moved to cheaper industrial estates and have converted to more contemporary product ranges.

[ElPasoTubeAmps]

I went to work for Univac at MSFC in January 1970 on an 1108 3X2 system as an FE. Moved to WSMR for their 1108 systems in the summer of 1976. Wonderful career. Left Unisys in the summer of 1994. Wish I could do it again and have my loved ones back.

[ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

This is a great video and very nice explanation of the computer! Great detail and close up shots of the controls. Very nicely done, thanks for posting this.~

[TheMCCWorkshop]

We entered the shipyard for overhaul in 1979. The shipyard removed all those cards from our two previously highly reliable computers, for "testing". When the cards were brought back, and reinstalled, they spent a couple of months trying to make them work again...

[dank_productions]

The kicker for me was at 25:33, seeing a modern phone that is probably over 100x as powerful as this entire machine sitting on top of the tape reader as he re-wound the tape. I hope the future generations can appreciate just how far we have come and continue to go exponentially like i am right now.

[americancitizen]

I think this is the computer Oregon's Unemployment Office uses.

[peterschmitt]

I worked on two 1219's (didn't have the 1219-2 addon) that were used for the ALS system on the USS JFK CV-67. Two for redundancy. Amazing tech for the 1970's. I also worked on the 1540's we had in the CVIC and SINS. I once had to tune the memory in one of the 1219's with an oscilloscope to get the system back up.

[bsandey]

I was a Mk86 GFCS tech on an LHA back in the 80's. We had 2 of these running in "Master/Slave" configuration. We also had that same I/O console, except the teletype was on top of the unit, not a table next to it.

[JamesHawkeYouTube]

Good to see the Univac won't be catching Covid.

[tomsawyer]

USS Biddle CG-34 Terrier Mk152 Computer Complex. WOW! Thanks for posting, Sir. Hmmm... 50-56-40 That's a 5-Stop., 12- to load the AL, 10 for the AU... Memories. I wish I could visit one day.
We had to write little troubleshooting programs when diagnostics could only get you in the general area of the fault. Terrier: When you care enough to send the very best!

[relyhgg]

I installed & maintained Univac60, converted to Univac 120, Customer Engineer working on 1004's 9200. plus all of the early Remington Rand early Data processing hardware.

[bwave]

I programmed the 1219B for AN/SPN-42 ACLS in the early 1980s. I still have some of the mylar tape and a programmer's reference card...I think I have a home for a pair if we could get them for Midway museum.

[paulc]

Operated & repaired & wrote small programs for that computer (USS Sterrett CG-31) for 4 years.. thought 16 bit computers were strange after working on that 18 bit computer for so long.

[greg]

Old Terrier Missile Radar AN/SPG-55B MOD8 to Mod 10 USS King DDG-41checking in good to see it still out there

[brownrm]

USS Halsey aft missile plot reporting in.

[TheMCCWorkshop]

Maintained two 1219 systems on USS Charles F. Adams (DDG-2) in the 70's, Missile plot. Remember them well!

[jeffsherman]

How does Mr. Bill remember all that? I can barely remember how to set up the bootstrap and I NEVER loaded the program from the mylar (except in C-school). Amazing!

[davidwalz]

This is very interesting and I'm amazed as what the details are.