Country of Origin: United States of America
Dimensions:
3-D Test: 33 x 22.9 x 10.2cm (13 x 9 x 4 in.)
Materials:
Plastic, Gold Plating, Epoxy, Phenolic Resin, Steel, Aluminum
This is a circuit module from an IBM 9020 computer. The components on this module were mounted on small ceramic squares, and soldered to a circuit board. IBM caled the technique "Solid Logic Technology." They represent a transition in electronic design from the discrete circuits of an earlier day to the current use of integrated circuits, or silicon chips.
The IBM 9020 was a large, mainframe computer configured for real-time operation and programmed to handle en-route air traffic control functions at about two dozen centers across the continental United States. The 9020 consisted of three standard commercial mainframes, the IBM System/360 Model 50. All three ran in tandem to ensure high reliability. Unlike standard IBM mainframes of the day, the 9020 was programmed to operate in "real time": that is, to compute and generate results as fast as or faster than data were fed into it.
A full system consisted of this computer coupled to air traffic controllers' consoles, with data fed into the system from long-range radar and other ground stations. IBM 9020s were in use at en-route centers from about 1967 through 1997. This system was used at the FAA en-route center in Leesburg, VA.
Transferred from the Federal Aviation Administration
