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1<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
2     "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
3<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en">
4<head><!--#set var="title"        value="BULL Tabulating machine"
5   --><!--#set var="location"     value="tabelliermaschine"
6   --><!--#set var="part"         value="computer"
7   --><!--#set var="url_de"       value="rechnertechnik/tabelliermaschine.shtm"
8   --><!--#set var="prev"         value="electro-mechanical.shtm"
9   --><!--#set var="prev_title"   value="(Electro-) mechanical calculators"
10   --><!--#set var="next"         value="gamma3.shtm"
11   --><!--#set var="next_title"   value="BULL GAMMA 3"
12 --><title>Technikum29 - <!--#echo var="title" --></title>
13
14    <!--#include virtual="/en/inc/head.inc.shtm" -->
15    <meta name="DC.Title" content="Technikum29 - <!--#echo var="title" -->" />
16    <meta name="DC.Subject" content="<!--#echo var="title" -->" />
17    <meta name="t29.SVN" content="$Id: tabulating-machine.shtm 152 2010-03-01 20:47:03Z sven $" />
18</head>
19<body>
20<!--#echo encoding="none" var="heading" -->
21<div id="content">
22    <h2><!--#echo var="title" --></h2>
23
24    <p>Tabulating machines were widely used when electronic data processing
25       began in the 1950s. These big machines were called "technical marvels":
26       At a glance at the inner life you can see what special art of
27       ingeneering was performed at that time. This kind of technology appears
28       odd for today's folks.</p>
29
30    <p>The tabulating machine BULL BS-PR was constructed in October 1956, thus it
31       is the oldest pice of EDP in the museum. At these days you could buy it
32       for about 260.000 German marks (about 62.000 US$).
33       Nevertheless even medium-sized businesses (especially banks) had to buy
34           these punch card machines to work economically.</p>
35
36    <p>On high quality tabulating machines the patch panel could be replaced to
37       perform very different tasks. By plugging the cables on the programming field
38       cleverly, even some scientifical caluclations could be solved.
39    <br/>For every new program the software engineer had to plug a new
40       programming field. The only data input medium are punch cards. Therefore
41       we own other machines that are also operational to perform card driven EDP,
42       that is, devices for creation, sorting, mixing, etc. the cards.</p>
43
44    <p>Our tabluating machine is now even capable of calculating and printing bank
45       statements as well as multiplying and dividing.
46    <!-- <LOL> -->
47    <br/>In the year 1959 some BULL engineer asked himself why there was not some
48       algorithm for the tabulating machine somewhere outside to compute square roots.
49       Since he was bored, he knew already dozens of simple algorithms he learned
50       in his study of computer science and he wanted to gouge his friends, he
51       bet them that you could compute square roots of any real number with a
52       tabulating machine. Since his friends have not studied computer science,
53       they bet against it. The engineer made some programming efforts and won
54       the bet. We came across that program, so we are currently trying to get
55       it back running, so we can relive that historical moment. <!-- </LOL> -->
56    </p>
57
58    <p><small>We would like to thank the <a href="http://www.feb-d.de">F.E.B.
59       (Federation des Equipes Bull) Deutschland e.V.</a> for their assistance
60       of the reperation of the tabulating machine</small></p>
61
62    <div class="box center auto-bildbreite">
63        <img src="/shared/photos/rechnertechnik/bull-bs-pr/tabelliermaschine.jpg"
64             width="679" height="658" alt="Bull PS BR Tabulating Machine" />
65                <p class="bildtext"><b>Tabulating Machine Bull BS-PR</b></p>
66    </div>
67       
68        <p>
69            With closed walls it looks like a strange chunk made of metal, but it
70                comprises impressive electromechanical technology. In the front there
71                are two demountable program boards that are mounted at the left side
72                of the device (not visible in the picture). The board on the left contains
73                a program for compiling and printing bank statements, the board on the
74                right contains a simple program for multiplying. Multiplying and dividing
75                mechanically needs lots of time. To shorten this amount of time, the
76                <a href="gamma3.shtm">"electronical calculator" BULL GAMMA&nbsp;3</a>
77                could be attached. That auxiliary tube calculator was only used for this
78                purpose.
79        </p>
80
81    <!--
82     3 Bilder im Deutschen entfernt nach v5.7.21, zugunsten zwei einzelner.
83   
84    <div class="box left">
85        <img src="/shared/photos/rechnertechnik/bull-bs-pr/rechenwerke.jpg" alt="Photography of the ALU" width="357" height="476"/>
86        <p class="bildtext">
87            The picture on the left shows the heart of the Bull BS-PR. In the foreground the card sensing circuitry can be seen. Every card is sensed twice &ndash; the first run determines if it is a program or a data card while the second run (below) reads the actual data. In addition to that this mechanism allows the comparison of successive cards.
88        </p>
89        <div class="clear">&nbsp;</div>
90    </div>
91
92    <div class="box left">
93        <img src="/shared/photos/rechnertechnik/bull-bs-pr/relais.jpg" alt="Partial view of the relays" width="400" height="533" />
94        <p class="bildtext">
95          The control and memory of the machine is comprised of about 1500 relays. 10 ALUs work in parallel and are driven and synchronized by the large main motor. Every revolution engages about 300 sliding contacts.
96        </p>
97        <div class="clear">&nbsp;</div>
98    </div>
99
100    <div class="box left">
101        <img src="/shared/photos/rechnertechnik/bull-bs-pr/offen.jpg" alt="Vorderansicht der geöffneten Bull-Tabelliermaschine" width="569" height="396" />
102        <p class="bildtext">
103            The picture on the left shows part of the complicated printing unit &ndash; in every step a complete line is printed (like later line printers did).
104         </p>
105         <div class="clear">&nbsp;</div>
106    </div>
107    -->
108   
109    <div class="box left clear-after">
110      <img src="/shared/photos/rechnertechnik/bull-bs-pr/relais1.jpg"
111           alt="Partial view of the relays" width="312" height="416"/>
112      <p class="bildtext">
113        The control and memory of the machine is comprised of about 1500 relays.
114        <br/>10 ALUs work in parallel and are driven and synchronized by the large main motor.
115        Every revolution engages about 300 sliding contacts. In the upper part of the picture
116        you can see three ALUs. Only one of the ALUs is broken (that can be easily bypassed by
117        customizing the programs), that is quite astonishing in view of the old age.
118      </p>
119    </div>
120
121    <div class="box center auto-bildbreite">
122         <img src="/shared/photos/rechnertechnik/rechenwerke.jpg" alt="ALUs of the Bull tabulating machine" width="555" height="329" />
123         <p class="bildtext">
124                    <b>Arithmetic-logic units</b> of the tabulating machine
125                 </p>
126    </div>
127       
128        <p>     We exposed two of the 10 ALUs for an one-of-a-kind photo. The principle of sprocket wheel
129            machines is visible to the naked eye. All calculation work is performed only by mechanical
130            components and read in electronically by touch-sensitive contacts. You can even read out
131            the current arithmetic register contents: They hold both <i>144</i>. Carries are also
132            performed purley mechanically. It's hardly imaginable that these machines worked more than
133            12 hours every day without any serious problems.
134    </p>
135   
136    <div class="box center auto-bildbreite">
137        <img src="/shared/photos/rechnertechnik/bull-bs-pr/offen1.jpg"
138             alt="Front view of the BULL BS PR Tabulating Machine" width="555" height="325"/>
139            <p class="bildtext">
140                    <b>Printing unit</b> of the tabulating machine
141                </p>
142        </div>
143       
144        <p>
145        This picture partly shows the complicated printing unit &ndash; in
146        every step a complete line is printed (like later line printers did).
147        In the foreground you can see the punchcard feeder. Every punchcard is
148        read in two times. At the first scan the machine detects wheter the card is
149        a controller card or a data card whereas at the second scan the machine reads
150        the content from the card.
151                Additionally, the machine is capable of comparing the content of two
152        consecutive cards.
153    </p>
154
155
156</div><!-- end of content -->
157<!--#include virtual="/en/inc/menu.inc.shtm" -->
158</body>
159</html>
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