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GUIDE to the G.R. BROOKS ARCHIVE in the POWERHOUSE MUSEUM Helen Yoxall 1998

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GUIDE to the G.R. BROOKS ARCHIVE in the POWERHOUSE MUSEUM Helen Yoxall 1998 GUIDE TO THE G.R. BROOKS ARCHIVE IN THE POWERHOUSE MUSEUM Helen Yoxall 1998 CONTENTS Biographical Note Series List Series Descriptions and Item Lists COLLECTED ARCHIVES BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE Registration Number: 97/203/1 Creator: Brooks, George Roderick Born on 19 June 1917, George Roderick Brooks is an engineer who worked on the design, construction and implementation of first generation computer technology at the Adolph Basser Computer Laboratory, School of Physics, University of Sydney during the 1950s-60s. He now (1997) lives at Leura, New South Wales. Explanatory note re SILLIAC computer SILLIAC was the second stored program electronic computer to be built in Australia and one of the earliest in the world. The SILLIAC computer is one of a family of machines sharing the same principles of system design, of logical interconnections and of circuit design. These were formulated by the staff of the Electronic Computer Project at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, N.J. The system design was based on a specification issued by Burles, Goldstine and von Neumann in 1946 whilst the principles guiding the internal design of circuits & logical nets were the responsibility of J.H. Bigelow. The first working machine of the Princeton type was completed by the staff of the Engineering Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois in November 1951. This was the ORDVAC computer, a machine ordered by the Ordnance Department for the Ballistic Research Laboratories of Aberdeen Proving Ground. The terms of the contract required that the machine be supplied complete with drawings, programs and handbooks and permitted the construction of a duplicate machine to become the property of the University. This policy enabled the continuation of computer development at Illinois and the second machine, ILLIAC [Illinois Automatic Computer], was completed in September 1952. The computer project at Sydney University was initiated by Professor H[arry]. Messel, Head of the School of Physics in 1954. By that time ILLIAC had proved to be both a fast and reliable computer and it was selected on the grounds of performance and price. The funds for the purchase of drawings and programs and for study at Illinois were donated to the School by Dr Adolph Basser CBE. His name has been perpetuated in the name of the computing department within the School of Physics and the name SILLIAC was compounded from SYDNEY and ILLIAC in appreciation of the assistance afforded the School by the digital computer laboratory at the University of Illinois. The construction of SILLIAC began in Sydney in 1955 under the control of B.E. Swire. Computing for production purposes began in July 1956 and error-free periods of six hours duration were common in December of that year, largely as a result of redesigning the input circuits used for ILLIAC I. A policy of circuit improvement without interrupting the scheduled operation was followed." SILLIAC had 1024 40 bit words of random access memory constructed from electrostatic William's tubes and used vacuum tube logic in a basic Von Neumann architecture. It consumed 50 kilowatts of power. Silliac communicated with users via standard 5-channel punched paper tape at an input rate of 200 characters/sec and output at 60/sec. By 1956 standard 5-channel paper tape readers, punches and off line printers were readily available. All the work on SILLIAC pre-assembly modules was carried out at Alexandria by a special team from Standard Telephones and Cables Pty. Ltd. (STC): Power systems, valves, circuits, electronics and frame-making. The pre-assemblies were then taken to the Physics Department and installed. Some SILLIAC components were imported from the UK. The paper tape equipment was designed and manufactured by Creed & Co. Ltd., Brighton, England. Registration Number: 97/203/1 Creator: Brooks, George Roderick The Basser Computing Laboratory (within the Department of Physics) provided computer services to the University and became the first computing laboratory for research and teaching in Australia. SILLIAC was decommissioned in May 1968. It was dismantled and parts offered to anybody who was interested. (The museum holds various components of the computer at 85/1695, 94/137/1, 96/263/1, 96/394/1 and 97/231/2.) Explanatory note re KDF-9 computer "In 1962, with a donation from Dr and Mrs Cecil Green of Texas, and the support of an AUC grant and a gift from the manufacturers, the Department of Physics acquired an English Electric KDF-9 computer. This transistorised computer provided initially 8k of 48 bit core memory (soon expanded to 32k) and had a very fast and sophisticated instruction execution within a stack machine architecture." (Basser 1997 Handbook) References: Object files for 97/203/1, 94/137/1 and 96/394/1 Document, handwritten, 'SILLIAC Computer - Engineering Manual/Chap 1 - Introduction', 1950s (97/203/1-3/24) Basser 1997 Handbook - History of the Department at http://www.cs.su.oz.au/Handbook/hb.3.history.html Helen Yoxall, Archives Manager, 1997 COLLECTED ARCHIVES SERIES LIST Creator: Brooks, George Roderick Reg. Number Series Title Date 97/203/1-1 Folder of diagrams of SILLIAC computer 1952-61, 1970 97/203/1-2 Microfilm copies of diagrams of SILLIAC computer 1950-1963 97/203/1-3 SILLIAC manuals 1957-67 97/203/1-4 SILLIAC log books 1957-1959 97/203/1-5 SILLIAC magnetic store development log 1959-1962 97/203/1-6 Files re construction and maintenance of SILLIAC 1932, 1948-1965 computer 97/203/1-7 University of Illinois publications re ILLIAC computers 1952-1961 97/203/1-8 Folders of diagrams of computers 1962-68 COLLECTED ARCHIVES SERIES DESCRIPTION Registration Number: 97/203/1-1 Creators: Brooks, George Roderick Series Title: Folder of diagrams of SILLIAC computer Date Range: 1952-61, 1970 Physical Characteristics: Folder, 405mm x 600mm, bound in gold-lettered maroon cloth containing 15 dyeline prints mounted on guards. Loose in the folder are diagrams, duplicated typescript documents, manuscript notes and a printed article. Description: Folder of diagrams of SILLIAC computer, paper/cardboard/cloth, Basser Computing Department, School of Physics, University of Sydney, Sydney, 1952-61, 1970 17 dyeline prints of logical diagrams of the SILLIAC computer contained in a large folder. The folder, 405mm x 600mm, is bound in maroon cloth. On the front cover in gold lettering 'LOGICAL DIAGRAMS - SILLIAC COMPUTER/BASSER COMPUTING DEPARTMENT/ SCHOOL OF PHYSICS UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY'. 15 diagrams, 1954-61, are mounted on guards within the folder. Loose in the folder are two diagrams, 1952 and n.d., a duplicated typescript 'Alphabetical index of drawings', n.d., manuscript notes and diagrams by G.R. Brooks, n.d., a duplicated typescript document 'The Miller Effect, the Miller Integrator and related circuits', n.d., a block diagram of Illiac, 1956 and Robert M. May's article 'Sydney University School of Physics' from the "Australian Physicist", June 1970. Arrangement: By diagram number Dimensions: Shelf Length 0.020 m Box Number: Plan cabinet COLLECTED ARCHIVES SERIES DESCRIPTION Registration Number: 97/203/1-2 Creators: Brooks, George Roderick Series Title: Microfilm copies of diagrams of SILLIAC computer Date Range: 1950-1963 Physical Characteristics: A clear plastic box containing 135 aperture cards bearing 35mm microfilm copies of diagrams. Description: Microfilm copies (135) of diagrams of SILLIAC computer, film/cardboard/plastic, Basser Computing Department, School of Physics, University of Sydney, Sydney, 1950-63 A clear plastic box containing 135 aperture cards bearing 35mm microfilm copies of diagrams of the SILLIAC computer. Each card has the diagram number and the date '18/11/63'inscribed on it. Arrangement: By diagram number Dimensions: Shelf Length 0.038 m Box Number: Box 1 COLLECTED ARCHIVES ITEM LIST Series Title: Microfilm copies of diagrams of SILLIAC computer Item Number Item Title Box 97/203/1-2/1 Aperture card, containing microfilm copy of diagram of Box 1 SILLIAC computer, 'SL-006 Address generator - Silliac', 1954, with revisions to 1956 97/203/1-2/2 Aperture card, containing microfilm copy of diagram of Box 1 SILLIAC computer, 'SM-007 Store pulse logic', 1954 97/203/1-2/3 Aperture card, containing microfilm copy of diagram of Box 1 SILLIAC computer, 'SL-008 Input output logic', 1956 with revisions to 1959 97/203/1-2/4 Aperture card, containing microfilm copy of diagram of Box 1 SILLIAC computer, 'SL-009 Out control - Silliac', 1954 with revisions to 1959 97/203/1-2/5 Aperture card, containing microfilm copy of diagram of Box 1 SILLIAC computer, 'SL-010 Input control', 1954 with revisions to 1959 97/203/1-2/6 Aperture card, containing microfilm copy of diagram of Box 1 SILLIAC computer, 'SM-011 Output switch - Silliac', 1954 with revisions to 1958 97/203/1-2/7 Aperture card, containing microfilm copy of diagram of Box 1 SILLIAC computer, 'SM-012 D.C. distribution - Silliac', 1954 with revisions to 1959 97/203/1-2/8 Aperture card, containing microfilm copy of diagram of Box 1 SILLIAC computer, 'SM-013 Engineering control panel', 1955 with revisions to 1958 97/203/1-2/9 Aperture card, containing microfilm copy of diagram of Box 1 SILLIAC computer, 'SM-015 D.C. - supply transient detector', 1955 with revisions to 1960 97/203/1-2/10 Aperture card, containing microfilm copy of diagram of Box 1 SILLIAC computer, 'SM-016 BRPE punch control', 1957 with revisions to 1959 97/203/1-2/11 Aperture card, containing microfilm copy of diagram of Box 1 SILLIAC computer, 'SL-017 Power controls', 1958 with revisions to 1962 97/203/1-2/12 Aperture card, containing microfilm copy of diagram of Box 1 SILLIAC computer, 'SM-019 Tester for 2C51 valves', 1963 97/203/1-2/13 Aperture card, containing microfilm copy of diagram of Box 1 SILLIAC computer, 'SM-020 Tester for computer triodes', 1963 Item Number Item Title Box 97/203/1-2/14 Aperture card, containing microfilm copy of diagram of Box 1 SILLIAC computer, 'SS-022 Slave tube connections', 1962 97/203/1-2/15 Aperture card, containing microfilm copy of diagram of Box 1 SILLIAC computer, 'SM-023 'A' scope AMP.
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