
Miniature 1959 IBM 1401 Console handmade polystyrene scratch build - chromaton
https://imgur.com/gallery/yCh4BNv
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Koshkin
Nice. What would make this _really_ amazing if was also fully emulated (using
some basic robotic kit for the tape drives and, say, a Raspberry Pi). Myself,
I was thinking about maybe making a _paper_ miniature of IBM System/360
running on Hercules.

~~~
kens
The IBM 1401 emulator we use is ROPE:
[http://ibm-1401.info/#1401-Software](http://ibm-1401.info/#1401-Software)

The Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA does demos of the real 1401
(at least until the coronavirus hit), so once things open up again, anyone who
is nearby should check it out.

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bdefore
A side attraction to this would be Johann Johannsson's excellent ambient
electronica tribute to his father's work on the 1401:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_1401,_A_User%27s_Manual](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_1401,_A_User%27s_Manual)

I often listen to it while coding. Lots of glacial build up and voice samples
of someone calmly instructing how to use the machine.

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tlb
Building miniature mainframe installations is very cool. Much better than a
model railway set. I'd like one that works, of course, with blinky lights and
tape drives spinning. The electronics can be modern and buried in a box under
the table, but I'd like all the lights and switches to behave like the
original.

~~~
DanBC
Have you seen this replica of Cray 1A? [http://www.chrisfenton.com/homebrew-
cray-1a/](http://www.chrisfenton.com/homebrew-cray-1a/)

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jes
This is great to see. Congratulations on your effort. As an older (60)
software engineer, your modeling brings back some pleasant memories for me.

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bananapear
I look at these pictures and can’t fathom how anyone could have the patience
to place all those tiny “keys” when I can barely finish reading an article
without getting bored and skipping to the next thing. How can I learn
patience?

~~~
maxerickson
Practice.

I think I would call it focus instead of patience. It's often useful to have a
goal that is motivating.

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bobloblaw45
I've always loved polystyrene models.I'm curious how the chair was done.

~~~
EvanAnderson
The chair has its own series of images:
[https://imgur.com/gallery/TymP8M5](https://imgur.com/gallery/TymP8M5)

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modal-soul
Is there a name for the aesthetic of the equipment being modeled here?

~~~
kens
IBM put a lot of work into a detailed corporate design aesthetic. Itis
described in detail in the book "The Interface: IBM and the Transformation of
Corporate Design". The design principles were developed by Edgar Kaufmann, Jr
(whose father owned Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater), and they were
developed by Eliot Noyes, a notable industrial designer.

Some design concepts in the computers were recessed pedestals for a feeling of
floating and lightness, the concealment of most of the circuitry, expressing
the "inherent drama" of computers, the carefully controlled color scheme, and
modern materials for the cabinets. The tape drives in particular were wildly
successful at expressing the "inherent drama" of computing, to the point that
spinning tape drives became a movie cliche .

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jonjacky
What is that typewriter-like console thingy? I have seen a lot of pictures and
literature about IBM 1401 installations and have never seen anything like
that. I thought the card reader and tape drive were the only input devices for
the 1401. Can anyone point to a contemporary picture or description of it?

~~~
jonjacky
It's the 1407 Console Inquiry Station, pictured and described on p. 29 here:

IBM 1401 System Summary, Sept 1964. [http://bitsavers.trailing-
edge.com/pdf/ibm/1401/A24-1401-1_1...](http://bitsavers.trailing-
edge.com/pdf/ibm/1401/A24-1401-1_1401_System_Summary_Sep64.pdf)

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Spearchucker
Love it. Sadly scratch-building from styrene is an art that's losing ground to
3D printing. Here's a guy who scratch-builds toy trucks
[https://www.wittenburg.co.uk/Rc/FordF5Coe.html](https://www.wittenburg.co.uk/Rc/FordF5Coe.html)

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TruffleLabs
Here is an example of a plastic miniature Vax 11/780 with emulator
[https://vxcompany.com/2016/02/13/a-working-
vax-11780-revisit...](https://vxcompany.com/2016/02/13/a-working-
vax-11780-revisited/)

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tpmx
That typewriter/terminal thing: Wow!

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Kaibeezy
Beautifully done.

“50% of my time spent sanding”

I totally get that. Same with wood furniture and sculpture. Easily half the
work.

And now that I think about it, also true with writing projects... back to the
Q10.

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esmi
Just get it to run cobol and you’re golden.

~~~
kens
Here's a video of Fortran running on the IBM 1401 at the Computer History
Museum:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFQ3sajIdaM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFQ3sajIdaM)

Because memory was so limited (8000 words), the Fortran compiler operates in
63 phases, where each phase consists of 150 to 300 instructions. In other
words, the compiler's code was broken into chunks of 150-300 instructions, and
that's all that could run in a phase.

I'll also mention that memory was 8000 words and not 8192 words, because the
IBM 1401 used decimal arithmetic.

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mjcohen
I thought it had 53 phases.

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kens
The paper lists all 63 phases: [http://ibm-1401.info/1401-IBM-Systems-Journal-
FORTRAN.html](http://ibm-1401.info/1401-IBM-Systems-Journal-FORTRAN.html)

~~~
cheerlessbog
30 years of programming and it never occurred to me that DIM derived from
DIMENSION.

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kleer001
(non-functional)

(hahah)

Beautiful, still, excellent craftsmanship

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tgv
Charming and aesthetically pleasing.

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acmdas
Very nicely done. Takes me back...

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hrvach
This is so amazing. Respect!

