World's oldest digital computer restored to life at age 60
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Banks of logic relays within the Harwell computer (Photo: National Museum of Computing)
The Harwell computer as it appeared shortly after arrival at the National Museum of Computing (Photo: National Museum of Computing)
The Harwell computer in use at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment (Photo: National Museum of Computing)
Harwell relay racks as recovered from storage (Photo: Bad germ)
The Harwell power distribution console (Photo: Bad germ)
Close-up of dekatron memory units (Photo: Bad germ)
A set of dekatron triggering units (Photo: Bad germ)
The dekatron electronic triggering units (Photo: Bad germ
The paper tape readers that provide the Harwell computer with program instructions and data (Photo: Bad germ)
The Harwell power supply control panel (Photo: Bad germ)
A view of the Harwell's rear panel wiring (Photo: Bad germ)
Signal wiring of a relay logic bank (Photo: Bad germ)
Close-up of a Harwell relay logic bank (Photo: Bad germ)
One of the dekatron tubes on the Harwell computer (Photo: Bad germ)
Turning the power key (Photo: Bad germ)
The heart of the machine - one of the original 828 dekatrons (Photo: National Museum of Computing)
Article Summary
The Harwell Dekatron computer is a 1950s computer having roughly the weight and size of a Hummer H3 and the computing power of a four-function pocket calculator. Having been restored to its original operating condition using 95 percent original parts, it is now the oldest functioning programmable digital computer in the world. Guinness might have been onto something, when, in 1973, they named the Dekatron the Most Durable Computer in the World.
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