The Computer History of Australia - Episode 2 CSIR MARK1 part2

This is Episode 2 of the Computer History of Australia. It is highly recommended that you watch Episode one before this one.
In this episode, we continue exploring the history of Australia's first computer, CSIR MARK1. This computer was designed by Trevor Pearcey and built by the team led by electronic engineer, Maston Beard, at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research, division of Radiophysics.
The CSIR MARK1 is the first computer to play music in the world.
For further reading on CSIR MARK1 and its other name "CSIRAC" please read Barbara Ainsworth's "Dr Trevor Pearcey - at the Forefront of Early Computer Design" - www.computerco...

[@TobyRobb]

As an Australian, I'm loving this series. So many firsts and new ideas in computing shown here

[@xjet]

As always... excellent work and much appreciated.

[@StateofElectronics]

@@xjet thank you sir. Means a lot coming from you

[@Paul_VK3HN]

Peter Thorne lectured me 313 Computer Hardware a long time ago. The impacts of these pioneers spread wide and far.

[@PhilKernick]

Paper tape lasted much, much longer than most people realise. In the 2000s, one of the control systems of the power stations at Torrens Island in Adelaide still booted off paper tape. But since the tape was so fragile, a paper tape simulator was developed to flash into the tape reader to input the code.

[@Agmash29a]

Excellent episode!

[@keithammleter3824]

At one point in this video and interviewee speculates that the loudspeaker used to announce program end was an Australian made speaker. Well, it certainly was. Back then Australia had tbe biggest electronics industry in the Southern Hemisphere, and the Rola company was one of two speaker manufacturers in Australia, supplying speakers to almost all radio manufacturers in Australia and New Zealand. AWA made their own speakers, copying Rola designs. The Rola company was purchased in about 1972 by the incompetently run English firm Plessey, who shut it down after a year or so. Rola was a viable business but some Plessey manager decided he could get more return on investment on the stock exchange.

[@Agmash29a]

Excellent stuff

[@michaelogden5958]

2:45 (approx.) They found punchcards to be unreliable. The first program I ever wrote required punchcards. The language was BASIC. Even for a relatively simple program, I had nearly a shoe box full of cards that had to be kept in absolute order and not "folded, bent, spindled, or mutilated". I don't recall having "hanging chads", but I'm sure they would have been one more gotcha.

[@baronvonschnellenstein2811]

I enjoyed Peter Holden's takes in this video :)

[@geoffgeoff143]

Never catch on

[@hypercomms2001]

Is there anyone trying to get this Computer operational again? I am willing to volunteer my time to make that happen. I remember seeing this computer in the foyer at the Chisholm Institute of technology in Caulfield 1984...

[@StateofElectronics]

@@hypercomms2001 no it’s completely original bar the odd bit of transistor control of discs (which I don’t think are on display). So much would need to be replaced, its originality would be in question. There are CSIRAC emulators you can play with online to have a go programming it.

[@keithammleter3824]

So, they got the computer to play music in order to impress Prime Minister Menzies and get him on board to support it. That doesn't sound a good idea. I wouldn't be surprised if Menzies sent down word to the CSIRO executive to stop wasting time and money on making crude melodies such as a child might do on a toy instrument. An engineer would be impressed through understanding what it took to make music, but a conservative PM would just think it was goofing off. I worked for a large national company when 8-bit personal computers started to be acquired by early adopters and hobbyists. One of our engineers put up a case for buying a few PC's to do calculations and write reports. He managed to get approval and some PC's were purchased and we made good use of them. One bright spark loaded in a routine that caused the PC internal speaker to quack like a duck at 10 AM. He had cleverly worked out how to generate a pulse width modulated pulse train to go to the speaker, so as to reproduce the sound of a duck. Not long after a very senior executive came down to our floor to see for himself what these new-fangled personal computers were being used for. It became 10 AM and the PC's started quacking, one after the other. The old coot in a suit was not impressed, and we found it impossible to buy PC's again for quite some time.