Control Panels

Univac Tape Controller Panel

 

According to New Beginnings Antiques, this is a control panel from a Univac tape controller, possibly a T5042, used on the Univac 1106 and 9400 series. The part number on the back of the circuit board is 42312. The front has 9 rotary switches, 45 toggle switches and 114 LEDs!

MAI Basic Four Control Panel

 

This is from an MAI Basic Four computer, unknown model. There is a date on the reverse side of Oct 22, 1973. MAI was one of the early minicomputer manufacturers. The switches read (from L to R) Run, Step, Int, Clock, Reset, then 4, 3, 2, 1, then two indicators Run, Halt, and finally an Off switch.

IBM System 36 Control Panel

This is the control panel from an IBM System 36, Model 5360, circa 1983. You can see pictures of a functioning System 36 at The Corestore. Mike Ross also brought his System 36 to the VCF East 3.0.

IBM 3890 Document Processor Power Control Panel

This is the power control panel from an IBM 3890 Document Processor, circa 1973. The 3890 was commonly used by banks for check processing. More info and pictures can be found in the Wikipedia and The Gallery of Old Iron.

HP3000/33 Control Panel

HP3000/33 Panel

Control panel from an HP3000 system, Series 33, circa 1978. The part number on the back is 30070-69008. I spent two years from 1986 - 1988 working for Atlantic Tech Services in MD, doing contract maintenance on HP3000 systems, including series III, 4X, 6X and 7X. More information and pictures of the Series 33 can be found at the HP Computer Museum site.

Honeywell MPC Maintenance Panel

Maintenance Panel

This is one of the mystery devices. From information gathered so far, it appears to be the maintenance panel from a Microprogrammed Peripheral Controller (MPC) from an early 70s Honeywell 6000 series mainframe. The only picture I've found so far is this. The maintenance panel would have been under the red cover, with the illuminated pushbuttons sticking out through the cover. More pictures may be found here. I also found that a panel very similar to this was used as a prop in Irwin Allen's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

Missile Test Computer Panel?

Missile Test Computer Panel?

This is another mystery device, a control panel from some sort of missile computer. The manufacturing dates on the display drivers are from 1978 and 1979. A former Air Force weapons guy suggested that it may have been part of a ground test system for air-to-air missiles. More pictures may be found here. Assuming that the 12115 number is a CAGE code (formerly FSCM), the manufacturer is DRS EW & NETWORK SYSTEMS INC of Buffalo, NY.

AN/AQS-13 Dipping Sonar Control Panel

 

This is a control panel from the AN/AQS-13 dipping sonar, manufactured by Bendix. The AQS-13 was typically deployed on naval helicopters such as the SH-60 and SH-3.

Budd Electronics Radar Channel Indicator Panel

 

This panel is labeled "Channel Indicator", Part Number 24-247 from Budd Electronics, Inc. It has something to do with Gap Filler radar digitization and storage. The interesting thing about the panel is that it uses 3-lead neon indicators, controlled by transistor switches.

Vectrex Airlock Control Panel

 

This panel came from a Santa Monica prop house called Vectrex Corporation, and appears to have been manufactured for a movie. The labels read Seal Airlock, Jettison Outer Hatch, Activate Controls, Manipulator Controls, and Emergency Release. The six switches each control an indicator lamp, which are wired for 120VAC. I knew I had seen this somewhere, and finally tracked it down: Earth II, a 1971 TV movie by MGM Television. This panel was on the airlock balcony, and was prominently featured in the scene where a nuclear weapons satellite was jettisoned from the space station.

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