page_title: UNIVAC
section_title: Models
hierarchical_section_title: UNIVAC / Models
caption_attribution_description: English: A control panel for a UNIVAC 1232 Computer. This particular computer was used roughly from 1967 to 1990 at the U.S. Air Force's Satellite Control Facility in Sunnyvale, California. This computer is the military version of the UNIVAC 490 general purpose commercial computer. Seen at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center.
context_page_description: UNIVAC is a line of electronic digital stored-program computers starting with the products of the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation. Later the name was applied to a division of the Remington Rand company and successor organizations.
  The BINAC, built by the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation, was the first general-purpose computer for commercial use. The descendants of the later UNIVAC 1107 continue today as products of the Unisys company.
context_section_description: In the course of its history, UNIVAC produced a number of separate model ranges. Early UNIVAC 1100 series models were vacuum tube computers.
  The original model range was the UNIVAC I (UNIVersal Automatic Computer I), the second commercial computer made in the United States. The main memory consisted of tanks of liquid mercury implementing delay line memory, arranged in 1000 words of 12 alphanumeric characters each. The first machine was delivered on 31 March 1951.
  The UNIVAC II was an improvement to the UNIVAC I that UNIVAC first delivered in 1958. The improvements included magnetic (non-mercury) core memory of 2000 to 10000 words, UNISERVO II tape drives which could use either the old UNIVAC I metal tapes or the new PET film tapes, and some circuits that were transistorized (although it was still a vacuum tube computer). It was fully compatible with existing UNIVAC I programs for both code and data. The UNIVAC II also added some instructions to the UNIVAC I's instruction set.
  Sperry Rand began shipment of UNIVAC III in 1962, and produced 96 UNIVAC III systems. Unlike the UNIVAC I and UNIVAC II, it was a binary machine as well as maintaining support for all UNIVAC I and UNIVAC II decimal and alphanumeric data formats for backward compatibility. This was the last of the original UNIVAC machines.
  The UNIVAC Solid State was a 2-address, decimal computer, with memory on a rotating drum with 5000 signed 10 digit words, aimed at the general purpose business market. It came in two versions: the Solid State 80 (IBM-Hollerith 80 column cards) and the Solid State 90 (Remington-Rand 90 column cards). This computer used magnetic amplifiers, not transistors, because the transistors then available had highly variable characteristics and were not sufficiently reliable. The magnetic amplifiers were based on tiny magnetic cores with two wire windings. The magnetic amplifiers required powerful pulses of heavy current produced by a transmitter-type vacuum-tube, of a type still used in amateur radio final amplifiers. Thus the Solid State depended, at the heart of its operations, on a vacuum tube.
  The UNIVAC 1100/2200 series is a series of compatible 36-bit transistorized computer systems initially made by Sperry Rand. The series continues to be supported today by Unisys Corporation as the ClearPath Forward Dorado Series.
  Remington Rand 409 was a control panel programmed punched card calculator, designed in 1949.
  The UNIVAC 418 (aka 1219) was an 18-bit word core memory machine. Over the three different models, more than 392 systems were manufactured.
  The UNIVAC 490 was a 30-bit word core memory machine with 16K or 32K words; 4.8 microsecond cycle time.  The UNIVAC 1232 was a military version of the 490.
  The UNIVAC 492 is similar to the UNIVAC 490, but with extended memory to 64K 30-bit words.
  The UNIVAC 494 was a 30-bit word machine and successor to the UNIVAC 490/492 with faster CPU and 131K (later 262K) core memory. Up to 24 I/O channels were available and the system was usually shipped with UNIVAC FH880 or UNIVAC FH432 or FH1782 magnetic drum storage. Basic operating system was OMEGA (successor to REX for the 490) although custom operating systems were also used (e.g. CONTORTS for airline reservations).
  The UNIVAC 1004 was a plug-board programmed punched card data processing system, introduced in 1962 by UNIVAC. Total memory was 961 characters (6 bits) of core memory. Peripherals were a card reader (400 cards/minute), a card punch (200 cards/minute) using proprietary 90-column, round-hole cards or IBM-compatible, 80-column cards, a drum printer (400 lines/minute) and a Uniservo tape drive. The 1004 was also supported as a remote card reader & printer via synchronous communication services. A U.S. Navy (Weapons Station, Concord) 1004 was dedicated to printing from tape as a means of offloading the task from their Solid State 80 mainframe, which produced the tapes. A plug-board program called Emulator was widely installed  to convert 1004s to stored-program operation, reading in instructions from program decks of cards which determined the 
caption: Control panel for UNIVAC 1232
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