UNIVAC 9400 plated wire memory
date: label: date made
content: circa 1965
name: label: maker
content: Sperry-Univac Computer Systems
notes: label: Description
content: The object consists of cartridge (carriage) which contains four planes of plated wire memroy. These plated wire units are protected by a series of metal and plastic plates and spacers. This unit is intact (all protective plates and covers are present, as well as the connector ribbon cables).A mark on a card in a plastic sleeve on the side of the object reads: UNIVAC (/) Stack No. 1 (/) Serial No. 622 (/). Further on this reads: Stack No. 2 (/) Serial No. 2428.
label: Description
content: According to the accession file, This type of memory is an American invention that, for a time, appeared to be the solution to the problem of ever growing costs of production of the standard magnetic core memory. The problems of producing the magnetic core memory devices had grown ever more complex as they were made to operate faster and faster. One aspect of this was manufacturing costs (and the fact that not all core planes were usable) plus the fact that the
label: Description
content: basic technology of magnetic core memory systems required that
label: Description
content: the system 'rewrite' the information back into memory every time
label: Description
content: the memory was read. The plated wire memory system was seen as
label: Description
content: the solution to both of these problems in that it could be
label: Description
content: created by 'high tech' plants in America (unlike the core memory
label: Description
content: which by this time was being produced in Asia and Latin America)
label: Description
content: and the fact that the basic technology did not require a 'rewrite' after the reading process and thus was suitable for inclusion in machines with a faster processing cycle. The technology never lived up to its initial expectations and, when integrated circuit memory systems began being produced the plated wire technology quickly vanished.
label: Description
content: Reference:
label: Description
content: Accession file 1987.0465.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Computers
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: OPM
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1987.0465.10.1
label: catalog number
content: 1987.0465.10.1
label: accession number
content: 1987.0465
objectType: label: Object Name
content: mainframe computer component
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 55.2 cm x 24.2 cm x 6.3 cm; 21 3/4 in x 9 1/2 in x 2 1/2 in