Mass Memory Unit from Space Shuttle

[Steven Canning]

Joe,

I tried to send you an Email ( offline ) from the address on your webpage.
No go. I was trying to spare the rest of the list our ramblings in-so-far as
to the possible purchase of an MMU or two. Please feel free to contact me
offline concerning same.

Best regards, Steven

Joe,

I'm taking a stab at this being your correct Email address ( from your
homepage ). You do indeed have the Mass Memory Unit as described below ( in
a post that hasn't " posted " yet ). Where abouts in the country are you
located ( I'm in Southern California very near Anaheim ). The reason I'm
asking is if possible I would drive some ( reasonable ) distance to obtain
an MMU or two. I would think shipping might be costly ( or not ... ) ? Have
you thought about a price for these guys ( my first-born is spoken for
unfortunately ) ? Believe it or not, new these sold for about $250 K as I
recall. I'm not trying to cheat the system here, just getting impatient with
the slow postings... Please advise ...

Best regards, Steven Canning

----- Original Message -----
From: "Steven Canning" <cannings at earthlink.net>
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic Posts Only" <cctech at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Monday, September 05, 2005 1:35 PM
Subject: Re: Mass Memory Unit from Space Shuttle


> John is correct about the 5 Volt logic control signals. The prime power is
> +28 VDC spacecraft power. They have in-rush current limiters on the prime
> power input and will run down to + 24 VDC and up to +32 VDC ( there is a
> pre-regulator up front ).  These are linear scan units ( not helical scan
> like a VCR ). Sounds like you have the MMU ( Mass Memory Unit, the smaller
> one ) and not the STR ( Standard Tape Recorder, the big guy ). These units
> ( MMU ) were digital only, and were used to download programs to the five
> general purpose IBM computers ( configured like IBM 360s ). Part of this
> function was to drive the " glass " dashboard ( CRTs) that provided info
on
> engines, etc. There was not enough room for all the standard instruments
on
> the " dash " that would have been required. So you could pull-up " virtual
> instruments " like they have on the Toyota Prius dashboard. The two tape
> reels were not driven, but maintained tape tension through differential
> gears connected to a " gyrator " spring that provided relatively constant
> torque between the two counter rotating reels. The tape was " pulled "
> through a proprietary delta drive capstan system which incorporated the
read
> / write heads. Remember this thing has to survive the G-force of liftoff
and
> run in a micro-gravity environment.
>
> Best regards, Steven Canning
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "John C. Ellingboe" <john at guntersville.net>
> To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
> <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
> Sent: Saturday, September 03, 2005 7:39 PM
> Subject: Re: Mass Memory Unit from Space Shuttle
>
>
> > "Joe R." wrote:
> > >
> > >     I found a pile of these things this morning. They are made by
> Odetics
> > > in Anaheim Ca. After I got home with them I realized that they are for
> the
> > > space shuttle. Does anyone know anything about them? I THINK they use
a
> > > tape drive inside. I haven't opened one up yet but I saw the remains
of
> a
> > > tape drive at the same place and I think it was the guts out of one of
> these.
> > >
> > >    Joe
> >
> > I'm not sure about how many the shuttle used but there is one on
> > each solid rocket booster.  The had two tape reels stacked on
> > top of each other.  The control signals are 5V logic and power
> > is probably 24V DC.  I try to locate a contact to get some data
> > in them.
>
>