- first/early use of core memory (6 microsecond cycle time)
- first/early use of modems over phone lines
- Memory was 64 K 32 bit words, later another 4 K was added making
69 K words
- Drums for external storage, 150 K words
- used standard size vacuum tubes (no miniture tubes), physically
extremely large -
- each computer of a pair had about 58,000 vacuum tubes and
consumed one million watts. And
another million watts to cool it.
- used for command and control of air defense units. There were
22 SAGE computer pairs and associated consoles,
communications gear, ... in installations about the U.S.
- some were in "hardened" mountains, others were in normal buildings
on SAC (Stragic Air Command) bases.
- Very vulnerable to jamming, useful only in peace time
or for VIP demos
- Installation started in 1958, many in service until 1985
Programmer Card - Front Side
and Back Side,
courtesy Bill Kirkpatrick
From Roger Lewis - Dec 27, 2006
Memory was 64 K 32 bit words, later another 4 K was added making 69 K words.
Actually it was quite the reverse. The early Q7's were installed with only 2 each 4K memories
fondly called "shower stalls" and the test program was called MEM01.
Later on the 65K memory was retrofitted to replace one of the 4K units
including the associated driver frames.
It was a massive retrofit and as I remember it, required the IBM team to work 7 days a week
for 6 weeks on all three shifts with extended shift lengths.
Rumor had it that each retrofit cost as much as the associated computer originally cost.
At the completion, the test programs were then called BIGMEM and LILMEM
reflecting the size differences.
Roger Lewis
13022 Psomas Way
Los Angeles, CA 90066-2213
From Les Earnest replying to a question about "Popular [DD] Cooper Myths Debunked" - Feb 2007
SAGE computers did record radar data on magnetic drums but kept only
about two minutes worth at any given time and discarded old hits as new
data came in. These data were used by the computer to automatically
track aircraft and those tracks often were recorded on magnetic tape.
However this process would not have "seen" a diverging radar blip unless
the radar data was being displayed (it usually wasn't) and it was
noticed by the Intercept Director following that flight.
-Les Earnest, who designed the Intercept Director's console layout
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Fully deployed by 1963,
the IBM-built early warning system remained operational until 1984.
With 23 direction centers situated on the nation's northern, eastern,
and western boundaries, SAGE pioneered the use of computer control over large,
geographically distributed systems.
A Sage Talk at the Computer History Museum
Locations of SAGE systems
as per http://www.radomes.org/museum/
DC-1: McGuire AFB, NJ DC-12 / CC-3: McChord AFB, WA
DC-2: Stewart AFB, NY DC-13: Adair AFS, OR
DC-3 / CC-1: Hancock Field, NY DC-14: K. I. Sawyer AFB, MI
DC-4: Fort Lee AFS, VA DC-14: K. I. Sawyer AFB, MI
DC-5: Topsham AFS, ME (blockhouse demolished) DC-15: Larson AFB, WA
DC-6: Fort Custer, MI DC-16: Stead AFB, NV
DC-7 / CC-2: Truax Field, WI DC-17: Norton AFB, CA
DC-8: Richards-Gebaur AFB, MO DC-18: Beale AFB, CA
DC-9: Gunter AFB, AL DC-19 / CC-4*: Minot AFB, ND (* CC-4 blockhouse built,
but AN/FSQ-8 never installed)
DC-10: Duluth IAP, MN DC-20: Malmstrom AFB, MT
DC-11: Grand Forks AFB, ND DC-21: Luke AFB, AZ
DC-22: Sioux City AFS, IA
Thomas E. Page, tepage @ hotmail , com writes-
"By the way, the AN/FSQ-32 was to have been the "SuperSAGE" computer
for planned underground SuperSAGE Combat Control Centers. IBM developed
the computer (based upon the earlier AN/FSQ-7 and AN/FSQ-8 SAGE computers),
but the SuperSAGE facilities were cancelled. One site was to have been near
Cornwall, NY -- see http://www.radomes.org/museum/documents/CornwallNYnyt59.html.
"Many sites were examined for SuperSAGE. One was at Kennesaw Mountain,
Georgia ... Another was at White Horse Mountain, at Cornwall, New York ...
White Horse Mountain is just up the road from West Point." - "Shield of Faith"
by Bruce Briggs (Simon and Shuster, 1988). Reportedly, the AN/FSQ-32 computer
itself did find other aplications -- just not SAGE air-defense aplications."
Sage II solid state computer
Bob Boden - bobjoy2 (at) hotmail dot com - October 2006 writes
"
I wrote the system test programs for the Sage FSQ-7 output system in 1954
and 1955. Later my group worked on the RTA computer which was a precursor
for the solid-state Sage II computer.
"In 1958 I was made the Development Engineering Manager for Central
Processor, Channels, and Operator's Console for the Sage II computer. I
believe that this was the largest transistor computer ever built. It was
intended to replace the old vacuum tube FSQ-7 systems. The System
Development Corporation did our programming.
"We completed the design (which used the Philco MADT transistors -- type
2n501 if I remember rightly) and began physical layout and construction only
to have the government cancel the Sage Program. Our design tested out
beautifully, but only two machines were ever built. One went to SDC in LA
for use in programming, the other went to SAC.
"Why do I never see any reference to the Sage II computer? It was one of the
first 100% self-checked machines. It had a 48 bit word. 6.4mc clock
frequency. It used liquid cooling. SDC said in 1966 that the machine they
had was the most reliable and maintainable they had ever worked with."
Comment on above by Gordon Bell - gbell (at) microsoft dot com - October 2006
"Tom Marill and Larry Roberts performed the first computer-computer network experiment between the Q-32 and TX-2 (I believe).
"See Larry's page http://www.ziplink.net/~lroberts/InternetChronology.html says:
Oct-65 First Actual Network Experiment, Lincoln Labs TX-2 tied to SDC's Q32, Lawrence Roberts, MIT Lincoln Labs. This experiment was the first time two computers talked to each other and the first time packets were used to communicate between computers. "
SAGE Reunion - received May 1007
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The Western Electric Defense Activities Engineering Services (ADES) Alumni Group held its 25th reunion in Houston this past weekend, April, 27-29. These were the people who integrated and tested the SAGE system at 23 sectors covering the USA back in the late 50's and early 60's.
About 500 engineers and other technical personnel were hired by ADES, trained at MITRE/Lincoln Labs, formed into five teams moving from sector to sector, integrating and testing this first big network of radars, computer centers, air bases, other inputs and ground to air data links. It also tied into the NIKE complex of ground to air missile sites.
Now all in their 70's they still recall the lure of the open road and the early days of computing and data transmission.
The 2008 meeting is tentatively set for San Diego.
R. F. Martina
9870 Jennifer Lane
Shreveport LA 71106
318-797-5419 rfjm9870@aol.com
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From Dale Williams May 2004
>> I was one of the Airman that Blue Suited the Q-7 at
>> Malmstrom AFB, Great Falls, Mt in 1963.
>Question:
> 1) what is "Blue Suited"?
When the SAGE project first became an active weapons system for the Air Defense Command, the maintenance on the FSQ.-7 (&8) was preformed by IBM. In the early 60's the Air Force decided to take over maintenance or "Blue Suit" maintenance. It was a term used by the Air Force (at least at that time) to signify that Air Force personnel would be doing the job instead of civilian personnel. Did I clear that up or make it murkier?
>> Spent three years working in the Central Computer section
>> of the Q-7.
> Hmmm - sound like "Blue Suited" is maintenance?
> A person trained/specialized in one section?
When I first went into computers in the Air Force (I cross-trained out of air-craft radio maintenance), it was divided up into three sections. We were some of the first in the Air Force to be in the new field, computers. The section you were in was determined by an IQ test. If you did good in logical thinking, you were assigned to the central computer section. For what is a computer, but a logical thinking machine. If you did good in mechanical, you were assigned to input/output. That included card readers and card punches, printers, tape drives and computer entry punches. Plus the logic that controlled the input/output between the Long Range Radar sites and the Q-7. And the logic for the X-tell (cross talking) between the other Q-7 sites and the forward-tel and back-tel to the Q-8 sites. The FSQ.-7 was a direction center and for every so many Q-7's there was a FSQ-8 which was the control center. From there it went on up to NORAD.
They later determined this was not the way to break down the maintenance, as the computers and the peripheral equipment became more sophisticated. The transition from electron tubes to transistors and then on to chips made the computer so small that it just was not feasible to divide the maintenance up anymore. So you worked on everything as you were assigned from one system to another.
> Got any "war stories" that techies might enjoy?
>> The other two sections being Displays and Input/Output.
>> I got to work on the Q-7 in its final days at Luke AFB, Az.
>> in the early 70's. I was only there for about a year or so.
>> It wasn't nearly as exciting as the my first time up at Great Falls.
>> I had worked on a whole lot newer computer in the mean time,
>> but not physically bigger.
> Easy to believe ;-)
Also, you were actually in side the computer when you preformed maintenance. Everything was bigger than life with the Q-7. So you could, with an o-scope, look at each and every bit of the word as it worked its way through the computer. It was really a simple machine to work on, when I compare it to later and physically smaller, but much faster systems. I did work on other large systems, the Philco 2000 and 1000 at NORAD's Cheyenne Mountain Complex and the IBM 360 and 370 at a satellite monitoring site in Australia. But, even if they were larger and faster computers, it just wasn't the same as the old Q-7.
>> The Q-7 was the easiest computer I worked on,
>> more forgiving of my mistakes.
>> Dale Williams
>> blackkoko22@yahoo.com
I hope this clears up some of the questions and just doesn't generate a whole lot more. But if I can answer any other questions I will certainly try. It does strain the old memory going back 40 years to remember things. But it is fun remembering.
Dale
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