Computer from Nero Wolfe "Murder by the book"

[Thomas Koenig]

I just watched the episode "What Happened to April" from the 1981
TV series "Nero Wolfe". A computer at a law firm figures rather
prominently in the plot.

Has anybody seen that and know what system it was, by any chance?
It features tape a tape drive and numerous tapes, but seems to
be more of a microfiche system, or maybe a word processor (but no
printer in evidence). The manufacturer's label could not really
be read.

Or was it just random computer props put together?

[Quadibloc]

Post by Thomas Koenig
I just watched the episode "What Happened to April" from the 1981
TV series "Nero Wolfe". A computer at a law firm figures rather
prominently in the plot.

The episode is on YouTube, but I couldn't find a scene anywhere in it
that featured a computer. Are you sure you're thinking of the right
episode?

John Savard

[Thomas Koenig]

Post by Quadibloc

Post by Thomas Koenig
I just watched the episode "What Happened to April" from the 1981
TV series "Nero Wolfe". A computer at a law firm figures rather
prominently in the plot.

The episode is on YouTube,

Sorry, I mislabled the episode. What I mean is actually "Murder
by the Book".

What you find on YouTube isn't the correct episode either.
I only found a black-and-white one which is longer
than the DVD version I have (for unclear reasons) at

.

There, you can see the computer system starting at around 0:24:20
and 0:36:00. There clearly is a tape system, plus a terminal (0:24:47).

However, the quality of that particular video is even worse than
what I have on my DVD, so it is unlikely to be much help in recognizing
brand names.

[Quadibloc]

Post by Thomas Koenig
There, you can see the computer system starting at around 0:24:20
and 0:36:00. There clearly is a tape system, plus a terminal (0:24:47).

The poor quality of the video aside, it's still possible to answer your question
from it.

The tape drive, with two reels vertically one above the other, is clearly from
the 1950s, while the terminal is modern and thus from the 1970s. So it is
indeed "a random collection of computer props" and not an actual computer
system.

John Savard

[Bob Eager]

Post by Quadibloc
The tape drive, with two reels vertically one above the other, is
clearly from the 1950s,

Is that because the two reels are vertically one above the other, or
because there is something else you can see?

I would disagree with the former as a reason.

[Kerr-Mudd,John]

Post by Thomas Koenig

Post by Quadibloc

Post by Thomas Koenig
I just watched the episode "What Happened to April" from the 1981
TV series "Nero Wolfe". A computer at a law firm figures rather
prominently in the plot.

The episode is on YouTube,

Sorry, I mislabled the episode. What I mean is actually "Murder
by the Book".
What you find on YouTube isn't the correct episode either.
I only found a black-and-white one which is longer
than the DVD version I have (for unclear reasons) at
http://youtu.be/hRMbE8ScdtE .
There, you can see the computer system starting at around 0:24:20
and 0:36:00. There clearly is a tape system, plus a terminal

(0:24:47).

Post by Thomas Koenig
However, the quality of that particular video is even worse than
what I have on my DVD, so it is unlikely to be much help in recognizing
brand names.

http://youtu.be/hRMbE8ScdtE
shows the computer room. I can't help in identifying the equipment
though.

[Vir Campestris]

Post by Kerr-Mudd,John
http://youtu.be/hRMbE8ScdtE
shows the computer room. I can't help in identifying the equipment
though.

I'm not even sure that's a real tape drive, rather than something the
props department knocked up.

All the mainframe drives I used back in the 70s and 80s had the reels
offset to one side. The head mechanism was roughly level with the reels,
and of significant size.

This was true of both the ones that used tension arms, and those that
used vacuum chambers to allow the tape over the head to accelerate much
more rapidly than the reels could.

Andy

[Paul_news]

Post by Vir Campestris

Post by Kerr-Mudd,John
http://youtu.be/hRMbE8ScdtE
shows the computer room. I can't help in identifying the equipment
though.

I'm not even sure that's a real tape drive, rather than something the
props department knocked up.
All the mainframe drives I used back in the 70s and 80s had the reels
offset to one side. The head mechanism was roughly level with the reels,
and of significant size.
This was true of both the ones that used tension arms, and those that
used vacuum chambers to allow the tape over the head to accelerate much
more rapidly than the reels could.
Andy

The BASF tape drives our site in the 70s/80s had reels above & below.
Those don't look similar, ours had take-up reel behind a door.
Side by side drives were wider, an issue for small sites/many drives.

Paul.

[Scott Lurndal]

Post by Paul_news

Post by Vir Campestris

Post by Kerr-Mudd,John
http://youtu.be/hRMbE8ScdtE
shows the computer room. I can't help in identifying the equipment
though.

I'm not even sure that's a real tape drive, rather than something the
props department knocked up.
All the mainframe drives I used back in the 70s and 80s had the reels
offset to one side. The head mechanism was roughly level with the reels,
and of significant size.
This was true of both the ones that used tension arms, and those that
used vacuum chambers to allow the tape over the head to accelerate much
more rapidly than the reels could.
Andy

The BASF tape drives our site in the 70s/80s had reels above & below.
Those don't look similar, ours had take-up reel behind a door.
Side by side drives were wider, an issue for small sites/many drives.

The DEC TU45 on the VAX had over-and-under reels.

[Vir Campestris]

Post by Scott Lurndal

Post by Paul_news
The BASF tape drives our site in the 70s/80s had reels above & below.
Those don't look similar, ours had take-up reel behind a door.
Side by side drives were wider, an issue for small sites/many drives.

Were the reels in the centre, or offset?

Post by Scott Lurndal
The DEC TU45 on the VAX had over-and-under reels.

Given the model number I can look at a picture. It had vacuum chambers
to the left of the reels, so the reels were offset to the right.

Andy

[Paul_news]

Post by Vir Campestris

Post by Scott Lurndal

Post by Paul_news
The BASF tape drives our site in the 70s/80s had reels above & below.
Those don't look similar, ours had take-up reel behind a door.
Side by side drives were wider, an issue for small sites/many drives.

Were the reels in the centre, or offset?

Similar to this I think, offset to the left.
<Loading Image...>
Take up spool under vacuum slots.
Press 1 button so glass slides down
put tape in auto-load collar on drive
press a button and glass closes, tape loads & readies.

I could not find an image of the drives we had.
Ours were BASF later re-badged as Comparex when we got their m/f.
Not sure who made them and who badged, m/f later badged Hitachi.

Post by Vir Campestris

Post by Scott Lurndal
The DEC TU45 on the VAX had over-and-under reels.

Given the model number I can look at a picture. It had vacuum chambers
to the left of the reels, so the reels were offset to the right.
Andy

[Jon Elson]

Post by Vir Campestris

Post by Scott Lurndal

Post by Paul_news
The BASF tape drives our site in the 70s/80s had reels above & below.
Those don't look similar, ours had take-up reel behind a door.
Side by side drives were wider, an issue for small sites/many drives.

Were the reels in the centre, or offset?

Post by Scott Lurndal
The DEC TU45 on the VAX had over-and-under reels.

All tape drives that fit into a 19" rack were top/bottom, as the reels were
12" diameter. Yes, the reels were to one side, and the head and capstan
were on the other side. Pertec, Kennedy, Digi-Data, CDC and plenty of other
companies made these drives.

The IBM 24xx series drives had to be much wider to accommdate side-by-side
reels.

Jon

[Vir Campestris]

Post by Jon Elson
All tape drives that fit into a 19" rack were top/bottom, as the reels were
12" diameter. Yes, the reels were to one side, and the head and capstan
were on the other side. Pertec, Kennedy, Digi-Data, CDC and plenty of other
companies made these drives.
The IBM 24xx series drives had to be much wider to accommdate side-by-side
reels.

And the ones in the OP were symmetrical. See

Post by Jon Elson

Post by Thomas Koenig
http://youtu.be/hRMbE8ScdtE .
There, you can see the computer system starting at around 0:24:20
and 0:36:00. There clearly is a tape system, plus a terminal
(0:24:47).

I think they were mocked up props, not real ones.

Andy

[Quadibloc]

Post by Vir Campestris
I think they were mocked up props, not real ones.

They're not similar to the 19-inch rack vertical reel models discussed
in this thread. But real tape drives looking like them did exist, but in
the vacuum tube eara of computing. It would have been cheaper to
use real old junk than have someone make a prop.

John Savard

[Vir Campestris]

Post by Quadibloc
They're not similar to the 19-inch rack vertical reel models discussed
in this thread. But real tape drives looking like them did exist, but in
the vacuum tube eara of computing. It would have been cheaper to
use real old junk than have someone make a prop.

I'm old, but not that old :)

Do you have any pictures?

Andy

[Joe Pfeiffer]

Post by Thomas Koenig

Post by Quadibloc

Post by Thomas Koenig
I just watched the episode "What Happened to April" from the 1981
TV series "Nero Wolfe". A computer at a law firm figures rather
prominently in the plot.

The episode is on YouTube,

Sorry, I mislabled the episode. What I mean is actually "Murder
by the Book".
What you find on YouTube isn't the correct episode either.
I only found a black-and-white one which is longer
than the DVD version I have (for unclear reasons) at
http://youtu.be/hRMbE8ScdtE .
There, you can see the computer system starting at around 0:24:20
and 0:36:00. There clearly is a tape system, plus a terminal (0:24:47).

I'm pretty sure that terminal is a TEC Model 70. I had one in the
1980s -- weighed a ton, but had a nice separate keyboard (mechanical
keys, of course, but I don't remember it sounding like a typewriter!).
I haven't been able to find any real information about it on line in a
brief search, but here's a photo (not my auction):

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1977-TEC-Model-70-CRT-Terminal-Ad-Stability-/224103237620

Post by Thomas Koenig
However, the quality of that particular video is even worse than
what I have on my DVD, so it is unlikely to be much help in recognizing
brand names.

[Thomas Koenig]

Post by Joe Pfeiffer

Post by Thomas Koenig

Post by Quadibloc

Post by Thomas Koenig
I just watched the episode "What Happened to April" from the 1981
TV series "Nero Wolfe". A computer at a law firm figures rather
prominently in the plot.

The episode is on YouTube,

Sorry, I mislabled the episode. What I mean is actually "Murder
by the Book".
What you find on YouTube isn't the correct episode either.
I only found a black-and-white one which is longer
than the DVD version I have (for unclear reasons) at
http://youtu.be/hRMbE8ScdtE .
There, you can see the computer system starting at around 0:24:20
and 0:36:00. There clearly is a tape system, plus a terminal (0:24:47).

I'm pretty sure that terminal is a TEC Model 70.

Yes, that looks a lot like it.

Doesn't really fit the tape drive, though.

The storyline contains an amusing early twist of the password
guessing game that has become so popular later. In this case,
it's not a password, it is a filename that needs to be guessed
in order to access the file.

Apparently, the scriptwriters had not yet heard of the "ls" or
"dir" commands, they probably hadn't yet used a PC.

[Joy Beeson]

On Tue, 19 Jan 2021 18:50:49 -0000 (UTC), Thomas Koenig

Post by Thomas Koenig
In this case,
it's not a password, it is a filename that needs to be guessed
in order to access the file.

That's been true of shopping for ages -- I couldn't buy a grease
pencil until I learned that it was a china marker.

It's particularly annoying when the curb-service web page advertises a
product that the search box is confident doesn't exist.

But I'll be allowed to go into a grocery store starting St. Patrick's
Day!

Assuming that California does nothing obviously stupid, such as
exporting the new strains they have incubated.

[maus]

Post by Joy Beeson
On Tue, 19 Jan 2021 18:50:49 -0000 (UTC), Thomas Koenig

Post by Thomas Koenig
In this case,
it's not a password, it is a filename that needs to be guessed
in order to access the file.

That's been true of shopping for ages -- I couldn't buy a grease
pencil until I learned that it was a china marker.
It's particularly annoying when the curb-service web page advertises a
product that the search box is confident doesn't exist.
But I'll be allowed to go into a grocery store starting St. Patrick's
Day!

Don't be too sure. The usual Winter sicknesses subside after 1st April
or so, and those set above us by God, may allow some letup then.

Post by Joy Beeson
Assuming that California does nothing obviously stupid, such as
exporting the new strains they have incubated.

[Peter Flass]

Post by Joy Beeson
On Tue, 19 Jan 2021 18:50:49 -0000 (UTC), Thomas Koenig

Post by Thomas Koenig
In this case,
it's not a password, it is a filename that needs to be guessed
in order to access the file.

That's been true of shopping for ages -- I couldn't buy a grease
pencil until I learned that it was a china marker.
It's particularly annoying when the curb-service web page advertises a
product that the search box is confident doesn't exist.
But I'll be allowed to go into a grocery store starting St. Patrick's
Day!

About the same for us, assuming they come thru with our second doses on
schedule. I never thought I’d be so excited by the thought of going into a
grocery store and shopping.

Post by Joy Beeson
Assuming that California does nothing obviously stupid, such as
exporting the new strains they have incubated.

[maus]

Post by Peter Flass

Post by Joy Beeson
On Tue, 19 Jan 2021 18:50:49 -0000 (UTC), Thomas Koenig

Post by Thomas Koenig
In this case,
it's not a password, it is a filename that needs to be guessed
in order to access the file.

That's been true of shopping for ages -- I couldn't buy a grease
pencil until I learned that it was a china marker.
It's particularly annoying when the curb-service web page advertises a
product that the search box is confident doesn't exist.
But I'll be allowed to go into a grocery store starting St. Patrick's
Day!

About the same for us, assuming they come thru with our second doses on
schedule. I never thought I’d be so excited by the thought of going into a
grocery store and shopping.

Post by Joy Beeson
Assuming that California does nothing obviously stupid, such as
exporting the new strains they have incubated.

I have a suggestion for a thheme song for this epidemic, the Australian
song;

``The Pub with no beer.''

[Quadibloc]

Post by Joe Pfeiffer
I'm pretty sure that terminal is a TEC Model 70.

Interestingly enough, Human Design Systems modified and rebadged some
of them as the Concept/APL terminal.

John Savard

[Joe Pfeiffer]

Post by Quadibloc

Post by Joe Pfeiffer
I'm pretty sure that terminal is a TEC Model 70.

Interestingly enough, Human Design Systems modified and rebadged some
of them as the Concept/APL terminal.

Interesting! Though I think that's a later model -- vents different,
base different.

[Quadibloc]

Post by Thomas Koenig
It features tape a tape drive and numerous tapes, but seems to
be more of a microfiche system,

As I noted, I didn't see any computer, but I can think of one system that
had tapes and yet was sort of like a microfiche system.

The Ampex Videofile.

John Savard