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The Apollo onboard computer

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40hz:
It's often been said: It ain't what ya got. It's how you use it that counts. I don't think there's ever been a better example of that than the onboard guidance computer used on the Apollo moon missions.

Think your aging Pentium laptop is too slow to get any real work done? Read on:

http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/07/20/how-powerful-was-the-apollo-11-computer/

How powerful was the Apollo 11 computer?

by Grant Robertson Jul 20th 2009 at 8:30PM

With all the buzz about the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing I got to thinking, how powerful were the computers that "took us to the Moon?" It turns out, they were nothing short of amazing. If you've never had a nerdy bone in your body, feel free to skip this post. But, if you ever laid on your back under the stars and thought about Mercury, Gemini, Apollo or the Space Shuttle, read on and see if you're as geek-struck as I was researching this.
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And if you're an ubergeek, you can download a working simulator of the Apollo Guidance Computer to get a feel for what it was like to use a bleeding edge real-time computer - back in 1969.

Virtual AGC and AGS

The purpose of this project is to provide a computer simulation of the onboard guidance computers used in the Apollo Program's lunar missions, and to generally allow you to learn about these guidance computers.
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Link: http://www.ibiblio.org/apollo/index.html#What_Is_An_AGC_



 8)

Innuendo:
Very interesting stuff, but you forgot the most important link.

Build an AGC in your basement:

http://klabs.org/history/build_agc/

40hz:
Build an AGC in your basement:
-Innuendo (July 21, 2009, 10:48 AM)
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I'm not THAT interested in authenticity. ;D

When it comes to chips, wirewrapping, and boards - been there/done that.

And believe me - the thrill is long gone. :P

mouser:
Build an AGC in your basement
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that is so cool.

ps. for those of you who are tempted to try making one, be warned, this is a 3ft x 5ft entity:
The Apollo onboard computer

MilesAhead:
Hmmmm, blows my mind the Moon Landing Stuff(tm) is 40 years old!  Just shows ta' go ya' once they've seen the rabbit disappear, it's boring the 2nd time around.  I'd have thought we'd be partying on Clavius by now!  Guess there needs to be a black flat stone emitting a radio signal before we'll go back. :)

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