article · English
The Very First TELEFUNKEN Analog Computer
A photo-essay and technical description of the RA 1, the first analog computer built by TELEFUNKEN, developed around 1955-1956 by Dr. Kettel, Dr. Schmidt, Dr. Kley and others. The machine is a three-rack, electron-tube system with a +/-100 V machine unit, featuring diode function generators, parabola multipliers (using EAA91 tubes), coefficient potentiometers, summers/integrators, dual oscilloscopes, and a precision system timer. The article details the operating principles of the parabola multiplier (exploiting the identity xy = ((x+y)^2 - (x-y)^2)/4) and the integrator state machine, and notes the absence of a central patch panel in favor of per-drawer front-panel interconnects.
analog computer historyelectron tube computingparabola multipliersTELEFUNKEN RA 1