It has been hoped that the system would be used extensively for the analysis of previously acquired data, beginning shortly after delivery; however, very little such use has proved possible, essentially because of the unreliability of the 100-cpm card reader supplied by EMR. The lack of a line printer was also a factor. A more reliable reader has been purchased. The delivery of a line printer should rectify the second need.
The development of high-speed, buffered, time-of-flight front ends has been a continuing interest at Columbia. It is therefore difficult to estimate the precise costs of the time-of-flight system developed for use with the 6130. A rough estimate of the design and development time is approximately 3 engineer man years.
5. Lessons from Development and Testing Experience
Columbia chose to order the EMR 6130, even though at that time (1966) it was not in production, because it seemed a very powerful machine which matched the needs of the system planners. The alternate possibility open was to order a larger, much more expensive machine of proven capability. As it turned out, difficulties in the development of the 6130 caused a delay of over a year in the delivery of the main frame and of over two years in the delivery of the CRT display. (When these delays became apparent, EMR loaned Columbia a 24-bit computer and also a small display for use during the interim period.) The EMR 6130 is perhaps the most powerful 16-bit computer available today, in spite of one or two changes in the original specifications, but in order to get it Columbia apparently traded time for money.
6. Cost
The costs of the Columbia University EMR 6130 system are given in Table 3.
| TABLE 3 Cost of Columbia University EMR 6130 System (Prices from EMR Except where Indicated) | ||
| 1 | Central processor with 16k core memory | $65,500 |
| 1 | Additional 8k core memory | 17,850 |
| 1 | Teletype, model 35 | 1,930 |
| 2 | Word/byte buffered channels | 10,300 |
| 1 | Additional memory bus and control | 4,300 |
| 1 | Additional cabinet assembly | 5,000 |
| 1 | Card reader, 100 cpm | 4,100 |
| 1 | Magnetic disk and control | 16,800 |
| 1 | Tape transport and control | 26,000 |
| 1 | 8 levels, priority interrupt | 1,000 |
| 1 | CRT display, including vector generator and light pen | 27,750 |
| 1 | 300-lpm line printer[B] | 18,000 |
| $198,530 | ||
| [B] Purchased from printer manufacturer with 6130 interface. | ||