A Modular Analogue Computer

June 12, 2023 by Jenny List 20 Comments

We are all used to modular construction in the analogue synth world, to the extent that there’s an accepted standard for it in EuroRack. But the same techniques are just as useful wherever else analogue circuits need to be configured on the fly, such as in an analogue computer. It’s something [Rainer Glaschick] has pursued, with his Flexible Analog Computer, an analogue computer made from a set of modules mounted on breadboard strips.

Standard modules are an adder and an integrator, with the adder also having inverter, comparator, and precision rectifier functions. The various functions can be easily configured by means of jumpers, and there are digital switches on board to enable or disable outputs and inputs. he’s set up a moon landing example to demonstrate the machine in practice.

We’re not going to pretend to be analogue computer experts here at Hackaday,but we naturally welcome any foray into analogue circuitry lest it become a lost art. If you’d like to experiment with analogue computing there are other projects out there to whet your appetite, and of course they don’t even need to be electronic.

A set of solderless breadboards with op amps and their functions annotated

Op-Amp Challenge: Virtual Ball-in-a-Box Responds To Your Motions

June 7, 2023 by Robin Kearey 5 Comments

With the incredible variety of projects submitted to our Op-Amp Contest, you’d almost forget that operational amplifiers were originally invented to perform mathematical operations, specifically inside analog computers. One popular “Hello World” kind of program for these computers is the “ball-in-a-box”, in which the computer simulates what happens when you drop a bouncy ball into a rigid box. [wlf647] has recreated this program using a handful of op amps and a classic display, and added a twist by making the system sensitive to gravity.

All the physics simulation work is performed by a set of TL072 JFET input op amps. Four are configured as integrators that simulate the motion of the ball in the X and Y directions, while four others serve as comparators that detect the ball’s collisions with the edges of the box and give it a push in the opposite direction. Three more op amps are connected to form a quadrature oscillator, which makes a set of sine and cosine waves that draw a circle representing the ball.

The simulator’s output signals are connected to a tiny viewfinder CRT as well as a speaker that makes a sound whenever the ball hits one of the screen’s edges. This makes for a great ball-in-box display already, but what really makes this build special is the addition of an analog MEMS accelerometer that modifies the gravity vector in the simulation.

If you tilt or shake the sensor, the virtual box experiences a similar motion, which gives the simulation a beautiful live connection to the real world. You can see the result in a demo video [wlf647] recently posted.

The whole setup is currently sitting on a solderless breadboard, but [wlf647] is planning to integrate everything onto a PCB small enough to mount on the viewfinder, turning it into a self-contained motion simulator. Analog computers are perfect for this kind of work, and while they may seem old-fashioned, new ones are still being developed.

Inside Globus, A Soviet-Era Analog Space Computer

January 23, 2023 by Dan Maloney 13 Comments

Whenever [Ken Shirriff] posts something, it ends up being a fascinating read. Usually it’s a piece of computer history, decapped and laid bare under his microscope where it undergoes reverse engineering and analysis to a degree that should be hard to follow, but he still somehow manages to make it understandable. And the same goes for this incredible Soviet analog flight computer, even though there’s barely any silicon inside.

The artifact in question was officially designated the “Индикатор Навигационный Космический,” which roughly translates to “space navigation indicator.” It mercifully earned the nickname “Globus” at some point, understandable given the prominent mechanized globe the device features. Globus wasn’t actually linked to any kind of inertial navigation inputs, but rather was intended to provide cosmonauts with a visual indication of where their spacecraft was relative to the surface of the Earth. As such it depended on inputs from the cosmonauts, like an initial position and orbital altitude. From there, a complicated and absolutely gorgeous gear train featuring multiple differential gears advanced the globe, showing where the spacecraft currently was.

Those of you hoping for a complete teardown will be disappointed; the device, which bears evidence of coming from the time of the Apollo-Soyuz collaboration in 1975, is far too precious to be taken to bits, and certainly looks like it would put up a fight trying to get it back together. But [Ken] still manages to go into great depth, and reveals many of its secrets. Cool features include the geopolitically fixed orbital inclination; the ability to predict a landing point from a deorbit burn, also tinged with Cold War considerations; and the instrument’s limitations, like only supporting circular orbits, which prompted cosmonauts to call for its removal. But versions of Globus nonetheless appeared in pretty much everything the Soviets flew from 1961 to 2002. Talk about staying power!

Sure, the “glass cockpit” of modern space vehicles is more serviceable, but just for aesthetics alone, we think every crewed spacecraft should sport something like Globus. [Ken] did a great job reverse-engineering this, and we really appreciate the tour. And from the sound of it, [Curious Marc] had a hand in the effort, so maybe we’ll get a video too. Fingers crossed.

Thanks to [saintaardvark] for the tip.

Circuit VR: The Wheatstone Bridge Analog Computer

March 31, 2022 by Al Williams 13 Comments

We are always impressed with something so simple can actually be so complex. For example, what would you think goes into an analog computer? Of course, a “real” analog computer has opamps that can do logarithms, square roots, multiply, and divide. But would it surprise you that you can make an analog device like a slide rule using a Wheatstone bridge — essentially two voltage dividers. You don’t even need any active devices at all. It is an old idea and one that used to show up in electronic magazines now and again. I’ll show you how they work and simulate the device so you don’t have to build it unless you just want to.

A voltage divider is one of the easiest circuits in the world to analyze. Consider two resistors Ra and Rb in series. Voltage comes in at the top of Ra and the bottom of Rb is grounded. The node connecting Ra and Rb — let’s call it Z — is what we’ll consider the output.

Let’s say we have a 10 V battery feeding A and a perfect voltmeter that doesn’t load the circuit connected to Z. By Kirchoff’s current law we know the current through Ra and Rb must be the same. After all, there’s nowhere else for it to go. We also know the voltage drop across Ra plus the voltage drop across Rb must equal to 10 V. Kirchoff, conservation of energy, whatever you want to call it. Let’s call these quantities I, Va, and Vb. Continue reading “Circuit VR: The Wheatstone Bridge Analog Computer” →

Analog Computer Made From LEGO Predicts Tides

February 1, 2022 by Robin Kearey 4 Comments

Although the tides in the ocean are caused by the motion of the Sun and the Moon, both of which are easy to observe, accurately predicting the tide more than a few days in advance turns out to be rather difficult. The math behind the tidal movement is so complex that some of the earliest analog computers were built specifically to perform tide calculations. Sir William Thomson (better known as Lord Kelvin) designed one such “tide-predicting machine”, an impressive arrangement of gears and pulleys, back in the late 19th century.

[Pepijn de Vos] built a modern interpretation of Thomson’s machine out of LEGO parts, and it’s no less impressive than the original. A total of 96 LEGO gears move perfectly in sync to the ocean’s natural rhythms, while a set of pulleys connect four banks of gears together to create the sum of the constituent frequencies. An ultrasonic sensor reads the output value and sends the result back to a PC.

One interesting problem that [Pepijn] ran into, and which he explains in great detail on his blog, is that LEGO gears can only provide a very limited set of gear ratios. In order to match the tide calculations to any kind of precision, he needed to connect many gears in series without creating too much friction and backlash in the mechanism. Optimizing this setup was a non-trivial task that required a significant amount of computing power by itself.

As you can see in the video embedded below, the machine makes beautifully smooth movements, which correspond quite accurately to the actual motion of tides. If you’re interested in the science behind analog tide predictors, we’ve got an in-depth article about just that.

Continue reading “Analog Computer Made From LEGO Predicts Tides” →

Forget Digital Computing, You Need An Analog Computer

October 3, 2021 by Dave Rowntree 61 Comments

The analog computer of decades-gone-by is something many of us younger engineers never got the chance to experience first hand. It’s pretty much a case of reading about them on these fine pages or perhaps looking at a piece of one behind glass in one of the more interesting museums out there. But now, there is another option, (THAT) The Analog Thing. Developed by Berlin-based Analog computer-on-chip specialist Anabrid, THAT is an Open Source analog computer you can build yourself (eventually) or buy from them fully assembled. At least, that’s their plan.

From the 1970s onwards, digital computers became powerful enough to replace analog computers in pretty much every area, and with the increased accuracy this brought, the old analog beasts became obsolete overnight. Now, there seems to be a move to shift back a little, with hybridized analog-digital approaches looking good for some applications, especially where precision is not paramount. After all, that pile of fatty grey matter between your ears is essentially a big analog computer, and that’s pretty good at problem solving.

Looking over the project Wiki there are a few application examples and some explanatory notes. Schematics are shown, albeit only images for now. We can’t find the PCB files either, but the assembly instructions show many bodge wires, so we guess they’re re-spinning the PCB to apply fixes before releasing them properly. This is clearly work-in-progress and as they say on the main site, their focus is on chips for hybrid analog-digital computing, with a focus on energy-efficient approximate methods. With that in mind, we can forgive that the community-focused learning tools are still being worked on. All that said, this is still a very interesting project, and definitely would be a Christmas present this scribe would be more than happy to unwrap.

Continue reading “Forget Digital Computing, You Need An Analog Computer” →

The Modding, Restoration, And Demise Of A $3M Analog Computer

February 9, 2021 by Chris Lott 24 Comments

How do you rapidly record the output from your three million dollar analog computer in the 1940s when the results are only available on analog meters? The team responsible for the Westinghouse 1947 AC Network Calculator at Georgia Tech was faced with just this problem and came up with a nifty solution — hack the control panel and wire in a special-purpose drafting table.

What Is It?

What is this beast of a computer? Machines of this type were developed during and after World War 2, and strictly speaking, belong in the category of scale models rather than true computers. Although these machines were very flexible, they were primarily designed to simulate power distribution grids. There is a lot of theory under the hood, but basically a real world, multi-phase distribution system would be scaled to single-phase at 400 Hz for modeling.

The engineers would “program” the machine by connecting together the appropriate circuit elements (like capacitors, inductors, transmission lines, generators, etc.) on big patch panels. Thus programmed, a 10 kW motor-generator located in the basement would be started up and the simulation was underway. Continue reading “The Modding, Restoration, And Demise Of A $3M Analog Computer” →