A netizen used 460 vacuum tubes to rub an 8-bit computer by hand. It took 15 minutes to warm up and could explode at any time.

Abstract:

Recently, a netizen named Mike demonstrated his 8-bit computer completely driven by vacuum tubes on the Hackaday platform. The entire machine was built using 460 Soviet 6N3P double triodes produced in the 1950s, recreating the computing form of the Cold War.

Compared with modern silicon-based integrated circuits that integrate hundreds of millions of transistors on a chip of a few square millimeters, the huge body of MK3 occupies an entire wall. It appears as a neatly arranged array of electron tubes and emits a blazing white light when running.

It is worth noting that this is the third tube computer that Mike has built in the past ten years. Some of the previous iterations have ended in explosions.

In terms of performance and operating procedures, this machine shows its contemporary limitations. MK3 requires a physical warm-up time of 10 to 15 minutes after being powered on. After the tubes reach operating temperature, a mandatory manual reset is required to bring all tubes into a unified logical operating state.

And due to the purely analog circuit structure, the device generates huge heat when running and emits a distinct smell of burnt dust. Mike even keeps a fire extinguisher in the computer room to deal with the risk of short circuits that may occur at any time.

In addition, this retro architecture also faces an extremely high failure rate. The rated working life of this batch of 6N3P electronic tubes is only about 500 hours, which means that under continuous operation, some core components may fail in less than three weeks.

Even in order to replace the damaged electronic tubes located high on the wall, Mike often had to use a ladder to conduct manual inspections. At present, this vacuum tube computer can only execute very basic logic instructions, and the high maintenance cost makes it unable to undertake any productivity tasks.