Very well researched and educational article - just by reading and watching the embedded clips I now know how a mechanical computer works and also a bit about fire control. I visited the HMS Belfast ...

Before the era of digital electronic computers, mechanical analog computers were found everywhere. From the relative simplicity of bomb sights to the complexity of fire control computers on 1940s ...

So my buddy analog guru Eric Schlaepfer found a neat series of US Navy videos about their fire-control computers used before tubes and op-amps did the calculations. Mechanical engineers are sure to ...

A computer that processes analog data is known as an analog computer. Analog computers store information in physical quantities in a continuous format and use measurements to perform computation.

Today, most of what we think of as a computer uses digital technology. But that wasn’t always the case. From slide rules to mechanical fire solution computers to electronic analog computers, there ...

In the first of three parts, Andy hypothesizes that the K2-W Analog Computer Op Amp’s design has some unrevealed mad science in its input-stage design. 1. K2-W Op Amp schematic from Bob Pease’s ...

This component has an aluminum frame and three gears on top. It appears to have two similar mechanisms on the inside – each includes a shaft, a screw with linkages, and a cylinder turned by rotating a ...

At one time a scientist or engineer trying to solve a tough problem with electronic computation had the choice of an analog computer, a digital computer, or both together in a hybrid configuration.

"But take away the fancy GPS shells and the AGS, and its digital fire control system are no more accurate than mechanical analog technology that is nearly a century old." Yeah, and take away the fancy ...