A Close look at a Nike Hercules Missile Guidance Circuit Board
Here we have a Circuit Board, number 9158790 Command Detonation Electronic Switch.
#7 in the diagram.
This technology is late 1950’s so you have a double-sided circuit board with traces on both the top and bottom.
A smattering of resistors, capacitors, relays and mini-transformers. On the top are 4 miniature vacuum tubes with wires soldered on to the tube pins.
The 4 tubes are encased in a metal tube shield and have a heat sink that is fixed on to the circuit board. There is number on every tube T3 361 N.
The beauty of this system is it was all vacuum tubes at the time.
Even during my days on a Nike Site, the system was all tube.
(Okay there was one silicon transistor in the computer) but mostly tubes, 250 in the computer, 500 total.
There were many cooling fans that kept things cool in the Vans and a large blower connection that kept the missile cool and warm on the launcher.
The good thing about tubes is resistance to damage by large electromagnetic fields.
(Such as a nuclear detonation)?
Transistors, Integrated circuits and microprocessors are very sensitive to EMF fields.
No bits or bytes in the Hercules system, just analog voltages.
Made by Western Electric….Ma Bell.
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