Old Calculator Museum Advertising & Documentation Archive
Wyle Laboratories Arithmetic Processor Writeup
Computers & Automation, December, 1964
This is product writeup for the Wyle Laboratories Arithmetic Processor,
also known as the AP-01.
The Arithmetic Processor was essentially the
calculating engine of the
Wyle Labs WS-01
Electronic Calculator with inputs
(for controlling operation of processor) and outputs (coded outputs that
represent the content of the registers of the machine) that can be
connected to external equipment. The Arithmetic Processor can serve
as the mathematical engine of any system that needs to perform math.
The arithmetic processor consists of a small magnetic disk (visible at the
left-front of the photo) for storage of
the working registers of the machine, transistorized electronics
to manipulate the data on the disk and perform calculations(the complex
of circuit boards toward the rear of the photo), and
a power supply to run the electronics(foreground)
The arithmetic unit performs the basic four functions plus square root,
along with data movement operations. Connector sockets on the unit
provide input and output connections to external equipment.
The device has a numerical capacity of twenty digits, and uses a fixed decimal
point setting, selected by a rotary switch inside the unit.
There are three working registers and three memory registers stored
on the disk.
A complete calculator system, essentially the equivalent of the
Wyle Laboratories WS-01 electronic calculator could be created by adding
external keyboard and CRT display units.
There were two versions of the Arithmetic Processor offered by
Wyle Labs. The first version is described here. The second version of the
Arithmetic Processor,
like with Wyle Labs' calculators, replaced the troublesome magnetic
disk with a magnetostrictive delay line, which proved to be more
reliable.
