Piko dat

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Piko-dat learning computer with inserted transparent paper in front of the row of lamps and labeling strips for the slide switches as well as inserted jumpers

The Piko dat ( proper spelling : PIKO dat ) is the first learning computer from the GDR of the VEB Piko Sonneberg.

history

The device was developed in 1968 and launched on the market in 1969. The price was 69.50 GDR marks . At the Leipzig Trade Fair in the same year, he won two fair gold. It is outwardly similar to the logic from the FRG , but technically independent. For example, there was a simple timer based on an RC element to influence the program behavior in a time-controlled manner. The time span can be set with the potentiometer .

Technical specifications

Before using the device for the first time, you had to assemble it yourself. The entire technology was housed in a desk-shaped plastic housing.

The display of data and results was implemented using 13 light bulbs . In front of the vertically arranged row of lamps there is a transparent plastic disc, behind which transparent paper strips with printed symbols can be inserted. This means that the lamps are assigned clear functional descriptions. A strip of cardboard was inserted above the handles for the slide switches , which was used to label the slide. The programming was carried out using ten slide switches (which can assume two positions), a button and jumpers on the top. A 4.5 V flat battery or three mono batteries supplied the body with power. On the underside, the lamps, the timer and the contacts were permanently wired.

  • Retail packaging and instructions

  • bottom

  • Timer

  • Row of lamps

  • Cardboard insert strips

  • Transparent inlays for row of lamps

  • List of authorized workshops, overview of contents of sales packaging

Applications

Poster The PIKO-dat controls the railroad

There were 29 programs . The user could "put together" others himself. Typical applications were calculations, games, knowledge quizzes but also the control of model railways. In this way, users were given knowledge of the dual system and Boolean algebra . The exhibit The PIKO-dat controls the railroad was created in 1977 for the trade fair for tomorrow's masters .

Web links

Commons : Piko dat  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Torgau newspaper, "PIKOdat" took the time double exhibition Gold. In: www.torgauerzeitung.com. Retrieved January 26, 2016 .
  2. ↑ LOGIKUS.info: Relatives II. In: www.logikus.info. Retrieved September 23, 2015 .
  3. ^ German Museum of Technology: German Museum of Technology - July. In: www.sdtb.de. Retrieved September 23, 2015 .
  4. ↑ The toy computer from the GDR: PIKO dat. In: Das Kraftfuttermischwerk. Retrieved September 23, 2015 .