Summary

Alternative Name(s): Lamp Removal Tool, Lamp Tool, Lamp-Filter Tool, Lamp Changer. This tool was used for the removal and/or installation of miniature lamps (or light globes) in push buttons or indicators on a control console. This object is most likely to have been used with the Ferranti Sirius computer.
.
This item is from either ICIANZ or Monash University; its exact provenance cannot be determined (as of March 2013).
The Ferranti Sirius in the Museum Victoria collection was donated by Monash University in 1975. The University had acquired the computer from ICIANZ (Imperial Chemical Industries of Australia and New Zealand) in 1967.

Monash University donated hardware, software and paperwork to Museum Victoria. The donation included items from both ICIANZ and Monash University, but it has not been always possible to identify to which institution every item belonged. In March 2013, a researcher from Monash University Computing Museum identified the sources of as many of the items as she could.

Physical Description

A cylindrical plastic tube with a metal rod inside. The tube is mainly red coloured with clear yellow ends. Each end of the tube has a different internal diameter.

More Information

  • Collecting Areas

    Engineering, Information & Communication

  • Manufacturer (Probable)

    Honeywell, circa 1960
    Honeywell MICRO SWITCH GALLERY: http://sensing.honeywell.com/1/4/6/5/7/0/index1.shtml - accessed 20 Oct 2011

  • Inscriptions

    On tube: " MICRO SWITCH / FREEPORT, ILLINOIS / 15PA19 "

  • Classification

    Computing & calculating, Digital computing, Equipment

  • Category

    History & Technology

  • Discipline

    Technology

  • Type of item

    Object

  • Overall Dimensions

    92 mm (Length), 13 mm (Outside Diameter)

  • References

    This document talks about using the tool to remove faulty lamps: "Output Status Console, Bermuda and Goddard, prepared for National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Contract No. NAS 1-430, 1 October 1960, revised 15 June 1961, International Business Machines Corporation in association with Western Electric Company Inc." [Link 1] - Retrieved 4 Oct 2010 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This document contains a picture of the tool - referred to as "Lamp-Filter Tool" in Figure 5.17 on page 5-38: "Operation and Maintenance, Acquisition System, Atlantic Ship, Indian Ocean Ship, prepared for National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Contract No. NAS 1-430, April 30, 1961, The Bendix Corporation Bendix Radio Division in association with Western Electric Company, Inc. (Project Mercury MS-113) [Link 2] - Retrieved 4 Oct 2010

  • Keywords

    Computer Accessories, Tools