The MEDA 43 Analog/Hybrid Computer

YEAR: 1977

Initial Price: ???

The MEDA 43 is one of the latest analog/hybrid computers built in the former Czecholovakia. The computer was used mostly in Universities in countries that at that time were behind the Iron Curtain ( Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, and the USSR).

Note: East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and the USSR have since ceased to exist.

The system was donated by Universitatea Tehnică din Cluj-Napoca and I would like to thank Mr. Botond Sandor Kirei for the involvment in the saving project.

I received an email from Mr. Botond that if my museum \ collection would be interested in having this item because they need space at the university and it would be a waste to throw it out because of the hisorical importance. Below are the pictures I initialy got via email.

It is a table top computer weighing about 100 kg fully expanded with modules.

The analog computing modules – there are two rows of ten modules on the upper side of the computer.

Below these two rows of analog modules is a patch panel providing connections to some fixed function generators (sine, cosine, etc.) as well as the capacitors for the integrators.

The bottom section of the system is occupied by the operator control console. On the left half are the computers MODE control switches, in the middle the overload indicator panel and on the right a compensation voltmeter.

The computer is all modular, in below pictures you can see two removable patch panel for this system.

These panels can be hooked to the front of the analog computer and get connected by using 4 mm jacks that are on the modules sides. Having interchangeable modules, the system can be configured to approach and explore different subjects.

Analog modules \ expansion

TZP10 and TZP11 modules look the same but have similar funcionality – the TZP10 module contains a signal amplifier and the TZP11 module has a pair of wideband amplifiers which are mainly used to setup integrators using the integrator capacitors.

The TDQ10 module which contains a multiplier/divider pair.

TVZ10 module which contains a pair of analog memory cells

TDN10 module which deals with the computations

TZK10 module which contains a comparator

Another interesting fact is that this analog computer could be conected to other MEDA 43 machines to gain more optimization and power when it comes to calculations. The below seven plugs were used to connect up six MEDA 43 computers.