Elliott 503

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The Elliott 503 was a transistorized computer introduced by Elliott Brothers in 1963. It was software-compatible with the earlier Elliott 803[1] but was about 70 times faster and a more powerful machine. About 32 units were sold.[2] The basic configuration had 8192 words of 39 bits each for main memory,[3] and operated at a system clock speed of 6.7 megahertz. It weighed more than 4,050 pounds (2.0 short tons; 1.8 t).[4]

The Elliott 503 was the first British computer to use the international computer programming language ALGOL[5]. In 1962 it was advertised as costing less than 100 000 British pounds. [5]

In 1970 the University of Tasmania was still using an Elliott 503 computer in its Mathematics department.[6]

See also

References

  1. Savard, John J. G. (2018) [2005]. "Computer Arithmetic". quadibloc. The Early Days of Hexadecimal. Archived from the original on 16 July 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018. (NB. Also has information on the Elliott 503 character set.)
  2. Lavington, Simon (2011), Moving Targets: Elliott-Automation and the Dawn of the Computer Age in Britain, 1947–1967, Springer Science & Business Media, p. 288, ISBN 978-1-84882933-6
  3. "A SURVEY OF NEW WEST-EUROPEAN DIGITAL COMPUTERS (Part 3 - Conclusion): ELLIOTT 503" (PDF). Computers and Automation. XII (11): 36. November 1963. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  4. Weight of Logic (1000), Main Store (850), Power (1350) Cabinets and Control Console (850):
  5. Elliott company (4 July 1962). "Trad? Not the Elliott 503 (advertisement)". A history of the microcomputer industry in 300 adverts - nosher.net. Retrieved 15 October 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. Elizabeth Computer Centre (November 1977). Elizabeth Computer Centre - Educational Computing in Tasmanian Schools. Hobart: Tasmanian Education Department. p. 1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)