Wang 1200 Trip

[Rick Bensene]

> 
>    What a fascinating system...a dedicated word processor with
> hardcopy-only output and cassette storage!  Do you know anything
> about its architecture, or how the cassettes are formatted?  I'd love
> to explore one of these.
> 

The logic of the 1200 word processor is a direct offshoot of the design
of the Wang 700-Series Advanced Programmable calculators
(http://oldcalculatormuseum.com/wang720.html) .  These calculators used
a microcoded architecture that was actually patterned off of the
micro-architecture of the IBM 360/30.  

When Dr. Wang realized that the calculator market was starting to shake
out, and that the only players that would remain were those who could
make their own large-scale integration ICs, he (and his senior team)
decided that word processing would be the next wave.  Wang had some
experience in the field with the design they did for Compugraphic of a
typesetting machine called the Linasec. With the micro-architecture they
had for the calculator, as well as having modified IBM Selectrics for
connection to the calculators as output devices, and the cassette tape
system used in the calculator, they had all of the raw materials to make
a word processor.  Some new microcode and some minor circuitry changes
to match the specifics of the word processor requirements, and the 1200
became a reality.  

Rick Bensene
The Old Calculator Museum
http://oldcalculatormuseum.com