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AN/FST-2 Coordinate Data Transmitting Set

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The Burroughs AN/FST-2 Coordinate Data Transmitting Set (CDTS)[1] was a Cold War military computer system at SAGE radar stations for displaying aircraft tracks and converting them for digital transmission to IBM AN/FSQ-7 Combat Direction Centrals at air defense data centers. Developed by the Great Valley Research Laboratory of the Burroughs Corporation as part of the Electronic Systems Division's 416L network of computers,[1]: 241  134 CDTSs were deployed.[2] Each was to "process the raw radar data, antenna position information, and IFF data, and send it over voice grade toll phone lines"[3] at ~1200 baud with 1/4 mile precision.[4] The transmissions were received as "Long Range Radar Input" at SAGE Direction Centers, which performed the aircraft control and warning operations (e.g., launch and flight control for CIM-10 Bomarc SAMs) and provided command information to Command Centers which forwarded data to the NORAD command center in Colorado (Ent AFB, 1963 Chidlaw Building, & 1966 Cheyenne Mountain). The AN/FST-2A included 2 vacuum tube computers and accepted 14 input signals (32 inputs for transistorized AN/FST-2B sets).[5]

External images
image icon "AN/FST-2 in SAGE System"
image icon AN/FST-2 data flow to AN/FSQ-7
image icon end view of racks
image icon OA-1204 & -367 consoles

References

  1. ^ History of Strategic and Ballistic Missile Defense, 1945-1955: Volume I (PDF).
  2. ^ Gray, George. "Some Burroughs Transistor Computers" (Wikipedia-styled webpage). GAtech.edu. Retrieved 2010-01-24. The Burroughs Great Valley Research Laboratory at Paoli outside Philadelphia… When the system was complete, 134 of these data communications devices had been installed. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  3. ^ "AN/FST-2, RADAR Data Processor/Network System". Williamson-Labs.com. Retrieved 2013-01-24. took raw analog radar data, along with operator overlaid masking (editing), digitized it, and placed it on voice grade toll telephone lines. … The AN/FST-2 used about 8000 vacuum tubes in three bays of racks.
  4. ^ "title tbd". Retrieved 2013-01-24. Each system processes data all the time but only the active system transmits data to the direction center and controls the height finder radar. … Data was [digitized] in quarter mile increments. One radar quarter mile was 3.09 microseconds.
  5. ^ http://radar.tpub.com/TM-11-487C-1/TM-11-487C-10198.htm
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