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68 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2022 all operating at a blistering 75,000 instructions per second (equivalent to an Intel 386). 7 While some functions of the system were automatic, it still took an operator to spot and identify an unidentified radar target and decide whether it was friend or foe. e automatic part came because all domestic and military aircra had filed flight plans that the computer had stored on a magnetic drum and would match to real-time radar data. If the operator decided that the fly- ing object was "foe," the track was moved to a combat center and the weapons director for actions. If inter- ceptor fighters were scrambled, the computer would guide them to inter- cept this Identification Friend or Foe (IFF). If a missile was employed, the computer would automatically guide the missile closer so that its own radar could be employed. en warnings would go out to all civil defense alerts. Figure 6 shows a close-up of the SAGE computer computing module. e entire module was hand soldered. Con- sidering the 7,000 modules per computer, and two computers in each of the 27 installations, 378,000 modules had to be manufactured by Figure 5: All the elements of a SAGE computer system and consoles. The 20 inch OA-1008 Situation Display (SD) shown in the forefront was equipped with a light gun for a user interface. As Air Force personnel would man the console in eight-hour shifts around the clock, perhaps that is why the console was equipped with a cigarette lighter and ash tray! Figure 4: A SAGE system: a) CC/DC blockhouse; b) the SAGE tube-based computer; c) The circular CRT display screen; d) the 256 KB core RAM. 7 a c b d