Large Plastic Encased Disk

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   My boss and I found a large reddish plastic encased disk at work today and have no clue what it was called. They said that it was used in the 80s to store information and then transfered between locations.

The only information we have is that it was made by NCR and had this number on the label: NCR 007-2390501.

The disk was the size of a record and a little thicker. It was reddish in color and a pretty hard plastic/metal but could be bent without breaking. It was in a plastic case that came apart when it was placed into some sort of drawer to be written to. The case was a light cream color. It had March 1983 stamped on it but not sure when the company actually started using them.

I'm just curious if anyone has any clue what these were called, what type of machine used them and how much data they stored?

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ospring87 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 22 February 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1	Quote Reply Topic: Large Plastic Encased Disk Posted: 22 February 2011 at 7:31pm
	My boss and I found a large reddish plastic encased disk at work today and have no clue what it was called. They said that it was used in the 80s to store information and then transfered between locations. The only information we have is that it was made by NCR and had this number on the label: NCR 007-2390501. The disk was the size of a record and a little thicker. It was reddish in color and a pretty hard plastic/metal but could be bent without breaking. It was in a plastic case that came apart when it was placed into some sort of drawer to be written to. The case was a light cream color. It had March 1983 stamped on it but not sure when the company actually started using them. I'm just curious if anyone has any clue what these were called, what type of machine used them and how much data they stored?

Mike Newcomb Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 15 July 2006 Location: London UK Online Status: Offline Posts: 527	Quote Reply Posted: 23 February 2011 at 7:17pm
	Are you able to provide some photos? By the size of a record, I presume you mean an LP about 12-15" in diameter. If there is only one platter (red coloured disc), on ICL computers they were called an EDS5. Meaning Exchangeable Disc Store, holding 5 million characters. The platter is recorded on both top and bottom surfaces. As a matter of interest, where are you based? I am in Hammersmith, West London. Good Luck - Mike

Phil14 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 18 September 2011 Location: UK Online Status: Offline Posts: 3	Quote Reply Posted: 18 September 2011 at 11:43pm
	I have still got loads of these disks brand new in boxes on the roof of my old computer room Along with silent 700 terminals with acoustic hoods I/2 in tape drives 300 mb 10 platter disk packs and the drives that they work on Loads of memory boards fo TI 990 systems 16k , cache memory , along with complete systems, I would like to find a good home before They knock down the computer centre Regards Ps I have knowledge on many computer systems which I would like To share before I kick the bucket
	Phil14

Guests Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Group	Quote Reply Posted: 08 November 2011 at 12:04pm
	It sounds a bit like a NCR 6580 removable disk pack - I think they held about 500 or 600 MB. They were loaded into cabinets, which were about the same size as a top loading washing machine. The pack was screwed on, then the lid lifted off and the cabinet closed. These were considerable more reliable than you'd have expected for something which was manually knocked about and exposed to the air. They were in active use at one UK site until at least 1990, as I was used to work in that machine room.