<s>
The	O
AN/FSQ	B-Device
-8	I-Device
Combat	I-Device
Control	I-Device
Central	I-Device
was	O
a	O
United	O
States	O
Air	O
Force	O
computerized	O
command	O
and	O
control	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
of	O
the	O
centrals	O
were	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
Semi-Automatic	B-Device
Ground	I-Device
Environment	I-Device
(	O
SAGE	O
)	O
air	O
defense	O
network	O
for	O
Cold	B-Application
War	I-Application
ground-controlled	O
interception	O
to	O
give	O
"	O
each	O
combat	O
center	O
the	O
capability	O
to	O
coordinate	O
defense	O
for	O
the	O
whole	O
nation	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
AN/FSQ	O
-8	O
(	O
“	O
AN/FSQ	O
”	O
derives	O
from	O
“	O
Army-Navy	O
/	O
Fixed	O
Special	O
eQuipment	O
”	O
)	O
was	O
a	O
smaller	O
variant	O
of	O
the	O
AN/FSQ	B-Device
-7	I-Device
Combat	I-Device
Direction	I-Device
Central	I-Device
with	O
less	O
equipment	O
since	O
the	O
Q8	O
received	O
processed	O
air	O
defense	O
data	O
from	O
AN/FSQ	B-Device
-7	I-Device
centrals	O
at	O
Direction	O
Centers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
AN/FSQ	B-Device
-8	I-Device
Combat	I-Device
Control	I-Device
Central	I-Device
,	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
AN/FSQ	B-Device
-7	I-Device
Combat	I-Device
Direction	I-Device
Central	I-Device
had	O
four	O
main	O
systems	O
used	O
for	O
creating	O
commands	O
for	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
Air	O
Force	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
information	O
was	O
then	O
transformed	O
into	O
computer-readable	O
data	O
stored	O
in	O
magnetic	B-General_Concept
drum	I-General_Concept
memory	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
input	O
system	O
is	O
similar	O
to	O
that	O
of	O
which	O
found	O
in	O
the	O
AN/FSQ	B-Device
-7	I-Device
Combat	I-Device
Direction	I-Device
Central	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
magnetic	B-General_Concept
drum	I-General_Concept
system	O
retained	O
the	O
processed	O
data	O
until	O
needed	O
for	O
processing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
drum	B-General_Concept
memory	I-General_Concept
unit	O
responsible	O
for	O
input	O
data	O
had	O
four	O
sections	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
included	O
manual	O
input	O
coming	O
from	O
system	O
operators	O
via	O
punch	B-Device
cards	I-Device
or	O
light	B-Device
guns	I-Device
,	O
from	O
gap-filler	O
radars	O
,	O
long-range	O
radar	O
,	O
and	O
intel	O
coming	O
from	O
other	O
control	O
centers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
system	O
performed	O
as	O
a	O
rudimentary	O
modern	O
CPU	B-General_Concept
,	O
containing	O
auxiliary	O
data	O
storage	O
drums	O
acting	O
as	O
RAM	B-Architecture
would	O
in	O
today	O
's	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
this	O
system	O
was	O
capable	O
on	O
running	O
programs	O
concerned	O
with	O
logic	O
and	O
arithmetic	O
focused	O
on	O
processing	O
the	O
input	O
data	O
into	O
tactical	O
military	O
information	O
for	O
the	O
control	O
center	O
and	O
sending	O
the	O
output	O
back	O
to	O
the	O
drum	B-General_Concept
memory	I-General_Concept
used	O
for	O
the	O
display	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
processed	O
data	O
is	O
then	O
able	O
to	O
be	O
displayed	O
via	O
the	O
drum	B-General_Concept
storage	I-General_Concept
and	O
cathode-ray	O
tube	O
displays(CRT )	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
displays	O
on	O
the	O
AN/FSQ	B-Device
-8	I-Device
Combat	I-Device
Control	I-Device
Central	I-Device
and	O
AN/FSQ	B-Device
-7	I-Device
Combat	I-Device
Direction	I-Device
Central	I-Device
are	O
similar	O
,	O
except	O
for	O
the	O
former	O
having	O
a	O
simpler	O
layout	O
and	O
fewer	O
displays	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
situation	O
display	O
could	O
be	O
adjusted	O
via	O
light	B-Device
guns	I-Device
and	O
keyboard	O
inputs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
may	O
be	O
important	O
to	O
note	O
that	O
the	O
AN/FSQ	O
-8	O
did	O
not	O
send	O
ground	O
to	O
air	O
messages	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
AN/FSQ	B-Device
-7	I-Device
did	O
.	O
</s>
