<s>
The	O
IBM	B-Device
Series/1	I-Device
is	O
a	O
16-bit	B-Device
minicomputer	B-Architecture
,	O
introduced	O
in	O
1976	O
,	O
that	O
in	O
many	O
respects	O
competed	O
with	O
other	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
of	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
PDP-11	B-Device
from	O
Digital	O
Equipment	O
Corporation	O
and	O
similar	O
offerings	O
from	O
Data	O
General	O
and	O
HP	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Series/1	B-Device
was	O
typically	O
used	O
to	O
control	O
and	O
operate	O
external	O
electro-mechanical	O
components	O
while	O
also	O
allowing	O
for	O
primitive	O
data	O
storage	O
and	O
handling	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
Series/1	B-Device
uses	O
EBCDIC	B-Language
character	O
encoding	O
internally	O
and	O
locally	O
attached	O
EBCDIC	B-Language
terminals	O
,	O
ASCII-based	O
remote	O
terminals	O
and	O
devices	O
could	O
be	O
attached	O
via	O
an	O
I/O	O
card	O
with	O
a	O
RS-232	O
interface	O
to	O
be	O
more	O
compatible	O
with	O
competing	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
's	O
own	O
3101	B-Device
and	O
3151	O
ASCII	B-Protocol
display	O
terminals	O
are	O
examples	O
of	O
this	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Series/1	B-Device
computers	O
were	O
withdrawn	O
from	O
marketing	O
in	O
1988	O
at	O
or	O
near	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
AS/400	I-Device
line	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
US	O
government	O
asset	O
report	O
dated	O
May	O
2016	O
revealed	O
that	O
an	O
IBM	B-Device
Series/1	I-Device
was	O
still	O
being	O
used	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
country	O
's	O
nuclear	O
command	O
and	O
control	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Don	O
Estridge	O
had	O
been	O
the	O
lead	O
manager	O
on	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
Series/1	I-Device
minicomputer	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Series/1	B-Device
could	O
be	O
ordered	O
with	O
or	O
without	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Available	O
were	O
either	O
of	O
two	O
mutually	O
exclusive	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
:	O
Event	B-Operating_System
Driven	I-Operating_System
Executive	I-Operating_System
(	O
EDX	O
)	O
or	O
Realtime	O
Programming	O
System	O
(	O
RPS	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Systems	O
using	O
EDX	O
were	O
primarily	O
programmed	O
using	O
Event	O
Driven	O
Language	O
(	O
EDL	O
)	O
,	O
though	O
high	O
level	O
languages	O
such	O
as	O
FORTRAN	O
IV	O
,	O
PL/I	B-Language
,	O
Pascal	B-Application
and	O
COBOL	B-Application
were	O
also	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
EDL	O
delivered	O
output	O
in	O
IBM	O
machine	O
code	O
for	O
System/3	B-Device
or	O
System/7	B-Device
and	O
for	O
the	O
Series/1	B-Device
by	O
an	O
emulator	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
Series/1	B-Device
is	O
underpowered	O
by	O
today	O
's	O
standards	O
,	O
a	O
robust	O
multi-user	B-Operating_System
operating	O
environment	O
(	O
RPS	O
)	O
was	O
available	O
along	O
with	O
several	O
additional	O
high	O
level	O
languages	O
for	O
the	O
RPS	O
OS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
EDX	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
was	O
originally	O
ported	O
from	O
the	O
System/7	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Series/1	B-Device
was	O
also	O
the	O
first	O
computer	O
that	O
IBM	O
supported	O
for	O
Unix	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Systems	O
without	O
an	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
were	O
intended	O
for	O
users	O
needing	O
dedicated	O
applications	O
that	O
did	O
not	O
require	O
the	O
full	O
capabilities	O
of	O
either	O
OS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Applications	O
were	O
built	O
using	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
standalone	O
programs	O
,	O
called	O
the	O
Base	O
Program	O
Preparation	O
Facilities	O
,	O
consisting	O
of	O
a	O
macro	O
assembler	O
,	O
a	O
link	B-Application
editor	I-Application
and	O
some	O
basic	O
utilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
set	O
of	O
modules	O
,	O
called	O
Control	O
Program	O
Support	O
(	O
CPS	O
)	O
,	O
was	O
linked	O
with	O
the	O
application	O
to	O
provide	O
task	O
management	O
,	O
data	O
processing	O
input/output	O
support	O
and	O
initial	O
program	O
loading	O
for	O
both	O
disks	O
and	O
diskettes	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Series/1	B-Device
was	O
also	O
widely	O
used	O
in	O
manufacturing	O
environments	O
,	O
including	O
General	O
Motors	O
assembly	O
plants	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Commercial	O
applications	O
of	O
customized	O
Series/1	B-Device
computers	O
included	O
an	O
application	O
by	O
State	O
Farm	O
as	O
an	O
intelligent	O
remote	O
terminal	O
in	O
agents	O
 '	O
offices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Kmart	O
Corporation	O
also	O
used	O
the	O
Series/1	B-Device
computer	O
initially	O
for	O
its	O
Kmart	O
Information	O
Network	O
(	O
KIN	O
)	O
which	O
handled	O
the	O
store	O
's	O
ordering	O
,	O
invoicing	O
,	O
payroll	O
,	O
inventory	O
,	O
cash	O
,	O
and	O
headquarters	O
to	O
store	O
communications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Series/1	B-Device
used	O
for	O
POS	O
systems	O
was	O
short	O
lived	O
as	O
it	O
was	O
quickly	O
replaced	O
by	O
two	O
IBM	O
PC	O
AT	O
computers	O
running	O
either	O
IBM	O
3683	O
or	O
IBM	O
4683	O
registers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Deluxe	O
Corporation	O
also	O
used	O
a	O
bank	O
of	O
Series/1	B-Device
IBM	O
4956	O
computers	O
for	O
each	O
check	O
printing	O
facility	O
which	O
handled	O
the	O
plant	O
's	O
business	O
and	O
personal	O
check	O
sales	O
orders	O
and	O
printing	O
operations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Various	O
serial	O
peripherals	O
were	O
attached	O
:	O
Printronix	O
bar-coding	O
printers	O
,	O
MICR	O
Readers	O
,	O
IBM	O
ASCII	B-Protocol
Terminals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Series/1	B-Device
was	O
a	O
good	O
work	O
horse	O
for	O
its	O
day	O
and	O
was	O
operational	O
around	O
the	O
clock	O
in	O
an	O
industrial	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Severn	O
Trent	O
Water	O
Authority	O
used	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
Series/1	B-Device
computers	O
running	O
the	O
RPS	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
to	O
collect	O
and	O
process	O
river	O
telemetry	O
outstation	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
polled	O
each	O
outstation	O
every	O
6	O
hours	O
and	O
fed	O
data	O
to	O
applications	O
running	O
on	O
their	O
ICL	B-Device
2900	I-Device
mainframe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unusually	O
,	O
the	O
communications	O
link	O
between	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
Series/1	I-Device
machines	O
and	O
the	O
ICL	B-Device
2900	I-Device
machine	O
used	O
the	O
ICL	O
CO3	O
protocol	O
rather	O
than	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
(	O
de	O
facto	O
standard	O
)	O
IBM	O
communication	O
protocols	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shared	O
Medical	O
Systems	O
(	O
SMS	O
Corp	O
.	O
)	O
in	O
the	O
1980s	O
used	O
the	O
Series/1	B-Device
(	O
running	O
EDX	O
)	O
as	O
a	O
channel-attached	O
front-end	O
communications	O
processor	O
for	O
its	O
IBM	O
mainframe-based	O
MVS/CICS	O
hospital	O
information	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
environment	O
the	O
Series/1	B-Device
provided	O
customized	O
interfaces	O
to	O
diverse	O
(	O
and	O
generally	O
non-IBM	O
)	O
minicomputer-based	O
hospital	O
systems	O
using	O
asynchronous	O
or	O
binary	O
synchronous	O
communications	O
then	O
commonly	O
found	O
in	O
the	O
laboratory	O
,	O
pharmacy	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
departments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Where	O
necessary	O
,	O
the	O
Series/1	B-Device
also	O
provided	O
batch	O
connectivity	O
to	O
a	O
centralized	O
TCAM	O
host	O
at	O
SMS	O
headquarters	O
in	O
Malvern	O
,	O
PA	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Finally	O
,	O
the	O
Series/1	B-Device
provided	O
a	O
cost-effective	O
method	O
for	O
remote	O
support	O
of	O
the	O
distributed	O
mainframes	O
using	O
inexpensive	O
ASCII	B-Protocol
terminals	O
and	O
modems	O
,	O
or	O
IBM	O
PCs	O
equipped	O
with	O
light	O
pens	O
(	O
emulating	B-Application
the	O
3278/9	O
terminals	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Series/1	B-Device
was	O
selected	O
for	O
this	O
application	O
due	O
to	O
challenges	O
with	O
MVS/VTAM	O
and	O
the	O
37x5	O
supporting	O
straightforward	O
non-SNA/SDLC	O
communications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
Series/1	B-Device
systems	O
were	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
mainframe	O
using	O
the	O
Series/1	B-Device
to	O
System/370	B-Device
channel	O
attach	O
module	O
,	O
and	O
connected	O
to	O
non-IBM	O
systems	O
using	O
the	O
Feature-Programmable	O
Multi-line	O
Controller	O
and	O
Adapter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internally	O
,	O
IBM	O
used	O
banks	O
of	O
Series/1	B-Device
computers	O
as	O
communications	O
front	O
end	O
systems	O
on	O
their	O
IBM	O
Information	O
Systems	O
commercial	O
network	O
although	O
back	O
end	O
processing	O
was	O
done	O
with	O
System/370	B-Device
architecture	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
in	O
some	O
IBM	O
locations	O
,	O
the	O
Series/1	B-Device
was	O
employed	O
for	O
building	O
access	O
security	O
using	O
ID	O
card	O
readers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
United	O
States	O
Marine	O
Corps	O
was	O
a	O
major	O
Series/1	B-Device
customer	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1970s	O
and	O
into	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
central	O
processor	O
unit	O
boasted	O
twin	O
1	O
megabyte	O
8inch	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drives	I-Device
,	O
an	O
8-inch	O
green	O
monitor	B-Device
with	O
25×80	O
character	O
resolution	O
(	O
and	O
seldom-used	O
graphics	O
capability	O
)	O
and	O
16	O
kilobytes	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
which	O
was	O
upgraded	O
to	O
32	O
kilobytes	O
in	O
1984	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
standard	O
'	O
suite	O
 '	O
included	O
the	O
CPU	B-General_Concept
unit	O
,	O
a	O
keyboard	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
132	O
column	O
dot-matrix	O
printer	O
with	O
a	O
separate	O
cooling-fan	O
base	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
'	O
Class	O
I	O
 '	O
systems	O
were	O
classified	O
as	O
mainframe	O
systems	O
–	O
and	O
the	O
Series/1	B-Device
systems	O
that	O
provided	O
field	O
input	O
to	O
them	O
–	O
that	O
were	O
maintained	O
at	O
and	O
distributed	O
from	O
the	O
three	O
CDPAs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Designed	O
primarily	O
as	O
a	O
Source	O
Data	O
Automation	O
(	O
SDA	O
)	O
device	O
for	O
the	O
enhancement	O
of	O
input	O
into	O
'	O
Class	O
I	O
 '	O
logistics	O
and	O
personnel	O
computer	O
systems	O
,	O
the	O
ADPE-FMF	O
Series/1	B-Device
provided	O
the	O
power	O
of	O
a	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
to	O
the	O
battalion/squadron	O
commander	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
left	O
in	O
the	O
hands	O
of	O
young	O
Marine	O
Corps	O
programmers	O
eager	O
to	O
explore	O
the	O
capabilities	O
of	O
their	O
new	O
equipment	O
,	O
the	O
Series/1	B-Device
soon	O
proved	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
valuable	O
and	O
flexible	O
workhorse	O
for	O
all	O
manner	O
of	O
tasks	O
at	O
all	O
organizational	O
levels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
a	O
COBOL	B-Application
compiler	B-Language
was	O
available	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
software	O
package	O
sold	O
to	O
the	O
Marine	O
Corps	O
with	O
the	O
Series/1	B-Device
,	O
most	O
Class	O
I	O
and	O
Class	O
II	O
systems	O
development	O
was	O
in	O
EDL	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
middle	O
1980s	O
,	O
the	O
ADPE-FMF	O
equipment	O
was	O
gradually	O
phased	O
out	O
in	O
favor	O
of	O
IBM-PC	O
class	O
microcomputers	O
running	O
off-the-shelf	O
software	O
and	O
Marine	O
Corps	O
developed	O
applications	O
written	O
in	O
Ada	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
this	O
document	O
,	O
there	O
is	O
still	O
a	O
Series/1	B-Device
that	O
"	O
Coordinates	O
the	O
operational	O
functions	O
of	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
 '	O
nuclear	O
forces	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
intercontinental	O
ballistic	O
missiles	O
,	O
nuclear	O
bombers	O
,	O
and	O
tanker	O
support	O
aircraft.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
system	O
still	O
uses	O
8-inch	B-Device
floppy	I-Device
disks	O
,	O
however	O
the	O
agency	O
plans	O
to	O
update	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
technology	O
by	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
2017	O
fiscal	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
