The Spectra 70 family included five models: the 70/15, 70/25, 70/35, 70/45, and 70/55, with progressively more capable memory speeds and capacities. Operators could configure the system with up to 32,768 bytes of memory (32K), achieved by combining two 16,384-byte core memory modules—a respectable amount for the mid-1960s, though minuscule by today’s standards. By comparison, a decade later, the Apple II personal computer could utilize up to a maximum of 48K of memory.
SonOfADeadMeme believes the 70/35 panel ended up in his family’s garage as a keepsake from the computer’s decommissioning. “I think the system may had been dismantled at IBM and the guy kept the terminal as a souvenir unfortunately, searched high and low while it was still standing but only other computers there was a Apple IIE and a Compaq that I think got tossed (kept the Apple II but cant find the Compaq). I did make sure to pretty much clean the whole place out before the collapse though,” they explained.
RCA discontinued the Spectra series in 1971 when the company exited the mainframe computer business, making surviving examples increasingly scarce. The company sold its computer division to Univac, which briefly continued supporting existing Spectra installations before phasing them out entirely.
As for the control panel’s future, the original poster has creative plans for this piece of computing history. “Unfortunately I don’t think I’m ever finding the other 1,500lbs of mainframe needed to use the luxurious 34 kilobytes of memory so I may (without altering a single Goddamn thing) string some LEDs behind the front panel and set them to blink at random.”
