JSA #16 - "Year One IV" (2026)

For example, Cyclonus could easily restrain Galvatron with whateverthefuck equipment he has in space cruiser/ship/plane mode (I honestly have no clue what he is). What I'm saying is naughty, over agressive Galvatrons get strapped down and fucked

-Roddychoo

Lawrencium noo.......

🎄💾🗓️ Day 11: Retrocomputing Advent Calendar - The SEL 840A🎄💾🗓️

Systems Engineering Laboratories (SEL) introduced the SEL 840A in 1965. This is a deep cut folks, buckle in. It was designed as a high-performance, 24-bit general-purpose digital computer, particularly well-suited for scientific and industrial real-time applications.

Notable for using silicon monolithic integrated circuits and a modular architecture. Supported advanced computation with features like concurrent floating-point arithmetic via an optional Extended Arithmetic Unit (EAU), which allowed independent arithmetic processing in single or double precision. With a core memory cycle time of 1.75 microseconds and a capacity of up to 32,768 directly addressable words, the SEL 840A had impressive computational speed and versatility for its time.

Its instruction set covered arithmetic operations, branching, and program control. The computer had fairly robust I/O capabilities, supporting up to 128 input/output units and optional block transfer control for high-speed data movement. SEL 840A had real-time applications, such as data acquisition, industrial automation, and control systems, with features like multi-level priority interrupts and a real-time clock with millisecond resolution.

Software support included a FORTRAN IV compiler, mnemonic assembler, and a library of scientific subroutines, making it accessible for scientific and engineering use. The operator’s console provided immediate access to registers, control functions, and user interaction! Designed to be maintained, its modular design had serviceability you do often not see today, with swing-out circuit pages and accessible test points.

And here's a personal… personal computer history from Adafruit team member, Dan…

== The first computer I used was an SEL-840A, PDF:

I learned Fortran on it in eight grade, in 1970. It was at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where my parents worked, and was used to take data from cyclotron experiments and perform calculations. I later patched the Fortran compiler on it to take single-quoted strings, like 'HELLO', in Fortran FORMAT statements, instead of having to use Hollerith counts, like 5HHELLO.

In 1971-1972, in high school, I used a PDP-10 (model KA10) timesharing system, run by BOCES LIRICS on Long Island, NY, while we were there for one year on an exchange.

This is the front panel of the actual computer I used. I worked at the computer center in the summer. I know the fellow in the picture: he was an older high school student at the time.

The first "personal" computers I used were Xerox Alto, Xerox Dorado, Xerox Dandelion (Xerox Star 8010), Apple Lisa, and Apple Mac, and an original IBM PC. Later I used DEC VAXstations.

Created by Roy Thomas and Jerry Ordway as an homage to the public domain Golden Age hero Amazing Man, William Everett Sr. was a track-and-field star from Detroit who competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where he and Jesse Owens defied Nazi propaganda by winning gold medals. After struggling to find work, Everett became a janitor in a laboratory owned by Dr. Terry Curtis (Cyclotron).

One night, Everett was kidnapped by the Ultra-Humanite and subjected to a dangerous experiment with Curtis’s electro-generator. The explosion granted him the ability to absorb the properties of any material he touched. Initially manipulated into working for the Ultra-Humanite to protect his family, Everett eventually turned against him and joined the All-Star Squadron, later becoming a member of the Justice Society of America.

Everett’s heroism extended beyond the battlefield. In later years, after his secret identity was revealed by the FBI, he faced personal and family danger but refused to hide. He became an active figure in the Civil Rights movement, participating in anti-segregation marches and using his powers in the service of justice during a turbulent chapter of American history.

His legacy continued through his grandson, William Everett III, and later Markus Clay, both of whom took up the mantle of Amazing-Man.

Group Affiliations: Justice Society of America, All-Star Squadron

Speculation: With the JSA appearing multiple times in the mural, Everett could easily appear in a period-set JSA story or have his legacy represented through one of his successors in a modern team.

First Appearance: All-Star Squadron (1981) #23

Recommended Reading:

All-Star Squadron (1981) #23–60 – Core run

Justice League America (1987) #86-87, 89 – Passing the mantle to William Everett III

Extreme Justice (1994) – William Everett III and Maxima's romance

Starman (1994) #38 - William Everett III is murdered by the Mist

Justice Society of America (2007) #12 – Markus Clay takes up the mantle

JSA (2024) #13-18 – JSA: Year One

Rad Lab "boys" on the magnet yoke for the 60-inch cyclotron (1938)

Oh yeah btw the 60-inch cyclotron was called the "Crocker Cracker".

Ernest Lawrence is fourth from the left, front row

J. Robert Oppenheimer is the guy smoking in the back

Other people included are Luis Alvarez, Edwin McMillan, John Lawrence, Robert Wilson, and Raymond Birge (fifth from right)