Talk:Linesman/Mediator

The statement "LATCC used the Linesman data in their Marconi Myriad computers to handle all air traffic control in the London area" is, I would suggest, not correct. I was a civil technician on the Myriad at LATCC from 1974 until the end of 1978. During that time, it never handled any radar traffic (although it was originally designed to do that) being used instead as a touchwire update system for LJAO (LATCC Mil) in the MAS control room and, I think, the Special Tasks Cell. It was known as the FPPS (Flight Plan Processing System) using a triplex three 'prong' scheme. CTL Mod 1s and PDP machines were used for civil radar processing with the Ferranti Hermes doing the flight strips for civil. Eventually, during the painful introduction of the IBM 9020D and its bypass system, FPPS was also linked to the 9020D to front end the 9020D for update purposes using the previously installed (but never used until that time) Myriad peripheral cables in the CAS control room and so it ended up doing two jobs - not bad for, if I recall correctly, 64k of core memory!! Myraid saved 9020D's bacon.

After I left LATCC at the end of 1978, 9020D became operational - eventually - although I believe Myriad was retained for use by the military for some years.

LATCC R.I.P. Longfinal (talk) 21:29, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Accuracy of text.
This is a good start for a complex and in places still classified topic. However as written it has serious ommissions and inaccurate information. For example the Linesman element was certainly not scrapped in its entirity in 1984. The L1 went but the rest of the sites carried on until 1988-1989. I was an RAF TG12 operator up from 1983 to 1989 and was very familiar with the T84-T85-HF 200 in service at that time and the 'modern' (hand made) prototype T90 Martello.

I would suggest a radical re-write in consultation with 'radarpages.co.uk' and the addtion of some references / citations in the text. Cmpltd (talk) 16:52, 19 December 2012 (UTC)


 * The documents about the Software Engineering (SSJ 000001, Software Standard) and Software Architecture (SDA 000000, The RDPS Software System, Edition 5) have now been declassified. Some parts of them have been scanned and are on the Internet. Proficp (talk) 11:27, 25 March 2023 (UTC)

The Software
The main article concentrates on the hardware. But the Linesman project had a massive software content. It was if I remember correctly the (definite article!) MOD software project that was handed over ahead of time and in budget. I have many tales I could tell about the software side of Linesman! Bernard J Harris (formerly of Plessey Radar) 146.90.192.104 (talk) 18:03, 20 March 2023 (UTC)


 * I agree that the article under-plays the software.  Documents have now been declassified, specifically SSJ 000001 Software Standard, and SDA 000000 edition 5.
 * see Computer Journal vol 6 issue 6, June 2019 <://doi.org/10.1093/cominl/bxy097> which gives contact details. Proficp (talk) 08:43, 23 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Correction to reference: The Computer Journal, Volume 62, Issue 6, June 2019, Pages 806–819, https://doi.org/10.1093/comjnl/bxy097 2A00:23C8:9D89:9601:1BAF:E3A6:98F:4B78 (talk) 10:11, 25 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Correction to reference: The Computer Journal, Volume 62, Issue 6, June 2019, Pages 806–819, https://doi.org/10.1093/comjnl/bxy097 Proficp (talk) 10:18, 25 March 2023 (UTC)

History of UK Air Defence
The article on Linesman/Mediator contains much that is about its precursors, which should be made into a separate article. Proficp (talk) 08:47, 23 March 2023 (UTC)