Wang 720A
Wang 720 Memory Test Passed
The Wang 720 was the final iteration of the 700 series, the main difference being double the RAM, to 16k bits of core. This provides 248 storage registers, or 1984 program steps.
The featured machine is a 720A serial 870019 with manufacturing date stamps from September 1970. The picture shows the machine after running the Wang Memory Test program, which exercises and tests all avaliable memory locations.
As with the 700, three microcode versions were available:
- 720A does not support 702 plotter, binary decisions or Learn+Run mode
- 720B adds support for 702 plotter output
- 720C adds binary decisions, Learn+Run mode, block I/O transfers
Except for larger core RAM, the 720A and -B have the same hardware as their 700 series siblings. A and B models differ only in microcode ROM. The 720C has three circuit boards specific to the -C model as well as specific microcode to allow the use of the most advanced peripherals. See the link above for information on the conversion of this machine to -C specification.
The 720 Series Operator’s Manual is available in the 700 series Data pages.
See the 700 series entry for more detailed information. The 720 machines differ from their 700 series counterparts only in RAM capacity, so the descriptions and information in the 700 section are applicable to the 720 machines.