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The first Apollo missions are now more than 50 years ago. If you rewind the technical development in your own mind, it is hard to imagine that people set foot on the moon in 69 and the years that followed - something that can probably (and unfortunately) only be accomplished by philanthropists today.

Technology of that time sparks enthusiasm. Even though the first 8-bit CPUs would not appear until a few years later, it was precisely this pioneering spirit that kick-started a large part of the subsequent technical development.

Ken Shirriff is known for always getting to the bottom of technical relics in detail. This time he had the pleasure of taking apart the Apollo Premodulation Processor.

Communication on, from and to the moon was done via AM, FM and S-band modulation at the time. The device in question is accordingly quite complex.

If you're into the space theme, Ken's article is great reading material for a quiet hour, since he get’s into the details with his typical precision and clarity.

Enjoy the read.