--- title: PC-1: The 1954 Computer With No Tubes, Relays, Or... description: In 1954, Japanese engineer Eiichi Goto invented the parametron — a resonant circuit using a ferrite core and capacitor that oscillates between two phase states... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/pc-1-the-1954-computer-with-no-tubes-relays-or-transistors-seijxrnpr twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: PC-1: The 1954 Computer With No Tubes, Relays, Or Transistors | daily.dev og:description: In 1954, Japanese engineer Eiichi Goto invented the parametron — a resonant circuit using a ferrite core and capacitor that oscillates between two phase states... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/pc-1-the-1954-computer-with-no-tubes-relays-or-transistors-seijxrnpr og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/SEIJXrNPr.png og:image:alt: PC-1: The 1954 Computer With No Tubes, Relays, Or Transistors og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # PC-1: The 1954 Computer With No Tubes, Relays, Or Transistors **[Hackaday](https://daily.dev/sources/hackaday)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary In 1954, Japanese engineer Eiichi Goto invented the parametron — a resonant circuit using a ferrite core and capacitor that oscillates between two phase states (0° and 180°) to represent binary digits, requiring no tubes, relays, or transistors. Three-input parametrons naturally act as majority gates, and by fixing one input or reversing coupling transformer polarity, AND, OR, and NOT logic can be derived. Several Japanese computers were built on this technology, including the PC-1 (operating at 15 kHz, adding fixed-point numbers in 270 microseconds), the PC-2/FACOM 202 (100 kHz, 9,600 parametrons), and the FACOM 212. Parametrons also interfaced with core memory in a non-destructive read mode. Speed limitations (clock frequencies in the 140 kHz range) ultimately caused parametrons to be overtaken by transistor-based designs, but they represent a notable chapter in computing history, particularly in Japan. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What is a parametron and how does it represent binary data? A parametron is a resonant circuit — typically an inductor or capacitor whose reactance is varied at twice its resonant frequency — that oscillates at half the pump frequency. Two equally stable oscillation states exist, separated by 180° of phase, which represent binary 0 and 1. Three weakly coupled parametrons form a natural majority gate; fixing one input yields AND or OR, and reversing a coupling transformer gives inversion. _Engineers exploring unconventional logic implementations find the full parametron circuit details worth tracking on daily.dev._ ### What were the clock speed and performance specs of the PC-1 parametron computer? The PC-1 operated at 15 kHz and could add fixed-point numbers in 270 microseconds, using 4,200 parametrons and consuming 3 kW of power. Its successor, the PC-2 (commercialized as the FACOM 202), ran at 100 kHz with 9,600 parametrons but drew 10 kW. The theoretical maximum for a high-speed parametron was around 6 MHz, but practical computer clock frequencies topped out near 140 kHz. _Retrocomputing milestones like these surface regularly for hardware history readers on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Milestones:Parametron, 1954](https://daily.dev/posts/milestones-parametron-1954-jvj1u1sah) · Hacker News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Energizing A Vacuum Tube Flip-Flop Module Of The IBM 604](https://daily.dev/posts/energizing-a-vacuum-tube-flip-flop-module-of-the-ibm-604-ktvr5ua7q) · Hackaday · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Inside a 1980s filter chip that uses switched capacitors](https://daily.dev/posts/inside-a-1980s-filter-chip-that-uses-switched-capacitors-fl6obnvvh) · Lobsters · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Energizing a vacuum-tube flip-flop module from a 1948 IBM system](https://daily.dev/posts/energizing-a-vacuum-tube-flip-flop-module-from-a-1948-ibm-system-srore98wj) · Hacker News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Inside A Mystery 1980s Filter IC Featuring Switched Capacitors](https://daily.dev/posts/inside-a-mystery-1980s-filter-ic-featuring-switched-capacitors-ipzpnmycn) · Hackaday · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#retrocomputing](https://daily.dev/tags/retrocomputing), [#computing-history](https://daily.dev/tags/computing-history) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/pc-1-the-1954-computer-with-no-tubes-relays-or-transistors-seijxrnpr) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"PC-1: The 1954 Computer With No Tubes, Relays, Or Transistors","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/pc-1-the-1954-computer-with-no-tubes-relays-or-transistors-seijxrnpr","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/pc-1-the-1954-computer-with-no-tubes-relays-or-transistors-seijxrnpr"},"datePublished":"2026-08-11T14:21:05.613Z","dateModified":"2026-08-11T14:21:34.930Z","description":"In 1954, Japanese engineer Eiichi Goto invented the parametron — a resonant circuit using a ferrite core and capacitor that oscillates between two phase states...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/77c9bd3934eeb50d7d9f0ea4b4deb4be?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/77c9bd3934eeb50d7d9f0ea4b4deb4be?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Hackaday","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Hackaday","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--JhDfhy70--/f_auto,q_auto/v1767541814/logos/hackaday","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/hackaday"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/pc-1-the-1954-computer-with-no-tubes-relays-or-transistors-seijxrnpr","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"retrocomputing,computing-history","timeRequired":"PT4M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Hackaday","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/hackaday"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"PC-1: The 1954 Computer With No Tubes, Relays, Or Transistors"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/pc-1-the-1954-computer-with-no-tubes-relays-or-transistors-seijxrnpr#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is a parametron and how does it represent binary data?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"A parametron is a resonant circuit — typically an inductor or capacitor whose reactance is varied at twice its resonant frequency — that oscillates at half the pump frequency. Two equally stable oscillation states exist, separated by 180° of phase, which represent binary 0 and 1. Three weakly coupled parametrons form a natural majority gate; fixing one input yields AND or OR, and reversing a coupling transformer gives inversion. Engineers exploring unconventional logic implementations find the full parametron circuit details worth tracking on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What were the clock speed and performance specs of the PC-1 parametron computer?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The PC-1 operated at 15 kHz and could add fixed-point numbers in 270 microseconds, using 4,200 parametrons and consuming 3 kW of power. Its successor, the PC-2 (commercialized as the FACOM 202), ran at 100 kHz with 9,600 parametrons but drew 10 kW. The theoretical maximum for a high-speed parametron was around 6 MHz, but practical computer clock frequencies topped out near 140 kHz. Retrocomputing milestones like these surface regularly for hardware history readers on daily.dev."}}]} ```