Restoring the Chernobyl Duga Mainframe Panel (Part 1)

A few years ago, I got my hands on a Soviet mainframe control panel identical to the one once used at the infamous Russian Woodpecker site in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. The machine installed there was an ES-1060, an IBM System/370 architectural clone, initially installed in late 1985 to handle improved algorithms. However, it was never put into operation because of the Chernobyl disaster.

The panel I have is from an ES-4001 block/byte multiplexer channel controller (which, as far as I understand, has no direct IBM equivalent as a standalone device).

I started this project a few years ago but haven't made much progress, as I want to keep the restoration as authentic as possible. So I've spent a lot of time hunting down surviving documentation and acquiring the correct parts and components.

It's a bit of a long shot, as many things are still unclear. Maybe it'll end up being just a beautiful set of blinkenlights, maybe something more, but... here's Part 1!