CRM

Core Rope Memory Necklace

I'm am nearing the end of Gnomon by Nick Harkaway. It's a pretty amazing book. It seems that on every page there is a new-to-me word and an obscure historical reference. CRM, or Core Rope Memory, is the last one I encountered. In the story they are using it as a key to gain entrance to a computer program, the idea being that the technology is so obsolete no one will recognize it for what it is, which is essentially a sequence of bits. Security through obfuscation.

Apollo spacecraft CRM Module

The computer in the Apollo spacecraft used this type of memory to store its program, it is essentially ROM (Read Only Memory), not to be confused with Magnetic Core Memory which was used as RAM. Both types used small ferrite rings, but the wiring and control circuits were completely different.

C.R.M. 114 from Dr. Stranglove

I mention this to older son and he tells me that there was a CRM114 secure radio system in Stanley Kubrick's movie Dr. Strangelove.

Turns out this same designation has been used in a number of places, including Back To The Future.

CRM114 from Back To The Future

Here, the CRM114 also makes an appearance in the opening scene where Marty walks into Doc's house and turns on the guitar amplifier (the 25 second mark in this video).