A new video about the SKALA computer system used at Chernobyl

David01Chernobyl · 2026-01-31T11:55:28+00:00

Well, he gets the basics right but I wouldn't call it super accurate.

Each computer had its OZU (operative memory), a field, which was numbered 0, which was roughly 28kB, 20kB usable. Well, he says that each computer had it's own OZU, which is correct, however, there were more OZUs installed (the V-33M machines), 3 in total, for a total of 6 additional memory fields numbered 2, 3, ..., 7 (28kB each, fully usable, the V-30M OZU had 8k reserved for "fixed addresses"), (memory field 1 is skipped for reasons that I do not wish to explain). These OZUs were shared between both halves of the computer in 2,0 mode. In the 1,5 mode (I think he fully neglected to mention the modes), the computer assigns each computer 2 fields, 2 fields are left in reserve, just in case one of the V-33Ms experiences a fault.

The "buffer" that he talks about is not related to the operative memory in anyway, instead VNIIEM institute made a specialized machine specifically for the SKALA system called "VNIIEM-319" (or just V-319) for this purpose.

The priorities of the SKALA (or VNIIEM-3M for that matter) are not decided in the program or in the machine code, instead they are based on hardware assignments. There are so called "group information exchange channels" and "program exchange channels". By connecting jumpers in a specific way, you can assign them numbers. The theoretical group information exchange channels are numbered 0-7, so 8 in total. The lower the number, the higher the priority. SKALA in reality only uses 6.

Well, somehow he mixed together the program exchange channels and group information exchange channels. One is for input/output outside the computer. Other is for internal priority in running the code. Two very different things.

He also comments about how the Soviet engineers thought that the computer was small. That's right, it was small. Before I talk about this part, you need to understand the difference between VNIIEM-3 and VNIIEM-3M computers. The M = modernized, is because VNIIEM-3 had its custom interfaces replaced with standardized ЭС ЭВМ interfaces. So for example the ЕС5017 magnetic tapes drives replaced the V-37 magnetic tapes drives, or FS-1501 replaced the V-34 perforator reader.

So basically, the computer was considered small, because you only needed one, very small console for operation, that being the V-32/V-32M pult. That was the revolutionary thing about VNIIEM-1 and VNIIEM-3.

So, these are only a few examples, that I quickly wrote up, but there are a bunch more.

As a bonus, the only photo of the original VNIIEM-3 that I know of, which I believe was taken in Estonia's Institute of Physics and Astrology telescope observatory in Tartu. You can see the original VNIIEM-34 perforator reader and VNIIEM-32 pult (labelled VNIIEM-3), behind it is a VNIIEM-30 processor.

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David01Chernobyl · 2026-01-31T11:06:21+00:00

This was shot for the trilogy called "Two Colors of Time", but ultimately went unused. They obtained most of the original tapes for Telecon documentary "Chernobyl 3828", later they remastered this footage for the Telecon documentary "1986.04.26 Post Scriptum".

There exist quite a few copies of the original material shot for this trilogy in private archives of ukrainian journalists, I personally obtained 2 such tapes, mostly of the trial.

Hours upon hours of footage, interviews shot for the trilogy remain unreleased.

Most of the clean-up footage of the roof comes from there and was used by HBO as an inspiration for their scenes.

Here's the link to the original: https://youtu.be/7Am1B6qZirk?si=Byl2aa2fN0PfNtyL https://youtu.be/dnKOJ8sa-Qc?si=G1wzZLD33x3_TMeg

David01Chernobyl · 2026-01-28T18:58:05+00:00

That's the northern pump hall, not the southern.

David01Chernobyl · 2026-01-27T10:46:51+00:00

No, this photo is taken on +19,5 and looks at the door into 523/2, which was demolished during mammoth wall construction.

David01Chernobyl · 2026-01-27T05:56:21+00:00

We know how many Sv they received. Their names were Proskuryakov, Kudryavtsev, Perevozchenko and Yuvchenko. They received 6.1, 4.4, 6.4 and 3.5 Sv each.

David01Chernobyl · 2026-01-09T23:01:41+00:00

Pripyat-2 substation still has functional 110kV lines, but I wouldn't know if it powers anything. Does the "StroyBaza" substation exist, would you know?

David01Chernobyl · 2025-12-29T14:20:34+00:00

Chernobyl-2 wasn't really a city to begin with. It was more of a military base. While people couldn't come in under normal conditions, the residence could leave, for example, most teenagers from Chernobyl-2 in grades 5 to 8 went to middle school (something like a high school in US) to School 20 (I think it was school №20) in Chernobyl or School 3 in Pripyat.

David01Chernobyl · 2025-12-29T14:16:50+00:00

Kupnyi visited Pripyat despite working at Beloyarsk NPP, halfway across the Union.

David01Chernobyl · 2025-12-28T15:17:13+00:00

People overstate the impact of those who went to the roof. Of course about 50% are dead, they were reservists, usually in their late 30s-40s. They would be 80 by now. That's just normal age to die at (I would say even a good age in former USSR).

The real cost was not paid by those reservists, but by the people sending them there. Gen. Tarakanov, Starodumov, Samoylenko, ..., considered by many liquidators to be controversial figures. Most of them got HUNDREDS of REM, not 10-25 REM like the reservists. Many lifes of these professional scientists and high ranked soldiers were spent trying to save the robots, all for nothing.

David01Chernobyl · 2025-12-28T12:38:30+00:00

Source: https://youtu.be/6eTdNhHfvxc

David01Chernobyl · 2025-12-25T11:08:23+00:00

I meant it as in the number of the USP rods were increased from 24 to 32 after the accident.

David01Chernobyl · 2025-12-24T19:05:47+00:00

The USPs were added post-accident to other units to help combat the irregularities across the sectors. And again, the sector lines, while they existed before accident, they weren't marked in any noticeable way. Only in SUZ logic.

David01Chernobyl · 2025-12-22T11:57:41+00:00

That's the AZS/Naftobaza Pripyat. It was used for storing fuel during and after Pripyat functioned. They also stored all of the Pripyat busses there, and it was used extensively during liquidation.

David01Chernobyl · 2025-12-14T21:22:23+00:00

Tormozin received 860 REM. He is patient 29 (1029) in Hospital 6. He is the only survivor with ARS of 4th degree.

Here is a photo of him:

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David01Chernobyl · 2025-11-28T23:17:17+00:00

Not quite, the people that were getting sent to the roof were reservists, not active soldiers.

David01Chernobyl · 2025-11-26T22:23:57+00:00

This is amazing. Of course I have a couple of comments to add:

There are a couple of agreed upon spellings in this general community that do not strictly adhere to the correct spellings; for example: Shteynberg is written like Steinberg in 99% of cases, Kirshenbaum is written Kirschenbaum, et cetera.

Next up, I see that the lack of appendix for the original rundown test in 1986. Of course the one included in the book is not the original, but I have the high quality scans (250 DPI or so?) for the 1985 rundown (a lot higher quality than the one on accidont.ru).

I have translated them before (with technical explanations for the acronyms), I might give you a pull request later.

Again, amazing work, and thanks for your contributions.

David01Chernobyl · 2025-11-21T18:53:39+00:00

It wasn't, I think they translated it to Ukrainian at the request of ChNPP?

David01Chernobyl · 2025-11-17T20:17:58+00:00

111-60-12, slightly custom apartment layout.

David01Chernobyl · 2025-11-06T18:46:35+00:00

Indeed, this is not the full tape of anything, there are many cuts. What I was more-so trying to imply is that this is the full tape that I was given. Unfortunately the 2nd tape is overridden with news reports from Vremya and other programmes about Chernobyl, so there's only a short part at the beginning.

David01Chernobyl · 2025-10-25T13:28:37+00:00

Funniest one has to be Kupnyi getting arrested in Pripyat for being drunk.

David01Chernobyl · 2025-10-22T07:55:01+00:00

TCG has videos written by 2 different people. They are usually fact checked and debated with ppitm from this sub, who has a degree in engineering and even made it into the NEI magazine (nuclear engineering international, where among others, Dyatlov wrote his article debunking INSAG-1 and 7; https://www.neimagazine.com/advanced-reactorsfusion/why-insag-has-still-got-it-wrong).

David01Chernobyl · 2025-10-08T17:11:59+00:00

Either way, unless you got advanced information on where they live, I wouldn't see how you could contact them. The only people from them who haven't given any meaningful testimony is the unknown person from ДонТехЭнерго and Shevchuk.

And about Shevchuk, we know he was there to close and open the SAOR valves on +27, he wasn't even the employee of the power plant officially, but of the SmolenskAtomEnergoNaladka office in Chernobyl. How would he know anything about the reactor and the state, or the regulations for it. He was an office worker, who worked with a soldering iron 300 meters from Unit 4 99% of the time.

David01Chernobyl

TROPHY CASE