Makers of Z80 industrial rack computers in the 80s? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2017, 06:34:04 pm
content: I've been racking my brain trying to remember as much as possible about a computer I had in the 1980s. The computer itself was called an LP912 or LP-912 and was used for oil well logging. It was in a rack mount case and had a small green CRT in it with a membrane 10 key keyboard and banana jack connections for 5 and 12 v. It was something salvaged from the dumpster in the 80s or 90s. It had a card cage inside and housed several peripheral boards along with one that had a Z80A and Z80 Dart on it. It did work after I swapped some cards around. It would power up and present a menu to do some well logging functions. One menu option I recall would present a screen saying it was waiting for a camera, and it did have BNC jacks on the back for other things including a camera. Since it was a 1980s system, I am not sure if it was actually going to digitize anything that came through the camera or if it only controlled something that displayed on another screen.What I'd like to figure out is what company made it first, it was branded with the logo of the well logging company CRC Wireline (aka Crutcher Resources Corporation), but I am reasonably certain they did not design it. I'm assuming they purchased a product that was customized to their application and branded it. The cards were in a cage so I am hoping it had used some kind of standard bus for Z80 cards.EDIT: I wanted to add the cards were card edge connected, not pin header. Also there were ribbon cables that went between some cards.I found there was an S100 bus used back then, however I think the cards it had connected on the end and not the bottom to the bus in the cage.Any ideas?

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2017, 07:21:27 pm
content: CompuPro made a rack mounted S100 based Z80 but it didn't have a display and there was no room for one.The S100 bus has the cards mounted into a motherboard using a standard card edge connector scheme. The bottom edge of the card formed the male connections.Pictures of cards here:http://www.s100computers.com/

author: C
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2017, 08:07:14 pm
content: Their was a lot of different buses used back then.STD Bushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STD_BusMultibushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MultibusYou could find a Z80 on above two.And a bunch that did not become a standard.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2017, 09:17:37 pm
content: This would have been very expensive and leading edge in it's day. CRC Wireline might have been buying someone else's tools.Big money to design this stuff and I remember it was usually exclusive technology to stay competitive.Schlumberger or Computalog back then could do this, as it would have been paired up with the down-hole tool. I think a custom system, especially if used in wireline trucks.There may be some text on the PCB's to ID the manufacturer, or in the EEPROMs.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2017, 10:29:02 pm
content: The computer itself is long gone unfortunately. With some research I am starting to lean towards possibly being designed by Schlumberger. I even found that I had posted about this computer before here and had forgotten about it but it had not gotten any responses before.I've been hoping to find a picture of it online but nothing yet.