27 Sep
2007
27 Sep
'07
4:51 p.m.
On 27 Sep 2007 at 15:50, J Blaser wrote:
The construction of CalComp and the mated DEC drives
are
essentially identical, with only a few minor changes to some
of the plastic parts. I wonder if the CalComp line was actually
acquired by DEC (or vice-versa?). These RX01s both date from
1978.
Calcomp used to be a major player in the hard drive and tape
peripheral business before they did floppies. They had a line of
S/360 compatible products from tapes to 2314-type hard drives (from
their acquisition of Century Data Systems).
Calcomp was one of the minor players that filed suit against IBM for
unfair trade practices in the early 70's (see: Telex, Control Data)
but lost after a very messy legal battle.
In 1980, Sanders bought Calcomp after a very bitter proxy battle.
Lockheed bought Sanders in 1986, and hence, Calcomp. Around 1999,
the company was split into several smaller units and sold off.
Calcomp also purchased, IIRC Summagraphics and Houston Instruments
somewhere along the way.
Those Calcomp floppies can also be found in old HP equipment.
Cheers,
Chuck