Underhill purchases its first computer

Computer programmers at Underhill's Control Data LGP-30

Underhill purchases its first computer

Underhill purchases its first computer—a Control Data LGP-30. It is a vacuum tube monster with a mere 4096 word, magnetic drum memory. Today, this same computer is on display at MacDonald Dettwiler in Richmond. Decades before the advent of the Internet, field data were being entered and sent via Telex to Vancouver where paper tapes of the data would be fed from the Telex into the LGP-30 for processing. The results would be printed onto paper tape and Telexed back to the crews in the field. Underhill also provided computing services to numerous survey firms and local governments in BC and Alberta.

Learn more about Underhill’s computing services in the 1960s here.