ECHO IV


ECHO IV, or ECHO 4 is a prototype of a home computer developed by Westinghouse Electric engineer James Sutherland in the mid 1960s.

History

James Sutherland worked as an engineer for the American company Westinghouse Electric, designing fossil and nuclear power plant control systems. In 1959 the company built a computer called PRODAC IV, using destructive-readout core memory and NOR logic.
When PRODAC IV was replaced by a UNIVAC design, some of the Westinghouse controller hardware was declared surplus in 1965. Sutherland took up surplus boards and memory to build a home computer, ECHO IV. It was made public for the first time in 1966.
The computer was working in the Sutherland's house until 1976, and was donated to the Computer Museum in Boston in 1984.

Technical specifications