Description of Photograph

Photograph of engineer Wally Dutton checking circuits on LEO I. Peter Bird notes that the Delay Line 'coffin' lids are visible in the foreground.

A cropped version of this image was published in Bird, Peter  LEO - The First Business Computer  (Wokingham: Hasler, 1994), plate 27.

This image appears in the interactive plan for our Virtual LEO I installation, p9.

 

Research comments: LEO I in development is made up of 18 racks of electronic equipment. (Notice the extreme right hand extra rack is not yet installed). 8 racks are associated with the store, 3 with the coordinator, 3 with the computer, 3 with the programme reader, the feeders and the recorders, 1 with the pulse generator.

Each rack is 7ft high (over 2m), 3 feet (91.5cm) wide and about 1 foot (30cm) deep. Each one accommodates 10 to 12 panels in which are set the valves and associated components.

The engineer using the oscilloscope is Wally Dutton. Dutton was one of the LEO pioneers; originally a Lyons electrician, Peter Bird notes that he brought an element of practicality to the LEO construction project with expertise that enabled him to deal with the enormous array of electrical engineering challenges building the machine gave rise to. (LM/CM)

 

Provenance
Collected by Peter Bird as part of his research for his book LEO - The First Business Computer (1994).

Date: 28th January 1953

Physical Description: 1 photographic print; black and white

Archives Hub References: CMLEO/PB/PH/1/60757
PJB/3/2/059

Other References: DCMLEO20190524017
                  
                  
                  
                  


Comment on This Photograph

This exhibit has a reference ID of CH60757. Please quote this reference ID in any communication with the Centre for Computing History.