The Husky Hunter is a portable rugged computer that was developed by Husky Computers of Coventry in the 1980s for military and outdoor scientific and engineering uses. It has a ruggedized diecast aluminium alloy case which was claimed to be waterproof against accidental immersion, and if you dropped it from a height onto a concrete floor it wouldn't damage it. The computer had a built-in humidity indicator that alerted the user to high humidity levels inside the case if the waterproof seal had failed.

The Husky was powered by a CMOS Z80 compatible chip, the National Semiconductor NSC800-4, and ran the CP/M operating system. The machine was designed to keep all data and programs in non-volatile CMOS RAM and to download to a desk computer using a built-in serial link. As a result this meant the Husky Hunter came with a lot of RAM for the time, which was expensive, with 80K, 144K, and 208K options. It was powered by four rechargeable AA batteries which provided 14 hours of battery life on average.

This example in our collection was used by Prudential insurance agents to collect and record insurance payments while they were out in the field. This process helped to simplify the recording of payments and automated the administration.

Manufacturer: Husky Computers Ltd
Date: 1984

This exhibit has a reference ID of CH72202. Please quote this reference ID in any communication with the Centre for Computing History.

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