FLORENCE, Colo.—A computer guru is keeping some ancient computers running, thanks to new technology that imitates the old.
Bruce Claremont, owner of Migration Specialties, is a trained software man whose career has taken a turn into the hardware arena. Simply put, Claremont keeps old computers running and saves his clients big bucks in replacement costs.
Claremont’s most interesting job as a consultant has been that of fixing the Navy’s Multi-station Spatial Disorientation Device.
“The device was built in the 1970s with the technology available at that time,” Claremont said. “It introduces anybody who is going to be on an airplane or helicopter to spacial disorientation.”
Spacial disorientation occurs when the inner ear sends a signal to the brain to react in a way that may not be appropriate. The disorientation may come when a pilot is flying in the clouds or perhaps when a pilot is flying over water on a clear day and the sky and sea tend to blend together.
Pilots must learn to deal with that feeling or they risk flying their planes into the ground or water by mistake.
“The device allows pilots to experience what various disorientations feel like and then they learn that what you feel and what happens may be two different things,” Claremont said.
But the computer that operates the disorientation “ride” had worn out. When the Navy looked into replacing the machine, the price tag was between $600,000 and $2 million.
Claremont won the bid by trying a less expensive solution. He created a Strobe Data Osprey computer that has cards inside it, which imitate, or emulate, the original system.
The cost: a mere $40,000.
Claremont spent a week in Pensacola, Fla., getting the system up and running and most of that time was spent with testing.
The beauty of the solution was that once Claremont “drops in the new hardware, it acts just like the old hardware and you don’t change any of the programs,” he said.
So, the operator isn’t required to learn a new system.
Claremont has worked similar magic with ancient systems that run all sorts of heavy industry machinery, from a machine metal shop that builds water pumps to aircraft engine testers and paper mills.
He even made an emulator for the New Orleans airport’s bookkeeping and payroll system.
Claremont likes to refer to his emulating work as “teaching a new dog old tricks.”
He has worked in every state in the U.S. except Alaska, and he has done work in Canada.
He has lived in Florence the past 10 years and finds it an ideal spot because of its close proximity to the Colorado Springs and Denver airports.
Claremont had lived in Florissant and bought land in Westcliffe, so he ended up in Florence to “split the difference” between the two Colorado towns, he said.
Claremont said having the option to add a new fix to an old computer is a credit to the people who originally built the machine.
“Those are skills that are being lost,” he said. “In the information technology industry, it’s all about throwing away the old instead of building on it.
Opening up old computers sometimes is full of surprises.
In the Caribbean, Claremont happened upon a petrified gecko when he lifted some floorboards to get to one computer.
Other computers are so old the components literally have degraded into a greasy mess. Others are just plain filthy inside.
Because many people are resistant to change, they really appreciate Claremont’s ability to fix a problem and allow them to continue to work the way they are accustomed.
“It is a win-win. It makes people happy,” he said.
“One client was so happy they gave me a big plate of chocolate chip cookies when I left. That was the nicest perk I ever got,” he joked.
———
On the Net:
Migration Specialties:
