Anyone remember the Bell & Howell System 80?

[Wavelflack]

I cannot find a picture of this thing anywhere on the net, and no one else seems to remember it.

It was not a computer, but it looked like one. It was more of a "quiz" machine. It used a punchcard with film, showed pictures on a screen, and had five or so buttons for you to use as your choices for answers. They had one of these in each classroom in my grade school, until they were replaced by REAL computers (Apple IIE).
This would have been around 1980.
Anyone else remember seeing them in school? Did you use them?

[Flack]

Hm, I'm not familiar with them but I'll do some digging.

I *do* have a black Bell and Howell Apple II system. They look just like the Apple II except they are black, so I don't think that's what you're thinking of. I found on a website there were not very many made and the ones that were were only for schools.

[Wavelflack]

Yeah, I remember those as well. We had those at the school before the IIE.

This is not a real computer. It actually looks a lot like a microfilm (not fiche) reader, except in place of the film transport and jog controls, it used a punchcard with slides and had a handful of big buttons to push to give your answer.

[Pantechnicon]

I remember the System 80 very well. It came out in the year 1980, hence the name. We had one when they were brand new in the Special Education class at my grade school. No, smart-alec,I wasn't in the class per se. Because I was an advanced student at the time (4th Grade) I was able to land a part-time job in the school being an assistant to the SpEd teacher. I spent about half the school day in there helping out with the SpEd kids. The job had its percs which included free popcorn and soda every Friday. The SpEd kids always had the really cool learning aides such as a VCR (which was a big deal at the time) and System 80. My main job as assistant to the teacher was to run the VCR and/or the film projectors (microfilm and 16mm) as well as set up the System 80 for the slow kids. Now that I think about it, this was probably my first IT job. Wow...

Anyway, in addition to the punch cards and the microfilm it also had this really unique kind of phonograph mounted above the screen. This provided the audio portion of the lesson material. I'm not sure this thing could play normal LP's because all the System 80 records had these strange little blocky areas on them. IIRC this phonograph would actually pause itself while you made a multiple choice selection from the key buttons and then, I'm guessing here, would somehow play an alternate audio track depending on the choice you selected. This was really amazing stuff for its day.

Gosh, I'd love to see one of these things again. That would bring back some real memories. Let me know if you find some pics or links or something, `kay?

[kirin jensen]

Wow. I've never heard of it. Thanks for discussing it on this thread. I thought I was familiar with most defunct technologies, but there you are.

[Wavelflack]

Yeah, I tried every possible search string I could think of, and the best I could come up with was soem computer (a real one) called John Adams System 80, or something like that. A guy's name at least, and I think it was a kit built. Bell and Howell are owned by someone else now, and they obviously don't care to have a historical B&H products page.

I'm glad someone remembers it! I even asked one of my grade school teachers about it a few months ago, and SHE didn't remember it! I thought maybe I just imagined the damned thing.

At any rate, I also remember and upgraded version that used cards with a magnetic stripe on them. The teachers made a big deal out of making sure the stripe was on the right side and which way to put it in, etc.

[Ed Oscuro]

I *do* have a black Bell and Howell Apple II system.

Lucky you, those run well over $100 today. Possibly could fetch multiples of $100, depending on what's with it. I'd like to get one someday.

Hmm, this System 80 sounds like a system Sony had created...never went to market though.

[chrisbid]

*raises hand*

i remember system 80!

we had one in our second grade classroom (circa 1982-83), along WITH an Apple ][e. i would play the same stupid program on it nearly everyday, as i was fascinated with anything even remotely related to computers and/or video games. though for second graders, there wasnt much to do on the apple, other than a sesame street program with a half dozen or so minigames, so the system 80 got more playtime.

makes you wonder where all that educational stuff ends up, there are historical societies that preserve one-room school houses, with all the technology integration over the past generation, i wonder if we will see any efforts to preserve a late 70's/early 80's classroom where the roots of this trend lay.

[drummy]

There used to be a Bell+Howell company building or something near me, and I think it was bought out by someone else. Forgot who. The building is like, 40 stories high.

[Captain Wrong]

I think I remember this. It was a black machine with five different colored buttons on a panel in front, IIRC. If that was it, then yeah, I remember it. I didn't know what it was called. I believe they used this thing in my early elementary school with the unifon program that I was a part of. Ahh, what a great idea that was.

I also remember another machine similar (maybe it was the same thing) they used to try to teach me cursive as I changed school districts and came into one where kids already knew it. That machine I remember more vividly. Again, I think it was very similar in concept, but it used polarized lines to create a motion effect and I had to sit there and trace the screen with my finger. Yeah, that worked great too. I still can't write cursive to save my life.

[Ed Oscuro]

hmm...after hearing the description, I'm sure I've seen things like this in older books that discussed technology in classrooms from that era.

[Wavelflack]

"I'm sure I've seen things like this in older books that discussed technology in classrooms from that era."

That sentence makes me feel really old.

[Ed Oscuro]

If it makes you feel better, this stuff was around when I was in school, so we hadn't shuffled it off. There's really only a decade's difference there.

[vulcanjedi]

Hmm

When I was in grade school we had a quiz machine that had punch cards and 4 buttons and you pushed a button to make your selection and then picked up a bar and it removed the incorrect answers and added one to a manual counter so you kept score.

No electricity involved

Ahh the wonderful memories of mimeograph fluid ..

VJ