Northwest Microcomputer Systems

Northwest Microcomputer Systems, Inc.

Company type	Private
Industry	Computer hardware
Founded	December 1, 1977 (1977-12-01) in Coos Bay, Oregon, United States
Founder	Randy Bush, John Burles, Michael McKeown, Jim Long, Jay Farr
Defunct	Early 1980s
Headquarters	Eugene, Oregon , United States
Products	85/P microcomputer system, RAM and EPROM modules for STD Bus systems

Northwest Microcomputer Systems, Inc. (abbreviated as NMS) was a privately held American computer enterprise that operated from 1977 until the early 1980s, with its base of operations located in Oregon. The company was established by a group of computer engineers and investors, including Randy Bush, concentrating on the development of microcomputers.

History

Founded in December 1977 in Coos Bay, Oregon, Northwest Microcomputer Systems was created by Randy Bush, John Burles, Michael McKeown, Jim Long, and Jay Farr. Randy Bush, the leading founder, contributed over a decade of engineering expertise. Michael McKeown possessed a Doctor of Science degree; Jim Long was employed as a software developer; John Burles managed accounting duties; and Jay Farr’s other enterprise, True Value Hardware, became the company's inaugural customer.

The company’s first offering, the 85/P, was unveiled at the 1978 West Coast Computer Faire. By May of that year, Northwest Microcomputer transitioned its main office to Eugene, Oregon, where it expanded into a 2,500-square-foot space accommodating both manufacturing and research and development activities. This relocation aligned with their ambitions for nationwide growth.

In 1979, Northwest expanded its product line by launching RAM and EPROM modules compatible with STD Bus systems—a standard bus architecture widely used in industrial control applications—thereby strengthening their embedded computing solutions portfolio.

Northwest Microcomputer Systems remained active through at least 1981 before ceasing operations during the early 1980s.

85/P

The 85/P was an integrated microcomputer system introduced by Northwest Microcomputer Systems in 1978, primarily engineered as a Pascal programming development platform (with the P signifying Pascal). It incorporated an Intel 8085 processor clocked at 3 MHz, featured 54 KB of static RAM memory, supported direct memory access on its bus architecture, and included two 5.25-inch floppy disk drives manufactured by Shugart Associates.

The system housed a built-in 12-inch CRT display capable of rendering 80 columns by 24 lines of text and was equipped with a 103-key keyboard utilizing Hall effect switches for enhanced responsiveness. Encased within a natural wood cabinet to highlight craftsmanship, the 85/P came bundled with several software tools: the CP/M operating system, a BASIC interpreter, a Fortran compiler compatible with CP/M, and an independent Pascal compiler-interpreter able to process up to 725 lines per minute on the Intel 8085 CPU.

Aimed at professional users such as small business owners, accountants, and legal practitioners rather than hobbyists, the 85/P was marketed as an economical substitute for minicomputers offering comparable computational capabilities. Initially priced at $15,000—less than half the cost of equivalent minicomputer systems—the price was subsequently lowered to $7,495 in 1978 to improve its appeal in the marketplace.