Many years ago I was a manufacturer’s rep for a number of companies.  One (AQ Systems) made a microprocessor analyzer for the Zylog Z80.  A small company in San Rafael CA (Sprocket Systems) wanted a demo of the instrument (it clipped onto the processor which in those days was a PDIP package).

They had me clip it to the Z80.  I showed them it could single step it through their test program, examining registers contents.  It was a very clever product.

I noticed some large sci-fi movie posters on their engineering lab wall.  I had just seen the first episode of Star Wars.

“What do you guys do?  Something in the movie industry?”

“Yes”, they said.

“Science fiction movies?” I asked.

Yes”, they said.

“Star Wars movies?” I asked...

“Yes”  they said.

(Unprintable words) I exclaimed!

“Shh..  you can’t tell anyone what we do.”

It was the Lucas Film group that designed and manufactured a motion control movie camera.  The technique goes back decades but they were making a much more complex camera.  The camera was controlled by a PC connected to Z80 boards that controlled the camera and all movements of the camera.  Zoom, X, Y, Z axis motions with the camera.  The concept allowed multiple exact repeated motions of the camera.

At that time they were shooting a scene which had the empire’s nasty destructive energy beam shooting giant walkers shooting at the fleeing rebels on the glacier on the planet Hoth (I think that was the planet’s name).  The models used were about 12" tall as I recall.  They would shoot then stop and move the walkers just a bit as they were stationary models.  Then film shot in Norway of ghe actors would be overlaid with additional special effects on what was called an optical printer.  A very precise tedious job.  They bought the analyzer

I got to know the engineers and the director of special effects, Richard Edlund. 

At one point they realized they had a problem with the lighting of the walker scene.  The color/intensity did not match the Norway footage.  As it happened, another company I represented (Farrand Optical) made a monochromator with a photometer so color as well as intensity could be measured and I presume, filters then used to change the lighting color to more closely match the glacier shots.  I rented the instrument to them (they were back then, very concerned about expenses).

When the later episodes were released I had the pleasure of seeing names of the engineers I'd met such as Kris Brown appear in the credits.

Other customers back then were American Zoetrope (Francis Ford Cuppola and George Lucas's movie company) and Dolby Laboratories.  I also represented Philips Test & Measuring Instruments (oscilloscopes and signal generators).

Eventually, my experiences with instrumentation led me to start my own company (H&L Instruments).  

I still prefer Star Trek to Star Wars.  They did a lot with very poor budgets for special effects back in the black/white TV days. 

And they had Leonard Nemoy (he wrote the book  "I am not Spock" and much later "I am Spock".

Bob Landman

> On Aug 31, 2018, at 5:48 PM, James Head <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> I preferred Babylon 5 to both Star Trek and Star Wars. Mainly because of
> the lack of technojargen, lack of a character reset button at the end of
> every episode and the fact it was a long lasting political story that
> didn't have to set in a sci-fi environment.
> 
>> On Fri, Aug 31, 2018, 9:06 PM Alicia Balonek <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> 
>> I'm sorry but I just have to jump in and tell you all how much I am
>> enjoying all of these comments regarding Star Wars vs. Star Trek.
>> 
>> Because of that, I need to cast my vote but before I do, I have to say,
>> even though I had the privilege of meeting the legend himself, William
>> Shatner when he gave the keynote at APEX in 2012, I never watched Star Trek
>> so....it's STAR WARS for me.  I was 7 years old when Star Wars came out and
>> I remember that year for my Birthday, I got all of the figurines and I even
>> got a land speeder!  I sure wish I would have kept them!
>> 
>> Thank you everyone for sharing all of your opinions today, it really kept
>> me entertained.
>> 
>> Have a great weekend and May for Force be with You!!
>> 
>> 
>> Alicia A. Balonek, CEM
>> Senior Director, Tradeshows & Events
>> IPC-Association Connecting Electronics Industries
>> 3000 Lakeside Drive, Suite 105N
>> Bannockburn, IL 60015-1249
>> +1 847-597-2898 Tel
>> www.ipc.org
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: TechNet <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Ron Feyereisen
>> Sent: Friday, August 31, 2018 2:42 PM
>> To: Technet <[log in to unmask]>
>> Subject: Re: [TN] Which is better? Star Wars or Star Trek?
>> 
>> Captain Picard should teach a masters class in leadership, conflict
>> resolution and risk management.
>> Luke Skywalker should go to Tosche Station to get his power converters
>> that have been waiting for him since 1977.
>> 
>> Ron
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Joe Russeau
>> Sent: Friday, August 31, 2018 11:26 AM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: [TN] Which is better? Star Wars or Star Trek?
>> 
>> This isn't really an apples-to-apples comparison.  Star Wars storyline is
>> classic good vs. evil.  Whereas Star Trek storyline is space exploration
>> with an occasional need to defend against tyrannical species.  Who would
>> win???  Hmm...  I will grant that Star Wars ships are cooler to watch.  But
>> they are also always being pieced back together.  So I don't know that they
>> have superior technology.  Star Trek on the other hand is more
>> intellectual.
>> Enterprise always succeeds even when met by superior forces.  It's hard to
>> out smart Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Chekov, Sulu, Uhura and Scotty.   My vote
>> would have to go to Star Trek.
>> 
>> Joe Russeau
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Sandy Gentry
>> Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2018 2:49 PM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: [TN] Which is better? Star Wars or Star Trek?
>> 
>> Would you prefer to defend the Federation and the tenants of Starfleet
>> against all invaders, or would you rather join the Rebellion against the
>> Galactic Empire? Who wins? Star Wars or Star Trek? We at IPC need to know.
>> IPC APEX EXPO’s Passport to Prizes will reflect the winner of this eternal
>> contest…
>> 
>> 
>> ---
>> This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
>> 
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