23 Jan
2023
23 Jan
'23
9:29 p.m.
generally, if something is too difficult or too expensive to replace, i will opt to
replace it with something more modern. PDP11 memory is quite expensive, for instance, so
if the 4MB in my 11/83 fails i will be forced to emulate it with the qbone i have serving
my disks- those are also quite spendy and tempermental these days. i store all of my
failed parts for a day when i am a bit more competent in the realm of hardware
troubleshooting and repair, but being a software guy it’s certainly not something i can do
right now.
that being said i typically prefer to have original parts in my systems whenever possible,
but i also have to accept that sometimes it just isn’t possible. it does sadden me to
think about sometimes, but that is where my optimism for the CPU fabrication i mentioned
comes in. the chips we (hopefully) get some day may not be the exact same, but if they are
real deal physical chips, and as long as they are indistinguishable in every aspect
besides date of manufacture i don’t think i’ll really mind. i can only speak for myself,
though.
—
.hush
Got interesting stuff to sell? Let me know!
Looking for DEC, IBM, CDC, SGI, Data General, and more!
On Monday, Jan 23, 2023 at 4:18 PM, js--- via cctalk
<cctalk(a)classiccmp.org (mailto:cctalk@classiccmp.org)> wrote:
On 1/23/2023 2:28 PM, Chris via cctalk wrote: @
Mike Stein
Not everything is criticism. I only corrected a rather obtuse notion about people
replacing mechanical drives with solid state ones. Everyone would love to use their
original equipment if it was practical. I for 1 have NO luck with floppy disks. Is it my
part of the country? Could be.
Would a few people here be willing to share their approaches to their
collection?
I'll start. I've collected a variety of mainly DEC, HP, and Apple
machines, and have restored or repaired them slowly over time. However,
as they fail from now on, I will *not* be doing modern upgrades or
repairs. As they die, so shall they be retired or given away.
For me, it's the experience of the original sights, sounds, feels, and
yes, emotions of the original hardware that's the inspiration. So,
floppy and tape drives all the way for me, as well as original hard
drives (Mike, I'm right there with you on the IMIs :). Emulators
just don't provide what I'm looking for.
- John
Frederick, Maryland