>That would be this October, if you believe the scheduled shipping date
>for the new Imsai computers.
"New-old" IMSAI boxes were shipped through the mid-80's under several
different names (there were Cromemco-branded IMSAI's, in particular).
So classifying them as "old" or "new" isn't necessarily the simplest
thing in the world!
--
Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com
Trailing Edge Technology WWW: http://www.trailing-edge.com/
7328 Bradley Blvd Voice: 301-767-5917
Bethesda, MD, USA 20817 Fax: 301-767-5927
I got a 4 dual slot qbus logic box. It's a little desktop unit.
The power supply is not functioning.
There are two connectors on the rear of the chassis. One goes to the
processor reset, the second goes into the power supply. Is something
required in the power supply connector to make things work, or do I have a
blown supply?
Does anyone have schematics for this supply? (The chassis is marked
oba11-va)
Steve
Hi. I just acquired a Rainbow (haven't seen it yet, so I don't know
many specifics) but it has a color monitor and the guy said he also
had a touchscreen attachment for it.
Anybody have pointers to where I can find out a little more about
this beast? The guy I'm getting it from told me it was working the
last time he used it, so I should be a happy camper in a couple of
days.
Thanks.
Paul Braun
NerdWare -- The History of the PC and the Nerds who brought it to you.
nerdware(a)laidbak.com
www.laidbak.com/nerdware
> > I think that it's a load of crap. Old computers for the masses.
Ruins it
> > for the rest of us. Next thing you know, the Antiques Road Show will
have an
> > "antique computer" eposode.
>
> Um, from what I heard, someone on the Roadshow said within the last year
> that computers will become the next hot collectable. Someone locally
here
> told me that (I didn't see the show myself). So it's too late for fear,
> move straight on ahead to loathing.
Oh! I can't wait...
"Gee, that's too bad. If you hadn't rewound the transformer on that
IMSAI, it would be worth $50,000. But since it works, it's only
worth $25. Remember folks, never fix anything. The original non-working
lump of metal is worth far more than a machine that does what it was
actually designed to do."
Hi Gang:
The most recent addition to http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/pdp8 is the Small
Computer Handbook, 1966 edition, sections 1 and 2.
These were contributed by Doug Coward. You can reach Doug at the highgate
web site.
Further contributions of pdp-8 material welcome,
Kevin
==========================================================
Sgt. Kevin McQuiggin, Vancouver Police Department
E-Comm Project (604) 215-5095; Cell: (604) 868-0544
Email: mcquiggi(a)sfu.ca
I've been trying to bring my old RX02 drive back to life, with little
success.
I just received a good bootable floppy, and get the same results as with all
my old disks, so now I'm looking for hardware problems.
On a PDP-11/03, With RXV21 controller, and an RX02 drive, the RX02
initializes, attempts to read the boot block, and crashes to ODT at 000600.
> In examining what my system reads as it attempts to boot, it looks like I
> read every other 128 byte chunk correctly. I haven't figured out a
pattern
> to the corrupt sections.
Does anyone have any RX02 diagnostics, or hardware trouble shooting tips?
Steve
<Well, as I've said before, there are transformer kits available in the
<UK. THey cost a little more than a normal transformer of that power
<rating, and consist of a former with the primary windings pre-wound, and
<a pile of laminations. You get to supply the secondary wire, and wind it on
As someone that has wound audio and power transformers from scratch it's
a pretty trivial task and can be very useful. Used to be a time the
ARRL (USA) Handbook for Radio Amateurs had all the tables. Though given
a random core it's pretty easy work all the numbers out after finding out
if it's big enough.
Allison
>Well, actually it's not. A copy might not be made of the same materials
>that the original was made of. It might have different components
Well, then it's not really what I was thinking of as a copy. Again, minor
variations are possible, but if it no longer works the same way (e.g. if it
has a pentium running an emulator inside), of course I wouldn't accept it as
a copy.
What I'm trying to say is basically that copies are not really such awful
things as you make them sound...
Anyone able to direct me to a copy of the display driver and/or diagnostic
setup disk(s) for this thing I just found ? Would be much appreciated.
TIA
colan
____________________________________________________________________
Vintage Computer Collectors List and Info: http://members.xoom.com/T3C
Mail us at: T3C(a)xoommail.com
> At 10:39 AM 8/22/99 -0400, Bill Sudbrink wrote:
>>
>>"Gee, that's too bad. If you hadn't rewound the transformer on that
>>IMSAI, it would be worth $50,000. But since it works, it's only
>>worth $25. Remember folks, never fix anything. The original non-working
>>lump of metal is worth far more than a machine that does what it was
>>actually designed to do."
>
> I guess you don't watch the Antiques Roadshow very often. They routinely
> dash people's hopes by saying "Gee, if back in 1950 you hadn't refinished
> this 1820 chest of drawers, it would be worth $25,000. But now it's
> worth $250."
>
> It all comes down to each person's perception of value. And of course,
> the sale price is ultimately determined one buyer and one seller.
>
> - John
>
> P.S. For the non-USAians, "Antiques Roadshow" is a television program
> on the public television network. It travels from city to city, opening
> up a convention hall to the public to bring in their antiques for free
> appraisal by their teams of expert auctioneers and collectors.
We have a similar show in the UK, also called Antiques Roadshow. One of the few
TV shows I actually enjoy watching. Alas I was away when it came to Coalville,
so I couldn't take any classic computers to see how they reacted...
I'm not sure of the accuracy of some of their comments though. Examples from
when my parents caught it at their town (and got on TV!):
1. My mother took some WW2 propaganda posters. Was told they were almost
worthless. Later on, an official came up to her and said they wanted to film
the posters. So they went through the same rigmarole again. But on camera she
was told they were worth at least 100 pounds (I can't remember whether each or
for the set)
2. My parents also invited them to look at some antique furniture in situ. One
writing desk they were particularly interested in, shipped it to the filming
venue, etc. They pointed out all the things to look for, and claimed that the
evidence proved it was original and had never been restored. My father forebore
to say that it had come back from the restorer's workshop only 2 months earlier
- and we'd all seen the state it was in before it went...
(We think they must have lost a lot of footage that day. A lot of interesting
things they filmed weren't shown, and they filled up time with pointless
activities that had little bearing on the antiques...)
Philip.
