Hi All
I have just had a huge DEC Miro Fiche library given to me.
It has the portable (weighs a ton) reader with it.
On trying it out. I found the results were awful.
A good clean of the light path and removal of some disintegrating foam
improved things no end.
That left two issues:
1. The reader was for x 42 but the fiches are x52.
2. The plastic fiche holder consisting of two sheets of stiff
and clear plastic connected together at one end is scratched to hell.
I'd like to work to-wards scanning all of the library into a system.
Anybody know anything about fiche scanners.
Rod
--
PDP-8/e PDP-8/f PDP-8/m PDP-8/i
Front Panels ex Stock - Order Now
While falling over Sun and DEC manuals I also found a complete set of
manuals for a great and massive Data Printer Corporation line printer
in four volumes:
Data Printer Corp Chaintrain Line Printer
Models CT-4964 CT-6644 CT-7484
parts and diagrams
operating
maintenance
principles of operation
Yours for the postage but I doubt anybody wants them.
--
Richard Loken VE6BSV, Systems Programmer - VMS : "...underneath those
Athabasca University : tuques we wear, our
Athabasca, Alberta Canada : heads are naked!"
** rlloken at telus.net ** : - Arthur Black
I have fallen a across a bound set of LA36 and LA120 engineering drawings.
Anybody want them for the cost of mailing them?
Remember the good old days when you not only got a printer but detailed
service information including a big set of engineering drawings? Sigh.
--
Richard Loken VE6BSV, Systems Programmer - VMS : "...underneath those
Athabasca University : tuques we wear, our
Athabasca, Alberta Canada : heads are naked!"
** rlloken at telus.net ** : - Arthur Black
Everyone should experience the joy of connecting to an authentic dial-up
bulletin board service. That?s our story here at Vintage Computer
Federation and we?re sticking to it. :)
It?s why we ordered an 8-port analog PBX with a GSM module today:
http://www.excelltel.com/en/enproductslist.asp?id=612
Our plan is to connect this to a PC running the MajorBBS software.
Visitors at our NJ museum and at Vintage Computer Festival East (or
heck, why not bring it with us to VCF West too?) will get to pick from a
selection of vintage computers, hear a dial tone, hear the handshake,
and be productive at 300-2400 bps. People could also telnet in over the
Internet and, in phase two, dial in through the GSM connection.
We?ll share an update this winter when the PBX arrives.
I picked up 3 of these a while back, I am unsure of what kind of machine
they go to. The plan was to use them to prototype on, but then I found some
even better wire wrap boards and set these aside. I did not want to have to
go through getting all the wire off of them.
They are up for sale or trade if anyone is interested, I am just curious if
anyone knows what they came out of.
gallery :
https://postimg.org/gallery/1tizoqomi/
--devin
That's pretty much my attitude. ?I would never even consider building these without correct, vintage parts. ?And I can already see a number of show stoppers.. including the 8263s. ?I have some of those but they're all 1977 vintage, which is okay for a clone but totally wrong otherwise.?
Sent from my Samsung device
-------- Original message --------
From: william degnan <billdegnan at gmail.com>
Date: 2016-10-12 7:33 AM (GMT-08:00)
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Subject: Re: Mark-8 opinion question
My opinion...build it right using a reasonable set of parts from the era or
just leave the boards alone.? I would be wary of winging it.
b
Nice! ?I see you even got fab house marks! ?Where did you get the PCB stock? ?I hate how modern the stuff I've found looks.
Sent from my Samsung device
-------- Original message --------
From: Nick Allen <mail.nickallen at gmail.com>
Date: 2016-10-12 7:14 AM (GMT-08:00)
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
Subject: Re: Mark-8 opinion question
I have built as reproduction Mark8, as accurate as possible.? Check the
link out below to see photos.? Would be happy to help you in your
journey to building a complete system, let me know I can help!
https://goo.gl/photos/X6rXFrVMoJvRXGAe7
-Nick
I asked this on vcfed and I don't know how much overlap there is here so I
apologize if this is hitting all the same people over again. As some are
aware I recently won an auction for 9 original Mark-8 boards (it has 4 1k
RAM boards). To say I was elated would be an understatement - I certainly
have some unusual stuff in my collection but this is something truly rare.
And these are rare both in their own right and for what they are - unused.
Pretty much spotless.
I feel kind of in a bind about it now though. As an amateur historian, my
first impulse is to stick em in a frame and hang em. Not even lay a finger
on them. But I've a stubborn practical side. Like that guy that has an
original AC Shelby Cobra and actually drives the thing. He was asked why
he'd actually drive such a rare and valuable vehicle and he said 'What's the
point of a car you don't drive?'. But then he can say that - that Shelby
doesn't have zero miles on it.
Realistically, I'm never likely to own a complete, vintage Mark-8. There
are simply too few of them and I couldn't afford one even if one popped up
(I could afford the computer, just not the divorce afterwards :)). So here
I am with one path to having one that would be, by virtue of the boards, way
more legit than a clone, but still have that 'built in 2016' asterisk beside
its name for serious collectors.
Anyway, I'm just soliciting opinions from those I haven't already heard
from. This is just for the purpose of discussion, because I'm sure this
isn't the first and won't be the last time somebody buying vintage gear runs
into a situation like this. Whatever I end up doing, it will not happen for
years anyway. I'm not at a skill level yet to pull it off, and I'd still
like to build that clone first and see what I achieve before touching
priceless originals.
I won't bother posting a link to the auction, but have a question. Why
would someone want $3,500 for this board over what H219's go for which
are also 8K words?
Just curious. Only obvious difference is a different core stack.
thanks
Jim
-------- Original message --------
From: steven at malikoff.com
Date: 2016-10-11 10:02 PM (GMT-08:00)
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Subject: Re: Mark-8 opinion question
---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: Mark-8 opinion question
From:??? "Brad H" <vintagecomputer at bettercomputing.net>
Date:??? Wed, October 12, 2016 2:38 pm
To:????? "'General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts'" <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
> I asked this on vcfed and I don't know how much overlap there is here so I
> apologize if this is hitting all the same people over again.? As some are
> aware I recently won an auction for 9 original Mark-8 boards (it has 4 1k
> RAM boards).? To say I was elated would be an understatement - I certainly
> have some unusual stuff in my collection but this is something truly rare.
>
>
>
> And these are rare both in their own right and for what they are - unused.
> Pretty much spotless.
>
>
>
> I feel kind of in a bind about it now though.? As an amateur historian, my
> first impulse is to stick em in a frame and hang em.? Not even lay a finger
> on them.? But I've a stubborn practical side.? Like that guy that has an
> original AC Shelby Cobra and actually drives the thing.? He was asked why
> he'd actually drive such a rare and valuable vehicle and he said 'What's the
> point of a car you don't drive?'.??? But then he can say that - that Shelby
> doesn't have zero miles on it.
>
>
>
> Realistically, I'm never likely to own a complete, vintage Mark-8.? There
> are simply too few of them and I couldn't afford one even if one popped up
> (I could afford the computer, just not the divorce afterwards :)).? So here
> I am with one path to having one that would be, by virtue of the boards, way
> more legit than a clone, but still have that 'built in 2016' asterisk beside
> its name for serious collectors.
>
>
>
> Anyway, I'm just soliciting opinions from those I haven't already heard
> from.? This is just for the purpose of discussion, because I'm sure this
> isn't the first and won't be the last time somebody buying vintage gear runs
> into a situation like this.? Whatever I end up doing, it will not happen for
> years anyway.? I'm not at a skill level yet to pull it off, and I'd still
> like to build that clone first and see what I achieve before touching
> priceless originals.
>
It sounds like you've already made your mind up. If it were me, I would
not build on the originals. I would engage someone to repop the boards,
their labour cost would be recouped with the sale of a few sets.
What I would do is make sure the repops are easily identifiable as such
so that they are not in future passed off as orignals at the same time as
preserving your investment in the real thing.
I recall seeing photos of a WWI biplane fighter being restored by the Smithsonian,
and on the new pieces of wood they used to replace damaged or missing fillets,
longerons and other parts of the airframe they had clearly stamped 'REPRODUCTION'
so that future conservators would know > what was original and what was not.
> Steve.
Thanks Steve.
No honestly.. I just like to talk about stuff like this. ?My mind is nowhere near made up.
Regarding repopping.. I thought this had already been done by Obtronix or someone? I saw repop boards on ebay that I think the seller was trying to pass off as original. ?I'm wondering now how they made theirs and if in repopping mine I'd just be reinventing the wheel, or if someone could make them look that much more like the original.
