Quick question, what is a fair price to offer someone for a nicely decked
out CP/M laptop? It's the one that has a bunch of the software on two
ROMS, and IIRC has a tape recorder. It has modem, doc's and some other
stuff. I'd like to offer the guy a fair price instead of getting a good
deal.
Zane
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| and Zane's Computer Museum. |
| http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ |
As you know I got these two uVaxen that had been decomissioned from a
"secure facility." (GE Nuclear Technology, and no they aren't radioactive!)
One has this mystery tape drive (TK70 or perhaps an 8MM) and the other
(which is the innards of a BA23 slim chassis stuck into a Sigma Information
Systems expansion chassis (which looks somewhat like a BA123) has nothing
but a 'hole' where the tape drive should be. Since these are configured
identically in every other way I asked a friend of mine who is ex-military
what his thoughts on this situation were. His response was :
"Its obvious that the second system had a floppy drive. Seen it before, the
rule is all disk drives are removed and crushed, tape drives can stay. The
system chassis is sold as scrap."
Ya gotta love that literal interpretation of the 'regs!
--Chuck
<> Standard TTY test pattern.
<
<For _5 bit_ machines...
<
<>
<> RY is the extreme opposite in the machanics of a ASR/KSR33. IF you can
<
<Surely you mean an ASR/KSR32 here.. It's not a particularly useful test
<in ASCII.
I'm not talking about 5/8 bit. I'm talking mechanicals. RY really bangs
the bails and bars around.
<You mean you don't have a telegraph distortion measuring set (TDMS)?
<Basically a special-purpose character/message generator and 'scope. I
<found an old one (valved) at a radio rally about 15 years ago and fell in
<love. It followed me home...
Nope no need, I have a DEC terminal test set. No valves, still old.
Allison
>How about a database on the web that collectors could visit and use to
>record their stuff? Then everyone could query and find out who to talk to
>for questions on certains items.
>
>The problem would be coming to consensus on a common data format.
>
>I'll volunteer to host the site and do the DB development if everyone can
>agree on how to do it.
>
This is a nice idea. I just want to remain this list about the long,
recently held, discussion about privacy in this list's archives and the
negative comments about a web site on MITS Altairs attempts to keep an open
registry about Altairs. I have a web site that exposes my collection just
like many other members of this list have. I wouldn't participate in a
specialized, centralized database of old computers.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------
Kevin Stumpf * Unusual systems * www.unusual.on.ca
+1.519.744.2900 * EST/EDT GMT - 5
Collector - Commercial Mainframes & Minicomputers from
the 50s, 60s, & 70s and control panels and consoles.
Author & Publisher - A Guide to Collecting Computers &
Computer Collectibles * ISBN 0-9684244-0-6
.
Cataloging your collection has many direct and indirect benefits. By all
means do it.
There isn't anything unique about collecting computers. It takes the same
pedigree-type data as does collecting Conestoga wagons. System -
sub-assemblies - related items (e.g. documentation). Please don't spend too
much time on this. The Computer Museum has done it. The Smithsonian has done
it. Ask them. It is covered in the Guide to Collecting Computers...field
definitions, etc. are included. If in doubt, don't do this as a "community"
excerise, just ask the pros and move forward. Ask you local association of
sewing machine collectors, county museum, etc.
The issue of compatibility between one collector's database and anothers is
easily handled by remapping source to destination fields, if and when an
exchange takes place.
Actually cataloging your collection is a fun activity. You re-discover all
sorts of items you forgot you had.
Have fun.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------
Kevin Stumpf * Unusual systems * www.unusual.on.ca
+1.519.744.2900 * EST/EDT GMT - 5
Collector - Commercial Mainframes & Minicomputers from
the 50s, 60s, & 70s and control panels and consoles.
Author & Publisher - A Guide to Collecting Computers &
Computer Collectibles * ISBN 0-9684244-0-6
.
<Quite a few of my machines -- including one PC-compatible and a couple of
<Sparcs -- have 30-pin 4MB SIMMs. They're fairly common.
For some reason here in the Boston metrowest area 4mb 30 pin simms are
scarce and don't go cheap.
That and most 386/486 boards want 4x of each and even at $11 that makes a
16mb ram in a 486 using 30pin more expnsive here that a 16mb (and 32mb
on sale) of the 72 pin simms.
Allison
<And folks use the 256k ones for keyring fobs.
I don't! They are cheap and when soldered together cordwood style they
make nice multimegabyte memories for z80s and the like.
Allison
<Quick question, what is a fair price to offer someone for a nicely decked
<out CP/M laptop? It's the one that has a bunch of the software on two
<ROMS, and IIRC has a tape recorder. It has modem, doc's and some other
<stuff. I'd like to offer the guy a fair price instead of getting a good
<deal.
I presume it's a PX-8 Geneva. Ok the options are various utilities in roms
that appear to the system like CPM disk drives. Also there are wedges that
screw on to the back, those are a modem/60k ram disk, a utility unit and a
120k ramdisk. DOCs can be anything but the more the better.
I ahve one it's a good unit. The common problem is dead nicads of which
there can be three of them (one in the wedge, two different one in the main
unit).
I paid 75$ for mine a bunch of years ago, they are a workhorse unit.
Allison
<> MVII memory use PMI AND CD slots and the CD slots are not bussed for Q.
<
<Yes, but the CD slots *are* bussed together.
True, the B side of the first goes to the A side of the next. It's not a
continious bussing. So if there is a gap the memory chain is broken.
<I still can't find a single signal between the KA630 CPU board and the
<pair of MS630 memory boards that is not bussed straight through between al
<three cards. Other than the bus grant on the A/B Qbus connectors, which
<AFAIK doesn't enter into memory addressing in any way.
The A/B bus is insignificant for PMI memory. also the singnaling scheme is
one of terminated signals with open collecotr drives so a lot isn't
apparent on inspection.
DEC books I ahve don't explain it either. I do have several working
uVAXIIs though.
Allison
I hate to see folks closed out of the Teledisk deal just because we
already hit the ceiling on the first group buy.
With that in mind, I have written to my contact there to find out how much
extra it would be to boost the license quantity to 31 instead of 25. That
should allow the six folk that got bumped out a chance to get back in.
Stay tuned, fellow ClassicCmp'ers! There may yet be a solution. I can't
speak for Sydex, but I can sure as heck ask 'em about this!
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bruce Lane, Owner and head honcho, Blue Feather Technologies
http://www.bluefeathertech.com
Amateur Radio:(WD6EOS) E-mail: kyrrin(a)bluefeathertech.com
SysOp: The Dragon's Cave (Fido 1:343/272, 253-639-9905)
"Our science can only describe an object, event, or living thing in our own
human terms. It cannot, in any way, define any of them..."
