>DEC did have a nice desk with a builtin short rack, it was sold with
>PDP-8s used for small business office applications. It looked like a
>regular desk, but the left side was actually a 19" wide rack. It held a
>BA-11 and a dual 8" floppy box. For our customers that was more popular
>than the "designer" panels.
I actually have one of those desks (I bought it from DEC Salvage about
12 or so years ago). Yes, the left side had a 19" wide set of standard
rails... but there was also a 19" wide set of rails on the right, only
accessable from the back. This was a perfect spot for a power
controller.
Megan Gentry
Former RT-11 Developer
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| Megan Gentry, EMT/B, PP-ASEL | Internet (work): gentry(a)zk3.dec.com |
| Unix Support Engineering Group | (home): mbg(a)world.std.com |
| Digital Equipment Corporation | |
| 110 Spitbrook Rd. ZK03-2/T43 | URL: http://world.std.com/~mbg/ |
| Nashua, NH 03062 | "pdp-11 programmer - some assembler |
| (603) 884 1055 | required." - mbg |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
>>> BBC Microcomputer Model B-plus
>> B-plus ? Never heard of it or is this jus another
>> motherboard revision ?
> No it was a different machine. 64K RAM as standard, I think.
Do you know a picture in the web ?
(Haven't found any).
>>> Torch Z80 Card x 2
>> ?? same here.
> That's a Z80 coprocessor card that fits inside the BBC micro and plugs
> into the 'Tube' connector. A pretty simple machine with 64K RAM and a
> small ROM containing a CP/M-a-like. There's a host ROM that goes into the
> BBC micro. The BBC acts as an intellegent terminal to the CP/M machine.
Ahh ja - hanks, I own 2 BBC Mod B but almost no documentation
(and no extensions other than floppys).
Gruss
H.
--
Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut
HRK
>That sounds like another one I don't have, but read through an
>interlibrary loan: "How to build a working Digital Computer", by E.
>Alcosser, Hayden, 1964. It used a bunch of ganged switches to make a 4
>bit adder. Can you look, anyway?
I will look for it... I also have an old book called 'Star Ship
Simulation' published by Dilithium Press...
>Sounds like you had fun!
Sure did...
>The picture in the Edmund catalog looked like it was made from various
>colored shapes of flat plastic. I know it wouldn't be quite the same, but
>if you have the documentation and once had your hands on one, could you
>recreate it from mat board and an exacto knife? Or some plastic as
>required.
Yes, it was made out of colored plastic shapes... with a few shaped
metal rods and a number of what amounted to 1/2" (If I remember) sections
of plastic straws which were used to do the actual programming.
The documentation shows the parts, but not to scale... if I had a
real one, I'd try to duplicate the parts...
I remember the follow-on unit, the DigicompII, was not so much a
computer as it was a game of Nim... I got that one as well, but
I preferred the DigicompI
Megan Gentry
Former RT-11 Developer
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| Megan Gentry, EMT/B, PP-ASEL | Internet (work): gentry(a)zk3.dec.com |
| Unix Support Engineering Group | (home): mbg(a)world.std.com |
| Digital Equipment Corporation | |
| 110 Spitbrook Rd. ZK03-2/T43 | URL: http://world.std.com/~mbg/ |
| Nashua, NH 03062 | "pdp-11 programmer - some assembler |
| (603) 884 1055 | required." - mbg |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
Hi Megan and all,
At 09:06 PM 7/14/98 -0400, you wrote:
>
>>Speaking of books,
>>has anyone seen the book "We Built our own Computers" by A.B. Holt,
>>Cambridge Univ. Press, published about 1966.
>
>I remember one from years ago which was how to build (and program)
>a simple computer using paperclips and lights... (and a program
>'drum' made out of a coffee can). I think I still have it... is this
>what you're thinking of?
That sounds like another one I don't have, but read through an interlibrary
loan: "How to build a working Digital Computer", by E. Alcosser, Hayden, 1964.
It used a bunch of ganged switches to make a 4 bit adder. Can you look, anyway?
Thanks,
You also wrote:
>>Way cool. I had access to one in high school, to play with, but I never
>>owned one. I've written to Edmund Scientific. They get the occasional
>>letter inquiring about the DigiComp 1, but so far, not enough interest
>>to resurrect the product.
>I concur... way cool. I remember when I was in fifth grade or so, my
>father ordered one for me. When he received it, he thought it was too
>complex and simply put it away. One day I came across it, and before
>he came home that night I had assembled it and was working on some of
>the programming examples.
>
>I have a set of documentation for it (sent to me by someone a few years
>ago) and I would LOVE to get one for my collection...
Sounds like you had fun!
The picture in the Edmund catalog looked like it was made from various
colored shapes of flat plastic. I know it wouldn't be quite the same, but if
you have the documentation and once had your hands on one, could you
recreate it from mat board and an exacto knife? Or some plastic as required.
That's the kind of thing
I might do...
-Dave
On 1998-07-13 classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu said:
cl{Can anybody tell me anything about a machine called
cl{Laser 128, I have the opportunity to get and understand
cl{that it is very small with built in drive and may be somewhat
cl{like an Apple II.
cl{Thanx
cl{------------------------------------------------------
cl{http://www.voicenet.com/~generic
cl{gene(a)ehrich.com
cl{Gene Ehrich P.O. Box 209 Marlton NJ 08053-0209
cl{------------------------------------------------------
Hi
I used to have one a long time ago, the laser 128 is an Apple 2 C
clone.
It runs at about one and a third or some thing like that, MHZ.
Has a 5.25 inch built in flopy 180 K I think and /ram drive in slot 3
drive 1 I think.
It isn't a tam card or any thing like that that is just where the system
has the ram drive.
I had a later model laser 128 ex this one was cruzzing at 3.6 MHZ, also it
had a conecter for an external 3.5 inch flopy.
Net-Tamer V 1.11 - Registered
The tapes are spoken for. John Lawson claimed the stack, with Dave Jenner
a close second. Glad to see they're going to a good home. Thanks, folks!
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bruce Lane, Sysop, The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fidonet 1:343/272)
(Hamateur: WD6EOS) (E-mail: kyrrin(a)jps.net)
"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..."
I had a friend who turned an Atari 800 into a planter. After that,
I inherited it for awhile- it still worked. He had spray painted
tho' it so I elected not to hold onto it.
What always amazed me was this huge aluminum casting at the center
of the machine where you inserted the BASIC and game cartridges.
That casting must have added significant cost to manufacturing the
machine!
Hope someone grabs it... they're kinda neat.
Thomas
I looked around at what's in sight...
NeXT Color Turbo Station
Sparcstation 5
Some boring peecees (incl a Linux box)
A Mac IIx
An Apple IIc
Trs-80 Model 4P
Trs-80 Model 16B w/ 8 megabyte HD and 12" floppies
Trs-80 Model I w/ Expansion Interface/printer
Trs-80 Model 100
NEC PC8201a
Trs-80 PC-2
Kaypro 2000
Oh yeah... an HP 9825 from the mid-70's [w/ one-line display]
Oddly most of these I never owned new.
Of all of them the NeXT machine is still by far the most useful /
least painful.
The Trs-80 Model 16B is the most unique in my eye. I was annoyed by
it at first but it was free and gradually began to like it. It's
currently running CP/M but I'd like to get the HD back up and run
Xenix. The software that came with it made it more interesting... as
this stuff was untouchable [expensive] when it was new.
Thomas
Please contact Mr. Woo directly if interested...
>From: K W <wookm(a)yahoo.com>
>Subject: atari 800
>To: sinasohn(a)crl.com
>
>Mr. Sinasohn,
>
>I've got an Atari 800 computer that I want to get rid of, and I'd
>rather give it away than throw it in the trash. It's still in great
>condition, with a drive, tape recorder, joysticks, etc. Would anyone
>in ABACUS be interested?
>
>There is a catch though: it's in Sacramento. I've emailed the Sacto
>groups, with no response yet. If there's someone in ABACUS who makes
>regular trips to Sacto, and would like to have it, I'd be willing to
>hold it.
>
>
>Kevin Woo
>wookm(a)yahoo.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------- O-
Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad
roger(a)sinasohn.com that none but madmen know."
Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates
San Francisco, California http://www.sinasohn.com/
