test-drb

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101090 discussions

by tomowad＠earthlink.net

>I used to collect coins when I was a kid, and the Blue Book (wholesale >values) and Red Book (retail values) were my bibles. Coins had a pretty >good grading system, and you could find fairly reliable production data. >I don't know of anybody that has tried to do anything close to this for >computers. I have "A Collector's Guide to Personal Computers and Pocket Calculators" by Dr. Thomas F. Haddock that attempts to price old computers. They don't do a very good job, though. According to the book, an Apple IIc is worth $200 - $400 and a Lisa 1 is worth $50 - $150. To be fair, though, the book is from 1993. Anybody know of anything more recent? Tom Owad

28 years, 3 months

Another EBay absurdity

by SUPRDAVE＠aol.com

In a message dated 98-05-15 21:07:04 EDT, you write: << > Now to add something new to the list... What are the best/worst for RFI? >> I had an apple ][+ which caused major tv interference. my particular apple had a revision 6 motherboard i believe. later models had a different board and had some metal shielding on the inside. earlier models had no provisions for it. david

28 years, 3 months

Microscopic Computer Collection?

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

Noone really cares about used-up silicon. My uncle works at a major company that builds semiconductor factories (A meta-semiconductor factory?), the name of whic escapes me. It is the major one, though. Anyway, he has an bad wafer, of Pentium chips. By the way, is it theoretically possible to make an IC with only a prototype IC and an arbitrary amount of machinery? >>into it within the first 5 or so hits. > >Yes, there's an image of the 4004 die on Coulson's site. But if >collecting classic computers was only about finding GIFs on the >web, we'd all have pretty big collections, wouldn't we? :-) > >Sad to say, but I'd like to get two 4004s - one to smash, one to >keep as-is. I get the impression they're considerably less rare >than many of the computers we collect, having been used in more >popular computerized devices. > >For that matter, I'd like to get more rejected silicon dies. >I have one three-inch wafer containing an HP CPU from the early >80s, and I lusted at the eight-inch wafers I saw at a friend's >office. Anyone know anyone at a foundry? Or do they religiously >recycle the silicon after it's been contaminated with circuitry? > >- John >Jefferson Computer Museum <http://www.threedee.com/jcm> > > > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

28 years, 3 months

Another EBay absurdity

by SUPRDAVE＠aol.com

In a message dated 98-05-13 10:41:03 EDT, you write: << Actually, David Greelish (of "historically brewed" and the "classic computing society") is attempting just such an online price guide. His efforts so far can be seen on: http://members.aol.com/mtpro/ >> what a joke! i just webbed there not long ago and checked his price guide. an H89 for $400? wow, i got mine for free! a pcjr for $50? i cant even give one away! a trs80 model 1 for $200? yea, right! from his "prices" i could sell part of my collection for over $1500. the list is quite sparse though. what about my osi or my portable pc or mac512k with a hyperdrive or my tandy 102 or atari portfolio? i seldom take seriously anyone who attempts to put market prices on old computers. for some light reading and humour goto the above url and check for yourself. david

28 years, 3 months

North Star Horizon

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<> NS* were setup with 16-62k of ram. There were three common OSs run on <> them NS*dos(nothing like PC dos), CP/M-80, there was also UCSD pascal <> P-system. I believe NS*dos reached at least V5.4. They didn't not use <> a monitor or keyboard as a terminal was commonly used. < <While agreeing 100% with what you say, is there any reason why you <couldn't put one of the many S100 video boards into an NS* and plug a <monitor into that You'd probably still need a terminal for text I/O, but <I can't see why you can't have a separate graphics display as well. Typical NS* was set up that way. That was not to say they were configured with an assortment of third party cards. Mine never had a NS* ram card >from 1978 on, already had Seals and PT 8kx8 on hand. Also used a PT VDM-1 until I got an H19 a few weeks later. No doubt over time most any combination of cards made it in to a NS* crate. It was a good crate for upgrading and mods. Allison

28 years, 3 months

Another EBay absurdity

by manney＠lrbcg.com

Anyone interested in a Head Start Explorer? (Laptop -- sorta -- XT w/HDD, needs CGA monitor). - HDD OK, has a virus - Broken backsoace key, some others feel funny (stuck) - Broken on/off switch, needs to be pushed in with pen manney(a)lrbcg.com "Un sot trouve toujours un plus sot qui l'admire."

28 years, 3 months

Soviet programmable calculators: anybody interested?

by andy＠topaz.kiev.ua

Hi, all! I'm kinda novice around here... So can't get at once if the topic will be interesting to you chaps. In my school days I used to work with programmable calculators (Soviet ones - .ua was part of SU that days). So if smb finds the topic interesting I can try to recollect all I know about 'em and post right to the group. And I can assume they could be called classic 'cause the last model of this "Elektronika MK" series was issued ~11 years ago. So, if find it worth typing please mail me to andy(a)topaz.kiev.ua -andy

28 years, 3 months

Microscopic Computer Collection?

by jfoust＠threedee.com

As a teen, I remember scavenging 7400-ish chips and whacking them along the edge to split the ceramic to expose the silicon die, then examining them under a microscope. With that experience in mind, I've saved a number of chips from junked equipment over the years. Has anyone else out there assembled a microscopic chip collection? I've thought about removing the dies from the chips (hmm, might be tough because they're so fragile) and mounting them on slides. Sam's message about the 4004 made me think about this. Coulson suggested a good way to get a 4004 would be to find one in an old cash register. I checked the net for sites for cash register repair companies, and sent a few e-mails, but none had spare 4004s. It would be fun and almost educational to outsiders to have a series of slides showing the evolution of the common Intel chipset, or memory chips. - John Jefferson Computer Museum <http://www.threedee.com/jcm>

28 years, 3 months

Microscopic Computer Collection?

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

I remember smashing chips. Was pretty difficult, actually. I tortured memory chips. I think this might be a good idea. I can imagine a fairly large market for this, if you're into that sort of thing. THe only problem is: how many 4004s are left, not counting the ones on Voyager? How many were made? >them along the edge to split the ceramic to expose the silicon die, >then examining them under a microscope. With that experience in >mind, I've saved a number of chips from junked equipment over the years. > >Has anyone else out there assembled a microscopic chip collection? >I've thought about removing the dies from the chips (hmm, might >be tough because they're so fragile) and mounting them on slides. > >Sam's message about the 4004 made me think about this. Coulson >suggested a good way to get a 4004 would be to find one in an old >cash register. I checked the net for sites for cash register >repair companies, and sent a few e-mails, but none had spare 4004s. > >It would be fun and almost educational to outsiders to have a >series of slides showing the evolution of the common Intel chipset, >or memory chips. > >- John >Jefferson Computer Museum <http://www.threedee.com/jcm> > > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

28 years, 3 months

Intel 4004 architecture

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<I'm interested in finding out all about the Intel 4004 which, if history <is recorded corrrectly, was the world's first microprocessor. No problemo... according to my 1979 Intel component databook... the last year it was in the data books (along with the 4040). Oh, as a note the 8008 had a shorter life than the 4004! <Was the 4004 chip itslef a microprocessor? Well yes, but I'd have to know what you consider a uprocessor. It was complete in that it contained the Instruction decode, ALU, registers and all the basic timing and control. <Did it require support chips to actually make it functional? Yes, a clock generator, and a pot load of logic or specific support chips. I've seen 290x based designs that used fewer chips total. <I recall that the 4004 was a part of a chip set upon which you could < build applications. Yes there were but, the 4004 could be used alone...awkwardly. <Was the 4004 a serial or parallel architecture? Parallel. Instructions are 8bits and data/arithmetic paths 4bits wide. Allison

28 years, 3 months

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