cctalk digest, Vol 1 #157 - 46 msgs

Hello All, Back on June 9th of this year (Classic Tech Eletter #11), someone thoughtfully posted the paragraph at the bottom of this message (on this newsgroup). Coincidentally, I had already found the same S-100 computer and I eventually ended up winning the bid (I was the only bidder). I only very recently received this machine (it was slightly damaged in shipping, and it _really_ was filthy! (There was an enormous delay in shipping it to me.) I've got the damage straightened out and I completely disassembled it for cleaning. I just got it back together last night and turned on the switch. I seems to power up and the led's come on (led near the on/off switch and 3 led's on the backplane/motherboard). I talked to one person who said that he thought that he'd had an ISC computer before, but that it wasn't pure S-100. The reason that I bought this machine is that I have some Seattle Computer Products S-100 cards that I really want to get running. They drop in the ISC "S-100" computer _perfectly_, but I have not powered it up with the SCP cards in place. If there's something that's not "pure S-100" about the ISC, I don't want to damage the SCP cards. I just checked the link (below) and it still works. I think the link will disappear in just a few more days (90 days), so I can provide the same pictures to anyone interested after the link disappears. The reason it's taken so long to ask this question is because it took over 2 months for me to actually receive the unit (now the darned link is ready to vanish, probably on Sept 10th). http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2029719366 I cannot find _any_ information about ISC Systems Corp., Spokane, WA. It's an absolutely beautifully crafted unit and from the filthy condition that I received it in--it appears to have been left running for, perhaps, _years_! The seller claimed that he'd removed the existing cards to install in his Altair, but if that's true, someone must have already substituted different cards--in the pictures, you'll notice a bunch of twisted pair and other small gauge wires: these all appear to hook up to what would seem to be "non-standard" S-100 cards, through proprietary connectors. I cannot fathom how the original ISC cards could have been of any use to anyone except a user of this ISC system. It appears that the "non-standard" wires go to things like: keyboard, monitor, a network and LP 1 and LP 2 (LPT 1 & LPT 2??). There is yet another connector that I've no clue as to what it might do. _BUT_, _if_ the box itself conforms to the S-100 standard, and if I can use the SCP cards, all the other wires don't matter, because they won't be connected to anything. I've really taken a liking to this machine--I hope I can use it! Any help would be much appreciated! Thank you, Robert Greenstreet gstreet(a)indy.net http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2029719366