9 Feb
2010
9 Feb
'10
6:13 p.m.
On Feb 9, 2010, at 11:30 AM, Philipp Hachtmann wrote:
I find those plotters on a regularly
basis. Not one time several
units. But one here, one there etc. The first came from scrap, the
second for EUR 1 from eBay (complete with cables), the third one
came with the 11/40 (that cost me some money - about a quarter of
the transport costs). The fourth (long one) was luckily found
elsewhere. And between all finds lay several months. And they were
not related by any means. So I can say that those units are still
dropping in from time to time.
I have been looking for a 565, no joke, for fifteen years. I had
one on my very first PDP-8/e when I was about 15, I loved the thing,
then I stupidly sold it. I regretted it badly about a year later and
have been looking for one ever since. If they're so common over
there, would you consider shipping me one? (when I can afford it,
which should be soon)
I find it amusing when people on here say "oh,
that's not rare,
it so
trivial to find them." In 99% of cases, it's not. Just because
you might have a stash of something doesn't mean that there's any
more available from anywhere else.
What I don't have are the ink pens. I'm still
looking for them.
If you have the solenoid assembly, it's not difficult to take a
standard ball-point pen ink tube, trim it down and fit it in there.
I last did it 25 years ago, and I don't recall the details, but I
don't remember it giving me much trouble.
BTW it's the same with Teletype ASR33 and 35. In
fact it's not
always easy to get rid of those if they're not in pristine condition.
...it took me nearly a decade to find one of those. I'm not
particularly bad at finding stuff, but I live in a part of the (my)
country where there is NO classic hardware. "Old computer" here
means "2GHz Pentium-4". Yes, sometimes I really want to move, and I
probably will, because this area doesn't support the lifestyle that I
want to live...which includes getting cool computer hardware on a
regular basis.
My ASR-33 came from Boston; I picked it up when I was up there
with a truck moving a mainframe for my employer. I'd have driven up
there just for that if I had to. I know YOU find a lot of this
stuff...I assure you that's not the norm. I sure wish it were!
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL