26 Apr
2002
26 Apr
'02
1:17 p.m.
The serial number of my first PC was 0106440. I think there was an
extra DB plate on the back and I'm pretty sure there were drive mounting
holes in the bottom of the case. There was also a cutout in the case
bottom below the power supply and the case cover was held on by two
screws rather than the five screws of the later PC and XT cases.
It also had the 64K motherboard and a black 63.5 watt power supply, but
with a red switch. I don't think I've ever seen a white one. . .
The oldest IBM PC I currently own (purchased last year) is nearly the
same without the knockout plate and case bottom screws, but then the
serial number is 0219682.
At least I still have the original manuals (DOS, BASIC and Guide to
Operations) from the first PC along with the receipt ($2235 for the 48k
PC, $90 for 16K additional, $50 for the Sup R Mod V, $300 for the color
adapter and $40 for DOS 1.0. I also bought 10 diskettes for $42 and the
Technical Reference Manual for $36 when I bought the system.
That first machine was traded for an IBM AT after a bit. That box
hosted a BBS system I ran in New York and then San Antonio for over 7
years before being retired.
Erik
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
[mailto:owner-classiccmp@classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Fred Cisin
(XenoSoft)
Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2002 7:17 PM
To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
Subject: RE: Period pricing references (was Re: Micro$oft Biz'droid
Lusers)
On Thu, 25 Apr 2002, Erik S. Klein wrote:
My bad on the disk size. My memory gets worse and
worse.
'salright; Few folk remember even that much.
I eventually did buy TM100-2s for that machine and
expanded it with a
Quadboard and bulk-purchased 4164s. A surplus B&W composite monitor
served
for a bit before a Princeton RGB display replaced it.
I wish I'd have
saved
that machine. I haven't seen one with a lower
serial number since.
Why? What number was it? (Now I'm going to have to dig deep to check
mine.)
Did yours have the extra DB blockoff plate on the back panel?
Did it have a drive mounting screw coming up from the bottom?
My first 5150 came from IBM with a WHITE (NOT RED!) power switch, and a
BLACK power supply (63.5W?)
These days, I hardly EVER even see the 16K-64K motherboard ones.
IBM was pricey in the day, but they were competitive.
You still pay
nearly
$3K for cutting edge.
But since it used the same drives and RAM as TRS-80, it wasn't VERY hard
to find substantially cheaper aftermarket prices (among TRS-80 sources),
rather than paying IBM prices. For example: IIRC, IBM wanted $540 for
Tandon TM100-1, but I could get one with case and power supply for
TRS-80
for $225, or about $150 for bare drive.
The RF-Modulator (SupRModII) was readily available from Apple sources.
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin(a)xenosoft.com