23 Dec
1997
23 Dec
'97
9:37 p.m.
Some DEC machines use a similar foam either to hold
the boards in place
(the PDP8/e does this) or as a fan filter. Needless to say, when the foam
disintegrates, it then puts more muck into the machine than it ever kept
out. This is bad news on a demountable hard disk :-(.
Many larger machines use the stuff to kill some of the noise. IBMs
generally are loaded with it. But in the future, the Sun E150 may top
list in terms of gooiness.
Most DEC collectors that I know remove this foam as
soon as they get the
machines. I always do. Sure, it's not original, but at least the machine
will keep running.
Some of the stuff is rather stable - 30 years old and only a bit
discolored. At least the stuff is very easy to replace and restore. I
suppose the thing to do is find this stuff and get a bunch.
William Donzelli
william(a)ans.net