3 May
2011
3 May
'11
10:24 a.m.
On Mon, May 2, 2011 at 3:31 PM, Jos Dreesen <jdr_use at bluewin.ch> wrote:
Having been given, some time ago, 2 8/L core memory stacks to test and then
sell, I set about and fired up my 8/L....
I decided to take the plunge and tried to repair the memories...
A valiant effort and very nice photos of the process. I have a 13-bit
core stack that came with my first -8/L (the one I've mentioned
numerous times here) that failed numerous locations when I tried out a
toggle-in memory test. Being a curious teenager, I cut open the stack
to find many dozen broken cores near the edge - I'm sure I caused
several of them in my inept and crude dismantling of the stack, but I
can only plead youthful ignorance and enthusiasm. I still have the
parts. I will have to check if it is a Dataram or a Fabritek stack.
It's *possible* that only one of the boards has more damage than is
worth repairing (there's a gouge about 3mm wide and 30mm long through
one bit), but if that board were to be replaced, I might be able to
restore the rest of the damage and perhaps make a working 12-bit
module out of the mess. I certainly know substantially more about
core memory and have a better hand at repair than I did 30 years ago.
The Fabritek has two known good coremat-pcb's, the
Dataram has two
potentially good coremat PCB's.
I have spent rather too much time on this, and am open to offers on these
stacks, in the condition described above.
I don't know that I could put the "wrong" boards to use, but I might
be able to put the right ones to use. I've been interested in
expanding my -8/i to 8K for some time now. This could be the right
spur to move in that direction.
-ethan