imsal 2

Hello, all: I had several conversations with Tom Fischer over the last few months. And I can understand the underlying premise of introducing a "new" old computer to, IMHO, capitalize on the wave of nostalgia and the desire to move down the power curve a bit. I would have no problem buying a new-old machine. I understand, though, that it's not an "as-issued" original, but a newly-manufactured unit based on original engineering drawings with some enhancements. Yes, it's not original, but, hey, it looks great from the front! I don't necessarily agree with the use of a PC power supply, but that feature makes it easy to add PC peripherals such as hard drives, floppies, or CD-R drives, should the need arise. My concern would be using legacy S100 cards on a new power buss. And this step-up regulation scheme concerns me. Why not just use a transformer from Stancor??? My other concern is cost. For $999, one gets a bullet-proof case, new terminated, large, partially-filled backplane, a snazzy front panel, and a power supply of dubious quality. No boards. Nothing. Non-functional, but pretty. And, could the "mainframe" actually cost that much?? Switches: 22@$5=$110. PS=$50. Backplane=$75. Sheetmetal=$250. FP=$100. Maybe I have a warped idea of what this stuff costs, but I was expecting a lower number. I have some old S100 cards to play around with, but I only have a non-working Northstar Horizon. So, I would be Tom's target audience. I would prefer a kit, though, since I have the skill level and interest to assemble one myself. Also, Imsai-2 is vaporware. Conclusion: although I want an IMSAI badly, I don't think that I'm prepared to spend $1k for an out-of-the-box non-functional machine. If I were buying an "old" non-functional IMSAI, at least I could restore it to functioning status. I wouldn't pay $1k for that one, either. Rich -------------------------------------------------------------- Richard Cini Vice President Congress Financial Corporation 1133 Avenue of the Americas 30th Floor New York, NY 10036 212-545-4402 / 212-840-6259 (fax) rcini(a)congressfinancial.com