Practical question on valuation of old systems

Dave (and all), I agree with you 100% I just won an LNW-80 Computer on eBay. I've been trying to win one for YEARS!!! I probably paid more than I could afford for it. But, I'd had enough at losing auctions. It's not the Model II I wanted, but a Model I (as far as I can tell). I used to work for "Stoney Clove Computer Center" in NYC that was a dealer for LNW computers, and also for Percom. I bought my Percom Doubler for my Model I from them in 1981 and then, went to work for them in 1982. I also worked for Lawrence S, Epstein Associates that also sold LNW-80 Computers and Corvus Hard Drives and Networks. I was never smart enough to put one on Layaway either time. An LNW-80 Model II has been my "Holy Grail" for at least 20 years. The Model I is the next best thing. The only other pieces of computer equipment I'd like to have (that I consider "grails") are: - A BeBox (Which will now be my next target of opportunity) - A Trash Compactor Board (A TRS-80 Model III Clone that fits in a Model I case) - A Hydra Card (A Mac Plus on an ISA card that works in a PC) - A 20th Century Macintosh - A G4 Cube - A Color NeXT Station (which I know I can buy from several vendors or on eBay. I stupidly passed one up for $50.00 at a computer show). Nobody knows about the Trash Compactor, and I can't find all the docs I used to have about it. It might be a figment of my imagination... But, when that LNW-80 gets here... I'll probably cry like a baby too... Here's hoping that my Model I disks are still good and will boot the thing. I found my masters of Multi-DOS and DoubleDOS, and somewhere I have masters for DOSPlus, NewDOS/80 and TRS-DOS. I bought 100 360k disks, so the first thing is to make backup copies and label them nice. I'm going to try putting a 720k 3.5" drive on it (which ought to work well) and make bootable 3.5" disks just so I have more sturdy backups. Since it comes with an LNDoubler, I'm hoping it's the 8"/5.25" kind that might let me put 1.2mb/1.44mb Drives on it... My friend Tom and I are going to spend an afternoon sometime in the future repairing my Model I TRS-80 and get it working again. It's festooned with upgrades from Dennis Bathory Kitz's book (Reset Switch, Lowercase, Composite Video out, Alpha Joystick compatible port, Turbo Mod with Tri-Color LED, built in speaker and amplifier, External KB connector). In fact, those mods let me identify it twice after it had been stolen. Al Phila, PA Dave McGuire wrote: Every collector or enthusiast has their own reasons for their interest in this hobby, and those reasons usually define what specific machines they're interested in. Myself, I will pay top dollar (if I'm able) in order to get my hands on a machine that I lusted after during my childhood. For example, in my teens, I desperately wanted a Ferguson BigBoard but couldn't afford one. I saw those ads every month in BYTE and just drooled and drooled. Now, I'd just about kill to get one, even though they're really not all THAT rare...I just haven't managed to find one that's available yet. Earlier than that, I drooled over the TRS-80 Model I in the Radio Shack catalogs, back when that model was current. A kind Radio Shack employee once took me aside and showed me around the system when they were first introduced. I wanted one so badly I could practically taste it. I begged and pleaded, but my family did not have a lot of money, and I was never able to get one. I finally got one on eBay about a year ago...fortunately I didn't have to pay a lot of money for it, but I tell you, I nearly cried when I opened that box. I think I only paid about $30 for it...but frankly I'd have paid a LOT more than that if I'd had to, probably up to $1K or maybe even more, because I had deeply personal reasons for wanting it. Now of course, this is classiccmp, where ANY statement of ANY monetary value of more than a few dollars for ANY piece of old computer hardware is usually met with unbelievable amounts of vitriol and ridicule, that may draw some laughter or even doubts of my sanity...but that's the honest truth. We all have our reasons. -Dave -- Dave McGuire Cape Coral, FL