On Tue, 23 Sep
1997, Kai Kaltenbach wrote:
[...]
> CGA
cards
Actual IBM CGA cards are a must-keep.
> Hercules and MDA mono cards
Original Hercules brand cards (as opposed to compatible) and IBM
Monochrome Display Adapter cards are also must-keeps.
> Generic XT floppy controllers
Genuine IBM floppy controllers should be saved.
IMHO _all_ genuine IBM cards should be saved. I always dig through the
'any card 1 pound' box at radio rallies (hamfests) looking for such
things. IBM cards have the advantage that they can be repaired (I have an
almost-complete set of TechRefs).
IMHO collectors will want early genuine IBM PC bits in the future. Just
like some people will pay for Altair bits today.
Interesting... the thought, though, reminds me of the whole "genuine"
Altair discussion. The same way that an Altair chasis may contain Compupro
or other S-100 cards, an XT chasis could contain cards from Hercules, AST,
Quadram, or any number of other manufacturers.
Will this make these systems any less desirable/valuable in the future? Or
will people just want to pay lots of money for matching IBM logos on the
monitor, CPU, and keyboard? (Oops, almost forgot the logos embossed on the
drives. :-)
<<<John>>>
Two things come to mind here. The first is, that if memory serves,
not all of the cards in the original XT were made by IBM. I'm pretty
sure that 'Original' HD controllers were made by Xebec, for example.
The other is, that in other things generally considered "collectible"
(such as automobiles, for example) it is considered acceptable to
have some non-original equipment installed, provided it is correct
for the period (and that the added stuff in of itself is historic).
But I think this only holds to a point: the system board and power
supply would probly best kept 'stock', but one of those Quadram 8086
add in boards would be definitely cool, for instance.
Just my $0.02
Jeff