19 Jun
2009
19 Jun
'09
4:13 p.m.
(Subject was: Re: Hardware Hobbyists vs. Emulator Jockeys (was: Re: UNIX
V7))
Tony Duell wrote:
Additionally, a friend of mine and I were ever-so-close to buying one of
them and starting a programming business, right after we got out of high
school. Since we were both "kids," with no college education, the bank,
in the end, didn't go for us as being the wizards we actually were. The
business would have worked: we had clients lined up, and everything.
I fell in love with a woman living on the Big Island of Hawaii. That's
pretty close to a third world country. Got married. We both wanted to
be together as quickly as possible, so as soon as I could quit my job,
get packed, and move, I did. That left me nearly without money. It
also left most of my classic computers, and all of my test equipment, in
a storage unit back on the mainland, to be shipped after I got some
money together. When I showed up here, I found that my new wife's idea
of marriage was that she kept everything of mine, and if I needed some
of it, I could ask her politely for the key. If I had been good, and
had done all I was told, perhaps I would be allowed access to my
things. We lived on a street about 4 miles down a steep hill. I was
not allowed access to a vehicle. Long story short, I was essentially
her prisoner. I eventually broke out, and managed to save all my things
which had been shipped over. I thought my escape was brilliant. But,
that left me broke, homeless, and in debt. I started working, but was
only making just a bit more than I needed to survive, and I lost my
mainland storage unit, which included, as I said, the bulk of my
collection, and my entire shop. SOMEBODY got a good deal. Or, maybe
not. The storage place got at least a thousand dollars selling it,
because they quit bugging me about the balance due... Still pisses me off.
From this point, for the foreseeable future, MY hobbies have to be
pretty cheap, or involve stuff I already have.
And just what do you think I am typing this on? It's a real IBM5170
(albeit the 8MHz version) with a 486 kludgeboard in the 80286 CPU socket
running an ancient version of linux. I've done all sorts of hardware mods
to it, piggybacked chips, kludgwires eerywhere. Apart from the hard
drive, I have scheamtics for everything in that box...
It wasn't apparent from your messages that they originated on a Linux
PC, just SOME system without spell-checking. <Grin>
I agree on the HP-120, but the HP-125 actually is very nice. One of my
favorites, AaMoF.
I was speaking of the satisfaction of using the machines, not the
availability. I only lost one 9830 in "the disaster," and it was a
serious wreck. It was in SUCH bad shape that it only cost me $10. I
was getting it in shape when I moved.
Warren
a pretty
complete set of Casio handhelds, a Juno, an IBM AT, an HP 9830,
As an aside, the HP9830 is one of my favourites. It's got a claim to
being the first personal computer (I think it was the first all-in-one
machine you could just put on a desk, plug into the mains and start
typing BASIC). It's also one of the few bit-serial machines you're likely
to come across.
Repairing them is interesting, Most parts, the
exceptions being the HP
custom ROMa and the Intel 1103 DRAMs are easy to find. But being a
bit-serial machine, tracing the fault is hard without a logic analyser (I
speak from experience having repaired several 9810s, a 9820 and a 9830).
Yes, I noticed that at the time. This was before microprocessors. We
were going to go with the replacement guarantee...
my Linux box,
Darth.) My entire shop is gone. So, I feel naked.
How on earth did that happen?
up emulator
jockeying a significantly cheaper proposition for most people.
I won't argue with that. But then hobbies don't hae to be cheap.
Certainly my other hobbies involve quite expensive equipment (if bought
new).
Put it this way, I'd rather learn how to do
something like that than run
an emulator on an undocumented (to the sort of level I call 'documented')
machine under an OS that I don't have the source for. If I have problems
with that I can't solve them logically. If I am using tools/equipment
that I am capable of understnading and things go wrong, I can use a
logical procedure to sort it out. And I much prerfe that.
Understood. Sounds like you'd be a candidate for an older PC running
Linux....
Yes. Been
there, done that. Like you, my favorite machines are the
older HP gear. I love fine engineering, and it was easier to find in HP
Yes, older HPs are well-built and often well designed (although I am not
convinced the HP120 is a particularly good design for a CP/M box). I feel
the peiod from about 1965 to 9185 was the 'glory days of HP' when they
had some wonderful products. If I can get stuff from that period, I do..
than in any
other manufacturer I've known.
Well, there are some HP machines that are hard to find...... I know, I'm
looking for them.