9 Mar
2007
9 Mar
'07
6:14 p.m.
I feel the need to ask - what is it that makes DEC
stuff so popular
and collectible, versus other machines of the same time period?
Generally they're equally as interesting, and often more so (IMHO)
due to all the quirks and design differences versus the more
mainstream DEC stuff.
For me, DEC was the first "real" computer that I could actually work on.
Attending the Maynard training facility was a blast. The instructors used to
have us practice troubleshooting the 11/45 by putting tape on a finger
"somewhere", and then we had to find the fault. I still remember a friend and I
going in one night to practice, putting a piece of tape on a random finger, and
taking some two or three hours to find the "problem" :). Normally, the
instructor faults would take us maybe 30 minutes max.
Later, I programmed an 11/05 as necessary when looking for faults in the control
system for a large bakery. T'was just plain fun!!!!!