18 Nov
2012
18 Nov
'12
11:52 p.m.
Hi All,
It's time to face the fact that I simply don't have time to do much with my
old computer collection and I'm going to slowly get rid of things and free
up some space in my lab for "real" (meaning "paying") work. Not sure
what
the best way to sell this stuff is -- so I'm looking for advice -- or if
there's someone on the list who's interested, we should talk.
I have an IMSAI 8080, that I built in 1977 or 1978. It has the 22 slot
motherboard, 24K RAM (3 x 8K Godbout boards) a serial I/O card, a NorthStar
disk controller and SA400 drive with NorthStar BASIC. It all worked when I
packed it away 8 or 9 years ago, but I fear the SA400 might have gotten wet
in a basement flood a few years back. The computer itself stayed dry. The
computer is missing two red and one blue switch handles and has a few
scratches in the blue cover, but other than that, it's good. I also have a
bunch of Intel multibus cards (for spare parts -- at least a couple of
processors and most of the other harder to find chips). Documentation is
pretty much complete. I have several floppies (copies of North Star DOS and
BASIC), but I make no claim that they're still good.
There's also a Lear-Siegler ADM3A terminal -- also in good condition some
years ago, but again, it hasn't been powered for eight or nine years. No
evidence of screen issues. I have the Maintenance Manual with schematics
etc. The assembly manual was lost in the flood.
Finally, I have a bunch of parts from a Z80 based system with a CPU card, a
video card and a motherboard with built-in keypad and 7 segment displays. I
don't know anything about it, really, and some of the boards are kind of
grungy, so it's probably best considered spare parts. There is minimal, if
any, documentation -- some stuff came with it, but a quick glance says it's
mostly CP/M stuff, not hardware docs.
I'm not sure what to do. With a bit of work, the IMSAI and terminal could
be tested and running (even if I have to track down a new (?) drive, but
I'm not sure I have the time to spend on it. Certainly not in the next year
or so while I'm over-booked with real work. I think I'd rather sell it now,
unless it makes vastly more sense to get it working and then sell it (in
which case it might go back in storage for a while).
As to selling it, does ebay get decent results? I'd like it to go to
someone fairly knowledgeable. Is it reasonably salable in this state?
All thoughts appreciated,
Pat