John puts on ancient marketing hat after dusting it off and
noticing that it doesn't *fit* like it did back in the 80's....
Have you considered trying to set up an informal deal with Mentec?
A little co-op vendor/reseller thing? Or even seeing if they might be
willing to give you a peek at a customer list? It seems most of us on
this List try our best to further Mentec's interests and support.. I
certainly do... maybe this might be something that would tend to
interest them in a Hobbyist License ala SCO/Unix, etc.
Then there is the venerable Thomas guide. You certainly know the
genre of companies who still might have vintage DEC gear in daily
use: industrial analysis labs, xray/CAT-scan facilities, CNC
machining places, commercial graphics firms, and probably a dozen
more categories that you can think of [that I can't :)] 'cause you do
this for a living.
On the swap-meet idea... I would be pleased to offer info on the
CD at my tables... send 'em along. Address e-mailed privately upon
request.
Cheers
John