7 Jan
2001
7 Jan
'01
11:30 a.m.
The two side panels on the power supply would be
relatively straight
forward. They are rectangular, wood which could be covered with a woodgrain
laminate, and aluminium edging. Little hooks on the back ensure they are
held firmly to the classic PDP-8 chassis.
The plastic doors would be much harder to make IMHO. We always refered to
them as plexiglass doors. They are a single piece of transparent green
plastic, with an opaque plastic top, plastic edging at bottom and aluminium
strips at the front. I think it is all glued together. The plastic top has
multiple, long slots cut in it for airflow.
Geoff, if your freind does fabricate new covers for the PDP-8, please
tell him to mark it as a reproduction in a permanent, but un-obvious way.
For example, just a simple note like "REPLICA COVERS: 20 JUN 2001" etched
on each cover, inside, in the corner, in very small letters. This will
prevent some jerk in the distant future trying to sell it as a prototype,
or just paint a clearer picture of the provenance of the machine long
after it has changed hands a few times. Being an important machine
(PDP-8), it will always be valued highly and may greatly outlive its
current owner.
Quite a few years ago, some guys started making replica Audions and other
very early tubes/valves. Some of them are marked, but many are not, and
at least a few people I know have been burned.
William Donzelli
aw288(a)osfn.org