3M Model 7500 plotter and a story

I got this somewhat neat plotter today made by 3M circa 1984. Its a portable dealie that can be programmed for different types of bar and pie charts and plots, plus has text capabilities. It has a keyboard with an integrated LCD matrix display that slides off the front. It prompts you for the type of chart you want, then asks you to enter all the data points in. It then plots it for you. I also got a separate unit that has a micro-cassette storage drive and a carthridge slot for some type of modem option. So anyway, there's a reason why I'm talking about this relatively boring relic. Last week I was out of town on a project and was going home for the weekend. On my way to the airport I stopped off at a thrift store. One of the things I came across was this 3M plotter. It was marked at $29.99, but this is one of those shops that slashes prices every couple of days as the thing doesn't sell. I wanted to take it, more so because I was curious as to what it was, thinking it might be a computer with the keyboard and micro-cassette storage and all. But I didn't want to spend $30 on it and I certainly couldn't take it with me on the plane, and didn't have enough time to grab it, haul it back to the local office, then high-tail it back to the airport. So I figured when I returned on Monday, I'd head back to the shop confident it would still be there. When I got in Monday I missed the store closing by a minute. I came back in the morning of the next day to find it gone. I asked one of the store clerks if he knew what happened to it and he said that it was tossed out the night before. AAGGH!!! I was bummed, only because I thought it might have been something really neat but didn't have the chance to find out. Also, I'd failed to write down the model number and thus couldn't do a useful web search. I figured one day I would run into one again and would just have to be patient until then. Well, I would have never thought that day would be so soon. The best part is the one I got today was cheaper ($7), had a hard plastic carrying case, came with a (photocopied) manual, and some plotter paper and pens. And it works (I'm playing with it right now, its actually really cool, and useful!!) Plus the one I saw last week was on the east coast, this one was on the west, at a flea market near where my parent's live that I haven't been to in ages. So what is the purpose of this long rambling? Uncie Sam's story has a moral: there's (almost) ALWAYS one more out there, so if you don't get it the first time, don't fret (and certainly don't pay $12,100 for it). Serendipity will prevail someday and you'll get one too, but you have to be out there looking to make it happen. Sam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ever onward. September 26 & 27...Vintage Computer Festival 2.0 See http://www.siconic.com/vcf for details! [Last web site update: 08/09/98]