17 May
2004
17 May
'04
1:40 p.m.
Well, amazingly, I'm still alive after my trip to the Dayton Hamvention... ;-)
Got down there Friday nite, so I didn't get any chance to peruse the
flea-market booths then (which is when I'm told most of the classic schtuff
is available...)
on Saturday, it rained like a ... Well, a lot. It didn't ease off until
about 1600hrs, when I finally figured I'd "venture out into the
wilderness", so most vendors were still wrapped up prolly figuring the
entire day was a lost cause & went to drown their sorrows. I did see a
Heathkit EPROM burner (4800? methinks) - guy wanted $50 but "might" take
$40. I told him I'd think about it, it was gone Sunday. (It did have the
personality modules up to a 27256.) Dunno if it was a good buy or not. That
was all I saw for classic gear (other than PeeCees that were 10+ years old,
I'm not counting that due to the boredom associated with said particular
platform. ;-) [1]
Sunday was nicer, overcast but warmer & no rain, so it was a good day to do
some exploring, and all I saw was a TI-44/9a with 1 cart for $20, an
unpriced Apple //e, and some unpriced assorted Suns. Altho I'm not "the
most worldly wize d00d on the planet" I do know that most of the time, if
it's unmarked, the price doubles when you ask. I generally don't waste my
time or theirs. ;-)
Nothing Tandy-ish, let alone Model 10x/200 which is what I was hoping
for... :-(
As a lead-in to another thread, tho, I did pick up a soldering station &
desoldering gun. For $100 I got a Hakko 939 soldering station w/1 tip (it's
fine for medium work, but for some fine circuitry I'd want a finer tip),
photocopied manual, and key (yes, you need a small "punch-card" key to
change the temperature & the configuration... each tip has a "temperature
coefficient" that you key into the station, to keep an exact temperature,
AFAICT)...
Anyone else have any experience with this brand/model of soldering station?
The cheapest I'd found on ePay (tho I didn't search completed auctions yet)
was $150, and it looks like they still make 'em for about $400, so I think
I did OK...
I also snagged a $65 Soder-Wick SC-5000 desoldering gun. My only concern is
that the guy told me the filters are no longer being produced for this
model (he had the SC-7000, but I didn't have the $475 required to purchase
the rascal). I've already googled around a bit for this model, and I got 1
website: His. The filter on it right now is "nearly new" and he stated that
it would take me a long time to wear that filter out, but I'm still
concerned about finding replacements. Anyone know or use this model?
Oh, and I did find an AUI transceiver for my Vaxstation so when I have the
room to set that up again... Externally powered (never seen one of those
before) w/wallwart, $3. Not too bad... ;-)
Laterz,
Roger "Merch" Merchberger
[1] and there were a *lot* of them. Anything from a '386 & up could be had
for anywhere from super-cheap to "what the hell are you smoking" prices.
Sad, really...
--
Roger "Merch" Merchberger | JC: "Like those people in
Celeronville!"
sysadmin, Iceberg Computers | Me: "Don't you mean Silicon Valley???"
zmerch(a)30below.com | JC: "Yea, that's the place!"
| JC == Jeremy Christian