25 Jul
2000
25 Jul
'00
9:40 a.m.
It's been a while since I have picked-up any _digital_
computers, but I just could not resist this. I found
someone selling a Ohio Scientific Model 600 on eBay,
and when I went to check was it sold for, I discovered
that no one wanted to bid the $20 minimum bid.
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?MfcISAPICommand=ViewItem&item=…
7886
So I asked for a picture of the computer to make sure it
wasn't just a baggie full of spare parts.
http://www.best.com/~dcoward/osi600.jpg
I paid for it and it arrived today. There seems to
be only one empty dip socket that looks like it should
not be empty. It looks like the key caps for the numbers
were removed on purpose. Without taking it apart, I can
see one ROM labeled "BASIC 3", and two EPROMS labeled
"BASIC 4 modified 12/21/81" and "SYN 600 MOD".
I found one web site that also calls this a SuperBoard II.
The main board says:
"Ohio Scientific Model 600 CPU @1978 Rev B"
The large daughter board says:
"@1980 AARDVARK". And it contains a MC6821 PIA.
The small daughter board contains three 2716s labeled
"REV 94 I", "REV 94 II", and "REV 94 III".
All in all it looks to be in very good condition,
but powering this up is going to have to wait. My
wife wants my current projects off the dinner table
and the analog flight simulator and the paper tape
punches out of the dining room.
--Doug
===================================================
Doug Coward dcoward(a)pressstart.com (work)
Sr Software Engineer mranalog(a)home.com (home)
Press Start Inc. http://www.pressstart.com
Sunnyvale,CA
Visit the new Analog Computer Museum and History Center
at http://www.best.com/~dcoward/analog
===================================================
25 Jul
25 Jul
10:37 a.m.
It's been a while since I have picked-up any
_digital_
computers, but I just could not resist this. I found
someone selling a Ohio Scientific Model 600 on eBay,
and when I went to check was it sold for, I discovered
that no one wanted to bid the $20 minimum bid.
Sigh... I kept meaning to email that guy. Oh well, at least
it went to a good home.
The main board says:
"Ohio Scientific Model 600 CPU @1978 Rev B"
I can give you full schematics for this guy. I've got the
SAMs.
The large daughter board says:
"@1980 AARDVARK". And it contains a MC6821 PIA.
I have some Aardvark schematics and assembly/troubleshooting
manuals (well, not manuals really, stapled together xeroxed
sheets). I think I have that board. Does a parallel port
and 8K of 2114 static RAM.
The small daughter board contains three 2716s labeled
"REV 94 I", "REV 94 II", and "REV 94 III".
I think that's an Aardvark board too... no idea what's on the
EPROMs though...
26 Jul
26 Jul
12:51 a.m.
At 02:40 PM 7/25/00 -0700, Doug wrote:
All in all it looks to be in very good condition,
but powering this up is going to have to wait. My
wife wants my current projects off the dinner table
and the analog flight simulator and the paper tape
punches out of the dining room.
Wifes, they just don't understand. My wife wants my HP 9845 and 9895
dual 8" drives out of the kitchen. I have no idea why :-)
Joe
2:07 a.m.
All in all it
looks to be in very good condition,
but powering this up is going to have to wait. My
wife wants my current projects off the dinner table
and the analog flight simulator and the paper tape
punches out of the dining room.
Wifes, they just don't understand. My wife wants my HP 9845 and 9895
dual 8" drives out of the kitchen. I have no idea why :-)
Joe
27 Jul
27 Jul
1 a.m.
At 10:07 AM 7/26/00 -0400, Allison wrote:
Hey, I resemble that! ;)
On the other hand the cooking grease and all really isn't good for the
drives.
Cooking grease? Who cooks? If it's not microwavable then we eat it cold.
Joe
All in all
it looks to be in very good condition,
but powering this up is going to have to wait. My
wife wants my current projects off the dinner table
and the analog flight simulator and the paper tape
punches out of the dining room.
Wifes, they just don't understand. My wife wants my HP 9845 and 9895
dual 8" drives out of the kitchen. I have no idea why :-)
Joe 
27 Jul
27 Jul
9:35 a.m.
Eric,
I have three Bs here and another lurking in Portland. I've been looking
for a C but I've only found two of them and the monitors on both of them
were toast (literally!) I've got tons of software and manuals for the
9845s, how about you?
Joe
At 08:07 PM 7/26/00 -0000, you wrote:
Wifes, they
just don't understand. My wife wants my HP 9845 and 9895
dual 8" drives out of the kitchen. I have no idea why :-)
Which model 9845 do you have? I've got a B.
Cheers,
Eric
14 Aug
14 Aug
4:51 p.m.
New subject: Sad auction story [exidy sorcerer]
I rarely look at auctions.yahoo.com for vintage computers because the
selection is poor, the categories are filled with spam auctions, items are
poorly described and typically have no photo, and the asking price is
too high.
Well, on a whim, I checked it out recently, and there was an Exidy
Sorcerer for auction. The Sorcerer is near the top of my lust list.
So, I watched patiently for 8 days while the auction crept up the list.
On the final day, it went from its $50 asking price to $205. I won
the bid. It was, by far, the most expensive thing I've bought on auction
(my normal limit is $30).
Still, I was happy with the situation as very few show up on ebay.
The seller was about 90 minutes away, and I proposed that I pick up
the item and I could give him payment in person. He convinced me
that it really wasn't necessary, he'd pack it well, etc. Then he said,
"do you know much about this computer? it seems a little odd. I
don't see where the power goes. Maybe it is a prototype or something."
It sounded a little fishy to me, but the seller really didn't seem to know
much about computers. So I sent my $217 (bid plus shipping), and
about a week later, the box showed up.
I opened up the box, and there was the Sorcerer. Cosmetically it appeared
to be in good shape. It had nice heft. But the alarm bells started going
off. Not only was there no power, there were NO CONNECTORS of
any kind. All the holes were covered (from the inside) with black
cardboard. The case had some "bonus" venting holes with black screen
mesh, which didn't allow any airflow, and appeared to be there only
for effect.
With a sinking stomach, I unscrewed the case to find inside...
a sheet of 1/2" plywood screwed to the bottom, with no main board.
I'm guessing somebody "tricked out" the case and was using it
simply as a keyboard to some other project they had.
I emailed back to the seller, and his position was more or less that
he had told me about the lack of connectors (the power, at least).
So, in an attempt to make a bit of lemonade from my lemon, does
anybody have a Sorcerer with a broken keyboard that could use
a replacement?
Does anybody have a working Sorcerer that they'd be willing to trade
for a working Sol AND a working OSI C1P (w/docs)? or any of the
other machines located here:
http://www.thebattles.net/jimsmachines.html
-----
Jim Battle == frustum(a)pacbell.net
5:05 p.m.
New subject: Sad auction story [exidy sorcerer]
With a sinking stomach, I unscrewed the case to find
inside...
a sheet of 1/2" plywood screwed to the bottom, with no main board.
I would say talk to this guy again, and threaten to charge him with mail
fraud. He shipped you this thing as a computer, not a keyboard.
--
Jim Strickland
jim(a)DIESPAMMERSCUMcalico.litterbox.com
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15 Aug
15 Aug
12:10 a.m.
New subject: Sad auction story [exidy sorcerer]
Yes, don't lety this get by. This is a scam. Complain to E-bay, and
make noises about computer fraud, police involvement, etc. He only
started telling you about condition just before the auction ended, and
never seems to have made a clear statement of its condition. He owes
you big time. On Mon, 14 Aug 2000, Jim Strickland wrote:
M. K. Peirce
Rhode Island Computer Museum, Inc.
215 Shady Lea Road,
North Kingstown, RI 02852
"Casta est qui nemo rogavit."
- Ovid
With a sinking
stomach, I unscrewed the case to find inside...
a sheet of 1/2" plywood screwed to the bottom, with no main board.
I would say talk to this guy again, and threaten to charge him with mail
fraud. He shipped you this thing as a computer, not a keyboard.
--
Jim Strickland
jim(a)DIESPAMMERSCUMcalico.litterbox.com
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14 Aug
14 Aug
5:25 p.m.
New subject: Sad auction story [exidy sorcerer]
Jim Battle wrote:
With a sinking stomach, I unscrewed the case to find inside...
a sheet of 1/2" plywood screwed to the bottom, with no main board.
I'm guessing somebody "tricked out" the case and was using it
simply as a keyboard to some other project they had.
I emailed back to the seller, and his position was more or less that
he had told me about the lack of connectors (the power, at least).
This sounds like a good candidate for the Ebay Insurance program. Missing
connectors is not quite the same as a missing mainboard. It doesn't sound
like intentional fraud, but I would most certainly follow up with Ebay.
6 p.m.
New subject: Sad auction story [exidy sorcerer]
Except that it wasn't ebay, it was Yahoo.
Nope, this is fraud plain and simple. What was sold was an electronic
"prop" used in furniture stores to highlight how a piece of furniture might
look at home. I've seen a variety of things from color TVs to Amiga's done
up this way. Usually on the bottom is the sticker from the company
(Proptronics usually, but there are others) that created it. Some of their
more interesting ones are color TVs with a color picture in the "tube" and
a light bulb behind it. The boring ones are all cardboard.
If I were you I'd contact the seller and ask for a refund.
--Chuck
At 10:25 PM 8/14/00 -0700, you wrote:
Jim Battle wrote:
With a sinking stomach, I unscrewed the case to find inside...
a sheet of 1/2" plywood screwed to the bottom, with no main board.
I'm guessing somebody "tricked out" the case and was using it
simply as a keyboard to some other project they had.
I emailed back to the seller, and his position was more or less that
he had told me about the lack of connectors (the power, at least).
This sounds like a good candidate for the Ebay Insurance program. Missing
connectors is not quite the same as a missing mainboard. It doesn't sound
like intentional fraud, but I would most certainly follow up with Ebay. 
7:07 p.m.
New subject: Sad auction story [exidy sorcerer]
On Mon, 14 Aug 2000, Chuck McManis wrote:
Except that it wasn't ebay, it was Yahoo.
Nope, this is fraud plain and simple. What was sold was an electronic
"prop" used in furniture stores to highlight how a piece of furniture might
look at home. I've seen a variety of things from color TVs to Amiga's done
up this way. Usually on the bottom is the sticker from the company
(Proptronics usually, but there are others) that created it. Some of their
more interesting ones are color TVs with a color picture in the "tube" and
a light bulb behind it. The boring ones are all cardboard.
If I were you I'd contact the seller and ask for a refund.
I agree with Chuck here. You were out & out defrauded. Luckily for you,
you're within beating distance of this guy. Ideally you're in the same
county, and you can threaten him with a complaint to the District Attorney
(in the States, he's the top prosecutor for the county one lives in...you
don't generally have THE D.A. prosecute your case (unless he/she wants to
set an example with your case) but your complaint is referred to the
D.A.'s office for follow-up by one of the prosecutors there...anyway,
enough of American Gubment 101).
If he refuses to follow through with the refund, file the complaint. As
Chuck suggests, you can also file a claim with the Post Office which will
follow up on this.
Jim, don't settle for anything less here. You were defrauded by this
person, whether it was intentional on his part or not. $200+ is way too
much money to be spent on a piece of plywood. Get your money back.
Sellam International Man of Intrigue and Danger
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looking for a six in a pile of nines...
VCF 4.0 is September 30-October 1
San Jose Convention Center, San Jose, California
See http://www.vintage.org for details!
15 Aug
15 Aug
5:18 a.m.
New subject: Sad auction story [exidy sorcerer]
Hello Sellam
On 15-Aug-00, you wrote:
Yes that is a bit much for plywood, unless you're getting it at a home
improvement warehouse . . . .
Caveat Emptor . . . .
I prefer seeing the item before buying it, so I limit my activities to
hamfest and somputer swap meets. And then I assume all items non-working
unless proven otherwise.
Regards
--
Gary Hildebrand
Box 6184
St. Joseph, MO 64506-0184
816-662-2612
or
ghldbrd(a)ccp.com
On Mon, 14 Aug 2000, Chuck McManis wrote:
> Except that it wasn't ebay, it was Yahoo.
>
> Nope, this is fraud plain and simple. What was sold was an electronic
> "prop" used in furniture stores to highlight how a piece of furniture
might
> look at home. I've seen a variety of things
from color TVs to Amiga's
done
> up this way. Usually on the bottom is the sticker
from the company
> (Proptronics usually, but there are others) that created it. Some of
their
> more interesting ones are color TVs with a color
picture in the "tube"
and
a light bulb
behind it. The boring ones are all cardboard.
If I were you I'd contact the seller and ask for a refund.
I agree with Chuck here. You were out & out defrauded. Luckily for you,
you're within beating distance of this guy. Ideally you're in the same
county, and you can threaten him with a complaint to the District Attorney
(in the States, he's the top prosecutor for the county one lives in...you
don't generally have THE D.A. prosecute your case (unless he/she wants to
set an example with your case) but your complaint is referred to the
D.A.'s office for follow-up by one of the prosecutors there...anyway,
enough of American Gubment 101).
If he refuses to follow through with the refund, file the complaint. As
Chuck suggests, you can also file a claim with the Post Office which will
follow up on this.
Jim, don't settle for anything less here. You were defrauded by this
person, whether it was intentional on his part or not. $200+ is way too
much money to be spent on a piece of plywood. Get your money back. 
14 Aug
14 Aug
10:03 p.m.
New subject: Sad auction story [exidy sorcerer]
With a sinking stomach, I unscrewed the case to find
inside...
a sheet of 1/2" plywood screwed to the bottom, with no main board.
I emailed back to the seller, and his position was more
or less that
he had told me about the lack of connectors (the power, at least).
You aren't seriously going to let the seller get away with essentially
shipping you an empty box for $207 are you?
15 Aug
15 Aug
6:10 a.m.
New subject: Sad auction story [exidy sorcerer]
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11:43 a.m.
New subject: Sad auction story [exidy sorcerer]
Re:
I opened up the box, and there was the Sorcerer.
Cosmetically it appeared
to be in good shape. It had nice heft. But the alarm bells started going
off. Not only was there no power, there were NO CONNECTORS of
any kind. All the holes were covered (from the inside) with black
cardboard. The case had some "bonus" venting holes with black screen
mesh, which didn't allow any airflow, and appeared to be there only
for effect.
With a sinking stomach, I unscrewed the case to find inside...
a sheet of 1/2" plywood screwed to the bottom, with no main board.
Scam issue aside, let's look at the question of "what did you get"?
Is there any chance you have an Exidy built mockup of the Sorcerer?
If so, this might be of some value to a collector (even if it isn't
what one would have expected).
BTW, a real Sorcerer has the "bonus" venting holes you mention.
Would it be of interest to see up-close photos of the case of a real Sorcerer?
Stan Sieler sieler(a)allegro.com
www.allegro.com/sieler/wanted/index.html www.allegro.com/sieler
16 Aug
16 Aug
1:05 a.m.
New subject: Sad auction story [exidy sorcerer]
I think you should find out if this "computer" was
in a famous movie, then sell it for even more than
you paid, given the improved provenance. :-)
- John
3 Oct
3 Oct
6:02 p.m.
New subject: Sad auction story [exidy sorcerer]
You may recall that back in September, I relayed a particularly
painful yahoo auction deal.
In that auction, I won an "Exidy Sorcerer Computer" for $205,
plus shipping. After prompt payment and prompt delivery,
I opened the box to find nothing but the case of the computer
with the guts removed, and a sheet of plywood screwed inside
the bottom of the case to weigh it down.
I was just reminded that I hadn't sent on the resolution of this
situation, as some people here asked to be kept abreast of it.
After a number of emails back & forth, dispassionate but insistent,
the seller agreed to refund $100 of my $205. So, I limited my
losses, but I also ended up spending over $100 for a case and
keyboard.
Needless to say, I'll be more careful in the future. This is my
only really bad deal in about 80 auction transactions (70%
buying, 30% selling).
-----
Jim Battle == frustum(a)pacbell.net
7:53 p.m.
New subject: Sad auction story [exidy sorcerer]
Jim Battle wrote:
So, I limited my losses, but I also ended up spending over $100 for
a case and keyboard.
Needless to say, I'll be more careful in the future.
Sorry to hear that, Jim. Although these computers are generally sold "as
is", I always make sure that the computer has recently powered up okay
before bidding.
An RML 380Z recently came up on eBay, described as not working, but the
seller said that it _had_ been working, but a recent move had stopped it
powering up. Although he said that "it is probably something simple,
like a loose lead on the power supply", it left me wondering why, if it
was so simple, he hadn't put it right and sold it as a working machine!
I'd love to acquire a working 380Z, but everyone steered clear of this
one -- no bids at all.
I don't always buy working machines, though. I've just spent the
princely sum of ?1 on a VT125 with no controller board, just power
supply and tube. The case is in good condition, though, so I can
photograph it in various states of undress for my Web site, and I can
stroke its lovely curves during the long winter evenings. Ahem.
4 Oct
4 Oct
6:17 a.m.
New subject: Sad auction story [exidy sorcerer]
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-
allisonp＠world.std.com -
ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk -
at258＠osfn.org -
bills＠adrenaline.com -
cmcmanis＠mcmanis.com -
dcoward＠pressstart.com -
eric＠brouhaha.com -
flo＠rdel.co.uk -
foo＠siconic.com -
frustum＠pacbell.net -
ghldbrd＠ccp.com -
jfoust＠threedee.com -
jim＠calico.litterbox.com -
marvin＠rain.org -
mikeford＠socal.rr.com -
rigdonj＠intellistar.net -
ss＠allegro.com