That "Thing" in my garage - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

19 Jul 1997

At 11:22 AM 7/19/97 -0800, you wrote:
...
           Spring
having arrived here in the wilds of Canada, I moved some
 stuff and got close enough to that thing I was given last fall to read the
 labels on it. The box is a little bigger than a legal two drawer filing
 cabinet, and weighs a couple of hundred pounds. There are three tags with
 "M.A.I. Basic 4 Information Systems, each with a different model number...
 #9152 upgrade, # 610, and #1321. There is also a tag saying that in event of
 power failure the batteries are good for four hours!
         The cabinet contains a backplane and several plug-in boards.
         Does annyone have any idea of what this is? 
It sounds like you've got the main hunk of a Basic 4 system there.
These are minicomputers that were sold with special-purpose software
- accounting, doctor's office, etc. - for small business environments.

Is it possible that there's a hard drive (likely 8" or 10.5") somewhere
in the box?  Any tape drive?  How many DB-25's on the back for terminals?

Tim.

         There are 16 db-25's on the back, also two drives about the same
size as the computer, the only one with a manufacturers label is Century
Data Systems, Model T-80A.
        It came from a municipal office. When the fellow said he had got a
new computer and asked if I wanted the old one, I thought he meant something
like an XT! Next time I will ask. There was also a Calcomp 1041 plotter,
which runs the test plot, but so far refuses to talk to my 386.

                                                Cheers 

                                                Charlie Fox        