NorthStar Horizon Case Cover Replacements - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

20 Jun 2007

...

Subject: RE: NorthStar Horizon Case Cover Replacements
   From: "Rod Smallwood" <RodSmallwood at mail.ediconsulting.co.uk>
   Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 08:59:36 +0100
     To: "General Discussion: On-Topic Posts Only" <cctech at
classiccmp.org>

Hi

Even though my main collection is DEC I'd love a Horizon with or with
out its wooden case. I wrote a lot of code on one in CBASIC back in the
70's

They are somewhat rare in the UK to say the least. 
In fact, the case is less of a problem than finding a system in the UK.
I have a retired friend with fully equipped wood working shop.

Consulting my 1979 copies of Practical Computing (a UK magazine). 
They were widely available in the UK. They must be out there somewhere.

Rod Smallwood 
For the most part you can do the same on ANY S100 CP/M machine or even SBC
(CBASIC stuff).  The only thing that sperated the horizon from most S100s
was the case had room for two full height 5.25 floppies and had two serial
and a parallel port built on the the mother board.  However any serial card
that used 8251s coud be configured for ports 0/1,2/3 and be transparent.
The rest is the NS* MDS controller (either SD or DD  version) and that 
worked fine in most any Z80 S100 crate.

What made the box notable was floppies in the crate rather than external 
box and only a LED (power on) on the front pannel.  It was one of the early
turnkey systems and became popular with applications/system integrators 
for that reason.  The reason being it was now possible to sell a small(then)
system that was powerful enough to be a complete office accounting system.
It didn't hurt that the wood cover fit into office decor of the time. 
The wood disappeard when FCC started forcing RFI constraints.

Allison

...

-----Original Message-----
From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org
[mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Allison
Sent: 19 June 2007 12:37
To: cctech at classiccmp.org
Subject: Re: NorthStar Horizon Case Cover Replacements

Subject: NorthStar Horizon Case Cover Replacements
   From: "Andrew Lynch" <lynchaj at yahoo.com>
   Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2007 17:35:13 -0400
     To: <cctech at classiccmp.org>

Hi,

I noticed in another cctech mailing list thread about the NorthStar 
Horizon case cover replacements.  Recently, I procured a NorthStar 
Horizon which is missing its original wooden case cover and I was 
looking to either buy an original replacement or make a new one.

I did not get a lot of responses to my queries on other forums for a 
replacement wooden case cover so I am considering fabricating my own.
Apparently, it is common for Horizons to have lost their wooden covers 
over time for many reasons and others have done what I am considering.

Has anyone built replacement NorthStar Horizon case covers before and 
would be willing to build more?  They do not look terribly 
sophisticated to build provided you have access to a table saw and the 
proper bits.  I was planning on just copying the dimensions from 
another Horizon wooden case cover I already have.

If anyone has a spare NorthStar Horizon wooden case cover, has built 
new ones, or knows how to build a replacement, I would certainly like 
to hear from you.  Please email me or post here.

Thank you in advance.

First it's a simple 3 sided thing. with a groove routed (or kerf cut) to
overlap the cover.  The corners are mitered, grooved for biscuts and
glued.
I added two 1/2" cleats to the corners of mine when I reglued it. There
are 4 recessed hole for screws to secure it. Nominal material is 3/4 oak
ply though current dimension materials would work as well.  There is
nothing special about it or difficulty in making it.

The metal cover is simple but without a bending brake it's not easy to
do.

Allison